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Has the Nexus 7 out-sold the iPad in Japan? Maybe not...
I'm using my Christmas money to buy a new device and have plonked for Google's Nexus 7 tablet. It appears I'm in good company because, according to a recent report, it's the device of choice for Japanese consumers. Or is it?
On the face of it, market research firm BCN's latest survey of consumer electronics stores in Japan appears to show that Google's Nexus 7 tablet has out-sold the iPad. The survey of 2,400 outlets showed Nexus with 44.4% of the market compared with 40.1% for the iPad and iPad Mini combined.
However, as several publications have pointed out, it appears the BCN's survey didn't include Apple's own stores, of which there are just 5 in Japan, nor their direct sales. This would, you'd assume, perhaps push up Apple's market share. Availability, too, was an issue in Japan over recent months, particularly for the iPad Mini, which would also have impacted sales.
Perhaps what the rather vague figures do indicate is that, in a trend-conscious country, the gap between Android and Apple devices has narrowed significantly, almost to the point of being head-to-head.
Last year, Apple's market share was just below 50% but, when Apple launched the iPad 4, Apple's market share jumped to about 70%. Meanwhile, ASUS/Google's share was below 10% before the launch of the Nexus 7 in Japan last September but now stands at 40%.
- Expert: Why surveys may not offer all advertisers' questions
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Featured White Papers


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Salon 123 Inc.
Two local startups are set to launch competing online services for beauty salons, an industry that's been slow to embrace the Internet. It's estimated that only 25% of the 300,000 salons nationwide even have computers, says Gordon Miller, executive director of the National Cosmetology Assn., a Chicago-based trade group of 30,000 salon professionals. But Mr. Miller adds that 30% of the nation's salons probably do the lion's share of the estimated $50-billion business, and those larger operations are more likely to use computers. "It's a big opportunity," says Mr. Miller. "The No. 1 issue for salons is rebooking. One of the biggest problems they have is, once they get a customer in the door, how do you get them back into the salon?" Salon 123 Inc. and SalonSavvy.com Inc., both based in Chicago, believe that customers who phone in appointments will find it easier to make reservations online. They also claim that automated online booking programs will leave fewer empty time slots than receptionists would, by using techniques similar to those that airlines use to fill their seats. The two companies have more in common than online reservations. Both are run by former executives at Helene

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Did you know that the average Facebook brand post only reaches 16% of its audience? Mashable reported that Facebook has rolled out an updated feature that makes it easy to tell brands the percentage of fans that see their posts among other analytics updates.
CMO’s: Are you looking to extend your tenure? According to AdAge, social data may be the key. Their posts suggests that social data, when used well, can add years to your job’s lifespan.
Is your brand on Google+? Have you had any marketing success with the platform? Digiday writes about brands like H&M, Ferarri and Starbucks that have performed well on the social network. Not surprisingly, these were all B2C companies. Have you found any B2B companies with good Google+ profiles?
Where is the future of SEO headed? According to Search Engine Watch’s Andy Betts it is towards “investment, innovation & integration.” He includes a diagram that demonstrates how search engine optimization has changed over the past few months and is leaning towards more investment in the development of technologies that fuel innovation and integration.
Finally, for all of the recent college graduates out there, this article may be really helpful: Heather Ward of Boston Innovation writes about what she has learned during her first two years working in marketing. She emphasizes the importance of asking questions and spending time planning to make sure you don’t encounter too many “surprises.”
For more competitive intelligence and online marketing news, subscribe to the Pulse, Compete’s monthly newsletter. The Pulse includes the latest industry news, web analytics, market research, Compete PRO education and tips, and much more.
Kendra comes to Compete to work in the Online Marketing department as the social media co-op. Kendra is currently a student at Northeastern studying Communications and Interactive Media. Find Kendra on Twitter @KNBissonnette.


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Auto Expo 2020: BSVI Tata Harrier confirmed with 170PS and more premium features
Tata Motors has been teasing the updated BSVI Harrier SUV on their social network platforms, and one of the teasers confirms that the Tata Harrier SUV will see a hike in power. Currently, the BSIV Tata Harrier is powered by a Fiat-sourced 2.0-litre diesel engine that puts out 140PS, the BSVI model that will be launched at the Auto Expo 2020 will get the same diesel engine but in a state of tune to meet the BSVI norms and to deliver 170PS. Along with the hike in power, the torque is expected to go up as well. Some time ago, Tata confirmed that the new Harrier will get an automatic gearbox via a teaser.
Along with an updated drivetrain, the BSVI Tata Harrier SUV will get upmarket features such as a panoramic sunroof, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, powered driver-seat and an electronic parking brake, which is likely to give it an edge over its rivals.
The BSVI compliant 2020 Tata Harrier could see a price hike of Rs 50,000-60,000. Currently, the Tata Harrier ranges from Rs 13.45 lakh to Rs 17.32 lakh ex-showroom.
Starts Rs 13.69 Lakhs
- Top 5 best-selling cars in India December 2021 - Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors cover top spots
- 2022 Toyota Hilux specifications revealed ahead of India launch
- 2022 Tata Safari Dark Edition launched in India, prices start from Rs 19.05 lakh
- Best car for-Driving around the World
- Yezdi is back, three bikes launched; price range 1.98 - 2.09lakh


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CHICAGO (Reuters) - Shares in Macy’s Inc (M.N) tumbled more than 5 percent on Monday to a seven-year low after Citi analysts said the department store operator may cut its dividend to help pay down debt as it grapples with weak margins and foot traffic.
U.S. department stores have struggled with several quarters of declining sales and aggressive competition from off-price retailers as well as Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O).
Macy’s has not found the right tools to bring more customers through its doors or improve its margins this holiday shopping season, and the company’s management has indicated they want balance sheet flexibility to weather a downturn, Citi analysts wrote in a research note.
“We believe there is real risk that the dividend could be cut in the future in favor of paying down debt,” the analysts wrote.
Citi also slashed its target price on Macy’s shares to $16 from $21 and cut its rating to “sell” from “neutral.”
Macy’s declined to comment on the Citi report.
Chief Financial Officer Karen Hoguet said in June that Macy’s full-year gross margin this year could be 60 to 80 basis points lower than in 2016.
The company, which also owns luxury chain Bloomingdale’s, has been trying to turn itself around this year by closing underperforming stores, revamping its beauty business, building up its Backstage discount business and improving its e-commerce site.
Macy’s stock, which has lost about 45 percent of its value since the start of the year, was last down about 4.6 percent at $18.79 in afternoon trading.
Citi also downgraded its rating on J.C. Penney Co Inc (JCP.N) to “sell” from “neutral” and halved its target price on the stock to $1.50.
J.C. Penney had shed about a quarter of its market value on Friday as it slashed its full-year sales and earnings forecast after selling stagnant inventory at heavy discounts.
Shares in J.C. Penney were last down 9.5 percent at $2.82 on Monday, adding to losses from last week.
“J.C. Penney’s strategy has not gained traction in any cohesive way and we do not see things getting any easier in this environment,” Citi analysts said.
Reporting by Richa Naidu; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli


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Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, the entertainer’s first mobile game, grossed $43.4m in its first quarter on sale, constituting more than half of its developers total revenues for the period.
Glu Mobile, which developed the licenced game for iPhone and Android, earned four times as much from Kardashian’s game as it did from its next biggest earner, Deer Hunter 2014.
The game uses a free-to-play model, letting players build their character up from a Z-list celebrity to an A-list star – and best friend of Kim Kardashian herself – by going to parties, earning corporate sponsorships, and buying clothes.
Of course, as a free-to-play game, all of those things take time. Time which can be sped up with a cash injection. Hence the $43m revenue.
“Glu’s third quarter was the strongest in the company’s history as non-GAAP revenue and Adjusted EBITDA set all time records,” said the firm’s chief executive, Niccolo de Masi. “The record quarter was driven by the strength of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, our new releases Dino Hunter: Deadly Shores and Tap Sports: Baseball, ongoing traction with Deer Hunter 2014 and Eternity Warriors 3 and the addition of Racing Rivals to our product portfolio.”
The income burst from Kim Kardashain: Hollywood quadrupled Glu Mobile’s overall revenue year-on-year, and took it from a $1m loss the quarter before to $15.4m profit.
And the figures released in the company’s quarterly report suggest that the runaway success of the game is largely in its ability to monetise players. The company saw 108m installs of its games last quarter, around the same as it had in the first quarter of the year (106m). But revenue in the first quarter was half what it was after the release of Kardashian’s game.
Uncomfirmed reports from US site TMZ suggest that Kardashian herself will get 45% of the net profits for the game, putting her income from just one quarter at around $15m after expenses.
In October, Kardashian extended her contract with Glu for an additional three years, and the company released Kim Kardashian: Hollywood 2.0 on Facebook.


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…Resurgent prices derail Namibia’s war against poverty
By Hilary Mare
GLOBAL growth is still in a crisis with a seemingly increasing number of emerging-market currencies in free fall, this due to a conflux of forces – a slowdown in China, prospect of higher borrowing costs in the US and a slump in commodity prices – leading investors to shun developing nation assets.
With greater bearing on the Namibian economy, the South African rand and its economy have continued to decline and this, coupled with the drought, have had very little mercy on our inflation with analysts predicting a gloomy outlook that will without a doubt negatively impact the poor vehemently.
In essence, Namibian Statistics Agency (NSA) in releasing the inflation numbers for May last week, highlighted that annual inflation rate had increased to 3.8 percent in May 2018, from 3.6 percent in the previous month.
This inflation statistical report notes that inflation was mainly driven by education, health, transport and alcoholic beverages and tobacco which increased by 9.9 percent, 5.7 percent, 5.6 percent and 5.4 percent respectively.
The 12-month average inflation rate for the period June 2017 to May 2018 stood at 4.7 percent, while the calendar year average from January 2018 to May 2018, was estimated to be 3.6 percent. Similarly, monthly inflation increased to 0.4 percent in May 2018 compared to 0.3 percent recorded during the previous month.
While this may have painted a gloomy outlook, it has been further acerbated by that fact that the Ministry of Mines and Energy increased fuel pump prices by at least 60 c/l on 6 June 2018. Also, Namport tariffs for controlled petroleum products have increased by N$2 from N$34 to N$36 per kilo litre.
Indileni Nanghonga, Junior Analyst at Simonis and Storm told Confidente last week that inflation is a real confidence killer in the already depressed Namibian economic environment and will start to drift upwards in the coming months as the recent spike in oil prices filters through the supply chains, especially in the transport category and as the rand continues to weaken.
“This will simultaneously feed through to other inflation categories such as food and beverages. Our view is that inflation will increase at a moderate pace for the remainder of the year and our average annual inflation forecast for 2018 remains at 4.1percent,” she said.
With these statistics in mind, one can surely predict that it’s getting more expensive to be poor and prospects present a huge dent in Government’s bid to fight the sting of poverty and ferry the country on a prosperity path.
Indeed, the difference in the rate of inflation between income groups is too small to matter much in the short-term, adding just a few dollars to the average family’s monthly bills. But the longer low-income families continue to experience faster price increases, the bigger the effect will be, quickly adding up to hundreds of dollars a year in extra costs for the households least able to afford it.
This trend is unusual. Past studies have found that the rate of inflation tends to be more volatile for the poor, largely because they have historically spent more of their income on basic goods, which tend to see bigger price swings than other goods. But over the long-term, low-income families’ rate of inflation tracks closely to the average household.
Using polling data for 31 869 households in 38 countries and allowing for country effects, a research done by World Bank researchers Easterly and Fischer, shows that the poor are more likely than the rich to mention inflation as a top national concern. This result survives several robustness checks. Also, direct measures of improvements in the well-being of the poor – the change in their share of national income, the percentage decline in poverty, and the percentage change in the real minimum wage – are negatively correlated with inflation in pooled cross-country samples. Essentially therefore, high inflation tends to lower the share of the bottom quintile and the real minimum wage – and tends to increase poverty.
Over the past two months, prices have risen more quickly for many of the things that low-income households spend a lot of their money on, such as food. As a result, these households — families earning less— are experiencing a higher rate of inflation than the public at large even as their wages have stagnated.
Today, Namibia’s economists are warning that according to their calculations the prices for food are likely to continue picking up throughout the year due to expected price increases in maize and oil.
“Future prices at the South African Future Exchange suggest price increases for white and yellow maize of some 7 percent by December 2018 and some 1 percent for wheat. Oil prices have also been on the increase triggering fuel price increases that will have impacts on the transportation costs of goods and eventually on the production goods of businesses as well as the costs of consumer products,” noted Klaus Schade, the research associate with the Economic Association of Namibia. Schade further said that the increase in food prices is bad news for low-income earners and the poor since they spend the largest share of their total consumption on these items.
Poverty and inequality are two important characteristics of the socioeconomic context in post-colonial Namibia. Rooted in widespread unemployment, particularly amongst those with lower educational attainment, and inequalities in access to quality education, Namibia’s level of income inequality is amongst the highest in the world, while millions continue to live in poverty 28 years after the country’s democratic transition.
While many factors combine to determine the income level and poverty status of a household, including the presence of a resident income-earner, receipt of remittances and access to income from social grants, the prices faced by households are central in translating nominal income into specific utility levels. Consequently, price changes over time will impact, positively or negatively, on welfare and are therefore critical to our understanding of households’ welfare.
In conclusion, it is important that we realise that the inflation rate is one of the central macroeconomic indicators in societies around the world. Prices are a critical variable in translating nominal income into welfare and, as such, consumer price indices are used internationally to compensate economic agents for losses in purchasing power over time. At the current rate of inflation, it is safe to say the poorer will continue to get poorer and thus this is the time that Government activates initiatives that rid the country of future inflation such as the one imported from South Africa.
Confidente. Lifting the Lid. Copyright © 2015


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Apple’s proprietary charging and connection cable has always been a point of contention for users. There's really no reason for it, although Apple says it improves charging and connection. Really it's always been more about Apple forcing its customers to buy every single product from them, and only from them.
But now that seems likely to change. Apple might be forced to switch to a universal standard.
Lifehacker.com has a great story on it:
Members of the European Commission will vote on whether to force all tech companies to adopt a single charging method that will be universal across all devices and manufacturers, including Apple’s.
According to the BBC, the European Commission has been trying to implement a single charging port standard across all devices for over a decade. There have been numerous attempts to bring Apple into the USB fold, but this upcoming vote would be the final nail in the Lightning cable’s coffin, and could also close legal loopholes that allowed Apple to continue using Lightning ports despite agreeing to move toward USB.
They go into detail about the case and about how this ruling might impact consumers in the future:
If the vote passes, it will mark the end of the Lightning charger era. Apple won’t be able to sell its products in the EU without adopting USB-C (likely), and that change will affect any products it makes and sells in the US and other countries. That means your next iPhone will probably use USB-C or wireless charging and not a Lightning port.
There are still a lot of unknowns including what the eventual ruling will be. If you want to find out exactly what's at stake and when it will all be decided, read the rest of the LifeHacker.com article right here.


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Yogurt boom a boon for milk and more
Creating 230 new jobs in Genesee County is a pretty good thing.
But when you look beyond the two yogurt plants that opened in Batavia in the last 13 months, the effect may be much, much larger.
From the dairy farm on the edge of the county launching a multimillion milk separation project to cater to yogurt plants' needs, to the refrigerated trucking companies hauling yogurt around the Northeast, the yogurt boom has had quite a ripple effect and promises to grow more.
"Our last two years have been the biggest commitment of capital in our history," said Larry Webster, CEO of Upstate Niagara Cooperative, which is supplying the milk to both Alpina Foods' and Müller Quaker Dairy's yogurt plants.
Webster won't say exactly how much capital he's talking about, but the investment includes buying a yogurt plant in the northern part of New York state and expanding its Western New York plants. Upstate is also an owner of O-At-Ka Milk Products Cooperative, which has expanded its Batavia plant, too.
The largest employer in Genesee County, O-At-Ka recently completed a $16 million expansion, adding 15 employees and the ability to make liquid protein concentrate out of excess milk. The concentrate can be used in a variety of products and is one way to give yogurt the extra protein and thick consistency of Greek yogurt without all the messy straining of traditional Greek yogurt.
It's not all Greek to Genesee County and the surrounding area, though, as other dairy industry developments independent of the yogurt boom are promising jobs and economic growth of their own:
• Cheese maker Yancey's Fancy Inc. in Pembroke, Genesee County, tripled its number of employees in the last seven years and is now planning to quadruple its production space by building a new 100,000-square foot manufacturing and distribution facility. The company needs more space because it recently began making 18-month-aged medium cheddar for Wegmans and intends to add Swiss cheeses to its ever-expanding line.
• Three-year-old First Light Farm and Creamery is exploiting an artisan niche in the area for fresh goat's milk cheese and organic cow's milk cheese. When the brothers Sandvoss aren't milking their goats or making cheese just southeast of Batavia, they're selling cheese at local farm markets, or teaching local food enthusiasts how to make cheese themselves.
• Perry's Ice Cream, just over the Genesee-Erie county line in Akron, has been expanding its footprint over the last several years by selling Perry's ice cream in Pittsburgh and New England. In late 2012, Perry's won a co-packing contract for a brand selling in several southern states. Over two years, the company's year-round employment rose from 303 to 312.
"It's kind of like a snowball effect," said Steven G. Hyde, president and CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center. The county's economic development arm has smoothed the way for yogurt and other food production companies to land in Batavia by providing shovel-ready sites in an agricultural development park, bringing together grant and tax-incentive efforts and helping to line up job training for new food production workers.
The development center's analysis of the impact of the Alpina and Müller Quaker plants is 282 more jobs in the supply chain within three years. These include milk producers and processors, packaging makers, trucking companies, caterers and cleaners all getting business from the yogurt plants. And then there's another 174 indirect jobs, meaning, for example, the extra help the grocery store or restaurant has to hire because more people — yogurt plant workers and people working in the supply chain — are eating higher off the hog.
The jobs and money aren't limited to Genesee County, as workers are coming from the larger area. And the supply chain reaches into nearby counties as well.
Leonard's Express in Farmington, Ontario County, is picking up yogurt at the Batavia plants and taking it around the Northeast, adding on to its fleet to handle the extra refrigerated trucking business.
"As new businesses come in, it obviously benefits all of us," said Ken Johnson, CEO of Leonard's. "We could probably grow more if we could find the qualified drivers."
On a sunny September morning, a white tent shielded a crowd of well-wishers and participants gathered for the groundbreaking of a $12 million milk separation plant on Noblehurst Farms in York, Livingston County. The new Craigs Station Ventures plant will use a cold process to separate cream from the milk of eight local farms, leaving a skim milk they feel will be more marketable to high-protein Greek yogurt manufacturers.
"Nobody else is doing this. They are inventive, they are ahead of their time," said Julie A. Marshall, director of Livingston County Development Group.
The project is a joint venture of the farms, which supply the milk, and Dairy Farms of America, a multistate milk cooperative. In addition, Noblehurst cows will supply the manure and Wegmans will supply the food wastes that are fed into a biogas digester at Noblehurst to make power for the separation plant.
Meanwhile, a few miles away in neighboring Genesee County, the epicenter of dairy farms in dairy-rich New York state, Trystan and Max Sandvoss are trying something different at First Light Farm. Originally from the New York City area, the brothers learned to make cheese in the Pacific Northwest and then wanted to break out on their own.
"We are aware that there are a lot of people in dairy here," Trystan Sandvoss said. "We needed something unique. Goat's milk provides that opportunity." The Sandvosses use milk from their goat herd and organic milk from nearby Grassland Dairy to make a variety of fresh and aged cheeses.
With all the dairy growth in the area, it might seem that dairy farms are getting bigger, too. But that's not the case.
Upstate's Webster said much of the milk going to the yogurt plants now is being redirected from production of shelf-stable dried milk. That's a boon because farmers get paid more for their milk when it ends up in yogurt.
" Any time you have a new market for the milk, it's great, and it's local. If we don't have to transport the milk long distances, it's good for everyone," Webster said.
But not all local farmers are part of the Upstate cooperative. Many participate in Dairylea, another cooperative that supplies mozzarella cheese makers in Buffalo.
Curt Norton manages Oak Orchard Dairy in Elba, a family farm business with nearly 1,000 cows. Norton said Oak Orchard's milk used to go to the Chobani yogurt plant in Chenango County, but transportation logistics shifted it to Buffalo about six months ago.
Yogurt here and elsewhere around the state has created greater security in the dairy business rather than lining farmers' pockets, Norton suggested.
"Indirectly, it has created a market that we were losing on the fluid side," he said. "Ultimately, it's kept our markets alive."
Even while people are eating more yogurt, changing tastes and federal regulations have cut the legs out from under fluid milk sales, industry members say. Indeed, new rules on calories and fat content in school lunches are keeping flavored milk or fuller-tasting whole and 2-percent milk out of school cafeterias.
"I think we're teaching kids that 'I don't like milk,' " Webster said.
"I don't like drinking it, and the kids don't like drinking it," Norton agreed about skim milk.
Dairy producers can hope, though, that kids will like the federal program's newest experiment: adding Greek yogurt to school lunches.


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The New Suez Canal will contribute to promoting the world trade and navigation, Egypt's Ambassador to Uganda Ahmed Abdel Aziz said on Monday.
"Egypt sees that the new canal will open new horizons for investments and facilitate trade between the east and west," he said during a meeting with representatives of Ugandan media outlets to discuss the new waterway.
"The achievement and opening of the project in a record time impressed the world," the diplomat was quoted in a statement issued by the embassy as saying.
On Thursday, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi inaugurated the New Suez Canal in a great celebration attended by world leaders.
The new 72-kilometer waterway, dug in less than a year at a cost of 60 billion pounds, runs part of the way alongside the existing canal connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.
The legendary project was financed by investment certificates sold to Egyptians.


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Vending machines have been important for cases of the munchies. But with bad press on junk food, especially in schools, the Wall Street Journal reported that the once ever-present machines -- that take only the crispest of bills and serve up sugary and salty snacks -- are going away.
According to the publication, "Traditional vending machines disappeared from 134,000 locations between 2007 and 2010, according to the latest available data from Vending Times, an industry publication. Sales from vending machines sank more than 11%, to $42.2 billion, in the same period."
That's right: Traditional vending machines that sell candy bars, chips, and soda, are losing popularity. What's on the rise instead: boutique operations. At the airport you can buy iPods, e-readers and cameras from Best Buy kiosks. Some new niche machines stock live bait in Pennsylvania and prescription drugs from InstyMeds has sold 1.5 million Rx in 24 states.
The Last Vegas Sun has a slideshow that features some pretty crazy options in Sin City: From a luxury vendor called Utique that offers Smashbox makeup and Beats by Dre headphones, a cotton candy dispenser, an Art-o-Mat that sells original works of art, and of course, gold to go.


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Launch of new HID Signo readers changes access game
05 March, 2020
category: Corporate, Education, Government
Flexibility and interoperability are among the hottest areas when it comes to building access, and HID Signo readers are a new entry in that field. The newly launched line of readers works with more than a dozen credentialing technologies already operating, which means that organizations can, according to a statement from HID, “easily migrate to the latest solutions at their own pace.”
Our goal is to put more choices in the hands of our customers and give them peace of mind in knowing they can continually adapt their systems as requirements change.
The new HID Signo reader line also features support for Apple’s Enhanced Contactless Polling, or ECP. That means the mobile access technology can operate with student IDs in Apple Wallet, reflecting another growing trend in the larger digital ID and access space.
HID also said it designed its new line of mobile access readers to perform well outdoors and in what the company called rugged conditions. Signo features include “automatic surface detection that recalibrates and optimizes read performance based on the mounting location,” HID says. More protection from weather comes from the device’s capacitive touch keypad. As well, the new line of readers is IP65 rated, HID says, which means the gear needs no additional gasket.
HID Signo readers OSDP-ready
Administrators of the devices can configure and diagnose the mobile access readers remotely and monitor the status of them via a connected reader ecosystem. “Additionally, configuration can be further streamlined through the controller via the Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP),” HID adds.
The new HID Signo readers “store cryptographic keys on certified EAL6+ secure element hardware and custom authentication keys can be used to further enhance security.” This new product line also features a patented “velocity-checking feature” meant to protect the readers against hacking attempts that involve brute force rapid electronic attacks.
The release comes as mobile access systems are becoming more important in all walks of life.
“With the industry now seeking to use access control systems as a backbone for creating intelligent environments, consultants, integrators and end users are increasingly demanding more versatile, high performance solutions,” said Harm Radstaak, Vice President and Managing Director of Physical Access Control Solutions, HID Global. “HID Signo is built on an open platform and delivers on our commitment to innovation with its unprecedented flexibility and robust set of forward-looking features that optimize workplace experiences. Our goal is to put more choices in the hands of our customers and give them peace of mind in knowing they can continually adapt their systems as requirements change.”


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Curious to see how EA's reboot of its blockbuster shooter franchise looks? IGN has been playing the multiplayer beta since it started and have been busy headshotting and dropping mortar strikes. Here's what it's like.
Looks cool I dont know weather to buy this or Black Ops.
i'll take this over black ops thanks
I am buying THIS and BLACK OPS.. Though I think CALL OF DUTY will be the better of the 2 ONLINE.. but I am more in it for the OFFLINE.. Modernwarfare 2 is still tickling my FPS online fancy..
N4G is a community of gamers posting and discussing the latest game news. It’s part of NewsBoiler, a network of social news sites covering today’s pop culture.


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So how is cryptocurrency taxed?
Because the answer can be complex — it can vary from country to country and state to state — we’ll break down today’s current cryptocurrency laws in this article so that you can know whether or not you have to pay taxes on your cryptocurrency — and if so, how much.
Around the world, and across the U.S., lawmakers are wringing their hands while they dream up ways to regulate and tax cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, heavily funded advocates are funding lobbying efforts in an attempt to dissuade the government from overregulating cryptocurrency.
Overregulation, they claim, will force innovators to move outside the jurisdiction of U.S. regulators.
So lawmakers and regulators are having to walk a fine line between:
- over regulating and under regulating
- over-taxing and under-taxing crypto
At the time of writing, however, regulations are fairly simple.
In the U.S., the rules for reporting crypto gains are the same as they are for reporting capital gains.
As long as you hold an asset, there’s no tax on it.
However, once we sell an asset, we pay taxes on capital gains — or claim losses.
Cryptocurrency Laws Vary by State
There’s another important point to make before we move on — laws pertaining to cryptocurrency can vary from state to state.
So if you are doing more than just buying and selling crypto for personal gain, it’s important to understand these state laws.
For example, In Louisiana, under the Virtual Currency Business Act, a special license is required to operate any crypto-related business. Several other U.S. states have similar rules.
Lawmakers in a handful of U.S. states are working to incorporate favorable crypto laws. Wyoming, for example, has passed and implemented more than 20 cryptocurrency laws, including 2019's HB584 under which crypto assets are exempt from most local securities laws.
And lawmakers in Arizona are working to make Bitcoin legal tender in the state.
Next, we’ll take a brief look at federal laws that pertain to buying crypto, selling crypto, receiving crypto as a gift or inheritance, and paying taxes on crypto gains.
Cryptocurrency Laws: Buying
At this time, listing federal laws pertaining to buying cryptocurrencies is a breeze — that’s because there are none.
Cryptocurrency Laws: Selling
As with buying crypto, laws pertaining to selling and spending cryptocurrencies are thin.
There’s no law against selling or spending cryptocurrency.
However, there are some tax consequences to selling cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency Laws: Taxes
The IRS and cryptocurrency: how do they fit together?
For the purpose of tax reporting, cryptocurrencies work the same as any other capital asset and thus profits are subject to capital gains taxes.
If the value of the purchase is higher than the cost of the cryptocurrency, then the difference is considered a capital gain.
So, for instance, if we buy $100 worth of crypto and then ten years later we spend it on something worth $1,100, then we’re liable to pay capital gains tax on the $1,000 profit.
Tax rates on short-term capital gains — buying and selling crypto within a year — can be up to 37 percent for high income individuals.
Assets held longer than a year before being sold are taxed at a lower rate — up to 20 percent.
If crypto is sold at a loss, the seller can deduct capital losses of up to $3,000 a year.
However, if net losses exceed $3,000, they can be carried over into the next year’s reporting.
Cryptocurrency Laws: Gifts and Inheritances
What about cryptocurrency gifts?
What about cryptocurrency inheritances?
Here again, cryptocurrency is treated like any other asset. Gifts worth $15,000 or more are taxable.
Furthermore, inherited cryptocurrency may be subject to estate taxes beyond certain thresholds — $11.7 million for 2021.
Because they are subject to capital gains tax, using crypto as a currency rather than a store of value can greatly complicate tax reporting.
This is especially true for anyone who is constantly buying and spending crypto at different exchange rates throughout the year.
There are some apps that help keep track of crypto gains for tax reporting purposes. We’re not going to recommend any of those applications here. Rather, we recommend consulting a tax accountant and asking them which application they prefer their clients use.
Another important point is that the IRS now asks filers to state (under penalty of perjury) whether or not they have purchased cryptocurrencies within the tax year.
It’s still not clear whether this information is required for enforcement purposes or simply for gathering statistics.
Also, be aware that while some custodians such as Robinhood and Paypal will send out 1099 forms to their customers, not all cryptocurrency exchanges do this.
However, not receiving a 1099 doesn’t excuse a taxpayer from attesting to having bought cryptocurrency or paying taxes on cryptocurrency gains.
The Bottom Line: Cryptocurrency Laws Today
It’s important to reiterate that laws pertaining to buying, selling, spending, gifting, inheriting, and paying taxes on cryptocurrency are still changing and likely will be for years to come.
Lawmakers and financial regulators around the world are gathering information in order to come to a decision on how to set up crypto regulations and tax reporting and payment requirements.
Some seem to be making reasonable decisions.
Others, not so much.
Because cryptocurrency laws are in flux, it’s important that crypto investors and tax accountants pay close attention as these laws evolve in order to make wise decisions on how to buy, sell, spend, gift, and will their cryptocurrency to their descendants.


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Coffee chains today have become an integral part and parcel of every society, community, class or region. International as well as national coffee having acknowledged the potential and growing popularity of coffee culture, have successfully established th
The Indian coffee industry is currently about four to five hundred crore market, and is still growing. Many national and global cafe brands have already established their presence in Indian market and several others are gearing to enter Indian café world. Franchising has enabled them to grow faster as the franchisors can expand into new markets with minimum capital risk where as the franchisees can start their business with minimum risk of failure. Franchising also offers sustainable growth to both brands and investors.
The present scenario is exciting for all three: the brands, investors and the consumers. The gap in the coffee market offer franchisors a scope to extend their footprint in new locations. The investors get an opportunity to start their ventures. Also, the increasing competition among cafe brands is benefiting the consumers too.
Speaking on the current developments in the café industry in India, Tony White, Regional General Manager, Gloria Jean’s Coffees International comments: “Domestic coffee consumption in India has increased significantly over the past 10 years, but there is still ample scope for growth, especially in terms of franchised operations.” The increasing spending habit of Indian youth indicates that the coffee shop market is certain to grow drastically.
Indian consumers visit cafés in shopping mall, high street, school, college, hospitals etc. Cafes have gained the reputation of being the best meeting point for social as well as corporate purposes. The factors driving the Indian café sector are:
Rise in purchasing power: With rising income level of the Indian consumers, discretionary spending on food and beverages has also increased. More and more people do not mind spending extra bucks for their favourite cup of coffee in a branded café in comfortable ambience.
Social meeting points: The growing trend of people visiting cafeterias for social and business engagements has encouraged the prominent café brands to penetrate even in the smaller cities. The cafés offer an excellent meeting point for people to chat, relax and even have business meetings over a cup of coffee. Youth appeal: Nearly half of Indian population comprises people who are of age 25 or younger. Young people more often look out for a place where they can hang out with friends. Students get a higher pocket money which the can spend in cafes. They are an important consumer segment for the café brands seeking large customer base.
The Indian coffee industry is dominated by many national as well as international brands, which have been well accepted by the consumers. Café Buddy, Brewberrys, Café Desire, Barista, Café Day Xpress, Cuppa are few of the national players while Costa Coffee, Gloria Jeans Coffees, Café Oz are some international players. Starbucks will be entering India through a joint venture with Tata. Dunkins’ coffee has also taken franchise route for expansion into India.
Franchise model has helped many café brands to expand quickly, profitability and grow their brand further.
Sharing how franchise model has helped the brand to grab a large market share, PK Gupta, Founder, Café Buddy’s says: “I was convinced that franchising is the only mode that makes it possible for a brand to expand rapidly and cost-effectively. Café Buddy’s as a brand serves the masses. It would not have been possible to mark our presence across the nation without franchising.”
Café Buddy has 110 franchise and 35 company owned cafés across India. The brand’s franchise fee is Rs one to three lakh. Whereas, seeking for committed and entrepreneurial spirit in a prospective franchisee, Brewberrys investment starts from Rs 7 to 40 lakh. Brewberry has 50 franchise outlets so far.
Café Desire, another popular brand is present pan India with 35 franchise outlets in malls, high street market and residential markets. The brand has a demand Rs 50,000 franchise fee deposit which is refundable.
Gloria Jeans Coffees, an international brand has also become popular among consumers. It is present in cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune and Chennai via master franchisor Citymax Hospitality Pvt Ltd.
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is seeking franchisees and targets across premium high streets and malls in all major metro cities in India.
Along with opportunity lie the challenges for both - new players and as well as existing ones. Indians are price sensitive and are used to a cup of coffee not costing more than Rs 15 to20 in small restaurants. Organised coffee shop chains have price range between Rs 50 and 75. As Indian consumers have become increasingly brand conscious they are willing to pay more. But if the brands will further increase their prices, then they are sure to be in a tight spot, as customers have plethora of options to suit their budget.
The café owners will have to bring in product innovation, customisation and maintain quality and service standards to lure the clientele. How critical are these factors for operational success of the stores is explained by Ronak Kapatel, Director, Brewberrys Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. He shares: “We do not just provide coffee to our guests but also provide them with lip-smacking cuisines that are cooked in the cafés only. We understand people do not come to café just to have coffee; rather they come to sit, talk and relax.”
Location can also be a problem as existing cafe players have already snapped up premium locations in big cities. So the competition for premium space is going to blow up. Existing players would face another challenge of retaining clientele and as well as employees. Kapatel tells: “One of the major challenges is to get a good location at reasonable commercial rates.”
However despite the bottlenecks, the cafe sector has enough potential for all the players. The question now is whether they can successfully brew a winning potion. The sector is not only promising for aspiring entrepreneurs but also for people working in the sector this would mean more job options. Besides this consumers too are in a win-win situation!


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Picture this: some women go into the Chanel store in SoHo, NYC but rather than making a bee-line for the latest bag or jacket, they go for a black Chanel can of spray paint; walk over to what looks to be a glass wall inside the store and proceed to tag the letters CHANEL in bright colours. No this isn’t some graffiti fantasy of mine but, actually what went on recently at the new Chanel store in SoHo. To be fair the cans of Chanel spray paint aren’t actually filled with paint but rather with infared paint – invisible to the naked eye- and the wall was a porous “L” shaped LED canvas scaled at 10 feet high and 150 feet wide., which the “paint” then appeared on. Seamlessly embedded into the chamber that is created between the wall of light and the store facade was Beim’s graffiti installation.
Karl Lagerfeld (head man who runs Chanel) has recently embarked on a graffiti campaign which included hiring Adam Biem, CEO of Tangiable Interaction based in Vancouver and Apologue, Inc to set up the installation. Tangiable has worked with the 2010 Olympic Games, a 17-concert tour with Green Day, and various jobs for Coldplay, the Blue Man Group, MSN, Hello Kitty, Bacardi, Nokia, Verizon and Heineken to name a few. The company was started a mere four years ago and their list of clientele is majorly impressive, and now to boot they’ve just added Chanel.
The opening was a three day bash with included celebs/fashionista’s from both UK and the US- including “the Kaiser” (Karl Lagerfeld) himself- to get their tagging on while participating on the usual partying activities.
I wrote about digital graffiti back in June, but that was in a less commercialized setting. Tangiable has really taken digital graffiti and gone all the way with it!
Graffiti Wall at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics
Here is a video of some work Tangible digital graff.
To Read More About the Chanel Opening:


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From 1964 to 2008, Honda participated in Formula 1 competition through multiple avenues including racing, building cars, and supplying engines.
Read This Article
About 50,000 Honda Civics built for model year 2012 are being recalled for their left driveshaft, which could come apart while driving and cause an accident.
With bloated prices at the pumps, it should come as little surprise that Americans say fuel economy is the number one factor when considering the purchase of a new car.
Baby steps, people.


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The 2020 Karma Revero will get a 3cyl turbo BMW engine
Posted: 5th of April 2019 by Platinum Auto
A brand new Karma Revero is coming in 2020, and it’ll be powered by a BMW engine. A turboBMW engine.
Karma Automotive – which, a long time ago was Fisker – has confirmed that its new petrol-electric hybrid luxury saloon will get Bee-Em’s 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo. That’s the one in the back of the i8.
As per the original Revero (and Fisker Karma, way back when), it’ll be used to power an on-board electric generator that’ll power a twin-motor setup on the rear axle. There’s also a new, more powerful lithium-ion battery pack, too.
Complex setup, simple result: Karma reckons the new Revero should be able to complete the 0-60mph sprint in 4.5s, which is almost a second faster than the old one.
“Alongside a series of other technological advancements, the new 2020 Revero is as fast as it looks,” explains Karma Automotive’s chief tech officer Bob Kruse.
Ah yes, looks. We’ve only got this shady teaser for now, but you’ll quickly decipher it doesn’t stray too far from the original design. Fine by us. We’ll see the full, 2020 Revero at the Shanghai Motor Show, alongside a Pininfarina-designed Karma concept and its ‘Vision’ concept.


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Central government has decided to provide a huge budget for the agriculture and allied sectors in Jammu and Kashmir.
In the latest budget for Jammu and Kashmir agriculture and allied sectors will get Rs 3156 cr in 2023-24 budget.
The Holistic Agriculture Development Plan (HADP) will create 2,87,910 jobs in agriculture, allied sectors, and will create 18,861 new business enterprises.
To create an enabling environment for transforming J&K agriculture and allied sectors in order to increase farmer income, ensure food security and accelerate UT’s economic growth, Rs 3156 crore have been allocated for these vital sectors in the budget for 2023-24.
A Holistic Agriculture Development Plan has been rolled out with 29 proposed projects worth an outlay of Rs 5012 crore to be implemented over a period of next 5 years.
An official said that the novel initiative will create additional job opportunities for 2,87,910 people in agriculture, horticulture and allied sectors besides 18,861 new business enterprises will be created over the period of next five years.
Under the ambitious project, the government will create 67000 Metric Ton CA Storage Capacity enabling the farmers to store their produce for better returns.
The Jammu and Kashmir government is encouraging and aiding private players to set up cold storage (CA) facilities in order to reduce post harvest losses by increasing the shelf life of various agriculture and horticulture products, as well as to address the issue of distressed crop sales by farmers.


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There might be some in the multifamily sector of commercial real estate sector that are nervous about a potential housing recovery. The answer is simple: If more people are buying homes, the less demand there is for apartment rental.
But if that recovery does take place at some point in the near future, one commercial real estate sector that will benefit is retail.
In an interview with GlobeSt.com, Auction.com’s economist Peter Muoio, points out that the more houses are bought there is an increased demand for home-furnishings goods, furniture and similar products.
On top of that, more home buying means greater wealth. Greater wealth equates to more people shopping.
Right now the retail part seems to be working out, but the housing portion of the equation still lags.
Consumer spending isn’t exactly tearing it up right now, but things are improving. The Commerce Department just reported that seasonally adjusted consumer sales were up 0.4 percent in June, following a 0.3 percent push in May.
Luxury retail seems to be doing well. Michael Kors had a great fiscal first quarter. Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation predicts retail sales to rise 3.9 percent for the remainder of 2014, only a tad lower than its 4.1-percent prediction it had earlier in the year.
Unfortunately for housing, the industry has tapered off. Home construction fell 9.3 percent in June, the second-consecutive month it has dropped, bringing the worst results since September of last year.
However, if it does bounce back, there’s a chance we could see retail skyrocket.


text: Shoppers in the UK would rather buy products from shops that use as little packaging as possible, according to new research. The survey conducted by cosmetics company Lush, found that 70% of consumers would consider changing where they shop if they knew the retailer was using less packaging on its products. It found that 98% of people think manufacturers and retailers need to do more to reduce the amount of packaging they use. More than 44% would also buy a particular brand because it uses the least amount of packaging. With recycling hitting the headlines more than ever before, 85% of people are concerned about how much packaging they dump. The research comes after Lush recently launched a campaign against excess packaging. To draw attention to this issue, Lush shop staff across the UK took to the streets wearing nothing but aprons reading ask me why I'm naked? Founder Mark Constantine said: Packaging is rubbish and for too long we have had to suffer excessive amounts of it. Now that the true financial and environmental costs are becoming obvious, customers are challenging manufacturers and retailers to cut the wrap. Lush campaigns manager Andrew Baker added: This survey shows that people are becoming more aware of the impact of packaging in terms of the environment and of their responsibility to minimise the amount of waste they generate. More than 2,000 people, aged 18 to 64, took part in the survey.


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Some b-obs to start your day with Fairfax digital. The Age got a bit risque today, inadvertently entering the debate on internet censorship with this delightful link:
Leading to an even more delightful article and photo gallery with, you guessed it, more b-obs:
Put a fork in them, the election is almost done.
Understand what happens next with our best ever discounts.
Now the question is, would ISP internet filtering block out The Age?
Ziff Davis To Close PCMag Print; Focus on Online; Still Looking For Options For Gaming Division. Ziff Davis, the tech/gaming media company that recently exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is now taking the brave but inevitable step of closing down the print version of PCMag to focus its energy on its growing PCMag online network of sites, led by flagship PCmag.com. The magazine, which was started in 1982, has a storied history, but its print base eroded over the years as its core brand of journalism news you can use while shopping for computers moved online. It cut back from bi-weekly to monthly earlier this year. PCMag, which literally invented the idea of comparative hardware and software reviews, at one time during the 80s averaged about 400 pages an issue, with some issues breaking the 500- and even 600-page marks, according to Wikipedia history.
The last issue will be dated Jan. 2009; the closure will claim the jobs of about seven employees, all from the print production side. None of the editorial employees, who are now writing for the online sites anyway, will be affected. The site will still be called PCMag (with mag remaining in the name), but the online network which has sites such as ExtremeTech, Gearlog, Appscout, Smart Device Central, GoodCleanTech, DL.TV, Cranky Geeks, and PCMagCastwill now be called PCMag Digital Network, with PCMag.com as its lead property. The company has about 200 employees, and the PCMag division has about 140 employees.
I spoke in detail today with Jason Young, the CEO of Ziff Davis, about this move, the online focus, and the status of the company’s more-troubled gaming division. On the online side, he wouldnt disclose the revenues for the PCMag brand, but said it was in tens and tens of millions of dollars. He said the revenues on the online side have grown an average of 42 percent yearly since 2001; digital is about 70 percent of the revenues for the PCMag brand, and overall is profitable. He said that despite the economic situation, the PCMag brand revenues grew about 18 percent in Q308, and thinks that it will hold up despite advertising downturn due to the power of the brand. Of course competition is heavy for those shrinking ad dollars, from everyone including other established brands like CNET, to newer ones like Engadget and others.
As for the status of its gaming group, which consists of its 1Up online brand and other gaming sites and EGM print magazine (the only print book left within Ziff Davis), Young said it is considering strategic options for the division. Same is true for its now shuttered DigitalLife consumer tech expo event. The company has tried to sell the gaming division before as well but was not able to find the right buyer then, our sources say. — Rafat Ali, Paidcontent.org
American moviegoers not interested in visiting Australia. The latest US audience research numbers from Nielsen NRG reveal that with just two weeks to go before the film enters wide release, the campaign for Baz Luhrmann’s $130 million epic Australia is not connecting with the core moviegoing audience — and not even Oprah could change that. Overall, the film has a 5% unaided awareness, and only 60% of respondents said they were aware of the movie when its title was mentioned to them. Among those who were aware of the film, only 29% expressed definite interest, and only 6% said it would be their first choice at the box office. — Advertising Age
Iranian blogger arrested ‘as Israeli spy’. A prominent Iranian blogger has been arrested in Tehran and accused of spying for Israel after visiting the country with the aim of being “a bridge between Iranian and Israeli people”. Hossein Derakhshan, 33, was reported by the Iranian website Jahan News to have confessed during initial interrogations to being involved in espionage. The Jahan News site, which is widely believed to be linked to the Iranian intelligence services, also said he had been described in Jewish newspaper articles as a “friend of Israel”. Derakhshan is known in Iran as the Blogfather after effectively launching the country’s craze for blogging. He has claimed 20,000 people a day read his postings. — The Guardian
Murdoch eyes off subscription media… Rupert Murdoch believes the global financial crisis will wipe out at least half of the world’s hedge funds. “I would welcome their disappearance,” he said. He added that his News Corp. will continue to look for acquisitions “that are not so dependent on advertising and are more based on subscription.” — The Australian
German dinosaur robots can sell me almost anything. A fast-paced spot by German agency Scholz & Friends for an electronics retailer tells an ultra-high-tech tale of robotic “evolution,” and rockets by like an awesome H.R. Giger-fueled nightmare. The end result of all this evolution turns out to be a s-xy dancing fembot who looks like she could wipe out the human race all by herself. I’ll buy whatever those machines are selling if they promise to obey the Laws of Robotics and leave me the hell alone! — AdFreak
Google, iPhone and the future of machines that listen. How do you talk to a search engine? In Googlish, of course. Google’s new speech recognition service for the iPhone understands you most accurately when you speak to it just the way you enter queries into the Google search box. That makes sense, because the system’s accuracy comes from the billions and billions of typed queries that Google has recorded over the years. So don’t bother with polite formalisms like “What is the best pizza restaurant in San Francisco?” Simply say “best pizza restaurant San Francisco.” After all, you’re talking to a dumb machine — or perhaps several, distributed across multiple states. — The New York Times


text:
New York Law Journal Headlines
Posted on: 10/22/13
The reprint business was once seen primarily as a way to get some extra revenue from content already produced. As business media companies began to act more like marketers, however, they found that content published under their respected brands has greater value than believed.
Posted on: 06/04/13
The past three years have been an experimental phase for fledgling marketing services units at many business media companies. But with experience and some success behind them, those organizations are now going all in, putting talent and technology in place, tightening up organizational structures...


text:
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Sweetener 'makes you fat and could dampen the effect of some medicines'
By Sean Poulter
Last updated at 7:40 AM on 21st October 2008
Splenda, a sweetener used as a sugar replacement, has been linked to weight gain
The effectiveness of calorie-free sweetener Splenda is in question after a controversial study linked it to weight gain.
There are also suggestions that it could dampen the effect of some medicines.
The sweetener, known generically as sucralose, is the preferred sugar alternative of millions of dieters while top brands use it to create diet versions of popular products.
Splenda has an advantage over other artificial sweeteners because
it is made from sugar, which gives it a natural appeal.
However, the results of the latest study in the U.S. have raised questions over its effectiveness as an aid to weight loss.
Researchers who fed rats different doses of Splenda over 12 weeks found the animals put on more weight than a control group not given the sweetener.
FULL ARTICLE AT THIS LINK


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Intel recently scrapped a $5 billion deal to buy an Israeli semiconductor manufacturer — primarily because China dragged its feet on giving the regulatory green light for the deal.
Adam Posen of the Peterson Institute says that implementation of the zero-COVID policies made people feel "very insecure."
The companies must let American regulators inspect their financial audits, a fight that stretches over 20 years.
The U.S. and China have been engaged in a trade war for nearly four years. What's the scorecard?
The two countries canceled 44 flights, tit-for-tat style, in January. But few people are flying between the U.S. and China anyway.
China has increased its participation in setting global technological standards. Some in the U.S. are concerned. Should they be?


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KAMPALA — The Mandela Group of Companies, the parent company of Café Javas, City Tyres, City Oil, City Lubes, City World, Savers, and Mandela Auto Spares has donated two brand new Toyota Hilux Pickups to contain the coronavirus outbreak after President Museveni requested for assistance from corporates to help the country cope with the crisis.
The brand new pickups were handed over by Mandela Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Venkatesh Kumar to Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana who is the chairman coronavirus national task force.
Mr. Venkatesh said he is optimistic that the donated cars will ease the movement of COVID-19 response team
Dr. Rugunda applauded Mandela Group for the support and said it has boosted their efforts towards the fight against COVID-19.
Last week Mr. Sudhir Ruparelia, Chairman of the Ruparelia Group announced a donation of two brandy new pickup trucks towards the current government efforts to fight the spread of the novel Coronavirus in the country.
Mr. Sudhir said the donation of the two new Tata Xenon XLT S.Cab 4×2 with 3100mm Wheel Base, through the Ruparelia Foundation is in response to President Museveni’s call to especially the country’s business community to help with the mobility of the health teams in the districts to timely and effectively respond to any cases of Coronavirus in the countryside.
Other large consumer goods and healthcare companies have made similar pledges — with the amounts expected to rise.
Some other companies have also offered help with medical protective supplies.
Dodta group of companies has donated 10,000 face masks and 500 test kits towards the COVID-19 response.
The donation was received by Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu and Hon. Robinah Nabbanja, State Minister for Health in charge of General Duties.


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Storage technology firm 3PAR confirmed late Friday that its board has accepted Hewlett-Packard's acqusition offer of $US30 per share, ending more than a week of competitive bidding with Dell.
SAP and Sybase officials gathered in Boston on Thursday to reveal how they plan to bring together their respective technologies in the areas of mobility, analytics and enterprise information management.
Intel said Thursday it plans to acquire security vendor McAfee in a cash deal valued at about $US7.68 billion and aimed at enhancing the chip maker's mobile strategy.
Cisco Systems closed its acquisition of Tandberg on Monday, formally ending a tense struggle over the fair value of the Norwegian videoconferencing vendor.
Nokia on Friday said it will acquire MetaCarta, a privately-held company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that specializes in finding content for location-aware services.
Microsoft plans to buy health-care software maker Sentillion for an undisclosed sum in order to expand its own health-care offerings and capitalize on an upcoming opportunity for new sales.
Social networking site Friendster accepted a buyout offer from Malaysia's MOL Global, which hopes to generate revenue from the site using micropayments.
Apple has acquired online music streaming company Lala, the company said Monday, adding to the ways it could offer music to users.
Broadcom has agreed to acquire Dune Networks, a privately held maker of high-speed switch fabrics, for about US$178 million, the companies announced Monday.
Gartner announced Monday that it is buying AMR Research for US$64 million, in the latest acquisition by the giant IT research firm. The deal is expected to be completed this month.
Just two weeks after buying mobile advertising company AdMob, Google on Monday announced plans to purchase Teracent, an online display advertising company.
Ciena will pay US$769 million for the optical networking and carrier Ethernet assets of Nortel Networks' Metro Ethernet Networks business, the two companies said on Monday.
Hewlett-Packard has agreed to buy 3Com for about US$2.7 billion, pushing forward the giant IT vendor's strategy for combining computing, storage, services and networking under one roof.
Cisco this week said is extending the acceptance period for its $US3 billion cash offer to acquire Tandberg to Nov. 18. The initial acceptance deadline was Nov. 9.
Google plans to buy mobile advertising provider AdMob for US$750 million stock, the search giant said on Monday.
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Adobe issued a security update today that patched 29 vulnerabilities in its popular PDF viewing and editing applications, most of them bugs that attackers can use to grab control of personal computers.
Adobe has posted a video on Facebook giving a sneak peek at features that will likely make their way into the next version of Photoshop. The video shows a selection of features that are being developed by 'Photoshop Labs', including Painter-style bru...
Adobe's decision to give Flash developers a way to craft iPhone applications is an "end-around" Apple's decision to ban Flash Player from its popular smartphone, an analyst said today.
Adobe Systems has come up with a way to let developers write Flash applications for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch devices, even without the support of Apple.
Adobe Systems and McAfee will jointly develop a product that combines digital rights management capabilities with technology designed to prevent data from leaking outside corporate networks, the companies said Monday.
Adobe has agreed to buy Web analytics company Omniture for US$1.8 billion in cash, the companies said Tuesday.
July was a tough month for Adobe Systems' security team. So tough, in fact, that the company's second-ever quarterly patch release will arrive a month late, Adobe's security chief said Thursday.
Mac users may be surprised that versions of Apple's latest operating system, Snow Leopard, also installs an older version of Adobe System's Flash player, potentially putting them at a higher security risk.
Adobe Systems has acquired Business Catalyst, which provides a platform for Web professionals to build online businesses, and its GoodBarry subsidiary, Adobe confirmed on Monday.
After users fumed over news that Adobe Systems Inc. wouldn't support its Creative Suite 3 (CS3) applications on Apple Inc.'s new Snow Leopard operating system, the company backtracked a step yesterday.
Adobe's Flash program is being used on heavily trafficked Web sites to collect information on how people navigate those sites even if people believe they've restricted the data collection, according to a new study.
Adobe has issued a range of patches for its most popular software to head off malware-pushing assaults that use poisoned PDF files to trigger a flaw in Flash.
Adobe stepped forward yesterday to acknowledge that it's the first major third-party vendor to have used Microsoft's flawed development code in its products.
Adobe Systems Inc. late Wednesday admitted its Flash and Reader software have a critical vulnerability and promised it would patch both next week.
Adobe is investigating a critical vulnerability in its Flash format that is currently being exploited by hackers using malicious PDF documents, according to the company's security team and outside researchers.
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My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.
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FILE – Exports
CAIRO -17 June 2019: Trade exchange between Egypt and China increased 27.6 percent during 2018, recording $13.8 billion, according to the latest economic report on Egyptian-Chinese trade and economic relations.
The report, prepared by the Commercial Representative Office in Beijing headed by Minister of Trade Commissioner Mamdouh Salman, revealed that the Egyptian exports exceeded $1.8 billion, with an increase of 37.8 percent on a year-on-year basis.
It said that the economic and trade relations between Egypt and China have witnessed steady growth since the upgrading of the joint relations to the level of strategic partnership after the visit of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to China in 2014.
Salman stressed that the Egyptian Commercial Office in Beijing has set a plan to increase the volume of Egyptian exports and reduce the trade gap between the two countries and succeeded in introducing new commodity items in the Egyptian export system to the Chinese market to include citrus fruits, table grapes and beet feed.
He also noted that his office, in coordination with the parties in both countries, is set to sign a protocol in the near future to allow the export of fresh dates from Egypt to the Chinese market.
The Commercial Representative Office in Beijing has contributed to raising the volume of Chinese investments in Egypt, which according to Chinese data has been estimated at more than $7 billion for some 134 Chinese companies operating in Egypt in various fields and industrial sectors, including fiber glass, and food industry, as well as major projects including the new administrative capital and the economic zone of the Suez Canal, according to the report.


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Xiaomi (Photo: Bloomberg)
Global technology brand Xiaomi on Friday said it has closed the Mi Financial Services in India as part of its strategic assessment activity and to focus more on core business services in the country.
The company launched Mi Pay in the country in 2019 which garnered more than 20 million users in the country. The company also launched Mi Credit later.
In a statement to IANS, Xiaomi India said the move is "to enhance focus on our core business services".
"We closed the Mi Financial Services in March 2022. In a short span of four years, we were able to connect and support thousands of customers. We are working with our partners and supporting our consumers during this process," the company spokesperson said.
Xiaomi India said it will continue to bring the latest technology and innovation for all with "our products and services in the future".
Initially launched in May 2018 and then relaunched on December 3 in 2019, Mi Credit was an online curated marketplace for lending, to offer personal loans to Mi Fans.
According to the company, it disbursed personal loans of up to Rs 28 crore (or Rs 1 crore per day) during the pilot phase which ran through November 2019.
It later informed that over Rs 125 crore worth loans were disbursed via its digital lending solution in India till December 2019.
The company led the India smartphone market in the third quarter this year. According to a report by market research firm Canalys, Xiaomi held onto the first place with 9.2 million units as the brand gained traction from July's online sales ahead of the festival season.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First Published: Oct 28 2022 | 4:16 PM IST


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Despite the fact that social media websites are often at odds with each other, Foursquare apparently wants to be at good terms with others. The social check-in service has now introduced a new feature which includes the handle of a given business (if the business has attached its Twitter account to its Foursquare profile) when a user checks-in from the location of that business.
Business and companies already had the option of linking their Twitter account to their Foursquare profiles. However, this new feature ensures that they get to have a coverage on social media accounts, courtesy their customers.
So, for instance, if you walk to the Star Bucks location in East Village, Manhattan, have a coffee there and check-in using Foursquare, the tweet that will be sent out on your Twitter account will also include the handle of that specific Star Bucks location.
Naturally, the user who checks-in at that place also needs to have a linked Twitter account for this to work. Businesses with a single location can easily hook up their Twitter account to their Foursquare profile. Those with multiple locations but a single Twitter account can go to the tools page on Foursquare and tweak their settings accordingly.
The tools page also gives businesses the option of turning off the feature if they don’t like it. Needless to state, the new feature is a great addition to the whole culture of checking-in since it provides businesses a good presence on the social media sites and also allows users to recommend places more easily.


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The recently-concluded ‘Made in China’ exhibition in Doha witnessed “fruitful discussions” between Qatari and Chinese companies that agreed to establish “genuine partnerships” in the future, an official of Qatar Chamber said.
Director-general Saleh bin Hamad al-Sharqi said these partnerships would lead to the influx of “cutting-edge” Chinese technology into the Qatari market. This would also enhance Qatar-China trade and cement cooperation ties between the business communities of both countries, he noted.
Al-Sharqi said ‘Made in China 2017’ attracted more companies representing new sectors, which showcased China’s latest construction equipment and technological capabilities demanded by the Qatari market.
The four-day expo, which aimed to promote quality Chinese products and cement economic and trade ties between Qatar and China, saw a large participation from visitors and businessmen willing to build business ties and establish alliances and partnerships with Chinese companies.
Participating companies and exhibitors pointed out that Qatar’s market is “promising” and able to attract “all products,” considering the mega projects being implemented for infrastructure development and in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Chinese companies underscored the interest of visitors, Qatari companies, and businessmen on the latest technology and innovations of Chinese industry, which could lead to more transactions between both sides.
Al-Sharqi said 80 Chinese exhibitors specialised in building materials, decoration, solar energy, agriculture, engineering, water recycling, and medical devices participated in the event.
First held in 2015, al-Sharqi said the inaugural ‘Made in China’ expo witnessed commercial transactions between Qatari and Chinese companies worth QR45mn. He added that Qatar-China trade exchange stood at $5bn in the first nine months of 2017.
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2017 has been a fascinating year for mobile phone enthusiasts from all walks of life. There have been flagship phones that have cost over a lakh such as the iPhone X and practically free 4G phones like the JioPhone. Toward the end of the year, Xiaomi launched a sub-5K phone, the Xiaomi Redmi 5A which could be the ideal phone for someone making a shift from a feature phone to a smartphone. Now, Amazon has launched the third phone in its ‘Tenor or 10.or” brand, the 10.or D.
Priced at Rs. 4999 for the 16GB storage variant and Rs. 5999 for the 32GB storage variant, the pricing is almost [...]
It was reported that Amazon will be launching a new smartphone under the 10.or pronounced as ‘Tenor’ brand in January. The e-commerce company has now listed the phone on its website and is taking registrations for the phone, Tenor D which will go on sale on 5th of January 2018. A few key specifications of the phone have been listed while the price of the phone is listed as “Rs. X999.” There will be two variants of the phone and according to the cryptic price listing, both the variants will be priced under Rs. 10000.
The 10.or D will have a 5.2-inch display with a screen resolution of 1280 x 720 px.
Under the hood, the device will have [...]


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PlayStation VR is out in the first half of 2016, and according to Sony CEO Kaz Hirai, there should be a large selection of games to play on the tech.
Speaking to the BBC at CES, Hirai said that ‘probably about 100 or more’ VR titles are being made for the virtual reality headset.
In addition, the exec revealed that 200 developers are signed up to work on PlayStation VR.
This will surely ease the concerns of UK games retailers. During MCV’s Annual Retail Survey, 55 per cent of store managers said they thought VR would not take off this year. Many said the keys to it being a sucess would be a large line-up of games and experiences, as well as on point marketing.
When pressed by the BBC on whether people outside of video games will be interested in VR, Hirai responded: "With the install base of the PlayStation4 now close to 36m units, that there in of itself is a huge audience we're going to cater to.
“And once we have a lot of people who are really into virtual reality through games I think then we'll be able to expand beyond gaming, especially because we have a lot of content that we create ourselves at Sony Pictures Entertainment."
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