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With Heat Season Over, Hassan Whiteside Again Vents About Playing Time
I don't know going into the summer of my 15th year, turning 37 next year, there's a lot of variables that go into it. Relive some career milestone moments in Dwyane Wade's career.
Here's Why the Royal Baby Name Hasn't Been Announced Yet
People are speculating that the royal family's website may have accidentally revealed the moniker of the 3-day-old heir. Not to mention, Albert has been a prominent name in the royal family for some time.
Flyers look to avoid elimination again in Game 6
Couturier injured his right knee in a practice collision with a teammate Tuesday and missed Game 4 of the series. Their only series win was against Boston in 2010, when they actually overcame a three-games-to-none deficit.
Amazon is raising the price of annual Prime subscription membership
Amazon .com has reported massive first quarter growth but there is no mention of how their Australian operation is performing. Facebook announced its results yesterday, delivering revenue of almost $12bn, up 49 per cent on the same quarter past year .
FA receives bid to buy Wembley Stadium
The Jaguars play one "home" game each season in London , an agreement that extends through the 2020 season and began in 2013.
Sports Minister Xasa 'Appalled' By Moses Mabhida Stadium Chaos
DOJ is investigating Huawei for violating Iran sanctions
Then, consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co. stopped selling Huawei phones , laptops and smartwatches. Huawei's struggle against the United States government seems to have taken yet another turn.
How to negotiate with North Korea
However, the achievement was later tarnished by the revelations that Seoul paid $500 million to Pyongyang to secure the meeting. That is according to remarks from an unnamed South Korean presidential official quoted by Reuters .
Nearly 100 sick as romaine lettuce-linked E. coli outbreak continues
The CDC says people should not be eating or buying romaine lettuce unless they know for a fact that it is not from Yuma, AZ. This E. coli outbreak is now the largest since 2006, when more than 200 people fell ill after eating contaminated spinach.
Comcast Starts A Bidding War With Fox For European Broadcaster Sky
About a quarter of Comcast's sales would come from overseas after a successful acquisition of Sky , compared to 9 percent now . Fox has since proposed several measures to try to assuage the regulator's fears over the Murdochs' potential influence.


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More and more restaurants, grocery stores and other food distributors are putting a larger emphasis on sourcing local ingredients, according to research from the National Restaurant Association. Local food options can be more environmentally friendly, cost effective and appealing to consumers who want to support local businesses. So how many consumers prefer buying local food when possible? We asked 1,000 respondents about their food buying habits and their thoughts on local food.
In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 10% of respondents said that they last ate at a full service restaurant within the past day. 25% have eaten at full service restaurants within the past week. 22% have in the past month. 17% have in the past three months. 9% have in the past year. 10% said it’s been more than a year since they last ate at a full service restaurant. And 8% said they aren’t restaurant consumers. Just 4% of restaurant consumers said that they always patronize restaurants that source food items locally. 12% eat at such restaurants most of the time. 23% do so about half the time. 26% said that they rarely ever eat at restaurants that source food locally. 4% never do. And 31% said they aren’t sure. Respondents named Olive Garden and Red Lobster as their favorite restaurants that offer local food items.
Quick Service Restaurants
Fast food and quick service restaurants can also offer local food options. 17% of respondents said they last ate at a fast food or quick service restaurant in the past day. 34% have gone within the past week. 22% have within the past month. 11% have in the past three months. 5% have gone to quick service restaurants in the past year. 3% said it’s been more than a year. And 8% said they aren’t quick service restaurant consumers. However, just 3% of quick service restaurant consumers said they always eat at quick service restaurants that source food items locally. 10% eat at such restaurants most of the time. 18% do so about half the time. 22% said they rarely ever eat at fast food or quick service restaurants that source food ingredients locally. 8% never do. And 38% said they aren’t sure if any of the quick service restaurants they patronize offer local options. Respondents mentioned Subway, McDonald’s, Burger King and Chipotle as fast food or quick service restaurants with local options.
Finally, 23% of respondents said that they last bought groceries in the past day. 53% last bought groceries within the past week. 16% have within the past month. 3% have within the past three months. 2% said it’s been more than three months. And just 4% of respondents are not grocery consumers. And 7% of grocery consumers said that they always buy grocery items that were sourced locally or made with local ingredients. 14% buy local grocery items most of the time. 21% do so about half the time. Another 21% said they rarely ever buy local grocery items. 6% never do. And 32% were unsure. Respondents named Walmart, Kroger, Publix and Safeway as grocery stores where they purchase local food items.
Grocery consumers seem a bit more likely than restaurant consumers to purchase local food items. However, those who buy local grocery items at least half the time were also more likely to patronize restaurants that offer locally sourced food options. It could also be interesting to note how many consumers, especially quick service restaurant consumers, were unaware of whether or not their food items were locally sourced. So it’s not necessarily a must for consumers to have local options. But if restaurants or other food brands want to attract those customers that care about buying local, they need to make it really clear on menus and in marketing materials which food items are made with local ingredients. And it could also be beneficial to quickly state some of the benefits of buying local ingredients and food items to inform those who were unaware. You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Local Foods_Sue Balcom by U.S. Department of Agriculture under CC BY-ND 2.0What do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.
Results were collected on November 1-6 via AYTM’s online survey panel.

domain: news


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SAN FRANCISCOChip and IP vendor Gennum Corp. said Thursday (March 19) it would acquire all outstanding shares of Tundra Semiconductor Corp., a supplier of system interconnect products and IP, in a deal valued at $86 million.
Under the terms of the agreement between the two companies, each share of Tundra (Ottawa, Ontario) will be valued at CDN$4.43 ($3.57) in cash or 1.1575 common shares of Gennum (Burlington, Ontario), the companies said. A total of $55 million cash and 8 million common shares of Gennum will be issued to holders of Tundra common shares. The transaction is expected to close on or about June 1.
"We believe that Tundra's strong position with leading communications systems OEMs, particularly in the telecommunications market, as well as its global sales network and foundation of talented employees, will increase Gennum's ability to provide more, high value products to a broader set of markets and will result in increased opportunities for the combined company to grow its business," said Franz Fink, Gennum CEO, in a statement.
In an interview with EE Times Friday, Fink described the acquisition as very complementary and said the two companies have no overlapping products.
Fink said the sagging economy was not a major factor in the decision to go after Tundra and that, thanks to the health of Tundra's balance sheet, Gennum was likely to emerge from the transaction with roughly the same cash position as it has going in.
"It's the right time to continue to move and grow inorganically to emerge even stronger when the market returns," Fink said.
Gennum said the acquisition adds new digital switch and bridge products and functionality to and builds on the company's growth strategy. Gennum expects the deal to augment its global sales and channel network and enable the company to leverage Tundra's customer relationships in regions such as Asia and China.
"By integrating our recognized expertise in high-speed digital products and technologies, talented employees, and extensive sales networks, with Gennum's organization we will increase shareholder value and create new opportunities for the long-term success," said Daniel Hoste, Tundra president and CEO. "Combined, we believe we will create a formidable competitor that is well positioned in high-speed interconnect markets that require signal integrity."
Fink said the fact that both Gennum and Tundra are based in Ontario, Canada is put coincidence, though he added that from a cultural standpoint it may mean a lower risk of problem integrating the two firms.
"If they wouldn't have had the complementary product portfolio, of course we wouldn't have done it," Fink said.
Gennum said it has for the past 18 months focused on strengthening and broadening its high-speed signal integrity portfolio by adding higher levels of digital functionality and integrating features that allow more complex, high-speed signal transport capabilities. This strategy has been pursued in the video broadcast market, where the Gennum's products have been positively received, according to the company.
"The combined portfolio will enable us to offer a broader set of solutions today, and, we
anticipate, to deliver more integrated signal integrity and interconnect products in the future," Fink said.
Gennum said it expects cash synergies of approximately $10 million to be realized following the completion of the transaction from increased efficiencies in all areas of operations.
After the close of the transaction, Gennum is expected to have approximately 43.4 million shares outstanding. Current Gennum shareholders are expected to own approximately 82 percent of the shares, and current Tundra shareholders are expected to own the remaining 18 percent..


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First Data Corp.'s TransArmor payment-tokenization product soon will be available in VeriFone Systems Inc.'s multilane and petroleum point of sale terminals.
Launched in September, TransArmor uses a combination of tokenization and encryption to secure transaction data as it passes through merchants' payment systems.
VeriFone plans to include TransArmor in its MX800 line of terminals and its Secure PumpPay and Ruby integrated POS products in the first half of 2011, First Data said Thursday. The Atlanta processor's sales channels will market the service, dubbed TransArmor VeriFone Edition, it said.
First Data, a unit of the Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. private-equity firm, would not disclose pricing because it may vary depending on the sales outlet and the merchant.
VeriFone, of San Jose, Calif., said TransArmor will work in conjunction with its VeriShield Protect product that protects sensitive data while in transit. The terminal maker said it will eventually certify all of its terminals to support First Data's product.
TransArmor will help secure data "at rest" by replacing card data with a token number that preserves the value of card data for merchant business operations by allowing them to reference the payment information later, but removes value for fraudsters in that the token cannot be used to make fraudulent cards, Tim Horton, First Data vice president of merchant product management, said in an e-mail.
Security at gas pumps has been a challenge for merchants as the pumps are often left unattended and are easily accessible to tampering — but are still frequented enough by customers to provide abundant payment data from even one compromised pump.
And as terminal makers came out with gas-pump hardware proven to meet the payment industry's security standards, the adoption of this hardware was slow, as high fuel prices had already inflated gas stations' transaction costs, deterring them from spending more on payments.
In related news, VeriFone announced Wednesday that it is working with RSA, the security division of EMC Corp., to sell an advanced encryption service called VeriShield Total Protect.
First Data, which worked with RSA to develop TransArmor, hopes the work between the three companies will lead to something more.
"Together we are working toward an industry standard for security to eliminate confusion for merchants," Horton said. "Based upon this approach, we do not have plans for similar arrangements with other companies."
Similarly, VeriFone expects more from working with First Data.
"The industry has been approaching payment security in a piecemeal fashion, which has slowed adoption," Paul Rasori, VeriFone's senior vice president of global marketing, said in an e-mail.
"Given both companies have a significant presence in the North American marketplace, especially in large retailers and petroleum venues, by working together we expect to accelerate adoption and ease any concerns which many [merchants] have had about making the right choice in competing technologies," Rasori said.


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A COFFEE shop that opened to save a village post office is now the star of a Microsoft ad.
House Twenty8, opened by Sarah Fannon earlier this year, was recently filmed for an advertisement promoting Windows 8 – the new Windows compu-ter operating system.
Sarah said: “They wanted to hire House Twenty8 as a venue for the day, so we had the whole film crew here shooting the advert.
“I think one of the girls who worked at the film production company had been here and had recommended us to the art director who came down, looked at it, and said ‘yes that’s perfect for our video shoot’.”
When asked if she feels lucky to have her business picked for the advert, Sarah said: “I don’t think so because it’s so lovely – it does have that wow factor.”
And she is right, as a lot of thought has clearly gone into the design of House Twenty8, which sells an impressive range of teas and coffees, dairy free milk shakes, hot paninis and ciabattas.
“I’d like to call it a very upmarket coffee shop. We have also got a huge range of gluten free cup cakes which are made in the village. It’s about supporting the village and at the same time creating job opportunities,” said Sarah, who employs 10 people.
She acquired the property in Reading Road, Sherfield-on-Loddon, earlier in the year – which was in serious danger of closing as a Post Office – and embarked on a major refurbishment, transforming the interior.
In fact, there are three sides to the business, as there is a gift shop selling seasonal gifts.
And so far, the reaction from villagers has been very positive and the viability of the business is looking very promising.
"The different parts of the business have to support each other,” said Sarah, whose two sons, Harry, 16, and Lawrence, 13, help out in the business during weekends.


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Verizon Confirms an End to Unlimited Data Coming July 7
Spokeswoman Brenda Raney told FierceWireless that smartphone customers will have their choice of three monthly data tiers: $30 for 2GB, $50 for 5GB, and $80 for 10GB. Feature phone users will be able to opt in to a $10 for 75MB monthly plan. All tiers have a $10 per GB overage charge.
Existing customers will be grandfathered in to the $30 unlimited plan. Good news, although it was expected: users will be able to keep that plan even if they upgrade their handset.
More bad news: Verizon also is modifying its LTE mobile hotspot service, available for smartphones like the HTC ThunderBolt, the LG Revolution and Samsung Droid Charge. The LTE mobile hotspot feature is currently free and unlimited, but beginning July 7, those who have been using the LTE mobile hotspot service will be (sort of) grandfathered in with a $30 per month charge for unlimited LTE mobile hotspot use.
In other words, if you want to get an unlimited data plan on the Verizon network, you'd better head over to a Verizon store, head online, or call a Verizon rep today or tomorrow.
This will also mean that after tomorrow, Sprint will be the only of the big 4 wireless carriers in the U.S. to have true unlimited data plans. T-Mobile advertises unlimited data, but throttles data transfers after 5GB.
That said, most studies thus far show smartphone users are nowhere near any of these data tiers. Unfortunately, it's a truism that the outlier of today is the normal user of tomorrow.


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Intel Chomping at the Bit to Serve Chips to Tablets
"We will start to see more and more of our capacity and our output go to things that are mobile, likes phones and tablets and other devices," Krzanich told Reuters.
Krzanic has been with Intel for about three decades, and in the past five years, he claims to have cut the time to manufacture a component in half.
Intel believes its lead in manufacturing technology will help it can gain ground on ARM in the mobile space.
"What have I brought to manufacturing? Speed and agility," Krzanich added. "That's exactly what the PC business and exactly what the phone business will need."
Intel has plenty of ground to make up in the mobile market, ground which it plans to recover by besting the competition in turnaround time in producing chips for tablets and smartphones. That means Medfield in the short term, a low-power processor that's been picked up by Lenovo and Motorola Mobility. Looking ahead, Intel will rely on its lead in manufacturing technology to give it a competitive advantage.


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iPad Game is a Winner for ATEC Design Team
Jul. 8, 2010
Arts and Technology (ATEC) students who recently submitted an iPad application to Apple’s “app store” have learned that the app has gone live, making it available for purchase and download.
The application, Famished Farm Animal Frenzy (FFAF), is a game in which each player is an animal and must eat the most melons to win. Inspired by the classic board game Hungry Hungry Hippos, FFAF uses the multi-touch feature of the iPad and can be played by up to four players at once.
Famished Farm Animal Frenzy was created by ATEC graduate students Jainan Sankalia, Jacob Naasz, Phill Johnson, Michael Andreen, and Bobby Frye – plus Chris Evans, a UT Dallas alumni with a master’s degree in computer science. Naasz came up with the idea for the game, and says what started as a weekend project ended up taking two months to develop. “We knew we had a product that was the best thing out there, and we needed to get it to market as soon as possible,” he says.
Game designer Sankalia adds that after completing the complicated submission process, they were thrilled to learn that FFAF was approved within one week. “Once it goes into review, it joins hundreds – no, thousands – of other app hopefuls. We settled on an introductory price of $0.99, but it will probably go up.”
Naasz and Sankalia comprise 5 Minute Games, Inc., a mobile applications development company they formed after winning the 2009 Computer Gaming Entrepreneurship Competition (CGEC), which rewards students for original game concepts that are associated with a strong business plan. Their winning project, Balance of Power, is also available for purchase on iTunes.
5 Minute Games’ goal is to make an impact on the mobile community by releasing high-quality, innovative applications.
And they plan on continuing to do so in the future. Naasz says that in their free time (they are still grad students, after all), they hope to add updates to FFAF by the end of the month.


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Netflix doesn’t want you to be an armchair critic anymore
The days of umming and ahhing over whether Orange is the New Black deserves four or five stars are over. Netflix has completely overhauled its ratings systems to give you a simple choice: do you like the show or not?
The nuance of five degrees of love and hate, Netflix found, was causing a certain amount of rating inertia, leading to a recommendations system that was imperfect. With the new system – which only lets you provide a thumb up or down, like a Roman emperor binge-watching the latest series of gladiator duals – Netflix wants to tell users they aren’t critics. The company just wants to know about your personal taste.
Comparing the old rating system to Amazon or Yelp, Netflix’s Cameron Johnston told USA Today that users were putting too much nuance into their ratings. “They’re trying to help out everyone else potentially trying that product or service. They don’t expect to get better results.”
With the new system, “people intuitively understand I’m teaching the system about what my tastes are to get better suggestions in the future,” Johnston added.
That certainly seems to be the case. In pre-launch testing, Netflix reported a 200% increase in rating usage, which helps the system build its recommendation engine more efficiently.
There will inevitably be some disappointed by the move away from armchair critic, and I suspect the ability to slate programmes that everyone unaccountably likes is a big draw of the five-star system. Do you remember when YouTube had the full five-star rating system to choose from on every single video? The web’s favourite video site (and coolest brand around, apparently) ditched stars around seven years ago because this was the spread of star distribution:
In other words, nobody rated videos unless they absolutely loved them, or absolutely hated them, which made the system unfit for purpose. Judging by the increase in ratings on Netflix, making love and hate the only options is just simpler for everyone, even if it does mean that in future rating 50 Shades of Grey will become an ironically black-and-white issue.


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BMW will pay a $3M fine for failing to report known safety defects within the legally required time-frame.
BMW of North America has agreed to pay a $3 million fine to settle U.S. government charges that it did not notify regulators about recalls in a timely fashion.
The government charges stem from a National Highway Traffic Safety investigation into 16 BMW recalls launched in 2010. The investigation found a number of instances where the automaker failed to report known safety defects and recalls within five days, as is required by federal law.
As part of the settlement, BMW of North America and its parent company, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, have agreed to make internal changes to their recall decision-making process to ensure timely reporting to consumers and the federal government in the future.
"It's critical to the safety of the driving public that defects and recalls are reported in short order," said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland in a statement. "NHTSA expects all manufacturers to address automotive safety issues quickly and in a forthright manner."


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24th May 2019
Annual data from autoVHC has revealed that the UK franchised dealership sector missed out on as much as £401.8 million in 2018, having managed to sell only 53% of Red work.
Red work is identified as faults that if not addressed pose a serious safety risk and in many cases will mean the owner will be breaking the law if they continue to drive the vehicle.
We are pleased to be able to announce that we have reached an agreement with CDK Global to build joined-up experiences between autoVHC and the CDK dealer management system (DMS). This will create an end-to-end solution which enables automotive dealerships to seamlessly transfer data pertaining to jobs, parts, stocks, prices and more between the two platforms.
7 March, 2019
A new partnership between autoVHC and the EMaC Service Plan system is set to bring significant benefits to dealers and their consumers.
Using their autoVHC tablet, dealers can now identify items covered by an EMaC Service Plan, allowing them to start work immediately rather than waiting for customer approval.
21 December 2018
The UK’s franchised dealers have missed out on more than £17 million worth of service revenue in the final months of 2018, new data has revealed.
Data from autoVHC has highlighted a sharp drop in the percentage of completed health checks during October and November of this year.
10th October 2018
autoVHC has announced three new hires as part of the recent expansion, following the acquisition by Snap-on Business Solutions.
13th August 2018
New data shows that less than half of vehicles flagged as needing urgently required work during services were actually repaired in June 2018, with 40% of motorists who had MOT-failing ‘red work, leaving dealerships with no repairs made.
1st June 2018
The latest data provided by autoVHC shows a significant increase in the number of cars presented to franchise dealership workshops, following a slump in in the last quarter of 2017.
28th February 2018
The UK franchised dealer sector saw a significant drop in demand for servicing and repairs during Q4 of 2017, with more than 323,000 fewer vehicles being presented to UK dealerships by the end of the three month period.
According to autoVHC's latest data, the average number of vehicles being presented to aftersales departments dropped from 277 in October to 211 in December.
3rd January 2018
The average UK dealership failed to replace 71% of severely worn tyres in November, raising serious duty of care concerns as motorists prepare for further winter driving conditions in the New Year.
Figures obtained from autoVHC's records revealed that the average dealership sold replacement tyres on only 29% of the occasions when either severely worn or faulty tyres were identified during services carried out in November 2017.


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MUMBAI (NewsRise) -- Cipla reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter net income as new product launches in the U.S. helped the Indian drugmaker offset a slowdown at home and weaker business in Africa.
Cipla is seeking to boost its sales in the U.S. which accounts for about a fifth of its revenue. In comparison, larger rivals such as Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories generate as much as 40% of their sales from the world's biggest drug market. Most Indian pharmaceutical companies are grappling with cutthroat price competition the U.S., where the Food and Drug Administration has expedited its approval rate for generics, paving the way for increased competition.
Consolidated net income for the three months ended March 31 more than doubled on-year to 3.67 billion rupees ($52.7 million), Cipla said in a statement. Analysts were expecting a net income of 3.09 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv data.
Revenue grew 19% to 44.04 billion rupees, driven by a 53% jump in North American sales.
Sales in India rose 11%, while that in South Africa fell 3%. Sales in South Africa and the sub-Saharan Africa region have been declining due to funding constraints and intense competition.
"Our planned build-up of respiratory pipeline in the U.S. remains on track," Umang Vohra, managing director and chief executive of Cipla said in the statement. "From a sustainable growth and direction perspective, we are well-poised for FY20."
The drugmaker is also looking to tighten costs through product rationalization and streamlining its manufacturing network. The company, which had acquired two drugmakers in the U.S. -- Invagen Pharmaceuticals and Exelan Pharmaceuticals -- for $550 million in 2016, exited certain low-margin products from that portfolio.
Earlier this month, rival Lupin, India's third-largest drugmaker, swung to a profit in the fourth-quarter on the back of the launch of an exclusive drug.
Cipla shares fell 0.84% in Mumbai trading, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.4%.
--Dhanya Ann Thoppil


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Sources indicate that some Google employees have also claimed that the escalating trade war between the US and China means that approval for the finalization of this project won't necessarily be granted.
Censorship seems to be a way of life in China, as Baidu, the number one search engine in China, mentioned "censorship" during its second quarter 2018 earnings call on Tuesday when Alicia Yap, analyst at Citigroup Global Markets Asia, asked about "the recent operating environment for the overall newsfeed and advertising content censorship".
Although Google pulled its search engine out of China in 2010, the company has lately displayed more interest in regaining access to the world's largest internet population. Lastly, Google bowning down to the Chinese government is a huge win for the latter as it sets a precedent for smaller companies not to challenge censorship in China.
The Google project, codenamed Dragonfly, has been in development since Spring of 2017, and was accelerated in December 2017, following a meeting between Google CEO Sundar Pichai and top Chinese government officials.
The search tool would blacklist search terms and websites referencing human rights, democracy, religion and peaceful protest, according to documents seen by The Intercept.
Google is not commenting on "speculation about future plans". It's unclear if Google will get the green light from Chinese officials with the escalating trade dispute with the U.S. Last year, Google unveiled plans to open a research centre in China focused on artificial intelligence. The Chinese government is well known for blocking a plethora of content ranging from any material that is critical of Communism, any references to the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, pornography and even George Orwell's "1984" and "Animal Farm".
Since Google exited, Baidu has become the dominant search engine in China.
Samsung Posts Galaxy Note 9 Intro a Bit Early, Quickly Pulls It
The phone will come loaded with dual rear cameras, which comes with similar specifications as found in Galaxy S9+. The company describes the stylus as "all new powerful", It also shows its physical button being pressed.
The final step would be the launch of the search engine app according to The Intercept, although it did state that its release would depend on the Chinese government's final approval and the release could be in six to nine months. This would mark the company's return to both the country and the government's stringent censorship.
Google is also working on two mobile apps for search named Maotai and Longfei.
A Google spokeswoman told Business Insider that the company was already doing business with the Chinese.
"This has very serious implications not just for China, but for all of us, for freedom of information and internet freedom", Poon said.
China is the largest internet market in the world, and for that reason, it's almost impossible to resist the financial lure of the country - even with the moral and ethical compromises doing business there requires. "We want to be in China serving Chinese users".
Blacklisted information will automatically be removed before the user is served up the results of their search.


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ORANGE - Gym members can stay healthy while they provide power for the Go Green Fitness gym in Orange.
The facility located on 500 Post Road is the only gym in the state to be powered entirely by people working out.
"You look down at the watts you're creating and it's kind of surreal," Kelly Berwick said. "You're doing this, you're powering the building and it's a great feeling."
The building is powered by 25 exercise bikes that are connected to generators to create electricity.
There is no fee to use the gym, but peddlers are required to pay by the class.
For more information:
Go Green Fitness


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NEW YORK — Wonder bread could soon start appearing in school lunchboxes again.
A person familiar with the situation said a bid by Flowers Foods to buy Wonder and several other bread brands from bankrupt Hostess Brands Inc. was met with no qualifying competing offers. The individual requested anonymity as the auction process is private.
Hostess has not been making any of its cakes and breads since late November, when it said it was going out of business and closed its plants following years of financial struggles. About 18,000 jobs were lost.
Flowers’ $360 million bid includes Nature’s Pride, Butternut, Home Pride, and Merita breads, along with 20 bakeries and 38 depots. An auction will still be held Thursday for a separate $30 million bid by Flowers for Beefsteak. The source said a competing offer for that brand was submitted by Grupo Bimbo of Mexico, which makes Thomas’ English muffins and Entenmann’s cakes.
Any sales would be subject to approval by a bankruptcy judge on March 19.
Hostess has also picked opening bidders, known as ‘‘stalking horses,’’ for its snack cakes. A joint offer from two investment firms, Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management LLC, was picked as the lead bid for Twinkies and other snack cakes.
Hostess’s chief executive, Greg Rayburn, has said he expects that auction to be ‘‘wild and wooly.’’
McKee Foods, which makes Little Debbie snack cakes, was picked as the lead bidder for Drake’s cakes, which include Devil Dogs, Funny Bones, and Yodels. The deadline to submit competing offers for the snack cakes isn’t until mid-March.
Flowers Foods of Thomasville, Ga., makes Tastykakes and breads including Nature’s Own.
Hostess has said its six bread brands combined generated just under $1 billion in sales last year, with Wonder bread accounting for about half of that. Flowers Foods, which generates about $3 billion in annual sales, said it expects the deals to add to its earning this year.
In a bankruptcy court filing Monday, Hostess’s second largest union objected to the sale of the breads, noting that Flowers Foods ‘‘has not committed to preserve a single job.’’


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For those who read labels on packaged foods, some major changes are coming to make it easier for people to spot added sugars, control their portion sizes and count calories. In roughly two years, most packaged foods sold in the United States will have to use the new Nutrition Facts label, which was recently finalized […]
Parents of young daughters may want to keep their fridge stocked with plenty of fruits and vegetables. A new large-scale study suggests that women who eat more high-fiber foods during adolescence and young adulthood have a “significantly lower breast cancer risk” than those who eat less dietary fiber. Researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public […]
White bread, white rice and soda do more than add weight to your waistline. A new study found that a diet high in refined carbohydrates can also increase the risk for older women to develop depression. Here’s the good news: by eating a healthier diet with more dietary fiber, whole grains and vegetables, the risk […]
Reducing your risk of stroke may be as simple as reaching more often for fruits and vegetables. A new analysis of 20 studies conducted in Europe, Asia and the United States found that people lowered their stroke risk by 32 percent for every 200 grams of fruit they ate daily. The risk dropped by 11 […]
Monitoring how many calories you eat in one serving and limiting added sugars in your diet may be easier if the federal government proceeds with plans to update the Nutritional Facts label for packaged foods. Health officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration say the goal is “to reflect the latest scientific information, including […]
A recent study provides “convincing evidence” that eating too much red, processed meat could raise your risk of colorectal cancer. The international research team found evidence that: Red meat, processed meat, excess body fat and fat carried around the wait increase risk of colorectal cancer Regular physical activity reduces risk of colorectal cancer Foods containing […]
Young and middle-aged adults can lower their risk for cardiovascular disease by eating at least 25 mg of dietary fiber every day, according to a study from Northwestern University. Researchers suggest getting fiber from whole foods such as lentils, black beans, baked sweet potatoes with the skin, peas and raspberries.
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Four significant hotels are springing up in St. Augustine, including a Wyndham Garden Hotels in the historic district.
Near King street on Ponce de Leon Boulevard the hotel will be an upscale hotel right in the entryway to the city, according to Florida Times-Union.
And that's not the only hotel, planners told the Times-Union that three other projects are either underway or about to begin in the area, possibly a Marriott or Hilton.
While the walkability and culture of St Augustine is a great selling point to event planners, there aren't enough beds to host a large-scale city-wide conference spanning multiple hotels — something like the 2015 Starbucks Leadership convention that Orlando just confirmed.
"For every group what seals the deal is different," said Glenn Graham, the bureau's director of conference sales. "Could be the rate for some organizations and amenities for other ones."
Goldman said: "Many customers visit and say 'I'd love to do it here but you don't have enough room.'"
That's not to say that they're a small scale operation. Last year, St. John's County had 5.96 million visitors. The sales tax revenue alone from tourist spending totaled $45 million. And meanwhile, daily hotel rates have been on the rise for 38 months straight.
A big turning point for St. Augustine was last year's Mumford and Sons concert at the St Augustine Amphitheater, Goldman said. The event sold out, selling over 20,000 tickets to the event.
Bed and breakfasts in the area sold out in minutes when the concert was announced.


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Opportunities for Revitalizing Coffee Farms in Latin America
Coffee is an important livelihood for more than 1 million farming families in Latin America. See how we are helping coffee farmers like Alicia Yucute overcome hurdles to lift themselves out of poverty.
Alicia Yucute tends a small plot of coffee trees in a village near the Guatemalan mountain town San Martín Jilotepeque. Last year, the disease coffee leaf rust nearly wiped out her farm. Today, Alicia and her neighbors are regaining their production and discovering newfound potential from coffee.
Alicia is one of thousands of smallholder coffee farmers in Guatemala benefiting from a partnership between McDonald’s and TechnoServe. The program aims to help farmers boost their coffee yields and increase their incomes. Over the past year, Alicia has learned best practices for the entire production cycle, from fertilizing and pruning her trees to harvesting the coffee “cherry.”
This is the first time in my life that I have learned the right techniques to produce coffee. I can already see the changes on my farm.”
– Alicia Yucute, Smallholder Coffee Farmer
“This is the first time in my life that I have learned the right techniques to produce coffee,” Alicia says. “I can already see the changes on my farm.”
Coffee is an important livelihood for more than 1 million farming families in Latin America. Farmers like Alicia rely on income from coffee to send their children to school and put food on the table.
Today, Latin American farmers are grappling with a number of challenges. Coffee prices have dropped and costs have risen. Many farmers struggle to operate at a profit. As other countries have increased production, many Latin American producers have seen production stagnate or fall and their overall market share decline.
Latin American coffee farmers are also coping with leaf rust, which threatens to further reduce their yields and incomes. Solutions such as spraying trees with fungicides can be costly, while replanting vulnerable trees with disease-resistant varieties brings risks, as new trees take several years to start yielding fruit and may produce different quality profiles in the cup.
TechnoServe is helping address one of the root causes of Latin America’s reduced competitiveness and increased vulnerability to diseases like leaf rust: poor agronomy. Relatively simple practices such as pruning, composting, shade management and soil conservation can make a big difference for farmers. In East Africa, where TechnoServe has been training more than 100,000 coffee farmers, yields have increased over 50 percent for farmers who completed a two-year program. Better farming also promotes healthier trees, making farms less vulnerable to leaf rust.
On track to reach 50,000 coffee farmers by 2015
Through partnerships with governments, donors, coffee companies and financial institutions, TechnoServe is working across Latin America to help 20,000 farmers become more competitive and resilient, and we aim to expand our work to 50,000 farmers by 2015. Through the partnership with McDonald’s in Guatemala, TechnoServe is training 12,000 farmers on better agronomy from planting to harvesting. In Honduras, with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food for Progress program, TechnoServe is working with farmer organizations to increase productivity in coffee as well as beans. At the same time, we’re advising a range of partners to promote connections in the specialty coffee market, expand access to credit, and utilize mobile technologies to share farming and market information with farmers.
Our work has shown that farmers can address their immediate needs of securing a livelihood from coffee without losing sight of longer-term challenges like environmental stewardship. Practices such as shade tree management, mulching, and soil conservation can boost yields in the short term but also position farmers to be more resilient to long-term risks including climate change. As Latin American farmers confront a new set of challenges and risks, we believe quality training can help farmers adapt and thrive.


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South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution urged that it might construct a manufacturing facility within the U.S. state of Georgia to fabricate batteries for electric vehicles, an official at LG Power Answer mentioned on Saturday.
In a letter to U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, LG Power Answer CEO Kim Jong-hyun mentioned that “the corporate is ready to do no matter we can assist the individuals and staff of Georgia,” based on The Atlanta Journal-Structure.
LG Chem’s wholly owned battery division, LG Power Answer, confirmed that the corporate had not too long ago despatched the letter to the senator, however declined to verify the small print.
Kim additionally mentioned within the letter that if an outdoor investor acquires a separate SK Innovation plant in Georgia, LG might associate with it to run the power, the Atlanta Journal-Structure reported.
“(The letter) was supposed to obviously handle the present state of affairs that has been brought on by SK’s misappropriation of our commerce secrets and techniques in addition to to alleviate issues about jobs in Georgia,” an official at LG Power Answer mentioned in an announcement to Reuters.
An official at SK Innovation rejected the concept of LG taking on its plant.
“LG’s assertion concerning buying the plant doesn’t make any sense as automakers don’t enable contract and suppliers to vary in a separate method. With that being mentioned, it’s unreasonable for LG to say it might take over the plant and substitute us,” the official instructed Reuters.
LG’s letter got here as Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, on Friday repeated his request for U.S. President Joe Biden to overturn the U.S. Worldwide Commerce Fee (ITC)’s ruling in opposition to SK Innovation to avoid wasting 1000’s of jobs within the state straight tied to SK’s battery manufacturing facility.
LG Power Answer has been in a authorized feud with SK Innovation over allegations that SK stole commerce secrets and techniques. The ITC sided with LG Chem in February and issued a 10-year order prohibiting most U.S. imports of SK lithium-ion batteries.
SK Innovation has lobbied the White Home to overturn the choice, which may be negated if SK and LG attain an impartial settlement.
On Thursday, LG introduced its plans to speculate greater than $4.5 billion in its U.S. battery manufacturing enterprise over the subsequent 4 years, together with plans to construct at the least two new crops.


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Vodafone's Xperia Play launch has been delayed, it has been revealed.
The firm has told pre-order customers that it will not meet tomorrow's scheduled release date, according to VG247.
"Sony Ericsson have advised us that they will not be able to supply the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play to meet the original launch date of April 1," said the notice.
"Unfortunately, this means there will be a small delay to your order. We are working closely with Sony Ericsson to ensure your phone is delivered as soon as possible and we will be in touch again with specific timescales when we know more."
While Sony Ericsson has said that tomorrow's UK launch will continue as planned, a shipment issue has meant that certain retailers will not be receiving stock of the device.
"We can confirm that the Xperia Play handsets are still planned to launch in the UK for 1st April, as originally communicated," said the firm.
"However, as of today, we have experienced a freight issue that may impact the number of Xperia Plays arriving at some retail outlets. This said, consumers can purchase Xperia™ PLAY as of April 1st at a number of stores across the UK."
Last week, O2 announced it was delaying its Xperia Play launch due to software bugs, adding that it would provide an update within the next few weeks.
Originally intended for release today, the handset will launch with six titles - Crash Bandicoot, FIFA 10, Bruce Lee Dragon Warriors, Star Battalion, Tetris and The Sims 3. More games will be available through the PlayStation Suite service.


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Florida Mall to debut Zara flagship, more shops this year
The Florida Mall on March 21 unveiled details on the big new building it has under construction near the popular H&M store.
The new 44,214-square-foot building will house a 15,000-square-foot American Girl store, along with a new 29,214-square-foot Zara flagship store, the latter of which is relocating from an existing 10,251-square-foot space just across the pathway. Both stores are set to open in the fall.
The Florida Mall, Central Florida’s largest mall at 1.8 million square feet, tends to draw a lot of the area’s tourists and new offerings always help to keep people spending in the surrounding area. That also helps attract more retailers and supporting businesses to the region.
Meanwhile, several other stores also will open in the mall, including the following:
- Zingara Swimwear will open its first Central Florida store at the mall in a 1,468-square-foot space in the center court later this month.
- Call it Spring, part of the Aldo Group brand, is opening its first local store in a 1,949 square-foot space next to Hollister sometime this spring.
- U.S. Polo Assn. plans to open a 3,715-square-foot store near Dillard’s this summer.
“We are thrilled to welcome these fine retailers to our tenant lineup in the coming months,” said Brian Hanson, mall general manager, in a prepared statement. “The Florida Mall has always been a compelling shopping destination, and we are looking forward to enhancing the vibrant retail mix throughout 2014.”
There's plenty more to come with the mall, so make sure you check back for details.
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Ever since Carlo Ferro was promoted to CFO at STMicroelectronics, a $10 billion (€6.8 billion) Geneva-based chipmaker, two years ago, he’s spent a lot of time pondering the plight of the dollar. The US-listed firm reports in dollars, and nearly all of its invoices are in dollars or Asian currencies linked to the dollar, while most of its operating expenses are in euros. As the dollar lost value against the euro — roughly 20% over the past two years — ST has taken a beating.
But Ferro hasn’t sat idly by watching the dollar’s tumble. Since becoming CFO, he has been “continuously evolving” how the company handles its currency exposure. This has meant readjusting the heavy euro weighting of costs of goods sold at ST, which has fallen from around 60% to 40%, while the dollar’s share of costs increased from 40% to 50%. This was a critical move as the dollar slid to $1.47 against the euro last summer, the highest level since Europe’s common currency began trading in January 1999. Ferro also introduced a programme to hedge around 50% of its dollar exposure which requires ST subsidiaries to book capital expenses in dollars rather than euros. (See “Accounting for the Dollar” at the end of the article.)
Managing a rapidly changing forex environment is critical at ST, asserts the CFO. The company aims to “absorb” medium-term changes to exchange rates through “organic growth, enhancing the quality of our product portfolio and progressing cost measures, while reducing the expense structure not only in Europe but also globally.” That explains ST’s decision to close facilities in Europe, North Africa and the US over the past year, moving work to sites in low-cost Asia, where most of the demand for its products comes from.
ST is certainly not alone. With the greenback at its weakest in decades, companies around the world are feeling the impact of its decline and scrambling to adjust. Consider Infosys Technologies in India. For every percentage point that the dollar slips against the rupee, the Bangalore-based outsourcing firm sees its profit margins shrink 50 basis points. And the dollar has fallen a long way over the past few years. Two years ago, one dollar bought 44 rupees. Today it buys 39.
The size of the earnings hit Infosys suffered is not all that surprising, considering how dependent the business is on dollar-denominated revenues. “About 98% of our revenue comes from overseas and about 63% comes from North America,” says CFO V. Balakrishnan. Unlike his peers in industries such as manufacturing, however, Balakrishnan doesn’t have significant US dollar costs to balance against the blow to revenues — as a service business, Infosys imports relatively little. “Indian companies like ours are very exposed,” he says.
But other companies are happy to make adjustments. For example, for every cent the euro increases against the dollar, Connecticut-based United Technologies Corporation (UTC) records an additional $10m in earnings. The diversified manufacturer earns more than 60% of its revenues outside the US, and it received an earnings boost of about $100m last year as the dollar slid against the euro, according to vice president of accounting and finance, Greg Hayes.


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Blog: Why whine about wine reform?
Olly Wehring | 5 July 2007
The long-awaited proposals for reform of Europe’s wine industry, published by the European Commission earlier this week, look set to divide the industry sharply.
Already only two days since they were unveiled, they have set farmers and producers at odds with each other.
Lamberto Gancia, president of the European Wine Trade Association (CEEV) has welcomed the Commission strategy, saying: “If we wish to remain a world leader, we need a market-orientated approach allowing EU wines to be more competitive in both the internal and external markets.”
But the EU farmers’ Brussels-based lobby (Copa-Cogeca) damned the Commission plans as not providing any help to protect producers from competition from third countries.
A Copa official was sharply critical of the Commission’s grubbing up proposals. He claimed that the consequent fall in EU wine production would just give greater opportunities for imported wines to find more space in the market.
For our part, just-drinks is siding with the Commission. As Mariann Fischer-Boel, the EU’s Farm Commissioner, said this week, reform is long overdue with sales falling against New World competitors at a frightening rate. In fact if things are allowed to continue unabated, 15% of European production would be surplus by 2010.
Our chief wine correspondent Chris Losh is providing a two-part analysis of the reforms in this week’s Hot Topic, which I thoroughly recommend you read. But before you do, I’ll leave you with my tuppence worth.
Firstly, my only misgiving with this proposal is that it hasn’t gone far enough. The policy recommends reducing the European vineyard area by 200,000 hectares over the next five years, which is only half of what is really needed to bring balance to the wine market.
Secondly, what must other countries think when the EU takes them to task over tariff reform or protectionism? As huge a fan as I am of the European wine sector, I can’t help but think that the millions of euros pumped into the European wine industry by the authorities each year smacks of the most incredible double standards.
Some watering down of the Fischer Boel wine reform proposals was inevitable but Chris Losh believes that too much ground has been given to the powerful Mediterranean lobby. Nevertheless, even in their...
The Coca-Cola Co has had its fair share of critics this year, from health campaigners to investor David Winters, who this week called for CEO Muhtar Kent to be replaced....
The UK health lobby is always very vocal on alcohol at this time of year, predictably so, and this year is no different. ...
“Ah, yes, you've hit upon a very sensitive area,” says Thomas, my guide at the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen last Friday....
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The ATP announced Thursday a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Mercedes-Benz. The leading luxury automobile manufacturer will become the Official Car and Platinum Sponsor of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, held at The O2 in London from Nov. 4-11.
“We are proud to welcome Mercedes-Benz as a sponsor of the prestigious Barclays ATP World Tour Finals,” said Laurent Delanney, CEO ATP Europe and ATP commercial director.
Through this agreement, Mercedes-Benz will provide a premium fleet of cars starring the new S-Class for the Official Transportation of the tournament.
[ Advertisement: RMN Company’s Digital Marketing Services ]
Marcus Breitschwerdt, president and CEO, Mercedes-Benz UK, said: “The world’s top players this year will be in London to play great tennis and Mercedes-Benz is proud to be part of this prestigious competition.”
Mercedes-Benz joins a group of leading international brands at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals including Barclays, Corona, FedEx, Ricoh, Emirates, Rolex, Moët & Chandon, Lacoste, Enel, amongst others.
The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is the year-end climax to the men’s professional tennis season, featuring only the world’s best eight qualified singles players and doubles teams as they battle it out for the last title of the season.


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IDG Answers is a community of experts who are passionate about technology. Ask a question or answer one below.
The answer would be Andorid Jelly Bean. So far Ginger bread was at the lead as of most commonly used andorid OS versionand now Jelly bean has taken the sword. Jelly Bean covers 32.3 percent share among the versions of Andorid OS. It is expected that Jelly Bean would reach 50 percent usage within the end of year
Google makes this information available for developers every month. They use a different method to determine what devices are in active use by only counting devices that access Google Play, which would be highly relevant to Android developers. As a result, these numbers are slighly different from those in the earlier post. Using the Google Play count method, 2.3 Gingerbread remains the most common Android version, although just barely at 34.1% of devices that visited Google Play last month, with Jelly Bean coming in 2nd at 32.3%.
What a timely question! As I wrote just four days ago over at CITEworld:
"For the first time ever, Jelly Bean is now the most widely used version of Android, running on 37.9% of devices powered by Google's mobile OS. It's the first time Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.x, 4.2.x), which was released almost exactly one year ago, surpassed Gingerbread (2.3.3-2.3.7), which now runs on 34.1% of active Android devices. In third place is Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) at 23.3%."
Jelly Bean will remain the most widely distributed version of Android through at least this year and maybe next, depending on when Android 5.0 (Key Lime Pie) will be released. The latest rumor is that will happen in October. By then, Jelly Bean could be close to 50%.


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Head of NBP He compared the situation in Poland, where interest rates began to rise in October last year, with the case of the Czech Republic, where the cycle of raising interest rates began a few months ago, in June 2021.
– Well, the Czechs made a decision in June and inflation is currently 12.7 percent, and the key interest rate in the Czech Republic is now 5.75 percent. Both inflation and interest rates in the Czech Republic are higher than in Poland, despite the fact that it began a cycle of raising interest rates several months ago – the head of the Central Bank emphasized.
The rest of the article is below the video
See also: Head of NBP to change? “Takes credibility out of all economic policies”
Economists reacted very harshly to these words. Pekao SA bank analysts wrote on Twitter that – by comparing this data – “However, it is also worth remembering that there was a shield against inflation in Poland, not in the Czech Republic. Otherwise, we would see 15% inflation.”
ING Bank analysts think the same
The head of the NBP explained it now The main causes of inflation are global, such as rising gas, oil, electricity and food prices. He added that the increase in prices was also affected by the increasing consumer demand on the part of refugees from Ukraine.
– We keep track of how much they pay for consumer products with their card. We estimate that a 10% increase in consumer demand is 4% of this. This recent increase is related to refugees, Glapinski said at Friday’s press conference. You can read more about the NBP President’s speech here.
The head of the NBP expects it Inflation will peak in June and July of this year, Unless other conditions change.
“Internet Geek. Food Enthusiast. Thinker. Beer Practitioner. Bacon Specialist. Music Addict. Traveler.”


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British Columbia's sole legal online betting site Play Now has announced that it has added online game content from developer Williams Interactive.
Play Now is operated by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, and will allow for punters to play big name games like The Wizard of Odds, Big Bass Bucks, and Zeus. The addition of the games comes just a day after it was announced that Williams Interactive had been successfully acquired by Scientific Games.
Commenting on the content deal Williams Interactive President Jordan Levin said, "The key to building player loyalty, on the casino floor and online, is to consistently offer great gaming experiences. Our proven content library is an ideal solution for BCLC and Manitoba to further enhance the gaming entertainment available beyond the walls of their casinos."


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KELOWNA – As the apples turn red across the Okanagan, Similkameen and Creston valleys and trucks start to move them to packinghouses, BC apple growers face their busiest time of year.
But the management team at BC Tree Fruits Cooperative, which sells more than $100 million worth of apples annually, is also busy. This year has seen CEO Warren Sarafinchan and board chair Steve Brown working to revitalize the financially challenged co-op and ensure its members receive higher returns.
“We are making progress on a number of key initiatives for the business,” says Sarafinchan. “We are monitoring the changes closely to make sure we are getting the expected results.”
A governance report released this past February called for a number of major changes to the structure and operating of the co-op’s board of directors and urged a focus on delivering high-quality fruit. Yet while members discuss and reflect on the report, with the aim of voting on its recommendations at an upcoming meeting, the management team continues to make changes to improve the financial situation of the business.
Corporate offices closed
The top priority is selling non-performing assets. BCTF shut its corporate offices in downtown Kelowna at the end of September and will sell the premises. Also on the block is the Osoyoos packing facility, which closed in fall 2017. The Keremeos and Summerland packing houses will continue to receive fruit, but storage is being consolidated at other facilities.
Packing lines at the Oliver and Winfield plants have been studied and investments have been made to reduce costs, a major marketing expense.
“Since shutdown in late spring we have studied our line technologies, processes and training protocols and made capital upgrades to facilities to not only lower the cost of packing, but to reduce the amount of fruit lost on the pack line,” says Sarafinchan.
While the BC Tree leaf brand is well known in Western Canada, Sarafinchan says diversification into other markets is important to deliver higher returns for growers. He points to connections he made on a trip to Asia in February as “helpful in the execution of our business plan.”
This year, BC Tree Fruits offered growers an incentive to encourage them to deliver top-quality fruit. The governance report identified the co-op’s former practice of accepting poor quality fruit and disposing of it as a loss for all members.
The co-op has developed an Apple Quality Assurance Program that sets out minimum pricing for growers who produce apples whose size, colour and ripeness command a premium.
“The objective is to encourage growers to manage their orchards as best they can through the summer, in anticipation that there will be a certain return in the fall,” explains Sarafinchan.
He believes that the program is having a positive effect.
“I am hearing examples from growers where the program has given them the confidence to make the investments to manage their orchards to produce high quality fruit to qualify for the pricing,” he says.
The governance report noted a lack of cooperation as a major impediment to the co-op’s progress.
“The board and membership is factionalized, often driven by personal agendas rather than business decisions,” the report stated.
Sarafinchan believes there is an opportunity for better working relationships among all stakeholders.
“There has got to be collaboration between those who represent the members [the board], the CEO, and the members, to be committed to working through the issues and getting to a place where the business is delivering the results for the members that it needs to,” he says.


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A few more updates on FTC 2022
We are very happy to observe the high activity of the participants at the very beginning of the year. You can find the current five leaders in the updated Standings section. Also, one of our contestants, Michael Smith from Canada, has registered two strategies, both of which are currently in the top positions.
Also, last year's winner, Emirhan Goren, has already received prize money and gave us a short video interview, which will soon be available to all FTC participants and followers. Join the FTC and compete with the best!


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Pay-as-you-go City Car Club has bought rival WhizzGo for a six-figure sum to become the UK's biggest with a network in 15 cities, 16,000 members and 500 cars.
City's chief executive, James Finlayson, said it was a strategic acquisition which will allow "our current and future members to have access to our cars in most major UK cities. Buying WhizzGo was a key move and one we have been looking to make for some time."
The turnover of the new business will be about £5m after huge growth in the past year as motorists opted to rent cars by the hour rather than buy them. Mr Finlayson started trading in 2001 with 4 cars in Huddersfield but by 2008 membership had soared by 80 per cent, and has gone up another 55 per cent in the first half of this year.
The deal also allows City to expand its corporate membership base. "WhizzGo has been successful in achieving a richer mix of corporate members," Mr Finlayson said.


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Russia Factory put into operation
In June 2018, our company's wholly-owned raw material factory in Russia was officially put into operation, with an initial production capacity of 600 tons/month. It is expected to reach the designed capacity of 900 tons/month by March 2019.
The main raw material for the production of ice cream sticks in our company is birch, and Russia has abundant birch resources. The establishment of the Russian factory will provide the stable raw materials supplying for our business development and further enhance the company competitiveness on the market.


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According to a report released Wednesday by the Nielsen Company, a market research firm, 30 percent of all mobile phones in the United States are smartphones as customers move away from standard-issue mobile devices. The trend is expected to continue as consumers jump to the Apple iPhone, Google Android platform and the new Windows Phone 7 devices.
The report found the iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry are “caught in a statistical dead heat with 27 percent of smartphone market share in the U.S.” They were followed by Android, which commands 22 percent of the nation’s smartphone market.
But these numbers could all change in the coming months as people buy new phones for the holidays and more people make the switch to smartphones.
In a survey accompanying the report, 35 percent of smartphone owners said they planned to buy an iPhone for their next phone upgrade, while 28 percent said they hoped to go with the Google Android operating system.
The survey also found that “women planning to get a smartphone are more likely to want an iPhone as their next device, with slightly more males preferring Android.”
Although the number of customers prepared to buy the new Windows Phone 7 were much smaller than those wanting Apple and Google devices, the survey found that 7 percent of featurephone owners “desired” Microsoft’s new mobile operating system.
Although Windows Phone 7 hasn’t really affected the growth of the iPhone or Android, it is nibbling at BlackBerry, which is losing market share.


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Dubai Start-up Hub and Dubai Technology Entrepreneurs Campus have announced the selection of 30 Emirati entrepreneurs to participate in the Second Edition of the Emirati Development Programme.
The participants will receive training sessions covering various topics of interest, which will be led by experts from Dtec; LinkedIn; International Consultant Law Office (ICLO); Intelligent Finance Consultants (IFC); LPS Brands; and Think Media Labs (TMLs). The training will focus on how to establish and promote the growth of technology businesses, the importance of sales to emerging entrepreneurs, in addition to how to develop and present an effective investor pitch presentation.
The programme also offers participants access to internship opportunities with leading companies from the private sector, including DHL; Oliver Wyman; and ICLO; complimentary company setup with Dtec; Complimentary 3-month access to Dtec co-working; as well as the opportunity to exhibit at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Hans Christensen, Vice President at Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus (Dtec), said:
“We are excited to welcome the new cohort of entrepreneurs participating in the Emirati Development Program, and we are eager to support them in taking their innovations to new heights. The UAE has grown into a key hub that convenes startups and entrepreneurs from various backgrounds. Through Dtec, we are delighted to partner with trustworthy entities such as Dubai Chamber to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in the region, further advancing knowledge-based economy in the UAE.”
Natalia Sycheva, Senior Manager of Special Projects and Entrepreneurship, Dubai Chamber noted that the current cycle of the Emirati Development Programme is an embodiment of an effective and innovative Private-Public partnership of various entities coming together driven by the sole mission to equip promising Emirati talent with wholistic experience in private sector, allow participants to work on their own business ideas in close touch with leading corporations. Not surprisingly this format of the program has attracted a diverse group of strong candidates who bring with them innovative business concepts specialised in various sectors and fields.
“Emirati Development programme received 105 applications during this edition and succeeded in attracting ambitious Emirati entrepreneurs and startups of all ages. The participation of these new entrepreneurs highlights that Dubai Startup Hub is a preferred platform for ambitious entrepreneurs to access the knowledge, tools, resources and opportunities that can help them turn their ambitions into reality,”
The Emirati Development Programme aims to encourage UAE nationals capitalise on private sector jobs opportunities by identifying and developing their skills through specialised training, while providing them with the right support for starting their own business ventures.
Established by Dubai Chamber in 2016, Dubai Startup Hub is the first initiative of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region. The initiative is designed to emphasis the value of public and private sector collaboration and embodies the aim of encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship as a main driver of the economy of Dubai and the UAE.
The Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus is the largest hub of its kind that is committed to supporting technology startups in the Middle East. Dtec is home to more than 1,000 startups from 75 countries, many which specialize in advanced technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence applications.
News Source: Dubai Media Office


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HAYWARD, CALIF. – Heat and Control, equipment manufacturer and food processing industry supplier, will kick off its yearlong 70th anniversary celebration on June 27.
The father/son duo of Andy and Tony Caridis have worked side by side for decades producing modern equipment solutions for the food, pharmaceutical and other processing industries.
“Our employees, customers and partners are the heartbeat of Heat and Control,” said Andy Caridis, founder and chairman of Heat and Control. “I invested my entire adult life into this company with a hope and a dream. We started with few but now we are many. For that, I am grateful.”
Founded in 1950, Heat and Control started in industrial process heating applications, such as heat treatment furnaces and combustion systems. In the 1960s, as the company grew, it became more focused on the food industry. By the 1970s, the company expanded further and was now supplying complete food processing systems.
In the 1980s, Heat and Control partnered with Ishida Japan to provide weighing and packaging technologies. The company introduced FastBack horizontal motion conveying technology in the 1990s and later the On-Machine Seasoning method of in-packaging room seasoning application that revolutionized the snack industry. Also during this decade, Heat and Control acquired Mastermatic, a frying technology company specializing in coating, frying and auxiliary systems.
In the last two decades, Heat and Control opened several factories and offices around the globe. The company also partnered with CEIA, the world’s leading metal detection manufacturer, and later, in 2011, with Spray Dynamics, which increased its seasoning and coating capabilities.
The company employs 1,600 people worldwide out of 11 manufacturing facilities, 12 test centers and more than 30 offices around the globe.
“Heat and Control’s past with my father paving the way, prepared an outlook for an exciting future,” said Tony Caridis, president of Heat and Control. “We have incredible people in our organization, customers believe in our abilities, and there is respectful collaboration with our global partners. As the president, I would like to say thank you. Here’s to celebrating the next chapter of innovation together.”


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(Agence Ecofin) - Angola has formed a monetary agreement with China which makes the Yuan the second legal tender in the second top African producer of crude oil, announced the Angolan minister of Trade, Rosa Paca, on 3 August.
The Kwanza will also be accepted in China, according to this agreement which will allow Angola to import more Chinese goods and to be less dependent on the dollar.
The new agreement is also evidence of the efforts made by Beijing to speed up the internationalisation of its currency. The red note is already used as payment and reserve currency in many African countries: Ghana, Nigeria, Mauritius, Zimbabwe and South Africa. China has also formed currency exchange agreements (swaps) with other central banks (South Africa, Russia, Qatar, Hong Kong, Canada…) in order to create an international monetary network in view of the free trade and circulation of the Yuan outside its borders.
But the International Monetary Fund has just expressed reservations on the possibility of the Yuan to be included five years from now in the currency basket which makes up the Special Drawing Rights. According to the institution, the Chinese currency “must make more progress” to aspire to be part of the inner sanctum of global reserve assets, made up of the Dollar, Euro, Pound Sterling and Yen.


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Apple is reportedly ready to expand the NFC capabilities of its iPhone line of smartphones with the ability to accept payments from credit cards. Near Field Communication (NFC) is a contactless technology and it is already available on iPhones. However, with the new expansion, users will be able to accept payments without a third-party device for the first time.
With just an iPhone, users will be able to take payments in much the way they can on Apple Pay. Bloomberg reports this change is going to be baked into future versions of iOS.
Under the current functionality, businesses can only accept NFC payments on iPhone if they have an external hardware. For example, payment terminals that come from a bank or other financial service.
Apple now wants to include tap-to-pay abilities into iOS, so it will work on iPhone and iPad. In other words, the phone or tablet will become the payment terminal. This could be an important feature addition for small business that can avoid the costs of extra hardware.
It is unknown if the tool will be exclusive to Apple Pay or simply work on the device, although the former seems more likely.
Importantly, it seems Apple is not going to wait until a new iPhone launch. Usually the company saves major new features for a new generation of its flagship product. Instead, Cupertino will reportedly add the NFC upgrade into iOS directly.
Bloomberg suggests this could happen with iOS.4, which should make it to devices in the next few months. Apple is rolling out iOS 15.3 as we speak. Perhaps we will have to wait until iOS 16, which should be announced this spring.
Tip of the day: Windows Update downloads can often be frustrating because they are several gigabytes in size and can slow down your internet connection. That means your device may work with reduced performance while the update is downloading. In our guide we show you how to limit bandwidth for Windows Update downloads, so they won’t bother you again.


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E3: Five things we learnt at the LA games expo
The gamers are leaving, the stands are being taken down, and the hot pants are getting stashed away for another year.
There were huge levels excitement on the floor of the Los Angeles Convention Centre - though perhaps the next major event to take place here will surpass it: tickets to Brideworld Expo are still available, if you're interested.
Last year, we all knew what was going to be the big story at E3. With Sony and Microsoft launching new consoles, it was obvious what the talking point would be.
But in the run up to E3 2014, it was anyone's guess, and as the show draws to a close the arguments over who came out on top have already started.
So, here's five things we learnt this week:
1. It's still neck-and-neck in the console race (unless you're Nintendo)
Sure, the Xbox One has had a troublesome first year compared to the PlayStation 4's stonking sales.
But Microsoft really shouldn't be panicking yet. Its line-up of new titles is relentless - the press conference on Monday was simply game after game after game.
We'll have a clearer picture of who is winning by this time next year - at which point some of the bigger titles will have finally been released.
The words "Coming in 2015" appeared so often during both press events that there was a danger they'd be burnt into the big screens.
Not so long ago, the console market used to be a three-horse race - but with the stallions of Microsoft and Sony galloping up ahead, Nintendo is becoming more of a rocking horse.
Kids love them, they're good fun to play with for a few moments, but they just don't seem to be going anywhere.
Nintendo's new games - Starfox, Super Smash Bros and Zelda, in particular - may keep the Wii U on life support for another year or so yet, but it's fast approaching the point where the firm may need to cut its losses and look to the next console, if indeed it makes one.
2. The games industry still has an issue with women
It'll come as no shock that it was mostly men in attendance at E3. But there were plenty of women gamers here, many of whom were left a little frustrated at what was on offer.
Take Assassin's Creed, for example.
Now well-established as one of the major franchises, the game's next outing will allow up to four people to play together - but only as men.
Plans to include a female character were ditched during development, Ubisoft says.
"A female character means that you have to redo a lot of animation," said James Therien, Ubisoft's director, drawing no sympathy whatsoever.
The company has since said there will be "strong female characters" featured in the game. But not playable.
The highest-profile female lead character at E3 was one we've known about for years - Lara Croft.
That's right, unfathomably-boobed, hot-panted posh totty Lara Croft.
You'd think, given it's approaching 20 years since Tomb Raider first came out, there would be a bit more invention.
Still - there is some hope.
According to one count, Nintendo is leading the way with playable female characters, albeit in games that are a little on the silly side.
And Sega's latest Alien game sees you play as the daughter of Ellen Ripley, Sigourney Weaver's character in the movies.
3. DIY is all the rage at the moment
It is probably (read: definitely) because of the crazily successful Minecraft, but a whole heap of games shown at this year's E3 encourage players to create things themselves.
Most ambitious is Project Spark - which has been released on beta for a few months, but now appears to be coming together.
In this title, you're given a "canvas" on which to essentially make your own game, designing levels and adding gameplay elements as you go.
An old favourite, Little Big Planet, is back - and it moves forward its highly enjoyable level-creation feature, now given added oomph thanks to the addition of new characters that will be joining loveable lead character Sackboy.
Meanwhile, if you're the sort to watch the Saw films and admire the ingenuity of Jigsaw's traps, Fable Legends may float your boat.
Its cunning twist is the ability to play as the "villain", setting up obstacles and grief to put the good guys in harm's way.
4. Nobody knows what the next big thing is
There'd been an air of hope, during Sony's press conference, that Project Morpheus - the firm's virtual reality headset - was about to get a release date.
As it happened, we're still none the wiser as to when this technology will find itself in people's homes.
Microsoft, meanwhile, are so far sticking two fingers up to virtual reality, and instead relying on their Kinect motion-tracking device.
Or are they?
The Kinect has barely had a mention this week, and unlike last year - where Microsoft were encouraging people to experiment and jump about with the new tech - the device was comparably invisible this year.
It's been a busy year for Oculus Rift - since E3 2013 it's all changed, what with being bought out by Facebook.
Oculus is involved in some high-profile, and very impressive, integrations - notably the remake of Elite, and Alien: Isolation.
The latter, with VR, is unnerving to say the least.
5. It's time for the golden oldies to shine once more
Like that troubling moment when you discover you now actually enjoy the songs your dad was playing in the car when you were little, gaming fans realised this week that it was the vintage titles that can get them most excited of all.
The surprise announcement that adventure game Grim Fandango was to get a remake is the best example - the crowd were almost on their feet (although such was the excitement by that point in the conference, I think PlayStation fans would have cheered a cheese sandwich).
It will be remastered for PlayStation 4 - as will some more recent classics, Grand Theft Auto 5 and The Last of Us.
Remastering was a big theme for Microsoft too - the four main games in the Halo series will be rereleased in their entirety for Xbox One, including a retouched version of Halo 2.
A cynic, however, would say that this nostalgia fest was actually a rather crafty way of deflecting attention away from the fact many of the big new games won't be out for a while.
What did you learn from E3 this week? Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC


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Telecom giant Verizon is set to enter the finance field following the announcement of its plan to roll out its first-ever credit card designed for Verizon customers. The new product, introduced on Tuesday, was created in partnership with Synchrony. As part of the agreement, Synchrony will become the exclusive provider of Verizon’s co-branded consumer credit card.
“We are thrilled to be working with Verizon as they continue to bring innovation to their customers. This partnership is a great growth opportunity for Synchrony as we continue to diversify our portfolio,” said Margaret Keane, CEO of Synchrony, in a statement.
Ronan Dunne, Executive Vice President, and Group CEO – Verizon Consumer, also added:
“Verizon’s loyal customers expect the best possible experiences and today’s announcement extends that commitment to the credit card market.”
The move makes Verizon the latest addition to the ranks of other companies that have joined the finance market. In 2017, ride-hailing app Uber has teamed up with Barclaycard US to launch a Visa credit card that requires no annual fee and provides cashback on dining transactions, online purchases, and Uber rides.
This was followed in June 2019 by Amazon after entering into a partnership with Synchrony to launch “Amazon Credit Builder,” a card specifically made for shoppers with bad credit history.
Only two months later, tech giant Apple joined in the race through the launch of the no-fee Apple Card, which promises daily cashback and less interest rate.
Founded in 2000, Verizon Communications Inc. operates as a communications & technology leader that provides communications, information, and entertainment products and services. In 2018 alone, the company has reported to had generated revenues of $130.9 billion.
The latest Verizon credit card is expected to roll out in the first half of 2020.


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This month, Inc. magazine announced that Visionary Optics earned a spot on the 2021 edition of its prestigious Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies for the entire United States: “The companies that made our ranking set a high bar. In a period when so many businesses lack clarity, these leaders are bound to be the first to get to tomorrow.”
Visionary Optics was ranked No. 231 among the Inc. 5000 Regionals: Midwest honorees in the 2021 edition— which includes private companies in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
“We are thrilled and honored to be recognized among the dynamic companies on the 2021 Inc. 5000 list,” said Donald Sanders, M.D., President & CEO of Visionary Optics. “Our success is due to our dedicated team and customers, who keep us growing and striving to provide the best possible products in the scleral lens industry. We are proud to have demonstrated 55% three-year growth between 2018 and 2020 and look forward to advancing more innovative technologies in the future.”
Visionary Optics was officially founded in 2010, but a collaboration between Dr. Sanders and Dr. Robert Breece goes all the way back to 1998, when they worked on a new lens design, an Ortho-K lens for Correctech. In 2001, Dr. Breece designed and produced the first modern scleral lens design, Jupiter, under the company name Medlens Innovations. This design is the exact Jupiter lens that Visionary Optics continues to manufacture and sell today.
Dr. Greg DeNaeyer started working with Medlens to manufacture scleral lenses in 2003, and in 2009, Dr. Sanders joined Dr. Breece as a partner in the company. Dr. Breece died unexpectedly six months later, and Dr. Sanders took over Medlens. Dr. Sanders and Dr. DeNaeyer continued the collaboration that had started with Dr. Breece, establishing Visionary Optics as a new company in 2010.
By combining Dr. DeNaeyer’s clinical and research expertise with scleral lenses and Dr. Sanders’ experience as a research-oriented ophthalmologist, Visionary Optics creates unparalleled product offerings and innovations. Some of the important milestones the company has celebrated include:
- 2013: Released the Europa scleral lens, a second-generation product of the Jupiter, which now accounts for 85% of the company’s sales
- 2016: Developed the sMap3D corneo-scleral topographer with the support of a team of engineers and software specialists
- 2019: Introduced the Latitude scleral lens, the first completely custom-made lens designed to fit exact corneal and scleral surfaces based on scleral topography (sMap3D) measurements
- 2021: Launched the VibrantVue® product line, high-quality, cost-effective products for eye care practitioners and patients


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2019 Subaru WRX STI Hatchback Concept and New Engine Specs
The new generation of Subaru WRX will be launched soon named 2019 Subaru WRX. Having famous titles as fast, cheap and having big power output will make the new Subaru WRX become one of the cars that is awaited by people who love driving fast. The company will launch the WRX in two types which are hatchback and STi model. The STi model is the race car model which will offer high quality of performance and the hatchback model also will give the best solution for the needs of future hatchback.
The company will build the car with new platform which is the new Subaru’s global platform. The new platform used will give lighter weight for the car. Also, it will support the different suspension points. The company also will launch the new Subaru WRX in two types which are hatchback and STi models. The hatchback model will have the fresh model which usually comes with the sedan model. It is expected the hatchback model will fulfil the needs of people in the future hatchback car. Then, the STi model will come with the high quality of turbocharged engine. The STi model fits for the race driving and not recommended for daily driving. The other changes are made up to boost the new and fresh appearance of 2019 Subaru WRX which soon will be shared by the company.
2019 Subaru WRX Interior
The details inside 2019 Subaru WRX are unfortunately not shared yet until now. Based on the previous model, the interior designs of the new generation of Subaru WRX are expected will be better. The use of high quality material for the cabin and the seats are expected along with the use of high technology for the features. Some rumours say inside the features used will be the Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel drive, Subaru StarLink Multimedia and Security, Sirius XM, Subaru EyeSight driver assistance technology, blind spot detection, rear cross traffic alerts, Vehicle Dynamics Control with Active Torque Vectoring, and others.
2019 Subaru WRX Engine
The information about the under hood of the new Subaru WRX is not shared yet in detail. Some people predict the engine used will have 268 horsepower and also 258 lb-ft of torque. Moreover, it will come with better engine that will save more fuel. The updated info about the engine used in 2019 Subaru WRX will be shared soon.
2019 Subaru WRX Release Date and Price
The new 2019 Subaru WRX is predicted will be released in the late of 2018 even though some rumours also say it can be launched in around 2020. The new model of Subaru WRX will be noted as the 2019 year model. The price that is tagged to the car will reach $28.000 as the starting price.


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In a recent development, the government of the Eastern Caribbean island of St. Martin has proposed a law that would designate TRON as the country’s blockchain infrastructure and TRON-based cryptocurrency as legal tender for everyday usage. Member of Parliament (MP) Rolando Brison, who has been a vocal advocate for the integration of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency in St. Maarten, is leading the initiative.
This proposal follows the example set by St. Maarten’s southern neighbor Dominica, which officially announced TRON as its national blockchain and adopted seven TRON-based cryptocurrencies as legal tender in October 2022. MP Brison aims to adapt the law to fit the Dutch legal system and local economy of St. Maarten.
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has a framework for regulation that focuses on protecting the consumer and the economy, while not stifling potential growth opportunities for the sector. According to MP Brison, allowing cryptocurrency to continue unregulated in St. Maarten is risky and proactive measures must be taken. He believes that collaboration with TRON will connect St. Maarten’s economy with the fastest-growing DeFi ecosystem in the world and increase the island’s attractiveness for entrepreneurs and tourists.
MP Brison will formally engage in St. Maarten’s legislative process in the coming weeks, in accordance with the constitutional right MPs have to initiate laws. This move by St. Martin is a significant step towards the adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency in the Caribbean region.
As the cryptocurrency market continues to evolve and gain mainstream acceptance, it’s exciting to see governments like that of St. Martin exploring ways to integrate blockchain technology and digital currencies into their economies. The proposal put forward by MP Rolando Brison to designate TRON as the country’s blockchain infrastructure and TRON-based cryptocurrency as legal tender is a bold move that could potentially position St. Martin as a leader in the Caribbean in terms of embracing and utilizing this innovative technology.
It will be interesting to see how this proposal progresses in the coming weeks and months, and how other governments in the Eastern Caribbean region may also look to adopt similar measures in order to tap into the potential benefits of blockchain and cryptocurrency.


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MangaGamer Is Holding Their Annual Golden Week Sale
MangaGamer kicks off the Japanese holiday with their Golden Week Sale on both their store and Steam.
Denpasoft Halloween Sale 2020 Has Begun
Denpasoft has joined the Halloween sales period with its own spooky offerings for 2020's Halloween season.
The JAST USA Summer Sale has Begun
Get the most out of the summer season by getting hot and sweaty with the annual JAST USA Summer Sale.
Denpasoft's Summer Sale Brings Bountiful Discounts
Before busting out your swimsuits, you can bust out your wallets in Denpasoft’s Summer Sale.
Fureraba ~Friend to Lover~ After Stories DLC is Now Available
The DLC fandisk, Fureraba ~Friend to Lover~ After Stories is now available for sale on NekoNyanSoft, MangaGamer, and Denpasoft.


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Alcon owner Novartis has announced that it is to license Google's "smart lens" technology. Google smart contact lenses were first revealed back in January and are designed to measure blood sugar levels in tears, as well as having the potential for vision correction like a common-or-garden contact lens.
The smart contact lenses are embedded with non-invasive sensors, microchips and miniaturised electronics making them capable of measuring and monitoring insulin levels in the tears of diabetics. The two companies are also exploring possibility of providing "accommodative vision correction to help restore the eye's natural autofocus."
The deal will see Novartis's eyecare unit Alcon collaborate with Google's X division to further develop its health monitoring wearable. Previous reports have pointed out that Apple, Samsung and Google all have intentions to take on diabetes with wearables. Unfortunately diabetes is ever more common with one in 19 people worldwide having the disease, according to current statistics.
"We are looking forward to working with Google to bring together their advanced technology and our extensive knowledge of biology to meet unmet medical needs," said Novartis CEO Joseph Jimenez. "This is a key step for us to go beyond the confines of traditional disease management, starting with the eye."
Five years to wait…
No financial terms of the deal have been disclosed at this time. Novartis hopes to commercialise the smart lens technology and have a product ready within 5 years. "This isn't going to happen overnight because it's a breakthrough technology. It's not months, we're probably talking about years. We would hope to be able to commercialise within about five years," Jimenez told Reuters in an interview.
The first prototype announced in January contained an antenna thinner than a human hair. Back then, Google was also looking at the potential for the lens to double up as a warning system for wearers, by integrating tiny LED lights. Also, who knows what other sensors and functionality could be integrated into smart lenses by the time they come to market.
"Our dream is to use the latest technology in the miniaturization of electronics to help improve the quality of life for millions of people," said Sergey Brin, Co-Founder of Google. "We are very excited to work with Novartis to make this dream come true."