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Photobucket has rolled in some major changes, and users aren’t happy. The site recently changed its terms of service, and it’s caught many of its users off-guard.
Photobucket is an image storage site that allows its members to store images and then display those images on other websites, including online forums and e-commerce sites, such as eBay and Amazon. That was until June 28, 2017, when new policies went into effect.
The new rules immediately eliminated the ability to provide a link to images hosted on Photobucket or embed images, such as online forums or social media, unless a premium account was purchased.
This caused a number of listings on eBay and Amazon to display a message informing users that third-party linking was only possible if the user upgraded their account. In order to to this, the Photobucket user must purchase the most expensive “Plus 500 Plan,” which provides 500GB of storage space and allows linking and embedding and costs US$399.99 annually.
CRIES OF ‘RANSOMWARE’
Furthermore, under the new rules, if anyone using a free account exceeds the 2GB capacity, that person is immediately locked out of their account unless they become a “Paying Member.” That person doesn’t have an opportunity to remove images to get under the 2GB limit. The account is locked, and the only way to unlock it is to upgrade to a paid account.
Some Twitter users are calling this policy change, “Ransomware,” which refers to hackers who encrypt computer files and don’t provide unlocking tools unless the victim pays money.
(Update: Photobucket has backed away from this and now will allow users to remove files to get under the 2GB limit.)
What is upsetting some users is that the only plan that allows for linking and embedding on external sites is the costliest plan - US$399.99 cost of the plan, as well as how it was rolled out to users.
While the company spelled out the changes in its updated “Terms of Service,” it isn’t clear from the link on Photobucket’s home page that it would be making radical changes to its pricing plans and account privileges.
Companies make changes to their “Terms of Service” frequently enough that most people don’t read them, if they ever read them at all. Photobucket failed its members by not making clear in the link that the changes would have immediate and widespread impact.
I would guess that Photobucket saw that many people signed up with the sole purpose of posting items for sale on eBay or Amazon. That type of user generally isn’t interested in joining or creating a community, and Photobucket sought to put an end to it.
FOLLOW THE MONEY
But this isn’t only about the amount of storage space that the photos consumed. With the cloud today, storage is secondary. It’s about bandwidth, and what Photobucket pays to serve photos.
Stay with me on this one. As those who stream movies on mobile devices, it’s all about bandwidth today. A company pays for the amount of data that it serves, and Photobucket’s likely was paying increasingly high costs for bandwidth.
Most of its non-seller customers probably occasionally shared links to photos and online albums that probably generated an average amount of bandwidth use. Professional photographers might use more bandwidth, because of clients viewing photo samples.
A single Amazon merchant could generate a tremendous number of page views per day for each product, depending on what’s being sold. Most Amazon merchants are selling more than one product. Now, multiply that by 50 or 100 eBay or Amazon merchants each selling between 10 and 50 products, and you can see how the company’s bandwidth bill could rise sharply.
Also keep in mind that most product photos today are much larger than the thumbnail, which means more data transferred.
This clearly goes against the spirit of why Photobucket was created, and on the Internet, if something is made available for free, any user is entitle to take advantage of it. Sellers obviously have.
However, allowing linking and embedding only on the most costly package clearly is an overreaction by Photobucket to what it perceives was misues of its service. Photobucket needs to rethink its appproach and create pricing plans that don’t punish its longtime users and force them to “upgrade” to a $400 a year service in order to share a photo with friends and family.
In response to the uproar over the new pricing plans, Photobucket issued a statement on July 6, 2017, to address the policy changes. Read it here.
Photobucket said it has 100 million registered users, more than 15 billion images stored, with 2 million daily uploads and 60 billion photos accessed monthly. Photobucket CEO John Corpus said 75% of Photobucket’s costs originate from non-paying users leveraging third-party hosting.
Photobucket should create seller packages. From its statement, Photobucket already was able to identify high-volume users. This would allow the company to enforce its pricing while not damaging its relationship with its longtime users.
High-volume eBay and Amazon merchants should be forced to pay more.
Professional photographers could be moved to an intermediate package, although professional photographer should have their own site and store their photos on their own site. If they don’t have a hosting package that provides enough storage space, then they should pay for hosting on Photobucket.
That leaves amateur photographers, wno would like to share photo albums with friends and family and in online forums. It should be simple to create several packages that would allow embedding and linking with reasonable limits.
There is no reason to punish amateur photographers because sellers have overrun your business.


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- April 15, 2011
SAP’s strategy of offering customers an end-to-end sales order management system gets high marks, according to analysts.
- April 11, 2011
Although organizations often have trouble seeing the benefit of implementing Solution Manager, they can find value from it if they take the right approach.
- April 08, 2011
Companies are best served by beginning with “out-of-the-box” financial workflows and avoiding changes to code whenever possible.
- April 06, 2011
Amid the fanfare surrounding SAP’s in-memory technology, some analysts and consultants wonder if the first application built on the technology is worth the hype.
- April 05, 2011
SAP is rolling out 15 new Rapid Deployment applications as a follow-up to the original software for CRM, supply chain and manufacturing unveiled last fall.
Sponsored by Intel - Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are generating interest from IT leaders eager to discover how the technologies can help their business meet the constant demands of driving down costs, achieving growth, deriving insights from data, making decisions faster and improving efficiency. See More
Sponsored by Adobe - Salesforce has been a pioneer in empowering organizations to modernize sales and customer relationships through digital collaboration, mobility, social networking, real-time insights and accelerated sales cycles, among other benefits. See More
Sponsored by Intel - Hyperconverged infrastructure promises to make organisations more agile and cost-effective, with new storage technologies replacing legacy systems within a high-performance software-defined IT architecture. See More
Accelerate Workflow Processes and Productivity by Adding E-signatures to Your Microsoft Applications
Sponsored by Adobe - The workplace is transforming right before our eyes. Workers are less tethered to desks and more mobile, geographically dispersed and reliant on digital connectivity to drive improvements in productivity, workflows and collaboration. See More
- April 01, 2011
Long a standard for SAP systems, SAP Workflow helps companies manage and automate their financial approvals as well as create a record of those approvals for future audits.
- March 29, 2011
Companies are increasingly looking to Sybase Afaria, SAP’s mobile device management system, to help manage the growing number of mobile platforms in the workplace.
- March 23, 2011
SAP is releasing its SAP BusinessObjects GRC 10 platform, the latest update to its GRC suite of applications.
- March 21, 2011
In this podcast, analyst Jon Reed talks about what skills IT managers need to have on board as they prepare to launch SAP projects involving new and emerging technologies.
- March 14, 2011
Companies running SAP ERP at the corporate level that are considering running a second ERP instance at the subsidiary level are not alone, according to a new report.
- March 10, 2011
SAP outlined plans to release five more in-memory applications that will run on HANA, its new in-memory appliance.
- March 08, 2011
While some companies may minimize or dismiss change management issues as too “touchy-feely,” it can make the difference between an SAP implementation success or failure.
- March 04, 2011
Anna’s Linens, a national home furnishings chain, created a central department to oversee the company’s business analytics program.
- February 26, 2011
Longtime SAP customer Canadian National Railway says one feature in the new BusinessObjects 4.0 release could help them save millions in fuel costs.
- February 23, 2011
The private cloud is all the rage these days. Learn more about the differences between SAP virtualization and the SAP private cloud.

domain: news


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Tesco has experienced its worst UK sales in 20 years as Brits continue to struggle with rising prices squeezing their spending power.
Although a strong performance in Asia helped to push underlying profit up to £1.9 billion for the half year, sales on home turf continued to slow.
In the three months leading up to August 7th, like-for-like sales, excluding petrol and VAT, slumped by 0.9 per cent, after falling by 0.1 per cent in the previous quarter.
Electronics and entertainment products were particularly hard hit, although Tesco said food sales were showing signs of improvement.
Total sales in the UK, which include the opening of new stores, VAT and petrol, increased 7.1 per cent to £23.4 billion
Commenting on the half-year results, chief executive Philip Clark said he was pleased with the performance, adding: ‘The UK still grew strongly in the first half – a lot of new stores, a big push on the online businesses. It’s been great to get the UK back on the front foot.’
Tesco also recently launched its Big Price Drop initiative, which saw the price of 3,000 items slashed in an effort to attract a greater number of shoppers as the Big Four supermarkets step up their price war.
‘We know it’s tough times for customers in the UK, and we felt that we had to respond,’ Mr Clark said.


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intu Chapelfield risks wrath of shoppers: but all for a very good cause
intu Chapelfield, Norfolk’s biggest shopping centre, is risking the wrath of shoppers by installing the first of its Christmas decorations a month earlier than usual.
But it’s all in good spirit, and for a very good cause: raising money for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).
The star-shaped Christmas installation is visible from all three floors of the shopping centre, with baubles, lights and butterflies cascading down from the roof of the dining terrace to lower ground mall. And as well as being a sparkling sight for shoppers, the Christmas star decoration will be a reminder that people can buy their own limited-edition glass bauble and support a local charity.
Each delicate glass bauble contains a handmade, purple origami butterfly and shimmering gold lametta; it costs £15 with every penny going to EACH. The baubles are presented in a satin-lined keepsake box so are the perfect Christmas gift.
“Some people might feel Christmas has started too soon at intu Chapelfield this year,” says Sheridan Smith, marketing manager at intu Chapelfield. “But it’s all about starting the season of goodwill early so we can raise thousands of pounds for EACH. We’ve launched the EACH baubles in October to make shoppers aware of this important fundraising campaign before Christmas really takes over in November. We hope that an EACH bauble will be at the top of many people’s Christmas shopping list this year.”
All proceeds raised by intu Chapelfield’s Butterfly Bauble campaign will go to EACH’s nook appeal; a £10 million campaign to build a new hospice just five miles south of Norwich, in Framingham Earl. The nook will transform children’s palliative care in Norfolk.
EACH has outgrown its current hospice in Quidenham and the charity often has to cancel much-needed short break care.
It is hoped the Butterfly Baubles will raise at least £10,000 for the nook appeal, which will be enough to fund a child’s en-suite room at the new hospice.
“We hope that the EACH bauble campaign will resonate with our shoppers and staff this Christmas; it’s a chance to support an incredibly worthy cause whilst also bringing some sparkle into their homes,” continues Sheridan Smith. “We’d love to see the EACH baubles become part of the tree-trimming traditions in hundreds of homes, as well as helping us to raise thousands for the nook appeal.”
Butterfly Baubles are £15 and available to buy online at www.each.org.uk/ or at the customer service desk at intu Chapelfield (opposite Beaverbrooks on the Upper Ground Mall).


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Dell: OptiPlex Desktop Customers Cut 29 M Tons of CO2 Since 2005
Since 2005, Dell says it has enabled customers using OptiPlex desktop systems to save an estimated $3 billion in energy costs and avoid nearly 29 million tons of CO2 through power management and energy-efficiency.
In addition, the company says select configurations of the OptiPlex 760 and 960 desktops; Latitude E6400 and E4300 laptops, and Dell Precision M2400 mobile workstation have met Energy Star 5.0 requirements more than seven months ahead of an EPA deadline.
Dell says its new OptiPlex and Latitude systems are the first step in the company’s commitment to design desktops and laptops that consume up to 25 percent less energy by 2010. The energy efficiency of Dell OptiPlex desktops has improved nearly 50 percent since 2005, while Latitude laptops have improved 16 percent since 2006.
Dell recently partnered with Staples to offer in-store recycling program.
In September, the company announced plans to transition all of its new laptop displays to energy-efficient light-emitting diode within 12 months.
Energy Manager News
- Commercial Refrigeration Benefits from Efficiency and Environmental Efforts
- TechNavio Releases Commercial AC Report
- Dubuque Meeting Hears About Energy Audits
- Science-Based Targets Inspire a Smarter Investment Strategy in Retail
- Missouri Lawmakers Resume Debate on Utility Rate Hikes
- Wake Forest Drops Its Residential and C&I Electric Rates
- Submissions Now Accepted for Energy Manager Today Awards
- New York City Study Conclusion: Benchmarking Works


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A super-hero Tesla driver (and Very Good Samaritan) in Germany has caught the attention of Tesla founder Elon Musk (and most of the world), after risking his life and car to rescue an unconscious driver in a runaway vehicle.
Musk, who grew up in South Africa and now lives in the United States, tweeted on Wednesday: “Congrats to the Tesla owner who sacrificed damage to his own car to bring a car with an unconscious driver safely to a stop!”
German media reported that Manfred Kick (41) witnessed a VW Passat out of control – hitting the guardrail and swerving a few times – on the Autobahn near Munich.
Kick noticed the person in the driver’s seat looked unconscious and, without concern for his own expensive vehicle, drove his $70,000 Tesla Model S in front of the Passat and began tapping his car’s brakes so the Passat hit his back bumper… and eventually both vehicles came to a stop on the motorway.
The Munich Fire Department was called to the scene, and the 47-year-old Passat driver, who is believed to have suffered a stroke, was taken to hospital. According to the German papers Kick probably saved the man’s life. He is now in a stable condition.
For his wonderful selfless act to save a stranger’s life, Elon Musk not only shared the story on Twitter… but later tweeted that “in appreciation, Tesla is providing all repair costs free of charge and expedited”.
In appreciation, Tesla is providing all repair costs free of charge and expedited. https://t.co/D68HNJcCoQ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 15, 2017


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Wix’s third Super Bowl commercial will feature none other than famous Israeli actress Gal Gadot. British actor Jason Statham will star alongside her. The Israeli company has already launched the first part of its special campaign featuring the two stars on social media.
Gal Gadot Photo Credit: Wix/Channel 2 News
After it was announced that famous Israeli actress Gal Gadot will star in a Wix Super Bowl commercial, the Israeli website development company launched the first part of its special campaign on social media. The action-packed commercial features the Israeli superstar and British actor Jason Statham.
This will be the third year in a row that Wix has produced a Super Bowl commercial. This year will be the first time that the Super Bowl game will be broadcasted via YouTube Live and Facebook Live.
Watch the first part of the campaign
The 30-second commercial will be broadcasted in the fourth quarter of the game, which will take place on February 5. Wix reportedly paid five million dollars for the commercial slot. In the weeks prior to the game, additional video clips of the two stars in the Wix campaign are expected to be released.
For the past two years, Wix has impressed viewers with the company’s creative super bowl commercials. Wix’s commercial last year featured the cast of Kung Fu Panda. In 2015, Wix’s commercial featured five former NFL stars.


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*Featured image is for illustration purposes only
Ever since news of Note 7 devices have been blowing up (pun intended), reports shown that iPhone 7 faced the same earth-shattering fate.
Australian man Mat Jones decided to drive down to the beach for some surfing lessons. He bought a brand new iPhone 7 a week ago and left it in his car under some clothes. Because there also got rompak case one!
After he was done and walked back to his car, he finds it filled with black smoke! The panicked man rushed in only to find the insides to be extremely hot and his clothes as well as his car’s interior torched!
Ahh the sweet smell of burnt fruit phones.
7 News, an Australian network interviewed him about his tragic experience. He had this to say;
“Ash was just coming from inside the pants which then, once you unwrapped the pants, the phone was just melting inside of it”
Of course, it could be possible that it was the heat that cause the iPhone to go boom. Although then, I fear for the Malaysian set since it so easily overheats.
7 News also reported that Apple has been made aware of this incident and determined not to let this become another fiasco like with Samsung’s Note issue, have launched a full investigation into the issue.
Mat has stated that he only used the stock Apple charger and not any third-party ones.
Anyway, this is not the first time this has happened. In China, one iPhone 7 exploded while the user was taking a video, the glass from the phone also shattered and cut his face! A bunch of other iPhone 7s have been reported to be exploding in Austria, but we’ve been unable to confirm those.
Either way if you guys already bought one, World Of Buzz would like to advise you to not leave it where it could overheat and especially don’t charge it under your pillow! Better safe than sorry!
Klang Is A Red Zone But School Sessions Will Carry On, Says Education Dept
The Selangor State Education Department (JPNS) says that school sessions in Klang will still continue as usual even though the...
Police Arrest OKU Man With Pink Tag At A Supermarket In Melaka
Police have arrested a man with hearing disabilities who was wearing a pink tag. The man was arrested at a...
Kitchen Helper From Huckleberry Damansara Heights Tests Positive For Covid-19
Huckleberry Damansara Heights just reported that one of their own kitchen helpers tested positive for Covid-19. In a statement put...
PM: Interstate Travel Between East Malaysia To Semenanjung Temporarily Banned
It looks like Malaysia isn’t going into lockdown yet, but if they consider it, they’ll let us know earlier, at...
Health DG: Third Death Case Today Is 1-year-old Baby From Semporna, Sabah
Malaysia recorded an all-time high in the number of Covid-19 cases today, 691 positive cases with 688 local transmissions and...


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Neohapsis is currently accepting applications for employment. For more information, please visit our website www.neohapsis.com or email firstname.lastname@example.org
From: security curmudgeon (jerichoattrition.org)
Date: Thu Aug 07 2008 - 12:47:59 CDT
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Richard Forno <rfornoinfowarrior.org>
11 charged in connection with credit card fraud
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO – 16 hours ago
NEW YORK (AP) — The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it had
charged 11 people in connection with the hacking of nine major U.S.
retailers and the theft and sale of more than 41 million credit and debit
It is believed to be the largest hacking and identity theft case ever
prosecuted by the Department of Justice. The charges include conspiracy,
computer intrusion, fraud and identity theft.
The indictment returned Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Boston alleges
that the people charged hacked into the wireless computer networks of
retailers including TJX Cos., BJ's Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston
Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Forever 21 and DSW.
"While technology has made our lives much easier it has also created new
vulnerabilities," U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan said in a statement.
"This case clearly shows how strokes on a keyboard with a criminal purpose
can have costly results."
The indictment alleges that the hackers installed programs to capture card
numbers, passwords and account information, and then concealed the data in
computer servers that they controlled in the U.S. and Eastern Europe.
Dataloss Mailing List (datalossattrition.org)
Tenable Network Security offers data leakage and compliance monitoring
solutions for large and small networks. Scan your network and monitor your
traffic to find the data needing protection before it leaks out!


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At one time, high technology vehicle options like rear view camera systems, blind spot information systems, and rain sensing windshield wipers were high dollar options that only luxury vehicle drivers could afford. In other words, you could only get those options as standard features if you were spending top dollar on your auto purchase. Ford [...]
You are browsing the archive for technology.
Eventually, all things must die. But must all things be transported in a funeral car? The owners and managers of one movie theater in East Greenville, Pennsylvania think so. The Grand Theater, like many other movie theaters across the country, are lamenting the loss of the 35mm film projector. In a move that’s come to [...]
As the 21st century gets underway, auto industry experts are expecting major improvements to automotive technology. As hybrid and electric vehicle technology takes off and third world markets start to grow, some of these changes could be a big surprise. Here’s a quick look at what we might expect in the global automotive industry over [...]
Remember when celebrity athletes commanded millions of dollars for endorsing products on TV? Oh, wait, that still happens. Well, remember when technology company executives endorsed their favorite automobiles? You don’t? Then you haven’t seen the new video of Google executive Vic Gundotra promoting the safety of a Mercedes-Benz. I don’t much care for Mark Zuckerberg [...]


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SAN FRANCISCO: Websites including Reddit, Wikipedia, and Boing Boing darkened their websites on Wednesday to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the US House of Representatives and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the US Senate.
Companies such as Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, Mozilla, and Google kept their sites available but expressed opposition to the bills.
After a number of Web giants drew attention to the issue on Wednesday, various prominent legislators in both the House and Senate stepped away from the bills.
The Consumer Electronics Association also protested the bills, darkening its CE.org and DeclareInnovation.org sites on Wednesday. The technology industry association also sent an email blast to members to explain the legislation and ask them to contact their representatives in Congress.
“We're asking people to contact their members of Congress about SOPA and PIPA,” said Laura Hubbard, senior manager of policy and division communications at the CEA.
To help consumers reach their senators about these bills, the CEA provided letters that consumers can email and helped them find their representatives' social media pages. It also used its social media channels to distribute information about the laws, and pitched media outlets to place Op-Eds with their point of view.
“There's a huge groundswell right now of major players in the tech industry really stepping up their game today,” said Hubbard. “When Wikipedia said they were going dark, I think it brought a lot of attention to the issue, and so people are finding out information and then acting, so it's pretty fascinating to see how this grassroots movement to oppose this legislation has just taken off.”
The debate over SOPA and PIPA has pitted prominent companies in the entertainment industry against blue chips in the technology sector. While proponents of the bills claim they would strengthen and modernize laws against content piracy, critics contend they would damage free expression on the Web.
Lloyd Trufelman, president of Trylon SMR, said it was somewhat surprising to see many tech giants band together to protest the issue. Normally, the entertainment industry is known for having a solid PR strategy, but in this case, the tech industry seems to really have “knocked Hollywood flat down,” he said.
The tech sector turned a somewhat spontaneous grassroots media situation on an obscure legislative issue into a mass popular protest, Trufelman explained.
“It was sort of like the technology industry threw a red carpet event for copyright legislation today and a lot of people showed up for it,” he said.
Technology companies such as Google, Wikipedia, and Tumblr did not immediately respond to requests for comment.


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The idea of an abstract rap label and a coffee retailer teaming up with one another may sound pretty far-fetched, but both California indie Anticon and Chicago coffee roaster Intelligentsia are pretty revered stamps of quality in their respective worlds. And it's easy to imagine an alternate reality in which Anticon decided to call itself "Intelligentsia" instead. Besides, Doseone raps like he's got the stuff flowing through his veins, so the pairing makes sense.
The Chicago A.V. Club reports that Intelligentsia plans to come with new blends inspired by Anticon music, which hopefully means that they taste good and not that they're prone to inspiring bouts of verbose, lacerating, light-speed self-reflection. Intelligentsia National Production Manager Sean McMahon tells the A.V. Club that the label approached the coffee company just to tell them how much they liked Intelligentsia's product, and the relationship grew from there. Somehow, I doubt that's how the 50 Cent/Vitamin Water thing happened.
Impossibly, this will be the second time Intelligentsia has teamed up with a West Coast rap indie. Last year, Intelligentsia came up with a few blends inspired by Stones Throw. We're awaiting the Sick Wid It Blend any day now.


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Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) had announced the latest selling price for surgical masks and also for N95 face mask through their official Facebook page.
You would probably surprised by the new prices announced.
“This decision made to balance the current situation of the Covid-19 challenge. Traders are encouraged to sell below the ceiling price to carry out social responsibility in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak.”
Why is such a ceiling price? :
* The actual condition occurring is due to the raw supply (facial mask manufacturing) completely imported from outside. Furthermore, the price of raw materials is increasing and pressing the production operations of facial masks in the country.
* The rising cost of production operations is already at the maximum level coupled with highly remarkable demand pressures throughout the country.
* That is why the ceiling price is fixed so that it allows the production of facial mask supplies to operate in line with operating costs incurred by the industry, and the supply of face masks can be stable in the market.
At the same time, customs (prohibition of Exports) Order 2020 which was enforced from 20 March 2020, is expected to offset the supply in our country. Manufacturers are not able to export the supply of face masks to the outside WITHOUT prior GOVERNMENT APPROVAL. This export prohibition order, potentially stabilize the supply of facial masks within the country.
The cooperation of all parties is very important.
Sources : KPDNHEP


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Literally moments into the Google I/O Day 1 keynote, a huge milestone for the Android platform has been announced. In total, 400 million Android devices have been activated, an astonishing 300 million in the last year alone. Wow.
Daily activations have also reached a huge milestone. We're now upto that magic mark -- 1 million Android devices are activated everyday. Impressive no?
The keynote continues, so stick with us, there's a lot more to come.


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THE LAUNCH of the iPhone 5 led to Apple regaining the initiative in the smartphone wars in recent weeks, data released yesterday showed.
US sales of iPhones overtook those of smartphones running Google’s software, Android, during the 12 week period to 28 October, figures from researchers Kantar Worldpanel showed.
It is the first time since February – when sales of the previous iPhone 4S were declining – that this has been the case.
The boost follows September’s release of the iPhone 5, which has seen record sales in the early weeks of its release.
In major European countries, Android retained its lead, but its market share was much reduced in the period. In the UK, sales of iOS phones – just the iPhone – were up to 32.7 per cent, compared to Android’s 54.2 per cent.
Phones running Android include Samsung’s Galaxy models, as well as handsets from HTC, Sony and LG.
The data showed an improvement from Microsoft’s Windows Phone software, as well as a marked decline in sales of Research in Motion (RIM)’s BlackBerry ahead of the launch of its next generation of model. BlackBerry accounted for eight per cent of sales in the UK, while Windows Phone took 4.6 per cent.
Kantar’s Dominic Sunnebo said Apple’s market share will continue to improve, as the next set of data will include 12 weeks of iPhone 5 sales, rather than the six weeks included in this period.


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Although PUBG has passed its golden age, it still maintains a large community of players thanks to constantly releasing updates with lots of new content. One of the most recent updates is an 8×8 map called Taego, which comes with unique gameplay features. Previously, PUBG Mobile also announced a new skin: Hypnospace Diva, but this update does not seem to go well when the developer of the indie game “Hypnospace Outlaw” speaks out accusing PUBG of plagiarizing both the name and the method of its color scheme. .
Jay Tholen, the father of the indie game Hypnospace Outlaw, recently posted an article on Twitter, accusing the PUBG development team and then Tencent (publisher of PUBG Mobile) of plagiarizing the name of his game for the New skin. Just because the name is similar, it cannot be concluded that it is an act of plagiarism, but “Hypnospace” is not a common word for cam. In fact, if you Google this word, most of the results are related to Hypnospace Outlaw. Also, not just the name, the purple, yellow, and blue color scheme of Hypnospace Diva’s appearance clearly has many similarities to Hypnospace Outlaw’s main color.
Jay Tholen’s accusations are currently receiving a lot of support from netizens, some even linking to the Hypnospace Outlaw website in the PUBG Mobile Twitter post, urging people to buy the game and spend money on PUBG.
Tholen said he didn’t want to make a big deal out of this, but he didn’t like that the name of his game was related to the game (PUBG offers loot boxes, which many people believe is a form of gambling, money extortion). of players), as well as not wanting people to misunderstand and mistakenly think that the skin is an official collaboration event.
However, because copyright laws in China are not as strict as those in Western countries, Tencent will most likely outright ignore any related complaints. That is, the Hypnospace Diva skin will still appear in the normal game. Jay Tholen’s complaint probably won’t bring any results, but at least many people know that the Hypnospace Diva skin has no relation to Hypnospace Outlaw.
To learn more about the latest news about the game, readers can like and follow the fan page:
Any comments on the article, providing information or contacting the article should be sent to Mr. Duy (Editor-in-Chief) email address: [email protected].


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Avatars that can smile, frown, and smirk should be a hit with gamers, but the technology also has potential for commercial apps like security and Web conferencing.
In the latest example of Microsoft's efforts to redefine how humans interact with computing devices, the company has added a feature to its Xbox Kinect motion-control technology that allows the system to "see" users' facial expressions and project them onto an on-screen avatar in real time.
The update, called Avatar Kinect, launches this spring. Users can congregate in avatar form in any of several pre-configured cyber venues—including a talk-show style TV studio--with friends, family, or business associates, and will be able to communicate with one another not only through voice and chat, but also with their facial expressions.
Erik Lang, general manager for the Microsoft Startup Business Group, said the development of Avatar Kinect spanned numerous divisions within the company and was "a huge amount of work," given the complexity of developing algorithms to capture "the geometry of a gaze" and "the science of a smile."
Avatar Kinect will no doubt be a big hit with gamers out of the gate, but it also shows how Microsoft's work in digital entertainment could ultimately yield products that benefit business users. Facial recognition holds significant implications for security, telepresence, Web conferencing, and other commercial applications.
"The end result is a highly-curated consumer service that is very compelling, but also has tremendous headroom for future innovation from Microsoft and its partners," said Pete Thompson, general manager of Microsoft's Xbox Live service.
Indeed, Microsoft recently unveiled a software development kit that will let developers build Kinect-compatible apps for Windows PCs. The company's deal to acquire Skype, meanwhile, is another sign that it is looking to deliver integrated voice and video capabilities as a seamless part of the Windows computing experience.
Driving such innovation into Windows is crucial if Microsoft is to keep the platform competitive at a time when tablets like Apple's iPad, as well as increasingly smart mobile devices, are taking a bite out of traditional PC sales. Kinect-style capabilities could be the differentiator Windows needs to stay ahead.
Microsoft sold 8 million Kinect sensors in the first sixty days of availability late last year, making Kinect the fastest selling tech gadget of all time, according to Guiness Records.
How Enterprises Are Attacking the IT Security EnterpriseTo learn more about what organizations are doing to tackle attacks and threats we surveyed a group of 300 IT and infosec professionals to find out what their biggest IT security challenges are and what they're doing to defend against today's threats. Download the report to see what they're saying.
2017 State of IT ReportIn today's technology-driven world, "innovation" has become a basic expectation. IT leaders are tasked with making technical magic, improving customer experience, and boosting the bottom line -- yet often without any increase to the IT budget. How are organizations striking the balance between new initiatives and cost control? Download our report to learn about the biggest challenges and how savvy IT executives are overcoming them.


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I skipped breakfast this morning, knowing I wouldn't need it.
That's because I knew I had a big plate of crow waiting for me, thanks to broadband chip-maker Broadcom's
Not so. Broadcom wowed Wall Street by reporting $1.03 billion in revenue for the quarter, in the upper range of the company's own projections. Earnings doubled over last year, with $90.3 million falling to the bottom line on a GAAP basis. While Broadcom saw some decline in broadband communications revenue as sales of satellite set-top box products were weaker than expected, strength in the enterprise networking and mobile and wireless business lines made for a strong quarter.
The mobile and wireless business -- which would be impacted by Motorola's mistakes -- remained strong, boosted by a $32 million royalty payment from Verizon Wireless (a joint venture between Verizon Communications
While Motorola painted an even worse picture for the coming quarter, Broadcom projected decent revenue in the range of $975 million to $1.005 billion. This is down from the current level, obviously, but that's mostly due to seasonal factors. For the coming year, Broadcom sees more growth opportunity in products such as Bluetooth headsets and wireless handsets from customers that are performing, such as Samsung.
Broadcom is also looking forward to developing a solid revenue stream from top handset maker Nokia
One last bit of good news investors received was that Broadcom would start moderating its expenses going forward. After spending heavily in R&D and watching margins plummet for several quarters, the company will be focused more diligently on converting those investments into revenue. If the company's diverse product and customer base can hold up as well as it did this quarter, investors should be quite pleased.
For more Foolishness:
Fool contributor Dave Mock takes his crow with a side of humility. He owns shares of Motorola and Qualcomm and is the author of The Qualcomm Equation. The Fool's disclosure policy levels the playing field for all parties.


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Renault Australia has confirmed local pricing for its limited-edition Megane RS Trophy-R, and it's perhaps a little more than most expected.
While Aussies will be able to get their hands on a standard RS Trophy in manual for $52,990 before on-roads, or one fitted with an EDC for $55,990, the Trophy-R will be priced north of the $70K-ish estimation MOTOR was given upon the model’s international announcement.
At $74,990, the Megane RS Trophy-R will be eye-wateringly expensive in Australia, but Renault Australia says that actually places is as “one of the most affordable Megane R.S Trophy-Rs in the world,” compared to how the car is priced in other markets.
In addition, Renault Australia will also auction one of thirty (worldwide) Trophy-R Record Editions, which will feature carbon fibre wheels from Geelong-based Carbon Revolution.
COMPARISON: 2019 Renault Megane RS280 vs Volkswagen Golf GTI
“The strong customer interest in the Megane R.S. Trophy-R is testament to the place this Renault Sport prepared vehicle has within the Renault family and in the hearts of car enthusiasts across Australia,” says Renault Australia MD Anouk Poelmann.
Renault Australia has secured a handful of 20 Trophy-Rs to sell across the country, of a total 500 worldwide. One such car is a contender at MOTOR's Performance Car of the Year 2020.
“The Renault Megane R.S. Trophy-R is the next chapter in Renault’s extensive history in world motorsport and brings to the Australian roads the technologies and expertise Renault Sport has developed on the racetrack,” Poelmann adds.


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To view a pdf file of this article with photos, click HERE.
Guy Sisson, owner of Sisson’s Body Works in Delevan, NY, spent two years restoring a 1937 Packard Club Sedan for his daughter’s 2010 wedding. Recently, he entered the car in the LKQ Triplett annual calendar contest. With over 300 entries, Sisson’s car made the top 13 finalists and was assured a spot in the calendar. On Sept. 4, Sisson was notified that his car was picked as the Grand Prize winner to be featured on the calendar cover. The grand prize includes an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas to be recognized at the SEMA show.
The story about Guy Sisson and his 1937 Packard began 25 years ago. A local farmer had bought it from an old farm auction where the vintage car had been stored in a barn. The farmer took it home, tore it apart and quickly realized it was much more than he could handle.
“I have always had a fascination with the 1930s era,” Sisson said. “I heard about the car and ended up buying it from the farmer. When I first bought the car my daughter was only 5 years old, and she has always been equally interested in vintage things. I told her that someday we would restore the old Packard for her wedding. Well, the car was put on the back burner, and life went on.”
In 2008, Sisson could no longer ignore the Packard waiting for his attention.
“My future son-in-law came to me and said he was going to ask Ashley to marry him and wanted my permission (very unusual these days). He also knew the plans for the car and knew that I would need some time to restore it. I started on the car immediately. We worked on it daily for two years and still wondered if we would make it,” Sisson said.
One week before the wedding, on Sept. 4th, 2010, the car was finished.
“It was a wonderful day,” says the proud father of the bride. “Next to the bride, it was the star of the day. The wedding was a complete 1930s theme. My wife and I were in heaven.”
Sisson said it wasn’t until he started restoring the car that he realized how rare the car actually was.
“Packard was one of America’s premier luxury cars at this time and they only made 2,489 of this model,” he said. “This car is one of only seven known to survive today. We use the car regularly on weekends, going out to dinner and to car shows. The car represents a very unique time in America’s history. Everyone that sees it seems to go back in time. I did most of the work myself, however I still owe many thanks to my employees at Sisson’s Body Works and my father and son for their help.”


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Landrum‘s Dark Corner General Store provides taste of good days
Published 6:28 pm Friday, December 20, 2013
Dark Corner General Store opened for business on Nov. 1 in Landrum and since then Ronnie Blackwell and family have enjoyed meeting the local people and helping them find stocking stuffers for the holidays.
Blackwell, who was retired, handed the keys of his business, Superior Auto Body in Boiling Springs, S.C., to his son.
“My wife and I did this just to have fun,” said Blackwell, who shares a love for the ‘50s and ‘60s.
“Things were easier then and life was a whole lot simpler,” Blackwell said, as he sat behind the counter and pointed to the original drink coolers, bottle holders and vintage signage. “The theme of our store is old-time candies, toys and gifts from years past. We have lots of stocking stuffers, children’s toys and home décor for the ladies. We have candy for those with a sweet tooth, knives, wallets and metal signs for the men.”
Dark Corner General Store is very much a family affair and team effort as well.
“Our daughter-in-law is very excited about the store,” said Blackwell.
In fact, it was she who came up with the name for the store on a whim, developed the logo and is working on a website. Through the Internet, the Blackwells established vendor connections, developed marketing ideas and specifically select items they want to offer to the public.
The Blackwells are not an undercapitalized business, leasing a space just to see what happens, but are here for the long haul. Last year, Blackwell bought the store and began renovations.
“We installed new flooring; thoroughly cleaned the interior and painted the walls and antique ceiling tiles. The front of the store is inviting with large glass windows capturing the ambiance of a small town general store,” Blackwell said.
Local foot traffic in the tiny town is great, he said, however, the ever increasing presence from visitors provide him the confidence of retail success.
“It’s amazing to me to see so many people driving into Landrum from far away on a mission to shop,” said Blackwell.
Local support from everyone including the local officials has been outstanding, said Blackwell.
“We believe that as a rule our prices are cheaper,” said Blackwell as he stocks large barrels overflowing with nostalgic treats and stick-to-your-teeth retro-candy.
According to Blackwell, the store is currently at about 50 percent inventory capacity with additional room to grow in the back.
“We hope to bring on a clothing line and T-shirts in the future,”
The area known as Dark Corner, Blackwell said, conjers up images of moonshining, murders and mayhem but is also an area of rich historical significance. Blackwell said he always has enjoyed learning about the history of the area that for more than 200 years has been a mystery to many.
Dark Corner General Store is located at 112 East Rutherford St., Landrum, S.C. 29356. For more information, visit them on Facebook or call 864-457-1400.


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Report: South Korean Crypto Exchanges Overtake Maltese Ones by Daily Trade Volume
A recent report by CryptoCompare shows that South Korean crypto exchanges saw $200 million more in average daily trade volumes than their Maltese competitors.
Cryptocurrency exchanges registered in South Korea have overtaken their Maltese-registered counterparts by average daily trade volume in November. This is according to a report by cryptocurrency market data provider CryptoCompare, published Thursday, Dec. 6.
The November edition of CCCAGG, a monthly crypto exchange review published by CryptoCompare, shows that South Korean exchanges, including Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Upbit among others, registered a combined $1.4 billion of average daily trade volume. In the meantime, their competitors in Malta had only achieved $1.2 billion.
This is a significant change when compared to the October’s CCCAGG. According to CryptoCompare, back then the combined average daily trade volume of Maltese exchanges…
Read Full Story : Cointelegraph.com News


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Gov. Kay Ivey has signed into law a bill that will allow Alabamians to use medical marijuana products for more than a dozen conditions and symptoms such as chronic pain, depression, seizures, muscle spasticity, and terminal illnesses.
The bill, Senate Bill 46, sets up a system to regulate medical marijuana from the cultivation of the plants, to processing and testing the products, to selling them in dispensaries.
Doctors will be able to recommend medical cannabis for patients who will receive medical cannabis cards to buy tablets, capsules, gel cubes and other forms of medical cannabis products. .


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Standard Chartered is planning to establish a UK-based cryptocurrency brokerage and exchange for clients in the UK and Europe.
Phantom, a crypto wallet and browser extension for accessing decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, has raised $9m in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (A16z).
UK-based neobank Pennyworth has begun beta testing of the first version of its financial planning app on all iOS devices.
Transaction confidentiality is one of the key issues banks have with blockchain technology, a new report by Greenwich Associates shows.
Blockchain-based B2B trading platform ModulTrade has formed a strategic partnership with Alibaba’s investment vehicle Yangting Internet Technology.
Blockchain-based banking startup Humaniq has landed backing from professional services giant Deloitte. The size of the round is undisclosed.
As cryptocurrency continues its break-neck rise in popularity and usage, the calls by lawmakers and the financial industry for its greater regulation are getting louder and louder.
New research from investment platform Outlier Ventures reveals that 3,738 new blockchain enterprises have seen capital injections of $23.7bn since 2013.
Coinbase has been accused of having created a culture fraught with bullying, racism and discrimination against black people in a new exposé from the New York Times.
Reflective Venture Partners has launched its debut blockchain technology fund alongside RChain Cooperative.


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With their first studio title in nearly 30 years, the Eagles land atop The Billboard 200 with "Long Road Out of Eden," which sold 711,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The Eagles Recording Co. album, available exclusively in the U.S. through Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and the band's Web site, scores the year's second-best first-week total, behind Kanye West's "Graduation" (960,000).
"Long Road out of Eden," the Eagles' first full-length studio album since 1979's "The Long Run," debuts at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums with a whopping 711,000 -- the second-largest sales week of the year. "Eden" was sold exclusively through Wal-Mart, its Web site, Sam's Club and the Eagles' official Web site ... Britney Spears' "Blackout" settles for the runner-up slot with a still-handsome 290,000 ... The Billboard 200's top 10 also welcomes bows from Avenged Sevenfold, Josh Turner, Backstreet Boys and Andrea Bocelli ... Revamped and reissued editions of Flyleaf and Jonas Brothers' respective albums yield big jumps ... And Christmas is very much in the air on the charts, now that Halloween has passed, as a number of holiday efforts post handsome gains.


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The Japanese behemoth reportedly is hoping to take advantage of India's quickly developing market with local manufacturing of its Xperia line, as well as some cheaper alternatives.
From smartwatches to spying fridges, here are just a few of our favourite new gadgets being unveiled for the IFA tech trade show in Berlin. Hit play to see it all.
The hack revealed the inner workings of the studio, as well as the personal information of more than 47,000 celebrities, freelancers, and current and former Sony employees.
Don't just take Sony's word that its new top-tier Android phone has what it takes to mow down the competition. See for yourself how they compare in this handy-dandy chart.
Sony's two new high-resolution Walkman models, the new compact H.ear NW-A25HN and high-end NW-ZX100HN, are announced at IFA.
The company unveils three smartphones targeting affluent users, but it still hasn't figured out how to avoid getting lost in the shuffle behind Apple and Samsung.
It's waterproof, it has a fingerprint scanner and the screen will melt your eyeballs. But is 4K on a phone a waste of time?
Commentary: If super high-resolution screens are arguably unnecessary for your 65-inch TV, they're just about useless for your 5.5-inch phone.
With a 23-megapixel sensor and what Sony asserts is the fastest autofocus in a smartphone, the company's new 5.2-inch flagship hopes to woo shoppers with its photographic powers.
Packing a powerful camera, subtle fingerprint sensor and waterproof body, the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact crams it all into a pocket-friendly size.
Sony says the 23-megapixel camera on its flagship has the fastest autofocus on a phone, while lasting two days on a single charge.
Not tempted by a palm-stretching phablet? Sony's latest mobile has a 4.6-inch display and a 23-megapixel camera. We go hands-on.
Stuck without Internet and want to watch movies?
CNET shows you how to download movies and TV shows onto your device using Amazon Prime so you'll always be entertained.


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It’s not often you get to have your 15 minutes of fame. But that’s exactly what happened when photographer and media reporter Julio A. Muñoz Menéndez was on the sidelines covering the recent Timbers FC vs Austin FC football match.
Well, we knew it was coming but now it’s official. Sigma has now launched the new 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG DN OS Sports lens for mirrorless cameras. Specifically, that means the Leica L mount (utilised by Sigma’s fp and fp L cameras) and the Sony E mount. Still no word on any Nikon Z or Canon RF mount lenses coming from Sigma yet.
The new lens marks Sigma’s first ultra-telephoto zoom Sports lens designed specifically for mirrorless cameras. They say it offers much-improved performance and functionality over using a mount adapter with the old 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary for DSLRs, with fast accurate autofocus, better stabilisation and Dual Action Zoom system.
World Sports Photography Awards has announced the winners of its 2021 contest. Among many great photos, one of them stood out and became the overall winner – it shows a single drop of sweat that symbolizes everything one must go through to become a professional sports player. Of course, there are plenty more photos in the selection, and we bring you some of them below.
For me, Formula 1 is the most exciting sport to follow, and one of the very few I like watching. And if you’ve been wondering what it’s like behind the scenes, Australian F1 photographer Kym Illman will tell you all about it. He’s one of just a few dozen “permanently accredited” F1 photographers, and in this video, he will tell you how everything works in this job.
Light painting with drones has become quite popular over the last couple of years, but it’s still an extremely challenging thing to do. Achieving great results relies on a lot of factors. You need the right exposure for the ambient lit environment, you need the right brightness output on your drone’s lights and you need to fly your drones in just the right path relative to the camera (and at a consistent speed) to get nice clean lines of even colour.
That’s what makes this night sky light painting by Frodo Álvarez (who goes by the name Children of Darklight) so impressive. The video’s in Spanish, so you may need to turn on auto-translate, but he used five drones to create this amazing image of a footballer about to kick a ball, all floating above a football field. Yes, sorry America, this is football to the rest of the world.
Incidents happen in sport in a blink of an eye. And it took precisely that long to leave this photographer with a lens smashed into pieces. Professional baseball player Tyler O’Neill sent a foul ball straight into his lens, and it was caught on the very camera that got hit.
In February 2020, actress and singer Hilary Duff publicly called out on photographer Darryl Wilkins calling him “a creep.” Now the photographer is reportedly suing her for defamation, along with talk show host Wendy Williams who sided with Duff on her talk show.
Google has announced that you’ll soon be able to use Pixel cameras for more than photos and video. If you’re into fitness, Pixel phones will soon allow you to measure your heart and respiratory rate using nothing but the phone’s cameras.


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According to Liveclicker/The RelevanceGroup study of 350 US marketers, of whom 93% reported using print direct marketing, rating the effectiveness of various channels in terms of delivering revenue and results for their business, mail is tangible, targeted, scalable and trustworthy. Direct mail is delivering better qualified leads and, in turn, more sales. One thing’s for sure, says the report, everybody checks their mailboxes!
Foreword from Gunderson Direct says that direct mail is back and driving more response than ever. Improvements in targeting, printing, attribution analytics and multi-channel experiences have propelled direct mail to a top-performing channel for marketers.
Direct mail response rates lead all direct media, says the report, eclipsing digital media channels for both house and prospect lists. Study results from the Data & Marketing Association (DMA) also reveal that oversized envelopes enjoy the highest response rates for both B2B and B2C advertisers, while producing the highest ROI among mail types.
Trust is a key component for advertising response, says the report, and survey data confirms that a strong majority of consumers trust direct mail when they want to make a purchasing decision. While trust peaks at 83% of the oldest generation, a healthy majority of both Millennials and Gen Xersalso trust direct mail when making buying decisions.
Published on MarketingCharts.com in March 2018 | Data Source: MarketingSherpa (2017.) Based on a survey of 1,196 US adults (18+)
Don’t Trust Much
Data cited up to now in this report makes a strong case for consumer attention and response to direct mail, says the report. And, marketers are largely in agreement says study data from Liveclicker and The Relevancy Group, finding that of the 93% using direct mail, close to 8 in 10 deemed it effective in delivering revenue and results for their business.
Published on MarketingCharts.com in March 2018 | Data Source: Liveclicker/ The RelevancyGroup (2018.)


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WhatsApp has been widely used by a number of platforms such as Android, Blackberry, Symbian, Windows Phone and iOS.
WhatsApp apprise that it’s quite fun for the users of the Apple iPhone 5.
Mobile instant messaging has proved its existence in many [...]
Good news for all you lovers of the game The Sims. Electronic Arts officially announced that The Sims 4 ready to be released in 2014.
Quoted from Ubergizmo, Tuesday (7/5), EA sure about human life simulation game is being developed for PC and Mac.
You are one of those who dreamed of adventure and find treasures from the past? Google may be able to realize the dream.
Quoted from Slashgear, Monday (1/4), Google Maps Street View Team reportedly managed to find a treasure map of William ‘Captain’ [...]
The Samsung has confirmed that they will continue cooperation with Apple.
After emergence page report quoted the Korea Times on Monday, (10/22), about the possibility of termination of their partnership with the Apple.
Today, the Samsung has confirmed [...]
Apacer Technologi Inc., as one of the manufacturers of SSD products, digital consumer products and memory modules, Thursday (10/04) launches a USB 3.0 flash drive AH450.
One thing that most enjoy is the speed of data transmission is very high up to 140 [...]
Laptop and computer hardware manufacturers, Gigabyte, has just launched its newest product U2442 Extreme Ultrabook.
In an event held in Taiwan, Gigabyte explained that U2442 Extreme Ultrabook features graphics Nvidia GeForce GT 650M or GT 730M.
In addition, [...]
Team University of Bangor, Wales, successfully developed a system of internet at speeds up to 20 Gbps, and can be increased up to 40 Gbps.
Some time ago, Google released a statement that surprised many observers and internet users around the world today [...]
Electronic Arts announced Saturday game four-person co-op shooter called Fuse, which will be launched on May 28 in North America and May 31 in Europe.
Fuse is the first multiplatform game from Insomniac Games for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, but not [...]
An asteroid will make history as it will be a space object that pass closest to Earth next week, though certainly not going to hit this planet.
Sized asteroid is 45-meter, called 2012 DA14 will pass 27 700 kilometers from the Earth on February 15, closer [...]
Players must try yourself to get the additional level.
Good news for lovers of the game Angry Birds. Rovio, the company behind games angry bird, the re-launch 24 new levels for Angry Birds Rio.
Angry Birds Rio was first launched in March 2011 and never [...]
After going through various rumors and long waits, BlackBerry 10 platform was officially launched at an event in New York, U.S., on Wednesday (01/30) local time.
Quoted from Techradar, Thursday (01/31), BlackBerry 10 straight comes with two new smartphones, [...]


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The number of house sales in Auckland in March was close to double the sales in February, according to figures released by the city’s largest real estate agency. Barfoot & Thompson figures showed 1341 sales in March, an increase of 92.1 per cent from February, when 698 houses were sold.
Managing director of Barfoot & Thompson, Peter Thompson said March was consistently one of the busiest sale months of the year. While the number of sales increased from February, there were 16 per cent fewer sales than March 2015.
The median price of sales was $798,000, a 12.2 per cent increase from March 2015 and an 8.1 per cent increase from the month before. “When prices are this strong in March the trend is for prices to hold steady through the year,” Thompson said. “As it has been for the past two years, lack of supply remains the main price driver.”
There were 1874 houses listed for sale in March, 9 per cent fewer than in February and 6.2 per cent fewer than March 2015. Barfoot & Thompson’s data was released the same day the latest Massey University Home Affordability Report found Auckland continues to be the least affordable place in New Zealand to buy a home.
According to the report, Auckland remains a staggering 59 per cent more unaffordable than the rest of the country. This is despite recording a 3.1 per cent improvement in affordability for the third consecutive quarter.
Report author Dr Susan Flint-Hartle said the “modest” annual improvement in the country’s largest city was “good news for policymakers intent on moderating the persistent inflation of Auckland house prices”.
But she warned the improvement offered limited respite for first homebuyers in Auckland. “Despite the small improvements we’ve seen over the past few quarters, Auckland remains 59 per cent less affordable than the rest of New Zealand – and that is a record high. The only other region that is more unaffordable than the national average is Central Otago Lakes, at 48 per cent,” said Dr Flint-Hartle.
The report, which covered the period from December 2015 to February 2016, showed a 9.2 per cent annual improvement in affordability across New Zealand continuing the trend of the past three quarters.
The only region to buck the trend was Central Otago Lakes where a 10.5 per cent improvement in housing affordability was reversed over the past six months.
Efforts to cool the hot Auckland property market were beginning to take effect with lower interest rates coupled with the Reserve Bank’s loan-to-value ratio restrictions making houses more affordable.
– NZ Herald
Photo courtesy of Getty Images


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Innovators have an intuition, a vision, a market. How do they make their idea a reality?
Digital Technology for everyone
AKKA Technology is imagining the car connected to city of tomorrow!
The Akka Technologies group supports its customers in the realization of their innovation projects.
The idea of designing an autonomous, electric vehicle connected to the city of the future gave birth to the LinkAndGo, a pretty little car connected to the smart city.
The LinkandGo prototype was produced on Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE® platform on the cloud in partnership with KEONYS teams. Why the Cloud mode? Because the Cloud offers a unique and intuitive interface that allows any engineer, regardless of their location, to interact, collaborate and enrich project data in real time.
Guillaume Bonnefoy, Chief Operating Officer of Akka Research, will speak at the panel discussion organized by Keonys at Arts et Métiers ParisTech on January 28, 2016 at 6:30 pm: Industry of the future for sustainable innovation. He will explain how, from the idea to the concept, the product was born and will highlight the new technological perspectives that these new societal uses give rise to.


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The Bengaluru-based company, which announced the new investment on Tuesday, said existing investors Tiger Global, General Atlantic and Owl Ventures also participated in the investment, without disclosing the terms of the deal.
ET could not immediately ascertain whether the Silver Lake-led round included a secondary sale of shares by existing investors.
“We are excited to welcome a strong partner like Silver Lake to the Byju’s family,” said Byju Raveendran, its founder and CEO. “We are fortunate to be in a sector of positive relevance during this crisis.”
Silver Lake’s investment comes just weeks after tech billionaire Yuri Milner’s DST Global ploughed $122 million into the company, according to regulatory filings. This was part of an ongoing round in which famed Silicon Valley investor Mary Meeker’s Bond Capital also participated.
Menlo Park-headquartered Silver Lake was the first financial investor to pick up stake in Jio Platforms after social media firm Facebook Inc bought a 9.99% stake in the Mukesh Ambani-owned entity earlier this year.
“We look forward to working with them as Byju’s builds on and accelerates its compelling growth trajectory by forging new partnerships and continuing to cultivate a comprehensive ecosystem of innovative educational offerings,” said Greg Mondre, co-CEO at Silver Lake. So far this year, Byju’s has pulled in heavyweights such as Tiger Global, Bond Capital, DST Global, and Silver Lake, on to its shareholder list. The company raised $300-$400 million from Tiger Global and General Atlantic in January and a further $145 million from Bond Capital and DST Global recently.
Prior to this year, Byju’s is estimated to have raised $916 million across its funding rounds. It has raised a similar or slightly larger amount in 2020 alone. Its valuation too has jumped significantly in the past one year, from around $5.7 billion in July 2019 to $10.8 billion after the Silver Lake investment.
“At approximately $6 trillion, the education market is the second largest sector in the world and experiencing a significant surge in digital penetration. The meteoric growth of both WhiteHat Jr and Byju’s is illustrative of the rapidly growing and maturing ed-tech market in India and throughout the world,” Amit Patel, managing director of Owl Ventures, told ET in a recent interview. Owl Ventures is an investor in Byju’s.
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Sales of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), cars, smartphones, and household appliances surged in the September quarter, both sequentially and year-on-year, company executives told ET.Piyush Goyal, Chandrasekhar to Grace ET Startup Awards
Union Cabinet minister Piyush Goyal and minister of state Rajeev Chandrasekhar will be the guests of honour at a dazzling ceremony to celebrate the winners of The Economic Times Startup Awards on Saturday, October 7.GST Collections in Sept Jump 10% to ₹1.63 L cr
Goods and services tax (GST) collections rose 10% to ₹1.63 lakh crore in September from a year earlier , maintaining the recent robust pace of growth, showed data released on Tuesday.
ETPrime stories of the day
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17 September 2015
The latest glowing statistics from the SMMT's Annual Sustainability Report are in; the £70 Billion UK Automotive industry has never generated more cash and, in a few years’ time, it will never have employed so many Brits.
Industry trade body, The Society of Motor Manufacturers, says this has put the UK car industry back on the Global s... [More]
15 September 2015
The National Rugby Awards is still the Talk of the Town as acknowledgements are still being made towards those who were successful in winning their categories.
The list of winners is as follows:
1. Club of the Year – Bishop’s Stortford RFC
2. Men’s Team of the Year – Wetherby RFC
3. &nbs... [More]
14 September 2015
Are you up for the CHALLENGE?
7 intrepid warriors from LawsonKeys are taking on the Mighty challenge of the “Mud Runner 2015”, on Sunday October 18th, which is taking part at the historic Eastnor Castle.
This is a challenging race, involving running up and down hills, scaling obstacles and generally ... [More]
7 September 2015
The big day had arrived; The National Rugby awards took place on the 2nd of September at Twickenham stadium, - the eagerly anticipated event excelled all expectations, and was a great success.
Guests started to arrive at 17:30 for the Champagne reception, where sponsors and nominees had the opportunity to meet with each other.
750 guests a... [More]


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Canada and the United Kingdom have reached a provisional post-Brexit trade agreement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday.
“Now we can continue to work on a tailor-made deal, a comprehensive deal, in the years to come that will really maximize our business opportunities and drive things for everyone,” said Trudeau.
“Free trade is an important part of how we are going to recover from COVID, but I also think Canada and the UK share a perspective on building a greener environment,” said Johnson, who also congratulated Trudeau for taking steps to get Canada to have net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement extends tariff elimination on 98 percent of goods exported between the two countries and sets the stage for negotiations for a permanent and more ambitious deal in the new year. The deal could include “the potential to go further in areas such as digital commerce, the environment and women’s economic empowerment,” said a statement from the British government.
The announcement was made at a time when world leaders were practically meeting for the G20 summit.
Brexit complicates negotiation of new deal
After the United Kingdom left the European Union last winter, the two countries agreed to allow the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) – the bilateral trade agreement in force between Canada and the EU since 2017 – to continue to apply to the Canada-UK trade by the end of 2020.
Negotiating a new comprehensive bilateral trade agreement between the two that could be fully ratified and in force before January 1 was difficult because the British had no jurisdiction over their own trade affairs until their exit from the EU was completed.
Instead, the two sides agreed to “extend” CETA in a short-term transition agreement, replicating most of the existing language and renegotiating only what was necessary to make it suitable for trade in the UK alone.
“We knew that having an interim agreement would be crucial to ensure that companies, exporters and our workers on both sides of the Atlantic have the continuity and predictability they need,” said International Trade Minister Mary Ng on Saturday.
After negotiations are concluded, the agreement must be approved by both governments. In the case of Canada, legislation to amend regulations and laws (including its customs tariff) to comply with the new agreement must be approved by Parliament before the agreement takes effect.
The deadline for approving such a project is now very tight, but both countries said they do not want to harm or interrupt the companies that have benefited from CETA and depend on this bilateral trade.
There is no end date or sunset clause for the transition agreement, but both sides intend to start negotiations for a permanent agreement to replace it next year.


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Just over a month ago, Nintendo released its highly anticipated Mario Kart Tour game for both iOS and Android. The initial launch day stats looked strong, and new data from Sensor Tower today reveals that Mario Kart Tour was downloaded over 123 million times in its first month of availability.
Nintendo’s Mario Kart Tour was released for iOS and Android on Wednesday, and despite all its success, there has been some controversy over its freemium model. That has already been reflected in its availability in some regions. According to the Brussels Times, the company has opted not to launch Mario Kart Tour in Belgium, as loot boxes are prohibited there.
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Two medical research companies accused of making too much money from baby body parts provided by Planned Parenthood
By Samantha Gobba
(WNS)–Orange County, Calif., District Attorney Tony Rackauckas filed suit on Oct. 11 against two medical research companies for selling aborted baby body parts for excessively inflated prices.
The $1.6 million suit comes several months after the pro-life group Center for Medical Progress released a video showing the relationship between Planned Parenthood, which provided the aborted babies, and sister companies Da Vinci Biosciences and DV Biologics.
“We don’t expect this to be an easy case,” Rackauckas said in a press conference Wednesday morning. “But this district attorney’s office has a long track record of handling serious and complicated consumer protection cases, and we believe that we are going to continue our commitment to fighting consumer fraud, and this will just be another case.”
State and federal law forbid financial profit from fetal tissue sales, but companies may charge a handling fee. Invoices obtained by subpoena show Da Vinci Biosciences charged steep packing and handling fees, on top of hundreds of dollars for fetal parts, profiting up to $674 for a heart, $233 for a liver, $221 for a stomach, and $664 for a small intestine.
Da Vinci Bioscience and DV Biologics racked up $56,678 in “packing and handling fees” between 2009 and 2015, when Planned Parenthood stopped providing aborted fetal tissue.
The companies intentionally set prices “as high as possible,” Rackauckas said, to ensure a profit. For instance, a 2009 DV Biologics email notes that if a “product” costing $25 to “manufacture” is priced at $170, a 50 percent discount still leaves the company with a $60 profit.
The company gave employees freedom to offer steep discounts to boost sales and also ran regular promotions, such as a 25 percent off “fall promotion” in 2013. Employees also “randomly” sold baby parts at different prices to different customers, Rackauckas said, with the lowest prices going to overseas markets in Japan, China, Korea, Germany, and elsewhere, and the highest prices going to domestic researchers.
“This illustrates the boldness of their unlawful profit-making business scheme,” Rackauckas said.
Most sales reaped a 70 percent profit, he said.
After announcing the suit, Rackauckas deflected multiple reporters’ questions regarding the involvement of Planned Parenthood. “Our evidence indicates that money was never exchanged between these companies and Planned Parenthood,” he said.
When asked whether Planned Parenthood routinely donates aborted babies, Rackauckas said “evidence suggests” people from Da Vinci Bioscience and DV Biologics likely picked up tissue several times per week.
“It’s legal to donate fetuses for research purposes,” he said. “We’re not indicating that Planned Parenthood did anything unlawful.”
But David Daleiden, founder of the Center for Medical Progress, disagrees, noting if the tissue trade middlemen are guilty, so is Planned Parenthood, as a primary accomplice.
“The wheels of justice are beginning to turn against Planned Parenthood and their corrupt business partners in the illicit trade in aborted baby body parts,” Daleiden said. “Planned Parenthood is not above the law, and law enforcement and elected representatives everywhere must now hold Planned Parenthood accountable for their barbaric profiteering off of pregnant women and the body parts of their aborted children.”
Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., chairwoman of the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives, applauded the lawsuit, noting it debunks Democrats’ claims the fetal tissue trade needed no further scrutiny.
“For nearly a year, critics of this panel’s fact-finding investigation have repeatedly called for it to be disbanded, saying there’s nothing to see here,” she said. “They claimed there was no wrongdoing in the fetal tissue industry.”
But the Orange County lawsuit proves “some fetal tissue middlemen may have broken the law,” Blackburn said, adding her panel would continue to scrutinize the links between Planned Parenthood and companies profiting from the sale of aborted babies.


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Topshop is "taking a pause" from London Fashion Week
Topshop will not be showing its Unique collection at London Fashion Week this season as the retailer beds in a new senior team.
The Arcadia-owned business has confirmed in a statement that it will not be taking part in its own catwalk show however "[...] the brand remains committed to the development and support of emerging and established talent and will be hosting the Topshop Showspace".
This marks the first time in the 12 years since Topshop Unique made its London Fashion Week debut that it will now show on schedule. Despite being a high street brand its shows were one of the most hotly anticipated of the season, largely due to its celebrity pulling power with names such as Kate Moss, sister Lottie Moss and US Vogue's Anna Wintour often seen on the front row.
However the brand will continue to have a high profile during Fashion Week since its Topshop Showspace in Covent Garden it will be hosting some of the most anticipated shows of the seasons including House of Holland, Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, Nicopanda, Shrimps and Molly Goddard.
It also continues to support Lulu Kennedy's platform for emerging talent Fashion East, which will host names such as ASAI, Supriya Lele, Charlotte Knowles and Symonds Permain.
Last year Topshop underwent a wholesale change of guard at the head of the business, which was set off by the departure of long-standing managing director Mary Homer who left last spring to become CEO at premium fashion and lifestyle retailer The White Company.
Former chief merchandising officer of Burberry Paul Price was named CEO of both Topshop and Topman in July and shortly after David Hagglund joined Arcadia as creative director across both brands. Hagglund's arrival led to the departure of the creative directors of both Topshop and Topman, Kate Phelan and Gordon Richardson.
Finally in November Anthony Cuthbertson, who had most recently been with Just Cavalli but who had also completed stints at Victoria Beckham, Sass & Bide and Mulberry, was named as global design director.


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If you’ve splashed out on an Ultra HD television recently, you probably want to get your hands on as much 4K content as possible. You’re in luck if you live in the U.K., where 4K Blu-ray discs have gone on sale for the first time today.
That’s the good news, but there’s some bad news you should be aware of, too. Firstly, there are only 12 official titles available right now, according to Engadget, including Life of Pi, The Lego Movie, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Kingsman: The Secret Service.
However, because 4K Blu-rays aren’t region-locked, you can buy more titles that have been imported from other countries on Amazon. Some of the titles there include Ghostbusters, The Amazing Spider-Man, Chappie, and Angels & Demons.
The official 4K titles can be picked up from places like HMV and Zavvi, where they’re priced at £20-£25 (approx. $28-$36). The imported titles can be snapped up for as little as £8 (approx. $11). But you don’t just need a 4K TV.
Obviously you need a 4K Blu-ray player to read these discs, too, and that’s where things get pretty eye-watering. Panasonic is the only company currently selling a 4K Blu-ray player in the U.K. — the DMP-UB900 — and it’s currently priced at a whopping £600 (approx. $854).
That’s probably more than you spent on your 4K TV itself. The good news is, Samsung is expected to launch a 4K Blu-ray player of its own soon, and recent leaks have suggested it will be much more affordable at just over £400 (approx. $569).
If that’s still out of your budget, you can already enjoy 4K content on streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and the latter is free if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber.


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Because she felt this was her time, pandemic or no, Melissa Araujo opened her first restaurant Alma in the Bywater last fall, introducing many to the delights of her native Honduran flavors at breakfast and lunch.
Because they couldn’t turn back when the pandemic hit, the partners behind Vals opened just three months after the crisis shut everything down, turning heads at the time and animating a key corner on the Freret Street restaurant row ever since.
Because he kept cooking and the people kept lining up, Demond “Dee” Matthews found himself in the restaurant business, and planted a vibrant new addition on St. Bernard Avenue last year with his Dee’s Xquisite Seafood.
From sidewalk cafes to popsicle doorbells, the coronavirus pandemic reshaped the way New Orleans dines. If it felt like a lot of restaurants o…
These are just a few examples from the influx of new restaurants that have opened around the New Orleans area since the coronavirus crisis began (see the related story with a tally of total numbers in New Orleans).
It’s been a time of grinding turmoil for the hospitality sector everywhere, and that’s been sharply felt in New Orleans with its tourism-based economy. And yet, the flow of new restaurants continued throughout the crisis and soon resumed its customary, frenetic pace.
The pandemic only deepens the nebulous questions of supply and demand that have run parallel to the proliferation of new restaurants here for years now. They are also adding more players to an industry in broad distress, and more competition in the struggle that many businesses now face to hire back staff.
But ask the people behind these new restaurant why they’re opening now, and they offer a range of stories that have long propelled restaurant sector’s growth here. Between their different backgrounds and different styles of food, they come through the dynamics of ambition and necessity, change and opportunity.
As hard as the crisis has hit the restaurant business, for NOLA Crawfish King opening a new restaurant in the midst of it was a survival tactic. Company founder Chris “Shaggy” Davis had built his business around catering, rolling out huge spreads of crawfish or barbecue for private events and festivals. When all of that abruptly ended, he started selling direct through a truck he parked by a gas station in Gentilly.
“The truck was what saved the business,” Davis said. “That was all we had for a while.”
People turned up, and the response convinced him to open a brick-and-mortar version of NOLA Crawfish King. This debuted over the winter as a seafood market and barbecue shop covered in colorful murals, with a boiling room and smoker side by side in back.
Opening new doors
Things also looked bleak early on for 14 Parishes, the Jamaican food stand in downtown’s Pythian Market. But then, as the economy slowly reopened, the return of loyal customers buoyed the prospects for founders Lauren and Charles Blake.
When they spotted a closed restaurant space that looked ideal — the former Mellow Mushroom pizzeria across town on Oak Street — they set plans in motion for a big step up.
The couple had once run a full-service version of 14 Parishes in Central City, though this closed in 2018. They dreamed of bringing it back, but were wracked with indecision about rolling the dice again on a big investment in the business.
Finally, though, it was the way customers flocked to their food hall stand through the pandemic that convinced them this was their time.
“Don’t get me wrong: It was a scary decision because of what was going on, and it’s still scary,” said Lauren Blake. “But we’ve always had very loyal customers. That gave us motivation that we can do this. We can make it through a pandemic when literally the world shut down. We can do this.”
This second, full-service, much larger rendition of 14 Parishes opened in April, with an expanded menu, a second-floor event space and a bar devoted to rum drinks.
Time and place
Araujo devised her restaurant Alma after years cooking in Italy and in a progression of high-end New Orleans restaurants. She wanted to showcase the heart and soul of her own family’s Honduran heritage through the kind of modern style she’s seen propel other cuisines.
She decided to start with breakfast and lunch, as the most accessible meals for newcomers to experience it.
She opened Alma in October in a corner Bywater location that had seen a few restaurants come and go.
“I needed to get back to work, and this is what I do,” Araujo said. “I took the opportunity that was there and ran with it.”
In less than a year, the restaurant is exceeding the chef’s financial goals for the early going, and its staff has grown. Still, Araujo said she’s waiting to expand hours and add the more ambitious dinner menu she has planned.
“We’re not overextending ourselves, we’re taking it piece by piece,” she said.
Curbside to anchor
Dee’s Xquisite Seafood started out as a side gig to augment Matthews’ full-time job as a mental health tech at a local hospital. He cooked outside his brother’s Ninth Ward barbershop, and he started building a following for his way with seafood. He runs Dungeness crab legs, shrimp and other shellfish through a three-part harmony of flavor: first boiled, then chargrilled, then splashed with garlic butter sauce.
The nimbleness of the street food operation meant he could keep his stride through the shutdowns. Dee's was already set up for curbside pickup, which suddenly was the only way many people were getting meals away from home. People in cars lined the street waiting for their plates.
In September, Matthews went full time into the venture and opened his counter service location, where people on foot now line the block to get in.
Matthews said his next goal is to open a second location, this time in Baton Rouge.
“I'm new to this business. I never thought I'd be a chef, never thought I'd have a role in the restaurant business,” Matthews said. “But now I feel like I found my identity in the food world.”
Now or never
Vals was among the first new restaurants to open after the shutdowns last year, and when it did a design worked out before anyone had heard of COVID-19 proved a to be a vital jump start.
Developed by CureCo, parent company of the lounge Cure a block away on Freret Street, it serves a menu of cocktails, tacos and other Latin American flavors from chef Fredo Nogueira. It also has a large patio and a walk-up window for takeout.
When Vals was ready to open in June 2020, those outdoor elements convinced the restaurant’s managers that they could do so safely under the public health guidelines at the time.
Neal Bodenheimer, a partner in Vals, thought they would begin with the takeout window only. But customers showed up swift and steady; that convinced Bodenheimer they needed to quickly add outdoor table service, if only to help spread people out for social distancing. At first, they had to rent furniture to respond to the growing demand.
“People were actually coming, this was actually working,” he said. “People were treating it like a regular opening, and they were excited about it.”
It was an early illustration of what many other new restaurants have learned since — as long as New Orleans people could dine out safely, they were going to show up, and the reliable interest in what’s new endured through it.
It’s one of those clichés that just happens to ring true. When New Orleans people get together for a meal, very often we’re talking about the …
Throughout the coronavirus crisis, New Orleans has watched restaurants reconfigure constantly to reopen and stay open, lamented the loss of fa…
As restaurants have reopened, New Orleanians have been welcoming back old favorites left and right. At the same time, we’ve also been seeing n…
The ham spent a year longer than planned hanging in the curing case at Maypop, not exactly forgotten but set aside as the restaurant sat close…


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Precision Castparts posts Q3 gains, plans to buy back $750M in shares
Precision Castparts Corp. posted a 13 percent jump in third-quarter sales and announced plans to buy back $750 million in shares over the next three years in a sign that the company expects those strong numbers to continue.
The Portland-based company, a manufacturer of key metal components used in aerospace, energy and other industrial markets (NYSE: PCP), generated $2 billion in third quarter sales, up 13 percent over the $1.8 billion recorded a year ago.
Profits from continuing operations reached $339.9 million, or $2.32 per share, compared with $309.7 million, or $2.13 per share, last year.
The results fell short of projections from analysts polled by Thomson Financial, which had expected a profit of $2.48 per share on $2.11 billion in sales.
Still, the strong results paired with the news of the share buyback program sent Precision Castparts' shares up more than 2 percent to $190.22 per share.
The company attributed the third-quarter growth to strong sales of airframe products to commercial aersopace customers, a steady recovery from its forged products business to press outages, and continued strong performance from its sales to manufacturers of industrial gas turbines.
The company's recently completed $3 billion deal for Titanium Metals Corp., along with other acquisitions, added $18 million in expenses in the quarter, reducing net operating income by 0.4 percentage points.
But CEO Mark Donegan said the Timet deal will ultimately be a "significant needle mover," and the company already has plans to apply its own manufacturing disciplines on Timet factories to drive out costs and improve sales.
The share buyback program announced Thursday starts immediately and continues through June 30, 2015.
Donegan said it will offset any dilution caused by exercising of stock options and the company's employee stock purchase program.
"This share repurchase program demonstrates our confidence in our growth and cash generation expectations," Donegan said in a news release. "However, the primary use for our cash remains our continued pursuit of a full pipeline of strategic, value-creating acquisitions to complement our aerospace and power portfolios."
The company ended the quarter with $483.3 million in cash and $3.8 billion in debt.
Erik Siemers is managing editor of the Portland Business Journal.
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Government restores 2% additional duty benefit to mobile phone export
Thursday, January 30, 2020, 9:27 PM
The government has restored 2% additional duty incentive on mobile-phones export with a view to boost shipments of the product, according to a notification of the commerce-ministry. The duty benefit under the Merchandise Export from India Scheme is effective from Jan.-1 and will be there till March-31, 2020. DGFT is an arm of the commerce-ministry which deals with issues related to exports and imports.


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Streaming is the future. Heck, streaming is the present. There are plenty of times when I will move from live TV to recorded TV to streaming and not even think about it. It’s a reality that’s only getting more and more important. If you have doubts, look at what’s happening now with Thursday Night Football.
There are several articles, including this one from Variety that say that the fight for Thursday Night games is pretty fierce. Remember, these same games are going to be live on CBS and NBC, so the real story here is that someone thinks there’s value in paying for what people could be getting for free over the air. And we’re not talking about small companies here: Apple, Amazon, Google and Verizon are all in the mix.
What about DIRECTV? While the company has grown immensely due to its popular NFL Sunday Ticket package, their name has never been associated with Thursdays, and that could be due to non-compete agreements with networks and affiliates. It could also be that DIRECTV is also rumored to be putting the finishing touches on a streaming service of its own that could potentially already include these broadcast feeds.
The Thursday night deals wouldn’t affect the exclusivity of NFL Sunday Ticket. Monday Night and Thursday Night NFL broadcasts have never been a part of the package, and for a company like DIRECTV, the real draw is on Sundays when people could potentially go to bars and restaurants, who pay dearly for the Sunday Ticket package.
Personally, I’m most interested in finding out what players like Apple, Amazon, and Google will do if they get Thursday night games. Apple doesn’t currently have a streaming video service or an all-you-can-eat package like Prime Video, so will they charge for the games over iTunes? Will anyone pay? Amazon could easily roll this into Prime Video, but it would be the company’s first foray into live streaming. They certainly have the backbone to handle it, and they have proven that they can conquer any new market they choose to. Google could integrate NFL into its pricey YouTube Red service, and in my opinion that would be the best fit. Google has done plenty of live streams and they have a very strong video backbone. After 10 years of free YouTube videos, they’re cautiously moving into paid video and streaming, and this would probably be a good high-profile move for them.
Verizon has also been mentioned as a suitor, and this would be a sensible move for them given that their competitor AT&T now has access to streaming rights for Sundays through DIRECTV. This would restore a bit of the balance to the relationship between the two rivals, and could potentially slot nicely into Verizon’s Go90 streaming video service, which up to now hasn’t been terribly interesting for a lot of people.
Personally I think that it would be better to roll these games into a streaming service like Prime Video than try to charge people a la carte. I see this as adding value to an existing package for sure, but I struggle to imagine a case where someone would pay to stream a single game. What do you think?


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Uber Eats ends in Brazil on March 7
Uber is ending its Uber Eats restaurant delivery service in Brazil on March 7 to focus on Uber Direct in-store delivery service and deliveries through the Cornershop online grocery platform, according to a Reuters report on Thursday. (January 6) who quotes sources close to the case.
Uber’s move is part of its global effort to shut down unprofitable operations around the world. Uber’s statement does not include a reason to shut down its Uber Eats service in Brazil.
Rappi and iFood are among the other food delivery services in Brazil. The first counts SoftBank Group among its investors while the second is part of Movile, a technology group supported by Prosus.
Related: Brazilian Movile bets on logistics, payments and metaverse to maintain growth streak
The Global Digital Shopping Index: Brazil Edition, a collaboration between PYMNTS and Cybersource, shows that 41% of Brazilian consumers are very or extremely likely to use digitally-focused features to make purchases, which is above the levels of others. major international markets studied by PYMNTS.
Movile CEO Patrick Hruby told Karen Webster, CEO of PYMNTS, that FinTech is seen as “the launching pad” for products and services that can be seen as part of an interoperable digital payments ecosystem. – and he sees it as a natural extension of Movile’s role as a funder of venture capital. and incubator.
Also read: Uber to test driverless food delivery in 2022 in California
Last month, Uber partnered with autonomous driving company Motional – a collaboration between Hyundai and Aptiv – on a driverless food delivery pilot in the United States this year, starting in Santa Monica, Calif., via the Uber Eats app.
Uber sold its self-driving car division to Aurora Innovation Inc. last year, ending its vision of making self-driving taxis. Motional also plans to work with Lyft on self-driving taxis in Las Vegas, with a goal of launching the service in 2023.
Uber is also working with CLEAR by integrating its free ‘Home to Gate’ app feature into Uber’s software to help users determine exactly when to leave for the airport and help them book an Uber ride in advance. which helps to make everything “transparent.” “And” predictable “.