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South Korean automaker Hyundai Motors is seeking to secure rare earth mineral supply, as the industry faces a possible shortage of minerals.
Rare earth metals have a wide variety of applications. They are used in hybrid car motors, computer hard drives, cell phones, and wind turbines. They are also essential for military equipment.
Jet engines, smart bombs and guided missiles, lasers, radar, night vision goggles, and satellites all depend on rare earth metals to function.
Hyundai, the world's fifth-biggest carmaker along with Kia Motors, proposed in a regulatory filing on Friday a change in its articles of incorporation to secure resources for the development of eco-friendly vehicles.
The proposal is subject to approval at a shareholder's meeting on March 11.
We will make efforts to vigorously secure rare earths and other rare resources used in cars, The Sydney Morning Herald reported a spokesperson as saying.
Hyundai rolled out a hybrid version of its Sonata sedan in the United States in January, which was its first overseas hybrid model. Kia plans to roll out a hybrid Optima sedan in the United States in the first half.
Hyundai Motor plans to mass-produce pure electric vehicles next year after a test-run of its BlueOn cars this year, according to Hyundai Motor Group vice chairman Lee Hyun-soon.
Earlier in December, Toyota Tsusho Corp, the trading company part-owned by Toyota Motor Corp, struck a deal with the Indian government to build a rare earth processing plant to secure supplies. This pact will help in securing approximately 3,000 to 4,000 tons annually
China suspended shipments of the mineral to EU and US in October, media reports stated. The suspension came after there were indications that the U.S. would investigate if China was violating World Trade Organization rules by subsidizing clean energy exports and limiting clean energy imports.
China has been reducing export quotas of rare earth minerals for the past few years, citing environmental concerns. However, Wang Caifeng, who is in charge of setting up the China Rare Earth Industry Association, stated that China might slightly raise the production cap and export quota next year.
China, which mines more than 90 percent of the world's rare earth, has exported 6,000 tones, or 49.8 percent, of its total rare earth to Japan, representing a 167 percent rise year on year, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.


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As one of the fastest growing emerging markets in Asia Pacific, Vietnam’s economy is dependent on exports, driven by the likes of the apparel, automotive and high-tech industries and this is likely to continue as more manufacturing moves into the country. Indeed, Dickson Ho, Principal Economist (Asian and Emerging Markets) for the Hong Kong Trade Development Council noted that foreign direct investment in Vietnam increased by 9.6% in 2014. He further notes that while minimum wage recently increased in the country, it is still lower than surrounding countries, particularly China.
That is likely among the reasons why various high-tech companies such as Samsung, Intel, LG and Microsoft have set up shop in Vietnam. In fact, Microsoft announced plans to close its Nokia mobile phone factories in China by the end of first quarter this year and shift its Nokia factories to Vietnam.
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council conducted research into Vietnam’s increasing role in manufacturing and noted that, since 2013, electronic products have been the country’s largest export sector. Research further indicated that electronics industrial clusters were focused in Northern provinces of Vietnam such as Hanoi, Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh.
Free trade agreements are further boosting activity. For example, the Vietnam-Korea FTA was just concluded in December 2014. Korea is Vietnam’s third-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching US$30bn in 2014. The agreement will remove import duties on more than 90% of tariff lines.
For logistics providers, this growing high tech manufacturing presents opportunities. In late 2014 Rhenus announced that it had founded an independent company in Vietnam with its headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City. The company had previously handled projects in Vietnam in conjunction with selected national agents. According to the CEO, “The country is an important and stable partner within the ASEAN association and it is opening up to an increasing degree. As a result of establishing this new firm, we´ll be able to offer an even more extensive network and continue expanding our services.”
In addition, Yusen Logistics expanded further in Vietnam with a multi–purpose warehouse complex in Hai Phong City while CEVA Logistics expanded its presence in Vietnam with a new branch office in Hanoi. The branch office in Hanoi will handle a range of supply chain and logistics services including air freight and ocean freight, contract logistics, warehousing and distribution, local transportation and other domestic value added services.
The formation of the ASEAN Economic Community will further enhance Vietnam’s position within the region, creating additional opportunities in domestic and regional transportation as well as warehousing services – specialized and general.

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Xiaomi manager in Ukraine Michael Feng published on his Facebook page a slide from the Canalys presentation with the top 5 smartphone suppliers to the Ukrainian market. The title of the slide shows Q4 2020 and the source of information is February 2021. In first place is Xiaomi (which, in fact, is a well-deserved reason for pride and the reason for the appearance of this publication on the manager’s page) with a 38% market share and growth over the year (usually compared to the periods of the previous year to avoid the impact of seasonality on the results) at 33%. It is worth saying that this is not the largest share in the Ukrainian market — Nokia and Samsung in their best times exceeded 40%, so the leader still has room to grow. But, of course, this is not surprising, and not even the second place in the top.
In second place is Samsung with a market share of 19% and an 18% drop from the previous year. Huawei has lost the most in a year (and we all know why this is happening, hello to the Trump administration): 42% and a current market share of 12%. In third place, Canalys analysts fixed the company Transsion Holdings, the name of which is generally not known to many. We are talking about an African company represented on our market by smartphones under the Tecno Mobile brand (the company’s portfolio also includes iTel Mobile and Infinix Mobile brands, which are not sold here). During the year, the market share increased by 455%, reaching 6%. OPPO closes the top five with even more impressive performance — its sales for the year grew by 731%, that is, 8 times, and occupied 6% of the Ukrainian smartphone market.
It is worth saying that according to Canalys data for the 4th quarter of 2020, Apple ranked 1st in the world, having sold a record 81.8 million iPhones and reaching a global market share of 23% (every 4 smartphones sold in the world in the 4th quarter were produced Apple). Samsung ranks second in the global rankings according to Canalys, followed by three Chinese manufacturers: Xiaomi, OPPO and vivo (Huawei dropped out of the top 5 altogether).
The overall global sales results for 2020 remained in the usual picture, with Samsung in first place, Apple in second, followed by Huawei, then Xiaomi and OPPO.
Sources: Michael Feng, Canalys


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India Growth rate increase– Credit rating agency BRICWORK Credit Rating Agency in India has sai about indian economy rapidly increased.
Credit rating agency Brickwork forecast the country’s economic growth
India Growth rate increase
Credit rating agency BRICWORK on Tuesday said it expects the Indian economy to grow at a faster rate of 10-10.5 per cent in the current fiscal. The reason for this is that due to the economic reforms made in the Corona era and vaccination which has progressed faster than expected, the economic cycle has started to turn rapidly.
Credit rating agency BRICWORK
According to Brickwork, various components of the economy are recovering faster than expected. Due to the decline in the number of new corona patients, the GDP is expected to grow at the rate of 8.3 percent in the second quarter of FY 2022. Continuing improvement is expected and further growth in GDP is expected. Most states have already relaxed all restrictions. Mass vaccination is likely to boost economic activity.
Economy is slowly returning to normal
The outbreak of Corona has had a devastating effect on the economy. Connectivity sectors such as hotels, tourism and transport and supply disruptions may take some time to recover. The economy is slowly returning to normal.
This is underscored by the recent satisfactory figures in the manufacturing and services sectors. In addition, consumer demand has also increased during the festive season, the observational credit rating agency has pointed out.
The risk of a possible third wave, which may hinder development, is currently reduced by vaccination. However, rising international oil prices, metals and minerals, rising commodity prices, limited coal supplies and rising freight rates are likely to slow the economy, Brickwork said.
The central government has increased capital expenditure in recent months, which is likely to have a positive impact on the economy. Demand is likely to improve further with the demand for goods and services rising during the festive season. This will lead to more efficient use of the increased capacity in the third and fourth quarters.


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More than half of Germans have no holiday plans this year due to coronavirus
Many Germans are not in the holiday mood this year or are planning to stay at home because of the pandemic, a new survey has found.
Compulsory masks on trains and planes, distance rules on beaches and in restaurants, scaled-back leisure programmes in tourist resorts: there's no doubt the 2020 holiday season is going to be very different compared to previous years.
And people in Germany are anticipating the changes, according to the survey conducted by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of DPA.
Overall, one in three respondents, or 22 percent, expect "severe" restrictions, while 11 percent expect "very severe" restrictions if they go on holiday this year.
Meanwhile, just over half (54 percent) of Germans believe their holidays will be "somewhat restricted". Yet nine percent hope for a vacation like in normal times.
A total of 2,066 people participated in the survey between June 17th and 19th.
More than one in three respondents (35 percent) said they were not in a holiday mood at all this year, while 22 percent have mixed feelings about going away.
Every fifth person (21 percent) has scaled-back their holiday plans, while 51 percent of all respondents say they have no holiday plans at all this year.
Of those who are planning a holiday, 36 percent intend to travel within Germany, and 30 percent – despite coronavirus – intend to go abroad over the course of the year. A total of 11 percent intend to travel within their own region, while 20 percent are planning holidays at home.
But those looking to snap up a holiday home will have to be quick because accommodation is filling up in well-known German tourist destinations such as the North and Baltic Sea areas.
Making up for lost time?
The Easter travel season was completely cancelled this year because of coronavirus lockdowns across Europe. Do many people plan to use the summer travel season to compensate for the lost spring holidays?
Yes, said around one in five people planning a holiday. A total of 14 percent now want to take a "slightly bigger" holiday, while five percent want a "significantly bigger" vacation.
But 79 percent of respondents say they don't want to compensate for the Easter trip with a longer or more expensive holiday.
The fact that many resorts are likely to have fewer tourist and gastronomy offers than usual because of the pandemic is dampening the mood of some.
A total of 36 percent find this "rather negative" or "very negative".
But just under a third (29 percent) of those surveyed see fewer tourist offers than usual to be "rather positive" or even "very positive" – after all, this probably means less hustle and bustle in popular holiday destinations.
Ban on Gütersloh holidaymakers
Meanwhile, for people from the Gütersloh district in western Germany, holiday planning is even more tricky.
Just before the start of school summer holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia, travellers from the district, which is currently on lockdown, have been told they are no longer welcome everywhere due to the massive outbreak at the Tönnies meat processing plant.
Earlier this week authorities in the German island of Usedom turned away a couple from the district who had come to spend their holiday there.
Lower Saxony announced on Wednesday a ban on accommodation for tourists from the region who can't show a negative coronavirus test. Bavaria and Schleswig-Holstein have also announced restrictions on people visiting from the area.
Travel season - (die) Reisesaison
Restricted - eingeschränkt
Maskenpflicht in Zügen und Flugzeugen - Obligation to wear masks on trains and planes
Hustle and bustle - (der) Trubel
We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.


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The transfer is vital a part of Liz Truss’s plan to pivot commerce away from Europe after Brexit
The UK is starting negotiations to affix a free trade alliance with Asia-Pacific countries, a role of its attempt to pivot commerce away from Europe after Brexit.
Britain will maintain digital talks to affix the Complete and Progressive Settlement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), strengthening commerce hyperlinks with the 11 international locations within the group, which signify a market of 500 million folks.
The UK authorities has mentioned a take care of the group would open new markets for Britain’s service industries whereas reducing tariffs on exports of products corresponding to vehicles and whisky.
British exports to the 11 members of the CPTPP will improve by 65% to £37bn by 2030, based on authorities estimates. It mentioned UK commerce with CPTPP member international locations grew by 8% yearly between 2016 and 2019.
“This a part of the world is the place Britain’s biggest alternatives lie. We left the EU with the promise of deepening hyperlinks with outdated allies and fast-growing shopper markets past Europe,” the commerce minister, Liz Truss, mentioned. “It’s a glittering post-Brexit prize that I need us to grab.”
Below the overarching CPTPP treaty, the overwhelming majority of limitations to commerce together with tariffs and quotas are eliminated, and are solely retained in a couple of very delicate areas, for instance providing safety to Canada’s dairy business and permitting Japan to maintain tariffs on rice.
Nonetheless, not like the EU, the alliance doesn’t have wider political objectives corresponding to integration or the creation of a single market or customs union.
Britain has already reached a commerce settlement with the CPTPP member Australia, the primary new commerce take care of one other nation after Brexit.
Nonetheless, the deal has confronted criticism, including from Britain’s farmers, who’re involved that it’s going to permit a flood of cheaper and lower-quality meat imports from enormous Australian farms to move on to the British market, particularly as soon as the cap on tariff-free imports expires after 15 years.
Britain applied to join the CPTPP partnership in February. It’s unclear what leverage the UK should persuade members to adapt their current commerce agreements to swimsuit British exporters.
The alliance was created after Donald Trump withdrew the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership earlier than it could possibly be ratified, leaving the remaining 11 members to amend the settlement, which got here into drive in 2018.


text: today made several commitments to environmental conservation efforts based on recycling old iPhones. To start, the company will make a donation to Conservation International for every device recycled at Apple stores and Apple.com between now and April 30. Eligible devices will receive credit that customers can use toward an in-store purchase or put on an Apple Store Gift Card. The value will vary by device. Conservation International protects natural resources. Further, Apple debuted Daisy, a new robot that disassembles old iPhones in order to recover valuable materials for recycling purposes. Apple says Daisy can take apart nine different iPhone models, and disassemble up to 200 devices per hour, removing and sorting components. "At Apple, we're constantly working toward smart solutions to address climate change and conserve our planet's precious resources," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's VP of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives. "In recognition of Earth Day, we are making it as simple as possible for our customers to recycle devices and do something good for the planet through Apple GiveBack. We're also thrilled to introduce Daisy to the world, as she represents what's possible when innovation and conservation meet." Apple continues to work to reduce its carbon footprint, use safer materials in its products, and power its facilities with clean energy. Last, Apple said it will send an alert to Apple Watch users on April 21 challenging them to go outside and complete 30 minutes of activity. Those who do will be rewarded with unique stickers in iMessage.


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‘Love Is Blind’ star Jeramey Lutinski opened up about his shocking jetski scandal that left fans buzzing on ‘Love Is Blind’.
Kim Kardashian delivered a touching tribute to her mother, Kris Jenner, on James Corden’s Sirius XM radio show.
Kylie Jenner, the 26-year-old beauty mogul has once again left fans in awe, revealing her bold new look on Instagram.
In a stunning departure from the pink-dominated era, Kylie Jenner emerged as the trailblazer of the moment in candy-apple red.
Kim K and rapper Yeezy navigated the complexities of co-parenting awkwardly at their son Saint’s basketball game.
Kim Kardashian raised eyebrows and pulses by doubling down on her partnership with the controversial brand, Balenciaga.
Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny set tongues wagging with their unexpected reunion after a sizzling New Year’s Eve escapade in Barbados.
Kylie Jenner debuted her show-stopping bubblegum-pink hair, resurrecting the iconic ‘King Kylie’ era that captivated the world in 2014.
Kyle Richards of ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,’ surprised music icon Rihanna with a lavish gift during an impromptu shopping spree.
‘Kim Air,’ is more than just a mode of transportation, it’s also a luxurious extension of Kim Kardashian’s lifestyle.
Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, the iconic duo from ‘The Simple Life,’ teased exciting surprises for the show’s 20th anniversary.
From supermodel to tequila tycoon, Forbes crowns model, and business woman Kendall Jenner as one of its coveted 30 Under 30 for 2024.
Kim Kardashian’s Christmas lights extravaganza at her mansion caused a stir on social media with its over-the-top holiday cheer.
Kylie Jenner joined rumoured boyfriend Timothée Chalamet at the recent Saturday Night Live afterparty after he made his return to the show.
Faith Nketsi lost faith in her husband Nzuzo Njilo after he allegedly defrauded her shortly after their lavish cosmic wedding.
In a world where the climate crisis is ever-looming, Kim Kardashian’s latest tongue-in-cheek creation is doing its part.
Kim Kardashian celebrated her 43rd birthday in jaw-dropping fashion. The reality star wore an unforgettable red-hot look.
Kim Kardashian’s acting career has seen her transition from the realm of reality TV royalty to the glitzy world of Hollywood’s silver screen.
Music composer and reality star Lebo M won’t rest until justice is served for his late son. He wants the nanny arrested for negligence.
Kim Kardashian West has been included in Forbes magazine’s 2021 World’s Billionaires list for the first time.


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ComfortDelGro to roll out 'fastest' DC fast charger for EVs in Singapore from July 1
COMFORTDELGRO on Monday said it will roll out what it claims to be Singapore's fastest public commercial direct current (DC) charger for its cabbies and electric vehicle (EV) owners from July 1.
At 100 kilowatt (kW) power output, the Delta Ultra Fast Charger will have double the power output of all other commercial DC charging stations in the market, and be able to shave close to 10 minutes off the time it takes to fully charge a vehicle, the transport company said.
The charging station, which is located in ComfortDelGro Engineering's Loyang branch, can charge up to two vehicles at any one time. If two EVs are being charged simultaneously, the charging station's power output is at least 50kW, enabling each EV to be fully charged in 30 minutes, the company said.
Tammy Tan, group chief corporate communications officer for ComfortDelGro, told The Business Times on Monday that the company is currently trialling four fully electric taxis.
The new service will be made available through global EV charging software and solutions provider Greenlots.
Greenlots users who own EVs equipped with the Combined Charging System such as the BMW i3, fully-electric Hyundai Ioniqs and Konas, Jaguar iPace, as well as the Porsche Taycan, will be able to recharge at the charging station through the Greenlots app.
EV owners can check the availability of the charger through this app, where payments can also be made. According to ComfortDelGro, the price of 40 Singapore cents per kilowatt hour is the lowest in the market.
The existing DC fast charging station in ComfortDelGro's Braddell premises currently clocks an average of 130 charging sessions every month, the company said.
To gain entry into ComfortDelGro's premises at Braddell and Loyang, drivers will need to apply for a special access pass directly with ComfortDelGro Engineering via email at email@example.com. ComfortDelGro cabbies driving the fully-electric Hyundai Ioniq and Kona taxis do not require the access pass.
Ang Soo Hock, CEO of ComfortDelGro Engineering, said: "While the interest in EVs continues to grow as more are looking to switch to greener options, charging time of EVs is still a key consideration. We hope that the introduction of faster charging solutions can help to alleviate those concerns and contribute to the development of a robust EV ecosystem in Singapore."
In a regulatory filing last Friday, the transport company said it expects to report a net loss for the first half this year. This is mainly attributed to the significant impact of Covid-19 on the company's operating regions, as well as the possibility of impairment of the company's investments in certain local and overseas subsidiaries.
As at 2.07pm on Monday, ComfortDelGro shares were trading at S$1.49, down S$0.03 or 2 per cent. Some 20 million shares changed hands, making it one of the most active counters by volume among the index securities.


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WESTFORD, Mass., Dec. 26 -- Sonus Networks announced it is continuing its global expansion with direct operations in China. Sonus has established a regional office in Beijing and has named former Juniper sales executive Michael Li as country director to oversee Sonus' sales, marketing and support operations in China. Sonus also announced that it has formed a partnership with leading Chinese systems integrator Photonic Bridges.
Sonus' new direct operations in Beijing will serve the rapidly growing Chinese telecommunications market, including next-generation carriers as well as established service providers.
To complement its direct operations, Sonus has selected Photonic Bridges as its first distribution partner in China. Photonic Bridges has signed an agreement to provide the complete Sonus product line in the Chinese market. Under terms of the contract, Photonic Bridges will market and support the full range of Sonus' packet voice solutions, including the GSX9000(TM) Open Services Switch, the Insignus(TM) Softswitch and the Sonus Insight(TM) Management System, to China telecommunications providers.


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A Different Take on Orphaned Works -- Orphaned Brands!
I received a press release last week from the team at CoreBrand. They focus on brand power and strength and its impact on a company's value. They wrote to tout a new service call Brandvault that will allow marketers to purchase or license once popular but now defunct corporate and product names. Names include Shearson, Allied Signal, Breakfast Mate and Handi-Wrap.
The company claims that "BrandVault offers marketers a turnkey collection of 120 out of use brand names that have been revived and newly trademarked in a wide range of consumer product categories, all ready for re-launch."
“This is a rare opportunity to acquire a classic brand that has been pushed aside through a merger, or some other quirk of business, yet retains tremendous brand equity,” said James Gregory, CEO, CoreBrand “The astronomical cost of creating a name from scratch includes; research, name development, and legal research, just to get to the point of having a name without any value. Those steps can be eliminated. These names exist and they are already legally protected through the trademark office.”
While I think this is a clever business that has been thoughtfully constructed, I'm not sure if I would use this if I were a brand manager. It has the same feel of company that went public via a shell corporation rather than going out in a traditional manner. I also think it could serve to confuse the public like when the Pets.com sock puppet went to work for someone else after the bubble burst.


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The largest study ever conducted of multiple vitamin use in postmenopausal women with breast cancer found a strong linkage between multiple vitamin use and better prognosis.
If you read about vitamin supplements you must be confused. Actually, it would be hard not to be. Vitamins are, by definition, essential to health. Studies of hundreds of millions of people confirm that truth. However, a rash of recent studies have linked taking vitamin supplements to higher rates of a variety of diseases, especially […]
I hope that, respecting tradition, you have dedicated yourselves to creating some better health habits in this New Year. I also hope that you are going about that in a joyful way, understanding that doing the right things will help you enjoy your life more. Also, pursuing good health habits should be fun, not tedious […]
900 pages and zero thought. That is my summation of the IOM’s new calcium and vitamin D statement. Having been a member of such consensus panels in the past, I am sympathetic to their tendency to fall to the most conservative “lowest common denominator” opinion. However, this document is far from a reasonable scientific assessment. […]
The most frequent supplement question I’ve been hearing lately is about taking calcium. These questions have been inspired by a recent study of calcium supplementation, which received a great deal of attention. The authors of this study combined data from other studies and determined that calcium supplementation increased the risk of heart attack. Most of […]
It seems that warmer weather might actually be peeking shyly and belatedly around the corner. The odd weather has not been unique to Sonoma County. I attended an excellent meeting on the treatment of cancer with nutrition and alternative therapies near San Diego, and it was even cooler than here. Honestly, even it were snowing […]
Health advocate Gary Null has provided an unintentional educational lesson for those of us using dietary supplements. Taking one of his own products, he developed vitamin D toxicity. As there have been only a few cases of vitamin D toxicity ever reported, there is an inevitably interesting story behind this announcement. The story is that […]


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Deserve, a young tech startup that launched a credit card in partnership with cryptocurrency financial services provider BlockFi last July to allow customers to earn rewards in the form of bitcoin, has announced a partnership with VISA. Transaction volume for the card approaches $ 2 billion year-on-year and BlockFi cardholders are expected to spend around $ 30,000 annually, 50% more than average credit card holders. Deserve co-founder and CEO Kalpesh Kapadia told Bloomberg.
Mastercard, which a few days ago announced a collaboration with Bakkt for a service that allows you to pay in bitcoin by card and receive cryptographic rewards in exchange, had recently invested $ 50 million in Deserve, valuing the company over $ 500 million. , according to Bloomberg. Other investors in Deserve include Ally Ventures, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Sallie Mae.VISA ARTICLE


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About five years ago companies like Sun and Oracle were declaring that the age of the Open Source desktop was just around the corner and that the days of both Microsoft and Apple were numbered. Then last year, Linux based netbooks were supposed to make Open Source software the leader in portable computing as the easy to use devices finally popularized the Linux desktop with consumers.
Neither of those revolutions exactly came to pass…no one expects Open Source software to be a serious contender on desktop or notebook computers anytime soon. However Open Source has quietly come to dominate another vital area of mobile computing…phones. Leading that charge is not Linux or some exotic home brew OS, but Symbian. People tend to forget that due to the Symbian Foundation, Nokia’s OS of choice is Open Source…and expected to double it’s penetration over the next few years.
According to Digitimes, handsets that run some flavor of Symbian will account for 180 million shipments by 2014, (currently 87 million Symbian handsets ship a year). Once the burgeoning Android handset market and LiMo shipments are added to that, total open source handset shipments will far surpass 220 million by 2014. Open Source handsets also drive more developers into Open Source as users need more and better applications for their shiny phones.
Revolutionary? This is what Digitimes has to say….
While the developments by the LiMo Foundation, OHA and the Symbian foundation may suggest that the entire market is migrating towards open source OS, Apple’s hugely popular iPhone product is in fact based on a proprietary operating system. Research in Motion (RIM), Microsoft and Palm also utilize proprietary operating systems in their respective smartphone products. However, with over 60% of the smartphone market now using an open source OS, there has still been a significant shift in position from proprietary to open source.
If Android continues to explode as it is forecast to do in 2010 behind HTC and Motorola, then between it and Symbian we could see that 60 percent increase slowly over the next couple years until Open Source finds itself in a truly dominant position in telephony. Lower license fees due to Open Source software could result in lower prices for consumers…now THAT would be a revolution.


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The data center container revolution has officially arrived. And Microsoft's cloud computing initiative is driving it.
Microsoft will forego a traditional raised-floor environment in its new data center in Chicago, and will instead fill one floor of the huge facility with up to 220 shipping containers packed with servers, the company said today.
Microsoft is embracing containers as the key to building scalable, energy-efficient cloud computing platforms. The company's bold move is an affirmation of the potential for containers to address the most pressing power, cooling and capacity utilization challenges facing data center operators. The Chicago facility is part of the company's fleet of next-generation data centers being built to support its Live suite of "software plus services" online applications.
But the design of the Chicago data center will go beyond the optimizations seen in Microsoft's new facilities in Quincy, Washington and San Antonio.
"The entire first floor of Chicago is going to be containers," Microsoft director of data center services Michael Manos said this morning in his keynote at Data Center World in Las Vegas. "This represents our first container data center. The containers are going to be dropped off and plugged into network cabling and power." The second floor of the immense facility will be a traditional raised-floor data center, Manos said.
"It's a bold step forward," said Manos. "We're trying to address scale with the cloud level services. We were trying to figure the best way to bring capacity online quickly."
Data Center Knowledge first reported Microsoft's interest in container-based data centers last May, and late in 2007 Microsoft confirmed that it would use container-based data center solutions in the new $500 million, 500,000 square foot facility in Northlake, Illinois. Microsoft's Debra Chrapaty said the containers could support power densities beyond 1,000 watts per square foot.
The layout of the first floor of the Chicago center will feature rows and rows of containers parked at a 45 degree angle. Manos said the facility will accommodate between 150 and 220 shipping containers, which will be shipped and dropped off by trucks. That approach led Microsoft to consult with parking lot operators to address the design logistics of enabling large trucks to navigate within the facility.
Shipping containers have been used for years by the U.S. military. In 2006 Sun Microsystems (JAVA) introduce Project Blackbox (now the Sun MD S20), the first effort at a "data center in a box" incorporating a high-density computing environment into a 20-foot shipping container. The containers can travel on trains, ships or trucks.
Similar products have since been introduced by Rackable Systems (RACK) and Verari Systems. Manos said the specifications for Microsoft's containers are designed by Microsoft, but the company will be working with vendors on the actual units. Microsoft is a Rackable customer, but Manos wouldn't say which vendors might be building all those containers.
And just in case anyone was wondering ... no, this is not an April Fool's gag. We've had quite enough of those this morning already.


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Smartwatch users might want to think twice about the information they plug into their wearable device, as a recent study from HP revealed a majority of these technologies have serious security flaws.
“Smartwatches have only just started to become a part of our lives, but they deliver a new level of functionality that could potentially open the door to new threats to sensitive information and activities,” said Jason Schmitt, general manager of HP Security and Fortify. “As the adoption of smartwatches accelerates, the platform will become vastly more attractive to those who would abuse that access, making it critical that we take precautions when transmitting personal data or connecting smartwatches into corporate networks.”
The company assessed 10 of the most popular smartwatches on the market, revealing that all of them had security flaws. One of the biggest problems was the collection of data and where that data was being sent. According to Daniel Miessler, lead researcher on the study and practice principal with HP Fortify, in 90% of the smartwatch cases, at least one connection was not encrypted.
“There were a lot of situations where encryption just wasn’t being used, and that combined with the data going out to multiple locations is a bit alarming,” he said. “When you purchase a smartwatch, you are not just getting the smartwatch; you usually get a mobile application and also often a cloud component. All these things are different attack surfaces to get you into what the watch has, so it is important to realize there are different ways to attack these ecosystems.”
The most common security issues found included insufficient user authentication and authorization, lack of transport encryption, insecure interfaces, insecure software/firmware, and privacy concerns. At the lowest level, HP was able to obtain personal identification information such as user names, passwords and location. But according to Miessler, the potential consequences of the security vulnerabilities could lead to more disruptive attacks.
“We believe smartwatches will be used increasingly for access control,” Miessler said. “We already have situations where you can get into a car, you can get into your front door at your home, or you can get into a hotel room just with your watch. As more and more access is sort of stacked onto the watch itself, it will become a more attractive target for attackers.”
The problem is that smartwatch manufacturers and software developers are not used to building things that go online, Miessler explained. “A lot of them are used to building things that used to be standalone, and were not really network or Internet connected, so it is a new type of exposure for them.”
To address this problem, Miessler said teams should ensure security is built in as part of the development process, TLS implementations are configured and implemented properly, user accounts and sensitive data are protected by strong passwords, and man-in-the-middle attacks are prevented.
According to him, the company is in the process of responsible disclosure, and cannot identify the tested smartwatches until the companies release a patch and gives authorization to talk about it.
The full report can be found here.


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The spot where hungry Short Pump shoppers used to go for Colonel Sanders’ secret blend of herbs and spices will soon be dishing out an herb of a different sort.
Green Leaf Medical, the Maryland-based company that built and runs the Richmond region’s first and thus far only medical cannabis production facility on the city’s Southside, inked a lease earlier this week for its first satellite retail dispensary in the area.
The company is taking over 11190 W. Broad St., a standalone building in the Shoppes of Best Buy that was most recently home to a combined KFC and Long John Silver’s.
Green Leaf hopes to open the dispensary, which will feature two drive-thrus, in about four months. The dispensary will also have walk-in service and on-site pharmacists, and will make deliveries.
Green Leaf CEO Phil Goldberg expects the company will spend $500,000 to $600,000 to build out the dispensary, and said the drive-thru would be a boon for patients’ ability to access the dispensary and would cater to pandemic-inspired shopping trends.
“We’re aiming to have a similar experience (as the Southside facility) in a new location, but the drive-thru is huge,” Goldberg said.
Patients will be able to order ahead online and then pick up their purchases at the dispensary, as well as make purchases on site. Patients will have to confirm they have the proper credentials to buy medical marijuana products.
The nearly 4,000-square-foot space will also feature private consultation rooms and 20-25 employees. KBS is handing the renovations.
Goldberg said the property is zoned appropriately for what the company has planned, but it does intend to run the drive-thru idea by the Virginia Board of Pharmacy to ensure the concept will pass muster. He was confident it would be approved, likening it to the drive-thrus seen at pharmacies.
“We’re not already doing drive-thrus so we’re under the impression we need approval before we move forward,” Goldberg said. “A lot of rules and regulations are based on how they handle prescription drugs on the pharmacy level.”
The company has plans for a total of five satellite dispensaries in the region. Goldberg said the company is on the hunt in Scott’s Addition, Petersburg, Ashland and Carytown, and has a particular interest in properties that feature drive-thrus.
Green Leaf (stylized “gLeaf”) makes cannabinoid oil-based products, which are sold to registered and prescribed patients as medical treatments. The company operates an 82,000-square-foot growing facility and dispensary at 2804 Decatur St., which opened in November.
Green Leaf is in the process of being acquired by New York-based Columbia Care as part a $240 million deal announced in December.
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval, which is still in process, Goldberg said Thursday. Columbia Care would acquire Green Leaf’s operations in Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania if the deal is approved.
Green Leaf holds the state-approved license for Health Service Area 4, which includes the Richmond region. Columbia Care holds the license for Health Service Area 5, which is in southeast Virginia. Columbia Care operates a CBD production facility and dispensary in Portsmouth.


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Grocery apps are some of the fastest-growing apps in the US, according to eMarketer’s latest app usage forecast.
This year, 18.0 million US adults will use a grocery app at least once a month, up 49.6% over last year. For this forecast, we looked at apps that primarily deliver produce and perishable items, including meal kit services. By next year, more than one in five adult smartphone mcommerce buyers will use a grocery app to order food.
Robust growth for grocery apps is being fueled by the Amazon/Whole Foods merger and Walmart, which is expanding its grocery delivery from six cites to 100 by the end of the year. Read the rest at eMarketer.


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2018 was a phenomenal year for African comics featuring some heavily anticipated releases. Now as we enter a new year we can only hope that things are going to be equally phenomenal . So without further ado here’s our list of African titles to look out for in 2019. 8.MBUZE Starting off at number eight is Peda comic’s MBUZE. Mbuze saw it’s first issue been … Continue reading 8 AFRICAN COMICS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2019
Sony Entertainment just released the official trailer for the eagerly anticipated Spiderman movie scheduled for release this December. The movie titled Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse will Star Miles Morales . Featuring stunning visuals and superb animation it definitely promises a fun ride for viewers come December 2018. We see Miles in all sorts of trouble been guided by his capable Spider teacher Peter Parker the … Continue reading SPIDERMAN: INTO THE SPIDERVERSE OFFICIAL TRAILER REVIEW
Goku is without a doubt one of the most powerful Anime characters to ever exist. Dragon ball super ended not too long ago once again having Goku exceed his previous limits and mastering his Ultra instinct technique. I believe it’s safe to say that he’s currently more powerful than he has ever been in the history of the franchise….nothing screams that more loudly than … Continue reading 5 BLACK HEROES WHO CAN BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF GOKU
It’s no secret that 2018 has been the year of Wakanda. That said though the movie featured quite a number of notable black panther villains it most certainly could not feature all of them.Now in no particular order here is Rookiepencil’s list of Black Panther villains you need to know. 5. WHITE WOLF ‘ Coming in at number five is the White Wolf. For … Continue reading 5 BLACK PANTHER VILLAINS YOU NEED TO KNOW
So with the much anticipated marvel Black Panther slated to be released on the the 9th of February next year has created some excitement in the movie and comic industry with the release of its jaw dropping trailer which gave a few insight into the movie! Now this has Africa and technology smelling all over it and i love it so i decided to do … Continue reading February 9,2018……Black Panther Trailer Review.


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Visit TradeNaira for more Nigeria business news.
Onion Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (OPMAN), on Thursday, initiated archived onion sends out through the Illela landline in Sokoto state.
Dispatching the program, Mr. Abdulrahameed Ma'aji, the Area Controller of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), responsible for Sokoto and Zamfara states, asked makers, advertisers to use the chance for upgraded creation and exchange.
Ma'aji praised President Muhammadu Buhari for resuming the land borders for genuine organizations and commended the endeavors of the Comptroller General of NCS, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd), for keeping on top of worldwide best practice in Customs' obligations.
The message of solidarity, harmony, and fortitude in Mali visit
He depicted onion as an item with tremendous possibilities that could pull in unfamiliar financial backers and set out openwork doors alongside upgrading esteem expansion to utilization and modern use.
He said the NCS worked with specified laws and rules to upgrade exchange and support homegrown business visionaries, people, and gatherings to enter into trades for public monetary development.
"Regardless of COVID-19 Pandemic, NCS gave proactive answers for the public that will help proceeded with solid and quality assistance conveyance for food of worldwide exchange," Ma'aji said.
Nigerian onion producers commence export to West African countries
Likewise talking at the event, the National President of OPMAN, Aliyu Maitasamu, said onion was a significant vegetable whose unmistakable flavor and restorative substance was valued by individuals all through the world.
Maitasamu noticed that no family unit doesn't burn-through onion. It was being utilized as bulbs, onion powder, and others that fill in as crude material in Maggi's creation ketchup, noodles, preparing, onion oil, onion jam, chips by different food enterprises.
He clarified that onion was utilized in drug items, focusing on the administration of heftiness, coronary illness, and disease because of its high nutrients, mineral, and cancer prevention agent content.
The President said dependent on these advantages; the association set out to hold hands with all onion exporters, the country over. And exploit the Federal Government's activities on the broadening of the country's economy.
As indicated by him, no less than 2,000 advertisers occupied with the business, thousands drew in on its cultivating and other related organizations, had been activated by the affiliation.
"By the Federal Government intend to differentiate the financial and make occupations, the association related to a sister body in West and Central Africa built up an onion recuperation plan which will focus on the normal consistent development of 20% every year, from 2020 to 2026.
"Nigeria is among the 10 top onion trading nations on the planet. With the upper hand of creation, the giant onion delivering country in sub-Saharan Africa, with nearly 1.4 million metric tons in yield.
"With the current plan, Nigeria will persistently trade onions to Niger Republic, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin Republic, Mali, Côte D' Ivoire, and others, with additional expanding openings," Maitasamu said.
He added that with the initiation of reported fare of onion and onion items, the ware could contribute incredibly to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), support bringing home of forex back to Nigeria and other worth option from the worldwide guide onion trading nations.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was gone by Nigerian specialists, exporters and clearing specialists, customary rulers, and delegates of law requirement organizations.
Click here to get similar Nigeria Business News.


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Apple’s keynote event last week featured the usual suspects and some pleasant surprises. Our New Business Executive Tom Millson gives you the lowdown on the new iPhone 6 family, Apple Watch and Apple Pay, exploring what it could mean for your business.
This summer’s installation of The Digital Pond attracted our biggest crowd yet. Close to 200 user experience designers, web developers, product managers, marketers and other tech industry professionals packed the Clerkenwell Centre near Old Street. Speakers Jeremy Keith and Sally Jenkinson rewarded the audience with their expert insights on the responsive web.
We’re excited to reveal that Cyber-Duck is a finalist for two DADI Awards this year! We’re up for the Digital Team of the Year and Best Financial Services Website with our work for dlc. Aiming to reward digital excellence, the award nominations reflect the vision and success of our projects across the last year.
We’re happy to announce the start of an exciting new project at Cyber-Duck, creating a powerful brand with the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI). We have been chosen to consolidate and amplify the IMI brand, providing a blueprint for the future as the organisation embarks on a new strategic direction from 2014.
If you are a business that holds online information about individuals, then be prepared to potentially receive notifications from Google at any moment. Why? Well, an individual may be exercising their ‘Right to be forgotten’ for the first time, which has resulted into the removal of certain links to your website on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). Here, I recap the ruling, reveal how it will affect business leaders, and debate its significance for the future.
Marketing Week Live is the UK’s largest marketing event, hosted annually by the team behind Marketing Week magazine. Thousands from around the world flocked to the bustling Olympia Grand for this year’s packed two-day schedule of talks and workshops. Cyber-Duck was there to teach the crowds how a cutting-edge website designed around visitors’ needs can increase conversions and revenue.
On the Edge is a series of annual digital marketing conferences hosted all around the UK. An eager crowd gathered in Birmingham last week for insights about industry leaders’ areas of expertise. Our Production Director Matt Gibson was there to enlighten the audience on why the responsive web is important, how Cyber-Duck approaches it, and what’s in store for the future of design.
In early June, three ducks (including me!) travelled to Amsterdam for a day filled with advanced CSS goodness. CSS Day is an intensive one-day-only conference for web developers, running for the second year. It is organised by the same people behind the brilliant Mobilism conference: Peter-Paul Koch, Krijn Hoetmer, Stephen Hay and Martijn van Duuren. This was one of the best conferences I’ve ever attended, and I’ve recapped the highlights of the day here.
At Cyber-Duck, we pride ourselves on producing award-winning, responsive web solutions for our fantastic clients. We’re happy to announce that our re-design for Sparks Direct has been highly commended for the ‘Best Electrical Wholesaler Website’ at the Electrical Wholesaler Awards last month. The Sparks team were joined by leading suppliers and wholesalers in the electrical industry for the prestigious award ceremony, which took place at the Guoman Tower Hotel in London.
We were selected by UX London to deliver our “User experience design for the responsive web” and “Become a better UX designer through code” workshops at last week’s conference. On day one, eager participants were guided through a hands-on implementation of Cyber-Duck’s refined processes and insights to improve user experience techniques. On day two, we gave a lesson in coding a responsive website from scratch.
Top 20 digital agency
Deloitte Fast500 company
ISO accredited agency


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New criteria to stop companies from making misleading claims about environmental merits of their products and services.
Today it is difficult for consumers to make sense of the many labels on the environmental performance of products (both goods and services) and companies.
Some environmental claims are not reliable, and consumer trust in them is extremely low. Consumers can be misled, and companies can give a false impression of their environmental impacts or benefits – a practise known as greenwashing.
With a proposed new law on green claims, the EU is taking action to address greenwashing, and protect consumers and the environment.
Ensuring that environmental labels and claims are credible and trustworthy will allow consumers to make better informed purchasing decisions. It will also boost the competitiveness of businesses who are striving to increase the environmental sustainability of their products and activities.
The proposal on green claims aims to
- make green claims reliable, comparable and verifiable across the EU
- protect consumers from greenwashing
- contribute to creating a circular and green EU economy by enabling consumers to make informed purchasing decisions
- help establish a level playing field when it comes to environmental performance of products
In March 2023, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive on Green Claims. The proposal complements and further operationalises the proposal for a Directive on empowering consumers in the green transition.
To ensure consumers receive reliable, comparable and verifiable environmental information on products, the proposal includes
- clear criteria on how companies should prove their environmental claims and labels
- requirements for these claims and labels to be checked by an independent and accredited verifier and
- new rules on governance of environmental labelling schemes to ensure they are solid, transparent and reliable
The proposal targets explicit claims that
- are made on a voluntary basis by businesses towards consumers,
- cover the environmental impacts, aspects or performance of a product or the trader itself
- are not currently covered by other EU rules
Some examples of green claims are:
- “Company’s environmental footprint reduced by 20% since 2015”
“CO2 emissions linked to this product halved as compared to 2020”
- “Packaging made of 30% recycled plastic”


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It's ASAP versus A.S.A.P. A local business owner says a company with a slightly different name is confusing her customers, and she wants to clear things up.
Yesterday, an East El Paso man told us he's been waiting months for ASAP roofing to fix his roof. ASAP's owner said it's because they're backlogged but guaranteed the work would be done. Elana Krop wants to make it clear, she owns A.S.A.P. roofing - not ASAP roofing.
We're told A.S.A.P. roofing has been in town for a year, and ASAP roofing a little less than a year. To add to the confusion, there may have been a third company with the same name in El Paso at one time. Yet, it seems noone is willing to give up the name.


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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korean phone maker Samsung won a home court ruling Friday in its global patent battle against Apple and its popular iPhone and iPad devices.
NEW YORK (AP) - What once looked like a good year for computers and chips has now fizzled, say researchers.
NEW YORK (AP) - The price of oil fell on Friday after a trade journal reported that Western countries might release more oil reserves.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The federal government can't require tobacco companies to put large graphic health warnings on cigarette packages to show that smoking can disfigure and even kill people, a divided federal appeals court panel ruled Friday.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Companies marketing the Ab Circle Pro exercise device have agreed to pay as much as $25 million in refunds to customers to settle federal regulators' charges of deceptive advertising.
MENLO PARK (AP) - What's the worst insult you can throw at a fast-moving company like Facebook? Call its iPhone app slow and poky.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government body that oversees the U.S. Postal Service has approved a plan that gives one of the nation's largest direct marketers a postage discount on advertising flyers known as "junk mail."
WASHINGTON (AP) - The middle class is receiving less of America's total income, declining to its smallest share in decades as median wages stagnate in the economic doldrums and wealth concentrates at the top.
SANTA CLARA (AP) - Hewlett-Packard absorbed the largest quarterly loss in its history as the Silicon Valley pioneer owned up to past mistakes that have left it scrambling to adapt to a shifting technology market.
NEW YORK (AP) - Unlimited wireless data is back. After sliding off the menu of cellphone plans, data plans with no caps are making a comeback at smaller wireless companies trying to compete with AT&T and Verizon.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The recovery of the U.S. housing market is looking steadier and more sustainable, a trend that will likely add to economic growth in 2012 for the first time in seven years.
SAN JOSE (AP) - PayPal is expanding its brick-and-mortar payment services to more than 7 million stores across the U.S. in a partnership with Discover Financial Services.
NEW YORK (AP) - Americans plan to hit the road this Labor Day weekend despite rising gas prices.
SAN JOSE (AP) - A lawyer for Apple said Tuesday that Samsung was having a "crisis of design" after the launch of the iPhone, and executives with the South Korean company were determined to illegally cash in on the success of the revolutionary device.
NEW YORK (AP) - The news just keeps getting worse at Best Buy each day.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Energy-related carbon dioxide pollution grew by 2 percent last year after declining several years in a row, a government report said Monday. The increase was largely due to a small boost in coal consumption by the electric power industry, according to the study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Q: My mother is 60 years old and disabled. She was a stay-at-home mom all her life, so she has no Social Security of her own. She was married to my father for 25 years but he died a long time ago. She remarried, and that marriage lasted 15 years before they got a divorce. Her second husband is 67 years old and retired. He was a lawyer and made a good living. My mom spent many hours filling out disability forms, and has all kinds of documentation from doctors indicating she is disabled. She took them to the Social ...
NEW YORK (AP) - Target said Friday that its massive pre-Christmas security breach affected potentially millions more people than it previously thought.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court will decide whether a startup company can offer live television broadcasts over the Internet without paying fees to broadcasters.
NEW YORK (AP) - Fallout from Target's pre-Christmas security breach is likely to affect the company's sales and profits well into the new year.
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a move that some fear could compromise care for Medicare recipients, the Obama administration is proposing to remove special protections that guarantee seniors access to a wide selection of three types of prescription drugs.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The future of driving is right around the corner.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Netflix says video streaming of its programming in ultra-high definition will work for buyers of new UHD sets from Sony, LG, Samsung, Vizio and others upon purchase.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Twitter's stock price continued a recent decline on Wednesday, closing down 3.5 percent to $59.29 after an analyst lowered the short messaging service's rating on concerns that its stock price is too high.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - T-Mobile US Inc., the country's fourth-largest wireless carrier, is aiming to lure subscribers from rivals by paying the fees required to break their service contracts.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Armbands that track how much you move have become popular ways to motivate people to get fit. But how fit are your teeth? Are you lazy about brushing them?
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Gadget lovers are slipping on fitness bands that track movement and buckling on smartwatches that let them check phone messages.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Americans increased their borrowing in November, led by continued gains in auto and student loans.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Internal Revenue Service is seeing a big jump in thieves stealing Social Security numbers to fraudulently claim tax refunds, the agency said Tuesday.
NEW YORK (AP) - Playoff parties may have one fewer dip option this year.


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Media.Monks has announced that planner Hironaga Yai will join its team in Tokyo as Senior Strategy Director. He brings over two decades of experience, most recently with Wunderman Thompson where he was Head of Strategy.
“It’s a new age marketing services company that is in demand in Japan where the marketing landscape is becoming increasingly diverse and complex,” said Yai.
“Marketers and agencies need a partner to reshape their strategies and practices with distinct skills, impact and scalability around data-driven creative and content. Media.Monks team in Tokyo has an ambitious agenda, and I look forward to seeing how we can bring transformational change to our clients.”
Yai’s influence and leadership have shaped the business vision and cultural movement behind some of the most influential brands across Japan and Asia. He has built his career serving in a range of strategic leadership roles at agencies including Dentsu, Y&R, JWT, Centan, and Wunderman Thompson, working for brands like Haagen-Dazs, Danone, J&J, Nestlé Kit Kat, Smirnoff, Beats, Volvo, Disney, FWD, Bridgestone, Japan Post, and many more. Yai has been awarded by the likes of the APAC Effies, Spikes, D&AD, Tangram and Nikkei awards.
“It’s extremely exciting to have an industry-recognized, respected and far-sighted strategist like Hironaga on our rocket ship,” said Takashi Aoki, Managing Director Content for Media.Monks Tokyo.
“His incredible track record of business & creative consultation, and his depth of experience in integration will be an aggressive enhancement to Media.Monks’ offering for our valued brands in Japan and the region. I’m confident that his addition to our senior team will accelerate our presence and fuel the growth engine even further.


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Auli, a famous ski town in Uttarakhand is being developed as an international winter tourism destination. This town attracts tourists from across the world and India as it has perfect skiing slopes. Considering its popularity, the government is planning to convert this place into a winter sports destination of global standards. Uttarakhand Chief Secretary SS […]
The post Auli in Uttarkhand to be developed into a global winter tourist destination appeared first on MacroTraveller.


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China will continue to promote entrepreneurship and innovation by creating a favorable environment for startups, offering fiscal support and strengthening international cooperation, a government official said.
Zhang Zhihong, head of the Torch High-Tech Industry Development Center under the Ministry of Science and Technology, said: "Entrepreneurship and innovation can help the upgrade of the real economy and promote supply-side structural reform. Venture investment has become a key foundation for the mass entrepreneurship and innovation."
According to the center, China owned 4,298 makerspaces - areas where people can gather to create, invent and learn - and more than 3,255 incubators at the end of last year. Some world-renowned incubators and accelerators have also set up shop in China and are providing capital and technical support for startups in the country.


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President Nana Akufo-Addo
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday sounded a cautionary note to members of
the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) over the seeming attacks on
foreigners who have been accused of doing retail business which is a preserve
asked them not to take the law into their own hands as they seek to enforce the
law on retail trading.
cannot take the law into their own hands and enforce the law. If we do that,
Ghana will become chaotic. We have to be careful about this phenomenon of
taking the law into our own hands about situations that government is yet to
resolve,” President Akufo-Addo stated.
the leadership of GUTA in Accra yesterday on his second day tour of the Greater
Accra Region, the President said, “Please allow the work that the Trade
Minister and the Committee are doing with the Immigration Authorities to
am confident that if we allow same to work, your issues with foreign participation
in the retail business will soon be a thing of the past in line with the law,”
President assured the traders that his administration was working closely with
the Bank of Ghana to find a lasting solution to the phenomenon of high interest
rates that affect businesses.
also commented on the issue of locked-up cash of traders in some insolvent
Microfinance companies which were taken out of business following the banking
and financial sector reforms.
asked the traders to be a little more patient with his government as it works
to clear all the debts owed them.
Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan K. Kyeremanten, commended the traders
highly for receiving the President in such a rousing manner.
said the traders were the backbone of the economy and could not be taken for
granted, saying “some people are out there to say all manner of things to get
your minds twisted as far as the issues are concerned. Ignore them and keep
faith with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo because in due course, things
will take great shape.”
President Dr. Joseph Obeng reiterated that his members
were only helping the government to enforce the law banning foreigners in the
retail business and were not there to cause mayhem.
He said they would follow the law to ensure there is amicable solution for the issue and ensure that Ghanaian traders receive the needed protection.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu


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At last, the first gameplay of Medal Of Honor: Warfighter hits the web with a bang. The game shows off the Frostbite 2 Engine brought to a new level with explosions, boats, and more explosions.
This time around, players will have the opportunity to move beyond the Middle East to combat terrorism. Featuring twelve Tier 1 operatives from around the globe, Warfighter will bring a more versatile style of gameplay to the series. British SAS, Australian SASR, German KSK and Polish GROM are just a few of the forces that players will control in the game.
On the official website, Danger Close promises a deeper story than ever before. “Follow the war on terror across the globe as players step into the boots of Tier 1 Operators – an elite warrior that the world rarely experiences. From rescuing hostages in Abu Sayyaf’s stronghold in Basilan, Philippines to assaulting Al-Shabaab’s “Pirate Town” on the Somali Coast, Medal of Honor Warfighter is the only game that gives players a view into these real world events and lets them experience the action as it might have unfolded.’
‘Medal of Honor Warfighter goes beyond the battlefield and reveals the heartbreaking side of war, told through the eyes of military families. With a story written by Operators from this community, Medal of Honor Warfighter unveils intimate insights into the sacrifices of the warriors on the ground – and their families.”
[pullquote_right]No other gaming brand brings authenticity to life like Medal of Honor. [/pullquote_right]The multiplayer will allows players go compete in “Blue VS. Blue” matches, meaning that it will no longer be operative vs. insurgent but operative vs. operative. It will be nice to play on the same level in one another without anyone having any advantages.
Unlike the last installment, EA has confirmed that DICE will not be involved in the multiplayer for Warfighter. Being that DICE is the heavyweight contender that developed the Battlefield series, it will be a gamble to see just how well Danger Close Studios fares without them.
Medal Of Honor: Warfighter will be released this October 23, 2012 on the PS#, PC, and XBOX360 and will feature special incentives for those who preorder.
Without any further adieu, experience what the game has to offer below.
Here’s the Official Announcement Trailer:


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Smartphone Production Hub: Modi government is aiming to make India the largest mobile phone export hub. For this, the government is also giving financial incentives to companies manufacturing mobile phones in India under the PLI scheme. Despite this, India is lagging behind China and Vietnam in terms of exports. The reason for this is the high tariff charged on mobile phone components due to which big companies are shying away from coming to India for mobile manufacturing.
According to a report by Reuters, Minister of State for Information Technology Rajiv Chandrashekhar has written a letter to the Finance Minister informing him about the concerns of the IT Ministry. He wrote in a letter to the Finance Minister that due to high tariff on mobile components, India is lagging behind in competition compared to China and Vietnam. India has the highest tariff among the major mobile manufacturing countries in the world. He wrote that in view of geopolitical developments, a large number of supply chains are shifting out of China but India is lagging behind in taking advantage of it. In such a situation, if India does not take a concrete decision now to attract them, then all of them will shift to Vietnam, Mexico and Thailand. He wrote that only due to low tariff on mobile phone components, India can become the hub of smartphone manufacturing.
Components of smartphone manufacturing in India are imported from China and other countries. To promote local manufacturing, the government has imposed high tariffs on imported components, which increases the prices of smartphones after they are made in the country.
In the document sent to the Finance Minister, Rajiv Chandrashekhar cited low taxes in China and Vietnam and wrote how it has helped in increasing exports in those countries. Only 25 percent of India's total smartphone production was exported, while 63 percent of China's $270 billion production was exported, while 95 percent of Vietnam's $40 billion smartphone production was exported. India has set a target of smartphone production of 100 billion dollars, of which the target is to export 50 percent. But high tariff is the biggest obstacle in this path.
India has set a target of 25 percent share in global electronics manufacturing by 2029. Despite Apple, Foxconn and Xiaomi increasing production in India in recent times, India's share at present is only 4 percent. India is charging up to 20 percent tax on many components. The Information Technology Minister is in favor of reducing it to 15 percent. He said that Vietnam and China do not charge more than 10 percent tax. He said that to attract global supply chain, India will have to impose tariffs similar to China and Vietnam. Last month, Xiaomi also asked the government to reduce the import duty on cameras and USB cables installed in smartphones.
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Workforce Shortages in Supply Chain and Logistics: A Call to Action for SAP Users
Meet the Authors
⇨ Descartes Systems Group recently released a study that highlights alarming statistics have emerged regarding the state of workforce shortages in the supply chain and logistics industry.
⇨ According to Descartes' study, a staggering 76% of supply chain and logistics leaders surveyed reported experiencing notable workforce shortages in their operations.
⇨ For SAP users, proactively addressing workforce challenges by leveraging technology, rethinking workforce strategies, and prioritizing employee retention is paramount for ensuring operational resilience and long-term success.
In a recent study conducted by Descartes Systems Group, a leading global provider of logistics solutions, alarming statistics have emerged regarding the state of workforce shortages in the supply chain and logistics industry. The study, titled “How Bad Is the Supply Chain and Logistics Workforce Challenge?” sheds light on the significant impact that these shortages are having on operations, finances and customer service levels within the industry.
For SAP users, understanding and addressing these challenges is crucial, given the pivotal role that SAP systems play in managing and optimizing supply chain and logistics operations. Let’s delve into the key findings of the study and explore how SAP users can navigate through this workforce crisis.
According to Descartes’ study, a staggering 76% of supply chain and logistics leaders surveyed reported experiencing notable workforce shortages in their operations. These shortages are not merely a minor inconvenience; 37% of respondents characterized the shortage as high to extreme. The impact is widespread, affecting financial performance, peak seasons, logistics partner performance and notably, customer service levels.
Transportation and warehouse operations emerge as the most affected areas, with 61% and 56% of respondents, respectively, highlighting shortages in these critical functions. This shortage extends beyond manual labor; 55% of leaders expressed difficulty in hiring knowledge workers, whose roles are increasingly essential in today’s technology-driven supply chain landscape.
Chris Jones, EVP, Industry at Descartes, emphasized the urgency for supply chain and logistics leaders to rethink their hiring and retention strategies in light of these challenges. While technological advancements have transformed operations, they also necessitate a skilled workforce capable of leveraging these technologies effectively.
For SAP users, this entails integrating workforce management solutions within their SAP systems to streamline recruitment, training, and retention processes. By leveraging SAP’s comprehensive suite of HR and workforce planning modules, organizations can better align their workforce strategies with evolving business needs.
Technology emerges as a crucial ally in mitigating the impact of workforce shortages. Descartes’ study underscores the importance of leveraging technology to augment workforce capabilities and efficiency. SAP users can explore AI-driven workforce management tools, predictive analytics, and automation solutions integrated with their SAP systems to optimize resource allocation and mitigate the impact of shortages.
The study emphasizes the interconnectedness of business performance and workforce management. Supply chain and logistics leaders must recognize the critical role that employee retention plays in driving operational excellence. By fostering a culture of continuous learning, empowerment, and recognition, organizations can enhance employee engagement and retention, thereby safeguarding against future workforce challenges.
In light of Descartes’ study findings, it is evident that workforce shortages pose a significant threat to the supply chain and logistics industry. For SAP users, proactively addressing these challenges by leveraging technology, rethinking workforce strategies, and prioritizing employee retention is paramount for ensuring operational resilience and long-term success.
As the industry continues to evolve, SAP users must embrace innovation and collaboration to navigate through these turbulent times successfully. By staying attuned to industry trends, investing in workforce development, and leveraging the power of SAP technology, organizations can emerge stronger and more resilient in the face of workforce challenges.


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With this purchase, Lululemon aims to accelerate its goal of driving the business through omni-guest experiences. Mirror will bolster the company’s digital “sweatlife” offerings and bring immersive and personalized in-home sweat, and mindfulness solutions, to new and existing Lululemon customers.
This transaction builds on a successful partnership between the two companies, which began in mid-2019 with an initial investment in Mirror by Lululemon, and also includes a content partnership which brought sweat and meditation classes to the mirror platform by Lululemon’s global ambassadors. This acquisition will further expand the content creation partnership between the two brands and will help Lululemon, Mirror, and Lululemon ambassadors reach new guests.
“In 2019, we detailed our vision to be the experiential brand that ignites a community of people living the sweatlife through sweat, grow and connect,” said Calvin McDonald, chief executive officer of Lululemon. “The acquisition of Mirror is an exciting opportunity to build upon that vision, enhance our digital and interactive capabilities, and deepen our roots in the sweatlife. We look forward to learning from and working with Brynn Putnam and the team at Mirror to accelerate the growth of personalized in-home fitness.”
Mirror offers weekly live classes and thousands of on-demand workouts as well as immersive one-on-one personal training. The company has seen rapid growth and strong engagement since it launched in 2018 as demand for in-home fitness offerings continues to increase significantly.
“We are thrilled to officially become a part of the Lululemon family,” added Brynn Putnam, founder and chief executive officer of Mirror, and a former Lululemon ambassador. “As part of Lululemon, Mirror can further strengthen its position and accelerate its growth by leveraging Lululemon’s deep relationships with its guests, ambassadors, and communities, as well as the company’s infrastructure, including its store network and e-commerce channels, to acquire new users.”
The purchase price is expected to be paid from the company’s primary sources of liquidity, which include over $800 million in cash, its existing $400 million revolving credit facility, and a new one-year, $300 million revolving credit facility.
Following the completion of the transaction, Mirror will operate as a standalone company within Lululemon and Putnam will continue as Mirror’s chief executive officer, reporting to McDonald.


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Yesterday, China’s Lenovo made public its interest in Waterloo-based Research In Motion. Chief financial officer Wong Mai Ming said that the company is “looking at all opportunities,” naming RIM in the same breath.
RIM, as we know, is open to this sort of deal. Chief executive officer Thorsten Heins says the company is considering either licensing its BlackBerry 10 software to competing manufacturers, selling its renowned hardware division, or both.
But is a Lenovo-RIM deal even possible? Well, Lenovo acquired IBM’s ThinkPad laptop business from IBM in 2005 for similar reasons. However, Lenovo already has a solid mobile product portfolio—its business is growing while RIM’s has flattened and even eroded in key markets. Would it actually make sense?
That’s up to Lenovo to decide, but ultimately, logistics wouldn’t stop the company from making a bid. There are too many obvious perks. The company would gain tens of millions of loyal customers worldwide, among other tremendous benefits. What would more likely stop a potential deal in its tracks would be the law.
The Canadian government reviews all foreign bids for domestic companies that exceed $344 million in order to assess whether the deal would generate what they ambiguously call a “net benefit” to the country (RIM’s market value is several billion dollars). The government has done it before, most recently in 2010 when it blocked BHP’s attempted takeover of Potash Corp.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says that if a deal was proposed, it would be “something that we would look carefully at.” Flaherty told Bloomberg that some local technologies are “absolutely” off limits to overseas buyers, though did not specifically cite RIM as one of those technologies.
RIM declined to comment on Lenovo’s interest in a bid.


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Korean producers of copper foil, an essential material for electrical vehicle (EV) batteries, have begun to expand production facilities in line with rising demand. However, as Korean battery makers have begun to expand their production facilities, copper foil supply may not be able to keep up with demand for now, some experts say.
Korean copper foil companies such as KCFT and Iljin Materials will expand capacity to meet demand for copper foil.
KCFT is expected to increase its annual copper production from 20,000 tons to 30,000 tons next year through the expansion of its plant in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province.
Iljin Materials is also expected to produce 45,000 tons of copper foil next year as its new plant in Malaysia will begin to operate. The company production volume is 25,000 tons this year.
But some experts forecast that even though copper foil producers has begun to expand their production facilities, a supply shortage will continue for some time. Korean battery makers, including LG Chem, Samsung SDI, and SK Innovation, are expected to add 50 GWh production capacities next year. Assuming that an average of 500 tons of copper foil is needed per 1 GWh, an additional 25,000 tons of copper foil are needed.
If capacity expansion is completed as planned, Korean copper foil makers will be able to produce about 40,000 tons of copper foil additionally next year, including 20,000 tons from Iljin Materials, 10,000 tons from KCFT and 10,000 tons from Doosan Solus.
However, plants of Iljin Materials and Doosan Solus will be able to operate 100 percent only in the second quarter of next year. Considering the initial stabilization period, the Korean copper foil makers will be able to barely produce an additional 25,000 tons.
Moreover, as Iljin Materials will supply copper foil not only to Korean battery makers but also to BYD and CATL in China, competition to secure copper foil is expected to intensify among battery makers next year.
Currently, global EV sales stand at 265,000 units, accounting for 4.0 percent of the entire automotive market. But if EV makers heat up competition with new model launches, the imbalance in the supply and demand of copper foil can deepen, experts say. Copper market watchers predict that demand for copper foil will soar from 34,000 tons in 2018 to 385,000 tons in 2025.


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AT&T, which owns DirecTV and is trying to merge with Time Warner, said it lost 89,000 video subscribers in the latest quarter.
The loss was actually positive news for the telecommunications company, given it had already pre-announced it would lose about 90,000 video subscribers due to cord-cutting and recent hurricanes.
The company said that it gained almost 300,000 subscribers at its DirecTV Now video-streaming product, while it lost 385,000 at its traditional TV business. Nevertheless, AT&T’s entertainment group managed to grow video revenue 2 percent in the quarter.
The company said it ended the third quarter with 25.1 million subscribers, which is down less than 1 percent from last year. DirecTV Now accounts for 800,000 of those subscribers.
Overall, AT&T reported earnings of an adjusted 74 cents a share on revenue of $39.7 billion. Both numbers were slightly lower than Wall Street expected, and the stock was down 1 percent in after-hours trading after falling 1 percent during the regular session.
On Monday, AT&T and Time Warner extended their deadline for merging, given regulators have yet to approve the $85 billion deal. Once the deal closes, AT&T’s head of entertainment John Stankey will run Time Warner.
“We look forward to closing our acquisition of Time Warner and bringing together premium content with world-class distribution to deliver a better entertainment experience for consumers and more effective targeted advertising,” AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said Tuesday.
“We’re also on track to have one of the largest high-speed internet networks in the U.S., reaching more than 50 million customer locations with competitive high speeds. This expansion will make our bundled video, mobile and broadband services even more compelling,” the exec added.
Oct. 24, 1:52 p.m. Copy and headline updated with a larger loss of subscribers.
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Fresh liveries, the return of Devon Butler, a two-player career and a release on next-gen hardware plus the return of F2, split-screen and My Team. There is a lot to get excited about when it comes to the latest instalment in Codemasters’ distinguished official Formula 1 series, F1 2021.
It may seem like the new game has all the appurtenances you’d expect, but if you peel back the marketing fluff and double-check the pre-order page, we’re left with more questions than answers about the core gameplay. Here are five points that got us scratching our heads.
How will iconic drivers work in My Team?
My Team was a new twist on the main career introduced in F1 2020. Driver Career still existed as per usual, but the new addition opened the floodgates to customised content that the F1 games had been crying out for.
After forming your own driver and team, you can then create a livery, be interviewed by Formula 1 presenter Will Buxton, sign a young F2 driver as a teammate and develop the car and team as the season progresses.
Sure, the on-track gameplay remained largely the same and the R&D tests are banal, but add into the mix post-season driver transfers – first introduced in F1 2019 – and the added depth made this more engrossing than a Christopher Nolan movie marathon.
If you pre-order the Digital Deluxe edition of F1 2021 you gain access to “seven iconic drivers to enhance your ‘My Team’ game experience,” which the YouTube description for the trailer hints will be “unveiled very soon.”
We tweeted recently asking who you would like to see included and there have been many interesting suggestions from Senna, to Button and even Yuji Ide.
As a pre-order bonus, it would be logical to gain access to these drivers from the off, making them selectable as teammates from the first season. But then, if you chose one, could some or all of the other six also be on the grid?
Do they return as part of the driver window season swaps? Is the pre-order the only way to get legends in this mode?
It reminds us of when older players retired in Pro Evolution Soccer Master League, re-appearing as young upstarts re-available to sign. Good ol’ Ximelez.
No matter how it works, this could be a significant step for the series where further legends from the sport can be introduced across the next iterations and open up new avenues for the driver transfer market. Or, it could simply be seven drivers as a pre-order bonus and it doesn’t go further than that.
How will the game perform on next-gen hardware?
It’s well known what happened to the F1 games the last time a new console generation came around. F1 2014 released on PS3 and Xbox 360 despite PS4 and Xbox One already being on the market. When F1 2015 did arrive a year later, it didn’t have a career mode.
This time around it sounds very different, with PS5 and Xbox Series versions releasing simultaneously alongside PS4 and Xbox One and PC. Which begs the question, just how much of an upgrade will the next-gen versions be for 2021?
It suggests to us a cross-generational approach before a thorough update at a later date, but without any gameplay footage or even screenshots at present, it’s impossible to tell.
Recent Codemasters game DIRT 5 managed to release across both console generations in 2020 and run on the new consoles at 4K resolution with a choice of either 60 or 120 frames per second modes. A technical marvel, however, it was developed by a different studio to the F1 games – Codemasters Cheshire as opposed to Codemasters Birmingham – and doesn’t use the Ego Game Technology Engine. As a result, we cannot assume F1 2021 will be as visually assured.
If there’s to be a 120 fps mode, which the Microsoft store mentions, we would anticipate a dip in visual quality to compensation. The launch material briefly mentions a “visual uplift” without specifics, but we would happily enjoy a stable and smooth 60 fps and a light graphical touch up in year one of the hardware lifecycles.
What are victory radio calls?
Once again the bullet point list of bonus digital items for the pre-order comes up trumps. Alongside the list of cosmetic items included, a car livery, suit, gloves and helmet – which sounds like a return for the Podium Pass customisation system to us – is a “victory radio call.”
After each real Formula 1 race, one of the most anticipated videos released is the team radio round-up. Access to radio messages for highlights has shone a light on driver and engineer personalities, providing fans with some memorable moments so far.
Pierre Gasly at Monza in 2020 or Nico Rosberg at Abu Dhabi in 2016, for example. Having these in the game after winning a race would be joyous.
Except, let’s not get carried away. This could also mean new clips recorded by the drivers, or even just a selection of generic victory congratulations. Maybe it’s your fictional engineer Jeff saying “that was a great start” at the finish line or David Croft shouting out the name of your teammate…
When will F2 2021 arrive?
F2 first joined the series in F1 2019 which at launch had the 2018 Formula 2 season included. This was then later updated to have the F2 2019 drivers and liveries.
The same was true again for F1 2020, launching with the 2019 drivers before an update some five months later added the most recent roster.
There is not a clue or hint as to which season of our favourite F1 support series will be included within the press material and at the time of writing. Our guess would be the current season added post-release, which is fine by us provided we know a rough timeline ahead of the game’s launch.
Is online multiplayer updated?
99.9 per cent of the launch material is talking about the career modes, but for those esports drivers or fans who love to play the ranked races in F1 2020, online multiplayer is a key part of the experience.
Strangely, this element of the game – which surely has a bigger emphasis placed upon it than ever before thanks to the various official F1 Esports series – gets one tiny mention buried deep within a rather non-committal sentence.
“We’re also expanding and refining many other features, including scalable assist options, driver stats and multiplayer,” said the release.
That sounds like evolution as opposed to revolution to us, but of course, we hope to hear more on the run-up to the launch.
Track limits, broadcast tools and game stability are the main online talking points. The pro esports crowd may only be a fraction of the F1 gaming community, but they are certainly a vocal one and it would be remiss to ignore its feedback.
So there we have it, five key questions based on the information available now and in many ways, it’s the pre-order bonus list that provides much of the speculation at this juncture. It’s worth bearing in mind that these bullet points are not meant to be prescriptive, they are carrots dangling before us in order to get more pre-orders. The ambiguity makes your imagination run wild, overseeing the minutiae. Either way, they’ve got us thinking.
What would you like to see in F1 2021? Let us know on social media, we’d love to hear your thoughts.


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Nigeria’s mobile phone market has bounced back to post healthy growth in 2020 Q3, the global technology and consulting services firm, International Data Corporation (IDC), has said.
According to the IDC, Chinese brands continue to invest in the country as they attempt to penetrate the market and gain a foothold.
The figures indicate that smartphone shipments into Nigeria increased 13.7 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) in Q3 2020 to almost 3 million units.
International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets.
In its Quarterly Global Mobile Phone Tracker publication, the IDC said Nigeria’s smartphone market remained healthy in the third quarter as vendors shifted their model portfolios to entry-level and mid-range devices.
The statistics indicate the following:
- Transsion’s Tecno, Itel, and Infinix brands dominated smartphone shipments in Q3 2020 with a combined 76.4% share.
- Followed by Samsung, with 7.0% share and Xiaomi third, with 5.3%.
- The average street prices of smartphones declined marginally by 0.3%, as the dollar exchange rate remained high.
- The increase in VAT by 2.5% points also had a negative impact on prices.
- With the relaxation of Covid-19 lockdown measures, a majority of consumers returned to the physical retail channel in Q3 2020, leading to a 21.5% QoQ increase in retail sales.
- Feature phone shipments surged strongly in Q3 2020, with shipments increasing 21.2% QoQ to account for 56.0% of the country’s overall mobile phone market. Feature phones remained resilient as they continue to be the preferred secondary phone in an environment of declining consumer purchasing power and rising unemployment.
- The major players in the feature phones space in Q3 2020 were Tecno with 49.7% share, Itel with 34.8%, and Nokia with 8.2%.
George Mbuthia, a Research Analyst at IDC, while commenting on the development, noted that “in light of the economic hardships caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, vendors continued to ship more affordable devices priced below $200, as they sought to address demand for cheaper models and penetrate consumer segments with lower purchasing power.
“This strategy of offering more devices in the entry-level and mid-range price bands (<$200), ensured a faster market recovery from the weak performance seen in Q2 2020, which was heavily impacted by Covid-19.”
Mr Ramazan Yavuz, a Senior Research Manager at IDC also submitted that “IDC expects Nigeria’s overall mobile phone market to grow 3.1% QoQ in Q4 2020, with feature phone shipments increasing by 1.9% and smartphone shipments growing by 4.7%. Promotions from the end of November through the festive month of December will support the market’s growth in Q4 2020.
“Covid-19 will continue to pose a threat to the overall economy, in particular, to mobile phone markets. However, smartphone shipments will remain resilient in 2021, with customers moving from feature phones to smartphones and data usage increasing in the medium term.”


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Audi Tts 2018 Rs News And Reviews
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60-90% of marine litter is plastic?
Did you know that each year about 8 million tons of plastic ends up in the oceans?
Did you know that each year, over 4 billion coffee cups end up in landfills?
Did you know that up to 51 trillion micro plastic particles are already in our oceans?
Did you know that by 2050, an estimated 99% of seabirds will have ingested plastic?Why do these numbers matter? With increased human activity both on land and seas, and unsustainable production and consumption habits, our oceans and other world’s bodies of water are getting more and more polluted. These numbers matter, because not only are the oceans a source of protein to millions of people worldwide, they also produce more than half of the oxygen in the atmosphere. According to some estimates by year 2050 oceans will be populated more by plastic than fish, if the current trend of plastic dumping continues. This is unacceptable.
In response to this global environmental problem, this month, UNEP launched an international campaign called “CleanSeas.” Committed to eliminate major sources of marine littering, waste created by humans that has been discharged into the coastal or marine environment, by the year 2022, UNEP is urging governments, private sector, and consumers to reduce production and usage of micro plastics and single-use plastics.


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Oppo Reno 8 Series Launch Today in China: Check Specifications, Expected Price
Oppo Reno 8 Series: Check out the specifications of the Reno 8, Reno 8 Pro, and Reno 8 Pro+.
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The Oppo Reno 8 series is all set to be launched in China on Monday, 23 May 2022. The company has officially confirmed that it will launch the brand new Reno 8 series in China first.
Those who are interested in the launch should note that it will happen on Monday at 7 pm Beijing Time, which is 4:30 pm IST. Oppo has also formally confirmed that the Reno 8 series will contain the Reno 8, Reno 8 Pro, and Reno 8 Pro+.
It is also important to note that the Oppo Pad Air will also make its debut along with the Reno 8 series.
Read on to know more about the launch in China.
Here are some of the specifications of the Reno 8 smartphones.
Oppo Reno 8 Series Launch Today: Specifications
The Oppo Reno 8 is expected to be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 SoC. It will also be paired with up to 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.
The Oppo Reno 8 Pro is going to be the first smartphone to utilise the brand new Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset. The chip is expected to be paired with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
The smartphone will also be equipped with a custom MariSilicon X chip, similar to the Oppo Find X5 Pro. The Oppo Reno 8 Pro will sport a triple-camera setup on the back with a 50 MP sensor at the helm.
The Oppo Reno 8 Pro+ will be equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max SoC paired with the custom MariSilicon X chip. The smartphone will also have 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
Oppo Reno 8 Series: Expected Price
Oppo has revealed nothing about the prices of the three smartphones under the Reno 8 series. One has to wait for the launch in China on Monday, 23 May 2022, to know the exact price.
Right now, there are no updates on whether the Reno 8 series will launch in India. The company is expected to make announcements about that very soon.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)
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Topics: Oppo Oppo Reno 8 Series
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