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Watch Alan Moore read a section of Unearthing live at the Gosh! Comics in-store with Mitch Jenkins last Tuesday. You can also download the audio for the Q&A here. Together they were also interviewed by South London Hardcore about their inspiration behind the project and Alan’s relationship with Steve Moore, the man behind the story. […]
Neon Neon have joined the line up for Forbidden Fruit Festival in Dublin this June bank holiday weekend alongside Primal Scream, Kasabian, James Blake, Four Tet, Cryril Hahn, Bondax and more. Tickets go on sale at 9am tomorrow (Wednesday 9th March) at Forbiddenfruit.ie Keep up to date with all Lex gigs by subscribing to our […]
Alan Moore & Mitch Jenkins are hosting an in conversation at Gosh! Comics tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday 26th February). They will be signing copies of the book version of their 2010 release Unearthing, available via Top Shelf Comics. The softcover version of the book will be available next month.
Neon Neon play a sold out gig tonight at Camden’s Roundhouse as part of their Rising 2013 festival. In collaboration with Clash Magazine, the gig will be streamed live via the Roundhouse at www.roundhouse.org.uk/live
This May, Tv On The Radio are curating All Tomorrow’s Parties at Pontins in Minehead from Friday 10th May – Sunday 12th May. DOOM and Doseone have been added to the line-up, which includes Shabazz Palaces, Saul Williams, El-P, De La Soul and more. For the full line up, and to purchase tickets visit the […]
Neon Neon will play a rare dj gig as part of Roundhouse Rising 2013 on the 19th February. Support comes from Piers Martin (Cocadisco). The gig has now completely sold out, however, you will be able to watch the performance live on the Roundhouse website HERE. Download Piers’s excellent Cia Computer mix for Jaguar Shoes […]
Following his headline show at Kentish Town Forum last week, DOOM will be at the Village Underground on the 2nd November alongside Rodney P, Mr Thing, Yungun and more. Soundcrash are offering a very limited number of tickets for £12.50 HERE. There are only 20 of theses available, so once these have run out visit […]
During the rest of December our 2 x screen printed poster pack is reduced from £40 to £25 / $40 / €30 . Your order will also come with an automatic download of our 10th Anniversary Compilation, Complex. There was a limited run of 50 – these are the last few sets left. For our 10th […]


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Apple Releases New Beta Firmware for AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max With Improvements to Automatic Switching
Following the WWDC 2022 keynote this week, Apple has released a new beta firmware for several AirPods models, including the second-generation AirPods, third-generation AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max. Apple says the beta firmware includes improvements to Automatic Switching and various bug and stability fixes. The new beta firmware has a version number 5.0 and build number 5A5282d, up from 4.4 and 4E71.
Apple says AirPods beta firmware enables development of AirPods-related features on iOS and macOS and allows Apple to debug issues. Apple did not provide any additional details about specific improvements being made to Automatic Switching in the latest beta.
Apple Developer Program members can access the beta firmware on the More Downloads page of Apple's developer website, complete with installation instructions. The beta firmware does not appear to be available for the first-generation AirPods.
To install the beta firmware, Apple says developers need an iPhone running the iOS 16 beta, a Mac running the macOS Ventura beta, Xcode 14 beta, and supported AirPods. Developers must pair the AirPods with an iPhone, connect the iPhone to a Mac with a Lightning cable, launch Xcode 14 beta on the Mac, navigate to Settings → Developer, and choose Pre-Release Beta Firmware under the AirPods Testing section.
Apple says it may take up to 24 hours for the beta firmware to be received and installed on AirPods. Once installed, Apple says the beta firmware will continue to run on the AirPods until an updated non-beta software version is released. Any additional beta software updates will be automatically received in the interim.
(Thanks, Robert Bentley!)
Top Rated Comments
Are they kidding? It NEVER worked between my devices.
But when my partner picks up her iPhone my AirPods max transfer to her phone instead. Pure awesomeness

domain: news


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The domestic ecommerce market in Russia increased from 560 billion rubles in 2014 to 650 rubles last year. It now accounts to 2 percent of the total retail industry in Russia, so there is still great growth potential. And while the domestic market is slowing down, cross-border purchases continue to grow rapidly.
Russia - archive
Below you’ll find all the articles we’ve written about Russian ecommerce, online retailers, acquisitions, cross-border initiatives and more. If you want to know more about the Russian online retail industry, check out our information page on ecommerce inRead more about Russia
In Europe, more and more consumers like to pay using their smartphone or tablet. In share of mobile device owners who already have experience with mobile payments, Turkey is the absolute leader in Europe. This is apparent from the latest report by yStats.com, called “Europe Online Payment Methods: First Half 2015”.
Ozon, the popular online retailer from Russia, will begin hosting merchants from both Europe and China. The ecommerce company wants to dive deeper into the booming cross-border trade. If the first steps into this market happen to be a success, Ozon will expand and invest more.
KupiVIP.ru, one of Russia’s largest online retailers, announced its own one-day sale. Today it’s “Shock Sale” and the main purpose is to beat the sales records and to attract the maximum number of users to its website in 24 hours.
Ecommerce in Europe is mainly being dominated by the United Kingdom, France and Germany, but this may be about to change. Today, Russia is still not that prominent in terms of ecommerce, but it’s just a matter of time before Russia will dominate the European ecommerce sector.
Things are going well for KupiVIP.ru. The online shopping club from Russia changed a lot at its website and company, but it has paid off. It began to break-even in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization and it closed last year with a revenue in the fourth quarter that has increased by 44% compared with the same period in 2013.
Osell, the B2B subsidiary of major Chinese cross-border sales platform DinoDirect.com, has acquired TDPRO at the end of last year. TDPRO is a Russian company that provides logistics, warehousing and supply chain management services. With the acquisition, Osell is going to build the first Chinese products experience center in Moscow.
The European influence on the Russian ecommerce market is declining rapidly. And it’s losing its share to Chinese companies, as their growth in Russia had been fueled thanks to the devaluation of the ruble. The Russian currency has fallen nearly 40% against the euro this year, so Russian consumers are now even more conscious of price.
TopDelivery, which offers several integrated delivery services for online retail in Russia, has raised investments from Impulse VC. With this money, TopDelivery wants to further improve its logistics, customer services and IT system. TopDelivery also wants to expand its delivery area, which now covers the whole territory of Russia.
While Cyber Monday is still more popular in the United States, in Europe retailers increasingly embrace this day to boost their sales. In the UK and Germany there was an increase in conversion in consumer electronics during Cyber Monday last year, while there was a decrease for clothing and footwear in the UK and Spain.
Global investors are looking with increasing interest to the ecommerce industry in Eastern Europe. The growth and trends in this region attracts the attention of international ecommerce players and investors. For example in Turkey, there’s a raised interest of investors, mostly in the clothing sectors.
The ecommerce industry in Eastern Europe is expected to reach 23 billion euros worth of sales in 2014. In absolute numbers, this region may not be top notch, but when we consider the average growth rate of 47% over the year 2013, the ecommerce market in Eastern Europe is showing the strongest increase in Europe.
The B2C ecommerce industry in Russia has been growing rapidly. As a matter of fact, it was ranked fifth worldwide in ecommerce growth last year. Russia is now forecasted to surpass South Korea to become the ninth largest ecommerce market worldwide. And in 2018, the industry could be worth 30 billion euros.
It looks Ulmart has found the ideal model for operating an ecommerce business in Russia. The 31% growth of sales for the first six months of 2014 in a year-on-year comparison are proof of that. Sequential quarterly growth even increased by 47%. Ulmart showed to be a disruptive player in the Russian ecommerce with its ‘web of fullfilment’.
Ozon has raised 108 million euros in funding from holding company Sistema and telecommunications provider MTS. Both parties have invested 75 million dollars (€54mn) in exchange for a 10.8% stake each. Russia’s largest ecommerce company is now valuated at about 500 million euros.


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The first of many crossover vehicles that General Motors Corp. says will reverse its market share slide debuts this week at the Detroit auto show. Ironically, the unveiling of the imaginative Pontiac Aztek and Chevrolet Avalanche comes just days after GM announced it was mailing millions of $500 coupons to current owners and potential buyers in an effort to reduce inventory levels. It may start a price war, as it did in 1998 when GM last used coupons. But GM needs to reduce its stock, ...
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BELLAMY'S (ASX: BAL) shares have suffered a 40 per cent drop in value today after the company hit a regulatory hurdle exporting its baby formula into China.
Although the company's unaudited revenue for the period between 1 July 2016 to 20 November 2016 is up 24 per cent compared to the same period the previous year, at $93 million, its momentum has been tempered by "temporary volume dislocation" in China.
This is due to "regulatory changeover" and the "flow-on effects of restructuring the route-to-market in China", which impacted from the first quarter of FY17.
The final document requirements for the China Food and Drug Administration product registration have now been released and Bellamy's is working to satisfy the requirements.
"Bellamy's is well progressed with the preparation of its documentation. With the period for registration extended to 31 December 2017, sales will continue under the current regime until the end of next year."
Revenue for the first half of FY17 is expected to be around $120 million, which is below expectations, and under the current regime, the second half is expected to be in a similar range.
Bellamy's maintains that the potential for its products in China is "vast".
"Bellamy's is currently stocked in less than 5 per cent of the potential distribution points in China. The company's team is extending its online presence as well as broadening its offline, bricks and mortar presence," the company says in a statement to the ASX today.
Getting Australian baby formula into China, and then selling it, is proving harder than many Australian companies have anticipated.
Both Blackmores (ASX: BKL) and Murray Goulburn (ASX:MGC) paid for their over confidence when their baby formulas failed to break into the competitive Chinese market.
Now Bellamy's is suffering a similar fate, although at least this company's baby formula is in demand, unlike the competing offerings from Blackmores and Murray Goulburn.
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An increase in responsibility had Grace Lieblein tossing and turning through many sleepless nights in 2006 as the pressure mounted for both her and her employer, General Motors.
With the top-selling U.S. auto maker losing ground to Toyota in market share, GM mounted a restructuring plan that included cutting jobs and placing a heavy emphasis in high-growth areas, such as "crossover" vehicles. And the company plugged Ms. Lieblein, a chief vehicle engineer, into a key role in its campaign to produce the smaller sport utility vehicles.
She led a team of engineers in creating the 2008 Buick Enclave, marketed as the brand's first luxury crossover vehicle. It was unveiled on the eve of November's Los Angeles Auto Show and it hits showroom floors this summer.
"This has been the pinnacle of my entire career," says Ms. Lieblein, the highest-ranking Hispanic woman at GM. "We've spent the last year launching [the Enclave], showing it to our dealers and promoting the vehicle at media events. It's the most responsibility I've had as well as the most challenging thing and the most rewarding thing I've done. I've been involved in some great projects at GM, but this tops the list."
Along with the responsibility came a lot of late nights as the new vehicle approached its launch date.
"This is no exaggeration: There were a lot of sleepless nights," Ms. Lieblein says. "From an engineering standpoint, I was the final person who has ultimate accountability for the vehicle. Hundreds of engineers have their fingerprints on it. They had stakes in pieces of it, but the whole thing was my responsibility.
"On one hand, it's great that GM has the confidence in me to put me in charge of this all new product, and in an area that's so critical for GM to succeed in. On the other hand, you lose a lot of sleep."
The Enclave features a 3.6-liter, six-cylinder engine that nets 18 miles per gallon on city streets and 26 on the highway, a six-speed transmission and a cab that seats eight.
Ralph Gray, an auto editor for Hispanic Business, says the Enclave is a "significant vehicle for General Motors."
"It looks to me as if the Enclave will fit nicely into the luxury end of the crossover segment," he says. "More importantly, it signals Buick returning to its brand heritage – the styling, the equipment, and the features. ... Buick is using new design cues like a waterfall black chrome grille with the Buick tri-shield emblem and three portholes. All hark back to Buick's historic look."
Ms. Lieblein, 46, has her own history with GM. Her father, Rolando Larrinua, was an hourly employee at GM's Los Angeles plant, and she proudly says she grew up with GM blood in her veins. She started her career in the auto industry as an 18-year-old co-op student in the assembly division at GM. She earned an engineering degree from the General Motors Institute, now Kettering University, climbed the corporate ladder, and now she's responsible for overseeing all the aspects of engineering for GM's current and future front-wheel drive trucks, including crossover vehicles.
Since following her father into the auto industry, Ms. Lieblein has remained family oriented. Despite having a challenging job, she says she finds a way to put her husband, Tom, and daughter, Ally, first.
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Blackrock jumped two spots in Broadridge’s April China Power Ranking list to joint top place, greatly benefiting from its wholly-owned fund management company (FMC), that has gone fully operational with the first retail fund, which gathered more than $1bn within just five days of its launch.
The world’s largest asset manager also saw an equity wealth product debut in China, as its majority-owned wealth management joint venture introduced an equity strategy that drew $380m in funds.
“The onshore retail success, on top of the firm’s offshore China fund growth and other institutional developments, pushed Blackrock to the top position in terms of the overall China AUM score,” Yoon Ng, Broadridge’s senior director of APAC Insights, said in a statement.
Broadridge, a global fintech firm, takes into account six key criteria, including China fund AUM, the extent of business scope, local operational strength, brand perception, global investment strength and China as a strategic priority. Scores across the six criteria are weighted and tallied to determine the foreign manager that is best positioned in the market.
UBS Global Asset Management (UBS GAM) improved its ranking by one spot compared with April to join Blackrock at the top of the rankings, mainly because of progress in developing its local operations and business scope. The Swiss wealth giant received approval for its first product launch in China under (northbound) mutual recognition of fund scheme.
Meanwhile, JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM) retained its top position, albeit jointly, as it still led in brand recognition among both Chinese retail and institutional investors.
JPMAM’s 10% investment in China Merchants Bank’s wealth unit will also help the firm grow its AUM in the bank wealth management product (WMP) market in China. Moreover, JPMAM leads in the product approvals via the latest Greater Bay Area Wealth Management Connect, while UBS GAM and Blackrock also offer eligible funds to be sold to mainland Chinese investors under the same scheme.
Following Blackrock’s footsteps, more global asset managers have been applying for the FMC license. Fidelity and Neuberger Berman are among the early movers that have just received final approval. This helped boost their China Power Rankings by three and 11 spots, respectively.
Ng expects that other FMC applicants, such as Schroders and Alliance Bernstein, will likely see similar improvements in their scores and rankings upon approval.
In addition, the vast size of the bank WMP market in China has also increasingly drawn global asset managers, with Amundi being one of the early beneficiaries. The French manager bettered its ranking over the past 18 months by an impressive seven spots.
“This was largely attributed to the firm’s China AUM growth via both its minority-owned mutual fund JV and majority-owned bank wealth management JV,” said Ng.


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Lumia 640 XL Offers More for Phablet Lovers
Microsoft today announced the Lumia 640 XL, a larger version of the Lumia 640. The screen is stretched to 5.7 inches, the camera is improved to 13 megapixels, and the battery is slightly bigger, as well. It includes Microsoft's standard set of productivity apps and supports LTE 4G. It will ship with Windows 8.1, but can be upgraded to the full version of Windows 10. The Lumia 640 XL will be available in April from AT&T, T-Mobile, and MetroPCS in the U.S. Microsoft said it will include a one-year subscription to Office 365, 1TB of OneDrive storage, and 60 Skype world minutes. The price will be approximately $245.
Microsoft's latest Windows handset for AT&T is the powerful 640 XL, a massive device best suited to phablet lovers. It features a 5.7-inch screen, 13-megapixel camera, quad-core processor, and an assortment of AT&T and Microsoft apps and services.
Microsoft debuted another pair of mid-range handsets in the long buildup to Windows 10. The Lumia 640 and 640 XL are worthy update to the 635 and 1320, but they leaving us aching for a new flagship from Microsoft.
Sep 19, 2019
Alcatel today announced the Go Flip 3 and SmartFlip, two variants of essentially the same clamshell-style feature phone. The phone runs KaiOS, and for the first time in the US, supports both Google Assistant voice control and the KaiStore for downloading third-party apps such as WhatsApp.
Jan 18, 2019
Microsoft will end support for its Windows 10 Mobile smartphone OS on December 10 2019, and is encouraging people still using Windows 10 Mobile phones to switch to Android or iOS phones. Microsoft is now focusing on those platforms and offers a suite of its own apps for both platforms.
Aug 14, 2019
T-Mobile and AT&T can now securely confirm caller-ID info between the two networks, an important step in fighting number spoofing widely used by robocallers. Both companies have now implemented the STIR/SHAKEN protocol between their networks, allowing caller-ID info to be authenticated, resulting in a "Caller Verified" banner on the phone screen when a call is incoming.


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In 2017, a mere 2.2 percent of all venture capital (VC) funding in the U.S. went to companies founded solely by women, according to PitchBook. That’s up from 2016, when female founders raised just $1.4 billion—or 1.9 percent of total VC funding.
But get this: Plenty of data shows that startups led by women outperform their male-founded counterparts. They grow faster and produce more revenue, Bumble reported.
It will come as no surprise that VC investments in businesses founded by women of color fared far worse. For instance, black women—the most educated and most entrepreneurial demographic in the U.S.—received 0.2 percent of all VC funding last year. Rates are unreported for Native female-led startups.
“The gender gap in venture capital is staggering, particularly for women founders of color. With an 85 percent female workforce, we want to be a part of the solution,” tech company Bumble, creators of the popular dating app, announced Wednesday.
The newly formed Bumble Fund will focus on early-stage investments for female-founded, female-led businesses, with a focus on racial diversity. The company is investing between $5,000 to $250,000 in each company, honing in on those dedicated to serving women. So far, the fund has committed more than $1 million, Forbes reported.
“We’re launching Bumble Fund to invest in women ignored by the establishment. We’re promising businesses and founders support,” Bumble stated.
Sarah Jones Simmer, Bumble’s COO who will be leading the VC fund, told Forbes: “We want to give more than capital. We are in a privileged position of having built a legacy of experience over the last four years. And so much of what we are tackling is what other founders are facing on a day-to-day basis.”
Bumble—founded by Whitney Wolfe Herd in September 2014 with equality in mind—has invested in two female-focused investment funds: Female Founders Fund and Cleo Capital. Bumble, which was valued by Forbes in July at about $1 billion, has also committed money to BeautyCon, Mahmee and Sofia Los Angeles.
Within Indian Country, Gabrielle Scrimshaw, a member of the Hatchet Lake First Nation and recent Harvard Kennedy graduate, aims to start an investment firm for tribal businesses, First Nations businesses and indigenous entrepreneurs. Learn more about her vision here.


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Jan 30, 2015 - Brands can reach consumers during the Super Bowl with real-time video ads on Facebook and through Twitter war rooms. And with a shoppable halftime show, Pepsi is taking it to the next level. Comments
Jan 29, 2015 - The Super Bowl is right around the corner, so ClickZ is taking a peek at some of the ads from staples like Anheuser-Busch and Coca-Cola, as well as newcomers such as Skittles and NOMORE.org. Comments
Jan 22, 2015 - Beer company Anheuser-Busch is introducing a home delivery service for its popular Bud Light brand. The "Bud Light Button" is a new app that allows users to order drinks on their smartphones. Comments
Jan 14, 2015 - Newcastle's new pre-Super Bowl ad campaign encourages small brands to band together to create a game day commercial that will rival those of larger brands with bigger ad spend. Comments
Jan 22, 2014 - Expect to see new players, new features, new strategies, and new faces in the 2014 Super Bowl ad game, as well as at least one TV show reunion. Comments
Nov 2, 2012 - Anheuser-Busch has put AKQA in charge of digital advertising for the Budweiser, Bud Light, and Stella Artois brands. Comments
Jul 29, 2011 - Agency confirms it has landed AB Inbev brand. Comments
US Consumer Device Preference Report
Traditionally desktops have shown to convert better than mobile devices however, 2015 might be a tipping point for mobile conversions! Download this report to find why mobile users are more important then ever.
E-Commerce Customer Lifecycle
Have you ever wondered what factors influence online spending or why shoppers abandon their cart? This data-rich infogram offers actionable insight into creating a more seamless online shopping experience across the multiple devices consumers are using.
October 13, 2015
1pm ET/ 10am PT
November 12, 2015


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The model will not be part of this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai
When Victoria’s Secret released the list of models appearing at their 2017 show in Shanghai later this year there was one name notable by their absence -Kendall Jenner.
The model first walked the runway for the famous lingerie brand back in 2015 and this would have been her third year donning the angel wings alongside pal Gigi Hadid.
But according to TMZ, Kendall has a pretty good reason for not being a part of the show this year -she got a much better offer.
Continue reading: Why Has Kendall Jenner Hung Up Her Wings At Victoria's Secret?
Jasmine Tookes and others star in David and Justin's new video.
The Victoria's Secret Angels look as beautiful as ever in David Guetta's brand new video for '2U'. Following the release of a series of teasers on social media, the full clip is finally here alongside a rather romantic party track with Justin Bieber on vocals.
Jasmine Tookes shot in black and white in '2U' video
Earlier this week Justin Bieber listed the first names of six stunning underwear models without context on Twitter, which left fans wondering what was coming next. Well, now we know they are the subject of JB and David Guetta's newest video which sees them lip-syncing to the track and modelling in their usual way.
She was joined by sister Gigi, pal Kendall and ex-boyfriend The Weeknd.
The always eagerly anticipated annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show hit the the Grand Palais in Paris last night, and saw Gigi's younger sister Bella Hadid grace the famous runway for the first time - and right in front of her recently exed boyfriend The Weeknd.
2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show: Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid
Far from looking awkward about her former lover serenading her with songs from his recently released album 'Starboy' while he performed at the show, she flashed some seriously shady eyes as she barely acknowledged him. It seems it was all for show, however, as the 20-year-old model is still good friends with the singer.
Continue reading: Bella Hadid Leads Best Looks From 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
The 20th show was definitely one to remember.
It's that time of the year again, where we get to see the best the lingerie world has to offer in the shape of Victoria's Secret's glamorous annual fashion show. It's probably the only runway in the world where the models are allowed to smile, and this time they welcome new addition Kendall Jenner to their flock.
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2015
Last night's event (November 10th 2015) was a bit of a landmark for the underwear company, who celebrated their 20th Fashion Show in New York's Lexington Armory. It also saw a wide variety of themes such as 'Fireworks', 'Butterflies' and 'Snow Angel', all of which showed off these models to the fullest extent.
Yfke Sturm, the model best known for her work with Victoria’s Secret, has woken up from a coma.
Victoria’s Secret model Yfke Sturm has reportedly woken up from a medically induced coma but her condition is still critical. The 33-year-old Dutch model was involved in a serious surfing incident last Thursday (3rd September) off the island of Ischia, close to the Bay of Naples. Reports suggest Strum fell off the jetsurf (a motorized surfboard) she was riding and hit her head.
Reports claim the Brazilian supermodel is ready to hang up the high heels for good, in order to spend more time with her family.
She’s strutted her stuff on the catwalk for some of the world’s biggest designers, but Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen is reportedly calling it quits on her runway career and will retire next month during São Paulo Fashion Week.
Gisele is reportedly ready to leave the runway
According to Brazilian news website Estadao the 34-year-old will end her catwalk career on April 20th when she model’s for Brazilian brand Colcci during their São Paulo Fashion Week show. The website reports the model had always planned to end her catwalk career in her native Brazil, which is where she began her modelling career aged 14.
Continue reading: Is Supermodel Gisele Bundchen Ready To Catwalk Off The Runway Forever?
Not one but two Fantasy Bras were displayed at this year's London show.
The 2014 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show finally hit London on Tuesday (December 2nd) at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre for it's UK debut which saw twice as much bedazzlement as last year and just as much exciting live music.
The Victoria's Secret girls arrive in London for the 2014 fashion show
Last year, only 40 models stole the runway when it took place at New York's Lexington Armory, but this week a further seven models joined the show for the biggest Victoria's Secret event yet. Not only that but the 19th Annual Fashion Show features a whopping 79 different looks, with this year's six categories including Angel Ball, Dream Girl, Exotic Traveler, Fairy Tale, Gilded Angels and University of Pink.
There's no love lost between Kate Upton and Victoria's Secret.
Kate Upton is said to be "furious" with her former employer Victoria's Secret for using a picture of her wearing a black bra in their new catalogue WITHOUT getting her permission. The shot is actually from 2011 and insiders say the lingerie giant do not have a license to use it. "Kate's not currently contracted to work with Victoria's Secret, and they didn't contact her before they used these images," an insider told The New York Post.
Upton has worked with Victoria's Secret in the past and modelled bras for the brand in 2011 - which is where the alluring shot is believed to have come from. The superstar model and Victoria' Secret appeared to have some sort of falling out following her departure from the company, with Victoria Secret's casting director Sophia Neophitou telling the New York Times in 2012, "[Upton is] too obvious. She's like a Page 3 girl. She's like a footballer's wife, with the too-blond hair and that kind of face that anyone with enough money can go out and buy.We would never use [Upton]."
Upton is yet to make an official comment on the picture, though she'll no doubt be rinsing Victoria's Secret for this one. If only to spite Neophitou.
Continue reading: Kate Upton 'Furious' With Victoria's Secret For Using Bra Picture


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One MP said that a coffeeshop owner had approached him for help after having lost a bundle in the stock market.
“I told him there was nothing I could do. He was not the only one hit by the depressed stock market. I, myself, have been affected.
“He clarified that he wasn't asking me to bail him out financially but to mediate with his tai yee loong (loan shark) to stop him from being beaten up after defaulting on his loan payments,'' the MP said.
The other MP spoke of how one of his constituents had complained about the increasing high cost of living in Johor, saying politicians should know what they are talking about.
“The retired clerk, who lives on his pension, said it's fine for leaders to talk about economic policies and other bigger things but they should not forget how much basic items cost now.
“He gave me an earful, asking me to tell the higher-ups in Kuala Lumpur that the small people from Johor have been buying local products for years.
“He also insisted I bring up continuously in Parliament the high cost of living in our state.''
For Johoreans, the weak ringgit has been both a boon and bane. The state already has a reputation for being the most expensive one in the country.
The prices of many household necessities, such as fish and vegetables, in Johor markets are higher than in other states.
That, however, has not stopped many Singaporeans from shopping in the state and pushing prices up further.
It's a Catch 22 situation. The presence of Singaporeans in the state has contributed substantially to the Johor economy.
The high exchange rate and the demand for goods from these islanders have led to undue profiteering by Johorean traders.
This scenario has been going on for years. It's an old story except that this time, things have become more complicated and emotional because of the currency situation.
The Johor Government, for example, talks about launching a retail sales campaign to woo Singaporeans to shop there. At the same time, the Government has to grapple with local resentment towards Singaporeans buying essential items.
One hears of civil servants earning RM1,000 having to hold two jobs to make ends meet. After office hours, they moonlight as taxi drivers, security guards, part-time hotel staff and even pub singers.
At the pasar malam, these civil servants are also prevalent; they either conduct their own business or help their spouses or family members sell ulam, traditional medicine or plastic goods.
These efforts, though seemingly menial, are done to earn the extra buck which can help ease the tight financial situation.
Housing is a pressing problem in the state, particularly for the middle-class who do not qualify for low-cost housing but are too poor to buy houses costing RM100,000 and above.
Singaporeans cross the Causeway daily for almost everything, from buying groceries to burial lots in Kulai.
Shopowners prefer dealing with cash-rich Singaporeans who buy in quantity and spend freely.
Many Johoreans also cross the link each day to work in Singapore, earning the kind of salaries they cannot find in Malaysia.
A sizeable number of Johoreans send their children to schools in Singapore, even at primary level, taking advantage of the quality educational facilities in the republic.
Singaporeans and Johoreans have this love-hate relationship. The economy aside, when diplomatic ties turn prickly at times, Malaysians down south feel it the most.
Johoreans have better access to Singapore media coverage about Malaysia. They question why Malaysian leaders are sometimes not accorded the same respect and sensitivity given by the Malaysian media to their Singaporean counterparts.
There is much at stake for both sides. Almost everything is inter linked and sometimes, as neighbours, we take things for granted and forget the larger picture.
The need to treat issues delicately needs to be re-emphasised, especially during the present rough economic patch which both countries are experiencing together.
But not everybody is frowning in Johor. There is a price war among traders selling pirated CD-ROMs and VCDs.
“Not everything is expensive in Johor. We sell CD-ROMs and VCDs between RM5 and RM8 each. It's probably the cheapest in Malaysia,'' said one shopkeeper.
It was already near closing time but one shopping complex in Jalan Harimau Tarum was still packed with Johorean and Singaporean bargain-hunters.
At Senai, about 40km from Johor Baru, the oil-palm growers are smiling. The commodity has enjoyed a price increase in ringgit terms against the backdrop of a depreciating ringgit, with an increase of between RM1,700 and RM1,800 per tonne.
Their hopes are high because the sentiment is that palm oil should be traded at RM2,000 a tonne in the international market.
Despite the gloom generally prevailing among Malaysians who have taken a beating with the currency and stock market problems, one can still detect energy and enthusiasm in Johor.
Over a drink at a hotel in Taman Century, a remisier who had been suspended from trading was still in a mood to talk about certain attractive counters.
“Look at those counters dealing in commodities. If you have the money, go in now, don't regret later,'' he advised.


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TWO Merseyside schoolgirls are spreading the spirit of Christmas thanks to MPs and sisters Angela and Maria Eagle.
Designs by Freya Hannah-Mills, aged four from Wallasey Village and 11-year-old Anita Chan from Hunts Cross were selected from more than 800 entries as the front covers for the MPs’ Christmas cards.
Freya used local landmark Leasowe Lighthouse as her inspiration, while Anita stuck with Santa, Rudolph and a snowman.
Speke-based online and home shopping retailer Shop Direct printed more than 66,000 of the cards to be sent to the MPs’ Garston and Wallasey constituents.
The youngsters also received a prize from Shop Direct Group, presented by chief operating officer Keith Basnett.
Wallasey MP Angela said: “Choosing a winner was probably one of the hardest things I’ve had to do all year.”
Maria, who represents Garston, added: “Shop Direct has helped make this year’s Christmas card competition a tremendous success.”


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Poundstretcher in Thetford must pay nearly £50k for ‘serious’ environmental health breaches
A discount retailer in Thetford previously labelled ‘filthy’ by health inspectors has been ordered to pay almost £50,000 for serious environmental legislation breaches.
Poundstretcher, in Minstergate, was found to have committed six serious contraventions of environmental health-related legislation when inspectors from Breckland Council visited last year.
Inspectors discovered a rat infestation and blocked fire exits in the ‘filthy’ premises.
Investigations by the Environmental Health Team began in January 2014, with a visit uncovering serious breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act and of Food Safety and Hygiene regulations.
Despite orders to address the problems, further visits in March 2014 found the premises, including the staff room, in a ‘filthy’ condition and revealed a rat infestation infestation and excess stock obstructing walkways and fire exits.
Fines of £38,000 and further charges, amouting to a total of £46,547.83, were imposed by Norwich Magistrates Court on May 6.
After agreeing to a voluntary closure, the company implemented a store refit in Thetford and has since rolled out a food safety management system across all its premises.
A spokesman for the retailer called the failures ‘totally unacceptable’.
“Poundstretcher would like to apologise to its customers for the operational failures at its Thetford store. Action was taken to address the issues and protocol put in place to ensure there would be no repetition,” he said.
Michael Wassell, Breckland Council leader, said: “The council takes its responsibility to protect public health very seriously and will not tolerate such poor standards.”


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The judge overseeing RadioShack's bankruptcy said he will approve the sale of about 1,700 stores to the chain's biggest shareholder.
Tuesday's decision ensures the survival of the 94-year-old electronics retailer, for now, and saves thousands of jobs that might have been lost if the stores were liquidated.
The buyer, Standard General, has said it plans to run the business in a co-branding arrangement with Sprint Corp.
During four days of sometimes contentious hearings in Wilmington, Del., bankruptcy court, creditors fought the company and each other over how much the stores were worth and how proceeds of the sale should be used.
Hedge fund Standard General was declared the winner of an asset auction last week with a bid worth about $145.5 million.
Creditor Salus Capital Partners had called the auction a sham and asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon to reject the result.
RadioShack argued that Salus missed its chance to outbid Standard General, which the Fort Worth, Texas-based retailer said made the highest and best offer.
The judge said he was faced with two alternatives: liquidation or a sale as a going concern.
"The going-concern bid from Standard General is clearly economically superior to the liquidation bid even before taking into account the added and terribly important benefit of preserving over 7,000 jobs and saving a century-old American retailing icon," Shannon said.


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Bilateral trade between Israel and the UAE will reach $2 billion by 2022, up 50 per cent from 2021, according to estimates by the UAE-Israel Business Council, which comprises more than 6,000 businessmen from both countries.
"Key sectors include tourism, agriculture, diamonds, renewable energy projects in solar power and water, oil and gas, investments in Israeli technology companies, establishment of Israeli-owned companies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, consumer goods and professional services," the council said in a statement.
The United Arab Emirates was the first country to announce the normalisation of diplomatic relations with Israel, in August 2020, with the so-called Abraham Accords, sponsored by the administration of former US President Donald Trump, and later joined by Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
Since then, the relationship between Israel and the UAE has advanced by leaps and bounds, especially in the economic and commercial areas.
Tourism between the two countries is expected to grow by up to 25% - including 25,000 Emiratis visiting Israel - a significant increase from the 200,000 visits since the Abraham Accords were signed, mostly from Israelis to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The Council has also identified increased cooperation in the aerospace and defence sectors, with the main Israeli companies in the sector - IAI, Rafael and Elbit - establishing joint ventures in the UAE.
In addition, trade between Israel and the rest of the Arab countries - the signatories to the Abraham Accords, plus Egypt and Jordan - is also expected to grow to $1 billion, an increase of 30 per cent over 2021 figures and 100 per cent over 2020.


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The hunt is on. The media is now hunting for places to affix blame for the economic meltdown. Usually the innocent are blamed and the uninvolved are rewarded. The most recent wave of blame has been pointing at business schools. Business schools produced the MBAs who have destroyed the economy right? So they must be at fault.
First, I’m not sure that the MBA is the downfall of the economy. Many senior executives at financial firms do not have MBAs, and yet still managed to create a giant mess. Many MBAs had nothing to do with the real estate/financial sector, and are completely innocent of all charges. Second, we were all happy to partake of the insanity on the way up. No one complained about MBAs when we were all making money hand over fist and buying cheap goods from China at Walmart.
The argument against the MBA is that we have trained our business people to be completely about self interest, and that our business schools have not trained people to be engaged in what’s best for the broader community, but only what’s best for their company, and as a result, what’s best for themselves. Yes, companies develop compensation packages to incent employees to maximize profit and shareholder value. That’s the whole point of having a company.
MBA stands for Master of Business Administration. The purpose of an MBA is to teach people how to run businesses profitably. Do people who enter business have a less than altruistic outlook? Sure they do. They want to make money. Does this make MBAs the entire source of the economic disaster unfolding before us? Probably not.
Rather than finger pointing, perhaps we should get on with problem solving. Yes, we need to fix business education. We need to ensure that the businesses of the future understand decision making bias, risk management, how to tie compensation to objectives, understand moral and ethical issues, have better understanding of the impact that they have in the broader community. But realistically, fixing business education is not going to fix the lack of government regulation and oversight, and the boom bust nature of markets. A little less blame and a lot more action is what we need right now.


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The F.A.Z. Institut für Management-, Markt- und Medieninformationen, in collaboration with the IMWF Institute for Management and Economic Research, has surveyed the trustworthiness of around 18,000 companies from various sectors of the economy throughout Germany.
Snom Technology is rated as one of two most highly trusted hardware manufacturers.
In the current survey "Highly Trusted Companies 2023", Snom Technology GmbH, a globally established and leading company in the telecommunications industry, has been recognised as one of the outstanding companies that customers in Germany and beyond can trust.
The certificate emphasises Snom Technology's exceptional commitment to customer trust and excellence in the areas of
The survey, conducted by the prestigious Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung publishing group in collaboration with the IMWF Institute for Management and Economic Research, analysed the data of extensive social listening which recorded and evaluated about 14 million mentions of companies in the period from 16 June, 2022 to 15 June, 2023. The award of the "Highly Trusted Companies" certificate is based on an industry-specific point value calculation on a scale of 0 to 100 points. The company that achieves the highest score in its industry sets the benchmark. Companies with at least 60 points in the overall ranking receive the award. Of the roughly 18,000 German companies, only about 900 were awarded.
A successful business relationship is based on customer trust. Companies need to gain the trust of their customers to build long-term relationships and win loyalty. This poses a major challenge in markets with a large number of suppliers and products. Snom Technology received this prestigious award precisely because of its outstanding achievements and extraordinary commitment to its customers, who then place their trust in the brand. The data security guaranteed by Snom, including the storage of all customer data on servers in Germany in accordance with the strictest specifications - something that is not ensured by other manufacturers - also contributed to this result.
Gernot Sagl, CEO of Snom Technology GmbH, expressed his delight at the award:
“We are proud to have received this award, the core message of which coincides with the results of our customer surveys over the past years – we feel an obligation to our customers, even after purchasing one of our products. This award is therefore a recognition of our team commitment to generating and maintaining customer trust.”
Snom Technology GmbH shall continue to strive to exceed customer expectations and establish itself as a trusted partner in the telecommunications industry.
The survey "Highly Trusted Companies 2023" was conducted by the F.A.Z. Institute in collaboration with the IMWF Institute for Management and Economic Research. The survey analysed data from extensive social listening to identify companies that customers particularly trust. The "Highly Trusted Company" award was given on the basis of industry-specific point value calculations.
+49 30 - 39833-0
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Snom Technology GmbH
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Telefono: +49 30 39833-0
Fax: +49 30 39833-111


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- About XOLO
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MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS, Barcelona, Spain and New Delhi, India, Feb. 27, 2012 –Intel Corporation and Lava International Ltd., one of India’s fastest-growing mobile handset companies,announced that the companies are collaborating to launch the XOLO X900--India’s first smartphone with Intel Inside®.
Vishal Sehgal, co-founder and director, Lava International.
Paul S. Otellini, President & CEO, Intel Corporation.


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Home > News > Nation
Thursday June 5, 2014 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Thursday June 5, 2014 MYT 8:39:46 AM
by mazwin nik anis
KUALA LUMPUR: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been given a boost in the form of a RM1,000 incentive to ensure their smooth transition when the goods and services tax (GST) is implemented.
The incentive is in the form of an e-voucher for SMEs to purchase or upgrade GST-compliant accounting software.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said this was among the many incentives provided by the Government to ensure smooth transition to GST for SMEs.
“The Government has embarked on a series of fiscal reforms – including implementing GST – to shift the economy to a more sustainable footing.
“We want to make Malaysia’s economy more competitive so that there are more meaningful opportunities for our citizens and businesses,” he said when launching SMIDEX 2014.
Najib said stakeholders, particularly businesses, must have a clear understanding of how to prepare for GST.
The Government, he said, had allocated RM100mil to conduct awareness and training programmes.
Najib said SMEs and entrepreneurs played a vital role in the global economy and Malaysia had a number of policies to support SMEs, adding that last year, RM12bil was spent on 157 development programmes.
The Prime Minister said consideration must also be given to promote growth and expansion of SMEs through the capital market, which small players found challenging to enter due to various requirements and high cost.
The Securities Commission (SC) last year announced the setting up of the Malaysian Unlisted Market to provide access to capital and information to facilitate transactions.
“I am pleased to announce today that SME Corp will work with the SC to establish the Malaysia Unlisted Trading Platform which will facilitate financing opportunities for our SMEs,” Najib added.
The Prime Minister said with the Asean Economic Community to be formalised next year, businesses could look forward to real benefits.
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Bersih 4: All calm in Kota Kinabalu
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UTAR students graduate from several new programmes
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--Volkswagen November vehicles sales robust
--Market outlook for 2012 muted amid growing economic concerns
(Adds detail from third paragraph).
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE) confirmed Tuesday it expects to sell more than eight million vehicles this year for the first time, after demand remained robust in November, but Europe's largest automaker warned expectations for 2012 are "more reserved" as the global economy is set to slow significantly.
"Conservative planning, high flexibility in production and sales as well as...cost discipline are important for 2012," Volkswagen said in a statement, adding it is prepared to react flexibly to market swings.
Volkswagen sold 6.8 million cars and trucks in the January-to-October period, up almost 14% compared with last year. The German firm emerged unscathed from the last industry downturn about three years ago, thanks to its large presence in dynamic emerging markets and a relatively small exposure to the steep market downturn in the U.S. at the time.
Global sales of luxury cars remain unaffected so far from economic concerns and the swirling sovereign-debt crisis in Europe, but the mass-market segment is bracing for another rough ride next year as competition is set to become cut-throat if demand for new vehicles deteriorates.
Peugeot-Citroen (UG.FR), Europe's second-largest car maker, last month said its automobile division will be in the red in the second half of this year, and stepped up its cost-cutting efforts to contain the flow of red ink with sales in Europe, the company's core market, expected to contract next year.
Automakers with a large exposure to the anemic European car market and a relatively small footprint in more dynamic markets such as China are set to feel the heat first if the economic crisis deepens.
French car dealers earlier this month sounded the alarm over rising inventory levels as manufacturers, struggling to reduce their own stocks, force-feed them with new vehicles.
Although local and foreign car makers with dealerships in France have seen a sharp decline in customer orders since early October, they are continuing to supply them with vehicles that they won't be able to sell by the end of the year.
"We saw exactly the same thing at the end of 2008, when the industry was in chaos because of the sub-prime crisis," Olivier Lamirault, head of the dealership section of the lobby group, told Dow Jones Newswires.
France is Europe's second-largest car market after Germany.
Separately, German auto importer association VDIK said Tuesday the domestic car market might eke out slight growth in 2012 despite the eurozone's debt crisis, but warned that "the uncertainties are significant".


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The maple-glazed pumpkin scones recipe uses canned pumpkins.
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream, divided
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
Raw sugar sprinkled on top before baking,
Ask what is melamine and how does it get into milk? Don't we need to worry about it entering the milk here?
Melamine is a powder used to make plastic in floor tiles, kitchen countertops, etc.
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ResearchAndMarkets.com has added the "Medium Density Fiberboard-Global Market Outlook (2019-2027)" report to the products of ResearchAndMarkets.com.
The global medi
684 press releases were issued in the past 24 hours and 185,974 press releases were issued in the past 365 days.
Melamine market size-USD 7.826.4 billion in 2020, growth-compo
Earlier this year, XYZprinting and BASF Forward AM established a successful partnership, which is now implemented in all 3D printing product portfolios.
The enhanced cooperation between
Product reviews, transactions and latest technology news
# Preview Product 1 Gibson Casa Estebana 16 Piece Cutlery Set Serves 4 People, Beige and Brown-70736.16RM View Price Now 2 Gibson
Anti-counterfeiting expert YPB has signed a three-year contract with the Australian Dairy Nutrition Group (AHF) to protect the recently launched high-quality infant formula line through its Connect
Plywood is made by gluing thin layers or veneers of wood together with a strong adhesive. The quality of the glue adhesive is crucial because the strength and integrity of the plywood depend on it.


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Shopify shareholders give CEO 40% voting stake
Shareholders of Shopify Inc on Tuesday voted in favor of protecting Chief Executive Officer Tobias Lutke's 40% voting stake, a source told Reuters, citing preliminary results from the e-commerce firm's annual shareholder meeting.
The company, which in May reported its slowest quarterly revenue growth since going public in 2015, will also carry out a 10-for-one split of the company's class A and class B shares after investors voted for it, the person familiar with the matter said.
Shopify announced the stock split in April, joining a growing list of companies that have split their shares to make them more attractive for investors.
Other stock split announcements this year came from e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc, Google-parent Alphabet Inc and Apple Inc. Tesla Inc also had said it would seek shareholder approval for a stock split.
U.S.-listed shares of Shopify were up 4.7% at $377.5.
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Letter from the Editor-in-Chief
Thomas A. Ward
Welcome to the summer edition of New Matter for 2020. The cover art for this issue is one of the 3M N95 masks which was chosen to highlight the current COVID-19 issues as well as the patent and trademark issues that have arisen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A N95 mask or N95 respirator is a particulate-filtering facepiece that meets the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) N95 classification, meaning that it filters at least 95% of airborne particles. N95 respirators were originally designed for industrial use in sectors such as mining, construction and painting, but recently have been used to prevent COVID-19 virus transmission.
A number of patent and trademark issues have arisen relating to the 3M N95 mask. For example, in early April, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear stated he wanted 3M to release its patent for the N95 respirator. Beshear said "procurement is incredibly difficult, as is the manufacture because it’s under patent. I’d like to see the people with that patent, which is 3M, provide that to the nation under a license for this period of time." Also in early April, 3M filed a lawsuit alleging trademark infringement claims against N95 respirator distributor Performance Supply, LLC, in the Southern District of New York. Although trademark claims were made, central to 3M’s suit is the company’s desire to eliminate what it calls a false and deceptive price-gouging scheme being perpetrated by entities operating outside of 3M’s authorized supply chain and taking advantage of increased respirator demand caused by the COVID-19 crisis. These actions show that intellectual property rights are still at the forefront during the COVID-19 crisis. We invite readers to read New Matter to keep abreast of the numerous changes in IP law as well as news items like this that effect IP enforcement.


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Simply Roasted voted 'Top Launch 2021'
17 January 2022
We are delighted to announce that Simply Roasted was awarded ‘Top Launch 2021’ by The Grocer. To be recognised in such an incredibly competitive category was the ideal way to wrap up 2021 and gives the brand great momentum going into the new year.
Saving the planet one gadget at a time
5 November 2021
With COP26 well underway, there has perhaps never been a more intense spotlight on all things sustainable. As such, we're grateful to Metro.co.uk for showcasing the w'air device in both its printed and online feature today.
Pulpex & PepsiCo - the partnership
1 November 2021
The story behind the world's first 100% recyclable paper bottle. Through its partnership with Pulpex, PepsiCo has embarked on an R&D and Design quest that could change the face of packaging as we know it.
Case Study: Pilot Lite Group
Expert Oral Therapy at Home
Pilot Lite has harnessed a pioneering, disruptive and patented hydrodynamic technology from one of the leading global Corporates in Oral Care to develop an advanced water flosser that is twice as effective at removing plaque.
Case Study: Pilot Lite Ventures
The world's first eco-friendly, handheld fabric care device
w'air is a revolutionary, 3-in-1 sustainable fabric care system that removes stains & spills, refreshes fabrics and clothing between washes and deep cleans delicates using just a fraction of the water, energy and detergent of conventional laundry.


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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Seven Stars Bakery is ringing in the new year by giving back.
The bakery donated 100 percent of its sales from each of its Rhode Island locations on Tuesday to help feed the state’s neediest residents.
The proceeds from all three locations will go to We Share Hope, a nonprofit that feeds 10,000 residents every month. It will also go to food rescue organizations The Amos House and The Elisha Project.
“Looking at the value that we place as being a part of the Rhode Island community, it’s a day we can focus on giving back to it,” co-owner Tracy Daugherty said.
Seven Stars’ tradition of giving back in January has been going on for 19 years. The company says last year, it raised $13,000 on New Year’s Day.


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The days when children consume two orders of French fries in the school cafeteria and call it lunch may be numbered. A bipartisan group in Congress plans to introduce legislation today that would prohibit the sale in school not only of French fries but also of other fatty or sugary foods, including soft drinks.
Under the bill, an amendment to the National School Lunch Act, high nutritional standards would be required of all food sold on school premises. That means not just in cafeterias but in vending machines, school stores and snack bars as well, even at fund-raising events.
The measure, which has strong bipartisan support in both houses, would do on a national level what many school districts have been trying to do for years: require that the schools set an example by providing only healthful food and so perhaps reduce the incidence of childhood obesity.
Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, has watched what goes on in the school her two teenage sons attend.
"We talk a lot about healthy nutrition, we teach the kids about the food pyramid, and then they go down the hallway and get the high fat, high sodium and high junk available in the vending machines," Ms. Murkowski said. "We need to be consistent. People are beginning to connect the dots between rising health care costs and obesity."
Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat who has been pushing such a bill since 1994, said: "Congress is finally catching up with what parents have believed for a long time. Members of Congress are hearing from their constituents and recognizing this has become a national problem. I think finally members of Congress are asking, 'Why do we have soft drink vending machines in our schools?' "
The bill would apply to all foods other than the official school lunch, the meal for which schools receive government aid and which is already covered by other high-nutrition standards. Currently, sale of the other foods is permitted in school if they contain at least 5 percent of the recommended daily allowance of protein and certain vitamins and minerals. This standard applies regardless of the product's level of calories, fat, added sugars or sodium.
Under that approach, French fries, ice cream, candy bars, cookies, chips, snack cakes and doughnuts are allowed. Seltzer, jelly beans, chewing gum, lollipops, cotton candy and breath mints are not.
The new list of foods would take into account whether a product promoted obesity or chronic illnesses. The choices would come from recommendations of the Institute of Medicine, which expects to have a report ready this fall.
Enforcement would rest with the Department of Agriculture, which currently has authority only over the official school lunch. "The agency has done a good job with the official school lunch and could do a good job with all other food," said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which worked closely with Congress on the legislation.
Supporters of the bill have been marshaling evidence to contradict the usual criticism of proposals to serve only nutritious food in schools: that children will not eat it and that schools cannot afford to lose the revenue brought in by fatty or sugary products. A survey by the Agriculture Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that of 17 schools that began offering healthful options, 12 actually increased revenue while only one lost, marginally; the four others reported no change.
The American Beverage Association, a trade group, said the legislation was unnecessary because since last August members of the association have limited sales of full-calorie soft drinks to 50 percent of offerings in high schools. They are not available in lower grades.
Frito-Lay, a leading manufacturer of snack foods, had no comment.
Despite the strong support for the bill among lawmakers, Kelly Brownell, director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, was skeptical.
"My fear," Dr. Brownell said, "is that the food industry, with the soft drink industry taking the lead, will work its hardest to weaken or kill this act."


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Many changes are coming to Android, news that will come to phones and tablets around entertainment, communication and image editing. From an adjustable portrait mode in Google Photos that can be used even with plants, to a new highlight grid that will interconnect Google TV on mobile phones and TVs.
Amid the changes we find ourselves in, Google is bolstering its mobile operating system with Android 12L recently rolled into Android 12.1 and Android 13 which remains in developer testing. Also, he planned a list of new features for the Google Pixel, the so-called “feature drop”. What seems little news? well we already know what will soon come to all androids
Improvements to Google Photos, Messages, Widgets and Google TV
Google has extended the functions of the system to the various applications that it offers to mobiles and tablets certified for Android. This way it is much easier for you to carry the news since does not depend on updates from manufacturers: Users only need to download new versions of applications. There are even apps that update themselves, like Google Play Services or the Google Play Store itself.
The Android development company has announced a long list of new features available to all device users. These are:
- Extended portrait mode of Google Photos. The app will let you edit the images to apply background blur not only to people and animals, but also to objects and even plants. All thanks to Google AI and image recognition.
- Digital Habits Widget. Android will include a digital wellbeing related widget that will allow you to manage daily time while offering how each user spent it.
- Share content via Nearby with up to six people at once. Nearby sharing increases the number of concurrent users from one to six.
- Increased support for messages sent to iPhone. Google is bridging the gap between iPhone and Android messaging by adding Emoji reactions. Additionally, Google Photos attachments retain resolution, one-time passwords are deleted after 24 hours, birthday reminders appear, and Google Messages automatically splits communications between home and work.
- Spelling suggestions in Gboard. The Google keyboard will show spelling corrections in the texts entered; offering suggestions that can be changed with a touch.
- Instant transcription without internet connection. The service responsible for converting sound (voice and ambient noise) into text can work offline. Google adds the ability to download different languages to the phone.
- Featured content on Google TV that syncs between mobile and TV. The media content app syncs everything the user saves for later to create a featured channel on the TV’s Google TV interface.
- Google Assistant will be able to pay for parking. Leveraging support for Google Pay payment cards, users in the US can pay for select public parking lots directly with voice and assistant.
All news will soon be available on the various Google applications for Android (some may already be tested). They are all generic and not exclusively limited to Google Pixels.
More information | google


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We Are Dublin Town
Retail sales figures in Dublin City Centre edge ahead of national average
- Fri 27 April, 2012
CAPITAL SPENDING AGAIN – RETAIL SALES FIGURES IN DUBLIN CITY CENTRE EDGE AHEAD OF NATIONAL AVERAGE
– Footfall continues to increase in Dublin City Centre –
Dublin City Business Improvement District (BID) today welcomed the figures released by the Central Statistics Office, which show that the volume of retail sales for March increased by 0.2%, the second month in a row that an increase has been recorded.
Figures collated by Dublin City BID, which represents 2,500 businesses in the city centre show that businesses in Dublin City Centre outperformed the national trend with trading in the BID area marginally up in March this year, in comparison with March 2011. Nationally, the volume of sales fell by 1%, when compared with March 2011, according to the CSO.
Commenting on the figures, Richard Guiney, CEO of Dublin City BID said: ‘The sales figures we have collated from businesses in Dublin City Centre, show that trading in the BID area was marginally up in March this year, in comparison with March 2011. Encouragingly, the city has also maintained the increase in footfall which has been experienced since December 2011.
The declines in sales experienced from 2007 are now at an end. Dublin City BID organised for the Lord Mayor to meet a cross section of businesses in September 2011 and again in April 2012. There was a marked improvement in business sentiment during the most recent meetings in April. The general view conveyed to the Lord Mayor by these businesses is that the City Centre is certainly heading in the right direction.
While growth is uneven across the city and there are certain areas that have the potential to do better, there are however encouraging signs. The welcome trend of increased footfall and occupancy has been maintained. Branding the City Centre as a shopping and leisure destination in its own right is clearly paying dividends. Collaborative marketing initiatives such as the launch of Dublintown.ie, a hub designed to highlight all that ‘Town’ has to offer and the Dublin City Marketing Forum are helping businesses to work together to greater effect and showcase what the City Centre has to offer.
According to research conducted by Dublin City Council earlier, this year 81% percent of respondents felt that the city centre is full of vibrancy. When asked their favourite thing to do in the city centre, respondents indicated that eating out and shopping (15% and 14%, respectively) were the favored activities. There is more potential there on the part of the city to devise new and creative collaborative marketing initiatives to exploit this sentiment more fully.’


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They asserted that "the BLM pressure campaigns, harassment, and moral blackmail also amounted to possibly the most lucrative shakedown of corporate America in its history." The goal of BLM is to undermine capitalism, the nation state, and Western civilization. The two BLM parent organizations are the Global Network and the Movement for Black Lives, and there are also more than 150 ideologically aligned organizations. Further downstream are the local BLM chapters, which do the movement's heavy lifting, and BLM At School that indoctrinates children in Critical Race Theory. The money is mostly hidden, but spending has been linked to buying luxury real estate, engaging in nepotism, disbursing grants to dozens of BLM chapters, and operating a PAC to "elect progressive community leaders, activists, and working-class candidates fighting for Black liberation."
Excerpt from Breitbart, sample of corporate donors:
The list reveals that several popular corporations from a wide range of different industries supplied the movement with large sums of cash. Walmart, for example, which is based in Arkansas, gave a whopping $100 million in support of BLM and related causes focusing on "racial equity." Amazon gave even more, supplying the movement with an astonishing $169.5 million. Silicon Valley Bank gave the movement $73.45 million.
Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical company Abbvie gave the movement over $62 million in funding. Allstate gave $7.7 million to the cause and American Express gave $50 million. Apple gave $100 million while AT&T gave $21.5 million. The movement and its causes received another $90 million from Nike.


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As announced at the Meta Connect 4 event last week, Facebook and Meta have officially launched Meta for Business.
Immerse, working with DHL Express, are delighted to be one of the early partners of this scheme. Meta for business aims to make VR an indispensable part of our daily lives, impacting the way we collaborate, discover, and learn, at scale.
DHL Express chose Immerse to further their Certified International Specialist (CIS) program, with a four stage roadmap planned to span until into 2019.
Stage one is already underway with Immerse creating an interactive and immersive VR experience for DHL. Users can move between a DHL branded canteen, airplane hangar and cargo plane, even in a small physical space. Users can interact with numerous objects in the scene, moving and stacking boxes, operating cargo lifts and meeting virtual avatars. This scenario will be used to build awareness of the possibilities and applications of VR and to increase the awareness and understanding across DHL before its roll out in the CIS program.
Stage two will be launching at the DHL Express Global Kick in January 2018 where employees will be able to enter VR caves and participate in Interactive Operational Learning Experiences. Held in Fort Lauderdale and Brussels, the event aims to drive employee engagement, skills & knowledge, multi-location interaction and team building.
Stage three will see the CIS program rolled out globally to encourage further employee engagement and motivation. Following this, stage 4 involves multi VR modules being developed to drive innovation in DHL Express’ digital landscape. The technology will be re-used across different projects and functions throughout the global network.
Meta for Business
Immerse are excited about the possibilities of the Meta for Business program. Meta believe businesses of all types can use Rift to boost productivity, accelerate training, and present the otherwise impossible to their employees and customers. There is also a very wide range of applications across industries like tourism, education, medical, construction, manufacturing, automotive, and retail.
To see more of Immerse’s work, please read our case studies.


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Free Radical, the developer of the forthcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive Haze, has gone on record to assure gamers that the numerous delays the title has endured over the last few months have made “a big difference” to the final version of the game.
Speaking on Ubisoft’s official forum, a company spokesperson stated, "While we can’t explicitly say what improvements we’ve made (I’d love to tell you all the cool stuff we’ve been putting in!… but I also love my job too…).”
"I can guarantee you that the extra bit of time has made a big difference for the better".
Additionally, the team sympathizes with the frustration shared by consumers over the game’s delay, "but we just want to make sure things are right for the people who’ll be playing Haze *very* soon".
"…maybe once Haze is sat toasting away in your PS3s we’ll be able to do some post mortem video’s/articles for you lot, and explain what’s gone in and what improved with the bit of extra time we had", the spokesperson added.
Stay tuned for more coverage on Haze as it breaks.


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This landmark book explores and explains how China is rushing to define the future of commercial technology."
& best-selling author
Book Talks & Speaking Gigs
Overlake Country Club
Book Passage store
Cyberport VC Forum
Foreign Correspondents Club, Lunch
AmCham Hong Kong
Nov. 14, Lunch
Forreign Correspondents Club
Nov. 15, 3pm
Talks Last Week in London and Oxford
Silicon Dragon Circle
Discounts for Events
Preview Notice of Talks
Chinese Edtech Spin-out Dares To Go Public in NY At A Tricky Time
Chinese online education company
Youdao went public last Friday on the NYSE, testing the waters of new listings from China at a time when the U.S.-China tech cold war and trade battles continue.
Feng Zhou, CEO of
Youdao, acknowledged the market uncertainty and slowdown of Chinese companies listing now in the U.S. Last year was an eight-year high, with 32 Chinese companies going public in New York. Zhou emphasized that management of this spin-out from Nasdaq- traded NetEase is looking to the long term and wanted to capitalize on the growth of the online education market in China. "At least we are not doing trade-related businesses," he said.
Was Sequoia's legendary VC:
China - "too far, too foreign!"
I recall interviewing legendary venture capitalist
at his office along Sand Hill Road some 15 years ago, before Silicon Dragon existed.
When I asked him if Sequoia, a top-performing venture firm focused on U.S. tech, would ever invest in China, his answer: "No, China is too far and too foreign."
Today, when I learned of his death at the age of 87, I remembered his conviction.
Fast forward a few years from that interview, and
Sequoia Capital China had invested in several of the hottest Chinese tech startups. As many as 14 of the China affiliate's portfolio companies went public in 2018 alone. One of Sequoia's biggest hits was Chinese superapp
Meituan, which I profile in
Read More at
Bejing beat San Francisco for the highest number of unicorns, 82 compared with 55 in 2018, according to a new report by Shanghai-based publishing group
Hurun Report. Likewise, China just surpassed the U.S. with 206 unicorns next to 203 for America. This is the first time that China has edged out the U.S. on this score.
The two superpowers account for about 80% of all unicorrns worldwide.
Lawmakers and Trump administration officials who want to stem the flow of U.S. investment to China have turned their sights on an unlikely target: their own retirement fund. Chinese investment pits Silicon Valley against Washington. NY Times.
25 million Chinese fans streamed the NBA's opening game on Tencent.
Husband and wife co-founders of China's online bookseller and e-commerce startup Dangdang go at it in a nasty divorce, played out online on WeChat.
Pinduoduo stock blows it past JD.com to become China's 4th big web firm based on market valuation. Alibaba, Tencent and Meituan are the big three.
Trump's trade offensive is leading China to power up its state-led economic model. China's new $29 billion semiconductor fund is part of the country's continuing effort to become less reliant on U.S. technology.
Latest Media Interviews:
Tech Titans of China
Huawei could have an advantage in 5G race."
More Media Interviews
PIX: Silicon Dragon London 2019
October 22 at Cocoon Global
Professor Yu Xiong, fintech expert Jeff Tjissen, Simon Thethi and serial entrepreneur Simon Squibb. More pix here.


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The latest U.S. inflation numbers have been released and show that prices continue to increase. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, inflation in the US is higher than the majority of the of the world by more than 3 percentage points. This may explain why the US inflation rate has been higher than the average worldwide rate over the last decade. Oscar Jorda (the bank’s senior policy advisor) warns against interpreting too much into these figures. But the overall picture is clear.
Inflation rates are determined by different factors. The CPI is the price index used by the government for measuring inflation. It is calculated by the Labor Department through a survey of households. It measures spending on goods and services but does not include non-direct expenditure which makes the CPI less stable. This is why inflation data should be viewed in context, not in isolation.
The Consumer Price Index is the most commonly used inflation rate in the United States, which measures the change in the cost of goods and services. The index is updated monthly and provides a clear view of how much prices have risen. This index provides a useful tool for planning and budgeting. If you’re a consumer, you’re probably thinking about the price of goods and services but it’s important to understand why prices are rising.
Production costs increase which, in turn, increases prices. This is often referred to as cost-push inflation. It’s caused by the rising of prices for raw materials for example, petroleum products and precious metals. It can also involve agricultural products. It is important to note that when prices for a commodity increase, it will also affect its price.
It is not easy to locate inflation data. However, there is a way to calculate how much it will cost to buy items and services throughout a year. Using the real rate of return (CRR) is an accurate estimation of what an investment for a nominal year should be. With that in mind, the next time you are looking to buy bonds or stocks, make sure you use the actual inflation rate of the commodity.
The Consumer Price Index is currently 8.3% higher than it was one year ago. This was the highest annual rate recorded since April 1986. The rate of inflation will continue to increase because rents comprise a significant portion of the CPI basket. Inflation is also driven by the rising cost of housing and mortgage rates which make it more difficult to purchase an apartment. This drives up the demand for rental housing. Furthermore, the potential for rail workers impacting the US railway system could cause a disruption in the transportation of goods.
From its near zero-target rate the Fed’s short-term interest rate has risen this year to 2.25 percent. According to the central bank, inflation is likely to increase by just one-half percent over the coming year. It is difficult to predict if this increase will be enough to manage inflation.
Core inflation excludes volatile food and oil prices and is approximately 2 percent. Core inflation is usually reported on a year-over-year basis and is what the Federal Reserve means when it declares its inflation target to be 2percent. The core rate was below the target for a long time, but recently it has started increasing to a point that is causing harm to numerous businesses.


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"If we are talking about the economy, I believe that a compromise formula can always be reached, which would suit both members of the Customs Union and those who want to protect their domestic market and our exporters who are willing to work in this market," the minister said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
He noted that Ukrainian products were in demand in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. "If we do not politicize the issue, then caramel, machinery, pipes, and other commodities will continue to be in demand in the Customs Union, for the benefit and not to the detriment of their economies. The main thing is to refrain from the temptation to use, often to the detriment of themselves, tariff and non-tariff restrictions on imports to attempt to influence the geopolitical choice of neighbors," Hryschenko said.
"If we refrain from politicizing this issue, both candies, engineering tools, pipes and other commodities will continue enjoying demand in the Customs Union countries, benefiting, not harming, their domestic economies. What counts most is to resist the temptation to use, frequently harming ourselves, tariff and non-tariff restrictions on imports in an attempt to influence a neighbor’s geopolitical choice," Hryschenko said.


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While digital and technological advancements are constantly unlocking new capabilities, big brands are still neglecting the field of accessibility. A 2021 report suggests that the largest tech players like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and others have continuously excluded people with disabilities from effortless and equal access to their services.
Luckily, some advancements have been made over the years and they’re continuing to happen.
Out of all tech giants, Apple is the one that has probably carried out the biggest number of initiatives as far as accessibility is concerned.
In 2021, it did launch a couple of important features that made Apple products a lot easier for people with disabilities to use. SignTime, an update rolled out in May 2021, enabled Apple Store and Apple Support customers to get in touch with sign language interpreters on demand. Assistive Touch for the Apple watch also became available.
Also during the year, the company announced the introduction of TD Pilot – eye-tracking technology that makes it possible for people with very limited mobility to control their iPads.
Luckily, this isn’t the end of the story.
In May 2022, Apple announced that a whole new host of accessibility features will be rolled out later on during the year.
New Navigation, Health, and Communication Tools
As per the official Apple announcement, these accessibility features will focus on a couple of key aspects pertaining to the use of the company’s products.
The new collection of accessibility software features is aimed at facilitating navigation and connectivity the most. These will also rely on the power of machine learning to give people with disabilities better, more reliable, and personalized solutions.
Some of the biggest advancements announced include Door Detection (allowing people with vision problems or blind individuals to easily navigate the last few feet to their end destination via an iPhone or an iPad), Apple Watch Mirroring (giving people with physical and motor disabilities a chance to use assistive features like voice and switch control via an Apple Watch from their iPhone) and live captions on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Apple is also intending to expand support for its VoiceOver – the screen reader that’s compatible with all of the brand’s products. By using VoiceOver, a person with a disability can effortlessly access their device based on a spoken description. Later on in 2022, 20 new languages and locales will be added to the VoiceOver support.
Some Additional Apple Accessibility Features to Top It All Off
And if that great host of new functionalities isn’t enough, Apple has announced a couple of additional innovations aimed at improving accessibility even further.
Buddy Controller will make it easy for Apple customers to ask a care provider or someone they know to help them play a game. It brings together two different game controllers in one, enabling multiple controllers to drive the input for a single user.
Sound recognition will be getting an upgrade. It will become customizable, gaining the capability to recognize sounds only specific to the respective person’s environment. For example, a doorbell or a unique appliance will be recognized from that point forward.
Siri Pause Time is another new accessibility feature worth mentioning. With it, those dealing with a speech impediment can adjust the amount of time that Siri waits before responding.
Letter-by-letter input for the Voice Control Spelling Mode will make it possible to dictate custom spellings. And finally, Apple Books will offer new themes and customization options. Some of those are going to include bolding text, line adjustments, character, and word spacing adjustments, and others.
Marking Global Accessibility Awareness Day for the Second Time
Apple is doing its accessibility announcement in May for the second year in a row.
Something similar occurred in 2021 when the company made an upfront announcement about SignTime, AssistiveTouch for Apple Watch, new eye-tracking capabilities for iPad, VoiceOver image exploration, bi-directional hearing aids, and audiogram support in Headphone Accommodations, and a few others.
The month and date aren’t chosen randomly,
Apple’s upcoming roll-outs are presented to the general public shortly before Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD).
Taking place on May 19 in 2022, GAAD as its name suggests focuses on inclusion and facilitated digital access. It sheds light on the issues that more than one billion people on the planet struggle with on a daily basis.
To further mark GAAD in 2022, Apple has launched a couple of additional initiatives focused on accessibility.
During the week leading up to GAAD, Apple stores throughout the world offered live sessions aimed at helping customers with accessibility issues discover and make better use of the available features aimed at improving their digital access. Apple’s social channels also highlighted how-to content entirely dedicated to accessibility.
Also during the week, Apple launched the Accessibility Assistant shortcut to help make recommendations about accessibility features on the basis of the user’s habits and preferences.
As a part of its awareness campaign, Apple has also made it possible for users to explore apps with a focus on accessibility. Also, clients could download the moving stories of app creators, access the Transforming Our World collection in Apple Books, and gain more insight from the Apple Podcasts focused on technology and its incredible role in advancing accessibility.
Apple Music featured the Saylist Playlist – a collection of playlists focused on different sounds. These have been presented as fun and engaging speech therapy aides. Similarly, Apple TV did a highlight on the latest movies featuring authentic representation for people with disabilities. Unfortunately, at the time being, only 22 percent of people with disabilities on the big screen are portrayed authentically. While that’s a major increase from the five percent in 2016, there’s still quite a lot of room for improvement, and initiatives like the one by Apple TV can shed more light on why authentic media representation matters.


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And it doesn't suck. The Jeff Koons BMW art car is out. Here's Wired's take on it, and Autoblog with a little piece of video from the unveiling. [more inside]
Phil Hill, the only American ever to be winner of the Formula One Championship, a mulitple time winner of the 24 Hours of LeMans races in 1958, 1961 and 1962, and automotive journalist, has died at age 81.
After an American car company recreates its legendary 1960's Ferrari-beating race car, the first $150,000 2005 production car sells at a charity event for $400,000 over sticker price, (to a Microsoft-enriched individual, of course) and many months later, dealers are still asking up to $200,000 over sticker, or at least $150,000 over sticker. The "experts" at Edmunds say the car is selling for about $100,000 over sticker (seeing their "True Market Value" requires a few clicks from this page), and the widespread belief is that these admittedly amazing cars are virtually impossible to find and all selling for at least $100,000 over sticker. But using publicly available data, including completed eBay auctions and public documents, this non-commercial site shows the truth to be very different than the hype.


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That doesn't mean ArcSys is finished with BlazBlue: Central Fiction just yet. A new character and a new game.
There have been rumors that a RWBY fighting game will be announced at EVO 2017, generating excitement as fans of the series have always been clamoring for a fighting game after the Dynasty Warriors-like RWBY: Grimm Eclipse. RWBY is an American anime produced by Rooster Teeth.
BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle is now targeting a 2018 launch date. It shows off one character from each of the four series, and a brief look at the game's 2v2 tag system.More news: House price growth flat amid affordability squeeze
More news: Ataribox first look: New photos of the Atari 2600-inspired game console
More news: Sledgehammer Games Is Very Disappointed with Call of Duty: WWII Zombies Leak
The upcoming crossover will be a "dream-team of characters that have never before been gathered in a single 2D fighting game".
Central Fiction was released past year on PlayStation 4, and completed BlazBlue's sprawling narrative.
Not much else is known about the fighting game yet, but it is already being hyped up by BlazBlue fans and fighting game enthusiasts.


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Although 2013′s bevy of “Year of the Snake” releases have died down as the year has gone on, a few standouts have made their way to store shelves as we move toward the final months of this cycle of the Chinese zodiac. One such release is the latest “SP” release from Nike Sportswear. Featuring the high-top Dunk, the special edition pack includes two reptilian editions of the silhouette – one with a faux snakeskin panelling atop a white base, the other boasting a snakeskin Swoosh and black accents as reflective 3M accents steal the spotlight. Likely to be available in extremely limited quantities, the Nike Dunk High Premium SP “Snake” Pack is due out at the likes of Tokyo’s atmos beginning August 10.


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9 September 2015 -- Sports Direct International plc /Trading Update
Sports Direct International plc ("the Group"), the UK's leading sports retailer, announces its Trading Update relating to the period from 27 April 2015 to 8 September 2015.
Current Trading Update
As highlighted at our Preliminary Results in July, trading has continued to be in line with management expectations.
There has been no material change in the financial position of the Group since the end of the most recent reporting period on 26 April 2015.
Dave Forsey, Chief Executive of Sports Direct International plc, said:
"We continue to focus on the roll out of large format city centre stores and the expansion of our National Distribution Centre in Shirebrook.
"Consistent with previous guidance we continue to target the revised Underlying EBITDA target (before share scheme costs) of £420m for the current period."
The Group will report its Interim Results for the 26 weeks to 25 October 2015 on 10 December 2015.
For further information, please contact:
Sports Direct International plc T. 0344 245 9200
Dave Forsey, Chief Executive
Matt Pearson, Acting Chief Financial Officer
Powerscourt T. 0207 250 1446
Notes to Editors:
Sports Direct is the UK's leading sports retailer by revenue and operating profit, with approximately 400 stores across the UK. The Group provides an unrivalled range of products, offering exceptional quality and unbeatable value, from a wide variety of third-party and Group-owned brands, both in-store and online. Sports Direct now operates in 20 countries in Europe.
For more information please visit: www.sportsdirectplc.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange


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Acer needs a reality check
The company has just confirmed the official MSRP for its new Radeon RX 7600 graphics card for Spain.
In an official press release, the company has announced that the newest addition to the Predator GPU lineup, the Radeon RX 7600 Predator BiFrost GPU, will have an official MSRP of €399. This card marks Acer’s first venture into Radeon graphics cards. While one might have expected a limited edition of some sort given the significance of the occasion, the company has instead opted for the slowest Radeon RX 7000 model currently available.
Initially, the Radeon RX 7600 debuted in Europe with a price tag of €299. However, this price was quickly adjusted to reflect the market reality. Just a day later, the card could be found for as low as €259 in Spain. Surprisingly, this promotional price has remained in effect ever since. This raises concerns that the €399 price tag for the Predator model not only appears absurd but also suggests that it may indeed be the actual price.
The company has confirmed to Spanish media outlet El Chapuzas Informatico that the €399 price is intentional and not a mistake. This confirmation aligns with the official PR that was sent out earlier today.
With the cheapest RX 7600 priced at €259 in the Spanish market, gamers also have the option of choosing the Radeon RX 6700 XT, which costs €350. Alternatively, at €399, they can consider the RTX 4060 Ti 8GB model. Although it may not offer the best value, it would still provide a 20% to 40% performance boost depending on the resolution.
Source: El Chapuzas Informatico


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| The connection between award-winning spirits and bar community is what the London Spirits Competition works so hard to foster, as Richard Siddle, editor of The Buyer explains.
| Winning a medal in an international drinks competition has long been regarded as key to getting into the minds of the most important drinks buyers who might end up listing and stocking your brand.
| 2021 London Beer Competition: Why it makes sense to ride along.
| 2021 London Spirits Competition: Why it makes sense to ride along.
| 2021 London Wine Competition: Why it makes sense to ride along.
| The fourth edition of the London Wine Competition brings these benefits to the winners.
| Read on to know more about our unique tri-phased JUDGING PROCESS
| The much-awaited results for the 2020 Bartender Spirits Awards are announced.
| The much-awaited results of the 2020 Sommeliers Choice Awards are out now.
| Submission is now open for the 4th annual London Spirits Competition.
The 6th annual USA Trade Tasting is all set to happen in Chicago on October 12-13.
Operations and Management
Get a Closer Look at the 2022 Wine Industry Direct-to-Consumer Trends and Innovative Strategies to follow.
If you’re looking to network and expand your wine business, here’s a list of top wine conferences to attend in the US that can help you learn and grow more.


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Actor Sonu Sood has extended his help to Bihar’s tea stall owner Priyanka Gupta, popular as Graduate Chaiwali. Months after her stall was seized by the Patna Municipal Corporation in an anti-encroachment campaign, the businesswoman was seen pleading for help in a social media video that went viral.
An economics graduate, Priyanka started a tea stall near the Patna Women’s College earlier this year after she failed to secure any job over the past two years. In a new video she shared earlier this week, she alleged that she was a victim of misogyny as several other illegal businesses continue to run in and around Patna, but hers is the only tea cart to be targeted.
After the video surfaced, Bhojpuri actress Akshara Singh raised her voice in support, and now Sonu has helped the tea stall owner. He tweeted, “Arranged a place for Priyanka’s tea shop. Now no one will remove Priyanka from there. I will come to Bihar and will have the tea from your hand soon.”
Meanwhile, Priyanka has shared on Instagram that her first franchise tea shop will soon open in Gopalganj, Bihar. She also shared an ad seeking interest in a franchise shop in Vaishali. The post saw many people requesting to be part of the franchise in various parts of Bihar.