text: South Africa’s second-largest cinema group, Nu Metro, became the latest Times Media Group (TMG) divestment this week after it was sold for R75?million. TMG, previously Avusa, has been shedding non-core assets, including retail chains Exclusive Books and Van Schaik Publishers, since last year. One Fifty, which bought Nu Metro, highlighted the roll-out of Nu Metro’s new luxury cinema brand, Scene. It recently completed its upgrade to digital projection at all 149 of its screens in the county. These “VIP” cinemas offer leather recliners and prescreening lounges, where cinema patrons can ditch the traditional popcorn and cold drinks for light meals and adult drinks. However, the future of cinema is not just about more extravagant “premium” experiences. It is also about reaching the unserved parts of the country, says Julian Kannigan, commercial director for One Fifty Capital. South Africa’s cinemas are overwhelmingly concentrated in Gauteng, where almost half of them are located. The remainder are mostly in Cape Town and Durban. “There are a significant number of people in South Africa who don’t have access to cinema and therefore never have experienced the current offering,” says Kannigan. Nu Metro is also eyeing “underscreened” countries in west and east Africa, he adds. Nu Metro’s turnover last year was R414?million, but the division has an operating loss of R3?million. It has 149 screens in 19 complexes, while market leader Ster-Kinekor, owned by Primedia, has more than 400 screens at 54 sites. The local box office is worth just under R800?million a year, according to the National Film and Video Foundation’s annual report on cinema releases. This excludes the popcorn and cold-drink sales, as well as the advertising income from cinemas that are crucial to the business.


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Chadwick Boseman wasn’t the only Black Panther cast member who tried out for Guardians of the Galaxy before landing their Marvel role.
Marvel shares artist Dave Johnson’s vision of Star-Lord in the 2099 variant cover for an upcoming issue of Guardians of the Galaxy.
Guardians of the Galaxy 4K Review – Marvel Masterpiece, Minor […]
Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson promise a wild, neo-Western ride for Yondu in their upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy spinoff.
Gunn expressed disappointment over Scorsese’s controversial comments about Marvel films not being “cinema.”
James Gunn was not the first choice for Marvel Studios to direct Guardians of the Galaxy.
According to Gunn, The Suicide Squad’s soundtrack will be very different from the music in his Guardians of the Galaxy films.
Although he was forced to turn it down, Dave Bautista was once eyed by Warner Bros. to play a character in one of their DC films.
The last three remaining films to get 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray treatment will finally get it in just a few weeks — with collectible Steelbook cases as well!
Marvel gave James Gunn a special Stan Lee themed present, while the team behind The Suicide Squad served up a special birthday cake.
This week’s collection Amazon deals spans from the demonic Hellscape of 12th-century England to the radioactive desert of the future.
Everyone’s favorite Ravager, Yondu Udonta, is finally going to headline a new Guardians of the Galaxy spinoff comic book.
All three sequels are officially in the works!
Star-Lord and Gamora reach a turning point in their lives, but someone from Peter Quill’s past warns them about a new galactic threat.
Hot Toys is bringing Stan Lee’s cosmic incarnation from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 to life as their new convention exclusive figure.
When Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 finally happens, Zoe Saldna wants a chance to show why Gamora is the deadliest woman in the galaxy.
Marvel’s releasing figures based on Benicio del Toro and Jeff Goldblum’s MCU heroes as exclusives at San Diego Comic-Con 2019.
Guardians of the Galaxy’s Peter Quill has all of the best Infinity War toys in the latest Star-Lord statue from Hot Toys.
Note to Hasbro and other toy companies: we are long overdue for more Wong.
Even the combined might of the Guardians and the Dark Guardians may not be able to prevent Hela from resurrecting Thanos.
Bautista believes Disney was right in taking a step backwards and rehiring James Gunn.

domain: news


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Apple supplier Foxconn Technology Group on Wednesday, December 29 said that it is restructuring its local management team, after the recent mass food-poisoning incident at Sriperumbudur factory's offsite dormitory facility. An Apple spokesperson said Foxconn's Sriperumbudur facility had been placed on probation.
In a statement on Wednesday, Foxconn said that all employees will continue to be paid while â€śnecessary improvementsâ€ť are undertaken before restarting operations. Foxconn said it will continue to provide support for staff as they return to work. "We are also restructuring our local management team and our management systems to ensure we can achieve and maintain the high standards that are needed," a statement by Foxconn Technology Group said.
The company said that some offsite dormitory facilities did not meet the required standards. An Apple spokesperson said, "We hold our suppliers accountable to the highest standards in the industry and regularly conduct assessments to ensure compliance." Following recent concerns about food safety and accommodation conditions at Foxconn Sriperumbudur, Apple dispatched independent auditors to undertake additional detailed assessments. "We found that some of the remote dormitory accommodations and dining rooms being used for employees do not meet our requirements and we are working with the supplier to ensure a comprehensive set of corrective actions are rapidly implemented," an Apple spokesperson said.
The Foxconn statement said that safety and well being of employees is the company's top priority. "We have been investigating recent issues at our Sriperumbudur facility in Tamil Nadu and have found that some offsite dormitory facilities do not meet the required standards. We are very sorry for the issue our employees experienced and are taking immediate steps to enhance the facilities and services we provide at the remote dormitory accommodations," Foxconn said.
Meanwhile, the Apple spokesperson said that Foxconn's Sriperumbudur facility has been placed on probation and that the company will ensure strict standards are met before the facility reopens. "We will continue to monitor conditions closely," the Apple spokesperson said in an email. While the plant was widely expected to open around December 30, Apple's latest move to put Foxconn facility on probation could mean some delay in resumption of operations at the plant until all of the standards are met by Foxconn for its employees, say market watchers. There is no official word from Foxconn yet on when the operations at the said unit will resume.
Earlier this month, the Foxconn plant in Sriperumbudur became the centre of a controversy after over 250 workers fell ill due to food poisoning at an off-site hostel. Following this, hundreds of Foxconn workers took to the streets in protest. The workers were frustrated as the company allegedly did not reveal details about the health of their colleagues, or their whereabouts. However, Tiruvallur District Collector Alby John later revealed that 256 workers had Acute Diarrhoeal Disease on December 15, 2021. Of these, 159 had been hospitalised, while the others were treated as outpatients at different hospitals.
Read: Mass protest by Foxconn workers in TN, allege company hushed up severe food poisoning
The protest took place on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway near Sriperumbudur for several hours on December 18. Sixty-seven of the protesting workers, who were all women, were detained in a private hall and released only 24 hours later. A freelance journalist and an activist were also taken into custody for a few hours and later released.
Read: Protesting Foxconn workers, journalist detained in TN, released after 24 hours


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New Delhi, May 9th, 2016: SmartVizX, India’s leading Virtual Reality solutions company has announced the launch of a dedicated Research & Development facility in Bengaluru. This latest facility located at ORR Marthahalli in Bengaluru, will focus on the development of high quality VR products helping SmartVizX become a full fledged VR products company from its current, largely service based model. At present, the company will kick off the R&D function with a team of 5 members to be led by Mr.Shailesh Kumar, a veteran from the Samsung VR (Virtual Reality) R&D team with over 15 years of experience. Given the rising demand for VR content with recent surge of activity in the VR Hardware space, SmartVizX expects to double its R&D Team size and effort by the first quarter of 2017. SmartVizX recently raised a seed round of over half a million dollars (,000) from Indian Angel Network (IAN), and Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs India (SA&E India). The company creates high quality, interactive and immersive VR content focused on real estate companies that allows potential customers virtual walkthroughs by combining gamification with architectural expertise.
Commenting on the development, Mr. Gautam Tewari, CEO & Founder, SmartVizX said, “Our R&D center here in Bengaluru, will help us develop cutting edge VR based business solutions that will be an industry first in many ways. Our current focus is the architecture, engineering and construction industry. As both founders are architects; we already have an in-depth understanding with respect to the pain points that Virtual Reality can address. Now, with a highly talented and focused R&D team, we are bringing in features like VR based collaboration to our solutions. We are also looking at facilitating transactions through our VR platform and expect the R&D team to roll out this feature over the next 9 to 12 months.”
Founded in February 2015, SmartVizX is currently one of the highest funded Indian startups in the VR domain. The company, which has already started building its presence in international markets like Dubai and United States, recently,roped in senior talent from the gaming and entertainment industry, Raj Thadani as Vice President, Product Strategy & Business Development. Post the launch of its R&D facility, the SmartVizX Team also plans to enter new sectors such as edutainment, game content, hospitality, retail throughtheir VR based solutions.
According to Digi-Capital’s new ‘Augmented/Virtual Reality Report 2015’, Augmented/Virtual Reality is expected to reach a global valuation of billion by 2020. These valuations are expected to be achieved through the development of both high quality hardware as well as content. A report by SuperData Research estimates that the VR Gaming market itself is worth $5.1 billion with a customer base of 55.8 million in 2016. These figures indicate a potential boom in the VR industry and a rising appetite for VRV based content.
About SmartVizX: SmartVizX disrupts traditional passive and static design visualisation methodologies by developing Virtual Reality (VR) solutions that are immersive, interactive and engaging. The company combines design visualization with game technologies to create cross-platform tools that enable users to immerse themselves in the environment they are engaging with. SmartVizX VR solutions helps buyers buy better, sellers sell better & businesses conduct business better. The company was founded in February 2015 by Gautam Tewari and Tithi Tewari, both senior architects with a collective industry experience of over 30 years between themselves. Key clients of SmartVizX include DASNAC, Developer Group, Rockworth, NIIT, The Quint, Interglobe Aviation, Express Avenue and Express Group.


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Irish sales, marketing and distribution company DCC has completed its £235m acquisition of a retail petrol station network in Norway.
After announcing the deal last February, DCC has now completed the acquisition ExxonMobil’s gas station network in Norway for 2.43 billion Norwegian crowns ($293.38m), reports Reuters.
The Esso-branded fuel retailing network is Norway’s third largest, compromising 142 company-operated sites and with contracts to supply a further 108 dealer-owned stations.
"The acquisition of Esso Retail Norway is another material step for DCC in building its retail petrol station business in Europe,” said Tommy Breen, chief executive of DCC, at the time of the deal.
DCC now operates about 1,000 fuel stations in the UK, France, Sweden, Ireland, Denmark and Norway, while it supplies fuel to almost 2,000 dealer-owned sites.


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Toys on display
Toy Tractor Display to return to Copper Days Festival
July 7, 2021
The Platte Valley Arts Council will be holding the fourth annual Toy Tractor Display Show and Competition on September 11 as part of Encampment’s Copper Days Festival according to a press release from the local organization. The show will be held at the Encampment Lions Club Arena from 12:00-2:00 pm on Saturday. There is no cost to see the toy displays or to enter the competition. Winners will be announced during the Community Dance at 7 pm.
The purpose of this event is not only to provide friendly competition, but also to show toy collectors and other enthusiasts the ability to cre...
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Dispatches from Quarantine: Grocery stories from the CORONA isle – a conversation with a hero who’s fighting to keep us fed
What's it like working in grocery stores during COVID-19?
The days are starting to blur together.
News is moving faster than it’s ever moved in my lifetime, “home offices” have now just become “offices,” the planet is taking its first real breath in over 100 years, people are dying, people are sick, people are bored and we’re another week closer to the end of this thing — whenever that might actually be.
But, at least it seems we may be through the worst of this CORONA pandemic. At the beginning of this week, the US surgeon general predicted that it would be the worst so far, and truly, it was: on Wednesday the national death toll rose to 1,922 people in a single day — 779 of those deaths on Wednesday were in New York alone. They expect that by August, there will be some 60,415 Americans dead.
This week, however, was supposed to be the turning point — the apex of the outbreak in the US. We may be on the downhill side of all this, but there’s still a lot to be done.
And still, the Orange Menace in the White House continues to politicize the situation. Colorado’s democratic Governor Jared Polis has been begging for respirators and more hospital supplies from Trump for weeks, and has been ignored for weeks. But when Colorado’s Republican senator asked, Trump granted his request almost immediately.
Yes, the madness feels inescapable. Everywhere you look there are reminders that life is not as it was, every conversation seems to somehow drift back to The Virus, every pang of restlessness leads to the same exercises and the same places. There aren’t many things to go do, except shop at hardware stores, liquor stores, dispensaries, gun shops, and, of course, grocery stores.
The latter of which, is my favorite current outing. Never before have grocery stores been so strange and exciting. Never before have they felt so dystopian. People walk around wearing masks over their faces, avoiding each other with huge berths. Many of the shelves are empty: it’s almost impossible to find toilet paper, tissue paper, paper towels, baking supplies or pasta.
And the people who work at our grocery stores have never been more important than they are right now. They are heroes — working furiously to keep the shelves stocked, to maintain grocery order, exposing themselves to hundreds of people a day in the process.
“Jordan” (as we’ll call him) is one of those brave souls. He works at Whole Foods. His whole career is on the front lines of this fight to keep Colorado fed, and nearly everything about his job has been turned on its head.
“After they put out the stay at home order, there was a week where everything was absolutely nuts,” Jordan says. It was like every single day was Thanksgiving, he describes. “For our Whole Foods and I know, for like five or six other Whole Foods in the region, that was the most the stores had ever done in history.”
Some of the customers that Jordan has dealt with express great gratitude, thanking him profusely for still coming in to work and putting himself at risk. Which, he says, feels really good to know he’s appreciated.
Other customers, however, aren’t quite so congenial. People who will ask him a question and then freak out when he takes a step towards them; or people who are so paranoid and uptight, they can’t help but treat others like garbage; people who are pissed that the store is out of their favorite food; or people who get upset when they’re told they can only take so many packages of toilet paper.
“[Those interactions] can really go one way or the other, 50-50,” Jordan says.
Luckily, his supervisor has stepped up to protect the employees from any kind of customer harassment. Jordan told me that, as employees, if someone is being rude or mean or unnecessarily abrasive, his supervisor has told everyone they can just walk away and find him to take care of the issue. If people answer the phone and someone’s yelling, they’ve been instructed to simply hang up.
“It’s really cool to see a supervisor standing up for his co-workers like that,” says Jordan, who has worked in the grocery industry for a long time. “You wouldn’t ever hear them say, ‘just walk away,’ or ‘just hang up the phone’ before all this.”
And, at Whole Foods in particular, the employees are being very well cared for, according to Jordan. If you’re sick, or think you’re sick, or just don’t want to come in, employees have been instructed to just stay home — without penalties. If someone gets sick they have two weeks of paid time off. If someone can’t get into work because their kids aren’t in school, Whole Foods will pay you to stay at home and take care of your little ones. Every employee is getting paid $2 extra an hour, and they can take on as much overtime as they want. (If that sounds appealing to you, they’re also hiring.)
Whole foods is even offering masks and gloves for free for their employees who want to wear them. Jordan says he isn’t quite there, yet. He still feels safe going into work, and just washing his hands 1,500-2,000 times a day. But he finds it admirable that Amazon (who now owns Whole Foods) set aside all those supplies just for their employees.
“Whole Foods and Amazon are really taking care of us and making sure that employees are hooked up.”
But they also have to exercise certain extra precautions that feel pretty Orwellian, according to Jordan. Employees are now required to get their temperature taken before they can even enter the store. If their temperature is over 100.4-degrees they have to go home and take three days off. They cannot return until the fever is gone.
“It's like a zombie movie where they're trying to like, check and see who has the virus or something,” he says chuckling at the surreal-ness of it all. “Everybody has to prove that they don't have it, in to order to get in.”
Never before, though, have grocers had such an important and commendable role to play in society. Their job is the same as it was, sure: stock the shelves, answer questions, help people get what they need. But now, in the age of the Coronavirus, that job has taken on a whole new level of significance. People like Jordan are not only making sure that our pantries and fridges stay stocked, but they’re literally maintaining social order.
Because, if the shelves of grocery stores go empty, regardless of a shortage or not, people will panic wholesale. Which, Jordan really wants to avoid.
“People should know that, there are no shortages. There’s enough food and toilet paper for everyone, as long as people aren’t panic buying,” he says. “Please stop panic buying.”
In fact, the only way shortages will actually happen is because of panic buying, he asserts. Destabilizing the demand, destabilizes the supply, and that could actually lead to real shortages of food and supplies in the stores — and it would have nothing to do with COVID-19 itself. It would be a fear-driven shortage, not a virus-caused one.
We can avoid that. We just have to keep our heads on our shoulders.
If we can do that, Jordan and all of the other grocery store employees, can make sure that everyone has access to the food and supplies they want and need.
Jordan and thousands of others like him, across the nation and in fact across the globe, are the unsung heroes of this pandemic. They deserve all the appreciation and gratitude that we can afford right now, because they are quite literally on the front lines of the Corona pandemic. It’s not such an exaggeration to suggest that, by the end of this, we may owe them our lives.
Next week: We’ll talk with some folks in Colorado’s wide world of alcohol, to get a taste for life on the other end of the booze that’s keeping us buzzed


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MANILA, Philippines – Local distributor dead serious against “Train to Busan” video piracy, online sharing, file sharing. With tons of bootlegged copies being shared online of the well recommended “Train to Busan,” a personnel from the film’s local distributor announced on Facebook that they are now tracking down involved persons on video piracy and also planning to sue violators.
Though the post has long been deleted, Facebook page EV Learners got hold of a screenshot from a Facebook user named “Jeffrey Claude Palma”. In the post, Palma is said to be part of the Philippine distributor of “Train to Busan,” Rafaella Films International.
According to Palma’s statement, he’s forewarning Filipino netizens that Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (commonly known as Cyber Crime Law) is now in action. Palma cautions that individuals can now be sued “for buying bootlegs or downloading, sharing movies, videos, music and other copyrighted files”
He stated that acquiring copyrighted material is punishable by law with a fine between Php 200,000 to Php 500,000 with six to twenty years in prison.
“Under the Cybercrime Law, acquiring any digital copy of any copyrighted material is now punishable by a fine between Php 200,000 (US$4,470) to Php 500,000 (US$11,175) and six to 20 years in prison,” Palma wrote.
Palma ended his post that they are now tracking down those who distributed pirated copies of the film on Facebook and other social media sites, with no hesitation to sue violators.
“WE, RAFAELLA FILMS INTERNATIONAL, PHILIPPINE DISTRIBUTOR OF “TRAIN TO BUSAN”, IS NOW TRACKING DOWN HERE ON FACEBOOK AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SITES ALL INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED AND WILL FILE CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST THEM! WE SERIOUSLY CONDEMN VIDEO PIRACY AND ANY OTHER FORMS!”


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A new sunshade design could keep buildings cool without using any energy.
Posts Categorized: Switzerland
New, lightweight haptic feedback gloves provide a realistic feeling of lifting and manipulating virtual objects.
A new app is a database of high street fashion brands that suggests accurate sizing for items based on a users’ actual size and preferences.
A new luxury yacht uses solar-powered engines with AI-enabled controls for fossil fuel-free cruising.
Designed in partnership with Formula 1 manufacturers, this graphene wheelchair is strong, durable and tailor made.
The wristband omits a signal similar to that of thunderstorms to deter mosquitoes from biting.
A design student has developed a LiFi lamp designed for libraries and public spaces
A design graduate has created a fire hydrant that doubles up as a public water fountain.
Researchers use synthetic spider silk as a delivery method for cancer-fighting drugs.
A UK based company has created an app that informs consumers about a product’s story using digital codes and offers rewards through product brand cryptocurrencies.
An aeronautical project aims to be the first commercial two-seater solar plane to attempt a flight to reach the stratosphere.
Micro mirrors can be applied to regular window glass to direct winter light into the far corners of a room and block heat in the summer.
An art exhibit at the Venice Biennale hopes to inspire a conversation about creating more interesting architectural spaces.
Swiss researchers have developed an implant that grows an artificial mole when changes in the body indicate potential cancer cells.
Scientists have found a way to store a music album as DNA using a technique developed in Zurich.
A new travel subscription service offers transportation across multiple transport methods
A financial company has developed proprietary software that provides end-to-end validity of votes using the bitcoin blockchain technology, used recently in Sierra Leone election.
AI-powered pricing solution enables e-commerce businesses to personalise prices and promotions based on a customer’s location.
A new app allows companies to outsource their customer service and sales support to ordinary people
Non-toxic, non-combustible aerogel has been made into a paste to fill bricks for insulation that is a third more effective.
A new smart speaker is designed to deter burglars by making it sound as though the house is occupied
Researchers from Swiss university have developed a miniature aquatic robot that can influence the behavior of a school of real fish.


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HP has a lot of laptops these days, and they all have their own unique look, but the company never really has had a signature style these past few years. However, they refreshed their line of desktops and laptops today for 2013, and while school just let out for the summer, it’s never to late to begin shopping for a college laptop for the fall.
One of the most notable new products arriving for the summer is the Envy 14 TouchSmart Ultrabook, which comes with a 14-inch display at 1366×768 by default, but can be immediately upgraded to a more feasible 1600×900. Furthermore, though, you’ll be able to upgrade to a whopping 3200×1800 resolution sometime this summer, all of which is touchscreen-equipped.
The laptop has a modest starting price of $699, but that won’t get you the high-resolution display sadly — you’ll most likely have to hand over more cash in order to enjoy the 3200×1800 resolution. There’s no word on what hardware the new laptop is running, but we’re guessing Intel’s new Haswell architecture is tucked neatly inside, waiting for an official unveil next month during Computex.
The New Envy 14 TouchSmart looks to take on Google’s Chromebook Pixel and Apple’s MacBook Pro Retina-equipped laptops. However, Samsung is also in the running, as they recently announced a laptop of their own that packs a 3200×1800 display. What we once thought was insanely high-res, is now playing catch-up with HP and Samsung. Who would’ve thought?
HP also showed off their other refreshed laptops, such as 15-inch and 17-inch variants of the Envy line, as well as new Pavilion 11-, 14-, 15-, and 17-inch laptops that include a mixture of Intel and AMD processors, as well as NVIDIA mobile graphics. Furthermore, the company added on five new desktops that pack Intel’s new Haswell chips. You can grab one for as low as $289 for the HP 110, although you’ll have to cough up more for a robust machine.


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Police have released a sketch of the suspect in the Lane Bryant shooting, but they say video of the man would have helped in the investigation. Therefore, security cameras are becoming more prevalent at area stores. And, it's not just the big businesses that are recording-- even small stores are making changes.
"That's an expense I never thought I'd have to have, being in Tinley Park --as the Mayor calls Mayberry. And it's not. The world's kind of catching up to us," said Rebecca Nichols, Tinley Park Small Business Owner.
"It could happen to us here, it could happen anywhere. It's a real situation to them," said Ed Zabrocki, mayor, Tinley Park.
All kinds of options are on display at the security expo in Tinley Park. From digital security cameras that never stop rolling to high tech cars that snap photos while moving, big companies like ADT can take care of any size business.
"You need that quality in service and you need a quality in product and the expertise to design the system for you," said Tony Ramos, ADT Security Services.
Smaller local security companies are also there.
"Everyone has different financial needs so we will adjust and asses what they need and put it in for them," said Don Martinez, Digitron Security Systems.
In picking a surveillance system, quality is essential. A business needs to keep a birds' eye view over everything and also be able to ID individual faces.
"What's happening today is just amazing, and you look at the low cost and the high quality that's available out there, it's great," said Phil Cline, former Superintendent, Chicago Police Dept.
Thursday's keynote speaker -- former Chicago Police Superintendent Phil Cline, who now works as a security consultant -- urged all businesses regardless of size to make the investment.
"I think the way it is today it's not a thing of the future anymore, I have a small store, 2 or 3 people and you just don't know what's going on today," said Mike Prisco, Frankfort small business owner.


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Apple previously relied on Bing to deliver web search results from Siri and Spotlight on iOS and Mac. However, the company today confirmed that it’s replacing Bing with Google for search results on iOS and Spotlight on Mac. Users will now get Google results instead of Bing if Siri falls back to a web search in response to a voice command.
Google is already the default search engine on Safari for Mac and iOS. That’s not entirely because Apple likes it. Google pays billions of dollars to be the default search engine on Safari. Apple’s main motivation for this change is to maintain consistency.
“Switching to Google as the web search provider for Siri, Search within iOS and Spotlight on Mac will allow these services to have a consistent web search experience with the default in Safari,” Apple said in a statement today, adding that it has strong relationships with both Google and Microsoft and that it remains committed to delivering the best user experience possible.
Apple’s timing for this switch is interesting. It has been made after iOS 11 was released several days ago and on the very same day that Apple is rolling out macOS High Sierra across the globe.
Despite this change, web image results from Siri will still be fetched from Bing for now. Whether or not this changes down the line remains to be seen.


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Search Results for 'Mercedes-Benz sales manager'
3 results found.
Mercedes-Benz have recently launched two new models onto the Irish market, the A-Class and CLS Coupé, both of which, they hope will bring additional 182 registrations.
The arrival here of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class cabriolet in September will complete the impressive E-Class model range.
Mercedes-Benz is on a roll, and now ahead of its market introduction, it has wheeled out its latest creation – the Mercedes-AMG E63 version of the new E-Class.


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Innovation Awards 2022 is the market-leading awards program for celebrating ecosystem innovation and excellence across the technology sector in ASEAN.
- 25 May 2011 11:07
Verizon to Participate in World IPv6 Day on June 8
Verizon to Participate in World IPv6 Day on June 8
Event Will Enable Verizon Customers and Others to Test New Internet Addressing System and Learn About Its Future Benefits
Sydney, AUSTRALIA, 25 May 2011 – Verizon will join the Internet Society and participate in World IPv6 Day on June 8. The event will give Verizon customers and industry leaders an opportunity to test the new Internet addressing system, IPv6, and learn about its future benefits.
For 24 hours, network service providers, Internet service providers, content delivery networks, website owners, hardware and software manufacturers and others will enable IPv6 on their main services and test its readiness. This is the first global-scale production trial of IPv6.
The industry is moving from the current Internet Protocol version 4, which has been in place since the 1980s, to Internet Protocol version 6 because the pool of IPv4 addresses is nearly depleted. The new IPv6 addressing system will expand the number of possible addresses from approximately 4 billion with IPv4 to roughly 340 trillion trillion trillion IPv6 addresses.
Verizon -- Early Adopter of IPv6
Verizon is a pioneer in developing and delivering IPv6 capabilities to the market. In the mid-1990s, Verizon developed a high-speed network called vBNS (very high speed backbone network service) to support leading-edge IP applications and technologies. This network, which later evolved to vBNS+, was one of the first to carry native IPv6 traffic in 1998.
“As a company with a deep, rich heritage in the Internet and an early adopter of IPv6, Verizon is committed to supporting all customers who are interested in learning about the new IPv6 protocol and the associated benefits,” said Jean McManus, executive director of Verizon’s Corporate Technology organisation. “Whether our customers are residential, small-to-large business or government agencies, most will face some kind of transition to IPv6 over the next several years, and we want to leverage our expertise to help them make the transition as smooth as possible.
“Many Verizon Wireless customers are using IPv6 on the 4G LTE network, while our Verizon enterprise customers are seeking opportunities to begin testing their hardware and software using the new protocol. World IPv6 Day will give everyone an opportunity to participate in the testing and learn more about the benefits and capabilities of IPv6,” McManus said.
Throughout the 24 hours of testing, Verizon will have technical teams assigned to identify and troubleshoot any IPv6 issues. The teams also will be checking with others in the industry to see if any trends are developing. In addition, ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon, will participate with Verizon in World IPv6 Day and focus on security issues.
“With hundreds of companies and organisations from around the world participating, World IPv6 Day is an opportunity for the Internet industry to collaborate and test IPv6 readiness in a real production environment,” said Leslie Daigle, Internet Society chief Internet technology officer. “We expect the test flight to provide insight into actual current breadth of IPv6 deployment, any issues that need attention and to provide experience and understanding that will accelerate IPv6 deployment.”
IPv6 -- Today and Tomorrow
Moving to IPv6 will enable continued long-term growth for Verizon’s IP networks and provide an opportunity for innovative wireless and wireline IP and data services. The company also will be able to open new frontiers for future business growth.
Verizon currently is deploying a technology called “dual-stack” -- which allows simultaneous support of IPv4 and IPv6 -- giving customers the option to access key IP networks and services using either the IPv4 or IPv6 protocol. This also will give business customers flexibility to begin a smooth transition to the new protocol while still conducting regular daily activities.
The most recent service enabled with the IPv6 protocol is Verizon’s Internet Dedicated Services, which currently is available in the U.S., Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The company also offers a suite of professional consulting services to help businesses and government agencies tailor a clear and seamless path for IPv6 adoption within their specific operations. Other Verizon products and services in both the consumer and enterprise business units will become IPv6-enabled over the next few years.
(Listen to an audio podcast, featuring Chris Kimm, vice president, Verizon network field operations in Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific, to learn more about the business opportunities associated with IPv6.)
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with more than 104 million total connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 196,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of $106.6 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com .
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Palo Alto Networks released its second quarter earnings and revenue report Wednesday after the bell
The cybersecurity firm delivered non-GAAP second quarter earnings of $91.5 million, or 97 cents a share, on revenue of $542.4 million, up from $422.6 million a year ago.
Analysts were expecting the security-software vendor to report earnings of 79 cents a share on revenue of $524.98 million.
The company's Q2 billings grew to $674.6 million.
Palo Alto CEO Mark McLaughlin said the company saw "robust new customer acquisition and expansion in existing accounts" during the quarter. The company launched a bevy of products including a logging service in Europe and a cloud-based analytics applications called Magnifier.
In terms of guidance, Palo Alto expects third quarter EPS in the range of 94 cents to 96 cents and revenue in the range of $538 million to $548 million. The guidance topped Wall Street expectations for EPS of 81 cents a share and revenue of $532.6 million.
The company's stock climbed more than 5 percent in after-hours trading following the strong report.


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The Grand Theft Auto franchise has been very popular over the years and has also spawned some serious hate for the video game industry as a whole. Some have alleged that video games such as the GTA franchise make players violent.
Despite any bad publicity that the GTA franchise may have garnered, the game has hit a significant milestone with 125 million copies shipped to date. The 125 million figure is up 11 million copies from the 114 million units Take-Two announced had shipped by September 2011.
No details on how the 125 million unit number breaks down per title from the franchise were offered by Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick.
Zelnick likens the sporadic release schedule for games in the GTA franchise to James Bond films saying that just as with Bond films, the GTA release schedule keeps the franchise "special."
Zelnick said of Activision's COD release schedule, "It's our view that if you want intellectual properties to be permanent, then you run the risk in that circumstance of having consumers fall out of love with that franchise. [Activision] obviously views the world differently."
To prove his point Zelnick pointed out that Black Ops II didn't perform as well as Modern Warfare 3, signaling that the COD franchise is slowing.
"That's never been the case with one of ours," he said. "Ours do better each time. Our view is it's hard to make permanent intellectual properties if you annualize it, with the exception of sports titles. So far, that's proven to be the case. IP that is annualized eventually seems to hit the wall and we don't want our IP to hit the wall."
The next game in the Grand Theft Auto franchise will be GTA V, which is due in Spring 2013. The game’s second official trailer surfaced earlier this month.


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Basic Android functionality is coming to the new iOS 14 – widgets will finally arrive on iPhone.
Although the main highlight from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference was the announcement of the new ARM-based chips, another functionality will make millions of iPhone users happy. The new upgrade to iOS 14 will finally bring widgets to the home screen. iOS 14 is expected to be released later this year.
Another new feature is the possibility of organizing apps into a more manageable view and getting picture-in-picture video. What’s more, users will be able to change the size of widgets on the home screen. Widgets display more information, so there will be more capabilities to personalize the main screen.
In the mobile world widgets are nothing new. Android has had this feature since 2008 as a mainstay, and even the old Windows-Phone allowed to resize important apps according to your needs.
Apple’s iOS is known for its user-friendly interface, but until iOS 14 every app had to stand in a strict grid. Now users will be able to customize and adjust the order of the apps and improve the user experience by themselves.
It’s extremely important for all the app owners to replicate their Android widgets on iOS. The market is so competitive that having a widget or not having it, may be a complete game changer.
That’s where Bunch Consulting comes in – we will secure a smooth development process, using the most advanced UX techniques and the right technologies. Do not hesitate and reach us at firstname.lastname@example.org – we will advise you on how to maximize your app’s potential by using a widget.


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Amazon’s first deal made under new CEO Andy Gacy is being reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission.
in question, Amazon is acquiring primary healthcare organization One Medical for $3.9 billion.
The investigation may delay the completion of the transaction.
A request for additional information was received Friday by One Medical and Amazon as part of the FTC’s review of the merger, according to a filing with securities regulators by One Medical’s parent company based in San Francisco, 1Life Healthcare Inc.
Amazon will buy a medical one for about $3.9 billion
For the past few years, it’s been amazon’s push toward healthcare.
The acquisition of the internet pharmacy PillPack bought for $750 million in 2018.
Amazon announced plans in late July to buy One Medical, a concierge-style medical service with nearly 190 medical practices in 25 markets.
Amazon shuts down its virtual hybrid homecare service
Last week, the e-commerce giant announced it was shutting down its hybrid virtual homecare service called Amazon Care, a unique medical competitor, because it was failing to meet customer needs.
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Groups calling for tougher antitrust regulations were quick to urge the FTC to block the One Medical merger, arguing it would increase the company’s massive market power.
An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment.
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The FTC was already investigating Amazon Prime’s registration and cancellation practices and issued civil subpoenas in the matter.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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General Motors, one of the big three Detroit automakers, announced that they will try and cut expenses by $15 billion by the end of next year.
How? The usual job cuts, plant closures, and benefit reductions.
Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang took over as CEO of the company roughly one year ago, and, already, he had been through things no rookie CEO should go through such as the downward spiral of Yahoo's stock price, top level exec departures, shareholder lawsuits, not to mention a proxy battle from renown corporate raider Carl Icahn that might lead to Yang's ouster and the company being delivered into the hands of Microsoft.
Blockbuster announced today that they're withdrawing their bid to acquire Circuit City. According to the press release, they're withdrawing because of market conditions and they didn't like what they saw after doing due diligence.
A battered and blood-stained, but otherwise unused, life jacket believed to be found by a farmer named John James Dunbar off the Halifax shoreline and thought to belong to the Titanic sold for $68,500 at an auction held by Christie's, according to Reuters.
A street performer who calls himself the Naked Cowboy is suing the makers of M&Ms, Mars Inc., for trademark infringement, alleging the company is capitalizing on his image in one of their electronic billboards.
In the name of protecting the Beijing Olympics from terrorists and anyone who may disrupt the Games, China is approving fewer tourist visas, according to the International Herald Tribune.
It's no secret that Steven Spielberg is unhappy at his new home at Paramount and that he's making plans to move to greener pastures sometime this year. The how part is answered by an article in the Wall Street Journal today.
Hacker's Fruit Farm in the UK has offered people to come in and pick their own strawberries for at least 40 years, but they are ending that tradition. Too many people eating and but are not paying for the strawberries.
The Panda Chinese Kitchen in New York was shut down last week when health inspectors found a snapping turtle in the sink, among other code violations.
Carter Bryant, the creator of the Bratz dolls, admitted on the witness stand that he came up with the Bratz doll line while working for Mattel.
Bryant said he took the drawings to an agency that shops around concepts by artists like him, but he didn't think he was doing anything wrong.


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Retail outlets take on fight against NCDs
January 22, 2021 12:03 pm
Two retail outlets are promoting healthy living to fight Non-Communicable Diseases.
Courts Fiji General Manager Retail Hamendra Prasad says their SportsWorld Health and Fitness campaign will help make Fiji a healthier society.
Prasad adds his team is overwhelmed by the large number of Fijians taking advantage of the free medical screenings hosted at their retail outlets.
“This is together with the Ministry of Health to create that awareness the importance of regular exercise, eating healthy and resting well so all these to do with the Health and Fitness promotion.”
Sports World General Manager Vinod Kumar says the percentage of people affected by NCDs will rise if people are not aware of their health.
He adds they will continue to advocate on the importance of healthy living and proper diet.
“We’ll be like benchmarking. So all these customers coming in so they can be able to get their BMI done. So once they know where they stand, that’s where we step in, assisting them what kind of necessaries and equipment’s to be used so they can achieve their BMIs.”
Courts Fiji Limited today launched its first month of health and fitness promotion and is expected to roll out the same in other parts of Fiji.


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Hong Kong all set for record-breaking Chinese New Year
Tuesday 01 February 2011
As Hong Kong prepares to usher in the Year of the Rabbit - and enjoy the four-day holiday that accompanies Chinese New Year - the city is also preparing to welcome a record number of visitors, drawn by shopping bargains and host of festival-related attractions.
Chinese New Year 2011 runs from Thursday, February 3 to Sunday, February 6 and is a time for gathering among family and friends, eating, drinking and - Hong Kong being Hong Kong - shopping.
More than 650,000 visitors are expected in town, with the Hong Kong Tourism Board predicting a rise of 15 percent in the number of mainland Chinese tourists - traditionally the city's biggest market.
That's great news for Hong Kong's ubiquitous malls, which have seen sales around Chinese New Year skyrocket in recent years as the city promotes itself as a festive destination. According to the HKTB, retail sales around Chinese New Year have grown by 65 percent from 2005 to 2009, and now account for more than HK$275 billion (25 billion euros).
So keen is one Hong Kong mall on attracting visitors from up north that it has sent "500,000 text messages to target consumer groups in mainland China and conducted a national ad campaign through mainland websites and radio stations," according to the Wall Street Journal Asia edition.
The Hong Kong International Airport is meanwhile expecting a record 986 flights into town on Friday (beating the then-record 973 that arrived on December 17 last year) and a total of 15,508 flights to arrive over the 17 days surrounding Chinese New Year - traditionally the period that people come and go on their holidays.
And the city is pulling out all stops to entertain visitors to town, including lantern displays, a massive flower market and the city's annual New Year float parade through the Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district on Thursday and a massive fireworks display over Victoria Harbour on Friday night.
To check how Hong Kong celebrates, log on to ...
This year's promo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRpEAXqjq9k&feature=channel
Highlights of last year's parade: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrqfH5prEEI&NR=1&feature=fvwp
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He also said the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act, which governs marketing of agriculture produce, needs to be amended. (Agencies)
Talking about possible causes of high food inflation he said: "Food prices should be determined by the market and MSPs (minimum support prices) should be used to provide only a lower level of support so that production decisions do not get distorted or the price wage spiral accentuated. This means limiting the pace of MSP increases going forward."
In the last 10 years, MSPs of wheat and rice have increased more than 100 percent.
On Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act, he said: "There is a need to reduce the wedge between what the farmer gets and what is paid by the household by reducing the role, number, and monopoly power of middlemen as well as by improving logistics."
APMC Act provides a platform to farmers to sell their produce to agents or traders.
Increased liquidity flow into rural areas has resulted in growth in agricultural wages. The Centre's rural employment scheme (MGNREGA) has also led to a massive rise in rural wages in the past few years, the Governor said.
To contain food inflation and raise food production, there is a need to contain the rise in wages elsewhere, he said. "Contain any unwarranted rise in rural wages as well as the rise in other agricultural input costs (though not through subsidies) so that the farmer gets a higher return."
Dwelling further on the causes of high food inflation, he said an increase in production costs, primarily rural wage inflation, has also resulted in elevated prices.
Food prices are high also due to growing prosperity and shift in dietary habits of people, he added.
He also said the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act, which governs marketing of agriculture produce, needs to be amended.


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Work may indeed be coming back to the United States. The real issue is whether human beings will do it.
As Farhad Manjoo writes, American manufacturers now produce over 80 percent more than they did in 1987, using just two-thirds as many workers. The reason is automation, and here, political browbeating comes up against the laws of economics — robots are cheaper and often more efficient than people.
Farhad’s statistic looks over a 30-year period. That underplays more recent advances like cheap and abundant sensors, cloud-connected computing systems and better algorithms. All of those things mean that robots are getting better at a fast rate. Throw in artificial intelligence, and robots are even faster at doing ordinary human tasks.
That’s why we now see factories with just a few workers and lots of machines. Even the cloud data centers that sometimes power the robots don’t need that many workers. They are usually located in rural areas, sometimes in the shells of old factories, but they are full of robots.
If you believe lots of Americans should work in American factories, it gets worse. As Farhad notes, many of the robots that are doing American work are built in China. China, eager to keep people employed and stay on top of all manufacturing, has made a business of making robots. Farhad doesn’t say whether the robot factories are automated.
So, how bad is this for American workers? Maybe not dire. According to one recent study, robots are likely to take away parts of tasks, but not entire jobs. People need to learn to work alongside robots.
Additionally, a big reason to have automated factories in the United States, instead of manufacturing in China, is to have a better grip on quality control and local distribution to major customers. That means jobs in operations management, loading and shipping. (Self-driving trucks are still a long way off, whatever the visionaries say.)
Then there is the prospect that factories, like farms before them, will become largely automated and that people will find other work. Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has called this “outracing the robots,” which he sees as a global challenge to make people better at new science and math.
There is also evidence that our highly automated, digital society has come to value human moments. Think of the rise of artisanal beers, the boom in personal trainers or the rising prices for live music. They are all signs that the valuable and scarce things people pay for have become exactly what a robot can never be: human.
We can build a society of work around that, perhaps. At least until they build a robot that grows a nice, bushy, authentic-seeming beard, lives in Brooklyn and makes handcrafted cabinets. No sign of that out of China.


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In our daily lives, we are used to seeing many certification marks. From picking up the groceries every week to choosing electric appliances or transport means, our everyday choices are influenced by the logos and labels that we see and immediately recognise. From now on, more and more customers will be looking for the SEAM logo when choosing the abrasive products on the market – because they also care about sustainability, just like the manufacturers do.
On 7 July 2021, the SEAM Program achieved a major milestone in its development. The EU certification trade mark delivered by the European Union Intellectual Property Office now confirms the supervised sustainable quality of the manufacturers’ production process.
The SEAM Members now will be able to use the SEAM logo on the product packaging to show that their products are manufactured using a sustainable production process. This goes way beyond a simple marketing tool, as the SEAM logo would give a certainty to the clients that the products they are buying are indeed manufactured and distributed according to high sustainability standards. Putting the SEAM logo on the packaging will now be a concrete tool that the companies will be able to use to showcase the result of their commitment to sustainability.
While each SEAM member company can choose which specific sustainability aspects it wants to work and improve on (through the evolving targets within the three sustainability pillars: environment, labour, and economy), the common cause that brings the companies together in the SEAM Program is their commitment to putting sustainability at the core of their business model. It is a commitment to work every day to ensure that the world tomorrow will look a better place.


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‘Economic gardening’ bill aims to nurture young firms’ growth
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State Rep. Michael Stinziano has many seeds to sow if he hopes to get Ohio legislators to pass his economic gardening bill.
The Democrat from Columbus acknowledges he faces the challenge of explaining what economic gardening means and getting Republicans who control the House and Senate to recognize the value of a program designed to help small businesses develop.
“I’ve got a lot of educating to do,” Stinziano said, noting some mistakenly thought he was talking about the vertical gardening movement that grows fruits and vegetables in urban settings.
To get his point across, Stinziano recently introduced House Bill 447. It would create a pilot to test an economic gardening concept that dates to 1989 in Littleton, Colo., and has spread to other states.
It would provide $250,000 in startup funding for a pilot program to assist companies that have left the startup phase and have growth potential. That assistance includes figuring out ways to penetrate new markets, refine business models and develop growth strategies.
Stinziano began researching economic gardening in 2010. Drawing on data from the Cassopolis, Mich.-based Edward Lowe Foundation, he found second-stage businesses, especially innovation-oriented ones, generally create more jobs per company and more wealth per employee than other types of businesses.
“There has been nothing but success in every place we’ve found,” Stinziano said of economic gardening’s track record.
For instance, Florida’s pilot program helped create more than 1,400 direct and indirect jobs and contributed $281 million to the economy, he said. That came from the state’s modest $1.5 million investment.
Jeff Bell covers the energy industry for Columbus Business First.
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After days of outage, Sony is finally coming clean regarding exactly what the "external intruder" gained access to during their hack attack on the gaming giant. And the news is not good. Sony has essentially given up all information about their customers except their credit card numbers... they think.
As Seybold lays it out, the hacker — or “unauthorized person” to be specific — managed to obtain pretty much every bit of information you might’ve given the company, which I’m listing below:The biggest issue here is that most people use the same information to log into their game networks as they use to log into their banks and other financial companies. Thus, by simply reusing the usernames, personal info, and "personal security answers" here, the hacker may be able to steal money from many PSN users without having to touch Sony's network again.
- Address (city, state, zip)
- Email address
- PSN / Qriocity password and login
- PSN online ID / handle
- Purchase history
- Billing address
- Password security answers
If you're a PSN user, please change your username, password, and security answers at any financial services website that used the same info as Sony's system. Don't wait for the hackers to sell this info to criminals.


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Bethesda's E3 press conference promises to deliver news of Dishonored 2, Fallout 4, Doom, The Elder Scrolls and likely much more.
Follow along with us as we soak in the goodness of epic single-player gaming when the stream goes live at 7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET.
We'll be on the floor covering it in person, but you can also watch the whole thing go down in the video stream below.
Don't forget to check out our complete E3 2016 livestream schedule right here and follow along with all of our E3 coverage here.


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|Two minicars are parked at a residential compound in Hujialou, Chaoyang district Wednesday. Photo: Zhang Zihan/GT|
China Consumers Association (CCA) warned Tuesday that minicars popular with senior citizens are highly risky because of their poor quality and because their target drivers often have no driving licenses.
According to local police, these vehicles are already banned.
The number of minicars has risen in many cities in China, though an accurate figure is not given.
"These three- or four- wheeled vehicles are powered by electricity or gas, and have brakes, accelerators and gears just like in real cars, not to mention their top speed is around 50 kilometers per hour, which is almost the same speed as real cars," the press release said.
"These vehicles are low to the ground, but have a high starting speed, which can easily cause accidents. They also use band brakes, which requires drivers to step firmly on the pedal to stop. This is a risk for older people as their reactions can be slow," said the CCA.
On Wednesday, these vehicles were still on for sale on online retailer Taobao, with average prices around 10,000 yuan ($1,609).
A retailer surnamed He said he had heard nothing about the CCA warning. He assured he could guarantee the quality of the vehicles he sold.
"I've been selling these vehicles for a long time and so far no one has complained about their quality," he said.
An anonymous police officer who patrols along Guandongdian Beijie, Chaoyang district, said these minicars have been banned in Beijing and people should not purchase them.
"The shell of these vehicles is very fragile and they have no extra safety facilities like airbags, so if there's an accident drivers have nothing to rely on," said the officer.
"Many seniors have no licenses, and they drive these dangerous vehicles on the road with real automobiles which also adds risks to themselves and other people," he said.
Due to these concerns, these vehicles were banned last year, the officer said.
"Now even if you buy one, you are not allowed to drive them on the street," he said.
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As Apple prepares to unveil two models of its popular iPhone, both with larger screen sizes than previous iterations of the handset, an NPD Group report finds smartphones with screens 4.7 inches and larger are commanding more shelf space and unit share in the United States.
According to the report, U.S. nationwide carriers devoted about one-third of their shelf space to devices with a 4.7 inch or larger screen in the second quarter of this year, up from just 4 percent in 2012’s second quarter.
North American shipments of 4.7-inch and larger smartphones are forecast to reach 120 million in 2014 and grow to 179 million by 2018.
While U.S. sales of smartphones with 4.7 inch or larger screens now account for more than one-quarter of sales, up from 2 percent in the second quarter of 2012, according to NPD Mobile Phone Track, sales growth has lagged behind product availability, the report noted.
In addition, the report found cellular data consumption is growing as smartphones get bigger, with consumers owning smartphones that have 4.7-inch and larger screens using about 4GB of data a month, twice that of consumers who own smartphones with smaller screens, and video is the top application driving this data consumption growth.
“Consumers watch more video on smartphones with larger displays, and this provides a tremendous revenue opportunity for network operators as their customers will need more cellular data to enjoy this content on the go,” Brad Akyuz, director of NPD Connected Intelligence, told eWEEK. “As a result, operators allocate more shelf space to devices with larger screens, and encourage their device OEM partners to design devices with larger displays. Samsung’s Galaxy S franchise is a good example illustrating this trend as the OEM increased the screen size of the device in every iteration.”
Larger smartphones have been more of a supplier push than a consumer pull, and suppliers plan to continue the increase supply.
Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD, told eWEEK that LG probably has been the most successful in the phablet category, although the company remains far behind Samsung, while Nokia, Sony and Huawei, who all have some large phablet size devices, are far behind.
“Apple’s strategy is sound and will create a stampede of U.S. customer interest in large size phones,” he noted. “Already about 50 percent of the non-Apple sales in the U.S. are above 4.7 inches, so there is clearly demand. With Apple releasing something in the increasingly most important part of the market, they are likely to pick up share and force the rest of the industry to innovate to catch them.”


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SINGAPORE • Singapore has a property glut that could take years to clear, threatening to kill a nascent price recovery amid an already uncertain economic outlook.
The city-state had an overhang of 31,948 units as of Sept 30, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Sales have averaged about 2,500 homes per quarter this year, and at that rate it will take almost four years to clear the backlog, according to Christine Li, head of research for Singapore and South-East Asia at Cushman & Wakefield plc.
The glut has prompted developers to call for property curbs to be eased, including lowering the 20% stamp duty for foreign buyers and getting more time to sell apartments before being hit with punitive levies.
The over-supply also threatens to push down prices, the central bank warned last month.
And given the unsure economic outlook, sales might fall between 5% and 10% next year, said Christine Sun, head of research at OrangeTee & Tie Pte Ltd. Property prices could still rise, albeit at a slower pace of 1% to 3% “assuming the economy doesn’t deteriorate excessively next year”.
The overhang is evident at The Florence Residences in suburban Hougang, about a half hour subway ride from the popular Orchard Road shopping district.
Just 38% of the 1,410 units at the development, which boasts a sparring ring, outdoor cinema, 80m lap pool and rock-climbing wall, have sold since being launched in March. Competition in the area is fierce.
Three other mega-projects within a 20-minute drive have a combined stock of 3,137 units. All up, just 57% of apartments at the four projects have sold.
The glut is more pronounced in outlying suburban areas versus areas closer to downtown, where easy access to top schools, shopping streets and the central business district are drawcards.
As of the third quarter, there were 8,917 unsold units in prime districts, compared to 10,538 in suburban areas.
The roots of the current glut, which includes finished apartments and those still under construction, can be traced back to the property boom of 2017-2018 and the en-bloc fever that enveloped the city.
In an en-bloc sale, a group of owners team up to sell entire apartment blocks to a developer, which then redevelops the site.
“Excessive exuberance” in buying en-bloc sites caused the oversupply, Cushman & Wakefield’s Li said. And it would be “unwise” for the government to bail out developers by easing cooling measures, she said.
Instead, stricter limits should be imposed on en-bloc sales to prevent a repeat of the buying frenzy. “If this precedent of a bail-out is set, developers will not exercise restraint in acquiring en-bloc sites in future cycles, flooding the market with supply and relying on the government to rescue them again,” Li said.
While residential property prices declined after the government imposed a fresh round of curbs in July 2018, they’ve recently started to creep up again, gaining 1.3% last quarter.
“If the economy stays lacklustre or weakens further and drags down market sentiment, price growth could falter,” said Tay Huey Ying, head of research and consultancy at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc’s Singapore office.
As well as winding back hefty stamp duties for foreign buyers and residents buying multiple properties, developers would like to see further concessions, including getting more time to sell projects.
To stop land hoarding, developers have five years from the time of purchase to build and sell all units at a site, or risk being hit with a 25% levy. — Bloomberg


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|By Marketwired .||
|February 7, 2013 09:11 AM EST||
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 02/07/13 -- Smart Employee Benefits Inc. ("SEB") (TSX VENTURE:SEB), is a technology company providing software, solutions and services specializing in "managing group benefit solutions and healthcare claims processing environments, managing human resource processes and requirements and automating business processes" for corporate, government and non-profit clients. SEB is pleased to announce it has received final approval from the TSX Venture Exchange and has closed the acquisition of Logitek Technology Ltd. ("QLogitek").
Mr. Latiq Qureshi, the principal of QLogitek, has joined the board of directions of SEB. Mr. Qureshi is the founder of QLogitek. He has been operating his own businesses since 1976. Mr. Qureshi has extensive global business and technology experience throughout Africa, the Far East, the Middle East, Europe and North America since 1969. He has extensive global business relationships and his companies have achieved many prestigious awards for technology innovation. Mr. Qureshi, personally, was also recognized by the Government of Canada with the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal for his commitment, perseverance and support for community leadership.
SEB issued, in satisfaction of the $2,009,452 purchase price, 6,698,173 SEB shares ("Shares") and 1,000,000 Share Purchase Warrants ("Warrants"). SEB and the Seller of QLogitek, Logitek Data Sciences Ltd., agreed to a contractual escrow arrangement pursuant to which one million Shares would be released on the closing and the balance over a period of 30 months in various amounts at 6 month intervals. The Warrants have a term of 42 months and an escalating exercise price every 12 months of $0.45, $0.55 and $0.65 during the first three years of the term and at $0.75 for the last six months of the term. The Warrants contain performance vesting conditions during their term equating to cumulative revenue and EBITDA targets of $15.0 million and $3.0 million, respectively. As part of the transaction and in order to retire $651,858 of debt owing by QLogitek, SEB issued a five year convertible note in the amount of $651,858 with an annualized interest rate of 3% and an escalating conversion price of $0.45, $0.55, $0.65, $0.70 and $0.75 from years one through five.
QLogitek is a leading B2B-EDI supply chain integration solutions provider. B2B complexities surrounding planning, buying, making, paying, moving, and selling are conveniently managed through the company's suite of 10 products and services. This suite connects enterprises with their trading partners to enable an array of supply chain processes such as EDI exchange for supplier order fulfillment, inbound management for distribution centre optimization, repair-order tracking, scan-based trading, product lifecycle management and claims management. The company offers an innovative cloud computing service delivery model as well as a traditional on-premise model.
20,000 trading partner organizations including manufacturers, shippers, and distributors are mobilized by QLogitek across 170 countries for leading North American retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) enterprises. These enterprises include LCBO, Hudsons Bay Company, Best Buy, LG Electronics and Rogers Communications, to mention a few. QLogitek's 24x7 operations allow approximately 80,000 business users globally to conduct over 3.7 billion transactions annually.
Based in Toronto (Canada), the company has been a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner since its inception in 1999. It was the first Canadian partner to be designated a Microsoft Supply Chain Management (SCM) "Go-To" Partner and, in 2001, was the sole recipient of Microsoft's .NET award for being the first company to deliver Microsoft's vision of 'technology-as-a-service' to a business community. Since then it has gone on to receive national and international awards and accolades. In 2011, QLogitek was 1 of 3 global finalists in the Application Integration category in the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Awards. In this same year, it won Microsoft Canada's IMPACT Award for being Canada's top application integration solutions provider. Most recently, in 2012, QLogitek was recognized by the Retail Council of Canada (RCC) as having delivered Canada's top technology solution. QLogitek's customer LCBO deployed its cloud-based Inbound Management System (IMS) for scheduling to warehouses and its Suppler Order Management System (SOMS) for purchase order automation to win this prestigious award.
QLogitek will be operated as a subsidiary of SEB while maintaining it's current brand and software/service/solutions offerings. QLogitek's supply chain solutions and systems integration expertise will significantly enhance SEB's health claims processing solutions capability to its clients. For more information, please visit www.qlogitek.com.
SEB is a technology company providing software, solutions and services specializing in "managing group benefit solutions and healthcare claims processing environments, managing Human Resource processes and requirements and automating business processes" for corporate, government and non-profit clients. Health Claims Processing is a $56.0 billion industry, of which over $33.0 billion is employee group benefit plans and over $23.0 billion of other healthcare benefit claims (e.g.: workers compensation claims, travel benefits, various federal and provincial government programs, dental associations, drug associations, etc.). In the employee group benefits industry, SEB operates a licensed Third Party Administrator ("TPA") and Insurance Broker utilizing its software platform to provide "totally hosted PCI compliant supply chain solutions" for managing the complete group benefits business processes between insurers, clients, brokers, consultants, technology service providers and healthcare service providers. In healthcare claims processing, SEB also operates as a systems integrator utilizing its technology platform together with other technologies to provide customized solutions for highly specialized environments (e.g.: travel claims, etc). The technology and expertise deployed in this area also allows SEB to provide other related supply chain, systems integration and human resource solutions and services to the same clients. For more information, please visit www.seb-inc.ca.
John McKimm, President/CEO/CIO of SEB commented, "QLogitek is an established company providing world-class supply chain software, solutions and services to a number of Canada's leading companies who sell products and services to consumers (both individual and corporate) globally. SEB views 'health claims processing' as a supply chain environment. The QLogitek supply chain software solutions and PCI level one compliant hosting environment, combined with SEB's leading rules based, fully integrated adjudication software platform will give SEB the capability to provide health claims processing clients with highly customized, fully integrated - administration, billing, adjudication, claims paying, reporting - technology environments which are very unique in the health claims processing industry. The QLogitek acquisition enhances SEB's ability to offer efficient and highly cost effective functionality, features, and comprehensive services to this industry that are not readily available in the Canadian marketplace today. Mr. Qureshi is a technology visionary and has built and deployed many innovative technology solutions for leading global companies and organizations. Mr. Qureshi's experiences will add significantly to the Board of SEB, particularly in the areas of technology vision, practical business processes and thought leadership. We are pleased to welcome Mr. Qureshi to the Board of Directors of SEB."
Latiq Qureshi, Pres/CEO, QLogitek, commented, "Mr. McKimm and I have been business associates for many years. We are very excited about the SEB vision and see numerous applications for QLogitek technology solutions in healthcare. QLogitek is a well established solutions provider offering supply chain expertise and software. The 'health claims processing' industry is a massive industry. QLogitek expertise and software solutions, combined with the leading SEB technology solutions (in adjudication and administration) and expertise is a powerful combination in an industry where critical and core functionality still operates on 25 year old mainframe environments. Additionally, SEB management will bring opportunities and business relationships to enlarge QLogitek's core supply chain software and systems integration business. The fit between QLogitek and SEB creates opportunities for both companies to further QLogitek supply chain solutions into new marketplaces, particularly in healthcare. QLogitek and SEB have been co-located for a number of months. We are collaboratively engaged in joint technology development and a number of joint client initiatives, including synergistic acquisitions. There are many additional synergies that both companies will enjoy as we move forward together in providing software, solutions and services to our clients."
This press release is intended for information purposes only. Statements made in this press release may contain "forward looking" information about the company's future business prospects. These statements - while expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis - are subject to risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth or implied by such forward looking statements. Investors should consult a professional advisor before making any investment decision.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SYS-CON Media announced today that @WebRTCSummit Blog, the largest WebRTC resource in the world, has been launched. @WebRTCSummit Blog offers top articles, news stories, and blog posts from the world's well-known experts and guarantees better exposure for its authors than any other publication. @WebRTCSummit Blog can be bookmarked ▸ Here @WebRTCSummit conference site can be bookmarked ▸ Here
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Mar. 28, 2015 01:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,410


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With Dragon Quest XI now available in Japan, Square-Enix officially announced that Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age will launch in the West sometime in 2018.
Game Designer and series creator Yuji Horii announced that the development team is now working on localizing the game into five languages and doing so requires “an exorbitant amount of work.” Nonetheless, Horii promises to make the game available “as soon as possible.”
As stated in a press release, more details about Dragon Quest XI will be announced in fall 2017.
While platforms for the Western release were unspecified, the game will likely launch for 3DS, PlayStation 4, and Switch. The game is currently available for PS4 and 3DS in Japan, while a release date for the Nintendo Switch version remains unconfirmed.
Both PS4 and 3DS versions have different graphical styles. The PS4 version has modern 3D graphics while gamers on 3DS can switch between a retro 16-bit appearance and a cel-shade art style. Meanwhile, details about the Switch version remains scarce.
The video embedded below features Horii providing an overview of the game alongside an update on the current progress of Dragon Quest XI’s Western version:


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Retail has been a key asset class for investors to buy and hold with an eye to redevelopment, Matthew Boukall, senior director, residential, with Altus Group Data Solutions Inc., said in a recent market overview. The latest investment numbers from Altus Group indicate that of the $10.1 billion worth of investment deals greater than $1 million in 2017’s first three quarters, retail deals represented $1.6 billion or 15%. While some blame the ongoing battle between bricks and clicks, the shtick is wearing thin for Patrick Phillips, CEO of the Urban Land Institute. Discussing emerging trends in real estate with brokers, developers and planners in Vancouver last month, he took an irenic stance.
“Retail right now is clearly more out of favour than other sectors,” he acknowledged. But within a decade, perhaps within five years, Phillips believes online and offline sales operations will function as one.
“The conversation about bricks versus clicks will have gone away because bricks and clicks will be essentially inextricable. The formats of retailing will effectively merge.”
The challenge will be eliminating the hassle of shopping while giving people a reason to show up in shops, said Michael Penalosa, managing principal of Thomas Consultants Inc. in Vancouver.
“One of the main reasons why retailers lose a sale, outside of bad service and too expensive, is a lineup – a lineup and a cashier,” he said. “Today, you can bypass that – you can go to your phone. And even better, you can get it delivered by the end of the day.”
To be successful, physical stores will have to give people a reason to show up rather than avoid them, providing the support people want when they shop online and the engagement that leads to brand loyalty.
“If there’s no experience, I think there’s going to be a bit of trouble,” Penalosa said.
The importance of stores accommodating people and commerce was key when Beedie Development Group broke ground October 24 at East 2nd and Quebec on a 60,000-square-foot, three-storey building for Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC).
While traditional retail currently lacks cachet, dignitaries including Mayor Gregor Robertson touted the 35,000-square-foot flagship store the building will give MEC as a ray of social and economic light.
“Beyond the Creekside Community Centre, we do need more places for people to gather and go forth,” he said, describing the store as a “community hub.” The top floor will feature a community amenity room.
MEC has excelled at integrating e-commerce within its operations, but the fact the physical store would employ flesh-and-blood people thrilled the mayor, too.
“It’s fantastic to have this commercial job space here as well,” he said. “Green jobs in creating green buildings and selling green products are really at the core of Vancouver’s job growth.”
The building aims for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification and will feature extensive structural use of wood as well as a landscaped roof for the benefit of neighbours.
“We love to see that further and deeper investment in those green credentials and pushing the pace with green building technology and products,” said Robertson.
A wine storage facility will replace the Okanagan Tree Fruit Co-operative’s former packing house in Naramata.
A consortium led by David Enns of Laughing Stock Vineyards and Rob Gritten, a principal both of brokerage Avison Young and Lola Capital Corp., plans to renovate the structure to store wine for the three dozen wineries on the Naramata Bench. The renovations will reflect the neighbourhood character, something the vacant structure can’t be said to have done.
Mik Ball and Steven Jaeger are also investors in the project, which is set to be up and running in 2018. The property originally consisted of two parcels, the smaller of which the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen acquired in June 2016 for $1.15 million. The purchase price for the remaining 4.6 acres was not disclosed.
Colliers International originally listed the property in 2008 for $10 million. The offering was rejigged in 2014, and the list price cut to $4.9 million. •