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Assault Weapons Ban Set To Expire Monday
ELMWOOD PARK, IL - SEPTEMBER 10: National Rifle Association and credit card stickers are stuck on the front door of the Illinois Gun Works store September 10, 2004 in Elmwood Park, Illinois. The federal ban on assault weapons is set to expire September 13, 2004. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
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September 10, 2004
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Latest Tech News Jobs Social IT Services Mobiles PCs Apps Gaming Computing Who Is More Gadgets Gaming Valve launches Steam Chat mobile app for Android and iPhone Valve has announced a new Chat app for both Android and iOS platforms. The new app offers similar functionality of the desktop version of the Steam app chat feature. Tencent is reportedly working on a mobile version of League of Legends
Tencent and Riot are working on the mobile part of the game from more than a year now, and the game is expected to launch in 2019. However, neither Tencent nor Riot has confirmed on this information yet. How to download Call of Duty Mobile on any smartphone As per the latest blog post from Activision, Call of Duty game has now reached to the regional beta testing phase including India on both Android as well as iOS platforms. When a person dying of cancer was given early access to the new Total War game The post was noticed and acted upon by James Givens, who manages influencer relations for Creative Assembly and Total War. Call of Duty Mobile battle royale mode is now live: Here’s everything you need to know The battle royale mode of the game has also gone live and players are getting notifications within the game asking to ‘Join now’ and start playing. Though the mode is named as battle royale mode, there are a few things that differentiate Activision’s battle royale mode from the existing games in the genre. Here’s everything you need to know before start playing the game. This may be the highest selling game of all time Minecraft was developed by Swedish developer Markus Persson. It is a sandbox video game that was released by Swedish game developer Mojang in the year 2011. Top trending games of the week on Apple App Store Continuing our top trending game of the week list, here are the top five games of the past week as per the Apple App Store.
PUBG-rival, 'Call of Duty: Mobile' may be closer to launch Activision’s 'Call of Duty: Mobile' game for smartphones has long been in the rumours. The game is now finally available to play for select people around the globe. The title, which is also being claimed to be a PUBG-rival, is available in closed regional beta testing. John Wick event comes to Fortnite In yet another crossover event, Fortnite will nw let you play as popular film character John Wick. Xbox-maker Microsoft partners with PlayStation-maker Sony, here’s why Microsoft has partnered with Sony to boost its Azure cloud platform. Sony on the other hand is expected to deliver ‘enhanced’ gaming and entertainment performance. PUBG Mobile 0.12.5 update: New mission, Season 7 and more The upcoming season, battle pass along with several other new features will be rolled out with the updated version 0.12.5 of the game which is scheduled to roll out at 9:30 pm today.
Apple iOS users can now finally stream PC games on their smartphones After almost a year, the Steam Link app is now finally available for iOS devices and Apple TV. The app was rejected from the Apple App Store for violating several of Apple’s app guidelines. KFC trolled this famous battle royale game on Twitter The fast-food chain has posted using its KFC Gaming Twitter account on the game’s shortcomings. Rockstar Games acquires India's oldest video game company Rockstar Games, the company behind the game GTA and Red Dead Redemption has acquired India’s oldest video game company, Dhruva Interactive from Starbreeze Studios for $7.9 million (approximately 55 crores). Fortnite has added this new weapon Fortnite patch v9.01 has added a new weapon to the game. It’s the Tactical Assault Rifle, that replaces the combat SMG. PUBG Mobile update: Adds new gameplay management feature and more UBG Mobile has released a new update to help promote healthy gaming behaviours. Developers have added a new Gameplay Management system to the game. The new system will send a pop-up notification to the players to take a break who are under the age of 18. Here’s how Fortnite players may benefit from these upcoming features Fortnite players may soon come across some new changes in the game. Apex Legends Season 2 launch date revealed, here’s what to expect To keep players tied up to the game, Respawn Entertainments and EA Games have planned to launch the Season 2 of the game. Players will get more information related to the upcoming season at E3 2019 in June. E3 2019: Games expected to launch at the show Currently, there are 23 games which are confirmed for E3 2019 which will be shown either during the media event or at the showcase. This PUBG alternative has earned $14 million in 3 days Tencent Holdings Ltd's alternative to its video game "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" (PUBG) in China became the world's top-grossing mobile battle royale title on Apple's iOS app store in the first 72 hours of its launch, research showed.

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Mark Zuckerberg apologized to Meta employees in a memo announcing over 11,000 layoffs Wednesday.
"I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that," he said in the memo.
Meta's founder said he had incorrectly assumed a pandemic revenue surge would be "permanent."
Mark Zuckerberg apologized to employees as he announced sweeping layoffs at Meta.
"I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that," he told employees on Wednesday.
Meta said it plans to lay off around 11,000 employees, or 13% of staff, a layoff that had been widely expected in recent days.
Zuckerberg told employees that Meta had over-invested in recent years after the pandemic led to increased revenues thanks to surging online activity.
Instead of the continued revenue growth Meta predicted, Zuckerberg said the company had been hit by a macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ad revenue losses.
He said in the memo to employees: "Many people predicted this would be a permanent acceleration that would continue even after the pandemic ended. I did too, so I made the decision to significantly increase our investments. Unfortunately, this did not play out the way I expected."
Meta, formerly Facebook, has been struggling since its rebrand and continued investment in the metaverse. Since the rebrand in October 2021, the company's stock price has fallen around 70%, wiping billions from Zuckerberg's net worth.
In recent months, the company has tightened its belt, introducing hiring freezes and tougher performance metrics for employees.
Despite this, Zuckerberg said he still believes Meta is "deeply underestimated as a company today."
Representatives for Meta declined to comment.
Read the original article on Business Insider


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With content houses like the Hype House and creator hot spots like BOA and the Saddle Ranch Chophouse, Los Angeles is often seen as the hub of the creator economy. But when it comes to creator economy startups, New York is giving the City of Angels and the San Francisco Bay Area a run for their money.
Over the summer, startup executive Patrick Griffin began reading more about how student-athletes were becoming influencers, thanks to loosened restrictions by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Before July 1, Jon Seaton was an obscure 285-pound offensive lineman at FCS Elon University. But since the birth of the Name, Image and Likeness era, Seaton has become a sought-after social media influencer whose 1.5 million TikTok followers make him highly marketable.
With NCAA athletes soon being able to make money off their likeness, one platform hot off the crowdfunding site WeFunder is stepping in as a middleman to connect content creators in sports with brands.


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KTM to organize Orange Day in Pune on 06th January, 2019
~KTM RC 200 and 200 Duke owners from across the city to compete in an exciting biking face-off~
KTM, the European Racing Legend, will get its RC 200 and 200 Duke owners in Pune to indulge in exhilarating head to head motorcycle races, in its action packed event – “Orange Day”. The latest KTM Orange Day is being organized in Pune on 06th January.
“Orange Day” is conceptualized to make the customer experience the racing genes of the KTM bikes. It gives KTM owners a holistic understanding of the performance of the RCs and Dukes and also an opportunity to compete and interact with fellow KTM owners on a free track.
The participants will have access to service-camps as well as stalls for KTM Power-wear and Power parts. There will be an arrangement of refreshments, music and an exclusive ambience of fun and adventure. Sports biking enthusiasts and followers from across the city can come to witness this first-of-its-kind biking event and enjoy the adrenaline rush.
Till date, KTM has successfully organized “Orange Day” events in cities including Lucknow, Delhi Kochi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and many other places across India.


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Chamber app to boost sales
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- Joe Cogliano, DBJ Senior Reporter
The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce is looking to technology to help pump millions of dollars back into the local economy.
This week, the chamber launched a new app for smartphones and tablets it hopes will help drive more business to local companies. Known as “My Chamber App,” it lists each of the Dayton chamber’s 2,800 member businesses, along with information about each one, a map of their location, contact information and alerts for deals and special coupons.
Dayton is one of only five chambers of commerce in Ohio to have a smartphone application to promote its members. The application — which is free for users — works on smartphones like the iPhone and Droid and tablets, such as the iPad, and features more than a dozen categories, including dining, shopping, accommodations, arts and entertainment and professional services. When properly set, it works with smartphones to show users the closest locations for businesses in any category they choose.
The app is just one part of a “buy local” effort launched by the chamber earlier this year.
“It’s a way to keep more dollars here by driving business to members,” said Phil Parker, president and chief executive officer of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce.
Parker admits he doesn’t expect the effort to stop Dayton-area residents from buying over the Internet or traveling out of town to shop. Instead, he hopes it will make it easier to promote the mindset of buying local whenever possible.
“We’re saying buy what Dayton builds, buy what Dayton cooks or buy what Dayton sells,” Parker said. “And I’m not hung up on whether it’s a franchise or chain (store); At least they’re employing people and they’ve got brick and mortar in this town.”
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Lewis Road Creamery and Whittaker's release chocolate butter
Lewis Road Creamery have paired up with Whittaker's in a bid to re-create the supermarket storm that hit when they released chocolate milk in 2014.
The premium dairy company reckon it's the first of its kind in New Zealand, and potentially the world - a chocolate butter whipped with Whittaker's 72 per cent dark Ghana chocolate, available from today.
They suggest subbing it anywhere you would normal butter - toast, pancakes, waffles and in cooking and baking.
When the Kiwi companies first joined forces their chocolate milk caused a frenzy, selling out around the country, sending security to stand guard in some supermarkets. Bids were placed on Trade-Me, DIY attempts went viral and Lewis Road Creamery earned a nomination in a global competition for innovative food products.
Since then they have released double caramel milk with Chelsea Winter, coffee, vanilla and most recently strawberry, but none have managed to create the same stir as the original collaboration, nor do they expect it to.
"I think the chocolate milk frenzy of 2014 was probably a once in a lifetime event," said Lewis Road co-founder Peter Cullinane.
"Back then we were a very small and young brand and we weren't quite prepared for the huge levels of demand for our chocolate milk."
"We're hopeful our chocolate butter will turn out to be an iconic NZ export."
The Healthy Food Guide Nutritionist Claire Turnbull says on first impressions it looks similar to Nutella.
"The issue with a product like this is people's consumption of butter might go up because it is a novelty food and their fat and sugar intake will go up too.
"Food needs to be considered in context. A small amount of it enjoyed on a slice of wholegrain toast is OK, but if you are using it left, right and centre in baking or spooned over pancakes it's not so good.
"It is fat and sugar combined together into one product. No nutritionist is going to rave about that.
"People can get heavy handed with these types of products. Don't start eating it out of the container."
"The issue might be with serving size; are people going to use the 10g recommended serving?"
Cullinane is confident New Zealander's will see the indulgent spread as a "treat to be consumed in moderation".
"It will most appeal to those seeking an indulgent, real chocolate spread made from simple, quality ingredients – in this case New Zealand's best butter and best chocolate.
"And compared to other spreads, there's no palm oil and much less sugar."


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Google will shut down its Stadia cloud-gaming service in the UK on Thursday, as it issues refunds to gamers.
Stadia was touted as a Netflix for games when it launched, in November 2019, allowing players to stream games online without a PC or console.
The service will be inaccessible after 08:00 on 19 January in the UK, with gamers telling BBC News they are “heartbroken” to see it go.
Google has promised refunds to anyone who made Stadia purchases.
That includes people who bought controllers, games or downloadable content, with Google previously estimating those refunds would be completed by mid-January.
Google has marked the closure by releasing one final Stadia game, Worm Game, which the developers used to test the service before its public release.
It has also unveiled plans to make its Stadia controllers capable of using Bluetooth, which would allow them to be used on PCs wirelessly to play any game, even after Stadia’s closure.
Google said in September it was shutting Stadia because it “hadn’t gained the traction with users” the company had hoped.
But fans have reacted with sadness, with many pointing out some games developed exclusively to be played on Stadia could be lost forever once the service closes.
Splash Damage, a London-based developer that made multiplayer game Outcasters, said last year it had no plans to bring the game elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Q-Games founder and chief executive Dylan Cuthbert told BBC News his team had spent two years developing Stadia exclusive PixelJunk Raiders and he wanted to make sure it was not “gone forever”.
“It’s a real shame when people can’t play a game you’ve spent years making,” he said.
“We’re hoping to talk to publishers who can help us get it on to a PC or even PS5 [PlayStation 5] or other platforms. The IP is ours, so we’re trying to find a way to do that.”
Mr Cuthbert said he was discussing how this might work with Google, which had been “forward thinking” about finding a resolution. But there is another problem.
“I’d want to rework the game a little bit as well,” he said.
“At the time when we launched it, we did have to rush it a bit at the end. I wanted to spend like a bit more time – maybe another eight months or so – reworking a few things.
“If I was going to relaunch it, I’d do that and I’d want to find a publisher who can help us do that. But there’s nothing on the books yet.”
We’re really proud to have been a part of the Stadia line-up and to every player that joined us in the call to explore Tantal; we can’t thank you enough. If you’re a publisher interested in helping us bring PixelJunk Raiders to other platforms, we’d love to talk. 7/8
Jordy, 30, from Gosport, told BBC News she owned three Stadia controllers and was “heartbroken” it was closing.
“I honestly loved Stadia,” she said. “One of the things I found the best about Stadia was the fact I could game anywhere.
“I was able to play games like Destiny 2 with my partner via my iPad whilst he was playing on the PS5. The Stadia controller was the best controller I’d used. I loved it.”
But Jordy praised Google for leaving nobody out of pocket.
“The refunds enabled me to get myself a new gaming device and Ubisoft even gave me the games we already purchased, for free,” she said.
“Even the hardware was refunded, so we essentially got controllers and 4K Chromecasts for free. It is a shame that Stadia had to close but I am happy I was able to experience it.”
Dan, 30, in Kent, got his Stadia hardware on launch. It was the first time he had played any games in eight years, he told BBC News.
“I picked up the Stadia because of the ease of use,” he said. “There were no downloads, no updates to install… just when you wanted to play a game, it was there.
“I probably spent £800 or £900 on games. I recently picked up an Xbox because I needed something to replace it.”
“I honestly loved it. It brought me back to gaming.”


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SHAH ALAM, August 27, 2013 – Carlsberg Malaysia announced the Group’s first half year profit before tax of RM 107.9 million, for the period ended 30th June 2013, a decline of 7.8 percent compared with the same period last year. The Group recorded revenue of RM 815.3 million, 2.6 percent lower than the first half last year due to a marginal decline of 0.9 percent in the Malaysian operations and 5.8 percent drop in the Singapore business.
The Group’s profit before tax of RM41.1 million for the 3 months ended 30th June 2013 was 16.5 percent lower against the same period last year. Revenue for the same quarter was RM344.5 million or 10 percent lower than the quarter in the previous year.
The Group announced a single tier interim dividend of 5 sen per ordinary share of 50 sen for the half year ended 30th June 2013.
The lower revenue in Q2 was mainly due to more cautious consumers’ spending and stock rationalization, particularly in Singapore.
Carlsberg Malaysia’s Managing Director Henrik Juel Andersen who took over the helm on July 1st commented, “The market was a challenge in Q2 due to softening demand in the domestic beer market. We are positive that the remaining quarters will benefit from the strategic commercial plans we have put in place as well as the integrated Carlsberg-Barclays Premier League (BPL) campaign, which will involve thousands of participating outlets, eateries, pubs, bars and super/hypermarkets nationwide, commencing on September 1st .
“Carlsberg, being the official beer sponsor of BPL for the next three seasons, has access to the leading football club stadiums in UK and owns the rights to run BPL promotions that reward consumers with original BPL merchandizes as well as engage football fans with bigscale football viewing parties. As part of the consumer engagement programme, Carlsberg is bringing our consumers the ultimate Premier League experience by offering contest winners all-expenses-paid trips to watch live Premier League matches of their choice, in a uniquely Carlsberg VIP-style”, Andersen added.
“The Carlsberg brand continues to be the most preferred beer brand by Malaysian consumers and we are pleased that our portfolio strategy in premium beer segment continues to deliver profitable share gain. This is reflected in the higher profit margins recorded despite lower revenue,” Andersen commented.
“Our premium beer, Asahi Super Dry has gained positive momentum in the trade with increased sales and distribution, whilst our super premium beers, Kronenbourg 1664 lager and Blanc continue to make in-roads in the segment and are increasingly sought after by consumers. Somersby Apple Cider which was launched last year has exceeded sales expectations and is now the leading cider brand in Malaysia and Singapore”, Andersen shared.
Commenting on the performance in Singapore, Andersen said: “The Singapore beer market remains challenging due to the influx of many imported beer brands. In addition, we embarked on a deliberate stock rationalization exercise in end Q2 aimed at guaranteeing an optimal drinking experience for our consumers”.
He added that “Carlsberg Singapore, led by its newly-appointed country head John Botia, is implementing a more robust in-market execution strategy that offers a better mix of packs and pricing as well as exciting marketing programs to its key customers and consumers aimed at building a strong portfolio of brands and securing sustainable share gains in a very competitive market”.
Commenting on the forthcoming National Budget announcement, Andersen added that “Malaysian beer excise duty is the highest in Asia, second highest in the world, and any further hike would cause significant impact on the accessibility and growth of legitimate beer in Malaysia. It could potentially hamper the growth in tourism and retail sectors, the two key drivers identified under the Government’s Economic Transformation Programme. We are hopeful that the Government will maintain the current excise duty rate and allow us to contribute to the nation-building”.
About Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Berhad Group (Carlsberg Malaysia Group)
The Carlsberg Malaysia Group now has a wide portfolio of leading international beer brands:


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When To Buy Tron December 2018
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The Indians can buy out the final year for $2.5 million. He was the subject of widespread trade rumors during the Major League Baseball winter meetings in December, and Francona intimated that part of the reason Kipnis’ position is not.
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Someone flipped the switch to save the incandescent light.
As countries pushed for more efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs in the early part of the 21st century, the original Edison invention saw its popularity dim to near darkness. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, however, may have developed a new way to make the traditional bulb more energy efficient - and more competitive.
Currently, incandescent bulbs are about 2 percent efficient, while CFL bulbs are between 7 and 13 percent, and light-emitting-diode bulbs range from 5 to 15 percent. Clearly, incandescent bulbs don't look very appealing compared to these other, more efficient lights. MIT's new technology, however, claims to more than triple the efficiency of incandescent bulbs.
An incandescent bulb works like this: an electric current passes through the tungsten filament to heat it until it produces light. In MIT's study, led by Marin Soljacic of the Research Laboratory of Electronics, researchers placed a new structure away from the bulb's filament that would reflect parts of the light as well as filtering the parts of the light we can see.
Most of the visible light from a standard incandescent bulb also generates a lot of heat. That heat translated into lost energy and made the bulb very inefficient, because the large amount of heat was not making light that we could see.
This new take on the incandescent boosted its efficiency to 6.6 percent. MIT researchers say they have the potential to boost the bulb to a 40 percent efficiency level, which can create tremendous savings for the consumer.
The bottom line: Something old may become something new again, as researchers look at these bulbs in a whole new light.


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From cracked floors to melted ice cream, it has taken 18 months of hard work and investment for Yunib Siddiqui to launch his high-end supermarket in Abu Dhabi.
At long last, Mr Jones
It is 9:37am. Behind a stainless steel counter, five workers in crisp white shirts and black aprons are scurrying back and forth. Sandwiches are being wrapped with paper. Label cards are placed in front of pristine rows of tarts and cupcakes behind polished glass. And the wood and steel shelves that line the 340-square-metre store's walls are stocked with gourmet goodies ? from saffron-flavoured candy floss to stove-top Italian coffee makers.
Within minutes, the first customers begin to trickle through the sliding glass doors. After more than a year of hard work, Jones the Grocer, a boutique supermarket and restaurant in Abu Dhabi, is open for business. "I feel really good," the store's owner, Yunib Siddiqui, said during the store's grand opening this week. "To be honest, it's been going on so long that I got to the stage where I was probably like some of the customers: 'When is it going to open? You keep saying it's going to open and it hasn't'."
When The National first reported on his entrepreneurial odyssey in April, Mr Siddiqui, a 40-year-old Briton, slowly saw his ambition of launching a franchise of the Australian upmarket grocery store draw closer to reality. He spent months filling out stacks of paperwork, searching for a sponsor and taking care of start-up costs, such as the Dh18,000 spent on licensing fees to establish his own grocery store and cafe. After receiving to the keys to the store ? located in Abu Dhabi near Muroor and 15th streets in the Mubadala building ? Mr Siddiqui thought he was off and running. But since then he encountered new obstacles when hiring staff, building the store and importing the gourmet products, which delayed his opening date of June 15 by more than three months.
Indeed, Mr Siddiqui's perseverance may prove helpful and inspiring for any would-be entrepreneur. "It's been a challenge, and I expected it to be a challenge," he said. "But I believe that once you start trading, it gets easier." Still, Mr Siddiqui explained, launching Jones the Grocer has been anything but simple. One major task was hiring 16 employees, from chefs to sales clerks, for the combination grocery store and cafe. Finding people was the easy part, he says.
"Because of the recession, it has not been that difficult," he explained. "A lot of employers are letting staff go. I guess if I had done this two years ago, I would have found it very hard." The task got complicated when transferring his staff from their former employers to his business licence, and moving them from Dubai ? where most of his workers came from ? to Abu Dhabi. For example, he needed to find accommodation for his staff in Abu Dhabi, where available housing has long been in short supply. His new hires didn't have time to find a place to live, he said.
"Their employers never give them any time off," he said. "They have to work through their notice period and they can't take any leave." Although some of his employees were able to find homes, Mr Siddiqui still needed to rent two studios in the Mushrif area of the capital, at Dh70,000 each per year. "It's costing a fortune," he said. Mr Siddiqui knew there would be fees involved in securing visas for his employees, usually Dh6,000 each. But when an employee's situation did not fit the traditional mould, there were hidden, unexplained costs.
One of his employees, for example, had been working for two years at a cafe in the UAE, but was out of a job when the business shut down. "When when we went to renew his visa, his visa fee was Dh11,000 when it should be Dh6,000," Mr Siddiqui remembered. "And the reason we were given was because he was looking for a new job within the three-year period." Mr Siddiqui asked his previous employer to pay the outstanding amount, but they refused. So, rather than leaving the employee without a job, he paid the extra amount and his employee agreed to work off the extra expense over time. Bringing in products to stock his shelves also proved difficult.
The Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority and customs officers were used to dealing only with big hypermarkets, which imported crates of goods from single destinations. So when Mr Siddiqui tried to import small quantities of select products, which came from China, Greece and Italy, but were routed through Australia, his requests did not fall in line with the rules. Customs agents said they needed separate shipping documents for each product from each country they originated from. However, the import processes through Australia did not allow for that.
Now, instead of getting supplies from the warehouse in Australia, Mr Siddiqui is forced to ship more goods directly from the original supplier in its home country to accommodate documentation requirements. The process adds another 10 to 15 per cent on his shipping costs, he said. And last Tuesday, when some of his supplies finally arrived, the goods were spoiled and unsaleable. A shipment including homemade ice cream, frozen pastas, fudge and pastry dough arrived in a poorly-refrigerated van, and the dry ice had disappeared, Mr Siddiqui said.
"The ice cream was all liquid and warm," he said. "The frozen pasta was all swollen. The bags were all swollen up, because it was full of warm air." Much of the US$1,200 (Dh4,408) shipment had to be thrown away. The freezer in the back corner of his store sits empty, he said, and he still has not received an explanation from his logistics provider. "The problem is there is no accountability," Mr Siddiqui explained. "And nobody really knows who is responsible."
Mr Siddiqui also hit some major snags when ordering equipment. He bought two top-of-the line industrial pastry ovens from the famous German baking-equipment company, MIWE, through a Kuwait-based distributor. For a price of ?24,000 (Dh129,700) he purchased two ovens, and warranty and servicing for a year, for which he paid the distributor 85 per cent upfront. But 12 weeks passed, and Mr Siddiqui still had not received the equipment, he said. "I called up MIWE directly, and I said, 'What the hell's going on? You've got a distributor but he's not supplying me.' And they then tell me that he's gone bust."
At first, MIWE did not have any of the ovens Mr Siddiqui ordered in stock, and would not give him his equipment. Eventually, the company sent Mr Siddiqui two units which had been used for exhibition purposes. Then he received an invoice for the full amount. "I said, 'I paid your distributor, and I think you should cover it. This should be your problem.' And they turned around and said, 'You've got to pay for them'."
MIWE is also asking him to pay ?11,000 for the warranty, he said. Fitting out the store was also a complicated process. At first, Jones the Grocer was scheduled to open its doors on June 15, but that date got pushed back a month, then by another month. Mr Siddiqui said the delays stemmed from the extra time it took to get construction plans approved, the to-and-fro between the landlord, consultancies and relevant ministries just to figure out the required steps and paperwork to get an approval.
Also, because his chosen site on the ground floor of an office building was not designed for a retail business, it took more construction to put in toilets and fix the floor for the store, he said. Then, after flooring had been installed, another problem arose. After his staff began bringing furniture into the store, Mr Siddiqui began to notice that the floor began to crack and lift up from the foundation below. The solid, polished concrete-and-stone floor had to be removed and reinstalled, from scratch. By the time it was ready again, Ramadan had begun, an inopportune moment to open a grocery store.
But in the end, everything fell into place. If negotiations with his oven suppliers go as planned, Mr Siddiqui said he should be close to his original budget estimate of US$1.2 million (Dh4.4 million). After much going back and forth, from ministries to contractors to suppliers, he eventually navigated his way through the system. He met contacts in the relevant departments who were flexible and eager to help, he said.
"Even though the rules are very opaque and its hard to know exactly what you're doing, once you find the right person you get it done," Mr Siddiqui said. "But the problem is who do you go and see? And where do you start?" While most business owners use a public relations officer ? someone typically hired by business owners or sponsors to co-ordinate with the various government departments to establish a business ? Mr Siddiqui suggests sitting down with one to learn the ropes instead. Doing the paperwork yourself will not only speed up the process, but also keep costs from spiralling, he said.
"I had money to lose personally, and I pushed the envelope really hard to get things done, more than someone else normally would have done," he said. One thing Mr Siddiqui said he would do differently the next time around is give more time to get the business off the ground. "The biggest mistake we made is we thought we could do things quickly," he said. His advice for other would-be entrepreneurs is to plan well, but leave room to think outside of the box when obstacles arise.
"It's not the place you can do business with just a business plan," he said. "You need to really be able to be ready to walk around ministerial corridors like a pregnant woman's husband in a hospital. Wait for people to show up who never show up. And wait for people who said they would be there at 9:30am and they don't come until 10am or 12pm. Its not that they're not helpful, but they don't value time."
Mr Siddiqui has signed a memorandum of understanding to open another outlet in Dubai, in Jumeirah near Sheikh Zayed Road. But his immediate plans involve smoothing out the kinks in his Abu Dhabi outlet and taking a six-month break away from the trials and tribulations of starting up a new store. "I'm going to take it easy now for a few weeks," he said. "Then I'll figure out what to do next." email@example.com


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Streaming is taking over music. Discovery, consumption and monetization are now all dominated by a delivery system that barely existed a decade ago. We're just starting to understand how consumers interact with streaming, what delights them, and what makes them want to dive deeper. A new MIDiA survey for LyricFind offers insights.
Spotify has launched a new series that spotlights independent record labels with a short Warp Records video history lesson from artist and record producer Nightmares On Wax posted on Facebook. “Lots more label stories to come,” shared Lucy Blair from Spotify's label services team. WATCH:
Music Business News From Around The Web
Updated continuously under our More News tab
Musician and artists advocate David Lowery has been sharing an analysis of the streaming royalties that he receives as the principle songwriter and leader of Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven since 2014. Every year they offer an important snapshot of trends that effect all artists and rightsholders.
[UPDATED] DistroKid has added lyric delivery to its low cost digital music distribution service. The company is the first indie D.I.Y. distributor to offer the service, with iTunes and Apple Music at launch.
We are helping Michael Brandvold build a directory of Spotify playlist owners, so anyone releasing new music can reach out and present their new music. If you have a playlist and are willing to get submissions for new music to add to your playlist, just fill out the form here and we will include you in a directory of playlist owners.
With 2017 already having been a busy and reformative year for the music industry, 2018 looks to be headed in a similar direction. Here we visit three important factors which will have a major effect on the industry in the coming year.
As it adapts to the shifting landscape for recorded music, WEA, Warner Music Group’s global distribution, marketing and sales division, is reportedly offering buyouts to 130 employees who deal with physical product.
As the number one streaming service in an industry where streaming is now king, Spotify has become and essential platform for artists, and for musicians looking to get their music heard on a more global scale, nothing is more important than landing your tunes on a coveted Spotify playlist.
Making money in the music industry has always been a challenge, particularly now with physical sales in a nosedive and radio in decline. But streaming has emerged as an opportunity for artists to earn a meaningful amount of money from their work, particularly if they land on the right playlists.
"I'm in the band," says Jimmy Iovine, adding that he has no plans to leave Apple. His pushback came after multiple sources reported that the former Beats executive and record industry mogul would exit in August after his final stock vetted and employment contract expired.
Here Fred Jacobs explores how his dives into music data and analytics has revealed that, while the technology surrounding music has changed dramatically, nostalgia still has an incredibly powerful on consumer's listening habits.
"Artists Rights advocate Blake Morgan (#IRespectMusic) published a story in the Huffington Post this morning critical of Spotify", writes David Lowery on his Trichordist blog. "The story was rapidly gaining traction when it was suddenly deleted and Morgan received this email from the Huffington Post:"
[UPDATED] With the rise of streaming, the job of producer has declined to a much less lucrative position, as many producer deals are built around physical sales. Atlantic Records has found a way to cut into this limited revenue further, however, by retitling some albums as 'mixtapes' or 'compilation albums,' writes Bobby Owsinski.
While many popular dance music genres have risen up and flared out in a relatively brief span of time EDM appears to, in many ways, be hanging on better than most thanks in part to the carefully curated mint playlist on Spotify, currently the streaming platform's sixth most popular of all its playlists.
The end of net neutrality has wide reaching implications for the musicians, music tech and the broader music industry. The Trump controlled FCC has gutted the regulation, which guaranteed equal access to the internet. Now Democrats in Congress, using the Congressional Review Act, are offering a glimmer of hope that it can be saved.
Jimmy Iovine and Doctor Dre became billionaires when Apple bought Beats in 2014, paying $3 billion - $2.6 billion in cash and $400 million in stock. In August, when that stock vests and their employment contracts end, the pair are poised to net more than $700 million, thanks to growth in Apple stock.
iHeartRadio has surpassed 110 million registered users. That's up 10 million from March of last year and on top of the 250 million that tune in to their 850 broadcast stations in 150 markets across the country.
The more than 50 members of the Internet Association which include Spotify, Pandora, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Eventbrite, Netflix, Twitter, Microsoft, Snap and others has pledged to lead legal action to stop the FCC's recent rule changes that effectively gut net neutrality.
Spotify’s Chief Content Officer, Stefan Blom, is leaving the music streamer, the company confirms. Along with Kevin Brown, Blom is the second top Spotify executive to leave the company over the last few weeks, as it finalizes plans for an IPO while fighting a $1.6 billion lawsuit, alongside several smaller legal actions.
YouTube's often controversial Head Of Music Lyor Cohen says in a profile for AdAge that he's developed a simple sales pitch for meetings with artists, managers and labels executives skeptical of the music streamer: "We're going to make you rich and famous."
Since Wixen Music Publishing filed its $1.6 billion lawsuit against Spotify, speculation has run rampant as to how this and other court actions would hurt Spotify's nearing IPO. Spotify isn't commenting, but industry analyst Mark Mulligan has taken a look at all we know and come to some interesting and - for Spotify - concerning conclusions.
Grime, a popular musical genre that did not exist prior to 2002, is now an official category on Spotify. The addition of Grime makes it easier for fans of the genre to find playlists and music on the streamer. The announcement came in two tweets from Senior Spotify Programmer Austin Darbo.
Jimmy Iovine will leave Apple in August, according to multiple sources. The exit comes just months past four years after Apple bought the Iovine and Dr. Dre led Beats headphone manufacturer and streaming music service; and is likely timed to match the full vetting of his stock options and Apple employment contract.
Dubset today has partnered with TIDAL to deliver legal mixes, remixes and DJ sets to music streamer. The startup previously partnered with Apple Music and Spotify, and has deals for content from Sony and Merlin.


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Ingeteam has developed the technology required to implement electric vehicle rapid charging. The prototype unveiled recently in Madrid makes it possible to bring charging times down from 5 hours to just 20 minutes. These charging points are based on the CHAdeMO industrial standard and the first units are set to go on sale in early autumn.DC rapid charging will make it possible to reduce charging times by more than 90%. For a run-time of 80 kms, it will take just 20 minutes to charge the vehicle compared to the 5 hours required for charging with the systems currently available.
These new systems are initially set to be installed in those places with a high density of traffic, and also in strategic locations, thereby promoting the increased use of electric vehicles by offering enhanced charging possibilities, for extended battery run-time.This new model features a totally new design, representing a break with that of the two earlier models, the IngeRev® City and the IngeRev® Garage. This is due to the fact that the IngeRev® Road range is larger in size in order to incorporate the necessary power electronics circuits, an area in which Ingeteam is a global leader. The three phase AC input needs to be adapted and transformed into a DC output from the charge point to the vehicle.
Ingeteam has already sold more than 500 electric vehicle AC charging infrastructure units, which have been installed across Spain and abroad. And now 15 people are responsible for developing the technology required to create the charging stations of the future.


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When the now-redesigned Nissan 240SX rolled off the assembly line last summer, we were surprised by the transformation it had...
A new model year, a new higher price, or so we’ve generally seen in the car market.
Read This Article
We're well into 2012, but if March sales are any indication, the beat plays on for Japanese automakers.
The United Auto Workers have lost membership for decades, watching its numbers fall as automakers have relocated their plants in other NAFTA countries or the south, where unions are largely frowned upon.
Host Jessi Lang of the Motor Trend Channel recently put the Nissan GT-R—and herself—to the test at the famed Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca racetrack up at Monterey, California.


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What do Jeff Bezos, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Jay Leno have in common?
Aside from being household names, Bezos, Miranda, and Leno come from very humble beginnings—once upon a time, they all worked at a McDonald's. But soon, starter jobs that once helped launched so many young workers into their eventual career paths might cease to exist.
As House Democrats prepare to push for a federally mandated $15 minimum wage, businesses across the country are looking for ways to reduce labor costs—often through increased automation and the elimination of entry-level positions. This is bad news for young workers, considering nearly half of all minimum wage earners are between 16 and 24 years old.
For instance, McDonald's announced earlier this year that by 2020, all its US locations will have self-service ordering kiosks to replace cashiers. Meanwhile, other fast food concepts are experimenting with robotic automation such as “Flippy,” the robot who can cook burgers much faster than the average entry-level fry cook.
Some restaurants are eliminating positions altogether. Take Red Robin, which earlier this year announced that the restaurant chain would remove busboys at all 570 locations in order to “address the labor increases [they have] seen.”
As labor costs continue to rise, businesses face tough decisions if they want to survive. The website Facesof15.com documents the hundreds of businesses throughout the country who’ve been forced to lay off employees or even close down altogether due to rising labor costs.
Yet, policymakers continue to push raising the minimum wage hoping to reduce poverty and increase wages for all. Incoming Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, even stated last year that passing a $15 minimum wage bill would be done “in the first 100 hours” of a Democrat-controlled Congress.
In reality, mandated wage hikes are merely eliminating potential jobs for many entry-level employees. In California, research shows that when the state fully phases in a $15 minimum wage by 2022, nearly 400,000 jobs will be lost. Retail and food service employees will be hit hardest since these jobs are usually heavily staffed with entry-level employees.
Working a cash register or bussing tables might sound trivial, but for young teens entering the workplace, these jobs teach them valuable soft skills. I started my career as a grill man at McDonald’s. I worked hard and was promoted to restaurant manager within my first year. Each role taught me the value of work, self-sufficiency, and the importance of discipline that would carry with me throughout my time as the CEO of McDonald’s USA.
For Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, it was the customer service aspect during his time at McDonald's that lead him to establish a culture of “customer obsession” at Amazon. For many employees, a first job is about learning to show up on time or figuring out how to work on a team.
These skills benefit workers in the long run. According to a study by economists at Virginia and Middle Tennessee State University, teenagers who held part-time jobs while in school showed annual earnings that were nearly 20 percent higher than other students without job experience six to nine years after graduation.
The beauty of America is that you can flip burgers and tend a cash register at 16 then go on to run your own multi-million dollar (or even billion-dollar) company at 50 but everyone needs to start somewhere. Policymakers should not add additional burdens on employers by pricing teenagers out of the workplace with higher wage mandates that only hurt those its intended to help.


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SAN FRANCISCO -- Department of Industrial Relations Director Lloyd W. Aubry Jr., announced today that California's garment industry now has a high-tech weapon to employ against illegal sweatshop operations.
"Legitimate garment manufacturers can surf the Net to get information on approximately 4,000 contractors registered with the State Labor Commissioner," Aubry said. "That key information offers businesses an immediate warning concerning potential risk of contracting with an unregistered garment manufacturer."
Under state law, any manufacturer who contracts with an unregistered contractor can be held jointly liable for unpaid wages and penalties levied by the Labor Commissioner. It is a risk that can cost a company thousands of dollars.
Businesses seeking registration information can locate it through DIR's Internet Homepage found at http://www.dir.ca.gov. Once the user clicks on the database file he or she can access information using the company's name, its address, its license registration number, even its zip code. Any questions about the findings or the system, which are updated every two weeks, should be directed by e-mail to DLSE.firstname.lastname@example.org.
Labor Commissioner Roberta Mendonca said the online service is another tool she hopes to use in efforts to rid the state of illegal contractors who fail to obtain a registration to operate legally, pay their employees below minimum wage and no overtime, and often maintain no workers' compensation. Likewise, she added, the service can be utilized by smaller contractors who want to work only with legitimate companies
"With our new online service, all businesses can easily do their homework before establishing a business link," Mendonca said. "Before companies ever take a step to formalizing business arrangements, manufacturers and contractors can research the legitimacy of their potential partners." The online registration verification is one of five elements unveiled in May by DIR to promote compliance inside the vast manufacturing industry. The five-point plan also includes budget enhancements, increased education, workplace safety outreach and a universal business license program to simplify the application process for garment manufacturers.


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Streaming specialist Soliton Systems announces new European HQ, latest customer
Soliton Systems, the Japanese manufacturer of camera based real-time encoding and live 3G/4G video streaming over mobile networks, has announced the creation of a new European sales and support office. The technology company, with over 500 people employed in its parent company in Japan, has opened its first European office in Amsterdam.
Soliton Systems manufactures the Smart Telecaster ‘Zao’ product, which is used for live events and news environments to stream live video content, over traditional mobile 3G or 4G networks, back to the broadcast and playout environment.
It is possible to install up to 6 modems with the Zao product, and each one can be from different mobile carriers. By using its own ‘RASCOW’ technology, the Zao product can load balance in real-time across all the carriers so if one carrier should become busy, or the camera is in an environment where it is being carried at speed where signal strengths change, the Zao product can adapt accordingly and use the maximum bandwidth available at any given time, from any given telecom carrier.
“We are really excited about opening our new Amsterdam office,” says Mogens Jensen, managing director of Soliton Systems Europe. “We have already been tested with a major Dutch service provider against their existing supplier, and as a consequence we are pleased to announce we have been selected and so we are already winning new business. This is a major testament of our technology.”
Jensen adds: “Soliton Systems continues to innovate; the road-map is very rich. We have already introduced a new GPS mobile video streaming system and there are new products in the pipeline.”
Soliton Systems’ route to market is via range of resellers across EMEA. They are on the look-out for new resellers so any partners that are interested should contact them directly.


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Wireless access control has a bit of a bad rap. Connectivity issues, short battery lives and a lack of information have led to problems installing the technology over the years. But when installed properly, wireless access can be of great advantage to the security integrator and end user.
“Benefits range from easier installation, more jobs, more revenue and so on, to different offerings for customers,” says Scott McNulty, senior product manager, dormakaba Americas, Indianapolis. “Many wireless locks are a lot easier to install, and then you have the opportunity to sell more in different areas of a building, where before, you would only work on a front door [with wired access control]. Now, you can fit in a number of different places and really grow the footprint of what you’re offering your customers.”
Wireless also improves the control customers have over their facilities, and expands the support offerings integrators can provide, according to dormakaba Business Development Manager Dan Stewart.
“Another important advancement has been increased functionality that offers many of the same capabilities as wired access control, such as remote lockdown and scheduling,” adds Lisa Corte, director of product management, access and egress hardware group, ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions Americas, New Haven, Conn.
Brian Telljohann, product manager, electronic locks, Allegion, Carmel, Ind., says that increased interoperability and cybersecurity of wireless access control products has made a world of difference over the past couple of years.
“I see wireless locks participating in the IoT, which improves interoperability between device manufacturers so we can interchange data more easily, which is most notably done on the IT network as opposed to hardwired systems,” Telljohann says. “There’s been an improvement in cybersecurity and people taking that more seriously, and there’s been a preference towards more network connected door openings.”
Integrator Brett Byrnes, chief technology officer and co-founder of TKS Security, Traverse City, Mich., sees the growing number of integrations as the biggest advancement. “It certainly seems that most established access control platforms (traditional software and hosted) now have integrations with wireless access control solutions,” Byrnes says.
Technology Advances Shift Attitudes
Wireless access solutions just keep improving, according to integrators.
“In the beginning, wireless locks were barely more advanced than the technology in your garage door opener, with very basic wireless connections; but they’ve gotten better,” says John Rymer, application engineer at Netronix Integration, San Jose, Calif. “They keep moving forward to make them easier to install, so more people can install them, and faster; there’s not as much time invested just to get this thing to work.”
As the technologies improve, integrators are becoming more comfortable installing them, according to Mervi Hiltunen, business development and solutions director at ABLOY Critical Infrastructure Finland, Joensuu, Finland.
“Wireless locks have already experienced good interest and positive outlooks from systems integrators,” Hiltunen says. “Cloud services are also becoming more common and trusted.”
Saurabh Bajaj, CEO of Swiftlane, a wired access control company in San Francisco, says the consumerization of cloud services and mobile access is leading to an increase in the use of wireless access.
“In a world of accessibility, this is what people not only want but are familiar with,” Bajaj says. “Familiarity implies security; users are comfortable with what they know, which is why we are seeing a welcome shift in the access technology and security industry. Consequently, integrators are coming to us and embracing change because legacy systems are not satisfying their customer’s needs.”
Corte says as mobile credentials become increasingly present in wireless access, technology will continue rising in popularity.
“Wireless access offers an easy, affordable way to extend access control deeper into a facility and to more applications,” Corte says. “With the increased mobile capabilities and virtually the same functionality as wired access control, you get all the benefits you know and love about wired access control with even more flexibility.”
While many integrators are hesitant to use wireless access control, it is actually easier to install than wired access solutions, once you know what you are doing.
“In general, wireless access products are inherently easier to install as opposed to their hardwired counterparts since no wires are needed,” Telljohann says. “It can save [integrators] hours a day since they don’t have to run any cables.”
Despina Stamatelos, product marketing manager, Genetec, Montreal, says after seeing pushback from integrators over the years, the cost has decreased significantly.
“The locks themselves are still more expensive than a wired lock, but then look at the total cost of wiring,” Stamatelos says. “Look at the total cost of ownership.”
Plus, for integrators there is more money to be made due to the increased number of possible installations in a single building.
“The biggest advantage of the wireless locks is the price point to the customer versus a traditional wired access point,” says Brendan Cavanaugh, senior account manager, CGL Electronic Security, Westwood, Mass. “The front door of the building is likely going to be hardwired, but where wireless becomes an advantage to us as integrators is multiplying the number of doors we are touching for a customer — say a storage closet door that in the past a customer wouldn’t spend money putting access control on — and the wireless changes things so that can make sense for them. Now we’re touching more doors for the customer.”
These decreased costs have already aided the adoption rate.
“I’ve seen some lower cost models from suppliers, which helps to increase the adoption rate,” says Rick Focke, senior product manager, Johnson Controls, Milwaukee. “The locks are getting easier to configure — more out-of-the-box settings are there. [Integrators] are getting more comfortable, but [adoption] is not an overnight thing — it’s an evolution.”
Improved Wi-Fi connectivity has also turned many integrators into believers.
“You have less downtime, while with the older Wi-Fi, you’d have a lot of offline issues,” Rymer says. “Making that more stable not only makes it more usable for the customer, but then there are fewer service calls for us to go out and reconnect the locks.”
Wireless access also lessens cybersecurity concerns.
“Wireless in the security industry has been secure longer than wired has,” says Tony Diodato, founder and chief technology officer of Cypress Integration Solutions, Lapeer, Mich. “When used with SIA’s OSDP protocol, not only does it offer excellent encryption and authentication, but there are a host of other benefits, which we are working to incorporate into our products.”
Corte of ASSA ABLOY agrees that integrators have no reason to worry.
“One common question is whether there is any risk with transmitting data wirelessly; however, there has been a tremendous effort to protect against such dangers,” Corte says. “Wireless electronic access control technology is highly secure, and capable of using AES 128- or 256-bit encryption for the protection of data based on user needs.”
The range of wireless access solutions has also improved in recent years.
“One [of the biggest advancements in the past few years] would be the range between the pin and the gateway to the actual lock itself,” says integrator Rex Accavallo, CEO of The Royal Group, Rutland, Vt. “When they first came out, the range for wireless locks was very short, so being able to have a longer range makes it less expensive for the customer, and easier to design. Plus, the locks now function in offline modes, so if the network goes down at the customer site, the locks maintain the ability to read pins.”
COVID-19 Use Cases Increase
The COVID-19 pandemic has only sped up all of these improvements.
“COVID-19 has underscored the lack of resilience in many building operations including access control,” Bajaj says. “Though there was already a shift in the industry to move towards touchless access control, the pandemic has aggressively fueled the expedition of that shift. We are going to see a rise in Bluetooth-enabled and near-field communication (NFC) technology that gives users frictionless access to buildings on top of the utilization of mobile credentials through cloud-based systems. This creates a healthier inside for occupants, a better experience all around for users and ease and scalability for facility managers.”
There are other features that make wireless access an appealing technology in the post-pandemic world, Corte says. “Most recently, with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing that creative use of this existing infrastructure can also improve safety by managing traffic flow, limiting the number of people in a given area and allowing you to quickly change how a particular space is used. It can also support contact tracing and allow you to restrict access to areas if decontamination is required.”
According to Jonathan Lach, vice president of sales at Paxton Access, Greenville, S.C., all integrators should be talking to their clients about how these different use cases can help them through the pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly influenced how we use access control,” Lach says. “We all need to take an active part in using access control to help make buildings and sites, big and small, more COVID-secure.”
If end users aren’t finding new use cases for their wireless access solutions that cater to the pandemic, they aren’t using the products to their full potential, according to Sheeladitya Karmakar, senior offering management lead, Honeywell Building Technologies, Atlanta.
“In our new normal, it’s important for customers to leverage their building systems to their full potential,” Karmakar says. “So, while many are using their access control systems from a security perspective, the system can also be leveraged to support contact tracing and other safety efforts. When used with exit readers, occupancy tracking will continue to be important as people continue to return to the space.”
And future advancements of wireless solutions will likely continue to cater to the new normal.
“The pandemic has had such an enormous impact on the world that the biggest advancements have, by necessity, been focused on helping organizations mitigate its effects,” says Stephen Carney, vice president of product marketing, physical access control solutions, HID Global, Austin, Texas. “The same pioneering wireless access innovations that have made organizations confident in the security of their facilities and assets are now also giving people the confidence that they are safe at work and on school campuses.”
Room to Improve
While wireless access control is growing in popularity, integrators still have their qualms about the technology.
“Hardwired access control is always considered first, before using wireless,” says Byrnes of TKS Security. “In my experience, some integrators are well-versed in wireless access control solutions while others may not even know that these solutions exist.”
According to Cavanaugh of CGL, while interoperability between devices is improving, issues can arise when integrating wireless access products from different manufacturers advancing at different rates.
“The manufacturer of the lock may certify it with a certain version of the software, but once that next version comes along, you sometimes see a breakdown in that compatibility,” Cavanaugh says. “So the challenge becomes being able to continually and regularly update the software and be confident that you aren’t going to break the integration between the wireless lock hardware and that system.”
Like with any technology, not everyone is going to jump on the wireless bandwagon at once. But over time, it could become the norm.
“If you look at video, nobody wanted to touch IP when it first came out, and look at where we are now,” says dormakaba’s McNulty. “There are always going to be people that fight it until the end; but as we keep going and the tech continues to evolve, we can fight back the reluctances of people to try it.”


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The i-TRIL is an electric three-seater.
A brand-new Toyota concept car named i-TRIL will break cover in a few weeks' time at the Geneva Auto Show.
The i-TRIL was developed jointly by Toyota's European division and its design center in Nice, France. We can tell it features an X-shaped signature lighting up front, but its styling is being kept under wraps for the time being.
Toyota explains its latest concept is equipped with the Active Lean technology that debuted a couple of years ago on the diminutive i-ROAD. The model is all electric, and it offers space for up to three passengers. It's not a car, however; instead, it's billed as a new form of mobility that can replace economy hatchbacks -- like Toyota's own Yaris and Aygo models -- and motorcycles in crowded urban centers.
The i-TRIL will be the exception to the rule, because Toyota's display in Geneva will put a big focus on performance. The rally-inspired, 210-horsepower Yaris GRMN will make its world debut at the show, and attendees will get to check out several race cars including the hot-rodded Yaris that spearheaded the brand's return to WRC, and the heavily-modified Hilux that tackled the grueling Dakar Rally last month.
Finally, the comprehensively updated 2017 Yaris will greet the show-going public in Geneva. Stay tuned for live images starting on March 7.


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There is a fear that the not-so-distant future may be waterless. This acute shortage may have inspired something in the design of the WaterDrop, a conceptual solar-powered drop. The idea has been conceptualized by Ap Verheggen. The WaterDrop employs condensation to create water out of air by leveraging sunlight, which is commonplace in most ‘warm’ regions. “If temperatures rise, the air contains more water,” Ap said. “Normally, higher temperatures also mean more sunshine. So, why not focus on harvesting water out of the air, powered only by renewable solar energy? In this way drinking water and water for agriculture become available in most dry parts of the planet.”
Some folks love being left alone. Wait a minute. It isn’t some. In fact that vast majority of this planet could do with some solitary peace and quiet. It’s the places we seek this refuge that differs. For instance, when Kevin Miller sent his drone soaring up a wind turbine, the last thing he expected to find was one search peace-seeker dozing comfortably on the top of it. But that’s what luck had in store for him. The video has surely hit the viral wave and now we’re wondering how often the man did this and how did he get up there (that’s something most of us want to know).
Hybrids are arriving in drones and we’re happy that they’re getting more efficient and stylish. The pinnacle of this inflow is the GinzVelo human-electric hybrid vehicle. Built to accommodate one person, the vehicle is powered by a 500 W electric engine that is capable of supercharging your pedal power to an impressive 30 miles per hour! And that’s not all. A single charge can take the GinzVelo to a distance of 100 miles. With performance comes great style. The outer shell is a protective one that shields the occupants from weather conditions. The three-wheeled vehicle comes with headlights, turn signals and brake lights.
Brad Sewell and Raul Molina are former Apple engineers who have started Campaign, a green furniture line based out of San Francisco Bay Area. Their first offerings include a loveseat, a chair and a couch. Their effort is to create furniture that is good to look at while being sustainable. All of this, made available through an affordable pricing. The company’s vertically-integrated manufacturing process reduces waste. Even the parts used are sturdy, durable and eco-friendly. Being ultra-durable the furniture can be shipped using regular parcel post. Brad Sewell and Raul Molina are the brains behind this initiative that may aspire for IKEA-level dreams.
Fashion brand Hennes & Mauritz, more popularly known as H&M, may be the world’s second largest garment manufacturer but they’re soon to make a name for themselves among the eco-friendly. The brand is promoting recycling of garments after critics pointed out that the damage being caused by a throwaway culture has been the key influencer in rising clothing sales. The Swedish giant is now launching a line of jeans that contain recycled cotton, in the coming week. The company is also allocating a million Euros as prize money for those who come up with innovative means to innovate and recycle clothing. “No company, fast-fashion or not, can continue exactly like today,” said CEO, Karl-Johan Persson. “The largest potential (of this endeavor) lies with finding new technology that means we can recycle the fibres with unchanged quality.”
What better replacement for a traffic-congested than a serene park with fountains and walkways? Mexico City will soon see the construction of an elevated promenade about the bustling 10-lane road that runs west to east, connecting Chapultepec Park to the city center. The elevation is said to be a treat for pedestrians by offering a beautifully constructed walking path, cafes and even fountains, all flanked by flora of every sort. The path will be named Cultural Corridor Chapultepec and it will give the 16th century street to some beautiful landscaping. Pedestrians can enjoy a walk without bring surrounded by traffic and pollution. Being elevated may even reduce the sound levels.
Taking your kid for a stroll would not necessarily be something you would really be stoked about. Not with the global pollution levels reaching new highs. The Air Shield Concept Baby Stroller is something that resolves the problem of polluted air reaching your child. The idea is fairly simple and inspired by a car that recirculates the air within the chamber rather than outside. This is made possible with a special-designed filter that keeps the air void of any impurity or grime that may be harmful for your baby to breathe in. The glass lid also doubles up as a UV ray shield. A speaker within the chamber enables parents to communicate with their child via a speaker. It also comes with a muting feature.
The Tesla Model S has by itself created a category of highly efficient electric vehicles. Among those who have stacked up their offerings to rival Tesla’s claim are the good folk from Aston Martin. The Rapide sedan will soon see an electric version of itself with an impressive 800 horsepower engine, which seemingly overtakes the Model S’ 763 horsepower counterpart. What’s more is that the electric Rapide will offer a drive range of 200 miles, making it a practical and competitive offering in the electric car market. What we project is a car that will be more powerful than the Tesla S and also one that scores better on the luxury scoreboard.
Cochin International Airport in southern India has just become the world’s first airport to be completely powered by solar energy. The airport was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of the state and houses a 12 MWp solar plant. The government has invested 45 acres of land near the cargo complex to install 46,150 solar panels, which will empower the airport with 50,000 to 60,000 units of electricity per day. As per our source, ‘a total of 400 polycrystalline modules of 250Wp with five numbers of 20kW capacity ‘Refu-sol make string inverters’ were used in this plant. It is a grid connected system without any battery storage’. The plants are equipped with a SCADA remote monitoring system.
The “Going Green” initiative has been in existence for quite some time now, and it is finally starting to spark the interest of top industries. Big businesses are starting to consider the environment in their actions and taking necessary steps to curb their footprint. This long overdue consideration for the environment will go a long way in creating a sustainable future and making the world a cleaner place to live. Below are the top industries that are going Green.


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First off, a confession: I’m not a huge football fan. Being Canadian however, I love to both play and watch hockey. So on some level, I do understand the primal urge to sit around the big screen, partaking in a shared social experience, beer in hand, tossing back munchies and cheering for the favored team. And that is exactly what millions of football fans will be doing next Sunday afternoon, as the sports premiere annual event, the Super Bowl, takes place.
It could be argued however, that increasingly the Super Bowl is less about football, and more about the half time show, and the advertising that runs during the big game. With an average of $3.7 million per 30 second spot being spent this year, the battle for eye balls, and the wallet that accompanies them, has hit a high mark. The usual suspects such as Pepsi, Coke, Bud Light, Century 21, Go Daddy, Audi, Toyota, Axe, and Volkswagon, all big national brands, have returned. See a sneak preview of some of them here:
But it is the premiere appearance of RIM and the launch of the BlackBerry 10 that has caught my attention. The 30-second spot was created by London-based creative agency AMV BBDO.
“A Super Bowl commercial is a great opportunity to show the redesigned, re-engineered and reinvented BlackBerry to tens of millions of consumers on the largest advertising stage of the year,” RIM CMO Frank Boulben said in a statement.
Of course, like most Super Bowl spots, a social-media campaign is slated to run alongside the commercial using Twitter and Facebook throughout the game. Selective leaks on Youtube pre-game are likely. And they can count on an even larger audience realized through Youtube and social media as winning creative gets viewed again and again, and both discussed and shared online after the game. Or let’s hope, for the sake of our good old Canadian home team company RIM, that that is what actually happens. RIM risks having come to the party about a year late with their Black Berry 10, having lost customers to Apple and Samsung, as business and their IT departments (RIM’s traditional core market) increasingly have allowed employees to bring their own devices to work. This is a big stakes play for RIM on the world’s largest advertising stage. Let the circus (or should I say game?) begin!
Update: January 30th – news coverage of the release: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2013/01/29/business-rim-blackberry.html


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The lights are on
The latest trailer for Earth Defense Force 2025 is straight gameplay. You will see shooting, motorcycle riding, shooting, gigantic robots, more shooting, bugs, and shooting.
EDF 2025 is coming to Japanese PlayStation 3s and Xbox 360s this summer. D3Publisher is promising the game for North America this year, but we don't know exactly when.
Email the author Kyle Hilliard, or follow on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and Game Informer.


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- Farmers shut out of online services by new identity scheme
- Facebook says you can be social and secure, acquires .onion address for Tor users
- Swedish hacker finds 'serious' vulnerability in OS X Yosemite
- Court rules cops can demand fingerprints, not passcodes, to unlock smartphones
- Twitter's MoPub ad exchange grabs Verizon tracking cookies, and more may follow
kaching - News, Features, and Slideshows
kaching in pictures
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has beefed up its mobile wallet offering with three additions to the app, including one that enables consumers to withdraw cash using their smartphones from 3,000 of the bank’s ATMs.
Customer demand for secure mobile banking has led the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) to start investigating the development of privacy technologies to be built into its products and services.
Commonwealth Bank has launched the Facebook version of its payment app Kaching.
The Commonwealth Bank has released a redesigned version of its free Kaching digital wallet app for Android handsets.
Commonwealth Bank revealed a slew of tech announcements today, including Facebook payments, a redesigned Kaching app for Android devices and new business banking products.


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The future of the West Jordan economyApr 12, 2021 10:34AM ● By Erin Dixon
Part of West Jordan’s economic future means working with companies to bring them to West Jordan. Pictured here is the grand opening of the Smith and Edwards in August 2017. (File photo City Journals)
By Erin Dixon | [email protected]
Several months ago, City Journals highlighted the new city economic development director, Chris Pengra.
What is his plan moving forward?
“We know there are roughly 600 acres, much of which will be industrial and commercial,” Pengra said. “[With the rest of the 1500 acres] there are a lot of opportunities.”
What is the city’s responsibility when it comes to business?
“At any given time we are networking with people, like retail establishments, we want to have in our city, to let them know what properties we have available in West Jordan,” he said. “We tend to focus most of our time on retailers that we think are going to offer some unique value to the community.”
To keep businesses that are already here, city leaders will help them maintain stability by shortening the supply chain.
“When we do surveys with those businesses [that are already in our city] we say, ‘Who are your suppliers that you wish were closer?’” Pengra said. “I’m going to have more direct contact with our larger businesses because of their larger impact on our economy.”
What about small business?
“There are far more small businesses, so we tend to communicate with them through surveys and email, though we do have some direct interactions with them,” he said.
What are some business projects in progress? City officials are working with retailers and state leaders to bring some more business to the city, which ultimately helps with tax revenue and job opportunities. Some of Pengra’s ideas are a state liquor store, entertainment venues, recreational sports, a furniture retailer and truck stops.
What about tying West Jordan to the Inland Port?
“The inland port is the authority on logistics movement in the state of Utah and how goods are being distributed in Utah and in the West,” Pengra said. “We’re interested in bringing in higher-value manufacturing opportunities into West Jordan and making sure we have clear paths to transport those goods to and from the inland port.”
What isn’t the city’s responsibility?
“It’s not the city's responsibility to go out and find people to fill those [smaller] store fronts,” he said. “Usually the property owner will work with a broker, and the broker will try and fill those storefronts. That doesn't mean that we can’t help or we won’t. In some instances, we do want to bring in a specific retail establishment, something we feel is going to add value beyond what otherwise might come in.”


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As beverage manufacturers strive to unlock the power and potential of secondary packaging, they have a plethora of options from which to choose, including shrink-wrap, paperboard and corrugated packaging.
How a beverage is packaged and deciding the type of packaging material — glass, aluminum or plastic — is a critical part of the equation for beverage-makers. Among the factors that should be considered is sustainability, smaller packaging sizes, and lightweighting.
Bottled water packaging accounts for 55% of collected PET plastic in curbside systems
April 22, 2020
As the country observes Earth Day, the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), Alexandria, Va., is encouraging the public to take action to reduce waste and litter by stepping up their commitment to always recycle all recyclable consumer packaging.
With brands competing to establish a foothold and capture consumer loyalty, beverage manufacturers utilize packaging as their first means of standing apart from competitors and reaching consumers. As such, brands are approaching packaging design with more mindful regard to function, visual excellence, environmental impact and brand integrity.
In its 2019 Retail and Sustainability Survey, New York-based CGS, a global provider of business applications, enterprise learning and outsourcing services, noted that more than two-thirds of the 1,000 Americans surveyed consider sustainability when purchasing products.
Shrink films protect ingredient efficacy and provide longer shelf life
February 11, 2020
Experts note that various trends are facilitating an increase in usage of stretch and shrink labels, including proliferation of functional beverages, sugar reductions, natural ingredients as well as ingredient transparency.
Beverage Industry’s August issue, discover how craft spirits are embracing “local” and innovation in our cover story. Up next, get insights into how the pandemic has ended up benefiting the club store channel, and impacted beverage research and development by spurning importance of immune-boosting ingredients. Among the latest in new products and packaging, get an exclusive look into citrus ingredients, energy drinks, and how technology and sustainability trends are driving beverage manufacturing and innovation.


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After a historic rally of 1,000% over the past year, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) has hit a bump in the road.
You see, S&P Dow Jones Indices rebalances its indexes every quarter. A company needs to meet specific qualifications to be considered, including four consecutive quarters of profitability. So, investors eagerly await to see what stocks get added and removed when this time rolls around.
And many expected Tesla to be listed on the list of new stocks being added to the S&P 500 - so imagine the panic when Tesla didn't make the cut.
The decision not to add the stock to the S&P 500 surprised the entire market, especially those waiting for weeks on this decision, excited after Tesla reported a second-quarter profit in July. Tesla had ticked off many of the requirements needed to be considered for this index.
Tesla is now among the top 15 largest companies in the United States when measured by market capitalization - sitting at $320 billion. This makes the electric car marker the size of long-standing giants like Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA). And at one point, Tesla grew to be the seventh-largest company in the United States.
But size isn't all that matters when it comes to the S&P 500.
Unlike other benchmarks, the S&P 500 isn't driven by a strict set of rules or qualifications. Instead, the benchmark relies on a committee to decide what gets added and removed. Ultimately, Tesla didn't satisfy the S&P 500 committee.
And this snub didn't bode well for the electric car maker's stock. Tesla shares were down 19% in early trading Tuesday, wiping out more than $70 billion in market value.
Where's the Money?
Tesla has certainly had an impressive year, so the snub by the S&P 500 came as quite a surprise.
Investors seem to be taking profits on the stock after an incredible 1,000% rally over the last year. Even after the stock's sell-off over the last week, shares are still up over 690%.
While I know this growth potential and lower price tag might be enticing to buy in, I'm here to tell you that I don't believe this downward spiral is over.
Not even close.
In fact, I believe that the automaker could sell off to the $230 level. And if the market is weak (like we've seen over the last few days), investors will be looking to sell the stock more.
And that's precisely why I'm currently not looking to add TSLA to my lineup.
Instead, I am turning to a company presenting definite growth plans with strategic partnerships and concepts... a company that's been making some great business decisions lately and is painting a bright future for itself.
The company: General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM).
A Better Buy Than Tesla
One reason I really like General Motors right now is that it has officially teamed up with another electric carmaker, Nikola Corp. (NASDAQ: NKLA), to work on the Nikola Badger, a fully electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric pickup truck.
The partnership gives General Motors an 11% stake in the startup, receiving $2 billion in equity and the right to nominate one director to Nikola's board.
General Motors already has electric pickups and SUVS nearing production, so the Badger truck will share most of its engineering with those vehicles. Nikola is hoping to have the Badger on the market by 2022.
This is indeed a strategic partnership for both companies, guaranteeing that General Motors will remain ahead of the curve for electric car technology, and garnering Nikola massive media attention. Bottom line, it's a win for all involved.
So I'm giving you the green light to buy GM right now. I'll be keeping a close eye on Nikola's development. As soon as a profit opportunity develops, you'll be the first to know.
My research into GM and Nikola is just the latest example of how some of the biggest profit potential continues to fly under the radar.
By applying the algorithms used in my S.C.A.N. trading system, I'm able to cut the best plays from the herd and tell my Project 303 readers exactly when to strike...
Today's your chance to get on board before I announce our next pick.


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Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Secretary Katie Theoharides said Thursday that state regulators are still involved in “an ongoing process” of modifying state rules governing hemp.
“Right now, we are hearing from farmers, taking feedback on the policy we put out,” Theoharides said in a meeting with editors and reporters of The Republican / MassLive. “We will be continuing to work with them moving forward to make sure our policies make sense.”
While Massachusetts legalized the growing of hemp alongside marijuana legalization in 2016, and the federal government legalized it last year, farmers have been hampered by a series of other obstacles.
The latest one involves restrictive guidelines published by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources banning the sale of CBD-infused food, hemp flower meant for smoking, and several other products.
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is part of the cannabis plant that is thought to produce relaxation, but cannot get someone high. It is the most lucrative part of the hemp market.
Potential hemp farmers have complained about the regulations and formed a coalition to lobby on behalf of hemp producers.
Theoharides reiterated the department’s position that it is relying on federal rules from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which prohibit adding CBD to food.
“Our staff’s been working very hard to align our new state rules with federal laws and regulations, and to go through this in a slow deliberate way so that we’re creating policy that makes sense,” Theoharides said. “There was a recent ruling from the FDA requiring or stating that CBD can’t be mixed with food, and so I think that’s the recent policy response to that.”
A bill pending in the Legislature, sponsored by Rep. Mark Cusack, D-Braintree, HD4339, would explicitly allow the use and sale of CBD in food and other products.


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Laptops on the move
The recent release of Intel’s Centrino platform is the latest step towards a day when all corporate notebooks are rolled out with wireless capability, according to the Meta Group. In fact, the market analyst predicts 95 per cent will have built-in Wi-Fi by 2005. “Most corporate laptops will move towards the Centrino platform during the next year,” vice-president of infrastructure strategies for Meta, Steve Kleynhans, said. Teleworking and other forms of mobile computing would become increasingly common, affecting the use of PDAs, phones, ADSL and wireless networks, lifestyle devices and other business applications, he said.
BlackBerry the choice
Telstra has listed legal firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Deutsche Bank, GSA Group and underwriters Wesfarmers Federation Insurance as large corporate customers that have successfully implemented its BlackBerry wireless email solution. Offered over its GSM and GPRS wireless network, BlackBerry includes integrated email, phone, SMS and organiser features. Telstra has also announced international roaming capabilities for Hong Kong and Singapore, with expansions for Europe and the US due later this year. It claims BlackBerry has been deployed in more than 14,000 North American and European companies.
TI develops 3-in-1 PDA
Texas Instruments (TI) has developed a concept design for a PDA that features three wireless technologies. Meant as a guideline for PDA manufacturers, the concept design incorporates chips for Bluetooth, 802.11b and tri-band GSM/GPRS (Global System for Mobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service) wireless networks. TI codenamed the design WANDA (wireless any network digital assistant). TI is using its own single-chip Bluetooth technology, and multichip packages for the 802.11b and GSM/GPRS networks.


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Shoppers who use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, also known as food stamps, to pay for groceries will have a new delivery option come 2024, Uber Eats announced last week.
Following in the footsteps of Instacart, a competing grocery delivery service that recently became the first online marketplace of its kind to accept payment via public assistance programs, Uber Eats will offer SNAP recipients the ability to use their benefits to order groceries online through the app starting next year.
Instacart accepting SNAP: Instacart now accepting SNAP benefits for online shopping in all 50 states
“We know that online food delivery can have a meaningful impact in reducing barriers to fresh groceries, especially for the most vulnerable–including people living in food deserts, seniors, and those facing disabilities or transportation barriers,” the company said in a press release. “Helping to improve access to quality food is incredibly important to our work…”
When will Uber Eats begin accepting food stamps?
While Uber has yet to reveal a specific plan for rollout, Instacart originally announced the option in 2020 and launched it in select markets before rolling out to all 50 states last month. Online acceptance is now available across 10,000 stores from over 120 retail banners nationwide, reaching nearly 95% of U.S. households enrolled in SNAP.
How many people are enrolled in SNAP?
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 42 million people currently participate in SNAP, accounting for over 22 million American households as of Sept. 8, 2023. Despite this, poor nutrition remains one of the leading causes of illness in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Studies, including one from the University of Kentucky, found that SNAP participants benefit from access to online grocery shopping, including greater ability to plan ahead to save money and avoid the stigma that comes with using an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card in store.
The University of Kentucky study mentioned specifically shoppers with mobility issues, lack of access to transportation and new parents or families with young children, especially those without access to childcare, as examples of people who most benefit from the resource.
Likewise, the study found that people who purchase their groceries digitally buy more fruits and vegetables than those who shop in person.
Uber Eats plans to accept FSA Cards, waiver payments
The release also notes that Uber is working towards the goal of accepting FSA Cards, Flex Cards, and relevant waiver payments.


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Ever wondered how The Pokemon Company HQ looks like?
Today Junichi Masuda shared a photo of what looks like the entrance to The Pokemon Company’s HQ in Tokyo. The corridor is lined up with the latest Pokemon Center merchandise the company has manufactured. It’ll make any Pokemon fan squirm!
And if you were wondering what Masuda was doing there, he turned up to work at The Pokemon Company as Game Freak has a say in the Pokemon brand. No one knows for sure what he exactly did… though.