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By now most of you have heard the news on Wen hair care products resulting in hair loss. For those of you that haven’t, more than 21,000 complaints have been reported. This is the the largest number of reports ever associated with a hair cleansing product. Two hundred people have joined a class-action lawsuit against hair care brand WEN by Chaz Dean and its parent company, Guthy-Renker, claiming the brand’s popular products contributed to their extreme hair lossMaybe now consumers will become more educated on the beauty industry and their so called safety standards.
The federal law designed to ensure that personal care products — a category that includes hair care products — are safe has remained largely unchanged since 1938. The FDA does not require safety testing of personal care products before they are put on the shelf. How messed up is that?
When a product says its natural and organic look further into the ingredients listed.
It’s no surprise then that products like WEN can create an avalanche of adverse health complaints from thousands of people. This is yet another example of how desperately our federal cosmetic regulations need to be reformed.
If you’re unsure about a certain beauty product there are some great websites out there to help you research the safety and effectiveness of their ingredients. One of them is http://www.safecosmetics.org and http://www.ewg.org


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The Revolution Will Not Be Advertised
Happy birthday to Pandora, who turns 10 this week, according to TechCrunch. The service has had a spotty history, but has survived through the ever changing market. To celebrate, Pandora are treating their U.S. users, of which there are 175 million registered, a day of ad-free listening.
What is interesting is the placing of ad-free being a reward. Pandora customers are, broadly, the Middle. They are supposed to be the listeners who don’t mind the odd mainstream radio advertising. But someone has realised that even that audience could be enticed with something ad-free.
Talking to my students and others much younger than me, they (broadly) don’t mind ads, especially if it saves them money. But no one loves them, and it seems we are tapping into that ‘ad-free’ sentiment more and more. Is it enough to differentiate all these services?
How important will the ‘ad-free‘ message be in the new world? Advertising online is baked into the business of the biggest companies in the world – Google, Facebook and all their mates. Traditional advertising opportunities disappear and online advertising gets cleverer.
Netflix are making No Commercials a part of their new marketing campaign. YouTube is working on paid channels. Apple Music launched with no free, ad supported tier. The irony is those no commercial Netflix ads are playing as pre-rolls on YouTube. Advertising, online, is not only effective, it is going to be the only trick we have left.
We are placing the ad supported model into the uncool bin. And so many of these companies and services are desperate to play the cool card. Like the bloke who brags about his soundsystem, will some bloke be turning to his friend and saying – hear that? No ads between songs.

domain: news


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Thursday. It’s a birthday for Mickey Mouse.
No cashiers in Starbucks? I know it’s hard to get help but don’t just throw in the towel and get rid of all the humans. I’m usually a fan of new, cutting edge lifestyle technology. But this seems wrong. (Also, probably, unfortunately, the future.)
Well, the legislature wouldn’t let the governor spend the $4 billion dollars in federal relief funds that the state had received. They wanted to decide for themselves how it would be spent. But now, of course, they can’t decide. And they’re going on their holiday break. Matt Murphy and Sam Doran report.
The folks at Facebook claim that mainstream news sites are the most popular source of information on its platform. Anyone who has scrolled through the viral feculence on the blue app would suspect that this just isn’t true. The Markup collected data that would confirm those suspicions.
Now, if you break your iPhone, you can order the parts from Apple and fix it yourself. It’s being billed as a breakthrough for consumer rights. Picture your beautiful smart phone laid out in many, many pieces on the kitchen table while you search for a microscopic torx screw that somehow went missing. I’m pretty sure most people are going to opt to bring the phone in to Apple and have them fix it.


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The Street Fair always means big business for vendorsFargo, ND (WDAY TV)-- Tens of thousands of people pile into Broadway in downtown Fargo this weekend for the Street Fair.
Fargo, ND (WDAY TV)-- Tens of thousands of people pile into Broadway in downtown Fargo this weekend for the Street Fair.
It always means big business for vendors, but what about the year round businesses?
Here at Spicy Pie, the massive crowds are welcome.
Jared Puttbrese- Manager at Spicy Pie: "On a normal day we get a busy lunch rush for a couple 2 to 3 hours, on these days all day long."
About 20% more product has to be ordered in preparation for the event.
Jared: "If I'm ordering like 8 cases of flour, I'm ordering like 12 or 14 cases of flour."
And in terms of business it doubles.
Jared: "We don't really have any stores at the moment at the South end, so people come down for the street fair, it's a lot of those people that would like to eat at Spicy Pie here, gives them the chance to try our food and come back later."
Spicy Pie isn't the only spot seeing a bump in business during the downtown street fair, here at Proper and Prim, dresses and accessories are flying off the shelf.
Teresa O'Day- Owner at Proper & Prim: "This weekend is one of the busiest weekends for us in the year."
Owner Teresa O'Day takes full advantage of the massive crowds.
Teresa: "We really enjoy the extra business and we stay open late and that probably makes a difference too, we stay open for the street fair hours, open early, close late."
With all of the extra sales, and extended hours, O'day says there's one thing that might be the biggest draw in.
Teresa: "We always keep our ac on, try to keep it cool in here so people can come in and cool off, sit down for a minute if they need to and take a look around the shops."
Both businesses say the busiest day during the street fair is typically Friday.


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|Google+ Traffic Slows After Public LaunchFrom Mashable.com
Traffic to Google+ spiked 1,200% in the first few days following its public launch Sept. 20, but has since declined 60%, according to a report from a data analytics company.
As an early adopter of Google+, I would say that it is too restrictive and impersonal. The circles system makes it difficult to reach out for networking purposes, in which case people will fall back to LinkedIn and the fact that all information is public makes it too impersonal, giving it no shot against the mundane daily updates we've all come to expect from our Facebook friends.
|AT&T is working on an app that will allow users to toggle between personal and work mode on their Android smartphones and tablets.From Electronista.com
The fact that we have a "personal mode" that involves smartphones and tablets means we're doing something wrong. Check out this blog post for a cheaper fix!
|Roku Introduces The $49.99 Roku LT Streamer, Adds HBO GO To Channel Offerings From Techcrunch.com
The Roku LT is for the budget-minded consumer, priced at just $49.99. With built-in wireless, the Roku LT streams video in 720p and has access to all of Roku’s 300+ channels including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, Pandora, EPIX, Crackle, and Disney.
Roku is a competitor for AppleTV, giving you access to on-demand shows and movies from the above-listed channels and the growing-ever-cooler HBO GO.
Don't think you care? You will. According to media forecasting firm Magnaglobal, households without cable will triple in five years as people move to more on-demand and online content. Guess we're all just a little sick of the song and dance of reality TV saturation!


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McDonald's will have its networks certified as Enterprise Ready by iPass: Now the ostensible purpose of this announcement is that McDonald's restaurants with Wi-Fi access will be available to customers on the iPass collective network, which comprises over 2,000 hotspots and 400,000 users across the companies they serve.
But read a little closer and you find that the three networks that McDonald's currently uses to run its Wi-Fi service -- Wayport, Cometa, and Toshiba -- are either already certified or soon to be. So what's the news here?
Two pieces of news, really. First, McDonald's is making a corporate-level commitment to iPass, which means that even if they use other networks, they'll ostensibly make sure that other operators are or will be certified. Second, McDonald's gave iPass permission to use its name in a press release, which can't hurt on the credibility side. A little extra news at the end notes that McDonald's in China will also become iPass Enterprise Ready.
Because all iPass customers have a directory of hotspots that they are really required to use if they are to use hotspots at all -- the software can be set to only allow access to hotspots on iPass's list -- this provides McDonald's with more of those business bodies they want.


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From Green Right Now Reports
U.S. sales of organic products, both food and non-food, reached $24.6 billion by the end of 2008, a 17.1 percent over 2007 sales, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) announced today. Organic food sales now account for approximately 3.5 percent of all food product sales in the United States.
The sales results were announced as part of the 2009 Organic Industry Survey, conducted by Lieberman Research Group on behalf of OTA. The survey measured the growth of U.S. sales of organic foods and beverages as well as non-food categories such as organic fibers, personal care products and pet foods during 2008.
Results show organic food sales grew in 2008 by 15.8 percent to reach $22.9 billion, while organic non-food sales grew by 39.4 percent to reach $1.648 billion — even as the overall economy was been losing ground.
“Organic products represent value to consumers, who have shown continued resilience in seeking out these products,” Christine Bushway, OTA’s executive director, said in a statement. “This marks another milestone for the organic food market.”
With tough economic times, the OTA says consumers have used various strategies in continuing to buy organic products. Because most stores now offer organic products, consumers have the opportunity to shop around, the OTA says. Increased use of coupons, the proliferation of private label brands, and value-positioned products offered by major organic brands all have contributed to increased sales.
MORE FROM GRN


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Live video-streaming site Ustream confirmed with us today that it’s being sued by boxing promotional company Square Ring for copyright infringement.
The suit specifically mentions an incident surrounding a March 21, 2009 boxing and mixed martial arts broadcast featuring Roy Jones Jr. vs. Omar Sheika. One Ring is seeking damages for what it alleges was an unauthorized rebroadcast of that event via Ustream. The boxing company is also claiming its trademark was used on Ustream prior to and during the event.
According to the complaint (embedded after the jump), Square Ring alleges that 2,377 viewers watched the March 21 pay-per-view event free of charge through Ustream.
When contacted for comment, Ustream sent us the following statement via email:
Ustream is serious about complying with the copyright laws and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and we’re aggressively taking short- and long-term steps to work with the content industry to meet their needs. We believe the Square Ring lawsuit does not have merit and that we’re fully protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Safe Harbor provisions.
Lawyers for Square Ring confirmed that a lawsuit has commenced, but would not provide any further comment.
Earlier this month, Ustream raised an additional $2 million in funding.


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Executive, HR - Fall Comes Quick For Papa John
The founder of the US pizza chain Papa John's has resigned as chairman of the company he built after it was revealed John Schnatter used the "N-word" during a conference call in May.
Kentucky-based Papa John's International made the announcement after a whirlwind of a day in which the company was threatened with the sort of bad publicity that might have been unsurvivable. The company will appoint a new chairman in "in the coming weeks".
Ironically, Schnatter used the most-vile insult to black people in a conversation about racial sensitivity with a public relations firm called "Laundry Service" that was hired to tamp down the bad publicity that surrounds the millionaire. Schnatter's contention was that fried chicken magnate Colonel Sanders "called blacks (the N-word)" and that he never faced criticism for it. Laundry Service severed its relationship with Papa John's.
When details of the conversation leaked out, reaction was swift and negative. The company's stock tumbled nearly five percent, and Papa John's market capitalization drops nearly US$84 Million on the day. The face of the company tried to deal with it himself.
"Regardless of the context, I apologize," Schnatter said in an apology earlier in the day. "Simply stated, racism has no place in our society."
That wasn't enough. The NAACP's Louisville branch calls on Schnatter to step down as a University of Louisville trustee, and by the end of the day he did so. Major League baseball cancelled a lucrative cross-promotion with the pizza company. The mayor of Schnatter's home town of Jefferson, Indiana ordered his name struck off of a community gym he helped pay to renovate. Schnatter's resignation came at the end of the business day.
But this wasn't the millionaire's first round with controversy. A few years back, he stepped on a live wire when he claimed he'd have to raise the price of pizza because of the passage of the US Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. The claim wasn't true and the price of his pizza didn't go up. He actively supported Republican Mitt Romney for President in 2012, and Donald Trump in 2016.
Earlier this year, Papa John's pizza sales were damaged by Schnatter's claim that people were ordering fewer pizzas because of NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem in protest of racial injustice. In fact, company execs admit was already facing pressure from food delivery outfits like Grubhub and Uber eats which compete with traditional pizza delivery. Two months after those comments, Schnatter reduced his role and stepped down as CEO, remaining as Chairman - now that's gone.


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Wood-fired pizza on the menu at Dundee’s Taypark House boutique hotel
Following their successful domed dining experiences, Dundee’s Taypark House has already started work on a new outdoor dining hut serving wood-fired pizzas.
With their dome more popular than ever and coronavirus restrictions lifted, owners William Salve and Glenn Roach expect a busy summer ahead.
As a result, the duo wanted to bring something new to the premises in time for the warmer weather that guests can enjoy outdoors.
They aim to create an outdoor space where customers can comfortably enjoy drinks and food.
Speaking to co-owner William Salve, he explained: “We are in the process of building an outdoor pizza oven for the summer.
“Our main objective is to eventually have a terrace with drinks available to customers.”
Located next to the outdoor gin bar, fresh pizza will be made to order from the hut. And customers can watch the chef prepare them.
Artificial grass will be placed in front of the cabana to create an area with tables and chairs for visitors to use.
It should be finished by the end of this month.
What’s on offer?
Although the menu is yet to be confirmed, William hinted at the types of pizzas that will be offered, including pepperoni and chicken options, as well as vegetarian alternatives, to give customers a choice.
All pizzas will be prepared on site from scratch using the chef’s own house recipes.
Investing in the £3-5,000 range, the outdoor cabana will be decorated with fairy lights and play music as food is served.
“We want to make it a more luxurious experience, so customers can sit outside and enjoy the music, the drinks, the pizzas and the nice weather as well,” William explained.
A teepee tent cover is also being installed to ensure that despite potential summer showers, guests can still enjoy the outdoor space.
There will also be the possibility of ordering pizzas to take away for those who wish to enjoy them elsewhere.
Will dining at the dome continue?
William also revealed that the popular dome dining experience will continue through the summer, however, the two experiences will remain separate.
The Dome restaurant has its own tasting menu and offers different food and drink options.
More food and drink…
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In card games, you play the hand you’re dealt. Maayan Segal wants that hand to be more diverse.
In the first version of Queeng, which was released three years ago and sold over 50,000 decks, king and queen cards became equal. Two of the standard four jacks became princesses, and Segal designed a female joker.
But people spoke out, saying that Segal’s cards weren’t fully inclusive.
“Though we got a lot of great feedback, we also heard from some supporters that our cards were not actually totally equal,” Segal wrote on her Indiegogo campaign page.
“I realized that a diversified representation of ethnicities wasn’t there, like it doesn’t exist. This doesn’t actually represent the people of the world as we really are, and if we are going to give kids these cards to hold in their hands and play with, don’t we want them to see an accurate depiction of the world?”
How the idea came to life
Segal first had the idea for Queeng while playing a card game with her family on vacation.
“Why is the queen card worth less than the king?” she asked her father.
The question stumped them both, and opened a bigger conversation about gender equality – one that Segal’s father didn’t shy away from.
“When my daughter began to have questions about not only gender equality but also when we were playing card games as a family, the importance of educating young kids that men and women are equally powerful was apparent,” Uri Segal, Maayan’s father and co-founder of Queeng, said in a statement.
“Instead of brushing it off and explaining it was just a game, I knew that it was actually so much more than that and it would be impactful to create something that would accurately represent gender and racial equality.”
The duo launched Queeng to this end, designing a deck that redistributed hierarchal value.
In Segal’s deck, “Monarch” cards – which can be male or female – replace the value of former king cards. “Dutchess” or “Duke” cards replace queen cards, and “Prince” or “Princess” cards replace jack cards.
The cards embrace diversity
Segal took feedback from her supporters to launch Queeng Playing Cards 2.0, now not only gender-equal, but racially and ethnically diverse.
“We went back to the drawing board and started from scratch,” Segal wrote. “We wanted to make a deck that truly represents our world and celebrates our beautiful range of cultures and appearances!”
The new deck includes hand-drawn cards that represent a range of skin tones and facial features, according to the statement.
Segal has also included both right- and left-handed decks in the project’s newest edition, which, after five days from its release, had already sold over 4,000 decks.
Segal wrote on her Indiegogo campaign page that supporting Queeng’s mission supports the idea that men and women, along with all races and ethnicities, are equal. Backers will also support a “kick-ass example of young entrepreneurship,” she wrote.


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PORTLAND, Ore. — A report by Internet compliance firms LegitScript and KnujOn has identified five Internet firms providing domain name registration services to so-called "rogue" Internet pharmacies that display fake pharmacy licenses or sell prescription drugs without a prescription.
LegitScript said this week that between December 2009 and April 2010, it and KnujOn provided 16 domain name registrars with evidence that their services were being abused by rogue online pharmacies. The evidence included letters from pharmacy licensing boards stating that the pharmacy licenses displayed on the web sites were forgeries and screen shots showing that the sites were selling prescription drugs like OxyContin or Viagra without a prescription.
According to the report, 11 of the registrars suspended services to the sites, but five others — eNom (DemandMedia), UK2Group, Moniker, CentroHost and Realtime Register — allowed some or all of the sites to continue using their paid services.
LegitScript is deemed by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy as the only independent online pharmacy verification program adhering to NABP standards. Knujon is a provider of online security solutions that specializes in thwarting e-mail-based threats, notably spam.
"We applaud Registrars like GoDaddy, SpiritDomains and Directi who acted swiftly to ensure that their registration services are not being used to facilitate criminal activity," LegitScript president John Horton said in a statement. "We urge eNom, UK2Group and CentroHost to explain why they are the only registrars that received evidence that these pharmacy licenses are forgeries but still allow these no-prescription-required web sites to use their paid services."
The report also criticizes Registrars eNom, Moniker and Realtime Register for allowing the continuing use of their services by web sites selling drugs like OxyContin, Xanax or "generic Viagra" without requiring a valid prescription.
LegitScript said the study focuses on an Internet drug ring called "EvaPharmacy" that consists of more than 8,000 online pharmacies that display fake pharmacy licenses, ostensibly from the United States and Canada. A test purchase from an eNom-registered EvaPharmacy site resulted in drugs that arrived from India without a prescription, according to LegitScript.
"Our research puts illicit pharmacy at the center of all cybercrime — spam, WHOIS fraud, malware and domain hijackings," commented Garth Bruen, president of KnujOn. "The dirty little secret about this kind of cybercrime is that it only exists because registrars tolerate it."
In March, Portland, Ore.-based LegitScript announced an alliance with SiteJabber.com, an online consumer protection service, to help consumers identify trustworthy prescription drug web sites and avoid fraudulent ones. At the time, LegitScript said it had classified over 35,000 prescription drug sites as "rogue" and approved more than 300 Internet pharmacies as legitimate.


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Chipmaker AMD says its chips have become 31.7 times more efficient in 6 years2 min read . Updated: 25 Jun 2020, 08:01 PM IST
While this clarifies that AMD has surpassed its goals by quite a bit, the announcement is more significant because of the timing
Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), today, announced that it has achieved a goal it set for itself six years ago. According to the company, the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H processor is 31.7 times more performance efficient as compared to the Kaveri FX-7600P from six years ago. The company has set itself a target in 2014, that it would achieve 25 times the performance efficiency in its processors by 2020.
While this clarifies that AMD has surpassed its goals by quite a bit, the announcement is more significant because of the timing. Over this week, Apple announced that it will be moving from x86 architecture-based processors from Intel to Advanced RISC Machines’ (ARM) 64-bit architecture. PC giant Microsoft has been doing the same, and had even designed an ARM-based chipset called the SQ1 in partnership with Qualcomm earlier.
Chipsets based on ARM have always been known for their efficiency, and are used in mobile devices because they draw less power than AMD and Intel’s processors, which are both based on x86 architectures. Apple’s announcement this week has raised questions about the future of companies like AMD and Intel in the PC industry.
The two companies though still provide more powerful processors than ARM-based chipsets and most powerful PC software require these processors to perform at their best. While companies like Adobe have made some such apps available on ARM-based systems, they still sport less than half of their full features.
Companies like Adobe have been working on ARM versions of their software, but it’s still unclear whether full versions of these software will ever be available for such chipsets. What ARM processors on PCs really achieve almost double the battery life on laptops right now, which is perhaps enough to compromise on the performance loss.
If companies like Intel and AMD can produce more efficient processors, while keeping true to their performance goals, they could remain relevant. In context of this announcement, Sam Naffziger, AMD Fellow, told AnandTech that ARM chipset designs are still to reach the same level of performance as AMD and Intel’s high end processors.
To be clear, AMD’s announcement today don’t mean its processors are as efficient as ARM. But it’s an indicator that companies like these are working towards that goal, perhaps taking note of ARM’s onslaught. Competitor Intel recently revealed its Lakefield processors, a hybrid CPU program that has been touted to be the company’s answer to ARM architectures. They use Intel’s Foveros 3D packaging technology to improve efficiency and reduce the size of the chip.


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This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food is advising beekeepers to separate red honey from natural honey in their hives and to report the colored product to state officials.
The advisory comes after the department received several complaints about the presence of the red honey occurring in bee hives located in areas of Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties.
Red honey likely stems from bees being fed a by-product from a candy cane factory.
Officials are investigating the safety of red honey, "but we have no reason to believe the product is unsafe," said department spokesman Larry Lewis.
The Division of Regulatory Services also is determining if the product is in violation of the Utah Honey Standard of Identity Act, which identifies honey as a product that originates from a floral source.
The Agriculture Department is advising Utah beekeepers to report any red honey in their hives to state Apiarist Dave Basinger (firstname.lastname@example.org).


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After Apple dumped Google Maps from iOS 6 in favor of its homegrown and epically bad iOS Maps, Google started working on a standalone version of Google Maps for iOS. On Monday a rumor circled the blog-o-sphere that Google is working on a standalone Google Maps app for iOS that will probably be ready by the end of the year; however, Google is “not optimistic” that Apple will approve Google Maps to appear on Apple App Store.
Being a rumor, it could very well be unfounded and inaccurate. So don’t start freaking out until we have news from official sources. However, what if Apple does indeed reject Google Map from appearing in the App Store. After all, history shows Apple has no issues with rejecting apps, no matter who the apps are from. Would rejecting Google Maps constitute anti-competitive behavior? Would (should) a rejection of Google Maps trigger legal action against Apple by watchdog agencies like the FTC and or EU Competition Commission?
For the answer to the first question, I am going to say a definite yes. I’m not sure what the legal definition is for “anti-competitive behavior” (I’m sure it varies from country to country anyway), nor am I a legal expert. However, simply looking at it from a pro-competition perspective, Apple denying a developer (in this case, Google) access to Apple App Store is essentially cutting them off from accessing the millions if iDevice owners. As a regulator of a platform used by millions of people, Apple has a duty to ensure fair developer access to iOS. Any rejection of an app based purely on the reasoning that Apple wants its customers to move away from Google products or that Apple wants people to use iOS Maps is, in my mind, the epitome of anti-competitive behavior.
The second question, the one about if rejection of Google Maps will or should trigger legal action against Apple, is a bit more tricky. As I said before, I’m no legal expert so I may be wrong; however, from what I remember from high school government classes, for an entity to be anti-competitive it needs to hold the majority marketshare in whatever is being discussed. As luck may have it, iOS actually is not the most popular mobile operating system — Android is, if you count smartphones and tablets in one bucket. (If broken down, Android dominates smartphones while iOS dominates tablets, but that tablet lead is quickly diminishing.) Because iOS does not hold the lion’s share of the mobile market, can Apple legally be considered anti-competitive for selectively allowing developer access to App Store? I’m not sure. Personally speaking, if Google can be held accountable for pushing its services over the competition on Google Search, and Microsoft must give users the choice of third-party browsers in Windows, then Apple should be forced to allow unbiased access to App Store. The issue, however, is the law doesn’t necessarily always make sense.
Alternatively, we could simply let all companies do what they wish with their respective platforms and domains. In fact, I’ve been mighty vocal how I think the EU is stupid for forcing Microsoft to display a browser choice screen in Windows. However, the issue at hand is we, as a global society, probably don’t want a return to laissez-faire economics.
What is everyone’s opinion on this matter? Let it rip in the comments below!


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Crypto Technicals: BCH/USD extends range trade below 5-DMA, resumption of weakness to see dip till 187 (Trendline)
Cryptocurrency Derivatives Series: Bakkt Becomes Pioneer To Introduce Regulated Bitcoin Option, Unveils Cash-Settled Futures Also
Crypto Technicals: BTC/USD shows bullish signs on intraday charts, break above 21-EMA will open upside
Digital Currency Revolution Series: A Glimpse At Global Central Banks’ Obsession of Own Digital Currencies
Digital Currency Revolution Series: ETH/USD Discounts Istanbul Hard-Fork, Bullish Prospects On The Cards
Cryptocurrency Derivatives Series: OKEx Provides One Step Access For All Types of Crypto-Derivatives Instruments
IRS actions sets ‘dangerous precedent’ for bitcoin companies: US Congress on IRS-Coinbase dispute
The members of the U.S. Congress have issued a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on the agency’s ongoing tussle with digital currency exchange Coinbase.
The IRS last year issued a John Doe summons to Coinbase requiring it to hand over the records of all its U.S.-based customers who conducted digital currency transactions between 2013 and 2015. The Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means noted that the agency issued the summons despite a lack of a comprehensive digital currency tax strategy.
“The summons is estimated to affect 500,000 active Coinbase customers and would result in the production of millions of pages of associated records, many of which contain personally identifiable information. However, 90 percent of these customers engaged in less than $10,000 in cumulative, gross transactions during the entire period requested”, the Committee added.
In an affidavit, IRS agent David Utzke stated in March that only a small number of users declare their profits or losses resulting from bitcoin or digital currency transactions in their yearly tax returns. The IRS in its investigation found that in 2013, 807 individuals reported a transaction on Form 8949 using a property description likely related to bitcoin; in 2014 and 2015, 893 and 802 individuals reported a transaction related to bitcoin respectively.
The Committee went on to say that the actions of the IRS, in this case, set a “dangerous precedent” for companies facilitating virtual currency transactions that could be subject to a similar summons.
“[W]e strongly question whether the IRS has actually established a reasonable basis to support the mass production of records for half of a million people, the vast majority of whom appear to not be conducting the volume of transactions needed to report them to the IRS. Based on the information before us, this summons seems overly broad, extremely burdensome, and highly intrusive to a large population of individuals”, it added.
In an update on the matter, Coinbase in March stated that it has not produced any records to the IRS under the summons. It said at the time that it will continue to work with the agency to assess the government’s willingness to fundamentally reconsider the focus and scope of the summons.
Tesla Cybertruck update: Is Elon Musk's futuristic pickup truck joining the 'Cyberpunk 2077' vehicle lineup?


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HINSDALE, Ill. -- Royal Buying Group, Inc. (RBG) announced its annual Independent C-Store Expo will be held on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007, at the Marriott Oak Brook Hotel, located at 1401 West 22nd Street, Oak Brook, Ill.
Educational seminars will begin at 1:00 pm with the doors to the trade show opening at 3:30 p.m. The trade show is scheduled to end at 8:30 p.m., the company reported.
This year's expo will feature trade show floor and meeting space, networking, and educational seminars on various topics intended to help all convenience store operators. Speakers will include nationally recognized industry experts, supplier representatives and a very special guest speaker that will be announced in the near future, according to the company.
An advisory board has also been assembled, consisting of current independent c-store industry veterans to help guide topics and content.
"Members and vendors alike have enjoyed the informal atmosphere, exchanging of business ideas and camaraderie between all involved in past years," said Angela Angelilli, director of sales at RBG. "This year's event is shaping up to be even bigger and better then ever."
The expo will also assist suppliers in receiving in-depth, first-hand learning and insight into a key segment of the c-store industry.
"The independent store operator comprises nearly two-thirds of the c-store universe but has been the hardest group for suppliers to reach economically," said Michael Zielinski, president of RBG.
Supplier and Member awards will be presented at the trade show, and RBG will also be announcing the winners of the fifth annual RBG Scholarship Program. RBG will present two scholarships to members and/or members' children attending or enrolling to attend an accredited secondary educational institution.
"The reception has proven to be an excellent format for introducing the new year's programs to our members and convey the benefits to prospective members," said Angelilli.
For information about the expo, and to register for this event, please visit www.i-c-expo.com.
A block of rooms have been reserved for out of town members and vendors wishing to attend the event. Please contact Sarah Sondag at (888) 728-3724, Ext. 10, or e-mail her at [email protected] for more information and/or room reservations.
For vendors wishing to exhibit at the show, please contact Christine Brown, director of vendors, at (888) 728-3724 x11 or at [email protected].


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The COVID-19 crisis had a significant impact on medical device companies, which acted quickly to keep important work moving amid the demands of the pandemic. Despite the chaos, the industry had a record year – the FDA recently announced it approved, cleared, or authorized 132 novel medical devices in 2020, surpassing the previous high mark the agency set in 2018.
That medical device teams found a way to continue innovating during so much disruption speaks to their agility and resilience – and perhaps provides a glimpse into how the crisis will chart a path for the future of virtual work in the medical device world.
How will virtual engagement continue delivering value to medical device teams?
Like industries from banking and tech to retail and manufacturing, medical device organizations accomplished many of their COVID-era achievements by adopting virtual tools that kept them engaged and aligned with colleagues, sales reps, patients, and HCPs. As in-person meetings become possible again, the benefits realized through virtual interaction mean that a substantial portion of medical device work may remain virtual long after the pandemic recedes.
Asynchronous virtual engagement – online collaboration sessions held over a period of days or weeks – overcomes a number of obstacles common to in-person settings, such as language barriers, dominant personalities, hierarchy influence, and extensive (and sometimes haphazard) follow-up.
Programs conducted in an over-time, hybrid environment excel in overcoming those obstacles, and 2020 was a watershed moment for organizations that were previously resistant to adding virtual engagement to their business strategy. While video conference platforms provided the basic ability to interact, uptake of asynchronous platforms like Within3 – offering language translation, autosave, document collaboration, multiple question types, polling, and medical dictation – enabled teams to experience a new level of collaboration in a virtual setting.
In the real world: bringing products to market faster
For some organizations, the benefits of over-time virtual engagement were apparent not only in the ability to keep work moving but in how much that work was accelerated, even under challenging circumstances. One medical device team recently discovered that a single virtual advisory board on our platform moved their work much further along than they expected.
The team held a three-week asynchronous session following a live 30-minute webcast, with questions divided into five different focus areas. Nine KOLs provided nearly 400 responses, and due to the quality and volume of feedback, the medical device team was able to move their project forward by leaps rather than steps.
Thanks in large part to the focus enabled by the asynchronous platform, the KOLs became passionate about the project over the course of the meeting. Rather than planning subsequent advisory boards – as they might have done after a face-to-face meeting – the team quickly shifted course to advance the project to its next stage.
With the ability to pare many meetings down to one, the team saved time, reduced costs, and changed the product development pathway – but more importantly, increased the potential benefit to HCPs and patients.
Medtech and medical device innovators showed remarkable resilience in a time of unprecedented disruption to the industry’s status quo. Teams that include virtual engagement in their 2021 strategy stand to increase the depth and breadth of insights and gain competitive advantage – all while getting life-changing devices to market more efficiently.
To understand more about how the pandemic’s effects will impact medical device virtual engagement and get our top recommendations for building a competitive edge, download the 2021 Medical Device Virtual Engagement Field Guide.


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Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
Liu He and Donald Trump
The US and China have signed an agreement aimed at easing a trade war that has rattled markets and weighed on the global economy.
Speaking in Washington, US President Donald Trump said the pact would be “transformative” for the US economy.
Chinese leaders called it a “win-win” deal that would help foster better relations between the two countries.
China has pledged to boost US imports by $200bn above 2017 levels and strengthen intellectual property rules.
In exchange, the US has agreed to halve some of the new tariffs it has imposed on Chinese products.
However the majority of the border taxes remain in place, which has prompted business groups to call for further talks.
“There’s a lot of work to do ahead,” said Jeremie Waterman, president of the China Center at the US Chamber of Commerce. “Bottom line is, they should enjoy today but not wait too long to get back to the table for phase two.”
The US and China have engaged in a tit-for-tat tariff war since 2018, which has led to extra import taxes being levied on more than $450bn (£350bn) worth of traded goods. The ongoing dispute has disrupted trade flows, dampened global economic growth and unnerved investors.
At a signing ceremony in Washington, attended by top Republican donors and business leaders, Mr Trump said the deal sets the stage for a stronger relationship between the US and China.
“Together we are righting the wrongs of the past and delivering a future of economic justice and security,” he said.
“Far beyond even this deal, it’s going to lead to an even stronger world peace,” he added.
What’s in the deal?
- China has committed to increasing its US imports by at least $200bn over 2017 levels, boosting purchases of agriculture by $32bn, manufacturing by $78bn, energy by $52bn and services by $38bn.
- China has agreed to take more action against counterfeiting and make it easier for companies to pursue legal action over trade secret theft
- The US will maintain up to 25% tariffs on an estimated $360bn worth of Chinese goods; China, which has levied new tariffs on $100bn worth of US products, is also expected to maintain the majority of them
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who signed the deal on behalf of China, said the agreement was rooted in “equality and mutual respect” and defended his country’s economic model in his remarks.
“China has developed a political system and a model of economic development that suits its national reality,” he said.
“This doesn’t mean that China and the US cannot work together. On the contrary, our two countries share enormous common commercial interests.”
“We hope both sides will abide by and keep the agreement in earnest.”
It has been hailed by the White House as a breakthrough in a war that President Trump triggered to protect American jobs and companies from what he viewed as unfair competition from China.
The weapon of choice: billions of dollars of tariffs, or extra charges, on imports. But that has hurt the very workers and businesses they were meant to protect, in both countries.
For all the fanfare – and the unusual appearance of a president at the signing of a bilateral trade deal – this is more armistice than victory – with only a small proportion of the tariffs being reversed and relatively minor concessions granted by both sides. Tariffs remain on around two-thirds of the goods Americans buy from China
Moreover, Washington’s fundamental complaints about Chinese practices – from its approach to subsidising businesses to cybertheft – remain unresolved. With President Trump’s ambition to rewrite the rules of global trade yet to be achieved, some fear he may turn his firepower on Europe next – just as the UK is looking to broker an advantageous post-Brexit relationship
Mr Trump has said the accord signed on Wednesday is a “phase one” agreement and promised that the administration will take up other issues – such as China’s state subsidies – in future negotiations.
The US accuses China of “unfair” business practices, such as providing subsidies for domestic businesses and administrative rules that have made it difficult for US firms to operate in the country.
Mr Trump has defended maintaining the bulk of the tariffs, saying they will provide leverage in future talks. But US business groups and analysts expressed concern.
“While Phase One makes incremental progress, it remains to be seen whether it will deliver any meaningful relief for farmers like me,” said Michelle Erickson-Jones, a Montana wheat farmer, who is affiliated with the lobby group Farmers for Free Trade. “The promises of lofty purchases are encouraging but farmers like me will believe it when we see it.”
Charles Kane, a lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, said Mr Trump sees China as a useful political scapegoat, making any serious negotiation unlikely until after the November presidential election.
“He’s using [the trade war] as a political weapon,” Mr Kane said.


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|By Business Wire||
|June 6, 2014 01:39 PM EDT||
ZUORA, the subscription billing, commerce and finance leader, capped off Subscribed 2014, the only conference uniquely designed to help leaders in finance, IT, marketing, operations and sales embrace subscription models to reinvent and modernize their businesses.
RECORD ATTENDANCE of nearly 1300 Subscribed attendees and an additional 540 live stream viewers. This is nearly double the attendance of the Subscribed 2013 conference held only 9 months ago.
NEARLY 100 NOTABLE SPEAKERS from high growth companies and large global enterprises, including:
- David Wadhwani, SVP & GM, Adobe
- Mike Kail, CIO, Netflix
- Neil Williams, CFO, Intuit
- JB Wood, CEO, Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) and author of B4B
- Andrew McAfee, Principal Research Scientist, MIT and author of The Second Machine Age
- Alan Parsons, Producer, Engineer & Artist, The Alan Parsons Project
- Cathy MacDonald, CIO, Xplornet
- Peter Coffee, VP, Stratgic Research, Salesforce
- Thomas Salmen, CIO, Telecom New Zealand
- Ben Shields, Partner, Deloitte
- Mark Fields, CTO, Thermo Fisher
- Hans Wald, CIO, Thomas Publishing
- Jim Franklin, CEO, Sendgrid
- Lenin Cruz, CIO, Connect America
- Clodagh Murphy, Managing Director, Eclipse
- Jeremy Crawford, COO, MLS Listings
EXEMPLARY ECOSYSTEM of 30 partner sponsors, including PwC, Accenture, Deloitte, and Salesforce
REPRESENTATION FROM DIVERSE INDUSTRIES: attendees and speakers represented a diverse cross section of industries: media, telecom, healthcare, internet-of-things proving that the Subscription Economy is a phenomenon that cuts across every industry.
THE LAUNCH OF Z-BUSINESS NINE, the latest edition of Zuora’s Relationship Business Management (RBM) solution designed specifically for global, multi-divisional enterprises that are reinventing their business models around recurring revenue. Z-Business Nine delivers massive scalability, the highest levels of security and compliance, flexible data access controls, and connectors and reference architectures that give enterprises the tools to allow NINE to co-exist with legacy ERP systems.
5O NEW FEATURES UNVEILED, across all editions of Z-Business, the highlights of which include:
FEATURE ENTITLEMENTS to help businesses easily personalize offerings for customers and streamline downstream provisioning processes.
GUIDED SELLING designed for businesses that have large, complex catalogs and therefore need to guide sales and service professionals to the right products and right add-ons in an intuitive, amazon-like browsing experience.
NEW CONFIGURATION OPTIONS for e-commerce hosted pages that make for an easy, intuitive checkout experience and reduce checkout abandonment.
CONDITIONAL LOGIC ON INVOICES that will allow enterprises to dynamically tailor the branding and content that is inserted on invoices based on information about the customer
OUT-OF-BOX INTEGRATION WITH AVALARA for customers that do business in a large number of taxable regions with complex tax calculation and remittance needs
DOUBLING THE NUMBER OF PAYMENT GATEWAYS AND PAYMENT PARTNERS to allow global businesses to accept payments in over 100 countries
FOREIGN CURRENCY CONVERSION for businesses that transact in multiple currencies and need to roll up their transactions to a single home currency
AUTOMATED JOURNAL ENTRIES to help subscription businesses summarize their recurring transactions into debits and credits, that can be fed into any accounting system application.
ABILITY TO VIEW UNBILLED DEFERRED REVENUE a key indicator of the financial health of any subscription business.
A HOST OF NEW SECURITY FEATURES, including two-factor authentication, Single Sign-On (SSO), IP address restrictions to reduce the threat of security breaches at point of authentication, and SMTP email configuration to reduce the threat of email phishing.
A CAPACITY BOOSTER, allowing enterprise CIOs to deliver the scalability that can process 375 synchronous orders per second and deliver millisecond response times across the globe.
DATA ACCESS CONTROLS that allows CIOs to determine how data is shared or isolated between different business units.
SUBSCRIBED ‘14 TWITTER HIGHLIGHTS
- Brent Leary, @BrentLeary: “@tientzuo: Zuora customers generated 600M customer moments, 20M payments in last 12 months; 5.5B pieces of customer data. #Subscribed14”
- Trendsmap SF, @TrendsSF: “#Subscribed14 is now trending in #SF trendsmap.com/us/san+francisco”
- Jessica Szeto, @jlszeto: “Z-connect puts power into the hands of the CIO enabling further #oracle #SAP and #Salesforce integration! #Subscribed14 @Zuora”
- Nick Mehta, @nmehta: “So amazing to see how far @tientzuo and the @ Zuora team have taken this company and industry. #Subscribed14”
- Adobe, @Adobe: “Our SVP @DWadhwani shares a story of our all-in transition to subscriptions at #Subscribed14”
- Cortney Gogarty, @cgogarty: “@Zuora - how does the @HasOffers Finance Team get their hands on this dashboard feature early on?? ;) ;) ;) #Subscribed14”
- Michael Geller, @mgeller142: “At #Subscribed14 - product team launching some very cool features. Congratulations @Zuora! Great to see the subscription economy growing.”
- Christopher Hennes, @cchennes: “@Zuora: @cchennes...favorite feature feedback...Many will be useful; Conditional Invoices will give us a LOT of mileage!”
- Peter Coffee, @petercoffee: “New bus. models “must embrace 3 constituencies: geeks, machines, & outsiders” @amcafee #Subscribed14”
- Derek Slayton, @TheDerekSlayton: “Extremely impressed with the Zuora conference today. Great speakers & excellent content, these guys get it.”
- Cole P, @colepcannon: “@Tylersloat says being a CFO is cool right now! CFO role is changing, especially in the #subscriptioneconomy #Subscribed14 #TheNewCFO”
- Martin Doettling, @mdoettling: “Alan Parsons talks about buying pantyhose to suppress mic wind noise in Beatles’ famous rooftop show. #Subscribed14”
- Tyler Sloat, @tylersloat: “#Subscribed14… The only issue is that every session is standing room only. Next year, Moscone here we come”
DAY 1 LIVE STREAM REPLAY: Subscribed
2014 CEO Keynote
- Tien Tzuo, CEO, Zuora
- David Wadhwani, SVP & GM, Adobe
- Ben Shields, Partner, Deloitte
- Mark Fields, CTO, Thermo Fisher
- Thomas Salmen, CIO, Telecom New Zealand
DAY 1 LIVE STREAM REPLAY: Where
Tech is Headed
- Mike Pearl, Technology & Cloud Computing Consulting Leader, PWC
- JB Wood, CEO, TSIA
DAY 2 LIVE STREAM REPLAY: The
Second Machine Age + Zuora’s Product Keynote
- Andrew McAfee, Principal Research Scientist, MIT
- Guillaume Vives, SVP Product, Zuora
- FORBES: Zuora: What Comes After ERP & CRM
- FORTUNE: It’s a Susbcription Economy, and You’re Just Living in It
- CIO MAGAZINE: Tech Industry Subscribes to New Revenue Model, June 5th
- STRICTLY VC: The Pain and Pleasure of Cloud Based Subscription Billing
- BEAGLE RESEARCH: Zuora Swings for the Fences, June 3rd
- PRESS RELEASE: Zuora Announces Z-Business Nine, Worlds First Relationship Business Management Platform for Global Enterprises, June 3rd
- DASHEROO BLOG: Zuora Subscribed 2014 Event -- Takeaways
- Z-BLOG: Subscribed ‘14, The Verdict is in!, June 3rd
- Z-BLOG: Subscribed ‘14: Andy McAfee, The Coming Robot Apocalypse, June 4th
- Z-BLOG: Introducing Entitlements & Guided Selling in Zuora, June 4th
WebRTC has had a real tough three or four years, and so have those working with it. Only a few short years ago, the development world were excited about WebRTC and proclaiming how awesome it was. You might have played with the technology a couple of years ago, only to find the extra infrastructure requirements were painful to implement and poorly documented. This probably left a bitter taste in your mouth, especially when things went wrong.
Sep. 1, 2015 03:00 AM EDT Reads: 457
Too often with compelling new technologies market participants become overly enamored with that attractiveness of the technology and neglect underlying business drivers. This tendency, what some call the “newest shiny object syndrome,” is understandable given that virtually all of us are heavily engaged in technology. But it is also mistaken. Without concrete business cases driving its deployment, IoT, like many other technologies before it, will fade into obscurity.
Aug. 31, 2015 09:00 PM EDT Reads: 368
The Internet of Things is in the early stages of mainstream deployment but it promises to unlock value and rapidly transform how organizations manage, operationalize, and monetize their assets. IoT is a complex structure of hardware, sensors, applications, analytics and devices that need to be able to communicate geographically and across all functions. Once the data is collected from numerous endpoints, the challenge then becomes converting it into actionable insight.
Aug. 31, 2015 07:00 PM EDT
Consumer IoT applications provide data about the user that just doesn’t exist in traditional PC or mobile web applications. This rich data, or “context,” enables the highly personalized consumer experiences that characterize many consumer IoT apps. This same data is also providing brands with unprecedented insight into how their connected products are being used, while, at the same time, powering highly targeted engagement and marketing opportunities. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Nathan Treloar, President and COO of Bebaio, will explore examples of brands transforming their businesses by t...
Aug. 31, 2015 06:00 PM EDT Reads: 243
With the Apple Watch making its way onto wrists all over the world, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes a staple in the workplace. In fact, Forrester reported that 68 percent of technology and business decision-makers characterize wearables as a top priority for 2015. Recognizing their business value early on, FinancialForce.com was the first to bring ERP to wearables, helping streamline communication across front and back office functions. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Kevin Roberts, GM of Platform at FinancialForce.com, will discuss the value of business applications on wearable ...
Aug. 31, 2015 03:15 PM EDT
While many app developers are comfortable building apps for the smartphone, there is a whole new world out there. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Narayan Sainaney, Co-founder and CTO of Mojio, will discuss how the business case for connected car apps is growing and, with open platform companies having already done the heavy lifting, there really is no barrier to entry.
Aug. 31, 2015 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 141
With the proliferation of connected devices underpinning new Internet of Things systems, Brandon Schulz, Director of Luxoft IoT – Retail, will be looking at the transformation of the retail customer experience in brick and mortar stores in his session at @ThingsExpo. Questions he will address include: Will beacons drop to the wayside like QR codes, or be a proximity-based profit driver? How will the customer experience change in stores of all types when everything can be instrumented and analyzed? As an area of investment, how might a retail company move towards an innovation methodolo...
Aug. 31, 2015 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 459
The Internet of Things (IoT) is about the digitization of physical assets including sensors, devices, machines, gateways, and the network. It creates possibilities for significant value creation and new revenue generating business models via data democratization and ubiquitous analytics across IoT networks. The explosion of data in all forms in IoT requires a more robust and broader lens in order to enable smarter timely actions and better outcomes. Business operations become the key driver of IoT applications and projects. Business operations, IT, and data scientists need advanced analytics t...
Aug. 31, 2015 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 419
Contrary to mainstream media attention, the multiple possibilities of how consumer IoT will transform our everyday lives aren’t the only angle of this headline-gaining trend. There’s a huge opportunity for “industrial IoT” and “Smart Cities” to impact the world in the same capacity – especially during critical situations. For example, a community water dam that needs to release water can leverage embedded critical communications logic to alert the appropriate individuals, on the right device, as soon as they are needed to take action.
Aug. 31, 2015 12:00 PM EDT
SYS-CON Events announced today that HPM Networks will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. For 20 years, HPM Networks has been integrating technology solutions that solve complex business challenges. HPM Networks has designed solutions for both SMB and enterprise customers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Aug. 31, 2015 11:30 AM EDT Reads: 897
SYS-CON Events announced today that Micron Technology, Inc., a global leader in advanced semiconductor systems, will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Micron’s broad portfolio of high-performance memory technologies – including DRAM, NAND and NOR Flash – is the basis for solid state drives, modules, multichip packages and other system solutions. Backed by more than 35 years of technology leadership, Micron's memory solutions enable the world's most innovative computing, consumer,...
Aug. 31, 2015 11:15 AM EDT Reads: 231
As more intelligent IoT applications shift into gear, they’re merging into the ever-increasing traffic flow of the Internet. It won’t be long before we experience bottlenecks, as IoT traffic peaks during rush hours. Organizations that are unprepared will find themselves by the side of the road unable to cross back into the fast lane. As billions of new devices begin to communicate and exchange data – will your infrastructure be scalable enough to handle this new interconnected world?
Aug. 31, 2015 11:00 AM EDT Reads: 161
Through WebRTC, audio and video communications are being embedded more easily than ever into applications, helping carriers, enterprises and independent software vendors deliver greater functionality to their end users. With today’s business world increasingly focused on outcomes, users’ growing calls for ease of use, and businesses craving smarter, tighter integration, what’s the next step in delivering a richer, more immersive experience? That richer, more fully integrated experience comes about through a Communications Platform as a Service which allows for messaging, screen sharing, video...
Aug. 31, 2015 10:30 AM EDT Reads: 659
SYS-CON Events announced today that Pythian, a global IT services company specializing in helping companies leverage disruptive technologies to optimize revenue-generating systems, has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 17th Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Founded in 1997, Pythian is a global IT services company that helps companies compete by adopting disruptive technologies such as cloud, Big Data, advanced analytics, and DevOps to advance innovation and increase agility. Specializing in designing, imple...
Aug. 31, 2015 10:15 AM EDT Reads: 306
In his session at @ThingsExpo, Lee Williams, a producer of the first smartphones and tablets, will talk about how he is now applying his experience in mobile technology to the design and development of the next generation of Environmental and Sustainability Services at ETwater. He will explain how M2M controllers work through wirelessly connected remote controls; and specifically delve into a retrofit option that reverse-engineers control codes of existing conventional controller systems so they don't have to be replaced and are instantly converted to become smart, connected devices.
Aug. 31, 2015 09:30 AM EDT Reads: 124
SYS-CON Events announced today that IceWarp will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. IceWarp, the leader of cloud and on-premise messaging, delivers secured email, chat, documents, conferencing and collaboration to today's mobile workforce, all in one unified interface
Aug. 31, 2015 04:00 AM EDT Reads: 426
As more and more data is generated from a variety of connected devices, the need to get insights from this data and predict future behavior and trends is increasingly essential for businesses. Real-time stream processing is needed in a variety of different industries such as Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, Automobile, Finance, Online Retail, Smart Grids, and Healthcare. Azure Stream Analytics is a fully managed distributed stream computation service that provides low latency, scalable processing of streaming data in the cloud with an enterprise grade SLA. It features built-in integration with Azur...
Aug. 28, 2015 07:45 PM EDT Reads: 219
Akana has announced the availability of the new Akana Healthcare Solution. The API-driven solution helps healthcare organizations accelerate their transition to being secure, digitally interoperable businesses. It leverages the Health Level Seven International Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (HL7 FHIR) standard to enable broader business use of medical data. Akana developed the Healthcare Solution in response to healthcare businesses that want to increase electronic, multi-device access to health records while reducing operating costs and complying with government regulations.
Aug. 26, 2015 07:00 AM EDT Reads: 193
For IoT to grow as quickly as analyst firms’ project, a lot is going to fall on developers to quickly bring applications to market. But the lack of a standard development platform threatens to slow growth and make application development more time consuming and costly, much like we’ve seen in the mobile space. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Mike Weiner, Product Manager of the Omega DevCloud with KORE Telematics Inc., discussed the evolving requirements for developers as IoT matures and conducted a live demonstration of how quickly application development can happen when the need to comply wit...
Aug. 2, 2015 11:15 AM EDT Reads: 557
The Internet of Everything (IoE) brings together people, process, data and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before – transforming information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom. IoE creates new capabilities, richer experiences, and unprecedented opportunities to improve business and government operations, decision making and mission support capabilities.
Aug. 1, 2015 10:00 AM EDT Reads: 487


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Enersys (ENS) Upgraded to Hold by Zacks Investment Research
Enersys (NYSE:ENS) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.
According to Zacks, “EnerSys has a decent earnings surprise history with three strong beats over the trailing four quarters. Going forward, we believe that positive industry trend and strong sales of products, like lead chargers and battery management systems, will drive growth of Motive business. EnerSys’ long-term growth drivers include higher demand for premium products, lean initiatives, robust prospects in Asia, cost reduction programs and strategic product launches. However, on the flip side, EnerSys’ shares have yielded a negative return over the past six months, comparing unfavorably to the industry’s average positive return. Of late, volatility in cost of commodities (especially lead) has weighed upon the company’s profitability. In addition, currency fluctuations and stiff competition in the industry are also eroding the company’s profits.”
Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Sidoti raised Enersys from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target (down from $92.00) on shares of Enersys in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. ValuEngine lowered Enersys from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 26th. Finally, BidaskClub raised Enersys from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.50.
Shares of Enersys (ENS) traded up 0.16% during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.61. 360,894 shares of the stock were exchanged. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.49 and a beta of 1.70. Enersys has a 12 month low of $61.33 and a 12 month high of $84.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.76 and a 200-day moving average of $73.45.
Enersys (NYSE:ENS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.01). Enersys had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 18.90%. The firm had revenue of $622.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $615.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Enersys will post $4.67 EPS for the current year.
Enersys announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION WARNING: This article was reported by American Banking News and is the sole property of of American Banking News. If you are viewing this article on another domain, it was copied illegally and reposted in violation of international copyright and trademark law. The correct version of this article can be accessed at https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2017/10/11/enersys-ens-upgraded-to-hold-by-zacks-investment-research.html.
Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in Enersys by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Advisor Group Inc. now owns 1,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Enersys by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Flinton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Enersys by 68.1% during the 2nd quarter. Flinton Capital Management LLC now owns 1,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in Enersys during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Riverhead Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Enersys by 77.6% during the 2nd quarter. Riverhead Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.46% of the company’s stock.
EnerSys is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of industrial batteries. The Company manufactures, markets and distributes related products, such as chargers, power equipment, outdoor cabinet enclosures and battery accessories, and provides related after-market and customer-support services for industrial batteries.
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The Taco Stand in downtown Athens is closing, serving for the final time Sunday, according to a statement released Friday.
The Taco Stand’s Milledge Avenue and Barnett Shoals Road locations will remain open.
The Taco Stand, started in 1977, opened its Broad Street location in 1992.
Known for its quick service and colorful coworkers, the Taco Stand has been a staple downtown, satisfying lunch as well as late-night appetites.
“We enjoyed 28 great years downtown and witnessed a lot of positive growth there which we were glad to be a part of. We’re glad to leave downtown on a positive note,” said Randle Roberts, a Taco Stand founder.


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WhatsApp will soon drop support for older versions of iOS and Android, and Windows Phone entirely. According to some reports,…
This week, IDC released its latest figures for Australian smartphone shipments. For the first time in a while, iOS is…
Although Microsoft’s efforts to break into the smartphone market have not gone to plan, they are still pushing out updates…
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Courtesy of @ashforddesigneroutlet Instagram
McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Ashford officially unveiled its 100,000 sq. ft. expansion last month, making it one of the biggest outlets the South of England has to offer. Home to Europe’s largest living wall which comprises over 120,000 plants, it is a good place to get your greens this holiday season.
We have long worked with the group to collect and connect data across the McArthurGlen portfolio and our latest tools will provide analytics on the Designer Outlet Ashford expansion, which brings over 40 new stores, a new food piazza, an events space, a digitally-enhanced children’s playground and 725 additional parking spaces.
At a recent Outlet Summit, ART’s director Gareth Jordan spoke about communities that have benefited from Outlets at the heart of regeneration. This £90 million project, which creates approximately 500 new jobs was highlighted by Ashford Borough Council and Kent County Council as key employment and economic drivers in the development of the town.
The group is currently constructing a seventh centre in the UK, McArthurGlen Designer Outlet West Midlands, an exciting new retail and leisure destination near Birmingham, which will open in 2020.


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On Feb. 8, 2016, Erin L. and Ryan A. Scarfile purchased a four bedroom, 1.1 bathroom home at 21422 York Road, Freeland 21053 from Kevin C. and Carrie E. Ford for $290,000.
The last time this home sold was Oct. 31, 2006. It last sold for $294,700.
The median home sale price in 2015 in Freeland was $285,000. This home sold for 101.75% of the median home sale price. In February 2016, two properties sold in Freeland.


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Fire at Princes Risborough furniture factory
12:11pm Saturday 25th August 2012 in News
FIRE broke out in a silo store at a Princes Risborough furniture factory this morning.
Four fire crews - two from High Wycombe and one each from Princes Risborough and Haddenham - were called to tackle the fire at the Ercol factory in Summerleys Road.
They were at the scene for nearly two hours to extinguish the flames in the industrial silo, which measured 150m by 70m.
The fire was reported at 7.44am today. The cause is believed to be an electrical fault.
Nobody from Ercol was available to give a comment today.
Comments are closed on this article.


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The Oculus Rift Kickstarter page reports that developer kits won't start shipping until March 2013. Oculus originally anticipated to sell a little over 200 kits to game developers and have them shipped before the holidays. But this latest update indicates that the team just doesn't have enough time to crank out a larger 7,500 units in four months even though they're "up against the wall" and "working around the clock".
Oculus originally launched the Kickstarter campaign back in August. Its popularity quickly grew partially thanks to the participation and enthusiasm expressed by id Software's John Carmack. DOOM 3: BFG Edition for Windows PC already supports the device as will Doom 4 whenever it finally appears on the market (it's 3DFX all over again).
When the Kickstarter campaign finally came to a close, Oculus had an amazing 9,522 backers funding $2,437,429 USD, surpassing the original $250,000 goal. Now the team is cranking out 7,500 units for developers, but modifications to the original design for mass-manufacturing and balancing additional features with the team's tight schedule has caused a delay.
"The majority of the remaining work is now in the hands of our manufacturer, who’s currently making the injection mold tooling used to create the Rift's plastic shell," Oculus said. "We waited to make an official announcement until we had a firm schedule from our manufacturer."
One of the toughest challenges during the revision stage was finding the right display for mass production, as the display used in the protoypes was discontinued.
"Many of you already know that the Oculus Rift prototypes we’ve been showing use a 5.6-inch LCD," Oculus said. "While not perfect, it’s been sufficient for early research and development, including the work John Carmack did with DOOM 3: BFG Edition. Unfortunately, production of that display was recently discontinued, a fact we learned after trying to source (buy in bulk) enough to meet the incredible response from the developer community."
Oculus shopped around for a new display until the company finally found a modern 7-inch display with a 1280 x 800 resolution. It's better than what was used in the prototype, especially in regards to switching time, meaning that most of the motion blur people saw in earlier prototype demos has been alleviated. But the new display is also heavier, weighing around 30g more than the previous 5.6-inch display.
Another source of the delay stems from Oculus ripping out the off-the-shelf sensor and installing an in-house 9DOF motion sensor that "excels" in VR-critical areas. These custom sensors will be available in the developer kits shipping out in March 2013, the company said.
"The new Oculus sensor supports a refresh rate of up to 1000hz, which is several times faster than the previous sensor," the company said. "In addition to the accelerometer and gyroscope, it also includes a magnetometer, which opens new doors in terms of sensor data and head-tracking."
Oculus provides a lot more detail about what's changed in the VR headgear, and even supplies images of the latest working prototypes. To read the whole update, head here.


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Maldives is promoting its tourism products and properties at the TTG Incontri fair in Italy.
According to lead exhibitor Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), a total of 38 representatives from 21 companies from the tourism industry visited Italy in order to take part in the travel trade fair being held in Rimini, roughly 4 hours from the capital city Rome from the 12th to 14th of October 2017.
Participants at TTG Incontri include Adaaran Resorts Maldives, Amari Havodda, Baglioni Maldives, Bandos Maldives, Crown Tours Maldives, Emerald Maldives, Kandima Maldives, Outrigger Konotta Maldives, Plumeria Maldives and Sun Ocean Maldives. Additionally, Maldives Getaways is taking part in order to Promote Travel Trade Maldives 2018 as well as the recently announced Guesthouses Maldives Expo 2018.
According to MMPRC officials, Maldives is being represented in a 64-metre space. MMPRC has been actively turning their promotional efforts into creative means such as including a photo corner where visitors can take photographs of themselves at the stand and post it on social media with hashtags #visitmaldives and stand a chance to win a surprise gift. Visitors are also given the opportunity to experience underwater beauty of Maldives through Virtual reality.
MMPRC’s statement said that they hope that TTG Incontri would increase the popularity of Maldives in the Italian market as well as increase the number of arrivals and reach their targets for the Italian market.
TTG Incontri is Italy’s leading tourism trade fair and among the top five in Europe; the key event for the tourism sector and the main marketplace to sell tourism products, network, win new business, exchange views and to explore new ideas. They currently have amassed an attendance figure of over 69,000.
Italy remains to be a major market for the Maldives tourism industry with over 71,000 tourists have visited the country in 2016 alone. Statistics show that the number is expected to increase by the end of 2017 and visits to fairs like TTG Incontri can only boost the number.


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A third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE was found in a large study to be highly protective against symptomatic Covid-19, the companies said Thursday.
Researchers found 109 cases of symptomatic Covid-19 among study subjects who received a placebo shot, compared with five cases in people who took the vaccine, resulting in 95.6% efficacy, the companies said.
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Press Release Title: Razor Secure CEO Warns Transport Companies
Basingstoke, UK March 15th 2017
Today, the Science and Technology Select Committee of the House of Lords released “Connected and Autonomous Vehicles: The future?”, a report that investigates the opportunities and challenges facing the implementation of autonomous cars in the UK.
The Committee recognised that “Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) could be susceptible to hacking and used for malicious purposes” and cited a recent case where a team of ethical hackers – i.e. they were not looking to do damage – were able to take control of a number of the electronic systems of a Tesla Model S car, from over ten miles away.
Numerous witnesses testified to the need for the Government to perform a strong coordinating role with regard to Cybersecurity and that partnerships with the right stakeholders and industry experts will be key to keeping CAVs safe from attack.
One such expert who submitted evidence to the committee was Alex Cowan, CEO of transport Cybersecurity firm, RazorSecure. Alex noted that “hardware and software manufacturers and operators should be required to put in place a multi-layered approach featuring techniques such as firewall, encryption, intrusion detection and active response even when not connected.”
Alex was a key player in the development of RazorSecure Delta, a product that recognises the limitations of traditional firewalls and understands that once breached, hackers can have free reign within vital transport systems. Through the automatic recognition of unusual behaviour and with the ability to make the best decision in the protection of the network, this multi-layered approach to Cybersecurity is the future of protecting CAVs.
The report’s conclusion supported this need for multiple defences when it noted that “An international effort is necessary to tackle the risks associated with cybersecurity, which are likely to rise—especially on a global scale—as the use of CAV increases. The Government could lead on this, in order to facilitate the establishment of global standards.”
Alex Cowan is available for expert comment on transport cyber security issues. Alex spent over a decade managing the cyber security for gaming, credit card and personal data companies before he founded Razor Secure two years ago to provide a means of combatting attacks on distributed systems, typical of those found in the transport industry.
PR Contact: Alistair Maclenan
Email email@example.com for more information.


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TOKYO: Sony, Matsushita and three other Japanese electronics manufacturers intend to start marketing internet-accessible TV receivers next year, according to an unattributed report in Thursday's Nihon Keizai newspaper.
The new TVs aim to make accessing video and similar online content easier than via computers. The other companies involved in the initiative are Sharp, Toshiba and Hitachi.
© Copyright 2017
All rights reserved including database rights. This electronic file is for the personal use of authorised users based at the subscribing company's office location. It may not be reproduced, posted on intranets, extranets or the internet, e-mailed, archived or shared electronically either within the purchaser's organisation or externally without express written permission from WARC.


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"...Call for retailers to immediately stop the in-store and online sale and shipment ... of toy guns."
New York's attorney general wants to
restrict the sale
of realistic-looking toy guns in the state.
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman
that his office sent cease-and-desist letters to Walmart, Kmart, Amazon, Sears and similar retailers, asking them to restrict online sales to New Yorkers.
This toy gun, a "Super Spy Style 35mm" available at Toyarsenal.com, would violate the New York state law because it does not bear a clear orange strip down the side. (Image source: 411toys.com)
"The letters, stemming from an ongoing investigation, call for retailers to immediately stop the in-store and online sale and shipment to New Yorkers of toy guns that violate New York State law pending the resolution of (the) investigation," the attorney general's office
The office instructed retailers to follow a state law that says sellers must ensure the toy guns aren't mistaken for functioning firearms -- specifically, the toy guns cannot be sold in "realistic" colors unless the barrel is clearly marked with a visible orange stripe.
"Some of the toy guns discovered during the investigation are advertised as “realistic looking” and “full size,” the office said in the release. "Since they lack the orange striping down both sides of the barrel as required under state law, these imitation assault rifles, shotguns, and pistols closely resemble dangerous weapons, and could be easily mistaken for real weapons by law enforcement and civilians alike."
In 2003, Walmart
agreed to pay a $200,000 fine
to settle a case alleging that the retailer was selling toy guns in violation of the NY state law. Schneiderman's renewed push follows the
death of a 12-year-old
Cleveland boy who was shot by police while on a playground brandishing the a realistic-looking toy gun.


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Coming off the mixed reception of last year’s Spike Lee-directed plot, NBA 2K17 is continuing to bring celebrities to its RPG-esque MyCAREER mode.
This year, the player’s customizable character will be referred to as the “President of Basketball”, as he attempts to rise through the ranks and become an NBA superstar. Choices will play a larger role in this year’s narrative, with improvements being made to how one’s journey is affected both on and off the court. 2K17’s MyCareer mode will feature a star-studded cast as well, as seen in the trailer below, including Michael B. Jordan as Young Justice, a close friend and teammate with whom you form the tandem known as “Orange Juice”, Hannibal Buress as the protagonist’s barber, and Matt Walsh as the player’s college coach. With plenty more promised within the full experience, gamers who desire more story from their sports games will continue to favor NBA 2K17’s commitment to plots.
With a free demo for NBA 2K17’s MyCAREER mode known as The Prelude launching on Friday, basketball fans won’t have to wait much longer with the full product arriving on September 20 for PS4, Xbox One, PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.


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IRVING, Texas (AP) — Retail gasoline prices have dropped 6 cents per gallon this week across Texas as travelers prepare for upcoming holiday trips.
AAA Texas on Thursday reported the average price at the pump averaged $3.03 statewide. Nationwide gasoline prices slipped 4 cents to settle at $3.21 per gallon.
The association survey found Amarillo has the cheapest gasoline this week at $2.81 per gallon. The most expensive gasoline is in the Austin and San Marcos areas at $3.07 per gallon.
AAA officials attribute the cheaper prices to resolution of production concerns along the Gulf Coast and limited seasonal demand between Thanksgiving and end-of-the-year holidays.
The travel group estimates 7.9 million people in Texas will travel during the period starting Saturday and running through Jan. 1. Most travelers are expected to drive.


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By Dinesh Wagle
[Here is PDF version of the article]
In New Delhi’s old commercial hub, discontent is brewing over cups of coffee. The caffeine has jumped out of the cafe and reached the court. A civic agency has threatened to close down a 57-year-old coffee house located at the top floor of a shopping complex Mohan Singh Place in Connaught Place for not paying the rent. The patrons are not pleased, and the Indian Coffee Workers Cooperative Society that runs the not-so-commercial hangout has sued the New Delhi Metropolitan Council. The war for coffee guff is being fought on all fronts: cultural, political and judicial.
In this age of air-conditioned cafés with nice seating arrangements, you wouldn’t really fight for the continuity of a coffee house where fans hovering over the stained tables and broken chairs can hardly provide any respite to customers in the scorching summer heat. By the standards of the swanky outlets installed across the city by chains like Barista and Café Coffee Day, the Indian Coffee House is an old and ailing museum where mostly oldies and middle-aged come to kill time by talking all the “nonsense” that comes to their mind. But that is exactly the reason, its patrons argue, for the continuation of the coffee house. Despite its grimy outlook and loathsome service, this is no ordinary coffee house after all. As some protest pamphlets pasted these days on the walls of the Coffee House proclaim, this is a café that has produced prime ministers of India.
“Save the PM-maker Coffee House,” says one placard. “This is the country’s think tank coffee house,” proclaims another. “(It’s an) intellectual hub.”


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payoneer stopped services india
Posted on 2016-11-28
India - Are available in India? How to create a Payoneer account as an Indian? What are these restrictions? I have stopped using it from Any non-Indian resident travelling to with a card will still be able to Check out Envato Studio's services. Activate your prepaid debit mastercard, what is debit card, vs moneybookers, transfer.
paypal stopped personal payment in india
Posted on 2016-10-31
The Indian ExpressHacking on the internet keeps getting bigger & nastierEconomic TimesFor its part, a member of New World Hackers who identified themselves as "Prophet'' told an AP reporter via Twitter direct message exchange that collective isn't motivated by money and doesn't have anything personal against Dyn, Twitter or any of the Attacks on the internet keep getting bigger, nastierThe Indian ExpressDDoS on Dyn Impacts Twitter, Spotify, RedditKrebs on SecurityThis Is
twitter autofollow feature stopped
Posted on 2016-10-13
May 14, 2016 removed that auto-follow feature from its own site in 2009, but the Michael Moore, Bill Maher Pledge to Stop Donald Trump: 'He Is Not Feb 5, 2013 Tweet Adder is still the driving force behind my Twitter traffic. Auto Follow Stop Feature – Automatically stops when follow limits are Aug 10, 2016 Update: Twitter has shut down the auto-follow feature.
paypal stopped electronic fund withdrawal in india
Posted on 2016-10-08
Aug 11, 2016 This would mean that a campaign owner would no longer be able to An electronic Thank You card (This is intangible, and it doesn't have an assessable value)" Only Indian accounts can send funds to other Indian accounts via PayPal, Finally, there is a ¥250 fee for all withdrawals under ¥50.000. Oct 20, 2015 Employers, if you want to use.


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Car industry hardest hit retail sector
Spending on vehicles plummeted in the March 2020 quarter ahead of the Covid-19 lockdown, according to new figures from Stats NZ.
The data shows motor vehicle and parts retailing fell 7.5 per cent compared to the last three months of 2019, which was the biggest fall in sales volumes of all the 15 retail industries.
This was followed by the hospitality industries, with food and beverage services down 6.7 per cent and accommodation down 9.3 per cent.
Sales values for motor vehicle and parts were also down 7.4 per cent, or $248 million, in the March quarter.
The sector also suffered the largest increase in dollar terms for the value of stock held at the end of March, with the total climbing 2.1 per cent, or $39m, year-on-year.
After adjusting for price and seasonal effects, the volume of retail sales across all industries fell 0.7 per cent in the March quarter, after a relatively flat end to 2019.
Kathy Hicks, retail statistics manager, says it is the largest fall in total volume sales in eight years.
“Efforts to slow the spread of Covid-19 led to the closure of all non-essential businesses from midnight March 25,” she explains.
“This hit car yards, takeaways, restaurants, hotels and motels hard, with sales dropping sharply.
“These falls may continue into the June 2020 quarter, with a record fall in monthly electronic card sales already reported for April, as many businesses went into hibernation because of the Covid-19 lockdown.”
The declines were offset by a record increase at supermarket and grocery stores, where sales volumes were up 8.5 per cent.
Including price changes, the seasonally adjusted value of total retail sales fell 0.4 per cent, or $89m, in the March quarter, after a 0.5 per cent, or $120m, increase in December 2019.
In actual terms, the latest value of total retail sales was $24.8 billion, up 3.4 per cent, or $819m, from the same period in 2019.
Ten of the 16 regions had lower sales values, with the Auckland and Otago regions hit the hardest in dollar terms by the retail slump.
Auckland retail values plunged $86m, or 0.9 per cent, while in Otago they fell by $57m, or 4.1 per cent.
In contrast, sales values in Wellington climbed by $19m, or 0.8 per cent, followed by $13m increases for Taranaki, equivalent to 2.5 per cent, and Hawke’s Bay, up 1.7 per cent.
The sales value for the whole North Island fell 0.5 per cent, or $95m, after a one per cent, or $188m, rise in the December 2019 quarter.
In the South Island, retail was down one per cent, or $59m, following a previous gain of 0.9 per cent, or $52m.
The total value of stock held at March 31 was $8.4b, an increase of 1.3 per cent, or $109m, from the stock held at the end of that month in 2019.


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Corn Climbs on Signs of Chinese Demand; Wheat Advances
Corn rose for the first time in three days on signs of increased Chinese demand for U.S. supplies. Wheat also gained while soybeans dropped.
U.S. exporters sold 682,500 metric tons of corn, including 262,500 tons to China and 420,000 tons for unknown destinations, the Department of Agriculture said yesterday. The sale was the third in as many days, bringing total purchases this week to 1.28 million tons. U.S. exporters sold 826,213 tons of corn the week ended April 19, nearly triple the amount sold a week earlier, the USDA said today.
“Support is coming from confirmation of the sales that came through yesterday from China,” Christopher Gadd, an analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd., said by phone from London.
Corn for July delivery rose 0.6 percent to $6.0475 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade by 1:14 p.m. in London. Futures fell 1.9 percent in the previous two days after the U.S. reported the first case of mad-cow disease in six years, raising speculation that feed use may drop.
China may have purchased 2 million tons of new-crop U.S. corn since last Thursday that will be delivered in the 2012-2013 marketing year, state-owned researcher Grain.gov.cn said today, without saying where it got the information.
Soybeans for July delivery dropped 0.1 percent to $14.745 a bushel in Chicago. Yesterday, the price touched $14.9675, the highest since July 18, 2008. Exporters sold 165,000 tons of soybeans to unknown buyers on April 23, according to the USDA.
Soybeans rallied “on the back of aggressive buying from China and reduced crop prospects from South America,” which has suffered from drought and freeze this year, INTL FCStone risk management consultants Rory Deverell and Jaime Miralles said in a report.
Wheat for July delivery rose 0.6 percent to $6.30 a bushel in Chicago. In Paris, November-delivery milling wheat increased 0.5 percent to 201 euros ($265.62) a ton.


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Okay, we all know that it has been a very long time. However, there may be some hope for gamers. Dead Island 2 may have a release date and the game will be a cross-generation game. It means that the game will be released on PS4 and PS5, and for Xbox One and Xbox Series X. Cross-Gen means both generation of the consoles. The one in the market and the ones that are coming.
Where does this news come from?
Dambuster studios recently put out a job listing. That listing stated that they need an Art Director. If you need more proof then here it is. That job listing clearly said that the job will be for Dead Island 2. There are eight people required and it also mentions that the game is cross-gen.
However, we cannot say for sure whether this news is fully reliable. It is certainly possible that the studio made this listing some time ago.
When will Dead Island 2 release?
According to Amazon, the game does have a release date. It could possibly be 31st December 2020. However, there is no official confirmation for this news in any way. It is certainly possible that the game could take more time. Let’s say, one or two more years.
There is no need to lose hope this quickly. The release could be closer than we thing, we just don’t know yet.
What else do we know about the game?
Although, it is pretty easy to say that the game has been taking quite some time to be developed. It is possible that the studio is probably working on the release for this generation of consoles. After that, they would work on next gen. This means that there is a chance that the game will be released for PS5 and Xbox Series X later.
There is no confirmed release date or a new confirmed trailer or just a teaser. However, there is no need to lose hope for Dead Island 2. The cross-gen thing may be true because there are many upcoming games which will be cross-gen. For instance, Cyberpunk 2077 will be released for both generation of consoles. It will be released for new generation in 2021.


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In 2018, it marked a strong steel market, which at the end of the year faced geopolitical tensions (breecity uncertainty), as well as trade disputes between the US and other economies. It is decreasing the surplus of world steel production, mainly by reducing Chinese steel production, but the current capacity is sufficient to meet the global steel demand until 2035.glow) Wrote the marketing director of Sij Group Aleš Falatov and market analysts Branimir Jablanović.
China subsidizes producers
The surplus of the world of steel production in the last decade mainly for the construction of state subsidized steel and the construction of new steel capacities in China. According to current estimates for 2018, 127 million tonnes of steel is excessive. It's mostly steel that is not part of the Sij group's sales program, but it has a significant impact on raw material prices, Jablanović explained to the Slovenian press agency.
As a result of these risks and market fluctuations, Sij constantly monitors events and meetings to reduce the negative impacts of Group operations. Most of its products sell machinery, automotive, energy, heavy construction machinery and chemical industry.
This year's global steel market, due to the rise in trade volumes, is expanding the inflationary pressure on the money market and tightening the monetary policy of the US and the European Union. World Steel Association's steel demand will increase 1.4 percent this year and steel production will reach 1,681 million tonnes.
China's leading producer and producer of steel is damaged by trade disputes that are currently frozen in the US.
The US protectionism Sij should not have any effect
In the meantime, the US defense-sponsored measures in the United States last June did not have a significant impact on US sales in the United States. After entering the tariffs, steel began to present exempted orders, which allegedly owed 25% obligations and had so far succeeded; Therefore, orders made in this market were not significantly reduced.
Up to now, as many as 82% of the import duties on customs importations have been approved, US customers are already receiving a difference as a result of imposed customs duties. A review of Sija will be given for applications, and the final decision has not yet been made. Jablanović explained.
In February of this year, the European Commission also introduced measures to protect the EU market by increasing imports from third countries. According to Jablanovic, EU protection measures do not stop the import of steel from European countries, but only from 2017 onwards. In practice, this means that imports will not give rise to additional pressure on prices, as opposed to excessive steel. 25% more.
However, he emphasized that the market policy risks, such as brexit and commodity price movements, remain, but the Group still has no significant impact on the business. "The niche products that we are producing are no longer affected by imports from other European countries, as well as the volume of current imports. largely already adapted " he added.
According to the internal magazine, this year is expected to recover EU steel demand. This is especially true for construction, as the demand for the automobile market shows a slower growth. In Siji, a stepped up demand for steel demand is expected in 2020.