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Daily Mail owner DMGT has today confirmed that it will sell its risk insurance business RMS to Moody’s for £1.4bn, the first step in a bid to take the group private.
Last month it was revealed that the Rothermere family was considering a bid for a slimmed-down version of DMGT.
An £810m offer is contingent on the group both selling off RMS and the successful listing of used car firm Cazoo, as well as an agreement being reached on the firm’s three pension schemes.
The firm said that the sale would likely complete in September. It has promised investors a special dividend if both deals go ahead.
Chief executive Paul Zwillenberg said: “The sale of RMS marks another major milestone in DMGT’s transformation. It is the culmination of our strategy of investment in businesses combined with active portfolio management.
“Consistent with our objective of delivering compelling returns for our investors, we have decided that now is the right time to monetise our investment in RMS at a premium valuation.”
DMGT said it would incur costs of £210m from the sale due to obligations to RMS’ minority shareholders.
If confirmed, the Rothermere takeover will mark a major restructuring of the group, which owns the i and Metro as well as its flagship Daily Mail title and Mail Online.
A sale of the insurance division would mark the latest efforts by DMGT to slim down its business amid major shifts in the media sector.
The company has raised roughly £1.2bn through the sale of its stakes in Hobsons, Genscape and Zoopla, as well as the sale of its 50 per cent stake in Euromoney.


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Realme today launched its first 5G flagship phone in China -- X50 Pro 5G.
In 18 months after the launch of the Realme brand, Realme became the top 7 brand in global smartphone shipments and entered 27 markets worldwide.
In India, Indonesia, the Philippines and other markets, Realme has quickly become the top four players in the mobile phone market.
Realme X50 Pro 5G is one of the first mobile phones equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G mobile platform, supporting dual mode 5G.
It has 65W super flash charge, 90Hz Super AMOLED screen, 64 million Hawkeye zoom four cameras and 32 million front super wide-angle dual cameras.
In order to optimize the 5G experience and improve battery life, X50 Pro 5G has a unique Smart 5G technology, which can intelligently determine network requirements, support 4G / 5G switching, and reduce power consumption by 30%.
It supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 protocol to ensure that the fastest network is available to users anytime, anywhere; supports 5G + dual Wi-Fi three channels simultaneously online.
It can charge 15% in 3 minutes, and it can be charged with 4200mAh dual cell battery in 35 minutes.
Xu Qi, vice president of Realme and president of global marketing, said that this phone is equipped with a new Realme UI based on Android 10, adding some useful features to facilitate daily practical use and increase the experience fun.
For example: calendar invitation, "camera" hypertext, Chinese-English bilingual call translation, and mobile phone NFC car key function.
Realme X50 Pro 5G versions are priced at 3,599 yuan (8GB + 128GB), 3,899 yuan (8GB + 256GB), and 4,199 yuan (12GB + 256GB).

domain: news


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09.27.21 | Feed
AAFCO expresses concern with state approvals of hemp in animal food
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) on Sept. 20 issued a press release and a “call to action” on the use of hemp and hemp byproducts in livestock feed and companion animal pet food.
In doing so, AAFCO expressed concern that recent actions taken by some state legislative bodies to allow in-state use of hemp as a feed ingredient is creating a state-by-state patchwork of laws that lack an in-depth, formal safety review process. AAFCO also stated that such state approvals will lead to inconsistent manufacturing methods, unsupported marketing claims across the country, and restriction of animal food products that contain hemp within interstate and international markets.
Instead, AAFCO encouraged state lawmakers to work with key stakeholders like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, livestock and dairy associations, consumer advocacy groups, and AAFCO itself within the formal feed ingredient approval process for review and approval of hemp and its byproducts for animal nutrition.
The 2018 Farm Bill legalized growing hemp, but approval of feed ingredients, including those derived from hemp, falls under the jurisdiction of FDA. To date, FDA has not completed a formal regulatory review of the safety and efficacy of feeding hemp and hemp byproducts to all animal species. Safety considerations associated with the use of hemp in animal food include levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other cannabinoids and what effects the content will have on animals and animal-derived human food.
In a separate communication to feed industry stakeholders including NGFA, AAFCO requested animal feed and pet food industry organizations to actively engage with hemp producers, as well as state and federal stakeholders, producers, manufacturers, and consumers, to develop a pathway for hemp products to be legally approved on a national level. AAFCO also stated that it will reach out to stakeholders to discuss whether there are opportunities to collaborate in finding an alternative path to state-by-state approval of hemp and hemp byproducts.
AAFCO’s Hemp and Hemp Byproducts in Animal Food position paper and guidelines are available on its website.


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With the supply of on-demand streaming companies, will international piracy die down by itself?
In its Global Piracy Report for 2017, Muso 300 billion visits to piracy websites, up 1.6% year-over-year. Streaming music piracy alone within the UK elevated 21%.
The firm’s international piracy knowledge platform tracks piracy in movie, TV, music, publishing, and software program.
While most individuals now subscribe to Spotify and Apple Music, Christopher Elkins, the corporate’s Chief Strategy Officer, defined piracy “stays a major problem.”
Now, Muso has unveiled a number of stunning information in its research analyzing 2018 piracy web site habits.
Are streaming music platforms curbing stream ripping?
Last 12 months, the corporate tracked over 189 million visits to piracy websites final 12 months.
TV remained the preferred content material for piracy. Nearly half (49.four%) of all exercise targeted on pirating tv packages. Film, music, and publishing had a respective share of 17.1%, 16%, and 11.2%. Software piracy got here in final place with round 6.2%.
Similar to its outcomes for 2017, the United States topped the listing of nations with essentially the most visits to piracy websites – 17 billion. Russia got here in second with 14.5 billion, adopted by Brazil, India, and France with 10.three billion, 9.6 billion, and seven.four billion visits, respectively. Turkey (7.three billion), Ukraine (6.1 billion), Indonesia (6 billion), the United Kingdom (5.eight billion), and Germany (5.four billion) rounded out the highest ten.
Developed markets noticed a steep decline in piracy in comparison with 2017. Yet, visitors to infringing content material in rising markets elevated. Brazil, for instance, noticed a 12.5% soar to over 10 billion visits. Citing one other instance, Indonesia’s visitors to piracy web sites elevated 9% to six billion.
Around the world, software program piracy elevated 17% between 2017 and 2018. Publishing piracy elevated 11%.
In addition, virtually 60% of all piracy visits are to unlicensed internet streaming websites. This mirrors the development in authorized consumption, serving to the market transfer away from content material possession to on-demand streaming.
Public torrent networks, as soon as a well-liked piracy supply technique, now totals simply 13% of all piracy exercise.
Stream-ripping additionally fell 13% between 2017 and 2018 – from eight.9 billion visits to 7.7 billion. In excellent news for the music trade, music noticed the most important general decline of piracy – 34%. This was primarily as a result of YouTube-MP3.org’s closure in 2017, resulting in a 16% drop in general stream-ripper visits.
Speaking in regards to the findings, Andy Chatterly, Muso’s Co-Founder and CEO, defined,
“In 2018, we’ve seen a 10% improve in folks bypassing serps and going on to the piracy vacation spot of their alternative.
“Simply specializing in take-downs is clearly a whack-a-mole strategy and, whereas an important a part of any content material safety technique, it must be paired with extra progressive pondering.
“With the suitable mindsight, piracy audiences can supply big worth to rights holders.”
Just don’t overlook to inform that to the RIAA, which is – and shedding – its personal battle to infamous Russian stream-ripper, FLV.to.
Featured picture by Roger Gregory (CC by 2.zero).


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Let’s strike while the iron is still hot shall we? Today we bring you a humble review for a humble title, one whose name may sound odd or even inappropriate for the site and yet a must review title. This is a humble title with a somewhat niche following, but it still puts some main stream ones to shame. Read on if you are interested (we could use some hits too).
It’s been a while since we reviewed a manga (or anything for that matter), so we have a special review for you! This manga is rather famous around the internet, has an interesting premise, and it happens to be a mixed bag of both good and bad. So, let us spice things up and skip right into this review!
The year is coming to a close and so we have decided to present to you a, “Decade List,” allowing us to break away from the tedium of reporting news that garner three or so comments in hopes of striking an interesting conversation. Be warned this list is highly biased as it comes straight out of my personal opinion, both as a writer and an otaku.
The year is coming to a close and so we have decided to present to you a “Decade List,” allowing us to break away from the tedium of reporting news that garner three or so comments in hopes of striking an interesting conversation. Be warned that this list is highly biased as it comes straight out of my personal opinion, both as a writer and an otaku.
Fans of Spice and Wolf will be delighted (or saddened) to know that the 15th volume of the light novel series, to be released this week in Japan, will open the final story arc. The volume in question will not be the final part of the story, though. It will merely the beginning of the end. Read on for more info on this series.
There seems to be a recent surge in manga coming back from the grave. Ken Akamatsu’s Love Hina will not be one to miss out on the newest trend and so it will be back, although briefly, it will be a one-shot special in full color to celebrate the 300th of Akamatsu’s other work (Negima!) The special volume will be released within the pages of the 40th Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine.
Blockbuster Director James Cameron spoke to the movie website “Coming Soon” in an interview, where he revealed his interest in pursuing a live action adaptation of the popular classic “Battle Angel Alita”, whether or not this is good news is subjective to most, but stay after the jump for more.
The virtual Idol and Vocaloid superstar Hatsune Miku will now be gracing the pages of Weekly Young Jump. Her most recent incursion into manga-land will take up four panels a week to bring her fans a bit of joy with each edition of the magazine. Starting on September 2, Kentarō Hayashi will begin his work on this particular release.
It’s been a year since word first got out on the street of this anime adaptation, but it has been nothing but awkward silence ever since, at least until now. An announcement has been made as of yesterday, reporting next year as the title’s tentative release date, so read on for the details.
Those of you following the manga to its conclusion have a new reason to be cautiously excited; a new side story coming to us from Shonen Gangan is set to bring some new life into the title. The side story will be helmed by Hiromu Arakawa, the man behind the original. Read on for the known details.
The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Warner Brothers “is in the process of securing the rights to” Tite Kubo’s Bleach manga. Director, Peter Segal (Anger Management, The Longest Yard, Get Smart) is lining up to produce, but not direct the live action film.
It’s official! The popular manga, Yankee-kun to Megane-Chan (known as Flunk Punk Rumble in the US) will soon get its own TV series, according to this week’s Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine. Those of you who have been following the manga since it was originally launched back in 2006 will be glad to hear a premiere date of April 23rd 2010 has been set.
Recently, manga artist, Takeshi Obata, famous for his work on Death Note and Bakuman, designed a new cover for famous works of Japanese literature, including Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human and Soseki Natsume’s Kokoro, two of the most popular and highest selling books in Japan.
Fujimi Shobo, a Japanese publishing company, has officially announced that the author of Kaze no Stigma, Takahiro Yamato, officially passed away on July 20, 2009. The story, created in 2002, now remains incomplete with eleven volumes.
An anime entitled, Soreike! Anpanman, was just accepted into the Guinness Book of World Records for highest number of characters in an animated franchise. The children’s superhero comedy show is listed with having 1,768 different characters appear on the show’s first 980 episodes. Originally airing on October 3, 1988, Soreike! Anpanman has stayed strong for over 20 years.
In July of 2008, manga artist, author of the yaoi series, Haru o Daiteita, or Embracing Love in English, was accused of tracing an ad from a highly popular Italian fashion brand called, Diesel. Nitta confirmed the accusations last summer, saying that she did indeed trace the ad for the opening of Embracing Love, chapter 49, Stand on Vessel.


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U.S. stocks rally on Wednesday, extending gains into a second day, as concern about Chinese markets ebbs and as Wall Street considers a downward revision in the nation’s economic growth. See full story.
Thor thrives while Apple remains dead money
Earlier this year, Bill Gunderson declared Apple dead money. Nothing has changed his opinion on that, but a stock that has currently caught his eye is RV maker Thor Industries which currently has what Apple lacks. See full story.
Microsoft leads tech gains ahead of Build event
Microsoft Corp. leads strong gains for the tech sector, as the software giant scores an upgrade ahead of the kickoff of its Build developers conference. See full story.
Fed action brings on the ‘Deflation Trade’
The end of quantitative easing brings with it the end of the “Reflation Trade,” which since 2009 has been the best game in town. And with that change, its opposite, the “Deflation Trade,” will now be ushered in. See full story.
U.S. economy’s first-quarter growth slashed
The U.S. economy grew a lot slower in the first quarter than previously believed, mainly because of softer spending on consumer services such as health care, takeout food and travel. GDP See full story.
After celebrating the Supreme Court’s decision, same-sex couples may want to phone their accountants. In addition to having implications for Social Security benefits, child care rights and retirement planning, the high court’s ruling the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional might mean a check from Uncle Sam. See full story.


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India set to conclude FTA with Asean
Commerce Secy GK Pillai points out that China concludes a FTA in goods with Asean and is negotiating one on services.business Updated: Nov 21, 2007 18:21 IST
India announced on Wednesday it was set to conclude a long-awaited free trade agreement (FTA) with Asean by early next year, with differences over preferential access confined only to a handful of products.
Both sides have agreed to settle these issues by March 2008 with a view to concluding the FTA in goods by May 2008, Indian Commerce Secretary GK Pillai spoke in Singapore on the sidelines of the India-Asean Summit.
Pillai's comments came a day after economic ministers of Asean and India held informal consultations Tuesday.
Pillai said the issues now pending for settlement included differences over tea, coffee and pepper that are almost wholly exported to India only by Vietnam from the 10-member Asean grouping, and palm oil, which is produced by Malaysia and Indonesia.
The two sides had agreed upon what is known as a Normal List, under which 80 per cent of goods would attract zero tariffs over a period of time, and also a Sensitive List, where five percent of tariff rates would apply.
Under the Negative List, there will be no tariff cuts on 489 items. These cover just five percent of the India-Asean trade.
Pillai indicated that even the differences with Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia over palm oil, tea, coffee and pepper had narrowed considerably.
The row over Brunei's export of petroleum -- constituting just one percent of India's fuel imports -- had also been settled for all practical purposes, he said.
"Between now and March 2008, we will have informal consultations," Pillai said, adding both sides would show flexibility.
He added that there had been domestic pressure in India "here and there" on the tariff cuts demanded by Asean. "We hope to close the deal by early next year," he said. "We are more or less seeing the end of differences."
Pillai pointed out that China had concluded a FTA in goods with Asean and was negotiating one on services. Similarly, Japan and South Korea had concluded FTAs on goods and services respectively with Asean.
First Published: Nov 21, 2007 18:15 IST


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Weighing an average of 9.3gms, the bottle contains 25 per cent less plastic than its predecessor and 60 per cent less plastic than the company's original, pre-Eco-Shape half-litre PET bottle, introduced in the mid-‘90s.
"The second-generation Eco-Shape bottle is our gold standard for lightweighting, and is among the lightest half-litre plastic bottles available in the marketplace today," said Andrius Dapkus, the company’s director of innovations and renovations. "We've reduced our use of plastic resin by 80m pounds annually, while also making sure the bottle is durable and appealing for consumers."
Last September, Nestle Water North America CEO Kim Jeffrey predicted that reducing bottle weight from 12.5g to 9.5g would mean that a 24 pack half-litre case would contain only 8oz of plastic. The lighter container would cut Nestle’s volume purchase of PET resin by 95m lbs a year, delivering an annual saving of $62m based on market rates in July, he said.
Meanwhile, Dapkus re-affirmed the company’s commitment to the sometimes turbulent bottled water sector. "Bottled water continues to be one of the fastest growing packaged beverages,” he said. “With about 70 per cent of US households drinking bottled water, reducing the plastic in our bottles is one of the best ways to reduce our carbon footprint."
The launch of Nestle Waters' lightest ever half-litre bottle will help the company exceed its goal for plastic reduction, or lightweighting, in its half-litre, single-serve bottles by an additional 15 per cent by 2010, it said.
Eco-Shape 9.3gm half-litre bottle is currently rolling out the following brands: Poland Spring, Brand Natural Spring Water, Arrowhead, Brand Mountain Spring Water and Nestle Pure Life, and Purified Water.
Spring water brands
From next spring, the Eco-Shape bottle will be used for the half-litre regional spring water brands: Deer Park, Brand Natural Spring Water, Ice Mountain, Brand Natural Spring Water, Ozarka, Brand Natural Spring Water, Zephyrhills and Brand Natural Spring Water. Additional product sizes are planned for next year.
The company has also introduced a cap for them which will weigh only one gram. And the company has eliminated cardboard side walls from most of its 24-packs of bottled water.
Nestle pledged to develop a next-generation bottle made entirely from recycled materials or renewable resources by 2020.


text: Trials Evolution get a new gameplay trailer Thursday, 29 March 2012 18:26 GMT By Stephany Nunneley Share on: Facebook Twitter Reddit Google+ Ubisoft has released a new gameplay trailer for Trials Evolution. Watch below. Game’s out April 18. Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. For more information, go here.


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Speaking to FoodProductionDaily at Interpack 2014 in Dusseldorf, Germany (May 8-14) Green said its recent acquisition of FOODesign, based in Oregon, US, was ‘not the end point’ and it planned to make more announcements in the New Year.
“The Middle East and Africa is growing very quickly now because people have more disposable income,” said Green.
“As that’s growing the trend to start snacking increases with it. We currently have an office in Dubai serving the whole of the Middle East and we have plans to open a second office in the region.
“We have 13 offices around the world and open one in Germany to cover central Europe this year. We are continuing to expand and our support structures in the markets that are growing.
“Wherever the market is, that’s where we will be and we plan to make another announcement in the next 12-18 months. We have our eye on two or three regions for expansion and the Middle East is one of them.”
Green said the company was looking to develop its western snacks with a spin on the flavours to meet the Middle East market demands, for example, instead of using potato as a base, using chick peas, cumins and more Moroccan style flavours, which it is still developing with its customers.
“We see South America moving beyond an emerging market right now and the challenge is to integrate the products we have got,” added Green.
“Also, in countries like Africa, customers are starting to install small processing lines and they are looking for someone to provide everything from the potato to the bag, not just the equipment but the total system in a fully integrated way and they need the experience of how to produce these products.”
Talking about the acquisition with FOODesign, Green said North America was an important market for tna and spoke about the relevance of hiring Neil Anderson who will be responsible for FOODesign’s sales operations, both nationally in the US and internationally.
Prior to FOODesign, Anderson was president of global sales and marketing for PPM Technologies.
“As we have expanded our product range it is very difficult for everyone in our sales and marketing team around the world to know everything about each of our products,” added Green.
“Where we’ve made these expansions from packaging to conveying into seasonal and spraying solutions we’ve had dedicated product managers, Neil is the fifth in the series of those. It’s a really important role to support the sales team and our customers.
“The developing markets are key to us. In terms of this acquisition we see it as bringing an innovation of choice to the ‘developed markets’ but our total integrated solutions to the ‘developing markets’. It fits both of our key objectives.”
tna acquired FOODesign, which makes fryers and cookers, including kettle batch fryers, baking and toasting ovens, and specialty roasting equipment for food processing plants, as of May 1.
The company will keep its name and become integrated into the tna group.


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Daily deals website LivingSocial is growing fast, and choosing the right team of lawyers to help it develop is a vital part of legal chief Rob Miller’s job
“I’ve always worked for companies that have disrupted their industries,” mulls LivingSocial international legal head Rob Miller. “Skype in communications, eBay in retail, LivingSocial in local e-commerce. There are lawyers who like that environment and lawyers who don’t. I do.”
It’s a good job he does like it, given the phenomenal growth in group buying and the subsequent take-off of LivingSocial. A digital nobody in 2008, the daily deals site now boasts more than 60 million members and operates in more than 20 countries.
One step ahead of the law
“Giving small businesses a large online platform is something new – it’s early days for local, social commerce,” Miller enthuses, explaining how this ‘something new’ has caught the eye of the consumer. According to LivingSocial investor Amazon. com, revenue rose by nearly 170 per cent in the first quarter of 2012. “The challenge is keeping up-to-date with the technologies coming out when laws were written before these were even invented,” says Miller.
It is a challenge that seems fitting for Miller. He was formerly general counsel at Skype, where he expanded the company’s in-house legal and regulatory team from five to 25 at a time of high business growth (Skype grew its user base from 50 to 600 million during the time Miller was general counsel) – growth that was similarly seen years earlier when he was senior director of legal and government affairs at eBay.
“Who I hire, in a way, is the most important part of what I do here,” Miller says, expanding on similarities between eBay, Skype and LivingSocial. “Like eBay and Skype, LivingSocial is a high-growth, entrepreneurial company where the legal team continues to expand.”
That expansion ramped up a notch last year when LivingSocial acquired a majority stake in one of Europe’s first group-buying sites LetsBonus, before taking over one of South Korea’s largest daily deals sites Ticket Monster. The acquisitions brought the number of countries that LivingSocial operates in to 24, with Miller responsible for legal matters in all but North America.
“In all our countries there’s competition, so I need a legal team that has passion for the company and can see where the business is growing,” Miller clarifies, while discussing last year’s expansion in South Korea, where he recently added a new regional legal head. “Hiring the right lawyers is integral to the direction of the business.”
It’s a fair point. As at most fast-growing dotcoms, in-house lawyers at LivingSocial need to prevent legal risk without suffocating innovative business ideas.
“Law is always going to be slower than technology so it’s important for our lawyers to have an acceptance of ambiguity,” he says, returning to the fast, unpredictable growth of the company – this year has already seen the opening of new offices in the UK and Ireland. “We have to have the confidence to take calculated risks – to be compliant but not in a way that harms the business.”
LivingSocial’s famously eccentric editorial is one example of this. Miller needs to make sure that the copy for every deal complies with marketing and advertising rules – a task made difficult when more than 300 are uploaded each day.
“The key is in the training,” says Miller when asked how he keeps the company’s ‘off the wall’ writing style from being considered misleading. “All the copywriters get legal training on how to write copy for, say, an alcohol deal or teeth whitening. You have to be careful not to appear pushy while ensuring flexibility for copywriters to keep deals fun and interesting.”
Understanding that balance, Miller underlines, is the value of a good in-house lawyer.
“They need to understand the needs of a business and know its objectives,” he says, when the subject of consumer protection is broached. “Consumers are the driving force behind our business; they want high-quality merchants, accurate information and the confidence that they are seeing compliant marketing. It pushes the boundaries of legal beyond legal advice – it’s more about offering business advice.”
This has involved advising on product launches, on online travel service Escapes and on the site’s newest feature LivingSocial Shop.
“It’s not just about daily deals,” Miller says, pointing to the newest platform – a feature that sees the site take on the role of retailer. “The challenge, in the end, is keeping up with new ideas.”
Rob Miller: LivingSocial
Position: Head of legal (international)
Reporting to: General counsel and president Jim Bramson
Legal capability, (international): Nine
Catherine Nelson, vice-president legal, Lastminute.com
The downturn has forced online travel agencies (OTAs) to rethink their operating models, investing in organisational and structural change programmes to strip out costs while maintaining or increasing revenue growth.
At the same time, the European online travel market is fragmented and competition is fierce. OTAs must innovate to win. Delivering on strategic projects – product developments, flash sales, mobile and social media – is vital.
In-house legal teams are busier than ever. Change programmes can create a heavy additional burden and legal teams are being asked to do more with less.
Meanwhile, the authorities in Europe are introducing legislation such as the Consumer Rights (or ‘Cookies’) Directive, aimed at strengthening the rights of consumers shopping online.
Staying abreast of upcoming law can be a full-time job, but understanding is only the first step.
Implementing regulatory change in a fast-paced technology business can be complex and costly. Corporate counsel are forced to vie for space in the product release cycle, persuading business and product leaders to divert resources away from innovation and into compliance. It’s not enough to comply with the law, in-house counsel are expected to find solutions that preserve the integrity of the customer experience and let innovation flourish.
Overall, the challenges faced by in-house OTA legal teams have never been steeper, but they reflect the tough economic climate in a fast-paced, innovative and highly competitive sector.
Amy Werner, general counsel, AOL
I have the dream legal job.
Being the general counsel of the European leg of a cutting-edge media and advertising organisation that is rapidly expanding is both challenging and rewarding.
I’ve worked for AOL for 11 years and have seen numerous changes during that time, but our recent acquisition of The Huffington Post is the most exciting.
AOL’s acquisition of The Huffington Post has not only changed the direction of the company, but has also had a significant impact on how the legal function supports the business. The need to work closely in collaboration with our US legal colleagues is even more important, especially as we expand into more countries in Europe and elsewhere.
Consistency in our policies to ensure that Arianna Huffington’s vision of her company is not lost is key. To achieve this, the legal teams in the US and the UK work closely together to create policies that can be applied globally, instead of simply localising a US policy as we would have done in the past.
This can be a challenge when it comes to the various laws in the countries where The Huffington Post is made available. However, so far I believe that we’re achieving this through teamwork and being flexible in changing the way we work.
It’s an exciting time at AOL and I am extremely privileged to play a role in the expansion of The Huffington Post. Along the way we will continue to improve our processes to ensure consistency and create efficiencies.


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Even though the US and Mexico are the 2 fattest nations in the world, a study by Credit Suisse reveals that it is not they who eat the most fatty foods. It is the Spanish who rank #1 when it comes to the biggest fans of greasy foods.
The study also lists the other 20 countries from around the world who eat fatty foods most frequently.
Coming in after Spain, where 45% of the population eats greasy food regularly, is Australia, with 42% being loyal fans to fatty foods.
Samoa, France, Cyprus, the Bermuda Islands, the Ukraine, Polynesia, Austria and Switzerland are the countries where 41% of the population consume oily foods on a regular basis.
In the US and Italy, people who eat greasy food the most make up 40% of the countries' populations. After them we have Canada, Iceland, Greece, Belgium and Norway with 39%.
Coming in at the bottom of this negative list is the Czech Republic and Sweden with 38% of people who regularly eat something fatty.
But the order is different when it comes to the countries with the fastest-growing obesity rates in the world, and according to researchers this is due to the fact that the amount of fat consumed does not always affect weight.
In the Western world, it is generally accepted that fats make you fat. But the amount of fat in the body does not just depend on how much fat we eat, claim the authors of the study.
Out of the countries listed, only Spain and Australia regularly show up on the lists of nations with the highest percentage of obese and overweight people.
Researchers are adamant that greasy foods, just like sweet and sugary foods, invoke a sense of pleasure and this makes a person want to have more of that food.
The dopamine our body releases when we're eating something fatty is the main culprit which can make us become addicted to fatty foods. The effect is the same as with opiates.


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Why the Porsche-Piech family is not rushing in to fix VWWed, 27, Apr 2016
The Porsche-Piech clan, led by Wolfgang Porsche, that controls scandal-hit VW Group has the voting power to muscle through change at the automaker, but family members are not acting on it. That has left a power vacuum even as VW faces costs that could top $30 billion.
Porsche gives new Cayman downsized, turbo engineMon, 25, Apr 2016
Porsche introduced the third generation of its midengine Cayman sports coupe at the Beijing auto show, a model with virtually the same performance specs as its Boxster roadster sibling, including a new 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine that has a turbocharger to achieve both better output and lower CO2 emissions.
Porsche appoints Gartner expert to drive new technology developmentsThu, 14, Apr 2016
Porsche has hired a specialist from U.S. information technology industries consultant Gartner to lead the development of online connectivity in its sports cars, the company said.
Porsche Macans grounded at ports get CARB approval, head to dealershipsTue, 12, Apr 2016
After weeks of waiting, Porsche Cars North America on Monday received certification of its 2017 Macan from the California Air Resources Board.
Paul Walker's daughter receives $10.1 million settlement in actor's deathFri, 08, Apr 2016
The 17-year-old daughter of late actor Paul Walker has reached a $10.1 million settlement with the estate of the man driving the car that crashed and killed them both in 2013, her attorney said on Friday.
Porsche Macan grounded in 13 CARB statesMon, 11, Apr 2016
A CARB certification slowdown has frozen shipments of 2017 model Porsche Macans bound for 13 states. The slowdown is part of the fallout from the Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal.
Porsche to revamp vehicle loaner programMon, 11, Apr 2016
Porsche is changing its loaner program to get more vehicles into dealer fleets. New vehicle launches could mean another sales record in the U.S. And customer deliveries - along with a track test drive - will begin at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta.
Porsche not liable for actor Paul Walker's death, judge rulesWed, 06, Apr 2016
A federal judge ruled it could not be proved that Porsche is responsible for the accident that led to the death of actor Paul Walker.
Supercars could go silent as hybrids, self-driving take holdTue, 05, Apr 2016
The appeal of a supercar used to be relatively straightforward: aggressive styling, a growling engine, and racetrack-ready handling, garnished with an exotic name. But the time-honored formula is being tested as customers demand more than just acceleration and a gawking public.
2nd-gen Porsche Panamera gets a lighter platformMon, 04, Apr 2016
Porsche's second-generation Panamera will debut this fall at the Paris auto show using parent Volkswagen Group's lighter-weight, more fuel-efficient MSB platform.
Porsche to revamp loaner program as fix for diesel Cayennes preppedSun, 03, Apr 2016
A revamped vehicle loaner program will help Porsche dealers when it comes time for the automaker to make fixes on diesel-powered Cayennes in the hands of customers.
Porsche says industry-best 15% margin 'a sacred cow'Mon, 04, Apr 2016
Porsche's industry-leading profit margins have been the envy of carmakers the world over. But weatherproofing Porsche to withstand headwinds from stricter carbon dioxide emission reduction targets and the changing demands of the digital age means it will get harder, not easier, to maintain this streak.


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The Goodwood Festival of Speed isn’t just a bunch of cars speeding up hills.
It’s a festival of cars, and in recent years carmakers have used this motorsport festival in the UK to unveil their latest and greatest vehicles.
This year, many of these revelations were electric vehicles – but some combustion-powered vehicles also appeared.
Here’s a list of some of the new cars on display at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Concept EV Seven
Caterham has revealed the EV Seven technology development concept, aiming to test the feasibility of bringing a lightweight battery electric model to market that is as capable as its petrol counterpart.
The Caterham EV Seven concept is based on the iconic Seven chassis and was designed in collaboration with Swindon Powertrain Ltd.
MORE: Caterham EV Seven concept previews electric sports car of the future
Soon Caterham will no longer produce the car variant that dates back to 1957.
The British sports car firm has revealed Project V, an all-electric coupe concept that is “potentially” due for release in late 2025 or early 2026.
The Caterham Project V concept was designed by the company’s new chief designer, Anthony Jannarelly, and built by Italian engineering firm, Italdesign.
MORE: Iconic British manufacturer unveils electric sports car concept
Ferrari has revealed the latest in its Special Projects programme, a one-off track car that has been designed specifically for non-competition track use.
Dubbed the Ferrari KC23, this one-off car was commissioned by “one of Prancing Horse’s leading collectors”. It took over three years to develop.
The KC23 uses the highly successful 2020 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo as its base and retains the mid-mounted 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine.
MORE: Ferrari KC23 revealed as futuristic one-off racer
Mustang Mach-E assembly
When the all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E was revealed in late 2019, it was the first time a Mustang-branded vehicle received four doors. Now it moves further from its chariot roots.
Dubbed the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally, the new variant revealed at Goodwood will be available for the first time in the US and Europe and sports, naturally, rally-inspired tweaks.
MORE: Untamed Ford Mustang Mach-E off the beaten track
Ioniq 5 N
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is a hotter, track-ready version of the South Korean automaker’s electric crossover that was initially revealed in 2021.
A Hyundai Australia spokesperson has confirmed the Ioniq 5 N will arrive locally in the first half of 2024.
One of the main highlights of the Ioniq 5 N is the dual-motor all-wheel drive power generator that produces a total system output of 448kW of power and 740Nm of torque.
There is also an ‘N Grin Boost’ (NGB) function that increases output to 478kW and 770Nm for 10 seconds.
MORE: Everything you need to know about the 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
Grenadier Hydrogen Demonstrator
Ineos has revealed a hydrogen fuel cell demonstrator (FCEV) version of its Grenadier rugged off-road vehicle.
Designed in collaboration with Austrian engineering firm AVL, this demonstrator Ineos Grenadier uses BMW’s “latest” hydrogen FCEV powertrain, which it claims is the “most advanced and powerful in the automotive sector”.
Ineos did not provide any details or release the output on the hydrogen fuel cell powertrain other than to say the electric drive unit provides “true torque vectoring drive control to each rear wheel”.
MORE: Ineos unveils rugged hydrogen-powered off-road cruiser
Look out, LandCruiser 70 Series.
Budding off-road specialist Ineos is launching its own go-anywhere with the Grenadier Quartermaster.
The brand unveiled the ute at Goodwood while simultaneously opening orders in Australia. It is priced from $110,000 before on-road costs.
MORE: Ineos Quartermaster 2024 price and specs: Rugged ute debut
Lamborghini revealed its first Le Mans Daytona h (LMDh) prototype at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Dubbed the SC63, this racer will compete in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar class which includes races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as in the GTP IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship Endurance Cup class which includes races such as the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Manufacturers including Acura, BMW, Cadillac, and Porsche already have LMDh racers. Alpine recently revealed the A424 LMDh racer and like the Lamborghini SC63 it will start racing in 2024.
MORE: This is Lamborghini’s wild new LMDh race car
MG has remained tight-lipped about the technical specifications of its electric Cyberster that has dropped even after showing it off at Goodwood, but engineers have shared one wild figure.
Asked specifically about Cyberster’s rumored performance, SAIC Motor’s director of electric drive engineering, Wang Jian confirmed that the sports car is not only capable of accelerating from 0-100km/h in less than three seconds, but when tested, it reached a time of 2.6 seconds.
“I tested it at the proving ground only, and it was amazing, it was crazy,” Wang Jian said.
MORE: Electric MG Cyberster will be faster than Ferrari 296 GTB
MG 4 X Power
MG has revealed the global version of the electric Mulan Triumph Edition dual-motor all-wheel drive hatch.
Now wear MG 4 XPower nameplate, the hot hatch produces 320kW of power and 600Nm of torque.
That’s 10kW and 100Nm more than the Mercedes-AMG A45 S, and enough to propel the little hatch from 0 to 100km/h in just 3.8 seconds with launch control.
MORE: MG’s new electric hot hatch is faster than the AMG A45
The MG EX4 Concept uses the MG 4 XPower as a base and is a modern take on the iconic MG Metro 6R4 Group B rally car from the 1980s.
The concept is powered by the same dual-motor electric powertrain as the MG 4 XPower which produces a total system output of 320kW of power and 600Nm of torque.
MORE: MG’s latest concept harkens back to its roots
Concept of Mission X
Porsche has used its 75th anniversary to showcase its latest hypercar, the successor to its 918 Spyder, in the form of the all-electric Mission X concept.
The Mission X is an electric supercar that Porsche says will be the fastest road-legal car on the Nürburgring racetrack, replacing the Mercedes-AMG One. That is, if it goes into production – which we doubt it will.
While details surrounding its powertrain are vague, the German marque claims it will have a power-to-weight ratio of one PS (0.735kW) per kg with significantly more downforce than the recently released 992 911 GT3 RS .
MORE: New Porsche hypercar EV goes fastest around Nurburgring


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Walmart e-commerce Way Up; Qualcomm 5G Chip-Better Battery Life; Google Gaming Press Event; Samsung Exits Blu-RayPosted: February 19, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment
It was primarily fueled by their growing online grocery business, but Walmart’s e-commerce sales were up a whopping 43% in the 4th quarter of last year. Techcrunch.com reports that the retail giant brought in $138.8 billion, just exceeding the forecast of $138.76 billion. Walmart offers grocery pickup at over 2100 locations and delivery at nearly 800 around the country.
Qualcomm has revealed their latest modem chip, the Snapdragon X55. According to cnet.com, it will run on anything from 2G to 5G networks. At 5G, it can run between 10 and 100 times faster, AND it will give you more range and will be more power efficient…giving users better battery life! Qualcomm expects to ship the first 5G modems to partners later this year.
Twitch, which has been owned by Amazon for several years now, has been getting into Google’s drawers, syphoning off talent and users from YouTube. Now, theverge.com says Google is planning to hold a mysterious gaming-related event at the Game Developers Conference next month. They allude to a big reveal on March 19th at 10am Pacific. It’s already been widely reported that Google has been working on their Project Stream service the last 6 months…that allows gamers to stream games in their Chrome browser. With this announcement tease, it appears that Google may be getting set to roll out a full game streaming service.
It’s a small blow to Blu-ray, but not nearly a death blow. Samsung is exiting the business. Arstechnica.com reports that they really haven’t had a new player since 2017, and now will exit the business. Part of the reason may be that they are getting trounced by the competition…Samsung has stuck with HDR-10, while Sony and Panasonic have offered Dolby Vision HDR support. At the esoteric level, home theatre enthusiasts adore Dolby Vision, because it allows a more finely tuned, beautiful picture. Sony and Panasonic plan to keep building Blu-rays, which are still selling fine (and they have had the lion’s share of the market, leaving Samsung with the scraps.) Of course, Playstation 4 and Xbox One consoles also play Blu-ray, so don’t expect the format to disappear overnight, despite the popularity of streaming.


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'Happy days' after first big weekend back in the centre of Wakefield
It was the first big weekend of 2021 for businesses in the city.
Though pubs, restaurants, salons, shops and other businesses were allowed to open from the Monday before it was the weekend that would really count in getting things back on track.
All week businesses across the city said there was a buzz about the place as the streets filled up again.
Laura Williamson, who owns salon Laura’s Beautique on Northgate, was able to reopen.
And she took the opportunity to move into the next door lot and open a new tanning salon with four beds.
Her idea was to bring a bit of the sun in a year when people might not be able to go abroad.
She said: “Especially with people not being able to go on holiday it seemed like the right time to open it
“It’s called Tanerife – it’s where the sun always shines.
“I wanted to create somewhere that people can come in and pretend like you’re in Bali for 12 minutes.”.
There’s also a room upstairs that local beauty therapists can rent.
Laura is offering 10 per cent off for new customers and more information is available on the salon’s Facebook page.
And Connor Heywood is another lauching his new venture, a vintage sweet shop, Sweet Swan, in the city centre.
The business is fittingly located in the former Thorntons lot.
The shop sells classic sweets like pick and mix, and traffic light lollies.
Elsewhere in the city pubs and bars welcomed back customers to outdoor beer gardens.
Louise Waters, landlady at Harry’s Bar in Wakefield city centre, said: “The first weekend went really well.
“It’s been a great start back – little bit rusty at the beginning of the week with staff and equipment and we ironed a few teething problems out but overall a steady week and decent weekend.
“It’s been lovely seeing the hustle and bustle and hearing the chatter and laughter. “Everyone has behaved and enjoyed being back. Let’s hope the weather stays kind to us!”
Harry’s installed a huge new outside, covered decking area to accommodate more customers.
The Travellers Inn at Stanley also decided to upgrade its outside with a large decking section.
Landlady Sam Carney said: “The weekend was absolutely brilliant and it’s good to be back.
“The police checked in with us too and it was all good.
“So happy days if weather is kind to us, it’s the boost all closed businesses needed.”
Gemma Woodhouse from the Fox & Hounds at Newmillerdam said: “It’s been a mad experience.
“So unbelievably busy, tonnes of five star reviews from people online, loads of fantastic feedback about how well organised we are.
“We practically ran out of everything in the kitchen, people were loving our food all weekend, we hardly ever run out of things because we like to be over prepared but the build your own burgers went down a storm!
“Grant and the kitchen staff have done record numbers for sure which is fantastic and they excelled to say the least.”
If your businesses has reopened or you are launching a new venture get it touch and let us know.
How did you spend the first weekend as lockdown restrictions lifted?
Welcome back: Laura Williamson at Laura’s Beautique, Connor Heywood at Sweet Swan, the outside area at Harry’s Bar, and, inset, Wakefield city centre


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Standard & Poor’s indicated that it may upgrade its debt ratings for the Authentic Brands Group (ABG) based on the amount that it will raise through its planned public offering. The credit rating agency said it expects ABG to use the proceeds to repay a portion of its debt, which amounted to $1.8 billion as of March 31.
That would reduce the company’s debt/Ebitda ratio, which has been estimated by S&P at 4.8 times on an adjusted basis for the 12 months ended March 31. In turn, this would provide ABG with additional flexibility in financing new acquisitions such as the possible takeover of Reebok in combination with Wolverine Worldwide, which may cost a total of at least $1.2 billion.
“We could raise our ratings if Authentic Brands repays a material amount of debt, continues its strong operating performance, and we believe management’s financial policies will allow it to sustain leverage of less than 5x over the long term,” S&P added.
So far, ABG has only said that it plans to raise $100 million through an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, without indicating yet the timing, how many shares it wants to sell or their target price. S&P believes that its current shareholders will want to control 70 percent of the equity.
A closer look at the prospectus filed by ABG for its IPO shows that gains of $200.9 million from joint ventures based on the equity method allowed it to book a net profit of $278.1 million in the first quarter of this year. This compares with a net profit of only $54.2 million in the same quarter of 2020 after losses of $35.9 million from its joint ventures. Adjusted Ebitda rose to $120.5 million in the quarter from $94.7 million. Revenues went up by 33 percent to $160.1 million.
In fact, ABG only has minority stakes in the joint ventures that operate the core business of brands such as Spyder, Volcom, Tapout, Nautica, Aéropostale, Lucky Brand, Brooks Brothers, Eddie Bauer or Forever 21. In the “active” sports sector, which accounted for 10 percent of its revenues last year, it controls other brands such as Airwalk, Prince, Tretorn or Vision Streetwear. Fashion and footwear brands such as Barneys New York, Juicy Couture or Nine West represented 31 percent and 25 percent of the turnover, respectively.
Like other brand management groups, ABG handles brand strategy and marketing and derives its revenues from royalties on licenses signed for the brands in its portfolio. Organic growth and acquisitions allowed it to book a compound average growth rate of 30 percent in the last five years. Its revenues rose to $488.9 million in 2020 from $331.0 million in 2018, thanks in part to an expansion in the number of brands from 28 to 35 over the period.
Due to the Covid pandemic, however, ABG’s revenues grew by only 2 percent in 2020. Net earnings jumped by 191 percent to $210.9 million from $72.5 million in 2019, when it took a non-recurring nine-figure loss on the sale of investments. Adjusted Ebitda increased by 6 percent to $373.3 million last year.
In filing its prospectus, ABG said it can count on future contracted minimum royalties of more than $2.6 billion, with more than $400 million due in 2021 as well as in 2022. At the retail level, its brands are generating annual sales of more than $14 billion, and ABG is estimating its total market opportunity at some $13 trillion at retail.
ABG has particularly strong opportunities for development outside North America, which represented 79 percent of its licensing revenues last year. A move in this direction was its recent establishment of an office in London for the EMEA region, headed up by Henry Stupp, the former CEO of Apex Global Brands (formerly called Cherokee Global Brands).


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Dusit Thani Manila latest news
WEDDING INSPIRATIONS BY DUSIT THANI MANILA
01 October, 2013
Every girl’s dream is to have the perfect man, the perfect wedding gown, the perfect venue and the perfect touches that will transform her wedding day into an idyllic and romantic fairytale fit for the books.
On Saturday, October 5, 2013, Dusit Thani Manila will let you and your partner soak up elegant and great ideas for your big day.
Dubbed as “Wedding Inspirations by Dusit Thani Manila”, the bridal fair will be held at the Grand Ballroom from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and will feature this year’s latest wedding trends—from bridal couture, floral arrangements to décor, bridal gifts and inspiration.
Soon to wed couples who will confirm their wedding reception at Dusit Thani Manila on the said date will receive complimentary accommodation at Dusit Thani Manila plus a chance to win exclusive prizes and a Honeymoon Package at the luxurious Dusit Thani Maldives inclusive of a round-trip airfare for two.
Witness a wedding fashion show featuring designs from the country’s respected and top designers such as Ferdie Abuel, Ivar Aseron, JC Buendia, Joel Bautista, Jun Escario, Joel Escober, Pepsi Herrera, Frederick Peralta, Edwin Tan and Kristel Yulo. Styling the hair and make-up of the models are Jackie Rivera and Madge Lejano.
In partnership with renowned event stylist Henry Pascual, the event is also supported by Lifestyle Network, Metro Magazine, Metro Weddings, Rustan’s, Bridalbook.ph, Kasal.com, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Crossover 105.1, Bankard, Windsor & Tiffany, Olive Tree, Metrophoto and Jason Magbanua.
For pre-registration, guests may log on to www.kasal.com or you may call Dusit Thani Manila’s Events Department at +63 (2) 238 8888.


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Day 3: A wave of companies will be showcasing their products and technologies this week at NCTA 2002 in New Orleans. The CED Magazine staff will bring you the latest news and product information each day live from the show. Below is a glimpse of what's happening at the show, but for complete show coverage visit: www.cedmagazine.com/cable2002/index.htm .
MidStream, Harmonic blend technologies
MidStream Technologies Inc. announced integration of its new IP2160 Media Server with the Harmonic Inc. Narrowcast Services Gateway (NSG) product line, enabling flexibility, scalability, and capacity, while lowering costs for cable operators deploying VOD/SVOD services, according to the companies. This combination offers advantages to cable operators deploying centralized on-demand servers in the headend, or utilizing the flexibility of an edge-based delivery approach with on-demand servers at the distribution hub.
The IP2160 can simultaneously deliver more than 500 unique broadcast quality MPEG-2 programs, sustaining a throughput of almost 2 Gbps. The NSG 8200 has Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) inputs and DVB/ASI and QAM modulated/ upconverted RF outputs.
Thomson expands product lineup as part of broadband initiative
French consumer electronics supplier Thomson is broadening its broadband device lineup as part of a new initiative to more strongly court cable MSOs.
Unveiled this week at the National Cable Television Association convention in New Orleans, the initiative focuses on broadband cable hardware, software and services to cover a wide range of content development, access and distribution.
Thomson's RCA brand has become one of the leading names in retail cable modem sales, and it also has a steady consumer audio and video business. Part of the new initiative expands beyond modems to devices that deliver voice-over-IP services, digital and high-definition video and interactive services, including video-on-demand.
It also will cover the systems to produce the content, including software, studio cameras and film imaging, processing, distribution and post-production. Part of the initiative also includes a plan to accelerate high-definition television rollout, starting with better coordination with retailers and an advertising push for a new line of high-definition monitors set to debut this year. Following that, Thomson will also work with MSOs to coordinate HD rollouts to complement the cable industry's announcement of an HD deployment plan last week. That process should be able to accelerate high-definition TV in the next two years, according to Carl Bruhn, Thomson's general manager of strategy and services.
Thomson has a line of cable consumer premise equipment, including new VoIP and DOCSIS 1.1 wireless gateway units, and a new high-definition TV set-top gateway to pair with RCA HD television sets.
Mediacom, Concurrent deploy satellite-based VOD
Mediacom Communications Corp. and Concurrent Computer Corp. have successfully deployed video-on-demand over Motorola's National Authorization Service (NAS). The integration of Concurrent's MediaHawk VOD System into Mediacom's Headend in the Sky (HITS)-based network enables Mediacom to offer VOD to 40,000 homes in the greater Mobile, Ala. area.
Mediacom plans to deploy VOD in several additional new markets by the end of the year.
The integration effort crossed several technology platforms and allows interactive content to be propagated and managed over satellite and transmitted to Mediacom's master headends and then distributed to its broadband customers. "VOD is an extremely compelling value-add to our subscribers," said Joseph Van Loan, Mediacom's senior vice president of technology, in a statement. "Our goal is to continue to add to our already widely accepted bundle of advanced broadband services."
High-speed vendors fuel up with 'Propane'
Two cable modem termination system (CMTS) vendors and three more cable modem manufacturers said they have become the latest to adopt Broadcom Corp.'s "Propane," a DOCSIS-compatible software component designed to triple the upstream in the cable return path without upgrades.
Specifically, ADC and Arris will incorporate the technology in their respective CMTSs, and Scientific-Atlanta, Tellabs and Thomson Multimedia plan to add Propane to their new cable modems. In February, Com21 became the first manufacturer to add Propane, agreeing to use it in its DOXcontroller XB system.
Broadcom added Propane to its roster in early 2000 when the company bought start-up Digital Furnace for $136 million. At the time, Broadcom said it expected the technology would kick in as operators reached scale for new high-speed data services, and when voice and data applications ran over DOCSIS 1.1-compliant devices.


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1,284 Cambodian women garment workers lost their jobs during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic when their factory, owned by Ramatex, abruptly shut down. They were never paid their full wages and benefits, yet they were making products for one of the richest brands in the world: Nike.
Almost 2 years on, Nike still has not paid the US$343,000 in severance and wages and over US$1 million in damages owed to these garment workers.
It’s time to take action against Nike and get them to listen to women garment workers!
You can join this global campaign by sending a message to Nike executives now – and it will only take a few minutes!
Your message to Nike demanding them to respect the women who make their clothes is ready to go – just add your name and email address.
Note: your email will also be sent to senior executives at Matalan, a major British retailer that also sourced its products from Ramatex, the owner of the the now closed Violet Apparel factory.


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» Bhabhi Ki Gand Sasur Ne Meri
Bhabhi Ki Gand Sasur Ne Meri
Bhabhi Ki Gand Sasur Ne Meri on Technology News and Updates AdmaTechnology.com at Thursday, April 24, 2014
Offered at a price of about $0.9 per download on the Apple App Store.
Game featuring one of the founders of Apple, Steve Wozniak, entitled “Danny Trejo’s Vengeance : Woz with a Coz ‘officially began circulating on the Apple App Store [...]
Lenovo’s new hotshot in laptops for SMBs, M490s, offers several security features and maintenance through LSSB (Lenovo Solutions for Small Business).
Among them is a Software Monitor that works to improve security by ensuring the safety of the [...]
The workings of the technology they have is to change the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere the air and make it as synthesis gas.
A genius engineer from England middle pioneered a new technology that can produce fuel (gasoline) made of [...]
If you had to choose between Galaxy S4 or the iPhone 5, which one is your favorite?
This question may arise when someone wants to buy the iPhone 5, but curious to see what the Galaxy S4 and decided to wait for him to be compared directly.
For that, AdmaTechnology tried [...]
If you like music, then you need to think of having mp3 downloader for pc since it can be a tool that you can use to pick any songs that you like the best. And there are many brands of mp3 downloader you will come across out there. With this condition, [...]
An Iranian scientist has claimed that he managed to create a time machine.
Scientist named Ali Razeghi has filed a design called ‘Aryayek Time Travelling Machine‘ to the Centre for Strategic Inventions.
Quoted from Huffingtonpost, Friday [...]
If the server Mega returning confiscated or hacked by anyone, files and data in it is not accessible at all.
Step Kim DotCom as lord and founder of MegaUpload seems difficult to be stopped by anyone.
A number of media and internet analyst is reporting [...]
Team University of Bangor, Wales, successfully developed a system of internet at speeds up to 20 Gbps, and can be increased up to 40 Gbps.
Some time ago, Google released a statement that surprised many observers and internet users around the world today [...]
The name is usually known as a popular browser, Firefox, is now present as the operating system of a smartphone made by Alcatel.
Quoted from Ubergizmo, Monday (2/25), in the event Mobile World Congress 2013 Barcelona, Alcatel introduced a product called [...]
BlackBerry seems very serious enrich the application ecosystem. This is evidenced by the achievement of 100 thousand apps in the app store BlackBerry World.
Quoted from Slashgear, Friday (22/3), this means that BlackBerry has added about 30 thousand [...]
Sony’s new hero class ‘affordable’ has arrived in Indonesia. Products named Xperia E is available in a single version of the SIM and dual-SIM.
One feature that is favored is HD Voice, where its function is to clear up the sound when [...]


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Samsung Galaxy Note 9 first impressions: bigger screen, S-Pen goes Bluetooth, huge battery and AI cameras the highlights
New handset is an evolution of Last year’s Samsung flagship, and comes with a 6.4-inch screen, new chips that give it a faster data connection, and improved processors. The S-Pen stylus can function as a remote control for presentations
Samsung is sticking to its tested formula for the Note 9, its newest high-end smartphone. The company unveiled the latest addition to its Galaxy smartphone line-up at a New York event on Thursday, where it increased the screen size of its largest smartphone but kept most of its core features the same.
The new release follows a quarter of disappointing sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S9. Samsung is facing increased pressure from Chinese smartphone makers overseas and a continued battle with Apple for market share in the United States.
The Note line, which set the trend for large-screen phones and includes a stylus, has traditionally been one of Samsung’s most distinctive and has acted as a testing ground for new features. And despite a disastrous spate of battery fires that prompted the recall of the Note 7, the Note line has proved to be the Samsung product with the most loyal following.
The Note 9, which has a 6.4-inch screen, comes in two colours: blue and lavender. The blue phone has a yellow pen, which slots in to the bottom of the phone. The release date for Hong Kong is to be announced.
The S-Pen, the Note stylus, has got the most technological upgrades since the last model. It now has a Bluetooth connector, meaning it can function as a remote control for giving presentations or listening to music. Samsung said the pen’s battery will last for 200 clicks, or a half-hour. It will charge in less than a minute.
The Note 9 itself looks fairly similar to the Note 8, but it has a few key differences. One is the battery, which has got a size bump to 4,000 mAh – up from 3,300 mAh – which the company says should extend the battery life beyond a day of use.
In a nod to the battery fires that forced the company to recall and discontinue the Note 7, Samsung reiterated that its eight-point battery check that was instituted after that debacle remains in place.
New chips in the smartphone give it a faster data connection, and Samsung is using that connection and improved processors to frame the Note 9 as an ideal mobile gaming device.
Jumping on the Fortnite trend, Samsung has struck a deal with Fortnite developer Epic Games to give all Note 9 users in the US access to the game. Those who pre-order may also opt for a special Fortnite skin and voucher for the app’s in-game currency.
The Note 9 retains its dual-camera set-up but has new software that uses artificial intelligence to identify what you’re shooting before you snap the shutter.
Apart from unveiling the phone, Samsung announced a new smartwatch, called the Galaxy Watch, that can connect to cellular networks without a phone, similar to the latest Apple Watch. The company also teased the Galaxy Home, a voice-controlled speaker that houses its Bixby assistant.
Still, smartphones remain the company’s most important consumer electronics products and the linchpin to its reputation for innovation. In that way, the Note 9 may fall short of some competitors. Many of the features announced for the Note 9 are already par for the course for Chinese firms. Huawei has used artificial intelligence to set photo modes for more than a year.
Vivo, Oppo and Huawei are all experimenting with different camera placement, packing in more cameras or positioning them to give users a bigger screen on the front. Some also have licensed technology to put the fingerprint reader in the phone’s screen.
And several smartphones – including some Samsung sells in China – already have a battery as large as the Note 9′s, or even larger.


text: Current AffairsHealthLatestPakistanPopulation Corona virus: Citizens should avoid buying Lunda, medical experts warn by News Line October 23, 2020 written by News Line October 23, 2020 19 views 19 Corona virus: Citizens should avoid buying Lunda, medical experts warn The Corona virus has now begun to draw a line between “Lunda” and the public through a cheap means of covering the body of the poor and protecting them from the winter. Whereas the poor of the country used to meet their needs by buying Lunda’s goods at cheap prices, now Code 19 has started creating gaps between the people and Lunda. Medical experts have advised citizens not to buy warm clothes for the winter from Lunda Bazaar in view of the resurgence of the corona virus epidemic all over the world. Medical experts say that the corona virus can be transmitted to Pakistan through used clothing and other items imported from other infected countries, leading to an increase in the spread of this contagious disease. Click here to find Latest Jobs in Pakistan Even before the onset of winter, citizens have flocked to Lunda markets across the city to buy warm clothes. However, medical experts have warned citizens to refrain from buying warm clothes from Linda Bazaar to protect themselves from the cold this time. It is to be noted that the traders in Karachi supply Lunda goods from all over the country including warm clothes, jackets, shoes, hats, comforters, blankets, carpets, and other items. The largest Lunda Bazaar in the city is set up at Sher Shah Haji Camp, Light House, Baldia Town, and Saddar where SOPs are being dismantled as well as Lunda goods from all over the world are being sold. Which is causing the spread of Corona throughout the city. However, medical experts say that this time, warm winter clothes should not be bought from Linda Bazaar. Read all latest news 0 comment 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail News Line Blogger and Content writer previous post Safdar Awan granted bail in Quaid’s mausoleum sanctity case next post Railway Board Govt Jobs 2020 Related Posts A coal mine fire in southern China’s Guizhou province kills... September 25, 2023 Putin to meet Chinese president next month, report September 20, 2023 Bitter meeting of the Canadian High Commissioner in the Indian... September 19, 2023 India could be behind killing of Canadian Sikh Leader: Trudeau September 19, 2023 9 Juvenile Inmates Escape from Pennsylvania’s Abraxas Academy September 18, 2023 14 people dead as plane crashes in Brazils Amazon September 17, 2023 Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.


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Apple would really, really like its employees to keep their mouths shut. At least, that’s the clear takeaway from an internal Apple memo suggesting grave consequences for anyone who leaks company information to the press.
The FBI did not have the technical capability to access an iPhone used by one of the terrorists behind the San Bernardino shooting, a Justice Department watchdog has found.
A report by the department’s Office of Inspector General sheds new light on the FBI’s efforts to gain access to the terrorist’s phone.
The delay in typing in messages, or the lag in loading my mail on my iPhone, has been explained. Apple has confirmed that it does deliberately slow down the operation of older iPhones, and says it is doing so to avoid the devices from shutting down because of aging batteries.
Apple has been accused of being ‘racist’ after a Chinese boy realised he could unlock his mum’s iPhone X using the facial recognition software.
In one of Apple’s biggest security blunders in years, a bug in macOS High Sierra allows untrusted users to gain administrative control without any password.
It’s frustrating when an iPhone slows down, just like it is when leaves clog your gutters, or your pumpkin spice latte gets cold.


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With an NBA return on the horizon and pent-up demand driving viewership, could Disney’s [DIS] sports segment contribute further to the firm’s recent share price bounce back?
After having almost half of its value wiped out as a result of coronavirus, Disney’s share price is finally showing some signs of recovery, rising 31% in the last two months to reach $123 as of 4 June.
Much of this share price bounce back is due to the expected return of the entertainment giant’s parks, cinema and sports businesses, which were disrupted entirely when the pandemic struck at the start of the year.
In what may come as a surprise to some, Disney’s sports properties are now expected to push its share price performance, despite setting it back over the past few years due to dwindling viewing figures.
Appetite for Disney’s sports businesses was shown with the success of its ESPN series The Last Dance — chronicling the career of basketball star Michael Jordan. The show became the most popular documentary on Netflix and ESPN within two weeks of its launch in April.
Disney expects more good news in this area after the virtual NFL draft reached a record 55 million viewers over three days on ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes and other digital channels, highlighting viewers’ craving for live sports. The NBA has also just announced that it will resume the 2019-2020 season in late July at one of Disney’s facilities.
Months of restriction on live events, shopping and other forms of social activity has created pent-up demand among consumers, according to analysts. This means companies like Disney are likely to see a spike in activity as restrictions on movement ease.
Last month, tickets sold out in minutes for the return of Disney’s Shanghai resort, which reopened on 11 May, highlighting consumer appetite for such activity, according to Josh Enomoto writes in InvestorPlace.
“Imagine when traditional sports finally reemerge. Even in mitigated form, America’s religion – otherwise known as the NFL – will make for compelling viewing. Again, when you’ve been deprived for so long, you’ll relish any semblance of the old normal,” he said. “The concept of pent-up demand is very real. And that should provide a nearer-term lift for Disney stock.”
Enomoto’s comments echo Disney chairman Bob Iger’s recent statement for Q2 results, in which he stated that people are looking for reasons to feel good. “They want to experience joy and the feeling of togetherness. And for all these reasons, we will continue to tell stories that uplift and enrich people's lives,” Enomoto wrote.
“The concept of pent-up demand is very real. And that should provide a nearer-term lift for Disney stock” - Josh Enomoto
The only way is up?
Disney may experience a short-term respite once its parks, cinemas and sports venues are opened, but adverse factors are still likely to hinder its share price in the future. Disney’s Q2 earnings report, posted in early May, highlights that the company could have a tough couple of years ahead.
The company reported a 58% drop in operating income for its Parks, Experiences and Products segment. Although such a steep drop is unlikely to be seen again as social distancing rules are relaxed, it is also true that, at least for the near future, its parks will be running at a reduced capacity (around 30%, according to its latest report).
Drop in operating income for Disney's Parks, Experiences and Products segment
Additionally, Disney has already raised nearly $7bn in debt and added another $5bn to its credit facilities in order to keep the business going while parks are closed. These factors have also pushed Disney to suspend its dividend payout for the first half of the fiscal year to preserve around $1.6bn. These factors combined are likely to impact Disney’s share price in coming years.
Disney’s bright spot has been its direct-to-consumer business. As of 4 May, its new Disney+ streaming service had 54.5 million subscribers — a figure that is likely to keep growing as it enters new markets such as Japan. This hasn’t been enough to please trade investors and analysts, however, as many have downgraded the stock in recent months.
“Disney now looks like a name that should be ‘traded,’ rather than ‘owned,’ at least for now.” David Miller, analysts at Imperial Research,” wrote in late May.
Miller lowered his share price rating on Disney to underperform, and cut its target share price to $105 from $107. He also lowered his forecast for Disney’s third-quarter revenue to $12.8bn from the $14.7bn expected.
|PE ratio (TTM)||42.04|
|Quarterly Revenue Growth (YoY)||20.70%|
Disney share price vitals, Yahoo Finance, 8 June 2020
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Previewed on Titolo, these "White/Sail" Huarache NMs aren't technically a "triple white" colorway, but they're close enough. The two-tone runner's neoprene Huarache bootie is more of an off-white "Sail," while the rest is composed of an unblemished white.
Just in case you've been living under a rock for the past few months, all white sneakers are very much the move this summer. From the adidas Ultra Boost to the Nike Sock Dart, the triple white hype is real, and now one of Nike's updated classics is joining the fray. These probably won't drop in the U.S. anytime soon, but you can cop them online from Titolo on May 30.


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Audi says new synthetic fuel could make a significant contribution to climate protection
Audi has begun production of a synthetic diesel fuel, which is said to be carbon-neutral, at a pilot plant in Dresden.
The fuel is produced using CO2, which is supplied by a biogas facility. In addition, initially a portion of the CO2 needed is extracted from the ambient air by means of direct air capturing, a technology of Audi’s Zurich‑based partner Climeworks.
Reiner Mangold, head of sustainable product development at Audi, sees Audi e‑diesel and Audi e‑fuels in general as an important component that complements electric mobility: “In developing Audi e-diesel we are promoting another fuel based on CO2 that will allow long‑distance mobility with virtually no impact on the climate. Using CO2 as a raw material represents an opportunity not just for the automotive industry in Germany, but also to transfer the principle to other sectors and countries.”
The Dresden plant is set to produce over 3,000 litres of Audi e‑diesel over the coming months.
Audi is also conducting joint research into the synthetic manufacture of Audi e‑gasoline with Global Bioenergies, of France. In a further project, Audi has joined forces with the US company Joule, which uses microorganisms to produce the synthetic fuels Audi e‑diesel and Audi e‑ethanol.


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Until May of this year, the Finnish city of Espoo was famous for
being the birthplace of Formula 1 driver, Kimi Raikkonen, and for
being the Nokia headquarters. But since then, it's added a new
claim to fame: it's the hometown of Kirsi Pyrhonen, the
most sought-after model in the world.
And it's all thanks to her appearance on the cover of Vogue Italia, shot by Steven Meisel and shared with her colleague Daria Strokous. For the almost 17 year-old Kirsi, it was the confirmation of her arrival, the real launching pad for her career. She had already appeared in Vogue Italia last July (in a fashion editorial shot by Paolo Roversi) and an ad camparing for Balcenciaga, and she's got several important jobs coming up - like an appearance in the September issue of an important magazine, photographed again by Steven Meisel, as well as a shoot for W magazine, where she'll be captured by Mert&Marcus.
"Posing for the cover of Vogue changed my life," confessed the young model, whose career began four years ago when a talent scout spotted her at Ikea, where she was shopping with her mother. Elina Simonen, the first photographer to work with her, knew immediately that this fresh-faced beauty would go far. "I was struck by her calmness and serenity in front of the lens," she says. "Kirsi has a natural, pure and essential beauty."
Despite her amazing and rapid success, Kirsi keeps her feet firmly planted on the ground, continuing to define herself as "a high-school student who every so often takes a plane to be a model." However, Kirsi's life seems to heading more and more in the direction of the runway, and less towards University. Her work commitments and requests for her keep flooding in from around the world, keeping her far from her native Finland.
For now, the new star of the fashion system has two obejectives: to concentrate on the Fashion Weeks in New York, Milan and Paris and to start dedicating herself once again to her studies. Her last report card, apparently, left a lot to be desired. As we mentioned, she's a girl with her feet on the ground.
Last On Vogue
A chat with Kristin Prim, the founder of The Provocateur, the site that publishes letters written expressely by leading women addressing the whole female world. Vogue.it presents you an exclusive preview of the letter written by Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer


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Surprise! Apple has one more event this year. At last month’s iPhone 15 event, supply chain issues reportedly halted hardware announcements. This year, the company is holding a standalone event instead of press releases for its final announcements.
Last week’s Scary Fast invites raised hopes that an October event could signal the release of new desktop silicon. The difference from the others is that there is no in-person component. Thus, significant news, but perhaps not enough to warrant global flight.
Its start time is unusual too. Instead of 10AM PT Tuesday morning, kickoff is 5PM PT/8PM ET Monday night—All Hallows’ Eve. Apple’s events page is still the fastest and easiest way to follow along (besides bookmarking TechCrunch). As usual, Apple will stream on YouTube. That one lags behind the other, if that matters.
In addition to Halloween references, “Scary Fast” may refer to new chips. The silver Apple logo on the invite and the AR effect that turns it into the Finder widget indicate new Macs.
Thus, the most likely headlines are a new 24-inch iMac and a MacBook Pro refresh powered by the M3 and M3 Pro chips. A 32-inch iMac/iMac Pro is also in the works, but it won’t launch until next year. However, Apple may release new hardware to celebrate macOS Sonoma’s release.
iPad may get some love this time. The Pro seems most likely, but the entire line is up for grabs this time. This would also be a good time to update USB-C devices before the holidays. Nearly three years have passed since the AirPods Max debuted.
Any member of the line could update like last month’s AirPods Pro 2. I hope standalone USB-C cases will become available. Regardless, the event will likely feature more than Macs. At the iPhone event, the Vision Pro received little stage time. Discuss demos and release more content now since it’s coming early next year.


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The famous Bavarian car maker Mercedes-Benz is already topping the charts of Formula one, and now the company is looking to continue its success stories even in the Formula E races as well. Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix ltd has signed an agreement with Formula E operations ltd by which Mercedes can enter the Formula E competition in its 5th season. According to the agreement, the German company can choose to be one of the maximum of 12 entries to be proposed by the championship promoter to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to enter from the 2018/19 season.
Mercedes would have the choice to be one of the two new entries that would be allocated slots in the Formula E’s fifth season. The Formula E is an all-electric car racing series, and was started back in 2012 at Beijing. Teams like Renault e.dams, ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, DS Virgin Racing, Dragon Racing, NEXTEV Team China Racing and Team Aguri fights for the top spot in the Formula E championship and the introduction of Mercedes would heat up the event even further.
According to the CEO of the racing event, they are excited to reserve a spot among two empty spots in the championship and is looking forward to turn the event into a platform, where car manufacturers can build and test their electrical vehicles and eventually introduce these technologies to on road cars, which would be available for the masses. The introduction of a brand like Mercedes in the Formula E championship would be a major boost to achieve the objective of building more electric cars that would eventually make the world greener and less polluted, hence making Formula E a very relevant platform in the future.
This announcement from Mercedes came after it unveiled an all electric sub brand EQ at the 2016 Paris Motor show. So one can expect Mercedes would use the Formula E as its testing platform.


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You are hereHome >
Consumer Groups Call for Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Investigation of Online Advertising and Consumer Tracking and Targeting Practices
The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), two of the leading public-interest advocacy groups working on behalf of a more diverse and competitive online environment, filed a complaint today with the Federal Trade Commission calling on the commission to undertake an immediate, formal investigation of online advertising practices. As the groups make clear in their 50-page filing, the data collection and interactive marketing system that is shaping the entire U.S. electronic marketplace is being built to aggressively track Internet users wherever they go, creating data profiles used in ever-more sophisticated and personalized "one-to-one" targeting schemes.
"Unfortunately, over the last several years the FTC has largely ignored the critical developments of the electronic marketplace that have placed the privacy of every American at risk," declared Jeff Chester, CDD executive director. "The FTC should long ago have sounded a very public alarm--and called for action--concerning the data collection practices stemming from such fields as Web analytics, online advertising networks, behavioral targeting, and rich 'virtual reality' media, all of which threaten the privacy of the U.S. public."
Current privacy disclosure policies, CDD and US PIRG contend, are totally inadequate, failing to effectively inform users what data are being collected and how that information is subsequently used. While many companies claim they collect only "non-personally identifiable" information, they fail to acknowledge the tremendous amounts of data compiled and associated with each unique visitor who visits their website. Thus even if these companies don't know the names and addresses of users, they literally know every move those users make online, through sophisticated online tracking and analysis technologies.
“The emergence of this on-line tracking and profiling system has snuck up on both consumers and policymakers and is much more than a privacy issue,” said U.S. PIRG Consumer Program Director Ed Mierzwinski. “Its effect has been to put enormous amounts of consumer information into the hands of sellers, leaving buyer-consumers at risk of unfair pricing schemes and with fewer choices than the Internet is touted to provide.”
It is therefore incumbent on the Federal Trade Commission, according to the CDD/PIRG complaint, to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive practices by using its authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act to address this issue on a variety of fronts:
• launching an immediate investigation into the online marketplace in light of this new environment
• exposing practices that compromise user privacy
As a first step in this direction, the complaint urges the FTC to look closely at Microsoft's new set of adCenter services, a wide-ranging data-collection and ad-targeting scheme that is deceptive and unfair to millions of users. Especially disturbing is Microsoft's use of data gleaned from its Hotmail service (which attracts over 30 million users every month) to sharpen its ad-targeting efforts, and those of its adCenter clients.
"Microsoft, like Google and Yahoo, is actively rewriting the rules that govern the online marketplace," explained Chester. "It is the FTC's job to make certain that these rules reflect more than corporate self-interest. The public interest matters, too, and it is the FTC's responsibility to protect and promote that vital perspective, by issuing injunctions against the most egregious of the new invasive advertising practices, which are fully described in our complaint."
Your donation supports Arizona PIRG's work to stand up for consumers on the issues that matter, especially when powerful interests are blocking progress.


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Eurosmart announced the 2017 figures for worldwide secure element shipments and the 2018 forecasts. The overall growth trend is confirmed in 2017 (+3.6%) while the 2018 forecasts exceed 10 billion units.
“Cybersecurity concerns help to promote the secure element in all the market sectors. When there is a need of protecting critical assets such as cryptographic keys, biometry or personal data against hackers, mafia and terrorists, a temper resistant secure element is the best adequate solution”
Stéfane Mouille, President of Eurosmart, said.
Contactless transactions remain the driving force in the financial service market. This will end locking the maximum amount to be paid when using contactless technology at the point of sale.
In 2017, the contactless solutions registered +3,6% growth, driven by the adoption of contactless payment, transit and eID cards with more than 2 billion units shipped this year; overall it is set to increase in 2018 by +5%, reaching 2.1 billion.
The financial services segment is the one showing the best trends: 3 billion secure elements are estimated to be shipped in 2017 as against 2.9 in 2016, with +3.4% growth.
Within the sector, Eurosmart forecasts a further increase in 2018, when the part of global contactless payments is expected to amount to 47,6% (1.5 billion units) in the total market of financial services, driven by Visa and Mastercard dual interface mandates.
In 2017, the trend for contactless technology secure element was 280 million of shipped units with an increase of +7.7% in relation to 2016 (260 million) and an estimate of 300 million shipments in 2018 (+7,1%).
The demand for secure element shipments in the Government-Healthcare sector rose from 460 million in 2016 to 485 million in 2017, with an estimated increase of +7,8% in 2018 (510 million) crossing the percentage growth rate shown between 2016 and 2017 (+5,4%).
“The new generations of eID schemes, the launch of the eID notification with the eIDAS Framework in Europe and the introduction of eID in new regions like the African area are stimulating the demand in 2018. The recent Commission proposal for a regulation will foster the contactless secure element in all national identity cards in Europe, once adopted” Mouille explained.
Trends for device manufacturers, mainly composed of high end smart phone manufacturers, became significant in 2017 with 400 million embedded Secure elements. The growth is important and equal to +21,2% compared with 2016 (330 million of units) and 470 million units are expected in 2018, according to Eurosmart forecasts.
The embedded secure element registered an encouraging rise, due to an increased demand for wearables and new generation smartphones. These figures show the success of these means: they confirm our forecast for 2016 and 2017, anticipating that for 2018.
“The deployment of Secure elements in highly critical infrastructures is a valid example. Four years ago, the embedded Secure elements did not exist in all smartphones.” – Mouille added – “Now, they represent the 5% of the global market”.
The telecommunication and IOT connectivity market is slightly improving: it approximately earned +1% and in any case, it is still constituting about half of the global market with 5.6 billion units. We can note that a strong increase was registered for the Industrial IOT connectivity and security, which are largely driven by the M2M market, including automotive and smart meters.
Many consumers have already replaced the PIN code to unlock smartphones with biometrics, to make mobile and contactless EMV cards payments more secure. By combining the biometric identification with the payment instrument in a correct manner, security can be maximised without impacting the ease of use of existing infrastructures.
“Cardholder keeps his identity under his sole control” – Mouille states – “Biometric template & matching engine are stored and computed securely on the Secure Element, making this technology GDPR ready from the design”.


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Daksh Gupta of Marshall Motors
One of the UK’s leading automotive retail groups has turned in record results for 2017 despite a nationwide fall in new car sales.
The Marshall Motor Group saw pre-tax profits rise by 14.4% to £29.1m for the year ended 31 Dec 2017, with group revenue rising by 19.5% to almost £2.3bn.
This is despite a 2.6% fall in like-for-like sales of new cars, however, the group outperformed the rest of the industry with the SMMT reporting a UK-wide fall in new car sales of 5.7% in 2017.
Marshall has also revealed that chairman Peter Johnson will retire this summer and the company is now on the lookout for a replacement.
Daksh Gupta, group chief executive, said: "Despite the more challenging market backdrop, the board is pleased to announce another record financial performance which was ahead of our previously upgraded expectations.
“During 2017 we took a number steps, including the strategic disposal of Marshall Leasing, to prepare the group for the future.
“We are now focused exclusively on our motor retail business and with a significantly strengthened balance sheet remain ideally positioned to exploit future opportunities.
"The board notes the latest Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) UK new car market forecasts for a decline of 5.6% in 2018.
“As a consequence, the board therefore remains cautious about the UK car market in 2018 as it returns to a more normalised level.
“Our trading performance in the current financial year to date is in line with our expectations and our outlook for the full year remains unchanged.
"I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the board to thank our entire team and our brand partners for their continued support."
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The EA servers are down for many players. In Star Wars Battlefront 2 we’ve just been greeted with the 1006 error code, and after checking social media and forums it’s clear that other EA games are suffering with the same fate.
The EA Help Twitter account has recently posted: “We’ve heard about several fiber cuts making it hard to connect to the internet.” There’s login errors across all EA online games preventing players from getting online. The issue is affecting gamers in Europe and North America.
In the last couple of hours, EA has acknowledged the server problems by stating that they’re “aware of connectivity issues with our games and problems with , and we are working to resolve them.”
We’ll keep you updated.


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Trouva, an online marketplace focused on independent bricks-and-mortar boutiques, has been named as one of the best technology scale-ups in the UK for the third year in a row.
Tech5, the annual technology showcase organised by The Next Web (TNW) and Ayden, has selected Trouva following a year of significant European expansion: new locations launched through the platform include Berlin, Amsterdam, Madrid and Copenhagen.
It joins financial technology firm Revolut, energy supplier Bulb, employee engagement service Perkbox and money transfer firm Transfergo on the 2019 technology list.
These UK organisations will be judged against contemporaries from across Europe.
The winning scale-up will be announced at founder’s day of TNW’s annual conference on 8 May in Amsterdam.
Myles Dawson, UK managing director at Adyen, said: “The UK has a proud heritage of innovation and these companies are carrying that tradition proving that this country is an excellent place to start a new business that challenges the status quo.
“From innovative fintech firms, to improving relationships at work, challenging the established energy model or changing how we shop, these companies are not just some of the most exciting organisations in the UK, or Europe, they are making waves on the world stage.”