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India says it will boost its sluggish agricultural sector to ensure that the country's rising economy brings more benefits to millions of poor people. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, the Congress-led government has also promised measures to check inflation.
Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram promised Wednesday that the government will pay more attention to agriculture, which supports nearly two-thirds of India's billion-plus population.
He says India's farm sector has grown at an average rate of less than 2.5 percent in recent years. That is way behind the overall economy, which is racing ahead at around nine percent.
Presenting the government's annual budget, Chidambaram said he hopes higher spending on the farm sector will serve twin objectives: boost the incomes of India's 115 million farming families, and ensure that the country is self-sufficient in food.
"…A country with a large population has to be nearly self-sufficient in essential food items. Otherwise, supply constraints could upset macroeconomic stability and growth prospects. Hence, agriculture must top the agenda of the policymakers, and must hold the first charge on our resources," he said.
The government has announced a slew of measures to raise farm production, including cheaper credit, fertilizer subsidies, and higher spending on irrigation and rural roads.
It also slashed duties on such items as edible oils and gasoline, in a bid to rein in inflation, which is near its highest level in two years. It also plans to increase spending on health and education.
The finance minister expressed confidence that these measures will spread the benefits of the current boom without slowing the economy's momentum.
Analysts say the Congress Party-led government has turned its focus to agriculture and inflation after losses in two state elections this month. Discontent among poor people hurt by rising food prices has been blamed for the party's defeat. Congress faces more state elections this year, and general elections in 2009.


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Celona has launched a free 5G LAN device certification program to ensure 4G and 5G end-user equipment inter-operate on Celona enterprise 5G LANs.
The company offers 5G LAN solutions for enterprises as a subscription that includes hardware and software components. The Celona 5G LAN certification program allows businesses to access many compatible devices for specific edge use cases. Customers can leverage a plug-and-play experience on certified devices to increase deployment and adoption of private 5G networks.
“Celona’s certification program is one of the first to accelerate the adoption of enterprise private cellular wireless networks, ensuring the features and performance of our devices and modules on 5G LANs matches or exceeds their capabilities on traditional cellular networks,” said Tom Mueller, VP of product at Sierra Wireless.
As part of the program, the company has already certified several devices, including tablets, smartphones, IoT gateways, and CPE devices. Celona believes that the lack of interoperability between end-user equipment and private 5G infrastructure has deterred enterprise adoption. The company says the launch of the 5G LAN certification program will resolve these issues.
To certify 5G LAN devices, Celona validates them with Celona 5G LAN access points, Celona edge software, and SIM and eSIM credentials. The comprehensive process includes a wide range of tests and procedures. This program assesses essential compatibility and looks at key performance metrics, such as throughput, packet error rates, latency and handover times.
“5G LANs combine the reliability and security of cellular with the economics of Wi-Fi; however, companies need more assurance that devices will interoperate on private wireless infrastructure with zero issues,” said Julie Johnson, VP and general manager of mobile computing at Zebra Technologies.
Celona’s 5G LAN solution includes a software platform, private spectrum license, access points, LTE/5G mobile core, private SIM cards, and AIOps for infrastructure.
The Celona 5G LAN certification program also helps enterprises find the best devices for their specific applications without spending extra time and money.
“By participating in Celona’s 5G LAN device certification program, we are best positioned to help organizations maximize their investments in private wireless infrastructure by easily solving the critical use cases for which private wireless is ideally suited,” Johnson concluded.
5G | access point | Celona | CPE | LAN | mobile device | private wireless | Sierra Wireless

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Elastic BV Bearer and registered shares opened their books on June 3, 2021 for the quarter ended April 30, 2021.
Elastic BV Bearer and listed stocks reported a loss of $0.080 per share for the last quarter. In the previous year, the company generated earnings per share – $0.120 per share.
In terms of revenue, it was $177.6 million on books last quarter. This equates to an increase of 43.67% compared to sales in the same quarter of the previous year. At the time, Elastic BV Bearer sales and registered shares were $123.6 million.
Loss per share for the full year was $0.090. In the previous year, books were -0.930 USD per share.
In the last fiscal year, Elastic BV Bearer and listed stocks reported sales of $608.49 million. Accordingly, the company’s sales increased compared to the previous year, as it achieved 427.62 million US dollars, by 42.30 percent.
Analysts’ expectations for the last fiscal year were a loss of $0.169 per share and sales of $588.57 million.
Finanzen.net Editorial Team
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After being available for a matter of weeks, Apple’s third-generation iPad already accounts for six percent of the company’s total number of tablet computers.
The news comes from Chitika Insights, who notes that 6.6 percent of all iPads are the new model, with the remaining 93.4 percent being made up of Apple’s original iPad and the iPad 2. Regarding iPad usage in particular U.S. states, Apple Insider notes that:
Nevada has the highest concentration of A…
Continue Reading Here
Already, Apple’s New iPad Accounts For Six Percent Of The Company’s Tablets
Joe White – appadvice.com


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The leadership of cryptocurrency investment training platform BitDegree has created the Metaverse Education Alliance (MEA) to train developers working with...Read more
On Crpico.com you will find the latest and most relevant news about the bitcoin value and rates of other crypto-assets. You can get acquainted with the creation of various virtual currencies, including digital yuan, yen, dollar, ruble and find out and compare the best services for them. Learn about the process of mining, cryptocurrency wallets, cryptocurrency exchanges and scandals related to their activity.
You can learn about the latest and most relevant ICOs – initial public offerings of assets denominated in cryptocurrencies.
The latest hacks and attacks related to the theft of bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. The use of cryptocurrencies in the shadow sector and in the criminal world; the development of cryptoassets and blockchain technology.


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Latest Electric Cloud Inc. Stories
Electric Cloud also receives highest score for strategy SAN JOSE, Calif., April 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Electric Cloud (http://electric-cloud.com/)
ElectricAccelerator JobCache customers report additional 30 to 40 percent faster builds SAN JOSE, Calif., April 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Electric Cloud, the leader in enterprise Continuous
Speeding the delivery of quality software is critical to organizations of all types - and a hot topic at SXSW SAN JOSE, March 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Who:
With mobile development experiencing explosive growth globally, Electric Cloud offers Continuous Delivery SaaS service for faster and higher quality mobile app delivery SAN JOSE, Calif.,
Electric Cloud helps a growing number of enterprise customers streamline the software delivery process SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct.
Join panelists on Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. PST to discuss tips for delivering better software faster SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct.
Pullen brings significant global sales experience, along with a proven track record in product development and go-to-market planning and analysis SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug.
Discussion focuses on the best way to incorporate code review into development processes and how to integrate with a Continuous Delivery system SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug.
Participants can join the #DOES14 conversation via Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook to ask questions and learn more about the October 2014 DevOps Enterprise: The Agile, Continuous Delivery and DevOps
SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Electric Cloud, the leader in software delivery acceleration, will
- A person in a secondary role, specifically the second most important character (after the protagonist).


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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer emerged as the Internet company's second highest paid executive during her first five-and-half months on the job.
WASHINGTON (AP) - After a storm of complaints, the Obama administration on Tuesday unveiled simplified forms to apply for insurance under the president's new health care law. You won't have to lay bare your medical history but you will have to detail your finances.
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. home prices rose 9.3 percent in February compared with a year ago, the most in nearly seven years. The gains were driven by a growing number of buyers who bid on a limited supply of homes.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Las Vegas is getting a mega bowling facility.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes rose in March to the highest level in three years, pointing to higher sales this spring.
PLANO, Texas (AP) - J.C. Penney on Monday confirmed that Goldman Sachs will provide it with $1.75 billion in financing.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Trail mix. Potato chips. And now gum.
DENVER (AP) - Marijuana as a potential tax bonanza has Colorado lawmakers wrestling with a question both sides say they don't know how to answer: How much will people pay for legal weed?
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Siri may be feeling a little job insecurity. The sometimes droll assistant that answers questions and helps people manage their lives on Apple's iPhone and iPad is facing competition from an up-and-coming rival made by Google.
It must be a sign of the times, but almost every single day I get emails from seniors asking if they might be eligible for Social Security disability benefits. Baby boomers (like me) aren't just getting old; some of us are also getting frail. Our bodies are breaking down at a record pace! I'm probably a pretty good example. After a lifetime of essentially good health (I was once honored for using the fewest sick leave days by my former employer), in the past year or so, I've had to deal with issues as severe as blood ...
NEW YORK (AP) - Research firm IDC said more smartphones than "dumb" phones are being made this year, a milestone in a shift that's putting computing power and Internet access in millions of hands worldwide.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A bill to require Internet shoppers to pay sales taxes for online purchases may be cruising through the Senate but it will soon hit a roadblock in the House.
NEW YORK (AP) - The prom is making a big comeback.
MENLO PARK (AP) - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reaped a gain of nearly $2.3 billion last year when he exercised 60 million stock options just before the online social networking leader's initial public offering.
DETROIT (AP) - General Motors said Friday that a base model of the 2014 Corvette Stingray will start at just under $52,000.
SUNNYVALE (AP) - Yahoo said Thursday the government threatened to fine the company $250,000 a day if it did not comply with demands to go along with an expansion of U.S. surveillance by surrendering online information, a step the company regarded as unconstitutional.
CUPERTINO (AP) - Apple is poised to reveal its next big thing in a crucial attempt to prove its technological tastemakers still have the power to mesmerize the masses.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Twitter is taking its users shopping.
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Coming to Nevada's high desert: A massive, $5 billion factory that will pump out high-tech batteries for hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles.
BERLIN (AP) - Samsung unveiled two smartphones and a virtual-reality headset Wednesday in a bid to draw consumer attention before its fierce rival, Apple, announces its holiday lineup next week.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's respite from troublesome health care inflation is ending, the government said Wednesday in a report that renews a crucial budget challenge for lawmakers, taxpayers, businesses and patients.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A pair of Utah women dedicated to pushing back against the objectification of women say Carl's Jr. has gone too far with its long-running line of TV ads featuring women in bikinis eating the company's burgers in seductive poses.
NEW YORK (AP) - Home Depot may be the latest retailer to suffer a major credit card data breach.
NEW YORK (AP) - Squeezed into tighter and tighter spaces, airline passengers appear to be rebelling, taking their frustrations out on other fliers.
DETROIT (AP) - Big discounts. Six- or seven-year loans, in some cases to buyers who would have been turned down in the past.
MOUNTAIN VIEW (AP) - Google is hoping a new brand will help sell more of its services to other companies.


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Revolution Analytics wants to overthrow old statistical tools
- Jon Xavier
If you’re an expert looking to predict what the stock market will do based on what it’s done in the past, or what a pharmaceutical drug candidate will do based on what you know about the human body, chances are you already know about open source R programming language.
It’s become the standard statistical language in universities, and it has the potential to see wide use among scientists at biotech firms and analysts at hedge funds. But the wider business community isn’t using R yet, instead relying on analytical technologies designed more than 30 years ago.
Palo Alto-based Revolution Analytics is looking to change that.
Compared to older technologies, Revolution Analytics CEO Norman Nie said, the open source R programming language is much more flexible, and it enables users to do any statistical modeling operation on any conceivable data set.
To that end the company is marketing an analytics product aimed at business customers, called Revolution R, which it hopes will do for R what Red Hat did for Linux — making a powerful tool known to experts into something that can be used by everyone.
Revolution’s move into business analytics puts it head-to-head with some of the world’s largest software companies. IBM Corp., with its $95 billion in revenue last year, is a player, and the other big company in the space, SAS Institute Inc., had $2.3 billion in revenue in 2009. Revolution, by contrast, has $16 million in venture funding from Intel Capital and Northbridge Venture Partners, and a more modest sales projection of between $8 million and $11 million this year, Nie said.
New language is competitive
It would take a lot for a David-like Revolution to overcome two Goliaths, but Nie said R gives his company a key competitive advantage.
Jon Xavier can be reached at 408.299.1826 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
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The Outer Worlds delayed on Switch, physical version to be released on cartridge
The Outer Worlds, which was recently just given a March 6 release date on Switch, has been delayed. Publisher Private Division explained that Virtuos has been impacted by the coronavirus, so the extra time will allow the team to wrap up the port.
In other news, the retail version of The Outer Worlds will now actually come on a cartridge. It was originally planned to be offered as a download code.
Private Division said in a statement:
“We’re delaying The Outer Worlds on Nintendo Switch due to the coronavirus impacting the Virtuos team working on the port, to provide them enough time to finish development. We’ll now be releasing the physical version on cartridge. Once we have a new launch date, we’ll let you know!”


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Viking has released a number of new departure dates for its popular 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids Egypt river cruise-tour itinerary.
Departing between August 2020 and December 2020 onboard MS Antares, prices start from $7,595 per person in a French Balcony stateroom category.
“We’ve already received a lot of interest in these new 2020 departure dates — especially considering how quickly the 2018 and 2019 Pharaohs & Pyramids cruises sold out,” said Lubica Sibikova, Operations and Product Manager at Viking Cruises. “This river cruise really is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and guests are encouraged to book fast so as not to miss out,” she said.
Earlier this year, Viking made its Silver Spirits beverage package available onboard the Pharaohs & Pyramids river cruise for the first time. Guests can now purchase this package and gain access to unlimited premium wines, beers, cocktails, juices and soft drinks for the duration of their cruise for just $200 AUD.
For additional information, contact Viking Cruises at 138 747 (Australia) and 0800 447 913 (New Zealand) or visit vikingcruises.com.au.
SOURCE: Viking Cruises


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The Indian website Zomato that helps in discovering more places to eat and hangout has strengthened its global presence. Headquartered in Delhi, the company has added five new international cities across three countries. Besides this the portal that has slowly transformed into a foodie social network has done a major upgrade to its site, thus making it more social.
Adding to the 21 cities it was present in so far, Zomato has now expanded its reach in South Africa (Cape Town), the United Kingdom (Manchester, Birmingham), and entered the New Zealand market (Auckland, Wellington). Back home, Zomato also added to its list of Indian cities with the launch of its Guwahati section.
The site, which sees a monthly traffic of over 14 million users worldwide across its web and mobile properties, has done some major changes to its foodie network. Some of the key features that needs a mention are:
1. User moderation of reviews have been introduced in the new design. Super Foodies and Connoisseurs profiles will now be able to report a review as suspicious or fake.
2. Ability to uploading pictures to restaurants has been introduced too.
3. Users will be able to comment and ask follow-up questions on reviews.
4. Foodies will be allowed to get in touch with each other and plan meetups by messaging each other on the network.
5. Advanced review spam detection and reviewers would be going to be approved by Zomato. From now on new reviewers on Zomato will have to at least publish 10 reviews and get their profiles approved from Zomato moderators before their reviews become publicly visible.
Speaking about the changes, Deepinder Goyal, Founder & CEO, said
“The goal of personalized ratings is to protect users from the insane amount of information that is created on Zomato every day. Now, users will be able to create their own trust circle of restaurant recommendations. This should help our users to zero in on their next dining destination more easily.”
The majority of changes reflect Zomato’s belief in user generated content, which is a great move. But networks with user generated content face a big challenge in moderating the content or reviews as in the case of Zomato. The additional checks by Zomato are required and at the same time giving community the power to report reviews as suspicious or fake, is a long term thought. For Zomato, content moderation on a ongoing basis is not scalable.
During the Lemp Brewpup and Kitchen incident that highlighted a shocking case of bad customer service, the restaurant saw a massive southward fall to 1.3 from its earlier 3 point something rating on Zomato, after a negative blog post went viral on Twitter. One of the concerns that was highlighted by Lemp then was that most of the reviews were fake, hence leading to its downfall on the site. With the latest design changes in place, Zomato will help resolve such concerns.
Going further Zomato has plans to expand its reach into continental Europe, the Middle East, South America and South-East Asia, by this calendar year.


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Google’s latest Pixel 7 series made its debut recently this week. This news came just after a few days of Made By Google Event. It included the Google Pixel 7 and Google Pixel 7 Pro, alongside the Google Pixel Watch. Google Pixel Tablet was the much-awaited and the first tablet in Google’s Pixel range of devices to launch. A tipster revealed that the Mountain View, California-based giant is all ready to come up with its first foldable in early 2023, which is Google Pixel Fold.
Google Pixel Fold Reveals
According to the tweets on Twitter, Tipster Roland Quandt tweeted about the search giant’s first-ever foldable phone. Then DSCC analyst Ross Young replied to the tweet with a tentative arrival of the device.
Young said it may launch by the first quarter of 2023. That suggests the launch date be around early March of next year. Moreover, during the Made By Google Event, the launch was expected to be around this year. But that didn’t happen.
Also, Young tweeted to another user’s query who asked whether the Pixel Fold was cancelled; he said that the panel shipments start in January. Moreover, Young previously commented that the launch would be in Spring 2023 in the US.
However, a tipster in August, Evan Blass, said that the foldable comes with a codename Passport. That would launch early by this year. But Google didn’t say or make any announcement during its recent event.
What’s more on Pixel’s new Fold?
The new foldable was seen in a trademark and IPO listing in August. The filing showcases a similar design to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. At the start of this year, tipster Jon Prosser tweeted that the Google Pixel “Fold” is real. After which analyst Ross Young corroborated.
Young suggested that many companies would launch new folding smartphones, and Google would be on the list.
The specifications of the Google Pixel Fold have not been disclosed yet. But it will use Samsung-made ultra-thin glass (UTG) for the foldable panel. Google has recently been under the light for developing the Pixel Fold.
A writer finding words to describe my thoughts. I have always seen myself expressing more through writing. I write everything that includes poems, blogs, articles, news and now even tech news.


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Squirrels damage driver's car for third time costing owner thousands in repairs
TORONTO -- An Ontario senior says he has been dubbed "The Squirrel Man" by his dealership after the pesky animal damaged his SUV for the third time in just over a year causing thousands of dollars in repairs.
"The first time it happened they told me mice or squirrels have been at the wiring and chewed it all up and there is nothing we can do but replace the entire harness," Newcastle man Malcolm Reeve told CTV News Toronto.
Reeve and his wife, Beryl, bought a 2018 Ford Escape two years ago. The first time squirrels got under the hood and caused damage it cost $1,129 to repair. A year later it happened again and the repair cost was $1,074. Now, it’s happened again and the repair bill is expected to be $1,749.
Beryl Reeve said when it happened the third time she couldn’t believe it. "When we lifted that hood and saw the damage again I got in the car and cried," she said.
The Reeves are currently without their SUV as they have had to wait almost two weeks for parts to arrive.
"The car right now is being repaired at the dealership for the third time," Malcom Reeves said.
There have been some issues with rodents chewing wires on other makes and models of vehicles as well. Class action lawsuits were filed against Toyota and Honda claiming vehicles were defective because soy based materials that were being used were attractive to rodents. However, in 2018 both lawsuits were eventually dismissed.
CTV News Toronto reached out to Ford Of Canada. Lauren More, Vice President of Communications for Ford told said "Soy-based materials are not used for wiring or wiring casings in Ford vehicles."
The Reeves say they still need answers as to why squirrels keep damaging their vehicle.
"We live in an environment with plenty of cars but for some reason they keep targeting ours and I would like to know why," Beryl Reeve said.
The Reeves have tried online remedies to stop the squirrels such as using fabric sheets, moth balls and even wolf urine but nothing has worked. They are concerned once their vehicle is repaired, it could happen again.
It's a good idea to pop the hood occasionally to check for signs of mice or squirrel damage. There is anti-rodent tape you can buy that's treated with hot chilli peppers to try to stop rodents from chewing wires. You can also use wire mesh to plug any holes where they might get in.


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Over the last several years, physicians have been applying energy for skin tightening and other aesthetic corrections; yet, most devices still lack real-time feedback features that intelligently react to how much of that energy is reaching intended tissue targets. One manufacturer has dramatically raised the technology bar, giving physicians automated, intelligent guidance leading to better outcomes.
Multispecialty stem-cell task force recommends facility accreditation and licensure of clinics performing any type of stem-cell treatment
NEW YORK, March 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ – A recent article published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal, the clinical, peer-reviewed journal of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS/The Aesthetic Society) is calling for the FDA to expedite its oversight of companies and clinics offering stem-cell products and therapies.
Evolus (DWP-450; prabotulinumtoxinA) and Bonti (EB-001A; BoNT/E) report positive progress towards commercialization.
The Food and Drug Administration is in the process of evaluating scientific data on the safety of probiotics and postbiotics in cosmetics, said Linda Katz, M.D., director of the Office of Cosmetics and Color for the FDA.
The FDA is seeking permanent injunctions against a stem cell clinic in Florida and one in California to stop marketing stem cell products that lack FDA approval.


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YUBA CITY, Calif. — Sunsweet Growers has acquired a maker of dietary supplement beverages.
Sunsweet said its acquisition of Function Drinks is part of the company's ongoing action to help beverage brands enter the mainstream market. In line with the transaction, Sunsweet formed a wholly owned subsidiary, Disruptive Beverages Inc., which will house Function Drinks. Function co-founders Dayton Miller, who also serves as Function's CEO; Josh Simon, who also serves as Function's president; and Alex Hughes will continue to maintain leadership positions in the company, Sunsweet said.
"As an award winning co-packer of the highest quality beverages, Sunsweet is familiar with new, innovative beverages and the companies who introduce them," Sunsweet COO Dane Lance said. "For beverage ideas and companies that we truly believe in and that we believe are innovative and have a chance to challenge the 'beverage quo' we've set up a new approach to help them on their way."


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The beard grooming brand's crowdsourced music video is one minute long and celebrates facial hair, a byproduct of home quarantine.
Beardo, a men’s grooming and skin care brand, recently launched a digital campaign that unites men across India in a new crowdsourced music video to embrace and salute their beard and facial hair. The one-minute-long video features over 50 of India’s ‘beardos’ (bearded men) whose entries were shortlisted and edited in to the final video.
In the video - ‘ALWAYS A BEARDO’, the brand also emphasises on how many men have taken the lockdown time to grow their beard and experiment with a completely different look.
Men across the country were encouraged to share videos and images of their lockdown beards using the film’s soundtrack. The soundtrack was made free to download through an Instagram post.
While the crowdsourcing idea was able to accumulate around 10,000 responses from across India, as a token of appreciation the brand created over 3500 edits by way of personalized videos featuring every customer’s image and shared it back with them.
Talking about the campaign, Sujot Malhotra, chief business officer, Beardo, in a press release issued by the brand, said “ALWAYS A BEARDO is all about being loud and proud of your beards old and new. If there’s anything that isolation has done, it’s renewed the passion in men, giving them the time they needed to grow the beards or style the moustache they’ve always wanted.”
Understanding the current scenario of personal grooming, the campaign looks to give men the opportunity to showcase how they have been working on their beard, a prime aspect of men’s grooming.


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The point at which electric cars will become truly cost competitive with internal-combustion cars is a subject of vigorous discussion by advocates and skeptics alike.
But could tougher emissions standards help push the cost of electric and internal-combustion powertrains toward convergence?
Even if the cost of electric cars doesn't drop dramatically over the next few years, these standards could increase the cost of diesel engines to near parity with them, one Volkswagen executive believes.
The cost of meeting emissions standards could soon result in a "cost line crossing" of battery-electric and diesel powertrains, Volkswagen Group of America executive vice president Dr. Matthias Erb said in an interview with Green Car Congress at last months' Los Angeles Auto Show.
Strategists within Volkswagen predict that by "2023, 2025, due to the cost of meeting emissions standards, diesels are going to become really expensive," Erb said.
He didn't specifically address the impact of anticipated emissions standards on the cost of gasoline engines, which vastly outsold diesels in the U.S. even before it was revealed last year that VW installed illegal "defeat device" software on its diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests.
2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI
Earlier this year, VW North American boss Hinrich Woebcken said the company was effectively done selling large numbers of diesel cars in the U.S.
He attributed that decision not to the ongoing diesel emissions scandal, but to the anticipated cost of the exhaust aftertreatment systems that would allow diesels to meet future, more stringent emissions standards.
Volkswagen is now hurriedly pivoting to emphasize electric cars, with ambitious plans that include selling 1 million electric cars per year by 2025 across its sprawling lineup of brands.
That timing coincides perfectly with the "cost line crossing" of electric cars and diesel vehicles mentioned by Erb.
This plan will be put into action as part of a new corporate strategy called "Transform 2025+."
One component of that strategy involves building electric cars, based on Volkswagen's new MEB platform, somewhere in North America.
Volkswagen I.D. electric car concept, 2016 Paris auto show
The MEB platform was designed specifically for compact electric cars.
It underpinned two recent Volkswagen electric-car concepts: the Budd-e van and I.D. hatchback.
North American production of at least one MEB-based electric car will begin in 2021, according to the Transform 2025+ blueprint, but a specific production site has not been named.
The only Volkswagen electric car currently sold in the U.S. is the e-Golf, an all-electric version of the popular Golf hatchback.
All e-Golfs today are built in Germany, though the company recently announced that in addition to its main Wolfsburg assembly plant, the e-Golf would also be built at its showplace "Transparent Factory" in Dresden.
That site, with glass walls and immaculate conditions inside, was formerly used for production of the now-discontinued VW Phaeton luxury sedan.


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(CBS) - The reviews are out today for the Kindle Fire, but is Amazon's team is cooling the heat from mixed evaluations by releasing the tablet a day early?
"The wait is over. Kindle Fire begins shipping today!" the online retail giant announced unexpectedly via Twitter this morning. FYI, the mini-tablet was set to ship tomorrow. Now that it's here, what are people saying about it?
There are a few unenthusiastic reviews amid more positive responses, but the message is clear that the Kindle Fire is not an iPad killer. What is ever meant to be, though? It's pretty obvious that comparing the Kindle Fire to the iPad is like comparing a Mercedes Benz C-Sedan with the fancier and more expensive SL-Class. They're both great products that are built for different budgets.
Wired is not impressed
"iPad killer? No, the Kindle Fire is not. And it doesn't even match the iPad in web browsing, the one area in which its hardware should have sufficient performance to compete," said Wired's Jon Phillips, expressing his disdain for the comparisons between iPad and Kindle Fire. We don't blame him, however, should we be comparing a tablet with what's now being called a mini-tablet?
CNET thinks it's a good value
"The Kindle Fire is not the best tablet I've seen this year, but I have to give credit to Amazon for seeing something that no other manufacturer - not even Apple - was able to grasp. When you look at the gap between what tablets are capable of doing, and what people actually use them for, you'll find that most people just want to be entertained," said CNET's Donald Bell, who acknowledges the lack of tech specs that have been compromised for the sake of affordability.
The New York Times reminds us Kindle Fire is far from an iPad
David Pogue of the New York Times hit the nail on the head when he said the mini-tablet is "a cross between a Kindle and an iPad, a more compact Internet and video viewer at a great price." While he sees the value of a low-cost tablet, he continues to say, "it needs a lot more polish; if you're used to an iPad or 'real' Android tablet, its software gremlins will drive you nuts."
Engadget thinks Kindle Fire is a mobile Amazon store
In a reminder that Amazon is ultimately a business, Engadget's Tim Stevens says the mini-tablet is one big retail window for the company.
"Kindle Fire is great value and perhaps the best, tightest integration of digital content acquisition into a mobile device that we've yet seen," said Stevens. "Instead of having a standalone shopping app the entire tablet is a store - a 7-inch window sold at a cut-rate price through which users can look onto a sea of premium content. It isn't a perfect experience, but if nothing else it's a promising look into the future of retail commerce."
The reviews are thoughtfully mixed, but we think the message is clear. The Kindle Fire is not an iPad killer, but the price is right for anyone who wants to entry-level tablet.


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Car and Brand GAY Europeenne: Citroen and Fiat 500C
Ledorga society, which includes many gays and lesbians across Europe, carried out since 2005 WITH a survey of its members, who are invited to elect each year, their favorite car.
However, this year we added a supplementary vote, that of the preferred brand of the latter.
Car GAY Europeenne 2010
In the end, the vote was concentrated around three gigs and a small city, including:
Alfa Romeo 8C Spider
Aston Martin DBS Volante
And the winner is: Fiat 500C
Brand GAY Europeenne 2010
Unlike vote Car GAY Europeenne of the year, or there has been a battle between four cars very interesting, the choice of the brand GAY Europeenne was immediately concentrated around a single brand, which has Retained his lead until the end. Thus, Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin brands, there saw that the fire ...
And the winner is: Citroen
Read more about:
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Apple’s iPhone is three times more reliable than Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones, according to new research.
Comparisons carried out by FixYa saw Apple, Samsung, Motorola and Nokia go head-to-head in reliability tests involving the iPhone, Motorola Droid, Samsung Galaxy and Nokia Lumia smartphone lines,
FixYa’s data combines and analyses data from 722,558 problem impressions that have been posted by consumers through the organisation’s website or app, and also takes market share data from StatCounter into account, resulting in a Smartphone Reliability Report that can be
The report gives each smartphone manufacturer a reliability score based on the information collected, and Apple has been assigned a reliability rating that is much higher than its rivals, at 3.47 compared with runner up Samsung’s 1.21 score. Nokia and Motorola were left trailing behind with reliability scores of 0.68 and 0.13 respectively.
When analysing the results further, FixYa’s report highlights that the iPhone’s battery life causes the most problems for users, with the lack of new features, customisability and issues connecting with WiFi networks also highlighted.
FixYa notes that the simple user interface, reliability and app ecosystem are the most significant pros for Apple’s iPhone.
Motorola users have fond that preinstalled apps cause the most issues for their smartphones, while touchscreen issues, speaker quality and camera quality are also problem areas. The design and battery life are the Motorola Droid’s strengths, though, says FixYa.
As for Samsung, the microphone is the biggest issue for the Galaxy lineup, with a total of 40 per cent of the problem impressions relating to that area. Speaker issues, battery life and overheating are also highlighted as common problems experienced by users. FixYa says that the lineup’s screen quality, user interface and the battery life of the Galaxy SIII are the pros for Samsung.
Finally, Nokia’s Lumia range is describes as being “laggy” by FixYa, who’s research found that a poor app ecosystem, battery life and overheating are the biggest problem areas here. The screen durability and touchscreen, as well as the homescreen user interface are described as the Lumia lineup’s strong features.
“Smartphones are consistently being compared on a case-by-case basis, but no one has looked at the overall trends across a manufacturer’s entire smartphone line,” FixYa CEO and founder Yaniv Bensadon explained. “The result is an accurate and fair method, and a scaled approach to fairly compare these top companies to truly see who is most reliable, and who is barely even competing.”
Low-cost iPhone mini ‘makes sense’ for Apple says analyst after meeting with Apple CFO
Why does everyone hate Apple right now?


text: Last official report was in September where Gamepass had 15 million subscribers. It had gone up 50% since April. I would imagine they are around or more than 20 million by now. This is the only "platform" that really matters a for them. Any physical hardware sold is just a cherry on top of the cake.


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Major companies in the metal products market include Stanley Black & Decker Inc, Ball Corporation, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd, Parker-Hannifin Corporation, ArcelorMittal S. A, Assa Abloy AB, China International Marine Containers Group) Ltd, General Electric Company, and Procter & Gamble.
New York, May 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Metal Products Global Market Report 2022" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06282155/?utm_source=GNW
The global metal products market is expected to grow from $2,365.87 billion in 2021 to $2,599.09 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.9%. The market is expected to grow to $3,628.26 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 8.7%.
The metal products market consists of sales of metal products by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that are engaged in manufacturing metal products.
The main types of metal products are forged and stamped goods, cutlery and hand tools, architectural and structural metals, boiler, tank, and shipping container, hardware, spring and wire products, machine shops, turned product, and screw, nut, and bolt, coated, engraved, and heat-treated metal products, metal valves, and other fabricated metal products.The spring and wire refer to the metal products that are used in home bedding and seating.
The metal types are aluminium, beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, cerium, chromium, cobalt, and other metal types. These are used in construction, manufacturing, and other end users.
The Asia Pacific was the largest region in the metal products market in 2021.Western Europe was the second-largest region in the metal products market.
The regions covered in the metal products report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, and Africa.
The metal products market has benefitted from the rapid growth in the automotive industry during the historic period.For instance, steel, aluminium and magnesium are some of the metals commonly used in the automotive industry for manufacturing body panels, engines, transmissions and numerous other parts.
For instance, according to the India brand equity foundation, automobiles production increased at 2.36% CAGR between FY20 with 26.36 million vehicles being manufactured in the country. The net domestic automobiles sales increased at 1.29% CAGR in FY20 with 21.55 million vehicles that have been sold. Therefore, the rise in demand for automobiles during this period positively impacted the metal products manufacturing market.
Many developed and developing economies are considering imposing restrictions on free trade.Post-Brexit, trade restrictions between the UK and other European countries are likely to increase.
The US government has repealed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America.These changes can widen the trade competition between countries and reverse the trend towards global free trade.
This will affect the demand for metal products, restricting the growth of the market.
Many metal products companies are using robotics and automation to improve plant efficiency and productivity.Sensors are being used in various machines to access invaluable data for improving efficiencies and reducing potential breakdowns.
For instance, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), 1.2 million industrial robots are expected to be deployed by 2025, thus indicating a rise in automation and robotics technology adoption to improve productivity and reduce production costs. According to the KPMG report, 16% of executives of global metals companies have already invested in robotics for metal manufacturing, 31% of executives have set plans to possibly invest in robotics for new technology and opportunities, and 42% are willing to invest in robotics shortly. Additionally, the report states, 63% of the executives of metal manufacturing companies are considering investing in automation. Examples of companies offering industrial robots to metals companies include FANUC, KUKA, ABB, and Motoman.
The countries covered in the metal products market include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, UK, Ukraine, USA, Vietnam.
Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06282155/?utm_source=GNW
ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.
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WUHAN, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Crayfish had become an ideal food for the fusion of Chinese and Western cuisines at a just-concluded international food festival held in the city of Qianjiang, central China's Hubei Province.
The event, including investment activities, seminars and meetings on e-commerce of aquatic products, has attracted more than 200 enterprises from home and abroad.
"Crayfish is adaptable for both Chinese and Western cuisines, with which we can also innovate a lot of fusion cuisines," said Ma Guangjun, principal of the Qianjiang Crayfish Vocational School.
"There are more than 100 cuisines featuring crayfish at the festival, including baked crayfish with cheese, as well as Chinese traditional dishes such as steamed crayfish, to satisfy various diners," Ma added.
Native to North America, crayfish were brought to east China's Jiangsu Province by a Japanese merchant in the 1920s or 1930s. They appeared on the plain in central China about 30 years ago, and villagers found the shellfish tasty and turned them into big business.
Crayfish is one of the most popular foods in the Chinese market. As the largest crayfish producer in the world, China had more than 667,000 hectares of crayfish breeding areas in 2017, with an output of over a million tonnes, according to a report of Chinese crayfish industry released in 2018.
"Not only the students from across China but those from Thailand, Malaysia and other countries came to the city of Qianjiang to study crayfish cuisines considering the increasing demand of the market," said Ma. "Some foreign students are planning to open crayfish restaurants in their own countries."
The city has exported 150 million U.S. dollars worth of crayfish to more than 30 countries in 2018, ranking the first among Chinese cities. Related industries created 150,000 jobs and helped 20,000 people rid themselves of poverty.
The Qianjiang Crayfish Vocational School has signed a strategic agreement with the Canada Achieve Group to send experts in cooking crayfish to Canada.
"We will send our experts to train local talents in crayfish breeding and cooking in the next five years, and they will also send the students to study at our school," said Ma.
"Crayfish, as one of the most popular foods in China, will certainly be loved by many local residents in Canada," said Tony Elenis, president of the Ontario Restaurants Hotel and Motel Association.


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Solar power means jobs, development
- Tim Echols
(Page 2 of 2)
Solar is growing with companies like Mage coming from Germany to Georgia to manufacture solar systems and train people how to install them. South Georgia Technical College, Gwinnett Tech and Savannah Tech are offering “Solar PV 101” this fall to teach their technical college students how to install and service Solar Photo Voltaic, the type of panel that converts the sun’s rays into electricity.
Power Partners Solar of Athens is manufacturing and installing solar hot water heating systems for customers around the globe, including my house. Suniva does both research and manufacturing of sophisticated photovoltaic solar cell technology. All this means jobs for Georgians — both in the manufacturing and service sectors.
Fortune 500 companies, enterprising consumers, and energy-conscious farms and businesses are the early adopters of this technology. Their purchase of this technology, albeit at higher prices, is helping to bring down the price for the rest of us — just like in the infancy of mobile phones. Panels are coming down in cost, and stockholders continue to appreciate diversity in an energy portfolio.
I like the fact that Georgia Power allows customers to utilize solar technology on a voluntary basis. Customers can buy a block of green energy for about $3.50 per month. This power, generated through renewable sources like biomass or solar, helps the utility build the infrastructure to capture this more expensive form of energy. Such programs encourage greater investment in renewable energy without forcing uninterested customers to participate.
As solar comes down in price, I hope more and more Georgians will take advantage of this ever-growing home-grown technology and the supply chain that it spawns. Meanwhile, go to www.samshortline.com and get tickets for you and your family on the Solar Express, July 29. All aboard!
Echols is a commissioner with the Georgia Public Service Commission.
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Dr. Jon Salkeld, Head of Scientific Innovation, Strategic University & External Partnerships at bp, also joins StoreDot’s Board of Directors.
Strategic relationship between StoreDot and bp moves forward, leveraging joint expertise to accelerate commercialization of StoreDot’s five-minute charging batteries for electric vehicles.
Tel Aviv, Israel, March 16, 2021 - StoreDot, the pioneer of extreme fast charging (XFC) battery technology for electric vehicles (EVs), today announces the appointment of London-based Dr. David Gilmour as Executive Chairman. Gilmour is the former Vice President of Business Development at bp and the former Global Head of bp Ventures. He has served on StoreDot’s Board of Directors since 2018. He is replaced as bp’s representative on the board by Dr. Jon Salkeld, Head of Scientific Innovations, Strategic University & External Partnerships at bp. Both appointments are effective immediately.
Gilmour took over responsibility for bp’s venturing activities at the end of 2016, following a 7-year stint running its aviation fuel supply business, Air bp. He has been instrumental in building up a network of high-growth technology businesses to support bp’s transition to a fully-integrated energy company, especially in the mobility area. Working alongside StoreDot’s executive team, he will play a central role in aligning StoreDot’s commercialization strategy with the wider EV ecosystem as the company moves closer to bringing its XFC five-minute charge batteries to market.
Gilmour comments: “I’m delighted to be stepping into the role of StoreDot Chairman at such a pivotal time, both for StoreDot and the EV industry as a whole. The rapid rise in EV sales during what was a very challenging 2020 provided yet another signal of consumers’ growing confidence – and indeed excitement – around electric mobility. However, there are still major barriers to overcome before our vision of a fully-electric future can be realized, amongst them the need to bring EV charging times in line with refuelling times for conventional combustion engine vehicles.
Gilmour continues: “StoreDot is on the cusp of solving that challenge with its ground-breaking five-minute charging technology, which promises to remove a significant roadblock to mainstream EV adoption – range and charging anxiety. The launch in January of engineering samples of its first-generation XFC batteries provided a major proof point for the technology, demonstrating that it is both commercially viable and scalable on conventional production lines. Add to that the company’s highly-skilled team, state-of-the-art labs and its wide range of patented technology and it is clear that StoreDot is well positioned to have a significant impact on the future of electric mobility and the clean environment. As Chairman, my priority is to help StoreDot to achieve its mission to eliminate EV range and charging anxiety by aligning its strategy with the wider EV ecosystem.”
StoreDot’s revolutionary FlashBattery XFC technology redefines the chemistry of conventional lithium-ion batteries, taking EV charging times from hours to minutes, which is essential to eliminating range and charging anxiety associated with EV adoption today. This breakthrough is achieved by replacing graphite in the cell’s anode with metalloid nano-particles to overcome major issues in safety, battery cycle life and swelling during the charging process.
In 2019, StoreDot, in partnership with bp, achieved a world first when it demonstrated the first full live charge of a two-wheeled EV in five minutes. In January 2021, it reached another major milestone when it launched engineering samples of its first-generation battery technology, proving, for the first time, the commercial viability of its XFC technology in a small form factor. It is now planning to release a cell prototype of its second-generation EV battery, which is based on a silicon-dominant anode, later this year.
StoreDot CEO Dr. Doron Myersdorf, comments: “2021 has already been a breakthrough year for StoreDot, with the launch of our engineering samples in January proving what we have been advocating for many years – that XFC is a commercially-viable and scalable technology. We are now focused on achieving our next major milestones, including the launch later this year of a prototype of our second-generation, silicon-dominant anode batteries. David’s experience of helping disruptive technology providers to scale their operations internationally and achieve mass-market penetration will prove invaluable as we move through these milestones towards full commercialization, working with EV OEMs and other stakeholders to ensure our strategy is fully aligned with the entire EV ecosystem.”
Myersdorf continues: “We are also delighted to welcome Jon Salkeld to the StoreDot Board of Directors. Jon brings a decade’s experience in transportation technology, having been the Technology Director for bp’s Advanced Mobility Unit, and, prior to that, the Global Head of Automotive Product Development for Castrol. He has worked closely with StoreDot’s team of scientists throughout bp’s investment and facilitated the successful EV charging demonstration in 2019.”
StoreDot is a pioneer of extreme fast charging (XFC) batteries that overcome the critical barrier to mainstream EV adoption – range and charging anxiety. The company has revolutionized the conventional Li-ion battery by designing and synthesizing proprietary organic and inorganic compounds, making it possible to fully charge an EV in just five minutes – the same time it takes to refuel a conventional combustion engine vehicle. StoreDot’s battery technology is optimized for best driver experience with XFC in Li-ion batteries, as well as future generations designed for extreme energy density (XED).
StoreDot’s strategic investors include bp, Daimler, Samsung Ventures and TDK. In 2019, the company achieved a world first by demonstrating the live full charge of a two-wheeled EV in just five minutes. Moving XFC battery technology from the lab to a commercially viable product for the first time, StoreDot has launched engineering samples of its first-generation batteries that are designed to be manufactured at scale on traditional Li-lion production lines.
For more information see: www.store-dot.com.


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Bulgaria’s Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova and Economy Minister Bojidar Loukarsky will visit Baku on September 29-30, to take part in the 4th session of the intergovernmental economic cooperation commission.
An Azerbaijani-Bulgarian business forum will also be held during the ministers’ visit.
The Bulgarian delegation will include entrepreneurs working in the spheres of energy, refining, construction, transportation, food industry, pharmaceutics, tourism, ICT, chemical industry and others.
Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria amounted to $15.65 million in H1 2016 and almost the whole figure accounted for the import of Bulgarian products, according to Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee.
The two countries’ trade turnover increased 2.5 times YoY. (Trend/Business World Magazine)
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Latin America. Prior to its participation in AHR Expo Mexico 2023, the company announced that it is preparing the presentation of its new line of heat pumps, to be held during the event.
Thus, Johnson Controls seeks to highlight the decarbonization of commercial buildings, one of the lines of technological development in which it has been working. The company also indicated that its new pumps can replace traditional boilers and heating and cooling equipment, whose operating and environmental costs are higher.
Johnson Controls will occupy booth 1523 at AHR Expo Mexico. There, visitors will be able to learn about aspects related to this equipment, whose refrigerants have the lowest global warming potential (GWP) in their class. In the same way, you will find the entire offer of OpenBlue Digital Solutions and the building management platform, Metasys.
"We are driving innovation in heat pumps, thrilled to help our customers in Latin America electrify their heating and cooling needs to meet refrigerant regulations and achieve their net zero goals," said Adalberto Charnichart, director of applied products for Latin America, Johnson Controls.
The executive also pointed out that the use of heat pumps is high in other regions of the world, but its adoption has been slower in Latin America.
York YVWH Heat Pump
Built for light commercial buildings and for industrial processes, the YVWH dual water-water variable speed screw heat pump delivers water temperatures up to 80 degrees. Johnson Controls indicates that it is three times more efficient than a boiler and four times more efficient than the boiler-chiller combination. In addition, it operates at 25% load and multiple units can be paired to expand capacity.
York YMAE Heat Pump
Suitable for offices and schools, the YMAE pump is based on the Amichi platform and has electronic steam injection (EVI) scroll compressors that provide high water temperatures in low environmental conditions. It is manufactured with two and four tubes.


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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Rumors have been plentiful since the Oct. 20 launch of Apple's (AAPL) - Get Report Apple Pay without Discover Card that the future of Discover Financial Services (DFS) - Get Report is bleak. But new voices are speaking up that the company’s delay in joining Apple Pay may be tactically wise and that, in fact, a still better marriage offer may be on the table.
For its part, Discover has explicitly expressed a keen interest in Apple Pay. At the recently concluded Money20/20 conference in Las Vegas -- focused on emerging payments -- Discover CEO David Nelms in a keynote said, “Apple Pay is important.” He suggested that Discover would in fact join the party eventually. “We expect to be participating. We don’t know when,” said Nelms.
Experts increasingly say that Discover’s delay is plain smart. After the euphoria that greeted Apple Pay’s launch, many consumers have been forced to confront the limited merchant base. There just are not that many places to pay with an iPhone 6.
Nelms in fact noted that. “It will take longer than people think to get merchant adoption.”
Meantime, said Matthew Goldman, CEO of credit card optimization service Wallaby, there are persistent signs that Discover is struggling with getting in sync with current technology needs. It has yet to issue EMV cards -- a.k.a. chip and PIN cards -- said Goldman. It also is widely said that Discover is lagging in creating the security tokens Apple requires of Visa (V) - Get Report , MasterCard (MA) - Get Report and American Express (AXP) - Get Report in processing transactions.
“But Discover will get there,” said Goldman. None of these steps are daunting. It’s essentially a matter of throwing enough money and bodies at technical problems with known solutions.
Greg Garson, an associate partner who focuses on financial services with consulting firm High Start, agreed that a delayed entry into Apple Pay has few negatives for Discover. He elaborated that early embracers of Apple Pay are the ones that face the risks as the system shakes out. “From a market development standpoint, it is smart to stand back,” said Garson.
He said that early Apple Pay adopters who had been Discover loyalists may abandon the card, but probably only temporarily. “It will be easy for Discover to get them to switch back to using its card once they are in Apple Pay.”
Bottom line: Garson sees only pluses for Discover in delaying inclusion in Apple Pay.
Nick Clements, founder of MagnifyMoney.com, a Web site about maximizing benefits of credit card balance transfer offers, and former head of the UK Consumer Business for Barclays' (BCS) - Get Report Barclaycard, said: “No, you can’t count Discover out. If I were them, I would not be rushing to get into Apple Pay. I am sure Discover can get in when they are ready and want to.”
Discover, too, may have better merchant relationships than do the bank-focused Visa and MasterCard, and Apple may need to expand acceptance of Apple Pay, suggested multiple sources. Discover could be that lever.
But the zinger -- which circulated broadly in the corridors at Money20/20 -- is that Discover may be working on a deal with the Merchant Customer Exchange’sCurrentC mobile payments platform.
That WalMart (WMT) - Get Report -led initiative -- supposed to launch in early 2015 at more than 80 national retailers including Best Buy (BBY) - Get Report and CVS (CVS) - Get Report -- has often been said to exclude traditional credit cards because of the high fees (called “interchange”) imposed on merchants in accepting Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
At Money20/20 in a keynote, however, Dekkers Davidson, CEO of the Merchant Customer Exchange, flatly said that CurrentC will include “open loop” credit cards, that is, cards usable at many merchants as opposed to store brand cards, for instance.
The rumors prompted a question to Nelms at Money20/20 about Discover and MCX which prompted the answer, “We generally sympathize more with merchants than do other [credit card] networks. We were born out of Sears.”
Discover has always strived to be flexible with merchants, he said. But that answer was a bit ambiguous.
Is a deal between CurrentC and Discover in the works? In response to a question from this reporter, Jon Drummond, director of public relations for Discover, emailed: “We're not offering comment at this time on CurrentC.”
But were that marriage consummated -- and Visa and MasterCard excluded from CurrentC -- suddenly, not being in Apple Pay just might seem unimportant.


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Musicians are celebrating as the Music Modernization Act, an attempt to drag copyright and royalty rules into the 21st century, is signed into law after unanimous passage through Congress.
Guillermo del Toro, the Academy Award-winning director of “The Shape of Water” (not to mention “Hellboy,” “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Pacific Rim”) is making a new version of “Pinocchio” for Netflix. I’d thought that after del Toro’s awards victory earlier this year,
Less than one month after the Wall Street Journal reported allegations of sexual misconduct by Cameron Poetzscher, Uber’s head of corporate development, Poetzscher has resigned, according to the WSJ. Uber has confirmed Poetzscher’s resignation to TechCrunch.
What’s in a camera? A lens, a shutter, a light-sensitive surface, and, increasingly, a set of highly sophisticated algorithms. While the physical components are still improving bit by bit, Google, Samsung,
Richard Branson has reportedly stepped down from the chairman role of Virgin Hyperloop One. In a statement, cited by Reuters, Branson said that the company would require a more time than he could devote to the company. “At this stage in the company’s evolution,
Ford is bringing its autonomous vehicles to Washington, D.C.,the fourth city to join the automaker’s testing program as it prepares to launch a self-driving taxi and delivery service in 2021. Ford will begin testing its self-driving vehicles in the district in the first quarter of 2019.
Google Play has generated more than twice the downloads of the iOS App Store, reaching a 70% share of worldwide downloads in 2017, according to a new report from App Annie, released in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the Android Market, now called Google Play.
Cowboy, the Belgium startup that’s designed and sells a smarter electronic bicycle, has raised €10 million in Series A funding. Leading the round is Tiger Global Management, with participation from previous backers Index Ventures, and Hardware Club. The new capital will be used to scale operations,
G2 Crowd, a platform that lets businesses search for, compare reviews and pricing for, and then buy software and other IT services — it likes to refer to itself as the “Amazon of business software” — has raised $55 million in growth funding to continue expanding its business.
The effortless way you fast forward through Stories could be coming to more of Instagram . A screenshot from user Suprateek Bose shows Instagram “Introducing a new way to move through posts — Tap through posts, just like you tap through stories.
As battle royale games like Fortnite pit more players against each other, studios are starting to realize the potential of bringing a massive online audience together at one time. This ambition has always existed, but Improbable, a well-funded startup aiming to enable these vast online worlds,
Though the study of astronomy predates recorded history, and physical space exploration has been possible since the 1950s, humans still remain largely in the dark about what's really out there.For all that we've discovered,
Freshly Exhumed (105597) writes "Tomi Ahonen's newly released 2014 Almanac reveals such current mobile phone industry data gems as: 'The mobile subscription rate is at or very very nearly at 100%. For 7.1 Billion people alive that means 7.1 Billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide.
Google's Project Tango tablet can see in 3D, but I didn't really understand why I, human person, would actually care about the technology beyond an abstract appreciation of the ideas behind it. Until I strapped one to my face, with an Oculus Rift-like head mask. Read more...
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電動車在全球各地慢慢普及，但充電站依然較油站數目少，電動車車廠如 Tesla 努力興建 快速充電站，而一些公司則乘勢而起，打著免費充電服務的旗號賺錢。究竟如何免費提供充電又能同時賺錢呢？原來全靠廣告費用。
北京2015年8月18日电 /美通社/ -- 科胜通软件技术（上海）有限公司（Aspect Software Inc）于8月6日以及7日在大连远洋洲际酒店成功举办“察变 创新，2015年度科胜通金融行业高峰论坛”。
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Watch begins livestreaming in English and Spanish- and Apple Watch’s roadmap will change. Apple Watch inks deal with Barclays for banking, toys up on price
Apple unveiled a new generation of iPhones and a new iPad Mini, along with an update to its Apple Watch wearable.
Introducing all the new models on stage in San Francisco, Apple chief executive Tim Cook showed off new materials and colours in the new iPhones, keeping the curvaceous, polycarbonate look for which it is known, but now in an aluminium casing. The company will also add new color and materials in it’s cheaper, larger iPhone, the iPhone SE.
The “iPhone X” is an all-screen phone, covered in glass and powered by an A11 processor. A step up from the SE, the smaller, lower-priced phone will be available in four colours, all starting at $399 (the iPhone 7 in rose gold is now $449). The 8 models have slightly larger screens than the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, and can work on LTE networks and will start at $699 and $799 respectively.
“Now, more than ever, the one thing that defines iPhone is accessibility,” said Cook. “It can make the life you live easier.”
The bigger phones, the 8 and 8 Plus, will also include a feature called Face ID, based on facial recognition that will allow you to unlock your phone and access the App Store using a simple photo. The 8 and 8 Plus will be available in silver, gold and space grey, and include a new “wide selfie” lens that, along with an other camera software and accompanying software, promises better photos, with clearer skin, colours and lighting.
The apps are going to look different too, such as a new app to discover books and then read them, a new camera app called “Stories” that’s slightly less like Snapchat, and a motion tracking app called “Asimo Move”.
“We’re pushing the envelope in several ways,” said Cook. “First of all, what could be more natural than hugging your iPhone?”
Cook also heralded Apple Pay, which will use the fingerprint scanner, now joined by Touch ID, to take payments using the watch, and for third-party apps. It will be able to be used for payments at more than 25,000 places in the US and Europe.
The Apple Watch will get a new design, plus new bands, with all of them in cases and colours to match the new phones, with stainless steel for the Watch Sport, and aluminum and stainless steel bands for the more expensive Watch models. The bands come in 18-karat gold and rose gold, as well as grey and silver and space grey.
An app from Barclays that’s designed to let you see the accounts of people that look like you, as well as offer savings and loans from your current bank, will be integrated into the Apple Watch.
Cook also took the opportunity to announce something new in Apple Music: the company is expanding its streaming service to include podcasts.
The full product line-up is below.
Apple Watch Series 3, starting at $329 for the 42mm model. The update is to the software, which now has apps and will let you message with up to four Apple Watch users. The 40mm version starts at $299 and there’s a new round design in space grey and silver, and a new rose gold version that matches the new iPhone models.
New Apple TV box, starting at $179. It still has the Remote and the new Siri remote that was unveiled at the March event. The changes are to the software – everything now runs on tvOS and allows you to play all the apps from the app store on your TV. The company also announced it’s getting a new subscription service, Apple Music by Apple, to bring in streaming sports and news.


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According to several publications
that can presumably read Kanji, Japanese tech-blog Impress watch
have confirmation via an official statement from Sony Computer Entertainment that manufacturing of the PSP Go device has been discontinued as they shift their focus towards the upcoming (and still without an official name) Next Generation Portable or NGP.
While the classic UMD disc-reading PSP-3000 model has managed to stay afloat in the incredibly competitive portable gaming scene, the PSP Go -- dependant solely on digitally distributed games -- never managed to carve its own place in the market (and at the price points they set
, we can't really say that we're surprised).
Sony's statement assures current PSP Go owners that firmware updates, repair processes and general support will all still continue, they just won't be making any more new devices.


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NEW YORK (AP) — Mobile carrier T-Mobile has completed its takeover of smaller rival Sprint, creating a new wireless giant that rivals AT&T and Verizon in size.
The deal was announced two years ago and has taken a long time to close because of pushback from state and federal regulators.
T-Mobile will sell assets to satellite TV company Dish to try to set it up as a new wireless company.
Still, public-interest groups say the consolidated wireless market will cost consumers.
T-Mobile says the deal will benefit consumers and had promised regulators not to raise prices for three years.


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According to sources, the two phones, will be launched in India in the fourth week of September.
Eastern Railway has informed that some berths are still available in the Howrah-Guwahati (via Dankuni) Superfast special (03057/03058) and Sealdah-Puri special (03101/03102). Those intending to travel on these trains may book their tickets immediately.
Eastern Railway (ER) has announced that a large number of AC-II and AC-III tier berths in the Sealdah-New Delhi Premium Special Train (02259) scheduled to run on May 30 are still available. ER will run five pairs of Weekly Premium Special trains between Sealdah and New Delhi.
Added Sunil Nayyar, Head (Sales) Sony India: We are confident of achieving our sales forecast of Rs. 5,100 crore for the festive season (Aug to Nov'14), a growth of 25% over corresponding period last year. We will be investing a significant sum of Rs. 250 crore towards marketing activities to support the festive season campaign.
Sunil Nayyar, Head sales Sony India said: 2014 has been a great year for Sony India; with the launch of several exciting and innovative products across categories, expansion of the distribution, service network and enhanced marketing spends. We believe that the festive offers will further accelerate, coupled with the positive market sentiment from a resurgent economy.
Sony India today launched its most anticipated Premium Smartphone, the Xperia Z2 in India, at MRP Rs. 49,990/-. The smartphone combines Sony's design, display, sound, camera and camcorder experience.
Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Soni Sori, the tribal school teacher in Jabeli village of Dantewada. Sori was arrested in October 2011 on the charges of being a courier between the Naxals and the Essar group.


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Month: December 2019
A once in a generation lobbying opportunity?
First day of the new Government and there is already speculation that the Johnson administration intend to make some radical changes to how things are done and to some of the seemingly fixed rules and views that have, in particular, directed Treasury investment for generations. If it is true then this represents a massive potential opportunity for UK tourism and especially for domestic tourism which we jointly need to grasp.
You will be aware that for the last three or four years we have been busy sowing seeds around a new way to view tourism’s economic effect and purpose; that of an economic redistributor that takes wealth, increasingly generated in a few major Cities and parts of England’s South East, and moves it to rural and more economically or physically remote locations, many of which have limited alternative economic strengths. Viewed in this way tourism becomes a powerful tool that Government can use to support many of those places left behind or struggling in some other way economically. Initially at least much can be done without the need for large scale capital programmes and investment.
The barrier we have been trying to overcome is the ingrained view in Treasury that tourism and domestic tourism, in particular, is a purely displacement activity and not simply in terms of the displacing tourism from one part of the UK to another. The Treasury view is that tourism is a displacement for economic activity per se; a pound not spent on tourism will be spent on something else, somewhere else in the economy and isn’t lost to it. In this the Treasury view there is no justification for public support or public funding for tourism management and development or for “tourism marketing” as it is usually, over simplistically represented at the centre. To do so is to disadvantage some other industry, service or activity, for no gain to HM Treasury.
It is for this reason that local authority spending on tourism has seldom been encourage by the Westminster Government. This is almost certainly, in large part, why England ultimately lost its independent Tourist Board and why VisitEngland within VisitBritain are now largely focused on managing international tourism within England with little or no role in domestic tourism support and development. It is also why the Home Nation’s strong domestic marketing efforts sometime appear to be resented in Westminster and it probably has much to do with past friction between the home nations in the international marketing sphere. Needless to say, the Treasury are also reluctant to accept that a domestic holiday taken in preference to an overseas holiday benefits the UK economy. The overseas industry is a UK earner, even if latterly it has come with a couple of eye wateringly large financial stings in the tail for UK tax papers. The fact that Treasury are fundamentally wrong about tourism, an activity where the consumer moves to the product to consume it and not the other way around, has until now never been successfully challenged.
If Government are now seriously considering changing the Treasury rules and conventions and, in particular as it has been suggested, those rules that demand relatively short-term return on any investments made, we have a once in a generation opportunity to change how tourism is viewed in the UK. If done correctly that could remove a raft a barrier and we might then see targeted investment in place making and capital projects that will drive more tourist to more British destinations and greater support for those organisations managing destinations and ultimately making them places well worth visiting and, thus, worth marketing as destinations. We need to be clear that we are not necessarily seeking any funding for marketing destinations as such but for the necessary support for those organisations and structure that facilitate joint local working among businesses and the public sector that build and maintain product and places worth selling domestically and internationally.
We will continue to press the argument national, in the meantime it would be extremely helpful and potentially timely if local destinations made similar noises about the benefits of viewing tourism as a tool of economic redistribution. If Government are truly receptive to new ideas and truly intent on taking action to rebalance the economy and redistribute wealth to all parts of the UK, as they appear to be saying, then here is an “over ready” means to help them achieve it.
Airbnb “verification” what is being offered:
Brian Chesky, Airbnb’s CEO surprise announcement on 100% “verification” of all hosts by the end of 2020, to include “minimum standards” and “basic safety protocol”, a new guest guarantee, if the accommodation listing is wrong (an equal or better alternative or 100% refund), a 24/7/365 manned neighbour complaints hotline and manual checks on all high risk booking (example given of a young person booking a large apartment in their own home town).
Mr Chesky makes it clear that this is a direct reaction to a recent mass killing at a US Airbnb party property and rising complaints about scam listings. He doesn’t give much detail on any of the promises, pointing out that this is an ongoing process, prompted by his very recent decision to change the way Airbnb does business. He also confirms the intention to take the company public next year.
The following article includes a link to the interview where the announcement was made. The written detail and the interview combined allow you to make own judgement’s about exactly what is being offered and what that might or might not include:


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This week Samsung debuted three new system-on-chips on several Yocto-based Linux “Artik” computer-on-modules aimed at the Internet of Things market. Last week, a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign by Next Thing Co. launched a tiny, IoT focused “Chip” single board computer starting at $9 that will debut a new, small footprint Allwinner R8 SoC. And in February, the Raspberry Pi Foundation launched a wildly successful Raspberry Pi 2 Model B that features a quad-core Broadcom BCM2836 SoC that was custom made for the SBC.
While most new SoCs still debut on smartphones, tablets, or PCs, there’s an increasing trend toward embedded boards getting some of the opening day glory. And like the three examples above, they increasingly run Linux on SBCs or modules targeting the IoT market.
In olden times, it was the PC that drove new processor launches, and consumers still wait for new chips like the 14nm Broadwell version of Intel’s Core chips, for example, instead of settling for a Haswell version. Qualcomm’s Snapdragons and Nvidia’s Tegras have traditionally debuted on high-end Android smartphones, tablets, and game players, and Intel Atoms have appeared first in versions optimized for mobile devices, followed by much lower-key launches for the embedded version.
As developer-oriented products, SBCs — and especially COMs — are not likely to dominate processor product launches the way mobile devices do. Yet, the fact that embedded boards are beginning to not only debut new SoCs, but affect their design shows how far IoT has come. The trend actually may have started when Intel announced its IoT-focused Intel Edison module in conjunction with its new Quark chip, although the Edison eventually shipped with the Atom processor while the Quark is still disabled. The Quark instead will appear on a tiny Curie module later this year, but it won’t apparently run Linux.
One reason vendors are customizing their SoCs for IoT is that the size, weight, power, and price constraints in IoT, combined with the need for built-in wireless features, are requiring a rethink of processor design, Here’s a quick look at Samsung’s Artik, and the new Chip SBC, each of which could have a significant impact on the course of embedded Linux in the years to come.
Samsung’s Artik is unusual on several levels. First, there was the high-profile launch at IOT World this week, combined with ambitious plans to expand Artik throughout Samsung’s mobile and consumer electronic device offerings in the years to come. The devices all support a common SmartThings Open Cloud platform from the SmartThings home automation company Samsung acquired last year.
Second, the modules are highly compact, given their relative power. For example, at 29 x 25mm, the dual-core, Cortex-A7 based Artik 5 is even smaller than Intel’s tiny Edison, with which it directly competes. The Artik 10, which boasts an octa-core, Cortex-A15 and -A7 SoC, is not much larger at 39 x 29mm.
The products are also notable for the tight integration between SoC and module, blurring the line between them. The Artik name refers both to the modules and the SoCs that drive them, and there are no current plans to spin the processors off from their modules.
Like most IoT modules and SBCs, the Artik chips have built-in WiFi and Bluetooth. Yet, they also feature ZigBee, and soon will support Google’s 6loWPAN-based Thread protocol. In addition, they support a common hardware encryption technology for greater security.
The device also ships with a unified IoT stack. Despite Samsung’s recent move to re-spin the smartphone-oriented Tizen OS at wearables and other IoT devices, the Artik 5 and 10 modules instead run Yocto-based Linux, which like Tizen is a collaborative project hosted by the Linux Foundation. The third module — the tiny (12 x 12mm), MIPS-based Artik 1 — runs Nucleus OS. There was no mention of Tizen in the Artik announcement.
Although there were no claims for full open source compliance, Artik is billed as an “open” platform. At the very least, the Yocto build is open source, and Samsung has broken with its own past practices by already posting extensive documentation, despite the fact that the modules have only begun sampling, and the firmware is still in alpha stage.
$9 Chip Wags the Allwinner dog
Last week’s debut of the Next Thing Co.’s Chip SBC rocked the technosphere, and that was before the Kickstarter campaign jumped past the $1.1 million mark. The Debian Linux-based, open source Chip will likely have less of an impact than Artik, due in part to the fact that Next Thing is a small Oakland, Calif. startup rather than a global CE and mobile device giant. Yet, like the recent RPi 2, the Chip will apply pressure for SBC vendors to cut prices even further.
The breakthrough $9 price, which is still available on Kickstarter for another few weeks, is not quite as impressive as it seems at first glance, but it’s still a breakthrough. First, the processor is a relatively slow 1GHz Cortex-A8. Second, the boards won’t ship until December, and fully configured versions won’t arrive until May 2016.
In addition, devices with real-world VGA or HDMI ports, which are added via adapters, run to $19 and $24 respectively. Otherwise you’re limited to the base I/O of a USB port, micro-USB port, audio jack, and composite video jack. Next Thing is also selling a version baked into a “PocketCHIP” clamshell handheld with a 4.3-inch touchscreen, QWERTY keyboard, battery, and GPIO breakout, selling for $49 to $64.
Even when you take all that into account, and add in shipping, the Chip still offers an impressive price/performance ratio. It’s not quite on par with the quad-core RPi 2, which has had the advantage of guarantees for huge sales, but it should offer stiff competition for a host of under $40 modules and SBCs that runs OpenWRT Linux on MIPS-based Atheros AR9331 SoCs. Like these boards, and unlike the RPi, the Chip offers onboard WiFi and Bluetooth, reducing aftermarket costs.
Like the RPi 2, the Chip was able to keep things lean thanks to a customized, lightweight SoC designed to support it. Instead of going to Broadcom, as the Pi Foundation did, Next Thing tapped Allwinner, whose A20, A31, and A80 processors are dominant on low- and mid-range Android tablets, not to mention a growing number of open-spec SBCs.
Next Thing worked closely with Allwinner through the Shenzhen-based “HAXLR8R” accelerator to strip down its earlier Cortex-A8 based A13 processor into a new, IoT-focused R8 SoC. Few details are available yet on the R8, but it’s said to be smaller and more affordable than the A13.
Allwinner boards are fairly popular among open source hackers due to the processors’ low cost and relatively open Mali-400 GPU. However, those same hackers complain about the lack of polished, timely Linux code available by Allwinner for its predominantly Android-focused SoCs.
Next Thing says that Allwinner is planning to release “all the necessary documentation and source code” for the R8 processor and the Chip’s power management chips. Together with Samsung’s “open platform” claims for the Artik, it gives hope that as Linux-based IoT grows in importance, some of its openness may rub off on chip manufacturers as well.


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A New Blockchain Technology From China May Prevent Quantum Attacks
ChainMaker, a Chinese blockchain platform, recently announced that it has successfully developed a breakthrough technology that can withstand attacks from both traditional and quantum computers. The Chang’An Chain blockchain network, developed by the corporation, seeks to secure information transmission between financial forms, making online transfers more efficient and secure, according to its developers. The system was released in China in January 2021 as the country’s first autonomous blockchain platform, developed by the Beijing Academy of Blockchain and Edge Computing, a state-backed Beijing consortium.
The firm employed some of the most advanced technological algorithms. The digital list of records will be preserved in blocks, similar to other blockchain networks, with each block including the transaction time and date, which will be difficult to edit if detected. With quantum attacks becoming more prevalent, this project could be the ideal way for organizations to defend their blockchain networks. To defend against quantum computer threats, the business has created post-quantum cryptography and a quantum key distribution system based on classical cryptographic techniques.
To combat quantum attacks, the world needs considerably stronger, yet simpler encryption. According to rumors, the developer consortium has installed 96-core blockchain processors on the network, which make signature verification 20 times faster and smart contract execution 50 times faster. With China’s rising reliance on blockchain, this technology could be just what the business needs to advance.
Source: Analytics Insight


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There is nothing new about launching a Q&A website where users can submit inquiries to celebrities and experts from all walks of life, but a Chinese startup recently came up with a twist on the idea that has helped it gain a valuation of $100 million in just 24 days.
Fen Da, developed by Beijing-based science news site Guokr.com, is an app that took its cue from networking platform Reddit’s “Ask Me Anything” (or AMA), where users post questions to a featured guest in a live, interactive online interview. Guests of the popular format have included public figures like President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and Snoop Dogg, to lesser known characters such as former religious cult members or mafia bosses.
On Fen Da, users can post their questions directly to experts, scientists, entertainment stars as well as other public figures, but must pay a fee set by the respondents before receiving their answers that come in the form of 60-second voice messages. An additional bonus: Fen Da offers a sneak peak listen function, where other curious users can pay 1 yuan ($0.15) to replay the answer. That 1 yuan will be split between the original poster and the respondent. This, in theory, earns the original poster money which could recoup their upfront cost, possibly even turning a profit.
For example, Wang Sicong, famous as the son of China’s richest person Wang Jianlin as well as a Chinese internet celebrity known for his blunt and fiery comments, charged 3,000 yuan ($450) for answering a single question. A user named Zhang Yu paid that amount to ask Wang about his ex-girlfriend. The answer was replayed more than 17,000 times, earning Zhang Yu 8,500 yuan ($1200) for her efforts. Fen Da, meanwhile, receives a 10% commission fee from the respondents’ total income.
The idea that one can make money from asking the right question is unheard of in China, and has catapulted the app’s popularity to levels that surprised even founder Ji Xiaohua (also known as Ji Shisan). Fen Da saw more than five million registrants just 24 days after going online in May, according to the 38-year-old Ji, who says the app processed 18 million yuan（$2.7 million） in total transactions so far.
Investors are swooping in. Ji announced on Monday that Fen Da attracted $25 million in funding at a valuation of $100 million in a round led by Sequoia Capital China and Hangzhou-based Vision Plus Capital, a venture capital firm co-founded by former
“It is hard to get people to pay for written answers, but voice messages are more personal and intimate,” Ji says in a recent interview at Guokr’s Beijing headquarters. “Chinese internet companies used to attract users by offering cheap or free products, but now it seems people’s views can be directly monetized as well.”
Ji wants Fen Da to evolve into a professional consulting platform where users can find quick access to experts from all walks of life. That is a big step forward as much of its current popularity is driven by curiosity of celebrities’ private lives. The app was virtually unknown in its first two weeks until Wang Sicong started to take questions, and users certainly aren’t visiting it as frequently now that Wang has gone silent, says Ma Shicong, an analyst at Beijing-based research group Analysys International.
Ji, however, is confident that Fen Da will not become a gossip platform. He points to the hundreds of thousands of experts who are appearing on Fen Da for free. Among them are doctors, professors, psychiatrists, and private equity investors, who on average answer more than half of the questions they receive, he says.
These professionals came to Fen Da because it offers a simple way for them to share thoughts and earn additional income, Ji says. The inherent satisfaction in getting paid for one’s ideas is also a driver, he says. Celebrities like Wang Sicong are also attracting people's interest. After he signed on, more professionals are keen to try Fen Da out.
“So many people share their thoughts through the internet and I have been thinking if there is a good way to monetize their knowledge,” he said during the Monday press event. “If you have some loyal fans and you are willing to spend a few minutes a day answering questions, then you can make money on Fen Da.”
Commission fees from respondents’ total income make up the majority of Fen Da’s revenues. Ji also plans to link the app to his other product Zai Hang, which is a site allowing users to book consulting sessions with industry professionals such as artists, photographers, nutritionists and private equity investors. For example, Meng Ke, a Baidu executive in the company’s online-to-offline business unit, charges 260 yuan for an hour-long meeting to talk about O2O business proposals.
But keeping them hooked onto Fen Da is no small task, says Vision Plus Capital founding partner James Wang. Central to the app’s sustainability is having respondents who are willing to answer several times a day instead of an occasional login, and that requires more product updates and investments in user maintenance.
“Celebrities are good fish baits in user acquisition,” he says. “But any real value Fen Da has lies in sharing professional knowledge.”
Realizing Ji’s vision will not be easy, says Ken Xu, a partner at Shanghai-based venture capital Gobi Partners. Unlike other sharing apps such as ride-hailing platforms, Fen Da is not necessarily a high-frequency business that people turn to for several times a week. When competition ratchets up, it requires a lot of investment to grow the app’s user base, he says.
On the bright side, competition - for now - is limited. A major rival is an app developed by Chinese Q&A site Zhihu. Ji, however, says he foresees a plethora of similar platforms later this year and by then, user acquisition costs will definitely have shot up.
“There will certainly be problems in the future,” he says. “All we can do now is try to solve them along the way.”


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MEPs approve proposals to temporarily withhold auction of 900 million CO2 allowances in attempt to reduce glut in the market
The European Parliament has approved plans designed to boost the EU's carbon market and drive green investment by tackling the glut of allowances that have sunk the price of CO2 to record lows this year....
Morrisons leads league table of supermarkets analysed for the proportion of their packaging that can be recycled
Government should have two carbon capture clusters up and running by the mid-2020s to secure least cost decarbonisation, Taskforce warns
The latest phase of ECO running from autumn this year until March 2022 has been refocused on 'affordable warmth' rather than carbon reduction
Leading experts from across the green economy offer their take on what should be included in the first UK Environment Act in over 20 years