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LOS ANGELES, Dec. 15, 1999 — Today at the Western Show, Microsoft Corp. announced that two cable industry leaders are working to bring streaming media to mainstream consumers by supporting Microsoft® Windows Media TM for cable customers. The two companies announcing their support today follow:
Philips Electronics, among the world’s leading set-top box manufacturers, will support streaming video and audio in a new set-top cable device that features built-in support of Windows Media Technologies running on TriMedia-based hardware using the Microsoft TV platform. This support will make it easier for consumers to access broadband services and dramatically expand the audience for streamed broadband content.
Cisco Systems Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, announced it will offer quality-of-service improvements to cable operators for streamed Windows Media-streamed content.
Philips Electronics Set-Top Box Integrates Windows Media Support
Philips today announced support of Windows Media as part of its integration of the Microsoft TV platform for cable set-top boxes. Philips’ pioneering efforts to bring digital media to the cable industry create dramatic new opportunities for cable operators and content providers to provide more services to their subscribers. Philips now enables the deployment of Microsoft TV client software in its interactive set-top terminals, which include built-in support for Windows Media and broadband Internet access via the standard integrated data over cable system service interface specification (DOCSIS) cable modem. Philips’ technology, combined with the high-quality audio/video and unique digital rights management technology of Windows Media, will enable pay-per-download, pay-per-view and rich media advertising opportunities for the cable industry. Philips’ first next-generation set-top terminal, the UPC box, will be deployed in Europe beginning in mid-2000.
“By integrating and supporting Windows Media, Philips is demonstrating the potential of a complete digital media access solution for cable operators and subscribers,”
said Rob van Oostenbrugge, president of Philips Digital Networks.
“Our support for Windows Media reflects our commitment to delivering high-quality digital audio and video.”
The Philips Electronics Microsoft TV-based platform is based on Philips’ fully programmable TriMedia processor. The Philips’ TriMedia platform is truly versatile. Together, Philips and Microsoft are ushering in a new world of enhanced television-based services.
Bringing Digital Media to Television
Today’s announcement by Philips adds to the momentum for streaming media in the cable industry that began last week at the Streaming Media West ’99 conference. At the conference Microsoft Chairman and CEO Bill Gates demonstrated General Instrument Corp.’s new set-top terminal, the first such device ever enabled for streaming media from the Internet. In just one week, consumers have been introduced to two next-generation set-top terminals, both from leading manufacturers, that offer an integrated digital media solution that brings broadband Internet video and audio to cable television.
“The combination of Windows Media with broadband cable technology from leading companies like Philips will speed mainstream availability for streaming media to cable television customers, and herald a wealth of new opportunities for cable operators, content providers and their subscribers,”
said Dave Fester, director of marketing for the Streaming Media Division at Microsoft.
“This collaborative effort is making broadband a reality by delivering a whole new level of quality, accessibility and choice to consumers.”
Cable operators can now tap into a broad selection of digital media content from more than 80 industry partners in the Microsoft Windows Media Broadband Jumpstart initiative. Content providers and subscribers will soon begin to reap the benefits of the higher bandwidth and new distribution channels that the initiative is helping move forward.
Cisco Optimizing for Windows Media
Cisco will provide cable operators with networking solutions that offer quality-of-service improvements for Windows Media-streamed content. Cisco’s digital cable solutions improve the streaming media transmission quality of Windows Media throughout the cable network infrastructure, allowing cable operators to provide their subscribers with a consistent, high-quality experience. The Cisco uBR7200 Universal Broadband Router product family with Cisco IOS software and DOCSIS support enables quality of service from the core of the network to the set-top box. Cisco’s networking solutions also provide improved manageability, scalability and reliability for broadband streaming transmissions. In addition, Cisco’s advanced networks help operators manage bandwidth consumption, enabling the deployment of true multiservice networks.
“Streaming media is a key enabler for expanding consumer broadband adoption,”
said Paul Bosco, vice president and general manager of Cisco Cable Business Unit.
“High-quality Windows Media-formatted broadband video combined with Cisco’s sophisticated network solutions provide cable operators with great new revenue-generating broadband services. Delivering streaming media over IP provides the ability to reach multiple devices in the home, including cable set-top boxes and PCs.”
The Windows Media Broadband Jumpstart initiative, announced in September, is a collaborative effort of more than 80 industry leaders that builds on the Windows Media Technologies platform to provide the first open, end-to-end solution for promoting mainstream adoption by removing technological and market deployment obstacles. The initiative has two fundamental objectives: to provide consumers with a greater selection of high-quality content by improving broadband business models, and to accelerate the adoption of household use of broadband services. Last week, Microsoft announced that the number of companies participating in the Jumpstart initiative had more than doubled in less than two months.
WindowsMedia.com (http://windowsmedia.com/), part of the MSN TM network of Internet services, is among the fastest-growing major audio and video guides on the Internet. WindowsMedia.com provides access to localized audio and video content worldwide, including major music and video events and entertainment from more than 1,000 content providers.
About Windows Media Technologies
Windows Media Technologies is the leading digital media platform, providing consumers, content providers, solution providers, software developers and corporations with unmatched audio and video quality. Windows Media Technologies 4, which includes Windows Media Player, Windows Media Services, Windows Media Tools and the Windows Media SDK, is available for free* download at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/ . The Windows Media Player is the fastest-growing media player. More than 50 million copies have been downloaded to date — growing by more than one every second.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.


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Telstra is tapping in to our thirst for the latest technology by offering a new smartphone to its customers after 12 months instead of 24.
To launch the new policy DDB Group Sydney has created a new campaign called ‘Telstra New Phone Feeling’.
The campaign includes two national 30-second spots (below) that portray the excitement one feels when getting a new phone with a colourful rave.
Andy Bateman, Telstra director segment marketing, said: “We believe in the game changing nature of this offer, and we've had lots of excitement from consumers around it. It is a clear demonstration of Telstra listening to customers, co-creating new products and services with them and bringing them offers that show we really care about delivering relevant, differentiated and market leading solutions.”
The campaign also includes digital, social and outdoor media support.
Telstra described the ‘New Phone Feeling’ policy as “one of our biggest consumer campaigns” and “biggest plays for the year in terms of new developments for mobile customers”.
The policy is based on the insight that one in three people cave in and swap to the latest smartphone set on the market before the end of their 24-month contract.
'New Phone Feeling' comes after Telstra unveiled its major new brand campaign and its vision of a 'Brilliant Connected Future for Everyone' in January.
CREDITS: Client: Telstra Agency: DDB Group Sydney Senior Creative: Michael Barnfield Art Director: Jennie Ko Copywriter: Josephine Burns
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HP wants to make it easier for business travelers and mobile workers to keep the eyes of looky-loos off their notebook displays. The company added built-in privacy screens to two of its business notebook lines.
Using simple function key commands, users of new versions of the EliteBook 1040 and EliteBook 840 can limit the viewing angles on their displays. The intention is to ensure privacy of potentially sensitive material on-screen while business users are working on airplanes, in coffee shops or in other public venues. HP aims to provide a proprietary replacement to external privacy screen attachments by building privacy technology into its notebooks.
“Visual hacking is clearly a really big threat. It’s something I’ve observed,” said Mike Nash, vice president of product portfolio and customer experience at HP, during a press briefing on the new technology, which has been dubbed Sure View.
With a growing number of people working remotely or on the road, so-called “visual hacking” (translation: someone looked at your screen and saw something they shouldn’t have) is a growing problem. It could mean sensitive corporate information gets leaked. According to Nash, 90 per cent of visual hacking attempts are successful. Frequently, visual hacking is simply an accident.
To date, organizations have employed privacy screen attachments to limit viewing from the side, but Steve Sinclair, vice president of product development for commercial PCs at HP, noted the after-market filters often get dirty, broken or lost. Typically, a business user would go through at least a couple of privacy screen attachments during the lifecycle of the notebook. At $30-$40 a pop, the cost may not be astronomical, but it adds up.
HP Sure View technology, created in conjunction with 3M, is a special film layer on top of the notebook display that can be turned on or off. When on, it reduces 95 per cent of visible light when viewed from an angle. For high-end notebooks, HP expects it to become a standard feature, but for lower-end notebooks, end-customers can expect to pay about $75 as a premium.
“This is a real threat, and it’s amazing to me the amount of money we spend … on endpoint protection and encryption on mobile devices and data protection in the cloud and making sure we’re protecting our identity, yet the easiest way for someone to steal information from you is to look over your shoulder,” Sinclair said.
By hitting F2 on a keyboard, the notebook’s display will enter privacy mode, limiting visibility from the sides. When not needed (such as when the notebook is being used for a presentation around a boardroom table), it can be quickly turned off. According to Sinclair, the display looks great in both normal and privacy modes.
“A lot of engineering went into it to make it as simple as possible,” Sinclair said.
For now, HP Sure View will only be available on EliteBook 1040 and EliteBook 840 notebooks. Sinclair and Nash hinted at future deployment on other notebooks, but it’s unknown when that might happen. Nash noted much interest not only among business users, but also consumers.


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At the end of May 2011, SCHOTT will officially inaugurate a new production facility in Russia. Located near the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, the new manufacturing site will initially employ over 60 employees and will produce SCHOTT's premium quality ampoules and vials. All products will be manufactured according to cGMP and will meet the high international standards for primary pharmaceutical packaging.
SCHOTT is the first international manufacturer of primary pharmaceutical packaging made of glass to open a production facility in Russia. With its packaging expertise and quality commitment, SCHOTT looks forward to supporting Russian pharmaceutical companies in meeting the requirements of “Pharma 2020”.
SCHOTT has been selling ampoules, vials, cartridges and syringes to the Russian market since the beginning of the 1990s and so far Russian customers have been mainly supplied from the existing site in Hungary.
Furthermore, SCHOTT formed a joint venture at the end of 2010 with Japanese company Naigai Glass Industry Co., Ltd. in order to strengthen its position in Japan, the world’s second largest pharmaceutical market. The new company, SCHOTT NAIGAI K.K., is based in Osaka, Japan, where Naigai has already been operating a production site for many years.
SCHOTT's new business operations in major growth markets including China and Argentina means that SCHOTT has already expanded its global network of pharmaceutical packaging production plants in recent years.


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Drug plant closure leaves cold remedies in short supply
Published Wednesday, October 10, 2012 3:15PM EDT
Last Updated Thursday, October 11, 2012 7:10PM EDT
Consumers may find some cold and flu medications to be in short supply this winter, as a manufacturing plant belonging to drug maker Novartis remains closed for “maintenance and improvements.”
The company voluntarily recalled a number of its products in the United States in January and closed its manufacturing facility in Lincoln, Nebraska for work “at the site to ensure our products meet the highest quality standards.”
The shutdown followed a report by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expressing concern over quality-control systems at the plant, including evidence that some batches of medication included tablets or caplets of other drugs produced at the plant.
In a statement, the company said that in January, it recalled drugs such as Excedrin, Bufferin and Gax-X in the U.S., “because the products may potentially have contained stray tablets or broken or chipped tablets.”
Health Canada also issued a recall for some Excedrin products.
The company assured consumers of the safety of its products.
Novartis also, “voluntarily suspended operations at and shipments from our Lincoln, Nebraska facility,” which has led to supply disruptions on both sides of the border.
Products that consumers may have difficulty finding as cold and flu season begins include NeoCitran, Otrivin, Triaminic and Buckley’s. Other drugs include Benefibre, Excedrin, Maalox and Slow Fe.
“We are working as quickly as we can to return these products back on to store shelves,” the company said Wednesday in a statement.
“We appreciate the patience and loyalty of our consumers and retail partners, and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience the absence of these products has caused.”
The company said it is “using a combination of Novartis and third party manufacturing facilities” in an effort to get products back onto store shelves.


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Asia Today: Roller Coaster Ride for Japan Markets
Japan's financial markets are in turmoil with the yen spiking to a record high against the dollar before falling back Thursday, while stocks recovered some of their earlier losses. WSJ's Jake Lee and Isabella Steger discuss.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
go ... rollercoaster ride financial markets in Japan ... the yen spike into the red gold ... and stocks ending lower ... this is Asia's today mine JD I'm joined by his about a study a ... report for the war she gentle ... Isabella ... can you try make sense of its wine with the yen rise on this piece is awesome Japan what's going on here in the currency markets the Reserve Bank of the ... reasons why this is happening ... on the ... possible ... then as a safe haven currencies one of the top three saving currencies and now it's a bit counterintuitive to think that ... that would be putting into ... a currency when ... the country is not an ... end is suffering so much damage from preparer radiation threat ... but it's true that I like like that all the freeze up when you know the US was also the fiscal problems of its own but it is still a safe haven currency to suppress think ... on the second of all ... a rising yen is actually something a lot of people to accept that positions and Molycorp the carry trade which is when you Bahrain ... yen were so they're yielding currency to buy high yielding currencies say the Aussie dollar lower than you can download ... on the and because the yen as rising people are frantically trying to close up positions or ... YTN to me that margin calls for example ... and Dom the BOJ is very keen said Tom said that the fundamentals of the Japanese economy on the reef and put this on currency means it's because of speculation is ... on it's not because of companies repair chasing yen back to pay for on the damage is the syphilis aam of one of the money is actually domestically held NUAN company balance sheets are making very strong in Japan ... and a showcase of other conflicting things going on but actually net Netflix IVZ and Boeing King on ... at the moment what else can the central bank due to Chinese markets will worry efforts going on that ... well um after the yen actually hit a record high of about on seventy six ... on a stabilizing around the on eighteen of Bulke because people are expecting the Bank of Japan actually something to do something to Castile the strike because of the sea a strong yen is not good for a company trying to exploit its way ... on to economic recovery ... so this ICG seventy tweeting call scheduled for tomorrow ... and on the Bank of Japan's has some expressed some hope that a lot of support from the G seven ... ANA has explicitly said you get that it's going to step into yuan ... on sell the currency to keep this weekend ... um ... a lot of people like displeasing and see what happens I should people have bombs sent a little bit from the trade that amendment like just wants to handle man joined in a sense of where it carries from here ... is it just every Woody staying on tenterhooks and waiting for the next piece of action want what's going on gets really difficult to get right out of it at the same office of the quitters history and because you want to know what's happening so ... very small this can actually act fast to take effect in the market down unit By Steve magnitudes ... and people are really trading licence headline right now you carry people don't really know what's going on with it with them news that hunts for example ... so there's a lot of bond panic in use on Hong Kong today for example the market down even within Japan note it set up a cent down ... on a lot of the Sustiva need to know what's playing on the tentative reaction times like this ... so on ... tomorrow can be another rollercoaster ride so we know show low but now is it that I think you so much for making sense of this ... this is Asia's today ...


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Vietnam's textile and apparel industry is calling for a lower minimum wage to be set after a consensus was reached for a 12.4% increase to take effect from January 2016.
PVH Corp says it is “very well-positioned” in China and has not suffered as a result of the recent yuan devaluation, but will be “more conservative” with its Calvin Klein business in the country heading into 2016.
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On May 25, George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police. Four days later, as mass protests kicked off across the United States in response, Toronto-born, Brooklyn-based Black designer and activist Aurora James jotted down an idea, took a photo of it and shared it with her 128,000 Instagram followers. The post went viral, and the 15 Percent Pledge was born, a personal plea-turned-non-profit organization fighting for economic equality in the U.S, where Black-owned businesses currently represent only 1.3 per cent of sales.
“We are waiting and we are not going anywhere. When will you take the pledge?” wrote James via the @15percentpledge Instagram account.
The concept is startling in its simplicity, calling on major retailers to allocate 15 per cent of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses in direct correlation to the Black population in the United States. It’s both a small ask and a significant one, with the pledge focusing on big players such as Sephora, Whole Foods, Net-A-Porter, Shopbop, Ulta Beauty and Target.
I first met Aurora in 2014 when she launched Brother Vellies, her line of African-made footwear and accessories, and I have covered her work extensively since. I admire that she isn’t afraid to speak out against racism in the fashion industry, even if that means confrontations with the axis of power.
Her approach appears to be working. As the pledge gathered momentum via a petition and #blacklivesmatter social media pressure, Sephora signed on, a huge step for the LVMH-owned beauty behemoth. As of press time, the other big players mentioned have remained mum.
Aurora had another pointed ask, which felt rather personal: she wanted white women, with all our collective spending might, privilege and new-found realization that we are inadvertently supporting systematically discriminatory organizations, to take the pledge and run with it. “You do the counting. You do the work for us,” she wrote.
I felt compelled to do something beyond just assisting her volunteers in tallying numbers, which were pitiful. For example, of Shopbop’s 937 brands, we found just 12 are from Black designers.
But it’s not enough to just look down disapprovingly at yet another fractured system in the U.S. Instead, let’s abandon our racism superiority complex and look inward at how Canadian retailers stack up. Are they any better in a country where, according to the most recent census, 5 per cent of the population identifies as Indigenous, 3.5 per cent Black and 22.3 per cent identify as visible minorities?
The answer is no and non.
I assembled a squad of recent journalism school graduates from across Canada to help me research more than 3,200 global brands. As you might imagine, most retailers do not publicly share these can-of-worms diversity statistics, so we must allow for a small margin of human error. I wish our findings are somehow grossly inaccurate; corporate reps, please correct me if I have missed any Black and/or Indigenous brands carried at your stores. I would love to be wrong.
Let’s first look at Holt Renfrew, the country’s most prestigious department store chain. Across its 285 brands, only 12 are Canadian. Three have Black creative directors. None are Indigenous. This excludes heiress Alexandra Weston’s H Project, which I view as more of a marketing initiative to highlight small designers in select stores for a short run. I’m looking at real investment in BIPOC-founded brand growth among items carried regularly across all of the stores, of which there is next to none.
Next we looked at Shoppers Drug Mart, a cosmetics and beauty powerhouse with more than $11 billion in annual revenue. It currently carries 204 brands; of those, only 13 are Canadian and just three are Black. Zero are Indigenous. How about distributing some of that wealth and opportunity more equitably, and amongst Canadian entrepreneurs from marginalized groups? In the beauty space, there is an abundance: from popular Indigenous-owned Cheekbone Beauty to Black-founded luxury skin care label Okoko Cosmétiques.
Quebec City’s venerable Simons has 15 stores in Canada and carries 520 brands. Of those, 136 are Canadian and seven are Black. While it recently collaborated with eight Indigenous artists and designers on a terrific seasonal capsule entitled IFWTO + Edito par Simons, they only stock three on an ongoing basis.
Meanwhile, SSENSE, Montreal’s e-commerce arbiter of worldly experimentalism from Syrian-born brothers Rami, Bassel and Firas Atallah, currently sells 426 brands. From our findings, just 13 are Canadian, 17 are Black and zero are Indigenous. There certainly isn’t a shortage of local talent. May I suggest adding designers Warren Steven Scott, a member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation, and Evan Ducharme, who is Métis, to the mix? Both have been featured by American Vogue’s first Ojibwe fashion scribe, Christian Allaire.
The fact that only one of the 1,832 brands currently listed on the website of Hudson’s Bay Company, where I once worked as associate fashion director, is Indigenous is perfectly in line with its problematic legacy. The company almost had us with Native Union, a Hong Kong tech accessories brand, and Native Youth, a British fashion brand from a designer of East Indian-descent. Furthermore, it seems just 289 of its brands are Canadian these days, and only nine are Black.
Consider this an urgent call for retailers in Canada to immediately take the pledge. White people, are you with me? Aurora has enough on her plate trying to fix America.
It’s time to start making it right, Canada. It’s time to take the pledge.


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Far Cry 5 Season Pass Trailer Shows Off Vietnam, Mars, and Zombie Apocalypse Set Expansions
Continuing the trend started by the wonderfully insane Blood Dragon, Ubisoft has released a new trailer that shows off everything that is included in the Far Cry 5 Season Pass.
As we already knew, three DLC packs will be released following the main game’s debut on March 27. The first, called Hours of Darkness, will take place in Vietnam and will see you take on the Viet Cong and attempt to save your friends. The second, titled Lost on Mars,
The monkeys found this article on TWINFINITE


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BERLIN (Reuters) - German industrial output was unchanged in January, undercutting expectations for a slight rise and compounding concerns that the euro zone’s largest economy will not rebound as strongly from contraction as sentiment indicators have suggested.
The output data, coming on the heels of figures showing industry orders unexpectedly fell in January, pointed to the continuing weakness of the economy after it shrank in the last quarter of 2012.
The mid-range forecast in a Reuters poll of 40 economists had been for output to rise 0.5 percent, after an upwardly-revised 0.6 percent increase in December.
“Soft data for the German economy has been more than encouraging for already several months. Now, the first batch of hard data for the start of the year sends mixed signals,” said ING analyst Carsten Brzeski.
“While the solid labor market and a sharp increase in retail sales in January already confirmed the growth-supportive role of consumption, the strengthening of industrial activity remains a very gradual and choppy one,” he said, adding that this pointed to “some kind of rebalancing” of the economy.
Friday’s economy ministry data showed construction output increasing 3 percent on the month, compensating for falls in energy and manufacturing of 2.3 and 0.2 percent respectively.
Europe’s economic powerhouse expanded robustly during the first two years of the euro zone crisis but growth slowed last year and the economy shrank 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter.
Most economists still see the country escaping a recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction, by growing weakly in the first quarter before regaining momentum. German growth is crucial to underpin the struggling euro-zone economy.
“We remain fundamentally of the view that German gross domestic product will rise in the first quarter, but we do see the risk at the moment that it will come in below our forecast of 0.3 percent,” said Thilo Heidrich, an economist at Postbank.
Recent forward-looking sentiment indicators have shown German companies, investors and consumers becoming more optimistic, while unemployment dropped in February.
But the Markit purchasing managers’ survey has consistently shown the service sector recovery outpacing manufacturing over the past year. The manufacturing industry expanded for the first time in a year in February, according to Markit.
Additional reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Stephen Brown


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Have You Eaten Real Food Today?
Lauren Howe ’12 spent the fall semester conducting an independent study project in which she researched and recorded campus food purchasing at Hamilton. She collaborated with Bon Appétit and Real Food Challenge (RFC), a student-led organization based in Boston advocating “real food” on more college campuses.
According to Howe, RFC is motivated by imperfections in today’s food system such as increased rates of obesity, carbon emissions from transporting food, improvable conditions for food service workers, as well as inhumane treatment the nation's current food system.
As part of its vision, RFC’s GET REAL! campaign aims to reallocate $1 billion dollars in campus food spending away from the industrial food paradigm to instead purchase “real food,” defined by RFC standards as local/community based, ecologically sound, fair and humane. To achieve this, RFC is encouraging students to run the Real Food Calculator on their campuses to reveal the percentage of the total food budget currently devoted to “real food.”
Because U.S. colleges invest such an enormous amount of money on food each year (collectively about $5 billion), they serve as a strategic place to begin the shift from industrial to sustainable food sourcing.
With the help of Reuben Haag, executive chef at Hamilton food service provider Bon Appétit, Howe piloted the RFC Calculator at Hamilton by tracking food purchases using past receipts and invoices. She examined paperwork from February and October of 2011, which allowed her to gather a seasonal snapshot of the entire year. Howe limited the scope of her independent study project and focused her research to only include food purchasing for McEwen and Commons.
In addition to the logistical work of transcribing product information from the invoices to an Excel spreadsheet, Howe also visited local businesses from which Hamilton makes food purchases. She interviewed George Joseph, owner of North Star Orchards, who gave her an extensive tour of his property. Howe also visited Bagel Grove in Utica, which supplies all bagels on campus. She met with the owner Annie Grove and discussed their use of organic ingredients and commitment to workplace democracy and fair labor.
Howe commented, “While my independent study project was extremely challenging, I continued to maintain site of the larger purpose and implications of my work at the campus and national level.” She said she learned more about food certification, the process of food sourcing on campus, as well as the philosophies and practices of our campus dining service and food companies and producers. “I feel empowered knowing I took on something bigger than myself, as it was more than just a one-credit semester project, but rather, an endeavor that has the potential to leave a lasting legacy on campus,” Howe remarked.
Howe’s research revealed that 15 percent of Hamilton’s food budget is devoted to real food. She notes that “This is mainly comprised of food products in the local category, as well as some organic. Bon Appétit is doing a phenomenal job sourcing local produce and dairy especially.” With 85 percent of the food budget still going toward conventionally produced foods, Bon Appétit purchasing is not without room for improvement (Hamilton is slightly below the national average of all pilot schools - about 17.5%).
Howe is a co-founder and co-leader of Slow Food Hamilton College, and announced plans to form a food systems working group of faculty/ administration and students. This group would be responsible for advancing the real food initiative on campus. “Shifting from 15 percent to 20 percent real food is only a 5 percent increase in eight years, and I’m optimistic that this goal is within reach,” Howe concluded.


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Guwahati, 14th July: Various parts of Assam are experiencing very less rainfall this year leading to loss of tea farmers. One of the RMC officials said, ” Assam gets a heavy rainfall in the months of July and August every year but this year the condition of almost all parts of Assam is the same. Both lower and upper parts of Assam are having scanty rainfall this year”.
NETA is concerned about the situation
. He also stated that the effect of global warming is also being seen as climate change. North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) is also concerned about the less rainfall as tea production in Assam is also being affected due to less rainfall.
Last year the tea industry was also affected due to lockdown
NETA chairman Sunil Jalan said, “The tea industry was affected a lot in 2020 due to lockdown situations. This year, the tea production has also been affected due to less rainfall.”
Deficit of 45 percent rainfall is seen this year
According to a report, the rain deficit of almost 45 percent has been witnessed this year. The Assam Government is concerned about the matter and assured the citizens to take preventive measures as soon as possible.


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“The Little Nightmares franchise has seen great success and growth since the first installment launched six years ago,” said Arnaud Miller, CEO of Bandai Namco Europe. “We are proud of all the work done by the teams at Bandai Namco Europe SAS together with Tarsier Studios, Engine Software and Supermassive Games to create great games while also expanding the franchise into other media.”
“Seeing the community grow over the years has been a blessing,” adds Lucas Roussel, Distribution Director and Executive Producer of Little Nightmares at Bandai Namco Europe. “When we started Little Nightmares, we realized we had something special on our hands, but we were still blown away by the fans’ passion for the series. We cannot thank the fans more for their dedication and we continue to work on the future of the series.”
The franchise has had several games since launch, starting with Little Nightmares, distributed by Bandai Namco and developed by Tarsier Studios, in 2017. The game puts players in the role of Six as he tries to escape from The Maw, a sunken ship filled with grotesque inhabitants .
In addition to these titles, we also have Very Little Nightmares, a mobile game developed by Alike Studio and released in 2019 in which players must escape from a mansion and discover more about Six’s past.


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Newcastle, the makers of one of our favorite brown ales, has released an intriguing new brew – Newcastle Werewolf.
The new beer, a self-described ‘Blood Red Ale’, is the first of four limited edition runs that Newcastle is releasing.
The packaging is as fun as the name – with claw tears on the label and a tag line of ‘Escape from England’. In addition to the blood red color, Newcastle says the brew has sweet berry overtones along with hint of bitterness.
We think it might be the perfect companion for watching ‘American Werewolf in London’, or HBO’s ‘True Blood’.


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Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills has a new vegan restaurant. And yes, there’s avocado toast
From Filipino food in Orange County to avocado toast at Neiman Marcus, here’s what’s happening in the world of food and drink:
Neiman Marcus goes vegan: One of the swankiest department stores in Los Angeles is about to open a vegan restaurant. Matthew Kenney NM, a new restaurant by Matthew Kenney (the chef behind Plant Food + Wine Venice), is scheduled to open at the Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills on Nov. 18. The restaurant, located on the third level of the store, has 24 seats and room for eight at the bar. Menu highlights include avocado toast (yes, this is still a thing); a mushroom and vegetable burger; taco salad with sunflower chorizo; and an avocado and Key lime tart. 9700 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 550-5900, www.neimanmarcus.com.
Worldly döner kebabs in Westwood: SpireWorks, a restaurant specializing in döner kebabs, will open in Westwood Village on Nov. 16. There are plans to open another location in Eagle Rock next year. The restaurant will serve beef döner kebab, inspired by the food that owner Bob Kaufman (former senior vice president for business development and franchises for Tower Records) ate during his many trips to Turkey. Kuniko Yagi (of the now-closed Comme Ça and Hinoki and the Bird) is a consulting chef. The restaurant has a build-your-own döner adventure model with your choice of beef, chicken or vegetarian kofte; a base of either the restaurant’s signature bread, greens or rice; then toppings. The Baja California-style toppings include tomatoes, tomatillo sauce and cotija cheese; while the Bangkok-style toppings are items such as tamarind chutney, yellow curry aioli and pickled red peppers. 1061 Broxton Ave. Los Angeles, (424) 220-6299, www.SpireWorks.com.
Your new Long Beach Beer Belly: Beer Belly, the K-town restaurant known for its stoner-friendly creations (bacon fat fries topped with bacon; Buffalo mac ‘n’ cheese with fried chicken skins), is opening a location in Long Beach on Friday. The 2,000-square-foot space is at the corner of Long Beach Boulevard and East 3rd Street near the Long Beach Promenade. Chef Wes Lieberher’s menu will feature new versions of some of the dishes from the Koreatown menu, along with items created specifically for Long Beach, including the BLVD burger made with candied bacon slaw, sharp cheddar and a sunny-side-up egg. The restaurant will have 24 beers on tap and a cocktail program by Karen Grill. There will be a back bar where diners can order experimental drinks Grill and her team are working on. 255 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach, (562) 436-2337, www.beerbellyla.com.
Filipino food in Santa Ana: The Filipino food movement continues in Orange County with a new restaurant called Mix Mix, opening in Santa Ana later this year. Chef Ross Pangilinan, formerly of Cafe Rouge, plans on using his traditional French and Italian training to pay homage to his Filipino heritage: seared foie gras with charred pineapple and al pastor spice; crispy duck leg with mushroom risotto and Szechuan pepper. There will be a six-seat, reservation-only chef’s table. And in the bar, cocktails will feature house-made bitters, syrups and infusions. 300 N. Main St., Santa Ana, www.mixmixkitchenbar.com.
The Hamptons in the SFV: Hamptons 818, a new restaurant meant to evoke the style and feeling of the Hamptons, opened a little more than a week ago in Sherman Oaks. It’s sort of nautical-themed with an impressive selection of omelets and pancakes. And yes, there’s a lobster roll on the menu. 14919 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 501-2700, hamptons818.com.
Still hungry? Pink Taco has a new taco truck. Stephen Trujillo, who has worked at the French Laundry and Bouchon, has taken over as chef at the Churchill. West Hollywood restaurant Catch LA is now open for weekend brunch. Avec Nous at Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills and Cast at Viceroy Santa Monica are launching new after-work menus (Rush Hour menu at Cast; Cocktail Hour at Avec Nous).
Currently craving a cheeseburger with no onions. Follow me on Twitter & Instagram @Jenn_Harris_
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In which we present a regular round-up of news from the world of Grown-up Travel
‘Banned Booty’ turns confiscated TSA items into art
Alas, this pink stun gun — recently confiscated from a clueless passenger at Salt Lake City International Airport — won’t be included. Neither, as far as we can tell, are once prohibited but now permissable snow globes.
But plenty of other items intercepted by the ever-vigilant Transportation Security Administration will be on display at “Banned Booty — Palm Spring Checkpoint,”an art exhibition opening Oct. 18 at the Palm Springs Air Museum.
Known for its collection of flyable World War II aircraft, the California museum takes a contemporary turn with “Banned Booty.” Open through May 2013, the exhibit features mixed-media installation pieces that artist Steve Maloney created from items plucked from carry-on luggage by the TSA at the Palm Springs International Airport.
“American travel changed radically after Sept. 11, 2001, (and) the ‘Banned Booty’ series captures a small aspect of this change,” says Maloney in a press release.
“Armed with 21st-century passenger booty, I shaped artistic interpretations of our time. Two-dozen professional hairdressers’ scissors compose ‘A Cut Above.’ Needle-nosed pliers and a physician’s reflex hammer must have belonged to ‘Seasoned Travelers.’ And ‘Houdini Booty Lock Up,’ my take on a contemporary time capsule, cuts across every demographic line,” Maloney says. “Enclosed within the work’s bulletproof Plexiglas cube is a common blender blade, barbells, a butane torch and corn-on-the-cob skewers, all wrapped with 60-feet of hand-painted chain.
McDonald’s sues city of Milan over eviction
McDonald’s has sued the city of Milan for 24 million euros in damages over being kicked out of a tourist-packed shopping arcade, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, after the U.S. fast food chain had rented the space for 20 years.
A second Prada store will replace McDonald’s in the 19th-century marble-floored shopping mall as a result of a public tender whose terms McDonald’s called “unfair.”
To celebrate the last days of one of its busiest restaurants in Italy, McDonald’s offered free burgers, fries and drinks to over 5,000 people from noon to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
“We wanted to say goodbye to the Galleria with a smile,” said Paolo Mereghetti, head of communication at McDonald’s in Italy.
Losing the spot in the Galleria, which links the city’s historic Duomo cathedral to La Scala Opera house and is close to the chic Montenapoleone shopping street, would cause a 6 million euro loss in missed annual sales, said Mereghetti.
“No jobs will be lost as a result,” he said.
In a show of affection, 1,500 people left messages on a Facebook page set up in early October to comment on the closure.
The airport of the future… Big Brother-style
Airport security needs to undergo a radical overhaul or else passengers will become further disgruntled, lines will grow and terminals will be overwhelmed, airline executives said at a global aviation conference.
“We simply can’t cope with the expected volume of passengers with the way things are today,” Tony Tyler, director general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association, the airlines’ trade group.
He predicted that by 2020 governments will be using a “checkpoint of the future” where passengers can race though without stopping, removing clothing, or taking liquids and laptops out of bags.
While a lot of work has to be done to get numerous countries and regulators on board, Tyler is optimistic that today’s “one-size-fits all approach to screening” can be replaced with a system based on individual passenger risk. The industry hopes to test the concept at a handful of airports starting late 2014.
The example cited by Tyler and airline executives of what is working: the US Transportation and Security Administration’s relatively new PreCheck program.
Frequent fliers who voluntarily share more information with the government get to keep their shoes, belts and light jackets on at security. The program will be expanded to 35 airports by the end of the year.
“If you are willing to share a little more information, then you can have a much better experience,” John S. Pistole, head of the TSA, told the conference. “We can then spend more time on those we know the least about.”
The additional personal information would most likely be handed over voluntarily to the government by passengers who see the benefit of the time savings.
China to open atomic bomb site for tourism
Officials in China are planning to turn the base where the country’s first atomic bomb was developed into a tourist attraction.
According to the Xinhau news agency, around 6m yuan (£595,000) is set to be spent on the site in the autonomous Xinjiang region to the northwest of the country.
The unusual development project is being carried out by the local government and Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Visitors will apparently be able to visit the laboratories and dormitories scientists used, while a 300-metre anti-air strike tunnel has also been earmarked for renovation and display.
According to a report on the BBC, officials say the base in Malan will be turned into a “red tourism site”, which are chosen by the Communist Party to celebrate important events in its history.
The country tested atomic bombs in the area in the 1960s, with the first recorded detonation taking place in the desert near Malan on October 16, 1964.


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Last week in tech: Apex Legends, America’s AI Initiative, and a long-awaited Gmail feature
It's OK to be bad at the super-popular new video game.
These last week in tech posts usually drop on Monday, but yesterday we introduced our fancy new podcast, Techathlon. If you haven’t listened to it, subscribed to it, given it a great rating, listened to it again, then bought your grandma a smartphone so she could do the same, we’ll wait while you do those things now.
OK! With that done, let’s dig into the biggest tech stories that popped up last week while you were busy wondering if it’s OK to put your snow shovel away yet (it’s not).
25 million people played Apex Legends in a week
A new battle-royale-style game has started stealing some of Fortnite‘s seemingly unstoppable momentum. Apex Legends is a more mature version of Fortnite‘s cartoony nonsense. It’s free to play on most of the big platforms right now, which helps explain its speedy growth. Pro tip I learned from my short time in the game: Get a middle schooler to help you because they’re great at it.
Right-clicking in Gmail is about to get better
Starting later this month, right-clicking on messages in Gmail will let you perform all the functions you’d expect, including reply, forward, archive, or delete. Finally.
Amazon bought mesh router company, Eero
Smart homes rely on your Wi-Fi network to control your gadgets, set your alarms, and answer your kids homework questions when you’re not paying attention and they want to cheat. This week, Amazon bought Eero, an ambitious hardware company that makes networking gear to sling signal around your home. No one is sure how it will shake out just yet, but reactions vary from “this is the end of privacy and the world as we know it,” to “oh, neat, now Echo devices can also be mesh network points.” It’s probably somewhere in between.
Tokyo is officially making 2020 Olympic medals out of old electronics garbage
Japan has been collecting e-waste in hopes that it could harvest enough recycled metal to make the medals for the upcoming 2020 Olympic games. According to an announcement last week, municipal authorities are on-track to hit their goals with nearly 50,000 tons of e-waste already collected. We won’t know what the medals will look like until this summer, however.
There’s a new American AI Initiative
An executive order rolled off the president’s desk on Monday outlining some vague plans about America’s path forward when it comes to artificial intelligence. The order didn’t provide any new funding, but it did lay out some guidelines about establishing standards and encouraging young people to enter the field down the road.
The new Lightroom has a real CSI-style “enhance” feature
Digital cameras don’t see in color. Rather, each pixel has a colored filter in front of it (red, green, or blue) and then the camera has to crunch that data information to figure out what the colors should actually look like. The new version of Adobe’s Lightroom photo editing software claims to have figured out a better way to mash this data from raw photo files to scrape out more details in the photo. It’s not exactly magic, but the results do seem to make a difference.
LinkedIn now has live-streaming
Have you ever cruised the corporate wasteland of your LinkedIn page and thought, “wow, I wish I could see and hear all these people I don’t really know in real time.” Well, that’s coming down the road in an invite-only feature called LinkedIn Live. Soon, you can see videos from influencers, corporate CEOs, and your mom’s friend Debbie who has her own dog grooming business and you only accepted her invitation because your mom asked you to.
People are mad about a sex button
LoveSync is a pair of buttons that couples (or really any number of people, really) keep in their private quarters. If they’re feeling romantic, they push the button. If the other person also pushed their button recently, it’s a match and things get R rated. It’s received a lot of criticism online, but my go-to line is “Yes, hello, would you like to make smooches?” So maybe this thing is perfect for some people.
Mars One Ventures won’t actually send you to die on Mars
Remember the company that wanted to send people to Mars and then make a reality show about them as they learned to live, love, and get used to the taste of their recycled pee drinking water? Well, it’s bankrupt. Sorry. Looks like the Fyre Fest: Mars edition is canceled.
The yawn emoji made us yawn
We met all the new 2019 emojis last week and one of them is a yawning face. It might make you physically yawn. You might be yawning right now. Sorry.


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Galaxy Entertainment Chairman Lui Che-Woo says that his firm’s bid for an IR license in Japan will focus on the non-gaming aspects of the facility, and that it will cater to a high-end market.
Speaking in a CNBC interview, Lui stated, “We have always said we need more non-gaming than gaming businesses. When we got a Macau license, many journalists asked about that. I told them we concentrate on both gaming and non-gaming—but of the two we hope to focus less on gaming. In our designs for Phase 2, 3 and 4 on Cota, more than 90 percent of the infrastructure is intended for non-gaming, meaning we reduce the gaming part. The fact is this is the trend. Honestly, not everyone gambles. Some people treat it as entertainment.”
He added, “Japan is a high-end market, and we will cater to this segment.”
By all accounts, Galaxy is still developing its strategies in Japan and has not yet focused its efforts on a specific municipality. (AGB Nippon)


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Air Wick launches £3m Christmas push
Air Wick, the Reckitt Benckiser air freshener brand, is launching a £3m Christmas campaign to support of its new colour-changing candle.
Air Wick: rolls out colour-changing candle range
The "touch of luxury" rainbow candle uses a heat-sensitive light sensor that creates a "kaleidoscope" of pastel colours when the candle is lit.
The candle is available in "seasonal fragrances", including mulled wine and cinnamon apple, rich vanilla and caramel swirl, and cocoa truffle and cream.
The new product is being supported by TV, in-store, print and digital activity launches 10 October and runs until the end of the year.
Last week, Marketing revealed that RB will be launching a £10m marketing push for three of its over-the-counter brands in October.
It marks the first time that the Lemsip, Strepsils and Meltus brands have been pulled together under the same brand message.
This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk
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Your daily dose of tech news, in brief.
The first iPhone, which was launched back in June 2007, turns 15 today. I believe I had a Motorola RAZR at the time and was debating getting the iPhone as I already had an iPod and it felt like having one device that did both would work better. Little did I know that the phone would fundamentally change the way we work and live. Longtime Apple retail enthusiast Gary Allen, who sadly passed away in 2015, left behind one of the most incredible resources for Apple fans. His Flickr page is chock full of incredible albums from store openings, product launches, and more, including the iPhone World Premiere at the Apple Store in Palo Alto.
You need to hear this.
Raccoon Stealer is back with a new version to steal your passwords
The Raccoon Stealer malware scurries back after a hiatus. If you're unfamiliar with it, much like the name suggests, is a trojan that gathers information from a system. Raccoon has the capability to steal cookies, credentials, credit card information, crypto wallets, and other sensitive details stored on the victim’s device.
According to BleepingComputer:
"The Raccoon Stealer malware is back with a second major version circulating on cybercrime forums, offering hackers elevated password-stealing functionality and upgraded operational capacity.
The Raccoon Stealer operation shut down in March 2022 when its operators announced that one of the lead developers was killed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The remaining team promised to return with a second version, relaunching the MaaS (malware as a service) project on upgraded infrastructure and with more capabilities."
ZuoRAT Malware Hijacking Home-Office Routers to Spy on Targeted Networks
A newly discovered remote access trojan (RAT) called ZuoRAT is targeting remote workers by exploiting flaws in often unpatched SOHO (small office/home office) routers.
According to The Hacker News:
"The malware "grants the actor the ability to pivot into the local network and gain access to additional systems on the LAN by hijacking network communications to maintain an undetected foothold," researchers from Lumen Black Lotus Labs said in a report shared with The Hacker News.
The stealthy operation, which targeted routers from ASUS, Cisco, DrayTek, and NETGEAR, is believed to have commenced in early 2020 during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, effectively remaining under the radar for over two years.
"Consumers and remote employees routinely use SOHO routers, but these devices are rarely monitored or patched, which makes them one of the weakest points of a network's perimeter," the company's threat intelligence team said."
It sounds like ZuoRAT cannot survive a reboot so simply restarting an infected device will remove the initial exploit but, to fully recover, you may want to investigate doing a factory reset. Note, that this process will only address the router and not other devices that may have been infected.
New Firefox privacy feature strips URLs of tracking parameter
Mozilla's latest Firefox browser release, version 102, has a new privacy feature called Query Parameter Stripping, which prevents sites from tracking users of the web browsers through URLs.
According to BleepingComputer:
"Numerous companies, including Facebook, Marketo, Olytics, and HubSpot, utilize custom URL query parameters to track clicks on links.
For example, Facebook appends a fbclid query parameter to outbound links to track clicks, with an example of one of these URLs shown below.
With the release of Firefox 102, Mozilla has added the new 'Query Parameter Stripping' feature that automatically strips various query parameters used for tracking from URLs when you open them, whether that be by clicking on a link or simply pasting the URL into the address bar."
But there's more going on in the
world galaxy than that.
Rock samples from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover contain key ingredient of life
Scientists assessing data from Nasa’s Curiosity Mars rover have found levels of life ingredient molecules in Martian rocks comparable to the amount found in rocks in very harsh "low-life places" on Earth.
According to Space.com:
"The venerable Curiosity Rover drilled samples from Gale crater, the site of an ancient lake on Mars. Using these samples, scientists were able, for the first time, to measure the total amount of organic carbon in Martian rocks, according to a statement from NASA.
Organic carbon, which is carbon bound to a hydrogen atom, is a prerequisite for organic molecules created and used by all known forms of life. However, organic carbon can also come from non-living sources, such as meteorites and volcanic eruptions. While previous studies have detected organic carbon in smaller quantities in Martian rock samples, the new measurements provide insight into the total amount of carbon in organic compounds."
Moon Sizes Visualized
This one comes straight fromin the Spiceworks Community.
According to MBS on YouTube:
"Hello everyone and welcome to this comparison of some natural satellites of the solar system. From the smallest to the largest compared to New York City and Earth"
And you can't not know this.
Gmail’s new look is about to appear for more people, even if they didn’t ask for it
I know we have a lot of members who use and support Gmail in their organization so wanted to make sure you know about this change.
According to The Verge:
"Google started rolling out an updated user interface for Gmail in February that pulls Meet, Chat, and Spaces closer and applies more of its Material You styling effects. Starting today, it’s becoming opt-out instead of opt-in, so your account will switch over to the new view by default pretty soon.
It’s not a huge change, but as Google transitions through its current flavor-of-the-week messaging app and weaves its Workspace suite into a better competitor for Office, this puts more of a focus on the updated experiences."
It is pretty subtle as I didn't notice it until reading this article... but I am also just on my first cup of coffee.
What was the most interesting story today? Vote in our poll below. Also, check out previous editions of Snap! to stay in the know on important and entertaining tech and science news.


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Dean Takahashi for VentureBeat: Is the smartphone on its way out?
San Mateo, Calif.-based Brilliant Home Technology announced that it has created the Brilliant Control, a smart lighting solution that gives anyone in the house the ability to access music, climate control, and other common smart home devices with just a simple touch or voice command. No smartphone is required.
The Brilliant Control aims to replace existing light switches with a device that responds to both touchscreen and voice commands. Brilliant Control is available for preorder starting at under $200 at www.brilliant.tech. The device has a 5-inch touchscreen with 1080p resolution. Cont'd...
Electrolux today announced it has agreed to acquire Anova, the U.S. based provider of the Anova Precision Cooker, an innovative connected device for sous vide cooking that enables restaurant-quality results in the home. The acquisition provides a significant opportunity for profitable growth in this emerging product category. Anova's direct-to-consumer business model and digital focus are also of strong strategic interest to Electrolux.
Anova was founded in 2013 and is growing rapidly amid popular acclaim for its innovative product, which was rated best cooking gadget of 2016 by reviewed.com. Full Press Release:
Powerley, the utility-led smart home technology pioneer, today introduced the next generation of its platform at DistribuTECH. Initially launched in 2015, Powerley’s new platform is the first and only smart home solution to provide real-time energy usage data while offering the full functionality of an automated home in one interface.
“With our new introduction, Powerley is realizing the vision of connecting the smart grid to the smart home – addressing utility needs for energy efficiency, peak load management and customer loyalty while unlocking revenue streams from the smart home,” said Manoj Kumar, CEO of Powerley. “We believe that utilities are best positioned as the trusted channel to proliferate the smart home and with our new release we have put them in the driver’s seat.”
Working with leading energy companies DTE Energy, AEP Ohio and BC Hydro among others, Powerley is now available to over 5 million households. This latest evolution of Powerley’s platform builds upon the company’s leadership in energy management – enabling energy utilities to drive energy efficiency and customer engagement while also building new connected revenue streams. Full Press Release:
Bruce Brown from DigitalTrends: Meet the new brand, same as the old brands. Sears Holdings, the U.S. holding company that owns the Sears and Kmart retail chains, has repurposed and combined three of its best-known product names - Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard - into the new KCD brand for connected products, according to Twice.
KCD president Tom Park pushed the focus on smart homes as a way to not only participate in the connected space market but bring to the relatively new market two elements he sees as missing: trust and reliability. Kenmore appliances bring a full century of history. Craftsman tools are known for their guaranteed durability and lifetime warranties. DieHard batteries have helped start automotive products for more than 50 years. Cont'd...
Elaine Low for Investors.com: Alexa, play digger, digger," the redheaded, still-learning-to-speak toddler in the video appears to tell a small electronic device on a bedside stand.
The family's new Amazon.com (AMZN) Echo Dot, one of the more popular voice recognition personal assistant devices, replies:
"You want to hear a station from porn detected, porno ring tone, hot chick amateur girl …" Frantic relatives scramble to shut off the device as it veers into some highly NSFW (not safe for work) language.
The now-viral video is a prime example of how cutting-edge language recognition tools fail when faced with kid-speak. Toy maker Mattel (MAT) recognized the failure as an opportunity: a market niche for a kid-focused, parent-controlled smart speaker amid a growing connected-home market. Cont'd...
Will Koblensky for Insurance Business: A combination of consumer demand and industry interest could create a wave of smart home technology and IoT disruption for home insurers in the near future.
According to an NTT Data report, 59% of surveyed home carriers say they’re making “strong progress” adding smart home technology to their coverage while 77% of those carriers are ramping up IoT initiatives.
“We know that there aren’t that many products already out there, so these are initiatives designed to get them into the game,” Normand Lepine, insurance data and analytics lead for NTT DATA said.
“We believe a lot of what’s going on right now is around strategy, potentially infrastructure. There are still a lot of challenges and they (carriers) know that. Until they really understand how this is going to be beneficial, they’re still going to go slowly.” Cont'd...
Eaton News Release: Power management company Eaton supplied the automation-rich and aesthetically designed electrical solutions from the service entrance to the wall plate for The New American Home® 2017 and The New American Remodeled Home® 2017 located in Orlando, Florida. Through its participation in the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) showcase homes, Eaton is demonstrating the solutions advancing home automation in new construction and improving the design and livability of existing homes.
Both homes will be showcased during the 2017 NAHB International Builders' Show® in Orlando, from January 10 to 12. Builders can see and learn more about the Eaton residential solutions incorporated at the showcase homes at Eaton's booth W3490 at the 2017 NAHB International Builders' Show. Full Press Release:
Jenny McGrath for DigitalTrends: This year, at CES 2017, companies already have their door locks or cameras on the market — and if they don’t, they’re just partnering with other companies who already make those things.
It’s a year of integrations at CES 2017. Airmega, a smart air purifier that debuted last year, announced its integration with Amazon’s Alexa. Users can now turn on or off the device with their voice, or ask their Echo or Dot for an update on the air quality. Lutron’s big announcement wasn’t a new dimmer or shades but its integration with SmartThings and expanded capabilities with Nest via the Alphabet-owned company’s camera. Garage-door-opener maker Chamberlain used CES to tell customers it will make products that work with Apple’s HomeKit starting in July of this year. Cont'd...
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg: It's been a while since a new TV raised any eyebrows, but Sony Corp. has just unveiled a new product that's creating a bit of buzz at the annual CES industry gathering in Las Vegas. Sony's XBR-A1E Bravia 4K is the electronics maker's first commercial foray into the niche market for televisions that use OLED, or organic light-emitting diode, technology. While the vivid, power-sipping screens have found their way onto smartphones, the cost of making them has so far limited their appeal for TVs. Only LG Electronics Inc. has made a serious effort to sell OLED TVs. Panasonic Corp. also unveiled an OLED TV at this year's CES.
What's different about Sony's new A1E TV, however, is that the screen doubles as a speaker. By vibrating the display itself, Sony said it will be able to offer the "perfect unification of picture and sound unattainable by conventional TVs." This is possible because OLED screens don't require a backlight, according to the Tokyo-based company. Cont'd...
By leveraging powerful analytical processing power, LG’s robotic lineup will be able to navigate complex environments and decipher the most efficient and effective path to accomplish tasks, making people’s lives easier at every touch-point.
Innovating beyond LG technologies already found in the LG HOM-BOT automated vacuum cleaner, LG’s first non-cleaning robots are equipped with AI technologies enabling them to be employed in the home, in tandem with other smart appliances, outdoors, as well as in public spaces:
LG’s “Hub Robot” designed for home use will double as a smart home gateway and a personal assistant for consumers.
Another robot previewed at CES 2017 will demonstrate new capabilities for tending to one’s yard and garden.
LG’s robot lineup will also include models designed for commercial use in public spaces such as airports and hotels to help improve the traveler’s experience.
LG’s new robot collection will be unveiled at LG’s CES press conference on January 4 at 8:00AM PST at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and on display at LG’s booth (Central Hall #11100) in the Las Vegas Convention Center from Jan. 5-8.
Press Release: To advance the functionality of today's home appliances to a whole new level, LG Electronics (LG) is set to deliver an unparalleled level of performance and convenience to the home with deep learning technology to be unveiled at CES® 2017. LG deep learning technology will allow home appliances to better understand their users by gathering and studying customers' lifestyle patterns over time. This process never ends and improves over time to provide customers with new solutions to everyday problems.
"Deep learning technology is the next phase in the evolution of smart appliances, and as an industry leader, we have the responsibility of being an early mover," said Song Dae-hyun, president of LG Electronics and Home Appliance & Air Solutions Company. "But even more important than what appliances are capable of will be how companies behave when entrusted with data. At LG, we believe performance and convenience do not mean having to sacrifice security and privacy. They can and should exist simultaneously." Full Press Release:
David Nield for T3.com: If you're looking to get better sound for your music, movies and podcasts around the home, then there are a dizzying number of options to sort through - no matter what you're looking to do, chances are there's a smart bit of kit out there to help you do it.
For this particular feature we're going to look at reasonably-priced but top notch audio hardware - you really can break the bank with a home audio system, but if your budget's more towards the lower end of the scale, these are some of the devices worth a look. Cont'd...
Neil Hughes for Apple Insider: Monday's release of iOS 10.2 brought meaningful changes to Apple's HomeKit platform, giving users the ability to receive instant alerts for a variety of new connected device types in their home.
iOS 10.2 adds support for notifications from a variety of HomeKit accessories, including window coverings, occupancy, motion, door and window detectors, smoke, carbon monoxide, and water leak sensors. By default, upon updating to iOS 10.2, users will begin receiving notifications from devices that now support the feature. These can be enabled or disabled by opening Apple's Home app and selecting the appropriate device via firm press on 3D Touch devices, or long press on non-3D Touch devices. Tap the "Details" button at the bottom, and then scroll down to "Status and Notifications."
Here, users can decide whether the accessory will send notifications every time a sensor is triggered. This can allow the user to receive alerts no matter where they are, such as if a HomeKit smoke detector or motion sensor were triggered. Cont'd...
Frederic Lardinois for TechCrunch: Google today announced that all developers (and not just those in its private preview program), can start bringing their applications and services to the Google Assistant, starting with what the company calls “conversation actions” on Google Home. This allows developers to create back-and-forth conversations with users through the Assistant and users can simply start these conversations by using a phrase like “OK Google, talk to Eliza.”
While the Assistant also runs on the Pixel phones and inside the Allo chat app, Google says it plans to bring actions to these other “Assistant surfaces” in the future, but it’s unclear when exactly this will happen. Cont'd...
Tom Warren for The Verge: Microsoft is planning to build a HomeHub feature into future Windows 10 updates to better compete against devices like Google Home and Amazon’s Echo. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that the feature is currently in the planning stages, and the software maker is expected to introduce a “HomeHub” in updates due in 2017 and 2018, and not the upcoming Creators Update.
Windows Central reports that the feature will “crush” Google Home and Amazon Echo, but The Verge understands that HomeHub is designed to be a service and feature that will run on any Windows 10 PC and turn it into a machine where Cortana can be summoned from the lockscreen to provide useful information. Windows Central previously reported that the HomeHub was a voice-activated speaker that was supposed to be unveiled at Microsoft’s Surface hardware event back in October. Those reports were inaccurate, but Microsoft is planning a software feature with the same name. Cont'd...
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If you needed a reason to download Opera's mobile browser, what about faster videos? The new Opera Mini 9 browser has a special video optimisation mode which reduces the size of video data, thus shortening buffer time.
Opera Software CEO Lars Boilesen certainly knows how to sum up the annoyance of watching mobile video: “Video snags are a small problem, but an annoying one — a pothole on the internet highway. And Opera fixed it.”
How does it work? Opera's Rocket Optimizer engine from its Skyfire engine helps reduce data stream sizes which is handy as studies have shown mobile video took up 53 per cent of mobile data traffic last year and could possibly top 69 per cent by 2018.
Opera's own surveys in five markets this year showed that mobile data consumers experienced a lot of video stalling, with 40.8 per cent of US mobile video consumers experiencing stalling across 2G, 3G and LTE networks. Those in India have it worst: 73.3 per cent of videos played on mobiles experience some form of lag.
To turn on video boost in Opera, just switch to Opera Turbo mode and turn on video optimization. It will also display how many videos have been optimised by the app. Besides the Opera Turbo mode, the browser also offers its full-on Opera Mini mode to compress data to as little as 10 per cent of its orginal size and standard browsing for full website compatibility.
The app also has a revamped data-savings gauge, extra Speed Dial shortcuts options as well as support for the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus phones.
iOS users can download the app for free from the App Store.
READ MORE: Apps and more apps to stuff your phone with


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The banking system should not shift its focus completely to retail lending as this segment, too, could go through in a shrinking economy, State Bank of India (SBI) handling director Arijit Basu stated on Wednesday. Even earlier than the Covid-19 outbreak, banks had begun to move towards cash flow-based lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and digital lending to people. The pandemic has improved the trend, Basu said, speaking at an occasion organized using ET BFSI.
“My broad sense would be that this stability which has now come — at least for the bigger banks, which have a certain mix of retail, wholesale, corporate, MSME, agriculture — could extensively stay the identical. A whole shift to retail won’t be inside the quality interests because in case your economy doesn’t grow even your retail at some point in time might get impacted. that is my personal view,” Basu said.
Simultaneously, in each lending section, some fine developments will take place, Basu stated. As an example, in MSME lending, cash flow budgeting will occupy the centre level. In retail, digital loans become the norm. In Agri-lending, too, most banks are taking the assist of technological developments to understand the desires of farmers and how satisfactory they may be related to the marketplace. “The banks will have to marry their systems and methods to the ecosystem changes which might become. The banks which do this better will succeed and maintain to deliver good results, in terms of both being able to lend profitably and keep their balance sheets safe,” Basu said.
while banks are facing challenges amid an economic slowdown, they may be still in a higher place than before, having solved some legacy problems within the latest past. They have been cleaning up their stability sheets and those had been lots stronger as March 31, in comparison to three years in advance. They have got revisited their current processes, systems, and credit underwriting. “Irrespective of Covid-19, one of the things we understood turned into that if we want to exit and lend for working capital, cash float-based lending is much more seamless and much better to undertake than, maybe, the traditional stability sheet method,” the MD added.
He stated even amid the slowdown that had been observed during the last years, bankers had been hopeful of a pickup in FY21, accompanied by cleaner balance sheets. “But now that Covid-19 has hit us as on March 31, things have ended up even trickier. So, what we need to do is assess the effect of what the pandemic has done to the e-book that we all carry, that are the sectors which have got impacted and, I think, every bank has carried out that,” he stated.


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Atlas Honda has raised the cost of its motorcycles from Rs3,000 to Rs5,000, with the new rates taking effect today (August 5).
The prevalent Honda CD-70 model’s price has been hiked by Rs 3,000, bringing the current price to Rs157,900.
The Dream 70 model also saw a price increase, and its new price has been set at Rs168,900.
The Pridor model had the most considerable rise of Rs5,000, bringing its new price to Rs208,900.
The Pridor model had the most significant rise of Rs5,000, bringing its new price to Rs208,900.
Other variants, the CG-125, CB-125F, and CB-150F, are priced at Rs 234,900, Rs390,900, and Rs493,900, respectively.
Atlas Honda has raised the price of its motorbike for the sixth time in 2023.


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CHICAGO Americans are losing their taste for chicken and eating more beef and pork as President Donald Trump's trade wars reduce U.S. pork exports to China and Mexico and leave cheaper bacon and ribs at home.
CHICAGO, Nov 13 Americans are losing their taste
for chicken and eating more beef and pork as President Donald
Trump's trade wars reduce U.S. pork exports to China and Mexico
and leave cheaper bacon and ribs at home.
Archer Daniels Midland Co reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, as the U.S. grain merchant cashed in on strong oilseed crushing margins and export sales of American corn.
CHICAGO North American farmers are finding increased levels of a plant toxin known as vomitoxin in this year's corn harvest, adding insult to injury for growers already suffering as the U.S.-China trade war hurts soybean exports and crop prices.
TOKYO/CHICAGO Japan's Itochu Corp on Friday booked a $1.3 billion loss on its investment in China's CITIC Ltd, blaming trade tensions between China and the United States for the writedown on its biggest corporate transaction.
CHICAGO The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Wednesday it would allow farmers to spray a controversial weed killer made by Bayer AG's Monsanto Co and BASF SE for two more years, with additional restrictions on use.
CHICAGO, Oct 31 Live cattle futures rallied on
month-end short covering and position squaring on Wednesday,
with the nearby contract hitting its highest price in almost
eight months, traders said.
* Traders start looking ahead to USDA crop data
(Updates with U.S. trading, changes dateline from PARIS/SYDNEY)
CHICAGO, Oct 30 Live cattle futures dropped to
their lowest prices in more than a week on Tuesday and feeder
cattle futures fell to seven-week lows on worries about
increasing U.S. supplies, analysts said.
BEIJING/CHICAGO/CARAMBEI, Brazil, Oct 26 Ken
Maschhoff, chairman of the largest U.S. family-owned pork
producer, has watched profits fall as trade tensions rise
between the United States and China.


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Government warned to act before IP addresses run out
The growth of the internet means more IP addresses need to be made available, while the freeing up of domain names is also becoming an issue.
The European Commission has said the internet's dramatic growth is making it more important for governments and businesses to adopt IPv6 as the current Internet Protocol runs out of addresses.
EC advisor Detlef Eckert said that EU governments had a crucial role when it came to IPv6 migration because industry players had a "wait and see" attitude. The public sector had a key role in taking a long-term view, and intervene by leading IPv6 implementation, he said.
The EC has already called for a quarter of European businesses, government offices and homes to switch to IPv6 by 2010, but the matter is getting more urgent, with internet innovator Vint Cerf claiming that the world could run out of IP addresses by this year.
The continued global growth of the internet was further highlighted by Verisign, which said it had added 24 million new domain names in 2008, a 16 per cent increase over the previous year.
But the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), admitted it was having problems with a new plan to launch generic top-level domains, which would allow users to create any domain they wish within 64 characters.
According to sister title PC Pro, ICANN said it was investigating a number of technical and economic issues, such whether the Domain Name Servers had enough space, the cost of registration, and the potential market impact.
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(CNN) - The United States Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Tuesday that 22,737 pounds of ground beef products are being recalled on fears that they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 .
The recall is categorized by the FSIS as "Class I": a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.
Recalled cases of beef from National Beef Packing Co. in Liberal, Kansas, include 10 pound packages of "National Beef" 80/20 Coarse Ground Chuck, package code "0481," 10 pound packages of "National Beef" 81/19 Coarse Ground Beef, package code "0421" and 10 pound packages of "National Beef" 80/20 Fine Ground Chuck, package code "0484."
The affected products have a use/sell date of June 14, 2013 and were produced on May 25, 2013. Cases were shipped to institutions and retail establishments and FSIS has expressed concern that some product may remain in consumers' freezers.
No illnesses have been reported in association with the consumption of these products. The contamination was found as a result of routine inspection by FSIS.
Consumers with questions about the recall should contact the company at 877-857-4143 for details. Additional information can be found at nationalbeef.com .
Consumers with food safety questions are encouraged to contact "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov . The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0 am to 4 pm ET Monday through Friday.
- Fast facts on E. coli
According to the FSIS, E. coli is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, seniors and persons with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.
Consumers are advised to only consume ground beef that has been cooked all the way through to an internal temperature of 160°F.
Copyright © 2013 CNN. All Rights Reserved
NEW YORK (AP) — Bob Dylan's sunburst Fender Stratocaster made rock history when he played it at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Now it is again set to make news when it goes on the auction block, where it could sell for half a million …
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Detectives arrested a teenager Thursday accused of stealing some wreckage from the Porsche that "Fast & Furious" star Paul Walker was in when he died in a crash, and a second suspect was planning to turn himself in, authorities said.
NEW YORK (AP) — Whew, that was nerve-wracking, right? All those kids and staircases, pillow fights, candles and dancing. But somehow the cast and crew of NBC's three-hour live telecast of "The Sound of Music" pulled it off Thursday night …


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Amaya is looking to expand by including sports betting, casino, social gaming and daily fantasy sports in its operations.
Amaya Gaming, a stalwart name in online gaming told UK gambling news reporters that in 2014 its revenues soared from $145.9 million to $668.2 million. The company said that it was due to the success of its main B2C poker business and to a significant expansion undergone during the fourth quarter of the year. Amaya’s prosperous core poker business is to be supplemented by expansion into other areas of gaming including luxury casino, online.
Adjusted earnings before tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose to $292.7 million from $62.6 million over a one year period. Also, adjusted net earnings shot up to $145 million. Net winnings from continuing operations rose out from the red and amounted to $57.2 million. In 2013 Amaya had reported a loss of $4.8 million.
3 month impressive hike in revenue last year
Amaya also divulged that overall revenue skyrocketed to $368.6 million from October to the end of the year 2014, from the dismal $37.1 million it had reached in the last quarter of 2013. Regulated EBITDA increased from $16.7 million to $154.7 million. Nevertheless, Amaya did experience a loss of $7.5 million in comparison to a negative number of $523,000 in the related Q4 2014.
Amaya acquired Rational Group and its PokerStars and Full Tilt online poker brands which operate under UK gambling laws in 2014. These are said to be the driving force behind the success. David Baazov, Amaya chairman and chief executive officer said “As our B2C business is Amaya’s core growth platform, we have initiated a process to identify opportunities to divest our B2B assets, with the aim of facilitating their future growth and maximising value for Amaya shareholders”.


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Apple will comply with Russian Law and begin Offering pre-installed mandatory Russian Software beginning April First
Back in November 2019 Patently Apple posted a report titled "According to a new Law, Apple will have to Offer Russian Alternative Software on all Devices starting July 2020." Then in August 2020 we posted a report titled "Russia's 'Federal Antimonopoly Service' found Apple Guilty of abusing its dominant market position in the area of Mobile Apps." Due to COVID-19 and other matters there were obvious delays in Apple's compliance with the new Russian law.
Today a Russian news site is reporting that Apple will be, as of April first, offer pre-installed Russian software on iOS devices. The agreements stipulate that when you first turn on an Apple device purchased in Russia, during setup, the user will see a dialog box in which he will be prompted to install applications from the list approved by the government by default, according to sources. Reportedly it will be possible to refuse the installation by unchecking the boxes in front of certain applications.
According to a Vedomosti source in the Ministry of Digital Science, the issue of creating a selection of promising Russian applications in the App Store is currently being discussed with Apple: “The Ministry is not at all interested in the dominant position of popular programs included in the list for mandatory preinstallation. If alternative offers that are interesting to users and are rapidly gaining popularity appear on the market, they will be included in this selection and will also be offered for pre-installation."
Among these applications are browsers, antivirus and mapping software, instant messengers, mail agents and agents of online cinemas, the application of the State Services service, the application of the Mir Pay payment system, and much more.
The mandatory list approved by the government earlier this year includes products from Yandex, Mail.ru Group, Kaspersky Lab, Rostelecom, Channel One and other major Russian Internet and media companies. For more, read the full Russian report from Vedomost.


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Royal Challengers Bangalore have signed Asia Pacific’s paint manufacturer, Nippon Paint as the associate sponsor for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021).
As part of the agreement, Nippon Paint’s logo will appear on the back of the RCB player’s helmets. To commemorate this, Nippon Paint unveiled a new Blobby in the shade of red with a golden hat resembling the colours of RCB. This year, Nippon Paint has further launched a new paint shade called the ‘RCB red’ a distinct tone of red wall paint, in keeping up with this association. Following this announcement, TV, Print and digital campaigns will be launched in succession.
Associating with Royal Challengers Bangalore adds to Nippon Paint’s growing portfolio of sports sponsorships in India which includes three-time IPL champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Chennaiyin FC, Indian Olympic Association (IOC), Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), Pro Kabbadi – Bengaluru Bulls, Karnataka Premier League amongst others.
Speaking about the association, Mahesh Anand, President, Nippon Paint (India) Private Limited (Decorative Division) said, “We are extremely elated to team up with Royal Challengers Bangalore for 14th edition of T20 as their associate sponsor. It provides a perfect platform to promote audience engagement and increase awareness amongst our end consumers. In the next few weeks, we will be launching a series of digital ads and contests on our social media pages for RCB fans. With most of India’s population still working from home, we are confident that the viewership and reception for the matches this time is going to be much bigger. With the season starting in less than a week, we are geared up in anticipation. Also, we are launching a special consumer promotion which provides loyal fans a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet their RCB stars.”
Adding about the association, Rajesh V Menon, Vice President & Head of Royal Challengers Bangalore, said, “We are delighted to welcome Nippon Paint as our associate sponsor for this year. We are positive to paint our fans Red, in RCB colours as we bring them an exciting season again. We will miss our fans cheering for us at the stadium, but we sincerely hope that they enjoy the cricket experience with families and friends, together at home.”