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Digital TV News: European Broadcasting Union
5G-MAG launch puts media in the centre of 5G
Sep 13, 2019 – A 5G Media Action Group (5G-MAG) has been launched to provide a framework for all relevant stakeholders to collaborate on a market driven implementation of 5G in production and distribution of audiovisual media content and services.
News categories: European Broadcasting Union, 5G-MAG, Antonio Arcidiacono, 5G, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Europe, IBC2020, Worldwide
EBU and Eurofins Digital Testing partner on UHDTV standards and logo
Sep 13, 2019 – The European Broadcasting Union has published a set of key distribution parameters (EBU Tech 3372) for UHDTV video and audio. Eurofins Digital Testing has created a certification logo, referencing the EBU specification.
News categories: Eurofins Digital Testing, European Broadcasting Union, Johan Craeybeckx, Antonio Arcidiacono, Digital TV, Europe, IBC2020, Smart TV
Ultra HD Forum brings updated Guidelines to NAB Show 2019
Apr 4, 2019 – At NAB, the Ultra HD Forum (UHDF) will bring an update to its Guidelines. The unified document describes ‘foundation’ UHD technologies, as well as ‘enhancements’ that are backward compatible but still work on foundation equipment.
News categories: Ultra HD Forum, Madeleine Noland, Thierry Fautier, Content Distribution, Digital TV, NABShow, Smart TV, Worldwide
UK's Freeview Play platform to receive £125 million investment
Jun 11, 2018 – The UK’s top broadcast companies have signed an agreement to accelerate Freeview’s transition to a fully hybrid platform. The collaboration will see an investment of £125 million to build on the success of Freeview Play, the UK market leader in free-to-view connected TV.
News categories: Digital UK, Jonathan Thompson, Digital TV, Middleware, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Terrestrial, UK
EBU publishes royalty-free CA standard for live content streams
Apr 6, 2018 – The EBU has published a new protocol, developed in close collaboration with network equipment vendors ATEME and NEVION, which makes it a lot easier for media rights holders to grant clients access to live video content.
News categories: European Broadcasting Union, Adi Kouadio, Dr Hans Hoffmann, Oscar Teran, Conditional Access, Digital TV, IBC2020, NABShow, OTT, Worldwide
3GPP Release 14 to incorporate broadcaster requirements
Feb 14, 2017 – The upcoming 3GPP Release 14 will include a set of new features that will help to ensure that new mobile technologies – 4G as well as 5G – will be capable of meeting the future requirements of EBU Members.
News categories: 3GPP, European Broadcasting Union, Erik Guttmann, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Mobile, Worldwide
Freeview Play spec adds HEVC and Ultra HD via broadband
Sep 23, 2016 – Digital UK has published an updated technical specification for Freeview Play, setting out new features and requirements for products developed during 2017. Freeview Play combines live television with catch-up TV and on-demand services, making it easy for viewers to watch what they want, when they want.
News categories: Digital UK, James Jackson, Digital TV, OTT, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Terrestrial, UK
EMEA UHF spectrum to remain with DTT until at least 2023
Nov 26, 2015 – At the ITU’s World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) representatives of over 150 governments took the decision that UHF spectrum will remain exclusively allocated to terrestrial TV services in ITU Region 1 well into the next decade.
News categories: European Broadcasting Union, International Telecommunication Union, Simon Fell, Africa, Digital TV, Europe, Middle-East, Terrestrial
V-Nova announces PERSEUS video compression technology
Apr 1, 2015 – V-Nova has announced the public release of a number of video compression products based on its PERSEUS technology. PERSEUS offers 2-3x compression gains under practical operating scenarios versus H.264, HEVC and JPEG2000.
News categories: V-Nova, Guido Meardi, Eric Achtmann, Digital TV, Media Player
- Synamedia launches addressable advertising solution
- Ten carriers in Germany and Austria choose Ocilion for IPTV
- BluTV DTH launches in Brazil on EUTELSAT 65 West A
- Viya TV+ launches in the US Virgin Islands with Mirada
- OTT TV and video revenues at $83 billion in 2019
- 41.4% of TVs in Latin America are Smart
- DISH Network pay TV subscribers down 51,000 in 2Q 2020
- Pirate subscription TV services now a billion-dollar U.S. industry
- PAOK FC OTT platform built with Insys Sport on AWS
- SLING TV in-app guide integrates local OTA channels on LG Smart TVs
- Conviva releases State of Streaming Q2 report
- Stay-at-home providing springboard for French SVOD
- Survata announces enhanced CTV measurement suite
- Ofcom releases Media Nations 2020 report
- RADIO.COM expands connected TV footprint with Vewd
- NAGRA multi-DRM selected for Grupo Express OTT service in Argentina
- V-Nova and NETINT collaborate on MPEG-5 LCEVC transcoding
- ViacomCBS to launch connected video ad platform
- Bell Canada releases Android TV 4K HDR streaming box
- ORS chooses 3SS to deliver simpliTV service in Austria


text: Description: Downeast Bicycle will be holding its annual open house over the weekend of March 10th-11th in Fryeburg, Maine. Saturday will feature in-depth tech and sales seminars by several vendors including Shimano, SRAM, Clif Bar, and Cane Creek. Over 30 vendors will be in attendance on Sunday to display 2012 product and answer dealers' question. There will be blowout specials, door prizes, and open-house-only specials on Sunday as well. To RSVP please call 800-242-1043, or email email@example.com.

domain: news


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Australian cryptocurrency exchange, Cointree, has come together with renowned billing-provider Gobbill to make utility payments much more streamlined and hassle-free.
However, what really stands out about this partnership is that customers will be able to make all of their payments via cryptocurrencies, thus introducing the average Aussie citizen to a whole host of new and exciting business opportunities.
More about the venture
For years now, crypto enthusiasts and investors throughout Australia have been calling for local tech companies to develop a platform that would allow them to make their everyday payments via digital currencies.
Now, Cointree and Gobbill have joined hands to foster a system that promises to enable alt-coin payments for everyday purposes such as:
Electricity, Heating, Water bills.
Shopping– Online as well as physical purchases.
With that being said, it should still be remembered that most crypto assets are still subject to major price swings. For example, since December last year, the price of Bitcoin has plummeted by over 65%, thus raising various questions as to how the developers of this project will ensure timely transactions without any loss of money for their customers.
Gobbill, the company that will be looking after all of the billing services, claims that “irrespective of whether a company accepts crypto payments, they will ensure that all fiat-crypto transactions are carried out smoothly”. Not only that, if a customer so chooses, he/she still has the option to complete their transactions using conventional banking methods including credit cards and cash transfers.
While there already exist payments solutions such as ‘Living Room of Satoshi’ that offer customers with similar services, more competition within this space is always a good thing.
For paid/sponsored articles, CryptoMode neither endorses nor takes responsibility for the accuracy, timeliness, quality, and content of said articles. The statements, views and opinions expressed in paid/sponsored articles are solely those of the content provider and readers are reminded that Cryptocurrency products are unregulated in most locations and can be highly risky. Do your own research and consult relevant financial experts before making any investment decisions. Cryptomode will not be held accountable, either directly or indirectly, for any harm or loss that may stem from or be linked to the usage or reliance on any information, goods, or services mentioned on this page. If you have any concerns, please email [email protected] or refer to our Terms & Conditions


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Recalls of certain drugs containing heart drug valsartan supplied by Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical have spread to the USA, as the FDA sought voluntary actions to take some affected drugs off the shelves due to the potential cancer risk. Officials say the recall comes after a trace amount an unexpected impurity, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) was detected.
Valsartan is off patent and is used as a component of other generic medicines, but not all medicines containing the ingredient are involved, according to the FDA.
In these cases, the FDA has told patients to continue taking the drug until their health care provider is able to provide them with a substitute. If the medication's label does not explicitly name the manufacturer, or if there is any confusion whatsoever, the agency is advising patients to call their pharmacy and make sure their drug is not part of the recall.
Not all medications containing valsartan were included in FDA's recall.
"We have carefully assessed the valsartan-containing medications sold in the United States, and we've found that the valsartan sold by these specific companies does not meet our safety standards", Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.
It is also a byproduct from pesticide manufacturing, or during the making of rubber tires or fish processing. These recalls were made after a review from the European Medicines Agency or EMA had found that valsartan supplied by China-based company Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals contained NDMA.
The US recall includes the the versions of valsartan that are made by Major Pharmaceuticals, Solco Healthcare and Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd.as well as valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) sold by Solco Healthcare and Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. "That includes our efforts to ensure the quality of drugs and the safe manner in which they're manufactured", Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said Friday.
Patients should contact their healthcare professional (the pharmacist who dispensed the medication or the doctor who prescribed the medication) if their medicine is included in the recall to discuss treatment.
Patients who are taking one of the recalled medicines listed above should follow the recall instructions that are provided by the FDA's website. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.


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Kids II is recalling about 680,000 Oball Rattles because a clear plastic disc on the outside of the balls can break and release small beads that pose a choking hazard to young children.
The company has received 42 reports of the plastic disc breaking. There have been two reports of beads found in children’s mouths and three reports of gagging.
The recall involves Oball Rattles in pink, blue, green and orange with model number 81031 printed on the inner surface of one of the plastic discs and on the packaging.
Only rattles with date codes T0486, T1456, T2316, T2856 and T3065 located on a small triangle on the inner surface of the rattle are included in the recall.
The rattles were sold at Target, Walgreens, Walmart and other retailers nationwide and online at Amazon.com, Babyhaven.com, Diapers.com, ToysRUs.com, Walgreens.com and other online retailers from January 2016 through February 2017 for between $5 and $7.
Consumers should immediately take these recalled rattles away from young children and contact Kids II to receive a full refund.
Consumers with questions may contact Kids II toll-free at 877-243-7314 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit www.kidsii.com.
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Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty Chosen as Featured Vendor at 2015 Seattle Home Show
Posted by Elizabeth A. Maxwell — October 29, 2015
BELLEVUE, WA - To our delight, Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty was chosen to be a featured vendor at the 2015 Seattle Home Show. Held at the CenturyLink Field Event Center and bringing in an astounding 30,000+ guests, our booth received great traffic! To add to our attendance at the show, our very own Mark Behringer hosted a breakout session covering a smooth transition for families! We are so appreciative to have been a part of such a wonderful event and look forward to participating again next year!
For more information on the Seattle Home Show, visit their website HERE.


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Google Australia restructures amid tax crackdown
IBAC denounces members of Ultranet 'boys club'
IBM Australia's profit falls 60 percent
Gumtree hacked, user details stolen
Dump software patents, allow geoblocking bypass: Productivity Commission
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Apple updates retina MacBook Pro range
More memory, faster processors, reduced price on high-end model.
Jul 30 2014 5:04AM
NSW Education culls 600 tech support roles
Funding no longer available after laptops program ends.
Jun 7 2014 10:14AM
Microsoft unveils Surface Pro 3
Is it a tabtop or a laplet?
May 21 2014 4:31AM
Universal laptop charger standard published
Will manufacturers get on board?
Dec 17 2013 4:42AM
Desktop support staffing ratios decline: study
Reliable PCs, knowledgeable users and robust management tools cited.
Oct 14 2013 9:00AM
Dell secures US$25 billion buyout
Plans to invest in PC and tablet markets.
Sep 13 2013 6:43AM
Laptops, smartphones are fair game for Customs
[Blog post] Your (lack of) rights at the border.
Sep 2 2013 7:00AM
NSW Govt to merge hardware procurement panels
Reveals new whole-of-government agreement.
Jun 25 2013 11:21AM
BBC laptop losses near half a million dollars
195 laptops lost last year.
Apr 12 2013 3:17PM
CES wrap-up: Five tech trends for 2013
Touch GUI's, fat smartphones and electric cars on the horizon.
Jan 14 2013 3:10PM
Photos: CES 2013 - best of the rest
Tech highlights from the showroom floor.
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Photos: More highlights from CES 2013
Technology showstoppers from CES 2013.
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Photos: CES 2013 Day One
Tech highlights from the CES showroom floor.
Jan 9 2013 12:15PM
Photos: CES 2013 Pre-Show highlights
The best tech in the lead-up to CES 2013.
Jan 8 2013 11:13AM
Victoria risks obsolete student laptops
Government refresh policies found lacking.
Jun 20 2012 1:45PM
Hudson shifts ANZ users to virtual desktops
Joint CIO-CFO spearheads regional IT project.
Mar 29 2012 1:30PM
Review: Lenovo IdeaPad Z570
A well-built all-rounder and our new A-list laptop.
Oct 26 2011 4:00PM
Microsoft puts Windows 8 in developer hands
Free test version on Samsung hardware given away.
Sep 14 2011 7:03AM
Review: Samsung Series 9
Can it take on the MacBook Air?
Aug 15 2011 3:23PM
Review: Sony VAIO S Series
Fitter, faster and with better battery than before.
Jul 29 2011 12:22PM
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A food safety factory shutdown has Americans hunting for baby formula. Readying themselves for a covid-19 lockdown, Chinese in Beijing emptied store shelves. Emerging from lockdown, some in Shanghai are visiting well-provisioned markets. U.S.-China agricultural trade is booming, but many are still being left hungry. Food security, sustainability and safety remain issues.
Chinese Tourists and Japan
Chinese tourists take pictures of cherry blossoms in Japan / Toshihiro Gamo
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Because vaccines won't have sufficiently reduced covid-19's threat, Japan won't permit spectators from abroad to attend the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in July and August. The International Olympic Committee has pledged to vaccinate all of the competing athletes. Ticket sales help offset the cost of hosting the games and athletes will miss the fans. Beyond ticket sales (US$527 million in 2013-2016), international visitors give many businesses a boost. Apart from the USC athletes who compete (44 in Brazil in 2016, the most of any university), most of us will have to just watch on television, something the pandemic has made quite familiar.
Among the visitors not able to join the Olympics in Tokyo are many Chinese. In recent years, visitors from China to Japan made up 30% of total international arrivals. Almost 10 million Chinese visited in 2019, five times the number of Americans who went to Japan. Because of their numbers, they contributed the most to the Japanese economy, though visitors from Australia and some other countries spent more per visitor. According to Ctrip, the Chinese online travel giant, the top activities for Chinese visitors (apart from shopping) are enjoying cherry blossoms in spring and maples in fall as well as visiting hot springs, trying out kimonos, and culinary tours. 54% of visitors are in their 20s or 30s. Osaka and Tokyo are the top destinations, but Okinawa, Sapporo and Nagoya are also popular. Starting in 2019, Japan made getting visas easier for younger people.
Relations between China and Japan are far from warm, but Chinese clearly love to visit and to shop in Japan. Such visitors and exports to China (China is Japan's largest export market) have greatly boosted Japan's economy. The place of visiting Chinese in the Japanese tourism sector is illustrated in the charts below.


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THE Indonesian government will implement a “Philippines First Policy” that will prioritize the Philippines as a source of agricultural goods whenever there is a need to import, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said on Tuesday.
“Yesterday, [Indonesian] Trade Minister [Enggartiasto] Lukita announced a new policy which will be adopted by Indonesia and they call it Philippine First Policy. They have recognized us as their distant cousins and they said starting now, if there is anything they need, they will look at the Philippines as a priority source for the things that they need before sourcing it from other countries,” Mr. Piñol said in a briefing in Quezon City.
Mr. Piñol earlier this year complained that Indonesia is not open to importing from the Philippines which results in a huge trade deficit between the two countries. Recently, the two countries along with Malaysia entered into a tripartite agreement to limit exports to the Philippines of palm oil.
“(Yesterday), [Indonesian] Trade Minister Lokita, [Philippine Trade] Secretary Ramon Lopez and myself, agreed that the three countries would form a technical working group (TWG) to come up with an acceptable arrangement. We call it a brotherly arrangement, to ensure that nobody will be placed in a disadvantageous position,” Mr. Piñol said.
“(Indonesia saw) it could have an adverse effect not only on diplomatic relations but also trade relationships. We are already consolidating our production that will be ready for the Indonesian market and I’m prioritizing onions [for export],” Mr. Piñol noted.
According to Mr. Piñol, the three countries have agreed to fight the campaign of Western countries against the use of palm oil and coconut oil.
“We should join hands to standing up to the lobby of vegetable oil producers in the Western countries who are waging a campaign against palm oil and coconut oil,” Mr. Piñol said.
Mr. Piñol also said that Indonesia is currently having a hard time in exporting palm oil to the European Union (EU), and banning them from exporting to the Philippines will be detrimental for Jakarta. Mr. Piñol earlier considered imposing quantitative restrictions (QR) on export of palm oil to the Philippines, claiming that such exports may have disadvantaged Filipino coconut farmers who are dealing with low prices for copra.
“I can understand their concern because right now hirap sila pumasok sa EU (…they are having difficulty to penetrate the EU market). Nagsta-start na ’yung ban ng EU sa palm oil (EU has already started banning palm oil). If they will get the same ban from the Philippines, that will be detrimental to their palm oil industry,” Mr. Piñol said.
“(There is a move right now) to really join hands and address this problem because we also have our own palm oil production in the Philippines. We will also be affected by the ban imposed by the EU,” Mr. Piñol said. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio


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The impacts of COVID-19 are being felt in all aspects of life, including trips to the grocery store. We reached out to 1,617 of our members to get a glimpse into how their grocery shopping behaviors have evolved.
With social distancing regulations on the rise and the health and wellness of individuals top of mind, 74% of those surveyed have confirmed they stay 6+ feet away from other shoppers when in store and 68% have applied hand sanitizer right after leaving the store. Around a third have opted for self-checkout to minimize interactions with others and/or wiped down their purchases after arriving home.
Not only are safety precautions taken into consideration when shopping, but half of the consumers we surveyed are proactively shifting how they navigate grocery aisles since the onset of COVID-19.
But are consumers seeing the impact of panic-buying and hoarding products each time they try to buy food & essentials?
Slightly over half of those we surveyed have been purchasing more items in bulk than they had been previously, which is likely contributing to lower inventory and fewer choices. Because of this, just over half (52%) are more focused on what their household needs; the brand is less important.
Of those who have adapted by adding new items to their current grocery list, cleaning supplies, disinfecting supplies, canned soups and pasta are most common.
Want to learn more about generational differences in recent shopping behaviors? Check out our webinar on April 23rd at 8am PST! Register here.
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Online consumers love high quality visual content
When it comes to shopping online, visual content counts for today's consumer.
That's the finding of a new Splashlight survey on what factors into the online purchasing decision and consumers' online shopping habits, according to a press release.
A large number of respondents value the quality of a brand's product images online over other factors, including social media, branding and product description.
Highlights from the survey include:
- 37.9 percent of U.S. online consumers report social media content has little influence on their purchase decision and another third (33.7 percent) report that it has no influence.
- Half of U.S. online consumers would like to see a minimum of three to five product photos (front, back, side) before they consider making a purchase.
- 51.7 percent of U.S. online consumers state that on-model photography may increase their chance of purchasing an item.
"Despite all of the buzz about social media advertising, as visual search and ecommerce become even more ubiquitous and widespread, there is a real ROI for brands and retailers to scale and elevate their ecommerce product photography," said Camille Park, head of account management at Splashlight, in the release.
The survey, conducted by SHIFT Communications, polled 1,512 respondents between June 22, 2017 and July 1, 2017.


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Magellan AI released its always-interesting Top Spenders chart, listing the highest 15 spenders for February. BetterHelp lands in the #1 spot, as it has for (at least) the last 11 months that RAIN has tracked the movements in this ranker. (Magellan AI analyzes podcast advertising data from the top 3,000 podcasts in the U.S., as ranked by Apple Podcasts, and applies several factors. See HERE.)
With a February investment of $7.8-million, BetterHelp more than doubled the monthly spend of the #2-ranked advertisers HelloFresh, which spent $3.1-million.
In RAIN’s month-over-month comparison, we see BetterHelp and five other advertisers in the Top 15 list in each month. Also in February, Best Friends entered the list for the first time in the 11-month span.


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Australian-listed telco and Internet service provider Spirit Telecom is undertaking a $23.2 million capital raising to assist in the acquisition of three IT and telco companies that it says will increase recurring revenues by 60%.
Australia’s telecommunications regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has announced that it will soon consult on rules to assist consumers when their fixed broadband telco fails to meet retail service levels.
Macquarie Telecom has overhauled the mobile services of community services not-for-profit Uniting WA, claiming mobile costs have been slashed by more than 60% while providing improved support at a time when the organisation is more dependent on its mobile services and data.
Can vouch for being a happy Aussie Broadband customer since giving up Telstra and it's very poor customer service.
felix will be an interesting addition to the mobile solution offerings but having TPG, including Vodafone as parents would suggest[…]
Thx for covering this Sam :)Not to put too fine a point on the definition of 'hacked materials', and no[…]
This is basically the same price per GB as the discounted rate I'm getting from Vodafone at the moment. Very[…]
Definitely an attractive plan!


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SCIVISION BIOTECH INC (TT: 1786), a leading Taiwan-based surgical and medical instruments sector play, saw its revenue grow by double digits between January and October of this year.
Third quarter operating revenue remained stable on a year-on-year basis at 54.6 million twd with a July-September gross operating profit of 32.6 million.
The gross operating profit margin remained at a healthy 60%, with net profit over the three-month period coming in at 18.4 million twd – representing a net operating profit margin of 21%.
Earnings per share in the third quarter stood at 0.43 twd.
This compares to an EPS of 0.18 twd and 0.22 twd in the previous two quarters.
Third quarter earnings for SciVision have surpassed the combined earnings total for the first and second quarters.
SciVision’s January-September revenue rose 20% year-on-year to 149.8 million twd.
The Kaoshiung-based firm saw January-October revenue hit 170.1 million twd, up 15.6% from year-earlier levels and comfortably within double-digit territory.
SciVision specializes in Hyaluronic Acid (HA) medical and skincare products.
These include self-owned brands HYADERMIS – a facial dermal implant, and synovial fluid supplements HYADERMIS and HYAJOINT.
SciVision also markets anti-adhesion gels and wound healing dressings.
On the skincare products side, the firm’s BIOTRICE series of products appeals to a growing attention in society to beauty and appearance.
The firm was already beginning to branch out into different areas, including HA nutritional food products such as its HYACARE glucosamine tablets.
SciVision is also expanding its reach into the development and production of food and cosmetic-grade HA raw materials and applied products, both on an OEM and ODM basis, as well as offering products used in parentage DNA testing.
SciVision – Taiwan’s leading surgical and medical instruments sector play -- listed on Taipei's main board on November 12.
The number twelve in Chinese culture has historical significance and is considered especially auspicious because it represents the number of animals in the traditional zodiac.
Therefore, SciVision’s listing on the 12th day of the month coincided with its celebrating the firm’s 12th birthday, and made for a very jubilant occasion for the Kaoshiung-based enterprise.
“Our listing doesn’t only mean we now have full access to capital markets, but it is also the perfect birthday gift to present to our shareholders on this, our 12th anniversary as a company,” said SciVision Chairman Mr. Han Kai-Cheng.
He said the firm would continue to lean on its own brands to maximize margins and boost market recognition.
“For the past dozen years, we have relied heavily on our own in-house, proprietary technology to drive our sales, profits and brand image.
“Looking forward, we will continue to lean heavily on our self-owned brands and technology to be Taiwan’s top player in our field and aggressively pursue market opportunities around the world”.
Prior to its formal listing last month, the specialty producer or medical grade HA was approved by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs to be the island’s sole producer of its patented product, thus providing the Kaoshiung-based firm a key endorsement.
With the official approval as well as a mainboard listing to its credit, Scivision is confident that it will continue to enjoy strong upside from a growing number of consumers hoping to recapture their youthful appearance as well as others seeking to remedy joint issues.
Management added that given the growing beauty industry across the region and beyond as well as the ongoing graying of populations in Scivision’s key markets with their tendency to seek out preventative and joint-issue treatments, investors were increasingly paying attention to the South Taiwan-based biotech firm.
The designation by both the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Taiwan’s stock market authority were key milestones in Scivision’s quest to boost its profile in both the medical supplies sector and the investing community at large.
Management added that the successful high-profile listing, the dual recognition as a bona fide “technological enterprise” and the increasing attention Scivision is receiving from investors will help ensure even healthier financial results going forward.
Management believes that following its IPO, SciVision is starting to get the attention it deserves from investors as a key player in Taiwan’s biotech sector and the leading producer of a critical chemical used in both cosmetic and orthopedic surgery.
SciVision Biotech Inc was founded alongside Kaohsiung Harbor in 2001. Based on a self-owned genetic transfer technique as well as high-tech equipment, SciVision successfully developed a non-traditional microbial fermentation technique to produce medical grade Hyaluronic Acid (HA) with high quality and high safety. In 2003 and 2009, SciVision was respectively awarded the “Leading Innovative Product Research and Development Program” by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which affirmed SciVision as the leading company in the medical grade HA field. SciVision’s products have passed intact assessments including in vivo, in vitro and clinical tests. Its factory complies with ISO 13485 & ISO 9001 quality management systems as well as medical device GMP. Hya-Joint Synovial Fluid Supplement and Hya-Dermis Facial Dermal Implants were approved with medical device export permits by the Department of Health, Executive Yuan and available for sale worldwide. Hya-Joint also received the medical device permit issued by the Department of Health, Executive Yuan and achieved the 2008 National Biotechnology and Medical Care Quality Award in the Medical Appliance Category. Now, this product is eligible for health insurance reimbursement to serve and care for Taiwan’s people through the national medical-care system.
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Second generation Range Rover Velar will supposedly transform into an EV
The Range Rover Velar just received its first facelift earlier this year. First launched in 2017, the new crossover slots between the Range Rover Sport and the Range Rover Evoque. It's also a direct competitor to the Porsche Macan.
Currently, the Velar is available with a wide array of turbocharged and electrified engines, including a plug-in hybrid (PHEV). But since its main rival is set to become an all-electric SUV, the folks over at Coventry have a plan. With the Range Rover and Defender set to be available as electric vehicles (EVs), the Velar will supposedly go all electric.
According to a report by Autocar UK, the Range Rover Velar will become an EV for its second generation. It will supposedly be underpinned by the new EMA platform developed by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and will do away with the outgoing D7 architecture shared with the Jaguar F-Pace.
The exact specifics of the Range Rover Velar EV are still closely guarded by the automaker. However, JLR said that the EMA platform will feature 800V hardware for rapid charging and will have bespoke electric motors that they claim will be the “most torque dense” in its class.
As for production, the Range Rover Velar EV will not be made in Land Rover's Coventry facility. Instead, it will reportedly be made at the company's revamped production line in Halewood, Merseyside. This is also where the EV successors of the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport will supposedly be manufactured.
With Jaguar set to become an all-electric brand in 2025 while Land Rover plans to launch around six EVs by 2024, the company is all hands on deck for its future electrification plans.
But before we can get our hands on the Range Rover Velar EV, the Philippine market will first get the fully-electric Range Rover which is scheduled to arrive in around Q1 of 2025.


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École Ste-Marie Students Participate in One Day Without Shoes Day
Their participation in One Day without Shoes helped students better understand the fact that millions of people, mainly in developing countries, cannot afford a good pair of shoes. While vulnerable to the spread of infections and serious diseases, children without shoes cannot go to school.
In an effort to make a difference, École Ste-Marie students and staff will also collect shoes until April 21, 2017. They will be donated to Soles 4 Souls, a not-for-profit organization committed to fighting poverty through the collection and distribution of shoes and clothing in many countries.


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The Chicago alderman, Edward Burke, who has called for a city-wide ban on trans fat, has now called for the CEOs of the major fast food chains to appear before the City Council and answer for their use of trans fat.
He specifically ask for Jim Skinner of McDonald's, John W. Chidsey of Burger King Corp. and David C. Novak of Yum Brands Inc., the parent company of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken to come and explain "why they continue to use an unhealthy process when they know full well that they're putting their customers at risk."
Burke was particularly critical of McDonald's for promising to eliminate trans fat over 4 years ago and still having made little progress to date.
He praised Wendy's, though, for doing just that and invited Wendy's interim CEO, Kerrii Anderson, to address the council on just "how easy it was to make the change." [via nwitimes.com]


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Large volume of Bitcoin transactions could bring the internet to a halt, says BIS report
Swiss-based financial institution the Bank for International Settlements has released a report warning that cryptocurrency is not ready for use on a large scale.
The 24-page report, part of the institution’s annual economic report, said that the lack of a centralised backer for the network brought about significant risk.
The report says: “The decentralized technology of cryptocurrencies, however sophisticated, is a poor substitute for the solid institutional backing of money.
“Trust can evaporate at any time because of the fragility of the decentralised consensus through which transactions are recorded.”
In particular, they warned of the implications of what could happen if many users attempted to make cryptocurrency transactions at the same time – on the scale that would occur if it were adopted for the retail market.
“To process the number of digital retail transactions currently handled by selected national retail payment systems, even under optimistic assumptions, the size of the ledger would swell well beyond the storage capacity of a typical smartphone in a matter of days, beyond that of a typical personal computer in a matter of weeks and beyond that of servers in a matter of months.
“The associated communication volumes could bring the internet to a halt, as millions of users exchanged files on the order of magnitude of a terabyte.”
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies based on the blockchain make use of a decentralised ledger of transactions, which has to be updated and verified by each participating user. The Bitcoin network as it stands now contains approximately 170 gigabytes of data, even though it sees very little transactional use.
The report also took aim at the environmental implications of Bitcoin “mining”, as well as the inherent trust required for miners who maintain the network.
It said that the blockchain “hinges on a set of assumptions: that honest miners control the vast network of computing power, that users verify the history of all transactions and that the supply of the currency is predetermined by a protocol.”
The writers of the report added: “Put in the simplest terms, the quest for decentralised trust has quickly become an environmental disaster.”
Dutch And Maltese Gaming Regulators Signs MoU To Prevent Illegal Gambling
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Fast food companies are breaking their own pledges about how they advertise to kids
Pacific Standard - 03/09/2015
Have McDonald’s and Burger King lived up to their promise? Not at all, argues a new study, published last week in the journal PLoS One. A team of researchers from Dartmouth University’s medical school and Northeastern University’s law school analyzed Burger King and McDonald’s TV ads that aired over a year between 2009 and 2010. They showed randomly selected ads to 100 children aged three to seven. All of the ads contained at least some healthy food item, such as apples and milk. But that didn’t really matter. When researchers asked the kids what they remembered about the ads, the children didn’t remember any food as often as two-thirds of the time. At the same time, about half the children remembered characters and toys. When the kids did remember food, they were more likely to recall seeing unhealthy foods than healthy ones. So much for “clearly secondary” tie-in messaging.


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89% of consumer media time in mobile apps, 11% in mobile web according to latest statistics by Nielsen
Interested in finding out how content consumption has change across media? Whether it's video, apps, text, across linear, digital or mobile? Or how many hours are spent on apps and across which device?
Nielsen's research provides insights into US consumers changing media use which can help prompt changes in media investment. See our statistics page for sources for consumer media consumption insight elsewhere, including Ofcom and ONS in the UK and comScore.
Nielsen have combined the survey this quarter to look at the integration of mobile and video usage from their mobile insights survey along with metered data through Electronic Mobile Measurement.
According to Dounia Turrill, SVP Insights, 'as we create the tapestry of media consumption with its impact and opportunnity for Advertisers, it strikes me that we are in an era of tremendous growth and the quality of information is more important than ever.'
This gives a rare glimpse of cross-device media usage. Live TV still dominates despite timeshifting being available for quite some time now. Smartphone media has gradually increased compared to desktop Internet use and is greater in the most recent quarter.
Average consumer media use 2014 - time spent per adult 18+ per day
Importance of mobile apps for media time
As expected, there is heavy usage of accessing apps on mobile devices, due to the accessibility of apps across social networks and news apps - as information is consumed more on mobile as can be seen by the decline in print for media.
The 89/11% split of media time spent by consumers on mobile apps against mobile web is shocking although our mobile statistics research page we show other data showing a similar 80/20 split.
You can Download Nielsen's March 2014 Cross Platform report for more insight.
Start the discussion on our community and social networks
The 2017 U.S. Mobile App Report
Mobile apps account for 57 percent of all digital media usage, and smartphone apps alone capture more than half of digital media time spent.
Why have apps become such a powerful force in our daily media lives? The power of habit. The 2017 U.S. Mobile App Report explores the dynamics of mobile media consumption, audiences, and user habits to understand what’s driving this mobile activity, how it has evolved, and how publishers and advertisers can take advantage.
Some key topics covered in the report include:
- Mobile app vs. mobile web usage and audience behavior
- Highlights of top-ranking and fast-growing apps
- App activity among Millennials and other valuable audience segments
- Consumers’ attitudes and perceptions towards apps and the app landscape
- Usage habits and behavioral tendencies of app users
- Deep dives into several app categories, including retail, gaming and online dating
Senior Marketing Insights Analyst


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Here’s a video of a Samsung device that seems to be equipped with a “mini-joystick” or trackball very much like the BlackBerry 88xx series, the video is quite dark, so it’s hard to tell. On the (touch) screen, there is a mouse cursor moving around – quite unusual for a Windows Mobile Device. This video was shot at GITEX in Dubai by someone at DinarSoft. (Pocket PC thought points out that the HP HX4700 had a mouse cursor. It has also a high-res 640×480 display).
Next Story: Death Valley puts out tech bait


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The new research paper studies and maps the international agriculture and food trade network. This is described, according to the University's press release
, as "a highly complex and heterogeneous system formed around a core group of seven countries, each trading with more than 77 percent of the world's nations."
The research paper
explains that vulnerability to food contamination risks arise because no two countries in the food network have more than two degrees of separation from any other country on the network. This means that if there is a food related contamination incident in any territory, the way that food trade is constituted then any foodborne contaminant will be spread very quickly. For this the study surmises the difficulties in pinning down two significant food contamination events in 2011, both involving dangerous bacteria: U.S.A Listeria monocytogenes
, and Germany Escherichia coli
In the USA case, some 146 people were infected, and 30 died, in a food scandal crossing 28 different states (as the US Center for Disease Control reported
Another problem with the global food trade system is that it is very difficult to work out the origin of any contamination given the complexity of the food trade, which is moved back and forth through different 'nodes'.
The global food network is becoming increasingly complex, as the study notes "Global food transport has been increasing at an exponential rate since the 1960s — faster than food production itself."
The research calls upon a new global governance structure to regulate better the trade of food and as a measure to help raise consumer confidence.
The research study, led by Mária Ercsey-Ravasz and Zoltán Toroczkai, was published in the Public Library of Science Journal (PLoS One


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“It almost seems like they are trying to get you into trouble,” says one seriously troubled borrower.
NYT: “It’s like I’ve got some big tag: target this person so you can get them back into debt,” said Ms. Jerez, of Jersey City, who still gets offers, even as it has become clear that loans to troubled borrowers have become a chief cause of the financial crisis. One letter that arrived last month, from First Premier Bank, promoted a platinum MasterCard for people with “less-than-perfect credit.”
Singling out even struggling American consumers like Ms. Jerez is one of the overlooked causes of the debt boom and the resulting crisis, which threatens to choke the global economy.
Using techniques that grew more sophisticated over the last decade, businesses comb through an array of sources, including bank and court records, to create detailed profiles of the financial lives of more than 100 million Americans.
They then sell that information as marketing leads to banks, credit card issuers and mortgage brokers, who fiercely compete to find untapped customers — even those who would normally have trouble qualifying for the credit they were being pitched.
These tailor-made offers land in mailboxes, or are sold over the phone by telemarketers, just ahead of the next big financial step in consumers’ lives, creating the appearance of almost irresistible serendipity.
These leads, which typically cost a few cents for each household profile, are often called “trigger lists” in the industry. One company, First American, sells a list of consumers to lenders called a “farming kit.”
This marketplace for personal data has been a crucial factor in powering the unrivalled lending machine in the United States. European countries, by contrast, have far stricter laws limiting the sale of personal information. Those countries also have far lower per-capita debt levels.
Ther’s been a slowdown as of late but the solicitations are still coming and the lenders are still gathering the info:
In today’s tight credit world, the number of these kinds of credit offers is falling rapidly. Banks mailed about 1.8 billion offers for secured and unsecured loans during the first six months of this year, down 33 per cent from the same period in 2006, according to Mintel Comperemedia, a tracking firm.
Countrywide Financial, one of the most aggressive companies in the selling of subprime loans during the housing boom, says it sent out between six million and eight million pieces of targeted mail a month between 2004 and 2006. That is in addition to tens of thousands of telemarketing phone calls urging consumers to either refinance their homes or take out new loans.
Even with the drop-off over the last year in such mailings, lenders continue to be eager customers for refined data on consumers, say people at banks and data companies. The information on consumers has become so specific that banks now use it not just to determine whom to aim at and when, but what specifically to say in each offer.
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Tesco’s home delivery expands further
Following expansion to Szeged and Székesfehérvár, Tesco’s home delivery services, known as Tesco Online Shopping, became available in Csepel as of June 15 and Győr as of today, the Hungarian unit of the U.K. retail chain announced today.
The current expansion translates as a growing number of jobs at the firm, with the predicted expansion of Tesco’s fleet reaching 100 delivery cars soon, the press release said.
“Due to the expansions, headcount rose by 37 employees in Csepel and by 28 in Győr. We are planning further expansion in both locations, therefore another two cars would be required to service the two cities, making it possible for another ten employees to start working with us. In the beginning of July our 100th car will start delivering as well,” Tesco Head of e-commerce Péter Sebestyén said.
Following the second year of its launch, Tesco Online Shopping has served more than 73,000 customers through approximately 450,000 orders.
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Visa Is Building Infrastructure for NFTs, Smart Contracts, and L2s. Why?
Cuy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto, discusses Visa’s crypto game plan, stablecoin regulation, NFTs, and more. Show highlights:
Cuy’s background and his journey down the crypto rabbit hole how Visa and cryptocurrency can coexist why crypto companies and fintech companies are similar what Visa is trying to solve for consumers regarding cryptocurrencies how cross-chain payment infrastructure would work why Visa requires enhanced diligence for crypto companies what countries can learn from stablecoins when building CBDCs why Visa is creating a universal payment channel for CBDCs and other cryptocurrencies why Visa chose USDC to begin making payments with the two main reasons why stablecoins are used (hint: it’s not for buying cups of coffee) how cryptocurrency is changing financial education and inclusion how crypto’s open-source ethos is helping underserved and emerging markets build financial infrastructure why NFTs are Cuy’s favorite topic how NFTs level the playing field for black artists (and artists in general) why Visa purchased a CryptoPunk and how other businesses could leverage NFTs Thank you to our sponsors!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cuysheffield LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cuy-sheffield-72082126/ NFT collection: https://tryshowtime.com/csheffield
Medium https://medium.com/@cuysheffield Tweets Thoughts on payroll deposits https://twitter.com/cuysheffield/status/1442571326447767554 DAOs as chaotic organizations https://twitter.com/cuysheffield/status/1441536551016534019
Visa Crypto Plays
CryptoPunk purchase https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/blog/bdp/2021/08/18/nfts-mark-a-1629328216374.html First smart contract on Ropsten https://ropsten.etherscan.io/address/0xadb1f7e78a3ac3d0a006961f95d96bbb0ec14326#code NFT research report https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/regional/na/us/Solutions/documents/visa-nft-whitepaper.pdf Cross-chain Interoperability https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/blog/bdp/2021/09/29/making-digital-currency-1632954547520.html https://arxiv.org/pdf/2109.12194v2.pdf Visa + USDC https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/newsroom/press-releases.releaseId.17821.html https://www.forbes.com/sites/ninabambysheva/2021/03/29/visa-to-start-settling-transactions-with-bitcoin-partners-in-usdc/ Digital currency whitepaper https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/regional/na/us/Solutions/documents/visa-digital-currency-overview.pdf
Ryan Zurrer, founder of Dialectic, a crypto wealth multi-family office, discusses his recent $29 million purchase of Beeple’s Human One and his experience at Art Basel in Miami, along with his thoughts on the NFT space in general. Show highlights:
what Human One is and why Ryan purchased it how...
On Unchained, two co-founders of Solana Labs, Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal, dive deeply into the Solana ecosystem, discussing everything from the price of SOL to the Solana network outage to the competition between Ethereum and Solana. Show highlights:
why Raj thinks SOL’s market cap grew...


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Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is bringing more manga to North America in October with the release of Mob Psycho 100 by One, the creator of One-Punch Man.
Dark Horse Comics has announced Evan Dorkin and Benjamin Dewey are teaming for Beasts of Burden: Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men, bringing fans a new story from the Beasts of Burden universe.
Following the success of 2016-17’s Danganronpa: The Animation series, Dark Horse Manga is pleased to announce the continuation of the ultimate teenage murder mystery game in the three-volume Danganronpa 2: Ultimate Luck and Hope and Despair series!
Dark Horse has announced plans to publish Criminy by Roger Langridge and Ryan Ferrier. The original graphic novel is set to arrive in September.
Sherlock Holmes fans may be familiar with Leah Moore and John Reppion’s Sherlock Holmes series from Dynamite Entertainment and know the Leah and John are teaming with Sally Jane Thompson for Conspiracy of Ravens at Dark Horse Comics.
Dark Horse to release the complete collection of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Usagi Yojimbo team-ups
If you love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, then you know there was a time the heroes in a half shell would team up with Usagi Yojimbo. Now, Dark Horse Comics is collecting those tales and serving them up in one collection.
Crunchyroll had a pretty good run of Eromanga Sensei on its streaming service, and Dark Horse Comics is hoping to build upon the buzz with the upcoming release of Eromanga Sensei Volume 1 for western audiences.
Dark Horse Comics has announced the newest series from its Berger Book imprint will be She Could Fly by Christopher Cantwell and Martin Morazzo.
I think Dark Horse has announced the Steven Universe Color Book, and may have just tapped into the most wanted book you didn’t know you wanted so bad.
The Black Hammer universe hit us all upside the head like… a… hammer… and we want more. Dark Horse Comics and creators Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston answer the call with The Quantum Age; From the World of Black Hammer that sends the universe 1,000 years into the future.


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Nokia N8 with 12-megapixel Camera Sensor Given Hands-On
Nokia has really been lying low for the past few months. As the onslaught of Android devices head our way, the Finnish company is in need of making its presence felt. Doing just that is the Nokia N8, which comes with a 12-megapixel camera and a HDMI output.
Engadget - We heard through the grapevine back at CTIA that Nokia's elusive N8 would be announced somewhere in the wide world this April, and sure enough, it looks as if the handset has popped up over in one of Russia's eleven nine time zones. Our pals at Mobile-Review have worked their magic once more on an up and coming handset, this time landing some serious face time with the planet's first Symbian^3 phone.
However, judging from its estimated release date in Q3 2010, Nokia will find more competition heading their way in the form of more Android devices like the Samsung Galaxy S and HTC Desire, to even the rumored new iPhone and Samsung's bada-powered Wave. In the meantime, here's a quick peek at the Nokia N8, over here.


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Chennai, June 7: The Platinum Guild India is expecting about 25 per cent growth in platinum imports in 2018 for jewellery purposes, said a top official.
“Our outlook for the current year is about 25 per cent growth in imports of platinum for jewellery. Last year was also a good year,” Vaishali Banerjee, Managing Director, Platinum Guild India told IANS here on Wednesday.
In 2017, India imported about 7.2 ton of platinum for making jewellery, she said.
According to Banerjee, 2016 had several disruptions for the jewellery sector like the compulsory provision of PAN card details, demonetisation and others that impacted demand for jewellery.
Platinum Guild India is the Indian arm of Platinum Guild International, a trade organisation supported by South African platinum producers to develop demand for jewellery made of this metal.
The focus markets for Platinum Guild International are China, India, Japan and the US.
In its business review report for the first quarter of 2018, Platinum Guild International said: “Concerns and negative press following the scams perpetuated by renowned jewellers Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi have put the diamond jewellery industry under scrutiny impacting diamond sales in February and March.”
According to the report, retailers have seen a rise in the number of consumers asking for third party certifications for diamond jewellery as well as hallmarking on gold jewellery. They have also seen an increase in the number of consumers asking to check their old jewellery purity and diamond quality.
The report said, the jewellery trade expects stricter regulations on availing credit from the banking sector following the large bank frauds.
“The more stringent regulations continue to provide opportunities for organized retail, the only sales channel for platinum jewellery,” the report said. The report said, during the first quarter of 2018, sales of platinum jewellery logged 25 per cent retail sales growth in India. (IANS)


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OpenDoor, the online real estate marketplace which is simplifying the way people buy and sell homes in the US, announced £308m investment from SoftBank Vision Fund, bringing total fund raised to-date £1bn equity 2bn credit. Sir Blavatnik, UK's 3rd wealthiest person, with an estimated net worth of £13bn was recently knighted for his major philanthropic work.
" We’re thrilled to partner with SoftBank - they are visionaries with the ambition to transform entire industries,” said Eric Wu, Founder and CEO of Opendoor. “SoftBank understands the traditional process of buying and selling a home is a very complicated, uncertain, and stressful for millions of people, and that Opendoor radically improves the experience. We’re excited to widen our ambitions as we launch new products, expand our services, and build an end-to-end experience for millions of people moving each year."
Since its founding in 2014, Opendoor has reinvented traditional home buying and selling to make it online, instant, and stress-free. For home selling, rather than deal with the hassle and uncertainty of the traditional process that can take up to 90 days and have a 10 percent chance of falling through, Opendoor customers receive an online offer within 24 hours and sell with comple


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The Port of Long Beach has reported its second busiest month on record in May as it looks ahead to a summer cargo surge that could follow China’s reopening from COVID-19 lockdowns.
Dockworkers and terminal operators at the port processed 890,989 TEU in May, a 1.8% decline from May 2021—the port’s all-time busiest month. Imports decreased 1.7% to 436,977 TEUs and exports were down 12.6% to 118,234 TEUs. Empty containers moved through the Long Beach increased 2.6% to 335,778 TEUs.
“We are moving an extraordinary amount of cargo and continue to work with industry partners to quickly move imports and empties off the docks,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “Looking ahead, we are ready for the traditional summertime surge to coincide with China’s recovery from a lengthy lockdown.”
Despite some risks in market, the Port of Long Beach said its anticipates a cargo influx as pandemic-induced shutdowns are lifted in China.
“Strong income gains and a large savings cushion are anticipated to support consumer spending this year, despite the ongoing risks of inflation, the war in Ukraine and the recent lockdown in China. Demand for workers remains strong, with the addition of 6.6 million jobs reported nationwide over the past year. Increases in core durable goods shipments suggest business investment continues to progress at a steady clip,” the port said in a statement.
Year-to-date, the Port of Long Beach has moved 4,172,366 TEUs through May, a 3.5% increase from the same period in 2021 when the port set an annual cargo record.
As for the backup, the Marine Exchange of Southern California said 30 containerships were in the queue, equal to the two-week trailing average and down from the record of 109 ships on January 9, 2022.
“We appreciate the hardworking people who quickly process cargo and make the Port of Long Beach a leader in trans-Pacific trade,” said Long Beach Harbor Commission President Steven Neal. “We are collaborating with federal, state, local and industry stakeholders to find long-term solutions that will satisfy consumer demand and increase efficiency at the port.”
In other Port of Long Beach news, the port has continued to withhold implementing its “Container Dwell Fee” program that would charge ocean carriers for containers that remain at marine terminals beyond a grace period. The San Pedro Bay ports – Long Beach and Los Angeles – have seen a 40% decline in aging cargo on the docks since the program was announced on October 25.
Also, on Thursday, the Port of Long Beach announced it has signed on to the Shanghai-Los Angeles Green Shipping Corridor to create a zero-emissions trans-Pacific trade route by 2030.
The Port of Long Beach is one of the first major ports in the country to report its May cargo numbers. The Port of Charleston on the east coast also saw record volumes in May, led by retail imports. The Port of Los Angeles, the busiest container port in the U.S., has not yet reported its May cargo numbers.
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Disney has released Disney Mix, a messaging app made for kids. Leo thinks that this could be an attempt at getting a new generation of brand loyalty to Disney, much like Sony did with its "My First Sony" Walkmen. This is a good idea for kids under 13 that want to use messaging. The app not only has messaging capabilities, but games, you can make meme-style images, share stickers, and more. Disney has a series of community rules about staying safe and staying respectful to others. There's also moderation, and Disney will ban any users from misusing the app.
Noah is looking for an OBD2 device like the Automatic that can give him an alarm if he passes the speed limit, but lets him set the speed. Leo says that the Automatic would alert him if he goes over 70. They were the first to do the iPhone version, and now does Android.
Brian is getting married and they had to cut back on using a professional photographer due to budgets. Leo says that nowadays everyone has a smartphone, so he should encourage everyone to take pictures and then post them somewhere that they can get them. He could employ a hashtag so it's easier to search, no matter what social network they post to. Facebook has the Moments app that can work well for this. Google Photos has a great solution. He could create a shared Google Album that everyone can upload to. And they don't even need a Google account to upload to it.
William's old 8GB LG G5 has filled up and he wants to add a miniSD card for storage. Can he add apps to the card as well as storage? Leo says that this is a common problem with Android and it largely depends on what flavor of Android he's using. For William, it's Lollipop. But even then, ideally, it gets confusing with the app and the phone. It could be different from app to app. So he'll need to go into the app settings and see if it supports it. There should be an option to move the app to the SD card.
Nabil wants to find an app that would be able to tell him whether or not a store has a particular item in stock. He doesn't like having to call the store and find out that way. Leo says nowadays everyone has digital inventory, and they should know exactly what's in stock. Leo had a hunch that Nabil is thinking of writing this app and wanted to check and see if anyone else has done it yet.
Joel has created a Netflix-like app for cartoons. Can he use YouTube as the source for his app? Leo says that the app would be a window to the videos. Why not? It's just basically a mobile browser. Leo recommends consulting an intellectual property lawyer, though.
Mike is trying to edit a video with his tablet and it says his file is too large, even though he only needs a small portion. Leo suggests restarting the tablet and make the editor the first thing he runs. If that doesn't work, it is probably a limitation of the app itself.
Dave needs to download images he has from his Google Nexus 6. It says it's being moved to an SD card, but he doesn't have one in his phone. Leo says that Dave needs a file manager to be able to find the photos on his drive. ASTRO is a good one, and it's free. There's also ES file manager. He should look for the download folder. It will allow him to move it around.
Doug's phone has been acting possessed. It makes calls and activates apps all by itself. It even called an Uber without him knowing. Leo says it's possible that a remote access trojan could be on his phone, but it's unlikely because iPhones are hard to hack. Leo says that Doug should change all his passwords immediately. It's clear that something not good is on there, so Leo recommends wiping the phone. Start over. Doug should get rid of any apps that may have been involved and make sure he removes his credit card info from the Uber app.


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New iMac Video card stealth upgrade: mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT?
I'm going to mark this one rumor for right now, but there's an interesting thread going on over at MacRumors Forums that suggests that the new iMacs may have a stealth upgrade. When they were announced a lot of folks were disappointed with the included Radeon HD 2600 Pro graphics card, however, some people have discovered that (at least running Windows in Boot Camp) their machines appear to be reporting that the GPU is actually an underclocked mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT, which is a more powerful chip. This would not be the first time that Windows has revealed hardware that Apple wanted hidden, as several machines were discovered to have draft 802.11n wireless networking chipsets in that way before they were later activated by Apple. Many are expressing hope that some future update or some ATI specific tool might unlock the hidden power of the GPU, but at this point it seems to be wishful thinking.
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It looks like Sanofi will go the "forgive and forget" route with jilted partner MannKind and its inhalable insulin Afrezza. It will forgive a boatload of debt tied to their original deal and forget it ever got into the relationship in the first place.
In fact, when all is said and done, the separation agreement looks like it will cost Sanofi more than $100 million.
The two announced terms Wednesday, saying they have terminated a promissory note and that Sanofi will forgive the full outstanding balance of $71.56 million. Valencia, CA-based MannKind is also off the hook to pay $500,000 in some other costs that it owed.
On top of that, Sanofi will purchase $10.2 million worth of insulin from MannKind in early December as part of their earlier supply deal. The French drugmaker will pay MannKind another $30.6 million by Jan. 9, 2017 for more insulin that MannKind will have no responsibility to even deliver.
With that, the two said, “All issues arising out of the license and collaboration agreement, the supply agreement, the promissory note, the security agreement and the transition agreement are resolved.”
Afrezza was approved in 2014 and shortly after the two companies announced a collaboration. Sanofi's research had indicated that many patients with diabetes avoid taking their insulin because they don't want to do injections and the inhaled mealtime insulin Afrezza seemed like a good bet. Sanofi would take on the upfront costs and the two would split profits as they started to roll in. They just never rolled in.
In January, Sanofi said it was bailing on the deal but would help MannKind with an orderly transition. MannKind is now moving forward on its own. Mannkind has taken over all of the commercial manufacturing responsibilities at its manufacturing facility in Danbury, CT, that had been producing product for Sanofi.
In its earnings release Wednesday, Mankind reported net income of $126.5 million in Q3 but that was all tied up with the deal with Sanofi. It said it started shipping Afrezza in late July and sold $600,000 worth in the quarter and then recorded another $2 million in deferred revenue from products it has shipped but which had yet to be sold by wholesalers.
Looking for other revenue sources, MannKind in September indicated it might take its needle-free technology into the epinephrine market in the wake of the price controversy swirling around Mylan’s EpiPen.


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Citizens showed up to a Town of Babylon zoning board conference to converse out from what they say is a proposed gun shop in Deer Park.
It would be positioned in an business within an industrial developing on Skidmore Street.
There are residential properties on the other side of the developing.
The co-house owners, Herman Manosyan and Ken LaPenna, say it truly is not a gun store, but an “e-commerce firearms organization.”
“We’re not right here to open a retail gun store,” Manosyan suggests. “This is not a Dick’s Sporting Products.”
The keep would function as a federally licensed transfer station for online orders.
If another person buys a gun on the Net, it are unable to be delivered to their household.
Rather Manosyan and LaPenna would accomplish the history check out, and if the human being passes it, they would transfer the weapon to them.
The business would also carry out some firearm repairs.
“What we’re trying to do is just make a couple of additional bucks,” Manosyan claims. “And if we can give solutions to first responders, create an on the net e-commerce organization and try out to give folks breaks on price ranges.”
Neighbors to the proposed small business say gun crime is previously a key difficulty and are fearful this form of enterprise would make it worse.
“Individuals do not want to look out their window and see folks coming in to obtain weapons,” one particular person mentioned at the assembly.
The town zoning board questioned questions about how a lot of weapons would be at the spot and if they’d be saved properly.
They did not make a choice nonetheless. The decision will be mailed, but no timeline has been supplied.


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ASRock, Asus, Biostar, Gigabyte, and MSI show their motherboards
AMD has officially announced its new A620 chipset, giving an entry-level motherboard option for its Ryzen 7000 series CPUs. ASRock, Asus, Biostar, Gigabyte, and MSI have already announced their own motherboards, and AMD says these should start at $85.
G.Skill announces new 24GB and 48GB module capacity kits
Reaching up to DDR5-8200
G.Skill has unveiled new 24GB and 48GB capacity modules, making up new 48GB and 96GB capacity kits with DDR-8200 and DDR5-6800 frequencies.
Intel updates its Xeon roadmap
144-core Sierra Fores and Clearwater Forest on 18A
Intel held its Data Center and AI Investor webinar earlier today, updating its Xeon roadmap, and showing progress on its P-core Xeon and E-core Xeon lineups. The big surprise was the E-core Xeon lineup, the 144-core Sierra Forest Xeon, coming in 1H 2024, and the Clearwater Forest Xeon lineup, scheduled for 2025 on Intel 18A manufacturing process. The P-Core Xeon lineup is on track with Emerald Rapids in Q4 2023, and Granite Rapids, closely following Sierra Forest in 2024.
be quiet! adds white color to its Light Wings ARGB fans
Coming in 120mm and 140mm, and standard and high-speed versions
be quiet! has updated its Light Wings ARGB series fans with all white color. The new Light Wings White will also be available in 120mm and 140mm sizes as well as come in standard and high-speed versions.
Lenovo brings back the VGA port on gaming PC
Party like it is 1987
Lenovo’s Tower 17IRB8 features a VGA port which is an odd thing to see on what it is billing as a 2023 gaming computer.


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On the heels of reporting N464.35billion trade and receivable in nine months ended September 30, 2021, the likes of MTN Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, among other companies might exceed 2020 receivables in this year’s financial results.
Trade and receivables are the amount owed to a business by its customers following the sale of goods or services on credit.
THISDAY checks revealed that companies operating in the country have enhanced loan loss provision amid growing trade & receivables in the period under review.
Specifically, MTN Nigeria in the period under review reported 92 per cent increase in Trade and other receivables to N97.62billion from N50.77billion reported in full year ended December 31, 2020.
The primary contribution to the telecommunication giant’s trade and other receivables was N35.96billion “other non-financial receivables” in nine months of 2021 from N5.9billion reported in 2020.
MTN Nigeria in its unaudited result and accounts to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) had explained that: “Other non-financial receivables includes the placement of minimum capital with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for Payment Service Bank license and withholding tax receivables.”
In the same vein, Dangote Cement closed nine months of 2021 with N52.19billion trade & other receivables, an increase of about 48 per cent from N35.19billion reported in 2020.
The breakdown of Dangote Cement trade & other receivables revealed Value added tax receivables increase of about 97 per cent to N5.17billion in nine months of 2021 from N2.63billion reported in 2020, while “Other receivables” rose by 101 per cent to N30.85billion in nine months of 2021 from N15.3billion reported in 2020.
The cement manufacturing company reported N226 million impairment of financial assets in the period under review as against N188 million reported in 2020.
On the contrary, BUA Cement reported 33 per cent decline in trade & other receivable to N38.79billion in nine months of 2021 from N83.3billion reported in 2020, while Nigerian Breweries Plc closed nine months with 104.05 per cent increase in trade & other receivables to N23.3billion in nine months of 2021 from N11.42billion reported in 2020.
Analyst at PAC Holdings, Mr. Wole Adeyeye explained that increasing trade & other receivables is an indication of growth in companies operations in the period, stressing that demand in supply often impact on company’s receivables.
According to him, ”Trade & other receivables are an indication that the company is producing the more in a move to meet customers demand. When customers refused to payback, these companies will have to impair such receivable and it becomes a bad debt. For me, the growth recorded by these companies trade & other receivables is a reflection of growing economy.”
Other market analysts attributed hike in trade & receivables to adverse impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and hike in cost of goods and services.
An Economist & Private Sector Advocate, Dr Muda Yusuf blamed hike in companies’ trade & other receivables on the adverse impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on businesses and inflation rate.
He noted that all sectors in the nation’s economy was affected by pandemic inflicted shocks that continued to mount pressure on receivables by companies.
According to him: “This reflected in the unaudited financial statements of these companies in 2020FY and nine months ended September 30, 2021. Some businesses are even yet to recover from these shocks.
“Across all sectors, payment defaults increased, sales dropped, contractual obligations were breached, some companies declared a force majure, supply chains were disrupted, foreign credit lines were lost and servicing offshore obligations became very difficult for most businesses.
“The macroeconomic shocks were also very profound- sharp depreciation in the exchange rate, liquidity challenges in the forex market and high inflationary pressures.”
He noted that the good news is the economy is on a positive trajectory, domestically and globally over improved global oil prices and total ease of businesses.
He added, “But the good news is that we are gradually getting out of the situation. Economic activities are gaining momentum domestically and globally. Commodity prices are also recovering which has positive implications for macroeconomic outlook. But there are still lingering issues around some desirable reforms in the economy.”


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In 2008, the Japanese game developer implemented a plan meant to curb any company takeover attempts that might be made by outside investors. The plan covered a variety of possibilities and its renewal had been publicly acknowledged by Capcom as recently as May 16 of this year.
But circumstances changed at the latest shareholders meeting. Following a failed extension vote, Capcom announced yesterday that the takeover defense was no longer being supported.
This does not mean that a takeover of Capcom is imminent. Such a move would require a significant financial investment, and Capcom made it clear in a statement that the company would remain aggressive in pursuing the best interests of its shareholders, up to and including reacting appropriately to any potential takeover attempts. The statement also emphasized that the company would create time enough to properly consider any such attempts before allowing them to proceed.
But the announcement does raise the possibility of Capcom’s valued brands being transferred to new ownership. How this would affect the continued direction or existence of any Capcom brand would depend entirely on who might step in to try and take control.
Capcom had previously explained its resistance to a potential takeover by noting that the value of the company’s properties may not yet be properly evaluated, and that such an evaluation would command a significantly higher price.
The company also expressed concern that any change in corporate leadership could have a negative effect on the mood and overall productivity of Capcom employees.
It seems that those concerns and any others held within the company were no longer enough to ward off shareholder interest in the prospect of an outside investor stepping in and taking a controlling interest.
As these issues came to light, Capcom was simultaneously going through a minor corporate shakeup, with three persons being promoted to corporate office positions. These moves coincided with further confusion over the status of acclaimed developer Yoshinori Ono, the man most responsible for Capcom’s entries in the fighting game genre.
Ono had announced on Twitter his departure from Capcom’s Vancouver office, and both he and the Capcom’s corporate branch were forced to issue a statement to clarify that he was still with the company and that his current work would be continuing unabated.
Photo by JonRiivera/Flickr (CC BY-2.0)


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Quasem Industries to export artificial quartz products
|| Published: 2020-02-25 14:54:03 || Updated: 2020-02-25 14:54:03
The company hopes to generate a revenue of Tk223.56 crore in the first year
The maker of ”Sunlite” battery, Quasem Industries Ltd, will export artificial quartz products to the USA.
The company will set up a factory for this venture at a cost of Tk92 crore by June 2021.
Company officials said they signed an agreement last week with the US-based Sunstone International LLC to export artificial quartz products.
Sunstone will buy products from Quasem, according to the agreement. However, a Google search did not show any results for the company.
Quasem will build the new unit to produce artificial quartz next to its existing factory in Tangail.
Of the construction cost, Tk30 crore will be financed from Quasem’s funds and Tk29.36 crore from banks, while Tk29 crore will be borrowed from the market as suppliers credit.
The company hopes the sale of artificial quartz products will generate a revenue of Tk223.56 crore in the first year, and they expect the net profit to be Tk17.45 crore.
Quasem’s Chief Financial Officer Md Zakaria told sunbd that apart from exporting artificial quartz products, the company also plans to sell it in the local market. ”Under the agreement with the US company, we will get the return on our investment within the next three years.”
Asked if the US company exists, Zakaria said, “Discussion between our directors and the company have been going on for a year. The company officials also visited our office several times.”
Quasem, a company that is listed in the stock market, is now selling consumer products under the name ”Sun” in addition to batteries. It also sells air fresheners and deodorants, under the brand name ”Wave”.
Mineral quartz products are super-expensive. So there is a global demand for artificial quartz. Different products – such as tiles, glass, and optical items – are made of quartz.
The global market size of quartz products was $9 billion in 2019, according to Allied Market Research. Every year, the market is growing at a rate of 4-5 percent where China is a significant player.
Quasem will also start manufacturing aerosols and shaving foam in its factory under the name ”Wave”. The company will invest Tk4 crore in the project.
In the 2018-19 fiscal year, the company gave a 7 percent stock dividend and a 5 percent cash dividend to its shareholders.
In the last fiscal year, Quasem made a net profit of Tk5 crore, and its earnings per share (EPS) was Tk0.83. During the 2017-18 fiscal year, its EPS was Tk1.35.
In the first half of the current fiscal year, the company’s EPS was Tk0.63.
The paid-up capital of the company, which was listed in the capital market in 1989, is Tk62.96 crore, while its reserve money is Tk112.51 crore.
Of the company’s total shares, sponsors and directors hold 30 percent, institutional investors 24.55 percent, and general investors 45.45 percent.
At the close of Tuesday’s trading session at the Dhaka Stock Exchange, Quasem’s share price was Tk44.90.
In the last one year, the highest price of the company’s share was Tk48.20, and the lowest was Tk24.
- PM gives Tk 5 lakh to each of 35 N’ganj blast victim families
- China has built 380 internment camps in Xinjiang
- Nature holds one of the keys to tackling climate change, say G20 thinkers
- Govt to prepare master plan for roads, highways
- BSEC approves Robi’s IPO
- Australia whales: 90 dead in mass stranding off Tasmania
- Tk 246cr to be spent on hilsa development
- Consumers bear the brunt of India’s onion export ban
- Taj Mahal re-opens for public after 6 months
- BSEC approves Robi’s IPO
- Walton share trade debuts Sept 23
- BSEC removes 17 more directors
- 17 directors are losing their posts due to not holding 2% share
- Saif Powertec donate Tk25,000 each month for Narayanganj explosion victim’s family
- Mir Akhter’s share bidding begins September 27
- BSEC chief gets senior secy status
- A delegation of CGIA Network Bangladesh


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Chinese tourism overseas will double in the next six years to 200 million people a year, according to a recent report from analysts at CLSA, and a tiny US military outpost 900 miles north of the equator in the Western Pacific could be one of the biggest beneficiaries.
The hilly 200-square-mile island of Guam, population about 160,000, could see 50% growth in Chinese tourists, analysts say, the most of any destination.
In ultimate numbers, that’s still not huge: 21,000 Chinese tourists traveled to Guam in 2013, compared to over 3 million Chinese tourists who went to Thailand, the most popular foreign destination. But the growth in Chinese tourists to Guam has already skyrocketed from 1,000 in 2007, and Guam businesses are lobbying the US Congress to pass a visa-waiver program (paywall) for Chinese citizens that could make that growth even faster.
Guam’s proximity to the rest of Asia (it’s a three to five hour flight from several major cities) has already contributed to a boom in tourism, mostly from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, that has transformed the island’s economy. The US military base was reliant on defense spending for decades, but tourism now supplies about 60% of Guam’s revenues.
Taiwan’s “Hello Kitty” airline, Eva Air, started regular flights to Guam from Taipei in 2011, and nearly 1 million Japanese vacationers come every year to enjoy the island’s mix of white sand beaches, coral reef and air conditioned duty-free shopping malls.
Guam’s military history might prove as much of a draw for the Chinese, who are clashing with Japan and other Asian neighbors over the rights to islands and territory in the South China Sea. In July, Guam celebrates its liberation from the Japanese, who landed in 1941 and were driven from the island by the US in 1944, with a month of parades, festivals and the crowning of a “Liberation Queen.”
Hotels and shopping malls on the Las Vegas Strip will welcome Chinese tourists with free gifts, lucky draws, dragon dancing, and traditional Chinese entertainment during the Lunar New Year. Feng shui masters have even been called in to create floral displays with Chinese themes in shopping malls, hotel lobbies, and other locations as Lac Vegas pulls out all the stop to welcome Chinese travelers, who are visiting Sin City in ever increasing numbers. Luxury Hotels of America, a Chinese mandarin travel magazine has already planned a special issue on Las Vegas due to the high demand of its affluent Chinese readers.
“We recognize the value and power of the Chinese traveler,” says Janet LaFevre, Senior Marketing Manager, Fashion Show and Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian.
“We are expanding our reach to the Chinese tourist through recent sales missions to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Guangzhou, along with Chinese advertising campaigns, social media, and trade show participation. Our efforts are already paying off via our cooperation with UnionPay, which will help to draw even greater numbers of Chinese shoppers to Fashion Show and Grand Canal Shoppes.”
Brian Chuan, Director of Tourism Marketing and Development for Macy’s Inc., which has a large department store at the Fashion Show shopping mall, is equally upbeat.
Along with Grand Canal Shoppes, Fashion Show is collaborating with UnionPay – China’s most popular credit card – to make Chinese travelers feel welcome in Las Vegas during the Lunar New Year.
“We have partnered closely with UnionPay and have accepted UnionPay card payments at all our stores for nearly 10 years,” Brian says.
“Macy’s has a dedicated tourism marketing team offering exclusive visitor programmes, and our Fashion Show store features a Visitor Center to service visiting guests. In celebrating the coming of the Year of the Horse, Macy’s will further our focus in welcoming Chinese shoppers with special in-store events, displays and merchandising at select destinations.”
Chinese travelers are becoming a force to be reckoned with in many parts of the world, and Las Vegas is no exception.
“China is currently the number one source of international travel to Las Vegas from Asia and continues to grow at a rapid pace,” says Michael Goldsmith, Vice President of International Marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
“Las Vegas welcomed 263,000 visitors from China in 2012, a 40% increase from the prior year.”


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Amid a slowdown in industrial production and weak global commodity and fuel prices,inflation slid below the 6-per cent mark for the first time in more than 10 months today as the annual rate of wholesale price-based inflation for the week ending December 27 slipped to 5.91 per cent,down from 6.38 per cent in the previous week.
The department of economic affairs in the finance ministry issued a statement in response to the new data highlighting the fact that inflation has been consistently on a decline now for three months and stands slightly above the rate of 5.7 per cent in February last year. The statement went on to add that year-on-year inflation in each of the three commodity groups too has declined over the previous week.
Within primary articles,inflation rate in all its three sub-groups of food and non-food articles and minerals have declined together for the first time in the current week, it said. The deseasonalised rate of inflation,which measures inflation change over a shorter span of time as against annually,shows that inflation has been negative since September and stood at -13.5 per cent in December.
Amongst commodity groups,primary articles and manufactured products groups fell 0.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively.


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DUBLIN, IRELAND — Research and Markets, an international market research and data firm, on Nov. 13 announced the release of Millwork Industry in the U.S. and its Foreign Trade (1997-2009), a 152-page market research industry report, according to Business Wire. According to the report, the industry’s revenue for the year 2006 was approximately $27.640 billion, and the total import export value for the year 2006 was approximately $3.215 billion. Read more.
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The Xbox Story that You Never Heard of
Unfortunately, the amusing talk was short on any new information. Blackley has clearly been muzzled by his marketing handlers, and he is dying to reveal things like Microsoft's online strategy and other items set to be announced at the Tokyo Game Show next week, including >>MORE DAILY RADAR RUMOR MONGERING!: Virtual Fighter 4 for the Xbox Live Gold and Square Soft support will supposedly be announced at the event<<.
Currently, the Xbox team continues to trample forward, with more than
1,000 employees devoted to a product that will have a bigger launch than
Windows95. The dedicated research and development team has been in
place for months, the software continues to be finalized, and the Xbox
now boots up in less than a second.
Graphically, the Xbox continues to impress even though all that was shown was new tech demos. Using Xbox Live Gratuit (Visit here for more info. www.xboxlivecodegratuits.com) development kits, Blackley showed the NV2A's ability to do vertex shading on the fly. Although a field of lush green grass is less than compelling, the golf game that it is going to run on top of that grass will look damn spiffy. Topping that was a furry bunny that looked surprisingly lifelike, as a light rotated around to reveal the real-time shading and lighting effects.
Later, he did mention that the Xbox was completely on schedule for launch this fall, and that the plan was to have between 12 and 20 games set for day 1, with another wave coming after the launch and before Christmas. Most of those titles will be action, sports, racing and fighting games. Finally, to give developers and the press some idea of the scale of the operation, he showed the main manufacturing facility for the Xbox featuring 100 million square feet of operating space. Blackley also gave us the first look into the guts of the Xbox Live Gold, and where the cpu, gpu, hard drive and DVD drive would all be placed. Finally, no GDC talk would be complete without the "all your base are belong to us!" gag, and Blackley didn't disappoint.


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Colombo: Indian and Sri Lankan tea industry is all set to turn around due to the political instability in Kenya, the world’s largest tea exporting nation.
With thousands of tea sector workers fleeing from Kenyan plantations, the tea importers are looking towards India and Sri Lanka as an alternative.
The drop in tea production in India and Sri Lanka and the rise in demand due to low availability in Kenya are also expected to benefit the tea industry on the price front, according to officials.
According to Indian Tea Association figures, the country’s tea production in 2007 season is estimated to have declined to 940 million kg (mkg) from 957 mkg in 2006.
In the Island country too, the cumulative tea production dropped by 5.8% to 272.6 mkg during the period between January and November, 2007.
Sri Lanka’s tea exports fell from 262.47 mkg in 2006 to 244.58 mkg in 2007.


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OSAKA (Kyodo) -- Machinery maker Kubota Corp. said Wednesday it falsified inspection data on a component used in equipment to make steel plates, in the latest such conduct on quality control among Japanese manufacturers.
- 【Related】3 Mitsubishi Materials units indicted over data fabrication
- 【Related】3 automakers' improper inspections highlight sloppy system dependent on workers' senses
- 【Related】Suzuki, Mazda, Yamaha Motor conducted improper inspections: gov't
- 【Related】Kobe Steel referred to prosecutors over quality data scandal
The Osaka-based company admitted to having inappropriately changed data such as the strength of the component in inspection reports submitted to client companies in order to meet specifications it had agreed on with customers.
Of 99 customers in and outside Japan, 85 have confirmed to have received the component with falsified inspection data from Kubota's plant in Hyogo Prefecture between October 2013 and July this year.
The component in question is called rolling mill rolls and used in machinery to turn solid metal blanks into steel plates.
Sales of the product totaled 4.4 billion yen ($40 million) in 2017, some 0.3 percent of the group's total sales.
"I offer a sincere apology for causing concern and inconvenience to all our customers and concerned parties," Kubota President Masatoshi Kimata said at a press conference.
Nissan Motor Co., Subaru Corp., Kobe Steel Ltd. and Mitsubishi Materials Corp. are also among companies recently found to have falsified product quality data.


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It's not even Halloween yet, but retail experts say you may want to get a head-start on your holiday wish list.
The issue lies with Thanksgiving. It falls on Nov. 28 this year, that means there's only 25 days between Black Friday and Christmas, the shortest stretch it's been in a decade.
Last year, there were 31 days.
Experts say it'll lead to even more crowded stores than ever before. With the big crowds, they say it'll lead to less personalized customer service.
People will still buy the same amount of items, just in a more concentrated period.
Hanukkah even comes early this year. It begins Nov. 27.
Experts say shoppers hoping to avoid the crowds should try to go during the week when others are at work. However, avoid the lunch hour and anytime after 5pm.
You could also try shopping the week after Black Friday since many people are "shopped out" immediately following the retail holiday.