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The family-run brewery, which is celebrating its 175th birthday this year, is up for three awards.
Robinsons is again in the running for the Business of the Year £5m+ award it won last year, and is also in the final three of the Best International Trade Company and Innovation and Design categories.
Four companies are up for two awards – Trolex, the safety monitoring company based in Hazel Grove, beauty products firm Grace Cole, based in Cheadle Royal Business Park, Offerton school uniform manufacturer Rowlinsons Knitwear, and Dyer Environmental, which is in Cheadle and makes ventilation systems for homes and businesses.
In total, 83 businesses were whittled down to the shortlist by judges that included Stockport Council chief executive Eamonn Boylan, Orbit Developments, MD Tony Jones, and Stockport Express editor Paul Harrison.
Andrew Baggott, one of the judges from awards organiser Clarke Nicklin said: “The quality of entries was outstanding and, as you’d expect from a business town like Stockport, we were truly impressed by the quantity and strength of all applications.
“The shortlist represents a true cross-section of business excellence in the town.
“The panel of 12 judges debated each category in detail and are delighted
with their final decisions. They all expressed admiration for every single entry.”
Stockport Business Awards is an event set up for businesses by businesses.
Its organiser and main sponsor is accountancy practice Clarke Nicklin and headline sponsors are high-profile businesses from the region; Gorvins Solicitors, Orbit Developments and NatWest.
Tickets for the awards night on October 3 are now on sale – visit www.stockportbusinessawards.co.uk for full details.


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The first financial quarter of 2021 was in no way different from the previous year, except that another variant of COVID-19 is shaking Europe to its core. Just when the Asian countries were rising to the challenges posed by the Novel Coronavirus, the second wave of the pandemic is sweeping across many regions. Contrary to the popular misconception that 2021 is a tough year to buy or sell a profitable business, it is actually shaping itself to become a favorable time. This blog will cover some of the factors that can contribute to active business buying/selling this year.
Industry sectors that were on a rage last year when it comes to buying or selling companies include technology, construction, transportation, engineering, distribution, manufacturing, services and healthcare. Though nobody can predict what the future holds for us, it is safe to say that the COVID vaccination program is helping people travel from one part of the globe to another. Businesses are rising to the challenges posed by the pandemic, undeterred and that is good news for the entire business ecosystem. Private companies that have continued to do well and turn profitable between 2020 and 2021 have also witnessed increase in valuations.
Getting bogged down too much by fear and uncertainty can make only matters worse. Also, heath awareness raised by government authorities worldwide are contributing to a conducive business environment. This in turn has created a demand for buyers looking to purchase businesses in the immediate future. On the other hand, the investment sentiment is also improving with increased funding for profitable businesses. Buyers should capitalise on this and cast the net for profitable ventures, something they couldn’t do in 2020.
Sellers must understand that only due diligence of their business will attract the right buyer in the long run, though there can be multiple prospective buyers. Another positive throughout the pandemic is the increase in the number of digital transactions online. Buying and selling businesses online is made possible through video conferencing tools like Zoom, Google Meet, etc, and the adoption of digital payment behaviour online has seen more virtual closings than ever before. If you’re a buyer, it is right to expect that the financial records and capabilities of the seller be made transparent online before closing on a deal. Talk to us before buying any business as we will take you through what it takes to achieve a seamless business trading process.

domain: news


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Digital TV News: Sandvine
Sandvine releases 2020 Mobile Internet Phenomena report
Feb 20, 2020 – Sandvine has announced the release of the 2020 Mobile Internet Phenomena Report. This edition of the report focuses on mobile consumption trends globally and regionally in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
News categories: Sandvine, Lyn Cantor, Broadband, Market Research, Worldwide
Live TV piracy a multi-billion dollar problem in North America
Nov 1, 2017 – Sandvine has released a report focusing on paid subscription television piracy services. The report reveals that 6.5% of households in North America are accessing pirated live television services each month, an adoption rate that may cost CSPs over $4 billion in revenue this year.
News categories: Sandvine, Lyn Cantor, Content Protection, Digital TV, North America
PeerLogix, Narrative I/O collaborate to provide real-time OTT data
Jun 1, 2017 – PeerLogix (OTC PINK: LOGX) has announced a partnership with Narrative I/O. The partnership will allow buyers in Narrative's marketplace to purchase PeerLogix' OTT engagement data from over 170 million households around the world.
News categories: PeerLogix, Narrative I/O, Ray Colwell, Bryan Everett, Big Data, Digital TV, Streaming, Worldwide
68.6% of N. American Kodi installations are configured for unlicensed content
May 4, 2017 – Sandvine (TSX:SVC) has released a report on the 'fully-loaded' Kodi ecosystem in North America. The report examines the mechanics and economics of using Kodi to access unlicensed live and on-demand video content.
News categories: Sandvine, Don Bowman, Canada, Content Protection, Digital TV, Market Research, Set Top Box, Streaming, USA
North American homes average seven active connected devices
Aug 24, 2016 – Sandvine (TSX:SVC) has released its latest Global Internet Phenomena Report Spotlight focusing on devices inside the connected home. The report is based on data from a small selection of Sandvine's fixed communications service provider (CSP) customers in North America.
News categories: Sandvine, Don Bowman, Digital TV, Market Research, Mobile, Streaming, USA
Sandvine keeps VMedia's subscribers and their streams safe
Jun 24, 2015 – Sandvine (TSX:SVC) has announced that VMedia is using Sandvine's Traffic Management and Network Security products to ensure a high quality of experience for their subscribers. VMedia provides TV, internet and phone services to subscribers in Ontario, Canada.
News categories: Sandvine, VMedia, Alexei Tchernobrivets, Canada, Content Distribution, Digital TV, IPTV
Amazon Instant Video grows internet traffic share in the U.S.
Nov 20, 2014 – Sandvine (TSX:SVC) has released its latest bi-annual Internet traffic trends report. Netflix continues to dominate North American networks, accounting for 34.9% of downstream traffic in the peak evening hours.
News categories: Sandvine, Dave Caputo, Market Research, Streaming, USA, Worldwide
Quickflix 'smart channel' delivers Hollywood on demand in Australia
Oct 27, 2011 – A movie streaming service, from Australian online movie rental subscription company Quickflix (ASX: QFX), will launch through Sony's range of connected BRAVIA TVs, Blu-ray players and home theatre systems from 27 October 2011.
News categories: Quickflix, Australia, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Smart TV, Streaming
- Major U.S. pay TV providers lost 1,956,000 subscribers in 1Q 2022
- 3SS and ContentWise to use AI to power personalized user experiences
- NOS shows international holographic transmission using 5G
- Telestream acquires Encoding.com
- Hisense unveils its first Smart TV with Fire TV built-in
- Conviva announces streaming audience measurement standard
- iWedia launches ATSC 3.0 software stack
- SVOD reaches saturation in Sweden
- CTV surpasses mobile's share of global video impressions
- Global SVOD subscriptions to grow by 485 million from 2021 to 2027
- European VOD Coalition officially inaugurated
- 7.9 million Disney+ subscribers added in 1Q 2022
- Gaumont launches SVOD on Netgem Content-as-a-Service platform
- AMC+ coming to Orange Spain's entertainment offering in June
- Liberty Global video subscribers down 21,900 in Q1 2022
- First TVs powered by TiVo Stream OS expected in late 2023/early 2024
- AMC adds 431,000 paid streaming subscribers in 1Q 2022
- NOS Portugal adds 2,100 pay TV subscribers in 1Q 2022
- Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment to acquire Redbox
- Tivù launches USB-based CAM supporting 4K TV with SmarDTV


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Google paid up to $12 billion to Apple to make it the default search engine on iPhones and other Apple devices, according to a suit filed by the US Department of Justice.
This week, the US Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google for allegedly monopolizing the online search engine and advertising space. On Page 36 of the suit, the US government claimed that Google paid somewhere from $8 billion to $12 billion to gain the default search engine status on iOS devices.
Justice Department investigators stated that Apple, which does not have its own search engine, entered into a multi-year, multi-billion dollar deal with the internet giant to make Google the default search engine on all iPhones and other Apple products.
By doing so, Google became the default choice in web browser Safari, voice assistant Siri and device query feature Spotlight.
The charge also claimed that Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google chief executive Sundar Pichai met in 2018 to hammer out the deal. After this meeting, an anonymous senior Apple employee wrote to a Google counterpart that "our vision is that we work as if we are one company," the DOJ said in its suit.
The lawsuit also cited a Google document calling the Apple search deal a “significant revenue channel” and losing it would result in a "Code Red" scenario.
In a blog post, Google senior vice president of global affairs Kent Walker slammed the allegations, saying that it's successful because its search engine is just better than the rest. And it is not stiff-arming rivals because people can switch their default browsers if they wanted to.
"Our agreements with Apple and other device makers and carriers are no different from the agreements that many other companies have traditionally used to distribute software. Other search engines, including Microsoft's Bing, compete with us for these agreements. And our agreements have passed repeated antitrust reviews," Walker wrote.


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HTC reported some significant financial losses since last year that might result in the tech company selling off its virtual reality headset, the HTC Vive.
During their fiscal year in 2016, HTC lost $513 million and has since brought in a strategic financial adviser to evaluate their options. These options range from selling off the virtual reality device to selling the entire company, the latter of which seems like it'd be the least likely option. However, sources speaking to Bloomberg have indeed confirmed that HTC has spoken to other companies recently, one of which was Google.
The news that HTC might look to part ways with the VR headset and move away from the relatively new gaming industry follows a recent price cut to their Vive headset. A week ago, HTC cut the price of their Vive. The headset's new price is set at $600, but that price range still makes it more expensive than buying a brand new console itself. More importantly, the headset is more expensive than its two competitors, the Oculus Rift and the PlayStation Virtual Reality headset. The Oculus Rift is the headset that the Vive comes closest to in terms of price, or at least it will when the Oculus Rift's sale period ends and it rises back to its normal price.
Even though several options for HTC are being considered at the moment, there's no guarantee that any of the business moves will be pursued in the future. According to the source that first spoke to Bloomberg, they said that no decisions have been made at the time. When Bloomberg asked HTC and Google about recent business discussions, both companies declined to comment.
While the company is a power player in the smartphone industry, their venture into VR with the Vive headset has been marked with price cuts and other issues in attempts to keep up with their VR competitors. HTC has fallen behind in its primary smartphone field as well as it lost much of its company value over the past few years.
More news of HTC's decisions on what to do with the Vive VR headset is expected to come soon as they move forward with their business discussions.0comments


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WTTC urges the United States to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has urged the US government to expedite the clearance of the AstraZeneca vaccine in order to assist restore essential transatlantic travel.
The Pfizer vaccine was approved this week by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the primary health authority in the United States.
However, AstraZeneca is still not recognized as an approved Covid-19 vaccination.
Even if the Biden Administration allows borders to reopen, AstraZeneca’s non-recognition will be a substantial obstacle to transatlantic travel between the UK and the US, according to the WTTC.
The majority of Brits, and many millions more across the world, who have been immunized with AstraZeneca medicine will effectively be barred from entering the country.
AstraZeneca has the broadest worldwide reach of any current vaccine, having been administered in 176 nations and territories, emphasizing the importance of its approval in the United States.
According to the WTTC, CDC non-recognition will continue to substantially weaken consumer demand and hinder any meaningful revival of transatlantic travel from the United Kingdom to the United States.
It will also have a significant impact on the tourism industry on both sides of the Atlantic.
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If you know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em, you could be $150K richer when the dealin’s done thanks to the VA Lottery’s new game.
You can win a lot more than $200 for passing Go in the Virginia Lottery’s online version of the beloved (and notorious) board game.
With the VA Lottery’s new online game, you can explore the pyramids without having to trek to Egypt — and you could end up $150,000 richer.
The relatively young VA Lottery has been growing by leaps and bounds, and it recently reached an impressive milestone: $1 billion in payouts.
Unleash your inner warrior and, if the gods favor you, claim loot of up to $50,000 in Viking Voyage, the VA Lottery’s latest eInstant game.
You could ride off into the sunset — Sunset Winnings, that is — with up to $40K thanks to the newest instant game from the Virginia Lottery.
Enjoy the Las Vegas experience without leaving home thanks to the VA Lottery’s new instant game, Vegas Cash Drop, with a top prize of $250K.
Red, white and blue could turn green — up to $100K in greenbacks, that is — with USA Cash Club, the new online game from the VA Lottery.
The VA Lottery’s new instant game, King of Clubs, serves up a banquet of options for players, including two bonus games.
The Virginia Lottery’s new online instant game, Cash Buster Towers, features stacking rewards, special features and a $50,000 grand prize.


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Will it vend? We test Australia's new $5 note on pokies and snacks
We grabbed all the dollarydoos we could and went on the hunt for snacks and gamblin' -- all in the name of research.
Claire ReillyFormer Principal Video Producer
Claire Reilly was a video host, journalist and producer covering all things space, futurism, science and culture. Whether she's covering breaking news, explaining complex science topics or exploring the weirder sides of tech culture, Claire gets to the heart of why technology matters to everyone. She's been a regular commentator on broadcast news, and in her spare time, she's a cabaret enthusiast, Simpsons aficionado and closet country music lover. She originally hails from Sydney but now calls San Francisco home.
ExpertiseSpace, Futurism, Science and Sci-Tech, Robotics, Tech CultureCredentials
Webby Award Winner (Best Video Host, 2021), Webby Nominee (Podcasts, 2021), Gold Telly (Documentary Series, 2021), Silver Telly (Video Writing, 2021), W3 Award (Best Host, 2020), Australian IT Journalism Awards (Best Journalist, Best News Journalist 2017)
Watch this: Our new $5 note has a vending machine problem
Just take my money, dammit!
It's about as high tech as physical money gets, just don't expect to get anywhere with Australia's new $5 note when it comes to buying things from a vending machine.
But don't blame the good folks at the Reserve Bank of Australia. They gave retailers and vending machine companies a whopping seven years to get their act together. And now that notes are passing through hands across Australia, those machines still won't accept the new legal tender.
It's the same size as the old fiver, so you'd think it'd be ridgey-didge in the Coke machine.
But we tested the new $5 note in vending machines across Sydney, we even tried it out in the pokies (Mama needs a new pair of shoes), and got diddly squat. The one place that worked? The Opal Card top-up machine in Town Hall station. Finally, NSW Transport is right on time!
The Reserve Bank estimates there are more than 250,000 vending machines, 200,000 gaming machines and 8,000 self-service checkouts across Australia, so there are plenty of places that mightn't take your new cash.
The RBA says it has been consulting with businesses and machine providers for seven years on its "Next Generation Banknote Project," and even gave sample notes to equipment manufacturers and the retail industry to test out.
"Although the Reserve Bank encourages all businesses to upgrade their machines, it is, ultimately, a business decision," the RBA told us in a statement.
With a cost to upgrade each machine, we can understand why businesses might be slow on the uptake. And with a new $10 note due in 2017, there's no word yet on whether machines will need to keep getting upgraded.
The banking industry seems to be caught up, with the RBA's comprehensive rundown showing that most banking machines like ATMs and banknote scales are ready.
But as it stands now, legal tender that's in circulation across the country won't get you a cold drink or a bet on the pokies. What have we come to?!
It seems that with seven years notice, NSW Transport is still more on the ball than the folks that sell you Coke and chips.
Updated 2:45 p.m. AEDT: Included comment from RBA.


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Micron Says Spending Cuts Will Avert Price Collapse
The memory-chip industry will keep a lid on capital expenditures this year, helping avoid a repeat of the production glut that plagued the industry until 2010, Micron Technology Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Appleton said.
“There’s nothing going on that’s real crazy in terms of cap ex in the memory industry,” Appleton said today at a meeting with analysts in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Spending on new machinery used to make dynamic random access memory chips -- the main memory in computers -- will fall in 2011, Appleton predicted. That will reduce the risk of excess supply, even if orders slow. Meanwhile, demand remains strong for flash memory, which goes into phones and tablets such as Apple Inc.’s iPad, he said.
Micron, the only remaining U.S. producer of computer memory, is trying to stave off the imbalance suffered between 2007 and 2009. Chip prices fell below the cost of production, leading to billions of dollars in red ink at Micron. Similar losses at Taiwanese rivals have left them unwilling or unable to boost production again, Appleton said.
“You’re not going to see nearly as bad down cycles as you saw in the past,” said Tristan Gerra, an analyst at Robert W. Baird in San Francisco. “Eventually, the guys strong enough to survive thrive. The weak exit the market.”
Mired in Debt
Excluding South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Inc., the largest maker of memory chips, Micron’s Asian competitors don’t have enough cash to service their debts coming due in the next year, Appleton said. That means they can’t afford to spend money improving output, he said.
Memory-chip makers have historically struggled to match supply with demand. Building a new factory requires long-term planning and can cost as much as $4 billion, but demand can fluctuate in the space of weeks.
The plants also run 24 hours a day because it costs too much to halt a production process. That’s resulted in manufacturers selling chips for less than they cost to make.
Micron’s most recent quarter was the first time that sales of DRAM didn’t account for the majority of its revenue. A surge in demand for mobile phones and tablet computers is boosting orders for so-called Nand flash, a market served by fewer manufacturers. That’s helping make that sector less volatile than DRAM, said Alex Gauna, an analyst at JMP Securities LLC in San Francisco.
“There’s a better business opportunity with fewer competitors,” Gauna said. “The smartphone and the tablet are the perfect consumer devices -- they’re addictive and they wear out.”
Micron, based on Boise, Idaho, rose 1 cent to $11.32 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock has rallied 41 percent this year, following a 24 percent drop in 2010.
Micron has reported an annual profit in only four of the past 10 years, beset by falling chip prices and competition with larger rivals. The company goes head-to-head with Samsung, the world’s second-largest chipmaker behind Intel Corp.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ian King in San Francisco at email@example.com.


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As speculative fever for digital currencies surges this year, investors may want to heed the warnings of the most successful investors of our generation.
The biggest names in investing — including Druckenmiller, Dalio, Chanos, Gundlach and Klarman — are all now criticizing bitcoin, saying the pre-eminent cryptocurrency has critical flaws.
Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller told CNBC Tuesday he is skeptical bitcoin can be a viable digital currency.
"What I do know about bitcoin is, the concept it could ever be a medium of exchange has been eliminated because you can't do transactions, particularly retail transactions, with this kind of volatility," he said.
Druckenmiller is chairman and chief executive officer of the Duquesne Family Office. His hedge-fund track record is unparalleled, generating annualized returns of 30 percent during his investment career.
In similar fashion, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, whose firm manages $160 billion, in September questioned bitcoin's ability to be a unit of exchange.
"Bitcoin today, you can't make much transactions in it. You can't spend it very easily," Dalio said. "It's not an effective storehold of wealth because it has volatility to it, unlike gold. … It's a shame, it could be a currency. It could work conceptually, but the amount of speculation that is going on and the lack of transactions [hurts it]."
Bitcoin year to date
Bitcoin is up more than 2,000 percent in the last year and now trades above $17,000. Bitcoin futures trading launched this week on the Cboe exchange, gaining more than 19 percent Monday in the first full day of trading.
There are now 1,358 cryptocurrencies in existence, according to CoinMarketCap. Other digital currencies such as ethereum are better designed for programmable "smart contracts" and have quicker transaction times versus bitcoin.
Bitcoin's scalability is another issue. There is technical limitation on how many transactions can be processed at the same time. Partly as a result, widespread use of the cryptocurrency for payments has not occurred yet.


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December 11th, 2013 Last Updated on: December 11th, 2013
Chanel staged a pre-fall show in Dallas on Tuesday night and the collection had a western theme. Cowboy boots and hats, turquoise jewelry, blanket coats and fringes galore playing a huge part in the show. Another pervasive theme was Navajo prints and American Indian-inspired accessories, which have proven to be a very touchy subject in the fashion industry in recent years.
The final two looks of the show featured white, feathered headdresses — the very same style that caused a major controversy at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2012. We know that Lagerfeld was inspired by the American West for this collection, and yes, Native Americans played a huge role there both historically and today, with over 20 different tribes making Texas their home. But, as a group that faced so much hardship (from slavery to slaughter), you’d think that designers and tastemakers would be a bit more sensitive to their comments and their desire to stop seeing their cultural symbols used as a passing trend.
Read more from Alyssa Vingan about the Chanel show on the Fashionista blog.
Home » Native American Articles » Native American Culture »


text: Global sorbate and sweetener producer Nutrinova is to sell and market beta-glucan products in the food and nutraceutical industries. The company announced this week that it has signed a global distribution agreement with Canadian oat technology company, Ceapro Inc. for its beta-glucan and oat ingredients. The research and development areas of both companies will also work together to develop other dietary fibre products containing glucan. Health ingredient beta-glucan is the soluble fibre component extracted from oat grain, using Ceapro's patented technology. The products will be marketed under Nutrinova's brand names - yet to be announced - in the food and nutrition industries. "This partnership supports our strategy to expand our business into the area of healthy foodstuffs and dietary fibres and complements our recently launched healthy insoluble fibre, Caromax(tm)," commented Dr. Arthur Steinmetz, CEO andPresident of Nutrinova.


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Digital dailying services have been suspended by Iran, with the country’s central bank suspending all payments to companies that provide them.
The move comes after the central bank decided to suspend the banking industry as part of its broader crackdown on financial transactions and financial crimes.
The announcement comes after Iran imposed a slew of sanctions on the country on Monday, including a ban on banks and other financial institutions, restrictions on oil exports, and a ban for foreign banks and investment firms to transfer funds out of Iran.
“The central bank of Iran announced that all payment systems for digital dails services will be suspended,” a statement posted on the centralbank’s website said on Wednesday.
“This is in response to the banking crisis that has affected the country in the last few days.”
“We strongly advise all the businesses and individuals who rely on digital dairies to discontinue such services,” the statement continued.
“All financial transactions will be monitored and the necessary measures taken by the central banks to prevent such transactions.”
Digital dailiness has become popular among Iranians after the sanctions, which targeted several Iranian companies including internet services provider Aseman, and internet companies.
According to Iranian news site Alireza, the country was able to increase digital dailing by 20 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.
Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Bagher Ghali said last week that digital dashing services could provide more access to Iranian citizens and could help Iranians get around the country.


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Campaign Catapult, the drone and robotics business services partnership teams up with US-based tech entrepreneur Trish Ward Utter
Campaign Catapult – the new end-to-end service portfolio set out to deliver solutions for new entrants, start-ups and developed mid to enterprise-size businesses operating in the Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) and robotics markets has teamed up with US-based tech entrepreneur and business networking specialist Trish Ward Utter.
‘Campaign Catapult,’ targets current and aspiring disruptive leaders in a range of segments including Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) manufacturers, sensor and software innovators, counter drones, the wider supply chain and robotics industries. According to Florida-based Trish Ward Utter, “the opportunity to help develop and introduce US and international companies operating in these dynamic and fast-growing markets is exciting. Our stated aim is to provide a spectrum of support services to our North American client base especially those drone and robotics businesses targeting UK, Europe, Middle East and other regions.”
Trish has helped companies across the globe mark their place in the world through smart marketing and PR tactics and has built a vast following of Drone, EV (electric vehicle) and automotive enthusiasts. Experience includes creating the British Club in the US, working with the British Embassy and trade delegations in Washington DC, in addition to successful ventures in publishing and forensic police support.
The opportunity to provide the UAS and wider robotics industry with seamless business and marketing support focused on whole-life solutions brought together Allan Panthera and Pravo Consulting in a strategic partnership in May 2021.
The two complementary businesses, combining successful track records in the UAS market from Allan Panthera’s multi-sector operational and business strategy expertise, with Pravo Consulting’s marketing, PR and social media outreach and crisis communications for national and global players, will leverage the focus of both businesses on innovative and disruptive markets. The intention is to develop the service from the UK to cover global markets, with the first regional hub in North America, with others to follow, utilizing an international associate network. The global commercial drone market size was valued at USD 13.44 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 57.5% from 2021 to 2028.
The team’s combined UAS experience, across commercial and defense sectors, include: research on drone standards, launch of rotary VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) UAVs and global roll out, support for UAV propulsion systems manufacturer and sensor deployment, creation of award winning drone service enterprise, commercial wins and project management of world first offshore operations, strategic insight papers, BVLOS proof of concept projects, ISR maritime security, blue chip service contracts, drone in a box commercialization, global exclusivity agreements, mentorship/board advisory, foreign market entry, funding support, and many more.
“Interest in Campaign Catapult has been phenomenal and builds on the extensive contacts and track record of both Allan-Panthera-Pravo Consulting,” explained Philip Hicks, Founder and Principal Consultant of Pravo Consulting. “North America is an obvious choice for our next major move as a strategic partnership, not only because so many UAS innovators call the US their home base, but our market understanding and experience in the ‘rest of the world’ provides our clients with a fast track for growth. Either side of the equation we offer support for businesses serious about developing in the US and/or North American businesses, including Canada and Mexico, expanding globally.”
The advent of the 5G delivery model and integration of cloud computing technology with the drone development process is anticipated to provide lucrative growth opportunities to the commercial drone market. “The global pandemic has accelerated development, testing and adoption of drones across a range of sectors from medical delivery and energy to real estate and agriculture. This, together with development of global regulatory frameworks, proven use cases, and return on investment, underscore the exciting growth we are witnessing in the uncrewed/unmanned sector,” said Jamie Allan, Founder and CEO of Allan Panthera”


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Amazon Great Indian Festival sale date, offers, discounts, Prime membership: Amazon Great Indian Festival sale was announced last week soon after Flipkart Big Billion Days sale was confirmed. The e-commerce giant has confirmed the sale dates now. The most awaited Amazon Great Indian Festival sale begins starting October 4. Also Read - Best 5G phone under Rs 20,000 on Amazon, Flipkart today: Realme 8s, iQOO Z3, Samsung Galaxy M32, more
The Great Indian Festival’s end date hasn’t been confirmed yet. Meanwhile, Flipkart Big Billion Days sale begins on October 7 and continues until October 12. The Flipkart sale will also begin a day early for Plus members. Also Read - Looking to buy a water heater under Rs 20,000? Best deals from Bajaj, Crompton, Havells, more on Amazon
Amazon Great Indian Festival sale details
“The Great Indian Festival would include over 1,000 new product launches from top brands such as Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Sony, Apple, Boat, Lenovo, HP, Asus, Fossil, Sony PS5, Microsoft Xbox, and more,” Amazon noted in an official press release. Also Read - 5 best deals on refrigerators under Rs 40,000 on Amazon from Samsung, Panasonic, Whirlpool, LG, more
Commenting on the upcoming Great Indian Festival sale, Manish Tiwary, Vice President, Amazon India said, “This year’s Great Indian Festival is a celebration of the resilience of local shops and small and medium sellers. We are humbled by their spirit and delighted with the opportunity to partner and enable their growth, especially in view of recent challenges owing to the pandemic.”
“We continue to innovate on behalf of our customers to offer the widest selection, value and convenience, ensuring fast delivery of their #KhushiyonKeDibbe, to get them ready for the festive season from the comfort and safety of their homes,” he further added.
For the Great Indian Festival sale, Amazon has partnered with HDFC Bank to offer extra 10 percent instant discount on credit and debit card, also on EMI option.
For everyone, the Amazon sale will kick off on October 4, but prime members will get a day early access as usual. You can head over to the Amazon Prime website to purchase a Prime membership today.


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“Please confirm your interest.” “Let’s stay in touch.” “Opt-in to continue receiving valuable content.” “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE LET US STOP SPAMMING YOU.”
After more than a week of near desperate attempts to avoid the worst impacts of the Canadian anti spam legislation (CASL), it was probably natural that Canadian technology experts were spending less time talking about hard-core enterprise IT issues than they were about e-mail. Of course, CASL will have implications on the way data is collected, stored and managed across networks and databases, but for the most part the discussions have been more emotional.
Of course, Industry Canada was among the first to use its account to position the new law as something that would provide more public benefit than business headaches.
As more than one IT professional has pointed out, however, the trans-border nature of the technology industry means we won’t necessarily see a huge decrease in spam anytime soon. In fact, the CRTC has reportedly already been flooded with more than 1,000 complaints under CASL since July 1.
Most SPAM I receive comes from outside of Canada, where #CASL has no reach, no teeth. Ineffective legislation.
— Mind over Matter (@tryoung) July 4, 2014
Not everyone was complaining, however. In fact, some CIOs might be hearing positive feedback from their counterparts in finance and other line of business areas.
Since #CASL went into effect on Tue my home and work spam has dropped considerably.
— Doug Hamlyn (@DougHamlyn) July 4, 2014
For others, CASL represents a potential new business opportunity, particularly for those involved in user experience design and related fields.
— Philip Yan (@_PhilipYan) July 4, 2014
And then there are the Canadian vendors who hope to see a resurgence in a more analogue approach to communication.
is your #CASL plan not working out to well? Losing contacts? You can always send them a postcard! You don't need consent for direct mail!
— Tstone Mailing (@tstonemail) July 4, 2014
For more great CASL commentary, see the FollowFriday feature on our sister site, ITBusiness.ca.


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Tuesday, 10 October 2023, 17:00
A rental management agency is looking to triple the number of holiday homes it offers on the Costa del Sol.
Stay Unique, which has just been named the best tourist flat brand in Spain at the World Travel Awards, is consolidating its presence on the Costa after setting up its headquarters in the province just last year.
Among the Catalan company's expansion are plans to triple the number of holiday properties it manages on the Costa del Sol in the coming months. Stay Unique wants to acquire 105 properties, adding to the 35 it currently manages. The agency also wants to double its team of employees working at the headquarters opened last year where there are currently four people.
"At Stay Unique we firmly believe in Malaga's potential as an exceptional tourist destination and we are committed to contributing to its economic growth and the wellbeing of its inhabitants, generating wealth and opportunities for the local community," said Enrique Alcántara, director and founder of the company.
All homes managed by the agency are equipped with noise meters and guests are carefully selected to ensure good coexistence with neghbours. "We are part of We Respect, an initiative that promotes good practices among guests," he added.
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From today, Canadian Amazon customers can access 750,000 titles for $9.99 a month.
You can test the service with a 30-day free trial. It’s available via Kindle e-readers, as well as Amazon’s apps for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, PC, Mac and Windows 8.
Kindle Unlimited’s Canadian rollout also includes 15,000 French language titles. It’s worth being slightly wary though, as the service was found to include a lot of self-published titles when it launched elsewhere.
➤ Kindle Unlimited [Amazon Canada]


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During the launch of the ZenFone 5Z in July, Asus CEO said that ROG gaming smartphone will be coming to India on in Q3 of 2018. Now Asus set to launch Asus ROG gaming smartphone in India on November 29.
At Computex 2018, The Taiwanese Tech. Gaint Asus launched a phone
Graphics card manufacturer AMD yesterday announced Radeon RX 590 it's new mid-range GPU targeted toward Full HD PC gaming. This fills the gap between Radeon RX 580 and Radeon RX Vega 56. This Graphics card is not based on a new architecture, but instead a refresh of the current Polaris architecture.
Acer India on Wednesday introduced the launch of its Predator Orion 9000 gaming desktop – launched initially at IFA 2017 in Berlin. It’s touted to be India’s first gaming desktop to features Intel’s Core i9 Excessive Processor. The premium Predator gaming sequence desktop by Acer has been priced at Rs. 3,19,999 and will probably be accessible from
Some report claims that the Chinese giant Xiaomi may launch a gaming smartphone codenamed Blackshark. While there is no official confirmation, a new BlackShark smartphone with flagship specifications is now revealed by Antutu. The smartphone originally surfaced on benchmarking site AnTuTu last month. And now, a leak is showing its performance results on Geekbench.
Now, the same BlackShark smartphone
HP India has unveiled its Omen X gaming portfolio for the Indian gaming community. The focus is to provide an impressive PC gaming experience along with the right accessories to help you with gaming. Clearly, HP has targeted the early uprising gaming enthusiasts who are into eSports. The Omen X has
Asus unveiled a new gaming laptop for its Republic of Gamers (ROG) series at CES 2018 named as ROG Strix T1 Hero Edition. The ROG Strix SKT T1 Hero Edition is a limited edition gaming laptop from the Taiwanese giant Asus. That is developed in collaboration with a Sports team,
Every year at CES PC maker Razer show up with some cool new prototype piece of hardware. And this year at CES 2018, the company is showing off Project Linda, a companion piece of hardware for the recently released Razer Phone that extends the smartphone into a full laptop.
On Monday, Dell launched the latest version of its XPS series laptop that is Dell XPS 13 in India.Priced starting at Rs. 84,590, the Dell XPS 13 is now available for purchase via the Dell India website, Dell exclusive stores, Croma, and Reliance Digital. The design of the Dell XPS 13
Acer today launched Predator 21 X, the company’s latest gaming notebook in India. It is the world’s first notebook to feature a curved screen and was introduced at the CES earlier this year.
It has a curved 21-inch (2560 x 1080 pixels) IPS display with a 120Hz refresh rate with NVIDIA


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Food inflation hits record highs
Global food inflation continues to climb and food oils continue to climb, including a 40% surge in Palm Oil futures prices this year.
Food oils are a major component in processed food products and rising prices will affect the prices at retailers worldwide. Add to this the effects of the supply chain crisis and consumers need to prepare to pay more at the grocery store.
Learn how you can healthier food and can save money by growing and preserving your own food.
Come join me as we explore the world of organic gardening in your own backyard.
https://www.eatandgrowveg.comfood crisis,Food Inflation,Food inflation hits record highs,Food Preservation,Food ShortagesClick to Earn Credits


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Due to social distancing and isolation measures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, people are spending more time at home streaming video from the internet. According to Bloomberg, Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings, Alphabet Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki have been in discussions with European Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton regarding increased internet traffic. Following these discussions, YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon have put measures in place to cut back internet congestion in Europe.
Netflix lead the group, announcing last Thursday that it would begin to reduce streaming bit rates in Europe for a month, later extending this policy to India. Amazon released a statement the next day saying that, in regards to Europe, the company has “begun the effort to reduce streaming bit rates while maintaining a quality streaming experience for our customers.” YouTube also announced last Friday that it would temporarily default video playback in Europe to standard definition (480p). This week, YouTube has begun making standard definition the global default. Users can still watch videos in high definition, but they’ll have to manually select quality options above 480p. Google issued the following statement:
We continue to work closely with governments and network operators around the globe to do our part to minimize stress on the system during this unprecedented situation.


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News about Peer-to-peer payments.
September 21st, 2015
India’s Axis Bank has launched Lime, a mobile wallet that combines banking, shopping and payment services and lets customers make in-store purchases using an encrypted audio signal generated by their device. “The pay feature will allow…
September 10th, 2015
Google has begun rolling out its Android Pay mobile payment platform across the US today. In-store NFC mobile payments using the system will be possible at more than one million locations within the next few days, with in-app payments and loyalty expected later this year.
September 10th, 2015
Google has relaunched and repositioned its tap-and-pay Google Wallet app as a peer-to-peer payment solution ahead of the expected rollout of Android Pay later this month. “For now, two versions of Google Wallet exist in the Google Play…
July 8th, 2015
Ant Financial has released a new version of its Alipay app for iOS and Android, adding new Friends and Merchants tabs that provide support for peer-to-peer payments and for Koubei, the US$1bn mobile commerce joint venture between Ant Financial and Alibaba that was announced last month.
July 3rd, 2015
Apple has filed a US patent application for a payments service that would enable peer-to-peer money transfers via NFC and Bluetooth. Person to Person Payments Using Electronic Devices describes how two individuals can use electronic devices “such as cellular telephones” to directly conduct financial transactions with each other by communicating encrypted financial credentials.
July 1st, 2015
Facebook has made its Messenger mobile payments service available across the US following its launch in New York City in May. The service was first unveiled in March as a way for users to send and receive money for free through the Messenger app. “Add your debit card and pay anyone on Messenger in a few taps,” the social network says.
June 26th, 2015
Three in ten Australians plan to use their smartphone for all their digital money and financial needs by 2017 and one in five (17%) are already using their smartphones to make in-store payments, research from lender Fair Go Finance reveals. “50% would like to use biometrics instead of PIN codes by 2020,” the survey finds. “One in ten said they would use Facebook to transfer money to friends and family.”
June 25th, 2015
Indonesia’s largest smartphone and tablet manufacturer is to pre-install a mobile wallet on up to three million of its mobile devices annually, allowing users to make QR code-based in-store payments, online payments and P2P funds…
June 16th, 2015
The UAE Banks Federation, a standards body representing 50 Emirates banks, has cleared its mobile wallet project for launch and is now awaiting final approval from the nation’s central bank following a pre-implementation phase completed in December. The UBF mWallet project represents the financial component of the UAE’s Smart Government initiative and will enable banks to offer P2P, NFC mobile payments and loyalty programs to customers.
June 4th, 2015
One in five Europeans expects to use their mobile phone to make payments on a daily basis by 2020, growing from the one in ten who do so already today, research from Visa Europe has…
May 28th, 2015
Facebook is to roll out its mobile payments service to New York City and surrounding metro areas and will add additional functionality to make it “easier to send and receive money”, an email sent out by the social network and seen by VentureBeat reveals. The service was first unveiled in March as a way for users to send and receive money for free through the Messenger app. New features include hyperlinked dollar amounts and the possibility to send payments to a single person when part of a group conversation.
February 23rd, 2015
Google Wallet will be pre-installed on all Android phones supplied by Softcard partners AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless from “later this year”, Ariel Bardin, Google’s vice president of payments, has announced. The deal…
December 9th, 2014
The UAE Banks Federation has announced the completion of the pre-implementation phase of a project to develop a mobile wallet platform that all its 51 member banks will be able to use to offer P2P, mobile payments and loyalty programs to their customers. “Participating banks will have the choice to link with this application or integrate the system with their own internet and mobile banking platforms,” the federation says.
December 8th, 2014
Customers of nine banks representing 80% of the Belgian market can now make use of Sixdots, a mobile wallet service that uses a combination of QR codes and a six-digit PIN to make payments in…
November 18th, 2014
The National Bank of Poland has given the go-ahead for the launch of Blik, a mobile payments service backed by six Polish banks that lets customers make payments in stores and online, withdraw cash from…
November 18th, 2014
SnapChat and Square have teamed up to launch Snapcash, a service that builds on Square Cash to let SnapChat users send cash transfers to friends from within the photo messaging app. “After you enter your debit card, it’s securely stored by Square, who will swiftly process your payment and send cash directly to your friend’s bank account,” SnapChat says. “Just swipe into chat, type the dollar sign, an amount (e.g. $11.25), and hit the green button.”
November 13th, 2014
Korean internet and messaging giant Daum Kakao has launched BankWalletKakao, a mobile wallet service provided in partnership with 16 Korean banks and Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearing Institute (KFTC). The service leverages instant messaging technology…
October 27th, 2014
Payment processor SIA has launched a peer-to-peer payments service that lets users send and receive money in real-time with their smartphone. Based on the Sepa Credit Transfer scheme, Jiffy is available to all banks operating in…
October 22nd, 2014
Banco Central del Ecuador is to launch a mobile payments scheme to act as the national mobile wallet in the country, Payments Views reports. “The vision includes building out an ecosystem that includes P2P, top-up, B2B, cash in and cash out, in-store purchases and electronic receipts,” the article explains. “The plan is to link the mobile payment platform with the banking platform so that mobile accounts can receive funds from and send funds to bank accounts.”
October 21st, 2014
Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched a bank-agnostic payment service for Facebook that will enable 250 million Indian bank account holders to transfer money by choosing a recipient’s name from their friends list. “KayPay offers a safe and secure platform to transact on the social networking site through a two-level authentication — Facebook user ID and password, and a one-time password,” the bank explains. “Further, both sender and receiver immediately receive notifications via SMS and on Facebook about the transfer.”


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The Ministry of Defense announced the freezing of export licenses for Israeli “cyberattack” technology
Israel has reportedly frozen export licenses for technology that can be used to carry out cyberattacks, amid a growing scandal over sales of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware at home and abroad, according to a report on Thursday.
According to information from Channel 13, the licensing branch of the Ministry of Defense, which must approve sales of sensitive technologies abroad, has stopped issuing licenses for products like Pegasus, which was allegedly sold to regimes in the around the world who used him to spy on themselves. citizens, including dissidents, activists and journalists.
The freeze will be in effect until the department conducts a thorough review of spyware use, according to Thursday’s report. He did not attribute the claims to any source.
The news channel reported that Israel would also not renew those licenses for several Gulf states that use the software and are due for renewal in the near future.
Several Israeli tech companies have developed powerful spyware that is sold internationally. NSO’s Pegasus is considered one of the most powerful cyber-surveillance tools available on the market, giving operators the ability to effectively take full control of a target’s phone, download all data from the device, or download all data from the device. activate their camera or microphone without the user knowing.
NSO says it only sells Pegasus to governments for the purpose of fighting crime and terrorism. All sales require Department of Defense approval.
The company has been embroiled in numerous scandals in recent years and has faced a torrent of international criticism over allegations that it allows governments, including dictatorships and authoritarian regimes, to spy on dissidents and activists in the rights.
In recent weeks, the Israeli business daily Calcalist published a series of reports alleging that Israeli police used Pegasus without proper authorizations to keep tabs on Israeli targets, including political protesters.
Police initially denied misusing the product, but admitted on Tuesday that they had found evidence that some electronic surveillance of Israeli citizens had been carried out without proper judicial review, after the attorney general of Israel has opened an investigation into the case.


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Business News Archive - June 01, 2009
South Korea Monday reported its trade surplus in May totaled $5.15 billion, lower than April's $5.78 billion. The May numbers were largely the result of a sharp 40.4 percent decline in imports to $23.1 billion from the same month of last year, Yonhap news agency reported. May's exports totaled $28.2
HONG KONG, June 1 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- CNOOC Limited (the "Company" or "CNOOC Ltd.", NYSE: CEO; SEHK: 0883) announced today the successful start-up of its independent oil field Qinhuangdao (QHD) 33-1.
PRESTON, England, June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Plant Impact (AIM: PIM), a developer of technologies that improve crop productivity, is pleased to announce that on May 29 2009 it entered into a significant exclusive licence agreement with Arysta LifeScience Corporation ("Arysta") for the sale of Plant Impact's flagship BugOil(R) product ("Licence Agreement"). Highlights: - Exclusive worldwide license in relation to the BugOil(R) product granted to Arysta, a global top 10 agrochemical company by revenue - The licence grants Arysta the exclusive right to manufacture, market, sell and distribute BugOil - Potentially a multi-million pound agreement including milestone payments and royalties Background BugOil(R), a patented technology developed by Plant Impact over 6 years, is a patented plant insecticide that uses a synergistic blend of plant essential oils to act against sap-feeding pests including mites, whitefly, thrips and aphids.
A series of briefings with top analysts will provide an overview of the powergen sector in specific countries - The first conference will focus on Russia LONDON, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- "There is a tremendous amount of opportunities out there," stated Frost & Sullivan's Chairman David Frigstad a few days ago, during a live television appearance on CNBC in London.
Marks Significant Step Toward Completion of Alliance Facility at Terminal 4 LONDON, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Today SkyTeam announced that the first level of its first ever co-branded alliance lounge in Terminal 4 at London Heathrow International Airport (LHR) opens on Thursday, June 4.
TAMPA BAY, Fla., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- News briefs concerning economic and business growth in the Tampa Bay Region from the Tampa Bay Partnership: John Deere Division Opens National Service Center in Tampa Bay Nortrax Inc., a John Deere construction and forestry equipment dealer operating throughout North America, announced it is opening a new shared services center in Tampa.
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Playtoys Customs, Inc., a Ft. Lauderdale-based company specializing in the design, manufacturing and customization of choppers, vehicles and parts, today appointed HRB Communications, Inc. its agency of record for North America.
First KIA Vehicles to Offer Amerigon Heated & Ventilated Seat System NORTHVILLE, Mich., June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Amerigon Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARGN), a leader in developing and marketing products based on advanced thermoelectric (TE) technologies, today announced that its proprietary heated and ventilated seat system will be offered as an option for the front seats of the 2010 KIA Mohave and 2010 KIA Borrego mid-size Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV).
LAS VEGAS, June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mundus Group, Inc.
INRIX Connected Services enable new Ford in-car services KIRKLAND, Wash., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- INRIX(R), the leading provider of traffic information in North America, today announced that the new Ford SYNC with Traffic, Directions and Information, powered by INRIX Connected Services and other Ford technology partners, is live and available to consumers.
- To befool; deceive; balk; jilt.
- An illusion; a trick; a cheat.


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John Deere India Private Limited, a
subsidiary of Deere & Company, USA, launched the CH 330, a sugarcane
harvester specifically designed to excel in the Indian farming conditions, at
the EIMA Agrimach 2013, New Delhi.
“John Deere began designing the CH330 Sugar
Cane Harvester, as a result of customer needs and their expectation for
harvesting solutions”, said Jeffery Freyou, Global Product Marketing Manager.
“The need was very clear in terms of capability to harvest heavy crops,
maneuverability in smaller plots, cleaner cane, and enhanced performance. We
listened and responded with a harvesting solution that meets these requests
while providing state of the art efficiency, the best cost per ton, less than
three years to payback, and John Deere Quality”, said Satish Nadiger, Managing
Director of John Deere India.
The product was unveiled by Minister of
State for Agriculture and Food Processing, Tariq Anwar who handed over the keys
to the customers from Maharashtra.
Designed with a unique abrasive film for higher performance, TVS Apache, a friction brand of Brakes India, launched platinum brake pads for the luxury car range which have been designed for comfort an...
Uno Minda, a leading Tier 1 supplier of proprietary automotive solutions to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), has announced the launch of its BS VI -compliant automotive engine oils for two-whe...
Vida, powered by Hero, the emerging mobility brand of Hero MotoCorp, has initiated operations of its public charging infrastructure in Bengaluru, Delhi and Jaipur. The brand has set up nearly 300 cha...


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Managers often fail to use or understand their own data on customer satisfaction
For Immediate Release
Jul 26, 2017
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Despite the millions companies spend to gather information about customer satisfaction, senior managers often fail to understand those customers’ expectations.
Neil A. Morgan, professor and PetSmart Distinguished Chair of Marketing at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, and four co-authors of a recent journal article present a huge disconnect between managers and customers in terms of understanding what drives customer satisfaction and loyalty.
The researchers used data from 70,000 American Customer Satisfaction Index surveys and compared it with responses to the same questions posed to 1,068 marketing managers and those in customer-facing roles at the American Customer Satisfaction Index-measured companies, predominately Fortune 500 firms.
Their results show that managers in a wide cross-section of industries often overestimate their customers’ satisfaction. This leads them to rely on unrealistic expectations when making marketing decisions and allocating resources to address marketplace issues.
“Clearly there’s been a communication breakdown,” Morgan said. “Either the messages aren’t being disseminated, or they aren’t being understood within organizations. Otherwise, managers would have a better understanding of both the level and drivers of dissatisfaction among customers.
“That means that there are customer satisfaction problems that are not being solved, because managers don’t know or don’t believe that they exist,” he added. “Even if they did, they try fixing the wrong things.”
Most of the large consumer-focused firms in the study sample have customer-satisfaction monitoring and feedback systems in place and invest heavily in them. Morgan believes that managers aren’t being exposed to the customer feedback data or they aren’t understanding it accurately.
“These overly optimistic managers are likely to miss trouble signs when they appear,” the researchers wrote. “This is compounded by managers significantly underestimating the proportion of customers who have complained about the firm’s products or services in the recent past.”
Inaccurate understanding of what drives customers’ perceptions of products and services hampers a company’s ability to react to an issue. Even when managers recognize a need to improve customers’ perceptions, they may fail to do so in a way that leads to the desired outcomes.
For example, the survey results indicate that managers are more likely to underinvest in raising customer quality perceptions as a way to enhance customer satisfaction.
“Our findings may also provide an explanation for overemphasis on cost-cutting and efficiency observed in firms’ strategies relative to that on quality improvements or achieving differentiation,” the study said. “Where managers overestimate their own customer perception of the firm’s performance, cutbacks that undermine the quality of service, for example, may seem less dangerous than they really are.”
“There seems to be a belief in lots of companies – and it’s kind of an urban myth – that most people who are unhappy won’t complain,” Morgan added. “This data suggests that they shouldn’t be treating complaints as something different. They should be used as part of an overall customer feedback system.”
Customer satisfaction is a significant factor on the bottom line, and previous studies have found that customer complaints impact stock returns.
“For managers, the results of our study should serve as a wake-up call that all is not well with most firms’ customer satisfaction and complaint monitoring systems,” the researchers wrote. “Despite often being the single biggest line-item of most firms’ market research expenditures, existing customer feedback systems are not performing an effective management control role.”
Other authors of the research paper are G. Tomas Hult of Michigan State University, Forrest Morgeson III of the American Customer Satisfaction Index, Robert Smith of the University of Maryland and Sunil Mithas of CFI Group.


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Design and Construction Week is an effort to bring the entire residential construction industry together
September 1, 2013
The American Supply Association officially has agreed to partner in Design & Construction Week, a joint venture of the National Kitchen and Bath Association and the National Association of Home Builders.
The tide is still on the rise.
After the positive vibes heading into 2012 came to fruition throughout the calendar year, leaders from the first major industry trade shows of 2013 predict increases in manufacturers exhibits and show attendees heading into the International Builders Show in Las Vegas (Jan. 22-24) and the AHR Expo in Dallas (Jan. 28-30).
In this issue of Supply House Times, check out our 2015 Premier 150 Rankings. The annual survey, conducted by Supply House Times and BNP Media Market Research, ranks the top PHCP wholesalers by their reported sales for the past year.


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Renesas has confirmed it is in talks, according to reports, and is considering paying up to 300 billion yen (about $3 billion). The move by Renesas comes amid a wave of consolidation across the semiconductor and electronics sectors, including the acquistion of Linear Tchnology by Analog Devices.
Like many Japanese chip companies Renesas Electronics has been struggling over recent years. The struggle dates back before its creation in 2010 by the merger of Renesas Technology and NEC Electronics. Renesas Technology had been a merger of the chip businesses of Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric.
In 2015 Renesas was the 16th largest chip vendor in the world in 2015, according to IC Insights, and having been the world’s leading automotive chip vendor in 2014 Renesas fell back to third place behind NXP and Infineon in 2015, according to Strategy Analytics.
Renesas is looking to boost its standing in automotive chips according to reports. However, a price of $3 billion is considered by observers to be a high premium for Intersil, which had a market capitalization of about $2.12 billion prior to the news of the Renesas talks.
INTERSIL TEAMS WITH EPC FOR GAN POWER CHIPS IN SPACE


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With sales expectations in excess of US $ 23 billion, the United States is preparing its stores for the most important weekend for commerce. Four days of promotions, starting with Black Friday until Cyber Monday, await millions of people between locals and visitors
Take advantage of these holidays the ‘Black Friday’ offers and the online shopping week on Amazon to give your loved ones what they expect for this Christmas.
Probably not two roasted turkeys are the same on Thanksgiving, but the same dessert awaits some 164 million Americans: the first Black Friday sales session, which was held on Thursday at the main stores in the United States. country until midnight.
The traditional festive day of this Thursday in the USA, usually celebrated between relatives or friends, gave way in many cases to the first purchases of the Christmas season, for which big chains like Walmart, BestBuy, Target or the electronic commerce giant Amazon offer strong discounts.
As soon as at four o’clock on Thursday afternoon, some stores have already deployed their artillery to succeed from the first of five days of consumer fever that will last until Cyber Monday, and in which an increase in sales is expected altogether .
According to the National Federation of Retailers (NRF), 21% of buyers who plan to burn the card during this long weekend, about 34 million, will do so this Thursday despite the fact that in the northeast of the country they live the coolest Thanksgiving day since 1996, in cities like New York or Boston.
Thus, it is possible that many prefer to stay at home this afternoon and wait until Friday, “Black Friday”, the busiest day, which is expected to attract 116 million people in the US – 71% of buyers – to the stores, and It is estimated that it will involve a strong online sales session.
The company Adobe Insights, which analyzes web data of the 100 largest retailers in the country, estimates that only on Thursday online purchases in the US will amount to $ 3,300 million, an increase of 16.5% over last year’s “Thanksgiving”.
By comparison, by Friday it is expected to be spent almost doubly online, up to $ 5,900 million, a figure just exceeded these days by the Cyber Monday, day star in front of the screen, which can reach $ 7,800 million.
The prediction of online sales in the next five days of consumerism stands at $ 23,400 million, representing a fifth of the total cost for the Christmas season, which covers November and December.
For those two festive months, the expectations of the retail trade oscillate between $ 717,000 and almost $ 721,000 million, that is, an increase in spending between 4.3 and 4.8%. Last year, billing reached $ 687 billion in total.


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After receiving only inadequate offers, Amtech has decided to transfer its solar subsidiary Tempress to an independent foundation called Stichting Continuïteit Tempress. The move is intended to allow the Dutch solar system manufacturer time to restructure and become a more attractive target for investors. To facilitate these operations, Amtech is providing Tempress with a 2.25 million dollar loan.
“For nearly one year, Amtech has undergone a robust process to sell Tempress. We were disappointed with the offers that emerged, as the terms weren’t favorable to us and most required a significant cash infusion from Amtech. By selling Tempress to a Dutch foundation, we’ve established the parameters to give it time to restructure and be sold in the future. We believe this approach is in the best interest of Amtech and our shareholders,” commented Amtech CFO Lisa Gibbs.
With Tempress divested, the Amtech conglomerate has completely exited the solar business, an intention first announced in April 2019. Amtech’s other solar activity, Solaytec, was separated from the parent company through a management buyout.


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Nine in ten businesses will be using data analytics by 2020
Almost a quarter of companies willl start using the technology this year
The majority of organisations will have adopted data analytics by 2020, in an effort to obtain more valuable business insights and help them meet their objectives, a report by Forrester, commissioned by Atos, has revealed.
The company questioned 580 business and IT leaders from 11 verticals worldwide, discovering that 90% of companies will be using data-driven business insights over the next three years.
According to Atos' research, 40% of businesses are already using data analytics in their key business functions and by next year, this will increase to 70%.
However, there are still barriers preventing some companies from using data analytics to deliver better insights, the company said.
Four in ten respondents explained that because they anticipate their data will increasingly be unstructured they are unsure of the benefits, while 35% are concerned about traditional siloed data practices.
"The pace at which an organisation benefits from data analytics is determined as much by business issues as by technology," Ursula Morgenstern, Atos ESVP for business and platform solutions.
Business leaders said their priorities for the next year are to improve IT's relationship with the rest of the organisation and rearrange their IT departments to be better aligned with overall business objectives.
A quarter of companies said better leveraging big data and analytics in business decision making was a critical business priority, while 41% said it was a high priority. Improving the business' ability to innovate and growing revenues were still the top priorities though.
The state of Salesforce: Future of business
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The business value of the transformative mainframe
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Cost savings and business benefits enabled by FlashSystemFree Download


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NEW YORKMicrosoft Corp.'s emerging strategy around establishing its Xbox 360 video game console as a central element of consumers' home entertainment systems found favor with many observers at the DigitalLife conference here on Friday.
The software giant showed off the next-generation console to a packed room of media members, industry watchers and teenage gamers.
It also previewed everything from new gaming software that takes advantage of the device's more powerful video and audio processing capabilities to its expanded interfaces for integrating directly with handheld digital media players.
Peter Moore, vice president of worldwide marketing at Microsoft, played to a raucous audience that cheered when it saw future iterations of popular games such as Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy and Sonic the Hedgehog.
The crowd was nearly as impressed with Microsoft's promise that the Xbox 360 will provide even more entertainment options.
In addition to playing video games, the Redmond, Wash.-based company is hoping that consumers will increasingly use the devices to download music, movies and other forms of digital content, making the console a more integral fixture in the living rooms of the future.
At the center of Microsoft's plan to expand the Xbox's presence is a more robust version of its Xbox Live online gaming service, through which it plans to offer downloads of music videos, movie trailers and other forms of digital entertainment.
A free version of the service, for which Microsoft currently charges $49.99 per year, will be offered with each Xbox 360 as part of the effort to encourage gamers to use their consoles to move beyond mere video games.
A for-pay "gold" version of Live will boast even more content, Moore said.
As long-predicted by Atari Founder Nolan Bushnell, Moore said that improved graphics and more detailed story lines for games won't be enough to successfully market large volumes of future consoles to consumers.
Like the venerated industry icon, the Microsoft executive believes that creating new ways for people to communicate and interact via the devices holds the most potential for expanding their footprint in the home.
"In the old days (gaming) was just a guy against the computer in his bedroom, now it's about bringing a community of millions together," Moore said.
"Whether you use instant messenger or a cell phone, people are increasingly in touch with communities, and that's something that were driving toward with gaming as well, bringing huge communities together in a number of new ways."
Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Xbox 360's New Media Play Finding Fans


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MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) has purchased more than 29,000 bitcoin through money raised via debt issuance.
- CEO Michael Saylor announced that MicroStrategy bought 29,646 bitcoin, according to a blog dated Dec. 21.
- After this purchase, the business intelligence company now holds 70,470 BTCs worth some $1.6B in its treasury.
- MicroStrategy upsized its original $400M issuance to $650M.
- Saylor issued the debt for no other reason than for his public company to buy more bitcoin.


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Do It Yourself
Do It Yourself
Tagged Article | Foldable
Week Rewind 52: Last Week in a Quick Snap
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No angry bouts.
Today, Malawi's President, Bingu wa Mutharika, opened the 23rd International Trade Fair a different man, as he moved from his usual tendency of turning the Trade Fair into a foe-bashing zone.
Instead, Mutharika concentrated on business and trade issues- asking government ministries and departments to start offering universities research projects.
"Elsewhere, be it in the United States of America, Japan, Bangladesh, economies developed because they utilised university institutions. We mast start doing the same in Malawi."
Mutharika's tone has surprised observers. Former colonial master Britain has just announced that it is withholding aid from Malawi. Germany, Norway have expressed similar intentions.
Fuel shortages continue to trouble all facets of life, while most public hospitals have run out of drugs.
Mutharika could not afford to be boastiful.
Malawi is in sombre mood.


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Learn more in the Directory!
In today's digital economy, companies see the revenue potential offered by data monetization and are striving to capitalize on it--preferably before their competitors do. This is particularly evident in the publishing industry, where some companies are already achieving incremental success by leveraging existing data about their consumers to generate new revenue streams. However, the majority of companies still need to determine how they want their organizations to leverage consumer data. More importantly, they need to consider how to synergize data trends emerging around both their existing base of consumers and a target demographic that may present new revenue opportunities, all of which is going through a degree of disruption in the market.
Posted Jul 29, 2016
Contently announced the launch of Document Analytics, a content measurement tool that allows marketers to track engagement across sales enablement and marketing collateral. Document Analytics expands Contently's existing web analytics and content recommendation tools to downloadable assets like case studies, sales presentations, and ebooks. This highly valuable data has until now been difficult, if not impossible, to track and optimize.
Posted Jul 26, 2016
Kenshoo, a provider of agile marketing solutions, announced the launch of its 2016 Holiday Performance Program. The program aims to help retail and e-commerce marketers improve performance according to specific advertising criteria relevant to the client's business. According to Kenshoo, previous program participants saw revenue increases of over 30% during the holiday season.
Posted Jul 26, 2016
PebblePost, the inventors of Programmatic Direct Mail, announced the launch of the industry's first real-time analytics platform for understanding the delivery and impact of campaigns that run on their Programmatic Direct Mail platform. With this new platform, marketers can now see the results of their Programmatic Direct Mail campaigns. Importantly, they can use this insight to optimize campaign for the next day's mail.
Posted Jul 14, 2016
Consumers increasingly demand consistent, delightful digital experiences as they interact via desktop, mobile, tablet, digital signage, in-car, and in-store experiences. But the days when you could create a mobile experience that closely mirrors the desktop are long gone. Brands must create tailored experiences by carefully considering the consumer's preferences. Accomplishing this requires well-oiled and well-managed interconnected technologies. Culling necessary data from various customer touchpoint devices and employing it to personalize each consumer's experience on a constant basis demand a new level of sophistication in content-related infrastructure and architecture.
Posted Jul 04, 2016
451 Research's inaugural "Voice of the Enterprise: Internet of Things" (IoT) quarterly study reveals that despite the relatively recent emergence of the term "IoT", 65% of respondent organizations currently collect data from equipment, devices, or other connected endpoints and use that data for a business purpose.
Posted Jun 30, 2016
During the great California gold rush, early prospectors sifted through rocks and streams in the hopes of finding a fortune. But bigger hauls were often claimed by going below the surface and digging deeply into mines, where a treasure trove of gold lay waiting to be unearthed. The gold rush may be ancient history, but there's still potential treasure to be tapped--and crises that can be prevented too-by companies that are willing to delve deep into their dark data.
Posted Jun 27, 2016
Savvy marketers realize that content marketing and personalization are two keys to engaging their target audience. A pair of recent surveys suggests that marketers know this, and yet also believe that measuring the results of their content marketing and personalization efforts is very challenging. Rapt Media's survey, "The Future of Content, Part II: Measuring Content Performance," shows that marketers have significant challenges gaining insights and measuring the ROI of their content marketing efforts.
Posted Jun 13, 2016
Bombora, a provider of B2B demographic and intent based data, and Sales Inside Inc., a B2B lead generation services company specializing in install-based technologies data, announced their formal partnership leveraging each other's strengths to help customers generate higher quality leads than ever before. The partnership will allow Bombora to use Sales Inside Inc.'s proprietary data of install-based technologies to track over 500 technology categories from 10 million global domains.
Posted Jun 02, 2016
LiveRamp, an Acxiom company, announced an expanded partnership with Google, adding Customer Match to an extensive set of integrations that include Google Analytics 360 Suite, Google DoubleClick Digital Marketing solutions, and Google Store Transactions for both AdWords and DoubleClick Search. The new integration with Google Customer Match enables brands to swiftly activate their first-party data for targeting across YouTube, Search, and Gmail.
Posted May 31, 2016
Tapjoy, a complete monetization platform, announced a partnership with ironSource that will combine Tapjoy's user level segmentation and predictive analytics capabilities with ironSource's video mediation solution. The partnership is intended to help mobile app developers ensure the best user experience for paying and predicted future-paying customers, while driving optimal revenue from their inventory designated for ad monetization. The partnership will also allow ironSource's developer partners to access Tapjoy's premium brand advertisers as part of their video ad mediation waterfalls.
Posted May 31, 2016
Today's customers are always on the go, always plugged in, and always a click away from a lift to the airport or an Orange is the New Black marathon. With companies like Uber and Netflix on the rise, consumer expectations are higher than ever. Meanwhile, companies find their customer bases growing across countries and times zones, and they're struggling to deliver the frictionless experience their customers have come to demand. Worse still, many are relying on legacy technologies that can't cope with the layers of complexity built into today's business processes.
Posted May 31, 2016
Mintigo, a provider of predictive marketing and sales technology, has partnered with Madison Logic, a company dedicated to solving the digital needs of B2B marketers, to create a predictive Account Based Marketing powerhouse. Mintigo says it has cultivated the deepest data pool in the B2B industry, with access to over 287 million known facts across 11 million organizations; Madison Logic crafted its own technology to utilize data intelligence to serve businesses with highly targeted content on the most effective channels with speed and precision.
Posted May 26, 2016
WP Engine, a company that powers digital experiences for websites and applications built on WordPress, announced the introduction of Page Performance, which will focus on delivering actionable insights for websites across its 47,000 customers and agency partners in 133 countries. With this product launch, WP Engine says it becomes the first managed WordPress platform to offer a web page speed performance tool integrated into the user dashboard through which customers can quickly and dramatically improve the speed of their websites.
Posted May 26, 2016
Perfecto Mobile announced the availability of its Ultimate Digital Test Coverage Toolkit, a free "starter package" that guides Test, DevOps, and Product Development teams to make better-informed decisions about web and mobile test strategies across devices and geographies. The Ultimate Test Coverage Toolkit helps practitioners reduce risk associated with digital quality by identifying the right mix of mobile devices and browsers to test on across geographies; how to set up and maintain a robust and scalable test lab; and what device/browser platforms to pay particular attention to in 2016.
Posted May 19, 2016
Progress announced the results of its recent global survey, Are Businesses Really Digitally Transforming or Living in Digital Denial? The survey, conducted in Q1 2016 by Loudhouse, the specialist research division of Octopus Group, aimed to better understand how business leaders view digital transformation and learn their plans to address its challenges.
Posted May 19, 2016
Digital marketing company Connexity, Inc. announced the launch of an enhanced AudienceView audience segmentation and analytics platform with new granular audience-based metrics and reporting. AudienceView combines deep online behavior data collected by Hitwise with thousands of survey-based audience attributes from Simmons Research. The result is a comprehensive view of where people go on-line, who they are, and what they like.
Posted May 17, 2016
Rapt Media released a report questioning whether personalization in content creation is being approached in the right way. The Future of Content: Personalizing the Content Experience, suggests that marketers are relying too much on distribution technology and "push" marketing rather than leveraging emerging content creation technologies that could help them customize content at the point of creation.
Posted May 13, 2016
Mailjet and Boomtrain announced a partnership that they say will "turn you into Netflix or Amazon." Boomtrain is a marketing recommendation engine that uses artificial intelligence technology, to turn end user's behavior into insights, and action. Now, Mailjet users have access to these capabilities.
Posted May 03, 2016
PushSpring, an independent app-based mobile audience platform, announced a partnership with MediaMath to make PushSpring's proprietary, mobile app data actionable on one of the industry's largest programmatic Demand Side Platforms (DSPs). The MediaMath partnership expands the availability PushSpring's mobile originated data assets for activation, in addition to recent partnership announcements with LiveRamp, Google's DoubleClick, Lotame, and Centro.
Posted Apr 28, 2016
LiveRamp, an Acxiom company, announced a partnership with DigitasLBi, a global marketing and technology agency, to fuel smarter media planning decisions using connected data. DigitasLBi will leverage LiveRamp's data connectivity services to link data from multiple first and third party data sources within DigitasLBi's IDIOM platform, an insight tool to generate better media decisions and smarter content and creative strategy.
Posted Apr 26, 2016
Altmetric announced the launch of Altmetric Badges for Books, enabling publishers to provide an at-a-glance summary of the online attention a published book and its individual chapters have received. Now available on content that is identified by ISBN, the distinctive Altmetric donut badges and associated details page provide authors, editors, and readers with a real-time record of mentions from mainstream media, public policy documents, online reference managers, blogs, social media, and post-publication peer review platforms.
Posted Apr 26, 2016
Nielsen announced that Facebook will offer its publishing partners Digital Content Ratings for measurement of its Instant Articles. With Instant Articles, publishers can create fast, interactive articles that are viewed directly in Facebook's mobile app, enhancing the speed and ease of accessing content. Digital Content Ratings - part of Nielsen's Total Audience Measurement framework --provides daily measurement of audiences across all digital content types and platforms, with metrics fully comparable to television.
Posted Apr 21, 2016
Xillio, expert in the analysis, transformation and migration of unstructured data, announced version 3.0 of its Content ETL Platform. The new version of the platform is based on a completely new architecture including a new scripting language, which aims to make the platform much more stable and scalable. Also introduced in this version are the Universal Data Model and a new database (MongoDB). The platform is prepared to deal with the growing amount of content, and allows organizations to make quick changes in their information landscape.
Posted Apr 14, 2016


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Gluttons taking part in Man Vs Food style challenges at North restaurants are putting their health at risk, experts warned today.
Scores of eating spots across the region are running the “all you can eat” challenges which see diners set the task of consuming vast amounts of food in a set time.
Videos posted on You Tube show students in Newcastle restaurants stuffing everything from burgers to burritos down their necks in a bid to beat the clock - and get their meal for free.
The challenge was made popular by US TV series Man Vs Food which saw presenter Adam Richman travelling across America to restaurants. There he would take on tasks like attacking a 13-pound pizza in just minutes, and tucking into the Sasquatch Burger and fries until he was almost sick.
But today, North health experts warned both the quantity, and the speed of eating, during the challenges could pose a significant health risk to those taking part.
Dr Amelia Lake is a dietitian and public health nutritionist based at Durham University.
She said: “The huge quantities of foods look like they might provide most of an individual’s daily calorie requirements.
“You might ask, ‘what’s the harm? It’s only a one off’ but it’s feeding a culture of over consumption in a world where we already struggle to maintain a balance of energy in versus energy out.
“The food industry needs to take more responsibility for its role in our food culture - this gimmick is unhealthy on so many levels.”
Challenges currently on offer in restaurants and cafes across the region include finishing a rack of baby back ribs, chicken wings, a double beef burger, a mug of chilli, two portions of skinny fries and sides in just 45 minutes.
Sixty minutes to finish brisket, beef rib, hog butt, full rack of pork ribs, Andouille sausage, chicken wings, fries, three bean chilli, coleslaw and a brioche bun.
A belly buster burger challenge which involves eating four patty burgers, onion rings, chips and drink a milkshake. While the Red Hot culinary challenge includes eating 20 wings and drinking five beers.
One challenge offers up a meal containing 10,000 calories - or five days’ worth of recommended calories for men.
Roy Taylor, a professor in Medicine and Metabolism, at Newcastle University, said, in its most extreme form, massive over consumption of food can lead to Boerhaave Syndrome, a rupture of the oesophagus.
He said: “It can be a big shock for the body to have to deal with a glut of food going in at any one time.
“There is a chance this type of consumption could be hazardous as a one off, however, what is more concerning is if it done over a longer term - someone training up and pushing on with this type of behaviour.
“In some ways, we have got to regard food in large quantities as toxic, just like we do alcohol. In small amounts it is wonderful, but taking in too much at any one time can be a problem.”
In 2012, after years of gorging on 190lb burgers and slurping down milkshakes, Man Vs Food star Adam was left overweight and unhealthy.
The American ended up packing in his show and shed 5st in just 10 months, by eating healthy, controlled portions and keeping active.
The star decided something needed to be done after he suffered a major confidence crisis about his huge weight gain during the programme.


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During its Tuesday event keynote, Google unveiled a new line of products designed to be “AI First”—a term the company used to describe the current age of technology use, particularly on mobile. Google recently found that 87 percent of survey participants turned to search functions first when looking for information. The natural progression, the company feels, is a personal AI assistant to take searches even further.
As a company whose name is synonymous with internet searching, creating an AI assistant is the next step in Google’s business model. Rather than attempt to copy Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana, however, Google intends to set the standard with the knowledge base its known for. Google CEO, Sundar Pichai revealed that the company has 70 billion facts in its knowledge graph to date and Google Assistant is learning from each experience. For example, the company’s machine learning software can analyze and caption images with 93.9 percent accuracy today, compared to 89.6 percent in 2014. The program can now count objects as well as recognize colors, adding additional depth to its automated descriptions.
Text-to-speech has also improved, especially in the realm of language translation. Pichai described the company’s neural machine that analyzes sentences rather than phrases so that translations are closer to how a human would speak or write. The improved functionality is available beginning Tuesday for translating Chinese to English.
Google Assistant can be accessed by either saying, “okay, Google” or pressing the home button. For marketers, this is good news because Google specifically mentioned the ability for the new AI to pull recommended information from businesses and partners. The AI will even bring in outside messenger apps for assistance, as demonstrated by using Uber.
Pixel And Pixel XL
As expected, Google unveiled its first phone, built from the ground up by the company: the Pixel. Pixel phones are the first to come equipped with Google Assistant so that users can access the AI immediately. In addition to Assistant, Pixel phones feature:
- 5″ screen / 5.5″ XL
- 4K resolution camera
- Unlimited storage for up to 4K photography and videos on Google Photos
- Android Nougat 7.1
- VR capability with Daydream
- 2,770mAh battery / 3,450mAh battery XL that reportedly charges up to 7 hours worth of battery time in just 15 minutes
- 24/7 chat or phone support
- Google Duo, a video chat program that works across Android or iOS
- 3 colors: Quite Black, Very Silver and Really Blue
- Retail price: $649
Google has partnered exclusively with Verizon to offer data coverage, but the phone will be available for purchase from a variety of retailers, including Best Buy and on the Google Store, the latter of which offering payment plans of $27 per month.
The new VR headset by Google is designed for comfort and convenience, as it’s constructed from fabric and is 30 percent lighter than comparable headsets. The Daydream View fits over glasses, as well—a problem that most other headsets do not address. Daydream View comes with a remote that doubles as a game controller, as demonstrated by the exclusive Harry Potter-themed VR title, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (based on the upcoming movie), in which the user’s controller becomes a magic wand. By the end of the year, Google anticipates programs from over 50 partners, with “hundreds more” to follow in the near future. The remote itself stores inside the headset to prevent loss.
Google unveiled portable Wi-Fi units designed to handle the needs of a small home or a large family, mobile and accessible throughout the home. The system is designed to customize placement based on where you need Wi-Fi the most and lets users control access. Google Wifi will be available in November for $129 each or in a 3-pack for $299.
— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) October 4, 2016
“Okay, Google, when was the last time I washed these sweat pants?” Ok, so maybe Google Assistant isn’t quite ready to handle our busy lifestyles just yet, but it can handle a variety of wireless tasks such as playing music, answering questions and even dimming the lights, controlling the thermostat, etc. Google Home is voice-activated and linked to a number of partners such as YouTube Music, Google Music, Pandora and of course, the internet. Users can obtain answers, access music and even flip a coin, as demonstrated during the keynote.
Google Home, which uses Google Assistant, is integrated with Chromecast, so users will be able to cast photos, video and other compatible services to their TVs with a simple voice command. With Google’s upcoming Chromecast Ultra, users will be able to cast in 4k starting in November. Google Home will retail for $129, with 6 months of free access to YouTube Red. Chromecast Ultra will retail for $69.
We may not have flying cars, but technology is definitely moving toward a world of artificially intelligent technology. As the technology giant attempts to create a “personal Google” for each user, brands will be no doubt have access to even more ways to connect with their user base on a personal level. Bringing true virtual reality to the mobile user is a big step in making it accessible to the masses, who are more likely to invest in a headset for a phone they’re already using as opposed to a headset and a new console and a new high-end PC. SuperData Research estimates Google Daydream sales to reach $450,000 by the end of the year and continue on an upward track to $14 million by the end of 2020.


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Xolo has done the unexpected, launched Android 5.0 Lollipop for its budget-minded One smartphone which costs a mere Rs 5499. The phone is the first from an Indian OEM to get the latest Google mobile OS and this has most certainly boosted the company’s reliability for future products.
The Xolo One smartphone is no flagship and is one of the low-tier releases from the company. The handset’s main purpose is to give Google’s Android One program a bit of competition, hence the name. The phone comes with hardware similar to what has been implemented in the latter and it’s cheaper as well.
While Android One devices are supposed to get the Nexus treatment with quick software updates, Google is yet to deliver on that promise. This also gives Xolo a huge popularity boost in the smartphone market. The new OS for the One smartphone brings in the latest enhancements introduced with Lollipop.
There’s a new UI, better security, and more efficient power management as well as Material Design applications. The upgrade is a good 557.72MB in size and it delivers a vanilla Android experience. You can grab the firmware which has already started rolling out over the air and via the company’s software update website. The webpage also offers a guide for downloading and installing the new OS.
Quick refresher on the Xolo One’s key specs:
– Display: 4.5-inch FWVGA IPS LCD
– RAM: 1GB
– Storage: 8GB flash, 32GB expandable
– Processor: 1.3GHz quad core MediaTek SOC
– Connectivity: Dual SIM, HSPA+, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
– Camera: VGA front, 5MP rear
– Battery: 1700mAh
Apart from the Xolo One smartphone, other handsets from the company will also be receiving the update to Lollipop soon. A roster of devices is expected to surface in the coming weeks.