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Listed below are all of our news and reviews articles for March 2012. If you are looking for an article on a particular day or on a particular topic, you can use the menu on the right to narrow your search
SmartPhone Articles for March of 2012Below are the 100 SmartPhone articles for March of 2012
One of the hallmarks of smartphones made by HTC is the Sense user interface, which the company uses to give its Android OS models a distinct look and feel. A[...]
Mobile World Congress is wrapping up in Barcelona, and Brighthand's European correspondent brings us his picks for the most important announcements made at this annual smartphone tradeshow.
AT&T has laid out specific points at which it begins throttling the data transfer speeds of its customers who are still on unlimited data plans. This includes many iPhone users.
The always innovative Taiwanese tablet maker ASUS has revealed its latest attraction: the PadFone. This won't be just a smartphone, but a tablet and a netbook as well!
Nokia is offering everyone who has a Lumia 710 Windows Phone from T-Mobile a free colorful case. All they have to do is ask for it.
With the upcoming LG Viper receiving Google Wallet in the near future, Sprint is expected to introduce at least 10 additional phones with support for the application later this year.
Many are eagerly looking forward to the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S III, which a previous rumor said will be out in May! A new report, however,[...]
Corning has begun shipping Gorilla Glass 2 to manufacturers who can then provide customers with thinner and more sophisticated protection for the displays on their devices.
Getting Apple's iPhone is a double-edged sword for the carriers. Yes, they get more customers but their profits take a hit, at least in the beginning.
Each month, Brighthand publishes a list of the smartphones that readers have shown the most interest in during the preceding four weeks. Samsung dominated January's list, with five out[...]
Users of the iPhone and iPad have now downloaded 25 billion applications from the iTunes App Store since it debuted several years ago. This milestone was passed at some point[...]
The new Motorola Droid 4 takes Verizon's flagship Android line and adds an updated design, faster processor, and 4G LTE. But is that enough to make it a worthwhile upgrade?[...]
Employees bringing their own devices to work (BYOD) can raise big security risks, according to newly released research. At this week's RSA Conference, though, vendors announced some new technologies that[...]
The Galaxy S III is one of the most highly-anticipated devices of the season. Unconfirmed reports have tried to reveal when this Android smartphone will be on the market, but[...]
Nokia recently unveiled what it calls PureView, a image-processing technology which promises to greatly improve picture taking on mobile devices. Although it is going to debut on a Symbian
Smartphones are getting bigger and bigger, but an upcoming model is bucking that trend. The Samsung Galaxy Pocket will be very pocketable.
Verizon Wireless has released a list of all the smartphones it offers that will be getting upgrades to the latest version of Google's operating system. ?This includes models from HTC,[...]
Google has changed the name of its app store. What was once the Android Market for the last several years has been re-branded "Google Play". This move is apparently being[...]
Anyone shopping for an Android smartphone from Verizon is likely to be confused about two smartphones that have very similar names and very similar features. Despite this, one is clearly[...]
Intel announced yesterday from GDC 2012 that it would be releasing GPA 2012, an updated version of its developer tool suite meant to help with performance optimization, to the public.
Developers who want to create games for Sony PlayStation Suite will soon have access to the tools they need. This will allow them to create titles for smartphones and tablets[...]
Apple released iOS 5.1 for the iPhone today. This operating system and software upgrade brings a number of small improvements to Apple's smartphone, but few major ones.
A cryptic message on ?AT&T Wireless' website promises that something "exciting" is coming soon. The top contender: the Nokia Lumia 900 Windows Phone.
The Earth was hit with a massive solar storm early this morning, but what does that mean for cell phone and other wireless tech devices?
Unconfirmed reports indicate that Verizon isn't that far away from introducing the LG Lucid, which will supposedly be an Android smartphone with a feature set that's fairly -- but not[...]
Way back in 2009, Microsoft opened the Windows Market Place for Mobile, an online store that allowed Windows Mobile users to buy software. As this operating system has been discontinued,[...]
The next installment of the iPhone may not be receiving the new iPad's A5X processor when it launches later this year.
Fooducate - Eat Healthy Diet is supposed to teach you to eat better. Yet how well does this barcode-reading app for smartphones and tablets really work? Read the full review[...]
The debut of the Nokia Lumia 900 from AT&T was scheduled to come before the end of this month, but that might not happen. An unconfirmed report indicates that the[...]
Sprint subscribers looking to purchase a value-priced Android smartphone can pick up the ZTE Fury. This inexpensive family-oriented model just launched today (Sunday).
AT&T has a wide range of models, from the Apple iPhone to very good devices running the rival Android OS and Windows Phone. Figuring out which are the best isn't[...]
Stuck at a location with expensive or no Internet available? Thanks to Tether, you can use your iPhone's data to surf the Internet for a cheap yearly price. [with video[...]
The trend of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) to work, sometimes called the consumerization of IT, has gained a lot of traction in corporate America in recent years. But dealing with data loss[...]
T-Mobile customers can start off their spring by purchasing the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G later next week. This mid-range model is going to offer a 4-inch display, Google's Android[...]
Amazon.com is having a massive sale on Sprint smartphones. For the next several weeks, new Sprint customers can get any 4G-enabled model for just a penny down when signing a[...]
Customers can now control their Roku players using their Android smartphones. This free app joins an iPhone version that was released previously.
Samsung Galaxy S II owners rejoice: an upgrade to Android OS 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) for your smartphone has started going out. But there is bad news too: it will[...]
According to an unconfirmed report, Windows Phone 8 is going to come with hardware requirements that will prevent any current Windows Phone 7.5 model from running it.
Two smartphone lines now have their flagship devices on Verizon: Motorola's Droid series and Google's Nexus models. Which is better for power users? We compare and give you the rundown.[...]
T-Mobile subscribers who own either a BlackBerry Bold 9900 or a Torch 9810 can receive the BlackBerry OS 7.1 upgrade today.
A bundle that includes the Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phone and some audio accessories can now be purchased from Amazon and AmazonWireless.com. Previously, this was exclusively available at Microsoft Windows[...]
Verizon has once again committed to only offering smartphones with 4G LTE service for the rest of this year. This almost certainly means that the next iPhone will have LTE.[...]
The most recent blog post from Brighthand's site editor considers the latest update to the iPhone's operating system after a week of using it. According to him, this was a[...]
The minimum requirements for smartphone operating systems have a tendency to climb with each release, but for its next update to Windows Phone, Microsoft is putting its mobile OS on[...]
Research performed by IDC shows that China will become the leading country-level market for smartphone shipments in 2012, moving ahead of the current leader, the United States.
A major topic of discussion in smartphone circles is, when will the Samsung Galaxy S III be released? Its predecessor is one of the most popular models in the world,[...]
Amazon Appstore for Android is celebrating its first birthday with a week of deals on some of its customers' favorite apps and games, including Fruit Ninja, Tetris, and Monopoly.
A new blog post from Brighthand's site editor discusses the accusation from a former Google executive that the new CEO of Google has made the company into something that no[...]
Although Google announced Android OS 4.0 last fall, months later only a few smartphones have been upgraded. The wait is reportedly almost over for users of the Samsung Nexus S.[...]
Keep up with all of March Madness at the convenience of your smartphone (or tablet). Download NCAA March Madness Live and watch the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament virtually anywhere.
The first major competitor for electronic payment service Square has arrived. PayPal has just announced PayPal Here which allows small businesses to accept almost any form of payment. [with video[...]
The Pantech Burst is a smartphone for the budget-minded consumer, available on AT&T. Despite its low price, it is surprisingly well supplied with features, including 4G LTE, but does have[...]
AT&T Wireless has begun retiring its old 2G network, which is almost a decade old, freeing up spectrum that will be used by its 3G and growing 4G network.
There's overclocking, and then there's this: University researchers are in the early stages of putting multi-core processors in smartphones to work in bursts of up to 16 times their normal[...]
In January, the radio program This American Life ran a story by Mike Daisey about working conditions at Foxconn, the China-based company that produces products for a wide range of[...]
A new blog post from Brighthand's site editor takes a look at some new information on what HP's original plan was to make Palm's webOS into serious competition for the[...]
Some early details have leaked out about an Android-based smartphone supposedly headed for Verizon. The Motorola Droid Fighter will reportedly have a display larger than any of its predecessors.
As smartphone ownership increases, so does the demand for overall satisfaction from these devices. The biggest factor currently affecting customer satisfaction is smartphone battery life and performance, according to a[...]
An unnamed "internal source" at Sprint is saying that the HTC One X may be launching from this carrier under the name "HTC Jet". The debut will reportedly be in[...]
The days of teens talking on the cell phones for hours are now over. Text is more popular now, and getting more so. According to a study by Pew Internet,[...]
The GSMA and the Wireless Broadband Alliance are working on a plan to allow smartphones to easily and seamlessly roam between different Wi-Fi networks, even if these are managed by[...]
A screenshot that leaked out of Verizon has hit the internet today, hinting that the company will start offering a shared data plan in the future. This is a highly-requested[...]
Sprint and HTC have invited journalists to an event to be held early next month. They aren't hinting what smartphone they are going to announce, but there's a very likely[...]
This device is a mid-range model running Google Android and available exclusively from T-Mobile. It’s a modest device in many ways, but it does boast a speedy 1.5 GHz dual-core[...]
The newest smartphone from T-Mobile is the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G, a mid-range model running Google Android. This has likely been released to give customers a similar but cheaper[...]
If the latest rumors about the Samsung Galaxy Nexus being released for Sprint are true, then this powerful LTE-enabled smartphone will be launching fairly soon.
The release date of the Samsung Galaxy S III is a hotly debated topic, but Samsung's chief executive in China has let the cat out of the bag. This smartphone[...]
A new post from our site editor on the Brighthand Bytes blog discusses the meaning behind a recent decision by Microsoft to prevent employees from using company funds to buy[...]
The release of a major system software upgrade for the Samsung Galaxy Note has been pushed back. On the other hand, Samsung promises the new version of Google's operating system[...]
According to an unconfirmed report, all current Windows Phones will receive an upgrade to Windows Phone 8 (Apollo), possibly silencing an earlier rumor to the contrary.
Verizon's latest two smartphone offerings pit the new and much-lauded Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX against the most up-to-date member of the original Droid line, the Motorola Droid 4. Which best[...]
According to an unnamed industry source, Apple is looking to use a 4.6-inch display on the next generation iPhone. This would be a significant upgrade from the screen on this[...]
The HTC Vivid has become the first phone offered by AT&T to get an upgrade to the latest version of Google's mobile OS, Android 4.0. The carrier listed which of[...]
While earlier rumors of a March release of the AT&T Nokia Lumia 900 are looking bleak, those waiting to pick up the device can possibly do so in early April.[...]
Do you want to keep personal photos and other content on your iPhone hidden away from any onlookers? Here's the lowdown on four "privacy apps" that could help.
A survey performed by MocoSpace of over 15,000 gamers resulted in some interesting figures concerning the world of mobile gaming. A majority of respondents are using their smartphones and tablets[...]
Users of Google's free Gmail service should be used to the idea that this company scans through their messages and serves them ads based on the content. Even this group[...]
Off-hand comments often give us some great insight into how a company really feels vs. its public position. Case in point: the chief marketing officer for T-Mobile USA let it[...]
In his latest "From the Editors Desk" column, Ed Hardy takes a look at the rumors and speculation about the next-generation iPhone, which might (or might not) be a radical[...]
After a whirlwind of rumored release dates, AT&T has officially announced that they will launch the 4G LTE Nokia Lumia 900 on April 8.
According to a study performed by ABIresearch, smartphones will drive $20 billion in accessory revenue in 2012, accounting for more than half of the $36 billion that all handset accessories[...]
Coming hot on the heels of the news about the Nokia Lumia 900 being released on April 8, AT&T has also revealed that the HTC Titan II will be released[...]
While the Internet has certainly revolutionized shopping, that doesn't mean that it has made the process all that much easier. Thankfully your iPhone can help you comparison shop quickly and[...]
In the current battle of nano-SIM card designs, Apple is making a drastic move to give it the edge over its competition: it's offering up its design to device makers[...]
Those looking for a cheap 4G LTE-capable phone need look no further than the LG Lucid, which will be available for Verizon Wireless customers on March 29.
In what seems like coincidental timing given its ongoing battle to have its nano-SIM design become the industry standard, Apple was just granted a patent for an ejectable SIM card[...]
AT&T is testing out a new loyalty program for its customers, AT&T Plus, which will supposedly offer perks like waived fees and product discounts.
A hot download, the Swype-like SlideIT Keyboard app promises an easier way to enter text on Android OS phones. How well does it work? Read the full review.
Though there were initially some translation issues with its press release, Samsung has announced that it has sold 5 million units of its smartphone/tablet hybrid device, the Galaxy Note.
A patent filed back in 2011 shows that HTC may be designing a media player similar to the iPod Touch, challenging Apple in a market that remains almost untouched.
Google recently released an update for its Maps for Android app, bringing it to version 6.5 and providing users with a variety of enhancements and improvements.
In a move to focus more on emerging markets and higher-margin products, Dell has announced that it has stopped selling smartphones in the U.S.
The latest report from Nielsen Mobile Insights has revealed that smartphone adoption is still steadily on the rise; for the month of February, smartphones accounted for almost 50% of all[...]
Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S users can now update their smartphone's software to the latest iteration of Android Ice Cream Sandwich, version 4.0.4.
Nokia Lumia 800 owners, your well-documented battery issues will soon be a thing of the past, as an impending firmware update to improve the device?s battery performance is arriving soon.
As a result of a settlement offer with Oracle, Google has released figures indicating that its Android operating system has made the company less than $550 million in revenues since[...]
Smartphones often take a spill to the ground (or into the water, but a protective case can help. Here's a hands-on look at five of the best cases for the[...]
Though the device has already gone by two different monikers earlier this month, the HTC One X is now rumored to be called the "HTC EVO One" when it is[...]
Market analysis firm Strategy Analytics notes that network buildout and new handsets will cause LTE to explode in use this year.
Shortly after RIM claimed that Apple was attempting to skew voting results, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) issued a statement today saying that it is delaying its decision over[...]


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Google is unfairly forcing third-party Android app stores onto the sidelines in favour of its own Google Play store, according to European app provider Aptoide.
"The European Commission has been very active in detecting situations of abuse of a dominant position," Aptoide co-founder and CEO Paulo Trezentos told CNET. "We believe that our case is strong and that can help the EC to work with Google to correct these practices."

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THE UMW Group’s automotive sales surged by 63.8% to 36,358 units last month compared to 22,193 units sold in September 2021.
Both UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT) and UMW’s associate company, Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua), continue with their sales recovery following easing of the Full Movement Control Order (FMCO) restrictions, UMW noted in a statement yesterday.
UMWT registered sales of 8,500 units last month, 5.8% higher than the 8,033 units sold in September 2021.
Toyota Vios continues to be the marque’s best-selling model for October 2021, followed by Hilux and Yaris.
“Year-to-date, UMWT sold 54,618 units, 24.7% higher than the 43,807 units registered in the corresponding period last year,” the group noted.
In a move to diversify its offering in the electrified vehicle (EV) space, UMWT has officially started order-taking for the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, its first locally assembled Toyota model with Hybrid Electric Technology earlier this month.
To refresh its product line-up, UMWT has also recently announced order-taking for the new updated Toyota Hilux, Fortuner and Innova.
Last month, Perodua registered monthly sales of 27,858 units, a recovery from the 14,160 units registered in September 2021.
“Perodua Myvi was the best seller for the month, followed by Axia and Bezza.
“In terms of production, last month also saw the highest number of vehicles ever produced within a month at 29,803 units,” said UMW.
For the first ten months of the year, Perodua delivered a total of 146,951 units, 14.5% lower than the 171,861 units registered in the corresponding period of 2020, mainly due to the FMCO and partly the semiconductor chips shortage.
“The group expects the automotive sales recovery to be sustained through November and December, supported by the introduction of new models and year-end promotions.
“We are thankful to the government for the extension of the sales tax exemption as announced in the recent Budget 2022, which we believe will continue to hasten the recovery of the local automotive industry,” said UMW Holdings Bhd president and group CEO Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Kenali (picture).
He added that the incentives proposed for EVs are expected to promote a greater adoption of EVs in the country.


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BlackBerry announced partnerships with Samsung Electronics Co and other high-profile tech players broadening the reach of its new mobile-device management and security platform, and sending its shares 7% higher.
BlackBerry and Samsung will offer a "highly secure mobility solution" for Samsung's Android devices starting in early 2015. The system will wed BlackBerry's security platform with the South Korean company's own security software for its Galaxy devices.
"The partnership with Samsung is a very big deal," said John Jackson, a technology analyst at IDC. "It's hard to imagine a partnership with more significant practical impact potential."
BlackBerry said the tie-up is a long-term commitment.
"To make this Samsung partnership happen, we went to the highest levels of both companies, so this is a very serious relationship," said John Sims, BlackBerry's head of enterprise services, calling the deal "the tip of the iceberg."
BlackBerry also touted a string of improvements to its existing products, including mobile video-conferencing via its messaging app and the ability to divide usage costs between employer and employee.
BlackBerry's Nasdaq-listed shares closed 7 percent higher at $12.06, their highest close since June 2013.


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A woman tried to run over a supermarket worker after being accused of shoplifting in Leigh.
Officers were called to the incident at Lidl, in Bridge Street, Golborne, just before 10.30am today (Friday September 18).
Police have not confirmed if any arrests have been made at this time.
A GMP spokesman said: "Police were called just before 10.30am to a report that a woman had been challenged by staff after being suspected of shoplifting at a store on Bridge Street, Golborne.
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"The woman made off in her car – a silver Jaguar – and attempted to run over a member of staff before spitting at another customer after claiming she had COVID-19."
A spokesman for Lidl added: "We can confirm that police were alerted to an incident at our Bridge Street store in Golborne, as a result of violent and abusive behaviour towards colleagues and customers.
"Our teams are working exceptionally hard under challenging circumstances to maintain a safe store environment for our customers, and under no circumstances do we tolerate behaviour of this nature.
"We will continue to support the police and provide any further assistance needed."
Get breaking news first on the free Manchester Evening News app - download it here for your Apple or Android device. You can also get a round-up of the biggest stories sent direct to your inbox every day with the MEN email newsletter - subscribe here .And you can follow us on Facebook here .


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Updating old furniture be still here
MFI Retail was the subject of a second management buyout in September 2008, but by this stage the British economy was sliding into recession, unemployment was rising and retail sales were falling. Early on 25 November 2008, the BBC first reported the possibility of MFI Retail going into administration, with MFI desiring a three-month rent free period from landlords.
Later the following day, it was announced that no agreement could be reached and Property Week reported that Menzies Corporate Restructuring had been appointed as administrators.).
New and exclusive to MFI was its "Space Genie" range which were ingenious storage solutions for the kitchen and bedroom.
MFI was also one of the largest suppliers of installed appliances in the United Kingdom with its own brand "Diplomat".Anecdotally, it was said at one stage that one in three Sunday lunches in the United Kingdom were cooked in a kitchen from MFI, and 60% of British children were conceived in a bedroom from MFI.After success in its early decades, it experienced recurring financial problems accompanied by several changes of ownership, and on 26 November 2008, it was announced that the business had been placed into administration.As part of this expansion, Victoria announced on 17 March 2016 that it was set to revive the MFI brand name, to represent its exclusive collection of low-cost, value-for-money bedroom furniture.The MFI Retail business was founded in 1964 as Mullard Furniture Industries by two British men, Noel Lister and Donald Searle, who previously traded in war surplus goods. The company became a public company in 1971, as MFI Warehouses (the Group).
Search for updating old furniture be still here:
When the Watchdog crew arrived at a branch of the company, they were immediately confronted by a manager who evicted them from the store.


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MUMBAI: If you are a wordsmith and a bitcoin enthusiast, this new initiative should excite you. SearchTrade, a new start-up, is set to reward internet users for the time they spend on search-engines that have been integrated with the company’s platform. So each time the user searches for information, he will be rewarded with satoshis (A satoshi is the smallest fraction of a bitcoin, 1 bitcoin is equal to 100,000,000 satoshis).
The user can even up his game by buying keywords. When others search for this keyword, he gets a return, once again in bitcoins. Keyword prices are set by the open market and SearchTrade provides an exchange platform for users to buy and sell keywords. In the pre-sale stage itself, SearchTrade has sold 389 keywords and generated 155 bitcoins (The purchase value of a bitcoin in the recent past in India has fluctuated between Rs. 14,000-15,000 approximately). Words as wide ranging as ‘get’, ‘can’, ‘find’, ‘college’ and ‘wine’ have found buyers during the pre-sale stage.
"Search is the single most important activity on the internet. Everyone does it, every day. Search drives far more traffic than any social network or viral news site, and it makes a ton of money. We're asking people to imagine how much better the internet would be if everyone could share the benefits of that activity," says Vishal Gupta, co-founder and CEO at SearchTrade.
“The principle behind SearchTrade is simple: give a share of financial rewards to all stakeholders involved in the search process and not just the company providing the platform. Bitcoin micropayments make this possible,” he adds.
This start-up has recreated the community-pool concept. SearchTrade’s platform will collect revenue from ad sales, keyword trading commission and keyword renewal fees and push it into the community pool. The pool will track the average income per search that the platform is able to generate every 24 hours and decide what the average pay-out per search should be. The cycle of the pool calculating the pay-out will reduce over a period of time with an increase in traffic to ensure that the pool never runs out of money. The start-up itself is also a part of the community pool. So if the pool calculates a pay-out of 100 satoshi’s on a particular search, it will get 25% or 25 satoshis.
At launch, which is expected in the coming weeks, the bitcoins collected from keywords pre-sale will be used to give payouts to the stakeholders in the pool, comprising of the search user, the keyword owner, the app developers and the company itself.
People can only use search engines integrated with the SearchTrade platform. “We will provide the option to use quite a few search engines,” explains Vishal Gupta. SearchTrade is looking for developers to build hundreds of different apps that use its search facilities.. They will earn bitcoins when a user performs a search using their app, even if the users are not signed-up SearchTrade users themselves. In order to deter 'click farms' (massive operations using cheap labour to game advertising systems by using them 24/7) SearchTrade limits the number of searches per user per day to 40 and also limits access to individual IP addresses.
Now there is one more way to add to your bitcoin wallet, sums up Gupta.


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Realm Zero: New Sandbox MMO hits Kickstarter
A new sandbox MMO called Realm Zero, which boasts a new take on the traditional massive multiplayer online model, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.com to raise funds for the game. Donations toward the online game, which is currently being developed, will be used to enhance user experience.
Pledges will be used to switch to a faster server and better equipment, ramp up development, establish a limited liability company, and help the creator, Hank Newman, move into a new office in Orlando, Florida. Pledges will also be used towards necessary licenses and resources to further develop and maintain Realm Zero.
Kickstarter crowdfunders who donate $10 will receive a Founder’s Mark, which is a profile attachment that indicates the user helped fund the game. Those who donate $20 will also receive Beta access to the game and a Beta badge. Pledges of $35 will also receive Alpha access to Realm Zero along with an Alpha badge.
Those who donate $80 will also be awarded a free virtual copy of Realm Zero, as well as a one-year subscription and unique in-game wearable device. For those who pledge $120 or more, a Ethereal mount will also be given. Anyone who donates $250 or more will receive one custom-made, indestructible clothing piece for in-game use, in addition to everything else. Those who pledge $500 or more will receive everything, plus a t-shirt, special badge, and their name in the game’s credits.
For more info, visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1049811964/realm-zero-sandbox-mmo
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COVID-19 Crisis Requires Legislators to Adapt Insolvency Legislation
The COVID-19 (corona) virus has reached pandemic status. It currently spreads over the world and is expected to infect a majority of all people within the next month(s), according to health experts. The medical urgency justifies the current extraordinary measures taken by many governments globally—measures that, at the same time, also have devastating effects on businesses and entrepreneurs as sectors slow down or are effectively closed down.
Weathering the storm
Strong appeals have been made to prevent bankruptcies caused by the COVID-19 crisis. The exogenous economic shock hits both financially reasonably healthy companies, which depend on a smooth inflow of liquidity, and companies with fundamentally solid business models. Many companies with a viable business model just a few weeks ago would now be forced to file and possibly suffer a piecemeal liquidation in the resulting insolvency proceedings. In the current, distressed market conditions there is a significant risk of sales at an under value.
Not surprisingly, many governments and institutions have announced economic measures to prevent an outbreak of businesses entering into liquidation proceedings. The European Commission published two communications dealing with the economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. In the first Communication on a coordinated economic approach the Commission announced several liquidity measures which complementing EU Member States may take that fall outside the scope of EU state aid rules. In the second Communication, the Commission announced a Temporary Framework for State Aid setting out and broadening the scope of state aid measures that fall within current EU state aid rules. Institutions such as the World Bank, IMF and ECB have also announced financial measures to strengthen economies.
Prevent unnecessary bankruptcies
The extraordinary economic situation raised by the COVID-19 outbreak requires legislators to undertake extraordinary measures. This extends also to insolvency legislation in order to prevent unnecessary bankruptcies. Insolvency legislation which is effective under normal market conditions may prove insufficient or ineffective in the current situation. Measures in these times should be effective without too many formalities, especially when courts and public authorities may not be fully available due to lockdown measures.
The Executive of the Conference on European Restructuring and Insolvency Law (CERIL)—an independent non-profit organisation of European lawyers and other restructuring and insolvency practitioners, law professors and (insolvency) judges—also considers that existing insolvency legislation may not provide adequate responses to the situation in which many businesses currently find themselves. In a statement, the Executive calls upon EU and European national legislators to take immediate action to adapt insolvency legislation to prevent unnecessary bankruptcies.
Adapting insolvency legislation
CERIL suggests that two steps should be taken immediately by European national legislators. First, the duty to file for insolvency proceedings based on over-indebtedness should be suspended. Such duties exist in several EU Member States, for instance Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Poland and Spain. The current economic uncertainty hampers the effectiveness of this duty which is aimed at selecting non-viable businesses. In recent days, some countries have suspended (Germany) or extended (Austria) this duty. Second, in response to a (partial) shutdown of businesses for a number of weeks or months, urgent measures are required addressing the illiquidity of businesses.
In addition, the CERIL statement recommends that EU and national legislators consider further measures. In urgently adapting insolvency legislation, they should include measures to make available interim (crisis) finance, suspend the duty to file based on inability to pay, provide for ‘hibernation’ (going into winter sleep) of (small) businesses by means of a general moratorium or deferral of payments, and provide support for the livelihood of entrepreneurs and their employees.
The CERIL Executive Statement on COVID-19 and insolvency legislation is available here.
Gert-Jan Boon is Researcher and Lecturer in insolvency law at Leiden University.
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Online classifieds firm Quikr India Pvt Ltd has acquired Mumbai-based home rental startup Grabhouse, run by Cryptopy Technologies Pvt Ltd, Quikr said on its website on Monday.
The deal value was not disclosed.
"This strategic move will help the company address an acute pain point in India's real estate market with a solution that does not involve any cash payments," the company said.
The official blog also added that as part of this, Quikr will integrate Grabhouse's products and technology stack into QuikrHomes while also reaping strong synergies the business has with its other verticals.
Founded by Prateek Shukla and Pankhuri Shrivastava in July 2013, Grabhouse offers a managed rental homes model which consists of a range of fully furnished, ready-to-move-in apartments across 4 major cities.
The marketplace is present in 11 cities and has served 700,000 customers to date.
"Our business here will also benefit from unique competitive advantages as the Grabhouse target market has a great match with many of our other businesses such as C2C and bikes. On the cost side, the operational costs of the business will directly get shared with our services business," Atul Tewari, chief operating officer of Quikr said in a statement.
Grabhouse will continue operations as an independent brand for managed rental homes. As part of the overall integration process, its founders and entire team will move to the Quikr headquarters in Bengaluru.
VC investors of Grabhouse have swapped their shares in the firm with a small stake in Quikr and there was no cash element for them in the deal, a person privy to the development told VCCircle.
Grabhouse had raised $2.5 million in its Series A round of funding from Kalaari Capital and Sequoia Capital in January 2015. The company then raised $10 million from Sequoia Capital and Kalaari Capital in Series B.
It had earlier raised an angel round from early stage investor India Quotient.
Quikr has made a string of acquisitions in the past to ramp up its various verticals.
In September, it acquired vehicle service provider Stepni to strengthen QuikrCars, the vertical that focuses on automobiles.
To augment its beauty services vertical, it acquired on demand beauty and wellness services platforms ZapLuk and Salosa.
In January, it acquired real estate portal CommonFloor to expand QuikrHomes. A month later, later, Quikr entered the white collar jobs segment by acquiring IDG Ventures-backed Abhiman Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which runs jobs portal Hiree.com.
Quikr, founded in 2008 by Pranay Chulet and Jiby Thomas (who quit the firm later), is present in 1,000 cities in India and operates several classifieds businesses across C2C, cars, education, homes, jobs and services. Quikr's investors include Tiger Global Management, Kinnevik, Warburg Pincus, Matrix Partners India, Norwest Venture Partners, Nokia Growth Partners, Steadview Capital, Omidyar Network and Ebay Inc.


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Were you unable to attend Transform 2022? Check out all of the summit sessions in our on-demand library now! Watch here.
Like any market surrounded by relentless attention and hype, the Internet of Things (IoT) has quickly evolved from an exciting idea to an all-out race to the shelf. This flurry of production has been met with enthusiasm by consumers and businesses eager to automate and connect everything from their HVACs to their vehicles. But at the same time, in the rush to market, manufacturers are often neglecting to secure these devices against cyberattacks.
Because buyers perceive many IoT devices to be “purpose built,” they often believe that the devices are secure. The reality is that IoT devices are generally the same computers and operating systems we use every day, simply repackaged to fit a new delivery form factor. They have the same benefits and drawbacks and are susceptible to traditional vulnerabilities and attacks.
Jeep and Tesla both became IoT security guinea pigs last year, as researchers found ways to hack into the Cherokee’s and Model S’s computers and take control of the vehicles. The team researching the Jeep demonstrated they could remotely control the vehicle in several ways, from changing the music and A/C settings to cutting the car’s transmission mid-drive. The Tesla’s hackers used physical access to the car’s networking cables to achieve root privileges on the car’s infotainment system, allowing them to start and drive the vehicle or shut it off.
Luckily, these researchers shared their findings with the manufacturers so they could release patches. But our recent Dell Security Annual Threat Report predicts manufacturers and users of smart vehicles that don’t feature the proper IoT security measures won’t always be so lucky. With the increase in ransomware activity targeting Android devices in 2015, our report predicts the possibility of ransomware attacks on vehicles, where the driver is unable to exit the vehicle until he or she pays a small ransom. And this is just one of many bizarre ways cybercriminals could profit from the takeover of individual or corporate vehicles.
MetaBeat will bring together thought leaders to give guidance on how metaverse technology will transform the way all industries communicate and do business on October 4 in San Francisco, CA.
With connected devices expected to reach 20.8 billion by 2020, according to Gartner, future IoT attacks will continue to model the Jeep and Tesla breaches — they’ll focus on taking control of the device in order to use it in some unintended way. But other hacks will use IoT devices as access points for valuable data, which can be even more profitable.
In 2015, Dell Security partner iPower Technologies discovered the Conficker worm malware hiding on the newly purchased body cameras of a law-enforcement client. In a blog post, the CEO of iPower tells the story:
iPower engineers connected the USB camera to one of our computers. When he did that, multiple security systems on our test environment were alerted to a new threat. It turned out to be a variant of the pervasive Conficker worm and we immediately quarantined it.
In this instance, the hacker’s goal was likely to use the body cameras merely as an attack vector for accessing law enforcement data. Whether the attacker would have used this data for a political or financial agenda is unclear. Users mistakenly assume that IoT devices are not likely initial vectors of attack and that they can trust the IoT device. The iPower discovery demonstrated two things. First, IoT devices are often just repackaged computers and operating systems that are as vulnerable as a home computer. And second, that the manufacturers are not always fully aware of what’s getting onto their systems at the time of production or distribution. It proved the need for diligence in defense for and in defense of the IoT devices we are deploying.
These kinds of vulnerabilities could soon lead to widespread data breaches, as BI Intelligence predicts government will be the second largest adopter of IoT technologies in the coming years.
The top adopter? Businesses, who BI Intelligence says can leverage IoT to lower operating costs, increase productivity and expand their products and target markets. But as our report points out, companies are already the target for an ever-growing number of cyber attacks, with 2.17 trillion IPS attacks and 8.19 billion malware attacks in 2015 alone. So if companies are going to enjoy the benefits of today’s potentially insecure IoT devices, they’ll have to put end-to-end security programs in place.
There are a few ways organizations can do this:
1. Approach security holistically: Ensure data is secured and encrypted from the data center or cloud to the endpoint and everything in between. Look at endpoint security, network security, identity and access management, and more.
2. Research your devices: Understand what your IoT devices do, what data they collect and send and from where, who owns that data, and what vulnerability assessments or certifications the devices have.
3. Audit the network: Level set before installing a device so you can better understand its impact on network traffic. Do an audit to understand what is currently accessing the system and when, what it does when it sees data, and what it communicates to and where. Then reassess your network performance after installing the IoT device and identify any changes on an ongoing basis.
4. Compartmentalize traffic: Employ a no-trust policy for IoT devices, putting them on a separate network segment or virtual LAN (VLAN) so they can’t access or interfere with critical corporate data.
5. Educate your team: As IoT evolves, it will be critical to ensure that your company’s IT, security, and network teams are educated about the latest devices, standards, and issues.
Eventually, we’ll begin to see manufacturers incorporate more security settings directly into their IoT devices, but right now, the onus is on both the user and the company to protect against cyber attacks. That shouldn’t deter interested organizations from using IoT devices but rather guide their strategies and policies going into product selection, implementation, and maintenance.
IoT is one of the largest business opportunities in recent years, and organizations are right to make moves toward a connected, efficient infrastructure. Just don’t let the latest connected device’s rapid introduction to market rush your organization into a costly security mistake.
Patrick Sweeney is VP of Product Management and Marketing of Dell Security.
VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Learn more about membership.


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ASUS got the whole smartphone industry talking when it launched the ROG Phone, a gaming smartphone which features an overclocked Snapdragon 845 SoC and a host of innovative features such as Ultrasonic AirTriggers, an advanced stereo haptic engine and a lot more. However, the company did not reveal anything about the ROG Phone’s market availability, except for a vague launch timeline in August in Taiwan, but nothing about international availability.
Asus’ CEO, Jerry Shen has now confirmed that the ROG Phone will ‘definitely’ be launched in India, adding that he will ask the company’s management to bring the device to the Indian market as soon as possible.
For sure, we will launch the ROG phone here in India. I cannot tell you the exact date, but it will arrive in Q3. It is already Q3, so we have three months to do so.
“Definitely, ROG will be priced higher than the Zenfone 5Z. The combination of 8GB and 512GB that will be the key to its success”, Shen answered when asked about the ROG Phone’s pricing in an interview with Digit. The Asus chief also took a dig at US consumers, adding that Indian consumers are ‘reasonable and care about the value and the features.’ Well, when it comes to features, the ROG Phone certainly hits the ball out of the park, thanks to its top-of-the-line hardware, which qualify it as a legitimate flagship with a gaming DNA.
Even though Shen confirmed the ROG Phone’s arrival in India, he did not reveal a definite launch date. But since the device is set to launch in Asus’ home market in August, we can safely assume that the gaming smartphone will be hit the Indian market later in August or September.
Shen also revealed another interesting piece of information in his interaction with Digit, divulging that ‘more and more Asus technology’ will be added to the ROG Phone with the passage of time, which suggests that the device will get additional features via updates to further enhance its performance.


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Drones, broadband and all the cutting-edge technology that electric co-ops are using to build better futures for their consumer-members are among the big attractions featured at NRECA’s TechAdvantage Expo 2019 in Orlando, Florida, March 10-13.
For the thousands attending the premier trade show for the electric cooperative industry, there will be many opportunities to learn from experts about equipment and services available to co-ops.
“The Lab is back,” said Eric Commodore, NRECA’s director of meetings and events planning. “It was such a hit with Annual Meeting and TechAdvantage attendees last year that we’ve looked for vendors and service providers to make it even bigger in 2019.”
Co-ops now deploying or considering fiber-to-the-home technologies in support of rural broadband will get opportunities to see what that technology could mean to consumer-members as they upgrade appliances and other household systems.
“This year, the TechAdvantage Expo will feature a utility-connected home that includes many of the technologies developed for the ‘internet of things,’” Commodore added. “Visitors will see how co-ops and their members can use interoperability to manage energy use with internet-enabled appliances and other devices.”
With over 72,000 square feet of exhibit space in the newly renovated Orange County Convention Center, the 300 participating vendors will have ample room for demonstrations and product display. Attendees will be able to see more than static examples of products that could help meet their members’ needs.
Expo TechPark will provide opportunities for direct contact with industry experts who will be available to answer questions and provide in-depth information on their products and services.
“Vendors and attendees will be discussing the tools, systems and platforms co-ops are using to boost efficiency and productivity,” said Steve Young, an NRECA marketing manager. “We’ll also feature products and services that are transforming the way co-ops do business, and TechTalks will be taking place in the Expo TechPark, March 12 and 13.”
To keep conference attendees connected, personal FM radios with earbuds will be distributed. They will air the TechTalk presentations live from TechPark.
“We’ve got a great lineup for the TechAdvantage conference this year,” said Mary Ackleson, TechAdvantage program manager. “Our keynote speakers are offering valuable and inspirational insights and our conference presenters are authorities on some of the top issues confronting co-ops and the entire utility industry.”
Cybersecurity expert Kevin Mitnick will speak at the opening general session. Hacking into the systems of 40 major corporations earned him a spot on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. He is now the leader of a white hat firm hired by clients to deliberately penetrate their own secure systems using technology and social engineering.
The closing general session will feature former NFL Pro Bowler Karl Mecklenburg, star tackle of the Denver Broncos from 1983 to 1994. Mecklenburg played all seven positions on the defensive line, making him one of the most versatile NFL players of the modern era.
In addition to a full track focused on broadband, the TechAdvantage will feature the top-rated sessions from the 2018 IEEE Rural Electric Power Conference:
- Toby Landes of Valquest Systems Inc. on solutions to power-quality issues in large motor applications.
- Jeremy Blair of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc. on common distribution protection challenges.
- Adam Toth of Toth Associates Inc. on rate considerations related to solar distributed generation.
The 72 breakout sessions and 20 TechPark talks cover topics such as communications, disaster recovery, blockchain, wood pole inspections and treatments, data analytics, safety, drone operations, and facilities security.
“TechAdvantage runs concurrent with the NRECA Annual Meeting but it has its own purpose and character,” said Commodore. “It is a showcase for existing and emerging cooperative technologies and an opportunity to share techniques and information that helps co-ops get stronger and serve their members better.”
2019 NRECA Annual Meeting: What You Need to Know


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Market-To-Go, a new online farmers’ market in Oak Ridge, is now located in Jackson Square, with weekly curbside pickup at Dean’s Restaurant, across from the in-person farmers’ market. Local grass-fed beef, fresh and local produce, gourmet mushrooms, honey, and even edible pansies are just a few of the products featured in Market-To-Go, a press release said.
“We hope to attract new customers to try and love locally grown foods, people who may not have time to shop at a traditional farmers’ market,” said Rebecca Williams, director of Grow Oak Ridge, the nonprofit organization that produces Market-To-Go.
“Customers can also reserve local products ahead of time, or may enjoy the convenience of seeing all the products laid out in one easy platform,” said Williams. “Plus, Market-To-Go is an important source of income for our local farmers. Our farmers asked us to continue this program for the summer.”[Read more…]


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Adria Houmes, manager at Guess in Vernon Hills, said about 20 new employees were hired when the store opened in November. Unemployment in the town dropped 0.6 percentage points last year. (Michael Holtz, Chicago Tribune)
Public officials and business leaders in Vernon Hills say they're hopeful the village will maintain its steadily declining unemployment rate after it dropped 0.6 percentage points in 2012.
The northwest Chicago suburb ended the year with 6 percent unemployment, down from 6.6 percent in December 2011, according to statistics recently released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
"We're cautiously optimistic," said John Kalmar, assistant village manager and community development director.
Vernon Hills' declining unemployment mirrors a gradual drop seen across Lake County and Illinois. In Chicagoland, identified as the "Chicago-Joliet-Naperville" region by IDES, unemployment fell from 9.3 percent in December 2011 to 8.6 percent in December 2012.
Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate stood at 7.8 in December and 7.9 percent last month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was 8.5 percent in December 2011.
"It's clear that the environment is better than it was over the last few years," said Ray Mullen, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce shared between Green Oaks, Libertyville, Mundelein and Vernon Hills. "It's about momentum, and it does seem like we're moving in the right direction."
The IDES statistics — which are only available for cities with at least 25,000 residents — do not include those who have stopped looking for work.
Kalmar said local retailers were leading Vernon Hills in terms of new hires. The village serves as a shopping hub for the surrounding area.
Retail stores were among the hardest hit by the 2008 financial crisis, when disposable incomes faded and household budgets tightened. Americans seem to have slowly made their ways back to shopping centers like Westfield Hawthorn Mall in east Vernon Hills.
But retailers are once again on edge after consumer confidence fell last month to its lowest level since November 2011, according a survey released by the Conference Board, an industry group.
The survey suggests Americans may be more pessimistic about the economy and their own financial forecasts. Economists point to looming deficit negotiations in Washington and a 2-percent increase in payroll taxes for contributing to the drop in consumer confidence.
The same uncertainty appears less an issue in the world of commercial real estate, where developers have seen a steady uptick in new tenants.
"We're optimistic about 2013 being the best year we've seen in the last five," said Chuck Lamphere, president and CEO of Van Vlissingen and Co., a real estate firm that leases office and industrial space in Vernon Hills.
Lamphere said vacancies in Lake County have dropped 4 percentage points since peaking at 13 percent in 2011. He added that mid-size businesses were the ones leading the way. Having put off expansions in the immediate aftermath of the recession, he said, many can no longer wait.
"There's been a lot of pent-up demand," Lamphere said. ""People have been very leery of expanding because of the uncertainly in the market, but there comes a point when you have to commit."


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The implications of Industry 4.0 and the impact it will have on industrial processes around the world will be profound. But guess what? The revolution’s already here. It’s happening. The question is, are you ready to start adopting Industry 4.0 technologies?
Want to watch more? Join the free presentation and live Q&A session with Dave Delany on June 24th at 1:30-2pm.
COVID-19 has brought customers closer to their local cafés, and those cafés closer to their suppliers, than ever before.
It has also highlighted the importance of coffee as a connector and supporting local, because we’re all in this together.
Riverina Fresh is one business doing its best to foster and encourage those relationships. In May they hosted a virtual coffee chat discussing the state of the coffee industry, and tips to making cafe-quality coffee at home “Home-ground: Live with Australia’s Specialty Coffee Experts”. This was followed up by the Riverina Fresh “Home Barista Challenge” where home baristas were given the opportunity to support their local cafes and showcase their home coffee game during isolation.
The 100% Australian owned dairy company has now put together this great video with a few familiar faces to celebrate coffee and say “thank you” to everyone who supported their local café through COVID-19.
Go behind the scenes at the 2018 Melbourne International Coffee Expo before the doors opened to crowds on day 1 of the event, and conduct a latte cupping with Zest Specialty Coffee Roasters. Check it out!


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Let’s get right to it: comic book movies have become big business and can hand investors huge profits.
Anyone watching movies over the last decade can’t help but notice the plethora of comic book fare pervading the box office. Historically, the occasional comic book movie was produced with little regard for the source material. However, as a generation of comic book aficionados came of age, a paradigm shift more »
The evolution of Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is underway as the firm laid out its intention to grow the breadth of its original programming into newer genres like documentaries and stand-up comedy. The company is following in the footsteps of Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) HBO by developing an original content library of HBO's quality in the future. However, Netflix doesn't require basic tier cable and is accessible from more »
If you are looking for a stock to stick in your portfolio, or IRA - look no further. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is a company that has built upon its already amazing brand arsenal, and is ready to generate cash "hand over fist" for years to come. We will examine what makes this company a "one of a kind" stock that can power up your portfolio for the long more »
Once a poster child for the empty promise of synergy between Internet, print, and video media, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) has rediscovered the old-fashioned virtue of focus, focusing on what it does best -- video and film content creation. This earnings season, it easily bested its media conglomerate rivals, Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOX), Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), and Disney (NYSE: DIS) in operating income growth.
The lesson of focus more »
The Walt Disney Company (DIS) is a mass media corporation with production, media network, parks and resorts, interactive, and consumer products divisions. By measure of revenue, Disney is the largest media conglomerate in the world.
The last decade has seen the company acquire some of the most valuable properties in entertainment. In light of recent box office misfires, some analysts have questioned whether the studio is positioned to utilize its more »
Shareholders of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) must be quite happy with the company’s strong second quarter results. Time Warner’s share price has reached its five-year high of more than $63.80. Along with these strong results, Time Warner also increased its full year guidance. Let’s take a closer look to see whether or not we should invest in Time Warner after its second quarter performance.
Growing second more »
Slimming down its business and focusing on its core competencies paid off for media giant Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), which recently reported strong second-quarter earnings that surpassed analyst estimates. The company’s renewed focus on strengthening its television businesses, which currently account for 70% of its operating income, and the favorable box office performance of its major film releases boosted its top and bottom line.
However, considering that the stock more »
Disney feels the pain from the Lone Ranger flop that underwhelmed. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) saw its profit rise by 1% as strong results from the park and network divisions were weighed down by a lackluster studio division.
Revenue from media networks increase by 5% (year over year) to $5.352 billion and revenue from the parks division increased 7% to $3.678 billion. On the more »
If you enjoy watching movies, then you should consider investing in shares of entertainment firms with outstanding performance in the stock market. This will enable you to enjoy the success of their blockbuster films via share price appreciation.
The recent box office hit -- Man of Steel, for instance, was a blockbuster movie that surpassed the $600 million mark. Only 80 films, so far, have been able to achieve such a more »
There is no doubt that Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) has a bad case of HBO-envy.
From Netflix's content officer Ted Sarandos:
"The goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us."
Is Netflix the next HBO?
Since the beginning of the year, Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB) has delivered a sweet gain for its shareholders, up by more than 50% and handily beating the S&P 500’s return of nearly 20%. Recently, it experienced a significant gain of nearly 6.5% in a single day due to its impressive third-quarter results and its plan to return cash to shareholders.
Impressive second-quarter earnings growth
In the third quarter more »
Recently, while booking a trip to Walt Disney World for my family, I noticed a few things that led me to believe that the company is doing very well lately. Everything from theme park tickets to their hotels has gotten much more expensive in just the past few years, and other things such as dinner reservations have gotten harder to come by.
Now, I realize that this is far from more »
Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is somewhat of a cult stock. Indeed, the company has not made a sizable profit for the last two years, but yet, the stock price keeps rising. However, there could be some gaps starting to show in the company's strategy.
For a start
First off, the company's margins. Netflix's gross margins have risen from 61% in the first quarter of 2011 to a high more »
As the media landscape is continuously altered by the emergence of new trends and technologies, new opportunities appear. Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOX) are three global media giants that could certainly seize them. Lets take a closer look at them and see if there’s room for this stocks in your portfolio:
Stock of steel
Time Warner is a prominent media more »
Disney (NYSE: DIS) is entering into its ninth decade of existence, yet shows no signs of a slowdown. Disney started out as a modest cartoon studio and has morphed over the years into an entertainment powerhouse. Disney’s operations focus on the following three industry segments: media networks, parks and resorts, and consumer products. Disney is a strong buy due to its impressive leadership and powerful brands.
A little history more »
The current stock market environment rewards the biggest risk takers. And while this trend may last for many years, it will eventually come to a halt. When it does, you will want to own best in breed companies, those with strong fundamentals. If you’re patient, and you’re willing to give up high-risk/high-reward trades for the short term, then Disney (NYSE: DIS) might be for you.
The right more »
Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) reported earnings Monday. The streaming giant’s profit grew to $0.49 per share, while revenue increased 20% from the prior year.
Still, the company’s inability to break above the 30 million subscriber mark should stand out as an enormous red flag. Although shares fell nearly 5%, if Netflix is nearing market saturation, the company remains tremendously overvalued.
Future content costs
Netflix could have a big more »
Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) has done very well in 2013 so far; the company has been one of the top gainers in the S&P 500. The company's rock-solid performance has led to more neutral views, but Netflix still has room to outperform even more. However, before buying into the Netflix story, the possible downsides should be evaluated carefully. Investors should be well aware of the dark sides of an more »
When Steven Spielberg and George Lucas talk about movies, the entire world listens. After all, these two directors defined the movie industry for more than three decades, giving us such timeless classics as Indiana Jones, Star Wars, E.T. and Jurassic Park. Yet Spielberg now believes that the entire industry is headed toward a major “meltdown,” and that the current streak of bigger, louder and more expensive Hollywood blockbusters is more »
It is always a good time to purchase the shares of a major media conglomerate in light of their growing cable network businesses and the potential for ongoing expansion of those operations. Several top names remain good investments, as their scopes have never been greater and they continue to invest aggressively in efforts to stay vital.
The companies are modeled around their network businesses without a doubt and are thriving more »
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Avrium has its first birthday today! Well, we officially registered the company at Companies House a year ago today and what a year it has been...
Premier technology investor showcase EIE on the 24th of April in McEwan Hall Edinburgh
Avrium is a new online platform designed to help start-ups and small businesses in the UK manage their biggest risk factor – cash flow.
We are proud to announce our first accountancy practice has signed up to Avrium; Fortis Accountants
Avrium has officially launched! An all-in-one cash flow Management platform designed to help SME’s save time, improve cash flow and reduce risk
Avrium have just completed another app partnership with Xero!
We are happy to announce our app partnership with QuickBooks, the worlds #1 online accounting software!


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If one thing has become clear over the past few years, it’s that fashion dynasties are in.
From the Kardashian-Jenners to the Hadids, Beckhams and Crawfords (or rather, Crawford-Gerbers), a famous surname has never had more cache.
Whether you call it loyalty or nepotism, it’s clear that big names are big business when it comes to reaching consumers and moving product.
But which clan has the most influence?
The website Fashionsta set out to determine just that, asking digital analytics agency D'Marie to crunch the numbers and find out which fashion family came out on top.
They used a combination of over 50 metrics — including social media reach, engagement and click-through rate — to “pinpoint the monetary value of an individual's social media portfolio, and also measure the success of her campaigns”.
Unsurprisingly, the Jenners came out on top, dominating with a 41.6% of the market – and that only included Kendall and Kylie.
The Beckhams came in at a distant second (26.9%), followed by Poppy and Cara Delevingne, Jaden and Willow Smith and Gigi and Bella Hadid.
With stats like that, it’s no wonder the Jenners are being tapped to sell everything from high end luxury goods to sportswear.
Image via Fashionista.com
Check out the full report at Fashionista.com


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2. Here’s what Judge Judy had to say about the social network that was once “cool” and what happens when you do something uncool on it…
3. Evil MySpace for stupid people.
4. Mmmhhmmm. This dude agrees.
- It's the third day of the Democratic National Convention. Here's where things stand 🇺🇸
- 🍎📉: Apple's business is declining due to slowing iPhone sales, but the company is still making a ton of money.


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Google’s latest play to enter the living room is a $35 dongle
Google has continued its push to shake up the TV space by launching a small, cheap device for streaming internet content to users’ televisions, in the process taking on tech rival Apple and potentially even the entire television industry.
Called ‘Chromecast’, the device plugs into the back of any modern TV set and with the push of a button from the internet browser (Google’s Chrome, of course) of users’ smartphone, tablet or PC, content is streamed to the TV via WiFi. It’s compatible not only with Android devices but Apple’s as well, wherever the Chrome browser is used.
But the big story for Google, financially, is that by getting more of its internet content into living rooms, it stands to benefit from a major boost to its advertising business.
Chromecast is selling for US$35 (almost a third of the price of Apple TV) but currently is available in the United States only.
Sundar Pichai, Google’s head of Chrome and Android at Google, said that even at that price he expects both the search giant and its retail partners to make a profit. The product is currently sold out on both Amazon and Best Buy’s online stores.
“We have a multiplatform approach, and we go where the users are,” said Pichai. The launch sees movie and TV show streaming service Netflix become the first third-party on board to support the protocol, known as Cast. Netflix and Google’s YouTube together account for almost half of US internet traffic at peak times.
The spot below is Google’s introduction of the device to US audiences, and works hard to show Chromecast enabling TV-watching to become enjoyable and social.


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OLYMPIA – Licensed marijuana stores in Washington would be able to give out free lock boxes to their customers in an effort to keep pot away from children.
On a unanimous vote Monday, the House passed and sent to the Senate a bill that allows individuals or groups to provide the stores with special storage devices for marijuana products. The stores could then give them to customers without charge for use at home. The state wouldn’t spend money to supply the boxes.
Under current law, a licensed marijuana store can sell a storage device, but doesn’t have the authority to give one away, even if it got the device for free. The proposal wouldn’t let the store to sell a lock box it received for free.
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Beat Games Teases Brand New Beat Saber DLC Which is “Coming Soon”
Beat Games has a teased a brand-new Beat Saber DLC via its Twitter account. The Facebook-owned studio, through the official Beat Saber account, tweeted “new music coming soon” and posted a black banner with the date August 17, 6 am Pacific Time on the image.
NEW MUSIC COMING SOON! pic.twitter.com/xUNLzECuuq
— Beat Saber (@BeatSaber) August 14, 2020
It’s impossible to guess what is in the upcoming Beat Saber DLC. Recent music pack additions have included Panic! at the Disco, Green Day and Timbaland. Facebook acquired Beat Games, the studio behind Beat Saber in late 2019, an acquisition that no doubt injected some money into Beat Games’ efforts to bring forth new music packs into the game.
There is a likelihood Facebook might be preparing wind up 2020 with a bang with recent reports suggesting that its new Oculus Quest headset, ‘Oculus Quest 2‘, is in the offing and will see a launch before the end of the year. There are also new avatars as well as a new Horizon VR push. The Oculus Quest headset will also see new big games including The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners and a new Star Wars game. However, the release schedule of these new VR gems is still a mystery. We are likely to see more Facebook VR surprises before the end of the year.
Facebook has been on a buying spree of new virtual reality development talent including Beat Games, Ready At Dawn (the studio behind Echo and Echo Arena) and Asgard’s Wrath creator Sanzaru Games. Keep it here for updates on the new Beat Saber DLC packs when it hits the streets in the coming days.https://virtualrealitytimes.com/2020/08/15/beat-games-teases-brand-new-beat-saber-dlc-which-is-coming-soon/https://virtualrealitytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beat-Saber-Origins-Available-on-SteamVR-600x400.pnghttps://virtualrealitytimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beat-Saber-Origins-Available-on-SteamVR-150x90.pngGamingMusicTechnologyBeat Games has a teased a brand-new Beat Saber DLC via its Twitter account. The Facebook-owned studio, through the official Beat Saber account, tweeted “new music coming soon” and posted a black banner with the date August 17, 6 am Pacific Time on the image. https://twitter.com/BeatSaber/status/1294301488961982464 It’s impossible to guess what...Sam OchanjiSam Ochanji[email protected]AdministratorVirtual Reality Times


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AppleCare, the company’s insurance program, offers employees a wide range of benefits, including health insurance, 401(k) and other perks.
But the cost of AppleCare has been rising, and Apple has become increasingly dependent on its customers for its profits.
The company announced its second-quarter profit was $1.03 billion, which is up about 40% from the same period last year.
It had revenue of $38.7 billion.
Its stock price has been on a tear lately, soaring nearly 70% this year.
The stock is up nearly 30% in value since last year, and the company is valued at about $4.6 billion.
The company says it is on track to reach $15 billion in revenue this year, which would be the biggest in Apple’s history.
The plan has become a big revenue stream for Apple.
In its most recent quarter, AppleCare accounted for nearly two-thirds of its revenue.
That number has increased by almost 60% from last year to $12.9 billion.


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Almamlka Foods is negotiating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation to sign a letter of guarantee and buy soybean and maize crops from 2,000 feddans (2,076 acres) at the international price.
Mahmoud Arafa, CEO of the company, said that the company expanded in the domestic market after the flotation of the pound that caused a low value of the Egyptian pound against the dollar, which increased import costs and affected the profits of the company, which depends entirely on imports for its production input.
He added that the company plans to inject new investments, in partnership with entities from Algeria and Morocco, to set up a factory for feed and oil extraction on an area of 25,000 square metres with an initial investment of EGP 250m.
He pointed out that the company will submit a request to obtain a piece of land for the implementation of projects in Upper Egypt, according to the Egyptian president’s decision regarding granting lands there.
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi issued a decree determining that lands will be allocated to industrial investors free of charge. According to the decision, lands will be granted free of charge to investors who meet the technical and financial conditions in specified areas, including Minya, Assiut, Sohag, Qena, Aswan, and the New Valley governorates.
Arafa explained that the flotation of the pound has had a significant impact on the company, since it is operating with imported raw supplies and extracted oils.
He added that shifting to the cultivation of soybeans and maize will provide the dollar reserves required for imports and therefore positively impact prices.
He said that the company is importing 10,000 tonnes of feed, but imports declined by more than 50% after the liberation of the exchange rate.
Almamlka Foods was founded in 2008. It is an Egyptian shareholding company operating in the supply of raw materials to feed mills, as well as oil extraction.


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The new Samsung Galaxy S7 will come with two processor options, one will feature their owns Exynos 8990 processor, the other will feature the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 820.
Last week we heard that Samsung were looking into the possibility of using heat pipes with their Galaxy S7 with the Snapdragon 820 processor and now the handset has been benchmarked.
According to a recent report, the Samsung Galaxy S7 with the Snapdragon 820 scored a multi-core score on Geekbench of 5,423, the Exynos version of the handset apparently scored a massive 6,908.
The handset is rumored to come with a 5.2 inch display, there will also be a Samsung Galaxy S7 version of the handset with a 5.7 inch display. Both handsets are rumored to have a Quad HD resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels.
There are also rumors that Samsung will offer another version of the Galaxy S7 with a 4K Ultra HD display. We can also expect new cameras in Samsung’s Galaxy S7 range and Samsung is expected to use their new BRITECELL camera sensor in the handsets.
Samsung normally announces its new flagships at Mobile World Congress in February and then launches them in March or April, this year they are expected to be announced a little earlier in January and should hit the stores some time in February.
As soon as we get some more details about the new Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones, including full specifications and some pictures of the devices, we will let you guys know.
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In an interview with Reuters, Verizon Communications’ chief financial officer, Fran Shammo, reaffirmed several details about his company’s next iPhone offering. “Verizon’s [next iPhone] version will also work in as many countries as AT&T’s iPhone, which has global coverage,” writes Reuters, paraphrasing Mr. Shammo. The executive also noted that the inclusion of LTE in the next CDMA iDevice is not something Verizon has control over. “I think it’s a bigger issue for Apple than it is for us,” said Shammo speaking about the need for an LTE iPhone. “Depending on where Apple plays, that’s where we’ll sell.” The latest rumors have Apple releasing a refreshed version of its smartphone product later this fall. Most pundits agree that the update wil not include a Verizon-compatible LTE radio. More →
A Verizon Wireless spokesperson has shed some light on the fate of the HTC Merge — an Android 2.2 handset first discovered last September. The device, which was officially announced by HTC in February, has fallen in and out of obscurity for months. Now, according to the latest report, users may finally get a chance to purchase the handset. Speaking with blog Phone Scoop, a Verizon representative explained, “The HTC Merge was approved for use on the Verizon Wireless network and is being sold by third party distributors, but not in Verizon Wireless stores.” The full-QWERTY smartphone also contains a SIM card slot — for use overseas — making it one of Verizon’s “world phones.” The company did not indicate if the handset would eventually make its way to Verizon’s retail outlets. More →
Here’s one straight out of left field. In a brief press release, HTC announced that its Merge handset — a device we thought was dead and buried — will be making its way to North America, via “multiple carriers,” sometime this spring. The Merge is most certainly going to land on Verizon Wireless and will compliment VZW’s global, Android handset lineup — which already consists of the DROID 2 Global and DROID Pro — quite nicely. The Merge isn’t the most powerful handset on the block, but it certainly isn’t a slouch — 3.8-inch touchscreen display, full QWERTY slide-out keyboard, 5 megapixel rear-facing camera with 720p video recording, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and Android 2.2. Many have been waiting for this handset to drop since we first spotted it back in September (gallery). Is this the Android set you’ve been waiting for, or is it a little too late? The full press release is after the break.
Earlier this morning, blog Droid-Life posted images of the Motorola DROID 2 World Edition. The pictures were, to be blunt, not all that interesting; the device looks nearly identical to the DROID 2 currently shipping. What is most interesting, however, is the fact that benchmarks from the DROID 2 WE indicate that the unit’s processor is clocked at 1.2 GHz. For those of you keeping score at home: that’s a full 200 megahertz higher than the model currently shipping. Pretty sultry stuff from the DROID 2. What do you think? More →
We’ve just gotten wind of a vicious little rumor that we wanted to share. We’re hearing that Verizon Wireless will be slowly discontinuing the Motorola DROID 2 that it launched last month and will soon only be carrying the yet-to-be-launched DROID 2 World Edition. While the move makes complete sense — from a manufacturing and inventory perspective — it may rub those who ran out and purchased the original DROID 2, sans world capabilities, the wrong way (especially if they price it at $199). This is just a rumor for now, but we want to know what owners of the original DROID Duece think? If this comes to fruition, are you going to be upset?
It isn’t any surprise that Nokia will be releasing the Nokia N8 in the near future — Nokia World is being held September 14-15 in London after all — but this is the first time we’ve seen a hard date. Nokia’s senior communications manager, Tapani Kashinen, told Finnish newspaper Kauppalehti that the Nokia N8 could begin shipping as early as September 30th. The N8 is being billed as the company’s latest and greatest hardware technology wrapped in the Symbian operating system. We’re sure we will have more details to report after Nokia World, but seeing a projected release date in under thirty days is definitely good news.
[Via Engadget] More →
A U.K. woman armed with a Samsung Galaxy S running the SWYPE keyboard has broken the Guinness World Record for text messaging. The 27-year old managed to swipe out the phrase: “the razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human,” in just under 26 seconds. The time bests the official record, held by a 24-year old American, by over nine seconds. As the Press Association reports, “Ms Thompson, who works for an insurance company, was shopping with her boyfriend, Chris Davies, 23, when they visited a Samsung roadshow and she was invited to have a go at breaking the record.” The woman’s feat has yet to be made official by the Guinness Book of World Records.
[Via IntoMobile] More →
Because the advent of Second Life just isn’t frightening enough, Sony made it known quite some time ago that it would be jumping into the virtual world game with its PlayStation Home product. PS Home has been in the wild in closed beta phase for a while now but it clearly can’t do enough damage among the socially awkward masses that way. As such, PlayStation owners can look forward to an open beta phase beginning some time this month. What’s more, it is now looking like potential users won’t have to leave the house or even interact with anyone in order to obtain PS Home as rumor has it delivery may end up being via a firmware update or a simple PlayStation Store download. Fan-tastic. Those of you who do get sucked in, please at least try to open a window every now and again…


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Meet the 89-year-old man who is Best Buy's oldest employee
Fifteen years ago, Bob Kaufman was shopping at a Sarasota, Fla., Best Buy with his wife when they noticed a kiosk promoting working for the company.
Kaufman, who was 74 at the time and retired, certainly had the relevant experience to get a job at the big-box electronics retailer. After all, he’s been working on computers since 1958 — back when they were the size of tables and used punched cards for program creation and storage. Even still, Kaufman said he was unsure that Best Buy would hire an associate in their 70s.
“I said, ‘Look, I’m 74 years old. They’re not going to hire me, I’m too old.’ And of course I was wrong,” he said. His wife encouraged him to apply, and the rest is history.
Today, 15 years later, the Sarasota sales associate is the oldest employee in the entire company. On Sunday, April 7, he celebrated his 89th birthday.
Kaufman was born in Lowell, Mass., and grew up in Newton, which is right outside of Boston. After serving stateside in the Air Force Reserves during the Korean War, he worked for a family business where he sold automotive accessories and other merchandise like toys, lawn and garden supplies and electronics in 35 stores across New England. He eventually went into data processing, where he did payrolls and installed computers.
Around the time he retired at age 62, he did work on the side with a data processing company he started with someone else. They processed surveys sent to companies in the printing industry. He’s been in Sarasota for 25 years.
He thinks he probably wrote thousands of computer programs back in the day.
“Computers were the size of these desks,” Kaufman said, gesturing to the rectangular folding table in the Best Buy break room where we were having our interview. “I can still remember somebody telling me, ‘You know, some day they’re going to have a computer on a desk,’ and I said, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ This was even before they had tape drives, before they had disk drives and all of that.”
At Best Buy, he originally worked in the appliance department, selling things like refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers and microwaves. Back then, if you wanted to sell computers, you had to be able to lift them, which he wasn’t able to do. But that has changed, and today, his colleagues are happy to help him with the physical tasks he can’t do on his own.
He transferred to another store seven years ago and went into the computing department. Theoretically, he said, he can sell anything in the store.
“Somebody will come in and I’ll greet them, and they’ll say, ‘You sold me a refrigerator 12 years ago.’ I’ll say, ‘How did you like it?’ and they’ll say, ‘Oh, we love it,’” he said.
Among his colleagues, Kaufman said he is just one of the guys.
“Employees love working with him. You would think some of these younger kids would not want to pick up the physical aspect of what he can’t do, but they don’t,” General Manager Bobby Borges said. “They really truly enjoy working with him because I think he sets the example for all the younger kids today.”
Kaufman generally works about 12 hours a week, but he’s always looking to work more, Borges said. He’s also curious about learning as much as he can about new products and other things — he knows how to say “thank you” in 26 languages.
“When you think of our line of work, it changes more than anybody else, in retail. Not only do we all have to stay on top of it, for a gentlemen who has other things going on in his life, he’s still looking, he’s still hungry,” Borges said. “He wants more info, he’s always asking for anything he can get. That’s a breath of fresh air for someone who is doing it because he wants to versus he has to.”
Kaufman said his greatest joy is getting to know the customers. Everybody who comes into the store has a story to tell. Whenever he meets someone new, he asks for their name and gets to know them. They’re there to buy, and he’s out to help them buy what fits their needs, rather than pushing them toward any specific product.
He said he’s kind of amazed at the buzz his status as the company’s oldest employee has generated. The day of our interview, a co-worker told him that a blog post from Best Buy about his status as the oldest employee was being shared around the internet.
The thing is, Kaufman said, he likes what he does. He could be sitting back at his house watching television, but he doesn’t want to do that.
“When you’re 89 years old, how many people are you going to meet and make friends with and learn about? This way I meet hundreds of people — I just enjoy it,” he said. “People come in and say ‘What are you doing working at your age?’ I say, ‘This isn’t work.’ You get to talk to people, I get to share a bit of my knowledge. This is what I do for fun. The nice thing is getting paid. That doesn’t hurt, but it’s not my primary objective, obviously.”


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The Federal Court has ordered NAB to pay a $2.1 million penalty for wrongly charging customers periodic payment fees.
The court found that NAB continued to impose these fees, totalling $139,845, on 74,593 occasions between January 2017 and July 2018, when it had no contractual right to do so.
NAB’s terms and conditions stated fees of $1.80 and $5.30 for periodic payments between July 2007 and February 2019. Some customers were incorrectly charged these fees when eligible for exemptions, and NAB ceased charging them on 22 February 2019.
In addition to the $2.1 million penalty, NAB must publish an adverse notice on its website and cover ASIC’s costs. The ASIC Act now allows for penalties of at least $15.65 million for unconscionable conduct occurring after March 2019.
NAB has already paid around $9 million in compensation to customers affected since August 2001.
Justice Derrington, who oversaw the Federal Court case, criticised NAB for prioritising its own interests over customer well-being and for allowing the overcharging to persist.
NAB was also ordered to publish an adverse publicity notice on its website and pay ASIC’s costs.


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A hotel in New Zealand has banned Lycra cycling shorts as it finds the “bumps and bulges” inappropriate and “unsightly”.
In an effort to “raise dress standards” the Plough Hotel in Rangiora has put out of a sign on Thursday that read:“The bicycle is a beautiful object but they should never have invented lycra! No lycra shorts allowed please.”
Mike Saunders, co-owner of the hotel, said he is trying to establish the cafe as an old-fashioned, family friendly meeting place, and has attacked Lycra shorts for revealing too many “unsightly bumps and bulges” of the human body.
“I am not against Lycra in general, just Lycra shorts. A lot of our customers are elderly or children and they don’t need to know that much detail about the shape of somebody,” he told the Guardian.
Saunders said Lycra shorts were the only item of clothing he planned to ban.
“Muddy football boots are fine. Tracksuit pants are fine. Jandels [thongs or flip flops] are fine.
“So far locals have respected the fact we are trying to enforce a dress code so they can eat their meals surrounded by people wearing trousers.”
Siobhan Tolhurst, who once worked for Saunders’s at another cafe, explained the reasons for his lack of enthusiasm for Lycra.
“I fully support Mike’s ban on Lycra. Because when the cyclists come in they do stink, they are sweaty and it is unhygienic sitting on the furniture and everyone, including little children, partaking in their post exercise demeanor.
“We had a number of experiences with large men in tiny shorts and that’s not appropriate for children to see.”
Pegasus Cycling Club chairwoman Tracy Clark told Fairfax New Zealand that the ban showed “a lack of understanding”.
“There’s people in New Zealand now who have grown up disconnected from bicycles, have no understanding of what it is to get out there and ride and see the scenery, they are interested in getting in their car and driving place to place.
“I think it’s just some ignorance or lack of understanding.”
Ron Van Til, owner of Rangiora Bakery said the Plough Hotel’s stance was “a colourful and provocative move” but cyclists - and lycra shorts - would continue to be welcome in his establishment.
“I have a different view that the world is a diverse place and we should embrace bodies of all shapes and sizes. I have no problem with lycra at all.”


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How many 90-year-old women start designing their own fashion accessories line for the Home Shopping Network and get to be the subject of a new documentary by a renowned filmmaker? Not many. But then again, Iris Apfel is not your usual nonagenarian.
In the sunset of her life Apfel, style icon and interior designer, has received the most attention and been the most appreciated. As much as you may dislike her exotic and riotous taste (“A more-is-more mix of haute couture and hippie trimmings that appears at a glance to have been blended in a Cuisinart,” is how Ruth La Ferla referred to it in The New York Times), it is hard to take your eyes off her eye-popping outfits and oversized round eyeglasses.
While those glasses are going to be the inspiration for a line of scarves that Apfel will be hocking on HSN, it is her larger-than-life personality that has attracted Albert Maysles (director of “Grey Gardens”) and his production company. Apfel is a woman with a lot of moxie, a lot to say, and lots and lots of clothes — most of them stored in a huge warehouse. “She’s wonderfully strong-willed, opinionated and single-minded,” Bradley Kaplan, president of products at Maysles Films, told the Times. “She’s not a waffler.”
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Skype have apparently tipped their plans for an incoming Android video chat app, which – unlike the current Verizon-only version of their mobile software – will be freely available regardless of carrier. According to Skatter Tech, the Skype team are looking particularly at the HTC EVO 4G, since that’s one of the few Android handsets with a front-facing video camera.
“Skype envisions a world where video plays a larger role in the way we communicate. The next generation innovation involving video calling will not be bound to the computer. We’re seeing a proliferation of video calling shared between all kinds of connected devices. It’s on computers (today 1/3 of all calls on Skype happen via video), televisions (Skype bringing video calls to living rooms via Panasonic, Samsung & LG partnership), and it will eventually be coming to mobile devices too. We’re betting big on video, and we intend to set the bar on mobile video calling, and it’s something we’re going to do this year.
We will be bringing a direct to consumer app to the Android marketplace later this year. This application will be available for all consumers globally to download regardless of carriers. (i.e. similar to how we offer the iPhone app today)” Brianna Reynaud, Skype PR
Described as a “direct to consumer app”, the new Skype Android software will be available later in 2010 and be accompanied by a new mobile video chat service. Skype say it will be a global launch, and we’re presuming – though the company’s statement edges neatly around specifics – that it will also support VoIP voice-only calls as well.
The news seems to suggest that Verizon’s exclusivity deal is a relatively short-lived thing, which is unsurprising given Skype stand to be more successful in the mobile space if they can branch out onto other networks and introduce their Skype Out paid voice calls. The current app only allows for Skype-to-Skype and discounted international calls, together with IM.
[via Android Community]


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The director of Final Fantasy XV will work on new triple-A video games.
Square Enix has opened a new studio in the city of Tokyo that goes by the name of Luminous Productions. It will be directed by the main person in charge of Final Fantasy XV, the veteran Hajime Tabata, and will focus its efforts on the creation of triple A video games destined to a global audience.
The new studio of Square Enix, which has not announced any particular game, will strive to create “innovative games and other entertainment content” for a broad audience. Japanese developers will bet on “innovative technology and creativity to change the future of videogames and entertainment,” they confirm in their official statement.
We will know the first details of his first big project at the end of this year.


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In May—for the first time in more than two years—trade publishers' sales of e-books rose over the comparable month in the prior year, the Association of American Publishers reported.
E-book sales from the trade houses rose 2.4% in May 2017 over May 2016, the first time the format posted a monthly gain over the comparable year since March 2015.
The e-book increase was led by a 3.4% gain in sales of adult e-books, which offset a 3.2% decline in the children's/young adult segment and a 9.4% decline in the religion category.
Even with the May gain, sales of the format in the adult trade segment were down 2.9% in the January-to-May period, compared to the same time in 2016.
For the adult segment overall, sales in the first five months of 2017 were up 1.6%. Downloadable audio continued to be the hottest format in adult, with sales up 26.1% in the first five months of 2017 over 2016. Hardcover sales were ahead 8.8%. The weakest performer in the first five months of 2017 in the adult category was mass market paperback where sales were down 16.0%
Sales for all 1,204 publishers who report data to AAP's StatShot program rose 4.6% in May, over 2016, and 4.3% in the first five months of the year of the, compared to the same period in 2016.


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Wholesale prices unchanged in July
WASHINGTON (AP) — Falling energy prices kept a lid on wholesale inflation in July after a jump in gasoline had boosted prices in June.
The Labor Department reported Wednesday that wholesale prices showed no change last month compared with June, when they had risen 0.8 percent. That was the most in nine months.
Energy costs fell 0.2 percent, after June's 2.9 percent surge. Gasoline prices dropped 0.8 percent and natural gas costs slid 3.9 percent.
Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core prices rose just 0.2 percent. Core wholesale prices are up 1.2 percent over the past 12 months, the smallest one-year increase since November 2010.
Tame inflation has helped consumers increase spending this year despite slow income growth and higher Social Security taxes.
Aside from sharp swings in gas prices, consumer and wholesale inflation has barely increased in the past year. Overall wholesale prices rose 2.1 percent in July compared with the previous July.
For July, drug prices rose 1 percent, the largest gain since a 2.5 percent rise in January. Drug companies have been introducing price increases in January and July of each year. Food costs were flat in July as a jump in pork prices was offset by a decline in the cost of fresh vegetables.
On Thursday, the government will report on consumer prices for July, and economists estimate that overall and core prices rose just 0.2 percent.
For the 12 months ending in June, overall consumer prices rose 1.8 percent and core prices 1.6 percent.
Those levels are below the Fed's 2 percent target for inflation. At its last meeting in July, the Fed added language to its policy statement to express concern that inflation persistently below 2 percent could pose risks to the economy.
The Fed announced after the meeting that it planned to keep buying $85 billion a month in bonds to keep downward pressure on long-term interest rates. It also said it planned to keep its key short-term rate near zero, where it's remained since December 2008 — at least as long as unemployment is above 6.5 percent.
Chairman Ben Bernanke and other Fed officials have said the central bank could start slowing its bond purchases later this year. Some economists think that could begin after the Fed's next meeting in September. Most expect the slowdown to be gradual. New bond purchases might not end until mid-2014 — and only then if the unemployment rate has dropped to around 7 percent.
Unemployment fell in July to 7.4 percent from 7.6 percent in June. The July figure was a 4½-year low, but it was still well above the 5 percent to 6 percent range that economists associate with a healthy economy.
The combination of modest economic growth and still-high unemployment has kept wages from rising quickly. That's made it harder for businesses to raise prices.