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Edge, the blockchain asset security platform and mobile cryptocurrency wallet, has announced a partnership with Israeli-based credit card payments provider Simplex. This collaboration allows Edge’s users to sell several cryptocurrencies to their Visa and Mastercard credit or debit cards.
The “crypto cash out” functionality went live in a beta release today, enabling the wallet’s customers to use their cards to transact Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Ripple’s XRP.
Edge was founded in 2014 as a security-centric blockchain platform and multi-asset wallet. The company rebranded from Airbitz to Edge Wallet in 2017 to offer an open source, non-custodial wallet, which employs a modular architecture that allows it to transact with different coins.
Although the exact details of the partnership were not disclosed, Simplex often charges 3.5 percent of a transaction, with a $10 minimum purchase amount. The company also applies various restrictions including a $20,000 maximum for daily transactions when using a credit or debit card, as well as a $50,000 maximum monthly limit.
Credit and debit card processing for crypto purchases
Simplex has signed partnerships with leading crypto exchanges, most recently with Binance to enable users to buy cryptocurrencies with their credit cards directly on Binance.com The service is also subject to area restrictions, with users in countries like Cuba, Iran and Iraq are prohibited.
Commenting on the news, Edge CEO Paul Puey, said: “We are incredibly excited to offer this new functionality in partnership with Simplex. Simplex has been an early leader in offering crypto payment processing, allowing people to acquire bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with credit cards around the world. Now users have the freedom to effectively spend crypto directly from their credit card of choice. Since our founding in 2014, making crypto usable as a transactional currency has been one of our top priorities and this new functionality brings us a major step closer to that dream.”
Nimrod Lehavi, Simplex CEO, added: “We’re thrilled to expand our long-standing partnership with Edge and start enabling users to cash out of crypto and not only to buy into crypto. One of the main concerns of mainstream new users is cashing out after they have bought in, and we’re excited to start enabling it. We’re certain that this capability will increase crypto adoption by freeing users to do as they see fit.”


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At first glance it would look like good news, however these numbers are not adjusted for inflation, so real spending looks like it will be down.
Holiday spending growth in 2022 is poised to trail last year’s big bounce as customers seek out deals, Mastercard SpendingPulse projected today.
By the numbers: Holiday shoppers are expected to spend 7.1% more this year than they did in 2021, which would fall short of last year’s 8.5% increase.
The projection is also not adjusted for the four-decade high in inflation, suggesting that retail spending could suffer a decline in real terms.
What they’re saying: “This holiday retail season is bound to be far more promotional than the last,” said Steve Sadove, senior adviser for Mastercard and former CEO of Saks, in a statement.Axios Closer By Hope King and Nathan Bomey · Sep 12, 2022

domain: news


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Apr 9, 2012
American Apparel first quarter sales jump; shares rise
Apr 9, 2012
Clothing and accessories retailer American Apparel Inc said first-quarter sales jumped 14 percent, helped by careful inventory planning and better merchandise, sending its shares up 25 percent in after-market trading.
Photo: American Apparel
American Apparel - which has struggled with problems ranging from a long-running sales slump and financial instability to controversies associated with its Chief Executive Dov Charney - also kept it full-year EBITDA outlook of $32 million to $40 million.
"We will be in a position to refinance elements of our higher cost capital structure and significantly reduce our interest expense by late 2012 or early 2013," said CEO Charney, who recently extended his employment agreement with the company.
For the quarter ended March 31, total net sales rose to about $132.7 million, while same-store sales, or those at stores open at least a year, were up an estimated 15 percent.
Sales in March rose to increased 15 percent to $49 million, while same-store store sales rose an estimated 21 percent, the company said.
Shares of the Los Angeles-based company were trading up at 95 cents after the market on Wednesday. They had closed at 76 cents on the American Stock Exchange.
© Thomson Reuters 2023 All rights reserved.


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Glacier Guides and Montana Raft Company will be recognized for their pollution prevention efforts at a ceremony at the state capitol today.
Gov. Steve Bullock will be presenting an Eco-Star Award from Montana State University to Glacier Guides and Montana Raft Company. The awards are given to small businesses in Montana that make efforts over the past year in pollution prevention.
Glacier Guides and Montana Raft offer hiking, rafting, fishing and lodging adventures in and around Glacier National Park.
Last year, Glacier Guides joined a two-year program started by the Yellowstone Business Partnerships called UnCommon Sense that helps businesses work towards becoming environmentally responsible. Glacier Guides and Montana Raft Company’s efforts were diverse but focused primarily on waste reduction. Some specific efforts included replacing disposable items such as paper and plastic plates with reusable items, composting, recycling paper/cardboard/tin/glass/aluminum, not selling bottled water, teaching and practicing “Leave No Trace” ethics on all of their trips, refusing to use billboards and buying local and organic food when possible.
“We are a company that relies on a healthy environment and we are committed to becoming a more environmentally responsible company,” Marketing Director Corrie Holloway said in a statement. “I see that this is just the beginning for us, as there are constantly ways to improve and it’s hard to do everything at once. We hope that other companies will see that they too can implement small changes that can make a huge difference.”
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Thanks to a new partner in Velocenter (Russia) and Pukinn (Iceland), Lezyne are now able to sell themore
After years of planning and development, the new football stadium in Craiova has now been completedmore
Mobike, a bike sharing company originally from China, has now been launched in Germany with the peopmore
Originally from the UK, the international presence of Energie Group has been growing for some time nmore
Partner search for the Sports industry in Central Europe"
Growth Figures Reported by All Three Baltic Countries2017-06-22 source own
From January to April 2017, four full months, much of Europe saw growth but it was the Baltic nations who stole the show by all recording positive numbers. According to Eurostat, their exports now stand at the following positions;
Latvia - €3.7 billion (10% increase)
Lithuania - €8.1 billion (15% increase)
Estonia - €4.1 billion (9% increase)
Furthermore, we also received news of imports for the same countries and they were as follows;
Latvia - €4.4 billion (11% increase)
Lithuania - €9.1 billion (17% increase)
Estonia - €5 billion (12% increase)
As we can see, trade increased dramatically for all three countries and this led to changes in trade deficit with Lithuania holding the biggest at €0.7 billion. For Estonia and Latvia, this figure is slightly smaller at €0.6 billion.


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The IOC has decided not to reveal who was behind the cyber attack that took place during the opening ceremony of the Games.
As companies rush to enable digital business models as fast as possible, they leave the doors open for possible cybersecurity incidents.
$5.3 billion invested into cybersecurity organisations last year.
The two parties want to help businesses everywhere innovate faster and ultimately succeed in the digital world.
With the cost of endpoint attacks climbing to a record average of $7.12 million, the stakes have never been higher. Companies must act fast.
In 2019, the dawn of limitless connectivity, full automation and immersion into extended realities will inch closer than ever before.
Trade war continues to heat up following latest Huawei warning.
A business must fully understand the value of its data if it is to protect it properly.
Autonomous vehicles may lead to temporary job loss but in the long term they will create new jobs and make the roads safer.
Following are the cyber-security measures, in a step by step delineation, that can be deployed to safeguard systems and data.
Take the time to update and patch your system on 'National Clean Up Your Computer Day'.
Zynga stock rallied this morning to a 52-week high price of $5.15 after King Digital Entertainment, the European social gaming giant best known for Candy Crush Saga, filed a public F-1 with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission for a planned initial public offering.
Anyone who tells you things are always bigger and better in America is wrong. Just look at this 6,600-foot long sausage that was unveiled at the Kobasicijada festival in Turija, Serbia.Seriously. Look at itIt's 7,562 pounds of savory meat expertly removed from 28 pigs.
近幾年自拍已變成相當流行的風氣，特別是現今智能手機的自拍鏡頭變得越來越， 要自拍出更好的照片就更加方便。不過若然過份沉迷自拍，就未必是一件好事 ...The post 英國女子每日自拍 200 次成癮！


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Tech giant starts mass production of hole transport materials
Merck Korea announced on July 22 that the tech giant had started churning out hole transport materials (HTMs) at its new facility in Pyongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
The Seoul-based company said that common layers of OLED in premium displays will adopt its HTMs, which are essential to enhance the power conversion efficiency of panels.
Merck, which has been supplying HTMs for large OLED panels for LG Display, strives to expand its HTM mass production to mobile panels for the premium OLED smartphones, possibly for LG Display.
“South Korea is leading the global OLED market. Merck is investing substantial resources required to enable Korean panel markets to lead the OLED market,” Merck Korea Managing Director Kim Wookyu said.
“Since Merck opened the Korea OLED R&D center in 2011, the R&D facilities, manpower, and OLED production facility have been continuously reinforced to provide short-distance services to Korean panel makers and make it possible to respond quickly to the highest quality materials produced in Korea.”
He also noted that the expanded application of the material had laid the foundation for even closer cooperation with Korean OLED panel makers in the future.
The demand for premium OLED panels and their components has been on a sharp rise.
According to business tracker Display Supply Chain Consultants, the number of flexible OLED panels produced by LG Display for smartphones amounted to 31.7 million units in 2020 compared to a mere 9.7 million a year before.
The figure is projected to jump to more than 52 million units this year.
Merck has been a trailblazer in the OLED and organic materials businesses since the company tapped into the segments midway through the 2000s.
It announced the investment of an additional 25 billion won ($22 million) to build a next-generation OLED materials manufacturing facility at the Poseung National Industrial Complex in Pyeongtaek, some 65 kilometers south of Seoul.
The investment will enable a new modular production system so that OLED materials production will go up, which Merck says will contribute to the development and reliable supply of materials for cutting-edge display panels.


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Japan's factory activity expands for first time in 7 months - PMI
TOKYO, May 23 (Reuters) - Japan's manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in seven months in May, while the service-sector hit record growth, a survey showed on Tuesday, as the post-COVID recovery shored up business conditions.
The au Jibun Bank flash Japan manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 50.8 in May, from a final 49.5 in April. It's the PMI's first reading above 50, which separates contraction from expansion, since October.
Output and new orders also returned to expansion territory for the first time since last June.
Manufacturers in the survey suggested supply chain disruption brought by the pandemic which battered the sector showed "signs of improvement".
"The Japanese private sector economy continued on an upward trajectory," said Usamah Bhatti, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which compiles the survey.
"Service providers continued to report strong growth momentum with a renewed record increase in business activity, while manufacturers indicated an improvement in operating conditions for the first time in seven months," he said.
Service-sector activity expanded at the strongest pace on record in May led by the restart of both domestic and international tourism and continued recovery from pandemic disruptions, the survey showed.
The au Jibun Bank flash services PMI advanced to a record seasonally adjusted 56.3 in May, from 55.4 in the previous month.
The service-sector also showed record expansion in other areas such as total new business, exports and outstanding business.
Data showed last week that visitors to Japan rose to a post-pandemic high of almost 2 million in April, benefiting from a relaxation of outbound travel restrictions in China.
The au Jibun Bank Flash Japan composite PMI, which covers both manufacturing and service sector activity, stood at 54.9 in May, the highest reading since October 2013.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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A surge in last-minute orders and bad weather in some parts of the country caused delivery problems this week for UPS (NYSE: UPS) and FedEx (NYSE: FDX), leaving a few Christmas trees a present or two short.
Continue Reading Below
Winter storms across the Midwest and Southwest were cited for some of the problems, as well as overburdened logistics technology that struggled to handle orders in the last few days leading up to Christmas.
As more Americans turn to online shopping, the role of logistics/delivery companies such as UPS and FedEx have become increasingly important for consumers hoping last-minute gifts will arrive on time.
The bad weather apparently made some consumers reluctant to leave their homes and more inclined to shop online this year. Plus many Christmas shoppers simply wait until the last minute.
The problems appear to have affected many parts of the country. The Associated Press said shoppers in Alabama, California, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia were impacted.
Neither UPS nor FedEx said exactly how many packages were delayed but both noted it was a small share of overall holiday shipments.
UPS said in a statement: “All UPS personnel are out making deliveries and pickups today. UPS did have some packages delayed before Christmas, and nearly all of them will be delivered today. We apologize to those customers whose packages were delayed.”
FedEx spokeswoman Parul Bajaj said in an e-mail: “Our 300,000 team members delivered outstanding service during this holiday season, and we experienced no major service disruptions in the week before Christmas despite heavy volume. Every single package is important to us, and we will continue to work directly with customers to address any isolated incidents.”
Amazon.com, the largest online retail site, has been notifying some customers affected by the UPS delays that it will refund any shipping charges and is giving them a $20 credit toward a future purchase.


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Macy's Caprice Willard in town to talk 'Fashion Star'
Nadine Kam photo
Caprice Willard stopped into Macy's Ala Moana on April 19, to see how she can improve the women's apparel mix.
Typical fashion coverage focuses on designers and products, but the success of NBC's "Fashion Star" takes us into the world of the buyer, and Macy's Caprice Willard was in town today to fill us in on some of the thoughts that go into determining the how, why and all-important how much that goes into deciding whether or not to extend a buy offer to a designer.
As the Vice President/Regional Planning Manager for Women's Apparel for Macy's Southwest Region, which includes Hawaii, she was in town simply as a matter of doing her job, checking in on stores to determine whether her team's last buys are working out, and pick up a wish list for Spring 2013.
My interview with Caprice will appear in the paper prior to the "Fashion Star" finale on May 15, during which the series' winner will be revealed. The reality competition series started with the idea of searching for the next big brand in fashion. The series is giving 14 unknown designers the chance to win a multi-million dollar prize to launch their collections in Macy's, H&M and Saks Fifth Avenue.
But to me, the designers on the show—working for the sale rather than to break new ground in fashion—take a back seat to the buyers' work.
I wondered how she could be so assured that the garments she picks will sell, but after 18 years in the business, she said she's learned a lot about what customers want, and she said the show, because of its immediacy—with winning garments offered online for purchase right after the show—has actually given her important feedback. Where she might have been more conservative in the past, the sold-out offerings have shown her that shoppers are more daring than she thought, and she'll be shopping in the future with that in mind.


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Smucker's has closed the door to its online shop after notifying customers that their names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and credit card numbers along with their expiration dates and verification codes have been stolen by hackers.
From Krebs on Security:
Jam and jelly maker Smucker’s last week shuttered its online store, notifying visitors that the site was being retooled because of a security breach that jeopardized customers’ credit card data. Closer examination of the attack suggests that the company was but one of several dozen firms — including at least one credit card processor — hacked last year by the same criminal gang that infiltrated some of the world’s biggest data brokers.
Smucker’s alerts Website visitors.
As Smucker’s referenced in its FAQ about the breach, the malware that hit this company’s site behaves much like a banking Trojan does on PCs, except it’s designed to steal data from Web server applications.


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Many smartphones already in the queue to receive the operating system updates but as we know some Motorola devices besides the Nexus device are already get the software updates. Now Samsung also put their Galaxy S2 handset in line of the device waiting for receiving the Android updates.
According to the current report the Galaxy S5 owners will get the update notifications for Android 5.0 Lollipop in the last week of December or in the first week of January. However this is still the rumor but the base of the rumor is fact because Google is already roll out the software updates to Android-based OEM manufacturers and they start delivering the updates to their selected devices soon and many of them like HTC, LG and Motorola are already deliver the updates to their devices.
This is strongly expected that the Samsung will start delivering the software updates in 2015 cause the updating process will take the time after the OS updates personalization can be commence like add TouchWiz UI with some respective modifications. The unlock version of the device are also getting these updates according to their network supports but some of the device owners have to wait due to stop rushing the networks the updates will roll out in pieces.
Recently Nexus devices and Google Play Editions of HTC One M8, HTC One M7, and Moto G, Moto X 2014and LG G3 are the devices already update with Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system. The Android 5.0 Lollipop is packed with many good features and the user interface is much better than ever. The operating system is also has the bright colorful display and the most improved feature is the operating system provide the better notifications to the users and increase the battery life, security, multi-tasking features


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Rolls-Royce Motor Company has just announced that they will be ending production of the current-generation Phantom, Phantom Coupé, and Drophead Coupé in 2016. Furthermore, the renowned British carmaker has announced that the Phantom Coupé and Drophead Coupé will not be renewed in the future. This news comes out following the announcement that the company has begun testing its all-aluminum architecture that will be on all of its cars starting in early 2018. The luxury coach builder contends that they reset and held the benchmark of luxury with this generation of Phantom for the last 13 years.
During November of this year, the last Phantoms will be rolling off the production line from the Goodwood Plant. However, the Phantom will not be leaving without one last hurrah. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chief Executive Officer, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, has said that Rolls-Royce will be producing 50 highly collectible, unique cars of the Phantom Coupé and Droptop Coupé named Phantom Zenith.
Rolls-Royce director of design, Giles Taylor says that, “As the name promises, Zenith will be the pinnacle; the best of its kind; the highest standard achievable by which everything else is judged,” and furthermore that, “Zenith will be the sum of all the best features of Phantom Coupé and Drophead Coupé, with a few surprises added. We expect huge demand for these 50 fine motor cars as we shall not look upon their like again.”
As the old car drives into the sunset, a new car appears on the horizon. CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös had a bit more to say announcing, “a new Phantom is on the way – a contemporary and beautiful Phantom enhanced with cutting-edge technologies and design innovations. Any new Phantom is an historic and important moment in automotive history and we are working hard on perfecting the Phantom VIII.”
To see Rolls-Royce’s bespoke design in action, check out our first-drive review of the 2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith:


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Social discovery and sharing platform Shareaholic today released its quarterly report for referral traffic from the eight largest social media sites. In Q2 2014, Facebook gained share, while Pinterest, Twitter,... Keep reading →
Business Insider How to sort your Facebook feed by time on mobile PCWorld Weddings. Job promotions. News articles. Facebook thinks it knows what the best stories are to drop in your news feed. But some users might want to see things their own way.
Get out of the mindset of “traditional resume” and get ready to learn the LinkedIn profile tips you need to know to help further market yourself and your business. First, let’s take a look at why you need a LinkedIn profile as a small business owner. You’re not looking for a job, so how can you use LinkedIn? Unlike other social sites, LinkedIn is not generally a place to push out “fun” messages about your product. Rather, LinkedIn is predominantly a networking site to connect with individuals in your industry as well as find, share and engage with more in depth content....
Note: The Experian Marketing Services data featured is based on US market share of visits as defined by the IAB, which is the percentage of online traffic to the domain or category, from the Hitwise sample of 5 million US internet users.
Living inside the bubble of the social media marketing world, it's easy to forget that many organizations still don't know how to reconcile social media into their everyday sales and marketing routine.
Ever so often, a social media service would update its look and features to keep things running smoothly. Twitter is no different. Recently, Twitter profiles have seen quite a big change with the new layout being implemented with a bigger display picture and cover header (that’s similar to Facebook) among ... Continue reading »
Tubefilter YouTube, Once TV's Enemy, Tries to Show How It Drives Viewers to TV Shows Variety Now the seven-year Viacom dispute has been settled out of court, and YouTube is pitching itself to the industry as a very good friend — one that can...
This is a great example of a monthly newsletter for a community that builds interest through experiences. Great use of Constant Contact features. NOTE the social media plugins and the "Join our newsletter" buttons right at the top. This is a one-click add in to your emails that is very powerful connecting your email to social media. You can try this out on the free trial account at Constant Contact http://www.constantcontact.com/email-marketing/index.jsp?pn=eckovaconsulting
Social media permeates everything we do, so it's no surprise that it's also changing the way we consume news A new study from Pew Research shows that out of the 64% of American adults who use Facebook, nearly half (30%) use the social network to...
In the modern world, no business of any size can afford to ignore Facebook, by far the Web's largest social network, with over a billion active users. These days, the best way to browse local businesses is via the Internet, and a large portion of those who check out businesses online


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The payment service provider Wirecard is not running out of negative headlines. That’s for sure. The special audit report submitted by KPMG at the end of April 2020 has greatly increased the pressure on the DAX-listed German FinTech, its CEO Markus Braun, and finally its auditor EY. Since then, the share price has plummeted from more than €138 to €76.36 on May 15, 2020.
Not surprisingly, the turbulent times do not seem to be coming to an end soon for Wirecard. Already 2019 was dominated by accusations of balance sheet manipulation, shabby business practices, and compliance issues which were raised primarily by the Financial Times. Founder and CEO Markus Braun has always strictly rejected the accusations. Wirecard filed lawsuits and criminal complaints against the critics.


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More Americans Trying to Avoid Soda, SugarJul 30, 2014, by
A recent poll by Gallup shows that Americans are trying to avoid soda and sugar in higher numbers than in the past. These are everyday hazards for your teeth, and hopefully in the future people will experience less decay as a result of avoiding them.
The survey asked just over 1000 Americans about specific foods they either tried to include in their diet, tried to avoid, or just didn’t think about. In 2002, only about 41% of Americans were trying to avoid soda and 36% of them were actively including soda in their diet. However, in 2014, 63% said they were trying to avoid soda, a more than 50% increase.
With its high acidity and sugar content, soda is one of the most damaging foods for your teeth, so cutting out soda would be a good thing. However, it seems Americans aren’t actually able to avoid soda in the same numbers, since a 2012 poll showed that nearly half of Americans (48%) drink one or more sodas a day, and 7% drink four or more a day.
Overall, the average American consumes 44 gallons of soda a year.
Also on the chopping block is sugar, which more Americans are also avoiding. However, it’s not as actively avoided as soda. In the poll, 52% of respondents said they were trying to avoid sugar. This is also an increase from 2002, when 43% of Americans said they were trying to avoid sugar. However, the amount of people incorporating sugar into their diet hasn’t changed significantly since then, dropping from 29% to 27%.
Many People Including Fruits and Vegetables
One of the positive aspects of the survey was that most Americans are trying to include fruits and vegetables into their diet. Ninety-two percent of people are trying to include fruits and 93% are trying to include vegetables.
Of course, this is a great thing from the standpoint of nutrition, but it also represents potential dangers for your teeth. Fruits especially can contain a significant amount of sugar and may be highly acidic. People who eat a lot of fruit need to be aware of the potential risk and take steps to clean acid off teeth to reduce damage.
Overall, these results are very positive, and from our standpoint we hope to be giving out more clean bills of oral health at dental checkups in the future along with fewer tooth-colored fillings and dental crowns.
If you’re overdue for a checkup and are looking for a dentist in Grapevine, please call 817-481-6888 for an appointment at Grapevine Dental Care.


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Steinhoff International Holdings has detailed the application put forward by the company of former business partner Andreas Seifert to block the voluntary administration of its European business.
According to the furniture conglomerate, the application alleges that Steinhoff Europe owed LSW GmbH a total of $464.86 million (291.4 million) as of 14 December 2018, and seeks to challenge certain provisions of the [Steinhoff Europe voluntary arrangement].
While no other claim was made against the business, the voluntary administration cannot go forward without first settling LSWs claims.
Steinhoff previously had agreed to sell its shares in the POCO furniture business to entities controlled by Seifert for $436.8 million (270 million), tho…
Read the full article at: https://www.insideretail.com.au/news/world/steinhoff-europe-said-to-owe-creditor-464-86-million-201901


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Sprint, in co-operation with Microsoft, has launched mobile (local) search. This is the first installment of "a range of innovative new service offerings for Sprint’s business and consumer customers."
According to the Microsoft release:
The first consumer offering in this collaboration enables Sprint customers to use Windows Live™ Search for mobile on their wireless phones to conveniently search location-based content from the Internet, such as nearby stores and restaurants, as well as Sprint’s catalog of ring tones, games, screen savers and related services. The service also provides new opportunities for highly relevant and targeted local advertising, which will benefit businesses and consumers alike.
The new Sprint mobile search service powered by Windows Live aims to provide one-stop access to relevant online content associated with a given keyword or phrase. For example, consumers who search for “sports” on their wireless phone can search all of Sprint’s content relating to sports, such as ringtones, wallpapers and applications with “sports” in the title.
According to an article in Wall Street Journal the local search part of the partnership will be monetized through advertising. According to the article "The local-search component offers a new revenue stream as well: Businesses can bid to be listed as sponsored links in the local-search directory and will pay a fee when consumers click those links to call them through the service."
The partnersip will boost AdCenter’s revenues. On the other hand, Sprint has an existing partnership with Infospace for local search on mobiles.


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China Mobile, Intel and Huawei have completed interoperability testing that should act as a catalyst for the commercialisation of 5G networking equipment.
The first commercial 5G networks are expected to go live later this year, offering fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband to certain parts of the US. Meanwhile the first 5G compatible smartphones are set to arrive in 2019, while 2020 will most likely see the first UK 5G network.
But to get to that point, it is essential that networking kit from various vendors is able to work together. Samsung and Nokia for example have been working together to ensure the establishment of a “healthy ecosystem”.
5G network testing
The operator announced its intention to launch 5G in 2019 at Mobile World Congress (MWC) earlier this year, aiding China’s hopes of being a leader in the field.
These latest tests, conducted at the China Mobile Research Institute, used C-Band spectrum and the ‘Release 15’ standard of 5G, which includes new radio technologies known as 5G New Radio (5G NR). This allowed the research partners to verify the compatibility of the 5G NR-compatible terminal and network.
“The success of this interoperability test can provide more kinds of terminals for the follow-up China Mobile's 5G scale test, and also providing a large-scale verification of 5G,” declared Huang Yuhong, head of the China Mobile Research Institute.
“China Mobile will release the first version of its 5G commercial product requirements this year and launch the first pre-commercial terminals in 2019, which will play an important role in such areas as fixed home access, industry video and smart manufacturing.”
The three companies have said they will continue to work together to support the mobile industry, with China Mobile planning to hold more 5G trials in major cities.
Want to find out more about 5G? Check out our dedicated 5G hub!
- Check out the best mobile deals for July 2018


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Detroit-style pizza maker crowned World Champion
Detroit's Cloverleaf Pizza owner Shawn Randazzo added more awards to his extensive resume last week at the 2012 International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, when he was crowned World Champion Pizza Maker of the Year.
Randazzo's new Detroit-style pizza was created after nearly two dozen batches of testing.
Randazzo beat a pool of international pizza chefs and was awarded champion by expert judges such as "Let's Dine Out" television host, radio personality and food critic Allan Borgen; and Bravo Network "Top Chef" guest judge and Citizen Cake owner Elizabeth Faulkner.
He won the American Pan Pizza Division by a record margin with a score of 130.65, then claimed top honors over the winners of the other three pizza divisions (Traditional, Non-Traditional and Italian-Style) in a blind box competition.
Randazzo is the first American to win the award since Tony Gemignani in 2007.
"It's an incredible honor to be named World Champion Pizza Maker of the Year, alongside so many master pizza chefs," he said. "We've said for years that Detroit-style pizza is among the world's best, and it gives me great pride to prove it with this victory."
Blind Box competition
The blind box competition included Randazzo and three other award-winners. Each competitor had a total of 35 minutes, including bake time, to present their pizzas to the judges. They had to use previously undisclosed ingredients plus a mandatory "secret" ingredient – in this case, Cattleman's BBQ Sauce.
Competitors had five minutes to collect ingredients, 10 minutes to prepare them and 20 minutes for baking. Randazzo presented his award-winning pizza to the judges with under 30 seconds left on the clock.
"Not knowing what the ingredients would be going in to the blind box competition was challenging but exciting," Randazzo said. "It's a fast-paced blitz of pizza-making, just like you'd see on a food TV reality show, and to be there in that atmosphere is incredible. It's not about making money from our pizzas; everyone there is passionate about the pursuit for the perfect pizza. We deeply care about the quality of our ingredients, the precise preparation techniques, the presentation and of course the texture and flavor."
Randazzo's champion pizza featured a blend of three cheeses topped with chicken breast, bacon, sautéed fresh garlic, onions, chives and the required Cattleman's BBQ Sauce. He won the American Pan Division with a Chicken Caesar pizza, topped with mozzarella and brick cheeses, chicken breast, Applewood smoked bacon, red onions and Caesar dressing, baked and finished with romaine lettuce, shaved Parmesan and grated Romano.
Both pizzas will be served when Randazzo launches his new brand, Detroit Style Pizza Co., in mid-2012.
In addition to winning World Champion Pizza Maker and First Place in the American Pan Division, Randazzo will now represent the U.S. for four years in the Best of the Best Pizza Competition, held annually in Las Vegas.
Detroit Style Pizza Co.
Randazzo is a disciple of the original Detroit-style pizza, first created by Gus Guerra in 1946. Detroit-style pizza features dough that's soft and airy on the inside yet crunchy on the bottom, then lined with pepperoni and edge-to-edge cheese that caramelizes on the crust, topped with fresh ingredients, baked in a well-seasoned blue steel square pan, then drizzled with rich red sauce.
It's the pizza that Randazzo serves at Cloverleaf Pizza Carryout and Delivery in metro Detroit, which he owns and operates with his mother, Linda Michaels. In mid-summer 2012, Cloverleaf will be transitioned to their new brand, Detroit Style Pizza Co., which will serve Randazzo's new award-winning pizza recipe.
"Detroit Style Pizza Co. was born out of my passion for the perfect pizza," Randazzo said. "The new signature recipe is not the same pizza served by Cloverleaf. It tastes even better and passed the ultimate test by winning at the International Pizza Expo. Not just another pizzeria, Detroit Style Pizza Co. will continue our tradition of baking signature pizza that people feel good about, that they enjoy while making memories with family and friends, and that they love eating."
Owned and operated by Shawn Randazzo and his mother, Linda Michaels, Detroit Style Pizza Co. will be located in the Detroit suburbs of St. Clair Shores and Clinton Township, and will also deliver coast-to-coast via mail order.
For more information visit www.DetroitStylePizza.com.
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text: According to the interface news, recently, Silicon Valley investor Zhang Wei said in an interview that Libra is not a traditional cryptocurrency, nor a stable currency, it is a new form of payment. Facebook has always wanted to enter the payment field, this project is to use the blockchain technology to achieve payment functions. Facebook is actually doing a "small experiment. She also pointed out that the blockchain has not yet reached a stage where it can be commercialized. The technology prospects may be good, but there are many infrastructure-level bottlenecks that have not been resolved, and the performance issues have not been resolved. At present, there is no way to do industrial applications. Just like the early Internet technology, there were many investors at the time, but in 2000 there was a bubble burst and then rise again. At that time, it was a good time to invest. Speaking, we are also in the same state of mind. It is very important to make a technology investment, that is, when is it?


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Earlier this week, Apple was named essentially the most progressive firm on the planet by Fast Company. Hardly a shock, Apple during the last 12 months launched quite a lot of compelling new merchandise, not the least of which was the iPhone X, an arguably revolutionary system that fully re-imagined what the smartphone person expertise must be.
Alongside Apple’s #1 rating, Tim Cook sat down for a wide-ranging interview with the publication the place he touched on quite a lot of attention-grabbing subjects, together with Apple’s monetary scenario and the way the corporate plans to maintain elevating the bar for tech innovation within the years forward.
One of the extra attention-grabbing tidbits from Cook’s interview centered on Apple’s must discover a steadiness between researching and growing merchandise and really releasing one thing to market.
“You need to have a forcing operate,” Cook defined. “For us, on the product aspect, we’ve to give you our silicon necessities three, four-plus years prematurely. So we’ve received issues that we’re engaged on now which are means out within the 2020s.”
When requested about how Apple tends to be misunderstood within the media, Cook emphasised that the corporate is devoted to creating nice merchandise, not blindly being profitable in any respect prices. Though some cynics may understandably scoff at such a notion, Cook’s feedback align with earlier feedback from Jony Ive and Steve Jobs who’ve mentioned that Apple solely focuses on producing money as to have the posh of growing game-changing merchandise.
For an informal observer who hasn’t been a person of our merchandise, the factor that they may miss is how completely different Apple is versus different expertise corporations. A monetary individual simply revenues and earnings might imagine, They’re good [at making money]. But that’s not who we’re. We’re a bunch of people who find themselves attempting to alter the world for the higher, that’s who we’re. For us, expertise is a background factor. We don’t need individuals to need to deal with bits and bytes and feeds and speeds. We don’t need individuals to need to go to a number of [systems] or dwell with a tool that’s not built-in. We do the and the software program, and among the key providers as properly, to offer a complete system.
Cook’s full interview could be loved over right here.


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Hawaii ‘green’ strategies change as recession hits home
- Nanea Kalani
- Pacific Business News
The recession has taken its toll on the move by Hawaii companies to go “green.”
Today, going green is all about saving money, not necessarily contributing to sustainability. In contrast to the local and national green rush of 2007 that saw new interest in pricey roof-top photovoltaic systems and LEED certification, the new green reality is more about the small stuff, like switching out light bulbs and turning off air conditioning.
The number of projects that have applied for LEED certification in Hawaii in 2009 stands at 36, down from 48 last year. That includes 25 new construction projects, down from 35 last year.
Nationally, the U.S. Green Building Council, which certifies LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) projects, says that with construction “at a virtual standstill” applications for many kinds of certification “have not increased at the levels previously expected.”
But just because there isn’t the money doesn’t mean there isn’t the interest.
“People might speculate that going green was a fad, but a lot of businesses do realize that making sustainable changes is a long-term commitment and investment,” said Darren Kimura, founder and president of Sopogy, a solar-energy firm based in Honolulu. “Yes, people are doing things to save money now, and that’s not all that bad. It’s just that in good times, most people aren’t thinking about it, but they’re being trained now and will hopefully continue to implement these changes.”
Shanah Trevenna, a sustainability expert who has worked on several projects at the University of Hawaii Manoa campus, said interest is still strong for the non-credit course she designed called Sustainability 101 for Business.
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Shares of identity theft and fraud protection services provider LifeLock (LOCK) jumped on Monday after Symantec (GEN -0.55%) agreed to acquire the company for $2.3 billion, including debt. The deal will create the world's largest digital safety platform, according to Symantec. LifeLock stock was up about 15% at noon EST, while shares of Symantec had risen about 4.5%.
Symantec will pay $24 per share for LifeLock, a 16% premium to the stock's closing price on Nov. 18. The deal is expected to close during the first calendar quarter of 2017, pending LifeLock shareholder approval.
Symantec will combine its Norton antivirus product with LifeLock, creating a comprehensive security solution for consumers. "As we all know, consumer cybercrime has reached crisis levels. LifeLock is a leading provider of identity and fraud protection services, with over 4.4 million highly satisfied members and growing. With the combination of Norton and LifeLock, we will be able to deliver comprehensive cyber defense for consumers," said Symantec CEO Greg Clark.
Symantec will fund the acquisition with cash on its balance sheet and $750 million of new debt. The company has also increased its share repurchase authorization to $1.3 billion, up from a previous level of $800 million. Symantec expects the deal to have no material impact on its fiscal 2017 results.
After considering various options, LifeLock decided that being acquired by Symantec was the best course of action. "After a thorough review of a broad range of alternatives, our board of directors unanimously concluded that Symantec is the ideal strategic partner for LifeLock and offers our shareholders a significant premium for their investment, at closing," said LifeLock CEO Hilary Schneider.


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Flickr.com, one of the world's most popular online photo-sharing sites and owned by Yahoo Inc., is likely being blocked by the Chinese government, Yahoo's Hong Kong unit said on Tuesday. Flickr—popular among a growing class of digital photo enthusiasts in the world's second-largest Internet market—has not shown photos to users in mainland China since last week, amid rumors Beijing took action after images of the Tiananmen massacre in early June 1989 were posted. "It is our understanding that Flickr users in China are not able to see images on Flickr, and we have confirmed that this is not a technical issue on our end," a spokeswoman for Yahoo Hong Kong said in an e-mail in response to a Reuters inquiry.
"It appears that the Chinese government is restricting access to Flickr, although we have not received confirmation from them," the spokeswoman said in the e-mail. "We are currently investigating this issue and hope that it is only a temporary one," she added. Officials from China's Ministry of Information Industry could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. The Communist Party has banned references to the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in state media, the Internet and books as part of a whitewash campaign, meaning most young Chinese are ignorant of the events.


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SAN FRANCISCO: Verizon's iPhone announcement was both inevitable and timely.
“It was a pretty poorly kept secret,” said Lewis PR EVP Morgan McLintic.
Even so, it was a secret that generated loads of buzz and coverage for both Verizon and Apple. The world may have known the announcement was coming, but that didn't deflate media interest.
“The fact is they are getting plenty of coverage on it,” said McLintic.
By waiting to announce days after CES instead of at the event itself, Verizon avoided the noise and traffic of the event.
“It was smart to wait after CES,” said Shift Communications principal Todd Defren. “Most traditional PR types would have said let's hold this for CES and have one big announcement.”
PR pros acknowledged that Apple likely held all the cards on when Verizon could announce. “I've always given Apple credit for the less is more approach. The less people say the more people hype it,” said Defren.
Yet, waiting too long to say something that many are expecting can create a backlash among consumers.
“It wouldn't have been positive for them to delay it any further,” said McLintic.
In the end, Defren said "they [Verizon] made the right call.”


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With the fate of our environment more precarious than ever, society must engage in as many eco-friendly solutions as possible to preserve our planet. Though we’re still a long way from perfect, many local governments have already established various programs, laws, task forces, and more to encourage public participation in resolving ecological issues.
Of these recent developments, bottle bills are one of the most common, with ten states already adopting the new legislation. In this article, we’ll examine why bottle bills are necessary, how they impact local communities, and — more importantly — whether their efforts are effective.
Pollution: A Pressing Issue
With more than 85% of all plastic packaging burned, buried, or leaking into the environment, nature faces an uphill battle when it comes to surviving the profound impacts of pollution. Though the risks are serious, consumption remains at an all-time high, with one million plastic bottles bought worldwide every minute — a number that’s expected to continue rising.
Bottle Bills: A Necessary Solution
To combat the effects of plastic pollution, some governments are backing bottle bills to encourage state residents to improve their recycling methods.
The first bottle bill was passed in 1971 in Oregon; it intended to reduce litter caused by beverage containers and ease the burden local landfills were struggling to overcome. Since then, nine states have followed suit and passed similar legislation, with Hawaii the most recent addition to the list in 2002.
So, how exactly does a bottle bill work? The system is relatively straightforward:
- Purchase: A state resident purchases a beverage from any retailer that comes in a plastic, glass, or aluminum package.
- Consume: The resident consumes their beverage entirely.
- Recycle: Once finished, the resident then returns their drink to an automated “reverse vending machine” and receives a small cash deposit in return.
Simple, right? The process can be compared to “borrowing” a bottle for a short time, enjoying the beverage within, and returning it to the store. Once collected, bottles are sent to recycling plants, where their material is used to make new bottles.
The Bottom Line: Are They Effective?
After requiring a hefty investment of time, money, and legislative tussling (not to mention the efforts necessary to raise public awareness), the question on everyone’s mind is the same: Do bottle bills work?
Fortunately, the answer to that question is “yes.”
Studies show that deposit schemes like bottle bills are linked to a 40% reduction in beverage container litter. Furthermore, in states like Massachusetts, environmental officials state that no other recycling programachieves the same results as deposit systems in their region.
Now, that’s not to say that bottle bills don’t have some growing pains to overcome. For starters, a portion of the public remains wary regarding the legislation, with Massachusetts voters passing on attempts to expand the very same program mentioned above in 2014. That’s not to mention the fact that there are some forty U.S. states that haven’t established a bottle bill at all.
If early signs are any indicator, bottle bills are a solution that could produce some genuinely lasting change if adopted by the rest of the nation. Hopefully, by then, it won’t be too late.


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‘Pandemic likely to peak by mid-May’
Indian exporters are expecting a continuous growth in the country’s outbound shipments despite an increase in COVID-19 cases as their order books are encouraging and there is a pick up in demand in rich markets.
Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President S.K. Saraf said that in most of the States, manufacturing and export- related services have been exempted from restrictions and inter-State movement of cargo is permitted by the central government.
“However, a pandemic of such magnitude does cause disruptions since various stakeholders are not operating with full manpower, including the industry.
“We expect the peak to come before mid-May and the situation should improve thereafter,” he said. “With such assumptions, we expect exports to continue on the growth trajectory as the order-booking position of exporters is very encouraging,” he added.
India’s exports in April jumped almost threefold to $30.2 billion even as trade deficit widened to $15.24 billion, according to the Commerce Ministry’s data.
Source: Read Full Article


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As AMD recently made it official that its new AMD Ryzen 4000 CPUs based on Zen 3 and Radeon RX 6000 series RDNA 2 GPUs will be launching in October. One thing you should have missed is the short launch trailer that they posted on its Radeon RX twitter account and gives a sneak peek of its updated Radeon logo.
Yes, AMD is changing is Radeon logo to match with the same font that its “Ryzen” logo uses, and this was previously spotted already and we also reported that it will mark a new beginning for the company. AMD’s new RDNA 2 based GPUs will bring significant improvements over last-gen in terms of performance and most importantly use hardware-based Ray tracing which NVIDIA always brags about.
As per the leaks till now, Big Navi GPUs should come with a lot of memory like NVIDIA’s, a lot more shading units to implement ray tracing and huge bandwidth. The competition is a lot more exciting now as AMD is trying to edge NVIDIA with value and if somehow we can get Big Navi at less than $499 (RTX 3070’s price also Xbox Series X‘s price), then this can be a mouthwatering deal as well.
AMD’s GPUs has not been well received in comparison to NVIDIA, however, AMD wants to change this thinking with their advanced RDNA 2 architecture that will drive the next-gen consoles as well. So, it will be interesting to see how AMD competes against NVIDIA’s mighty Ampere and lure gamers, well, if you are a gamer then you have a lot of things to celebrate and choose for.
Do check out:


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DENVER – Researchers with the American Automobile Association (AAA) found electric vehicles simply cannot drive as far in cold temperatures when drivers use the heater.
The study found that when it’s 20° outside the vehicle and when the heater is on, 100 miles of EV range is shortened to 59 miles. The researchers tested a 2018 BMW i3s, 2018 Chevrolet Bolt, 2018 Nissan Leaf, 2017 Tesla Model S 75D and a 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf in an environment where temperatures could be controlled. AAA estimated that it would cost an extra $25 for every 1,000 miles driven with an electric vehicle in 20° temperatures.
“Colorado isn’t California – our temperatures fluctuate here, and often dramatically. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy an electric car, it just means you should understand their limitations when cold weather comes around,” AAA Colorado spokesperson Skyler McKinley said in a news release.
In addition to cold weather performance, when AAA tested the cars at 95°, they found that range decreased by 17 percent with the air conditioner on. The temperature extremes were compared to the vehicles in 75°conditions. Extreme temperatures certainly play a role in diminishing driving range, but the use of the vehicle’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system in these conditions — particularly the heat — has by far the greatest effect.
The study determined that the car’s heater and air conditioning systems were mostly to blame for the reduction in range.
“The good news is that automakers are continually making advances to improve range. For now, though, electric vehicle drivers have a responsibility to plan ahead during both cold and hot weather,” McKinley said.
AAA suggests that electric vehicle owners should pre-heat or cool their cars while it is still connected to the charger, and park inside a garage to help regulate outside temperature. Most of all, AAA encouraged drivers to plan ahead by locating charging stations along a route, checking the forecast, and being sure to fully charge the vehicle ahead of time.
CLICK HERE to read the full study.


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Mastercard is strengthening its existing collaboration with commercial card startup Brex to fuel growth in the U.S., the companies announced on Thursday (Oct. 24).
According to a press release, Brex has named Mastercard as its preferred network in an expansion of their existing partnership, which already sees Brex able to issue World Elite Mastercard for Business commercial cards. The broadening of the partnership means Brex Mastercard users will have access to new benefits tailored to their industries, as well as card perks already offered under the Mastercard World Elite program, including insurance for cell phones and rental cars, identity theft protection and partner offers with a range of Brex partners that include AWS and Salesforce.
Brex added that it plans to develop and roll out additional products and services using Mastercard's network.
"We are pleased to announce an expanded partnership with Mastercard to continue our shared mission to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem," said Brex Co-founder and Co-CEO Henrique Dubugras in a statement. "Leveraging the depth of Mastercard's payments platform and global scale allows us to innovate on features and technology that better serve our customers."
In another statement, Mastercard President of North America Craig Vosburg said collaboration is part of the payment company’s focus to promote technology adoption.
"Co-creation is in our DNA. We are pleased to deepen our partnership with Brex, a leader in providing corporate card programs to other technology and life sciences companies," he stated. "From launch to expansion, we make it easy for FinTechs to collaborate with us and use our technology and products to deliver innovative solutions to meet their customers' needs. Our dedicated programs for FinTechs [ensure] that we are focused on helping and enabling them with digital technologies, commercial connections and strategic investments."
Earlier this year, Mastercard and Brex announced their partnership to support access to business travel rewards for joint startup clients, with a card issued by Emigrant Savings Bank at the time.


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The overwhelming majority of wholesalers are concerned by the tight profit margins available to the trade and, despite a slight improvement experienced by the companies that make up this year's Big 30 ranking, few believe this is set to improve any time soon.
As revealed in January, the average profit margin for the UK's 30 biggest wholesalers had inched up from 1.48% to 1.5%. Just under a third of the wholesalers who responded to our poll this week expect margins to become even tighter over the next 12 months. Though 70% of wholesalers disagree, the majority of the group feel that margins are likely to remain static at best. Indeed those who think their margins will remain unchanged or decrease made up 80% of the respondents surveyed.
Even those who think margins will stay the same say they will have to fight to ensure they do. "We hope to have steady margins over the next year as we negotiate better and buy better in terms of volume deals offered to us," one wholesaler claims.
Another says: "This is the best we can hope for - to remain static and improve things across the board by introducing new lines and looking for the odd opportunity to increase levels."
However, the battle to maintain margin has not entirely dented the trade's belief that wholesalers can still make more money. Sixty per cent say that despite these issues they still expect to increase the amount of profit they generate. "We can make more money if we are doing our jobs properly," says one cash & carry operator. "It just means we have to continue to work even harder at finding new areas to go for and, at the same time, keep our costs to a minimum."
Rising costs now seem to be the biggest issue facing the trade, with most wholesalers indicating that these will have a major impact on their businesses this year.
"We are in the middle of preparing next year's budget figure and are going to present a static profit forecast for the next 12 months to our board. The reasons - wage increases, fuel hikes, driver hours and energy costs," complains one delivered wholesaler. The sentiment is echoed by another wholesaler: "The impact of rising fuel costs and other government measures are having a direct impact on the profitability of companies in this sector."
However, some are just about bearing up. "This year, we hope to see an increase in our profitability as we increase our turnover," says one leading cash & carry operator. "The important thing for us is that we are able to contain any cost increases and maintain our margins, at least at the current level."


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Chicago supermarket chain Jewel-Osco, which features one of the largest Kosher offerings in the Midwest, held their fourth annual “Taste of Kosher Food Fair” this past Sunday.
The event was their largest yet, with over 4,000 people attending throughout the day to sample Kosher foods displayed by over 50 different Kosher companies from around the U.S. and Israel. The event also included a live cooking demo with Chef Adam Kaufman of Mikee.
The event’s entertainment featured Uncle Moishy on the center stage for a three segment concert. Following his performance was a photo-op session with him, and the line snaked around the building as customers vied to get their picture taken with the legendary children’s performer.
Another big addition this year was having Jamie Geller in attendance, signing and handing out hundreds of her Joy of Kosher magazine, a special meet and greet with the customers plus walking the event and sharing her culinary thoughts and ideas with many of the Kosher vendors that were sampling product throughout the store.
A free Customer Appreciation Kosher BBQ was held, where the over 4,000 attendees enjoyed everything from freshly grilled Shor Habor hot dogs to delicious snacks and much more. Many Chabad Shluchim from all throughout Illinois and Wisconsin drove in to attend this event that truly exemplified “Mivtza Kashrus” in every term of the words. Rabbi Adam Epstein and the Lubavitch-Chabad of Illinois Mitzvah Tank could be seen making sure many of the attendees had a chance to put on tefillin both in the tank and around the store.
Albertsons Director of Specialty and Ethnic Foods, Yakov Yarmove, himself a member of the Chicago Anash community, organized this event to celebrate Jewel’s “Bar Mitzvah” anniversary of opening this World-class Kosher store-within-a-store, and commented “It was such a Kiddush Hashem to see the throngs of people that attended this event, even surpassing the tremendous attendance we had last year, which really reflects how Kosher foods when offered to the public in a traditional supermarket setting, can really make it so much more accessible and easier for people to buy and keep Kosher.”
In addition to this flagship store which boasts a full Kosher deli, bakery, butcher shop, fish dept, sushi, fresh salad bar, in store popcorn shop and even a Kosher Chinese restaurant; all staffed by a team of OU Mashgichim; Jewel-Osco also carries a Kosher offering in many of the balance of its 184 stores, especially in areas near Shluchim that cannot easily get to Chicago often.


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The deluge of digital touchpoints will make it more difficult to connect with consumers in a new era of data and privacy, according to analysis by Kantar.
Kantar’s 2020 Media Trends and Predictions Report reveals five key trends for Australian marketers in 2020:
- 5G finally gets real. The 5G era will enable far greater capabilities to reach and engage with consumers but taking advantage will require a significant transformation from marketers.
- Streaming wars. New players will see the battle of the streaming platforms heat up but an increasingly cluttered market will drive subscription fatigue among consumers.
- Cookies start to crumble. The demise of cookies is prompting a need to prepare now. Direct integrations between publishers and measurement partners will enable true cross-publisher measurement for the first time.
- Content and commerce will converge as "shopvertising" evolves from social to TV and digital out-of-home resulting in a contraction of the closed-loop marketing cycle.
- Doing the right thing with data. Privacy ethics will come to the fore and marketers will design personalisation initiatives with a people-first, rather than tech-first, mentality.
“Marketers and media owners will be challenged to develop the skills, engagement models and measurement capabilities to meaningfully engage consumers in the crowded 2020 media landscape,” says Kantar Australia Executive Director, Media and Digital Mark Henning.
“Increased advertising and content possibilities along with the data generated will create new opportunities; however, meeting consumer demand for relevant, personalised content, without breaching trust and privacy is critical to success.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at email@example.com


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Driven Brands Holdings Inc., North America’s largest automotive services company, has announced the continued expansion of its auto glass offering in the U.S. with the acquisition of Indiana-based Perfection Auto Glass.
Perfection Auto Glass was founded almost 20 years ago and grew to become one of the largest locally owned auto glass companies in the Indianapolis region. A true family business, David King has run the operations alongside his wife Holly and their son Chase, as well as having leadership support from his brother Tony King and Tony’s wife Teresa.
“We’re excited to drive continued growth for our glass segment, enhancing our overall footprint across North America with strong businesses that have deep ties to their communities,” said Jonathan Fitzpatrick, president and CEO of Driven Brands. “The addition of Perfection Auto Glass continues our strategy of aggressively expanding our glass business model through both our company-owned and franchise platforms.”
Perfection Auto Glass will be reported in Driven Brands’ Paint, Collision and Glass segment, adding six physical, company-owned locations to this vertical.
“The King family have grown their operations into six strong facilities throughout the greater Indianapolis region,” said Michael Macaluso, executive vice president and Paint, Collision and Glass group president of Driven Brands. “Through a commitment to premier quality and fast service, this family has built a reputation for being the one to call for auto glass repair and replacement needs. We can’t wait to further build on the Kings’ legacy, grow the business and maintain the highest level of service quality.”
Perfection Auto Glass is the fifth auto glass acquisition for Driven Brands, building on Driven Brands’ existing North American footprint of over 300 glass locations in both the U.S. and Canada.


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Nike Sportswear adds several color ways of their Air VaporMax Plus lineup.
This Nike Air VaporMax Plus takes hints of the “Photo Blue” pair that dropped earlier this year. Featuring a Hyper Blue upper and Black detailing all atop a Black VaporMax sole.
Nike Air VaporMax Plus Hyper Blue Release Date
The Nike Air VaporMax Plus “Hyper Blue” is set to release on April 26th at select Nike Sportswear retailers and Nike.com with the retail price tag of $190 USD.
Color: Black/Hyper Blue
Style Code: 924453-008
Release Date: April 26, 2018


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Traditional finance (TradFi) is facing serious challenges, highlighted by recent scandals in the industry. On November 8th, 2022, the mismanagement of centralized finance collided with crypto, as the infamous centralized exchange FTX, owned by Bankman-Fried, unraveled to the tune of 8 billion dollars.
The FTX administration used little to no accounting or accountability policies and was using customer funds to illegally prop up inexperienced crypto investing giants Alameda Research. This scandal and many of the financial issues affecting the world today, such as the banking crisis of 2008 and the one that the US is currently facing, were only possible due to the nature of the closed and centralized world of traditional finance, where big players get to do what they want without proper accountability or trails.
The Paradigm is Shifting
A new way is emerging in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency. Decentralized finance (DeFi) is a rapidly growing ecosystem of financial applications built on blockchain technology without the need for intermediaries.
It aims to provide transparency, fairness, and accessibility to all, regardless of their socioeconomic status or geographic location. It offers greater control and ownership of assets, as well as the ability to earn passive income through various financial instruments such as staking, yield farming, and liquidity providing.
Orbeon Protocol, dubbed “a challenger model community-based VC,” is using these benefits to become the new paradigm for decentralized investment and crowdfunding.
They seek to match promising businesses with retail investors. Previously, investing in early-stage companies was the preserve of big conglomerates like Blackrock or ultra-high net worth individuals. Retail investors have to wait until companies are publicly listed before they can buy shares, by which time the big VCs have already made their profit. Most of these deals are done behind closed doors, and even when the company goes public, investors outside of the US are often not permitted to participate.
The current banking system poses challenges for new businesses too. In a world where a lot of the SMEs in the UK cannot get funding, Orbeon Protocol offers a chance for small but exciting businesses to evolve and grow whilst providing returns for their community.
Helping Smaller Investors
Crowdfunding has helped smaller investors in the past, but as the Orbeon team points out, the traditional method generally takes a large slice of the equity or rewards, lacks the transparency of the blockchain, and the security of knowing that a project has been vetted for success by a team of experts.
Orbeon Protocol seeks to change all of this by carefully vetting early-stage businesses, then converting the opportunity on offer into an NFT, which is then fractionalised and sold to their community. The company’s information will be stored in the metadata of the NFT. This means that investors can get involved with new projects for as little as $10.
The decentralization and democratization of investing is an exciting and empowering paradigm shift, and it will be interesting to see how far Orbeon Protocol and other blockchain-based companies will push the boundaries of equity and inclusion.
Orbeon Protocol is in presale, with ORBN currently on offer at $0.1125. The presale was due to end in January, but due to the high demand, it sold out early.
In response to this and the fact that the team (who recently completed KYC using Coinsult.io) is way ahead of their development milestones, an additional 13% of the supply of tokens has been released for presale.
Previews of the platform are being shown to the community via social media, including the staking dashboard, marketplace, and portfolio. ORBN has over 6000 holders and has raised over $7 million to date. Users can find more about the presale on the official website.
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The world holds its collective breath as Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated as the US’s 45th president later today.
The billionaire and reality TV star has added to the growing divide in the country with his controversial remarks and plans.
So what could be the potential impact for UK retailers?
Global economic uncertainty
With Brexit still brewing, the last thing retailers need is more uncertainty to hamper consumer confidence.
But as a political outsider with a questionable temperament seizes the White House, that feeling could easily spread across the Atlantic.
With share price falls on Wall Street lower than expected and the FTSE 100 rebounding when Trump was first elected president, it appears initial concerns have been allayed. But who knows what is in store?
Either way, Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe appeared unconcerned when asked about it in November.
“We live in uncertain times and this just creates another layer of uncertainty, but our day job is about executing our plans,” he said, following the grocer’s half-year results.
“We are very clear about what we are going to do and we are getting on and making that happen.”
UK retailers have been reeling as a result of sterling’s freefall since the EU vote.
And despite predictions that Trump’s victory would lead to a weaker dollar, the greenback has been soaring since the election.
However surprising remarks from Trump at the weekend suggested the dollar was “too strong”. If the dollar did decline, due to some of Trump’s policies, this would bring better news for UK retailers.
“We could see something of a reversal of the post-Brexit rerating due to the fact that a number of UK domestic retailers source mainly in dollars,” say analysts at Peel Hunt.
“Most retailers are hedged out for 12-18 months, but the hedges do come off eventually, so a shift in currency would be mildly helpful”.
Due to its lack of hedging, Sports Direct could be the retailer that is “likely to over-react to a weakening of the dollar”, according to the analysts.
Doing business in the US
Trump has promised to seek a rapid trade deal with the UK post Brexit.
The tycoon had previously talked of a protectionist trade policy that would see the country withdraw from global trade alliances. However it appears that his fondness for the UK and the Brexit vote means this should not apply to the UK.
A report in October from Global-e suggested that for the majority of British retailers – 59% – the US was the most important overseas ecommerce market. Boohoo and Asos are among those that trade online in the US.
However it has been pointed out that a separate trade deal with the US could bring about compromises for UK exporters on areas such as food safety. American firms are more likely to demand that the UK conforms to their product standards rather than the other way around, it has been suggested.
Mexico – less of a retail attraction?
Latin America’s second-largest economy has been considered as a land of opportunity for retailers in recent years.
But with the peso in freefall today, Mexico’s economy could suffer in the wake of a Trump presidency. The Republican has made building a wall between the US and Mexico one of his key pledges.
The question mark over Mexico could put UK retailers off expanding into the country.
*This is an updated version of an article that first appeared on November 9


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The U.K. Sees Limited Rebound After Deep Economic Contraction
July 13, 2020
The coronavirus has hit the United Kingdom’s economy particularly hard. The nation’s total economic output, GDP, was fell more than 20% in May, following a 6% contraction in April. Those hoping for a swift rebound will have to keep waiting unfortunately, as the economy grew by just 1.8% in May.
Between February and May, the U.K. economy contracted by 24.5%.
Some economists were quick to note that the national lockdown did not lift in any significant way until June, and that June and July are expected to see a stronger bounce in output.


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Plant-based food company Heura has raked in more than €4 million during its latest fundraising effort. The figure would be significant in itself, but Heura pulled it off in just 12 hours.
The vegan meat start-up – which claims to be the fastest growing plant-based company in Europe – launched its second Equity for Good Rebels crowdfunding campaign via Crowdcube earlier this week.
With a just €20 minimum to invest, Heura said it wanted to allow a greater number of “Good Rebels” to join the movement, and help boost development of its meat-free Mediterranean chicken, beef, and pork.
Upon opening up the campaign, Heura shot through its initial goal of €1 million in just 30 minutes. More than 4,500 investors rallied together from the UK, France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland, to name a few, to secure a piece of the action.
Nearly half of those investing were between 18 to 35. And more than 42 percent were women, despite the fact that just 10 percent of women have a stocks and shares ISA, compared to 17 percent of men.
Shaking up the food system
Heura CEO and co-founder, activist Marc Coloma, recognizes a great deal of promise in the results of the campaign.
“The response to the Equity for Good Rebels crowdfunding campaign is a proofpoint that as a global community, we can and will uproot the failing food system,” Coloma said. “We will leverage this milestone to further increase availability to healthy, plant-based foods that better align with the values and needs of today’s society.”
“The mantra ‘it has always been this way’ is weaker than ever,” he told Plant Based News. “We are showing there is another way of doing business, and it’s clear that the public is ready to see those changes too.”
Indeed, consumers have thrown their support behind Heura, and not just in the investment sphere. In 2021, the start-up saw its sales double. Meanwhile, its global points of sale (POS) surged by 333 percent, with products now available from more than 13,000 locations in over 20 countries.
Heura will use the latest injection of funds to build the Heura Lab 2.0, create new and innovative technologies, and boost its product development and distribution. The company expects to design up to 10 new products this year, with a view to offering realistic animal meat substitutes that are nutritionally and environmentally superior.


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Interactive livestreaming and auction platform Crater Club has raised $1.2 million as a part of its seed funding round led by Lumikai and LC Nueva Alternate Investment Fund (AIF).
Crater secured $500,000 from Lumikai and $700,000 from LC Nueva AIF, along with other strategic angel investors, the company said in a statement.
LC Nueva AIF is a category II AIF fund with LC Nueva Investment Partners LLP as its investment manager.
Crater offers livestreaming and auctions as a way for content creators and educators to interact with their audience by selling access to their exclusive content via auctions of tokens.
The platform also claimed that it is similar to Twitch and Loco and said it provides monetisasation opportunities for content creators and educators in fields such as stock trading, design, finance, marketing and career guidance.
Founded in 2020 by Vivan Puri and Vignesh Prasad, Crater.Club offers a platform for building professional communities and providing analytics for creators which give them insights on user behaviour.
“Today learning happens via courses and static video, which provide only a one-way format of communication and limited interactivity. We see streamers in the professional space, comprising stock traders, illustrators, brand marketers and advisors utilising the (crater.club) platform.
We aim to launch the auctions system by mid-Jan for creators and educators to monetise their audience while providing young millennials with a way to gain access to exclusive content and the creators and educators they follow,” both the founders said in a joint statement.
India’s livestreaming platforms are seeing a 100% on year growth in revenues, Crater Club said, while quoting a Lumikai report on gaming and interactive media.
The company also said that the report survey found that 17% of Indian audiences already pay for virtual gifting and tipping and 30% of total revenues for livestreaming platforms comes from virtual tipping.
The company said average order values in the country are in the range of $4 to $10.
“Legacy digital media platforms are ripe for disruption by introducing interactivity. Vivan and Vignesh are re-imagining the creator economy for professionals ground up to provide a completely new experience for professionals looking to manage and monetise their communities with a focus on authenticity”, said Justin Sriram Keeling, General Partner, Lumikai Fund.


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In December, the stablecoins USDC and USDT saw a significant increase in their market capitalization, while other digital currency projects, such as Binance USD (BUSD), appeared to be losing ground.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are pegged to a fiat currency, such as the US dollar. This means that their value is relatively stable, unlike other cryptocurrencies, which can be subject to large price fluctuations.
The dominance of stablecoins in December can be attributed to several factors, including the increasing popularity of decentralized finance (DeFi) and the growing demand for stablecoins as a hedge against inflation.
DeFi is a rapidly growing sector of the cryptocurrency industry that allows users to access financial services without the need for a traditional bank or financial institution.
Stablecoins are often used in DeFi applications, as they provide a more stable and predictable value than other cryptocurrencies.
In addition, the growing demand for stablecoins as a hedge against inflation is likely due to the rising inflation rates in many countries around the world.
As a result of these factors, stablecoins are expected to continue to dominate the cryptocurrency market in the coming months.
What is a stablecoin?
A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency that is pegged to a fiat currency, such as the US dollar.
What is DeFi?
DeFi is decentralized finance, a rapidly growing sector of the cryptocurrency industry that allows users to access financial services without the need for a traditional bank or financial institution.
What is BUSD?
BUSD is Binance USD, a stablecoin issued by Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
What is inflation?
Inflation is a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money.
Which stablecoins are the most popular?
The most popular stablecoins are USDC and USDT.
What are the benefits of using stablecoins?
Stablecoins offer a number of benefits, including:
- Stable value
- Easy to use
- Secure and reliable
Credit and rights to the article belong to BITboosters


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8 April 2019, 08:00
Veethree Technologies will provide an exclusive sneak preview of the first ever fully round, edge-to-edge touch LCD display at Bauma, Munich, 8th April 2019
Global leaders in CAN gauge and display technologies, Veethree has announced the release of their highly-anticipated R Series of CAN Displays with an exclusive sneak preview during Bauma in Munich, the world’s leading construction machinery trade fair.
The innovative series of devices are the first gauges of their kind, providing a fully round, edge-to-edge, touch screen display which modernises traditional analogue gauges. A prototype will be on display during Bauma, between April 8th and April 14th, in Hall B5, Booth 426. Joining the existing range of ruggedised, reliable, CAN Displays, the R Series will be used in the industrial equipment, marine and agricultural OEM markets.
The R Series offer a customisable screen with capacitive touch abilities, providing the styling of a traditional analogue gauge with the modern ability to change looks to suit any application. Thanks to its CANbus and RS485 connection, analogue inputs and digital output, the R Series is suited to a variety of applications, such as instrumentation for plant and agricultural machinery.
James Cope, Veethree Technologies Sales & Marketing Manager said: “All similar products on the market use rectangular LCDs in a round housing. The R Series are the first truly round, edge-to-edge LCD gauges to be made available. We’re thrilled to be revealing this innovative news series at Bauma.”
With a fully round PCAP LCP-colour display, the R Series can be viewed in full sunlight whilst the unit has been sealed to meet IP 67 standards. Veethree Technologies also offer custom software applications for the device on request.
James Cope continued: “I can’t wait to speak with our customers about these exciting devices which I believe will revolutionise the future of LCD gauges.”
Those attending Bauma, taking place between April 8th and April 14th, can get a sneak preview of the device prototype which will be on display at Hall B5, Booth 426.
Source: Veethree Technologies


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Summer in New York City. It’s crowded, noisy and hot. As you dodge sweating bodies, you crave an icy beverage to quench your thirst.
And then you see it — the lemon on an old green van and think it’s surely a mirage. You blink a few times, but it’s real. A Del’s Lemonade truck debuted in New York City this summer and is introducing the Big Apple to Rhode Island’s big lemon thirst-quencher that’s been around since 1948.
“I’ll get a 60-year-old woman come up and grab a Del’s and say she drank this when she was in elementary school,” said Cam Crockford, the 25-year-old from Portsmouth who spawned the Del’s NYC truck. “There’s history. It’s an icon.”
The truck, itself, is a piece of history. Crockford bought the beat-up green 1949 Chevy Step Van on eBay and outfitted it himself — freezer, cut-out window, a 1955 engine he found on Craig’s List, a caution arm and all. It only goes 30 to 40 miles an hour and is a “gas guzzler.” But the vintage vehicle has an eye-catching cool factor with its original paint and Del’s logos hand-painted by “quirky old Russian dudes” in Brooklyn.
“No one can really drive this truck,” said Crockford as he sat behind the driver’s seat and handled the tarnished steering column gearshift. “Just the way it’s designed, it breaks down easily.”
Crockford and two part-time seasonal employees serve up 100 percent-authentic Del’s frozen lemonade. He orders Del’s Lemonade mix from its headquarters in Cranston, and makes 20 gallons a day with fresh lemons, sugar, water and Del’s secret ingredients in a $20,000 Carpigiani gelato machine that he’s financing.
Like most food truck vendors, Crockford relies on Twitter and Facebook to tell Del’s fans his parking locations. On weekends, the truck vends near his apartment in Dumbo, Brooklyn. He jaunts to Soho, Flatiron District and various spots in bustling Midtown, including a corner on Park Avenue and 47th Street — an area that food trucks flock to because of the lack of dining options.
On a recent Friday during lunchtime, under a blinding sun, workers from Park Avenue banks spilled onto the sidewalk in search of food and cool refreshments.
“I’m kind of astounded because I’ve never seen this. Nobody in New York understands Del’s,” said Sandra Fisler, a Manhattan transplant from East Providence who bought her first New York City-made Del’s while on her lunch break. “This reminds me of going to the beach in the summer and walking down Thames in Newport.”
Since its debut in May, Del’s NYC has garnered publicity from New York City media and has earned a Vendy Award nomination for best dessert. “It’s like the Tony Awards for food trucks,” Crockford says. Held in Brooklyn on Sept. 7, the daylong Vendy Awards event lets the public try all of the nominated vendors’ foods (tickets are $95). Del’s NYC is up against six contenders, including Carpe Donut NYC and Cholita Cuencana, which serves Ecuadorian mousse. Crockford would dig the “street cred” that comes with a Vendy.
Crockford, a 2006 graduate of St. Georges, moved to New York City in 2010 with a Skidmore College art degree in tow. Last spring, after stints as an unpaid graphic design intern, bartender, freelancer, fabricator for a Brooklyn designer and model (he appeared in a Spike TV promo), Crockford’s entrepreneurial spirit kicked in. He thought back to his summer breaks on Second Beach.
Crockford, who lures in customers with his friendly disposition, beachy good looks and free samples, relies on the years of customer service experience he gained while running the marina at Banister’s Wharf.
“If someone walks by, they make eye contact with me, I’m going to bring them in,” he said.
He’s also collaborated with corporate offices, like Brooks Brothers and Kate Spade, and festivals to sell Del’s to larger audiences. He’s even sold Del’s on film and TV sets, like the CBS show “Elementary” (Crockford said Lucy Liu tried a Del’s).
Working seven days a week can be tough, but there are also “a lot of city hurdles you need to go through” to have a food truck business in New York City. Crockford’s seasonal permit for his truck, which every food vendor must have, cost him between $4,000 and $7,000. In the 1980s, the city capped the number of permits for carts and trucks. Today, the way to get a permit is from a permit-holder who leases it to a vendor, like Crockford, for thousands. Full-year permits could cost up to $20,000 for a two-year period.
Plus, food trucks usually get parking tickets every day because they’re not allowed to vend merchandise from metered spots. “If it’s a good spot, you’ve got to eat the ticket. You pay $65 to make $800. It’s just the price of doing business.”
Although Crockford’s made a ton of food truck friends, there’s a FroYo (frozen yogurt) vendor who threatens him every weekend because he’s parked nearby. “There are these thugs, they try to scare you off because they’d rather you not be there,” Crockford said, shrugging it off.
While the business side of food trucks in New York City can be sour, Crockford hopes to keep making lemons into frozen lemonade for the next few years.
“It’s the most difficult place to run a business,” he said. “But the way I look at it, if you can start a small business and be successful with it in New York City, you can do anything.”


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The ATP announced today that they will be launching two brand new boards as part of their long term plan to build on "the recent unprecedented growth and success of men's professional tennis". The Business Advisory Board will consists of a wide range of renowned business experts, including internationally renowned fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and Vice president of 21st Century Fox David Hill.
Meanwhile the Ledgends Advisory Board will include player's such as John McEnroe and Boris Becker. Commenting on the new formation, ATP CEO Chris Kermode told the media that the sport "is in great health" but they need to continue to build on that and grow.
"It's a very exciting time for men's professional tennis". Kermode said
"The sport is in great health and we've seen the record audiences on site, on television and online.
But it's important that we continue to build and move forward". Kermode has said that the decision to create the two groups was based on feedback from players and tournament officials during the year. He said that the ATP needs to have a look at their business side.
He then talked about moving the ATP with the times and that young people are absorbing information in different ways as supposed to past generations. "We've got to present it in a dynamic way". Kermode said
Kids are now taking in information and absorbing its content in a completely different way to when I was growing up as a kid, and we need to adapt to that".
Kermode said that the two boards will help form a structure and vision for the ATP Tour and that he intends to do a 10-year plan which will incorporate their ideas. The boards conducted their first meeting this morning in what was described as a general "brain storm" of their ideas.
Full list of members Business Board
Matthew Freud, Chairman of Freuds (International marketing and public relations company)
David Hill, Senior Excutive Vice President of 21st Century Fox
Tommy Hilfiger , Internationally renowned fashion designer and businessman.
Robert Senior, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi EMEA Ledgends Board
John McEnroe, USA
Mats Wilander, Sweden
Carlos Moya, Spain
Lleyton Hewitt, Australia
Boris Becker, Germany


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Fischer International Systems Corp. has a way for banks to use personal computers to read smart cards without waiting for PC manufacturers to add special readers.
The Naples, Fla., company developed the Smarty, a smart card reader in the form of a floppy disk. The device can help banks with network security and other smart card applications, Fischer says.
The user slips a smart card into a slot on the Smarty, then slips the device into a computer's ordinary floppy disk drive.
The Smarty translates the information on the card's chip into a magnetic signal that the floppy drive can read. In addition, the Smarty can write new information on the card, under the computer's direction.
"The attractions of a smart card are not only for computer-based banking applications, but also for security applications within a banking environment," said Paul Pieske, Fischer International's director of smart disk marketing.
Jerome Svigals, an electronic banking consultant based in Redwood City, Calif., said using the device to prevent unauthorized people from using a PC "seems very practical."
"The PC is a very exposed device in the banking industry, and anything that can enhance the security operation is exceptionally important," he said.
Smart card security applications are expected to become a $185 million market by 2000, according to the Freedonia Group Inc., an electronic commerce analyst firm in Cleveland.
For handling smart card transactions, this device is "slightly more awkward than just putting a smart card into a conventional smart card reader," Mr. Svigals said. But Fischer International is marketing the Smarty as a transitional step until smart card readers become ubiquitous.
The company also expects its pricing to give it a competitive edge.
"In the past, if you wanted a smart card reader for your PC, there are solutions out there like PCMCIA cards that run anywhere from $150 to $400," Mr. Pieske said.
By selling its solution for about $60, Fischer International hopes to "open up the market and allow the adoption of this technology," he added.
Two commercial banks are testing Fischer International's technology. Wells Fargo is using the Smarty in several pilot programs, including an Internet banking application and in its test of Mondex, the stored-value card system that permits Internet transactions.
Bank of America is developing a smart card that combines security as well as commercial applications, Mr. Pieske said. Besides serving as computer and network security tokens, the bank's smart cards will be used by employees as Visa Cash cards as well as to provide access to the bank's facilities.
Such multi-application capability is seen as necessary for the widespread adoption of smart card technology. "Otherwise, we're all going to be walking around with 15 cards," Mr. Pieske said. "It kind of defeats the purpose."


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I believe it's unethical for companies to collect people's information under the guise of helping them connect with friends and family and then sell their information.
(PRWEB) March 05, 2012
Privacy Mom, Evelyn Castillo-Bach, blasted Facebook as a data collection company posing as a friendly social network during an hour long radio interview on Friday with Pete Peters of The Boomer and the Babe Network. "We are witnessing the greatest data grab by companies in human history. It's the wild west of data collection. In the United States we have no laws to protect the American consumer from advertisers and online data collectors and data brokers who troll the internet grabbing every bit of information they can so they can compile it into shadow profiles and files that are sold to other companies. Facebook, for example, is nothing more than a data collection company posing as a friendly social network. Its leader is a global ad salesman in a hoodie and a t-shirt, " said Castillo-Bach who is the founder of UmeNow and an outspoken privacy advocate.
"I believe it's unethical for companies to collect people's information under the guise of helping them connect with friends and family and then sell their information. People have a simple decision to make: Move their online sharing and communication to our network that has no ads, no tracking and never monetizes people information. Or, continue to use public social networks knowing that they will snatch every personal detail, collect every online habit and sell it to anyone willing to pay, including criminal gangs posing as legitimate companies," said Castillo-Bach the maverick entrepreneur from South Florida.
Castillo-Bach was also interviewed on the subject of Employers, Schools Checking Your Social Media by Miami television earlier this year.
UmeNow has banned all tracking and all ads. It recently changed its platform to allow anyone to join for free. Previously, free membership was limited to 30 days. Now, free membership has no time limit. UmeNow's 2-tier membership structure promises the same privacy protection to its free members. Premium level members who subscribe for $6.00/ month have access to all site areas. UmeNow is a private not public social network. Membership is by invitation only. However, during its current beta phase membership is open.
Evelyn Castillo-Bach is the founder of UmeNow and Collegiate Nation. UmeNow entered into its silent launch in July 2011. Collegiate Nation--known as GoCNCN.com-- is the first and only private network exclusively for college students. Both UmeNow and Collegiate Nation are known for fiercely protecting the privacy rights of its members. All ads, third party apps and games are banned because they are back doors to tracking and extracting private information. Castillo-Bach earned her M.S. in 1993 from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She has traveled extensively in Ethiopia and in the Balkans, accompanying her Danish husband who is a lawyer.


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Netflix stock is up about 8% today.
The culprit appears to be a re-iterated “buy” rating from Citi analyst Mark Mahaney, who said the stock is pretty reasonably valued, giving the stock a price target of $120.
In an analyst note, he said Netflix had “a highly reasonable valuation, a generally positive execution track record, and the still early market opportunity for Internet video streaming.”
Citi re-ran a customer survey, which suggested that customer satisfaction with Netflix has begun to improve for the first time since last year’s “Apocaflix.” Netflix tried to spin out its DVD rental service into a new business last year, but ended up canceling the plans after negative customer response.
Other factors include improving churn, improving streaming content and a rise in the popularity of Netflix as a top online video destination, according to the survey.
Netflix also had 12.4 million unique visitors from smartphones in July and August, according to ComScore, and Netflix benefits from mobile usage growth because it’s a subscription service, according to the note.