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Black Friday may look different this year, but there are still plenty of deals to be had
Many retailers have revamped the traditional and short holiday shopping extravaganza to spread out demand and reduce crowds.
Visalia Mall and Tulare Outlets will be open, but with additional safety protocols in place.
"Black Friday is one of the most prominent traditions of the holiday season," said Rachel Wille, spokeswoman for the Visalia Mall. "We want the Visalia community to know that while things might look a bit different, we’re here and open for the tradition to continue."
The Visalia Mall will open at 7 a.m. on Friday and close at 9 p.m. Wille suggests shoppers reach out to individual retailers, as hours may vary.
New COVID-19 safety measures are taking place throughout the mall. These measures include hand sanitizing stations, social distancing signage, reduced hours to allow for deep cleanings, frequent cleanings on all high-touch areas and hospital-grade MERV-13 air filtration.
"Our security team does a great job monitoring the property to make sure that appropriate social distancing guidelines are being followed, they are also equipped with complimentary face coverings for those that need them," Wille said.
The indoor shopping center has expanded its list of stores participating in its curbside pick-up. This year, the mall is also offering virtual visits with Santa. Contactless, in-person visits are also available.
In southern Tulare County, Tulare Outlets management staff is also preparing for one of the biggest shopping days of the year. The outlets will open at 5 a.m. on Black Friday and close at 8 p.m.
"It will be exciting you can come outside and go shopping," said Dottie Montana, Tulare Outlet general manager. "It will be entertaining and new, but we will do our best to keep people safe."
The outlet is also running a promotional "Rise and Win" contest. Golden hangers will be hidden throughout stores. If shoppers find a golden hanger they win a $50 Tulare Outlets gift card. For a complete list of Black Friday sales offered at the Tulare Outlets visit the shopping center's website.
Big box retailers have been prepping for Black Friday since the mercury was in the triple-digits.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classified “shopping at crowded stores just before, on or after Thanksgiving” on a list of higher-risk activities to avoid and suggested more online shopping.
Target says "nearly all" of the "Black Friday Now" deals will be available for an entire week, both in stores and online. Contactless, same-day Drive Up and Order Pickup services are available for orders on either platform, or can be received via same-day delivery with Shipt.
The retailer announced in July all stores would close on Thanksgiving, for the first time in nearly a decade.
“This year more than ever, a joyful holiday will be inseparable from a safe one, and we’re continuing to adjust our plans to deliver ease, value and the joy of the season in a way that only Target can," Target CEO Brian Cornell said in a July news release.
Also on the Mooney Boulevard corridor, Walmart is rolling out a similar sales plan.
Walmart has also held a series of sales called “Black Friday Deals for Days" and its final sale starts online Wednesday, Nov. 25, and in-store sales on Black Friday.
To avoid spreading or exposing potential shoppers to COVID-19, the CDC released the following Black Friday recommendations:
- Shop online sales the day after Thanksgiving and the days leading up to the winter holidays.
- Use contactless services for purchased items, like curbside pick-up.
- Shop in open-air markets staying 6 feet away from others.
Wearing a mask and washing hands regularly is also highly encouraged and in most businesses, face masks are required for entry.
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
Sheyanne Romero covers Tulare County public safety, local government and business for the Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register newspapers. Follow her on Twitter @sheyanne_VTD. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.


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Introducing: Sawfly Studios
Team of seasoned game developers bands together to start a brand new adventure in Liverpool
LIVERPOOL, England – January, 2013 – This is the official announcement of the birth of Sawfly Studios, a brand new game development studio based in the UK.
Sawfly Studios formed when four seasoned developers from Sony's Studio Liverpool decided to take charge of their destinies when the studio closed its doors last year. Studio Liverpool's principle designers Mike Humphrey and Karl Jones joined forces with lead programmer Andrew Jones, and veteran artist Jon Eggelton.
“As soon as news went out about the studio closure we were all approached by large developers regarding new jobs,” says Sawfly Managing Director Mike Humphrey. “To be honest, our first instinct was to take positions with those relatively secure companies. However, the more we thought about it the more we realised that we had something more to contribute to the games industry. We knew that the only way to make our own games, exactly the way we wanted to make them, was to start our own studio. At Sawfly we want to create amazing and memorable gameplay experiences under our own terms, so that's exactly what we're doing."
Together, this team has accumulated over 50 years of experience working in senior roles on some of Sony’s best-selling game franchises including Wipeout, Motorstorm and Formula 1. Working for companies like Sony, Bizarre Creations, Warner Brothers and Evolution Studios has given them a wealth of experience of delivering high profile and well regarded games.
Sawfly have already started pitching their own IP, something that the team had a lot of experience with while working internally for Sony, but are also taking on contracts for other companies. Karl Jones, Sawfly's Design Director says: “Pitching your own ideas is great and extremely satisfying, but we were keen to hit the ground running. Early on we secured work by signing production deals with a couple of different companies, which we are extremely happy about. We expect details of those to be announced in due course.”
Sawfly Studios are currently housed in the office of Catalyst, a game production service company. Catalyst’s Production Director Ivan Davies offered: “It's great to see such a well rounded new team start up here in Liverpool. The guys are extremely driven, talented and passionate about games. We're proud to be able to give them space to get started, and we're more than happy to recommend them to our extensive list of clients. We're all looking forward to their future success.”
Sawfly are just finishing up on their first title now, for local indie publisher Ripstone. Details of the game will be released soon, but for now all they can say is that it's really cheeky, irreverent and a hell of a lot of fun.
As for the future, the team hope to grow the studio slowly, only taking on the very best developers, and working towards creating truly memorable gaming experiences. “We take a lot of inspiration from games like That Game Company's Journey, and Playdead's Limbo,” says Jon Eggelton, the company's Art Director. “Each of us had personal and compelling experiences with those games and those are the kind of experiences that we want to create ourselves. We don't want to tick boxes just to get something out the door."
About Sawfly Studios
Sawfly Studios are a brand new game development studio, based in the UK. They were formed by 4 co-founders who all have a proven track record of developing high quality and commercially successful video games. Collectively they have a passion for the creative and technical process of games development and developing compelling gameplay experiences.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
+44 7834 985234

domain: news


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In an interview, Reva’s founder and chief executive Chetan Maini spoke about near-term expectations, challenges facing the company and the cost reduction plan that has been put in place in the wake of the rupee’s depreciation.
Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd acquired a majority stake in REVA Electric Car Co. Ltd in May 2010 and renamed it Mahindra Reva. Edited excerpts:
How has the response been for e2o since you launched a year ago? How many units have you sold so far?
Sales have been less than 500, far lower than (our expectations). The auto industry was down the entire last year and that didn’t help us and the policy (government subsidy for electric car purchases) that was supposed to come out, didn’t come out.
So, I think these two have been challenges from our side in this area. Therefore, we also did not push a significant amount of mass media that we started on this area. I think now we’re going to push that a little bit more, we wanted to understand where consumers were and what we found was that the people who took test drives just loved the car.
What’s your near-term target on unit sales?
I think in the next couple of years, with Indian and global markets and new products coming out, we would like to be in 7,000-10,000 units-a-year region. I think we can get there with the government policy and our own product line and infrastructure coming out.
What new products are you launching in the near term?
So far our focus has been on European markets, so a European product will come out and we’ll probably offer that in India too and we’ll also look at some Mahindra platforms coming out. Within the next year, at least a couple of new areas for different markets or consumers, you will see something new.
It’s been nearly four years since you merged with Mahindra. How would you look back at this journey? What have been some of the learnings?
I think, there are two sides to it. Firstly, why do we do it? We had strong electric vehicle knowledge and brand. We wanted to build up more manufacturing expertise, we wanted to leverage supply chain. We wanted to leverage the distribution network.
I think all three we’ve been able to do but at different levels of success. In general, there has been a positive impact on all these areas. From our side, we were looking to create newer revenue streams and Mahindra was looking at electrifying its own platforms. So that’s happened; we’ve electrified three platforms during trial and hopefully, at least one should roll out by the end of this year.
What have your technology investment budgets been like?
I’d say it probably hasn’t been up to the level we’d like it to be because the world is moving very quickly. Having said that, we’re probably higher than anyone else in the country—not globally because globally the investments in these are huge.
In the country, our investments are definitely higher than anyone else. Today, we have 450 people in the country; we have 200 people in research and development that is almost 40% of our group. So there have been a lot of investments and it’s continuing.
How have you dealt with the rupee’s depreciation? Have you looked at cost reduction?
It’s been very challenging because as you can imagine, even though we make most of our electronics in India, chips and stuff come from overseas, batteries are imported. So the (cost of) raw materials that go into making it have gone up tremendously. We have embarked on a very high-level of cost reduction plan
and done that.
Also, the new variant we launched is an outcome of that. We were actually able to further lower the cost—we managed to bring it under the ₹ 5 lakh price point. So yes, it’s been challenging, but we’re hoping over time with exports, as an organization we can deal with it better to offset some of the cost structures.
It’s been a host of areas that we have looked at in terms of electronics, new level of electronic development, optimization of design, new user materials in the area and in the base version, we’ve given little smaller battery packs that give 80 km.
What we found is that a lot of customers said that they didn’t want the infotainment and the plush seats and the interiors, etc—they just wanted the basic car. What we’ve done is de-scope some of those areas. And that resulted in some cost reductions.
Just to cope up with rupee depreciation, I don’t think we’ve been able to overcome it at a cost level for consumers but we’ve been at least able to overcome some of the impact in this area.


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"You eat with your eyes."
Those words of wisdom from Chef Todd Bull, Food Service Chef in the Grossmont Union High School District. Bull has been a professional chef for years, and is a graduate of the famed "CIA" -- the Culinary Institute of America in New York.
When it comes to making food for students, presentation is everything. "Doesn't look good? They're not going to try."
On Thursday, the front lawn of Grossmont Union High School looked like a farmer's market. Students cruised outdoor booths, picking up fresh food for free. The school is expanding its "California Thursdays" program, a statewide program that serves California food to California students.
"Super fresh! And organic as well," said Tarek Ayoub of the produce at his stand. He was handing out berry oranges from his son's farm, Eden Tropics in Temecula.
Ayoub asked Chef Bull to cut up some of the oranges for display. Chef Bull used what's called a "crown cut" to give the oranges an edge.
"I love those," said Grossmont High senior Priscilla Garcia of the food display.
Classmate Sarai Anguiano agreed.
"If you cut food into fun shapes, little kids are more likely to eat it," she said.
To be sure, fresh food is healthier. But is it cost effective for a school district? Food Service Director Vince Scimone said the food is a little more costly, but the district -- which serves thousands of students each day -- has great buying power.
"We believe we're the largest restaurant in any backyard," he said.


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Listen to this post:
It’s no secret that Apple and Samsung are no longer the only top players when it comes to the smartphone industry, mainly because more brands are giving them a run for their money with their fair share of competitive specs and prices. Now, the latest market data seems to prove this too.
Tech research firm Gartner Thursday found that the two long-standing giants seem to be losing grip on their share of the smartphone market, as Huawei is now taking 15% of the pie. This puts it in third place, falling just behind Samsung and Apple, who dominate with 17% and 16% respectively.
According to CNBC, this growth is especially startling, as Huawei’s share has increased by 4% in just three months. Furthermore, Samsung and Apple lost significant market share in the fourth quarter year-over-year, with Apple losing 2% and Samsung dropping by 1%.
Gartner estimated that Apple moved 64.5 million iPhone units in Q4 of 2018. While that’s no small feat, it’s actually down 12% from Q4 of 2017 which makes it the biggest quarterly year-on-year decline in sales since the first quarter of 2016.
With smartphone users in China growing at a great pace, Apple is losing out on sales there, which is why their market share has taken a dip. Senior research director at Gartner, Anshul Gupta said:
“When you look at the flagship smartphones from Huawei, or from Oppo and Vivo, they have features that one can find in the flagship smartphones of Samsung and Apple, but at the same time the prices are quite low.”
That’s about as straightforward as it gets!
It probably doesn’t help that Samsung has gone further along the expensive side of the spectrum with its US$1,980 (approx. RM8,073) foldable Galaxy Fold, which we reported on here. It’s received widespread criticism that its hefty price will drive more customers away than ever, although we’ll have to wait until after its launch date of April 26 to find out if that’s true.
When it comes to brand consciousness, Gupta explained that people are no longer turning their noses up at Chinese brands either, as they “increasingly show the same pride with owning a Chinese model as they would with a Samsung or Apple device.”
If there’s one place where Huawei’s smartphone sales have yet to soar, it’s in the United States. This is mostly due to the political concerns that have been raised by the government there, such as when U.S. officials warned that Huawei’s phones and telecommunications equipment have the potential to be used as spying devices for Chinese intelligence. Gupta says: “They don’t have much business coming from the U.S., especially when it comes to devices,” though he maintains that the negative sentiment towards Huawei hasn’t done much to dampen its global sales. Clearly!
This has definitely been eye-opening for us! Tell us, do you agree with these results, and are you a user of a Chinese smartphone model yourself? Sound off in the comments below!
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Nokia confirmed late Sunday evening that it has agreed to sell its HERE mapping technology to a group of German automakers for $3.07 billion.
Audi, BMW, and Daimler AG will acquire Nokia’s HERE digital mapping service, with each company holding an equal stake. The deal is expected to close early next year and is subject to regulatory approval.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the deal two weeks ago and noted that the automakers will invite other companies to take a stake in HERE after purchasing the business.
In April, Nokia said it had begun “a review of strategic options, including a potential divestment” for HERE, one of the three major businesses that remained part of Nokia following Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s smartphone business. Microsoft agreed to a long-term license of the HERE technology as part of its Nokia deal.
While Google Maps has substantially more users, the New York Times reported in May that HERE has an 80 percent market share for built-in car navigation systems and has 6,000 employees making nearly 3 million daily updates to the mapping software.
Former HERE CEO Michael Halbherr, who stepped down this past August, told GeekWire last year that his company wanted “to create an incredible location cloud business.”
“We want to be known as the location cloud also from a consumer perspective, the way Spotify is known for music,” he said. “We want to work everywhere.”
HERE has a substantial presence in the Seattle region following its acquisition of Medio Systems last year. We’ve reached out to the company to learn how HERE employees in Seattle will be affected by the deal, and will update when we hear back.
Update: Medio CEO Rob Lilleness told GeekWire today that HERE will continue to invest in its Seattle office, which is focused on analytics for the mapping platform. In fact, HERE just inked a lease to double its office space in Seattle. It currently employs 70 in the Emerald City, with room for up to 130 employees with the additional space.


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ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) – Agents with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles were at an Arlington warehouse known as the headquarters for Presidential Movers as several customers came to get their things.
The company is accused of giving customers quotes, then demanding more money after the items are loaded onto the truck. Investigators believe the company also operates under the names Unified Moving and Unified Van Lines.
Now, some customers are finally getting closure, with the help of the DMV. They arrived at the warehouse with rental trucks and newly-hired movers to get their possessions.
While these Presidential customers are getting their things back, several Unified victims are still waiting.
Consumer Justice was there as Ranke Agbaje went searching for her brother’s goods. He moved to Kentucky weeks ago and was still waiting for his things to arrive. “I feel cheated, I’m really upset,” said Agbaje. “Because you paid and you don’t get the service you paid for.” Agbaje was told his stuff was not in Arlington. He filed a complaint with the Texas DMV.
In a social media post, another Unified customer claimed she used a shovel to pry open the warehouse door and haul away her belongings while workers were not there.
The DMV has received 174 complaints about Presidential. In January, the agency fined Presidential $648,000 and the FMCSA revoked licenses for Presidential and Unified.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office is investigating.
But even after all of that, Consumer Justice spotted movers at work within the last week.


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A IKEA spokesman said the meatballs containing horsemeat had been on sale in countries including the Czech Republic, Britain, Portugal, Netherlands and Belgium The product has since been pulled from the shelves.
More top news
David Cameron will say the Tories are the party of the "grafters, roofers, retailers and plumbers" as he set out plans to help small firms
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg will say his party are fighting '60 Eastleighs' on the campaign trail in the Hampshire constituency today.
The late Coronation Street actress Anne Kirkbride has been nominated for a British Soap Award.


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VR and AR have indeed been making great strides in how we perceive our reality. One purveyor of this was Samsung. They actually coupled their Gear VR headset with their lineup of Flagship Galaxy smartphones. Now things are getting juicer.
Visual Camp, a VR eye-tracking company let loose a barrage of information about a standalone VR headset that Samsung actually showcased at this year’s MWC (Mobile World Congress) in March. Standalone VR headsets are a new entrant to the VR and AR playing field as they do not require a smartphone, PC or cables to operate. Called the “Exynos VR III,” to set itself apart from the Exynos VR II which presumably came before it, the headset is powered by a 10nm SoC with Mali G71 graphics. This is quite similar to the configuration seen on Samsung’s Exynos 9 Series chips. As per the chip specifications, it will be able to power dual WQHD+ displays (2560 x 1440 or slightly more) at 90Hz, or one 4K display at 75Hz.
What makes this headset stand out is the fact that it has gaze tracking apart from hand tracking and facial expression recognition. However, whether or not it has inside-out motion tracking is yet to be seen (literally) but it looks like the Exynos VR III headset has sufficient sensors to make it happen. Eye tracking is a vital element for both AR and VR. When applied, the resolution of the part of the display screen being viewed by the user’s eyes at any given time is sharpened, while the resolution for all other parts is reduced. This is called foveated rendering. It’s almost like when you take a photo and you select one area and the rest of it is blurred out. This is essentially gaze tracking.
Judging by the size and design of the headset, it seems fair to assume that this is just a prototype or demo unit. In fact, we actually haven’t seen any news or details about the so called Exynos VR II before so we actually might not see an official announcement from Samsung about the Exynos VR III either. We shouldn’t lose hope though. If everything works out, we may see a number of standalone VR headsets from different manufacturers. Whether we can afford said headsets remains to be seen, but it’s indeed an exciting time to be alive.


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New vehicles for major Swiss distributor
When it comes to palletising, storing, picking, assembling, labelling, packing and transporting – the Suhr distribution centre (MVS) operated by the Swiss retailer Migros – is one of the most innovative high-performance logistics facilities in Europe. The company delivers goods to around 600 Migros outlets, as well as to the Migrolino shops.
The retailer’s subsidiary MVS is now banking on Mercedes-Benz for the first time. The new vehicles – four Actros and drei Antos – are on roads throughout the whole of Switzerland six days a week. (ben)


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By US Daily Review Staff.
At a time when unemployment is at a record we had not seen since the Great Depression and real unemployment close to 20 million people, there is an organization that wants to take one of the nation’s largest employers to task: Target. More than 7,000 people have joined a campaign on Change.org calling on the retailer Target to reverse its decision to open its doors on Thanksgiving Day and allow workers to spend the holiday with family. Many of those participating in the campaign are employees.
The campaign on Change.org was launched by Anthony Hardwick, a Target employee of three years in Omaha, Nebraska, following news that the company’s management had moved the standard “Black Friday” opening time up from 5am on Friday to midnight on Thanksgiving. The new opening time will require employees to arrive at work no later than 11pm on Thanksgiving Day.
“All Americans should be able to break bread with loved ones on Thanksgiving,” said Hardwick, who works as a part-time parking attendant at a Target store in Omaha. “With the midnight opening, employees like myself will have to leave for work right in the middle of Thanksgiving Dinner. We don’t mind hard work, but cutting into our holidays is a step too far.”
“If Target doesn’t reverse its decision and allow associates to spend Thanksgiving holidays with their family, they might suffer from a fast-growing consumer backlash,” Hardwick added. This is a threatening tone for an actual employee and he is driver in the effort to make sure his employer, is in fact, punished.
Target is not the only “culprit” of interrupting the holiday of its employees. Target, Macy’s, Best Buy and Kohl’s all plan to open at midnight on Thanksgiving, and Wal-Mart will go even further, with a 10 p.m. Thanksgiving start for some deals, a move that consumers are widely criticizing on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Change.org. Of course, with critics, there will also be many who will simply wonder why anyone would want to hurt their own companies in such a challenging economy.
“What this Target employee has accomplished in just a few days is remarkable,” said Change.org Director of Organizing Jess Kutch. “With no budget and armed with only a laptop, in one weekend Anthony Hardwick has managed to recruit thousands of supporters from across the country. Change.org is about empowering anyone, anywhere to demand action on the issues that matter to them – and it has been incredible to watch Anthony Hardwick’s campaign take off.”
In spite of the massive unemployment and the demand for jobs, we live in unusual times. It is likely this movement is a reflection of the larger “Occupy” movement that has been seen throughout the country and even the world.
Many major retailers are choosing to remain closed on Thanksgiving Day, citing their employees’ right to a holiday.
“We wanted to give our associates Thanksgiving Day to spend with their families,” said Bill Gentner, senior vice president for marketing at J.C. Penney, in an interview with the New York Times.
As an update, within days tens of thousands of more have signed the petition, making the argument that it has truly gone viral.


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Chinese Brand Honor Unveils New AI-Powered 'Magic 6 Pro' Smartphone
The Chinese technology company Honor launched its new smartphone, the "Magic 6 Pro," globally and showcased an AI-powered prototype that enables users to unlock and remotely operate their cars with just a glance at their phone screens.
This capability is already available in China, and the company is working on integrating it commercially overseas.
Huawei Technologies sold Honor in November 2020, and it is now a subsidiary of the government-owned company Shenzhen Zhixin.
Ahead of the annual Global Mobile World Congress set to begin in Barcelona on Monday, technology and telecommunications companies are releasing new products and features, hoping that the buzz associated with AI will boost their growth prospects.
Smartphone manufacturers are hopeful that this type of promotion will bolster the stagnant smart mobile market, though experts say that generative AI could raise legal or ethical concerns.
As reported by International Data Corporation (IDC), in 2023, Apple held a 17.3% market share in China, with Honor close behind at 17.1%.
Today, Honor also introduced its new laptop, the "MagicBook Pro 16," featuring AI that allows users to seamlessly drag-and-drop applications, such as messaging apps, from an Android smartphone to a Windows-based computer using a single finger gesture on the screen.
Honor's CEO, George Zhao, expressed in a statement the company's strong belief in the importance of cross-operating system compatibility, especially in the era of artificial intelligence.


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McDonald's Australia starts $90m network transformation
NBN Co finally reveals satellite users who will lose ADSL
Origin eyes cheaper electricity with blockchain trial
TNT Express pegs Petya losses at $374m
NSW Police to combine CIO, CTO roles
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One of the US' biggest breaches.
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Running on Azure.
Sep 6 2017 4:38PM
ANZ Bank users can now approve big transfers with their voice
Voice ID tech exits testing phase.
Sep 4 2017 11:57AM
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Further foray into virtual banking.
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Three thousand Bitcoin ATMs to launch across Australia
Promises instant cashing out.
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Orlando-based Darden Restaurants is cutting its profit forecast for the year, with the owner of Olive Garden and Red Lobster blaming failed promotions and negative publicity generated by its tests to limit health care costs for workers. The company's stock tumbled 8 percent.
Darden cuts outlook, cites failed promotions
The Associated Press
December 4, 2012


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Politicians can learn from Wendy’s, Trump
So it appears that Wendy’s is now the Donald Trump of fast food chains, at least as it regards Twitter. The AP reports:
It started Monday when a Twitter user accused the fast food chain of lying about using “fresh, never frozen” beef for its hamburgers. After Wendy’s reiterated its fresh beef policy, the user asked if the company delivered it raw on a hot truck. Wendy’s rhetorically asked the user where cold things are stored that aren’t frozen. The user responded with a claim that McDonald’s served a better breakfast, to which Wendy’s said, “You don’t have to bring them into this just because you forgot refrigerators existed for a second there.”
AP also points out social media users have given Wendy’s high praise for this troll takedown. It all calls to mind President-elect Donald Trump’s aggressive use of Twitter to belittle his opponents. (Today’s edition: Meryl Streep). Trump receives less in the way of high praise than does Wendy’s; indeed, political sophisticates often scoff at his sometimes-over the top use of Twitter. But no one denies his tweets are effective at beating back attacks and clogging up a news cycle in his favor. I’d like to see more politicians take the path of Wendy’s and Trump. Reading Tweets from most politicians is a little like conversing with someone for whom English is not quite yet a second language. You kinda know what they’re saying, but it’s not exactly right. That’s because most politicians believe social media is a way for them to get their message out. Well, it is and it isn’t. By all means, push your message. But expect someone to push back. And then defend your message and your name and your brand. Engage with the people who love you and especially with those who hate you. Is it good for democracy? I don’t know. But social media will reward you for it.
Article by: Patrick Hynes


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In what amounts to something of a Catch-22 for the activist investor, Icahn said he’s had lots of talks with potential CEO candidates, but that they want clarity in the fight for the personal-computer maker before signing on the dotted line.
“Nobody really wants to go into a beehive,” he said in the television interview. “You want to know pretty much where you stand.”
That could itself be a bit of an issue. One of the key questions Icahn and Southeastern face in their fight is who would run the company if they were to win.
Icahn and Southeastern are asking shareholders to vote against the $24.4 billion buyout by Michael Dell and Silver Lake at a special meeting on July 18. The activists would then seek to have their own board voted in and would launch a $14-per-share tender offer and restructure the company, according to their plan. Earlier Monday, Icahn announced he had the funding for the tender offer in line.
If Icahn can’t sign up his candidate, that will force investors to make a choice with a sizeable question mark.
Icahn also defended his offer, saying it was “self evident that we have a superior offer” and adding he believes ISS would side with him. Icahn participated in a meeting Southeastern had with ISS a week ago, dialing in via a conference call, according to a person familiar with the matter.
More In Dell buyout
- Dealpolitik: Is Delaware Law Rigged Against the Small Shareholder?
- Carl Icahn Doesn't Get to Join in the Dell Bounty
- Dell's Value and the 'Falling Knife'
- Dealpolitik: Icahn's U-Turn on Dell Appraisal Rights
- BlackBerry, Meet Dell: A Comparison of 2013's Tech Buyouts
- Dealpolitik: Why I Disagree With Carl Icahn on Dell
How ISS rules could outweigh any shareholder concerns about Icahn not having signed up CEO.
Meanwhile, Icahn had a bit of a warning for corporate America. After joining Twitter last month, he told CNBC he has a plan for the service: He plans to Tweet one at a time the “the 10 worst boards in the country.”


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A lot of gamers decided skip pre-ordering Battlefield 5 which will hit EA financially big time. Different people have different reasons to stay away from Battlefield 5 this time around as there were few controversies around the game. We had some people having issues with women in the game, others complained about the game being… Continue reading Battlefield 5 Low Pre-orders – EA Punished For Their Ignorance.
NVIDIA is expected to announce a new series of gaming graphics cards this coming Monday the 20th of August. The RTX 20xx series of cards is to support real time ray tracing on a hardware level. During this event NVIDIA is to show not only new cards but also new games. We can only assume… Continue reading Battlefield 5 May Support NVIDIA’s RTX Ray Tracing
Few days ago PlayStation Blog confirmed that Red Dead Redemption 2 gameplay trailer have been captured on PS4 PRO in 4K and that the actual game runs in 4K. But it looks like this information is not really accurate. Digital Foundry's Tom Morgan analysis of PS4 PRO footage of the game suggest half of 4K… Continue reading Red Dead Redemption 2 on PS4 PRO Runs in Half Of 4K Resolution
Rockstar has finally shown a new Red Dead Redemption 2 gameplay trailer and it looks fantastic. Many were wondering what resolution this game is going to run at on PS4 PRO and XBOX ONE X. Luckily for them PlayStation Blog has later in a day revealed that the gameplay was captured on PS4 PRO and… Continue reading Red Dead Redemption 2 Will Run in 4K On PS4 PRO & XBOX ONE X – IGN Reports
During Xbox E3 2018 press conference Phil Spencer announced a new studio that Microsoft is building in Santa Monica. New studio is being lead by Daryl Gallagher who worked on many big projects in the past. His goal is to hire a team of talented devs to work on huge projects/games. And it looks like… Continue reading Microsoft Hires God of War’s Senior Producer and Lead Designer on RDR


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From ports to cars to food processing, China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) in the European Union (EU) concerns a wide variety of economy sectors. While China’s FDI in the EU has grown exponentially, it still is only a small part of the total FDI into EU.
Despite the government’s role in the growth of Chinese FDI since 2007, Chinese companies invest abroad in similar ways to other commercial entities. They are investing to gain market share, improve brand recognition and reputation, and find resources and assets. Chinese investors show a preference for investments in the largest western European countries and especially Germany. However, as China’s global importance and economic power increases, worries about the possible economic and political consequences of Chinese FDI are also intensifying.
Negotiations on an EU-China bilateral investment treaty were launched in 2013. EU enterprises call for such an investment agreement to ensure more reciprocity in business relationships. Several EU Member States have used different approaches to attract Chinese investment, leading to fears of a “race to the bottom”. A single EU-China agreement would remove most of these issues. Chinese entrepreneurs for their part see the different Member State approaches as leading to fragmentation of markets (laws, languages), labour laws and social security, and therefore as a barrier to their effective investment in the EU.


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Mexico’s Consumer Prices Rose Less Than Expected in Early Augustby
Annual inflation remains below central bank’s 3 percent target
Banxico kept key rate at 4.25% this month after peso rebounded
Mexico’s consumer prices rose less than expected in early August, keeping the annual inflation rate below the central bank’s target.
Prices rose 0.31 percent in the first two weeks of the month, the national statistics institute said on its website Wednesday. The median forecast of 22 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 0.35 percent increase. From a year earlier, prices increased 2.80 percent, compared with 2.59 percent at the end of July. Banco de Mexico targets inflation of 3 percent.
Mexico’s central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate by one percentage point this year to prevent a weak peso from spurring inflation. It kept the key rate unchanged at 4.25 percent earlier this month after the currency recovered from record lows triggered by the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union, and as economic growth slows and inflation remains below target.
The Finance Ministry cut its 2016 growth forecast on Monday for a second time this year, saying gross domestic product will rise 2 percent to 2.6 percent, down from a previous estimate of 2.2 percent to 3.2 percent.
The peso rose 0.2 percent to 18.5349 per dollar at 8:03 a.m. in Mexico City. Despite its recovery from the Brexit vote, the currency was still the worst performer among major currencies tracked by Bloomberg after the British pound, weakening 7.3 percent this year through Tuesday.
Core prices, which exclude energy and farm costs, increased 0.13 percent in the first half of August, compared with the 0.16 percent median forecast of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.


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Fitbit just announced three new devices, but there could be more on the way. According to FCC details uncovered by 9to5Google, a new Fitbit tracker (possibly a Charge 6 or Luxe 2) could arrive soon with Bluetooth and NFC.
9to5 was able to obtain an ‘e-label’ filed with the FCC on August 25th, which happened to be exactly one year after Fitbit announced the Charge 5. Moreover, the e-label is for a Fitbit with the model number ‘FB423’ — the Charge 5 was FB421. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the e-label is for the Charge 6, as Fitbit’s new Inspire 3 tracker sports model number FB424.
On top of that, 9to5Google points to its recent report about Google Wallet coming to Fitbit devices. In the report, the publication spotted a reference to a ‘Charge 6’ with Bluetooth and NFC — the FCC filing seems to line up with that.
While things generally seem to line up with the FB423 device being the Charge 6, it’s possible it could be a successor to the company’s Luxe tracker. With the Inspire 3 getting a colour screen, there’s less to differentiate the Luxe from the Inspire line — support for NFC payments could do that.
As for when this mystery device will launch, well, that’s unclear. 9to5 suggests it could launch later this year since the Fb423 device wasn’t included in the recently unveiled fall lineup. However, Fitbit would likely want the device out ahead of the holiday season. With the timing for that being a little tight, it might make more sense for an early 2023 launch (plus, that would avoid a new Charge 6 or Luxe 2 tracking cannibalizing holiday sales for the current versions of both trackers).


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John Lewis Nottingham is looking for 150 temporary sales assistants, in the run up to Christmas.
WIth just over 90 shopping days to go until Christmas, the firm have launched their recruitment campaign for seasonal workers.
More top news
Mostly sunny and dry after a cloudy start in parts.
Detectives have released a photograph of a man they want to speak to after a woman was robbed at a cemetery in Nottingham.
Inquests have been opened into the deaths of seven people from the Midlands killed in the Tunisia terror attacks.


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Users of Bitcoin wallet Electrum are facing phishing attacks, according to Johnwick.io. Hackers broadcast messages to the Electrum client through a malicious server, prompting the user to update to v4.0.0, and if the user follows the prompt to install this "backdoor-carrying client", the private key is stolen and all digital assets are stolen. At the time of writing, at least 1,450 BTCs worth about $11.6 million had been stolen from phishing attacks that faked Electrum upgrade tips. DeViable Security Labs hereby suggests that versions of Electrum below 3.3.4 are vulnerable to such phishing attacks, and users using Electrum Wallet are requested to update to the latest version of Electrum 3.3.8 via the official website (electrum.org), which has not yet been officially released, and do not use the link in the prompt to avoid asset losses.
Abstract: On December 27, commentators reported on social media that a malicious group hacking the cryptocurrency wallet Electrum had stolen nearly 250 bitcoins (about $937,000). The attack was later confirmed by Electrum, which created a fake version of the wallet to trick users into providing password information. "Hackers set up a bunch of malicious servers," Reddit user u/normal_r.
DeViable Security Labs hereby suggests that versions of Electrum below 3.3.4 are vulnerable to such phishing attacks, and users using Electrum Wallet are requested to update to the latest version of Electrum 3.3.8 via the official website (electrum.org), which has not yet been officially released, and do not use the link in the prompt to avoid asset losses.
According to Bleeping Computer, the BTC wallet app Electrom accused a phishing product called Electrum Pro of stealing a user's seed key on May 9 on GitHub and registering a domain name called electrum without Electrum's permission. The Electrum team noted that there was a piece of code indicating that the counterfeit product might have taken the user's seed key and uploaded it to the electrum. Affected users should transfer funds from BTC URLs managed by Eletrum Pro.
read_pool: Read thread pool, all read-only KV requests, including non-transactions of transactions, such as raw get, txn kv get.
On December 27, Reddit user u/normal_rc reported that Electrum's wallet had been hacked and that nearly 250 bitcoins (243.6 BTCs, nearly $1 million) had been maliciously stolen, coinelegraph reported. Electrum then confirmed that the attack included creating a fake version of the wallet to trick users into providing password information. Electrum responded on Twitter that "this is a persistent phishing attack on Electrum users" and warned users not to download Electrum from any source other than the official website.
Electrum DASH "PrivateSend" is on TestNet.Tags: electrum 3.0.4
Vitalik: Sidechain VS Plasma VS Singer, blockchain expansion scheme vs. comparison.Tags: greenaddress vs electrum
$dir - "$homedir/.electrum/wallets"
If you haven't set up Electrum Wallet to be compatible with your phone wallet, you can use the private key to recover the Electrum wallet on your web wallet. Select Wallet - "Private Key" - "Export" on the Electrum wallet and you will export the file qtum-electrum-private-keys.csv or copy only one private key. Select Recover from WIF on your web wallet, paste the private key, and select Confirm. Check that the wallet address is correct. You may need to use Dump as a Key File to save the key file.
Original title: Slow Fog: Analysis of Pseudo Electrum Harpoon Fishing AttacksTags: electrum 4.0 scam
In a recent announcement on Twitter, Electrum advised users to disable the automatic connection option and manually select a server, while the company is developing a more powerful Electrum.


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Cedar goes long
Last year, Cedar Realty Trust shook off the last vestiges of its recession. Upon taking the reins of Cedar, new president and CEO Bruce Schanzer set in motion a short-term strategic plan in third quarter 2011. The plan was to sell nearly half of the company’s 140 properties owned in 2011 and streamline its property-type and geographic focus, while reducing leverage over the following two years. While the results for 2013 are being tallied now, performance during the first three quarters suggest a very good year of solid results. Cedar’s successful completion of its short-term strategic plan in November 2013 seems to have been a catalyst for recent positive share price performance.
When Schanzer joined Cedar in June 2011, its portfolio contained about 140 disparate properties including unanchored strip centers, malls, single-tenant net leased assets and grocery-anchored shopping centers. “There was no unifying theme to the portfolio,” Schanzer said. “Our near-term strategy was to sell about half of our assets, 21 in a joint venture and 50 others in order to give the company a focus. Then we would use the proceeds to delever to the tune of $190 million and drive the debt to EBITDA ratio down from 9.2x to below 8.0x.
“We back-tested the new portfolio to see how it would have performed during the recession and discovered it would have turned in very strong results. In fact, better than all but one of the other shopping center REITs.”
Cedar kept only the strongest performers located along the Washington, D.C., to Boston corridor. These assets are the types of assets that tend to withstand tough economic environments such as the last recession.
“The D.C. to Boston corridor has four of the eight best retail markets in the country,” Schanzer said. “They are stable, mature markets, with attractive demographics.”
The short-term plan has worked. Cedar has pruned assets, reduced its debt to EBITDA ratio to 7.8x, improved its balance sheet with an unsecured corporate credit facility, lowered its cost of capital and managed to unencumber 40% of its NOI.
“We plan to continue to address maturities and continue to unencumber a greater percentage of our NOI,” said Schanzer. “This will increase the flexibility of our balance sheet.”
The short-term strategy has enabled the company to begin pivoting into an even more ambitious long-term strategy.
Cedar’s long-term strategy aims generally to improve the average asset quality of its centers. Accomplishing that will involve implementing five tactics:
• Focus on grocery-anchored centers between Washington, D.C., and Boston
• Intensify the geographic footprint and improve asset quality through capital recycling
• Make targeted capital investments into existing centers
• Drive results through leasing and operations
• Continue to strengthen the balance sheet
D.C. to Boston focus
According to Schanzer, Cedar wants to acquire grocery-anchored centers in the D.C. to Boston corridor with attractive demographics, a stable income stream with growth potential and solid returns. “In short, we are looking for assets that improve our overall portfolio quality,” he said.
For example, the company recently acquired the 101,000 square foot Big Y Shopping Center in Fairfield County, Connecticut, that fits all of these criteria. It lies within the I-95 corridor. Anchored by a high-volume Big Y supermarket, the Class A center is 100% leased. High-credit quality tenants include Wells Fargo, Starbucks and Dollar Tree. The population within a five-mile radius is 102,747, and the average annual household income is $91,522.
Improve asset quality through capital recycling
The Big Y Shopping Center purchase price of $34.5 million was initially funded through its credit line and is ultimately being capitalized with funds from asset sales. “The Big Y investment achieves two things,” said Schanzer. “It’s a better asset than our average asset, so it inherently improves average asset quality. In addition, the way we paid for it by selling inferior centers, also raises average asset quality.”
Capital investments in existing centers
Cedar is also redeveloping centers that should be performing better, given their demographics and locations.
For example, the company has invested $3 million in the 466,213 square foot Colonial Commons in Harrisburg, Pa., to re-tenant a vacant movie theater parcel with a 15,500-sq.-ft. Old Navy and a 10,100-sq.-ft. Ulta, both slated to open this spring. The redevelopment also includes relocations of several small-shop tenants.
Schanzer said estimates project an unlevered internal rate of return (IRR) in the mid-teens.
Next, the redevelopment will continue into a phase II that includes the re-tenanting of another junior anchor box in the center, presumably increasing the IRR.
Leasing and operations
“Acquisitions provide good returns,” Schanzer said. “Investing in your own portfolio provides higher returns — recall the mid-teens return anticipated for the Colonial Commons redevelopment.
“The highest returns, however, come from leasing and operations. Ideally, we want to drive rent and occupancy growth to optimize portfolio performance.”
The next three years hold great opportunities for Cedar’s leasing program. About 34% of the company’s total square footage will roll over between 2014 and 2016, and Cedar anticipates that rental increases will average around 8%.
It’s already begun. Four Farm Fresh stores totaling 233,000 square feet recently exercised their contractual renewal options with 8.4% rental increases.
“Releasing 34% of our square footage at significant rental rate increases will offer meaningful upside,” Schanzer said. “This is an opportunity brought about by fortuitous timing in a period of economic growth and lack of new shopping center development.”
Operational changes are contributing to NOI growth as well. “Cedar used to be highly acquisitive, and we often didn’t take the time to focus on operational opportunities,” Schanzer said. “But now that operations have become a main focus, we have pursued a strategy of more active asset management which is already generating attractive returns.”
Continuing to strengthen the balance sheet
Schanzer went on to say that plans call for a continuation of policies that reduce leverage, unencumber NOI and drive down the cost of capital.
Building a more flexible balance sheet plus a focus on the D.C. to Boston corridor, improving asset quality, improving existing centers and boosting NOI through leasing and operations comprise Cedar’s long-term plan.
“It’s a strategy designed to build a powerful value-creation machine that will compound value over an extended period of time,” Schanzer said.
That’s been hard for REITs to do in the past. “Yes,” Schanzer agreed. “But it can be done if you take a highly disciplined approach to capital allocation and balance sheet management. We want to generate positive shareholder returns on a consistent basis every year by methodically growing our net asset value. That’s a powerful long-term value-creation model.”
Redeveloping Waikiki retail
The few blocks surrounding the Honolulu intersection of Kalakaua and Ka’iulani Avenues boasts the highest pedestrian traffic in the world-renowned Waikiki retail district. The count exceeds 22,000 visitors per day. And it is rising as recovering international economies enable tourists from around the world — and especially from the Asia-Pacific countries of Japan, China and South Korea — to respond to the beckoning call of Hawaii’s Big Island of Oahu.
For the first nine months of 2013, visitors to Hawaii spend $11 billion, an increase of 4.1% from the same period in 2012. The total number of visitors rose 4.5% to 6,256,793 visitors.
To keep evermore tourists coming, the owners of the retail and hospitality real estate on and around Kalakaua and Ka’iulani Avenues have undertaken a billion dollar redevelopment effort.
Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts, owner of five hotel and resort properties in Hawaii, is planning a $450 million redevelopment of its Sheraton Princess Ka’iulani Hotel, which is located at that intersection.
“Just across Ka’iulani Avenue, Blackstone just bought the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach and plans to embark on a major renovation,” said Kazuko Morgan, vice chairman of retail services with Cushman & Wakefield of California. “On the other side of the Sheraton Princess, The Taubman Company is renovating its International Market Place. Across the street the International Market Place, Kyo-ya is renovating another of its hotels.
“This is a game changer for the area. These renovations and redevelopments are raising the bar to a level that will attract luxury tenants — it has been a middle-market retail district.”
The $450 million redevelopment of the Princess Ka’iulani is the latest in Kyo-ya’s billion-dollar investment in Waikiki, an effort that began in 2007 with the renovation and rebranding of the historic Moana Surfrider as a Westin Resort & Spa. The repositioning of The Royal Hawaiian as a Luxury Collection Resort followed, along with the renovation of the Sheraton Waikiki.
“The Princess Ka’iulani consists of two towers,” said Morgan. “One will undergo a complete renovation. Plans call for the demolition of the second tower and the construction of a new 34-story, five-star hotel and residential tower.”
Both towers will sit atop a one-story structure with approximately 31,000-sq.-ft. of upscale street-level retail fronting on Kalakaua Avenue. Within walking distance of 22 hotels and 28,772 hotel rooms, the retail development will be called The Shops on Kalakaua.
Positioned to capture the 4.9 million tourists that visit Oahu annually, The Shops on Kalakaua will appeal to international travelers looking for international luxury brands in Waikiki.
Kyo-ya has appointed Cushman and Wakefield as the exclusive retail-leasing agent for The Shops on Kalakaua. Kazuko Morgan will lead that effort.
Target cuts outlook; discloses wider data breach
Minneapolis — Target Corp. on Friday cuts its profit forecast on the heels of disappointing fourth quarter same-store sales. The retailer also disclosed that its previously announced data breach involved many more people was much wider than it initially thought.
Target said that it expects same-store sales will fall 2.5%, from estimates of no change previously. And as part of its ongoing investigation into the data breach, Target said it learned that the names, mailing addresses, phone numbers or email addresses for up to 70 million individuals also had been stolen. The company said those 70 million people were separate from the approximately 40 million credit and debit card accounts previously reported as compromised, though there was some overlap. Target stressed that the newly disclosed information was not a new breach but was uncovered as part of its continuing investigation.
“I know that it is frustrating for our guests to learn that this information was taken and we are truly sorry they are having to endure this,” stated Gregg Steinhafel, Target chairman, president and CEO. “I also want our guests to know that understanding and sharing the facts related to this incident is important to me and the entire Target team.”
Target said it will offer one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection to all U.S. customers.
The company said its sales were stronger than expected prior to the December 19, 2013 disclosure of the data breach. Once the news broke, things headed south quickly and the company said is saw “meaningfully weaker” than expected sales, even though it instituted a 10% across the board discount for customers who shopped its stores the final weekend before Christmas.
Target said it is likely to incur a charge whose size it isn’t yet able to estimate because it doesn’t know how much it will have to spend on a range of data-breach related costs. According to the company, the costs may include liabilities to payment card networks for reimbursements of credit card fraud and card reissuance costs, liabilities related to REDcard fraud and card re-issuance, liabilities from civil litigation, governmental investigations and enforcement proceedings, expenses for legal, investigative and consulting fees, and incremental expenses and capital investments for remediation activities.
“In light of the recent data breach, our top priority is taking care of our guests and helping them feel confident in shopping at Target,” said Target CFO John Mulligan. “At the same time, we remain keenly focused on driving profitable top-line growth and investing our resources to deliver superior financial results over time. While we are disappointed in our 2013 performance, we continue to manage our business with great discipline and leverage our expense optimization efforts to reinvest in multichannel initiatives that generate long-term value for our shareholders.”


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Laundry detergent pods went on the market in 2010. They are now manufactured by at least 10 brands including Tide Pods and All Mighty Pacs, and consumers have quickly embraced this new, easy way to do laundry, as evidenced by the $525 million spent in 2013 on just these two products. However, the colorful packaging which resembles candy or a teething toy according to some critics, actually makes these pods very dangerous to young kids.
Researchers led by Dr. Marcel J. Casavant, the medical director of the poison center at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, compiled cases reported to the National Poison Data System related to the laundry pods from 2012 to 2013. They found about 17,000 reports of children under the age of 6 who were injured from the pods, either through ingesting the contents or squirting the detergent into their eyes. The most common signs of ingestion were vomiting, becoming lethargic, coughing or choking, but over 700 children were hospitalized and half required intensive care. Furthermore, over 100 children required intubation and so far, two children have died.
In response to concerns, manufacturers have worked to make the packaging childproof, by making the pods opaque so children cannot see the colorful solution inside or putting triple-latch lids on each pod to make it harder to open.
However, Dr. Fred M. Henretig, an emergency medicine doctor and senior toxicologist at Children s Hospital of Philadelphia says these changes are not enough. The products should have true child-resistant packaging. The most important factor in decreasing bad outcomes for kids is to decrease the toxicity of the product itself, or decrease the ability for it to get into the hands or mouths of young children.
Currently, ASTM International, a nonprofit standards developer, is working with manufacturers to establish standards for packaging of these pods, but these standards may take one to two years to develop.
ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross had this to say: The number of young children who have been hurt by these laundry pods is a serious concern, and clearly this product must be re-evaluated to make it safe for use for those with young children. This is in contrast to the concern by the CDC about e-liquid poisoning. The fact is that e-liquid poisoning is much more rare than the CDC and the media want you to believe. The CDC is simply trying to promote their own agenda by continuing to fulminate about the hypothetical and exaggerated risks of e-cigarettes. This is in fact in the worst interests of public health, since their obsession with e-cigs seems to have made them blind to America s real massive public health problem: cigarette smoking. However, we are very much in favor of regulating e-cigarettes as the consumer products they are, mandate childproof packaging, age restriction on sales and marketing, reliable manufacturing processes and accurate labeling. Similar standards should of course be applied to this starker hazard: detergent pods.


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A collaboration between Volvo, POC, and Ericsson will produce wearable cycling technology that hopes to end collisions between cyclists and cars. The first concept will debut at the 2015 International CES.
The Volkswagen LogBox and Race App system joins a growing list of data-acqusition systems for drivers without racing licenses. It records acceleration, g-forces, and other figures so you can brag about them later.
Data taken from research into Windows Phone advertising trends may have revealed a new device from LG. Named the LG VW820, the device could be the company's return to Microsoft's mobile operating system.


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Search engine giant Google gifted logistics geeks an early Christmas present last November when it announced that Project Wing, its drone delivery service, would launch in 2017. While scant details about how the initiative will work have been released, a patent filed by the company in 2014 and granted Tuesday has shone a little light on how part of it could operate.
As Fast Company first reported, the patent outlines a system by which “mobile delivery receptacles” (presumably, boxes on wheels) will work in tandem with drones to allow for “accurate and reliable package deliveries.”
Here’s how: Upon being notified of a pending delivery, the receptacle will emit infrared beacons that will help guide the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to its location. The drone will hand-off the package to the receptacle, which will then take it to a secure location, such as a garage.
“Conventional aerial delivery device methods do not allow for safe, secure delivery of packages to delivery locations,” the patent filing said, noting, “For example, leaving the package on the front porch of a busy street address may make it more likely that the package is stolen.”
Furthermore: “Detailed delivery instructions to an unmanned aerial delivery service may be difficult for the limited vision system of the aerial delivery device to interpret.”
But just because Project Wing plans to launch next year doesn’t mean it will. For one, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has to first publish its final rules for commercial drone operations before the likes of Google or Amazon (which has been working on its own Prime Air drone delivery venture) can take to the skies.
“We’re pretty much on a campaign here, working with the FAA, working with the small UAV community and the aviation community at large, to move things along,” Dave Vos, head of Project Wing, said in a speech at an air traffic control convention in Washington, D.C., late last year.


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Virgin Mobile dials up Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE
Details include a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 4-inch display, 5-megapixel rear camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and 2100mAh battery. Like its Sprint counterpart, the Galaxy Victory 4G LTE also includes NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, and microSD expansion. Rounding things out, the phone also include S Beam, Google Wallet, and Virgin Mobile ID Packs.
The Android 4.1 Jelly Bean smartphone will be offered in retail stores in mid-March.
You might also like
Sony Ericsson recently launched the Xperia Ray, which is a small version of the Xperia Arc, and it was launched for people who are looking for a little affordable ‘luxury’.
Virgin Mobile today added its latest Android smartphone, the Supreme, to its no-contract portfolio. Powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the phone boasts a 5-inch display, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor,
The first picture of one of the phones given out by Google, this past weekend, has finally been leaked. If I’m not mistaking, it looks eerily similar to the HTC


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In 1995, Walmart pulled a shirt that said 'someday a woman will be president' for being 'offensive'
Following Tuesday night's historic nomination of the first woman from a major party for president, you can say we've come a long way as a nation since 1995 — the year that Walmart pulled T-shirts that read "someday a woman will be president" from their shelves, calling the message "offensive":
A Walmart spokeswoman said the company stopped selling the shirts at the only store that had them after one customer complained. The store sold about two-thirds of its 204 shirts.
"It was determined the T-shirt was offensive to some people and so the decision was made to pull it from the sales floor," Jane Bockholt said. She refused to reveal the nature of the customer's complaint. [The Associated Press]
"Promoting females as leaders is still a very threatening concept in this country," the shirt's designer, Ann Moliver Ruben, said at the time. She explained that, according to Walmart buyer Sharon Higginbotham, the message on the shirt went "against Walmart's family values."
After outcry from women's groups, the shirts later returned to Walmart shelves, The Telegraph reports.


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In one of the final phases of our adidas The Complete Ride Zeitfrei collaboration, the bikes created as part of the whole project have now been listed on the newly launched Solebox auction site,Solemart. Having only been exhibited, the bikes are brand-new with te proceeds from the sale of the bike donated to charity. Head over to Solemart to see the auction links for the HYPEBEAST Bianchi and the Solebox Bianchi bikes.


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The Central Bank of Kenya is considering the use of Cryptocurrency/AFP
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 12 – The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has announced that its exploring the use of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) as digital currencies take shape globally.
CBK Governor Dr. Patrick Njoroge said the bank is in discussions with other global Central Banks on the possibilities of introducing the CBDC, a move aimed at enhancing the efficiency of cross border payments.
Njoroge who spoke during the sidelines of the Afro – Asia Fintech Festival said CBDCs can slash the time needed for cross border payments in addition to cutting costs significantly.
“We see the benefits would be more cross border. The issue is not to be first, the issue is to do it right,” he revealed.
The move comes after Nigeria launched its digital currency in October dubbed eNaira in the market becoming the first African country to launch a digital currency.
Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari said eNaira would increase remittances, foster cross-border trade, improve financial inclusion and enable the government to make welfare payments more easily.
Alongside innovation, he said, the adoption of a CBDC could improve economic activities and increase Nigerian GDP by $29 billion over the next 10 years.
Meanwhile, Ghana is already testing its CBDC e-Cedi and is working to make the currency available to offline users.
Other African countries exploring the CBDC include South Africa and Rwanda. .
A CBDC is money that exists solely in electronic form, issued and regulated by the nation’s monetary authority and backed by the government.
Central banks across the world are exploring ways to create virtual money as legal tender following the growth in digital payments, cryptocurrency and privately issued stablecoins.
According to the Bank of International Settlements, more than 85 percent of the world’s central banks are working on central bank digital currencies.
The People’s Bank of China has already implemented a digital yuan, and the European Central Bank wants to launch a digital euro by 2025.
“CBDCs have the potential to revolutionize monetary policy. Rather than providing an alternative to national monetary systems, so-called GovCoins would mirror each country’s fiat currency, using blockchain technology to strengthen central bank oversight,” said Alberto Gallo Portfolio Manager at Algebris Investments.
Gallo said the architecture of CBDCs will determine how much information central banks will have on individual transactions.
“In theory, a digital dollar using the blockchain could provide the identity of each buyer and seller in a transaction, giving the Fed real-time data on individual “wallets”. This may give the Fed the ability to tier interest rates at various levels for economic sectors or regions, rather than relying on commercial banks for policy transmission,” Gallo noted in his latest publication on Bloomberg.
Kenya is already leading the world in trading cryptocurrencies directly with each other.
Latest data from Chainalysis, Global Crypto adoption Index 2021 has ranked Kenya the top country in the world in terms of peer to peer exchange trade, well ahead of the other 154 countries surveyed.
According to the data, the move was influenced by the danger of weakening African currencies due to the Covid -19 pandemic that hindered reopening of economies.
“Many emerging markets face significant currency devaluation, driving residents to buy cryptocurrency on P2P platforms in order to preserve their savings,” the report states.
The report also ranked Kenya the highest adopter of Cryptocurrencies in Africa, followed by Nigeria. Both countries are ranked 5th and 6th globally.
In 2015, CBK cautioned Kenyans against the use of digital currencies.
“This is to inform the public that virtual currencies such as Bitcoin are not legal tender in Kenya and therefore no protection exists in the event that the platform that exchanges or holds the virtual currency fails or goes out of business,” CBK said in a statement in December 2015.


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Unlike any other shopping centre, 27 Boxes, made entirely from shipping containers, opened last week in Melville, Johannesburg. The “mini mall” as some residents call it, has established itself as a space for smaller businesses that specialise in crafts, boutique stores and unique food outlets. The development while supported by some residents, faced resistance from several others.
It is unlike any other shopping centre you have seen. In what used to be a hundred-year-old park, 80 shipping containers now stand three storeys tall. Melville’s latest shopping development, 27 Boxes, right around the corner from the famous 7th Street, opened last week and has established itself as a family-friendly, crafty space.
Developer of the centre, Arthur Blake, is also the managing developer of Citiq, a property management company. He said he decided to use the vacant land to draw people into Melville, a suburb he described as “arty”.
Some residents were very unhappy about the development and raised concerns such as crime, litter and noise, while others were enthusiastic and happy about the increased business in the area.[huge_it_video_player id=”1″]


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It is this car that will lead a new attack in world markets for the famous Cadillac brand.
The Lyric electric SUV will form the foundation for a Cadillac return to Europe and other markets – potentially including Australia.
A mid-sized SUV similar in size to BMW’s X3 and Audi’s Q5, the Lyriq is a pretty thing in metal. It gets a long bonnet, muscular hunch and daring detail work on the headlamps, grille and tail lamps.
The door handles fold flush with the door panels – much like Tesla’s Model Y – and the cabin is dominated by a giant curved digital screen that houses the driver display and center touchscreen.
Bright chrome highlights elevate the cabin and there’s an abundance of storage space, thanks to the fact that there’s no transmission tunnel running through the center of the vehicle.
Second-row passengers will find more leg and knee room than a mid-sized German luxury SUV, while the reed load area is a decent size.
It’s on the road that Lyric impresses, though.
A 250kW rear-mounted electric motor gets things moving quickly and quietly, though not the brutal launch from the line you’d feel in a Tesla Model Y.
Once you’re moving, though, there’s an impressive boom at most speeds when you floor the throttle.
The venue for our brief test drive was GM’s sprawling Milford Proving Ground outside Detroit and we put the Lyrica through its paces on a variety of surfaces designed to replicate public roads. This included large bumps and dips, a simulated rail crossing, and some wide, high-speed corners.
The Cadillac impressed with its restraint, settled well after big bumps and sat flat through corners even when faced with broken, corrugated bitumen.
Precise steering and reassuring grip adds to the driving pleasure, although you can feel the weight change significantly when you are asked to change direction in a hurry.
Cadillac claims the Lyriq is good for a range of 500km, although this may come down once the more realistic WLTP standard is implemented for the range.
In the US, the Lyriq starts at $62,990 in rear-drive form. A dual-motor version will launch early next year with around 370kW of power for an additional $2000.
GM wouldn’t confirm whether the Lyrica will be available in right-hand-drive, but it appears likely, as it seems the most logical fit for a Cadillac rebirth in European and international markets.
Shilpin Amin, president of GM International, says it is “more simple” to design a vehicle for left- or right-hand drive on an electric vehicle platform.
“How efficient it is to build it taking into account left- and right-handed markets, so you no longer need volume to justify it. You can actually do it very efficiently across all volumes for markets around the world.” can,” he says.
This is encouraging news for Australian Cadillac fans.
Christian Sommer, managing director of GM Strategic Markets, Alliances and Distributors, says the brand has “ambitious goals” in overseas markets, including Australia.
“We want to raise our international standings. Australia and New Zealand are an absolute major pillar of that region. We are always on the lookout for more opportunities,” he says.
Cadillac will lead GM’s transformation into a major EV maker, taking Tesla into the fight.
It will not launch any new petrol vehicles after 2026 and will be EV-only by 2030.
Cadillac interior design manager Tristan Murphy said the focus on electric cars gave the design department a chance to re-imagine the once-storied brand.
“I think it was a good opportunity for us to take a step back and say okay as we move into the future, what do we want Cadillac to do? It was a chance to start it all over again,” he says.
The design team was also conscious of its duty to honor the legacy of the badge.
“I don’t want to say it’s retro in any way, but there are some retro hints because there are things in our history that we want to capture. We have little glimpses into our history because it’s such a thing. Which an EV start-up company doesn’t have,” he says.


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PARIS (Reuters) - France’s SMCP IPO-SMCP.PA will price its stock market flotation at 22 euros per share, it said on Thursday, giving the fashion firm behind the Sandro and Maje labels a market value of around 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion).
The group, which also houses clothing brand Claudie Pierlot, will remain around 51 percent owned by China’s Shandong Ruyi following the initial public offering, while private equity firm KKR will sell its 10 percent holding.
Paris-based Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierot (SMCP), which is using proceeds from the listing to back its expansion and pay down debt, touts itself as an “affordable luxury” company.
SMCP’s clothes - such as dresses priced in the $200-$400 range - are more expensive than high-street retailers but it also operates a nimble production model more akin to the world of fast-fashion that of the top-end luxury labels.
SMCP is looking to grow more in China, where recovering demand from middle-class consumers is giving retailers a lift, and like many peers it also wants to develop online sales.
The IPO raised around 541 million euros for the company and selling shareholders, and SMCP said this could increase to 623 million euros if over-allotment options are exercised on the back of strong demand.
Some of SMCP’s managers - the founders had around 8 percent of the firm before the IPO - banked 5.9 million euros from selling shares, the company said, while KKR took home 148 million euros. Shandong Ruyi raised 261 million euros and said the funds would be used to buy the Chinese government’s stake in its Yinchuan Ruyi textile factory.
The company, which aims to open between 80 to 90 stores a year between 2018 and 2020, also raised 127 million euros from issuing new stock. It will have a free float of 33.1 percent.
Shares in SMCP will start trading in Paris on Friday in the form of “promesses d’actions”, or a type of share right.
Reporting by Sarah White; Editing by Mark Potter


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This is sure to cause outrage with a lot of people! Others will love it.
A Florida entrepreneur said he had sold out of gun range targets depicting a faceless, hood-clad figure holding an iced tea and a bag of Skittles meant to look like Trayvon Martin.
"The response is overwhelming," the seller told Orlando's WKMG news team over e-mail. "I sold out in two days." The station did not identify the seller, and said it found the ad on a popular firearms auctioning website.
According to WKMG, the seller said that that the "main motivation was to make money off the controversy." The seller said that he was a supporter of Zimmerman who thinks "he is innocent and that he shot a thug."


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Samsung will launch a long-awaited foldable phone, Galaxy X early next year.
Samsung is supposedly still deciding whether the device will fold out vertically or horizontally, which seems very strange considering the company recently suggested the device will already be ready to be displayed at Samsung’s developer conference next month. In that case, perhaps Samsung may instead present conceptual details of the design and user.
The folding phone apparently won’t include an in-display fingerprint sensor because of technical difficulties with the screen technology. It’s said to include a four-inch display that can be used when the phone is closed, with a much larger screen on the inside that unfolds like a wallet — similar to a concept shown off in 2014 (above). The WSJ’s earlier report said the inner screen would be about seven inches diagonal when unfolded, though it’s hard to know quite what that’d look like without knowing the aspect ratio.
“Possibly when we start selling the foldable phone, it may be a niche market, but definitely, it will expand,” Koh said. “I’m positive that we do need a foldable phone.”
Anyone patiently waiting for the first folding smartphone to launch worldwide will need to have some spare cash lying around, with analysts suggesting the price of the Samsung Galaxy X could reach ₩2,000,000 (roughly £1,375 or $1,800).
Watch the tech insiders review to have a better at look about the speculated guesses on the phones design https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNGyESJ0uBc


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Apple's new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are making their way into consumers' hands today, and one of the first tasks for iPhone owners will be moving their content to their new device. AppleInsider walks you through the process of backing up and restoring data using iCloud and iTunes.
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Once users are running iOS 8 on their iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, they'll be able to share all iTunes account purchases, including apps, music and movies, between up to six people in their family.
Apple on Wednesday updated its customer privacy webpage to reflect new security initiatives, highlighting a letter written by CEO Tim Cook, who restated the company's business is in selling products, not harvesting data.
Following the release of iOS 8 on Wednesday, Apple rolled out updates for its iWork productivity app suite, bringing the titles up to speed with the company's latest mobile operating system.
Continuing its ongoing first-party iOS app updates, Apple on Wednesday released a new version of iMovie that introduces a slew of editing features alongside support for iOS 8.
In sync with the public rollout of its next-generation mobile operating system, Apple on Wednesday released updates for each of its first-party iOS apps that bring minor tweaks and fixes for compatibility with iOS 8.
Once updated to iOS 8, recent iPhones and iPads will play nicely with each other, allowing users to do new functions like answering a phone call or sending an SMS message via their iPhone without having to put down their iPad, or start an email on one device before finishing it on the other.
Apple's hotly anticipated free iOS 8 update for iPhone and iPad is now available to download, giving users access to a wide range of new features including third-party keyboard support, Notification Center widgets, extensions, Hey Siri hands-free voice activation, and much more.
Come October, Apple's iCloud will have yet another layer of protection, as the company is scheduled to implement app-specific passwords for third-party programs tying in to the cloud service.
Every new product Apple unveiled last week has ignited vocal, public derision from a series of threatened competitors, including Samsung, luxury watch maker LVMH and PayPal. However, their attempts to direct attention away from Apple may likely backfire, just like earlier attempts to demonize Siri, Maps, iCloud and Touch ID.
In a bid to secure its online consumer services, Apple on Tuesday activated two-factor authentication for iCloud.com access, allowing only basic access to Find My iPhone for those opted-in to the security layer.
Ahead of Apple's Apple Pay release, mobile and online payments stalwart PayPal on Monday took out a full-page ad in The New York Times, warning consumers of Apple's security practices by alluding to the recent leak of photos stolen from celebrity iCloud accounts.
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The purpose of the technology, however, is "to augment, and not replace, man," she said. "It will be man and machine in everything. We have to prepare the world for that. It's not a small thing."
While there's a lot of fearmongering around AI, new technologies have changed the nature of the workforce in all eras.
"Some jobs go away; new ones come," she said.
Benioff noted that Rometty, as IBM's CEO, has thought through the thorny issues around the technology, especially as far as it impacts people's jobs, possibly more than anyone else.
"I don’t think there's any company doing more for workforce development than IBM," he said.
— Salesforce (@salesforce) November 8, 2017
In a world that is starting to see "taxis without drivers, farms without farmers, airplanes without pilots," Benioff said, issues around workforce transformation are paramount.
And as businesses transform, the question, Rometty observed, becomes, "if everybody's digital, then who wins?"
The answer is in the data—primarily who can most-effectively leverage that resource. All companies have lots of data, most don’t use it well, Rometty said.
She noted that only 20 percent of the world's data is searchable. The other 80 percent belongs to the customer, and has lots of value to those who know how to access it.
For companies that figure that out, "you will make better decisions. You will be a learning organization."
The potential of leveraging data stores means there's a possibility that the current era will see a market that favors longstanding businesses.
"If you have a past, it just might be your advantage now," Rometty said.


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The Panasonic Eluga Note has been launched in India and will hit store shelves across the country soon. Its Rs 13290 price tag marks it for the mid-range market sector, where it’ll have to put up a fight against thousands of other contenders vying to grab a consumer’s attention.
The dual-SIM Panasonic Eluga Note has a few tricks up its sleeve to set it apart from its rivals. For instance, it ships in-built with an IR Blaster. The technology allows users to transform their smartphone into a remote control for various household electrical gadgets like a TV or AC.
Coming to its photography skills, the Panasonic device carries a 16MP autofocus primary camera accompanied by triple-LED flash, an aperture of f/1.9, and the ability to record 1080p videos. It’s paired with a 5MP front-facing snapper. Another top highlight of the phone is the fact that it runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow right out of the gate.
A neat roundup of the main specifications of the Panasonic Eluga Note:
– Display: 5.5-inch IPS, 1080 x 1920 pixels
– OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow-based FitHome UI
– CPU: octa-core 1.3GHz
– Memory: 32GB, expandable till 32GB
– RAM: 3GB
– Battery: 3000mAh
– Camera: 16MP rear, 5MP front
– Size: 14.6 x 7.45 x 0.81cm
– Weight: 142g
– Connectivity: 4G, VoLTE, dual-SIM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, microUSB 2.0, A-GPS, IR Blaster
The Panasonic Eluga Note notably supports 4G connectivity only via one SIM card slot. Users can further take advantage of VoLTE (voice over LTE) technology for clear voice calls.


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Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is in the news of its launch in India, and the company is also seeing these signs. The Rubicon is the top variant of the Jeep Wrangler, it has been seen testing in India for some time now, the company seems ready to launch it. Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is an offered vehicle of the company and because of the top variant, all the features and equipment have been given. For this reason, this SUV has been given a ground clearance of 10.8 inches. The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon can be launched in the Indian market at a price of around Rs 72 lakh (ex-showroom). It is made in 3 doors and 5 door variants but in India, only its 5 door version will be launched.
Features of this car used in US President convoy will be surprised you
According to the news from sources, preparations for its launch in India have almost been completed and it will be launched in early March. It has been known that it is to be brought as a completely built unit in India. Recently the company official said that the demand for Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is so high that we will be sold out for months in advance. The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon can be brought to India with a 2.0-liter petrol engine and can be given an 8-speed automatic gearbox. It provides the power of 268 bhp and torque of 400-newton meters. Recently the new Jeep Wrangler has been launched in India and delivery has also started. It is one of the company's best-selling vehicles. Jeep also launched the Compass SUV in BS6 avatar, raising the price of its petrol model by Rs 25,000 and diesel model by Rs 1.1 lakh.
Maruti Suzuki launched the facelift model of this popular car
Honda's new BS6 bike launch, know features


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NEW YORK – Apple is testing a watch-like device that could perform some smartphone functions, U.S. media reports said Monday.
The New York Times reported that the maker of iPhones and iPads is experimenting with a curved-glass device, which could incorporate a bendable display glass developed by Corning.
The Times, which quoted sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the device would likely use Apple’s iOS platform which is incorporated on the iPhone and iPad.
The report also said the watch could be used for mobile payments using Apple’s Passbook software.
The Wall Street Journal said, meanwhile, that Apple has discussed such a device with its manufacturing partner Foxconn of Taiwan as it explores product categories beyond the smartphone and tablet.
The device, if confirmed, would be part of an emerging category of wearable devices that can connect to networks, usually through a smartphone.
Several smart watches using the Google Android platform were shown at the Consumer Electronic Show earlier this year. (See this week’s tech_japan column for one example.)