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BEIJING (Reuters) - Alibaba founder Jack Ma, largely out of public view amid a regulatory clampdown on the group, made a rare visit to its Hangzhou campus on Monday during the e-commerce giant's annual "Ali Day" staff and family event, company sources said.
The billionaire has kept an extremely low profile since delivering a speech in October in Shanghai criticising China's financial regulators, which set off a chain of events that led to the shelving of what would have been a record $37 billion initial public offering of Alibaba's affiliate Ant Group.
On Monday, Ma was seen in an open-air campus shuttle bus with a number of Alibaba executives, according to a photograph taken by an employee at the event, viewed by Reuters. Wearing a blue T-shirt, white trousers and a pair of Chinese-style cloth shoes, Ma was smiling.
"It's so exciting to see Jack," said the employee, declining to be named.
"It's a pity there was no chance to take a photo with him."
China's most famous entrepreneur, Ma enjoyed cult-like status among staff even after stepping down as chairman in 2019.
Ma, who is based in Hangzhou, disappeared from public view for three months before surfacing in January, speaking to a group of teachers by video, which sent Alibaba shares surging, but has not made any other public appearances since then.
Last month, regulators imposed a sweeping restructuring on Ant Group, while Alibaba was hit with a record antitrust fine of 18.2 billion yuan ($2.84 billion) after an investigation found it abused its market dominance.
($1 = 6.4110 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Sophie Yu and Tony Munroe; Editing by Susan Fenton)


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Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and MasterCard invite startups from across the United States to apply for Class 5 of Commerce.Innovated. through July 10, 2016.
Commerce.Innovated. is a four-month, bi-annual virtual accelerator designed to help seed-stage startups that are innovating in the commerce, payments and financial technology sectors to refine and scale their business ideas. The program offers access to operational and industry expertise from Silicon Valley Bank, MasterCard and their respective networks.
“Going into our fifth class of Commerce.Innovated., we continue to be impressed by the entrepreneurs who apply for the program,” said Reetika Grewal, head of Silicon Valley Bank’s payments strategy and solutions group. “Our aim is to bring our payments and operational experience to each of these startups so that we can enable them to take their business to the next level. So far we’ve seen 17 companies through the program and many of them are doing very well—meeting milestones, obtaining funding and safely navigating regulatory obstacles.”
“Commerce.Innovated. plays an important role in supporting next-generation companies and accelerating innovation,” said Stephane Wyper, global lead for startup engagement and acceleration at MasterCard. “As part of the program, we want to find the best and brightest, help them develop the infrastructure and operations that they need to accelerate their growth and together reshape the future of the fintech industry.”
Commerce.Innovated. launched in 2014 and has worked with 17 commerce-, payments- and fintech-focused startups to date, including Alloy, Apruve, AppZen, CardFlight, Dash, Float, Footmarks, Gone, LaunchKey, Local Maven, Nowsta, Pay By Group, PennyOwl, Slide, Spend Labs, Splitwise and Standard Treasury.
"Commerce.Innovated. helped Splitwise advance our ambitious goals at both a tactical and strategic level,” said Jon Bittner, CEO and co-founder of Splitwise. “Even years later the Commerce.Innovated. team has stayed very engaged with the initiatives we started during the program, which has been very valuable for us."
Applications for the next Commerce.Innovated. class that will run from September to December 2016 can be submitted online at www.commerceinnovated.com through July 10. Companies do not need to be current clients of Silicon Valley Bank or MasterCard to apply.
The program is open to early-stage companies meeting certain criteria:
• Creating a solution that is helping to make commerce, payments or fintech easier, safer or better for consumers or businesses
• Have a strong, small core team dedicated to the mission
• Secured or raising seed funding
• Have a working product

domain: news


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Dark Souls 3 guide and walkthrough: master the secrets of Lothric
Release dates: every game confirmed for 2016
A new Mortal Kombat movie by the director of the recent web series is on the way – alongside a new game.
Oren Uziel headlines
Oren Uziel Latest
New Mortal Kombat game and film in 2013


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LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Exile Content Studio has entered into an agreement with Spanish artist Edgar Plans and Curatible to partner for a series of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) based on Plans’ work, which will serve as the basis of a new entertainment franchise named Lil’ Heroes. The NFTs will launch Jan 2022.
The deal is part of a long-term, forward-thinking strategy for Exile, one of Hollywood’s leading content providers for English and Spanish speaking audiences worldwide. The company envisions Lil’ Heroes as a lasting entertainment franchise with multiple components, including an animated children’s TV series, a virtual metaverse experience, consumer products and publishing.
“This is our first foray into NFTs and we couldn’t be more excited about partnering with Edgar and Curatible,” said Daniel Eilemberg, president of Content at Exile. “We think NFTs can be a powerful way of building engaged communities around art, fashion and entertainment franchises, while rewarding early fans with real value and ownership. Building this franchise not just for, but with the community is a new way to think about the relationship between a studio and its audience, and one we’re excited to explore.”
Based in Gijón, Spain, the Madrid-born Plans is a contemporary visual artist whose works have been featured at key galleries and museums, including the Almine Rech in Paris, Brussels and Shanghai, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art and the Galeria Miguel Alzueta in Barcelona. He is best known for his colorful, expressive, and lively big-eyed, mouse-eared cartoon characters known as the Animal Heroes, which in his mixed-media works he places against urban backdrops of doodles and scrawl as serious social commentaries on racism and gender equality.
“I’m excited to be partnering with Exile and Curatible to bring this unique collection of NFTs to life,” said Edgar Plans. “Lil’ Heroes is a collection inspired by the work I’ve created throughout my time as an artist, and I can’t wait to share that art with a new audience and explore how we can build on this franchise in the entertainment space.”
Curatible is a team of art collectors that want to revolutionize the way people acquire, collect and appreciate art. By taking advantage of the early stages of blockchain and NFT technology, Curatible is building a community that bridges the gap between physical and digital worlds. Curatible works with renowned international artists to create unique NFT collections based on their work, allowing artists to set a foot in the digital art world and NFT collectors to invest on art creators with a track record and a real market value.
“We are creating a bridge between traditional art and the digital world. And we are happy to collaborate with a contemporary artist like Edgar Plans to help him in the transition into NFTs,” said Massine Benoukaci, CEO and co-Founder of Curatible. “It's a real pleasure to collaborate with Exile and mix our expertise to build a real community, franchise and project around Edgar.”
About Exile Content Studio
Exile Content Studio creates content in Spanish and English for a global audience across multiple platforms — TV, Film, Audio and Digital. It recently co-produced Todo Va A Estar Bien with Diego Luna as showrunner for Netflix and docu-series Un Sueño Real, about Real Madrid’s women’s Football team for HBO with journalist Ana Pastor.
Exile’s team has led content for the largest media companies in Spanish in the world with responsibility for the film studio, OTT service, broadcast and cable networks, music, news and digital. Their current slate includes Oscar winners and talent across genres and formats.
To stay up to date with Exile’s upcoming projects, follow along at @ExileContent.


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Nationally, existing home sales were up 3.4% in April, and year to date are up 10% over a year ago.
In Park City, existing single family home sales were up 15.5% over a year ago.
Nationally, distressed sales declined from 37% in April, 2011 to 28% in 2012.
Thirty-year conventional fixed mortgage rates were 3.78% this week. Can they really go any lower, when the Federal Funds rate is at 0.25%?
“A diminishing share of foreclosed property sales is helping home values. Moreover, an acute shortage of inventory in certain markets is leading to multiple biddings and escalating price conditions”, according to Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors.
What are my personal observations? Time is not on the side of the buyer. This is a complete turnaround from last summer. As the economy improves and there are fewer distressed homeowners coupled with improved consumer confidence, the good deals of the last couple of years are going to be harder if not impossible to find.


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Now, the Concept Style Coupe based Mercedes-Benz CLA production has gotten underway at the KecskemĂ©t Hungary plant alongside the B-Class sports tourer that was recently launched in India.
Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 racing team with Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda management. Wolff is working with Williams and will be leaving the team, and continue to be a shareholder.
Mercedes-Benz Classic to partake in Youngtimer Trophy racing series to be held in 2013 with a model built specially for the purpose. Dunlop FHR Endurance Cup features the MB 220 SE vehicle.
EURONICS to sponsor Mercedes-Benz for DTM 2013. Racing season begins on 5th May and will see the EURONICS Mercedes Benz AMG C Coupe, showcasing the brand on an international podium.
Mercedes Benz assistance system to prevent phantom drivers/Geisterfahrer/wrong way drivers provides 3 beeps and a visual signage if one strays onto the wrong side of traffic.
Mercedes Benz CLA Class was seen at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show while sales are scheduled to commence from later this year. The company has released a sneak peek of what is to come at the Super Bowl XLVII through the release of a 90 second video.
Mercedes Benz India will be launching four new cars in 2013. These include, the newly launched CLA Class compact sedan, A Class hatchback, seven seater GL Class SUV and B Class diesel.
Mercedes Benz India, the third largest luxury car maker in the country has opened a new flagship store with 26 car display and 60,000 sq ft. space in South Delhi. The new showroom is built at an investment of Rs 70 crores.


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Innovid surveyed 1,000 US adults on consumer preferences for personalized advertising during COVID-19.
Around 43% of US, consumers think it is important that the online ads be personalised and factor in consumer preferences, behaviour and location. Brands are however failing to address this, with an eMarketer report saying only 3% current provide true omnichannel personalisation.,
Around 30% of people said personalisation not only makes it more likely they will make purchases, a similar number also think it emboldens trust. Consumers prefer to see personalised ads on Social media (18%), digital video (17%) and CTV (17%) advertising over formats.
Mobile phones (34%) are the most efficient devices when it comes to driving personalised ad engagement, followed by desktops(33%). However, a separate study of 600 advertisers found that interactive ads on CTV produced an engagement rate almost six times higher than mobile, but the format remained under-utilized.
[4 minute read]


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Today's Top SOA Links
From the Wires
Roambi Introduces New Database Connector to Help Turn Both Big Data and Relational Data Into Valuable Business Insights
Roambi ES 4.5 JDBC Connector Gives Businesses Unprecedented Access to Data From Multiple Databases, Crystalized in Captivating Visuals
By: Marketwired .
Feb. 5, 2013 03:01 AM
SAN DIEGO, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/05/13 -- Roambi, the stunning business app that redesigns the way the world interacts with data, today announced the launch of Roambi ES 4.5 JDBC Connector. The Roambi Connector enables businesses to tap directly into any JDBC-powered database to capture critical data, right from the source and transform it into engaging visuals that reveal key business insights -- anytime, anywhere.
With the launch of the JDBC Connector, Roambi is helping democratize the power of big data for all businesses. Companies can now access and integrate data from multiple database sources and garner meaningful information through Roambi's stunning visual reports and graphs.
"Making information available, including big data, through mobile technology is essential and our research finds that only eight percent of users have access to all the information they need," said Mark Smith, CEO & Chief Research Officer, Ventana Research. "By connecting users to big data and relational data through the JDBC driver, Roambi is able to help its customers meet a growing demand to increase mobile deployments and improve workforce productivity."
The Roambi ES 4.5 JDBC Connector was conceived after working directly with customers who were looking for choice and flexibility in how they are able to extract and view data on mobile devices. For example, Airbnb was one of Roambi's first customers requesting a data visualization solution that connected directly to their Apache Hadoop database. Using Hive queries, Unix scripts, and cron jobs, they were able to develop a homegrown business intelligence system that is continuously updated with live information.
"We look for partners that can move at our speed and maximize results using innovative methods," said Riley Newman, Head of Analytics at Airbnb. "We were attracted to Roambi's clean design aesthetic, but we're also predisposed to open source back-end solutions. We partnered with Roambi to develop an infrastructure that could meet our needs. The result was an interactive visualization app that people throughout our company can use to engage with our metrics and better understand our business, while the analytics team can maintain full control over the data pipeline to the app."
"Big data has moved beyond a buzzword to become a real business strategy for companies of all sizes," said Santiago Becerra, Co-Founder and CEO of Roambi. "Roambi is on the forefront of the dynamic trend of data-driven business and with the launch of the ES 4.5 JDBC Connector we are committed to providing organizations with the flexibility to choose the data delivery format that suits their individual needs."
Roambi ES 4.5 JDBC Connector features include:
The Roambi ES 4.5 JDBC Connector is licensed to unlock the power of big data and relational data from twelve major databases including Hive/Hadoop 0.9, Oracle 11g, MySQL 5.5, Amazon Redshift, Teradata, Microsoft SQL, IBM Netezza, IBM DB2, PostgreSQL, SAP Hana, ParAccel and Greenplum.
"CGI is committed to helping our customers achieve their business goals and by providing them with a choice to easily pull information directly from a database and publish it directly to a mobile device, we are doing just that," said Thierry Meritan, Innovation Manager, CGI France. "Through CGI's professional services offering, our team of experts can use the Roambi ES 4.5 JDBC Connector to provide customers with the ability to make smarter and more informed decisions as they now have direct access to pertinent business data that previously wasn't accessible on mobile devices."
For more information on the Roambi ES 4.5 JDBC Connector, visit http://www.roambi.com/enterprise-overview
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Hewlett-Packard's lucrative printer ink business isn't recession-proof.
The computer giant announced a 17% drop in profit for the first quarter Tuesday on slower sales of its products — to $1.7 billion, or 70 cents a share, from $2.1 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Excluding one-time charges, the results were in line with analysts' estimates of 86 cents a share.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP, the No. 1 PC and printer manufacturer, reported revenue of $27.4 billion, down 3% from $28.3 billion in the year-ago quarter.
For the complete year, HP said it expects sales to be down 4% to 5%.
HP CEO Mark Hurd, in a conference call with analysts, wasn't ready to predict that the worst is over.
"We see a couple of areas with some encouraging signs," he said, identifying China and the U.S. as having "some slight improvements."
"But I'm not ready to call it better," he said. "With the exception of a few places, it will be the same the rest of the year."
PC sales fell 19%, with desktop revenue down 24% and notebooks falling 13%.
The supplies category, which includes HP's cash cow — printer ink — fell 14%. And printers fell 23%, HP said.
Services revenue increased 99% to $8.5 billion due primarily to the EDS acquisition.
HP's results "weren't great," says Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies. "But they could have been worse."
"What I'm hearing from HP is that a floor is being established for the bottom," he adds. Hurd "was hesitant to say it outright, but he went 85% of the ways toward that. It looks like we'll have a better second half."
In after-hours trading, Hewlett-Packard stock fell $1.65, or 4.5%, to $34.93, after rising 85 cents in regular trading.


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Nigeria women have been ranked as the highest users of skin-whitening creams on the African continent.
The data was taken from the International Journal of women’s Dermatology and published by CNN. It shows that 75 per cent of women in Nigeria use skin-whitening products.
Nigeria is closely followed by Senegal at 60 per cent, Mali at 50 per cent and Ghana at 30 per cent.
Skin whitening is the use of cosmetic products or services to reduce the amount of melanin, or pigment, in the skin to make it appear lighter.
Skin whitening products often contain ingredients that are toxic when used cosmetically for long durations and without medical guidance as they have the ability not just to damage your skin but cause life-threatening ailments.
Skin whitening is a big industry and predominantly targets women of color in every region of the world, with the Asia-Pacific region being the most lucrative, according to a CNN report.
The report revealed that on the global stage, the Asia-Pacific market accounted for over half of the worldwide revenue in 2018 from skin whitening products. Meanwhile, China is among the fastest-growing markets globally.
Lighter skin has long been linked to wealth and status. Experts blame colonialism, slavery and globalization for this perception.
The report adds that colorism and light-skin privilege have led to disparities in every region of the world, in everything from social treatment to marriageability, education, employment and even, in the US, prison sentencing.


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Practical tips and advice from industry experts and our own specialists on positive actions marketers can take throughout the Coronavirus period.
The economic impact of Coronavirus is already being felt and a drastic change in consumer behaviour is unfolding. Marketers are understandably concerned about the months ahead but we have a collective responsibility to think long-term and do the best for our businesses and customers.
While an outbreak of this proportion is unprecedented,
economic crises are a vocational hazard for marketers. In good times, we aim to
maximise growth and when things aren’t looking so good we do everything we can
to steady the ship.
The scale of the coronavirus means every business is going to be affected, but the story is going to vary for different industries and individual brands. Overcoming an event like this starts with understanding how it affects your target audience and how their consumer behaviour is going to change over the months ahead.
While supermarkets and toilet roll manufacturers are set for an impressive Q2 2020, many companies in other industries have been told to close. Spending on non-essentials is almost certain to decline and the travel industry is facing its biggest crisis since 9/11.
Some industries are going to be hit worse than others. A few will even benefit.
As Mark Ritson explains in an article for Marketing Week, brands need to focus on the long-term and resist the urge to buy into quick fixes. In his own words, “this virus, too, shall pass” and, “at some point, consumers will return to the streets, the cafes and the various other activities that they have been denied during the dark days ahead.”
He urges marketers to, “keep the brand light burning, because the cost of snuffing it out for the rest of 2020 and then trying to reignite it next year is gigantic.”
Mark Ritson is right, this virus will pass and markets will ultimately rebound. So brands need to focus on putting themselves in the best position to benefit from market corrections once this crisis is over – and be ready to react when the time is right.
A lot of businesses will be slow to act to a sudden surge in demand – this will represent a major opportunity for early movers.
Our own Head of Services, Lee Wilson, agrees; “In time, businesses will be looking to ramp up marketing spend to regain any lost ground towards 2020 objectives related to the Coronavirus. It’s imperative to be early to market to avoid getting lost in this expected increased brand noise, and that means progressing activities now. Practical tips include creating the content needed for marketing campaigns, running paid experiments, and increasing the focus on earned media such as SEO and social media.”
One thing marketers should try to avoid if possible during this period is hitting the pause button on SEO campaigns. Organic search is an always-on strategy that needs a constant flow of content to keep your online presence alive. It can take months or years to build a strong search ranking but it’s amazing how quickly it can disappear.
Maintaining search visibility is vital so that when this crisis does end, your brand is there as demand increases. Those companies that do take their foot off the pedal during this time will be fighting to rebuild their search presence while you’re sitting in pole position.
There’s an important brand image aspect to maintaining your search presence during a crisis. As Lee says; “Brands want to be visible to ease any perceptions that if they’re not ranking then they’re likely struggling, as we’re seeing with many businesses going under in the news.”
Dave Colgate, Head of Enterprise SEO at Vertical Leap, also gives this advice; “Although things are very unclear at the moment and we’re taking each day as it comes, it’s important not to lose focus of the future. Google is still working as it always does and ensuring your website is technically sound is key over this period so that when things do end, and they will, getting back up to speed isn’t hindered by technical faults and other technical SEO issues that otherwise went under the radar.”
To keep your organic presence in good health, use Google Trends and other search insights tools to pinpoint opportunities, update your old content to maintain/boost performance and take this opportunity to fix any UX issues that could be dragging your rankings down.
Ginny Marvin touches on the Coronavirus outbreak her article, How to optimize paid search and Amazon campaigns for seasonality success, for Search Engine Land. One of the key points in her article is the importance of targeting leads at the early stages of the consumer journey during off-peak periods and uncertain times like these.
As Ginny puts it, you want to “invest in window shoppers”
and she cites some timely advice from Metric Theory’s Genevieve Head-Gordon,
who spoke at SMX West 2020 in February.
“You want to make sure that you’re bidding and budgeting
early,” she said at the conference. “Get in front of people and fill
remarketing lists. If you wait to start prospecting until the beginning of your
peak period, you will have missed a valuable window to gain awareness and
And during this time, you’re going to be monitoring search volumes for peaks in interest and make sure you’re ready to hike up those PPC bids when demand surges. Better yet, you can use custom, automated bid adjustments to react to market trends so you’re instantly there when consumer demand rises.
With many people spending unprecedented amounts of time at home, users will be online more than usual which means you may well see increases in web traffic. This is a great time to run testing on your site, as Billy Farrroll, Head of Performance UX at Vertical Leap explains; “Your remote teams should be ramping up their analysis and monitoring efforts now more than ever, to review your business KPIs, goals and user engagements across your digital products.
“It is also a great time to identify optimisation opportunities and run testing on your site. By testing and optimising with these higher traffic levels, you will be able to get valuable and reliable insights and knowledge quicker than before.”
The thing with window shoppers is they need a little nudge
before they’re going to make a purchase decision. Many will need a few nudges
at various stages of the consumer journey before they commit to buying anything
and this is where content marketing takes the front seat.
The Coronavirus outbreak is going to have a real impact on the needs and interests of your target audiences and your content strategy needs to address these. People’s priorities are different right now and messages that resonated a few weeks ago aren’t going to have the same effect now.
Nurturing this relationship will require a different tone for the immediate future.
Jo Littlechild, Head of Content at Vertical Leap, says; “My advice would be to keep thinking about your customers and what is important to them, ensuring you are listening and adapting to the challenges they face. By continuing to provide good quality content and engaging them in conversation you can help them through this tough period and remain part of their consumer journey in the future.”
This is also an opportunity for you to show to existing customers and new prospects what kind of brand you really are when times are tough. We’ve seen major brands like Adobe offer free services to students during the Coronavirus outbreak but we’ve also seen Virgin Atlantic ask 8,500 employees to take eight weeks’ unpaid leave, despite the personal net worth of owner Sir Richard Branson being around £3 billion.
“There is a great opportunity for brands to educate, inform and apply a value-based proposition to their audience based on helping them in a credible way while this challenge is happening.” – Lee Wilson, Head of SEO at Vertical Leap
Take this chance to engage with people, build a sense of community and show individuals they’re not alone, even as social distancing and self-isolation become the norm.
While the Coronavirus outbreak is an extreme event, health officials have been warning for years that we were overdue a health crisis of this nature. Now, we find ourselves in the biggest global pandemic since the 1918 flu outbreak.
The outbreak itself isn’t the only issue either.
The economic ramifications are going to last long after the
initial peak of the pandemic and this is a far more common kind of crisis. The
last global recession started in 2009, which was preceded by crashes in 1991,
1982 and 1975. Likewise, economists have been warning that we were heading into
another global recession in 2020 before there were any signs of a
The point is, markets are shaken on a regular basis and
brands need to adapt to fluctuating economies. The difference in 2020 is that
most brands now have the capability of tracking consumer data during this
health crisis and the economic downturn that’s almost certain to follow – and
this data will be crucial in dealing with market turmoil in the future.
With today’s artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, the data collected now may save thousands of businesses in future economic crises.
If you need help throughout this challenging period, we are happy to give free advice – just call us on 02392 830281 or send us your details and we’ll call you.
Chris is Managing Director at Vertical Leap and has over 25 years' experience in sales and marketing. He is a keynote speaker and frequent blogger, with a particular interest in intelligent automation and data analytics. In his spare time, he enjoys playing the guitar and is a stage manager at the Victorious Festival.
Looking for evidence-led search marketing expertise?


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Emerging rivals threaten Facebook's dominance
Facebook may have 500 million friends, but it also has many, many rivals - including some huge ones in some of the world's largest and fastest growing economies.
"When we looked at setting up the platform, we looked at ways of enabling people to form relationships," says Ashish Kashyap, chief executive of Ibibo, one of the Indian challengers to Facebook's throne.
"Social gaming is a great way to do that."
Those games include "The Great Indian Parking Wars", where users collect points by parking "legally or illegally" and - in a very local touch - removing idle cows.
Like its homebase of Gurgaon, which has turned from a village near Delhi to a shining new city in a matter of years, Ibibo has come seemingly out of nowhere.
Since it was set up in January 2007, Ibibo has massed 3.7 million users, making it the largest locally-based social network in India.
They have no plans to expand abroad. "We are totally focused on the Indian market," Mr Kashyap says. "It's the foundation."
While all the hype in the West is on the social networking giants such as Facebook and Twitter, consumers of some of the world's fastest growing economies are embracing local champions.
"The success of Facebook is a tribute to the dominance of the English language, and perhaps American culture," says Grant Blank, who studies the social and cultural implications of the web at the University of Oxford's Internet Institute.
"But there are limits to that. There really are local differences."
The most visited internet portal in China is owned, not by a US giant or a Chinese government-owned site, but by what was a start-up only a decade ago - Tencent.
Its hugely-popular QQ instant messenging service has about 569 million active users, an increase of 39% from last year, while its social network QZone has 50 million users.
By contrast, AOL's popular AIM messenging service has 25 million monthly visitors in the US.
Investors are also enthralled with the firm. Shares in Hong Kong surged 237% last year and recently touched a record.
Tencent is based in Shenzhen, a coastal city near Hong Kong that was the first to be made a Special Economic Zone by China in 1980 - essentially a large experiment in capitalism.
Last month, President Hu Jintao came to Shenzhen to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the experiment - and promptly paid a visit to Tencent.
What was once an experiment is now a model for business development for the rest of China.
Apparently, according to the press release, Mr Hu was "smiling all over his face" when he was greeted with a grining avatar and the slogan "Hello, Motherland!" at their headquarters.
'Learned a lot'
The leading lights of the internet economies in the developing world are also remarkably interlinked.
Tencent is 35% owned by Naspers, the South African media company.
Naspers and Tencent jointly own Ibibo.
"We have learned a lot about competing with global players from our partners," Mr Kashyap says. "India resembles some other markets five or six years ago."
Mr Kashyap himself was head of Google's operations in India before developing Ibibo.
Naspers and Tencent both have stakes in Russia's DST and Mail.ru - the most popular Russian instant messenger with more than 16 million people using it worldwide.
And DST has developed significant stakes in Facebook and in Zynga, the networks' biggest games developer behind games such as Farmville - of which Ibibo makes its own version, Ibibo Farms.
Both Russian firms are planning multi-billion-dollar share sales in London this year.
"Our approach has been to partner succesful local entrepreneurs in building out their operations," says Meloy Horn, Naspers's head of investor relations. "Given the cultural nuances unique to every country, we believe local mangement is crucial, especially in the media environment.
"We have no expatriates as CEO's of any of our international internet operations."
All these firms have a built-in support network of finance, technology and advice as they compete with their much bigger rivals.
The larger Western giants are not lying back in their efforts to dominate every market.
In July, Facebook overtook Google's Orkut to be the biggest social network in India and it opened a new office in Hyderabad. Seventy per cent of its users are outside the US.
Dr Blank notes it's harder for Arabic and Chinese-language sites to succeed in English as the "language gets embedded in subtle ways in the code".
"Before we invested in Tencent we lost money trying to run a Chinese ISP with expats, but luckily we quickly realised the mistake," says Ms Horn.
But by learning from each other, companies in developing countries are growing and adapting their tastes for local audiences.
"We believe emerging markets offer much better prospects compared to developed markets," Ms Horn says.
For example, one of Tencent's most successful experiments has been using its virtual currencies. Using Q-coins, users can buy weapons for online games and music and video.
Ibibo has learnt from its investor and recently adopted its own virtual currency scheme. Users can make micro-payments through premium text messages on their mobile phones.
"We were pleasantly surprised to see people using their mobile phones to buy virtual tractors, fertilisers, even mini-skirts," Mr Kashyap says.
"The network effect idea, where networks are more useful when they have more people, would suggest dominance by big global brands like Facebook," Dr Blank says.
"But to the extent that cultural differences matter, then local platforms matter."
One of Ibibo's most popular games is "Mumbai Underworld", where players can play gangster and build their own mafia empire.
Mr Kashyap draws a parallel between the appeal of his company and the huge demand for local blockbusters.
"Why do people watch a Bollywood movie rather than a Hollywood movie?" he asks.
"Because they can relate to it."


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You are watching: How much is a quesadilla at chipotle
Brand delivers new melty and delicious Quesadillas ~ above the glossesweb.com app and glossesweb.com.com
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., march 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- glossesweb.com mexico Grill (NYSE: CMG) now announced it is presenting a new Hand-Crafted Quesadilla together a digital-only menu item on march 11. For years, the Quesadilla has been one of the many talked around glossesweb.com food selection items on society media, and now fans across the U.S. And also Canada can experience glossesweb.com"s real, responsibly sourced ingredient without fabricated colors, flavors, or preservatives in one entirely brand-new way. The Quesadilla clues the an initial customizable entrée glossesweb.com will add to that is menu because it introduced a salad option 17 year ago.
"We"re therefore excited come answer the speak to from fans and also introduce one of the most highly anticipated menu items in our brand"s history," claimed Chris Brandt, cook Marketing Officer. "The Hand-Crafted Quesadilla bring so many brand-new possibilities come our menu, and fans will certainly love experimenting fresh smell combinations through its sides and salsa options."
$0 shipment FeeFans have actually waited patiently, and glossesweb.com is making the even much easier to try its brand-new Hand-Crafted Quesadilla. Native March 11 through March 21, glossesweb.com will offer a $0 shipment fee once guests order a quesadilla top top the glossesweb.com app or glossesweb.com.com.
ABOUT glossesweb.comglossesweb.com mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is cultivating a far better world by offer responsibly sourced, classically-cooked, actual food v wholesome ingredient without artificial colors, seasonings or preservatives. glossesweb.com had over 2,750 restaurants together of December 31, 2020, in the joined States, Canada, the unified Kingdom, France and also Germany and also is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants. With practically 88,000 employee passionate around providing a an excellent guest experience, glossesweb.com is a longtime leader and also innovator in the food industry. glossesweb.com is committed to make its food an ext accessible to everyone while proceeding to it is in a brand v a demonstrated function as it leads the method in digital, modern technology and sustainable business practices. Steve Ells, founder, very first opened glossesweb.com with a solitary restaurant in Denver, Colorado in 1993.
See more: How To Clean The Grill Racks, Best Method For Cleaning Grill Grates
For much more information or to location an bespeak online, visit WWW.glossesweb.com.COM.


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Restricting trade to control the pandemic damages livelihoods, especially those of the urban poor. The control of future pandemics must strike a balance between health and economic activity.
Poor and inconsistent pricing data makes it hard to assess agricultural markets.
We highlight the distressing rise in the prices of essential food products. We call for the urgent expansion of price controls, as well as an inquiry into the price-setting of major retailers.
A new UN report shows that hunger and food insecurity are rising worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic is adding to this trend, but is not the major driver.
Canada's public health-care system is one of the most well-developed in the world. And yet, many remote Indigenous communities are still not getting what they need.
Canada’s Food Price Report, recently published by Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph, predicts significant price hikes for vegetables this year.
There is something deeply irrational about the food waste movement.
It seems like a simple case of too much sun or snow wrecking crops. But is it?
As luxury housing developments swallow up agricultural land, they also diminish our food security and health.
South Africa's land reform debate must not lose sight of the real issue: how to provide enough food to feed its people.
Canadians are bargain-hunters when it comes to food, and so food manufacturers try to keep prices low. But does that mean they should engage in 'shrinkflation?'
Canada's bricks-and-mortar grocery stores are in trouble due to stagnant food prices and changing consumer preferences. More grocery store closures are likely on the horizon.
In Morocco, bread is not only a symbol for wider demands but also the material basis of affordable and just living conditions.
The latest report from the Grattan Institute, finds that claims about Australia being dominated by oligopolies are overblown.
An economist explains why turkeys defy the economic laws of supply and demand.
Canadian consumers could benefit from the Competition Bureau’s investigation into the so-called bread cartel, but not in a way they think. Here's how.
Kenya's high consumer food prices are worrying because they are unresponsive to the policies pursued. The country needs to address this and improve planning to attain stability.
Australians may need to get used to coping with more disruptions to their food supply and rising food prices in a warming climate.
The annual economics award recognises the value of micro analysis and good, old-fashioned legwork.
Malawi's large-scale subsidy for farmers has resulted in higher maize production, lower food prices and higher wages. But this has come at significant costs.


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GENFuzion Developer Community: Unleashing Marketplace Innovation
Thomas Edison, the prolific American inventor, said that in order to produce truly great ideas, you need to have a lot of them. This is exactly what GENBAND had in mind when we launched the GENFuzion Developer Community and kicked it off with the first edition of the GENFuzion Developers Challenge earlier this year. The contest, in which developers competed for cash prizes by designing innovative apps powered by the GENBAND A2™ Communications Application Server, was a huge success --reeling in some truly great ideas and bringing a number of innovative apps to market already.
To provide some background, the GENFuzion Developer Community was recently created to foster collaborative innovation in the Web Collaboration and Communications Enabled Applications (CEAs) space. By offering developers an accessible eco-system for development, with all of the tools and support needed to execute on their ideas, the GENFuzion Developer Community presents an exciting opportunity for creative developers. The winners of the GENFuzion Developer Challenge and top app developers were recently recognized after competing across several strategic categories including Lifestyle, Productivity, Mobility and Unified Communications.
SwitchPoint Solutions was the first place winner with its inspired Queuing Alert, which dramatically improves wait list management for restaurants, beauty salons and other service-oriented businesses. According to a recent article, major restaurant operators could be losing up to $1 million in sales each week as guests leave because of wait-time frustrations. When it comes to investing in new technology, wait management has become a top priority for chains according to the same article. The National Restaurant Association estimates that 16% of restaurant businesses use technology for table management, and 21% have increased their technology budgets this year over last year.
The advanced SwitchPoint Queuing Alert app wows customers by sending details on wait times and service availability straight to their mobile phones. Replacing those bulky, short-range buzzers we are all familiar with, SwitchPoint’s app helps customers stay informed and make better use of their wait times, which should greatly improve satisfaction.
With the Queing Alert app, SwitchPoint combines the latest front-end programming technologies such as HTML5, Backbone.js and Jquery Mobile, and server-side technologies such as Rails, Node.js and Java, with GENBAND’s A2 open application platform to deliver a rich, unified communications experience. You can check out the SwitchPoint Queing Alert app and other great ideas at http://genapps.genband.com/.
By opening APIs to developers, GENBAND’s goal is to expand leadership by fostering much needed marketplace innovation and establishing a foundation for future ground-breaking applications providing customers with numerous unparalled benefits. We feel that the GENFuzion Developer Community is more than just an apps story, it’s about continual innovation – and that’s what GENBAND is all about.


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Microsoft has rebranded its search engine, Bing as ‘Microsoft Bing’. The main reason for this rebranding is not clearly known but Microsoft in their blog stated that as it was trying to expand various ways to expand Bing, Renaming the search engine would reflect the continued integration of search engine experiences across the Microsoft family.
With this rebranding, Bing is using their updated logo and the new Microsoft Bing logo in its interface. It is not sure if the Bing logo will be completely removed for the new Microsoft Bing logo or the company might keep both the logo.
This is not the first time Microsoft had rebranded their products
- Windows Store to Microsoft Store
- Office 365 to Microsoft 365 recently.
- Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Edge both use the Microsoft branding
Xbox and Surface have largely escaped Microsoft’s broader branding plans so far.
Alongside this rebranding, Microsoft also has been improving its separate Microsoft Search product gradually, which powers results across Windows, Office, and more. It also appears inside Bing to provide organizations a sort of intranet search for documents and more.
Related: Best Alternative of Microsoft Word
Give With Bing
Along with the rebranding of Bing Microsoft has announced the expansion of Give With Bing, Which is an extension to Microsoft Rewards. Microsoft Rewards allows you to earn money by simply searching in Bing. Give With Bing lets you automatically donate those points to the causes you care for.
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Retail sites in Buffalo, Hamburg sold
Two retail properties — one near the McKinley Mall in Hamburg and the other on Buffalo’s East Side — have been sold.
In one transaction, McKinley Savers LLC of Queens paid $3.37 million for the 21,269-square-foot former Circuit City store that adjoins the McKinley Mall. McKinley Savers is the real estate holding company for the building’s tenant, Savers.
Savers, an international chain that operates for-profit, second-hand thrift stores, opened its first area location in the outparcel last summer.
The building had been owned by Savers McKinley Mall LLC, according to documents filed in the Erie County Clerk’s office.
Meanwhile, in a pre-arranged deal, Buffalo-based Creative Structure Services, which built a 10,566-square-foot Dollar General store last year on Genesee Street, sold the property to Inland Real Estate Group of Cos., a firm based in the Chicago suburb of Oakbrook.
Inland paid $1.35 million for the property, according to the Erie County Clerk’s Office documents.
James Fink covers real estate, commercial development and government
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(Relaxnews) - Tokyo has emerged as the top city for overall travel experience, according to a newly released survey that asked globetrotters to rate destinations across categories such as culture, shopping, restaurants and hospitality.
In TripAdvisor’s second annual Cities Survey, the bustling Japanese capital outranked New York and Barcelona, receiving high marks across the board from more than 54,000 global survey responses collected last year.
Travellers who’ve visited Tokyo are more likely to sing its praises and leave with memories of positive experiences of their trip compared to other cities around the world, particularly in categories like cleanliness, hospitality and friendliness, taxi service and local public transportation where the city took the top spot.
Overall, Tokyo made the top 10 ranking in 13 of 16 categories in the survey.
After Tokyo, New York also ranked favourably among TripAdvisor users, who gave the city top marks for its dining and night-life scene and shopping.
Where the city failed to make a good impression was in categories like the friendliness of taxi drivers and value for money: in both groups, the city plummets to 30th position.
Solo travellers may want to consider Singapore, which was ranked the top city for travelling alone in comfort, while Rome was voted the best city for culture.
And shopaholics and travellers accustomed to the lap of luxury may want to add Dubai to their itinerary, which topped the category for shopping and hotels.
Here are the top 10 cities for travel, according to a TripAdvisor survey:
Also on HuffPost


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Our iPhone Slim Case combines premium protection with brilliant design. The slim profile keeps your tech looking sleek, while guarding against scuffs and scratches. Just snap it onto the case and you’re good to go.Extremely slim profile, One-piece build: flexible plastic hard case, Open button form for direct access to device features, Impact resistant, Easy snap on and off, iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X cases support QI wireless charging (case doesn’t need to be removed).
There are also dual AI-assisted cameras on back -- one 12-megapixel and a secondary 5-megapixel -- and supports face unlock with its front 8-megapixel camera. The Xiaomi Mi Max 3 will be available in China only for now starting at 1,699 yuan, which converts to approximately $250, AU$340 or £195. And dual cameras, too, of course. Xiaomi on Thursday unveiled its latest giant phone, the Mi Max 3. Powered by a Snapdragon 636 processor backed by up to 6GB of memory, the phone boasts a huge 6.9-inch, 18:9 display with a 2,160x1,080-pixel resolution.
The device's battery is also supersized, with a 5,500-mAh pack inside that has a standby time of 474 hours, It supports Quick dark clouds iphone case Charge 3.0 via USB-C and can double up as a power bank, By comparison, last year's Mi Max 2 had a mere 5,000 mAh battery and 6.44-inch display, #MiMax3 that launched today is better in every way compared to the last generation: a bigger battery with a standby time of 474 hours that can double up as a power bank, a larger 6.9” full display screen, a stronger SoC and a more powerful set of cameras! pic.twitter.com/g6DrpU4sYG..
Android is the most popular mobile operating system in the world. Most of all, the EU is worried that this harms you, the consumer, by restricting your choice and preventing innovation that could lead to better mobile experiences in the future. "Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine," Margrethe Vestager, the EU's competition commissioner, said Wednesday in a statement. "These practices have denied rivals the chance to innovate and compete on the merits. They have denied European consumers the benefits of effective competition in the important mobile sphere. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules."Google will appeal the decision, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a blog post. Pichai defended Android against the EU's antitrust charge.
"Rapid innovation, wide choice, and falling prices are classic hallmarks of robust competition and Android has enabled all of them," he said, The EU's decision also ignores the competition from Apple's iOS mobile operating system dark clouds iphone case and "misses just how much choice Android provides," he added, "Today, because of Android," Pichai said, "there are more than 24,000 devices, at every price point, from more than 1,300 different brands."On Thursday, President Donald Trump weighed in on the fine, pulling Google into his criticism of the EU..
"I told you so! The European Union just slapped a Five Billion Dollar fine on one of our great companies, Google. They truly have taken advantage of the U.S., but not for long!" he tweeted. Less than a week ago, Trump called the EU one of America's economic adversaries. "I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade," he told CBS News. This is the second such fine the EU has imposed on the tech giant in just over a year, and it could mean big changes to the world's most popular mobile platform. The punishment comes amid wider scrutiny over the power that tech giants like Google and Facebook wield over our lives.
Google argues that by providing Android software free of charge to device makers it's enabled the proliferation of cheap phones and, in doing so, has increased access to online services, The company also points out that if users want to download rival services they are free to do so, The EU's investigation into Android dominance dates back to 2016, In June 2017, it fined Google $2.7 billion over abusing the way it prioritizes its own dark clouds iphone case shopping results in search, Wednesday's fine brings the total to $7.2 billion over 13 months..
But the impact of the EU's decision to fine Google over Android's dominance could be more than just monetary. Google could be forced to open up Android, which might translate into not requiring manufacturers to preinstall Google services including Chrome, YouTube and Google Maps. For phone owners within Europe, this could mean that a new phone may come with fewer services preinstalled, or could come with the manufacturer's own choice of apps and services rather than the typical Google options. For Google, which benefits financially when more people use its services, this could ultimately hurt mobile ad revenue.
In a press conference Wednesday, Vestager said she hopes the decision will allow more rival businesses, apps and services to flourish, providing more choice for consumers overall, Reactions from rivals and watchdog groups came quickly, "The US Federal Trade Commission or Department of Justice should also act to end Google's monopolistic abuses, instead of letting dark clouds iphone case the Europeans be the only cop on the antitrust beat," John Simpson, privacy project director at the nonprofit Consumer Watchdog, said in a statement..
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Forbes : Meet the Europe's 30 under 30 in Technology 2017
Forbes : Forget the geopolitical disruption happening in Europe with Brexit, NATO and the German elections for a moment. This region is still ripe for technological disruption thanks to a talented batch of technology entrepreneurs who are aiming to build the next European unicorns after Spotify, Supercell and Zalando.
Meet 30 of some of the most talented and ambitious technology entrepreneurs in Europe under the age of 30 years old, our 30 Under 30 in European Technology, 2017.
->> Discover the portrait of Bénédicte among the 30 under 30 Europe 2017 presented by Forbes :
Read the article on Forbes.com


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- Rep. Tim Murphy: GOP knew HealthCare.gov would be an ‘unmitigated disaster’
- Planned Parenthood rebrands ‘pro-choice’ as ‘women’s health’
- U.S. attorney warns Cuomo not to interfere with anti-corruption probes
- Investigators reach Ukraine jet crash site
- Ohio gives Obama a thumbs down; Hillary Clinton tops GOP all-stars: poll
- Jesse Ventura suggests suit not over; HarperCollins could be next
- ‘No American is proud’ of certain CIA tactics: State Department
- Drug-filled drone crash outside S.C. prison sends police on alert
- GOP to Obama: Take your ‘golf cap off’ and get down to coal country
- Hamas cleric tells Jews: ‘We will exterminate you’
Apple unveils new TV box for renting movies, shows
Question of the Day
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Apple Inc. is refining its plans to annex the living room into its entertainment empire.
On Wednesday, Apple unveiled a smaller, cheaper version of Apple TV, which connects to a high-definition television and can show rented movies and TV shows from Apple’s own service, plus content from Netflix, photos on Flickr, YouTube clips and more.
The new $99 gadget marks a slight improvement over Apple’s first television set-top box, which went on sale in 2007. The original Apple TV had to sync with a computer, a concept most consumers weren’t ready for, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at a media event Wednesday. It also didn’t record live television shows the way TiVo and other digital recorders did, at a time when that was becoming a popular way to watch TV.
“We’ve sold a lot of them, but it’s never been a huge hit,” Jobs said of the existing Apple TV, which went for $229.
Jobs, who presided over a media event in San Francisco wearing a black crew neck instead of his trademark mock turtleneck, also unveiled social media features for its iTunes software, a new lineup of iPods including a touch-screen Nano and new software for its iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad devices.
Apple’s new TV box, about four inches square, still doesn’t record television, but it comes at a time when more people have gotten used to watching shows online.
The device lets people rent, not buy, content. Apple TV owners will pay $4.99 to rent first-run high-definition movies the day they come out on DVD. High-definition TV show rentals will be 99 cents.
Apple said the same movie studios that have allowed iTunes users to rent and buy movies have agreed to include their titles for streaming. Apple did not rent TV shows before, but now episodes will be available from News Corp.’s Fox, The Walt Disney Co.’s ABC, ABC Family and Disney Channel and BBC America. Jobs said he hoped other television companies would join once the service gains popularity.
Apple TV, which will be available within a month, will also display shows, movies, photos and music streamed over Wi-Fi from other devices _ computers with iTunes installed, as well as iPhones, iPads and the iPod Touch. For example, an iPad owner could start watching a movie on the tablet, then walk into the living room and, with a few taps, finish watching it on the TV screen.
Some television companies replay episodes on their own websites, while others allow viewers to tune in on aggregator sites such as Hulu. Netflix has made its streaming library available to its subscribers on many devices, including Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 video game system, Apple’s own iPhone and iPod and Roku’s set-top boxes. Roku, anticipating Apple’s announcement, cut the prices of its devices this week, with the least expensive now costing $60. A high-definition version costs $70 _ still $29 less than the new Apple TV.
In a surprise counter-punch, Amazon.com Inc. on Wednesday began selling ABC, Fox and BBC TV shows for 99 cents each to own, not just rent. The shows, in both standard and high-def, are a mirror image of the content available to rent on Apple TV; people can watch on PCs, using Roku’s set-top box and through other devices that carry Amazon’s Video on Demand service.
In Fox’s case, Amazon did not seek to renegotiate the wholesale price on the shows, according a person familiar with the matter. That means Amazon has likely cut into its own profit margin to stay competitive.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for more information about the 99-cent offering. Apple declined to comment.
Forrester analyst James McQuivey said in an interview Wednesday that he doesn’t believe Apple TV will add significant momentum to the currently small set-top box business. Nor does McQuivey believe it will grow into a big moneymaker for Apple, a company that has successfully built buzz around the iPhone and iPad, such that customers camp out for hours or days to be among the first to own one.
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Metrosmart ticket sales hit million-pound milestone
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
£1million tickets sold via the online portal
Bus and rail users benefit from greater levels of convenience
Scheme is part of the Metro Mayor’s vision for a London-style transport system
Ticket sales via the Metrosmart portal have hit the £1million mark this week as more people benefit from the online service.
The Metrocard travel scheme replaced the Liverpool City Region’s Walrus card back in January 2020, giving people the ability and flexibility to buy smart tickets and manage their accounts online for the first time.
This was an important first step in a programme that will ultimately deliver the Metro Mayor’s vision for a London-style smart ticketing scheme with ‘tap and go’ travel, digital season tickets and online accounts for bus and rail users.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, this upward trend in sales indicates a growing appetite for smarter digital ticketing among travellers in the city region.
“The Metrosmart portal is all about making ticketing simpler and easier for people travelling around our region so it’s great to see that passengers are embracing this online service.
“We are developing more products and services to meet the growing demand for smarter ticketing options that offer greater levels of convenience and choice”.
Transport and Air Quality Portfolio Holder for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
The Metrosmart portal allows passengers to register their smartcard, buy a range of smart tickets, for use on bus or rail and manage their accounts online.
Once purchased, tickets are collected by simply tapping the smartcard on board the bus or at the rail station.
More ticket products were made available online earlier this year and platform validators were installed at 66 stations across the Merseyrail network.
Further products and enhanced services are under development as part of the Combined Authority’s smart ticketing programme.


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With attractive design and many technological features, new 2017 Subaru Crosstrek will be a perfect city vehicle but also have great off-road capabilities.
Dodge’s popular model is coming as a nice surprise to all sports car fans. New 2017 Dodge Barracuda combines iconic style with modern high-tech features.
If you are interested in the 2017 Honda Accord, you will not have to wait much longer. New model is coming this summer, with its stylish and sporty design.
After ten years, Honda is bringing back this midsize pickup. New 2017 Honda Ridgeline will soon be ready to make its debut and hopefully win some new fans.
Buick’s popular sedan is coming back with the new generation. New 2017 Buick LaCrosse is getting a well-deserved redesign and comes with many great updates.
Second generation of Audi’s supercar will be a nice surprise for all racing fans. New 2017 Audi R8 comes better looking and more comfortable than ever.
Another great model from Cadillac will soon be ready to take the market of mid-size crossovers. New 2017 Cadillac SRX comes with many exciting updates.
Ford’s well-known truck is coming back to the market soon. New 2017 Ford F-150 will feature many improvements that will make this model better than ever.
New 2017 Honda Civic Type R was announced at the 2015 New York Auto Show. This model will feature great updates, both on the exterior and on the interior.
With its stylish and futuristic design, powerful engine, and many high-tech features, new 2017 Infiniti Q60 will soon be ready to face the competition.


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Facebook is set to follow Apple into the mobile health field according to a new report from Reuters.
Citing three people familiar with the matter, the report states that Facebook has been discussing the move with medical industry experts, and is currently in the early stages of assembling an R&D team for the creation of health-related mobile apps.
While it’s not stating what these apps would involve, the report also claims that Facebook is looking to tap into its massive data stores to create online support communities bringing together different people suffering from the same illnesses. Facebook was supposedly inspired to do this after realizing that many users of the social network use it to ask for medical advice.
To date, Facebook’s biggest claim in the health field was its successful organ donor status launch in 2012, in which registrations to donate organs jumped from an average of 616 to an impressive 13,054.
Seeing as Apple has been working on assembling its biotech mobile health team for at least several years, Facebook is hardly breaking ground with its possible entry into this market. Still, with Apple pushing its mobile health agenda through the launch of HealthKit and the health-tracking Apple Watch, this could be a great opportunity for Facebook to cement itself as one of the biggest name mobile developers working on the platform.


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Chipotle’s Website Crashed During Their Free Guac Promo, & People Aren’t Happy
It's safe to say that Chipotle isn't having its best National Avocado Day. While everyone knows that guac is normally extra at the Tex-Mex chain, Chipotle created plenty of buzz among avo-lovers when they revealed that all guacamole included with purchases made through Chipotle's mobile app or website would be complimentary on Tuesday, July 31. Unfortunately, the promo was a little too successful, and Chipotle’s website and app crashed on Free Guac Day right before lunchtime. Their complimentary guac literally broke the internet, and hordes of angry customers are voicing their outrage on Twitter.
Countless millennials and avocado devotees were met with disappointment when they headed to Chipotle's website and app around noon Eastern Time to get in on the special freebie, only to be met with an error message and a notice that the promo code AVOCADO wasn't working. Understandably, people were pissed. Never mind that guacamole usually only costs you $1.80, and can actually be gratis if you don't order any meat. Never mind that you could only get the complimentary guac with the purchase of another menu item online. Is there anything worse than toying with our emotions and dangling the promise of free guac, only to fail to deliver? No, no there isn't.
The Twitterverse was already worked up to a frenzy by the time ChipotleTweets finally shared an apologetic Tweet to their followers. "Free guac on National Avocado Day, groundbreaking," they wrote, attempting to make light of the situation. "Actually, internet-breaking. Getting our servers back up ASAP."
For many hungry customers who'd been counting on the complimentary avocado spread for lunch, their apology was a little too little too late, and they let Chipotle have it without holding back. Reactions ranged from people wondering how the fast food chain hadn't learned from the debacle of Build-a-Bear's recent "pay your age" promo gone wrong to those who renounced their loyalty to Chipotle in favor of competitors like Qdoba. Needless to say, things got savage in the comments section.
It sounds like the lesson of the day is that you never, ever, mess around when it comes to promises of free guacamole. While the app was down for about four hours, from about noon to 4 p.m. ET — basically all of lunchtime, guys — several users noted that they were able to go to a brick and mortar Chipotle location and have the manager honor the online promotion, so that's always an option.
Chipotle tweeted out shortly before 4 p.m. ET that the app was back up and that the guac was still free, so if you've been holding out now is your moment to run to Chipotle and get the free guac that everyone else was missing out on. Even better? The latest tweet from Chipotle says that you don't even need the code to get free guac with an entree. That's one way to say you're sorry.
Considering how excited people were when the company first announced that guacamole would be on the house to "reward [their] customers' guac obsession" just a few days earlier, I'll be staying tuned to see if Chipotle decides to do a free guacamole do-over in the future.


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During Take-Two Interactive Software's financial conference call, CEO Strauss Zelnick and CFO Lainie Goldstein talked about Grand Theft Auto 6, but also about a much more ominous topic.
Speaking of GTA6, which is slated for release in 2025 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, Zelnick mentioned during the livestreamed conference that with 93 million views in 24 hours, the first trailer of Grand Theft Auto 6 broke YouTube's records for a non-music video launch. Summed to partner channels, this was the "biggest video debut ever."
Afterward, during the Q&A session, he mentioned that Take-Two was really gratified that not only the trailer was so successful, but even the announcement that it would come was a huge event online.
Zelnick also mentioned that the company believes that the anticipation is much higher compared to Grand Theft Auto V.
Our sense is that the anticipation is much higher. Umh, much, much higher. On the other hand, you know, 195 million units to date is nothing to sneeze at. So we stop short of making predictions about how the title will do, but clearly anticipation is running very, very high.
He was also asked how the decision about the timing of the launch window for the game is made.
You know, we're seeking perfection and when we feel we've optimized creatively, that's the time to release. So, and we're all in this together. In terms of motivations and incentives, and the financial incentives of everyone who works at this company are alogne with those of the shareholders.
So we essentially have we have profit sharing plans throughout the company at the operating level and at the senior level our compensation is driven largely by TSR [Total Shareholder Return].
So our goal is to align the interest of everyone who works here with the interests of the shareholders that keeps us all pointing in the same direction. So you're right there. There is a inherent tension potentially between getting something to market and creating perfection, but this company errs on the side of perfection.
Ominous Cost-Reduction Program May Mean More Layoffs
Unfortunately, not everything is peachy at Take-Two, and Zelnick mentioned that the company is currently working on a "significant cost reduction program" across its entire business to maximize margins while still investing for growth. These measures are "incremental to and even more robust" than the cost-cutting program that the company has recently implemented.
Goldstein stressed that looking ahead, Take-Two's teams remain committed to efficiency, and the company has begun "a rigorous analysis to identify additional areas for cost optimization." She also confirmed that this action is expected to be more expansive than the previous cost-reduction program.
Later in the Q&A session, Zelnick gave more color on the initiative.
In terms of cost reduction, as I said and as you know, we have a three-part strategy that's supported us well, through thick and thin. That is first and foremost to be the most creative company, also to be the most Innovative, and finally, always to be the most efficient company in the entertainment business and that's a big challenge and we mean it. And everyone here means it.
I think that it's time to take another look at efficiency and make sure that everyone is focused on the things are really matter and only the things that really matter, and put ourselves in a position where we have the opportunity for great operating leverage as these titles come to market and as the revenues flow through the system.
It's worth mentioning that the term "layoffs" was never used during the conference, so it's not known whether the cost reduction program mentioned by Take-Two will be focused entirely on layoffs, but it's certainly concerning.
We just heard that Visual Concept Austin (developer of NBA 2K24, Lego 2K Drive, and more) has been hit by layoffs, and today's news definitely makes it feel that it may be just the tip of the iceberg.
This is part of a tragic industry trend that surfaced between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, affecting many companies like Microsoft, Sony, Bungie, Epic Games, Tencent, Amazon, Frontier, Team17, People can Fly, and more, on top of several of Embracer's studios.
As a final note of color, Zelnick was asked to comment on the recent rumors that allege that Microsoft may be going multiplatform with some of its titles (which the company appears to be poised to address next week). He declined to comment specifically, but he wouldn't bet against Microsoft.
Well, the big console titles are expensive and time considering to create and if you want to make the very, very best, it takes a long time and it costs a lot of money.
I really don't want to speak for Microsoft and their strategy. There has been a lot of noise around that lately. I I've no doubt that they'll express where they're heading. I would just say that if you take a look at their market cap now compared to a few years ago, you don't want to bet against that management team.
If you're interested in learning more about the financial performance of Take-Two, you can read our dedicated article from earlier today.


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Bruno Jamais Celebrates 5th Anniversary in Jazzy Style with VIP Friends and Charity Benefit!
November 6 was a momentous day for the Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club. The upscale club had turned FIVE!! So for owner Bruno Jamais, it was a time to celebrate and break out the bubbly!
Bruno Jamais and Katherine M. Rothman , CEO of KMR Communications, Inc hosted the 5th Anniversary Celebration of Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club at 24 East 81st Street.
The evening featured hors dourvres, champagne and wine courtesy of Champagne Paul Goerg and MetroWine respectively.
The event was attended by hundreds of media, dignitaries, socialites, and event planners.
Cyril Margarit, artist at Bruno Jamais 5th anniversary party.
The restaurant was transformed into an art gallery for the evening featuring the works of famed French Artist Cyrille Margarit whose celebrity clients and subjects have included Russell Simons, Ivana Trump, Madonna, and Bruce Willis.
Jay Friedlander, Bruno Jamais, Arthur Backal
All guests had the opportunity to enter a raffle featuring five luxury prizes including a $25,000 necklace courtesy of Suz Andreasen Couture, a $5,000 gift certificate Bradford Rowley Portraits, David Yurman Cufflinks, a Cole Haan handbag, and a case of Chateau Guillaume Red Wine courtesy of Bruno Jamais Restaurant.
Hollywood Heat Reporter, Lynne White.
$1,600 was raised through the raffle and 100% of all proceeds will benefit the charity www.RiverKeeper.org .
All guests left with goody bags from Parisian skincare company Sothys.
Czech Republic Trade Commissioner, Thomas Hart
VIPS who enjoyed the party included: Czech Republic Trade Commissioner Thomas Hart, Court TV Hollywood Heat Reporter Lynne White,
Bruno Jamais and Nick Gregory
Fox Five Chief Meteorologist Nick Gregory, Arthur Backal, CEO of Backal Hospitality Group,
socialites Annabel Vartanian and Kristian Laliberte, music impresario Charles Huggins, La Goulue Restaurant’s general manager Steven Jauffrineau and his wife Maiwenn, Jay Friedlander founder of Carbon NYC,
and Chic TV reporter Marlie Hall.
Bruno Jamais Restaurant Club
24 East 81st Street
New York, NY
Ph: 212 396-3444
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At Comcast, CMCSA 0.63 % the scales of video versus broadband have finally tipped. That shouldn't unbalance profitability. Its quarterly results beat expectations Monday, and the cable giant boosted its buyback program by $2.5 billion.
(Reuters) - Wall Street ended higher on Monday as corporate earnings came in better than feared, although shares of McDonald's declined after the fast-food chain's turnaround plan left investors wanting more.
The U.S. Commerce Department said today that orders for manufactured goods spiked in March, RTTNews reported. Factory orders increased 2.1 percent in March following a revised 0.1 percent decrease in February.
The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will review whether a federal agency may require electric market operators to compensate customers who lower their consumption of electricity during peak demand hours.
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans said the Fed should wait for more evidence that wages are rising before raising interest rates, and he repeated his call to hold borrowing costs near zero until 2016.


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The worst of an ongoing union struggle is over as HMM, the country’s leading maritime shipping company, came to a last minute agreement with its labor union over wages, Thursday, 77 days after negotiations began.
HMM President Bae Jae-hoon met with land based workers’ union leader Kim Jin-man and sea based workers’ union leader Jun Chung-geun, Wednesday, and came to an agreement following marathon talks to a 7.9 percent increase in wages and a bonus payment equivalent to 650 percent of monthly pay, the company said. The two sides also agreed to a 2.7 percent rise in welfare benefits.
“We entered negotiations with a burden of being responsible for 99.7 percent of exports within the marine shipping industry,” Jun Chung-geun, chairman of the sea based workers’ union said.
The agreement has substantial meaning as the threat of worker strikes raised worries over further bottlenecks to global shipping supply chains which have already been combating rising costs and a shortage of containers. Market analysts had worried that a strike would have a huge impact on technology and auto supply chains in addition to bottlenecks at major ports due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Labor and management representatives started negotiations on June 18, but had difficulty in terms of narrowing prerequisites and key conditions required for a settlement. The two unions voted for a strike to pressure management to address the wage dispute.
At the land based union, 98 percent of its 755 members supported striking if the negotiations fell through, while 92 percent of the sea based union also voted in favor of a strike to resolve the wage dispute.
Initially, management proposed an 8 percent pay raise, with a bonus equivalent to 300 percent of their monthly wages and 200 percent incentive at the end of the year. But the unionized workers refused.
“We apologize to the public as the negotiations were prolonged raising worries of possible logistics disturbance. Both the management and the union have eased their stances and came to a consensus considering the economic effect and the coronavirus situation,” an HMM official said. “Through the wage negotiations, management and the union will join hands to rebuild the local marine shipping industry.”
Despite the agreement helping the global shipping industry avoid possible turmoil, investors did not react positively as HMM’s stock price fell by 4.05 percent to close at 40,300 won on Thursday.
Because supply chains are massively affected by even partial disruptions, investors said a strike will hit stocks of HMM’s business alliances. In a comparison, earlier closures at Chinese ports this year had a substantial impact on international trade with a shipping gridlock prolonging supply chain disruptions throughout the next year.
“We cannot stand and watch the rising concerns over logistics disturbance,” Kim Jin-man, chairman of the land based workers’ union said. HMM is the only large marine shipper in Korea after Hanjin Shipping went bankrupt in 2017 and a strike would have dealt a devastating blow to local exporters.
“Even though management agreed to the union’s request of raising rates by 25 percent and bonuses of 1,200 percent, it would have cost the company an additional 120 billion won, which is just 1 percent of expected sales for this year, so it would have a limited impact on corporate value,” Na Min-sik, analyst at eBest Investment & Securities said.
HMM reported a record operating profit of 2.4 trillion won for the first six months of this year from 136.7 billion a year earlier. Its revenue almost doubled to 5.3 trillion won during the same period.
Source: The Korea Times


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Reserve Bank cuts CRR by 50 basis points, interest rates unchangedJan 24, 8:43 pm
Mumbai, Jan 24 (ANI): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lowered the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points with effect from January 28, but kept the short-term lending rate unchanged in view of the inflationary concerns. The cut is expected to inject Rs. 32,000 crore into the system. RBI Governor D Subbarao, who unveiled the third quarterly monetary policy review, today said: "Based on the current inflation trajectory, including consideration of suppressed inflation, it is premature to begin reducing the policy rate.""Even as inflation remains elevated, despite moderation, downside risks to growth have increased. The growth-inflation balance of the monetary policy stance has now shifted to growth," he added.Subbarao further said slippage on fiscal deficit, crude prices and rupee depreciation are key challenges for inflation, which after remaining near double digit for almost two-years, came down to 7.5 percent in December last year.The CRR has been reduced to 5.5 percent from 6 percent with effect from January 28. The CRR is the amount of deposits the banks are required to keep with RBI in cash.The short-term lending rate (repo) has been kept unchanged at 8.5 per cent. (ANI)
India-Afghan Innovation Partnership Fair opens in Kabul Dec 4, 4:23 pm
Kabul, Dec. 4 (ANI):India's Ambassador to Afghanistan, Amar Sinha, inaugurated the first India-Afghanistan Innovation Partnership Fair here on Wednesday.Full Story »
Yahoo acquires mobile-video app Ptch Dec 4, 1:45 pm
Washington, Dec. 4 (ANI): Continuing with its start-up acquisition spree, Yahoo has reportedly purchased mobile-video app Ptch that was funded by Dream Works Animation for an undisclosed amount.Full Story »
TC planning to launch new smart phone in UK by early 2014 Dec 4, 1:23 pm
London, Dec. 04 (ANI): A UK High Court judge has reportedly revealed that Taiwanese mobile maker HTC is planning to release its next flagship smart phone in the UK between February and March 2014.Full Story »
J-K Govt to launch schemes to boost tourism round the year Dec 3, 7:48 pm
Srinagar, Dec.3 (ANI): The Government of Jammu and Kashmir will soon announce new schemes to boost tourism round the year, with an aim to facilitate employment opportunities for residents of the Kashmir Valley.Full Story »
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New pictures of Nokia Lumia 1520 phablet grab the attention
It has been awhile since we heard rumors about the upcoming phablet by Nokia known with the nickname Bandit, but officially Nokia Lumia 1520. For all of you that have been missing news about the device, there are some new pictures delivered by @evleaks showing the large-sized smartphone with all its glory. The leak consists of high resolution images that give a pretty good glimpse on the design of the new handset. In fact, the pictures look a lot like render images that will be part of the official introducing of Lumia 1520 expected to happen soon. The appearance of the new phablet reminds a bit to the flagship Nokia Lumia 1020 and the high-end smartphone Nokia Lumia 925. The depicted device is posing for the camera in a bright yellow shell. We have seen similar panel of Lumia 1020, therefore from a first look the device reminds of a big version of the camera-phone. Thanks to the images of @evleaks we can see the home screen of the phablet. It consists of several rows with big Live Tiles neatly arranged next to medium-sized Live Tiles. This is how the next update GDR3 of Windows Phone will look like.
As we know, this is the update that will support large-sized screens working on the platform and will make it possible to work on the 6-inches phablet. The Lumia 1520 will boast a resolution of 1080p. The market of the phablets is strongly dominated by the Android devices. The announcement of a Windows Phone running large-sized device is great news for the users of the platform and brings the needed diversity on the mobile arena. The current biggest smartphone running on Windows Phone is the Samsung ATIV S with 4.8-inches display; however it could not win the hearts of users. It seems that Nokia has better success in introducing devices running on the platform.
The Lumia 1520 will work with quad-core processor and will be adorned by 20MP camera on the back. The big date of announcement is rumored to be at the end of the month during the Nokia event. The expectations for the event are rising up with the possibility to see another new tablet by the company, running on Windows RT. Nokia has been focusing on releasing smartphones until now, so the arrival of new phablets by the company is definitely something exciting that we cannot wait to see.


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New store opens in Lowestoft
QUEUES formed early yesterday (Thursday) as the curtain raised on the latest store to open in Lowestoft.Value home and garden store Wilkinson was opened by Lowestoft mayor Malcolm Cherry and TV and pantomime star Dave Benson Phillips, as shoppers waited eagerly to see what the new store in Gordon Road had to offer.
QUEUES formed early yesterday (Thursday) as the curtain raised on the latest store to open in Lowestoft.
Value home and garden store Wilkinson was opened by Lowestoft mayor Malcolm Cherry and TV and pantomime star Dave Benson Phillips, as shoppers waited eagerly to see what the new store in Gordon Road had to offer.
The family-owned chain teamed up with the town's Marina Theatre for the launch, with the panto favourite, who will be playing Buttons in Cinderella, giving out free family tickets to the first five through the door. The first 100 were also given a two-for-one voucher for pantomime tickets, with the next 2,000 given �3 off vouchers.
The opening of the store, in the former Somerfield building, is another welcome boost to Lowestoft's shopping centre, following the recent opening of Peacocks and QD Stores, in nearly London Road North.
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The creation of Wilkinson also brought with it 88 new jobs to the town, with some of the vacancies filled by former Woolworths workers and some long-term unemployed.
Store manager Marek Mrotek said: 'The staff have put in a lot of hard work over the last 12 days. It's been a 24-hour operation putting everything in place.'
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- 3 New operator to be unveiled for Lowestoft pavilion regeneration
- 4 New restaurant offering 'finest Asian cuisine' opens in Lowestoft
- 5 School sites targeted as vandals cause damage across Lowestoft
- 6 Man who died after a medical episode in Hopton identified
- 7 Vulnerable man abused by group of youths in Lowestoft
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- 10 Backlash against raw sewage vote as local hotspots revealed
Mr Mrtoek was joined by Wilkinson family director Lisa Wilkinson and chief executive Stuart Mitchell
at the opening, when they presented the Lowestoft and Oulton Broad Aid
and Assist Project with �250 of Wilkinson vouchers.
A further �250 donation was made to East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH), while Mr Benson Phillips, former presenter of Get Your Own Back, remained in store during the morning to sell cakes for the charity.
The entertainment is to set to continue tomorrow at a family fun day in the store.


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A recent study from Appboy takes a look at various app categories, based on the behavior of 1.6 billion users on more than 500 apps in the first half of 2016.
A majority (53%) of emails are read, meaning that the recipient (presumably) looks at the message for at least 8 seconds.
Forecasters predict up to 20 billion IoT devices within a few years. This Internet of Things Landscape infographic makes sense of it all.
The travel and hospitality industry leads spending on the Internet of Things technology.
The internet of things (IoT) continues to grow, connecting more devices to each other to help run more of everyday life, but there’s still a massive awareness gap.
This infographic from BI Intelligence illustrates the state of the industry based on the publication’s most recent report.
Mobile applications examined by Urban Airship across 15 industries had a median push notification opt-in rate of 42% in 2014.
87% of SMB owners and managers agreed that positive customer perceptions of their brands were important.
Baby Boomers on the whole report spending more than they were a year ago.
Between 51% (utilities) and 90% (media and entertainment) of large enterprises see digital initiatives as being at least of major importance to their market and financial success in the next 5 years.


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NEW YORK - Under a new federal program, several pharmacy chains — including CVS Health, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Costco Pharmacy — are offering COVID-19 vaccinations to eligible people at hundreds of stores in several states — including New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut — starting this week.
The federal government is supplying certain pharmacies around the country with COVID-19 vaccine doses. But that supply is limited — and appointments at many of these pharmacies were hard to come by.
CVS Health planned to launch on Feb. 11 with an initial 250,000 doses through the federal government but had to push back the launch to Feb. 12 "to ensure in-store availability," the company said. Also, some customers trying to book appointments online reported being prompted to register for appointments out of state.
"We are aware of this scheduling issue and are in the process of resolving it," CVS said in a statement. "We are committed to following state eligibility requirements for vaccinations and we apologize for any inconvenience."
The Walgreens online booking portal was also reportedly overwhelmed and crashed. Walgreens said it has resolved glitches in its registration system.
The CDC chose certain pharmacy chains because their presence in areas ranked high or very high in CDC's Social Vulnerability Index, which identifies communities based on more than a dozen social factors, including poverty, lack of access to transportation, and crowded housing.
To get vaccinated at a CVS location, you will have to make an appointment on CVS.com, or via the CVS Pharmacy mobile app, or by phone at 800-746-7287.
Walgreens vaccination appointments can be made on Wallgreens.com after creating an account.
Vaccination appointments at Rite Aid and Costco locations are available through your state or local vaccine program.
With The Associated Press


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Source: See below.
What we heard: Sony's decision to remove the UMD disc media reader from the PSP Go has provoked its fair share of controversy. On the one hand, by eliminating the UMD drive, Sony was able to substantially reduce the size of its device, as well as improve battery life, among other enhancements. However, without the drive, PSP Go purchasers will be unable to use their previously purchased PSP games, and they won't be able to rent new games, either.
While Sony has stated that it does not plan on offering a way for gamers to digitize their PSP libraries, the publisher may be cooking up a solution for those looking to rent PSP games. First spotted by gaming blog The Retail Gamer and confirmed by GameSpot, Sony has added "Starts," "Expires," and "Hours Left" options to the information pane within games (pictured, top).
Notably, Sony floated just such an idea earlier this year. In May, a confidential Web survey surfaced online indicating that Sony was considering a subscription service that would let gamers rent PSP games. "The service will enable you to download a fixed number of games during your subscription period...[which] might renew weekly, monthly, or for some other time period," read the document.
Further, the menu fields are identical to those found in PlayStation Store video content (pictured, bottom), which can be purchased or rented through the PlayStation Network. With video content rentals, the start date is generated at the time of purchase and gamers have two weeks to watch the content before it expires. However, once a piece of content is activated, gamers only have a 24-hour window before the content expires.
The official story: Sony had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.
Bogus or not bogus?: Looking not bogus.


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Our Google I/O 2013 predictions: will we see Key Lime Pie, Nexus 5, X Phone, or a Google Glass launch date? Here's what to expect from Google I/O in 2013. See also: Google I/O 2013 keynote live video.
Between May 15 and May 17 2013, Google is holding its annual I/O event. In principle the idea is to bring together developers to work together to create better Google software. But like Apple's WWDC and Microsoft's Build, I/O is much more than a meeting place for geeks. Last year Google announced Google Glass at I/O, and you can expect interesting developments this year, too. Here is our round up of what to expect at Google I/O 2013. (See also: What is Google Glass? Everything you need to know.)
UPDATE: in an interview with Wired, Google Android boss Sundar Pichai said: "It’s going to be different. It’s not a time when we have much in the way of launches of new products or a new operating system. Both on Android and Chrome, we’re going to focus this I/O on all of the kinds of things we’re doing for developers, so that they can write better things. We will show how Google services are doing amazing things on top of these two platforms."
That pretty much confirms what we knew already:
The first thing to note is that Google is downplaying this year's event. Google Glass is still some way from being ready for market (of which more later), and it seems unlikely that Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie will launch next week. Indeed, Google has planned a shorter I/O keynote than in previous years. This year's main presentation will take place in a single three-hour slot rather than over two days as in previous years. But that doesn't mean it won't be interesting - and you can rest assured that PC Advisor will be there to provide the best coverage from San Francisco.
What to expect from Google I/O: new software?
All the major interest is in Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. But the smart word on the street is that Google won't launch Key Lime Pie next week (although it might...). Expect a new Android, but an iterative point upgrade rather than a brand new OS. (See our piece: Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie release date and rumours.)
The reasons for this are multiple, but the main one is the enduring success of the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 products. Google likes to announce new operating system software with new hardware. The Nexus 4 was launched only in October last year, so we don't expect a new OS and smartphone this side of the end of summer. But we might be wrong...
We do expect new versions of Google's software products Chrome, G Drive, Docs and Gmail. And there are exciting rumours about a new messenger service called Babel. Like WhatsApp, Viber, BBM and iMessage, Babel is a free inter-device messaging platform that uses data and not SMS.
What to expect from Google I/O: new phones, tablets and PCs?
Of course everyone is really excited about Google Glass. But it is unlikely we will get a release date. That shorter keynote and the fact that it's still early days in the $1,500 invite-ony beta trial suggests Google Glass is some way from coming to market. Indeed, Larry Page describe it as 'early days' for Google Glass in the recent Google earnings call. So unless he was misleading the markets, expect some news on Google Glass, but not big news.
As we mentioned above we don't expect to see a Nexus 5 just yet - unless Google springs a surprise and launches Key Lime Pie. It's more likely in our view that we'll see an update to the Nexus 4. In the absence of a new Nexus tablet expect a Nexus 7 update, too. Better specs at a marginally more expensive price is the word on the street.
This is a pleasure deferred, however: when we get a new Android expect a new Nexus 5 phone with market-leading specs, a 5in screen and a price to die for.
It's more likely that I/O 2013 will see the launch of the Motorola X Phone - the first true Google hard- and software device. Google now owns Motorola, and the strong rumours are that the X Phone will be the two companies' first proper joint venture. If it launches expect a 4.8in touchscreen and a Snapdragon 800 processor running at 2GHz. The word is this phone will be virtually indestructible, with a carbon fibre rear panel and tougher than Gorilla Glass display. A 4000mAh battery should offer extensive battery life, too.
There are strong rumours of new Chromebooks, too. Possibly two new Google laptops from major brands.