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Leica and Matsushita (known by the Panasonic brand) have announced that they will be jointly developing digital cameras. The products will be marketed under both the Leica and Panasonic brands. This interesting announcement almost definitely puts a lid on the relationship Leica had with Fujifilm, the last product from which was the Leica Digilux 4.3 which was essentially a re-badged, re-cased Fujifilm 4700Z.
So now we have: Sony & Zeiss and Matsushita & Leica.
Matsushita, Leica in digital camera tie-up
Leica Camera AG Chief Executive Hanns-Peter Cohn, left,
shakes hands with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.
Senior Managing Director Kazuo Toda (AP Photo)
TOKYO, July 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co
Ltd said on Tuesday it would ally with Germany's Leica Camera AG in a
bid to gain a 10 percent share of the fast-growing digital still camera
market by 2003.
Consumer electronics giant Matsushita, known for its Panasonic brand goods, is a minor player in the digital camera market, in which rival Sony Corp holds a sizable share.
Matsushita and Leica announced at a joint news conference in Tokyo that they will jointly develop digital still cameras for release this autumn, utilizing Leica's optical lens units.
Matsushita Senior Managing Director Kazuo Tada said the company aimed to use the tie-up to help it gain a 10 percent share of a forecast 29 million unit digital camera market in 2003, and hinted that it might play a part in a networked consumer electronics scheme.
"With the help of Leica, we will be able to reach a new level of richness and quality for our new digital still cameras,'' he said.
"Digital cameras are playing an important role as a network tool - you can't build a network without digital cameras.''
Matsushita rival Sony has said it sees digital cameras as an input device for networked consumer electronics, a way to capture images for input into Vaio PCs or Sony photo printers, all interconnected with camcorders, audio players and other gadgets via its memory stick data storage device.
Leica Chief Executive Hanns-Peter Cohn said he hoped that the jointly manufactured digital cameras would account for 25 percent of his company's total turnover within three years.
"Matsushita's strength is in electronic and digital components, and our knowledge is especially in optics,'' Cohn told reporters after the news conference.
"We want to bring the two together effectively.''
The devices will be marketed under both Matsushita's Panasonic brand and the Leica brand, with three products to be released in early autumn, Tada said.
Production will take place in Japan, with the companies initially using Matsushita's subsidiary Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics Industries Ltd's factory in Takamatsu on the island of Shikoku.
Tada said that other production sites would also eventually be used, but did not give specifics.
May 10, 2004
May 10, 2004
Feb 11, 2004
Dec 11, 2003
|Hot Air Balloons Over Bagan by User9320321874|
|Blue mood by darub|
from Fixed lens shootout.
|Yellow Warbler by LeeS|
from A Big Year - birds
|Waiting for the Parade by tcoker1103|
from - La Vida Loca - (Black and White Street Photography+ A Border)
Adobe says that many of its users have been relying on SkyBox for VR editing and it therefore made sense to make the plug-ins available to all subscribers through Creative Cloud.
The Pictar grip provides a number of customizable physical controls for your iPhone camera, but at its price point we would like to see better materials and build quality.
Peak Design's 'consider every detail' approach shines in the Everyday Backpack. While expensive, it's one of the best options out there for a photographer who needs to pack a lot of stuff in addition to gear.
If you're thinking of using Canon's sports glass on the Sony a9, think again. The ultra-fast camera slows way down when you attach off-brand glass.
The Polish town of Katowice is not known as an area of beauty, but as all photographers know, that doesn't mean that beauty can't be found if you know where to look. Mariusz Pietranek used a drone to look down on the colorful sedimentation tanks at an ironworks.
New York Times video journalist Ben Solomon spent a harrowing three weeks accompanying Iraqi Major Sajjad al-Hour as he and his men fought to retake Mosul from I.S. forces.
The 3D VR camera launched through a crowdfunding campaign in 2015 goes on sale beginning June 26.
Noctilucent clouds, a crescent moon and Venus were visible in the pre-dawn sky over Budapest yesterday. Photographer György Soponyai captured NASA's astronomy picture of the day.
Squirming pets won't sit still for photos? A Kickstarter campaign is looking to help.
Find out how Chris Burkard shifted from editorial photography to his true passions: landscapes, conservation and, of course, surfing.
The updated EyeEm app scans your camera roll and picks images that are composed particularly well, have the best quality, or highest chance of selling on EyeEm Market.
It's three years old but still a solid option for a Micro Four Thirds shooter looking for a high-quality, fast, wide-angle prime. Take a look at how we got along with it.
Tamron has announced the longest all-in-one zoom lens currently available, the 18-400mm F3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD. Designed for Canon and Nikon crop-sensor cameras, the lens will be available in July.
When you're ready to step-up to full-frame from an entry-level or midrange camera, the choices can be overwhelming. Find out which models came out on top in our $1200-2000 enthusiast ILC roundup.
Just a guy wearing a VR headset, smashing invisible Goombas in Central Park.
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this gorgeous aerial photo of the Martian landscape. And if you look really close, you can actually see the Mars Curiosity rover in the very middle.
The city of Laguna Beach, California has provided some clarification around the kinds of photography permits it offers.
Later this year, a VR180 camera will be Joining Yi's Halo and 360 VR cameras, which will offer stereo 3D capture, yet be as easy to use and compact as a 2D camera.
Caltech researchers have developed an 'optical phased array' chip that uses time delays instead of a lens to focus the incoming light.
Pricing and shipping have finally been revealed for two highly anticipated lenses from Sigma, announced in February.
These macro photos of clouds of paint billowing through clear water might look like high-quality CGI, but they're real photographs. And photographer Alberto Seveso told us how they were made.
Facebook is testing a feature that prevents people from saving, sharing, or even taking a screenshot of your profile picture.
We've reshot the Sony a9 in our studio. The short story: it's sharper! The long story... well you can read it all here.
The collection will be officially launched during the Europeana Transcribathon Campus Berlin 2017 crowdsourcing event which will be held on 22 and 23 June at the Berlin State Library.
Light gives us some insight into the preparations for the launch of the pre-order shipments of its much anticipated L16 multi-lens camera.
OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has confirmed in a tweet that the second lens on the back of the OnePlus 5 uses a 1.6x optical zoom and that digital zoom is used to reach the claimed 2x zoom factor.
Fujifilm recently unveiled the second in its series of affordable cine lenses, the MK50-135mm T2.9. We got our hands on it for a couple days and took it for a spin.
Leica's first attempt at an M-series digital rangefinder was rough around the edges, but set a pattern for all of the cameras that came after it. In this week's Throwback Thursday article, Barney remembers the M8.
No stranger to extreme situations, legendary climber and filmmaker Jimmy Chin talks to Outside Magazine about his career, and the challenge of filming Alex Honnold's rope-free solo climb of El Capitain.
A company backed by Android co-founder Andy Rubin is attempting to make video conferencing less terrible.


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MTV Kids games inks Habbo deal
EmptyMTV Networks Kids and Family Group has announced an exclusive North American deal to distribute its AddictingGames channel through the teen social networking site Habbo.
AddictingGames provides free viral games such as Max Dirt Bike, Mini Putt and Bloons that attract more than 23 million unique visitors each month. AddictingGames senior vp Dave Williams said the deal is aimed at enhancing the entertainment experience for players.
"We think AddictingGames visitors will love Habbo's virtual world environment -- it complements our existing Web games and community," he added.
Habbo has 7.5 million unique users worldwide -- including 1.7 million in the U.S. -- and offers an avatar-based virtual world in which users create their own characters called Habbos. Since its launch by Finnish company Sulake in 2000, Habbo has expanded into 29 countries, and more than 80 million Habbo characters have been created.
Habbo's average user is age 15, but the site also features celebrity Habbos from Ashlee Simpson, Bow Wow, Shaun White, Paula Abdul and Rachel Leigh Cook, among others.

domain: news


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Privacy concerns have led to volatility and questions about restrictions.
In recent weeks, stocks have seen another round of heightened volatility. Tech stocks were among the most volatile parts of the market, as investors weighed the risk of new privacy concerns. Questions about how Facebook has handled user data have led to soul-searching among internet companies and triggered a political backlash, with speculation that internet companies may face more stringent regulations. Viewpoints checked in with Charlie Chai, portfolio manager, and Nidhi Gupta, portfolio manager.
How do you think about privacy and regulation in this part of the market?
Chai: I have been concerned about this issue for some time. It's a huge challenge to increase value to consumers while protecting their privacy. Internet companies need to figure out what types of data should and shouldn't be collected, how to collect the data, appropriate governance around data ownership and leakage protection, and so on. These lines are not always clear, especially for companies that are pushing the envelope on innovation. The industry realizes that this is a big issue and is actively trying to self-police, but the general public and the authorities may not have complete understanding of these strategies or totally trust these companies are able to protect customer data.
Gupta: I think potential regulation falls into 3 buckets:
Data protection. Europe has already enacted new regulations to protect users' data, called General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It was approved in 2016 and is going into effect this May. It imposes fairly strict regulations that will govern how internet platforms interact with users, and how much control users will have over data they provide to those platforms. Will regulations like this find their way to the United States? I think it's too early to say with confidence what could happen here.
Antitrust. This bucket concerns the sentiment that some internet companies have become too big and have too much market power.
Content safety. This category covers a wide range of issues, including fake news, automated personalized news filters (i.e., filter bubbles), and whether the platforms are addictive. I view regulations in these areas as within the purview of the FCC, if they happen. Any regulations that emerge could look something like what we see on TV with broadcast and cable networks.
How does Europe's data protection regulation work?
Gupta: The spirit of the GDPR is that users are effectively paying for the use of social media and other internet services with their data, so regulatory authorities should work to ensure that companies capture and process that data with their users' explicit permissions.
That said, it isn't clear yet how the GDPR rules will work. Authorities have laid out guidelines, but we don't know yet how they will be implemented by different applications and websites, or how they'll be enforced in different countries. For example, the data protection authority in, say, Germany might employ a stricter interpretation of how private data should be handled than its counterpart in Spain. So it's not clear how the sites and apps should interpret the rules.
The general spirit of the GDPR regulation is that users should have control over their private data, and should be opted out by default rather than being defaulted by the service into having their data captured. The other key aspect of the regulation is that the data protection policies should be presented to the user in simple terms, and should not be buried in the legal language of long user agreement documents.
What does the outlook for data protection, including Europe's new regulations, mean for internet companies and their investors?
Gupta: For companies, it means there's a wide spectrum of potential outcomes. The result could be as simple as a privacy setting section of a site or app where you can control all the data the platform has on you—that would be in line with what's in place today. Or it could be that literally every time users sign on they're presented with a window that tells them which data will be captured and how it will be used, and users will have the option to say no. So the result could be anything from the status quo to a scenario in which the platforms end up with fewer users and/or less data to target advertisements.
What does it mean for investors? There's a wide range of views. Some observers think that the current debate about greater regulation will prove to be a blip—that users already understand that giving access to data is the price they pay for having access to these services, and they value the platforms enough that they'll move on pretty quickly. That could result in very little impact on social internet companies and their stocks. At the other end of the spectrum, some people think new regulations could be a game-changer for internet companies in terms of their number of users, the data they can gather, and their ability to target advertisements, which is central to their growth.
Chai: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have emerged as potentially the most important drivers for technology innovation going forward, and they will be very critical to technology company valuations. Consumer mistrust and potential regulation could cause a slowdown in AI and machine-learning development, particularly in the Western world and among consumer-facing companies. While I think the large trend won't change, there could be interim negative impact on the sector, and some companies could be affected more than others. For example, consumers could be more cautious about using certain apps, and consumer services companies may become more hesitant or take longer to develop new features.
Given how uncertain the outlook for regulation is, how do you factor it into your investment decisions?
Gupta: The most important part of the decision-making process is thinking about the long term. My team assigns probabilities to various near-term outcomes, but always within the context of our long-term thesis. Any near-term event—whether it's regulation, a management issue, or something else—needs to be weighed against what these platforms mean to users and advertisers over long periods of time.
Our long-term investment thesis never anticipates a straight line from A to B. Any platform dealing with billions of users is going to have hiccups along the way. With respect to the debate around data privacy, I view the real issue as being broader than regulation. When delivering a service that billions of people are using, the hardest constituency to please is your user base. Regulations may actually lag what these platforms need to do to keep users happy. The issue generally comes back to user trust, which these companies have always had to manage. Regulation is just one part of that.
I continue to focus on the long-term opportunity for internet companies, while being mindful of these risks.
Information presented herein is for discussion and illustrative purposes only and is not a recommendation or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Views expressed are as of the date indicated, based on the information available at that time, and may change based on market and other conditions. Unless otherwise noted, the opinions provided are those of the author and not necessarily those of Fidelity Investments or its affiliates. Fidelity does not assume any duty to update any of the information.
Investment decisions should be based on an individual's own goals, time horizon, and tolerance for risk. Investing involves risk, including risk of loss.
Stock markets are volatile and can decline significantly in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments.
Because of their narrow focus, sector investments tend to be more volatile than investments that diversify across many sectors and companies.
The technology industries can be significantly affected by obsolescence of existing technology, short product cycles, falling prices and profits, competition from new market entrants, and general economic conditions.
The third-party trademarks and service marks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners.


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NEW CEO AND PRESIDENT FOR MARRIOTT
Following the unexpected passing of Marriott’s President & CEO Arne Sorenson on February 15, the company has announced the appointment of two people to the fill the positions he held.
Marriott International’s Board of Directors have announced that Tony Capuano has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and has joined the company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. He was previously Group President, Global Development, Design and Operations Services. The Board of Directors also announced that Stephanie Linnartz, previously Group President, Consumer Operations, Technology and Emerging Businesses, has been appointed President, effective immediately.
“Tony has played a critical role in Marriott’s growth over the last decade,” said J.W. “Bill” Marriott, Jr., Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board, Marriott International. “He will be a terrific leader as we continue to advance our growth strategy while also navigating the market dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic. He works thoughtfully and pragmatically with our owner and franchisee community and has been steadfast in ensuring Marriott delivers operational excellence and elevated customer experiences at our properties. Tony has a deep appreciation for Marriott’s thousands of associates who ultimately deliver on our customer and brand promise and I know he will be a superb steward of our culture. Together with Stephanie in the role of President, and the rest of our exceptional leadership team, Marriott could not be in better hands,” Mr Marriott said.
“I am honoured to be appointed to take the helm of Marriott, but it is a bittersweet moment,” said Capuano. “Arne was a mentor, a champion and a friend to each member of his close-knit leadership team. It is because of Arne’s efforts that we are prepared to move forward with this transition. Together, we will advance the strategy we have in place, which is laser-focused on recovery, expansion, providing opportunities for our associates, maintaining constructive relationships with our owners and franchisees, delivering safe and innovative experiences for our guests and customers, and building value for our shareholders.”
In his previous role as Group President, Global Development, Design and Operations Services, Capuano was responsible for leading global development and design efforts and overseeing the company’s Global Operations discipline. During Mr Capuano’s tenure leading global development, the company grew its footprint from just over 3,200 properties in early 2009 to over 7,600 properties by year-end 2020. In addition, Mr. Capuano has overseen the growth and globalisation of Marriott’s development pipeline to 498,000 rooms as of December 31, 2020, with more than half of the pipeline representing projects outside of the US.
Stephanie Linnartz takes on President role
As President, Ms Linnartz will be responsible for developing and executing all aspects of the company’s global consumer strategy, including brand, marketing, sales, revenue management, customer engagement, digital, information technology, emerging businesses and loyalty strategies. In addition, Ms Linnartz will oversee Marriott’s global development organisation, which is responsible for the strategic growth of the company’s 30 lodging brands, as well as the global design and operations services functions. Ms Linnartz will also spearhead the company’s progress on issues including the intersection of technology and hospitality, the continued growth of the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty platform, the excellence of our brand portfolio, and environmental sustainability.
“Stephanie has a leadership track record and clear vision for how our core lodging business, travel platform initiatives and loyalty strategies can work together to accelerate growth,” said Mr. Marriott. “Her deep experience across our business will enable her to work seamlessly with our owners and franchisees, innovate for our guests and customers, and champion new opportunities for our associates. Tony and Stephanie are exactly the CEO and President we need as we continue to push forward towards recovery and growth in the years ahead.”
“Every member of the leadership team feels a profound sense of loss at Arne’s passing. He was not just a friend and a leader for us, he was a guidepost for the hospitality industry,” said Ms. Linnartz. “The best way we can honour Arne’s memory is to continue to move the company forward. It is my privilege to take on the role of President and to work with Tony and the rest of the executive team to ensure a seamless transition and to successfully execute our strategy.”
Prior to this appointment, Ms Linnartz, 52, was Group President, Consumer Operations, Technology and Emerging Businesses, where she was responsible for brand, marketing, sales, revenue management, customer engagement, digital, information technology, emerging businesses and loyalty strategies. Ms Linnartz played a pivotal role during Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, overseeing the integration of business-critical systems including reservations, property management, revenue management and loyalty. In 2019, under her leadership, the company combined the Marriott and Starwood loyalty programs to create the world’s largest hospitality loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy, which currently has more than 147 million global members.


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Sunbeam Products Inc. has reached a $4.5 million settlement with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on a claim that the company hid from the agency a defect in Mr. Coffee appliances that let steam build up and possibly shoot hot water toward users. In a notice published in the Federal Register, the CPSC said it reached a preliminary settlement with Sunbeam, which does business as Jarden Consumer Solution, in which the household products maker agreed to pay the civil penalty for failing to report the defect in its Mr. Coffee Single Cup Brewing System.
The settlement is open to a 15-day comment period, after which it will officially take effect, and Sunbeam will then owe the $4.5 million. The CPSC said that between 2011 and 2012, Sunbeam sold roughly 520,000 Mr. Coffee appliances. The company was said to have received numerous complaints of the product’s opening and expelling hot water and coffee grounds on users, 32 of whom reported being burned. However, despite having information “reasonably supporting” the conclusion that the coffee makers contained a defect that created a substantial risk of harm, the agency says that Sunbeam did not immediately notify the commission as required, a violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act.
Instead of reporting to the CPSC, Sunbeam conducted its own investigation into the incidents. The company eventually determined the cause to be a buildup of steam inside the Mr. Coffee’s hot water tank, which itself was caused by brewing a second cup of coffee with an under-filled water tank immediately after brewing the first cup. After concluding its investigation, the CPSC says Sunbeam then filed a report with the commission. However, the report should have come sooner as the company was “presumed to have knowledge” of the defect much earlier. Aside from the $4.5 million civil penalty, Sunbeam is also required to maintain a compliance program designed to ensure the company follows the CPSC’s defect reporting rules in the future.
The compliance program includes updated written reporting standards at the company, implementing mechanism for confidential reporting by any Sunbeam employee, communicating its compliance policies to employees, and retaining any CPSC compliance-related records for at least five years.


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It is fitting that our special Reputation Issue should coincide with the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, because modern brand, corporate, and organizational reputation is now universally recognized as a global phenomenon – and one that will be the topic of many conversations on the Côte d'Azur from June 16-22.
C-suite executives increasingly buy in to a mantra communications pros have understood for a long time: that what a company stands for is more important than what it sells. But the road to effectively managing reputation still stretches far ahead.
Our focus on global reputation spans in-depth analyses of different aspects of this crucial topic, such as supply chain, brands and corporations as good citizens, cyber security, and reputation across borders.
The issue also highlights a growing global brand, Huawei, and its efforts to improve its reputation worldwide, led by June's Newsmaker Bill Plummer; encouraging social engagement and going beyond CSR at Starbucks; CEO Jerry Murrell using internal comms to drive global expansion at Five Guys; and Reckitt Benckiser's CMO on integration. Then there are further pieces on how so-called “Sherpa brands” drive loyalty; rebuilding trust in the pharma industry; how the energy sector is telling its story; and best practice social media guidelines.
These items, allied to our Insider's Guide to Cannes (p. 36), and much more, make this a comprehensive package about the most crucial issues facing global brands to consume with a nice glass of Domaines Ott on La Croisette – or wherever else you are reading this. Á votre santé!


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To keep up with the rapid innovation and disruption happening across all industries and stay ahead of their competition, CIOs and technology leaders should assess and effectively leverage emerging technologies for their net-new values. It’s understandable to not want to fully disrupt your traditional way of doing things when incorporating a new technology into your business processes, especially if you’re already working from a hefty backlog; few people like the discomfort of starting from scratch.
Many ideas are in play here, including regular flow and solid batteries, but the most exciting emerging technology is even newer graphene supercapacitors These supercapacitors can store large amounts of energy and disperse it quickly, far outpacing our regular electric batteries, and graphene makes an environmentally friendly and relatively cost efficient material for that.
Innovation and collaboration are critical business capabilities that leverage emerging technologies to create new business models, products and services. In addition to making solar power more competitive, the heat exchangers could also be used with SCCO2 to boost efficiency in fossil fuel power plants.
As the computing power for mobile devices increases and battery technologies evolve, expect AI to become integrated into all experiences,Â MediaMath’s Sandrea said. Our data storage systems use a lot of energy and can’t keep up with the vast – and ever-increasing – quantities of data we produce.
SmallÂ companies will use networks, mobile devices, tracking devises, and digital infrastructures for more flexibility on when, where and how business is conducted. This virtual reality show was a great opportunity to test the latest virtual reality technologies.


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Speed runs, new events and news are all included
Ndemic Creation's infectious title Plague Inc. is receiving an update today that brings a whole bunch of new game content. The so-called "Mutation 6 warning" update includes a new game mode called "speed runs," which as it sounds has the single goal of seeing how fast you can kill the entire world. It also includes new CDC content — the Centers for Disease Control is now inside the game.
You'll also find a rebalanced NAZG achievement, new events and news with more back stories and other general performance and game improvements throughout. You can grab the latest version of Plague Inc. at the Play Store link above, if you're so inclined.


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We all do this right? Your parents use it or your siblings or roommates? But with a new developed technology that could all end.
The Daily Mail claims video software provider Synamedia unveiled new software at the Consumer Electronics Show that could crack down on Netflix password sharing. The technology uses artificial intelligence to determine where users are logged in from. A recent study from Parks Associates found that 26% of millennials share their Netflix passwords. The system could put an end to shared accounts if adopted by Netflix.
Would you be mad about this? Would you end Netflix because of this?


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Firms should take advantage of the government’s Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS), to prevent low electric vehicle take up under their company car schemes or salary sacrifice, says Volkswagen Financial Services Fleet (VWFS). The company surveyed 197 fleet operators and found that 34% of respondents said a lack of local charging points for those employees unable to charge at home will significantly impact their staff EV uptake.
Under the WCS scheme organisations can receive grants towards the upfront cost of purchasing and installing charge points. It reduces the cost of a new workplace charging station by 75% and businesses can claim up to a maximum of 40 charge points. As of July 2021, the WCS had funded 16,975 sockets. Emma Loveday, senior fleet consultant at VWFS Fleet, said: “We’d strongly encourage businesses to take advantage of the Workplace Charging Scheme and invest in charging infrastructure sooner rather than later. While the home charge point grant ended earlier this year, the WCS is still open to applications and this can be a huge help to employers looking to encourage EV uptake amongst staff. Especially if you have a cohort of employees that don’t have off-street parking, and therefore access to home charging.”
Ahead of the UK government’s 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, the growth of the EV market is expected to accelerate in the coming years. Businesses can look to futureproof and improve charging access for their employees who may not have access to a home charge point. “For these employees, workplace charging could become their most frequent, or primary way to charge, making an electric vehicle a viable choice and enabling them to complete journeys with confidence. Having reliable, available and accessible workplace charging infrastructure will demonstrate your organisation’s commitment to EV adoption, and its wider commitment to sustainability,” Loveday added.
In addition, as electricity is not classed as vehicle fuel by HMRC, there are no BIK tax implications if an organisation wishes to provide free charging to employees as a work incentive or to increase EV uptake among workers


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19 Jul 2021
Posted in Technology
AT&T and DISH’s new agreement a win-win as both companies can ride the 5G wireless wave, says GlobalData
Following today’s news (19 July) that AT&T will become the primary network services partner for DISH MVNO customers;
Tammy Parker, Senior Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:
“This deal is highly beneficial to AT&T as the company not only gains at least $5bn in revenue streams over the term of this ten-year agreement from new MVNO subscribers, it will also have access to DISH’s spectrum holdings to support DISH customers on the AT&T network. The NSA is not exclusive for either party, so both can go out and find new dance partners; however, given the depth and breadth of this agreement, that would appear both unlikely and unnecessary.
“Both companies are poised to ride the US wireless industry’s ongoing growth wave. This is increasingly driven by the rollout of 5G, which enables faster network speeds, lower latency and new use cases, including Internet of Things services, that will result in many users having multiple wireless subscriptions. According to GlobalData’s latest forecasts, the number of unique mobile users in the US will increase by 5% over the next five years. Furthermore, total mobile subscriptions in the US will expand by more than 30% during that time and there will be nearly 692.6 million US mobile subscriptions by year-end 2026.
“A fascinating part of this new arrangement is that it provides a glimpse into AT&T’s concerns regarding the possibility that DISH could sell out to another entity, perhaps even Amazon or Google. Rumors have abounded, even before DISH agreed to build its 5G network on Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) cloud platform, about possible negotiations between Amazon and DISH regarding the former’s potential use of DISH’s forthcoming 5G network to offer new services. Though there is nothing new to report there, this NSA stipulates that AT&T will be allowed to terminate the NSA in the event of a qualifying change of control of DISH. This could include a rival wireless provider, US cable company or ‘certain large technology companies’ taking over 50% more of the voting power or economic value of DISH. AT&T would still have to support DISH’s MVNO customers for up to two years after such a termination.
“T-Mobile, and its Sprint network, is currently the primary MVNO partner for Boost and Republic. Ting operates on every nationwide network except AT&T. However, although DISH’s involvement saved T-Mobile’s acquisition of Sprint, the relationship between DISH and T-Mobile appears to have been fraught from the start. T-Mobile’s plans to shutter its 3G network by January 2022, leaving many of DISH’s customers without network service, has created an especially contentious standoff between the two companies, which likely helped pave the way for DISH’s new agreement with AT&T.”


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ISLAMABAD: A view of the wreckage at the EDB office after a fire at Awami Markaz. According to Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers, the board is retrieving the lost data.
KARACHI: Stakeholders in the auto sector said on Saturday the fire that gutted the Engineering Development Board (EDB) office in Islamabad on Sept 10 may hamper auto production.
Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (Pama) Director General Abdul Waheed Khan said the deadline for the uploading of data for the importable auto parts in the system – normally referred to as quota – is Sept 30. There will be a complete industrial closure in the country if data is not uploaded by then, he added.
The current ‘provisional’ quota for some models is not sufficient, he said, adding that it needs to be increased immediately to facilitate imports in a timely manner. Similarly, all manufacturing certificates, issued by the EDB, will also expire on Sept 30. These certificates need revalidation before Sept 30, he said.
Also, approval for new products pending with the EDB must be expedited to avoid unnecessary delays, he said.
The EDB, which operates under the Ministry of Industries and Production, is bogged down in handling the post-fire situation. “The government should issue an interim order whereby all manufacturing certificates and quotas expiring on Sept 30 are extended to Dec 31,” he added.
Already allocated quotas are not sufficient because all players in the automobile sector are growing. Thus, the quarterly quota should be increased to include the remaining 75 per cent meant for the year, subject to the verification of actual production, he said. Similarly, held-up approval for new products should be readily granted to minimise losses to the economy, he added.
Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (Paapam) Chairman Mashood Ali Khan said he visited the burned-down EDB office a few days back and also met ministry officials. He said the EDB team is currently working out of a makeshift office in the basement of the Planning Commission, which is a small place with limited resources.
The chairman said the EDB team is committed to retrieving data and getting the office back in order as early as possible. The EDB has assured Paapam that the Input Output Ratio Certificate quota will be uploaded by Sept 30.
He said he has already requested members of the association to start compiling their previous correspondence with the EDB.
Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2017


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Here is a great chance to get tickets directly from Nela Ticket team
Mass Maharaja Ravi Teja and director Kalyankrishna’s Nela Ticket movie is releasing grandly tomorrow amid pretty good expectations. Well, the confident team is promoting the film in an aggressive way.
The team Nela Ticket is not only promoting aggressively by giving special interviews to the noted channels but also in an innovative way. As part of the promotions, today Nela Ticket heroine Malavika Sharma along with the film’s director Kalyankrishna is going to sell the tickets of the film.
Yes, Malvika and Kalyankrishna are going to sell tickets at Sandhya 70 MM theatre, RTC X Roads in between 4-4:30 PM, today evening. So the fans of Ravi Teja, don’t miss the opportunity to get tickets from Nela Ticket team.


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They promised a 90 day window from receiving the source code from Google before they would roll out the update to the masses, and HTC has pretty much delivered on the perfect timeslot the much awaited Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the HTC M8. The update is now rolling out for those in India after those in South Eastern Asia zone had confirmed the update was rolling out in countries like Malaysia and Singapore earlier last week. It is worth noting that the update is around 560 MB much compressed as compared to the 700 Mb+ version that was being rolled out in other regions of Asia.
The new update brings Lollipop to HTC M8 and other than the new Android version, there is very little in terms of changes in Sense 6.0 for us to take note. You do have a new lockscreen and the status bar coloring effect based on the application header color. You also have the new Lollipop animations and the new app recent menu for quick multitasking. It is being reported that the battery performance of the device has deteriorated post the Lollipop update, though we are yet to check this out.
— Arpit (@RedArpit) February 2, 2015
In order to get the update, you need to connect your M8 to WiFi and simply check for updates in Settings-> About phone.


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The Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) is ramping up its advocacy efforts for the National Rice Awareness Month (NRAM) to enhance public awareness about “BeRICEponsible.”
The online activities, which is a part of the NRAM celebration held every November, will kick off through the RCEF PalayAralan TV on Facebook on Oct. 27, 3 p.m.
Established under Proclamation No. 524 in 2014, this year’s NRAM focuses on the theme “BeRICEponsible” launched in 2022. The campaign promotes the practice of ABKD where A stands for “Adlay, mais, saba, atbp. ay ihalo sa kanin,” B for “Brown rice ay kainin,” K for “Kanin ay huwag sayangin,” and D for “Dapat bigas ng Pilipinas ang bilhin.”
Dr. Hazel V. Antonio, proponent of the BeRICEponsible campaign, encouraged rice consumers to join the “Pinasarap na kanin” cooking contest, an inventive competition challenging participants to demonstrate their culinary skills.
In this contest, rice must be infused with an assortment of carbohydrates such as adlay, corn, plantains, sweet potatoes, taro, and cassava. Participants will submit 5-minute videos emphasizing the health benefits derived from the main ingredients.
The Brown Rice Challenge will also capture the gains from brown rice consumers through selfies uploaded on their personal Facebook account.
Furthermore, the “Iwas aksaya” 3-minute video contest will feature advocates sharing tips on reducing rice wastage. Participants can use their preferred language and editing style to enhance creativity.
The video is relevant, especially in light of a 2018 data from Food and Nutrition Research Institute, which show that approximately 10g, equivalent to about 2tbsp of rice, were wasted per consumer per day. When this wastage is aggregated, it could feed over 2 million Filipinos for a year.
In addition, the “Be Riceponsible” Buyer Challenge urges the public to purchase rice with the Philippine Rice logo from November 1 to 27, upload selfies and share on their personal Facebook profiles with the hashtags #2023beRICEponsible and #buylocal.
“We’re conducting these activities online to engage diverse participants and reach every individual to contribute to the rice sector while also experiencing the benefits of being “RICEponsible,” Antonio said.
Contest mechanics, criteria, and prizes ranging from P1,000 to P15,000, will be posted on the Be RICEponsible and DA-PhilRice Facebook page.


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The Air Jordan 34 has put it’s stamp down as the best performance sneaker of 2019 being light weight updated tech and zoom throughout. Next up will be the “AMBER RISE” color way that will be hitting select retailers on Thanksgiving Day retail will be $180.00 dollars.
CC:SDS x Jordan Brand
Denzel drops off the visuals for the single “SPEEDBOAT” from his latest project Zuu and the video looks like a blend of snowfall and Miami Vice.
Virgil showed a sneak peek of Air Jordan models he was toying with over the years and there was heat spotted and this leak image is of the Air Jordan 5 x Off-White model due to hit select retailers this coming year in 2020. These look crazy and the HYPE will be real stay locked in for more images as they become available.
Tags: #OFFWHITE #VIRGILABLOH
Fabolous drops the lead trailer for his upcoming “SUMMERTIME SHOOTOUT 3” project the project is due to hit all DSP’s in the coming weeks stay locked in!!
Summertime Shootout 3 Coming Soon.
Listen to Fab’s new single “B.O.M.B.S.” out now.
CC:SDS x MYFABOLOUSLIFE
Nike SB has been back with nothing vibes and next is the “Desert Ore” Air Jordan 1 low that was spotted being worn by Eric Koston release date on these are December the 6th for $120.00 dollars.
Tags: #EricKoston #NIKESB
The Melo Man is back and with the Portland Trailblazers this episode of Melo Mondays Carmelo talks about getting back in the league having a clear vision of what’s to come and how things came together with the Blazers.
CC:SDS x CA7
Tags: #CARMELOANTHONY #BALLISLIFE #PORTLANDTRAILBLAZERS


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PEEKSKILL, N.Y. — Here are some of the jobs available in the Peekskill area:
CVS is looking for a store manager trainee for its Mohegan Lake store.
Westchester Arc is looking for a residence manager for its Peekskill facility.
Party City is looking for a team leader for its Yorktown store.
BASF is looking for a site director for its Peekskill plant.
The Field Library in Peekskill is looking for a reference librarian for adult and young adult services.
Wells Fargo is looking for a personal banker for its Peekskill location.
H&R Block is looking for a client service professional its Peekskill location.
Best Buy is looking for sales associates for its Mohegan Lake store.
Click here to sign up for Daily Voice's free daily emails and news alerts.


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FX & CFD trading involves significant risk
07:45 France Consumer spending (December) 0.6% 0.3% 2.8%
07:45 France Consumer spending (December) Y/Y 0.4% 0.5% 1.5%
09:30 UK GDP (Q4) preliminary -0.5% 0.4% 0.7%
09:30 UK GDP (Q4) preliminary Y/Y 1.7% 2.6% 2.7%
09:30 UK PSNCR (December), bln 25.5 17.0 16.8
09:30 UK PSNB (December), bln 16.8 18.1 23.3
12:00 Canada CPI (December) 0.0% 0.1% 0.1%
12:00 Canada CPI (December) Y/Y 2.4% 2.5% 2.0%
12:00 Canada CPI core (December) -0.3% -0.1% 0.0%
12:00 Canada CPI core (December) Y/Y 1.5% 1.6% 1.4%
Sterling tumbled on Tuesday as a surprise contraction in fourth-quarter UK GDP raised fears over a double-dip recession and doused expectations that the Bank of England would raise interest rates to fight inflationary pressures in the British economy.
Figures showed the UK economy shrunk 0.5% in the last three months of 2010, far worse than expectations for growth of 0.5%.
Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight said it was a stunningly bad outcome, far worse than even the most pessimistic of forecasts. He said even allowing for a very substantial hit to economic activity from December’s severe weather, the news was extremely disappointing and worrying.
“This weakness cannot be put down only to the weather,” said Mr Archer. “The data add major support to the argument that the Bank of England should keep interest rates down at 0.5% despite current elevated inflation levels.”
Analysts said the news raised serious concerns that the UK economy was in a strong enough position to withstand the coming fiscal tightening.
The pound, which last week hit a two-month high of $1.6059 after a sharp rise in consumer price inflation raised expectations that the Bank would raise interest rates, suffered its worst fall in a month.
EUR/USD fell from $1.3688 to $1.3578 before recovered to $1.3620.
GBP/USD fell more than 200 points from $1.5970 to the lows around $1.5750.
USD/JPY holds within Y82.25/54.
US data starts at 1355GMT with the weekly Redbook, which is followed at 1400GMT by the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
|remaining time till the new event being published|
All posted material is a marketing communication solely for informational purposes and reliance on this may lead to loss. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Please read our full disclaimer.


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Trucking news and briefs for Friday, January 10:
New York trucking company to close doors
The loss of a major account has led to the closing of a New York state trucking company. New York Express and Logistics announced it will close down March 31 and layoff some 107 employees due to the loss of an account with DHL.
New York Express and Logistics is a subsidiary of North East Freightways Inc., of Londonderry, New Hampshire. It has facilities in Depew near Buffalo, Rochester, Dewitte near Syracuse and Latham near Albany.
The company filed a WARN notice with the New York State Department of Labor Dec. 30.
TA-Petro locations welcoming wellness experts
Several TA-Petro and TA Express locations around the country will host wellness experts for truckers to talk to in the next several months.
During StayFIT days, Bob Perry, the founder and president of Health in Transportation, and Hope Zvara, the co-founder and CEO of Mother Trucker Yoga, will meet with truckers at several travel centers. They will be available to give drivers one-on-one health and wellness coaching, as well as to help drivers find the free fitness and healthy food options, and medical clinics at TA, TA Express and Petro locations.
Perry and Zvara will be at the following locations:
- Jan. 22 – Bob Perry at TA Dallas South
- Feb. 4 – Bob Perry at TA Las Vegas
- Feb. 22 – Hope Zvara at Petro Wilmington, Illinois
- March 3 – Hope Zvara at TA Las Vegas
- March 17 – Hope Zvara at Petro Ontario, California
- March 24 – Bob Perry at TA Cartersville, Georgia


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Corporate America can often lead the fight for equality, from LGBT-friendly business practices to marketing campaigns that represent the diversity of our community. This week, Logo released its second annual list of the top 25 companies that have demonstrated true commitment, based on inclusive advertising, policy support, representation in spokespeople and chief executives, donations and sponsorships, website engagement and social media.
LGBT consumers represent an estimated buying power of $917 billion—Logo's research found that 71% of them are more likely to support a brand after seeing an ad that reflects their experience. (That same percentage is also more likely to purchase from a company that actively contributes to LGBT causes.)
Below, view the top ten in Logo's Top 25 Trailblazing Companies. Click here for the full list and a look at the scoring criteria.
Campbell included an ad with two fathers and their son as part of its recent Star Wars-themed campaign, and released rainbow Goldfish packaging during Pride, accompanying the hashtag campaign #ForAllFamilies.
Macy's prominently features LGBT people in advertisements and as spokespeople at their events nationwide. The company has also shown support for the community in the wake of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting, sharing messages of solidarity in both print spots and on social media. Employees also created a video in which they encouraged the people of Orlando to #KeepDancing.
American Express produced two LGBT ads for mainstream media this year, both featuring an open wallet displaying a picture of a same-sex couple. In addition, the company's #ExpressLove campaign celebrates LGBT cardmembers, merchants, employees and local communities.
In honor of Pride, Target created a unique microsite featuring colorful apparel and other items for LGBT people and allies to purchase. The company also released a video with the Beekman Boys, educating consumers about Target's history, community-based philosophy and products.
As a parent company to brands like Dove, Axe and Ben & Jerry's, Unilever incorporates LGBT-friendly policies while its sub-brands execute inclusive marketing campaigns: Dove produced a series of online videos that featured gender-nonconforming model Rain Dove discussing beauty on her terms.
Axe, meanwhile, produced a mainstream TV commercial, “Find Your Magic” that walks the viewer through different vignettes of young men expressing their individuality—including Bob the Drag Queen and Alaska of RuPaul's Drag Race.
With inclusive ads and the direction of out CEO Tim Cook, Apple continues to be a leader in corporate America's efforts for LGBT equality. The company has publicly opposed North Carolina’s HB2 and Georgia’s HB757, and was among the first major corporations to endorse the Federal Equality Act.
Google continued to help people celebrate their identities, launching a #prideforeveryone campaign, which employs 360° video technology to bring Pride festivities to those who cannot openly celebrate.
Marriott not only offers tailored services for LGBT travelers, but works to protect the community with partnerships with non-profits and support of pro-LGBT legislation. As part of its #LoveTravels campaign, Mariott invited artists to contribute to a crowd-sourced installation dedicated to the trans and gender-nonconforming communities.
Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson also spoke out against HB2 as part of ongoing opposition to laws that threaten LGBT Americans.
The beer giant has a history of LGBT-inclusive advertising, including this year's "Bud Light Party" campaign with Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen. The ads celebrated the achievements of the LGBT community and called attention to the challenges we still face in the march towards full equality.
Beyond advertising, Anheuser has sponsored more than 40 Pride events across the country, making it one of the largest event sponsors on the list for the second year in a row.
Hilton earned the top spot on Logo's list for providing content and services tailored to queer travelers, and featuring LGBT people in its advertisements. Hilton's microsite “Stay Hilton, Go Out” offers vacation packages and travel tips designed for LGBT travelers, and has expanded its video series “What I Pack” and “Bed Time Stories” to feature interviews with out celebrities.
The hotel chain also actively advocates for equality, issuing statements and briefs opposing anti-LGBT legislation and joining the Global Equality Fund, a State Department initiative that advances and protects the human rights of LGBT people around the world.


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By signing a deal last week with online auction supplier FreeMarkets, the bank hopes to make cost savings of up to 15% on sourcing goods and services in its procurement process.
But analysts greeted the bank's claims with scepticism, warning that apathy among suppliers over the online systems risked making the new system more trouble than it is worth.
Ed Smith, director of group purchasing operations for Royal Bank of Scotland, said, "It's a toe in the water, but we will be putting £65m of business online this year."
He added that the FreeMarkets' auction software will allow the bank to reach a wider audience of suppliers which only need a Web browser to connect to the auction system.
Royal Bank of Scotland will use FreeMarkets' B2B Global Marketplace product for choosing suppliers for services, ranging from stationery to IT desktop services.
FreeMarkets will run the auction system from its European centres online. The auctions can be monitored remotely through a PC.
However, analysts warned that suppliers could prove reluctant to use the new online system because of the mixed fortunes of online business exchanges and portals.
"It's a step in the right direction but a lot of people are not going to bother to bid [on the online auction]," claimed Mark Simmons, a senior analyst at Bloor Research. "The acceptance of it is very difficult."
Simmons predicted that it would take three years before the bank made savings from the auction system.
"They will probably get a year or two down the line and then realise that they've spent so much on it that it should be shut down."


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Sony Digital Cinema 4K has launched Finity, a new campaign to promote the company’s Premium Large Format projection systems. European customers in the UK, Germany, Ireland, and Turkey have already committed to the new offering that combines Sony’s HDR-ready 4K dual projection technology with a complimentary suite of tailored branding assets and marketing support. Exhibitors equipped with the current family of Sony high-contrast SRX-R500 series dual projection systems have no need for any additional investment.
Premium Large Format
Dolby Laboratories today announced that Warner Bros. Pictures’ Horse Soldiers is the 100th Dolby Cinema title. "Reaching the 100th announced title for Dolby Cinema is a tremendous accomplishment that couldn’t have been achieved without the support from the directors and filmmakers who want to use the best technology for their storytelling,” said Doug Darrow, senior vice president, cinema business group, Dolby Laboratories. “In 2017 we announced 44 Dolby Cinema titles, more than any other premium format, which is a testament to the ongoing commitment from Hollywood and studios around the world to deliver the best experience to the cinema.”
Les Cinémas Gaumont Pathé, the largest cinema chain operator in France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, and Dolby Laboratories announced plans to open 10 Dolby Cinema locations, with seven in France and three in the Netherlands. This includes Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and the upcoming new Pathé cinéma in Massy, south of Paris. Initial locations are expected to be open later this year
Suning Cinema has installed Christie CP2208 cinema 6P laser projection systems in two newly opened multiplexes in Nanjing and Xuzhou. Suning Cinema is owned by the Chinese electronics retail giant Suning Commerce Group.
Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas – Vox Cinemas in Qatar is opening a CJ 4DPlex auditorium at the new Vox Cinemas Doha Festival City, located in Um Salal Muhammad. It marks the 48th country worldwide and the seventh in the Middle East to bring 4DX to moviegoers.
Novo Cinemas, part of the Elan Group in Qatar, has launched a new flagship cinema at Mall of Qatar, in Al Rayyan, Doha. The new cinema features 19 screens, including an IMAX Laser theatre that features the largest IMAX screen in the MENA region and seats 530 people. It also includes an upgraded sound system featuring 12 channels plus sub bass that delivers lifelike sound from all directions, including overhead, to fill the cinema with astonishing clarity, richness, detail, and depth. I spoke recently with Novo Cinemas CEO Debbie Stanford-Kristiansen about the new theatre and, in particular, her belief in the importance of lobbies.
If there is one thing for which the recently opened Odeon Sambil Dolby Atmos multiplex in Madrid stands out, it is the number of technological firsts clocked up by its twelve theatres. It is the first multiplex in Spain with all its screens equipped with 4K projectors – all from Christie – and also the first to include Dolby Atmos and Christie Vive Audio sound in all its theatres, and the only multiplex in Spain with more than one laser screen. In this case, Sambil has two screens equipped with laser projection, both with Christie Solaria CP42LH RGB projectors.
Christie has announced that the Cinema Sunshine Aira Theatre, owned by Sasaki Kogyo will deploy the advanced Christie CP42LH RGB laser projection system in April. The Christie enhanced wavelength diversification system comprises a single 3DLP 4K RGB laser projection head and an EWD laser light farm with fiber-optic delivery. It will be fitted in Auditorium 5 of Cinema Sunshine Aira Theatre.
Barco is installing two flagship laser projectors at Lotte World Tower in Seoul, South Korea. Barco’s DP4K-60L projectors will illuminate the 34-meter wide screen in Lotte Cinema’s Super Plex G theatre, which is the largest screen on the planet. The story of Lotte Cinema is filled with superlatives.
Among a range of new products to be unveiled at CinemaCon next week in Las Vegas, Christie will be previewing a new Christie Freedom Series direct-coupled RGB laser projector; a pure laser innovation boasting higher efficiency and significantly longer life than hybrid cinema laser phosphor projectors.


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TAMPA, Fla. — As the presidential campaign switches to Charlotte, N.C., next week for the Democratic convention, political observers, party loyalists and industry officials said Republicans and Mitt Romney at least played well to their base at their convention here, while it remains to be seen how successful they were in swaying undecided voters.
Over the course of the week, Republicans focused on the economy, reducing the deficit and balancing the budget, criticizing President Obama’s signature issues of health care and stimulus programs, repealing burdensome regulations and championing women’s issues.
“I think the interesting strategic thing about rolling out Romney [on the national stage] is, he isn’t comfortable talking about himself in soft ways,” said Bill Hughes, senior vice president for government relations at the Retail Industry Leaders Association. “The presentation they developed and the way he presents himself is ‘Look, I am not here for you to like me, but I am here for you to trust me and I am here to get the job done.’”
“It’s not a likability contest,” Hughes said. “President Obama is a very likable person. It’s a question about who will get the job done.”
To that end, Hughes said he believes Republicans did a “good job of focusing on the economy and our debt situation and talking about the need for solutions for both.”
“From a retail point of view, we view that as a positive,” he added. “We do believe consumer confidence and the willingness to spend is affected over concerns of fiscal matters, and of course growing the economy and creating jobs also helps us as retailers.”
Kevin Burke, president and chief executive officer of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, said one of the strong messages delivered by Republicans was the impact of regulations on businesses.
“This is raw Republican meat — get rid of regulators and regulations. That was the same message under Ronald Reagan and through two Bush administrations: Regulations are important but don’t overdo it,” Burke said. “The message that is being conveyed is that a Romney administration will not only repeal some [Obama] regulations, but also take a very strong look at the efficacy of those regulations to see whether they work or whether they are harming industry or consumers or whether they are too repetitive. That is the balance they have to make.
“For him to be successful and convince people that he is a great leader, he has got to get beyond the image he helped nurture,” Burke said. “He seems remote at times and gives robotic answers. But behind all that is a smart guy. Americans want a tough but fair president who has compassion. He has to show his compassionate side, something that Obama has never had trouble with. I think Romney has to show he has compassion in order for the American people to believe this guy is the real deal.”
Party loyalists, meanwhile, gave the thumbs-up to the convention, the message and their nominees.
Casey Curry, an alternate delegate from Waco, Tex., and a federal government employee who would like to see a smaller government, less regulation and an overhaul of the tax system, said, “The more conservative grass roots see Romney as a big-spending Republican like George W. Bush. [Vice presidential nominee Paul] Ryan gives [Romney] credibility.”
Elton Milstead, a delegate and county commissioner from Nacogdoches, Tex., who initially supported former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, said, “Ryan helps Romney. With Mitt’s business experience and Ryan’s ability to cut a budget, it’s a perfect team.”
But while party loyalists were revved up by speeches designed to stir the base — from Gov. Chris Christie (R., N.J.) and Ryan, who accepted his nomination in a speech here Wednesday night — some political analysts said Romney might have a hard time getting a message across to the broader public.
Romney faced a significant challenge Thursday night in his speech accepting the nomination in the wake of criticism over his changing stance on some key issues and attack ads by Democrats branding him as a heartless business tycoon with little regard for the middle class. Those are the images, fair or not, that the Republican National Committee and Romney surrogates have tried to counter at the three-day convention, while at the same time going on the offensive, attacking Obama’s health care, regulations and handling of the economy.
“They have tried to present themselves with a human, compassionate face in contrast to the image that they are hard-core, pro-trade and don’t care about working Americans,” said Marick Masters, a business professor and director of labor at Wayne State University. “I think…they have had a good opportunity to present that message to the people…but it is really up to Romney to present himself in such a light to dispel any doubts people might have about his character and his passion for people.”
Marick said he believed the Romney-Ryan ticket will get a bounce at the end of the convention. “The question is whether Democrats will get a bounce, and that remains to be seen,” Marick said. “They don’t have much that is new to present, but they are bringing out more popular figures from the past, particularly Bill Clinton, to play a large role at the convention.”
Dave Redlawsk, political science professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University, said, “Romney is having trouble with presenting himself as a good alternative to Obama. There is a lot of discontent out there, and on the personal side, that he is just widely disliked and not well trusted. The message Republicans are trying to pound home is: ‘You have no choice. Things are not going well. You have to vote for this guy.’ That was at least Christie’s attempt. But Romney has run away from every attempt to be pinned down on anything.”
Redlawsk said he doesn’t expect either side to get much of a push from the conventions.
“The problem is we are jumping right into the Democratic convention, and I think that the old sense of that old convention style bounce is unlikely this year for either side,” Redlawsk said. “For the Republicans, it is because the Democrats will stomp on their messaging immediately.…For Obama, I don’t know that there is much room for a bounce, to the extent [that] this election is tight.”
@chanel and @pharrell dropped what’s being dubbed as the world’s most exclusive sneakers yesterday. The Adidas Originals NMD Hu, which Williams designed in collaboration with Chanel and @adidasoriginals, has a waiting list of over 120K people who pre-registered online at chanelatcolette.fr –– and only 500 pairs are on sale. The singer predicted the resale value of the shoes could reach $40K. Read the full interview on WWD.com. Link in bio. #wwdfashion (📷: Dominique Maître)
@imanshumpert is diving deeper into his creative endeavors and relaunching his clothing line, Post 90s, and is helping to raise money for the hurricane victims in St. Maarten with a jersey he’s designed with his brother. The Cleveland Cavaliers player talked to WWD about kneeling during the national anthem, working with fashion brands and how he wants to be more than an @nba player. Read the interview on WWD.com #wwdfashion (📷: George Chinese)
Not only does #TheProfit return to CNBC tonight, but @marcuslemonis has launched @shopmarcus, a new shopping and lifestyle retail experience in Aspen and Chicago, with more locations to come. The retail stores offer in-store stylists and a variety of contemporary womenswear selections.
“It’s life, I’m going to face it,” @mingxi11 sighed. “I fell, but you know, I think the most important thing is that I get back up. I had the love, the help from my sister — the girl next to me Gizele [Oliveira] — she’s so nice. When I went backstage everybody was trying to comfort me like ‘Oh Ming, it’s OK.’ I’m really, really touched. I think it’s them who gave me the courage to go back on stage for the finale,” Xi told WWD of her fall at the @victoriassecret fashion show. (📷: David Fisher) #wwdfashion #vsfashionshow #victoriassecret
@louisvuitton tapped @therealpeterlindbergh for its latest city-centric photo book, which is part of a series called Fashion Eye. The primarily black and white book captures the spirit of Berlin in 57 images shot between 1989 and 2019. “Berlin is an inspiration for me, more than a city. I mean @millajovovich is simply Berlin!” said Lindbergh. #wwdfashion
“You know, I think audiences expect a certain performance so I have to deliver to them what they’re expecting to a certain degree. But I’m also a different actor and a different person, I have my own spin on the character,” says @noahegalvin of his takeover of the leading role in “Dear Evan Hansen” following the departure of @bensplatt, who originated the role. Read WWD’s interview with the 23-year-old actor on WWD.com #wwdeye (📷: @jilliansollazzo)
For pre-fall 2018, @etro created richly-colored wonderland, using tapestries, textiles and wallpapers from the Eastern world at large. The line featured floral and graphic prints and jacquard motifs, like this two-piece look featured here. #wwdfashion (📷: Giovanna Pavesi)
@kith is moving into children’s. The men’s and women’s streetwear brand has launched Kidset, a Kith kids line located in New York at 64 Bleecker Street. The line includes mini versions of staple Kith pieces like the Astor bomber jacket and the Kith box logo sweatshirts, along with a wall that can display up to 120 pairs of shoes from @adidas, @newbalance, @timberland and more. #wwdfashion
“I just wanted to create this fully rounded character, but I do think what excited me most was just the opportunity to give a group of people representation that I feel needs it. I like to do characters in projects that stand for something and Karolina definitely does, so that was really exciting to me,” @ginnygardner says of her new role in @hulu’s “The Runaways.” Gardner plays Karolina Dean, a queer superhero, which is a rarity for @marvel. Read more about Gardner’s character on WWD.com #wwdeye (📷: @dandoperalski)


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Report: Man tries to wear jacket out of store | Crime
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department arrested a man for shoplifting on Tuesday.
According to an incident report, 19-year-old Zachary Schmitt was arrested after deputies say he attempted to wear a fleece jacket out of the Walmart store located on South Lake Drive.
The report said Schmitt took a fleece jacket off the rack, placed it over his shirt attempting to wear it and give off the impression it was his.
Deputies say Schmitt also tried to steal a package of ink pens.
Schmitt was arrested and taken to the Lexington County Detention Center.
While in custody, deputies located a check book that was reported stolen the previous day, the report stated.


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Trump slams specialty food importers with new tariffs
Americans, prepare to pay more for French wine, Italian cheese and single-malt Scotch whiskey: Donald Trump just announced he will impose 25 percent tariffs on the above-mentioned favorites, as well as a host of other food and drink products. Other noteworthy items include liqueurs from Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and England; olive oil and olives from Spain; and lots of different kinds of meat and cheese.
Per Reuters: “The main target of the U.S. tariffs is Airbus aircraft made in the EU, which face 10% levy that could hurt U.S. airlines such as Delta (DAL.N) that have billions of dollars of Airbus orders waiting to be filled. EU products winning reprieves include chocolate, Greek, French and Portuguese olive oil, helicopters, frozen fish, lobster, sparkling wine, stemware and tiles.”
Affected importers had urged Trump not to go through with the threatened tariffs, pointing out that there are few if any domestic substitutes. According to the Specialty Food Association, the impact of the tariffs will be felt by approximately 14,000 specialty food retailers and more than 20,000 other food retailers.
“It looks pretty bad,” said Ralph Hoffman, executive vice president of New Jersey-based Schuman Cheese. “They hit cheese hard.” He added that he expects his company’s imports to be reduced by as much as 30 percent going into the holiday season.
The 25 percent tariff comes on top of the 10-15 percent tariffs that are already charged on specialty cheese imports.
Trump’s official motto is “America First,” but the new tariffs, like almost everything else he does, reveal what his true principle is: “Trump First.” Robert Tobiassen, president of the National Association of Beverage Importers, explained the effect Trump’s tariffs are likely to have on the people he claims to be going to bat for.
“These tariffs will devastate, perhaps destroy, many small and medium sized family businesses importing these products into the United States,” he said.
Looks like I’ll be trading my Glenfiddich for Maker’s Mark going forward.


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There is no denying the importance of video in our daily lives. With over 50 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute and over 4 billion views a day, the medium has skyrocketed and is arguably Google’s best acquisition in the company’s history. We all use video in our personal lives—everything from learning how to deal with bee’s nests to sharing videos of the kids with Grandma. Yet, we seem to forget that business leaders use video, too. According to Eloqua, 75% of senior business leaders view work-related videos regularly.
A 2012 study by Aberdeen shows a 15% gap for the best-in-class marketers in b-to-b usage of video vs. all others. Further, the Aberdeen study shows a 32% delta between best-in-class marketers and all others in their likelihood to distribute their video assets across multiple channels including email marketing. There are several studies that point to higher open rates in email marketing that contain embedded video. Email marketing company Implix issued a study citing, “emails containing video received, on average, 5.6% higher open rates, and 96.3% higher CTRs than non-video mails.”
So whether it’s thought leadership, a lift in email open rates, product demonstrations, pre-event marketing, or just trying to give your company a personality through the most dynamic digital medium available, I believe that b-to-b marketers need to better leverage video in their content marketing efforts. We should not fall prey to the belief that video is the domain of the b-to-c marketer.


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LOS OLIVOS — In the wine country north of Santa Barbara, the global economic crisis has drained wine sales, tapped tourist spending and siphoned away hotel profits.
But five years after the Santa Ynez Valley was featured in an Oscar-winning film, the region is still feeling the upside of “Sideways.”
The offbeat comedy about the wine-soaked adventures of two hapless buddies drew crowds of connoisseurs to the region’s wineries, vineyards and restaurants. And to the delight of merchants and winemakers, the continued popularity of the 2004 film has helped soften the blow of the worst recession in a generation.
Visitors continue to snap up maps that mark the wineries and restaurants shown in the film. Even today, tourists request the same hotel room and restaurant booths where the movie’s bottle-tilting heroes, Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church), slept, ate and drank — a lot.
“The central coast got a real good shot in the arm from ‘Sideways,’ ” said Jack Sparrow, a wine tasting consultant at Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard in Los Olivos. “I think there were people who lived 50 miles away but didn’t know there was wine growing here.”
As Sparrow poured glasses of syrah and chardonnay on a recent weekday, Kimberly Cox, a social worker from Victorville, sat on a nearby patio table with her husband, Thomas, and two friends, enjoying a sunset, a bottle of pinot noir, and cheese and crackers.
“Sideways” introduced Cox to wine, and so, to celebrate her 33rd birthday, she and her friends agreed to visit several filming sites, including the Fess Parker tasting room.
“We’ve already been to Los Olivos Cafe and the Kalyra Winery,” she said, citing two businesses featured in the movie.
The final stop for the day, Cox said, would be dinner at another key filming spot, the Hitching Post II in Buellton.
In Santa Barbara County, wine is a $360 million industry that produces more than 1 million cases annually. More than a quarter of those bottles come from the Santa Ynez Valley, home to 75 wineries, more than 100 vineyards and roughly 5,000 acres of vineyards. The county is known for its pinot noir and chardonnay.
In 2008, nearly 17 percent of the 8.4 million visitors to the county said they came for the wine, according to a survey by the Santa Barbara Conference and Visitors Bureau.
But the recession has hit the county hard, dropping hotel occupancy rates by 7 percent and revenue per room by 15 percent in the first half of the year, compared with the same time last year, according to hotel consulting company PKF Consulting.
Winery managers and restaurant owners throughout the Santa Ynez Valley say sales and foot traffic have dropped by as much as 20 percent from last year. Budget-minded tourists who might spend $75 for a bottle of estate pinot in the past are “trading down” and settling for, say, a $22 bottle of syrah, according to winery owners.
But as the recession continues to draw off business, the Santa Ynez Valley still enjoys some residual benefits from “Sideways.”
At the Los Olivos Cafe and Wine Merchant, a chic eatery where Miles and Jack share a meal with Maya (Virginia Madsen) and Stephanie (Sandra Oh), the menu offers the “Sideways Dinner,” a three-course meal that includes a glass of chardonnay or pinot for $35.
Sam Marmorstein, the cafe’s owner, said business has dropped about 10 percent this year from last year. But visitors continue to drop by to pose for photos by the wine shelves where the dinner scene was filmed.
“People are still into the movie,” he said.
Jeff Paaske, owner of the Solvang Restaurant in Solvang, plans to install a plaque on the booth where Miles and Jack ate breakfast in the movie.
“I see people come in with ‘Sideways’ maps all the time,” he said.
Occupancy rates are down nearly 20 percent over last year at the Days Inn Windmill in Buellton, according to general manager Randi Stone. But nearly once a week, guests ask Stone about renting Room 234, where Miles and Jack stayed in the film.
Even businesses that were shown in the film but not identified by name benefited from the movie.
Firestone Winery in Los Olivos was shown in a scene where Miles, Jack, Maya and Stephanie sneak away from a wine lecture to explore the barrel room. The winery’s name never appears on film but is listed on several “Sideways” tour maps.
On a recent weekday, Kerry O’Reilly, a psychotherapist from Ventura, and her friend Nancy Avery, a physical therapist from Montreal, rode bicycles to the winery, following a “Sideways bicycle tour” map they printed from the Internet.
“We sip, spit and ride,” O’Reilly said. “If we like the wine, we sip, drink and ride.”
Perhaps no other business in the valley benefited from the film as much as the Hitching Post II, a noisy steakhouse along Highway 246 that was shown several times in the movie. Restaurant owner Frank Ostini attributes 10 percent to 15 percent of his business to the recognition brought about by the movie.
“This place is a destination,” he said.


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The American clothing label confirmed the deal with the 19-year-old “social media star” yesterday, in what seems to be one of Jenner’s biggest contracts to date.
Last year Estee Lauder signed the teenage modelling sensation as the new face of the beauty giant in a deal that will see her in digital, TV and print advertising campaigns -she made her debut for the brand in January this year.
The brand described the new denim collection as “a limited edition, logo-driven offering inspired by athletic and urban streetwear”. The campaign sees Jenner wearing athletic basics of tees, sweatpants and jeans, and short denim dungarees; slicked hair and natural make-up.
Kendall Jenner for Calvin Klein
#MyCalvins campaign was shot by British photographer Alasdair McLellan and is something Jenner has “always dreamed of”.
“It’s incredible to follow such major models like Kate Moss, Christy Turlington and Lara Stone,” she told WWD.
However, instead of posing alongside Justin Bieber, as she recently did for Vogue’s April issue, the Kardashians’ younger sister is joined by male model Simon Nessman.
“It was super fun,” she said. “It’s really exciting. Honestly, it has been my dream to be able to do something like that. Calvin Klein’s ad campaigns have always been so memorable.”
Calvin Klein described the reality-TV-star-turned-model as “social media star”, following Estee Lauder’s comments that she’s the “ultimate Instagirl”. With 22 million Instagram followers, Jenner seemed the perfect fit for the social media-driven campaign, which had already seen numerous celebrities uploading photos of themselves wearing the iconic brand’s wares, including Miranda Kerr, Iggy Azalea and Bieber.
The American teenage modelling sensation had, too, teased fans few months ago by posting a photo of herself in CK underwear.
In the era of social media, the followers count had become a key tool for models to help them land jobs. As Jenner's fellow model and friend Gigi Hadid told The Independent last year: “Social media is definitely something that is setting models apart because it makes someone relatable.
“Companies are going to look at your following and your ability to connect to different age groups and different people and if you can connect to a lot of people by just being relatable and by showing people different sides of your life and different sides of you then you’re going to be able to represent a brand because you have a voice and that’s what brands are looking for.”
The line of denim series will land in the UK exclusively at Selfridges in April 2015 with prices ranging between £38 - £233 and will then go on sale from 1 May online and at Calvin Klein Jeans store on London’s Regent Street.Reuse content


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Alcoa bets on operating cost cuts
“…the company is spending $1.5 billion to create a new, low-cost bauxite mine. The aluminum maker hopes that by spending now it will be able to become a lower-cost producer once the economy finally stabilizes.”
The issue of when, where and how much company cash to spend is a puzzle for top metal and mining executives during the best of economic times. But adopting either a save or spend strategy is critical for a company like Alcoa in this tough economic environment, because for years it has lost ground to more nimble and efficient competitors Rio Tinto, UC Rusal and to small upstarts.
Source: Wall Street Journal, June 22 2010
- Alcoa has developed a new high-grade bauxite mine in the middle of the Amazon rain forest. The development cost approx. $1.5 bln.
- Due to a 60% decrease in aluminium prices, net income of Alcoa has been negative for the past 2 fiscal years. However, the company has managed relatively well to bring operating costs down.
- Vale recently sold its Brazilian aluminum operations to Norsk Hydro because of the high risk associated with energy price volatility. Alcoa will have to prevent being hit by high energy prices or black-outs by executing the energy-intensive aluminum production process in other parts of the world.
- Alcoa’s CEO Kleinfeld chooses to invest anti-cyclical, contrary to what many competitors are doing. If the balance sheet allows so, this is generally seen as a good strategy to capture market share. However, Alcoa has only some $1.5 bln in cash, which will make it hard for the company to continue the high level of investment.
©2010 – thebusinessofmining.com


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Air Jordan 4 Retro “Lightning”
Colorway: Tour Yellow/White-Dark Blue Grey
Style #: CT8527-700
Release Date: 08/28/2021
The colorway, which has been dormant since its 2006 release, but is coming back after 15 years in the vault. The return lines up with Jordan Brand’s commitment to bringing an entire slate of Air Jordan 4s starting with the “Fire Red” in 2020 all the way to 2021. While confirmation is still up in the air for the “Lightning” release, our hopes are high this time around.
After dropping earlier this past August, the Air Jordan 4 Retro “Lightning” is set to restock on the SNKRS app, sometime this week of November 21-November 27. So make sure your notifications are on, and keep it locked in at Nice Kicks and our sneaker release dates page for more information on Air Jordan release dates.
Be sure to download out the newly launched app to stay updated on the latest releases while on the go.


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Kaspersky Lab kicked off its annual North American Partner Conference 2015 this week in sunny Key Biscayne, Miami, where the company's execs spoke to a small crowd of VARs, solution providers and resellers about how the IT security vendor plans to help its channel partners differentiate themselves in the market.
Bob Bruce is the senior vice president of channel sales at Silver Peak, responsible for increasing awareness of the company's partner program and promoting new revenue growth opportunities in the WAN optimization and software-defined WAN markets. Bruce took on the role in December 2014, and previously served as vice president of channel sales at Aruba Networks.
Happy Friday everyone – we sure are glad you could join us for this week’s Distribution Watch. We’ve got the latest updates from our friends at Arrow Electronics (ARW) Ingram Micro (IM) and Global Convergence Inc. (GCI), so sit back and enjoy.
VMware (VMW) is turning its gaze toward the OpenStack crowd with the launch of vCloud for NFV, the company’s new integrated Network Functions Virtualization platform that marries its flagship virtualization solutions with integrated OpenStack support.
Centrify and Samsung are teaming up to enable users to manage their enterprise mobile security solutions through their wearable devices with a combination of single sign-on capabilities and multi-factor authentication.
Object scale-out storage vendor Exablox has received an additional $16 million in series C funding, which the company plans to use to expand its online demand generation efforts and attract new partners in vertical markets.
Microsoft (MSFT) announced a new open licensing model for its Enterprise Mobility Suite, giving distributors and resellers the ability to sell the company’s cloud solutions with added value and lowering the barrier to entry for customers.
More than a quarter of Android-based mobile device users know little to nothing about mobile malware, which could lead to the risk of data theft, loss of privacy and fraud, according to a new study by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International.


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Light vehicle sales in the US fell nearly 39% in March compared with last year, according to industry sales data emerging today.
Data from Ward’s shows that 992,392 light vehicles were sold last month, also a sharp drop on February’s 1.4 million, according to Ward’s.
The sharp drop to US vehicle sales last month was widely expected as social distancing and lockdown measures took hold in the US in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Analysts say the sales trend worsened during the course of the month as the COVID-19 crisis deepened.
The seasonally adjusted annualised rate for US cars and light trucks sales was estimated at 11.4 million units, down from 16.8 million units in February, Ward’s reported.
The coronavirus crisis is causing government induced recessions across the world, with new car sales and the automotive sector hit particularly hard.
GlobalData forecasts in its base case scenario that the US light vehicle market in 2020 will be around 14.7 million units – a drop of almost 14% on 2019’s total. The next few months are expected to be particularly weak, with a strong pick-up to vehicle sales in the third quarter forecast, as economic activity returns and population movement controls are relaxed.


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Absent from the stage and on a self-declared “indefinite hiatus” since May 2019, Turnpike Troubadours — a band known as much for its volatility as
Latest News review update by Tips Clear Blog
OMAHA — The shelves at the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers’ International Union Local 50 are lined with boxes of Kellogg’s products that
This story was originally published by Searchlight New Mexico and is published here as part of an ongoing collaboration with Rolling Stone. Additional reporting by Don J. Usner.
There’s no music story like the saga of the New Pornographers. The beloved Canadian indie-pop savants made their debut 21 years ago with Mass Romantic,
Products featured are independently selected by our editorial team and we may earn a commission from purchases made from our links; the retailer may also
There’s pure silence in the air until Noah Kalos stretches his hand into the video’s frame and clamps a white wire onto a bowling ball-sized
God is dead. Or, at least, she has shed her physical vessel, ascending from this life to a higher plane of existence, one of pure


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Consumers need to make sure they don't get caught out when cheque guarantee cards are scrapped tomorrow.
From tomorrow (30 June) these cards, which have been used for over 40 years to guarantee cheque payments of up to £250, will no longer be accepted.
The Payments Council made the decision to close the scheme two years ago in response to the long term decline in their use(see the Cheque guarantee cards to be scrapped by 2011 news story).
- Cheque guarantee card scheme will be scrapped tomorrow
- Most high street retailers will no longer accept cheques - so consider alternative payments
- Work underway to phase out cheques by 2018 if new payment methods emerge
The four million consumers who regularly use guaranteed cheques - most commonly in high street shops - now need to turn to alternative sources of payment.
In the past six months, only 25% of businesses have received a guaranteed cheque and the use of cheque guarantee cards has fallen by 65% in the last five years.
In 2010, of the 1,113 million cheques written, only 7% were supported by a cheque guarantee card.
According to the UK Payments Administration the average transaction value of a personal cheque is £392, yet the maximum guarantee limit on a card is £250 and 88% of cards only have a limit of £100 or under.
Cheques can still be used without a guarantee card. In fact, the UK Payments Administration says less than 2% of cheques rely on the use of the guarantee function.
Debit or credit cards are another potential alternative and provide much faster access to funds than cheques, which can take up to six working days to clear.
Though with credit cards you must pay off the balance in full each month to avoid paying interest.
Phone or online transfers under the Faster Payments scheme are also a reliable and quick form of payment, which can be made instantaneously 24/7, as long as you keep to your providers sending limit.
While cheques can still be used as a form of payment without a guarantee card, the vast majority of high street retailers will no longer accept them.
Only a few weeks ago, train companies also announced they would no longer accept cheques as a form of payment from 30 June.
The Payments Council has set a target date of 2018 to close the cheque processing system. However this date is provisional and will only go ahead if acceptable alternatives are in place and being used by all those who currently rely on cheques.
The council says it will conduct a major review in 2016 to decide whether it should press on with getting rid of cheques or whether more time is needed, in which case a new target date would be set.
However, many are opposed to idea of phasing out cheques. New research by Age UK found that 73% of older people still use cheques, while 63% of cheque users of all ages agree that they would find it a problem if they were no longer available.
In a letter sent to the Treasury Select Committee earlier this month, which is currently looking into the future of cheques, MP Mark Hoban said: "I do not believe there is a credible and coherent case for abolishing cheques.
"The Government is keenly monitoring the progress of the cheque replacement programme and is considering whether it may need to intervene to protect vulnerable individuals and businesses if there is any threat that cheques may be withdrawn without suitable alternatives being put in place."


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UPDATE: Due to new regulations placed on all species of Rosewood, we are going to cease sourcing it for our SuperPista Ultimate floor pump handle. The Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) introduced these regulations in an effort to protect the species from illegal and unsustainable harvesting which has risen drastically over the past few years.
Going forward, SuperPista Ultimate handles will be handcrafted from Purpleheart Wood. Highly prized among furniture builders and specialty woodworkers, we chose this exotic wood for it’s exceptional tolerances, durability and brilliant character. Additionally, Purpleheart is not listed in the CITES Appendices of threatened or endangered species meaning that our supplier can guarantee quantities and sustainable sourcing. Slightly darker in appearance, these handles will continue to be made to the exact same specifications they have been made at since SuperPista Ultimate was introduced.


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NEW YORK, Aug. 16 (UPI) — Spanish-language broadcaster Univision Holdings Inc. has bought bankrupt Gawker Media, for a reported $135 million at auction on Tuesday, sources said.
Univision outbid the only other bidder, Ziff Davis, by $45 million, sources close to the sale said, however, the sale will need to be approved by a U.S. bankruptcy court judge this week.
The deal comes two months after Gawker filed for bankruptcy following the loss of an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit to former pro wrestler Hulk Hogan for $140 million.
With the sale, Univision picks up not only the gossip site Gawker, but sports site Deadspin, tech site Gizmodo, women’s site Jezebel, and auto enthusiast site Jalopnik.
The Spanish-language broadcaster bought millennial-focused cable channel Fusion, African American news site the Root and online humor site the Onion earlier this year.
Gawker was founded by former Financial Times journalist Nick Denton in 2002.


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Cloudflare’s mission is to help build a better Internet. We’re excited today to take another step toward that mission with the launch of 188.8.131.52 — the Internet’s fastest, privacy-first consumer DNS service.
Possibly the worst day to announce a product, despite including rationale as to why it’s being launched April 1st.
Regardless, Cloudflare’s new 184.108.40.206 DNS seems the real deal having negotiated the use of the primary IP with its holder and pushing a privacy first model that they claim just happens to be the fastest DNS service available too.
Many will be aware of Google’s DNS (220.127.116.11 & 18.104.22.168) however there is a level of concern to their usage and the details being obtained in doing so by the company, whom makes a living of user data.
Cloudflare’s policy on data collection appears to be next to none stating:
We committed to never writing the querying IP addresses to disk and wiping all logs within 24 hours.


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It’s that time of year when nights get chillier and people are out in search of a good, warm coat. The Burlington Coat Factory at Montgomery and San Mateo had closed for remodeling the last couple of months but has plans to re-open just in time for sweater weather on Friday, Oct. 14.
It was confirmed by Burlington customer service line and workers at the location that the store will only be open on the south-facing side of the store, with the east-facing part of the store remaining under construction. The location is also hiring for the re-opening and will have fresh new stock in store.
To apply at Burlington, click here, and to see the deals the department store will offer, click here.


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Hiring begins June 2023!
NDS celebrates the opening of their new manufacturing center in Lithia Springs, GA with a ribbon cutting ceremony. This location is the new southeast USA manufacturing headquarters for the injection molding division.
“What a great opportunity to open our new manufacturing center here in Lithia Springs, Georgia,” announced Mike Gummeson, President NDS. “This region is one of the fastest growing markets in the US for stormwater and irrigation solutions and it enables us to better serve our customers and consumers. We bring with us a great, long-standing reputation in manufacturing, service, and social responsibility and look forward to providing value to this outstanding community.”


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SPRING HILL — A new local company is staging some Halloween frights to fight a real life scare: hunger.
Go Green Electronic Recycling Inc. has a haunted house in its 8,900-square-foot warehouse at 11075 Hearth Road. The public is invited to attend this weekend for the price of a donated can of food — several cans or bulk-size cans are welcome — or a dead electronic device.
The canned goods will be given to Love Your Neighbor, which serves free dinners every Sunday in Brooksville. "They are running out of food and money," said Go Green's board chairman Mike Barbee.
"We, as a new company in Hernando County, have chosen to attempt to collect more food in 48 hours than any other food drive has ever done in this county before," Barbee said. He's envisioning pallet loads.
Barbee, a past president of Habitat for Humanity of Hernando County, remains plugged into the county's social service network. He cited several statistics:
• 25 percent of the county's 173,000 residents get food stamps.
• This year in Hernando County, about 7,000 electric customers had power disconnected and not reinstalled.
• While unnumbered homeless, including whole families, are living in area woods, a small tent camp has taken shape recently behind a supermarket in Brooksville, near the store's garbage bins. Law enforcement is aware of the encampment and is willing to turn a blind eye so long as it remains peaceful.
As for dead electronics, Go Green's job is to keep them out of landfills. Donations of cell phones, computer towers and monitors, cords, keyboards, mouses, fax machines, copiers and transformers will also be accepted as the price of admission to the haunted house. The company's business is to erase all codes and discs and refurbish the electronics to working order.
Cell phones are being sold on a contract with Nigeria. Computers and their accouterments are being revived for lease at a minimal fee to low-income families locally.
A percentage of sales and leases will be donated to Love Your Neighbor and other food charities, Barbee said.
Having purchased Go Green from its four-year establishment in Buffalo, N.Y., Barbee brought the firm to Spring Hill. Over the past two months, it has reconditioned its warehouse to accommodate the business and hired six employees. The haunted house and food drive represent its grand opening, a more significant contribution to the community than a ribbon-cutting, Barbee said.
Beth Gray can be contacted at [email protected]