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Movies and video game criticism to the general populous have many similarities, the two most glaring being accused of bias towards a title and being cautious towards new projects that don’t send copies of their movie or game out to reviewers for the initial scoring to drag fans into a movie theater. Relying on these movie or video game reviews used to be the go-to screening method before paying money to play or watch it, there weren’t many other alternatives that were legal after all. As times moves on however more and more companies are shying away from releasing pre-release copies, which rightfully worries critics about the overall quality of a product and no other title was more apparent of this than Destiny which released just last week.
Bungie had hype around their new game unlike any other company in recent memory for a new IP, something completely unfamiliar but had a common thread of being developed by the creators of Halo, the most celebrated console FPS of all time. That was enough for people to get excited for Destiny, having people so excited for a completely new property from a series that hit its peak 10 years ago, Halo 4 no doubt helped hit this point home by giving a disappointing experience. Everyone wanted a new Halo as Call of Duty is getting stale and the Halo of the past has turned into a joke of sorts…a potato sack wearing joke if the trailer for Halo 5 is considered. Bungie realized that nothing could stop the hype, and they wisely decided not to risk alienating potential buyers with the always possible mediocre review. Of course it got us, the ones that write about video games worried for the quality of Bungie’s new game, but the populous at large didn’t care. The silent majority has decided they wanted to purchase this game long before any review surfaced, and there was no reason to possibly clutter the tracks of Bungie’s hype train.
Of course when the game was released, Destiny wasn’t nearly the revolutionary shooter promised at E3 shows and Sony conferences in the years leading up to its released. It wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, now Aliens: Colonial Marines? That’s a bad game that didn’t release any pre-release copies to the press, Destiny however was a competent shooter for the console world. The story was nothing special but the gameplay was there: exactly what people were looking from Bungie, but not the genre changing bombshell we were promised. If Destiny was released weeks before release to the press, the lukewarm reviews would surface and potentially deter people from purchasing their new title. When a game of Destiny’s magnitude is gearing up for release, there’s no point for any press hype when the marketing team did such a fantastic job of it in the first place.
This is a trend I see continuing from now on if the game is being developed by a studio like Bungie. Studios generally don’t get nearly as large as Bungie, or as revered but it’s enough to guarantee the hiding of a finished product from critics if a studio is AAA. Youtubers and bloggers are an entirely different story, they aren’t paid to be unbiased and fair, instead they’ll see the fact that a developer is giving them a game for free and will likely not tear down a free game gifted by a large publisher or developer. Partial media is the future of the game industry, and it could be a very bad thing when measuring out the merits of a new game.


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Roundup Garden Weeds Weed and Grass Killer Products
March 2020: Plaintiffs moved for preliminary approval of a proposed settlement agreement, which would provide class members with cash awards in an amount that depends on the number of claims filed and the product(s) purchased. In addition, the company agreed to replace representations that glyphosate “targets an enzyme found in plants but not in people or pets” from the label with statements that “Glyphosate works by targeting an enzyme that is essential for plant growth.”
February 2019: A class-action lawsuit was filed against Monsanto Company and Scotts Miracle-Gro Products for allegedly misleadingly marketing that an active ingredient (glyphosate) in Roundup products – including Garden Weeds Weed & Grass Killer – targets an enzyme that is not found in people or pets when, according to plaintiffs, the ingredient targets an enzyme in humans and other mammals that is critical to their health. (Jones et al v. Monsanto Company and Scotts Miracle-Gro Products, Inc., Case No. 19-cv-102, W.D. Mo.)
For more of TINA.org’s coverage of lawsuits regarding Roundup, click here.

domain: news


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2 Boston-area Starbucks become first of chain's Mass. stores to unionize
Workers at two Starbucks in Boston and Brookline voted to unionize Monday, becoming the first of the coffee chain's stores to do so in Massachusetts.
The two stores are located in Allston on Commonwealth Avenue and on Harvard Street in Brookline. For each store, the vote to join Workers United was unanimous. Some votes were challenged, however.
Kylah Clay, a barista and one of the organizers of the Allston store's union effort, said she now wants to turn her focus toward helping other locations in the area unionize. That includes at least 14 other stores in the state that have filed petitions to unionize with the National Labor Relations Board.
“This only makes it better for everybody, for our customers, for our partners, for our managers," Clay said. "I think this will be a really great thing for all of us.”
A company spokeswoman said in a statement that Starbucks will "respect the process" and "will bargain in good faith," adding the company hopes the "union does the same."
The vote comes months after a Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, became the first to unionize.
This article was originally published on April 11, 2022.


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IBIEducate offers a platform for chosen presenters to demonstrate their expertise, share best practices, and showcase emerging solutions, trends, and technologies to thousands of grain-based foods professionals.
The baking industry gathered for the first IBIE during the pandemic.
September 30, 2022
Held in Las Vegas every three years, the International Bakery Industry Exposition (IBIE) gathers the baking community to fuel the next generation of bakers, promote economic growth, and educate and advance the future of baking together.
Program recognizes leading exhibitors and suppliers driving progress in the baking industry.
September 13, 2022
Launched in 2010, the BEST in Baking program demonstrates IBIE’s commitment to recognizing leadership within the industry and its dedication to supporting the growth and wellbeing of talented suppliers and bakers around the world.


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WASHINGTON — After months of holding the line on the Obama administration's plan to reform financial services oversight, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner showed a willingness to compromise Wednesday, agreeing to relax some consumer protections.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank is expected to introduce a revised bill soon that embraces the administration's plan to create a new consumer financial protection agency but that would drop a requirement that banks offer a "plain vanilla" version of their products.
Testifying before the panel, Geithner endorsed that idea, saying better disclosure would be sufficient.
"We're very supportive of the changes by the chairman, including the" elimination of the "plain vanilla" product provision, he said. "We think it's a reasonable idea to try to make sure consumers have the ability to choose a simple product, not something they don't understand, and probably the most effective way to do that is to make sure you get disclosure right."
His agreement was a victory for the banking industry, which had argued that a vanilla standard would limit consumers' choices and stifle market innovations. Until Wednesday, the Obama administration had defended the concept, maintaining it was necessary to ensure consumers were receiving products they understand.
Though Geithner did not offer other concrete compromises, there are signs other changes are coming. Frank told reporters on Wednesday that he expected a fight among his committee members about the provision to effectively end national bank preemption. The legislation would give state regulators the power to enforce national and state laws against all commercial banks. Bank lobbyists are fiercely lobbying the issue, arguing that it would make it more difficult for a bank to operate in multiple states. It was unclear if the committee would water down or eliminate the provision.
"That's very much an issue that has to be dealt with and debated," Frank said. "It is not going to be a collegial decision."
According to a memo sent late Tuesday, Frank also plans to eliminate a "reasonableness" standard that would require financial institutions to determine if consumers comprehend the products and services they are being offered.
The memo also addressed concerns on overlapping and burdensome examinations by the creation of the new agency. Frank said he will propose that banks face simultaneous federal safety and soundness and consumer protection exams (unless otherwise requested). Banking agencies and the CFPA would be required to coordinate the timing, scope and results of examinations.
Frank also will call on nonbanks to be subject to assessments and specifies that neither small nor large banks would pay for the examination or supervision of nonbanks. Further, the Federal Reserve Board would fund the CFPA at a level that reflects the amounts the banking agencies currently pay for consumer protection supervision. Frank is also working on a way to resolve disputes between the banking agencies and the new agency.
In response to aggressive attacks by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the banking industry, Frank and Geithner agreed that the bill language should be tightened to exclude merchants, retailers and other nonfinancial businesses from the jurisdiction of the new consumer protection agency. Other businesses exempted include lawyers, auto dealers, accountants, consumer reporting agencies, communications providers and individual retirement account and pension plan providers.
The chamber of commerce has begun ads and a Web site to attack the CFPA and claimed it could cover bakers, butchers and teachers. "There was never the notion that butchers were going to be regulated," Frank said. "The chamber of commerce cleverly seized on some ambiguities ... It was always supposed to be for financial products."
Despite the Treasury's new willingness to negotiate, differences still exist between the administration and Congress. For example, Frank again rejected Geithner's argument that the government must identify systemically important companies, which would be designated as Tier 1 financial holding companies. "That would be a mistake," Frank said. "While those who proposed it in good faith thought it would be a kind of scarlet letter on them, in fact, others have seen it as a badge of honor."
But Geithner said a list is necessary.
"What we're trying to do is to make it clear that if you have this particular source of threat to the system, we're going to subject you to more conservative constraints on risk taking," Geithner said. "Now, you can't do that without identifying who those institutions are."
One of the biggest surprises from the hearing was how little attention was given to the Obama administration's plan to give the Fed oversight of systemically important institutions. Giving the Fed such power is politically unpopular, and Geithner barely mentioned the central bank in his testimony Wednesday.
Frank, meanwhile, continued to signal that he would instead give power to a proposed interagency council.
"I think what you are going to see is that there will be a council at the basis of it but there will then be some executive authority," Frank said.
Geithner did touch briefly on whether his plan would help curb the problem of "too big to fail" institutions. He argued that government resolution power and increased capital requirements would help.
But most of the hearing focused on the CFPA. Geithner and Democrats argued the existing bank regulators have a poor record on consumer protection and should be stripped of that authority, while Republicans and banking regulators warned of the dangers of separating consumer protection from safety and soundness obligations.
"I am struck by their newfound interest in consumer protection … I guess the threat of absence made their hearts grow fonder," Frank said.
At a separate panel, Frank grilled the heads of the banking agencies on the issue, arguing they are much more focused on safety and soundness than consumer issues.
But Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair fought back, offering to take her testimony out to prove she had raised consumer issues in the past. She said the agency's examiners had done a good job of focusing on both consumer and safety and soundness issues.
"It's not banks that are doing it," Bair said. "There really needs to be a laser-like focus on the nonbank sector … you have to deal with it or you are not going to solve your problem."


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Morinaga plans could be ‘substantially’ larger
There could be more jobs and a larger facility in store for Orange County depending on the growth of Morinaga & Co. Ltd’s soft-candy Hi-Chew, the chief executive of the company’s U.S. subsidiary said in an email.
The company announced earlier this month plans to invest $48 million in a new, 120,000-square-foot plant near Mebane and to create 90 jobs across three years.
The company’s footprint could be “substantially higher as we go forward,” said Steve Brantley, Orange County economic development director, at a briefing in Chapel Hill recently.
“The site is large enough to accommodate their plans, and also gives them flexibility for anything in the future,” Brantley said. “So we have good reason to have some confidence in that long-term growth, although it’s certainly not committed to by the company at this time.”
Masao Hoshino, CEO of Morinaga America Inc., said in an email that there’s a “possibility” that the company will hire more than 90 and that it will build an extension to the planned manufacturing plant, but that depends on several factors.
That’s if the growth of Hi-Chew, a soft fruit candy that the company plans to make at the plant in Orange County, is larger than anticipated, and if a decision is made to launch other products in the United States.
“Let us emphasize that we hope to do so in order to contribute to the community,” Hoshino said.
Currently, Morinaga America only sells Hi-Chew in the United States, Hoshino said. It’s been five years since its launch in the country.
The company started its business on the West Coast, he said, and established an East Coast sales office last year.
The product is sold in convenience stores, individual stores, and in club stores such as Costco. Hoshino said the company is not yet distributing across the entire country, but he said there’s “high acceptance” from consumers where it’s available.
Today, he said, candy sold in the United States is made in and exported from Asia. The business has grown, and he said the company foresees a capacity shortage.
The company is looking to add local production to meet growing demand. Hoshino said the company chose the location in Orange County because of good inland transport, access to raw materials and an “excellent business environment overall.” The plant is expected to be operational by mid-2015.


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Consumer goods specialist Newell Brands (NYSE: NWL) shed 12% last month, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Continue Reading Below
The decline sent Newell's stock into negative territory in 2017, and its 4% dip puts it well behind the double-digit gain the broader market has enjoyed.
September's slump followed a business update early in the month that saw the company lower its profit forecast for the year. CEO Michael Polk and his executive team now see earnings ranging from $2.95 per share to $3.05 per share, compared to the prior range of $3 to $3.20 per share.
Hurricane Harvey had a devastating impact on a few key raw material suppliers located in Texas and Louisiana. As a result, Newell has had to look elsewhere for these supplies, management said, and while it has had some success securing them, their costs are significantly higher than expected.
Executives believe raw material costs will remain elevated through this year and into 2018, and that means lower profits than would otherwise be the case. However, the company still expects to grow sales at the same healthy pace. Thus, this profit downgrade appears to be just a temporary speed bump that doesn't threaten Newell's recent market share gains or its long-run trend of rising profitability.
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It also may not be the best way to measure the industry’s value to the state, says Don Pearson, secretary of Louisiana Economic Development. At its core, economic development is about the importation of wealth.
“In this case, that wealth is being created for the governing bodies that get the tax millage,” Pearson adds. “So the metric of measuring it by job creation is not the right metric. If your parish is going to enjoy $15 million in tax millage over 30 years, it’s certainly a great way to enhance the services that government provides.”
Read the full story about solar energy in Louisiana from the latest edition of Business Report.


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West Lothian economic development agencies have launched several initiatives to ensure that the area capitalises on its strengths as a location for new investment from both public and private sectors. The area’s key message – West Lothian delivers for business – builds on its growing reputation as a place that delivers on its promises and is backed by West Lothian Council (WLC), West Lothian Chamber of Commerce (WLCC) and the local enterprise company Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh & Lothian (SEE&L).
The message is reinforced by West Lothian’s recent success in being selected as Scotland’s representative in the recently launched Enterprising Britain 2005 competition. This prestigious award confirms West Lothian’s position as Scotland’s most enterprising area, where enterprise is at the heart of its economic development agencies, its businesses, the “can do” attitude of its people and its schools.
West Lothian’s strategic location between Glasgow and Edinburgh and its youthful population – the fastest growing in Scotland – both play an important role in attracting both public sector and commercial investment.
With major towns including Linlithgow, Bathgate, Broxburn and Livingston, West Lothian is home to some 4,500 companies with particular strengths in technology, software, healthcare, food, packaging, engineering, construction, contact centres, distribution and logistics. West Lothian offers a high quality living and working environment as well as affordable accommodation only 25 minutes drive from Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital.
Companies locating into West Lothian may also benefit from Regional Selective Assistance, the country’s main grant scheme for creating and safeguarding jobs. In the past five years West Lothian companies have benefited from £82M of Regional Selective Assistance awards, a total of 69 projects which have helped to create 5,500 new jobs and safeguarded a further 1,880 jobs. In fact, in that period West Lothian has received some 20% of all the RSA awards in Scotland.
West Lothian promotes a business-friendly message which goes right through its business services, from the one-stop-shop for business support at the Council’s Business Centre in Livingston, to planning and other regulatory services.
Local business leaders are also signing up to be West Lothian “ambassadors”, promoting the area as a prime investment location by telling their own success stories and encouraging companies and other major organisations to consider investing locally.
A large part of West Lothian’s growth is attributable to the maturing of Livingston, a former new town which has integrated into the district to become a major source of employment. In recent times Livingston’s town centre has seen massive retail development, as well extensive office, housing and leisure developments and the opening of a brand new college.
Livingston’s success has cascaded to the rest of the area, helped by the development of direct rail links to Edinburgh as well as a highly-developed transport infrastructure.
Ease of access and proximity to consumer markets – some 60% of Scotland’s population is within a 60-minute drive ?u has been particularly important in the growth of West Lothian as Scotland’s hub for distribution and logistics activity.
Aldi, one of the world’s biggest retailers, now joins Scottish Courage at West Lothian’s state of the art distribution park J4M8 as it opens its new distribution hub and regional headquarters at the end of 2004. With a floor space of 38,100sq m, the Bathgate distribution centre will be one of the largest in the UK.
Recently announced are plans for a new £3.5M business incubator in Livingston that will nurture hi-tech spin-out and start-up companies with high growth potential. The new facility will be based on the Alba Campus, Scotland’s world class centre of excellence for the research, design and development of microchip and associated technologies, and part of the Edinburgh Science Triangle.
The incubator service will operate out of temporary premises on the Alba Campus for approximately 18 months while the new building is being constructed. A 2,335sq m (25,000sq ft) building capable of accommodating up to 54 companies, and with the potential for expansion, will be constructed on the 100-acre campus. It is expected that the facility will help create in excess of ten new companies a year while injecting £3.6M into the local economy over five years. n
Further information about West Lothian is available from the Business Development Team, The Business Centre, Almondvale Boulevard, Livingston EH54 6QP. Tel: 01506 777400. Email: email@example.com www.westlothiandelivers.com
West Lothian Council is one of several development agencies exhibiting at Logistics Link 2005, which is being held on February 1 and 2, 2005 at Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey. For further information contact Richard Milbourn on
020 8661 1160 or visit www.logisticslink.co.uk


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Unified Marketing approach for Economic Development
The Isle of Man will be a place ‘where you can...’
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Department of Economic Development releases further details of proposed Manx Grand Prix Festival race programme
The Department of Economic Development has released further details relating to the recent proposals aimed at redeveloping the Manx Grand Prix Festival from...
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Bridson and Horrox awarded Visitor Information Distribution contract
The Department of Economic Development has awarded Bridson and Horrox a contract to print, store and distribute visitor information to key locations around the...
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Isle of Man literary festival aims to stand out from the crowd
A new name has been added to the literary calendar of the British Isles with the staging of the inaugural Manx Litfest, being held between September 27-30 this...
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Visitor spending approaches 100 million
The Isle of Man Government’s Department of Economic Development is delighted with the results of the annual Isle of Man Passenger Survey, which has been...
Friday, 23 March 2012
Whilo awarded the first Green Business Loan
The Isle of Man Government’s Department of Economic Development has approved its first 0% Green Business loan. This follows an application from Whilo to assist...
Friday, 23 March 2012
The Dangers of Unregistered Businesses
On the 2 December 2011 the Department of Economic Development’s Companies Registry issued a media release encouraging businesses that had not previously...
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Department of Economic Development Minister welcomes work permit IT progress
The Department of Economic Development has launched a new free service for employers who hold work permits for any of their staff. This will enable them to...
Monday, 12 March 2012
Isle of Man Aircraft Registry appoints new chief surveyor
The Isle of Man Aircraft Registry has announced the appointment of Gary Raby to the role of Chief Surveyor. Working with Director of Civil Aviation, Hartley...
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Praise for new National Insurance initiative
Holiday Scheme will boost Island’s competitiveness
Friday, 2 March 2012


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Startup Spotlight: Attentive.ly Puts Social to Work
Updated · Oct 23, 2014
WHAT WE HAVE ON THIS PAGE
Motherhood is hard for a working woman in any field, but especially so in industries like technology that cannot seem to shake their male-centric cultures. The issue recently heated up with Apple’s and Facebook’s decisions to offer coverage for female employees who want to freeze their eggs.
So it’s not surprising that media coverage of startup Attentive.ly, which sells a social CRM product that helps companies identify its key influencers and deepen relationships with them, often focuses on an executive team packed with youngish women, several of whom are mothers. Six of its 10 core employees are women, including CTO Cindy Mottershead.
Noting that the typical culture of tech companies is not friendly to working mothers – or working fathers, for that matter – Attentively co-founder and CEO Rosalyn Lemieux, said, “It’s a real strength for us as a company to being so committed to making that possible and making it work for our employees.”
For example, Attentive.ly is headquartered in Washington D.C., but its employees are scattered across the country. “Our CTO is in Carlisle, Massachusetts because that is where her kids go to school. We don’t require people to uproot their lives and move to Silicon Valley or wherever the next hipster place is to start a company,” Lemieux said.
While there is acknowledgement and effort to make the tech industry more friendly to families, Lemieux said it still has a long way to go. Attentive.ly was short-listed for a stint at a prominent incubator, “but there was no practical way for us to get people to move somewhere else for two or three months” to pursue the opportunity, she said. “A lot of VCs and incubators are catering to a profile of this sort of imaginary Stanford dropout who was too brilliant for school. A lot of awesome companies fit that profile, but not everyone.”
Marrying CRM, Social Listening
Attentive.ly is the second company in which Lemieux has worked with co-founder Cheryl Contee. In 2008 they founded Fission Strategy, a digital marketing agency that specializes in helping political groups and non-profits leverage social media. Attentive.ly was founded four years later because they believed agencies and other companies would be interested in the social CRM software developed in-house at Fission Strategy.
As Lemieux explained, Fission customers tended to rely heavily on email as a growth engine and the women “saw an opportunity to bring in social information and integrate it with email campaigns.” The Attentive.ly app “brings social CRM and social listening together,” she said.
“We want to help you combine the information you already know about a person from your CRM system, like whether they are a season ticketholder for a sports team, with what they are out there talking about at the moment,” she said. “You get the realtime and contextual aspect and, because it is tied to data in your CRM, you can narrow the audience. It can be really powerful.”
Most social listening tools like Radian6, which was purchased by Salesforce in 2011, allow users to listen for direct mentions of their products or services on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, “but they cannot also determine whether someone is a season ticketholder who may show up for the game tonight ,” Lemieux said.
Agencies on Board
Lemieux said the Attentive.ly app has won fans among digital agencies like Burson-Marsteller, which were among its earliest adopters and make up a significant chunk of its base of 135 customers. Agencies took 80 out of 500 spots made available at the product’s beta.
“Agencies understand emerging and cutting edge technology and bring it to their customers,” she said. “When we approached companies for direct sales, nine times out of 10 they would direct us to their agencies anyway.”
Attentive.ly will use some of the $750,000 it just raised in a funding round to build relationships with more agencies, Lemieux said, and also to expand to verticals outside its core markets of publications, nonprofits and universities.
Agencies help companies cut through some of the considerable buyer confusion caused by a proliferation of social CRM startups and acquisitions of some like Radian6, Lemieux said. In addition most large companies already have established relationships with giants like Oracle and Salesforce.
“What is social? What is Big Data? How does it play with the platforms like Oracle and Salesforce that may already be in place? I could go through those platforms and their acquisitions and tell you how we are quite different, but the head of marketing may already have a relationship with Oracle, so it can be tough to get in the door,” Lemieux said. “We found the best way for us to initiate those relationships is through partnerships.”
From early on, she said, the focus was on ensuring the Attentive.ly app would integrate with popular CRM systems and email service providers like Eloqua, Marketo, Silverpop, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign and Blackbaud Luminate. Attentive.ly is sold through Oracle’s Eloqua AppCloud Marketplace and is rolling out now in the Salesforce AppExchange.
“We are not trying to be the new marketing platform. We are trying to layer nicely on top of what a company is currently using. We want to be the additional layer of data, recommendations and tools that plugs into their existing platform,” Lemieux said.
Fast Facts about Attentive.ly
Founders: Rosalyn Lemieux and Cheryl Contee
Funding: $2 million, with investors including Drew Bernard, Serious Change, New Media Ventures, Atlanta Tech Angels
HQ: Washington, D.C.
Customers: About 135, including The Washington Post and Elasticsearch
Product: Social CRM tool that helps companies identify and deepen relationships with key influencers
Ann All is the editor of Enterprise Apps Today and eSecurity Planet. She has covered business and technology for more than a decade, writing about everything from business intelligence to virtualization.
Public relations, digital marketing, journalism, copywriting. I have done it all so I am able to communicate any information in a professional manner. Recent work includes creating compelling digital content, and applying SEO strategies to increase website performance. I am a skilled copy editor who can manage budgets and people.


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Bugatti invited 18 owners from around the world to complete a 400km/h hot lap at the Kennedy Space Center.
Across four days in April 2023, Bugatti gave owners an experience of a lifetime to surpass speeds of 400km/h in their hypercars.
The 400 Drive saw all guests reach speeds of 412km/h while travelling down the historic final destination of NASA space shuttles between 1979 and 2011.
All participants received a certificate, personalised race suit, and a personalised helmet.
The brand released a video on YouTube to celebrate the experience.
“To travel at 400 km/h and above you need absolute confidence in the car,” said Bugatti Greenwich brand manager Evan Cygler.
“It’s an intense and exhilarating experience that depends on you and the car being in peak condition and fortunate enough to have the perfect environmental conditions; not too windy, nor too hot, not too wet.
“With the expert guidance of the Bugatti team, I could break through 400 km/h. The Chiron Super Sport felt as capable at 400 km/h as it did at 200 km/h.
“It’s an experience I’ll never forget and that only reinforces my passion for the incredible Bugatti brand.”
The Chiron, which exited production in 2022, has a 8.0-litre quad-turbocharged W16 engine that produces 1103kW of power and 1600Nm of torque, with a 0-100km/h time of 2.4 seconds.
In 2017, the Chiron set its first production car record with a 0-400-0km/h time of 41.96 seconds.
In 2019, a near-production Chiron prototype surpassed the 300mph (482.8km/h) threshold and was able to clock a top speed of 304.773mph (490.484km/h).
To commemorate this record, Bugatti released a Chiron Super Sport 300+ in 2019 that was limited to 30 examples and resembles the prototype. It also received a power bump, to 1176kW.
Click an image to view the full gallery


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NTE a promotional gem for tourismJo-Maré Duddy
The Namibia Tourism Expo (NTE) this year didn’t just offer valuable insight into the different offerings of the country’s industry, but also created the opportunity for conservancies to spread their message.
Visitors to the expo, which was hosted by Namibia Media Holdings (NMH) and ran from Thursday to Saturday, were eager to learn more about community conservation, said Anna Streidwolf of the Gaingu conservancy near the Spitzkoppe.
Streidwolf described the conservancy’s participation in the expo as valuable, saying they learnt a lot about what other exhibitors had to offer, not just in terms of accommodation, but also regarding the variety of food and wine.
More than 100 exhibitors attended the NTE this year, representing in excess of 1 600 hotels, lodges and rest camps.
LJ Kruger of Fly Namibia described the airline’s participation as a “great experience”, saying the NTE is an important event for Namibia.
“The more we can promote tourism in our beautiful country, the better,” Kruger said.
Fly Namibia offered visitors access to 100 destinations worldwide.
‘EXCELLENT MARKETING TOOL’
Marco Visagie of FNB Namibia described the NTE as an excellent marketing tool, one which he would highly recommend.
One of the products FNB Namibia promoted at the expo was the FNB Global Account - an innovative way to help customers save and transact in a foreign currency. The three currencies available are the US dollar, the British pound and the euro.
According to Visagie, the NTE is one of the best ways to connect with clients.
Data released shows tourism in Namibia is recovering after the Covid-19 pandemic.
A national occupancy rate of 52.9% was recorded during September, compared to 61.3% in the prior month and 27.4% in September 2021, according to the Hospitality Association of Namibia (HAN).
Year to date, the national occupancy rate averages 38.1%, compared to 21.0% for the same period in 2021 (January to September), showing a continued improvement in tourist inflows.
The proportion of Namibian guests at local hospitality establishments increased from 15.7% in August 2022 to 16.0% in September 2022, Simonis Storm (SS) says in its latest analysis of tourism figures.
Most guests at nationwide hospitality establishments came from Germany, Switzerland and Austria (43.2%), France (7.1%), South Africa (6.1%), UK and Ireland (4.8%) and Italy (3.7%).
In September, hospitality establishments in the North recorded the highest occupancy rate of 57.9%, followed by the South with 51.1%, the coast with 51.0% and the central area with 44.6%.
“We certainly maintain our positive stance on the local tourism sector supporting economic activity in the short run,” SS said.
With the wide value chain in tourism, SS believes positive spillover benefits will support the continued economic recovery underway in other sectors as well.


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UK grocery inflation has dropped for the seventh month in a row to 11% according to Kantar, but many households continue to struggle with Citizens Advice stating that one in four people in the UK are currently behind on at least one bill.
With the cost of groceries under scrutiny, supermarkets are looking at different ways to deliver value at the checkout. We’re seeing a push in loyalty schemes, branded promotional campaigns and a switch to own label as a response to the wallet squeeze. However, there are other tactics in play, that aren’t necessarily in the customers’ best interests.
You’ve heard about shrinkflation, where some brands reduce pack sizes. The most documented of these is probably Quality Street tins, where The Sun quoted a gradual reduction of approximately 110 to just 62 sweets in a tin/tub between 2009 and 2022.
Shrinkflation is a hot topic, with Carrefour, France’s second biggest supermarket, now exposing Shrinkflation brands to shoppers. As revealed in the Mail Online, Carrefour have highlighted 122 big brand products who have both reduced pack size and increased price.
Carrefour shoppers can now easily identify Shrinkflation brands at point of purchase, with signage at shelf edge stating:
This product has seen its weight decrease and the price charged by our supplier increase.
These brands are in effect being put on ‘the naughty shelf”.
Many of these products are also sold in the UK. Very worrying for these brands now that Rami Baitieh, ex Carrefour Chief Exec, has taken over the reins at Morrisons – could it be that we see this tactic appear on UK shelves soon?
Mainstream media are interested, firing up consumers and depleting brand reputation. The BBC reported that the Galaxy brand has secretly slimmed down its chocolate bars. They were 110g but are now 100g. Last October, the recommended retail price for a bar of Galaxy chocolate was also raised from £1.39 to £1.50. Not much empathy or mention in the media about the increase in cost of raw materials; with the price of sugar hitting its biggest peak in over a decade.
Reducing the size of our products is not a decision we have taken lightly but it is necessary for shoppers to still be able to enjoy their favourite Galaxy treats without compromising on quality and taste.
Some other brands and retailers are taking a different approach to maintain their margins; by substituting some of their more expensive ingredients for cheaper alternatives, such as reducing oil content in margarine and replacing it with water or reducing ready meal meat content and replacing with vegetables.
Will consumers notice? Expect backlash when they do. See some of the hype that has hit the headlines already:
Skimpflation is the latest neat trick from the multitrillion-pound food industry, where recipes are quietly tweaked, or ingredients downgraded in a bid to keep costs down. Yet, in many instances the products still cost the same – or worse, even more than they used to. This sort of sneaky behaviour is risible at the best of times but when grocery bills have gone through the roof it is unforgivable.
Whilst I’ve not seen or heard evidence that these tactics work in the short or long term, I suspect that they go nowhere to build trust in any brand, even when they are communicated openly.
Consumers are feeling the pinch and becoming increasingly agitated. Surely now is a time, when so many brands are experiencing stagnant growth at best, that building trust and brand loyalty is a top priority.
At Sun, we go back to basics when it comes to helping brands to counter the effects of inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, in regards to their brand packaging and design to print process.
We are actively talking to brands about how they can streamline their processes; increase their speed to market and reduce their cost to market.
We help through the application of innovative technology, by re-appraisal of their designs and the entire design roll-out process. By making improvements, brands will see incremental wins which will better enable them to sustain their margin, without losing face and impacting loyal customers.
This has worked for many of our clients and will work for many more – in our experience it’s a far more sustainable enabler for brand growth.
Kantar – Grocery inflation cools Oct 2023
Citizens Advice – Press release Sept 2023
The Sun– Xmas choc shock Oct 2022
The Daily Mail – Supermarkets under pressure Sept 2023
BBC news – Shrinkflation strickes again Sept 2023
The Grocer – How much meat is in a ready meal? Sept 2023
The Telegraph – Skimpflation is the latest neat trick Sept 2023
Image credit: wildpixel


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Jul. 21—DELAVAN — The Fruit Truck will return to deliver fresh fruits from 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday, July 21, and will be parked at Tractor Supply, 433 S. Wright Road.
Residents can buy GMO-free, farm-fresh fruits at the truck. Produce comes from farms and orchards across the country.
Fruits will be packaged in one-quarter or half-bushel boxes. There is no purchase limit per customer. Cash and checks are accepted.
For more information, visit myfruittruck.com.


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FRANKFURT • Volkswagen AG (VW) is reworking its battery- purchasing plan worth about €50 billion (RM234.5 billion) over concerns a supply deal with Samsung SDI Co Ltd might unravel, according to people familiar with the matter.
Samsung initially agreed to deliver batteries for just over 20GWh, enough to power 200,000 cars with 100kWh packs, before different views on production volume and schedule emerged during detailed negotiations, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks are confidential.
The impasse cut pledged supplies to less than 5GWh, they said.
“Samsung continues to be our battery cell supplier for Europe,” VW said in an emailed statement. Samsung declined to comment.
Access to vast amounts of batteries to power a growing number of electric vehicles (EVs) has emerged as a new battleground for global automakers amid capacity constraints, supply bottlenecks and limited access to raw materials. Producing batteries safe to use in cars is more complex compared to technology that’s used in consumer electronic devices like smartphones.
VW is spending €30 billion on the industry’s biggest push into EVs with a new range of purely battery-powered cars to challenge electric-car leader Tesla Inc.
VW’s electric rollout in the next 10 years translates into battery demand of more than 300GWh in Europe and Asia alone, outstripping current market capacities. — Bloomberg


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Are trends electric?
Gloria Esposito looks at how the UK’s road transport could meet net-zero aspirations, via both electric vehicles and sustainable fuels
The road transport sector is responsible for 25% of UK greenhouse gas emissions, and this is on upward trajectory. The government’s Road to Zero Strategy makes electric vehicles (EVs) a focal point for decarbonising these emissions. Presently, 4% of new car sales are zero-emission models, covering plug-in hybrid and battery electric technologies. The government and the Climate Change Committee say this must reach 50-70% of new sales by 2030 – meaning a 30% increase in new EV sales each year is required. A combination of carrots and sticks will be needed to accelerate take-up, such as Zero Emission Zones and a ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine cars by 2035. While industry experts predict EVs will reach price parity with fossil fuel counterparts by 2025, government fiscal incentives will need to continue for some time to make them affordable. Innovative fiscal policy will be required to accelerate EV demand while addressing loss of fuel duty. Carbon pricing should be a candidate, potentially aligning the cost of fuel and energy with lifecycle greenhouse emissions.
Net-zero road transport emissions by 2050 cannot happen through EVs alone. Wide-scale charging infrastructure deployment, and a smart, low-carbon electricity grid, are intrinsic parts of the roadmap. The UK’s electricity supply is transforming, with carbon intensity falling by more than 50% during the past six years. The decarbonisation of the grid will allow EVs to be truly zero-emission.
Challenges and barriers
One of greatest challenges is the heavy-duty vehicle sector. The UK bus sector has been progressive, with 10% of new bus sales being electric; more than 300 are in operation. However, the market for electric urban trucks faces barriers. These include limited available models and high vehicle capital costs. Electrification of fleet depots is also difficult economically and in terms of charging infrastructure. It will take many years and government funding to kickstart the market.
For long-haul trucks, low-carbon and sustainable fuels such as biomethane and biodiesel will play a role; these are being deployed by logistics companies and supermarkets. The commercialisation of more advanced low-carbon fuels will be a necessity for the road transport and aviation sectors during the next decade.
Finally, zero-emission transport must be sustainable. Supply chains for the raw materials used in lithium batteries will require management in order to conserve resources and maintain availability. The responsible mining of metal resources will be increasingly important, driven by investors’ ESG responsibilities. The automotive R&D community needs to address battery end-of-life, embracing the circular economy through improved battery design that allows raw materials to be recycled and batteries re-used. Numerous challenges must be addressed – but collaboration between stakeholders, innovation and intelligent national policies will help overcome them.
Electric vehicles will play a significant role in the decarbonisation of road transport
25%- Road transport is responsible for 25% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions
30%- A 30% increase in new electric car sales each year is required to hit UK government targets
50%- The UK’s carbon intensity has fallen by more than 50% during the past six years
10%- of new bus sales are electric
Gloria Esposito, MIEMA CEnv is head of projects at the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership


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I've never liked the taste of Diet Coke. But when I read Brandweek
's headline this morning: -- "Diet Coke Brings Back 'Just for the Taste of It'"-- I can honestly say that I felt some warm
and fuzzy synapses firing in my brain right around the medial prefrontal cortex, just like a story I was re-reading yesterday suggested I might.
The 2003 piece by Clive Thompson in
the New York Times Magazine
looks at a study that purportedly
proved that perceived brand image shapes influence. In short, people preferred the taste of Pepsi in a taste test until they were told which of the samples were Coke. That's when the Mean Joe Greene
Effect kicked in.
The "Just for the taste of it" rolled out with the brand's launch in 1982, and it's making its initial return as part of the soft drink's partnership with Heart
Truth. Diet Coke and Heidi Klum are taking on women's heart disease in an extensive ad campaign that launched earlier this week, Kenneth Hein reports.
"The tagline still has a lot of
equity, not just in that it's great tasting, but also that it's tasteful and sophisticated," says Coke's Susan Stribling. She said future ads would star other arbiters of style and good taste like
As much as I like the tagline -- and can hear the jingle in the recesses of some other part of my brain (Brits voted it the "catchiest advertising jingle,"
after all) -- I can't say I'm tempted to even hold a can of the
stuff, no less drink it. Maybe I just have an affinity for 1982, when I was still in short pants
Read the whole story at Brandweek »


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Simonelli Group CEO Fabio Ceccarani on adding market value and why it’s time for the manufacturing industry to invest in more sustainable practices.
Fabio Ceccarani is well aware that Italian espresso machine manufacturer Simonelli Group has a privileged position. It’s an industry leader in its field, yet is responsible for one of the most important parts of the value chain – the end result in the cup.
“It is an incredible honour to know that our machinery contributes to the customer’s coffee experience. But because of this privileged position, we also have a big responsibility to make coffee in the fairest and most sustainable and respectful way possible,” Fabio tells BeanScene.
A mechanical engineer by trade, Fabio started his journey with Italian coffee machine manufacturer Simonelli Group in May 2008. Soon enough, he found himself on the Board of Directors where he stayed for 10 years, overviewing and implementing company strategies before taking the CEO title in 2018.
His leadership is the result of many years of commercial and technical work in the tobacco and high-end furniture sectors, two industries Fabio says in many ways couldn’t be more different, yet are so similar, to coffee.
“Looking back, it’s funny to think how both tobacco and coffee are both products that create an experience and remain something people want and crave,” he says.
Despite the differences, Fabio says his commercial training taught him important skills he still values today, including marketing techniques, strategic partnership development, and how to bring value to the market and respect clients.
Over the past 10 years, Fabio has witnessed the evolution of the Nuova Simonelli brand, including the decision to form the multi-brand company Simonelli Group in 2017, which encompasses Nuova Simonelli and Victoria Arduino operations.
“The board decided it was time to do business in a way that was more functional and provided more opportunities for growth in the long term,” Fabio says. “We are evolving and at this level, we foresee lots of new opportunities, new business and potential for our brands.”
One of those opportunities involves a drive towards innovation, which Fabio also sees as one the company’s greatest challenges.
“Simonelli Group has to be even more innovative to anticipate the needs of the market through new technologies, which have meaning only if they bring more value to our customers. The coffee and non-coffee oriented chains are paying particular attention to coffee business. As a result, our approach needs to be even closer to them sharing our values and stories,” Fabio says.
“This is a personal goal for me. The market is changing rapidly and there’s lots of innovation coming, such as the development of digital platforms. It’s my role to feed that innovation with a strategy for the company, always keeping in mind how to improve the customer experience of our clients.”
That value is already being felt in cities that have established Simonelli Group branches and showrooms, including Jakarta, Shanghai, London, Barcelona, Milan, and New York.
While company expansion and brand development are always front of mind, Fabio says more than ever, the Simonelli Group is focused on its sustainable commitment, and encouraging the wider industry to join its plight to do more.
“Sustainability is about much more than an environmental problem. It’s about economic and social values. We put a lot of effort into embracing this approach for our stakeholders. We have an obligation and a clear goal to dramatically reduce our machines’ consumption of energy and the impact our machines have on the environment. That will be the biggest issue we need to address within the next year,” Fabio says.
To start the transition, last year Simonelli Group started a collaboration with Ongreening, an independent reference for sustainable architecture, green building rating systems, and environmental friendly building materials.
“We are the first company in the coffee industry to do this. We are very excited to share the news that shows we are part of a sustainable network, and not just an espresso machine manufacturer,” Fabio says. “Our contribution is not only about how our products are built, but knowing the factory and its daily operations contribute to reduced energy consumption. All of our products and operations have been put under scrutiny – the more projects you have that are sustainable, the higher the sustainable rating of our building.”
Through the Ongreening website, Simonelli Group presents a comprehensive overview of Nuova Simonelli and Victoria Arduino coffee machines from the perspective of sustainability. There, architects, engineers, designers, managers, and chains can see how its coffee machines potentially contribute to major green building certification systems, such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).
In 2018, the Simonelli Group entered its new 3000-square-metre headquarters with a strong consideration of waste reduction. Energy for the building is taken from solar panels, and all water is now recycled.
Five years ago, in collaboration with universities, Simonell Group started a study in order to better understand carbon dioxide emissions during the entire lifecycle of its coffee machines. The Life Cycle Assessment study demonstrated that 2 per cent of CO2 emissions are caused by manufacturing and the 98 per cent by the working phase of the coffee machine. As such, Simonelli Group continues to work on solutions and technology that can reduce energy consumption and waste.
The launch of the Aurelia Wave in 2017 is what Fabio considers to be the most advanced and sustainable machine in the Simonelli suite of machines. “The Aurelia Wave was a clear statement that we can invest in the materials we’re using and the processes we undertake to manufacture sustainable machines,” Fabio says.
Ongoing, the Simonelli Group, together with other European coffee machine manufacturers, is committed to collaborating with the European Commission in order to define an energy rating system to measure the sustainability of coffee machines and provide a “seal of approval” to inform prospective purchasers that the product is highly energy efficient.
“This is a brand new system we’ve just launched. We have been working for three years now with the European Commission committee and manufacturers in Germany and Switzerland on how to define new protocols so we can measure what is sustainable and energy saving,” Fabio says.
Other appliances already have energy star ratings, such as televisions and dishwashers, and soon coffee machines will have this rating too. Once the protocol and criteria are defined, Fabio says Simonelli Group will put energy star logos on the machines that have reached a certain energy requirement.
“It’s a clear environmental commitment that will come from the entire industry, not just our machines,” Fabio says. “It’s part of our commitment to innovation, but we can’t stand alone.”
This article appears in FULL in the April edition of BeanScene Magazine. Subscribe HERE.
Simonelli equipment is available in Australia through Espresso Mechanics. For more information, visit www.espressomechanics.com.au


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The Toy Foundation (TTF) and Dream Center hosted the Play Your Part charity event, where kids facing abuse, homelessness, hunger, other adversities in the Los Angeles area received new toys and games from local toy companies.
More than 30 local toy companies—including Educational Insights, Jakks Pacific, Mattel, Razor, and more—participated in the event with toy donations, sponsored activity stations, or company volunteers at the event. TTF’s Toy Bank received more than 20,000 toys donated by manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.
Volunteers led company-sponsored activity stations for the kids, as well as filled thousands of gift bags with new toys that will be distributed by the Dream Center and TTF’s logistics partner, World Vision, to underprivileged youth during the holiday season and to World Vision’s Teacher Resource Center.
Event sponsors included Disney, Educational Insights, GennComm, Jakks Pacific, Mattel, WowWee, NBCUniversal, Playmates, Thames & Kosmos, Women in Toys, and more.


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Trade wars and the potential impact on the Australian economy
Markets around the world have been rocked by Trump’s tariffs and concerns about Chinese retaliation. But how much does this really have to do with Australia? When two of our biggest trading partners start limiting trade, are we likely to win or lose?
21 August 2019


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Urban Dining, the restaurant operator behind the Tootsies chain, put itself up for sale yesterday and parted with its chief executive John Metcalf after a poor trading performance. Its shares dropped 13 per cent to 34.5p, giving the company a market value of £19.9m.
The company, listed on the Alternative Investment Market, announced a U-turn in its strategy to acquire other restaurant chains. "Difficult trading coupled with the current level of the company's share price means that the directors believe that is now no longer appropriate to pursue the original strategy of being a consolidator in the restaurant industry," it said.
The board was reshuffled following the decision not to pursue a multibrand strategy, leading to the departure of Mr Metcalf, who was responsible for identifying acquisition targets. Glen Tomlinson has been appointed executive chairman and is leading a strategic review of the business, which may result in a sale. Tim Woodcock stays on as finance director. Mr Woodcock said yesterday: "We are disappointed but accept the reality of the situation. There is an awful lot of corporate activity in the sector and Tootsies is a good brand. We expect interest from both trade and financial buyers."
Urban bought Tootsies for £31m in November last year and has been on the lookout for three other established restaurant brands. It has been associated with a number of restaurant chains, including the seafood chain Loch Fyne.
The company was set up two years ago by Mr Metcalf, Mr Tomlinson, who both hailed from Pizza Express, and Mr Woodcock as an investment vehicle designed to pick up assets in the restaurant sector. It floated on AIM in May last year to raise funds for its plans.
Analysts at Oriel Securities said: "You can double, or you can quit. That would appear to be the choice that Urban Dining was facing in the dog-eat-dog casual dining market, and it's chosen to quit." They pointed to Yates's decision to sell itself to Laurel last year and "it did its shareholders [GI Partners at the time] no harm at all".Reuse content


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NHTSA finalizes rule for airbag switches
Sept. 6, 2012—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has extended its rule for retrofitting on-off switches on vehicle airbags, according to an announcement from the Automotive Service Association (ASA).
NHTSA’s current regulation allows automobile dealers and repair businesses to install retrofit on-off switches for airbags in vehicles made prior to Sept. 1, 2012. The agency’s new rule extends the ability to retrofit vehicle airbag on-off switches for three more years through Sept. 1, 2015, according to the ASA.
The NHTSA’s new rule is effective immediately.


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Amazon’s internal delivery service, Amazon Flex, will require its drivers to take photos of themselves to be validated with facial recognition.
The detail, first reported by Business Insider, sees Amazon further controlling the work of Flex drivers, which the company considers independent contractors and not employees. They drive their own vehicles, pay out of pocket for incurred costs like vehicle wear and gas, and are not entitled to benefits like healthcare.
Labour conditions of Flex drivers were expensively stayed the same since then. Meanwhile, the regulatory environment has grown more critical of companies that rely on large numbers of contract laborers—laborers who no shortage of politicians, activists, and lawsuits have argued are misclassified.
It’s unclear how often drivers are being asked to photo-authenticate, what happens to that stored facial data, or if Amazon is obligated to delete that data should the driver quit or become deactivated. Also unknown is what facial recognition software suite is being deployed for this purpose—though one imagines Amazon is using its own in-house package, Rekognition.
Rekognition has been a source of strident criticism from lawmakers and ethicists, due to its alleged biases and Amazon’s willingness to supply the software to law enforcement. Safeguards the company touted as keeping Rekognition from being misused by police were not being followed, Gizmodo learned earlier this year.
If Rekognition is the software being deployed, Flex drivers’ faces could be used as a data set to train and further hone the software, in much the way the Flex app tracks drivers’ routes and uses that data to increase Amazon’s last mile logistics efficiency. Amazon told the Verge the face-recognition authentication is intended to reduce fraud.
Amazon did not immediately return a request for comment on these issues, or if this new surveillance policy extends to parallel programs like its Delivery Service Partners network.
The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans
It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.


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Blizzard have announced that the mid-season patch for Overwatch 2 has been delayed, leaving players unable to select Mei for a bit longer.
The mid-season patch was due to be released yesterday, but an official post on Blizzard's forum revealed that would no longer be the case. "Today’s patch is delayed as we work to resolve a critical issue. We’ll provide an update here and set the patch live as soon as the problem is addressed," the post read.
The patch was set to address issues that affected hero Mei, who has been unavailable in game for some time. On Oct. 31, Blizzard announced that they would be temporarily disabling Mei to address a bug with her Ice Wall ability. The bug in question allowed other heroes to reach unintended locations when Ice Wall was used in conjunction with their abilities.
Additional changes to be added in the patch included upcoming balance changes and core content updates. "This delay also impacts the delivery of Overwatch League Viewership Incentives & Perks from the Postseason matches during the period between Oct 30 - Nov 4, along with the rotation of cosmetics in the Overwatch League shop."
When Does Overwatch 2 Mid-Season Patch Release?
Fortunately, Overwatch players won't have too much longer to wait for the patch to arrive. In an update, Blizzard confirmed that the mid-season patch would now be released on Thursday, Nov. 17.
The patch will now go live at 11 a.m. PST.


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Upper Deck Entertainment has announced plans to create a trading card game based on the popular Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, created by Blizzard Entertainment. Special scratch-off cards in the TCG will feature codes for the online game that will allow players to create unique cosmetic effects for their characters--a highly desirable feature that will drive some of the millions of online players to seek out the cards from the TCG.
Upper Deck's World of Warcraft TCG -- and its supporting Organized Play programs -- will be available to retailers and consumers in the spring of 2006.
With over 3.5 million paying customers playing the game worldwide, World of Warcraft is one of the most popular MMORPGs in the world, and other pop culture products licensed from the Blizzard intellectual property have been very succesful in their respective categories. Tokyopop's Warcraft manga has become one of the best-selling American-created manga series. White Wolf's Warcraft and World of Warcraft RPGs have done very well, especially in the bookstore channel. Fantasy Flight has a World of Warcraft Boardgame, and Toycom has produced World of Warcraft Action Figures.


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Deliveries to Tesco stores in Yorkshire and the north east could be under threat due to a pay dispute at the company’s Doncaster DC, a union has warned. Unite said pay talks have been ongoing for three months at the site, which employs 580 warehouse staff, but have now stalled due to an unacceptable offer. While the union did not disclose what has been tabled by Tesco, it said it was seeking a settlement in line with the current Retail […]
Eddie Stobart is facing a third strike by its drivers based at Tesco’s Doncaster DC. Although the operator and Unite had been in talks via Acas in a bid to resolve the long-running jobs dispute, efforts to find a way forward have failed. The 183 drivers, of which 180 are Unite members, have now rejected an improved redundancy offer from Eddie Stobart, and announced they will commence continuous strike action from the 6 December. The union believes this will be […]
Stobart Group is to restructure is board of directors for the second time this year, with executive chairman Avril Palmer-Baunack to leave the company in May.
As the UK inflation rate rose through the year to reach 3.1% in November, the highest in nearly six years, 2017 saw industrial unrest gather momentum in the logistics sector, as drivers demanded increased pay or bridled against company measures to cut costs.


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Black Dice Industries, a “UK urban luxury, street wear watch brand”, has released two new watches in a limited edition of 250 copies each.
The BD-018-04 and BD-004-04 are fitted with quality Miyota movements and comes with edition number etched on caseback and buckle.
- Dot matrix digital display
- City world time
- Day light saving
- Multiple alarms
- Stop watch
- Timer count down
- EL back light
- Water resistant to 50 meters (164 feet)
The Black Dice watches are priced at £95 ($195) each. Not bad at all, considering the extremely limited production.
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Nissan in the Philippines has donated three Nissan Navara units to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to assist the humanitarian organization’s disaster and crisis response operations.
With a total value of Php 4.1 million, the Nissan Navara model was especially selected for this donation for crisis response because of the vehicle’s off-road capabilities, reliable load capacity and powerful engine performance. The three pick-up trucks will be part of PRC’s ongoing operations to deliver services and relief goods to communities affected by calamities and disasters.
Employees of the automotive brand’s national sales office also contributed monetary donations for the PRC’s sustained Taal Volcano eruption relief operations, as part of this contribution.
“Helping our communities through this donation is one way we deliver Nissan’s vision of enriching people’s lives. Particularly by ensuring that the PRC can deliver aid and disaster support confidently with our robust and trustworthy Nissan Navara. We hope that our contribution enhances PRC’s capacity in reaching out to more communities,” said Atsushi Najima, president and managing director of Nissan in the Philippines.


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Kirk Phelps wants to change how things get made. He holds up a floppy yellow circle of plastic, a sealing gasket for a generic automotive engine, and explains how this gasket is limiting human creativity.
“If you want to make a new kind of engine, you don’t get to design the engine from the ground up. You actually go to your gasket supplier and ask what standard gaskets are available and you design the engine around it. This is backward,” says Phelps, a 33-year-old product designer who helped develop the multitouch on the iPhone.
That frustration led him to take the job as head of product development at Carbon3D, one of the hottest startups to come along in the emerging 3D printing industry. The promise of 3D printing is the ability to produce a solid part on the spot based on any digital 3D file, freeing engineers to build their dream engine. While some of the highest-end machines can precisely print small-batch items such as hearing aids and artificial joints, the vast majority of 3D printers in use today are slow and capable of making only trinkets and small prototypes. The early hype around 3D printing peaked a couple of years ago, and now shares of the two big publicly traded printer manufacturers, Stratasys and 3D Systems, are 80 percent off their highs.
Carbon3D is reinjecting excitement into the field. Its CEO and cofounder, Joseph DeSimone, a 51-year-old entrepreneur and former chemistry professor from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, came up with a new way to print objects in 3D so quickly and precisely that Sequoia Capital partner Jim Goetz (the sole backer of WhatsApp) led a $11-million Series A round and lured him to Redwood City, California from his tenured chair in Chapel Hill. The company has since raised more than $140 million, including a $100-million round in August led by Google Ventures. Its valuation is already estimated to be above $1 billion without releasing anything more than a product for early customer trials. “The industry is dominated by mechanical engineers who print two-dimensional objects up layer by layer,” DeSimone says. “Let’s not do this layer by layer—let’s grow these parts.”
Most 3D printers use a technique known as fused deposition modelling, which is basically a hot-glue gun controlled by a robot arm that zig-zags back and forth depositing layers of plastic to make a solid object. A Carbon3D machine pulls a solid object from a small tub of liquid plastic—akin to the way the killer robot in Terminator 2 lifted itself out of liquid-metal puddles. It’s a variation of a decades-old technique called stereolithography, or the use of light to solidify liquid plastic. DeSimone’s contribution as a chemist was to replace the bottom of the tub with a pane of glass that, like a contact lens, is porous to air. The air creates a cushion under the resin that is one-thousandth of an inch thick, so the liquid never sticks to the glass. A laser firing from beneath the glass solidifies the bottom layer of plastic in a precise pattern dictated by the object’s 3D file. A robotic arm slowly pulls the object out of the pool, and more resin flows under to be heated.
Carbon3D says it can produce objects of higher resolutions at speeds 25 to 100 times faster than traditional stereolithographic printers and several other techniques. Because the action of the machine is so smooth, it allows manufacturers access to a wider variety of performance materials such as stretchy elastomers and high-temperature-resistant resin. Carbon3D aims to develop its own resins for making objects ready for commercial sale. “We’re focussed on applications where the 3D-printed part is the functional part, where it could go into a car. Existing 3D printers don’t do that,” says Phelps. “And if it works as a final part would, why not just ship the 3D-printed part? If it’s just as good, why worry about injection moulding?”
A dozen companies, including Ford Motor and Hollywood special effects studio Legacy Effects, are testing Carbon3D machines, each of which will cost north of $10,000. Legacy, which worked on the Iron Man and Avengers movies, uses it to print prosthetics and props. The studio cut the time it took to print one crucial job from 16 hours to two hours.
“If I have speed, detail and material choice, that are high-grade engineering materials, that’s a winner,” says Jason Lopes, a lead systems engineer at Legacy Effects. “The throughput is absolutely amazing.” Ford liked it so much that its former CEO Alan Mulally joined Carbon3D’s board. Ellen Lee, Ford’s team leader of additive manufacturing research in Dearborn, Michigan, is now assessing the idea of using a Carbon3D machine in its rapid-prototyping unit. While Ford is still clearly years away from printing critical car parts, Lee has joked about printing gear shifters to fit the owner’s hand. “A lot more potential remains untapped in 3D printing,” Lee says. “It’s really going to change the way we manufacture in America. We want to understand how to best use it.”
Industry expert Terry Wohlers of Wohlers Associates says that while Carbon3D’s speed is a big deal for manufacturing, he’s uncertain of the quality of the end product. Over time, light can degrade the photopolymers used in stereolithography, making them less reliable than the thermoplastics used by more common fused deposition-modelling printers. Carbon3D says that its polymers use UV-blockers and pigments to protect them from light.
Carbon3D machines are priced well above the mass market, but that shouldn’t be an issue for large businesses if it works as advertised. “Ford spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on individual pieces of manufacturing equipment,” says Wohlers.
Carbon3D’s talk about disrupting injection moulding (a widely used manufacturing process) is a bit far-fetched, but its machines are bringing excitement back to 3D printing. “Ten years ago, a lot of firms started building 3D printing manufacturing plans,” DeSimone says, “and it was really exciting. Then they shelved plans, because the technology didn’t have enough horsepower to take them there. Now they’re starting to dust off those plans.”
(This story appears in the 11 December, 2015 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)


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The Avengers Campus expansion will launch in California Adventure in 2020, and feature several different rides, restaurants, and experiences to bring guests closer to Earth's Mightiest Heroes, with the Spider-Man anchoring the new land until the opening of a new Avengers ride at a later date.
Check out the concept art for Disney's Avengers Campus below:
The Spider-Man ride will be centered around an organization called WEB - the Worldwide Engineering Brigade - which counts Peter Parker and other young inventors among its ranks. The Disney Parks official blog gave a description of the story behind the Spider-Man ride: "During an open house at WEB, the aspiring inventors are excited to invite you for a test drive of their latest invention: the 'Web Slinger' vehicle, which allows you to sling webs just like Spider-Man."
Peter has also been working on some handy Spider-Bots, but when they start glitching, "our test drive turns into a real mission where we must work alongside Spider-Man to web up all these bots," says Scot Drake, Creative Executive of the Marvel Global Portfolio, Walt Disney Imagineering.For food options, the Avengers Campus will feature Pym's Test Kitchen, which will feature food that has been shrunk and grown, thanks to the innovations of Pym Technologies. Guests can also get up close with their favorite Avengers, with photo ops including Black Widow, Star Lord, Gamora, Groot, Black Panther and the Dora Milaje, plus Thor and Loki. And, "as these heroes assemble from across time and space, you’ll be able to meet the one that started them all, Iron Man," according to Drake. (Thank goodness for those timeline-hopping Infinity Stones.)
The Avengers Campus will also be home to a new Avengers ride housed in Avengers HQ, opening in Phase 2 of the expansion. According to Disney Parks, "you will step onboard a Quinjet and fly alongside the Avengers in an epic adventure to Wakanda and beyond. You will team up alongside the Avengers in a battle to save our world against one of the most powerful villains they have ever faced. Imagineers are hard at work conceiving an all-new innovative ride system to put you in the middle of this action."
Although Disney World in Florida is unable to use the brand name "Marvel" or develop rides based on certain Marvel characters like Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk, and the X-men due to a previous licensing deal Universal Studios signed with Marvel before Disney acquired the company - other characters are fair game. Florida's Epcot will soon unveil a Guardians of the Galaxy ride titled Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, which will be the first Disney attraction to feature a reverse launch. "The thrilling, family-friendly attraction will feature a never-before-seen storytelling coaster that rotates to focus on the action – wherever it may be," according to Disney Parks, and will see guests boarding a Nova ship for a visit to Xandar, but "when the guardians show up, you can be sure adventure will soon follow," Drake teases.


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Apple is expected to announce a new low-cost version of its iPhone SE, compatible with 5G, at its product launch event on Tuesday, per Reuters.
Details: The phone will broadly be the same design as the iPhone SE but will have an upgraded processor and camera, in addition to 5G.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo at TF International Securities shared some other predicted details about the new model:
- Mass production to likely start in March 2022.
- The storage options would be 64GB, 128GB and 256 GB.
- The casing options are white, black and red.
- Additionally, Kuo mentioned that the estimated shipments are predicted to be 25 to 30 million.
What they’re saying: CFRA Research analyst Angelo Zino said that Apple may attract price-sensitive consumers if the SE 3 is relatively cheap, like other SE models.
- “It could potentially provide upside to our unit iPhone estimate for 2022 if they keep that price point unchanged,” Zino said, per the report. “The iPhone SE really caters well to a lot of first-time buyers on the iPhone ecosystem that may be younger individuals, where their parents are going out there buying that device.”
Flashback: The original SE was released in 2016 as an entry-level option, priced at $399 compared to the $649 iPhone 6s model, according to The Verge. The next SE model was released four years later.
What else: The tech company is also expected to launch a new iPad Air, a redesigned MacBook Air and a Mac Mini.


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CNet News: Apple Will Announce Intel Switch on Monday
TMO Reports - CNet News: Apple Will Announce Intel Switch on Monday
by , 8:55 PM EDT, June 3rd, 2005
Apple Computer will finally make the long called-for, long rumored, and often speculated move to Intel, according to a report by CNet News. The news outlet reported Friday evening that Apple would be announcing Monday, June 6th that the company would switch from the PowerPC processor family to Intel's family of processors .
According to the report, Apple will be moving low-end Macs such as the Mac mini to Intel in mid-2006, while high-end models will begin the transition in mid-2007.
The most recent speculation about such a switch was prompted by a report from the Wall Street Journal in May that said Apple and Intel were in talks.
The report, citing two industry executives with knowledge of recent discussions between the companies, said Apple will agree to use Intel Pentium processors, but gave no further details.
"Talks between Apple and Intel could founder, as they have before, or Apple could be engaging in negotiations with Intel to gain leverage over IBM," the WSJ report said.
Since that report was first published, a variety of analysts have expressed various levels of skepticism; these reactions ranged from the idea that Apple was simply trying to pressure IBM, the maker of Apple's G5 PowerPC processors, to the fact that Apple would have enormous difficulty moving its developer base to yet another change in processors.
So far, Apple has moved from the 68k processor, to the original PowerPC line, to the G4 processor with AltiVec, to the 64-bit G5 processor made by IBM. It is unclear what message Apple will deliver to its developers, but Monday marks the beginning of the World Wide Developer's Conference in San Francisco, with a keynote by Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
Apple's policy is to not comment on unannounced products, and the CNet News story did not name its sources. After the Wall Street Journal's story, however, Intel CEO Paul Ortellini simply said that a switch to Intel for Apple was "the Haley's Comet of rumors."
Brad Gibson contributed to this article.
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Brandon, Fla.-(Newsradio 970 WFLA)-Hillsborough deputies are looking for the man who took two credit cards from a locker at L.A. Fitness on Providence Lakes Boulevard.
Investigators says the thief was spotted using one of the credit cards at the Apple Store at the Westfield Shopping Town Center in Brandon (see photo). Deputies say the man charged $5,000 to buy an iPhone 7 and two laptop computers.
Anyone with any information of the thief is being urged to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at (813) 247-8200. You may also be eligible for a reward by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS and providing information that will lead to the man's arrest.
Photo courtesy Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office


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The Kingsford Homestead, renowned for its role as the setting for the TV drama McLeod’s Daughters, has recently changed hands.
The Ahrens family, after pouring $10 million into refurbishing the property, known on the hit TV show as Drover’s Run, has passed the baton to fund manager Salter Brothers.
This iconic South Australian estate, now known as the lavish Kingsford The Barossa, poised northeast of Gawler in the Barossa Valley, offers guests a blend of history and luxury.
It boasts 16 suites, a trio of bars, a restaurant, an extensive 21-meter wine cellar, a function space, an outdoor saltwater pool, and a Kegelbahn, a nod to traditional German indoor bowling, according to realcommercial.com.au.
Stefan Ahrens, who secured the property from media tycoon Kerry Packer in 2008, has described the project as a “labour of love.”
He and his wife Leanne took the property from a state of disrepair to a premier luxury retreat.
“For us, it is the right time and the right thing to do to pass on Kingsford, with all its history, to an organisation that can take it to the next level,” he said.
“The Salter Brothers have the capacity, the brands and the marketing power to spread the word globally about Kingsford – and the Barossa. Both will benefit and that is important to us.”
Mr Ahrens said the sale signified more than just a transaction; it’s a recognition of the effort and passion invested by many in restoring the homestead.
The Salter Brothers intend to enhance the retreat further, bringing their unique flair to the historic site, according to Managing Director Paul Salter.
Their aim is to expand the property, offering more visitors the chance to immerse themselves in the Barossa’s charm and legacy.
This purchase aligns with Salter Brothers’ recent $154 million acquisition of Adelaide’s Sofitel hotel, cementing their presence in the luxury hospitality sector.


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Ports of Auckland, whose operations have been disrupted by a drawn-out industrial dispute that scared off customers, posted a 17 percent decline in first-half profit on reduced container volumes and an absence of year-earlier one-time gains.
Profit fell to $15.5 million in the six months ended December 31, from $18.6 million a year earlier, the city-owned port company says in a statement. Revenue from port operations fell 5.8 percent to $90.1 million.
Container volumes fell 8.9 percent to 413,884 20-foot equivalent units, it says. Full import containers fell 5.4 percent and export containers declined 9.2 percent.
Breakbulk cargo volumes, including cars, rose 6.5 percent to 2.02 million tonnes. Vehicle volumes rose 1 percent.
Auckland lost business to Port of Tauranga because of the strike as shipping company Maersk diverted some services and Fonterra opted to move all of its upper North Island export dairy products through the Tauranga port.
Port of Tauranga yesterday posted record first-half earnings and recorded a jump in volumes of dairy products and meat.
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Industries happy with manufacturing sector but capital goods output still down
GN Bureau | June 13, 2015
As Maggi controversy alters the household consumption habits, the retail inflation is going to make changes in the family budgets as pulses and protein-rich food items turn expensive. Consumer price index-based inflation rose to a three-month high of 5.01 per cent in May.
Prices of pulses rose by 16.62 percent in May 2015 over the same month last year, according to the data released on Friday. Domestic pulses production fell by nearly two million tonnes in 2014-15 crop year due to unfavourable weather conditions such as untimely rains.
Prices of protein-rich items such as 'meat and fish' rose by 5.43 percent, while spices turned costlier by 8.82 percent in the month.
The inflation for fruit and vegetables was 3.84 percent and 4.64 percent, respectively, in May 2015.
Among others, milk and its products were costlier by 7.43 percent in May 2015 over the same month last year.
Prices of prepared snacks and meals rose by 7.89 percent, clothing and footwear category by 6.12 percent, housing by 4.64 percent and fuel and light by 5.96 percent.
Of the other categories, oils and fats prices rose by 1.95 percent, cereals and products by 1.98 percent, while that of egg declined by 0.78 percent in May 2015.
However, there is good news on the industrial front. The Industrial production grew at a two-month high of 4.1 per cent in April, primarily driven by the manufacturing sector.
Manufacturing output, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, grew at higher rate of 5.1 per cent in April as against 3 per cent in the same month last year. The industrial growth for March too has been revised upwards to 2.5 per cent from 2.1 per cent, as per the data released on Friday evening.
However, there has been fall in capital goods growth. It is the production of capital goods that is taken as indicator of demand, grew at a slower pace of 11.1 per cent in April as against 13.4 per cent in the same month last year. Mining sector too grew at a slower rate in April at 0.6 per cent as against 1.7 per cent in April last year.
In terms of industries, 16 out of the 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown positive growth during April compared with the corresponding month previous year.
The industry group ‘Machinery and equipment’ has shown the highest positive growth of 20.6 per cent, followed by 16.2 per cent in ‘wood and products of wood and cork except furniture’, the data said.
On the other hand, the industry group ‘office, accounting and computing machinery’ has shown the highest negative growth of 36.5 per cent, followed by 34 per cent in ‘radio, TV and communication equipment and apparatus’ and 26.7 per cent in ‘tobacco products’.
On the other hand, electricity production contracted by 0.5 per cent, while it had expanded by 11.9 per cent in the same month last year.
Meanwhile, industry bodies said the recovery is firmly taking root and turnaround in the investment cycle is imminent.
“The figures, which are above market expectations, indicate that green shoots of recovery are currently underway which is also evident by higher excise duty collections during the month,” CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.
“Going forward, CII is hopeful of growth picking up pace backed by positive sentiment and a flurry of policy initiatives undertaken by the government,” Banerjee added.
“The reform initiatives taken by the government, which has recently been supported by the monetary easing stance of the RBI, should bring the investment momentum back to the economy,” Assocham president Rana Kapoor has said.
“Going ahead, we expect the effective implementation of the policy environment to not only improve the growth and competitiveness of the industrial sector but also to push economic growth on high road,” PHD Chamber president Alok Shriram said.
Ficci president Jyotsna Suri said “the manufacturing growth seems to be gaining momentum now as is evident from the healthy growth of key sectors like capital goods and also from the fact that growth is more diversified.”
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Ethoca Limited (Ethoca), the leader in collaborative fraud management, announced today that ClickandBuy Limited (ClickandBuy) is the latest e-commerce company to join Ethoca's rapidly expanding community committed to fighting fraud.
ClickandBuy helps merchants from all over the world increase their e-commerce revenues by making it easy to buy and sell online. The ClickandBuy system offers their customers the possibility to make safe and convenient purchases of Internet content and services. 7,000 online merchants are successfully using ClickandBuy worldwide, including Apple iTunes, BT, Skype, msn, AOL, Electronic Arts (EA), GMTV, Betfair, ScanDisk, tiscali, T-Online and Disney.
"Adding Ethoca's collaborative fraud management service enhances our risk management system," said Joerg Heidenreich, VP, ClickandBuy. "Ethoca is the only service that allows us to benefit from the fraud experiences of other companies. I encourage others to join us with Ethoca."
This recent announcement underscores the growing movement towards collaborative fraud management as the next step in fighting fraud on a global basis. Ethoca recently added a number of publicly traded and recognized leaders to its community, and expects other significant announcements in the months ahead. Companies that use Ethoca's service see fraud management as an area for cooperation - not competition.
"Why fight fraud alone?" said Andre Edelbrock, Ethoca President and CEO. "ClickandBuy, and other global leaders in e-commerce, see Ethoca's collaborative fraud management service as a way to inform their decisions - and enhance their profitability on thousands of transactions every day. The time to join is now."


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|Bid||53.10 x 100|
|Ask||53.50 x 1600|
|Day's Range||53.25 - 53.92|
|52 Week Range||50.84 - 64.87|
|PE Ratio (TTM)||26.46|
|Dividend & Yield||1.00 (1.88%)|
|1y Target Est||N/A|
Howard Schultz has been known for being outspoken when it comes to speaking out. Here's what he had to say about Donald Trump.
SEATTLE (AP) — Starbucks founder and chairman Howard Schultz has told employees that bigotry, hatred and senseless acts of violence against "people who are not white" cannot stand.
Apple shares continue to be hot.


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Highlights of the 1997 Automotive News top 100 dealer groups
Four of the top 10 were public.
New champ Republic retails four times as many new vehicles as previous champ Hendrick.
For the first time, the top 100 groups retail more than 10 percent of the U.S. new-vehicle market.
Says analyst Sheldon Sandler: 'Next year the top five will be public companies.'


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David Ng is a former Company Town reporter for the Los Angeles Times.
U.S. households with paid streaming service surged 450 percent in less than a decade, study says
Deloitte said in a new study that the percentage of U.S. households subscribing to a paid streaming video service has surged 450% since 2009.
Mar 20, 2018
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Meet EMUS at the “The Battery Show North America 2023”!
EMUS USA INC. team will participate at the biggest exhibition for batteries, battery management systems and related technologies “The Battery Show North America 2023” taking place in Novi, Michigan on September 12-14th!
It’s the third time EMUS team is participating in this exhibition held in the US, and we encourage everyone interested in battery management systems, energy storages to stop by and have discussion on the projects!
Worth mentioning, EMUS has capabilities and deep technological know-how to work on customized BMS solutions, where custom hardware or/and software is required!
You can meet EMUS USA INC. team at booth #3022!
Feel free to book an appointment at email@example.com


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In-N-Out Burger Open Pop-Up Shop In Tokyo
The exclusive burger chain took over a restaurant in Japan for a day and served up its famous burgers across the Pacific.
The elusive In-N-Out Burger, only available in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas or Utah, has opened a one-day pop-up store in Tokyo, Japan. On March 28th, the legendary burger chain transformed the ZipZap restaurant in the Harajuku area of Tokyo and served up its iconic menu.
The event was to research the Japanese market and test if it would be appropriate to move across the Pacific. The pop-up In-N-Out generated a lot of buzz, as visitors took to Twitter to share pictures of their delicious burgers. Check out some photos of the event below.


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AZEK Building Products celebrated Earth Day this year by opening to the public its new $25 million TimberTech Recycling Plant in Wilmington, Ohio. The new facility will reuse up to 100 million pounds of recycled material per year by just 2020.
AZEK says the recycling plant will increase the amount of material recycled annually by the company to overall to more up to 200 million pounds.
Some more statistics from AZEK’s announcement of the facility opening:
- The plant processes polyethylene-type plastic, like shampoo bottles, milk jugs, laundry detergent bottles and plastic wrap.
- The facility can recycle more than 55 million pounds of plastic this summer alone.
- 100% recycled plastic resin goes into the cores of TimberTech PRO and EDGE boards.
- Manufacturing is done on one continuous line, providing high efficiency.
- This plant uses energy efficient systems for power, water, heating/cooling and lighting.
The new facility is just the beginning, AZEK says. The company has committed to doubling recycling inputs by 2020 for all capped polymer materials, with a goal of 95% TimberTech decking to be made from recycled material.


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Following a couple of last-minute delays in recent weeks, the first deliveries finally began earlier this week of the remarkable Raspberry Pi PC. Designed to appeal to computing enthusiasts, with further aims of inspiring a generation of young persons to get into coding, the tiny computer has an equally diminutive price tag, having gone on sale for just $35.
The first wave of 10,000 units made available by the manufacturer sold out within minutes, and with such a level of demand, the Raspberry Pi Foundation was quickly able to establish more flexible production and distribution arrangements, compared with its original restrictions of only being limited to batches of 10,000 units at a time.
But such flexibility is almost immaterial in view of the extraordinary demand seen for the credit card-sized computer. The two distributors of the systems have already received an impressive total of 350,000 pre-orders. Element14 received over 100,000 of those, while RS Components reports that it has now amassed over 250,000 pre-orders, an increase of over 30,000 new orders in the space of just a week.
As Slashgear reports, Element14 says that any customers who ordered before April 18 should expect to receive their computer before the end of June, regardless of whether or not they have received notification claiming that their shipment could be delayed until August.
The Foundation still has plans to release a cheaper $25 model, but there's no information yet on when it's set to arrive.
Image via Raspberry Pi Foundation