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Amazon’s near-monopoly in eCommerce has troubled small businesses for years. With the coronavirus forcing countless merchants to maneuver online, small retailers’ battle with Amazon has become more prominent than ever. Amid this, Shopify has emerged as an efficient weapon powering small and medium enterprises worldwide. And this Shopify vs Amazon faceoff is prompting new dynamics in digital commerce.
Before the increase of Shopify, small and medium sellers had to settle on either of the two paths: list products on marketplaces like Amazon or sell on to customers. Choosing the latter meant fewer sales. Besides, merchants had to believe in advertising and word of mouth. But that changed with the emergence of Shopify. With Shopify, small businesses are now striking back at Amazon and other eCommerce giants, The Wall Street Journal reported. Let’s dive deeper to know the now-global Amazon vs Shopify battle.
Enabling Omnichannel Commerce – (Shopify vs Amazon)
eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce are increasingly powering small retailers to deal with the evolving market. Services like Shopify app development enable you to possess your eCommerce site and list products on top marketplaces. More importantly, it allows you to sell goods across the online, mobile app, and social media platforms – together called omnichannel commerce.
Choosing one among these platforms brings a swarm of operational advantages. Platforms like Shopify offer you access to cloud-based third-party services like payment and fulfillment. It means more control over your branding and customer relationship management capabilities than marketplaces like Amazon.
Shopify-powered online stores have now created formidable competition for the likes of Amazon. Merchants are becoming more leverage while handling eCommerce giants. They only got to hire professionals like Shopify developers and build customized online stores. Small businesses’ competition with Amazon has intensified to A level at which the enormous is now offering its service for building stores outside its marketplace.
Pandemic-induced eCommerce boom
As the global wave of lockdowns disrupted businesses, more merchants opened online stores and sold goods and services to remain afloat. This sudden surge in demands for eCommerce solutions has brought a replacement stream of small and medium businesses to the Shopify platform. Services starting from store design to Shopify theme customization and maintenance are seeing significant demands.
According to eCommerce analysts, most of Shopify’s quite a million customers are first-time entrepreneurs. And it’s a broader global trend. For example, in the U.S., new business applications hit the very best level on record last year, consistent with the research organization Economic Innovation Group. Interestingly, retail trade was the major active sector with a 54% surge in new business formation. That has also been a number one driving factor for the increase in demands for custom eCommerce solutions across industries.
Growing eCommerce spending in Shopify vs Amazon
Global eCommerce spending grew 44% in 2020 compared with 2019. it had been three times faster than the annual average growth rate over the past decade, consistent with Digital Commerce 360. While more and more small businesses moved online, the year was particularly good for Amazon. The eCommerce goliath grew from roughly 36% of all eCommerce spending within the U.S. in 2019 to 38% within the pandemic year.
While much of the Commerce growth is thanks to other retail companies expanding their eCommerce spending, it’s also thanks to small businesses joining the eCommerce race. From Shopify app development to making social media commerce, small retailers are finding new ways to sell goods online.
Shopify’s meteoric rise
The 14-year-old eCommerce platform has become far and away from the most important provider of software and services to retailers who found out their online stores. Shopify’s revenue saw a staggering 86% growth in 2020., reaching $2.9 billion.
Shopify now has quite 1.7 million sellers using its eCommerce platform. It offers hosted eCommerce services, including payment gateways and tech support, among others. Besides, you’ll hire Shopify developers from third-party vendors and build personalized Shopify stores.
In the pandemic year, Shopify-based merchants sold $119.6 billion in goods. It’s a whopping 40% of the entire value of merchandise sold on Amazon’s third-party marketplace. The foremost popular offering from Shopify may be a cloud-based eCommerce service that permits merchants to build and operate a web store quickly. It comprises an array of solutions, like Shopify app development and payment gateways.
Diverse offerings, flexible pricing
Over the years, Shopify has remarkably expanded its services to form eCommerce operations easier for small businesses. These newly added areas include fulfillment, warehousing, and even small business loans. During a stark development, within the Black Friday sales last year, total sales of Shopify’s merchants surpassed the entire sales of all Amazon marketplaces within the U.S.
Shopify charges users a monthly fee between $30 and $2000. you’ll choose between pricing plans like Basic Shopify and Advanced Shopify. counting on which plan you select, the platform charges a further 0.5% to twenty of every transaction if you employ payment gateways aside from Shopify’s own.
By now, you want to have gotten a transparent picture of why this Amazon vs Shopify battle is growing. An increasing number of small and medium businesses are joining the Shopify-powered eCommerce space. And it’s obvious to form Amazon feel the risks of losing dominance. But, because the trends suggest, Shopify will likely grow more. But experts suggest, get the simplest of Shopify, you would like a totally personalized online store, rather than counting on the default configurations. That’s where the role of custom eCommerce solutions providers like OrangeMantra comes into play.
Frequently Asked Questions on Shopify vs Amazon
Which platform will make my business more profitable, Shopify vs Amazon?
There’s no predefined way of telling whether Shopify vs Amazon will make your business more profitable. However, if you run a little or medium business, Shopify will likely benefit you more by providing your online store. Shopify also enables you to make your own brand identity.
How much does it cost to develop a Shopify online store?
The costs of building a Shopify online store vary widely consistent with your requirements. If you would like a straightforward website with basic features and a storefront, costs are comparatively lower. OrangeMantra offers reliable Shopify eCommerce solutions at a competitive price.
How long does it fancy to develop a Shopify online store?
Shopify’s development time usually takes a noticeably short time since most templates and elements can use. However, the event time depends on your requirements. If your needs are limited and predefined, it takes comparatively less time.
You can also read: What is Local SEO and How Local SEO Work to Grow Your Business?


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Early-year electric vehicles are often hurt because some owners rush to buy them in December to take advantage of tax credits of up to $7,500 before the tax year expires. But poor weather and lower gas prices also were factors.
General Motors Co. said sales of its plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt fell 19.5 percent in January to 918, down from 1,140 in the same month last year. In January, GM also sold 41 Cadillac ELR vehicles, its upscale plug-in hybrid.
Ford Motor Co. said sales of its plug-in C-Max were down 48 percent to 1,418, while Toyota Motor Corp. said sales of its plug-in Prius fell 8.1 percent to 803. Nissan Motor Co. said sales of its all-electric Leaf nearly doubled in January to 1,252, up 93 percent over the 650 sold in January 2013.

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In Amazon’s vast sea of retailers, the product page doubles as both the point of purchase and a brand’s online storefront on the marketplace. It’s also an opportunity to shine.
When a customer is researching a purchase on Amazon, the website provides run-of-the-mill product detail and reviews. The “From the Manufacturer” section of the product page, however, is where the brand gets to speak to the consumer — and the more detailed and creative a brand gets, the better.
Putting extra information directly on the screen that customers are about to buy from helps brands set themselves apart on Amazon, according to L2’s Samuel Lee, who led the research for the 2015 Digital IQ Index study for food brands.
L2 found that 65 percent of brands on Amazon, including Campbell’s, Nestlé Coffee-mate and McCormick, create rich product descriptions, using enhanced images, videos, colorful wording and more.
“It sounds simple on the surface, but you’d be surprised by how many brands don’t think to do that,” said Lee. While Lee said Amazon doesn’t break out data on user engagement per product page, the number of user reviews on a product, indicating interest, directly correlates with how much a brand has invested in its product descriptions.
Coffee-mate, owned by Nestlé, shares recipes on its product pages; for Coffee-mate’s French Vanilla creamer, the brand lists how to make drinks like an iced vanilla chai and a vanilla frappé. According to L2’s study that charted the digital IQ of leading food brands, promoting recipes was found to be more lucrative than promoting products due to their influence on the path to purchase.
Spice brand McCormick’s product page for vanilla extract shares one recipe, the company’s brand story (which dates back 125 years) and shares photos of each product’s SKU and nutrition labels, which L2 said can make the consumer more confident when buying online.
“Anything that can capture the consumer’s attention is what counts,” said Lee. “It’s the little things that set a brand apart from the rest of the pack somewhere like Amazon. More and better pictures are a good place to start — whatever makes the product stick out.”
While L2’s study looked at food brands, Lee said the benefits of rich product descriptions — engaging the consumer and driving purchases — could be applied across most consumer-good categories.
In July, Amazon rolled out Amazon Launchpad, a microsite within the marketplace designated for consumer startups. The product pages on Launchpad are designed t0 promote the young companies that created them. Startups, like Casper Mattress and wearable company Pavlok, shared their background story on the page, showed video about their products, and founders answered questions about their company.
Putting such detailed information on the product page makes sense for how customers shop on Amazon. Sucharita Mulpuru-Kodali told Digiday that it isn’t a “browse destination or that much of a discovery engine.” Brands have one chance to influence the customer on Amazon — when they’re at the point of purchase, researching items, not overall companies.
According to Lee, all other consumer categories should adopt the level of detail that Amazon has put into sharing the startup’s stories, because on the website, shoppers aren’t searching brand names, they’re searching for product keywords.
“Best selling products show up at the top of Amazon searches, and besides having a superior product, the best thing a brand can do is put effort into the page they’re putting in front of consumers.”
Member ExclusiveDigiday+ Research: Instagram wins over Facebook for role in brands’ holiday marketing
Brands differ on how they use each marketing channel during the holidays -- even when it comes to sibling social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, Digiday+ Research found.
How — and why — Candy Crush is in the midst of a 10th anniversary brand refresh
In the years since Activision Blizzard acquired the Swedish game studio King in 2016, employees at the gaming giant have started to internally refer to their company as “ABK” — that is, Activision Blizzard King. But the corporation’s recent financial reports indicate that “KAB” might be a more accurate abbreviation.
Independent agency Goat invests in influencer strategy for clients as it expands in the U.S.
Everyone is after influencers to up their marketing game. But the secret to success, Goat contends, is in viewing influencers as performance media and using data to deliver clients guaranteed outcomes.
SponsoredHow brands are measuring incremental performance on CTV
Connected TV is unique among other advertising channels because it combines linear television’s storytelling capabilities with digital marketing’s targeting and measurement. As more marketers leverage CTV advertisements to reach relevant and engaged audiences, they also want to understand the real value they are generating with their investment. Incrementality reporting and measurement allow advertisers to measure […]
Marketers bring Web3 to the FIFA World Cup with augmented reality, NFTs and virtual worlds
The month-long tournament, which begins this weekend, will be the first World Cup since it took place in Russia in 2018 long before “Web3” entered the global lexicon. Now, official and non-official sponsors are hoping to harness the hype with a range of NFTs, virtual worlds, augmented reality tools and other trendy tech.
U-Haul diversifies its social strategy to tell people it’s more than moving trucks
In recent years, U-Haul's in-house agency has been working to "better leverage social media for brand loyalty."


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There are many ways of getting kids thrilled about growing and cooking good and nutritious food.
The Lazy Gourmet has thought of a fun style to help out.
On Wednesday (October 28), the Vancouver-based caterer and event planner will launch its fall and winter menu at the flagship store of John Fluevog Shoes in Gastown (65 Water Street), where guests can sample the fare between 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. while shopping for a unique pair of shoes that’s distinctly Fluevog.
That looks like more of a party than anything close to getting children thrilled about planting and food preparation, but Kevin Mazzone, general manager of The Lazy Gourmet, explains how it works.
According to Mazzone, The Lazy Gourmet is donating all proceeds from the $50-a-ticket event to Growing Chefs! Chefs for Children’s Urban Agriculture, a Vancouver-based charity that educates children and their families about healthy eating and food systems.
Every year, Growing Chefs! sends chefs and volunteers to elementary schools to teach students how to garden and cook.
Shannon Boudreau, director of sales and events with The Lazy Gourmet, is a volunteer instructor with Growing Chefs!
“She actually goes once a week to one of the elementary schools, and actually teaches the kids how to grow kale, how to treat it, how to cook it, the different ways that you can prepare meals,” Mazzone told the Straight in a phone interview.
In addition to The Lazy Gourmet covering the cost of the event so Growing Chefs! can have more resources, John Fluevog shoes will donate 50 percent of its sales during the event to the charity.
The Lazy Gourmet’s fall and winter menu offers hot appetizers like French onion soup, and Asian-inspired pork belly on ramen noodles. Cinnamon-rubbed albacore tuna on taro chips is among the selections for cold appetizers.
The menu has three platters: roasted turkey and duck, satay, and vegetarian antipasto.
Mains include roasted Skuna Bay salmon, seared Manhattan steak, red wine- and paprika-braised chicken breast, and beet tart tatin.
There are brussel sprouts and other dishes for sides, and desert selections include kaffir lime coconut mousse cones.
It’s the first time that The Lazy Gourmet is doing a menu launch with John Fluevog Shoes.
“We will always think that, you know, food and fashion go hand in hand,” Mazzone said. “Much of what we do is about design and colour and shape, which are the exact ideals that work with Fluevog.”


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Pacific Brands managed to dodge the infrastructure costs and service hassles of moving to a third datacentre by cutting ties with VMware and jumping into bed with Microsoft for its virtualisation needs.
In 2010, Pacific Brands hit a crossroads with its virtualised infrastructure. The company had been expanding its IT capabilities using ESX 3.5 from VMware for its 140 virtual machines, and had been running into problems for some time.
According to the company's technical services lead, Brent England, problems included huge performance slow-downs on ESX 3.5.
"We always seemed to be hitting bottlenecks, so we added more virtual machine hosts to resolve those, but it added to our performance problems. With every new host, it made our environment more and more complex," England said last week.
As a result, Pacific Brands had to decide whether it would renew its VMware ESX 3.5 licences and take its chances on ESX 4, or bite the bullet and move all of the company's virtualised infrastructure over to Microsoft and its Hyper V product. In the end, England said, the decision was made in favour of Microsoft — but it was a hard sell.
England said that concerns around the Hyper V product, and potential issues with existing outsourced support arrangements with HP, bred doubt in the company's collective mind.
"There was scalability concerns around Hyper V at the time," England admitted, "but when dynamic memory came out in Service Pack 1, we could do better consolidation and agreed to go down [the Microsoft] path ... [and] we wanted to make sure we didn't spend any more money on training."
Microsoft held an "immersion day", where it showed Pacific Brands and HP representatives how the Microsoft cloud products worked. This cleared the air around potential support issues.
"We had HP in there, and they said they could support us without any external training," England said.
Pacific Brands moved 140 virtual machines from VMware's ESX product over to Microsoft's Hyper V offering in February 2011. According to England, the company has saved money thanks to its migration, and it now saves time on its day-to-day business operations.
The move to Hyper V means that Pacific Brands now deploys new applications in one week, as opposed to six, thanks to process overhauls. It also means that it no longer needs a third datacentre, which it would have needed had it kept on with VMware.
England said that the company already uses datacentre infrastructure with Telstra and HP, and that paying for floor space in a third datacentre would have cost the company too much in communication costs.
"We did investigate [another] datacentre. It wasn't the cost of the datacentre itself; it was the data links [that would have been a problem]. It would have added operational issues. We can't send an HP technician as easily to a third-party datacentre than one of their own in the building next door," he said.
Other methods that decreased Pacific Brands' datacentre bill included a reduction in floor space used, thanks to better virtualisation, and a switch to HP Proliant C blades to save physical space.


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Mindray Medical to Exhibit New Products at 64th China International Medical Equipment Fair
Mindray will exhibit more than 50 models from its three core product segments: patient monitoring & life support products, in-vitro diagnostic products and medical imaging systems. The company will also demo a brand new product under the medical imaging line -- an MRI that is expected to launch within the next few quarters: Magsense 360 magnetic resonance imaging equipment.
"We look forward to another year of exhibiting new and existing products at CMEF, which continues to be the largest medical equipment fair in the Asia- Pacific region," said Mr. Xu Hang, Mindray's chairman and co-chief executive officer. "This well-known and highly-respected exhibition provides the opportunity to showcase our growing portfolio of high-quality products, demonstrate our commitment to R&D initiatives, and highlight our progress toward our goal of launching seven to nine new products in 2010."
Open WeChat and Scan the QR code .Get the Webpage and Share on Moments.
Mindray, Genel Görüntülemede Devrim Yaratan Resona I9 Ultrason Sisteminin lansmanını yaptı2021-06-19
Mindray, Yeni VS Serisi Yaşamsal Belirti Monitörleri ile Anlık Hasta Monitörizasyonunu Dönüştürüyor2021-03-11
Mindray'in COVID-19 ile Mücadelede Global Eylemleri: Mindray CMEF 2020'de2021-01-11
Mindray, Üst Düzey Anestezi Sistemi Pazarında Çığır Açan Yeni Sistemleri Getiriyor2020-10-20
Mindray'in En Büyük Yatırımlarından Biri Ar-Ge Merkezi Yapım Aşamasında2020-08-25


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Jun 04, 2019
Consumer confidence goes sideways
Confidence was down just a notch last week, falling 0.3 per cent.
The financial conditions sub-indices were positive. Current financial conditions rose 3.9 per cent, while future financial conditions gained 0.2 per cent. The rise has bought both indices back above their long-term averages.
Current and future economic conditions were down 2.3 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively.
‘Time to buy a major household item’ was also down, falling 1.2 per cent. The four-week moving average for inflation expectations was stable at 3.8 per cent.
"Confidence was down slightly last week but remains above average," ANZ Head of Australian Economics, David Plank said.
"Last week’s economic news was mixed. The employment report showed strong growth in jobs for May, but the unemployment rate remained unchanged."
"Business conditions were soft, though business confidence rose. All in all, there was not a lot to drive consumer sentiment."
"The weekly reading of inflation expectations recovered to 4.0 per cent after falling to a low of 3.6 per cent, which should provide some relief for the RBA."


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Netflix which needs no introduction, but still if you are not aware of it then its one of the world’s most popular online media streaming web service which lets you watch TV shows and movies online by paying monthly subscription fee. From a long period of time its been expected that Netflix could make its way to India but nothing much happened, now it seems there is some progress and we could see an announcement next week at CES 2016.
As per some news which are coming out, Netflix could partner with an 4G player in India, earlier Netflix has said that India does not have good internet speed which is required for streaming media but now as 4G is expanding its foot in India it seems Netflix has changed its mind set.
When it comes to 4G player, there are only two 4G player in India who are on pan India, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, but Reliance has only launched its 4G service for its employees and will launch public plan some where by the end of Q1 of 2016, which means Netflix could partner with Bharti Airtel for its service.
This is one of the most important question here, at this time Netflix is operating in around 50 countries with an average subscription price of $8.99 which means approx Rs. 650.
Before this Hooq has also tried to enter into Indian market with a minimal charge of Rs. 199 but it failed to find users in India due to the lack of Indian contents and lack of marketing strategies.
It will be interesting to see how Netflix will play its cards in India and what contents they can put on their board to attract Indian users. We will keep you updated on this, stay tuned with us and if you have something to say then please use comment section below.


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We all know that the wireless industry is a cut-throat business, and with everyone competing on who will get to a wide-spread LTE network first, it is no surprise that national carriers are considering purchasing regional carriers, or even smaller national carriers. We've seen AT&T purchase regional carriers like Dobson Cellular and, of course, Verizon's purchase of Alltel. Most recently, there was the
failed attempt at an AT&T/T-Mobile merger, but there are always smaller deals in the works.
This week, one of those deals we didn't even know about fell through. Apparently Sprint Nextel and and MetroPCS have been in talks for months about MetroPCS, a smaller regional carrier, becoming part of the Sprint Nextel family. While the deal did not go through, it took right up to the last minute for it to fail. Apparently, within hours of the final signing, the Sprint board of directors decided to veto the buyout.
The decision, against CEO Dan Hesse's already signing off, seems to be surprising. Sprint has made the commitment
to transition to LTE, but their original LTE partner, LightSquared has been hit with FCC issues political and their existing WiMax partner, Clearwire, has had nothing but trouble lately. The addition of MetroPCS to its network would have added MetroPCS's existing LTE footprint, as well as their spectrum, into the fold, giving Sprint their first big win in the LTE process.
Of course, Sprint's response to the rumor was, as always, "we never comment on rumors or speculation."
What do you think? Was killing off the deal a good or a bad move for Sprint Nextel and for MetroPCS? Let us know in the comments section.
For those who haven't been following along through the Clearwire story, the wireless company has been going through a bit of turmoil as of late. Uncertainty, some changes and some money issues have been troubling the company for more than a year. Let's quickly recap to catch you up to speed.
You should be all caught up now. So this week, more financial issues came up for Clearwire. We have more on that after the break.
This week, we learned of an interesting story that is on the same strange level as that of
Brazil arriving late to the PS2 party. Panasonic has announced that it has stopped producing VCRs in Japan. I had no clue they were still making them, but it is assuring to hear they have halted production of their antiquated effort. I suppose the realization of video content being streamed over the Internet or being stored on a DVR device has finally hit them. There aren't many places that even source the blank tapes anymore.
It should be noted that they have stopped production on the tape-playing machines in the domestic market at the end of 2011. Until inventory depletes, sales will continue on VCRs in Japan. However, Panasonic still does manufacture VCRs in China and Slovakia and they do still have plans to sell VCRs in other smaller countries, depending on the market environment.
This now puts the VCR to rest just like the Walkman and the 8-track. JVC had stopped production of the VCR back in 2006 and stopped selling them altogether shortly thereafter. Panasonic has not released sales numbers for their VCRs, and the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITIA) doesn't even track shipments of the devices, although it does track the car stereo cassette deck sales.
In the end, though, the VCR is now deceased. Rewind In Peace 1977-2012.
First there was Wii Motion Plus and now Hulu Plus. On February 16th, Nintendo inked a partnership with Hulu that will finally allow the Wii to stream movies and TV shows using Hulu Plus through the console. It took a while, but the good news is that the Wii now has the same popular lineup as that of the PS3 and the Xbox 360.
While it may be a little late in the game for the console platform, the 3DS will certainly get a boost with this move as consumers should expect Hulu Plus to hit the devices later this year.
What happens after you post record profits and then your
production facility's documents were hacked because people are starting to learn about the downright awful working conditions of the employees? If you're Apple, you are investigated and audited to make sure these allegations aren't true, even though reports of suicides and other deaths have been coming out of the Foxconn production plant for almost a year now.
Fair Labor Association (FLA) has taken on the task of auditing Foxconn's Apple manufacturing facility this week. Instead of actually going through a process and conduct a complete investigation, however, the head of the organization has already stated that things are probably fine inside the workplace and the injuries are more than likely due to "boredom" and not anything else.
We have all of the details on the absurdity after the break.


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Bengaluru-based O2O deals marketplace Little has acquired Stylofie, a curated online marketplace for salons and spas.The acquisition will enable Little to further penetrate the beauty and wellness segment.
Mumbai-based online marketplace for wedding venues and vendors, Weddingz, has raised nearly $1 million from Singularity Ventures.Existing investor Sixth Sense Ventures also participated in the round. the company is a technology-enabled wedding planning platform that simplifies the process of finding and booking services at best prices.
Tamil Nadu-based Native Special Products Ltd, which operates Indian sweets and snacks portal Native Special, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Indian Angel Network (IAN) and Madurai-based Native Angels Network (NAN). Native Special will use the funds to upgrade its laboratory facilities and expand to new markets.
Delhi-based Metano Technologies Pvt Ltd, which owns and operates fitness app Fitnapp, has raised pre-series A round of funding from Noida-based realty developer SD Group. The company will use the funds to expand its online presence, enhance its marketing efforts and increase its associations and partners.
Online-to-Offline B2B platform for handicrafts Direct Create has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund (RVCF).The funding will be used to build the platform and enhance user experience. It will also be used to scale up maker and designer memberships via outreach efforts.


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Hmmm … Cashless Society eh!
Today I’m going to bring up a subject that will provoke you or at least provoke some thought:
Should we as a society even think about moving toward being completely cashless?
In 2015, the Apple Watch will likely prompt millions of consumers to stop digging into their pockets for their cell phone and possibly ditch their wallets.
Many economists are arguing that governments should consider doing something similar.
The movement for a cashless society has been gaining momentum over the past decade or so, but now it is technologically possible.
Still, getting a country of 315 million people to throw away their pennies and dollars and instead embrace digital wallets would require political will and public education on a mass scale. That makes going digital unlikely in the short term in the U.S.
Too bad since there are some very good reasons to dump greenbacks and coin. Here are a few reasons to ponder on;
1. Would it be more efficient?
As The Economist recently noted, consumers spend six hours a year looking for an ATM. The Transportation Safety Authority also reported that consumers left $531,395.22 behind in change in airport checkpoints.
2. Would it help reduce crime?
Criminals love cash because it’s very hard to trace. Eliminating this option would prompt all transactions to be recorded.
It would also prevent bank robberies. As the F.B.I. points out, even in this high tech age, bank robberies accounted for $30 million in theft in 2011, a figure that doesn’t include insurance fees or the 100 deaths or injuries that were related to those robberies that year.
It might also put a dent in tax evasion, which has costs governments across the world as much as $3.1 trillion annually, according to one estimate.
3.Would it be Cheaper?
In 2012, it costs double the price of a penny and a nickel, respectively, to produce each. It would be cheaper to shut down the U.S. mints and produce nothing.
4. Would it lead to a negative interest rate?
As The Economist explains, with physical cash, there can never be negative interest rates because consumers can always withdraw money and keep it under their mattresses. Below-zero interest rates could conceivably draw investment and boost the economy.
5. It would definitely lead to less hand washing, money is really dirty!!
Money is teeming with bacteria related to pneumonia, food poisoning, gastric ulcers and staph infections, according to a recent study by NYU’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology.
Of course, there are many legitimate objections to this idea.
- Consumers should be allowed to make anonymous purchases if they wish
- Not everyone has access to broadband and can afford it.
- An electronic currency would be vulnerable to power outages, among other threats.
That hasn’t stopped some countries from plowing ahead anyway. In Sweden, for instance, only 3% of transactions today are made with actual cash.
What do you think? Did this prompt some thought? What are some downfalls? Any better ideas? Agree – Disagree?
Please weigh in, in the comments section below. I’d really like to know your ideas and thoughts.
More later……………………. !


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3 November 2017 – Nexgram Holdings Bhd accepted the resignation of Dato’ Sri Wira Ayub Bin Haji Yaakob as the former Non-Exec Chairman, and Tuan Haji Norzain Bin Abdul Wahab being former deputy chairman, both retires to pursue personal goal and interest. Dato’ Lim redesigned as Executive Chairman of the board.
Dato’ Donald Lim Siang Chai was appointed as Executive Director of Nexgram holdings Bhd on 12 October 2017.
Dato’ Donald Lim is actively involved in various NGO’s and has held various key positions, like Adviser to The Federation of Malaysia Chinese Clans and Guilds Youth Association, the Lim Clan Association Malaysia, Gerakan Belia Bersatu Malaysia, the Business and Commerce Association of Petaling District, as well as the Association of Hawkers and Small Traders of Petaling Jaya.
He is also the chairman for public listed company Jiankun International Berhad, and Advance Information Marketing Berhad, both listed on Bursa Malaysia.
Dato’ Lim was also former Deputy Minister of Finance, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Deputy Minister of Information, as well as Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Transport.


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Europe’s “Pokemon Go” fanatics have been warned against hunting for the creatures in rail tracks and hospitals - and offered accident insurance. » Read More
If you want to know the true extent of Adobe's underdog status in its ongoing war of words with Apple over Flash, consider today's strange "love letter" appearing in national and regional dailies all over the country.
The retailer, which has more than 6,200 stores nationwide, is a gathering spot for players, who flock there when big games are released. It has withstood numerous attempts by big box stores to encroach on the most profitable parts of its business model.
In the midst of the global turmoil that sent the Dow down nearly 1,000 points at one point, and the Nasdaq off nearly 200 points, there was some good news for Apple.
News "flash," and I use the term "flash" very, very loosely: When I first heard about Cupidtino, the first thing I did was look at a calendar. Was it April Fools again? But no, all signs (astrologic and otherwise) point to Cupidtino, a new dating website that seeks to match Mac lovers with one another, is real.
Video game marketing, which frankly has been stale for several years, finally has its home run. Actually, make that its perfect game success.
The war of words between Adobe and Apple took on new urgency with what appears to be a dire turn for the Flash maker, thanks to an open letter posted by Steve Jobs himself earlier this morning.
Bungie Studios, the development house behind one of the most successful franchise in video games, has found a new home—and Activision may be on the verge of having its third billion-dollar franchise.
The fight that kicked off when Activision fired the two heads of the studio behind last year’s best selling video game is getting uglier—on multiple fronts.
Attorneys who specialize in video game law say they do not expect the Supreme Court to rule that video games are not considered a form of free speech. Rather, Justices seem more interested in determining whether there are factors that necessitate regulating sales in the industry.
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether California can ban the sale or rental of violent video games to children.
The service is a strategic expansion for both parties. MLB hopes to dramatically grow the number of subscribers to its online service, while Sony continues to grow the PS3 beyond its gaming roots.
The future of social networking games is bright, not just in the US but worldwide, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus told CNBC Wednesday.
Zynga may not be a household name, but its games are: "FarmVille" and "Mafia Wars" are two of the most popular applications on the web. Zynga's games have 235 million monthly users.
The turnaround may finally have arrived for the video game industry. March sales were up 6 percent compared to the 2009 numbers, marking the only positive growth the industry has seen since September 2009—and just the second month in the last 12 to show improvement.
While the level of rhetoric gets high in any corporate battle, it has moved well past that in this fight, with high profile employees being wooed away and gamer loyalties being put to the test. Ultimately, though, it's shareholders that, for better or worse, could be caught in the middle.
South Korea has ordered the operators of the three most popular South Korean online games to block overnight access by users under the age of 18.
Beginning this fall, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch customers will have a new operating system for their devices that features a host of improvements, the company announced Thursday.
When a game breaks entertainment industry sales records, there's usually not a lot of room to progress. But "Modern Warfare 2" is quickly becoming the gift that keeps giving for Activision.
There has been no drop-off in business since Tiger Woods’ scandal and our latest video game—Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11—will aim to draw sales from an uncommon group of audience, said Peter Moore, president of Electronic Arts Sports.
Privately held publisher Codemasters is not a name that has traditionally rung a lot of bells with investors. But when an Indian investment firm announced it had bought a 50 percent stake in the company Monday, Codemasters quickly popped onto the Wall Street radar.


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Our Latest Online Backup Reviews:Vembu SyncBlaze
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New Office 365 Integrations Coming this Fall
“The competition for business customers will no longer be about how much information a solution enables them to store, but rather, what it allows them to do with that information,” said Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO, Box. “Our deep integrations into the Office 365 suite expand our commitment of building capabilities that make content stored on our platform more valuable, information more powerful, and companies of all sizes more connected.”
Since 2010, Box has offered unlimited storage to customers of its Enterprise plan, and today the company is taking storage limits off the table for current and future Business customers as well. Companies like GE, P&G, Toyota, Gap, Nationwide Insurance and 39,000 other organizations have chosen Box to power information sharing and collaboration. Removing storage as a consideration enables organizations to focus on business value and more seamlessly roll Box out organization-wide.
As businesses transition from an era of buying from a single technology vendor to adopting best-of-breed solutions, it’s critical that these services work together. The new lineup of integrations makes it easier than ever for joint Microsoft Office 365 and Box customers like Informatica and Florida Virtual School to securely share, edit, collaborate and manage their documents internally and with external business partners.
Box is also working with AvePoint, Inc., a leader in enterprise-class management, governance, and compliance software solutions for next-generation social collaboration platforms, to connect and centralize content for Box and SharePoint customers. DocAve Cloud Connect provides Box and SharePoint users with a cross platform experience, enabling businesses with existing Box and SharePoint implementations to synchronize, search, edit, and share content, without having duplicate copies of the data sitting on each platform.
Pricing & Availability
The new integrations with Microsoft will be available in beta in the fall. Box is also working on integrations for Office Online in the coming months.
The integration with AvePoint DocAve Cloud Connect is available today. To learn more visit its website: http://www.avepoint.com/products/sharepoint-infrastructure-management/migration-and-integration/
Customers can learn more at BoxWorks, Box’s annual cloud conference: www.boxworks2014.com
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It's no secret that Hadoop and Apache Spark are the hottest technologies in big data, but what's less often remarked upon is that they're both open-source.
Mike Tuchen, a former Microsoft executive who is now CEO of big-data vendor Talend, thinks that's no coincidence.
"We're seeing a changing of the guard," he said. "We expect the entire next-generation data platform will be open source."
The platform he's referring to is an expanded Hadoop ecosystem, in which the whole stack is open source. "It's the new normal," he said.
As a provider of integration technologies for that platform, Talend has placed a significant bet of its own on Hadoop, Spark, and open source in general, so Tuchen's enthusiasm isn't exactly surprising. Talend offers products focused on big data, cloud and application integration, among others, and all are based on open-source software.
Still, Talend's bet seems to be paying off. The company will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year, and it claims big-name customers like GE, Citi, Lufthansa, Orange and Virgin Mobile. It's also in the middle of a major expansion. At the end of 2015, it was selling its products in five countries; by end of this year, it will be selling in 15, Tuchen said. Making that happen will mean hiring about 200 new people, he said, bringing the company's total head count to about 750.
Customers appreciate how open source allows them to "try before you buy," but they also see the open-source world as evolving more rapidly than the proprietary world because of the sharing that takes place among developers.
"The whole Hadoop ecosystem is moving faster than it could if it were just one vendor," Tuchen said. "When you look at it that way, it's hard to see how the world would ever change back."


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Sitting on the corner of White Plains Rd. and Fisher Ave. in Eastchester, Burrata Wood Fired Pizza has become a family destination and a welcome change from some of the more traditional pizzerias in Westchester.
This month, Westchester Magazine has named the restaurant as one of Westchester's best new places to eat and they even say that Burrata's golden pizza oven is the real star of the restaurant.
"The gold-tiled behemoth spins out crisp-crusted, yet tender, rounds of pizza, their flavor magically touched by wood smoke. Don’t miss the chili-spiked sausage pie or the prosciutto pizza with smoked mozzarella."
To read the article in it's entirety, click here.


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You don’t have to be a hotelier or a business executive to appreciate the insights and tales shared by the former Starwood CEO in his new book. This is especially the case at a time when everything around us seems to be in a state of transition or disruption, no matter the industry.
- Van Paasschen, former CEO of Starwood, wrote a book because he has something to say about the disruption and change within the global travel industry.
- In hindsight, Van Paasschen regrets not seeing the power of digital technology and change as coming out of the 2008 financial crisis.
- Van Paasschen feels it’s important for those in the travel industry to think more globally in order to understand different markets and avoid thinking in silos.
“Starwood Hotels, once one of the world’s largest hotel companies, was devoured by one of its competitors, Marriott International, in September.”


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Popeyes' UK co-founder says chain coming to "own a space" in chicken segment
UK co-founder Elias Diaz Sese elaborates on the chain’s approach to growth, the timing behind the expansion plan, and its philosophy on product development.
Popeyes’ plans to have 350 UK restaurants in a decade’s time was around three years in the making.
Elias Diaz Sese, co-founder of the chain’s operations in the country, knew there was an opportunity for the brand since he arrived in November 2017 and started to work on such approximately a year and a half ago.
Speaking to QSR Media, he expressed confidence in the timing of the move as Britain emerges from a time of "hardship" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We're getting out of a very difficult year. We could have done it before or we could have done it later but we thought that this was a good moment in order to breed that joy, that celebration, that generosity the brand is all about,” he said.
The company unveiled plans to open its first UK restaurant later this year, following launches in Spain and Switzerland. Sese declined to comment on the exact timing or location of its UK debut but said they are exploring locations in and out of London.
“London is a very attractive market. But there are other markets outside of London that are also attractive. We just need to make sure that we [find]... the right first locations in order to....give [a] first impression on our representation of the brand to the market,” he said.
Sese confirmed they are also looking at various restaurant formats, expecting customers to seek both on-premise and off-premise experience post-lockdown.
“We have a huge interest in drive-thru stores, for many different reasons. COVID has been a very great example of the benefits of this format. But we're looking into a mix,” he explained, citing inline stores and restaurants within transportation hubs.
“We are trying to look into good, solid locations for the long term, no matter what is the type, because the brand is very flexible.”
“We believe that the footfall, somehow, will come back over time. And we are here for the long run...We're pretty sure that people will continue to be coming back to the cities,” he added.
Popeyes is expected to join an already competitive chicken segment, consisting of larger chains and thousands of independently owned fried chicken shops.
Sese believes the American chain, which traces its roots back in the 1970s in Louisiana, will differentiate itself by offering “old school” hospitality and their slow-cooked, hand-battered buttermilk chicken.
The chain sold 250 million of its fried chicken sandwiches in America in one year after launching the product in August 2019. Sese says the chain is looking to "own a space" in the market.
“I would think that there is a space for everyone. But we do believe that we are a very credible alternative,” he said. “We believe we have an extraordinary product, which will be slightly more premium than others.”
Sese said the brand is also open for local or UK-specific additions to the menu, provided if they see gaps within their offering.
The executive also expressed confidence that “hundreds” of jobs will be directly or indirectly created as a result of their UK entry.
“It's going to be hundreds, both directly and indirectly, because we are obviously recruiting lots of suppliers into the business,” he said.
Popeyes’ UK entry is based on an agreement between PLK Europe GmbH, a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI), Ring International Holdings and Sese, who is a former executive of RBI.


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(WKTV) - Today marks National Coffee Break Day. The National Coffee Association of the U.S. is encouraging everyone to take a coffee break today with a friend or colleague. Studies show a coffee break once a day is not only beneficial for a worker's health but also makes them more productive.
So Don and Megan asked WKTV staffers this question: "Who living, dead, or imaginary, would you like to meet for a coffee break?
Watch video here


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Girl fight! The moment a Florida shoe store manager punches an out-of-control Swiss tourist in the face in brawl at mall
- The fracas broke out at Steve Madden store at Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise, Florida, on Wednesday evening
- Swiss tourist wanted to go inside the shoe store but was blocked by employee because the business was already closed
- What started as a shouting match turned physical when the shopper threw water at a manager
- The manager retaliated by punching the tourist twice in the face ; no arrests have been made
A woman’s seemingly irrepressible desire to buy some Steve Madden shoes from a store at a South Florida mall, which happened to be closed, has resulted in an epic brawl that was caught on camera.
The footwear-related fracas broke out at around 5.30pm on Wednesday at Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise and involved a manager at the Steve Madden store and a Swiss tourist.
Cellphone footage of the violent showdown, recorded by local radio personality Andy Slater and later shared on Twitter, begins with the clash already in progress.
Mad for Madden: When a worker at a Steve Madden store at the Sawgrass Mills Mall in Florida tried to stop a Swiss tourist from entering the already closed business Wednesday evening, a fight ensued
Shoe store showdown: The blonde customer took offense when the male employee physically blocked her entrance into the store
Undeterred: When the store clerk warns the persistent woman that police are on their way, she says in response that she does not care
Waterworks: When a female manager gets involved in the altercation, the irate tourist pours water in her face
Slater, of 940-AM WINZ and iHeartRadio, explained in a tweet that the store was not letting anyone in at the time, but the tourist took offense and claimed that she was being discriminated against.
The recording shows the enraged customer, an unidentified woman with flowing blonde hair wearing a flowery blouse, attempting to force her way inside the store but is physically blocked by a male employee.
A female store manager then walks up to the door while talking on her cellphone and asks the irate shopper to back away, prompting the tourist to shout in accented English, 'I'm not doing anything to you!’
The male store clerk continues to firmly keep the shopper at bay and warns her that police are on their way, to which she replies, 'I don’t care!'
Fists of fury: The manager retaliates by punching the shopper in the face in front of a small crowd of curious onlookers gathered outside the store
The manager lands a second blow before her co-workers drag her back into the store
Legal action: Having been locked out of the store, the outraged customer screams at the manager that she's crazy and threatens to sue her for punching her
At that point, the conflict quickly escalates, with the customer drenching the store manager with water from a plastic bottle in her hands and smacking her.
The soaked manager then retaliates by punching the shopper twice in the face before her colleagues drag her back into the store and shut the glass doors in the tourist's face.
Surrounded by a small crowd of jeering onlookers, the Swiss visitor bellows at the manager, 'You hit me like a crazy! I'm going to sue you! Who do you think you are?'
The Steve Madden store remained shuttered for several hours in the wake of the fisticuffs, reported NBC Miami.
The Sunrise Police Department said no arrests have been made in connection to Wednesday’s altercation.
The incident took places at the Sawgrass Mills Mall on West Sunrise Boulevard in Sunrise, Florida, Wednesday; no arrests have been made
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- Fenty Beauty created waves with a breathtaking revelation, introducing the brilliant lineup of its much-awaited campaign
- Nigerian model, actor, and entrepreneur, Denola Grey, took centre stage, joining forces with six exceptional individuals to showcase their talents
- Grey shared his excitement and gratitude, finding immense inspiration in Fenty Beauty's unwavering commitment to inclusivity
PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡ click on “Recommended for you” and enjoy!
Fenty Beauty, the trailblazing cosmetics brand known for its innovative products and commitment to diversity, has set the beauty world abuzz with a stunning revelation.
With anticipation reaching its peak, Fenty Beauty proudly unveils the captivating new faces that will grace its highly-anticipated campaign.
Stepping into the spotlight is none other than the remarkable Nigerian model, actor, and entrepreneur, Denola Grey, who stands alongside six other extraordinary individuals.
Together, they are poised to showcase their extraordinary talent and embody the brand's unwavering dedication to inclusivity. Brace yourself for a campaign that will redefine beauty standards and ignite a wave of inspiration worldwide.
PAY ATTENTION: Share your outstanding story with our editors! Please reach us through firstname.lastname@example.org!
Sharing the news on social media, Grey wrote:
"Beyond ecstatic to finally share that I have been chosen as a face of Fenty Beauty UK! I can’t tell you how surreal this is and just how much this means to me! @fentybeauty has always been a dream and has been an iconic history maker. What a way to usher in the next phase of my life in England and globally."
Watch the video below:
Celebs, others congratulate Denola Grey
"Congrats, huge one!!!"
"THE ICON. THE FACE. THE MOMENT! Congratulations, Denola! Yasssssssss!!!"
"Whoop whoopppp congratulations hunnayyyy."
Video of lady in basket top goes viral, leaves social media users amused: "She wan do carpenter work"
DJ Cuppy's selfie sparks conversation about her new style
Billionaire daughter and disk jockey, Florence Otedola, who is better known as DJ Cuppy, recently shared photos of her new look. The photos saw her rocking a black bob wig with pink highlights.
The look which Cuppy has been rocking for weeks is a deviation from the pink-haired loud, and colourful ensembles she is known for.
Interestingly, many people are of the opinion that recent criticism of her fashion sense seems to have gotten to her. Recall a while ago, Legit.ng reported on how a viral video of influencer Caramel and her friends discussing the billionaire daughter on their podcast stirred reactions.


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Stellantis N.V. and Samsung SDI have declared Kokomo, Indiana, as the site for their second battery manufacturing facility under the StarPlus Energy joint venture. This announcement shines a spotlight on the complex and evolving landscape of the American electric vehicle (EV) industry.
The new StarPlus Energy plant, projected to commence production in early 2027 with an annual capacity of 34 gigawatt hours (GWh), carries with it a substantial investment of over $3.2 billion (€2.8 billion) and the promise of creating 1,400 new jobs. However, it also faces considerable hurdles and uncertainties in a rapidly evolving market.
The enthusiasm for this venture is evident, with Mark Stewart, Stellantis COO North America, stating, “Our battery ecosystem is the foundation of our electrification strategy.” This venture certainly has potential, but it is not without its challenges, especially given the uncertainty surrounding the EV market.
The sheer scale of this endeavor is a testament to the long-term vision of both Stellantis and Samsung SDI. It aims to establish North America’s largest production base for electric-vehicle batteries, reflecting a dedication to advancing the region’s role in EV technology. Yoon-ho Choi, president and CEO of Samsung SDI, expressed hope, noting, “We expect Stellantis brand vehicles powered by Samsung SDI batteries to contribute to accelerating the U.S. transition to an era of electric vehicles.”
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb hailed the economic benefits of this joint venture but did not shy away from the challenges that lie ahead. He declared, “This decision puts Hoosiers squarely at the center of innovating and developing the future of mobility.” While promising, this venture must navigate a terrain filled with competition and uncertainties.
The city of Kokomo, with its storied history in automotive innovation, is positioning itself at the forefront of this electrifying venture. Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore acknowledged the significance of this second battery plant, stating, “Kokomo continues to remain on the cutting edge of advanced automotive manufacturing.”
As Stellantis and Samsung SDI push forward with their ambitious plans, they face a future where the electric vehicle market is still evolving, and competition is fierce. While their combined efforts promise to make an impact, they must grapple with the unpredictability that characterizes the EV industry.
As part of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, Stellantis is aiming for a 100% passenger-car battery-electric vehicle (BEV) sales mix in Europe and a 50% passenger-car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the United States by 2030. Achieving these goals is a monumental task and will require overcoming numerous obstacles.


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Are the popular capsules really so harmful to the climate that they have to be banned across Europe?
They were ecologically controversial from the start and yet popular because they facilitated the consumption of good-quality coffee. Now she wants EU-Commission to put an end to the aluminum coffee capsules that have been in widespread use throughout Europe since the early 2000s with a new packaging regulation. According to the draft for the amendment to the regulation (2019/1010), only capsules that are compostable should be permitted in the future. This also applies to stickers and plastic carrier bags attached to fruit and vegetables. But only with coffee capsules an emotional debate is brewing.
In a broadcast, the FPÖ speaks of the “nonsensical EU ban” and “EU regulation mania”. Resistance also comes from the industry. The European Coffee Federation has called for the proposal to be withdrawn. A recycling infrastructure was specially created for aluminum capsules, which does not yet exist for alternatives.
In Austria alone, around 40 percent of households are now equipped with capsule machines.
#Controversial #ban #aluminum #coffee #capsules #time.news


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AEO status a "must-have" to ensure frictionless borders, says CILT
Chief Executive | Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport
CILT represents the expertise and experience of professionals and leaders in the logistics and transport sector – a key element of our economy and UK trade around the globe. For some time now, we have been involved in discussions with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and The Department for Transport (DfT) to deliver impartial advice and offer solutions to the opportunities that will arise from Brexit.
Following the vote for Brexit last summer, the profession has been in a period of continued uncertainty, but we must all be aware of the many opportunities that can arise from Brexit. As a profession, we need to be ready and able to seize them and add value.
CILT recommends setting a goal of ‘frictionless’ border control, whilst encouraging and supporting the private sector to evaluate and think about new trading patterns and supply chains. CILT has been working tirelessly to present to HMRC, through its membership of the Joint Customs Consultative Committee (JCCC), guidance regarding the practical implementation of a frictionless border for goods to the EU27 and the rest of the world.
Clearly, security at all border crossings is of vital importance, but how this is managed is also critical to commerce. A 21st-century solution is required if goods and vehicles are going to flow smoothly. In order to achieve this goal, CILT is championing AEO certification to aid members to gain a competitive advantage, recognition for professional competence and trouble free border crossings.
The AEO scheme is a global concept promoted by the World Customs Organisation and in the process of being adopted by all 174 member countries. AEO status is an internationally recognised quality mark indicating that your role in the international supply chain is secure, and that your customs controls and procedures are efficient and compliant. Alarmingly, only 568 companies in the UK currently hold AEO status.
To become AEO certified, companies must meet criteria that show they have suitable processes and procedures in place and are self-policing. Companies can qualify for AEO(S) (security and safety in the supply chain) and/or AEO(C) (customs compliance), whichever they feel is appropriate to their business.
AEO status is open to any company directly or indirectly involved in the international supply chain, however large or small. Holders of AEO(C) will be permitted to use customs procedures and processes that are not available to other companies, such as self-assessment. These processes are intended to remove customs work from the border and to smooth the passage of goods across borders.
CILT has noted a rise in the question ‘Do you hold AEO status?’ being first on the list for preferred supplier listing and tenders, and we are now urging our members, Government and the profession to wake up to the advantage of being an AEO.
The first myth to dispel is that AEO is only for those engaged in customs work. This is not true. AEO’s primary focus is safety and security in the supply chain and is therefore intended for any company across the entire supply chain operation.
AEO is open to all kinds of organisations, including freight agents, customs brokers, logistics providers, transport companies, owner drivers, warehouse keepers, ports, airports, container yards, vehicle transit parking, exporters and importers. For maximum benefit, all companies in the supply chain, including the importer or exporter, need to hold AEO certification.
The focus of CILT’s position on behalf of its members to the UK Government is very much about keeping trade flowing across our borders post-Brexit. We believe that AEO status should give companies that have demonstrated their commitment to security in the supply chain access to what would in effect be a green lane through UK ports and airports.
Of course, if the UK is no longer a member of the EU Single Market and the EU Customs Union, post-Brexit, all shipments outside the UK will be considered international, including those to and from the EU27. CILT is pressing for current AEO certifications to continue to be recognised post-Brexit and for a new UK scheme to be created very soon afterwards.
We are now encouraging that companies press forward and attain AEO status before Brexit, so that they can take advantage of benefits available now and also be best placed to gain benefits post-Brexit. Holding this status is going to be key to experiencing the frictionless border or green channel that industry wants and needs, in whatever shape that is available post-Brexit. Only AEOs will be trusted to be self-policing and sufficiently knowledgeable to be granted such ease of movement. Non-AEOs will undoubtedly get left behind and disadvantaged.
CILT is raising awareness of the absolute necessity of AEO status and will be holding a series of workshops to allow its members to further understand the need for their organisations to achieve AEO status. The route to becoming an AEO certified operator is an extensive and detailed process, with approximately 95 per cent of AEO applications failing; this means, that assistance during the process is vital and we CILT will offer support, training and guidance to help operators through the rigorous AEO application.
The application process takes months not weeks and companies do need to prepare prior to submitting their applications. Now is the time to get started. Those that have not yet chosen to be certified should be giving it serious consideration. AEO is available to companies of all types and sizes that are involved in an international supply chain.
There will be further announcements from the Institute in the coming months offering support, training and guidance for members in applying for, preparing for and attaining this must-have AEO status.
For further information, visit: www.ciltuk.org.uk
Posted on: July 6th 2017


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The chief of American electric carmaker Tesla says the company aims to complete a humanoid robot by next year. Elon Musk said last week that the robot, called Tesla Bot, will be designed to perform jobs that people do not like to do.
Are Tesla making robots?
The so-called “Tesla Bot” is a concept for a sleek, 125-pound humanlike robot that will incorporate Tesla’s automotive artificial intelligence and autopilot technologies to plan and follow routes, navigate traffic – in this case, pedestrians – and avoid obstacles.
How much will the Tesla robot be?
SoftBank Robotics offered its home companion Pepper humanoid robot for around $1,800 before halting production earlier this year. But with Tesla’s advanced technology, many are predicting that their robot could cost $10,000 (or far more).
Is Elon Musk a billionaire?
With an estimated net worth of around US$304 billion as of January 2022, Musk is the wealthiest person in the world. Musk was born to a Canadian mother and South African father, and raised in Pretoria, South Africa.
|Elon Musk FRS|
|Parents||Errol Musk (father) Maye Musk (mother)|
What Tesla Bot can do?
According to the Tesla AI website, the bi-pedal humanoid robot will be capable of “performing tasks that are unsafe, repetitive or boring” for human beings. Musk says his robot will stand 5’8” tall, weigh 125 lbs, and be able to move at a maximum speed of 5 mph.
Is Elon Musk building robots?
The electric vehicle company will develop a humanoid robot prototype dubbed the “Tesla Bot,” Musk announced at Tesla’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Day on Thursday. … “It’s intended to be friendly, of course,” Musk said during the Tesla Bot announcement. “And navigate through a world built for humans.”
Why is Elon Musk making robots?
Musk also explained that the first focus for his humanoid robots is to do jobs that humans don’t want to do. He said they could be used for “repetitive and boring work” that may result in human injury. The Telsa boss said that a subtly imperfect robot could actually make “the perfect buddy”.
What is the cheapest Tesla?
As the cheapest Tesla available, the Model 3 has a lot to offer, including strong range and sleek styling. The rear-drive Standard Range Plus model starts at $47,690, including a $1,200 destination fee; this entry price has risen steeply in recent weeks after another bump took it to $45,190.
Is Genghis Khan the richest man ever?
Genghis Khan – peak net worth: $100s trillions (£100s of trillions) The fearsome Mongol leader conquered a mind-blowing 12 million square miles of land between 1206 and his death in 1227, more than anyone else in history.
Who Is World’s Richest Man 2021?
The world’s top 10 richest people in 2021
- Elon Musk – $273.5bn.
- Jeff Bezos – $194.2bn.
- Bernard Arnault – $177.1bn.
- Bill Gates – $138.3bn.
- Larry Page – $129.5bn.
- Mark Zuckerberg – $128.4bn.
- Sergey Brin – $124.6bn.
- Steve Ballmer – $120.7bn.
Will Elon Musk become a trillionaire?
Elon Musk has already become the world’s richest person on the ascendancy of Tesla Inc. But it will be SpaceX, rather than the hyped electric-car maker, that lifts him to trillionaire status, according to a Morgan Stanley analyst.


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The Vivo V5 Plus is expected to make its official debut on January 23, during a special event in India, but we already got the chance to see what we can expect from it, thanks to a leak that was spotted online today.
It seems that the handset will come with a pretty impressive camera setup, the main focus being the front-facing snapper. Or, better said, snapper, since it will come with two camera: one rocking a 20 MP sensor, utilising Sony’s IMX376 sensor, with f/2.0 aperture, and another one, with just 8 MP. The duo will be accompanied by the Vivo Moonlight flash, making it obvious that this is a selfie-centred device.
Besides this impressive setup, the Vivo V5 Plus will feature a 5.5″ display, with a full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. A Snapdragon 652 chipset, with an octa-core configuration, clocked at 1.8 GHz, will be in charge with powering the phone and will also be aided by 4 GB of RAM. Finally, the internal storage capacity counts 64 GB and we don’t know yet if the phone has a microSD card slot, in order to expand this.
The battery has a capacity of 3300 mAh, just enough for powering this smartphone for a full day of intensive use, and it comes with Quick Charge support, a very nice addition.
Currently, this is pretty much everything we know about the Vivo V5 Plus, but more information will be available after the phone’s official launch, happening in less than three weeks.


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Following something as futuristic as the virtual currency called Bitcoin seems sort of off the wall and kind of silly. First of all, this virtual currency has value, real money value, once you find a trader to convert them to dollars pounds or euro if you want to bother. Looking at some of the traditional currencies on today’s money market things can be a little dicey especially in Europe. The currency is gaining traction with online gambling operators and poker rooms around the world.
One example of a successful offering in the online poker world is Switch Poker which started giving patrons the option of Bitcoin currency about a year ago. The poker room has stepped it up a notch and will be offering a Bitcoin only sector. This move is in response to those players who are devotees of the virtual currency who wanted to be able to leave there accounts in Bitcoin money to play.
Online gaming sites are not the only business converting to the optional currency. Recently the popular WordPress online publishing service announced it would begin accepting Bitcoin as payment for various upgrades. Andy Skelton a spokesperson for WordPress said, “PayPal alone blocks access from over 60 countries and many credit card companies have similar restrictions … “
The idea that BItcoins are safer because they are not connected to the gold standard currency world is disputed by some who think that Bitcoin is destined to fail. Another online poker operator Infiniti Poker a new start up on the web uses Bitcoin to offer US players a way to get paid. Michael Hajduk Infiniti Poker founder said while speaking to PokerFuse “In the worst case scenario, if [the US Department of Justice] seize our domain name your Bitcoins will be safe because there’s no central authority controlling the currency.” The virtual world needs its own money and the Bitcoin seems to be fitting in nicely.


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As some of you may have noticed, I took the last couple months off writing for this newsletter. I was becoming more stressed with the busy-ness of life—and the craziness of a farm—and having just recovered from some unforeseen medical issues, I was thinking that I had better things to do—you know, ‘time is short’ and all that.
Well, I think we would pretty much all agree that there are few things more important than the food we eat and how that food is grown. If you are reading this, you are in some way part of a local or regional network of individuals who provide food for you, your family and your community. Those individuals work hard to seed, breed or feed that which will nourish your body and mind. Many have an intense focus on preserving native and indigenous genetics, building soil health, improving nutrient-density and promoting biological diversity—all of which enhance the overall ecosystem, a beautiful synergy we all benefit from. That is cause for not just celebration, but a call to dive in, get educated and support those who endeavor to provide for the rest of us.
Now, the diving in part…
In the past week or so, several farmer friends have asked about a new program they have seen in the news. The USDA has released information on a new program that hopes to shore up the food supply chain issues and transform the food system to be more equitable, competitive and resilient. Per the public notice on June 1, 2022, the effort is “to create more and better markets that will benefit both producers and American consumers through fairer prices as well as address longstanding issues intensified by the pandemic.” Regardless of one’s political view or ideological leaning, this program has the potential to support and improve the share of diversified family farms and those who process their products and hopefully increase their success rate in our increasingly centralized food economy.
Like most government programs, there are all kinds of lofty goals: building a more resilient food supply chain by increasing market options; combatting market dominance; making nutritious food more accessible; emphasizing equality. But there are also carve-outs specifically for farmers and producers who want to transition to certified organic and funding to promote urban ag programs. And for those who raise livestock, there are lots of loan programs and incentives for meat and poultry processors to expand, enhance or improve services, like worker training and food safety certification for specialty crops. There are pockets of funding aimed specifically at supporting farmers with distribution, reducing waste in the food chain and expanding market opportunities for farmers and consumers alike.
I’ll be the first to admit that I have always been fairly skeptical of most government programs, at least at first blush. But given the importance of this moment, the growth of the biological and organic food movement and the public discussion—ranging from climate change to rural America to health care— and what we can do about it, this is a great reminder that time is right for all of us to dive in. There will be more support and infrastructure for this type of work going forward, so we need to all find a way to get involved. We at VABF are working to expand our outreach and educational programs in the coming months to utilize grant funding and other resources to engage our membership, grow our ranks and support those farmers and gardeners who truly feed us and our neighbors. That is what VABF is all about and we hope you will join us in making the difference that we know we need to see.
Click the links below to watch the recordings
2022 Farmers Market Preparedness Webinar Series


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VW Group tops China consumer satisfaction survey
A new J.D. Power and Associates study of Chinese consumers' satisfaction with newly purchased vehicles rates Volkswagen and Audi highest in four of 11 model categories.
The California-based consulting firm's APEAL study -- also known as the Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study -- asked consumers to evaluate their new vehicles after two to six months of ownership.
Consumers rated vehicle exterior, interior, storage and space, infotainment, seats, air conditioning and heating, powertrain, visibility and driving safety; driving dynamics; and fuel economy.
Volkswagen Group received top grades in four product segments with the VW Golf, VW CC, Audi A4L and Audi A6L. (Product categories are listed below.)
The German automaker did significantly better than last year, when only one of its models finished on top.
Other strong performers were General Motors, which topped two categories with the Chevrolet Spark and Chevrolet Sail, and Honda, which also won two categories with the CR-V and Odyssey.
J.D. Power based its results on evaluations last summer by 17,479 car buyers.
The survey rated 155 light vehicles on a 1,000-point scale. According to J.D. Power, the Korean brands showed the most improvement, with a score that rose 47 points over last year's results.
The consulting firm says Japanese, American, European and Chinese brands also improved, but brand-to-brand comparisons aren't possible because J.D. Power did not publish each brand's overall score.
As a group, the auto industry scored 825 out of 1,000 points, up 17 points from the previous year and the highest result since the survey was launched in 2003.
The industry did better in all 10 equipment categories, with the biggest improvements in infotainment and air conditioning.
The top-ranking models by segment are:
Compact: Chevrolet Spark
Premium compact: Chevrolet Sail
Entry mid-sized: Hyundai Verna and Toyota Yaris (tie)
Mid-sized: Volkswagen Golf
Lower premium mid-sized: FAW Besturn B70
Upper premium mid-sized: Volkswagen CC
Entry Luxury: Audi A4L
Luxury: Audi A6L
SUV: Honda CR-V
MPV: Honda Odyssey
Minivan: Wuling Rongguang


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After testing the waters in Boston, Uno Chicago Grill is doing a national roll-out of a gluten-free pizza, making the singular restaurant formally called Pizzeria the first national casual dining chain to go the gluten-free route.
The move will be a big hit with the one percent of the world with Coeliac disease, a genetic autoimmune disorder of the small intestine caused by a reaction to gliadin, a gluten protein found in wheat.
“Food allergies are a very serious, sometimes life-threatening, issue for many Americans,” said Uno CEO Frank Guidara in a statement. “Pizza is our signature product, and we wanted to offer a gluten-free pizza so all of our guests could enjoy it when dining at Uno.”
“Consumer reaction was so positive in the gluten-free community that our restaurants began receiving requests to carry the new pizza,” noted Richard Hendrie, senior vice president of marketing for Uno. “Because the demand was so strong, we decided to pull out all the stops to get the gluten-free pizza into our 200-plus locations as quickly as possible.”
Uno claims the title of “America’s Healthiest Chain Restaurant” and already has one of the largest gluten-free menus in the country.
Guidara said that Uno spent over a year of research and development come up with a recipe that worked.
“While we want to meet the needs of guests with allergies, we never forget that we are about great taste and choice, and that means developing new dishes that are healthful without sacrificing great flavor.”
Uno was also the first national chain to stop using trans-fats.
There are more than 200 Uno Chicago Grill restaurants found in 31 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates, according to the restaurant’s website.


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In one of the coolest advertising campaigns I've seen by a company, Coke-a-Cola launched it's "Share a Coke" campaign in Australia back in September 2011. I first saw the new-look bottles when I traveled to Sydney this past January. I thought it was so different that I ended up snapping loads of pictures of coke bottles all over Sydney. Perhaps store management wasn't so impressed when I would just open their refrigerator, take pictures and leave. But I just told them, "relax, have a coke."
Coke had no idea that this campaign would be such a success. The company was trying to take their marketing to a more personal level and they did just that. They began by producing cans and bottles with 150 of the most popular Australian names such as Jack, William, Jess and Isabella.
The company also launched an App on Facebook which, according to an article on Treifs.com "lets users customize the Coke cans with the names of their choice and share the drink virtually. The response has been tremendous. In fact, 62,000 virtual cokes were created out of which 56,000 were shared. The company reported a 92% increase in the number of posts on its Facebook page with 29,000 posts about the campaign itself."


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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Aug. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Corporacion Dinant is proud to acknowledge that its President and Founder, Miguel Facusse Barjum, has been awarded the internationally acclaimed CEAL Founders Award.
Announcing the award, Manuel Urrutia Cantoral, International President of CEAL, praised Miguel Facusse for his pioneering role and leadership in promoting business between Latin American nations and for bringing together the public and private sectors.
Responding to news of this award, Miguel Facusse said, "It is a great honor to be given this award by CEAL. Dinant is proud of its Honduran heritage and the contribution that we make to the national and Central American economies. We are an inclusive company that respects and celebrates the diversity and human rights of its employees, customers and communities. But we never stop trying to improve as a company, employer and member of the community. With such an innovative, entrepreneurial and dedicated workforce, we are confident that Dinant will continue to expand throughout Central America and the Caribbean and further into new profitable global markets that are increasingly demanding our high-quality products."
Mr. Facusse will receive the Founder's Award at a ceremony on October 2nd 2014 at the Casa de America (Palacio de Linares) in Madrid, Spain, and attended by business, political and social leaders from across Latin America.
About Corporacion Dinant
Corporacion Dinant is a family-owned consumer products manufacturer founded in Honduras by Miguel Facusse in 1960. Our products are sold throughout Central America and the Dominican Republic, and exported to global markets. Dinant directly employs almost 8,000 people, supporting over 22,000 livelihoods, generating many millions of US$ in exports for the Honduran economy, and contributing significantly to the economies of all countries in which we operate.
Media contact: Roger Pineda, [email protected], t: +(504) 2239-8800
SOURCE Corporacion Dinant


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In addition to all the companies building their own digital music stores, Loudeye now offers a prepackaged program that companies can brand. When middlemen start popping up, you know a business is maturing:
- Seattle-based Loudeye and the software giant said Monday that they will work together to handle the infrastructure and distribution for online music services branded by other companies that are looking to sell songs online or to enter the digital media business in some other way.
Loudeye’s digital music services, which include its Digital Music Store and iRadio Service that contains 100 preprogrammed music channels, are based on Microsoft’s Windows Media 9 Series technology. Early customers of the service include AT&T Wireless and Gibson Audio, a division of Gibson Guitars.
“The problem for companies that want to launch a digital media service with their own brand is that it’s very expensive,” said Loudeye Chief Executive Officer Jeff Cavins. “We’ll charge them a fraction of the cost of what it would take to build it themselves.”
….Loudeye’s Cavins said there is room for an intermediary in the business despite the tiny profit margins. His company is looking for customers who are interested in digital music distribution as a promotional tool for another product or service, rather than as a standalone business, he said.
“There are a lot of companies that are not your usual suspects that will pay to have services that will drive cross promotion,” Cavins said. “What it comes down to is that there are companies that are learning that using digital media is a good way to cement a brand.”
….Loudeye has previously focused on encoding and storing digital music for other services, including iTunes, and providing samples of music for CD sales outlets such as Amazon.com. [CNET]
More on AT&T Wireless and Gibson Audio from the Hollywood Reporter:
- AT&T Wireless plans to create its online music store as part of that company’s mMode service. In what AT&T Wireless said was a first, all sufficiently advanced phones will be able to sample and buy entire songs and ring tones beginning early next year.
“As technologies advance and converge, the wireless phone will become the next major platform for music content delivery, and AT&T Wireless will be at the forefront this transformation,” said John Bunyan, senior vp consumer data offers at AT&T Wireless.
Cavins added that using the existing billing relationship removed a barrier to consumer purchasing, especially for younger people, who might not have a credit card.
Gibson Audio is using Loudeye’s new offerings in conjunction with its first consumer electronic product, the Wurltizer Digital Jukebox. This new device, which can store the equivalent of 1,000 CDs in Windows Media format, gives its users 100 channels of digital radio as well as a download store, both powered by Loudeye. Listeners control the music from a wireless touch-screen remote designed to fit Gibson’s user-friendly philosophy. It will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show next month.
….The unit’s hand-held touch-screen remote can display color album cover art and other information, whether a download or the consumer’s own CD is playing because it is powered by Loudeye. It also has many options for organizing and burning a music collection. Retail pricing has not yet been determined, but it is expected to sell for well less than $2,000.
This part is key: “His company is looking for customers who are interested in digital music distribution as a promotional tool for another product or service, rather than as a standalone business.” Music will be used more and more as a branding tool and loss leader to sell other things or just promote corporate image


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Primark hailed its "outstanding year" today after revealing annual profits had jumped by 44% to £514 million - contrasting the fortunes of high street rival Marks and Spencer.
The retailer grew sales by 22% to £4.3 billion in the year to September 30 and the Associated British Foods, which owns Primark as well as leading food brands Twinings and Kingsmill, said it expected another improvement in performance in the current financial year.
The company paid tribute to Primark's buying teams after autumn/winter and spring/summer ranges sold out with little discount, while M&S struggled to kickstart its clothing sales.
Primark has expanded in the UK's major cities with the opening of a second store on London's Oxford Street and extensions to shops in Newcastle and Manchester.
They are also set to open their first store in France, which will be located in Marseille.
More top news
Who's in charge and what happens if there's an international crisis? Here are answers to key questions about the dissolution of parliament.
Human error was to blame for the leak, emails obtained through Freedom of Information requests by the Guardian said.
The new Playstation Music app will allow gamers to stream songs through their consoles.


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Cool off with Mirinda Mix-It
PepsiCo Services Asia has recruited six members of popular idol group BNK48 to introduce Mirinda Mix-It Pineapple & Passionfruit, aiming to further stimulate the Bt12-billion market for flavoured carbonated soft drinks.
Cherprang Areekul, Punsikorn “Pun” Tiyakorn, and Pimrapat “Mobile” Phadungwatanachok of BNK48’s first generation and Nannaphas “Mewnich” Loetnamchoetsakun, Chanyapuk “New” Numprasop and Weeraya “Wee” Zhang from the second generation presenting the product.
Marketing manager Tuangporn Siriwatwitoon said the motto for the campaign would be “Mix Two Flavours for Ultimate Fun”.
In addition to a sweet, refreshing taste to beat the scorching heat, the drink is aimed at health-conscious and new-gen consumers. It has the trusted “Healthier Choice” certification with a formula containing less than six grams of sugar per 100-millilitre serving.
Mirinda Mix-It will be the subject of a 360-degree integrated marketing strategy including television commercials, OOH and POS media, as well as digital and online campaigns. An army of employees is distributing 800,000 free samples across the country.
Mirinda Mix-It Pineapple & Passionfruit comes in a 300ml size for Bt10 and 400ml for Bt15.
Check out Facebook.com/MirindaMixItThailand and www.Suntorypepsico.co.th.


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The U.K. Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published on Tuesday (June 21) details of two market reviews that is planning to conduct later this year on Visa and Mastercard’s processing fees and cross-border interchange fees.
The first market review, on scheme and processing fees, stems from a previous market review carried out by the PSR on the card-acquiring market. In that market review, the regulator found that fees paid by acquirers had increased from 2014 to 2018. In January 2022, the regulator published its initial remedies in the market to make it more transparent and to allow acquirers to negotiate better terms with the card networks. However, the regulator still wants to examine the levels, structure and types of scheme and processing fees. This new market review will build on the card-acquiring market review, the regulator said.
“Cards are the most popular way for consumers to make a payment. To accept card payments, merchants must pay certain fees which can ultimately impact the cost we all pay for goods and services. We want to understand whether card payments are working well and to make sure that merchants, and ultimately consumers, get a good deal,” said Natalie Timan, head of strategy at PSR.
The second market review, on Visa and Mastercard’s cross border interchange fees, may not come as a surprise to many, as the recent increases on this type of fees since the U.K. left the European Union, five times higher now according to the regulator, already raised some flags at the PSR. In an interview with PYMNTS in March, Andrew Self, senior policy manager at the PSR, already mentioned that the card-acquiring market review revealed that cross-border interchanges fees have increased over the years and this, for the PSR “poses important questions around whether there are sufficient competitive constraints on card schemes.”
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.


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Marketing support solution supplier Gaming Support has launched a product that combines stand-alone slots, multi-player slots, online games, server-based casino slot machines and other functions into a single terminal.
The Hybrid Gaming Device is designed to allow land-based operators to capitalize on the growth of multi-channel gaming habits and online gaming.
“Gaming Support spent the past year developing a new critical part of our business which we disclosed at the ICE show in London,” said
Lucien van Linden, owner of Gaming Support. “This latest addition in our product range is completing our product offering.”
The Hybrid Gaming Device elegantly merges stand-alone, multi-player and server-based slot games, terminal-based gaming devices and online gaming. “Getting online players to your casino, and/or having casino players continue to play your online games at home is a unique and hopefully very interesting combination,” said van Linden.
The device is designed to be compatible with systems for player tracking, ticketing and mystery jackpots. It is comprised completely of off-the-shelf standard equipment.
For more information, visit gamingsupport.com.


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When it comes to athletic shoes, Converse has run away with the title as the biggest sneaker brand on Facebook. As of today, it has more than 16 million fans, four times as many as Nike. And that’s a huge increase from the less than 10 million fans it had as recently as November, when Inside Facebook named it one of the fastest-growing brands on Facebook.
Yet in a wide-ranging interview with Mashable, Converse Chief Marketing Officer Geoff Cottrill says his advice to his company was to “do nothing special” when he first learned of its huge Facebook fan base. His directive was for his team to listen more than it talks on the social media site and to absolutely not bring its ad campaigns from other channels there.
Instead, he says, marketers should remember that this is a conversational medium, one that’s very different from the old format of one-way communication. That means brands have to let go, to respect and trust their consumers and their love for your brand.
Of course, that doesn’t really mean do nothing at all. Converse does post information about its products, conducts contests (such as a design-your-own shoe) and talks about lots of topics besides its own brand.
Cottrill measures success in social media by engagement. The hope, of course, is that engagement leads to brand affinity and that leads to sales of products.
But the initial engagement often is a long, long distance from actual products. For example, Converse has made videos for kids to use to ask out their prom dates because that’s a timely topic at this time of year. Presumably, the mind share the videos generate may lead to sales down the road.
Cottrill says it’s important to modify messages for various social media platforms. For example, on Facebook and YouTube, Converse might feature video of new bands. But on Twitter, the brand will ask fans to submit interview questions for those bands.
Converse has taken a core brand asset–passionate fans– and nurtured that community. Ultimately, according to Cottrill, the real pay-off is when the fans become your brand advocates.


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What you need to know
- ToTok is a popular chat app.
- It's been removed from the App Store by Apple.
- There are concerns that it is a spy tool used by the UAE.
Apple has removed the popular ToTok chat app from the App Store after a New York Times (via 9to5Mac) report said that the app was used by the United Arab Emirates as a spy tool. A classified intelligence assessment also raised concerns.
ToTok might not be a household name yet but lat week it was able to become one of the most downloaded social apps in the United States. However, it has been revealed that it was phoning home to the UAE government. With sensitive data also shared.
It's worth noting that the app does not offer end-to-end encryption so anyone with access to the data would be able to read anything and everything. Essentially, no messages sent via ToTok were safe from being read. And the report notes that the company behind ToTok is a front for the UAE government.
But it seems none of this is news to the US intelligence services who have already warned allies that they shouldn't use the app over fears that it isn't secure.
If you do or have used ToTok, I'd suggest removing it from your devices as soon as possible.
Master your iPhone in minutes
iMore offers spot-on advice and guidance from our team of experts, with decades of Apple device experience to lean on. Learn more with iMore!
Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.
Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.


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This is an interesting article about ORC (Organized Retail Crime). This topic doesn’t get the attention it deserves because it much of OEC thefts focus on the retailer or law enforcement.
The focus should be on the OFFENDER. In Kindergarten we knew it is not right to steal. There is no excuse for the offender’s behavior. They have to be held accountable. Once offenders are held accountable and fear punishment for theft they will stop. Not all but most.
Retail security expert says it is time to stop the blame game when it comes to battling organized retail crime
— Read on www.securityinfowatch.com/retail/article/21248616/recent-retail-crime-wave-shakes-the-industry