Uber Introduces An Option To Protest Via App

Uber has developed a feature to protest against New York's Mayor.

Uber has introduced a new feature. Uber news exclaimed that the organization’s customers would find out a new option next to the set of usual options provided. The addition has been made to let riders pressurize the New York City Mayor to step away from the proposed law that could seriously threaten the transporter’s efforts in the city.

Official sources indicated that the feature has been named after the surname of the city administration’s head, Bill de Blasio. The transporter is battling in the city as the Mayor is supporting a city council’s proposal, which would ensure that all new licenses for rented vehicles are ceased.

Uber news today disclosed that the decision to cease came in attempt for the city to study traffic congestion, which the authorities believe is getting worse due to ride sharing. The New York Taxi and Limousine Commission has supported the mayor, as it has stated that the onslaught of automobiles is so much that it seems practically irresponsible not to legislate in some manner.

The San Francisco based enterprise has stated that the action would not solve the traffic problem. It argued through a petition site. When its customers exercise that option, the map of available vehicles is “emptied out” and the waiting time for a ride increases to 25 minutes.

If the user clicks on the option, then he/she is welcomed by an option to sign Uber’s petition. Uber technologies informed that the organization has previously tried to fight against the law, when it served free of charge to anyone who participated in its protest. It is most likely that the city council would vote on the legislation next week and it has been anticipated that the battle would only intensify until it takes place.

To ensure that the law is not passed, the organization has bought commercials on local television, with testimonies from hard working driving partners urging New Yorkers to protest against the regulation.

Market analysts believe that the introduction of the new option would help the company to lobby against the administration. If the new law is passed, then the cab service would suffer from another setback, as it has previously suffered in Toronto where charges have been filed against its driving partners.

Uber’s officials should now take further steps to convince the mayor or they might fail to serve the interests of the transporter. The management should also consider various aspects of the challenges in order to resolve them in appropriate manner.

Novartis Asked To Pay $3.35 Billion Fine For Drug Kickbacks

US authorities claim that the Swiss-based firm used kickbacks to boost sales of its two prescription drugs.

Novartis (NYSE:NVR) has been told by US authorities that the Swiss based firm has been using kickbacks for giving a shot to its sales of two prescription drugs. Based on documents filed in the New York Federal Court, the kickbacks were allegedly used in the shape of rebates that lead to the overpayment of federal health care programs for the medicines that are covered by Medicaid and Medicare.

According to the breakdown, the Justice Department is seeking up to more than $1.50 billion in damages, which is thrice the amount that Medicaid and Medicare spent for purchasing drugs, due to the kickbacks from 2004 till 2013. Another is a claim of more than $1.80 billion, which will go to fines for false claims that were put on by Novartis and were submitted to healthcare programs for reimbursement. This should help to cover, for each false claim, at around somewhere between $5500 and $11000, which will probably total up to $166,000.

The government says that Novartis refers it patients to three specialty pharmacies and paid kickbacks to them in return for exchanging recommendations regarding the drugs to their patients. This falls flat in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statue and the False Claims Act.

However, Novartis says that the rebates offered to the pharmacies were legitimate and denied any violation of laws related to its sales of two prescription drugs, Exjade and Myfortic.

Exjade is used for the removal of excess iron from patients’ blood, whereas Myfortic is used for the prevention of a rejection of a kidney transplants. The Swiss company says that it is looking forward to the full presentation of evidence to them, before issuing a rebuttal.

David Kester, who worked as sales manager for Novartis, knew the revelation during a whistleblowing scheme. The US federal government and 11 states also sued Novartis in 2011.

In another lawsuit filed by a different employer, the company is also alleged for paying bribes in the form of speaking engagements by medical experts, as well as in the form of royalties to the hospitals. A jury trial is due by early November this year, though in normal practice, the federal government settles the False Claims case before a trial is conducted.

Novartis stock price ended the day at $99.80, a gain of 1.30% from the previous day, despite the lawsuit and the upcoming trial on November 2. Experts and analysts are ambitiously eyeing the future endeavors of the company regarding this matter.

Asia Lubricant Demand To Post Modest Growth, Says ExxonMobil

Economic slowdown in the Asia Pacific region seen as the reason for modest growth.

Demand for lubricants is likely to face moderate growth in the Asian region, particularly the Asia Pacific, in the coming years. While it is an indication of a shift towards superior class base oils, the slowdown is due to slow, but moderate economic development in the region. This was stated by XB Cox, ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) global base-stocks and specialties planning manager, during an interview with ICIS.

His comments hold weight, as China is facing sixth year of slowdown in economic growth, growing at a rate of 7% high by developed countries standard. Exxon expects demand for higher quality Group II base oils to gain a lot of traction; it is moving to boost its production base stock. Group II base oils are proving to be a popular choice owing to its low sculpture content and improved performance, though it is inevitably likely to cost more.

Earlier this year, Exxon Mobil introduced its Group II stock to the Asian markets once it completed civil works expansion of its Singapore lubricant base stock factory. It has boosted capacity from 400,000 tons to more than 1.5 million tons/year. Simultaneously, the largest US oil and gas major is set to commence production of its Base II oils at its Rotterdam refinery in the Netherlands by 2018, though it is currently subject to funding and regulatory approval.

Cox has stated that the shift from Base I to Base II oils will be gradual, while pointing to long vehicle turnover times, customer buying behavior, fuel quality limitations, and the fact that consumers may still give priority to cost over performance of oil base.

Group II and Group III base oil production capacity  is due to rise by less than 7 million tons over the course of the years ahead, with one quarter  of that coming from the Asia Pacific region, but this will also result in the exacerbation of the current Group II/III excess in the region.

Exxon Mobil had predicted a few years ago that the demand for energy from the Asia Pacific region would rise between 30-45% till the year 2030, according to its global energy outlook for the future that it publishes every few years to give a glimpse on the scope of the energy market. It has also mentioned that lubricants, particularly high valued base oils, will see significant rise in the future, despite the current surplus in the Asian region.

Exxon Mobil’s stock price ended the day at $82.83, down 1.26% since the previous day.

Tesla Motors Appoints New Senior Vice President To Lead Sales

Tesla Motors hired a new vice president for its North American sales.

The American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors has appointed a new sales head. Tesla news reported that the automaker has recruited an ex-executive, Ganesh Srivats, of the British fashion house, Burberry, as its senior vice president (SVP) of North American sales, a step indicating that CEO Elon Musk intends to expand the Californian business’s retail operations.

Since 2009, Mr. Ganesh has held retail and strategy position for the fashion firm and was recently working as its senior vice president for retail in the Americas. Tesla news today disclosed that the organization’s selling strategy differs from others, who benefit from the services of independent dealerships, as it relies on unconventional advertising schemes and internet-based selling mechanisms.

Tesla is also known for owning its retail network. A professor of marketing at New York’s Stern School of Business has welcomed the development, as he exclaimed that this makes all sense in the world. He added that the South African born entrepreneur’s company is not a vehicle manufacturing organization, but a luxury firm.

The electric vehicle pioneer’s recent decision should not surprise the stakeholders of the high-tech world, as it had previously proclaimed to recruitment new executives to head its regional sales operations. Press sources stated that CEO of the Luxury Institute, Milton Padraza, has stated that Mr. Ganesh introduces a customer center approach for businesses. He added that it is about long-term relations. 

Burberry dominates the field of developing client relationships. Tesla Motors news informed that the smartphone manufacturer, Apple, previously took a similar decision when it appointed the fashion company’s CEO, Angela Ahrendts, as head of its sales operations in 2013.

Tesla has recently stated that it intends to sell 500,000 cars by 2020, according to official sources, and it is about to introduce its Model X. Industry experts are of the view that the decision has been taken to help it to achieve its sales-related objective, as Srivats is an experienced marketing professional who has contributed to the capacity of the European organization.

It is probable that the appointment of the new executive would send a threatening message to its rivals, who might be forced to follow its footsteps. The entrance of the former Burberry SVP in the company might improve the motivation levels of its sales team, which can learn from the achievements of the entrant.

The management of the organization should now introduce the marketing strategy to the newly recruited official and try to utilize his marketing potential in the best possible manner to benefit from his qualifications and expertise. It should also refrain from repeating the similar mistakes, which has caused challenges and problems to the company, e.g. withdrawal of defected cars from the market. However, Mr. Musk seems positive about the future.

IBM Introduces Powerful Computer Chips

IBM has designed new powerful chips for the digital market.

International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation has introduced new chips. IBM news reported that the corporation proclaimed on Thursday that it has developed working editions of ultra-dense computer processors. The capacity of the new high tech devices would be four times greater than today’s most powerful chips. The proclamation was made on the behalf of an international group led by the IBM enterprise, which has invested $3,000,000,000 in a joint venture with Samsung, Global Foundries, and New York State, and equipment vendors.

IBM news today informed that the tie up has been carried out to develop technologically advanced processing devices in New York’s Hudson Valley. The development has contributed to the chip manufacturing industry, which has failed to double transistor density in every two years. Technical issues have challenged the Intel Corporation, which historically has been known for leading the industry. Each phase of processing technology is described by the minimum size of the basic parts that switch current at nanosecond intervals.

The corporation has stated that it had created samples of performing chips with seven nanometer transistors. Instead of using silicon, it has used silicon germanium, which is known for speeding up the process which transistor carries out switching. IBM has claimed that it would try to design microprocessors with more than 20,000,000,000 transistors, reports IBM breaking news.

Press sources indicated that Director of the Robust Systems Group in the Electrical Engineering Department at Stanford University, Subhashish Mitra, has welcomed the development by stating that he is not surprised as this is what was expected. Experts are of the view that the announcement tends to inform that it wants to contribute to the state’s chip development base. The digital enterprise has refused to answer the question regarding the duration when it might start to produce the new devices commercially.

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TMSC) is also interested in pioneering the highly advanced chips, as it intends to introduce them in 2017. Unlike the corporation, TMSC has failed to exhibit working chips to achieve that objective. Commercial sources highlighted that up till now, the semiconductors have been demonstrated in a research lab. The final objective of the company is to develop circuits that have covered a smaller area.

Industry experts believe that the technical innovation would help to improve the business reputation. IBM’s management should now speed up the process of commercial manufacturing of devices; otherwise, it might fail to revolutionize the digital world.

Facebook Opens New Wind-Powered Data Center In Texas

Facebook is constructing a new data center in Texas, which will be powered by wind energy.

The American social network platform, Facebook, is about to establish a new data center. Facebook news disclosed that the organization has initiated the process of completing its project in Fort Worth, Texas. The new center would be powered with entirely with renewable energy. Thus, a clean energy project would be developed to supply 200 megawatts of wind power to the center.  

Facebook news today affirmed that Director of data center operations for the western region Ken Patchett has stated that 200 MW are more units of power than the requirement of the facility. This director is proud to play a role in setting up the venture in Texas, which is known for its hot weather.

The social media giant believes that it would easily be able to meet the cooling requirements of the center, as it has previously done in North Carolina. The new data management office would benefit from services of 40 workers. The venture is expected to be completed in a time span of 18 months. A number of factors have contributed to its decision, such as financial incentives, good labor force, and sufficient supplies of electric power.

Facebook breaking news exclaimed that the center would be established on a 110-acre building site on State Highway 170. Vice President, Tom Furlong, has stated that the company’s objective is unveiled. He added its mission is to link the world. The storage power and data processing capabilities of the center would help to manage its web traffic. The high-tech company believes that the data center would perform in a very efficient manner.

Press sources indicated that developer, Ross Perot Jr.’s Hillwood Properties has collaborated with the organization to choose the construction site in its Texas Alliance Development. Tarrant County and Fort Worth governments have assisted the company to sign the deal, as they have provided financial incentives worth $100,000,000. Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has appreciated the venture by stating, ““Today Texas is also showing we can be an importer of technology, by importing this great technology project by Facebook. This is a magnet that shows high tech companies are welcome to the state of Texas.”

Market experts are of the view that the establishment of the new setup would not only let the company manage higher levels of web traffic, but also improve its reputation in the state. Facebook’s management should now speed up the process of constructing the project in order to progress in the highly competitive world.

GoPro To Unveil Smaller Sized Hero4 Session

GoPro comes up with a cube sized action camera named as Hero4 Session

GoPro Inc. the action camera giant announced on Monday that its new Hero4 series that will be priced at $399. As reported by the popular tech based website The Verge, the company will roll out these cameras in a weeks’ time.

As speculated, the camera will be cube shaped and will measure around 1.5 inches on each side without the need of a heavy frame. It is said that the mountable is waterproof for almost 10 meters outside the box. The camera has the ability to shoot 30 frames per second with 1440p videos, 60 frames per second will shoot at 1080p whereas 100 frames per second will shoot at 720p.

The Hero Session is said to be relatively easier for use with the ability to interact quickly with two buttons installed, according to latest GoPro reports. The red button is the main one that ensures that the camera started and ends the recording. The company initially struggled with battery life but this tool will help them in coping up with that issue. Moreover, if the device is turned on and off frequently then battery will be saved even further.

If this recording button is pressed for more than a period of 3 seconds then the device will automatically go on the time lapse feature. The company has also modified its app which will now enable burst and single photo modes. The second button provided is to switch the Wi-Fi network on and off.

However, the only problem users might encounter will be in terms of custom changes since one button cannot really cater to all aspects of the device capabilities, as pointed out by recent GoPro updates. However, the company has provided a Wi-Fi remote that will cope up for the minute screen and will allow assist users in understanding the features of the camera.

The company has been working towards making its layout menu better but along with that the company has also narrowed its camera ranges by coming up with several variants like Hero4 Silver and Black.  The best part about this device is that it is relatively difficult to locate it but the one using can feel its mounting.

Coming up with a smaller mounting will also help the action camera maker to eliminate the audio related issues. Hence the company has now realized its shortcomings and has tried to eliminate them in their upcoming product. Moreover, they have also reduced the size of their action camera that will help them engage new audience who earlier had issues with the size of the device.

Hundreds of Themes and Emojis on Gmail Now.

Google has updated the Gmail web service with emojis and hundreds of themes. Themes have been personalized and the users are now also able to upload their own theme if they wish to.

Latest Google news is regarding the emojis and themes that Gmail has got. Yesterday, the search engine giant announced a few additions to the Gmail service that the company has on the web. The additions are aimed at making the service more fun and also personalized, catering the needs of various users. The theme catalog has been updated by the company where there are hundreds of themes added so the users can personalize the look-and-feel of it. The new emoji has been rolled out as well in this regard.

Google news reports that since 2008, themes have been incorporated in the Gmail service and have been an integral part of it pertaining to the UI experience. The company had announced these updates via blog post. However, these changes are hidden in the settings and there has been nothing done in particular by the company to keep the collection in current format by tagging the new and updated content, as for the past years. That is the reason as to why the themes’ expansion is a notable part.

Previously, the catalog had consisted of the themes that were merely a dozen in number; it also included the ones that were only solid color backgrounds. The selection of themes by Gmail shall be increased by hundreds now with the high-res options. Some of those photos have been taken by the staff at the company. The users have been provided with the ability to upload their themes and also be able to use the editing tools that have been built-in, including vignette, blur and text background so that the themes can be customized further.

At the time when themes are pointing to the fact that Gmail experience for the users is getting personalized and also making it fun, there is a practical purpose that can be served by them as well. The users with the multiple Gmail accounts can maintain them efficiently now by granting a different theme to different account and glancing only once makes them verify the fact that which email account has received the new email.

There have been better set of emojis added by the company as well. The emojis include the set of faces with different smiles and also various categories such as nature, food, holidays and more. These categories are similar to what users often find on their texting apps on smartphones or rather the Hangouts app that Google has. The current emoji selection shall be replaced with this updated one.

It might come to a lot of people as a minor update but the emojis have become an integral part of the communication between people on smartphones where typing could be cumbersome but the emoticons speak.

Apple Hits Right Notes With International Availability and Pricing for Apple Music

Apple Music has been made available in 100 countries and also has different price range as per the countries, giving tough time to Spotify.

Latest Apple news is that Apple Music had been launched yesterday and the update for iOS 8.4 had been there too. It might be early days for the service that has just opened its eyes and as the entire world begins chewing over its UI, service issues, unexpected factors and also the Beats 1 station. However, there are two areas where the tech giant has hit the notes perfectly right, pricing and international availability.

It has always been a strange thing that industry pertaining to the music streaming has been relatively slow to be active in the emerging markets. It is true that users that are in Latin America, Africa and Asia don’t wish to spend as much as the ones in the Western markets but when it comes to the smartphones and tablets that they possess, they are the hubs of entertainment for them because there is quite a limited access to cable, TV and relative offline entertainment. There is music available on everyone’s phone but there is potential that goes beyond the MP3s and downloads and its largely compelling if the tap can take them to the large sea of music library. However, the global footprint of Spotify is yet to reach the “globe” and the same case is with Deezer and Rdio.

Keeping all this context in mind, it comes as a refreshing wave when we see Apple making it to the global market from the day it has been launched. Apple news reports that Beats 1 has been made available in 100 countries. This might be sounding as if obvious but in reality it is contrast to the iTunes Radio by the company, it took a long time for the service to roll out to the parts of Europe, Oceania and North America. However, this time it is not only about the global premier of the service but also the price that the company has taken into consideration too.

The service competitively has been priced as per the countries it is being used when it comes to Apple Music, the single account cost begins from $10 for U.S but in Thailand it is $5 and in Russia or Philippines, it is only $3 that the service shall cost. In India, the service has been made available for only 120 INR which is apparently less than $2 on monthly basis. The catalogue shall vary from one country to another as the prices are varying. So this points out that Apple Music becomes available in the wide range of markets and in almost all of the countries in the world where its rivals are not. 

Amazon Expands Its Prime Now Service In London

Amazon expanded its Prime Now delivery service to London after six months of launch.

Amazon Inc. is working hard to maintain its status of reigning monarch of American online shopping. The company has been on the top for a while now and it is giving tough competition to its local peers and competitors such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy etc. Amazon currently focuses on its Amazon Prime business. It is pushing hard to get its loyal customers to Amazon Prime and further penetrate it into newer markets to gain traction.

Amazon Prime Now was previously available within United States only but according to reports it is believed that the company successfully expanded it in United Kingdom. Tech Crunch reports that the online retailer has expanded its one hour delivery program exclusively valid for Prime members to United Kingdom. So far, it is available to users residing in some parts of central London. An update has been released for the Prime Now app which tells us that the one hour delivery service is now available in selected areas or postcodes of London.

This is said to be the first attempt after six long months from the company to operate Prime Now outside the territory of the United States. According to Tech Crunch regarding latest Amazon updates; “Prime Now’s London coverage area appears to be limited to zone 1 — or parts of zone 1 — at this stage. Postcodes I tried from further afield (zone 2 and zone 3) were not yet supported; but a postcode in London’s Southwark (zone 1) returned an affirmative that Amazon can ship a selection of products there in an hour."

Along with that, the site also reported that an in-app note on Prime coverage adds: ‘We’re branching out as fast as we can’. Londoners can check amazon.co.uk/primenow to see if it delivers to their postcode yet.”

Amazon launched this service first in Manhattan back in December and ever since then it has expanded to offer its services to customers in Baltimore, Dallas, and Miami. Prime Now, so far, is exclusively available to the Prime members. This is supposedly one of many incentives that will help the company to boost its sign up of annual membership offerings.

The company is constantly beefing up its delivery program for all of its impatient customers and it believes that this might help in promoting the $99 per year service that the company wants its customers to subscribe for. Amazon stated that the Prime Now delivery service for London will be available on thousands of products on its online marketplace. However, the total purchase must be at least $31.42 (£20) or more.