Author Archives: Danzig

Mars 2020 launch: NASA’s Perseverance rover ready for the Red Planet – Astronomy Magazine

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We have four objectives, Ken Williford, Deputy Project Scientist for NASAs Mars 2020 mission, told Astronomy earlier this year. The first three are really our core science objectives. And the fourth is preparing for human exploration.

Perseverances science objects are: seeking out sites that were potentially habitable in the past, looking for signs of ancient microbes within rocks known to preserve life, and collecting and storing promising rock samples for a future return mission.

The rover aims to accomplish these goals using a unique and sophisticated suite of instruments including a rock-blasting laser, microphones and cameras, a powerful coring drill, a mobile weather station, and the first ground-penetrating radar ever sent to Mars surface. Although there are some new additions to Perseverance, many of these high-tech tools are just upgraded versions of what the Curiosity rover carried to the Red Planet in 2012. And thats because NASA is employing what they call the heritage approach for Perseverance, borrowing what worked from Curiosity.

[Perseverance] is something like 90 percent spare parts from Curiosity, Jim Bell, principal investigator for Perseverances Mastcam-Z instrument, told Astronomy earlier this year. Thats how they got the mission approved, because they could save an enormous amount of money by using those spare parts.

But that doesnt mean Perseverance is cheap. Its still about a $2-billion project, and NASA expects to spend up to a total about $2.7 billion over the entirety of the mission.

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Mars 2020 launch: NASA's Perseverance rover ready for the Red Planet - Astronomy Magazine

A Movie of the Evolving Universe Is Potentially Scary – Scientific American

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After the COVID-19 rules about social distancing went into effect, I developed a morning routine of jogging through the woods near my home. During the first months, I focused on the green branches that stretch upward towards the sky, but recently I started to notice the debris of tree trunks lying on the ground. There are many such remnants, eaten by termites, rotting and ultimately dispersing into the underlying soil. A glimpse at the forest reveals a sequence of evolutionary phases in the history of trees that lived or died at different times.

The phenomenon happens in other contexts. For example, I recently completed a nine-year term as chair of the Astronomy Department at Harvard. And only now have I begun to notice the former chairs scattered around me, just like those tree trunks in the woods.

Entering a new stage of life can be humbling. We acquire a false sense of permanence from reviewing the frozen past, as if it were a statue that will never erode. But this view is shortsighted, since each moment can also be seen a new beginning, shaped by forces beyond our control and swirling on a grander scale.

Old-fashioned astronomy was also permeated by a false sense of permanence. Astronomers collected still images of the universe, creating the impression that nothing really changes under the sunor above it, either. But just like the revelation from my stroll through the woods, these snapshots showed stars and galaxies of different ages, at various evolutionary phases along their history. Computer simulations helped us patch together the full story by solving the equations of motion for matter, starting from the initial conditions imprinted on the cosmic microwave background at early cosmic times. By generating snapshots of an artificial cosmos similar to those captured by telescopes, these simulations unraveled our cosmic roots. The scientific insight that emerged is that the likely origins for our existence were quantum fluctuations in the early universe. Perhaps we should add Quantum Mechanics Day to our annual celebrations of Mothers Day and Fathers Day.

There are some missing pages in the photo album made up of our observations, however: the period known as the cosmic dawn, for example, when the first stars and galaxies turned on. These missing pages will be filled in the coming decade by the next generation of telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the ground-based "extremely large" telescopes and the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA).

To reveal a more literal gap in the sky, the Event Horizon Telescope recently captured a still image of the silhouette of the black hole in the giant galaxy M87. The next goal is to obtain a sequence of images or a video, showing the time variability of the accretion flow around the black hole.

The tradition of still images makes sense when dealing with systems like galaxies, which evolve on a timescale of billions of years. But the universe also exhibits transient fireworks that flare up and dim during a human lifetime. Observing them is the motivation behind the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) on the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which will have its first light soon. LSST will be a filming project, documenting nearly a thousand deep multicolor images per patch of the southern sky over a decade and recording the most extensive video of the universe ever taken with its plethora of transients in full glory.

Some of the LSST flares are expected to be the counterparts of gravitational wave sources detected by LIGO/Virgo or LISA. Their discovery will usher in multi-messenger astronomy based on both gravitational and electromagnetic waves emitted by the same sources, providing new insights about the central engines that power these transients. The related standard sirens could serve as new rulers for measuring precise distances in cosmology.

Within the Milky Way, transient events close to Earth could lead to catastrophe. A supernova explosion, for example, could cause a mass extinction on an unprecedented scale. If a meteor similar to the one that hit the unpopulated regions near Chelyabinsk in 2013 or Tunguska in 1908 hit New York City, it could cause a far larger death toll and economic damage than COVID-19. Or consider the impact of a blob of hot gas from the Sun, a so-called coronal mass ejection of the type that missed the Earth in 2012. Such an event could shut off communication systems, disable satellites and damage power grids. Altogether, astronomical alerts about such celestial threats could be crucial for securing the longevity of our species.

Of greatest relevance for our long-term survival is identifying large objects on a collision course with the Earth, similar to the Chicxulub asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. In 2005, Congress passed a bill requiring NASA to find and track at least 90 percent of all near-Earth objects larger than 140 meters (enough to cause regional devastation) by 2020. Only a third of these objects have been identified in the sky so far. In a recent paper with my undergraduate student Amir Siraj, we explained some puzzling properties of the Chicxulub asteroid as a tidal breakup of a long-period comet that passed close to the sun. If future sky surveys alert us to another fragment whose apparent size grows rapidly against the sky, wed better have a contingency plan to deflect its trajectoryor else immediately call our realtor.

Keeping up with the challenge of precision cosmology for the next few decades can demonstrate that the Hubble constant, which describes the expansion rate of the universe, is not really a constant, in accordance with the expected Sandage-Loeb test. In the long run, the only thing that stays constant is change. The accelerated expansion of the universe under the influence of so-called dark energy will be the ultimate manifestation of extragalactic social distancing in the post-COVID-19 era, preventing any future contact between us and civilizations outside our galaxy.

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A Movie of the Evolving Universe Is Potentially Scary - Scientific American

Big Tech hearing a chance to ‘rake the ultra-rich over the coals,’ Jim Cramer says – CNBC

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CNBC's Jim Cramer on Wednesday bemoaned the congressional hearing on antitrust claims in Big Tech, arguing that the companies included in the event should be considered America's "national champions" in a globalized world.

Another company in Microsoft, which was not summoned in the hearing, can also be considered among the prized group, he said.

"I come to praise the titans of tech, not bury them," the "Mad Money" host said, in an effort to "reframe" the discussion after the chief executives of Facebook, Amazon, AppleandAlphabet's Google testified Wednesday afternoon in front of a House Judiciary subcommittee.

These companies are the "best things the American economy has going for it" and the hearings "feel more like an opportunity to rake the ultra-rich over the coals," he said.

The hearing marked the first time all four executives Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Apple's Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai appeared before Congress at the same time.

America is the "top dog" in many parts of the technology industry, particularly those that big tech deals in, and the country needs to leverage tech to stay competitive with the rest of the world, especially an ascendant China, Cramer said.

While he's in favor of implementing regulations to reign in the business practices of the tech behemoths, including abusing their market powers, Cramer cast doubt about a divided Congress' ability to come to an agreement on a set of rules.

In Wednesday's hearing, Facebook's Zuckerberg was bashed for acquiring WhatsApp, then a nascent rival messaging app, for $19 billion in 2014.

Amazon's Bezos was questioned about using third-party seller data to gain a competitive edge on products the online retail giant sells.

Google's Pichai, who added the title of Alphabet CEO in December, was grilled on the company's China connections after dropping out of the U.S. Department of Defense's $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, cloud project deal. The chief was also questioned about its now-abandoned work on a Chinese search engine project called Dragonfly.

Meanwhile, Apple's Cook was pressed on how the company's equal treatment of developers on its App Store. The company has been dogged for taking a 30% cut of sales on in-app payments.

Cramer, though, said he is taking the other side of the coin.

"Every other industrialized [country] has so-called national champions. These are companies that let them compete worldwide and their governments bend over backwards to give them an edge," he said. "In an increasingly globalized economy, maybe America needs some national champions of its own."

Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft.

Questions for Cramer?Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC

Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up!Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram

Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com

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Big Tech hearing a chance to 'rake the ultra-rich over the coals,' Jim Cramer says - CNBC

Why bursting the tech salary bubble is a good thing | TheHill – The Hill

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In recent months, tech giants like Twitter, Shopify and Facebook have been announcing permanent remote work options for their staff, whether the COVID-19 pandemic subsides or not. It appears that the tech world and its CEOs are realizing the numerous benefits that come from giving workers more flexibility over their geographic location. According to recent surveys, 19 percent of employees want to work from home on a permanent basis after the health crisis is over.

But with Facebook CEO Mark ZuckerbergMark Elliot ZuckerbergFive takeaways from Big Tech's blowout earnings NYT media columnist Ben Smith calls Facebook's self-proclaimed patriotism 'very implausible' Facebook reports 11 percent revenue growth as usage surges amid pandemic MOREs announcement came what many see as a catch those Facebook employees that work remotely will have their salaries adjusted according to their location.

While this may sound unfair to some not least considering tech giants hefty profit margins this could be the much-needed salary reform that will make the tech world more accessible to workers. Going remote and adjusting wages accordingly can actually result in a more diverse tech scene, increased inclusivity in the workplace, and a change in how companies value and hold onto their workers. Heres how.

Diversity will improve

Building a diverse workforce should be a non-negotiable priority for todays businesses. We are painfully aware of the need to collectively move towards a fairer and more just society, and the role of US companies includes embracing workplace diversity and equality of opportunity. By bursting the tech salary bubble, the industry can further break the mold of its predictable tech hires.

In allowing people to apply for a job no matter where theyre based, Facebook and other companies will now be able to attract more diverse talent by sheer force of numbers. Statistics show that minorities are likely to be most affected by the financial restrictions of living in overpriced cities like San Francisco: In 2018, 1 in 5 black people residing in the United States lived below the poverty line, compared to 1 in 12 white people. Qualified candidates across the country who a few months ago would not even have been able to consider applying for a job in big tech will now come forward.

That single mom from rural Ohio who can create groundbreaking AI-powered marketing tools but doesnt have the time or money to commute to big city offices will now be able to join your talent pool. A physically disabled tech graduate who couldnt find an accessible job now has his pick of any workplace, and hell likely choose a business that has always valued diversity and inclusion.

Its worth considering that the top ten computer science schools in the United States include universities in non-traditional tech hubs like Texas, Georgia, and New Jersey. Hopefully, remote hiring will allow those skilled graduates to apply for tech jobs without uprooting from home states or hometowns.

Having a workforce that is representative of the U.S. population that includes people of color, people with disabilities, and those from low-income backgrounds inevitably leads to a better understanding of the challenges facing the country at large, beyond the confines of big tech cities. This will better inform companies as they develop their product, penetrate new market segments, and weed out the prominent problem of technology bias. Not to mention that diversity has a proven correlation to financial performance and innovation qualities that all companies hoping to survive the recession cant do without.

Work environments become more inclusive

While allowing employees to work remotely will no doubt see much of the workforce move out of tech hubs like Silicon Valley, many offices will remain open. The bursting tech bubble means that even employees who do work from the office should experience less exclusive environments due to a more accessible cost of living in traditional tech bubbles.

As fewer tech workers are drawn to the big tech locations to earn inflated salaries, the cost of living will fall. In fact, rental website Zumper recorded a record drop in San Francisco rent prices, with both one-bedroom and two-bedroom rents down 11 percent from last year. Thats in line with a wider trend of falling prices over the course of the pandemic. Reduced costs gives employees more equal access to opportunities and resources in big tech cities, making them less exclusive.

Those who take the remote opportunity to leave big cities should also benefit from more inclusive and harmonious work lives. Tech cities harbor multiple issues that induce stress and can affect workers mental wellbeing and productivity. Residents of San Francisco are antagonized by the housing crisis and excessive traffic, and a recent survey of local tech workers revealed that one third would leave the area if they could work remotely, even if it meant taking a pay cut.

Ultimately, leaving overpriced and overcrowded cities will result in a higher quality of life and better mental health and well-being for employees, even if their $300,000-a-year salary is reduced by 25 percent.

What the critics of Facebooks policy dont consider is that in the long term, the flexibility and trust created by remote work between employees and their companies will soon drown out concerns over salary shifts.

Companies will value their workers more

As the country becomes one big hiring pool for all tech companies alike, in the long run competition for the best talent will grow. And as tech salary bubbles dissipate, employers will have to attract candidates using more than just the promise of a hefty paycheck. Remote tech workers will have a broad pick of businesses seeking their expertise, and their demands will focus more on non-monetary benefits.

Tech companies will need to demonstrate how they will provide opportunities such as career progression, especially to minority communities who have historically been faced with fewer chances for advancement in STEM jobs. They should also offer wellness programs and employee benefit schemes as the world acknowledges the importance of ensuring the well-being of a remote workforce.

All of this will force employers to see their team members through a different lens: one which paints them as individuals with individual needs, not as human machines that work harder the more theyre paid. Company culture will become more centered around the non-salary-related rewards of working as part of a team, and those that are attracted to the role simply as a means to earn a big paycheck will likely be steered elsewhere.

And of course, by allowing employees to go remote, tech companies will save money on wages, office space and operational costs. This money can then be reinvested into furthering diversity and inclusion and well-being initiatives to staff.

If we do this right, the remote revolution promises to improve work culture across the board. Our productivity and mental health will improve while our carbon footprints fall. By going one step further and bursting the tech salary bubble, companies big and small will be more empowered to foster necessarily diverse and inclusive teams, in which workers feel significantly more valued as individuals.

Rachel Sheppard is the director of global marketing at global pre-seed accelerator Founder Institute and co-founder of the Female Founder Initiative, a program launched in 2016 as a means of offering support, funding, and visibility to female founders.

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Why bursting the tech salary bubble is a good thing | TheHill - The Hill

Congress looks to prove it can keep Big Tech in check – POLITICO

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In the past when tech company CEOs have testified the popular review of those hearings has not been positive for lawmakers," said Duke University researcher Matt Perault, who testified before House antitrust last year on behalf of Facebook, where he served as director of public policy. "Often it seems like they dont have the kind of understanding of the products and business models that most Americans do."

And even when lawmakers do their homework, hearings with the tech leaders often lost direction, with lawmakers asking questions far afield of their purported purpose and getting caught up in partisan feuding. Theyve sometimes jumped from topic to topic for hours, with questions on everything from cryptocurrency to data privacy to hate speech and allegations of bias. And when Pichai last appeared before the House Judiciary Committee, then under GOP control, Democrats and Republicans bitterly clashed over allegations the company stifles conservative views. (Google and other major platforms deny the charges).

This time has the potential to be different. The hearing is the culmination of the Democratic-led subcommittees investigation into competition online, which has included hundreds of hours of meetings and calls and the collection of over 1.3 million documents, according to senior Judiciary aides. That makes the members of the 15-person panel set to question the CEOs uniquely prepared for the challenge, according to Gene Kimmelman, senior adviser for consumer group Public Knowledge.

Weve seen in the past high-profile hearings with CEOs that are just one-offs thats not what this is, said Kimmelman, who served in the Justice Departments antitrust unit under the Obama administration. This is the culmination of many hearings, many interviews, thousands of hours of work by the staff and engagement with the members."

Officials are also hoping to keep the hearing from straying too far off course. Democratic lawmakers and senior House Judiciary aides say they expect Wednesday's session to have a needle-like focus on the competitive concerns posed by the companies, the central premise of the hearing.

I believe that it will be largely tethered to the antitrust concerns because that is the purpose of this committees investigation, it is the driving purpose behind the hearing, said Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), vice chair of the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, the 15-member panel hosting the session.

But Republicans say they are preparing for a wholly different kind of hearing: a free-wheeling event where lawmakers air their grievances on everything from competition to online misinformation and allegations of an anti-conservative bias in Silicon Valley.

Ahead of the hearing, Republican staffers on the Judiciary Committee urged lawmakers to make the bias allegations a focal point of the session, according to a memo obtained by POLITICO. And they suggested that proposing legislation to update U.S. antitrust law based off of the sessions findings would be premature dealing a blow to the prospects of a bipartisan bill emerging out of the investigation.

GOP Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado said while he is planning to press the CEOs on whether their acquisitions or their platforms stifle competition, he expects other lawmakers to fire off questions on a wide range of fronts, including the bias charges.

I think you will see a free-for-all, Buck said.

Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) said he anticipates Republicans will hone in particularly on Facebook and Google over accusations they stifle viewpoints on the right. Armstrong said those allegations are pressing "given how much influence they have over the general public coming into the election.

Some critics of the tech giants have voiced concern that raising issues like allegations of bias could dilute the hearing. Others say it's par for the course on Capitol Hill.

"Ive never seen a hearing not wander a bit astray," said Kimmelman. "Every lawmaker has a different angle on these things and different pet issues, but I do believe there is a desire to make sure at the very least they dot all the is and cross all the ts on antitrust and competition concerns.

To do that, lawmakers will need to pepper all four chief executives with exacting questions. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), another member of the subcommittee, said one strategy lawmakers plan to take Wednesday is to focus on issues that cut across the tech giants.

I think they can all be assured they will get a lot of love, each one of them, she said. We do intend to split our time and talk about each one of them because I do think that there are some common fact-patterns that have emerged across companies in terms of anti-competitive behavior.

Jayapal said one such area where lawmakers share concern about all four companies is their ability to box out competitors with the vast troves of consumer data they collect. Another, she said, is their ability to deploy "copy, acquire, kill" strategies to duplicate, buy out or otherwise neutralize budding rivals.

But the largely virtual format of the hearing could make it harder for lawmakers to come out on top in those exchanges, according to Daniel Schuman, policy director at the left-leaning advocacy group Demand Progress.

In a circumstance where youre going back and forth with the witness where they can pretend not to hear you, where you talk over each other, where you have a little bit of the technological confusion that goes on top of the interaction anyway it becomes more likely that the member can lose a little bit more control of the interaction," said Schuman, who has pushed for Congress to bolster its virtual offerings.

And the virtual format could lessen the overall impact of the hearing, according to Buck.

It's unfortunate that we don't have them in person," said the GOP lawmaker. "I think it would be a much more informative and impactful hearing if we were dealing with this in person.

Even if lawmakers' stick the landing on their questions, tech industry officials remain skeptical anything new will come out of them.

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Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel of tech trade group NetChoice, said hes very curious to know what questions will be asked that haven't been answered. Szabo, whose tech trade group counts Facebook, Google and Amazon as members, cited the fact that the companies have already turned over scores of documents to the committee.

He added, "What this is ultimately going to do is be dragging tech CEOs before Congress and berate them in front of the cameras, not looking necessarily for answers to antitrust, but looking for publicity."

But even the act of pressing the CEOs for answers on the record could mark a victory for lawmakers, according to Mitchell, regardless of whether or not the CEOs take the bait.

I do think that theres actual real information to be gleamed, and if Bezos and the other CEOs try to dodge those questions and evade and obfuscate, it adds to the picture of these companies believing that they are in charge and that they dont have to answer to anyone, she said.

Betsy Woodruff Swan contributed to this report.

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Congress looks to prove it can keep Big Tech in check - POLITICO

Latin America & The Caribbean – Weekly Situation Update (27 July – 2 August 2020) as of 2 August 2020 – Bahamas – ReliefWeb

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KEY FIGURES

4.8M CONFIRMED COVID-19 CASES IN LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN AS OF 2 AUGUST

REGIONAL: COVID-19

As of 2 August, PAHO/WHO report 4,843,806 and 197,811 deaths in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as 3,206,760 recovered cases.

KEY FIGURES

$73.7M SOCIO-ECONOMIC RESPONSE PLAN LAUNCHED IN COSTA RICA

CENTRAL AMERICA: COVID-19

GUATEMALA

The Government announced on 26 July that Guatemala would transition to a tiered municipal health alert system to determine localized restrictions following more than 130 days of nationwide confinement measures. The area-specific risk system will use rates of confirmed cases, positive tests and number of tests as criteria to be evaluated and updated every 15 days. Evaluations will yield either a red, orange, yellow or green level of alert, with red alerts being the most restrictive and green alerts the least.

COSTA RICA

The UN in Costa Rica published their COVID-19 socio-economic response plan for US$73.7 million, which focuses on sustainable recovery based on health, social protection and basic services, economic reactivation, macroeconomic and multilateral response and social cohesion and resilience. The plan, which will use the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a response road map for building back better, indicates that there is currently $25.9 million in available funding (35.1 per cent of required funding) for the 154 total activities that make up the plan.

KEY FIGURES

170K VULNERABLE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE ALONG THE BRAZIL-COLOMBIA-PERU BORDER

SOUTH AMERICA: COVID-19

The UN in Brazil, Colombia and Peru and rights groups in Ecuador are calling for scaled-up COVID-19 response at their shared border, an area home to 170,000 vulnerable indigenous people. The UN is especially concerned with limited health response capacities in these areas, while Ecuadors Alliance of Human Rights Organizations is concerned for groups along the triple Colombia-Ecuador-Peru border, some of whom are exposed to armed conflict. The UN is supporting response along the Brazil-Colombia-Peru triple border, with agencies providing technical support, services and supplies to relevant departmental health authorities in those three countries.

PERU

Per the Ministry of Health, 25.3 per cent of people in Lima and Callao may be COVID-19 positive, or some 2.7 million people. The Ministry says that the information, part of a technical study on COVID-19 prevalence, would allow them to estimate the susceptible population, as well as how long it takes to achieve herd immunity. The Ministry also notes the data will allow them to tailor vaccination programs when a vaccine becomes available.

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Latin America & The Caribbean - Weekly Situation Update (27 July - 2 August 2020) as of 2 August 2020 - Bahamas - ReliefWeb

Significant number of jobs predicted for the Caribbean by 2030 – NYCaribNews

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WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) A new study is predicting that a transition to a net-zero emission economy could create 15 million new jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) by 2030.

The study has been undertaken by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

To support a sustainable recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the region urgently needs to create decent jobs and build a more sustainable and inclusive future, the IDB and ILO said in a joint statement.

The report finds that the transition to a net-zero carbon economy would end 7.5 million jobs in fossil fuel electricity, fossil fuel extraction and animal-based food production.

However, the study notes that these lost jobs are more than compensated for new employment opportunities: 22.5 million jobs are created in agriculture and plant-based food production, renewable electricity, forestry, construction, and manufacturing.

The report is the first of its kind to highlight how shifting to healthier and more sustainable diets, which reduce meat and dairy consumption while increasing plant-based foods, would create jobs and reduce pressure on the regions unique biodiversity, according to the ILO and IDB.

With this shift, LACs agri-food sector could expand the creation of 19 million full-time equivalent jobs, despite 4.3 million fewer jobs in livestock, poultry, dairy, and fishing, the report says.

Moreover, the report offers a blueprint on how countries can create decent jobs and transition to net-zero emissions.

This includes policies facilitating the reallocation of workers, advance decent work in rural areas, offer new business models, enhance social protection and support to displaced, enterprises, communities and workers.

Social dialogue between the private sector, trade unions, and governments is essential to design long-term strategies to achieve net-zero emissions, which creates jobs, helps to reduce inequality and delivers on the (United Nations) Sustainable Development Goals, the report noted.

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Significant number of jobs predicted for the Caribbean by 2030 - NYCaribNews

IDB, ILO Predicts Significant Number of Jobs in the Caribbean by 2030 – caribbeannationalweekly.com

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WASHINGTON A new study is predicting that a transition to a net-zero emission economy could create 15 million net new jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) by 2030.

The study has been undertaken by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

To support a sustainable recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the region urgently needs to create decent jobs and build a more sustainable and inclusive future, the IDB and ILO said in a joint statement.

The report finds that the transition to a net-zero carbon economy would end 7.5 million jobs in fossil fuel electricity, fossil fuel extraction and animal-based food production.

However, the study notes that these lost jobs are more than compensated for new employment opportunities: 22.5 million jobs are created in agriculture and plant-based food production, renewable electricity, forestry, construction and manufacturing.

The report is the first of its kind to highlight how shifting to healthier and more sustainable diets, which reduce meat and dairy consumption while increasing plant-based foods, would create jobs and reduce pressure on the regions unique biodiversity, according to the ILO and IDB.

With this shift, LACs agri-food sector could expand the creation of 19 million full-time equivalent jobs, despite 4.3 million fewer jobs in livestock, poultry, dairy and fishing, the report says.

Moreover, the report offers a blueprint on how countries can create decent jobs and transition to net-zero emissions.

This includes policies facilitating the reallocation of workers, advance decent work in rural areas, offer new business models, enhance social protection and support to displaced, enterprises, communities and workers.

Social dialogue between the private sector, trade unions, and governments is essential to design long-term strategies to achieve net-zero emissions, which creates jobs, helps to reduce inequality and delivers on the (United Nations) Sustainable Development Goals, the report noted.

CMC

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IDB, ILO Predicts Significant Number of Jobs in the Caribbean by 2030 - caribbeannationalweekly.com

St Thomas Is Getting New Nonstop Flights on United Airlines – Caribbean Journal

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United Airlines is launching its newest Caribbean route next month, new scheduled service from Newark to St Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands.

United will be operating the route four times each week, with roundtrip service on Sundays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, according to the company.

The new flights will kick off Sept. 3.

United is also adding a pair of new routes to Puerto Rico, with new service from both Chicago and Washington-Dulles to San Juans Luis Munoz Marin International Airport.

Even with the new launch and the resumptions, United is flying just 30 percent of its wider international schedule as compared to the same period in 2019.

We continue to be realistic in our approach to building back our international and domestic schedules by closely monitoring customer demand and flying where people want to go, said Patrick Quayle, Uniteds vice president of International Network and Alliances. In September, were adding even more options for leisure travelers or those who want to visit friends and relatives, whether thats within the United States or around the world.

The US Virgin Islands has been open for tourism since the beginning of June. Heres what travelers need to know.

For more, visit USVI.

CJ

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St Thomas Is Getting New Nonstop Flights on United Airlines - Caribbean Journal

Pirates Of The Caribbean: 10 Things Everyone Missed About Elizabeth Swann – Screen Rant

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While some fans may think thePirates of the Caribbeanfranchise belongs to the showboating swashbuckler Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann remains one of the most beloved characters from the films due to her resourcefulness, brains, and beauty. She's become a role-model for youngpeople all over the world thanks to her believable character development, transcending her trappings as a lady of society and transforming into the Pirate King of the Brethren Court.

RELATED:Pirates of the Caribbean: The Worst Thing About Each Main Character, Ranked

With so much action on the high seas during the four films she was in, it's easy to miss some of the most intriguing aspects of her character. Taking a look back at her adventures, her metamorphosis reveals many mysteries that otherwise might have been lost to the depths.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Taleswas the fifth film of the franchise and intended to reboot it, but it failed to capture the imagination and entertainment of the original trilogy. It also destroyed Elizabeth's character.

She's given 2 minutes of screen time, and she's once again wearing a corset and gown like the prim and proper aristocratic lady she was in the first film. It's as though all of her character development into the Pirate King never happened.

WhenPirates of the Caribbean: At World's Endconcluded, fans were delighted to see Elizabeth wearing her Pirate King regalia, complete with a sword at her side. Even in the post credit scene featuring her ten year old son by Will Turner, she continued to wear clothing inspired by her pirate adventures.

RELATED:Pirates of the Caribbean: 10 Worst Things Elizabeth Swann Did, Ranked

When she appears again inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,she seems to have given up her identity as a former pirate to dress how a lady of society is expected to. Some viewers might have seen it as a sign of maturity, but for a woman like Elizabeth who wanted nothing more than to rip off her corset and sail the high seas, it seemed completely tone deaf.

Elizabeth Swann decides to raise her son on land instead of at sea while his father Will captains the Flying Dutchmen. It's never explained why she couldn't have raised her son on a ship, or taken a ship out to see his father in the middle of the ocean.

It wouldn't have voided Will's contract under the Dutchman, unless he was specifically sailing through alternate dimensions or to and from Davy Jones' Locker.

In the original script forPirates of the Caribbean,Jack Sparrow was a supporting character used to move the main plot along, which was focused on Will Turner saving Elizabeth Swann. He proved so popular however that he usurped the lovers' storyline and became the focus of the entire franchise.

Elizabeth and Will didn't even get to have a happy ending at the conclusion of the first three films they appeared in because Will became the captain of the Flying Dutchman, and it was Sparrow who sailed off into the sunset with the Black Pearl.

According to a Pirates of the Caribbeanpromotional interview with ScreenSlam, the character of Elizabeth Swann was originally intended to be a "damsel in distress" trope until Gore Verbinski and Keira Knightley decided to alter the character to have more agency.

As the series of films progressed, they worked together to specifically show a progression from an archetype that hada foundation in high-adventure literature -and Hollywood pirate films from the '30s and '40s- to something more modern, but her performance always paid homage to its roots.

When asked how she got into character, Keira Knightley often cited the corset Elizabeth had to wear as the biggest determinant. She explained that whenever it was on, she couldn't help but act more refined, especially since its tight application ensured she needed to be very economical with her words.

When it was removed, she was able to act more liberated, and become a more feral and energetic version of the character. Many times over he course of filming Knightley became light-headed from wearing it, especially since it whittled her figure down to a 20" waist.

When viewers first meet Elizabeth, she's 12 years old and making the crossing from England to Port Royal, Jamaica where her father will assume the position of governor. James Norrington, a lieutenant at the time, is 20.

RELATED:Pirates of the Caribbean: 10 Characters Elizabeth Should Have Been With (Other Than Will)

The main events of the film take place when Elizabeth is 20 and Norrington 28, and the disparity in their ages wouldn't have necessarily been problematic during the time period in which the film takes place, but knowing their history can be unsettling for some fans.

InPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,Elizabeth steals the cursed piece of Aztec gold from around Will Turner's neck, preventing Norrington and his men from accusing him of being a pirate. Years later when she falls into the water with it around her neck, it sends out a pulse that calls tothe Black Pearl and its cursed crew.

They return to Port Royal to steal it from her, but if the gold coin sends a signal to those it cursed when it touches the sea, it should have sent a signal when Will Turner went overboard as a young boy, causing the Pearl to turn around and claim its prize.

For many fans of the couple, Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner are considered romantic. They are willing to do whatever it takes across several films to save each other's lives, even if it means sacrificing their own.

On closer inspection however, their relationship is actually unhealthy, and determined by co-dependent behaviors that don't let them grow as individuals. By the time he becomes the new captain of the Flying Dutchman, they finally learn to appreciate each other.

After being named the Pirate King and successfully winning the Pirate War, Elizabeth Swann seemingly retired back to Port Royal after the battle to raise her son. No scene was filmed that sheds light onto who she passed her crown to.

For all viewers knew, she could have retained the title since nothing indicated she selected a successor. Presumably it was a title she could have passed onto her son when he came of age.

NEXT:Pirates Of The Caribbean Reboot: 5 Actresses We Want To Join Margot Robbie (& 5 We Don't)

Next Harry Potter: 10 Ways the Order of the Phoenix Got Worse and Worse

Kayleena has been raised on Star Wars and Indiana Jones from the crib. A film buff, she has a Western collection of 250+ titles and counting that she's particularly proud of. When she isn't writing for ScreenRant, CBR, or The Gamer, she's working on her fiction novel, lifting weights, going to synthwave concerts, or cosplaying. With degrees in anthropology and archaeology, she plans to continue pretending to be Lara Croft as long as she can.

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Pirates Of The Caribbean: 10 Things Everyone Missed About Elizabeth Swann - Screen Rant

Bermudian MP sends Emancipation Day message to the Caribbean – Loop News Cayman

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by Christopher Famous

As we look around our beloved Caribbean region, we see many things that have changed due to Covid 19. Less tourists, less work, hotels closed, all leading to mass unemployment, as never seen before in recent times.

Indeed, some may say we are in the worst of times, economic times to be precise.

However, let us, today, be proud that we are the descendants of those millions of people of the Sun that survived being captured in our motherland of Africa.

We are the descendants of those tens of millions of souls that survived the Middle Passage journey from Africa to the Americas, that lasted months, on often harrowing and unforgiving seas.

We are the descendants of those that survived centuries of unspeakable brutalities of; rape, mutilation, starvation and near genocide, on plantations throughout; North America, South America Central America and the Atlantic / Caribbean region.

We are the decendants of those who survived the indignation of; segregation, racial discrimination, unequal pay, denied job and education opportunities post 1834.

We are the descendants of those who ventured far from home to places such as America, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe who faced; racism, colourism, and sexism far from our Caribbean homelands.

So, today, despite the economic downturns and challenges that we face throughout the region, be proud, be very proud, for we are the collective offspring of those who stood up and never bowed down.

We are the survivors of centuries of the worst that humanity has produced, European Colonialism.

We are the Black Survivors.

This week, across the region, we will celebrate less than 200 years of Freedom, minus festivals, minus carnivals, minus cropovers and minus fetes.

Let us take this time to reflect on what liberation truly means to those that lost their lives in the most horrific ways, whose blood soaks the very same soil and sand on which we walk daily.

This week, please take yourselves and or your families, to visit those monuments to those who resisted the evils of slavery, in your respective islands.

Blessed Emancipation Day.

Blessed Mary Prince Day

Thomas Christopher Famous is a government Member of Parliament in Bermuda. He is the Bermuda government representative for Caribbean Relations and Caricom and writes weekly columns for various Caribbean news sites. Famous can be reached via WhatsApp at (441)-599-0901 or via email atcarib_pro@yahoo.com.

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Bermudian MP sends Emancipation Day message to the Caribbean - Loop News Cayman

Las Vegas: What’s open and closed amid coronavirus – Los Angeles Times

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Most Las Vegas resorts and restaurants, including pools and the citys most popular chill spots, are open for business. Bars, however, will remain closed indefinitely to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Though they wont be serving alcohol, Minus5 bars at the skywalk linking Luxor and Mandalay Bay, Venetian and the Linq Promenade offer a quick reprieve from outside temperatures expected to hit 113 this week. The bars will still be ice cold, but will put the freeze on alcohol for now in keeping with current mandates.

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Also, fans of the high-tech CES show need to rethink their plans. Organizers of the January event, which draws about 170,000 people, on Tuesday decided to host a four-day digital convention rather than a usual massive in-person gathering.

If youre planning to visit Las Vegas, you need to know:

Vdara reopened in mid-July. The resorts Market Cafe is open daily 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Vdara Pool & Cabanas, along with the pool bar, are open Fridays through Sundays. On other days, guests may use the pool at nearby Aria. Vdaras spa remains closed.

Ballys has reopened, along with a variety of restaurants and the resorts pool, Blu.

Aria, Delano and Mandalay Bay welcomed guests July 1. At Aria, Catch, Jean Georges Steakhouse and Salt & Ivy are open. At Mandalay Bay, Shark Reef Aquarium and several restaurants have reopened. Nobu, the hotel-within-a-hotel at Caesars Palace, reopened July 2.

The Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas and the Fly Linq at Linq Promenade started sending visitors soaring on July 2.

Two popular day clubs Liquid Pool Lounge at Aria and Wet Republic Ultra Pool at MGM Grand are open Thursdays to Sundays, and reservations are required.

Luxor and the adjoining Shoppes at Mandalay Place are open. At Luxor, the HyperX Esports Arena for high-tech gamers is open, along with a handful of restaurants, including Diablos Cantina and Pyramid Cafe.

At the Shoppes, the popular Minus5 Ice Experience provides the chill as Vegas temperatures rise to triple digits. Its located on a skywalk linking Luxor and Mandalay Bay. Several other restaurants also have reopened.

Paris and Westgate hotel-casinos reopened in mid-June. Paris opened its hotel, casino and pool as well as dining options such as Gordon Ramsay Steak and the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, with stunning views of the Fountains of Bellagio across the street.

The Buffet at Wynn returned, but can you still call it a buffet? Diners are seated in the same pre-pandemic elegant dining area, but the long steam tables full of food have disappeared. Instead of standing in line, plate in hand, diners never have to leave their tables to savor dozens of dishes. They simply order from a menu featuring photos and descriptions of roughly 90 offerings. Its still all you can eat, but theres a two-hour time limit. The Buffet, the first to reopen on the Strip, is open daily. Prices range from $36.99 for a weekday brunch to $65.99 for weekend dinner. Reservations are required.

The new restaurant Elio at Wynn opened for a summer preview starting 5:30 p.m. Thursdays to Sundays. Guests choose from contemporary Mexican dishes by executive chef Sarah Thompson.

Wolfgang Pucks Spago, located lakeside at Bellagio, serves dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays to Tuesdays.

The Sahara introduced reservations for its baccarat, blackjack and roulette games. With space at gaming tables limited because of social distancing, guests can book a seat up to 72 hours in advance. Otherwise, they may wind up standing around waiting for a seat to open up.

Oscars Steakhouse, named for Vegas former mayor, reopened for dinner from Thursday to Sunday. The restaurant, under a glass dome at downtowns Plaza Hotel & Casino, provides great views of the Fremont Street Experience.

Topgolf, a popular attraction themed around golf and other sports at MGM Grand, opened its doors too.

The Cosmopolitans adults-only Marquee pool is open 11 a.m. until sunset Fridays to Sundays, with resident DJs and plenty of food and drink. Reservations are required.

Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood: About half of the milelong malls 200 shops, restaurants and attractions have partly reopened with limited hours (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.). The adjoining Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino remains closed.

Excalibur: Inside the castle walls, guests can enjoy gaming, a limited number of restaurants, the pool complex, fitness center and Fun Dungeon Arcade.

Caesars Palace: The hotel-casino as well as the sprawling Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis, complete with a swim-up gaming area, has reopened. The pool complex is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The resorts race and sports book, and Restaurant Guy Savoy, are open too.

The Linq remains closed, but the casino will be up and running, as well as its restaurants.

For dining options, Hash House A Go Go is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, and celebrity chef Guy Fieris Vegas Kitchen & Bar is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday to Sunday. Influence, the resorts pool, welcomes guests 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. The High Roller observation wheel at the Linq Promenade is open with a limit of 10 passengers per cabin to allow for social distancing. (Before the mid-March shutdown, it was 40.)

Big Elvis, a.k.a. Pete Vallee, was the first performer to return to Harrahs. The act that has been a Vegas stalwart for years returns at 2, 3:30 and 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays at Harrahs Piano Bar and its free.

Kenny Davidsens Celebrity Piano Bar a few blocks east of the Strip along Flamingo Road has relaunched at the Tuscany hotel-casino. In this pandemic era, the lounge has a wall of plexiglass that separates audience members from the stage. Shows start at 8:45 p.m. on Fridays.

Caesars Palace, the Flamingo and Harrahs Las Vegas are open. So are (from north to south on the Strip): the Strat, Sahara, Circus Circus, Wynn-Encore, Treasure Island, the Venetian, Harrahs, Caesars Palace, Bellagio, the Cosmopolitan, MGM Grand, the Signature at MGM Grand and New York-New York.

Downtown, the hotels along Fremont Street that are welcoming guests are, from east to west, El Cortez, The D, Fremont, Four Queens, Hotel Apache, Golden Nugget, Golden Gate and Plaza.

The Neon Museum reopened in late May. Even though much of the site is outdoors, the number of visitors is limited at any one time. Visitors are encouraged to book timed tickets in advance.

The Mob Museum in downtown has also reopened, with temperature checks for visitors at the entrance. The museum encourages people to buy timed tickets in advance.

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Las Vegas: What's open and closed amid coronavirus - Los Angeles Times

Smoke from Apple Fire reaches Las Vegas and Phoenix, prompts air quality warning for Inland Empire – KTLA Los Angeles

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A massive wildfire burning in the San Bernardino Mountains has sent plumes of smoke as far as Nevada and Arizona, prompting officials to extend an air quality warning for parts of the Inland Empire for the third day in a row Monday.

Winds blowing from the west in the area of the so-called Apple Fire will persist at least for the next several days, the South Coast Air Quality Management District said Sunday.

Since the start of the fire on Friday afternoon, most of the smoke has either remained well above the surface or has been transported to the northeast through the Morongo Valley and Yucca Valley, reads an advisory from SCAQMD.

Smoke could also affect the Coachella Valley, eastern Riverside County, Joshua Tree National Park and the elevated areas of the San Gorgonio Pass, the agency said.

SCAQMD urged residents who smell smoke or see ash from the wildfire to avoid vigorous physical activity and remain indoors with the windows and doors closed.

The SCAQMD website has an updated map indicating the air quality across Southern California. As of 11:25 a.m. Monday, officials described the air quality in Riverside and San Bernardino counties as unhealthy for sensitive groups.

A satellite image shows smoke being blown as far as Las Vegas and Phoenix.

The Apple Fire ignited around 5 p.m. Friday along a road in the Cherry Valley community and has since exploded to at least 41 square miles, forcing some 7,800 residents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties to evacuate.

The blaze was moving through dry brush toward the northeast, according to fire officials. While authorities have not reported any injuries, the blaze has destroyed at least three structures.

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Smoke from Apple Fire reaches Las Vegas and Phoenix, prompts air quality warning for Inland Empire - KTLA Los Angeles

Kanye West withdraws petition to get on NJ’s 2020 ballot – Las Vegas Sun

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By Mike Catalini, Associated Press

Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020 | 8:56 a.m.

TRENTON, N.J. Kanye West withdrew his petition to appear as a presidential candidate on New Jersey's ballot, according to an email chain between a judge and what appears to be the rapper's campaign email address.

In email correspondence obtained by The Associated Press, an unidentified person writing from a Kanye 2020 address tells Administrative Law Judge Gail Cookson that West is dropping his effort to appear on New Jersey's ballot.

At this time, Kanye 2020 has no further option than to regrettably withdraw from New Jersey and cease further efforts to place Mr. Wests name on the New Jersey ballot," the Kanye 2020 email said late Monday.

Cookson replied Tuesday, accepting the withdrawal.

I will consider this email as a request for a withdrawal of your petition to be placed in nomination for the President of the United States in the State of New Jersey," Cookson wrote.

Election law attorney Scott Salmon objected to West's petition last month, arguing that itfailed to pass legal musterbecause signatures were incomplete and in some cases appeared written in very similar handwriting.

Salmon, who is a registered Democrat but brought the complaint on his own behalf, reacted positively to the news that West had withdrawn.

I am glad that the Kanye campaign has realized that their petition was so deficient that it wasnt even worth defending," Salmon said in a phone interview. It sort of highlights the fact that it shouldn't have been submitted in the first place."

The New Jersey petition showed a number of signatures looked nearly identical, including lower-case is dotted with a small circle. Some signatures lacked complete addresses.

Questions about why West withdrew and whether the campaign disputed Salmon's objection were sent to the Kanye 2020 email address.

New Jersey is a reliably Democratic state in presidential elections, siding with the Democrat since 1988.

The status of West's presidential campaign and whether he is truly seeking the White House remains unclear.

Kim Kardashian West last month asked for empathy for her husband and said he is bipolar.

Last month in South Carolina, Kanye West delivered an unconventional campaign introduction speech during which he proposed a $1 million payout to mothers and decried Harriet Tubman for her work on the Underground Railroad.

The Kanye 2020 website invites visitors to sign a petition so he can appear on the South Carolina ballot and uses a shorthand name that West uses as his Twitter handle as a slogan: Ye for President.

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Kanye West withdraws petition to get on NJ's 2020 ballot - Las Vegas Sun

The AR/VR ecosystem Are we there yet? – VentureBeat

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Digi-Capitals virtual and augmented reality forecast is for global revenue to grow from over $13 billion this year to more than $67 billion by 2024. Yet todays market is still evolving beyond its early stage of offering related point solutions to specific problems, to becoming a fully functioning ecosystem in its own right. Different parts of the market are moving at different rates, with many shifting pieces to the puzzle.

Lets look at where we are today with consumer AR/VR markets, not enterprise.

For platforms to be platforms, they need active users. Lots of them. Table stakes are tens of millions, and hundreds of millions are better but billions are the ultimate goal. For comparison, most of us are active users of the biggest consumer platform on the planet: mobile. According to Ericsson, mobile now has as many subscriptions as there are people on the planet.

Mobile AR can now claim to be a consumer platform, with Digi-Capital forecasting over 1 billion active installed base across messaging-based, OS-based, and web-based mobile AR platforms in 2020. For example, ByteDances TikTok use grew 130% in the first week of March for a weekly total over 3 billion hours due to both higher user numbers and average time per session. This was a significant factor in TikTok owner ByteDance (also owner of Chinese messaging platform Douyin) being reported by Reuters to have 130% revenue growth to $5.6 billion in Q1 2020. However, ByteDance is now dealing with different challenges across several fronts.

Looking to the long-term, Digi-Capital forecasts messaging-based mobile ARs active installed base to top 1.5 billion by 2024, OS based mobile AR over 1 billion by 2024, followed by web-based mobile AR (at a much higher growth rate). This could see all mobile AR platforms combined active installed base over 2.7 billion in 5 years time.(Note: total figures for active installed base types inherently involve double counting, exaggerating total figures due to users active on more than one platform. However, this enables direct comparison between different platform types and platforms.)

VR has different user dynamics, partly because of a lack of plurality, but mainly due to user attrition. One of the challenges for VR is a primary entertainment focus (games, video), which despite its immersion can be done more easily and cheaply on existing devices. Also the social side of VR hasnt scaled even Facebook announced it was starting again from scratch with a totally new social VR platform late last year. When describing ambitions for Facebook Horizon, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Horizon is going to have this property where it just expands and gets better. Yet scale remains a question. While there is a dedicated core of active VR users, there arent enough casual users to scale VR as a platform yet.

If Apple launches smartphone-tethered smartglasses as an iPhone peripheral in late 2022, as Digi-Capital forecasts, well get a better idea of what consumer smartglasses Daily Active Users (DAU) could look like. But as weve said many times, only Tim Cook and his inner circle really know if and when Apples going to enter. Magic Leap pivoted away from the consumer market, with former CEO Rony Abovitz saying, While our leadership team, board, and investors still believe in the long-term potential of our IP, the near-term revenue opportunities are currently concentrated on the enterprise side. Its also early days for consumer smartglasses startups like nReal, despite CEO Chi Xu describing it as a cell phone companion taking a different approach to Google Glass, HoloLens and Magic Leap. Similarly, Snap Spectacles (not smartglasses) and Google Glass highlighted some of the consumer challenges for high tech goggles.

The most important economic lesson from mobile is Frequency Revenue ( means proportional to). In other words, high user frequency = money. For example, top 1% grossing mobile apps deliver 35 times the sessions per day of top 5% apps. And going back to active users, lifetime value of top 1% grossing apps is 20 times that of the top 5%. While its obvious, you need to hold on to users and give them something they want to do every day to make money. There are big differences between AR/VR and mobile, but this remains a crucial dynamic.

Mobile AR has shown what is possible for major AR enabled messaging platforms, with Facebook Messenger, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat as standouts. While each has a different approach to user engagement, usage frequency for AR lenses/filters is high, with Snapchat reporting AR features used by three quarters of its users on a daily basis. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said, Theres a lot of demand right now from businesses to think about different ways to try things on. People have been excited about the potential for this for a long time.

Mobile AR is a big part of why messaging platforms are so valuable, driving massive user generated content consumption against which to sell advertising. Its worth noting that a lot of this ad spend is going toward traditional ad units viewed around user generated mobile AR content (i.e., filters and lenses on messaging platforms), rather than just mobile AR ad units. This does not mean that sponsored mobile AR filters and lenses are not a significant part of the mix going forward. Pokmon Go has also delivered high usage frequency.

Many VR headsets get used by consumers less than once a day, with a significant proportion every few days, weekly, or even monthly. Our User Strategy teams product/market fit reviews for startups have consistently shown this dynamic even when users love their VR apps. The words evenings, weekends and holidays come up frequently, particular for under-34 Snapchat demographic users. Not great for frequency.

Again with smartglasses it is too early to tell, but app developers might need a mental model closer to mobile than enterprise to get frequency to work. Lightweight, short duration apps that are opened tens to hundreds of times a day could keep smartglasses on peoples faces when theyre ready for prime time. No pressure there, then.

We think about use cases for new technology platforms in terms of valuable versus critical. Valuable use cases might be cool and technically hard to do, but either dont fundamentally transform user experience or arent important to users. Critical use cases enable lots of users to do something they really care about, and that couldnt be done in any other way. Critical is interesting, but valuable? Not so much.

One critical use case has emerged for mobile AR AR filters/lenses in mobile messaging apps. Snap said in June that 170 million Snapchatters engage with AR daily nearly 30 times every day, so its easy to see how mobile AR has become part of the core user loop for a significant proportion of messaging users. Pokmon Go is also notable, but might be considered an outlier due to its singular scale in the mobile AR games space.

VR is cool, technically hard to do, and can take you to other worlds. But critical? VRs entertainment focus effectively makes it a subset of the games market for consumers, as evidenced by the majority of top VR apps on Steam, Facebook/Oculus and Sony app stores (as well as enterprise use cases promoted by HTC and others). Beyond games, a critical consumer use case hasnt emerged for VR since Facebook acquired Oculus 6 years ago. For comparison, Uber launched three years after the iPhone.

As smartglasses are largely enterprise-focused today, again its early for critical consumer use cases. The first could evolve from mobile AR, but they are more likely to come from native smartglasses use cases that only work for that form-factor.

(Source: Digi-Capital AR/VR Analytics Platform)

Mobile consumers spend an average of 90% of their phone time in apps (versus 10% for web), tend to use just 10 mobile apps regularly, and spend over three quarters of that time in their top three apps. A majority of users download zero apps per month too. This means critical use cases are not enough. They need to be features of critical apps we use all the time already, or something so insanely great that we might actually download it.

This dynamic has proven to be mobile ARs secret weapon, with messaging as the critical app for mobile AR. The huge success of Pokmon Go came from a specific set of circumstances that are hard to replicate, and Live View in Google Maps remains a promising AR functionality. Houzz CEO Adi Tatarko has discussed how its mobile AR features drive an extraordinary 11-times sales uplift for ecommerce as a feature of an already successful app, saying that were very proud as a technology company that we can always be in front of the best technologies and apply them very deeply into our own industry. So mobile incumbents might have a disproportionate impact on mobile ARs ecosystem compared to startup insurgents.

The challenges for critical VR use cases apply to critical VR apps too. Its hard to describe a VR app you couldnt live without, even if you love Facebooks Beat Saber. Its too early to tell with smartglasses again, but their critical use cases might need to be more than ports from breakout mobile AR successes.

Many people in the augmented reality industry are excited about AR Cloud, a persistent 3D real-world data layer for shared AR apps. Apple, Google, Niantic and others are positioning for the future of the technology, and it could become a key enabler for the ecosystem for both mobile AR and smartglasses. Yet critical use cases and monetization remain open questions, and even Niantic CEO John Hanke has been quoted as saying that, AR in and of itself is not a magic bullet for a hitthere are some real drawbacks to it. Google and Uber are proof that platform economics can take time to hit their stride, so the excitement may yet be warranted. High Fidelity CEO Philip Rosedale explored blockchain early on as a generalized digital asset registry, but the company pivoted away from its original social VR platform before that approach caught on.

For the Consumer AR/VR Ecosystem to succeed, massive installed bases for underlying hardware and software platforms are required. While this does not guarantee users downloading or using AR/VR apps, without them theres little chance of success.

As above, mobile AR has solved this problem due in no small part to high mobile messaging app usage. So while mobile AR has many challenges to solve to go broader than messaging and games, installed base appears to be a done deal. VR might only top 10 million installed base by 2023, so again looks like a subset of the games market for consumers (as well as some enterprise users). Smartglasses could produce tens of millions installed base by 2024 (again if and when Apple enters), and result in a combined AR/VR headset installed base over 50 million in 5 years (or around 2% of mobile AR).

Todays critical hardware is the smartphone. Its the first, most frequent, and last thing most of us look at every day. So mobile AR has critical hardware already. And if were right about Apple adding rear-facing depth sensors to the iPhone this year, functionality could get better for a broader set of users. Fast Company recently reported a source with knowledge as confirming our thinking, so well all know whether or not this happens later in the year.

VR hardware is valuable, but its usage patterns dont make it look critical yet. So despite the relative success of Facebooks Oculus Quest and Sonys PSVR, VR seems to have found a deep niche audience without going mass-market.

Smartglasses need an Apple quality device (whether made by Apple or somebody else) to be critical. They could start out as mobile peripherals, but a device capable of replacing your phone might be whats needed to truly scale. However there are major technical issues to solve first, so this could take a few years.

The ecosystems future could depend more on internal corporate investment than startups raising cash from venture capitalists. For example, Apple, Facebook, ByteDance, and Snaps internal augmented reality investments over recent years might prove greater than the largest augmented and virtual reality investment by VCs. So while attention has focused on monster rounds for Magic Leap and others, a recent decline in VC virtual and augmented reality investment back to pre-Facebook/Oculus levels (as reported in VentureBeat) means that the corporate world could prove more important for fueling market growth.

Mobile ARs consumer leaders are primarily major messaging platform holders like Facebook, ByteDance, and Snap, as well as OS based mobile AR holders Apple and Google. Niantic is also a mobile AR market leader, but has yet to evolve at scale beyond hit game Pokmon Go. Consumer VR has the usual suspects of Facebook, Sony, HTC, and Valve, but their leadership is limited by VR market scale so far. Apple stands out as a potential consumer smartglasses hero, but the company hasnt talked about product, let alone launched anything yet.

Mobile AR is AR/VRs fully functioning ecosystem today, albeit in a specific vertical built on mobile messaging platforms (again, Pokmon Go looks more like an outlier so far). It will be fascinating to see how messaging incumbents build out from their beachheads, and how effectively they layer ecommerce on top of todays largely ad-driven business model.

VR appears challenged at the ecosystem level at this stage of the market, with no clear catalyst on the horizon despite steady growth. And while the consumer smartglasses market doesnt really exist yet, Cook and friends could change everything if and when they decide its time for one more thing. Its not like they havent done it before.

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The AR/VR ecosystem Are we there yet? - VentureBeat

Spixii Joins Duck Creek Technologies Partner Ecosystem, Offering Award-Winning Claim Solution to Deliver on Customer Expectations at the Moment of…

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LONDON (PRWEB) August 04, 2020

Spixii, a leading insurtech, announced today that it has integrated its award-winning conversational process platform with the Duck Creek Platform from Duck Creek Technologies, a leading provider of core system solutions for the property/casualty insurance industry. Available today, the Spixii Claims solution is available on Duck Creeks Content Exchange, enabling insurer customers to submit loss information in a personal, immediate, and 24/7/365 available channel while insurers can scale their claims processes with further automation.

While one-to-one conversations create trust between customers and businesses, they are difficult to scale, and people end up queuing with call centres, saturating quickly. Web live chats also saturate after a few conversations held simultaneously, and the conversations held are analogue and lacking performance in terms of speed, consistency, and execution of queries.

With the Spixii conversational process platform, insurers can:Scale expert insurance conversations by automating them using Spixii Intelligent ChatbotsIntegrate their processes with the Duck Creek Suite via the Spixii Connectivity HubEnable continuous improvement with Spixii Advanced Analytics and Business Insights

Chatbots are only useful if they complete the transactions users wish to perform. This is why by integrating with Duck Creek Claims through an Anywhere Enabled Integration, the Spixii Claims solution offers a strong and unique proposition, responding to high customer expectations by servicing their needs online in real time while giving agility and a strong foundation for customer-centric digital processes for insurers.

Bart Patrick, EMEA MD, Duck Creek, said, Straight-through processing is the new standard for simple claims, as customers are increasingly happy without a human touch. The Spixii Claims solution interacts directly with Duck Creek Claims workflows, creating operational efficiencies while increasing customer satisfaction and service. We are glad to welcome Spixii to the Duck Creek Partner Ecosystem.

Renaud Million, CEO, Spixii, said: The ability to deliver at the moment of truth is what precisely defines the promise of insurance companies. This ability can be difficult to maintain outside office hours, during surges, or under adverse external circumstances. By integrating the Spixii Claims solution with Duck Creek Claims, customers can rely on an immediate, 24/7/265 available, personal, and impactful service. Allowing insurers to process valid claims as soon as possible while making the claims processes more robust with automation, the benefits go beyond amazing user experiences by improving core business performance and making the moment of truth an opportunity to retain customers and grow.

The Duck Creek Partner Ecosystem includes systems integrators, consulting/advisory, and solution partners that offer a breadth and depth of complementary value-add solutions and services to extend the power of the Duck Creek Platform to insurance carrier customers, enabling them to more quickly and efficiently meet their business challenges.

For more information about Duck Creeks Partner Ecosystem, please visit https://www.duckcreek.com/partner.

For more information about Spixiis partners, please visit https://www.spixii.com/partners.

To access the technical guide on how to enable the Spixii Claims solution in Duck Creek OnDemand, please visit https://www.duckcreek.com/content-exchange/spixii_integration.

About Duck Creek TechnologiesDuck Creek Technologies is a leading provider of core system solutions to the P&C and General insurance industry. By accessing Duck Creek OnDemand, the companys enterprise Software-as-a-Service solution, insurance carriers are able to navigate uncertainty and capture market opportunities faster than their competitors. Duck Creeks functionally-rich solutions are available on a standalone basis or as a full suite, and all are available via Duck Creek OnDemand. For more information, visit https://www.duckcreek.com.

About SpixiiSpixii translates customer-facing processes into automated conversations using the Spixii conversational process platform. Recognised amongst the Cool Vendors in Insurance by Gartner in 2018 and certified ISO 27 001 for information security, Spixii enables leading insurance companies to be more resilient and performant with end-to-end automation while providing their customers with superior experience and keeping the personal touch with well-designed conversations. For more information, please visit https://www.spixii.com.

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DIY phishing kits dissected: Organizations urged to tackle the underground ecosystem that democratized cybercrime – The Daily Swig

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Off-the-shelf tools give attackers everything they need to build authentic-looking phishing campaigns

Organizations must understand the tools used by cyber-scammers if theyre to tackle the growing phishing threat, according to a white paper that examines the DIY kits that are driving the phenomenon.

Written by threat intelligence firm ZeroFOX, The Anatomy of a Phishing Kit explores the phishing kit business model and ecosystem, which make the process so easy that even the least capable of scammers is able to pull off a phishing campaign.

Small-time cybercriminals need not manage their own infrastructure or design their own scams, thanks to the growing prevalence of readymade phishing kits.

These off-the-shelf tools give attackers everything they need to build an authentic-looking website and lure victims into entering sensitive personal information via emails or social media posts purporting to come from trusted sources.

To install the kit, wannabe cybercriminals set up a dropper email inbox, and sometimes a Telegram channel, ZeroFOX researchers said.

They then configure the kit to send results to droppers; buy infrastructure via web hosts, domains, or compromised websites; and unzip a file containing the kit onto a target machine.

Operators then spam the phishing kit URL, usually via SMS, email, or social media.

The research focuses on sophisticated vendors that emulate the licensing model used by legitimate Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) vendors, rather than unlicensed or cracked kits.

These premium vendors typically provide technical support via social media or slick tutorial videos hosted on the dark web or anonymous chat applications.

RELATED Healthcare email hack exposes 78,000 cardiovascular patients data

Via administrator dashboards, users can access detailed logs of visits to their malicious sites and the sensitive information disclosed, as well as training guides and other tools.

If their phishing sites are identified as malicious and taken down, attackers can quickly set up new domains to minimize downtime.

Easy-to-configure letters emails that spoof legitimate organizations are also available from vendors, as well as from phishing communities found on social media, chat apps, or invite-only forums.

Phishing kits are helping to fuel a rise in email and social media scams

In response to growing demand, the number of phishing kits advertised on underground cybercrime marketplaces doubled, while prices jumped from $122 to $304, between 2018 and 2019, according to Group-IB research dissected by The Daily Swig.

And Akamai reported in April that phishing kits were being repurposed to target a newly dispersed workforce during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The greater availability and market of the kits definitely contributes to the overall increase in phishing activity, Zack Allen, director of threat operations at ZeroFOX, tells The Daily Swig.

With browser-based exploits having been almost eliminated by the latest browser security features, the money in malicious websites specifically is almost exclusively in phishing now.

The ZeroFOX Alpha Team found that the price of phishing kits invariably paid in cryptocurrency appeared to be roughly pegged to the popularity of the targeted sectors.

The most widely imitated sectors according to the latest phishing figures(PDF) from the Anti-Phishing Working Group SaaS/webmail (accounting for 33.5% of campaigns), financial institutions (19.4%), and payment platforms (13.3%) were also targeted by the most expensive licensed kits.

It is clear that financial institutions offer lucrative opportunities for attackers to profit due to the nature of financial transactions and inherent trust built between financial consumers and the institutions themselves, said the ZeroFOX researchers.

Read more of the latest cybersecurity research news

SaaS/webmail kits, meanwhile, could be used by spammers to do additional pivots through email in order to obtain access to accounts owned by the victim.

Kits that spoofed social media companies (only accounting for 8.3% of campaigns) and cloud storage vendors (3.9%) were priced for the cash-strapped cybercrook and often circulated for free.

Organizations must ramp up their counter-phishing efforts in the face of proliferating, increasingly well-equipped enemies, suggests Zack Allen.

In some ways, its a lot harder to catch phishing pages due to the use of kits, he explains.

The latest innovations include geo-fencing victims to a particular region of the world, as well as only allowing mobile users to view the site. This is typically a result of an actor who can configure and code these kits for their own use, but since its now consumer-focused, much less-sophisticated operators can use these features.

Organizations should defend against an ecosystem rather than just a link in an email, advises the white paper.

Analyzing the kits, the developers behind the kits as well as the TTPs of the operators can provide a cybersecurity team a holistic view of who and what they are combating, the report states.

READ MORE Ledger data breach impacts one million users, hardware wallet funds are safe

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DIY phishing kits dissected: Organizations urged to tackle the underground ecosystem that democratized cybercrime - The Daily Swig

Addressing the potential impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on The Wearable Technology Ecosystem Market: Quantitative Analysis from 2018 to 2030…

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The report on the The Wearable Technology Ecosystem market provides a birds eye view of the current proceeding within the The Wearable Technology Ecosystem market. Further, the report also takes into account the impact of the novel COVID-19 pandemic on the The Wearable Technology Ecosystem market and offers a clear assessment of the projected market fluctuations during the forecast period. The different factors that are likely to impact the overall dynamics of the The Wearable Technology Ecosystem market over the forecast period (2020-2026) including the current trends, growth opportunities, restraining factors, and more are discussed in detail in the market study.

The Wearable Technology Ecosystem Market report provides in-depth review of the Expansion Drivers, Potential Challenges, Distinctive Trends, and Opportunities for market participants equip readers to totally comprehend the landscape of the The Wearable Technology Ecosystem market. Major prime key manufactures enclosed within the report alongside Market Share, Stock Determinations and Figures, Contact information, Sales, Capacity, Production, Price, Cost, Revenue and Business Profiles are (270 Vision, 3L Labs, 4DForce, 4iii Innovations, 9Solutions, Abbot Laboratories, Acer, AcousticSheep, Active Mind Technology, Adidas, AGPtek, AliveCor, Alphabet, Amazon, Amber Alert GPS, Ambit Networks, AMD (Advanced Micro Devices), AngelSense, Anthem Insurance Companies, Aplus, Appirio, Apple). The main objective of the The Wearable Technology Ecosystem industry report is to Supply Key Insights on Competition Positioning, Current Trends, Market Potential, Growth Rates, and Alternative Relevant Statistics.

Get Free Sample PDF (including COVID19 Impact Analysis, full TOC, Tables and Figures) of The Wearable Technology Ecosystem Market Report @ https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid1753278

The Wearable Technology Ecosystem Market By Capability, Production and Share By Manufacturers, Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers,The Wearable Technology Ecosystem Market Share of Manufacturers, Revenue and Share By Manufacturers, Producing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Kind, Market Competitive Scenario And Trends, Market Concentration Rate.

Later, the report gives detailed analysis about the major factors fuelling the expansion of The Wearable Technology Ecosystem Market in the coming years. Some of the major factors driving the growth of The Wearable Technology Ecosystem Market are-

The Wearable Technology Ecosystem Market Regional Analysis Includes:

Moving forward, the researched report gives details about the strategies applied by companies as well as new entrants to expand its presence in the market.On the basis on the end users/applications,this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, The Wearable Technology Ecosystem market share and growth rate of The Wearable Technology Ecosystem foreach application, including-

On the basis of product,this report displays the sales volume, revenue (Million USD), product price, The Wearable Technology Ecosystem market share and growth rate ofeach type, primarily split into-

The market study report also fragments the market on basis regions and sub regions. Furthermore, discusses the contribution of major regions that are likely to influence the market in the coming years.

Key Questions Answered in the Report:-

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India Gaming Summit 2020: How Dream11 plans to build the esports ecosystem from the bottoms up – The Financial Express

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Since its launch in 2008, Dream11 has posted a growth on the back of its official partnership with Indian Premier League (IPL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), among other sports leagues. In the last five years the platform has witnessed a rise in users from three lakh users to 8.2 crore , and capitalising on this, Dream11 plans to invest in the esports ecosystem over next two years. From coaching to sports analytics, we are going to invest heavily in grassroot sports development for the next two years. Our aim is to help build the esports ecosystem by providing capital to these initiatives and knowledge in digital to help them expand aggressively. Through this, well build the ecosystem from bottoms up, Harsh Jain, co-founder, Dream11, said in a fireside chat with Vinit Karnik, business head, ESP Global at the inaugural edition of India Gaming Summit held virtually.

Talking about Dream11s streaming platform FanCode, Jain highlighted that nearly 95% of the nations viewership goes towards cricket (mainly IPL and BCCI held matches), this has created a huge gap in the broadcast for the other sports viewers. FanCode, Jain claims, offers personalised sports content to fulfill every sports viewers appetite. We launched FanCode as an incubation to solve streaming for both content and commerce. Fancode is an aggregator platform that would welcome any other person to reach content to our 8.2 crore users in a personalised way. We are trying to solve different sports fans problems in India hence, where Dream11 solves fan engagement via fantasy sports, FanCode solves personalised content and commerce problems for fans, he added.

Harsh Jain also touched upon how the platform has witnessed a 5x rise in female audiences and female gamers, propelling FanCode to include women sports content. Its interesting how the number of women playing on our platform is growing at a faster pace than the number of men playing on our platform. Capitalising on this, we have started covering a lot more women sports content which has subsequently worked in our benefit as we have seen a massive uptake in our viewership, he stated.

Read Also:India Gaming Summit 2020: How personalised experiences will further drive the growth of gaming industry

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India Gaming Summit 2020: How Dream11 plans to build the esports ecosystem from the bottoms up - The Financial Express

Huawei Ecosystem has gone beyond the heights with 1.6 M Global Developers – – Technology Times Pakistan

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Huawei shared the latest progress on both Huawei Mobile Services Ecosystem and AppGallery at the 19th China Internet Conference.

Huawei Mobile Services Ecosystem is growing rapidly, reaching 700 million global Huawei device users, with a year-on-year growth of 32%. The number of registered Huawei developers worldwide has reached 1.6 million, up 76% year-on-year, with more than 81,000 innovative applications integrated with HMS Core open capabilities.

For over 30 years, Huawei has worked closely with partners to bring better digital connectivity to people and communities around the world. It believes that in the world increasingly driven by digital technologies, no one should be left behind. Huawei seeks to encourage global innovative developers to work with Huawei Mobile Services to bring better and smarter experience to consumers. Huawei has previously announced a USD 1 billion Shining Star Program to incentivise global developers. More than 10,000 innovative apps have since benefited from it.

Looking at Pakistan, Huawei has been hard at work to make the HUAWEI AppGallery experience better with the addition of top local apps such as Easypaisa, SC Mobile Pakistan, HBL Mobile, Meezan Mobile Banking, Askari Bank, My Zong, My Telenor, Foodpanda, Daraz Online Shopping App and many more.

AppGallery, Huaweis official app distribution platform, covers more than 170 countries and regions. With this coverage, we hope to share local digital innovation with the world. We want every innovative app developed by global partners to reach all 700 million Huawei device users. said Zhang Pingan, President of Consumer Cloud Service, Huawei Consumer Business Group. Concurrently, globalized HMS Apps such as HUAWEI Video, HUAWEI Music and HUAWEI Reader have brought high-quality services and content to consumers in more countries and regions.

Huawei also brings users a smarter and more convenient digital life experience with more innovative services, such as Quick Apps, a new type of installation-free apps, providing users with a tap-to-use experience and much less memory space. As well as Ability, powered by Huawei AI technology, includes Content Ability, Card Ability and App Ability, enables high-quality services to be efficiently distributed to users across the world.

To help global partners and developers with innovation, Huawei opens Chipset-Device-Cloud capabilities through HMS Core, giving developers the access to Huaweis Machine Learning Kit, HiAI, AR Engine, etc. HMS Core 5.0, now available globally, will further open Huaweis software and hardware capabilities to elevate users experiences worldwide. On top of that, Huawei offers a one-stop, full-spectrum app development support in over 67 areas through AppGallery Connect, helping developers innovate and carry out efficient operations.

Presently, Huawei Mobile Services has established six regional centers worldwide. Huawei offers localized services globally through DIGIX Lab, HUAWEI Developers, Huawei Developer Day, and many other opportunities. In a fully connected world, Huawei seeks to encourage innovation in both technology and app development among global developers.

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Huawei Ecosystem has gone beyond the heights with 1.6 M Global Developers - - Technology Times Pakistan