BEIJING, Oct. 19, 2020 — WiMi Hologram Cloud, Inc. ("WiMi" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: WIMI) today announced the establishment of a new subsidiary. VIYI Technology Inc. ("VIYI Technology " or "VIYI") to accelerate the development of AI algorithm and cloud computing services. VIYI will be led by Mr. Yi Chengwei, who has been appointed as the CEO of VIYI and previously served as the CTO of WiMi.
Mr. Yi Chengwei, CEO of VIYI Technology, commented: "This is an exciting opportunity for our team to more aggressively unlock value for WiMi by accelerating our development and by more effectively leveraging our existing AI and cloud computing assets and IP, as we move beyond the terminal + cloud model. Our long-term goal is to become the global leader in the central processing unit (CPU) AI algorithms. Having a company laser focused on one set of objectives will give us a considerable advantage as we work to capture a greater share of the rapidly growing AI and cloud computing markets, which will in turn, create added value for our customers, WiMi and our shareholders."
VIYI Technology will focus on low latency cloud computing and data service growth, supporting a wide range of data-centric applications from gaming, multi-media entertainment, to online and mobile advertising, and PaaS cloud services. The Company believes that it will be able to deploy its advanced AI product advertising and gaming platform and support services more broadly and more quickly as 5G networks continue to be deployed around the world. At the same time, the Company will continue to invest in core technologies in the fields of intelligent analysis and processing of large-scale heterogeneous data, as it works to further improve the value and efficiency of its customers’ data.
The Company will seek to constantly innovate technology breakthroughs to foster deeper connections with industrial chain partners, so as to jointly build a scientific and technological service ecosystem in the field of cloud computing.
Management Changes
The Company also announced the appointment of Mr. Shuo Shi as CEO and a Director of the Board following the resignation for personal reasons on October 16, 2020 of Mr. Fanhua Meng as CEO and Director.
Shuo Shi has served as our Chief Operating Officer since September 2018 and has also served as Vice General Manager of our VIE, Beijing WiMi, since February 2017. He has more than 10 years of experience in sales marketing, internet management and culture media. From February 2014 to December 2016, Mr. Shi served as Secretary-General of Shenzhen Three-Dimension Film Association, an association specializing in 3D film making in China. Previously, Mr. Shi served as Vice General Manager in Shenzhen Stereoscopic Internet Culture Media Company, a culture media company in China, from November 2011 to February 2014. Mr. Shi received a bachelor’s degree from Renmin University in China in 2006.
About WIMI Hologram Cloud Inc. WiMi Hologram Cloud, Inc.(NASDAQ: WIMI), whose commercial operations began in 2015, operates an integrated holographic AR application platform in China and has built a comprehensive and diversified holographic AR content library among all holographic AR solution providers in China. Its extensive portfolio includes 4,654 AR holographic contents. The company has also achieved a speed of image processing that is 80 percent faster than the industry average. While most peer companies may identify and capture 40 to 50 blocks of image data within a specific space unit, WiMi collects 500 to 550 data blocks.
Safe Harbor / Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Among other things, the business outlook and quotations from management in this press release, as well as the Company’s strategic and operational plans, contain forward−looking statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward−looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on Forms 20−F and 6−K, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward−looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company’s goals and strategies; the Company’s future business development, financial condition and results of operations; the expected growth of the AR holographic industry; and the Company’s expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of its products and services. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company’s annual report on Form 20-F and current report on Form 6-K and other documents filed with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable laws.
BEIJING, Oct. 19, 2020 — H3C’s Wi-Fi 6 flagship access point WA6628 delivers single-client wireless throughput up to 4.176Gbps on the 5 GHz radio, representing the fastest Wi-Fi connection speed that has been tested by Tolly Group so far, according to a recent report of the leading global provider of testing and third-party validation and certification services to the IT industry.
An excerpt from the Test Report for H3C Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) Access Points Performance Evaluation and Feature Validation by Tolly Group
The new Tolly Test Report revealed test results of the performance, maximum number of clients, features, and Internet of Things (IoT) integration of H3C’s four WA66 Wi-Fi 6 access points and six WA63 Wi-Fi 6 access points. Both series provide high single-client and multi-client performance, suggested the report.
To evaluate the 5 GHz radio performance of the H3C WA6628 Wi-Fi 6 access point, Tolly engineers used a Spirent C50 Wi-Fi 6 test appliance to simulate single wireless client access to the WA6628.
Test results showed that the WA6628 provides a downlink TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) throughput of 4.176Gbps in 4×4 MIMO, four spatial streams, and 160 MHz bandwidth mode.
Single-client Throughput
Tolly engineers used the latest Wi-Fi 6 mobile terminal to access the H3C WA6320, WA6330, and WA6338 Wi-Fi 6 access points, and used IxChariot to test their performance, noted the report.
The results indicated that the H3C WA63 Wi-Fi 6 access point series provides a single-client downlink wireless throughput over 945Mbps on the 5 GHz radio and over 460Mbps on the 2.4 GHz radio, improving performance by more than 33 percent and 95 percent over Wi-Fi 5 access points, respectively.
Multi-client Throughput
Tolly engineers simulated a good number of Wi-Fi 6 clients to access the 5GHz radio and the 2.4 GHz radio simultaneously, and verified that the system throughput of H3C WA6628 and WA6320 Wi-Fi 6 dual-radio access points can reach 4.5Gbps and 1Gbps respectively, said the report.
The H3C WA6638 and WA6330 Wi-Fi 6 triple-radio access points have a system throughput up to 4.02Gbps and 1.78Gbps respectively, according to the report.
Such throughput capacities can effectively solve the problem of concurrent Internet lag that often happens when multiple people work with the help of a Wi-Fi system simultaneously, and enable relevant products to handle the ever-increasing traffic in the application scenarios of such technologies as 4K high-definition video, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI).
Multimedia Streaming
The H3C WA6638 and WA6338 Wi-Fi 6 triple-radio access points each allows 650 clients to simultaneously stream multimedia applications, while the WA6330 access point supports up to 610 clients to simultaneously stream multimedia applications, said the report.
The excellent capacities can significantly improve users’ Wi-Fi experience in high-density scenarios like conference halls.
User Capacity
The H3C WA6638, WA6630X, and WA6338 Wi-Fi 6 access points each can provide wireless access simultaneously for 1,500 clients, according to the report, which showed that the H3C WA6330 access point can provide wireless access simultaneously for 1,280 clients.
IoT Integration
Tests conducted by Tolly Group suggested that many models of the H3C WA66 and WA63 Wi-Fi 6 access point series can use built-in Bluetooth low energy (BLE) and radio frequency identification devices (RFID), and exchange data with IoT endpoints.
The WA6322, WA6330, WA6622, WA6630X, and WA6638 access points provide PoE ports, which can connect to and supply power and transmit data for external IoT modules, the report disclosed.
H3C has been developing wireless products for more than ten years and ranked first in the Chinese enterprise Wireless LAN (WLAN) market for 11 consecutive years.
The company has introduced a Wi-Fi 6+5G+IoT integration solution, which could fully manage basic connectivity concerning Wi-Fi 6, 5G and IoT through a unified platform architecture, thus realizing flexible network expansion, unified management, and unified data, and lower construction costs.
The newly upgraded Wi-Fi 6 access points of H3C, which feature fast connection speed and stability, aim to meet the demand for connectivity in various scenarios and guarantee the stable operation and long-term development of clients’ businesses.
Adhering to its "AI in ALL" strategy and "Digital Brain Project 2020", H3C has developed a total of 18 Wi-Fi 6 products fully covering different scenarios in various industries.
By providing a rich variety of scenario-based Wi-Fi solutions, the company has been actually laying foundation for the digital transformation of various sectors.
Please refer to the link for the Test Report for H3C Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) Access Points Performance Evaluation and Feature Validation by Tolly Group:
H3C is an industry leader in the provision of Digital Solutions and is committed to becoming the most trusted partner of our clients in their quest for business innovation and digital transformation. H3C offers a full portfolio of Digital Infrastructure products, spanning across compute, storage, networking, security and related domains, and provides a comprehensive one-stop digital platform that includes cloud computing, big data, interconnectivity, information security, new safety, Internet of Things (IoT), edge computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G solutions, as well as end-to-end technical services.
Sony is poised to have a blowout with their upcoming PlayStation 5 release. However, eagle eyed users have spotted a concerning “feature” in the recent PlayStation 4 firmware update. Apparently, the PlayStation systems will be recording your in-game conversations. Users were alerted to this change when PS4 systems prompted users for permission to record them when installing the recent 8.0 firmware update.
The firmware update also brings some changes to the Messages app on PlayStation 4. This includes new avatars and support for two factor authentication. Of note, is the inclusion of parental communication controls which allow parents to better curate their child’s online gaming and messaging.
In a statement on the PlayStation Blog, Vice President of Global Consumer Experience, Catherine Jensen, apologised for the way the news broke. “PlayStation gamers learned about this new function in an unexpected way following the recent PS4 8.00 system update. We didn’t clearly communicate this feature or explain why we were introducing it, and we apologize for that.” She goes on to clarify that the feature will voice chats would not be monitored or listened to on the new system. Instead, the feature will record a 40 second voice clip that will be used for user moderation in an effort to curb harassment and bullying on the platform.
With cyberbullying and harassment on online games coming to the forefront in recent years, it is understandable why Sony wants to implement this feature. However, Sony’s measures are easily bypassed as gamers also use other apps and platforms such as Discord to facilitate online communication.
In her clarification, Jensen states, “if a PS5 player needs to file a harassment report, they will be able to include up to a 40 second-long Voice Chat clip in their report — 20 seconds of the main conversation with the other player, plus an additional 10 seconds before and after the conversation selection. Only the most recent five minutes of a Voice Chat will be available for a player to use for this reporting function.” That said, the function seems to be limited to the PS5 for now and users do not have the ability to disable it.
Sony also rebranded their PS4 remote play app to PS Remote Play on the Google Play Store and Apple AppStore. Users will be able to use the app to remotely play games on your PS5 system when it launches later this year.
Popular K-POP girl group, BLACKPINK, is taking the virtual stage on TikTok. The quintet will be interacting via livestream from their official BLACKPINK TikTok account (@bp_tiktok). TikTok and BLACKPINK will be holding the livestream as a token of appreciation for BLACKPINK fans (Blinks) who have supported and adore the group. Blinks will be able to interact with member of BLACKPINK for a total of 100 minutes on 21 October at 6pm in Malaysia.
TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms for short form content among youngsters and adults around the world. The platform has beaten out other platforms such as Snapchat and is quickly becoming one of the largest new creator platforms.
Source: TikTok/ByteDance
BLACKPINK recently ranked second on the US Bilboard album charts and the british official charts – the world’s two biggest pop charts. With their first Korean language album, “The Album”, they have become the first girl group to get in Billboard Artist 100 chart which lists the top 100 artists around the world.
During the event, the group will be interacting with their fans in a number of sessions as they discuss and share behind the scenes stories from their album. Guess what? Winners will be able to choose and participate the live video call during the event. If you live in South Korea, you could be the lucky chosen to meet the four idols, Jisoo, Lisa, Rose and Jennie!
Don’t miss your chance to meet BLACKPINK when they take over the TikTok stage this week! TikTok is available in over 150 countries and regions in 75 languages, you can download it from the Apple AppStore or the Google Play Store.
You can agree with us when we say we can never find a comfortable position on any desks. It seems that no matter what normal desk you function out of, you can almost never find the right height. This is why, when an interior designer designs your kitchen for you, they measure your height so that your kitchen counters can be tailored to your height. Of course, also to make sure you can reach the higher floating cabinets.
That is the kitchen though, not the working desks. You go to the office and most tables are at a standard height, and that is annoyingly uncomfortable sometimes. If you are anything taller than average height, the regular office tables are too short for you. Anything below the average height, the table is too tall for you.
Of course, with shorter statures, you can adjust the height of your chair most of the time to solve the problem. If you are just slightly taller than average, the regular office chairs are also just about adjustable enough to ensure that you have the right postures. But you cannot work standing up, in that case.
Bad seating and unsuitable table heights (even chairs, actually) will lead to bad posture which leads to plenty of problems in your body structure too. You get a bad back, because you are either hunched all the time, or you are just straining to look at your monitor. It can even lead to carpal tunnel syndrome because your wrists are resting at very awkward positions. In both cases, your productivity dips, because you are more often fatigued than not. That is just one of the reasons you want to ensure you have the right posture while you work.
You might not be able to change anything in your office at this point though. You cannot possibly ask your boss to buy a table just for you too, you may not own the company. If you are the owner of the company, you might be able to choose your own table. Still, it is quite unreasonable for you to change a table every time you feel uncomfortable, these are not exactly cheap stuff.
You are now working at home most of the time though, no thanks to the current pandemic situation. Your company also realises that your productivity does not change when you work from home. In fact, in some cases, you are more productive than ever. You do not need to brave through the morning traffic, which saves you an hour of sleep. You do not need to brave the traffic home, so you spend less time on the road, and save on fuel. You tend to eat right too, when you have a significant other, or when you live with your family. You are more relaxed at home, so your thought processes tend to be a little better.
You forgot one thing though, your table is still not the right height, and you tend to keep moving your workplace around the house. You tried working on the sofa, that is too comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time, productivity dips. Your dining table: you need to eat, and it still is not the right height. Your old office table; what old office table?
Time for you to buy a new working table at home. You need it to be perfect, and flexible enough so that you can work sitting, or standing. You need the EVIS Smart Desk.
Design
The EVIS Smart Desk is, well, a desk that looks like any other office desk. When we say an office desk, we are referring to the more modern interpretation of what an office desk should look like though. Just a plain wood surface with two or four legs. In the case of the EVIS desk, there are two rectangular stalks on each side they call legs, and two huge rectangular feet just slightly narrower than the surface. While traditional tables require up to four leges to hold the weight of the table on each corner, trust me this is as sturdy as it gets.
The unit we have for review is their standard Walnut top. The Walnut top feels like solid wood (it is MFC by the way), and that also means high-quality. On top of the table, in the bottom left corner, there is some white graphics to show you where to put your smartphone. That is the wireless charger built into the table, a nice touch considering most smartphones (flagships mostly) have wireless charging built-in there days. There is also a small latch on the table for your cables to come out of from.
If you buy the table from them too, you can opt for a tray that they put under the latch to hold an extension cord for the table. That extension will ensure that your wireless charger has power, and that you do not have to pull your cable and hair just to get power to your monitor, your PC, or desk lamp.
Of course, there are different colours for the top. You can even choose to get an L-shaped table. We are told also that you can customise the size and shape of the top if you really need. The motors can lift up to 120kg, they say.
The legs, as we mentioned are rectangular in shape, and steel in material with built-in motor. If you look underneath there is a rectangular bar that runs across the length of the table too, to connect the legs underneath and two bars that holds the width of the table to hold the four corners. You do There is a housing for the electronic motor and there is the controller that juts out of the bottom right corner of the table, away from your central seating position. Apparently, you can choose between white or black for the legs.
Work Sitting Down, or Standing Up – Whatever You Need
You can adjust the table from the minimum height of 660mm, which is perfect maybe for your kids, all the way to 1,310mm (1.31m) tall. There is no reason for you to put the table at that height unless you are working standing up as a 2-meter tall human being. You even see the exact height on the adjustment or control panel. You now know your perfect working table height.
What is nice about this kind of motorised movement is that there is no preset height built into the table, which also means you can fine tune the height just for yourself. Since there is a memory function via the control (store up to 4 custom height), you can even set your custom height and forget about it. Every time you get to the table, just press the preset number and you are ready to go. If you need to work standing up, just set the table to your preferred height, get the board to memorise it, forget, use it again the next round. Give it a few seconds, and you are ready to go.
Since there are four available custom preset memory too, you can either share the table with your significant other or have four different functions built to your table. In that case, if you only have room for one table in your house and you need the table to be your workspace, dining table, kitchen top, and even your bar table, the EVIS Smart Desk is perfect. Which also means that this EVIS Smart Desk will be perfect for a studio apartment, you might want to get a larger top though, so that you can comfortably seat four.
Finely Controlled
As mentioned, the controller or height adjustment board is placed on the bottom right corner of the table. It just out just slightly but not enough to be a distraction when you move in and out of your table. Thanks to the rounded corners as well, it should reduce the risks of wire snags or even tearing you a new hold on your shirt or pants. In that case, the module will not even hurt your skin.
While it is meek, it is quite a powerhouse in your hands. You cannot detach it from the table though, mind you. But that also means that there are less wires to worry about.
The buttons seem to be made of glossy plastic, which is technically fine by us. It looks quite premium when it is new and fresh. It smudges easily though thanks to the gloss finish. In this case, we might prefer a slightly more matte treatment to the plastic. While it may not look as premium, it might stand smudges and age better.
Still, under the plastic is also a digital display that tells you the specific height of the table at the time in mm. That information can be quite useless, but hey at least you can tell your office manager that you want the table at the exact height when you make it to the big leagues and they need to make a table for you. That, or when the office finally agrees to buy new table for you.
It is also simple enough to work with, as we mentioned. You probably will only ever use the M button a handful of times in the lifetime of the Smart Desk. That is the memory trigger function, and a long press should trigger it to memorise the height, and all you need to do next is press one of the four buttons to store that height for future use. The table does take about 10 seconds to reach minimum to maximum height though, so you might want to keep that in mind if you are sharing the table with a toddler and you are over 2m in height.
Wireless Charging
We have to inform you at this point that not all EVIS Smart Desks come with Wireless Charging Ability out of the box. It is an optional extra that will set you back MYR 590 (including cable management option). To be fair, that is not a small amount of money on top of the MYR 3,499 that you are already spending on the table.
Look at it this way though. The cable management option comes with that tray that we talked about earlier and an extension cord to give you a sort of peace of mind. You see less cables hanging out of the table too, for a cleaner look. The tray itself is not a cheap aftermarket part in the stores, mind you. Then there is the wireless charger itself.
The 10W wireless charger is, admittedly, not the fastest wireless charger out in the market. You can get a decent fast charger in the market for probably less than the MYR 310 extra EVIS is asking for. But you are going to live with a charger that sits on top of the table, not one sitting within the flat surface of the table. Of course, you can install that wireless charger under the table on your own, but the amount of work that goes into that is quite mind boggling. You also risk destroying your find top.
An Investment for Your Work Set-up
Like we mentioned earlier, there is a chance that you might not be able to change the table in the office currently. If you have not started on a working at home set up though, now is the right time to do it. The EVIS Smart Desk in standard size (1,500mm x 750mm x 25mm), in full retail price will set you back MYR 3,499 at least. With the cable management and installation assistance, the table will set you back MYR 3,979. Add the Wireless charger and you are paying MYR 4,289 (cost of our review unit). For that money also you are getting a 3-year (frame, mechanical and electrical parts) warranty for the product.
If you want, you can make it a little bigger at 1,800mm x 800mm x 25mm for MYR 100 extra. If you need it to be moved around at home, you can add wheels to the legs at MYR 200. An extra year in warranty is another MYR 250. An L-shaped option is an MYR 500 extra, to compensate for the extra surface and extra leg (MYR 300 for wheels, also for extra leg).
For that same money too, you are getting an all-in-one table that can do it all. You are getting a work surface that can lift you to the ceiling to change a light bulb if you must (we are not encouraging this, though they guarantee this will lift 120kg easily). You are getting an elegant wireless charging solution. You are also getting great posture so you feel great and you can be even more productive.
Your boss will be happier since you are more productive. When you become more productive at work, you have more time to spend at home with the family or whoever you want to spend your time too. With great posture as well, you live a healthier life, with less back pains, or shoulder aches. You sleep better too, as a result of that. You spend less going to the Chiropractor to correct your posture, so you save some money in that too. Best of all, you get a desk that works for you, a custom desk that is made only for you, in whatever situation you want to work in. It is premium, yes. You deserve nothing less though.
You can buy the EVIS Smart Desk from EVIS’ own website, or you can head to their showroom in Ikon Connaught, Cheras. Of course, EVIS makes other office furniture like chairs and even monitor stands. You can find all that in their website.
PARIS, Oct. 19, 2020 — Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, launches the 10th edition of IT Challenge, an international student competition dedicated to technology innovation, and calls for submissions on digital decarbonization. Universities from all over the world are invited to reflect and submit ideas on how digital can decarbonize non-digital. This challenge offers the top 3 finalists an opportunity to turn their ideas into working concepts and a EUR10,000 prize for the overall winning team.
IT Challenge 2021 quick look
This year’s edition seeks to develop digital solutions that will support multiple areas of decarbonization and related initiatives, helping companies and society as a whole to tackle climate change. This entails creating a functioning application, mobile app, service or simulation to support industry, commerce and individuals in their drive for decarbonization.
Online idea submissions are open until November 29, 2020. The best 15 concepts will be selected and announced on December 18, 2020. The selected teams will start the second stage of the competition – app development. The jury will select the 3 finalist teams by July 7, 2021 and the final winner will be announced in Paris in July 2021.
Since the inception of the IT Challenge in 2012, participating students were empowered to develop applications connected to major trends in the digital revolution, such as smart mobility, connected cars, interactive media, connected life, the ‘right to be forgotten’, blockchain and artificial intelligence. Students are mentored by members of Atos Scientific Community who provide technical and practical support, advice and encouragement.
Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with 110,000 employees in 73 countries and annual revenue of EUR12 billion. European number one in Cloud, Cybersecurity and High-Performance Computing, the Group provides end-to-end Orchestrated Hybrid Cloud, Big Data, Business Applications and Digital Workplace solutions. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos|Syntel, and Unify. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index.
The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education and research in a multicultural approach and contribute to the development of scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the Group enables its customers and employees, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably, in a safe and secure information space.
Thirsty for Justin Bieber new song? Still looking for where to hear it? Snapchat has just launched a new feature called “Sounds”. They are launching the new feature with a collaboration with Justin Beiber featuring an exclusive track from his new album. Beliebers everywhere are undoubtedly celebrating the shocking revelation. For now, Snapchat is the only platform to hear the vocals for his new songs “lonely” featuring Benny Blanco before it is available on October 16, 2020 at 12pm.
The music can be added to Snaps either pre- or post-capture, then shared without any limitations. You can post it to your Story or share directly with friends, as you choose. At launch, the Snapchat music catalog offers “millions” of licensed songs from Snap’s music industry partners, the company says.
Source: Snap Inc
When users receive a Snap with Sounds, they can then swipe up to view the album art, the song title and the name of the artist. There’s also a “Play This Song” link that lets you listen to the full song on your preferred streaming platform, including Spotify, Apple Music and SoundCloud. Snapchat is also testing out recording with your own covers with “Sounds” which should be rolling out in the coming months. The move to introduce a music feature is meant to counter the growing threat of ByteDance owned, TikTok app, which has popularized short-form video sharing with posts set to music from a large catalog.
According to a research, In the U.S., Snapchat now reaches 90% of all 13 to 24-year-olds, which the company notes is more than Facebook, Instagram and Messenger combined. It also reaches 75% of all 13 to 34-year-olds and, on average, more than 4 billion Snaps are created every day.
It looks like this era of the war between the Terrans, Zerg and Protoss is coming to an end. Blizzard has announced on October 15, 2020 that support for StarCraft II will be ceasing – at least when it comes to new content. The news comes after the popular real-time strategy game celebrated it’s 10th anniversary earlier this year.
“What this means is that we’re not going to be producing additional for-purchase content, such as Commanders and War Chests, but we will continue doing season rolls and necessary balance fixes moving forward.” said by executive producer Rob Bridenbecker. Also the Blizzard Entertainment is looking forward to what is next for “the StarCraft universe as a whole”.
StarCraft II players need not fret as the game will remain playable. Blizzard will also be supporting the game when it comes to patches and technical support. Of course, being Blizzard, we definitely know the adventures of Kerrigan and Raynor are possibly coming back soon with another installment of StarCraft.
This change comes at the same time with Blizzard is working on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2, neither of which have release dates or even release windows. The staff is said to be giving lot of attention and aiming for a better work conditions.
StarCraft II is a science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released worldwide in July 2010 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Blizzard has since made the first campaign of the game free-to-play, with Commander packs added regularly until now.
The second wave of Experian’s 2020 Global Insights Report highlights the impact of the global pandemic on consumer spending habits and potential implications for financial institutions
SINGAPORE, Oct. 19, 2020 — Consumers in Asia Pacific (APAC) have reported difficulties in paying their bills and almost a quarter (23 per cent) are reducing their discretionary spending since the start of the pandemic, according to latest data from Experian. One in five are doing so due to job loss or an anticipated shift in their financial circumstances, and 29 per cent are spending less due to lifestyle changes imposed by social distancing measures such as dining out, entertainment or travel. The survey also found that there has been a 50 per cent increase in the number of APAC consumers who face challenges in paying personal loans and mortgages since COVID-19 started.
Experian – a leading global information services company – surveyed 3,000 consumers and 900 executives working in retail banks, e-commerce, consumer technology and telecommunications. Respondents spanned Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. This report is the second of three in a longitudinal study exploring the major shifts in consumer behaviour and business strategy pre- and post-COVID-19, with economic perception at the epicentre.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, governments across the region have instituted loan moratoriums for businesses and consumers, observed in several markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Japan, China and India.
Ben Elliott, CEO Asia Pacific, at Experian, says: "This crisis has created huge challenges for everyone. Consumers are doing the right thing to protect their financial health by re-prioritising their spending. For those facing challenges in paying their bills, the loan deferrals available in some markets enables them to discuss a short-term payment suspension, or to defer or reduce payments, and this should not impact their credit history if they agree on the terms with their lender."
The impact of the pandemic on the relationship between consumers and brands that can support them is already visible. Majority (89 per cent) of consumers who have opted for financial assistance or payment deferment support stated that they would recommend these services to others. Moreover, 41 per cent of APAC customers would give an organisation more business if they felt they were treated fairly during the pandemic.
Mr Elliott adds: "As customer profiles change rapidly, lenders face the prospect of steep provisioning. We have been helping banks and lenders to understand that during a downturn, it is important for them to utilise a decisioning system to identify financially stressed customers with early-warning indicators, respond quickly to change, predict future customer behaviour, and deliver the right treatment at the right time. We’ve found that this helps with building greater trust and ensuring loyalty in the long run, and also improves their customer retention."
The report found that businesses in APAC are increasingly prioritising investments in analytics to better determine customer affordability and hardship. Sixty-two per cent of businesses are increasing their budget for analytics and customer creditworthiness in the next six months and nearly half (48 per cent) of APAC businesses are looking to recalibrate and improve their existing analytics models.
MoneyPlace, one of Australia’s fastest growing personal loan providers, is an example of a fintech company successfully leveraging Experian’s data, cloud-native decisioning platform, and analytics to manage existing and new customers. The technology enables them to identify suitable customers instantaneously, with risk-based pricing to offer low-interest personal loans with fixed rates and no ongoing fees, enabling customers to tide through tighter economic situations. Speed and agility are key to MoneyPlace’s success, as potential customers can obtain a personalised interest rate online in two minutes, with the whole loan application process completed in 10 minutes.
Stuart Stoyan, founder and CEO at MoneyPlace, says: "Experian provides us with an enterprise grade, cloud-based platform to combine customer data at the point of application with credit, fraud, and internal data, enabling us to obtain a comprehensive view to make informed decisions quickly. This is especially important during the current environment, where a broad range of data sources are needed to appropriately assess a loan application, whilst fulfilling customer expectations of a seamless online experience."
Read more about findings from the Global Insights Report – Wave 2 here.
About Experian
Experian is the world’s leading global information services company. During life’s big moments – from buying a home or a car, to sending a child to college, to growing a business by connecting with new customers – we empower consumers and our clients to manage their data with confidence. We help individuals to take financial control and access financial services, businesses to make smarter decisions and thrive, lenders to lend more responsibly, and organisations to prevent identity fraud and crime.
We have 17,800 people operating across 45 countries and every day we’re investing in new technologies, talented people and innovation to help all our clients maximise every opportunity. We are listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and are a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
~ Establishing a global business to promote QKD system and network deployments
TOKYO, Oct. 19, 2020 — Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO:6502) today announced it will start providing quantum key distribution (QKD) platforms and commence deployment of a system integration business in the fourth quarter of FY2020.
Toshiba launches Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) System Business
In Japan, Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation (hereinafter "TDSL") has been awarded the contract from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) to deploy and manage the QKD systems that will be installed at multiple locations on their network. Toshiba plans to deliver the system in the fourth quarter of FY2020 and the deployment will start to roll out from April 2021.
Outside of Japan, Toshiba Europe Ltd., in collaboration with BT Group plc., has enabled the UK’s first industrial deployment of a quantum-secure network between two industry-leading organizations and began joint verification from September 16, 2020. In the US, Toshiba has participated in the recent QKD demonstration by Verizon Communications Inc. in alliance with Quantum Xchange., announced by Verizon on September 3. From FY2021, the company will collaborate with regional business partners not only in the UK and the US, but also in Europe and Asia, to promote the QKD system integration businesses worldwide.
"At a time when both significant advancements are being made towards making the quantum computer a reality, and the almost constant state of data proliferation, the need for the secure transmission of sensitive information has never been more significant. With many trails and use cases now active across a broad spectrum of industries and across multiple regions, and with the development of high performing and stable systems, now is the right time to launch the QKD business," said Taro Shimada, Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer of Toshiba Corporation, and also President and CEO of TDSL. "Sectors such as finance, health and government are now realizing the need to invest in technology that will prepare and protect them for the quantum economy of the future. Our business plan goes far deeper and wider than selling quantum cryptographic hardware. We are developing a quantum platform and services that will not only deliver quantum keys and a quantum network, but ultimately enable the birth of a quantum internet."
In order to promote the businesses, the company introduces two types of quantum key distribution platforms. First is its innovative multiplexing platform that allows the data and the quantum keys to be transmitted on the same fiber, eliminating the need for costly dedicated infrastructure for key distribution. The other is the platform for long-distance applications that maximizes speed and distance of key delivery.
These technologies will be exhibited at CEATEC 2020 ONILINE, October 20-23, and at IQT Europe, October 26-30.
The company has developed a manufacturing base in Cambridge, UK, and will begin providing the platform products to specific users as early as the third quarter of FY 2020. Toshiba plans to build a QKD network in Japan and other countries by FY 2025 and launch a QKD service for organizations focusing on financial institutions.
Toshiba has spent more than 20 years taking on the challenges of this unexplored field and has pioneered the path to practical use, achieving multiple world firsts along the way, including the industry’s highest key rates and longest fiber distance. The QKD market is expected to grow to approximately $20 billion worldwide in FY 2035*1. Leveraging these technological foundations, the company aims to capture approximately 25% of the market (approximately $3 billion) in FY 2030 by providing market leading QKD services.
*1 Note: Toshiba’s long term estimates based on short to mid-term estimates by research firms
