-Apex

Accepted

My vote goes to DH2, nice music and beat

DH1 : DH2:

Happy birthday Brother ❤️ wish you all the best in your life.

The Kia Stinger's Future May Be In Doubt On paper, the Kia Stinger reads like a slam dunk. A mid-sized, rear-wheel drive, sports luxury sedan dual-wielding a pair of turbos with 365 horsepower and a starting price under $40,--all the ingredients needed for a stellar ride. But as with all sedans, sales haven't been great, pretty much globally. And a new report puts some doubt as to whether the Stinger will get another generation. According to Car Sales, Kia Australia says it "had no guidance on whether the Kia Stinger sports sedan will enter a second generation or be discontinued." That's quite telling and may portend bad Stinger News for other markets. If the car were a hit, and on its fourth model year, surely the South Korean mothership would have assured them another one was on its way by now. This news comes shortly after news of the Stinger's mid-cycle refresh, too. So why is the Stinger pacing in circles waiting to see if it's getting the axe? As with so many great cars cut down in their production model prime, not enough people bought them. Kia Australia's product planning Chief Roland Rivero told Car Sales that the Stinger's sales performance expectations in the U.S. market might have been set too high: "At the moment I'm not sure it's doing as good as we had hoped - but the thing is we had very high ... expectations for that market." Rivero told Car Sales. According to Car Sales Base, Kia sold 31,510 Stingers in the U.S. from 2017 to 2019. Not quite enough to rival its intended competitors like the BMW 3 Series, which moved 151,854 units during the same time frame. The jury is still out on Stinger's fate. Rivero talked about the current model getting an extended lifecycle to give Kia more time. "You could argue with a longer life there's a longer opportunity to decide and make that decision," He told Car Sales. But if you do want the one currently on sale, it's a better deal than ever. The Stinger's mid-cycle refresh for 2022 got new LED lights, new wheel options, a larger exhaust, a new diffuser, and the rear gets a new tail light that stretches the deck lid's entire length. Exclusive for the U.S. market is an appearance package with blacked-out fender vents, side mirrors, rear wing, and matte black 19-inch wheels. Interior upgrades include a larger 10.5-inch infotainment touch screen, frameless rear-view mirror, and upgraded interior materials and trim options. It also gets a new 2.5-liter turbo engine with 300 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque to round out the options list. If the Stinger does get the axe there is a good chance it will gain new life in the second-hand market like the Chevrolet SS. It will be gone but not forgotten by car nerds who will rejoice when they spot one in a parking lot as their internal voice exclaims, "Oh wow, a Stinger!" This is leaning towards melodramatic, but one less dynamic sports sedan on the road leaves an empty slot to be filled by yet another nesting doll crossover SUV.

At least 16 dead in clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan The clashes between the two former Soviet republics, which fought a war in the 1990s, were the latest flare-up of a long-running conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh YEREVAN/BAKU: At least 16 military and several civilians were killed on Sunday in the heaviest clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan since 2016, reigniting concern about stability in the South Caucasus, a corridor for pipelines carrying oil and gas to world markets. The clashes between the two former Soviet republics, which fought a war in the 1990s, were the latest flare-up of a long-running conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region that is inside Azerbaijan but is run by ethnic Armenians. Nagorno-Karabakh said 16 of its serviceman had been killed and more than 100 wounded after Azerbaijan launched an air and artillery attack early on Sunday. Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh declared martial law and mobilised the male po[CENSORED]tion. Azerbaijan, which also declared martial law, said its forces responded to Armenian shelling and that they had seized control of up to seven villages, though Nagorno-Karabakh denied this. Azerbaijan's prosecutor's office said five members of one family had been killed by Armenian shelling. The clashes prompted a flurry of diplomacy to prevent a new flare-up of a decades-old conflict between majority Christian Armenia and mainly Muslim Azerbaijan, with Russia calling for an immediate ceasefire and another regional power, Turkey, saying it would support Azerbaijan. Pipelines shipping Caspian oil and natural gas from Azerbaijan to the world pass close to Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia also warned about security risks in the South Caucasus in July after Azerbaijan threatened to attack Armenia's nuclear power plant as possible retaliation. Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in a conflict that broke out as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Though a ceasefire was agreed in 1994, after thousands of people were killed and many more displaced, Azerbaijan and Armenia frequently accuse each other of attacks around Nagorno-Karabakh and along the separate Azeri-Armenian frontier. In Sunday's clashes, Armenian right activists said an ethnic Armenian woman and child had also been killed. INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY Armenia said Azeri forces had attacked civilian targets including Nagorno-Karabakh's capital, Stepanakert, and promised a "proportionate response". "We stay strong next to our army to protect our motherland from Azeri invasion," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on Twitter. Azerbaijan denied an Armenian defence ministry statement saying Azeri helicopters and tanks had been destroyed, and accused Armenian forces of launching "deliberate and targeted" attacks along the front line. "We defend our territory, our cause is right!" Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, said in an address to the nation. Turkey said it was talking to members of the Minsk group, which mediates between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Russia, France and the United States are co-presidents. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone to Pashinyan but no details of the conversation were available, and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Aliyev. Erdogan, promising support for traditional ally Azerbaijan, said Armenia was "the biggest threat to peace in the region" and called on "the entire world to stand with Azerbaijan in their battle against invasion and cruelty." Pashinyan hit back, urged the international community to ensure Turkey does not get involved in the conflict. France also urged the sides to end hostilities and Pope Francis appealed to them to resolve their differences through negotiations. The European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have also urged both sides to stop military actions and return to negotiations. At least 200 people were killed in a flare-up of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in April 2016. At least 16 people were killed in clashes in July. (Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Stephen Coates, Timothy Heritage and David Evans)

Difference Between Verbal And Nonverbal Communication Imagine you’re in a work meeting and a colleague is making a presentation. She is animated and uses her hands a lot to make a point. What do you focus on? Obviously, you listen carefully to her words to make sure you understand what she's saying. But that isn’t all. You probably also pay attention to her body language–including posture, gestures, and facial expressions–as she speaks. Many think that communication is just about the spoken word. But verbal communication is not the only form of communication. Nonverbal communication is equally important. We communicate our thoughts, ideas, and plans to other people through both, verbal and nonverbal communication. Verbal and nonverbal communication in humans are the outcome of thousands of years of processing and perfecting the art of communication. Verbal communication consists of getting your message across using sounds, words, and languages, while nonverbal communication involves unsaid things like eye movement, body language, and tone. Think about it: a lie is visible in the eye, nervousness can be gauged from shaking hands or legs, and happiness is easily understood from the tone someone uses when speaking. When you are talking to someone face-to-face, you tend to use verbal and nonverbal communication at the same time. Most people use both verbal and nonverbal communication every day of their lives. Think of the last conversation you had with someone. What was spoken aloud, and what was conveyed using nonverbal cues? You will be able to come up with at least one prominent example of verbal and nonverbal communication. Let us look at the differences between verbal and nonverbal communication: Verbal Communication Nonverbal Communication Medium of communication Verbal communication uses language, words, sentences, and voice as the medium of communication. Nonverbal communication uses body language, facial expressions, tone, and pauses in speech as the medium of communication. Channels of communication Verbal communication uses a single channel of communication, the human voice, which speaks a single word at a time. Nonverbal communication uses multiple channels of communication including your entire body, facial expressions, and tone of voice. Examples of communication Verbal communication can take place over a phone call, in a face-to-face conversation, over loudspeakers, through audio recordings, and so on. Nonverbal communication can only occur when all the parties in the conversation can see each other. This helps them properly understand what they are communicating nonverbally. Mode of communication Verbal communication is linear and voluntary. You set out to say something, gather your thoughts, form your sentences, and then start delivering your message. It is a well-thought-out process in which the speaker focuses on communicating their message effectively. Nonverbal communication is a continuous process. It is not well-thought-out and is largely involuntary, although you can train yourself to use it more purposefully. Unlike verbal communication, nonverbal communication is not linear. It depends more on how one uses their body language and other cues to respond to external stimuli. Consciousness in communication Verbal communication is a conscious process. It involves thinking, processing, and articulating. Nonverbal communication happens on an unconscious level. One doesn't really think about it actively Decoding the communication Verbal communication is fairly easy to decode if you understand the language and the words being used. When you pay close attention to the person who is speaking, you will understand what they are saying. Nonverbal communication is a little harder to decode than verbal communication. You have to pay attention to many factors including the speaker’s body language, facial expressions, and tone to decode what the other person is trying to convey. To effectively communicate with another person, it is crucial to master both verbal and nonverbal communication. You can master verbal communication by reading about communication techniques, practicing how you speak, and listening to other people. Likewise, you can master nonverbal communication by practicing to use the appropriate facial expressions, body language, and tone when interacting with others. You also need to observe other people more closely to see how they respond to certain things, how they react, how they close off or open up so that you can decode their nonverbal cues effectively Harappa’s Speaking Effectively course will ensure that you have all the right tools to connect with your listeners using both verbal and nonverbal communication. The Listening Actively course will provide you with the tools to become a better listener. Now that you have understood the difference between verbal and nonverbal communication, you can use them effectively at work. Explore blogs on topics such as what is communication, the importance of nonverbal communication, barriers to effective communication, forms of communication, and verbal communication in our Harappa Diaries section to make your world of work better.

T/C

Video title : Valorant moments that are actually funny Content creator ( Youtuber ) : Here Official YT video :

Among Us 2 Canceled, But For Good Reason In response to Among Us' rising po-pi-la-rity, developer Innersloth has decided to focus on expanding the game's features and content instead of working on a sequel. Developer Innersloth has decided to cancel Among Us 2 and instead focus on expanding the content offered in Among Us. In a blog post, the developer wrote that the decision was made in response to the recent spike in po[CENSORED]rity for the party survival game, which has been downloaded over 41 million times in just September alone. "All of the content we had planned for Among Us 2 will instead go into Among Us 1," Innersloth writes. "This is probably the more difficult choice because it means going deep into the core code of the game and reworking several parts of it. We have lots of things planned and we're excited to bring new content to everyone as you continue to enjoy playing." These content expansions include new servers, colorblind support, a friends/account system, and a new stage, though Innersloth added that there are "lots of other things planned too, we just need to prioritize and organize." Innersloth did not provide an exact ETA on when players can expect this new content to arrive, though the developer writes that working on the servers is currently "taking up all development time." The new friends/account system will also "definitely take some time." Though it first released in 2018, Among Us has seen a tremendous rise in players in 2020, likely due to the game's increased po[CENSORED]rity on Twitch. According to SensorTower, Among Us earned 18.4 million mobile downloads in August, only to be followed by another 41.9 million mobile downloads in September. It shot up the Steam charts, as well, alongside larger AAA games that were released more recently. Like with Fall Guys, certain platforms have been able to play Among Us for free. It's only $5 on Steam, and mobile devices support a free version. The lower barrier to entry certainly helped it to get such a large audience, though its only-recent rise in po[CENSORED]rity is peculiar. The game's simple graphics scale well to a variety of platforms. Technically speaking, it should have no issue running on Switch, for instead. There are particular challenges in communicating with players on that platform, however. Not only does it not have a text communication system, but it doesn't allow voice chat unless you use a separate app on your mobile device. That means no one uses voice chat. Among Us is available for PC and mobile devices. Its simple interface only uses a few on-screen buttons and prompts. This makes it extremely simple to control, even on small screens. When asked if Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch versions would be possible, Innersloth studio programmer Forest Willard explained that making console ports of Among Us would be complicated. The communication systems necessary for this are a large reason. It differs from certain similar games, such as the Garry's Mod mode Trouble in Terrorist Town, which support voice chat by default.

AMD's Van Gogh Chips to Have DDR5, Navi 2 Graphics Clawing back at Tiger Lake The sharp-eyed folks at Phoronix have spotted new Linux updates that add support for AMDs pending line of 7nm Van Gogh APUs, and the patches confirm that the pending APUs support DDR5 and LPDDR5. The Linux kernel patches also indicate the APUs will sport the Navi 2 graphics engine, setting up a pitched battle between AMD's Van Gogh and Intel's Y-Series Tiger Lake chips. AMD submitted the 45 Linux kernel patches, which weigh in at 275,000 lines of code, to enable Linux support for the coming APUs. The patches also reveal that Van Gogh comes with Video Core Next 3.0, which supports AV1 decode. In the past, Phoronix has found patches indicating VCN 3.0 (video encode) is native to the Navi 2 graphics engine. Pairing the Navi 2 / RDNA 2 graphics engine with DDR5/LPDDR5 could unlock quite a bit of graphical horsepower, as integrated graphics engines tend to respond well to increased memory throughput. Van Gogh is also predicted to come with Zen 2 cores, and it will certainly be interesting to see what kind of impact the improved memory throughput has on the Zen 2 architecture. The current wisdom is that the Van Gogh APUs will slot into the 7.8W to 18W space for ultra-thin mobile devices to compete against Intel's Y-series Tiger Lake chips. Intel's chips currently support DDR4/LPDDR4, though Intel says Tiger Lake will support DDR5 in the future. AMD hasn't made any official announcements detailing the Van Gogh chips, but they're predicted to land in 2021, while AMD's Cezanne APUs with the Zen 3 microarchitecture are thought to slot in for higher-performance applications.

Here’s an impressive free SEO tool that you've got to test right now Ahrefs wants to make SEO more accessible to others Po[CENSORED]r SEO platform Ahrefs has launched a new free service, in a bid to democratize access to SEO tools. “The fellow marketers have long been asking us for an affordable Ahrefs account that would let them get SEO data just for their own website,” explained the firm, whose new service will soon join our list of the best free SEO tools. Ahrefs Webmasters Tools allows you to manage backlinks and keywords and audit your website for free - you don’t even need a credit card to sign up. According to a company spokesperson, thousands have already taken advantage of the new free service. Check out our list of the best web hosting services around We've built a list of the best online marketing services right now Here's our list of the best keyword research tools available “Believe it or not, we care about people who can't yet afford tools that help make websites and content discovered. Big players invest heavily in professional SEO and content promotion to help get their content found. What does it make to small businesses, nonprofits, and educational institutions? They struggle to get the organic traffic that their websites deserve,” she added. Naturally, you don't get all the bells and whistles with the free service. Given the need not to cannibalise its paid tools (Ahrefs cost $990 per year at minimum and $9,990 for the premium tier), it's unsurprising that there are some limitations on crawled URLs and how long data is retained. Note, the service does use Google Search console verification, but only in a limited fashion. According to Dmitry Gerasimenko, Ahrefs found and CEO, "we don’t use any data from GSC besides the list of websites for ownership verification. [But] we will explore if aggregated data can help us build better models."

PRO

Ex-Blizzard Boss Mike Morhaime Founds New Studio, Dreamhaven Moonshot Games and Secret Door are Mike Morhaime's new studios under the Dreamhaven banner. After stepping down as CEO from Blizzard Entertainment in October 2018 and leaving the company entirely in April 2019, former company president and co-founder Mike Morhaime is still working in the industry. Despite his apparent absence or silence, Morhaime has now established a new company. Dreamhaven is Morhaime's new base of operations. It's a company that will "create and publish original games for players around the world" and aims to "empower creators, help bring their ideas to life, and create original gaming experiences that foster meaningful connections between players," according to a blog post. In announcing this new publishing house, Dreamhaven also unveiled two new studios. Moonshot Games is led by three ex-Blizzard developers who worked on titles such as Command & Conquer, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm. The studio is also comprised of other employees who contributed to "some of gaming's most po[CENSORED]r franchises." These franchises weren't specified in the blog post. The other development house, Secret Door, is similar to Moonshot. It's also composed of developers who worked on Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm, as well as Starcraft II and Warcraft III. Secret Door also has employees with "extensive industry experience [that] are beginning to explore new game experiences together." Neither team has confirmed whether it has games in development. Morhaime's Dreamhaven is joined by Ben Thompson (Hearthstone creative director), Dustin Browder (Starcraft II lead designer), and Jason Chayes (former Blizzard Entertainment executive producer) at Moonshot and Alan Dabiri (Heroes of the Storm game director), Chris Sigaty (StarCraft II executive producer), and Eric Dodds (original Hearthstone game director) at Secret Door. Morhaime also expressed excitement at the prospect of Dreamhaven's potential to bring people together through the power of games. "I'm excited to team up with such talented people who care deeply about games and their communities," said Morhaime. "I've always believed in the power of games to bring people together regardless of backgrounds or boundaries. With Dreamhaven, we look forward to creating and sharing new experiences with players everywhere." In other Blizzard news, the company announced that Blizzard Online (or BlizzConline, as Blizzard calls it) will take place in February 2021. The event will be hosted remotely and is expected to feature news about Blizzard's upcoming games, such as Diablo IV and Overwatch 2.

Logitech G305 Lightspeed Review: A Wireless Mouse for a G The Logitech G305 Lightspeed is great for PC gaming and taking care of business. As a gamer, it’s important to have the best equipment. That way you have nothing to blame poor gameplay on but yourself. If you're looking for the best gaming mouse without a cord, the Logitech G305 Lightspeed is a great option. It's lightweight, comes in fun colors and is relatively affordable ($59.99 MSRP but sometimes available for $49.99 as of writing). More important, though, is the mouse's reliability. If you have reservations about using even the best wireless mouse due to lag time or dropouts, Logitech's Lightspeed 2.4 GHz dongle connection won't disappoint, especially for this price Design and Comfort of Logitech G305 Lightspeed Even though the Logitech G305 Lightspeed is wireless, it's noticeably light, only weighing 3.49 ounces. For comparison to other wireless gaming mice, our review subject is lighter than both the 3.74-ounce Razer Mamba Wireless and 3.70-ounce Roccat Kain 200 Aimo. At 4.59 x 2.45 x 1.50 inches, the Logitech G305 Lightspeed is smaller than the Mamba Wireless (4.95 x 2.75 x 1.7 inches) and Kain 200 Aimo (4.88 x 2.56 x 1.69 inches). The shorter height may be particularity noticeable to those with larger hands or like mice with big humps for palm grips. My fingers, however, are narrow and slender so the G305 didn't feel too small in my hands. Logitech has been getting more colorful with its gaming gear lately. Like the Logitech G203 Lightsync wired mouse and other offerings, (like the Logitech G733 Lightspeed wireless headset), our review subject comes in a range of bright colors. Our review unit is black, but you can also get the G305 Lightspeed in white, blue or lilac, for many more options than most all-black gaming rats offer. It's also a plus considering that, unlike the vast majority of gaming mice on the market today, this G305 Lightspeed doesn't have RGB lighting, making it less flashy. There is an LED below the scroll wheel, which changes colors as you toggle through 4 CPI settings via the dedicated CPI button. The G305 Lightspeed's chassis feels sturdy and smooth with a glossy finish and matte feel. That finish didn't affect my grip during hours of gaming. Meanwhile. it fought off smudges, fingerprints and stains. The scroll wheel feels very tactile and responsive and uses rubber grips making it easy to navigate. Logitech's wireless mouse has 6 programmable buttons (the left and right click buttons, a CPI adjust button south of the scroll wheel, scroll wheel in and two side buttons). For righties, the two side buttons are conveniently placed, and in my case they were easy to reach right under my thumb. However, the side buttons aren't swappable, so despite its more ambidextrous shape, this mouse is clearly geared toward right-handers. Next to where the battery fits is a compartment to carry the dongle for easy travel and making sure you don't lose your Lightspeed connection. Gaming Performance of Logitech G305 Lightspeed As someone who primarily plays first-person shooter (FPS) titles, like CounterStrike: Global Offense and Rogue Company, I'm eager for gaming mice that are so well-built that they help me grow better as player. Logitech's proprietary Hero sensor used in the G305 Lightspeed is the kind of technology that can help make that happen. The sensor is specced for a sensitivity range of up to 12,000 CPI. That's lower than the Mamba Wireless and Kain 200 Aimo's sensors, which each go up to 16,000 CPI. But for a mainstream gamer, 12,000 CPI should be sufficient. The Hero sensor can also hit a max velocity of over 400 IPS (inches per second) and handle up to 40G of acceleration. With the Hero sensor, the Logitech G305 Lightspeed felt responsive, whether I was using it on my best RGB mouse pad or no mouse pad at all -- something you won't find in cheaper gaming mice. This makes the G305 Lightspeed more versatile and portable too. I appreciated the ability to move rapidly in FPS titles, where the G305 Lightspeed happily kept up. If you've never tried a high-CPI mouse before, the G305 Lightspeed will be noticeably swifter -- when you want it to be. The CPI button south of the scroll wheel became my favorite button, easily toggling between four different CPI settings. I could easily crank it down a low CPI setting for work, like signing e-documents, and kick it back up for how I like to play CS:GO. I preferred the max 12,000 CPI for Rogue Company. The light weight of the G305 Lightspeed and PTFE feet on the underside also help the mouse move rapidly with easy. Thankfully, the CPI toggle is south enough of the scroll wheel that I never hit it accidentally mid-game. And no matter my CPI setting, tracking was responsive and reliable. The G305 Lightspeed's left and right click buttons are mechanical and have a great springy feel. This mouse promises 10 million clicks, which is great for MOBAs, like League of Legends, where you have to click repeatedly and rapidly.

Microsoft adds features to its Teams groupchat product Microsoft Corp. has announced on its blog that it has added new features to Microsoft Teams, a group chat competitor to Zoom. In its announcement, Microsoft outlined the new features and included screen grabs to demonstrate its new capabilities. As the pandemic has dragged on, families, businesses and even schools have embraced group chat applications, most notably Zoom. These applications allow multiple people to converse at the same time in virtual meetings. They provide a safe way to stay in touch or to attend functions like work meetings or classroom discussions. Notably absent from the buzz surrounding group applications has been Microsoft, which was expected to dominate with its Skype application. In its announcement, Microsoft now appears ready to compete with Zoom with Microsoft Teams, a more robust application than Skype with many more features. The new additions to Teams include changes, additions or new features in Meetings, Meeting room experiences, calling others, chatting and collaboration, integration with Microsoft 360, features for first-line and health care workers, new security features, a side application to assist with management of meetings and a power platform. Most notable among the new additions is Together Mode, which allows team members to appear in a single virtual environment together, such as a conference room, classroom or coffeeshop. The person setting up the call chooses the setting. Also new is a custom layout feature for customizing presentations, such as allowing a person to appear in front of their datasheet, similar to a weather forecaster standing in front of a map. Microsoft has also added a breakout feature to Teams, allowing subgroups of people on a call to meet privately. The new and improved Teams also provides automatic recaps of meetings in a variety of formats and shared files—both of which can be tied to Microsoft Outlook. As part of its announcement, Microsoft also revealed more features that are to come, such as allowing up to 1,000 people to attend a meeting, and allowing up to 20,000 people to listen or watch a meeting. The company also noted that it will very soon be launching Microsoft Teams panels, which are tablet-like panels that can be posted on walls to display meeting details, including listings of people who have logged in. And its 85-inch surface HUB display for use with Teams meetings will be available at the start of next year.

Cold Versus Flu What is the difference between a cold and flu? Flu and the common cold are both respiratory illnesses but they are caused by different viruses. Because these two types of illnesses have similar symptoms, it can be difficult to tell the difference between them based on symptoms alone. In general, flu is worse than the common cold, and symptoms are more intense. Colds are usually milder than flu. People with colds are more likely to have a runny or stuffy nose. Colds generally do not result in serious health problems, such as pneumonia, bacterial infections, or hospitalizations. Flu can have very serious associated complications. How can you tell the difference between a cold and the flu? Because colds and flu share many symptoms, it can be difficult (or even impossible) to tell the difference between them based on symptoms alone. Special tests that usually must be done within the first few days of illness can tell if a person has the flu. What are the symptoms of the flu versus the symptoms of a cold? The symptoms of flu can include fever or feeling feverish/chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches and fatigue (tiredness). Cold symptoms are usually milder than the symptoms of flu. People with colds are more likely to have a runny or stuffy nose. Colds generally do not result in serious health problems.

Of Course Michigan Dealerships Are Trying to Block Rivian and Other EV Makers From Direct Sales A Michigan bill introduced in the state legislature last week could ban the sales model of one of Michigan's own companies: electric truck maker Rivian. According to Bloomberg, the bill would prohibit any automakers besides Tesla from selling cars directly to consumers without going through a dealership, and also block those automakers from owning and operating repair and service facilities. Tesla, of course, already has an exemption to Michigan's automotive sales franchise laws, so dealerships in the state are now pushing to make that exception a one-and-done deal now that EV startups like Rivian and Lucid are hoping to follow suit. Yet that deal also took years for Tesla to win, and Bloomberg notes that it's still a bit of a workaround. Tesla gets to indirectly own its Michigan service centers through a subsidiary, and the automakers is allowed to deliver vehicles to buyers without having buyers leave the state. Michigan dealerships, however, don't believe that the Tesla deal changes anything. "That settlement was based on a clear set of specific facts for a specific time," Michigan Automobile Dealers Association Executive Vice President Terry Burns told Bloomberg. The MADA represents roughly 600 new-car dealers in the state.

Amazon.in adds Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu to shopping site NEW DELHI : Ahead of India’s peak festive season that drives up demand for new clothes, electronics and gifting items for retailers in the country, Amazon India on Tuesday said it will now be available in four new languages as it pushes to expand e-commerce access to the next 200 – 300 million shoppers in the country. Amazon.in will be available to users in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, across its shopping app and desktop sites, the company said. This is in addition to the two languages—Hindi and English—that Amazon is already available to users in India. The move to dial up its vernacular feature comes as more Indians, beyond India's top cities, used online shopping services during India’s covid-led restrictions that saw first time buyers log online to order goods and even prompted existing shoppers to make more frequent purchases. In fact, online retailers have also on-boarded more sellers in tier-II and -III towns in the aftermath of India’s covid-induced lockdown. Amazon’s Prime Day sale event in August saw more than twice as many customers sign up for Prime membership than in the 2019 edition, and over 65% of the new members came from outside of the top 10 Indian cities. The launch of Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, Tamil shopping experience on amazon.in follows the widely adopted Hindi shopping experience that was launched in 2018, the company said in a statement to the press. In the past five months, the adoption of Hindi has grown by 3 times with customers from tier 1, 2 and 3 cities across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and other states switching to the Hindi shopping experience, the company said. “These data points give us the confidence that it is super useful and an important space to work on," Kishore Thota, director, customer experience and marketing, Amazon India told Mint. A switch to Hindi from English helped driven conversion to sales for the retailer, said Thotha. Amazon has been pushing new features to upgrade customer experience—especially for millions of shoppers who use their low-priced smartphones to shop and browse content online. For instance, it has dialled up video content in India on its shopping site. In March this year, Alexa was introduced on the Amazon shopping app for Android devices to help users shop using voice commands. Thotha said voice, vernacular, and video have been key to driving consumer engagement in India. "Three things stand out—one is that most customers would like to operate in a language of their choice. Second one being voice—which is growing rapidly. And the third is a broader pattern where people are consuming a lot more information through video," he said. These three patterns, he said, are powered by the fact that in the last few years India has seen an increase in internet penetration, growth in smartphones, and a general understanding of benefits of e-commerce. This has been a huge growth factor for Amazon being available in all these different regions and especially outside of tier 1 and tier 2 towns, he said. The move comes as India is entering the crucial festive season that is likely to favour online shopping websites this year as covid-related concerns keep shoppers away from busy markets. Estimates by internet research firm RedSeer suggest that online festive season sales are expected to almost double in the next two months alone to touch $7 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV), rising sharply from $3.8 billion in GMV sales in the same period last year. Moreover, more than half of the orders during this year’s festive season sales are likely to come from tier-2 towns and cities with 45 to 50 million users, RedSeer said in its annual ‘Online Festive Sales 2020 Forecast’ report released earlier this month. In anticipation, companies are expanding their resources and capacity. Rival Flipkart is likely to hire 70,000 people in the run up to the festive sales. Amazon India is adding 10 new fulfillment centres in both new cities like Patna, with high density of sellers, before the festive season sales and expanding some of its 50 odd existing centres, Mint reported in August.