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The Amazon Fab Phones Fest is going to start tomorrow i.e. March 14. You will see great deals on smartphones of every brand, from Apple to Poco. If you are looking to buy a budget-friendly smartphone, stop your search right here. Amazon has come up with a great deal that can let you buy a Redmi 5G smartphone at a price you’ve never thought of before. You can now buy the Redmi Note 10T 5G at just Rs 249. The Amazon Fab Phones Fest is going to start tomorrow i.e. March 14. You will see great deals on smartphones of every brand, from Apple to Poco. Here’s how you can buy the Redmi Note 10T 5G in just Rs 249 Redmi Note 10T 5G was launched for Rs 16,999 but you can buy this smartphone from Amazon Fab Phones Fest for Rs 13,999. As part of this deal on Amazon, you are also being given a discount coupon, so that you will get an additional discount of 500 rupees. Using this coupon, the price of the phone will be Rs 13,499. To buy this Redmi Note 10T 5G for Rs 13,499 for just Rs 249, you will have to take advantage of the exchange offer available in this deal. If you buy this smartphone in exchange for your old smartphone and you get full benefit of the exchange offer, then the price of this phone will come down to Rs 13,250 and you will have to pay only Rs 249 to buy it. This 5G smartphone from Redmi comes with a 6.5-inch FHD+ display, resolution of 2,400 x 1,080 pixels, refresh rate of 90Hz and touch sampling rate of 180Hz. With respect to storage space, you will get 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Along with triple rear camera setup, you will get 48MP main sensor and 2-2MP second and third sensors. It also has an 8MP front camera for taking selfies and making video calls. Speaking of battery, a 5,000mAh battery has been given in it along with 18W fast wired charging support. https://www.dnaindia.com/gadgets/report-buy-new-redmi-note-10t-5g-smartphone-for-just-rs-249-on-amazon-here-s-how-2939591

The stock market has been weighing the value of a lot high-flying tech names in the face of higher interest rates and inflation lately. The CEO of one of the bigger names recently spoke with Jim Cramer on Mad Money. Cramer talked to Marc Benioff, co-founder and co-CEO of Salesforce.com , on the Mad Money TV show. The cloud software provider stock has fallen about a third from its November highs as fears of inflation and higher interest rates have hammered many big tech names. But lately, Salesforce has seen some strength after its latest earnings report for the final quarter of fiscal year 2022. Benioff said it was an extraordinary quarter for Salesforce and they're now forecasting $32.1 billion in revenues for the fiscal 2023 year, which has just begun. Salesforce is getting back to business, he said, and employees can return to the office or continue working from home if they so choose. On Real Money, technical analyst Bruce Kamich wrote recently that the company's stock has remained below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. "CRM could see a rebound rally back up into the $240-$255 area, but without a new base formation in place I do not expect the rally to be sustained," Kamich wrote. "Nimble traders could play the bounce if they desire, but investors should remain patient." Benioff was bullish on Salesforce's recent partnership with Ford Motor , saying that together, the pair are turning F-Series pickups into mobile offices that offer whole new ways to engage with customers. Benioff also said there's no finish line when it comes to making acquisitions. All of his company's recent deals, like the acquisitions of Tableau and Slack, have been fully integrated into the Salesforce platform he said. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/software-juggernaut-s-stock-works-to-establish-a-base/ar-AAUZsBI?ocid=BingNewsSearch

A geomagnetic storm is about to impact Earth's atmosphere, and will provide many with the unique opportunity to view a light show like no other in the form of an Aurora. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has called for a geomagnetic storm watch that begins March 14th (UTC day) and a G1 (Minor) watch for March 15th. A solar storm is often due to an eruption, which could be as powerful as billions of nuclear bombs, on the sun called a coronal mass ejection, or CME. The ejection is an enormous cloud of electrically charged particles that are propelled into space at speeds around three million miles per hour and disturb the interplanetary magnetic field in our solar system. In the instances where these particles and the magnetic disturbances encounter Earth's magnetic field, they merge in a series of complex physical processes, and set off perturbations in the Earth's magnetic field. It is those perturbations that are called geomagnetic storms. It is the solar flare produced geomagnetic storm that will provide the possible spectacular and unique light show in the night sky, also known as the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis. Typically this type of light show is best viewed at the magnetic poles. While the northern lights have been as far south as New Orleans, they are usually viewed in the north west of Canada and Alaska. According to NOAA, the upcoming light show may be viewable as far south as Virginia in North America. You can view the image above to see if you might be in the area where the dancing lights in the night sky will be viewable, noting that the max area of Aurora Extent lies between the green and yellow lines. It is also worth noting that during a geomagnetic storm, radio communications may fail, there may be a reduction in GPS systems accuracy, damage to satellites could occur and there is a possibility it could harm electrical grids. "We don't know exactly what causes the depletion," stated Attila Komjathy of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "One possible explanation is that electrons are recombining with positively charged ions until there are no excess electrons. There could also be a redistribution, electrons being displaced and pushed away from the region, not only horizontally but vertically." If you are fortunate enough to be in the viewing area, you could be privy to one of nature's most spectacular light shows. If you happen to capture a picture of the event, please feel free to share it here in the comments, or you can join Hot Hardware's Discord and share there as well. https://hothardware.com/news/solar-storm-could-impact-earth-and-trigger-a-light-show

Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, on Saturday said he is not comfortable with the method of politics in Nigeria. Fayemi said this at a birthday symposium in honour of Mr Hamzat Lawal, Chief Executive Officer, Connected Development, in Abuja. The governor said by now, Nigeria should have outgrown bigotry, tribalism and ethno religious biases. He noted that now is the time to rekindle the candle of a new Nigeria as the 2023 general elections draws near. According to him, the coming transition provides another opportunity for Nigerians to take a new day at making a new Nigeria of their dream. He said that Nigerian citizens need to build a consensus around major issues of concerns and develop a national template for some irreducible behaviour in leadership positions. He said this is because nation building is an unfinished business before every generation and it is always a pressing business of the day that must be done urgently. “These challenges that affect our country today, provide us with the opportunity to take a position and take a stand and walk for the resolution of such challenges. “Nigeria will belong to those who are prepared to stand up, stand firm and take control of their destinies as the late Senator Robert Kennedy once said, `it is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped’. “We can all to do a bit in our little ways to cause a beautiful change that will lead us to make our country and indeed the world a better place. “I am personally uncomfortable with the practice of our politics and our political conversation; we should have outgrown bigotry, tribalism and ethno religious biases. “It is time to rekindle the candle of a new Nigeria and the coming transition provides another opportunity for us to take a new day at making a new Nigeria of our dream.’’ Fayemi called on citizens to love the country and imagine it as a major world power in no distant time. According to him, leaders are made from the crucible of experience of passion and courage and the readiness to sacrifice because nothing ventured is nothing gained. “If we trace Hamzat’s history very well from who he was and the focused dedicated and inspirational Youngman he has become, we will see he has taken strongly from this lessons. “He is the founder of Follow the Money, a civic tech advocacy platform, that has helped in tracking government expenditure and service delivery.’’ Fayemi said that Hamzat is a major voice in the sustainable development goals action movement for young people and emerging leaders. He said that some lessons to take away from Hamzat’s story include that for one to succeed, one needs to imbibe certain virtues in life and that is one of the most important things youths often take for granted. Fayemi therefore urged youths to value knowledge because without it they would not develop the right intellect, experience and skill set that to help them prepare for a functional future. He said that the pursuit of knowledge would liberate them from fears, biases and limitations. Gov. Fayemi declares today work-free day for Ekiti schools 2023 Presidency: Ekiti 'uncovers' plot to defame Gov. Fayemi Ekiti cancels employment test, Fayemi orders refund of money paid “This is the kind of education that has helped Hamzat. We also need to develop skills that prepare us for selfless leadership through volunteerism, community engagement and mobilisation for collective causes.‘’ Fayemi urged youths to value competence, courage, generosity of spirit, a sense of giving than receiving, being solution providers than complainants, perseverance and delayed gratification to succeed. Also speaking at the event, Founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, Atedo Peterside, eulogised Hamzat as a person of integrity who had achieved a lot and worked hard to build a great reputation. Peterside said he shared similarities with Hamzat, when he founded the bank 33 years ago as a youth, adding that older experts were skeptical to join the bank so those who joined him then in 1989 were younger than him and were ready to take a risk that the older and more experienced personnel were not willing to take. “However, after five years of success stories of the bank, the older people started applying and we employed them and last February the bank was 33 years. “Youths should know their weaknesses and strengths, work on their weaknesses by engaging those that can cover that area of weakness and also to build on the strength.’’ Peterside urged youths not to abandon good principles in their pursuit of achievement but to imbibe the virtues of integrity, shared vision, team work, and meritocracy, adding that “they should also be bold to be truthful to earn trust of the people, especially those they work with.’’ He urged Nigerian youths to shun sentiments and cooperate with each other across the board to achieve successes in their endeavours. The celebrant, Hamzat lawal, CEO CODE and Founder of Follow the Money, has been working in the civic space, saying that he impacted lives and built people’s capacity the same way he was influenced by Ewa Ileri. Hamzat therefore launched a mentorship initiative called the Ewa Illeri Leadership School, adding that every year, he would select 20 Young people to go to Ebonyi for learning. He said that as he clocked 35, he would use the new face of his life to contribute his quota to change Nigeria through politics, adding that Nigeria is where it is today because youth allowed it for far too long. He added that Nigerians have been agonising and complaining on Twitter, Facebook and so on but there is now a renewed opportunity and hope for young people to take their place in Nigeria’s political history. He said that a political movement called the Green Nigerian Movement has been launched to mobilise youths, persons with disabilities in the 774 local government areas to build alliances to change the political narrative. “Today we must agree that we will play politics with empathy. We’ll play politics with ideology. We’ll play politics with value “I think that ‘the saying that politics is dirty’ should be an old order. If we choose to remain on the sidelines, then we should not complain. I, Hamza Lawal, from today would play partisan politics. “With the Green Nigerian Movement, we have committed that we will mobilise 40 million people, we cannot make change if we don’t change the dynamics of how things are done.’’ Hamzat therefore called on Nigerians to stop agonising, to join him to consolidate, mobilise and educate people at the grassroots to understand the powers that they hold in order to decide the next president of Nigeria. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng) https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2022/03/13/i-am-uncomfortable-with-nigerias-politics-fayemi/

But the Tesla Inc chief executive is unlikely to hit ambitious targets for Tesla to mass-produce its own new batteries this year, industry insiders and analysts say. Though Musk is known for doing the impossible, starting with turning the electric vehicle maker into the world's most valuable auto company, the challenges of launching a new factory and developing a new way of battery manufacturing, are likely to be too much. The stakes are high. Prices of battery ingredients like nickel hit records this week on supply fears stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and Musk in January forecast battery supply constraints next year, making in-house production a key to growth. "He is changing the way how battery manufacturing is done," said Shirley Meng, a University of Chicago professor who previously worked with Maxwell, a battery technology company acquired by Tesla. "It's really, really difficult to manufacture at a speed and at scale." "I think they will probably fall short of the ramp-up of 4680 over the next year," said Gene Munster, managing partner at venture capital firm Loup Ventures, referring to the next-generation EV battery. Munster sees Tesla beating its targets longer-term, but starting off slowly, given its history of new-model production. Musk says making the batteries at scale will be very difficult, but they are critical to his goal of building less expensive, longer-range electric cars that will keep Tesla ahead of a growing pack of competitors. Like other automakers, Tesla sources battery cells from suppliers like Panasonic Corp, CATL and LG Energy Solution. In late 2020, Musk announced that Tesla aims to halve the costs of the most expensive part of an EV by producing its own batteries. Tesla's 4680 lithium-ion batteries — with 46-millimeter diameter and 80-millimeter length hold about five times the energy of its current smaller 2170 cells. Tesla can use a smaller number of new cells for the same energy and driving range, reducing costs. Tesla has said it will start delivering Model Y vehicles with its bigger battery cells by the end of March. In 2020, Musk said Tesla would have capacity to produce 100 gigawatt hours of 4680 batteries this year, enough to power about 1.3 million cars, and more than enough to supply production at factories in Texas and Germany. Tesla is expected to deliver about 1.4 million vehicles this year. Industry researcher Benchmark Mineral Intelligence expects the company to produce batteries for about 30,000 Model Y vehicles, growing to 484,000 in 2024, according to a previously unpublished forecast provided to Reuters. DOUBLE CHALLENGE Tesla faces a lengthy process in ramping up a battery factory, complicated by plans to use a new manufacturing technology called dry electrode coating. "There's a very long process of fine-tuning the equipment before you can get to volume production," said Caspar Rawles, chief data officer at Benchmark, adding that Tesla would have to refine the manufacturing process this year to ensure volume production in 2023. "Battery production is hard, even hard for experienced suppliers," Rawles said. Tesla said it produced its one millionth 4680 cell in January. It did not say how long it took to hit that milestone, but Benchmark estimated that 1 million cells would power only 1,200 Model Ys, which suggests that Tesla has a long way to go. Tesla did not respond to emailed questions about its battery business. Senior Vice President Drew Baglino said in January Tesla is "making meaningful progress of the ramp curve" in its test battery factory in Fremont, California, while installing battery equipment at its upcoming plant in Texas. Baglino said Tesla's "focus is to drive yield quality and cost to ensure we are ready for larger volumes this year as we ramp and next year." As a sign of Tesla's ambition, it expects to beat established battery makers Panasonic and LG to market with 4680s. The crowning difficulty for Tesla is that it is planning a new manufacturing process, called dry electrode, a technology it obtained via its 2019 acquisition of California startup Maxwell Technologies. The factory equipment, Musk said, "doesn't exist. It's being made." Dry electrode manufacturing skips a traditional, complicated step of battery manufacturing that involves a chemical slurry. If it works, it will be cheaper and more efficient, but Musk freely admits it will be a challenge. "The very difficult part is then scaling up that production and achieving extremely higher reliability and safety with the cells," he told a European battery conference in November 2020. Even so, his timeline is seen as optimistic. It took more than a decade for battery makers to optimize the conventional manufacturing process for lithium-ion batteries. Musk who described a "production hell" of mass producing the Model 3 sedan several years ago might experience a "Death Valley" start to scaling up the dry electrode process, said professor Meng, adding, though, that Tesla will overcome the difficulties. https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/musk-s-plan-for-tesla-built-batteries-has-an-acceleration-challenge/ar-AAV0Dpu?ocid=BingNewsSearch

If I had the opportunity to go back and change the way things played out in my life, I wouldn’t do it. From growing up low income to witnessing domestic abuse, drug use and living in poverty, I believe it all molded me into who I am today and who I’m striving to be. Without me going through those struggles and hard times, I wouldn’t have the wisdom I now have, nor would I know what to do in certain situations. I know I didn’t come up in the ideal setting, but we made it work with the few resources we had. I used to always wish that I grew up with a silver spoon until I realized that I wouldn’t be me if I did. It wasn’t meant for me to grow up living that kind of lifestyle. I believe God put me on my path because he knows I can be an inspiration to my people. I want to show them that you can be professional and still be part of the culture. Having a real job does not make you weak or lame, it actually shows that you want better for yourself. Fast money is cool, but it comes with too many unnecessary problems. I have friends in all aspects of life, so I know firsthand what they deal with on the daily just to stay ahead. It’s an uncomfortable lifestyle for most, and you really have to be built for it. Best advice would be to just stay in your lane and do what makes you happy. A lot of the time when young men make decisions, they do so to impress other people rather than actually doing what’s best for them. I think it’s a part of growing up because I can remember doing it a few times — maybe not to the highest extent, but I definitely recall making bad decisions trying to look the part when I knew deep down I wasn’t built like that. Without these life experiences, I wouldn’t be able to relate to what so many of our youth are going through today. We are all children of the struggle; some of us just found the way out quicker. It’s on us to give back and make sure the ones coming up after us don’t make the same mistakes we did. As a leader in this community, I know it’s impossible to reach every kid, but as long as we can get through to one or two we’ve done our job. Much love. https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/columns/jay-simpson-adversity-has-molded-me/article_ac7921f3-2ee6-592d-a6ff-2ca59cb12a79.html

Police in New York City were searching for a man who authorities say shot and killed one homeless person and wounded another in separate street attacks. In the first, a sleeping victim was shot in the right arm in the SoHo neighborhood at approximately 4:30 a.m. He was transported to Bellevue Hospital and listed as stable. According to police, security video showed the suspect, wearing all black and a black ski mask, approaching and shooting a man in a sleeping bag about 10 blocks away and 90 minutes after the first attack. Police found the victim at approximately 4 p.m. Saturday and he was pronounced dead at the scene with a gunshot wound to the head and neck. “The case is a clear and horrific intentional act of taking the life of someone, it appears, because he was homeless,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference. “Two individuals were shot while sleeping on the streets, not committing a crime but sleeping on the streets.” Adams said a task force composed of police officers and a homeless outreach team would focus on finding unhoused people in the subways and other locations and would urge them to seek refuge at city-owned shelters. In response to a recent surge in crime on the subway system, Adams implemented an aggressive enforcement campaign to clear the subways of homeless and connect them with shelters, food banks and other services, and also enforce rules barring smoking, drinking, sleeping across train seats, behaving aggressively and riding without paying fares. In the first week, police said they had arrested 143 people in the city’s subways and removed 455 people from from trains and stations. The attacks were reminiscent of the beating deaths of four homeless men as they slept on the streets in New York's Chinatown in the fall of 2019. Another homeless man, Randy Santos, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in those attacks. https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/police-seek-man-killed-homeless-man-wounded-2nd-83420574

Minecraft is undoubtedly one of the best building games on PC, and it’s always a wonderful surprise to see what the community has come up with. Like, for example, a Minecraft mob bestiary museum that catalogues all the game’s weird and wacky creatures in release order. There’s still a while to go before the release of the Minecraft 1.19 The Wild update, which will introduce several new mobs to the game – such as a creepy new monster called The Warden and a blue fairy with bat wings called Allay. Before that happens, however, you may want to check out a full catalogue of every single mob added to Minecraft from the original “pre-Classic” 2009 version all the way to update 1.17. Made and displayed on Reddit by user HeeyMonster, the creator’s little mob museum consists of a line that neatly displays all the creatures when the player walks down it – starting with just Steve and ending with the likes of Axolotls and goats from the recent Caves & Cliffs update. Minecraft is undoubtedly one of the best building games on PC, and it’s always a wonderful surprise to see what the community has come up with. Like, for example, a Minecraft mob bestiary museum that catalogues all the game’s weird and wacky creatures in release order. What really makes the bestiary is the way the mobs are stylishly displayed. Some of them are posing, some are towering above the others, and some interact with other mobs. The best is probably the parrots from version 1.12, who dance when the player puts on some music for them. Check it out below. https://www.pcgamesn.com/minecraft/mob-museum-bestiary

Sony’s latest versions of the Walkman, the pioneering portable music player first released in 1979, are nothing like the original cassette player that came with foam headphones. Instead, the latest Walkman is a digital music player that costs $1,600 or $3,200. This probably will not be a big seller. Neither were the Nokia and BlackBerry phones that also lived on at least until recently long after those devices became relics to those of us who remember them. I wanted to know: Who loves technology that is long past its prime? Well, it is people like Chris Fralic. A board partner with the startup investment firm First Round, he remembers buying a 2004 Sony PlayStation Portable video game device on eBay when it was available only in Japan. At a party, he pulled the device out of his shirt pocket, and people swarmed. “It was like it was beamed from the future,” Fralic told me over the phone last week as he held an old PSP in his hand. To you, this kind of stuff might be obsolete junk. To enthusiasts like Fralic, technology gadgets contain history — of the collectors’ lives, the tech industry, the United States or all of the above. “They all tell a story,” Fralic said. “I’ve used and sold and loved this stuff from when it first came out. It’s cool to look back and realize how important it was.” He converted a third-floor attic in his home into a personal museum for his collection of thousands of technology devices and memorabilia from the past 40 years or more. Yes, he owns multiple versions of the old-school Walkman and Sony’s Discman CD player. (He emailed me a photo as evidence.) His collection also includes a hulking DEC PDP-11 minicomputer nicknamed R2-D2 that he admitted is a pain to move. He owns the pieces of an original “blue box” electronic device that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak cobbled together — before they founded Apple Computer — to hack telephone lines. His collection has so many phones, including a Gordon Gekko-style monster and a Soviet era “yellow phone” designed for connecting to the Kremlin. Technology by its nature is fast-moving, and there is often no time or inclination to look back. But many old tech gadgets never really die. Instead, they live on in nostalgia products, like Sony’s not-Walkman, and in the garages and attics of aficionados who believe the PSP was the coolest thing ever made. Addison Del Mastro’s love for a 1970s cassette tape changer from Japan and old clock radios is not about personal nostalgia. Del Mastro, who writes a newsletter about urbanism and land use, is 28 years old and has barely wielded that stuff himself. But Del Mastro said that when he was a teenager, he brought home from his local recycling center a discarded RadioShack clock radio with faux wood paneling and a cassette player: “I plugged the thing in, and it worked.” He was hooked. Del Mastro said that he appreciates the creativity and craftsmanship that went into decades-old consumer electronics as well as the ability to understand how they worked. “You can open up that spinning cassette player from 1970, and any layman can understand what is going on,” he said. “It engages your brain and your hands. That experience is absent in a lot of modern technology or devices.” Adam Minter said that he started hearing a decade or so ago from electronics recyclers who were getting calls from people eager to buy obsolete personal computers. They were offering far more money than the PCs were worth to strip for raw materials like gold. Minter, a former colleague of mine who has written two books about the second lives of our stuff, said that those phone calls were often from collectors who hunt for every computer chip ever made by Intel or other manufacturers. “It sounds weird, but really, is it?” he said. “You’re collecting these artifacts of our technological age.” There are collectors and enthusiasts for everything. You might love vintage Bakelite jewelry or 1970s Italian bicycles. Technology gadgets that inspire wonder and lust are no different. Talking to people about this felt as if I had wandered into an extremely nerdy subculture, and I may never be able to get out again. “When you crack open this crazy world, I’m a small player in it,” Fralic said. “There are people who are nuts about this stuff.” https://www.wionews.com/technology/do-you-still-love-the-walkman-461637

Shares of Smith Micro Software (NASDAQ: SMSI) were tumbling today after the company reported worse-than-expected fourth-quarter results. The company missed analysts' consensus estimates for both revenue and earnings in the quarter. The tech stock was down by 15.3% at the end of the trading day. Smith Micro reported a non-GAAP net loss per share of $0.04 in the fourth quarter, which was worse than the $0.03 loss per share that Wall Street was expecting. Additionally, the company's sales of $14.7 million -- an increase of 18.5% from the year-ago quarter -- were below analysts' consensus estimate of $15.2 million for the quarter. Smith Micro CEO William Smith, Jr. said in a press release that the company's momentum in 2021 was "spurred by the largest acquisition in our history," referring to its mid-2021 acquisition of Avast's Family Safety Mobile business. Smith noted that the company added several Tier 1 wireless carriers to its customer base in 2021, and added that the company had "gained valuable experience and learned critical lessons over the past year that will pave the way for a smooth migration of carriers" to its platform. But investors were less enthusiastic about the company's results -- and a handful of analysts agreed with them. In addition to the worse-than-expected results, analysts from Lake Street, B. Riley, and Dawson James all lowered their price targets for Smith Micro's stock today. Investors may want to be cautious about investing in Smith Micro Software right now. With the company's less-than-stellar latest results and its share price down 29% over the past six months, there could be more volatility with this stock in the near term. That doesn't mean the company won't be worth investing in over the long term, but investors may want to wait and see several more quarters of financial results before making a decision. SPONSORED: 10 stocks we like better than Smith Micro Software When our award-winning analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* They just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Smith Micro Software wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. *Stock Advisor returns as of March 3, 2022 Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. https://www.msn.com/en-US/news/topstocks/why-smith-micro-software-stock-plunged-today/ar-AAUX5PK?ocid=BingNewsSearch

Paul and Cheryl Saunders had never used TikTok until they decided to make a post on February 7, 2022, about how they turned an old hardware store in Pennsylvania into a luxury home. It went viral with 13 million views. The high-school sweethearts, both aged 50, explained in their TikTok video how they transformed the 1906 building through DIY renovation. Paul and Cheryl bought the two-story building for $325,000 in the small Pennsylvania town of Ligonier, which has a po[CENSORED]tion of 6,000 people, according to the United States Census Bureau. After posting their first TikTok video, they now have a following of 180,000 people, despite being originally unfamiliar with the app. "Our daughter kept telling us we should post about our renovation. We were never even on TikTok before, so now that we posted we're shocked that so many people are so encouraging and so nice about our house," the couple said. The pair said they've spent around $50,000 on renovations to turn the largely empty old store into a home with a hot tub, rooftop deck, and modern furniture. The couple fell in love with the history of the building, but have given it a modern touch Paul and Cheryl were looking to move out of Elizabeth Township, Pennsylvania, after their two daughters graduated from college and moved out of their old home. They found the hardware store online, saying it stood out to them because "the history and the character of the building were just so unique and charming." So far, they said they've put in over 2,000 hours of work between them to transform the building, only enlisting a bit of extra help for the flooring from a private contractor. Paul used to own a construction company and used his experience to teach Cheryl how to work with paint and cement. The couple decided to keep certain historical elements of the building intact, like an elaborate tin ceiling and antique heart pine flooring. The original cash register station is also still there, and the couple has decided to turn it into a bar for their living room. Among the many adjustments the couple has made to the house, they said their favorite parts are the rooftop deck which they've built above the second floor with a hot tub and outdoor furniture, as well as the living room, where the walls are exposed brick from the original building. Paul and Cheryl think they found TikTok success with their renovation because it inspires other people to be creative, regardless of their age The couple said they were shocked to find out they had become overnight "TikTok stars" because of their renovation videos. They said the main demographic of people who follow them are women ranging from their 20s to their 50s, and many are parents, judging by the comments Paul and Cheryl receive. "I think our content is inspirational to people because they can see it's possible to do fun things after your kids grow up," said Cheryl. Paul added, "Hopefully it helps them to see that they can do something other than travel or play golf when they get older." As a filmmaker, Paul said posting on TikTok has allowed him to be creative and experiment with new video formats, particularly as TikTok videos are vertical and mobile-friendly. The couple is also still renovating and plans to turn the downstairs section of the house into an Airbnb so their relatives can stay over, especially since one of their daughters is currently pregnant. Paul and Cheryl said they plan to continue posting videos about the house transformation and become "TikTok grandparents." https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/a-couple-went-viral-on-tiktok-for-their-2450000-renovation-of-a-116-year-old-hardware-store-into-a-luxury-home-and-airbnb/ar-AAUYUBu?ocid=BingNewsSearch

A major economic uncertainty that China faces is the increased global oil prices and the continued conflict in Ukraine and the accompanying sanctions against Russia. Chinese analysts have expressed hope for economic growth in the country even as China faces increased uncertainties in the wake of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, increased oil prices, and continued tensions with the west, a media report said. The comments come in the wake of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's briefing on Friday at the conclusion of the fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress, the highest legislative body of China. Chinese Premier Li had laid out the economic growth target of China in the forthcoming year and briefed the media on the challenges for achieving the desired growth rate. "A growth rate of about 5.5 per cent is high-standard stability, which is an improvement. It's not easy to achieve, and has to be supported by relevant macro-economic policies," Li said. "It shows Li's confidence that disruption of unstable factors on China's economy will be relatively small, although he also expressed a certain level of caution," Bo Wenxi, chief economist at wealth management firm IPG China was quoted by Global Times. Li also said that China needs new job platforms and that the government will give support, like providing training services to new labourers. The comment is important given China's shrinking job market has raised concerns in recent years. A recent survey conducted by the China Institute for Employment Research (CIER) at the Renmin University of China and job search website Zhaopin indicate that the number of jobs available per applicant among fresh university graduates in China fell to 0.88 in the fourth quarter of 2021, reported The Hong Kong Post. A major economic uncertainty that China faces is the increased global oil prices and the continued conflict in Ukraine and the accompanying sanctions against Russia. "The world economy today is already struggling (due to COVID-19 induced shocks), sanctions (against Russia) will hurt world economic recovery. It is in no one's interest," the Chinese Premier had appealed in his briefing. Even as the country faces emerging challenges, the Chinese analysts have expressed hope that China will be able to achieve its economic targets. "There is certainty amid uncertainties... many other regions have problems, like US inflation and Europe's loss of a sense of security. China's opportunity space is larger than any other region in the world," Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing was quoted by Global Times. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/amidst-economic-uncertainties-china-analysts-hopeful-of-economic-growth-122031200139_1.html

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — As recently as 2017, less than half of all animals that came into Winnebago County Animal Services left the shelter alive. In each subsequent year, the percentage of animals leaving alive has risen from 39% in 2017 to 50%, 66%, 70% and 84% in 2021, the Rockford Register Star reports. The improving numbers are no accident. They coincide with the August 2018 arrival of Brett Frazier, the shelter’s administrator. “We euthanize when illness or injury makes euthanasia the humane choice and when public safety is a concern,” Frazier said while giving a tour of the shelter. “So, then that means we’ve got all these other cases where we’ve got to figure out a way to create what we call positive outcomes.” The rising number of “positive outcomes” is even more impressive when you compare with the fact that the shelter has taken in more animals each year for the past three years: 4,676 animals in 2021 compared to 3,717 in 2020, and 4,612 in 2019. At the same time, the number of euthanized animals has declined: 926 in 2019, 690 in 2020, and 588 in 2021. Driving up the number of positive outcomes are more adoptions and a concerted effort to return the animals to their owners. There were nearly 2,600 adoptions last year, up from 1,785 in 2020 and 2,110 in 2019. In an effort to find the animals – particularly kittens and cats – a new forever home, Frazier touted the shelter’s partnership with PetSmart stores in Machesney Park and in Janesville, Greenfield, Pewaukee, Wauwatosa and Brookfield, Wisconsin. Cats taken in at the shelter and showcased in the PetSmart Charities Adopt-A-Pet program accounted for 636 or 35% of the shelter’s feline adoptions in 2021. Also, thanks in part to animal chipping clinics and lowering or waiving pet retrieval fees, 804 pets were returned to their owners last year compared to 566 in 2020 and 763 in 2019. “So, we’re not necessarily setting out to have a really low euthanasia rate,” Frazier said. “It’s more of a byproduct of us doing things to have a high probability of a live outcome.” https://www.stltoday.com/news/state-and-regional/illinois/pet-adoptions-up-at-winnebago-county-animal-services/article_5ffffc0d-9791-5058-8acc-779ecb5c91a0.html

Ford will attempt to soothe dealers' concerns over the company's recent decision to split its EV and legacy gas-vehicle business. "I was freaking out before I had even shaven that day," one dealer told CNBC. Ford executives will speak Saturday during a meeting of the company's franchised dealers at the National Auto Dealers Association Show in Las Vegas. Ford Motor dealer Marc McEver was taken back when he heard about the automaker's plans to separate its electric vehicle and legacy businesses as part of a restructuring under CEO Jim Farley. The owner of Olathe Ford Lincoln near Kansas City, Kansas, heard the news around 6:30 a.m. CST last Wednesday and "was calling Detroit" within 15 minutes to try to understand what was happening. "When it was first announced, I was pretty set back," McEver said. "I was freaking out before I had even shaven that day." But after speaking with Ford officials since then, McEver, whose dealership specializes in commercial and fleet vehicles, is now excited about the plans. "After talking to some of the people at Ford, I feel a lot better," he said. "All this is pretty ingenious." Soothing concerns of dealers such as McEver is expected to be crucial for Ford executives Saturday during a meeting of the company's franchised dealers at the National Auto Dealers Association Show in Las Vegas. The event annually attracts thousands of franchise dealers, including many of Ford's roughly 3,100 retailers. Farley caused waves across Wall Street and the automotive industry last week when he announced the separation plans. He called them "one of the biggest changes" in the history of the more than century-old company, including dealers "specializing" in certain vehicles. Farley said some dealers such as McEver may specialize in fleet vehicles, while others only do electric vehicles or sales to retail customers. "We're going to bet on the dealer franchise system," Farley said. "That's a different bet than I hear from others. But we're going to do it by asking them to specialize." 'Better than Tesla'? Farley's plans add to significant pressures and changes for franchise dealers, which many Wall Street analysts view as a negative for legacy automakers such as Ford when it comes to EVs. They argue the system eats into vehicle profits and can provide more inconsistent experiences compared to EV start-ups and Tesla, which own their stores and sell directly to consumers. Those who want to sell EVs may have to operate in completely new ways, including online ordering, commitment to not carrying any inventory and selling at transparent non-negotiable prices, as some dealers have taken advantage or high demand and low vehicle inventories to mark up prices. "In the next 60 days, we're going to be out talking to all of our dealers around the world, and developing a pithy list of standards for a new experience that's going to be better than Tesla," Farley said. Ford and other legacy automakers are contractually obligated to sell through franchised dealers. Many states also have laws that block direct sales of vehicles by automakers to consumers. Franchise dealers for decades have fought to keep the traditional selling system in place. Traditional automakers view dealers as partners that are particularly important when it comes to servicing vehicles and community involvement. Big meeting Ford will attempt to address any and all concerns about the announced plans at Saturday's NADA meeting, said spokesperson Debra Hotaling. "That's why we do this. We work really hard to talk to our dealers and listen to them," she said, reiterating Farley's comments about working with its dealers on these plans. The changes could cost dealers millions of dollars in upgrades depending on their size. They also could force some individual dealers to sell to larger, sometimes publicly traded companies such as AutoNation and Lithia Motors. Consolidation of dealer networks has been a major trend in recent years amid trying times during the coronavirus pandemic and automakers pushing dealers to invest more in EVs. Ryan LaFontaine, CEO and co-owner of LaFontaine Automotive Group in Michigan, says he's excited about EVs, but would like to know some additional details about Ford's plans and requirements. "It's a big change, but it's going to be something that we embrace and we're excited about," he said. "It makes sense, but we're still waiting as dealers to understand the full impact." LaFontaine said his company, which has three Ford dealerships and 26 other stores in Michigan, is "all-in" when it comes to EVs. The company, which sold nearly 44,000 vehicles last year, has already invested close to $1 million in its transition to EVs. His franchises range from the Detroit automakers and Toyota to Volvo-backed EV start-up Polestar. "It's an all-in play. All manufacturers are pretty much taking their entire portfolio, whether it be today or in the near future, to be EVs," he said. "If you're not adapting, really what you're doing is saying you're not going to proceed forward with Ford or believing in the vision they have. Not just Ford, all manufacturers." https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/ford-to-address-dealer-concerns-about-separating-its-ev-and-legacy-businesses/ar-AAUYm5B?ocid=BingNewsSearch

An estimated 1.6 million Ukrainians have fled to Poland Two major Polish cities, including the country's capital of Warsaw and Krakow, its second-largest city, are running out of space for Ukrainian refugees escaping Russian attacks. Nearly 2.6 million Ukrainians have fled the country amid Russia's invasion as of Saturday — the majority of which (1.6 million) sought refuge in Poland, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). "300,000 refugees have arrived in [Warsaw] since Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24," Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski said in a Friday tweet. "Our city remains the main destination for Ukrainian refugees. Situation is getting more and more difficult every day. Warsaw stands and will #StandWithUkraine. Support. Donate." Krakow Mayor Jacek Majchrowski said the country's second-largest city has taken in 100,000 Ukrainians and is "slowly losing the opportunity to accommodate new waves of refugees" in a Friday Facebook post. He added that officials can only offer space to refugees in neighboring towns. UKRAINIAN WOMAN WHO SURVIVED HOSPITAL BOMBING GIVES BIRTH TO BABY GIRL "We have been helping Ukraine since the first days of the war, but as a local government, we are first responsible for the citizens," he said, according to a Washington Post translation of his remarks. He added that more incoming refugees could impact "the functioning of the city." Hungary, Slovakia and the Russian Federation have also taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees. Other European countries have taken in more than 300,000, the UNHCR reports. The mass displacement marks the "largest humanitarian crisis Europe has seen since World War [II]," the International Organization for Migration said last week. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) called it the "fastest exodus of refugees this century." The UNHCR says an estimated 12.65 million people have been impacted by war zones within Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. https://www.foxnews.com/world/ukraine-news-polish-cities-refugees

Wait man you are part of D-H. 3 days ago @King_of_lion told you that he was going to have your eyes on you to be accepted or not to VGR and now you make a request in Journalist.. You know that you can only be part of 2 projects maximum ? It means that you have no more interest in VGR explain me that.

Happy Birthday!

Realme 9 series 5G debuted in India today. The company launched Realme 9 5G and Realme 9 SE 5G with up to 144Hz refresh rate and 48MP AI triple rear camera. Along with the new smartphones, the company has launched Realme TechLife Buds N100 and Realme TechLife Watch S100. Realme TechLife Buds N100 comes with a 9.2mm dynamic driver and is equipped with Bluetooth 5.2 for connectivity. Realme TechLife Watch S100 has a 1.69-inch screen and comes with health features like heart rate monitoring, SpO2 tracking and more. Price and availability Realme TechLife Buds N100 is priced at Rs 1,299. It comes in two colour variants- Grey and Balck. The wireless earbuds will go on sale on March 15 and will be available via Realme.com along with Flipkart and offline retail stores across the country. Realme TechLife Watch S100 will be available in two colors - Grey and Black. The smartwatch carries a price tag of Rs 1,999 and will be up for sale on March 14 via Realme.com, Flipkart and retail stores. Specifications Realme TechLife Buds is a neckband style wireless earbud. It is equipped with 9.2mm dynamic bass boost driver and is claimed to deliver a battery life of up to 17-hour. The earbuds come with Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, and sports a comfortable silicone neckband. It offers fast charging support as well. Realme TechLife Watch S100 comes with a 1.69-inch display with a resolution of 240x280 pixels. The display is said to offer peak brightness of upto 530 nits. It comes with over 110 watch faces. On the battery, the smartwatch is claimed to deliver 12-days long battery life. Realme TechLife Watch S100 is IP68 certified, making it water-resistant. The smartwatch comes with 24 sports modes and offers heart rate monitoring and SpO2 tracking. https://www.siliconindia.com/gadget/news/realme-unveils-techlife-buds-n100-and-watch-s100---nid-218318.html

Following a surge in propaganda coinciding with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the VPN provider Surfshark recently released a new fake news warning feature for its browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. At the time, Surfshark CEO Vytautas Kaziukonis explained why the company decided to release the feature in a press release, saying: “The 21st century has shown that information might be sharper than the sword. It’s evident that today’s disinformation campaigns aim to distract, confuse, mani[CENSORED]te, and sow division, discord, and uncertainty in the community. Keeping in mind the intensifying propaganda, we decided to release a feature that would allow people to identify fake news websites easily.” Surfshark's now defunct fake news warning feature would detect specific URLs from a list of untrustworthy websites taken from the site propornot.com reviewed by the the company's security experts. Sites known for spreading fake news were highlighted with a “YYY” symbol in Google and other search engines. While the feature was enabled by default, Surfshark users were able to toggle it off under the “VPN settings” menu in the company's browser extension. Suspending its fake news feature Although Surfshark's intentions were good, the company explained in a post on Twitter that “the topic is more nuanced that initially thought” when it announced that it would be temporarily suspending its fake news notification feature only a few days after its launch. The problem with the feature is that in addition to being overwhelming for some users, it identified far too many sites as being a source of disinformation. Some of the sites that had a “YYY” next to them on Google's search results page included Drudge Report, Ron Paul's website, the alternative video platform BitChute and even WikiLeaks. While consumers rely on VPN services to protect their privacy online and to get around geo-blocking, many of the users that responded to a separate post on Twitter by BitChute took issue with Surfshark limiting freedom of expression online. At the same time, BitChute pointed out that several major news stories in the last year were considered 'misinformation' before being revealed to be true. Despite the fact that Surfshark has said that it would temporarily suspend the feature, its original blog post announcing its fake news notifications has been removed from its site. We'll have to wait and see as to whether or not the company decides to bring it back though based on the criticism the feature faced online, it likely won't be returning anytime soon. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/surfshark-backpedals-on-fake-news-feature-after-barrage-of-criticism/ar-AAUUkd6?ocid=BingNewsSearch

Over a third of devices in the enterprise today can't run Windows 11 because they don't meet Microsoft's minimum hardware requirements for the OS, according to enterprise network performance firm Riverbed. The firm's data scientists say in a new report that 34% of devices currently being used aren't capable of running Windows 11 because of Microsoft's mildly controversial minimum hardware requirements. "While the benefits of Windows 11 are clear, some of the device requirements will make a transition challenging. More than a third of devices currently in use today are not capable of running Windows 11," it said. SEE: Windows 11: Latest updates bring a wave of new features However, they also found that only 12% of existing devices will need to be replaced if CIOs want them on Windows 11 while 22% of devices can be upgraded to meet the requirements. To comply with Windows 11 requirements, a PC needs at least 4GB of memory and 64GB of storage; UEFI secure boot must be enabled; the graphics card must be compatible with DirectX 12 or later, with a WDDM 2.0 driver; and a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 must be included. On hardware upgrades, Riverbed found that 21% of machines will need an upgrade or replacement due to the TPM requirements and 15% for UEFI. The seemingly good news for Windows 11 adoption is that virtually all existing hardware meets the other minimum requirements. Riverbed's analysis included DirectX and the related WDDM driver, CPU architecture, CPU frequency, memory, and storage. Riverbed found that 19.45% of devices would need a storage upgrade, while 11% need to upgrade to TPM 2.0 and 8% will need to be upgraded with UEFI. However, usage of Windows 11 is very low in the enterprise. On a graph comparing Windows 10 versus Windows 11 by "hours of usage" between June 2021 and January 2022, Windows 10 hovers at around 200 million hours, while Windows 11 hasn't left the X-axis. Nonetheless, its hours of usage has climbed from zero in June to about 60,000 hours in January. Riverbed's findings about enterprise readiness for Windows 11 isn't as dire as a similar survey in October by IT asset management firm Lansweeper, which found only 44.4% of machines meet the Windows 11 CPU requirements. Microsoft for its part seems happy with broader consumer response to the Windows 11 rollout and in November decided to roll it out faster than it originally planned to. It's hard to say whether Riverbed's findings are a good or bad sign for Windows 11 adoption in the enterprise. Windows 10 remains supported until October 2025. Assuming a PC refresh rate of three to five years, many organizations will have installed new hardware by then. SEE: Best Windows laptop 2022: Top notebooks compared Enterprise also have the option to use Windows 11 via the Windows 365 Cloud PC service. Microsoft's vice president of enterprise and OS security, Dave Weston, is certain that by 2025 no enterprise customers will be left behind because of Windows 11 hardware requirements. "By 2025, when the refresh cycle will have turned over for the vast majority of the businesses, you will have more reason to move to Windows 11 because by that point there will have been two or three releases of security goodness to have been added, which we think is going to provide a substantial value proposition," he told ZDNet recently. https://www.zdnet.com/article/one-in-three-work-pcs-not-capable-of-running-windows-11-here-are-the-upgrades-they-need/