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SK Sabir Boss is one of the most po[CENSORED]r Free Fire players in India. He is also a successful content creator on YouTube, with 3.75 million subscribers on his channel. Cerol, on the other hand, is a prominent figure in the Brazilian Free Fire community. He co-founded Fluxo Esports, along with professional player Nobru. The content creator has close to 6 million subscribers on YouTube. This article compares the two players' stats in Garena Free Fire as of March 2021. SK Sabir Boss has 9095 victories in 28174 squad games, making his win rate 32.28%. He has 98940 kills in these matches, with a K/D ratio of 5.19. The YouTuber has also played 3040 duo games and has won on 624 occasions, translating to a win rate of 20.52%. He has 8300 kills at a K/D ratio of 3.44 in this mode. SK Sabir Boss has played 1623 solo games and has emerged victorious in 143 of them, maintaining a win rate of 8.81%. He has 3293 kills in these matches, with a K/D ratio of 2.23. SK Sabir Boss has played 609 squad games and has 209 wins, translating to a win rate of 34.31%. With 1895 kills to his name, he has a K/D ratio of 4.74 in this mode. The content creator has also played 34 ranked duo games and has triumphed in 13 of them, maintaining a win rate of 38.23%. He has 126 kills in these matches, with a K/D ratio of 6.00. SK Sabir Boss is yet to play a game in the ranked solo mode. Cerol has 951 Booyahs in 4316 squad matches, maintaining a win rate of 22.03%. He has 14463 kills in these matches, with a K/D ratio of 4.30. The content creator has also played 387 duo games and has triumphed in 41 of them, making his win rate 10.59%. He has 1733 frags at a K/D ratio of 5.01 in this mode. Cerol has played 676 solo matches and has emerged victorious on 79 occasions, translating to a win rate of 11.68%. He has 3130 kills in these matches, with a K/D ratio of 5.24. Cerol has played 150 squad games in the current ranked season and has triumphed in 24 of them, making his win rate 16.00%. He has registered 719 kills at a K/D ratio of 5.71 in this mode. The YouTuber has won 15 of the 123 ranked duo games that he has played, translating to a win rate of 12.19%. He has 699 kills in these matches, with a K/D ratio of 6.47. Cerol has also played 34 ranked solo games and has 3 wins to his name, maintaining a win rate of 8.82%. He has 226 kills at a K/D ratio of 7.29 in this mode. Comparison While SK Sabir Boss has the edge over Cerol in the lifetime squad games, the latter has better stats in the lifetime solo and duo games. It is not possible to compare the two players' ranked solo stats as SK Sabir Boss is yet to play a game in the mode. Meanwhile, in the ranked squad and duo matches, Cerol has a better K/D ratio, while SK Sabir Boss has a higher win rate. Note: The stats in this article were recorded at the time of writing. They are subject to change as the content creators continue to play more games in Free Fire.

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Pity the poor mainframe computer. Maligned for years as a costly relic, it has become the Rodney Dangerfield of the information technology world. That’s despite the fact that “big iron” machines run 30 billion transactions per day, handle 90% of all credit card transactions and process more daily transactions than Google search, according to the Share user group. But when it comes to analytics, mainframes based on the classic IBM System/360 architecture have been largely left out of the party. Israeli startup Model 9 Software Inc. aims to change all that. The company has developed and patented technology that makes it possible for mainframe data to be saved to cloud object storage for use by data lakes and data warehouses. The disconnect between mainframes and modern analytics dates back to the earliest days of 360 platforms when disk storage barely existed. At that time, the most cost-effective way to store data was on tape drives (pictured), which are “a serial device that you can only write to one at a time,” said Model9 Chief Executive Gil Peleg. Modern mainframes still use tape emulator software to compensate for this structural limitation. Data sets, not files Mainframes also have no concept of a file. Rather, data is organized in collections of records called data sets that adhere to a predefined form and use a protocol called Virtual Storage Access Method, which is optimized for rapid sequential access but not for the random methods used by files and databases. Data can be saved to disk, but it’s managed serially, an approach that was appropriate at a time when computers were limited to performing the same process repetitively. Why do so many enterprises continue to live with this burden? Because bringing applications into the modern age that were written by programmers who retired years ago in languages that few people understand anymore is difficult. “We talk to companies that are on the seventh year of a three-year modernization project,” Peleg said. “Many fail, cost more than planned and have questionable return.” Model 9’s software extracts mainframe data and reformats it for storage in cloud or on-premises object stores. In the process, it transforms VSAM files into the flexible and lightweight JavaScript Object Notation or XML format, either of which can be queried by po[CENSORED]r languages like SQL. “Once you can get data into JSON you can do almost anything with it,” Peleg said. The software eliminates the need for tape and virtual tape, the company claims. All the work is offloaded to System z Integrated Information Processors, which are essentially coprocessors for mainframes. Data can be stored on any open storage system, including network-attached storage, storage area networks and object stores. “We leverage the latest data transportation technologies, can heavily parallelize the data and apply compression,” Peleg said. “It’s completely transparent to mainframe applications.” Model9 has raised $13.8 million funding, including a $9 million round a year ago and is coming off its “best year” since its founding in 2016, Peleg said, without providing statistics. Customers include America First Credit Union and Sirius XM Holdings Inc. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Since you’re here … Show your support for our mission with our one-click subscription to our YouTube channel (below). The more subscribers we have, the more YouTube will suggest relevant enterprise and emerging technology content to you. Thanks! Support our mission: >>>>>> SUBSCRIBE NOW >>>>>> to our YouTube channel. … We’d also like to tell you about our mission and how you can help us fulfill it. SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we don’t have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary on SiliconANGLE — along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams at theCUBE — take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content.

Introduction and Scope: Global Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers Market An all-inclusive assessment study conducted for the Global Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers Market report indicates future growth prospects, trends, drivers and restrains, challenges and opportunities. The market report presents a holistic approach in which it shares statistical, analytical, historical as well as economical data. A thorough knowledge of the Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers market is essential for investors and customers to be able to understand the market and enable them in their business opportunities. The main objective of the global Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers market report is to provide qualitative analysis as well as quantitative analysis. The global Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers market report consists of segmentation based on type, region, application, map positioning, growth, trends, cost structure analysis, market status as well as dominant players. Vendor Profile: Home Depot Lowe’s Inside Tweedy and Popp Hardware Ace Hardware Rona Canadian Tire Homebase Wickes Bauhaus Bricostore Praxis Alibaba EBay Amazon Bunnings Warehouse The key players are discussed in the Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers market report along with their market share, regional diversity, cost stability, sales, revenue, market size and volume. Also, manufacturers and suppliers, supply chain and logistics data is provided by the global market report. Due to COVID-19 the Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers industry faced a drop in demand and as a result halted the growth of the market even though it witnessed a gradual growth in previous years. However, recovery is in progress as indicated by the global Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers market report. It is also anticipated to show growth during the forecast period. Find full report and TOC here: @ https://www.orbismarketreports.com/global-hardware-and-home-improvement-retailers-market-analysis-by-growth-and-forecast-2025?utm_source=PujaM The market is roughly segregated into: • Segmentation by Type Door Hardware Building Materials Kitchen And Toilet Product Others • Segmentation by Application Online Marketing Offline Marketing Drivers and restrains are well established in the market report which include increase in digitization and technology, emergence of new start-ups, top players looking to mergers and starting new project strategies as the drivers whereas the basic need of resources and capital and change post pandemic remain the restrains. Regional segmentation is explained by the market share contributed by the major economies in the world with detailed company status across the globe and individual revenue and sales channels along with international business scope. Do You Have Any Query or Specific Requirement? Ask Our Industry Expert@ https://www.orbismarketreports.com/enquiry-before-buying/134180?utm_source=PujaM The global Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers market report is intended to give customers an overview of the history as well as the future of the Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers market. Strategies have been implemented to gain the progress in the Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers industries post COVID-19 also to keep up with the new trend and market needs, these market needs pose potential growth opportunities for the global market. The global Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers market report thus offers an insight into the new age market and modifications needed to sustain and gradually grow. Increasing millennial needs are the drivers and adapting to new technologies will enable existing Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers market and new entrants to grow their business substantially. Table of Contents Chapter One: Report Overview 1.1 Study Scope 1.2 Key Market Segments 1.3 Players Covered: Ranking by Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers Revenue 1.4 Market Analysis by Type 1.4.1 Global Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers Market Size Growth Rate by Type: 2020 VS 2025 1.5 Market by Application 1.5.1 Global Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers Market Share by Application: 2020 VS 2025 1.6 Study Objectives 1.7 Years Considered Chapter Two: Global Growth Trends by Regions 2.1 Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers Market Perspective (2015-2025) 2.2 Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers Growth Trends by Regions 2.2.1 Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers Market Size by Regions: 2015 VS 2020 VS 2025 2.2.2 Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers Historic Market Share by Regions (2015-2020) 2.2.3 Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers Forecasted Market Size by Regions (2021-2025) 2.3 Industry Trends and Growth Strategy 2.3.1 Market Top Trends 2.3.2 Market Drivers 2.3.3 Market Challenges 2.3.4 Porter’s Five Forces Analysis 2.3.5 Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers Market Growth Strategy 2.3.6 Primary Interviews with Key Hardware and Home Improvement Retailers Players (Opinion Leaders) Looking for provoking fruitful enterprise relationships with you! About Us : With unfailing market gauging skills, has been excelling in curating tailored business intelligence data across industry verticals. Constantly thriving to expand our skill development, our strength lies in dedicated intellectuals with dynamic problem solving intent, ever willing to mold boundaries to scale heights in market interpretation. Contact Us : Hector Costello Senior Manager Client Engagements 4144N Central Expressway, Suite 600, Dallas, Texas 75204, U.S.A. Phone No.: USA: +1 (972)-362-8199 | IND: +91 895 659 5155

The gaming landscape has changed considerably since work first began on Dead Island 2. Groundbreaking games like The Witcher 3 and GTA 5 have been released, brand new genres have been created and an entire console generation has come and gone. Despite all of this, however, there's still no sign of Deep Silver's zombie smashing title. Although arguably the most prominent, the long awaited action RPG is just one of many games to have run into issues during production. Some have changed developers multiple times, while others have suffered due to recent global events. One thing that they all have in common, however, is that they're all seemingly trapped in development hell. The sequel to Techland's hugely successful survival horror game was first announced at E3 back in 2014, although its troubled development dates back further still. Problems first began when Techland opted to step away from the project to focus on its upcoming Dying Light franchise, leaving publisher Deep Silver without a developer for the game. A deal was eventually made with Yager Development in 2012 and the studio began work with a view to the game releasing at some point during 2015. After two years of work, the game seemed to be in pretty good shape, but in mid 2015 it was suddenly announced that Yager would no longer be working on the project. A copy of the studio's build was leaked some five years later though, and, to this day, this is the closest that fans have ever come to playing Dead Island 2. Sumo Digital took over development the following year, with Deep Silver reassuring fans that the game was still happening on numerous occasions around this time. Fast forward a little to August 2019, however, and development on the project once again changed hands; this time to one of Deep Silver's internal studios, Dambuster. 2 years have now passed since the change, but there's still no word on when Dead Island 2 will finally arrive. Routine is a first-person horror exploration game that is being developed by LunarSoftware. It was first announced in 2012 and had an expected release date of 2017. Unfortunately, however, unknown circumstances have led to the game's future sliding into uncertainty, with fans now wondering whether it will ever see the light of day. As of the moment though, it still hasn't been officially cancelled. The game's Subreddit remains surprisingly active considering the lack of meaningful development updates, with many of its posters trying to piece together exactly what's going on. Some believe that the studio simply ran out of money before it was able to complete the project, although there are plenty of other interesting theories as well. Either way, the game continues to linger in limbo and will remain there until LunarSoftware decides to provide an update. Six Days in Fallujah is a tactical shooter centered around the events of the Iraq War. More specifically, it focuses on the Second Battle of Fallujah, one of the deadliest urban conflicts to have taken place in the modern era. Naturally, this premise attracted a lot of criticism from both former and active military personnel and this in turn led to the game's original publisher, Konami, stepping away from the project in April 2009. Just a few years after losing its publisher, the game also found itself without a developer when Atomic Games filed for bankruptcy. It's unclear how much of the game had been developed at this time, although some reports suggest that it was complete and ready for release. Ready or not, Atomic's collapse saw the project fall into a state of dormancy that would last for almost a decade. As the years passed, all memories of the failed project faded into obscurity. Until, that is, they were pulled right back into focus in February of 2021. A surprise announcement from Highwire Games revealed that the studio had taken over development of the project and that the game would be releasing for both PC and console before the end of the year; finally bringing an end to a development cycle that has now spanned three different decades. Although it started life as a cross-platform series, Platinum Games' Bayonetta is now considered to be a Nintendo exclusive. The second entry was one of the few standout titles for the Wii U and, as a result, fans were delighted when Nintendo announced a third Bayonetta game for the Switch during The Game Awards 2017. More than three years later though, and there's been very little word on when the game will actually arrive. Much like Nintendo's Breath of the Wild sequel, all those involved remain incredibly tight-lipped when it comes to the current status of Bayonetta 3. Series creator Hideki Kamiya did recently hint that there may be an update on the game later this year, although whether or not that will actually happen remains to be seen. Interestingly, Kamiya also mentioned that the team at Platinum are currently working on multiple projects, which may explain why development and updates have been so slow. Ubisoft's Beyond Good & Evil was a big hit with fans and critics when it released back in 2003. Unfortunately, however, the game's commercial performance was not nearly as impressive, although this wasn't enough to stop rumors of a sequel from cropping up in the years that followed. These rumors were seemingly confirmed in 2008, when a trailer for a then untitled project was revealed at an Ubisoft conference. The trailer seemed to use both assets and characters from the original game, leading many to believe that a second Beyond Good & Evil game was finally in the works. A second trailer the following year all but confirmed this, although it would not be until 2016 that Beyond Good & Evil 2 would be officially announced by Ubisoft. Rather than a sequel, however, the game was instead revealed to be a prequel, with this change in focus used to explain the long development cycle. Well. That and director Michel Ancel's work on Rayman Legends. Things seemed to be moving along nicely in the years that followed, but the game's future was once again thrust into uncertainty in mid 2020 when Ubisoft came under fire following a series of public allegations from its former workers. A few months later, Michel Ansel took to Instagram to announce that he planned to stop working on video games so that he could "fully focus on [...] wild life." Despite his departure, subsequent comments from Ubisoft suggest that work is still continuing on Beyond Good & Evil 2 and that things are "progressing well." There's still no sign of a solid release date though. Video game piracy is a touchy subject for many developers, but none more so than Ubisoft Singapore. Not quite in the conventional sense though. The studio has now been working on its swashbuckling action-adventure Skull & Bones for more than four years and yet there's still no clear date for when exactly it will be taking to the seas. The game was first announced at E3 in 2017 and was slated for release towards the end of the following year. Several delays later, however, and Skull & Bones now finds itself in uncharted waters. In 2019 it was announced that the game should be releasing before March 2022 and a subsequent update revealed that Ubisoft Berlin would be co-developing the title. Since then though, Ubisoft seems to have battened down the hatches when it comes to updates on the project. Much like the universe itself, the scope of Star Citizen seems to be constantly expanding, with the current vision for the game almost unrecognizable from the one that was first pitched on Kickstarter back in 2013. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing for the game itself, it is somewhat problematic for those who just want to sit down and play the game that they paid for almost a decade ago. To the developer's credit, Cloud Imperium has done an excellent job updating backers and other investors on the current state of the game. What's more, the alpha gameplay suggests that the ship is on the right course to meet the lofty expectations that have come as a result of Star Citizen's ever inflating budget. Unfortunately, though, the slow speed at which things are currently moving is a little concerning, with some now wondering whether the game will ever reach its final destination.

There is an emerging consensus that the new Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code rules are against the idea of free speech. Even the normally reticent Editors Guild has issued a statement, airing its concerns about how these new rules will undermine media freedom in the country. Equally important though is how the IL guidelines follow a 50 year trend of nation states trying to limit access to cryptography and encryption technology for the general public. The United States tried to limit access to cryptography in the late 90s when the cypherpunks stopped this attempt by fighting for free speech in software. When restrictions were put to not allow cryptographic code to be exported abroad, the cypherpunks printed code on t-shirts to bypass and export crypto to the rest of the world. The end-to-end encryption protocol that we depend on today is an outcome of a 50 year resistance movement, started by the cypherpunks, to protect the sanctity of whispers from prying ears. One way to think about the Narendra Modi government’s IL guidelines is that it is trying to ban whispers completely in the realm of conversations by effectively logging every whisper forever in the form of a permanent record. The issue hence is not just about free speech in the media, but also about free speech in software. At a fundamental level, there is no difference between writing ‘code’ and publishing it and writing opinions and publishing books. The new intermediary guidelines mandating traceability should be seen as an attempt to dictate how messaging apps use cryptography. It is a form of free speech restriction applicable on a technical domain. There is an emerging consensus that the new Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code rules are against the idea of free speech. Even the normally reticent Editors Guild has issued a statement, airing its concerns about how these new rules will undermine media freedom in the country. Equally important though is how the IL guidelines follow a 50 year trend of nation states trying to limit access to cryptography and encryption technology for the general public. The United States tried to limit access to cryptography in the late 90s when the cypherpunks stopped this attempt by fighting for free speech in software. When restrictions were put to not allow cryptographic code to be exported abroad, the cypherpunks printed code on t-shirts to bypass and export crypto to the rest of the world. The end-to-end encryption protocol that we depend on today is an outcome of a 50 year resistance movement, started by the cypherpunks, to protect the sanctity of whispers from prying ears. One way to think about the Narendra Modi government’s IL guidelines is that it is trying to ban whispers completely in the realm of conversations by effectively logging every whisper forever in the form of a permanent record. The issue hence is not just about free speech in the media, but also about free speech in software. At a fundamental level, there is no difference between writing ‘code’ and publishing it and writing opinions and publishing books. The new intermediary guidelines mandating traceability should be seen as an attempt to dictate how messaging apps use cryptography. It is a form of free speech restriction applicable on a technical domain. Forward secrecy is quite useful against nation state adversaries like China, who can intercept all your messages by breaking into the telecom infrastructure and can afford to store them for a very long time till it can crack the encryption keys or obtain it forcefully from your phone, by use of physical force. Weakening encryption affects everyone and especially when your adversaries have more advanced cyber operations. Forward secrecy becomes more achievable, when past messages are automatically deleted after some time, so that no one can access them even when your phone is lost or forcefully taken. Disappearing messages hence have become a standard feature in both the Signal messenger and in WhatsApp, just like how secrets whispered in another person’s ear, die out in the wind. This applies even when you send messages in a group, and message copies are deleted from every other device, thus enhancing your privacy and also allow you to speak your mind freely without any inhibitions and within a group of your own choosing. Unlike Twitter and Facebook, which create a public sphere for sharing viewpoints and for influencing people, messaging platforms are primarily used by individuals and groups for personal communication. It is a given that some of these groups and conversations will be criminal in nature and this segment of users would be no different than a set of like-minded people who would talk about crime after congregating inside a closed room. Law enforcement handled such activities by either infiltrating such groups or by accumulating evidence and prosecuting them for crimes committed, but did not demand all property owners of closed rooms to record everything told within its confines, so that they can identify the speaker of every word. By ordering the messaging applications to change their encryption methodology to find the first originator of a particular message, the government is forcing them to store hash values of every message and its user. This hashing of every message would effectively mean seeing the content of the messages once requested by law enforcement For end-to-end encryption to provide privacy by default, platforms are required to store as minimal data as possible. Signal does not store any metadata about users, except their data of joining and last date of accessing the platform and encrypts everything else, which only users can decrypt. WhatsApp however stores metadata, which it hands over to law enforcement when demanded, along with IP addresses and other device identifiers. How useful can this metadata be for law enforcement? Well, it was enough to help prosecute an ISIS recruiter in the US. Also read: What Regulatory Changes Are on the Anvil for Social Media Platforms, Digital Media? The specific feature that converts whispers uttered in a closed room into a broadcasting mechanism that can fuel a misinformation and fake news binge – which is what the government should really be worried about – is the ‘forward message’ functionality. In the past, WhatsApp has tried to add friction to this, by specifically slowing the spread of messages through the introduction of forwarding limits, while still not going the full hog by allowing people to choose whether a message should be private within the group by default. It did so because there exist many unauthorised spinoffs of its client app, that simply use copy-paste of the message text and deploy the download-store-post sequence that work around these limits.

ary Dickes’ dream of a bigger, more comprehensive hardware store came to fruition Friday morning during a soft opening of a new Prairie Side Ace Hardware. The new store is more than 19,000 square feet and is nearly twice as big as its former South Side location, just two blocks away. Constructed with local contractors, Prairie Side, 3505 80th St., has more than 30,000 items including many new lines of merchandise it never carried in his previous location. The new Ace Hardware is in a growing commercial area that includes a shopping plaza, Chase Bank, Atlas Gym, CubeSmart Self Storage, a Festival Foods supermarket and a Dollar Tree store. A North Shore Bank branch is under construction. The new store has a patio for outdoor merchandise, a lumber section with a selection for DIY-ers who want to make some small household repairs, plumbing, electrical, and hardware merchandise, housewares, sporting goods and a toy section. There is a wider selection of recognizable brands, including Weber and Big Green Egg outdoor equipment, plus high-end Milwaukee brand power tools. Dickes plans to add more within the next few months. The old Ace Hardware at 3755 80th St., will remain open while merchandise is relocated. During the pandemic, Dickes realized that online orders would become a bigger feature for customers. “We were getting 10-15 orders a day,” he said. The new Prairie Side is equipped to handle more orders for curbside pickup and delivery.” We have certain brands that are unique to us,” said Dickes. He said he collaborated with Benjamin Moore because he said it offer a quality product that would appeal to professional paint contractors. Realizing his dreams Dickes, a former aerospace engineer, said he always wanted to own a hardware store. He kept adding merchandise to his original business, which has been in that location for the past 10 years – eight of them as a TruValue hardware store. He began thinking of expanding two years ago, under the Ace banner. He first thought of opening a second store, but considered the new location when he realized that the former Chase Bank drive-through was on the market. “We had the happy problem of outgrowing our space,” he said of the former location. “I thought there’s a piece of ground that opened up right at my doorstep.” Considering how the COVID-19 pandemic had affected some local businesses, Dickes wanted to use local contractors to build the new facility. “We hired our neighbors,” he said. Partners in Design drew up the plans and Bane-Nelson was the primary contractor. Others included Hoffman Glass, Krekling Painting & Decorating, RIC Electric, JC Building Systems, Butler Building, Dickow Cyzak, Lee Mechanical, Metrolite Signs and Postorino Construction Finishes. The furniture was purchased from B&L Furniture, a company that saw its 60th Street location damaged during the civil unrest, and has since relocated to 7600 75th St.

Garena Free Fire and PUBG Mobile are two of the most prominent names in the Esports industry and have been leading the community since their release. Both have great gameplay qualities and superior graphic optimization. Free Fire is especially known for its low-end device optimization functions, whereas PUBG Mobile is widely known for its rich and heavy graphics. The titles are based on the essence of battle royale but have different features and offer different gameplay experiences. This article will discuss which offers a better battle royale experience to players in March 2021. Also read: Free Fire Partner Program: How to join, eligibility, benefits, and more. PUBG Mobile or Free Fire, which game has better Battle Royale mode? To determine which offers the best experience, the graphics and gameplay of both titles will be considered. PUBG Mobile offers 100 players landing on the ground, whereas Free Fire offers 50 players.

In the era of the Internet of Things, machine learning and technology that drives innovation and growth for industries, there’s no dispute that data is king. How that data can be harnessed and made more useful by companies, from smaller manufacturers to corporations with plants across the globe, is advancing to provide real-time information that can tackle hurdles to productivity faster – and even clue plant managers in on problems they didn’t know existed. To achieve those results, companies must say goodbye to outdated tools of the trade, from legacy enterprise resource planning platforms, limited point solutions, spreadsheets and paper documents. Enter Plant Management Software, a newer concept that ties together oversight and data collection from the mundane, such as plant cleanup schedules and tasks, to the all-important tracking of production statistics and inventory. Barry Maxon, CEO and co-founder of SafetyChain Software, which focuses on plant management software for the food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industries, said the software is a relatively new concept for process manufacturing. Companies have relied on unconnected data points, whether digital or on paper, to focus on the many parts of manufacturing, from food safety and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point programs to management of suppliers, line starts, OEE and yield. “Plant management software is starting to put together a broader footprint that traditionally in the past you would have had to go out and buy three or four different point solutions to try to do a portion of what plant management software is doing,” he said. At its core, plant management software is about maximizing the productive profitability of a plant. “There’s a lot that goes into that,” Maxon said. “There’s no one thing; it’s everything, it’s a whole coordination of activities.” Plant management software is designed to target inefficiencies that lead to a drag on the bottom line, from out-of-spec products, wasted raw materials, bottlenecks on the production line, and unplanned stoppages that eat into productive use of labor. “On top of all of that, the next big dimension (provided via plant management software) is continuous improvement and how you use data to drive continuous improvement,” Maxon said. “In today’s technology-driven world, data is king, one of the most valuable resources in an organization.” While the underlying value of the data provided through plant management software is universal to all manufacturing environments, there are specific examples for food/beverage and CPG industries: Food and beverage manufacturing: Perishable foods and beverages demand a tighter control on inventory and shipping than durable goods. Increasing regulations such as the Food Safety Modernization Act and traceability mandates for produce shippers from the Food and Drug Administration are placing a greater emphasis on companies to demonstrate compliance. As competition and complex regulations place a greater need on in-plant efficiencies and communication with others in the supply chain, whether upstream or downstream, plant management software eases the ability to do so. CPG manufacturing: With online purchasing rapidly escalating, especially as consumers curtailed in-store shopping during the global pandemic, the need for real-time overview of manufacturing and inventory has also ramped up. Traditional management of production and all of its moving pieces doesn’t allow for the necessary control over and visibility into manufacturing processes. “It’s interesting – food and beverage companies invest huge amounts of money in collecting data on paper that gets locked in filing cabinets in binders,” Maxon said. “It’s like burying money in your backyard. It does you no good.” By ditching those binders in favor of a digital solution, plant managers have the ability to oversee what’s going on in facilities without needing to travel. Mobile devices allow remote oversight, increasing the ability to make decisions based on current data. That’s a significant plus for managers, Maxon said. Return On Investment Maxon is big on return on investment, and said it is “fundamentally super-critical” in measuring success for customers. “We’re really big on how plant management software can deliver a hard dollar ROI,” he said. “There’s a lot of ways you can look at that, and uptime is a big one. If you can improve your on-time starts, and have a faster line start-up, you can reduce your change-over times, that’s increasing your overall ability in uptime to produce products.” The data uncovered by plant management software allows executives and plant managers to make decisions based on real-time projections and trend data. “Yields can put millions of dollars to the bottom line of a company, just by simply getting more value out of the goods that you’re buying,” Maxon said. “One of the largest expense items, after labor and equipment, is all your ingredients. Maximizing raw material yields is of huge value in ROI.” With a comprehensive plant management software platform, data is immediately available to chart trends, test the metrics of new processes or evaluate the effectiveness of separate parts of the manufacturing process. “With food and beverage industries, we’re dealing with a very fast-paced environment where you want to be able to identify an issue as soon as possible,” Maxon said. “The sooner you can correct an issue, the smaller the cost to fix it is going to be.”

The former Rice Paper Sister head chef is bringing Filipino flair to the Italian diner, and working his magic on premium Milking Yard chickens. Before last year's lockdowns, Italian trattoria The Hardware Club was regularly hosting Thursday pop-up's and takeovers with chef pals. This week it's back with ex-Rice Paper Sister head chef Ross Magnaye, who's bringing in a bit of his Filipino heritage. Co-owner and head chef Nicola Dusi has ordered premium Milking Yard Farm chooks – grown on a biodynamic farm in East Trentham – for the occasion: expect dry-style adobo (a soy- and vinegar-braised Filipino dish) chicken wings; chicken liver larb with lemongrass; fried chicken leg with spicy gravy; a poached chicken salad with roasted chilli mayo; and for dessert, roasted pineapple with chicken fat cremeaux, rhum and Biscoff. A reduced version of the diner's usual menu is also available with all the hits, including a cacio e pepe toastie; roast bone marrow toast; octopus pizzaiola with buffalo mozzarella; roast beef sirloin carpaccio and osso buco ravioli. Magnaye's menu is available a la carte for dinner only. Bookings start between 5pm and 10pm, with the restaurant open til late. Expect a relaxed early evening, with more of a party vibe later in the night.

Castlevania is synonymous with vampire-inspired platform gaming, and the series has been making waves since the 1980s with the arcade original, followed by the NES adaptation. Since that time, the property has exploded into several iconic and timeless titles, and a full-fledged multi-season anime series on Netflix. As audiences await a new season of Castlevania, they can check out some video games with a spiritual kinship to tie them over. Castlevania titles have purposely been omitted from this list, in favor of other properties that gothic-loving gamers can appreciate. This uber-po[CENSORED]r adventure game phenomenon is racing up to its tenth anniversary (yes, it has been that long), and its po[CENSORED]rity shows no signs of ebbing. Skyrim is a mixture of Tolkien-style fantasy adventure, and gothic influences thrown in for a hearty balance. It's also one of the few games where you can choose to pursue a vampiric lifestyle, if that's your thing. Aside from the vampire aspect, Skyrim has close bonds with the Castlevania series in terms of spirit. Fearsome magic, demonic foes, and a host of inventive weapons and abilities make for some great adventuring, from the highest snow-covered peak to the deepest and most foreboding crypt. Castlevania fans have a lot to appreciate with the Legacy of Kain series, and subsequent titles in the franchise have all brought something unique to the story. The original Legacy of Kain debuted on the first PlayStation console, and it dripped with gothic horror akin to games like Diablo. The follow-up sequel Soul Reaver took a much different approach by switching to a 3D world and throwing the player into the shoes of Raziel, a vampire with a bone to pick against the titular Kain. This game was influenced far more by Castlevania than its predecessor. Bloodstained was one of the first titles to purposely pay homage to the Castlevania series, and "Metroidvania" style side scrollers in general. It took all its cues from the best in the series, particularly Symphony of the Night, and rolled them up into one package that scored big with critics, and gamers alike. Though the game is better suited to fans of the Castlevania game franchise, there's no reason why fans of the show can't get in on the action. If this their first experience with a Metroidvania-type title, they could do far worse than this excellent gem. There are several video games carrying the Nosferatu title, but the 1994 entry on the Super NES is the best. This classic platformer often flies under the radar for fans of gothic vampire horror games, and that's a shame given all it has to offer. It's a slight hybrid of Castlevania and the classic Prince of Persia series, right down to facing off against the vampire at the end. The game is punishingly difficult, but glory-hounds shouldn't be deterred. There's an aura of mystery and gothic foreboding in this game that makes one forget it's a SNES title. The authentic-looking environments look realistic, which helps sell the mystique of the game. Dead Cells took the gaming world by storm in 2018 with its combination of stellar Metroidvania gameplay, and a quirky take on the Castlevania formula. Here, the player controls a gelatinous monster who in turn controls a dead corpse. With two legs and arms to navigate the dangerous world, the player has to escape a dungeon stuffed to the brim with frightening creatures. The gameplay is fast, frantic, and unrelenting, and it keeps players occupied by incentivizing them to acquire new loot, unlock new weapons and abilities, and explore the next corner of the map. Castlevania fans would do well to pick this title up because it's one of the best alternatives out there. This action RPG title is notorious for its unforgiving difficulty level and abundance of gothic horror, which makes it an obvious pick for anyone who loves the Castlevania Netflix series. Exploration is the name of the game with this title, which fits well with the anime series' slower tone. The only difficult jump for Castlevania fans pertains to the story, or lack thereof. While Castlevania owes its lifeblood to a solid, dramatic storyline, Dark Souls is very minimalist when it comes to the exposition and overall narrative. This can be a bit jarring for those who want to get swept up in a dramatic tale. Dragon Age titles have been hit or miss, but Inquisition is a definite winner. It's hard to play through the game and not feel as if one is being swept up in a tangible, credible world largely devoid of filler, and big on story. This is great for those who enjoy Castlevania's unfolding plot. Inquisition is fun, on so many levels. The questing system feels both meaningful and important, and the rewards for sticking with it play out in an unfolding series of reward systems and character tiers. There's reason to keep playing, just to see what happens next. If that sounds familiar to Castlevania anime fans, then be sure to check it out. FromSoftware's spiritual follow-up to Dark Souls took all the elements of those games and refined them into Bloodborne, an exercise in self-punishment and reward. Few games have this level of immersion in everything from the game world, to the sprawling combat system. Castlevania fans will appreciate the gothic horror elements of Bloodborne, while Dark Souls fans looking for a new challenge will love its unwillingness to lend a helping hand. It's not for easily frustrated gamers, but it is rewarding for those who persevere in the face of (repeated) adversity. Of all the titles on this list, Hades has the most in common with the Castlevania Netflix series in terms of overall spirit. The anime-infused art style is roughly the same, and the isometric navigation and combat within the game world are some of the best 3D platforming ever seen. Hades takes on Greek mythology in an exciting and adventurous way, but it also injects a healthy dose of satire and humor to balance things out. Interactions with characters are a major highlight of the game, and part of the charm. Overall, this is one sleeper hit that Castlevania fans will appreciate, as it has a lot in common with the Netflix series. This is one of the few gothic-style games to take place in a modern setting, as opposed to ancient times, but there's enough packed into the story for Castlevania fans to enjoy. The Infamous series is renowned for putting superpowered players in the middle of a city and letting them live out their superhero (or villain) dreams. Festival of Blood took a different approach, however. This standalone DLC story takes place outside of the canonized Infamous universe and focuses on main character Cole MacGrath's progression towards vampirism. Definitely a title that should not be overlooked.

Bentley Systems, the infrastructure engineering software company, has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with investors led by Accel-KKR to acquire Seequent – a leader in software for geological and geophysical modeling, geotechnical stability, and cloud services for geodata management, visibility, and collaboration – for $900 million in cash, subject to adjustment, plus 3,141,361 BSY Class B shares. The company said the acquisition of Seequent is expected to initially add approximately 10% to each of Bentley Systems’ key financial metrics (ARR, annual revenue, and EBITDA) and is expected to be measurably accretive to Bentley’s organic growth rate. “Most significantly, the combination will deepen the potential of infrastructure digital twins to help understand and mitigate environmental risks, advancing resilience and sustainability.” The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including New Zealand Overseas Investment Act consent as well as clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. Upon closing, Seequent will operate as a standalone Bentley subsidiary, with Seequent’s current Chief Operating Officer Graham Grant, succeeding its retiring CEO Shaun Maloney, reporting to Bentley’s Chief Product Officer Nicholas Cumins. Seequent, founded and headquartered in Christchurch, New Zealand, has more than 430 colleagues in 16 office locations, serving geologists, hydrogeologists, geophysicists, geotechnical engineers, and civil engineers in over 100 countries, and the world’s top mining companies. Its established presence in mineral-intensive geographies such as South America and southern Africa is expected to accelerate Bentley’s overall opportunities in these regions with significant infrastructure requirements. In turn, Bentley’s established presence in China, and its mainstay reach across civil engineering sectors, is expected to accelerate Seequent’s expansion in new markets. Bentley said: “Subsurface conditions comprise the ‘infrastructure of our infrastructure’ and literally underlie the earth’s major environmental risks. Bentley’s current offerings enable digital twins to incorporate what’s constructed ‘near surface’ including foundations, drainage facilities, buried utilities, tunnels, and subsea structures. The addition of Seequent will now make it possible for infrastructure digital twins to reach full subsurface depths, augmenting environmental resilience against flood, seismic, climate, and water security threats.” Seequent first applied implicit modelling technology to geological science more than 15 years ago, using mathematical tools to derive and visualize 3D geological models from measured data and user interpretation. This software advancement caused a “leapfrogging” paradigm shift in the understanding of the earth’s subsurface and has been increasingly adopted by geoscientists and researchers around the world to uncover and visualise valuable insights about environmental conditions and challenges. Seequent’s products include Leapfrog, its leading product for 3D geological modelling and visualisation, Geosoft for 3D earth modelling and geoscience data management, and GeoStudio for geotechnical slope stability and deformation modeling. Bentley’s complementary geotechnical engineering software portfolio, including PLAXIS, gINT, and OpenGround, will be integrated in due course to support open digital workflows from borehole and drillhole data to geological models and geotechnical analysis applications. “The mining industry, with its economic sensitivity and environmental responsibilities, was the first and fastest to adopt 3D earth modeling, superseding traditional 2D processes to speed and improve decision cycles. A mine is at once a never-ending and continuously changing infrastructure construction project, and a valuable and environmentally critical infrastructure asset. Seequent recognised the potential, for all major infrastructure engineering projects and assets, to likewise ‘leapfrog’ traditional 2D subsurface modeling and simulation processes. Leapfrog’s usage, often in conjunction with Bentley’s software offerings, has been growing consistently in civil infrastructure sectors.” The integration of Bentley’s and Seequent’s solutions, for deeper infrastructure digital twins, “can contribute a multiplied ‘ESG handprint’ to improve the world’s environment while improving the world’s economies. While Seequent’s products aren’t appreciably used in oil and gas exploration or production – which is served by its own dedicated industry of specialised geophysical software – imperatives for energy transition present new opportunities, even beyond the expansion of mining to produce the materials needed for widespread electrification. Seequent is a leader in 3D modelling for geothermal energy sources, and its software and cloud services provide the important geosciences context for water resources simulations and environmental engineering.” Bentley’s CEO Greg Bentley said: “We can be very confident about Seequent’s contribution to our shared future not only because of our product synergies, but because we recognise in Seequent’s trajectory an echo of the playbook that made Bentley Systems successful – except they have grown faster. They have made farsighted decisions to benefit the future at every stage: identifying and then laser-focusing on the 3D ‘vertical’ opportunity in earth modelling, institutionalising a subscription commercial model from the outset, directly po[CENSORED]ting the appropriate global markets, acquiring and consolidating the best software for adjacent disciplines, and bringing it all together with cloud services, ready for digital twins advancement together. I can think of no greater compliment than our determination to leave intact Seequent, as a Bentley Company, entrusting its management with greater responsibilities to continue their dynamic momentum. I congratulate retiring CEO Shaun Maloney on the quality of the business and the team he has developed, and we will warmly welcome his established successor Graham Grant, and all Seequent colleagues, to our shared values and endeavors in advancing infrastructure.” Tom Barnds, Co-Managing Partner at Accel-KKR and Seequent board member, said: “We had been looking forward to Seequent’s IPO this year, but we are so convinced of the logic of this combination that we are glad to anticipate instead becoming BSY shareholders. The Seequent board congratulates and thanks Shaun Maloney for his long service and remarkably consistent success in growing this great business, its great management team, and this great outcome for Seequent investors and colleagues.” Shaun Maloney, Chief Executive Officer of Seequent, said: “By ‘leapfrogging ahead’ with Bentley to align geosciences with infrastructure engineering through deeper digital twins, Seequent underscores our conviction that better understanding of the earth creates a better world for all. Users and accounts of Seequent, as a Bentley Company, can expect business as usual, with many product and commercial synergies eventually forthcoming. For my Seequent colleagues, I am confident that the future is in safe hands with like-minded Bentley Systems and our COO Graham Grant, so this presents a timely moment for me to announce my planned retirement. For all, our new larger scope presents a great opportunity for shared advancement.” Bentley’s CFO David Hollister said: “The transaction is expected to close in Q2, with the cash consideration settled via a combination of cash on hand and availability under our undrawn $850 million revolving credit facility. We expect Seequent to contribute in excess of $80 million to our ARR during this year. Seequent impressively has a historical and current organic revenue growth rate which, coupled with an operating margin profile similar to ours, makes Seequent accretive to our financial model. Our financing of this transaction is facilitated by having issued, earlier this year, $690 million in convertible debt, due 2026. Our deleveraging target—to reduce our total net leverage multiple of Adjusted EBITDA from under 4.0x post-closing, to about 2.5x over the next two years – could be accelerated by any future equity offerings.”

Ace Hardware wants you to stop blaming your kids for not giving you time to paint over the ugly mustard yellow bathroom walls. So the hardware and paint retailer has come up with a solution. It’s paying for a babysitting search service for customers who need it to get their DIY home painting done. Ace announced Thursday it will offer Ace Rewards members — customers enrolled in its loyalty program — a one-month paid subscription to babysitting search service Sittercity. Just to be clear, the retailer is only picking up the $35 one-month subscription cost to access Sittercity. It will not cover the sitter’s fee as well. Ace Hardware said the offer kicked off Thursday and lasts until April 3rd. The idea for the unusual incentive stemmed from a survey that Ace commissioned in February of 1,008 DIY painters. It showed that 84% wanted to paint a room in their home yet over half (52%) had set no target start date. And 14% of respondents who are parents blamed lack of childcare as the reason for procrastinating on a paint job. While the pandemic actually spurred paint purchases — the company said its overall paint sales were up 30% in 2020 over the previous year — “we know that consumers were procrastinating on starting the paint projects. So we wanted to help with one of their pain points,” said Kim Lefko, chief marketing officer of Ace Hardware, which has over 4,500 locations in the United States. Depending on how customers respond to it, Lefko said Ace Hardware might think about making it an annual perk. “We realize paint procrastination is real,” said Lefko. Money

Metro 2033, the first in 4A Games' series of post-apocalyptic Russian stealth shooters, is available for free on Steam until March 15. (Note this is the original version rather than the 2014 remaster.) At the same time, the rest of the series is on sale, both in a franchise bundle and individually, with Metro 2033 Redux available for 80 percent off, Metro: Last Light Redux 80 percent off, and the trilogy's finale Metro Exodus 66 percent off. The premise of the Metro series, which is based on novels by Dmitry Glukhovsky, is that survivors of a nuclear holocaust have created underground communities based around the stations of the Moscow Metro. Some have kept the political philosophies of the old world, with a war being fought between Stalinists and neo-Nazis in the tunnels while bandits hunt everyone for bullets, the Metro's new currency. Then there are the mysterious Dark Ones, who seem to threaten everybody. Some players prefer the original version of Metro 2033 for its darker look and slower pace of things like weapon-switching and looting, but the Redux version has the advantage of being made in Last Light's engine, with less loading screens and better textures, and it features the sequel's weapon customization as well. We came down in favor of the remake in our review of Metro 2033 Redux at the time, with reviewer Jem Alexander saying, "I'm not talking a little texture upgrade here, I'm talking new meshes, new animations and reworked environments. Metro 2033 Redux is Metro 2033 tweaked and polished to a high standard; this feels like the definitive version of the game 4A originally wanted to make."

Accepted

Voilà que l’on commence à en savoir un peu plus sur la version de série préfigurée par le concept Audi Q4 e-tron, dévoilé il y a un peu moins d’un an. Et pour cause, si le constructeur n’a pas encore tout dit à son propos, ayant mis en place une campagne de teasing très bien orchestrée, il profite du début du mois de mars pour lever le voile sur la planche de bord et plus globalement l’intérieur du SUV électrique, qui ne devrait plus tarder à se montrer dans son intégralité. Celui-ci devrait alors être en mesure de rivaliser frontalement avec les Mercedes EQC et autres Tesla Model Y, adoptant alors un look dynamique grace à sa large calandre et à sa silhouette de SUV coupé dans sa version Sportback. Mais pour autant, le SUV ne devrait pas trop sacrifier l’habitabilité, comme le confirme la marque, qui donne déjà quelques détails sur sa nouvelle création, et notamment sur ses nombreuses fonctionnalités, pour certaines assez innovantes, comme vous allez le découvrir.Globalement, la présentation est très réussie, en étant très moderne sans pour ayant tout révolutionner, ce qui devrait permettre à la marque de ne pas trop déstabiliser la clientèle, tout en attirant une nouvelle, plus adepte de la technologie. La qualité perçue semble encore une fois être très bonne, alors que de nombreuses selleries sont proposées, que ce soit du cuir Nappa ou en Dinamica. Il s’agit d’un matériau prenant l’aspect du daim mais étant ici composé de 45 % de polyester recyclé, provenant du textile ou de bouteilles en plastique. Il sera également possible d’opter pour un rembourrage Puls, combiné à du cuir artificiel et là encore composé de 50 % de textile issu du recyclage de plastique. Au total, ce ne sont pas moins de 26 bouteilles de 1,5 litre qui sont nécessaires pour la réalisation d’une sellerie complète d’Audi Q4 e-tron. En termes de couleurs, les clients peuvent choisir entre une palette de teintes allant du noir au brun en passant par le gris et le beige, en fonction des matériaux choisis, qui peuvent également être associés à différentes teintes de surpiqures. Un intérieur technologique Avec sa longueur de 5,59 m et son empattement de 2,76 mètres, l’Audi Q4 e-tron offre une excellente habitabilité, ainsi qu’un volume de coffre plutôt généreux, allant de 520 à 1 490 litres. Mais en plus de garantir un bel espace à bord, le SUV électrique se veut également ultra-technologique, en faisant bien sûr la part belle aux écrans. Outre l’incontournable écran tactile central allant jusqu’à 11,6 pouces, nous retrouvons également le combiné numérique de 10,25 pouces, associé à un système d’affichage tête-haute en réalité augmentée. Ce dispositif est alors en mesure de montrer diverses informations au conducteur, comme si celles-ci étaient projetées directement sur la route, afin de faciliter la compréhension des indications. La navigation gagne quant à elle également en précision, indiquant alors la direction au mètre près, afin d’éviter les erreurs. Enfin, l’Audi Q4 e-tron se dote d’un nouveau système de commande vocale activé par la phrase « Hey Audi ! ».

After one of the most trying years in decades, most people just want to try for a fresh start in 2021. It has undoubtedly been a challenging time for everyone, and it is understandable that anxiety and stress levels are reaching record heights. That said, there is no reason that you cannot turn things around — not just for yourself but for your loved ones. A push toward a healthier lifestyle is a conscious decision, and one that you can make as you try for a fresh start in the new year. Even those who might have plenty on their table as far as work-related responsibilities go can still forge ahead in terms of a healthy lifestyle. Here are just some ways to help balance health and work in 2021. Are you getting enough water and sleep? First and foremost, to help the body cleanse itself and ensure that you have the energy to keep going, it is crucial to take note of how much water and sleep you are getting throughout any given day. Sleep is not something to be taken lightly, and there needs to be an effort to regulate sleep to ensure that it is easier for those that might have issues with insomnia. Water is something that many homeowners tend to neglect, which is a shame as it can be quite easy to get up to speed when it comes to staying hydrated. As a general rule of thumb, ensure that you get at least eight glasses of water and eight hours of sleep a day. Balancing positive reinforcement with the right wellness products It can sometimes feel like you don’t have enough time to heat some water and enjoy a cup of tea, but it can be surprisingly easy to do — even during the busiest days. The trick behind wellness products is to pair it up with times of relaxation and stress to help push for positive reinforcement. For example, one of the most well-known wellness products include the variety of cannabidiol products available today. CBD products are well-known for dealing with issues of stress and anxiety, and are easy to incorporate into a busy lifestyle. There are plenty of known health benefits, and they are safe to use. Beyond Yourself One of more helpful things to do, especially in the early stages of developing habits, is get other people involved. You will not be alone in feeling that you need to be healthier: those in your household or even colleges will too. Organizing times to exercise together, in person or remotely, or even taking breaks during work at the same time can help take the pressure off yourself to instigate and continue change before a routine takes hold. If you prefer to keep it in-house, your dog can be of assistance. You can benefit yourself and them at the same time. Start with something simple like taking your dog for regular walk, and then mix things up by going further afield, if you can, and experiment with different trails – the variety can help keep things interesting. Your pup can participate in your organic and clean diet too, as long as they get the right nutrients. This even extends to above mentioned CBD products as you can help your dogs with stress through therapeutic CBD products. While the year 2020 has undoubtedly come with plenty of challenges, 2021 does not have to be such a challenging year. Take the time to focus on yourself, and it can be much easier to maintain a healthier lifestyle overall. It’s all about habits and environments.

isit certain parts of the West Bank and you’ll encounter mansions owned by senior officials in the Palestinian Authority (PA). By any standards – let alone those to which ordinary citizens are accustomed – they are impressive, with arches, colonnades and tall windows. If you’d been watching them in recent weeks, you might have seen vaccines being quietly delivered to these residences in unmarked cars, having been skimmed off the supply intended for medical workers. Those, at least, were the allegations made by a number of Palestinian human rights and civil society groups. Last week, the Palestinian health ministry was forced to come clean. In a statement, the ministry admitted that 10 per cent of the 12,000 doses it had received had been put aside for government ministers and members of the PLO’s executive committee. The rest, it claimed, had been given to workers treating Covid patients and employees of the health ministry. Aside from the 200 doses that were sent to the Jordanian royal court, that is. And those reserved for presidential guards. And those that had been given to the Palestinian national football team. None of this should come as a surprise. One of the many sufferings that afflicts the residents of the West Bank, not to mention Gaza, is the corruption of their rulers. Mahmoud Abbas is currently 16 years into a four-year term. New elections were promised as a gesture for the new American President, but few observers believe they will actually take place. The administration has been mainlining international aid dollars for years while continuing to funnel cash to reward convicted terrorists, with the worst crimes attracting the most wealth – a story that I first covered in 2014 and that continues unchecked, despite widespread outrage. According to AMAN, a Palestinian anti-corruption body linked to Transparency International, almost 70 per cent of Palestinians believe that their government institutions are corrupt. An EU report found that embezzlement had led to a loss of £1.7 billion of aid money between 2008 and 2012 alone. Huge sums are spent on fake companies and projects, including – in 2017 – a non-existent airline. Government jobs, prized due to the weakness of the economy, are dished out through cronyism rather than fair competition. Well-connected people are able to avoid paying taxes on things like imported cars. And the security services have traditionally been saturated with high-ranking officers drawing fat salaries while commanding tiny numbers of ordinary soldiers. It is true that the PA faces unique challenges. It does not have access to the full levers of statehood, it is dogged by factional dissent, it relies heavily on Israel and it must cope with harsh military restrictions. The Palestinian economy was devastated by the Second Intifada, which heralded years of violence and destruction, and the division between Gaza and the West Bank exacerbated this decline. But to place too much store by these extenuating factors is to subject the Palestinians to the bigotry of low expectations. Whichever way you cut it, the lack of stable and accountable governance from the PA has been a big part of the problem. The row surrounding Israel’s vaccine miracle threw Western liberal preconceptions into sharp relief. And with Israel cast as the bogeyman and the Palestinians as the victims, conclusions inevitably came before the facts. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become one of the principal markers of political identity on the left, and this does not lend itself to the sort of sober analysis that may contribute towards a resolution. On a day-to-day level, the Palestinians suffer as much from the incompetency of those who presume to govern them as from the actions of the Israeli state. Perhaps more so. It is certain that if there was a fully independent judiciary, the universal rule of law, a culture of transparency and proper fiscal management – not to mention a wholehearted engagement with the peace process – life for ordinary citizens would be immeasurably improved. From a Western point of view, the lesson of the vaccine debacle is clear. It’s high time for those on the Left to stop using the conflict to burnish their own political credentials and consider the real roots of the problem.

There is a brilliance to using software to turn mobile devices like smartphones and tablets into payments terminals. There’s a myriad of benefits that positively impact everyone in the payments ecosystem, from card schemes to banks, PSPs, merchants and the consumer. One of the most critical benefits of software-based payment solutions in the Covid landscape is safety. An obvious advantage of shifting payments to a mobile device is the removal of queues – with a mobile payment terminal you can accept a payment anywhere, thereby enabling greater social distancing. It’s also far easier to sanitise a glass screen than it is to wipe down a hardware-based pinpad (and a glass screen won’t degrade anywhere near as fast as a terminal because they are designed to be cleaned). But these benefits are merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to software-based payments – they open up a world of possibilities for data collection and personalisation, innovation in the end-to-end customer experience and greater prevention of fraud if they are built upon a foundation of security. But that’s a very big ‘if’. There are varying degrees of security within smart devices The biggest challenge for a software-based payments solution developer is how to take a mobile device that is inherently insecure and perform an action on it (like taking a payment) that needs to be absolutely secure. To understand the ins and outs of this, I’ll take a quick step back. Like most things, not all mobile devices are created equally. In terms of security, some are more secure than others. It’s this fragmentation in security across all the different phone brands that creates a problem for developers of apps that need to be secure, because many rely on the security built within the device itself. And that’s because creating secure software is very difficult – having just spent several years leading a business that develops secure software, I can attest first-hand to what’s involved. Components of mobile devices are secure, such as the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), which is an environment within the device that provides a higher level of security for trusted applications running on the device and has a greater level of functionality than a Secure Element (SE). Many software-based payment applications utilise the TEE within the mobile device for security, which places a degree of control into the hands of the phone manufacturer. Because of this, most of the software-based payments solutions out there are not ubiquitous, and this is an issue because when it comes to payments, ubiquity is needed to reach critical mass. Software can be more secure than hardware The hardware-based payment terminals we are all familiar with are like Fort Knox. PCI standards have done an incredible job of ensuring the ongoing security of these boxes. But being hardware, there is no way to ascertain in real time if there has been a breach or attack because it only reports back in a limited way. Software on the other hand is different. It can monitor the device it is sitting on in almost real time to ensure it is safe to process a transaction and can let us know straight away if anything is amiss. Working in tandem with sophisticated AI back end patterns, fraud attacks can be spotted from anywhere globally and stopped in their tracks, again in almost real time. But if we want to take security to the next level, then the best possible solution for software-based payments is to have software that is secure and does not rely on any specific hardware component of the mobile device. It’s not just about front-end security There’s a lot of focus about front end security, such as inputting a PIN securely into a mobile device. But the back end is just as important, and the same principles apply. Traditional back end systems have been ‘fixed’ hardware-based resources and incredibly secure. But, like traditional payment terminals, their size and inflexibility make them cumbersome and there are fixed running costs regardless of how much transaction volumes fluctuate. Banks literally had server rooms with expensive hardware sitting there ready to process transactions, with costs that were the same whether there was one transaction or one billion. Add when it comes to hardware redundancy (in another city or even country) along with lots of very expensive security people, and it’s easy to understand how corners could be cut and mistakes made. Cloud architecture however now gives us more flexibility and options for payment processing. Like the software residing on the mobile device to take the payment, back end software is as secure as its fixed counterparts but infinitely more flexible, scaling up and down to meet fluctuations in demand, literally doubling in size every 30 seconds if necessary and therefore costs can be commensurate with demand. Software that is built on a foundation of security will combat fraud What all this circles back to is that fraud is a very real and enduring threat. It has always been there but is certainly amplified by Covid. As we transition to a more digital, more connected world where customer experience is key and software is the answer to many modern challenges, we must have a firm focus on security as we develop. Developing secure, standalone software that meets PCI standards and is safe enough to process a payment transaction takes time. It requires a company-wide commitment to security and is not something that can happen quickly. Keep this in mind when seeking a software-based payments solution provider. Convenient, seamless and connected customer experiences are all useless if they can be hacked or breached. With payments making up a significant chunk of both physical and digital end-to-end customer experiences, it’s critical that the software deployed to complete the process is secure. For any business seeking a software-based payments solution, look for solutions that are built upon a foundation of security. Check for PCI certification. Ask direct questions about how the software is actually secured – it is relying on components of the phone for security or is it software that is so secure that you can make a payment on it? I know what I would choose.