Source: http://rss.news.yahoo.com/rss/india
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Sunday, July 28, 2013
Yahoo! News - Latest News & Headlines
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Things you should know before buying a franchise | moonofthesouth ...
Buying a franchise presents an attractive investment opportunity for entrepreneurs, and can offer various benefits, Jeremy Lang, Business Partners Limited regional GM, said last week in Johannesburg, South Africa.
?Franchises have the advantage of owning an established product or service that is already familiar to the public, as well as a pre-sold consumer base and household brand-name recognition,? Lang explained.
However, he urged entrepreneurs to do in-depth research before investing in a franchise. ?The key to finding a franchise that will generate returns requires insight as to what is being purchased,? he said.
Due diligence should be conducted in the same manner when purchasing a franchise, as when opening any new business, he added.
Lang offers the following tips to potential franchisees:
? Know the industry:
Choose a franchise in an industry that you are familiar with, in which you have some previous experience, and that suits your background and can help you succeed.
? Choose within your budget:
Calculate what you are able to afford, including the finances you are able to raise, save and will be able to borrow. When calculating the budget, keep the following factors in mind: firstly, too much finance can ruin a venture, so be wary of overburdening your business with too much borrowed capital.
Secondly, calculate the entire investment required, including set-up costs and working capital.?Do not limit your funding to include only the franchise fee.
? Review and investigate the franchisor:
Look over the documentation the group provides, but also find out as much as you are able to about the reputation and financial help of the franchise.
? Speak to franchisees and ex-franchisees:
This is probably the most important exercise in the process. A franchisor should be able to give you a fully updated list of franchisees and ex-franchisees, as well as their contact details.
If you are interested in purchasing an outlet or a franchise group, test all the assertions with the franchisees before making a decision. Comparing their levels of support, the quality of their training, the profitability of the business, and the integrity of the franchisor?s business dealings, will give you a better understanding of your potential purchase.
? Investigate the location:
Suitability of the location of your outlet, or, in the case of non-retail franchises, the area in which you are going to operate in, is key.
An in-depth knowledge of the surrounding market is vital to the success of your business.
Make use of expert marketers or neighbouring franchisors for advice, but also do your own independent research to help ascertain your market.
? Get the value calculation right:
Ensure that you are not overpaying for the franchise outlet that you have in mind, whether it is a new or existing one. After conducting your research make a concerted effort to consult an accountant to check your financial projections and value calculations. Although they are costly, industry specialists are an asset for any business.
? Get legal advice and knowledge:
The franchise agreement the franchisor will give you to sign is a crucial document detailing the rights and obligations of you and the franchisor.
Ensure that a lawyer, preferably one with knowledge about the franchising sector, goes through the document with you, not only to make sure that it is fair to you, but also to explain any clause that you may not understand.
? In the end, it depends on you:
The strongest franchise brand can still fail, but with the correct leadership and management this can be avoided. ?Just like any other business, operational and cash-flow management needs to be realistic.
Bear in mind that a hands-on management approach is also required. If you are an experienced independent business owner, and this is your first attempt at franchising, it is also important to remember that you will need to become accustomed to operating according to the rules of the group.
The South African franchising industry is growing faster. There are currently 400 franchise systems and close to 23 000 franchise outlets in South Africa, according to figures released last week by Franchise South Africa.
About Issa Sikiti da Silva
Issa Sikiti da Silva is the editor and founder of Moon of the South and an award-winning African journalist. His work has been published in more than 40 media outlets based in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Europe and Qatar. He has travelled extensively across Africa, reporting on issues ranging from media freedom to travel and tourism, housing, education, marketing, advertising and branding, ICT, SMEs, sports, and many more. He won the 2010 SADC Media Awards in print category. Follow him on Twitter at @sikitimedia, email him at issasikiti@gmail.com.Source: http://moonofthesouth.com/buying-franchise-2/
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Researchers Develop Ghost-Free 3D For Viewers Not Wearing Glasses
You know that sad feeling you get when a headache's coming on while watching a 3D movie and you remember that you can't actually take the glasses off for a few seconds of relief because the ghosted 2D image is even harder to watch? That could be a thing of the past as researchers from the University of California Santa Cruz have developed a new kind of 3D display that doesn't appear ghosted when you're not wearing those special glasses.
Traditional 3D projection systems use two overlaid images, one for each eye that's singled out by those glasses you have to wear. But this new system works its 2D/3D magic by projecting an additional third image that's a negative of the image destined for the right eye. So when you're not wearing glasses it cancels out the right eye image, leaving just the un-ghosted left. But when you are sporting those less-than-stylish specs, the third image is filtered out, so you can see the 3D effect as intended.
In its current state the new 2D/3D system isn't perfect, though. The technique leaves the 2D image lacking contrast, so to compensate the researchers had to increase the brightness in the left image compared to the right in 3D mode. But through experimentation they managed to find a good balance where the researchers claim the difference in brightness didn't take away from the experience. Now where was this technology two years ago when theaters could have really used it to help sell the 3D experience? Is this a case of too little, too late? [UCSC via Gizmag]
Image by Deklofenak/Shutterstock
Source: http://gizmodo.com/researchers-develop-ghost-free-3d-for-viewers-not-weari-786582449
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Portland schools: LePage wrong about limits on military recruiters
Hardware stores face challenging times
Hardware stores in Maine have been hit hard by the struggling economy, some even closing their doors. But a few, like Gosline's Hardware in Farmingdale, are holding out and welcoming a recent small rise in sales.
Jury instructions crucial to Zimmerman not guilty verdict
Jurors making the final decision in the trial against George Zimmerman were instructed to decide if there was reasonable doubt on the charges of second degree murder or manslaughter or whether he was justified in his use of deadly force. The six women on the jury acquitted him of all charges Saturday night.
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Thursday, July 11, 2013
Zynga Gambling Apps Go To Facebook - Business Insider
Zynga is taking the wraps off its real-money gambling games today at an event in Barcelona, Spain.
The San Francisco company says that social gaming remains its heart and soul, but the gambling games are a logical extension for fans who want to bet real money and win it in social games. Zynga will launch the games in the United Kingdom, where real-money online gambling is legal.
Sean Ryan, head of game partnerships at Facebook, is showing off the Facebook titles for Zynga. The games include ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino. Both are gambling versions of Zynga?s social games, produced in partnership with Bwin.party, a British real-money online gambling company.
The games are the first titles in Zynga?s strategic expansion into Facebook and mobile gambling games. Investors have been very interested in them because they represent a chance for Zynga to make more money. But Zynga has downplayed the financial opportunity and says it is just in the beginning stages of its experiment. Zynga released the web and downloadable versions of the UK gambling games in April, but the Facebook and mobile versions are likely to be a bigger novelty in the UK market. They may also prove to be more accessible to a new audience.
In social games such as Zynga Poker, players can purchase virtual chips with real money. But they can?t cash out their winnings. In ZyngaPlusPoker, players will have the option to play for real money.
If they choose it, they will be taken to a different application that is completely different and is based on Bwin?s approved and regulated gambling game. In such games, players have to prove they are over the age of 18 and reside in the jurisdiction where the games are legal. They have to put down a deposit with Bwin to ensure they can pay for their chips. And they can win or lose real money.
On top of that, they are eligible to win promotional prizes such as a free night?s stay in a casino hotel or a free buffet meal, much like casinos themselves do in their attempts to lure players to real-money casinos.
Zynga is making a clear distinction between its existing social app and the gambling app so that users don?t get confused about which is which. The apps have different looks and color schemes, though they both share the same social DNA.
It?s not yet clear when the apps will launch. Zynga will have Facebook versions of ZyngaPlusPoker and ZyngaPlusCasino, as well as mobile versions in the near future. The timing of the launch depends on approvals in the United Kingdom.
The apps are the first result of a strategy the company began pursuing in October 2012, when it hired seasoned real-money gambling executive Maytal Olsha.
About six weeks after Olsha arrived, Zynga cut its partnership with Bwin.party. That deal was critical for it to move quickly in the UK online gambling market, since it would have taken Zynga much longer to create and then win regulatory approval for its own gambling game. Bwin already has its gambling games live in the market, and it knows how to operate them under UK regulations.
Online gambling games are tightly regulated. They have to be certified so they are not unfairly tilted against players (at least no more so than normal casino games). That means they require sophisticated mathematical models that produce results based on random number generators.
Such games aren?t necessarily hard to create, but they take time and experience. If Zynga wanted to go it alone and capture all of the profits from its games, it could create them itself. But that would take time. The partnership with Bwin.party signals the importance of moving fast. Other social gaming rivals are moving into the market, where social mobile is adding a fresh take for the old online gambling titles. Zynga believes the social mobile aspect will create a boom in the market.
Zynga has hired its own in-house online gambling experts and it acquired Spooky Cool Labs, which was founded by a team of slot machine game experts headed by Joe Kaminkow. Kaminkow was an executive who designed games for IGT, the world?s largest slot machine maker. He holds 130 patents and has worked on pinball games and casino products for decades.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/zynga-gambling-apps-go-to-facebook-2013-7
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South Sudan fails to protect civilians in east, U.S. says
JUBA/KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The United States issued a rare criticism of South Sudan on Wednesday, saying the African state was failing to protect civilians in the east where the army is fighting an insurgency.
Western powers have long urged Juba to find a peaceful solution to fighting involving the army, a rebel group and rival tribes in the vast Jonglei state but have so far mostly refrained from criticizing the government.
A United Nations source said new fighting erupted a week ago between the rival Lou Nuer and Murle tribes in the Pibor area in Jonglei, killing an unknown number of people.
More violence was expected as armed youths from both sides were amassing forces in the area, the source said. A U.N. team visiting the town said that most civilians had left Pibor, contrary to government figures, the United Nations said in a report.
The United States, South Sudan's biggest ally, said it was "deeply disappointed" that the army, or SPLA, had failed to protect civilians in vulnerable areas in Jonglei.
"The lack of action to protect civilians constitutes an egregious abdication of responsibility by the SPLA and the civilian government," the U.S. embassy in Juba said in a statement.
Washington urged the government to prevent "SPLA attacks on U.N. staff and humanitarian assets". It gave no details but soldiers had looted compounds of U.N. agencies and aid agencies in Pibor in May, according to aid sources.
South Sudan has struggled to turn its army, a loose group of former guerrillas formed the civil war with Khartoum, into a professional force since seceding from Sudan in 2011 under a 2005 peace deal. The U.S. was a driving force in pressuring Khartoum into allowing an independence vote.
The army has faced a rebellion by militia leader David Yau Yau but diplomats say the SPLA is fuelling dissent with abuses such as rape and torture committed during a state disarmament campaign.
A cycle of tribal violence has killed more than 1,600 people in Jonglei since South Sudan's secession, uprooting tens of thousands of civilians and hampering plans to explore for oil with the help of France's Total and U.S. firm Exxon.
Analysts say the roots of the tribal violence and cattle raids go back to South Sudan's failure to start development in Jonglei and elsewhere in the vast country due to corruption.
(Reporting by Andrew Green and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Michael Roddy)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-sudan-fails-protect-civilians-east-u-says-213822979.html
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Monday, July 8, 2013
No push notifications and live tile with Facebook app
Hello!
I have just recently purchased myself the Nokia Lumia 920. While I already love the device, and will choose it over boring iOS and Android any time, I already have some problems. These problems have to do with both Whatsapp and the Facebook app. While Whatsapp is pretty bad at the moment, and this forum is full of reports of the dysfunctions of this app, I'll just have to wait for the long awaited update.
On the other hand, the Facebook app has only recenly been released out of the beta, and while 'everyone' is pretty thrilled about it, I have one or two major problems with the app: the push notifications and the live tile. I have yet to receive my first push notification from this app and the live tile isn't working either.
I have tried all the common troubleshooting which i found on this site (removing/reinstalling the app, removing/reinstalling my facebook account, turning off battery saving, letting facebook run on the background, etc.) but nothing works. What I get out of this forum is that I am not the only one having these problems. I hope someone, who had the same problems as me and has managed to solve it, can help me figure out how to fix this.
Source: http://forums.wpcentral.com/windows-phone-8/232663-no-push-notifications-live-tile-facebook-app.html
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