A smartwatch with an analogue face |
- A smartwatch with an analogue face
- With fifth title in hand, Duncan to return for Spurs
- Turturro gives hope to ‘Big Lebowski’ fans
- MS&AD seeks insurance mergers in South East Asia to expand abroad
- Croatia beaten but unbowed as they exit World Cup
- Australia urges Egypt to issue pardon for Jazeera reporter
| A smartwatch with an analogue face Posted: 23 Jun 2014 05:55 PM PDT
It doesn't have a touch screen, nor does it have a built-in SIM card or tiny camera in its buckle. Instead a circle of LEDs that run around the watch face light up in different patterns and in different colours based on notifications, and a small, lozenge-shaped display near the watch's base relays the contents of texts and other messages like a digital news ticker. Developed by Japanese wearable tech company Veldt and announced yesterday, the Serendipity will be going on sale just in time for Christmas in the US, Europe and, of course Japan, and will come with its own personal assistant app. Compatible with the iPhone, the app, called Veldt Life Assist, can be used to tailor notifications and alerts and as a motion and activity tracker thanks to the Serendipity's integrated sensors. It also connects with an iPhone's notifications centre so that information such as schedules, missed calls, emails and the weather forecast can all be displayed on the watch. Veldt says that the concept behind the watch is simply to reduce the number of times every day someone needs to look at his or her smartphone display. "By having more time to lift one's eyes, [the] chances of finding something new, something special in our daily lives will increase," says a company spokesperson. As well as an analogue face, the watch has a stainless steel bezel and a sapphire glass crystal. It is also available in a range of colours with different face designs that should help it to appeal to women as well as men. In terms of battery life, all Veldt is so far saying is that it is good for a week on standby, that the watch is charged via micro USB cable and that the battery itself is guaranteed for four years. And what it lacks in overt digital technology, it makes up for in price. The top specification Serendipity Model R will retail for ¥148,000 (that's over €1000 or RM4500) when it goes on sale. However, for that premium, owners in Japan at least will get a special integrated taxi allocation service as standard. — AFP Relaxnews  |
| With fifth title in hand, Duncan to return for Spurs Posted: 23 Jun 2014 05:48 PM PDT
The Spurs announced yesterday that Duncan has decided to exercise his contract option to play another season — at a salary of US$10.3 million (RM33.2 million). Duncan, the number one overall selection in the 1997 NBA draft, has played his entire 17-year career with the Spurs. But some had speculated that after San Antonio's NBA championship triumph over Miami, Duncan might elect to head off into the sunset with his five titles. While the 38-year-old player is undoubtedly in the twilight of his career, Duncan has remained extremely effective. The 14-time All-Star averaged 15.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks over 74 regular-season games in 2013-14. He averaged 16.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists while starting all 23 playoff games, helping the Spurs to the club's fifth NBA title since 1999. Duncan is the Spurs' all-time leader in games played with 1,254, points scored with 24,904, and rebounds with 13,940. He is one of five players, along with Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to win five NBA titles and five Most Valuable Player awards for either the regular season or NBA finals. — AFP |
| Turturro gives hope to ‘Big Lebowski’ fans Posted: 23 Jun 2014 05:46 PM PDT
"If I can get the permission I need, I'd like to return to that role," he told a master class audience at the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily, Italy, on Saturday, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The rival bowler, a thin, flamboyant, intense competitor clad in purple, opposes the laidback Jeff Lebowski — slacker icon "The Dude" — and his bowling team during a local tournament. Limited screen time during the 1998 Coen brothers movie did not prevent Jesus Quintana from becoming a cult character. Though this is not the first time that Turturro has expressed interest in returning to the part, a 2015 date insinuates that his speculated spin-off is nearing realisation. — AFP-Relaxnews |
| MS&AD seeks insurance mergers in South East Asia to expand abroad Posted: 23 Jun 2014 05:44 PM PDT
"Asia continues to be the most important area for us," Karasawa, 63, who became the insurer's president yesterday, said in an interview in Tokyo. "We will be active on mergers and acquisitions for both casualty and life insurance businesses." The Tokyo-based insurer will target countries in the 10- member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, which includes Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, Karasawa said. MS&AD wants to become at least the fifth-largest insurer based on premium income in every country in the region, he said. MS&AD joins other Japanese insurers that are lured by the region's growth potential as they grapple with an ageing society and shrinking population at home. MS&AD expects premium income from overseas casualty insurance businesses to increase 49 per cent to ¥550 billion (RM17.35 billion) in the four years from March this year, according to its business plan released this month. The target figure doesn't include benefits from potential mergers and acquisitions, Karasawa said. Since the start of 2012, US$9.5 billion of insurance acquisitions have been announced in the region, almost triple the US$3.6 billion between 2009 and 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Indonesia, Vietnam The insurer plans to strengthen its existing businesses in Indonesia and Vietnam, he said. MS&AD ranks ninth in Indonesia and 15th in Vietnam. It is second in Malaysia, third in the Philippines and forth in Thailand and Singapore, according to the company. Beyond Asia, MS&AD wants to be in the top 10 premium income earners in Lloyd's of London's insurance market through mergers and acquisitions, Karasawa said. The insurer profited ¥3 billion from the business in the year ended December 2013, and ranks 23rd out of 91 companies in that market, he said. MS&AD entered into the world's oldest insurance market on their own in 2000, while smaller competitors, Tokio Marine Holdings Inc and NKSJ Holdings Inc did so by acquiring existing participants in the market. — Bloomberg |
| Croatia beaten but unbowed as they exit World Cup Posted: 23 Jun 2014 05:42 PM PDT
While Brazil and Mexico prepare for the knockout phase, Kovac exited with a philosophical shrug claiming satisfaction with his squad's overall performance. "We played nice football, maybe not as much going forward as in the first two matches," Kovac told reporters. "That's life. Brazil were group favourites. "Life goes on, thank you and goodbye." Kovac may be saying farewell to Brazil but not his position as coach of the national team. Despite claiming just one win from three matches — a 4-0 rout of Cameroon — Kovac sounded confident about his future. "Why not?," said Kovac, when asked if he would be back. "We qualified and that was a success for us. "I have a contract and it will continue, I don't see any reason why it shouldn't. "I said before this was a tough group, it went to the wire. "If things had been different in the first game... but I don't want to dwell on that. We have a quality team, we're going to analyse what we lacked and we will improve on that." Certainly, a young Croatian side showed plenty of promise and steel, particularly when they were thrust into the spotlight in the tournament opener and pushed Brazil hard in a 3-1 loss. A demolition of Cameroon put the Balkan side on course for a place in the last 16 but their hopes were dashed by a second-half surge by Mexico which quickly turned a 0-0 scoreline into a 3-1 win. "They (Mexico) deserved it over the 90 minutes although the margin is too large, one goal would have been fair," said Kovac. "We were successful in the first half but in the second we had to change something because we had to win. "We changed back to 4-2-3-1 and we lost control of the middle, which in my opinion is what went wrong. "What I find difficult is to concede goals from set-pieces. The little details are crucial, as is always the case at major tournaments." — Reuters |
| Australia urges Egypt to issue pardon for Jazeera reporter Posted: 23 Jun 2014 05:41 PM PDT
Australian Greste and his Al Jazeera colleague, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, were both sentenced to seven years in Jail by a Cairo court on Monday for aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood and "spreading false news". Their producer Baher Mohamed received two sentences ― one for seven years and another for three years. They were among 20 defendants in a trial that has triggered global outrage and fears of growing media restrictions in Egypt. "There's no doubt that the proceedings in the first place were politically motivated," Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told ABC national radio today. "Because this was at a time when the military had taken over the government, the Muslim Brotherhood had been the democratically elected government, and then there was a military coup and the Muslim Brotherhood was deemed a terrorist organisation." Bishop said she would summon Egypt's deputy envoy in Canberra today ― the ambassador is currently in Cairo. She also plans to call Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. "He's apparently travelling outside of Egypt, so we're seeking to make contact with him so that I can register our deep concerns about this case and the verdict," she said. "We're also taking steps to lodge a formal diplomatic-level request of the president, that he intervene in the proceedings at this stage." She said her understanding was that al-Sisi cannot consider a plea of clemency or a pardon until all legal proceedings have been concluded, and that includes an appeal. Greste's family are currently considering whether or not to appeal. "The new Egyptian government has an opportunity to prove to the world that it is on the path to democracy, that it does believe in freedom of speech and freedom of the press, which are the pillars of democracy," said Bishop. "And so we hope that our representations to the new government will see Peter Greste home as soon as possible." Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who spoke to al-Sisi over the weekend urging clemency, said he was "bewildered" at the court decision but said he would not engage in "unhelpful megaphone diplomacy". "The Egyptian court system does work at arms length from the government, but I do understand that once the court system has done its work then there are options for presidential acts, presidential clemency, presidential pardons and so on," he said. Since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in July 2013, the authorities in Egypt have been incensed by Qatar-based Al-Jazeera's coverage of their deadly crackdown on his supporters. They consider the network to be the voice of Qatar and accuse it of backing Mursi's Brotherhood, while the emirate openly denounces the repression of the Islamist movement's supporters which has left more than 1,400 people dead. ― AFP |
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