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Vladimir Antonov

China bought nearly half of the world's luxury goods last year - 0 views

  • Consumers in China spent $116.8 billion on luxury goods abroad in 2015
  • This translates to 46% of the global volume of high-end goods, which includes branded leather goods, cosmetics and electronics, according to consultants at Beijing-based Fortune Character Group, which derived these figures from the revenues of some 20,000 brands.
  • The government says that 120 million Chinese tourists — just about 1% of the population — went overseas in 2015, and contributed to 12% of global spending on their holidays.
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  • Many Chinese buyers are keen to make their high-end purchases overseas because luxury goods imported into China are priced at a premium, in part because of high import tariffs. The China Chamber of International Commerce found last year that high-end goods were priced at up to 68% higher in China compared to prices in the U.S. and Europe.
  • This has resulted in many overseas brands shutting their mainland stores, such as French fashion house Louis Vuitton, which closed stores in Guangzhou, Harbin and Urumqi last year. Other luxury goods brands such as Burberry, Hermes, Armani and Prada also shut outlets in China over the past two years.
  • Some brands remain bullish on China, however. Apple, for one, has been aggressively expanding in the country in the past year, and has set a goal to have 40 stores in Greater China by mid-2016
  • Domestic retail has been growing as an economic driver for the country, as the economy faces its slowest growth rate in two decades. Consumption contributed to 66.4% of GDP in 2015, up 15.4% from 2014.
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    Asian expansion overseas growth continues, also confirms global vs local trend.
Maria Gurova

How To Get More People Into Movie Theaters (Without Higher Ticket Prices) - 3 views

  • Its newest toy is called Barco Escape and right now it’s essentially three theater screens in one space — the main screen and then additional screens on the left and right walls. The effect is a 270-degree image that makes viewers feel like they are in the middle of the action.
  • It’s the kind of premium experience that most people would expect to pay extra for but Schilowitz says part of the point of Escape is to give viewers a more theme-park like experience without charging any more for a ticket.
  • One of the biggest trends right now is people watching other people play video games.
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  • Schilowitz hopes to engage brands to make 270-degree short films to show before the actual movie. Think Red Bull's Red Bull's many extreme sports videos. Now picture them in an immersive experience.  The money coming from brands could help offset the costs of the Escape screen.
  • Schilowitz believes you could take that experience into the theater. Have two people playing a virtual reality game while strapped into Oculus Rift-type devices and people would pay to watch the game on the big screen if top- ranked players were competing.
  • Escape will also be used to show things like concerts which can be better experienced with a wider screen. A Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett show will debut in Escape theaters in 2015.
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    The new technology that may transform all that real estate Theaters owns into the arcades of the future.  
Ekaterina Yanovskaya

What is the future for Russia's economy? | Forum:Blog Forum:Blog | The World Economic F... - 0 views

  • Russia’s economy is at a turning point. Following a decade of spectacular growth fueled by high energy prices, the country could either use its newfound riches to finance much-needed modernization and become a driver of innovation and growth, or muddle through by continuing to rely on its large yet maturing hydrocarbon base.
  • Ranking the importance of different drivers for Russia’s economic development in terms of impact and uncertainty over the way in which they may evolve over time, the group highlighted oil and gas prices as well as economic diversification and competition as critical uncertainties (see exhibit).
Anton Vorykhalov

Amazon Wants Live-Streaming Sports Rights for Prime Video, But What Will It Really Be A... - 0 views

  • Amazon Wants Live-Streaming Sports Rights for Prime Video, But What Will It Really Be Able to Secure?
  • Despite the high prices and paucity of available rights, Amazon has been making the rounds recently at a number of leagues and rights-holders about potential deals. According to a Wall Street Journal report citing anonymous sources, Amazon has met with the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball, as well as Major League Soccer, the ACC, and other smaller players to discuss licensing their content.
Maria Gurova

Is it curtains for the big screen? - FT.com - 1 views

  • According to the National Association of Theatre Owners, US movie attendance peaked in 2002 and has been steadily declining ever since. To compensate, theatres have rolled out new technologies such as 3D, Imax and premium large-format cinemas, raising their ticket prices and thus keeping the box office at record-breaking levels
  • The majority of us are increasingly staying home.
  • At Cannes this year, the studio with the most films in competition
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  • was not one of the big studios, but the streaming service Amazon.
  • But blockbusters have a design flaw: their marketing costs are enormous — opening a movie typically costs anywhere from $20m — and they spend less and less time in cinemas. To take a recent example, ticket sales for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice dropped by an astonishing 68.4 per cent on its second weekend
  • “What you’re going to end up with is fewer theatres,” George Lucas said during a panel at the University of Southern California in 2013. “Bigger theatres, with a lot of nice things. Going to the movies is going to cost you 50 bucks, maybe 100.”
  • He argued that a film will come out in cinemas for 17 days — three weekends — which is where 98 per cent of films make 95 per cent of their revenues anyway. On the 18th day, the film will be available everywhere and you will pay for the size: a movie screen will be $15, a 75-inch TV will be $4, a smartphone will be $1.99.
  • “Fifty per cent of Americans did not step into a movie theatre last year, and of the 50 per cent that did go into a theatre, 95 per cent of them went to one or two films,”
  • Arguably, it’s more visual than television. It has our full attention: each frame must pull its weight in terms of narrative and spectacle. That is why it is a director’s medium: it envelops us. TV comes to us, into our homes, casual, familiar, favouring habit-forming episodic narratives. That is why it is a writer’s medium. The big screen glamorises — its stars are the stuff of myth; the small screen is more like a member of the family
  • And something like The Avengers, it’s too much fun laughing with the audience. These things are communal experiences.
  • But then many film-makers would argue that movies should be consumed differently from music: a song is a song wherever you play it, whereas films were built for the big screen.
  • “I don’t think that experience is going to die,” says Obst, “although I do worry that eventually we will all be inside on our huge computer screens, watching all of the different types of entertainment together
  • Nothing breaks the spell of the movie more instantly than the pause button.
Maria Gurova

The Movie Theater Of The Future Is All About Big Screens And Big Data - 2 views

  • With huge-flat screen TVs becoming more affordable — and more original TV content being produced — cinemas have to step up their game to keep pace in the arms race with home theaters. That’s why theater chains are coming out with better food, reclining chairs, and more supersized screens like Imax to take full advantage of the special effects in many tentpole blockbusters.
  • The theater, which opens to the public Friday night, now has a lobby that’s part of the show (and soon, a camera-based audience data gathering tool to go with it), and a cinema equipped with the showpiece Barco Escape, which combines three screens in a U-shaped pattern that gives the viewer almost a cockpit-type perspective of the action.
  • “The Maze Runner” and its sequel, “Maze Runner: Scorch Trials,” were the first — and only — two films with scenes optimized for Barco Escape, but with dozens of Imax films coming out every year, there needs to be a much broader pipeline of content to compete with other large format
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  • Hoddick said he wants to develop three additional films this year, then eight in 2017 and then 12 a year after that
  • The Barco Escape costs exhibitors $100,000 with an additional fee per movie.
  • there are currently 21 Barco Escape theaters in the world — 16 in the United States, two each in Europe and China, and one in Mexico.
  • the plan is to have more than 100 by the end of this year, and 1,000 within three to five years. Oh, and they want an additional 1,000 just in China, soon to be the world’s biggest movie market — and one where Imax is in the process of opening hundreds of its own screens
  • Hoddick said while Barco Escape is only for 2D films at this point, he imagines it’s only a matter of time before 3D comes to the platform
  • it’s currently about 4 percent more expensive to produce a movie for Barco Escape, because the work has to happen in post-production, Hoddick said new cameras from manufacturers including Sony that can film in the 7:1 aspect ratio necessary for the medium will slash costs significantly
  • the theater will soon install a camera-based surveillance system to analyze demographics and customize which “lobby dominations” go live — think superhero trailers going up when a crew of high school kids walks in
alexbelov

'Top universities to offer full degrees online in five years' - BBC News - 0 views

  • Founded in California four years ago, Coursera has become one of the world's biggest providers of "massive, open, online courses" - known as Moocs. The online platform has 20 million students following courses from about 145 prestigious universities and institutions around the world.But most of the online courses have been short units that give students a certificate, rather than a full degree or credits towards a degree.
  • Coursera has announced a partnership with the US State Department to help refugees to access online courses to improve their job chances, such as English language lessons or computer coding.It would remove any costs from studying, such as fees for certificates showing the completion of courses.
  • EdX is offering a range of online courses from Arizona State University - and if a student passes eight of these, costing $200 (£150) each, it counts as the equivalent of a first year at university.
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  • Coursera has launched two online postgraduate courses with the University of Illinois, at a much lower price than their conventional counterparts.
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    Leading universities will offer fully accredited undergraduate courses online within five years, says the founder of a leading US online university network.
Maria Gurova

Become Your Favorite Super Hero with 3DPlusMe | News | Marvel.com - 0 views

  • The SUPER AWESOME ME experience begins when the fan visits an in-store scanning station where a 3D face scanner captures their likeness to create a 3D model.
  • At launch, fans can visit one of 10 Walmart or two Sam’s Club stores to create a personalized 12” action figure. The SUPER AWESOME ME figure features a traditional 12” articulated plastic action figure body and a full color 3D printed head. Recommended for fans ages 4 years and older and available for an approximate retail price of $45, the SUPER AWESOME ME figure will be available for pick up at Walmart locations or ship to Sam’s Club customers in four weeks.
anna_nelidova

The World's First Fully Robotic Farm Opens In 2017 | Popular Science - 0 views

  • A company in Japan is building an indoor lettuce farm that will be completely tended by robots and computers.
  • The company, named Spread, expects the factory to open in 2017, and the fully automated farming process could make the lettuce cheaper and better for the environment.
  • The plants can be grown hydroponically without exhausting soil resources.
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  • Up to 98 percent of Spread’s water will be recycled, and the factory won’t have to spray pesticides
  • Artificial lighting means the food supply won’t rely on weather variables, and the lighting can be supplied through renewable energy.
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    A Japanese company plans to open a fully automated farm by 2017 that will be very efficient and not harmful for the environment. They are hoping to increase production and to reduce labor costs and company's prices. 
Vladimir Antonov

Zwift launch new online multiplayer turbo training game - Cycling Weekly - 0 views

  • Startup tech company Zwift have launched a new online cycling that looks to change the way we train indoors
  • online multiplayer cycling game that looks to revolutionise indoor training
  • The game allows cyclists from all over the world to meet and ride together in virtual reality, possibly putting an end to tedious and lonely turbo training sessions
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  • Zwift’s software can then convert the signal into power data, which is calculated by considering rider weight, the virtual terrain and even drafting into account to convert the power to speed within the game.
  • the virtual environment is impressive as it gives off sound effects from your surroundings and from the other riders that pass or are around you, making it a supremely immersive training session
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    It's not new development, but it confirms that VR (kind of, just a game for now) is not somewhere there, it's here and I can use it for a reasonable price Next steps could be VR treadmill (for bad weather), VR swimming-pool (to be placed inside a garage or basement) etc, literally all kinds of sports that could be replicated indoor with VR 
Maria Gurova

Mattel Unveils ThingMaker, A $300 3D Printer That Lets Kids Make Their Own Toys | TechC... - 0 views

  • Mattel unveiled its new, $300 3D Printer, the “ThingMaker,” which will allow children to print their own toys at home
  • While there are affordably priced 3D printers available today, the software that works with them can sometimes have a learning curve that can hinder adoption. With the new application, live now on iOS and Android, the goal was to make it easy enough for anyone to design their own toys – even younger children
  • The idea isn’t just to print an object and be done, however – instead, kids will print parts that can be assembled to form larger creations, like dolls, robots, dinosaurs, scorpions, skeletons, bracelets or necklaces, for example
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  • This process can take anywhere from 30 minutes for a small item, up to overnight (e.g. 6 6 to 8 hours) for a larger toy
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    Mattel presented a new affordable toy that allows kids to build their own toys at home using a kids-friendly app that is easy to use for a novice and a home 3D printer. The spread of this technology might put pressure on the traditional toy market and create opportunity for IPs owners to allow kids interact with their favorite franchise in the whole new way
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