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Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Canadian AI image startup Ideogram, founded last year by former AI researchers from Google Brain, has made a new for itself among AI creators with its text-to-image models that produce a wide range of styles from realistic to fantastical, and most impressively of all, highly accurate text baked into the image itself (something other leading image generators, including Midjourney, took a while to implement and still struggle to generate reliably). Now, it’s getting in on the trend of expanding its web-based user workspace to include a new interactive, infinite Canvas where users can spread newly generated images out, compare them to older generations, resize and reorder them at will, and even combine multiple AI generated images into one new composite. It also allows users to upload their own visuals. With this addition, Ideogram Canvas aims to streamline workflows and offer flexible tools to refine creative projects step-by-step. But of course, Ideogram is far from the only AI company to go beyond the simple chatbot-style text entry interface. Earlier this month, OpenAI launched an experimental new “Canvas” view for ChatGPT. Unlike Ideogram’s version, it doesn’t help with imagery. Rather, OpenAI’s version offers the ability to see text-based documents and code alongside the chat interface, and watch as their chat conversation changes the resulting output in the “Canvas” view to the right. Moreover, Ideogram’s “Canvas” view is closely reminiscent of an approach that was pioneered last year by a startup called Visual Electric, which uses open source Stable Diffusion AI image generation models, and which recently launched a mobile app. However, Ideogram trains and offers its own proprietary, ground-up image generation models such as the recently launched Ideogram 2.0, which sets it apart. Magic fill and Extend Alongside Canvas, Ideogram is also debuting two additional new features: Magic Fill and Extend. Magic Fill allows users to edit specific regions of an image by replacing objects, adding text, changing backgrounds, or fixing imperfections. The tool enables users to focus on particular areas of an image and generate high-resolution details with a simple text prompt. Extend helps users expand images beyond their original borders, keeping a consistent style. This tool is useful for resizing images, adjusting composition, or adapting content to different screen formats without losing the original structure. These tools, designed to complement each other, give users the ability to make extensive edits or modifications to images while maintaining the overall quality and coherence of the content. Subscription plans and features Ideogram Canvas is available with all of Ideogram’s various usage tiers, though naturally paid plans get you more perks and features and fewer limitations. In fact, the company posted a thread on its social account on the network X (formerly Twitter) that noted all paid plans receive unlimited Canvases. The pricing for the various options is as follows: Free Plan: Allows up to 40 images per day with 10 slow credits, access to 2 canvases, and basic features like text-to-image generation and compressed image downloads. Basic Plan ($7 USD/month, billed annually): Offers 400 priority credits per month, 100 slow credits per day, unlimited canvases, and access to Magic Fill and Extend, along with features such as PNG downloads and customizable aspect ratios. Plus Plan ($16 USD/month, billed annually): Adds 1,000 priority credits, unlimited slow credits, image uploads, private generation, and additional customization options. Pro Plan ($48 USD/month, billed annually): Includes 3,000 priority credits per month, support for up to 12,000 images, and an upcoming bulk generation feature with CSV integration. Furthermore, Ideogram offers its own API that developers can use to build third-party apps atop, yet this offers only the new Magic Fill and Extend features rather than the Canvas (which makes sense, since it is highly integrated into and dependent upon Ideogram’s website design). Pricing for accessing the models through the API ranges from $0.01 per input to simply describe images to $0.08 per input for image generations with Ideogram 2. Ideogram credits part of the development of Ideogram Canvas to its community of beta testers and members of the Ideogram Creators Club, who provided feedback during the platform’s testing phase. The company acknowledges their contributions in refining the platform’s functionality and design. Expanding its teams As part of its broader growth strategy, Ideogram also noted it is expanding its teams and open to hires in Toronto and New York City. The company is actively recruiting for various roles across AI research, engineering, marketing, and finance to continue developing its suite of AI tools. Interested candidates can apply via the company’s jobs page. With the launch of Ideogram Canvas, the company seeks to offer a platform that blends user-generated content with AI-assisted tools like Magic Fill and Extend. By making it easier to create and modify images, Ideogram aims to support creators in a wide variety of industries. source

By Emily Sawicki ( October 23, 2024, 3:12 PM EDT) — The Ninth Circuit has upheld an Arizona federal court’s ruling in favor of a Tempe-based personal injury firm that was sued by another personal injury firm, Lerner & Rowe, over its purchases of Google advertising search terms, with the judges finding little “actual confusion” was caused by the advertising strategy…. Law360 is on it, so you are, too. A Law360 subscription puts you at the center of fast-moving legal issues, trends and developments so you can act with speed and confidence. Over 200 articles are published daily across more than 60 topics, industries, practice areas and jurisdictions. A Law360 subscription includes features such as Daily newsletters Expert analysis Mobile app Advanced search Judge information Real-time alerts 450K+ searchable archived articles And more! Experience Law360 today with a free 7-day trial. source

ServiceNow and end‑to‑end enterprise software support provider Rimini Street have jointly developed a new enterprise software model, designed to reduce costs for enterprises by providing an alternative to digitally transforming existing ERP software. The new enterprise model ensures that enterprises don’t have to “rip and replace” or “lift and shift” their ERP software, which could lead to delayed or often unrealized return on investment, the companies said. “The new enterprise software model from Rimini Street and ServiceNow can produce significant and immediate savings that fuel net‑new innovation, unmatched user experiences, and AI‑driven productivity gains, in weeks to months, not years, with the ServiceNow platform,” the companies said in a joint statement to the press. source

With NFL teams back on the field and fans returning to the stands, the team behind the scenes at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., is tightening up its data game by adopting a consolidated storage resource. Jim Mercurio, executive vice president and general manager at Levi’s Stadium, says they turned to hybrid cloud data storage company Qumulo to deliver upgrades and updates to data storage for security camera footage and other demands. “We needed to find a way to consolidate some of the storage that unbeknownst to me was really siloed at the time,” he says. “To be able to eliminate five racks of equipment and not have 54 verticals or silos that could be difficult to manage, allows you to expand your other kind of resources.” The stadium ingests upwards of 44 terabytes of data per day, he says, which includes video, video analytics, as well as safeguarding the team’s historical photography accumulated over the years. Prior to tapping Qumulo to consolidate storage, data captured at the stadium was a bit spread out. Mercurio says a goal when Levi’s Stadium, homefield of the San Francisco 49ers football team, opened in 2014 was to make the venue one of the first of its generation in terms of technology. “We really focused on futureproofing this stadium as best we can,” he says. Several years on, eventually there came a need to reassess how some of that technology was implemented. Furthermore, the old data storage resource was approaching end-of-life. That led to Qumulo being brought in, Mercurio says. “We said, ‘Hey, we’ve got 54 different kinds of verticals of storage here — can you help us with this?’” With the current NFL season underway, he is eyeing possibilities for next year as the country continues to reorient in light of the pandemic. The stadium might see 10 to 12 NFL games in 2022, Mercurio says, plus another four to five large-scale events such as concerts and soccer games. Special events hosted at the stadium, which can be smaller-scale meetings with 30 people to corporate holiday parties with 2,500 attendees, might number more than 100 to 200 in a year under more normal circumstances. “We have likened ourselves to a midsize convention center,” he says. Though the pandemic put a wrinkle in everyone’s operations, Mercurio says Levi’s Stadium is looking ahead to the resumption of catered and special events it would host. Activity at the stadium extends beyond the NFL games, with Levi’s Stadium serving as office space for operations such as security, public relations, broadcasting, and marketing. There may be more possibilities ahead for the data and information captured at the venue, Mercurio says. “The next phase I think I could see us moving into is game video footage for coaches and things of that nature.” The transition to consolidated data storage can help keep that data protected along with other business use cases. “Stadiums are no longer just used for Sundays at 1 o’clock,” he says. “These are buildings that are used constantly and not just for sports; for non-NFL events.” When creating a technology game plan for Levi’s Stadium, Mercurio says it was important to go beyond new innovations just for the sake of it. Finding tech resources to help solve problems became the focus, he says. For example, there was some prior debate about whether the stadium would use turnstiles to control entry. “We chose handheld devices as a result,” Mercurio says. That plan has since evolved. This year Levi’s Stadium instituted turnstile, self-service kiosks that can scan and can be one frictionless technology used by ticketholders. The buildup of data from an ever-growing stream of sources drove Levi’s Stadium to continue adapting its digital landscape. “That technology impacts your Wi-Fi needs, your storage needs, your communication needs, your infrastructure needs,” Mercurio says. “The draw on data storage for facial recognition is so massive.” With security measures such as magnetometers, facial recognition, and license plate readers becoming more intrinsic to running such venues, it heightens demand to consolidate data and for the IT team to have a substantial role in operations, he says. Data and analytics are more appreciated now from a business perspective, Mercurio says, for decision-making and better understanding demographics of who is in the stadium and tailor offerings to them to reduce wasteful costs and increase revenue. “It gives you opportunities to streamline things and the [food] menu items your customers actually want,” he says. “Data allows you to do that.” Mercurio says the transition to Qumulo is still underway and thus far has been rather seamless. The move offered flexibility, he says, while also addressing cybersecurity concerns. It also helped the ongoing collaborative efforts among stadium operations that include guest services, food and beverage, security, grounds crew, engineers, business and analytics, legal, and finance. “Whatever you can do to improve the guest experience and service, the 49ers and Levi’s Stadium are committed to doing that,” he says. Related Content: IBM Showcases Strategic Digital Changes at the 2021 US Open Formula One, NFL, and NHL Work on Their Hustle with AWS New Storage Trends Promise to Help Enterprises Handle a Data Avalanche source

Poppy Gustafsson, the co-founder and former CEO of UK cybersecurity darling Darktrace, has been named Britain’s new minister of investment as the new Labour government looks to win favour with big business. Gustafsson will head up the revamped Office for Investment as part of a wider “Whitehall shake-up” designed to bring more money to British shores, the government said. The appointment no doubt comes as a relief for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who struggled for months to fill the role. It also comes just days before the government’s international business summit on Monday, where Starmer will look to pitch the UK as “open for business.”  In September, Gustafsson left her long-standing position at Darktrace just before US equity firm Thoma Bravo acquired the company in a £4.2bn deal concluded earlier this month.  The 💜 of EU tech The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol’ founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It’s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now! She co-founded Darktrace in 2013 alongside a team of mathematicians and intelligence experts from Invoke Capital, a VC fund owned by Mike Lynch — the British tech tycoon who drowned in August after his yacht sank off the coast of Sicily. Before Darktrace, Gustafsson worked at Lynch’s software firm Autonomy before its highly controversial $11.7bn sale to HP. The 42-year-old was awarded an OBE for services to cyber security in 2019. “I have first hand experience of building and scaling a business here in the UK,” she said. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share with the international investment community what I already know to be true; the UK is a great place to do business.” While political adviser and consultant Benjamin Wegg-Prosser was first choice for the role, Gustafsson’s business acumen is good fit for the position, past occupants of which have tended to be investors or business leaders. These include former ex-Barclays deputy chairman Gerry Grimstone and former Financial Times Group CEO Rona Fairhead. source

越南股市由2023至今持續上升，走勢不錯，不妨留意，當中，越捷航空（VJC.VN）較為港人熟悉，最近公布，在越南首次於航機上使用可持續發展航空燃料 (SAF)，航班所使用的可持續燃料由越南知名燃料供應商Petrolimex Aviation提供；兩架使用SAF的越捷航班從胡志明市起飛，目的地分別是墨爾本(澳洲)和首爾(韓國)，致力減少碳排放和推動航空業可持續發展。越捷航空此舉有機會吸引喜歡投資ESG概念的資金，值得留意。 越南民航局處長Dinh Viet Thang表示:「越捷首次營運使用SAF的國際航班表現非常出色，對整個產業而言，令人非常自豪，因為我們為保護環境作出重要貢獻，亦在加強處於全球航空業界中，越南作為負責任新成員的角色。」 越南國家石油集團Petrolimex董事局主席Pham Van Thanh表示: 「首次為越捷飛往澳洲和韓國的國際航班提供SAF加油，不僅對公司而言極為重要，對於整個越南國家石油集團來亦然，因為我們正在實現已制定至2030年的戰略目標，同時放眼於2045年的長期目標。我們將會繼續全力支持越捷，為綠色航運業界的穩健未來而努力。」 越捷行政總裁丁越方(Dinh Viet Phuong)亦表示:「今天的越捷航空航班首次使用SAF，象徵著綠色航班與環保飛行，別具意義，能為乘客提供同樣美妙而更加環保的飛行體驗，尤其是在國際航線上。作為研究、開發和使用SAF的航空業界先驅，越捷航空始終如一，致力於持續減少航空業的碳排放，並促進可持續業務增長。」 越捷重視可持續發展，為保護環境不遺餘力，一直追求如何更有效利用能源。在越南，越捷是第一家提供清晰ESG永續發展報告的航空公司，並致力推進SAF的使用，支持越南國家綠色成長策略和於2050年達致零排放的目標。SAF符合嚴格國際航空標準，可安全用於商業飛行營運。SAF以回收食用油、農業副產品、木材生物物質和都市垃圾等原料生產，與傳統化石燃料相比可減少高達80%碳排放。 持續擴展航網推新服務 再者，為擴展航網越捷正在推出新服務，增加連接香港和越南航線的航班次數。自10月27日起，香港至峴港航線將從每週 4 班新增為每日營運，而香港至富國島航線也將從每週 3 班改為每日營運。越捷是第一家從香港直飛富國島的航空公司，富國島還特別為港人大開歡迎之門，提供最長30天的免簽證待遇，方便港人探索越南最大島嶼。 越捷致力於成本管理、有效運營，以低成本、靈活票價及多元化服務提供空中運輸服務。越捷是國際航空運輸協會(IATA)的正式會員，並取得國際航空運輸協會的運作安全審計證書( IOSA )。越捷並獲得全球唯一的航空公司安全和服務評級網站AirlineRatings評選為「最佳廉航2018及2019」，更獲得7星最高安全評級，值得關注。 LinkedIn Email Facebook Twitter WhatsApp The post 越捷用可持續發展燃料添ESG概念 appeared first on VeriMedia. source

Ces deux dernières années ont été pour le moins difficiles pour l’expérience client (CX). En 2024, la qualité de la CX a atteint un niveau historiquement bas. Une question se pose alors : pourquoi une telle médiocrité généralisée est-elle devenue la norme ? Une fois que les “gains faciles” de la CX ont été obtenus, parvenir à une différenciation sur la base du CX nécessitera un investissement stratégique important. Cependant, de nombreux dirigeants ont interprété (à tort) une forte performance boursière, alors même que la qualité CX était en baisse, comme un signal de maintien du statu quo. Ainsi, ils ont involontairement ouvert la voie à ceux qui s’engagent à offrir une bonne qualité CX. Sans vouloir être le messager de funestes nouvelles, il semble que 2025 sera à nouveau une année médiocre pour la plupart des marques en matière de CX. Mais il reste une lueur d’espoir ! Pour les leaders CX audacieux prêts à passer à la vitesse supérieure, cette année pourrait bien être la vôtre. Se démarquer du peloton exigera de la détermination, mais l’avantage stratégique dans un paysage où d’autres se maintiennent en retrait sera significatif. Voici trois de nos prévisions pour 2025 qui mettent en évidence les défis (et les opportunités) qui attendent les leaders CX : La GenAI remplacera 100 000 agents de première ligne des principaux sous-traitants mondiaux. Le marché de l’externalisation des call-centers est un mastodonte invisible, qui alimente discrètement 62 % des opérations des call-centers des marques. Ce marché a historiquement prospéré sur un modèle d’arbitrage de main-d’œuvre. Pourtant, cette dépendance à l’égard d’une main-d’œuvre toujours moins chère est exactement ce qui le rend mûr pour une perturbation par l’IA générative (genAI). À mesure que l’IA générative réussira à automatiser les problèmes peu complexes, la demande d’agents humains diminuera. De nombreux sous-traitants réduiront leurs effectifs en conséquence, frappant le plus durement les marchés où les coûts sont les plus bas. Dans ce paysage en évolution, le choix des responsables CX est clair : s’associer à des sous-traitants qui considèrent les technologies émergentes comme une voie d’évolution et non d’extinction. Les partenaires les plus solides adopteront des modèles outcome-based qui s’alignent directement sur la réussite des clients, marquant ainsi un tournant décisif vers la valeur plutôt que le volume. La moitié des efforts en matière d’accessibilité n’auront qu’un impact négligeable sur la CX. La mise en lumière de l’accessibilité numérique s’intensifie à l’approche de l’échéance de juin 2025 fixée par l‘Acte législatif européen sur l’accessibilité. Bien que 59 % des professionnels du design fassent état d’un engagement soutenu par les dirigeants en faveur de l’accessibilité numérique, un fossé important entre l’intention et l’action subsiste. Les prévisions de Forrester soulignent ce fossé : seule la moitié de ces entreprises devraient entreprendre des efforts significatifs pour améliorer l’accessibilité. Les autres auront recours à des mesures plus superficielles : des produits quick-fix ou des programmes “recherche-et-résolution”, qui ne suffiront pas à rendre les espaces numériques véritablement accessibles. La clé pour combler ce fossé réside dans l’intégration des principes d’accessibilité dans le processus de conception dès le départ, en veillant à ce que les efforts se traduisent par des avantages tangibles allant au-delà de la simple conformité. Une équipe CX sur quatre va abandonner les outils sous-utilisés au profit de suites d’entreprise « convenables ». En moyenne, les équipes CX utilisent quatre technologies et ne font souvent qu’effleurer la surface de leurs capacités – des capacités souvent dupliquées dans les suites d’entreprise que leurs organisations utilisent déjà. Ce chevauchement a attiré l’attention des services informatiques désireux de réduire les redondances logicielles et les dépenses. Les leaders CX avant-gardistes prendront une longueur d’avance, en choisissant eux-mêmes de réduire les coûts en adoptant des stratégies d’approvisionnement dites “function-first”. Ils se contenteront de solutions d’entreprise « suffisantes » pour des fonctions banalisées, mais nécessaires telles que les enquêtes post-interaction et l’analyse des conversations. Cela permettra de libérer des ressources pour investir dans la technologie afin de relever les défis les plus urgents : relier les améliorations CX directement aux résultats commerciaux et agir efficacement sur les connaissances-clients. Les clients de Forrester peuvent consulter notre rapport complet Predictions 2025 : Customer Experience (en anglais) pour obtenir plus de détails sur ces prévisions ainsi que deux autres prévisions bonus. Planifiez une session d’accompagnement Forrester pour discuter de ces prévisions et planifier votre stratégie CX 2025. Vous n’êtes pas encore client ? Téléchargez gratuitement notre guide des prévisions (en anglais) pour les leaders du marketing B2C et du CX, qui couvre d’autres de nos principales prévisions pour 2025. Vous trouverez d’autres ressources gratuites, y compris des webinaires, sur le hub Prévisions 2025. Note: Cet article a été traduit. Langue originale : anglais. source

黑色暴雨仍生效 今日將不設早市交易 黑色暴雨警告仍然生效。香港證券市場今日將不設早市及延續早市交易。若中午十二時仍然未取消警告，港股全日停市。今日中華通北向交易上午將不設服務。 香港交易所將會於稍後就今日的交易安排再作宣布。 內地企業利潤按年增長放慢 國家統計局公布，五月規模以上工業企業利潤近 8300 億元（人民幣），按年增長 36 % ，增速較四月和三月都放慢，2019年同期增長44.6%。 今年首五個月計，實現利潤總額超過3萬4000億元(人民幣)，按年升增長 83.4 % ，2019年同期增長 48 % 。 國家統計局表示，近七成行業盈利按年有增長，5月份企業盈利不平衡狀況較為突出，恢復基礎尚不牢固。當中小微企盈利增長慢過大中型企業，私人企業利潤增長相對慢。而且受大宗商品價格上升影響，企業利潤增長集中上游採礦和原材料製造行業，下游行業成本壓力增加，未來應該引導商品價格，向供求基本面回歸。 內地遠景集團在法國設廠 內地遠景集團在法國設廠，為法國雷諾車廠生產電動車的電池。 遠景集團將為雷諾建立價值24億美元的電池工廠，預計2024年陸續投產，預計未來十年可以創造 2500 份職位。 雷諾兩款新電動車由遠景提供電池，預計到2030年電動車年產量達 1,000,000 輛。 美國物價持續高企 核心通脹創逾29年高位 美國物價持續高企，核心通脹創逾29年高位 ，聯儲局通脹指標、核心個人消費開支物價指數連續三個月升幅加快，5月按年升 3.4 % ，升幅超過29年最大，但按月升幅收窄至 0.5 %。 受物價持續高企影響購買力，個人開支按月無變動。 美元匯價連續三日靠穩 亞洲市美匯指數在91.7水平上落靠穩，市場觀望本周公布非農業就業數據。 離岸人民幣連升三日後，亞洲市早段回軟，曾跌穿6.46兌一美元。 ……………………………………………………..????????讚好Facebook 專頁：https://www.facebook.com/VeriMedia.io……………………………………………………..更多資訊:https://veri-media.io……………………………………………………. LinkedIn Email Facebook Twitter WhatsApp source

“2024 InformationWeek US IT Salary Report: A Look Back at 2023 — Profits, Layoffs, and the Continued Rise of AI“ Brought to you by InformationWeek 2023 was full of economic contradictions. Record profits. Massive layoffs. It was also the year AI possibly saved (or possibly sacrificed) IT. Continued job uncertainty stemming from massive and sustained layoffs in IT during a loudly hailed booming economy is taking a toll. Despite being satisfied with their jobs overall, more than half of respondents in the latest InformationWeek IT Salary Survey rated their stress as a 6 or higher on a 10-point scale. Find out how you compare: Salary Parity Gender Pay Gap Non-Salary Benefits Stress Level Job Perks Raises & Bonuses Download now to continue reading and prepare for the year ahead! Offered Free by: InformationWeek See All Resources from: InformationWeek Thank you This download should complete shortly. If the resource doesn’t automatically download, please, click here. Thank you This download should complete shortly. If the resource doesn’t automatically download, please, click here. Thank you This download should complete shortly. If the resource doesn’t automatically download, please, click here. source