Latest news with #Deane
Business Wire
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Omdia: Cloud Platforms Drive $12.9bn Games Market Ecosystem
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New analysis from Omdia shows that cloud platforms are at the core of a $12.9bn technology ecosystem underpinning much of the games industry. This ecosystem spans everything from game servers and backend tooling to analytics and LiveOps — the essential technologies that enable the modern games market. Increasingly, cloud platforms are becoming critical enablers of emerging AI applications poised to transform the games tech landscape. Omdia forecasts that the market for cloud-enabled operational solutions for games will grow to some $20.9bn by 2029—equivalent to almost 7% of the entire value of the games market—with AI set to be a key growth driver. Share The Omdia Market Radar: Cloud Platforms for Games – 2025, published on Omdia's Games Tech Intelligence Service, reveals an increasingly competitive marketplace for cloud platforms in the games industry. AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure again emerge as market leaders, and are joined this year by Tencent Cloud. These four platforms each have distinct strengths and weaknesses but have in common the ability to offer robust capabilities across a wide range of games industry use cases. They are by no means the only relevant players in the market. Regional dynamics significantly influence the competitive landscape with Alibaba Cloud notably emerging as a strong challenger in the Asian market. Beyond the hyperscalers, game studios are increasingly recognizing the power of hybrid strategies leveraging specialized bare metal providers such as and A notable aspect of this year's Market Radar is the addition of a new AI & machine learning category to the vendor assessment. 'Support for AI use cases is now becoming a critical factor for buyers,' said Liam Deane, Principal Analyst covering games tech at Omdia. 'This is something that all of the major cloud platforms have recognized, meaning that games companies already have an excellent range of solutions to choose from,' Deane commented. Omdia forecasts that the market for cloud-enabled operational solutions for games will grow to $20.9bn by 2029—equivalent to almost 7% of the entire value of the games market—with AI set to be a key growth driver. About Omdia Omdia, part of Informa TechTarget, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTGT), is a technology research and advisory group. Our deep knowledge of tech markets grounded in real conversations with industry leaders and hundreds of thousands of data points, make our market intelligence our clients' strategic advantage. From R&D to ROI, we identify the greatest opportunities and move the industry forward.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Plain-clothed police officers tackle anti-social behaviour on estate
Police officers wearing plain clothes set about an estate in Deane to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB). Officers completed work around the Thornbank estate as part of a new campaign, Safe 4 Summer and Op Coronation. Neighbourhood Officers wearing plain clothes set about an estate in Deane to tackle anti-social behaviour. (Image: Greater Manchester Police) The campaigns aim to tackle drug-related activities and suspicious activities that can form part of ASB in the area. Work will continue throughout the summer to tackle any sort of ASB in the area. Back in April, police officers met with councillors and other officials for a visit to the Thornbank Estate in Deane. Plain clothed officers. (Image: Greater Manchester Police) They were there to see the conditions on the estate for themselves and to discuss what improvements could be made to the area and the lives of people living there. READ MORE: CCTV appeal after man 'exposed himself' at Bolton Interchange Farnworth: Man discharged from hospital following stabbing Bolton: Girl, 12, struck by car in 'hit and run' in Gilnow Road Cllr Ayyub Patel, who represents the Rumworth ward, said: 'It's really about bringing together a combination of resources because obviously we and neighbouring communities have had concerns about ASB. 'We've also had concerns about the ASB aspect that runs through from the town centre.' Plain clothed officers. (Image: Greater Manchester Police) The Thornbank Estate includes the Fern Street and Rogerstone Flats along with Blackshaw Lane off Deane Road. As well as police officers, the event was attended by officers from the council's community safety and environmental enforcement team. Health providers, Bolton at Home officials, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service staff and alcohol and substance abuse teams were also there for the day. They discussed the issues facing the estate with Rumworth councillors, independent Cllr Ayyub and Labour's Cllr Sajid Ali and Cllr Abdul Atcha.
NZ Herald
7 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Norsewear's ‘cheeky' open letter to New Zealand Rugby Union pushes for wool beanies over synthetic materials
'They told us some synthetic beanies are being used as fire starters instead of head warmers. 'The All Blacks like us are iconic in NZ - doesn't it follow that our sporting legends might wear the very fabric our Kiwi identity is wrapped in? 'We want those cauliflower ears protected from the cold,' the letter said. 'We want those heads full of brains, living and breathing strategy and tactics to be cosy at all times.' NZ Rugby Union general manager of commercial Yarnie Guthrie said they had reached out to the Norsewear team to share more details of the retail and licensing programme for All Blacks, Black Ferns and other branded items. 'We're always up for a conversation, so 'thank ewe' to Norsewear for reaching out,' Guthrie said with a pun. Norsewear owner Tim Deane said the original letter was a bit of 'tongue and cheek' from the team, who were all All Blacks fans. 'We just had a bit of fun with it and wrote a cheeky letter with an important message.' He said the letter 'took off' and he received a call from the NZ Rugby Union on Friday. 'They said the post had put a smile on the faces of the people in the NZR offices, so I thought that's pretty good natured and what we are like as Kiwis.' Deane said the letter fed into a wider conversation of the use of NZ wool, given their recent success with winning a contract to make all of the NZ Defence Force's socks. 'The purchasing decisions that we make as New Zealanders or the purchasing decisions that corporate NZ makes - does make a big difference.' Deane said further discussions would be had to see what Norsewear could do with NZR. 'We will get together in the next couple of weeks to see if there is any way we could work together.' Michaela Gower joined Hawke's Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke's Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
Ottawa Citizen
10-07-2025
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
Court approves class-action lawsuit against Canada Post alleging illegal 'drip pricing' on shipping
Article content While deciding whether Deane's lawsuit should be a class-action suit, Justice Jocelyne Gagné was shown screen shots and videos of the Canada Post online purchase process and parsed the experience. Article content Deane showed the Snap Ship service in action. The video showed that after logging into her account and entering shipping information and destination, Canada Post displays four shipping options with prices, from regular parcel shipping to priority shipping. None of the quoted prices include a fuel surcharge. Article content Canada Post said that the onscreen box Deane showed was only part of a single, longer page of four successive stages where surcharges are shown in a separate summary box. Article content The judge found neither of their descriptions to be adequately accurate, noting that each successive box must be closed for the next to open and by the time the destination information is entered in a box, triggering a fuel surcharge being listed in the summary box, that summary is no longer visible onscreen. A user must scroll up to see it. Article content Article content When the last box is filled out and closed, the page still doesn't return to the summary page, the judge noted. Article content That stationary summary box was a change to the site made in July 2023, court heard. Before that, the summary box was dynamic, meaning it moved along with the cascading order process and was always visible. Article content The mechanics of the three online shipping tools are basically the same, but some have additional business options. Article content Ship Online is a service anyone can use to create paid shipping labels. Snap Ship is designed for small businesses doing regular low-volume shipping. Shipping Manager is designed for large volume commercial clients. Article content The Competition Act bans several sales tricks that are considered false or misleading representations in transactions. Article content 'Drip pricing' is when a price is presented that is never attainable because obligatory charges are automatically added later in the purchase process (unless the fee is government mandated, such as a sales tax). Article content Article content 'Double ticketing' is when a product costs more than the lowest of two or more advertised prices, such as the same items having different price tags offered for sale at the same time. Article content For a claim to be certified as a class action, a court must rule that there is a reasonable cause of action, meaning a sound legal basis for complaining, and there must also be an identifiable group of people suffering the same alleged loss, among other considerations. Article content The damages claimed by Deane is the cost of the fuel surcharge in all transactions in the time frame, plus the cost of investigating and launching her lawsuit. Article content If Deane is successful, Canada Post could be forced to reimburse the fuel surcharges. Article content Certifying a suit as a class action does not assess the merits of it, only that it can appropriately move forward as a court action. Article content The parties and the judge looked carefully through previous class action competition-related complaints: one against Airbnb over service fees, one against Cineplex over buying online movie tickets, and the third against internet phone service provider Ooma.
Vancouver Sun
10-07-2025
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Court approves class-action lawsuit against Canada Post alleging illegal 'drip pricing' on shipping
A B.C. small business owner's complaint that Canada Post uses illegal 'drip pricing' in online shipping services has been certified by the Federal Court as a class-action lawsuit. The lawsuit seeks compensation from the troubled national postal service for adding a mandatory 'fuel surcharge' late in the purchase process, after showing shipping rates. If successful, customers who used Canada Post's online shipping tools in the last few years could be eligible for reimbursement. Marci Deane filed a civil lawsuit in Federal Court last year alleging that three of Canada Post's online shipping services failed to disclose the full price of shipping by adding a required additional charge for fuel after advertising a purchase price, in violation of the Competition Act. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. She accused the Crown corporation of using banned 'drip pricing' and 'double ticketing' in its sales. The additional charge to the price is significant. The cost of the fuel surcharge is calculated as a percentage of the price of the shipping job — from a high of 26 per cent to a low of 13.75 per cent in April 2024, depending on service type and destination. Canada Post adjusts it weekly based on the price of fuel Canada Post denies using 'drip pricing' or 'double ticketing.' The Crown corporation opposed the certification of Deane's lawsuit as a class action. Making it a class-action case means that if the lawsuit is successful, any damages assessed by a judge can apply to a wide group of people who suffered similar losses, rather than just Deane. In court, Canada Post argued all pricing information is disclosed on a single webpage, during a single stage of the purchasing process. The company said customers are unable to complete their purchase without agreeing to the fuel surcharge, so they can change their mind before paying if they objected. They also argued that when opening an account to use its services, customers agree to terms that would allow fuel surcharges. Deane complained of three of Canada Post's online shipping services, called Snap Ship, Ship Online, and Shipping Manager. They allow online users to create, pay, and print shipping labels to send parcels. Deane, as a small business owner, has been using Canada Post services and programs for businesses for more than 15 years, court heard. While deciding whether Deane's lawsuit should be a class-action suit, Justice Jocelyne Gagné was shown screen shots and videos of the Canada Post online purchase process and parsed the experience. Deane showed the Snap Ship service in action. The video showed that after logging into her account and entering shipping information and destination, Canada Post displays four shipping options with prices, from regular parcel shipping to priority shipping. None of the quoted prices include a fuel surcharge. Canada Post said that the onscreen box Deane showed was only part of a single, longer page of four successive stages where surcharges are shown in a separate summary box. The judge found neither of their descriptions to be adequately accurate, noting that each successive box must be closed for the next to open and by the time the destination information is entered in a box, triggering a fuel surcharge being listed in the summary box, that summary is no longer visible onscreen. A user must scroll up to see it. When the last box is filled out and closed, the page still doesn't return to the summary page, the judge noted. That stationary summary box was a change to the site made in July 2023, court heard. Before that, the summary box was dynamic, meaning it moved along with the cascading order process and was always visible. The mechanics of the three online shipping tools are basically the same, but some have additional business options. Ship Online is a service anyone can use to create paid shipping labels. Snap Ship is designed for small businesses doing regular low-volume shipping. Shipping Manager is designed for large volume commercial clients. The Competition Act bans several sales tricks that are considered false or misleading representations in transactions. 'Drip pricing' is when a price is presented that is never attainable because obligatory charges are automatically added later in the purchase process (unless the fee is government mandated, such as a sales tax). 'Double ticketing' is when a product costs more than the lowest of two or more advertised prices, such as the same items having different price tags offered for sale at the same time. For a claim to be certified as a class action, a court must rule that there is a reasonable cause of action, meaning a sound legal basis for complaining, and there must also be an identifiable group of people suffering the same alleged loss, among other considerations. The damages claimed by Deane is the cost of the fuel surcharge in all transactions in the time frame, plus the cost of investigating and launching her lawsuit. If Deane is successful, Canada Post could be forced to reimburse the fuel surcharges. Certifying a suit as a class action does not assess the merits of it, only that it can appropriately move forward as a court action. The parties and the judge looked carefully through previous class action competition-related complaints: one against Airbnb over service fees, one against Cineplex over buying online movie tickets, and the third against internet phone service provider Ooma. Gagné, the judge, questioned how the same shipping transaction could be guilty of both drip pricing and double ticketing. 'One cannot say that Canada Post is, on one hand, adding price elements as the sale process unfolds, and, on the other hand, charging the higher of two or more prices clearly expressed,' Gagné wrote in her ruling, published Thursday. Gagné rejected Deane's claim against Canada Post of double ticketing but accepted her claim over drip pricing could proceed as a class action. She defined the eligible class of claimants as Canadian residents charged fuel surcharges through Canada Post's online shipping tools Snap Ship, Ship Online, and Shipping Manager after June 23, 2022. The judge said who was a member of the group and how large it might be should be sorted out at trial. Receipts from customers show a fuel surcharge and Canada Post has online records of some users, she said. • Email: ahumphreys@ | X: AD_Humphreys Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here .
