Is this the end of the Scottie dog and the top hat? Monopoly holds vote on future of its tokens

Everyone who has ever played Monopoly has their favourite token, from the top hat to the motor car or the Scottie dog.

But some long-standing pieces could soon be made redundant and replaced with more up to date symbols.

The hat, the shoe or even, heaven forbid, the much-loved Scottie, could be replaced by a mobile phone, a winking face emoji or even a hashtag.

Sponsored stories

Recommended byThe makers of Monopoly, have put the board game tokens to a public vote in order to determine which symbols should be employed by players in its new editions.

The eight standard pieces used for decades are lined up against a choice of more than 50 new designs.

Among the new tokens are a cowboy hat, cowboy boot, two different race car models, and a rotary phone.

The planned changes follow a public vote in 2013, in which people voted for Hazel the cat to replace the iron token which had been in the game since its inception.

Other choices on offer but rejected that year included a guitar, a helicopter, a diamond ring, and a robot.

The original six tokens in the popular board game were the thimble, top hat, iron, shoe, battleship and the cannon - which has now been retired.

Announcing the vote Jonathan Berkowitz, senior vice president of marketing for Hasbro Gaming, said: "The Monopoly Token Madness Vote lets our passionate fans choose all eight tokens in the Monopoly game and no token - not even the Scottie dog -- is safe.

“Only time will tell if fans will decide to stay with the classics, keep a few favorites or pick an entirely new lineup of tokens."

When the game was first devised in its current form in 1935 by domestic heater salesman and games designer Charles Darrow, he envisioned players using small items from around their homes as playing pieces.

The family’s little girl could have been a button, her older brother a bottle cap and the parents a car and a household pet.

Darrow’s niece suggested the tokens could be made to resemble the charms from a girl’s charm bracelet.

Many of the original tokens which Darrow settled on have an intriguing history of their own.

The top hat, one of the game’s most recognisable symbols, was based on the hat the game’s lead character, Mr. Monopoly, would wear. When the game was introduced, he was known as Rich Uncle Pennybags, and historians have long speculated the character was based on the wealthy US tycoon J.P. Morgan.

The shoe has also been around since the game’s original launch as a symbol of both hard work and the riches that, with a bit of luck, can accompany it.

Watch | Monopoly fans vote to add a cat and eliminate iron token from game The battleship was originally used by Parker Brothers in a game called “Conflict.” When that game failed the pieces were taken and used in the Monopoly set.

Until the 1950s there was also a purse among the tokens, along with a rocking horse.

The Scottie dog, though now regarded as an intrinsic part of the game, was only introduced during the 1950s.

During the 2013 poll it was by far the most popular piece, receiving almost a third of the vote.

Also introduced during the 1950s was the wheelbarrow, which replaced the lantern, purse and the rocking horse.

It was included as another symbol of hard work and one of the tools needed to build the properties around the board.

A sack of money became the first new token in over 40 years when it was added in 1999, only to be retired a decade later.

 The vote opens  on January 31 and the results will be announced by Hasbro on March 19, World Monopoly Day.

Calgary man dead after snowplow rollover near Langdon

A Calgary man has died in hospital after a snowplow rollover on Highway 797 near Langdon early Sunday morning.

EMS from Calgary and Strathmore responded to the call around 7:50 a.m. and found the 55-year-old man trapped inside the vehicle, which had rolled into the ditch two kilometres south of Highway 1.

Fire crews arrived and removed the man from the vehicle but due to the weather, an air ambulance was unable to transport the injured driver.

The man was taken to Foothills Hospital where he later died. It's not known what led to the rollover and RCMP are investigating.

Texas family blame Apple’s FaceTime in suit over fatal crash

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A Texas couple whose five-year-old daughter died in a crash involving a driver who was allegedly using Apple’s FaceTime video chatting app is suing the tech company.

The lawsuit filed this month in Santa Clara Superior Court accuses Apple of not implementing iPhone features that would automatically disable FaceTime based on technology that calculates highway speeds.

Apple hasn’t responded to the lawsuit and didn’t immediately respond to an email Saturday seeking comment.

Moriah Modisette was killed in a 2014 Christmas Eve accident near Dallas. The lawsuit obtained by California television KTLA claims police found FaceTime running on the iPhone of the driver who struck the Modisette family at 65 mph (105 km/h).

The family claims Apple knew the risks of using FaceTime while driving because the company patented “lock-out” technology in 2008.  

Microsoft up for Windows 10

   Microsoft has decided that it will completely skip Windows 9 and go straight towards Windows 10. Windows 10 will more emphasize mobile usage and internet services. Windows 8 was reported as  a radical change from Windows 7, so Microsoft has decided to bring back some original features that were predecessors of the Windows 8 Version.
   Microsoft has only offered a small sneak peek into the new version in San Francisco to business partners. Windows 10 will be available next year.

The Scotland Independence Vote

With more than 50% of the votes taken in from the Scotland referendum in seems that the Scottish will support the "Yes," campaign. This will continue the British rule that has been going on for more than tree centuries.

Apple's confusing map of Canada

TORONTO - Apple seems to be a little confused when it comes to Canadian geography.
Consumers who hit Apple.ca to pre-order one of the company's new iPhones and clicked on a link about delivery timelines saw an error-riddled map of Canada.
Apple appeared to have mixed up the nation's capital and Ontario's capital, and placed Ottawa roughly where Toronto should be on the map.
Edmonton is also seen to be northwest of Calgary, instead of northeast.
And St. John's, N.L. is missing its apostrophe.
A comment from Apple was not immediately available.

Tim Hortons to launch credit card

With the press of a button, Tim Hortons (TSX:THI) is hoping Canadians will warm to a new credit card partnership.
The coffee and doughnut chain has joined CIBC (TSX:CM) for the “Double Double Visa Card,” which includes physical buttons built into the plastic.
Cardholders can press one of two options on the face of the card — a button that accesses their Visa account or another that lets users redeem loyalty points for products at the company’s restaurants.
Each button has a coloured light that illuminates when the user activates one of the options on the card.
While credit cards with buttons aren’t new, this is a first for Canada.
Previously, Citibank ran a pilot program in the U.S. which tested button technology with a select number of its clients. That card has since been discontinued.
The CIBC and Tim Hortons card allows users to earn points on purchases they charge to their no annual fee Visa card, collecting a cent on every dollar in Tims Cash rewards, the companies said.
CIBC launched the venture with Tim Hortons shortly after losing exclusivity for an Aeroplan-branded credit card. While CIBC still offers a card with Aeroplan, the loyalty points company has also launched a separate venture with TD Bank (TSX:TD).
The Tim Hortons-branded credit card is the first step in rolling out a loyalty program. The company has yet to announce when the full-fledged rewards program will debut.
The Tim Hortons credit card will be officially launched on Wednesday.

Why we can't buy some popular European cars in Canada

Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Audi all say it’s time regulatory standards were harmonized, allowing more choice, faster access and lower prices on European models.
The global auto standards issue recently resurfaced in the wake of the tentative free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union’s 28 countries. If ratified in about two years’ time, the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) will allow for the free flow of goods for everything from Italian wine to French bread to pork bellies and Porsches.
CETA would also gradually eliminate the 6.1-per-cent tariff on European cars imported to Canada, over seven years.
In December, Tim Reuss, president of Mercedes-Benz Canada, questioned the notion that Canada’s standards are better: “Are you really going to say that a car that has been deemed safe enough and environmentally okay for Europe is not environmentally okay and safe to be driven in Canada or vice versa?”
Veteran auto analyst Dennis DesRosiers says Reuss’s comment is dead on. “He’s got it summarized in the most cogent way I’ve ever read.”
The gap is not just with Europe; standards even differ between Canada and the United States – on the height of a seatbelt or bumper and daytime running lights, says DesRosiers.
“We don’t need Canadian-specific regulations,” says Global Automakers of Canada president David Adams.
But Transport Canada insists we do. The government department that is responsible for and oversees policies and regulations for the vehicles we drive, also points to “Canadian-specific factors” such as geography, road and weather conditions and driver training as reasons we do need our own standards.
Meanwhile, DesRosiers warns eliminating these standards is no easy task. “Canada has to get the U.S. on side before it meets the EU standard. It becomes politically complex; there are egos and science and economics in the way.”
But Transport Canada defends its differences by saying it has “several significant vehicle safety requirements which are more stringent in Canada than in Europe.” The strength of the anchoring system for child seats and rear crash test speed are two examples (See sidebar).
It’s tough to pinpoint exactly how much Canada’s own auto testing adds to the MSRP, but everyone agrees it is a significant cost. “It’s much higher than the tariff imposed,” says DesRosiers. “You can easily get into a $1,000-to-$5,000 increase because of the standard differential of a cost or higher … but we don’t know for sure.”
Don Mertens, spokesperson for Volkswagen and Audi, agrees Canada-only standards are unnecessary, and hopes CETA will bring new flexibility.
“We don’t have all the fine details about the free-trade agreement, but we hope there will be more acceptance of UNEC (United Economic Commission for Europe) standards.”
There has been a worldwide move in the industry to try to forge a global standard, DesRosiers says. But the long evolution of North American standards makes them difficult to negotiate or eliminate. Standards were ramped up after consumer advocate Ralph Nader’s 1965 book, Unsafe At Any Speed, accused the auto industry of disregarding safety standards.
“The need for regulatory standards became more intense with that book,” says DesRosiers. In those days, there wasn’t a global auto industry as we know it today.
The United States created its Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards while the United Nations Economic Commission crafted another set for Europe and those are also followed by Japan and China. Canada follows many of the rules set by the United States, but layers on its unique standards.
DesRosiers fears free-trade agreements, like CETA, will slow the shift to one set of standards because they are used as “negotiating chips.” But Adams insists auto makers would prefer one set of global regulations. And, through CETA, Canada has the chance to take the lead by eliminating overlaps in regulatory testing.
“Canada’s tradition has been to follow the U.S. in its regulatory environment,” says Adams. “Now we have an opportunity. Do we want to sit back and wait for the U.S.?”
Transport Canada says it is open to developing or reviewing existing standards “as long as they fulfill national objectives.” The agency continues to “actively participate in the development of global technical regulations under the auspices of the World Forum for the harmonization of Vehicle Regulations”
Reuss points to two models that could come to Canada right away if European standards were accepted: the Mercedes A-Class subcompact with new technology, featuring brake lights that flash if a car is approaching too quickly from behind, and the all-wheel-drive version of the Sprinter commercial van.
Mertens would like to see “harmonization-plus.” He says we should be able to expand, at minimum, some European advanced technology and add some European standards to Canada’s regime, citing advanced lighting and the latest in clean diesel.
“For us, it’s technology that helps the consumer, whether it’s safety technologies, but certainly engine choices,” he says. “We need to accept European standards that benefit the consumer."
Thomas Tetzlaf, also of Volkswagen and Audi, is convinced the enhanced choice would be a win with car enthusiasts.
“Many of them call us immediately upon return from summer vacation in Europe … and ask us why we can’t the get the ‘blank’ … or this engine in North America.”
Adams and DesRosiers both argue that Canadian consumers are more open to Euro-style diesels, subcompacts and hatchbacks – people like Kenney, who pines for the sporty Scirocco.
“I’ve always been a big VW fan,” he says. “When I get in, I always know what it’s going to feel like. The fit, the finish and interior design; they take it much more seriously.”
A comparison of Canadian and U.S. Prices:

Vehicle	Canadian Price	U.S. Price
2014 Ford F-150	$17,999	$24,445
2014 Chevrolet Corvette	$52,475	$51,000
2014 Toyota Prius	$26,105	$24,200
2014 Toyota Camry	$23,750	$22,425
2014 Honda Civic	$15,690	$18,390
2014 Porsche Boxster S	$70,900	$62,100
Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet	$221,200	$193,900
Audi R8	$134,000	$114,900
2014 BMW M6 Cabriolet	$128,900	$117,500

How practical is Google's driverless car?

Google has been teasing consumers with tidbits about its driverless cars for several years now, but it wasn't until this week that it revealed what this futuristic technology would actually look like.
The prototype is a subcompact car that looks like a computer mouse, has no steering wheel or gas and brake pedals and reaches a maximum speed of roughly 40 kilometres an hour.
Google says that 100 of these prototypes will be built in the Detroit area, and the company expects them to be on the road by next year.
At the Code Conference in Los Angeles this week, Google co-founder Sergey Brin said the self-driving car concept "is about changing the world for people who are not well-served by transportation today."
The futuristic car clearly has its backers, but some analysts, while intrigued, are skeptical about whether this concept is as game-changing as Google thinks.
While they acknowledge a driverless car would have immediate benefits for seniors and the disabled, a self-driving car raises a number of legal and regulatory issues.
Here's a look at some of the applications — and complications — of putting Google's driverless car on the road.
Increased mobility for seniors and people with disabilities
The prototype, which was revealed on Tuesday, has buttons that a passenger presses to begin and end the ride. The passenger sets the route by identifying the destination on a map or by using spoken commands.
In lieu of human operation, the vehicle is outfitted with sensors and cameras mounted on the roof that allows it to analyze what surrounding cars are doing and react accordingly.
The most obvious beneficiaries of a self-driving car would be seniors or the disabled, who may not be able to operate a conventional automobile.
A car such as this would go a long way in restoring some independence for someone with a physical disability, says Tony Dolan, chair of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities and a partial quadriplegic.
As a person with disabilities, he says, "you're always striving for that ability to live as normally as you can." And often as cheaply as you can.
Dolan owns a retrofitted Dodge Caravan minivan, which has a powered ramp, a modified driver's seat, hand controls for acceleration and braking, and a spinner knob on the steering wheel.
It cost him $43,000 US, and he says he had to buy it in the U.S. because the cheapest comparable vehicle he could find in Canada would have cost $68,000 CDN.
Dolan acknowledges that Google's self-driving car would alleviate some of the issues that prohibit many disabled people from driving, but he is concerned about the potential cost. (Google hasn't announced a price tag.)
"The first thing a person with a disability would say about the Google car is, Oh, that's great – but can I afford it? How am I going to pay for that?"
Not necessarily a fun ride
Thilo Koslowski, an automotive analyst with the Gartner consultancy group, says that with a current top speed of 40 km/hr (25 mph), the Google car would not make a particularly effective or fun consumer vehicle.
While there is undoubted curiousity about a car that drives itself, most people still prefer to drive themselves. Koslowski cites a recent poll that showed 35 per cent of respondents would be interested in purchasing such a vehicle, while the rest still preferred a traditional car.
Koslowski says he sees a greater potential for the Google car as an automated taxi or a means to transport goods. He also believes that it could be a valuable mode of transport in low-traffic areas, such as universities, factories or airports.
"There is an opportunity for these kinds of self-driving vehicles to be used at lower speeds on campuses or very specific city areas," says Kozlowski.
And while there may well be greater consumer interest in the future, he suggeststhose vehicles "would have to look very different from the prototype that was shown" this week.
Street legal?
Champions of driverless cars say they would nullify speeding, drunk driving and distracted driving, the prime causes of automobile accidents.
However, there are currently very strict regulations governing the use of these sorts of vehicles on the streets in both Canada and the U.S.
Koslowski points out that the state of California recently announced that in order for a self-driving car to be on the street, there must be two certified engineers sitting in the front seat in order to assume control in case things go awry.
Peter Henein, a product liability lawyer and partner at the Toronto firm Cassels Brock & Blackwell, also sees a number of liability issues with a concept such as this.
Because the vehicle is wholly automated, Henein says the most obvious concern is computer error or failure. As well, because the car relies on an internet connection to identify and navigate to its destination, a drop in the signal could bring the car to a halt — possibly in a very precarious situation.
"If the map is being updated remotely, and there's a lack of connectivity, the car may not know where to go and then the car may not move," says Henein.
Henein also points out that the current prototype is a small car with little apparent safety protection, and would be unlikely to survive a collision with a large truck.
"That doesn't make the [driverless] vehicle dangerous, but it means you have to carefully regulate where it can be driven."
Another question with the car is the liability when a vehicle such as this gets into an accident — would it be the fault of the passenger, the owner or the manufacturer?
A spokesperson for the Insurance Bureau of Canada says it's "too early for us to comment on the insurance implications of the Google driverless car."
Henein says determining liability in the case of an accident between a driverless car and a conventional car would be no different than a collision between two conventional automobiles.
It would require an investigation of the specific circumstances and a determination of whether the accident was created through the actions of the people in the vehicle or a malfunction of the vehicle itself.
'A whole other set of data'
Because the car is fully automated and reliant on geo-location information to determine its routes, the vehicle's computer — and, by extension, Google — will inevitably gather data on passengers habits, Matt Braga, a Canadian tech journalist, told CBC News.
Google currently collects data on consumers through its search engine and email services, which it sells to third parties. Braga says that the self-driving car could provide Google with even more personal information.
"You have this company that already knows things like your purchasing behaviour and who you talk to.
"They'll now have this extra data. They'll know things like, 'Stacy goes to the gym every Thursday,'" Braga said.
"It's a whole other set of data that could be exciting or terrifying."

Harper government rejects offer to save $500M on new icebreaker

Public Works Minister Diane Finley has firmly rejected an offer by Quebec's Davie shipyard to save the government half a billion dollars on a new icebreaker.
Finley told reporters Thursday that "it's very hard to believe" that Davie could actually build the icebreaker for the budget originally set six years ago.
"I don't see how any reasonable person could suddenly believe they can do the same job for half the price," she said.
The new icebreaker — dubbed the Diefenbaker — was originally priced in 2008 at $720 million. However, since construction has been delayed for at least 10 years, that figure's been drastically revised to $1.3 billion.
Although no construction contract has been signed yet, the work has been assigned to the Seaspan shipyard in North Vancouver. However, Seaspan requires a $200-million upgrade before it can handle the job, and has also been assigned two new supply ships for the navy.
Since the work on the Diefenbaker won't even begin until those two ships are finished, it's not likely to enter service for a decade at least.
Finley was responding to an offer Davie made six months ago, but made public only this week, to start work on the icebreaker immediately, for delivery in two years. Davie is Canada's largest shipyard and requires no upgrade to do the work, according to Alex Vicefield, the CEO of Davie's parent company.
Vicefield told CBC News Thursday that his offer is both firm and realistic.
"We'll guarantee the costs. We're not asking for a cost-plus arrangement. We can guarantee the price," said Vicefield.
He added that the reason the government's budget for the job has soared to over a billion dollars is that costs in the shipbuilding industry commonly rise between five per cent and 10 per cent a year.
"Each year you wait to build the ship, the more expensive it gets."
Finley, however, insists that Davie lost out in the original bidding for the job and that its offer comes too late.
"Davie did not qualify. That procurement is done. It's over. And there's absolutely no reason to believe that those numbers would be credible. We already have a contract in place and we're going to move ahead with that."
When a reporter noted that there is, in fact, no construction contract with Seaspan, the minister added, "Well, we don't have a contract, but we have made an award under that procurement based on the credibility, the viability, the reliability of the companies at the time."
"They had a chance to compete. At the time, they weren't successful."
When the government made that decision in 2011, however, the Davie shipyard was in bankruptcy. Today, Vicefield says that's history, because Davie is now part of a competitive international shipping conglomerate.
"We're a competitive international shipbuilder today," he said.
"We're building these ships today. We're building similar vessels. What we would do here is, we would add this vessel[(the Canadian icebreaker] into our existing schedule, which maybe helps us to reduce some of the costs as well, compared to other shipyards where you really have to build the shipyard to build the ship. We have it going today."
The Davie yard recently finished a 130-metre offshore construction vessel for a Norwegian customer. Named the Cecon Pride, it was delivered on time for $200 million. The yard is now building two similar ships.

Google, Costco and Facebook best employers: US poll

Google, Facebook and wholesale retailer Costco offer the best pay and benefit packages in the United States, according to employee ratings compiled by the US job site Glassdoor.
Apart from Costco, whose generous social benefits stand out, four of the five top employers are high-tech firms, according to the survey.
Top was Google, where a software engineer earns an average base salary of $119,000 a year and where employees have free access to a gym, laundromat, billiards and pet boarding.
But "I've never met anybody at Google who actually took time off on weekends or on vacations," a former employee who worked there for eight years wrote.
Facebook, sitting in third -- behind Costco -- is hailed for the autonomy it grants to its workers. It is followed in the rankings by Adobe, the computer software company.
At the bottom of the list, in 25th, is eBay, which employs more than 5,000 people.
At least 75 current or former employees of each firm responded to the survey.

Real Madrid beats Atletico Madrid 4-1 to win Champions League final

LISBON, Portugal - Real Madrid broke down Atletico Madrid's resistance in extra time to win the Champions League final 4-1 on Saturday and finally deliver the club's record 10th European title.
Real struck three times in the second period of extra time, through Gareth Bale's header in the 110th minute, Marcelo's shot in the 118th and a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty.
It was an unfairly lopsided score after Atletico was on the brink of victory in regulation time.
Sergio Ramos's headed goal equalized for Real in the third minute of stoppage time at the end of 90 minutes.
Diego Godin put Atletico ahead when his 35th-minute header looped into a Real goal left vacant by captain and veteran goalkeeper Iker Casillas's reckless rush out.

WTO to examine US solar trade spat with India

Washington on Friday took its battle to get India to open its solar market a step further, demanding that the WTO create a panel to review the dispute.
The United States told the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement board that consultations with India had gone nowhere, insisting the global body step in.
Washington maintains New Delhi’s requirement that only locally made products be used in its solar industry impedes competition.
India, which has some of the world's most ambitious plans for expanding solar power, expressed disappointment at the move, saying that "the United States has chosen to litigate rather than negotiate."
Friday marked the second time the United States has asked the WTO to set up a panel of experts to review the dispute.
India blocked the first request, but the WTO, which polices global trade accords in an effort to offer its 159 member economies a level playing field, is required to grant any panel request made a second time.
In its statement to the WTO, the United States said that it had repeatedly tried to resolve the problem, but to no avail.
"Not only did these consultations fail to resolve the dispute, but India actually chose to expand the scope of the domestic requirements following initial consultations in 2013," it said.
It insisted that such requirements were "inconsistent with WTO obligations and do not promote solar power."
India, whose solar industry has grown rapidly in the past few years as the government looks to ease reliance on imported fossil fuels and coal, has meanwhile defended its solar policies as compliant with WTO regulations and stressed that a number states in the US have similar rules.
On Friday, it insisted it had "participated in the consultations with an open mind and had shown willingness to explore all options for a mutually satisfactory solution."
WTO panels are in general composed of three people tasked with investigating complaints and providing recommendations to resolve the dispute.
In principle the investigating panel has six months to deliver its findings, and can authorise retaliatory trade measures by the wronged party.

Don Meyer, among coaches with most wins, has died

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Don Meyer, one of the winningest coaches in college men’s basketball, has died in South Dakota.
Family spokeswoman Brenda Dreyer says the former Northern State coach died of cancer at 6:52 a.m. Sunday. He was 69.
Meyer led his teams to the playoffs 19 times and compiled a 923-324 record. He retired in 2010, after a decade at Northern State in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and 24 seasons at Lispcomb in Tennessee.
Four months after a near-fatal car accident in 2008 and a cancer diagnosis, Meyer was coaching from a wheelchair when he passed Bobby Knight as the NCAA’s winningest coach in men’s basketball history. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski took the title in 2012.
Meyer was a standout athlete at Northern Colorado. He began his head coaching career at Hamline in Minnesota.

Cuba mobile email experiment causes chaos

HAVANA - On an island where most people have no Internet access, the arrival of mobile phone email service was embraced with joy.
Tens of thousands of Cubans began emailing like crazy in March — for days, until the service started to fail, taking much of Cuba's already shaky voice and text-messaging mobile service down with it
The island's aging cellphone towers became swamped by the new flood of email traffic, creating havoc for anyone trying to use the system. Users had to make eight or nine attempts to successfully send an email. Even voice calls by non-subscribers' began to drop mid-conversation. Callers sounded like they were phoning from the bottom of the sea. Ordinary text messages arrived days late, or not at all.
Since then, the state telecom monopoly Etecsa has issued a rare apology and the troubles have eased. But problems with the service, dubbed Nauta, offer a rare window into the Internet in Cuba, where the digital age has been achingly slow to spread since arriving in 1996, leaving the country virtually isolated from the world of streaming video, photo-sharing and 4G cellphones.
Cuba's government blames the technological problems on a U.S. embargo that prevents most American businesses from selling products to the Caribbean country. Critics of the government say it deliberately strangles the Internet to halt the spread of dissent. Other observers offer a less political explanation: a government desperate for foreign exchange is investing little in infrastructure improvements while extracting as much revenue as possible from communications services largely paid for by Cubans' wealthier overseas relatives.
Experts say that last explanation appears to be the primary culprit in the case of Nauta, in which the government tried to open connections with the world but floundered due to apparent poor planning and underinvestment.
"Cuba is extremely broke," said Larry Press, a professor of information systems and expert on Cuban telecommunications at California State University, Dominguez Hills. "If they had access to tons of capital they would probably expand (Internet service) further."
About 100,000 people — around 5 per cent of Cuban cellphone users — had subscribed to the service even though it cost 50 times that of many U.S. data plans.
Radio scriptwriter Lisandra Ayala, 36, stood in line for hours in March outside an Etecsa office, dreaming of zipping emails back and forth with her favourite cousin in Canada. Like many Cubans, she has long had a smartphone — a status symbol frequently brought in by visiting relatives.
She paid $1.50 to sign up for a Nauta contract that was supposed to let her send emails with the ability to attach photos, but not send video or check the Web. Even the price of $1 per megabyte, many times higher than in virtually any developed country, didn't deter her.
"I was so excited at first, but then the experience turned into a total disaster," Ayala said. After a week of decent service, she found it impossible to open the icon for Nauta without trying at least six times; voice calls dropped or didn't go through and text messages disappeared mid-air.
"We have been preparing for more than a year," Hilda Arias, director of Etecsa, told official media late last month. "Customers' expectations really exceeded our vision ... this provoked an overload."
She promised that the situation would improve, albeit slowly.
With cellular rates as high as 35 cents a minute for domestic calls, Etecsa earned roughly $500 million last year, revenue that's been rising slowly since 2008, according to Emilio Morales, a systems engineer who heads the Miami-based Havana Consulting Group, a private consultant that analyzes Cuba's scanty public information about government revenues and operations to produce estimates widely considered reliable by Cuba-watchers.
"There are few businesses in Cuba that work as well as Etecsa," he said.
The group's studies show that 54 per cent of payments to Etecsa come directly from the Cuban diaspora. Morales believes Cubans pay much of the rest out of the estimated $2.6 billion a year in remittances from abroad. And, while most state workers only make $20 a month, a new class of roughly 400,000 independent businessmen and their employees also make heavy use of cellphones for advertising with text-message as well as ordinary business calls.
Authorities here say they are trying to offer a range of new Internet services by year's end, including mobile Web access and unrestricted home Internet access, currently limited to select government officials and employees of foreign businesses and embassies.
But customers remain wary.
"Nauta failed and stopped the whole mobile communication system from working properly," said Indira Perez, a 24-year-old university employee "If they don't prepare themselves better when they want to broaden Internet access, it's going to be total chaos."

Global sponsorship deal between FC Barcelona and Stanley Black & Decker

FC Barcelona has reached an agreement with Stanley Black & Decker by which the global tools provider will become an official Club sponsor. The deal relates to the power, hand and security tools pertaining to the brands in the group, namely STANLEY, BLACK+DECKER, DEWALT and FACOM. This partnership will run until July 2017, with the possibility of it being extended for a further season, and is a strategic alliance designed to create synergies between the two brands on a worldwide level.
Stanley Black & Decker, through its status as an official Club sponsor, thus acquires image association and digital marketing rights; sponsorship rights for tours and friendly matches; and hospitality rights in the Camp Nou.
The agreement will enable both entities to work together on promotional campaigns such as “Striker Challenge” by which consumers, when they purchase the group’s products, will have the chance to access different activities related with FC Barcelona (http://www.stanleytools.eu/striker-challenge).
This alliance is a further example of FC Barcelona’s desire to partner with leading and ambitious companies, with a global outlook and shared values, such as the passion for innovation. Stanley Black & Decker, meanwhile, will enjoy a high-profile presence in the Club’s different distribution channels.
Stanley Black & Decker, headquartered in Connecticut (United States), is a global provider of hand tools, power tools and related accessories, engineered fastening systems, storage, as well as solutions for electronic security, mechanical access, healthcare, infrastructure and more. Since 1843, with its dedication to excellence in products, people and practices, the company is committed to sustainable business policies and initiatives that reduce its impact on the environment, and improve the lives of its customers and their communities.
“For FC Barcelona it is a pleasure to unite our name with that of a leading global brand in the tools and electronic security sector like Stanley Black & Decker. This is a strategic alliance that goes much further than a traditional sponsorship deal, because it unites two internationally prestigious entities, both of which feature prominently in the everyday lives of so many homes around the world, who will seek to achieve common objectives and to create highly beneficial synergies. Barça fans and Stanley Black & Decker customers will be the main beneficiaries of this association”.
“This partnership with FC Barcelona demonstrates our continued investment and ongoing commitment to the world of football. It provides the perfect stage to highlight Stanley Black & Decker’s brand portfolio and engage with our customers by delivering exciting content and promotions across all global markets”.
"To maximise the new partnership amongst Barca’s wide-reaching fan base, as well as our own customers around the world, we’ll be creating a series of highly engaging marketing promotions through both traditional and online media. Coupled with exclusive in-store promotions and unique live events, this partnership will heighten global brand exposure to our key target audiences”.

Tim Hortons celebrates 50 years, but faces new challenges beyond coffee

TORONTO - As the candles burn out on Tim Horton's 50th Anniversary celebration this weekend, the iconic Canadian brand is looking to avoid a mid-life crisis.
Saturday marks the official half-century birthday of the original "Tim Horton Donuts" restaurant in Hamilton, Ont., which opened on May 17, 1964, after it was renovated from an auto repair garage.
Starting from its modest roots, the company, which took its name from Toronto Maple Leafs player and founder Tim Horton, has found a home in seemingly every Canadian neighbourhood and, in some places, nearly every street corner.
With more than 3,600 locations across the country, Tim Hortons is at a crossroads between maintaining its steadfast reputation and staying relevant in an increasingly competitive quick-service business where coffee is just another menu item.
"Tim Horton's has done an impeccable job of managing their brand experience to date," said Axle Davids, a brand strategist at Distility Branding in Toronto.
"It's not splashy or cutting-edge — the name Tim Hortons and the brand are simply containers for all of the hard work and loyalty they've built up over time."
A study from marketing research firm Ipsos Reid found that Tim Hortons ranked as the sixth most influential brand in the country last year, a prominence which is supported by how instilled coffee slang like the "double-double" has become in Canadian culture.
Recently, the company launched a social media campaign where customers could pick which discontinued menu item they'd like to see back in its restaurants. The chocolate eclair won the popularity contest.
And last week Tim Hortons did what few other companies could when it opened a replica of its first restaurant for a single day of celebration. The event, held in the heart of downtown Toronto, included shelves stacked with decades of memorabilia like retro Timbits boxes and desserts that once graced the menu.
While nostalgia runs through the veins of Tim Hortons (TSX:THI), staying true to the company's famous image won't be enough to keep it relevant as the $4.6-billion business of Canadian coffee evolves, and competitors vie for a bigger chunk of the market.
Starbucks has spent years focused on an aggressive rollout across most of the country, chasing the high-end coffee drinker who prefers lattees and frappuccino while, more recently, McDonalds began to lure more cost-conscious customers with a cheaper brew and free giveaways.
Somewhere in the hustle, Tim Hortons lost some focus as it dabbled in alternative food and drink items to mixed success.
The company launched smoothies and frozen lemonade drinks as an answer to the broader selections of some of its biggest competitors, and while they still remain on the menu, a foray into larger submarine-sized sandwiches didn't last long before it was yanked from the offerings.
In 2009, Tim Hortons dove into the frozen treats business with the installation of U.S. chain Cold Stone Creamery at some of its Canadian restaurants. The concept failed to ignite much interest, and five years later the ice cream bars were torn out, at a cost of $19 million.
Despite some failed launches, chief executive Marc Caira, who started at the company last summer, believes there's potential to get more customers thinking about Tim Hortons during their lunch breaks.
He recently unveiled a five-year strategic road map for Tim Hortons' future growth, which positions the company as a coffee spot foremost, but also the home of various other items that might not immediately spring to mind, like the Extreme Italian sandwich and the crispy chicken sandwich.
"(You need) to be able to have the consumer realize, 'Hey, if I'm going to have a crispy chicken, maybe I'll go to the Tim Hortons, rather than Burger King or KFC,''' Caira said in a recent interview.
Tim Hortons is already making progress, Caira said, citing research from the NPD Group, which says the restaurant has been generating lunchtime traffic that's comparable to McDonalds, its biggest competitor.
Tim Hortons had a 21.8 per cent share of quick-service restaurant traffic in the three months ended in February, just slightly above McDonalds' 21.7 per cent share in the same period, the research found.
However, there can be a danger in trying to associate an established brand with new products, said Brynn Winegard, a marketing analyst at Winegard and Company.
"Any time you walk away from the core promise to your loyal customers, in the interest of attracting new customers ... you risk your diehards," she said.
But at the same time, "it's no longer adequate to say, 'I'm a coffee company.'"
While Tim Hortons continues the fight for market share in Canada, the company is also looking abroad for further growth.
In February, Tim Hortons announced plans to open 300 new U.S. locations by 2018, which will add to the 870 restaurants already operating south of the border.
The Persian Gulf region is also in the sights for massive growth, as the company wants to boost the number of locations there from 44 to 200.
The wider rollout will take some patience and experimentation, Caira said.
"I'm not going to be evaluated one month at a time — this is a journey," he said.
"We need to make (financial targets) every month, we need to make (them) every year, but we need to build."

Swiss vote Sunday on world’s highest minimum wage

GENEVA—In a nation of mostly haves and have-mores, Swiss voters head to the polls Sunday to decide on a union proposal that would create a new nationwide minimum wage at 22 Swiss francs ($24.70 U.S.) an hour — the world’s highest.
But the proposal “to protect equitable pay” is only the most prominent of several referendums on the ballot: Others include a controversial plan to buy new Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets for the Swiss Air Force and to impose a lifelong ban against convicted pedophiles working with children.
Most attention is focusing on the push to set a minimum wage at 4,000 francs ($4,500 U.S.) a month for those working a 42-hour week. The Swiss Trade Union Federation has based its proposal on 2010 figures when the median wage was almost 6,000 francs monthly.
The union submitted the referendum in 2012 in keeping with Switzerland’s tradition of direct democracy. Voters in the country who collect 100,000 signatures can force a binding referendum on any issue.
Groups representing Swiss employers are opposed to the plan to create a minimum wage that is more than three times the rate in the United States and more than double Germany’s current proposal for 8.50 euros ($11.64 U.S.) per hour as of 2017. Opponents say it would tinker too much with the economy and hurt businesses by causing production costs to rise.
Switzerland’s seven-member Federal Council of ministers — which has relatively limited power over the 26 cantons (states) — doesn’t support the creation of a minimum wage.
“A legal minimum wage is a bad way to help people with low incomes,” the Council said in a statement. “There would be a high risk that jobs disappear ... It would be a greater help to those affected by providing them with jobs and supporting them with tax breaks and social policy measures.”
Wages have to be high in the Alpine nation to keep up with what some surveys have found to be the world’s highest prices. However, there is now a growing scrutiny over who earns what following criticism of “fat cat” bosses.
There was particular outrage last year at the news that the outgoing chairman of Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG, Daniel Vasella, was to receive a leaving package worth 72 million francs. Vasella later said he would forego his deal.
Unia, a Swiss trade union with over 200,000 members, gathered activists and organizers beneath a statue of an immigrant in Geneva to argue that “the fight against poverty” must include fast-food workers and coffee chains.

FCC votes to proceed with net rules

US telecom regulators have voted to proceed with a plan that critics say could sound the death knell for net neutrality - the principle that all internet traffic is treated equally. The plan could allow internet service providers (ISPs) to charge a fee for prioritised access to their networks. Critics argue that the new rules could create a two-tiered internet, with a slow lane for those unprepared to pay. The proposals will now be open to public consultation.
The controversial proposals have drawn an unprecedented level of scrutiny to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and its vote, which was passed with three commissioners voting in favour and two against. The meeting of the five commissioners was repeatedly interrupted by protesters, several of whom were removed from the room. Each commissioner gave his or her views on the proposal with both of the Republican commissioners opposing the new rules. All acknowledged that the issue had attracted a huge number of critics and agreed that the rules being discussed would govern the "future of the internet". But those in favour of the proposals pointed out that they were just that - proposals - and said that the vote merely "started an important process" of consultation. Several commissioners rejected the idea that the proposals meant that content providers would have to pay to have their traffic delivered faster. The plan is the brainchild of FCC chairman Tom Wheeler who had had to rethink his open-internet rules following a court case in January, which left them in legal limbo. The court ruled that the FCC did not have the right to prevent ISP Verizon charging a fee for traffic to be carried on its network. Since then both Comcast and Verizon have started charging Netflix to carry its service. The new rules are, according to Mr Wheeler, intended to preserve an open and free internet. He said he understood the issue "in his bones". "The consideration we are looking at today is not about whether the internet should be open but how and when we have rules in place to ensure an open internet," he said. Details of the plan were widely leaked ahead of the vote and there has been mounting opposition from tech firms, consumer groups and venture capitalists, particularly over a proposal that ISPs be allowed to charge fees if they were "commercially reasonable". Thousands of people have written to the FCC in the past few weeks urging it to rethink its plans. As the commissioners voted, a growing group of activists gathered outside the FCC headquarters, with "Save the Internet" banners. Many are campaigning for the FCC to reclassify ISPs as utilities, which would allow greater regulation. The public now has until 15 July to make its opinions known. Mr Wheeler said the FCC would "listen closely" to the views.

Manchester City captain Kompany pleased to see off 'intense' Everton

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has praised his side for their victory over an "intense" Everton at Goodison Park.
Edin Dzeko notched a brace as City secure a gripping 3-2 win to edge ahead of their opponents' local rivals Liverpool on goal difference at the top of the table.
An Everton victory would have left Liverpool well placed to secure a first title for 24 years, leading to suggestions of mixed emotions in the Goodison Park stands on Saturday.
That was certainly not the case on the field as Everton threw everything at City in a thrilling finale, but saw their hopes of Champions League qualification ended.
"It was hard and very intense as well - I was thinking that the Everton players have got a lot of friends at Liverpool," Kompany joked when interviewed by Sky Sports after the match.
"It was tough and we ultimately got a great result."
Sergio Aguero cancelled out Ross Barkley's superb opening strike to set City on their way to ending a run of four straight defeats at Goodison - a streak their captain attributed to Everton's competitive spirit and a lack of luck.
"To be honest we've not had a lot of great results but we’ve never really had took many bad games either," Kompany said.
"It's just one of those places. When we take the lead it’s never finished - they always find a way to make it difficult and they always find a way to score a goal that put them back in the game.
"Today was the same. I thought until the last minute both teams had to keep giving everything they had to keep in the game."
City have passed up a handful chances to take a firm hold on the title race since February's 1-0 home loss to Chelsea, seemingly in the most damaging fashion when they slipped to a 3-2 defeat at Liverpool three weeks ago.Now wins in back-to-back home games against Aston Villa and Chelsea next week will give them a second Premier League crown in three seasons.
But the dramatic manner in which his team clinched glory against struggling QPR in 2012 means Kompany knows nothing can be taken for granted.
He added: "We've had a lot of tough times during the season but I think that we've had a lot of wonderful games.
"The most important thing is to pick up the form at the right time and if we can carry on like this in the next two games, hopefully it should be enough to win those two games. I guess the past will tell us to be careful."