Mediaboss Marketing

LONGMONT, Colo., March 22, 2022 /CNW/ -- Let's get to the punchline: We're not interested in selling you our software. We're only interested in delivering results.

In a day when most vendors focus on booked sales, leaving their customers to manage the incredible costs and risks associated with achieving a successful technology adoption project, there has to be a better way. When is the last time you worked side-by-side with a vendor where they took on the risk of meeting your expectations? One that didn't involve a mountain of professional services invoices and change orders? That's no way to partner.

Parascript believes the time has come to leverage powerful machine learning where it really counts: delivering actual results without the traditional complexity-driven costs and risks. And we're ready to prove it.

"With our new Accelerator program, clients get a minimum of 50% cost reduction and there is no need to buy anything", said Dawn Wood, VP of Sales at Parascript. "No upfront capital expenditures or ongoing subscriptions. No professional services for configuration and deployment. No ongoing babysitting of the system. No rip-and-replace of your current technology investment."

What Makes the Program Possible?

Parascript can offer a no-risk program focused on delivered results because of the significant investment in modernizing its capabilities targeted at simultaneously reducing the cost and complexity associated with IDP deployments while also ensuring high-levels of performance.

Called "Smart Learning" the system uses a variety of machine learning techniques, each tailored to optimize a specific task. Smart learning can learn in several different modes including unattended operating only on tagged data. Once in production, performance is monitored in the background with no disruption to workflow and automatically optimizes and adapts to new requirements and data.

"Unlike other enterprise software, there has always been a barrier to adoption with document automation, largely because ROI is based upon high levels of precise data delivery", said Greg Council, VP of Marketing & Product Management at Parascript. "Achieving high performance requires a lot of effort not only to learn the software, but also to spend time and effort acquiring data sets, configuring the system, and then optimizing it to ensure high data quality. Smart Learning effectively turns all these manual, risky, complex efforts into reliable, low-cost compute time."

"We carefully evaluate different machine learning techniques for each type of task, focused on marrying optimal performance with simplicity", added Igor Kil, Senior VP of R&D at Parascript. "This approach results in a system without the inherent weaknesses of other machine learning solutions solely based upon one or a few types of machine learning."

How it Works

Each engagement starts with an emphasis on key aspects required to achieve a client's automation and cost reduction needs. From there, Parascript handles training data collection, curation, and analysis culminating in Smart Learning developing optimized models. We then test the system with blind test data to verify the level of performance against client expectations. Once accepted, we deliver the system and integrate it into your existing workflow taking care to minimize any disruption to existing processes and workflows that need to be preserved. Once in production, the system maintains performance automatically with the client achieving immediate operational savings. Parascript only gets its revenue from the cost savings verified by the client.

Want to learn more?

About Parascript

Parascript sells not just software, we sell actual, verifiable results that save companies over $1B annually. Customers choose Parascript when they want to use applied AI to achieve an optimized data capture solution with the highest levels of reliable automation. Parascript has over three decades of experience applying AI to solve complex problems, automating document-oriented processes that involve over 100 billion documents each year. We have automated the postal industry, commercial mailrooms, government elections, payments, and hundreds of other processes. Visit Parascript.

Media Contact: Ariane Barragan, [emailprotected], 720.731.3282

SOURCE Parascript, LLC

Excerpt from:
Is there really such thing as a free lunch in automation? Parascript's Accelerator Program is as close as it gets. - Canada NewsWire

Jim Farley embraces change and technology at Ford Motor Co.

Jim Farley, of Ford Motor Co., reflects on his time at the company and how his love of cars has helped his career and embrace change in the industry.

Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press

In its ongoing effort to add muscle to the Fordleadership team, the Dearborn automakerannounced Mondaytwo key hires including another high-profile executivefrom Apple.

This is all part of the evolution of Ford Blue, Ford Model e and Ford Pro, divisions that focus on the gasoline-powered vehicles, electrification and technology and business clients,respectively,that Ford CEO Jim Farley unveiled earlier this month.

The latest:

Waldo, who will report directly to Farley, movesinto the top human resources role currently held by Kiersten Robinson. ShewilloverseetheFord Blue Family Vehicles divisionof SUVs, and assumethe "critical global operating role within Ford Blue as president of Mexico and Canada," Farley said in a news release.

Robinsonis"a transformational leader who hasbeen instrumental in supporting Fords business and global team for nearly three decades," Farley said.

Shewill report to Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford Blue.

The transition is to occur sometime during second quarter, spokesperson Ian Thibodeau told the Free Press. Waldo still had her Apple affiliation listed on her LinkedIn professional profile Monday afternoon.

Ford notedthatWaldo, who has worked in Michigan and Ohio prior to landing in Silicon Valley, has extensive experience leadingorganizational change.

Jen has incredible experience and a track record of helping companies across different industries build talent and culture to support innovation and growth, Farley said. She will be an invaluable addition as we build a diverse, high-performance team to deliver the Ford+ plan.

Before working at Apple, Waldo spent nearly two decadesworking for GE business units, including GE Digital, which providessoftware andInternet of Things services to industrial companies, the news release said.

More: Ford CEO gives employees sobering data about Tesla, challenges ahead

More: Ford's plan to funnel $3B from gas vehicles to fund electric, tech

She led the hiring and building of software talentacross GEs industrial businesses.Earlier, Waldo was with GE Aviation, starting in manufacturing plants and later being promoted to global responsibilities. She isexperienced withinclusion and diversity, recruiting and executive development, the Ford release said.

More: Ford's racial equity director, Angela Henderson, tackles 'elephant in the room'

More: Ford CEO Jim Farley gets $22,813,000 compensation package in 2021

Waldo has a bachelor's degree in political theory and a master's degree in human resources and labor relations from Michigan State University.

ChristopherSmith takes a role that is exceptionally valuable during times of regulatory change in the U.S. and globally. Issues relating to privacy, security and environmental impact fall within his purview.

He succeeds retired chief government affairs officer Mitch Bainwol.

Smithwill report toSteven Croley, Ford general counsel.

Chris has devoted his career to shaping progressive energy policy and driving toward a more sustainable future, said Steven Croley, Ford general counselsaid in the news release.He brings tremendous passion and expertise to Ford as we shape the future of transportation.

Smithoversaw policy, international engagement, and research and developmentduring his eight years and two positions at the U.S. Energy Department, according to the news release. Prior to that, heheldanalytical positions at Chevron for 11 years in Bogota, Colombia, and in Houston, Texas, as well as Citibank in New Yorkand JPMorgan in London, according to hisLinkedIn professional profile.

More: Ford CEO says automaker is sold out of electric vehicles: What it really means

More: Ford CEO Jim Farley gave us big clue automaker's stock was going to surge

Smith, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point where he earned a bachelor's degree in engineering management, served as a task force engineer in the U.S. Army and a platoon leader, according to his LinkedIn professional page.

He earned a bachelor'sdegreein mathematics from American Public University in Charles Town, West Virginia, and an MBAfrom the University of Cambridge in England.

In February, Ford announced hiringAlan Clarke, atop engineer atTesla for the past 12 years. He isa key playerin the advanced electric vehicle development department and reporting to Doug Field, a former Tesla engineer whojoined Ford in Septemberand nowruns itsadvanced technology and embedded systems.

Ford has a new policy where ages of new hires are not released, Thibodeau told the Free Press.

More: Lawsuit: Unsealed emails suggest Ford targeted high-performing older workers

More: Ford settles lawsuit alleging automaker targeted high-performing older workers

More: Ford doubles annual bonuses amid worker fury over controversial formula

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid. Read more on Ford and sign up for our autos newsletter.

Excerpt from:
Ford hires away from Apple again, woos energy executive to lead DC team - Detroit Free Press

The Sweet Sixteen best teams in men's college basketball have been cut in half, and this weekend fans will find out which schools make it to the Final Four in New Orleans. Only two double-digit seeds made the Elite Eight: No. 10 Miami and the No. 15(!) Saint Peter's Peacocks, who remain the story of the 2022 tournament. With a stunning upset of No. 3 Purdue on Friday in the Sweet 16, the Peacocks from Jersey City became the first No. 15 seed in NCAA tournament history to make it to the Elite Eight. Both Miami and Saint Peter's play Sunday.

Saturday's pair of games, both airing on TBS, start with the Houston Cougars against the Villanova Wildcats. Houston is one of the hottest teams in the tournament after upsetting No. 1 Arizona, while Villanova, the 2018 national champion, will rely on stifling defense as it seeks its third Final Four bid in six years. In the second game No. 4 Arkansas, hot off toppling No. 1 Gonzaga, takes on No. 2 Duke, which is seeking to extend the final tournament run of legendary Coach K, Mike Krzyzewski.

Here's all you need to know to watch the Elite Eight and beyond, with or without cable.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, Coach "K," is retiring after the 2022 season. If his team beats Arkansas it would be his 13th career Final Four appearance.

Where can I see the March Madness bracket?

You can check out all of the regions, results and remaining matchups of theNCAA tournament bracket here.

What's the schedule for the Elite Eight?

Here's the tip-off times and networks for the Elite Eight games this weekend (all times ET):

You can check out thefull March Madness schedule here.

Where and when is the Final Four taking place and what channel is it on?

The Final Four and national championship game will take place in New Orleans at the Caesars Superdome and will air on TBS.

The Final Four is scheduled for Saturday, April 2 and the championship game is Monday, April 4.

Which channels will air March Madness games?

The Elite Eight games will air on CBS and TBS. Three of the streaming services -- YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV and DirecTV Stream -- offer both channels needed to watch the remainder of March Madness.

You can also stream the games live withNCAA March Madness Live. There's a free 3-hour preview, but then you'll need to log in with a TV provider to prove you're a pay TV subscriber. The games broadcast on CBS are available with Paramount Plus... but that's less than ideal because the Final Four games and national championship game will be shown on TBS this year, not CBS.

Can I watch for free?

Yes, you can. There are two ways, but neither will get you through the rest of the tournament by itself.

The March Madness Live app and website offer a free 3-hour preview, after which point you'll need to prove you are a pay TV subscriber.

The other way is to sign up for a live TV streaming service. Each of the major five services offers a free trial. YouTube TV, Hulu With Live TV and FuboTV offer seven-day trials, while DirecTV Stream gives you five days. Sling TV doesn't have a free trial, but does offer a $10 discount on the first month of service.

YouTube TV costs $65 a month and includes CBS and TBS to watch the rest of March Madness. Plug in your ZIP code on itswelcome pageto see what live, local networks are available where you live.Read our YouTube TV review.

Hulu With Live TV costs $70 a month and includes CBS and TBS. Click the "View all channels in your area" link on itswelcome pageto see which local channels are offered in your ZIP code.Read our Hulu With Live TV review.

DirecTV Stream's basic, $70-a-month package includes CBS and TBS. You can use itschannel lookuptool to see if you get a live feed of CBS and the other local networks in your ZIP code.Read our DirecTV Stream review.

Sling TV is a poor choice for watching March Madness because it does not include CBS. Its $35-a-month Blue plan includes TBS for half the games of the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight as well as both games of the Final Four and then the national championship game.Read our Sling TV review.

FuboTV costs $65 a month and includes CBS but not TBS. With the Final Four games and national championship game on TBS, FuboTV is not a good pick for college basketball fans.Click hereto see which local channels you get.Read our FuboTV review.

You can stream every game of March Madness on the NCAA's March Madness Live site or app. You can watch for 3 hours for free, but then you'll need to log in to prove you have a pay TV subscription that includes the channels that televise the tournament. It should be noted that in addition to cable and satellite providers, you can use a YouTube TV, Hulu With TV, DirecTV Stream or Sling TV subscription to access March Madness Live. (FuboTV is the lone exception among the live TV streaming services, because it doesn't offer any of the Turner-owned stations.)

Latency is an issue with any streaming service and particularly with live sports, where you might also be following along on Twitter and could see a final score before the game actually ends. The NCAA says this year's streams will offer a 20% latency improvement compared with last year's. While that is welcome, March Madness Live streams will likely still be behind cable and satellite TV and could also trail streams from YouTube TV and the other live TV services.

All of the live TV streaming services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out ourlive-TV streaming services guide.

Become a home entertainment expert with our handpicked tips, reviews and deals. Delivered Wednesdays.

Read more from the original source:
March Madness Sweet 16: How to Watch, Stream Saint Peter's vs. Purdue and All the Games Live - CNET

A SICK pervert who built his own computer to download almost 20,000 indecent images of children has walked free from court.

Simon Cole also used computer software to mask his sick use of the internet despite being subject to the strict conditions of his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

The 52-year-old also admitted taking illicit photographs of his neighbours and of a schoolgirl passing by his home.

In 2014, he was jailed for 20 months after he spent ten years amassing a sickening library of 850,000photographs of child abuse at his home in Darlington.

Annelise Haugstad, prosecuting, said the defendant used a custom-built computer tower to download the indecent images and was caught in possession of a locked USB memory stick.

She said: The tower had four hard drives and the software capable of cleaning, permanent deletion of browsing history and temporary internet files, which rendered those items unrecoverable by forensic software.

It has been used on multiple occasions and the last time it was used was in February.

The court heard how Cole had been downloading the images between December 2021 and February this year.

Miss Haugstad added: He admitted taking photographs of his neighbours from his bedroom, without their knowledge, mainly of female neighbours who took his fancy, and also a photograph of a passing schoolgirl in uniform.

Cole, of Charnwood Drive, Darlington, pleaded guilty to two breaches of his SHPO and two charges of possession of indecent images of children 19,165 in Category A and a further 61 in Category B.

Duncan McReddie, in mitigation, said his client would benefit from the intervention of the probation service to help him address his behaviour.

He said: I concede the custodial threshold but I would assert that it is in the interests of justice that any sentence imposed is suspended or you pass a lengthy and onerous community order.

Judge James Brown sentenced Cole to two years in custody, suspended for two years for the blatant breach of the court order.

You pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to some very serious offences which echo very loudly the offences you participated in eight years ago, he said.

At that time, in February 2014, you were dealt with for offences of a very similar nature and you were sent to prison and a sexual offences prevention order was imposed.

The judge added: For what I regard as a blatant breach of the order, you clearly took steps to avoid the order being effective.

Cole was also made subject of a ten-year notification order to help police track his whereabouts and ordered to take part in an accredited sexual offender programme to address his behaviour.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Darlington Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054

Read the original here:
Darlington pervert built his own computer to download 20000 child abuse images - The Northern Echo

In Britain, the economic shock waves of the war in Ukraine are exacerbating a squeeze on household budgets and heightening fears of a cost-of-living crisis. The British government announced some measures on Wednesday to help people cope with the rising prices, which are at their highest level in three decades, including cutting gas prices.

But the plan, which called for some tax cuts and additional benefits for low-income people, was met with criticism from analysts and opposition lawmakers, who pointed to Britains deepening economic woes.

Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the Exchequer, said the sanctions on President Vladimir V. Putins government and the efforts to isolate Russia were weighing on the British economy. This was most acutely felt in the cost of living, he said. Hours earlier, the government reported that inflation was at its highest level since 1992, with prices rising 6.2 percent from a year earlier.

The actions we have taken to sanction Putins regime are not cost free for us at home, Mr. Sunak told lawmakers as he announced an update to the Treasurys tax and budget plans on Wednesday. The invasion of Ukraine presents a risk to our recovery as it does to countries around the world.

The Office for Budget Responsibility, which provides independent economic and fiscal forecasts for the government, downgraded its outlook for the British economy. Gross domestic product will increase 3.8 percent this year and 1.8 percent next year, it said on Wednesday. Five months ago, the agency forecast growth of 6 percent this year and 2.1 percent in 2023. Inflation will average 7.4 percent this year and wont fall back below the central banks target of 2 percent until 2024, it said.

The outlook for household incomes is even bleaker. With inflation factored in, household disposable income per person will drop 2.2 percent in the next fiscal year beginning in April, the agency said. That would be the largest fall in a single year since official records began in 1956.

Despite the deteriorating economic outlook, Mr. Sunak seemed reluctant to deviate too far from his previous spending and tax plans. His speech was the Treasurys first fiscal announcement since Britain ended its pandemic restrictions, having spent about 311 billion pounds ($410 billion) on its virus response for health services, businesses and workers. Mr. Sunak has repeatedly stated the need to repair the public finances, temporarily raise taxes and reduce government spending.

The interventions announced on Wednesday were limited. For a year, the government will cut taxes on gasoline and diesel by 5 pence a liter, which it says will save the average car driver about 2 a week. Local authorities will get another 500 million to support low-income households. And the biggest announcement of the day was the increase in the income threshold that workers must meet before paying National Insurance, a broad tax that funds state pensions and some benefits.

The cut in fuel duty, though very welcome, is just a drop in the ocean compared to the larger tsunami of surging costs that is bearing down on firms and households, Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said in a statement.

Before Wednesdays announcements, expectations had been raised that Mr. Sunak would make bolder moves. Data showed that borrowing was less than previously forecast, leading some economists to conclude the Treasury had room to spend more. Others, pointing to rising prices, said the government should scrap its plan to raise National Insurance for employers and workers next month, to ease the backlog at the National Health Service and fund adult social care.

The government is sticking to this plan.

What really stands out today is what was missing, Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a London think tank, said in a statement. Mr. Sunak has done nothing more for those dependent on benefits, the very poorest, besides a small amount of extra cash for local authorities to dispense at their discretion, he said.

For months, campaigners have warned that low-income people and those receiving British government benefits were already stretched too thin by higher energy bills, gasoline prices and food costs. Households had begun cutting back on spending by turning off the heating for longer stretches of the day through winter or forgoing takeout meals, for example. Next month, the price cap on energy bills for millions of households will rise 54 percent, or about 700, because of wholesale price increases for natural gas last year.

Shortages of essential metals. The price of palladium, used in automotive exhaust systems and mobile phones, has been soaring amid fears that Russia, the worlds largest exporter of the metal, could be cut off from global markets. The price of nickel, another key Russian export, has also been rising.

Financial turmoil. Global banks are bracing for the effects of sanctionsintended to restrict Russias access to foreign capital and limit its ability to process payments in dollars, euros and other currencies crucial for trade. Banks are also on alert for retaliatory cyberattacks by Russia.

Mr. Sunak has been under intense pressure to cushion the impact of price increases, and in February, the Treasury said it would spend about 9 billion to give most households up to 350 off their bills this year in the form of loans and tax rebates. But the situation has gotten more severe since then. Inflation is expected to peak at nearly 9 percent in the fourth quarter, the Office for Budget Responsibility said, as energy bills jump again when the price cap is reset in October.

On Wednesday, Mr. Sunak said he was removing VAT, a type of sales tax, on products such as insulation, heat pumps and solar panels, which improve energy efficiency in homes, to tackle rising energy bills.

Mr. Sunaks tenure as chancellor began just as the coronavirus arrived in Britain, and has been characterized by crisis management. His unprecedented plan to pay up to 80 percent of the wages of millions of people when the economy locked down in March 2020 made him incredibly popular. And there were other generous grants and loan programs for businesses. But over time, his efforts to shrink the vast pandemic-era public spending have resulted in policy U-turns and a drop in popularity.

In October, looking toward the end of the pandemic, he presented his plan for an economy fit for a new age of optimism, proposing large spending plans to enhance education, the National Health Service and job skills. Yet the Office for Budget Responsibility warned that post-Brexit labor shortages, decreases in trade, supply chain disruptions and rising energy bills would weigh on economic growth.

In a speech last month, Mr. Sunak said he wanted to build a new culture of enterprise and an economy focused on free market principles. In this vision, more government spending is not the answer to fixing Britains lackluster productivity growth. Private business investment was paramount.

But Britain and continental Europe have exited one crisis and quickly found themselves in the middle of another, with businesses pleading for more government support. Russia, a major commodity producer, is being economically isolated, and British and European Union leaders have announced plans to make their economies independent of Russian oil and gas, a transition that is likely to lead to higher energy prices in the short term, more inflation overall and tough policy choices.

Read more from the original source:
Britain Will Take Measures to Ease Inflations Impact, Finance Minister Says - The New York Times