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Oct
20

These are the countries on Earth with the most junk in space

An illustration of Europe's ATV spacecraft breaking apart and burning up as it reenters Earth's atmosphere. ESA/D. Ducros

More than 4,600 satellites orbit Earth, along with more than 14,000 old rocket parts and pieces of space junk. The US is responsible for the most debris in space, followed by Russia and China. Experts worry that not cleaning up space debris could lead to increasing numbers of collisions and a runaway effect that'd make it too dangerous to leave Earth.


At any given moment, thousands of satellites swarm over our heads at altitudes ranging between a few hundred miles and tens of thousands of miles.

But, of the manmade items in space that are larger than your fist, orbiting satellites are a minority. About 95% of what's out there is space junk: out-of-control space stations, used rocket parts, dead satellites, lost astronaut tools and more.

This dangerous orbital garbage is moving roughly 10 times faster than a speeding bullet and takes a long time to crash back to earth.

"This debris can stay up there for hundreds of years," Bill Ailor, an aerospace engineer and atmospheric reentry specialist, told Business Insider.

And it gets worse.

Just one collision in space can create thousands of new high-speed, out-of-control pieces and threaten other spacecraft. Meanwhile, perhaps 170 million pieces of debris larger than 1 millimeter — such as flecks of paint and bits of explosive bolts — move around Earth at tens of thousands of miles per hour, according to the European Space Agency.

"Countries have learned over the years that when they create debris, it presents a risk to their own systems just as it does for everybody else," said Ailor, who works for the nonprofit Aerospace Corporation.

The chart below, which Business Insider created using data from Space-Track.org (registration required), shows the top 10 entities with the most trackable objects around Earth as of October 2017.

There's a lot of stuff in space that shouldn't be there anymore. Andy Kiersz/Business Insider

The chart shows Russia has the most objects currently in space, numbering more than 6,500 objects. However, it's not the biggest contributor to space junk, shown in red.

The US owns the title of dirtiest country in space for now, and just by a hair. Russia has 3,961 pieces of detectable space debris compared to the 3,999 pieces of trackable space trash in orbit created by American activity.

China has only recently ramped up its space program, yet it's in a close third with 3,475 hunks of space junk. This is because the nation in 2007 destroyed one of its own satellites in an anti-satellite weapons test.

This highly controversial move instantly created more than 2,300 trackable pieces of junk, more than 35,000 pieces larger than a thumbnail, and perhaps hundreds of thousands of pieces too small to track.

Getting old spacecraft out of orbit is a key to preventing the formation of space junk, and many space agencies and corporations now build spacecraft with systems to de-orbit them.

But Ailor and others are eager to push the development of new technologies and methods that can lasso, bag, tug, and otherwise remove the old, uncontrolled stuff that's already up there and continues to pose a threat.

"I've proposed something like a XPRIZE or a Grand Challenge, where would you identify three spacecraft and give a prize to an entity to remove those things," he said.

An illustration of space junk. Satellites and debris are not to scale. ESA

The ultimate goal is to prevent alarming scenario known as Kessler Syndrome: when so much stuff is in space, one collision leads to several others, and those crashes lead to even more — littering space with so much debris that it becomes incredibly risky to leave Earth.

The biggest hurdle in defeating space debris, however, is likely human.

"It's not just a technical issue. This idea of ownership gets to be a real player here," Ailor said. "No other nation has permission to touch a US satellite, for instance. And if we went after a satellite ... it could even be deemed an act of war."

Ailor said someone needs to get nations together to agree on a treaty that spells out laws-of-the-sea-like salvage rights to dead or uncontrollable objects in space.

"There needs to be something where nations and commercial authorities have some authority to go after something," he said.

Original author: Dave Mosher and Andy Kiersz

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Oct
20

An 'atmospheric river' is about to dump a ton of rain and snow on the West Coast — here's what an atmospheric river actually is

Oct. 20, 2017, 4:10 PM 9,063

An atmospheric river is scheduled to cause severe rain and possible flooding in parts of California over the next few days. But what is an "atmospheric river" anyways? Following is a transcript of the video.

What is an atmospheric river? Rivers don't just exist on land. They can form in the sky, too.

Instead of liquid water, they're concentrated bands of water vapor.

They're invisible to the naked eye. But space satellites can observe them with radio waves.

They exist worldwide, and can be as destructive as a hurricane for some areas.

When it flows over mountains in California, cold, mountain air causes the water vapor to condense as rain and snow.

In 1862, an atmospheric river likely caused 43 straight days of rain. Turning Sacramento into a place more akin to Venice.

Despite the destruction they can cause, atmospheric rivers are vital to the West Coast's way of life.

They account for 30-50% of annual precipitation on the West Coast.

Lately, fewer atmospheric rivers have reached California, which is partly responsible for the state's severe drought.

Experts aren't sure if the numbers will ever return to normal.

Original author: Nathaniel Lee and Jessica Orwig

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Oct
20

14 insider facts most airline workers know — and you probably don't

Know before you go.Ranglen/ShutterstockNo one has more insider knowledge about flying than airline workers.

To unearth 14 lesser-known facts about flying, Business Insider surveyed more than 80 airline workers including flight attendants, gate agents, ticket agents, and other airport customer service reps and scoured the web including Reddit and Quora for more.

Whether you want more attentive service or to avoid getting kicked off your flight, read on for the inside scoop:


You can't physically open a door mid-flight — though trying could get you kicked off the plane

Saturday Night Live/YouTube

Annette Long, a flight attendant with 13 years of experience, tells Business Insider that, though opening a door mid-flight is impossible to do, trying it will still get you into trouble. As we've seen in previous incidents, passengers who try to make a jump for it while the plane is in the air usually wind up restrained mid-flight and in handcuffs once the plane lands. In some cases, pilots will make an emergency landing to get the passenger off the flight.

"I don't make those decisions," Long says. "I convey the information to the cockpit and the chief flight attendant, and they make the decision about whether or not we're going to land and get someone off the plane.

"Most of the pilots say to us, 'If you've got a problem with them, I've got a problem with them,' and they will back us up 100%," Long says.

Airplanes aren't nearly as clean as they might look

Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

As Business Insider previously reported, microbiologists have found tray tables to be the least hygienic surface on an airplane.

As one flight attendant writes on Reddit, people change their babies' diapers on their tray tables all the time. And then, not every tray table gets wiped thoroughly between each flight. 

What's more, "remember, they're using a rag to start row one, and when they end up in row 35, that rag has wiped a lot of tables," Long says.

The flight attendant writing on Reddit also says that many unsanitary incidents occur on the plane that passengers rarely see or consider, like accidents in the lavatory or a passenger's seat. "Just so you know, when you go to the bathroom and you're barefoot or you're in your socks, that's not water on the floor," Long says.

"It's just not the cleanest environment," she says.

You can bring your e-cigs, but the plane won't take off with a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on board

AP

A few exploding items have been banned from airplanes in recent years, though some not in their entirety.

Last March, a Delta Air Lines flight was delayed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after an e-cigarette belonging to a passenger ignited on board the flight.

But while the lithium ion batteries in e-cigarettes have shown a propensity to ignite if they are damaged, battery-powered portable electronic smoking devices are permitted on planes as long as they're not checked or being used.

Your exploding Galaxy Note 7, however, is a different story. These smartphone devices are completely banned by the Department of Transportation from air transportation to, from, or in the US.

Flight attendants aren't paid until the plane takes off

iStock/jean-marie guyon

Flight attendants tell Business Insider that they only get paid for flight hours, not for boarding or deplaning. "So, for example, your duty day could actually be 12 hours, but you only get paid for six hours of work," one flight attendant says.

This means the job isn't always the most lucrative.

"When I started flying for the second time, 10 years ago, I qualified for food stamps," Madeleine Doyle, a 20-year veteran flight attendant who has served two 10-year stints traveling both international and domestic routes, tells Thrillist.

"Starting pay is abysmal. The new kids that start out today are broke and live 24 people to an apartment," Doyle says.

What's more, flight attendants' unions won't cover them if they get injured trying to lift your bags into the overhead bin. And since being out of work and out of money if no fun for anybody, you shouldn't expect flight attendants to take that risk for you.

You have a better chance of avoiding delays if you fly earlier in the day

Nieuwland Photography/Shutterstock

A former airport customer service agent Travis O'Neal wrote on Quora, "As a general rule, the later in the day you travel, the more likely you are to catch a delay."

Flight attendants ask you to open the shades for a reason

Shutterstock/natalia_maroz

"According to my training, the emergency exit shades have to be up because flight attendants are required to assess the conditions outside before they open the door. If there's fire, deep water, or rocks outside that exit, that would make it unsafe for us to go through there, and the flight attendant would have to make that determination fairly quickly," Long says.

Checking in last comes with a perk

Shutterstock

Ramp and gate agent Thomas Lo Sciuto wrote on Quora that your best option to get your checked luggage from baggage claim first is to be one of the last passengers to check your bags.

He wrote:

"Bags will always be loaded front to back on the bag carts because more weight has to be in the forward carts for stability while driving, and if you loaded them back to front you couldn't guarantee that the front cart would be fully loaded.

"So if you check in last, your bags will be in the last bag cart, which will make them the last on the aircraft and the first off the aircraft at your destination. If they are the first off the aircraft, they will most likely be the first on the bag carts, and then the first to be unloaded at baggage claim."

"The best way to ensure your bag gets to you the quickest is to ask the counter agent very nicely if they will let you gate check your bag. The downside of that method is that you will not be able to pack liquids or any other items that cannot go in a carry-on bag as you will need to bring the bag with you through the security checkpoint and to the gate."

You're not allowed to BYOB

UggBoy/UggGirl/Flickr

"Some people will go to the local liquor store and bring their mini bottles of booze on the plane," Long says. "We always know who you are; we always find it.

"You can't serve yourself," she explains. "We need to know how much you've had to drink so we're not overserving you, because the higher you fly and the longer you go, the more the alcohol affects your brain."

You could be out tens of thousands of dollars if you deploy the emergency slide

REUTERS/Beawiharta

In 2014, a passenger on a China Eastern Airlines plane who said he wanted to "get off the plane quicker" deployed the emergency slide after the aircraft landed at Sanya Phoenix International Airport. The incident caused the aircraft to be delayed for two hours and reportedly cost about $16,000 in damage.

Last April, a United Airlines flight attendant pulled the same stunt, costing the airline between $6,000 and $12,000 just to repack the undamaged slide into its container.

You might have to sit near a dead person on your flight

Shutterstock.com

Long says that no one ever officially 'dies' on a flight — "we don't pronounce them," she explains — that happens once the plane lands. But this doesn't mean no further action is taken once there is nothing medically left to do.

Long says, though thankfully she's never been in the situation, if a passenger were to die mid-flight, she would likely keep them in their seat. "I would probably put a blanket over the person so it would become less of something to look at. You want to maintain dignity and respect for someone who passed away. You don't want anyone staring at them. That would be really sad," she says.

It turns out there is no one-size-fits-all rule about what to do with a deceased passenger. According to Quartz, the International Air Transport Association, which represents most of the world's airlines, advises flight crew to move a deceased passenger to a seat with few fellow travelers nearby. If this isn't possible, flight crew might place the deceased in the galley or move the passenger to first class. Or, in the rare case there is one on the aircraft, crew could place the deceased in a compartment referred to as the "corpse cupboard." If no seats are available, the deceased would likely be left in their seat.

There are still dress codes on some planes

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Whether you're flying first class or economy on certain airlines like United, American, and Delta Air Lines, there are some bare bones dress codes. For example, shoes. You should wear some.

The New York Times also reports that United doesn't look kindly upon those who are "not properly clothed," while American may ban passengers "clothed in a manner that would cause discomfort or offense to other passengers."

And if you're looking to get an upgrade to first class, while other considerations like frequent flyer status will be made first, it's still a really good idea to look respectable. As one flight attendant with three year's experience told Business Insider:

"I think it's great we don't have to travel in suits and high heels anymore. You can be comfortable. But you can also be classy and comfortable. Check your air carrier's rules — there are still dress codes sometimes in first class and, who knows, maybe, miracle of the day, you'll get that cheap upgrade to first class. Be comfortable, but if you can avoid wearing your pajamas, that's great."

Some flight attendants can use tasers on passengers

Christopher Furlong/Getty

Recently, Korean Air "loosened" its usage policy for tasers located on board its aircraft, CNN reported.

"We have decided to improve our conditions and procedure on using Taser guns to cope with violent acts and disturbances on board in a fast and efficient manner," Korean Air wrote in a statement to Reuters.

As Business Insider's transportation reporter Ben Zhang reports, it's unclear how the airline will implement the new procedure or when it will take effect.

However, according to Reuters, prior to this update, the equipment was only allowed to be used in situations where the lives of the passengers and crew were in danger or if the safety of the flight was under threat.

The policy is designed to give cabin crew more leeway in the decision to use tasers, Zhang reports.

The policy shift comes one week after Korean Air drew criticism for its handling of an unruly passenger on a flight from Hanoi, Vietnam to Seoul.

On December 20, 80's pop star Richard Marx stepped in to help the Korean Air cabin crew subdue a physically aggressive passenger. On Twitter, Marx criticized the crew of being "ill equipped to handle the situation." In an Instagram post, Marx's wife, former MTV VJ Daisy Fuentes, who was also on the flight, accused Korean Air flight attendants of not knowing how to use the on-board tasers and ropes.

Service is better at the back of the plane

withGod/Shutterstock

As Annie Kingston, a flight attendant for four years, writes for Oyster:

"While most passengers tend to choose seats that are at the front of the aircraft so that they can disembark first and have a better chance of securing their preferred meal option, flight attendants know that if you're sitting towards the back, you'll receive the most attentive service.

"The reason is simple: We like to avoid responding to call bells from the front of the plane because answering one means potentially flaunting whatever item the passenger has requested to everyone else along the way. This can cause a problem since planes often don't have enough extra vodka, pillows, earplugs, and toothbrushes, or the time on shorter flights to deviate from the service schedule.

"For passengers sitting near the back of the plane, however, it's much easier to slip in that second mini bottle of wine."

Original author: Rachel Gillett

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Oct
20

An alarming sentence about automation from Bank of America's tech chief should put Wall Streeters on notice (BAC)

An engineer makes an adjustment to the robot "The Incredible Bionic Man" at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington October 17, 2013.REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
Wall Street banks are ramping up spending on technology and hiring more people with tech skills. Bank of America's chief tech officer says that the technological shift is happening too fast for folks onWall Street to adapt. 

Technology is moving front and center on Wall Street, and it has many people worried about their jobs.

Wall Street is ramping up spending on technology and hiring more people with tech skills, especially in trading where profits have been harder to come by and banks are looking to cut costs.

According to data from Coalition, on average the top 12 investment banks decreased headcount in sales and trading near 6% in 2016. Meanwhile, tech spending increased 1% in front office systems, according to Bloomberg reporting. 

JPMorgan, specifically, is on track to spend $9.5 billion a year in technology. And 47% of Goldman Sachs' recent job listings are in technology, according to CB Insights. 

So that means traditional Wall Streeters need to brush up on their tech skills, right? It turns out that it might not be so simple. There's a good chance that even if a trader tries to adjust to this shifting landscape, by sharpening his or her tech skills or learning how to read code, they could still lose their jobs.

Bloomberg is running a series of stories on the tech revolution on Wall Street, and in a story by Sarah Ponczek and Dakin Campbell, Cathy Bessant, the chief technology and operations officer at Bank of America, said technology is changing too fast for folks in finance to catch up. 

"Those of us in leadership roles know what's coming, we're helping to drive it and know what skill sets we need," said Bessant.

What she said education in tech needs to start early on for folks in finance. Still, Bloomberg reported that Bessant is "skeptical that on-the-job training will be enough." She told Bloomberg:

“The kind of skills that we’ll need have to be taught beginning at a much earlier age. Whether you can train the same worker at the same time you’re changing their job remains to be seen.”

Wall Streeters, consider yourselves warned.

Get the latest Bitcoin price here.

Original author: Frank Chaparro

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20

Volkswagen CEO attacks Tesla for firing hundreds of people while burning through cash (TSLA)

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller attacked Tesla CEO Elon Musk for making big announcements while his actual car business suffers. Tesla recently fired hundreds of workers as the company struggles to ramp up production for the Model 3.

Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller attacked Tesla for burning through cash at an unprecedented rate and firing its workforce.

Muller made his comments while sitting on a panel about the future of the automotive industry. The comments were first reported by the Daily Kanban, which we spotted through Ars Technica.

"If I am correctly informed, Tesla each quarter destroys millions of dollars in the three digits, and it willy-nilly fires its workers," Muller said, as translated from German by the Daily Kanban. "Social responsibility? Please."

Tesla has only turned a profit twice in its company history. Earlier this month, Tesla fired hundreds of workers as it struggles to ramp up production for the Model 3. The company only manufactured 260 vehicles in September when it had targeted 1,500 cars.

The mass firing followed September cuts Tesla made to its solar arm. The company fired dozens of employees out of its Northern California office at the time.

Muller seemed to attack Tesla CEO Elon Musk's propensity for making big announcements while his core automotive business suffers. Per the Daily Kanban:

Now I really need to say a few words about Tesla: With all respect, there are some world champions of big announcements in this world—I don’t want to name names. There are companies that barely sell 80,000 cars a year. Then there are companies like Volkswagen that sell 11 million cars this year, and produce a profit of 13 or 14 billion euro. If I am correctly informed, Tesla each quarter destroys millions of dollars in the three digits, and it willy-nilly fires its workers. Social responsibility? Please. We should not not get carried away and compare apples with oranges.

The comments were made as Volkswagen looks to move past its emissions-cheating scandal. The German automaker paid regulators $14.7 billion in a settlement.

Get the latest Tesla stock price here.

Original author: Danielle Muoio

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20

15 times 'The Simpsons' accurately predicted the future

An image from a short animation released after Donald Trump announced he would be running for president.20th Century FoxNearly 17 years ago, an episode of "The Simpsons" predicted that Donald Trump would one day become US president.

And this wasn't the only time the writers have managed to predict the future.

"The Simpsons" has been running for over 27 years, so it's inevitable that some themes that crop up in the show might occur in real life. But some of the plotlines are eerily close to events that have happened throughout the world.

We've listed some of the strangest predictions the cartoon's writers have made since the show's launch in 1989.

From Homer discovering the Higgs boson to animators drawing The Shard in London almost 20 years before it was built.

Here are 15 times "The Simpsons" predicted the future:


15. Nobel Prize Winner - Season 22, Episode 1

MIT professor Bengt Holmström won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2016, 6 years after he was bet on to win the Nobel Prize on "The Simpsons."

Holmström's name appears on a betting scorecard when Martin, Lisa, Database, and Milhouse bet on Nobel Prize winners.

14. Smart watches - Season 6, Episode 19

 "The Simpsons" introduced the idea of a watch you could use as a phone in an episode aired in 1995, nearly 20 years before the Apple Watch was released.

13. Lady Gaga's Super Bowl halftime show - Season 23, Episode 22

In 2012, Lady Gaga performed for the town of Springfield hanging in midair. Five years later, she flew off the Houston NRG Stadium roof in real life to perform her Super Bowl halftime show. 

 

12. Autocorrect - Season 6, Episode 8

School bullies Kearny and Dolph take a memo to "beat up Martin" on a Newton device in an episode of "The Simpsons" that aired in 1994. The memo gets quickly translated to "eat up Martha" - an early foreshadowing of autocorrect frustrations.

"The Simpsons" were lampooning Apple's underwhelming Newton — the iPhone's ancient ancestor — that had just been released, and included shoddy handwriting recognition, according to Fast Company. 

Nitin Ganatra, former director of engineering iOS applications at Apple, told Fast Company that this particular moment on "The Simpsons" served as inspiration to get the iPhone keyboard right. 

11. Faulty voting machines — Season 20, Episode 4

In 2008, "The Simpsons" showed Homer trying to vote for Barack Obama in the US general election, but a faulty machine changed his vote.

Four years later, a voting machine in Pennsylvania had to be removed after it kept changing people's votes for Barack Obama to ones for his Republican rival Mitt Romney.

10. The invention of the tomacco plant — Season 11, Episode 5

 

In 1999, Homer uses nuclear energy to create a hybrid of tomato and tobacco plants: the "tomacco."

This inspired US "Simpsons" fan Rob Baur to create his own plant. In 2003, Baur grafted together a tobacco root and a tomato stem to make "tomacco." Writers for "The Simpsons" were so impressed that they invited Baur and his family to their offices and ate the tomacco fruit themselves.

9. Ebola outbreak — Season 9, Episode 3

 

Some people maintain that "The Simpsons" predicted the 2014 outbreak of Ebola 17 years before it happened. In a scene from the episode "Lisa's Sax," Marge suggests a sick Bart read a book titled "Curious George and the Ebola Virus." The virus wasn't particularly widespread in the 1990s, but years later it was the top of the news agenda.

Ebola was first discovered in 1976, and though this latest outbreak has been the worst yet, it killed 254 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1995 and 224 in Uganda in 2000.

8. The discovery of the Higgs boson equation — Season 8, Episode 1

 

In a 1998 episode called "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace," Homer Simpson becomes an inventor and is shown in front of a complicated equation on a blackboard. 

According to Simon Singh, the author of "The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets," the equation predicts the mass of the Higgs boson particle. It was first predicted in 1964 by Professor Peter Higgs and five other physicists, but it wasn't until 2013 that scientists discovered proof of the Higgs boson in a £10.4 billion ($13 billion) experiment.

7. The invention of The Shard — Season 6, Episode 19

 

The "Lisa's Wedding" episode from 1995 came with a lot of unexpected predictions. During Lisa's trip to London, we see a skyscraper behind Tower Bridge that looks eerily similar to The Shard and that is even in the right location. Construction on the building started in 2009, 14 years later.

6. Robotic librarians — Season 6, Episode 19

 

In "Lisa's Wedding," we discover that librarians have been replaced with robots in the "Simpsons" universe.

More than 20 years later, robotics students from the University of Aberystwyth built a prototype for a walking library robot, while scientists in Singapore have begin testing their own robot librarians.

5. Horsemeat scandal — Season 5, Episode 19

 

In 1994, Lunchlady Doris used "assorted horse parts" to make lunch for students at Springfield Elementary. 

Nine years later, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland found horse DNA in over one-third of beefburger samples from supermarkets and ready meals, and pig in 85% of them.

4. Siegfried and Roy tiger attack — Season 5, Episode 10

 

The Simpsons parodied entertainers Siegfried & Roy in a 1993 episode called "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalised Gambling)." During the episode, the magicians are viciously mauled by a trained white tiger while performing in a casino. 

In 2003, Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy was attacked during a live performance by Montecore, one of their white tigers. Roy lived but sustained severe injuries in the attack.

3. Letter from The Beatles — Season 2, Episode 18

 

In 1991, an episode of "The Simpsons" saw The Beatles' Ringo Star diligently answering fan mail that had been written decades ago.

In September 2013, two Beatles fans from Essex received a reply from Paul McCartney to a letter and recording they sent to the band 50 years ago. The recording was sent to a London theatre the band was due to play at but was found years later in a car boot sale by a historian.

In 2013, the BBC's "The One Show" reunited the pair with their letter, plus a reply from McCartney.

2. The censorship of Michelangelo's David — Season 2, Episode 9

 

An episode from 1990 titled "Itchy and Scratchy and Marge" showed Springfieldians protesting against Michelangelo's statue of David being exhibited in the local museum, calling the artwork obscene for its nudity.

The satire of censorship came true in July 2016, when Russian campaigners voted on whether to clothe a copy of the Renaissance statue that had been set up in central St Petersburg.

1. Three-eyed fish — Season 2, Episode 4

 

In this episode from 1990, Bart catches a three-eyed fish named Blinky in the river by the power plant, which makes local headlines.

More than a decade later, a three-eyed fish was discovered in a reservoir in Argentina. Strangely enough, the reservoir itself was fed by water from a nuclear power plant.

Original author: Edith Hancock and Amanda Luz Henning Santiago

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20

Under Armour is copying a strategy from a billion-dollar startup — and it's a brilliant move

The ArmourBox has free shipping both ways — and no fees. UnderArmour

Under Armour has a new subscription service. It looks a lot like Stitch Fix, which just filed for an IPO. Stitch Fix has been successful, which bodes well for Under Armour.

 

Under Armour has just announced a new subscription service called ArmourBox.

Here's how it works: Tell Under Armour what kind of clothes you like and how you work out, and they'll ship you a box with four to six items for you to consider purchasing. No purchase is required, there's no fee, and shipping is free both ways. If you like the whole box and buy it all, you'll get a 20% discount.

It that sounds familiar, that's because Stitch Fix works nearly the exact same way.

There are a few differences between the two services. Stitch Fix doesn't work on a subscription model unless you want it to, each box carries a $20 fee unless you buy something, and Stitch Fix carries more than just its house brands, unlike Under Armour.

With ArmourBox, on the other hand, you can choose to receive a shipment every 30, 60, or 90 days, but you can't skip a delivery or pause your subscription.

A typical ArmourBox. Under Armour

On the surface, however, the services work in the exact same way, though it's not quite clear if there are differences in how the boxes are filled by their respective companies. 

Stitch Fix's strategy has worked great for the company so far. It just filed for an IPO, reporting nearly $1 billion in revenue for 2017. The company has been valued at just under $2 billion, according to Axios.

Subscription services are a notoriously risky business, but Stitch Fix is proving that the box model can work.

Under Armour's service carries no fees, and there are no charges unless you forget to return a box or you decide to buy something. The customer is required to take action within seven days so that they're not charged for it all.

The no-risk strategy is an ambitious play to get product into customers' homes so that they can evaluate it on their own time. It's a sign of the confidence that Under Armour has in its offerings. It's hoping that if it can get its stuff in people's hands, they'll like it enough to continue receiving it.

If that doesn't happen, Under Armour has worse problems than a failed subscription service.

Original author: Dennis Green

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Oct
20

The 5 best new songs you can stream right now

MGMT.Brad EltermanThis week, MGMT dropped its first single in four years, rapper Big K.R.I.T. put out a new track, and country singer Margo Price released her second studio album. 

Here are the 5 best songs from the past week that you can stream right now:


MGMT — "Little Dark Age"

MGMT returns from a four-year hiatus with "Little Dark Age," a gothic, '80s-inspired single that melds alternately eerie and charged synths with one of the band's best choruses to date. It's the title track from the group's upcoming fourth LP, which is set for an early 2018 release. 

Mitski — "I'm a Fool to Want You"

Indie rock phenom Mitski lends a transfixing, otherworldly rendition of "I'm a Fool to Want You" — a 1951 Frank Sinatra song that became a jazz-pop standard — to a star-studded compilation album benefiting Planned Parenthood. 

Destroyer — "In The Morning"

The eccentric Canadian rocker Dan Bejar released his 11th Destroyer album, "ken," this week. "In The Morning," a standout track, combines layers of shoegaze-y guitars with accessible melodies. 

 

Margo Price — "Don't Say It"

Nashville-based country singer Margo Price brings a Dolly Parton-like presence and an effective rockabilly vibe to "Don't Say It," the intro track to her second studio album, "All American Made."

Big K.R.I.T. — "Aux Cord"

Southern rapper-producer Big K.R.I.T. channels early 2000s-era Outkast on "Aux Cord," a well-executed ode to commandeering someone else's car speakers to play "fly sh-t" like Sly & The Family Stone.   

Original author: John Lynch

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Oct
16

Chinese phone manufacturer OnePlus announced it will review how it collects user data

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Shoppers wait to buy the new OnePlus 5 smartphone at a OnePlus pop-up store. Sean Gallup/Getty

Chinese phone manufacturer OnePlus said that it will review how it collects data from its users in a post on its official forum (which we fist saw reported by The Verge).

Numerous complaints surfaced after a post that detailed how OnePlus was amassing data from its users prompted the company to change the way it approaches the issue.

OnePlus will tweak its terms of service at the end of the month, and prompt users to opt-out of the data-collecting program if they wish to.

Last week, independent software engineer Chris Moore found that OnePlus had been tracking a lot of information from his personal phone, and wrote a post on his blog to explain further.

As Moore detailed, OnePlus had been gathering data such as his phone's IMEI, serial number, cellular number, MAC address, mobile network name, IMSI prefix, and wireless network ESSID and BSSID, and more.

In his post on OnePlus' forum, cofounder Carl Pei said that the information was used to do things such as optimise the custom Oxygen OS operating system and offer better after-sale support, and noted that nothing was shared outside the firm.

However, with the new system, the setup process that appears when a customer powers up a OnePlus product will now "clearly indicate that the program collects usage analytics," as per Pei's words, so to avoid any misunderstandings.

OnePlus will also stop gathering phone numbers, MAC addresses, and WiFi information altogether.

Original author: Edoardo Maggio

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Oct
16

Facebook is testing a CV feature to take on LinkedIn (FB, MSFT)

Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.Paul Marotta/Getty Images

It looks like Facebook is considering barging in on LinkedIn's turf.

Facebook is currently trialling a CV feature, according to screenshots posted on social media — a move that would put it in direct competition with professional social network LinkedIn.

Matt Navarra, director of social media for The Next Web, has shared screenshots of the resume feature sent to him by web developer Jane Manchun Wong, who saw it appear on her Facebook profile.

The feature lets users list their professional experience and education, as well as their contact details, an image, and other information — just like Microsoft-owned LinkedIn does.

Of course, it's already possible for people to list their job history and education on Facebook. But do you really want prospective employers to see your private Facebook profile? Instead, the new feature appears to combine all the relevant information into a single, professional-looking package — away from personal photos, status updates, and other Facebook posts people might not wish to share with recruiters and the wider world.

It's not clear how many people currently have access to the resume feature, or what Facebook's ultimate intentions are here. The social network often tests features on a small number of users before rolling them out more widely (or not), and a spokesperson did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for more information.

But just the fact that Facebook is experimenting with this is further evidence of how the Californian firm is increasingly trying to transcend its roots as a simple social network and move into the professional sector. In 2016, it launches Facebook At Work — now called Workplace — a modified version of Facebook designed for teams in the office to use.

Given Facebook's reputation for trying to crush potential rivals, that ought to make LinkedIn nervous.

Matt Navarra/Jane Manchun Wong/Twitter

Original author: Rob Price

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Oct
16

Councils are forcing Uber to rethink its UK expansion plans

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Leon Neal/Getty Images

Uber has decided not to push ahead with plans to expand into at least nine towns and cities across the UK, according to a report in The Sunday Times.

The taxi-app has reportedly withdrawn applications for operating licences in Oxford, Hull, Bournemouth, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and Sandwell in the West Midlands.

The decision was reportedly made after Uber was asked a series of questions about the way it operates by the Local Government Association.

Uber insists that it is simply an "agent" with an app that connects passengers with drivers that work for themselves but the questions challenge this assertion.

The Sunday Times cited the following question: "If Uber has no involvement in the contract between the customer and the driver of the vehicle, who accepts the booking? If Uber accepts the booking, how does it have no involvement in the contract between the customer and the driver?"

Oxford city council reportedly said that Uber failed to provide certain details about how its app would operate in Oxford, while the company has been refused a licence in Reading and told it won't be given one in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.

The Sunday Times report comes as Uber's future in London remains uncertain. Uber was banned by transport regulator Transport for London (TfL) on September 22. Uber appealed the ban last Friday. It will continue to operate until a verdict has been passed on the appeal.

Uber also has a fight on its hands in Brighton and it could lose its licence to operate there when it expires next month. The company reportedly broke a promise to use only local drivers and vehicles.

An Uber spokesperson told Business Insider: "Uber has been granted more than 80 licences by councils. Over the last year a small number of licence applications lapsed while we focused on other areas.

"On rare occasions we've not pursued applications as proposed conditions didn't fit with how our app works."

Original author: Sam Shead

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Oct
16

Venture capital firm Draper Esprit will invest $100 million into seed funds to help them after Brexit

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Venture capital firm Draper Esprit Draper Esprit

Venture capital firm Draper Esprit plans to invest $100 million (£75 million) into European seed funds over the next five years, helping to fill a major EU funding hole after Brexit.

Its first commitments are to two British seed funds, Episode 1 Ventures and Seedcamp. As revealed by Business Insider in May, both funds lost out on cash from the European Investment Fund (EIF) this year, after it "paused" new investment into the UK.

Draper Esprit hasn't revealed how much it's put into the two funds, both of which are still in the process of raising investment.

Simon Cook, chief executive of Draper Esprit, said the company planned to invest in up to 20 funds, angel networks, and investment platforms. The firm is currently looking at three other investments.

He said in a statement: "By partnering with the best seed funds, we can help them scale up their series A and B funding rounds more quickly, which in turn will accelerate growth for the most ambitious entrepreneurs."

Cook added that it was "imperative" that UK investors "continue to have access to the best early stage investment opportunities" after Brexit.

The news will be welcome to the UK's crop of new seed funds, which have been lobbying the Treasury for more cash after Brexit.

They face a major hole in funding after the EIF, run by the European Investment Bank, froze investments after prime minister Theresa May triggered Article 50. The EIF has historically acted as a "cornerstone" investor into European funds, meaning it will commit early and up to 40% of a new fund's cash. That gives other, smaller investors enough confidence to buy in. It has, according to Treasury calculations, invested £900 million a year into UK funds, so a sudden freeze on investment has posed a serious challenge.

Prior to Draper Esprit's announcement, VC firms lobbied the Treasury to step in and fill that £900 million funding gap.

The Treasury is currently running a consultation on boosting long-term investment into innovative companies and, in a submission seen by Business Insider, two funds — including Episode 1 — called on the Treasury to put an additional £900 million into the UK's state-owned British Business Bank to stimulate seed investment.

In their submissions, the firms pointed to a crisis in seed funding, particularly for startups trying to raise between £500,000 and £2 million.

Original author: Shona Ghosh

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Oct
16

Lending Club founder Renaud Laplanche opens up on his 'frustrating' exit and new startup Upgrade

Renaud Laplanche. Upgrade

Renaud Laplanche resigned as CEO of Lending Club last year amid loan selling scandal. Back with new startup Upgrade, an online lending platform with credit scoring features. Upgrade wants to launch one new product a year, with plans for mortgages, auto loans, and more.

LONDON — Renaud Laplanche tries to "keep a positive attitude rather than focus on my frustration" when it comes to Lending Club.

"It's hard — I have good days and bad days," the Frenchman told Business Insider at the LendIt Europe conference in London this week.

Laplanche cofounded US marketplace lender Lending Club in 2006 and led the business to a $5.4 billion (£4.1 billion) float in 2014. But in May last year, he resigned amid during amid scandal. Loans sold to investors were found to violate the terms investors had agreed to buy them on.

"There was a fairly significant compliance issue, I took responsibility for it," Laplanche told BI.

"It was very, very frustrating. I'm not commenting on the story, but the best way to actually understand what really happened is to read the filings. I think the press made it sound a lot worse, a lot more sensational, than it really was."

Laplanche, centre, celebrating LendingClub's 2014 IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Early press reports focused on Laplanche's investment in Cirrix Capital, an external fund that bought Lending Club loans. It was initially claimed that the Lending Club board were unaware of his investment, but later filings made it clear that at least some board members knew.

Now he is focused on "what can I learn from it, what can I do better. Upgrade has been part of that."

San Francisco-based Upgrade is Laplanche's new online lending startup, launched in April of this year. Soul Htite, who set up Lending Club with Laplanche, is also a cofounder of the business.

The motivation came from a desire to "build a platform that incorporates all of these learnings [from Lending Club] and turn the entire thing in a force for good," Laplanche said.

"We had a long list of things where we said, if we had to do it all over again, we would do it differently. All the learnings over the last 10 years, all the feedback we got from the investors, borrowers, partners. There was enough there that we thought, yeah, it's worth building a new platform from scratch."

Upgrade writes personal loans for people looking to consolidate credit card debt. The online platform also features tools that help people learn how to manage their credit score, including a feature that simulates the effect of various actions on their score.

"Let's say you get a $1,000 bonus," Laplanche said. "If you decide to pay down your mortgage or pay off your credit card, it's going to have a very different impact on your credit score and cost of credit."

Upgrade raised $60 million (£45.7 million) in April, the biggest ever Series A funding round for a US fintech startup. Many of Lending Club's original investors have backed the business and Jefferies, an investment bank burned by Lending Club's loan term scandal, has signed up to buy loans from Upgrade — a vindication for Laplanche.

Upgrade spent until late July testing the platform but began ramping up lending in August. Laplanche won't disclose lending to date or growth figures.

He said he hopes to launch a new product each year, with plans to branch into mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, home equity, and lines of credit.

"At Lending Club it took me a very long time to start working on new products," he said. "At Upgrade, I designed the platform from scratch as a multi-product platform, using infrastructure that makes it easy to launch new products. The vision is to address all the credit needs of our customers."

Original author: Oscar Williams-Grut

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Oct
15

Cryptocurrencies are 'in the 3rd inning' — and Wall Street is just getting started

Boston Red Sox left fielder Jason Bay stands in front of the scoreboard in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of Major League Baseball's ALCS playoff series in Boston. Reuters/Brian Snyder

The rapid rise of bitcoin, the red-hot cryptocurrency up more than 400% this year, has Wall Street abuzz. 

Still, despite its meteoric rise, bitcoin by many measures is still in its very early days. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are used, for instance, by a very small percentage of people and institutions are just starting to look at building out a sophisticated market around the space. 

"We are in the third inning of a burgeoning new asset class," said BlockTower Capital cofounder Matthew Goetz in a recent interview with Business Insider. 

Credit Suisse agrees with Goetz's thesis. In a note out to clients Tuesday, analysts Paul Condra and Mrinalini Bhutoria wrote "the investment infrastructure is emerging."

Cryptocurrency funds like BlockTower Capital have been opening at an eye-popping clip. At least 79 funds, according to Autonomous NEXT, a fintech analytics company, have emerged with an estimated $2 billion in managed assets. Michael Novogratz, a former manager at the $72 billion investor Fortress, for instance, is reportedly starting a $500 million crypto-fund that invests in bitcoin, ethereum, and other crypto-assets. 

At the same time, "private investment firms are increasingly putting resources toward finding ways to provide exposure to the industry," according to Credit Suisse. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that Goldman Sachs was looking into establishing a bitcoin trading operation. As for Credit Suisse, the bank hosted a symposium on cryptocurrencies and blockchain Tuesday.

Bitcoin's epic rise. MI

But there are huge barriers to making cryptocurrencies more palpable to Wall Street, especially in the market for initial coin offerings, a cryptocurrency-based fundraising method.

This year companies have raised more than $2 billion via ICOs, but many have operated outside the realm of financial regulations. Some countries, including China and South Korea, have deemed them illegal. Such countries are worried about a mounting bubble in the space and the impact it could have on retail investors. Wall Street has similar concerns. 

But a mature market could be around the corner. Overstock, the online retailer, launched a trading system that provides a platform on which startups can run ICOs in a manner compliant with the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Credit Suisse said such initiatives could "catalyze more broad-based investment in the space."

"Regulation remains a key obstacle as – without a clear legal framework – existing service providers are generally unwilling to offer the liquidity, leverage and custody services needed to attract larger investment," the bank wrote. 

This, however, will change over the course of the next five years, according to the bank. It expects SEC-compliant ICOs, which make up less than 1% of the total market, will soon become the norm.

What's less certain is which ICOs and cryptocurrencies will come out on top. Goetz told Business Insider that investing in ICOs and other crypto-assets is akin to betting on the internet during the nineties.

"You could be right on the thesis that cryptocurrencies are transformative and you could make what you think is the right bet at the time, but remember one time you had Yahoo and then this thing called Google came along," he concluded. 

UBS in a note to clients Friday said the same thing: "Investing in the blockchain wave is akin to investing in the internet in the mid-nineties."

Many financial institutions, however, have shied away from the space. 

In a recent interview with Bloomberg News, Larry Fink, the head of BlackRock, the world's largest investor with $5.7 trillion under management, said he thinks the explosive growth of bitcoin points to nefarious behavior.

"It just identifies how much money laundering there is being done in the world," Fink said. "How much people are trying to move currencies from one place to another."

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, more notably, called bitcoin a "fraud" at a Barclay's conference on September 12.

Original author: Business Insider

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Oct
15

One ad executive estimates that the entire state of Michigan could have been swayed in the 2016 election for $42,800

Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg Axios

How far can $42,800 take you on Facebook? Far enough to swing an election, says one expert.

Ben Kunz, the executive vice president of marketing and content at the media agency Mediassociates, says it could have cost at least this much to swing the 10,700 Michigan voters who tipped the scale in favor of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

"That's the scary power of Facebook. Its targeting is really, really powerful," he said. "People like to think they can't be persuaded, but the math says it works."

Kunz and his team made the estimate as part of a broader story by Business Insider in which Mediassociates and two other media agencies modeled the cost of using Facebook to reach voters in Wisconsin and Michigan with the intention of swaying their vote.

Facebook has said it discovered roughly $100,000 in ad buys between June 2015 and May 2017 associated with about 3,000 ads used by Russian groups to influence the outcome of the election. CNN reported that several of these ads targeted voters in Michigan, where Trump won by about 10,700 votes, and Wisconsin, which he won by roughly 22,700 votes.

While $42,800 may seem like a paltry amount to swing an election in a state, Facebook's advanced and granular targeting options can amplify the reach and engagement possible with that amount. Anyone looking to swing an election in Michigan could easily pinpoint and target undecided voters through data. After that, "it wouldn't cost much in ad spending to sway their opinions," Kunz said.

Mediassociates' model is based on two assumptions. One is a basic rule of thumb of digital advertising, which is that one out of every 2,000 people, or 0.05%, who view an ad will respond or act on the message. The second is that it is possible to target swing voters.

The model works backward from the exact number of votes by which Trump won both Wisconsin and Michigan — though it's possible that someone targeting swing voters could try to reach more people than that and therefore might spend more money on their campaign.

Trump won Michigan by 10,704 votes. Assuming only 0.05% of viewers will react to an ad, a person would need to aim for about 21.4 million ad impressions. Because Facebook ads cost about $2 for every 1,000 impressions, Kunz's team estimates that to sway this number of voters, a person would need a budget of $42,800.

Samantha Lee/Business Insider

"In reality, targeting this exact 'swing voter' population might take more effort, since some of your ads will reach the wrong people ... and competitors might be fighting you with similar tactics," Kunz told Business Insider. "But a clever political operator would just spend a little more. And for a few hundred grand, he or she could tip an entire presidential election."

Original author: Business Insider

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Oct
15

6 executives who make a point of leaving the office before dark

They walk the walk when it comes to work-life balance. Jason Fried, CEO of Basecamp, pictured.Flickr/Jason McELweenie

Working long hours has become a status symbol in the US.

Sometimes that example is set by a company's top executives, who are in the office from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., then sending emails until midnight.

But some execs are forging a different path, showing the importance of work-life balance by limiting their hours in the office. Below, find six execs who have spoken publicly about their commitment to leaving their desk at a reasonable hour.

True, most of these execs log on before and/or after they're physically in the office, but they value flexibility in terms of hours and location — not only for themselves, but also for their employees.


Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg leaves the office at 5:30 p.m. sharp every day.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

"I walk out of this office every day at 5:30 so I'm home for dinner with my kids at 6," Sandberg said in a 2012 Makers interview.

According to Fortune, Sandberg sometimes gets to the office by 7 a.m. — and she's already been sending emails for an hour. And after the kids are in bed or the night, she'll generally head back to her inbox.

In the 2012 interview, Sandberg said it took her a while to feel "brave enough" to talk about his practice publicly.

VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger earns 'points' for getting home by 5 p.m.

VMware

Years before joining VMware, Gelsinger worked at Intel, where he'd regularly log 80-hour workweeks.

But for the past 25 ears, Gelsinger told The Wall Street Journal, his secretary has kept a chart tracking the points he earns based on how much time he spends with his family.

Here's an example of how it works: If he arrives home by 6:30 p.m., he earns a point. If he arrives home by 5 p.m., he earns two points. If he's away from home on the weekend, he has points deducted.

Gelsinger, who is the author of the 2003 book "The Juggling Act: Bringing Balance to Your Faith, Family, and Work," said the rules have changed somewhat since his kids left home.

"If you have kids, 6 to 9 p.m. is gold. Do not squander it. You might get back on email at 9 p.m., or be doing Javascript at midnight, but make sure you carve those hours out [for family time] and protect those," Gelsinger told Business Insider's Julie Bort.

Zillow Group CEO Spencer Rascoff tries to be home by 7 p.m. every night.

Courtesy of Zillow

In a 2017 interview with Glassdoor, Rascoff said that at 7 p.m., "I am almost always with the kids and my wife unless I’m on a business trip. At 7 p.m., I am usually running around my house chasing my three young kids and two dogs and trying to turn mayhem into order."

Rascoff also wrote an article for Fortune in which he explained why he doesn't expect Zillow employees to be working 24/7, like he did in the early days of Hotwire, the company he cofounded in 1999. Instead, Rascoff wrote that Zillow understands "each of us is a whole person and lives for more than just our jobs."

Google SVP of platforms and ecosystems Hiroshi Lockheimer is at the office from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day.

Hiroshi Lockheimer

Lockheimer told Business Insider's Aine Cain that he drops off his two kids at school every morning before going to work. "That's almost religious for me. That's something I really enjoy doing and I insist on doing," he said. He generally gets to the office around 9 a.m.

Lockheimer typically leaves the office at 5:30 p.m. so he can eat dinner with his family. Like Sandberg, once the kids are in bed, he'll grab his laptop to catch up on work.

Weebly CFO Kim Jabal limits her office hours to between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Weebly

Jabal previously shared her daily work schedule with Business Insider: "Home an hour in the morning, get kids to school, work in the office 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., have dinner with kids, work three hours at night."

Jabal acknowledged that it can be hard to maintain these hours if your organization doesn't offer some flexibility. "Rigid work hours and work location make it much more challenging," she said.

Basecamp CEO Jason Fried tells all his employees they shouldn't be working more than 40 hours a week.

Flickr/Jason McELweenie

Most of Basecamp's employees work remotely, so technically there's no central office to leave.

In an interview with The New York Times, Fried said he doesn't buy into the idea that working longer hours means working harder: "[W]e're opposed to the prevailing idea in our industry that you have to work 60, 70, 80 hours a week to do a good job. We believe 40 is enough."

Basecamp is unique among tech companies in that it offers a $5,000 annual vacation stipend and shortened four-day, 32-hour weeks during the summer, among other perks, Business Insider's Chris Weller reported.

Fried told me in 2016 that pushing people to work longer and longer hours is "not sustainable or fair. Your company doesn't own anything more than 40 hours [a week] of your time."

Original author: Shana Lebowitz

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Oct
15

Here's how Amazon's and Apple's new smart speakers stack up with consumers (AMZN, AAPL)

BI Intelligence

This is a preview of a research report from BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about BI Intelligence, click here.

Smart speakers — Amazon's Echo, for example — are the latest device category poised to take a chunk of our increasingly digital lives. These devices are made primarily for the home and execute a user's voice commands via an integrated digital assistant. These digital assistants can play music, answer questions, and control other devices within a user's home, among other things. 

The central question for this new product category is not when they will take off, but which devices will rise to the top. To answer this question, BI Intelligence surveyed our leading-edge consumer panel, gathering exclusive data on Amazon's recently released Echo Show and Echo Look, as well as Apple's HomePod. 

In a new Smart Speaker report, BI Intelligence analyzes the market potential of the Echo Look, Echo Show, and HomePod. Using exclusive survey data, we evaluate each device's potential for adoption based on four criteria: awareness, excitement, usefulness, and purchase intent. And we draw some inferences from our data about the direction the smart speaker market could take from here.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

Amazon's new Echo Show is the big winner — it has mass-market appeal and looks like it will take off. The combination of usefulness and excitement will drive consumers to buy the Echo Show. The Echo Look, though, seems like it will struggle to attract that same level of interest.Apple’s HomePod looks likely to find a place in the smart speaker market but won’t dominate its space like the iPhone or iPad did.The smart speaker market will evolve rapidly in the next few years, with more devices featuring screens, a variety of more focused products emerging, and eventually, the voice assistant moving beyond the smart speaker.

In full, the report:

Showcases exclusive survey data on initial consumer reactions to the Echo Look, Echo Show, and HomePod.Highlights the aims and strategies of major players in the smart speaker market.Provides analysis on the direction this nascent market will take and the opportunity for companies considering a move into the space.

Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:

Subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and over 100 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> Learn More NowPurchase & download the full report from our research store. >> Purchase & Download Now
Original author: Peter Newman

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Oct
15

Viruses discovered a century ago may be our best defense against a threat that could kill 10 million people a year by 2050 (APBH)

Antibiotic resistance — the phenomenon in which bacteria stop responding to certain antibiotics — is a growing threat around the world.

It's expected to kill 10 million people annually by 2050.

And it hasn't been easy to develop new drugs in order to stay ahead of the problem. Many major pharmaceutical companies have stopped developing new antibiotics, and the drugs that are still in development have faced numerous stumbling blocks toward approval.

So some drugmakers are starting to turn to other solutions, including one that's actually had a fairly long history: phage therapy.

The treatments are made of bacteria-killing viruses called bacteriophages, or phages for short. Discovered in the early 1900s, bacteriophages have the potential to treat people with bacterial infections. They're commonly used in parts of eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union as another way to treat infections that could otherwise be treated by antibiotics. Because they are programmed to fight bacteria, phages don't pose much of a threat to human safety on a larger scale.

"There's huge potential there that regular antibiotics don't have," NYT columnist Carl Zimmer told Business Insider in 2015. "I think what we'd actually have to work on is how we approve medical treatments to make room for viruses that kill bacteria."

A conversation about approval pathways is already underway, with a handful of companies starting to get into the space. The trials, while still in early stages, could one day change the way we confront antibiotic resistance. 

A need for new options 

Dr. Paul Grint, CEO of one small company, AmpliPhi Biosciences, is trying to turn phage therapy into a tool that doctors might be able to one day use alongside antibiotics to treat serious infections. The company's working on phage-based treatments to treat Staphylococcus aureus, a bug implicated in sinus infections, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bug connected to lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis. 

There are a number of reasons why these treatments are gaining some momentum now: for one, there's a big need for antibiotics. In September, the World Health Organization warned that the world is running out of antibiotics. 

"There is an urgent need for more investment in research and development for antibiotic-resistant infections including TB, otherwise we will be forced back to a time when people feared common infections and risked their lives from minor surgery," WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a news release. 

For phages in particular, there have been a number of advancements that help make it more straightforward for phage therapy to go through the FDA approval process. Grint told Business Insider that includes being able to sequence the bugs, which would help determine that you're absolutely getting the right phages in treatment. 

AmpliPhi also has a way to manufacture the therapy that's up to regulatory standards set up by the FDA. 

Using phage therapy in the US

While phage therapy has been around for more than a century, Grint said there's still a lot of education that needs to happen to get doctors and researchers on board, especially in the US. In July, the FDA and National Institutes of Health hosted a workshop regarding bacteriophages, which Ampliphi and others participated in.

There are also some researchers like a group at the University of California at San Diego that are researching phage therapy. In 2016, for example, researchers at UCSD used AmpliPhi's therapy to treat a professor at the university who had a drug-resistant infection.

Even so, the US is treading carefully into the world of phage therapy. For now, AmpliPhi is able to recruit patients under the FDA's "compassionate use" pathway, making it mostly a case-by-case situation for now when other antibiotics have failed.

The hope is to use that information, along with some phase 1 studies that are happening in Australia to gear up for a phase 2 trial in the US. The company's aiming to start that trial in the second half of 2018, meaning it still might be a while before we start using viruses to treat our bacterial infections. 

Original author: Lydia Ramsey

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Oct
15

8 real interview questions you may hear if you want to work at tech companies like Facebook and LinkedIn

Want a job at some of the top companies? Start studying these questions.Sarah Jacobs

Job interviews are tricky, so it helps to know what you're up against.

Researching the company extensively beforehand certainly helps. So does compiling some quality questions to ask.

You can also scour job sites like Glassdoor to try to compile and prepare for commonly asked questions.

Fortunately, some CEOs, recruiters, and HR representatives at top companies are quite open about the questions they like to put to candidates.

Here are some questions you might get during interviews at tech companies like Facebook, LinkedIn, and PayPal, according to the people asking them:


'What are you doing on your best day?' — Facebook

Sarah Jacobs

This question is all about tapping into a candidate's motivations and drive. And there's no right answer.

"Whether it's meeting with clients, coding, or calculating a spreadsheet, it's going to be different for everyone," Facebook global head of recruiting Miranda Kalinowski previously told Business Insider. "That's the beauty of bringing all these people together."

'What are you most passionate about?' — LinkedIn

Sarah Jacobs

Not only will you be asked about your passions at LinkedIn — you'll be asked to sketch them out on a whiteboard.

LinkedIn's head of recruiting Brendan Browne previously told Business Insider's Rich Feloni the goal is to get candidates to be "really spontaneous" in order to see how well they communicate and how they deal with ambiguity.

'Tell me whether it is better to submit a project that's perfect and late, or one that's good and on time.' — IBM

Hollis Johnson

Obed Louissant, the VP of HR for IBM Watson, prefers this tricky question.

"It's interesting when you get peoples' response to that," he previously told Business Insider. "I don't have a right answer for it. I'm not looking for a right answer. I am more looking at the way in which the person explains and reasons why they answered the way they did."

'Why not Intuit?' — Intuit

Brad Smith

Intuit CEO Brad Smith likes to conclude his interviews with this doozy of a question, Business Insider reported.

"That's intended to see if they have the courage to tell me the things they're wrestling with in the decision, which gives me a chance to try to overcome that objection in real time," he told Business Insider.

'What did you learn this week?' — PayPal

Glassdoor

PayPal chief learning officer Derek Hann said he asks this question, even if it's only Tuesday. He said one of his company's core values is lifelong learning.

"You should be learning with that level of frequency," he told Business Insider.

'What would someone who doesn't like you tell us about you?' — Duolingo

Luis von Ahn

You need to feel comfortable discussing your flaws as well as your strengths. Duolingo CEO and founder Luis Von Ahn's favorite question requires an honest response.

"I think the responses that are concerning are like, 'People who don't like me just don't understand me, and they're usually just wrong,'" he told Business Insider. "They're not taking responsibility for anything."

'How do you make [an unreleased Youtube product] better?' — Youtube

REUTERS/Mike Blake

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki told the audience at a New York Times-hosted talk she likes to ask candidates how to improve Youtube products before they even come out.

Business Insider's Nathan McAlone reported, "If you can't think of a single way to improve a product you use a lot, you are in trouble."

Original author: Áine Cain

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iStartAdmin
Oct
15

How Andy Serkis went from playing Gollum to directing his first movie — and the pressure of making a non-Disney 'Jungle Book'

Andy Serkis. Astrid Stawiarz/Getty

Known for being the master of the motion-capture performance following his roles as Gollum, King Kong, Caesar (in the “Planet of the Apes” movies), and currently Supreme Leader Snoke (“The Force Awakens,” “The Last Jedi”), Andy Serkis is throwing a major curveball on all of us for his feature directorial debut.

“Breathe,” about the life of Robin Cavendish — who became paralyzed from the neck down from polio — and his wife Robin, is a traditional biopic that is fueled by the performances of its leads Andrew Garfield as Robin and Claire Foy (Netflix's "The Queen") as Diana. The intimate love story is a departure from the usual CGI-focused work Serkis is known for. The movie was made through his production company, The Imaginarium, which mostly focuses on mo-cap projects.

But this is only a brief departure.

The opportunity to make “Breathe” came to Serkis while he was in post production on an extremely ambitious project: A live-action “The Jungle Book” movie for Warner Bros. that will feature a lot of big name actors doing mo-cap of the legendary characters that were brought back to the zeitgeist after Disney's CGI blockbuster release of its own "Jungle Book" movie in 2016.

Business Insider chatted with Serkis in New York City about finding the time to make “Breathe,” why he’s completely okay with movies resurrecting deceased actors through CGI, the status of “Jungle Book,” and how he created the Snoke voice.

Jason Guerrasio: You run The Imaginarium with Jonathan Cavendish, the son of the main characters of "Breathe," Robin and Diana. How did you meet him?

Andy Serkis: Jonathan had seen a film I had made called "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" about Ian Dury, who was a polio sufferer, and a punk rocker first and foremost, and he loved it and began telling me the story about his father. And then he told me he had been developing the script for five years. So we started The Imaginarium.

Guerrasio: So basically you were like, good luck with all of that with your family script.

Serkis: Yeah, it wasn't really the idea I was looking for. We were looking for other directors to direct it. And then I took the script home and I was just floored by it. It was just so incredibly powerful and emotional and you never read scripts like this in terms of the emotional content of it. So I was like, "S---, I'm having lunch with him tomorrow and I think I'm going to pitch me directing his parent's life story." So I did.

Guerrasio: At this point it's just script stage, no talent attached.

Serkis: Right. None. And he said, "Yeah, let's do it." So we started developing it and then "Jungle Book" came along and we started working on that and then that became a long preproduction. We shot "Jungle Book," principal photography, worked on it for a year and a half, and then this weird opportunity came up in the long post production we've had. Andrew and Claire became available and we raised the money in seven weeks and we shot the whole thing in seven weeks.

"Breathe." Bleecker Street/Participant Media

Guerrasio: Was that a nice time to shut off the part of your brain that was focused on "Jungle Book" or while making "Breathe" are you juggling that as well?

Serkis: Juggling lots of plates.

Guerrasio: But was it fun to shoot something that wasn't going to be as heavy motion-capture as "Jungle Book" is?

Serkis: I was so looking forward to it. This joy of seeing the performance at the end of the day rather than waiting a year and a half to see how a character is going to turn out eventually was a joy.

Guerrasio: Is that the big difference of directing "Breathe" versus "Jungle Book," the immediacy of it?

Serkis: In many ways it's the least complicated shoot I've ever done. On "The Hobbit" for Pete Jackson I was his second unit director, so that was my first grand scale experience as a director. Stepping onto a set with 150 crew and working for 200 days straight. The technical side of it was a huge education. So I felt prepared when I went into "Jungle Book."

Guerrasio: Was it nice to go back to basics, so to speak, of traditional filmmaking with "Breathe?"

Serkis: The simplicity was tied together with the brief shooting days. On those big projects you have nothing but time, this was like we have to get all of this in seven weeks. There was pressure. I didn't want to just make a film that felt like a drama-documentary that's handheld and not lit well. I always wanted to make it cinematic. It's based on truth but I wanted it to feel like a fairy tale which gradually gets stripped away towards the end of the movie.

Guerrasio: What did Jonathan think of the movie?

Serkis: He was by my side every day.

Guerrasio: But it's one thing if you make a biopic and the person it's based on is still alive, you may meet them briefly and maybe they'll come out and do press. This is the son of the main characters right next to you. Was it more pressure?

Serkis: We're such close friends, it was a joy. And he's so objective about his life. He wanted to see it from the outside. That was a gift.

Guerrasio: So you found the right guy to be your business partner.

Serkis: [Laughs] That's true. It could have gone horribly wrong.

Guerrasio: What's the latest on "Jungle Book?"

Serkis: We're in a really good place with it. We shot the performance capture, it's live-action, so we shot in South Africa with this amazing young actor named Rohan Chand. Our version is darker in tone to the Disney one. Which I loved.

Guerrasio: So you have seen it?

Serkis: Oh, yeah.

Guerrasio: You didn't feel like, "I can't see it, I have to go in fresh with mine."

Serkis: No. No. Because I just wanted to make sure we weren't covering similar ground and I don't think we are. There was a point where we were neck and neck, these films were potentially going to come out within months of each other.

Guerrasio: Could you sit back and enjoy Jon Favreau's movie and not analyze the heck out of it?

Serkis: When we were shooting at the same time there was a bit of that worry, but I knew our script was for a PG-13 audience. It's a story about identity and we're using performance-capture as opposed to the whole jungle being CG. So, honestly, you can't think about the other one, you focus on what you're doing. I love where it is. We have designed these animals that you can very much see the actors' faces we have — Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch — in them.

Guerrasio: So you're just deep in post right now?

Serkis: Yeah. The animation is flowing. I think it's in good shape.

Guerrasio: I would like your thoughts on motion-capture in general. We've now had CGI versions of living people — Michael Douglas in "Ant-Man," Robert Downey Jr. in "Captain America: Civil War" — but also people who have passed away — Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher in "Rogue One" — is there a certain line the industry should not cross in regards to using the tools we have?

Serkis: You mean digital resurrection?

Guerrasio: Exactly.

Serkis: I think if it's handled with taste and it honors actors who have passed and their families are happy, the estates are happy, if it's done in a respectful way, I think that's perfectly fine. But there has to be a good reason for doing it. Dramatically. Storywise. I mean, I think digitally resurrecting any character from history, Abraham Lincoln could have been performance-captured or Winston Churchill for that matter, it's a way of doing it. It's so funny because we love real stories and bringing people back to life through them. Think of how many actors have done an impersonation of somebody else. Wouldn't it be great to have the real Elvis Presley or someone through 3D imagery?

Snoke in "The Last Jedi." Disney/Lucafilm

Guerrasio: The recent "The Last Jedi" trailer has Snoke’s voice prominently featured. How did you come up with the voice?

Serkis: When I first worked on it with ["The Force Awakens" director] J.J. [Abrams] there was an evolving design of the character. It was going through lots of changes. But it's all about where a character carries his pain, or aggression, or emotional centers and with Snoke it was very much there [putting his hands to the back of his head]. And his skull has got this big scar in the front, so for me it was a fracturing. He's got this cleft in his head and I think it's very painful for him to speak and yet there's an imperiousness about him. He's severely damaged but there's a vulnerability that's he's trying to cover so that was sort of what I was trying to do.  

Guerrasio: I'd like your thoughts on the recently news about Harvey Weinstein's alleged sexual harassment and assault. Weinstein was an executive producer on all the "Lord of the Rings" movies. What's your reaction to the revelations?

Serkis: I think there's no excuse for a culture that allows for any kind of bullying or coercion on predatory behavior and I think we are behoove not just in this industry but across all industries to be vocal about that and to encourage and help and support people who are brave enough to come out and to challenge people who are in positions of authority if they behave badly. That's it. 

Original author: Jason Guerrasio

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