Aug
05

Bootstrap to $25 Million from Utah, Raise Money Later to Scale to $100 Million: John Pope, CEO of Jive (Part 3) - Sramana Mitra

Amazon CEO will testify before a congressional antitrust committee for the first time on Wednesday, alongside Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, and Mark Zuckerberg. While experts told Business Insider they expect the questioning to mostly pertain to matters of competition, Bezos will likely be grilled on everything from how Amazon treats third-party sellers to the company's approach to acquisitions. The hearing may come at a challenging time for Bezos, who recently added $13 billion to his net worth in a single day as the coronavirus still surges in parts of the US, contributing to widespread job losses. Bezos will need to downplay Amazon's size and power in favor of highlighting the benefit the company provides to small businesses and the communities it operates in. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

He's appeared in a Star Trek movie, built a $42 million, 10,000-year clock in the desert, and survived a helicopter crash. But on Wednesday, Jeff Bezos will do something he's never done before: testify before Congress.

Amazon's 56-year-old founder and CEO has been called to testify before the House Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee, which has spent the past year examining the business practices and market power of the nation's largest tech firms.

Though Bezos will likely testify virtually, via videoconference, he will be flanked — in a manner of speaking — by his peers: Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Bezos' fellow CEOs have all previously appeared before Congress in some capacity. More than 25 years after founding Amazon however, Bezos has somehow avoided a congressional hearing — until now.

His debut appearance is sure to draw a wide range of questions from lawmakers eager to drill into the company's vast business empire, explore its dominance of ecommerce, and to put a spotlight on Bezos' power and influence.

Whether Bezos appears on Capitol Hill in person or on a video screen, the one thing that's practically certain is that he will be on the hot seat. 

Here are some of the main topics and issues to watch for when Bezos testifies, beginning at Noon Eastern Time on Wednesday July 29:

Questioning Amazon's dominance

John Moore/Getty Images

While members of the committee will likely ask questions that apply to all of the disparate businesses represented by the four CEOs, Bezos should expect Amazon to be singled out for some tough lines of questioning.

Avery Gardiner, general counsel and senior fellow for competition, data, and power at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit that works to shape tech policy, told Business Insider she expects Bezos will, first and foremost, have to supply answers to inquiries relating to Amazon's private-label business.

A Wall Street Journal report from April found that Amazon was using trend data gleaned from third-party sellers in order to develop its own private-label products. While offering private-label products in stores is nothing new, the committee is likely to explore whether Amazon wields more power as a digital marketplace than a brick-and-mortar store would. 

By extension, Bezos will likely be asked who he sees as Amazon's most robust competitors — in that case, Gardiner said, we're likely to hear a lot about how Amazon competes with Walmart. 

Gardiner said she also expects to see Bezos, Zuckerberg, Cook, and Pichai questioned about their companies' acquisition strategies, given that CEOs are typically heavily involved in M&A activity. It's a timely line of questioning given that the Wall Street Journal reported last week that Amazon has implemented a strategy of meeting with and investing in startups, only to later make products that directly compete with them.

"There has been concern that the tech giants are using acquisitions to take out small competitors, so that's an area that the members of Congress could ask CEOs about that they will actually have the right, relevant people to give the answer," Gardiner said.

Workers prepare orders for customers at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Tracy, California, November 29, 2015. Reuters/Fred Greaves

Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and an outspoken critic of Amazon's effect on small businesses, told Business Insider that she expects Bezos to face a tough cross-examination from the committee. Looking at the antitrust hearing last summer as an example, in which lawmakers grilled high-level executives from all four companies, Mitchell noted that they devoted a significant amount of questions and aggressive follow-ups to Amazon — she expects Bezos to receive the same treatment.

Amazon's shipping business will be in the spotlight

Mitchell told Business Insider she predicts Bezos will be questioned about Amazon's logistics and shipping business, pointing to Fulfillment by Amazon, a service where sellers ship their products to a fulfillment center to be packed and shipped, as a way that Amazon wields power over vendors. A March report from Recode's Jason Del Rey found that Amazon was hiding products from sellers that offered faster shipping but didn't use Amazon's FBA service, which the company said was unintentional. 

"The algorithm that controls who gets the 'Buy Box,' who is chosen as the default seller for a particular product, appears to include a couple of components that make it essential, really, to use Fulfillment by Amazon," Mitchell said. "That is a way that it has effectively leveraged its monopoly power as an online marketplace to build a dominant business in a completely different industry." 

Mitchell also predicts Bezos will be grilled about counterfeit goods on Amazon's site, the tactics it uses to encourage sellers to offer lower prices on Amazon over other platforms, and whether it's using sponsored ads to squeeze more money out of vendors. 

What we shouldn't expect, however, is wild grandstanding from public officials. In past hearings, lawmakers have appeared to use the opportunity question CEOs like Zuckerberg or Pichai on issues unrelated to the matter at hand. But the antitrust hearing will be different, Mitchell believes, because it's the culmination of a year-long investigation into these companies. 

"What I'm assuming is on the committee's mind is getting to the bottom of questions that Amazon has dodged answering so far," Mitchell said. "I anticipate that the lawmakers are not going to be necessarily focusing on the most headline-y types of questions because they want to put Jeff Bezos under oath in order to compel him to actually answer a set of questions that they have as part of this investigation."

'It's all interconnected'

Amazon workers protesting the company's policies during the coronavirus pandemic on May 1 in Hawthorne, California. Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

Bezos' testimony is coming at what could be a challenging moment for the CEO. Earlier this month, Bezos added $13 billion to his fortune in a single day, his highest-ever one-day increase. With a net worth nearing $190 billion, he remains on track to becoming the first trillionaire by 2026. 

While Mitchell said it's unlikely Bezos will face direct questioning about his wealth, it's becoming more difficult to separate his wealth and Amazon's power. 

"He's built basically a big toll booth, or several big toll booths across several streams of commerce. It's a very remarkable and incredibly powerful place to be," Mitchell said. "There is this relationship, I think, between Amazon's gatekeeper power as core infrastructure for the economy and the company's ability to levy those tolls, and thus, Bezos' wealth. I think it's all interconnected."

The issue becomes thornier given the continuing financial impacts of the coronavirus crisis, which resulted in nearly 53 million unemployment claims filed over the past few months, more than during the Great Recession. While Amazon expanded hiring and increased pay early on in the pandemic, it has also fired workers after they spoke out about working conditions in the company's facilities during the outbreak. And it's not the first time Amazon has been criticized for worker treatment — warehouse workers and delivery drivers have long complained of the grueling cost of working for the company. 

Bezos' personal wealth may make him a target, but he could flip the script and cast himself as a small business savior

Though not necessarily issues of antitrust, it's possible Bezos will be unable to avoid the juxtaposition of his wealth with the humans who power Amazon. 

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks during an address to attendees at Access Intelligence's SATELLITE 2017 conference in Washington, U.S., March 7, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

While Bezos will be in the hot seat, however, we can also expect him to come prepared to push back on some of the issues at question. In the past, Bezos hasn't backed down from his goal to keep expanding Amazon's business, and has touted the ability of big business to revolutionize products and industries in a way that benefits consumers. While he's receptive to scrutiny of Amazon's business, he's said, Bezos has also argued that politicians and lawmakers shouldn't "vilify" large companies either.  

"All big institutions of any kind will be and should be scrutinized. It's not personal. It's kind of what we want to have as a society happen," Bezos said during an interview at the Economic Club in Washington, D.C. in 2018. "There are certain things that only big companies can do. Nobody in their garage is going to build an all-fiber fuel-efficient Boeing 787."

Gardiner predicted that Bezos will downplay Amazon's size and power in favor of talking up the benefit the company provides to its vendors and the communities it operates in. 

"I'm expecting that we'll hear a lot about empowering small businesses to get a broader reach for their products," Gardiner said. "I think we'll hear about efforts around COVID to stop the pandemic and donations they've made in their local communities. I'm expecting we'll hear a lot from Amazon about the benefits of free shipping and the ability to shop from home being important, particularly in a pandemic."

And given the high-profile nature of the hearing and the current cultural moment, it's likely that more people will be paying attention. Particularly given Bezos' customer-obsessed mantra, it's likely his answers won't be just for the benefit of the congressmen and women present, but for Amazon's customers too. 

"They do have an opportunity here to stand up and say what they do that they think benefits Americans," Gardiner said. "I think [he] will be very good at finding the opportunities to say all the things they do that they want Americans to hear about."

Original author: Avery Hartmans

Continue reading
  29 Hits
Aug
04

Thought Leaders in Artificial Intelligence: Gurjeet Singh, Co-Founder and Chairman of Ayasdi (Part 5) - Sramana Mitra

Twitter contractors in charge of monitoring account security and fraud improperly accessed data from the accounts of celebrities, including Beyoncé, Bloomberg reported Monday.Former employees said Twitter's internal controls were so lax that contractors were able to see users' phone numbers, email addresses, and approximate locations by creating fake help desk requests, according to Bloomberg.Twitter's security practices have come under intense scrutiny following a major hack of 130 prominent people and companies including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Kanye West, Apple and Uber.More than 1,000 employees and contractors had access to the internal tool at the core of the hack.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Twitter's lax internal policies allowed members of its security team to access the personal information of celebrity users, including Beyoncé, without their permission, Bloomberg reported Monday.

The security team, which is made up of 1,500 employees and contractors, has internal tools that allow it to see users' phone numbers, email addresses, and approximate location data in order to monitor accounts for fraud and content violations, the report said.

But widespread access to the tools and lenient rules around their use led some contractors to challenge each other to spy on celebrity accounts by submitting fake help desk tickets, former employees told Bloomberg.

Cognizant, the company that employed some of the contractors mentioned, did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

In an email to Business Insider, a Twitter spokesperson said the company does not tolerate the misuse of internal tools, and that doing so could result in termination, but declined to comment on the specific cases reported by Bloomberg.

The degree of access and control employees and contractors granted has come under scrutiny in recent weeks after hackers gained control of internal tools and hijacked the accounts of 130 high-profile individuals and companies, allowing them to perpetuate a Bitcoin scam that likely netted them at least $120,000.

Twitter said the incident was the result of a "coordinated social engineering attack" — a technique that involves manipulating victims in order to obtain information about an organization — that allowed the hackers to gain access to internal tools only available to Twitter's support teams.

With that tool, hackers were able to see users' personal information, including phone numbers, email addresses, and in some cases, private messages, Twitter said in a blog post detailing what happened.

Last week, Reuters reported that more than 1,000 Twitter employees and contract workers had access to that same tool, making it difficult for the company to guard against hacks like this one.

Employees have raised similar concerns around Twitter's internal security measures on multiple occasions since at least 2015, including to its board of directors, but fixes were put on the back burner in order to prioritize engineering projects focused on making the company more money, according to Bloomberg.

Original author: Tyler Sonnemaker

Continue reading
  27 Hits
Aug
04

Your Tweets can help predict crime

Joe Biden's campaign told staffers to "refrain from using and downloading TikTok" on their personal and work phones, first reported by Bloomberg Monday and confirmed by Business Insider.Biden's top lawyer told staffers in an email to avoid using the popular social media app due to security and privacy concerns, according to Bloomberg.TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny from US government officials who worry that its Chinese parent company ByteDance could cave to censorship or data requests from Beijing.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign told its staffers to avoid using popular social media app TikTok, Bloomberg first reported Monday and a campaign official confirmed to Business Insider.

Biden's general counsel, Dana Remus, told staffers in an email that they should "refrain from downloading and using TikTok on work and personal devices," citing concerns around data privacy and security, according to Bloomberg.

A campaign official told Business Insider the guidance reflects similar a recommendation from the Democratic National Committee, which along with the Republican National Committee, have warned staff not to use the app.

TikTok, which is owned by the Beijing-based internet company ByteDance, has faced increasing scrutiny in the US from lawmakers as well as intelligence and military officials who worry that has the potential to be influenced by the Chinese government.

The Guardian reported last year that internal documents instructed moderators to censor content that could anger Chinese officials, though TikTok said at the time that those policies are no longer in use.

Following the report, top US senators called on intelligence agencies to investigate the app's connection to China and whether it poses national-security risks.

Since then, the US military and several government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, have prohibited their troops and employees from using the app, and President Donald Trump has floated the idea of banning the app from operating in the US entirely — though he cited China's response to the coronavirus pandemic as his reason for wanting to curb its use.

Trump officials have also claimed that TikTok's data collection practices pose privacy risks to users. While the company has faced repeated allegations that it fails to protect children's information, experts also told Business Insider that TikTok's privacy policy suggests companies like Facebook and Google are similarly intrusive.

Original author: Tyler Sonnemaker

Continue reading
  29 Hits
Aug
08

With $5.3 million in funding, CarDash wants to change how you get your car serviced

Intel Chief Engineer Murthy Renduchintala is leaving the company, per a press release on Monday.The change comes after Intel announced that production problems have led to the delay of its next generation chips. The news caused Intel shares to fall sharply when it announced earnings last week.Murthy, who was a longtime president at Qualcomm, joined Intel in 2015 to help lead the company's bid to reclaim its dominance in the chip industry.Intel CEO Bob Swan announced changes to the Intel leadership team, including the appointment of Intel veteran Anne Kelleher as head of the chip giant's manufacturing operations.Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Intel's chief engineer, Murthy Renduchintala, is leaving the chip giant, the company said Monday.

The change comes as Intel reels from production woes that led to a delay of its next generation processors, stunning Wall Street and causing its stock to plummet.

Murthy, a veteran of the semiconductor industry who served as Qualcomm president for 12 years, joined Intel in 2015. He was one of three engineering stars who formed what was expected to lead Intel's bid to regain its competitive edge in a rapidly changing market.

The other engineering execs were Jim Keller, who came from Tesla and was a veteran of Apple, and Raja Koduri, one of the leading graphics chip engineers in the world, who joined from rival AMD. 

Intel announced last month that Keller was leaving. And last week, Intel stunned Wall Street when it said it had run into problems with its transition to a new manufacturing process, causing a delay in its next generation chips.

Intel CEO Bob Swan said Murthy, as Renduchintala is fondly called, will leave on August 3, as he also unveiled major changes in the Silicon Valley giant's leadership and engineering teams.

Among them was the appointment of Ann Kelleher, an Intel veteran, to lead the company's manufacturing operations. Koduri will continue to lead Intel architecture, software and graphics teams.

Got a tip about Intel or another tech company? Contact this reporter via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., message him on Twitter @benpimentel or send him a secure message through Signal at (510) 731-8429. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

Claim your 20% discount on an annual subscription to BI Prime by clicking here.

Get the latest Intel stock price here.

Original author: Benjamin Pimentel

Continue reading
  30 Hits
Aug
08

Meet the first eight startups in the Verizon Media Tech Venture Studio

A Swiss developer has pulled source code from 50 high-profile companies, including Microsoft and Nintendo, and published it in a public online repository on GitLab.The leak of mounds of original code behind Nintendo's classic games has specifically been dubbed "Gigaleak" online.According to a report from tech site Bleeping Computer, the developer was able to collect the code thanks to misconfigured tools used by the companies that leave proprietary information exposed, and some firms may not even be aware of the massive leak yet.Published source code gives people an inside look at certain company products, but it can also provide cyber attackers and bad actors an easier route for collecting confidential company information.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Internal software source code from more than 50 high-profile companies across tech, finance, retail, and other sectors has been leaked online. 

Originally reported by the tech site Bleeping Computer, a Swiss developer named Tillie Kottmann was able to pull source code from the likes of Microsoft, Nintendo, Disney, Motorola, and others because of insecure DevOps applications that leave proprietary company information exposed. Kottmann posted the code on the online repository manager GitLab, which anyone can access, tagged under "exconfidential" and "Confidential & Proprietary." The developer posted a link to the online repository on their Twitter account.

The leaked Nintendo code especially gained attention from the gaming world — it gives an inside look at the source code behind some of the company's most classic games, as Polygon reports. The leaked Nintendo code has been dubbed the "GigaLeak" online.

Making the source code available for public viewing could allow cyber attackers to more easily scrounge for confidential company information, as security specialist Jake Moore told tech blog Tom's Guide.

"Losing control of the source code on the internet is like handing the blueprints of a bank to robbers," Moore told the site.

According to Bleeping Computer, Kottmann is responsive to requests from the companies to take down their source code. A leak that had previously revealed code from Daimler, the parent company to Mercedez-Benz, is no longer listed in the online repository. But some firms, according to the report, may not even notice that their source code has been published online. And even when they are made aware, they may not care — developers at one company simply wanted to know how Kottmann was able to pull the code collection off, per the report, and said to have "a lot of fun."

Kottmann told Bleeping Computer that they attempt to remove hardcoded credentials, which are embedded credentials generally used to create backdoors, from the companies' source code before publishing it to avoid an even more robust security breach.

"I try to do my best to prevent any major things resulting directly from my releases," the developer told the outlet.

Kottmann's Twitter account bio in part reads "probably leaking your source code right now." The account's pinned tweet is a crowdsourcing post asking for "any confidentiality, documents, binaries or source code, which you think should be made available to the public..." 

Read the full report on Bleeping Computer here.

Original author: Katie Canales

Continue reading
  32 Hits
Aug
08

MojiLaLa, the sticker marketplace, lands $1.5M seed round from Great Oaks, betaworks

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

Walmart; Alyssa Powell/Business Insider Walmart+, the company's Amazon Prime competitor, is expected to launch this month, according to a report first published in Recode. The retailer is expected to set the annual Walmart+ subscription price at $98 per year.The service will reportedly include same-day delivery of groceries and fuel discounts among other perks.Finally, the service could also include access to exclusive deals and shopping events before the general public, as well as automated checkout at Walmart stores.Read everything you need to know about the Walmart+ shopping subscription service here and see how Walmart+ vs. Amazon Prime shakes out based on what we know right now in our comparison of the two services.

Amazon Prime is about to meet its first true challenger in Walmart+, the premium retail subscription from the nation's largest brick-and-mortar retailer. Walmart+ is expected to launch in July 2020 with a price of $98 per year, according to a report in Recode.

For those keeping score, that's more than $20 cheaper than the cost of Amazon Prime, but the Walmart+ launch comes at a time when about 150 million people worldwide are already subscribed to Amazon's service.

So, if you came to learn all about the price for Walmart+ and what you get for the money, let's break it down to give as thorough an answer as we possibly can right now.

Original author: Joe Osborne

Continue reading
  33 Hits
Aug
08

Guideline raises $15 million led by Felicis to make 401(k)s more widely available

Ireland launched its coronavirus contact-tracing app, COVID Tracker, on July 7, and other countries have asked to use it as a basis for their own apps.Business Insider spoke to the technical director at NearForm, the software company that built COVID Tracker with Ireland's health authority, to find out how they avoided the pitfalls that have plagued other contact-tracing apps.NearForm was originally working on a centralized app that would group user data together for authorities to study, but switched to a more private, decentralized model after Google and Apple released contact-tracing tech for developers.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Countries the world over have tried to find ways to track the spread of the coronavirus through their citizens' smartphones, with varying success. Ireland's attempt stands out.

Ireland launched its contact-tracing app, COVID Tracker, on July 7, and within a week it was downloaded by around 37% of Ireland's adult population. The app garnered international attention and NearForm, the software company that built the app with Irish health authorities, has been approached by other countries, and US states, to help build overseas versions.

Business Insider spoke to NearForm's technical director Colm Harte to find out how the software company avoided the pitfalls that have hindered contact-tracing apps in other countries, including the UK, where an national app was promised for May but is now slated for winter.

NearForm never pitched itself as a government partner on contact tracing — instead, it was approached by the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) in March, Harte said.

"We were very keen to help, so this kind of kicked off over a weekend in mid-March. We put a team together and within the first 24 hours we went back with designs," he said. A day later, the app had a development team, and three days later, a working prototype. 

That prototype showed how the app would look to users, but NearForm still had to actually build the crucial contact-tracing tech.

It set up a team to look at how the app could harness Bluetooth. Like many contact-tracing apps, COVID Tracker makes phones use Bluetooth to send out signals, searching for nearby phones with the app downloaded. These signals produce a log of contacts — if one user tests positive for the virus and is asked by the HSE to upload their log, others users are alerted through the app.

Bluetooth was a problem, particularly with iPhones, which normally won't send Bluetooth signals if an app is running in the background. The HSE set up calls with Apple, and soon afterwards, Apple and Google announced they would release an API for contact-tracing apps — basically, a standardized framework app developers could use.

The Google-Apple "exposure notification" API was rolled out to developers on May 20.

The COVID Tracker app also gives users information about COVID-19 in Ireland. Sinéad Baker/Business Insider

It turned the team's plans upside-down. NearForm's app was based on a centralized model, which pools user data externally so it can be examined by authorities. "There are some advantages to the centralized model, you get a lot more useful information from an epidemiological perspective," said Harte.

But Apple and Google were clear: If authorities wanted to use their API, they had to build decentralized apps, where the data remains on the users' phone. This would preserve user privacy, the firms said. 

Harte said the Bluetooth limitations and the privacy argument made the decision to switch straightforward for the HSE. "From a technical perspective and a privacy perspective, it goes down better with the public," he said. "We'd kind of hit [a] brick wall with Bluetooth technology."

Having Apple and Google shoulder some of the technical burden was a bonus. "It made a lot of sense because otherwise you were going to have to invest a lot of time and effort to try and get that better," he said. 

In its first two weeks, the app has already been used to detect positive cases of the virus, Fran Thompson, chief information officer at the HSE, told Business Insider in a statement. Harte said it's still too early to tell how much impact the app will have on curbing the spread of the virus, but even if it detects only a small number of cases, that's better than nothing, he said.

Out of Ireland's population of 4.9 million, 25,800 people have so far tested positive for the coronavirus, of whom 1,753 are confirmed to have died, per the World Health Organization.

"Any impact this has is beneficial, so if it breaks even a handful of transmission chains it's been of benefit," Harte said.

Original author: Isobel Asher Hamilton

Continue reading
  51 Hits
Aug
04

Roundtable Recap: August 3 – Economic Development - Sramana Mitra

Apple announced it would give US retail employees and hourly workers paid time off on Election Day to vote or volunteer at a polling place, Bloomberg News reported Friday."If they choose, our teams can also use this time to volunteer as an election worker at one of your local polling stations," Deirdre O'Brien, senior vice president of retail and people at Apple, said in an email.The news comes after nearly 400 other companies joined a nonpartisan coalition called Time To Vote to encourage employees to vote by giving paid time off on Election Day, including Twitter and Uber.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Apple Inc. announced it will give employees paid time off on Election Day to vote or volunteer at a polling place, Bloomberg News reported Friday.

The company will offer US retail employees and hourly workers as many as four hours of time off on November 3, to vote or volunteer, according to the Bloomberg News report.

"For retail team members and hourly workers across the company, if you're scheduled to work this Election Day, we'll be providing up to four hours of paid time off if you need it to get to the polls," Deirdre O'Brien, senior vice president of retail and people at Apple, wrote in an internal email obtained by Bloomberg News.

"If they choose, our teams can also use this time to volunteer as an election worker at one of your local polling stations," O'Brien continued in the email.

Representatives from Apple Inc. did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

The news comes after nearly 400 other companies joined a nonpartisan coalition called Time To Vote to encourage employees to vote by giving paid time off on Election Day, including Twitter and Uber. Apple did not appear on the list of affiliated companies, according to the website.

Original author: Lauren Frias

Continue reading
  51 Hits
Aug
04

Are Twitter’s Days Numbered? - Sramana Mitra

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

Dylan Buell/Getty Images; Bob Levey/Getty Images; Josh Hedges/Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/Business Insider

 

Streaming has largely overtaken cable and satellite as the preferred method to watch movies and TV shows at your leisure. Low price points and the ability to watch on the go are primary reasons for the migration, but one sector has largely resisted any such paradigm shift — professional sports.

If you're a sports fan, you might be shelling out for traditional cable just to watch your favorite team. Hefty deals between sports leagues and TV networks have prevented services like Netflix from streaming games, but ESPN now has a low-cost service that should satiate many sports fans' appetites. 

Updated on 07/24/2020 by Steven Cohen: We've revised this article to include details about UFC Fight Night on July 25. Added a link to our guide to watching the 2020 MLB season. Added details about a rumored price increase for ESPN+. 

ESPN+ is a streaming subscription service that's considered a complement to existing ESPN content, not technically a separate platform. Think of it as an add-on to the standard ESPN app with live games, exclusive on-demand videos, and access to what was formerly known as ESPN Insider.

Previously, ESPN Insider offered subscribers exclusive written articles for a monthly $4.99 fee. ESPN decided to add video to the mix and created ESPN+ for the same price, giving subscribers access to stories, live streaming, and on-demand videos.

What's included with ESPN+?

ESPN+ is available to stream on mobile devices, media players, and select smart TVs. engadget

ESPN+ includes a bevy of exclusive video content from live games to on-demand shows and exclusive stories. Unfortunately, the live games come with commercials — just like regular TV.

Subscribers can watch live games from the MLB, NHL, and MLS when their seasons are active; there are no live NBA or NFL games. There's also PGA golf, UFC, college football, international soccer, and tennis. You can read more details on how to watch Major League Baseball's 2020 season on ESPN+ and other services here.

In addition to games, ESPN+ also features original shows, including in-depth game recaps and analyses hosted by Peyton Manning and Daniel Cormier, and a shorter version of "NFL Primetime." Documentary programs, like "30 for 30," as well as full replays of historic NFL games are also available to stream on-demand.

Does ESPN+ offer UFC PPV and UFC Fight Night events?

If you're a fan of UFC or boxing, ESPN+ will often offer exclusive pay-per-view (PPV) matches so you'll get even more content from the service. The PPV events cost $64.99 for existing subscribers. The most recent UFC PPV event was UFC 251 on July 11.

In addition to PPV matches, ESPN+ also features access to UFC Fight Night events, including a trio of events on UFC's Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Fight Nights are typically included as part of a regular ESPN+ subscription for $4.99 per month. The final Fight Island event is UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till on July 25. 

What's not included with ESPN+?

ESPN+ is technically separate from ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNews, so a subscription will not grant you access to live games being broadcast on those networks, including any live games during Monday Night Football and Sunday Night Baseball. That said, MLB games are still available to be streamed.

New docuseries airing on ESPN, like "The Last Dance," are also not included with a subscription. With that said, programs like this could be added to the ESPN+ library at a later date.

Your ESPN+ account is not the same as a cable login with access to the ESPN networks, so there's no way of getting around it either. 

How much does ESPN+ cost?

An ESPN+ subscription will only run you $4.99 per month, or $49.99 annually — $10 less than what you'd pay if you go month to month. With that said, a report from The Verge indicates that ESPN could increase the price of ESPN+ to $5.99 a month starting in August. This price increase has not been confirmed yet.

There's also a combo package that bundles ESPN+ with Hulu and the new Disney Plus streaming service for just $12.99 per month — a $5 savings each month compared to getting all three services separately.

Where can I watch ESPN+?

One of the cool things about ESPN+ is that you can access it through the current ESPN app.

Instead of launching a separate app, all the ESPN+ content is unlocked in the ESPN app once you subscribe. The app is available on virtually every platform you can imagine — phones, tablets, laptops, Roku players, Fire TV products, Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast, PS4, Xbox One, and Samsung smart TVs. 

You can also stream on up to three devices simultaneously with one account.

How do I sign up for ESPN+?

Head over to the ESPN+ website and create an account, or open your existing ESPN account and you'll be prompted to sign up.

 

Read more about ESPN+ on Insider Reviews:

Original author: Nick Hastings and Steven Cohen

Continue reading
  51 Hits
Aug
08

Spin launches first city-sanctioned dockless bike sharing in Bay Area

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

MLB reopening. Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images) Major League Baseball (MLB) started its condensed regular season with two games on July 23, 2020.Teams will operate on a 60-game schedule plus playoffs, with games taking place in empty stadiums.The 2020 MLB season will be broadcast across ESPN+, ESPN, Fox, TBS, MLB TV, and regional sports affiliate networks.To get access to MLB coverage, we suggest using ESPN+, along with a live TV streaming service with support for ESPN, Fox, and TBS, like Sling TV or Hulu + Live TV.

 

One month ago, as the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and Major League Soccer (MLS) finalized their plans for season restarts — making them the first two United States sports leagues to begin play during the coronavirus pandemic — Major League Baseball's future was not solidified. The MLB was set to begin its season on March 26 but cancelled these plans in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Following this delay, regular discussions took place between the MLB Players Association and the MLB over the logistics of beginning the season. On June 23, the two parties struck a deal that would see their sport return to play on July 23. 

Unlike the NWSL, MLS, and NBA, the 2020 MLB Season will not take place inside of a "bubble." Teams will play 60 games, 30 at home and 30 on the road. Each team will play its divisional opponents 10 times, totaling 40 games, and 20 games against interleague opponents from the same geographical division. For example, the AL East's teams will play games against their NL East counterparts.

The level of uncertainty surrounding the longevity of the 2020 MLB season is significantly higher than that of the NWSL, MLS, and NBA. This uncertainty primarily stems from the travel necessary to execute this season. Transportation, hotel stays, and entering and exiting stadiums all present the possibility of virus exposure.

Apart from modifying the season schedule, Major League Baseball is implementing further changes to this shortened season. Things like a universal designated hitter, extra innings beginning with a runner on second base, and a minimum three batter rule for pitchers entering a game, will all impact game plan execution. There are also changes to roster composition — making it easier for teams to manage their squads should coronavirus infections become an issue.

Major Storylines

Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts runs during spring training baseball Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Associated Press

The story of this MLB season, as was the case in March, begins with the Los Angeles Dodgers. With seven straight NL West Division Titles, including five NLCS appearances and two World Series runs over that period, the Dodgers have been tantalizingly close to a World Series championship. They strengthened their already stellar squad this offseason with the addition of former AL MVP Mookie Betts. With Betts in the outfield, the Dodgers are the odds-on favorite to be this year's champions. 

The Dodgers face a formidable field as they eye their first title since 1988. Namely, the American League's two best teams in 2019, the New York Yankees and Houston Astros, look capable of repeating, or exceeding, last year's successes. 

The Astros took the eventual champion Washington Nationals to seven games in the last World Series. Their only major departure during the offseason was starting pitcher Gerrit Cole, who joined the aforementioned New York Yankees. 

In signing Cole, the Yankees addressed an area of urgent need. With Cole on the books to boost their starting rotation, as well as Aaron Judge returning from injury, the Yankees are their typical, competitive selves. 

There are plenty of other teams capable of competing to be this year's World Series Champions. Squads like the Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, and St. Louis Cardinals are all legitimate contenders. With that being said, the condensed nature of this season, paired with a prolonged offseason, means there is even more volatility than in a typical MLB season. Other contenders will certainly emerge. 

How to watch MLB games Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

The first weekend of baseball offers fans 13 nationally broadcasted games across ESPN, Fox, Fox Sports, MLB Network, and TBS. You can find the full list of the year's nationally televised games here. For viewing of nationally broadcasted MLB games on these channels, you will need a cable or satellite package with access to those channels, or a subscription to a live TV streaming service with support for those networks. 

ESPN, Fox, Fox Sports, and TBS are all available through Hulu + Live TV. Additionally, packages from Sling TV, AT&T TV, and Youtube TV include those channels, plus MLB Network.

Of all these options, the most affordable way to gain live streaming access to ESPN, Fox, Fox Sports, TBS, and MLB Network is via a Sling TV Orange + Blue membership with the Sports Extras add-on. This package costs $60 a month.

In addition to the regular ESPN cable channel, the ESPN+ streaming service will show seven MLB games during the month of July and select games throughout the rest of the season. It is one of our favorite deals in streaming because of the massive selection of sports content available for just $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year.

Non-nationally broadcasted games are exclusively carried by regional sports networks, such as NESN (Boston Red Sox), Marquee Sports Network (Chicago Cubs), Fox Sports Regional networks, NBC Sports Regional networks, and others.

Finally, to view all out-of-market MLB games, fans can subscribe to MLB.TV for $24.99 a month. 

The MLB 2020 season began with two games on Thursday, July 23. First, the New York Yankees faced the Washington Nationals at 7:00 p.m. ET. Then, the Los Angeles Dodgers squared off with the San Francisco Giants at 10:00 p.m. ET.

Original author: Andrew Severin

Continue reading
  38 Hits
Jun
09

Startup CXO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Company’s Critical Functions and Teams

Quibi is working with bloggers to create content around its original programming. The mobile-video startup, which launched in April, has a deal with Static Media's content studio that resulted in paid posts about Quibi programming on entertainment sites like Looper and Nicki Swift.Other streaming services including Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video have had similar deals with publishers to promote their programming over the years.Do you have a tip about Quibi? Email this reporter at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or message her on the encrypted messaging at Signal at +1-347-770-5933.Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Quibi is paying for bloggers to write about its original programming. 

The mobile-video startup, which launched in April, inked a deal with Static Media's studio to create content focused on Quibi shows.

Static's pop-culture blog, Looper, published nine posts between June 30 and July 21 that were marked "paid for by Quibi and created by Looper," based on Business Insider's review of the website. NickiSwift.com, another Static brand, also published four posts in roughly the same time period that were marked "paid for by Quibi."

The posts focused on shows including "Reno 911," "Dummy," "Most Dangerous Game," "The Stranger," "Nikki Fre$h," "Kirby Jenner," and "Chrissy's Court," which began rolling out in April or May.

Quibi characterized the content to Business Insider as market research to find topics that were popular with consumers. It said it has a broad range of partnerships, like others in the industry.

Quibi, which raised $1.8 billion ahead of launch, has ramped up its efforts to get people talking about its programming since the platform was released.

The subscription service debuted to disappointing user uptake, though Quibi previously told Business Insider it was proud of its launch.

Analytics firm Antenna, which measures churn and other metrics for subscription businesses, estimated that 27% of people who signed up for Quibi's 90-day free trial on the first day it was available stuck around, and started paying for the service when their trials ended in July.

The retention rate was lower than that of other recent streaming entrants, including Disney Plus. But Quibi didn't have the benefit of the established Disney brand and its broad back catalog of content.

One Quibi investor recently told Business Insider that word-of-mouth around Quibi content, much of which stars big names like Kevin Hart, Liam Hemsworth, and Anna Kendrick, will be crucial to the platform gaining more traction.

On top of pushing new titles like the Kevin Hart-starring "Die Hart" and its upcoming "The Fugitive" series," Quibi is also still marketing its first slate of shows, as the recent Looper and Nicki Swift content suggests. Some of Quibi's series performed solidly among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but failed to break through into the broader cultural conversation.

Other streaming services have also turned to sponsored content to get people talking about their originals.

Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon have paid publishers from PopSugar to The Atlantic to promote their programming over the years. The trend goes back to at least 2013, when Netflix sponsored an op-ed in the New York Times about women in the prison system to promote "Orange Is the New Black," one of its first hit original series. 

Netflix has also worked with Static's Looper. In one example, Looper published an article titled, "Hidden mystery gems on Netflix you need to watch," which was also published as a video in partnership with Looper on Netflix's film-focused YouTube account. (Netflix declined to comment on the partnership.)

Working with bloggers appears to be one part of a larger strategy to get more attention for Quibi's programming. 

Quibi has been more active on social media in recent weeks, sharing more clips of its programming and organic articles about the content.

In June, Quibi tweeted one Looper article about "Most Dangerous Game," with a self-effacing joke that nodded at the mixed reception its content had gotten.

"See guys we have a good show," the tweet said.

That particular Looper article was not paid for by Quibi, according to Looper, though the subsequent marked articles were.

—Quibi (@Quibi) June 24, 2020

 

Quibi also enabled screenshotting within its mobile platform this week, opening the door for people to generate memes and otherwise share moments from Quibi shows.

Original author: Ashley Rodriguez

Continue reading
  37 Hits
Jun
09

Pennylane raises $18.3 million for its accounting service

Alt texts are short descriptions that help describe an image, usually on web pages. Alt text read aloud by accessibility tools called screen readers, and also used by search engines to better understand and rank the website the image is on. 

Alt text is never a part of the image file itself – you won't find it embedded in the JPG file, for example. Instead, it's paired with the image manually by whoever uploads it.

There are two easy ways to see if an image on a website has alt text. You can turn on your own screen reader, or "Inspect" the page's HTML code to see what alt text has been assigned to the image. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Apple Macbook Pro (From $1,299.00 at Apple)

Acer Chromebook 15 (From $179.99 at Walmart)

How to check if an image has alt text on a web page using a built-in app or Chrome extension 

Windows users can check for alt text in an image by using the built-in screen reader called Narrator, which can be accessed via the Start Menu's search function. Mac users can also try VoiceOver Utility, Apple's built-in screen reader found in the Finder's Applications menu. 

Those who use Chrome as their browser can install the ChromeVox extension. Once installed, activate the extension if necessary and click on an image to hear the alt text. 

A screen reader like ChromeVox will read the alt text of any selected image on a web page aloud. Dave Johnson/Business Insider

How to check if an image has alt text on a web page by inspecting it

1. On a webpage, right-click the photo you want to see the alt text for. 

2. In the menu that appears, choose to inspect the HTML. In Chrome or Firefox, select "Inspect." For Edge, choose "Inspect Element."

3. A pane displaying HTML should appear. Look for the HTML tag that says "alt=." What follows will be the alt text description.

Look for alt= to see the alt text for an image. Dave Johnson/Business Insider

Insider Inc. receives a commission when you buy through our links.

Original author: Dave Johnson

Continue reading
  33 Hits
Jun
09

EleutherAI claims new NLP model approaches GPT-3-level performance

To add alt text to images in PowerPoint, or edit an image's existing alt text, select the photo and choose "Edit Alt Text…" from the Picture Format toolbar. When you add an image to PowerPoint, the program usually adds its own suggested alt text, which you can change.It's helpful to add alt text to your slides' images for anyone using a screen reader. Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

Alt text is a short description of a digital image that can be read aloud by a screen reader. While we generally think about alt text as a part of web pages, it's a valuable tool anywhere users may need additional help to understand what images appear on the screen. 

For example: You can add alt text to images in PowerPoint for just this purpose. 

The easiest way to add alt text in PowerPoint is to do it as you're adding the image, but you can also add or change alt text to an image that's already been added to a PowerPoint slide. 

If you want to write or edit the alt text of images in your PowerPoint presentation, here's how to do it, using PowerPoint on Mac or PC.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Microsoft Office (From $149.99 at Best Buy)

Apple Macbook Pro (From $1,299.00 at Apple)

Acer Chromebook 15 (From $179.99 at Walmart)

How to add alt text to a new image in PowerPoint

1. In PowerPoint, add an image by clicking "Insert," selecting "Pictures" from the ribbon, then choosing "This Device…"

2. When the image appears in your slide, you should see PowerPoint's suggested alt text appear at the bottom of the image. 

PowerPoint automatically suggests alt text, which you can edit. Dave Johnson/Business Insider

3. To change the suggested alt text, click on it. 

4. In the Alt Text pane that opens on the right side of the screen, click the text field.

5. Edit the alt text however you like, and the change will be automatically made to the image. 

You can change the alt text in the Alt Text pane. Dave Johnson/Business Insider

How to add alt text to an existing image in PowerPoint

1. In PowerPoint, find the image you want to update and click it. 

2. Select "Picture Format." 

3. Choose "Alt Text" in the ribbon. 

4. You can also choose to right-click the image and select "Edit Alt Text…" from the drop-down menu.

5. Enter the alt text you want to use in the text field. It'll be automatically saved with your deck. 

How to use PowerPoint's alt text controls

When you create or edit alt text, you have two options aside from typing alt text manually. 

If the alt text field is empty, you have the option of clicking "Generate a description for me." This is a fast way to add alt text, but it's not recommended. The alt text may be superficially correct, but it's unlikely to be specific enough to be genuinely helpful to users who need it. 

You can also mark an image as decorative. Only do this if, like a border around text, it is irrelevant to understanding the slide deck and describing it would add no value. 

You can mark an image as purely decorative, or allow PowerPoint to create the alt text for you. Dave Johnson/Business Insider

 

Insider Inc. receives a commission when you buy through our links.

Original author: Dave Johnson

Continue reading
  33 Hits
Jun
09

Happy Birthday, HubSpot! 15 Lessons Over 15 Years

A researcher created a machine learning model that creates new lyrics to existing songs, much in the same way that parody singer Weird Al Yankovic does.But the algorithm, dubbed "Weird A.I. Yancovic," has landed creator Mark Riedl in hot water with the record industry, according to a Vice report.Twitter took down one of his videos, which featured the instrumental section of Michael Jackson's "Beat It," after a coalition of major record companies submitted a copyright notice.Riedl is pushing back against the takedown and argues his work is protected by the fair use doctrine.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A researcher has created an algorithm that uses artificial intelligence to create new lyrics "that match the rhyme and syllables schemes of existing songs," per a Vice report published Thursday.

Mark Riedl, a researcher at Georgia Tech, told Vice he created his "Weird A.I. Yancovic" algorithm as a personal project. The algorithm's name is inspired by the parody singer Weird Al Yankovic, who does something similar, taking existing songs and creating his own spinoff version with new lyrics. One of his most popular parodies is "White & Nerdy," a take on "Ridin" by rappers Chamillionaire and Krayzie Bone.

As Vice notes, however, Yankovic reportedly asks the original artist for permission before creating his parody of a given song. Riedl does not — and it's landed him in hot water.

Riedl posted a video to Twitter on May 15 with AI-generated lyrics and the instrumental part of Michael Jackson's "Beat It." On July 14, Twitter took it down after the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, a coalition of some of the record industry's biggest companies, submitted a copyright takedown notice to Twitter, per the report. Coincidentally, Weird Al Yankovic, the parody singer, also created a version of the hit track, entitled "Eat It," in 1984.

Other similar AI-generated videos that Riedl has posted to Twitter have stayed up, like a spinoff of Sam Smith and Normani's "Dancing With a Stranger."

Riedl told the outlet he thinks his videos are protected by fair use, which is a loophole in copyright laws that allow people to use copyrighted work without obtaining permission beforehand in certain circumstances. The doctrine covers parody work, among other stipulations.

"I would argue that my system is generating parody lyrics and that I do not require permission from the copyright holder to publish parody content," Riedl told Vice. "I am not a lawyer, however." Vice spoke with Casey Fiesler, an Information Science professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, who agreed that Riedl's video should be protected under fair use.

As Vice explores, the debacle has raised a host of questions pertaining to the intersection of technology and copyright usage, including how algorithm-generated work should be contextualized under fair use and how copyright laws could, or should, evolve to adapt to advancements in technology, like AI.

Per the report, Riedl is pushing back against Twitter's takedown of his "Beat It" video and hasn't heard back from the company yet.

Read the full report on Vice here.

Original author: Katie Canales

Continue reading
  35 Hits
Jun
09

Dungeons & Dragons Online interview: Reflecting on 15 years of adventure

A leaked Apple document obtained by The Washington Post suggests that Apple is imposing tight restrictions on developers participating in its "Find My" program.The program allows third party developers to build support for Apple's Find My service into their products.According to the Post, the program prohibits the devices in Apple's Find My program from working with other competing products simultaneously.It sounds like it could be similar to the way Apple's HomeKit Secure Video platform works.The report has surfaced as Apple's relationship with developers has come under scrutiny just before CEO Tim Cook will testify at an upcoming antitrust hearing.Are you an app developer with an insight to share? Contact this reporter Contact this reporter via encrypted email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), standard email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), or Twitter DM (@lisaeadicicco). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a nonwork device to reach out.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A leaked Apple document has shed light on the guidelines and restrictions the company imposes on app developers participating in its "Find My" program, according to a new report from The Washington Post.

The Find My program, along with other changes Apple recently made to grant third-party apps greater access to its ecosystem, have been portrayed as a big win for developers, coming as Apple's relationship with app makers has come under scrutiny. 

Find My is an Apple app that allows you to locate lost or stolen Apple devices tied to your Apple ID. Find My can also work even when devices are offline and sleeping by sending out Bluetooth signals from the misplaced device that can be detected by other nearby Apple products.

Apple announced the Find My network accessory program in June, which lets companies build support for Find My into their product so that iPhone owners can track them using the app. 

But the Post's report points out what appears to be a restriction mentioned in the document: Competing services  cannot be used with products in the program simultaneously — a decision that developers have characterized as odd, according to The Post. 

The report did not elaborate on what this means, but it sounds similar to the way Apple's HomeKit Secure Video platform works. For example, when enrolling a Logitech camera with HomeKit Secure Video, 9to5Mac reported that users are presented with an agreement saying that the camera will no longer be usable with Logitech's Circle app once converted to a HomeKit Secure Video camera, since the firmware has been changed.

To revert the camera back to a version that's usable with Logitech's app, the customer would have to contact Logitech customer support. Converting the camera to HomeKit Secure Video also removes Android and web support, according to 9to5Mac.

But this doesn't appear to be a blanket restriction, as it seemingly varies by camera. The Netatmo Smart Indoor Camera still makes it possible to manage cameras via the Netatmo app even after enrolling it in HomeKit Secure Video, as iMore points out.

If this is similar to the structure of Apple's Find My specification, which is still in draft form, it wouldn't be totally unprecedented. But it would come amid heightened concerns about whether Apple's position as the operator of the iOS ecosystem and the App Store gives it an unfair advantage compared to developers. 

Apple spokesperson Alex Kirschner told the Post that the program could be beneficial for developers since it allows them to tap into Apple's network of devices. "If you were a smaller player interested in getting into the finding space and you haven't built a finding network, this allows you to do that," he said.

Apple declined to comment further on the matter when contacted by Business Insider. 

Tile, which makes a Bluetooth tracking accessory for tracking lost items, has voiced concerns about the level of access it's granted to the iOS operating system compared to Apple. The company raised issue with a change Apple made in iOS 13 which turns permission to always allow location access to app's like Tile's off by default, while the same setting is on by default for Apple's Find My app. Tile also sent a letter to the European Commission's competition chief Margrethe Vestager saying that Apple had been making moves to disadvantage Tile, according to The Financial Times.

The report comes as Apple — along with Google, Facebook, and Amazon — has been at the center of antitrust concerns in the technology industry. The CEOs of all four major tech companies are set to testify before Congress as part of an investigation into competition in digital marketplaces. Apple's practice of taking up to a 30% cut from App Store transactions is expected to be the focus of questions directed at CEO Tim Cook, coming after app makers like Spotify have said this rate makes it difficult to price their premium offering similarly to Apple Music.

Apple recently commissioned a study conducted by economic consulting and strategy firm Analysis Group showing that its App Store rates are similar to those of other online marketplaces.

Apple maintains that it maintains a level playing field for developers, saying on its website that the App Store welcomes competition.

Are you an app developer with an insight to share? Contact this reporter Contact this reporter via encrypted email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), standard email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), or Twitter DM (@lisaeadicicco). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a nonwork device to reach out.

Original author: Lisa Eadicicco

Continue reading
  34 Hits
Jun
09

Qlik unveils Data Literacy 2.0 to educate enterprise users

Who killed the electric car? Infamously, General Motors — the automaker's discontinued EV1, a pioneering vehicle from the 1990s, was the fallen hero of a 2006 documentary.

But GM has more than made up for the presumed offense; in addition the Chevy Bolt EV, in market since late 2016, the company has declared that its future is electric and that 22 new electrified vehicles should be rolling out by 2023.

We already knew about a larger Bolt SUV, a GMC Hummer electric pickup, and the forthcoming Cadillac Lyriq EV. Now with the release of GM's 2019 Sustainability Report, we learn that a full-size, electric Chevy pickup is on the way, offering "offering 400+ miles of range on a single charge," GM indicated.

GM's Detroit Hamtramck factory will produce EVs . GM

The electric pickup now looks to be the marquée products hitting roads and trails in the coming months. Tesla revealed its Cybertruck at the end of last year, startup Rivian has a pickup headed for manufacturing, and Ford is in the process of developing a hybrid F-150 as a precursor to an all-electric F-Series (we've already seen a prototype tow a million-pound load of freight train cars).

A full-size Chevy EV pickup should logically be badged as a Silverado, as Autoweek suggests, but who knows? Hummer came back as a GMC. So Chevy could play around with the nameplate.

Earlier this year, GM provided substantial insight into its Ultium battery technology and its overall electrification strategy going forward. That means a fleet of EV Caddys, Buicks, a Hummer SUV, and now a Chevy pickup. In the grand scheme of things, its an ambitious lineup that would give GM one of the largest EV portfolios in the industry.

Original author: Matthew DeBord

Continue reading
  34 Hits
Aug
03

ScriptDrop delivers your prescriptions with pizzazz

If you can't add music to an Instagram Story or video, it might mean you live in a country or region where the feature isn't available due to copyright issues.Not being able to add music to an Instagram Story might also signal that you need to update your Instagram app.If you're trying to share a branded content campaign, you can't put music in it, no matter where you are. Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

Adding music to an Instagram Story is an easy way to add humor, interest, and emotion to your videos. It's one of the many effects and filters available that makes the platform so popular. 

But if you find yourself not able to add music to your Instagram Stories — say, if the music sticker isn't available  — you may think you're out of luck. 

There are a few reasons why you might not be able to add music to your Instagram Story, and they include:

You live in a country where the feature isn't available. Music is enabled on the app in over 90 countries, but due to Instagram's strict adherence to copyright law, it's disabled in some countries.Your app is out of date. You may need to simply update Instagram.You're trying to share a branded content campaign. Due to copyright laws and Instagram's advertising policies, music and some other features like stickers and emojis aren't allowed in branded content ads.

Instagram's licensing agreements also limit the amount of music you can include in live videos, but there's no limits on adding music to Stories. 

Here's how to tell if you can add music to your Instagram Story. This can be done using the Instagram app for both iPhone and Android devices.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Apple)

Samsung Galaxy S10 (From $699.99 at Walmart)

How to check if you can add music to an Instagram Story

Before adding music to any kind of Instagram post, you should read up on Instagram's music policies.

First, let's see if you can add music to your Instagram Story. 

1. Open the Instagram app and tap the camera icon in the top left corner, or the blue plus icon on your profile image.

2. Record a video, then tap the sticker icon, which looks like a square smiley face with the corner bent.

Open the Stickers menu. Steven John/Business Insider

3. On the pop-up screen, you should see a sticker that says "MUSIC," with little moving music bars next to it. You can also type "music" into the search bar to pull it up. 

Select the "MUSIC" sticker. Steven John/Business Insider

4. If you see the music option, you can continue adding music as you normally would.

If you don't see this option, you've fallen into one of the three categories explained above, and can't add music to your Instagram Stories normally.

However, even if you don't have this sticker, you're not out of luck. Playing music from a third-party app like Spotify or Amazon Music will work just fine.

How to add music to an Instagram Story if you don't have the music sticker

1. Open a music streaming app, like Spotify or Apple Music, on your device.

2. Start playing the song you want to use. 

3. With the song still playing, go back to Instagram and record your Story; the music playing on your phone will be integrated. You won't be able to add a dynamic album cover or live lyrics, however.

Note that if you add music this way, Instagram will check your Story for copyright infringement, and if detected, will remove the sound from your video.  

Insider Inc. receives a commission when you buy through our links.

Original author: Steven John

Continue reading
  34 Hits
Aug
03

Thought Leaders in Artificial Intelligence: Gurjeet Singh, Co-Founder and Chairman of Ayasdi (Part 4) - Sramana Mitra

Science is an ongoing process, which means new discoveries often upend old theories.Contrary to what many people learned in school, Pluto is not a planet (well, sort of), dinosaurs didn't look like the pictures in your textbook, and atoms aren't the most basic components of matter.Here are some science "facts" you may have learned in school that aren't true.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

If you were to file into a classroom and open your notebook for science class today, the subject matter might be a little different from when you were in school.

Our body of scientific knowledge is constantly growing and changing. New discoveries or studies often lead to changes in old theories and sometimes even invalidate them altogether. That means some of the "facts" you learned in school aren't necessarily true anymore.

For example, dinosaurs probably didn't look the way your textbook depicted them. The origins of Homo sapiens aren't as neat as the timeline you might have learned. And many of the nutrition and exercise guidance from your health classes has been debunked.

Here are some science facts you may have learned in school that aren't true anymore.

Original author: Morgan McFall-Johnsen

Continue reading
  35 Hits
Aug
03

HelloPlant tells you if your ficus is firsty

Staffing startups like Wonolo, Instawork, and Jitjatjo run apps that help temp workers find gigs at places that frequently need extra hands, like restaurants, warehouses, and hotels.Many of these startups are experiencing turbulent times as COVID-19 kills demand from their customers in industries that are affected by government shutdown orders, or by patrons' fears of  exposure to the virus.Wonolo CEO Yong Kim said business initially fell during the pandemic, but a boost in demand for essential businesses stabilized his company.These companies also struggle with a business model that requires sending temporary staffers from workplace to workplace while public health guidelines recommend minimizing contact with large numbers of other people.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Apps that match temp workers with short-staffed businesses like restaurants, hotels, and warehouses made up a burgeoning tech category before the coronavirus outbreak started erupting in the United States. Now, the startups that created those apps may be living or dying along with the businesses they serve.

"Business has been tough," said Thor Wood, CEO of SnapShyft, which matches workers with open shifts at restaurants and hotels in the Midwest.

Staffing startups serve a range of industries that rely on temp workers to fill shifts when business spikes past normal capacity, or permanent workers are out sick. Restaurants, hotels, and warehouses all use these platforms. Contract workers tap the staffing apps to pick up shifts washing dishes, laundering clothing, moving crates, or performing a host of other chores.

For staffing startups that assist businesses affected by government closure orders to fight the pandemic, the downturn in demand has been devastating.

"Business for us has dipped to the lowest of the lows," said Tim Chatfield, CEO of Jitjatjo, a New York City-based startup that services the metro area's vaunted dining scene. 

"We were on a trajectory to rapidly scale geographically," Chatfield said. "We've pulled that all back at the moment."

Now Chatfield runs Jitjatjo via video chats from a "command center" in his apartment's bedroom. His bed is hidden by a black curtain, and a custom purple neon sign hangs over his head, reading "#hirehospitality." He keeps a TV running nearby so he can stay on top of the headlines, as the future of his company rides on the latest news updates about the spread of the virus and local health regulations dictating whether his employees can work or not.

"We're dealing with something that is really, really tough in that the knowledge around it is evolving on an hourly basis," Chatfield said. "And we've got people spread out across multiple markets, each with different rules."

But as closure orders have demolished demand for temp workers from some businesses, demand from others has skyrocketed. Wonolo CEO Yong Kim said that although business started to get rocky in the early stages of the pandemic, the surge in demand from some of his client businesses brought Wonolo close to its pre-pandemic customer growth expectations. Wonolo has a more diversified clientele than some of its rivals.

"Think about all the supply chain businesses that are in the supply chain, or logistics-related for consumers," Kim said. "Grocery stores that need stock, courier services that deliver goods, or ecommerce companies that provide online goods or services."

Companies that dispatch temporary staffers must grapple with the fact that their core business activity can run contrary to current public health guidance on slowing the spread of coronavirus. Far from limiting contact, these startups send staffers from one workplace to another, exposing them to large numbers of people and various indoor environments.

"There's lots of reasons food workers could be at high risk," said Peter Dooley, an industrial hygienist with the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. "Restaurant work involves typically close, small spaces… also, restaurant and food work involves a lot of people-to-people contact. A lot of interactions with people, whether it be customers or coworkers or management or whoever."

Startups have responded to these risks by furnishing workers with safety information. SnapShyft has sent CDC guidance and changes in local mandates through app alerts. Wonolo has created educational courses for its workers. And Jitjatjo, which actually employs its 10,000-strong workforce, is offering two weeks of paid sick leave for workers who catch the virus.

"We've only been made aware of two cases of positive results [of COVID-19]," Jitjatjo's Chatfield said, "Which is phenomenal considering we employ over 10,000 people."

Wood said he worries that even after business closure orders lift, workers will hesitate to continue using the apps out of fear for their own safety.

"The workers might have PPE, but there's no guarantee that the guests do or that they're going to abide by the rules," Wood said. "I've seen it firsthand where you've got some businesses and some groups of people that are adhering to the mask rules and social distancing, and others that are on a different planet."

Here are some of the leading startups in the staffing app industry:

Pared

San Francisco-based Pared was launched in 2015 and now operates in cities on both coasts and the midwest. Unlike many other apps in the same category, Pared focuses exclusively on finding shifts for food workers. Pared has been used by local restaurants and big names like Pizza Hut and McDonalds. 

Instawork

Instawork is often cast as a competitor to Pared. Both launched in San Francisco in 2015 and now operate in cities across the country. But unlike Pared, Instawork helps workers find shifts in industries outside of food-related work, including warehouse gigs and delivery jobs.

SnapShyft

Indianapolis-based SnapShyft was founded in 2016 and now provides shifts for food and event workers. The startup opened a second office in San Francisco last year to recruit top talent.

Wonolo

The Bay Area's Wonolo was founded in 2013, an early entry in the category. Wonolo helps businesses find temp workers for  a broad range of services, including warehouse work, food production, cleaning, and administrative positions. Wonolo claims high-profile corporate clients like Coca-Cola, Papa Johns, and fashion retailer Uniqlo.

Jitjatjo

New York City-based Jitjatjo was founded in 2016 and connects workers to shifts at the city's restaurants. Unlike many other startups in this category, Jitjatjo's more than 10,000 workers are employees of the company, not contractors. CEO Tim Chatfield said that business has been way down since the pandemic hit New York City. Jitjattjo has since pivoted to offering disinfection services.

Shiftgig

Chicago's Shiftgig was founded in 2012 and first focused on connecting local businesses to temp workers before transforming into a SaaS business that helps staffing agency employees find gigs. Shiftgig is used by national staffing agencies including LGC Hospitality and The Job Center.

Qwick

Qwick was founded in 2017 in Scottsdale, Arizona and has expanded to eight major cities across the country, including Phoenix, Dallas, San Diego, Atlanta, and New York City. Qwick is focused on finding shifts for food workers and event caterers. 

Original author: Max Jungreis

Continue reading
  33 Hits
Aug
17

Pensions startup ranks traditional providers in 'Robin Hood' index of fairness

Rivian coached employees into sharing trade secrets from their time at Tesla, according to a new lawsuit. Tesla says at least six former employees, and probably more, divulged confidential information in their new jobs at the competitor. Rivian denies the accusations, saying the alleged actions are "counter to Rivian's culture, ethos and corporate policies."Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Tesla has accused the upstart electric vehicle firm Rivian of stealing highly confidential trade secrets through newly hired workers.

In a lawsuit filed last week in California, Elon Musk's electric automaker accused the Amazon-backed startup and four of its employees of misappropriating the trade secrets that violate the former employees' non-disclosure agreements.

"Rivian instructed one recently departing Tesla employee about the types of Tesla confidential information that Rivian needs," Tesla's complaint alleges. "Both Rivian and the employee knew full well that taking such information would violate the employee's non-disclosure obligations to Tesla. Nonetheless, the employee expropriated for Rivian the exact information Rivian sought — highly sensitive, trade secret information that would give Rivian huge competitive advantage."

Tesla says it caught the culprits "using recently acquired sophisticated electronic security monitoring tools," and that it expects more employees to be named in the suit as it discovers more instances of theft. In total, Tesla says 178 former employees have joined Rivian.

Rivian and the four specific employees named in the suit did not immediately return requests for comment on the allegations. In a statement to Bloomberg, the company said the alleged actions are "counter to Rivian's culture, ethos and corporate policies."

According to Bloomberg, Tesla has previously filed lawsuits against China's Xpeng Motors and self-driving car startup Zoox, which recently struck a deal to be acquired by Amazon.

Earlier this month, Rivian closed another major funding round of $2.5 billion from backers including Amazon, which plans to eventually use its vehicles in its delivery fleet. To date, the company — which has yet to launch a production vehicle — has raised $6 billion with no valuation attached.

Read Tesla's full complaint:

 

Original author: Graham Rapier

Continue reading
  35 Hits