Jul
22

How to fix a frozen iPhone in 3 simple ways

If your iPhone has a frozen screen - in other words, it does not respond when you touch it - all hope is not lost. A frozen iPhone can often be easily fixed.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone Xs (From $729 at Apple)

How to fix a frozen iPhone

Of course, it's always possible that there is a serious problem with your iPhone, so if these troubleshooting steps don't work, the next step might be to contact Apple support.

Charge your iPhone

It's possible that charging your phone for a short time can revive it. For the best results, plug your phone directly into a power adapter - don't charge it wirelessly or plug it into a computer's USB port. Let it charge for at least 30 minutes and then try to use it again.

Charging your frozen iPhone can sometimes solve the problem. Dave Johnson/Business Insider

Restart or force-restart your iPhone

If your iPhone still isn't responsive, try to restart your phone by pressing the appropriate button presses for your iPhone model. If that has no effect, then you can try to force-restart your phone.

For complete details on how to restart and force-restart an iPhone, see the article, " How to restart and force-restart any iPhone model."

Try to restart or force-restart an unresponsive iPhone. Dave Johnson/Business Insider

Both the restart and force-restart will not erase any apps or data, so this is safe to do even without a recent backup.

Troubleshoot your iPhone if it freezes while restarting

If your iPhone successfully restarts but can't get past the Apple logo, then you should connect your iPhone to a computer with iTunes installed and try some additional troubleshooting steps.

1. Start iTunes on the computer.

2. Put your iPhone in recovery mode. The procedure for doing this depends upon which model iPhone you own:

If you have an iPhone 8 or later, press and hold the Power button and one of the volume buttons until you see the option to turn off your iPhone. Drag the slider to turn it off. While holding the Power button on the iPhone, connect your iPhone to your computer with a USB connection cable. Keep holding the Power button until you see the recovery mode screen.

Hold the correct keys for your particular iPhone model to put it in recovery mode. Dave Johnson/Business Insider

If you have an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus, press and hold the Power button until you see the option to turn off your iPhone. Drag the slider to turn it off. While holding the Volume Down button on the iPhone, connect the iPhone to your computer with a USB connection cable. Keep holding the Volume Down button until you see the recovery mode screen. If you have an iPhone 6s or older, press and hold the Power button until you see the option to turn off your iPhone. Drag the slider to turn off your phone. While holding the Home button, connect your phone to your computer with a USB connection cable. Keep holding the Home button until you see the recovery mode screen.

3. When you see the option to restore or update your iPhone on your computer, click "Update." iTunes will update the phone without deleting your apps and data.

iTunes can try to fix your iPhone by updating the operating system, fixing potentially corrupted files in the process. Dave Johnson/Business Insider

Contact Apple support

If you still have had no luck reviving your frozen iPhone, you should contact Apple support.

Original author: Dave Johnson

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Oct
12

The Expanse

Starbucks has a new deal with a tech startup that previously operated restaurants with zero human interaction.

On Monday, Starbucks announced it is taking an equity stake in restaurant tech company Brightloom. Starbucks has granted Brightloom a license for elements of the coffee giant's software in exchange for an equity stake in the startup — which was called Eatsa until it announced its rebranding on Monday — and a seat on its board of directors.

"It really is about the opportunity to change an entire industry. ... Any restaurant brand now realizes that for them to be in the game, it's no longer a 'nice to have it' — they have to have a robust digital platform," Brightloom CEO Adam Brotman told Business Insider.

Brightloom's initial work with Starbucks will focus on providing software for the company's license partners around the world.

Digital has been a major sales driver and focus at Starbucks over the last decade. However, international locations still lack the capabilities of company-owned stores in the US. Currently, fewer than half of the more than 80 countries that Starbucks operates in have access to the chain's mobile app. Only eight countries allow customers to order and pay via app.

Two international franchisees, Alsea and Alshaya, are part of Brightloom's most recent $30 million Series B funding round. The round, also announced on Monday, was led by Tao Capital Partners and Valor Equity Partners.

In March, Starbucks announced a $100 million investment in Valor Siren Ventures (VSV), a new fund managed by Valor Equity Partners and focused on food and retail startups. At the time, Starbucks said that it would also explore "direct commercial arrangements" with startups that VSV invests in.

Brightloom, then Eatsa, was founded in 2015. At the time, the company operated a chain of restaurants where customers did not have to interact with any employees. Eatsa functioned essentially like a vending machine or a high-tech automat, with customers ordering via kiosk and meals appearing in cubbies without the need for employee interaction.

Customers ordering via kiosk at Eatsa. Katie Canales/Business Insider

At its peak, there were Eatsa locations in San Francisco, New York City, and Washington, DC. In 2018, the company closed the final two Eatsa locations to focus on restaurant technology and software.

Read more: We visited a restaurant that's powered by machines instead of people — here's what it's like

Brotman, who previously served as a Starbucks executive from 2009 to 2018, joined the company in April after being approached by Jon Shulkin, the executive chairman of Brightloom, and Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson.

"They confided to me that they were exploring a relationship to do something really interesting and historic around taking the Starbucks digital flywheel technology and combining it with what Brightloom has, creating the world's first end-to-end digital flywheel platform. ... It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up," Brotman said.

While Brightloom's immediate focus will be on Starbucks franchise partners, the company plans to offer services to all types of restaurants.

Original author: Kate Taylor

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Jul
21

Netflix's biggest challenges in the US and internationally are bubbling to the surface (NFLX)

The threats facing Netflix are bubbling to the surface after a disappointing earnings report on Wednesday.

Netflix fell short of expectations for subscriber growth globally, and lost subscribers in the US for the first time in eight years. The company also lost $16 billion in market value, bring its market value to around $140 billion at the close of trading on Friday, as some investors fled following the weak report.

It's too early to say whether Netflix's bad quarter was a minor setback during a normally difficult time of the year, or a sign of a more persistent trend. But the report did shed light on the biggest challenges that lie ahead for the streaming-TV giant.

Netflix is bracing itself for a tidal wave of new competition in the US, including services like Disney Plus and HBO Max, which eventually plan to roll out around the world as well. The increasingly competitive landscape may make it harder for Netflix to continue raising prices the way it has.

Read more about the threats to Netflix's pricing power: Netflix could be forced to rethink its pricing strategy as new competitors like Disney Plus and HBO Max launch

As Netflix approaches a plateau in the US, it'll continue looking overseas to make up that subscriber growth. The company announced on Wednesday that it will be rolling out a cheaper, mobile-only plan in India during the third quarter, following months of tests there.

See how Netflix is doing in pivotal international markets now: Exclusive data predicted Netflix's weakness in key markets before its huge subscriber miss, and could hold clues about future growth

Down the line, Netflix may have to consider other sources of revenue besides subscriber fees. For now, the company made it abundantly clear that it has no plans to get into the advertising business.

Read more about how Netflix views advertising: Netflix calls speculation that it's moving into selling advertising 'false'

Netflix is relying on its original movies and shows, like "Stranger Things," to draw in new subscribers. With more competition for viewers' attention, the streaming company is ramping up partnerships with brands like Coca-Cola and Nike to build buzz for some of its biggest shows outside of its platform.

Check out Netflix's explanation of how it thinks about brand deals: Netflix doesn't want to 'get distracted' by trying to make money directly from deals with brands like Coca-Cola and Nike

Partnerships, in general, will be pivotal to Netflix's continue growth around the world. Investors have seen deals with pay-TV providers like Comcast and AT&T in the US, and wireless and internet operators overseas as a strong sign that Netflix can grow beyond its core subscriber base.

Read more on how Netflix is growing through partnerships: How Netflix is using companies like Comcast and T-Mobile to drive its next phase of growth

Original author: Ashley Rodriguez

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Jul
21

'Avengers: Endgame' is expected to pass 'Avatar' as the biggest movie of all time at the global box office

"Avengers: Endgame" is expected to surpass James Cameron's "Avatar" this weekend and snag the record for the biggest global box-office gross of all time, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced on Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con.

"Avatar" held the record for a decade with $2.79 billion, and it seemed out of "Endgame's" reach before Disney rereleased the movie last month. "Endgame" was only $500,000 behind "Avatar" as of Friday, and will top it by the end of the weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Read more: 'The Lion King' is on its way to beating a box-office record held by the 'Harry Potter' finale

"Of course, even with the passage of a decade, the impact of James Cameron's Avatar remains as powerful as ever, and the astonishing achievements of both of these films are ongoing proof of the power of movies to move people and bring them together in a shared experience," Walt Disney Studios cochairman Alan Horn said in a statement (via THR). "The talented filmmakers behind these worlds have much more in store, and we look forward to the future of both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Pandora."

Disney, which owns Marvel Studios, also owns the "Avatar" franchise after this year's Disney-Fox merger. The studio will release four sequels in December 2021, 2023, 2025, 2027.

"Endgame" broke plenty of records on its way to the top, including the biggest domestic box-office opening of all time with $357 million in April. But "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" remains the highest-grossing movie of all time domestically (before adjusting for inflation) with $936 million compared to "Endgame's" $853 million.

Original author: Travis Clark

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Jul
20

Amazon's revival of the hit sci-fi series 'The Expanse' will debut in December

Amazon revealed the release date for its revival of the sci-fi series "The Expanse" on Saturday, and it released the first clip.

"The Expanse" will return December 13 for its fourth season exclusively on Amazon Prime Video where the first three seasons are already available to watch. It's based on the sci-fi book series by James S.A. Corey. Season four is expected to focus on the fourth book in the series, "Cibola Burn."

Read more: 6 fan-favorite TV shows that were canceled then saved by another network — and some that are still waiting

The show's original network Syfy canceled the show last May, but it was quickly picked up that same month by Amazon for season four.

Reports at the time indicated that ratings factored into its cancellation, as Syfy only owned first-run linear rights to the show in the US, according to Deadline and The Wrap. That put extra pressure on the show to perform well as it aired live in its original time slot.

Showrunner Naren Shankar told IGN in an interview published Wednesday that streaming offers the show more freedom.

"We're no longer bound by the archaic content, language, and runtime restrictions you're constantly forced to deal with on broadcast and basic cable," Shankar said. "The shows on Amazon Prime speak for themselves: this is a platform that values complex, layered storytelling, and we're thrilled to be on it — it's the perfect home for 'The Expanse.'"

"The Expanse" is critically acclaimed, with a 90% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. For season three, Indiewire wrote that it's "undeniably confident about the story it's telling, and more importantly the kind of stories it wants to tell."

The first clip from season four is below:

Original author: Travis Clark

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Jul
20

Uber and Lyft drivers reveal the biggest differences they've noticed between the 2 ride-hailing giants (UBER, LYFT)

Uber and Lyft do basically the same thing.

Sure, one is pink and the other is black; one is global while the other is focused only on the US and Canada; and one has plans for flying taxis while the other doesn't. But when it comes to getting from point-A to point-B, there's not much difference.

That's good for drivers, a massive fraction of which drive for both Uber and Lyft (and even for other smaller companies in markets large enough to have competitors like Via).

Most of the time, the experience on the competing apps is roughly the same. But after hundreds if not thousands of rides, drivers start to notice the little differences. In many cases, these vary from market to market.

Business Insider spoke to 10 drivers about their experiences. Here's what they see as the biggest differences between the two largest ride-hailing companies:

Original author: Graham Rapier

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Jul
20

Quentin Tarantino's 'Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood' has added an end credit scene since its premiere

Since Quentin Tarantino world premiered his latest movie, "Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood," at the Cannes Film Festival in May, many have wondered whether the auteur would mess around with the movie in the weeks before its theatrical release by Sony on July 26.

According to the studio's chairman, Tom Rothman, he did.

"There's an end credit sequence now," Rotham revealed to Business Insider. "That wasn't in Cannes. So stick around after the credits. And there's one tiny section added, a visual effects sequence that wasn't finished in time for Cannes. So the run time is maybe a minute or something longer. But it basically is the same movie that was at Cannes."

Business Insider has seen the movie, but we're not going to spoil it for you. A more detailed post on the two things Rotham is describing will come after the movie opens.

The last time Quentin Tarantino put a scene after the end credits of one of his movies was 2012's "Django Unchained." The Weinstein Company But what's fascinating to point out here about Rothman's insight is that Tarantino has added an end credit scene. It's not something the Oscar winner has done often. The last time was for 2012's "Django Unchained," where a quick line is delivered by one of the slaves Django frees earlier in the movie. Previous to that, flashes of actress screen tests and bloopers appear throughout the end credits of the 2007 standalone release of "Death Proof" (not the segment in "Grindhouse").

Read more: All the details of Quentin Tarantino's new movie, which stars Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Margot Robbie

For a movie like "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood," which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie, the end credit scene is a nice touch. The tone it has is perfect for a movie that is darkly comedic and celebrates a time long forgotten.

See for yourself when the movie opens on July 26.

Original author: Jason Guerrasio

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Nov
12

Report: 90% of IT execs are embracing SASE migrations

The car-research site Kelley Blue Book ranks vehicles in a wide range of categories, from inexpensive SUVs to the best cars for families.

On Thursday, Kelley Blue Book revealed the 10 most-awarded vehicles from the 2019 model year. Honda dominated the list, taking four of the top-five spots.

Read more: Towing capability is the one thing Ford F-150 customers want more than anything else, according to the head of marketing for the best-selling truck in the US

Customers also appear to love the cars that made the list. Nine of the 10 vehicles received a rating from Kelley Blue Book users of at least four points out of a possible five.

These are the 10 most-awarded vehicles from model-year 2019, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Original author: Mark Matousek

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Jul
20

These are the top 32 quarterbacks in the NFL, according to 'Madden 20'

Quarterback is the most vital position on the football field and NFL teams will pay top dollar to ensure they have a top player commanding their offense. After all, having an efficient quarterback can make the difference between turning a mediocre team into a potential playoff contender.

"Madden 20" has rated more than 3,000 players for the upcoming NFL season and Electronic Arts has promised that this year's game will have more lower ratings to make the game more realistic and help elite players stand out on the field.

While every player rating is based on more than 50 different attributes, the game's ratings adjusters said that quarterbacks take the most time to judge properly because they have eight extra stats that are exclusive to their position. Mobile quarterbacks like Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson also require extra attention to ensure that they're properly balanced compared to running backs.

Read more: The creators of 'Madden' revealed their process for rating nearly 3,000 players every year, and it's a fascinating look inside one of the most popular video game franchises on the planet

While both Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers managed to earn a max rating of 99 overall last year, none of the league's signal callers managed to make the 99 Club this year. While Rodgers threw just two interceptions last season, "Madden 20" no longer considers him among the league's top five quarterbacks. Instead, the game has boosted cover star Patrick Mahomes and resurgent Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers to the top of the ranks.

EA will continue to adjust player ratings as the season progresses, so there's plenty of time for these ratings to shift, but here's how "Madden 20" rates the NFL's top 32 quarterbacks going into the season.

"Madden NFL 20" will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on August 2. You can get access to the game three days early by joining EA's Origin Access Premier or by preordering the $80 Superstar Edition.

Original author: Kevin Webb

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Jul
20

Critics are calling Apple's latest refreshed laptops a 'much-needed upgrade' — here's what they have to say about the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (AAPL)

Apple refreshed its popular MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops this month in the lead-up to its annual back-to-school promotions that begin around August and September.

The MacBook Air now has a starting price that's $100 more than before, meaning the new computer starts at $1,099. The only other major difference is that the MacBook Air's new Retina displays also include True Tone technology, which helps match the screen's color temperature to your surroundings to make viewing easier on the eyes.

Read more: Apple kills its 12-inch MacBook and launches cheaper new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models

The entry-level MacBook Pro, meanwhile, got a more substantial upgrade.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro, which has a starting price of $1,299, now features quad-core Intel processors (compared to the dual-core processors in the previous entry-level model), Apple's T2 security chip, and the Touch Bar, which replaces the traditional function keys along the top of the keyboard. If you've never used it before, the Touch Bar is a touchscreen display that lets you control aspects of the computer with virtual keys, which change depending on the applications you're using at the time.

A handful of tech and news publications got their hands on Apple's newest laptops this week, and for the most part, they had positive things to say. Still, there are a few hangups that had some critics feeling like Apple's latest MacBooks are only "very good," instead of "insanely great."

Original author: Dave Smith

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Jul
20

Notion, the profitable startup that had to go to great lengths to avoid aggressive VCs, explains why it chose now to raise $10 million at an $800 million valuation

For the buzzy enterprise startup Notion, one of the trickiest parts of running its high-growth, profitable business has been how to politely avoid coffee meetings with would-be investors.

In fact, in February, Notion CEO Ivan Zhao told Business Insider that the company decided against listing its new office address on Google Maps so that perspective VCs wouldn't come knocking — something that happened regularly at its previous workplace.

"We're not anti-VC," Zhao said at the time. "It's more about helping us focus on product and less on meetings."

That's why when The Information broke the news this week that Notion — an "all-in-one workplace" that acts as a replacement for documents, wikis, and other task management tools — was raising a new funding round, it came as something of a surprise. Doubly so, that the company was raising a relatively modest $10 million (in what it calls an "angel round") at a relatively high valuation of $800 million.

Notion's ethos since its inception over six years ago has been to grow its product, and its team, thoughtfully. In fact, in an interview with Notion's COO Akshay Kothari on Friday, the head operator told Business Insider the startup's small team, which now numbers 25 in total, had been a key to its success.

"Staying small is not just because it sounds nice," Kothari said. "Staying small is actually helpful for us to move fast."

Kothari also said that for "several months now," Notion — which reportedly has over one million registered users — has been profitable.

So why raise now?

Notion's reasons for raising

Kothari said the reasons were mostly practical.

Early on, Notion had given its investors convertible notes — a form of debt financing that act similarly to loans, often used by early stage startups — and those notes actually needed to be converted. Some of them, Kothari said, carried interest and so the team wanted to "close those out."

The team also wanted to give three individuals who have been "remarkably helpful" to Notion the opportunity to invest, Kothari said. The $10 million "angel round" was entirely comprised of investments from those three: Daniel Gross (former partner at Y Combinator), Lachy Groom (Head of Stripe Issuing), and Elad Gil (a self-proclaimed " startup helper").

Groom and Gil were previous investors in Notion. For Gross, this was his first investment in the company.

Read more: This enterprise software startup has VCs literally knocking on its doors to invest, but for now, it's not interested

Hiring for growth

Beyond sharing the goods with those who have been good to them, Kothari said the funding would be used to hire for roles that have become a necessity as Notion's customers become larger and larger. Some, like the messaging platform Intercom and Hearst Media, have over one-thousand users, and in those cases, Notion wants to have more hands-on account management.

Also, thus far, the company has never used paid marketing, like Google or Facebook ads, to gain new customers. But part of the raise, Kothari said, will be used to experiment with paid acquisition channels.

When asked if growing its operations teams and venturing into paid advertising will compromise the company's almost-obsessiveness over staying lean and growing intentionally, Kothari said: "It's a worry that I've had myself."

"We're not looking to hire a sales army here," Kothari said. "We're thinking about it very much from a systems perspective. We feel good about the way we're building products. We feel good about how we have community and support. One of the things we're investing in on the marketing side and sales side is to continue to have that systems approach in building these teams out."

As for how Notion settled on its $800 million valuation, Kothari told us that part of it was to avoid the "craze" that inevitably comes from reaching unicorn status, which comes with a valuation of $1 billion or more. The head operator also said his team considered the valuations of other, comparable software-as-a-service companies — especially Zoom and Slack, which recently went public.

Regarding how such massive valuation could come from an "angel round," Kothari downplayed the importance of such titles.

"Some of the names of these rounds," Kothari said. "Seeds have become pre-seeds. Pre-seeds have become something else. I guess it should be called a $10 million round with three individuals who have been deeply helpful."

Original author: Nick Bastone

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Jul
20

HBO is readying a third streaming service in addition to HBO Now and HBO Go — here's how the three HBO services stack up

Here's everything that's announced for HBO Max thus far:

-"10,000 hours of premium content from HBO, Warner Bros., New Line, DC Entertainment, CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, The CW, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, Looney Tunes and more.

-The exclusive streaming rights at launch to all 236 episodes of 'Friends.'

-The exclusive streaming rights at launch to all episodes 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air' and 'Pretty Little Liars.'

-The exclusive streaming home to a string of new Warner Bros.' produced dramas for The CW beginning with the fall 2019 season, including new DC Entertainment series 'Batwoman,' and 'Katy Keene' (spinoff of 'Riverdale').

-New exclusive movie production deals with Greg Berlanti and Reese Witherspoon ('Big Little Lies'). Berlanti will produce an initial four movies focused in the young adult space, while Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine will produce at least two films.

-'Dune: The Sisterhood,' an adaptation of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's book based in the world created by Frank Herbert's book 'Dune,' from director Denis Villeneuve.

-'Tokyo Vice,' based on Jake Adelstein's non-fiction first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat, starring Ansel Elgort.

-'The Flight Attendant,' a one-hour thriller series based on the novel by Chris Bohjalian. Kaley Cuoco, executive producing alongside Greg Berlanti, will star.

-'Love Life,' a 10-episode half-hour romantic comedy anthology series starring Anna Kendrick, who will also executive produce alongside Paul Feig.

-'Station Eleven,' a postapocalyptic limited series based on Emily St. John Mandel's international bestseller, adapted by Patrick Somerville ('The Leftovers') and directed by Hiro Murai ('Barry').

-'Made for Love,' a 10-episode, half-hour, straight-to-series adaptation based on the tragicomic novel of the same name by Alissa Nutting, also from Patrick Somerville and directed by S.J. Clarkson.

-'Gremlins,' an animated series from Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment based on the original movie.

-Stephen King's 'The Outsider,' a dark mystery starring Ben Mendelsohn, produced and directed by Jason Bateman.

-'Lovecraft Country,' a unique horror series based on a novel by Matt Ruff, written and executive produced by Misha Green, and executive produced by Jordan Peele ('Us') and J.J. Abrams ('Westworld').

-'The Nevers,' Joss Whedon's new science fiction series starring Laura Donnelly.

-'The Gilded Age,' set the opulent world of 1885 New York from 'Downton Abbey's' Julian Fellowes.

-'Avenue 5,' a high satire aboard a space-bound cruise ship from Armando Iannucci ('Veep') starring Hugh Laurie and Josh Gad.

-'The Undoing,' a psychological thriller from David E. Kelley ('Big Little Lies'), directed by Susanne Bier ('Bird Box') starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant.

-'The Plot Against America,' reimagined history based on Phillip Roth's novel written and executive produced by David Simon and Ed Burns, starring Winona Ryder and John Turturro.

-'Perry Mason', the classic legal drama for a new generation, executive produced by Robert Downey, Jr. and Susan Downey, with Matthew Rhys in the title role.

-'I Know This Much Is True,' a complex family drama starring Mark Ruffalo playing twin brothers, one of whom has schizophrenia. Based on the best-selling novel by Wally Lamb, written and directed by Derek Cianfrance."

Original author: Ben Gilbert

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Jul
20

Investing in real estate tech companies like Zillow and Compass is a nearly $15 billion opportunity. 3 top VCs break down the areas and startups they think will boom.

Fifth Wall, a Los Angeles-based proptech VC founded in 2016, announced a $503 million funding round on Wednesday. Fifth Wall is the largest proptech-specific investor, and the firm says it makes up 70% of all dedicated capital for proptech.

They have backed Opendoor, coworking startup Industrious, and have branched out beyond just proptech into scooter and bike rental startup Lime. Fifth Wall had more than 50 strategic partners in its latest funding round, including CBRE, Equity Residential, Marriott, Prologis and Macerich.

Business Insider spoke with Brendan Wallace, co-founder and managing partner at Fifth Wall, about the future of proptech.

Opportunities: self-storage as a service, sustainability

Wallace is closely watching the rise of companies that don't actually own assets and focus instead on providing real estate-related services. The most high-profile example is WeWork, which doesn't own most of its office space and sells office-management as a service.

"You can provide a higher level of service to customers who are demanding that higher level of service," Wallace said.

Wallace highlighted Clutter, a self-storage company that Fifth Wall has invested in since 2017, as an example. Clutter gives door-to-door service for self-storage, and rents space instead of owning and maintaining their own warehouse.

"They're a really interesting business that has almost turned self-storage into a service industry, as opposed to a real estate industry," Wallace said.

Wallace also sees opportunity in sustainability. While green construction and sustainability are nothing new for the industry, Wallace points out that real estate nonetheless accounts for almost half of US energy consumption. Sustainability technology can appeal to more environmentally minded investors and tenants, and also help companies save on energy costs.

"You can start to drive really meaningful change around sustainability as an actual investment strategy that's both economically really exciting for real estate owners in terms of the cost savings, and financially exciting for Fifth Wall from an investment perspective, " Wallace said.

Challenges: 'late-adopting' industry, blockchain roadblocks

Real estate's relationship with technology is just starting to change, according to Wallace. Many in the industry have only started to embrace new technology over the last five years.

"You might have incredibly disruptive technology, but you have to be cognizant of how challenging it is sometimes to sell in to large real estate incumbents," he said. "And we obviously support that, but real estate has been a historically slow-moving, late-adopting industry."

Wallace also thinks that blockchain, for all of its hype, has not yet meaningfully impacted real estate. Fifth Wall is optimistic that the technology will eventually develop, but real estate is behind the fintech curve.

Original author: Alex Nicoll

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Nov
11

Gala Games talks NFT games, art, and total independence as a superpower

Without offering any proof, famous tech investor Peter Thiel suggested this week that Google is a disloyal US company "infiltrated by Chinese intelligence."

His views were then echoed by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale who said Google is "clearly not a patriotic company," while claiming the presence Chinese spies in US companies is "a known thing in Silicon Valley."

The claims of the two prominent Silicon Valley figures come at a time when China has become America's rival superpower, and a competitor in the global economy and technology.

The suggestions of mass Chinese spying were also unleashed at a particularly fraught moment. A US president is calling on elected women of color in the US Congress to go back to where they came from. On campuses, Chinese American scientists find themselves in what MIT's president warned could turn into "a toxic atmosphere of unfounded suspicion and fear."

Chinese Americans, and the broader Asian American community, have wrestled with such toxicity in the past. The unchecked xenophobia of military conflicts, such as the deportation of American citizens of Japanese ancestry to internment camps during WWII, is well known.

But the times when the country has confronted economic threats were also marked by the rise of dangerous discrimination that we'd do well to remember now.

When Japan was the 'threat'

Forty years ago, that threat was Japan.

In the 1980s, Japanese automakers were outselling their US counterparts which led to mass layoffs and rising anti-Japanese sentiment. "Japan was considered the enemy of America, not as a military threat, but as an economic threat," Bay Area-based writer Helen Zia told Business Insider.

It was a time of intense anti-Japanese bashing, she said. Laid off workers used sledgehammers to smash Japanese cars in public as a form of entertainment and to let off steam.

Hatred of the Japanese were expressed in other ways. Some used the offensive anti-Japanese images from World War II, such as including an illustration featuring a car with a sinister Asian face dropping what looked like an Atomic bomb on Detroit. One United Auto Workers poster said: "300,000 UAW members don't like your import. Please park it in Tokyo."

Anti-Japanese car sign from the 1980s. Helen Zia collection

In fact, in those days, driving a Japanese car became somewhat risky, particularly for Asians, Zia, who had worked in the auto industry in Detroit during those years, and was among the many who got laid off, said. "I didn't know any Asian American driving a Japanese made car," she recalled. "You really felt that you had a target on your back -- or in the case of Vincent Chin, on his head."

She was referring to the most prominent casualty of the wave of anti-Japanese hatred.

Vincent Chin was celebrating with friends at a Detroit bar in 1982 when he got into an argument with two unemployed auto workers, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz. Ebens, according to witnesses, told Chin, "It's because of you little m—f—s that we're out of work."

Death of Vincent Chin

Chin was actually Chinese American. The confrontation escalated outside the bar where Ebens confronted Chin and repeatedly beat him in the head with a baseball bat. Chin, who was 27, died four days later. Ebens and Nitz were convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay a $3,000 fine.

The brutal killing of a Chinese American who became a target at a time of rising anti-Japanese hatred sparked a new wave of civil rights activism in the Asian American community.

Zia, who became a leader of that movement, points to similarities between the 80s and today, "with the rhetoric, innuendos and hate-mongering."

"Connecting the dots between that time and today is not a big leap," she said.

Today's anti-Chinese wave escalated with the Trump Administration's trade policies against China and its ban on Huawei. The wave has become particularly intense in academia prompting MIT President L. Rafael to speak out recently.

"We must take great care not to create a toxic atmosphere of unfounded suspicion and fear," he said in a June 25 letter to the MIT community. "Faculty members, post-docs, research staff and students tell me that, in their dealings with government agencies, they now feel unfairly scrutinized, stigmatized and on edge - because of their Chinese ethnicity alone."

Got a tip about Google 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. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

Original author: Benjamin Pimentel

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Jul
20

Vintage photos of the Apollo 11 moon mission show why it's still arguably NASA's greatest feat, 50 years later

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy put a monumental goal before Congress:

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth," Kennedy said. "No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish."

It took eight years to reach the moon after that, and NASA burned through $25.4 billion dollars before the Apollo program was finished. But on July 20, 1969, as people throughout the world gathered around fuzzy television sets, astronaut Neil Armstrong announced: "the Eagle has landed."

Here's how the US made it to the moon 50 years ago.

Original author: Hilary Brueck

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Jul
20

Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon 50 years ago today. Here's what the astronaut remembers most about NASA's Apollo 11 mission.

It's been half a century since Buzz Aldrin rocketed to the moon and walked upon its dusty, pockmarked surface, but his memory of that historic event is still as fresh as ever.

On July 16, 1969, Aldrin was just 39 years old when he boarded a small capsule atop a 363-foot-tall (111-meter-tall) Saturn V rocket and launched toward the moon. About four days later, on July 20, Aldrin and his commander, Neil Armstrong, climbed into a lunar lander. The two left fellow astronaut Mike Collins behind in the capsule, descended toward the lunar surface, and stepped outside.

In remembrance of NASA's historic feat on the eve of its 50th anniversary, watch brand Omega— which made the Speedmaster timepieces astronauts wore on the moon — spoke to Aldrin about his experiences.

Below are excerpts from Omega's exclusive interview with the moon walker and the moments he said defined Apollo 11.

Original author: Dave Mosher

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Aug
28

Hazelcast CEO on the rise of real-time translytics

Considering we rely on our smartphones for just about everything — from getting directions to listening to music and answering work emails — your phone's battery life can never last long enough.

If you find that your iPhone's battery life isn't meeting expectations, try managing the way your phone is refreshing apps in the background. Not only will it preserve some battery life, but it will probably cut down on your data usage too.

There are many adjustments you can make to save battery life: lowering the screen brightness, turning off location services for certain apps, and disabling push notifications for some apps are all great examples. You can also put your phone in Low Power Mode if you're low on juice, which reduces features like "Hey Siri" and automatic downloads among other features and pauses backing up your photos to iCloud.

But making changes to Background App Refresh can help extend battery life without sacrificing much functionality.

Here's a look at the various ways you can tweak the Background App Refresh setting on your iPhone to extend its battery life and preserve data.

Original author: Lisa Eadicicco

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Nov
11

1 vs. 100 is in the works at Microsoft

Connectivity is central to doing business today — enterprises rely on telecoms to connect the various sprawling parts of their businesses as they engage in digital transformation and modernize practices. It will become even more important as telecoms roll out their blazing-fast 5G networks, which enable near-instantaneous communication alongside complementary wireless protocols that let companies monitor assets scattered around the world.

5G and other next-generation networks can allow telecoms to become the key partner in enterprise connectivity, where they previously were one among many. But telecoms aren't uncontested in trying to take advantage of the growing opportunity in enabling enterprise transformation: Cloud, software, and technology vendors are also out for the market, setting the stage for a clash of titans between two connectivity models that will reign in different industry verticals.

In the Connectivity B2B Ecosystem Report, Business Insider Intelligence unpacks the enterprise telecommunications ecosystem at the cusp of the 5G era. First, we highlight the ways that companies employ telecommunications technology in business, both today and in the near future with 5G. Next, we look at the various types of companies involved in the wider ecosystem and explore the relationships between these company archetypes. Then, we examine the players involved in these relationships and look at specific efforts and initiatives that are driving change and transforming the companies involved. Finally, we look to some of the key trends that will define the next decade of B2B telecommunications.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

Numerous multibillion dollar opportunities exist in enterprise connectivity services, including in verticals like heavy industry and manufacturing, the connected car market, and healthcare. Telecoms and tech companies headline the two competing models — tech-centric and connectivity-centric — for the focal point of the data-based services that burgeoning connectivity will support. Acquisitions, foundries, corporate partnerships, and developer outreach are some of the key tactics companies can explore to drive new sources of revenue in enterprise connectivity. Telecoms won't attain dominance in every sector — they need to gauge their capabilities and their competition on a range of factors before deciding whether to compete in a segment.

In full, the report:

Identifies the key types of companies involved in the enterprise connectivity ecosystem. Highlights some of the leading companies in the different segments of the ecosystem. Breaks down the leading models in the connectivity space and explains what conditions should dictate how the companies involved should approach it.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Amazon, Arm, Artik, Arundo Analytics, AT&T, C3 IoT, Cisco, Dell, Ericsson, Everactive, GE, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Hitachi, Honeywell, Huawei, IBM, Intel, MediaTek, Microsoft, Nokia, Nvidia, Oracle, Particle, PTC, Qualcomm, Salesforce, Samsung, SAP, Semtech, Siemens, Sierra Wireless, Sigfox, Splunk, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

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

Purchase & download the full report from our research store. >> Purchase & Download Now Subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and more than 250 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 Now Current subscribers can log in and read the report here.
Original author: Peter Newman

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Jul
18

Amazon Prime Day pricing glitch meant people bought thousands of dollars worth of camera gear for $94.50

A pricing glitch on Amazon's website over Prime Day meant people were able to buy thousands of dollars worth of camera gear for under $100.

According to the photograph and camera news site PetaPixel, one shopper noticed that a $548 Sony a6000 and 16-50mm lens bundle was listed on Amazon for $94.50 and shared this on Slickdeals on Monday, the first day of the Prime Day sales.

The post hit the front page and it wasn't long before comments began to flood in as camera enthusiasts expressed their delight and shared other giant savings. For others, however, the deal did not show up, suggesting that there may have been glitches on Amazon's website.

Slickdeals

"Literally everything is 94.48. I have bought like 10k worth of stuff that was like 900 dollars total," one shopper wrote.

"Everything with the prime day tag on my account is 94.48. I just bought a 3000$ telescope for 94.48," another said.

"Bunch of camera gears including above $2000 are priced at added. The comments continue on Reddit.

A spokesperson for Amazon did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

The Sony camera that sparked off the Slickdeals discussion was listed by a third-party merchant but fulfilled by Amazon. This means that Amazon handles the shipping, customer service, and returns for the order.

Screenshots of other heavily discounted items of camera gear shared with PetaPixel showed that some items were being sold and shipped by Amazon itself.

While some shoppers on Reddit and Slickdeals said their orders have already shipped, others are still awaiting confirmation and wondering whether Amazon will cancel the order.

Original author: Mary Hanbury

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Nov
11

World of Warcraft plans to wrap up Shadowlands in next update

Facebook's global affairs chief Nick Clegg has revealed that he wrote Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg a brutal letter before joining the company last year.

In an interview with the New Statesman, Clegg cast light on the personal wrangle he went through as he considered an approach from Facebook, having previously served as Britain's deputy prime minister.

"I've spent the past 20 years working and being shouted at and I don't feel like doing that again," Clegg recalled telling Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer.

When Facebook sounded out Clegg about a job, it was grappling with the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal and other data breaches, as well as facing questions about election interference and harmful content.

Read more: Facebook must do some 'deep soul searching' about Mark Zuckerberg's power after a huge shareholder revolt

Clegg, who had been critical of Facebook in the past, said he felt compelled to write a letter highlighting his concerns and explaining what he could do to help fix Facebook's issues.

Paraphrasing the letter to the New Statesman, Clegg said he wrote:

"I don't want to get on a plane until you understand where I'm coming from. I think it's remarkable that you offer this ad-funded business model for free and that you've offered your services to Africa and South America and so on. But you know you've sullied political and public trust about how Facebook is a guardian of people's data.

"Social attitudes have changed completely, as far as the holding, aggregation and storage of data is concerned. There's a profound feeling in Europe that companies like Facebook don't pay enough tax and that you should contrast your values much more sharply with what's going on in China. And there needs to be an attempt at least to try to develop a more mature and open approach to regulation, to governments."

Clegg, now VP for global affairs and communications, also recalled an early conversation he had with Zuckerberg in which he said the Facebook CEO had too much power.

"Your fundamental problem is that people think you're too powerful and you don't care," Clegg said he told Zuckerberg during a conversation in California. According to Clegg, Zuckerberg replied: "Yes [that's] totally understandable, I get that."

The exchange evokes arguments made by activist Facebook shareholders, who say that Zuckerberg should not be in his current position of being both Facebook chairman and CEO, and that his voting power should be diluted.

Original author: Jake Kanter

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