Biopharma shares have outperformed the broader market year-to-date, giving rise to apprehension over whether a pullback is in the offing. An analyst at BofA Securities said Friday that now is the time to go from defensive to offensive in the sector, as quarantines are winding down in several parts of the globe.The Biopharma Analyst Analyst Geoff Meacham shortlisted Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE: LLY), Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: VRTX), Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE: BMY), BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN) and Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) as biopharma stocks where he would put his money to work.The analyst has the following ratings and price targets for the shares: * Lilly: Buy/$165 * Vertex: Buy/$300 * Bristol-Myers Squibb: Buy/raised the price target from $75 to $80 * BioMarin: Buy/lifted price target from $110 to $120 * Amgen: Buy/price target increased from $265 to $2755 Reasons For BofA's Bullish Disposition BofA is increasingly bullish on the biopharma group due to the following factors, Meacham said: * Expectations for robust revenue growth of 6% in the second half of 2020 compared to the first-half, which is double that of the S&P 500's revenue growth. * Reasonable price-earnings for the stocks in the sector. * Many value-creating events lined up for the second half. * Lower policy risk stemming from goodwill earned from the COVID-19 pipeline. * A consistently positive FDA backdrop.Q1 Earnings Get 'A' Grade All of the big biotechs and major pharma companies reported both revenue and adjusted EPS beats in the first quarter, with Lilly and Vertex even raising some parts of their 2020 guidance, Meacham said.Citing slower new starts and forex headwinds, Bristol-Myers Squibb and BioMarin lowered their 2020 revenue guidance, but maintained their EPS guidance, the analyst said. Meacham expressed surprise at Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) and Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALXN) lowering their 2020 revenue and adjusted EPS guidance, given his belief that oncology or orphan diseases wouldn't be as sensitive to COVID-19 disruption.See also: Attention Biotech Investors: Mark Your Calendar For These May PDUFA Dates Lilly One of The Higher Quality Stocks In BofA's Coverage Lilly is a source of differentiated growth given its early product cycle and diversified base business, including diabetes, immunology and immunotoxicology and migraine, and an advancing late-stage pipeline of potentially best-in-class or first-in-class therapies, Meacham said.The analyst said he likes Lily's potential for additional earnings growth in 2020-2021 and views Lilly as one of the higher quality stocks in his coverage despite its higher valuation. The prospects for 2021 look attractive, with selpercatinib potentially launching in non-small cell lung cancer and thyroid cancer by year's end, and tirzepatide approval in 2021 representing a "step change" for the diabetes franchise, he said. Consensus For Vertex To Move Higher? Vertex has a richer -- though well-deserved -- valuation, due to its differentiated growth profile, Meacham said.Given that Vertex's commercial execution is largely unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the analyst said investors will begin to look forward to 2021 sooner than for other companies with more commercial risk.BofA expects consensus estimates to continue to move higher, making Vertex's valuation even more attractive.Bristol-Myers Has Highly Differentiated Growth With an estimated 8% revenue growth and 19% EPS growth in 2021 compared to 5-6% and 12%, respectively, for peers, and with six new launches expected this year, 2020 is shaping up to be a very robust period for Bristol-Myers despite the ongoing COVID-19 headwinds, Meacham said. The analyst said the company's growth looks highly differentiated.An increasingly diversified product mix and beatable launch expectations position the company for meaningful upside to consolidated P&L, with improving synergies, he said. BioMarin's 'Game-Changing' Late-Stage Pipeline BioMarin's late-stage pipeline in valrox and vosoritide have improved its growth outlook, Meacham said.The analyst termed the company's late-stage pipeline as "game-changing." The second-half launch of Roctavian is the most important catalyst for the company this year, with the product likely to accelerate the company's already above-average growth profile, he said. "We see BioMarin as one of the higher quality names in our coverage universe given its clean growth story and it remains our SMid cap top pick." Amgen Looks To New Product Growth To Compensate For Legacy Product Erosion The long-term outlook for Amgen's Otezla is improving given the recently announced Phase 3 data for mild-to-moderate psoriasis, Meacham said.The company rapidly refocused its story from legacy product erosion to new product growth with the acquisition of Otezla from the Bristol/Celgene deal, the analyst said. "Since then Amgen's growth profile has only improved, led by an expanded addressable market for Otezla, outperforming Amgen Biosimilars and Evenity franchises, aggressive formulary negotiation for Aimovig, and an exciting pipeline in AMG 510 and tezepelumab looking to contribute as soon as 2021." The Price Action The iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NASDAQ: IBB) was last seen trading up 1.25% to 128.76, adding to its 5.6% year-to-date gain. Related Link: The Week Ahead In Biotech: Smid-Cap Earnings News Flow Picks Up Pace See more from Benzinga * The Daily Biotech Pulse: Ayala IPO, Pluristem Starts Phase 2 Trial Of COVID Treatment, European Nod For Takeda * The Daily Biotech Pulse: FDA Approves Novartis Lung Cancer Drug, 2-Way Contest Emerging For Tetraphase Pharma, Dexcom To Join S&P 500 * The Daily Biotech Pulse: FDA Nod For AstraZeneca, AbbVie-Allergan Deal Clears Antitrust Hurdle(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Samsung this week released its May 2020 set of security updates for Android smartphones, which includes a patch for a critical vulnerability impacting all of its devices since 2014. 

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Understanding pH in Hydroponics Hydroponics is all about precision. The health of the plants in your growing system depends on various factors – design of your system, crop selection, key parameters such as pH, EC, temperature, humidity among others. These parameters have a range in which they need to be kept in order to get […]

Visual content demonstrates the best way to protect an accident injury case

WeeTect announces its new generation of photochromic visor inserts.

Typically used on older Chevy Impala, Chevy Caprice or even Datsun 280Z, rivet on the body side molding is an add-on accessory that was installed at car dealerships over in the 70's and 80's.

In exciting news, Hydro dipping experts TSAUTOP Hydrographics recently announced they have broken into the European market closing a large deal in Lissoneo, Italy.

In August 2007, the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis, MN, collapsed, killing 13 and injuring 145 others. Investigations following the tragedy revealed that it could have been prevented. The grave reality is that it is a tragedy that threatens to be repeated at many of the thousands of bridges located across the nation.

In Too Big To Fall: America's Failing Infrastructure And The Way Forward (New York: Foster, 2010), author Barry LePatner chronicles the problems that led to the I-35W catastrophe — poor bridge design,shoddy maintenance, ignored expert repair recommendations, and misallocated funding — and digs through the National Transportation Safety Board’s report on the tragedy, which failed to present the full story.

From there LePatner evaluates what the I-35W Bridge collapse means for the country as a whole — outlining the possibility of a nationwide infrastructure breakdown.

He exposes government failure on a national as well as state level, explains why we must maintain an effective infrastructure system — including how it plays a central role in supporting both our nation’s economic strength and our national security — and rounds out the book by providing his own well-researched solutions.

Too Big to Fall presents an eye-opening critique of a bureaucratic system that has allowed political best interests to trump those of the American people. It contains special comments by James Oberstar, the outgoing Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure.

Cities are the engines of the economic growth and the foundation of our prosperity. But what will become of them as our world gets hotter?

In Climatopolis: How Our Cities Will Thrive In The Hotter Future (New York: Basic, 2010), Matthew Kahn, one of the world's foremost experts on the economics of the environment and of cities, argues that our future lies in our ability to adapt. Cities and regions will slowly transform as we change our behaviors and our surroundings in response to the changing climate. Kahn - professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, the UCLA School of Public Affairs' Department of Public Policy, and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research - shows us how this will happen.

The author is optimistic about the quality of our lives in the cities of the future, despite a high chance of less hospitable climate conditions than we face today. At the heart of his conviction in a bright future is our individual freedom of choice. This personal freedom will reveal pathways that will greatly help urbanites cope with climate change.

Taking the reader on a tour of the world's cities - from New York to Los Angeles, Beijing to Mumbai - Kahn's clear-eyed, engaging, and optomistic messages presents a positive yet realistic picture of what our urban future will look like.

An entire chapter is devoted to Los Angeles, including sub-sections titled "Los Angeles Has A Subway?" and "Could Public Transit Become Hip In Los Angeles?"

Avid readers of local history are usually intrigued by photos of historic sites juxtaposed against contemporary images. This format of visual history has a particularly strong impact when the subject is Los Angeles: a city that grew up -- and outward -- so quickly.

Those seeking pictorial overviews will likely have checked out aerial photography books as well.

Los Angeles From The Air: Then And Now (San Diego: Thunder Bay Press, 2010) is a hybrid of these two types of pictorial books. It presents decades-old photographs of both familiar and lesser-known landmarks along side more current ones.

This takes the reader on a trip through Los Angeles like never before, featuring inspiring, sky-high then-and-now images of some of LA's most famous locations.

Some of the landmarks' origins are well-known, but the authors provide context for both familiar and hidden pieces of Los Angeles history.

Many of the photos feature snow-capped peaks in the distance -- a testament to our clear Winter days being the best for photography.

Unfortunately, the work falls flat in its description of transportation in downtown Los Angeles. The authors write:

"Metrolink [sic] provides service to Union Station in the form of three rail lines -- Red, Purple, Gold..."

While Metro and Metrolink may sound similar to those outside of Los Angeles (the book is, after all, published in San Diego), it gives one pause that other information found here may not be entirely accurate. Ultimately, one can ignore the text entirely, as these beautiful photos speak for themselves.

In Makeshift Metropolis: Ideas About Cities (New York: Scribner, 2010), noted architecture writer Witold Rybczynski offers a glimpse of an urban future that might very well serve as a template for cities around the world.

Rybczynski integrates history and prediction of the development of the American city in a brisk look back that takes us from colonial town planning to the Garden City and City Beautiful initiatives of the early 20th century and on to the "Big Box Era."

He also examines how contemporary urban designers and planners are revisiting and refreshing older urban ideas, such as bringing gardens to a blighted Brooklyn waterfront.

Rybczynski's study is kept relevant by his focus on what the past can teach us about creating the "cities we want" and "cities we need."

The prose is instructive and always engaging, and the author's enthusiasm for the future of cities and his enduring love of urban settings of all kinds is evident.

He not only writes about what people want from their cities, he inspires the reader to imagine the possibilities.

In Down The Asphalt Path: The Automobile And The American City, author Clay McShane examines the uniquely American relationship between "automobility" and urbanization.

Writing at the cutting edge of urban and technological history, he depicts how new technology, namely the private automobile, and the modernization of the American city redefined each other.

The author motors us across the country -- from Boston to New York, from Milwaukee to Los Angeles and the suburbs in between -- chronicling the urban embrace of the automobile.

The New York Times calls this work "A treat to read, loaded with interesting facts...a notable book about urban transportation."

Barron's wrote that "this fascinating, well-researched history of the automobile industry...is written from a social and cultural perspective rarely included in traditional books about the business."

The Whole Earth Review claims "this fascinating treatise is the most credible look yet at how automobiles have changed American society for better or worse."

Everyone is calling for smart growth...but what exactly is it?

In The Smart Growth Manual (New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2009), two leading city planners provide a thorough answer. From the expanse of the metropolis to the detail of the window box, they address the pressing challenges of urban development with easy-to-follow advice and broad array of best practices.

With their landmark book Suburban Nation, Andres Duany and Jeff Speck "set forth more clearly than anyone has done in our time the elements of good town planning" (The New Yorker).

In this long-awaited companion volume, the authors have organized the latest contributions of new urbanism, green design, and healthy communities into a comprehensive handbook, fully illustrated with the built work of the nation's leading practitioners.

This work also features a valuable Smart Growth Directory, with contact information for national, regional and state organizations.

Lieutenant Governor-Elect Gavin Newsom, writing as Mayor of San Francisco, touted The Smart Growth Manual as "an indispensable guide to city planning. This kind of progressive development is the only way to full restore our economic strength and create new jobs, new industries, and a renewed ability to compete in the first rank of world economies."

An extensive interview with the authors is featured on the American Society of Landscape Architects "The Dirt" blog.

The conventional wisdom says that we need strict planning to build walkable neighborhoods around transit stations - even though these neighborhoods are like the streetcar suburbs that were common in America before anyone heard of city planning.

In reality, many of our greatest successes in urban design have occurred when we treated the issues as political questions - not as technical problems that the planners should solve for us.

According to Unplanning: Livable Cities And Political Choices (Berkeley, Calif.: Preservation Institute, 2010), the anti-freeway movement of the 1960s and 1970s and the anti-sprawl movement of recent decades were both political movements, and citizen-activists often had to work against projects that planners proposed and approved.

This book uses an intriguing thought experiment to show that, in order to build livable cities, we should go further than the anti-freeway and anti-sprawl movements by putting direct political limits on urban growth.

Political choices about how we want to live can transform our cities more effectively than planning.

From animal paths to superhighways, transportation has been the backbone of American expansion and growth.

Asphalt And Politics: A History Of The American Highway System (New York: McFarland, 2009) examines the interstate highway system in the United States, and the forces that shaped it, includes the introduction of the automobile, the Good Roads Movement, and the Lincoln Highway Association.

The book offers an analysis of state and federal road funding, modern road-building options, and the successes and failures of the current highway system.

Oil On The Brain: Petroleum's Long, Strange Trip To Your Tank is a smart, surprisingly funny account of the oil industry — the people, economies, and pipelines that bring us petroleum, brilliantly illuminating a world we encounter every day.

Americans buy ten thousand gallons of gasoline a second, without giving it much of a thought. Where does all this gas come from?

Author Lisa Margonelli’s desire to learn took her on a one-hundred thousand mile journey from her local gas station to oil fields half a world away.

In search of the truth behind the myths, she wriggled her way into some of the most off-limits places on earth: the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the New York Mercantile Exchange’s crude oil market, oil fields from Venezuela, to Texas, to Chad, and even an Iranian oil platform where the United States fought a forgotten one-day battle.

In a story by turns surreal and alarming, Margonelli meets lonely workers on a Texas drilling rig, an oil analyst who almost gave birth on the NYMEX trading floor, Chadian villagers who are said to wander the oil fields in the guise of lions, a Nigerian warlord who changed the world price of oil with a single cell phone call, and Shanghai bureaucrats who dream of creating a new Detroit.

Deftly piecing together the mammoth economy of oil, Margonelli finds a series of stark warning signs for American drivers. Rave reviews for Oil On The Brain include:

“If you drive a car, you must read this book.” —Mary Roach, author of Stiff

“By giving voice to the people who are the links in the global oil chain, Margonelli invites us to leapfrog all the rhetoric, dry statistics, and dire pronouncements about oil in order to truly understand it.” —Fast Company

“Hugely enjoyable, compulsively readable, and brilliantly reported.” —Po Bronson, author of What Should I Do with My Life?

The PBS Newshour conducted an extensive interview with the author, which can be found here.

Transport Geographies: Mobilities, Flows And Spaces brings together a formidable range of expert insight to introduce the key ideas, concepts and themes of transport geography.

Using an issues-based, qualitative approach, the contributors feature a wide range of case-study material.

This work explores the relationship between transport geography and wider geographical concerns, as well as connections to other areas of study -- economics, engineering, environmental studies, political science, psychology, spatial planning, sociology and transport studies.

The book highlights the role of transport geography in globalization, and its interplay with economic, social and environmental geographies at a range of spatial scales. It reviews contemporary policy and the role transport geographers can play in policy debates.

Both empirically informed and theoretically robust, this compelling text shows the significance of transport in terms of the needs and demands of future travel.

Growing south from the plaza where the city of Los Angeles was founded as a tiny pueblo in 1781, the area now known as downtown L.A. was first developed in the late 1800s as a residential neighborhood, complete with churches and schools.

As the population surged at the turn of the 20th century, the downtown area was transformed into a busy business and entertainment center of shops, banks, hotels, and theaters.

The explosion of the postcard craze in the early 1900s coincided with this period of downtown's tremendous growth toward a formidable metropolis.

Early Downtown Los Angeles is a collection of vintage postcard images offers a glimpse into the changing city through the 1940s. Transportation is afforded its own chapter.

It includes rarely seen images of La Grande Station, the passenger terminal constructed by the Santa Fe Railroad in 1893. Santa Fe and Southern Pacific's competitive rail pricing fueled the real estate boom and unprecedented population growth throughout the region in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Early interior images of Union Station, Angels Flight, and other rail lines are of particular topical interest.

On this week's Xbox show, new talent takes over Halo Infinite, Phil Spencer gives an idea of what to expect performance-wise from Xbox Scarlett, Gears 5 comes out swinging at Gamescom, PUBG does an awesome thing, and more!

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer makes his long-awaited return to Unlocked for an exclusive one-hour interview. We talk about Xbox Series X price, whether coronavirus could delay the console, the first-party launch lineup, why there's no optical out port on Series X, xCloud, cross-play, the fates of Sunset Overdrive, Ryse and Scalebound, which Microsoft IP Phil would like to see brought back, and more!

Our Xbox crew analyzes what Head of Xbox Phil Spencer said during our interview with him on last week's episode. We think he said a lot in his clever, indirect way... Plus: an Inside Xbox news recap, rumors about what Resident Evil 8 will be like, and at the very end you'll hear our live as-it-happened reactions to the PS5's DualSense controller reveal.

GIS has mostly been behind more popular buzzwords like machine learning and deep learning. GIS has always been around us in the background being used in government, business, medicine, real estate, transport, manufacturing etc.

Kate Ludeman and Eddie Erlandson, authors of "Alpha Male Syndrome." Also: Judith Ross on using trust as a strategic management tool.

Joseph Pine, cofounder of Strategic Horizons LLP and coauthor of "Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want."

Gregory Unruh, director and professor of the Lincoln Center for Ethics in Global Management at the Thunderbird School.

Susanne Bruckmüller, research associate at the Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and coauthor of the HBR article "How Women End Up on the 'Glass Cliff'."

Sherry Turkle, MIT professor and author of "Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other."

Sandy Pentland, MIT professor, on how big data is revealing the science behind how we work together, based on his book "Social Physics: How Good Ideas Spread."

Safi Bahcall, a former biotech CEO, began his career as a theoretical physicist before joining the business world. He compares the moment that innovative companies become complacent ones to a glass of water freezing, becoming ice. The elements are the same, but the structure of the company has changed. Bahcall offers ways for growing companies to avoid these inevitable forces and continue to innovate. He's the author of the book "Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries" and the HBR article “The Innovation Equation."

Julie Zhuo, Facebook’s VP of product design, started at the company as its first intern and became a manager at the age of 25. Like many first-time bosses, she made many missteps and acted how she thought managers were supposed to act. Eventually, she grew to find joy in the role and today she leads hundreds of people. She says that becoming a great manager also helps you know yourself better. Zhuo is the author of the book "The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You."

GiftWorksPlus offers an extensive line of custom wood picture frames that can be engraved with names, dates, messages, and more at no extra charge.

Matterport has updated their Capture app so that you can now "3D scan" spaces using the built-in camera on your iPhone or iPad. Meaning you take a bunch of photos, and the software stitches it together.

Now that everyone's cooped up at home, I can see tons of people wanting to capture their houses for fun…

…and the app lets you measure, tag items and label spaces too.

The only thing I don't like: You have to upload everything to the cloud, which is where the stitching-together part happens. It darn sure better be hack-proof--it's bad enough we've spent the past few years bugging our own homes with smart speakers, now it's like we're creating maps for tech-savvy burglars.

In the sci-fi series The Expanse, set in the 2300s, characters carry smartphone-like devices and are often seen "throwing" data from their device onto a nearby screen for group viewing. Here in humble ol' 2020, designer Cyril Diagne has figured out how to do it, without the histrionic swiping gesture performed on the TV show, and including a capturing step:

Diagne calls it "AR Cut Paste" (though some have commented it's really copy and paste) and has made the code freely available on Github.

Welcome to National Scrapbook Day on Craft Critique! I’ve got a great giveaway to celebrate with thanks to Graphic 45 – and a simple layout that I hope will get you inspired to scrapbook today! [Disclosure: Some links below are links to Nally Studios advertisers or are affiliate links that pay a commission at no […]

Jorge Silva/Reuters

• As some countries have started to lift their lockdown measures, public places have been making changes to adapt to government-issued social distancing measures. 
• More public places are using tape, floor markers and plastic dividers to help people comply with social distancing guidelines. 
• Photos show how people are trying to adapt to a new way of life during the coronavirus pandemic.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As some countries begin to lift their coronavirus lockdown measures, public places have been getting creative to adjust to social distancing guidelines.

From waiters wearing personal protective equipment to schools using plastic dividers between children, these photos show the world is adjusting to life under the coronavirus pandemic.

As countries begin to slowly lift their lockdown measures, many changes have to be made to public life in an effort to prevent second waves of COVID-19.

One of the places that have to adapt the most is restaurants. Some have been coming up with creative ways to enforce social distancing measures, including putting up dividers on tables.

Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

But in some places, a plastic divider is not enough. Diners in this Bangkok restaurant, for example, have been asked to sit diagonally from each other to maximize their distance.

Jorge Silva/Reuters


See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

• Shanghai Disneyland cast members told to wear face masks and avoid guest contact ahead of next week's reopening as China emerges from pandemic
• A West Virginia worker told us what it was like living at his factory for 28 days to help make PPE, and says he would 'absolutely' do another 'lock-in' to help
• These photos show thousands flocking to New York's parks over the weekend after Mayor de Blasio said that good weather 'is very much a threat to us'

SEE ALSO: LA's skies are smog-free and peacocks are roaming the streets of Dubai. Photos show how nature has returned to cities shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.

Matthew DeBord/Insider

• I tested a roughly $33,000 Polaris Slingshot R, a three-wheeled "autocycle."
• The three-wheeler category includes vehicles from Can-Am and Harley-Davidson, offering a motorcycle experience in a less demanding package.
• My Slingshot R had a new, Polaris-developed, 203-horsepower engine and an automatic transmission.
• In all but three US states, no motorcycle license is required to operate the Slingshot (New York, Massachusetts, and Alaska continue to require the motorcycle certification).
• The Slingshot is insanely fun, with a modest learning curve — it's a great alternative to a two-wheeler, although the price is definitely steep for the Slingshot R.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Motorcycles are cool, but they aren't for everybody. Fortunately, there are some alternatives out there that offer an equally compelling, open-air experience.

One of the most popular is the the Polaris Slingshot, manufactured by the Minnesota-based powersports company. Until recently, Slingshots were available only with manual transmissions and GM-sourced engines, but for 2020, Polaris has updated the autocycle with an in-house motor and an automatic.

The automatic transmission in particular really broadens the Slingshot's potential. So I was excited to sample the machine, which I first saw about five years ago.

Polaris was kind enough to loan me a tester for a few weeks. Here's how it went:

The Polaris Slingshot is a three-wheeled autocycle/motorcycle that Polaris industries has produced since 2014. My 2020 Slingshot R tester cost about $33,000 and was outfitted in a menacing red-and-black paint job.

Matthew DeBord/Insider

The cheapest Slingshot is about $20,000.

This wasn't my first crack at a Slingshot. Polaris brought the vehicle to Insider's New York offices when the vehicle first launched.

And I generally have a gander at the Slingshot when I visit the annual New York motorcycle show.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

• All the coolest features of every Tesla vehicle ever made or unveiled, ranked
• Here are 20 cars you can drive off the lot new for less than $20,000
• How Tesla's cargo capacity stacks up against other iconic front trunks in the car industry: From Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, and more

FOLLOW US: On Facebook for more car and transportation content!

Lisa Eadicicco/Business Insider

• The $400 iPhone SE stands out for its fast performance, compact design, and effective camera.
• Still, the iPhone SE is lacking some of the camera features found on similarly priced Android rivals.
• Overall, the phone is best suited for Apple loyalists upgrading from an older device like the iPhone 6S that want something affordable and familiar.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Apple's iPhone SE is unlike any iPhone Apple has released in the past two years. In fact, it looks a lot more like the the iPhone you probably remember from 2017 and earlier, back when iPhones still had home buttons and smaller-sized screens.

I switched from the $1,000 iPhone 11 Pro to Apple's new iPhone SE recently, and overall I've found it to be a solid option for Apple fans looking for a cheap, portable device. The smaller and lighter size is easy to manage and operate with one hand, and Touch ID brings some convenience that Face ID can lack. 

But of course, since it's significantly cheaper than the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro, it's lacking in some areas. It doesn't have an ultra-wide-angle camera or low-light photography capabilities, for example, even though similarly priced Android devices offer some of those features.

After spending a couple of weeks with Apple's cheapest iPhone, here are my favorite (and least favorite) things about it.  

The iPhone SE runs on Apple's latest iPhone processor, which makes it feel snappy and fast.

The iPhone SE runs on Apple's A3 Bionic processor, the same chip that powers the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. As a result, the iPhone SE feels snappy and fast in daily use.

I found this to be especially true when switching from my old iPhone 8 to the SE. In most cases, it was able to launch apps, render 4K video clips, and find surfaces more quickly in augmented reality than Apple's more-than-two-year-old iPhone 8.

That being said, the iPhone SE is pretty similar to the iPhone 8 in just about every other way, save for a few exceptions. It's best suited for those upgrading from an iPhone 7 or older. 

The A13 Bionic is the major advantage the iPhone SE has over similarly-priced Android phones, many of which may offer more sophisticated cameras but run on less powerful processors. 

It's small and compact, which means it's easier to use with one hand and fit into pockets.

The iPhone SE is the most compact iPhone Apple has released in years. It has a 4.7-inch screen just like the iPhone 8, and weighs noticeably less than the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro.

The iPhone SE weighs 5.22 ounces, while the iPhone 11 weighs 6.84 ounces and the iPhone 11 Pro weighs 6.63 ounces. 

It's also the only iPhone Apple sells that comes with a Touch ID home button.

Although I've grown accustomed to swiping up from the home screen to return home and unlocking my phone just by looking at it, I've really appreciated having Touch ID again.

Apple's fingerprint sensor sometimes works a bit faster than Face ID in my experience when unlocking my phone. And since Face ID works best when held directly in front of your face, I often have to physically pick up my phone to unlock it when using the iPhone 11 Pro. 

With the iPhone SE, by comparison, I can unlock my phone just by resting a finger on the home button without having to move the device. It's a small convenience, but one that I've come to appreciate.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

• Dock workers in Belgium are wearing monitoring bracelets that enforce social distancing — here's how they work
• How to restart a game on your iPhone and clear the app’s data in iCloud
• Apple has started reopening some stores, and precautions like temperature checks could be a sign of what shopping will look like after the pandemic

SEE ALSO: Apple is expected to release a new Apple Watch this fall — here are the features we want to see

The only truly accurate map of the world would be a map the size of the world. So if you want a map to be useful, something you can hold in your hands, you have to start making choices. We have to choose what information we're interested in, and what we're throwing out. Those choices influence how the person reading the map views the world. But a map’s influence doesn’t end there, maps can actually *shape *the place they’re trying to represent and that’s where things get weird.

Map Quests

On March 26, 2020, the Senate passed “Phase III” of the Coronavirus Response Package, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in a 96-0 vote.

1. Congress Passes Legislation to Increase Funding for PPP

On April 23, 2020, the House passed, in a 388 to 5 vote, the Senate Amendment to H.R. 266 – Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. This legislation reauthorizes the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was passed in the Senate by unanimous consent on April 21, 2020. NECA advocated for additional funding and are confident that this amendment will continue to help NECA contractors keep their employees on payroll during this crisis.

NECA’s Look Ahead: The NECA-supported bill is expected to be signed into law by the President immediately. A detailed section by section summary can be found here. NECA has also compiled some FAQs on this loan program. NECA is continuing to work with congressional leaders on upcoming Phases of COVID-19 response bills. A major Phase IV bill is expected sometime in May.

2. NECA Weighs in on Main Street Lending Program

A group of congressional allies sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Vice Chairman for Supervision of Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Randal Quarles, requesting the inclusion of S corporations, LLCs, and partnerships in utilizing the Main Street lending facilities announced by Treasury and the Federal Reserve. 

NECA’s Look Ahead: The letter was organized in response to a coalition letter, which NECA supported, to Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Texas) on the issue. NECA will update its members once we have received a formal response from the Department of the Treasury.

3. Register Today for the Upcoming Government Affairs Webinar

On May 5, 2020 at 2PM ET, NECA’s Government Affairs team will brief participants on NECA’s requests for Congress in the Phase IV coronavirus response legislation, then participants can take action and send a letter to their Member of Congress requesting help for the electrical construction industry to remain viable during this crisis. Participants will also hear messages from key Members of Congress on the current legislative response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Register Today! 

Google has unveiled its new iPhone app called Gboard. The app makes it easy to use mobile search from within any app.

Read more on howtoweb.com

Stardock Entertainment continually breaks new technical ground across our catalog of PC game titles spanning 4X and Real-Time Strategy and Action Adventure. We are currently seeking a Graphics Programmer to work on our next-generation game engine for both announced and unannounced titles to build up our team of dedicated and experienced talent! This is a salaried, full-time position at our Plymouth, Michigan studio. Primary Responsibilities Include: Work with the artists and designers to produce next-generation graphics Troubleshoot technical issues related to graphics Optimize graphics to run on a variety of platforms and machine specifications   Create and maintain tools for artists to visualize and debug their assets  Education and/or Experience Desired: A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or related field 3+ years experience in C++ required Familiarity with 3D math, including quaternions and matrix math required Shipped at least one commercial game Experience with all core areas of graphics development (Shaders, Animation, Post-Effects, PBR Materials, and particles) while demonstrating a specialization in one of those areas required Critical eye for attention to detail Familiarity with 3D graphics hardware and driver stack Experience with at least one graphics API: OpenGL, Direct3D, Vulkan, Metal; and a shading language like HLSL or GLSL Experience developing on current generation or next-generation console is a plus  

Support organizations that can leverage the power of the smartphone in order to transform their contact center can not only gain key insights to help streamline support operations but can also make agents more effective

Financial services organizations typically have high-volume, high-value documents, which can be manually intensive if processes are not automated

Physician compensation models are evolving to keep up with the new quality metrics defined by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Switching from a fee-for-service structure to a value-based payment model changes the focus to providing better quality… Read More

The post Making the Move from Volume to Value-Based Physician Compensation appeared first on Anders CPAs.

Many physicians are aware that the medical services they provide are typically exempt from sales tax. However, the physician may still be required to pay sales or use tax in his or her medical practice. The liability depends on the… Read More

The post Are Physicians Exempt from Sales and Use Tax in Missouri and Illinois? appeared first on Anders CPAs.

As part of the CARES Act, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is authorizing accelerated and advance payments to any Medicare physicians, provider or supplier who submits a request to the appropriate Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) and meets… Read More

The post CMS Offers Accelerated and Advance Medicare Payments for Physicians, Providers and Suppliers appeared first on Anders CPAs.

Among the several treatments being proposed to fight Covid-19 are drugs used to attack parasites. One such candidate that has been much in the news is hydroxychloroquine.

ET takes a look at the vaccines that have moved from the pre-clinical to clinical phase of development for Covid-19, a step closer to finding a preventative drug against the deadly virus

Philadelphia Offers Discounted Solar to Residents and Businesses aconstanza Fri, 05/01/2020 - 16:46

First Ride: Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro & Tiger 900 GT Pro

The share of smartphones priced below Rs 5000, categorized as entry-level, has trailed from 12% in 2017 to 4% in 2019, whereas, for those priced between Rs 5000-Rs 10,000, categorized as basic, it has fallen from 45% to 42%.

Canalys Senior Analyst Ben Stanton said that in February, when the coronavirus was centered on China, vendors were mainly concerned about how to build enough smartphones to meet global demand.