ess

Op-ed: Coronavirus offers a lesson on Earth Day: 'We share this fragile planet'

The same spirit that now forces us to work together to address the COVID-19 pandemic can be harnessed to address the challenge of climate change.

       




ess

Briggs: Don't hate Potbelly for getting coronavirus aid. Congress is the problem.

People are mad because some big companies got loans through a program meant to help mom-and-pop businesses.

       




ess

Op-ed: Coronavirus spread in nursing homes not a result of inattentiveness

Because the virus is hard to control even with all the steps being taken, we must remain vigilant in the steps we are taking, Zach Cattell writes.

       




ess

Letters: Essential workers deserve respect — even after coronavirus crisis ends

I see people praising restaurant workers, grocery clerks, and truck drivers and I think this is long overdue.

       




ess

Coronavirus: All dressed up and nowhere to go

Photographer Robin Sinha asked his neighbours in Walthamstow, London, to pose on their doorsteps.




ess

McClaren under instant pressure

England's new coach will not have a honeymoon period




ess

BBC World News business headlines

The latest international business headlines from BBC World News.




ess

Is Disney's theme park reopening a roadmap for businesses?

New measures being introduced at Shanghai Disneyland could be a blueprint for firms restarting operations.




ess

Formula 1 guess who: How many drivers can you name?

How many F1 drivers do you think you can name from just three clues? Take the BBC Sport quiz to find out.




ess

Formula 1: Who said that? Guess the memorable quotes

A dressing-down by a team boss? Drivers who can't hide their frustration on team radio? How many memorable quotes do you remember?




ess

The long shot that changed a homeless caddie's life

Llewellyn Barnes made his debut in a professional golf debut last month, after decades living homeless in South Africa.




ess

Spy princess and Lady Death: Eight women of WW2

Some are well known, some forgotten, but all played a key role in World War Two.




ess

Regions and territories: Karachay-Cherkessia

Key facts, dates, events




ess

Coronavirus lockdown: Lessons from Hokkaido's second wave of infections

The Japanese island, which initially saw a drop in cases, is now facing a bigger wave of virus cases.




ess

Women hardest hit by recession as unemployment hits historic highs

Erin Ironsides has felt the economic impact of the pandemic first-hand after recently being laid off from the airline she worked for.





ess

Coronavirus: Chinese official admits health system weaknesses

China says it will improve public health systems after criticism of its early response to the virus.




ess

Bing Liu: Chinese-born professor dies in US murder-suicide

US police say Bing Liu was shot dead by his lover, but conspiracy theorists have other ideas.




ess

Will driverless cars mean computer crashes?

Some believe that self-driving cars will be far safer than human-driven cars but who trusts them enough to drive in them?






ess

How the latest episode of ‘Watchmen’ took its superhero blackness to the next level

Showrunner Damon Lindelof and his writers and producers have finally solved the show's biggest mystery.




ess

Cathy Yan’s rapid rise from journalist to ‘Birds of Prey’ director: ‘I didn’t think you could do this professionally’

Yan guided Margot Robbie's return to her character Harley Quinn, and is the first woman of Asian descent to direct a major Hollywood superhero movie.




ess

Children battling cancer can’t always express their feelings. Now a robotic duck is doing it for them.

Known as “My Special Aflac Duck,” the robot is merging play with tools that help doctors do their jobs.




ess

Google’s balloon project has a new test: Providing Internet access to ‘mountainous villagers’ in Kenya

Loon — an Internet-providing balloon service owned by Alphabet, Google’s parent company — will give “mountain villagers” in Kenya the opportunity to purchase 4G service.




ess

Walmart has added virtual reality to its assessment of an employee’s potential

For the past few months, the nation’s largest employer has begun evaluating workers using an experimental tool: virtual reality.




ess

How quickly can AI solve a Rubik’s Cube? In less time than it took you to read this headline.

The University of California announced that an artificial intelligent system has solved the puzzle in just over a second, besting the human world record by more than two seconds.




ess

Fordham University business students have a new tool to prepare them for boardrooms: Virtual reality

Fordham University business students are using virtual reality to prepare them for boardrooms.




ess

In Silicon Valley, some men say cosmetic procedures are essential to a career

Women have long felt the pressure of looking the part. Now men are feeling it, too.




ess

Jimmy Butler is fitting into the 76ers' system seamlessly

Butler hasn't had much practice time with the 76ers, but he's already acclimating to their preferred way of playing and closing out wins.




ess

The NCAA’s lousy new metric is going to make March Madness even crazier

The NCAA tournament could be more entertaining than usual, if only because seedings may be less accurate than in past years.




ess

Softbank-backed delivery startup Rappi is testing out robots for contactless delivery — take a look

  • Colombian delivery app Rappi is testing pilot robot deliveries in Colombia.
  • Rappi operates in several Latin American countries, and last year SoftBank invested one billion dollars into the startup.
  • Deliveries are made using Kiwibot, a delivery robot from a Colombian owned company in California.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Colombian delivery app Rappi is yet another company turning to robots to reduce reliance on human workers during the coronavirus pandemic. 

In addition to Colombia, Rappi operates in Mexico, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. Last spring, SoftBank invested $1 billion — one-fifth of its Innovation Fund for Latin America — in the startup. It was founded in 2015, and other investors include Sequoia Capital, Andreesen Horowitz, and Y Combinator.

Colombia is currently under a lockdown set to end in May, though it may be extended again. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported on the lack of coronavirus testing throughout Latin America, making it difficult to assess how widespread the virus is in the region.

Like in other countries, the Colombian delivery app is using robots to complete orders at a time when people are at risk of catching the virus from interacting with others. So far, the robots are part of a pilot in Medellin, with potential to expand.

Here's what it looks like. 

SEE ALSO: Nonprofits, truck drivers, food banks, and others are turning to a little-known Google Maps feature to navigate life amid the coronavirus pandemic

Rappi is using robots for deliveries in Medellin, the capital of Colombia.



Typically, Rappi works similarly to GrubHub or DoorDash, with delivery drivers picking up orders and bringing them to customers' doors.



As the coronavirus spread between people, options for contactless delivery became more popular.



Deliveries in the pilot program use Kiwibot robots, from a California company with a Medellin office.



The four-wheeled delivery robots have orange flags to call attention from walkers, drivers, and bikers.



Customers stuck at home because of the coronavirus can order and pay for meals digitally, and then last mile delivery is completed by the robots.



Robots can carry deliveries up to five square inches in size, and are disinfected between orders.

Source: The Star



Kiwibots have a stereo camera system to sense its surroundings as it moves.



The sensor system allows it to react to lights and obstacles.



Kiwibots are equipped with corner recognition, which allows them to create safe paths on sidewalks.



Kiwibot emphasized its robots ability to "seamlessly mesh into the fabric of urban landscapes," with technology like street crossing mode.

Source: Kiwibot



Rappi says it completes about 120 deliveries each day with the 15 robots in the pilot area.

Source: The Star



It plans to run the program until July, and then potentially expand to other cities.



Kiwibots have previously been used for deliveries at colleges including UC Berkeley, and Kiwibot says it has made more than 30,000 deliveries since it started in 2017.

Source: The New York Times






ess

Silicon Valley VCs have a new obsession that perfectly captures the grave danger facing startups : How long is your 'runway'?

Startups are facing what could become the worst economic downturn in several decades, and VCs are begging them to take drastic measures to improve their chances of making it through. 

Most Americans who lived through the 2008 financial crisis will know that a savings stockpile or rainy day fund can mean the difference between surviving and thriving during tough times, but as recent studies have shown, many tech startups and VC firms don't have a similar first-hand experience; many have only known boom times and are now venturing into uncharted waters.

One thing VCs agree on is that startups need to quickly rein in growth plans — ideally as soon as yesterday — and start scrutinizing expenses. Anything nonessential should be cut or suspended indefinitely, headcount should be reduced, and pricey office leases eliminated if possible, all with the goal of extending a startup's "runway."

In Silicon Valley, runway refers to how much cash a startup has on hand to put against its operating expenses. If, for example, a startup has roughly $100,000 in monthly operating expenses and has $1 million in the bank, they are looking at a 10-month runway, assuming revenue stays roughly flat.

In the days before the coronavirus pandemic, a startup's runway dictated when it had to start looking for additional funding. Instead of cutting expenses, the popular solution was to simply put more VC money in the bank. This helped high flying startups like Uber and Airbnb expand at a breakneck pace — VC dollars kept pouring in and the companies remained unprofitable as they chased growth at all costs.

But now, VCs are saying that's no longer an option. Founders Fund general partner Keith Rabois said on a podcast recently that profitability is now being rewarded much more than high-growth. 

For startups that aren't profitable, that means hunkering down and ensuring there are enough reserves to last through the crisis.

So how long does the runway need to be? 

Many VCs that Business Insider has spoken to are advising their startups to have at least 18 months of runway. But some VCs say startups should have upwards of 3 years' of expenses saved up. 

The length of time can vary depending on the startup, one investor told Business Insider, pointing to the startup's age and industry as important factors. An early-stage company with a handful of employees and low-overhead costs might easily stretch a $500,000 seed check, whereas a growth-stage biotech startup with hundreds of employees, expensive hardware, and pricey office space might struggle to make tens of millions of dollars in funding make it through 12 months. Those that can't cut costs will be forced to fundraise with poor terms and risk the dreaded downround

"You can always easily dial back up the aggressiveness and risk profile if we get more optimistic visibility, but if you don't take action right away — to preserve capital, cut your burn rate, have fundamentally attractive unit economics, edit the product to make more sense in the new world order — if you don't do those right away, the opportunity to do those things and survive is probably lost forever," Rabois said in the April Talkshow broadcast.

Rabois is in the camp of pessimists, generally speaking, who think the economic downturn will not only drag on through 2020, but could eventually turn into an economic depression the likes of which could rival the Great Depression of the 1930s. He said that his VC peers are starting to rein in the freewheeling deal-making that has defined the last two decades of the Silicon Valley startup ecosystem, and are now treading cautiously. It's time that startups do the same, he said.

SEE ALSO: Lower valuations and a long wait for funding: Two top early-stage VCs dish on how they are counseling startups to withstand long-term economic uncertainty

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Pathologists debunk 13 coronavirus myths




ess

Facebook's fight against coronavirus misinformation could boost pressure on the company to get more aggressive in removing other falsehoods spreading across the social network (FB)

  • Facebook is taking a harder line on misinformation related to coronavirus than it has on other health topics in the past.
  • This decision may increase the pressure on the company to act more decisively against other forms of harmful falsehoods that spread on its social networks.
  • Facebook is banning events that promote flouting lockdown protests, and is removing the conspiracy theory video "Plandemic."
  • But false claims that vaccines are dangerous still proliferate on Facebook — even though they contribute to the deaths of children.

Amid the pandemic, Facebook is taking a harder line on misinformation than it has in the past. That decision may come back to haunt it.

As coronavirus has wreaked havoc across the globe, forcing lockdowns and disrupting economies, false information and hoaxes have spread like wildfire on social media. Miracle cures, intentional disinformation about government policies, and wild claims that Bill Gates orchestrated the entire health crisis abound.

In the past, Facebook has been heavily criticised for failing to take action to stop its platform being used to facilitate the spread of misinformation. To be sure, coronavirus falsehoods are still easily found on Facebook — but the company has taken more decisive action than in previous years:

But Facebook's actions to combat COVID-19 misinformation may backfire — in the sense that it has the potential to dramatically increase pressure on the company to take stronger action against other forms of misinformation.

The company has long struggled with how to handle fake news and hoaxes; historically, its approach is not to delete them, but to try to artificially stifle their reach via algorithmic tweaks. Despite this, pseudoscience, anti-government conspiracy theories, and other falsehoods still abound on the social network.

Facebook has now demonstrated that it is willing to take more decisive action on misinformation, when the stakes are high enough. Its critics may subsequently ask why it is so reticent to combat the issue when it causes harm in other areas — particularly around other medical misinformation.

One expected defence for Facebook? That it is focused on taking down content that causes "imminent harm," and while COVID-19 misinformation falls into that category, lots of other sorts of falsehoods don't.

However, using "imminence" as the barometer of acceptability is dubious: Vaccine denialism directly results in the deaths of babies and children. That this harm isn't "imminent" doesn't make it any less dangerous — but, for now, such material is freely posted on Facebook.

Far-right conspiracy theories like Pizzagate, and more recent, Qanon, have also spread on Facebook — stoking baseless fears of shadowy cabals secretly controlling the government. These theories don't intrinsically incite harm, but have been linked to multiple acts of violence, from a Pizzagate believer firing his weapon in a pizza parlour to the Qanon-linked killing of a Gambino crime boss. (Earlier this week, Facebook did take down some popular QAnon pages — but for breaking its rules on fake profiles, rather than disinformation.)

And Facebook is still full of groups rallying against 5G technology, making evidence-free claims about its health effects (and now, sometimes linking it to coronavirus in a messy web). These posts exist on a continuum, with believers at the extreme end attempting to burn down radio towers and assault technicians; Facebook does take down such incitements to violence, but the more general fearmongering that can act as a gateway to more extreme action remains.

This week, Facebook announced the first 20 members of its Oversight Board — a "Supreme Court"-style entity that will review reports from users make rulings as to what objectionable content is and isn't allowed on Facebook and Instagram, with — in theory — the power to overrule the company. It remains to be seen whether its decisions may affect the company's approach for misinformation, and it still needs to appoint the rest of its members and get up and running.

For now, limits remain in place as to what Facebook will countenance in its fight against coronavirus-specific misinformation.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company would immediately take down posts advertising dangerous false cures to COVID-19, like drinking bleach. It is "obviously going to create imminent harm," he said in March. "That is just in a completely different class of content than the back-and-forth accusations a candidate might make in an election."

But in April, President Donald Trump suggested that people might try injecting a "disinfectant" as a cure, which both has the potential to be extremely harmful, and will not cure coronavirus.

Facebook is not taking down video of his comments.

Do you work at Facebook? Contact Business Insider reporter Rob Price via encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 650-636-6268), encrypted email (robaeprice@protonmail.com), standard email (rprice@businessinsider.com), Telegram/Wickr/WeChat (robaeprice), or Twitter DM (@robaeprice). We can keep sources anonymous. Use a non-work device to reach out. PR pitches by standard email only, please.

SEE ALSO: Facebook announced the first 20 members of its oversight board that will decide what controversial content is allowed on Facebook and Instagram

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A cleaning expert reveals her 3-step method for cleaning your entire home quickly




ess

Mortgage rates hover near historic lows as investors assess where economy is headed

The 30-year fixed-rate average moved slightly higher this week, increasing to 3.26 percent.




ess

Presidential hopefuls swap the campaign trail for the field at Congressional Women’s Softball Game

The Members team ultimately fell 10-4 to the press team, despite valiant efforts from players such as 2020 presidential hopeful and team pitcher Kirsten Gillibrand.




ess

A ball fit for Cinderella at the Library of Congress as the National Film Registry inducts the classic film

Fans of the Disney animated movie celebrated its addition to the National Film Registry.




ess

Rihanna has a message for President Trump about immigration

The native of Barbados apparently doesn't like Trump's immigration policies.




ess

SNL’s Kate McKinnon has her Marianne Williamson impression ready to go

The "Saturday Night Live" star debuted a brief impression on "Late Night with Seth Meyers."




ess

Wolf Blitzer, Kellyanne Conway and members of Congress celebrate Bastille Day at the French ambassador’s house

Despite the potential of, um, awkwardness among the diplomatic core and official Washington, elbows were ripe for rubbing at the French ambassador’s residence.




ess

Kacey Musgraves, the rare country singer to address gun control, says ‘hold your politicians accountable’

The musician pointed out that she hails from Texas and is familiar with hunting and gun culture, but she said the recent tragedies deserve a different response.




ess

Ivanka Trump’s 3-year-old son dressed up as a Star Wars Stormtrooper. Mark Hamill was not pleased.

The Star Wars actor faced backlash for his reaction, but he later made clear that young Theodore wasn't the target of his ire.




ess

Celebrities including Emily Ratajkowski and Mark Ruffalo send messages of thanks to Bernie Sanders

Famous supporters flocked to social media as Sen. Bernie Sanders ended his presidential campaign.




ess

How to View and Control WordPress Cron Jobs

What is a Cron Job? Cron Jobs are basically scheduled tasks that are created automatically by WordPress or a WordPress Plugin that you have activated on your website. They are similar to an alarm clock that goes off regularly to trigger an automative response. Before we delve into explaining how you can view and control […]

The post How to View and Control WordPress Cron Jobs appeared first on Tips and Tricks HQ.




ess

Create a Squeeze Form in a Popup for WordPress

If you intend on offering downloadable content from your WordPress website, using the Simple Download Monitor Plugin will allow you to do so. Furthermore, if you wish to collect say your user’s name and email address in a neat and tidy popup window before the download commences, then the Squeeze Form Addon can be used. […]

The post Create a Squeeze Form in a Popup for WordPress appeared first on Tips and Tricks HQ.




ess

Air Tahiti Nui Poerava Dreamliner Business Class Review

Discover what it is like to fly Air Tahiti Nui Boeing Dreamliner in Poerava Business Class. I discuss and review the aircraft, layout, seats, food, drink, service and facilities on board. Find out of this airline and business class is a thumbs up or thumbs down from me.

Note: I received a discount off the full fare price of my Air Tahiti Business class flight from Paris to Papeete Tahiti. The airline had no input of the content or opinions expressed in my video.

** Subscribe to my channel: http://bit.ly/TFT_YouTube2
** Buy one of my unique Cruise T-shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStore
** Get great cruise deals via CRUISEDIRECT.COM: http://bit.ly/TFTBookCruise

Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 60+ cruises.

Follow Tips For Travellers on:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge

 




ess

Princess Cruises Pros and Cons

What are the pros and cons of cruising on a Princess Cruises cruising vacation. I explore the best and worst things about a cruise with Princess. The things you need to watch out for and be aware of, as well as the great things about cruising on Princess Cruises. This luxury / premium cruise line is the Thord most popular line based on number of passengers they carry every year. Only Carnival Cruises and Royal Caribbean lines carry more. So, want are the Princess Cruises Pros and Cons?

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL BY:
*** Buying my Cruise T-shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStore
*** Booking your next cruise with CRUISEDIRECT.COM: http://bit.ly/TFTBookCruise


Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 60+ cruises.

Follow Tips For Travellers on:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge




ess

How to have a great cruise on Princess Cruises

Discover the 10 tips I have for making sure you have the very best cruise possible on Princess Cruises. I have cruised with Princess Cruises a number of times and these are the things that `I have learnt make for having the best cruising vacation with the cruise line. Hope these help make your Princess Cruise a great one.

Note: I travelled as a guest of the cruise line a number of times before making this video. Princess Cruises had no input on the content of this video.

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL BY:
Buying my Cruise T-shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStore
Booking your next cruise with CRUISEDIRECT.COM: http://bit.ly/TFTBookCruise


Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 74 cruises.

Follow Tips For Travellers on:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge




ess

Princess Cruises Ocean Medallion Review

Princess Cruises were the first cruise line to introduce the Ocean Medallion smart wearable device that is supposed to change the way you cruise. It helps you board the ship faster, find your way around the ship, order food and drink to wherever you are on the ship, gamble and play games , locate your friends and more. But how does it really work? What are the pros and cons? Find out my thoughts, take and review of the Princess Cruises Ocean Medallion.




ess

Numéricable Selects Calix and Arcadiz for Broadband Business Services Rollout

Numéricable has selected the Calix E7-2 Ethernet Service Access Platform and gigabit passive optical network technology to upgrade its service delivery platform in Belgium and Luxembourg. Calix, along with optical specialist Arcadiz Telecom, will work closely to roll out Numéricable’s new high-speed broadband networks to deliver business services across the region. The new platform will enable Numéricable’s customers to take advantage of advanced voice, video, and data services at symmetrical speeds ranging from 30 megabits per second (30 Mbps) up to 1 gigabit per second (1 Gbps).

Numéricable serves over 150,000 customers in Brussels with triple-play services for residential subscribers. Owned by Coditel and with a close relationship to the French Numéricable organization, with whom it shares a range of resources, Numéricable Belgium is a long-established operator with a highly dispersed coax cable network. The company has traditionally delivered triple-play residential services over its hybrid fiber coax infrastructure, but in recent years has moved increasingly towards using its fiber to connect businesses and has developed a number of specific niche markets. The company is now looking at ways to maximize the potential of its fiber infrastructure in Belgium and Luxembourg and deliver revenue-generating advanced services to its business customers.



  • Service Providers/Europe IPTV