Cryptocurrency analysts say at least $13.7m (£10.2m) has so far been donated to the Ukrainian war effort through anonymous Bitcoin donations.
Researchers at Elliptic, a blockchain analysis company, say the Ukrainian government, NGOs and volunteer groups have raised the money by advertising their Bitcoin wallet addresses online.
More than 4,000 donations have been made so far, with one unknown donor gifting Bitcoin worth $3m to an NGO.
The median donation is $95.
Step aside, whatever “Pokémon Café Remix” is — the ninth generation of Pokémon is coming. This morning, a Pokémon Presents broadcast announced “Pokémon Scarlet and Violet,” the latest installment in the main series Pokémon games after “Pokémon Sword and Shield” came out in late 2019. The Nintendo Switch games are expected to be released in late 2022.
From the trailer, the graphics look similar to the recently released (and very fun) “Pokémon Legends: Arceus,” but the footage may not show actual gameplay, so it’s still up in the air if we’ll encounter over-world Pokémon again (that implementation worked in “Arceus,” but let’s not pull a “Pokémon Let’s Go” again, please.) But, the YouTube description of the trailer declares, “Welcome to the open world of Pokémon,” so maybe this game will take a nod from “Arceus” (which isn’t technically an open world game, but it’s the closest thing the Pokémon franchise has to a “Breath of the Wild”-style adventure).
Posted in News and Views
ARGENTINIAN MUSICIAN FRANK Tavis had the life he always dreamed of. The 26-year-old was traveling the world and performing on the streets and in bars in more than 20 countries—each coin dropped in his guitar case helping pay his way to the next country for five years. Then the pandemic hit, bars shut down, and Tavis’ income dried up. A friend recommended he join Fiverr, a freelance gig economy website where people are paid for a variety of digital services usually offered by contractors. Tavis began writing songs for small sums of cash in mid-2020.
The earnings helped him live, but he saw a bigger opportunity. “I watch a lot of YouTube, and I started to see a lot of different stuff about NFTs,” he says. Tavis knew artists who he could pay to design artwork that others would use to make NFT collections. So he pivoted his Fiverr business to design the artwork used for NFTs.
The newly released 2022 Economic Outlook for Franchising shows franchise economic output in proportions unmatched by almost any other sector in the economy.
Last year saw one of the best comebacks the United States has ever seen. Across the country, people had more cash in their pockets, more investments in the stock market and more confidence in a continued recovery for their businesses than we have seen in years, perhaps decades.
With the latest surge of the Covid-19 pandemic waning, the economic recovery will almost certainly continue, and it’s being led by the franchise industry. With continued growth across every franchise sector, 2022 will be a year of new opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs to reimagine their careers as owners and operators of highly successful, recognizable franchises.
Ordinarily, traffic lights change color in response to predetermined rules and induction loop sensors embedded in the road. According to new research, however, making those lights artificially intelligent may keep traffic flowing faster and smoother.
The study is being conducted as part of Germany’s KI4LSA project – it’s funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, and includes several partner organizations.
Posted in News and Views
Tagged AI traffic lights, traffic intersections, traffic lights
When I first laid eyes (and hands) upon Samsung’s new Galaxy S22 Ultra, I assure you it was not love at first sight.
The 6.8-inch phone, which launches Feb. 25 and sits atop the S22 line as the company’s most premium Android offering, is effectively a cold, smooth slab of sometimes rounded metal punctuated by multiple circular cameras. It’s imposing, austere…anonymous, even, and expensive, with a starting price of $1,199. There’s nary a hint of the whimsy Google infused into the hardware and software design of its rival, the Pixel 6 Pro. The S22 Ultra, by contrast, is all business.
Expect to see more bright-red “Rollback” signs at Walmart stores as inflation bites, the company said Thursday.
Rollbacks, or temporary price reductions on an item, are Walmart’s version of a sale. Walmart decides which products to drop prices on based on factors like discounts it receives from suppliers or excess inventory.
Walmart had more products on rollbacks last quarter compared to the previous one — and the company will continue adding them to highlight value prices for shoppers. Why every Costco product is called ‘Kirkland Signature’
“We use rollbacks to communicate not only the reality of prices are coming down at some places, but the emotion or perception we want customers to have about us,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on a post-earnings conference call with analysts.
IaaS, or infrastructure as a service, is a cloud computing model that provides access to computer hardware in a cloud-based environment. Learn how to use it in your business.
Posted in Tools and Information
There will always be horrible bosses. A lot of employees struggle with difficult and sometimes unreasonable employers. Fortunately, there are labor laws and guidelines that protect the rights of employees.
On the other hand, many newbie employers are so focused on getting their businesses off the ground they forget to handle the legal side of things. So, despite being well intentioned, decent employers can still violate labor laws due to ignorance.
That said, here’s a list of the most common labor law claims filed against terrible and ignorant employers alike.
Are successful entrepreneurs born or made? The “born vs made” debate is one that has been raging for ages, and there are a few schools of thought when it comes to this question.
The first is that some people are simply born with the skills and personality traits needed to be successful entrepreneurs. They have natural charisma, risk-taking ability, creativity, and more.
These “natural” entrepreneurs are able to dedicate the time and effort needed to be successful because they are driven by internal factors. They are passionate about their work and are motivated to achieve their goals.
Dispatches From The Front 