Microsoft Spring Event to Feature Surface Laptop 4, Webcam | Digital Trends

March 10, 2021March 9, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

It could shape up to be a busy spring hardware season for Microsoft. The company is rumored to be launching a new webcam, as well as the Surface Laptop 4 and other peripherals, at its next Surface event in a few weeks, according to Microsoft watcher Brad Sams.

Details are naturally scarce, but it is believed that this new webcam could sport a privacy cover, as well as support for high dynamic range video. This would be Microsoft’s first external webcam since the 2006 release of the Lifecam, which is actually still available for purchase.

Why popular YouTubers are building their own sites | BBC News

March 9, 2021March 7, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Whether he’s showing off astronomically expensive computer gaming hardware or dumpster-diving for the cheapest PC builds possible, Linus Sebastian’s videos always strike a chord, and have made him one of the most popular tech personalities on YouTube.

But Google-owned YouTube gets most episodes of Linus Tech Tips a week late.

Now, they debut on his own site called Floatplane, which attracts a much smaller crowd.

“Google has been very, very good to me,” Linus says. “But it’s a lot of eggs in one basket.”

PPP Loans Are Supposed to Be Tax-Free. These 19 States Didn’t Get the Memo | Inc.com

March 9, 2021March 7, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Tax time is confusing and stressful under the best of circumstances. It could be even worse if you’ve taken out a loan from the government’s Paycheck Protection Program.

The tax status of the PPP has been muddled from the beginning. While these forgivable loans were never meant to be taxed as income, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service, under the Trump administration, held that business owners could not deduct expenses that were paid for with PPP. Congress disagreed, and in December 2020 put its position into law with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which also contained a $900 billion relief package.

The iMac Pro is being discontinued | TechCrunch

March 8, 2021March 7, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Chalk this up to inevitability. The iMac Pro is soon to be no more. First noted by 9to5Mac, TechCrunch has since confirmed with Apple that the company will stop selling the all-in-one once the current stock is depleted.

One configuration of the desktop is still available through Apple’s site, listed as “While Supplies Last” and priced at $5,000. Some other versions can also still be found from third-party retailers, as well, if you’re so inclined.

Chinese Hacking Spree Hit an ‘Astronomical’ Number of Victims | WIRED

March 8, 2021March 7, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

WHEN NEWS HIT earlier this week that Chinese hackers were actively targeting Microsoft Exchange servers, the cybersecurity community warned that the zero-day vulnerabilities they were exploiting might have allowed them to hit countless organizations around the world. Now it’s becoming clear just many email servers they hacked. By all appearances, the group known as Hafnium breached as many victims they could find across the global internet, leaving behind backdoors to return to later.

Hafnium has now exploited zero-day vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s Exchange servers’ Outlook Web Access to indiscriminately compromise no fewer than tens of thousands of email servers, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation into the hacking campaign who spoke to WIRED. The intrusions, first spotted by security firm Volexity, began as early as January 6, with a noticeable uptick starting last Friday and spiking early this week. The hackers appear to have responded to Microsoft’s patch, released Tuesday, by ramping up and automating their hacking campaign. One security researcher involved in the investigation who spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity put the number of hacked Exchange servers at more than 30,000 in the US alone, and hundreds of thousands worldwide, all apparently by the same group. Independent cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs first reported that 30,000 figure Friday, citing sources who had briefed national security officials.

How Jersey Mike’s Subs Grew In 2020: It Began Acting Like a Tech Company

March 5, 2021March 4, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When the lockdowns hit in March, business at Jersey Mike’s dropped 45 percent in a week. And with fall sports on hiatus, CEO and founder Peter Cancro lost the ability to reach his football-loving customers with game-day commercials. So he went on the offensive: He shifted his marketing dollars to Fox News, NBC, CNN, and ABC.

“Everyone was watching the news, so they saw we were still open,” says Cancro, who used the marketing blitz to reaffirm his small-business roots. One commercial, for instance, opens on a photo of Cancro posing with his high school football coach, Rod Smith — the banker who famously went on to lend him $125,000 to buy his original sub shop in 1975.

Business Improvements for Slow Periods | Getentrepreneurial.com

March 5, 2021March 4, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Covid has slowed down business for all kinds of companies. It can be incredibly frustrating to look at all of the unused space on which you are paying a mortgage or rent. The last thing you may think to do is spend any more money right now.

When business inevitably opens up again, you need to be competitive. Here are some ways to improve your business now, while business may be slower than other times.

Examine your Business Expenses

This is a pretty logical step to take during a slow time. If you aren’t busy making money, now is a good time to make sure you aren’t bleeding out money anywhere. Look into employee activity reports, office expenses, vehicles, and other areas of your business to find anywhere that money is being wasted.

Inner Ear Implant Restores Balance | CoolBusinessIdeas.com

March 4, 2021March 3, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If someone suffers from bilateral vestibular hypofunction, it means that their inner ear doesn’t maintain their sense balance properly. As a result, the person gets dizzy very easily. A new implant, however, appears to bypass the problem, significantly reducing vertigo.

Bilateral vestibular hypofunction (BVH) can be quite a debilitating condition, as it causes the sufferer to stumble and weave back and forth when walking. Not only does this greatly inconvenience the person and make them feel self-conscious, but it also puts them at a high risk of falling.

Even when someone with BVH remains seated, their head movements alone still cause their vision to blur and jump. Sufferers are therefore advised not to perform activities such as driving, in which their vertigo could endanger themselves or other people.

Elon Musk wants to build a city called Starbase in Texas | Mashable

March 4, 2021March 3, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is getting into the city-building business.

On Tuesday, Musk tweeted about “creating the city of Starbase, Texas.” He followed that up with a few other details, some of which are typically Muskian — for example, he says the city will be dog friendly and its leader will be The Doge, a pun on a medieval elected lord title of the same name and the cryptocurrency DOGE, which is Musk’s favorite.

However, it appears that Musk is serious about creating a new city. SpaceX’s launch and development site for Starship resides in the unincorporated community in Cameron County, Texas. Musk claims he wants to incorporate the village and the land that surrounds it into a much bigger city called Starbase.