What the First Driverless Car Fatality Means for Self-Driving Tech | Live Science

July 5, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A crash that killed a driver in a Tesla Model S electric car in self-driving mode has called into question the safety of driverless vehicle technology. This week, federal officials announced the launch of a formal investigation into the accident.

The crash occurred on May 7 in Williston, Florida, when a tractor-trailer made a left turn in front of the Tesla, and the car failed to apply the brakes, the New York Times reported. It is the first known fatal accident involving a self-driving vehicle.

How a Sweet, Simple Instagram Photo Gave Rise to a Sweeping Global Travel Brand | Adweek

July 5, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Little did Murad Osmann know that he would start a viral photo series when he snapped a seemingly simple picture of his then-girlfriend, Nataly, and uploaded it to Instagram while on vacation in 2011. The couple was spending a few extra days in Barcelona after a work trip when Murad took a simple shot of her walking through a door spray-painted with graffiti, his arm outstretched to hold her hand. “She grabbed my hand and pulled me forward,” Osmann told Adweek. “I took one photo, and then we published it—that’s how we started doing this.”

Why Don’t People Like Your Restaurant?|CoolBusinessIdeas.com

July 1, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Restaurateurs frequently find themselves in an uncomfortable situation: people used to like your restaurant, now customers are dwindling, you don’t know why. Anyone who has seen TV shows in the vein of Kitchen Nightmares can understand that there are a million reasons why restaurants stop being successful. But people who consider these tales a bit more closely start to see that there actually aren’t that many causes of customer discontent. In general, people stop showing up because the food isn’t as good as it used to be, the restaurant has fallen far behind the times, or the service/management is terrible. It can take a lot of honest soul-searching to observe and accept the reasons that your own restaurant is starting to fail. But doing this work is imperative if you want to make the important changes.

7 Ways To Crush Email In 2016 | The Startup Magazine

July 1, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

We recently saw email being named “the technology which has had the greatest impact in transforming how we work over the last ten years”, above smartphones. This trend isn’t going to slow down in 2016. As email evolves through cloud computing, automation, integrating into social and becoming more focused around mobile, we need to make sure we keep up in order to make the most of this medium as both a sender and recipient.

In this post, I’ve gathered a list of tools that’ll make sure you crush email (in a good way) in 2016:

A Dyslexic Entrepreneur Says His Disability Helped Him Build A $3.6M Company | Forbes

July 1, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Stan Gloss, 60, is cofounder and CEO of BioTeam, a consulting firm that designs computer systems and networks for the life sciences market. The 14-year-old company has both public and private sector clients, including the National Institutes of Health , the Centers for Disease Control, Biogen and Regeneron. While Gloss is based in Middleton, MA, his 18 employees all work from their homes in eight cities across the country, including New York, Pittsburgh, Austin and Gainesville, FLA. Last year BioTeam logged $3.6 million in revenue. Gloss has fought a lifelong battle with dyslexia, managing to become a college professor and cycle through four other jobs before starting BioTeam. In this condensed and edited interview, he describes how he learned to make the most of his disability and why he thinks dyslexics can become successful entrepreneurs.

Impossible Foods previews meatless burger that cooks, smells, and bleeds like beef | Inhabitat

June 30, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Impossible Foods has perfected a juicy, bleeding, meatless hamburger that mimics beef down to its distinct aroma – and they just debuted the revolutionary vegan patty in San Francisco. Engineered to evoke the taste, smell, and cooking reactions of beef, this food innovation could change family cookouts forever. Impossible Foods founder Patrick Brown told The Wall Street Journal, “The whole mission of this company is to make eating animals unnecessary. So, we don’t want our product to just be delicious, we want it to be as delicious as meat.”

Leadership Language: Why Your Word Choices Matter | Business News Daily

June 30, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Common wisdom about leadership often favors “leading by example,” so you might not think too much about the way your team interprets what you say. But the truth is, the words and phrases you use can have a very real impact on your team’s morale and productivity.

“Words are important,” said Isaac Oates, CEO of Justworks, an HR, benefits and payroll platform. “It’s through our words that we communicate our intentions. They are the main tools that we have for sharing our vision with our teams.”

This is especially true when you’re discussing an employee’s performance and engagement, said Vip Sandhir, founder and CEO of employee engagement platform HighGround. Leaders’ conversations about performance can have the biggest impression on their team members.

China is crushing the U.S. in ‘economic warfare’ | Money CNN

June 30, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

It’s China 1, USA 0 when it comes to so-called “economic warfare.”

As China has risen to become the world’s No. 2 economy, it has repeatedly used its business and financial clout to get what it wants on the world stage, say foreign policy experts Robert Blackwill and Jennifer Harris.

When Norway gave Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, China dramatically scaled back its salmon purchases from Norway and halted trade talks. When tensions escalated between the Philippines and China over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, China let Philippine bananas rot in its ports.

15 Facts That Can’t Be Ignored about U.S. Manufacturing | Getentrepreneurial

June 29, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

While it’s true that the number of jobs in the United States’ manufacturing sector fell in recent years, manufacturing still plays a crucial role in the country’s workforce, gross domestic product, exports, and other economic factors. In fact, today’s manufacturing companies make more products than they have in decades. Even though the manufacturing sector struggled to add jobs during the economic challenges of the early 2000s, productivity has increased dramatically. This improved productivity makes the United States one of the world’s top manufacturers.

See info graphic

Windows 10 Anniversary Update set to launch August 2 | Mashable

June 29, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Windows 10 Anniversary Update, the no-brainer update for most Windows 10 adoptees, now has a ship date: Aug. 2.

Microsoft announced the delivery schedule on Wednesday in a blog post by Microsoft Corp. VP for the Windows and Devices Group Yusuf Mehdi.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update is, compared to the original Windows 10 launch, a relatively minor set of feature enhancements. That said, there is some significant interface house cleaning, like a reorganizing of the Start Menu and Apps list and Action and Notifications Center shift to a more logical position on the right side of the screen.