Federal Student Loan Payments Officially Suspended Until 2021: 0% Interest, No Collections, And Nonpayments Count Toward Forgiveness | Forbes

August 24, 2020August 23, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today implemented President Trump’s memorandum extending relief on federally held student loans to borrowers through the end of the year. Her actions also addresses collections on defaulted loans and whether non-payments during this time will qualify for forgiveness under an income-driven repayment plan or the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Here’s what we know.

Presidential Memorandum on Student Loan Relief

The CARES Act passed earlier this year suspends payments on federally held student loans until September 30, 2020. During this time, collections on defaulted loans were halted, and the non-payments counted toward the 120 payments required by the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program and as payments required for other forgiveness under an income-drive repayment plan.

Amazon Fire TV Launches Text Banner for Visually Impaired | Digital Trends

August 18, 2020August 17, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Amazon rolled out Text Banner, a feature designed to help visually impaired viewers enjoy the content on the Fire TV platform.

Text Banner is an assistive technology for people with a narrow field of vision, including eye conditions such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, and retinitis pigmentosa, Amazon told Digital Trends. The feature consolidates the onscreen text in a fixed location, within a compact space.

Shopify: The Canadian tech champion taking on Amazon | BBC News

August 14, 2020August 13, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When the pandemic forced Pizza Pilgrims to close its 13 stores in London and Oxford in March, the business went from making 30,000 pizzas every week to zero. Of the 276 staff, 270 had to be furloughed.

While they opened one store in April to manage delivery, founder Thom Elliot still needed to find another way to make up for the lost revenue. “I tried to think of something that would serve our customers, who kept calling us, and also keep us relevant during these times,” he says in an interview.

Mr Elliot and his team decided to create pizza kits featuring all the raw ingredients you need to make your own pizza at home, but to do that he needed to upgrade his website. That’s where Shopify came in.

Meet the Inc. 5000 2020: Even In Tough Times, These Companies Are Set on Reinvention | Inc.com

August 13, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Building a fast-growth business is like charging up Heartbreak Hill. At some point on the incline, founders make the Inc. 5000, our annual ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies, and pause to cry, “Yes!” Then they’re off and running again.

Only this year, the road ahead looks very different. Picture K2, only with more avalanches and less oxygen.

From 2016 to 2019, the Inc. 5000 achieved a median revenue of $10.2 million and a median compound growth rate of 165.3 percent. These founders were buoyed by smarts and gumption, sure, but also by a lift-all-boats economy. That era is worlds away from the economic decline that hit the U.S. alongside the pandemic in March.

Inside OneTrust, America’s No. 1 Fastest-Growing Company: ‘A Growth Industry Like I’ve Never Seen’ | Inc.com

August 13, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

“There’s a lot that goes on behind the cookie banner,” says Kabir Barday, the founder and CEO of OneTrust. He’s talking about that now-ubiquitous pop-up on websites that lets you know the site is collecting data on your visits and activity in order to personalize your experience–or sell your information to third parties. The cookie banner is perhaps the most visibly identifiable sign of his company’s software, but the real work is the invisible machinery churning away behind that banner.

Tesla announces 5 for 1 share split, rallies 8% | TechCrunch

August 12, 2020August 11, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Today after the close of regular trading Tesla, a well-known American electric vehicle company, announced that it intends to split its shares 5 for 1. The split announcement comes after a sharp rally in the value of Tesla equity in recent quarters.

The company’s shares quickly rallied on the news, picking up 8% in after-hours trading.

Tesla, ever a controversial company, traded for as little as $211 in the last year. After today’s news the company is now worth $1,485 per share. Worth comfortably more than $250 billion, Tesla is amongst the world’s most valuable companies, let alone among the most valuable automakers.

Daily Crunch: Android phones become earthquake detectors | TechCrunch

August 12, 2020August 11, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Google said that smartphone accelerometers are sensitive enough to detect P-waves, which are the first waves to arrive during an earthquake. So if your Android phone thinks it has detected an earthquake, it will communicate with a central server to confirm.

In California, Google is also partnering with the United States Geological Survey and California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to provide earthquake alerts. For everyone else, you’ll only see this earthquake data if you search for “earthquake” or a similar term.

Volta Zero electric truck to feature panels made of woven flax | New Atlas

August 5, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The continuing rise of global carbon emissions has brought with it a rise in sustainable transport solutions, but the Volta Zero truck is one that takes this ethos further than most. In addition to an all-electric drivetrain, the truck will feature panels made from sustainable natural composites and is pitched as a holistically green way for logistics companies to deliver goods around cities.

With the Volta Zero, Volta Trucks hopes to offer a cleaner means of completing freight deliveries in urban settings. The 16-tonne truck features an all-electric drivetrain that draws power from a 160-200-kWh battery pack, which makes for a range of up to 200 km (125 mi) and a top speed of 90 km/h (56 mph).

How a TikTok ban could work, and what it means for your content | Mashable

August 4, 2020August 3, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

President Donald Trump casually dropped Friday that he would “ban” TikTok. That added heft to earlier statements made by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the administration was considering a ban.

But how would a ban on an app that’s already been downloaded by 165 million Americans, and that anyone can currently download from Apple and Google app stores, actually work?

What to expect from Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event | Mashable

August 4, 2020August 3, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The world may be at something of a standstill thanks to COVID-19, but Samsung is still out here making flagship phones and, uh, other things. As such, we have another Galaxy Unpacked event to look forward to this week.

Samsung previously announced that its next Galaxy Unpacked would be online-only for obvious reasons. The event will stream on Samsung’s website at 10 a.m. ET on Aug. 5. In a blog post, Samsung revealed it would announce five new devices at the event. Since the new Galaxy Z Flip 5G has been officially confirmed, we can probably strike that one off the long list.

Thanks to a litany of leaks (what else is new?), we have a pretty good idea of what we’ll be seeing at Galaxy Unpacked. Get ready to see the word “Galaxy” way too many times.