Apple won’t force developers to let users opt out of tracking until next year | TechCrunch

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

At its global developer conference in June, Apple said its forthcoming iOS 14 update would allow users to opt out of in-app ad tracking, a privacy feature that quickly drew ire from advertising giants over fears that it would make it harder to deliver targeted ads to users.

But now Apple is delaying enforcing the feature until “early next year”, the company confirmed.

iOS 14, expected out later this year, will contain a new prompt that asks users whether they would like to opt into this kind of targeted ad tracking. Developers will be able to integrate this prompt into their apps as soon as iOS 14 is released, but they will not be required to, as Apple indicated they would earlier.

Facebook to block new political ads 1 week before Nov 3, adds more tools and rules for fair elections | TechCrunch

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

We’re now 61 days away from the U.S. presidential election, and Facebook is once more ramping up its efforts to level the playing field and attempt to keep its platform from being manipulated to influence how people vote.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg today announced a series of new measures, including the news that it will block new political and issue ads in the final week of the campaign — although campaigns can still run ads to encourage people to vote, and they can still run older political ads. Other announcements today detailed more work to counter misinformation, and stronger rules to counter voter suppression, including misleading references to COVID-19 at the polls.

Tesla’s stock split: Here’s what you need to know – CNN

September 1, 2020August 31, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Tesla shares are much, much cheaper Monday after the stock’s 5-1 split.

Even though Tesla’s stock closed 12.5% higher at $498.32 a share Monday, that’s still around $1,800 cheaper than where it was trading on Friday. The company announced the stock split earlier this month, making shares more affordable for average investors.

The split will not change the value of investors’ total holdings of the company. It will just grow the number of shares making up their portfolios. Tesla (TSLA) stockholders are getting four shares for each share they held last week.

Amazon adds 1,800 electric delivery vans, this time from Mercedes | Mashable

August 31, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

It’s not 100,000 electric delivery vans from new car company Rivian, but Amazon is adding nearly 2,000 new Mercedes vans to its fleet. Instead of diesel or gas-powered vans, however, every vehicle making Amazon deliveries from the German carmaker will be fully electric.

Amazon recently announced a partnership with Mercedes-Benz to incorporate 1,800 new delivery vans into its delivery service across Europe by the end of 2020. Those vans include 1,200 eSprinter vans and 600 eVito vans.

The electric Sprinter van is the newest commercial electric vehicle from Mercedes and is a bigger version of its eVito van, which has 93-mile range. Rivian’s e-vans are supposed to start delivering for Amazon in 2021. Its first two vehicles, an electric pickup truck and SUV with 400-mile range, still haven’t arrived yet.

What are locusts and why do they swarm? | Live Science

August 28, 2020August 26, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Locusts are large grasshoppers that live on almost every continent of the world and are known for their propensity to gather in large, destructive swarms. However, locusts often live for several generations, spanning decades, in the solitary, sedentary style that’s characteristic of other species of grasshoppers. It’s when locusts come together that their behavior changes.

Locusts are able to sense when their population density begins to increase, said Hojun Song, an entomologist at Texas A&M University. And in response, “they become gregarious, attracted to each other. They eat more [and] develop faster,” he said.

Washington Postal Workers Defy USPS Orders And Reinstall Mail Sorting Machines

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

Postal workers in Washington State have reinstalled high-speed mail sorting machines—dismantled after controversial orders from the U.S. Postal Service— despite USPS orders not to put machines back in use. U.S. Postal Service

After embattled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced he would pause recent controversial changes to U.S. Postal Service protocol, the service told workers not to reinstall removed equipment.

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.