Coinbase becomes a Visa Principal Member to double down on debit card | TechCrunch

February 20, 2020February 19, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Cryptocurrency company Coinbase has been working with Paysafe to issue the Coinbase Card, a Visa debit card that works with your Coinbase account balance. The company is now a Visa Principal Member, which should help Coinbase rely less on Paysafe and control a bigger chunk of the card payment stack.

Coinbase says it is the only cryptocurrency company that has reached that level of certification. The company will offer the Coinbase Card in more markets in the future. The new status could open up more possibilities and features as well.

Coronavirus Outbreak Creates iPhone Shortage | Entrepreneur

February 19, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The coronavirus outbreak has “temporarily constrained” the iPhone supply chain in China, which has been hit hardest by the illness. As a result, Apple expects to miss the $63 billion to $67 billion in sales it projected to rake in this quarter.

“These iPhone supply shortages will temporarily affect revenues worldwide,” the company said in an investors’ note.

Here’s Why Insta Removed Its IGTV Button | CoolBusinessIdeas.com

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

Instagram is removing the IGTV button from the main screen of its app because “very few” people tap on it.

The decision was confirmed to TechCrunch by a spokesperson for the Facebook-owned company, who claimed that members of the Instagram community are instead “finding IGTV content through previews in Feed, the IGTV channel in Explore, creators’ profiles, and the standalone app.”

The spokesperson said that “very few are clicking into the IGTV icon,” and so there’s little reason to have it there.

Watch this very good dog invade a pro soccer match | Mashable

February 17, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Everybody loves a good sports dog. The world was particularly blessed on Sunday when a very good dog invaded a Turkish soccer pitch, trying to get in on the action.

The very furry and adorable incident happened during a TFF First League match between Fatih Karagumruk Spor and Giresunspor in Istanbul, Turkey.

The dog took the field like a new version of Air Bud: World Pup and chased after the ball, interrupting play but embracing sweet, sweet freedom in all its glory.

Pier 1 files for bankruptcy | CNN

February 17, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Pier 1, the troubled home furnishings retailer that has closed hundreds of stores in recent years, filed for bankruptcy Monday.

The company, based in Fort Worth, Texas, released a statement saying that it reached a plan with lenders to provide it with $256 million. It will try to find a buyer for the company.

Pier 1 (PIR) previously announced it will close up to 450 stores, including all its locations in Canada. Around 400 stores have already closed or started going-out-of-business sales, according to the statement.

Hackers could shut down satellites — or turn them into weapons | Live Science

February 14, 2020February 12, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Last month, SpaceX became the operator of the world’s largest active satellite constellation. As of the end of January, the company had 242 satellites orbiting the planet with plans to launch 42,000 over the next decade. This is part of its ambitious project to provide internet access across the globe. The race to put satellites in space is on, with Amazon, U.K.-based OneWeb and other companies chomping at the bit to place thousands of satellites in orbit in the coming month.

Mobile World Congress: More companies pull out over coronavirus | CNN

February 13, 2020February 12, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

London (CNN Business) -Mobile World Congress, one of the technology industry’s biggest annual events, has been called off because of the coronavirus outbreak. The announcement comes after more than a dozen major tech companies said they would not attend the event as the deadly outbreak continues to spread.

Reusable packaging delivery service Loop is expanding to stores | Fast Company

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

A year ago, a coalition of some of the world’s biggest brands embarked on an experiment: If they started selling everyday products like shampoo in reusable, returnable packaging instead of single-use plastic, would customers buy it? Could a modern version of the milkman model—where customers shop online, and then return empty containers via UPS to be cleaned and refilled for a new customer—make business sense?

For brands, the new platform, called Loop, was a radical step to test fundamental changes to how they package and deliver products, driven by consumer pressure to deal with the problem of plastic pollution. The first pilots started in May 2019. The tests have been successful enough that the system is now rapidly expanding and will soon launch in retail stores.

Trump Calls For End To Student Loan Forgiveness Program

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

President Trump wants to end a popular student loan forgiveness program.

Here’s what you need to know.

End Student Loan Forgiveness

Trump’s new annual budget calls for several changes to student loans, which are part of a $5.6 billion cut in funding to the U.S. Education Department. As in previous years, Trump repeated his call to end public service loan forgiveness. Under Trump’s proposed budget, if passed by Congress, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program would be eliminated.

Solar Orbiter Mission Will Capture Images of the Sun’s Poles | Digital Trends

February 10, 2020February 9, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

On Sunday, February 9, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are banding together to launch a new mission to study our sun up close: The Solar Orbiter, which will peer at previously unseen areas of the sun to learn about the complex inner life of our star.

The mission will go where no observer has gone before: Over the north and south poles of the sun. Imaging the poles is particularly important for modeling space weather, as this requires an accurate model of the entire magnetic field of the sun. Additionally, the poles are thought to play a role in the cycle of sunspots — dark blotches that appear on the surface of the sun and which come and go in an approximately 11-year cycle. Scientists still have no idea why this 11-year cycle exists, but looking at the magnetic fields of the poles could provide an answer.