How Ferguson and Black Lives Matter Inspired This St. Louis Family to Open a Kids’ Bookstore With a Mission | Inc.com

February 11, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Jeffrey and Pamela Blair wanted their children to feel proud. Then they wanted all African-American children to feel proud.

The couple’s business, EyeSeeMe, is a 1,200-square foot storefront in the St. Louis suburb of University City. With shelves of bright-jacketed books and bold posters splashed across the walls it confronts–with defiance and love–the weight of history. The Blairs have curated close to 3,000 titles, ranging from Africa-themed alphabets to the lives of black inventors to hip-hop poetry. Collectively, they chronicle African-American lives, history, and culture.

EyeSeeMe says to its young customers: Do you see all these stories of achievement, of courage, of ingenuity, of fun? This is who you are.

Jeff Bezos: Amazon boss accuses National Enquirer of blackmail – BBC News

February 8, 2019February 7, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The world’s richest man, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, has accused the National Enquirer’s owner of trying to blackmail him over lewd pictures.

Mr Bezos said the magazine’s parent company American Media Inc (AMI) wanted him to drop an investigation into how it obtained his private messages.

Mr Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, said last month they were getting divorced.

Many popular iPhone apps secretly record your screen without asking | TechCrunch

February 7, 2019February 6, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Many major companies, like Air Canada, Hollister and Expedia, are recording every tap and swipe you make on their iPhone apps. In most cases you won’t even realize it. And they don’t need to ask for permission.

You can assume that most apps are collecting data on you. Some even monetize your data without your knowledge. But TechCrunch has found several popular iPhone apps, from hoteliers, travel sites, airlines, cell phone carriers, banks and financiers, that don’t ask or make it clear — if at all — that they know exactly how you’re using their apps.

Facebook’s Top PR Exec Is Leaving the Toughest Job in Tech | WIRED

February 7, 2019February 6, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

FOLLOWING MORE THAN two years of constant turbulence for Facebook, the company’s vice president of communications, Caryn Marooney, is leaving the company, Facebook has confirmed. Marooney, who previously cofounded the technology communications firm The Outcast Agency, joined Facebook in 2011 as director of technology communications, after representing the company at Outcast. Most recently, she has been responsible for all global communications. Marooney’s final day is not yet set, but spokesperson Vanessa Chan said she would be staying on to bring her replacement on board.

Groundhog predicts early spring but Twitter refuses to believe it | Mashable

February 4, 2019February 3, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Punxsutawney Phil, the Pennsylvania groundhog we let decide our seasons for us, is officially predicting an early spring.

On Saturday morning, the famous groundhog awoke at sunrise to celebrate Groundhog Day and did not see his shadow. This, his male handlers in top hats dramatically said, signals an early start to spring and an end to winter. But don’t get too excited.

Amazon posts first $200 billion sales year, but growth is slowing | CNN

February 1, 2019January 31, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Amazon now finds itself in an elite group of companies whose annual revenue can be measured in the hundreds of billions.

The company said Thursday that its holiday quarter sales hit $72.4 billion, up 20% from the same period a year earlier and at the high end of its previous forecast. The strong end to the year pushed Amazon’s annual revenue to an impressive $232.9 billion.

But sales growth is slowing as Amazon (AMZN) runs up against the law of large numbers. Its 20% sales growth for the quarter was well below the 38% growth it saw in the same period a year earlier.

Cities should purchase from minority and women entrepreneurs | Fast Company

January 30, 2019January 29, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The population of Memphis, Tennessee is 63% black. Over half of the local businesses are black-owned; if you’re a black entrepreneur, it regularly tops the list of best places to start a businesses. But a 2012 study found that black-owned businesses take in less than 1% of all the money spent in the city. Women-owned businesses–particularly those owned by women of color–also struggle.

Part of the issue, says Joann Massey, a businesses consultant who now heads up the Memphis Office of Business Diversity and Compliance, is how Memphis spends its money. Cities contract with vendors for everything from paper and pencils to construction work and technology services. In Memphis, as in most cities, those vendors are typically run by white men.

2019 Tax Refund Chart Can Help You Guess When You’ll Receive Your Money

January 30, 2019January 29, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If anyone tells you that they have the 2019 tax filing season all figured, they’re lying. By all accounts, the upcoming tax season is going to be tricky. Despite a shoestring staff due to the shutdown, new tax forms and new tax rules, the 2019 tax season is still set to open on January 28, 2019. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claims that the season will operate as close to normal as possible—including issuing tax refunds.

So when are those tax refunds coming? Assuming no delays, what follows are my best guesses for expected returns based on filing dates and information from the IRS:

Brexit: Delay is ‘most likely’ option, says former chancellor | BBC News

January 23, 2019January 22, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Former Chancellor George Osborne has said delaying the UK’s exit from the EU is now the “most likely” option.

The UK has to choose between no deal – which he compared to Russian roulette – or no Brexit for now, he told the BBC.

MPs are proposing alternative plans to the PM’s deal with the EU, including seeking an extension to the UK’s exit date – it is due to leave on 29 March.

But the prime minister has said the “right way” to rule out no-deal Brexit is to approve her withdrawal agreement.

Samsung could release three variants of the Galaxy S10 | TechCrunch

January 22, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

That new leak lines up with previous leaks. As you can see on the photo, the new devices don’t have a notch. They feature a hole-punch selfie camera instead. If you’re looking for the fingerprint sensor, Samsung could choose to embed it in the screen.

Just like in previous years, in addition to the main S10, there will be a bigger version of the device — the S10+. On this photo, you can see that the bigger version has two selfie cameras instead of one.

But the S10E is a new addition to the lineup. Samsung is launching a more affordable version of the S10 at the same time as the S10. The S10E features two cameras on the back instead of three for instance. I wouldn’t be surprised if the S10E had an LCD display instead of an AMOLED display as well.