EU to launch counter-tariffs against US on Friday | BBC News

The European Union will launch a raft of retaliatory tariffs against US exports on Friday, a top official has said.

The move comes after US President Donald Trump imposed steep duties on steel and aluminium earlier this month.

American exports such as blue jeans, motorbikes and bourbon whiskey will be targeted, trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom confirmed.

However, she said the bloc “did not want to be in this position”.

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How Square Made Its Own iPad Replacement | WIRED

IF YOU KNOW the company Square, it’s probably because you’ve paid in a store using a Square “stand,” a dock that supports a tablet, or you’ve swiped your card through Square Reader, a smartphone dongle that processes payments. These products have a simplistic, decidedly Apple-y aesthetic, from the simple dongle to the all-white stand that typically houses an iPad. But since late last year, Square has been quietly selling its own tablet, the Square Register, a $999, Android-based custom system. And the company has taken an obsessive approach to designing the product.

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Why Dippin’ Dots Is Teaming Up With a Popcorn Brand | Entrepreneur

In the snack world, ice cream and popcorn might not sound like a winning combination. But according to Steve Rothenstein, senior director of franchise development for Dippin’ Dots, which also owns Doc Popcorn, the disparity between the two foods is what makes them a perfect match in the franchise world. Since 2015, Rothenstein has led a push to open kiosks featuring both brands, primarily in shopping malls, in an effort to appeal to more customers from a single space. So far, it’s working: More than 20 co-branded operations are currently open, seeing higher sales volumes than single-­brand locations. By the end of 2018, that number of locations will double.

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Next-gen Xbox coming in 2020, Surface Pro 6 in the works | Mashable

If you’re thinking about selling your Xbox One because a new release is imminent, you may not want to unplug it from your TV just yet.

A new report from Thurrott, a tech blog that’s previously leaked accurate information about unannounced Microsoft products, claims the next Xbox won’t arrive until 2020. The site also obtained details on next-gen Microsoft Surface devices, including when a new Surface Pro will be launched.

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Microsoft Office is getting a new, simpler look | CNN

Microsoft is rolling out subtle changes to Office 365 to make work a little easier for its millions of customers.

The cluttered control bar (Microsoft calls it a ribbon) on the top of web-version of Word has been slimmed down to just one line. The same new bar will appear in Outlook next month.

Microsoft is holding off on slimming down PowerPoint, Excel and other Office 365 apps until it can do more research. It’s walking a fine line between offering simplicity to casual customers and angering power users.

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Youtube is Taking Down Conspiracy Theorist Channels and Popular Gun Videos | The Out Line

How does a company’s CEO pay compare to its workers’? Now you can find out. | Vox

In 2018, corporate America will give up a data point it would probably rather keep under wraps: how much CEOs make in comparison to their employees.

For the first time, a new Securities and Exchange Commission rule mandated under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform requires publicly traded companies to disclose how their CEOs are compensated in comparison with their employees. In public filings, companies have to disclose their “pay ratios,” or the CEO’s compensation divided by the median employee’s. The numbers are pretty jarring.

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A South Korean university is building killer robots — and AI experts are not happy | Vice

Some 50 artificial intelligence experts signed a letter Wednesday criticizing a South Korean university for collaborating with a weapons manufacturer to build killer robots.

Defense company Hanwha Systems, which already deploys autonomous weapons on the North Korean border, recently teamed up with the state-run Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology to investigate further deployment of AI technology on the battlefield.

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Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy | Wait But Why

Say hi to Lucy.

Lucy is part of Generation Y, the generation born between the late 1970s and the mid 1990s. She’s also part of a yuppie culture that makes up a large portion of Gen Y.

I have a term for yuppies in the Gen Y age group—I call them Gen Y Protagonists & Special Yuppies, or GYPSYs. A GYPSY is a unique brand of yuppie, one who thinks they are the main character of a very special story.

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Wally App: Personal Finance App Review | Gen X Finance

Wally App Review, Personal Finance App

wally app

The first step to reigning in your finances is keeping track of what you spend.  Experts used to recommend writing down expenditures, or using some sort of setting goals worksheet but with technology being as advanced as it is today, cash logs are quickly becoming a thing of the past.  Mobile apps are readily accessible and easy to use.  There’s a variety of personal finance applications that do all the grunt work for you.  Wally happens to do just that. If you’re struggling to keep track of your finances and the receipts that you’re given after a purchase, you’ll find it a valuable, mobile tool to have on hand, especially with my grocery budget.  Available through iTunes, the personal finance app is one of the best of its kind.  Complete with all the tools you need to track your spending, you won’t need to download multiple apps to manage your expenses.

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