Apple finally kills off 16GB iPhone SE, now you get 32GB for $399 | TechCrunch

March 21, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Rejoice lovers of petite-sized iPhones, for Apple is granting additional storage bounty — announcing today it’s doubling the current storage capacity of the iPhone SE.

The new four-inch display iPhone comes with either 32GB or 128GB on board storage, replacing the prior 16GB and 64GB models — but with only a small price-tag bump for the more capacious model (+ $50, to $499), and no price change for the $399 starter model.

As with all iOS devices there’s no ability for users to expand storage capacity themselves via a removable memory card. You get what you’re given on the storage front — so being given more is very welcome.

The Lawsuits Keep Coming for Johnson and Johnson | Bloomberg

March 20, 2017March 20, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Johnson & Johnson was hit with six of the seven largest product-defect verdicts of 2016, and 2017 could also wind up costing the company hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more.

The company is facing at least 17 trials in state and federal courts this year in cases blaming five J&J products for injuries and death. They follow trial losses on some of those products, including a $1 billion verdict against the company in December over hip implants and an earlier $72 million verdict over claims its talcum powder causes ovarian cancer.

The First On-Site House Has Been Printed in Russia | Apis Cor.

March 16, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In December 2016, the Apis Cor company in cooperation with PIK proceeded to print the building using a mobile 3D printer. Construction took place at the Apis Cor company’s test facility in the town of Stupino, on the territory of the Stupino aerated concrete factory. Printing of self-bearing walls, partitions and building envelope were done in less than a day: pure machine time of printing amounted to 24 hours.

After completing the wall structures, the printer was removed from the building with a crane-manipulator.

The area of the printed building is 38 m².

For the first time in the Russian construction practice a house was printed as a whole, rather than assembled from pre-printed panels.

Goodyear Blimp Deflates, Newer ‘Wingfoot Two’ Takes Over | Fortune.com

March 16, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Goodyear Blimp, Florida (Photo by Hoberman Collection/UIG via Getty Images)

Goodyear will keep flying its iconic blue and yellow aircrafts high in the sky despite deflating its last blimp on Tuesday.

“There were a couple tears because they’ve been working with blimps for so long,” company airship historian Eddie Ogden told the Associated Press of the deflating ceremony. “But the program has always changed over the decades and this is a step forward.

The new model is incredible to watch fly.” The newer Wingfoot Two, which will replace the iconic “Spirit of Innovation” blimp, will have the same color pattern as its iconic predecessor and will still be used to capture aerial footage of live sporting events.

The Feds Are Spending Millions to Help You Survive Nuclear War | WIRED

March 14, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

LAST WEEK, AS tens of thousands of US and South Korean soldiers gathered at a base in Iwakuni, Japan for an annual joint military exercise, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles from Pyongyang into the sea off Japan’s northwest coast. In a world where the US is headed by a Twigger-happy political neophyte and the risk of a Cold War reboot looms larger with each Wikileaks disclosure, this demonstration wasn’t just an empty display of dictatorial propaganda. It was a reminder that the nuclear threat is still alive and well.

RealConnex, a platform connecting real estate pros with projects and each other, raises $3.5 million | TechCrunch

March 9, 2017March 9, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

RealConnex, a four-year-old, Miami and New York-based platform connecting real estate professionals to capital, investments, and services, has raised $3.5 million in strategic funding led by Silver Portal Capital, a San Diego-based real estate investment and merchant banking firm.

The round is part of a much bigger trend of startups working to change how properties are built, bought, and sold — and investors are funding their vision. In fact, according to the research firm CB Insights, real estate tech companies have raised almost $6.4 billion in funding across 817 deals since 2012.

The sorry state of America’s working women | CBS News

March 8, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

On International Women’s Day, it’s worth asking how American working women are doing compared with their counterparts in other developed countries.

The answer: not great.

On a number of fronts, American women who work outside the home are lagging their counterparts in countries such as Sweden, Mexico, Italy and Greece. U.S. women suffer from a gender wage gap that’s wider than in those and 17 other countries, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Every developed country offers paid parental leave — except for the U.S. And a smaller share of American women are even in the workforce than their peers in developed countries such as Canada and Germany, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Facebook reports the BBC to police for sending sexualised images of children | Mashable

March 7, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Facebook reported BBC journalists to the police after they provided, under request, sexualised images of children discovered on the social network’s private groups.

The episode occurred as part of a BBC investigation into Facebook’s content moderation systems, which the news organisation says isn’t effective.

The BBC reported dozens of photos to Facebook, including an apparent freeze frame showing child abuse, but more than 80 percent of the photos weren’t removed.

Following the investigation, the BBC asked Facebook for an interview about its moderation system.

KLM tests boarding via facial recognition system | Tnooz

March 2, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Dutch airline KLM has started a pilot project to see if facial recognition software would make boarding any easier and quicker for passengers.

The “biometric boarding” technology has been designed so that passengers do not have to show their passport or boarding pass at the gate.

The system has been installed at a single gate at the airline’s home airport of Schiphol in Amsterdam and is expected to be in place for at least three months.

Passengers will be asked to register at a kiosk beforehand, as they approach the gate for their flight.

Snapchat shares to begin trading on NYSE | Business Insider

March 2, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Snap Inc. will make its debut as a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning.

The parent company of Snapchat priced an initial public offering of 200 million shares at $17 apiece. That raised $3.4 billion for the company and some investors, and gives Snap a valuation of nearly $24 billion.

The stock is currently indicated to open at between $22 and $24 a share, according to price indications at 10:15 a.m. E.T.