Category: News and Views

‘Pokémon GO’ Is Finally Evolving With 80 New Gen 2 Pokémon Arriving This Week | Forbes

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It’s been something of an open secret that Generation 2 Pokémon from the games Gold and Silver installments were coming to Pokémon GO at some point. But at this point, with so little official information, it seemed as if their arrival was still months away.

Try days away.

This morning, Niantic has announced that Gen 2 is rolling out (almost) all at once with 80 new Gen 2 Pokémon appearing in the game by the end of this week. These are all “Johto” region Pokémon, and while the game has gotten a few Gen 2 “babies” in an earlier event, this is Pokémon GO’s biggest update since launch, one that should result in a huge resurgence in interest, even if the game has fallen out of favor with many.

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How Video Streaming Services Like Netflix and VIDGO are Changing TV Forever | CoolBusinessIdeas.com

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We all remembered when MTV famously played the music video “Video Killed the Radio Star” over and over when the service first aired. On air radio remains a mainstay because it is one of the few information and entertainment services one can access and enjoy while working, driving or working. However, video streaming does have the potential to kill TV services for several reasons. This is why stations like HBO are changing and tech companies from YouTube to Amazon are altering how they do business.

Content You Can’t Find Anywhere Else

YouTube, Amazon and Netflix have free content available on demand while other movies and shows require you to pay per episode. They try to differentiate themselves by not offering the same catalog of movies and TV shows.

Partially in response to licensing rights that were a legal mess to get approved when Amazon and Netflix tried to license American TV shows abroad, they started curating their own content and creating their own shows. For example, you can only find the modern remake of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Fuller House” on Netflix while “Transparent” is only on Amazon Prime.

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Verizon’s new plan: Consumers win, investors lose | CNN Money

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Verizon has brought back its unlimited data plan. That’s great if you’re a Verizon customer. But it is terrible news for its investors.

Verizon (VZ, Tech30) stock fell nearly 1.5% in early trading Monday. It’s now down about 10% so far this year, making it the Dow’s worst performer of 2017.

Verizon’s move is a clear sign the company has to pull out all the stops to remain competitive with wireless rivals AT&T (T, Tech30), Sprint (S) and T-Mobile (TMUS).

“In recent months, both T-Mobile and Sprint had some success taking additional share from Verizon by virtue of their unlimited offerings,” wrote Morgan Stanley analysts in a report Monday morning.

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Twitter’s advertising business is stalling | TechCrunch

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Twitter may have re-oriented itself and laid off part of its workforce to streamline its business, but it still doesn’t look like it is bringing in enough money to keep Wall Street happy.

Here is the biggest data point from the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report: according to the company, advertising revenue totaled $638 million, which was down slightly year-over-year. A reversal in its advertising growth is certainly not going to help Twitter’s case, which needs to be able to pitch itself to advertisers as a legitimate alternative to Facebook — and now Snap, which is expected to go public in March and already generated $400 million in 2016.

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Will a Test for Brain Trauma Protect NFL Players—or End the NFL? | Bloomberg

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In November, Kevin Hrusovsky paid a visit to the NFL’s headquarters on Park Avenue in New York. Hrusovsky (pronounced ruh-sov-skee) is chairman and chief executive officer of Quanterix, a life sciences startup that makes machines for measuring proteins and other biomarkers in the blood. He had the NFL’s attention because researchers have been using his company’s machines to hunt for markers of concussions and neurodegenerative disease. In an open letter NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell published in September about the league’s commitment to player safety, he wrote that Quanterix was developing “a blood test to reveal a concussion diagnosis.” It would be, Goodell said, “a major breakthrough.” The league, through a partnership with General Electric, has awarded Quanterix $800,000 in grants in the past three years. Hrusovsky was hoping to persuade the NFL to invest directly.

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Facebook Ordered To Pay $500 Million In Oculus Lawsuit | Forbes

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A jury in Dallas, Texas ordered Facebook to pay video maker ZeniMax $500 million after concluding that Oculus founder Palmer Luckey violated a non-disclosure agreement, according to published reports. The same jury rejected claims by ZeniMax that Oculus had misappropriated its intellectual property.

While the award, which is likely to be appealed, is sizable, it is less than the $2 billion in damages ZeniMax sought, and it isn’t likely to significantly affect Facebook, which has more than $29 billion on its balance sheet. Facebook shares, which were up on Wednesday, barely budged following reports of the judgement. They shot up more than 2% in after hours trading after Facebook reported financial results.

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Why New York’s ‘tuition-free’ colleges will still cost $14,000 | Money CNN

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Governor Andrew Cuomo is pushing to make New York the first state in the country to adopt a tuition-free plan at both two-year and four-year public colleges.

The Excelsior Scholarship aims to make college more affordable for middle-class New Yorkers by lowering the cost and encouraging students to finish their degrees on time.

“A college education is not a luxury — it is an absolute necessity for any chance at economic mobility,” Cuomo said when the plan was announced.

But “tuition-free” isn’t the same as free.

Though Cuomo’s plan would lower a student’s total bill by up to about $6,000 a year, it could still cost them $14,000 for fees and room and board.

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New Jersey to Provide New Parents With Baby Boxes, Encouraging Educated Parenting | ABC News

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New Jersey is becoming the first state to officially partner with The Baby Box Company, a company that works to improve new parent education, encourage newborn health awareness and reduce Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome.

The program will distribute baby boxes filled with diapers and other newborn necessities to all new parents in New Jersey who complete a free online parenting education course. The course curriculum includes information on breastfeeding, prenatal health and safe sleep practices.

The box itself also acts as a mattress that the baby can use as a bed, encouraging healthy sleeping environments. According to a report by the Child Fatality & Near Fatality Review Board, 93 percent of infant deaths associated with Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome were directly related to a child’s sleep and sleep environment.

Source: New Jersey to Provide New Parents With Baby Boxes, Encouraging Educated Parenting – ABC News

Lyft surges to the top 10 on Apple’s App Store following the #DeleteUber campaign | TechCrunch

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Lyft’s app has surged in the App Store thanks to the “Delete Uber” campaign which took place via social media over the weekend. People were angry that Uber appeared to be taking advantage of a taxi strike at JFK in order to promote its car-hailing service. The company had tweeted that surge pricing at JFK had been switched off, shortly after the NY Taxi Workers Alliance called for a stop on pickups at the airport in response to what they said was the “inhumane, unconstitutional ban of Muslim refugees and travelers.”

The Taxi Workers Alliance had asked all drivers, Uber included, to not pick up at JFK on Saturday, January 28th from 6 PM to 7 PM as a means of protesting Trump’s immigration and refugee ban.

“We cannot be silent. We go to work to welcome people to a land that once welcomed us,” the taxi union had written on Twitter.

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