Here’s Why You’re Paying $200 to Rent a Clunky Set-Top Box | Bloomberg

September 26, 2016September 26, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Imagine watching TV without paying the cable company for the blinking set-top box, using a gadget of your choice that makes it easy to switch between cable channels, streaming programs and online shows.

The idea, simple in concept, is proving difficult in execution.

U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is pushing a plan to force cable companies to give up their control over set-top boxes, “unlocking” the marketplace as he puts it.

But he’s drawn opposition from lawmakers in both parties, not to mention some of the most active corporate lobbyists in Washington. Comcast Corp. and the cable industry — which stands to lose $20 billion a year in box rentals — say it’s unnecessary and are fighting it. So are Hollywood studios, DirecTV owner AT&T Inc., and CBS Corp. Even a fellow commission Democrat said Wheeler’s plan set for a Sept. 29 vote is flawed.

Can tech keep the world’s bees buzzing? | BBC News

September 23, 2016September 21, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The plight of the honey bee is a major cause of concern for the world’s scientists, environmentalists and the food industry, not to mention beekeepers.

Bees play a crucial role in the survival of many of the crops in our food chain – one in three mouthfuls of food depends on the pollinating insects, according to the British Beekeeping Association – but their numbers are significantly declining.

A recent US report said that American beekeepers lost 44.1% of their hives between March 2015 – April 2016 – the highest rate of decline since the annual study began six years ago.

The Science of Boredom | Live Science

September 22, 2016September 20, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Although boredom is as familiar a feeling as excitement or fear, science has only begun to understand what makes people bored. Recently, six scientists who emerged after living for a year in isolation on the Mauna Loa volcano as part of the HI-SEAS (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) experiment, which simulated the isolation that future space travelers might experience traveling to and living on Mars, said that boredom was their biggest challenge.

Boredom “has been understudied until fairly recently, but it’s [worth studying] because human experience has consequences for how we interact with each our and our environment,” said James Danckert, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Waterloo in Ontario in an interview with Live Science.

Europe demands YouTube pay more to artists | Money CNN

September 15, 2016September 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Europe has opened a new battlefront in its war against big U.S. tech, announcing draft rules that could force YouTube and others to pay more money to the music industry.

The European Commission, which administers EU law, has proposed a new Europe-wide copyright law on Wednesday, saying it wants to strengthen the rights of artists and make sure they receive a fair share of the profits made on their work.

If approved, the new rules will force streaming services such as YouTube and Dailymotion to beef up their copyright protection measures by filtering out copyrighted content or paying for its use.

That’s a huge step up from the current measures that only require these services to act when notified about a copyright infringement.

Americans ditching big restaurant chains and eating local | Business Insider

September 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Americans are downsizing their meal (location) choices.

Lagging sales at major restaurant chains have recently set off worries for the industry and the economy at large. According to Michelle Meyer, a US economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, it may be less about personal economic situations or the election, and more about consumers’ taste preferences.

Using data from millions of Bank of America debit and credit cards, Meyer noted that the weakness in restaurant spending isn’t as alarming as other people make it seem.

Refugees Wanted: Meet The Companies Creating Jobs For The Displaced | Co.Exist

September 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When Charly Ngoma arrived in Arizona as a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, he’d never eaten a burrito before. Three months later, he had a job at Chipotle. Now—after a year and a half, and two promotions—he’s general manager at one of the restaurant’s locations in Phoenix.

“Everything I saw my first day was new,” he says. “I didn’t know even the name of the ingredients they use in English. I was just writing down everything.”

One reason for his success was his own motivation and hard work. But Chipotle also partners with the International Rescue Committee, or IRC, to recruit refugees. Without the partnership, it’s unlikely he would have even heard of the job.

Private Prisons Have a Problem: Not Enough Inmates | Bloomberg

September 13, 2016September 12, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

With overall violent crime rates falling nationally and fewer people getting sentenced to long stretches behind bars, private prison companies see a potentially catastrophic decline in demand for their services. Their response: diversify into everything from halfway houses to neighborhood check-in centers for drug offenders.

Over the past three decades, entrepreneurs and investors piled into the private prison industry, convinced that the thorny job of incarcerating criminals could be a lucrative growth business. No longer. Curtailment of harsh mandatory-minimum sentences and other changes in criminal justice policies have combined to reduce federal and state prison head counts to 1.56 million as of year end 2014, a 3 percent falloff.

HP buys Samsung’s $1bn printer business | BBC News

September 13, 2016September 12, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

US computer giant HP has struck a deal to take over Samsung’s $1bn (£750m) printer business.

HP said the acquisition would help it to “disrupt and reinvent” the $55bn copier industry, a segment that “hasn’t innovated in decades”.

It is buying a big printing presence in Asia, as well as Samsung’s laser printing technology and patents.

The deal comes days after HP’s sister company sold its software business to rising UK tech champion Micro Focus.

Hewlett-Packard split into two businesses last year: HP Inc, which focuses on printers and computers; and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which sold its software business to focus on data storage.

ITT Tech Students Should Take Their Money And Run, Experts Say | NBC News

September 8, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The shuttering of all ITT Technical Institute locations is leaving its 43,000 students with an unexpected lesson in harsh realities and unanswered questions about what will happen to their credits and tuition fees.

The closure of 137 campuses in 39 states comes after the career-oriented school has been the subject of several state and federal investigations.

In a 2014 lawsuit filed against ITT’s parent company, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleged that “Federal aid, mostly loans taken out by consumers, comprises the overwhelming majority of ITT’s revenue” and when that funding wasn’t enough to cover the full cost of tuition, the CFPB accused the company of “Pushing students into expensive, high-risk loans that ITT knew were likely to default.”

Back To School: Tax Breaks For Food Allergies, Celiac Disease & Other Special Diets | Forbes

September 2, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The outcry over the steep increase in price for the EpiPen illustrates just how many Americans have serious allergies – including food allergies. Researchers estimate that up to 15 million Americans have food allergies. The numbers are even more dramatic in children: 1 in every 13 children under 18 years of age in the U.S. has a food allergy. That translates to two children in every classroom across the country.

Food allergies in the classroom can make lunch and snack time at schools tricky. However, in addition to factoring in allergies, many parents struggle with accommodating additional dietary restrictions. It can be tough to figure out kids’ eating habits at the best of times, but once you add in other factors such as religion, ethics and morality, and concerns about obesity and cholesterol, it’s even more complicated. Fortunately, organic, non-GMO, and gluten-free foods are a bit easier to find than in years past, but you do pay a premium for them at the register. It raises the question: if you have to pay out of pocket to keep you or your child healthy, can you claim a tax benefit?