Category: News and Views

Protect Your Small Business Against Credit Card Fraud | BusinessTips.com

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downloadYou’ve probably heard of people stealing, buying and selling credit card information.  You don’t want your business to be the victim of such a transaction. But on any given day, your small business is now vulnerable.

The cardholder’s issuing bank previously took care of these situations.  Previously.

That’s the way it used to be.  Now your small business could be the one that is liable–not the issuer.  Starting October 1, the rules changed for Europa, MasterCard and VISA (EMV) cards.  Now, there are “chip cards”, and U.S. credit card companies set October as the deadline for the national adoption of their new chip cards.  So, if you have not integrated EMV technology that processes chip cards, your business will now become financially responsible for fraudulent transactions previously covered by the cardholder’s issuing bank.

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Tesla gets approval for global Autopilot rollout | Mashable

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Tesla’s Autopilot set of features — the one that basically let your Tesla drive itself (though you should still keep your hands on the steering wheel) — was initially only approved in the U.S., but now it’s ready to roll out globally.

Company CEO Elon Musk said as much in a tweet Saturday, claiming Tesla has received regulatory approvals to launch Autopilot in “all countries” except Japan, which is “under review.”

A $2,500 upgrade for owners whose Tesla was built after September 2014, Autopilot has several features that improve the car’s autonomy on the road. These include letting the car steer itself on the freeway, automatic lane changing and overtaking slower vehicles and automatic parking.

The features received a warm welcome from the media (read our review here), but Tesla hasn’t been resting on its laurels. In another tweet Saturday, Musk promised several new features in an upcoming version of Autopilot: “curve speed adapftion, controller smoothness, better lane holding on poor roads, improved fleet learning”.

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Here’s What Really Happened at That Company That Set a $70,000 Minimum Wage | Inc.com

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Before Dan Price caused a media firestorm by establishing a $70,000 minimum wage at his Seattle company, Gravity Payments… before Hollywood agents, reality-show producers, and book publishers began throwing elbows for a piece of the hip, 31-year-old entrepreneur with the shoulder-length hair and Brad Pitt looks… before Rush Limbaugh called him a socialist and Harvard Business School professors asked to study his radical experiment in paying workers… an entry-level Gravity employee named Jason Haley got really pissed off at him.

It was late 2011. Haley was a 32-year-old phone tech earning about $35,000 a year, and he was in a sour mood. Price had noticed it, and when he spotted Haley outside on a smoking break, he approached. “Seems like something’s bothering you,” he said. “What’s on your mind?”

“You’re ripping me off,” Haley told him.

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YouTube Will Completely Remove Videos Of Creators Who Don’t Sign Its Red Subscription Deal | TechCrunch

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YouTube made its top video creators an offer they literally couldn’t refuse, or they’d have their content disappear. Today YouTube confirmed that any “partner” creator who earns a cut of ad revenue but doesn’t agree to sign its revenue share deal for its new YouTube Red $9.99 ad-free subscription will have their videos hidden from public view on both the ad-supported and ad-free tiers. That includes videos by popular comedians, musicians, game commentators, and DIY instructors, though not the average person that uploads clips.

It’s a tough pill to swallow that makes YouTube look like a bully. Though turning existing fans into paid subscribers instead of free viewers could earn creators more than the ad revenue, forcing them into the deal seems heavy-handed.

Google says the goal is to offer consistency, so people thinking about subscribing to Red don’t have to worry about their favorite content not being available in the ad-free service. But there’s no explanation why it couldn’t just flag videos of those who don’t sign the deal as “Not On Red”, and instead had to go with a sign-or-disappear strategy.

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Forget Raises. Employers Lean on Health Benefits to Retain Workers | Bloomberg Business

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Wages are still stagnant, yet employers have found something else to help attract and retain employees: health-care benefits. A good insurance plan has become a more vital tool than ever for hiring, according to a recent survey from the Society of Human Resources.

In general, the study found, companies are leaning on benefits to woo current and potential employees. Of the 460 human resources professionals in the survey, 33 percent said that in the last year their organizations used benefits of some kind—ranging from paid leave to wellness programs—to keep employees at all levels from leaving the company. That marks a surge from just 18 percent who relied on benefits to retain staff in 2012.

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Alabama judge orders defendants to give blood to avoid jail | BBC News

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An Alabama judge encouraged defendants who could not pay court fines to donate blood rather than spending time in jail, a US civil rights group has said.

“If you do not have any money and you don’t want to go to jail, consider giving blood today,” Judge Marvin Wiggins said in a recording released by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

Some of the 500 defendants gave blood to avoid jail, but their debt remained.

The practice violates the US Constitution, legal experts said.

Judge Wiggins declined to comment on the allegations when contacted by the New York Times.

“Far too often in Alabama, we find that your legal rights are tied to your bank account,” Sara Zampierin, a staff attorney in SPLC’s Montgomery, Alabama, office said in a statement on Tuesday.

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NASA Says It Will Start Licensing Technology to Startups | Small Biz Trends

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Could NASA be looking for funding to gear up for a trip to Mars?

Public interest in manned missions to Mars has been a fantasy for decades and is slowly becoming a reality.

Riding the wave of enthusiasm, NASA has tentative plans for missions to Mars and the asteroid belt. But with the government’s $18 trillion pile-up of debt, how will it be paid for? Perhaps by licensing the right to use technology developed by NASA to energetic new companies.

David Miller, NASA’s chief technologist, says:

“The Startup NASA initiative leverages the results of our cutting-edge research and development so entrepreneurs can take that research — and some risks — to create new products and new services.”

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The Newest Lexus Is An Origami-Inspired Car Made From Cardboard | Co.Exist

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Using the digital files for an actual Lexus IS sedan, designers sliced up the drawing into tiny pieces and then cut that pattern out of cardboard with lasers.

It took three months to put together, as modelers dealt with problems like the fact that no sheet of cardboard is perfectly straight. “We had to glue one sheet at a time,” says Daniel Ryan from Lasercut Works, one of the companies that helped build the car for Lexus.

The car is an homage to “master craftsmen” at a Lexus factory, who have to prove their skill by folding a tiny origami cat with one hand. (While some work is done by robots, humans still take care of details like stitching on upholstery, and they need to be nimble).

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