Category: News and Views

France Is Right to Mistrust Uber | Bloomberg View

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

At first glance, Uber’s most recent troubles in France look like an especially violent case of a hidebound country’s reaction to technological disruption. I, too, was once tempted to see Uber’s legal problems in Europe in that light.

Now, I think there’s a valid reason for the French government to resist the spread of Uber. The company is not doing enough to convince governments or the European public that it isn’t a scam.

Uber’s troubles have been particularly acute in France. Last week, licensed taxi drivers blocked roads and airports, burned tires and trashed cars. Previously, President Francois Hollande demanded that the company’s UberPop service be “dissolved” and its vehicles seized. On Monday, police detained two of Uber’s top executives in the country for questioning. Thibaud Simphal, the company’s director general for France, and Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, its director for Western Europe, will have to appear in court in September to answer charges of fraud and illegal activity.

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Panel Says It’s Time Fast-Food Employees in New York Receive a Major Pay Increase | Entrepreneur

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Fast-food restaurants in New York may soon be increasing employee pay – even if the statewide minimum wage doesn’t increase.

On Monday, a panel organized by the New York state government to study fast-food wages revealed plans to recommend a substantial increase in worker pay to the state’s Department of Labor.

The three members of the panel said research and public meetings led them to conclude that a change is necessary, though they are not yet prepared to make a full recommendation to the State Labor Department. Possible ideas suggested include raising minimum wage for fast-food workers to $15 an hour and creating a higher minimum wage for part-time workers to incentivize the hiring of full-time employees, reports the New York Daily News.

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Twitter MoPub senior director Janae McDonough interview | Business Insider

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downloadTwitter acquired MoPub, a mobile app ad network, ad server, and real-time bidding exchange, for $350 million in stock back in 2013.

MoPub has around 5,000 apps on its platform, and it works with publishers and developers to help sell ads within their apps, by plugging into a network of around 150 demand-side platforms (DSPs,) one of which is Twitter. Last year one analyst predicted MoPub will bring in more than $500 million in annual revenue by 2017, up from an estimated $56 million in 2014.

Yet MoPub is still one of Twitter’s best-kept secrets. The company doesn’t break out revenues from MoPub in its earnings report (it sits in the “data licensing and other category,” which generated revenues of $147 million in 2014,) and it rarely releases news from the division, beyond quarterly marketplace reports about trends within the mobile app ecosystem, and a few other updates.

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French Anti-Uber Protest Turns To Guerrilla Warfare As Cabbies Burn Cars, Attack Uber Drivers | TechCrunch

~ knjohn ~ 1 Comment

Today’s taxi driver protest is getting out of hand. According to the police, 2,800 taxi drivers are protesting today against UberPOP, the European equivalent of UberX. With UberPOP, everybody can become an Uber driver — taxi drivers see the service as unfair competition as they have to get a special license. Yet, this doesn’t really explain why cabbies are now attacking Uber drivers, burning and breaking their cars.

The police have already arrested a taxi driver and an Uber driver. The cabbie was throwing projectiles toward the police, while the latter was attacking a cabbie. It is currently very difficult to go to Charles-De-Gaulle and Orly airports as taxi drivers are blocking the roads. Taxis are also controlling many parts of Paris, looking for Uber drivers.

There are other protests happening right now in Nice, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lyon and Lille. It’s the biggest protest so far against the urban transportation company in France as UberPOP has been expanding to new French cities.

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The Chain Breaker: A Dairy Queen Like No Other | Serious Eats

~ CBPS ~ Leave a comment

20150527-moorhead-dq-dilly-2-jackie-varrianoWhen the DeLeons took over, the original 1949 contract transferred, meaning the Moorhead DQ doesn’t have to adhere to many strict company rules. Had they signed a newer contract, they would have had no choice but to discontinue their barbecue sandwiches and Polish dogs and launch a full Orange Julius menu like many newer DQ franchises. Thanks to their old-school contract, the Moorhead DQ still pays the original 1949 royalties rate on Dairy Queen treats that they order from the corporate warehouse. Perhaps most importantly, DeLeon is able to source ingredients from outside providers and still make many desserts in-house.

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Humans Are Tech’s Next Big Thing—And That Could Be Risky | WIRED

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INTERNET COMPANIES MAKE billions of dollars by capturing one of the world’s most precious commodities: your attention. They need to amuse, amaze, entice, and intrigue you—and millions of users like you—to stay afloat and profit.

But figuring out what you want to read, watch, and see is harder than it looks. At Facebook, serving your wants and needs comes down to algorithms—click on something, and you’ll see more of that thing, and things like it. At Twitter, your desires are met via your choices—follow certain people, you’ll see updates from them. But, when it comes to channeling the most attention-grabbing content, it turns out that automation, or users left to their own devices, might not be enough.

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The Future of Messaging: How to Text Without Data or Wi-Fi | Inc.com

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getty_173501828_970647970450049_59239Forget having directions, tickets, or our checkbook with us. Our lives now seem to revolve ensuring that Wi-Fi will be there wherever we may roam so we can open our digital wallets, Google map it, or have our tickets scanned. When there is no Wi-Fi, our biggest fears come to life.

There is hope, thanks to some inventive technologists and entrepreneurs who have designed a solution that goes beyond data and mobile network requirements. (Yep, you could all text without a data plan.)

Yes, some of us have iMessage if we use iPhones and iPads, which means we can forgo that unlimited texting plan on our smart phone bill. However, we are all still slaves to Wi-Fi or have memorized how fast our data plan is chewed up with every ping.

But, another iOS app is rapidly changing how teens are texting through their Apple devices, and soon it will do the same with those with Android systems.

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Facebook’s photo app will not be available in Europe | BBC News

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Facebook’s photo-sharing app Moments will not be made available in Europe due to concerns about its use of facial recognition, it has been revealed.

The app, which allows users to share mobile-phone photos with friends without posting them publicly, was launched in the US this week.

The Irish data regulator said that users must be given a choice about whether they want it, with an opt-in.

There is currently no timetable for such a feature, said Facebook.

Richard Allen, Facebook’s head of policy in Europe said: “We don’t have an opt-in mechanism so it is turned off until we develop one.”

Moments arranges the photos on someone’s mobile phone into groups, based on when they were taken. The facial recognition technology can identify Facebook friends to whom users can then forward the photos.

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A California Ruling Just Challenged Uber’s Entire Business Model | Bloomberg Business

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downloadCalifornia’s labor commissioner said an Uber Technologies Inc. driver who connects with customers through the company’s app must be considered an employee, a decision that strikes at the heart of its business model.

San Francisco-based Uber, like other “sharing economy” startups, has built a business around a flexible car fleet piloted by people it contends are independent contractors. If Uber’s drivers were treated as employees, the company would be required to guarantee them a minimum wage, compensate them for mileage and pay into social security.

“We see this as a problem that’s growing larger with each year, with employees lacking security and even basic rights when they are treated as independent contractors,” said Steve Smith, spokesman for the California Labor Federation, which has backed tougher regulations on ridesharing companies.

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