Federal Court Permanently Shuts Down Illinois Tax Preparer | Small Business Trends

September 27, 2024September 26, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A federal court in the Northern District of Illinois has permanently enjoined Sir Michael Joseph Davenport, a tax preparer from Joliet, Illinois, and his company, My Unity Tax Financial & Tax Preparation LLC (My Unity Tax), from preparing federal tax returns for others.

Davenport is also barred from owning or operating any tax return preparation businesses in the future. The permanent injunction was agreed to by Davenport and his business.

The civil complaint filed in this case alleges that Davenport and My Unity Tax prepared false and fraudulent federal tax returns with the intent to reduce customers’ tax liabilities or obtain undeserved tax refunds. The complaint claims that Davenport and his company regularly reported fictitious businesses, minimal or no income, and fabricated or manipulated expenses on customers’ tax returns to fraudulently reduce taxable income. According to the complaint, many of these businesses did not exist.

US to ban Chinese tech in cars | BBC News

September 23, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The US is planning to ban certain hardware and software made in China and Russia from cars, trucks, and buses in the US due to security risks.

Officials said they were worried that the technology in question, used for autonomous driving and to connect cars to other networks could allow enemies to “remotely manipulate cars on American roads”.

There is currently minimal use of Chinese or Russian-made software in American cars.

But Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the plans were “targeted, proactive” steps to protect the US.

SpaceX disputes $633K FAA fine, citing ‘systematic challenges’ with agency | TechCrunch

September 20, 2024September 19, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

SpaceX sent a letter to top congressional leaders on Wednesday denying allegations that it violated its launch licenses on two separate occasions last year, which has resulted in regulators seeking $633,009 in penalties from the company.

Instead, the company asserts that the inability of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) to process “relatively minor” license updates is further proof that the agency is unable to keep pace with the space industry’s — but chiefly SpaceX’s — rapid growth.

Apple Intelligence is now live in public beta. Here’s what it offers and how to enable it. | TechCrunch

September 20, 2024September 19, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Apple Intelligence took another major step toward mainstream availability Thursday with the launch of the iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 public betas.

Starting Thursday, those who are enrolled in Apple’s public beta program will be able to experience the generative AI-fueled platform the company has been talking up since June.

For the time being, Apple Intelligence is only available in U.S. English. The feature is also indefinitely unavailable in both the EU and the People’s Republic of China, owing to regulatory hurdles. Those in the States can access the feature with the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and any member of the newly unveiled iPhone 16 line.

Brexit is ‘stifling’ Britain’s trade with Europe and the problem is getting worse | CNN Business

September 17, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Brexit is having “profound and ongoing stifling effects” on goods trade between the United Kingdom and the European Union, according to a new report that adds to evidence of the economic damage wrought by Britain’s exit from the world’s largest trading bloc.

Researchers at Aston University in England estimated that between 2021 and 2023, annual UK exports of goods to the EU were 17% lower than they would have been had Brexit never happened. Exports in most sectors have decreased since 2021, according to the report.

“The study highlights that the negative impacts of (Brexit) have intensified over time, with 2023 showing more pronounced trade declines than previous years,” the researchers wrote in the paper published Tuesday.

Southern California wildfires burn homes and ski resort | Fast Company

September 12, 2024September 11, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Two Southern California wildfires torched dozens of mountain homes, tore through a ski resort, and forced thousands to evacuate in towns and cities east of Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Around 40 homes and cabins burned in the villages of Mount Baldy and Wrightwood, and flames swept through the nearby Mountain High ski resort in San Bernardino County, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported.

The blaze, named the Bridge Fire, exploded to more than 48,000 acres, becoming the largest in the state and one of four burning within sight of each other. The Southern California fires have blackened 105,000-plus acres of scrub, brush, and forest, an area a third the size of Los Angeles.

NFIB Jobs Report: Small Business Job Growth Stalls in August | Small Business Trends

September 10, 2024September 9, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

According to the latest NFIB Jobs Report, small business job openings remained high in August, with 40% of business owners reporting positions they could not fill, up two points from July. Labor quality concerns also grew, with 21% of owners citing it as their top issue, the highest level reported since January 2024.

“Job openings on Main Street remain historically high as small business owners continue to lament the lack of qualified applicants for their open positions,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg.

In August, 62% of small business owners reported hiring or trying to hire, an increase of five points from July. However, 56% of those hiring reported few or no qualified applicants for open positions, with 31% seeing few qualified candidates and 25% seeing none.

Windows 11 24H2: the big update that’s coming soon | Digital Trends

September 9, 2024September 8, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Windows 11 is more than a few years old and it is getting feature drops called “moments” every so often, as well as yearly updates. But what about the whole new Windows release that will come after Windows 11?

Earlier leaks from Intel and Qualcomm made mention of Windows 12, leading some to believe that Windows 12 might be in development at Microsoft and could come in 2024.

Whether or not it’s called Windows 12 or Windows 11 24H2, a big update is coming. Here’s what we know so far.

Microsoft is turning to AI to make its workplace more inclusive | BBC News

September 5, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Microsoft’s chief diversity officer says diversity and investment in the workforce can help fix AI’s bias problems.

At the beginning of 2023, Microsoft found itself in a PR firestorm. The company was working to demonstrate its progress in artificial intelligence following a multi-billion dollar investment in OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. It added an AI powered chatbot into its Bing search engine, which placed it among the first legacy tech companies to fold AI into its flagship products, but almost as soon as people started using it, things went sideways.

A New York Times journalist sparked international intrigue over a conversation he had with Bing that left him “deeply unsettled”. Soon, users began sharing screenshots that appeared to show the tool using racial slurs and announcing plans for world domination. Microsoft quickly announced a fix, limiting the AI’s responses and capabilities. In the following months, the company replaced its Bing chatbot with Copilot, which is now available as part of its Microsoft 365 software and Windows operating system.