Sam’s Club Is Changing a Beloved Free Perk, Members Unhappy | Entrepreneur

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

Costco’s rival, Sam’s Club, is taking away a long-beloved free perk — and members are taking to social media to share how they feel about it.

The wholesale retailer emailed club members ahead of the holiday weekend and revealed that starting August 19, free shipping would no longer apply to Plus members’ orders, just orders over $50 or more.

So instead of having their goods delivered for free, members who make purchases under $50 will have to pay an $8 flat rate. Some category exclusions still apply, the company said.

Apple approves Epic Games Store in Europe, but not without some drama first | Mashable

July 8, 2024July 7, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The Epic Games Store is coming to Apple devices in Europe, but as usual, it couldn’t just happen without some minor fighting between Apple and Epic first.

Apple announced the EGS would get the green light in Europe on Friday, per Reuters. However, that only came after Epic took to X to publicly accuse Apple of slow-rolling the submission by rejecting the app for seemingly trivial reasons. For instance, Epic said Apple’s regulations found that the EGS app’s “Install” button was too similar to Apple’s “Get” button.

Drug store chains pushed out independent pharmacies. Here’s why they’re now closing too | CNN Business

July 3, 2024July 2, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Walgreens said Thursday that it plans to close a “significant” number of its roughly 8,600 stores in the United States. Around 25% of Walgreens’ stores aren’t profitable, and the chain will look to close stores that are right by one another or struggling to hold down theft, CEO Tim Wentworth said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Walgreens and other retailers have been hit by shoplifting and resorted to locking up items or closing high-theft stores since the pandemic, but Walgreens’ problems are much deeper, including competition and failed growth strategies. Walgreens admitted last year it “cried too much” over the business impact of shoplifting.

The latest closures are part of a larger downturn, not just for Walgreens, but for other drug store chains, too, after years of expansion. Walgreens said in 2019 it would close 200 stores and last year announced an additional 150 store closures.

Kenya’s catastrophic flooding highlights why it’s time to rethink aid delivery | Fast Company

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

My mother and I were climate refugees. When I was a baby, we left our drought-stricken rural home for Nairobi, hoping the city would offer stable work and secure a better future for our family. With few options, we landed in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum, living on the edge of survival without enough food to eat and without access to clean water, healthcare, or formal education. We scraped by on sheer will and survival instincts.

In recent months, torrential rains and floods have been the most catastrophic in Kenya in decades, killing 300 and displacing 300,000. The majority live in slums, crowded into metal shacks on land that quickly turns to mud. There are no government services and no safety net, even when crisis hits. Rivers have become clogged with waste, leading to the outbreak of waterborne diseases like cholera; food insecurity has surged; and homes have been destroyed. The damage will be felt for years to come—and the problem is quickly accelerating. More than 110 million people in Africa were affected by climate-related hazards in 2022, and 700 million people will be displaced due to food and water scarcity as a result of climate-related events by 2030.

In rural Alabama, an underground mine threatens to blow up the homes above it. Officials don’t care | Fast Company

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

Lily Spicer felt the energy of the explosion surge through her body.

She was talking to her daughter on the phone when the boom came. Her family was accustomed to the occasional blasts that would sometimes shake their windows, she said. But this was different.

“The only way I can describe it would be a direct hit with a lightning bolt, a massive explosion, and an earthquake, all in one,” she said.

How summer camps are adapting to extreme heat events | Fast Company

June 25, 2024June 24, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

At the end of their weeklong sleepaway camp, a hush falls over the boisterous kids at YMCA’s Camp Kern as they prepare for a treasured annual tradition: after songs and skits around a bonfire, they write down their favorite memories on slips of paper. Most years, they toss them into the flames, and the ash that rises and then falls over their heads is meant to symbolize the joy they shared.

But this year, it was too hot for a bonfire.

Even as the sun went down, on a day when the high hit 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Celsius) with oppressive humidity, kids wiped the sweat from their foreheads, flocked to water coolers to refill bottles, and fanned themselves to try to get a breeze going. At the end of the night, they burned their memory notes in a small bucket.

Why coffee prices could spike globally due to Vietnam’s drought | Fast Company

June 25, 2024June 24, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Vietnamese coffee growers have been hit hard this year by the worst drought in nearly a decade, raising concerns about pricier espressos across the world, even as some farmers keep yields healthy with clever countermeasures.

Domestic forecasts for next season’s harvest in Vietnam, the world’s second-biggest coffee producer, remain grim.

The Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MVX) expects a 10-16% fall in output because of the extreme heat that hit the Central Highlands coffee region between March and early May, according to deputy head Nguyen Ngoc Quynh.

Visa Relaunches SavingsEdge with New Offers for Small Businesses | Small Biz Trends

June 21, 2024June 20, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Visa Inc. has announced the relaunch of its Visa SavingsEdge program, introducing new features designed to offer more value to small businesses in the U.S. and Canada. For over ten years, Visa SavingsEdge has helped eligible Small Business cardholders with savings and tools to aid their growth. The revamped program looks to support smarter spending and saving with a more dynamic platform and new offerings.

Small businesses are showing resilience despite economic concerns. According to the latest Visa Small Business Pulse survey, 77% of U.S. businesses expect revenue growth in 2024, mirroring their experience in 2023. This growth has improved the economic outlook, with 59% of surveyed U.S. small businesses optimistic about the economy’s future, up from 47% in 2023. To build on this momentum and support growth, 64% of small businesses plan to invest in cost-saving technology.

Scammers Are Now Impersonating Small Businesses Online | Small Biz Trends

June 21, 2024June 20, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A new type of scam is targeting small businesses and their customers. Copycats are using small business websites, videos, and social media posts to impersonate them, running online ads to attract customers and make their offerings seem legitimate. Then, they redirect users to a replicated version of the small business website where they can complete their “purchase.” Some might receive cheap knock-off versions of the products they thought they were getting, while others don’t receive anything. And all their ire is then directed to the actual small business who was impersonated.

The Wall Street Journal recently spoke to several small business owners who had been targeted by this type of attack.

For example, Ryan Dahlstrom, global director of digital commerce for Merino sock company Darn Tough Vermont, told the WSJ, “They’d find an old ad we had run, flip a 75% or 80% badge over that image, and throw it up as a sponsored ad or a sponsored post.”

Essential Network Security Measures We Should All Consider | The Startup Magazine

June 18, 2024June 17, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Understanding Network Security

Network security is about protecting your data from unauthorized access and cyber threats. It’s like having a lock on your front door to keep out intruders. Just as you wouldn’t leave your house unlocked, you shouldn’t leave your network unprotected. You could be a home user or running a business, but securing your network helps safeguard your sensitive information.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of security to your accounts. Even if someone guesses your password, they still need a second form of verification to access your account. This second step could be a code sent to your phone or an app that generates a code. Sometimes, it might even involve biometric verification, like a fingerprint or facial recognition. By enabling 2FA, you make it significantly more difficult for unauthorised users to infiltrate your network, and it means that even if your password is compromised, your account stays secure.