Ukraine orders evacuation of city as Russia makes gains | BBC News

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

Ukrainian authorities have ordered the evacuation of a key city in the Donbas region as Russian forces continue to make gains in the east of the country, despite Ukraine’s ongoing offensive into Russia’s Kursk region.

Officials said families with children living in Pokrovsk and surrounding villages would be forced to leave.

The head of the city’s military government, Serhii Dobriak, said residents had at most two weeks to flee the Russian advance.

The strategically important city is one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds and a key logistical hub for Kyiv’s troops on the eastern front.

These fintech companies are hiring, despite a rough market in 2024 | TechCrunch

August 19, 2024August 18, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The fintech segment, which saw massive growth during the pandemic and immediately after, has had a fairly rough 2024.

But while the rapid pace of funding has slowed, many fintechs are continuing to see growth and expand their teams. In an effort to better understand just how many fintechs might fit into this category, I put out a call asking for fintech companies that are hiring. After just over an hour, I had received more than a dozen responses. After just a few days, I heard from dozens more. The sheer number — and quality — of responses was surprising even to me, someone who writes about this space on a regular basis.

TechCrunch isn’t a job board, of course. This isn’t a listing of all available roles in fintech. But if you were recently laid off, are a recent graduate or are just looking for a change, this will be a good place to start. And we plan to update this page regularly over time.

Google just dropped a new AI camera update — and you don’t need a new Pixel 9 for it | Mashable

August 15, 2024August 14, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Google has an AI update for its Magnifier app that’s geared towards people with low vision. And the best part is you don’t need a new Pixel 9 to use it.

Magnifier is an app was released last year as an accessibility tool that works with Pixel cameras to magnify text, details, and zoom in on distant objects. As of Tuesday, it has been updated with AI-powered capabilities to make gathering visual information easier.

The Made by Google event mostly focused on hardware, unveiling the Pixel 9 series, the Pixel Watch 3, and the Pixel Buds Pro 2, with a deep integration of AI-powered features for the new devices. However, not everything Google launched yesterday required a new gadget. Magnifier is available for Pixel 5 and newer.

Texas sues General Motors, alleging illegal selling of driver data | CNN Business

August 14, 2024August 13, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued General Motors Tuesday, alleging the carmaker illegally collected and sold drivers’ data to insurance companies without their consent or knowledge, according to a release from the AG’s office.

General Motors is the first car manufacturer to be hit with a lawsuit after the attorney general’s office opened an investigation into several manufacturers in June for allegedly collecting mass amount of data and then illegally selling it.

With the lack of a detailed, modern data privacy and security law at the federal law, many states are stepping in to pass their own regulations to protect consumers in the ever-growing data brokerage market.

Are Self-Service POS Kiosks Right for Your Business? | businessnewsdaily.com

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

Every brick-and-mortar business must have a way for customers to pay for goods and services in person. While a cashier stationed at a point-of-sale (POS) system terminal is still the most common method, more and more businesses are implementing self-service POS kiosks, also known as self-checkout stations. With self-service kiosks, customers can ring up their purchases themselves and pay without a cashier’s assistance.

India’s coal demand is rising—even as it pushes hard for solar | Fast Company

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

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS 4 MINUTE READ India Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the midst of a months-long reelection campaign this April when he took to social media to trumpet a “remarkable feat!” and a “historic milestone” for his country: crossing 1 billion metric tons of coal and lignite production. It was proof, Modi said, of India’s “commitment to ensuring a vibrant coal sector.”

A month later, for the third year in a row, his government ordered some coal plants to run at full capacity to meet high electricity demand during the increasingly hot summer months.

Even though India has been significantly increasing its renewable energy capacity in recent years, when demand for electricity surges, it still goes back to its most trusted source of power: coal.

United Airlines kicks off labor contract negotiations with Teamsters union | Fast Company

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

United Airlines has begun negotiations with the Teamsters union, which is pushing for a new contract covering 10,000 aviation maintenance and related workers in the United States, the labor union said on Tuesday.

The Teamsters National Negotiating Committee is seeking industry-leading wages, a faster timeline for reaching the top pay rate, improved healthcare benefits and higher safety standards.

The negotiations — which have begun four months before the current contract is set to become amendable — come at a time when thousands of maintenance staff members and flight attendants across airlines are demanding higher wages and more benefits after carriers posted record profits helped by a rebound in travel demand post-pandemic.

Meta Launches AI Studio for Custom AI Creation |Small Business Trends

August 6, 2024August 5, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Meta has announced the rollout of AI Studio, a new platform that allows users to create, share, and discover AI characters without the need for technical skills. AI Studio, built with Llama 3.1, offers users the opportunity to design AI characters that can entertain, provide advice, generate memes, and much more.

Create AI Characters Based on Your Interests

With AI Studio, anyone can create AI characters at ai.meta.com/ai-studio or within the Instagram app. Users can utilize a variety of prompt templates or start from scratch to design AIs tailored to their interests, whether it’s cooking, generating Instagram captions, or making friends laugh with memes. These AI characters can be kept private or shared with followers and friends, and can also be made available for discovery and interaction on Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and the web.