Woman’s garden ‘stepping stone’ turns out to be an ancient Roman artifact | Live Science

January 7, 2021January 5, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A seemingly dull marble slab, used for 10 years as a stepping stone in an English garden, is actually a rare ancient Roman engraving, a new analysis finds.

The discovery surprised its owner, who learned that the 25-inch-long (63 centimeters) slab — a stone she had previously used as a stair while mounting her horse — dated to the second century A.D. and was worth about $20,400 (£15,000).

However, no one knows how the marble masterpiece ended up in England. It was likely carved in Greece or Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), according to a statement from Woolley and Wallis, a U.K auction house that is handling the sale of the slab.

How the idea of the tiny house evolved in 2020 | Fast Company

January 5, 2021January 3, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you’ve been living with roommates during the pandemic, 2020 might have felt like you were already living in a tiny house, just one you shared with other people you may have come to not like as much. Maybe you began to seriously fantasize about living in a tiny house on your own. The experience isn’t always as idyllic as tiny-house shows portray it. But if 200 square feet may not be the ideal amount of living space for everyone, it’s still true that smaller homes are a viable part of the solution for the challenges of affordable housing and homelessness. Here are a few of the ways that the field advanced this year.

Large Numbers Of Health Care And Frontline Workers Are Refusing Covid-19 Vaccine | Forbes

January 5, 2021January 3, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Despite the Covid-19 death count in the United States rapidly accelerating, a startlingly high percentage of health care professionals and frontline workers throughout the country—who have been prioritized as early receipts of the coronavirus vaccine—are reportedly hesitant or outright refusing to take it, despite clear scientific evidence that the vaccines are safe and effective.

Man Uses Brain-Controlled Robot Arms to Eat a Twinkie | Digital Trends

December 31, 2020December 29, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Robert “Buz” Chmielewski, a quadriplegic man who suffered an accident in his teens that left him with minimal movement and feeling in his hands, recently fed himself dessert with the aid of two prosthetic robot arms he was able to control using his mind.

Two years ago, Chmielewski underwent a 10-hour brain surgery at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital. This was part of a clinical trial designed to allow participants to control assistive devices using neuro signals. As part of the procedure, he had six electrode arrays implanted into both sides of his brain. This has now allowed Chmielewski to be able to control smart prostheses, such as these robot limbs, to carry out tasks like feeding himself.

FTSE 100 index of leading shares hits highest since March | BBC News

December 30, 2020December 29, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Britain’s index of leading shares closed at its highest since the pandemic sparked a market rout in March as investors on Tuesday cheered the post-Brexit trade deal.

In the first day of trading since markets closed on Christmas Eve, the FTSE 100 ended up 1.6% at 6,603 points.

It was the Footsie’s best day since 9 November, and only falls in bank shares stopped the index from rising further.

US shares also rose in the first few hours of trading.

Not even 5G could rescue smartphone sales in 2020 | TechCrunch

December 29, 2020December 27, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

This was going to be the year of 5G. It was going to be the year the next-generation wireless technology helped reverse some troubling macro trends for the industry — or at the very least helped stem the bleeding some.

But the best laid plans, and all that. With about a week left in the year, I think it’s pretty safe to say that 2020 didn’t wind up the way the vast majority of us had hoped. It’s a list that certainly includes the lion’s share of smartphone makers. Look no further than a recent report published by Gartner to answer the question of just how bad 2020 was for smartphone sales.

The Worst Hacks of 2020, a Surreal Pandemic Year | WIRED

December 29, 2020December 27, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

WHAT A WAY to kick off a new decade. 2020 showcased all of the digital risks and cybersecurity woes you’ve come to expect in the modern era, but this year was unique in the ways Covid-19 radically and tragically transformed life around the world. The pandemic also created unprecedented conditions in cyberspace, reshaping networks by pushing people to work from home en masse, creating a scramble to access vaccine research by any means, generating new fodder for criminals to launch extortion attempts and scams, and producing novel opportunities for nation-state espionage.

Here’s WIRED’s look back at this strange year and the breaches, data exposures, ransomware attacks, state-sponsored campaigns, and digital madness that shaped it. Stay safe out there in 2021.

The Rise Of Disney Streaming | Getentrepreneurial.com

December 28, 2020December 27, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In 2021, the biggest US beneficiary of the streaming bonanza will be Disney. After a plethora of streaming competitors launched in 2020, Netflix still added a substantial number of subscribers. As impressive as Netflix’s sustained dominance was Disney+’s ability to quickly gain viewers. These developments show there’s room for multiple services to thrive in this fast-growing market.

But no other new US streaming service had a debut like Disney+ did—we estimate that it will reach 72.4 million US monthly viewers in 2020, its first full year in service. We forecast that more than one-fifth of the US population will use Disney+ this year, and in 2024, more than one-third will. So far, other streaming entrants suffered from distribution limitations, confusing branding, or a lack of quality programming. None of these problems have hampered Disney+, which will become the third most popular US streaming service by the end of 2024.

Full self-driving is coming for all Tesla owners with a subscription | Mashable

December 21, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you want your Tesla to drive itself down some streets and on the highway (with you still at the wheel, paying attention, of course) you need to put down some serious cash for the Full Self-Driving (FSD) mode. But in 2021, there might be more options.

Instead of paying $10,000 to add FSD mode to the Tesla advanced driving system, called Autopilot, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted Sunday about subscription access. That means anyone with a Tesla could pay month-to-month for the driving mode. It’s currently in beta with a select group of Tesla users and that’s it.

It’ll open up to more people at some point in 2021. Even though Musk had previously mentioned a rollout by the end of 2020.

Walmart one-ups Amazon: You don’t need to leave home to return packages for free | CNN

December 21, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Walmart is attempting to solve one of the biggest pain-points of online shopping — the dreaded return — with a new service.

The retailer announced Monday that it will pick up items shipped and sold by Walmart.com from customers’ homes through a new partnership with FedEx (FDX). Walmart said the “incredibly convenient” option is free and will remain in place beyond the busy holiday shopping season.

To use the new service, called “Carrier Pickup by FedEx,” customers have the initiate return process on Walmart’s website or app, schedule a date for pickup and print a label. Then it will be picked up by a FedEx employee.