Is the Real Estate Housing Market Crashing? | Entrepreneur

August 12, 2022August 11, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The housing market is shifting, and faster than builders and sellers can adapt.

During the pandemic, low mortgage rates and increased demand led to a surge in the housing market, causing prices to soar and competition to rise. However, the tight market led to sky-high prices and an eventual rise in mortgage rates, which ultimately priced out millions of would-be buyers. Now, builders are faced with an excess of unsold homes, Bloomberg reported.

The once nationwide housing shortage — coupled with the boom brought on by the pandemic — pushed the market to a pressure point. Home prices rose by 20.6% year-over-year in March of 2022, marking the largest increase in the 30 years of record-keeping, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies tabulations of CoStar and CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indices data.

Inflation Affecting Business | Getentrepreneurial.com

August 12, 2022August 11, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In order for a business to succeed, it’s important for its owners to understand the factors that can impact their bottom line. One of these key factors is inflation. The Federal Reserve targets an annual inflation rate of 2%. However, the rate is currently at 8.6%. Inflation is a result of the broader economic trends at play in the market. In this article, we’ll explore how inflation affects businesses and what owners can do to mitigate its impact. Let’s dive in!

Motion-controlled flashlight pushes to be most user-friendly out there | New Atlas

August 11, 2022August 10, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The Darkfade looks more like an electric shaver than a typical flashlight, and that’s because it’s built to be unlike other flashlights out there. With a fresh shape and an easier interface for finding just the right brightness, the new torch looks to be something of a Flashlight 2.0. Hold it comfortably in your hand or clip it to your pack strap and get just the right amount of light exactly where it’s needed.

Designer, maker, YouTuber and Kickstarter Giaco Di Muro created the Darkfade out of discontent with the flashlight status quo. Among his gripes was a less-than-comfortable grip position that involves constantly bending your wrist down just to point light straight ahead. A right-angle flashlight, on the other hand, ends up requiring an upward tilt of the wrist. So Di Muro found a comfortable medium, creating a 45-degree head that allows for a more ergonomic position, keeping the wrist relaxed while the beam is directed forward.

Battery percentage returns to some iPhones (but it’s different) | Mashable

August 11, 2022August 10, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A long time ago, before the notch came along to adorn the top of their displays, Apple’s iPhones had the ability to show battery percentage in the status bar. When enabled, you’d see the battery icon showing you, roughly, the current state of your device’s battery charge, and next to it was the exact percentage you have left.

With the iPhone X, Apple killed this feature, presumably as the status bar got significantly smaller with the advent of the notch. You could still see the battery percentage, but you had to swipe down from the upper right corner for it to show up.

Spotify is rolling out separate music and podcast feeds | Mashable

August 10, 2022August 9, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Your Spotify home page is getting a makeover.

This week, Spotify is launching separate feeds for music and podcasts that will be accessible through the Home page on the app. This makes it easier to find what you’re really looking for. Your existing Home feed won’t change, but you will notice two new tabs on the upper left of the page: one labeled “Music” and titled “Podcasts & Shows.”

These feeds will essentially put all of Spotify’s recommendations in one place. The Music feed will feature new releases and playlists based on users’ music taste, while the Podcast & Shows feed will keep you up to date on the latest episodes of shows you follow, as well as suggestions based on what you’re listening to now.

Ford just raised the price of the F-150 Lightening | CNN

August 10, 2022August 9, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Ford on Thursday will once again begin taking orders for its popular F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. But this time the base model of the pickup will cost about $7,000 more than before.

When the Lightning first went on sale, the Pro version — the base model intended mostly as a simple work truck — cost about $40,000. Now it will cost about $47,000. More expensive versions of the truck have similar price increases, up to $8,500 for highly equipped extended range models. The Lightning is currently eligible for the $7,500 federal EV tax credit. (With electric vehicle tax credit rules set to change under new legislation, it’s unclear if the truck will continue to be eligible in the future.)

August 2022 Sturgeon Moon date and time | Live Science

August 9, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

As summer slips into autumn and nights begin to grow longer, the final supermoon of the year will make a big splash Thursday (Aug.t 11).

Nicknamed the “Sturgeon Moon,” August’s full moon peaks around 9:36 p.m. EDT on Thursday (0136 a.m. GMT on Friday), – although the moon will appear bright and full on Wednesday and Friday night (Aug. 10 and Aug. 12) as well.

Most publications consider this a supermoon, meaning the full moon occurs while the moon is nearest its closest point to Earth, also known as perigee, during the current orbit. The Sturgeon Moon will appear within 90% of perigee, making it a supermoon by most scientific definitions. (Some publications put specific distance or time constraints on supermoons, meaning the Sturgeon Moon may not fit the bill for every publication.) Supermoons can appear larger and up to 16% brighter in the sky than the average full moon, according to timeanddate.com.

How to Use Chrome Remote Desktop for Business | businessnewsdaily.com

August 9, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Remote access to a computer or mobile device used to be a challenging process. That’s no longer the case, and Chrome Remote Desktop offers an easy way to take remote control.

There was a time, not terribly long ago, when gaining remote access to a computer was a complicated task that involved pricey software that took time to install on both machines and would frequently fail for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it was not viable for a remote work arrangement. Today, however, there are plenty of options, and one of the most convenient is Chrome Remote Desktop.

Whether you want to offer remote IT support to your team – especially due to the mass work-from-home exodus caused by the coronavirus pandemic – or connect your home PC and work PC, Google’s tool is worth a look. It’s free and available on all major platforms, including Windows, Mac, Chromebooks, Android, iOS, and Linux.

Here’s a rundown of Chrome Remote Desktop and how to install it.

How to Break Down a Large Project into Manageable Task | Lifehack

August 8, 2022August 8, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you’re working on a huge project, the magnitude of various tasks that you are supposed to complete on time can make you feel overwhelmed. This feeling hinders you from making progress because it damages your morale and makes your project seem impossible to complete. When you start thinking that a project is impossible to complete, you’ll start procrastinating…

Have you thought about breaking down large assignments into manageable tasks though?

Similar to consuming a large meal through small bites at a time, you can work on any task regardless of how complex or long they are as long as you break them down. Once you’ve done this, you can easily address these pieces. Instead of focusing on the entire project, focus on what you can do right now to make progress.

Toys ‘R’ Us locations: full list of Macy stores | Fast Company

August 8, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Brick-and-mortar Toys “R” Us stores are back! Well, kind of. Macy’s has announced the opening of Toys “R” Us stores at its retail locations in nine states, and stores in another 19 states are set to open before the holiday 2022 shopping season.

Some background: The iconic toy retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in 2017 and the last of the chain’s brick-and-mortar shops closed in January 2021 due to the pandemic. But then in August 2021, Toys “R” Us announced its comeback: It would partner with Macy’s to open stores-within-stores inside the department chain’s locations.