Google Is Testing End-to-End Encryption in Android Messages | WIRED

November 23, 2020November 22, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

GOOGLE HAS BEGUN rolling out end-to-end encryption for Rich Communication Service, the text-messaging standard the industry giant is pushing as an alternative to SMS.

Abbreviated as RCS, Rich Communication Service provides a, well, richer user experience than the ancient SMS standard. Typing indicators, presence information, location sharing, longer messages, and better media support are key selling points. They lead to things like better-quality photos and videos, chat over Wi-Fi, knowing when a message is read, sharing reactions, and better capabilities for group chats. As Ars reviews editor Ron Amadeo noted last year, RCS interest from carriers has been tepid, so Google has been rolling it out with limited support.

3 Ways You Can Level the Playing Field Against Big Business | Entrepreneur

November 23, 2020November 22, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Too many small businesses are stuck at the bottom of the economic mountain, watching in frustration as larger competitors hog the top, snagging resources and reaping the benefits.

Bigger companies can afford to use quantity discounts to undercut prices. Banks are happy to accept small-business deposits but don’t build strong relationships with credit and loans for their smaller customers.

Even programs marketed for small businesses, such as vendor finance programs and dynamic discounting programs, often benefit the large company that takes the discount. Even government help seems to favor the well-connected. Just see what happened with the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.

8 Essential Tools to Manage A Remote Workforce | Getentrepreneurial.com

November 20, 2020November 19, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Remote work is becoming the new normal for many businesses all over the world. Many managers are now faced with the struggle to manage remote teams for the first time. Managing remote teams is not the same as managing teams in a traditional office setting. The lack of face-to-face interaction may cause communication issues. The need to facilitate collaboration with team members across multiple time zones can get messy. Fortunately, there are tools and resources that help managers stay on top of their telecommuting employees and maximize their production.

To help determine the best tools for your business, we have categorized them by 8 functions.

Video Conferencing

Video conferencing allows remote employees to visually interact with each other. Face to face interaction is important to build a stronger connection between coworkers and allows attendees to communicate via visual cues. When communication is restricted to only verbal or written, a portion of the message could be lost because people communicate with visual cues. Managers have the opportunity to see discomfort or hesitation in their team and can address the issue immediately.

Syncpen 2nd Generation | CoolBusinessIdeas.com

November 20, 2020November 19, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

We don’t want to say that the transition to nearly 100% digital functioning has caused us to forget how to literally dot the i’s and cross the t’s, but we have to admit, our handwriting has gotten a bit…sloppy. And although we’re used to typing on keyboards and screens of all sizes, there’s something special about pulling out the pen and paper. That’s why, when they rolled out the SyncPen 2nd Generation Smart Pen and Notebook set, users everywhere were happy to jot down their thoughts the old-school way knowing they could be easily converted into the digital format we have all grown accustomed to.

This pen and pad do it all: Together, they convert handwritten notes, doodles, and sketches into editable digital files, allow capturing 360° angles of notes, enable paperless writing, identify 66 languages, and synchronously record audio with a note. You simply write in the notebook as you would with any notebook. When you’re ready to save or share your notes, you can send them out as a PDF, Word, or JPEG file.

How this family-run cider business is breaking even during a pandemic | CNN

November 19, 2020November 19, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Just surviving will be a huge success for most small businesses this year.

And few expect to break even given all that’s happened as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Yet Meriwether Cider in Boise, Idaho, is on track to meet that mark, thanks in large part to Covid-related federal assistance, according to Ann Leadbetter, who owns the business with her husband and two daughters.

Also helpful: Meriwether Cider makes money a few ways, so while some lines of revenue took a hit, others went up. Sales are down at its two sit-down venues — a cider house in downtown Boise and a smaller tap room at its bottling facility in nearby Garden City. So are its sales to bars and restaurants. But the company has made more from its distribution to grocery stores and the curbside pickup it now offers customers.

Apple to pay $113 million in ‘batterygate’ settlement | CNN

November 19, 2020November 19, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Apple has agreed to pay millions of dollars to 34 states over its controversial previous practice of deliberately slowing down older iPhones to extend their battery life.

The company will pay $113 million to settle an investigation by states including California and Arizona over how Apple wasn’t transparent about its iPhone battery problems that led to unexpected device shutdowns. Instead of disclosing the issue to consumers or replacing the batteries, it pushed a software update in December 2016 that impacted the performance of older iPhone models.

News of the practice upset Apple (AAPL) consumers, igniting what some called “batterygate.” Many believed it was an effort to encourage users to buy new iPhones.

Here’s all the buzz about honeybees | Live Science

November 18, 2020November 17, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The domestic honeybee (Apis mellifera), also frequently spelled “honey bee” and known scientifically as the European or western honeybee, is the most common of the nine species of honey-producing bees. It is native to Africa, Europe and the Middle East, according to the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, but humans have introduced domestic honeybees around the world and it’s the only honeybee in the United States.

Honeybees are social insects. They live in large colonies that include a single adult queen bee and tens of thousands of female worker bees, whose numbers change with the seasons, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The queen bee is the only bee that lays eggs. Male honeybees, called drones, are only seen during the spring mating season and hatch from unfertilized eggs. The female worker bees, on the other hand, hatch from eggs that have been fertilized by drones.

Government Grants for Small Businesses | businessnewsdaily.com

November 18, 2020November 17, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A small business grant is essentially free money given to a small business owner to help them launch, develop or expand their organization. Grants, unlike a loan, do not have to be paid back, but they often come with restrictions on how the money can be spent.

Just because a grant is free money, doesn’t mean it is easy to get. It takes a lot of time and preparation to apply for a grant, and they are highly competitive, so small businesses should only apply for grants they are eligible for.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners can seek a variety of grants, like private grants from corporations and government grants from federal, state, and local governments. Grants are also available for specific industries and demographics; for example, if you are a minority business owner, there are several minority-owned business grants specifically geared toward you.

7 Ways To Get Back Up After A Major Failure | Life Hack

November 17, 2020November 16, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Every one of us knows how devastating failure can be—seeing your business go belly up, missing the pass mark that would have gotten you that coveted scholarship, getting fired from your job, not making the cut into the team after training all year, and so on.

Experiencing a major failure comes with a lot of pain. Failure crushes you, messes up your self-esteem, and leaves you demoralized and feeling like you are not worth anything.

What’s even worse is the fact that moving forward after a major failure is not any easier. However, if you want to go on and have a fulfilling life, you cannot let failure hold you back. The important thing is that you move on from failure and learn how to get back up.

Question is, how do you do it?

Here are 7 ways you can get back up after a major failure.

How to get HBO Max on Fire TV devices | Fast Company

November 17, 2020November 16, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Amazon has buried the hatchet with AT&T’s WarnerMedia and will bring HBO Max to Fire TV devices on Tuesday, November 17. Fire TV users can find the app by saying “Alexa, open HBO Max.”

HBO Max launched in late May, with an expanded catalog of movies and shows for the same $15 per month price as HBO alone. But until now, the service hasn’t been available on Fire TV devices. As Variety reported in July, a main point of contention was Amazon’s Prime Video Channels store, which already distributes HBO to roughly five million subscribers. WarnerMedia wanted Amazon to stop selling those subscriptions, while Amazon wanted its existing subscribers to get the broader Max catalog.