Get Ready, Soon Everyone Will Be Able To Code | Co.Exist

August 4, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Code runs the world, but coding today isn’t for everyone. Generally, it’s still done by a select group of mostly male, math-literate programmers, and the rest of us are just consumers rather than participants in code’s production. “The distance between using your computer and programing your computer has gotten wider and wider.”

Could that be about to change? The media theorist Douglas Rushkoff thinks so. He’s been championing a new iPad app called Ready that he thinks marks an important shift in our relationship with software.

“The distance between using your computer and programing your computer has gotten wider and wider,” he says. “I’ve been discouraged that most portals to being a digital creator have involved these really difficult coding languages that require you to be at a certain level of sophistication in mathematics. Ready has a really simple interface that lets people have the experience of programming something for themselves.”

Comcast Is Facing a $100 Million Lawsuit Over Its Service Plan | WIRED

August 3, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

YOU DON’T NEED us to tell you that Comcast has a bad reputation when it comes to customer service. For seven years in a row Comcast ranked at the bottom of 24/7 Wall St.’s annual customer satisfaction poll. Now the company’s business practices may land it in court.

This week Washington state filed a $100 million lawsuit against Comcast, accusing the company of 1.8 million violations of the the state’s Consumer Protection Act. The state isn’t suing Comcast for bad customer service per se, but for the sorts of misleading claims and practices that have given Comcast such a poor public image. (Comcast denies any wrongdoing.)

Bitcoin drops more than 10% after security breach | BBC News

August 3, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The price of bitcoin has fallen more than 10% after the Hong Kong-based digital currency exchange Bitfinex said it had suffered a major hack.

The security breach led to the possible theft of bitcoin worth $65m (£49m).

Bitfinex told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday that nearly 120,000 bitcoin were stolen from its exchange platform.

All transactions on the virtual exchange have been suspended while the security breach is investigated.

In a statement on its website, Bitfinex said that it was “deeply concerned about the issue and we are committing every resource to try to resolve it”.

The hack is one of the biggest thefts in bitcoin’s history and is being treated as a “major deal” by many in the virtual currency community.

Do You Really Need a Non-Compete Agreement? | Entrepreneur

August 1, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Non-compete agreements are under fire lately, raising several questions about whether or not they go too far in restricting employees. The Massachusetts Senate advanced a bill in July that would limit the time period of a non-compete agreement to just three months. The bill also redefined “garden leave,” meaning the practice where an employee leaving a job is directed to stay away from work during the notice period, while still remaining on the payroll.

The Masachusetts bill would require companies to pay a departing employee his or her full salary during this non-compete period.

Non-competes, which ban workers for a period of time from taking jobs with competitor companies, certainly, are not uncommon. A May 2016 report from the White House cited research estimating that 30 million American workers (18 percent) were covered by non-compete agreements. Even more U.S. workers, according to the research — roughly 37 percent — have worked under a non-compete agreement at some point during their career.

4 Reasons Your Product Presentation is Letting Your Company Down | Life Hack

August 1, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When a customer places an order with your website, or over the phone with one of your reps, there’s a promise that’s made. The customer expects their package to arrive on-time with all of the items they ordered included. While good companies make this happen, great companies deliver on their promises with style.

Consider the last time you purchased an Apple product. Did you notice how intricately, yet simple the devices were packaged and presented to you? There are many examples of great product presentation in packaging, which can help boost loyalty and revenue. Let’s look at four ways you can actually improve on your current product presentation right now:

3 Surprising ‘Gotchas’ When You Apply for Small Business Credit | All Business

August 1, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Applying for small business credit can be time-consuming and frustrating. Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows the average small business owner spends more than half a standard work week (26 hours) researching and applying for financing.

Unfortunately, putting in that time and effort doesn’t always pay off. The Nav American Dream Gap Report survey found that 45 percent of small business owners whose applications for financing were declined said they were turned down more than once. And research from the 2014 Joint Small Business Credit Survey found that in the first half of 2013, a quarter of firms with employees and nearly a third (31 percent) of those without employees didn’t even bother to apply because they didn’t believe their applications would be approved.

While no one wants to be rejected when they apply for credit, small business owners are at a particular disadvantage because major consumer protection laws don’t always apply to entrepreneurs seeking financing for their ventures.

Employer Proved COBRA Notice WAS Mailed to Employee | Payroll Link

July 29, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In a recent case, a federal district court ruled that an employer didn’t violate the Comprehensive Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) — even though an employee who resigned from the company claimed that she never received notices that she was entitled to continue her health insurance benefits.

Under the law:

A plan administrator is required to give each participant a notice of certain health insurance coverage rights 44 days after a “qualifying event,” such as the termination of the participant’s employment.

If a plan administrator fails to provide the required COBRA notice, it may be “personally liable to such participant or beneficiary in the amount of up to $110 per day from the day of such failure.”

Eating After Workouts: The Science of Timing Meals and Exercise | Live Science

July 29, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ 1 Comment

When it comes to fuel a workout, there’s a common pitfall: Eating too much to compensate. But not eating enough to fuel those squats or spin classes can also backfire.

So what’s the best way to eat to ensure you make the most of your workout? It turns out, setting up the body for the best recovery and muscle repair is a matter of timing.

Although exercising is no excuse to pig out, skipping meals after a workout can also be counterproductive, said Melinda Manore, an exercise scientist at Oregon State University and a former member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN) Science Board, who has done extensive research on nutrition, metabolism and exercise.

Will this Company Disrupt Traditional Banking? | Inc.com

July 29, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

I recently had the chance to sit down with Chris Britt, the CEO of Chime. Chime is an innovative company in the FinTech space that aspires to be the banking solution for Millennials.

There are several outstanding companies in mobile banking/fintech space right now, such as Acorns, Atom, Robinhood, Betterment and Wealthfront. It’s a particularly exciting time to be in fintech for entrepreneurs and investors.

Why did you decide to start Chime?

Chris Britt: Millennials hate the traditional banking options. Of the 10 LEAST loved brands among Millennials, four are financial institutions you know well – Bank of America, Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo. They’re moving away from bank branches and want to manage everything in their lives on their phone, including their finances.