Supreme Court affirms Google Books scans of copyrighted works are fair use | TechCrunch

April 19, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A Supreme Court order issued today closes the book on (or perhaps merely ends this chapter of) more than a decade of legal warfare between Google and the Authors Guild over the legality of the former’s scanning without permission of millions of copyrighted books. And the final word is: it’s fair use. Related Articles As “Paying The Writer” Gets Easier, Whither Bookstores? Pronoun, A Self-Publishing Platform For Authors, Is Ready To Serve Humanity With Publishing Tools Like These, Who Needs Enemies?

The order is just an item in a long list of other orders that appeared today, and adds nothing to the argument except the tacit approval of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals 2015 decision — itself approving an even earlier decision, that of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in 2013. So in a way, it’s old news.

What San Francisco’s Tech Boom Means For Bay Area Real Estate | Forbes

April 18, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The current state of Bay Area housing bears resemblance to the years leading up to the dotcom bubble in 2000 and the 2008 housing market collapse. At the peak of the housing bubble in 2007, the median sale price for a home in San Francisco was $895,000 while renters were paying just over $2,400 a month on average.

There’s no doubt that the Bay Area real estate market is white-hot once again and it’s largely due to the surging tech industry. Over the last few years, San Francisco has begun looking more and more like Silicon Valley, with companies like Google, Twitter, Airbnb and LinkedIn scooping up office space.

Nine years since the 2007 peak, housing prices, home values and rental rates are once again climbing to unsustainable levels. In 2015, home values jumped by more than 14% and the median sale price, meanwhile, is hovering around $1.1 million.

According to the California Realtors Association’s Housing Affordability Index, just 20% of residents living in the nine Bay Area counties can afford to pay that much for a home. Renters aren’t faring any better, with the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco hitting a whopping $3,490 as of January 2016.

Why You Should Remove QuickTime From Your Windows Computer Right Now | Inc.com

April 18, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

This past Thursday, The United States Department of Homeland Security issued an alert advising people running Apple’s QuickTime program on Windows computers to immediately uninstall the software. QuickTime was once a popular package for playing video and audio clips on computers, but it has since been eclipsed by other technologies.

Unfortunately, security vulnerabilities continue to be discovered in the QuickTime software — including two critical ones announced just this past week that could allow criminals to hack into computers with QuickTime installed if the devices’ users either run malware or visit a malicious webpage (which a criminal can induce via phishing, offering some “great deal” and spreading word of it on social media, etc.). Without security patches being issued by Apple, QuickTime software poses a serious danger to those running it.

Dunkin’ Donuts loyalty app stirring up trouble for Starbucks? | Fast Casual

April 18, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Dunkin’ Donuts is hoping to cash in on rage-filled, under-caffeinated Starbucks fans with its new DD Perks Rewards program. Coincidentally — or not — it launched today a new version of its mobile app for “quick, easy and secure payment.”

Guests who join DD Perks using the special code “STARS” through April 21 will earn an automatic 125 points towards a free any-size beverage, plus an additional 125 points during their second and third visits when purchases are made using an enrolled Dunkin’ Donuts card, said Sherrill Kaplan, VP of Digital Marketing & Innovation at Dunkin’ Donuts, “Our guests are the cornerstone of our brand, and we are committed to continuing to exceed their expectations.

Although numerous Starbucks customers posted angry Tweets when the coffee giant previewed the changes in February, their anger is again percolating via Twitter, since the official changes took place this week.

Millennials Are Discovering Art by Ditching Museums for Instagram and Pinterest | Adweek

April 15, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

It was bound to happen sooner or later. For the first time, social media has nudged museums aside as the primary venue by which American consumers discover works of art.

According to a survey released this week by online auction site Invaluable, nearly 23 percent of Americans find artwork that appeals to them on social media channels such as Instagram or Pinterest. By contrast, 20 percent discover artwork by going to museums and nearly 16 percent by visiting brick-and-mortar galleries.

The findings are significant not just because Americans drop an estimated $150 billion on arts and entertainment each year, but because it suggests that millennial buyers seem far more comfortable buying art online as opposed to the staid and starchy world of galleries and auction houses.

Behind the scenes at Smashburger | Business Insider

April 15, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The fast-casual better-burger business is thriving, as companies like Shake Shack, Five Guys, and Smashburger expand across the US. But to succeed in the burger industry in 2016, you need to have a special something.

With locations in 32 states and seven countries, Smashburger is preparing to take over the burger business from coast to coast. The one thing that sets Smashburger apart from the competition: the smashing process that allows the chain to make a hamburger completely different than anything else on the market.

PODCAST: Laura Wass on Entrepreneurship, Creativity and How to Dress Beyoncé | Page19

April 15, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In this newest episode of the Blinkist Podcast, our guest producer, Emily, talks with an old friend who’s brought her small business from twinkle of an idea to globally recognized, Beyoncé-worn recognition.

Emily and Laura Wass of WXYZ jewelry talk entrepreneurship, what it takes to bring a business from fledgling to flight, and the importance of ritual. I’m also in there making awkward jokes, as usual, and the Book Doctor makes another house call—this time, hitting closer to actual home.

Rock – Record Store Day 2016: The Ultimate Guide | Rolling Stone

April 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

On Saturday, April 16th, Record Store Day will flood music outlets around the country with new releases, reissued classics and thousands of fans looking bring these coveted titles home. This year, everyone from Big Star to Justin Bieber is getting in on the act. The full list of 2016 RSD offerings includes more split singles, vintage treasures and strangely colored vinyl than any single person could possibly consume, so we’ve broken it down into a few tidy categories and selected the most essential offerings in each.

BP shareholders reject CEO’s $20 million pay package | CNN Money

April 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Shareholders delivered a stinging rebuke to BP on Thursday by rejecting the oil company’s decision to give CEO Bob Dudley a 20% pay hike last year. About 59% of them voted against Dudley’s pay and benefits package — worth $19.6 million — at an annual meeting in London. But he will still get the money.

The bumper payout came despite an annual loss of $5.2 billion, a collapse in the group’s share price, and plans to shed 7,000 jobs by the end of 2017.

The Top 5 Common Mistakes When Learning Something New | Life Hack

April 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

All of us have tried learning something new: a photo editing software, a foreign language, or a brand new industry that you’re about to enter into.

If you’re like most people, then you’ve probably given up learning this skill before you reached mastery. For whatever reason, you weren’t picking up the skill as fast as you expected, got bored of the subject, or maybe you just didn’t have enough time.

There’s dozens of mistakes that all of us make when we’re learning something for the first time. In this post, we’re going to share with you the top 5 mistakes that you should avoid when learning something new.