Monthly Archives: May 2017

Music Streaming Service Tidal Loses Third CEO In Two Years

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An anonymous reader shares an article: The music-streaming service Tidal is saying goodbye to yet another CEO. Jefffrey Toig, who became the company’s CEO in December 2015, is leaving the company. This would make him the third CEO leaving Tidal after two years, following the departure of Andy Chen and Peter Tonstad. In a statement to CNET, Tidal said that it will announce a new CEO in the coming weeks. The Jay-Z-owned music service has relied heavily on star power and album exclusives, but its bet doesn’t seem to be making any splashes. On top of that, the company was accused in January of lying about its 3-million subscriber-base. They were accused of creating fake accounts.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – Music Streaming Service Tidal Loses Third CEO In Two Years

Sergey Brin’s secret airship will deliver aid and schlep his family

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Last month, news dropped that Google co-founder Sergey Brin is building an airship on the sly — not a traditional airplane but an honest-to-god helium-filled dirigible. While he insisted the project wasn’t operating under the tech titan, which had p…

Source: Engadget – Sergey Brin’s secret airship will deliver aid and schlep his family

Uber, Lyft returning to Austin as driver-fingerprinting dispute ends

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Enlarge (credit: Alfredo Mendez)

Uber and Lyft are returning to Austin—the capital of Texas and home to the South by Southwest festival. The move comes one year after the ride-hailing services left the area over a driver-background check dispute with city regulators and voters.

The two companies are coming back now because state lawmakers passed legislation, which Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign Monday, that removes a controversial requirement that prospective drivers have their fingerprints run through an FBI database that tracks people’s criminal activity over the course of their lives. Uber and Lyft claimed that the check was too onerous and should be reserved for security sensitive personnel.

The new legislation supersedes the city of Austin’s regulations, paving the way for the companies’ return to Austin possibly as early as this coming week. (The companies said they would return for business immediately following Abbott’s signature.) Austin Mayor Steve Adler said he was “disappointed” with the new state regulations.

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Source: Ars Technica – Uber, Lyft returning to Austin as driver-fingerprinting dispute ends

80% of Millennials Say They Want To Buy a Home — But Most Have Less Than $1,000

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An anonymous reader writes: Millennials aren’t buying homes in the same numbers as previous and older generations, but it’s not because they don’t want to. The vast majority of millennials do indeed aim to buy someday, or would even like to now if they could. Unfortunately, the numbers don’t look good. New data from Apartment List shows that, although 80 percent of millennials would like to purchase real estate, very few are in a good position to buy, largely because they have nothing saved. According to the report, ’68 percent of millennials said they have saved less than $1,000 for a down payment. Almost half, or 44 percent, of millennials said they have not saved anything for a down payment.’

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – 80% of Millennials Say They Want To Buy a Home — But Most Have Less Than ,000

Here’s How Much Sex Everybody Is Having

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We’re kicking off Sex Ed for Grown-Ups with a reality check on what’s normal, sex-wise. Take a minute to think about when you had sex for the first time, how much sex you have, and whether you think other people are doing it more or less than you. Chances are, you’re more normal than you think.

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Source: LifeHacker – Here’s How Much Sex Everybody Is Having

The Gig Economy Workforce Will Double In Four Years

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The number of workers in the so-called gig economy will grow substantially in the coming years, according to a study by Intuit and Emergent Research. By 2021, the study finds, 9.2 million people are going to be working the frontline jobs at companies like Uber and Lyft. That number is projected to be 4.8 million this year. From a report: The rise in on-demand workers has been fueled largely by startups like Uber, TaskRabbit and Airbnb. It has also helped companies like Intuit, which makes tax software QuickBooks and TurboTax. The company’s stock surged to an all-time high yesterday thanks to the gig economy. For context, there are currently more gig workers than people employed in the entire information sector (which includes publishing, telecommunication and data processing jobs) and IT services combined, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also read: A recent piece on The New Yorker which talks about the lengths to which people are willing to go to survive in such jobs — a horrifying culture that is often celebrated in those companies.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – The Gig Economy Workforce Will Double In Four Years

Oh Wow: Guy Recreates Terminator 2 Movie In Grand Theft Auto V

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terminator-2-in-gta-v.jpg

This is an hour long video created by Youtuber KRAMER’S MEDIA of scenes from Terminator 2: Judgement Day recreated in Grand Theft Auto V. Hobbies: everybody needs one. Me? I’ve started flying kites. “Yeah, straight into power lines.” I’m a modern Benjamin Franklin. I also invented bifocal x-ray glasses.

Keep going for the video, but it’s an hour long so pop some popcorn in the breakroom and bring it back to your desk.

Source: Geekologie – Oh Wow: Guy Recreates Terminator 2 Movie In Grand Theft Auto V

Oculus Rift Release 1.15 Allows Full Room Scale Tracking

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So, maybe Facebook’s Oculus isn’t abandoning the high end VR headset market after all. The release notes from the latest 1.15 update show that the update allows your Oculus headset to utilize full room scale tracking much like the HTC Vive. This feature has been in beta on Oculus Rift headsets for a couple of weeks now, but with the 1.15 release it is now official.

Here at the [H] we are always in favor of more competition in the market, and look forward to seeing how the new Oculus implementation compares to the more tried and true implementation in the HTC Vive. With both room scale tracking and the relatively recent addition of Oculus Touch motion controllers, the Oculus is seeming like more and more of a viable competitor.



Features:
Improved 360° tracking and roomscale support.
We further improved sensor setup for multi-sensor configurations.
360° tracking with three sensors is now fully supported for sitting, standing, and roomscale play modes.
360° tracking with two sensors is still experimental. Learn more in our help center.

Discussion

Source: [H]ardOCP – Oculus Rift Release 1.15 Allows Full Room Scale Tracking

Five ‘Fun’ Board Games About Real Disasters to Remind You We’re Completely Doomed

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There are plenty of horror board games and tabletop RPGs that thrive on fantasy, whether it’s helping a ghost solve its own gruesome murder in Mysterium, or helping to stop (or aid) the rise of evil gods with Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game. But of course, the biggest horrors are the ones humans actually face in real…

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Source: Gizmodo – Five ‘Fun’ Board Games About Real Disasters to Remind You We’re Completely Doomed

With Nothing Left To Sell, RadioShack Is Selling Itself To People

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RadioShack, an almost 100-year-old American chain of wireless and electronics stores, had a hell of ride at retail. The cradle of building your own electronics at home, and an early participant in the PC revolution, is finally facing the end after a long, slow death at the hands of consumer disinterest, a dysfunctional marriage with Sprint. From a report: Tons of electronics stores have shuttered over the past decade, but few are as tragic as RadioShack, which filed for bankruptcy in 2015, appeared to be rescued by Sprint in agreement to co-share the stores, then got kicked to the curb and had to file for a second bankruptcy this past March. The new agreement means hundreds of RadioShack shops will officially close down and be replaced by Sprint stores, fizzling out dreams of the Maker movement. So while this is an end to another chapter of our American electronics retail culture, we do have to wonder: how are the folks at RadioShack doing? They have been selling the leftover stocks of electronics for a while, with only mostly store fixtures, ladders, and carpet tiles seemingly left on offer. This is what RadioShack posted earlier this month. The company has since been tweeting about the leftover stuff it has up on sale, though.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.



Source: Slashdot – With Nothing Left To Sell, RadioShack Is Selling Itself To People

3-Ingredient Happy Hour: A Summer Wasted

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Happy weekend, and welcome back to 3-Ingredient Happy Hour, the weekly drink column featuring super simple yet delicious libations. I’ve been enjoying the charms of a little South American brandy known as “pisco” recently, so I thought we’d try a summery, but still strong, pisco cocktail.

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Source: LifeHacker – 3-Ingredient Happy Hour: A Summer Wasted

Radio-controlled pacemakers aren’t as hard to hack as you (may) think

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Source: Ars Technica – Radio-controlled pacemakers aren’t as hard to hack as you (may) think