This Scientist Is Building A Robot Version Of Himself, And It's The Most Uncanny Thing Ever | ||
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Ishiguro is the director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory in Osaka, Japan and one of the world’s leading roboticists. For nearly a decade, Ishiguro has dedicated his life to creating the most lifelike android possible. Once at the lab, Whitton was struck by the casualness of Ishiguro’s mission: create a robot that could replace himself. While working tirelessly to create robotic copies of himself, Ishiguro has been faced with the philosophical question of what it means to be human. He was characteristically blunt with Whitton. “It’s a question of where the soul is. Japanese people have always been told that a soul can exist in anything and everything. We don’t make much distinction between humans and robots,” Ishiguro told Whitton. Whitton shared some photos with us here, but you can check out the rest at her website. Whitton is currently raising money on Kickstarter to continue the project. At the Intelligent Robotics lab, Ishiguro researches the potential for robots to have sonzaikan, which roughly translates to "human presence." Ishiguro has made numerous android replicas of himself. His goal is to eventually make one that could completely replace him. This is one of his replicas. The latest version (shown here) is the Geminoid HI-4. It can mimic Ishiguro’s expressions through motion sensors and is capable of displaying a wide range of emotions. In theory, he could send the robot in place of himself to give speeches at conferences or conduct meetings. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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While studying at the London College of Communications, photographer Luisa Whitton was commissioned to shoot her dream project: visiting the robotics lab of Japanese scientist Hiroshi Ishiguro. We Can See Why People Are Crazy About A California Grilled Cheese Chain That Raised $10 Million In Venture Capital | ||
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Aged cheddar oozes out of the artisan white bread sandwich at a molten-lava pace. I bite into crisp strips of smoked bacon and macaroni noodles, and I kind of forget where I am in time and space. This is not your mom's grilled cheese. Fast-casual eatery The Melt, which is headquartered in the Bay Area, dedicates itself to savory and tech-savvy grilled cheese sandwiches starting at $5 a pop. And cheese aficionados across California are lining up at lunchtime for toasted creations as tame as The Classic (cheddar on artisan white) or as decadent as The Shroom (Swiss, portabello mushrooms, and grilled onions on sourdough).
The Melt opened with not-so-humble beginnings. The brainchild of Flip Video founder Jonathan Kaplan, Sequoia Capital — the firm that backed Apple, Google, Instagram, and Oracle — put up $10 million to get the chain off the ground in 2011. Today, a management team led by Kaplan and a board of directors including three prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalists, a former head of retail operations at Apple, and a James Beard award-winning chef, oversee 15 locations throughout California, including several in Silicon Valley. We stopped by The Melt's New Montgomery location in San Francisco to find out if it's worth dining out on grilled cheese that costs more than a loaf of white bread and packet of Velveeta combined.
When we arrived at 12:30 p.m. on a work day, young professionals packed the place, although the line moved quickly. The menu board contained eight grilled cheeses to choose from: four basics ($4.95) and four specialty sandwiches ($6.95). Diners could customize their sandwich with fresh tomato, jalapeno, or grilled onion at no cost; meat and other veggies run $1 – $2 per add-on.
I ordered the Mac Daddy, a bacon-macaroni-gluttony combo. It cost $6.95 and came with a pickle (or chips). It's evident that Kaplan's tech background influenced much of the ordering process. My initials popped up on an electronic order status board by the pick-up area, and when my sandwich was ready my initials jumped to the top with the words "Order up!'
While waiting for my coworker's sandwich to hit the counter, we noticed some patrons skip the line entirely. Part of The Melt's tech-shtick is its expedited online ordering process. When you place your order on the website or mobile app, you receive an email with a QR code that is unique to your purchase. You can go to any Melt location, walk straight to the pick-up area, and tap the QR code to a scanner to send your order to the kitchen. The Melt app also gives you the option to send your order to the kitchen without being inside the store, so it's ready for pick-up whenever you are.
Vice President of Operations Greg Hernandez told Gizmodo in an interview that the perfect grilled cheese combines a few criteria. The cheese needs to be ooey-gooey, the bread has to be crispy "but not hard like a crouton," and the sandwich as a whole should be moist without turning soggy. The contraption pictured below is the secret ingredient to cultivating this grilled cheese of technology lore. The sandwich cooks in the glorified toaster for approximately 50 seconds. While The Melt declined to take us behind the counter and teach us its ways, I have faith in a company that recruited NASA consultants to design its delivery transport boxes.
I soon discovered my trust was well placed. The Mac Daddy's bread tasted buttered and heavily herb-spiced, but the sandwich was not so greasy that it leaked all over my hand. The saltiness of the bacon complemented the rich mac and cheese, of which there was just enough.
The indulgent lunch filled me for most of the afternoon. I regret nothing. SEE ALSO: San Franciscans Are Lining Up To Eat This Sushi-Burrito Hybrid Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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CHART OF THE DAY: Twitter Is Having A Hard Time Attracting New Users (TWTR) | ||
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Twitter reported earnings for its fiscal third quarter of 2014 on Monday. Revenue, earnings per share, and even monthly active users (MAUs) fell right in line with Wall Street expectations. There was no grand surprise, and the company’s stock tanked roughly 9% after the announcement. Twitter’s monthly active users are arguably the company’s most scrutinized metric, since everyone cares about how Twitter plans to regularly attract new users. But while membership rises each quarter, the growth of MAUs on the network continues to slow down. According to Twitter’s data charted for us by BI Intelligence, Twitter reported 284 million MAUs in Q3 — up from 271 million in Q2 — but year-over-year growth is down to around 21% this quarter, whereas growth in the year-ago quarter was just shy of 38%. Twitter has been trying new things like “buy” buttons to increase user engagement, but this slowdown in MAU growth was somewhat expected. Business Insider’s Jim Edwards predicted earlier this year that the “temporary uptick” in MAUs was likely due to the World Cup, and that Twitter would likely have trouble figuring out how to keep that growth going through Q3 and Q4. Twitter needs another World Cup-size event, or some kind of new incentive, to drive more users to the real-time sharing network.
SEE ALSO: CHART OF THE DAY: Amazon's Growth Is Waning Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Customers Fire Back Against CVS And Rite Aid Over Apple Pay (AAPL) | ||
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Apple unveiled its new payment platform last week, but not everyone is thrilled with Apple Pay so far. When Tim Cook announced Apple Pay in September, he pointed out the large number of retailers prepared to support it. Absent from that list were two major pharmacies: CVS and Rite Aid. Both retailers have blocked Apple Pay at their stores, ostensibly because they're partnering with a different platform. That may pan out down the road, but consumers have taken to Twitter to protest CVS and Rite Aid. Here's what we're hearing:
SEE ALSO: Here's Apple's Reaction To CVS And Rite Aid Blocking Apple Pay Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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These Are The Best Headphones You Can Afford Right Now | ||
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It's getting close to the holiday shopping season, which means it's time to start eyeballing gift ideas for the audio buffs in your life. Thanks to comparison shopping platform FindTheBest and other gadget blogs known for their reviews like The Wirecutter, we can provide you with a definitive compilation of the best headphones you can buy. FindTheBest rates products by aggregating reviews from CNET, PC Mag, TechCrunch, Wired, and Laptop Mag. FindTheBest also looks at technical aspects like sensitivity, frequency, and impedance (signal obstruction). Whether you're looking for a pair of super cheap headphones for your morning commute or headsets that offer a more premium sound at a not-so-premium price, you're sure to find something you like on this list. Noontec Zoro HD Name: Noontec Zoro HD Price: $150 Sensitivity: 108 dB Impedance: 32 ohm What people are saying about them: Its CNET review said, "While their build quality is nothing special, the Noontec Zoro HD headphones improve on the original Zoros, offering audiophile-grade sound in a $100 pair of headphones." Average sensitivity for headphones is 104 dB. Low-sensitivity headphones require more power to produce the same quality of sound as its high-sensitivity counterparts. Sennheiser HD 558 Name: Sennheiser HD 558 Price: $180 Sensitivity: 112 dB Impedance: 50 ohm What people are saying about them: Its PC Mag review said, "The no-frills Sennheiser HD 558 is easily one of the best-sounding headphone pairs available in its under-$200 price range, but it isn't designed for easy use with mobile devices or computers." Average sensitivity for headphones is 104 dB. Low-sensitivity headphones require more power to produce the same quality of sound as its high-sensitivity counterparts. Harman Kardon HARKAR-BT Name: Harman Kardon HARKAR-BT Price: $200 Sensitivity: N/A Impedance: N/A What people are saying about them: Its CNET review said, "While its design may not be for everyone, the Harman Kardon BT is one of the best-sounding Bluetooth headphones available." Average sensitivity for headphones is 104 dB. Low-sensitivity headphones require more power to produce the same quality of sound as its high-sensitivity counterparts. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Consumer Reports Says Infotainment Systems Are Ruining Car Reliability | ||
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Consumer Reports released its annual Auto Reliability Survey on Monday and cited a growing problem that should be of significant concern to carmakers, regardless of where their brands finished in the ranking. "Multi-function, cross-linked infotainment systems and the associated in-car electronics are a growing reliability plague for many brands," the publication said in a statement. "Of the 17 problem areas CR asks about in its survey, the category including in-car electronics generated more complaints from owners of 2014 models than for any other category." Automakers have invested heavily in infotainment systems since consumers began demanding them in a wide variety of vehicles. Furthermore, the entire auto industry is looking forward to a future in which in-car electronics, displays, related infotainment systems, and advanced self-driving features will be increasingly prevalent, if not dominant. It can be difficult enough to engineer a highly reliable car from a strictly mechanical standpoint. There are quite literally a lot of moving parts. Bringing a whole new cluster of technologies into the picture has created additional pressures — and to a certain extent given Consumer Reports' testers more to find wrong. Obviously, with any new technology, it can take time to work out all the kinks. Longtime carbuyers can probably remember days when the old-school nuts-and-bolts of their vehicles were harder to count on. Over the past few decades, the overall quality of cars has improved greatly. A similar trajectory should emerge for infotainment systems. Consumer report noted that some automakers have improved their technology, alleviating problems from previous years. The publication also indicated that automakers finishing near the top of the reliability ratings typically fared better on the infotainment front. “Infotainment system problems generally don’t exist in a vacuum,” said Jake Fisher, director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports, in a statement. “A close look at the results suggests that cars with a lot of in-car electronic issues usually have plenty of other troubles, too.” SEE ALSO: Edmunds Tested The Tesla Model S For Over A Year And Found A Lot Of Problems Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The 10 Most Expensive Halloween Costumes Ever Sold On eBay | ||
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When it comes to Halloween costumes, some fans are willing to drop some serious cash to dress like their favorite characters. Some people turn to online marketplaces like eBay to find the perfect getup. Market research company Terapeak has compiled a list of the most expensive Halloween costumes ever bought on eBay. You'll be surprised to see just how much people are willing to spend. Someone dropped $2,300 on this recreation of Star Wars' 4-LOM droid costume. The winning bid on this Spider-Man costume was a cool $2,500. This Batman costume also went for $2,500. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Salesforce.com Will Soon Reveal Its Next $1 Billion Initiative: Health Care (CRM) | ||
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In fewer than 100 days, the Benioff Children's hospital will open in San Francisco, mostly thanks to a huge $200 million donation from Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne. The Benioffs have been working with the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) on building this hospital since 2010. It turns out that all that exposure to the way hospitals do business has given Benioff ideas. His company is set to announce in November a new initiative to sell cloud services software to the health care industry, according to Christina Farr and Bill Rigby at Reuters who broke this story. Salesforce.com thinks this could be its next $1 billion idea, sources told Reuters. And it's currently hiring like mad to go after it. Health care software is an interesting, and lucrative, nut to crack. Hospitals, doctors offices and related industries will spend $31.3 billion on tech by 2017, some market researchers predict. But because of privacy laws like HIPAA, they can't buy any old cloud service to store documents, chat, or send data to their phones or tablets. These services have to get certified with special security controls and get certain government stamps of approval. Remember Benioff started life as a teen coding genius and is still a bona-fide gadget geek known to wear two fitband wrist computers at once. And doctors love iPads. It makes sense that the hospital that bears his name would be the first to use a new app called CareWeb Messenger, built on Salesforce.com's cloud, Reuters reports. It will let doctors, nurses and patients chat on mobile devices while complying with HIPAA. Salesforce.com could try to sell it to other hospitals, although there's already a ton of competition in that market (HipaaChat, Doximity, for instance). It could also get into the electronic health care records business, following competitors like Microsoft and Oracle. And it will almost certainly try to get into the brand new field of consumer health care apps tied to the "Internet of Things," or devices outfitted with sensors. This take advantage of new sensors added to all sorts of health care monitoring devices, everything from pill bottles to contact lenses, will share data, and get their own apps. Salesforce.com wants to host those apps and help make them all work together. Work on that at Salesforce.com has already begun. In April, the company announced a partnership with Philips that will let care givers monitor patients with chronic conditions in their homes. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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6 Reasons Why Apple Pay Will Catch On And Walmart Will Have To Accept It | ||
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Over the weekend, Rite Aid and CVS quietly shut down Apple Pay in their stores. They're cutting off Apple Pay because they're part of a consortium of US retailers — called MCX — that is launching its own mobile wallet, which will compete with Apple Pay. At BI Intelligence, we think this is a very minor setback for Apple. We believe MCX merchants will ultimately accept Apple Pay in their stores. Here's why: 1. Consumers want security more than ever. As a result of the many data breaches at US retailers over the past couple of years, consumers are looking for a more secure option to protect their payment card data. Transactions made with Apple Pay do not transmit sensitive data, so even if transaction data is stolen it is useless for making fraudulent transactions. In addition, Apple's fingerprint reader Touch ID makes authenticating a payment faster and more secure than entering a password.  2. Apple Pay has the merchant infrastructure. Apple says Apple Pay can already be used at around 200,000 merchant locations, many of which are large retailers. But that number will grow quickly because a security update set by the major credit card companies will require retailers to update their credit card readers by late 2015 if they haven't already. When the merchants make the upgrade, they'll buy terminals that can accept Apple Pay to cover their bases. 3. Apple Pay has the consumer infrastructure. Forty-two percent of American smartphone users have an iPhone and over half of them are due for an upgrade. Once they upgrade, they'll have Apple Pay-compatible iPhones. All of the top banks in the US support Apple Pay and 500 additional banks will support Apple Pay in the near-term as well.  4. Passbook users will adopt Apple Pay. A quarter of American smartphone users already use Apple's coupon and loyalty wallet Passbook and usage is much higher among people with iPhones. Apple Pay is integrated into Passbook: People who use Passbook will use Apple Pay because it is easier to use your phone to redeem offers and then purchase goods, rather than redeeming offers with your phone and then paying by some other method.
6. Apple Pay is going to be global whereas MCX is national. Tim Cook has already emphasized the importance of Apple Pay in China. If MCX merchants continue to block Apple Pay they will likely be alienating foreigners on vacation who want to spend in their stores. The Bottom Line: Rite Aid, CVS, Walmart, and the other MCX merchants are going to have to eventually accept Apple Pay in their stores. Consumer behavior determines what payment methods merchants accept. Consumers will want to use Apple Pay and that will force MCX merchants to accept it. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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5. Apple is the only company that can change consumer behavior en masse. Apple has proven time and again that it can create the consumer fanaticism necessary to change consumer behavior quickly and on a massive scale, i.e music, telephony, and personal computing. We expect this will also be the case with paying in-store using a phone.
Here's What The First Hires At Apple, Google, And Other Top Tech Companies Are Doing Now | ||
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Who were the first non-founders at today's top tech companies, like Apple, Google and Facebook? Business Insider tracked them down and learned what they're doing. Some made millions, others saw fortunes slip through their fingers, and some have joined or founded other startups. Taner Halicioglu was Facebook's first "real" employee outside of the founders. He juggled a bunch of operations roles. Halicioglu worked for Facebook from October 2004 through November 2009. He had many roles to juggle but was a senior software and operations engineer when he left. After Facebook, Halicioglu joined Blizzard Entertainment as a lead reliability engineer. Halicioglu is now a computer science and engineering lecturer at UC San Diego. He is also an angel investor and startup advisor. See what other early Facebook employees are doing now >> Shel Kaphan was Amazon's first employee after Bezos and his wife. Kaphan joined Amazon in the fall of 1994 and worked there until 1999. He was initially Amazon's VP of Research and Development. By the time he left, he was Amazon's CTO. Now, Kaphan is doing what you'd expect most early employees to do: philanthropy and pursuing personal interests. He never retained co-founder status at Amazon, although he brainstormed the startup idea with Bezos before Amazon was incorporated. He and Bezos had a falling out, but Bezos once called him "the most important person ever in the history of Amazon.com." See what Amazon's other early employees are doing now >> Craig Silverstein was Larry and Sergey's first hire at Google. He left in 2012 to join education startup Khan Academy. Silverstein was employed by Google from 1998 until 2012. He worked on various projects there, and he mentored engineers. Silverstein also helped build Google's search engine. He is now Dean of Infrastructure at education startup Khan Academy. See what Google's other first 20 employees are doing now >> See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Concert Cellist Hooks Her Brain Up To Speakers To Create Bizarre New Music | ||
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Concert cellist, Katinka Kleijn, can play a duet with her own brain. "It was really interesting when I heard the sound of my own brain — or a translation of my own brain waves into sound," she says in the audio file below, first seen on Buzzfeed. Kleijn achieves such a feat by wearing an electroencephalography (EEG) headset, her composer Daniel Dehaan tells Business Insider. Billions of small cells called neurons compose the human brain. They communicate with each other by emitting electrochemical impulses, which the headset can measure. "It reads the electromagnetic impulses between neurons and the brain ... which aren't actually sound themselves but just signals," he says. Dehaan then uses a program called MAX to translate those signals into audio. Initially, they appear as data, which he must scale as directly as possible into values appropriate for sound. He doesn't assign brain waves instrumental sounds, like a clarinet or a drum. Instead, they create an entirely unique sound. "We receive 32 or 33 separate streams of numbers [from the headset] ranging from very small increments to to very large," Dehaan explains. Initially, the company who made the headsets wouldn't provide a key, a huge challenge the team. Another problem arises when translating the data too — most of the brain's electrical impulses occur at frequencies below what the human ear can hear. The brain exchanges electrical impulses at about 0 to 30 hertz, while human hearing ranges from 20 to 20,000 hertz. For some perspective, the cello has a frequency range of about 65 to 880 hertz. That means the human ear simply can't hear certain sounds. "You might feel a vibration in your heart or your chest though," Dehaan says. The frequency of brain waves also reveals information about the person's psychical and emotional state. For example, 8 to 13 hertz implies someone feels relaxed but aware, while anywhere above that implies alertness, agitation, tenseness, or fear. Colored spotlights during Kleijn's performances also indicate the strengths of her four affective states: meditation (blue), engagement (green), excitement (yellow), and frustration (red).
"I can't do what she does," Dehaan says. To start the rehearsal process, Kleijn needed to become accustomed to the sound of her own brain and learn to control it. Easier said than done. If the word "calm" flashed across the screen, the second Katinka would feel calm, she'd become excited about feeling calm, which would change the sound, Dehaan tells Business Insider. Then, she'd immediately become frustrated she lost the feeling of calmness, changing the sound once again. "You're constantly aware of your own emotions," he says. "And it's amplified because everyone else in the room also is." Watch the full video of her performance at the Chicago Cultural Center in 2013. Although Dehaan and his team aren't the first to use EEG technology for music, he considers their focus on the performer's experience rather revolutionary. "Did she [Kleijn] have a lot of coffee this morning? Did she have a good conversation with the last person she spoke with?" Dehaan inquires. "It open up this inner world of the performer while she performs." The audience hears the evolution of Kleijn's brain's response to stimuli. Exploring this technology and its relationship to the brain has potential far beyond music, as well. Dehaan remembers one concert in Washington, D.C. where a woman told him that she used a similar EEG headset of her mentally disabled son to help him better understand his brain. "The applications are endless," Dehaan says. SEE ALSO: 4 Weird Ways Music Affects The Brain SEE ALSO: What Our Brain Looks Like When It Hears Music Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Believe it or not, Kleijn has a much more difficult job than Dehaan. During a performance, she must play the cello and simultaneously react to words, like "grief" or "excitement" that flash across a screen in front of her along with small musical fragments. She controls when the words or fragments appear with two foot pedals while she plays. The World's 100 Most Desirable Employers | ||
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Everyone wants to work in tech these days — especially for big-name companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook. In fact, these tech giants topped LinkedIn's 2014 ranking of the 100 most in-demand employers, taking four of the top five spots. The professional networking site based its ranking on member awareness and engagement on LinkedIn by looking at how many people viewed employees' profiles and how many users followed the company's Company or Career pages within the last year. Here's the full list of this year's top employers, according to LinkedIn:
SEE ALSO: Google Tops List Of The World's 100 Most In-Demand Employers Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Tour The Creepy Factory Full Of Hands Where Rubber Gloves Are Made | ||
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Rubber gloves have a history in the medical field, the food industry, and even in the criminal business. They protect us from diseases and contamination and keep us from leaving finger prints at the scene of a crime. The world uses an estimated 100 billion rubber gloves each year in the medical business alone. To produce this kind of quantity, large factories will produce up to 45,000 rubber gloves per hour! Rubber gloves are manufactured in surprisingly creepy hand factories. Here's an inside peek into these hand-filled factories and how rubber gloves are made. Science Channel's great series "How It's Made," shows the process by which many products we use today are mass produced and is the source for most of the information in this post. They also have videos on how chocolate chip cookie dough, lace, and soap sculptures are made, among many others. The factories use dozens of ceramic or aluminum hand-shaped molds attached to conveyor belts. The conveyor belts move the reusable hands to various dipping stations. The first two stations, shown below, are solutions first of water and soap and then bleach that remove any residual material from the former run.
See the entire clip from the Science Channel's "How It's Made." SEE ALSO: Sanjay Gupta Uses Chocolate Sauce To Show Us How Easy It Is To Get Ebola SEE ALSO: Crazy Images Of Farmers Making Natural Red Dye From Bugs That's In Your Candy And Lipstick Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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After the hands are scrubbed clean and dipped into a vat of hot water, they enter a chemical bath. The chemicals coat the hand molds that then enables the liquid rubber to stick to the hands. The rubber substance won't adhere to ceramic directly. Watch the chemical coating process below.
After that, it's time for the rubber, which manufacturers fortify with stability-enhancing chemicals. As seen below, the hands spin after the rubber coating to remove any drops.
If allowed to dry at room temperatures, the liquid rubber will be weak and easily break. To strengthen the rubber, the factories bake it in an oven, shown below. This process, called vulcanization, provides the incredibly stretchy, durable, and flexible rubber gloves we know so well.
Following baking, the hands are washed, dried, and then spin through brushes that roll up the cuffs of the gloves that have now formed on the hand molds. This is an important step, because it makes the gloves easy to remove from the hands.
After the rubber is dry and the cuffs are rolled up, it's time to remove the gloves. This is either done manually, as shown below, or by machine. Workers will remove gloves made of synthetic rubber by hand because those gloves are stickier than traditional latex. Gloves made of latex can easily be sucked off of the hands with some pressure and air.
The final steps before packaging involve checking the gloves for any weak spots, holes, or other deformities. These tests include inflating the gloves with air, as seen below, and also filling some with water.
Finally, after surviving the creepy hand factory and passing thorough testing, the gloves are ready for packaging, shipment, and use. Whether you're performing surgery, prepping burritos, or making ridiculous-looking water balloons, you now know how these handy gloves are produced. A Comment About Artificial Intelligence Left Elon Musk Frozen On Stage | ||
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Artificial intelligence really spooks out Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. He's afraid, without proper regulation in place, it could be the "biggest existential threat" to humans. Musk was asked about AI at MIT's annual AeroAstra Centennial Symposium last week. He spooked himself out so badly answering the question, he was unable to concentrate for a few minutes after. "Do you have any plans to enter the field of artificial intelligence?" an audience member asked. "I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence," Musk replied. "If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful with artificial intelligence. I’m increasingly inclined to think that there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don’t do something very foolish. With artificial intelligence we’re summoning the demon. You know those stories where there’s the guy with the pentagram, and the holy water, and he’s like — Yeah, he’s sure he can control the demon? Doesn’t work out." According to Musk, AI humans are capable of building would make Space Odyssey's HAL 9000 look like "a puppy dog." The next question came from another audience member who asked how SpaceX plans to utilize telecommunications — something totally unrelated to AI. But Musk was too distracted to listen. "I'm sorry could you repeat the question?" he said. "I was just sort of thinking about the AI thing for a second." Here's the clip (start watching at the 1 hour 7 minute mark):
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Twitter Disappoints By Hitting Expectations, Stock Tanks (TWTR) | ||
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Twitter delivered a good earnings report, but it wasn't good enough. The numbers were all pretty much right in line, but the stock dropped 10% after the report hit. Basically, investors don't want Twitter to meet their lowered expectations, they want Twitter to blow them away. That didn't happen. Here are the numbers:
We're updating this page as we go, so refresh your page for the latest or just hammer this link. CHARTS VIA BI INTELLIGENCE:
SEE ALSO: Q&A WITH TWITTER CEO DICK COSTOLO Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Here's Apple's Reaction To CVS And Rite Aid Blocking Apple Pay (AAPL) | ||
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After accepting Apple Pay for the first few days, two major retailers, CVS and Rite Aid, have blocked the mobile payments system. The theory is that they're working on their own mobile payments system called CurrentC along with the rest of the Merchant Consumer Exchange (MCX), a consortium of major retailers. CurrentC likely won't launch until next year. Even though CVS and Rite Aid both have the special payment pads required to accept Apple Pay, they disabled the functionality over the weekend. In a statement Monday, CVS confirmed it is no longer accepting Apple Pay and similar mobile payment systems, but only said it was working on an alternative payment system. In a statement to Business Insider, an Apple spokesperson responded to the brewing battle: The feedback we are getting from customers and retailers about Apple Pay is overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic. We are working to get as many merchants as possible to support this convenient, secure and private payment option for consumers. Many retailers have already seen the benefits and are delighting their customers at over 220,000 locations. That's a nice way to say that Apple Pay is a hit, and retailers blocking Apple Pay are putting a bigger burden on their customers by removing a handy payment system without providing a good alternative. According to early reports, MCX's CurrentC app doesn't sound as private nor as convenient as Apple Pay. First, CurrentC uses QR codes that are scanned at registers to make payments. QR codes aren't very secure because they can easily be captured and put on another device. CurrentC may be able to get around that by requiring you to type in a PIN too. But that's still not as easy as Apple Pay Apple Pay, which only works in conjunction with the user's fingerprint. You just tap the phone on a pad and you're finished. CurrentC will also likely be used to track purchase history and spending habits, something Apple Pay can't do. Apple Pay is just as private as using a regular credit card. The only people who know about the purchase are you and your bank. It sounds like CurrentC will only work with checking accounts after you enter your bank account and routing numbers. It probably won't work with many major credit cards like Apple Pay can. Finally, CurrentC probably won't be available in as many locations as Apple Pay. While Apple Pay isn't ubiquitous enough to replace your wallet, it will be accepted more places than CurrentC likely will, according to analysis from Business Insider Intelligence.
SEE ALSO: Apple Pay works well, but it won't replace your wallet yet Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The State Of Android: How Developers, Retailers, And Publishers Are Driving Revenue On Google's Massive Platform | ||
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Android is underappreciated as a commercial platform — as a revenue driver for the e-commerce, advertising, and software industries. Too many analysts remain attached to an outdated idea of Google's mobile operating system as fragmented, malware-ridden, and low-end. They believe Android users don’t spend money on mobile and lack lifetime value. This is no longer true. In a new BI Intelligence report, we show how Android has translated its massive audience — an estimated 1.2 billion active users globally by the end of this year — into a solid platform for mobile-based businesses. Access The Full Report And Data By Signing Up For A Free Trial Today >> Here are the report's main takeaways:
The report is full of charts and data that can be easily downloaded and put to use. In full, the report:
For full access to the report on Android As A Mobile Business Platform and all our downloadable charts and data on mobile computing strategy and trends sign up for a free trial subscription today.
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The 21 Coolest New Businesses In San Francisco | ||
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Due to its progressive attitude and proximity to Silicon Valley, the Bay Area is ripe for hosting cool, new businesses. From a pirate supply store to bacon-centric eats we found the 21 most intriguing and innovative new businesses in San Francisco. We looked for businesses that opened in the last five years that bring something new to the San Francisco scene. Know a cool business we missed? Let us know in the comments. 826 Valencia Pirate Supply Store What it is: A general store for pirates and pirate enthusiasts. Why it's cool: A whimsical storefront for non-profit writing-tutoring center 826 Valencia, the 826 Valencia Pirate Supply Store sells everything you need to pillage and plunder. Here you'll find glass eyes, hooks, beard extensions, treasure chests, mermaid bait, and more dastardly products. Sales benefit 826 Valencia. Bacon Bacon 205A Frederick St. What it is: A bacon-centric food truck and cafe. Why it's cool: Bacon Bacon comes in the form of a food truck and a brick-and-mortar restaurant. And both serve, yep — you guessed it — all things bacon. The Bacon Bacon Truck rolls around San Francisco distributing six bacon-friendly sandwiches, including a pork meatball banh mi and grilled cheese, as well as french fries and root beer. Bacon Bacon also sells a bacon bouquet and chocolate-covered bacon. Canyon Market What it is: An urban "hybrid" grocery store. Why it's cool: Canyon Market leads the growing trend of hybrid grocery stores. This means that the market offers natural and regular groceries, as well as specialty lines that are tailored for the store's Glen Park neighborhood. The market has everything you could want in a grocery store: It host events, has in-store tastings, seasonal offerings, prepared foods — a very wide selection to meet your shopping needs. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Most Of The Eastern US Will Be Able To See A Rocket Launch Tonight — Here's Where To Look | ||
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A rocket launch tonight should provide a spectacular view for residents throughout the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern region of the US tonight. Turn your eyes skywards this evening at around 6:45 pm EDT to watch the Antares rocket on its way to the International Space Station. On Oct. 27, at 6:45 pm EDT, NASA is scheduled to launch their fourth Cygnus flight in history atop an Antares rocket, created by private space flight company Orbital Sciences Corporation. Cygnus is an automated cargo spacecraft — meaning no passengers aboard. But it does provide the astronauts on the International Space Station with much needed tools. This is the heaviest Cygnus launch yet — weighing in at a whopping 5,050 pounds. The launch is scheduled to take place at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Pad 0A on Wallops Island, Virginia, and NASA will begin broadcasting the event, live at 5:45 pm EDT (2:45 pm PDT). Below is a map of the regions that will be able to see, weather permitting, the rocket streak across the sky late this afternoon. The further you are from the launch site, the longer it will take for the rocket to become visible in the sky (that's the T plus seconds timing). For example, the outer pink ring will see the rocket 3.5 minutes after it lifts off:
These launches can be incredibly beautiful. Here's an image of a launch from last year, of the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer lander: SEE ALSO: This Is The Very First Photo Of Earth From Space SEE ALSO: NASA's Latest Rocket Launch Looks Breathtaking From A Distance Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Depending on where you are, will greatly affect the shape of the arc the rocket will make across the sky. For observers in Baltimore, MD, the rocket will be highest in the sky about 235 seconds after launch, or at about 6:49 pm EDT.
If you're in DC, look to the Jefferson Memorial. The rocket will first come into view about 96 seconds after launch.
If you're in New Jersey, look toward New York City. You should see the rocket pass right over the Empire State Building about 235 seconds after launch, or at about 6:49 p.m. EDT.
And if you're in Wallops Island, Virginia, the city where the launching site is located, you'll be able to see, in addition to the rocket, the ISS on the northwest horizon at 6:49 pm EDT.
If you get any shots of the rocket, send them with a description, your name, and location to our science team at A French E-Commerce Company Is Shutting Down In The US After An American Express Exec Left For PayPal | ||
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Vente-Privee, a French luxury e-commerce company, is shutting down in the US by the end of the year partially because an American Express executive left the company to be PayPal's new CEO, Erin Griffith at Fortune reports. Ventee-Privee, which focuses on flash-deals with premium brands, launched in the US in 2012 as a joint venture with American Express, with each side contributing $20 million. However, Ventee-Privee expected American Express to be a "passive investor," according to Griffith. American Express, on the other hand, wanted to help manage the business. Dan Schulman, the credit card company's president of enterprise growth, was apparently the only one at AmEx who wanted to keep the joint venture going. When he left to become PayPal's new CEO in September, the partnership fell apart. Ventee-Privee could have bought up American Express' ownership of its US operations, but it chose not to. Besides Schulman's departure, Griffith's sources cite a series of gaffes from Ventee-Privee's founders as cause behind the shut-down: They reportedly didn't want the US team to make the site more user friendly, made the US management re-shuffle positions multiple times, and commissioned a panting depicting themselves and the board as Jesus and the apostles at The Last Supper. Summit Partners, which acquired 20% of the company in 2007, reportedly also began pressuring the company to cut costs. Here's the full statement from Ventee-Privee on the news:
SEE ALSO: Google CEO Larry Page Explains Why He's Reorganizing The Company Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Microsoft Just Made Its Google Apps Killer Much More Attractive (MSFT) | ||
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Microsoft and Google are in a price war over your office documents — and Microsoft just took a big swing. Microsoft says it is giving away unlimited storage to customers who buy the cloud version of its Microsoft Office software, called "Office 365." This one-ups what Google is doing with its paid versions of Google Drive, called Google Drive for Work. Google Drive for Work costs as little as $5/user/month and restricts you to 30 gigabytes of online storage. For $10/user/month, you get 1 terabyte of online storage, until you add 6 people to the account ($60/month) and then storage is unlimited. To be fair, the paid versions of Google Drive are really geared toward business users, and businesses are biting. Google recently said it is signing up 1,800 new customers a week for the service. But Microsoft is doing well attracting consumers to Office 365, too. Microsoft launched Office 365 in early 2013, adding support for the iPad early in 2014. Microsoft now has 7 million customers for the product, the company said last week, and grew by 25% last quarter alone. For those buying Microsoft Office for personal or family use, Office 365 is arguably a better deal than a paid version of Google Apps. For the $6/month "Personal" version of Office 365, you'll get one account that has now has unlimited storage, plus copies of the Microsoft Office software that runs on your PC (Mac or Windows) and a tablet (iPad or Windows), for offline usage. And you can access these files on your phone, too (any flavor). For $10/month, you can get the Home edition of Office 365, which now includes unlimited storage. Plus you can install this on 5 devices, meaning you can share it across five people with different accounts. If you pay annually, it will cost $100/year. Some students can get Office 365 for free, too, if their universities are offering that. And in some cases, these accounts will now come with unlimited free storage, too. To compare, for $10/month, Dropbox gives you 1 terabyte of cloud storage, which is a LOT of storage — enough to hold millions of documents or 17,000 hours of music or 310,000 photos. But it's hard to argue with unlimited, especially if it comes attached to a bunch of useful apps. If, one day, you decide to stop paying for Office, files stored on your PC, or even in your cloud, won't go away. You can open them with another program, though you might lose some formatting. The software installed on your PC won't vanish either, though it will stop working. Here are the features of Office 365 ...
Compare to the features of Google Apps ...
SEE ALSO: This Is What Happens To Your Files When You Stop Paying For A Microsoft Office Subscription Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Humans Are About To Land A Probe On A Comet — Here's The Incredibly Tricky Process To Make It Happen | ||
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The moment we've all been waiting for is less than one month away. On November 12, the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft is scheduled to deploy the Philae lander in the first attempt in human history to land a probe on a comet — a feat not easily overcome. The Rosetta spacecraft has spent ten years in space before finally catching up with Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. And now that Rosetta is in orbit, it has one last mission: deploy Philae. This will take a series of complicated orbital movement, shown below.
Although Philae is not the first probe to make contact with a comet, it is the first probe to land on one. In July 2005, NASA sent the Deep Impact probe to a different comet, comet Tempel 1. Instead of landing, the probe struck the comet with incredible force, burying itself into the nucleus. It returned images of the surrounding crater it had carved out. Philae, on the other hand, will return the first images from the actual surface of a comet. The lander will also use its ten instrument to conduct the first analysis of a comet's composition while on the surface. The most exciting prospect of this ten-year endeavor are the revolutionary discoveries that await us upon touch down. Stay tuned! SEE ALSO: Humans Just Got A First Close-Up Look At A Comet And It's Mind-Blowing Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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A comet is one of the most unfriendly objects we could ever hope with which to make contact in the solar system. Jagged peaks and troughs make the surface dangerously uneven for a lander, and this comet — Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko — is rotating about its axis every 12 hours, meaning the landing point is always on the move.
Not to mention the dumbbell shape of the comet, all of which meant months of deliberation from scientists to discover a proper landing site, which will be on the head of the comet, shown below.
The first thing that the Philae lander will do when it touches down, is anchor itself to the ground. There will be no moving around for this probe. It will do all of its scientific analysis in one spot.
One of its primary goals is to investigate the comet's water content. It's possible that water on Earth was delivered by comets like Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Philae's analyses will hopefully determine whether this is the case, scientists explain in a short clip by the German Aerospace Center called Inside The Lab Of A Japanese Scientist Who Is Building A Robot Version Of Himself | ||
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Ishiguro is the director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory in Osaka, Japan, and one of the world’s leading roboticists. For nearly a decade, Ishiguro has dedicated his life to creating the most lifelike android possible. Once at the lab, Whitton was struck by the casualness of Ishiguro’s mission: to create a robot that could replace himself. While working tirelessly to create his robot, Ishiguro has been faced with the philosophical question of what it means to be human. “It’s a question of where the soul is. Japanese people have always been told that a soul can exist in anything and everything. We don’t make much distinction between humans and robots,” Ishiguro told Whitton. Whitton shared some photos with us here, but you can check out the rest at her website. Whitton is currently raising money on Kickstarter to continue the project. At the Intelligent Robotics lab, Ishiguro researches the potential for robots to have sonzaikan, which roughly translates to "human presence." Ishiguro has made numerous android replicas of himself. His goal is to eventually make one that could completely replace him. This is one of his replicas. The latest version (shown here) is the Geminoid HI-4. It can mimic Ishiguro’s expressions through motion sensors and is capable of displaying a wide range of emotions. In theory, he could send the robot in place of himself to give speeches at conferences or conduct meetings. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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While studying at the London College of Communications, photographer Luisa Whitton was commissioned to shoot her dream project: inside the robotics lab of Japanese scientist Hiroshi Ishiguro. Why This Startup Turned Down 'Life-Changing' Acquisition Money To Raise A 'Radically Transparent' $3.5 Million Round | ||
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Selling the company "would have been a life-changing event," COO Leo Widrich tells Business Insider, "and not just for the founders, but employees, too." Over the summer, he and the leadership team got everybody together on a Google Hangout to announce the happy news: They were turning the latest offer down. Widrich and CEO Joel Gascoigne said that they wanted to be running Buffer for a long time. "But what does that do for stock options?" an employee replied. Widrich was completely taken aback — stock options weren't considered at all in the decision-making process. They would have to go back to the drawing board. If they didn't want to sell the company, how could stock options make their value actually materialize? And how could the nearly 4-year-old company bring in investment without giving up control?
"This idea of a big exit in 10 years is antiquated," Widrich says. The normal startup drill is that the company raises round after round of funding, thereby diluting the value of the stock options handed out to employees. The options are worth less and less over time. So Widrich, Gascoigne, and the rest of Buffer's leadership team decided to go radically transparent. Widrich and Gascoigne have long emphasized transparency as a value: They made their salary formula transparent late last year, and they did the same with equity in April. Increasingly, transparency is becoming a best practice in the startup world: Basecamp CEO Jason Fried blogs openly about running his company, while Tony Hsieh has baked transparency into the culture of Zappos since the beginning. Now Buffer is bringing transparency to funding. Starting today, Buffer is raising $3.5 million in funding at a $60 million valuation — publically. A million of that will go to company growth, the other $2.5 million will provide a bit of liquidity to the founders and early team members, who can sell their stock options as part of the investment round. Buffer has already pulled in three investors: Collaborative Fund, Red Swan, and the Vegas Tech Fund. There's still If you want to take part, head to Buffer's AngelList listing. Widrich hopes it will help change the model for how funding works. "There are some people who will sell 5,000 shares, which gives them $30,000 or $50,000," Widrich says. "It helps with the downpayment of their house or the mortgage." It sets the precedent while Buffer is still small, he says. And those who keep their shares can obviously wait until Buffer is worth three, four, or five times more. "It's more like showing people, 'Hey, this is becoming real, that your stock options will materialize,'" Widrich says, "instead of you joining and saying 10 years from now if we ever IPO, you get some of that stock." SEE ALSO: 14 Surprising Things That Affect Your Willpower And Decision Making Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Over the past year and a half, the social media scheduling app 
The usual methods didn't sound great. The traditional means of getting to liquidity (turning stock options into cash) are through "exits," like making an initial public offering or getting acquired. This Lost Asimov Essay Found After 55 Years Contains 7 Great Ideas For Creativity | ||
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A friend of the brilliant writer and biochemist Isaac Asimov has stumbled upon one of the professor's lost essays in a bundle of old files. Scientist Arthur Obermayer said he came across the forgotten work, entitled "How Do People Get New Ideas?," earlier this month and published it in full on Technology Review. It was written when the pair worked informally together at MIT spinoff Allied Research Associates (ARA) in Boston, a company that "focused on the effects of nuclear weapons on aircraft structures." Half a century later, it's brimming with creative insight that's still relevant today. Asimov comes up with a host of points he believes help people create, basing his thoughts through the likes of Charles Darwin and his Theory of Evolution, one of the most famous ideas of all time. The essay is thought to have been written in 1959, when Obermayer had asked Professor Asimov to contribute to the work at ARA. Asimov's piece, his only formal input to the project, was written but never published; It was only used by a intimate group of researchers. They were working on antimissile research after the government realized no matter how much money was spent on improving technology at the time, Obermayer explains, it would remain "inadequate." The government wanted Obermayer and his team to "think outside the box" and Asimov, unsurprisingly, did. But he also decided not to continue, believing access to classified information would "limit his freedom of expression," and his ideas were, seemingly, misplaced. Luckily, they've been found. Here are seven lost ideas for creativity from Isaac Asimov:
SEE ALSO: Look How Many Of Isaac Asimov's Predictions About Robots Are Coming True Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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We Can See Why People Are Crazy About A California Grilled Cheese Chain That Raised $10 Million In Venture Capital | ||
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Aged cheddar oozes out of the artisan white bread sandwich at a molten-lava pace. I bite into crisp strips of smoked bacon and macaroni noodles, and I kind of forget where I am in time and space. This is not your mom's grilled cheese. Fast-casual eatery The Melt, which is headquartered in the Bay Area, dedicates itself to savory and tech-savvy grilled cheese sandwiches starting at $5 a pop. And cheese aficionados across California are lining up at lunchtime for toasted creations as tame as The Classic (cheddar on artisan white) or as decadent as The Shroom (Swiss, portabello mushrooms, and grilled onions on sourdough).
The Melt opened with not-so-humble beginnings. The brainchild of Flip Video founder Jonathan Kaplan, Sequoia Capital — the firm that backed Apple, Google, Instagram, and Oracle — put up $10 million to get the chain off the ground in 2011. Today, a management team led by Kaplan and a board of directors including three prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalists, a former head of retail operations at Apple, and a James Beard award-winning chef, oversee 15 locations throughout California, including several in Silicon Valley. We stopped by The Melt's New Montgomery location in San Francisco to find out if it's worth dining out on grilled cheese that costs more than a loaf of white bread and packet of Velveeta combined.
When we arrived at 12:30 p.m. on a work day, young professionals packed the place, although the line moved quickly. The menu board contained eight grilled cheeses to choose from: four basics ($4.95) and four specialty sandwiches ($6.95). Diners could customize their sandwich with fresh tomato, jalapeno, or grilled onion at no cost; meat and other veggies run $1 – $2 per add-on.
I ordered the Mac Daddy, a bacon-macaroni-gluttony combo. It cost $6.95 and came with a pickle (or chips). It's evident that Kaplan's tech background influenced much of the ordering process. My initials popped up on an electronic order status board by the pick-up area, and when my sandwich was ready my initials jumped to the top with the words "Order up!'
While waiting for my coworker's sandwich to hit the counter, we noticed some patrons skip the line entirely. Part of The Melt's tech-shtick is its expedited online ordering process. When you place your order on the website or mobile app, you receive an email with a QR code that is unique to your purchase. You can go to any Melt location, walk straight to the pick-up area, and tap the QR code to a scanner to send your order to the kitchen. The Melt app also gives you the option to send your order to the kitchen without being inside the store, so it's ready for pick-up whenever you are.
Vice President of Operations Greg Hernandez told Gizmodo in an interview that the perfect grilled cheese combines a few criteria. The cheese needs to be ooey-gooey, the bread has to be crispy "but not hard like a crouton," and the sandwich as a whole should be moist without turning soggy. The contraption pictured below is the secret ingredient to cultivating this grilled cheese of technology lore. The sandwich cooks in the glorified toaster for approximately 50 seconds. While The Melt declined to take us behind the counter and teach us its ways, I have faith in a company that recruited NASA consultants to design its delivery transport boxes.
I soon discovered my trust was well placed. The Mac Daddy's bread tasted buttered and heavily herb-spiced, but the sandwich was not so greasy that it leaked all over my hand. The saltiness of the bacon complemented the rich mac and cheese, of which there was just enough.
The indulgent lunch filled me for most of the afternoon. I regret nothing. SEE ALSO: San Franciscans Are Lining Up To Eat This Sushi-Burrito Hybrid Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Here Are The First 5 Cars From 'Fast And Furious 7' | ||
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On Monday, Universal released a 7-second clip (of course) from 'Furious 7,' the seventh installment of the Fast and Furious series. The clip, posted to the forthcoming film's YouTube channel and Facebook page, gives us a tantalizing sneak peek at the cars we'll see in the (probable) upcoming blockbuster. The clip — narrated by one of the film's stars, Ludacris — shows the arrival of the film's key characters in the lineup of supercars and muscle cars. The film, which is set open on April 3, is expected to continue the box-office success of its predecessors. And heads up: A new 7-second clip will be released every day until Nov. 1, when the official first full trailer will hit. Here are the 5 awesome vehicles that we'll see in the seventh installment of the film series. Bugatti 16.4 Veyron
The Bugatti 16.4 Veyron is nearing the end of its production life, but that doesn't mean the 1000-horsepower hypercar can't still be a star on the big screen. In the clip, Tyrese Gibson's character is seem emerging from the multi-million dollar ride. Ferrari 458 Berlinetta
The 458 Italia is one of the prettiest Ferraris in recent history. The 570-horsepower supercar is driven in the clip by Ludacris himself — just not at its top speed of 200 mph. McLaren MP4-12C
The MP4-12C is McLaren's follow-up to ths all-conquering F1 hypercar of the 1990s. The supercar is driven by Michelle Rodriguez in the clip — but again, not at its 200-mph top speed. Dodge Viper SRT-10
The Dodge Viper is a raw, old-school, speed demon. The car is powered by a 500-horsepower V10 engine, the Viper has a mystery driver — at least in this first clip. Dodge Charger R/T Hemi
The Dodge Charger R/T looks plain compared to the supercars and hypercars in the clip, but it's no slouch. The V8-powered Charger is crammed with menace. What is unknown is whether Vin Diesel's character is driving the insane, 707-horsepower version, with the Hellcat Hemi engine. If he is, he'll be virtually unstoppable. SEE ALSO: Here's A Guide To The 20 Different Versions Of The Porsche 911 You Can Buy Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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John Oliver Takes On The Sugar Industry In His Latest Hilarious Rant | ||
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The World Health Organization says a healthy adult should take in no more than six teaspoons of sugar a day, significantly less than what's contained in a single can of soda. The average American, meanwhile, takes in 22 teaspoons a day — more than three times the recommended amount. That overconsumption of sugar has been tied to a snowballing crisis of obesity and diabetes, but as John Oliver explains in his latest takedown on Last Week Tonight, it would be unwise to place all the blame on the shoulders of individuals. A significant portion of the food industry churns out a vast array of products packed with unseemly amounts of sugar while at the same time trying to keep those added sugars — and their long list of ill effects — hidden from consumers. "Is it really fair to describe sugar as a treat considering how much of it we eat all year round?" Oliver asks, explaining that sugar is found not only where you would expect to find it — cookies, candy — but also lurking in "savory" processed foods like salad dressings, bread, and crackers. He claims that the $5 billion dollar sugar industry has "fought for decades to project their products' health benefits," once even touting sugar as a diet aid:
"Really?" Oliver says, feigning surprise. "I'm not saying it's the only culprit, but it's definitely one of the key suspects." He points to a review of the research from 2013 that found that while the vast majority of independent studies found a link between sugar intake and weight gain and/or obesity, the vast majority of industry-funded studies found the exact opposite. The Food and Drug Administration has tried to shine a light in these muddied waters by proposing revisions to the ubiquitous nutrition labels that would prominently listed "added sugars," but the agency has been "swarmed with letters from every conceivable product," Oliver says — from yogurt and frozen-pizza-makers to groups representing the cranberry industry.
Oliver's proposal? The label should show how much sugar is in a given product by explaining the number of circus peanuts-worth of sugar it contains. "A can of Campbell's tomato soup? Five and a half circus peanuts," says Oliver. Watch the whole segment below. SEE ALSO: 15 Terrible Things That Happen If You Eat Too Much Sugar Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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And while that ridiculous ad may be old, Oliver quotes the current president of industry group The Sugar Association saying that science has shown that sugar "doesn't contribute to obesity or diabetes."
One point of contention? Consumer advocates want added sugars to be expressed using a measurement people can understand, like teaspoons, while industry groups have fought having "added sugars" listed at all, suggesting that — if it must be listed — it should be measured in grams. Harvard Psychologist Explains Why Buying Experiences Makes People Happier Than Buying Things | ||
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We make two kinds of purchases. We buy things: clothes, cars, and home goods. We buy experiences: meals, vacations, and movies. Research shows that experiences are the much better buy — if you're looking to maximize the happiness for your dollars. In one study of over a thousand Americans, people were asked to think about a material and experiential purchase they made with the hope of increasing their happiness. When they thought on which one made them happier, 57% of them said that the experiential buy gave them more happiness. Only 34% of respondents said material purchases make them happier. In a paper, Harvard psychologist and "Stumbling on Happiness" author Daniel Gilbert said that it has to do with the way we relate to objects versus events. We adapt to things quickly, but we get to anticipate and remember events. "After devoting days to selecting the perfect hardwood floor to install in a new condo," Gilbert and his coauthors say, "homebuyers find their once beloved Brazilian cherry floors quickly become nothing more than the unnoticed ground beneath their feet." But "in contrast," the authors continue, "their memory of seeing a baby cheetah at dawn on an African safari continues to provide delight." There's another reason why experiential buys — like a weekly cooking class — make for better investments in your personal enjoyment. When you buy experiences, you get to see a change happen in your environment and in yourself. "Whereas cherry floorboards generally have the same size, shape, and color on the last day of the year as they did on the first," the authors say, "each session of a year-long cooking class is different from the one before." Lastly, Gilbert argues that buying experiences makes us happy because we turn them into a part of our identities. If you take three weeks to explore Nepal, your treks around the Himalayas will become a part of who you think you are. SEE ALSO: Harvard Psychologist Says These 8 Principles Will Bring You The Most Happiness For Your Money Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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South Dakota's Democratic Senate Candidate Accused The National Party Of Sabotaging His Campaign | ||
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The Democratic Senate candidate in South Dakota on Monday publicly rebuked Democrats' national Senate campaign arm, accusing the group of intentionally sabotaging his operation to help an Independent candidate in the race. Democratic candidate Rick Weiland held a press conference at his campaign headquarters Monday and called on the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which jumped into the race with a $1 million buy two weeks ago, to start airing positive ads on his behalf or get out of the race. He said the ads aired so far have skewed negative against his Republican opponent, former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds, and haven't helped his campaign. He even suggested the DSCC was airing the ads to aid Larry Pressler, the Independent candidate. "Everybody knows the ugly attack ads you have been running against Mike Rounds help Larry Pressler, not the candidate of the party you are supposed to be campaigning for," Weiland said. "They make me, as the Democratic candidate, look like a dirty campaigner. They damage Gov. Rounds. And they let former Senator Pressler stand on the sidelines looking clean and gathering votes from disgusted South Dakotans, just as you intended them to do." South Dakota, which once looked like a potential surprise hold for Democrats on Election Day now appears to be slipping away. In three recent polls, Rounds leads by at least 9 points in a three-way race with Weiland and Pressler, a former Republican US senator from the state who has crept up in recent polls. Weiland's words on Monday highlight what has been a tenuous relationship between him and national Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has clashed with his predecessor, South Dakota's Tom Daschle, over Weiland's nomination. Reid has said Weiland "wasn't my choice" in South Dakota, and he all but conceded the race last year.
A DSCC spokesman refused to comment on the record when reached by Business Insider. However, Guy Cecil, the executive director of the DSCC, did insist to Bloomberg last week that the group's investment in South Dakota was actually intended to help Weiland. "We want Weiland to win," Cecil said. When asked if he would "mind" if Pressler came out victorious, Cecil reiterated the DSCC would "prefer" if Weiland won. Less than a week later, Weiland said his statement today was addressed to the DSCC and Reid. "I do not want phony help that actually helps Larry Pressler by attacking Mike Rounds over what appears to everyone to be my name because it says paid for by the national political party of which I am a member," Weiland said. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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CHART OF THE DAY: Twitter Is Having A Hard Time Attracting New Users (TWTR) | ||
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Twitter reported earnings for its fiscal third quarter of 2014 on Monday. Revenue, earnings per share, and even monthly active users (MAUs) fell right in line with Wall Street expectations. There was no grand surprise, and the company’s stock tanked roughly 9% after the announcement. Twitter’s monthly active users are arguably the company’s most scrutinized metric, since everyone cares about how Twitter plans to regularly attract new users. But while membership rises each quarter, the growth of MAUs on the network continues to slow down. According to Twitter’s data charted for us by BI Intelligence, Twitter reported 284 million MAUs in Q3 — up from 271 million in Q2 — but year-over-year growth is down to around 21% this quarter, whereas growth in the year-ago quarter was just shy of 38%. Twitter has been trying new things like “buy” buttons to increase user engagement, but this slowdown in MAU growth was somewhat expected. Business Insider’s Jim Edwards predicted earlier this year that the “temporary uptick” in MAUs was likely due to the World Cup, and that Twitter would likely have trouble figuring out how to keep that growth going through Q3 and Q4. Twitter needs another World Cup-size event, or some kind of new incentive, to drive more users to the real-time sharing network.
SEE ALSO: CHART OF THE DAY: Amazon's Growth Is Waning Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The 4 Words That Could Protect You From Layoffs | ||
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People who want to hold on to their jobs might want to make an extra effort to befriend their coworkers. The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted a study by Wharton professor Lynn Wu, which found that employees at a global information technology company were more likely to survive layoffs if they used the company's in-house communications platform to socialize with their peers. As part of the study, Wu tracked the messages sent by 8,037 employees over a two-year span, and measured how much each employee used words associated with socializing like "baseball," "football," "coffee," and "lunch." What she found was that workers with a higher percentage of these socializing words in their messages were more likely to keep their jobs during layoffs. Wu theorizes that having more friends in a company creates a wider network of people willing to tell others about your accomplishments, particularly when your job is on the line. "Through these socializing activities, network contacts get to know an individual better and are more likely to serve as strong personal advocates, particularly in situations of crisis and uncertainty," Wu writes. Conversely, Wu found that employees who used the social network to get business-related information from people with diverse roles within the company were more productive than those who didn't. In fact, these information-seeking employees were shown to generate higher billable revenues for the company than their peers. Since employees have limited time to communicate with coworkers while at the office, Wu finds there is actually a tradeoff for workers between using their messages to get more work done and doing so to secure their position at a company. SEE ALSO: Americans Can't Stop Working, And It's Becoming A Problem Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Customers Fire Back Against CVS And Rite Aid Over Apple Pay (AAPL) | ||
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Apple unveiled its new payment platform last week, but not everyone is thrilled with Apple Pay so far. When Tim Cook announced Apple Pay in September, he pointed out the large number of retailers prepared to support it. Absent from that list were two major pharmacies: CVS and Rite Aid. Both retailers have blocked Apple Pay at their stores, ostensibly because they're partnering with a different platform. That may pan out down the road, but consumers have taken to Twitter to protest CVS and Rite Aid. Here's what we're hearing:
SEE ALSO: Here's Apple's Reaction To CVS And Rite Aid Blocking Apple Pay Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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US urges online fight against IS as strikes hit jihadists | ||
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Mursitpinar (Turkey) (AFP) - The US-led coalition carried out fresh air strikes Monday against jihadists in Syria and Iraq as Washington called for the battle against the Islamic State group to be taken to the Internet. In Iraq, a car bomb explosion killed at least eight people in a Baghdad square after a suicide bombing reportedly left dead at least 14 pro-government fighters south of the capital. An AFP reporter in Turkey just across the border from Kobane said fierce clashes were raging in the strategic Syrian town, where Kurdish fighters have been holding off an IS offensive for weeks. The US military said its warplanes carried out four more air strikes near Kobane on Sunday and Monday. But there was no sign yet of promised reinforcements for the town's defenders, despite plans announced last week for Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces armed with heavy weapons to join them. A senior Iraqi Kurdish official said the deployment was being held up by Turkey, which has agreed to allow the peshmerga to pass through its territory. "We are ready to send them," said Mustafuz Qader, who heads the ministry responsible for the peshmerga. "We are awaiting the stance of the state of Turkey and because of this have not sent any forces," he said, without elaborating. Kobane has become a crucial symbol in the battle against IS, an extremist Sunni group that has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq, declared an Islamic "caliphate" and committed widespread atrocities. Washington has forged an alliance of Western and Arab nations to combat the group and on Monday met with coalition partners in Kuwait City to boost efforts to counter the jihadists' online propaganda. - IS 'perverts the innocent' - Retired US general John Allen, who is coordinating the US-led campaign against IS, said the group was promoting its "horrendous brand of warfare" online, where it "recruits and perverts the innocent". "It is only when we contest ISIL's presence online, deny the legitimacy of the message it sends to vulnerable young people... it is only then that ISIL will truly be defeated," Allen said, using an alternative name for the group. The coalition partners pledged to take steps to boost efforts to prevent the recruitment of foreign fighters for IS, including online. Concern is growing over the group's online influence in attracting foreign fighters and promoting attacks by disaffected Muslims on Western targets. The US military said the coalition had also carried out seven new strikes against IS in Iraq on Sunday and Monday, including near the key Mosul dam and southeast of the militant bastion of Fallujah. Iraq has struggled to regain territory taken by IS in a lightning offensive in June, though it announced at the weekend that its forces had retaken the town of Jurf al-Sakhr south of Baghdad. Sources said Monday a suicide bomber had subsequently detonated an explosives-rigged Humvee armoured vehicle near security forces and allied militiamen in the area, killing at least 14. And a car bomb exploded in Baghdad's busy Wathiq Square on Monday night, killing at least eight people, officials said. - Assault on Syrian city - Syrian rebels were meanwhile reported to have launched a major assault on the government-held city of Idlib in a bid to consolidate their control over the country's northwest. Rebels seized control of most of Idlib province early in Syria's three-and-a-half-year-old civil war but troops have held out in the provincial capital, resupplied by air. Fighters of Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and Islamist rebel units attacked the city from all sides from dawn, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Rebels made a previous attempt this year to take the city but Monday's assault was "the biggest since the beginning of the revolt" in 2011, said the Observatory's Rami Abdel Rahman. The rise of IS has destabilised the region, including in Syria's neighbour Lebanon where weekend clashes killed at least 16 people and forced thousands to flee a neighbourhood of second city Tripoli. Lebanese soldiers quelled Islamist militants in their Tripoli stronghold of Bab al-Tebbaneh and were in full control Monday, earning praise for their courage from the United Sates. "We condemn those who seek to sow chaos in Lebanon and are confident that the Lebanese people will persevere if they stand united in the face of this threat," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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REPORT: The FBI Has Raided The Home Of The 'Second Snowden' Leaking Stories To Journalists | ||
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For months, journalist Glenn Greenwald has suggested that Edward Snowden wasn't his only source of national security-related leaks. On July 4, Greenwald tweeted that it "seems clear" there were multiple leakers from inside the US intelligence apparatus, a statement that implied Snowden may have started a wave of disclosures from national security insiders that the US intelligence community would be powerless to stop. Now, Yahoo investigative journalist Michael Isikoff is reporting that Greenwald's second leaker is under federal investigation, specifically for passing along information on the US government's terrorist watch list that became the basis for a major story in The Intercept on Aug. 5. Isikoff reports that "The FBI recently executed a search" of the home of "an employee of a federal contracting firm," while "federal prosecutors in Northern Virginia have opened up a criminal investigation into the matter" of the alleged leaks. One source told Isikoff that investigators are pursuing the case, "but are not ready to charge yet." Shortly after The Intercept published its story in August, US officials told CNN that the scoop had convinced them that there was a second leaker within their ranks with access to sensitive national security information. Greenwald has used the existence of this second leaker to legitimize Snowden's actions. As Isikoff notes, there's one point in "Citizenfour," filmmaker Laura Poitras's recent documentary about the Snowden leaks, in which Greenwald reveals the existence of the other leaker to Snowden himself. "The person is incredibly bold," Snowden says when Greenwald tells him about the other leaker. "It was motivated by what you did," Greenwald replies. Additional leakers would potentially aid the case for offering some form of amnesty to Snowden. New leakers would prove the lack of a robust internal process for addressing the concerns of whistleblowers while helping to create the public pressure needed to reform the US national security apparatus — thus vindicating Snowden and bolstering the case for allowing him to return to the US. If the government has in fact identified a second leaker, the case will be a benchmark for how and whether the US's stance towards national security leakers has changed in the 16 months since the first Snowden disclosures. The alleged leaker revealed highly sensitive and compartmentalized information, and he or she would likely qualify as the most high-profile leaker to emerge since Snowden became a household name. Isikoff notes that some inside the intelligence community believe that federal investigators are now notably hesitant in pursuing criminal cases against leakers. This case may clarify whether the Snowden precedent, and over a year of national debate on the scope, purpose, and legality of the US's government's surveillance programs, has had any impact on the government's approach. SEE ALSO: The new Snowden documentary is utterly fascinating — and critically flawed Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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How JCPenney's Merchandising Strategy Could Backfire | ||
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The department store is increasingly phasing out brand names for private labels, a move that could "lead to market share losses similar to what was experienced in 2011," according to a recent report by Deutsche Bank. While department stores like Macy's and Nordstrom have worked to showcase name brands, JCPenney has focused more on offering private-label merchandise at a discount. JCPenney opened a design studio in New York's Soho last year to revitalize brands like Worthington and St. John's Bay. Making clothing in-house cuts out the middle man and allows JCPenney to make a bigger profit. The retailer can also afford to mark down private-label merchandise, theoretically attracting more customers. But Deutsche Bank analysts expressed doubt over whether the private-label brands are trendy enough to attract consumers who would rather wear brand names. The bank maintains its "hold" rating on the stock. JCPenney hired former Apple retail chief Ron Johnson to run the business in 2011. Johnson's strategy of abolishing sales and promotions drove away customers, leading sales to tumble 32%. He was fired after 16 months on the job.
JCPenney's new CEO, former Home Depot executive Marvin Ellison, will join the company in November.
SEE ALSO: 4 Reasons Buffalo Wild Wings' Business Is On Fire Follow Us: On Facebook Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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JCPenney's business, which has been increasingly stable since Ron Johnson left the helm in 2013, could be headed for a crash. 
Despite interim CEO Mike Ullman's attempts to bring back customers with sales, the brand has been hurt by declining mall traffic and poor consumer perception. 
These Are The Best Headphones You Can Afford Right Now | ||
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It's getting close to the holiday shopping season, which means it's time to start eyeballing gift ideas for the audio buffs in your life. Thanks to comparison shopping platform FindTheBest and other gadget blogs known for their reviews like The Wirecutter, we can provide you with a definitive compilation of the best headphones you can buy. FindTheBest rates products by aggregating reviews from CNET, PC Mag, TechCrunch, Wired, and Laptop Mag. FindTheBest also looks at technical aspects like sensitivity, frequency, and impedance (signal obstruction). Whether you're looking for a pair of super cheap headphones for your morning commute or headsets that offer a more premium sound at a not-so-premium price, you're sure to find something you like on this list. Noontec Zoro HD Name: Noontec Zoro HD Price: $150 Sensitivity: 108 dB Impedance: 32 ohm What people are saying about them: Its CNET review said, "While their build quality is nothing special, the Noontec Zoro HD headphones improve on the original Zoros, offering audiophile-grade sound in a $100 pair of headphones." Average sensitivity for headphones is 104 dB. Low-sensitivity headphones require more power to produce the same quality of sound as its high-sensitivity counterparts. Sennheiser HD 558 Name: Sennheiser HD 558 Price: $180 Sensitivity: 112 dB Impedance: 50 ohm What people are saying about them: Its PC Mag review said, "The no-frills Sennheiser HD 558 is easily one of the best-sounding headphone pairs available in its under-$200 price range, but it isn't designed for easy use with mobile devices or computers." Average sensitivity for headphones is 104 dB. Low-sensitivity headphones require more power to produce the same quality of sound as its high-sensitivity counterparts. Harman Kardon HARKAR-BT Name: Harman Kardon HARKAR-BT Price: $200 Sensitivity: N/A Impedance: N/A What people are saying about them: Its CNET review said, "While its design may not be for everyone, the Harman Kardon BT is one of the best-sounding Bluetooth headphones available." Average sensitivity for headphones is 104 dB. Low-sensitivity headphones require more power to produce the same quality of sound as its high-sensitivity counterparts. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Consumer Reports Says Infotainment Systems Are Ruining Car Reliability | ||
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Consumer Reports released its annual Auto Reliability Survey on Monday and cited a growing problem that should be of significant concern to carmakers, regardless of where their brands finished in the ranking. "Multi-function, cross-linked infotainment systems and the associated in-car electronics are a growing reliability plague for many brands," the publication said in a statement. "Of the 17 problem areas CR asks about in its survey, the category including in-car electronics generated more complaints from owners of 2014 models than for any other category." Automakers have invested heavily in infotainment systems since consumers began demanding them in a wide variety of vehicles. Furthermore, the entire auto industry is looking forward to a future in which in-car electronics, displays, related infotainment systems, and advanced self-driving features will be increasingly prevalent, if not dominant. It can be difficult enough to engineer a highly reliable car from a strictly mechanical standpoint. There are quite literally a lot of moving parts. Bringing a whole new cluster of technologies into the picture has created additional pressures — and to a certain extent given Consumer Reports' testers more to find wrong. Obviously, with any new technology, it can take time to work out all the kinks. Longtime carbuyers can probably remember days when the old-school nuts-and-bolts of their vehicles were harder to count on. Over the past few decades, the overall quality of cars has improved greatly. A similar trajectory should emerge for infotainment systems. Consumer report noted that some automakers have improved their technology, alleviating problems from previous years. The publication also indicated that automakers finishing near the top of the reliability ratings typically fared better on the infotainment front. “Infotainment system problems generally don’t exist in a vacuum,” said Jake Fisher, director of automotive testing at Consumer Reports, in a statement. “A close look at the results suggests that cars with a lot of in-car electronic issues usually have plenty of other troubles, too.” SEE ALSO: Edmunds Tested The Tesla Model S For Over A Year And Found A Lot Of Problems Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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How One Of NYC's Hottest Nightlife Groups Is Blowing Out Halloween | ||
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Don't know what you're going to be for Halloween yet? That can wait. What's really clutch is where you're going to party. Business Insider caught up with Jonathan Schwartz of NYC's Strategic Group to get the word on what he'll be doing. Since Strategic handles all the goings-on at Marquee and PH-D at the Dream Downtown, this is key information. Marquee will have six different DJs on deck with Burning Man style art cars and dancers wearing insane costumes designed by Carmela Lane. "The biggest difference between this year and last year," said Schwartz, "is that this will be more music driven, last year was more celebrity driven. Sorry if you missed Heidi Klum last year. However, this year you may find yourself upstairs in The Green Room — some addition VIP space being created specifically for this party. "At Marquee you're going to find a lot of nightlife staples... a really good crowd that likes to go late," said Schwartz. General admission will cost you $125. Table packages go from $3500 to $25,000. The party at the Dream Downtown will have two parts. There's the "The Animal Party" in The Gallery — where Strategic is bringing in 30 palm trees and Swedish producer Marcus Schossow to take care of the music. Costumes will have a black swan and yellow theme, and yes they will be nuts. Upstairs on the roof the party will be friends and family based. You'll still have DJ Theory on deck at PH-D, and Carmela Lane's insane costumes, "but it's not going to be somewhere where you're too overwhelmed," said Schwartz. Think more of an up-scale, Soho House vibe. Tickets to the PHD party will cost you $90 for general admission, $135 for an open bar from 9-12 pm. Tables start at $3,000 and go to $30,000. Check out fliers for all the action at The Dream Downtown below:
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The 10 Most Expensive Halloween Costumes Ever Sold On eBay | ||
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When it comes to Halloween costumes, some fans are willing to drop some serious cash to dress like their favorite characters. Some people turn to online marketplaces like eBay to find the perfect getup. Market research company Terapeak has compiled a list of the most expensive Halloween costumes ever bought on eBay. You'll be surprised to see just how much people are willing to spend. Someone dropped $2,300 on this recreation of Star Wars' 4-LOM droid costume. The winning bid on this Spider-Man costume was a cool $2,500. This Batman costume also went for $2,500. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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NBA POWER RANKINGS: Where Every Team Stands Going Into The Season | ||
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After a long, dramatic offseason, the NBA returns Tuesday night. The Western Conference is once again stacked, with basically the same teams vying for a playoff contention. The Eastern Conference, on the other hand, has been turned upside-down with LeBron James forming a new Big-3 in Cleveland, Derrick Rose returning for Chicago, and several young teams taking next steps into playoff contention. 1. San Antonio Spurs 2013-14 record: 62-20 (1st in West) Key additions: Re-signed Boris Diaw, drafted Kyle Anderson One thing to know: The Spurs are once again the reigning champions, and after returning all of their key players, the No. 1 spot is theirs to lose. 2. Cleveland Cavaliers 2013-14 record: 33-49 (10th in East) Key additions: Signed LeBron James, Mike Miller; traded for Kevin Love; hired David Blatt as coach One thing to know: On paper, this team is better than the Miami team that went to the NBA Finals last year. 3. Chicago Bulls 2013-14 record: 48-34 (4th in East) Key additions: Signed Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic; drafted Doug McDermott One thing to know: Depending on how much Pau Gasol has left, this could be Chicago's best offensive team of the Thibodeau era. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Salesforce.com Will Soon Reveal Its Next $1 Billion Initiative: Health Care (CRM) | ||
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In fewer than 100 days, the Benioff Children's hospital will open in San Francisco, mostly thanks to a huge $200 million donation from Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne. The Benioffs have been working with the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) on building this hospital since 2010. It turns out that all that exposure to the way hospitals do business has given Benioff ideas. His company is set to announce in November a new initiative to sell cloud services software to the health care industry, according to Christina Farr and Bill Rigby at Reuters who broke this story. Salesforce.com thinks this could be its next $1 billion idea, sources told Reuters. And it's currently hiring like mad to go after it. Health care software is an interesting, and lucrative, nut to crack. Hospitals, doctors offices and related industries will spend $31.3 billion on tech by 2017, some market researchers predict. But because of privacy laws like HIPAA, they can't buy any old cloud service to store documents, chat, or send data to their phones or tablets. These services have to get certified with special security controls and get certain government stamps of approval. Remember Benioff started life as a teen coding genius and is still a bona-fide gadget geek known to wear two fitband wrist computers at once. And doctors love iPads. It makes sense that the hospital that bears his name would be the first to use a new app called CareWeb Messenger, built on Salesforce.com's cloud, Reuters reports. It will let doctors, nurses and patients chat on mobile devices while complying with HIPAA. Salesforce.com could try to sell it to other hospitals, although there's already a ton of competition in that market (HipaaChat, Doximity, for instance). It could also get into the electronic health care records business, following competitors like Microsoft and Oracle. And it will almost certainly try to get into the brand new field of consumer health care apps tied to the "Internet of Things," or devices outfitted with sensors. This take advantage of new sensors added to all sorts of health care monitoring devices, everything from pill bottles to contact lenses, will share data, and get their own apps. Salesforce.com wants to host those apps and help make them all work together. Work on that at Salesforce.com has already begun. In April, the company announced a partnership with Philips that will let care givers monitor patients with chronic conditions in their homes. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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New York's Subway System Turns 110 — See How The City's Famous Trains Are Made | ||
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If you live in New York City, chances are you use the subway system daily. Love them or hate them, New York's subway cars are an iconic symbol of the city. But have you ever wondered how those cars came to be? We did, and since today marks the 110th anniversary of our glorious subway system, we thought we would find out. We took a trip (via subway, of course, as well as Metro-North rail) up to Yonkers, New York, to the Kawasaki Rail Car Manufacturing Facility, where many of New York's subway cars are completed and readied for service. What we found gave us a new perspective on the way we get to work every morning. Kawasaki has been making heavy rail cars since 1906. Their Yonkers factory recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Why Yonkers? An initial contract with the Port Authority for PATH trains stipulated that cars had to have final assembly done within a 25-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty. The building also used to be a Port Authority building. Rolling stock makes up 10% of Kawaski's manufacturing, which includes commuter rail, high speed rail, light rail, and heavy rail. At this site, they do final assembly of brand new cars, as well refurbish older ones. Kawasaki is the second largest manufacturer of train cars, owning 23.5% of the passenger rail market, just behind Bombardier with 30.1%. The third largest competitor is Siemens. Subway cars are built on contract from various authorities. The Yonkers plant has built and overhauled cars for the Port Authority, LIRR, PATH, SEPTA, and others. See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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6 Reasons Why Apple Pay Will Catch On And Walmart Will Have To Accept It | ||
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Over the weekend, Rite Aid and CVS quietly shut down Apple Pay in their stores. They're cutting off Apple Pay because they're part of a consortium of US retailers — called MCX — that is launching its own mobile wallet, which will compete with Apple Pay. At BI Intelligence, we think this is a very minor setback for Apple. We believe MCX merchants will ultimately accept Apple Pay in their stores. Here's why: 1. Consumers want security more than ever. As a result of the many data breaches at US retailers over the past couple of years, consumers are looking for a more secure option to protect their payment card data. Transactions made with Apple Pay do not transmit sensitive data, so even if transaction data is stolen it is useless for making fraudulent transactions. In addition, Apple's fingerprint reader Touch ID makes authenticating a payment faster and more secure than entering a password. 2. Apple Pay has the merchant infrastructure. Apple says Apple Pay can already be used at around 200,000 merchant locations, many of which are large retailers. But that number will grow quickly because a security update set by the major credit card companies will require retailers to update their credit card readers by late 2015 if they haven't already. When the merchants make the upgrade, they'll buy terminals that can accept Apple Pay to cover their bases. 3. Apple Pay has the consumer infrastructure. Forty-two percent of American smartphone users have an iPhone and over half of them are due for an upgrade. Once they upgrade, they'll have Apple Pay-compatible iPhones. All of the top banks in the US support Apple Pay and 500 additional banks will support Apple Pay in the near-term as well. 4. Passbook users will adopt Apple Pay. A quarter of American smartphone users already use Apple's coupon and loyalty wallet Passbook and usage is much higher among people with iPhones. Apple Pay is integrated into Passbook: People who use Passbook will use Apple Pay because it is easier to use your phone to redeem offers and then purchase goods, rather than redeeming offers with your phone and then paying by some other method.
6. Apple Pay is going to be global whereas MCX is national. Tim Cook has already emphasized the importance of Apple Pay in China. If MCX merchants continue to block Apple Pay they will likely be alienating foreigners on vacation who want to spend in their stores. The Bottom Line: Rite Aid, CVS, Walmart, and the other MCX merchants are going to have to eventually accept Apple Pay in their stores. Consumer behavior determines what payment methods merchants accept. Consumers will want to use Apple Pay and that will force MCX merchants to accept it. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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WHERE'S EMPLOYEE #1 NOW: What The First Hires At Apple, Google, And Other Top Tech Companies Are Up To | ||
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Who were the first non-founders at today's top tech companies, like Apple, Google and Facebook? Business Insider tracked them down and learned what they're doing. Some made millions, others saw fortunes slip through their fingers, and some have joined or founded other startups. Taner Halicioglu was Facebook's first "real" employee outside of the founders. He juggled a bunch of operations roles. Halicioglu worked for Facebook from October 2004 through November 2009. He had many roles to juggle but was a senior software and operations engineer when he left. After Facebook, Halicioglu joined Blizzard Entertainment as a lead reliability engineer. Halicioglu is now a computer science and engineering lecturer at UC San Diego. He is also an angel investor and startup advisor. See what other early Facebook employees are doing now >> Shel Kaphan was Amazon's first employee after Bezos and his wife. Kaphan joined Amazon in the fall of 1994 and worked there until 1999. He was initially Amazon's VP of Research and Development. By the time he left, he was Amazon's CTO. Now, Kaphan is doing what you'd expect most early employees to do: philanthropy and pursuing personal interests. He never retained co-founder status at Amazon, although he brainstormed the startup idea with Bezos before Amazon was incorporated. He and Bezos had a falling out, but Bezos once called him "the most important person ever in the history of Amazon.com." See what Amazon's other early employees are doing now >> Craig Silverstein was Larry and Sergey's first hire at Google. He left in 2012 to join education startup Khan Academy. Silverstein was employed by Google from 1998 until 2012. He worked on various projects there, and he mentored engineers. Silverstein also helped build Google's search engine. He is now Dean of Infrastructure at education startup Khan Academy. See what Google's other first 20 employees are doing now >> See the rest of the story at Business Insider  | ||
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Adidas Is Based In The Middle Of Nowhere, And That's Becoming A Problem | ||
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HERZOGENAURACH Germany (Reuters) - Adidas needs world-class designers, brand experts and technical whizzkids to improve its image against U.S. rival Nike, but persuading them to move to its headquarters in rural Germany is difficult. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The Exact Moment The Kansas City Royals Blew Their Best Chance To Win The World Series | ||
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After winning games four and five of the World Series, the San Francisco Giants are now one win away from their third World Series championship in five years. But for a couple of innings in game four things looked much different and it looked like the Kansas City Royals were cruising. In the third inning of game four, the Royals led the series 2-1 and rallied to score four runs and take a 4-1 lead in the game. With two runners still on base, Giants manager Bruce Bochy pulled starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong and brought in reliever Jean Machi who promptly walked the first batter he faced, loading the bases. At this point, the Royals had an 82% chance to win the World Series based on both in-game win probability and series win probability according to fivethirtyeight.com.
Machi struck out the next batter and the Royals couldn't add to their lead. However, two innings later, with a 4-2 lead, Eric Hosmer of the Royals was leading off the fifth inning. Fox broadcaster Harold Reynolds noted that the Royals had relievers ready to end the game and the Giants' best batters were due up in the bottom of the inning. "That's why [the top of the fifth inning] is a big half inning," said Reynolds. "for [Giants pitcher Yusmeiro] Petit to keep the score the way it is." But Hosmer led off the inning with a double over the first basemen's glove. The chances of the Royals extending their lead were good and once again Kansas City had an 82% chance to win the World Series. Those chances would have extended to 89% if the Royals could have added just one run.
Needless to say, Giants fans are worried.
But the Royals never scored in the fifth inning as Petit got Mike Moustakas to pop out to the shortstop, Omar Infante struck out, and Salvador Perez popped up to the second baseman to end the inning. Little did anybody know at this point, but Reynolds' comments were prophetic and this 9-pitch sequence was when things turned for the worse for the Royals.
Instead of the Royals extending their lead, the Giants tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning and went on to score nine runs over their next 21 batters covering three innings. The Giants won the game 11-4 to tie the series. The Giants then went on to win give five and have now outscored the Royals 14-0 over the last 14 innings in the World Series. Now down 3-2 in the series, fivethirtyeight's calculations give the Royals just a 29% chance of winning games six and seven. If only the Royals could have scored an extra run or two when they had chances in game four. We might be talking about the Royals needing just one win at home to take the series. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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4 Reasons Buffalo Wild Wings' Business Is On Fire | ||
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The good news comes at a time when casual dining chains like Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and Applebee's are struggling to attract customers. Shares are soaring in after-hours trading, a sign that Wall Street believes the restaurant chain's growth will continue. Here are a few reasons business is booming. 1. Paying attention to the calendar. This year has been full of sporting events, from the NCAA tournament to the World Cup. Buffalo Wild Wings pays special attention to the calendar and times promotions around these events, executives told analysts and investors on a conference call. Advertising restaurants as a go-to place to watch games was an effective tactic, writes Mark Brandau at Nation's Restaurant News. 2. Improving the experience. Buffalo Wild Wings has implemented several changes to make eating there more convenient. More than 190 restaurants have added tableside tablets, which allow customers to play games while they're waiting for food. The brand is also installing technology to pay at your table, eliminating the annoying wait after a meal. 3. Server technology. Buffalo Wild Wings is planning to equip servers with hand-held systems for sending orders to the kitchen or accepting payment from diners, Brandau writes. This will improve communication between servers and cooks and will help accuracy. 4. Focused strategy. Buffalo Wild Wings focuses on beer, wings, and sports, CEO Sally Smith told Business Insider last year. While casual dining restaurants in general work to differentiate in the space, Buffalo Wild Wings has succeeded by focusing on its strengths. SEE ALSO: The 8 Unhealthiest Restaurant Dishes In America Follow Us: On Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Buffalo Wild Wings Concert Cellist Hooks Her Brain Up To Speakers To Create Bizarre New Music | ||
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Concert cellist, Katinka Kleijn, can play a duet with her own brain. "It was really interesting when I heard the sound of my own brain — or a translation of my own brain waves into sound," she says in the audio file below, first seen on Buzzfeed. Kleijn achieves such a feat by wearing an electroencephalography (EEG) headset, her composer Daniel Dehaan tells Business Insider. Billions of small cells called neurons compose the human brain. They communicate with each other by emitting electrochemical impulses, which the headset can measure. "It reads the electromagnetic impulses between neurons and the brain ... which aren't actually sound themselves but just signals," he says. Dehaan then uses a program called MAX to translate those signals into audio. Initially, they appear as data, which he must scale as directly as possible into values appropriate for sound. He doesn't assign brain waves instrumental sounds, like a clarinet or a drum. Instead, they create an entirely unique sound. "We receive 32 or 33 separate streams of numbers [from the headset] ranging from very small increments to to very large," Dehaan explains. Initially, the company who made the headsets wouldn't provide a key, a huge challenge the team. Another problem arises when translating the data too — most of the brain's electrical impulses occur at frequencies below what the human ear can hear. The brain exchanges electrical impulses at about 0 to 30 hertz, while human hearing ranges from 20 to 20,000 hertz. For some perspective, the cello has a frequency range of about 65 to 880 hertz. That means the human ear simply can't hear certain sounds. "You might feel a vibration in your heart or your chest though," Dehaan says. The frequency of brain waves also reveals information about the person's psychical and emotional state. For example, 8 to 13 hertz implies someone feels relaxed but aware, while anywhere above that implies alertness, agitation, tenseness, or fear. Colored spotlights during Kleijn's performances also indicate the strengths of her four affective states: meditation (blue), engagement (green), excitement (yellow), and frustration (red).
"I can't do what she does," Dehaan says. To start the rehearsal process, Kleijn needed to become accustomed to the sound of her own brain and learn to control it. Easier said than done. If the word "calm" flashed across the screen, the second Katinka would feel calm, she'd become excited about feeling calm, which would change the sound, Dehaan tells Business Insider. Then, she'd immediately become frustrated she lost the feeling of calmness, changing the sound once again. "You're constantly aware of your own emotions," he says. "And it's amplified because everyone else in the room also is." Watch the full video of her performance at the Chicago Cultural Center in 2013. Although Dehaan and his team aren't the first to use EEG technology for music, he considers their focus on the performer's experience rather revolutionary. "Did she [Kleijn] have a lot of coffee this morning? Did she have a good conversation with the last person she spoke with?" Dehaan inquires. "It open up this inner world of the performer while she performs." The audience hears the evolution of Kleijn's brain's response to stimuli. Exploring this technology and its relationship to the brain has potential far beyond music, as well. Dehaan remembers one concert in Washington, D.C. where a woman told him that she used a similar EEG headset of her mentally disabled son to help him better understand his brain. "The applications are endless," Dehaan says. SEE ALSO: 4 Weird Ways Music Affects The Brain SEE ALSO: What Our Brain Looks Like When It Hears Music Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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The World's 100 Most Desirable Employers | ||
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Everyone wants to work in tech these days — especially for big-name companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook. In fact, these tech giants topped LinkedIn's 2014 ranking of the 100 most in-demand employers, taking four of the top five spots. The professional networking site based its ranking on member awareness and engagement on LinkedIn by looking at how many people viewed employees' profiles and how many users followed the company's Company or Career pages within the last year. Here's the full list of this year's top employers, according to LinkedIn:
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