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Latest Alexa Products So, an Alexa-enabled microwave is something of a surprise, to say the least. The Microwave doesn’t have Alexa functionality built-in. Instead, it communicates with your existing Echo device. Instead of having to push multiple pesky buttons (what a drag), you can now just push the Alexa button and tell the microwave to heat up your meal for one (quite how the meal got into the microwave without you being close enough to just hit the on-button is another matter)....

Futurist and founder of the Future Today Institute, Amy Webb researches emerging technologies at the fringes and tracks them as they move towards the mainstream. She is focused on what technological changes are ahead, what impact they’ll have on business and society, and helps teach people on how to forecast the future. It’s hard not to be intrigued by the methods by which this kind of information is acquired. Fortunately, Webb outlines their tactics and tools in her latest book The Signals Are Talking....

The StudiesAccording to three separate studies, people who learn little in their jobs leave quickly. I’ve summarized those findings here: Organizations with a standard onboarding process experience 54% greater new hire productivity, along with 50% greater new hire retention. (Source) If employees feel they are learning and growing in your organization, you’ll be less likely to lose up to 60% of your entire workforce within four years. (Source) A study of employees at Corning Glass Works showed that new employees who attended a structured orientation program were 69% more likely to remain at the company up to three years....

From developing deep connections with other founders, finding unity and inspiration from other companies, and the immense amount of knowledge being taught, here are my top takeaways from the first two weeks. The Brilliant Minds Techstars is a network of truly amazing people. The way that the program is structured allows for the development of deep connections between founders, team members and associates. We kicked the program off with a weekend retreat, involving plenty of intense conversations and trust building exercises....

The latest filings, found this week, reveal details of two new models, which join the five that were discovered earlier in the month. The information gleamed from the ECC listings doesn’t give much away, but do provide us with an insight into what we can expect from Apple. We pick apart the details and see what they can tell us. New 2019 iPads: What do the Filings Tell Us? Honestly, not much....

When Apple Music relaunches on June 30, it will be integrated into iTunes, bring new features, and revival of the defunct social network Ping. The new service will allow users to stream music and music videos. Among the new features will be Beats 1; a free, always-on radio station hosted by three DJs in different countries. According to Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, Eddie Cue, current streaming music providers are essentially just playlists, and they are set to change this....

Awake Labs is a Canadian startup that is building technology to help empower people on the spectrum and make it possible to minimize the complications associated with sensory overload, including meltdowns. Known as Reveal, this wearable device allows parents, caregivers or the autistic person to closely monitor their body’s responses to everything that is encountered throughout the day. By using biometrics, Reveal can indicate when anxiety levels are changing....

This week while at the HR Tech Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas, the team announced a new channel focusing specifically on speaking with HR professionals. “Great employees are a company’s most valuable asset. Attracting, developing, training, and incentivizing those assets, requires deep knowledge of processes and technology,” stated Christie, CEO of Brainsy, Inc. “Through the HR Tech and Talent ECN, those seeking human resource expertise can buy incremental pieces of valuable advice or can immediately assess the fit of an individual expert for a longer term consulting arrangement....

Since then the accelerator, led by co-founder and Managing Partner Sara Hill, has blossomed into a unique flower. On one side The Mill works with entrepreneurs who simply have an idea for a startup while on the other side they work with already founded, early-stage startups. There’s a blurb on The Mill’s homepage that sums it up near perfectly, to me: How is Hill and her dedicated team accomplishing this goal?...

BuilDatAnalytics is a business analytics and information management company specifically for the construction industry. With the company’s software, they can customize a construction database for each project that provides up-to-date, real-time information to and from construction crews, solving the issues associated with working from outdated plans. The company is also looking to raise $2.5M in seed funding, with priority on hiring some key people who have already been of great help to the success of BuilDatAnalytics....

In the cities where the taxi commissions have been beaten out, they have to contend with these ridesharing platforms on all fronts. In fact, according to the team at Vesess, the world’s taxi industry that was worth $10 billion only a few years ago is now on the brink of extinction. There have been a number of dispatch software apps to emerge on the side of the taxi cab, but there haven’t been many that have succeeded....

The post, which showed only his hand holding a drink, included a caption reading “Cheers to my homies.” Shortly after its posting, many recently dismissed employees expressed their disapproval in the comments below the photo before the entire post was deleted. There’s been no public response to the post from the company or Holmes. One of the comments under the photo read “I love drinking after firing so many people!...

Manual or One-Click Install Given that you already have your domain, subdomains, and optional subfolders, you are at the point of installing WordPress by selecting a hosting package. If you want to manually install WordPress, there are plenty of great hosts to use. In that case, you will need to do a bit of homework: Does the host support WordPressHow many domains can you host? You may only want one now, but the future may be very different....

The report alleges that, between 2017 and 2019, a conservative estimate of about 80,000 Uyghur workers were “transferred” from their native region Xinjiang to work in the factories in “conditions that strongly suggest forced labor.” We explain below how the tech devices in your pocket may be the product of such labor practices. “Uighurs for Sale” Report The new report comes with the stark title “Uighurs for Sale,” and comes from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think-tank (ASPI)....

The problems stem from an update made to Chrome back in January, which – although controversial – Google has reiterated this week that it will not back down from. Google has promised to offer its own ad-blocking feature within Chrome. That said, it’s not quite as ruthless as you might hope. Luckily, there are a few alternatives, so read on for our recommendations on what you can do to block-while-you-browse....

While the Silicon Vally company hasn’t reported suffering any major consequences from the breach, the cybercriminals — with links to the Lapsus$ and Yanluowang cybergangs — claimed to have retrieved over 3,000 files containing 2.75GB of company data. Cisco hasn’t given into the extorter’s requests, but with phishing campaigns of this kind growing exponentially, it’s clear that companies need to do everything in their power to address employee negligence....

We recently sat down for a Q&A with David Yang of Coalition for Queens, one of the eight Techstars Foundation Grantees, to learn more about the organization and how it’s helping diversity in entrepreneurship. The company aims to create a tech community that is reflective of our society, with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. The Inception of C4Q C4Q was launched in 2011 by Jukay Hsu and David Yang with the mission to create economic opportunity through technology....

Granted, not all CEOs are on board with the concept, as a Microsoft survey in March 2022 found that 50% of business leaders are standing against work-from-home policies. Overall, though, Gallup predicts a 37% reduction for in-office work — even once our ongoing pandemic has waned. With a third of office desks going empty, businesses everywhere are faced with a meaningful new challenge: to establish perks that are attractive to employees who rarely or never set foot in the building....

Although the process of building an effective sales funnel can be challenging, you can make it easier by considering the following: Who is Your Audience? Every sales funnel should be built on a thorough understanding of your audience. Without this, you’ll just be moving forward blindly without a proper sense of direction, yielding significantly less results, while taking up a large amount of effort and investments. So you need to start by identifying your target audience and then making an effort to understanding them....