Adidas Wilson's Blog, page 133
June 14, 2017
And Then IKEA’s Suddenly Like, ‘Wait. What If We Just Sell All Our Stuff on Amazon?’
Humans of Earth, I give you: Ikea and Amazon.
Some things are just meant to go together–so obviously that once they’re joined, it’s hard to imagine a time before. I’m thinking here of Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. Cheap wine and bad decisions. Avocado and toast. My wife and me (awwww … ). Now: Billy bookcases and free two-day delivery.
Before we get ahead of ourselves, this isn’t official yet (although you can suddenly find a bunch of Ikea products on Amazon’s site). Moreover, the Swedish company is being a bit coy (as we’ll see below).
But Ikea’s chief executive told Reuters recently that after spending the first few decades of the internet walled off in brick-and-mortar stores and on its own website, Ikea has now realized that “on digital platforms … the competitive landscape is changing.”
And, c’mon, we know what that almost certainly means, right? It means that in the near future, when you ask Alexa for Swedish meatballs, she (sorry, it) will know exactly what you want.
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Amazon, oh, will it be Amazon?
A bit of background. Ikea, as you know, is the Swedish furniture brand Americans both love and love to hate.
Downsides:
Assembling everything using an instruction book that looks it was written by Marcel Marceau, and
Fighting every other bargain-hunting human in your area on a Saturday morning as you navigate the blue-and-gold labyrinths
Set aside the instructions; we can’t help you there. But while Ikea’s website looks like someone took a paper catalog and tried to squish it onto a screen, there may soon be help for people who would rather shop online.
Here’s where we get to the coy part. Because even though you’d probably think this likely means Ikea is coming to Amazon, and just about everyone else probably also thinks this means Amazon, Ikea isn’t actually saying “Amazon.”
Not yet, anyway. One might expect there could be some förhandlingar to take place first.
“I leave unsaid on which (platforms),” Inter Ikea Group chief executive Torbjörn Lööf told Reuters, “but we will test and pilot, to see ‘what does this mean, what does digital shopping look like in the future, and what do digital shopping centers mean?'”
And if it’s Amazon, will it be Prime?
Way back in the beginning of the internet, people like me remember the original Pets.com, which was an online pet store (of course) that sold giant bags of dog food and cat litter–and promised free shipping on every order. In retrospect, this was kind of an insane business model, and it explains why Ikea might have a real issue in moving to a place like Amazon.
Part of the allure of Amazon–and smaller competitors, like Jet and Walmart’s digital store–is that the cost of shipping often winds up folded into the shopping cart. It’s not exactly free shipping; you’ve already paid for Amazon Prime, for example. But it does look like it to most people who don’t read fine print.
So can Ikea sell its products on third-party sites, without undercutting its direct digital and in-store sales–and on terms that could even make it eligible for programs like Amazon Prime?
I’m not sure how it will work. But if sellers can figure out how to ship a 300-pound Olympic barbell set for free, you’d have to imagine there’s a way to send an eight-pound Lack table without breaking the bank. We’ll all find out for sure next year, according to the Reuters interview–this all starts in 2018.
Source:
https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/ikea-selling-on-amazon-big-news.html
Hackers are selling Mac ransomware that could cause ‘real damage’
The idea that Mac computers are more secure than Windows machines might be a myth.
Security researchers have found two types of malicious software which apparently target Macs for the first time.
Ransomware — malicious software that encrypts your data and then demands payment for decryption — is more commonly a problem for Windows users, but it’s also recently been a growing problem for Macs.
What’s still less common on Macs is ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) schemes.
These are essentially affiliate models, where attackers use someone else’s ransomware package to launch an attack. They then hand over a cut to the ransomware author. The advantage is that you don’t need to be particularly tech-savvy to launch an attack by using someone else’s code. Attackers haven’t bothered targeting Macs, because most people use Windows.
It looks like that’s changing.
Research firm Fortinet found a RaaS programme called MacRansom advertised on the dark net, and while the programme doesn’t sound all that sophisticated, could still do “real damage.” We first saw the news on the BBC.
Fortinet’s researchers contacted MacRansom’s creators directly and received a message back. The creators claimed to be engineers for Yahoo and Facebook and that they were making their malware available “for free” because more people were buying Macs.
“Unlike most hackers on the darknet, we are professional developers with extensive experience in software development and vast interest in surveillance,” the anonymous authors wrote.
These are probably tall claims. Fortinet analysed MacRansom and described it as “far inferior” to equivalent programmes that target Windows machines, but said it could still cause mayhem.
“It doesn’t fail to encrypt victim’s files or prevent access to important files, thereby causing real damage,” the company wrote.
Fortinet advised Mac users to regularly backup their machines and be suspicious when opening unusual files.
Another set of researchers at AlienVault discovered more malware created by the MacRansom authors — this time malicious software that reads your files.
MacSpy was advertised similarly to MacRansom, and claimed to hoover up victims’ files, offer access to social media accounts, and disguise itself as a legitimate file.
AlienVault’s researchers said as more people buy Macs, there’ll be more instances of targeted malware.
They wrote: “While this piece of Mac malware may not be the most stealthy program, it is feature rich and it goes to show that as OS X continues to grow in market share and we can expect malware authors to invest greater amounts of time in producing malware for this platform.” According to Netmarketshare figures, more than 90% of the world’s computers run Windows. The second most popular operating system is Mac OS at 6%.
Source:
http://www.businessinsider.com/security-researchers-found-mac-ransomware-on-sale-2017-6
This makeup compact phone case will make it easier to apply makeup on the go
You have to somehow make sure your makeup doesn’t slide onto the floor each time the train jerks, while attempting to put on your lipstick without getting it all over your face. It’s not ideal.
One company is making it easier for us commuters – who would rather sleep in than put on makeup before leaving the house – to look good without spreading our makeup over the person next to us.
The Pout Case is a phone case that comes with a makeup compact attached to it. It’s dainty but it’s absolutely perfect for those who need to apply a little lipstick or foundation while on the go.
The case is the brainchild of Nafissa, a ‘dreamer, tech geek, and entrepreneur’ who was inspired to create it during a board meeting when having just come from the gym.
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Nafissa had found herself barefaced with no handbag in sight. She turned to her sister and received a compact under the table, which she went on to attach to her phone with a hairband before sneaking out of the room.
Immediately, she began working on Pout, believing her idea would help anybody turn a bad busy day into a good one.
Alongside having a great initiative, Nafissa has released the case in a range of colours, including black and gold, black and pink, white and gold, and white and pink.
Once you’ve selected your case color, you can go on to choose what you’d like in it – selecting between three seven shades of lipstick, four shades of foundation or some lip balm.
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This makeup compact phone case will make it easier to apply makeup on the go
‘Mario Kart’ is coming to virtual reality
One of Nintendo’s most popular properties is speeding towards a full-fledged virtual reality experience.
Bandai Namco has announced that their flagship virtual reality arcade, VR Zone Shinjuki, will open next month. The arcade will be nearly 40,000 square feet, according to a report in The Japan Times, and will feature over 15 virtual reality games.
But the highlight of the announcement was the reveal of an official “Mario Kart” game designed entirely for virtual reality.
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Players sit in a metal rig designed to look like a go-kart, wearing an HTC Vive headset as well as sensors on both of their hands. The race is seen in the first person, and famous “Mario Kart” items such as the red and blue shells are tossed at opponents by gesturing with your hands.
For now, you’ll have to book a flight to Tokyo if you want to play “Mario Kart” in virtual reality. However, an executive at Bandai Namco told The Japan Times that the goal is “to spread VR Zone facilities around the world.”
Source:
http://www.businessinsider.com/mario-kart-virtual-reality-nintendo-2017-6
Walt Disney World honors Lane Graves, boy killed by alligator
Wednesday will mark one year since an alligator at the Grand Floridian, at Walt Disney World, snatched a boy playing along the shore of the lake and killed him.
Disney will soon have a way to honor Lane Graves.
A sculpture of a lighthouse will soon stand on Disney property to remember the 2-year-old. The lighthouse is a symbol used by the Lane Thomas Foundation, which was set up by the Graves family following his death.
Graves and his family were vacationing from Nebraska in June 2016 when he was killed. He was scooping sand on the beach area when the alligator appeared out of Seven Seas Lagoon.
Lane’s father tried to grab his son and fight off the alligator, but it was too late.
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The Lane Thomas organization supports families of children in need of life saving organ transplants.
The lighthouse will be installed sometime this summer, in an undisclosed location.
Read Disney’s full statement below:
The Lane Thomas Foundation was created to give honor and light to Lane’s life. The foundation is dedicated to supporting families of children needing life-saving organ transplants. To provide continued awareness of the foundation and its mission, we’ve commissioned an original sculpture of the lighthouse the foundation uses as a symbol of love and hope, to be installed on our property this summer.” – George A. Kalogridis, President, Walt Disney World Resort
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Conductive 3D printed nanotubes developed in South Korea could advance wearable technology
As technology becomes more and more enmeshed within our everyday lives, it’s surely only a matter of time before more of us start wearing it on our bodies. It’s been dismissed as a fad, but according to a 2014 study by Forbes, 71% of 16- to 24-year-olds want wearable tech. After a couple of false starts with products like Google Glass, we could soon be seeing some more promising developments in this field, thanks in part to a recent breakthrough by scientists in South Korea. They have come up with a new way of 3D printing electronic microstructures, which will be useful in the construction of all kinds of components, particularly for wearable tech.
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The development of conceptually new technology applications is dependent in part on producing new structures and shapes for highly conductive materials. The smaller the structure, the smaller the electrical components need to be, and this gives designers and inventors more freedom to implement technology in new ways. 3D printing has been used in the past to make tiny structures that can be used for electronic components, but the technology was relatively limited in usage, according to the head of the South Korean research team, Seol Seung-Kwon. He and the rest of his scientists from the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute were able to 3D print highly conductive carbon nanotubes by developing a new type of printing nozzle.
The statement from the researchers says that, “To achieve high-quality printing with continuous ink flow through a confined nozzle geometry, that is, without agglomeration and nozzle clogging, we (designed) a polyvinylpyrrolidone-wrapped MWNT ink with uniform dispersion and appropriate rheological properties.” What this breakthrough has achieved is to make the advantages of 3D printing technology, such as its broad design scope and fast, cheap prototyping capabilities, available to electrical engineers without the manufacturing limitations that were previously stalling progress. Engineers making use of 3D printing can now have signficantly more control over the ink that they are using to produce 3D structures.
Making the tiny components needed for wearable technology is one new application that is particularly desirable. Advanced wearables require a bendable material that is still able to integrate a huge amount of miniature circuit boards and components. The carbon nanotubes that can now be 3D printed would fit this requirement perfectly, due to their high level of conductivity and their ability to be fitted together into a complex, flexible structure.
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Facebook’s AI crosses language barrier to assist in Spanish
Any technology that only works in English neglects 75% of the world. That problem is especially severe for Facebook with its global userbase. Yet most languages are being left out by the advances in artificial intelligence centered around natural language processing led by researchers in the U.S. and China.
But today marks a milestone for AI accessibility. Facebook Messenger’s artificial intelligence assistant “M” can now make recommendations in Spanish of Messenger features to use if it detects that that’s the language someone writes in. M Suggests rolled them out in English two months ago.
The feature scans the words and intent of your messages, then pops up optional suggestions from Messenger’s many features. Say “Te debo $20” and M suggests the payments feature. Write “Besos!” and it will surface lovey-dovey stickers you can send. Ask “¿Dónde estás?” and M pulls up the location sharing feature.
M Suggestions are now available to all Facebook users with their language set to Spanish in the US, and the feature is rolling out in Mexico.
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Last year Facebook added a multilingual sharing button so Pages can post in one language and have it appear to people in their native tongues. And now well over 800 million users see translated News Feed posts each month after Facebook dropped Bing to focus on strengthening the AI behind its own translation technology.
Hopefully the next step for Messenger will be real-time translation for conversation partners across languages, that way we can connect, cooperate, and commiserate with people from different cultures. We fear what we don’t understand. But if Facebook’s translation tech can show us just how similar we are to people from other countries, it could promote tolerance between all humans.
Source:
Facebook’s AI crosses language barrier to assist in Spanish
London Fire: 6 Dead, 74 Hurt in High-Rise Apartment Blaze
LONDON — At least six deaths were confirmed early Wednesday after a blaze ripped through a high-rise apartment block in the British capital as residents slept. At least 74 people were injured, according to authorities.
More than 250 firefighters battled the west London inferno through the night.
Local resident Tim Downie told NBC News he saw “people dangling children out the windows to try and get them to safety” as flames spread upward.
Witness Samira Lamrani said one woman wrapped a baby up “in some sort of thick blanket” and dropped the tot from around the 9th floor. “Miraculously the baby just sort of dropped in a straight line, and a guy just ran forward and the baby fell into his arms,” she added.
Local officials believe that several hundred people were in the building, which dates back to the 1970s. The high-rise had a “stay put” policy in the event of a fire — with residents urged to shut their windows and doors and await rescue.
London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton called it an “unprecedented incident,” adding that a “number of fatalities” had been confirmed. Police later put the death toll at 6, but warned that figure was likely to grow.
“In my 29 years of being a firefighter, I have never, ever seen anything of this scale,” Cotton said. “This is a major fire that’s affected all floors of the 24-story structure from the second floor upwards.”
She highlighted that “very large numbers” were rescued by emergency crews early on. But almost nine hours after the blaze broke out, Cotton admitted “we have absolutely no idea” how many people remained unaccounted for.
Michael Paramasivan was wearing only underwear and a robe when he fled the seventh floor about 35 minutes after the blaze was reported.
He described the scene in the stairwell as an “absolute horror story.”
Source:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/london-apartment-tower-erupts-flames-residents-scream-help-n772011
