Adidas Wilson's Blog, page 47
July 3, 2018
Want to start an Amazon delivery business? Here’s what you need to know
Amazon wants you to deliver its packages for them.
The online retailer launched a new program this week that helps people in the United States start their own businesses delivering Amazon packages. The move gives Amazon another way to ship its packages to shoppers besides relying on UPS, FedEx and other package delivery services.
Amazon.com Inc. says startup costs begin at $10,000, and the businesses created under the program would operate 20 to 40 vans and employ between 40 and 100 people.
Here’s what else to know:
WHO IT’S FOR: Amazon says those with little or no logistics experience can apply. And existing package delivery businesses can sign up, too. If they are approved to join the program, Amazon says those businesses can continue to deliver packages for other companies.
HOW DOES IT WORK: Those interested first need to apply at its website,logistics.amazon.com. The company will vet applicants and figure out if they’re the right fit. There’s also three weeks of training, including a trip to Amazon headquarters in Seattle, which you’ll pay for as part of the startup costs. At the training, Amazon says you’ll learn about its shipping operations and spend time in the field with an existing delivery provider.
WHAT AMAZON PROVIDES: Amazon says it will offer support to the businesses, including discounts on insurance, technology and other services. Amazon-branded vans will be available to lease and Amazon-branded uniforms can be bought for drivers. But keep in mind that those vans can only be used to deliver Amazon packages.
WHAT TO KNOW: The new business would be responsible for hiring staff, and Amazon would be the customer, paying for the deliveries.
WHERE DO I HAVE TO BE LOCATED?: Amazon says opportunities are available near its 75 delivery stations across the country. A map is available at logistics.amazon.com./marketing/getting-started.
WILL THIS PUT MY EXISTING DELIVERY COMPANY OUT OF BUSINESS?: Probably not. There are more packages to be delivered besides the ones shipped by Amazon. And Amazon says it will continue to use other delivery companies, and that this program is just another way to meet the growing amount of packages it needs to ship.
Mastering Apple iPad : IOS 12
Apple has unveiled the newest iOS version, iOS 12. The version will be available for both iPads and iPhones for free from late 2018. Below are some of the greatest features that you will experience with the new version. Apple confirmed that it is going to double down on performance to increase the speed and responsiveness in iPads and iPhones.So you’ve already set your iPad but do not know what step to take next? New iPad users usually do not know how to find and install good apps, organize, or delete them. Even if you know the basics, you might need a few tricks to get the most out of your iPad. A lot of navigation is done through touch gestures like touching an app to launch it or swiping your finger.
Introduction
CH.1 – A New User’s Guide To The iPad
Ch. 2 – How To Upgrade To iOS 11
Ch. 3 – How to customize your iPad
Ch. 4 – iPad iCloud: How To Backup and Restore
Ch. 5 – How To Use Siri On The iPad
Ch. 6 – How To Use The Virtual Trackpad On The iPad
Ch. 7 – How To Use FaceTime On The iPad
Ch. 8 – The iPad Accessory Guide
Ch. 9 – How To Control Your PC From Your iPad
Ch.10 – Find Your Location History In Google Maps or iPhone
Ch. 11 – Childproof your iPad
Ch. 12 – Set Up iMessage on the iPad
Ch. 13 – How to restore an iPad to Factory Default Using iTunes
Ch. 14 – What To Do If Your iPad won’t Charge Or Charges Slowly
Ch. 15 – How to reboot your iPad
Ch. 16 – How To Fix A Poor Wifi Signal On Your iPad
Ch. 17 – How To Save Your Wet iPad
Ch. 18 – IPad Recovery Mode
Ch. 19 – iCloud Photo Library on Your iPad
Ch. 20 – A Guide To iPad Home Sharing
Ch. 21 – iPad Settings
Ch. 22 – How To Sync an iPad with iTunes
Conclusion
June 28, 2018
June 20, 2018
‘Solo’ box office struggles may have doomed future ‘Star Wars’ spinoffs
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” may be the last “Star Wars Story” that Lucasfilm ever tells.
The production company has reportedly put plans for future standalone movies on hold following Solo’s dismal box office performance.
The spinoff was expected to rake in over $100 million domestically during opening week, much like it’s predecessor — “Rogue One” — did in 2016, when it opened to $155 million.
Solo wound up making just $84.4 million in the US its first weekend and $339.6 million worldwide over the next four weeks — with experts predicting a $50-80 million loss for Disney when all is said and done. Rogue One, meanwhile, made $424 million during its first four weeks in the US alone.
Sources close to Lucasfilm told Collider on Wednesday that they were putting all future Star Wars stories on the back burner as a result of the disappointing box office returns. This includes the previously rumored Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett films, which would’ve focused on the characters’ lives before “A New Hope,” the sources said.
Solo told the backstory of Han Solo, one of the original trilogy’s most beloved characters.
According to Collider, Lucasfilm will be focusing on “Star Wars: Episode IX” from here on out — which is slated to open in theaters next Christmas — and the new Star Wars trilogy that was announced late last year.
The company will also be working on a completely separate series of films, which will feature new characters and “be separate from both the episodic Skywalker saga and the recently-announced trilogy being developed” by Johnson, who directed “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” The movies are being written and produced by “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
https://nypost.com/2018/06/20/solo-box-office-struggles-may-have-doomed-future-star-wars-spinoffs/
Apple Watch Series 4: Rumored specs, price, release date
The Apple Watch debuted back in 2015, and in the three years since it’s become the top smartwatch on the market. But it’s also kept a pretty similar-looking design. Updates have included GPS and full swim-ready water resistance in the Apple Watch Series 2, and onboard cellular connectivity in Apple Watch Series 3. The next version could finally be where Apple makes some bigger changes in how it actually looks.
WatchOS 5, unveiled at Apple’s WWDC developer conference in San Jose, brings a number of fitness improvements to the table, an instant watch-to-watch walkie talkie mode, support for podcasts, and an ability to play audio from third party apps on the go.
This is what we think we know so far about the next Apple Watch, and what it might feature. We’ll keep updating this with the latest rumors and reports.
Likely release date: September
Apple’s last few iPhone events have all fallen around the week or two after Labor Day, and the Apple Watch has appeared alongside the iPhone the last two years. The Apple Watch Series 2 and Series 3 became available a week after both events, and it’s a good bet Apple will continue the trend.
Price? Expect more of the same
The Apple Watch has dropped a bit in price over the last few years, but the Apple Watch Series 3 starts at $329 (£329/AU$459), which seems like a logical territory for a next-gen model. A cellular version, just like Series 3, would cost more.
A bigger display
A spring report by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (who’s had a great track record on Apple rumors) says the next Apple Watch will have a 15% larger display. The existing Apple Watch models all have a fair amount of bezel that’s kept hidden by the smartwatch’s black borders and mostly black OLED readouts, but going for a more edge to edge look would make sense and open up more room for information and messages.
New solid-state, click-free buttons
Part of the next Apple Watch’s slimmer size could be due to a redesign of the clickable side button and spinning clickable digital crown. A recent report from Fast Company says that these buttons will be solid-state, with a phantom haptic-enabled click sensation much like the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 home buttons and recent MacBook trackpads. The Taptic Engine on Apple Watches are already extremely refined, and making these buttons solid-state could also help the watch be more water resistant.
Better battery life?
In the updated design, a larger-capacity battery (with better battery life) might fit. Or, maybe, the next Apple Watch will just be more efficient in using that battery. Part of that better battery life could theoretically come from new display tech: a Bloomberg report in the spring said Apple would be making its own MicroLED displays in future products. MicroLED tech seems to have benefits for wearables, making “slimmer, brighter, less power hungry” gadgets. Better battery life would be a welcome feature for a new Apple Watch: current Apple Watch models typically need daily charging.
A slimmer size, or the same?
The Apple Watch has had nearly the same look for three years: a bit bulbous, with rounded square edges. The changes in design reported so far don’t clearly indicate how much thinner it would be, or even if the watch could get larger. Maybe, like iPhone design refreshes, the Apple Watch Series 4 will end up staying similar in size but gaining extra performance, battery and screen size.
https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-watch-series-4-rumored-specs-price-release-date/
Facebook Groups may soon charge monthly subscription fees for access
Facebook will now let group administrators start charging $4.99 to $29.99 a month for exclusive membership in certain groups, the company announced today in a blog post. Parenting, cooking, and home cleaning groups will be the first ones to get the new feature as part of an early test.
As it stands now, free groups will remain intact, but they will soon have the option to launch premium sub-groups. For instance, lifestyle blogger Sarah Mueller’s Declutter My Home group is starting an Organize My Home group that costs $14.99 a month to join. And the Grown and Flown Parents group is making a College Admissions group that charges $29.99 for access to college counselors.
While in the past, Facebook groups have always been free, charging for a membership might heighten the sense of exclusivity and make a group feel more special to be in. A paywall may also just drive more people away.
Facebook says the new feature is so that group admins, who put a lot of time and dedication to growing their communities, can also earn money at the same time. The company also says admins could take the money they earn to create higher-quality content for the group as well, whether that be more posts, videos, or offline meet-ups and events.
For now, the feature is still an experiment on mobile and Facebook won’t be getting a cut of the subscription fees. As part of standard App Store and Play Store policies, Apple and Google will be taking a percentage of user subscriptions fees via iOS and Android, however. Still, this is just the beginning for Facebook’s efforts to monetize groups, which, unlike the News Feed, does not rely on advertising.
https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/20/17484876/facebook-groups-monthly-subscription-service-fees-access
Instagram expands into long videos, will compete with YouTube
Facebook Inc-owned (FB.O) social network Instagram launched a mobile app on Wednesday dedicated to user-generated videos up to an hour long, intensifying the competition for consumers’ time among ad-supported streaming services such as YouTube.
Called IGTV in a nod to traditional television, the service plans to feature videos from rising internet celebrities, artists and pets, some of whom have tens of millions of social media followers.
“Teens are now watching 40 percent less TV than they did five years ago,” Instagram Chief Executive Kevin Systrom said at an event to announce the launch in San Francisco. “It’s time for video to move forward and evolve.”
Instagram, which was founded in 2010 as a photo-sharing app, has surpassed 1 billion users, Systrom said.
Tech firms such as Facebook, Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) YouTube and Snap Inc’s (SNAP.N) Snapchat have been spending heavily to grow mobile video services that will attract both users and corporate brand advertising.
Courting stars to post videos is part of their strategies. Instagram said it has signed up personalities such as Lele Pons, who has 25 million Instagram followers, for IGTV.
Pons said she did not plan to choose sides between two of Silicon Valley’s largest companies. “I’m still going to be posting on YouTube as well as on Instagram,” she told reporters.
Facebook on Tuesday launched a separate effort to lure video makers away from YouTube, offering ways to make money on the Facebook app. YouTube said it plans to update its commercialization options this week.
Instagram does not immediately plan to share revenue with video creators but may in the future, Systrom said.
June 13, 2018
June 4, 2018
iBooks gets a redesign and new Apple Books branding in iOS 12
iBooks is getting a new update in iOS 12, with an updated redesign and a new name: Apple Books.
The new Apple Books will now feature a new “Reading Now” section when you first open the app, showing you a live preview of the book you most recently were reading and where you left off. There’s also an updated library view that puts a better emphasis on your content, and a new Apple Books store that appears to be inspired by the App Store redesign from iOS 11, with the same highlighted content for books and audiobooks that Apple’s already been offering with apps.
Apple Books will launch alongside iOS 12, which is expected to be out sometime this fall.
