Universal Basic Income Is Inevitable, Unavoidable, and Incoming

The last time I saw universal basic income discussed on television, it was laughed away by a Conservative MP as an absurd idea. The government giving away wads of cash responsibility-free to the entire population sounds entirely fantastical in this austerity-bound age, where “we just don’t have the money” is repeated endlessly as a mantra. Money, they say, does not grow on trees. (Only as figures on the screen of a computer).
Read more: http://snapzu.com/darvinhg/universal-basic-income-is-inevitable-unavoidable-and-incoming

Disease evolution: how new illnesses emerge when we change how we live

The world’s scientific community is focused on how to improve detection and responses to emerging diseases such as Zika virus and Ebola. So what can we learn from the most recent large-scale outbreaks?
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Dino55/disease-evolution-how-new-illnesses-emerge-when-we-change-how-we-live

U.S. Labels Switzerland an Internet Piracy Haven

Every year the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) publishes its Special 301 Report highlighting countries that aren’t doing enough to protect U.S. intellectual property rights. In 2016 the report sticks to a tried and tested format, with countries such as China, Russia, India and Ukraine all making the Priority List once again. However, just as the USTR wasn’t afraid to place Canada on the Watch List several years ago, this year it has added another ally.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/hxxp/us-labels-switzerland-an-internet-piracy-haven

The Cable Industry Threatens To Sue If FCC Tries To Bring Competition To Cable Set Top Boxes

Back in February the FCC voted on a new plan to open up the traditional cable box to competition. According to a fact sheet being circulated by the agency (pdf), under the FCC's plan you'd still pay your cable company for the exact same content, cable operators would simply have to design systems -- using standards and copy protection of their choice -- that delivered this content to third-party hardware. The FCC's goal is cheaper, better hardware and a shift away...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/TNY/the-cable-industry-threatens-to-sue-if-fcc-tries-to-bring-competition-to-cable-set-top-boxes

The Impact of Patent Trolls

You may or may not be familiar with the term patent troll. Rather than creating an exciting new product or generating inventive ideas, patent trolls are typically known to use patents as legal weapons.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Appaloosa/the-impact-of-patent-trolls

Mark Zuckerberg Gets to Control Facebook a While Longer

Yesterday Facebook announced earnings, which were good. They were so good, in fact, that Facebook also announced a little present for Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and chief executive officer who got it to this happy place. Facebook said that it will create a new class of common stock, Facebook's third, to ensure that Zuckerberg can control Facebook as long as he wants to. Right now, Facebook has Class A stock, the normal publicly traded stock, with one vote...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/wildcard/mark-zuckerberg-gets-to-control-facebook-a-while-longer

Confession of a longtime publisher: I now use an ad blocker and I like it

Dear Internet, I have a confession to make. I’ve installed an ad blocker and not only do I like it, I intend to keep on using it. It may sound strange that one guy needs to confess his use of an ad blocker given there are some 200 million people (possibly more) using them today, but for me, it was a giant step. I’ve been a publisher on and off for many years, as well as being the founder and co-founder of two media startups, one of which took venture capital funding...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/socialiguana/confession-of-a-longtime-publisher-i-now-use-an-ad-blocker-and-i-like-it

Cloud Unit Pushes Amazon to Record Profit

Amazon swung to a better-than-expected first-quarter profit—its largest ever for a quarter—as the company benefited from surging growth in its Web services division.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/TentativePrince/cloud-unit-pushes-amazon-to-record-profit

Comcast's NBCUniversal buys DreamWorks Animation in $3.8-billion deal

NBCUniversal on Thursday said it has reached an agreement to acquire DreamWorks Animation in a deal valued at $3.8 billion. Under terms of the agreement, NBCUniversal's parent company, Comcast Corp., pledged to pay DreamWorks Animation shareholders $41 in cash for each share of their DreamWorks stock. The transaction is expected to close later this year, subject to an antitrust review by government regulators.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/rexall/comcasts-nbcuniversal-buys-dreamworks-animation-in-38-billion-deal

U.S. Steel Says China is Using Cyber Stealth to Steal its Secrets

The steelmaker is asking a U.S. agency to investigate its claims that the Chinese government not only dumps steel at unfair prices, but also uses computer hackers to steal intellectual property.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/rti9/us-steel-says-china-is-using-cyber-stealth-to-steal-its-secrets

Here’s all the money in the world, in one chart

Ever wonder how much money there is in the world? The answer is complicated, which you might expect -- but it has nothing to do with tallying up all the numbers. Rather, it’s more about what parameters are used.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Maternitus/heres-all-the-money-in-the-world-in-one-chart

Fantastic Fakes: Busting a $70 Million Counterfeiting Ring

When banks and businesses around the nation’s capital find counterfeit currency, they send it to the Washington field office of the U.S. Secret Service. One morning in May 2012, agent Adam Gaab entered its inventory room, a space filled with money counters, microscopes, ultraviolet lights, and other tools, and saw that a fresh batch of bills had just arrived. With jet-black hair and a baby face, Gaab, at 28, was one of the younger agents in the Secret Service.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/messi/fantastic-fakes-busting-a-70-million-counterfeiting-ring

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn sells entire stake in Apple

Icahn has sold his shares in the company over concerns at China’s influence on its stock price
Read more: http://snapzu.com/rti9/billionaire-investor-carl-icahn-sells-entire-stake-in-apple

SpaceX breaks Boeing-Lockheed monopoly on military space launches

The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday awarded billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX an $83 million contract to launch a GPS satellite, breaking the monopoly that Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Boeing Co (BA.N) have held on military space launches for more than a decade.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/rti9/spacex-breaks-boeing-lockheed-monopoly-on-military-space-launches

China rising: Highlights from the 2016 Beijing Auto Show

The Beijing Motor Show played host to some important launches, as well as some market-specific specials from brands keen for a slice of China's 1.35 billion-person pie. Have a flick through our gallery for all the new and exciting metal on display.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/china-rising-highlights-from-the-2016-beijing-auto-show

Amazon illegally billed parents for kids' in-app purchases, judge rules

Amazon illegally billed parents around the US for allowing their children to make in-app purchases without their knowledge or permission, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. The judge decided in favor of the Federal Trade Commission, agreeing with its complaint that Amazon surprised consumers with charges because it failed to sufficiently inform them that games labeled "free" could later allow purchases to be made.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/hedman/amazon-illegally-billed-parents-for-kids-in-app-purchases-judge-rules

Fed signals no rush to hike rates as economy hits soft patch

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, but kept the door open to a hike in June.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Appaloosa/fed-signals-no-rush-to-hike-rates-as-economy-hits-soft-patch

Why Saudi Arabia Will Struggle to Kick Its Oil Addiction

Read more: http://snapzu.com/Appaloosa/why-saudi-arabia-will-struggle-to-kick-its-oil-addiction

Copyright chaos: Why isn’t Anne Frank’s diary free now?

Anne Frank was a teenager who is now known the world over for her diary of life in hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II. She died in February or March 1945, at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where was she held, shortly before it was liberated. Since the applicable term of copyright in the EU is 70 years after the death of a writer, this means that her famous diary should now be in the public domain.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/dynamite/copyright-chaos-why-isnt-anne-franks-diary-free-now

How the Other Fifth Lives

For years now, people have been talking about the insulated world of the top 1 percent of Americans, but the top 20 percent of the income distribution is also steadily separating itself — by geography and by education as well as by income. This self-segregation of a privileged fifth of the population is changing the American social order and the American political system.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/FivesandSevens/how-the-other-fifth-lives

Nestlé’s Half-Billion-Dollar Noodle Debacle in India

Nestlé spent three decades building a beloved noodle brand in India. Then stumbled into a PR debacle that cost half a billion dollars.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/nestles-half-billion-dollar-noodle-debacle-in-india

YouTube debuts a 6-second ad format you can't skip, so start working on your patience

We’re all used to that five-second countdown before the skip button shows up on a YouTube pre-roll ad. Soon, you’ll have to wait just one second more and watch a full, “snack-sized’ video with the company’s new ad format. Called Bumper Ads, the short videos last just six seconds each – unlike most YouTube ads today that typically range between 15 seconds to a minute. According to Google and YouTube, Bumper...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/bkool/youtube-debuts-a-6-second-ad-format-you-cant-skip-so-start-working-on-your-patience

Apple is about to post its first quarterly revenue decline since 2003

Apple’s incredible growth streak is expected to officially come to an end today, April 26, when the company reports its second-quarter results after the market close. (Join us for analysis beginning at 4 pm ET, 1 pm PT.) After a dozen years of dramatic growth — led first by the iPod and Mac, and then the iPhone and iPad — Apple is expected to report that March quarter sales declined 10 percent year over year to around $52 billion.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/geoleo/apple-is-about-to-post-its-first-quarterly-revenue-decline-since-2003

The drink that costs more than gold

China’s ancient bushes of Da Hong Pao produce one of the most expensive teas in the world, astonishingly costing more than 30 times its weight in gold.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Dino55/the-drink-that-costs-more-than-gold

Cracker Jack replacing toys with digital codes insides boxes

Lovers of Cracker Jack popcorn will soon be in for a surprise when they go looking for the buried toy prize inside the box.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Appaloosa/cracker-jack-replacing-toys-with-digital-codes-insides-boxes

Mitsubishi admits it cheated on fuel mileage tests for 25 years

Japanese carmaker has lost half of its market value, $3.9bn, since it said fuel-economy readings were being falsified
Read more: http://snapzu.com/rti9/mitsubishi-admits-it-cheated-on-fuel-mileage-tests-for-25-years

Meet the pioneer who built his own empire in the Central Australian desert

A tin shed and lots of red dirt is what greeted the Severins when they moved to Curtin Springs.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Dino55/meet-the-pioneer-who-built-his-own-empire-in-the-central-australian-desert

This Dishwashing Liquid Says One Drop Does the Job, So It Made Single-Drop Bottles

A little dab'll do ya. Of Pril dishwashing liquid, that is, which has claimed for years that it can get any job done, no matter how greasy, with a single drop.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/this-dishwashing-liquid-says-one-drop-does-the-job-so-it-made-single-drop-bottles

Saudi Arabia Announces Sweeping Plan to Overhaul Its Economy, End Its “Addiction to Oil”

Saudi Arabia announced a long-awaited plan Monday to dramatically reshape the country’s economy, aiming to free it from its decades-long dependence on oil.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Appaloosa/saudi-arabia-announces-sweeping-plan-to-overhaul-its-economy-end-its-addiction-to-oil

Inside One of the World’s Most Secretive iPhone Factories

An exclusive look into a plant where Apple addressed claims of excess overtime.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/inside-one-of-the-worlds-most-secretive-iphone-factories

Is Social Media Screwing Over Explorers?

Young, tech savvy adventurers are taking sponsors and funding away from grizzled, old-school explorers who aren’t strong on Facebook and Twitter. But they don’t always pull off the awesome feats they say they will.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/is-social-media-screwing-over-explorers

Three Years After a Factory Collapse Killed 1,130 Workers, This Brand is Still Making Clothes in Bangladesh

The Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 was not only an unprecedented tragedy in the clothing industry — it also drew attention to the countless fast-fashion brands worldwide that were making their clothes in similar conditions.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/funhonestdude/three-years-after-a-factory-collapse-killed-1130-workers-this-brand-is-still-making-clothes-in-bangladesh

Does 'Piracy' Make Copyright Infringers Sound Cool?

According to the IFPI's head of anti-piracy, calling illegal downloading "piracy" has become somewhat of a hindrance. Those confronted with the term are more likely to romanticize the topic, Graeme Grant suggests, but can simply changing the name of something really change the beast?
Read more: http://snapzu.com/kxh/does-piracy-make-copyright-infringers-sound-cool

Welcome to the new feudalism – with Silicon Valley as our overlords

Are we facing another tech bubble? Or, to put it in Silicon Valley speak, are most unicorn startups born zombies? How you answer these questions depends, by and large, on where you stand on the overall health of the global economy. Some, like the prominent venture capitalist Peter Thiel, argue that virtually everything else – from publicly traded companies to houses to government bonds – is already overvalued. The options, then, are not many...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/tukka/welcome-to-the-new-feudalism-with-silicon-valley-as-our-overlords

Japan's Next Generation of Farmers Could Be Robots

As the average age of farmers globally creeps higher and retirement looms, Japan has a solution: robots and driver-less tractors. The Group-of-Seven agriculture ministers meet in Japan’s northern prefecture of Niigata this weekend for the first time in seven years to discuss how to meet increasing food demand as aging farmers retire without successors. With the average age of Japanese farmers now 67, Agriculture Minister Hiroshi...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/geoleo/japans-next-generation-of-farmers-could-be-robots

How vulnerable is our bank data to a cyber-heist? Very

Thomas Jefferson said “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” Well said, especially as it relates to your most sensitive financial info.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/how-vulnerable-is-our-bank-data-to-a-cyber-heist-very

How virtual tourism will help enhance real-world travel

VR tours are one of the newest and best ways to attract real-life tourists.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/how-virtual-tourism-will-help-enhance-real-world-travel

UK government considers 10-year jail terms for piracy

A period of consultation has led our government to think that 10 years in prison is a suitable punishment for sharing copyrighted material online. The figure was arrived at by Baroness Rolfe and her thinkers, and is the result of an almost year-long consultation into whether two years in jail is enough, or whether an extra eight is required. "These offences are currently punishable by a maximum of two years' imprisonment.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/timex/uk-government-considers-10-year-jail-terms-for-piracy

The Struggle for Land in the Middle East and Central Asia

In the Middle East and Central Asia, market-oriented reforms have changed the locus of political power
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Dino55/the-struggle-for-land-in-the-middle-east-and-central-asia

Amazon locks top games behind a Prime paywall (updated)

Some of the UK listings are starting to switch back, suggesting the Prime block was a mistake. At the time of writing Grand Theft Auto V remains Prime-only in the US, however. Our original article follows below. For many, Amazon is the go-to place to buy video games. Now, the company is using that influence to incentivise Prime by requiring a subscription for select game orders. As VideoGamer reports, this applies to top titles such as FIFA 16...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/zritic/amazon-locks-top-games-behind-a-prime-paywall-updated

In an Age of Privilege, Not Everyone Is in the Same Boat

Companies are becoming adept at identifying wealthy customers and marketing to them, creating a money-based caste system.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/in-an-age-of-privilege-not-everyone-is-in-the-same-boat

What Are Trees Worth to Cities?

Meet the scientist putting a dollar value on America's urban forests.  
Read more: http://snapzu.com/gladsdotter/what-are-trees-worth-to-cities

Are Men and Women Portrayed Differently in TV Ads

Fifty Academic Papers Have Shown Systematic Gender Differences in TV Commercials.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/are-men-and-women-portrayed-differently-in-tv-ads

Can This Tiny Island Restore Haitian Tourism?

ILE-A-VACHE, Haiti— Haiti’s mango season is short but famously abundant. With thin yellow skin and juicy, fragrant saffron flesh, the indigenous variety Francis ranks among the world’s finest and is the country’s second-largest export. In the heart of remote Ile-a-Vache, an island off Haiti’s southern coast, you’ll hear the fruit drop from branches.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Dino55/can-this-tiny-island-restore-haitian-tourism

Why Garbagemen Should Earn More Than Bankers

Thick fog envelops City Hall Park at daybreak on February 2, 1968. Seven thousand New York City sanitation workers stand crowded together, their mood rebellious. Union spokesman John DeLury addresses the multitude from the roof of a truck. When he announces that the mayor has refused further concessions, the crowd’s anger threatens to boil over. As the first rotten eggs sail overhead, DeLury realizes the time for compromise is over. It’s time to take the illegal route...
Read more: http://snapzu.com/drunkenninja/why-garbagemen-should-earn-more-than-bankers

Who would have thought buying a "ship your enemies glitter" website for $85k was such a wise investment?

How One Man Makes Serious Money From Funny Products
Read more: http://snapzu.com/nebraska/who-would-have-thought-buying-a-ship-your-enemies-glitter-website-for-85k-was-such-a-wise-investment

Why Thieves Steal Soap

Stealing soap is almost as good as stealing cash.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/why-thieves-steal-soap

78 Sears Kmart stores to close; see the list

Trying to cut its way to profitability, troubled Sears Holdings announced Thursday that it will close 68 Kmart and 10 Sears stores this summer in its latest move to cut losses. Sears' (SHLD) move (see the list of the stores) comes atop a previous announcement that it will close 50 other stores. Sales have been falling and Sears had a disappointing holiday sales season.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/everlost/78-sears-kmart-stores-to-close-see-the-list

McDonalds owes France 300 million in unpaid taxes

McDonald’s this week is battling the twin accusations that it owes France millions of euros in taxes and pays its workers unacceptably low wages.
Read more: http://snapzu.com/JazzofAllTrades/mcdonalds-owes-france-300-million-in-unpaid-taxes

How blockchain will revolutionise far more than money

Blockchain technology will revolutionise far more than money: it will change your life. Here’s how it actually works
Read more: http://snapzu.com/Dino55/how-blockchain-will-revolutionise-far-more-than-money