Amazon AWS S3 outage is breaking things for a lot of websites and apps

Amazon’s S3 web-based storage service is experiencing widespread issues, leading to service that’s either partially or fully broken on websites, apps and devices upon which it relies. The AWS offering provides hosting for images for a lot of sites, and also hosts entire websites, and app backends including Nest.
Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/28/amazon-aws-s3-outage-is-breaking-things-for-a-lot-of-websites-and-apps/?source=Snapzu

The High Cost of Cheap Labor

There’s a crisis brewing in our [U.S.] fields, and it’s about to get much, much worse. By Brian Barth.
Read more: http://modernfarmer.com/2017/02/migrant-farm-workers-the-high-cost-of-cheap-labor/?source=Snapzu

Lana Del Rey using witchcraft to rid the world of Donald Trump

Any port in a storm.
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/lana-del-rey-witchcraft-donald-trump-new-album-song-a7600826.html?source=Snapzu

Snapchat's earliest employees.

We've rounded up 20 of Snapchat's earliest employees. Many of them were Stanford classmates of founders Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/snapchat-early-and-first-employees-2016-10?source=Snapzu

How Ikea's Billy bookcase took over the world

Ikea's humble bookcase epitomises a relentless pursuit of lower costs and acceptable functionality.
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38747485?source=Snapzu

The weird, contentious tradition of Oscars gift bags, explained

Though not affiliated with the Academy, the gift bags are a reliable (and wildly expensive) part of Oscars night.
Read more: http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/22/14688240/oscars-gift-bags-distinctive-assets?platform=hootsuite?source=Snapzu

Israel to Amazon: Stop selling Holocaust-denying literature

Israel's official Holocaust memorial has asked Amazon to stop selling literature on its site that denies the genocide of 6 million Jews during World War II and otherwise promotes anti-Semitism. Yad Vashem's director of libraries Robert Rozett says he has dispatched a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos offering his assistance to "curb the spread of hatred." Rozett says Sunday that Yad Vashem has approached Amazon before on the subject but the internet retailing giant insisted it would not halt sales of offensive...
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israel-amazon-stop-selling-holocaust-denying-literature-45746218?source=Snapzu

RIP LivingSocial: The fast rise and slow demise of a daily deals company

The company, which was once valued at $6 billion , sold to rival Groupon for $0.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2017/02/25/rip-livingsocial-the-fast-rise-and-slow-demise-of-a-daily-deals-company/?utm_term=.0deeebc01efb?source=Snapzu

Bitcoin worth more than gold as price reaches all-time high

Industry heads cite global factors for surge; see the currency reaching $US2000 by the end of the year.
Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/technology/technology-news/bitcoin-worth-more-than-gold-as-price-reaches-alltime-high-20170224-gukw9r.html?source=Snapzu

Big banks rack up $6.4 billion in ATM and overdraft fees

If you've ever had to pay $3 (or more) to get your own money out of an ATM machine, you aren't alone. Nobody likes those fees. Except banks. America's three biggest banks -- JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC) -- earned more than $6.4 billion last year from ATM and overdraft fees, according to an analysis by CNNMoney that was verified by S&P Global Market Intelligence. That works out to over $25 in fees annually for every adult American.
Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/22/investing/atm-overdraft-fees-rise/?source=Snapzu

Businessman from China investing in Vancouver real estate ordered to repay millions

In what's being described as a landmark case, a businessman accused of disappearing from China, after withdrawing a loan there equivalent to $10 million and reappearing in Vancouver in possession of several multi-million dollar Lower Mainland properties, has been ordered to repay the money. In June 2016, lawyers for China CITIC Bank brought an application before a B.C. Supreme Court judge to freeze the assets of Shibiao Yan, who was accused of approving the withdrawal of a 50 million RMB line of credit extended to a company he controlled in China and never repaying it.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/chinese-real-estate-investor-to-repay-millions-1.3998380?source=Snapzu

ISPs who don’t want competition get good news from FCC chair

The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to eliminate a requirement that Charter Communications compete against other ISPs with new broadband deployments spurred by its purchase of Time Warner Cable. The FCC's approval of the merger last year required Charter to deploy broadband with download speeds of 60Mbps to at least 2 million residential and small business locations, of which at least 1 million must be in areas served by at least one other high-speed provider.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/02/isps-who-dont-want-competition-get-good-news-from-fcc-chair/?source=Snapzu

Mexican peso surges despite Trump threats

Maybe Mexico's "contingency plan" for President Trump is working out after all. Mexico's currency, the peso, is one of the best performers in the world in February, up over 5%. Before the U.S. election, the country's central bank started implementing what its governor, Agustin Carstens, called a "contingency plan." Carstens says Trump's potential policies would hit Mexico's economy like a "hurricane."
Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/24/news/economy/mexican-peso-rises-in-february/?source=Snapzu

A startup sale made this low-level employee into an Indian millionaire

Kumar, originally from the eastern state of Uttar Pradesh, joined the budding startup with an initial monthly salary of Rs8,000 ($120). As one of the first employees, Kumar was signed up for the employee stock ownership plan. He didn’t fully understand how it worked, but did grasp that it might yield long-term benefits.
Read more: https://qz.com/918745/a-startup-sale-made-its-peon-a-millionaire/?source=Snapzu

Lyft launches in 54 new cities, while Uber does damage control

While Uber does damage control for its reputation, competitor Lyft is sinking its teeth into more markets. Lyft is entering 54 new cities in its largest expansion to date, the company announced Thursday. New markets include Pensacola, Florida, and Amherst, Massachusetts, making for a total of nearly 300 Lyft cities across the U.S.
Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/23/technology/lyft-launches-54-new-cities/?source=Snapzu

Uber Is Doomed

If there is one quote that sums up the ethos of Uber, it might be this cut from the company’s firebrand CEO Travis Kalanick: “Stand by your principles and be comfortable with confrontation. So few people are, so when the people with the red tape come, it becomes a negotiation.” But after a month marked by one disaster after another, it’s hard to see how Uber’s defiant, confrontational attitude hasn’t blown up in its face. And those disasters mask one key, critical issue: Uber is doomed because it can’t actually make money.
Read more: http://jalopnik.com/uber-is-doomed-1792634203?source=Snapzu

Bitcoin Price Sets New All-Time High

Bitcoin has broken through its all-time price high.
Read more: http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-price-sets-new-time-high/?source=Snapzu

Website builder Wix acquires art community DeviantArt for $36M

Wix.com has made another acquisition to build out the tools that it provides to users to build and administer websites: it has acquired DeviantArt, an online community for artists, designers and art/design enthusiasts with some 325 million individual pieces of original art and more than 40 million registered members, for $36 million in cash, including $3 million of assumed liabilities.
Read more: https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/23/website-builder-wix-acquires-art-community-deviantart-for-36m/?source=Snapzu

Kim Dotcom seeks damages as prosecutors acted in ‘illegal’ way after extradition ruling, lawyer says

Kim Dotcom's legal team said the rest of the charges against him should be dropped.
Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/23/kim-dotcom-megaupload-extradition-court-case-seeks-damages-prosecutors-acted-in-illegal-way.html?source=Snapzu

I Went Undercover as a D.C. Swamp Creature. Here’s What Trump Doesn’t Get.

Like so many other things, the revolving-door process in Washington has been spoiled by Donald Trump. You know the revolving door—
Read more: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2017/02/going_undercover_through_washington_s_revolving_door.html?source=Snapzu

HSBC shares down as annual profit falls 62%

Shares in HSBC have fallen after the bank reported a steeper-than-expected fall in annual profits. It reported a $7.1bn (£5.7bn) pre-tax profit for 2016, down 62% on the $18.9bn reported a year earlier. HSBC attributed the fall to a string of one-off charges, including the sale of its operations in Brazil.
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39035691?source=Snapzu

Burger King owner to buy Popeye's for $1.8B

The company that owns Burger King added to its fast-food empire with a deal to acquire chicken chain Popeyes for $1.8 billion. Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King and coffee-shop chain Tim Hortons, said Tuesday that it had agreed to purchase the rapidly growing company formally known as Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen for $79 per share. Popeyes has more than 2,600 locations, about double what it had in 2008. Some 97% are franchises.
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/02/21/burger-king-popeyes-tim-hortons/98189186/?source=Snapzu

New EPA head Scott Pruitt's emails reveal close ties with fossil fuel interests

The close relationship between Scott Pruitt, the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and fossil fuel interests including the billionaire Koch brothers has been highlighted in more than 7,500 emails and other records released by the Oklahoma attorney general’s office on Wednesday. The documents show that Pruitt, while Oklahoma attorney general, acted in close concert with oil and gas companies to challenge environmental regulations...
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/22/scott-pruitt-emails-oklahoma-fossil-fuels-koch-brothers?source=Snapzu

"We Won't Block Pirate Bay," Swedish Telecoms Giant Says

Last week's landmark ruling compelling a Swedish ISP to block The Pirate Bay won't spread quickly, despite copyright holders' wishes. Telecoms giant Telia says that the ruling does not apply to them, so connectivity to the site will continue unless a court orders otherwise. Copyright holders are assessing their options.
Read more: https://torrentfreak.com/wont-block-pirate-bay-swedish-telecoms-giant-says-170221/?source=Snapzu

IKEA Growroom Is A DIY Sustainable Garden For City Dwellers

:Last week, IKEA released the plans for its latest innovation, The Growroom, a spherical multi-level garden that can grow enough food for an entire neighborhood. The plans are online and can be downloaded for free. The IKEA Growroom comes from Space10, the company's in-house design lab dedicated to creating future products. The IKEA Growroom doesn't come
Read more: https://cleantechnica.com/2017/02/20/ikea-growroom-diy-sustainable-garden-city-dwellers/?source=Snapzu

After seven years of bailouts, Greeks sink yet deeper in poverty

Greek pensioner Dimitra says she never imagined a life reduced to food handouts: some rice, two bags of pasta, a packet of chickpeas, some dates and a tin of milk for the month. At 73, Dimitra - who herself once helped the hard-up as a Red Cross food server - is among a growing number of Greeks barely getting by. After seven years of bailouts that poured billions of euros into their country, poverty isn't getting any better; it's getting worse like nowhere else in the EU.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-poverty-idUSKBN15Z1NM?il=0?source=Snapzu

Uber's Flying Car Plans

Uber’s mission is to “make transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere, for everyone.” They have started to make this a reality with their groundbreaking ride-sharing application. However, Uber does not want to stop at simply improving existing transportation options, they want to reinvent transportation as we know it.
Read more: https://www.autoauto.co/ubers-flying-car-plans/?source=Snapzu

Tiny, poor, diabetes-wracked Pacific island nations want to ban junk food, despite risk of WTO retaliation

Experts say the region’s health crisis is primarily driven by a decades-long shift from traditional diets based on root crops toward ones that are high in sugar, refined starch and processed foods.
Read more: http://boingboing.net/2017/02/20/tiny-poor-diabetes-wracked-p.html?source=Snapzu

NZ court rules Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom can be extradited to U.S. for alleged fraud

A New Zealand court ruled on Monday that internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom could be extradited to the United States to face charges relating to his Megaupload website, which was shutdown in 2012 following an FBI-ordered raid on his Auckland mansion. "I'm no longer getting extradited for copyright. We won on that. I'm now getting extradited for a law that doesn't even apply,"
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-newzealand-internet-dotcom-idUSKBN15Z07C?source=Snapzu

Is Megaupload's 'Crime' a Common Cloud Hosting Practice?

Five years ago the US Government launched a criminal case against Megaupload and several of its former employees. One of the main allegations in the indictment is that the site only deleted links to copyright-infringing material, not the actual files. Interestingly, this isn't too far off from what cloud hosting providers such as Google Drive and Dropbox still do today.
Read more: https://torrentfreak.com/is-megauploads-crime-a-common-cloud-hosting-practice-170218/?source=Snapzu

Welcome to the new dark ages, where only the wealthy can retire

It’s almost too easy to imagine the scenario. After spending most of our adult life in paid employment, the golden day arrives. A well-earned retirement. Suddenly we’re released from the grip of office email and that long commute. Finally we can enjoy our remaining time on Earth pursuing those interests we’d never had time for, perhaps reconnecting with family and finishing those repairs on the house. Above all, time to relax.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/14/wealthy-retire-austerity-pensioners-work?source=Snapzu

YouTube killing its most annoying ad format: The 30-second unskippable

If you watch any amount of videos on YouTube, you're probably accustomed to waiting five seconds before hitting that "skip ad" button. You're probably well aware of just how annoying it is when that button never appears and you're forced to sit through 30 seconds of a car commercial even though you live in New York City and don't even have a driver's license. Well, there's good news: Google is scrapping 30-second unskippable ads on its video site, reports Campaign (via Neowin). Recognizing that they're not tremendously popular, especially among data-capped mobile users, the company is pushing shorter formats to advertisers, such as the...
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/02/youtube-killing-its-most-annoying-ad-format-the-30-second-unskippable/?source=Snapzu

China says policies unaffected by Trump plan to bring factories back to U.S.

China is closely following U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to create more domestic jobs by encouraging U.S. companies to bring home or "reshore" their overseas production, but the government will not change its overall strategy, Industry Minister Miao Wei said on Friday. "Regarding President Trump's efforts to revitalize U.S. manufacturing and allow more U.S. companies to move back to the United States, we are paying close attention to these policies but they will not affect the development of China's manufacturing industry," Miao said at a press briefing.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-manufacturing-trump-idUSKBN15X03K?source=Snapzu

Marmite owner Unilever rejects Kraft takeover bid

Unilever, whose brands include Marmite and PG Tips, has strongly rejected a takeover bid from US giant Kraft Heinz. The UK-based household goods maker said it saw "no merit, either financial or strategic" in Kraft's offer, worth about $143bn (£115bn). But Kraft, which makes Heinz ketchup, indicated it would continue working on a deal, sending shares in Unilever surging more than 11%. The deal would be one of the biggest in corporate history.
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39006302?source=Snapzu

Bitcoin Price on the Rise Again After Regulatory Crackdown in China

It seems that the drama with the PBOC and regulations in China is becoming less and less significant, as these news don’t seem to have as much impact on the price. In fact, the price is on the way to recovered to pre-crackdown prices as Bitcoin is trading at $1035 on Bitstamp. On Feb. 9th, the PBOC released quite a threatening statement which tanked Bitcoin’s price 10%, on the bright side it looks like the worst is behind and Bitcoin is setting a new price floor at $1000.
Read more: https://themerkle.com/bitcoin-price-on-the-rise-after-regulatory-crackdown/?source=Snapzu

Monopolies Are Worse Than We Thought

Economists are increasingly turning their attention to the problem of monopoly. This doesn’t mean literal monopoly, like when one utility company provides all the power in a city. It refers to market concentration in general -- when an industry goes from having 20 players to having only 10, or when the four biggest companies in an industry start taking a bigger and bigger share of sales. This sort of creeping oligopoly acts much like a literal monopoly -- it raises prices, limits market size and tends to make the economy less efficient.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-02-15/monopolies-are-worse-than-we-thought?source=Snapzu

Walmart is being sued for inventing a fake craft brewery

America’s love affair with craft beers has been growing steadily over the past decade. The desire to pay slightly more in exchange for beer that doesn’t taste like it was watered down with the bitter tears of Adolph Coors’ ghost is responsible for the craft beer market growing by double digits for eight of the last 10 years, accounting for more than a tenth of total U.S. beer sales beginning in 2015. So it’s understandable that other companies might want to get into such a seemingly lucrative market.
Read more: http://www.avclub.com/article/walmart-being-sued-inventing-fake-craft-brewery-250375?source=Snapzu

Comcast, AT&T Are Paying Minority Groups To Support Killing Net Neutrality

For years, we've noted how one of the greasier lobbying tactics in telecom is the use of minority groups to provide the illusion of broad support for what's often awful policy. Such groups are given cash for a shiny new event center in exchange for parroting any policy position that comes across their desks, even if it dramatically undermines their constituents. As a result, we've shown how time and time again you'll see minority coalitions like the "Hispanic Technology & Telecommunications Partnership"...
Read more: https://www.techdirt.com/blog/netneutrality/articles/20170213/14460536703/comcast-att-are-paying-minority-groups-to-support-killing-net-neutrality.shtml?source=Snapzu

How I Set Aside Two Days Each Week To Work On Just One Thing

You already know about time "batching," but when those batch periods slide all over your schedule, they aren't much good to you.
Read more: https://www.fastcompany.com/3068137/work-smart/how-i-set-aside-two-days-each-week-to-work-on-just-one-thing?source=Snapzu

Toshiba chairman quits over nuclear loss

Toshiba chairman Shigenori Shiga has resigned, hours after the Japanese conglomerate revealed details of a multi-billion dollar loss. Earlier Toshiba had delayed issuing its results, but it then said it was set to report a net loss of 390bn yen ($3.4bn) in the year to March 2017. The company said it expected to take a 712.5 billion yen ($6.3bn, £5bn) writedown at its US nuclear business. The situation has led some analysts to warn the company's future is at risk.
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38965380?source=Snapzu

Employers are using technology to track their workers more closely than ever

Sensors and AI can keep tabs on employees better than any boss.
Read more: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603648/your-cubicle-has-ears-and-eyes-and-a-brain/?source=Snapzu

The world's most loved phone is going to be re-launched

Nokia will re-launch the 3310, perhaps the best-loved and most resilient phone in history. The phone, originally released in 2000 and in many ways beginning the modern age of mobiles, will be sold as a way of getting lots of battery life in a nearly indestructible body.
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/nokia-3310-mwc-2017-re-launch-buy-amazon-price-leaks-details-revealed-a7578941.html?source=Snapzu

How Deutsche Bank Made a $462 Million Loss Disappear

More than $10 billion in transactions never appeared on the books.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-01-19/how-deutsche-bank-made-367-million-disappear?source=Snapzu

How to stop seeing your Amazon searches everywhere

Tired of seeing your Amazon searches everywhere else? Here are some pointers on how to stop it
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2017/02/12/how-stop-seeing-your-amazon-searches-everywhere/97764058/?source=Snapzu

US travel industry has lost $185 million since Trump took office – and things are likely to get worse

President Trump has cost the US travel industry around $185 million (£148 million) in lost revenue, according to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA).
Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/north-america/united-states/articles/us-travel-industry-has-lost-185-million-since-trump-took-office-and-things-are-likely-to-get-worse/?source=Snapzu

Now sites can fingerprint you online even when you use multiple browsers

Online tracking gets more accurate and harder to evade.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/02/now-sites-can-fingerprint-you-online-even-when-you-use-multiple-browsers/?source=Snapzu

Burlington is the latest retailer to drop Ivanka Trump's brand online

The discount retailer Burlington Coat Factory no longer sells products from Ivanka Trump's brand online.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/burlington-drops-ivanka-trump-online-2017-2?source=Snapzu

Paint Shop Pro History: How One Guy Took On Adobe

Adobe was already a big company when it first made Photoshop, but its biggest competitor, Paint Shop Pro, was built by an airline pilot in his free time.
Read more: http://tedium.co/2017/02/09/paint-shop-pro-shareware-history/?platform=hootsuite?source=Snapzu

Sears, Kmart drop 31 Trump Home items from their online shops

Major U.S. retailers Sears and Kmart this week removed 31 Trump Home items from their online product offerings to focus on more profitable items, a spokesman said on Saturday. The decision follows retailer Nordstrom Inc's announcement this week it had decided to stop carrying Ivanka Trump's apparel because of declining sales, prompting President Donald Trump to take to Twitter to defend his daughter. White House spokesman Sean Spicer characterized the Nordstrom move as a "direct attack" on the president's policies.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-sears-kmart-drop-31-trump-home-items-from-their-online-shops-2017-2?source=Snapzu

Upset with Trump the President, consumers boycott Trump the brand

People are using their wallets to protest by boycotting companies associated with President Donald Trump.
Read more: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/consumers-boycott-trump-brand/?source=Snapzu