CRISPR used to edit rice DNA as defense against pathogen

Altering rice genes the pathogen needs renders rice strains resistant to blight.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/10/crispr-used-to-edit-rice-dna-as-defense-against-pathogen/?source=Snapzu

Billionaire activist Bill Ackman says WeWork has a 'high probability' of being worth zero

While speaking at the Robin Hood Investors Conference on Tuesday, the billionaire activist investor Bill Ackman said SoftBank might have to write off its entire investment in WeWork, according to the Financial Times. "I think WeWork has a pretty high probability of being a zero for the equity, as well as for the debt," Ackman said, according to the newspaper.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-could-be-worth-zero-activist-investor-bill-ackman-says-2019-10?source=Snapzu

Amazon makes grocery delivery free for Prime members

Amazon is eliminating its fee for grocery delivery in the United States as competition heats up in the rapidly expanding food delivery business. Before today, Amazon charged Prime members a $14.99 monthly subscription fee for its Amazon Fresh online grocery delivery service. Two-hour Whole Foods deliveries were free for many Prime customers through Amazon's Prime Now delivery app.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/29/business/amazon-fresh-grocery-delivery-free/index.html?source=Snapzu

New Mac Pro Receives FCC Approval Ahead of Launch

Apple's new Mac Pro has received FCC approval today ahead of its release later this year. Apple's website still says the new ‌Mac Pro‌ is "coming this fall," but FCC approval could signal an imminent announcement. The all-new ‌‌Mac Pro‌‌ is a powerhouse, with up to 28-core Intel Xeon processors, up to 1.5TB of ECC RAM, up to 4TB of SSD storage, and up to AMD Radeon Pro Vega II Duo graphics with 64GB of HBM2 memory. The computer also has eight PCIe expansion slots for maximum performance, expansion, and configurability.
Read more: https://www.macrumors.com/2019/10/30/2019-mac-pro-fcc-approval/?source=Snapzu

Facebook Employees Have Launched Their First Major Protest Against Mark Zuckerberg

As the tech industry transforms into a hotbed of employee dissent, Facebook employees have remained on the sidelines. Are they finally having their moment?
Read more: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gyznxm/facebook-employees-have-launched-their-first-major-protest-against-mark-zuckerberg?source=Snapzu

Amazon Turns to More Free Grocery Delivery to Lift Food Sales

Amazon has yet to find the key to unlocking huge grocery sales. Now, the company is trying a new tack: free delivery for more people. On Tuesday the company announced free two-hour grocery delivery for Prime members in more than 20 major metropolitan areas. The changes eliminate what had been a monthly $14.99 fee for people shopping on Amazon Fresh, its online grocery service that delivers milk, eggs, seafood and other perishable products from its warehouses.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/29/technology/amazon-prime-fresh-whole-foods-grocery-delivery.html?partner=IFTTT?source=Snapzu

A Cybersecurity Firm’s Sharp Rise and Stunning Collapse

Tiversa dominated an emerging online market—before it was accused of fraud, extortion, and manipulating the federal government.
Read more: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/11/04/a-cybersecurity-firms-sharp-rise-and-stunning-collapse?source=Snapzu

Spotify is profitable once again as it cuts costs and adds cheaper plans

Spotify announced today that it beat expectations for third-quarter revenue and posted an operating profit of €54 million (about $60 million). This marks the third time in its history that the company has turned a profit, but one of those profits was the result of a tax windfall in 2018 that pushed it into the black.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/28/20936612/spotify-q3-earnings-cheaper-plans-profitable-costs-cuts?source=Snapzu

Google, in Rare Stumble, Posts 23% Decline in Profit

Alphabet, Google’s parent, said its profits fell after a sharp increase in spending for research and development.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/technology/google-challenges-results.html?source=Snapzu

AT&T loses another 1.3 million TV customers as DirecTV freefall continues

AT&T tries to make peace with investors after losing 5M subscribers since 2016.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/10/att-loses-another-1-3-million-tv-customers-as-directv-freefall-continues/?source=Snapzu

Apple Is Patenting an Autonomous Navigation System That Learns

Apple's semi-secret automotive project, code-named Project Titan, might have been canceled earlier this year. Apple acknowledged in January that it had moved employees away from its autonomous-car project but said that it is still working on "autonomous systems and associated technologies."
Read more: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a29597755/apple-patent-self-driving-autonomous-navigation/?source=Snapzu

Spotify Saved the Music Industry. Now What?

Profits are hard to come by—and Apple and Amazon aren't going away.
Read more: https://fortune.com/longform/spotify-music-industry-profits-apple-amazon/?source=Snapzu

Why Trump's Tariffs May Ruin Black Friday

Take note, shoppers. While the holiday season is traditionally the best time of year to make your tech purchases, the ongoing trade war with China is throwing everything on its head.
Read more: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/why-trumps-tariffs-may-ruin-black-friday?source=Snapzu

Sony is trying to sell off PlayStation Vue, but it might have a hard time of it

One potential buyer has expressed interest, but success is far from assured.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/10/sony-seeks-to-bail-from-streaming-tv-business-by-selling-off-playstation-vue/?comments=1?source=Snapzu

Apple's upcoming AR product may have photochromic lenses thanks to another patent

Following months and even years of rumors, there looks to be confirmation of Apple’s design of Augmented Reality (AR) Glasses. A patent of the concept has been shared publicly.
Read more: https://abundary.com/apple-ar-glasses-photochromatic-lenses/?utm_source=reddit?source=Snapzu

Ubisoft Plunges After Two Recent Games Fail to Deliver

Ubisoft Entertainment SA plunged the most in six years after the poor performance of two recently released video games forced the company to slash its full-year targets. The stock fell as much as 29% in Paris after Ubisoft cut its forecast for net bookings to about 1.45 billion euros ($1.61 billion) from a previous guidance of 2.19 billion euros. The company also slashed projected operating income to between 20 million and 50 million euros, from a previous target of 480 million euros.
Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/ubisoft-plunges-two-recent-games-072408211.html?source=Snapzu

Twitter Stock Plunges After Earnings Are Worse Than Expected

Twitter posted worse-than-expected third quarter revenue and profit, which the company attributed to advertising problems and unusually low demand over the summer.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/technology/twitter-earnings.html?source=Snapzu

How to Find Blog Post Ideas Your Audience Will Love

It's not hard to come up with blog post ideas if you know where to look. Here are 7 strategies for generating blog topics your audience will love.
Read more: https://amywright.me/blog-post-ideas/?source=Snapzu

U.S. companies facing worker shortage race to automate

U.S. companies are responding to the lowest unemployment rate in almost 50 years by increasing their focus on automation in order to maintain healthy margins as labor costs tick higher, a Reuters analysis of corporate earnings transcripts shows.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-results-automation/u-s-companies-facing-worker-shortage-race-to-automate-idUSKBN1X11T9?source=Snapzu

Apple Pay Overtakes Starbucks as Most Popular Mobile Payment Platform in the US

According to eMarketer, ‌Apple Pay‌ became the market leader last year, when 27.7 million Americans used the app to make a purchase. Since then, however, ‌Apple Pay‌ has grown even faster than expected.
Read more: https://www.macrumors.com/2019/10/23/apple-pay-overtakes-starbucks-in-us/?source=Snapzu

The House Votes in Favor of Disastrous Copyright Bill

It’s Not Too Late: The Senate Can Still Stop the CASE Act The House of Representatives has just voted in favor of the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE Act) by 410-6 (with 16 members not voting), moving forward a bill that Congress has had no hearings and no debates on so far this session. That means that there has been no public consideration of the serious harm the bill could do to regular Internet users and their expression online.
Read more: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/house-votes-favor-disastrous-copyright-bill?source=Snapzu

Why The T-Mobile Sprint Merger May Help Your Business

Despite the fact that 16 state attorneys general and some consumer advocacy organizations are doing their best to derail the planned merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, this move may be a significant benefit to your business.
Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/waynerash/2019/10/21/why-the-t-mobile-sprint-merger-may-help-your-business/#4f93e85e5763?source=Snapzu

Netflix misses its subscriber targets again. Let the battle of the streaming giants begin.

Netflix announced this week that they have fallen short of their 7m subscriber target in Q3. Netflix faces …
Read more: https://abundary.com/netflix-subscriber-wars-disney-plus/?utm_source=reddit?source=Snapzu

A good wager: Netflix will win the streaming wars

Unlike the federal election campaign and the Democratic candidates debates, the streaming wars have no end date in sight. They’re just getting started and will go on and on for years.
Read more: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/television/article-a-good-wager-netflix-will-win-the-streaming-wars/?source=Snapzu

How 10 Companies Use Twitter's Unique Features for Growth

Take a look at how 10 companies use Twitter's unique features to reach and engage new and existing audiences.
Read more: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-companies-use-twitters-unique-features?source=Snapzu

Facebook no longer among 10 most valuable global brands

Facebook no longer ranks among the world's 10 most valuable brands, according to branding consultancy Interbrand, a sign the repeated blows to the social media company's reputation in recent years is taking a toll. Facebook fell to No. 14 in Interbrand's annual ranking of "best global brands," released this week. Just two years ago, the company was No. 8 on the list and was singled out as a "rapidly appreciating" brand.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/top-10-brands-facebook-falls-off-the-list-of-top-10-global-brands-ranked-by-interbrand/#?source=Snapzu

The CASE Act's flaws threaten free speech and Congress must fix them

We welcome and support the goal of removing some of the barriers that prevent rights holders from protecting their copyrighted works, but Congress first needs to amend the bill to ensure there are proper safeguards to protect the freedom of speech and due process.
Read more: https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/judicial/464728-the-case-acts-flaws-threaten-free-speech-and-congress-must-fix?source=Snapzu

Disney’s three-hour Disney+ trailer proves that all those movies it tweeted are real

Disney’s massive 600-plus tweet thread announcing which titles would be available to stream on Disney+ in the US come launch day was mostly met with a rousing chorus of, “that’s not a real movie.”
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2019/10/18/20921050/disney-plus-trailer-launch-lineup-trailer-sizzle-reel-pixar-marvel-star-wars?source=Snapzu

Move over, Honeycrisp: New apple to debut at grocery stores

Cosmic Crisp is the first apple ever bred in Washington state, which grows the majority of the United States' apples. It's expected to be a game changer.
Read more: https://www.wtap.com/content/news/Move-over-Honeycrisp-New-apple-to-debut-at-grocery-stores-563466921.html?source=Snapzu

Cloudflare Refutes MPA and RIAA's Piracy Concerns - TorrentFreak

Cloudflare is frustrated with the continued criticism from entertainment industry groups, which accuse the company of assisting pirate sites. In a letter to the U.S. Government, the CDN provider once again rebuts these claims, stressing that it's not obliged to shut down potentially infringing websites.
Read more: https://torrentfreak.com/cloudflare-refutes-mpa-and-riaas-piracy-concerns-191018/?source=Snapzu

UK's first Chick-fil-A restaurant to close after LGBT+ rights backlash

The first UK branch of a popular American chicken restaurant is set to close following a backlash over its owner's stance on LGBT+ rights. Chick-fil-A opened its first branch of the fast-food chain in Reading on October 10, however, it was revealed that the outlet would be temporary eight days later.
Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/chick-fil-a-close-first-uk-restaurant-reading-lgtb-backlash-a9162491.html?utm_source=reddit.com?source=Snapzu

Boeing Pilots Detected 737 Max Flight Control Glitch 2 Years Before Deadly Crash

New evidence indicates that Boeing pilots knew about "egregious" problems with the 737 Max airplane three years ago, but federal regulators were not told about them. Investigators say the plane's new flight control system, called MCAS, is at least partially to blame for 737 Max crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia this year that killed 346 people. Acting on data from a single, faulty angle-of-attack sensor, MCAS repeatedly forced both planes into nosedives as the pilots struggled, but failed to regain control.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2019/10/18/771451904/boeing-pilots-detected-737-max-flight-control-glitch-two-years-before-deadly-cra?source=Snapzu

Most U.S. Dairy Cows Are Descended From Just 2 Bulls. That's Not Good

The drive to make more milk has had an unsavory side effect: Cows have become more genetically similar and less fertile. Scientists are trying to recover valuable genetic variation that was lost.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/10/17/770696476/most-u-s-dairy-cows-are-descended-from-just-2-bulls-thats-not-good?source=Snapzu

How Coca-Cola Undermines Plastic Recycling Efforts

Audio obtained by The Intercept reveals how Coca-Cola’s “green” philanthropy helped squelch an important tool in fighting the plastic crisis.
Read more: https://theintercept.com/2019/10/18/coca-cola-recycling-plastics-pollution/?source=Snapzu

It's only $4.99. But Costco's rotisserie chicken comes at a huge price

At the back of Costco's stores, past the televisions, jewelry, jumbo-sized ketchup jugs and tubs of mixed nuts, is one of the retailer's most prized items: The rotisserie chicken that costs just $4.99.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/11/business/costco-5-dollar-chicken/index.html?source=Snapzu

This startup is saving crops by making 'super bees'

One company wants to help farmers adapt to a world of rapidly declining bee populations.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/17/tech/beeflow-mission-ahead/index.html?source=Snapzu

Are China's Tantrums Signs of Strength or Weakness?

China is supposed to be savvy. So why is it throwing a fit about a tweet, an app, and a gamer in a mask in the absence of any real threat?
Read more: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/10/why-does-china-care-about-daryl-moreys-hong-kong-tweet/600001/?source=Snapzu

Food writer 'loses £5,000 in phone-number hijack'

Jack Monroe's bank and PayPal accounts were used after her mobile phone number was hijacked.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50043230?source=Snapzu

Uber: The ride-hailing app that says it has ‘zero’ drivers

Uber raised eyebrows last month when its chief lawyer asserted that “drivers’ work is outside the usual course of Uber’s business” in a call laying out the company’s resistance to a California bill that would alter the employment status of many gig workers.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/10/14/uber-ride-hailing-app-that-says-it-has-zero-drivers/?source=Snapzu

Malware That Spits Cash Out of ATMs Has Spread Across the World

At 10am on a late November morning in Freiburg, Germany, a bank employee noticed something was wrong with a bank ATM. It had been hacked with a piece of malware called "Cutlet Maker" that is designed to make ATMs eject all of the money inside them, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the case.
Read more: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/7x5ddg/malware-that-spits-cash-out-of-atms-has-spread-across-the-world?source=Snapzu

TikTok has moved into Facebook's backyard and is starting to poach its employees

TikTok, the upstart social media app, has opened an office in Silicon Valley and begun to poach Facebook employees, multiple people familiar with the matter told CNBC.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/14/tiktok-has-mountain-view-office-near-facebook-poaching-employees.html?source=Snapzu

Zuckerberg: I Only Wined and Dined Right-Wingers to, Um, Engage in a Meaningful Exchange of Ideas

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg briefly poked his head out of his gilded panic room on Monday to address reports that he ran a quiet lobbying campaign to reassure right-wing critics of his company that he shares their concerns. In his view, he’s guilty of nothing more than “hearing from a range of viewpoints” and “learning.”
Read more: https://gizmodo.com/zuckerberg-i-only-wined-and-dined-right-wingers-to-um-1839044158?source=Snapzu

Most TV Viewers Wait to Stream a Show Rather Than Watch Ads

They also like to binge episodes instead of waiting week-to-week, according to a new survey.
Read more: https://www.adweek.com/tv-video/most-tv-viewers-wait-streaming-services-avoid-ads/?source=Snapzu

Uber and Lyft are suing New York City after it limited the length of time drivers can cruise without passengers

Lyft, following its rival Uber's move, has sued New York City seeking to nullify a new rule limiting the time its drivers are allowed to spend cruising in Manhattan without passengers, the company said on Saturday. The lawsuit, filed by the San Francisco-based ride-hail company on Friday, argues that the cruising rule is arbitrary and threatens to shift business away from ride-hailing companies like Lyft in favor of taxis.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-lyft-sue-new-york-empty-car-cruising-limits-2019-10?source=Snapzu

Salesforce's Marc Benioff calls for a 'new capitalism' where billionaires pay higher taxes

Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff is calling for the establishment of a “new capitalism” that’s paid for in part by taxing billionaires like himself. In an op-ed in The New York Times published Monday, Benioff said businesses should focus less on profits and more on their impact on society, while using their power to help advance important causes, like the creation of a national privacy law and fighting climate change.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/14/salesforces-marc-benioff-calls-for-billionaires-to-pay-higher-taxes.html?source=Snapzu

The 'Glass Floor' Is Keeping America's Richest Idiots At The Top

Elites are finding more ways to ensure that their children never run out of chances to fail.
Read more: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/the-glass-floor-is-keeping-americas-richest-idiots-at-the-top_n_5d9fb1c9e4b06ddfc516e076?ri18n=true?source=Snapzu

Facebook's Libra currency abandoned by major financial companies

Facebook Inc's ambitious efforts to establish a global digital currency...
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-cryptocurrency-ebay/facebooks-libra-currency-abandoned-by-major-financial-companies-idUSKBN1WQ2KL?source=Snapzu

Firms ignoring climate crisis will go bankrupt, says Mark Carney

Companies and industries that are not moving towards zero-carbon emissions will be punished by investors and go bankrupt, the governor of the Bank of England has warned. Mark Carney also told the Guardian it was possible that the global transition needed to tackle the climate crisis could result in an abrupt financial collapse. He said the longer action to reverse emissions was delayed, the more the risk of collapse would grow.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/13/firms-ignoring-climate-crisis-bankrupt-mark-carney-bank-england-governor?source=Snapzu

How Australia's smallest state wound up in the middle of America's biggest drug crisis

Australia's island state is known for its rich history and pristine environment — it also plays a huge part of supplying the raw materials that make the painkillers at the centre of the United States' opioid crisis.
Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-13/tasmania-poppy-farmers-in-crosshairs-of-us-opioid-crisis/11588766?source=Snapzu

Exodus from Facebook's Libra digital currency as Visa, Mastercard and other backers quit

Five payments companies led by eBay, Mastercard and Visa have abruptly dropped out of Facebook's project to create a new digital currency, Libra, dealing a major blow to the social network's plan.
Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/10/11/major-blow-facebooks-libra-digital-currency-ebay-stripe-drop/?source=Snapzu