In early April, however, an unexpected document popped up in the mail. It was a Form 1099 for a very small amount of freelance work I had done the previous year – and forgotten about. For whatever reason, the document hadn’t been sent to me until fairly close to that year’s tax deadline. This was a stressful situation, to be sure. Would I be hit with any fees or interest charges?...
For this reason, false alarms pose a major drain on public resources. The Center for Problem-Oriented Policing study states that false alarms account for 94-98% of alarm calls, at an estimated annual cost of $1.8 billion. To keep homeowners accountable for their security systems, many municipalities have imposed false alarm fees. False alarm fees vary widely depending on where you live, but they tend to increase with each offense. Your first false alarm might cost you, say, $50....
The investigation started in December 2018 and “examined whether WhatsApp has discharged its GDPR transparency obligations with regard to the provision of information and the transparency of that information to both users and non-users of WhatsApp’s service.” “This includes information provided to data subjects about the processing of information between WhatsApp and other Facebook companies,” the DPC said in a statement. The DPC initially submitted its decision in December 2020 but faced backlash from eight other EU regulating bodies because the fine was considered too small at just 50 million euros....
One of the worst assumptions that consumers make when it comes to their credit is the belief that simply paying bills on time is all it takes to safeguard their credit scores. While paying your bills on time is the single biggest factor in your credit score, it’s hardly the only factor. Credit scoring is more complicated than that. Credit scoring models – like FICO and VantageScore – are also designed to focus heavily on what’s called your ‘credit utilization ratio’....
We use our mobile devices to read books, stream content, and so much more these days, so it doesn’t take long to blow through their battery life. And if you can charge these devices wirelessly, ditching all your cables and charging pucks can feel liberating. But it’s better when you can wirelessly charge three devices at once, and that’s precisely what you get with the 3-in-1 Foldable Magnetic Wireless Charger....
Up to March that would have been a walk down to the coffee shop, but that’s not really practical. So I’ve been looking at how I can use other rooms in the house to get a change of scene and away from looking down at my laptop. SEE: Top 100+ tips for telecommuters and managers (free PDF) (TechRepublic) We’ve recently upgraded our main TV, going from a LCD monitor hooked up to an Xbox to a 46" 4K Panasonic semi-smart TV....
In EBDITA terms, Xero also saw a 19% decline year-on year from NZ$121 million to NZ$98 million. Free cashflow was also down to NZ$6.4 million compared to NZ$54 million during the same period last year. “EBITDA, net profit, and free cash flow decreased versus H1 FY21 due to an increased level of investment spend across both sales and marketing and product development,” Xero said on Thursday. “The movement in these metrics reflects the heightened focus on cost management in response to the initial impacts of COVID-19 in the prior comparable period....
As many will be encouraged to return to offices, perhaps video conferencing will be replaced by a return to communicating with the person in the next cubicle via Slack or IM, while you’re still wearing your headphones. Some companies, though, are still driven to creating new ways of profiting from the pandemic-fueled video conferencing ways. One that just appeared beneath my brows offers a service that I feel many will enjoy....
The statistic was shared in a blog post outlining how YouTube views removing misinformation on its platform. Other statistics included in the blog were that the video platform removes nearly 10 million videos a quarter, with the majority of these videos receiving less than 10 views before they are removed, and content in violation of YouTube’s policies represented 0.16% to 0.18% of total views. While sharing YouTube’s ability to remove content, Mohan noted that speedy removals are “not nearly enough” and wrote that YouTube was working on “ratcheting up information from trusted sources and reducing the spread of videos with harmful misinformation”....
But starting Monday, the company is rolling out new features for its subscribers that range from adding the ability to control your video queue on a mobile device to an upgrade to video quality on the iPhone. Also: How to limit screen time on YouTube Kids YouTube announced five new features in a blog post Monday morning. The mobile queueing feature is exactly what it sounds like. Premium subscribers can create what’s effectively a playlist of YouTube videos, with full control over what video or videos are played, and the order of said videos....
To help us better understand the user experience with digital events, Ray Wang, CEO and founder of a Silicon Valley-based advisory firm Constellation Research, and I invited Jon Reed to join our weekly show DisrupTV. Reed is a frequent contributor to our show and one of my favorite guests. Pre-pandemic, Reed and I would meet in person at numerous technology and industry conferences prior to the pandemic. I always appreciate the opportunity to learn from Reed....
The biggest advantage of a good password manager is that it allows you to create and save a unique, impossible-to-guess password for every online service you use. That collection of passwords is stored in an encrypted database that only you can unlock, and with your permission that database can be synced, securely, to every Windows PC, Mac, and mobile device you own. I’ve tried a lot of password managers over the years, and there are some worthy contenders in this category....
John Binns was originally identified as the possible culprit by Alon Gal, co-founder of cybercrime intelligence firm Hudson Rock. On Twitter earlier this month, Gal shared a message he received from Binns that said, “The breach was done to retaliate against the US for the kidnapping and torture of John Erin Binns (CIA Raven-1) in Germany by CIA and Turkish intelligence agents in 2019,” the hacker allegedly told Gal. “We did it to harm US infrastructure,” Binns allegedly told Gal at the time....
Well, some ZDNET readers kindly reached out to suggest a few more productivity-boosting Google Chrome extensions that I’ve not come across before. I installed and used them, and here are three that are so cool that I want to share them with you. Also: 2022 was secretly the year of Chromebooks. Here’s why These will definitely be used a lot in the coming year. 1. BlockSite: Block websites & stay focused As the name suggests, this extension can be used to create a blocklist for websites you want to avoid, either all the time or just during work hours....
Despite the seemingly limitless rewards, organizations remain wary of digital transformation. Almost three-quarters (70%) of digital transformations fall short of their objectives, often with profound consequences, according to Boston Consulting Group, who suggest that delivering fundamental change at scale in large, complex organizations is challenging. Digital transformation failure can come at a high cost, both figuratively and literally. A failed digital transformation can negatively impact employee engagement, attraction and retention....
5G phones have been marketed to consumers since the first compatible devices were released (like the Samsung Galaxy S20 in 2020), yet it has proved difficult to persuade consumers to get excited about 5G compared to – say – an improved camera or display. Not to mention every mobile carrier has confusingly different 5G data plans. Ken Hyers, the director of device technologies at Strategy Analytics, says that he sees 2022 as a turning point for 5G phones and consumers....
The sale includes a bunch of Acer’s signature gaming products, and right now, while we expect it to last through the Fourth of July weekend, we can’t guarantee it will last that long. If you’re interested in getting one of these items, we recommend you do it before the weekend ends. From dedicated gaming monitors to the Predator gaming laptop lineup, you can find great sales to put the finishing touches or build your dream gaming setup....
Despite the eye-popping figures spent on the shopping holiday, it represented a year over year decrease of 1.4%. According to Adobe’s data, during the peak shopping hour of 11pm-12am ET/8pm-9pm PT, US consumers spent $12 million every minute. Adobe’s researchers found that $33.9 billion was spent from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. The numbers from the high shopping days – now dubbed Cyber Week – were also down 1.4% due to decreases in spending on Black Friday and the same amount of spending on Thanksgiving Day compared to 2020....
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan asked for the meeting in December, noting in a letter to the companies that it was a “national security concern” for foundational open source software to be maintained by volunteers. The meeting, led by White House cybersecurity leader Anne Neuberger, includes officials from companies like IBM, Microsoft Corp, Meta, Linux, and Oracle as well as government agencies like the Department of Defense and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)....
The AirPods are small, and of course, that means the battery inside each one is small as well. And as we all know, over time, batteries tend to lose the ability to stay charged for as long as they did when brand new. That’s especially true for the AirPods. After a year, maybe a little longer, my personal pair of first-generation AirPods started to make the dreaded low battery chime much faster than usual....
