Fitness Products Shatter Online Sales Records During Lockdown
As traditional gyms, fitness centers, and health and wellness studios shutter during COVID-19, technology has kicked in to provide a replacement or an alternative for growing numbers of online shoppers. Digital at-home exercise sessions and sales of home exercise and health equipment purchased online are fueling new consumer trends that could permanently supplant old shopping routines.
New E-Commerce Partnership Gives U.S. Merchants Access to LATAM
ShipStation has announced a partnership with Mercado Libre, which is known as the "Amazon of Latin America" and has operations in 18 countries throughout the region. Mercado Libre is the fourth largest marketplace in the world in terms of visits per month, and the largest in Latin America. Its top markets are Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico.
Getting a prospect on the line and talking to them directly matters. It's the ability to deliver the pitch with the right content, cadence, and care for your future clients' needs that makes a voice call so effective. It's not just salespeople who prefer a call -- 92 percent of all customer interactions happen over the phone.
During the pandemic, increasing numbers of people have pulled out their sewing machines and knitting needles and gotten to work. A massive resurgence in sewing and crafts has taken place, as makers around the world have been sewing masks and creating other much-needed items for themselves and others.
Walmart is embracing new strategies, partnerships, and infrastructure that have modernized its e-commerce platform and made it a more formidable rival to Amazon. In particular, three big factors are at play: enhanced content opportunities, the introduction of new fulfillment capabilities, and the introduction of self-service marketing tools.
Website Development Contracts, Part 4: Indemnification
A well-drafted indemnity clause can protect you in litigation ensuing from your violation of a website development contract which results in third-party claims against you and/or your vendor. Whether it is your vendor or a third party that initiates the lawsuit, you will want to know where the proverbial "buck" stops when the legal bills start to roll in.
If you conducted e-commerce transactions since the pandemic struck, you have probably been the target, or even a victim, of online fraud. A new report from Sift titled "Q2 2020 Digital Trust & Safety Index" details a 109 percent increase in content abuse and growth of the fraud economy from January through May 2020.
A recent study found that businesses across North America are led well and staffed with people who are engaged in what they're doing. But technology is barely adequate -- and because of this, managers should devote their attention to improving systems whenever they think about how to improve overall company performance.
Amazon's system that combines artificial intelligence and augmented reality to help workers maintain social distancing in the workplace has been deployed at a handful of Amazon buildings. The company plans to install more in the coming weeks.
The New Normal Security Era for US Agencies, Cloud Providers
U.S. government agencies and cloud technology providers are heading toward a reset in how they cooperate on cybersecurity challenges. The expected growth of cloud use will create a more complex federal security landscape, according to a report.
The University of Cincinnati online program is ranked 10th in the country by U.S. News & World Report (2020). Enjoy the flexibility of a schedule built for working professionals. Learn from educators with decades of experience in the field of IT.
Women in Tech: 20 Trailblazers Share Their Journeys
Successful women in the tech trenches share their insights and tackle subjects ranging from how to search out a strong mentor to how to be one -- from how to advance in a large company to how to start your own firm.
This book is an excellent guide for students considering STEM courses, graduates pondering job choices, and career changers at any stage in life. It's also a useful tool for school and career counselors, recruiters, and HR pros eager to diversify their workplaces.
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Welcome to a new week. We'll get into the KFC science project a little later, but let's start with Samsung. The company typically adds software updates and apps to its Galaxy phones with zeal, and a lot of the time, they go untouched, and we complain about all the bloat.
Is that what's happened here? The company has notified German users that it's removing weight, calorie (meal tracking) and caffeine tracking from the Samsung Health app through updates due later this month.
Was it a case of people not using the features? Or does the company have a new, even more impressive health app waiting in the wings? Its Galaxy Note reveal event is in a few weeks. Let's see.
—Mat
The glass back is peeling off some Pixel 4 XL phones
Google has yet to say if it's a recurring problem.
Engadget
Pixel 4 XL users on Google's forums and Reddit are complaining about their phones' glass backs peeling off. This appears to stem from the battery swelling — not an unheard of issue, but rarely with this kind of frequency, and it's the kind of problem that would usually take months to appear. But this phone launched last October.
One Reddit user, who claims to manage a uBreakiFix store, said the Pixel 4 XL had a widely known problem with faulty connectors, which lead to battery swelling. Google hasn't yet responded, but it's bad timing. The company is expected to officially unveil the Pixel 4a very, very soon. Continue reading.
KFC hopes to develop the first lab-made chicken nuggets
3D bio-printed nuggets could be more eco-friendly and ethical.
WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images
KFC has teamed up with Moscow's 3D Bioprinting Solutions with the goal of producing the world's first lab-made chicken nuggets. The Russian firm is developing an additive printing technique using chicken cells and plant material that, ideally, recreates the "taste and texture" of natural chicken while keeping animal involvement to a minimum. KFC, meanwhile, will provide bread, spices and other ingredients to match the restaurant's "signature" flavor.
KFC hopes to have a final nugget design ready for testing in Moscow by fall 2020. Mmm, nothing stokes the appetite like bio-printed nuts. Continue reading.
GitHub is done depositing its open-source codes in the Arctic
On ice.
Last year, GitHub revealed its plan to store all of its open-source software in an Arctic vault as part of its Archive Program. Now the code-hosting platform is done making sure future generations can access them even if civilization collapses within the next 1,000 years… and, er, you can still get to the Arctic.
The collection now sits inside a chamber within a decommissioned coal mine, under hundreds of meters of permafrost. Continue reading.
UAE successfully launches its Hope Probe on a mission to Mars
It's the country's first mission to the red planet.
KYODO Kyodo / Reuters
The UAE's Mars-bound Hope mission has successfully launched from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center. About an hour after liftoff, the Hope Probe separated from the rocket to rapturous applause from controllers and engineers at the UAE Space Agency.
The Hope Probe should reach Mars orbit in February 2021 during the 50th anniversary of UAE unification. Instead of landing on the planet, it'll orbit it for an entire Martian year, or 687 days. The aim of the $200 million mission is to get a more detailed picture of weather dynamics on the red planet ahead of future manned Mars missions. Continue reading.
The story behind Twitter's massive breach on Wednesday is taking more strange turns. On Friday the New York Times published a report based on interviews with people from the "OGUsers" forum where someone sold access to the internal tools that could take over anyone's account.
No one identified "Kirk," the person behind the scheme. Their story is that he claimed to be a Twitter employee but may be someone who got into its internal Slack channels and found login information for the admin tools there.
Devindra and Cherlynn look at Apple Silicon and the challenges that might be in the company's way as it makes its two-year transition to ARM. Will an ARM-based Macbook be powerful enough for the most demanding users? Then, as usual, they share what they've been working on and relaxing with, and offer entertainment recommendations you should check out.
Lenovo's next gaming phone has a camera that pops out of its side
Alright, now we've seen everything.
Lenovo
The Legion smartphone packs a 20-megapixel pop-up selfie camera located on the side, smack in the middle. That could make it easier to stream yourself while gaming in landscape mode or just be the first on the block with a weird new feature. We'll have a better idea after it launches in China on July 22nd. Continue reading.
The best deals we found this week: 16-inch MacBook Pro, Echo Show and more
And Fitbit's summer sale.
Engadget
This week, anyone looking for a deal on an Apple laptop or Amazon's Echo devices should check this roundup out. Both the 16-inch MacBook Pro ($300 off at $2,099) and the MacBook Air ($50 off at $949) are on sale — not quite as cheap as they were earlier in the week, but still two good deals Also, DJI's Osmo Action camera is a worthy rival to the devices that GoPro has been making for years, and right now it's on sale for $250 at both Amazon and Best Buy.
Valentina Palladino has the full rundown for you here, and for more updates on Twitter, be sure to follow the @EngadgetDeals account. Continue reading.
The Russo Brothers are making a $200 million action movie for Netflix
'The Gray Man' will star Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans
Mark Greaney Books
After netting millions of viewers for its original action flicks Extraction and The Old Guard, Netflix is taking a bigger swing. Deadline reports that the streaming company has a deal with Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo to helm a new spy/action flick starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans as dueling assassins. The Gray Man is based on a popular book series, and will reportedly have a budget of over $200 million. Continue reading.
