Computer models help form new magnetic materials

Magnetic materials are extremely difficult to find. They’re rare in nature, and creating one in the lab usually involves both a lot of experimentation and a little luck. Duke University, however, has found a way to take the mystery out of the process: its researchers have used computer modelling to help generate two new kinds of magnetic materials. The models whittled down the potential atomic structures from a whopping 236,115 combinations to just 14 candidates by subjecting the structures to increasingly tougher tests. How stable are they? Do they have a “magnetic moment” that determines the strength of their reaction to an outside magnetic field? After that, it was just a matter of synthesizing the few remaining materials to see how well they worked in real life.

This kind of modelling could help shave years off of the time needed to create a magnetic material, and that in turn could lead to discoveries that just weren’t realistic before. One of the materials resulting from the Duke effort, a blend of cobalt, magnesium and titanium, is magnetic even at extremely high temperatures — it could take much more abuse before it stops working. The other, a mix of manganese, palladium and platinum, is unusual in that it doesn’t have its own magnetic moment but does respond to outside magnetic fields. Instead of scrounging to find any kind of magnetism, scientists could focus on developing magnets for specific purposes.

Via: Reddit

Source: Duke University, Science Advances

Square chief teases a smart debit card

Square Cash’s virtual payment card might not be quite so virtual in the future. Company chief Jack Dorsey has teased a strange, all-black Visa debit card that Recode suspects is really a physical Square Cash card. A Square spokesperson declined to comment, so take this with a grain of salt, but there’s evidence to suggest there’s something to this teaser. You see, Square seriously considered a payment card back in 2014 — the company is no stranger to exploring the concept of a real-world card that draws from online funds.

There’s no guarantee that Square will launch a debit card, no matter what Dorsey is carrying in his pocket. The company reportedly ditched its payment card out of a reluctance to either antagonize its partners or wade through a tangled financial industry. However, there are a few incentives to at least consider the idea.

For one, Square has previously said it would like to “own both sides of the counter.” If it handles both the cards and the payment readers, it doesn’t have to give a cut to anyone else. There’s also the simple matter of catering to a wider customer base. While you can use Apple Pay to go shopping with Square Cash, not everyone can or wants to use an iPhone to make purchases at retail. This would let you use your virtual wallet anywhere that accepts debit cards, regardless of your phone preferences. And simply speaking, a physical card is more inviting to those people hesitant to shop with their handsets. Even if most Square Cash users aren’t about to use a tangible debit card, they might appreciate the option.

my wallet these days pic.twitter.com/l8ug8bjpzT

— jack (@jack) April 14, 2017

Via: Recode

Source: Jack Dorsey (Twitter)

Cleveland police seek suspect in murder streamed on Facebook

The Cleveland Police Department has confirmed it’s looking for a suspect, Steve Stephens who committed a homicide and streamed the crime on Facebook Live. Sadly, this isn’t the first homicide broadcast on the platform, however, in this case, it was intentional. According to Heavy.com, the video showed Stephens speaking to an elderly man before shooting him through the window of a car. On the stream, Stephens claimed to have killed others and threatened to continue. Police report that he is armed and dangerous and are warning people not to approach if they see him.

Homicide Suspect Wanted (PHOTO) Steve Stephens https://t.co/WlKymPrQX2 pic.twitter.com/GbkFia7yP6

— Cleveland Police (@CLEpolice) April 16, 2017

Source: Cleveland PD, Cleveland 19

All about cryptocurrency: Here’s the deal with digital money

If you’ve ever had a company or friend offer to pay you with Bitcoins or another type of digital money, you’ve encountered cryptocurrency, also called crypto-money or cryptoassets.

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that is created through the use of encryption software. This approach is a solution to security and control issues that prevented a purely digital currency from being successfully developed in the past. If you hear someone talking about one of these currencies, it’s almost certainly in a cryptocurrency format. This type of digitally created and secured money is currently in a period of very cool experimentation, so let’s take a look at how it work, why it’s popular, and where cryptocurrency is heading in the future.

How does cryptocurrency work?

How does a currency exist in a totally digital format? What is it based on? While the process varies a little between different cryptocurrencies, they all follow the same general system.

First, cryptocurrency chooses a base unit and how much that particular unit is worth when compared to other currencies (often, the U.S. dollar is used as a baseline). Some cryptocurrencies are more imaginative than others at this point. They try to represent debt registries, contracts, or the act of currency exchange itself. It can get a little weird, but ultimately the unit in some way relates to the value of other currency, as is true of all currencies in the world.

Units of cryptocurrency are then created, typically when a transaction occurs. The units are carefully formed and preserved through algorithmic encryption, then linked together in vast chains of data, where the currency can be tracked and exchanged.

However, at this point, cryptocurrency is still too vulnerable and too easy to fake. The currency units need to be timestamped and processed to make them more concrete and harder to copy. A third party developer can do this, but most cryptocurrencies prefer to crowdsource the process to those with the right hardware and software to “mine” the currency.

Mining uses algorithms to go through each transaction, encrypt the cryptocurrency, and add it to a digital ledger, essentially verifying it and cementing its position online. This process may also be referred to as “consensus protocols” or “consensus platforms,” depending on the currency. This process is meant to make the currency impossible to duplicate, though whether it’s successful is up for some debate.

Some cryptocurrencies are highly centralized, with someone — usually the organization that created the process/software — making decisions about how much currency is created and how it is used. Other types are very decentralized, controlled only by how and where people are willing to use them.

All about cryptocurrency: Here’s the deal with digital money

If you’ve ever had a company or friend offer to pay you with Bitcoins or another type of digital money, you’ve encountered cryptocurrency, also called crypto-money or cryptoassets.

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that is created through the use of encryption software. This approach is a solution to security and control issues that prevented a purely digital currency from being successfully developed in the past. If you hear someone talking about one of these currencies, it’s almost certainly in a cryptocurrency format. This type of digitally created and secured money is currently in a period of very cool experimentation, so let’s take a look at how it work, why it’s popular, and where cryptocurrency is heading in the future.

How does cryptocurrency work?

How does a currency exist in a totally digital format? What is it based on? While the process varies a little between different cryptocurrencies, they all follow the same general system.

First, cryptocurrency chooses a base unit and how much that particular unit is worth when compared to other currencies (often, the U.S. dollar is used as a baseline). Some cryptocurrencies are more imaginative than others at this point. They try to represent debt registries, contracts, or the act of currency exchange itself. It can get a little weird, but ultimately the unit in some way relates to the value of other currency, as is true of all currencies in the world.

Units of cryptocurrency are then created, typically when a transaction occurs. The units are carefully formed and preserved through algorithmic encryption, then linked together in vast chains of data, where the currency can be tracked and exchanged.

However, at this point, cryptocurrency is still too vulnerable and too easy to fake. The currency units need to be timestamped and processed to make them more concrete and harder to copy. A third party developer can do this, but most cryptocurrencies prefer to crowdsource the process to those with the right hardware and software to “mine” the currency.

Mining uses algorithms to go through each transaction, encrypt the cryptocurrency, and add it to a digital ledger, essentially verifying it and cementing its position online. This process may also be referred to as “consensus protocols” or “consensus platforms,” depending on the currency. This process is meant to make the currency impossible to duplicate, though whether it’s successful is up for some debate.

Some cryptocurrencies are highly centralized, with someone — usually the organization that created the process/software — making decisions about how much currency is created and how it is used. Other types are very decentralized, controlled only by how and where people are willing to use them.

UberRush is no more, or at least, it won’t be how it used to look

Why it matters to you

Despite Uber’s enormous popularity, that hasn’t translated into profitability. Cannibalizing services like UberRush may be to blame.

Remember UberRush? Don’t worry, you’re not alone in saying, “Not really.” And now, it looks as though Uber wants to forget about UberRush, too. On May 8, Quartz reports, Uber plans to more or less shut down the courier service, or at the very least, reposition the service.

UberRush first came about in October of 2015, making its debut in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. When the service launched, Uber promised that business owners could use Uber to “get customers pretty much anything in minutes.”

But now, anything is quickly becoming, well, nothing. Last week, the embattled transportation giant sent Rush clients an email informing them that restaurants won’t be able to use the platform as of May 8.

Instead, food services are being pushed over to UberEats, an Uber spinoff dedicated to getting customers their restaurant orders. And given that restaurant delivers have generally been the bulk of Rush orders, it seems as though with the departure of restaurants, Rush will cease to exist as we know it.

“We built UberEats to specifically meet the needs and support the growth of our individual restaurant partners,” a spokeswoman for Uber said in an email. “Moving forward, we will focus UberRush on powering backend delivery logistics for merchants and enterprises such as grocery stores and florists.”

Moreover, Rush pricing will also see a bit of a shift in May. It’s unclear what that shift will look like, but perhaps they’ll depart from the current plan of a higher rate for the first mile, and a lower standard rate for each subsequent mile.

Why the shift in strategy? As one former employee told Quartz, the company found that some of these services were cannibalizing business. “We got into a situation where dinner rush would mean a lot of people were taking food deliveries, but then they weren’t driving for UberX, so it was causing surge pricing,” the person said. “We were attacking our own business.”

Uber is still reeling from multiple internal shakeups including sexual harassment allegations, the departure of several company leaders, and a rather disturbing video of CEO Travis Kalanick berating an Uber driver.

So goodbye, UberRush. We hardly knew you.

5 songs you need to stream this week: Kendrick Lamar, Mac DeMarco, and more

Every week, there are thousands of new songs hitting the airwaves — and it’s just too much for your two ears to handle. With all those options, you can’t be wasting your time on tracks that deserve a thumbs-down click.

But don’t worry, we’re going to save you the hassle. We listen to some of the most-hyped and interesting songs each week, and tell you which are worthy of your precious listening time.

Here are our top five songs to stream this week. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our Spotify page for a playlist of our weekly picks, which can also be found at the bottom of this post.

Kendrick Lamar — FEEL.

On Thursday evening, Kendrick Lamar released his fourth studio album, titled DAMN., causing many fans to listen late into the night. On FEEL., the album’s fifth track, the rapper investigates how famous he’s become, and how that has transformed both his music and the actions of those around him.”I feel like only me and the music though/feel like your feelin’ ain’t mutual,” he exclaims on the deep and introspective song, expressing a desire to maintain artistic integrity in a world full of musicians he thinks are corrupted by money and fame.

Danger Doom — Mad Nice

Iconic rap duo Danger Doom (a collaboration between producer Danger Mouse and underground rapper MF Doom) announced plans this week to rerelease their only album, 2005’s The Mouse & the Mask, while simultaneously sharing this special bonus cut. Mad Nice is a vintage-style hip-hop song that samples the iconic evil laughter of horror film actor Vincent Price and features rapper Black Thought of The Roots, who shares an especially introspective verse on the first half of the 3-minute cut.

Mac DeMarco — On The Level

A poorly rendered 3D image of Emperor Palpatine stands with his arms waving up and down in the middle of the new music video for songwriter Mac DeMarco’s latest single, On The Level. But despite the comedic elements of its visual presentation, this is a song that showcases the more elegant side of DeMarco’s production and songwriting. Gentle synthesizer lines and soothing Lennon-like vocals sit atop a simple groove, in a song that feels like it could calm the dark side in anyone.

Jonathan Rado — Thunder Road

Foxygen frontman Jonathan Rado recently partnered with Turntable Kitchen’s Sounds Delicious vinyl club, which commissions contemporary artists to cover classic albums in full, to make his own full-length version of Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run. Our first taste of this effort, this take of Thunder Road, does sound more lo-fi than the original, but it retains all of Springsteen’s classic energy. Rado’s acclaimed indie production abilities shine through, in the form of layered guitars, synthesizers, and bell patterns. It’s as loving and honest an homage as any we’ve heard, and one that you’ll have fun comparing to the original.

Camp Howard — Juice

The most candy-flavored bit of indie pop we heard this week came from Richmond, Virginia-based quartet Camp Howard. The title track off the group’s upcoming EP, Juice, features heavily syncopated bass lines that meet clean drums and vocal overdubs, with just the right amount of vibe-y guitar to tie the whole thing together.

That’s it for now, but tune in next week for more tunes — and check out the playlist loaded with our recent selections below:

Need to get away? 5 ways to book a much-needed, impromptu vacay

Summer is approaching, and that means we have wanderlust in our minds. Many will have already planned in advanced, but if you’re like this writer, you’ll leave it to the last minute. Congratulations, you are a “spontaneous traveler,” a term that’s being kicked around in the travel industry to describe a trend in post-Boomer generations.

This shift mirrors how we travel plan today. We no longer drive to the travel agency, but pull up a travel site to book our flights and hotels. But even that’s becoming old school: A lot more of us are now using apps on our phones. And with a desire for on-demand pricing and booking, there are plenty of travel apps that do just that.

But what if you are looking for inspiration? While most apps are good at handle the basic transactions, few can offer insights or recommendations. If you’re looking for some help in planning a last-minute getaway, these six apps are our current favorites.

Google Flights

Google Flights is useful for looking up real-time airfare and price fluctuations, but if you’re looking for inspiration, the website (there’s no app) has a handy discovery tool. Punch in some dates or search by month, length of trip, places, and interests. You can leave it vague if you want a wide selection of suggestions, or narrow down to a specific weekend or location.

The website shows a visual list of recommended cities, along with estimated pricing for flights (based on your point of departure) and hotels, as well as interests (we’re not sure we would count “fog” as our must-see attraction in San Francisco, but to each his own). If you have a strict budget, use the “Explore map” view to adjust the search parameters to include a price cap. Then, pan through the map to see what surprising locations pop up. Hit the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button if you really want to be spontaneous.

Hopper

We’ve sung many praises for Hopper, the flight search app that uses artificial intelligence and big data to make fare predictions. It tells you the best times to book, and you can have Hopper keep watch for better prices. Hopper’s results can help you determine whether you should make that last-minute getaway or save it for another time.

A new feature we like is Fair Bear. Essentially, it’s an overview of the fine print associated with an airfare that many travelers may not pay attention to. While a fare may be the cheapest, it could come with a lot of restrictions. As airlines continue to introduce confusing pricing tiers and new fees, Fair Bear gives a quick nutshell of what you’re getting into, and whether the price is worth it.

HotelTonight

With the rise in what’s being termed “spontaneous travel,” many hotel booking services are now catering to last-minute travelers. The one app that’s the most popular is HotelTonight, which focuses solely on this type of travel.

HotelTonight says it offers heavily discounted rates, and we found this to be accurate. In one search, a HotelTonight rate for one hotel was $100 (or more) cheaper than other booking sites, include the hotel’s. The only downside we notice is that hotels tend to be on the pricier side, but the positive is that they are all highly rated properties, so you don’t have to scroll through hundreds of listings.

Airbnb

While it’s better known as the app for short-term vacation rentals, Airbnb also offers a service called Experiences. As the name suggests, these are events hosted by in-the-know locals that focus on interests in the area, like sake tasting in Tokyo, home cooking in Bangkok, trail exploration in Portland, Oregon. If you’re looking to include some authentic experiences – whether it’s the arts, food, nature, etc. – in your trip, this is a nicer alternative to packaged tours. Of course, you can still use the app to book last-minute lodging.

Google Trips

Not to be confused with Google Flights, Google Trips is an iOS and Android app for planning and managing itineraries. It’s great for those who already have a flight reserved (if you use Gmail for bookings, it can search for trips – past and future – and automatically add them to the list), but haven’t done any research on things to do and see, places to eat, important info to know, how to get around, etc. – city guides essentially. Besides suggestions, Google Trips can even plan entire itineraries for select destinations, which is perfect for the lazy, last minute non-planner.

Early computing pioneer Robert Taylor dies

The technology world just lost one of its most prominent innovators. Robert Taylor, best known as the mastermind of ARPAnet (the internet’s precursor), has died at 85. As the director of the US military’s Advanced Research Projects Agency from 1965 until 1970, he helped pioneer the concept behind shared networks — he was frustrated with constantly switching terminals and wanted to access multiple networks from one system. While a lot of the credit goes to his team for implementing ARPAnet, he both pushed hard for the project and wrote a legendary 1968 essay that foretold the internet’s future: a vast, decentralized grid of connected devices that would reshape communication at just about every level.

This wasn’t Taylor’s only influential role. He went on to Xerox’s fabled Palo Alto Research Center, which he oversaw (first as associate manager and then as full manager) during one of its most influential periods. PARC broke ground on Ethernet technology, early internet development (by linking computers to ARPANET through Ethernet) and, of course, the windowed visual computing interfaces that people take for granted today. Even his later work at DEC was influential, as his research team helped usher in multi-processor workstations and sophisticated multitasking in Unix-based computers.

Moreover, Taylor was influential in laying the moral groundwork for the internet. Even in 1968, he was arguing that his connected future had to be open to everyone and not just the elite. He was also aware that the internet could be both harmful and helpful, and predicted the rise of botnets years in advance. Much like Tim Berners-Lee and other later pioneers, Taylor wasn’t just concerned about chips or software. He was thinking about the long-term social ramifications of his work, and you can arguably credit the mostly democratized nature of the internet to him.

Source: NPR

Only a handful of Windows phones will get the latest update

Virtually every Windows 10 PC can get the Creators Update, but phone owners won’t be so fortunate. Microsoft has revealed that only some Windows 10 Mobile devices will receive the Creators Update when it’s ready. The company’s own Lumia devices are covered, naturally (from the Lumia 550 and above), but it’s slim pickings beyond that — the Alcatel Idol 4S, HP Elite X3 and VAIO Phone Biz are some of the few third-party examples that qualify. If you ask Microsoft, it’s all about setting performance expectations.

Microsoft’s Dona Sarkar notes complaints that Windows wasn’t offering the “best possible experience” on older phones. In other words, Windows 10 Mobile was struggling outside of relatively recent hardware. Those users who do have the Creators Update on unsupported hardware can keep using it, but Sarkar stresses that they’ll be running the newer operating systems “at their own risk.”

The move isn’t completely surprising, and is understandable. OS developers always have to think about cutting off support when their software becomes too demanding for legacy devices. For Microsoft, however, this is a repeat of an all-too-familiar pattern where it drops a large number of its phone customers in a relatively short space of time. Remember how Windows Phone 8 left WP7 owners hanging, and how only a subset of WP8 phones could move to Windows 10 despite some early promises? As necessary as the cutoff might be, that pressure to buy a new device to stay current could increase the temptation to switch platforms.

Via: ZDNet

Source: Windows Experience Blog