Tag: time

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The Verge

Amazon says rising injury rates are due to generous recuperation time

On Tuesday, Reveal published a major report about rising injury rates at Amazon’s fulfillment warehouses, sourced from leaked internal data and interviews with numerous sources, claiming that Amazon has misled the public about those rates. However, Amazon says it hasn’t “misled anyone” and that Reveal is misinterpreting Amazon’s data. “The very internal documents [Reveal] claims to have obtained ultimately illustrate one thing—we have a deep focus on the safety of our teams,” the company said in a statement to The Verge. Reveal’s article illustrates that the rate of serious injuries at Amazon warehouses has increased between 2016 and 2019. But in its response, Amazon disputed what qualifies as a serious injury, arguing that the numbers are higher because the company is more generous in granting recuperation time. An illustration of serious injuries per 100 workers at Amazon warehouses.Image: Reveal Amazon also claims Reveal is “misinformed” about the metric of a serious injury rate in the first place: Reveal is misinformed regarding an OSHA safety metric that measures days away and restricted or transferred work (known as a DART rate) as something the reporter mistakenly calls a serious incident rate. The reality is that there is no such OSHA or industry “serious incident rate,” and our DART rate is actually supportive of employees as it encourages someone with any type of injury, for example a small strain or sprain, to stay away from work until they’re better. Reveal never actually uses the phrase “serious incident rate” in its article, though; it…Continue readingAmazon says rising injury rates are due to generous recuperation time

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Tech Radar

Yet another cheque for Reliance Retail: This time from General Atlantic for Rs 3675 cr

The companies that invested in Reliance Industries’ digital subsidiary Jio Platforms in a big way are reposing faith in its retail arm, Reliance Retail, too. First it was Silver Lake. Then it was KKR.  And now General Atlantic, which had invested Rs 6,598.38 crore in Jio Platforms, is shelling out Rs 3675 crore (around $498.2 million) at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 lakh crore for a 0.84% equity stake in Reliance Retail.  Reliance Retail operates India’s largest and fastest growing retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its 12,000 stores nationwide.   General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm with a 40-year track record of investing in the  Technology, Consumer, Financial Services and Healthcare sectors. General  Atlantic has investments in high-profile companies like Airbnb, Alibaba, Ant Financial, Box, ByteDance, Facebook, Slack, Snapchat, Uber and  other global technology leaders. What they said about the deal Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, in a media statement said, “Like Reliance Retail, General Atlantic  believes in the fundamental ability of digital enablement to drive progress, growth, and inclusion across  India and the world. We look forward to leveraging General Atlantic’s extensive expertise at the  intersection of technology and consumer businesses, and two decades of experience investing in India,  as we create a disruptive New Commerce platform to redefine retail in the country.” Bill Ford, Chief Executive Officer of General Atlantic, said, “General Atlantic is thrilled to be  backing Mukesh’s New Commerce mission to drive substantial…Continue readingYet another cheque for Reliance Retail: This time from General Atlantic for Rs 3675 cr

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The Next Web

Now’s the time to buy ‘un véhicule électrique’ as France plans to cut subsidies

They say that all good things must come to an end, and that looks like the case for French electric car buyers as the country’s government looks to cut subsidies. According to a report from Bloomberg, the French government is going to gradually phase out the EV incentives over the next few years. The incentive will drop from €7,000 ($8,160) this year, to €6,000 ($7,025) next year. It will drop another €1,000 in 2022, to €5,000. Plug-in hybrid cash handouts are being cut in half from €2,000 to €1,000 next year, too. [Read: Google Maps is getting a UI for driving — and it looks a lot like Android Auto] The information was revealed as part of a budget plan unveiled yesterday by Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. It seems that France is cutting its EV subsidies a little earlier than people expect. Despite positive growth, the electric car market in the European nation is still small. Over the first eight months of the year, EVs made up just 6.1% of the market, a 1.9% increase over the same period a year earlier, the report says. [Read: 5 things to know when you’re buying your first electric vehicle] In the coming years the country is going to increase the penalties imposed on high-emission vehicles. Which might serve to continue encouraging drivers to switch to electric power. However, auto lobbyists in the country say that the model doesn’t really work. “To make the bonus-malus system a true instrument for the environmental…Continue readingNow’s the time to buy ‘un véhicule électrique’ as France plans to cut subsidies

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VentureBeat

I tested Apple Watch sleep tracking to save you time and battery life

If you’re an executive seeking peak performance from the moment you wake up, or a parent hoping to create a better nightly routine for your family, you’ve probably heard about sleep tracking wearables — devices that promise to improve your health and productivity by monitoring your sleep. Sleep tracking is rapidly becoming more ubiquitous: This month, Apple added the feature to tens of millions of Apple Watches in a free watchOS 7 software update, and Fossil did so for select Google Wear OS watches in August. But despite years of work by researchers and wearable developers, meaningfully useful sleep tracking remains closer to a dream than reality. After trying the feature in pre-release versions of watchOS 7, I spent the last week testing Apple’s finished sleep tracking app, which meant changing my daily charging routine, wearing my watch to bed each night, and checking my phone for insights each day. Having gone through that, I’m convinced that I’ve experienced the core of a valuable solution, but just like the very first Apple Watch, it feels half-baked, and not fully ready for prime time. For the time being, I can’t in good faith recommend that busy professionals waste precious time on Apple’s current sleep tracking app, and I don’t have much confidence in rival solutions, either. Even with the latest and greatest Apple Watch, users can expect little in the way of actionable insights, coupled with the inconvenience of mid-day smartwatch recharging, every day — a step beyond the prior “leave it on a…Continue readingI tested Apple Watch sleep tracking to save you time and battery life

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The Verge

Samsung’s latest rugged tablet is designed to stand the test of time

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab Active 3 is a new rugged tablet designed for tough environments, the company announced today. Alongside more typical features like an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, the tablet can survive drops of up to 1.5 meters. It’s also backed by Samsung’s promise to support “up to three generations of Android OS upgrades.” Like last year’s Galaxy Tab Active Pro, the Tab Active 3 has a couple of optimizations to make it easier to use with gloves. Its navigation buttons are physical rather than touch-sensitive, and Samsung says there’s an option in the settings to make the tablet usable while wearing “thin work gloves.” Its S Pen is also IP68 certified, so it should be able to put up with water and dust like the tablet itself. It’s designed to be usable with gloves Otherwise, in terms of specs, the Tab Active 3 is a pretty typical Android tablet. It will launch with Android 11, Samsung says, and it’s powered by an Exynos 9810 processor, with 4GB of RAM and either 64 or 128GB of storage (expandable by up to 1TB via microSD). It supports fast-charging over USB or POGO pins, its 5,050mAh battery is removable, and it can also be used without a battery in a fixed location like an information kiosk when connected to a “dedicated power source accessory.” There’s a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel selfie camera, and Samsung specifically notes that the tablet’s cameras are optimized for barcode scanning. It’s available with…Continue readingSamsung’s latest rugged tablet is designed to stand the test of time

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VentureBeat

The DeanBeat: Agent Venture makes Zoom time fun again

Escape rooms have taken a big hit during the pandemic. But they’ve moved online, into Zoom calls and other video solutions, and that may save us all while we’re still locked in isolation. These games are an example of the human need for play. Clever game developers are adapting escape rooms into online-only episodes that you can play with your friends while you’re talking in a Zoom meeting. Such entertainment is a lifeline during COVID-19. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of calls on Zoom or other meeting platforms, and this really hits the spot. I played an online adventure called Agent Venture from the United Kingdom-based The Adventure Is Real. You participate in a Zoom call with up to four of your friends and go on a mission, assisting a secret agent as he tries to infiltrate the operations of the evil B.A.D. Corp. headquarters and foil the crimes of the wicked CEO, J. Bozo. The contact on the ground, Agent Venture, is played by an actor, whose face you never see. They supply the drama and voices for multiple characters. Your group of four or five friends serves as the remote team, dubbed CRTL, to help get Agent Venture where he needs to go. And the agent doubles as the game’s coach in case your team gets stuck. It’s like the team that helps James Bond on his missions. How it came to be Above: The Adventure Is Real started as a dungeon-themed physical escape room.…Continue readingThe DeanBeat: Agent Venture makes Zoom time fun again

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The Next Web

TimeSync Pro makes sure your schedule doesn’t waste your time or screw up your day

TLDR: TimeSync Pro saves you time and headaches by taking full control of your scheduling and contacts. Decentralized remote workforces have quickly become the routine. While eradicating the commute and never having to wear pants to work in your home office are huge upsides, there are a couple of drawbacks too.  In many cases, workers no longer enjoy the in-house computer network of their workplace, which means everybody is doing their own thing when it comes to stuff like scheduling. If you thought it was tough to corral everybody in the sales team for a meeting when you were all under one roof, just try it in this scheduling Wild West we’re in now. Novocall TimeSync Pro was designed especially for remote workers, acting as a virtual secretary to set all your meetings and other contacts quickly and easily. Right now, a lifetime subscription to all of TimeSync Pro’s services is available at 90 percent off its regular price, only $39.99 from TNW Deals. With TimeSync, you have a fully customizable online interface that can be embedded right on to your website. It integrates seamlessly with your current calendar, whether you use Outlook Calendar, Google Calendar or other scheduling environments. In fact, TimeSync plays nice with virtually all major business or meeting platforms, allowing you to sync meetings and outcomes with others over places like Zoom, Salesforce, Google Hangouts, or HubSpot. Even Google Analytics and Facebook integrate perfectly with TimeSync. If someone wants to connect with you, all they have…Continue readingTimeSync Pro makes sure your schedule doesn’t waste your time or screw up your day

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Engadget

SpaceX’s reused rockets will carry national security payloads for the first time

There’s clearly a pragmatic incentive to allow reused rockets. The Space Force expects to save $52.7 million for the GPS III missions alone. It might also be difficult to insist on brand new rockets. SpaceX is shifting its focus to Starship, and might not be eager to make more Falcon 9 rockets than necessary. This also reflects added trust in SpaceX. Although the company has clearly played a crucial role in US government launches through projects like Crew Dragon, the contract represents another level of confidence. Source linkContinue readingSpaceX’s reused rockets will carry national security payloads for the first time

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The Next Web

This highly-rated password manager is now on sale for a limited time

TLDR: Dashlane Password Manager creates strong, unique passwords for all of your accounts or website logins with one-click access from all of your devices. With almost everyone working from home these days, it’s no surprise that the overall state of web security isn’t great right now. In most cases, each of us is responsible for maintaining our own vigilance over passwords and other exploitable security measures. Unfortunately, that attention to our own digital health and safety isn’t as focused as it should be. It’s no mystery how most cyberattacks happen, with more than 4 out of 5 hacks traced back to stolen, weak or default passwords. And whether you’re in the cloud, in a foreign nation or even right in an American classroom, hacks happen every day. The Dashlane Password Manager is your frontline protection against the boilerplate password infiltration that leaves users, their employers and everyone they know open to exploitation. With the huge TNW Three-Day VIP Annual Sale, you can also get protected at a huge savings, 40 percent off your total cost when using the codeword VIPSALE40 during checkout. That drops your price down to only $17.99 for a one-year subscription. Dashlane is one of the most respected password protection services around, posting a solid 4.6 out of 5 star rating from reviews from both Google Play and the Apple App Store. Those raves are linked to Dashlane’s ease of use and full synchronization of the entire login and authentication process. Dashlane generates secure, one-of-a-kind passwords for…Continue readingThis highly-rated password manager is now on sale for a limited time

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The Next Web

Quantum and classical computers handle time differently. What does that mean for AI?

As humans, we take time for granted. We’re born into an innate understanding of the passage of events because it’s essential to our survival. But AI suffers from no such congenital condition. Robots do not understand the concept of time. State of the art AI systems only understand time as an implicit construct (we program it to output time relevant to a clock) or as an explicit representation of mathematics (we use the time it takes to perform certain calculations to instruct its understanding of the passage of events). But an AI has no way of understanding the concept of time itself as we do. Time doesn’t exist in our classical reality in a physical, tangible form. We can check our watch or look at the sun or try and remember how long it’s been since we last ate, but those are all just measurements. The actual passage of time, in the physics sense, is less proven. In fact, scientists have proven that time’s arrow – a bedrock concept related to the classical view of time – doesn’t really work on quantum computers. Classical physics suffers from a concept called causal asymmetry. Basically, if you throw a bunch of confetti in the air and take a picture when each piece is at its apex, it’ll be easier for a classical computer to determine what happens next (where the confetti is going) than what happened before (what direction the confetti would travel in going backwards through time). Quantum computers can perform…Continue readingQuantum and classical computers handle time differently. What does that mean for AI?