Saturday, October 12

Month: November 2014

Report Predicts that Cloud and NFC Payment will Cause POS Market Growth
Business

Report Predicts that Cloud and NFC Payment will Cause POS Market Growth

In spite of some recent security setbacks, the market for point-of-sale terminals is set to keep growing, as new payment technology becomes more integrated. This data comes from a new report released by Grand View Research, a business consulting firm. According to the report titled “Global Point-of-Sale (POS) Terminals Market Analysis Size And Segment Forecasts To 2020,” the adoption of near-field communication (NFC) and cloud technology for payments will boost the market for POS terminals. NFC is the technology that allows users with chip-enabled cards or digital wallets to pay wirelessly just by waving their phone or card near a payment terminal. According to a recent story aired on Good Morning America, 70% of card users will be upgraded to cards with chips by 2015. Both chip-embedde...
Owner of New York Knicks and Cablevision Clashes with Labor Board Over Unions
Business

Owner of New York Knicks and Cablevision Clashes with Labor Board Over Unions

The owner of the New York Knicks is embroiled in a legal battle this month, after the National Labor Relations Board charged him with breaking federal labor laws. When he's not working with the Knicks, owner James Dolan serves as the CEO of Cablevision, a New York-based telecommunications company which is currently under scrutiny. He replaced his father as CEO in 1995 and also owns Madison Square Garden, the New York Rangers Hockey Team and the MSG Network, which airs games from both teams. The NLRB claims that Dolan threatened the company's Brooklyn technicians with withheld pay increases if they didn't vote themselves out of their union, the Communications Workers of America. Dolan is also accused of sponsoring a poll to determine whether the technicians wanted to leave the union, whic...
The Elephant in the Room: The Real Student Loan Debt Problem No One Wants to Talk About
Lifestyle

The Elephant in the Room: The Real Student Loan Debt Problem No One Wants to Talk About

Anthony Manfre, an Army veteran, was able to cover most of the cost for his associate's and bachelor degrees using benefits from his GI Bill, though he still took out $4,000 worth of student loans to cover additional expenses. “At the time, I thought that was a lot,” he says. “And now I look back and wish I only owed that much.” However, Manfre decided to pursue both a master's and doctorate degree in marriage and family therapy, and needed to take out additional loans to cover his living expenses. Now, he's riddled with $200,000 of student loan debt. Like many other college graduates, Manfre viewed taking out student loans as a wise investment -- one that would allow him to further his career and create a better future. He assumed he would be able to afford to pay off his loan payme...
BMW Prototype Combines Street Light With Electric Vehicle Charging Station
Business

BMW Prototype Combines Street Light With Electric Vehicle Charging Station

The street light industry has a surprising new player as of Nov. 7: German automaker BMW. The company announced it has created two prototypes for a street light that can also serve as a charging station for electric cars. These “Light and Charge” lamps use ultra-efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) along with the charger, in order to provide a two-for-one energy benefit without expensive modifications to underground power lines. "Seamless charging infrastructure is essential if we want to see more electric vehicles on the road in our cities in the future," said Peter Schwarzenbauer, a BMW board member, on why BMW had taken on the development project. A pilot program will be implemented in Munich next year using existing street lights, and BMW says it hopes they will have them complete...
People Turn to Theft and Natural Alternatives as Teeth Whitening Gains Popularity
Lifestyle

People Turn to Theft and Natural Alternatives as Teeth Whitening Gains Popularity

The prevalence of teeth whitening procedures has increased by over 300% in the past five years alone, but it seems it's still hard pressed to meet demand. People are now turning to alternative ways to get teeth whitening done, including theft and...charcoal? According to CBS Pittsburgh, authorities in Hempfield Township, PA are still on the search for a couple who allegedly stole at least $1,200 worth of teeth whitening supplies from a local Target Store. In an interview with the local CBS Affiliate, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Steve Limani said that loss prevention at Target caught the female suspect on surveillance video placing teeth whitening products in her purse. According to Limani, the kits stolen were high-end products that are most likely in the $50 range. The male suspe...
Storage Business is Booming in the Twin Cities, in Spite of City Objections
Business

Storage Business is Booming in the Twin Cities, in Spite of City Objections

The demand for storage facilities is growing by the day, but businesses are often running into roadblocks when they try to open a new facility or expand an existing one. Cities are notoriously not big fans of storage facilities, for a number of reasons. They're lacking in curb appeal, as they are mostly just bland, garage-like buildings. These facilities also do little to boost tax rolls or generate jobs. City governments are much more likely to welcome businesses that will boost revenue or provide jobs for the community. However, in spite of city disapproval, the storage business is booming across the country. Over the years, storage units have gone from temporary to long-term storage solutions for many people. According to a survey by the Self Storage Association, 30% of storage re...
Interconnected Electronic Records Could Prevent Next Ebola Crisis, Top HHS Official Says
Business

Interconnected Electronic Records Could Prevent Next Ebola Crisis, Top HHS Official Says

Electronic health records could protect the United States against the next Ebola-like crisis, Department of Health and Human Services CTO Bryan Sivak told VentureBeat on Oct 28. “Wouldn’t it be great if the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] could be immediately alerted if a patient showed up at a clinic somewhere with a temperature of 104 degrees, and who had recently traveled to West Africa?” he asked, commenting after his appearance at the HealthBeat Conference in San Francisco. Many healthcare providers have already begun EHR adoption under the HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) Act of 2009, and clinics and hospital are required to report serious infectious disease cases to state health authorities, who in turn can make a report to the C...
Virgina Toddler Dies in Fire in Unlicensed Home Day Care
Local

Virgina Toddler Dies in Fire in Unlicensed Home Day Care

When it comes to finding child care options, many working parents turn to in-home day care providers to ensure their children will be properly supervised. But while these residential centers are a safe choice, some present serious danger to the families who use them. Such was the case in a recent fire in Midlothian, Virginia, where a fire in an unlicensed day care facility resulted in the death of a 13-month-old boy. Virginia State regulations state that any residential day care center, or "family day home," must be licensed by the Virginia Department of Social Services if the center plans to take care of more than five children not related to the provider. According to Chesterfield County fire officials, the day care operator, Laurie Underwood, told firefighters at the scene that she w...
State Farm’s Office Move in Richardson Will Leave Big Vacancy in Dallas-Area Office
Business

State Farm’s Office Move in Richardson Will Leave Big Vacancy in Dallas-Area Office

After State Farm Insurance moves two miles down the road in Richardson, Texas, it will leave behind a building that can house thousands of employees. The relocation is one of the biggest office moves the Dallas area has ever seen. The new facility, part of the CityLine project, will serve as a base for almost 8,000 of the insurance company's regional employees. But in a couple of years, the old building will sit empty, leaving more than one million square feet of office space. Gary Stephenson, spokesperson for State Farm, said that the company projects a move throughout 2015 and into 2016 in four new buildings. However, due to State Farm's lease of five buildings south of its new campus, with some leases running until 2018, the entire block of old office space is unlikely to go...
Grooming Kids to be Professional Athletes can be Dangerous, Health Experts Say
Sport

Grooming Kids to be Professional Athletes can be Dangerous, Health Experts Say

Sports have a long and well-documented history of helping kids in many ways. Kids who are in shape tend to score 30% higher on tests than kids who aren't, and kids who play sports generally have higher self-esteem. High school athletes are more likely to attend college and earn a degree than non-athletes, and youth sports can even discourage negative behavior, according to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.But is there a downside associated with all of these benefits? As youth sports become more "professionalized," it's beginning to look more and more like there might be.  Children are starting sports earlier than ever before, and some even begin playing competitively by age three or four. Children ages five and six are playing in "elite level talent develop...