Forget Passwords. It’s Time for Passphrases.

Two researchers are working on a new method of logging into your personal accounts. They want to make your password easier to remember and more difficult to hack. They're working on improving the "passphrase." Passphrases would come from a bank of about 10,000 words and would be completely random. 10,000 doesn't seem like a lot, but it is apparently more secure than a password you come up with yourself. Many people use the same password for multiple sites which makes it easier for hackers to crack the code. On most websites, your password is blocked out as you type it, making it more difficult to remember if you never actually see it, and leaves more room for error if you can't see what you're typing. Passphrases would give suggestions and guide you in the right direction and the user would be able to recall their passphrase with a little help. If a user forgets their password, a doodle can help serve as a clue to jog your memory.

Nike’s Sales Rise 10% on Higher Spending on Sneakers and Apparel

Nike's sales have risen to a near all-time high. This is caused by a few things. Nike has begun to sell their products directly to the customer. This means they are now selling their products on websites like amazon in addition to large retailers like nordstrom or macy's. The rise in sales has also come after the release of their new campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick. Many people were upset by this campaign and were defacing their nike gear and vowing to boycott the company. Although there was an initial decline in sales, it has still continued to rise in a positive manner.

Cast Iron Design

Boulder, Colorado

Apple Watch Series 4 First Look: A Medical Wearable in Pretty Disguise

Apple is releasing it's latest Apple Watch: The Series 4. There are many changes and new features with this new release including many new health tracking features. The new watch will be able to perform an echocardiogram, better known as an ECG. It will also have a "help I've fallen and I can't get up" feature. Apple predicts many people that need a device that can do that will choose the Apple Watch rather than something bulky that you wear around your neck or upper arm which is only used for that one sole purpose. The Series 4 can also monitor your heart rate and alert you if it is abnormally high or low. Aside from the health monitoring features, the new watch will also be bigger. The watch face was previously made at 38-42mm, but now it is being made in 40-44mm sizes. It will also feature a walkie-talkie so you can have short conversations without using your phone as well as improved workout settings for yoga and hiking.

Out of Stock this Holiday Season: Store Workers

It may be too soon to call this the Holiday Season, but it's right around the corner. Retail stores around the US are struggling to find the help they need for the upcoming busy season that comes with Christmas shopping. Many people do not want to work in the retail industry because of the inconsistency of hours and low hourly wages. Sometimes a retail employee can work 20 hours in a week, and the next week it could only be 5. This is one of the most undesirable traits of the retail industry. Major retailers are offering benefits such as a week of PTO, profit sharing, and raising their hourly wages, some up to $15 per hour. Another aspect of retail is delivery. According to this article, delivery drivers are so hard to come by that they are asking their in-store employees to help out with store deliveries.

Meta Design, San Fransisco

Homepage

Lyft’s Co-Founder Wants to End Car Ownership

Lyft's President, John Zimmer, says instead of getting a set of keys to a new car for your 16th birthday, he sees parents gifting their sixteen-year-olds a subscription to Lyft in the future. He also sees autonomous cars in our near future. These cars obviously wouldn't be able to handle every driving situation thrown at them such as bad weather, so they would only be used when deemed safe, but that is one of his biggest goals. Zimmer is not focusing on flying cars yet. He says he wants to tackle great ground transportation first. Car ownership costs around $9,000 per year, and car owners only use their cars about 4% of the time. Using Lyft for your primary mode of transportation would cost a fraction of that.

Walmart Tries Out Own Home-Delivery Service

Walmart has announced that they are rolling out their new home delivery service and they are running test runs currently. They plan to be delivering to homes in around 100 metro areas by the end of the year. They plan to have drivers use their own vehicles to make deliveries. They're going to call it "Spark Delivery" based on their starburst looking logo. It is currently being tested in Nashville, Tennessee and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Tech-Support Scams Prompt Google to Act

This article makes me so heated. It talks about how scam artists advertise on google to make money off of poor unsuspecting people who are seeking technical support with their Apple (or others) products. Scammers pay to have their ads show up when someone uses Google to search things like "Apple technical support." When a victim clicks on this, they are lead to a phone number to call and a link, for example, that is not associated with Apple Inc. at all. They are then directed to an "antivirus hacking specialist" that warns them that their computer has been compromised and that their personal information is now available to hackers, including their personal banking information. The victim is then told that they need to take action as soon as possible and in some cases are told to go to a convenience store to purchase a $100 iTunes gift card, described as an "anti hacking card." Thinking that people fall for this type of scam honestly pains me, but it happens a lot. The point of this article covers the fact that Google Inc. is cracking down on these scamming ads.

"The move comes after a Wall Street Journal investigation found fraudsters were exploiting Google’s advertising system by purchasing search ads and masquerading as authorized service agents for companies such as Apple Inc."

"A 2018 study found 72% of sponsored ads on major search engines related to technical support queries led to scam websites."

The Bachelorette Party’s Over: Venues Snub Bridezillas and Their Entourages

This article kind of gives me a good laugh. It covers the topic of how bachelorette parties can get rowdy and maybe even a little out of control thus leading to business venues no longer allowing them. Many times desirable venues will put out on their websites that they will not tolerate any veils, tiaras, or adult gag gifts. There's some backlash towards these venues from individuals saying "come on, lighten up, let people have some fun." But I can see both sides. When one bachelorette party breaks the rules and sneaks in veils and tiaras and has a photoshoot to post on Instagram, it can have negative effects on the business by bringing in more bachelorette parties and more mass-bridezilla destruction. In my own opinion, I think there should be an identical article dealing with bachelor parties having worked with them personally and seeing first-hand how destructive they can really be.