What You Need to Know Today: December 24
Good afternoon, Early Risers!
Here’s what you need to know
TECH
Working exclusively from an iPad Pro. “Two weeks ago I got rid of my laptop and bought an iPad Pro, says Jon Wheatley. “My goal was to use it exclusively until I just couldn’t take it anymore. Here’s how it’s going.”
Goodbye, wearables. You had a stupid name anyway. “If you put your phone in a holster on your belt, is it a wearable?” LOL. Wired vetoes the use of the term “wearable.” Here’s why.
CAREER
When venture capital goes bad. “On September 4th, employees of Good Technology, a mobile security start-up in Sunnyvale, Calif., awoke to discover that their company was being sold to BlackBerry, the mobile device and software maker. Some workers immediately began trying to figure out what it meant for Good to abandon its long-anticipated plan to go public — a move that would have potentially turned their shares in the start-up into gold. They didn’t get firm answers that day, but the prospects did not look great. Around 9 a.m., hundreds of employees filed into a conference room or started up videoconference software to watch Good’s chief executive, Christy Wyatt, discuss the sale…” What happened next is bad. Read the full story.
Smartphones > food stamps. “The speaker onstage at Kelly’s community college looks like he’s having a heart attack. A well-known conservative academic on campus, his face turns red and his hands motion frenetically. But he’s actually denouncing the American poor, who he says are a leech upon the nation, with their reliance on welfare, their laziness, their misplaced priorities. ‘Instead of putting their kids at school or getting better jobs, they’re spending their money on TVs, VCRs, iPhones!’ he shouts, waving his own iPhone 6 in the air.” The rhetoric that poor people should not spend money on technology is regressive. Most jobs being created now require that employees be proficient in technology. By discouraging the poor’s use of technology, we’re placing them further at a disadvantage. Here’s a story about a girl who is digging herself out of poverty with the help of her smartphone. If you’re looking for a last minute gift idea, consider offering to pay someone’s phone bill this holiday season. That may have a bigger impact than making a donation to a food bank or clothing drive.
LIFESTYLE
Have yourself a happy Christmas and a merry holiday. “‘Tis the season for some to take offense when a store clerk says “happy holidays” instead of “merry Christmas,” or when a coffee chain converts to plain red cups for the holiday. The “war on Christmas” trope seems to surface with Black Friday sales, but who is actually at war?” Five Thirty Eight maps out the war on Christmas.
“Give it up Ridley and retire already.” Hilarious 1-star reviews from people who hated 2015’s most successful movies. Break out the popcorn!
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#NOWYOUKNOW
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