Quantcast
Channel: Business Insider
Viewing all 115285 articles
Browse latest View live

7 Stats We Just Learned About Same-Sex Couples

0
0

The US Census Bureau just released information on same-sex couples as part of its release of the 2013 American Community Survey data. Here are some of the highlights from the release.

Same-sex couples are a bit more educated than straight couples. While both married and unmarried gay and lesbian couples are about equally likely to have both partners holding at least a bachelor's degree, unmarried heterosexual couples are half as likely for this to be the case as married straight couples:

Bachelor's Degree Same Sex Couples

Along with being more likely to have higher educational attainment, same sex couples tend to have higher incomes than straight couples. Gay male couples, both married and unmarried, have very high average annual incomes, while lesbian couples, married or unmarried, make about the same as married straight couples. Unmarried straight couples had the lowest average income:

income same sex couples

Married couples of all orientations are more likely than unmarried couples to own their own houses. Unmarried same-sex couples are more likely than unmarried straight couples to be homeowners:

homeownership same sex couples

Both partners are more likely to be employed in unmarried couples of all three orientations than in married couples:

Employed Same Sex Couples

Both married and unmarried heterosexual couples are more likely to have children than gay and lesbian couples:

children same sex couples

Interracial marriages are more common among same-sex couples than among heterosexual couples:

Interracial Same Sex Couples

Same sex couples are, on average, a little older than heterosexual couples. Unsurprisingly, married couples tend to be older than unmarried couples:

Age of Same Sex Couples

 For more data, check out the Census Bureau's site here.

SEE ALSO: Here's The Fastest Growing County In Every State

Join the conversation about this story »









Inside The iPhone 6: Teardown Reveals It Costs Only $227 In Parts

Scientists Discovered What Makes Someone A Good Dancer

17 Of The Most Shocking PETA Ads

0
0

peta_louann_aotw

The People For the Ethical Treatment of animals do a lot of "shockvertising": using controversial images to burrow a message into your brain, by way of nearly naked people, bloody animal corpses, or an intensely dark sense of humor. 

The nonprofit revels in its audacity, putting together websites to promote ads that have been banned or rejected.

Though they turn plenty of heads, do some of their ads go over the line? PETA has been slammed for objectifying women, which may alienate potential new followers.

What do you think? Be warned — not all of these will be safe for work. 

Kim Bhasin contributed to an earlier version of this article.

This spot showed the link between purchase and poaching. 'Poaching is driven by demand. So the day you stop buying, they stop killing.' (Singapore, 2014).



This gruesome ad shows where fur comes from. 'Poaching is driven by demand. So the day you stop buying, they stop killing.' (Singapore, 2014).



It goes for menswear, too. 'Poaching is driven by demand. So the day you stop buying, they stop killing.' (Singapore, 2014).



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






Here's A Great Way To Find A Cheap Flight If You Don't Care Where

0
0

st. martin airplane maho beach

Sometimes, when you are planning a vacation, where to go isn't the most important part of the equation.

For me, any number of factors can determine the destination: Is it relaxing? Is it interesting? Is it exotic? Have I been there before? If a destination hits any of those factors, I could be interested — as long as airfare is the right price. 

While planning a recent vacation with no concrete destination in mind, I hit upon one of the best secrets in travel.

For those in the know, SkyScanner is one of the best travel booking sites on the planet. It searches through hundreds of different booking and airline sites to find you the best deals, but somehow it always seems to find cheaper flights than other travel sites like Expedia or Kayak. In addition it has great features like airfare graphs to let you know whether you should buy now or wait for prices to drop. 

SkyScanner's best secret, however, is for people who aren't too picky about the destination: It lets you search for flights all over the world to find the cheapest destination to fly into. 

To search for flights all over the world, simply go to the SkyScanner flight search page and enter the city you are flying out of in the "From" box and then type in "Everywhere" in the "To" box. Step1Next, put in your desired dates and hit "Search." SkyScanner will then search all the available flights on those dates and give you every option ordered by price.  Step2

Just in the quick search above, I found sub-$400 airfare to hot travel destinations like Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Mexico, and St. Maarten. Cheap U.S. flights on those dates include Florida (Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale), Chicago, and Texas. If your dates are flexible, try out a few different searches.

There are also great last-minute deals. In August, I found a $350 round-trip ticket to Stockholm, Sweden, for just two weeks later. It's usually impossible to fly round-trip to Europe for anything less than $800.

SEE ALSO: The 20 Best Airlines In The World

Follow us! Business Insider Is On Instagram

Join the conversation about this story »








Here's Why Paper Cuts Hurt So Much

I Just Switched To A Really Big Phone And I'm Completely In Love With It

0
0

Carrots on Phone

There's been a ton of debate swirling around the watercooler lately about big vs. small. I'm talking about phone size, and people are really divided on this topic. Particularly with Apple's new line of iPhones — the 6 and the 6 Plus.

I'd already made my decision months ago that this next phone was going to be an Android (I'm the kind of guy who will switch the furniture around in his living room every couple of months just because I want to switch things up). So when my iPhone decided to completely kick the bucket and give me some version of the blue screen of death a couple weeks ago, I leaped at the Galaxy Note 3.

I love this phone. I love its size. And I am never turning back.

Look at this.

Big flies in phone

Amazing. Sitting right next to the iPhone 5, the Samsung looks like a behemoth. A mammoth hunk of electronics that nobody could ever possibly want or need, right?

Oh so wrong.

After about an hour of using one of these "phablets," you're going to wonder why you balked in the first place. Phones aren't phones anymore, it's as simple as that. They are multimedia juggernauts. All that stuff that developers work tirelessly to get in our app stores is meant to be watched, played with, and shown around.

Pizza on phones

Sure we take the odd phone call and compose text messages, but mostly we're consuming and creating content. And, as I have learned, a 4-inch screen (or, I would argue, even a 4.7-inch screen like the iPhone 6) just isn't enough.

Let me answer your questions.

Does it fit in your pocket? It looks completely unmanageable. It fits great, much better than you would think for most people.

Can you type on it easily? Yes, in fact, it's easier.

Does it use way more battery because the screen is so much larger? No. Battery life is better because the phone can house a larger power source.

Can you use it with one hand? Absolutely. And if you feel a little off, these phablets (including the new iPhone 6 Plus) come with a one-handed mode that shrinks the display and docks it to one side for easy tapping.

Note 3 on iPhone 5I couldn't even imagine moving to a smaller phone now. When I pick up my wife's iPhone 5 and stare at the screen I can hardly believe that I used to get by with it for all those years. It's almost adorable how tiny and unfortunately ill-equipped it is.

In fact, now that I have my 5.7-inch screen, I almost want one bigger! Of course, I won't be actually following through on that, but the point stands. Big-screen phones are fantastic, fun to use, more suitable for the actual functions of a smartphone in 2014, and most importantly, not a burden in any sense. Once you get it, you're almost immediately used to it and you will never even consider turning back.

So keep that in mind when you're looking for a new smartphone to be your life companion. Bigger is better, and you won't regret it for a single second.


NOW WATCH: We Did The Math— Which iPhone 6 Should You Buy?

 

SEE ALSO: Critics Are In Love With The iPhone 6

Join the conversation about this story »








The Best 'Cheap Eats' In New York City


The 19 Essentials That Every Gentleman Needs This Fall

0
0

stylish man jeans blazer sunglasses

When you were a child, fall meant new school gear to start the season off fresh.

It's a little different for adults — no Trapper Keepers or freshly sharpened pencils — but freshness is still absolutely required.

To help you get set for the season, Business Insider put together a list of items that will put you in the right mind (and body) to start anew.

We want you to look, feel, and think sharp, so this isn't just about the clothes, people.

It's about the gentleman.

Bomber jacket

Bomber jackets have that ultimate cool-guy vibe to them, and they are the rare style that has been all over the runway that also fits in your closet.

Get a great bomber jacket here for $570, or a cheaper alternative for $188 here.



Some dressed-up fall footwear

We're told that this autumn it's all about boots — Chukkas, Chelseas, and Oxfords (the pair pictured is from Paul Evans). 

And as it gets colder (but not too cold and snowy) it's a good time to pick up some suede shoes. You can even design your own pair at Awl & Sundry.

Read more about fall shoe trends here.



A leather portfolio

Unless you want to lose everything, definitely invest in a work bag.

Although messenger bags have been popular the past few years, we recommend you get a portfolio instead. Messenger straps can crinkle your shirt and suit — and no one wants to look disheveled at a meeting.

You can get yourself a black leather portfolio from 3.1 Philip for $750 here at OWEN's online shop.

But if you must get a messenger bag, here's a cheaper option for $188.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






Sumo Wrestlers Try To Make Babies Cry On Purpose In Unusual Japanese Tradition

0
0

afp having a bawl japans sumo wrestlers grapple with cry babies

Tokyo (AFP) - Japanese parents watched with glee on Sunday as sumo wrestlers tried to reduce their babies to tears, in a centuries-old ritual believed to bring good health to bawling infants.

More than a hundred sobbing babies were subjected to the ordeal at Tokyo's Irugi Shrine, with their doting parents watching happily as the amateur wrestlers bounced them up and down in a makeshift sumo ring. 

Some of the infants, aged between six and 18 months, were roared at in the face in a bid to get the tears flowing.

"The babies' cries are intended to reach God and parents hope that their little ones will grow healthy and strong," explained Yoshimi Morita, a priest at the shrine, where screams and squawks filled the air. 

"So if a baby doesn't cry at this event, sumo wrestlers try to make him or her cry on purpose, moving the baby up and down, while their parents watch with pounding hearts," he said.

"There is no victory nor defeat in this wrestling, and a match always ends with a chorus of 'Banzai raku!' which means 'Live long'."

The ceremony dates back some 400 years and is held at shrines nationwide. The rules vary from region to region -- in some versions the babies are raced against each other to see who will cry first, while in others the first crier is the loser.

Delighted mother Mae Shige said her son had performed well at Sunday's event.

"He's not a baby that cries much but today he cried a lot for us and we are very happy about it," Shige said.

Yuki Ibusuki, another mother at the shrine, said of her son: "He'll be one soon, and we wanted to come here so that we would have a memory of this event for when he grows up."  

Join the conversation about this story »








Step Inside Bernie Madoff's $14.5 Million Penthouse Where The Ponzi Schemer Lived Under House Arrest

0
0

The living room offers views of the the Chrysler building. It also leads to a landscaped terrace.

The penthouse where convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff once lived has sold again for $14.5 million, Page Six reports.

According to the report, the apartment was sold to Lawrence Benenson, who runs a real estate investment and development firm. 

Douglas Elliman had the listing.

In December 2008, Madoff was arrested for securities fraud. For a few months, he was allowed to remain under house arrest in the lavish apartment. 

He was ultimately sentenced to 150 years in federal prison for orchestrating the largest financial fraud in history. He's currently serving his term in a federal facility in Butner, North Carolina.

The apartment looks airy and bright.



The living room offers views of the Chrysler building. It also leads to a landscaped terrace.



The living room also features a fireplace.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






These Photos Of Animals Devouring Things Are Captivating

0
0

Since 1994, the photographer Catherine Chalmers has been documenting nature's food chains by photographing animals of progressively larger size eating each other as they work their way up the trophic ladder.

While the idea for the project initially horrified her, Chalmers felt compelled to document food chains because it's something that's necessary to the world and largely ignored by humans.

"Humans have tried to remove ourselves from the food chain," she told us, "but it is the food chain that we rely on."

Chalmers has shared a number of photos from her project here, and you can see more on her website. The work was recently featured on Slate's Behold photo blog.

For the project, Chalmers did a three-step food chain. She started in the insect world with caterpillars, which are herbivores. She fed them a tomato.

FC Tomato 1

When Chalmers began the project, the internet was hardly as robust as it is today. She contacted the Natural History Museum for a biological catalog to obtain the live insects.

FC Tomato 3

Caterpillars are basically long digestive tubes, Chalmers said. After they fill themselves with as much as they can eat, they go to sleep.

FC Tomato 4

Chalmers had to keep switching out caterpillars because they got full so quickly.

FC Tomato 5

Chalmers next obtained praying mantis eggs. When they hatched, she had approximately 200 praying mantises that were about the size of mosquitoes. She had to separate them quickly so they wouldn't eat each other.

FC PM 1

Praying mantises are happy to eat anything, in fact. They starting munching right away on the caterpillars, which are a common food for mantises.

FC PM 2

The food caterpillars ate prior to becoming mantis prey determined what their insides looked like. In alternate photographs, Chalmers fed them yellow peppers or tobacco leaves, turning their insides yellow and brown respectively.

FC PM 3

Chalmers got very attached to her insects. She said one of the most difficult parts of the project was selecting which caterpillars and praying mantises would get eaten.

FC PM 5

The last stage in Chalmers' food chain was supposed to be a tarantula. While she bred a Mexican redknee tarantula, she had difficulty getting it to feed on the praying mantis. Tarantulas are finicky creatures, capable of not eating for months at a time.

In addition, while fully mature tarantulas can take out most praying mantises, mature praying mantises are capable of killing tarantulas. To that end, she had to ensure the life cycle of her mantises and tarantula intersected so the mantises would get eaten. It was a difficult task.

After trying for months, Chalmers decided to try an Indonesian breed of frogs, which will eat anything in front of them.

FC Frog 2

Praying mantises always think of themselves as the top predator. Because of that, they have no fear climbing on top of the much larger frog.

FC Frog 3

It didn't turn out well for the mantis.

FC Frog 7FC Frog 9

Most animals like to take a nap after eating.

FC Frog 10

After the insect project, Chalmers moved on to mammals. Her first target: mice.

FC Pinkies 3

"They're nature's 'Cheerios.' Everyone eats them," Chalmers said. "When rodent populations crash, animal populations crash along with them."

FC Pinkies 4FC Pinkies 5

Creating a balanced food chain is extremely difficult. Even though the mice had multiple predators (tarantula, snake, etc), they bred so fast the predators couldn't keep up with how many mice were being born.

FC Pinkies 6

SEE ALSO: The 20 Best New Pictures Of Nature From Around The World

Join the conversation about this story »








This Startup Hopes To Revolutionize Early Education By Letting Kids Build Their Own Apps

0
0

This video is sponsored by Verizon.

 

Yogev Shelly had a vision for children's education. What if, instead of downloading ready-made apps, kids could build their own apps and games — and in the process not just learn about different subjects, but also become more creative, engaged, and technologically adept?

Shelly started TinyTap do just that. TinyTap is a platform enabling kids to create their own educational apps and embrace learning on their own terms. The idea was so innovative, the startup received $1 million in funding as the Education winner of Verizon's Powerful Answers Award.

Now partially based in San Francisco, TinyTap is working with the Children's Creativity Museum and other groups such as Edventure More, which recently hosted a "hackathon" where kids used TinyTap to build learning games using their own family photos. "A program like TinyTap could really change early childhood education," says Ed Caballero, executive director of Edventure More. Watch the video to learn more.

This BI Studios original video was produced in association with Game Changers.

Learn more about Verizon's Powerful Answers Award.

Find out more about Sponsor Posts.

Join the conversation about this story »








5 Things You Should Do Now That You're An Experienced Professional

0
0

This post is sponsored by FlexPath by Capella University.

Once you've entered the working world, your goal is to gain experience as a serious professional with real-world skills and knowledge (and a salary to match, at least in theory).

But sometimes, once you've reached a certain level, it can be harder to take things to the next level, to avoid falling into a rut and getting stagnant with your life and career goals.

Ready for the next phase of your life? Hoping to achieve certain ambitions not just in your career, but in your personal life as well? We've suggested a few goals that you can set — and meet — now that you've got some years of wisdom and experience under your belt.

1. Become a mentor.

The benefits of becoming a mentee are obvious to anyone who wants to learn from someone else’s accomplishments. The boon to the mentor, while perhaps less obvious, is no less real. First, mentoring younger colleagues can help move promising employees into better roles at your business, as well as strengthen company culture. Second, you’ll bolster the knowledge you’ve already gained every time you pass it on while practicing your leadership and communication skills. As leading management consultant Peter Drucker said, "No one learns as much about a subject as one who is forced to teach it."

You’re likely to learn something new, even if you're already an expert. If nothing else, a mentee can give you fresh insights about starting out you might have forgotten. Finally, your mentee can benefit you in the future by becoming a valuable ally in your industry. Now that you’ve achieved your initial professional goals, set new ones for yourself and your mentee.

2. Set (and meet) a fitness milestone.

As you get older, the body you might have previously neglected begins to insist on your attention. So rather than let your aching knees do all the talking, take control of the conversation. Whether it’s running a 5K after months (or years) on the couch or scaling the seven summits around the world, what better way to celebrate five decades of your body than pushing it to challenging, yet achievable goals?

Luckily, as an adult, your fitness routines aren’t limited to dodgeball or whatever torments your gym teacher has designed. Think about what you want to accomplish — weight loss, strength training, flexibility, core strengthening, or overall improved wellness — and find the program that’ll get you there.

3. Go back to school.

Even after you've graduated college, you can still supplement the wisdom you’ve gained over the years with the kind of learning you’d only get as a student. And with plenty of time left in your career, there’s no reason to put off getting the degree that’s been keeping you from moving up in your field or starting in a new one. Returning to school later in life also has certain advantages, since you have years of practice in setting and achieving goals.

Luckily, those in professional fields can take advantage of online degree programs that are designed for self-motivated, independent adult learners. Capella University’s innovative FlexPath program, for example, is self-paced, so students can progress on their own time, no matter how busy they are in the rest of their lives. The program is specifically designed for experienced professionals, who can apply their real-world knowledge — in, say, negotiating or managing budgets — in working through the material. And with a flat quarterly tuition and no limits on the number of courses a person can complete in a quarter, a motivated professional will be able to fulfill his or her intellectual bucket list that much sooner.

4. Learn a new language, craft, or skill.

There's always room for change and ways to surprise yourself. By learning something different, you can prove what you’re capable of with your mind, your hands, or both. Mastering a new language makes international travel less intimidating, while learning a craft or skill – whether it's knitting, woodworking, surfing, or computer programming – helps you carve out some space for yourself, which eventually leads to more social time. The more you learn, the more you can teach and network with others.

5. Secure your financial future.

If you’ve achieved significant professional and financial success, you might not think you need a financial planner. Big mistake. Formulating a financial plan, and consulting with an expert to do that, may be the step you need to take to move you into the next tax bracket. A financial planner can help you define realistic financial goals, reveal financial mistakes (maybe the ones you’re in a denial about), find new ways to maximize your money, and identify risks. After you’ve ensured a stable financial base for yourself, devise an estate plan that distributes your holdings according to your intentions while also minimizing taxes and maximizing gains.

Learn more about Capella's new FlexPath self-paced learning program.

– Written by Sandie Angulo Chen

Find out more about Sponsor Posts. 

Advertisement

 

Join the conversation about this story »








Burger King Japan's Black Burgers Look Unbelievably Gross In Real Life

0
0

Burger King recently launched two new hamburgers in Japan that feature black buns and cheese with matching squid ink black sauce.

Ads, like the one below, made the burgers look pretty unappetizing.

Black burger Burger King

But the burgers, known as the Kuro Diamond and Kuro Pearl, look even worse in reality.

Here are some examples:

  

To achieve the black coloring, Burger King dyed the buns and cheese with bamboo charcoal and mixed the meat with black pepper.

The burgers, which hit Burger King's Japan locations on Friday, are selling for approximately 690 yen ($6.40) and 480 yen ($4.50).

Reviews of the new menu items are mixed.

"If you can get past the shocking color, it's not bad," writes the Associated Press.

Customer Julien Tirode told the AP: "I'm a little disappointed because to me, it has no special taste or anything. Yes, the burger is black, the cheese is black, there's little black stuff in the meat, but (other than that) that, there's nothing special to me."

SEE ALSO: 18 Awesome Fast Food Items You Can't Get In The US

FOLLOW US: Business Insider is on Instagram!

Join the conversation about this story »









The 20 Best Places To Live In America

0
0

madison wisconsinThere are plenty of benefits to living in big cities like New York and San Francisco. 

But do they really offer the highest quality of life?

Residential resource company Livability recently released its annual list of the 100 best places to live in the US, looking at factors like access to schools, hospitals, and infrastructure; affordability and income; and how residents take advantage of those opportunities. (You can read the complete methodology here.)

Livability looked at more than 2,000 small- to mid-size cities in the US, with populations ranging from 20,000 to 350,000, to compile its ranking.

20. Eugene, Oregon

Located near the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, Eugene is an outdoorsy city with tons of water sports and a health-conscious attitude. The city is also home to the University of Oregon and has numerous performing arts and cultural venues.

Population: 156,222

Median Household Income: $41,525

Median Home Price: $244,600

Source: Livability.com



19. Rockville, Maryland

Rockville is a wealthy city on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. It is home to bio-medical and technology companies, with a 100,000-square-foot library and a popular town square.

Population: 60,960

Median Household Income: $97,667

Median Home Price: $481,700

Source: Livability.com



18. Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City offers a ton of recreational activities for residents, thanks to its proximity to the mountains and ski resorts. The University of Utah lends a lot to the city's culture. 

Population: 186,740

Median Household Income: $44,510

Median Home Price: $240,600

Source: Livability.com



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






12 Vine Stars Who Should Be On Your Radar

0
0

darius bensonSix seconds may not seem like a lot of time. 

But for the stars of Vine, six seconds is more than enough time to create clever videos with their own plot lines and surprise endings.

And for the creators who have amassed huge followings on the network, it can be relatively easy to partner with advertisers who will cut them a big check just for mentioning brand names or re-Vining sponsored videos. Some Vine stars — many of them teens and young twenty-somethings — can even make a living off of creating six-second videos. 

Niche, a startup that helps brands partner with popular social media creators, helped us compile a list of the best up-and-coming Vine stars out there. We're rounding up some of their most entertaining Vines here. 

Alli Fitz (or AlliCatt, as she's known online) is an Ohio college student whose Vines have gotten her promotions with Coke, MTV, and Universal Music.

Vine Embed:
https://vine.co/v/OaEVAQxEH5D/embed/simple
Width: 800px
Height: 600px

 

(AlliCattt, 2 million followers)

 



Josh Darnit is a San Diego-based Vine star with more than 1.6 million followers. His adorable — and hilarious — kids often steal the spotlight in his Vines.

Vine Embed:
https://vine.co/v/OBPHQqFOQZU/embed/simple
Width: 800px
Height: 600px

 

(Josh Darnit, 1.6 million followers)



David Lopez is a southern California-based Viner with more than 3.5 million fans. He's friends with Josh Darnit, and Josh's adorable son Evan also often makes appearances.

Vine Embed:
https://vine.co/v/MTUh5F9bWVg/embed/simple
Width: 800px
Height: 600px

 

(David Lopez, 3.5 million followers)



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






Art Galleries Have Been Doing This One Thing Wrong For Decades

0
0

Red Hot

I recently headed to New York City's Lower East Side to see the "Red Hot" exhibition, a collection of strikingly attractive redheads shot by British photographer (and natural redhead) Thomas Knights. 

Among the redheads on the walls, one thing stood out — the exhibition's unusual photo policy. 

Take a look at the image below, one which I was encouraged to take:

Red Hot Photo Gallery

In the hundreds of galleries and museums I've visited to around the world, I've never seen a photo policy quite like it. But why is that?

Surely in the age of selfies and social media, there's no better way to promote a venue than by encouraging people to share their experiences. "The Daily Show" live taping is another venue which seems to have gotten the message. Rather than banning cameras as they once did, they encourage the audience to take selfies before the show.

But hundreds of galleries and museums around the world still ban photography inside the buildings. Eagle-eyed and sharp-tongued attendants enforce this policy.

It's possible these galleries fear people won't visit if they can see the images online, or that photos will harm the sales of postcards and souvenirs. Or they might think photography will disturb other visitors.

Surely each of these reasons is a little outmoded, especially given the cries of "No Photo!" from attendants is invariably more disturbing than the silent tap of a camera-phone. And if galleries are leaning too heavily on their often over-priced store sales, then maybe they need to examine their business models rather than turn themselves into the photo police.

Daily Show StudioTo me, the photo bans reek of cultural snobbery and outdated thinking. I don't want to view a gallery through the lens of a camera or the screen of an iPhone — but why should I care what others are doing? And if I want a photo to remember my visit, who exactly am I harming?

Some galleries with historic art claim the restrictions are about protecting aging paint from flashing bulbs, but that's an argument against flash, not photography altogether. In any case, the truth of the claim is apparently a point of contention among curators.

For those who do find photography too distracting, Sir Peter Bazalgette, chairman of the British Arts Council, suggested an hour each day when photos are prohibited. It sounds reasonable, and he's otherwise completely in favor of photography. 

Musee d'Orsay ParisNina Simon, director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, told Art News“You are fighting an uphill battle if you restrict ... Even in the most locked-down spaces, people will still take pictures and you’ll still find a million of these images online. So why not support it in an open way that’s constructive and embraces the public?”

Alisa Martin, senior manager of visitor services at the Brooklyn Museum, told Art News that enforcing the policies was a waste of resources. “Guards are spending so much time focusing on someone holding a device that they might not see the person next to them touching the art,” she said.

As Thomas Knights and his extraordinarily successful "Red Hot" global PR campaign has shown, there's far more to be gained from users sharing their images than museums and galleries restricting them.

SEE ALSO: Discovery Is Becoming More And More Ridiculous With Its Fake Documentaries

Join the conversation about this story »








These Siri Punctuation Commands Make Texting So Much Better

0
0

star trek jean-luc picardSiri has been able to handle punctuation commands since the get-go, but they're among the sophisticated features that most people don't know about.

I only discovered them after using Dragon Dictation on my computer and reading the extensive instructions that come with that product. Well, it turns out Nuance, the company behind Dragon, helped build the voice recognition technology in Siri and included a lot of punctuation features.

Basically, all you have to do is say punctuation while dictating a sentence. For instance, you might say: "Text John Green: Hey John comma want to get brunch on Sunday question mark I'm finally free exclamation point."

Weird, right? And people who feel weird talking to their phone will feel even weirder doing this.

But once you figure out those crucial punctuation commands, dictation becomes an incredibly fast and easy way to have a conversation over text, especially for people who can't use phone keyboards as fast as kids these days. When I finally caught on, I sat in my living room for half an hour holding multiple conversations over text like never before. This way of texting is fun, while the old way always struck me as a chore — though, yes, I'm still going to use my thumbs when texting in the office and some other places.

It's worth noting that Siri could be a very useful way to interact with the Apple Watch, even if Apple hardly mentioned the voice assistant during its latest presentation. It's also worth noting that Siri is reportedly coming to Apple computers soon.

The full list of Siri punctuation commands appears below, courtesy of third party site Siri User Guide.

As for the competition, Android's ability to recognize punctuation is reportedly much more limited while Cortana reportedly has no comparable abilities — though users of those phones may be able to download apps to close the gap.

Here's what Siri can handle:

CommandActionBeforeAfter
New lineMove to the next line  
New paragraphStart a new paragraph  
CapCapitalise the next wordI like 'cap' sunshineI like Sunshine
Caps on ... caps offCapitalise a section of text'caps on' twenty types of flower 'caps off'20 Types of Flower
All capsMake the next word all uppercaseI 'all caps' love summerI LOVE summer
All caps on ... all caps offMake part of what you say uppercaseI 'all caps on' love summer 'all caps off'I LOVE SUMMER
No capsMake the next word lowercaseI like 'no caps' CapitalsI like capitals
No caps on ... no caps offMake sure part of what you say is all lowercaseWe like the cities 'no caps' London and Sydney 'no caps off' the mostWe like the cities london and sydney the most
Space barPrevent a hyphen from appearing in a normally hyphenated word  
No spacePrevent a space between words  
No space on ... no space offPrevent a section of text from having spaces between words  
"Period" or "full stop"Place a "." at the end of a sentence  
Dot.The number pi is three 'dot' one fourThe number pi is 3.14
Point.The 'point' number pi is three 'point' one fourThe point number pi 3.14 (note the subtle difference between saying 'point' and 'dot' dot works between words)
"Ellipsis" or "dot dot dot"...  
Comma,  
Double comma,,  
"Quote" or "quotation mark""  
"Quote ... end quote" or "quote ... close quote"Place quotes around a section of textShe said 'quote' see you next week 'end quote'She said "see you next week"
Apostrophe'  
Exclamation point!  
Inverted exclamation point¡  
Question mark?  
Inverted question mark¿  
Ampersand&  
Asterisk*  
Open parenthesis(  
Close parenthesis)  
Open bracket[  
Close bracket]  
Open brace{  
Close brace}  
Dash-This dash is dash my dash cheeseThis - is - my - cheese (note the difference in spacing between this and when saying hyphen)
Hyphen-This 'hyphen' is 'hyphen' my 'hyphen' cheeseThis-is-my-cheese (note the difference in spacing between this and when saying dash)
Em dash  
Underscore_  
Percent sign%  
Copyright sign©  
Registered sign®  
Section sign§  
Dollar sign$  
Cent sign¢  
Euro sign  
Yen sign¥  
Degree sign  
Caret^  
At sign@  
Pound sterling sign£  
Pound sign#  
Greater than sign>  
Less than sign<  
Forward slash/  
Back slash\  
Vertical bar|  
"Smiley" or "smiley face" or "smile face":-)  
"Frowny" or "frowny face" or "frown face":-(  
"Winky" or "winky face" or "wink face";-)  
E.g. (pronounced as "e g")e.g.'e g' when you learn to ride a bikeE.G. when you learn to ride a bike
i.e. (pronounced as "i e")i.e.'i e' when you learn to ride a bikeI.e. when you learn to ride a bike

Disclaimer: I am invested in Apple.

SEE ALSO: More incredibly useful Siri commands

Join the conversation about this story »








Mark Zuckerberg Is Annoying His Neighbors With The Fortress-Like Home He's Building In San Francisco

0
0

zuckerberg SF house

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is already being sued over his purchase of four adjacent homes in Palo Alto.

But now it's his second home, a fixer-upper in the Dolores Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, that's causing some tension among his neighbors. 

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "no parking" signs have been posted on the block of 21st Street near Dolores Street for more than 17 months. Dozens of construction workers have been doing some serious work on the street, installing everything from new kitchen equipment to fiber-optic cables under the sidewalk.

One contractor even estimated that there have been as many as 40 or 50 workers on-site each day since work began in April 2013. 

"This is nothing short of a fortress," one neighbor told the San Francisco Chronicle. 

City records show that contractors for Zuckerberg's house have applied for at least 10 construction permits, adding up to millions of dollars of work. 

Permits include allocations for $65,000 worth of renovation work on the kitchen and bathrooms, $750,000 for an addition to the rear and side of the house, and $25,000 to make the fourth floor "habitable." There's an additional $720,000 for an office, media room, half bathroom, mudroom, laundry room, wine room and wet bar, in addition to a new second-floor half bathroom and remodel of the second, third and fourth floors.

There's also going to be a new garage in the basement that will include a turntable so that cars can get in and out more easily.

All that construction work is really putting a strain on the neighbors, who complain of constant noise and have been blocked from parking on their street for months. 

"It’s hard to talk about it without sounding whiny or like the wealthy need to be punished just because they have money," one neighbor said.

Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan reportedly purchased the home for $10 million back in 2013.

SEE ALSO: Mark Zuckerberg Is Being Sued Over The Palo Alto Houses He Bought Last Year

WE'RE ON PINTEREST: Click Here To Follow Us

Join the conversation about this story »








Viewing all 115285 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images