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We tested out the new free WiFi hotspots in New York City that used to be old payphones

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LinkNYC wifiLinkNYC, the program that plans to convert old New York City payphones into Wi-Fi hotspots with handy USB charging ports, made its official debut today.

The so-called "Links" will eventually be available at 7,500 old payphones, but the retrofitted terminals are initially rolling out in beta testing across a few city blocks in Manhattan. We decided to give the Wi-Fi capabilities a test drive to see if connecting to these links in the future would be worth it. 

Here is what it was like: 

 

Although Links are supposed to be available on all street corners between 13th and 19th street, this was the stand-in on the 19th street corner. Undeterred, we kept looking.



The corner of 17th and 3rd Avenue was more fruitful. Here's what an actual Link looks like. The Link is around 8ft tall, with two large screens on either side of it. In the upper corner is a "beta" sign.



The mini-vestibule in the middle of the Link is meant to replace old payphones. USB ports are also available for charging up your devices. A 911 button is also present, which may become very useful once all 7,500 Links are fully operational.



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Take a tour of Jordan Spieth's new $7.1 million Dallas mansion

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Jordan Spieth

Jordan Spieth is doing well for himself.

The 22-year-old golfer, currently ranked No. 1 in the world, opened his 2016 season with a dominant win at the Hyundai Classic. In 2015, he made a whopping $53 million. Last April, he bought a $2.3 million home in the affluent Preston neighborhood of Dallas.

Now, he's added a second Preston mansion to his collection — this one for $7.1 million.

According to The Dallas Morning News, Spieth purchased the five-bedroom, six-full- and two-half-bathroom house from fellow Under Armour PGA golfer Hunter Mahan, who originally listed the house for $9.5 million in 2014.

Take a tour of Spieth's new house:

The 16,655-square-foot mansion — with a guest house — sits in an exclusive gated community in Dallas, the Creeks at Preston Hollow, which also has unique access to two separate private-jet ports nearby.



The study was home to many of Mahan's trophies and golf bags. Something tells us Spieth shouldn't have a problem filling it with a few of his own.



This sitting area is one of several on the property.



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This brownie and cookie hybrid is the ultimate baked good

Meet the big shot residents of 15 Central Park West

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The ultra luxury condominium at 15 Central Park West is home to New York City's most powerful bankers, hedge funders, business tycoons and foreign billionaires. The building boasts an array of amenities including a library, 30 wine cellars, and a private restaurant.

Produced by Ruchika Agarwal

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We tried the German version of mac and cheese and it's delicious

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German food is known for being hearty and comforting, and käsespätzle is no exception. The best way to describe the dish is a German version of mac and cheese, as it's made with doughy noodles called spätzle, and covered in lots and lots of käse — cheese.

We took a trip to Heidelberg, a German restaurant on New York City's Upper East Side, to see how the dish is made.

Story by Sarah Schmalbruch and editing by Ben Nigh

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Tyrese has a private Benihana-style restaurant in his backyard, and it looks amazing

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Welcome to Gibsihana, the private hibachi restaurant that actor/model/singer Tyrese Gibson built in his backyard.

Aziz Ansari went after the Critics' Choice Awards, and gave the world a rare glimpse into the restaurant on his Instagram account. It's everything you'd expect a celebrity's backyard Benihana-style restaurant to be.

Story by Tony Manfred and editing by Stephen Parkhurst

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NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof says writing books with his wife is easy compared to raising kids

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Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn write all of their books together, and have even won a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting.

People always ask them how they pull it off, but Kristof says that if you can raise three kids together, "a book is a piece of cake."

Story and video by Adam Banicki

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Calvin Harris, the world's top-paid DJ, has listed his Hollywood Hills bachelor pad for just under $10 million

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calvin harris

You might be jealous of Calvin Harris because he's the world's best-paid DJ — the Scotsman raked in $66 million in 2015, according to Forbes estimates— or because he's superstar Taylor Swift's boyfriend.

Well, here's one more reason to be envious: He's got some pretty sweet real estate — like this four-bedroom, 10,620-square-foot Hollywood Hills bachelor pad, which he just put up for sale for $9.995 million, according to Variety.

He bought it in 2013 for $7 million, public records say. It's listed with the Altman Brothers and Douglas Elliman.

Does this confirm rumors that he's moving in with Swift? Not necessarily: Looks like Harris is just saying goodbye to his smaller spot, as he also owns a $15 million 10-bedroom mansion in Beverly Hills.

See how a DJ at the top of his game decorates his home below:

SEE ALSO: Wayne Gretzky's hilltop California mansion just got a $2 million price chop

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Set in Hollywood Hills West, just above the world-famous Sunset Strip, the 10,620-square-foot home boasts four bedrooms and seven bathrooms.



The contemporary two-level home is considered architecturally "zen," with lots of wide glass windows to take advantage of the views.



It also includes an infinity-edge pool.



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5 awesome men's snow boots you can actually buy right now

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Sorel Caribou

Bad news: It's finally snowing, and LL Bean's Bean Boots are sold out everywhere, backordered until at least March or April in some cases.

Good news: You don't actually need Bean Boots, and there are plenty of alternatives that you can buy right now. 

More good news: They're just as good as the legendary Bean Boots.

If you forgot to buy snow boots until now, it's not too late. These 5 boots will keep your feet warm and dry for years to come.

SEE ALSO: 16 things the modern gentleman should buy for the winter

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If you want something nicer than the Bean Boots

Sorel makes some tough-as-nails boots that are ideal for snowy winter conditions. The version closest to the Bean Boots is the Cheyanne Lace Boot, which features a full-grain leather upper and rubber bottom, just like the Bean Boot.

As a bonus, the boots are also lined, so they'll keep your feet nice and toasty.



If you want the boots to look as close as possible to the Bean Boots

Cabela's didn't even try to hide the obvious similarities between the Bean Boot and their Insulated Lace-Up Boot.

The shape mimics the classic boot almost exactly, but they're actually in stock. No word on quality, though they are a bit cheaper than the original.

 



If you just want a boot in a classic style

While not as trendy as the shape of the Bean Boot, the Sorel Caribou boot is a classic style that is just as authentic.

Designed to withstand temperatures as cold as -40 degrees Fahrenheit, these boots will certainly never leave your feet with a chill. They also have an AeroTrac outsole for better traction on slippery surfaces.



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We tried the ‘sushi burrito’ and it was amazing

9 ways the workplace will be different in 2050

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Futuristic woman

Over the years we've seen the workplace go through a number of dramatic changes: The dress code has shifted away from the suit and tie. There are entire jobs devoted only to the strategic use of social media. People are "job hopping" every year or two, rather than committing their careers to one company.

And that's just within the last five or 10 years; imagine how much different it will look several decades from now.

Business Insider spoke to futurists with expertise on the workplace to better understand how it could change by the year 2050. These are only predictions, of course, but given the already rapid pace of change underway thanks to advancements in technology, here are nine very likely scenarios we could see in the next few decades.

SEE ALSO: 25 ways the world changed in 2015

NOW READ: 25 jobs that might not be around in the future

The corporate ladder could become the "corporate lattice."

In the past 25 years, one-quarter of companies have reduced the number of layers of management they have, moving toward a flatter, more grid-like management structure.

We've already seen it in companies like Vegas-based e-commerce site Zappos, which eliminated employee titles just over two years ago in favor of a manager-free "holacracy."

"Traditional roles are going to disappear because many workplaces are going to disappear, so the whole structural hierarchical system is going to disappear," said James Canton, PhD, chairman and CEO of the Institute for Global Futures and author of "Future Smart: Managing the Game-Changing Trends that Will Transform Your World." "You'll end up with a system, a network of humans and artificial intelligence, crowd-based intelligence — they're all going to get mashed up."



Artificial intelligence could replace jobs previously held by humans ...

In May, NPR created a digital tool to calculate how likely it is that certain jobs will be taken over by robots 20 years from now.

Manual-labor jobs appear to be most at risk, while jobs that require empathy, like social workers and caretakers, are least at risk.

A University of Oxford report predicts that "by 2030, let alone by 2050, we'll have lost almost 50% of the workforce to artificial intelligence," said David Price, co-founder of cultural-change practice We Do Things Differently and author of "OPEN: How We'll Work, Live and Learn in the Future."

The Oxford report, which examined sectors most likely to lose jobs, noted that the transportation and logistics industry was particularly susceptible to upheaval thanks to the development of driverless cars by companies like Google.

Even jobs that seemingly require the human touch, like the classroom teacher, are at risk. 

"We're already seeing experiments with this robot in the classroom, and when you ask kids with autism which one they'd rather be taught by, the teacher or the robot, they pick the robot," Price said.



... but could also create jobs that didn't exist before.

New technology doesn't always mean the loss of jobs. The invention of the printing press actually created a lot of jobs back in the day, said Price, "and we're going to gain jobs as well, but it's guesswork which jobs we'll gain."

Canton predicts a scenario in which humans and robots work side-by-side in the future, where new jobs could include operating artificial intelligence-based technology and old jobs could be augmented by it.

"We're going to need to train people — whether on the factory floor or in a call center — how to use A.I. smarter," Canton said. "So right now the era of using these knowledge bases is kind of cumbersome, but over the next decades artificial intelligence will sense what somebody is asking a customer and will help the human operator provide better service."



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After losing his son to addiction, a father decided to change the world for the better

Here's how much interns make at top consulting firms

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Bain & Company lobby from facebook page

Landing a management consultant position at a top firm right out of college can result in a salary package topping $100,000 for the best employees — and more than $200,000 for recent MBAs. 

But the first step toward securing such a coveted job is acing the internship. And at many prestigious consulting firms, interns are well compensated from the get-go — especially if they're working on their MBAs.

Management Consulted, a company that helps candidates land consulting jobs, compiled data on some of the top-paying firms for interns. To determine these figures, it culled through information from clients, spoke with industry insiders, and pored over real offer letters from readers.

With typical internships lasting 10 weeks or more, Management Consulted found that undergraduates can expect to make in excess of $1,000 per week. Meanwhile interns working on their MBAs often command more than twice that amount.

Compensation for consulting interns

A.T. Kearney

Undergraduate: $11,000
MBA: $11,500/month


Bain & Company

Undergraduate: $12,500
MBA: $27,000 


Boston Consulting Group

Undergraduate: $13,500
MBA: $28,000


Deloitte 

Undergraduate: $31/hour; $47.50/hour for overtime
MBA: $28,450 + 2nd year MBA tuition reimbursement (up to $50,000)


IMS Consulting Group

Undergraduate: $11,000 + bonus
MBA: $11,250/month + $5,000 signing bonus


L.E.K.

Undergraduate: $11,000/month
MBA: $2,600/week + up to $4,000 performance bonus


McKinsey & Company

Undergraduate: $12,500/month
MBA: $29,500


PwC

Undergraduate: $33.50/hour, $50.25/hour for overtime 
MBA: $11,250/month

ZS Associates

Undergraduate: $11,000
MBA: $11,000/month + $5,000 signing bonus 

SEE ALSO: 17 of the highest-paying consulting firms for new graduates

NOW READ: 17 of the highest-paying consulting firms for MBAs

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NOW WATCH: What to do with your hands during a job interview

Costco is a men's underwear paradise

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Costco

You'd never guess that the place where you can buy 30 packs of toilet paper and breakfast cereal by the cubic foot would also be the place where you could get all your undergarment shopping done.

But it is.

Costco is secretly one of the best places for men to get every single undergarment they need. Socks, undershirts, belts, and even underwear — all by Costco's Kirkland Signature private label. 

It's all in the high-quality manufacturers Costco sources from and the exacting standards they hold for the products that carry the Signature label.

Unfortunately, it's a bit of a mystery who exactly manufactures these products, as both retailers and manufacturers prefer to keep mum about the relationships. So you won't know exactly who is manufacturing these products, but if you can live with the uncertainty, then the rewards are plentiful — as are the steals, since the items are quite a bit cheaper than their name-brand counterparts.

SocksKirkland wool socks

My favorite winter socks, the Kirkland Signature Men's Outdoor Trail Sock, is one of the best steals in all of men's sockdom. A four-pack of the merino wool blend socks is a mere $12 — an incredibly small amount of money for wool socks of this quality.

I've bought many over the years, and exactly zero have failed me so far. They're warm, soft, and, most importantly, comfortable.

Buying a comparable pair from an established wool sock brand like Smartwool would have cost $19 for one pair. Unfortunately, the socks are so popular, this year's run is already sold out, and the resellers are offering the socks for nearly double retail. It's worth keeping an eye out next fall however, when they return in September.

Belts

Another of my favorite items from Costco is the Kirkland Signature Men's Leather Belt. Though it costs a mere $18, the belt is made with Italian full-grain leather, which is the absolute best type of leather you can buy for a belt. The belt has lasted me years and still looks just as great as it did on day one. It's the perfect size, weight, and color, and I have every confidence it will last me years and years to come.

A comparable full-grain belt might cost anywhere from $50 to $100. Another steal from the bulk giant.

Undershirts

kirkland t shirts

Guys swear by the Kirkland Signature Men's Crew Neck Tee undershirts and, from my personal experience, it's easy to see why. The shirts are luxurious and thick, bucking the trend of off-brand clothing being weaker or thinner than their counterparts. They'll last quite a long while.

It's $19 for a six-pack, which might be a bit more expensive than undershirts you'd find at Walmart or Target, but the quality is much better, and the cotton is thicker.

Underwear

Though I have no personal experience with the buy-it-in-bulk chain's Men's Pima Boxer Briefs, many guysclaim they're some of the softest and durable they've worn. More importantly, they claim the underwear's Pima cotton-spandex blend allows it to keep its shape and not ride up, which is one of the most important things to consider when buying cheap(er) underwear. 

About $13 gets you four pairs, which is much cheaper than department stores or mall brands.

SEE ALSO: 16 things the modern gentleman should buy for the winter

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NOW WATCH: 5 of the most successful 'Shark Tank' stories of all time

This Instagram account has earned more than 5 million followers for its travel photos — here's what makes them so beautiful

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beautiful destinations paris photoDubbed "the largest travel influencer on Instagram" by its creator, Jeremy Jauncey, the Beautiful Destinations account currently boasts a whopping 5.2 million followers. 

The account posts photos from a variety of sources, whether they were taken by one of Beautiful Destinations' in-house photographers, popular Instagram users they officially work with, or by other Instagrammers that happen to post great travel photos and hashtag them #beautifuldestinations.

Founded by Jauncey in 2012, Beautiful Destinations has grown to become one of the most successful Instagram accounts out there. They've become so successful, in fact, that they've started helping other companies build out their social media presence. Their client list now includes top media publications, hotels, airlines, and tourism boards.

(That 5.2 million follower count, by the way, is just for the Beautiful Destinations account — Jauncey and his team also run accounts dedicated to photos of hotels, food, and luxury products and experiences, with a total following of more than 8 million.) 

Their secret, Jauncey says, is tapping into specifc visual elements that they know will make photos appealing to Instagram users. 

We spoke with Jauncey to find out what makes their travel photos so compelling.

SEE ALSO: 46 stunning Instagram photos that will inspire you to travel the world

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Beautiful Destinations uses data-driven analysis — what colors, perspectives, and poses are the most appealing to Instagram users, for example — to determine which images will bring in the greatest audience. This image, taken in Amsterdam by one of the company's weekly content creators, is one of Beautiful Destinations' most popular, with 209,000 likes.

By: @kardinalmelon

Courtesy of @beautifuldestinations



Another one of the account's most popular photos is this one of a traveler and her pup, which was taken on Lake Louise, in Alberta, Canada. It got more than 192,000 likes.

By: @hunter_lawrence

Courtesy of @beautifuldestinations



The account was started in 2012 and has been growing at a rapid pace ever since, thanks in part to the stunning and playful images the Beautiful Destinations team chooses, like this one taken in Kromlau, Germany.

By: @jacob of @lmt_

Courtesy of @beautifuldestinations



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This high-end candy shop sells edible Rolex watches and Ray-Ban shades — and they're stunning

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Sweet Saba 1484

The idea behind New York City-based artist and designer Maayan Zilberman's newest venture, Sweet Saba, is to create "an experience that is edible." 

The imaginative candy line allows her to create sweet treats in all different shapes and forms — from champagne-flavored Rolex watches, to colorful fruity sunglasses, to "party crystals," and even tiny mixtapes.

In just the past couple of months, Zilberman has been busy filling orders for high-profile clients (whose identities she can't reveal until they begin Instagramming her products), providing sweet treats at W's Golden Globes party, and keeping her pop-up shop at Fort Gansevoort in Manhattan running smoothly.

We got to talk to Zilberman about Sweet Saba's many different flavors, as well as the process behind her beautiful confections.  

SEE ALSO: A former lingerie designer has done something incredible with candy

The idea behind the Sweet Saba pop-up shop at Fort Gansevoort was to create a line of candy that looked like crystals. "What's special about crystals and rocks is that they are each unique — and I wanted each of these candies to be one of a kind," Zilberman told Business Insider.



"I like to think of Sweet Saba as a candy company for adults," Zilberman said. The candies are nostalgic in both the objects they imitate and in their fun flavors.



Flavors she has created with the help of a food technologist include turmeric, charred mint, olive oil, and bacon.



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The creator of the INSANITY workout is a big believer in drinking coffee with butter

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ABC's new weight-loss show "My Diet is Better Than Yours" pits fitness experts and dietitians against each other. Shaun T, the show's host and the creator of the INSANITY workout, told INSIDER that one of his favorite diets — The Wild Diet — is also one of the fattiest.

And part of this diet? The controversial "bulletproof" coffee, which combines coffee with butter from grass-fed cows.

Story and editing by Alana Yzola

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Take a tour of a stunning San Francisco tiny home that was once a 100-year-old French laundry

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Skyrocketing housing prices. A desire to live more simply.

These two trends, separately and together, have helped spur the creation of the tiny house movement across America.

Christi Azevedo, a designer and architect living in San Francisco, began creating limited-edition furniture, then turned her attention to her own living spaces. For her latest project, the "Brick House," she's remade a former French laundry boiler room into a tiny home.  

It's approximately 88 square feet, both livable and beautiful, a testament to the power of design to transform challenges into opportunities.

Produced by Andrew Stern and Sam Rega

Edited by Josh Wolff

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Why everything you thought you knew about buying quality leather is wrong

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leather shoes

Usually found on the underside of a belt or inside a leather good, a product's leather quality will be stamped one of three things: genuine leathertop-grain leather, or full-grain leather.

But what exactly do these terms mean? When you're buying your fancy leather briefcase, jacket, or shoes, you should know exactly what to look for in your leather.

Since a cow hide is so thick, the layers are often cut and used to make different products.

Genuine leather

Genuine leather doesn't just mean that the product is made of real leather (which it is), but it also means it is the lowest quality of all products made out of real leather. Basically, you should read it as: "At least it's genuine leather."

Genuine leather generally doesn't last as long or look as nice as higher-quality leather. You'll typically find it in belts from mall stores, shoes from lower-priced department stores, and bags or other goods in the lower price range.

Goods marked as genuine leather will be several layers of low-quality leather bonded together with glue and then painted to look uniform. It's made from what is left over when the other, higher grades are stripped away for pricier projects.

This grade of leather is acceptable if you're just buying something cheaply and don't care too much about its quality. It won't last very long, so you probably shouldn't buy something made from it that you would use every day.

Top-grain leather

Top-grain leather is the grade of leather you'll find in "fine" leather goods and can be considered the middle-of-the-road quality of leather. It's used in the vast majority of purses for women, as well as small leather goods for men, like wallets that are sold by well-known designer brands.

It's made by splitting a piece of full-grain leather and sanding away any imperfections in the hide and stamping a fake grain on it. Usually, it's then treated and colored to provide a completely uniform look. 

The finished product ends up being a bit plastic-like, and not nearly as durable as the best quality leather — full-grain. It will not age well with use, and will end up looking old and worn after a time.

This finish of leather is great, however, if you don't care as much about durability and more about the color of your leather item, or its resistance to stain, as it has been heavily treated.

fullgrainleather

Full-grain leather

Full-grain leather takes the entire grain of hide, with all the imperfections and inherent toughness of the material. 

It's often used for heavy-duty leather items, like weapon holsters and utility belts. But it can also be used (with great success) for dress belts, briefcases, dress shoes, work boots, and numerous other leather goods.

This type of leather is often naturally marked with imperfections from the animal, like a brand or a scar, but products from pricier companies won't use these flawed hides — making it even more expensive.

Full-grain is hard-as-nails and will develop a rich patina as it ages, looking more and more beautiful as you use it. It's widely recognized as the best and highest-quality leather money can buy.

Often much more expensive, full-grain pays dividends with its durability. If you invest in an item made with full-grain leather, you will probably have that item for the rest of your life if you take care of it properly.

One final word: If you can, you should avoid leathers like bonded leather (leather dust mixed with vinyl to create a strong leather-looking material), patent leather (leather treated with a glossy plastic finish), and corrected grain leather (flawed leather sanded down and finished with synthetic materials). 

SEE ALSO: 16 things the modern gentleman should buy for the winter

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NOW WATCH: Every man should know what ‘genuine leather’ actually is before buying a belt

A couple who spent years traveling the world explains how living the dream almost ruined their relationship

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