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A look inside the amazing smart-home systems that rich people use https://ift.tt/2v5EjnT
Rich people don't skimp when it comes to outfitting their homes with the latest tech. A "prominent Upper East Side" family was willing to pay a couple $100,000-$150,000 a year to oversee cooking, cleaning, personal shopping, and other household duties, according to a 2017 listing in Hire Society, as Business Insider previously reported. In addition to housekeeping, the position required the pair to be familiar with three modern smart-home technology systems: Lutron, Crestron, and Kaleidescape. If those brand names left you scratching your head, Lutron is a smart-home manufacturer that offers energy-saving light dimmers, switches, and shades that can control anywhere 50 to 10,000 devices. Crestron programs offer integrated lighting control, home security, speakers, and other technologies. Kaleidescape's multi-room entertainment server technologies that stream video and audio are the perfect systems for a rich person's at-home movie theater. Many of us have dreamed about living in a home where mundane tasks — like washing the dishes or turning on the TV — can be outsourced to a device. With the creation of products like the Amazon Echo and Google Home, that dream is closer to becoming a reality for the mass market. But if a couple of hundred of dollars can buy the average consumer these gadgets, what can those who have unlimited resources get out of their smart home systems? The answer: pretty much everything and anything they want. "Affluent households are far more likely to become early adopters of new technology than the average consumer, and smart home systems are no different," Winnie Bekmanis, who works in product marketing for the Internet of Things (IoT) at Qualcomm, told Business Insider. "What differentiates the pricier smart home systems is the scale of installation and personalization." Personalization is the key in smart homes of rich peopleCelebrity homes are the perfect examples of what personalized smart home systems can look like. In an interview with CNET, actress Sofia Vergara talked about building a smart house that lets her not only watch movies in her at-home theater, but also allows her to Skype with family and use her social media on a mega screen. According to the LA Times, media mogul Oprah Winfrey spent $14 million on a high-tech ski home in Telluride where a radiant heat system keeps the driveway completely snow free.
Bekmanis said that when it comes to luxurious homes, those systems that can intuitively adapt to the entertainment or security preferences of the homeowner are naturally more desirable. "Smart home systems are key to connecting every disparate smart device in the house together smoothly," she said. "When these systems are automating trivial chores and tasks for the homeowner, such as turning off the house lights or making coffee in the morning, they can add up to serious time savings." Guests in the home of Microsoft founder Bill Gates receive devices to connect them to the smart house technology, which includes controlling temperature, lighting, and music, Business Insider previously reported.
In a Facebook video, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg showed off his very own AI-powered home system, J.A.R.V.I.S, which is controlled through a specialty app that Zuckerberg created and is voiced by actor Morgan Freeman. Their smart homes are controlled from one interfaceAccording to Bekmanis, smart home systems make it easy to precisely control and customize nearly everything in your house from one interface. "One of the early markets to benefit from smart home technology was home security — encompassing everything from automated door and window locks to intelligent lighting and cameras. Advancements in artificial intelligence are making a notable impact on the development of these smart home security systems as well," Bekmanis said. "Imagine security cameras that recognize the difference between an intruder and Grandma, or send a notification when a child has lost their key and needs help with remote access," she said.
If you want to make your home smarter ...If you're thinking of investing in your own fancy at-home smart system, Bekmanis said you should plan it out thoroughly. "People often forget to keep the strength of their home WiFi network in mind as they invest in a smart home system," she said. "As connected devices continue to grow in popularity, they become more deeply integrated into every room of the home." She recommended looking out for any spots in your home where it is difficult for devices to connect to WiFi, and to buy appropriate technology to fix that problem. "Traditional stand-alone routers do this technology a disservice by creating dead spots in notoriously difficult areas like the bathroom or basement," she said, which can affect smart refrigerators and washing machines. "Especially for larger homes, mesh WiFi systems are better suited for the job. The technology alleviates dead spots by scattering nodes throughout the home to keep the technology in each and every room reliably connected." With so many smart products out there today, smart home systems make it easy to sync our physical and digital lifestyles. So if Zuckerberg's AI system inspires you to want to create your very own at-home butler voiced by an actor of your choosing (I'd love Helen Mirren, personally), you better start saving. It's going to cost you. NOW WATCH: This couple reveals their weaknesses when it comes to spending and how they manage to save See Also:
SEE ALSO: Inside the insanely competitive world of elite New York City preschools Business via Business Insider https://ift.tt/1IpULic July 25, 2018 at 04:06PM
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The CEO of 500 Startups says all successful founders have these two traits in common https://ift.tt/2mJcpKF
Tsai is the cofounder of 500 Startups, the famed Silicon Valley venture firm and startup accelerator. Since last August, she's also been its CEO, following the departure of Dave McClure, her fellow cofounder who left amid accusations of sexual harassment — accusations that she's declined to discuss in much detail. Launched in 2010, 500 Startups has helped incubate hundreds of companies and has invested in more than 2,000 total, including Twilio, which went public in 2016. Over that time, Tsai has gotten a close-up look at lots of startup founders and seen what works and what doesn't and what it's like to be an entrepreneur. Successful founders tend to have two key traits, she said in an interview this week with Business Insider. They're coachable, and they move fast. Listening is one of the keys to success
"I feel like those people who are like that, they succeeded despite being that way, not because they were that way," she said. That doesn't mean successful entrepreneurs need to be ultra-congenial or acquiesce to every suggestion made to them, Tsai said. But they do need to be open to suggestions. "They do listen," she said. "They do take the feedback from customers, from employees, from investors." Moving fast is also crucialSuccessful startup founders also move quickly, whether it's launching new products or putting new strategies in place — or learning from mistakes, Tsai said. 500 startups meets frequently with the founders of companies in its portfolio to check in with them about how they're companies are doing and how things like fundraising are going, she noted. "It's always a bad sign if they say they're going to do something, and then a week later, two weeks later, they still haven't done it," she said. Successful entrepreneurs have to be careful not to be rash or reckless, she said. But they also have to avoid stalling and overthinking things. "It's a very fine balance, of course," Tsai said. But founders than succeed have a very acute understanding that they've got to move as quickly as possible. "You have a very limited runway either in terms time [or] cash," she said. It's important to be clear eyed about the task ahead
TV shows and news reports tend to romanticize the life of startup founders, particularly the super-successful ones. But founding and running a startup is usually anything but glamorous, she said. Most startups fail. Many entrepreneurs are trading a stable, high-paying job for an uncertain, lonely, and stressful existence. And the payoff — if there is any — usually only comes after years and years of hard work. "It's really sucky … it's really hard," she said. "I definitely do warn [entrepreneurs] about that." NOW WATCH: 5 easy ways to protect yourself from hackers See Also:
Business via Business Insider https://ift.tt/1IpULic July 25, 2018 at 03:54PM
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A top IBM exec is also a psychologist and says all bosses should know one basic tenet of human behavior https://ift.tt/2AbuoCQ
In the tech world, IBM senior vice president Bridget van Kralingen is known for creating and leading IBM's blockchain business. Because of van Kralingen, IBM is considered a leader in all things crypto among the major tech companies. But long before she became one of IBM CEO Ginni Rometty's top leaders and was credited with helping Rometty execute IBM's massive, multi-year turnaround, van Kralingen was an industrial psychologist and researcher back in her home country of South Africa. In a fun interview with The Wall Street Journal, van Kralingen offered a few interesting nuggets of advice about being a manager. The Journal asked her, based on her background as a psychologist, "what's the one thing every boss should know about human behavior?" Her answer: People "love affirmation." In other words, employees want to know when they're doing things right. Seems simple enough, but research shows that this concept almost can't be overstated in the workplace. "Employees overwhelmingly choose receiving words of affirmation as the primary way they like to be shown appreciation in the workplace," writes psychologist Dr. Paul White, based on research from 100,000 employees. White has published several books on workplace motivation. In the WSJ interview, van Kralingen also offered another, related bit of managerial advice. The best way to run a meeting is to "start with the goals and objectives and to make sure that everyone knows that they are interdependent to get those goals and objectives met." Here's the whole interview.
NOW WATCH: Why Rolex watches are so expensive See Also:
Business via Business Insider https://ift.tt/1IpULic July 25, 2018 at 03:42PM
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The longest total lunar eclipse in a century happens this week — here's the difference between a lunar and solar eclipse https://ift.tt/2Oc5IgF
A majority of Earth is in for an astronomical treat on Friday: the longest total lunar eclipse, also known as a blood moon, in a century. At 17:14 Universal Time that night (3:37 p.m. ET), the Earth will slip directly between the sun and moon, casting an orange-red shadow on the full moon. From the moon's vantage point, the Earth would appear to be surrounded by a 25,000-mile-around ring of fire. This event is not to be confused with a total solar eclipse like the one that was visible across a swath of the continental US last summer. Total lunar eclipses and total solar eclipses are essentially the reverse of one another. However, their appearances are very different. Here's what happens during each type of eclipseDuring a total solar eclipse, the moon passes between Earth and the sun, casting a small, dark shadow on our planet. For those watching on Earth, the moon appears to cover the sun, with a ring of the sun's light surrounding the moon. Looking directly at that light requires special glasses to protect the eyes from the sun's brightness. If you saw the most recent solar eclipse (full or partial), you'll remember that the circle of light looks colorless. That's because the moon has no atmosphere. Atmospheres, similar to glass lenses, can refract sunlight. During a lunar eclipse, however, the Earth passes between the moon and the sun, casting its shadow — known as the umbra — onto the moon. During this event, it's not dangerous to look up at the moon.
Unlike the moon, Earth is surrounded by a blanket of air, which refracts the sun's light in a way that makes the moon appear orange-red. That's why lunar eclipses are also called blood moons. By volume, about 80% of Earth's atmosphere is made of nitrogen gas, or N2, and most of the rest is oxygen gas, or O2. Together, these gases take white sunlight — a mix of all colors of the spectrum — and scatter around blue and purple colors. Human eyes are much more sensitive to blues than purples, which is why the sky looks blue and the sun yellow to us during daylight hours. During a sunset or sunrise, sunlight reaching our eyes has passed through a lot more atmospheric gas, and this effectively filters out the blues and makes the light appear orange or even red. A similar thing happens during a lunar eclipse. Earth's atmosphere bends and focuses the sun's light into a glowing, cone-shaped shadow — the umbra. The red color is never quite the same from one lunar eclipse to the next due to natural and human activities that affect Earth's atmosphere. "Pollution and dust in the lower atmosphere tends to subdue the color of the rising or setting sun, whereas fine smoke particles or tiny aerosols lofted to high altitudes during a major volcanic eruption can deepen the color to an intense shade of red," David Diner, a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, wrote in a blog post in 2010. Where and when to see the total lunar eclipseIf the weather cooperates, most of eastern Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia should see the full and total lunar eclipse on Friday. Scientists in Antarctica should also have a great view. Europe, eastern Asia, Australia, Indonesia, and other regions will enjoy a partial lunar eclipse, where the moon passes partly through Earth's shadow. North America will be out of luck, though, since the moon will be below the horizon. People there can watch on one of several live webcasts.
The partial eclipse begins when the moon first touches the penumbra or outer shadow of Earth. According to NASA, that should happen at 17:14 Universal Time on July 27. The total eclipse — when the moon is fully inside the red-hued umbra of Earth — starts at 19:30 UT and ends at 21:13 UT. That's a full 1 hour 43 minutes, which is just four minutes shy of the longest total lunar eclipse possible, according to EarthSky. The partial eclipse will resume immediately afterward, as the moon passes out of Earth's shadow, and the whole event will be over at 23:28 UT (early on July 28, depending on where you live). The next time a total lunar eclipse will last this long will be in the year 2123. NOW WATCH: Stunning footage from NASA shows the best shots of the historic total solar eclipse See Also:
SEE ALSO: 4 great ways to watch the longest 'blood moon' total lunar eclipse of the next 104 years Business via Business Insider https://ift.tt/1IpULic July 25, 2018 at 03:42PM
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An eccentric tech investor and self-help guru has a wild, controversial idea to solve one of America's biggest problems that he thinks could turn you into a billionaire https://ift.tt/2Ac5Z0a
In Startupland, where college dropouts have a reputation for becoming Silicon Valley royalty, one wealthy tech investor has a bit of unsurprising advice for young people. Skip college, says James Altucher. It's a rip off. But if you decide a higher education is a critical part of your future success, Altucher says he has a wild idea that can save young people from crushing tuition debt. In a blog post that originally appeared on Quora, Altucher, a hedge fund manager, author, and self-help guru, posited that young people would be much better off if they let high net-worth individuals or organizations invest in their future for a stake in their success. "What if I graduate college and then say, 'I will sell off 10% of all of my future earnings,'" Altucher said in the post. "This creates an exchange where I can invest in kids that look like they have bright futures (or some organizations can do it for charitable reasons) and then I get a piece of all the earnings of the kids I invest in," he said, adding that investing in young people could be a "great source of income for older people in a low-interest rate environment." Altucher explained in his post, "It can also help kids monetize their future income (the way a company does every single day) to help pay down their student loan debt." Americans owe $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, surpassing auto loan debt ($1.1 trillion) and credit card debt ($977 billion) in the US. According to Altucher, the problem isn't going away as tuition rates climb and the demand for college degrees remains high.
His controversial solution has been floated before. In 2013, a new crop of startups let people forge "human capital contracts," in which an individual raises money from investors in exchange for equity in themselves. Borrowers, who were often referred to as "talent" or "upstarts," could potentially earn $20,000 for every one percent of future income they were willing to pledge. They might use the money to pay off their college loans or cover living expenses while they start a business. Human capital contracts never took off they way their adherents hoped. Critics said they weren't loans, but "a form of tech-enabled 'indentured servitude,'" Vice wrote in 2013. Altucher, who is perhaps best known as the face of the "bitcoin genius" ads that are all over the internet, proposed putting a cap on the number of years that the borrower has to give away part of their earnings, so they aren't on the hook for the rest of their lives. "What's not consensual is student loan debt," Altucher said in respose to the criticism. "In a weird way, students feel like they have to go to college, because they'll either disappoint their friends or their peers or their future employers or their parents," he said. "So they feel forced to go to college, and they are forced to take student loans, and then the government will take those wages from you — without your consent — for the rest of your life, because it's the only debt you can't get rid of in bankruptcy." Currently, it is nearly impossible to have your student loan debt forgiven by declaring bankruptcy. To be successful, the borrower must hire a lawyer, which can be expensive, and prove that being forced to repay their student loans poses an "undue hardship."
Other critics are not convinced that investors can tell a person is going to be successful based on what they're like as a college student. They also run the risk that their investment has low returns — or worse, becomes worthless — in the event the person suffers a career-killing move, such as a sexual harrassment scandal, or serious illness. In 2013, one of those companies specializing in human capital contracts, called Fantex, gave investors the ability to buy and sell interests in professional athletes. It shut down last year after lackluster interest from investors and little trading activity proved fatal. A college professor of sports management warned of the company's potential pitfalls for investors in a 2013 interview with The New York Times: "You are potentially one hit away from losing your money. On any given Sunday, anything can happen to any player." Altucher admitted that not all bets would give great returns, though he's optimistic. "Sure, some of these 'investments' will not work out, but some will, creating a source of income for older generations and removing the debt of younger generations, allowing them to be the entrepreneurs and innovators they were meant to be," Altucher said. "Will this happen? I don't know. Why don't you make this business? Be a billionaire." You can read Altucher's post in full on Business Insider. NOW WATCH: Is college a waste of time and money? See Also:
Business via Business Insider https://ift.tt/1IpULic July 25, 2018 at 03:42PM
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Facebook reports lower-than-expected growth after a quarter of data scandals https://ift.tt/2v8mHrg  After a quarter filled with negative headlines, Facebook reported lower-than-expected growth in revenue and daily active users in its second quarter earnings release. Facebook reported $13.23 billion in revenue between April and June 2018. A Thompson Reuters consensus estimate predicted the company would generate $13.36 billion in revenue.The company reported 2.23 billion monthly active users at the end of Q2 and 1.47 billion daily active users — an 11 percent increase year-over-year, but Wall Street predicted the company would report 2.25 billion MAUs and 1.48 DAUs this quarter. Facebook gave advertisers and analysts plenty of reasons to worry this quarter — with Congress threatening to regulate Facebook, the roll out of tighter restrictions on political and issue ads that frustrated some advertisers, the company continuing to face criticism over its handling of fake news on Facebook and WhatsApp, and the fallout of Facebook failing to stop Cambridge Analytica from violating its data policies still fresh in consumers’ minds. This story is developing and will continue to be updated.
Business via VentureBeat https://venturebeat.com July 25, 2018 at 03:38PM
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Density pairs infrared sensors with cloud AI to measure crowds indoors https://ift.tt/2JUQKbe In a world of ubiquitous global positioning, tracking a crowd’s movement has never been easier — if you’re not following them around an office, that is. The logistical challenges posed by corners, hallways, doorways, and conference rooms make indoor people-tracking a real problem, but that didn’t stop entrepreneur Andrew Farah from trying — and succeeding. Farah is the cofounder and CEO of Density, a startup that uses depth-measuring hardware and a machine learning backend to perform real-time crowd analytics. Clients use its stack to figure out which parts of their offices get the most use and which get the least, and to deliver people-counting metrics to hundreds — and in some cases thousands — of employees. “They’re usually trying to consolidate space, and they don’t know which percent of the office is not being used,” Farah said. “Office space is typically the most expensive line item next to payroll.” It’s also the most wasteful. During a typical workweek, desks are only used 59 percent of the time and meeting spaces 39 percent of the time, research shows. And paid-for square footage often remains vacant — the federal government, for example, spends up to $1.7 billion a year maintaining 770,000 empty office buildings. 
Above: The view from one of Density’s sensors. Image Credit: Density Farah conceived of Density’s core technology at Syracuse University, in graduate school, while at a mobile software development firm. His modest goal was to measure the busyness of a popular coffee shop, Cafe Kubal. “I didn’t want to have to trudge through three feet of snow in the winter if there was a line,” Farah said. He explored a couple of different solutions, but eventually settled on one — an infrared-based system — that would form the foundation for Density’s people-counting tech. The prototype wasn’t perfect — it couldn’t tell if lines were forming or differentiate between two people holding hands. But eventually, after four years of development, Farah and the startup’s growing team of engineers got it down to a science. That’s when he realized that coffee shops weren’t the only clients who stood to benefit from crowd metrics. “We knew that the right market was corporate clients with office space,” Farah said, “because our sensor can do occupancy detection inside of a room where a camera can’t go.” Density’s sensor operates sort of like a small laptop. It’s a rectangular box that fits in the palm of an average-sized hand, belying its complexity; it consists of over eight hundred components sourced from 137 unique supply chains Density manages itself. The sensor attaches above a doorway, and tracks movement frame-by-frame with two infrared beams that bounce off of the floor. Algorithms filter out signal noise — boxes, strollers, pushcarts, plates, and other items being carried or pushed — to measure the direction, collision, and speed of people walking into and out of view. 
Above: The Density dashboard. Image Credit: Density The data is funneled via Wi-Fi to Density’s cloud-hosted backend, where it’s processed and analyzed. A basic web dashboard provides insights like the real-time capacity of a room and historical crowd sizes, and an API allows third-party apps, services, and websites to make use of the data in novel ways. One of Density’s clients — a large pharmaceutical company that Farah decline to name — uses the sensors to keep its restrooms speck and span by deploying cleaners every 70 uses. Other uses include identifying which building entrances are most used during evacuation drills, or estimating the number of people on the top floor of an office during a fire. “Density can do a lot of good,” Farah said. There’s another advantage to its infrared method of people-tracking, Farah said: privacy. Unlike a security camera, its sensors can’t determine the gender or ethnicity of the people it tracks, or perform invasive facial recognition. “It’s far easier to do a camera,” Farah explained. “but we believe the data pendulum has swung too far one direction. It’s good to see people ask about data being collected.” Density doesn’t charge for hardware. Instead, its customers — which include a network of homeless shelters, theme parks, Ivy League colleges, and others — pay a monthly ($95 per sensor) or annual fee ($45 per month per sensor) for access to the data. Ride-hailing giant Uber uses the sensors in one of its support centers to make sure the center is adequately staffed. Asked about future expansion, Farah acknowledged that there’s potential in retail. But in the near-term, he said that Density has no plans to pivot away from the corporate world. “We’re staying focused on improving the massive square footage that’s been under-measured [and] underused,” he said. “Our interest is in helping to design better offices.” Density has raised more than $16.2 million from Upfront Ventures, Ludlow Ventures, Dawn Patrol, and others since its founding in 2014. It is headquartered in San Francisco. Business via VentureBeat https://venturebeat.com July 25, 2018 at 03:38PM
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Facebook sinks after revenue and active users miss forecasts (FB) https://ift.tt/2mHQgwf
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Business via Business Insider https://ift.tt/1IpULic July 25, 2018 at 03:36PM
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We're about to get more information on the first positive Alzheimer's trial in years — here's what you need to know (BIIB) https://ift.tt/2LmjfV4
The search for better treatments for Alzheimer's disease hasn't been easy. Alzheimer's affects more than 5.7 million Americans, a number that's expected to balloon to 14 million by 2050. There are only four drugs that have been approved to treat the symptoms of the disease, and the most recent drug approval happened in 2003. One approach companies are trying is to target certain beta amyloid proteins, which accumulate in the brain of people who have Alzheimer's. This idea of targeting beta amyloid deposits in the brain to clear them out is known as the "amyloid hypothesis." But there's one major drawback to the amyloid-beta approach: In people who have Alzheimer's, these deposits build up in certain parts of the brain , but it's still not known whether the plaques cause the disease, or if they're just a byproduct. What does seem to be well established is that in people with the genetic version of the disease, there is a strong relationship between those mutations and amyloid plaques. And there have been a number of setbacks to the hypothesis. The amyloid hypothesis has already been put to the test and seen a few failures. For one, Merck's now-failed BACE inhibitor was also acting on the amyloid hypothesis to prevent the protein from forming and keep the disease from progressing. Solanezumab, a drug developed by Eli Lilly that also acts on the amyloid hypothesis, failed some key clinical trials, though the company is still testing it in the pre-clinical stages of the disease. But in July, drugmakers Biogen and Eisai announced that their phase 2 trial of an injectable anti-amyloid beta drug — known as BAN2401 — showed a reduction in amyloid plaques and their cognitive decline slowed when compared to the placebo group after 18 months in a group of patients with early Alzheimer's disease who had received the highest dose of the treatment. More details on the trial will be presented Wednesday afternoon at Alzheimer's Association International Conference. Here's what you need to know about the trial, which was the first positive results the industry's had in years.
Excitement about the trial's full results was high on Wednesday, with Biogen's stock up as much as 4%. But there was still some skepticism, especially around the statistics the company used as well as the new endpoint the company's used. "The enthusiasm for a statistically unsound analysis of a failed Phase 2 study that utilizes a company-designed endpoint meant to detect negligible clinical effects is palpable but, in our view, misplaced," Baird analyst Brian Skorney said in a letter Tuesday. BAN2401 isn't the only drug Biogen has in the works to tackle Alzheimer's. Its farthest along drug, aducanumab, is also going after the amyloid hypothesis. It's expected to have results in 2019 or early 2020. NOW WATCH: The fascinating way helium changes your voice See Also:
SEE ALSO: Lowering your blood pressure could lower your risk of dementia, according to a study of 9,000 people Business via Business Insider https://ift.tt/1IpULic July 25, 2018 at 03:30PM
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Stocks rally ahead of Facebook earnings https://ift.tt/2LO7liK
Stocks rose Wednesday, with Facebook hitting an all-time high, as trade worries took a backseat to a batch of stronger-than-expected earnings. Stocks jumped in the final hour of trading following reports of a trade deal between the US and the European Union. The dollar and Treasury yields fell. Here's the scoreboard: Dow Jones industrial average: 25,414.98 +173.04 (+0.69%) S&P 500: 2,840.32 +19.92 (+0.71%)
And a look at the upcoming economic calendar:
See also: NOW WATCH: Why the World Cup soccer ball looks so different See Also:
Business via Business Insider https://ift.tt/1IpULic July 25, 2018 at 03:30PM |
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