China’s CEOs are making millions by selling their products on livestreams


In the past few years, retail-streaming has become a rapidly growing ecommerce channel in China, with all manners of salespeople directly selling goods to consumers on an ecommerce livestream. While influencers and celebrities are the most familiar faces seen on retail-streams, recently, executives of major Chinese corporations have also appeared in front of the live camera.  Some of these efforts yielded lucrative results — Li Jing, president of the home accessories business Mendale Textile, for instance, achieved $3.5 million worth of sales for his company on a four-hour livestream in March. James Liang, the executive chairman & former CEO of the…

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Relive every episode of ‘The Office’ — only recreated in Slack


Can you imagine what it would’ve been if Dunder Mifflin had Slack? If Michael Scott was to fake-fire you in a public channel? If Jim was to impersonate Dwight by stealing his profile pic and handle? If this maggot Toby was to passive-aggressively warn you about PDA over DM? It truly is one of the world’s greatest what-ifs. And we’re finally getting an answer to it. Starting today, you can plug into the the The Office universe like you never have before — directly in Slack. Yes, one of the most iconic comedy series of this century is being recreated and adapted in…

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Holy Sheet: How to automate boring-ass Google Sheets tasks


Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. If you’re regularly working with data, but lack the interest, financial means, or need for a fancy data management platform, there’s no need to panic. As we’ve shown throughout this series of articles, good old Google Sheets is capable of a lot more than you might realize. However, knowing all of Google Sheets’ neat formulas is one thing. Using it on scale is another. That’s where macros come in. A macro is a sequence…

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Or just read more coverage about: Google

Re:Brand online event: How to achieve better business outcomes through social contribution


Whether scrolling Instagram or browsing our email inboxes, the current crisis has us tuned in to what brands do and say. In stride, our personal values are running close to the surface: is that letter from the CEO out of touch, or appropriately optimistic? Marketing campaigns that don’t skip a beat while the world is rapidly changing can feel brash, and tone-deaf sentiments can quickly spur an unsubscribe. But it’s not all blunders and missteps! Brands that assert a strong mission and communications strategy can engender pride and loyalty in their communities, driving financial objectives in the longer term. While…

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The crazy story how self-driving’s biggest star stole Google secrets, joined Uber, and became bankrupt


What started out as a private legal case between Google and its former head of self-driving technology, Anthony Levandowski, that no one really batted an eyelid over, evolved into a public nightmare for all involved. With most cases against Levandowski having been settled, the former Google engineer and his most recent employer, Uber no less, are now left pointing fingers over who would pick up the $180 million bill. During a case between two of Levandowski’s former employers, Google and Uber, Waymo lawyers allegedly painted the self-driving sensation out to be a troublesome and challenging employee, not the entrepreneurial and…

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An astronaut got a blood clot in space — here’s how it helped science


You are locked inside and are encouraged to do one hour of physical exercise per day. You are isolated from the people you love, and there are limited forms of communication. And you know it will be months before life will return to normal. Sound familiar? This is what many of us are experiencing during these times of COVID-19 lockdown – but it also describes the life of an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. There are, however, real physical risks to being in space. Earlier this year, an unnamed astronaut developed a blood clot in space for the first…

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Our adaptability is what will save us from extinction — at least for a while


Will our species go extinct? The short answer is yes. The fossil record shows everything goes extinct, eventually. Almost all species that ever lived, over 99.9%, are extinct. Some left descendants. Most – plesiosaurs, trilobites, Brontosaurus – didn’t. That’s also true of other human species. Neanderthals, Denisovans, Homo erectus all vanished, leaving just Homo sapiens. Humans are inevitably heading for extinction. The question isn’t whether we go extinct, but when. Headlines often suggest this extinction is imminent. The threat of earth-grazing asteroids is a media favorite. Mars is regularly mooted as a bolt hole. And there is the ongoing menace…

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How to stream local files to your Chromecast or Android TV


Welcome to Plugged Basics, a collection of tips, tricks, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. Chromecasting is amazing. Now the majority of modern TVs and lots of smart devices have the functionality, you can get videos from your phone to the big screen seamlessly. But, as convenient as Chromecast technology is, there’s one major flaw: streaming your own videos. Yes, casting Netflix or YouTube is as easy as pressing a button, but what if there’s a file on your computer you’d like to watch on your Chromecast or…

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Or just read more coverage about: Android,Chromecast

9 months on, India refuses to restore 4G connectivity in Kashmir


India’s supreme court refused to pass an order today to restore 4G in Jammu and Kashmir, the northmost part of India with over 12 million people. Instead, a bench headed by Justice N V Ramana asked the government to form a committee to review ground situations and pass an order.  The supreme court was hearing to a petition filed by Foundation of Media Professionals, Private Schools Association of J&K, and Soayib Qureshi. The petition was originally filed in April to restore 4G services in the region.  Last August, the Indian government blocked internet services with an intention to maintain law and order in Jammu and…

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How COVID-19 is making scientific research more transparent


The evolving COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need for scientific evidence, and quickly. We need politicians to be able to make informed decisions, and we need to support the development of effective vaccines and treatments, as well as understanding the unfolding impact of the pandemic on society. The speed with which the global scientific community has risen to this sudden pressing need is remarkable. But science is usually a slow-moving process – a series of steps towards a better understanding, rather than individual “eureka” moments. Getting to the truth is often not straightforward, and scrutinising claims and counter-claims is…

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