Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is horrifying. Western leaders, fearing a broader war, are responding primarily with economic sanctions. A prominent economic sanction has been Russia’s exclusion from the international payments messaging system SWIFT, presented as a powerful means of undermining its economy. But for a payments expert such as myself, this is something of a myth. Yes, SWIFT messaging systems are a critical part of international economic activity. They provide extremely secure communic
Jeep’s current eco-friendly vehicles are plug-in hybrids, but the American brand is now ready to take the next step towards electrification. Yes, folks, I present to you Jeep’s very first EV, the… Okay, it doesn’t even have a name yet. But here it is: Image: Stellantis Image: Stellantis If you don’t feel wowed, I feel you. It’s a slick-looking car, yet rather ordinary, and I expected something more from the automaker’s electric vehicle flagship. And if you’re thinking “don’t judge a book by i
The past two years have provided some extreme dynamics for technology and innovation. Business and industries were shaken up and some were forced to adapt to digitization faster than planned. 2021 was the year to refine goals and adapt to a new reality. However, 2022 has the potential to become a year of even bigger changes. When experts discuss fast-growing trends in technology, eCommerce is one of the leading examples. No surprise there, we’re talking about an industry with a tremendous growth
Earlier this month, hundreds of motorists were stuck in a winter storm on Interstate 95 in Virginia, U.S., some without food or water for more than 24 hours. As many vehicles reportedly ran out of gas and had to be towed, the now-popular question of how an electric vehicle would have fared in the same situation was raised. An opinion piece in The Washington Post brought up valid concerns about how EVbatteries might be affected in a similar condition. It also mentioned an EV driver who expressed
By Dara Kerr Uber has quietly changed the way it pays drivers in several major cities across the U.S., using a new feature it’s calling “Upfront Fares.” Instead of paying drivers for trips based on just time and distance, it’s now using an algorithm “based on several factors” to calculate the fare. What all of those factors are is unclear. Uber has long used an upfront pricing algorithm to determine how much passengers pay, which is one of the reasons riders sometimes see vast price fluctuations
Apple‘s next hardware event is almost here. The company today announced it is hosting an event on Tuesday, March 8, at 10 AM PT (1 PM ET/7 PM CET/11:30 PM IST). As usual in this day and age, it’ll be a virtual event that you can tune into from Apple’s website or Apple TV. It’ll be on YouTube as well. Peek performance. March 8th. See you there. #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/cEKMq7BuBh — Greg Joswiak (@gregjoz) March 2, 2022 Apple’s event invitation features the tagline ‘peek performance,’ along wit
If you’re reading this post, you’re probably a person who appreciates image quality. You buy the best screen you can afford. You keep your display settings reasonably calibrated. You optimize your viewing distance for maximum detail perception. Naturally, you also pay for Netflix‘s top-tier 4K plan. Life’s too short for 1080p. One night, it’s too late to turn on your 100-inch TV, so you start up Netflix on your PC, eager to appreciate all 8 million pixels of glorious 4K resolution. Except someth
We might not see an iPhone mini this year — and that’s a big blow to fans of compact form factors in phones. Luckily though, we don’t have to give up all hope for ‘mini’ models as Asus has FINALLY launched the Zenfone 8z (Zenfone 8 in global markets) in India. It launched in global markets around May last year. I can say given the country was going through a devastating second wave of COVID-19, the company missing the initial launch window makes sense. But it had many months after that to releas
Google Inbox was one of those products that a corner of the internet loved furiously — including me. So, when the company announced it was being discontinued in 2019, I was mad as hell. Now, a company named Shortwave, formed by ex-Google employees, is trying to bring it back. Before we talk about what they’re trying to do, let’s take a trip down memory lane. Why was Inbox killed? Inbox was great at what it did: streamlining emails. This included best-in-class categorization, intuitive email pinn
If you’re thinking of buying a Rivian EV, you might want to reconsider. The company has announced some steep price increases for its R1T truck and R1S SUV. The changes, which were updated on the company’s website Tuesday afternoon, signals an approximately 17% increase for the R1T, pushing the base price to around $78,975 from $67,500. The R1S goes up approximately 20% to $84,000 from $70,000. The R1T. Image: Rivian And here’s the worst part: these price increases not only impact prospective b