Alaska News

(Illustration via Amazon Brand Protection Report) As part of a continued effort to show that it’s serious about cracking down on counterfeit goods sold on its platform, Amazon said Monday that it blocked more than 10 billion suspected bad listings before they were published in its stores last year. The number is included in Amazon’s 2020 Brand Protection Report , its first-ever attempt at showcasing — for customers, legitimate brands and legislators — the steps the e-commerce giant is taking to combat counterfeit products on Amazon.com. “Throughout the pandemic we’ve seen increased attempts by bad actors to commit fraud and offer counterfeit products,” Dharmesh Mehta, vice president of customer trust and partner support at Amazon, wrote in a blog post . “Our teams have continued to innovate to protect our store, helped our selling partners keep their virtual doors open, and ensured that the vast majority of customers continue to shop with confidence from our broad selection of authenti...

Diversity seems to be the topic on everyone’s minds today, and yet many businesses can’t seem to be fully diverse the way they’d like to. More often than not, this isn’t due to some kind of hidden malice: creating diversity for your business is difficult, and there are a number of technical snags you’ll need to avoid during the process. If you want your business to be diverse, you’ll need to be prepared to open up your mind and make some necessary changes. Here are some snags you may run into along the way: 1. Lack of Diverse Leadership  Diversity should be neither bottom-up nor top-down — it should come unilaterally across an organization — but if your leadership isn’t diverse, diversifying other areas of your business is going to be significantly more difficult. Diverse senior management will naturally guide a company towards diversity as a whole, while non-diverse leadership may remain fixated on other priorities.  This simple principle is one of the biggest barriers to diversity t...

In the first installment of this two-part series, we looked at the characteristics of high-performance remote teams. We discussed the key methods I use to ensure my teams are in the best possible position to perform at the highest level. I explained my process for setting quarterly goals, communicating those goals to the entire organization, and how every level of the company has OKRs that tie into the larger objectives. I also shared my thoughts on check-points and how we use OKRs and check-ins to stay on track and identify any problems as early as possible. High-Output Management for Remote Teams and Companies Part II In this second installment, we’ll dive into the finer points of decision-making for leaders, and I’ll be sharing how we use these principles at Turing . Next, we’ll talk about feedback, and how honest, transparent, and immediate feedback facilitates speed and continuous improvement. Finally, I’ll give you my blueprint for establishing a high-performance organization. ...

Director Steven Soderbergh during an event in Seattle in 2017. (FilmMagic Photo for HBO) Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh is returning to Seattle to shoot scenes for a thriller called “KIMI,” starring Zoe Kravitz. According to The Seattle Times , crews could be in town this week to film exterior scenes. The Times previously reported on a call for extras to work on the film. Kravitz stars as “an agoraphobic tech worker” who “discovers recorded evidence of a violent crime and tries reporting it,” the IMDb description for “KIMI” reads. “Finding resistance and bureaucracy, she will have to do what she fears the most.” When Seattle Met reported on the project in March, details about a sub-plot included “protest-filled Seattle streets.” And since the film is being shot during the pandemic, masks on extras are expected. Interior scenes for the film were shot in Los Angeles earlier this spring, the Times reported. Deadline reported that “KIMI” will premiere on HBO Max. It’s Soderbe...

The Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense. (DoD Photo) The Pentagon is considering “pulling the plug” on the $10 billion JEDI cloud computing contract, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. The Journal cited recent complaints from lawmakers about the project. Some suggest that the Pentagon should ditch JEDI and spread out the contract to multiple vendors. The massive project to migrate the Pentagon’s computing infrastructure and data to the cloud has faced several roadblocks after Microsoft won the contract in 2019. Amazon, a frontrunner for the contract, has mounted a legal battle since then. It blames former President Trump for improperly influencing the DoD, among other accusations. Last month a federal judge declined to dismiss allegations that Trump interfered with the contract, allowing Amazon to continue pursuing its argument in court. The DoD sent a memo to Congress on Jan. 28 that seemed to suggest a lengthy deposition process would make the JEDI pr...

Engineers are under unprecedented pressure to build products that are used by thousands, if not millions, of consumers every day. Just ask Bernd Zapf. Head of development, new business, and technologies at Heller Group, a machine tool manufacturer in Germany, Zapf says today’s organizations must increasingly “strike a balance between the design, engineering, manufacturing, operation, and craftsmanship of developing a product based on stringent guidelines.” It’s a tall order, but one that Zapf says artificial intelligence (AI) technology can support by capturing the right data and guiding engineers through product design and development. No wonder a November 2020 McKinsey survey reveals that more than half of organizations have adopted AI in at least one function, and 22% of respondents report at least 5% of their companywide earnings are attributable to AI. And in manufacturing, 71% of respondents have seen a 5% or more increase in revenue with AI adoption. But that wasn’t always the c...

Work smarter, not harder is a saying we are all familiar with but what does it mean? If a person is a coal miner and they painstakingly carry coal from one end of the mine to the other by hand instead of loading it into a rail cart, are they working hard or smart? In this article, we will explore the difference between working hard and working smart. We will also look at ways to work smarter, not harder. Hard Work Okay, grab a pen and paper, it’s time to take some notes because chances are good that most people reading this are working way too hard. When there is a project that needs to get done and a person works diligently to complete that task, the outcome may be excellent but were they working smart in their approach? Hard work can be defined simply as performing a task over several hours strenuously. When a coworker is seen working coming in early, working through lunch, and still at their desk hammering away on their keyboard, preparing for a big presentation they are working ha...

As lockdown restrictions continue to ease, many businesses are preparing to reopen their doors for a new hybrid type of working. It’s no doubt that being forced to operate remotely came with its challenges, but it also proved beneficial for employers and employees. Several businesses are creating a balance of office and home working for the foreseeable future to get the best of both worlds. Not having to commute daily saves staff an abundance of time and money, offering them a better work-life balance. However, having some time in the office ensures they can connect with their colleagues to prevent feelings of isolation. With employees following a rota and reducing the people in the office each day, businesses can downsize to cut costs too. For this flexible workstyle to function efficiently, employees will need access to company documents remotely and in-house, which can leave your data vulnerable. To protect your business from cybercrime, here are six ways to improve your online secu...

In the old days, banks have been resilient on legacy systems and were often reluctant to make changes in their technical infrastructure. However, it doesn’t mean that banks or other fintech companies were not adapting according to digitization or they were not building web apps for their customers. As banks have a huge number of sensitive data, their main concern about technology was moving from in-house servers to clouds. But a rising number of financial institutions are now considering initiating banking in the cloud as the perceived security concerns misconceptions are now dispelled and the benefits are significantly considerable. What is Cloud Banking? Cloud banking refers to utilising the cloud to store and access data generated by users and employees of financial institutions through their application software. The cloud has been proven to be an excellent technology that offers exceptional data handling, scalability, agility, and high-end security to banks. It allows rapid deplo...

If your business hasn’t automated its approval process, you’re probably losing valuable staff time to repetitive tasks. Approving timesheets, time-off requests, purchase orders, work orders, and more involves processes with many steps. In fact, just the act of sending emails to verify approvals can eat into your staff’s time. Creating apps that automate your approval process no longer requires a web developer , thanks to the array of no-code tools available. These tools feature easy editors with drag-and-drop functionality that allow anyone to create an app and a workflow that automates the approval process.  Available at various price points, any one of these apps could streamline approvals and pay off in many other ways for your business. The Best No-Code Tools that Automate Your Approval Process No-code tools that can automate your approval process run the gamut from user-friendly options for small businesses to more comprehensive platforms suitable for large enterprises. Whether y...

BluePallet CEO Scott Barrows. (BluePallet Photo) New funding:  BluePallet , a startup with roots in Seattle, has emerged from stealth mode with $4 million in new funding. The company operates a marketplace for the chemical industry. Founded last year, BluePallet aims to change the way chemical producers, distributors, and end users connect with each other. Companies use it to find new regions to sell products; to serve existing customers; to move inventory; and more. It charges a monthly fee per connection, versus the traditional marketplace model of charging a fee on every transaction. BluePallet was originally called Echo Chemical Exchange, which recently merged with fintech startup Velloci. The pitch: “Our competitors are on a mission to put themselves in the middle of every transaction. It’s how two-sided marketplaces make money. Someone has to broker every deal. BluePallet is the first true market network for the chemical industry, a decentralized model that benefits both buyers a...

The Massachusetts Audubon Society has long managed its land in western Massachusetts as crucial wildlife habitat. Nature lovers flock to these forests to enjoy bird-watching and quiet hikes, with the occasional bobcat or moose sighting. But in 2015, the conservation nonprofit presented California’s top climate regulator with a startling scenario: It could heavily log 9,700 acres of its preserved forests over the next few years. The group raised the possibility of chopping down hundreds of thousands of trees as part of its application to take part in California’s forest offset program. The state’s Air Resources Board established the system to harness the ability of trees to absorb and store carbon to help the state meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals. The program allows forest owners like Mass Audubon to earn so-called carbon credits for preserving trees. Each credit represents a ton of CO2. California polluters, such as oil companies, buy these credits so that they can emit more CO...