How One Small Startup Is Tackling Apple’s Big AirPods Problem

Even kindergartners know that when you make a mess, you have to clean it up. Alas, in the case of tech companies and the countless millions of wireless earbuds they produce, the mess is a burgeoning eco-disaster (for a deeper dive, see this blog post). Apple’s AirPods, which may last only a few years due to their small batteries, are a notorious example. That’s what makes Podswap, a startup that puts new batteries in otherwise dead AirPods, so enticing. Not only can this company bring your useless, headed-to-the-landfill AirPods back to life, but it is also challenging Apple and other big tech manufacturers to offer more-sustainable product designs and better practices to support them. READ MORE

EU outlines ambitious AI regulations focused on risky uses

Risky uses of artificial intelligence that threaten people’s safety or rights such as live facial scanning should be banned or tightly controlled, European Union officials said Wednesday as they outlined an ambitious package of proposed regulations to rein in the rapidly expanding technology.

The draft regulations from the EU’s executive commission include rules for applications deemed high risk such as AI systems to filter out school, job or loan applicants. They would also ban artificial intelligence outright in a few cases considered too risky, such as government “social scoring” systems that judge people based on their behavior. READ MORE

Foxconn's giant factory in Wisconsin sounded too good to be true. Turns out it was

When first announced in 2017, Foxconn's plan to build a massive electronics factory in Wisconsin was hailed by then-President Donald Trump as a sign of the rebirth of American manufacturing.

But nearly four years later, the complex that promised to create a Silicon Valley in the industrial Midwest is essentially a white elephant, a collection of mostly empty buildings without any high-tech products to build. READ MORE

Is the US recovery approaching its peak?

Bolstered by strong data, investors are expressing plenty of faith in the power of the global economic recovery. But what if this spring is as good as it gets?

What's happening: Goldman Sachs (GS) analysts predict that US economic growth will slow after the April-to-June period this year. Meanwhile, Covid-19 infections are rising dramatically in crucial economies like India, forcing local officials to enact new lockdown measures, while recent figures from China indicate that its recovery could be losing steam. READ MORE

7 soft skills recruiters value during uncertain hiring times

The pandemic has created radical changes in the way we work. Hiring the right employees, who can not only survive but also thrive during these unprecedented times, has become even more critical.

While technical and functional skills are still as important as ever, recruiters and hiring managers have also been seeking candidates who have specific transferable soft skills that are especially relevant during this time when the workplace as we know it has undergone such a radical transformation. READ MORE

Will employees ever safely return to the office after COVID-19?

As the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations across the U.S. picks up, workers and employers are beginning to discuss what the return to their physical workplace might look like. 

For workers, this could mean swapping the couches, kitchens and bedrooms that have doubled as offices for more than a year for desks, conference rooms and the company of colleagues. Yet many individuals remain hesitant about returning to the office, citing concerns about using public transportation to commute, for one.  READ MORE

Apple will let Parler back on the App Store

Apple has approved Parler's return to the iOS app store following improvements the social media company made to better detect and moderate hate speech and incitement, according to a letter the iPhone maker sent to Congress on Monday.

The decision clears the way for Parler, an app popular with conservatives including some members of the far right, to be downloaded once again on Apple devices. READ MORE

I used to be great at my job… then I founded a startup

Usually, I’d hit my groove in a job when I was about 6 months in. At that point, all the little things that had confused me at first started making sense and my performance started to reflect that. But during the whirlwind last 6 months of launching my own startup with another first-timer — I’ve realized I’ll never experience that again.

So herein lies the memoir of a relatively new founder (or flounder?), which will explain why you’ll never be ‘great at your job’ again after starting your own company. READ MORE

Oregon officials weigh mandating COVID-19 rules in all businesses indefinitely

With many states lifting COVID-related restrictions amid a more widely available vaccine, Oregon is poised to go in completely the opposite direction as health officials consider mandating masks and social distancing in all businesses indefinitely. 

The proposal, which has many residents fuming, would keep the rules in place until they are "no longer necessary to address the effects of the pandemic in the workplace."  READ MORE

WeWork’s new stock-listing plan has echoes of its past

WeWork, which had one of the most spectacular IPO implosions in recent years, is trying to go public again—and some of the factors that worried regulators on the first deal are back again.

WeWork isn’t doing an initial public offering this time, but merging with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. Rules around SPACs are looser than for IPOs, giving WeWork more leeway to tout its future. READ MORE

Nearly half of 2020 college grads remain jobless

The coronavirus pandemic is hitting recent college graduates hard as they struggle to lock down a job even a year after graduating, according to a new survey. 

Nearly half of the 2020 graduating class, about 45%, are still looking for a job, according to Monster's recent survey of over 1,000 recent and impending U.S. college graduates. 

The class of 2021 is also likely to face similar job-hunting woes. Impending graduates are expecting to spend five months "searching for the right job." READ MORE

Employers are hiring again, but struggling to find workers

Chris New said he has turned down $250,000 in business because he just can’t hire enough laborers and drivers at his Carrollton-based company, Barnes Van Lines.

There are plenty of people without jobs, but unemployment benefits give them too much incentive not to work, he said. “We advertise and nobody comes in looking for a job. A lot of people are taking advantage of the system. It’s really killing us.” READ MORE