Google Books redesign makes it easier to find background info

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California's Earthquake Early Warning system rolls out statewide

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Airbnb’s WeWork problem

Airbnb may be another overvalued “unicorn,” but it’s no WeWork.

The Information this morning reported new Airbnb financials — indicating a massive increase in operating losses — that immediately call Airbnb’s future into question. Precisely, Airbnb lost $306 million on operations on $839 million in revenue, namely as a result of marketing spend, in the first quarter of 2019. In total, Airbnb invested $367 million in sales and marketing, representing a 58% increase year-over-year, in Q1. The company is gearing up for a major liquidity event next year and is making a concerted effort to rake in new customers, as any soon-to-be-public business would.

Given WeWork’s sudden demise, coupled with Uber and Lyft’s lukewarm performances on the stock markets, many have wondered how Wall Street will respond to Airbnb’s eventual IPO prospectus. Will money managers have an appetite for another over-valued Silicon Valley darling? Or will the market compete like mad for shares in the massive home-sharing marketplace?

But Airbnb, again, is no WeWork, and I wager Wall Street will have a much friendlier approach to its offering. For one, Airbnb’s co-founder and chief executive officer Brian Chesky isn’t dropping $60 million on private jets — I don’t think. CEO behaviors aside, Airbnb has more capital in the bank than it has raised in its entire 11-year history, which is a whole lot of money. This is all according to a source who is familiar with Airbnb’s financials and shared this detail with TechCrunch following The Information’s Thursday morning report. As for Airbnb, the company told TechCrunch, “we can’t comment on the figures, but 2019 is a big investment year in support of our hosts and guests.”

Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky speaks at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2014

Airbnb has attracted more than $3.5 billion in equity funding at a $31 billion valuation and has even more locked away in its bank account. Additionally, Airbnb has an untouched $1 billion credit line, the source said. Presumably, the referenced credit line is the 2016 $1 billion debt financing from JPMorgan, CitiGroup, Morgan Stanley and others.

Moreover, Airbnb has been “cumulatively” free cash flow positive for some time, meaning that it’s seen more money coming in than going out during recent quarters, according to our source. It has been reported that Airbnb surpassed $1 billion in revenue in the second quarter of 2019 and in the third quarter of 2018, but we’re guessing the business did not top $1 billion in Q4 of 2018 or Q1 of 2019 because it if had, that information would probably have been “leaked.”

Finally, Airbnb has been profitable on an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) basis for two consecutive years, the company announced in January. Gross bookings, meanwhile, are growing, as is Airbnb’s business offering and its experiences product.

Why does any of this matter, you ask?

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HDMI ARC and eARC: What they are and why you should care

HDMI ARC is one of the coolest TV features at your disposal, but most people have no idea what it is or how it works. Here's our primer on HDMI ARC, as well as the next-generation technology, eARC.

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Samsung admits fingerprint reader flaw, promises software fix

Samsung has promised to provide a software update to fix the glaring security issue that allows users to bypass the fingerprint reader through using third-party screen protectors.

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Singapore readies 5G rollout with potential for two additional licenses

Government expects to have two full-fledged standalone 5G networks covering more than half of Singapore by end-2022 and, if there is interest from the industry, release another two lots of 800MHz of mmWave spectrum to be used for smaller non-standalone networks.

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Zappos data breach settlement: users get 10% store discount, lawyers get $1.6m

Seven-years-old class-action lawsuit nears its end, but data breach victims won't be happy.

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Yahoo extends deadline for uploading content on Yahoo Groups

Users will now have until October 28 before Yahoo stops new content from being uploaded onto Yahoo Groups.

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Halloween 2019: Last-minute high-tech decorations - CNET

These fun Halloween options will take your house from an everyday fright to ghoulishly spook-tacular.

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Does praying burn calories? Here’s the pope’s $110 e-rosary

The Vatican continues to take great pains to bring Catholic faith into the modern era, and this week it’s transforming the faithful rosary — adapting today’s popular fitness tracker idea into a $110 bracelet that tracks your prayers.

No, we’re not joking: this is a real gadget launched at a Vatican press conference whose specs include:

• Six-axis inertial sensing
• Bluetooth 5.0
• IP67 water and dust resistance
• Wireless charging
• a 15mAh lithium-ion battery
• 10 black agate beads and 11 hematite beads

It’s basically an adapted fitness tracker, and it still doubles as a fitness tracker, too:

“Once the prayer begins, the smart rosary shows the user’s progress throughout the different mysteries and keeps track of each rosary...

Continue reading…

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Crowdsourced traffic is available for more Google Maps users

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Disney's Artemis Fowl movie: Release date, plot, trailer, cast, director, rumors - CNET

Get ready for a seriously twisted fairy tale as a 12-year-old genius kidnaps a police officer from the underground world of mythical beings.

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How to (mostly) remove annoying Memoji from the iMessage keyboard

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44 teams just completed a solar car race across Australia

The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge started this week in Darwin, Australia on a 1,900-mile race to Adelaide in a collection of 44 solar powered vehicles.

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Work/Life: How to recognize, treat, and avoid burnout

On this episode of Work/Life, we talk about one of the biggest dangers facing workers today: Burnout. When it comes to job or career burnout, everybody is susceptible. Find out what you can do to avoid and manage burnout.

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How to buy a refurbished TV the right way: Everything you need to know

There's nothing wrong with buying a refurbished TV. In fact, for most, it's a chance to own a piece of tech they wouldn't have otherwise been able to afford.

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Pokémon Go has summoned the Forbidden Pokémon once again!

Spiritomb has returned for a limited time only through special research! Don't miss your chance to get this creepy Ghost-type Pokémon.

What you need to know

• Special Research has been released to encounter the forbidden Pokémon, Spiritomb.
• While the research is limited to the Halloween 2019 event, once started, players can take as long as they want to finish.
• Players can complete both A Spooky Message 2018 and A Spooky Message 2019 simultaneously.

While the Pokémon Go Halloween event has only just begun, thanks to the folks over at Serebii.net you can already prepare for this year's limited time special research, A Spooky Message 2019.

Like with last year's special research, A Spooky Message 2018, players will have the chance to encounter the forbidden Pokémon, Spiritomb. If you still have last year's research sitting in limbo, the next two weeks are the perfect time to complete it since the necessary Ghost and Dark-type Pokémon will be boosted for the Halloween event.

Like last year, this year's special research is only three steps. Before you get too excited though, the first two steps are pretty involved. Fortunately, we're here to help.

Step One: So many berries!

• Catch 10 Ghost-type Pokémon for a reward to get an encounter with Litwick.
• Make eight Great throws for a reward of 1,080 XP.
• Use 108 berries to help catch Pokémon for a rewarded encouter with Sableye.

While those 108 berries may seem daunting, keep in mind that these three tasks can be completed simultaneously and every berry used while trying to catch a Pokémon counts, even if you use multiple on a single Pokémon. Once you complete all three tasks, you will be rewarded with 10 Pokéballs, 1,080 Stardust and eight Silver Pinap Berries.

Step Two: So many Pokémon!

• Catch 10 Dark type Pokémon for a rewarded encounter with Yamask.
• Spin eight Pokéstops you haven't visited before for a reward of 1,080 XP (hint: these Pokéstops will have a gray ring around them!).
• Catch 108 Pokémon for an encounter with Spiritomb.

While this is the most time intensive step, these tasks can be done simultaneously and with the boosted spawn rates for the Halloween event, this is the perfect time to complete them. Once you've finished all three tasks, you will be rewarded with another 10 Pokéballs, another 1,080 Stardust and eight Golden Razz Berries.

Step Three: Wait, I already have Spiritomb, now what?

• Claim reward of 1,080 XP.
• Claim reward of 1,080 XP.
• Claim reward of 1,080 XP.

While the third step seems unnecessary given that there aren't actual tasks involved, the 3,240 XP for nothing is a nice reward after having used so many berries and caught so many Pokémon. On top of that, once you've claimed all three rewards, you'll be given another 1,080 Stardust and 18 Spiritomb candies to begin powering up your forbidden Pokémon!

Have any questions? Just want to show off your Spiritomb? Drop us a comment below and be sure to check out our other Pokémon Go Halloween event coverage!

Pokemon Go

• Pokémon Go Events
• Pokémon Go Alolan Forms
• Pokémon Go Shiny Forms
• Pokémon Go Legendaries
• Pokémon Go Best Cheats
• Pokémon Go Tips and Tricks
• Pokémon Go Best Movesets
• How to find and catch Ditto
• How to find and catch Unown

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Google Maps for iPhone now lets you report abandoned couches in the road, speed traps and other slowdowns - CNET

Android’s Google Maps crowdsourcing feature rolls out to iOS devices this week with even more kinds of mishaps to report.

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How to watch the historic first all-female spacewalk on ISS Friday - CNET

Tune in on to witness two women stepping out into space together for the first time.

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Best 2-in-1 PCs in 2019 for when you need a laptop and tablet in one - CNET

Whether you want something that's more tablet than laptop or more laptop than tablet, there's one here to meet your needs and budget.

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The Batman starring Robert Pattinson: Plot, release date, cast and more - CNET

The new movie will also star actors Paul Dano as Riddler and Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman.

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See Paul Rudd joke about Thanos' butt while eating veggies dipped in hot sauce - CNET

The Ant-Man actor is even funnier when his mouth is on fire.

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Motorola invite hints at a 'reinvented' RAZR

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