16 October 2019

Volvo unveils its first electric car, the XC40 Recharge


Volvo Cars introduced Wednesday the XC40 Recharge, its first electric car under a new EV-focused brand that kicks off a company-wide shift towards electrification.

“It’s a car of firsts and it’s a car of the future,” CTO Henrik Green said. T

he Volvo XC40 Recharge is the first electric vehicle in the automaker’s portfolio. It’s also the first Volvo to have an infotainment system powered by Google’s Android operating system as well as have the ability to make over-the-air software updates.

This is also the first vehicle under Volvo’s new Recharge brand. Recharge, which was announced this week, will be the overarching name for all chargeable Volvos with a fully electric and plug-in hybrid powertrain, according to the company.

The all-electric vehicle is based off of Volvo’s popular XC40 small SUV. However, this is not a retrofit of a gas-powered vehicle.

The XC40 Recharge is equipped with an all-wheel drive powertrain and a 78 kilowatt-hour battery that can travel more than 400 kilometers (248 miles) on a single charge, in accordance with WLTP. The WLTP, or Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure, is the European standard to measure energy consumption and emissions, and tends to be more generous than the U.S. EPA estimates. The EPA estimates are not yet available, but it’s likely the XC40 Recharge will hit around the 200-mile range.

That would put the range of the Volvo XC40 Recharge below the Tesla Model 3, Chevy Bolt EV, Kia Niro and Hyundai Kona.

However, Volvo did make a vehicle with impressive horsepower and fast charging capability, which could attract buyers. The vehicle’s electric motors produces the equivalent of 408 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque that allows the vehicle to go from zero to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds. The battery charges to 80% of its capacity in 40 mins on a fast-charger system.

Volvo XC40 Recharge 1

Android-powered infotainment

The infotainment system in the all-electric Volvo XC40 will be powered by an automotive version of Android OS, and, as a result, bring into the car embedded Google services such as Google Assistant, Google Maps and the Google Play Store.

This Android-powered infotainment system is the product of a years-long partnership between the automaker and Google. In 2017, Volvo announced plans to incorporate a version of its Android operating system into its car infotainment systems. A year later, the company said it would embed voice-controlled Google Assistant, Google  Play Store, Google Maps and other Google services into its next-generation Sensus infotainment system.

The Android-powered infotainment system is fully integrated with Volvo On Call, the company’s digital connected services platform.  Plug-in hybrid drivers using the Volvo on Call will be able to track how much time they spend driving on electric power.

Volvo XC40 infotainment system

The infotainment system in the Polestar 2, the new vehicle from Volvo’s standalone performance brand, also is powered by Android OS.

Android Automotive OS shouldn’t be confused with Android Auto, which is a secondary interface that lies on top of an operating system. Android Automotive OS is modeled after its open-source mobile operating system that runs on Linux. But instead of running smartphones and tablets, Google modified it so it could be used in cars.

Volvo isn’t the only automaker to partner with Google to bring Android OS into its vehicles. GM began shipping vehicles with Google Android  Automotive OS in 2017, starting with the Cadillac CTS and expanding to other brands. GM said in September that Google will provide in-vehicle voice, navigation and other apps in its Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles starting in 2021.

Over-the-air software updates

The electric XC40 is also the first Volvo that will receive software and operating system updates over the air. Over-the-air, or wireless, software updates were popularized by Tesla, which has used the capability to improve its vehicles over time. Tesla has used the OTAs to fix software bugs, rollout new features in its infotainment system and improve performance.

Volvo intends to use OTAs for the operating system and other software inside the vehicle, Green said. Other automakers, with the exception of Tesla, have slowly inched towards OTAs, but have minimized its use, and limited it to the infotainment system.

“So now the XC40 will stay as fresh as your phone or tablet, and no longer will a car’s best day be the day it leaves the factory,” Green said.


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In the Accelerator over the Sea


In our oceans the scale of disasters is measured in millions, billions, and trillions, while solutions amount to single digits: individuals or institutions working to impact a chosen issue with approaches often both brilliant and quixotic. Putting such individuals in close contact with both whales and billionaires is the strange alchemy being attempted by the Sustainable Ocean Alliance’s Accelerator at Sea.

I and a few other reporters were invited to observe said program, a five-day excursion in Alaska that put recent college graduates, aspiring entrepreneurs, legends of the sea, and soft-spoken financial titans on the same footing: spotting whales from Zodiacs in the morning, learning from one another in the afternoon, and drinking whiskey good and bad under the Northern lights in the pre-dawn dark.

The boat — no, not that big one, or that other big one… yes, that one.

In that time I got to know the dozen or so companies in the accelerator, the second batch from the SOA but the first to experience this oddly effective enterprise. And I also gathered from conversations among the group the many challenges facing conservation-focused startups.

(By way of disclosure, I should say that I was among four press offered a spot on the chartered boat; Those invited, from penniless students to deep-pocketed investors, could join provided they got themselves to Juneau for embarkation.)

The picture painted by just about everyone was one of impending doom from a multiplicity of interlinked trends, and as many different approaches to averting or mitigating that doom as people discussing it.

What’s the problem?

In Silicon Valley one grows so used to seeing enormous sums of money expended on things barely categorizable as irritations, let alone serious problems, that it is a bit bewildering to be presented with the opposite: existential problems being addressed on shoestring budgets by founders actually passionate about their domain.

Throughout the trip, the discussions had at almost every occasion, be it looking for bear prints in a tidal flat or visiting a local salmon hatchery, were about the imminent collapse of natural ecosystems and the far-reaching consequences thereof.

Overfishing, rising water temperatures, deforestation, pollution, strip mining, microplastics — everywhere we looked is a man-made threat that has been allowed to go too far. Not a single industry or species is unaffected.

It’s enough to make you want to throw your hands up and go home, which is in fact what some have advised. But the people on this boat are not them. They were selected for their dedication to conservation and ingenuity in pursuing solutions.

Of course, there’s no “solution” to the million of tons of plastic and oil in the oceans poisoning fish and creating enormous dead zones. There’s no “solution” to climate change. No one expects or promises a miracle cure for nature’s centuries of abuse at human hands.

But there are mitigations, choices we can make and technologies we can opt for where a small change can propagate meaningfully and, if not undo the damage we’ve done, reduce it going forward and make people aware of the difference they can make.

Small fish in a big, scary pond

The trip came right at the beginning of the accelerator, a choice that meant they were only getting started in the program and in fact had never met one another. It also meant in many cases their pitches and business models were less than polished. This is for the most part an early-stage program, and early in the program at that.

That said, the companies may be young but the ideas and technologies are sound. I expect to follow up with many as they perfect their hardware, raise money, and complete pilot projects, but I think it’s important to highlight each one of them, if only briefly. The accelerator’s demo day is actually today, and I wish I could attend to see how the companies and founders have evolved.

Some accelerators are so big and so general-purpose that it was refreshing to have a manageable number of companies all clustered around interlinked issues and united by a common concern. If young entrepreneurs trying to change the world isn’t TechCrunch business, I don’t know what is.

The problems may be multifarious, but I managed to group the startups under two general umbrellas: waste reduction and aquatic intelligence.

But before that I want to mention one that doesn’t fit into either category and for other reasons deserves a shout out.

coral vita

Coral Vita grows corals at many times their normal rate and implants them in dying reefs.

Coral Vita is working on a special method of fast-tracking coral growth and simultaneously selecting for organisms resistant to bleaching and other threats. The founder, Gator Halpern, impressed the importance of the coral systems on us over the trip, as did filmmaker Jeff Orlowski, who directed the harrowing documentaries Chasing Ice and Chasing Coral. (He gave a workshop on storytelling — important when you’re pitching a film or a startup.)

Gator is using a special method to grow corals at 50 times normal rates and hopefully resuscitate reefs around the world, which is awesome, but I wanted to put Coral Vita first because of a horribly apropos coincidence: Hurricane Dorian, the latest in a historically long unbroken line of storms, struck his home and lab in the Bahamas while we were at sea.

It was literally battering the islands while he was supposed to pitch investors, and he used his time instead to ask us to help the victims of the storm. That’s heart. And it serves as a reminder that these are not armchair solutions to invented problems.

If you can spare a buck, you can support Coral Vita and victims of Dorian in the Bahamas here.

Waste reduction

The other companies were addressing problems equally as destructive, if not quite so immediately so.

Humans produce a lot of waste, and a lot of that waste ends up in the ocean, either as whole plastic bags scooping up fish, microplastics poisoning them, or heavier trash cluttering the sea floor. These startups focused on reducing humanity’s deleterious effects on ocean ecosystems.

Cruz Foam is looking to replace one of my least favorite substances, Styrofoam, which I see broken up and mixed in with beach soil and sand all the time. The company has created a process that uses an incredibly abundant and strong material called chitin to create a lightweight, biodegradable packing foam. Chitin is what a lot of invertebrates use to form their shells and exoskeletons, and there’s tons of it out there — but the company has been careful to find ethical sourcing for the volume it need.

Cruz Foam’s chitin-based product, left, and Biocellection’s plastic reduction process.

Biocellection is coming from the other direction, having created a process to break down polyethylenes (i.e. plastics) into smaller molecules that are useful in existing chemical processes. It’s actually upcycling waste plastic rather than repurposing it as a lower grade product.

Loliware was in SOA’s first batch, and creates single-use straws out of kelp material — a timely endeavor, as evidenced by the $6M round A they just pulled in, and backlog of millions of units ordered. Their challenge now is not finding a market but supplying it.

Dispatch Goods and Muuse are taking complementary approaches to reducing single-use items for take-out. Dispatch follows a model in use elsewhere in the world where durable containers are used rather than disposable ones for delivery items, then picked up, washed, and reused. Kind of obvious when you think about it, which is it’s common in other places.

Muuse (formerly Revolv) takes a more tech-centric approach, partnering with coffee shops to issue reusable cups rather than disposable ones. You can keep the cup if you want, or drop it off at a smart collection point and get a refund; RFID tags keep track of the items. Founder Forrest Carroll talked about early successes with this model on semi-closed environments like airports and college campuses.

repurpose screen

Repurpose is aiming to create a way to go “plastic neutral” the way people try to go “carbon neutral.” Companies and individuals can sponsor individual landfills where their plastics go, subsidizing the direct removal and handling costs of a given quantity of trash.

Finless Foods hopes to indirectly reduce the huge amount of cost and waste created by fishing (“sustainable” really isn’t) by creating lab-grown tuna tissue that’s indistinguishable from the real thing. It’s a work in progress, but they’ve got a ton of money so you can probably count on it.

Intelligence and automation

The technology used in the maritime and fishing industries tends toward the “sturdy legacy” type rather than “cutting edge.” That’s changing as costs drop and the benefits of things like autonomous vehicles and IoT become evident.

Ellipsis represents perhaps the most advanced, yet direct, application of the latest tech. The company uses camera-equipped drones using computer vision to inspect rivers and bodies of water for plastics, helping cleanup and response crews characterize and prioritize them. This kind of low-level data is largely missing from cleanup efforts, which gave rise to the name, which refers to both the peripatetic founder Ellie and the symbol indicating missing or omitted information

ellipsis gif

Ellipsis uses computer vision to find plastic waste in water systems.

For larger-scale inspection, autonomous boats like Saildrone are an increasingly valuable tool — but they cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and have their own limitations.

EcoDrone is a lower-cost, smaller, customizable autonomous sailboat that costs more like $2,500. Plenty of missions would prefer to deploy a fleet of smaller, cheaper boats than put all their hopes into one vessel.

seaproven

Sea Proven is going the other direction, with a much larger autonomous ship: 20 meters long with a full ton of payload space. That opens up entirely new mission profiles that use sophisticated, large-scale equipment and require long-term presence at sea. The company has two ships now embarking on a mission to track whales in the Mediterranean.

Nets and traps are notoriously dumb, producing a huge amount of “bycatch,” animals caught up in them that aren’t what the fishing vessel was aiming (or licensed) to collect. Smart Catch equips these huge nets with a camera that tracks and characterizes the fish that enter, allowing the owner to watch and monitor them remotely and respond if necessary.

smartcatch

Meanwhile “dumb” traps can still be smarter in other ways. Stationary traps in stormy seas are often lost, dragged along the sea bed to an unknown location, there to sit attracting hapless crab and fish until they fall apart centuries from now. Blue Ocean Gear makes GPS-equipped buoys that can be tracked easily, reducing the risk of losing expensive fishing kit and line, and preventing “ghost fishing.”

Connectivity at sea can be problematic, with satellite often the only real option. Sure, Starlink and others are on their way, but why wait? A system of interconnected floating hubs from ONet could serve as hotspots for ships carrying valuable and voluminous data that would otherwise need to be processed at sea or uploaded at great cost.

screen dashboard cable 1

And integrating all that data with other datasets like those provided by universities, ports, municipalities, NGOs… good luck getting it all in one place. But that’s the goal of SINAY, which is assembling a huge ocean-centric meta-database where users can cross-reference without having to sort or process it locally. Clouds come from oceans, right? So why shouldn’t the ocean be in the cloud?

Accelerator at Sea

The idea of commencing this accelerator program with a trip to southeast Alaska is a fanciful one, no doubt. But an influx of support for the accelerator’s parent organization, the Sustainable Ocean Alliance, made it possible. The SOA raised millions from the mysterious Pine and not-so-mysterious Benioffs, but it also made a deep impression on the founder of Lindblad Expeditions, Sven Lindblad, who offered not just to host the event but to attend and speak at it.

He joined several other experts and interesting people in doing so: Former head of Google X Tom Chi, Value Act’s Jeff Ubben, Gigi Brisson and her Ocean Elders, including Captain (ret.) Don Walsh, the first man to reach the bottom of the Challenger Depths in the Marianas Trench. He’s hilarious, by the way.

I met SOA founder Daniela Fernandez at a TechCrunch event a few years ago when all this was just one of many twinkles in her twinkly eyes, and it’s been rewarding to watch her grow a community around these issues, which have passionate supporters around the globe if you’re willing to look for them and validate their purpose. It’s not a surprise to me at all that she has collected such an impressive group.

The boat, departing from Juneau, made a number of stops at local places of interest, where we would meet locals in the fishing industry, whale researchers, and others, or hear about the local economy ecology from one of the boat’s designated naturalists. In between these expeditions we did team-building exercises, honed pitches, and heard talks from the people mentioned above on hiring practices, investment trends, history.

These people weren’t just plucked from from the void — they are all part of the extended community that the SOA and Fernandez have built over the last few years. The organization was built with the idea of putting young, motivated people together with older, more experienced ones, and that’s just what was happening.

gator jeff workshop

In a way it was what you might expect out of an accelerator program: Connecting startups with industry veterans and investors (of which there were several present) and getting them the advice and exposure they need. There was a pitch competition — the “Otter Sanctuary” (you had to be there).

But there was something very different about doing it this way — on a boat, I mean. In Alaska. With bears, whales, and the northern lights present at every turn.

“For the first time ever, we brought together a community of ocean entrepreneurs from all around the world and allowed them to become fully immersed in the environment that they have been working so hard to protect,” said Craig Dudenhoffer, who runs the accelerator program. “It was amazing to see the entrepreneurs establishing lifelong relationships with each other and with members of the SOA community. It might seem counter-intuitive for a technology entrepreneur, but sometimes you have to disconnect from technology in order to reconnect with your mission.”

In a normal startup accelerator, and in fact for the remainder of this one, aspiring entrepreneurs are living on their own somewhere, coming into a shared office space, attending office hours, meeting VCs in their offices or at demo days. That’s just fine, and indeed what many a startup needs — a peer group, a focal point in space and time, goals and advice.

On the boat, however, these things were present, but secondary to the experience of, say, standing next to someone under the aurora. I’m aware of how that sounds — “it was an experience, man!” — but there’s something fundamentally different about it.

In an office in the Bay Area, there is an established power structure and hierarchy. Schedules are adjusted around meetings, priorities are split, time and attention are devoted in formal 15-minute increments. On the boat there was no hierarchy, or rather the artificial one to which we would cleave in the city was flattened by the scale of what we were learning and experiencing.

You’d be in a zodiac or pressed against the railing with your binoculars, talking about whales and the threat of microplastics with whoever’s next to you in a normal fashion, only to find out they’re a billionaire who you’d never be able to meet directly with at all, let alone on equal terms.

Sitting at breakfast one day the guy next to me started talking about hydrogen-powered trucking — I figured I’d indulge this harmless idealist. In fact it was Jeff Ubben and Value Act was investing millions in an ecosystem they fully expect to take over the west coast. This sort of encounter was happening constantly as people engaged naturally, acting outside the established hierarchies and power structures.

Part of that was the gravity of the issues the startups were facing, and which we were reminded of repeatedly by the impending hurricane, the hatchery warning of salmon apocalypse, the visibly collapsing ecosystems, and perhaps most poignantly by the changes seen personally by Don and Sven, who were been on the seas professionally long before I was even born.

“It’s like salmon eggs”

On the last night of the trip, I shared a glass of wine with Sven to talk about why he was supporting this endeavor, which was undoubtedly expensive and certainly unusual.

“From a business perspective, I depend on the ocean — but there’s a personal connection as well. I’m constantly looking for ways to protect what we depend on,” he began. “We have a fund that generates a couple million dollars a year, and we find different people that we believe in — that have an idea, a passion, intelligence. You meet someone like Daniela, you want to go to bat for them.”

Kristin Hettermann ALASKA SOA 39

“When you’re 21 or whatever, you have all these idealistic thoughts about making a difference in the world. They need support in a variety of ways — advice, finance, mentorship, all these things are part of the puzzle,” he said. “What SOA has done is recognize people that have a good idea. Left to their own devices most of them would probably fail. But we can provide some support, and it’s like with salmon eggs – maybe instead of one in a million surviving, maybe two, or five survive, you know?”

“Tech is a valuable tool, but it has to serve to support an idea. It isn’t the idea. Eliminating plastics and bycatch, making data more useful, putting sonar sensors on robotic boats, all very interesting. We need solutions, actions, ideas, as fast as we can, to accelerate the change in behavior as fast as we can.”

His earnest replies soon became emotional, however, as his core concern for the ocean and planet in general took over.

“We’re fucked,” he said simply. “We are literally destroying the next generation’s future. I’ve been with colleagues and we’ve wept over glasses of wine over what we’re doing.”

“I have two personalities,” he explained. “And most of my friends, associates, scientists have these dual personalities, too. One is when they look in the mirror and talk to themselves — that tends to be more pessimistic. But the other is the external personality, where being pessimistic is not helpful.”

“Something like this really activates that optimism,” he said. “At the end of the day young people have to grab their future, because we sure haven’t done a great job of it. They have to get out there, they have to vote, they have to take control. Because if the system really starts to collapse… I don’t think anyone even begins to understand the magnitude of it. It’s unfathomable.”

The Accelerator at Sea program was a fascinating experience and I’m glad to have taken part. I feel sure it was valuable for the startups as well, and not just because of the $25,000 they were each spontaneously awarded from the investors on board, who in closing remarks emphasized how important it is that startups like these and the people behind them are supported by gatekeepers like venture firms and press.

The combination of good times in nature, stimulating experts and talks, and a group of highly motivated young entrepreneurs was a powerful mixture, and unfortunately one that is difficult to describe even in 3,000 words. But I’m glad it exists and I look forward to following the progress of these companies and the people behind them. You can keep up with the SOA at its website.


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Daily Crunch: LinkedIn now supports real-world events


The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here.

1. LinkedIn gets physical, debuts Events hub for people to plan in-person networking events

LinkedIn is bringing its professional networking features into the physical world: The company is launching Events, a (currently free) tool for people to plan, announce and invite people to meetups and other get-togethers.

“I think there is a massive whitespace for events today,” argued LinkedIn’s Ajay Datta. “People don’t have a single place to organize [work-related] offline meetups specific to an industry or a neighborhood. People want to find other people.”

2. Up close with Google’s new Pixel 4

Imaging has been improved across the board, including the already solid Night Sight, Portrait Mode and zoom, which uses a hybrid of digital and the physical telephoto lens. And then there’s Recorder, which virtually every journalist seems to be excited about.

3. Twitter says it will restrict users from retweeting world leaders who break its rules

This is Twitter’s current compromise as it faces criticism for inaction against world leaders who break its rules: It still won’t take down the tweets, but it will limit how users can interact with them.

4. Healx raises $56M Series B to use AI to find treatments for rare diseases

Healx says the new financing will be used to develop the company’s “therapeutic pipeline” and to launch its global Rare Treatment Accelerator program, partnering with patient groups in an attempt to make rare disease drug discovery much more efficient.

5. NASA extends contract with Boeing for SLS rocket, paving the way for up to 10 Artemis missions

NASA has a new contract extension in place with Boeing, which will cover rocket stages for its Space Launch System beyond Artemis I and Artemis II — including production of the core stage of the rocket for Artemis III, with which NASA plans to bring the first American woman and next American man to the surface of the Moon.

6. Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global is buying a startup that uses neuroscience to boost app usage

Thrive Global is adding a tech tool to its arsenal of cognitive behavioral therapies with the acquisition of Boundless Mind. Originally called Dopamine Labs, the company was founded in 2015 to bring some of the same technologies that social media companies like Facebook used to boost engagement to a broader range of applications.

7. Will unreliable research bury your healthcare startup?

Healthtech founders stand on the shoulders of the scientists who preceded them to obtain reliable evidence. When they promote their own innovations, credibility is a critical prerequisite. But where does credibility come from? (Extra Crunch membership required.)


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This app waits on hold for you


DoNotPay helps you get out of parking tickets, cancel forgotten subscriptions, and now it can call you when it’s your turn in a customer service phone queue. The app today is launching “Skip Waiting On Hold”. Just type in the company you need to talk to, and DoNotPay calls for you using tricks to get a human on the line quick. Then it calls you back and connects you to the agent so you never have to listen to that annoying hold music.

And in case the company tries to jerk you around or screw you over, the DoNotPay app lets you instantly share a legal recording of the call to social media to shame them.

How To Get Off hold

Skip Waiting On Hold comes as part of the $3 per month DoNotPay suite of services designed to save people time and money by battling bureaucracy on their behalf. It can handle DMV paperwork for you, write legal letters to scare businesses out of overcharging you, and it provides a credit card that automatically cancels subscriptions when your free trial ends.

“I think the world would be a lot fairer place if people had someone fighting for them” says DoNotPay’s 22-year-old founder Joshua Browder. $3 per month gets the iOS app‘s 10,000 customers unlimited access to all the features with no extra fees or commissions on money saved. “If DoNotPay takes a commission then we have an incentive to perpetuate the problems we are fighting against.”

Browder comes from a family of activists. His father Bill Browder got the Magnitsky Act passed, which lets the US government freeze the foreign assets and visas of human rights abusers. It’s named after Bill’s Russian lawyer who was murdered in Moscow after uncovering a $230 million government curruption scheme linked to President Putin’s underlings.

DoNotPay app

“These big companies [and governments] are getting away with a lot” Browder tells me. He hit a breaking point when frustrated with the process of appealing parking tickets. He built DoNotPay to cut through hassles designed to separate us from our money. In April it raised a $3.5 million seed round led by Felicis to develop an Android version after picking up early funding from Andreessen Horowitz. Surprisingly, the startup has never been sued.

For Skip Waiting On Hold, DoNotPay built out a database of priority and VIP customer service numbers for tons of companies. For legality, if you opt in to recording the exchanges, the app automatically plays a message informing both parties they’ll be recorded. A human voice detection system hears when a real agent picks up the phone, and then rings your phone. It’s like having customer service call you.

Not only can DoNotPay help you get in touch about cancelling subscriptions, scoring refunds, or retreiving information. It’s like “a body camera for customer service calls” Browder says. “Before they make a decision that rips off the customer, they’ll think ‘this could be made public and go viral and hurt our business.'” For example, an airline that jacks up prices for rescheduled flights surrounding hurricanes could be shamed for profiting off of natural disasters.

Record and share customer service calls

The full list of DoNotPay services includes:

  1. Customer service disputes where it contacts companies about refunds for Comcast bills, delayed flights, etc
  2. The free trial credit card that auto-cancels subscriptions before you’re actually charged
  3. Traffic and parking appeals where it generates a letter for you based on answers to questions like if signs were too hard to read or there was a mistake on the ticket
  4. Hidden money discovery that finds refunds in your bank fees, identifies forgotten subscriptions, gets you free stuff on your birthday, and more
  5. Government paperwork assistance that can help you get DMV appointments and fill out forms
  6. Skip Waiting On Hold

Browder hopes that with time, companies and governments will make all these chores easier for everyone. To avoid putting itself out of a job, DoNotPay is constantly looking for new annoyances to eliminate. “I’m from the UK. America seems to be a pay-to-play society. The more money you have to more rights you have” Browder concludes. But those rights could be restored for all by building a robot lawyer that’s affordable to everyone.


Read Full Article

This app waits on hold for you


DoNotPay helps you get out of parking tickets, cancel forgotten subscriptions, and now it can call you when it’s your turn in a customer service phone queue. The app today is launching “Skip Waiting On Hold”. Just type in the company you need to talk to, and DoNotPay calls for you using tricks to get a human on the line quick. Then it calls you back and connects you to the agent so you never have to listen to that annoying hold music.

And in case the company tries to jerk you around or screw you over, the DoNotPay app lets you instantly share a legal recording of the call to social media to shame them.

How To Get Off hold

Skip Waiting On Hold comes as part of the $3 per month DoNotPay suite of services designed to save people time and money by battling bureaucracy on their behalf. It can handle DMV paperwork for you, write legal letters to scare businesses out of overcharging you, and it provides a credit card that automatically cancels subscriptions when your free trial ends.

“I think the world would be a lot fairer place if people had someone fighting for them” says DoNotPay’s 22-year-old founder Joshua Browder. $3 per month gets the iOS app‘s 10,000 customers unlimited access to all the features with no extra fees or commissions on money saved. “If DoNotPay takes a commission then we have an incentive to perpetuate the problems we are fighting against.”

Browder comes from a family of activists. His father Bill Browder got the Magnitsky Act passed, which lets the US government freeze the foreign assets and visas of human rights abusers. It’s named after Bill’s Russian lawyer who was murdered in Moscow after uncovering a $230 million government curruption scheme linked to President Putin’s underlings.

DoNotPay app

“These big companies [and governments] are getting away with a lot” Browder tells me. He hit a breaking point when frustrated with the process of appealing parking tickets. He built DoNotPay to cut through hassles designed to separate us from our money. In April it raised a $3.5 million seed round led by Felicis to develop an Android version after picking up early funding from Andreessen Horowitz. Surprisingly, the startup has never been sued.

For Skip Waiting On Hold, DoNotPay built out a database of priority and VIP customer service numbers for tons of companies. For legality, if you opt in to recording the exchanges, the app automatically plays a message informing both parties they’ll be recorded. A human voice detection system hears when a real agent picks up the phone, and then rings your phone. It’s like having customer service call you.

Not only can DoNotPay help you get in touch about cancelling subscriptions, scoring refunds, or retreiving information. It’s like “a body camera for customer service calls” Browder says. “Before they make a decision that rips off the customer, they’ll think ‘this could be made public and go viral and hurt our business.'” For example, an airline that jacks up prices for rescheduled flights surrounding hurricanes could be shamed for profiting off of natural disasters.

Record and share customer service calls

The full list of DoNotPay services includes:

  1. Customer service disputes where it contacts companies about refunds for Comcast bills, delayed flights, etc
  2. The free trial credit card that auto-cancels subscriptions before you’re actually charged
  3. Traffic and parking appeals where it generates a letter for you based on answers to questions like if signs were too hard to read or there was a mistake on the ticket
  4. Hidden money discovery that finds refunds in your bank fees, identifies forgotten subscriptions, gets you free stuff on your birthday, and more
  5. Government paperwork assistance that can help you get DMV appointments and fill out forms
  6. Skip Waiting On Hold

Browder hopes that with time, companies and governments will make all these chores easier for everyone. To avoid putting itself out of a job, DoNotPay is constantly looking for new annoyances to eliminate. “I’m from the UK. America seems to be a pay-to-play society. The more money you have to more rights you have” Browder concludes. But those rights could be restored for all by building a robot lawyer that’s affordable to everyone.


Read Full Article

Wi-Fi Direct: Windows Wireless File Transfer That’s Faster Than Bluetooth


wifi-direct-windows-smartphone

Wireless data sharing has made rapid strides over the past few years. Thanks to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC, data can be moved from one device to another with little effort

Windows 10 boasts of Wi-Fi Direct, a wireless connectivity system that helps to effortlessly hook devices up. Want to move data from PC to laptop? Easily done. Need to setup wireless printing? Connect your phone to your computer?

All this is quite simple thanks to Wi-Fi Direct. Here’s how to use Wi-Fi Direct on Windows 10 and transfer files wirelessly.

Introducing Wi-Fi Direct for PC: Wireless File Transfer

You can think of Wi-Fi Direct as a sort of Bluetooth over Wi-Fi. That is, it has the same “discover and send” functionality of Bluetooth, but the data is sent using wireless networking. As you might have guessed, this offers greater speed for your file transfer.

Bluetooth has been around since 1994, and although useful for transmitting audio and connecting devices it isn’t ideal for transferring larger files. Wi-Fi Direct has this problem covered and looks set to supplant Bluetooth in the next few years.

At this stage, Wi-Fi Direct isn’t yet as universal as Bluetooth.

However, when used successfully it is a very useful feature for transferring data between Windows 10 and other suitable hardware.

Check If Your Windows 10 PC Is Wi-Fi Direct Compatible

Using Wi-Fi Direct to send a file is faster and simpler than Bluetooth.

First, however, you’ll need to check that your device is Wi-Fi Direct-compatible. You can do this by pressing WIN+R, entering CMD to open the Command Prompt (which you should probably be using more than you are) then entering ipconfig /all.

Check for Wi-Fi Direct compatibility in Windows 10

If Wi-Fi Direct is available, you should see an entry labeled “Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter.”

Next, you’ll need to start transferring data over Wi-Fi Direct. However, this isn’t as obvious as you would expect…

How to Transfer Files From Android to Windows With Wi-Fi Direct

As you’ll need a third-party app to use Wi-Fi Direct, it’s important to choose the right option.

Feem is a software that has provided Wi-Fi Direct support to Windows PC and laptop users since the days of Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Feem is free to use, although it has various premium options. Wi-Fi Direct in Feem is free, as is live chat. However, you can pay to have iOS support, unlimited file transfers, and remove ads.

Using Feem to transfer data from Android to PC or laptop is straightforward.

  1. Set Android as a mobile hotspot in Settings > Network & Internet > Hotspot & tethering. Then connect your Windows computer to this network.
  2. Launch Feem on Android and on Windows too. You’ll notice that both devices are given unusual names by the app (e.g. Junior Raccoon) and a password. Keep a note of the password, as you’ll need it to establish the initial connection.
  3. Send a file from Android to Windows using Wi-Fi Direct, choose the destination device, and tap Send File. Browse for the file or files, then tap Send.

Moments later, the data will be sent to your PC. It’s as simple as that—and it works in reverse, too!

Download: Feem (for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Windows Phone)

No Wi-Fi Direct? Transfer Files From Android to Windows PC With FTP

If your computer doesn’t support Wi-Fi Direct, don’t give up.

Several tools are available in Android that will let you remotely share data with Windows without Wi-Fi Direct.

ES File Explorer is a popular third-party file manager for Android. This comes with several file management features for local and network use. Among these is FTP, which provides a direct network connection between two devices.

Use ES File Explorer’s Network > FTP feature to display your Android device’s IP address.

Paste this into a file transfer program such as FileZilla to browse the contents. You can then effortlessly transfer files between the two devices.

So, try ES File Explorer if you want to transfer data from a mobile device to your laptop through Wi-Fi and don’t have Wi-Fi Direct.

Don’t Have Wi-Fi Direct? Transfer Files With Bluetooth!

If your devices don’t support Wi-Fi Direct and you don’t want to use FTP, the smart solution (in the absence of a USB cable) is Bluetooth.

This is particularly useful if you’re trying to use Wi-Fi Direct on Windows 7 or 8 and find that the feature isn’t there or it doesn’t work.

First ensure your computer is paired to a suitable Bluetooth device (phone, tablet, computer, etc.) before sending a file to it. The methodology for this is largely the same across devices and requires that both are set to “discoverable.”

Both devices will then search for one another and if successful connect following input of a confirmation code.

For more information, here’s a list of the ways you can transfer data between a PC and Android.

If you’re not sure where the controls for Bluetooth can be found on your Windows 10 computer, open Settings > Devices.

With the second device in discoverable mode (check the documentation of your device) select Add Bluetooth or other device. Windows 10 will then poll for the discoverable device. Follow the on-screen instructions to add it.

With a successful pairing, switch to the Windows desktop and find the Bluetooth icon in the system tray/notification area. Left-click and select Send a file; you’ll be prompted to select the target device, then browse for the file.

No Wi-Fi Direct? Send a file with Bluetooth instead

On sending the file, the device receiving your data file will ask you to confirm that you wish to save the data. Agree to this, then wait for the transfer to complete.

Note that due to the shorter range of Bluetooth, the best results will be enjoyed by keeping both devices close together.

Data Transfer Speeds: Which Is Best?

You will probably notice while trying these two methods that Wi-Fi Direct is considerably quicker than Bluetooth. Indeed, recent tests have demonstrated that Bluetooth speed is like a tortoise in comparison.

While Wi-Fi Direct isn’t quicker than any cable data transfer (such as USB 2.0 or USB 3.0) it is certainly capable of transferring a 1.5 GB file inside 10 minutes; in contrast, Bluetooth takes almost 125 minutes to shift the same data.

Start Using Wi-Fi Direct in Windows 10 Today

Which option you choose will depend on the data you want to shift. A USB 3.0 cable with compatible hardware is the fastest option. Wi-Fi Direct is close behind, with Bluetooth coming third. Wi-Fi direct makes a good middle-ground option, but as it is not as widely available (or known) as Bluetooth, you might opt for a cable instead.

Perhaps the most important aspect of using Wi-Fi Direct in Windows 10 is its ease of use today. After all, early implementations of the technology were somewhat difficult to use.

Wi-Fi Direct is just one of the amazing wireless technologies in use in Windows 10. Want to know more? Here’s how to stream video from Windows to your TV using Miracast.

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How to Download Books From Google Books


Google offers a vast repository of ebooks via Google Books. There’s the Google Books search engine and Google Play Books store. Both services let you save copies of books so you can read them offline. So here’s how to download books from Google Books.

Google Books Search Engine

Firstly, let’s look at how to download a book from Google Books for free.

What Is the Google Books Search Engine?

The Google Books search engine has been around since 2004. It lets you search more than 30 million titles, each of which Google has scanned and converted into text using OCR. Several magazines are also included.

When you click on a search result, you’ll see the scanned pages, information about the book (such as author, publication date, and blurb), and links to buy the title in either ebook or print form.

You can also add your own review and save the book to your library.

Can You Download Any Title on Google Books for Free?

No. Each title on Google Books is assigned one of four access levels. They are:

  • No Preview: If Google has not yet scanned the book, you will not be able to see any of its text. You will, however, still have access to its metadata and ISBN.
  • Snippet: If Google does not have the necessary copyright permissions, you will be able to see up to three snippets of text. The snippets show a few sentences on either side of a specific query. No snippets are shown for reference books like encyclopedias and dictionaries.
  • Preview: Most books on Google Books fall into the Preview category. They are available for books that are still in print and for which Google has expressed permission from the copyright owner. If a book is in the Preview category, you will be able to browse a variable number of pages. All the pages are watermarked, and you cannot download, save, or copy them.
  • Full View: Google assigns the Full View category to books that are no longer in print and which are in the public domain. A small number of in-print books are also included. This is the only category from which you can download books from Google Books.

How to Download Books From Google Books

So, how do you download books from Google Books that are in the Full View category?

Unless you know which out-of-print title you want, we’d recommend using the Google Books Advanced Search feature. It lets you enter several specific parameters, one of which is the category of the book. Obviously, you need to choose Full View.

You can also enter keywords, preferred publishers, authors, ISBNs, ISSNs, and titles. When you’re ready, hit the Google Search button in the upper right-hand corner.

download google books free ebooks link

From the list of results, click on the title of the book you’re looking for. The book’s information page will load. You can find the download link in the upper left-hand corner. It is labeled as EBOOK—FREE.

By hovering over the link, you can see which devices you can read the book on, and which additional features (such as flow reading and scanned pages) the book supports.

download google books for free

When you click on the link, you’ll receive an additional prompt to confirm your decision. Select Read, and the book will become available in the My Books section of the Google Play Store. To download it, click on the three dots on the listing and select Download PDF or Download EPUB (depending on availability).

Google Play Books

Google Play Books is Google’s ebook store. It’s the second-largest ebook shop on the web behind Amazon. It offers more than six million titles for purchase. You can also use the platform to buy audiobooks and rent textbooks.

How to Download Books From Google Play Books

Google Play Books lets you download any book you own so you can read it offline. The options available to you will vary depending on whether you bought the book of if it was free.

If you have free ebooks in your library (either because you saved them using from Google Books using the previous method or you took advantage of a free ebook offer on the store itself), you can download a PDF or EPUB version of the file. You can then copy, reproduce, and share the file as you wish.

For paid books, however, you can only download a copy onto your device for reading when offline. You will not be able to access the PDF or EPUB file.

To download the books, you will either need the Google Play Books smartphone app (for mobile devices), or the Chrome browser and the Play Books extension from the Chrome Web Store (for desktops).

Download Google Play Books on Android or iOS

To download a book onto your mobile device, follow the instructions below:

  1. Grab a copy of the free Google Play Books app from the appropriate app store.
  2. Ensure your device has an internet connection.
  3. Tap on the Library tab at the bottom of the screen.
  4. Tap on the book you want to save for offline reading.

The download process will start automatically. When it’s finished, you will see a tick appear on the book’s thumbnail.

To see which books you have already downloaded from Google Play, go to Menu > Downloaded Only.

Download: Google Play Books for Android | iOS (Free)

Download Google Play Books on Windows and Mac

google play books extension download ebooks offline

If you’d prefer to download a book on your desktop machine instead, use these instructions:

  1. Download Google Chrome for your preferred operating system.
  2. Download the Google Play Books web app for Google Chrome.
  3. Open Chrome and access the Google Play Books app.
  4. Find the book you want to download for offline reading.
  5. Hover your mouse over the book’s thumbnail and click on Make available offline.

If you want to remove the book in the future, just untick the same checkbox.

Download: Google Chrome (Free)
Download: Google Play Books for Google Chrome (Free)

Other Ways to Download Free Books Online

The methods described in this article will help you to ensure you always have plenty of reading material to hand, even if you’re going to be offline for an extended period of time.

And remember, Google Books is not the only place where you can find free ebooks. If you’d like to learn more, here are some websites with free ebooks that don’t suck and the best websites to get free ebooks.

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How to Use LinkedIn Skill Assessments to Stand Out


linkedin-skill-assessment

LinkedIn Skill Assessments help connect recruiters with job hunters by having job hunters prove their knowledge and skills.

The tests are run through the LinkedIn website. In this article, we’ll show you how to use LinkedIn Skill Assessments to stand out from the crowd.

What Are LinkedIn Skill Assessments?

LinkedIn Skill Assessments Give You a Verification Badge

LinkedIn Skill Assessments are a series of multiple-choice exams that allow you to prove the skills that are stated in your profile.

If you “grade in the 70th percentile or above”—according to LinkedIn—you officially pass and get a LinkedIn skill badge. The social media site will display your badge on your profile.

If you fail the quiz, you can take the test again in three months. Your profile will remain the same. No one will know that you took the test and failed.

To construct these tests, LinkedIn contacted multiple experts and peer-reviewed their answers. Each test is time-based, so people cannot cheat by looking for clues.

While LinkedIn Skill Assessments are available internationally, it’s important to note that not all tests will be available to all users. In addition, these tests are only available in English. However, LinkedIn plans to expand the Skill Assessments program over time.

NB: LinkedIn are consistently innovating in order to keep the platform fresh. So much so that in February 2019, LinkedIn launched its own video streaming service called LinkedIn Live.

What Skill Assessments Are Available?

What LinkedIn Skill Tests Are Available?

There are lots of tests currently available through LinkedIn Skill Assessments. Topics range from coding to office-based applications like Adobe Acrobat.

According to the LinkedIn Help Pages, the following tests are available. However, as previously noted, availability depends on your location:

  • Angular
  • AutoCAD
  • AWS
  • Bash
  • C
  • C#
  • C++
  • CSS
  • GIT
  • Hadoop
  • HTML
  • Java
  • JavaScript
  • jQuery
  • JSON
  • Maven
  • MongoDB
  • NodeJs
  • Objective-C
  • PHP
  • Python
  • R
  • React.js
  • Ruby
  • Ruby on Rails
  • Scala
  • Swift
  • WordPress
  • XML

When it comes to other skills, you can be tested on:

  • Adobe Acrobat
  • Maya
  • MS Excel, MS Word, and MS Outlook
  • MS PowerPoint, MS Project, MS SharePoint, and MS Vision
  • QuickBooks
  • Revit

Once you finish a test, you’ll be give a score. If you Pass, you’ll need to renew your LinkedIn skill badge on an annual basis. Please note that if you delete your badge by accident, you cannot take the test again for another three months.

If you Fail, LinkedIn will advertise LinkedIn Learning products to you, to help you prepare for the next test.

What We Learned From Taking a Skill Assessment

How to Start a Skill Quiz for LinkedIn Skill Assessments

We took a couple LinkedIn Skill Assessments to see what they would be like. And here’s what we learned:

  • LinkedIn tells you right away what to expect for time allowance, and what you need to do in order to successfully complete a test.
  • LinkedIn also explains how these multiple-choice quizzes will be broken down into sections.
  • Once you press Start, you’ll be taken to a screen where you’ll be asked your first question. You’ll have a bunch of multiple choice options below that.
  • You’ll also see a timer in the bottom left-hand corner, along with a blue bar that shows you your overall quiz progress.
  • After you answer each question, you’ll press the Next button in the right-hand corner. This will move the test to the next question, and then the next, and the next. Once you reach the end, you’ll be told if you passed the assessment or not.
  • If you didn’t pass the LinkedIn skill quiz, you’ll be given the opportunity to delete the test results from your profile history.

Our Verdict on LinkedIn Skill Assessments

After taking several of these tests, we can testify that they’re very straightforward. If you prefer multiple-choice quizzes or exams, you’ll do well. However, if you’re a visual learner, you may find them frustrating, as they don’t really accommodate for different learning styles.

The full range of LinkedIn Skill Assessment tests also veers heavily towards coding. This leaves little leeway for people who desire LinkedIn skill badges in other areas of expertise.

It should also be noted that these tests are not a great way to determine if a person is truly “skilled” at a task. Some people do great at a task in execution, but perform poorly in written tests, or vice versa.

Hopefully these areas of conflict will be improved with future updates.

A LinkedIn Skill Assessment Can Give You Credibility

The Reason You Should Take a LinkedIn Skill Test

LinkedIn is one of the best websites for job searching. While its size makes it crucial to create and maintain a LinkedIn profile, it can also make it harder for you to stand out, as there are just too many applicants.

Which is where LinkedIn Skill Assessments come into play. Taking one of these tests (and passing) can help confirm you’re the real deal, and help you stand out from the crowd as a result. And recruiters will use any tool at their disposal to zero in on the best candidates.

Do You Need to Complete a LinkedIn Skill Assessment?

You may be sent a request by a company to complete one of these Skill Assessments, especially if you apply to a job posting through the LinkedIn website. It’s good practice to have one done ahead of time on the day of your choosing.

However, we should stress—as LinkedIn does—that these tests are not mandatory. They’re just another way to add a secondary level of verification. So, don’t feel obliged to take one, but know that doing so could help you stand out from the crowd.

Use LinkedIn Skill Assessments in Your Job Search

It’s important to note that LinkedIn’s tests will be refined as the company receives more feedback. Taking a test—or getting a LinkedIn skill badge—is also not a guarantee that you will land your dream job.

However, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking a LinkedIn Skill Assessment. Especially if you know you’ll pass first time.

Are you looking for other ways to stand out in the job market? LinkedIn Premium can help give you a headstart, and here are the reasons why LinkedIn Premium is worth paying for.

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Why Ethical Hacking Is Legal and Why We Need It


ethical-hacking-legal

It’s hard to not imagine hackers as hooded, shady figures typing away on unintelligible code in a dark room. But not all hackers are malicious. Some are even working for the benefit of humanity under the umbrella of “ethical hacking.”

Are these hackers operating legally? And if so, how do they keep things above the law?

What Is “Ethical Hacking?”

It may seem like an oxymoron, but ethical hacking is very much real. If “regular” hacking is cracking security protocols without the owner’s permission, then ethical hacking is cracking security with permission.

It may seem odd that someone would permit you to hack them; it’s like someone asking you to burgle their home. However, there are two good reasons why someone would ask you this; for educational purposes, and security purposes.

What Is Educational Ethical Hacking?

A website for ethical hacking practice

Educational hacking is when someone permits you to hack their security to teach you something. This is usually a website you can hack, so you can learn the basics of cracking network security.

At first glance, these may seem like websites that teach malicious skills. While it’s true that someone can use the knowledge they gain from these websites for immoral purposes, that’s not the intent of the service.

The website will often state that their exercises are to teach website developers on how to hack. This educates them on how hackers can exploit their code, and gives them the knowledge to defend against these tactics.

What Is Security-Based Ethical Hacking?

In this modern era, everything takes place across the internet. The need for a reliable cybersecurity solution is now higher than ever. As such, companies either hire security firms to set up defenses for them, or they’ll code something in-house to defend themselves.

Once the company’s security is ready and deployed, they need a way to put it to the test. The best way to ensure everything is secure is to perform a dummy attack and see how the security holds up. This use case is a “hire a thief to catch a thief” situation, where the only way to know is to hire a hacker to attempt to crack the system.

Should Hacking Be Taught as a Class?

Ethical hacking courses

If you’ve taken a look around the educational space, you may have discovered classes and courses related to ethical hacking. How can these courses take place from a legal standpoint? Surely they’re teaching people how to crack people’s accounts and systems?

These courses, however, have one focus; to teach people how to hack ethically. Of course, someone can very quickly take what they learn and use it for their own needs, but these classes aren’t to teach people to commit cybercrime. They’re set up to teach people how to fight cybercrime so that they can go on to be professional, ethical hackers.

How Do People Make a Living From Hacking?

You may have noted that we said “professional” ethical hackers. Hacking isn’t just a hobby for some—it’s a livelihood. You can take a course and earn certification as proof to employers that you’re fit for the job.

Businesses often pay ethical hackers to test their security, and the pay isn’t bad either. Information security educator and evangelist Infosec reports that ethical hackers earn an average of $71,000 a year, which is an excellent way to turn a hobby into a paying job!

Of course, the hacker doesn’t crack the system and then ask for payment; that’s a one-way trip to jail. Instead, the company will advertise the job, and ethical hackers will apply and hack with permission. The company may ask the hacker to attempt to breach their defenses, or they may post bug bounties that pay out as people discover flaws in the security.

We went into more detail on how to earn a living as an ethical writer, so be sure to take a look if this sounds like something you’d like to do.

Will Malicious Hackers Fade Without These Classes?

Let’s assume that some students in a hacking class will, eventually, use their skills for malicious purposes. If we stop teaching people how to hack ethically, will it also reduce the number of malicious hackers in the world?

The problem with this idea is how malicious hackers get their information. Yes, getting rid of ethical hacking classes will also remove the hackers that turn to the dark side. However, you won’t final all malicious hackers sitting behind a desk in class. There’s a thriving dark web community where people can trade tricks with one another, forming their own kind of hacking classes.

So, as a result of canceling ethical hacking classes, those with malicious intent can head to the dark web to get their lessons. Meanwhile, those who do want to learn for defensive purposes would have nowhere safe to learn. They’ll have to do their jobs with weak training, which means they’ll be less efficient in defending companies from well-versed hackers.

Why Ethical Hacking Has to Be Legal

People may feel uneasy about teachers educating people on how to crack security, but it’s a necessary evil. Without these classes, the people wanting to protect and help businesses will be ill-equipped to tackle the methods that underground hackers will try.

Businesses have a unique need for ethical hackers. They can hire people to test their security, creating a culture of hackers that work tirelessly to report any flaws they find directly to the company for fixing. As such, in a way, ethical hacking has to stay legal.

Otherwise, good-intentioned hackers are unable to do their job correctly and can’t demonstrate their skills with recognized certification.

Learning How to Hack Legally

While people typically imagine shady, malicious people when they think of hackers, not all of them want to do damage. Some want to use their skills to assist companies by testing their security with their permission. Such people need the courses and lessons available; else they’ll be left behind by malicious agents who distribute information around the dark web.

If you like to think of yourself as a potential white-hat hacker, why not enroll in an ethical hacking online class?

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The 8 Best YouTube Channels for Kids to Watch


best-youtube-channels-kids

Do you need to entertain and inform your children, but want to avoid the trash on TV? Then YouTube is the answer. If you want a blend of informative and entertaining programming, here are the best YouTube channels for kids. All of which are suitable for younger children.

Would you like to discover 70+ useful YouTube tips and tricks? Download our FREE YouTube cheat sheet now!

1. Bounce Patrol

Described as “Catchy kids songs and nursery rhymes to get children up and bouncing,” Bounce Patrol is one of the best YouTube channels for kids to learn colors, animals, numbers, alphabet and more.

Five presenters, Jacinta, Will, Jackson, Alyssa and Rachel, accompany children through dancing and singing as they learn. This is a fun, colorful show aimed at preschool and kindergarten children, and is guaranteed to entertain and educate in equal measure.

There’s certainly enough here to get your kids up and bouncing first thing after their nap.

2. Peppa Pig

There’s a very good chance that you’ve heard of Peppa Pig. Broadcast in 170 countries, the adventures of the titular pig, her family, and their friends and neighbors have thrilled children since its launch in 2000.

Whether it’s George uttering his single word (dinosaur!) or the athleticism of the overweight Daddy Pig, the show is jam-packed with colorful characters. Peppa herself is a slightly knowing voice in proceedings but most episodes compensate for this by throwing the Pig family into their happy space: jumping up and down in muddy puddles.

Look out for Miss Rabbit, who as one of many running jokes, has several jobs she appears to do simultaneously. If your little ones like Peppa Pig a lot, the channel features a “live” feed that plays endless episodes all day long.

3. Art for Kids Hub

A family-targeted YouTube channel hosted by a family, Art for Kids Hub features a wonderful collection of videos demonstrating how simple art can be. The usual format is one adult accompanied by one of three children, one younger, one aged 11-12, and the other one older.

This affords a wealth of content options, with projects covering everything from colorful messes to expertly drawn haunted houses.

You’ll find the parents are knowledgeable and personable hosts. Thanks to an overhead camera, kids can watch as each art project is completed, and even copy along at home.

4. Mr Bean: The Animated Series

You probably didn’t realize it, but just 15 live action episodes of Mr Bean were made. The last episode was recorded in 1995, but since then the Rowan Atkinson-voiced animated Mr Bean series has taken the reins.

With a massive 130 episodes of hilarious misadventures, Mr Bean suits the animated adventure format. Little ones absolutely adore Bean and his relationship with Teddy. These days, he has a fearsome landlady, Mrs. Wicket, accompanied by a sinister cat, Scrapper. It’s reassuring to know that Atkinson records voice parts for each episode, helping to keep it fresh.

The Mr Bean channel on YouTube is one of the most generous, with so much free (and occasionally original) content. Like Peppa Pig, there’s a Mr Bean Animated Series feed on the YouTube channel that plays videos all day long.

5. Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom

From the same stable as Peppa Pig, Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom features many of the same voice artists. This time around, however, the roles are very different.

Ben Elf and Fairy Princess Holly are best friends, running into problems caused by their families and differing cultures. Most events are complicated further by Nanny Plum and the Wise Old Elf, who (like Miss Rabbit in Peppa Pig) is a dab hand at all trades.

Peppered with dry humor that parents will appreciate, Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom is guaranteed to keep little ones quiet.

Watch out for the Wise Old Elf, played by veteran voice actor David Graham. You may recognize his voice from Peppa Pig (Grandpa Pig) as well as classic shows like Thunderbirds (he voiced Parker) and Doctor Who (various Daleks).

Speaking of Doctor Who, here are the best Doctor Who episodes of all time.

6. Nature Play Kids

Most of what little children watch on TV is either studio-bound or animated. Nature Play Kids is different. Here, the action takes place outdoors, with small children exploring nature.

Kids love exploring woods, country parks, even allotments and flower beds. But if you’re trapped in the city and want your children to appreciate the wonder of nature, things can be tough. Nature Play Kids provides an on-screen alternative.

A vast collection of videos will reveal the fun and intrigue of exploring woodlands, meeting creepy crawlies, getting mucky, and interacting with animals.

The mission statement here is clear: “kids playing in nature, rather than with toys.” So if you want your offspring to gain some appreciation of the outdoors, Nature Play Kids is perfect!

7. In the Night Garden

Narrated by Shakespearean actor Sir Derek Jacobi, In the Night Garden stars characters Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy. Your kids will also encounter Macca Pacca, the Tombliboos, and many other unusual creatures.

Everyone lives in a large wooded garden—the “Night Garden” of the title—and episodes include a lot of repetition. Aimed at preschoolers, it feels as though every episode of In the Night Garden is the same. In truth, they’re not, but the familiarity is welcomed by little ones, as are the songs.

A dark thought for parents… There’s a chance that each episode is the result of a fevered dream experienced by an adult Iggle Piggle, set adrift upon the ocean. Just watch those opening titles and tell me I’m wrong.

8. Mother Goose Club Playhouse

Many people complain that children don’t get the chance to learn and enjoy traditional childhood experiences, like nursery rhymes.

Swooping to the rescue is the Mother Goose Club Playhouse, a fantastic YouTube channel for younger children. Featuring excellent renditions of nursery rhymes and sketch-like storytelling sections, this channel features older children teaching younger ones.

All of the old favorites can be found on Mother Goose Club Playhouse, and the channel has its own website at www.mothergooseclub.com. This ties in nicely with the YouTube channel, with more fun stuff including crafting activities and printables.

The Best YouTube Channels for Kids Inform and Entertain

With these YouTube channels for kids you should be able to educate and entertain your little ones through the medium of television. However, don’t leave your kids unattended, as they may want to ask you questions about what they’re watching.

And if you have also got older kids to entertain then check out our list of the best kids shows to watch on YouTube.

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