Ken Garen, CPA, Co-Founder and President, UBCC

Uber to pull out of Denmark, blaming new taxi law Posted March 28, 2017 by Natasha Lomas Uber says it will pull out of Denmark next month, on April 18, blaming a new taxi law that includes requirements such as mandatory fare meters and seat sensors. While traditional cabs are likely already kitted out with the required tech, Uber’s service relies on drivers using their own vehicles as taxis, and smartphones as meters, so it would be harder for the company to comply. Uber had previously vowed to stay and fight for deregulation in Denmark, with an incoming liberal government suggesting in December that it might seek to make changes to existing taxi laws. So it’s entirely possible Uber is hoping that announcing the withdrawal now will apply some last-minute pressure on regulators for a rethink. An Uber spokesman told us that in order for the company to operate in the market “the proposed regulations need to change”, adding that Uber will continue to “work with the gover...

Tesla Model 3 Ramp Up Aims to Crush BMW and Mercedes Elon Musk rewrites the playbook for launching a new car. by Tom Randall March 26, 2017, 11:00 PM PDT One year ago this week, Elon Musk took to a stage to unveil his most important vehicle yet: the $35,000 Model 3. The electric five-seater accelerates as fast as the the best-selling luxury sport sedans in America—the BMW 3 Series and the Mercedes C Class—and costs about the same. The value proposition was the best ever for an electric car, and the crowd ate it up. But none of his pronouncements that night were as audacious as those to come. After taking in about 400,000 deposits at $1,000 a piece, Musk ramped up production plans. And then he ramped them up some more. Now, three months from the official start of production, the billionaire Tesla CEO seems to think he can not only match the performance of those top luxury brands, but outsell them in the U.S., too—in just one year. Tesla has a number of tricks in s...

Facial Recognition In The Toilet: Asia’s Restrooms Are Going High Tech You can't get too greedy with toilet paper — the scanners are watching By Alejandro Alba Mar 27, 2017 at 12:15 PM ET It seems everything is receiving a technology upgrade nowadays, and public restrooms might be the next target. Whether it’s to fight toilet paper thieves or show which stalls are occupied, the next time you go pee there may be technology watching over you. Authorities in China are adding facial recognition toilet paper dispensers in some public restrooms to stop visitors from stealing entire rolls of toilet paper. The high-tech dispensers work by scanning the face of visitors upon first entering the restroom. Once the person stands in front of the computer for three seconds, it’ll dispense a two-feet long sheet of paper. Visitors will have to be resourceful with the amount they get because the machine won’t give toilet paper twice to the same person for nine minutes. The facial ...

Pakistan says Facebook vows to tackle concerns over blasphemous content By Syed Raza Hassan March 28, 2017 KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Facebook has assured Pakistan that concerns about blasphemous content on the social media site will be addressed and a company delegation will visit this week to discuss the issue with the government, the interior minister said on Tuesday. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif earlier this month ordered that blasphemous content on social media be removed or blocked and that anyone posting such material be punished, and the government requested a meeting with Facebook. Blasphemy is a criminal offense in the strictly Islamic country and can carry the death penalty. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, quoting from what he said was a letter from Facebook's vice president received a day earlier, told reporters: "I wanted to reiterate that Facebook takes the concerns raised by the Pakistani government very seriously. We ...

Scientists Can Hack Your Office With Smart Lightbulbs And A Scanner A group of Israeli researchers found a way to trigger malware by shooting light at an ordinary office scanner By Joshua Kopstein Mar 28, 2017 at 12:52 PM ET The Internet of Things has turned a host of household objects into easily hackable “smart” devices, creating unprecedented threats to consumers’ security and privacy. But researchers have discovered that even run-of-the-mill “dumb” objects can be hijacked for nefarious purposes — including, apparently, your trusty scanner. In a recent paper, Israeli researchers from Ben-Gurion University on the Negev joined with the Weizmann Institute of Science to detail a way to covertly manipulate an organization’s network by using light pulses to transmit commands through a household flatbed scanner. While scanners are not typically connected to the internet, the researchers take advantage of their light sensitivity to send commands via a variety of external li...

Drone that flies WITHOUT a human pilot has been given permission to hit the skies of Israel in a world first ·         Optimus can fly for half an hour carrying 1kg (2lbs) without a human ·         The drone will be used by private businesses for aerial surveys and surveillance   ·         Airobotics is the first company in the world permitted to fly an automated drone ·           By   DAISY DUNNE FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED:   07:44 EDT, 27 March 2017   |   UPDATED:   10:38 EDT, 27 March 2017 A drone that can fly without the help of humans is one step closer to hitting the skies of Israel. Optimus can fly for half an hour without a human pilot on the controls. Its creator, Airobotics, recently became the first in the world to be granted permission to fly an automated drone. +5 Optimu...

Lyft pushes feel-good factor as Uber reels Marco della Cava, USA TODAY 5:06 a.m. ET March 26, 2017 SAN FRANCISCO — As Uber grapples with accusations of sexism, Lyft is making more moves to position itself as the feel-good ride hailing company to consumers who may not be familiar with the smaller rival. Lyft announced Sunday that it would soon be rolling out Round Up & Donate, an opt-in app feature that allows riders to automatically route rounded-up ride charges to charity. “We’ll be launching with one charity, then on-boarding more with a focus on being unique in each of our communities,” Lyft vice president of marketing Melissa Waters told USA TODAY. She declined to name the debut charity. Lyft currently operates in 300 U.S. cities. Uber is in nearly 600 cities and more than 80 counties. Lyft's value is pegged at $7 billion while Uber’s is ten times that. The new Lyft feature comes on the heels of an announcement last week that it had doled out more t...