5G is going to be a shaky experience to make the leap with one more potential impact coming

5G, the next generation of wireless technology, promises to do a lot of things. It'll allow you to download big games and movies in a flash. It'll connect all sorts of devices around you, from street lamps to self-driving cars. It'll enable new fields such as streaming VR experiences and telemedicine.

There's at least one more potential impact coming: a hit to your wallet. Wireless carriers rarely like to give anything away for free. And given the hype and excitement over 5G, it seems like a perfect time to tack another charge onto your mobile plan.

Verizon, for instance, waived the $10-a-month fee for 5G for customers who bought 5G Moto Mod or Galaxy S10 5G -- a smart move considering how small a footprint is available. But the company should go the extra mile and eliminate the fee altogether.

Sprint doesn't charge a fee, but requires you to sign up for its $80 "Unlimited Premium" plan.

AT&T, which launched its 5G network for businesses in December but hasn't made it available to consumers, didn't provide specifics about the pricing plans for its business customers.

5G is going to be a shaky experience for anyone looking to make the leap, and we advise that you exercise a little patience before buying a 5G phone.

Growing pains are inevitable as new networks spring up, and that's all the more reason for carriers to resist the urge to charge extra fees for the privilege of accessing 5G services. Early adopters shouldn't be taxed for the work-in-progress nature of these networks.

Beyond fees, the carriers should remove the data limitations that call for throttling once you've consumed a certain amount of data.  Under 4G, Verizon's $60-a-month "AboveUnlimited" plan, for instance, gives the carrier the right to limit you if you've hit 75 gigabytes of data. T-Mobile's $50 "Magenta Plus" plan has a throttling limit of 50B before the carrier can slow you down during heavy congestion periods.

5G will serve as the catalyst for new services and applications. But in order to get to that bright future, we need to ensure a wide highway that's free of tolls. (Roger Cheng)

The Most Useful Tools And Services For web developers

Life as a web developer may offer many rewards, but when project managers or clients are asking you to do more and more in less and less time, it can become frustrating. So it's always good to find tools and services that can make your work faster and more productive.

Here we've gathered together some of the most useful tools and services that should be part of every web developer's toolkit. Whether you a building a simple "Hello World" app or a complex web application, these tools should make your coding easier and increase productivity.

1. Babeljs.io/repl
Write your code in modern JavaScript and let Babel transform your code into JavaScript that is compatible with even older browsers.

2. Basecamp
Developed by 37signals, Basecamp is a popular online tool to help you manage collaboration and project management with ease. It all runs in the cloud and most people working in web design and development will be familiar with it.

3. BLOKK
BLOKK is a fun-to-use font for "clients who do not understand Latin". In other words, it replaces all text with blocks to suggest generic text instead. That way you can create good looking mock-ups and wireframes without confusing people with Lorem Ipsem

4. Buildregex.com
Construct regular expressions visually.

5. Bundlephobia.com
Quickly find the import cost (download size) of any package in the NPM registry. Or upload your package.json file to scan all dependencies in your project.

6. Codeply.com
Quickly build frontend responsive layouts with frameworks like Bootstrap, Materialize CSS and SemanticUI.

7. CSS Sprite Generator
By reducing the number of HTTP requests, this tool aims at increasing the loading speed of your website. Images are combined into one larger image at defined X and Y coorindates. Having assigned this generated image to relevant page elements the background-position CSS property can then be used to shift the visible area to the required component image.

8. Devdocs.io
API documentation for all popular programming languages and frameworks. Includes instant search and works offline too.

9. Fontello
This icon generator is truly one of a kind. Pick the icons you want and Fontello will compile them into customized web fonts. You can also edit and customize the symbol codes and names.

10. Foundation
Made by develpopers for developers at ZURB, this prototyping tool acts as a blueprint for your responsive design projects. Its latest version is an easy grid-structure that makes styling even more convenient and flexible. It works with both SASS and CSS.

11. Glitch
Create your own web apps in the browser, import GitHub repos, use any NPM package or build on any popular frameworks and directly deploy to Firebase.

12. httpie.org
A command-line tool that is useful for making HTTP requests to web servers and RESTful APIs. Almost as powerful as CURL and Wget but simpler.

13. jex.im/regulex
Write any regular expression into the editor and get a visual representation of how the pieces work.

14. Load Impact
A successful website is one that loads faster and quickly. Load Impact is a cloud-based service for load testing and website optimization that generates traffic load by simulating users. In other words it lets you test how your website, web app, mobile app or API will perform with up to 1.2 million concurrent users.

15. Pingdom
Pingdom is a service that tracks the uptime, downtime, and performance of websites. Upload a full page in HTML and it will mimic the loading process of the entire website, incorporating all the elements (namely JavaScript, RSS, CSS and images), thereby enabling you to check and monitor the efficiency of your site.

16. Cloud9 IDE
Cloud9 IDE is a tool to help you collaborate with others on big-scale code projects. Letting developers around the world edit the same code and chat together in realtime, it's fast emerging as one of the best browser-based IDEs. Features include code completion and editor, drop-document trees, smart drag and FTP integration.

17. Cloud Comp
This lightweight and easy to use tool helps you share website and apps with others. It's been specifically built to give designers and developers a way to present comps to their clients inside of a realistic device shell.

18. Prefix-free
This cool tool from Lea Verou lets you use unprefixed CSS properties. It essentially works behind the scenes, adding the current browser’s prefix to any CSS code, only when it’s needed.

19. Regexr.com
A good tool for testing your regular expressions in the browser.

20. Typetester
The Typetester is a browser tool for comparing different kinds of fonts, Choose the typeface you want to test out, along with your chosen size, tracking, colour etc, and Typetester applies it to a set piece of text so you can see what it will look like.

21. W3c Markup Validation Service
Validating web documents is an important step that can dramatically help improving and ensuring their quality. This free service from the W3C helps you to check the markup validity of different web documents, in HTML, SMIL, XHTML and MathML and more.

(images: Kubo agency)

Microsoft Your Phone app; Sync, See and manage Android notifications on Your PC

A new update to Microsoft's Your Phone app will be extremely useful for professionals who move between an Android phone and a Windows 10 PC for work or personal use. A new feature in the app allows users to get all of their Android phone notifications—or the ones they select—directly on their PC.

Users will also be able to manage those Android notifications on their PC, responding to texts through the computer instead of the phone. You can also take a photo on your Android phone and see it on your computer immediately, which could be helpful for adding photos to a presentation or social media scheduling tool.

The Your Phone app launched last year, with Microsoft continually testing and rolling out new features for Windows Insiders. The feature allowing users to sync app notifications from the phone to a connected Windows 10 PC began rolling out for Windows Insiders using the app back in April

In May, Windows added updates to the app including the ability to send and receive MMS messages, images, and GIFs, as well as syncing over mobile data, and not just over WiFi.

With the latest update, if someone messages you on WhatsApp, for example, you will be able to click the notification on your PC and it will open WhatsApp on your phone, and mirror the phone screen to your PC, allowing you to reply, Thurrott noted.

Here's how to use Your Phone to receive and manage Android notifications on your Windows 10 PC:

1. Link your Android phone to your computer in Windows Settings, or through the Your Phone app
2. Download the Your Phone app from Microsoft to your mobile phone (you must have Android 7.0 or later)
3. Follow the setup prompts 

(Alison DeNisco Rayome)

The Height and the letter of your name can impact your chances at success, Here is Why

A study from the University of Chicago found that height was key, and that "taller workers receive a substantial premium in earnings." Even the first letter of your name can impact your chances at success, according to a study by the University Of Colorado Boulder.

People with names that start with letters further down the alphabet experienced, "significant and substantial negative effects on outcomes in high school, educational attainment and first labor market experiences," likely due to "reduced opportunities in alphabetically-ordered searches."

In an analysis of names and careers on its site, LinkedIn found that for men, one syllable names, like Bob and Jack, dominated the C-suite. The post cites an expert who suggests the shortened versions of names often "denote a sense of friendliness and openness."
(Ali Montag)

The Next Billionaires Will Come From Asia And India Leads in Terms of Forecast UHNWI

Pictures of Mukesh Ambani's $2 billion Mumbai residence 'Antilia'

As the fastest growing economic region, Asia is home to a large number of billionaires like Masayoshi Son, Mukesh Ambani, Jack Ma, Ma Huateng and others. And it seems there will be no slowing down in this trend.

According to Knight Frank's Wealth Report Asia is the biggest hub for billionaires, with their number in the region set to rise above 1,000 by 2023, accounting for more than a third of the world’s billionaire population of 2,696.

The report shows that India leads in terms of forecast UHNWI  (Ultra-high net-worth individuals)($30m+) growth over the next five years, with an expected rise of 39 percent growth, followed by the Philippines (38%) and China (35%). Of the 59 countries and territories included in the wealth forecasts, eight of the top ten countries are from Asia.

However, it is worth noting that some of these countries are starting from a low base. For example, Romania will have 278 UHNWIs by 2023, while Ukraine will have 485. The Philippines is forecast to have 296 UHNWIs by 2023, less than 2 percent of the ultra-wealthy population of Japan, the biggest Asian wealth hub with 20,570.

Asia Giving Tough Fight to Others

"Equity markets, real estate markets and luxury investments all had a stellar year in 2017. Growth in 2018 has been good in some cases, but has not replicated the levels seen in 2017, and the outlook reflects more mixed conditions ahead," says Oliver Williams, head of GlobalData WealthInsight.

Even so, 2019 marks the point when the number of people globally with $1 million or more in net assets – HNWIs – will exceed 20 million for the first time, according to GlobalData WealthInsight. Some 6.6 million of these individuals will be based in North America, with 5.9 million in Europe and a further 5.8 million in Asia.

Ease of Doing Business Proportionate to Wealth

Williams highlights the link between entrepreneurialism and wealth creation.

"The ease with which a business can be created affects the number of wealthy entrepreneurs in a country and also the spread of wealth," he says.

Asia is the biggest hub for billionaires, with numbers in the region set to rise above 1,000 by 2023, accounting for more than a third of the world’s billionaire population of 2,696. China in particular has seen a sharp rise in the number of billionaires in the last five years, but growth looks set to moderate in the medium term.

William adds, "The easier it is, the more equal wealth is among HNWIs. Countries where building a business is more challenging, whether due to regulation or culture, tend to have a higher concentration of wealth and therefore a disproportionate number of UHNWIs and billionaires."
(Nidhi Singh)

22 Percent of The Worlds Wealthiest People Have Engineering Degrees and Born in Late September

Take a look at the background of the biggest billionaires. What does it take to become a billionaire?

Forbes recently released its annual list of the richest people in the world. The publication noted that there are currently 2,153 billionaires, down 55 from 2018. Of the 250 that made it to the very top, many of the usual suspects, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are right where we left them last year.

Website registry platform UK Domain did some research on the world's richest billionaires to identify some common threads among their backgrounds.

With regard to education, there were 128 colleges that the 250 richest billionaires attended for undergrad. But the most common college degree for the billionaires was a lack of one, 17 people on the list dropped out of school. Following dropping out, most billionaires went to Harvard University (seven people), University of Pennsylvania (six people), Yale University (five people) and Sweden’s Lund University (five people).

The top three degree subjects were engineering at 22 percent, business at 17.6 percent and economics and finance at 17 percent.

And for something a little more whimsical and will not likely to have a ton of bearing on whether you add nine zeros to your bank account, apparently the top five astrological signs were Libra with 27 billionaires, Pisces with 22, and Cancer, Taurus and Leo all with 20 each.

So if you're an Ivy League graduate with an engineering background that was born in late September/early October, perhaps you too can make the billionaire list someday :)
(Nina Zipkins)

AI Job postings Increased And Machine Learning Engineers Are The Most In-Demand

Artificial intelligence job postings increased in the past year, and those in the field can make over $100,000 in salary, according to job search site Indeed. 

Demand for artificial intelligence (AI) jobs grew 29% in the last year, though has begun to slow down from years prior, according to new data from job search site Indeed. With more open jobs than qualified candidates to fill them, many AI-related roles command large salaries, Indeed found.

Machine learning engineers are the most in-demand AI job based on the number of job postings, and also are offered the highest paycheck on average. They are also the professionals with the largest boost in salary year over year, the data showed.

Here are the five AI job titles with the highest salaries, according to Indeed:

1. Machine learning engineer
Average salary: $142,859

2. Data scientist
Average salary: $126,927

3. Computer vision engineer
Average salary: $126,400

4. Data warehouse architect
Average salary: $126,008

5. Algorithm engineer
Average salary: $109,313

Machine learning engineers were the third-highest paying job in Indeed's previous two rankings. This year, it jumped in salary $8,409 over last year, or 5.8%, bringing it to the no. 1 spot. Algorithm engineer salaries also jumped $5,201 or about 5% over last year. Both of these increases are likely a result of companies spending more to attract talent to these roles in a competitive tech jobs market, Indeed noted.

Similar to Indeed's ranking of the most in-demand AI jobs of 2019, those with the highest salaries demonstrate how the AI labor market is evolving, the data showed. More generalized positions that were found on last year's list of highest salaries, including director of analytics, data engineer, and computer scientist, but didn't make the list this year.

In terms of the best cities to find an AI job based on the number of open positions, New York, San Francisco, and Washignton, D.C. topped the list, according to Indeed. (Alison DeNisco/photo:Franck V)

12 Companies That Offer Flexible Work Options, As Well As Financially Supported Vacation Time

Flexibility is becoming a necessity for many employees. Here are 12 companies that not only provide vacation time, but remote work options.

The emergence of more teleconference capabilities and cloud computing has made flexible scheduling and remote work increasingly popular, perhaps even a new normal, according to a recent Condeco Software report. Nearly half of US employers already offer remote work options, the report found.

Many remote work positions are in the gig economy, and independent contractors often aren't able to take paid time off (PTO) for vacations or personal reasons. However, even full-time employees aren't making use of their vacation time, taking shorter trips to not get too behind on projects.

Companies are taking note of the unused vacation time, resulting in some actually helping workers take the much-needed time by financially supporting trips via discounts, stipends, and reimbursements, according to a report from Glassdoor and Business Insider.

The report compiled a list of the top 12 companies that offer flexible work options, as well as financially supported vacation time.

Here are the 12 organizations according to flexjobs.com:

1. AFAR Media
AFAR Media is a travel media brand that seeks to inspire global travel. The company has a magazine, along with a website that features travel guides and articles. According to a blog post posted by the company, full-time employees receive 30 days of vacation time and a $2,000 stipend to encourage them to travel to new places.

2. Airbnb
Airbnb was established in 2008 as an online hospitality marketplace for hosts and travelers to connect. Airbnb features listings for homes, rooms for rent, villas, boutique hotels, and more. It has served thousands of people through its 2 million worldwide listings. Employees receive $2,000 worth of travel coupons each year.

3. BambooHR
BambooHR is an HR software solutions company that seeks to help companies move beyond spreadsheets. It offers software to help with applicant tracking, employee onboarding, time-off management, employee database, and more. Located in Lindon, Utah, the company has hired for part-time and remote jobs in the area. BambooHR offers employees what they call “paid paid vacation“—$2,000 each year to travel as you please.

4. Basecamp
Basecamp, founded in 1999, is the creator of a popular project management tool of the same name. The distributed company has 50 employees working across 32 cities. According to Business Insider, employees who have worked with the company for one year or more get to choose from 16 different paid vacation packages each year. These trips are valued at $4,000-$5,000 each.

5. Evernote
Evernote is an all-encompassing app that allows users to capture, organize, and share notes in one place. Links, tables, audio messages, and more can be included in each note. Evernote is located in Mountain View, California, and has offered freelance jobs in the past. The company offers employees unlimited vacation days and a $1,000 yearly vacation stipend.

6. Expedia
As a well-known travel booking site, Expedia has served clients in more than 60 countries worldwide. Users of the site can book flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, and even activities. As an employer, Expedia hires for freelance and telecommute positions. Employees of the company receive a travel reimbursement that ranges from $250-$750, depending on tenure. They also receive discounts on retail and travel packages purchased through the site.

7. FullContact
Another company that pays for your vacation, FullContact is a platform that helps businesses and individuals develop and maintain business relationships. It helps in the areas of identity resolution, contact management, profile enrichment, audience insights and development, fraud prevention, and customer care. FullContact provides $7,500 per year for employees to travel—and it’s required that they don’t work while on vacation!

8. Motley Fool
Motley Fool seeks to “make the world smarter, happier, and richer” through its business and investing advice. In addition to offering unlimited vacation time, the company also has a “Fool’s Errand” program where one employee’s name is drawn from a hat every month and awarded $1,500 towards a two-week vacation. The lucky winner has to take the trip before the next monthly meeting and is asked for no contact during their travels to ensure the ultimate in relaxation.

9. Moz
Moz is a software as a service (SaaS) company that develops software for inbound marketing, hosts vibrant communities of online marketers, and provides APIs for link data and social influence. The rundown of what Moz employees receive for vacation is: 21 days paid time off per year, seven days of sick leave, 10 paid holidays, and $3,000 per year vacation expense reimbursement.

10. Travelzoo
Travelzoo is a commerce site in business since 1998. It publishes travel deals from over 2,000 entertainment, travel, and local companies to an audience of 28 million members across the world. It also offers exclusive deals and rates to members who join the site. According to Glassdoor, employees of Travelzoo are offered a “$1,500 stipend and three extra days of PTO to ‘book a hotel stay, vacation package, cruise, or flight offer that we negotiate on behalf of our 28 million members worldwide,’ according to Michael Stitt, President of Travelzoo North America.”

11. TripAdvisor
As the world’s largest travel site, TripAdvisor serves more than 350 million users monthly. Users can book flights, hotels, vacation rentals, restaurants, and more. The site boasts a large database of user reviews to help customers make the right travel choices for their needs. As a company, TripAdvisor offers a travel reimbursement of $250 or more, depending on how long an employee has worked at the company. It also offers discounts on packages offered through the website.

12. United Airlines
Founded in 1926, United Airlines now hosts 4,500 flights every day to more than 335 airports on five continents. As one of the largest airlines in the world, United Airlines seeks to be an inclusive employer and was even named one of the “World’s Most Admired Companies” by Fortune magazine. The company offers discounted airline tickets and unlimited standby travel on any United flight to employees.

If you’re one of the 54% of Americans who don’t take all of their vacation time, finding a company that encourages mental well-being and time away from the desk is key. These 12 companies that pay for your vacation and have flexible job opportunities can provide a great starting point for your search for a better way to work and live. (Macy Bayern - Techrepublic.com/photo: Mohamed Ajufaan)