Category: Business

  • Addressing Impediments to Digital Trade | VOX, CEPR Policy Portal – voxeu.org

    Addressing Impediments to Digital Trade | VOX, CEPR Policy Portal – voxeu.org

    Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists
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    Ingo Borchert, L Alan Winters 27 April 2021
    Addressing Impediments to Digital Trade | VOX, CEPR Policy Portal - voxeu.org 1
    Digital trade and digitally enabled services hold the promise of much-needed future growth and prosperity, but also pose unique challenges for trade policymaking. This eBook presents the proceedings from a conference organised by the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the UK Trade Policy Observatory, hosted by CEPR,  to discuss new directions for digital trade policy.
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    a
    A
    Ministerial preface
    The Rt Hon John Whittingdale OBE MP
    Introduction
    Ingo Borchert and L. Alan Winters
    1 Mapping policies affecting digital trade
    Simon J. Evenett and Johannes Fritz
    2 Mapping approaches to cross-border data flows
    Javier López-González, Francesca Casalini and Taku Nemoto
    3 An AI policy for the (near) future
    Bryan Mercurio and Ron Yu
    4 Source code disclosure: A primer for trade negotiators
    Cosmina Dorobantu, Florian Ostmann and Christina Hitrova
    5 The difficult past and troubled future of digital protectionism
    Susan Ariel Aaronson
    6 Governing cross-border data flows beyond trade agreements to support digital trade: Inspiration from international financial standards-setting bodies
    Patrick Leblond
    7 Rights in data, the public interest, and international trade law
    Teresa Scassa
    8 Asia-Pacific digital trade policy innovation
    Stephanie Honey
    Senior Lecturer, University of Sussex Business School
    Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex and CEPR Research Fellow

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  • Can You Read Manga On A Kindle? How To Get Your Manga Fix – Book Riot

    Can You Read Manga On A Kindle? How To Get Your Manga Fix – Book Riot

    If you’re an avid manga reader, you may have noticed that there’s a wide variety of manga titles available on Kindle Unlimited—including Attack on Titan, Battle Angel Alita, and Fairy Tail, among other series—but what does that mean for you? Can you read manga on a Kindle or is it just going to be a hassle? Fear not, manga fans, because downloading and reading your favorite Japanese comics on an ereader has never been easier to manage!
    Book nerds know the struggle of finding the perfect bag to hold their essentials—and yes, that definitely includes your current reading shortlist—but manga readers have it especially tough. Those little volumes may be small, but they’re also quick to read—so quick, in fact, that you may need three or four to get you through the wait time at your next doctor’s appointment! That may be less of a problem in Japan, where manga is so cheap that volumes can even be considered disposable, but western fans probably don’t want to discard their brand-new $10 books at the drop of a hat. That means you need to be able to transport multiple series installments everywhere you go—no easy feat when you have limited bag space.
    Enter the Kindle. If there’s one way that ebooks and ereaders have fundamentally changed book nerds’ lives, it’s by allowing us each to carry a virtual library wherever we go. Although it was originally designed with traditional texts in mind, the Kindle has turned out to be a great way to transport your manga collection for reading on the go.
    Reading manga on a Kindle device used to be a real pain in the rear, with ereader owners forced to download separate apps in order to enjoy .CBZ files—or just make their e-ink model Kindle display manga pages properly. Thanks to a few innovations in programming and manufacturing, however, reading manga on a Kindle is easier now than ever!
    Keep scrolling to find out how you can read manga on your Kindle, hassle free, and read on for some great suggestions on where to download your new favorite manga.
    The truth is that the majority of manga series available on the Kindle store are compatible with most Kindle models. This means that determining which Kindle model is right for you will come down to two basic elements: the style of manga you like to read, and where you get your digital manga volumes.
    If you’re looking to read old-school, black-and-white manga on your Kindle, you can’t go wrong with a Kindle Paperwhite or Oasis. Since 2018, these e-ink readers have come to U.S. book lovers with a specially integrated technology made just for reading manga. A few years after the Kindle Paperwhite Manga Edition landed in Japan, those same manga-friendly improvements became standard on all Paperwhites—from Generation 6 onward—Voyagers, and Oases sold in the U.S.
    Manga fans who already own a compatible Kindle device should take advantage of these features, but press pause before you buy a brand-new Kindle Paperwhite or Oasis. Many of the best features ported from the Kindle Paperwhite Manga Edition are only available when you read manga bought directly from the Kindle store.
    If you like reading colorized manga, you’ll probably want to lean toward a Kindle Fire. Reading full-color comics and graphic novels on a Fire tablet is both aesthetically pleasing and buttery smooth. Unlike the e-ink model Kindles, the Fire can read manga you’ve downloaded in .PDF format—say from Humble Bundle or another outfit—giving you hi-res pages that you can manipulate to enjoy every last detail.
    We’ve already discussed two places you can buy digital manga volumes—Humble Bundle and the Kindle store—but those aren’t the only shopping options—shoptions?—out there for manga fans with ereaders. Here are two more fantastic, Kindle-friendly apps you can use to download manga on your ereader today.
    Although comiXology is technically an Amazon company—and therefore has a lot of overlap between its collection and the Kindle store’s—it’s still worth mentioning for one reason: comiXology Unlimited (CU). For $5.99 per month, readers can access more than 25,000 comics, graphic novels, and manga series. You can also purchase individual volumes that aren’t part of the CU library from comiXology’s full collection, which has upwards of 100,000 items ready to read. What’s more, if you’re also a fan of western comics, comiXology allows you to sync up with your DC Comics and Marvel accounts, so you can read your entire library of digital comics from one convenient location.
    Compatible with Kindle Fire devices, Hoopla is a digital-lending service you may be able to access through your local library. This handy app lets you check out music albums, ebooks, eaudiobooks, and digital graphic novels—including both western comics and manga series—with your library card information.
    Unfortunately, Hoopla is not compatible with e-ink Kindle devices, so many apologies to Paperwhite and Oasis owners, but you’re out of luck here. For readers with a Kindle Fire and a library card, though, Hoopla is hard to beat. Check to see if your library card comes with Hoopla access, and use the app to download the next installment of your favorite manga series.
    There you have it, folks—You can read manga on a Kindle, and you no longer have to jump through hoops to do so! If you already have a Kindle on-hand, then you should be able to find manga volumes in the Kindle store to download and enjoy today. If you’re working with a really old Kindle, however, or you’re still shopping around for your first ereader, there’s no need to worry. There are plenty of apps you can use to download manga on your Android or iOS device! And if you prefer South Korean comics, be sure to check out these great places to read manhwa online.

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  • 7 Little-Known Perks of Your Library Membership – The Motley Fool

    7 Little-Known Perks of Your Library Membership – The Motley Fool

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    by Brittney Myers | Published on April 19, 2022
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    A library card is a key that can unlock a great many doors.
    Check out The Ascent's best credit cards for 2022
    To a population used to everything being digitally on-demand, a building full of paper-bound books and physical media can seem outdated. And, in fairness — it is.
    But your local library isn't the ancient repository of historical obsolescence that many people may picture these days. Library systems have done a lot to keep up with the changing times, and they offer a huge variety of digital media and online resources perfect for the modern lifestyle.
    What's more, they're entirely free. All you need is to sign up for a library card — or, in some cases, provide your phone number — and you can unlock tons of value, all without touching your bank account. Here are just a few of the perks offered by a library membership:
    While there are certainly still some of us who like the feel of a physical book in hand, there's no denying that reading on a digital device has its upsides. Library systems use a mobile app — called Libby (formerly OverDrive) — to offer digital copies of books for members to check out.
    You can check out an ebook for 7 days or longer (depending on the copy, you can even get extensions). You can either read via the app on any device. Or, if you're a Kindle user, you can connect your account with your Amazon account and send a copy of the book to your Kindle device. Yes, this includes Paperwhite devices!
    One of the best things about Libby is that you don't necessarily need to go to the library to get a library card. Depending on your location, you may be able to use your mobile phone number to get a "digital" library card.
    Another awesome aspect of the Libby app is that it’s not strictly limited to books. You can also browse and download more than 3,000 digital magazines. Alternatively, magazines can also be checked out through the app Flipster. It allows limited offline viewing and may have titles you can't get through Libby.
    For the newspaper lovers, you can go online through America's News and access both local and regional news outlets. You can view archived and current news stories from your area. You'll need a traditional library card (not a phone-number based digital card) for access.
    While we're singing Libby's praises, let's not forget about audiobooks. Many titles available as an ebook in the Libby app also come as an audiobook, making it easy to "read" while commuting, exercising, or whatever else you like.
    You'll check out audiobooks the same as you would ebooks, and listen on any device right from the app. You can even bookmark your spot, set a sleep timer, and change the playback speed.
    For many years, the library has been a great resource for catching up on your favorite shows and movies by borrowing DVDs for free. Now, you can do the same thing, digitally, through the Hoopla and Kanopy apps (access may vary by region).
    Once you create an account — you'll need a traditional library card number, you can't use your phone number — you can "borrow" and stream popular television shows, movies, and even music. It's not a massive catalog of content — you won't find the latest Marvel movie, for example — but it's all free with your library card making it an affordable streaming service alternative (or addition).
    While you're checking out the Hoopla app, be sure to browse their digital library of comic books and graphic novels. And this collection, unlike the film and TV options, does include a lot of recent and popular series.
    For instance, you can borrow and read Marvel and DC comics issued just this week. Plus you can check out more indie publications from Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and more.
    Online classes can be a great way to learn new skills, be it for career growth or just for fun. Your library membership comes with access to thousands of online educational resources, covering everything from learning a new language to learning to repair your car.
    You can use your library card to access LinkedIn Learning, for software and technology skills, or Transparent Language to pick up a new language. The Chilton Library has car manuals going back decades. And library patron access to Creativebug includes arts and crafts classes of all types.
    Online classes are great, but what if you're already in school? The library has you covered here, too. You can access tons of educational resources to help students of any age. Your library card can unlock access to Tutor.com to get homework help for grade school or college. Ask questions, find self-study tools, or even get a one-on-one session from a live tutor.
    While this list focused on digital resources, your local library may have even more to offer. For example, most libraries have computers that members can use. Some library computers even come with useful software like Adobe Creative Cloud programs.
    Beyond computers, you can find a lot of information that simply hasn't been digitized yet, including local genealogical data or archived newspapers. Some libraries may even offer more unconventional resources like a free seed library or STEM learning kits filled with educational toys.
    You never know what you'll find at your local library — so take a look!
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    Brittney is a credit expert and card strategist whose advice has been featured by major publications and financial sites across the web.
    We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.
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  • Hackers Exploiting Spring4Shell Vulnerability to Deploy Mirai Botnet Malware – The Hacker News

    Hackers Exploiting Spring4Shell Vulnerability to Deploy Mirai Botnet Malware – The Hacker News

    The recently disclosed critical Spring4Shell vulnerability is being actively exploited by threat actors to execute the Mirai botnet malware, particularly in the Singapore region since the start of April 2022.
    “The exploitation allows threat actors to download the Mirai sample to the ‘/tmp’ folder and execute them after permission change using ‘chmod,’” Trend Micro researchers Deep Patel, Nitesh Surana, Ashish Verma said in a report published Friday.
    Tracked as CVE-2022-22965 (CVSS score: 9.8), the vulnerability could allow malicious actors to achieve remote code execution in Spring Core applications under non-default circumstances, granting the attackers full control over the compromised devices.
    The development comes as the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) earlier this week added the Spring4Shell vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog based on “evidence of active exploitation.”
    This is far from the first time the botnet operators have quickly moved to add newly publicized flaws to their exploit toolset. In December 2021, multiple botnets including Mirai and Kinsing were uncovered leveraging the Log4Shell vulnerability to breach susceptible servers on the internet.
    Mirai, meaning “future” in Japanese, is the name given to a Linux malware that has continued to target connected smart home devices such as IP cameras and routers and link them together into a network of infected devices known as a botnet.
    The IoT botnet, using the herd of hijacked hardware, can be then used to commit further attacks, including large-scale phishing attacks, cryptocurrency mining, click fraud, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
    To make matters worse, the leak of Mirai’s source code in October 2016 has given birth to numerous variants such as Okiru, Satori, Masuta, and Reaper, making it an ever-mutating threat.
    “The [Mirai] code is so influential that even some of the malware offshoots are starting to have their own code versions released and co-opted by other cybercriminals,” Intel 471 researchers said last month, pointing out the upload of the BotenaGo botnet’s source code on GitHub in January 2022.
    Earlier this January, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike noted that malware hitting Linux systems increased by 35% in 2021 compared to 2020, with XOR DDoS, Mirai, and Mozi malware families accounting for more than 22% of Linux-targeted threats observed in the year.
    “The primary purpose of these malware families is to compromise vulnerable internet-connected devices, amass them into botnets, and use them to perform distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks,” the researchers said.
    Sign up for cybersecurity newsletter and get latest news updates delivered straight to your inbox daily.

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  • How to Better Strategize Your Marketing – Entrepreneur

    How to Better Strategize Your Marketing – Entrepreneur

    Signing out of account, Standby…
    Tips on creating an effective roadmap for this pivotal task, and how to save time in the bargain.
    As a small business owner, time is elusive, and too often marketing tends to fall to the back burner. Owners are so busy running businesses, honoring family commitments and the million other things they need to do on a daily basis that this vital effort gets short shrift. Yet the simple truth remains: if you’re not marketing a business, you’re not growing it. 
    Here are some essential steps to that end.
    Take a minute to step back and ask what you’re trying to achieve. This will help determine where to spend marketing effort. Do you want to drive more traffic to a website? Need a better conversion rate? Are you trying to create brand awareness? Knowing what you’re trying to accomplish will dictate the appropriate marketing strategy. 
    Relevance is one of, if not the most important aspect of Search Engine Optimization. People have a better chance of finding you if your content is relevant to them. So, who are you targeting, and what words are they using when they hop online and start searching for products or services? What are their interests? What are their struggles? Where do they hang out online… perhaps LinkedIn, or Instagram, or YouTube? How do they like to consume content? Would they rather listen to a podcast, watch a video or read a blog post? 
    Next, determine your unique brand message? What makes it different and why should they choose your products or services? Being able to articulate this quickly and effectively will create results. As StoryBrand CEO Donald Miller says, “If you confuse, you’ll lose”.
    To do this, you have to know who your ideal customer is, then speak to them in a way that resonates quickly and in a form they’ll likely consume. In the busy online world, people have limitless options, and are looking for connection, transparency and help with their problems.
    Related: Branding Is More Than an Accessory: It’s the Foundation of Any Business
    If you create a timeline and schedule, marketing becomes a whole lot easier. You know what’s coming up, you know what you need to do and when to do it. Set specific days and times so you can get into a routine (weekly, or even daily) until you establish consistency.
    Here is an example timeline that you could put into a Google Spreadsheet or build out in Asana: 
    These apps can help you stay organized and accountable in the process of tackling the above tasks: Asana, Trello, Todoist, Google Suite (Docs, Calendar, etc.) and Canva. 
    Luckily, we live in a world with amazing tools to quick-track marketing tasks. You can automate your social media with platforms like Buffer, Hootesuite or Sprout Social, or make it super easy and get a Canva pro account so you can create content and schedule it right in the platform. Also, schedule out emails for the month on Mailchimp, Constant Contact or Hubspot. But even as you enjoy these time savers, don’t neglect the tasks listed above; you still want to hop on daily (even if it’s just a few minutes) to engage, like, comment and share. People, as well as algorithms, will notice if you put everything on autopilot. Just set an alarm on your phone (or Todoist) once or twice a day to hop on for a few minutes. 
    Related: The Top 5 Perks of Marketing Automation
    Did you write a blog post that people loved? What about turning it into an infographic, recording it as a podcast, and/or expanding on it to create an ebook that people can download (and help can grow your email list at the same time)?  You can also repurpose other people’s or businesses’ content: Just be certain that it is something your followers can connect with and that you give proper credit by tagging the content creator or by using the #Repost app.
    Perhaps you have older blogs? You can still rotate those into social posts if they are relevant and helpful. Did you get an awesome review on Google? After sharing it on social, turn that into a custom-branded image on Canva and share again (but in a different format). Are there common questions you get asked often? Then go live on Facebook or Instagram and expand on them. The moral of the story is that using content in different forms gives it more life, and saves you time.
    Related: 4 Ways to Build a Stronger Brand-Consumer Relationship Using Social Media
    Keeping track of site data will show you what is working (and not) in your marketing strategy. You’ll start to see trends, dips and red flags, so adjust content and strategy accordingly. If you notice more engagement on certain types of posts, by all means do more of those (do your videos get more views than copy-based blogs, for example?). 
    Grab your calendar right now and schedule a 30-minute brainstorming session with yourself and/or employees. Make it fun and buy some coffee or a nice bottle of wine and spend some time working on the business, not in it! Then start applying this information into a workable strategy, starting with goals and messaging. It’s vital to schedule time into your calendar to brainstorm and review content and analytics.
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  • How to get free books on your Kindle – Mashable

    How to get free books on your Kindle – Mashable

    An Amazon Kindle is a lot like a laptop, or a cell phone, or a house: Once you buy one, you have to buy things to fill it up to make it useful. An empty Kindle is a fairly useless hunk of tech.
    Filling your library up with good reads can cost a small fortune, if you’re not careful. Luckily there’s a way to meet your reading goals without breaking the bank — you just have to know where to look.
    Amazon has sold tens of millions of Kindle e-readers, a remarkable feat even for America’s largest retailer. But if you don’t already own one, you can avoid buying a Kindle altogether by downloading the free Kindle app onto your iPhone or Android.
    Now, on to finding some free ebooks.
    Many of the ebooks you’ll be able to download for free will likely be classics or books that are already available in the public domain, but there are ways to find newer books to download to your Kindle for free, too.
    Here are the four easiest ways to load up your Kindle library without unloading your wallet.
    On your Kindle or on Amazon.com, search “free kindle books.” It really is that simple. Lists will pop up, and you can navigate around a bunch of free books available for download. A lot of these books are smut, but they’re free smut!
    Amazon also has a list of the Top 100 free ebooks, which currently includes all of Marc Twain’s novels, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, and The Handmaid’s Tale, among others.
    Alright, so this isn’t technically “free” in that you do have to pay $9.99 per month for the unlimited subscription. But, with that subscription, you’ll get loads of books.
    And if you really want to be explicit with the definition of “free,” you can always set up a free one-month subscription and try it out to see if it’s worth that $9.99 price tag. Just remember to cancel before time’s up if it’s not working for you.
    You can get some downloadable ebooks through your local library, or an online library like Libby, which just requires that you have a library card. This is a great way to get some newer releases.
    It works similarly to checking out an actual book, in that libraries have a specific number of copies to lend. If all copies are already checked out, you’ll have to wait your turn — and you can’t hold onto the ebook forever.
    There are loads of resources outside of Amazon that can set you up with free ebooks, like Project Gutenberg, which is a collection of public domain books that are available in ebook form and are compatible with Kindles to download or read online. BookBub is similar, but stems from an email subscription service that alerts you when your favorite genres release free versions of books, or books at a discount. Smashwords has a catalog of free ebooks, many of them self-published. You can also sign up for the Kindle Daily Deals newsletter, which flags free and cheap ebooks. Finally, there’s eReaderIQ, which tracks ebook store price changes and offers an evolving selection of free and heavily discounted books.
    More in Books

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  • BookTrib Giveaway: FREE EBOOK – With “No Sugar in Me” Everyone's a Winner! – BookTrib

    BookTrib Giveaway: FREE EBOOK – With “No Sugar in Me” Everyone's a Winner! – BookTrib

    People across the globe are consuming more added, processed and refined sugar than ever, feeding an addiction comes at a very high price — our health. It’s well documented that a diet high in refined sugars can lead to a myriad of health issues from diabetes to heart disease. You may not realize, however, just how much sugar you are consuming, even if you carefully read labels and shun sweets.
    Did you know that 72 different terms can refer to sugar in our food and that these sugars can be found in staples such as bread, cereal, pasta sauce and flavored coffee? Think your salad is healthy? Did you check the label on that salad dressing?
    In this FREE ebook, author Brad Woodgate, nutrition industry expert and CEO and Founder of the No Sugar Company, will teach you what to watch out for, help you understand what sugar really does to your health, and uncover the cold, hard truth about artificial sweeteners. Here’s what else you will find inside:
    No Sugar in Me isn’t an all-or-nothing detox or a quick-fix diet. This book is about changing your lifestyle by eliminating added, processed, refined sugar from your diet and embracing better nutrition to gain better health! Here are just some of the life-changing results you can achieve:
    After reading this book, you’ll be leading the way in the No Sugar Revolution and you’ll proudly be saying: “No Sugar in Me, I am sweet enough!”
    —∞—
     BookTrib Giveaway: FREE EBOOK – With “No Sugar in Me” Everyone's a Winner! - BookTrib 2

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