When Powerbeats Pro were first released in 2019, we described them as the ultimate sport earphones. They set a new standard for workout-focused headphones with a truly wireless design, an ultra-secure ear-hook fit, and impressive durability.Now, Beats has officially unveiled Powerbeats Pro 2 and theyre better in every way. Plus, they have a first-of-its-kind fitness feature: built-in heart rate monitoring.Ive been using Powerbeats Pro 2 for the past two weeks, and heres everything you need to know.Table of contentsPowerbeats Pro 2 highlightsApple H2 chip with ANC, Transparency mode, Personalized Spatial Audio and moreCase is 33% smaller with USB-C and Qi chargingBuilt-in heart rate monitoring featuresBattery life: Up to 45 hours with the caseColors: Jet Black, Quick Sand, Hyper Purple, and Electric OrangeIPX4 sweat and water resistantPrice: $249.99Availability: Order starting today for arrival on February 13Powerbeats Pro 2 design and fitPowerbeats Pro (L) vs Powerbeats Pro 2 (R)The new Powerbeats Pro hold true to the much-loved design language set by the first generation, while simultaneously making several major improvements. The first thing youll notice is that Powerbeats Pro 2 are significantly slimmer than their predecessors. The buds themselves are slimmer, while the ear hooks feature a much more compact design.At first glance, I was concerned that the smaller and more angular design of the Powerbeats Pro 2 earhooks would make them less comfortable. After testing them for hours upon hours for two weeks, Im happy to confirm thats not the case. Beats also says Powerbeats Pro 2 are 20% lighter something I noticed right off the bat.Not only are they comfortable, but Powerbeats Pro 2 are by far the most snug-fitting and secure earbuds Ive ever used. The earhooks and in-ear tips do an incredible job at anchoring the buds to my ears. In my first few days with Powerbeats Pro 2, it took me a few tries to get that perfect fit, but since finding that sweet spot, Ive had no complaints.Theres a lot to be said for the peace of mind provided by the Powerbeats Pro 2 design. AirPods Pro fit me well, but theyve fallen out of my ears multiple times when Im sweating or walking in the rain. With Powerbeats Pro 2, my mind is at ease knowing they wont fall out of my earsPowerbeats Pro vs Powerbeats Pro 2 vs Beats Fit ProPowerbeats Pro 2 are significantly slimmer, but Beats hasnt compromised on the built-in controls. Both buds feature a multi-function button on the b logo that allows you to change listening modes, play/pause music, and more. You can customize the different button actions in the Settings app on your iPhone. Theres also a tactile volume rocker on each earbud. Ive found the volume rocker to be a tad bit finicky to use while Im on the move, but its nice to have it as an option when needed.Powerbeats Pro 2 caseThe smaller design of the Powerbeats Pro 2 also enabled Beats to dramatically shrink the size of the charging case. The new case is 33% smaller than its predecessor, which addresses one of the most common complaints about the original Powerbeats Pro. Beats emphasizes that a lot of engineering work went into making the new case as small as it is. It was a true labor of love to get the charging case down to this size. Our teams conducted literally thousands of experiments to ensure that the ear hook positioning, usability and bud presentation was aligned in the smallest possible form factor for the charging case, Matthew Costello, Apple VP of Hardware Engineering, told 9to5Mac.The Powerbeats Pro 2 case is still bigger than the cases for AirPods 4, AirPods Pro, and other Beats earbuds, but thats to be expected given the earhook design. Given the popularity of the original Powerbeats Pro, thats a tradeoff many people are willing to make. Over the past two weeks, Ive found the smaller and lighter charging case to be one of the most notable quality-of-life upgrades with Powerbeats Pro 2.In addition to the smaller footprint, however, the Powerbeats Pro 2 case also packs two key upgrades. First, it switches from Lightning to USB-C for charging. More exciting, however, is that the Powerbeats Pro 2 case is Beats first-ever case to have support for wireless charging. Ive complained about this limitation in pretty much all of my Beats reviews over the years, and Im thrilled that its finally been addressed.From L-R: Beats Solo Buds, Beats Studio Buds+, AirPods 3, AirPods Pro 2, Beats Fit Pro, Powerbeats Pro 2, Powerbeats Pro 1Connectivity featuresIm happy to report that the Powerbeats Pro 2 are the first Beats product since the Beats Fit Pro in 2019 to use an Apple audio chip.The last several releases from Beats, such as the Studio Buds Plus and Solo 4 headphones, have been powered by a custom Beats chip rather than an Apple-designed chip like whats used in AirPods. For Beats, this has enabled better cross-platform support for Android users, but its also come at the cost of several popular features for Apple fans. For example, the Studio Buds Plus lack support for automatic in-ear detection, iCloud pairing, automatic device switching, personalized spatial audio, and more.With the Powerbeats Pro 2, Beats has gone back to its roots and opted for an Apple-designed chip. The Powerbeats Pro 2 are powered by Apples H2 chip, the same chip used by the latest-generation AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4. This means you get the full suite of Apple-focused audio features, including:One-Touch pairingAudio Sharing: Share audio for music or movies with another set of compatible Beats headphones or AirPodsFind My: Locate your lost headphones on a map based on the last known connected locationPersonalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head trackingiCloud pairing: Instantly pair with every device in your iCloud accountSiri integration: Simply say Hey Siri or Siri to activate Apples voice assistantUltra-low latency: Lossless Audio with indiscernible audio latency for Apple Vision ProIn-ear detection to automatically play and pause musicEar-tip fit test available in the Settings app on iPhoneI cant underscore how pleased I am to see Powerbeats Pro 2 use Apples H2 chip, offering nearly the same slate of features as AirPods Pro 2 for Apple users. In my testing, all of these features have been rock solid. Powerbeats Pro 2 are quick to pair and connect to my devices, automatic device switching is fast and reliable, and Vision Pro integration is a nice touch.This product would not have been possible to achieve without leveraging the amazing technology and teams of Apple, Costello told me when asked about using the H2 chip in Powerbeats Pro 2.Sound qualityPowerbeats Pro 2 offer Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode as listening modes. The former is meant to block out all the noise around you, while the latter lets you hear the noise around you.Heres what Beats says about the sound architecture of Powerbeats Pro 2:Powerbeats Pro 2 features a redesigned acoustic architecture and Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking to deliver powerful, immersive sound, with clear highs, rich mid-range tones and deep bass.To ensure the best listening experience when training, Beats leveraged Apples best-performing Active Noise Cancelling technology and added Transparency mode to allow athletes to hear the world around them. Adaptive EQ tunes sound in real time based on how Powerbeats Pro 2 fits in the users ear. An inward facing microphone monitors for sound, and then Adaptive EQ, powered by computational audio, tunes the low and mid frequencies to account for what may be lost due to variances in fit.Im not an audiophile, but I have tested a lot of AirPods and Beats headphones over the years. Powerbeats Pro 2 have a very bass-driven sound profile, more so than any other recent Beats product Ive tested.Its up to you to decide whether this bass-heavy soundstage is good or bad. I tend to prefer it most of the time, but there are cases where I think a more balanced approach would sound better (think piano-led ballads like The Scientist by Coldplay).Ive been very impressed with Active Noise Cancellation on the Powerbeats Pro 2. It might just be the best ANC experience Ive had with a pair of earbuds. Yes, even better than AirPods Pro 2. I think this can be attributed to the incredibly secure and precise in-ear fit of Powerbeats Pro 2. While the AirPods Pro 2 also feature an in-ear design, the addition of the earhook on the Powerbeats Pro 2 gives another layer of security to make sure that fit is as snug as possible.Powerbeats Pro 2 also come with five sizes of ear tips in the box (XS, S, M, L, XL), compared to the four sizes you get with AirPods Pro 2.Battery lifeYou might think that the smaller Powerbeats Pro 2 form factor means battery life has taken a hit. Quite the opposite, actually.45 hours of battery life with the charging case (Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode turned off)10 hours of playback per bud per charge36 hours of battery life with the charging case (Active Noise Cancellation or Transparency Mode turned on)8 hours of playback per bud per chargeFor comparisons sake, the original Powerbeats Pro provided up to 9 hours of listening time per bud and up to 24 hours of battery life with the charging case. AirPods Pro 2, meanwhile, offer up to 6 hours on a single charge and up to 30 hours with the charging case. The new Powerbeats Pro 2 also offer Fast Fuel support, which gives up to 90 minutes of playback with a quick five-minute charge. Im still waiting on Apple to copy that feature for AirPods.Ive always found Beats to be true to its word when it comes to battery life claims, and the Powerbeats Pro are no different.Heart rate monitoringAll of the aforementioned features and improvements make Powerbeats Pro 2 an incredibly compelling product, but Beats has one more thing: Powerbeats Pro 2 feature built-in heart rate monitoring.Each Powerbeats Pro 2 earbud has a built-in heart rate monitor comprised of four components. First, theres an LED sensor that emits green LED light at a rate of over 100 pulses per second. This light is emitted through the skin and hits your red blood cells. The photodiode then receives the reflected light from the red blood cells that is modulated by the red blood flow. Theres an optical lens that helps direct and separate the transmitted and received light, along with an accelerometer to ensure accuracy and consistency in data collection.Beats adds that the Powerbeats Pro 2s heart rate sensor technology is derived from Apples work on the Apple Watch.So how does the heart rate monitoring feature on Powerbeats Pro 2 actually work?On iPhone, Beats has teamed up with some of the key fitness apps to integrate heart rate data from Powerbeats Pro 2:PelotonNike Run ClubRunnaLadderSlopesOpenYaoYaoWhile those are the apps that Beats is touting as its partners, the Powerbeats Pro 2 should integrate with any app that supports accessing and recording data from the Health app using Apples HealthKit API. Everything is managed through Apples Health app. For example, you need to ensure that the Peloton app has permission to read heart rate data from the Health app. Then, when you start a workout in the Peloton app, your Powerbeats Pro 2 will record your heart rate during that workout. The data is saved to the Peloton app and the Health app.One thing thats missing for iPhone users, however, is integration with Apple Fitness+. You can use Apple Fitness+ without an Apple Watch, but the service doesnt have the ability to tap into heart rate data from devices other than an Apple Watch for its on-screen metrics. However, if you wear your Powerbeats Pro 2 during an Apple Fitness+ workout, you can view your heart rate data in the Health app and on the post-workout summary screen in the Fitness app. Additionally, the Powerbeats Pro 2 will take continuously take background measurements of your heart rate when youre wearing them. This data can be found in the Health app.This brings me to my next point: if you already have an Apple Watch, you likely wont find much use for the heart rate sensors in the Powerbeats Pro 2. You cant connect the Powerbeats Pro 2 as a health device to your Apple Watch and use the earbuds as the heart rate source instead of the watch. If you dont have an Apple Watch, however, the Powerbeats Pro 2 give you an excellent way to monitor your heart rate during workouts. In my testing, accuracy seems to be on par with the Apple Watchs heart rate sensor. If you want to work out without anything attached to your body other than headphones, the Powerbeats Pro 2 let you do just that while still getting that valuable heart rate data.Other Powerbeats Pro 2 tidbitsPowerbeats Pro 2 incorporate upgraded digital voice microphones and a voice accelerometer while also leveraging advanced computational audio.Support for Voice Isolation with beam-forming microphone technology and targeted voice uplink with wind-noise mitigation system.Powerbeats Pro 2 are the first Beats product to deliver Lossless Audio with ultra-low latency for Apples Vision Pro, for an unprecedented sound experiencePowerbeats Pro 2 packaging is made from 100% plant-based material sourced from recycled fiber and sustainable forests.9to5Macs TakeWhat fascinates me most about the Powerbeats Pro 2 is the clear collaboration between Apple and Beats. Apple, of course, owns Beats and weve seen Beats use Apples audio chips in the past. But for Beats to specifically call out the work with Apple on the H2 chip and heart rate monitoring features is a notable sign of the evolving relationship between the two companies. Customers benefit most from this kind of collaboration, and the Powerbeats Pro 2 are a prime example of that. The Powerbeats brand has been a staple in the Beats product lineup since 2010, but the Powerbeats Pro in 2019 really took things up a notch. An Apple-backed chip design with stellar battery life, durability, and the iconic earhook form factor made Powerbeats Pro stand out among the increasingly-crowded world of truly wireless earbuds.Powerbeats Pro 2 are the perfect iteration of the product line. They maintain the fan-favorite design while simultaneously making key improvements to the form factor, like the slimmer earbuds and smaller charging case. Battery life is stellar and performance is excellent thanks to the H2 chip. The secure fit is still unmatched.If you set aside the heart rate monitoring features, those upgrades alone would make for an excellent Powerbeats Pro 2 revision.I personally dont think Ill find myself using the Powerbeats Pro 2s heart rate monitoring features very often. I wear an Apple Watch all day, every day, and as far as I can tell, there arent any situations where it would make more sense to use Powerbeats Pro 2 for heart tracking instead of my watch.But in our Apple blog bubble, its easy to assume everyone has an Apple Watch. In the real world, thats not the case. Theres undoubtedly a crowd of people that will find it incredibly useful to have heart rate monitoring features built into their earbuds. For certain types of workouts, its not always feasible or comfortable to wear an Apple Watch. For those people and those situations, Powerbeats Pro 2 offer an excellent experience.I do, however, wish Beats and Apple had taken the Apple Watch into consideration when developing these heart rate sensors for Powerbeats Pro 2. For example, ideally you would be able to pair the Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds to your Apple Watch and use their heart rate data instead of the watchs. The Apple Watch supports third-party heart rate monitors, like the popular Polar H10 Chest Strap. The Powerbeats Pro 2 just dont support that integration. The Powerbeats Pro 2 are clearly designed and marketed towards fitness enthusiasts. Even if you dont think you fall into that category, I recommend giving them a shot if youre in the market for a new pair of earphones. Again, the peace of mind offered by having truly wireless earbuds that you know wont fall out of your ears cant be overstated.Finally, the Powerbeats Pro 2 release is the latest piece of evidence that Beats is firing on all cylinders right now. They represent the companys most ambitious product yet, combining a significant form factor revamp and first-of-its-kind heart rate monitoring technology. Plus, Beats continues to give us the form factors, colors, and features that Apples AirPods are missing. Powerbeats Pro 2 are available to order today for $249, with in-store availability starting on Thursday.The full Beats lineupBeats Solo BudsBeats Studio Buds+Beats Fit ProPowerbeats Pro 2Beats PillBeats Solo 4Beats Studio ProAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Desperate MeasuresWe've long been fascinated by the tragic tale of one James Howells, a Welsh computer engineer whose crypto wallet-containing hard drive was accidentally thrown out by an ex-girlfriend and with it, an increasingly valuable stash of thousands of bitcoins.Now, in a beyond-last-ditch effort to recover his long-lost crypto wallet, Howells is attempting to purchasetheentire landfill where he believes it may have been thrown away.As the BBC reports,the 39-year-old has offered to buy the South Wales landfill where, he believes, his mistakenly-tossed old hard drive now resides.Way back in 2013, the computer engineer went looking forhis old hard drive that contained a stash of 8,000 bitcoins he'd purchased for next to nothing in 2009. After leaving it in a drawer for years, Howells decided to try to find the hard drive when Bitcoin started to gain in value only to discover that his now-former paramour had thrown it out.When Howells first began trying to find the old hard drive, the crypto wallet it contained was worth nearly $5 million. Today, that's the equivalent of more than $779 million, which makes the man's increasingly outrageous quest for its return sound a lot more sensical.After repeated attempts to get the city council of his town to let him dig through the filth to find his buried treasure, Howells tried to sue the landfill or be given $612 million in compensation. This latest Hail Mary comes after a Welsh High Court deniedthat bid earlier in Februarybecause, as the judge presiding over the case put it, there were no "reasonable grounds" to bring the case after so much time had passed and "no realistic prospect" ofHowells succeeding at a full trial.Still, the jilted Welshman is pressing on after learning that the landfill is slated to close soon to make way for a solar farm."I have discussed this option recently with investment partners," Howells told theBBC, "and it is very much on the table."Along with that potential purchase, the jilted computer engineer is also seeking to appeal the judge's ruling that overturned his case. It's clear that this one Bitcoin bro is not going down without a fight and with that kind of money at stake, we can't say we blame him.More on crypto: Elon Musk Proposes Putting US Treasury on BlockchainShare This Article

Feb 11, 2025Ravie LakshmananMobile Security / Machine LearningGoogle has stepped in to clarify that a newly introduced Android System SafetyCore app does not perform any client-side scanning of content."Android provides many on-device protections that safeguard users against threats like malware, messaging spam and abuse protections, and phone scam protections, while preserving user privacy and keeping users in control of their data," a spokesperson for the company told The Hacker News when reached for comment."SafetyCore is a new Google system service for Android 9+ devices that provides the on-device infrastructure for securely and privately performing classification to help users detect unwanted content. Users are in control over SafetyCore and SafetyCore only classifies specific content when an app requests it through an optionally enabled feature."SafetyCore (package name "com.google.android.safetycore") was first introduced by Google in October 2024, as part of a set of security measures designed to combat scams and other content deemed sensitive on the Google Messages app for Android.The feature, which requires 2GB of RAM, is rolling out to all Android devices, running Android version 9 and later, as well as those running Android Go, a lightweight version of the operating system for entry-level smartphones.Client-side scanning (CSS), on the other hand, is seen as an alternative approach to enable on-device analysis of data as opposed to weakening encryption or adding backdoors to existing systems. However, the method has raised serious privacy concerns, as it's ripe for abuse by forcing the service provider to search for material beyond the initially agreed-upon scope.In some ways, Google's Sensitive Content Warnings for the Messages app is a lot similar to Apple's Communication Safety feature in iMessage, which employs on-device machine learning to analyze photo and video attachments and determine if a photo or video appears to contain nudity.The maintainers of the GrapheneOS operating system, in a post shared on X, reiterated that SafetyCore doesn't provide client-side scanning, and is mainly designed to offer on-device machine-learning models that can be used by other applications to classify content as spam, scam, or malware. "Classifying things like this is not the same as trying to detect illegal content and reporting it to a service," GrapheneOS said. "That would greatly violate people's privacy in multiple ways and false positives would still exist. It's not what this is and it's not usable for it."Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.SHARE

All jobs Technical Product Owner Posted 1 hours agoUpdated 0 hours ago WHO WE AREBitovi helps companies create better software and applications. Were driven by the desire to provide value - to our clients, to the technology community, and to our incredible team.Every day, we design and build a wide variety of high-profile applications. We discuss and design architectures, review code, and research new front-end technologies. We talk to our clients directly, guiding them through the process, identifying potential problems and unknowns, and tackling challenges. We help one another freely. We keep a Slack channel called ask-help and its used constantly. We develop new skills, build better developer tools, and work on new types of projects regularly - and take the time to present at conferences, give trainings, and run meetups. Were huge devotees of open source, and our community of developers is second to none.Our fully remote team consists of about 70 team members located around the US, Canada, and other International locations. Apply now PLEASE NOTE: This is a 100% remote role. At this time, we are placing a preference on nearshore candidates who can work at least 6 hours overlapping with the US CT zone during normal business hours.Bitovi seeks a Technical Product Owner to join us as we transform technology delivery. If you have ideas on how to make technology delivery more collaborative, validation-driven, and swift, we want to work with you!This role is to start as an hourly contractor on a client project. Pending the initial project goes well, there is an opportunity to extend the contractor agreement and work on other projects.WHO YOU AREYoure experienced working on technology delivery teams and interfacing with stakeholders. You thrive on using process and structure to fight through chaos and disorganization. You have the expertise to help define, prioritize, and execute a technical roadmap that enables teams to deliver a quality software product to end-users. Youll excel in this role with Bitovi if you have:4+ years related technology experience, 2+ years of technology project/program management experienceBA/BS degree or related experienceA proven skillset in leading or guiding software projects at a multi-team scale with executive-level stakeholdersExperience creating, communicating, and managing detailed program or project plans that span across multiple stakeholders and partnersExperience reviewing processes and identifying pain points to deliver operational efficienciesExperience engaging in product discovery, planning, and driving technical product valueThe ability to break down mockups and wireframes into actionable storiesThe ability to lead estimation processes with teams while managing dependencies, resource capacity, and scheduleInterest and experience working with clients directly and joining new projectsExcellent oral and written communication, along with strong interpersonal skills, negotiation experience, decision-making, analysis, and problem-solving skillsExperience with matrix working relationships and best practices of Agile methodologies like Scrum, Kanban, and XPExperience and/or certification as an Agile product owner and scrum masterConsulting experience is great to haveWHO WE AREBitovi works with companies that want a true partner in building outcome-focused apps. Our collaborative approach is driven by validation to deliver the swiftest route to the most valuable solution. Were driven by the desire to provide value to our clients, the technology community, and our incredible team.Every day, we design and build a wide variety of high-profile applications with tests, full docs, and a deployment process in place. We talk to our clients directly, guiding them through the process, identifying potential problems and unknowns, and tackling challenges. We help one another freely. We keep a Slack channel called ask-help, which is constantly used. Our fully remote team comprises about 70 developers and designers in the US and Canada.WHAT YOULL DO AT BITOVI Consult and Manage.. Youll provide product process leadership and work collaboratively with the technical delivery team. The bulk of your day will be spent on the following:Actively participate in roadmap planning and help align product initiatives with business objectives and strategiesImplementing Bitovis approach to Agile program management to produce accurate, actionable plans at scale. You can read more about our methodology on the Agile Program Management training page in the Bitovi Academy.Deliver business and technical expertise to the feature teams to complete the design, coding, testing, and implementation phases of the project life cycleDevelop technical requirements from business requirements and prioritize them. Break requirements down to workable sizes and user storiesManaging and appropriately escalating risks, issues, and changesManaging and refining the product backlog, assembling sprints, and performing release planningParticipating in the release process as the product expert to surface any issues prior to the releaseEnsuring that roadmaps and the product backlog are visible, transparent, and straightforward to brand partnerWHAT WE OFFERFirst and foremost, youll work alongside a thoughtful, talented, and amazing team that supports and challenges one another to do their most exceptional work. Youll enjoy remote work with competitive hourly pay on a per-project basis, with the opportunity to extend into a long-term contractor agreement. HOW TO APPLY Share a resume, and answer the short questions to apply. We do read these!Apply NowLet's start your dream job Apply now Bitovi View company Jobs posted: 67 Related Jobs See more Product jobs

All jobs Collection Specialist Posted 1 hours agoUpdated 0 hours ago Why Clipboard Health Exists:We exist to lift as many people up the socioeconomic ladder as possible. We dramatically improve lives, by letting healthcare professionals turn extra time and ambition into career growth and financial opportunity. We achieve this with our app-based marketplace that connects healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals, allowing healthcare professionals to book on-demand shifts and healthcare facilities to access on-demand talent. Our mission is to enable healthcare professionals to work when and where they want, and to enable healthcare facilities to meet their talent needs. About Clipboard Health:Clipboard Health is a post-Series C, extremely fast-growing tech startup with classic two-sided network effects, revolutionizing the market for healthcare talent. We are a diverse and inclusive company with a global, remote team. Weve been featured on YCs Top Companies and grown 20x+ since January 2021. There has never been a more exciting time to join our growing team and help us serve even more healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities, who can then better serve patients. To learn more about working at Clipboard Health, take a look at our Careers page and how we work. Apply now Note: This role is for candidates based in Philippines, Jamaica, India, Poland, South Africa, Mexico, and South America (we do not provide visa sponsorships).About the Role:The Collections team under Billing Operations is responsible to collect payments from the Healthcare Facilities. A Collection Specialist is responsible for ensuring that the assigned facilities pay their invoices quickly and in time. Cash is the lifeline of any company. This is a very critical role to ensure that the cash flows for the company are smooth. The Collection Specialist will reach out to the facilities through phone and email to get a commitment of payment (Promise to Pay) and ensuring that the facilities honor these commitments. The Specialist will work with the facilities and the respective internal teams to ensure any roadblocks in collecting the payments are removed. The role would require a cross-functional collaboration with Billing Disputes, Sales, Facility Onboarding, Customer Support to achieve the desired goals.Responsibilities:Monitor accounts to identify outstanding debtsReview previous data for each debt or billContact APs/Admins via call or email to ask about their overdue payments / upcoming duesIdentify the root cause of non-paymentResolve billing concernsReport on collections update and accounts receivable statusCommunicating with the sales department to maintain accurate and updated information on client contractMaintained logs of calls and record any payment updates from the customer.Billing reps will be assigned new facilities to start contacting, doing courtesy, and payment reminder calls and emails.The billing reps are expected to apply and deliver what was taught in the trainingBilling reps will identify their critical accounts and will be expected to endorse them to their managersBuild relationships with the Facilities (Properly set expectations about our billing policy, explain NET & Dispute Terms, etc.)Billing reps to introduce themselves to the facilities and give their contact detailsBuild good relationships cross-functionally and billing team membersReview the current standing of their assigned accountsIdentify good payers to bad payersHelp their HCF resolve their concerns on their bills and report to managers for further consultationKeep track of facilities do not need to call because they are good payersTemp check from time to time to identify if their HCF needs any assistance with their billsBuild out SMART plans for the delinquent accounts.Aim to have a 95% collection rate on a quarterly basisRequirements and Skills:Good listening skillsCommunication skills (Verbal and written)Negotiating skillsPatience and stress managementProblem-solving skills and Critical thinking skillsQuick adaptability to changesKnowledge of Microsoft Office SoftwareKnowledge of using Google cloud-based softwareProven experience using Customer Service tools (Ticketing software, Email platforms, chat & phone software, etc.)Apply NowLet's start your dream job Apply now Clipboard Health View company Jobs posted: 12 Related Jobs See more Management and Finance jobs

We often take the internet for granted. Its an ocean of information at our fingertipsand it simply works. But this system relies on swarms of crawlersbots that roam the web, visit millions of websites every day, and report what they see. This is how Google powers its search engines, how Amazon sets competitive prices, and how Kayak aggregates travel listings. Beyond the world of commerce, crawlers are essential for monitoring web security, enabling accessibility tools, and preserving historical archives. Academics, journalists, and civil societies also rely on them to conduct crucial investigative research. Crawlers are endemic. Now representing half of all internet traffic, they will soon outpace human traffic. This unseen subway of the web ferries information from site to site, day and night. And as of late, they serve one more purpose: Companies such as OpenAI use web-crawled data to train their artificial intelligence systems, like ChatGPT. Understandably, websites are now fighting back for fear that this invasive speciesAI crawlerswill help displace them. But theres a problem: This pushback is also threatening the transparency and open borders of the web, that allow non-AI applications to flourish. Unless we are thoughtful about how we fix this, the web will increasingly be fortified with logins, paywalls, and access tolls that inhibit not just AI but the biodiversity of real users and useful crawlers. A system in turmoil To grasp the problem, its important to understand how the web worked until recently, when crawlers and websites operated together in relative symbiosis. Crawlers were largely undisruptive and could even be beneficial, bringing people to websites from search engines like Google or Bing in exchange for their data. In turn, websites imposed few restrictions on crawlers, even helping them navigate their sites. Websites then and now use machine-readable files, called robots.txt files, to specify what content they wanted crawlers to leave alone. But there were few efforts to enforce these rules or identify crawlers that ignored them. The stakes seemed low, so sites didnt invest in obstructing those crawlers. But now the popularity of AI has thrown the crawler ecosystem into disarray. As with an invasive species, crawlers for AI have an insatiable and undiscerning appetite for data, hoovering up Wikipedia articles, academic papers, and posts on Reddit, review websites, and blogs. All forms of data are on the menutext, tables, images, audio, and video. And the AI systems that result can (but not always will) be used in ways that compete directly with their sources of data. News sites fear AI chatbots will lure away their readers; artists and designers fear that AI image generators will seduce their clients; and coding forums fear that AI code generators will supplant their contributors. In response, websites are starting to turn crawlers away at the door. The motivator is largely the same: AI systems, and the crawlers that power them, may undercut the economic interests of anyone who publishes content to the webby using the websites own data. This realization has ignited a series of crawler wars rippling beneath the surface. The fightback Web publishers have responded to AI with a trifecta of lawsuits, legislation, and computer science. What began with a litany of copyright infringement suits, including one from the New York Times, has turned into a wave of restrictions on use of websites data, as well as legislation such as the EU AI Act to protect copyright holders ability to opt out of AI training. However, legal and legislative verdicts could take years, while the consequences of AI adoption are immediate. So in the meantime, data creators have focused on tightening the data faucet at the source: web crawlers. Since mid-2023, websites have erected crawler restrictions to over 25% of the highest-quality data. Yet many of these restrictions can be simply ignored, and while major AI developers like OpenAI and Anthropic do claim to respect websites restrictions, theyve been accused of ignoring them or aggressively overwhelming websites (the major technical support forum iFixit is among those making such allegations). Now websites are turning to their last alternative: anti-crawling technologies. A plethora of new startups (TollBit, ScalePost, etc), and web infrastructure companies like Cloudflare (estimated to support 20% of global web traffic), have begun to offer tools to detect, block, and charge nonhuman traffic. These tools erect obstacles that make sites harder to navigate or require crawlers to register. These measures still offer immediate protection. After all, AI companies cant use what they cant obtain, regardless of how courts rule on copyright and fair use. But the effect is that large web publishers, forums, and sites are often raising the drawbridge to all crawlerseven those that pose no threat. This is even the case once they ink lucrative deals with AI companies that want to preserve exclusivity over that data. Ultimately, the web is being subdivided into territories where fewer crawlers are welcome. How we stand to lose out As this cat-and-mouse game accelerates, big players tend to outlast little ones. Large websites and publishers will defend their content in court or negotiate contracts. And massive tech companies can afford to license large data sets or create powerful crawlers to circumvent restrictions. But small creators, such as visual artists, YouTube educators, or bloggers, may feel they have only two options: hide their content behind logins and paywalls, or take it offline entirely. For real users, this is making it harder to access news articles, see content from their favorite creators, and navigate the web without hitting logins, subscription demands, and captchas each step of the way. Perhaps more concerning is the way large, exclusive contracts with AI companies are subdividing the web. Each deal raises the websites incentive to remain exclusive and block anyone else from accessing the datacompetitor or not. This will likely lead to further concentration of power in the hands of fewer AI developers and data publishers. A future where only large companies can license or crawl critical web data would suppress competition and fail to serve real users or many of the copyright holders. Put simply, following this path will shrink the biodiversity of the web. Crawlers from academic researchers, journalists, and non-AI applications may increasingly be denied open access. Unless we can nurture an ecosystem with different rules for different data uses, we may end up with strict borders across the web, exacting a price on openness and transparency. While this path is not easily avoided, defenders of the open internet can insist on laws, policies, and technical infrastructure that explicitly protect noncompeting uses of web data from exclusive contracts while still protecting data creators and publishers. These rights are not at odds. We have so much to lose or gain from the fight to get data access right across the internet. As websites look for ways to adapt, we mustnt sacrifice the open web on the altar of commercial AI. Shayne Longpre is a PhD Candidate at MIT, where his research focuses on the intersection of AI and policy. He leads the Data Provenance Initiative.

Submitted by WA ContentsWA Awards 49th Cycle Winner Posters and Certificates are ready to downloadUnited Kingdom Architecture News - Feb 11, 2025 - 14:52 html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"The 49th Cycle of the WA Awards winner posters and certificates is now available for download on the World Architecture Community website. This cycle features 23 Winner Posters and 34 Winner Certificates.Winners of the 49th WA Awards can access their high-resolution Winner Posters on the pages of their respective winning projects. After logging into their accounts, they should visit the "My Winner Page" section to download their Winner Certificates.The 49th Cycle winners for the Architecture and Architecture Students can be found on the WA Awards Winners page.One Cycle ends and another begins!If you're looking to have your architecture and interior design project recognized, the best way to do so is to participate. The 50th Cycle of the WA Awards is now open for submissions.You can submit your entries for the 50th Cycle of the WA Awards 10+5+X until March 31, 2025, at 23:59 GMT +0.If you're not a member of WAC, start your registrations on this page.Visit our page to learn more about the categories, fees, eligibility requirements, and judging process. To consult our visual guidance, visit our page.WA Awards

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Boston is taking a pioneering step towards carbon neutrality by becoming the first city in the U.S. to mandate that all new large buildings achieve net zero carbon emissions from day of its opening. Mayor Michelle Wu announced the approval of the Net Zero Carbon (NZC) Zoning amendment by the Boston Zoning Commission, a key part of the citys broader effort to meet its carbon-neutral target by 2050.Under the new zoning code, all new developments of 15 units or more, or those over 20,000 sq ft (~1,855 sq mt), will be required to meet strict decarbonization standards. This move will significantly reduce Boston's carbon footprint by targeting both operational and embodied carbon emissions. In addition to reducing energy consumption and reliance on fossil fuels, the policy will drive increased electrification and greater use of renewable energy sources.As buildings account for nearly 71% of the citys carbon emissions, this policy is crucial in addressing climate change while ensuring long-term sustainability in construction. Starting in July 2025, new projects will be required to comply with NZC standards, including reporting on the carbon emissions associated with the materials used in construction and conducting lifecycle carbon assessments for larger projects.This policy not only aligns with updated state building codes but also builds upon existing city ordinances such as the Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) and the Specialized Stretch Energy Code. Notably, the policy allows for a phased approach for hospitals, laboratories, and manufacturing buildings, with stricter deadlines for these sectors. However, the NZC Zoning policy does not apply to renovations, additions smaller than 50,000 square feet, or changes in building use, instead promoting large-scale adaptive reuse projects that incorporate energy efficiency improvements.The approval of NZC Zoning positions Boston as a national leader in climate action, pushing the development community toward a sustainable, low-carbon future. The adoption of these measures is expected to set an example for other cities, accelerating the transition to green building practices and contributing to a cleaner, healthier urban environment. As the city moves closer to its ambitious carbon-neutral goals, the NZC Zoning initiative will play a pivotal role in shaping a sustainable, resilient future for Boston.Top image Tom Fisk , Courtesy - Pexels> Via: City Of Boston

The government is unlikely to introduce a single regulator for the entire construction industry immediately as part of its response to the Grenfell Inquiry, industry experts have said.Demolition work on Grenfell Tower is due to start this summer, the government confirmed last weekage captionConstruction Industry Council chief executive Graham Watts and Construction Products Association chief executive Peter Caplehorn both told Housing Todays sister title Building they believed ministers would prioritise economic growth over implementing a tougher regulatory regime.The government is expected to issue its response to the Grenfell Inquirys final report by 4 March.Keir Starmer has promised to issue the governments full response to the Grenfell Inquirys final report by 4 March, six months after the publication of the inquirys findings into the causes of the fire at the west London tower which killed 72 people in June 2017.The 1,700-page reports 58 recommendations for reforming building safety to prevent a similar disaster happening in the future included a call for the creation of a single independent regulator for all parts of the construction industry which would report to a single secretary of state.It criticised the existing regime for being too dispersed across multiple bodies and government departments.The proposal generated concern among some industry experts due to the potential disruption it could cause to construction firms which have already spent several years adapting to the new building safety regulator (BSR), which was set up in 2022.The current regulator has also faced issues in recent months with high-rise residential projects being delayed by up to two years because of a lack of resources needed to approve Gateway 2 applications required for schemes to start construction.Watts said embarking on another period of transition would magnify those problems, adding: We can see all the delays that are being caused and the problems that are being caused in the governments growth targets by the delays in the current regulatory system.My feeling is that, with some of the tougher decisions, they are just going to kind of kick into the long grass.Watts added that signs the government was in the process of setting up groups to look into different parts of building control suggested ministers intended to buy themselves a lot more time to consider the consequences and the knock-on effects of some of these decisions.Any future changes to regulation could be tied into a statutory five-year review of the Building Safety Act which is due in 2027, Watts said.Caplehorn said he expected Starmer to support the inquirys recommendations in principle but would evolve towards these objectives rather than disrupt the momentum that has been generated by the existing regulatory reforms.>>See also:Reeves promises not to renege on building safety regulation as 90 new high-rise projects held up by rules>> Also read:High-rise decision delays caused by outsourced delivery model, says building safety regulatorI think its about setting out a vision as to how that would go, and working towards it over a reasonable timeframe, he said, adding that he believed officials had listened to the concerns of the industry over the impact of another period of regulatory change.The impression I get is that the message about evolution has certainly been taken on board, and I also think that they are very conscious of the fact that, while weve still got some wrinkles, a lot has been done and momentum has been created.Developers are currently facing delays of between 18 and 24 months on so-called higher risk housing schemes, which are taller than 18m, caused partly by a lack of in-house technical staff at the regulator.BSR head of operations, planning and building control Andrew Moore has admitted that the bodys outsourcing approach, which assembles building control teams from the private sector to sign off projects, isnt working as we had hoped.

Plans by Stanhope to build an office tower at 70 Gracechurch in the City of London have been given the green light by Square Mile planners this morning.The developer went back to the drawing board last year on the KPF-designed office tower in a bid to improve its sustainability after buying the site from Hong Kong firm Tenacity three years ago.Original plans for a 33-storey tower were approved in 2021 but did not progress before Stanhope purchased the site in partnership with Cadillac Fairview, the real estate arm of Ontario Teachers Pension Plan.How the 70 Gracechurch Street tower will look when completedThe tower is staying at 33 storeys and will include three major new cultural uses, consisting of two multi-purpose spaces and one pop-up market on the ground floor, and a roof-level viewing gallery at level 32The revised scheme will re-use parts of the sites existing 10-storey building, currently occupied by Marks & Spencer, which would have been completely demolished under the former plans.Work on the 550,000 sq ft tower is due to complete by summer 2032 with work not expected to start until 2028.The proposals include a viewing gallery at level 32As well as KPF, others working on the plans include engineers Arup and Robert Bird, transport consultant Momentum, which has replaced original consultant WSP, and planning consultant DP9.The 70 Gracechurch project is one of a group of proposed towers on the south-western edge of the main City cluster including neighbouring sites 85 Gracechurch Street, designed by Woods Bagot, and the 3XN-designed 60 Gracechurch which is being developed by Sellarand was given approval just before Christmas.