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Does High Inflation Impact Your Student Loans? For Most Borrowers, Yes


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Does High Inflation Impact Your Student Loans? For Most Borrowers, Yes


Does High Inflation Impact Your Student Loans? For Most Borrowers, Yes

This story is part of Recession Help Desk, CNET's coverage of how to make smart money moves in an uncertain economy.

Despite a slight slowdown in July, inflation remains sky high as prices continue climbing, making everything from the groceries you buy to the rent you pay each month more expensive. But how does inflation impact student loan borrowers?

The answer will vary depending on what type of loans you hold -- federal or private -- and whether or not you're eligible for loan forgiveness. In a general sense, however, inflation will make it harder for borrowers to repay existing debt and will continue to drive up rates on private student loans.

The current pause on federal student loan repayments expires at the end of August. The moratorium was extended six times since the start of the pandemic and has offered borrowers temporary relief. Yet when repayments begin, high prices can make it more difficult for borrowers to restart monthly student loan payments.

How exactly does inflation impact the student loan debt you hold? We sat down with student loans expert Mark Kantrowitz, author of How to Appeal for More College Financial Aid, to discuss the specifics of what inflation means for student loan holders.

The role inflation plays in student loans

The Federal Reserve has raised the federal funds rate four times in an effort to slow rampant inflation. But while prices haven't dropped from record-high levels, these hikes in the federal funds rate have indirectly led to more burdensome interest rates on consumer products, such as credit cards, mortgages and loans.

The Fed's rate increases won't impact any fixed-rate student loans you currently hold, for example, federal loans. But private loans with adjustable-rates (interest rates that can rise and fall along with the economy) may see their rates increase, making them more expensive for borrowers to repay.

If your wages were to rise alongside inflation at the same rate or higher, it could make paying back your debt a little bit easier and counter higher interest rates. "Inflation dictates that a dollar ten years ago is worth more than a dollar today. So, as long as your wages are rising along with inflation, the debt for a loan borrowed in the past will hold less value today," said Kantrowitz. 

However, average wage increases are not keeping up with inflation. As of June, wages have only increased 5.1% over the past 12 months, making it more difficult for borrowers to chip away at their debt on top of covering daily expenses.

Here's a breakdown on how inflation might impact you depending on your loan type and whether or not you're still in school:

If you hold federal student loans: 

Federal student loans are always fixed-rate loans, so the interest rate will stay the same over its lifetime.   

If you hold a federal student loan, inflation could work in your favor because it effectively devalues your debt, but that only helps if your wages kept up or surpassed the inflation rate. 

If, like for most Americans, your wages haven't increased substantially and your budget is stretched even thinner than before, this devalued debt won't help you -- and you might even find it more difficult to repay your loans when the federal loan repayment freeze ends.

If you hold private student loans: 

Private student loans can be either variable or fixed rate, and payments for either type of private loan have not been on hold during the pandemic. 

For those with fixed-rate private loans, the interest rate of your existing student debt won't go up. However, since inflation is making everyday purchases pricier, you might find yourself with less cash overall to set aside for paying off debt.  

If you have adjustable-rate loans, your interest rates could definitely rise -- and may have already. As inflation rates go up, interest rates usually follow. Variable-rate private loans holders could see even higher interest rates in the future.

If you're a new borrower in 2022:

Both federal and private student loan interest rates will be higher for the 2022-23 academic year, Kantrowitz said. The new federal student loan interest rates for the 2022-23 school year are as follows:

  • Undergraduate loans: 4.99%
  • Graduate Direct Unsubsidized loans: 6.54%
  • PLUS loans: 7.54%

This is a big jump up for students. For reference, last year an undergraduate federal student loan had an interest rate of 3.73% -- around 1.25% lower than the rate for the coming academic year. 

Private student loan rates have also increased. Fixed-rate private student loans range from 3.22% to 13.95%, and variable-rate private student loans range from 1.29% to 12.99%, according to Bankrate, which is owned by the same parent company as CNET.

Will inflation make loan repayment more difficult after the federal payment pause ends?

Kantrowitz said he predicts that the student loan repayment pause will be extended again, with renewed payments beginning after the 2022 midterms. Whether or not the student loan freeze is prolonged could hinge on the White House's decision on widespread federal student loan forgiveness. In any case, since the federal payment pause is set to expire in a couple weeks and no official announcements have been made, it's best to prepare for repayment now.

For many, repaying student loan debt in a time of high inflation is a real concern. According to the Student Debt Crisis Center, out of 23,532 borrowers, 92% of those who were fully employed are concerned about affording payments in the face of skyrocketing inflation.  

"I personally have not been able to save for student loan repayment, and I don't think I could have given the growing disparity between wages and the national cost of living," said Jonathan Casson, a recent graduate of Cornell University.

If you're worried about repaying your student debt, here are some tips to plan ahead:

How can you prepare to repay federal loans?

1. Look into income-driven repayment plans

The government offers four income-driven repayment plans that can help make monthly payments more affordable for borrowers who need to keep payment sizes small. Each IDR plan caps payments at between 10% to 20% of your discretionary income (income after taxes and necessities are paid), and forgives your loan balance after 20 or 25 years of payment. Eligibility for these plans is dependent upon family size and discretionary income. 

2. Check if you're eligible for loan forgiveness

If you're a teacher, first responder, public servant or government worker, you may be eligible for federal student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. You must be in a qualifying position, hold eligible federal student loans and have made 120 qualifying payments to receive forgiveness (each paused month during the federal payment freeze counts as one qualifying payment). 

The PSLF has temporarily expanded its benefits to include forgiveness for more federal loan types and IDR plans, and could make some applicants now eligible who had been denied loan cancellation in the past. The expanded forgiveness waiver application is due by Oct. 31, so it's important to find out if you're eligible now. In some cases, you may need to consolidate your loans into federal Direct Loans, a process that can take 45 days. 

While your monthly payment may not change if you haven't reached the 120 payment goal yet, you'll at least be a step closer toward student loan forgiveness.

3. Refinance private loans

With many interest rate hikes expected this year, refinancing your private adjustable-rate student loans into fixed-rate student loans could help you save hundreds to thousands in interest -- and may even reduce your monthly payment. You should only refinance if you receive better payment terms or a lower rate. Otherwise it generally won't be worth the hassle and could cost you more in interest.

4. Review your budget

If a student loan payment is not feasible with your current budget, see if there are any ways to cut expenses or pay down high-interest debt now to free up funds. While adjusting your budget may seem daunting, there are multiple resources and apps to help you calculate and identify expenses you can reduce or eliminate. 

5. Consider a side hustle

A part-time gig outside of your primary job may help supplement your income as inflation skyrockets. Currently, 31% of American adults have a side hustle, according to a 2022 Bankrate survey. Having an additional source of money can help bridge a gap in your budget and offer you a bit of breathing room.


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Think You Might Have Monkeypox? Here's What To Do


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Think You Might Have Monkeypox? Here's What to Do


Think You Might Have Monkeypox? Here's What to Do

What's happening

The monkeypox outbreak in the US is spreading, but there are vaccines and other treatments available.

Why it matters

Because the outbreak is ongoing, more people will be diagnosed with or exposed to monkeypox in the coming weeks.

What it means for you

Most people with monkeypox don't require medical treatment outside the home. If you get monkeypox or think you were exposed, there are steps you can take to reduce your risk of giving it someone else.

Do you think you could have monkeypox or might've been recently exposed? Take a deep breath: It's normal to feel uneasy or uncertain, especially if your symptoms are causing you pain. But unlike the early days of COVID-19, there are already tried-and-true treatments and guidance for monkeypox because diseases like it aren't totally new to us. Monkeypox is related to smallpox and is endemic in certain countries in Africa.

Monkeypox  isn't a new disease, but the fact that it's spreading in countries where it isn't normally found is new. What's more, symptoms of monkeypox in this outbreak appear to be presenting a little differently. People today are getting rashes anywhere on their body, as opposed to the more "classic" rash in previous cases that started on the face and spread from there. 

Here's what the guidance says on what to do if you're sick with or have been exposed to monkeypox.

A man shaving his face with shaving cream

You should avoid shaving near your rash while you're recovering from monkeypox so you don't spread the virus to new parts of your body.

Luana Ciavattella/Getty Images

What to do if you were exposed to monkeypox 

Anyone with exposure to a person (or, while this is less likely in the current outbreak, an animal) should monitor themselves for symptoms for 21 days, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You don't need to isolate (stay away from others) unless you develop symptoms. 

Having an exposure most likely means you had direct, skin-to-skin contact with someone who has monkeypox, since that's primarily the way it's been spreading. However, you can also get monkeypox by touching clothes or other things that person's rash may have been in contact with, or through respiratory secretions. Some scenarios where monkeypox may be transmitted include sex, kissing, coming into contact with someone's rash or sores through a hug, or sharing a towel, bed or clothes. Monkeypox may also spread through prolonged face-to-face contact; researchers are studying whether it spreads in body fluids like semen and vaginal fluid.

Get a vaccine, if you can

If you were exposed to monkeypox within the last two weeks and don't have any symptoms, you should reach out to your local health department to see if you're able to get a Jynneos vaccine. The vaccine is most effective if given within four days of exposure, but may still be effective at reducing the severity of symptoms if given between four days and two weeks after initial exposure.

While criteria for who can get one varies city to city based on how much spread there is in a certain area, chances are if you were exposed you live in an area that is offering the vaccine. Also, in areas like New York City, San Francisco, Denver and other big cities, gay and bisexual men who've had multiple or anonymous sexual partners within the last two weeks are eligible for the vaccine, regardless of whether they've been officially exposed.

Unfortunately, need for the vaccine has been high and supply has been relatively low.

If you're at higher risk of severe disease for monkeypox (you have an immunocompromising condition, for example), reach out to your doctor to see if there are additional treatments available to you, or if there's another step you should take post-exposure. 

People waiting in line for a monkeypox vaccine

People waiting in line for a monkeypox vaccine at a pop-up clinic in Brooklyn, New York. The government is releasing doses of Jynneos as states request it, but supply has been limited.

Kena Betancur/Getty Images

Monitor for symptoms 

Right now the CDC says you can continue your daily activities if you were exposed to monkeypox but don't have any symptoms, while continuing to monitor and watch for them. The monitoring period is 21 days or three weeks. You don't have to isolate, because you're not contagious until symptoms begin (if they do). Common symptoms of monkeypox include fever, swollen lymph nodes or a new rash. You may also have pain in your anus or mouth if that's where the rash is spreading. 

The CDC also recommends taking your temperature twice a day to monitor for any fever that pops up.

But if you develop symptoms, what to do next will depend on what kind of symptoms. 

If you're monitoring for symptoms and start to feel sick (but don't have a rash or new skin lesion): Let's say you develop a fever, swollen lymph nodes or another symptom but don't have a rash. You should isolate (stay home and try to avoid other people) for five days, according to the CDC, even if this puts you past the 21-day monitoring mark. If after five days you haven't developed any other symptoms or rash, you can end the isolation, per the CDC.

If you're monitoring for symptoms and develop a rash: Avoid close contact with people, isolate at home if you can and follow the guidance in the following section.

What to do if you have monkeypox 

If you've been to the doctor and a test confirmed you have monkeypox, or you were directly exposed and have all the symptoms of monkeypox, you should isolate from other people and stay home (if you can) until your symptoms resolve, according to the CDC. That includes avoiding public transportation where you may be in close contact with other people's bodies. 

But monkeypox can be a long illness (roughly two to four weeks) and if you're unable to be completely isolated for that long, the most important things you should do include keeping your rash or lesions fully covered with bandages and clothes, wearing a well-fitted mask if you need to be around other people, avoiding close contact with others, avoiding crowded areas, washing your hands often and remaining isolated while you have other symptoms, like fever or respiratory symptoms, according to the CDC.

You're considered infectious until your sores or rash scab over and a new layer of skin forms. You should also call your health care provider immediately to figure out next steps, including whether you need to come in for additional treatment.

How do I know I have monkeypox? 

Symptoms normally appear within three weeks of close contact with a person who has monkeypox. Common symptoms of monkeypox include: 

  • A rash or blemishes anywhere on the body, including the genital area, anus, hands, face, chest, or mouth. For some people, the sores can be very painful. 
  • Fever. 
  • Swollen lymph nodes. 
  • Chills. 
  • Exhaustion. 
  • Muscle aches. 
  • Respiratory symptoms like a cough or nasal congestion.

You may experience all or only a few of these symptoms. For people who experience flulike symptoms, a rash normally forms one to four days after they start feeling sick. 

The only way to confirm a monkeypox case is to take a test at a health care provider, which involves swabbing the lesions. Testing capacity is improving in the US, but it still may take a while for your results to come back. While you wait, you should continue to isolate while you have symptoms, according to the CDC. 

4 examples of monkeypox lesions

A few examples of monkeypox lesions. 

NHS England High Consequence Infectious Diseases Network

Isolate at home 

The CDC's home isolation guidance for people with monkeypox includes avoiding close contact and intimacy with people (hugging, kissing, sex, etc.). The agency also says you should avoid sharing linens and towels. (Like the bathroom towel you dry your hands with.)

If you live with other people and are around them at home, you should wear a mask for extra protection. (This contains your respiratory droplets.) 

If going outside is unavoidable or you live with other people, make sure to cover your rash or sores with well-fitted clothing like pants or long shirts, and gloves if the rash has spread to the hands. 

If possible, you should also use a different bathroom than the other people in your household, and avoid sharing food, dishes or used utensils. 

If using the same bathroom is the only option, the person with monkeypox should sanitize the shared areas (toilet seat, shower, bathroom counter, etc.) with disinfectant after use and wear gloves if needed, the CDC says.

Personal care tips 

If you wear contacts, you shouldn't wear them while sick, to avoid accidentally infecting your eyes with monkeypox, according to the CDC. If you shave, for the time being you should stop shaving any part of your body that's covered in a rash.

Poxviruses like monkeypox can survive on clothing and surfaces, according to the CDC, which is why it's important to disinfect things you've touched while you're contagious. While how much of a risk there is in spreading it in public places isn't entirely clear, there are precautions you should take if you do your laundry in a public laundromat. New York City has its own guidance for doing your own laundry with monkeypox, and the CDC recommends checking in with your local health department to find the best "laundering option."

Avoid contact with animals

Unfortunately, monkeypox is a zoonotic disease, which means it's transmitted from animals to humans. That means there's a chance you can infect your dog, cat or other pet that's a mammal, like a rat. (Nonmammal animals like reptiles, birds and fish probably can't get monkeypox, per the CDC.) 

If possible, the CDC recommends, someone else should care for your pet while you're sick or recovering from monkeypox. If that isn't possible, keep pets away from your bandages, bed, towels or other materials that may be contaminated.

If you notice your pet acting differently or think it may be sick after an exposure to someone with monkeypox, contact your personal veterinarian or a state animal health official. 

A dog laying on the couch

If possible, you should have another person watch your pet while you're recovering from monkeypox, according to the CDC. If that isn't possible, you should try to avoid touching your pet, keep your rash covered and your mask on while also keeping your pet away from clothes or linens that may've touched your rash.

Katerina Sergeevna/Getty Images

Do I need treatment for monkeypox? 

Most people who have monkeypox do not need additional treatment, and the guidance will be to stay home and manage symptoms. However, some people have lesions that are quite painful, in which case you should call your doctor for help with pain management. Dr. Bernard Camins, the medical director for infection prevention at the Mount Sinai Health System, told The New York Times that a doctor may recommend sitz baths or stool softeners when appropriate. 

No monkeypox deaths have been reported in the US out of more than 7,500 cases. However, some people are more at risk of severe disease or may require additional treatment, including immunocompromised people, children younger than 8 years old, pregnant or breastfeeding people and those with skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis, according to the CDC. 

There are a few medications or antivirals that the CDC lists as possible treatments for monkeypox in some patients. Tecovirimat (TPOXX) and Brincidofovir, for example, have both been approved to treat smallpox and are also thought to work against monkeypox. 

If you think you may be at higher risk of severe disease and haven't already been offered treatment options by your doctor, ask about what might be available to you. 

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.


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Millions Can't Pay Their Car Loans. Here's What To Do If You're One Of Them


Millions can't pay their car loans. Here's what to do if you're one of them


Millions can't pay their car loans. Here's what to do if you're one of them

If you've skipped a car payment or two recently -- or you worry you might have to miss an upcoming one -- you're not alone. Due to the coronavirus recession and record levels of unemployment, over 7% of all car loans in the US are currently in some sort of deferment program, according to recent data released by credit reporting agency TransUnion.

Typically, missing a car payment can damage your credit score or even lead to the bank repossessing your vehicle. However, in the wake of the recent economic turmoil brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, most lenders have streamlined their financial hardship programs and are willing to be a bit forgiving if you just ask for help.

But just like the help available with rent payments and unemployment benefits, you do have to ask. The worst thing you can do is ignore the problem and assume it'll work itself out on its own. (Scroll to the end for what else you should absolutely not do.)

Here's a look at the most current information and resources we could locate to help you deal with your car payment. We'll continue to update this story as new details emerge.

First, see what assistance your lender has to offer

You'll want to know what kinds of programs your bank, credit union or other auto loan provider may have available to you. Also, if there are any state laws that might offer some protections against repossession, you'll want to find out about those, too. 

Here are the most comprehensive resources we've been able to turn up to help with both. (If you don't see your lender on any of those lists, try contacting the company directly through its website or app.)

011-asheville-nc-reopening-phase-2-small-businesses-tourist-town-coronavirus

As businesses like this soda and candy shop in Asheville, North Carolina, start to reopen, you can bet repossession companies will be back to work, too.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Most repos occur after two or three months of no payments

If you've fallen behind (or you think you're going to fall behind) on your car payment for 90 days or longer, you may very well be at risk of having your car repossessed. Your lender may be more lenient if you've never missed a payment before, but the more often you've been late in the past, the sooner they might attempt repossession. 

One way around this, however, is a deferment or forbearance program.

What are auto loan deferment programs and how do they work?

Under normal circumstances, most lenders will report a late payment to the credit bureaus once it's at least 30 days overdue, and they'll typically come to take your vehicle away after you've missed three or more payments in a row. 

A deferment or forbearance allows you to skip between one and three payments with no late fees or penalties. After the deferment period ends, either your monthly payment will either go up slightly or your loan will be extended by about the same amount of time as the deferment.  

On the downside, interest will continue to accrue during the months you skip your payment, so you'll end up paying more for your vehicle in the long run. But on the plus side, your missed payments will not show up as negative marks on your credit report, so your credit score shouldn't take a hit.

How to talk to your bank about your options 

Most lenders' programs have been streamlined to be pretty simple to apply for. Fill out a form, possibly attach some documentation (termination letter, layoff notice, etc.), send it off to your lender and wait for an approval confirmation. If your bank doesn't have it set up that easy and you have no idea where to begin, the legal services website DoNotPay has a chatbot that can help you draft a letter to your lender.

That said, you can probably handle this on your own. Just be honest and forthcoming about your situation and realistic about how much time you'll need to get back on your feet. Generally speaking, banks would rather work with you and retain you as a customer than leave you stranded without a vehicle.

2017 Ford Escape

Ford is currently offering to pay six months' worth of new vehicle payments when you purchase a new car from the company.

Wayne Cunningham/CNET

What normally happens when you miss a car payment?

In most states, a lender, like your bank, can start the repossession process the day after you miss even just one payment, but most companies give their customers a grace period. Often the lender won't even charge a late fee until the payment is at least 10 days late, and most won't report it to the three major credit bureaus until it's over 30 days late. 

If you go past 30 days delinquent -- and especially if you miss the next two payments in your loan cycle as well -- that's where you start treading into repossession, or repo, territory. 

How repossession works 

In most cases, your lender will contract with a third-party agency that specializes in repossessions. That company will use whatever information it can get -- your home and work addresses, for example -- to track down the vehicle and tow it to a secured, usually gated lot. It does not need your car keys to take your car. 

The repo company will then charge your bank for towing the vehicle, as well as a daily storage fee, usually around $25 to $75 per day. Unless you happened to have left your keys in the car, the repo company will also contract a locksmith to make a new set of keys -- then charge your bank for that service, too. When all is said and done, you'll owe anywhere from a few hundred to over a thousand dollars in charges, which you'll still be liable for whether you get your car out of repo or not. 

road-trip-nissan-leaf-electric-car-17.jpg

If you quit paying your car payment, eventually a vehicle recovery service will come tow your car.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Are car repossession companies even open right now?

The auto repossession industry never quite figured out whether repo companies, many of which laid off dozens of employees early on in the pandemic, were even allowed to operate in areas under strict shelter-in-place orders. The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, a lobbying group for debt collectors, has argued that debt collection is an essential service, but lawmakers have yet to chime in.

However, as most US cities are far along in the process of reopening and orders shuttering nonessential businesses have mostly been lifted, you can probably bet that repo companies will be up and running as soon as they can be.

Your rights vs. the bank's rights 

In pretty much every instance your bank does not need a court order to attempt to repossess your car. You can view a list of every state's specific automobile repossession laws here, but generally speaking, your lending institution (or a company it hires) has the right to come onto your property and take the car so long as no one commits a "breach of the peace."

That means its representatives can't break into a locked garage, through a locked gate or otherwise use physical force against you or your property to take possession of your vehicle. They can, however, follow you to work, for example, or the grocery store, and wait until you leave your car unattended. 

How to get your car out of repo -- and what happens if you don't 

What if it's too late and your car has already been repoed? Many states have laws on the books about how long and under what conditions lenders must allow you the opportunity to get your vehicle back, but the terms aren't exactly favorable, especially if you're in the kind of financial situation that led to repo in the first place.

Generally, the law only compels lenders to release your car if you pay off the loan plus any towing and storage charges that have accrued. In practice, however, most lenders are willing to give your car back if you can at least catch up with your late payments (and, of course, even up with the repo company as well). 

cash funds running out of money change dollars wallet empty

One option if you're struggling to pay your car payment is to try and sell your car for cash to pay off the loan, but that won't work if you owe more than the car is worth.

Sarah Tew/CNET

If you leave your vehicle in repo, either because you can't afford to get it out or you just decide it's not worth it, you're still not completely off the hook. The bank will likely auction off your car to the highest bidder, then apply the revenue from that sale to your remaining balance, including repossession charges. If that doesn't cover your entire debt, the bank can come after you for the remainder, including handing your account over to a collection agency and reporting the delinquency to the credit bureaus. 

You have a few wild-card options as well 

If you're at risk of having your car or truck repossessed, there are other options available besides deferment, but none quite as simple or easy. You could do what's called a "voluntary repossession," where you contact your lender and indicate your desire to turn your vehicle over to it. Your credit will take a hit and you'll be liable for any outstanding debt the bank fails to recoup at auction, but the overall impact to both your credit score and pocketbook will be less than if you wait for the bank to forcibly repo your car.

You can refinance your car for a lengthier loan term with a lower monthly payment, but that will only work if you've already paid off a substantial amount of the principal. If you've only had your car loan for a year or two, you might actually still owe more than it's worth. Also, your credit has to be good enough for a bank to underwrite a new loan for you, which may or may not be the case anymore. 

You could also try to sell your car on the open market, or trade it in for something less expensive, but again, with the economy now in a full-blown recession, neither of these options seems very compelling.

What you absolutely should not do 

Whatever you do, don't try to hide your car from your bank or the repo company. For one, you're probably not going to beat them at their own game, and the longer it takes to find it (and the more difficult you make it), the more they're going to charge you for their services in the end. 

iowa-stop-sign

Stop! Don't just sit back and wait until the bank repos your car. Be proactive and ask and your lender may be able to help.

Shara Tibken/CNET

And don't just stop paying your loan and hope for the best. Whether or not lawmakers decide the repo industry performs an "essential" function, or if the repo man has to wait for a treatment or vaccine like the rest of us before getting back to work, eventually your delinquency will catch up with you. With banks demonstrating some compassion right now for those who've suffered financial hardship, you might as well take advantage of one of their relief programs while you can. 

Chances are if you're worried about making your car payment, you have other bills keeping you up at night, too. Here's what you need to know about rent relief during the pandemic, as well as what assistance is available if you have a mortgage. For taxes, credit cards and everything else, here's what other financial help is available.

The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.


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Inside The Plan To Resurrect Australia's Extinct Tasmanian Tiger


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Inside the Plan to Resurrect Australia's Extinct Tasmanian Tiger


Inside the Plan to Resurrect Australia's Extinct Tasmanian Tiger

Wilfred Batty's sister had just sat down to eat lunch when, out the window, she saw a shadow flicker across the yard. A beast, slender and wolf-like, prowled around the chicken pens. 

The creature, a thylacine, had been the cause of great trouble for Batty and other local farmers in Tasmania, Australia — snatching fowl in the middle of the night and, on one occasion, unceremoniously entering a hut at dusk, frightening the campers within. A thrown boot had startled it, causing it to slink away into the dark.

It would not be so lucky this time. Batty and his son grabbed their guns, burst out the door and gave chase. As Batty approached, the thylacine — or "Tasmanian tiger" — turned tail and fled, darting behind a garage. Not wanting it to escape again, the farmer unloaded his rifle, fatally hitting the animal in the shoulder. It collapsed in his yard. 

For decades, the number of tigers had been dwindling, mostly due to hunting, but Wilfred Batty couldn't have known that on this afternoon, May 13, 1930, his kill would go down in history. It was, officially, the last Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, to be killed in the wild. The species would be rendered extinct with the death of Benjamin, a captive tiger at Hobart Zoo, in 1936.

A thylacine at Hobart Zoo in the 1930s.

Dave Watts/Getty

What if we could reverse this? What if, through the power of revolutionary gene-editing technology, we could bring the tiger back from the dead and repopulate the Tasmanian wilderness? Andrew Pask, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Melbourne, and his team are attempting to do just that, with plans to "de-extinct" the thylacine in the next decade.

The technology to resurrect the dead, de-extinction advocates will tell you, already exists. It's just a matter of funding and focus. That's where Colossal, a de-extinction and gene-editing startup with plans to bring back the woolly mammoth by 2027, comes in.

On Aug. 16, Colossal announced that its second de-extinction project will be the thylacine, and, through $10 million in funding over the next three years, it will be supercharging Pask's research, helping to further develop technologies necessary to resurrect the tiger. 

"The challenges ahead of us are engineering challenges, they're not science challenges," said Ben Lamm, co-founder of Colossal. 

Pask's laboratory has published extensively on marsupial genetics and was the first to decode the thylacine genome back in 2017. Earlier this year, it received $3.6 million ($5 million Australian) in philanthropic funding to establish the Thylacine Integrated Genetic Restoration Research, or TIGRR, Lab in Melbourne.

De-extinction and rewilding of the striped marsupial is the headline goal, but along the way the lab hopes to generate new conservation techniques and create technologies that can help Australia's beleaguered marsupial populations as they face the increasing threat of climate change, habitat loss and environmental degradation. With Colossal on board, work to revive the species can accelerate rapidly and, within the next decade, the thylacine could prowl the wilds of Tasmania once again. 

It may even prove easier to bring back than a mammoth.

Two mammoth tasks

Colossal made waves in September 2021, announcing its plan to resurrect woolly mammoths — or, more accurately, an approximation of woolly mammoths — and introduce them to the Arctic within about five years.

The company's idea is to cut-and-paste woolly mammoth DNA into Asian elephants, adding in genes that confer cold resistance to the pachyderms. If successful (and after achieving regulatory approval), a herd of these hybrids would be released into the Arctic tundra where they could remodel the landscape, helping to prevent the vast stores of carbon in the soil from being released.

Colossal is bankrolled by investment groups and co-founded by Lamm and George Church, a Harvard and MIT professor who has been dubbed the "father of synthetic biology." Church has a long history working with CRISPR, a technology that allows scientists to edit DNA with almost-unmatched precision. It's CRISPR that much of the mammoth work will hinge on, and Church's team is continuing to develop methods that will allow the wide-scale changes in DNA necessary to revive long-dead creatures. It's this expertise that will complement Pask's work on thylacine de-extinction. 

For Lamm, adding the thylacine project to the company's mammoth ambitions is about bringing two projects together to help drive them both forward. He says the thylacine research is "almost an exact opposite" of the mammoth research. 

For instance, the thylacine has only been extinct for around 90 years, whereas the last mammoths roamed the Earth some 4,000 years ago. This makes it much easier to get a complete DNA sequence from the thylacine. Mammoth DNA is far more degraded and — even though George Church is considered a guru in this space — harder to piece back together. 

Overcoming the challenges in one Lazarus project will support progress in the other. So, even with the announcement Colossal is taking on thylacine resurrection, it's not as if the mammoth work is taking a backseat. Lamm says there are now over 35 employees at Colossal working on its mammoth project and the team have reconstructed 54 genomes. 

"I still have incredible love for the mammoth," he laughs. "I want to make that clear."

Pask, on the other hand, is all about the thylacine. The last time I visited his office, pre-pandemic, it was chock full of tiger paraphernalia, clippings and pictures (and, if I recall, one figurine of Jurassic Park's John Hammond). I can't think of too many people who'd be more thrilled to welcome the thylacine back to Earth — but this isn't an all-or-nothing game. It's not just about resurrection. Whenever we discuss the realities of bringing a species back from the dead, Pask's pragmatism shines through. He knows resurrecting the tiger will be tough.

But Pask, and his TIGRR lab, have a plan.

The preserved body of a thylacine being prepared for display in an Australian museum in 2005.

The Sydney Morning Herald/Getty

Resurrecting the Tasmanian tiger

The idea to resurrect the thylacine is not a new one. When biologist Mike Archer was appointed director of the Australian Museum in 1999, he had grand plans to clone the creature by extracting DNA from the museum's specimen collection. The project was scrapped in 2005 because the quality of the DNA was too poor to work with.

"In the early 2000s, this wouldn't have worked," notes Lamm. Today, though, he believes it's a different story. Scientists like Pask are looking at entirely new methods, including CRISPR gene-editing, which just wasn't possible two decades ago.

Here's the plan.

The first step is to unravel the mysteries of thylacine DNA. This step was completed in 2017 by Pask's lab. With this, the researchers have the thylacine "recipe" or "blueprint" — the DNA instructions needed to build a thylacine.

Next, they will need to take cells from a close living relative, like the fat-tailed dunnart, a mouse-like marsupial that could fit in the palm of your hand. They also have the dunnart's DNA blueprint. 

The theory here is that you need to identify all the differences between the dunnart DNA and the thylacine DNA. This is an active area of research requiring a ton of computing power and bioinformatics. But suppose they can pinpoint those differences (a huge supposition and one that's not guaranteed by any stretch); they will then take cells from the dunnart and, using the gene-editing tool CRISPR, build a thylacine cell. This is Pask's major focus right now.

The plan to resurrect the thylacine seems simple on paper, but perfecting the process and building the technologies to perform the revival could take a decade or more.

Naomi Antonino/CNET

"We're interrogating every single part of the thylacine genome," he says. "It's an expensive and time-consuming endeavor, but now we can figure out those essential [DNA] edits we need to make that thylacine."

Then, the hard part. The scientists will need to make an embryo that can then either be implanted into the pouch of another marsupial species (like a dunnart) or grown in a microfluidics chamber. If they can coax the embryo to grow, then they can remove it from the pouch to feed and care for it. This is still a long way from reality, but, if it succeeds, soon enough, you'll have something that resembles a full-grown thylacine.

It's not just about bringing the animal back once, either. The mark of success for Colossal, and Pask's lab, is rewilding. And rewilding requires many thylacines. "To bring a healthy population of thylacines back, you can't bring back one or five," Pask notes. "You're looking at bringing back a good number of animals that you can put back into the environment."

It sounds straightforward, but there's a lot of science to do. Teaming up with Colossal provides extra bandwidth for the TIGRR lab — and its sister lab in Texas — to work on the plan's outstanding problems in parallel. And the Colossal mammoth team will share its homework, too, to get through the decade of tinkering with genes ahead of the team.

"A lot of this is just purely grunt work" says Pask. "We just need people chipping away at every single aspect of these really big problems."

Whether they could, if they should

The specter of Ian Malcolm, Jeff Goldblum's eccentric and inimitable Jurassic Park mathematician, hangs over every de-extinction project (and pretty much everypieceof popular science reporting on the topic, too).

His famous line, when discussing the merits of de-extincting dinosaurs for a theme park, goes: "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

Colossal and its team of scientists and researchers seem to have thought through the could of de-extinction. The plans are in place; the road map laid out. They could de-extinct species. They are also cognizant of the should, attempting to bolster the argument that de-extinction research has real world benefits. 

There are, they say, benefits that are likely to spin out of the de-extinction development phase for conservation today. For instance, Lamm notes the team is developing an "exopouch," a synthetic analog to a marsupial's pouch, which could be used to rear other species like the Tasmanian devil. Not all joeys (babies) survive to adulthood, but an exopouch might enable conservationists to save four or five times the number of joeys by nurturing them outside of their mother's care. And then there's the assisted reproduction technologies Pask is developing, which could aid in the creation of stem cell lines for other threatened marsupials, providing a gene bank to preserve species at a cellular level as a fail-safe. 

However, other scientists are critical of these ideas, arguing that "de-extinction is unlikely to offer any real value to the overall conservation of biodiversity." There are no guarantees the grunt work will result in conservation wins, that CRISPR technology will be refined enough to make the necessary DNA edits or that the new technologies will have any impact.

Colossal hopes to create a hybrid elephant that would be adapted to the cold of the Arctic.

Black Bone Illustration

There are other broader social and ethical issues to be worked through, too. Can we really grasp how a resurrected animal, or group of animals, will fare in today's world? Are we bringing them back to, effectively, doom them again? How will they feel? Will they experience pain? How does reintroducing them affect the Indigenous people of the land they're being returned to? As science and engineering for de-extinction accelerates, these questions will require answers.

And what of current conservation efforts? For now, most de-extinction work remains in the hands of biotech startups, funded by investment companies and philanthropists. But if these projects become "sexy" and begin attracting dollars away from ecology and conservation research, one model suggests it could lead to a net loss of biodiversity.

Hugh Possingham, a conservation biologist at the University of Queensland, offers an Australian perspective. "If funding de-extinction reduces investment in saving the species we have, then it doesn't make sense," he says. "If funding de-extinction does not compromise conservation funding, then it is an intriguing but high-risk activity." 

It's a risk that Colossal, Lamm and Pask are taking. And if it works — and that remains a mighty, mighty if even with a fresh injection of cash — other resurrections may soon follow. But which ones?

"We've got a lot of work to do between these two species," says Lamm. "We'll think about future [projects] if we need to."

Updated Aug 16: Added context in final section above illustration.
Updated Aug 18: Provided additional context around the difficulty of resurrection in the second section.


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Apple's IPhone 13 Is Great, But These Missing Features Are A Letdown


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Apple's iPhone 13 is great, but these missing features are a letdown


Apple's iPhone 13 is great, but these missing features are a letdown

With longer battery life, better cameras, a new Cinematic mode and more base-level storage space, Apple's iPhone 13 lineup has a lot to offer over its predecessors. (Check out CNET's iPhone 13, 13 Mini, 13 Pro and Pro Max reviews.) Although there's a lot to love about the iPhone 13, it's missing a few features we had hoped to see from Apple's latest smartphone. Many of these features are available on Android competitors, while others can be found on different Apple devices. 

The iPhone 13, which is available for purchase, starts at $829 for the standard model without a carrier discount. The Mini begins at $729, the iPhone 13 Pro starts at $999 and the iPhone 13 Pro Max has an entry price of $1,099.

Read moreShould you upgrade to iPhone 13? We compared the last five years of iPhones to find out

From an in-screen fingerprint reader to a truly borderless screen, here are the features missing from the iPhone 13.

USB-C support

Wouldn't it be great if you could use the same charger for your iPhone and the other gadgets in your home? Apple's latest iPhone, however, is once again missing USB-C connectivity. As has been the case since 2012, the latest iPhones require Apple's proprietary Lightning cable for wired charging.

Not only does that mean you can't use chargers from other gadgets to power up your iPhone, but it also means chargers from other Apple mobile devices might not be compatible with your iPhone. Apple's iPad Air, iPad Pro and newly announced iPad Mini, for example, all charge via USB-C. That means even if you're an Apple loyalist, you'll need to keep track of multiple charging cables.

An in-screen fingerprint reader

Face ID works great most of the time, but it would be nice to have the option of using your fingerprint to unlock your device as well. That's especially true over the last year and a half since Face ID can't accurately identify you while wearing a face mask. If you don't have an Apple Watch, you've probably been typing in your passcode much more than usual over the past year.

Read more: New iPhone 13? How to transfer data from iPhone to iPhone

Many Android phones, such as those from Samsung, Motorola and OnePlus, have fingerprint readers built into their screens. A 2019 report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is known for his sometimes accurate Apple predictions, said Apple would release an iPhone with Face ID and an in-display fingerprint sensor in 2021. That didn't turn out to be true, but perhaps we'll see it in the iPhone 14

Satellite connectivity

One of the most prominent rumors about the iPhone 13 in the weeks before its launch was that it would come with satellite connectivity for sending texts in emergency scenarios. That didn't turn out to be true, at least not yet. 

Kuo and Bloomberg both reported that the iPhone 13 would be able to use satellite connectivity in areas without cellular coverage. But Bloomberg's report provided a bit more detail, saying that this feature would primarily serve as an SOS for contacting emergency services. Messages would have a length restriction, and you might have to walk to a certain location to connect. 

However, the Bloomberg report did say that the feature could be scrapped, and it warned that the iPhone 13 may not have the feature at launch even if it has the hardware to support it.

Wi-Fi 6E support

Wi-Fi 6E  is new and isn't a must-have yet. But since many people buy an iPhone with the intention of keeping it for several years, it would have been helpful to see Wi-Fi 6E support in at least the Pro and Pro Max models.

Wi-Fi 6E is a special designation for Wi-Fi 6 devices that allows them to access the new 6GHz band of spectrum. As my colleague Ry Crist puts it, think of the 6GHz band as a "shiny, new seven-lane superhighway" that's only available for select devices. The 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands we're used to connecting on today's routers are more like a "one-lane country highway" and a "three-lane interstate," respectively. 

There aren't many smartphones out there that support Wi-Fi 6E yet. But Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra is one of them, and we're already seeing routers from Asus and Netgear that support 6E. If you're paying for the top-of-the-line iPhone, it would be useful to at least have Wi-Fi 6E connectivity as an option.

An always-on display

My Apple Watch has an always-on display, and I only wish my iPhone could, too. For years, smartphones from Samsung, OnePlus and other Android device-makers have had screens that are capable of showing information onscreen even when the display is asleep. 

That might not sound like a big deal, but I've found it to be surprisingly useful. Most phones with an always-on display will show information like the time and your next calendar event when the display is turned off. 

Having this information available at a glance has made it easier to see when my next meeting is without having to actually pick up my phone, which is helpful for avoiding distractions. If you don't own a smartwatch, an always-on display makes it easier to quickly see small bits of information while maintaining some distance from your phone. 

A telephoto lens with a 10x optical zoom

The iPhone 13 lineup is getting major camera quality improvements. There's a new Cinematic mode on all four models that automatically switches the focus between subjects as needed, and the iPhone 13 Pro is getting the ability to take macro shots.

But the iPhone 13's telephoto camera still doesn't have as close a zoom as Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra. The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max have 6x optical zoom range, while the Galaxy S21 Ultra has two telephoto lenses that support a 3x and 10x optical zoom. 

Samsung's smartphones are known for their zooming capabilities, which is why the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra was named our favorite phone for camera zoom in 2020. But we'll have to wait until we've tested the iPhone 13 Pro to see how it really stacks up against Samsung's latest flagships. 

A notchless screen

Yes, Apple fans are probably used to the notch by now since it's been present on iPhones since 2017. But it's hard to overlook it when you consider the progress Android device-makers have made in this regard.

Most Android smartphones come with notch-free screens that include just a subtle hole-shaped cutout for the camera. Samsung was among the earliest to embrace this design back in 2019 with the Galaxy S10 family. But now, this design is common across the Android landscape, whether you're looking at phones from Samsung, Google, OnePlus or Motorola.

However, it's worth pointing out that part of the reason why the iPhone's notch is so large is because that's where all of its Face ID sensors are located. Apple's facial recognition system has generally been considered to be ahead of the competition, especially around the time it launched. 

The flexibility to control the screen's refresh rate 

The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max are the first iPhones to get Apple's ProMotion feature, which boosts the display's refresh rate to up to 120Hz for smoother scrolling and increased responsiveness. To conserve battery life, it throttles the screen to a lower refresh rate to maintain battery life.

Other phones like the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S20 give you more control and flexibility by allowing you to choose when you want to crank the refresh rate up to 120Hz rather than having the phone decide for you. It's possible to choose between a smoother scrolling option and a battery life option in Samsung's settings menu. You'll have to be willing to sacrifice some image quality and battery life, however.

Faster wireless charging

Wireless charging has been standard on the iPhone since 2017, but we still have yet to see meaningful improvements when it comes to charging speeds. If you're not using a MagSafe wireless charger, which can deliver 15-watt wireless charging speeds, you'll only be able to charge your iPhone at 7.5 watts. 

That's a lot slower than most Android phones. Samsung's Galaxy S21, for example, supports 10-watt wireless charging, while the Galaxy S20 FE supports faster 15-watt wireless charging. The OnePlus 9 Pro supports 50-watt wireless charging.

Now that wireless charging is a given and is no longer considered a rarity on smartphones, it would be nice to see Apple boost the iPhone's wireless charging speeds the way it has done for the Apple Watch.

Reverse wireless charging for powering other gadgets 

We've all been there. Maybe you're on the bus or train, and you pull out your AirPods only to see that dreaded red light signaling that your battery is about to run out. If only you could rest your AirPods case on the back of your iPhone to give it a little power boost.

This feature, broadly known as reverse wireless charging, is available on Android phones such as Samsung's Galaxy S21 line and the Google Pixel 5, but not on the iPhone 13. It essentially enables the back of your phone to act as a wireless charging pad for accessories like smartphones, wireless earbuds and even other phones.

Apple does have some version of this feature, but it's very limited and can't be used to power up AirPods or the Apple Watch, as far as we know. The iPhone 13 and iPhone 12 can supply a charge to Apple's MagSafe Battery Pack when plugged in with the accessory attached. We'd love to see Apple expand this functionality in the future.

Apple Pencil support

Apple has brought Apple Pencil support to every iPad in its lineup, but there's still no compatibility with the iPhone. I could particularly see the Apple Pencil being useful on the iPhone 13 Pro Max and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, both of which have nearly tablet-size 6.7-inch screens that are ideal for sketching and note taking. Plus, adding Apple Pencil support to the supersize Pro Max phones would give Apple yet another way to differentiate the Pro Max from the 6.1-inch Pro and make more use of its larger screen.

Lossless audio over Bluetooth

With chipmaker Qualcomm debuting its proprietary audio format for delivering lossless audio over Bluetooth, it would have been nice to hear similar ambitions from Apple. 

Lossless audio uses a different compression method that preserves more detail than the process that's used to make Bluetooth audio files small enough to store on your phone. Qualcomm expects devices that support its lossless audio format should be launching in early 2022, so there's a chance we'll hear more about it around CES in January.

In the meantime, you'll have to use wired headphones or your iPhone's built-in speakers to listen to lossless music from your mobile device. 

Center Stage for video calls

The entry-level iPad and iPad Mini now have Center Stage, the feature that automatically keeps your face in frame when video chatting. It works automatically and has been super convenient now that many of us are communicating with friends, co-workers and family members over video calls. 

It would be more useful, however, if Center Stage was available across all of Apple's products, including iPhones and Macs. In fact, I do most of my video chatting on an iPhone or a Mac rather than an iPad, especially since phones are smaller and usually easier to hold at eye level in portrait orientation.


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