CNN BUSINESS | Wireless companies shelled out billions of dollars to fix this 5G problem

New York (CNN Business) – Excitement around 5G, and its promise of lightning fast download speeds and huge data capacity, has ratcheted up since the first 5G-enabled iPhone was released last fall. But the actual experience of 5G doesn’t always live up to the hype — not yet, at least.

This is partly because there’s been a lack of available infrastructure (called “spectrum”) needed to build fifth generation wireless networks that are both noticeably faster than 4G and widely accessible across broad geographic areas. That changed with the completion of the Federal Communications Commission’s latest spectrum auction last month, where carriers shelled out a collective $81 billion to get their hands on the crucial resource.  —read more— 

CNN style Fashion | Paris Fashion Week: Escapism, innovation and hints of joy

In late February last year, Paris was quietly falling into the clutches of the coronavirus pandemic as packed runway shows took place at locations around the city during Paris Fashion Week. Event attendees joked uneasily about adopting the fashion cliché of air kissing, and applied extra lashings of hand sanitizer as they compared notes about who was being allowed back into the office or had been asked too quarantine at home “as a precautionary measure.” Despite it all, the event was largely uninterrupted and most attendees went about the business of fashion in what we now recognize as careless naivety.

A year on, and the event could not be more different. As is the norm across all the fashion weeks, the Paris shows were virtual, and international editors, journalists and buyers had to forgo their usual trip, watching the season’s latest presentations from home instead.  —more— 

CNN | Minneapolis City Council approves $27 million settlement to Floyd’s estate

(CNN) – The Minneapolis City Council has unanimously voted to approve a $27 million settlement to George Floyd’s estate.

“George Floyd’s horrific death, witnessed by millions of people around the world, unleashed a deep longing and undeniable demand for justice and change,” Ben Crump, an attorney for Floyd’s family, said in a statement. “That the largest pre-trial settlement in a wrongful death case ever would be for the life of a Black man sends a powerful message that Black lives do matter and police brutality against people of color must end.”

The news comes as jury selection is underway for the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, in May 2020 by kneeling on his neck for almost eight minutes.  —read more— 

CNN | Dutch inventor of the cassette tape, Lou Ottens, dies age 94

(CNN) – Lou Ottens, the Dutch inventor of the cassette tape, has died at the age of 94, his family has confirmed to CNN.

They said the inventor died at his home in Duizel, the Netherlands, on Saturday. His cause of death was not given.

An estimated 100 billion cassette tapes have been sold worldwide, according to Philips, the company he began working for in 1952. Ottens also supervised the team that developed the compact disc (CD).  —read more—  

CNN style Arts | How NFTs are fueling a digital art boom

When graphic designer Mike Winkelmann started producing a drawing a day in 2007, he was simply looking for a way to improve his art skills. At best, the resulting “Everydays” project would help him promote his freelance work, which includes creating concert visuals for the likes of Justin Bieber and Katy Perry. But selling the digital images was not on his mind.

This week, a compilation of over 13 years’ worth of the artworks, collectively titled “Everydays: The First 5000 days,” will sell for millions of dollars via Christie’s. With more than a day of the auction still to go, the highest bid sits at $9.75 million, putting Winkelmann’s name among some of the art market’s most valuable.  —read more— 

CNN BUSINESS | Disney+ reaches a major milestone

New York (CNN) – Disney+, the focal point of Disney‘s media empire, has achieved a significant milestone.

The streaming service has surpassed 100 million global subscribers in just 16 months, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced at the company’s annual shareholders meeting, which was held virtually on Tuesday.

“The enormous success of Disney+… has inspired us to be even more ambitious, and to significantly increase our investment in the development of high-quality content,” Chapek said in a statement.  —read more—