Latest news with #Kickstarter
Gizmodo
3 hours ago
- Gizmodo
You Can Get Your Hands on a ‘Severance' Terminal…for Real This Time
Does your macrodata need refining, and your desktop just isn't cutting it? Are you finding it difficult to react to the emotions elicited by the seemingly random collection of numbers on your screen with a traditional mouse and keyboard? Well, you're in luck. After Apple pump-faked everyone with a mock-up of a Lumon Terminal as seen on the Apple TV+ show Severance, a company called Atomic Keyboard is finally making the terminal a reality—assuming it meets its Kickstarter goal. Atomic appears to be a startup that has entirely dedicated itself to making the tech from Severance real. Earlier this year, it announced plans in a blog post to make the keyboard from the Lumon terminals seen on the show a reality, promising a functional keyboard that would incorporate 'modern features for today's computing needs.' Now it appears it's trying to make good on that promise, launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise the money needed to manufacture the final product. The promised keyboard is called the 'MDR Dasher Keyboard' in reference to the 'macrodata refinement' that is done with the terminal in Severance and the real Data General Dasher system that clearly served as inspiration for the aesthetics of the show's machines. The keyboard will come in multiple configurations: There's the 'Innie' layout that takes its cues from the terminals on the Severed Floor that strips away the Escape, Control, and Option keys, the 'Outie' layout that looks like your standard keyboard, and the 'Dasher' layout that replicates the original Data General Dasher terminal's keyboard configuration. All of the available layouts come with a trackball built right into the board (on the right side only, it appears, so sorry about that, lefties). Per the company's website, the keyboard will connect via USB-C and will be compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux machines. So just how much will it cost to fully commit to the bit and have a Severance authentic keyboard in your home and/or office? The early adopter price starts at $599, and the company plans to retail it at $899. The keyboard is a bit more than a quirky collectible, seeing as it actually functions as advertised. And macrodata refinement is certainly a niche field, so it makes sense that the equipment would be expensive. Still, that's a pretty steep price tag for a novelty keyboard. But hey, it's your money. When Apple put the Lumon Terminal Pro up on its Apple Store page, it never actually intended to sell it. Turns out that might have been a real missed opportunity if people are shelling out hundreds of bucks for just the keyboard. Though maybe we shouldn't allow ourselves to be pulled in by the allure of the retro-futurism of Lumon Industries. Seems just a few steps removed from building the Torment Nexus.
Entrepreneur
a day ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
What the CEO of Kickstarter Wishes Aspiring Entrepreneurs Knew
Everette Taylor founded his first company at 19 — this is his best advice for people who want to start a business. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Everette Taylor had an entrepreneurial mentality from a very young age, buying candy at the store and selling it for a profit at school. At 19, he founded a business that played to his event-planning strengths and filled a niche in his community, EZ Events. Taylor learned an important lesson about value when it came time to sell the business. Around six months after the sale, he found out the company had been sold again — this time for much more money. "That was a really valuable lesson for me as a small business owner, to understand my value, but also continue to innovate and stay curious," he says. To Taylor, staying curious means researching your industry and discovering new ways to grow, while innovation can help entrepreneurs better understand the value they bring to their fields. Related: He Went From Customer to CEO of a Rapidly-Expanding Dessert Chain By Following This Process This mindset has guided Taylor throughout his career. He now leads as CEO of Kickstarter, where he's not only reshaping the way people think about crowdfunding but also creating new opportunities for small business owners and creatives around the world. According to Taylor, there are three forms of crowdfunding: donation-based (like GoFundMe), equity-based (like Wefunder), and reward-based, which is the model used by Kickstarter. "Kickstarter is reward-based crowdfunding, or creative crowdfunding," he says. "We have people who are doing everything from film and theater to comics, to games, to fashion, to tech products, to music. But you're not giving up any percentage of your company." Reward-based crowdfunding empowers founders to maintain full ownership, test out their ideas in the market and build loyal communities, all without giving up equity or taking on debt. "With Kickstarter, you own 100% of your company," Taylor says. "This is non-dilutive money. And you can raise an incredible amount of money on the platform — even more than you may have gotten from venture capital." Related: 'Creators Left So Much Money on the Table': Kickstarter's CEO Reveals the Story Behind the Company's Biggest Changes in 15 Years Kickstarter can be a game-changer for small business owners with limited access to capital, whether due to a lack of credit history or the limitations of bank loans. Taylor has seen firsthand how small businesses use the platform not just to survive but to scale, from a Black-owned ice cream shop in Richmond, Virginia, to an artist-led gallery space in Chicago. Still, growth on Kickstarter doesn't happen overnight. Taylor emphasized that a successful fundraising campaign requires more than a great idea. "Kickstarter is a business. At the end of the day, no matter if you're a creative, what your background is, you have to have a true go-to market strategy," he says. To make the process easier, Kickstarter recently launched tools that support creators before, during and after their campaigns go live. From installment payment options to pledge managers that handle shipping, taxes and add-ons, the platform is no longer just a launchpad but a whole ecosystem. "With these post-campaign tools, we've allowed people to be successful throughout their entire journey," Taylor says. Related: She Created the Dance Studio She Was Looking For. Now, It's a Nationwide Brand. These innovations come from gathering feedback from funders, customers, backers and communities. For Taylor, the Kickstarter audience's input is essential. "You have to have tough skin," he says. "You need to embrace all of the good and the bad that comes with that path. For me, I love feedback because I'm constantly trying to be a better person every day." As for what he wishes more people understood about crowdfunding, Taylor emphasized this method of financing isn't charity. "This is not begging for money," he says. "You're delivering value into the world. You're bringing something new, something of value that people want to support or have for themselves." Related: She Went From Teacher to Owning a Business in an Unexpected Industry – And Wants Others to Do the Same: 'There Is So Much Opportunity' From flipping candy and party planning to now leading a platform that's helped creators raise billions in funding, Taylor's advice to current and future entrepreneurs is straightforward and powerful: Start with what you have. You don't need outside funding or fancy credentials to build something meaningful. Use your talent, find your niche and take the first step. You don't need outside funding or fancy credentials to build something meaningful. Use your talent, find your niche and take the first step. Keep your ownership. You don't have to give up equity to grow. Crowdfunding offers a path for creators to raise capital, keep control and build community all at once. You don't have to give up equity to grow. Crowdfunding offers a path for creators to raise capital, keep control and build community all at once. Know your value. Don't underestimate what you're building or settle for less. Whether it's your first company or your tenth, trust your vision and back it with strategy. Don't underestimate what you're building or settle for less. Whether it's your first company or your tenth, trust your vision and back it with strategy. Stay curious and be teachable. Every setback, sale and review is a chance to grow. Every setback, sale and review is a chance to grow. Lead with impact. Business isn't just about products; it's about people. When you build something that serves a real need, the support will follow. Watch the new episode above to hear directly from Everette Taylor, and subscribe to Behind the Review for more from new business owners and reviewers every Wednesday. Editorial contributions by Jiah Choe and Kristi Lindahl Ready to break through your revenue ceiling? Join us at Level Up, a conference for ambitious business leaders to unlock new growth opportunities.
Forbes
a day ago
- Forbes
Unihertz Titan 2 Is A BlackBerry Throwback In 2025
About five years ago I covered the Titan, a throwback keyboard phone made by a Shenzhen OEM (original equipment manufacturer) named Unihertz. I wondered then if keyboard phones were making a comeback. Turns out, the answer is maybe? While phones with physical keyboards aren't exactly commonplace in 2025, Unihertz has seen enough success and interest in the Titan to release at least two follow-ups in the years since, and there's third-party keyboard accessory for Apple and Google phones which have reached minor cult status among tech enthusiasts. So there is demand for a physical keyboard. And so comes the Titan 2. Currently on Kickstarter now but will go on sale officially later, the Titan 2 is a square-ish phone that's unusually wide by 2025 standards (it measures 88.7mm, or about 3.5-inches, from left to right). This means the keyboard is almost impossible to use with one hand for most people, but I suppose, like Blackberry phones of decades past, the Titan 2 is meant to be a two-handed device. The keyboard is excellent: keys are evenly spaced, with grippy textured coating, and solid tactile travel. You can also swipe through the keyboard to navigate through the phone's UI, like you would on a trackpad. The physical keys of the Unihertz Titan 2 Ben Sin The Titan 2's dimensions Unihertz I am not a fan of the Titan 2 moving the fingerprint scanner to the right side of the phone, embedded into a power button, because I hold my phone with the left hand and a right side fingerprint scanner is slightly harder to reach. I prefer the previous Titan's fingerprint scanner location, in the middle of the phone on top of the keyboard, more. Because the phone is so wide, and because it needs to accommodate a keyboard, the phone screen aspect ratio is close to a square, which is very odd in 2025. Most apps will just span to fill the extra wide screen, but this sometimes results in missing UI elements at the bottom of the app. What's new with the Titan 2? The processor is newer, obviously, powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 with 12GB of RAM. This is far from a flagship phone, but it offers enough power. There's also a small screen on the back of the phone, which by default shows just the time and some basic information, but you can use it to run any app, though most apps are almost unusable on a display this cramped. Still, it's nice to have a secondary screen even for glimpsing the time. The Titan 2 features a dual-camera system Ben Sin Battery life is tremendous, which makes sense given that this phone is meant for business. This is a phone that can go through an entire day easily, meaning you don't have to charge at bedtime, and next day you'd still have enough juice to go until maybe late afternoon. At $400, I think the Titan 2 is priced decently and niche enthusiasts of keyboard phones would find it interesting. For me, I think I'd stick with a touchscreen keyboard and conventional screen aspect ratio.
CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
The real reason a 4-day workweek makes people happier in their jobs—it's not just more free time
It's not exactly surprising that workers support moving to a four-day workweek. In the last five years, hundreds of companies have piloted a four-day, 32-hour workweek with no pay cuts to some 8,700 workers around the world. People experienced less burnout, stress and anxiety, and better mental and physical health. Employees rated their work-life balance higher, and even business profits grew. There are two major factors for the boost in workers' happiness, says Juliet Schor, an author, economist, sociologist and lead researcher of the 4 Day Week experiments. One, of course, is that people have more time for their families, friends, sleep, hobbies, health and communities, Schor writes in her latest book, "Four Days a Week." The second factor, however, is that workers are happier even while they're on the clock. Simply put: The four-day week makes people feel much more effective at work, and that makes them happier in general. Trial participants self-reported that they were more productive than ever after moving to a shortened week. When faced with the task of getting their usual amount of work done in less time, workers and teams found ways to cut out busywork, streamline processes and determine what work was actually most important, Schor writes. Some said they felt more stress trying to cram everything in, though those situations were the exception, Schor writes. Beyond maintaining productivity, "people just feel so much better," Schor tells CNBC Make It. "They feel on top of their work and their life, and they're not stressed out. They feel recovered when they come to work on Monday morning. They feel more eager to do work. They feel like they can get it done." When workers feel like they're good at their job, they feel good overall, and that spills into their personal lives. "That productivity bump they get, of feeling so good about their work quality, that has a big positive impact on their overall well-being, which we never expected," Schor says. The four-day workweek could also make people feel better about their jobs because it signals a new contract between themselves and their employer. The typical five-day, 40-hour workweek has been the national standard by law since the 1940s. When companies introduce a shorter workweek without a pay cut, the flexibility can be seen as an exclusive benefit or reward. It signals that management is willing to give up some control over how people structure their time, Schor says, especially if part of the goal is to explicitly improve employee well-being. The move can additionally strengthen teams when colleagues band together to work smarter in less time. The four-day week "makes everyone super motivated to implement [process] changes, which aren't easy," said Jon Leland, who previously helped Kickstarter through a four-day workweek pilot. "It makes the stakes really high, because you're not only gaining these efficiency gains just for yourself, but you're doing it for everyone else around you," Leland told Schor in her book. "This accountability to co-workers is an important part of why people are willing to make the extra effort to find efficiencies, forgo goofing off, and do the hard work," Schor writes. "They develop more team spirit."
The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Dick Gaughan deserves every moment of his newly restored reputation
'I'd heard of people doing that before,' Barbara said on Anna Massie's BBC Radio Scotland programme, Travelling Folk, 'but I couldn't believe my eyes.' The man who was so intent on watching Gaughan's renowned guitar technique, was, she added, 'a real geek, obviously a Dick Gaughan fanboy'. And whoever he was, he was far from being the last person to be bewitched by Gaughan's outstanding work on the acoustic guitar. Dick, now 77, is one of Scotland's most renowned musicians. The power of his live performances has long been recognised. As the Glasgow Herald remarked, back in 1989: 'It is impossible to listen to Dick Gaughan and remain unaffected by his work; he is a performer of such unremitting force, such devastating persuasiveness, and an orator of considerable weight … In everything he says, in every song he sings, Gaughan preaches humanitarianism.' Read more: A few years later, a Guardian review noted that Gaughan took no prisoners: 'his songs of the dispossessed were delivered with the electrifying passion of a zealot, cutting through any Aran-sweatered Celtic twilight mist like a Stanley knife at a rave … Those who welcomed a return to social realism in pop with Bruce Springsteen's depressive The Ghost of Tom Joad, should seek out Gaughan's blast-furnace performances to hear how music from the gut really sounds.' When he was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame Gaughan was described as Scotland's 'most passionate troubadour, a singer and guitarist whose performances both burn with a fierce conviction and smoulder with equally heartfelt compassion and invigorate audiences across the world with eloquently expressed conviction'. He has inspired such people as Kate Rusby, Karine Polwart and Billy Bragg. To Kathryn Tickell, the feted exponent of the Northumbrian pipes, he is one of the absolute greats of the folk music world. Dick suffered a stroke in 2016. Today, he is legally blind, and can no longer play guitar. His name and his work, however, are being widely championed. A sum of £92,000, raised by a Kickstarter campaign, led to a substantial amount being given to him to pay for his living costs. The balance is being used to finance R/evolution: 1969-83, a comprehensive seven-CD, one-DVD boxset of his recorded work, which will likely be released in November or early December, distributed by Last Night from Glasgow. At the same time, a GoFundMe appeal launched at Dick's behest has so far raised most than £32,000 to raise legal fees 'to test the claims by an entity called Celtic Music to the rights to a tranche of [his] recorded works – music recorded between 53 and 30 years ago'. The fund's target is £35,000. The albums in question are No More Forever (Melody Maker's Folk Album of the Year in 1972), Kist O' Gold (1977), Songs of Ewan MacColl (1978, with Tony Capstick and Dave Burland), Live in Edinburgh (1985), and Call It Freedom (1988). Also covered are one album he made with Boys of the Lough in 1973, and one he made in the mid-nineties with another group, Clan Alba. Dick fervently hopes that his legal process will be a bridgehead for other artists of his generation, or their heirs, whose 1970s recordings are effectively 'locked up' by the same entity. Dick Gaughan was born in Glasgow in May 1948, the eldest of three children to Dick and Frances Gaughan, from Leith. His family were all musicians; his grandfather played the fiddle and his father played the fiddle and guitar, and his mother was a Gaelic singer. Dick picked up his first guitar at the age of seven and at length began to develop his own style of singing and playing. He was in his late teens when in 1966 he landed his first paid gig, in a folk club in Bathgate's Rendezvous Roadhouse. For his pains he received £2. 'In those days it was all word of mouth and very informal and anarchic, and clubs were generally run by dedicated and pretty fanatical amateurs', he told JP Bean, author of an oral history of British folk clubs, more than a decade ago. 'As I got more work, I just kind of drifted into earning my living exclusively from playing, finally giving up other jobs in January 1970.' He released his first solo album, No More Forever, the following year. In June 1972 he joined Boys of the Lough for eight months, after which he returned to solo work, before, in June 1975, joining the electric folk band Five Hand Reel, with whom he made three albums. Handful of Earth, released in 1981, came to be regarded as classic solo Gaughan, its potent blend of traditional and contemporary folk songs underpinned by his intricate guitar work. It was his considered reaction to the 'extreme right-wing government' that had come to power under Margaret Thatcher in 1979. Its power quite undimmed by the passing of the years, Handful of Earth was voted Album of the Decade in Folk Roots magazine's poll in 1989. Alighting upon that opportunity to reassess the record, Mark Cooper, writing in Q magazine, observed: 'Despite the sense of outrage that lurks behind most of the material on Handful Of Earth, the overall mood is of a kind of gruff sorrow. Perhaps Gaughan still saw himself more as a reporter than a revolutionary and certainly the two ballads at the album's heart, 'The Snows They Melt The Soonest' and 'Lough Erne', are mournful, measured laments whose power is all the greater for their restraint. 'Yet this collection is full of songs which trace the diaspora of the Irish and the Scots as poverty drove their poor towards America. Landlords, bailiffs and beagles pursue the emigre of 'Craigie Hill' just as the hunters pursue the birds in 'Now Westlin Winds'. 'Despite the straightforward power of Leon Rosselson's 'World Turned Upside Down' (since popularised by Billy Bragg) and Ed Pickford's 'Worker's Song', it is the juxtaposition of these contemporary songs with the haunting traditional material which makes this both a poetical and a polemical collection with the poetical holding the balance.' In the mid-eighties in Belfast, a city where Gaughan often played, his music was discovered by a university student by the name of Colin Harper. Today, Colin is, amongst other things, a music writer and curator, author of an excellent biography of Dick's fellow Scot, Bert Jansch - and creator of the very Kickstarter campaign that has marked such a resurgence of interest in Gaughan. Read more On the Record: 'Handful of Earth is a masterpiece,' he said earlier this week. 'As a young listener …I was drawn in by the power and charisma of his stage performances, and the magic guitar playing on things like 'Erin-Go-Bragh' and 'The Snows'. But the deeper magic reveals itself in the more subdued songs, especially 'Craigie Hill' and 'Both Sides the Tweed'. 'Compiling a box-set of live and BBC material as we speak, I know now the other songs in his repertoire in 1980/81 that he might have recorded for Handful of Earth but I can see why he didn't - the mood of it would have changed. 'He got the contents of it exactly right. It's frustrating that much of Dick's 1972-88 commercially recorded work is currently inaccessible. Handful of Earth is the only album from that period that's been physically available ever since. But by happy chance, it's the best of them all!' Handful of Earth would later be described by Billy Bragg as one of his all-time favourite albums. 'World Turned Upside Down', he said, saw Gaughan grabbing the song "by the scruff of the neck and [chucking] it into the twentieth century where it lands at my feet and I think 'f———' hell, that is an incredible song. 'Both Sides Of The Tweed',' he added, 'is probably the best song you could ever imagine about English and Scottish thoughts of independence'. The comedian Stewart Lee accorded Handful of Earth a similar accolade, taking the view that it was 'a great album of Scottish nationalist songs and really old Highland ballads, with this fantastic intricate guitar playing'. It is all happening for Dick Gaughan now: the forthcoming boxset (there will be roughly 500 copies on sale to the general public), plus limited-edition releases of Live at the BBC (on vinyl), a CD, Live in Belfast 1979-82, and a twin CD collection, Live in the 70s. More is on the way. 'Next year', adds Colin, 'we hope to release an expanded True And Bold: Songs of the Scottish Miners [originally out in 1986, long out of print], a 2-CD Andy Kershaw Sessions Plus: 1984-2005 - Dick's six Andy Kershaw Radio 1 sessions plus the best of his other BBC recordings from the 'second phase' of his career - and Collaborations, an exciting album of the best of his studio recordings gifted to themed albums/tribute albums and vocal guest performances with other artists, all from 2000-2015. And from Topic, a new vinyl remaster is in the works.' Dick Gaughan deserves every last moment of his newly restored reputation, having paid his dues in more ways than one. Criss-crossing the country, driving long distances at uncongenial hours and playing in venues that frequently erred on the wrong side of glamorous, was not for everyone. But he persisted, because he was a musician, and because he was very good at it. 'By the time I knock off all the costs of doing my job,' he reflected to JP Bean for his book, Singing from the Floor: A History of British Folk Clubs, 'I probably end up keeping about 15 per cent of what I earn and my taxable income over a year is roughly what I'd earn stacking shelves in Tesco. 'Being on the road isn't a career - it's a way of life. Anyone who gets that the wrong way round isn't going to hack it for long. After a decade they're going to be completely burned out and bitterly disappointed unless they get lucky and hit commercial success outside the folk world … It's just the way of life I chose and it's the price you pay if you decide to do something outside the accepted mainstream.' * The GoFundMe page can be found at Dick Gaughan Live at the BBC 1972-79 (vinyl) is available for pre-ordering from Last Night From Glasgow: ; details of the forthcoming R/evolution boxset can be found at
