NYT: Why Banks May Be Hoping You’re Not Paying Attention
The median American household has a combined balance of $10,000 in its checking and savings accounts, according to a census estimate. For the last few years, anyone keeping this amount in a high-yield savings account has earned close to 4 percent annual interest, or about $400 a year.
But the average savings account interest rate is closer to 0.4 percent. And the nation’s three largest banks — Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo — offer 0.01 percent on their standard savings accounts. That works out to $1 in interest a year for a $10,000 deposit.
Banks make up for those dismal rates with perks like numerous branches and A.T.M.s, but they also know many of their customers won’t hunt for better deals out of inertia.
BBC: Hardest Geezer: Russ Cook to run the full length of New Zealand
A man who ran the entire length of Africa has announced his next challenge – running the full length of New Zealand.
Russ Cook, nicknamed Hardest Geezer, completed his previous endurance challenge in April last year after 352 days.
The 27-year-old, from Worthing, West Sussex, is to run the 1,864 mile (3,000km) Te Araroa Trail in March, which will see him take on 60 ultramarathons while navigating mountains, forests, coastlines and cities.
Wikipedia says he’s 27 too. Since when does that make someone a “geezer”?
TechCrunch: Apple launches Invites, a new app for creating custom invitations
Apple on Tuesday launched a new app called “Invites” that allows users to create custom invitations for any occasion. With Invites, users can create and share invitations on their iPhone, RSVP, contribute to Shared Albums, and curate event soundtracks.
To create an invitation, you need an iCloud+ subscription. However, anyone can RSVP, regardless of whether they have an Apple Account or Apple device.
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In this case, Invites is pretty similar to Partiful, a popular invitation app that was crowned Google Play’s Best App of 2024. Beyond Partiful, Invites will compete with startups like Posh, and other popular services like evite, Paperless Post, and Sendo Invitations.
GB News: Jack the Ripper’s identity ‘confirmed’ claims researcher…
Russell Edwards says he has obtained a “100 per cent DNA match” linking the killer to Aaron Kosminski, a Polish barber who emigrated to London.
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The breakthrough came from DNA extracted from a bloodstained shawl found on victim Catherine Eddowes' body in 1888.
Edwards purchased the historic shawl at auction in 2007.
Working with genealogists, Edwards tracked down a living relative of Kosminski who agreed to provide DNA for comparison testing.
The analysis revealed DNA matches for both the victim and Kosminski on the shawl.
I don’t know GBNews at all, so caveat emptor.
MacStories: The Many Purposes of Timeline Apps for the Open Web
I think both Tapestry and the new Reeder are exquisitely designed apps, for different reasons. I know that Tapestry’s colorful and opinionated design doesn’t work for everyone; personally, I dig the different colors for each connected service, am a big fan the ‘Mini’ layout, and appreciate the multiple font options available. Most of all, however, I love that Tapestry can be extended with custom connectors built with standard web technologies — JavaScript and JSON — so that anyone who produces anything on the web can be connected to Tapestry. (The fact that MacStories' own JSON feed is a default recommended source in Tapestry is just icing on the cake.) And did you know that The Iconfactory also created a developer tool to make your own Tapestry connectors?
I like the new Reeder for different reasons. The app’s animations are classic Silvio Rizzi work — fluid and smooth like nothing else on iOS and iPadOS. In my experience, the app has maintained impeccable timeline sync, and just this week, it was updated with powerful new filtering capabilities, enabling the creation of saved searches for any source within the app (more on this below).
Last Updated: 04.Feb.2025 22:11 EST
