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US-based online personal money management startup Social Finance (SoFi) has launched an investment product, dubbed SoFi Invest, offering both active and automated investing options at no fees, while it plans to offer additional lending products, per Bloomberg, citing a company letter to investors.

SoFi Invest is already live, but the company aims to further grow and develop its related offerings this year. The startup was initially focused on student loan refinancing, with its suite of lending products now including mortgage loan refinancing, mortgages, and personal loans.

And the firm has been broadening its product offerings over the last year: SoFi moved to deposits in 2018, offering a 2.25% interest paying account. Its current venture into investments brings competition to other fintechs such as Robinhood and Wealthfront, which offer low-cost investing options, with the latter firm also launching a cash account last week.

More fintechs and big tech companies are growing beyond their initial offerings, which could force other players to expand their product suite. As the battle for customer acquisition heats up, startups are forced to move fast to stay in the game — but firms will need to ensure they're exercising due diligence to avoid legal and compliance risks. Robinhood, for instance, had to backtrack on its checking and savings account offering after falsely claiming the feature was covered by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation and attracting regulatory scrutiny.

Focus on product growth also comes as many fintechs struggle with lack of profitability and low revenues. In his letter, SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said that the company wants to prioritize growth over profitability as it expands its suite of products.

Of note, in Q4 2018, the startup’s loan volumes fell to $2.2 billion from $2.5 billion in Q3, while it posted a $200 million loss in the second quarter of last year. SoFi should be careful as it moves into the crowded and complex investing space, especially following a rough couple of years that saw continued decline in loan volumes, scandals related to its corporate culture, and a withdrawal of its US banking application.

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SEE ALSO: Latest fintech industry trends, technologies and research from our ecosystem report

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• Karl Lagerfeld, the German designer and creative director at fashion houses Chanel and Fendi, died on Tuesday. He was 85.
• Lagerfeld had famously received a custom 18K yellow gold Apple Watch from Jony Ive, Apple’s chief designer, but he may have never actually set it up to use as a smartwatch.

Karl Lagerfeld had an Apple Watch before most people had one. But he may have never actually set it up.

Back in 2015, ahead of the public launch of the first-generation Apple Watch, fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld was gifted a custom smartwatch from Apple’s chief designer Jony Ive.

Lagerfeld received an 18K yellow gold Apple Watch Edition with a custom, one-of-a-kind yellow gold link bracelet. Apple had created silver and space black stainless-steel versions of the link bracelet for the general public, but Lagerfeld’s solid-gold link bracelet was "specially made" by Apple, according to Lagerfeld’s assistant.

Considering how the 18K gold Apple Watch with a gold buckle would cost around $17,000, and the fact Apple's link bracelets were the most expensive bands made at the time, MacRumors estimates Lagerfeld's Apple Watch cost at least $25,000.

Thing is, Lagerfeld may never actually set up his Apple Watch to use it as a smartwatch, instead choosing to wear it as an accessory.

Notable wristwatch website Hodinkee wrote about Karl Lagerfeld’s famous watches this week, and mentioned his well-known Apple Watch (emphasis ours):

While the blacked-out Royal Oak is definitely the watch that is most often associate with Lagerfeld in collector and enthusiast circles, it's not the only watch he was spotted wearing throughout his long and storied career. Most recently, he was seen wearing a solid 18k yellow gold Apple Watch on a special gold bracelet that was never made available to the public (the same one that Beyoncé and other celebrities were also rocking). The best part though? He appears to have never actually set the thing up, instead going Andy Warhol–style, wearing it purely as a piece of jewelry.

As Hodinkee points out, many photos online of Lagerfeld wearing his Apple Watch show the device in what appears to be a pairing mode, or a completely uncharged state.

For more on Karl Lagerfeld, learn more about his life and legacy— and if you have Netflix, be sure to check out Lagerfeld's episode on the TV show "7 Days Out," which shows how the designer prepared for his annual Chanel Haute Couture Fashion Show in Paris.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How Apple went from a $1 trillion company to losing over 20% of its share price

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined a growing chorus of progressives and others who criticized CNN after news broke Tuesday that the network hired GOP operative Sarah Isgur to be a political editor. 
• "Are we still pretending that hires like these are evidence of a meritocracy?" Ocasio-Cortez tweeted after noting that thousands of journalists have recently lost their jobs in a series of industry layoffs. 
• Isgur is a longtime GOP operative who served as Jeff Sessions' spokeswoman in the Justice Department and has no previous experience working in journalism.
• She will not be involved in coverage of the DOJ. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined a growing chorus of progressives and others who criticized CNN after Politico reported that the network hired Sarah Isgur, a GOP operative who served as Jeff Sessions' spokeswoman in the Justice Department, as a political editor. 

"Sorry, didn't get the latest memo after 1,000 experienced + qualified journalists of all stripes were let go w/o warning a few weeks ago and still looking for work: are we still pretending that hires like these are evidence of a meritocracy?" Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Tuesday evening, presumably referring to the recent layoffs at BuzzFeed News, Verizon, Vice Media, and elsewhere. 

Isgur is a longtime GOP operative who previously served as Carly Fiorina's deputy campaign manager in 2016 and has no previous experience working in journalism or at a news network.

She's been critical of CNN in the past, calling it the "Clinton News Network" in 2014. And she worked for a president who has waged a years-long battle against the network, regularly labeling it "fake news" and "the enemy of the American people."

As a political editor at CNN, Isgur will coordinate coverage of the 2020 presidential campaign and will work alongside more than a dozen other editors, CNN's Brian Stelter reported. She will not take part in coverage of the DOJ, Politico reported.

Isgur was critical of Trump before his election, calling his campaign trail threats to criminally prosecute Hillary Clinton "scary and dangerous" in an October 2016 tweet. Trump reportedly resisted hiring Isgur in early 2017, but relented after Isgur assured her loyalty to the president in an Oval Office meeting.

It's not uncommon for news networks to hire former political operatives to work as commentators and show hosts.

A few prominent examples include MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, a former GOP congressman, and Lawrence O'Donnell, a former Democratic Senate staffer, Fox News' Dana Perino, White House press secretary under President George W. Bush, and ABC's George Stephanopoulos, White House communications director under President Bill Clinton.  

But it's less common for former political operatives without news experience to direct political coverage behind the scenes.

Progressive critics slammed the hire online. 

And some CNN employees are reportedly concerned about Isgur's hiring.

"It's extremely demoralizing for everyone here," one CNN staffer told The Daily Beast.

One CNN editor told Stelter, "We hired a former Trump administration official to help 'guide' our coverage of his re-election. Reporters are up in arms about this."

CNN executives defended their decision, praising Isgur and insisting her deep experience in GOP politics will enhance the network's reporting. 

SEE ALSO: More than 80% of Americans support almost all of the key ideas in Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal

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NOW WATCH: 8 key takeaways from Trump's State of the Union address

• "Frozen" is the highest-grossing animated film ever.
• It's getting a sequel, "Frozen 2," which is set to be released in November.
• Here are 10 things you probably didn't know about the Oscar-winning movie.

With a talking snowman, a sister-focused storyline, and some of the catchiest Disney songs in recent years, "Frozen" is not easily forgotten. The animated film grossed over $1 billion at the global box office and won several awards, including the 2014 Oscar for best animated feature film.

Now, six years after its initial release, "Frozen" is getting a sequel. The trailer for "Frozen 2" was released in early February and within a day became the most watched animated trailer ever.

Ahead of the film's November release, let's take a look back at the original film. Here are 10 things you probably didn't know about "Frozen."

The story wasn't originally about sisters

Although royal siblings are on-brand for Disney, the original concept for "Frozen"didn't involve sisters. The story was completely rewritten after movie creators heard the Oscar-nominated song "Let It Go."

The film set a lot of records

"Frozen" was the first Disney animated feature film to be directed by a woman. It's also the highest-grossing animated film ever, making director Jennifer Lee the first female director to gross over $1 billion at the box office.

Animators needed new software to animate Elsa's hair

With 400,000 strands of hair on Elsa's head, Disney moviemakers needed a new way to keep track of all the computer-generated threads. They created a new software program, Tonic, to help bring Elsa's platinum-blonde braid to life.

Walt Disney started working on what became 'Frozen' in the 1940s

In 1943, Walt Disney started working on a film about Hans Christian Andersen and his works, including "The Snow Queen," on which "Frozen" is based, but the project was shelved. The studio brought it back out after it saw success with 2010's "Tangled."

Read more: 10 Disney movie plot holes you may not have noticed as a kid that will totally bug you as an adult

Did you catch the 'Arrested Development' references?

There are at least three "Arrested Development" references scattered throughout the 102-minute animated film. One of the most apparent is the reference to sandwiches in "Love Is an Open Door," which one of the composers told Entertainment Weekly was an "unconscious callback to 'Arrested Development'" that ended up making the final cut.

Elsa almost looked entirely different

Disney artist Claire Keane said that while she was making early designs for Elsa, she was inspired by Amy Winehouse. Keane shared early concept art with MTV and said she imagined the character with a "deep, soulful voice and dramatic mood swings."

The snow queen wasn't always the hero of the story

While Elsa ultimately becomes a hero in her and her sister's story, she was originally a villain. In one of the movie's early drafts, Elsa was stood up at the altar, froze her heart, and made an army of snow monsters that she set upon the protagonists.

The movie's most famous song was written in 24 hours

Songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez told Billboard they made the demo for "Let It Go" in just one day after taking a walk through Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, jumping on picnic tables and singing to embrace Elsa's attitude.

Read more: Serena Williams says she's seen 'Frozen' and 'Beauty and the Beast' thousands of times, and her husband Alexis Ohanian knows all the words

Some of the characters are named after Hans Christian Andersen

The villain Hans, love interest Kristoff, princess Anna, and reindeer Sven — Hans-Kristoff-Anna-Sven — are named after Andersen.

Idina Menzel first auditioned for 'Tangled'

Idina Menzel auditioned for a role in "Tangled." Though she didn't get the part, Menzel told We Got This Covered that Disney's creative people kept her in mind for "Frozen" and ultimately cast her as Elsa.

• Read more about "Frozen" and Disney:
• 6 questions we have after watching the first 'Frozen 2' teaser trailer
• Fans think they've already figured out the new plot of 'Frozen 2.' Here are the best theories so far.
• People are celebrating Queen Elsa wearing pants in the new 'Frozen 2' teaser trailer
• Disney has 10 movies coming out in 2019 — here they all are

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here are 22 Easter eggs that link Disney's animated films together

• Garmin beat on both the top and bottom lines.
• The company also forecast full-year revenues and profits above Wall Street expectations.
• Shares gained 15% following the results.
• Watch Garmin trade live.

Garmin, a maker of fitness and navigation devices, on Wednesday posted strong fourth-quarter results and forecast full-year revenues and profits above Wall Street estimates, sending shares soaring by 15% to their highest level since 2008.

The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.02 a share — $0.22 higher than what analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting. Its top line came at $932 million, beating the $891.3 million that was anticipated. 

"2018 was another remarkable year of revenue and operating income growth driven by strong performance in our aviation, marine, outdoor and fitness segments," said CEO Cliff Pemble in a press release.

"Entering 2019, we see many opportunities ahead and believe that we are well positioned to seize these opportunities with a strong lineup of products across all of our segments."

For fiscal year 2019, the company expects full-year revenue of about $3.5 billion, topping the $3.43 billion expected by analysts. Garmin sees its 2019 profits at around $3.70 a share, better than the $3.51 that analysts were hoping for.

Garmin was up 30% so far this year, including Wednesday's rally.

Now read:

• Garmin just unveiled a new series of $700 smartwatches for serious athletes — here's what they can do

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NOW WATCH: Earth's north magnetic pole is on the move — here's what will happen when our poles flip

• Netflix is adding a number of shows and movies to the service in March.
• Original projects include the second season of "On My Block" and the third season of "Queer Eye."
• But the streaming service is also taking off movies and shows, including "Beauty and the Beast."

Netflix released every title that's coming to and leaving the streaming service in March.

The streaming service is releasing new originals, including "Turn Up Charlie," a series starring Idris Elba, and "The Dirt," a biopic about Mötley Crüe. Returning originals include "Queer Eye" and "On My Block."

Movies hitting the service include "The Notebook,""Christopher Robin," and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

But some fans will be sad to learn that iconic films like "The Breakfast Club,""Ghostbusters," and Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" are leaving the service. 

Here's a list of everything that's coming and going on Netflix in February.

Arriving in March:

Available 3/1/19

"A Clockwork Orange"

"Apollo 13"

"Budapest" (FR) — NETFLIX FILM

"Cricket Fever: Mumbai Indians"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"

"Saving Mr. Banks"

"Emma"

"Junebug"

"Larva Island" season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Losers"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Music and Lyrics"

"Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"

"Northern Rescue"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"River's Edge" (JP) — NETFLIX FILM

"Stuart Little"

"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

"The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind"— NETFLIX FILM

"The Hurt Locker"

"The Notebook"

"Tyson"

"Wet Hot American Summer"

"Winter's Bone"

"Your Son" (ES) — NETFLIX FILM

Available 3/2/19

"Romance is a Bonus Book" (Korea; Streaming every Saturday) — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Available 3/3/19

"Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj" volume 2 (Streaming every Sunday) — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Available 3/5/19

"Christopher Robin"

Available 3/6/19

"Secret City: Under the Eagle" season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Available 3/7/19

"Doubt"

"The Order"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Available 3/8/19

"After Life"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Bangkok Love Stories: Hey You!"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Bangkok Love Stories: Innocence"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Blue Jasmine"

"Formula 1: Drive to Survive"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Hunter X Hunter" seasons 1-3

"Immortals"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Juanita"— NETFLIX FILM

"Lady J" (FR) — NETFLIX FILM

"Shadow"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams"

"The Jane Austen Book Club"

"Walk. Ride. Rodeo."— NETFLIX FILM

Available 3/12/19

"Jimmy Carr: The Best of Ultimate Gold Greatest Hits"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Terrace House: Opening New Doors" part 6 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Available 3/13/19

"Triple Frontier"— NETFLIX FILM

Available 3/15/19

"A Separation"

"Arrested Development" season 5B — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Burn Out" (FR) — NETFLIX FILM

"Dry Martina" (AR) — NETFLIX FILM

"Girl" (BE) — NETFLIX FILM

"If I Hadn't Met You"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Kung Fu Hustle"

"Las muñecas de la mafia" season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Love, Death & Robots"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Paskal" (MY) — NETFLIX FILM

"Queer Eye" season 3 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"Robozuna" season 2 — NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"The Lives of Others"

"Turn Up Charlie"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

"YooHoo to the Rescue"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Available 3/16/19

"Green Door"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Available 3/19/19

"Amy Schumer Growing"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

Available 3/21/19

"Antoine Griezmann: The Making of a Legend"— NETFLIX ORIGINAL

• The US national debt eclipsed $22 trillion on February 11, the highest mark in history.
• Since President Donald Trump took office, the US has added over $2 trillion in new federal debt.
• See how Trump's debt accumulation — and projected debt accumulation — stack up to recent presidents including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

The US national debt passed the $22 trillion mark on February 11, the first time in history that the federal debt had ever breached that threshold.

The landmark came just over two years after President Donald Trump, who once promised to eliminate the federal debt in eight years, took over the Oval Office.

But compared to some other recent presidents, Trump's debt accumulation is not as stunning as it first appears.

Read more: The US national debt just topped $22 trillion for the first time in history»

The US Treasury has been tracking day-by-day debt accumulation since the start of 1993, meaning daily debt figures are available for Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Trump.

In raw terms, Trump added the second-most debt of any recent president. According to the Treasury data, the US added $2.07 trillion — $2,065,536,336,472.90 to be exact — in new debt between Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2017 and February 11, when the country pushed past $22 trillion. (The US added another $2.8 billion through February 15, the latest daily figures available.)

That is less than the $3.46 trillion added between Obama's inauguration in January 2009 and February 11, 2011 but more than the $676 billion added under Bush and the $617 billion added under Clinton in their first 752 days as president.

One important difference between Trump and Obama's debt figures is that Trump has added a massive amount of debt while the US economy has been strong, whereas Obama took over during the depths of the financial crisis.

Economists typically recommend that the federal government increase spending, and thus add more debt, during times of economic struggles and then pay down that debt when the economy recovers. So while economic theory would support Obama's spending to help support the economy, Trump's recent debt binge has less support among economists.

Looking ahead, recent legislative changes are expected to help Trump catch up to some of his predecessors in the debt accumulation department.

The combination of the new GOP tax reform law— named the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) — and the recent bipartisan spending deal are projected to increase the speed of debt accumulation over the rest of Trump's presidency.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the annual deficit — the shortfall of federal revenues compared to spending in a given fiscal year — will soon push past $1 trillion. Also, 2018's budget deficit was the largest since 2012, when the US was still dealing with the fallout from the recession.

Based on the CBO's projections, Trump will have accumulated $3.73 trillion in new debt by the end of fiscal year 2020 — which, due to federal budget rules, actually runs until the end of September 2020. And by the end of fiscal 2024, the last year of Trump's potential second term, the total debt added is projected to come in at $8.78 trillion.

A lot could still change over that time period — adjustments to the tax code that increase revenue or spending cuts would alter the CBO's projections. But as it stands, Trump could add roughly the same amount of debt as Obama over two terms.

But while the raw debt figures are astonishing, putting the accumulation in percentage terms provides a somewhat different picture. Based on Treasury data and CBO projections:

• The national debt grew by 15% through February 11 of Clinton's first term and ended up growing by 36% by the end of the 2000 fiscal year, the final full fiscal year of his presidency.
• The debt grew by 12% during Bush's first 752 days and grew by 75% when fiscal year 2008 came to a close.
• Under Obama's first two years and change, the national debt grew by 33% and increased 84% by the end of fiscal year 2016.
• The debt grew 10% in Trump's first 752 days and is projected to grow by 44% by the end of fiscal year 2024, the end of Trump's theoretical second term.

SEE ALSO: 

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NOW WATCH: Donald Trump's connection with Vince McMahon and WWE spans decades

• Google Cloud announced Tuesday that it will make Cloud Services Platform (CSP), its hybrid cloud offering, available as a beta for customers.
• Hybrid cloud is the model where companies keep some of their data on their own servers, and some in massive public cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud. Microsoft, in particular, has been seen as the leader in hybrid cloud, though Amazon has dipped its toe in. 
• CSP started under former Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene, but company officials say that new CEO Thomas Kurian has embraced it as a way to reach larger enterprise customers. 
• Analysts say that this is a smart move from Google Cloud, reflecting the realities of modern IT.

Google Cloud announced Tuesday that it's releasing a beta of its hybrid cloud platform to customers — a major next step for a strategy that's over two years in the works, and that's embraced by new Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian.

Hybrid cloud refers to the idea of running some software on your own servers, and some in massive so-called public clouds like Amazon's, Microsoft's, or Google's. This is a very attractive proposition for customers who can't or won't move all of their data into the public cloud, including those in regulated industries like health or finance.

Cloud Services Platform (CSP), which Google Cloud first announced last year, allows customers to build, run and manage their computing infrastructure in such a hybrid environment. Now, customers can actually start using it to run software and services that run across their own data centers and Google Cloud itself. 

It's not clear if Google Cloud is charging customers for the duration of this beta. We've reached out to the company for clarification and will update if we hear back.

Google's hybrid offering is software-based, and built on top of Kubernetes and Istio — very popular open source projects that were first created at Google. Since it's a software package, customers don't need to buy any hardware; just download it and install it on your own server to get started. Google says that you don't even need to move to the cloud right away to get benefits; it gives a strong foundation for modern software development on its own. 

"There's no need for a lengthy lift and shift," Eyal Manor, vice president of Google Cloud, told Business Insider. "They have the best modern technologies right now to build software. If the customer decides to move to the cloud in three years, it works the same way on the cloud and it works on-premises."

The competitive landscape

Google Cloud's most major competitors have already made moves into this hybrid world.

Microsoft, in particular, has long played up the integrations between its Windows Server products and its Microsoft Azure cloud as a major competitive strength, taking advantage of its long pre-existing customer relationships. Amazon, for its part, announced AWS Outposts last November, which will be generally available to customers in the second half of this year.

Manor says that Amazon's move into hybrid cloud did not influence Google Cloud in any way, as this strategy has been in the works for over two years. 

"We feel we are ahead of the market with a unique solution," Manor said. "[CSP is] unique because it's the only hybrid solution that's based on open source. It's the only modern hybrid cloud so it enables modern development."

Manor says that when Kurian joined as CEO in January, he "immediately embraced" this strategy as a way to reach larger enterprise customers. This announcement comes a day after Google Cloud announced it would acquire data migration startup Alooma.

Read more: The new CEO of Google Cloud explains the updated master plan for taking on Amazon Web Services

"Thomas has deep experience coming from the enterprise market in his prior life. He fit in very quickly," Manor said. "He is very focused on enterprise customers."

Targeting the largest enterprises

Manor says that Google Cloud has been working closely with enterprise customers to bring CSP to maturity. The team decided to work on a hybrid offering because, while the cloud is growing fast, most large companies still have plenty of software that's not so easy to just pick up and move from their on-premises (often called on-prem) servers.

Manor believes that the hybrid cloud will be here to stay for the next five to ten years, and Google is moving to accommodate after years of focusing solely on the public cloud. 

"Initially we were focused on the cloud. From meeting large enterprise customers, I've heard a few common themes," Manor said. "They have to stay on premise for a few more years. At the same time, they wanted to enjoy the latest cloud technologies. The second thing I heard from literally every CIO is, 'I need to accelerate. I need to be able to release software everyday. Hey Google, I need you to help me move faster.'"

Google Cloud does not have a planned date to announce for general availability, but Manor said it expects to announce it "very soon," as in, within weeks, rather than months.

"We feel the market is ready," Manor said. "The customers are much more knowledgeable about cloud services. Customers are very smart. They want the latest."

Analysts react

Google believes it can stand out by helping enterprises who want to modernize their apps, using artificial intelligence and cutting-edge open source tools like Kubernetes. 

And because CSP makes use of those open source foundations, it means that customers aren't necessarily locked in to using Google Cloud — Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and most major cloud providers all have support for Kubernetes, meaning it won't necessarily be so hard for customers to move some or all of their software to other clouds. Perhaps counterintuitively, that could be a good thing for Google. 

"What delivers value is building better apps and workloads for the business," Maribel Lopez, founder and principal analyst of Lopez Research, told Business Insider.  "You as a cloud provider want to provide the hammers and nails for that. That's what Google is trying to do with their business cloud strategy."

Read more: Everything you need to know about Kubernetes, the Google-created open source software so popular even Microsoft and Amazon had to adopt it

In general, the analysts we spoke to see CSP as a well-aimed competitive shot at AWS and Microsoft, and reflects the growing maturity of Google Cloud's strategy. 

"Everybody seems to have gotten over this notion that was pretty much taken as gospel a few years ago, that everything is inevitably going to move to public clouds and there was nothing that's going to be left on-prem," Melanie Posey, research vice president and general manager for 451 Research, told Business Insider.

"What we're starting to see now is some kind of hybrid or multi-cloud environment is going to be how enterprise does things for the foreseeable future," she says. 

She also sees CSP as a way for Google Cloud to target more enterprise customers, and points out that both Kurian and his predecessor Diane Greene come from very traditional IT vendors — Kurian came to Google from Oracle, while Greene is best-known as the cofounder of VMware. 

"It's pretty telling that so far that the two CEOs of Google Cloud are really people who made their name and cut their name in the enterprise business," Posey said.  "That's one way Google Cloud is going to continue building in the future."

More than anything, Lopez says, it's a sign that while Amazon may be leading in the cloud wars, Google isn't taking it lying down.

"It's going to be an epic battle that will make 2019 and 2020 very interesting," Lopez said. "Even though we're 12 years into the cloud market, we are entering the next generation for the cloud market. You know how you turned around and suddenly everyone was using a mobile phone? This period right now is you turn around and everyone's going to be using cloud."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Earth's north magnetic pole is on the move — here's what will happen when our poles flip

• SpaceX, the aerospace company founded by Elon Musk, is developing a rocket ship to ferry people to the moon and Mars.
• Musk said Starship will have a heat shield that "bleeds" fuel during landing to protect itself from superheated plasma.
• However, aerospace experts say pores that ooze coolant might clog easily, compromising such a heat shield.

Over the past few months, Elon Musk has been revealing new details about SpaceX's upcoming launch system, called Starship.

Musk has said the new launch vehicle, which he and engineers recently redesigned, will eventually replace all of the company's rockets. It will be fully reusable and extremely cheap to launch, the thinking goes — perhaps reducing the cost of access to space 100-fold. In time, Musk thinks such a system may lead to round-trip Mars tickets that cost less than $500,000 and "maybe even below $100k."

But that assumes mundane debris like dust or even bird droppings don't cause Starship's giant spaceship, as it's currently designed, to burn up when landing on Mars or returning to Earth.

Musk has yet to release the full details of Starship — he's said that may happen in March or April — but he last described it as a 180-foot-tall spaceship that will ride into orbit atop Super Heavy, a rocket booster about 220 feet tall. The spaceship is designed to be refueled in low-Earth orbit in order to propel 100 passengers and more than 100 tons of cargo at a time to Mars.

Musk teased "radical" and "delightfully counterintuitive" design changes in November, and since then he's metered out core details and confirmed the existence of a "test hopper" prototype that the company is building in Texas.

Read more: A $1.37 billion border-security deal might save SpaceX's launch site in Texas, where Elon Musk hopes to fire off moon and Mars rockets

One key design change is that SpaceX now plans to build Starship out of stainless-steel alloys instead of carbon-fiber composites, Musk said. The second change involves a "bleeding" heat shield that will leak liquid through small pores to keep the spaceship cool as it travels at high speeds.

However, more than a few aerospace experts are concerned about how SpaceX would build such a system without it getting clogged.

Why poop, dust, and other debris may threaten Starship

A heat shield is an absolute must for a spaceship.

When a vehicle returns to Earth from orbit, it can reach speeds of about 19,000 mph. That's so fast that molecules in front of a ship turn into superheated plasma that can corrode, melt, or even vaporize some of the toughest and most heat-resistant materials.

Musk has said the nose of Starship may be exposed to temperatures of about 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit. The type of of steel alloy SpaceX may use on Starship's outer skin, called 310S, melts at about 2,400 degrees.

Most spacecraft (including SpaceX's upcoming Crew Dragon vehicle) use "ablative" heat shields that are designed to burn away and insulate a vehicle's hull during atmospheric entry. NASA used this type of technology in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space capsules. To protect its space shuttle fleet from heat, NASA glued thousands of heavy ceramic tiles to the bottom of each ship.

But Starship, as Musk told Popular Mechanics, will have a transpirationally cooled heat shield.

The system would work similar to human skin, in which sweat absorbs the body's heat, evaporates to carry the warmth away, and ultimately cools off the body. With Starship, the "sweat" would be water or spare methane fuel, and the "pores" would be countless tiny holes in Starship's steel underbelly.

Read more: SpaceX test-fired a Raptor rocket engine with 'insane power' for moon and Mars missions. The future of Musk's company may ride on its unrivaled performance.

At least a few aerospace experts are concerned about the challenges that such a heat shield would face, though.

"You can imagine it wouldn't take much to clog something like that, if they were microscopic pores,"Walt Engelund, an aerospace engineer and the director of the Space Technology and Exploration Directorate at NASA Langley, told Business Insider.

Dwayne Day, who helped investigate the loss of NASA's Columbia space shuttle and its crew, said such clogs could come any number of mundane factors.

"What if a bird poops on your rocket and it plugs up a few holes, and then when the thing is returning, no coolant comes out of those holes and that section of the vehicle overheats?" he said.

Dust on Mars, which recently killed NASA's Opportunity rover by blocking sunlight to its solar panels, could also pose a threat to small pores in Starship's steel skin.

Plus, Engelund said, the carbon in fuels like methane tend to "coke" or turn into solids when exposed to high temperatures, so that might also pose a clogging risk if Musk opts for methane as his coolant liquid.

Engelund said various liquid-cooling systems have been tested in NASA's hypersonic wind tunnels, which blow air at thousands of miles per hour to simulate incredible speeds in the upper atmosphere. In such tunnels, one blocked coolant channel can vaporize an aircraft model.

Looking for clogs in thousands of pores before a spaceship launches from Earth would be tough, but it would be much harder to do that on Mars, where there are no launch towers or gantries.

"How do you make sure that all the holes are open? Or at least that there are no significant obstructions?" Day said.

In an email to Business Insider, SpaceX emphasized that constant tweaks and changes to Starship's design are expected — that's part of the company's larger design approach — as engineers work to make the launch system a reality. Indeed, the system (previously called Big Falcon Rocket and other names before that) has already gone through several major redesigns since Musk first described it in detail in September 2016.

"They've surprised a lot of people, and have a lot of smart people working for them, and Elon seems to be really committed and dedicated to this," Engelund said. "Perhaps there are some things that we could do with them. I suspect there will be."

Read our full story on Starship's new design here.

SEE ALSO: Defectors from SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Tesla are developing a remarkable technology called 'Stargate' to help colonize other planets

DON'T MISS: These are the 577 positions SpaceX is cutting at its headquarters in a major round of layoffs

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NOW WATCH: How SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic plan on taking you to space

• On February 4, a 6th-grade student at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Florida, declined to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, saying he thought it was "racist,"the Washington Post reported.
• Still, a substitute teacher, identified by the Washington Post as Ana Alvarez, questioned his motivations.
• Alvarez and the student entered into a heated dispute, culminating in the boy being sent to the principal's office.
• The school resource officer made the decision to arrest the student, although the district has since said in a statement that it was not related to his decision not to recite the pledge, but a subsequent dispute.
• By law, students do not lose their First Amendment rights while at school, and are not required to say the pledge.

On February 4, a sixth-grade student at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Florida, decided not to stand for or recite the Pledge of Allegiance, according to the Washington Post. Following his dispute over the pledge, the student was arrested on suspicion of "creating a disturbance."

When asked why he was not participating, the student, who has not been identified because he is a minor, told his substitute teacher, identified by the Post as Ana Alvarez, that he believed the pledge is "racist," according to an affidavit reviewed by the outlet. 

Following the student's dispute with Alvarez, the teacher then sent the student to the school resource officer, according to the Lakeland Police Department. Police said the student had been asked to leave the classroom over 20 times before he went to the office.

As the student was escorted to the office, he "created another disturbance and made threats," which prompted the school resource officer to call for his arrest, police said.

Both Polk County Public Schools and the Lakeland Police Department stressed that the student was not arrested for not standing for the pledge, but was arrested on suspicion of disrupting a school function and resisting an officer without violence.  

"To be clear, the student was NOT arrested for refusing to participate in the pledge; students are not required to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance," the police department said in a statement. "This arrest was based on the student’s choice to disrupt the classroom, make threats, and resisting the officer’s efforts to leave the classroom."

Read more: An Indiana tax preparer turned away a same-sex couple, citing religious beliefs: 'I am a Christian and I believe marriage is between one man and one woman'

Now, the student's mother, Dhakira Talbot, is looking to have the charges against her son dropped, she told Bay 9 News.

"I'm upset, I'm angry. I'm hurt," Talbot said. "Moreso for my son. My son has never been through anything like this. I feel like this should've been handled differently. If any disciplinary action should've been taken, it should've been with the school. He shouldn’t have been arrested." 

She told Bay 9 that she is currently working with the Poor and Minority Justice Association, a non-profit working to end economic and social injustice in Florida and Georgia. 

Meanwhile, as the situation gains national attention, the ACLU of Florida has weighed in on Twitter.

"This is outrageous," the organization said. "Students do not lose their First Amendment rights when they enter the schoolhouse gates. This is a prime example of the over-policing of black student in school."

In its statement, the school district said the substitute teacher was not aware that students have the right not to participate in the pledge. Alvarez, who was contracted by a third-party service, will not work at the school going forward, the district's statement said. 

"We do not condone the substitute’s behavior," the statement said. "We respect our students’ right to freedom of expression and we are committed to protecting that critical right while ensuring peaceful classrooms so all students can learn."

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NOW WATCH: 3 women with different skin tones test Tarte’s new Face Tape Foundation

• Google is weeks away from unveiling its big push into video games.
• The initiative assuredly involves Google's Netflix-like video game streaming service, Project Stream.
• Reports point to Google making a game console as well, though it's not clear how powerful it will be.

Google is about to make a major push into the world of video games.

Unlike gaming heavyweights Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, Google isn't likely to create a device that powers games. Instead, the company's focus seems to be on a Netflix-like game streaming service. 

From reports and Google's own announcements, we already have a surprisingly clear picture of the company's gaming plans ahead of a big announcement scheduled for March 19. 

Here's everything we know about Google's ambitious push into video games:

SEE ALSO: 5 major tech companies, from Amazon to Apple, are trying to make the 'Netflix of gaming' — here’s how the competition stacks up

The core of Google's gaming service is a Netflix-style, on-demand game streaming service. It was already announced and publicly tested as "Project Stream."

Near the end of 2018, and for much of January 2019, Google ran a limited test for its video game streaming service. That service, fittingly enough, is named "Project Stream."

During the test, users could play 2018's "Assassin's Creed Odyssey" for free in a browser tab on their computer. You could even use a Bluetooth controller to control the game.

It was little more than a proof of concept test, and it confirmed that — yes— Google's service is indeed capable of streaming a blockbuster game to a web browser. It was impressive, easy to use, and quick.

Google has yet to make any official announcements about the future of Project Stream. What we do know is that Project Stream actually works, which is more than can be said for many of the previous efforts at creating a video game streaming service.

Google is also expected to make a game console, though it's unlikely to directly compete with home game consoles in terms of horsepower.

Google isn't likely to make a game console as powerful as the Xbox One or PlayStation 4, or even one as powerful as the Nintendo Switch, but it does need to make some form of hardware for its service to function on TVs. 

What's most likely is Google releases a very inexpensive piece of hardware that acts as a means of accessing a game streaming library — a bare-bones Chromecast-like device rather than a brawny PS4-like device.

That device could potentially serve as a means of enabling Bluetooth gamepads to function on a television, and as a means of accessing Google's game streaming service. It could be as small as a Chromecast or as big as a cable box. It could come with a Google-made gamepad, or something else, or nothing at all!

We simply don't know just yet. Google has yet to confirm that a hardware device is even in the works.

We can, however, assume that Google isn't making a powerful gaming console to compete with home consoles. Why's that? We'd have heard about it! Between research and development costs, associated business deals with game makers, and hardware production, these things leak.

Look no further than the current crop of home game consoles from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft — all of which leaked heavily before launch, like so many "secret" hardware projects before them.

Google has reportedly been courting game developers and publishers to build a library for its game streaming service.

When Google tested Project Stream, it collaborated with Ubisoft to use "Assassin's Creed Odyssey" as the test game. Ubisoft has a long history of being the first publisher to work on new gaming platforms. 

Given that, it would be unsurprising to see Ubisoft — and its game franchises, from "Assassin's Creed" to "Splinter Cell" and "Rayman"— show up as one of the first publishers on Google's streaming service.

Ultimately, Google's gaming push lives and dies based on its game library.

Given that, Google is expected to announce various partnerships when its service gets officially unveiled in mid-March. The company has reportedly been courting developers and publishers since some point in 2018, and perhaps even earlier, according to Kotaku.

• A study finds we're more likely to refer to women by their full names and men by their last names.
• Using only someone's last name suggests they're more influential, the study found.
• Previous research suggests our word choice is closely linked to our gender biases.

Across the globe, there are fewer women in positions of power. The reasons why are numerous and complicated, but researchers suspect there's one potential factor we haven't been paying enough attention to: our everyday language.

A paper from Stav Atir and Melissa J. Ferguson at Cornell University describes eight studies, which found that we're more likely to refer to men by their last names only and to women by their full names. What's more, the research found, people referred to by last name only are generally perceived as higher-status, suggesting that this linguistic phenomenon has meaningful consequences for women's advancement.

One study found that American radio hosts discussing current events were more than twice as likely to use a last name only when talking about a man than a woman (even once the researchers eliminated references to "Hillary" Clinton). In another study, participants read one-paragraph research proposals that referred to the researcher either by full name or by last name only; as it turned out, the researchers referred to by last name only were perceived as more famous.

As Atir put it to Business Insider, "our use of language reflects our biases and shapes them." Atir added, "it's easy to assume that choosing one word over another or one way of referring to someone over another is not going to have any impact, when in fact at least some evidence suggests that it might."

Read more: Women CEOs are more likely to be dismissed, even when the company is doing well

Our word choice may be closely linked to our gender biases

Previous research has also found that word choice can have consequences for women's success in the workplace. According to a team of researchers at Stanford University's Clayman Institute for Gender Research who reviewed hundreds of performance reviews, managers use different language to describe male and female employees.  

For example: Managers are nearly seven times more likely to tell their male employees that their communication style is too soft. Women, on the other hand, receive 2.5 times as much feedback related to their aggressive communication style.

And a 2018 paper published in the Journal of Business and Psychology found that letters of recommendation are more likely to raise doubts ("She is unlikely to become a superstar, but she is very solid") about women applicants for professorships than men.

Atir said one takeaway from the paper she coauthored is simple: When you're referring to men and women, try using the same naming convention. Though right now it's unclear exactly how much our language contributes to women's professional prospects (or lack thereof), Atir said it's worth trying to change it and see what happens.

SEE ALSO: A survey of 2,000 professional women found many don't do what it takes to get ahead at work, and it gets worse over time

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Availability bias: discussing what occupation is most likely to cheat on their spouse

• Apple's slowdown in China won't abate anytime soon, HSBC told clients this week.
• The firm's analysts turned "neutral" on the stock in early December — long after many on Wall Street grew cautious, but prior to Apple's iPhone warning in January.
• The bank's latest survey of wealthy Chinese consumers reflected a shift away from Apple.
• Watch Apple trade live.

Analysts at HSBC just issued their latest warning on Apple, with weakness in China and changing consumer behavior in the region at the heart of their concerns.

The firm's survey of affluent Chinese consumers reflects "clear evidence" of a shift away from Apple and toward competitors like Huawei and Samsung. 

The results led HSBC to write its third cautious Apple report in as many months, and caused the bank's analysts to slash their 2019 earnings-per-share estimates for the tech giant from $12.67 to $12.19. 

"While we see reasons for Apple continuing to compound in the US, we believe that emerging markets will remain a question mark unless there is a sizeable shift in strategy and we also believe that Europe is at risk of slippage in terms of market share as more value for money propositions, notably from Chinese players, gain in relevance," analysts led by Erwan Rambourg told clients Tuesday.

Respondents who already owned iPhones were relatively less likely to choose Apple as their next smartphone brand. Additionally, Huawei was the most popular choice as to which smartphone brand respondents would buy next. 

HSBC reiterated its "hold" rating and $160 price target — 7.5% below where shares were trading Wednesday — and said Apple's healthy cash flow had kept it from turning completely bearish just yet.

Elsewhere in the survey, Chinese consumers showed little appetite for smartphones priced at more than $1,200, and said they may be more inclined to upgrade their smartphone faster with improvements to memory and battery life.

Read more: Apple's iPhone sales in China collapsed last quarter, and it's because they cost too much

HSBC initially lowered its Apple recommendation from "buy" to "hold" and cut its price target back in early December.

That was prior to the iPhone giant's pre-announcement in early January that its revenue would come in lower than previously forecasted due mostly to iPhone weakness in Greater China — but after other Wall Street firms and suppliers had sounded the alarm on an iPhone slowdown. Goldman Sachs, for example, slashed its price target three times in November alone. 

Read more: Apple sounds the alarm on a slowdown in China

Then, last month, Rambourg and his team slashed their price target again, warning of persistent economic weakness in China.

Apple reported quarterly earnings results last month that were in line with what Wall Street analysts had expected, even coming in slightly better than feared. After all, the tech company had already lowered its expectations, setting up for an earnings report that featured no surprises. Still, analysts advised clients that challenges like slowing iPhone sales and weakness in China weren't going away.

In HSBC's Tuesday note, analysts said China still remains one of the most profitable regions for Apple "despite volatile trends over the last three years," and noted the country represented nearly 20% of the company's total revenue in 2018. 

Although Apple shares are trading 26% below their all-time high last October, they've risen 18% so far this year.

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• Warren Buffett's annual letter is coming soon. Here's what to expect.
• One corner of the market stayed red-hot during the last recession. Here's why investors will have to find a new place to hide during the next collapse.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Roger Stone explains what Trump has in common with Richard Nixon

• Several groups have already filed lawsuits against the White House over the national emergency declaration President Trump signed last week.
• The White House is adamant that they are on firm legal ground.
• One of the lawsuits could result in the emergency declaration to begin border wall construction to be temporarily or permanently blocked.

WASHINGTON — Less than one week after President Donald Trump signed a national emergency declaration to unilaterally begin construction on additional mileage of physical barriers along the United States-Mexico border, the lawsuits attempting to block the executive action are piling up.

Already, several activist groups as well as a handful of state governments are attempting to temporarily block the White House from moving forward with the plan to reprogram federal funds to build the border wall.

Read more: The Trump administration is already being sued 4 hours after the president's emergency declaration

Immediately after the declaration was announced on Friday, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a lawsuit requesting crucial documents from the White House and Department of Justice laying out their legal rationale for making the emergency declaration. 

On Monday, the state of California, along with 15 other states, filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is arguing that the emergency declaration could impact their residents by reprogramming funds.

"Contrary to the will of Congress, the president has used the pretext of a manufactured 'crisis' of unlawful immigration to declare a national emergency and redirect federal dollars appropriated for drug interdiction, military construction and law enforcement initiatives toward building a wall on the United States-Mexico border," the lawsuit says.

The states' lawsuit was cosigned by Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Virginia and Oregon.

Read more: Here’s what you need to know about the border security compromise that averted another government shutdown

Trump pushed back on the lawsuit during a Monday morning Twitter tirade, suggesting the challenges to his emergency declaration are just a ploy by the "Radical Left."

SEE ALSO: Why Beto O’Rourke could lose if he decides to run for president

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch President Trump announce deal to end the government shutdown for 3 weeks

• President Donald Trump on Wednesday revived a nickname he used for Sen. Bernie Sanders during the 2016 campaign season: "Crazy Bernie."
• After Sanders on Tuesday announced he's joining the 2020 race, Trump on Wednesday tweeted, "Crazy Bernie has just entered the race. I wish him well!"
• Sanders responded to Trump in a sternly-worded tweet, calling the president "a racist, a sexist, a xenophobe and a fraud."

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is apparently not a fan of President Donald Trump's revived nickname for him. 

After Sanders on Tuesday announced he's joining the 2020 race, Trump on Wednesday tweeted, "Crazy Bernie has just entered the race. I wish him well!"

The president used this nickname for Sanders amid the 2016 campaign season.

Sanders responded to the president in a tweet not long after. 

"What's crazy is that we have a president who is a racist, a sexist, a xenophobe and a fraud," Sanders said. "We are going to bring people together and not only defeat Trump but transform the economic and political life of this country."

For the past several weeks, there was a great deal of speculation that Sanders would run for president again after a 2016 campaign that was ultimately unsuccessful, but made the Vermont senator a household name.

Sanders on Vermont Public Radio (VPR) on Tuesday confirmed his plans to run, slamming Trump in the process.

Read more: Bernie Sanders announces he's running for president again in 2020

"I think the current occupant of the White House is an embarrassment to our country," Sanders told VPR. "I think he is a pathological liar — every day, he is telling one lie or another.

"And it gives me no pleasure to say that, but I also think he is a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, somebody who is gaining cheap political points by trying to pick on minorities, often undocumented immigrants," Sanders added.

Later in the day, as Trump spoke with reporters about Sanders' announcement, the president said, "Personally, I think he missed his time. But I like Bernie because he is one person that you know on trade, he sort of would agree on trade. I'm being very tough on trade. He was tough on trade. The problem is, he doesn't know what to do about it."

Trump also wished Sanders well and said it "will be interesting to see how he does."

SEE ALSO: Trump's latest line of attack against 2020 Democrats is to tie them to socialism

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NOW WATCH: Donald Trump's connection with Vince McMahon and WWE spans decades

• "Game of Clones" is a new dating reality show premiering on MTV this month.
• MTV reality stars like DJ Pauly D from "Jersey Shore" and Cara Maria Sorbello from "The Challenge" will get the chance to date seven people who look like their celebrity crushes.
• By making every romantic prospect look like the dater's crush, the dating process is supposed to help the MTV stars focus on the contestants' personality traits and lifestyle choices instead of their appearance. 

MTV’s new reality show is taking dating competitions to the next level. "Game of Clones," which premieres February 21, is giving a few reality stars the chance to date seven people who look strikingly like their celebrity crushes.

The show will follow a feature a few different MTV reality star-singles including Pauly D from "Jersey Shore," Kailyn Lowry from "Teen Mom 2," and several competitors from various seasons of "The Challenge," including Cara Maria Sorbello.

The premise of the show involves celebrity lookalikes

The stars will date seven of their celebrity crush's lookalikes who have been identically styled and dressed in order to look like clones. Although the contestants look alike, each is entirely different and "each dater will discover which of these famous doppelgangers melts their heart and which just makes their skin crawl,"according to MTV's website. 

In the case of Pauly D, that means seven Megan Fox doppelgangers are competing for a chance at love with the "Jersey Shore" star. Other celebrities that will have lookalikes featured on this season include Jason Momoa, Jennifer Lopez, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Gigi Hadid.

The trailer for the show asks, "If you found seven identical singles, could you find your one and clone-ly?" 

MTV called the series the "most radical dating experiment to ever hit television." 

In 2017, there was also a British reality show also called "Game of Clones." In it, contestants used software to design their dream partner and then they dated eight individuals who looked like the person they'd created. It appears that show lasted for one season and is no longer on the air. 

The show has been dubbed a "dating experiment"

One of the show's celebrity daters, Cara Maria Sorbello from "The Challenge: War of the Worlds," spoke to INSIDER in an email about why this unusual dating experiment appealed to her.

"It’s a dating experience where the matches are picked to look and dress exactly what I want," Sorbello said. "Then the choices get narrowed down based on deal-breakers and other components. This ensures I find someone who is a good fit, not just looks-wise but also personality-wise and lifestyle-wise as well. I was thrilled to be a part of it."

 As Sorbello told INSIDER, "Why WOULDN'T anyone be willing?"

"Game of Clones" premieres February 21 on MTV. You can watch the trailer here.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: There are serious health reasons why you shouldn't eat your boogers

• Zion Williamson's wild dunking ability has made him the most-watched athlete in college basketball.
• In an interview with GQ, Williamson revealed that the focus that was put on his dunks used to frustrate him, as an all-around brilliant performance would be reduced to a simple highlight.
• Williamson said that conversations with Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski helped him to move past his frustrations.

Zion Williamson has been the most dominant player in college basketball this season.

Between his monstrous dunks and powerful defense, Williamson has captivated casual fans and college basketball die-hards alike, and along with teammates RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish, has the Duke Blue Devils poised for another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

Read more:RANKED: Zion Williamson's top 10 dunks of the season

But while Williamson's dunks have made him a national sensation, in an interview with GQ's Devin Gordon, the Duke phenom explained that his highlight reel was both a blessing and a curse, and being known as merely a dunker used to bother him.

"I could probably score 40 points, get 10 rebounds, 10 assists, but I can have one dunk that was incredible and those other 38 points don't matter no more," Williamson told Gordon. "It's like, 'Oh my god. He needs to be in a dunk contest! Did you see what he just did? That was incredible!' And at first it did kind of bother me — I'm not gonna lie. For a while, I wouldn't wanna dunk in the lay-up lines."

Williamson went on to say that it was conversations with Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski helped him to move past his frustrations and have faith that his game was more well-rounded than what was just shown in his highlight clips.

"I wouldn't be at Duke if all I could do was dunk. Duke recruits the best basketball players. They don't recruit dunkers or highlight makers. They recruit good basketball players. So I thought about that, I felt more comfortable about myself, and the people who know basketball, they know that I bring to the table more than just dunking. So people wanna classify me as a dunker, they can. If my opponent wants to think of me as a dunker, it's just gonna shock them more when I show them another part of my game."

Zion hasn't been shy about showing off other parts of his game when necessary. He's developed a workable 3-point shot that forces defenders to show him respect from the outside. Additionally, his best highlight of the year wasn't a dunk, but rather a block, in which Williamson used his seemingly superhuman leap to swat away a shot from Virginia's De'Andre Hunter.

Read more: Zion Williamson made his most athletic play yet with a blocked shot that will blow your mind

Williamson is projected to be the first player taken in the 2019 NBA Draft, and while whatever team he joins will undoubtedly enjoy the myriad of dunk highlights he provides, they'll also be adding a great all-around player to their roster.

SEE ALSO: LeBron James reveals what impressed him most about Zion Williamson after watching Duke take down UVA

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen have a combined net worth of $580 million. Here's how the power couple makes and spends their money.

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. This report is exclusively available to enterprise subscribers. To learn more about getting access to this report, email Senior Account Executive Jeff Jordan at jjordan@businessinsider.com, or check to see if your company already has access.

Although competition in the US wireless carrier market remains fierce, the price war among the Big Four US carriers — Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint — began to cool over the past year.

In an attempt to avoid further competition on price, carriers began shifting their focus to adding value to their mobile plans with new offerings to differentiate from the competition. This helped average revenue per user (ARPU) start to stabilize across all carriers in Q1 2018, after declining over the last two years.

The Big Four have now begun reshuffling their unlimited plans to lure subscribers by providing more options. This strategy has been unrolling in two flavors: introducing new, expensive unlimited plan tiers loaded with an array of features and choices, while also catering to price-sensitive customers with more affordable plans that strip away extra perks like free digital content and international coverage. As a result, a new battleground is emerging, with differentiation now coming down to the value loaded in their mobile plans.

Looking forward, the US carrier market will see competitive pressure pick up due to a number of trends: 

• The US smartphone market is creeping toward saturation. Penetration in the US hit 85% in 2018, up from 82% in 2017 and 77% in 2016.
• eSIM technology is making it easier for consumers to switch carriers. eSIM technology is a nonphysical SIM card slot that pairs with the physical SIM card to enable dual-SIM functionality — allowing customers to switch carriers without changing to a different SIM card or device.
• And cable mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) are edging in on US carriers' share of wireless adds. Cable MVNOs, such as Comcast's Xfinity Mobile and Charter's Spectrum Mobile, are expected to snag roughly 50% of total wireless customer net adds, or about 2.2 million subscribers, by 2020.

All of this means fostering loyalty and winning over new subscribers is more important than ever for the Big Four, making it crucial for these mobile carriers to understand consumer sentiment around their services.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence uses consumer survey data from our proprietary panel, collected during 2017 and 2018, to evaluate which features are most important to consumers when selecting a mobile provider, as well as to determine which features would convince them to switch to the competition. It contains insights that can help telecoms guide strategic investment and marketing decisions to win and retain customers in this increasingly competitive space.

The companies mentioned in the report are: AT&T, Amazon, Apple, Charter, Comcast, Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, Sprint, T-Mobile, Tidal, and Verizon.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• T-Mobile came out on top again, outpacing the rest of the Big Four US carriers on value, loyalty, and satisfaction. T-Mobile customers want to see coverage improvements, though. 
• Verizon customers don't see much more value in its offerings than a year ago.
• AT&T was the only carrier to show declines in all capacities. 
• Sprint is still a good deal, but it doesn't offer much else.
• When it comes to features, subscribers still value the basics most. However, demand for international coverage is growing.
• 5G is the next major battleground for the Big Four, and the winner of the 5G race has the potential to leap ahead in customer volumes. 

 In full, the report:

• Determines the features that are most important to consumers when selecting a mobile provider.  
• Identifies which features are nice to have or essential in consumers' willingness to switch carriers. 
• Examines consumers' feelings on emerging technologies and trends in the mobile industry, such as 5G, new network-connected devices, and the T-Mobile-Sprint merger.

SEE ALSO: 5G in the IoT: How the next generation of wireless technology will transform the IoT

Join the conversation about this story »

• Tesla customers are more satisfied than those of any other auto brand for the third consecutive year, according to Consumer Reports, which placed Tesla first on its 2019 list of auto brands ranked by owner satisfaction.
• Tesla received 89 out of 100 possible points for its owner satisfaction rating, which represents an average of all of an auto brand's models.
• Vehicle satisfaction scores are based on driving experience, value, comfort, styling, audio, and climate systems.

Tesla customers are more satisfied than those of any other auto brand for the third consecutive year, according to Consumer Reports, which placed Tesla first on its 2019 list of auto brands ranked by owner satisfaction.

Tesla received 89 out of 100 possible points for its owner satisfaction rating, which represents an average of all of an auto brand's models. Vehicle satisfaction scores are based on driving experience, value, comfort, styling, audio, and climate systems.

Porsche and Genesis finished second and third on the list, with 86 and 85 points, respectively. Consumer Reports compiled the list from surveys on over 500,000 vehicles. 

Read more: Tesla's general counsel is out after just 2 months

Tesla's vehicles have received a wide range of feedback from Consumer Reports and its subscribers. The automaker was rated 27th of 29 brands in the publication's 2018 ranking of the most reliable auto brands. Consumer Reports said the Model 3 was reported to have average reliability and placed Tesla's Model X SUV among its 10 least reliable vehicles.

The Model 3 topped Consumer Reports' 2019 owner satisfaction ranking for cars, and the publication gave the vehicle its "Recommended Buy" rating in 2018 after Tesla released a software update that addressed the publication's issues with the vehicle's braking distance. Consumer Reports has complimented the vehicle's handling and acceleration, while criticizing its touchscreen-based controls, ride stiffness, and rear seat comfort.

The Model 3 is the only Tesla vehicle that Consumer Reports recommends. It previously recommended the Model S sedan, but the vehicle lost that recommendation due to reliability issues, the publication said.

Have a Tesla news tip? Contact this reporter at mmatousek@businessinsider.com.

• Read more:
• Tesla's top lawyer is leaving the company after two months — here are all the key names who have departed in recent months
• Elon Musk doubled down on a bold claim he made about how quickly Tesla vehicles will be able to drive themselves
• Tesla's Powerwall is in high demand but difficult to get, according to a new survey
• Tesla quietly deletes the Model 3 standard battery from its website, raising questions about the long-awaited base model

SEE ALSO: Richard Branson reveals what it was like to ride out one of history's most destructive hurricanes in his wine cellar

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Since you don't have all day to scour the web for noteworthy sales and discounts, we rounded up the best bargains for you to shop in one convenient place. For even more deals and savings across the web, check out our coupons page.

1. Save $250 on a Dyson Ball Animal Bagless Upright Vacuum at Best Buy

The Dyson Ball Animal vacuum uses Big Ball technology for easy and accurate maneuverability, HEPA filters for removing allergens from your home, and a bagless canister for convenience. With a 4.7 out of 5-star rating on Best Buy, the state-of-the-art vacuum cleaner has been proven itself worthy — even at its original price of $500. But today, the price is getting cut in half as a Best Buy Deal of the Day. For more deals and potential savings at Best Buy, check out our coupons page.

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Amazon's audiobook service, Audible, just keeps getting better. Membership for all users now includes one audiobook and two Audible Originals, but new members will get 30 days of free membership, plus two audiobooks and two Audible Originals to get started. Additionally, new members will receive a $15 Prime Now or Whole Foods Market on Prime Now credit to use toward their first purchase of $35 or more. With Prime Now, you'll have accesses to a variety of products that can be delivered in two hours or less.

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3. Save up to 40% on thousands of items at Nordstrom

The end of winter is usually a good time to save big on clothing, and Nordstrom is proving that with a huge sale. Now through February 24, you can save up to 40% on sale items like clothing and shoes for men, women, and kids, handbags and accessories, and home goods. For more deals and coupons on Nordstrom, check out our coupons page here. 

Shop the Nordstrom winter sale now. 

4. Save up to 30% on sale styles at The North Face

For a limited time, The North Face is having a sale with up to 30% off past-season styles. Since the brand rarely holds sales, this is a particularly good time to buy winter gear for next year or lighter jackets like windbreakers and raincoats for the upcoming spring. There's no word on when the sale will end, but don't expect it last much longer. For more deals and coupons for The North Face, check out our coupons page here.

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You don't have to wait for Nike to put your favorite new styles on sale to get a good deal. Now through February 23, you can save $30 when you spend $150 or more by using the promo code "SPORT30" at checkout. Whether you're buying one pair of sneakers or a bunch of items, the code will work as long as you reach the $150 minimum. For more deals and coupons on Nike, check out our coupons page here.

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If you're shopping quality furniture but don't want to spend astronomical amounts of money, West Elm is one of the first places you should look. Right now, the brand is having its upholstery sale with up to 40% off sofas, sectionals, and chairs. For more deals and coupons at West Elm, check out our coupons page here.

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If home security is a top priority for you, Ring's Alarm system should be incorporated into your smart home. The five-piece system includes a base station for keeping your alarm online and connected to your mobile devices, a keypad for arming and disarming the alarm from inside your home, contact sensor to notify you when a door or window has been opened, a motion detector, and a range extender, which strengthens the signal from the base in order to reach the other pieces of the system. The system can be accessed and controlled from anywhere using your smartphone or with Alexa voice commands in your home. For a limited time, you can save $40 on the kit.

Ring Alarm 5-piece Home Security System, $159 (Originally $199) [You save $40]

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Although Presidents' Day has since passed, popular mattress startup Leesa is extending its sale by one more day. The deal takes $150 off the original Leesa mattress and $240 off the newer Sapira Hybrid mattress. Regardless of which mattress you choose, you'll also receive two free pillows valued at $75 each. If you're in need of a new mattress, this is your last chance to save big.

Shop the Leesa Mattress sale now. 

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