Crystal-ball Predictions For 2018

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 14.

A Starbucks store in Hong Kong. Sebastian Ng/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesStarbucks is reversing its open-door policy, which lets non-paying guests sit around or use its loo. This means you'll have to make a purchase — or accompany someone who does — to use Starbucks facilities. The chain told BI that the change was made to prioritize paying customers.

A letter from a member of Gazprom's board sent a letter to CEO Alexei Miller, pictured on the left, requesting for a 40% cut to staff at the company's St. Petersburg headquarters. ALEXANDRE ZHOLOBOV/POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesRussia's state-owned gas giant is mulling a sweeping cut to its managing staff in St.

Jesus Hellin/Europa Press via Getty ImagesMicrosoft Teams is a live meeting platform and virtual collaboration space. Microsoft first launched teams as a direct competitor to Slack. Here's what to know about Microsoft Teams and how to use various features. If you need to set up a remote meeting wherein you can conduct video calls, swap notes, share files, align calendars, and much more, the Microsoft Teams just might be the right platform to use.

Eindhoven-based startup Photon IP has raised €4.75mn in seed funding as it looks to scale up its unique method for creating energy-efficient photonic chips.   AI systems, data centres, fibre-optic networks, and even some sensors rely on photonic chips to send and receive information using light. These chips are a big deal because they’re faster and use less energy than typical semiconductors, which transfer data through electricity.  But to make these high-performance, light-speed chips you need special compounds called III-V materials, such as indium phosphide.  “These materials are relatively scarce and expensive though, so the industry has been looking at ways of…This story continues at The Next Web

In 2018, after decades of research and tens of millions in funding, Russian astronauts attached a wildlife-tracking receiver to the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS). The device received data from tagged animals across the planet and beamed it to a ground station in Moscow. From there, it went to an open-source database called Movebank.  The space tracker was the final piece of the puzzle for the ICARUS project, an international effort led by German biologist Martin Wikelski to track the migratory patterns of wildlife from space.