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Even in the age of electric cars and AI generated everything, were still using the same three technologies to insulate most of our clothing. And they work mostly the same way. Wool, down, and most recently, Primaloft (aka synthetic down) are all used to create lofta fluffy substance that traps pockets of air. Its that air thats ultimately creating a barrier between you and the outside cold to keep you warm. But now, Nike is taking this premise to its ultimate conclusion, and launching its first coats that are insulated by nothing but air. And to tweak their warmth, you can even pump them up and deflate them as you like. The technology will debut in the ThermaFIT Air Milano Jacket, which will be worn by medal winners standing on the podium at the Winter Olympics this February. Nike calls the jacket four jackets in one. Deflated, it’s supposed to feel like a windbreaker. Inflated, its somewhere close to a midweight puffer. After trying on the jacket earlier this month at Nike HQ, Id say thats precisely rightand even more so, it feels luxuriously soft to the touch. But more on the wear test in a minute. [Image: Nike] Cracking the code of inflatable outwear Nike has been designing inflatable jackets for nearly 20 years, since it first started putting air bladders in a coat for Nike ACG, its outdoor performance line. When the design team shared early experiments from its archives, I noted that all have that waterproof windbreaker lookand each uses different inflatable mechanisms, ranging from a blow straw, to a hand pump, to an iPhone and an app. But Air Milano isnt a jacket that contains some Nike air bladders inside. Instead, the entire jacket is inflatable. How is that possible? Years of iteration. First, Nike sourced a fabric that feels somewhere between a cotton comforter and a swim shirt. It somehow feels naturally soft and synthetically stretchy at the same time. [Photo: Nike] Nike takes two pieces of this fabric, and then welds them together at the seams, while adding a pattern of dotted welds in between to create baffling (think of baffling as architecture that channels air). Whereas most insulated jackets have to be constructed to keep insulation in place, with latitudinal structures that give them a ribbed look, Air Milan is created from computationally designed patterns that ensure air flow through the garment. Eighty percent of these patterns were tested in software simulations and never built. As I walk around a display of Nike’s early material tests, Im taken by the array of patterns Nike did attempt. Some baffling looks like the fine scaling of reptiles, while others look like marshmallow quilts. Some have sharp geometric diamonds, some burst radially in a way that almost feels floral. Nike ultimately went with a baffling pattern inspired by the ACG logoas this jacket will be Nikes first attempt to bring the ACG brand info the greater public consciousness. Nike CEO Elliott Hill estimates that the outdoor segment represents a $130 billion market, and Nike would like to take a bigger chunk. [Photo: Nike] From prototype to finished product Developing the jacket to functionally work was a long, difficult process. Early versions took up to seven minutes to inflate. Theyd stay inflated 30 minutes max. (The design team would actually inflate the jacket only moments before presenting its progress to executives, so that it would stay puffy for the full meeting.) Now, the jacket comes with a small electronic pump that fits in your hand. You plug it into a port near your waste, and it inflates in about 15 seconds. Im told it will stay inflated, should you like, for weeks or even months. [Photo: Nike] The sensation of the jacket filling on your body is trippy. Your arms feel it first, as they Popeye outwards and begin to constrict your skin like a soft blood pressure cuff. Then you see your chest and stomach being filled as well. Once inflated, it took only a minute before I felt the heat. I started feeling a bit steamy, and I realized that the jacket doesnt breathe (yes, Nike has some ideas to fix thatlike adding small ports that, like Gortex, can keep heat in but allow moisture out). It was just as wild to deflate it. All you have to do is pull another tab, and poooshhhhhhhhh, the jacket deflates back to where you started. Nike built this jacket as a one-off product for the Winter Olympics, and it will not be coming to market in this form. But the jacket also demonstrates what Nike does best: It creates performance innovations that advertise themselves in an irresistible way. The jacket simply looks like it works differently than any jacket youve ever worn. And the Air Milano is really gorgeous to behold in person, as the baffling catches light and shadow, you can appreciate the technical efforts and high level of taste that went into the garment. Jannett Nichol, VP, Apparel & Advanced Digital Creation Studio Innovation, confirmed that whenever Nikes inflatable technologycomes to the wider market, it wont be cheap. Instead, the company sees the future of the ACG brand as the pinnacle expression of Nike. And as a material, that inflatable Therma-FIT surface could make its way out of clothing into outdoor gear as well. Wherever Therma-FIT goes next, Im glad to see Nike working on it. Few companies have the R&D resources and experimental know-how to really impact what the future of performance garments can be. And longer term, there is simply no way that down is a more sustainable option to insulation than pure air. Besides, its just mind-bending to consider just how warm you can feel with a little fabric and a hand pump.
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E-Commerce
The government shutdown has reopened debate on what has been a central issue for both major political parties in the last 15 years: the future of health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.Tax credits for people who get health insurance through the marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, expire at the end of the year.Democrats say they won’t vote to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate an extension of the expanded subsidies. Republicans say they won’t negotiate until Democrats vote to reopen the government. Lawmakers in both parties have been working on potential solutions behind the scenes, hoping that leaders will eventually start to talk, but it’s unclear if the two sides could find compromise.As Congress circles the issue, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 6 in 10 Americans are “extremely” or “very” concerned about their health costs going up in the next year. Those worries extend across age groups and include people with and without health insurance, the poll found.A look at the subsidies that are expiring, the politics of the ACA and what Congress might do: Enhanced premium help during the pandemic Passed in 2010, the ACA was meant to decrease the number of uninsured people in the country and make coverage more affordable for those who don’t have private insurance. The law created state by state exchanges, some of which are run by the individual states, to try to increase the pool of the insured and bring down rates.In 2021, when Democrats controlled Congress and the White House during the COVID-19 pandemic, they expanded premium help that was already in the law. The changes included eliminating premiums for some lower-income enrollees, ensuring that higher earners paid no more than 8.5% of their income and expanding eligibility for middle-class earners.The expanded subsidies pushed enrollment to new levels and drove the rate of uninsured people to a historic low. This year, a record 24 million people have signed up for insurance coverage through the ACA, in large part because billions of dollars in subsidies have made the plans more affordable for many people.If the tax credits expire, annual out-of-pocket premiums are estimated to increase by 114% an average of $1,016 next year, according to an analysis from KFF. Democrats push to extend subsidies Democrats extended those tax credits in 2022 for another three years but were not able to make them permanent. The credits are set to expire Jan. 1, with Republicans now in full control.Lacking in power and sensing a political opportunity, Democrats used some of their only leverage and forced a government shutdown over the issue when federal funding ran out on Oct. 1. They say they won’t vote for a House-passed bill to reopen the government until Republicans give them some certainty that the subsidies will be extended.Democrats introduced legislation in September to permanently extend the premium tax credits, but they have suggested that they are open to a shorter period.“We need a serious negotiation,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has repeatedly said. Republicans try to scale the ACA back, again The Democratic demands on health care have reignited longstanding Republican complaints about the ACA, which they have campaigned against for years and tried and failed to repeal in 2017. Many in the party say that if Congress is going to act, they want to scrap the expanded subsidies and overhaul the entire law.The problem is not the expiring subsidies but “the cost of health care,” Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said Tuesday.In a virtual briefing Tuesday, the libertarian Cato Institute and the conservative Paragon Health Institute branded the subsidies as President Joe Biden’s “COVID credits” and claimed they’ve enabled fraudsters to sign people up for fully subsidized plans without their knowledge.Others have pitched more modest proposals that could potentially win over some Democrats. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has said he is open to extending the subsidies with changes, including lower income limits and a stop to auto-enrollment that may sign up people who don’t need the coverage.The ACA is “in desperate need of reform,” Thune has said.House Republicans are considering their own ideas for reforming the ACA, including proposals for phasing out the subsidies for new enrollees. And they have begun to discuss whether to combine health care reforms with a new government funding bill and send it to the Senate for consideration once they return to Washington.“We will probably negotiate some off-ramp” to ease the transition back to pre-COVID-19 levels, said Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, the head of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, during a virtual town hall Tuesday. Is compromise possible? A number of Republicans want to extend the subsidies. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said most people who are using the exchanges created by the ACA “don’t really have another option, and it’s already really, really expensive. So I think there are things we can do to reform the program.”Hawley said he had been having conversations with other senators about what those changes could be, including proposals for income limits, which he said he sees as a “very reasonable.”Bipartisan groups of lawmakers have been discussing the income limits and other ideas, including making the lowest-income people pay very low premiums instead of nothing. Some Republicans have advocated for that change to ensure that all enrollees are aware they have coverage and need it. Other proposals would extend the subsidies for a year or two or slowly phase them out.It’s unclear if any of those ideas could gain traction on both sides or any interest from the White House, where President Donald Trump has remained mostly disengaged. Despite the public stalemate, though, lawmakers are feeling increased urgency to find a solution as the Nov. 1 open enrollment date approaches.Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire has been talking to lawmakers since the shutdown began, trying to find areas of compromise. On Tuesday, she suggested that Congress could also look at extending the enrollment dates for the ACA since Congress is stalled on the subsidies.“These costs are going to affect all of us, and it’s going to affect our health care system,” she said. Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Joey Cappelletti in Washington and Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report. Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Its been a wild 24 hours for the stock prices of Americas big four publicly traded quantum computing companies, which include D-Wave, IonQ, Quantum Computing Inc., and Rigetti. Yesterday, all four quantum firms saw their stock prices fall significantly along with a broader market selloffmostly related to fears about a growing trade war with China and disappointing tech earnings. But today, shares of the Quantum Four are up on the rumors that the Trump administration is interested in taking an equity stake in quantum computing firms. Heres what you need to know. Commerce Department reportedly interested Last night, the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Commerce Department was in talks with several quantum computing companies over equity stakes in those firms in return for federal funding. Specifically, the Journal said D-Wave, IonQ, and Rigetti were in discussions with the federal government about the matter. The report stated that Quantum Computing Inc. and the privately held Atom Computing were considering similar arrangements. Fast Company has reached out to all the quantum firms named in the WSJs report. IonQ declined to comment. Others did not immediately reply. The exact terms of any such deal are unknown. However, the report states that minimum federal government funding awards would be for $10 million each. It is unknown how much equity the U.S. government would want in exchange for funding, though the level of equity and the amount of funding will likely be correlated. The funding would come from the Chips Research and Development Office, which is overseen by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The Commerce Department did not immediately reply for comment. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); The next frontier in computing That the Trump administration is reportedly interested in an equity stake in Americas quantum computing firms is of little surprise. This past year alone, the administration has taken stakes in chipmaker Intel. and rare earths mining operator MP Materials. The link between these two companies is that they produce products and materialsadvanced chips and rare earth elementsthat are seen as vital to Americas national security supply chain. Intels chips power everything from navigation systems to military technology, and MP’s rare earths are needed to make the components that go into critical electronics used by the government and military. Quantum computing differs in that, as of now, quantum computers dont play a critical role in powering the tools behind U.S. economic, military, or security power. But that is expected to change in the years ahead as quantum computers advance and have the potential to be more revolutionary than even AI. Quantum computers are different than the classical computers we use today. A classical computer operates using bits, where each bit of data can either be a one or a zero. However, a quantum computer utilizes qubits, where each unit of data can represent a one and a zeroor anything in betweenat the same time. This means that quantum computers can carry out computation tasks in a matter of minutes or hours that would take a classical computer thousands of years or more to compute. Given the potential for quantum computers to revolutionize everything from materials science to healthcare to communications and security, its no surprise that countries, including the United States and China, are deeply interested in the development of this technology. Quantum Four stocks jump on Thursday After the WSJ report broke, shares of the four publicly traded quantum computing companies spiked in premarket trading on Thursday morning. As of the time of this writing, all quantum four stocks are currently up significantly, including: D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS): up 13% IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ): up 12% Quantum Computing Inc. (Nasdaq: QUBT): up 11% Rigetti Computing, Inc. (Nasdaq: RGTI): up 9% Todays price jump helps wipe out much of the losses that the Quantum Four experienced yesterday amid a broader market selloff. Yesterday, D-Wave closed 15% lower, IonQ closed down 6%, Quantum Computing Inc. lost 7%, and Rigetti lost 9%. Over the past 12 months, the stock prices of the Quantum Four have surged. As of yesterdays close, D-Wave was up 2,174%, IonQ was up 269%, Quantum Computing Inc. was up 1,215%, and Rigetti was up 2,831%
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E-Commerce
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