Airbnb has spent the last couple of years expanding well beyond its original mission, launching Experiences, exploring business travel, and partnering with range of collaborators including Vice, Pantone, and the entire country of Sweden.

For its latest trick, Airbnb is testing the use of immersive technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality to “reduce the barriers to travel and the inherent friction that comes with it.”

Specifically, the company explained in a press release, they’re experimenting with using virtual reality before a trip and augmented reality during a trip to help guests select and navigate their rentals. Three-dimensional scans and 360-degree photos (like the prototype above) would offer users a better sense of a listing before they book, while augmented reality overlays could help guests better understand their temporary home once they’ve arrived.

Virtual tours are nothing new in the real estate industry, but anyone who’s been fooled by an artfully staged photo or a flattering angle can easily see why they’d be a helpful addition to Airbnb.

The augmented reality capabilities may in fact be the more interesting of the two. Airbnb envisions a world in which guests can use AR to find directions to the coffee mugs in the morning or to instantly translate text in a foreign language, or even to “breathe life into a space and tell the story behind the personal items to connect a traveler with their host and a new city in richer, more immersive ways.”

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Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne once expressed his opinion on the notion of an electric Ferrari simply as an “obscene concept”. It was a response which warranted the opinionated boss’ desire to keep the brand “pure” to the ways of good old internal combustion.

Not everyone agrees with him though, especially since modern day Ferraris don’t even come with a manual option anymore. Enter this particular 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS which is about to hit the auction block – and yes, it’s fully electric powered.

Now before you begin to reach for that pitch fork and accuse San Diego based EV company, Electric GT, for destroying a classic nobody really wanted, it’s worth noting that the car wasn’t in pristine condition to begin with.

A fuel leak back in the day resulted in the 308 GTS burning up its entire engine bay and accompanying wiring. It was left to waste away in a sorry state before it fell into the hands of the Californian electric car builder who crammed three electric motors into it to grant the vehicle tyre shredding capabilities.

The resurrected 308 GTS is now a proper fast car with 250kW in the back pocket and a subtle badge change which sees the ‘GTS’ nameplate being retired for a sneaky ‘GTE’ one.

Even the transmission is unique with a four speed manual paired up with the electric motor. Obviously it’s not a real manual transmission since electric motors don’t require gears to operate, but at least it won’t stall. Clutch? Doesn’t need one. Upshifting is a simple case of selecting a gear to drive in with the first having the highest acceleration and the fourth designed for highway cruising.

Watch the video below to see the Ferrari GTE in action.

The post The World's First Electric Ferrari Is Heading To Auction appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Here’s some motivation to get your finances in order this new year.

A fresh study has found that women are four times as sensitive to salary when it comes to finding a suitable partner than men on the same quest.

Whilst many will bemoan the collective cries of “no shit, genius”, it’s the specificity and detail in which the study goes into that’s interesting. Published in the Evolution and Human Behaviour journal, the results were concluded via a simple test that involved presenting photos of men and women alongside information of the subject’s annual salary.

This was enough to gauge how money influenced the attractiveness rating of men across the U.S, China and Europe.

And here’s the real kicker. The study’s author John Speakman revealed that, “a man can move himself two points higher on the attractiveness scale we used if his salary increases by a factor of ten”.

We repeat. A not-so-humble factor of ten.

“For a female to achieve the same two-point effect her salary would need to increase by 10,000 times.”

The theory behind this lies in the belief that females tend to be more sensitive to a man’s earnings due to the need for resources to invest in their offspring. Men meanwhile are less focused on a woman’s salary and more inclined towards their appearance and youthful looks as this pertains to a fertile partner.

Speakman didn’t hold back on his findings either, telling The Times that men who wanted to attract women this way should openly splash cash.

“This potentially explains a previous study that showed men give more money to charity when women are watching them than when other males are watching.”
The study is considered a significant find as it’s the first time that a men’s salary has been compared to a woman’s in regards to attractiveness levels.

The post How Much Men Need To Make To Improve Their Attractiveness appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Good news for men with big ambitions at the gym and the vocabulary of a sailor. According to at least one scientific study, cursing during a workout can improve your fitness performance.Psychologists from the UK’s University of Keele asked participants in an experiment to swear while either doing an intense session on a stationary bike or squeezing a device that measures hand grip strength. Participants were required to choose whichever curse word came most naturally, and to speak it in a “steady and clear” voice rather than shouting.Under both conditions, researchers found that using foul language resulted in significant improvements in performance when compared against uttering ‘neutral’ words. Cyclers increased their peak power by an average of 24 watts, while grip strength improved by 2.1 kilograms.Dr. Richard Stephens, who led the study, has offered several possible explanations. One theory suggests swearing could increase power and stamina by triggering a person’s fight-or-flight response and thus dulling pain. Other theories propose that the phenomenon could be chalked up to “generalised inhibition”, or that cursing could boost pain tolerance simply by providing a distraction.“We know from our earlier research that swearing makes people more able to tolerate pain,” Stephens said in a statement. “A possible reason for this is that it stimulates the body’s sympathetic nervous system — that’s the system that makes your heart pound when you are in danger. If that is the reason, we would expect swearing to make people stronger too — and that is just what we found in these experiments.”“But,” he continued, “when we measured heart rate and some other things you would expect to be affected if the sympathetic nervous system was responsible for this increase in strength, we did not find significant changes.”Co-author David Spierer of Long Island University Brooklyn offered a different explanation. “Cursing may allow people to shut down their inhibitions and somewhat veil the effort and the pain of this really difficult task,” he said. “Using swear words might be helpful in any circumstance where muscle strength and a sudden burst of force or speed is required.”So while the exact magic of cursing has yet to be identified, consider this carte blanche to drop all the f-bombs you want next time you’re sweating through those final reps.

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Put the real dumbbell down. The founders behind the prolific fitness site Bodybuilding.com have a new project and it’s set to threaten the old ways of the gym.

Black Box VR is the start up venture from Ryan DeLuca and Preston Lewis which made its debut at this year’s CES. The goal? A promise to deliver a full body work-out via a 30-minute virtual reality experience – yes, like a video game for gym junkies.

“A full body workout via a 30-minute virtual reality experience – yes, like a video game for gym junkies”

The fitness set up utilises a custom-built resistance training machine paired with a HTC Vive VR headset. Once put together, the system takes up the size of a family bathroom – a feat previously unheard of in the realm of today’s commercial gyms.

Naturally, experts have raised a few safety concerns which they believe could impede the system’s success in the real world. The Idaho-based fitness firm however believes that the solution lies in allowing participants to join a virtual arena where they can compete against an avatar or potentially each other – yes, like online gaming for Black Box VR users.

DeLuca and Lewis’ lofty goals for Black Box VR don’t just reside in the virtual space though. The duo have noted that their business plan includes opening up boutique gyms across the United States where members can enter their own personal ‘Black Box” space for a gamified workout that is tracked and recorded for progress.

The pair also haven’t ruled out devising a more compact system for the home.

“Most people stop going [to the gym] after a couple of weeks so adherence is something that’s a critical factor of what we’re trying to solve,” Black Box VR general manager Jim Bradbury told the BBC an interview.

The most important aspect facing Black Box VR’s entry into the fitness industry is its effectiveness. Job Stauffer who is a former games developer and now works with the VR Health Institute and Black Box VR admits that the digital realm of fitness has helped him drop more than 37kg.

Stauffer claims that games such as Sound Boxing which is like “Guitar Hero for the arms and Space Pirate Trainer which is like using a cross trainer, helped him drop the calories. He added that the VR Health Institute is currently in the process of developing a Pan European Game Information (Pegi)-style rating system which grades games based on their activity levels.

With the juggernaut of Bodybuilding.com behind the project, Black Box VR should have a decent shot at the fitness industry. Whether or not it will catch on is still to be seen.

The post This Virtual Reality Gym Could Be The Secret To Getting Swole appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Cryptocurrency madness and Bitcoin bonanza has firmly taken ahold of the internet. It’s much like the gold rush of the 1800’s. Those who moved first will be laughing all the way to the bank and the rest will probably be left holding dust when it all crashes.One problem of the insane profits many traders are making is taxation. Once you decide you’ve had enough, what do you do with your handsome profits? Do you declare them to Mr.Taxman? Or do you hide everything in a Swiss bank account like a 1960’s bond villain?Wild ideas aside, if you transfer $50,000 into your bank account tomorrow you’re going to get slapped at the maximum tax bracket, so you want to think this through.We’ve spoke to accountants, crypto-gurus (if there is such a thing?) and friends of friends who know a bloke who once owned Bitcoin to understand the options further.The good news is cryptocurrency is still kind of a grey area at the moment so you could be in luck… but this is unlikely to last forever.RELATED: Cryptocurrency is the future of money

What Mr.Taxman says…

‘Bitcoin is neither money nor a foreign currency, and the supply of bitcoin is not a financial supply for goods and services tax (GST) purposes. Bitcoin is, however, an asset for capital gains tax (CGT) purposes.’

The short of this is, if you’re making profit from Bitcoin, even though it’s not recognised as ‘money’ you still need to pay tax on any capital gains, much like selling shares or property.Jump to the Australia Business website and they are singing the same song.

‘Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies aren’t considered to be money or foreign currency by the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Instead, they’re treated as assets for capital gains tax purposes, making them more like a barter arrangement.’

Regardless, any ‘barter’ transaction must be recorded as stated by the tax office below.If you receive payment by Bitcoin, you’ll need to record:

• the date of the transaction
• the amount in Australian dollars (a reputable Bitcoin exchange can tell you this)
• what the transaction was for
• who the other person or business was (a Bitcoin address is enough)

Bitcoin payments made to you by customers will become part of your taxable income. You may also be charged GST when receiving Bitcoin in return for goods and services.

If you hold your crypto longer than 12 months…

Much like shares or property, if Bitcoin has been held as an investment by certain individuals and trusts for more than 12 months, a 50% CGT discount may apply to reduce the taxable gain. This same rule should apply to Altcoins, however you will need to provide proof of purchase of the original Bitcoin purchases used to acquire the Altcoins.

Your Bitcoin can be considered a ‘personal use asset’…

If you’ve bought Bitcoin to buy goods or services for personal use (i.e. lattes and wishing machines) and the original cost of purchase was under $10,000, any gain made will be tax free as it is a “personal use asset”. that’s good news!

Where you use bitcoin to purchase goods or services for personal use or consumption, any capital gain or loss from disposal of the bitcoin will be disregarded (as a personal use asset) provided the cost of the bitcoin is $10,000 or less.

The ATO provide more information on what classifies as an asset for CGT and what is exempt. In fact the ATO cryptocurrency guide is remarkably concise and simple, even for idiots like most crypto traders.

Using Bitcoin for barter of goods and services…

Let’s say you just made a cool $300,000 on Ripple (XRP) and you have had your eye on a new Porsche 911 GTS. You could look for a car dealer who is happy to let you buy the fancy new Porsche with your cryptocurrency.Melbourne based car dealership Motorbiz is one business which is taking advantage of the trend. At the time of writing Motorbiz confirmed they have been receiving enquiries daily since announcing their acceptance of part or full payment for their vehicles using Bitcoin.Small business owners can read up on how to accept Bitcoin as payment via the Wikipedia page. Better still see what the Australian government has to say about it.The question then becomes how do you explain to the taxman how you acquired such a nice shiny new Porsche 911…On the flip side you then look for companies which accept crypto as payment for services. Consulting? Training? Special massages? The options are limitless.If you want to know all the businesses that accept Bitcoin payments then jump over here.

Load your coins onto a debit card with TenX…

Singapore based TenX is its own cryptocurrency but with a difference. They offer the ability to acquire a debit card (for $10) which allows you to load your Bitcoin, Etherium and other cryptos onto the TenX card.You can then use your TenX debit card to pay for life’s little treasures…. fancy dinners, soy lattes, hell even a fancy new Rolex. TenX also offer a handy little app where you can track your account and load more Bitcoin on. Definitely a great concept and one worth investigating.A word of warning with TenX – your profits are NOT converted into a cash currency, rather they stay in their cryptocurrency, so you’re at the mercy of the cryptocurrency market value. If the market tanks, you’re likely to lose your profits.Also worth mentioning that VISA has shut off these types of payment in Europe.

“Many Bitcoin payment cards are operated using Visa provider WaveCrest, a Gibraltar-based company. WaveCrest reportedly emailed card holders informing them Visa had ordered it to close all pre-paid cards.” – Telegraph UK

Transfer your Bitcoin profit into Paypal…

If you’re likely to use your profits for online goods and services, then Paypal could be a good option.The downside with Paypal are the fees both to transfer and to spend being rather hefty. A service like Unichange have a limit of $500 per transaction which is a pain in the ass. ExchangeMyCoins offers a similar service but it can take up to 3 days for the funds to hit your Paypal account.

Pay some bills…

Some clever bastard launched Living Room Of Satoshi. Arguably the least literal name ever, regardless you can pay all your bills via Bitcoin in Australian dollars. If you’ve been mining bitcoins all night this could be a perfect way to pay that electricity bill.

The art of business is being a good middleman

Living Room Of Satoshi is just that…

It’s was all a big gamble…

Let’s say you just took a big ol’ massive punt a year ago on a penny cryptocurrency. We technically this is a gamble and could be seen that way by the tax office. This is a long shot and you’ll most likely be audited but if you can prove you’re not a day trader and this was a punt, then it could be looking good for you.

And for the rest of you…

If you’re a big fish with hundreds of thousands in crypto profit you’re most likely going to want to speak to a good accountant as early as possible with all your easy earned profits. They’re going to be able to point you in the right direction before your profits get too cray.Considering this Bitcoin bubble is money for jam, paying a cut to the taxman is no big deal. It just means you can buy your beachfront home in Bondi sooner without raising suspicious eyebrows.Disclaimer – In no way are we endorsing dodging your tax duties as an Australian citizen, rather this is just a rough guide on what your rights are as a cryptotrader extraordinaire. 

The post Crypto Tax Australia: Everything You Need To Know appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

For the last four years, AirlineRatings.com has singled out Qantas for the top spot in its annual ranking of the world’s safest airlines. This year, the website assessed 409 major airlines before compiling its final verdict, a list of the top 20 safest carriers in alphabetical order.

“Our top 20 safest airlines are always at the forefront of safety innovation, operational excellence and the launching of new more advanced aircraft like the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787,” said Geoffrey Thomas, AirlineRatings.com’s Editor-in-Chief. “Qantas has been the lead airline in virtually every major operational safety advancement over the past 60 years and has not had a fatality in the jet era. But Qantas is not alone. Long established airlines such as Hawaiian and Finnair also have perfect records in the jet era.”

To arrive at its top 20, AirlineRatings.com took into account factors like previous incidents, audits from governments and the aviation industry’s regulatory bodies, fleet age, and airlines’ records of crashes and other serious incidents.

Click through the gallery above to see the worlds safest airlines for 2018, in alphabetical order.

This year AirlineRatings.com also announced the low-cost carriers with the best safety records. The top 10, in alphabetical order, are: Aer Lingus, Flybe, Frontier, HK Express, JetBlue, Jetstar Australia, Thomas Cook, Virgin America, Vueling and WestJet.

At the bottom of the list, with only a single star rating out of seven stars, are 2018’s least safe airlines. North Korea’s Air Koryo, Suriname’s Blue Wing Airlines, and Indonesia’s Trigana Air Service pull up the rear, along with four carriers from Nepal: Buddha Air, Nepal Airlines, Tara Air, and Yeti Airlines.

The post The World's Safest Airlines For 2018 Have Been Revealed appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

The first internet heroes of 2018 have emerged. In a heartwarming tale of ingenuity and perseverance, a group of New Year’s Eve revellers in New Zealand expertly evaded a beach booze ban by building a makeshift island off the coast.

An anonymous observer told Stuff.co.nz that the group arrived at the Tairua Estuary in the coastal town of Coromandel on Sunday afternoon. During low tide, they constructed a modest island out of sand and installed a wooden picnic table and an esky.

As the tide came in, the partiers settled down for a round of well-deserved drinks, telling onlookers they were safe from the booze ban because they were stationed in “international waters”.

The ban forbid alcohol consumption at the beach and other public places in the Coromandel area on New Year’s Eve. Offenders could be fined $227, but it seems this sly squad had little to fear from authorities.

Local police commander Inspector John Kelly offered praise for the private alcohol island.“That’s creative thinking,” he told Stuff. “If I had known that I probably would have joined them.”

Even Thames-Coromandel Mayor Sandra Goudie applauded the effort, saying “That’s the one thing I absolutely love about the Coromandel — the inventive nature of the people.”

The post Clever Kiwis Invent Solution To Beat NYE Beach Booze Ban appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

The year’s end brings a many of us to a retrospective outlook of achievements. That dodgy retaining wall. That adorable newborn you never asked for. The realisation that you’re another year closer to reaching peak silver fox status.

In the motoring world at least, things tend to be less trivial and a little more tantalising with the faint scent of spent rubber. Behold, your most exciting car releases of 2017.

Porsche 911 GT2 RS

When Porsche set out to recapture the crown as the fastest production car to ever lap the famed Nurburgring, they did so in spectacular fashion by beating its closest rival by five whole seconds – a significant feat across a daunting 20km public track that’s notorious for sending novice drivers into steel barriers.

For 2017, the 911 GT2 RS beat out big name manufacturers like Lamborghini, Dodge, Nissan and Mecerdes-AMG with no-nonsense platform built for uncompromising speed. This included a 3.8-litre twin-turbo boxer engine pumping out 515kW of power and 750Nm of torque sent to the rear wheels via a PDK twin-clutch auto. It was enough firepower to see the car hit 100km/h in just 2.8s before topping out at a ridiculous 340km/h (complete with 400km/h speedo).

Alfa Romeo Stelvio

Speaking of Nurburgring laptimes, one unlikely but equally deserving hero of the Green Hell turned out to be an SUV. Not just any SUV, Alfa Romeo’s first ever attempt at an SUV.

The practical five-seater sports essential Alfa Romeo lines but under the skin it’s all business with the top-of-the-line Stelvio Quadrifoglio sporting a Ferrari-built 2.9-litre twin turbo V6 which delivers 375kW and 600Nm of power to all four wheels. That’s enough to see the car reach 100km/h in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 238km/h.

There’s enough in those figures to see the Stelvio trump its closest competition on the Porsche Cayenne Turbo by eight seconds. That is until the yet-to-be-released Lamborghini Urus gives it a crack…

Mercedes-AMG Project One

When a carmaker claws its way to the top of Formula One rankings and stays there to dominate year on year, there’s only one way to celebrate – build the world’s fastest hypercar.

Designed as the Silver Arrows’ Formula One car for the road, the Project One features advanced aerodynamic appointments and engineering smarts directly carried over from the motorsport practice – 50,000km engine and drivetrain overhaul service included.

740kW of power is developed from a mid-mounted 1.6-litre turbo V6 which can easily spin to an astounding 11,000rpm without throwing a rod through the bonnet.

This conventional propulsion system is further paired with four electric motors – a 120kW electric motor on the turbo, one on the crankshaft and two smaller electric motors to drive the front wheels.

Aston Martin Valkyrie

Similar in design criteria to the Mercedes-AMG Project One, Aston Martin wanted to showcase what they could do with their fresh partnership with Formula One’s Red Bull Racing team. The result? The British marque’s very own Valkyrie hypercar.

Although in concept form for 2017, the car will eventually make its on-road debut with production to commence in 2018 alongside cutting-edge aerodynamics – think the omission of side mirrors for strategically placed cameras which beam live images back into the cabin.

The Valkyrie will be built around a 6.5-litre naturally-aspirated Cosworth V12 complete with KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) to deliver 843kW of power sent to a seven-speed dual clutch transmission. Weight will also be kept to a healthy 1,030kg which surpasses the elusive 1:1 power to weight ratio.

Lamborghini Urus

Self-proclaimed as the world’s first Super Sport Utility Vehicle with the attitude of a raging bull and the heart of a modern supercar, the Urus has its targets firmly set on becoming the fastest SUV ever built.

It certainly has the right credentials for it and in 2017 it set hearts racing with a sleek four-door body hiding a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 capable of delivering 485kW of power and 850Nm of torque to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.

That’s enough grunt to get the Urus to 100km/h in 3.6 seconds before topping out at 305km/h. Other performance enhancements includes carbon ceramic brakes as standard, active roll control and a torque vectoring rear differential for quicker corner speeds. There’s also a few drive modes to choose from including Strada, Sport, Corsa and Neve (Snow), Terra (off-road) and Sabbia (sand). Air suspension on the Urus raises the body for off-road applications whilst sportier drives will see a drop in height.

McLaren 720S

McLaren pulled the covers off their latest supercar in early 2017 and it has proven to be a winner amongst enthusiast circles.

The 720S marked the arrival of the British marque’s second generation Super Series car which took over from the outgoing 650S. The car is 90 percent new from McLaren with the remaining 10 percent of parts being derived from siblings such as the 675LT and P1.

That saw to it that the 720S received a carbon superstructure in place of aluminium and a new twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 unit sporting 530kW of power and 770Nm of torque alongside a 0-100km/h sprint time of 2.8s.

Ferrari 812 Superfast

A shiny new prancing horse was announced at this year’s Geneva Motor Show and it’s an absolute weapon.

As the replacement model for the outgoing F12 Berlinetta, the aptly named 812 Superfast came with Maranello’s most powerful V12 engine ever made crammed in front of the driver.

Ferrari’s latest 6.5-litre V12 engine develops 588kW of power and 718Nm of torque to send away the 0-100km/h sprint in 2.9 seconds.

Mercedes-Benz X-Class Concept

Mercedes-Benz surprised the world and cashed-up tradies with the announcement of their wild X-Class Concept this year.

Set to be released in 2018, the X-Class is the Silver Arrows’ first ever ute (that’s pick-up truck for you Americans) that will deliver working class practicality with renowned Mercedes-Benz fit and finish. There are no powertrain or engine specs as of yet but there is a cool trailer showing off the car’s capabilities.

Tesla Roadster Concept

Sneaking in at the very last minute of 2017 is the resurrected Tesla Roadster.

The American carmaker kept things on the down-low when it sprung the “quickest car in the world” on unsuspecting audiences which came to see an electric truck launch.

Slated for a 2020 release date, the Roadster concept features sleek proportions which blends aerodynamics with a sporty silhouette.

Under the skin it’s an all-electric affair dialled up to achieve a 0-100km/h time in just 1.9-seconds. And unlike most electric supercars which tend to lack grunt at the top end, Tesla founder Elon Musk hinted that the new Roadster can easily manage a top speed of 402km/h.

Drive is sent to all four wheels via a single electric motor up front and dual electric motors out back.

There’s even claims of a new battery which can afford a range of 1,000km per charge.

The post Ring In The New Year With The Hottest Cars Releases Of 2017 appeared first on DMARGE Australia.