Herman Miller's Aeron chair is a fixture in high-tech work environments.

When it launched in 1994, it looked different from other office furniture — engineered, not designed, according to Wired. Startups and even big tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg swear by it. 

Now Herman Miller is trying to transform the rest of the workspace to be as high-tech as its office chairs. It announced a new set of smart office furniture on Monday that uses sensors to relay exactly how a workspace is being used.

Those sensors send data to software called Live OS, which can display on a dashboard exactly how much time people are spending on their desks, if they're getting up to stand and move around, or just which desks are currently in use. 

That can be extremely useful for startups and other high-tech companies that don't assign every worker a personal desk. 

Herman Miller will sell Live OS sensors separately, for around $100, to retrofit existing furniture. But the system really starts to shine when an office is equipped with the company's new standing desk. Through an app, workers can set preferences for their desk's preferred height, or reminders to stand and change positions. 

Running these sensors don't come cheap — the software to run them costs about $36 per desk per year, according to Quartz. Part of that is the cost of hooking the sensors up to a cellular network. But for a company that has its eyes set on an efficient, quantified office, they might be just what an office manager is looking for. 

Check out how Herman Miller's new high-tech furniture works in pictures:

SEE ALSO: REVIEW: Apple's new iPad Pro is the best tablet

Live OS is Herman Miller's new software that uses sensors embedded in desks and other office furniture.

The biggest advantage for companies running Live OS is that they can track how their office is being used on a dashboard.

On the dashboard, you can see the time the office is most full.

Some Tesla vehicles are about to get a big tech upgrade. 

The car maker is expected to roll out a software update this week that will improve Enhanced Autopilot, which is the company's new semi-autonomous system. 

All Tesla vehicles built since October 2016 come equipped with updated hardware to enable Enhanced Autopilot.

But only Tesla owners who opt to pay $5,000 for the new system will get access to all of the high-tech tricks that come with each software update. 

While Tesla has offered Enhanced Autopilot since October, the company has yet to activate all of the features that come with the updated system. In fact, because Tesla is still running verification tests, cars with the new semi-autonomous system have actually lacked some features that are available in the older version of Autopilot. 

But that is starting to change. 

The upcoming software update will help bring cars with Enhanced Autopilot up to speed. CEO Elon Musk said during Tesla's shareholder meeting last week that the next software update will "exceed the experience of the hardware one cars." He also said that the system will "advance very rapidly from there," hinting that more updates will soon follow. 

On Sunday, Musk said via Twitter that the over-the-air update should happen this weekend and that it will include "additional smoothness improvements to longitudinal control."According to a report from Electrek, the update will also give cars with Enhanced Autopilot the ability to perpendicular park on their own. 

Tesla says it will continue to add more features to the system as it completes the validation process. Here's a look at what its vehicles with Enhanced Autopilot will be able to do once future updates are pushed out. 

SEE ALSO: Elon Musk just revealed an important detail about Tesla's upcoming electric semi-truck

When Tesla first launched in October 2015, cars got the ability to autosteer. But Tesla cars with Enhanced Autopilot will be able to autosteer more accurately on complex roads.

RAW Embed

The new system also enables the vehicle to better match its speed to traffic conditions. 

Tesla cars with Enhanced Autopilot will abe able to automatically change lanes without the driver having to give any input.

RAW Embed

The first generation of Autopilot required drivers to hit the turn signal for the vehicle to steer itself into a different lane. 

Tesla vehicles with the new semi-autonomous system will be capable of exiting the freeway onto an offramp automatically.

After entering destination information into the navigation system, the vehicle will be able to take control on the freeway and get into the necessary lane to exit. Once the car reaches the exit, it will take the offramp, slow down, and return control to the driver. 

Some smartphone games require little more than opposable thumbs and a pulse. 

Others, like Blackbox, require so much wit and creativity that you'll either end up feeling frustrated or incredibly proud of yourself. 

Blackbox is a puzzle game for iPhone that was just awarded one of Apple's prestigious Design Awards, which honor the best new apps, the ones Apple thinks are especially useful or beautiful.

Blackbox was among this year's 12 winners, which Apple announced at its annual developer conference this week.

Blackbox presents you with small challenges that you have to complete by doing everything except touch the screen. Each challenge ends when you "turn on the lights," meaning the small, brightly-colored squares (called lights) change from empty to filled. To do this, you have to use your phone's other sensors, features and functions to trigger the puzzle.  

If that sounds confusing, it is. Blackbox is hard — I mean really hard — but equally rewarding. Here's how it works.

SEE ALSO: 12 fun tricks hidden inside Google Hangouts

When you download Blackbox, you'll be greeted with a short (and sassy) walkthrough of the components of the app.

But those directions are mysterious, only providing the basics before launching you into your first puzzle.

In this puzzle, there are six lights to turn on. The game doesn't give you any directions on how to do that, simply urging you to "Think outside the box," which isn't particularly helpful — unless you notice that the words are reversed, which means you need to flip your phone around until you hit all six lights. 

The main thing to know about Blackbox is that most of the puzzles can't be solved with simple taps or swipes on the screen. Instead, the game uses actions you can complete using the sensors and features within your phone — like changing the volume buttons, altering the screen brightness, plugging into the headphone jack — to solve the puzzles.

The wildly successful battle-royale-style game "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" is getting three major updates that many players asked for.

The updates were announced on Monday during the E3 PC Gaming Show, and streamed on PC Gamer's YouTube channel. 

Those updates include new gameplay maneuvers and animations, like climbing and vaulting over obstacles, as well as new weather modes, like fog and a beautiful dusk setting.

While the updates may not seem significant for those familiar with big-name AAA games like the "Call of Duty" franchise, it's a big deal for a game "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," which is still unfinished and yet so popular. Indeed,"PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" is an "early access" game at the time of writing. That means it's available to buy and play, but it's not a fully released game and players could encounter a few bugs here and there, as well as limited features. Despite this, Bluehole Studios, the developers behind "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrouds," had sold two million copies of the game within its first five weeks of availability.

It's not yet known when players can expect an update containing these features, but it shoudn't be too long judging by the constant updates rolled out by Bluehole Studios. Check out the new features coming to "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds:"

SEE ALSO: Forget 'Call of Duty' — this insane new game is going to blow your mind

1. Climbing over obstacles.

This is a big deal, as players aren't currently able to jump over obstacles that should be easy to clear, especially when you have the adrenaline that comes with a life-or-death fight coursing through your veins.

Here's what climbing over a car hood looks like in the upcoming update.

This could let you get a better look as you scan the horizon for potential enemies, but it could also make you target practice for danger that lurks nearby.

2. Vaulting

Sprinting away from danger is the only way to get out of a sticky situation in "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" at the moment, so it's good to see a new option to evade a barrage of bullets more quickly in the upcoming update.

Okay, you've wowed your potential employer with your résumé and cover letter. Now, they actually want to talk to you — over the phone, via Skype, or in person.

You can rest assured, you're definitely qualified for this job. Now, it's up to you to seal the deal and ace the dreaded job interview.

Some people are naturals at selling themselves to hiring managers. Others aren't. Either way, you've already put in a ton of effort, so you might as well take steps to rock your interview.

Here are 13 tricks that might be hard to master, but will take your interviewing experience to the next level:

SEE ALSO: 11 body language mistakes that will make you seem dishonest in a job interview

DON'T MISS: 23 questions you should never ask at the end of a job interview

Establish the right mindset beforehand

Get yourself hyped for the interview.

This can be pretty difficult for some people, especially if you've got a lot on the line. Try taking some deep breaths. A good trick for maintaining a sense of calm is visualizing your success and accepting that rejection's a possibility, but not an inevitability.

If you're nervous, as Steve Errey of "The Daily Muse" writes, it's important not to assume your interviewer is there to be judgmental and mean. The hiring manager is not your opponent — odds are, they're hoping to feel wowed.

"You were asked to come in because someone at the company wants to get to know you," says Errey. "The hiring manager wants to hear more about the experiences he read about on paper, and I promise you no one is looking to see how much shaking you can do in those boots of yours."

Prepare some good questions

Job interviews are scary. By the end of the ordeal, you're probably thinking that the last thing you want to do is drag on the experience with more questions.

However, asking good questions that demonstrate your knowledge and interest in the job is exactly what you have to do in order to demonstrate your interest and engagement.

Because it's often impossible for some people to think up informed questions on the spot, write some down beforehand. Rehearse them a bit, if that makes you feel more comfortable.

Break the ice with some good conversation starters

First impressions are important, so you really want to get off on the right foot at your interview.

Still, job interviews are often present a somewhat intimidating conversational environment, so finding the right conversation starter can be pretty tricky. It can be hard to make a perfect first impression when you're super nervous to begin with.

Rachel Gillett previously reported for Business Insider that the key is making the job interviewer feel like they have your undivided attention; good conversation starters include asking about the person's weekend or referencing a post you liked from their organization's blog or social media platforms.

I love featuring other people’s early retirement strategies. The following post is by ESI, an early retiree from ESI Money, a blog about achieving financial independence through earning, saving, and investing.

Before we begin let me introduce myself so you know I haven’t just fallen off the turnip truck. I reached financial independence in my 40’s and eventually retired last year at 52.

My assets are arranged so that I’m living off the income they provide — not having to draw them down. So, in theory, they will last forever.

My 30-year march to retirement had its ups and downs. I made some great moves and missed others big-time.

With the benefit of hindsight, I’ll share what I consider to be the key steps to retiring as soon as possible — taking the best of what worked for me combined with what I wish I had done differently.

Afterward, I’ll give an example of how these steps can play out in the real world.

The ESI scale

My site is called ESI Money because it focuses on the three areas that drive financial independence: earning, saving, and investing (ESI).

As you might imagine, the more you do of these three, the faster you’ll get to financial independence. But “do more” as guidance is a bit vague and doesn’t provide a clear path to retirement.

To reach early retirement you’ll need to get specific and determine what level of commitment you can make to each of the three steps, then make a plan to work on those.

There are many paths that can get you home, so consider where you can make headway and where you’d rather pull back a bit. The following steps in this post are ones I think give the best chance for quick success, but you’ll need to determine whether or not they fit your lifestyle.

SEE ALSO: I retired at 52 with a $3 million net worth — here are the 10 worst money mistakes anyone can make

Step 1: Create a retirement budget

Before you climb a mountain, you size it up. The retirement equivalent of that is setting a post-retirement budget.

You need to know what you want to spend in retirement in order to understand what you’re shooting for. Once you do, you’re off to make it happen.

If you have a budget now (and the longer you’ve had one the better), setting an estimate should be easy. Developing my retirement budget was a breeze because I had over 20 years of spending data in Quicken. I knew exactly what our family required in every category. Yours will be equally simple if you’ve been keeping a budget for at least a few years.

If you haven’t, you’ll need to start from ground zero. You should develop a budget for the next year (we’ll use it more in a few steps) as well as draft an estimate of your retirement spending. The best sources for spending estimates will be bank and credit card statements.

Step 2: Work to grow your career

Here are two great pieces of news about your career:

• Your career is your largest asset and is literally worth millions of dollars

• There are proven actions you can take to make it worth millions more

No, I am not over-stating the value of your career. But I am emphasizing it because a career is the engine that drives the early retirement train.

There are seven steps that will grow your career and help you earn higher than average raises. The good news for you is that you can start these right away. It took me a couple decades to learn some of them and I was still able to earn over 8% annual raises during my 28-year career. Here’s how to get a raise. The younger you are, you’ll have a big head start on me and thus have the potential to perform much better.

Review the seven steps and develop a plan to put them into action. Your bank account will thank you.

Step 3: Scour your budget for savings

As your earnings grow, also look to increase the gap between earning and spending by regularly updating and reviewing your budget.

As you become more familiar with it and see how the money is flowing out, you’ll be able to identify steps to maximize your savings rate.

I recommend reviewing your budget and making adjustments monthly. This is what we did and it was quite effective.

By this process of regular review and changes, you’ll ensure your budget is efficient as possible.

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

Father's Day is less than a week away, so it's officially crunch time.

Waiting until the last minute to by someone a gift is usually a bad idea. But not always. With many brands holding Father's Day-specific sales in the days leading up to June 18, procrastinators may actually end up saving some money.

Whether your dad's a tech geek, outdoorsman, or gym rat, there's bound to be a great deal for him in this list.

Having trouble figuring out what to get your dad for Father's Day? Browse all of Insider Picks' 2017 Father's Day gift guides here.

DON'T MISS: 32 last-minute gifts your dad actually wants this Father's Day

Jomashop

Jomashop, a popular online watch retailer, has hundreds of handsome timepieces discounted to a fraction of their MSRP. This week, you can save up to 65% on a watch from a high-end brand and receive free expedited shipping with the code "FASTSHIP."

Shop here>> 

ACE Hardware

ACE Hardware's sale ranges from discounted lawnmowers to complimentary assembly for any grill over $399 — perfect for the dad who spends the bulk of his summer outside.

Shop here >>

Allen Edmonds

Dad might need some new shoes, but he probably won't ask you for a pair on his own. That's where Allen Edmonds comes in. Now through June 18, you can save up to $150 on a pair of shoes. 

Shop here >>

The INSIDER Summary

• From pulled pork tacos to spare ribs, these restaurants have a variety of hearty dishes to offer.
• Yelp helped us find the 50 highest-rated barbecue joints in the country. 

It's officially summer, which means grilling season is in full swing. But why not let someone else stand by the hot fire for you?

So skip the burgers and hot dogs in your backyard for smoked ribs and brisket made by experts.

Keep scrolling to see the 50 best barbecue joints in the country, according to Yelp. 

50. Cou-yon's in Port Allen, Louisiana

Check out its Yelp reviews here

49. Pruller Restaurant in Marlborough, Massachusetts

Check out its Yelp reviews here

48. Bully's Restaurant in Jackson, Mississippi

Check out its Yelp reviews here

Kevin Durant has exceeded expectations of him when he entered the NBA in 2007 at just 19 years old.

Durant easily sits atop the 2007 Draft class, an all-time great player in a solid, if unspectacular class.

While the 2007 Draft produced one of the more sad and notorious busts in Greg Oden, it also was surprisingly deep and has produced solid players like Al Horford, Mike Conley, Joakim Noah, and Wilson Chandler.

The draft is littered with some players who have had long, consistent careers, and some guys, of course, who didn't work out.

See what happened to all 30 first-round picks below.

The Portland Trail Blazers took Greg Oden with the No. 1 pick.

Projected to be a superstar, Oden's career never materialized, as he played just 105 games in six seasons due to knee injuries. He retired in 2014 and is now a student-coach at Ohio State.

Source: ESPN

The Seattle Sonics took Kevin Durant with the second pick.

Microsoft has a brand new game console called the Xbox One X. All that “Project Scorpio” talk you might have heard the last few months? This is that, without the code words.

In any case, Microsoft is touting the new device as “the world’s most powerful console.” Based on its internal specs, Microsoft probably isn’t wrong!

But since this kind of iterative release is a bit untraditional for game consoles, you might have questions about what exactly this new Xbox is, and where it fits into the larger gaming market.

We're here to help. Here’s everything we know about the Xbox One X, now that it’s officially been unveiled:

SEE ALSO: I got an early look at Microsoft's new Xbox One X in action, and I was not blown away

The Xbox One X is, fundamentally, another Xbox One.

This is not a “next-generation” device like the leap from the Xbox 360 to the Xbox One.

Instead, it’s more like Microsoft’s version of Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro — it takes the existing Xbox One and makes it stronger.

That means it plays all the same games you can play on the original Xbox One or Xbox One S. There is no deviation in any of the three devices’ game libraries.

In other words, there are no games that are exclusive to the Xbox One X. If you’d prefer the cheaper Xbox One S, you won’t miss out on that next "Halo,""Crackdown," or what have you.

At the same time, this means a good chunk of the games from companies other than Microsoft will still be available on the PlayStation 4 and other platforms as well. 

Also worth noting: Like the other Xbox One consoles, the One X will be "backwards compatible" with select older games from the Xbox 360 and, soon, original Xbox. 

That said, Microsoft is promising that games on the Xbox One X will look and run better than they will on other Xbox One devices, provided that those games are built with the Xbox One X’s extra horsepower in mind.

Aaron Judge has played fewer than 100 big league games and he is already creating MVP buzz as he leads the American League in all three triple crown categories.

What Judge lacks in experience, he more than makes up for with one huge advantage over other players — his size. At 6-foot-7, 285 pounds, Judge is the largest position player in Major League history, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.

With that size comes shear strength, and with strength, Judge can hit the ball harder than most. That not only means more home runs, but with the ball coming off the bat faster, it increases the chances of balls being hit where fielders can't reach them.

To truly appreciate how big Judge is, one needs to just see him standing next to his peers. Below we take a look at some recent pictures of Judge making other players look tiny.

Aaron Judge is not built like most baseball players. Just ask his fellow outfielder, Brett Gardner.

His teammates often look like high schoolers next to him.

A giant among men.

It's been one crisis after the other for Uber, calling into question the future of the $69 billion startup like never before.

And now it's all coming to a head.

On Tuesday, Uber is expected to release to employees the results of an intensive months-long study into its corporate culture. The report is expected to include recommendations for how the company should address its problems.

We don't know yet exactly what will be in the report. One of the biggest questions to be answered is what will happen to CEO Travis Kalanick; he's reportedly considering a leave of absence.

Even ahead of the report's release, Uber has already made some big changes. Emil Michael, Kalanick's right-hand man and chief fundraiser, resigned Monday. And last week Uber fired more than 20 people after a separate investigation looked into 215 complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination, and other bad behavior at the company.

Uber's board has committed, unanimously, to following the recommendations of the report, whatever those turn out to be. Depending on those recommendations, the most valuable tech startup on Tuesday could have a totally new executive team or it could look like it's protecting the status quo. Either way, the company's response to the report could go a long way toward determining its future.

Here's how Uber got to this precarious point and what's at stake now:

SEE ALSO: Uber's longtime chief business officer, a confidant of Travis Kalanick, is leaving the company

The blog that started it all

It started with a story about "one very, very strange" year at Uber. 

On February 19, Susan Fowler published a blog post about her time as an engineer at the ride-hailing company. 

Fowler detailed what happened after a manager allegedly propositioned her for sex. Uber's HR department dismissed her complaints, because the manager was a high performer, she said. When she persisted with her complaints, Uber's HR ignored them, and then her manager threatened to fire her for reporting things to HR, she said.

She also wrote about the broader culture at Uber. One time, all the men on her team got leather jackets, she said, adding that the team's women didn't get any.

Fowler's post was hard to dismiss as just the rantings of a disgruntled employee. In response to it, Kalanick immediately called for an internal investigation into the company's work culture. In the last four months, Uber's HR department and two law firms have been interviewing employees, fielding complaints, and digging into what went wrong at the company.

Fowler's blog was just the beginning. Since then, the number of scandals at Uber has multiplied.

The New York Times published a bombshell story soon after Fowler's post reporting that her claims weren't unique. Employees did cocaine during a company retreat, and a manager had to be fired after groping multiple women, according to the report. Former employees said they'd notified Uber's leadership, including Kalanick and CTO Thuan Pham, of the workplace harassment.

The retreat apparently wasn't an isolated thing. Kalanick's former girlfriend, Gabi Holzwarth, told Bloomberg she spoke to Holder's investigators directly about two other incidents at the company. 

One of them involved a visit to an escort-karaoke bar in Seoul Uber officials made in 2014 where "four male Uber managers picked women out of the group, calling out their numbers, and sat with them,"according to a report in The Information. Michael, Uber's business head, allegedly called Holzwarth directly to ask that she not divulge that story.

Among those at the bar in Seoul was Eric Alexander, an Uber exec the company let go last week amid reports about a different scandal. Alexander, reportedly obtained the medical records of an Indian rape victim and carried them around in a briefcase for a year. According to Recode, senior Uber executives, including Kalanick and Michael, were paranoid the rape was being used by one of the company's competitors in India to sabotage Uber. 

Uber's problems have gone beyond its alleged bro culture to include questions about its business ethics. In March, the New York Times revealed Uber secretly deceived authorities for years with a tool called "Greyball".  The company used the tool to evade authorities, particularly in cities like Boston, Paris, and Las Vegas where regulators were trying to block the ride-hailing service. The U.S. Justice Department has begun a criminal probe into "Greyball". 

What's next? Uber executives could be on the chopping block, depending on the results.

Uber's executive ranks have been decimated recently. The company lacks a chief financial officer, chief marketing officer, president, and a chief operating officer. And it now lacks a chief business officer, after Michael, Kalanick's right-hand man, announced he was leaving.

But because other executives still at the company have been linked to the scandals, even more heads could still roll.

Among them might be Ryan Graves, the Uber exec and board member who oversaw the HR department. Graves has been strangely absent during the crisis, and as early as February observers inside and outside the company were wondering whether he might take the fall for Uber's allegedly toxic culture, Business Insider reported. On top of that, Graves also had ties to and was reportedly aware of "Greyball".

Another executive on the hot seat: Uber's CTO, Thuan Pham, who was implicated in Fowler's  blog post. Fowler said Pham did nothing after she notified him about her boss' threat to fire her.

At its E3 press conference on Monday night, Sony unveiled a high-definition remaster of "Shadow of the Colossus," one of the most critically-acclaimed video games in the PlayStation library.

In a brief trailer, Sony revealed that the title, which is simply called "Shadow of the Colossus," would be released sometime in 2018. Texas-based Bluepoint Games was noted as the developer behind the remaster.

Originally released for the PlayStation 2 in 2005, "Shadow of the Colossus" is something of a landmark in gaming history. It's an emotive, minimalist story that focuses on a young boy named Wander, who is tasked with slaying 16 giants (or, colossi) across a vast, deserted landscape. There is little dialogue, and next to no other living creatures in the game's world beyond those giants. It's one of those games you kind of need to play to really get.

The game, along with its equally acclaimed predecessor "Ico," already received a slight graphics upgrade in a 2011 port for the PlayStation 3 (also handled by Bluepoint Games). But if Sony's teaser is any indication, this new version should look much more polished and modern — likely to take advantage of the improved graphics power in the recently-released PlayStation 4 Pro, which supports 4K and HDR visuals.

Sony and Fumito Ueda, the lead designer behind "Ico" and "Shadow of the Colossus," released a spiritual successor to those games called "The Last Guardian" late last year.

Here's a look at the reveal trailer for "Shadow of the Colossus": 

And you can take a look at some screenshots below:

SEE ALSO: Sony's PlayStation 4 is crushing Nintendo and Microsoft — now execs explain the master plan

Sony played a gameplay trailer of the upcoming PlayStation exclusive game called "Days Gone" during its conference at E3 on Monday, and it looks fantastic.

"Days Gone" is an open-world game set two years after a devastating global pandemic, where much of humanity has turned into monstrous flesh-eating zombies. And they're the fast kind of zombies that run in herds towards the slightest sign of fresh human meat instead of lumbering slowly, which intensifies the horror.

The trailer also revealed that animals like wolves and bears were affected by the pandemic, too, and they look bigger and more carnivorous than their pre-pandemic selves. They, too, will chase fresh humans in search for their next meals. The bear at the end of the trailer, complete with the remnants of a barbed wire fence wrapped around its body, looks particularly deadly. 

As is expected with most zombie apocalypse settings, humans also pose one of the greatest threats. In the trailer, the game's biker-gang protagonist called Deacon is rescuing his friend who was captured by a rival group.

Check out the trailer for "Days Gone:"

Check out some screenshots from the game: 

SEE ALSO: After 14 years, one of the most critically-acclaimed games of all time is finally getting a sequel

The summer months symbolize pleasure reading at its best.

It's a time to indulge in the texts that are most appealing, without scrutiny: an easy beach read, a guilty pleasure, or that book you've always meant to start.

But students at some of America's most prestigious private schools are digging into substantial works this summer. The required or suggested texts relate to politics, race and identity, and then there are some of those high school classics.

Check out the 2017 reading lists of rising seniors at reputable private schools across the US:

SEE ALSO: In the last century, only one US president has sent his kids to DC public schools

The Hotchkiss School — Lakeville, Connecticut

All students must read:

• "The Other Wes Moore," by Wes Moore.

Seniors must:

• Read (novel) — "The Things They Carried," by Tim O'Brien

• Watch — "The Hunger Games," by Gary Ross (2012)

• Read (poem) — "The Powwow at the End of the World," by Sherman Alexie

Deerfield Academy — Deerfield, Massachusetts

Students must read four books that they choose from a list of over 50. Titles on the list include:

• "Hillbilly Elegy," J.D. Vance

• "The Short and Tragic life of Robert Peace," by Jeff Hobbs

• "Half of a Yellow Sun," by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

• "A Clockwork Orange," by Anthony Burgess

• "Invisible Man," by Ralph Ellison

• "Madame Bovary," by Gustave Flaubert

The Harker School — San Jose, California

English teachers at the school put together the following list of recommended summer reading:

• "Beloved," Toni Morrison

• "Slouching Towards Bethlehem," by Joan Didion

• "Native Son," by Richard Wright

• "Interpreter of Maladies," by Jhumpa Lahiri

• "The Omnivore's Dilemma," by Michael Pollan

• "Beowulf," Seamus Heaney

J.D. Power and Associates released its 2017 mobile banking apps scorecard on Monday.

The consumer insights firm asked 5,564 retail bank customers to rate their bank's mobile app across five categories, in weighted order: ease of navigation; appearance; clarity of information; range of services; and availability of key information.

Surprisingly, just 31% of retail bank customers use mobile apps, J.D. Power found. Less than half of respondents said they felt their information was secure when banking on the go. 

“Even with the mobile channel having the highest satisfaction and consistency of all channels, adoption is stubbornly low—particularly when compared with overall smartphone penetration,” writes Bob Neuhaus, director of financial services at J.D. Power. “The challenge for both retail banks and credit card companies is to establish accessible entry points that ease resistant customers onto the mobile channel where they will, in all likelihood, quickly find that they are very satisfied with the experience.” 

Some people may have qualms about mobile finances, but millennials are hooked; 76% of  13 to 35-year-olds say they've used payments apps like Venmo or Square Cash in the last 30 days. 

Here's the full ranking:

1: Capital One

Capital One's Credit Wise feature helped the Virginia-based bank take top honors in the survey. Consumers rated it 870 of 1,000 total possible points. (Industry average is 855.)

The bank was also the only institution to get a 5/5 "power circle" rating from J.D. Power. 

Ron Secrist, head of online and mobile banking at Capital One, told Business Insider that “offering innovations that customers are looking for—not just innovation for innovation sake," led to the success. 

2: Bank of America

The country's largest bank in terms of assets takes the position of runner-up this year, with a score of 865. 

3,000 "digital ambassadors" at branches across the country have helped propel the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank's app to 20 million active users. 

3: TD Bank

Toronto-Dominion Bank's US arm, which hails itself as "America's Most Convenient Bank," comes in at number three.

This month the bank announced it would join 30 other large financial firms in creating Zelle, a Venmo-competitor app for peer-to-peer payments. 

Every traveler has their thing.

Some want to rappel down waterfalls, others just want to laze by the beach. Some are super into wine, others love a good brew.

And with so many towns to choose from, sometimes it's hard to get it right.

Here are 15 of the best small towns in the world for every type of traveler.

IF YOU'RE A ROMANTIC: Colmar, France

This small French town, only a hop, skip, and a jump away from the border of Germany, looks like something straight out of a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale. Get lost with your loved one down cobblestone streets lined with colorful, half-timbered houses, or take a romantic boat tour down "Petite Venise" (little Venice), the town's winding river. Known as the "Alsatian wine capital" along France's famous Alsace wine route, you should make sure to explore one of the many vineyards in the area, and clink glasses over some of the best wine you've ever tasted.

IF YOU'RE AN ADRENALINE JUNKIE: Interlaken, Switzerland

If nothing gets you going like defying death, look no further than Interlaken, Switzerland. This picturesque town in the middle of the Swiss Alps offers an abundance of activities, such as skydiving, paragliding, white water rafting, and bungee jumping, to name a few.

IF YOU'RE AN ART LOVER: Marfa, Texas, USA

Marfa, Texas, is home to The Chinati Foundation, which was founded by famous minimalist artist Donald Judd. It features dozens of galleries and art installations, but is most famous for the Chinati museum, which is spread over 340 acres of land, and "Prada Marfa," a fully stocked Prada store/architectural project by Elmgreen and Dragset. The beautiful desert scenery coupled with incredible pieces of art is enough to take any art lovers' breath away.

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Getting to the gym isn’t remotely easy for most of us.

Things like working late, having a long commute, and preferring not to exercise with gusto in front of others can keep many people from seeing returns on their expensive gym memberships.

Sometimes between the long nights and the long commutes the only time you have for yourself is the morning, and that free time often cut from prospective sleep hours seems to be ill-used on commutes to and from the gym. 

For all those reasons and more, home gym equipment can be a turning point — an invaluable tool in maintaining the kind of fit body and lifestyle you want.

When I was working full-time and taking night classes, I knew that I’d likely never see the inside of a gym — the hours weren’t times that I could make and there definitely wasn’t a convenient 24-hour center nearby. I wasn’t content with losing enough muscle tone to one day flop over like Harry Potter’s arm when his bone is magicked away in one of the movies. So I invested in equipment that I could use when I got home. And it was really great — not only did it always work with my schedule, but on the particularly tiring days I never felt the need to compete with anyone else just to show that I was not always so lackluster — I was the only one there, and I knew how tired I was, so I just gave myself credit for the effort.

Home gym equipment isn’t for everyone, but it can be a way to cut down on monthly costs like gym fees and increase the convenience and comfortability of exercise for people all over the world.

Whether you’re trying a new resolution, are landlocked at home, or have another one of the millions of little reasons why home gym equipment might be nice to have around, it’s wise to pick something up that works for you and whatever your specific fitness goals are.

Below are 24 items that will help you work out at home:

SEE ALSO: 8 exercise headphones that will make it easier to work out this year

TRX Home Suspension Trainer Basic Kit & Door Anchor, $135.95

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20 lb Dumbbell Set with Stand, $24.99

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High Density Foam Roller, $8.68 - $22.95

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For many, private jet ownership is an opportunity to flaunt their individuality.  This is especially true in the rarefied airspace of the ultra-large executive jet. As the biggest and the baddest private jets flying, owners of these converted airliners want to make their mega-dollar planes stand out from the crowd.

This brings us to Embraer.

The Brazilian jet maker has long been a fan of highly stylized theme interiors. Last summer, Embraer introduced the far east-inspired Kyoto Airship and its stunning skylights. Later in the year, the company rolled out the Brazilian Rancher-meets-Texas-oil-tycoon themed the Skyranch One. 

In its latest effort, Embraer offers its take on the glamour of Tinseltown in the 1930s with the Hollywood Airship. 

"The Hollywood is steeped in MGM style, with a nod to film greats of the black and white movie era.," the company wrote in its press kit. "Embraer pushes the design envelope in private aviation with the introduction of a chic shuttle aircraft that celebrates the beauty and affluence of the past while embracing the advanced technology of the future."

Due to the highly bespoke nature of the business, Embraer's customers can choose to adopt the whole package or simply a few select elements of the concept. 

Here's a closer look at the Embraer Lineage 1000E Hollywood Airship.

SEE ALSO: Singapore is taking extraordinary measures to keep the 'best airport in the world' title

The Hollywood Airship interior is designed for Embraer's flagship Lineage 1000E executive jet. The 1000E has room for 13 to 19 passengers, with a range of nearly 5,300 miles. It's based on the company's E190 airliner.

Step inside the Hollywood Airship and you'll be greeted by a 3D relief that's sculpted from leather. According to Embraer, the relief is an artistic narrative that chronicles the history of Hollywood.

From the entryway, turn to the right and you'll get a sneak peek at the entire cabin.

Taco Bell... for breakfast?

The Tex-Mex fast-food chain with a reputation for being a popular — ahem— late-night food destination does in fact have a breakfast menu.

Think about it: eggs, salsa, cheese, tortillas... Tex-Mex is tailor made for breakfast.

The menu is available till 11am, which is good news for those who like to get a bit of extra sleep. But what to order from this oft-overlooked morning option?

Limited-time offers aside (I'm still mourning the loss of the Breakfast Quesalupas), here are the breakfast menu items ranked from worst to best.

SEE ALSO: We tried the regional burger chain many people say is the best in America to see if it lives up to the hype

ALSO READ: Popeyes is now frying its chicken in mashed up cookies — here's the verdict

13. Bacon Breakfast Burrito

A deadly surge of hot, incredibly salty cheese with some slight bacon debris engulfed the first bite of this. In moderation, the liquid cheese Taco Bell uses is fine — one might even go so far as to say it's good. But when confronted with a flow of such magnitude, the cheese runs rampant, mercilessly trampling the taste buds. This burrito is outrageously salty, and it tastes as though it may be actively undermining my health. 

12. Sausage Quesadilla

Very thin — very, very, thin, both in profile and taste.

All fast-food items need a raison d'être, a solid logic and purpose to its being. This has none apparent; it is an inconsequential pancake of tortilla, meat, egg, and cheese. The quesadilla cools rapidly, leaving it a congealed, clammy slab. Plus, there's a solid inch of solitary tortilla around the edges — the dreaded quesadilla no man's land.

11. Bacon Quesadilla

See above. I would steer clear of the quesadillas, unless you take joy in... the lack thereof. It's the hair shirt of the Taco Bell breakfast menu.