• For the last four years, AOL cofounder Steve Case has led seven "Rise of the Rest" bus tours across 38 cities, in a total of 26 states.
• On these tours, he meets with cities' power brokers and ends each day with a pitch competition for entrepreneurs with a $100,000 prize.
• I joined the tour for the last two stops of its latest journey, in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Louisville, Kentucky. I found the "stunt" intentionally grabs attention, and that the tour's value outlasted its day in town.
• This article is part of Business Insider's ongoing series on Better Capitalism.

I only spent two days with AOL cofounder Steve Case and his team in May, but they were virtually nonstop. Each time, we were part of the biggest show in town.

I joined the last two days of the latest Rise of the Rest bus tour, as it passed through Chattanooga, Tennessee and Louisville, Kentucky. It's an initiative Case has been running through his Washington, DC-based venture capital firm, Revolution, for the last four years.

In each tour, Case and his team meet with the city's power brokers and end the day with a pitch competition with a $100,000 prize. This past tour was the first to draw that money from a $150 million seed fund Revolution raised last year, featuring more than 30 high-profile investors serving as limited partners who give their money but not their counsel. They include Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio. Case put JD Vance, "Hillbilly Elegy" author and former Valley investor, in charge of the fund.

After spending time on the tour, I realized it's a spectacle — and that's essential to drawing attention to the entrepreneur communities in these cities. The real value, however, comes from the relationships that last beyond the day. As Case told me, "Most interesting things are not actually what happens the day we're here, it's what happens in the months before we arrive and the months and hopefully years after we leave."

Here's what it was like.

SEE ALSO: AOL cofounder Steve Case is betting $150 million that the future of startups isn't in Silicon Valley or New York, but the money isn't what's making his prediction come true

The Revolution team rents a luxury coach bus and wraps it in a bright-red full-body sticker covered in logos. It sticks out wherever it goes.

This was the seventh bus tour, roughly focused on the southeast. The bus went from Dallas, Texas, to Louisville, Kentucky.

The days each lasted about 12 hours, lasting roughly from 7:00 in the morning to 7:00 at night. The bus was almost always packed tight, and we always had photographers and videographers floating around.

• A New York wedding is a dream for many, but city is the most expensive place for weddings in the US.
• The average cost for a wedding in Manhattan is $76,944, according to The Knot's 2017 Real Wedding study.
• Two wedding planners said the most popular New York wedding venues include The Plaza Hotel, where cost per person starts at $350, and Cipriani, which has multiple locations throughout Manhattan.

In 2016, the wedding industry racked up $79 billion in revenue, according to anIBISWorld report. Every detail from venue and entertainment to guest count and time of year impacts thecost of a wedding.

The average American spends $33,391 on their wedding, Business Insider previously reported citing the Knot's 2017 Real Weddings study, and the bulk of that money goes toward a venue. But in New York City, where the cost of housing, food, entertainment, and everything else is higher, you can expect wedding budgets to balloon too.

The average price for a wedding in Manhattan is $76,944, making it the most expensive big city to get married in the US. To find the most popular and priciest wedding locations across the city, we consulted Andrea Eppolito and Jove Meyer, two New York City wedding planners.

"The iconic city of New York remains a favorite for couples who are seeking a beautiful blend of lavish, over-the-top styling in timeless spaces," Eppolito said.

The typical American couple spends just over $15,000 on a venue, while a high spender can drop as much as $42,801, according to the Knot's study. In New York, venues charge either per person — the average cost is between $300 and $500 — or a flat fee — which can range massively, from $6,000 to $50,000, depending on day of week and time of year, and of course, the location, Meyer said. Lights are not always included in venues and can cost an extra $1,000 to $5,000, Eppolito added.

Check out the map below for a quick look at New York's most popular venues, and keep scrolling for more on pricing and perks.

SEE ALSO: 30 unique wedding songs for your first dance as newlyweds

SEE ALSO: 25 beautiful and intimate award-winning photos show the reality behind weddings around the world

Cipriani: $285 - $325 per person

Locations: 55 Wall St.; 25 Broadway; 376 W Broadway, Manhattan

Pricing starts at $285 per person and averages $300 to $325. There is also a 24% end tax on all bookings. 

The cost covers six hours, including the ceremony, reception, dinner, and dancing. Cipriani provides suites for the couple to get ready, a personal attendant, food, and beverages. For guests, Cipriani serves hor d'oeuvres and food stations. Guests are served a three-course dinner, wine, and champagne. 

Source: Deborah Mella, Cipriani

The Plaza: Begins at $350 per person

Location: 768 5th Ave., Manhattan

The starting price for a wedding at The Plaza is $350 per person and varies depending on additional factors. The Plaza declined to provide any additional details about wedding packages.

Source: Ariana Swerdlin, Fairmont

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden: $1,250 - $11,000

Location: 9900 Washington Ave, Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden prices vary based on date, time, and season. The Palm House ranges from $1,500 to $11,000 depending on month and day of the week. The Palm House also has a guest minimum and maximum. The Lillian and Amy Goldman Atrium has similar restrictions and ranges from $1,250 to $7,000.  

There are several packages to chose from at additional cost that include food and drinks.

Source: Michelle Hagan, Patina Restaurant Group

The US economy is a composite of the economies of the 50 states and DC that make up that economy.

We recently ranked the economies of all 50 states and DC based on six economic measures: unemployment rate, job growth, GDP per capita, GDP growth, average wages, and wage growth. The full method and sources for our ranking can be found here.

Some places, like Washington state and the District of Columbia, performed very well across several of those measures, and their overall economic situation is strong. Other states, like South Dakota and Mississippi, largely underperformed across the board.

Looking at all of these measures together, as we did in our ranking, gives a clearer picture of economic conditions across America.

Here are maps showing how each state and DC fared on each of those measures.

SEE ALSO: Here's what the typical American worker earns at every age

Hawaii had the lowest April 2018 unemployment rate of 2.0%, while Alaska's 7.3% rate was the highest.

Non-farm payroll job growth rates between April 2017 and April 2018 ranged from North Dakota's 1.8% decline to Nevada's 3.4% increase.

North Dakota's state gross domestic product (GDP) fell 1.3% at an annualized rate in Q4 2017, while Texas' grew 5.2%.

What a difference a year makes. This time last summer we were trying to manage through one of the worst movie seasons ever, with disasters like "The Mummy" and "Transformers: The Last Knight." Now, it's as though everything Hollywood puts out is a box-office hit.

The movie business is having a very good year.

With early-year successes like "Black Panther" and "A Quiet Place" matched with the huge performances by "Avengers: Infinity War,""Deadpool 2," and "Incredibles 2," the 2018 box office is up a healthy 8% from last year, and the summer movie season is up more than 15% compared with last year.

Jeff Bock, a senior box-office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, said it's quite simple: This year, the sequels are actually good.

"Cinephiles may not want to hear this, but sequels, spin-offs, and superheroes have been the guiding forces at the box office in 2018," Bock told Business Insider. "The difference between this year and last, Hollywood is offering up more sequels that audiences actually wanted to see."

To look back at how we got here, we've listed the five winners and five losers at the box office so far in 2018:

SEE ALSO: The 39 most anticipated movies for the rest of 2018

WINNER: "Black Panther"

We can no longer say February is the bumping ground for lousy movies. "Black Panther" didn't just shatter box-office records when it did a $202 million opening earlier this year; it proved that audiences wanted diverse stories told to them on the big screen. The film is still the highest-grossing movie of the year in North America so far, with $699.8 million domestically. Worldwide the movie has grossed over $1.3 billion.

LOSER: "Solo: A Star Wars Story"

For any other movie, almost $370 million earned worldwide in just over a month in theaters would be a job well done. But not for a "Star Wars" movie. The standalone young Han Solo movie disappointed the critics and fans, leading to talk that the public had finally hit "Star Wars" fatigue. This was a major blow for Disney/Lucasfilm, which now has to go lick its wounds and rethink how it wants to go forward with telling the beloved saga (and how much content audiences can stomach).

WINNER: "A Quiet Place"

One of the biggest success stories of the year, John Krasinski's $17 million thriller about monsters that attack anything that makes a sound has become an international hit, as it has taken in an astounding $329.8 million to date. It proves that the horror/thriller genre is still one of the most inventive and worthwhile in the industry.

In early 2017, Netflix announced that Jerry Seinfeld had signed a massive deal that would result in new stand-up specials and additional programming. The first of his two promised specials, Jerry Before Seinfeld, arrived last September. The second is still a long way out, but the “additional programming” drops today in the form of a new, 12-episode season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

Featuring repeat appearances by Alec Baldwin and Brian Regan as well as other Netflix comics like Dave Chappelle, Neal Brennan, and Ellen DeGeneres, the latest season of Seinfeld’s popular web series is everything fans have come to expect: comedians, cars, and coffee. It also documents Chappelle’s gifting his 2017 Emmy to his alma mater and Zach Galifianakis’s setup for Seinfeld’s recent Between Two Ferns episode.

There’s also Baldwin’s latest problematic foray into the ongoing #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, though that’s not the only thing the frequent Saturday Night Live guest said. Hence this roundup of the most enlightening quotes — be they actual nuggets of knowledge, just plain interesting, or inane enough to note — uttered by Seinfeld’s latest round of guests.

SEE ALSO: Here are all the confirmed original shows coming to Netflix in 2018

Dave Chappelle

“I always fantasized about being a Greenwich Village comedian. I’d read all those stories about 1966, and I realized that every career that I’ve ever admired went through New York City. My head was filled with fantasies about being like those guys.”

“Do you still hang out with a lot of comics? Me and [Chris] Rock had a discussion. Superheroes have to be around other superheroes. The Hall of Justice was more about them commiserating about their powers, and less about them actually fighting crime.”

“If I have an idea, it’s the driver. The idea says, ‘Get in the car,’ and I’m like, ‘Where am I going?’ The idea says, ‘I don’t know. Don’t worry about it. I’m driving.’ Then you just get there. Sometimes I’m shotgun, sometimes I’m in the f---ing trunk. The idea takes you where it wants to go. Other times, me as my ego is like, ‘I should do something.’ There’s no idea in the car. It’s just me. That formula doesn’t work.”

“I’m a real socially awkward guy. Everybody thinks the guy on the stage is the fake, but really it’s the guy off the stage that’s fake. The guy on the stage, that’s the real guy. The guy off the stage, he’s the one that lies to people, doesn’t say what he actually thinks and all this other s---, just so that guy can exist uninterrupted.”

“For most people, not caring about the scrutiny of other people is one of the hardest things to do. I would even say it’s harder than public speaking itself.”

Kate McKinnon

“I have the most fun when I’m at something that is horrible, because I’m making fun of it and I’m enjoying it. If something’s supposed to be fun, I hate it.”

“Oh God, parallel parking on the right side of the road? God you’re a man, you’re a real man. This is incredible … You wanted to be on camera doing it. ‘I’m Jerry Seinfeld, goddammit, and I’m going to park on the right side of the road!’”

On comedians and clothes: “It’s such a cerebral thing. You’d rather be a brain in a jar talking than have to attend to the physical body. Plus you can’t look too good. If you look too good, you stop being funny.”

“My clothes say, ‘Do not talk to me.’ I wore a pair of SpongeBob SquarePants pajama bottoms, clogs, and a hand-me-down hooded sweatshirt. I gave myself my own haircuts, and that’s when I looked the best!”

Ellen DeGeneres

“When I lost my sitcom, I didn’t work for three years solid until I got the talk show.”

“I was bitter and sad and angry. How did this change everything, just by me being honest and saying I’m gay? Why is this such a shock to people? Why is it such a big deal? Then I went on tour and I would say 90 percent of the audience was gay. Some brave straight people went. All the gay people really thought I was doing some kind of gay pride tour, so I was making fun of the fact that I was their leader. It was like, ‘I am not your leader. I’m nobody’s leader.’”

“I love firemen … They’re great. They don’t carry guns. They run into danger.”

“The world is such a scary place right now in so many ways — and you have children. There’s North Korea, there’s fires, there’s storms. It just overwhelms me with dread.”

“I’ve never seen anyone drink so much coffee in my entire life. It’s too much. It doesn’t affect you?”

Unpopular opinion: I don't really love dessert. I've been cavity-free since childhood and all the sugary rainbow-colored treats lining the shelves at the grocery store checkouts have never really tempted me. 

But I do really love museums, and when I heard an interactive museum devoted to all things sweet was opening in Australia I was intrigued. 

Taking inspiration from the Museum of Ice Cream in San Francisco and New York, as well as the Color Factory exhibition, Sugar Republic is a sensory experience for all ages. 

The pop-up museum is located in Melbourne's hip enclave of Fitzroy, and offers an oversized Willy Wonka adventure for everyone — complete with a giant bubblegum ball-pit and lined with locally-sourced art and homages to nostalgic Australian treats. 

"I'm a fan of quirky museums, I've traveled around the world visiting the Tapeworm Museum in Japan, Smell Museum in Sweden, Sex Museum in New York City and I loved the idea of them," Sugar Republic owner and creator Allison Jones told Business Insider. "So I got together with some creative friends and said, 'Let's do this in Australia.'"

Jones, who has a background in event management while her husband has experience in art, wanted to create a "museum meets chocolate factory" that could make any adult feel like a kid again.

Sugar Republic runs until August 17, and there are plans to bring the exhibit to Sydney in September. 

Take a tour of the magic below: 

SEE ALSO: What it's like to fly aboard the Blackshape Prime, a private aircraft dubbed the 'Ferrari of the Sky'

Sugar Republic is housed in an unassuming warehouse.

But inside, the rooms are lined with candy colors and sweet decoration that transport you into a sugary fantasy.

The building is actually the site of the former iconic MacRobertson chocolate factory, which used to be one of the largest confectioners in Australia and originator of classic treats like the Cherry Ripe and Freddo Frog.

But inside you'll find homages to iconic Australian candies.

You can also sample a sherbet Wizz Fizz as you make your way through the winding rooms.

Many of the installations were commissioned from local artists.

Jones said she wanted to invite food creatives and artists to come together. 

An artist's rendition of an Iced VoVo, a cookie topped with a strip of pink fondant on either side of a strip of raspberry jam and coconut, hangs on the wall as you enter the space. 

• Not everyone is taught about managing money in school, but it's one of the most important things to master as an adult.
• One of the pillars of personal finance is saving money.
• Here, we answer six common questions about saving money, like when you should start saving money and how much.

When it comes to saving money, there is no better time to start than right now. Depending on your income and job security and your long-term financial goals, how much you save and where you put your savings will vary.

The thought of the future and retirement can be daunting when you're just starting out in the professional world. It is important to realize that your future income isn't secure, and saving as much as you can as early as you can is the best way to protect yourself from unforeseeable circumstances — as well as foreseeable ones, like retirement.  

We asked Peter Faust, a financial planner with Tanglewood Total Wealth Management, to help answer some of the most common questions about saving money.

SEE ALSO: Forget early retirement — people who saved enough money to travel for weeks or years say a 'mini-retirement' is just as rewarding

DON'T MISS: 13 pieces of money advice you can't afford to ignore

When should I start saving money?

Short answer: Now.

Even if it's $20 a month, it's good practice to start putting away a percentage of your earnings now rather than later. If you're not sure what you should be saving for, start with an emergency fund. If an emergency happens, you'll need something to help you pay for it. "Putting it on a credit card is not always the wisest decision," Faust said.

Depending on your card limit and possible existing debt, only having a credit card to pay off an emergency isn't the safest bet — especially because emergencies don't have spending limits.

How much do I have to save?

Short answer: As much as you can.

At least 10% of your income, if you can afford it, is a good place to start. For an emergency fund, that translates to saving at least three months of expenses.

To successfully save money, your best bet is to create a budget or track your spending.  If you're just starting out, don't stress over your first month's budget. The amount you spent may feel overwhelming, but looking at your past purchases will help you see where you can cut back.

What kind of savings account do I need?

Short answer: A regular savings account is best for emergency savings. 

If you don't have a savings account, the best time to start one is right now. When starting a savings account, make sure it is insured and certified by the FDIC. If you're looking to create an emergency fund, Faust suggests a "plain old vanilla savings account," meaning one that earns you interest and does not have fees or minimum balances.

If you're saving for a big purchase or expense — like a house or a wedding — you may consider a high-yield savings account. It offers higher interest rates than a regular savings account but can have different requirements and restrictions, like minimum balances and deposit amounts. 

The most common questions most people have about the upcoming iPhone are as follows:

1. When is it coming out?
2. What's going to be new?

Apple doesn't give release dates or details about upcoming products before they're officially announced. The company usually reveals new features as well as when you can a new product at one of its annual launch events.

But based on previous years, you can predict pretty closely when you can buy the latest iPhone model.

And based on analysts and reports, we have an idea what Apple could be launching this fall.

Here's everything you need to know about the 2018 iPhone lineup: 

1. You will almost certainly be able to buy it this September.

Since 2012, Apple has unveiled its latest iPhone in September. Typically, the new iPhone is available to preorder a few days after Apple's announcement. 

Here's the recent history:

2012: iPhone 5 was announced on Wednesday, September 12, and started shipping on Friday, September 21.

2013: iPhone 5S was announced on Wednesday, September 10, and started shipping on Friday, September 20.

2014: iPhone 6 was announced on Tuesday, September 9, and started shipping on Friday, September 19.

2015: iPhone 6S was announced on Wednesday, September 9, and started shipping on Friday, September 25.

2016: iPhone 7 was announced on Wednesday, September 7, and started shipping on September 16. 

2017: iPhone 8 and iPhone X were announced together on Tuesday, September 12. The iPhone 8 started shipping on September 22. In a change from previous years, iPhone X started shipping on November 3, almost two months after the announcement.

2. Reliable analysts and journalists have predicted Apple will release three new iPhones.

The short answer to what to expect from the new iPhones is more Face ID, Apple's facial recognition software that replaced the fingerprint sensor on the iPhone X. Signs are pointing to it becoming a default feature on this year's models. 

Apple watchers are expecting three new iPhones this year: One that looks like the iPhone X but with updated components, a super-sized version of the iPhone X, and a less expensive iPhone with an edge-to-edge LCD screen and facial recognition that costs between $649 and $749.

3. The two higher-end iPhones could be pricey. This year's iPhone X started at $999. A "plus" version could be even more expensive.

When I first got the iPhone X, I was over the moon. Now, a little over eight months in, I'm a little less excited.

I mean, it's fine. You know? It's fine. I'm not dying to sell it, nor am I going to revisit my brief urges to go to Android. It's a pretty good phone. 

It's just that, well, for the $999 I paid for it, I was expecting... more, somehow. Every so often, I find myself wishing that I had saved myself a few hundred bucks and picked up the $700 iPhone 8 instead. I don't wish it enough that it's worth the hassle of doing something about it, but I can't seem to let go of this vague sense of disappointment. 

To my mind, that reflects poorly on Apple. The company been hyping up the iPhone X as the future of its flagship line of smartphones, to the degree that it's said to be working on releasing two new versions of the device this September. Maybe those will fix my frustrations. Just as likely, they won't. 

Here's what I like — and, more importantly, don't like — about the iPhone X. 

SEE ALSO: The 39 most powerful female engineers of 2018

Okay, let's start with the good stuff about the $999 iPhone X to prove I'm not a total hater. My favorite part is probably the screen — it's gorgeous. And because of the edge-to-edge design, the screen has more real estate than any other iPhone, including the bigger Plus models.

I'm not really bothered by the iPhone X notch either. To me, it's a worthy compromise to get that giant screen.

It's also got a pretty solid battery. I'm an, ahem, heavy user, but I usually get a full day's charge out of it, unless I'm taking a ton of videos or playing a lot of Pokémon Go.

The summertime is always when most get the itch to set out on the open road and do some traveling.

Hollywood has always had a soft spot for road trip movies, and some have become memorable not just for what was shown on screen, but what the spirit of the movie meant for the people who saw them. Take “Easy Rider” for example, whose no-rules approach launched a new way movies were made for decades.

Here are 23 road trip movies you should check out before heading on your own adventure:

SEE ALSO: The director of "Ant-Man and the Wasp" explains how the ramifications of "Infinity War" affected the making of the movie

“Almost Famous” (2000)

Cameron Crowe’s love letter to the 1970s rock and roll scene, which he covered as a writer for Rolling Stone, is a fun look at adolescence, fame, and highlights the non-stop grind of a band being “on the road.”

“The Blues Brothers” (1980)

John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd play two brothers on a mission from God. Trying to get on the straight-and-narrow after getting out of prison, Jake Blues (Belushi) and his brother Elwood (Aykroyd) decide to help raise the money the Catholic home they were raised in needs to stay open. That leads to a road trip around Illinois to get the band back together.

“Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” (2006)

With the help of director Larry Charles, Sacha Baron Cohen creates one of the funniest road trip movies ever made as he takes his character, Borat, to America to marry Pamela Anderson. But in the process, the movie highlights the US itself, as Borat travels the country doing everything from singing the Kazakhstan national anthem at a rodeo to hanging out with some fraternity kids.

Blue skies, sun blazing — not usually words you associate with weather here, but they were the day I rode a private luxury train through the English countryside.

I was aboard the 14-carriage Belmond British Pullman— sister train to the famous Venice Simplon-Orient Express.

Punters can ride the lovingly-restored train around the UK, taking in beautiful scenery and eating delicious food as they go. More adventurous types can opt for murder mystery parties onboard.

Prices start from £203 ($268) per person for a brunch trip and go up to £561 ($741) for their experiences with celebrity chefs including two-star Michelin Raymond Blanc and Michel Roux Jr.

Scroll down to see how a day on the Pullman plays out, from a champagne reception to old-world singers.

SEE ALSO: Japan just unveiled a Hello Kitty-themed bullet train — here's what it's like inside

NOW READ: Meet the rare liquor hunters who travel the world looking for priceless booze

I arrived at London Victoria station, where the Belmond British Pullman is based, at 10 a.m. We were due to depart at 10:45 a.m. and return at 4 p.m. I was placed in Zena — the carriages on the Pullman have names, not numbers.

I had some time to kill, so I waited in Belmond's private lounge next to the platform, where travellers can sit with a tea or coffee while they wait for their train.

When the train arrived, it was immediately obvious how much time and money had been spent on its meticulous restoration. It was beautiful and faultless.

• McDonald's jobs — like all jobs — have pros and cons.
• McDonald's crew members shared the best aspects of the work with Business Insider.
• A good number said they enjoyed the discounted meals, while others praised the regular customers and their own colleagues.

McDonald's restaurant gigs — along with all fast food jobs, come to think of it — have a reputation for being tough, poorly-paid, and thankless.

That's almost certainly true for many crew members. Other current and former crew members, however, have spoken to Business Insider about the brighter side of the work.

A number of them cited the people — colleagues and customers alike — as the best aspect of the job.

Here's the best part of working beneath the glow of the Golden Arches, according to crew members:

SEE ALSO: McDonald's employees reveal their 20 favorite menu items — and one bonus secret menu item everyone should try

DON'T MISS: McDonald's employees share the 6 menu items they'd never eat

SEE ALSO: McDonald's employees share 7 things they learned from working at the fast-food giant

The opportunities for advancement

One crew member said that certain franchises offer solid paychecks and plenty of chances to get promoted.

"I worked in New York City, where fast food workers got paid a higher minimum wage than other workers, so that was a plus," a New York-based employee told Business Insider. "If you're a hard-working individual and you work your hardest, you'll get more hours and move up in store pretty quickly."

The friendly regulars

"We had regulars — often seniors — who would come in every day for their meals, which the cashiers memorized," an assistant manager from Georgia told Business Insider. "It was always sweet building relationships like that with customers."

A different Georgia-based employee told Business Insider that they favored their restaurant's "family atmosphere."

And a crew member from Pennsylvania said that "meeting people and making friends through the window" while working at the drive-thru was their favorite aspect of the job.

The free and discounted fast food

Unsurprisingly, the best part of working at McDonald's is the food for a good number of crew members.

One Minnesota-based employee said the "discounts on the food" were the best part of the gig, adding that they often opted to eat the chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, or cheeseburgers while on lunch break.

Another former McDonald's general manager said that "the food" was the best part of the job, adding that they preferred the quarter pounder with cheese, fresh French Fries, and a coke.

Even crew members who aren't fast food fans praised the perk.

A crew member from outside of Chicago said that employees at their location had the opportunity to enjoy "free food" but that it was only a perk until they got "sick of it."

"I hate the food, but I'll eat anything that's free," the employee said.

They added that they favored the McChicken with tomato and bacon.

• Two Chinese startups, SenseTime and Megvii, are becoming the world leaders in real-world deployment of facial recognition software, drawing eye-popping valuations in the billions of dollars.
• The companies primarily have gotten attention due to their use by Chinese police to find criminals, leading some critics to wonder at how the technology is being used to further the country's techno-authoritarian ambitions.
• I recently visited Megvii's offices in Beijing to get an inside look at the company. Its Face++ technology was able to recognize my face instantaneously once it was in their system. The demonstration was futuristic, cool, and unsettling.
• Xie Yinan, Megvii's vice president, told Business Insider that the company sees tons of applications beyond law enforcement, including in financial services, e-commerce, retail, and identity verification.

A computer system that can track and identify any face anywhere may sound like science fiction, but, in China, two such companies are barreling ahead at making such technology an everyday reality.

The two startups, SenseTime and Megvii, are developing competing facial recognition platforms powered by artificial intelligence.

SenseTime became the world's highest valued AI startup after raising $600 million in April at a valuation of $4.5 billion. The company raised another $620 million last month. Megvii isn't far behind. It raised $460 million last November. While the valuation hasn't been disclosed, it's likely that it is close to or tops $2 billion. Two smaller Chinese companies include Yitu Technology, which raised $380 million last year, and DeepGlint.

The eye-popping valuations shouldn't be surprising to anyone paying attention. Last year, the Chinese government unveiled a plan to make the country the world leader in AI and to develop an AI industry worth $150 billion by 2030.

And the Chinese government has big plans to have a ubiquitous surveillance network that can monitor its 1.4 billion citizens. That has lead to China becoming the biggest market in the world for video surveillance — $6.4 billion in 2016 — with expectations that it will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.4 percent, according to estimates from IHS Markit Ltd. The US market by comparison is only at $2.9 billion and growing at 0.7% a year.

The government, particularly police departments at the local level, have become major clients of all four of the companies. 

But that's only half the story. For the vast majority of Chinese, privacy is just not as high a priority as it is in the US, so there isn't as much backlash to AI and facial recognition in general. That has lead companies like SenseTime and Megvii to be able to put their technology in any number of real-world applications. 

While government surveillance makes up a significant percentage of all the companies' business, they also sell to tons of other industries. It is already being deployed in China in everything from financial services — where it is used for payments and to prevent fraud — to technology companies like selfie-editing software provider Meitu and ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing.

Unsurprisingly, Alibaba and its affiliate Ant Financial have been one of the primary investors and users of SenseTime and Megvii.

“China is really moving ahead, especially in video and image understanding, because we have the real world problems, we have the real world data, and we also have a stronger talent pool dedicated to those kinds of things,” SenseTime CEO Xu Li told Quartz in April.

I recently visited Megvii's headquarters to get an inside look at one of the major companies driving one of the most interesting and unsettling technologies of the future.

Here's what it was like:

SEE ALSO: Alibaba's futuristic supermarket in China is way ahead of the US, with 30-minute deliveries and facial-recognition payment — and it shows where Amazon is likely to take Whole Foods

Founded in 2011 by three Tsinghua University graduates, Megvii has become one of the world's leaders in facial recognition and AI technology. The Economist described the office as "Big Brother’s engine room." While the office atmosphere was cheery and bright in the optimistic way that all tech startups seem to be, I certainly had that unsettling impression.

Source: The Economist

Its main product is Face++, a platform that can detect faces and confirm people's identities with a high degree of accuracy. Entry to all doors in the office is managed by Face++. In order to enter the office, you have to be scanned into their system. Once you're in, it can identify you nearly instantaneously.

The system can handle multiple faces at once. As employees returned from lunch, each of their faces popped up on the screen. Currently, Face++ is being used in a number of industries in China, according to Xie Yinan, Megvii's vice president. One of the biggest is for private and commercial real estate to manage who is and isn't supposed to be in a particular place.

• The Tesla Model X is unrivaled in the EV market in terms of its ability to deliver performance, range, and cargo capacity. 
• I first drove the Tesla Model X in 2015 shortly before it was unveiled to the public.
• Nearly three years later, I decided to take the Model X on a road trip and try out the Tesla Supercharger network.
• We were impressed by both the Tesla Model X and the company network of fast chargers.
• The base Tesla Model X 75D starts at $79,500 while our fully-loaded Model X P100D carried an as-tested price of $163,250. 

Tesla unveiled the production Model X SUV in the shadows of its Fremont, California factory on September 29, 2015. 

A few hours before the festive event where the Tesla-faithful convened to hear their almighty leader preach the gospel of Falcon Wing doors and Bio-Weapon Defense Mode, I became one of the first people in the world to drive the Model X. 

Since then, Tesla's crossover SUV has become a benchmark in the industry.  As a large premium electric crossover SUV, it inhabits a segment all by itself. 

It truly doesn't have any direct rivals. There are no other EVs out there that can match the Model X in terms of performance, range, and cargo capacity.

Nearly three years have passed since I last drove the Model X. So I figured a road trip from Northern New Jersey to Wilmington, Delaware would be a good opportunity to check out a new Model X P100D and get reacquainted with the Tesla SUV. 

In addition, the 120-mile drive would finally give me the opportunity to try out Tesla's vaunted Supercharger network. 

Although I've spent plenty of time behind the wheel of Tesla's Model S and Model 3, they've generally been drives near Business Insider's headquarters in New York. Which means I usually never burn off enough range to require a recharge. 

For our road trip, Tesla provided us with a fully-loaded Deep Blue Metallic Model X P100D that costs a hefty $163,250. The base Tesla Model X 75D starts at a more affordable $79,500.

Here's a closer look at our road trip with the Tesla Model X P100D. 

SEE ALSO: I flew on a $10 million Embraer Phenom 300E and I now understand why it's the most popular private jet in the world

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Here it is! Our Tesla Model X P100D test car. The Model X's rounded edges and sleek, aerodynamic profile are signatures traits of the Tesla look. Naturally, the Falcon Wing doors take center stage.

They are perhaps the most striking feature to appear on any of Tesla's vehicles. Fortunately, the electrically operated, double-hinged doors are also immensely useful — making ingree and egress from the second row a breeze.

Outback, there's a power-operated rear hatch and a fixed spoiler. The spoiler, while useful in delivering downforce, does obstruct rearward visibility.

• Whether it's an internship or your first job, creating a work-appropriate wardrobe can be pricey and time-consuming.
• It doesn't help that most work-friendly clothes can be expensive — and your first gig isn't likely to be particularly lucrative.
• Personal finance experts and stylists told Business Insider what to buy, where to buy it, and how much you can reasonably expect to spend. 
• The major takeaway: Buy a few, high-quality pieces. 

Going from $10 Forever 21 tops and Salvation Army sweaters to the corporate uniform is one of the more jarring aspects of leaving student life and entering the professional world.

The fact that yoga pants and ripped jeans are no longer a key part of one's wardrobe can be an adjustment — and it's also expensive to stock up on sensible button-downs, slacks, and blazers.

"Work appropriate styles do not change much year to year, so provided you remain around the same size, investing now in some basics can sustain your wardrobe for years to come,"Lauren Bowling, an editor at the Financial Best Life and author of "The Millennial Homeowner: A Guide to Successfully Navigating Your First Home Purchase," told Business Insider. 

For the best tips on how to make your first "adulting" wardrobe, Business Insider talked to Bowling, image curator Scarlett De Bease, style coach Stasia Savasuk, and Kat Griffin, founder of Corporette, a blog about women’s work clothes.

SEE ALSO: 16 things you should never wear to work — even if you work in a business casual environment

To start off, make a "capsule" wardrobe

To save money, new workers might consider creating a capsule wardrobe. That's a closet with just two or three dozen quality, versatile basics.

Instead of an overflowing closest, say, with polka-dot crop tops, green miniskirts, and four-year-old shirts with stubborn armpit stains, you pare your wardrobe down to a few things that can be mixed and matched.

For women, Savasuk recommended three to five basic bottoms with five to 10 blouses and shirts — or five to 10 dresses. De Bease recommended two to three pants, eight tops, and two casual jackets or cardigans. 

"With the addition of necklaces, earrings, shoes and scarves that suit your character and personality, and you can personalize these professional outfits to reflect your own personal style," Savasuk told Business Insider. 

For men, Savasuk said to purchase three to five pairs of pants with five to 10 high-quality button-downs.

"If ties are required, purchase a few that reflect your character and personality, so you can bring your own flavor to 'business professional,'" Savasuk said. 

And stick to a few colors. Griffin recommended picking a neutral base like black or gray for most of your pieces, and a few articles of clothing in accent colors like blue or red.

"Everything should work together," Griffin told Business Insider. "You shouldn't have any closet singletons."

You may want to consider buying a suit, as well

"The suit is also key as you'll need it for interviews or networking events where you need to make an impact," Bowling told Business Insider. 

As a young professional who has worked in traditional newsrooms, nonprofit media centers, and digital startups, I've personally never needed a suit. But I do have a few nice dresses and suit separates.

Those who work in banking or law might find that they do need a real suit. I would recommend scoping out what your coworkers are wearing before you drop serious coin on one.

"If you need a suit, that will probably be the biggest expenditure," Griffin told Business Insider. "So, make sure you can wear the blazer, skirt, dress, and pants all as separates as well as together as a suit."

Try TJ Maxx and consignment stores for quality, discount basics

Bowling recommends you visit TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and consignment shops where you'll be able to find high-quality products at a discount.

"Many of their items comes new with the tags so don't let the thought of it being 'secondhand' deter you, as savings can be significant," Bowling told Business Insider. 

You might be able to "shop your closet," as well. A backless top might not fly in your office, but paired with a cardigan or blazer it could be the perfect staple.

"Look at your t-shirts or blouses," Griffin told Business Insider. "If any of them are too fancy to work out in, like a polo shirt, polyester floral t-shirt, etc., then you can probably wear them to the office."

Summer is here! But amid the hot weather and long days, sometimes there's no better feeling than heading indoors to cool down, sitting back in your favorite chair, and finding a great video game to play for awhile.

So if you're feeling physically and/or mentally exhausted from the summer, and you want something to lose yourself in Eminem-style, check out these 7 "big" immersive video games where it's truly easy to lose track of time:

1. "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt"

I'll admit: At first, I found "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" to be too big and too ambitious for the time I had available to play video games. But earlier this summer, I started the game from scratch and decided I wouldn't skip past all the dialogue, but actually let the game fully immerse me — and I'm so glad I did.

"The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" is, simply, one of the best games ever made. It's got a little bit of everything: Action, adventure, storytelling, romance, strategy, and decisions that actually affect the world you live in. And the world, by the way, is the star of the show: You can get lost just wandering around the fantastical world of "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt," through bustling cities, dark woods, quiet villages by the water, and more. It feels like you're living in a medieval, Game of Thrones-type European world, and there's nothing like it.

Available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

2. "Super Mario Odyssey"

"Super Mario Odyssey" is just a joy to play. I actually played this game late last year, in the midst of a bad illness, and this game totally made me feel better. I played the game to completion with my fiancée, and neither of us ever wanted to put it down until the adventure was finally over — and then after that, we still wanted to uncover all the puzzles and secrets the game had to offer.

If you want to be immersed in a fun, cartoony, and lighthearted world starring one of the most beloved video game characters of all-time, look no further than Super Mario Odyssey. An adventure like this is perfect for the long summer months.

Available on Nintendo Switch.

3. "BioShock: The Collection"

Want to sink your teeth into some great science-fiction/horror stories? Do you like games where you can find and wield new superpowers? Then the BioShock games are for you — and thankfully, you can buy all three of them in a package that's been remastered for current-gen consoles, called "BioShock: The Collection."

"Bioshock: The Collection" includes "BioShock" (the 2007 classic); "BioShock 2" (from 2010); and "BioShock Infinite" (from 2013). In the first two games, you're surviving the underwater city of Rapture; in the final game, you'll be traversing the airborne city of Columbia. All three games drip with mood and atmosphere, feel great to play, and look even better than they did years ago thanks to the visual improvements in the remastered package. If you've never played a BioShock game before, or it's been awhile, it's time to jump in.

Available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

• Calories don't tell the full picture when it comes to healthy eating.
• Instead of focusing on a single number, dietitians recommend considering a handful of characteristics about the foods and drinks you're consuming.
• Here are some of the simple tips they've outlined to help you clean up your eating habits.

Calories don't tell the full picture when it comes to healthy eating. In fact, focusing exclusively on a food's calorie count can be pretty misleading. 

The most obvious problem with calories is that they don't tell you how filling a food or drink will be, a factor called satiety that is key to preventing overeating.

Additionally, calorie counts don't reveal whether your afternoon granola bar contains the right blend of protein and carbs to power you through a workout, or whether your morning cereal contains vitamins and minerals that are key to glowing skin and healthy hair.

Instead of relying on a single number, dietitians recommend considering the whole food or drink — including how much protein, fiber, and added sugar it contains, as well as much ingredients were processed before entering your body.

Here are some of the simple tips they've outlined to help us clean up our eating game.

SEE ALSO: What your daily routine should look like, according to science

DON'T MISS: Restaurant chains now put calorie counts on their menus — and it's part of a misleading 100-year-old American obsession

Start eating more vegetables — especially greens.

Author Michael Pollan may have condensed the best nutrition wisdom into one line when he wrote: "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."

Dozens of scientific studies have tied diets high in vegetables— especially greens— to better health outcomes, including weight loss and a decreased risk of a handful of chronic diseases.

Veggies like watercress, spinach, chives, and collard greens all rank highly on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's list of "powerhouse foods." So find a few you like and start adding them to your plate.

But don't worry: Most research does not suggest a need to slash meat, dairy, or fish from your diet. In fact, the best results typically seem linked with diets that combine high amounts of vegetables with healthy sources of protein, which can include seafood, eggs, and meat. Eating plans like these include the popular Mediterranean diet and MIND diet.

Replace soda or sweet tea with water, unsweetened tea, or other sugar-free drinks.

Sweetened beverages like soda and juice can make up a surprising portion of the calories you consume each day, yet they don't fill you up the same way solid food does.

As part of an eight-year study that included nearly 50,000 women, Harvard researchers tracked what happened when people either slashed their intake of sweetened drinks or started consuming more of them. Not surprisingly, the participants who raised their sugary-drink intake gained weight and increased their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. In fact, the more sweet drinks women consumed, the more weight they gained and the more their disease risk went up.

Those who curbed their intake, on the other hand, did not see those negative results.

So the next time you're looking for something other than water to drink, try seltzer or unsweetened tea. Even diet soda is probably a better choice. Every time you pick one of these over a sweetened beverage, you'll also be cutting anywhere from 150 to 400 calories.

Pay attention to protein.

Protein is a key ingredient that helps fuel our muscles and keep us feeling full. It also slows the breakdown of carbs into sugar, thereby acting as a sort of buffer against sharp dips and spikes in insulin levels. For these reasons, it's a good idea to make sure you're getting enough protein in every meal.

Many Americans whose diets are based around meat actually get too much protein. But there's some evidence that people who try to switch to a more plant-based diet can have a hard time getting enough.

To make sure your protein intake isn't slouching, add items like eggs, beans, tofu, lentils, fish, and dairy products to vegetable- and whole-grain-based meals.

When it comes to freeing up precious storage space on your smartphone or other devices, photos are often one of the first things to get the axe.

But now, with so many affordable and easy-to-use cloud storage solutions available, there's no need to quickly delete old pictures when you run out of memory.

Owners of the Apple iPhone, in particular, have two standout solutions available to them: Apple Photos, the built-in app, which can back up your pictures to its iCloud service, and Google Photos, which is powered by the search giant's formidable AI. 

I put Apple Photos and Google Photos head-to-head — and found that Apple's software is the clear winner for both tech-savvy photographers and the average iPhone user, just looking to clear out space on their phone. 

Check it out:

SEE ALSO: Everything we've heard so far about the Pixel Watch, the rumored Google smartwatch said to be coming later this year

EASE OF ACCESS

First, let's talk about how you use each app. 

Apple's photos app comes preinstalled on every iPhone, iPad, and Mac computer. On Macs, it used to be known as iPhoto. If you back up your photos to Apple's iCloud service, you can view them on any other Apple device, on Windows via an app, or from any web browser.

Plus, Apple Photos is compatible with the Apple TV, if you want to view your vacation album on a bigger screen.

Meanwhile, you can get the free Google Photos mobile app on both Android and iOS devices, and the fullest version of the service can be accessed on any browser. For bonus points, you can display your photos on any TV equipped with a Google Chromecast.

EDITING

Another one of the biggest differences between the two services is their editing features. Apple Photos offers an extensive array of editing capabilities, allowing users to adjust color settings and levels, as well as a variety of options for automated correction.

Marvel's latest movie, "Ant-Man and the Wasp," is already entertaining on its own. But add in moving seats and water being sprayed at you, and it basically becomes a theme park ride. 

That's the gist of 4DX, a movie-viewing experience that's not just 3D. The seats move during action sequences, water hits you in the face if characters in the movie go under water, scents are released throughout the theater to emulate smells in the movie, and so on. It pretty much tries to replicate the environment in the movie, and while it obviously can't do that too closely without getting dangerous, it's something worth trying.

I got to experience "Ant-Man and the Wasp" this way Thursday night at Regal Union Square Stadium 14 in New York. The movie was in 3D during my viewing, which, on top of 4DX, really put me in the movie in a way I hadn't experienced before. 

Of course, there's the money factor. But if you're willing to shell out around $30 a ticket, 4DX is something I recommend moviegoers experience at least once.

Even Ant-Man himself Paul Rudd recommends it.

I took some photos before my viewing of the movie to give readers a better look at what they can look forward to:

SEE ALSO: Netflix's 'Luke Cage' producer talks about returning for season 2 after the success of 'Black Panther'

Before walking into the theater, there's this outside the door. I experienced all of these at least once during "Ant-Man and the Wasp" (except I think fog and lightning, although there were some trippy light-effects).

There's also this pretty intimidating warning outside the door, which should honestly precede any movie theater — no children under four years old sounds great, 4DX or not.

At first glance, it looks like a regular theater (this photo was taken from higher seats, so don't worry, they're not all that close to the screen).

Right now, all is well in the movie world.

The summer movie season is hitting on all cylinders and looks to be one of the best in history, while as a whole, 2018 is up 8% in ticket sales (which is huge) and could be looking at over $11 billion in revenue by the time the year ends.

That's assuming the good times at the multiplex keep going in the second half of the year.

With big event movies like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's "Skyscraper" and "Aquaman" yet to come, mixed with more dramatic but equally anticipated titles, like "A Star Is Born" and "Creed II," things are looking positive. 

Here are 39 movies coming out before the end of the year that you shouldn't miss:

SEE ALSO: The 16 best TV shows of 2018 so far

“Skyscraper” - July 13

Dwayne Johnson mixes a little "Die Hard" with "The Towering Inferno" for his next thrill ride. Here he plays a family man who has to save that family from the largest building in the world before the bad guys (and the fire raging) gets to them first. Everything you expect from The Rock is in this one — and more. He's sporting a prosthetic leg this time.

“Eighth Grade” - July 13

It doesn't matter if you're 20 years old or 70 years old, there are some things about growing up that are universal, and comic-turned-director Bo Burnham highlights them warts and all in this beautiful movie. We follow teenager Kayla (Elsie Fisher) as she maneuvers transitioning from middle school to high school. Filled with comedic moments, this is also a heartfelt look at the wonder of growing up and how when you're in your teens everything sucks.

“Blindspotting” - July 20

One of the most talked-about movies at Sundance this year thanks to how it looks at race, Black Lives Matter, and the gentrification of Oakland, this is a movie that's very hard to narrow down in a few sentences. You kind of have to trust us that it's worth your time.