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Now that we know who's heading to Super Bowl LVI, it's time to put the spotlight on another championship game: Puppy Bowl XVIII. The most adorable showdown of the season happens on Feb. 13 at 11 a.m. PT (2 p.m. ET), hours before Super Bowl kickoff.

Sure, game day is the day for entertaining -- not to mention expensive -- commercials, finger foods and touchdown dances, but why not start things off with this cuddly event? This puppy version of orange versus blue is the perfect prelude to seeing the Bengals and Rams hit the field. And having your own pets isn't required.

The puppies huddle for Puppy Bowl XVIII.

Hosted by besties Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart, Puppy Bowl 2022 will bring together two rival teams aiming for victory. Though it's not the first time Snoop and Stewart have hosted the game, this year they'll be acting as coaches in the ultimate fur-baby matchup. Along with providing play-by-play commentary, they'll be running drills, giving pep talks and leading their pooches to greatness.

What's on the line? Besides the prized Chewy Lombarky Trophy, each pup in the lineup is up for adoption. Team Fluff and Team Ruff are counting on the viewing audience to really bring things home for them as potential new owners.

This must-see event will also feature a puppy cheerleading squad, a kitty halftime show and an appearance from Elmo and his dog Tango. While cable subscribers can watch the fun unfold on Animal Planet or the Animal Planet Go app, here's how cord-cutters can get in on the action.

Coaches Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart for Puppy Bowl 2022.

To take in all three hours of the Puppy Bowl and its preshow, head over toDiscovery Plus, the official streaming home of the event. Viewers receive exclusive access to Pupclose & Personal, a series highlighting Ariana Grande's animal rescue organization that she launched with her choreographer friends. The app will also feature a reel of the Puppy Bowl's 17-year history. All this content is available before the game.

The monthly fee for Discovery Plus is $5, but new subscribers are eligible for a free seven-day trial.

You'll find more than 60 live channels on Philo, including Animal Planet, and the price tag is just $25 per month. A bonus is Philo's unlimited DVR, so if you want to record all that cuteness to watch later, you can save it for up to one year. New Philo users can sign up for a seven-day free trial.

Watch the fluffy game commence live on FuboTV. The service's basic starter package is $65 per month and includes Animal Planet along with 250 hours of DVR. If you're not already signed up, you can get a free trial run for seven days. Once the Puppy Bowl ends, you can flip over to NBC to watch the Super Bowl at 3:30 p.m. PT (6:30 p.m. ET).

YouTube TV encourages new subscribers to try its live streaming service for free for two weeks, and after that, it's $65 per month. Tune in to Animal Planet on game day and then enjoy the Puppy Bowl replay through the service's unlimited DVR. Like Fubo, YouTube TV also makes it seamless to watch the NFL's big game by carrying NBC.

Hulu has multiple subscription plans, but bear in mind that if you want to watch Puppy Bowl live on Animal Planet, it costs $70 per month for Hulu Live TV. Sorry, there isn't a free trial available for new or returning users. However, you can also stream the big game on this live plan.

Read our Hulu With Live TV review.

DirecTV Stream includes Animal Planet with all four of its streaming packages, and you can subscribe to its base Entertainment plan for $70 per month. While there isn't a free trial, you can get a refund on your bill if you cancel your subscription within 14 days. That's enough time to catch the Puppy Bowl and then follow up with Super Bowl LVI on NBC.

The Puppy Bowl is about more than just a chaotic game of cuteness overload. Viewers will learn about the hard work happening around the country at animal shelters, and get the chance to meet a group of service dogs and special needs pups. Who knows? You may wind up helping one of these animals find a forever home.

Entertain your brain with the coolest news from streaming to superheroes, memes to video games.

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How to watch the Puppy Bowl 2022 - CNET

"We see the importance of social engagement in sports betting. It will play a paramount role in providing a more interactive and enjoyable experience during sports coverage, including allowing friends to challenge each other in a friendly wager," said Daniel Salgado, Tribal Chairman "The potential of pari-mutuel betting pools will help diversify the sports wagering market in eSports as well as traditional sports."

Aaron Basch, CEO of Sparket, is "excited to be partnering with Cahuilla Casino Hotel, an experienced tribal operator in California who will help us navigate the expanding sports and eSports landscape in the state. Our Social Betwork platform will enable their users to access new wagering types, initially via free to play games. By utilizing pari-mutuel odds as a form of peer-to-peer wagering, Sparket's application will enable Cahuilla Casino Hotel to offer better odds and provide more options to their customers in the near future."

About Sparket: The Social BetworkSparket's partnership announcement comes on the heels of a successful year for the growing Los Angeles based startup, during which they completed their initial fundraising efforts, inked a deal with US Bookmaking, and held a live esports eventduring Comic Con weekend in San Diego.

To learn more about Sparket follow us online http://www.betsparket.com, @betSparket on social media.

About Cahuilla Casino HotelThe Cahuilla Band of Indians opened Cahuilla Casino in 1996. The serene mountain setting and beautiful drive had made the casino a favorite day trip destination for players from all over Southern California. In 2015, Mountain Sky Travel Center was introduced offering a full-service convenience store and twelve pump gas and diesel fuel station. In 2019, Cahuilla began building a brand-new casino and adding a hotel, rebranding as Cahuilla Casino Hotel. May 27, 2020, Cahuilla Casino Hotel opened the new property that nearly tripled the size of the original facility, featuring a 15,000 square foot casino with expanded gaming options to include the addition of table games, an American style restaurant and a 58 room hotel. To stay up-to-date on casino news and information, please visit http://www.cahuillacasinohotel.comand follow us onFacebook andInstagram.

CONTACT: Aaron Basch, [emailprotected]

SOURCE Sparket

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Cahuilla Casino Hotel early adopter of the Social Betwork for the Big Game - PRNewswire

READING, United Kingdom, Jan.31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Pegasystems Inc.(NASDAQ: PEGA), the software company that crushes business complexity, today announced that QBEEuropean Operations(QBE EO), one of the world's leading insurers and reinsurers, has used Pega Robotic Process Automation (RPA)to increase efficiency and improve customer experience.

Headquartered in London with operations across Europe, QBE EO is part of QBE, one of the world's largest insurance groups. Prior to using Pega, its claims, and credit control team processed each case manually, which involved sorting through thousands of case related emails, data, and tasks per day.

QBE EO turned to Pega's intelligent automation capabilities as part of an operational excellence initiative to transform highly transactional areas of the business by streamlining and automating workflows. After initial pilot success in claims, Pega was quickly rolled out to credit control and underwriting operations, with robotic solutions now operating across the business.

QBE EO claims department alone has deployed Pega bots to automate an estimated 30,000 customer claims tasks per week, saving approximately 50,000 hours, the equivalent of 25 full time employees annually, while dramatically speeding up the process for its customers. Pega RPA removes the need for employees to perform repetitive work and enables that work to be processed digitally, with greater speed and accuracy. This enables QBE EO claims handlers to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time providing value-added services while delivering outstanding customer experiences. Providing a more sophisticated level of service has also significantly improved employee satisfaction, and left them with time to talk to brokers about how they can enhance their services.

One of the most successful bots for QBE has been an attended RPA bot that receives thousands of emails per day and files them in the appropriate systems, saving thousands of manual hours per week. Due to the flexibility of the software, a simple reconfiguration has enabled more than 75 variations of the generic filing bot. Through a simple drag and drop process, QBE was able to leverage this bot from its initial home in claims to serve multiple business units across Europe that also handle large volumes of transactional emails, including underwriting.

Savings from the use of bots has enabled QBE EO to invest in upskilling staff within the region. Going forward, QBE plans to continue to expand the use of intelligent automation into other geographical regions to remove manual work and improve service.

Quotes & Commentary:

"Our people remain the most important asset of our team," said Amit Dixit, head of operational excellence, QBE Europe. "Pega fosters an environment where subject matter experts can remove administrative tasks from their workload and use that time to take care of stakeholder engagement, such as talking to brokers about how we can work better together. As a result, our team members are happier and more fulfilled. There is huge potential to do more with robotics; we are always looking to do things more efficiently and effectivelyto deliver the best result for the customer, our brokers, and our employees."

"In today's environment, it is crucial for companies to direct staff's time and effort toward high-value customerengagement," said Hayden Stafford, president of global client engagement, Pegasystems. "QBE has demonstrated success with Pega by saving its staff tens of thousands of hours per year, and delivering scalability across Europe to improve its processes for employees and customers. We look forward to continuing to support QBE in its digital transformation mission that ultimately will help them deliver real value to their customers."

Supporting Resources:

About PegasystemsPega delivers innovative software that crushes business complexity. From maximizing customer lifetime value to streamlining service to boosting efficiency, we help the world's leading brands solve problems fast and transform for tomorrow. Pega clients make better decisions and get work done with real-time AI and intelligent automation. And, since 1983, we've built our scalable architecture and low-code platform to stay ahead of rapid change. Our solutions save people time, so our clients' employees and customers can get back to what matters most.

For more information on Pegasystems (NASDAQ: PEGA) visitwww.pega.com.

Press Contact:Sarah KingPegasystems Ltd.[emailprotected] +44 (0) 118 9398 584

SOURCE Pegasystems Inc.

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Pega Helps QBE Free Nearly 50,000 hours of Employees' Time Annually with RPA - PRNewswire

To run Windows, you'll need a Mac with an Intel processor, like the 2019 MacBook Pro and 2019 MacBook Air.

Whatever the reason is, you might need to use Windows instead of MacOS sometimes. It might be because you want to play a game that's exclusive to Windows, or you're a developer who wants to test out software on both operating systems. Fortunately for you, you don't need to buy two computers to run Windows and Mac. Instead, you can do it all on one device.

If you have an Intel-based Mac with enough storage, and the correct Windows 10 ISO file -- which you can download for free from the official Windows website -- you can set up Windows 10 in less than an hour on your Apple computer. Anytime you boot up your Mac, you can choose whether to run Windows or MacOS. Here's how to do it.

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To successfully run Windows 10 on your Mac computer, here's what you need to have:

If you're unsure whether your computer is Intel-based, click on the Apple logo on the menu bar, and then go into About This Mac. If you see the words Processor, followed by the name of an Intel processor, like "2.6GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7," then you have an Intel-based Mac.

Before you start, though, it's wise to back up your disk withTime Machine before partitioning just in case something goes wrong.

Windows 11 isn't currently compatible with Boot Camp Assistant on MacOS. So, you'll need to download Windows 10 instead. You can download a free disc image, also known as an ISO file, of Windows 10 from the official Windows website.

1. On your Mac, go to this Windows software download page.

2. Click on Select Edition, and choose Windows 10 (multi-edition ISO).

3. Hit Confirm, and wait for your request to be verified.

4. Once that finishes, choose your language and click on Confirm.

5. Finally, click on 64-bit Download to download the Windows 10 ISO file.

Download the 64-bit Windows 10 ISO file from the Windows website (most modern computers have a 64-bit capable processor).

The Windows 10 ISO file is nearly 6GB, so depending on your internet connection and speed, it could take up to 30 minutes to finish downloading. After the ISO file is done, leave it in your downloads, and move on to the next step.

The software you'll use to run Windows 10 on your Mac is Boot Camp Assistant, which comes factory-installed on your Mac. Boot Camp Assistant is made specifically for installing Windows operating systems on your computer, and fortunately the setup process is pretty straightforward.

1. Launch Boot Camp Assistant on your Mac, and click Continue.

2. Click on Choose a Windows 10 ISO file, and upload the Windows 10 ISO file you downloaded in the previous step.

3. Drag the bar to choose a size for your Windows partition disk (42GB is the minimum).

4. Click Install, and wait roughly 10 minutes for the partition to be created.

Upload the Windows 10 ISO file and choose the partition size.

Once the Windows partition is finished, your laptop will restart.

Your computer will boot up, but instead of showing you the Apple logo you're accustomed to, you should instead see the blue Windows logo appear. Here's what you need to do next:

1. Go through the Windows setup.

2. Enter a product key if you have one. If not, you can continue without one.

Even without a product key, you'll be able to access Windows on your Mac, so don't worry if you don't have one. During the installation, you'll see window files copied, features and updates installed and more. This should take another 10 minutes.

Your Mac will restart. But this time you'll be asked to set up Windows, just as you would on a Windows computer. You can use Cortana and your voice to complete the setup, but you're also welcome to use your keyboard, mouse and trackpad.

1. Choose your language, keyboard layout, Wi-Fi and more to begin.

2. If you have a Windows account, log in with your credentials.

3. Windows will boot up on your Mac. You'll be asked to create a passcode and/or PIN to enter your computer. Do that to protect your account.

This is the Windows lock screen that appears after your Mac restarts.

Finally, the last thing you'll need to do is install and update Boot Camp on Windows. That will let you make any additional changes to your partition or fix any issues while you're running Windows. When you access Windows for the first time, you should receive a notification to install Boot Camp. This will take 10 minutes to install, but it's the last thing you need to do before you can use Windows without any issues.

Feel free to use Windows how you want. Windows 10's default web browser is Microsoft Edge, but you can use it to downloadChrome or anything else to surf the internet. You can then download files and install software you would only be able to install on a Windows-powered computer -- like Paint.NET and certain games from Steam -- but on your Mac.

Windows 10 on a MacBook Pro.

If you ever want to go back to MacOS from Windows, do the following:

1. Restart your computer.

2. As soon as the screen goes black, hold down the Option key for 5 seconds.

3. On the screen, you'll then have the option to boot up MacOS or Windows.

4. Choose the partition you want to open.

Hold down the Option key when you reboot to choose a different partition.

Use this keyboard shortcut to switch between your disks as needed.

Learn smart gadget and internet tips and tricks with our entertaining and ingenious how-tos.

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You can easily install Windows 10 on your Mac. Here's how - CNET

Doing taxes in the U.S. is notoriously complicated and costly. And it gets even worse when there are delays and backlogs, making it especially hard to reach the Internal Revenue Service for assistance.

But to me this raises an important question: Why should taxpayers have to navigate the tedious, costly tax filing system at all?

In 1985, President Ronald Reagan promised a return-free tax system in which half of all Americans would never fill out a tax return again. Under the framework, taxpayers with simple returns would automatically receive a refund or a letter detailing any tax owed. Taxpayers with more complicated returns would use the system in place today.

In 2006, President Barack Obamas chief economist, Austan Goolsbee, suggested a simple return, in which taxpayers would receive already completed tax forms for their review or correction. Goolsbee estimated his system would save taxpayers more than US$2 billion a year in tax preparation fees.

Though never implemented, the two proposals illustrate what we all know: No one enjoys filling out tax forms.

So why do we have to?

As an expert on the U.S. tax system, I see Americas costly and time-consuming tax reporting system as a consequence of its relationship with the commercial tax preparation industry, which lobbies Congress to maintain the status quo.

Return-free filing is not difficult.

At least 30 countries permit return-free filing, including Denmark, Sweden, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Furthermore, 95% of American taxpayers receive at least one of more than 30 types of information returns that let the government know their exact income. These information returns give the government everything it needs to fill out most taxpayers returns.

The U.S. system is 10 times more expensive than tax systems in 36 other countries with robust economies. But those costs vanish in a return-free system, as would the 2.6 billion hours Americans spend on tax preparation each year.

Maybe youre wondering whether Congress is just behind the times, unaware that it can release us from tax preparation? Not true.

About two decades ago, Congress directed the IRS to provide low-income taxpayers with free tax preparation. The agency responded in 2002 with Free File, a public-private partnership between the government and the tax-preparation industry. As part of the deal, the IRS agreed not to compete with the private sector in the free tax preparation market.

In 2007, the House of Representatives rejected legislation to provide free government tax preparation for all taxpayers. And in 2019, Congress tried to legally bar the IRS from ever providing free online tax preparation services.

Only a public outcry turned the tide.

The public part of Free File consists of the IRS herding taxpayers to commercial tax -preparation websites. The private part consists of those commercial entities diverting taxpayers toward costly alternatives.

According to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which oversees IRS activities, private partners use computer code to hide the free websites and take unsuspecting taxpayers to paid sites.

Should a taxpayer discover a free preparation alternative, the private preparers impose various restrictions such as income or the use of various forms as an excuse to kick taxpayers back to paid preparation.

Consequently, of the more than 100 million taxpayers eligible for free help, 35% end up paying for tax preparation and 60% never even visit the free websites. Instead of 70% of Americans receiving free tax preparation, commercial companies whittled that percentage down to 3%.

Perhaps you are guessing that there are valid policy justifications for avoiding government and empowering the private sector. Judge those arguments yourself.

One argument from commercial tax preparers is that taxpayers will miss out on valuable tax savings if they rely on free government preparation.

In fact, the government software would reflect the same laws used by the paid preparers with the same access to tax saving deductions or credits. Further, tax preparers like H&R Block promise to pay all taxes and interest resulting from a failed audit. As a result, these services have every incentive to take conservative, pro-government tax positions.

A second argument is that government-prepared tax returns encourage tax evasion.

In a no-return system, the government reveals its knowledge of the taxpayers income before the taxpayer files. Thus, the argument goes, the taxpayer knows if the government has missed something and has reason to let the mistake stand.

But taxpayers already know what information forms the government has because they receive duplicates of those forms. The incentive to lie does not increase because the taxpayer avoids weeks of tax preparation.

Finally, there is the anti-tax argument for onerous tax preparation: Keep tax preparation unpleasant to fuel anti-tax sentiment.

In the past, Republicans argued against high taxes. But after decades of tax cuts, Americans are no longer swayed by that argument.

Exasperating tax preparation, according to this argument, helps keep the anti-tax fever high. And that fuels public hate for government and the tax system.

Unfortunately, the anti-tax contingents desire to force Americans to spend time and money on tax preparation dovetails with the tax preparation industrys desire to collect billions of dollars in fees.

Tax preparation companies lobby Congress to keep tax preparation costly and complicated.

Indeed, Intuit, maker of TurboTax, the tax preparation software, has listed government tax preparation as a threat to its business model.

One example is the earned income tax credit, a government program for low-income people. The credit is so complicated that 20% of the people who are eligible never file, thus missing out on thousands of dollars in savings.

If the government prepared everyones tax returns, that 20% would receive government support. Nonetheless, Intuit has lobbied lawmakers to make the credit more complicated, thereby driving more taxpayers to paid preparation services.

In other words, it seems the tax preparation industry has kept the system complicated because the potential cost to it in terms of lost revenue is vast.

I believe only public outcry can change the system.

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The IRS already has all your income tax data so why do Americans still have to file their taxes? - The Conversation AU