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You likely know that Microsoft packed a lot of improvements into the Windows 10 Creators Update, but there are still a few surprises left… particularly if you use Windows’ built-in navigation app to get from A to B. Microsoft has detailed Creators’ numerous Maps upgrades, many of which revolve around planning trickier routes. For one, you can create multi-stop routes. That’s nothing new if you use Google Maps, but it’s a big deal any time you use Microsoft’s default tools.
You can also create collections (say, all the destinations you want to visit on vacation), and take advantage of Windows’ pen support to jot down annotations. And if Microsoft or its mapping partners have made a mistake, you can suggest corrections to save others from going astray.
Some of the big updates are more passive in nature. You now have Maps access on the Xbox One and HoloLens — it’s not just for PCs and phones. The road view now accounts for 3D terrain, so it’ll be obvious when you’re going to wend through a scenic valley. You’ll also see place details on the desktop just by hovering over a point of interest, and a dark mode will save you from going blind when returning home at night. It’s easier to check traffic, too. Mobile users, meanwhile, now have a direction-sensitive view that can help when trying to get your bearings. Again, many of these features aren’t completely novel. They might, however, get you to try Maps when you’d otherwise be tempted to use alternatives.
Source: Windows Experience Blog
Commuter trains are already somewhat eco-friendly by their nature (you’re less likely to need a car, after all), but the San Francisco Bay Area’s train system is taking things one step further. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) has unveiled a policy that will gradually move it to completely renewable energy. It starts off modestly by limiting CO2 emissions now through 2024, but the plans will be more aggressive after that. At least half of its energy will have to come from renewable sources by 2025, with 90 percent of it from low or zero-carbon sources. All of it will have to be zero-carbon by 2035, while complete reliance on renewable sources would come by 2045.
This isn’t exactly an overnight revolution, then. However, BART notes that it would actually outperform California’s plans for a standard of 50 percent renewable energy use by 2030. Also, any improvements will likely make a tangible impact on the state. BART uses more power than the entire city of Alameda (over 400,000MW/h per year) — even that 2025 target might help a lot. It’s also important to note that BART expects to run both trains and its infrastructure on green energy sources. The area’s Caltrain service has already made its own pledge to use renewable energy, but it’s still using diesel trains where BART’s vehicles are completely electric.
Only some of this will come through in-house energy generation (primarily through solar power), since BART just wouldn’t have the capacity to meet all its own demand. Most of it will come by purchasing energy from the grid. There will be a certain point at which you can ride the train largely guilt-free, however, and whatever BART accomplishes might help other transportation networks achieve their own renewable energy goals.
Via: Greentech Media
The interplay between marijuana and technology is a story that’s been told a million times, but for some reason, everyone always leaves out the middle.
Generally speaking, the beginning and end of the process get all the attention. There’s the growing side of the story, with all the high-pressure sodium lights, variable wavelength LEDs, and hydroponic growing systems — and then there’s the consumption side: the concentrates, the vaporizer pens, and the Uber-style startups that will deliver a blunt directly to your doorstep at the push of a button. These are the stories you usually hear when the topic of cannabis tech comes up.
But there’s a story between those steps that nobody ever talks about: The scientific testing that takes place somewhere between growth and consumption. It’s a hugely important part of the process, but because it takes place behind closed doors, it’s also shrouded in mystery.
Marijuana needed to be tested for potency, pesticides, and a variety of other things depending on what state you happened to be in.
Before legalization took off in the United States, cannabis testing wasn’t mandatory. There was no regulation, so the only people who sought out testing were those curious and well-funded enough to find out how potent their crops were. But when legalization came, so did regulation. In order to be sold through the proper legal channels, marijuana needed to be tested for potency, pesticides, and a variety of other things depending on what state you happened to be in.
This change immediately led to a huge boom in demand for marijuana testing services. Suddenly, it wasn’t a matter of choice; it was something that every grower was required to do by law before selling their wares — so testing labs quickly sprang up to fill that need. Nowadays, there are hundreds of them scattered across the country, mostly in states where both medical and recreational marijuana use have been legalized.
But what exactly goes on in those labs? How exactly do they conduct their testing? And what do they do with all the data they collect? To answer these questions, Digital Trends went on a field trip to ChemHistory — one of Oregon’s biggest cannabis testing labs — to get the skinny on how everything goes down.
Grinders and beakers and test tubes, oh my!
The process starts off just like you’d expect: a sample comes in for testing, then ChemHistory enters it into a lab information management system on a computer and gives it a unique identifying number.
Once it’s in the system, the science begins.
Step one is to take a “representative sample” of the cannabis product — as objectively as possible. To do this, the sample is placed on a grid, and an algorithm dictates which regions of that grid will be used for the test. This prevents human bias from entering the experiment, and prevents lab technicians from selecting the most visually appealing nugs. The weed is then photographed and ground up — with it’s own grinder, of course, to ensure there’s no cross-contamination between samples.
Then it starts to get complicated. The next step is to weigh out a predetermined amount of the ground up sample, then use a specific chemical solvent to separate the “potency” from the “matrix”. In this example, let’s say the potency is THC, and the matrix is the plant matter that the THC is clinging to. Before the THC can be measured by ChemHistory’s lab equipment, it first needs to be pulled out of the shrubbery it arrived on. This is achieved with a solvent, which is pumped into a test tube along with the ground-up marijuana.
Once the potency has been liberated from the buds and left floating in the solvent, it’s then diluted and placed in a small vial. This vial is then loaded into a robotic “auto-sampler” that feeds the diluted sample into a gas or liquid chromatography machine.
Suddenly, it wasn’t a matter of choice; it was something that every grower was required to do by law
We wont get into the specifics of how this machine works — just know that it effectively separates out the different molecules in a sample based on molecular mass. Think of it like a pack of runners spreading out over the course of a race based on speed and stamina. Molecules do the same thing in this machine, which allows them to be analyzed separately in the next step of the process.
Once separated, the next step is to figure out the identity of each molecule. This is achieved with the help of a machine known as a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Again, we’ll let you peruse Wikipedia to learn how this tech works — but really, the details aren’t terribly important. The mass spectrometer essentially allows ChemHistory to determine not only the identity of a given molecule (like THC or CBD), but also the relative quantity of that molecule in relation to the sample.
But the process doesn’t end there.
More than just a label
If you think that all of this information just gets printed on a label and slapped on the side of a nug jug, you’re dead wrong.
That might’ve been how it worked a few years ago, back when the industry was young and labs were analyzing weed simply because the government said testing was necessary to protect consumers — but lately, entrepreneurs have realized that all this cannabis data can be used for much, much more.
All of the data produced by ChemHistory — and dozens of other labs around the country — is funneled into a software platform called Confident Cannabis. It’s a free lab information-management suite built specifically for marijuana-testing labs, and as such, there’s a large number of labs that use it.
Collectively, these labs record an absolutely massive amount of data about the weed they test, and Confident Cannabis analyzes this information to find insights, averages, and trends. It’s not just THC and CBD concentration, either — labs also collect information about the strain of marijuana plant, the grower who produced it, the region it was grown in, and the terpenes (flavor/aroma molecules) present in each sample.
This data is beneficial for everyone involved. Growers of high-quality weed can use these lab reports to fetch a higher price when selling their product to dispensaries. Dispensaries, in turn, can use this data to put better products on their shelves. And of course, consumers can use this information to make more informed purchasing decisions.
Need something that’ll get you high and giddy, but not so blazed that you stare at the refrigerator for three hours? What about something that has a lemony flavor, and also has pain relieving effects? Thanks to all the scientific data that labs have been gathering over the years, it’s now easier than ever to find cannabis products that are perfectly suited to your specific needs.
It’s easy to dismiss lab testing as a strict, government-imposed step that marijuana growers follow simply because they have to — but lab data is no longer just about protecting consumers from smoking pesticide-laced pot. Information is power, and startups like Confident Cannabis are using that power to foster healthy competition between growers, boost the quality of the marijuana in available to consumers, and ultimately drive the cannabis industry forward as a whole.
That massive Google Docs phishing attack from May 3rd was more than a little disconcerting, but Google is trying to set minds at ease. It just outlined how it responds to this email trickery — including how it intends to prevent incidents like the one that just wreaked havoc. It’s shoring up its defenses by tightening its policies on third party authentication (the Docs attack steered users toward a bogus app using a Google sign-in), refining its spam filtering to target Docs-style campaigns, and more closely monitoring apps that ask for your data.
The internet pioneer already has a number of anti-phishing measures, such as machine learning-based detection, Safe Browsing, email attachment scanning and extra security measures for suspicious-looking logins.
Google stresses that the May 3rd attack didn’t do much damage. Fewer than 0.1 percent of its users were affected, it says. That’s somewhat comforting, but it was still hard to escape the phishing campaign for the brief hour it ran rampant. Even that small a portion of Google’s user base still represents many, many people. The stepped-up anti-phishing efforts might be necessary to prevent another large-scale mess.
Source: Google Security Blog
Apple Maps Vehicles Begin Surveying Connecticut, Imagery Could Aid Apple’s Autonomous Driving Efforts
Apple has updated its website to indicate that its Apple Maps vehicles will begin surveying Connecticut for the first time this month.
For nearly two years, Apple has been driving vehicles around the world to collect data for Apple Maps—widely believed to be street-level imagery. Since 2015, the vehicles have surveyed over 30 states in the United States, in addition to parts of the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Sweden.
Apple said it will blur faces and license plates on collected images prior to publication, suggesting that it could be working on adding a Street View feature to Apple Maps, similar to what Google Maps has offered for several years. But, the imagery and other mapping data could be used for a variety of purposes.
When Apple’s fleet of Dodge Caravans first hit the streets, it was speculated they could be the basis of an Apple Car. But those rumors quieted down after the vans were labeled with Apple Maps decals, and because Apple has shifted towards autonomous driving software, rather than an entire vehicle, at least for now.
Moreover, the California Department of Motor Vehicles confirmed that Apple is using a fleet of Lexus SUVs, which have since been spotted on the road, to test self-driving software. It’s known that Apple’s platform currently uses a Logitech wheel and pedals, and drivers can take over manually if necessary.
Nevertheless, so-called Apple Maps vehicles could still be playing a role in the company’s autonomous driving plans.
Neil Cybart, an independent Apple analyst at Above Avalon, told MacRumors that Apple Maps vehicles are “very likely capturing mapping data,” such as street level imagery, that will aid Apple’s autonomous driving efforts.
I don’t think these Apple Maps vehicles are just meant to improve Apple Maps. Instead, my suspicion is they are part of Project Titan. Specifically, the vehicles are likely playing a role in building the groundwork for Apple’s autonomous driving technology. The data collected by these vehicles may be used for testing autonomous driving technology using indoor simulation.
Cybart, who confirmed seeing an Apple Maps vehicle in Connecticut earlier this week, said the mapping data collected could be a “foundation” for Apple’s autonomous driving technology platform.
Apple Maps vehicles are not autonomous cars. Instead, they are very likely capturing mapping data (i.e. imagery) that will aid Apple’s autonomous driving efforts. My view is that this mapping data isn’t just for Apple Maps Street View, which wouldn’t be too useful, but rather for building a mapping foundation for Apple’s autonomous driving technology platform.
Connecticut and many other states that Apple has surveyed don’t currently allow autonomous vehicle testing on their public roads, so Apple very likely is collecting data only, as it says. Whether that data is used for a Street View feature, autonomous driving software, or both, remains to be seen.
Related Roundup: Apple Car
Tags: Apple Maps, Neil Cybart, Apple Maps vehicles
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A team of scientists have snipped away HIV DNA from the genome of live mice using a CRISPR system, and the rodents lived to (kinda) tell the tale. It’s still much too early to call the method a possible cure, but the fact that it worked on a living animal opens up a lot of possibilities. Will it work on other diseases, like cancer? Maybe, but that’s something scientists have to look into. These researchers headed by neurovirologist Kamel Khalili have been focusing on the use of the gene-editing technique to eliminate HIV for years. They successfully excised HIV DNA in live mice last year, but this round is a lot more thorough.
The team used three different types of mice for their most recent experiments. First type is infected with latent HIV lurking in its cells, the same type they used for their trials in 2016, while the second one has actively replicating HIV in its system. The last type is grafted with human immune cells, including T cells that have latent HIV in them. HIV can actually hide in the immune cells that are supposed to kill them, which is one of the reasons why it’s hard to find a cure for the condition. While anti-retroviral therapies allow HIV patients to live a normal life, they’re far from perfect. As Khalili explained:
“The current anti-retroviral therapy for HIV is very successful in suppressing replication of the virus. But that does not eliminate the copies of the virus that have been integrated into the gene, so any time the patient doesn’t take their medication the virus can rebound.”
To introduce their CRISPR system into mice without being attacked by its immune system, the researchers attached it to adeno-associated virus that doesn’t typically trigger a response in the body like other viruses do. The system eliminated the rodents’ HIV as the AA virus replicated. While successful, the team still has to make sure their system only snipped away the HIV and none of the good DNA. That’s why they’re planning to repeat the experiments on primates, whose DNA is closer to humans. Ultimately, they hope to follow in the footsteps of the Chinese oncologists from Sichuan University who already conducted CRISPR human trials.
Source: Molecular Therapy, Temple University
Before the release of consumer-grade virtual reality hardware, HTC wasn’t anywhere near the household name that Oculus was, but since then it’s arguably become the most recognizable brand for high-end, PC-based virtual reality. Its Vive headset is still the one we would recommend for those looking for a cutting-edge VR experience and it has a lot of content to go along with it.
Now a year on from its original release, the headset is a little lighter, has a new audio-strap in the works and HTC has expanded its software base with Viveport. It also offers a monthly subscription service for game delivery and even partnered up with a number of non-gaming firms to develop uses for virtual reality outside of the home-PC.
To find out how HTC feels this first year of commercial virtual reality has gone and what it has planned for the future, we organized a digital sit down with Daniel O’Brien, the general manager of HTC’s Vive division, who told us how the last 12 months have been.
Digital Trends: How happy have you been with the uptake of the HTC Vive and its software over the past year?
Daniel O’Brien: We’re really happy with the volume of content and with its monetisation. We’ve seen many of our developers making over a million dollars in revenue and a number of small teams experimenting with VR making over $25,000. What that shows us, is there’s good traction towards what we thought would happen in the first year.
We met our [headset sales] goals in year one and we’re on track for year two. We’re holding a very good position with retailers and we’re expanding our relationship with them in 2017, where we feel that some of our competitors are going in the other direction.
We’ve now reached 1,500 content pieces for the Vive on Steam. Although there are a lot of tech demos in there, I believe that some of the best VR experiences available today can be found on Steam and they represent the true promise of what VR is.
You also launched your own content store, Viveport last year. What has the uptake been like for that?
“We’re really excited about having a store that can have a non-game focus.”
Viveport is in its infancy and is just beginning its first year of a new content store for distribution. We’re really excited about having a store that can have a non-game focus. Although gamers are going to be the main audience for VR for another year or so, by giving another marketing avenue for non-games, it’s actually working out really well for us. It’s expanding the ecosystem for the kinds of content you can actually promote.
You’ve also recently launched a subscription model for Viveport, where users can pay $7 a month to have access to five applications on a rotating basis. What has the response been like to that?
That’s actually got a really high attach rate right now, which is something we’re really excited about. It gives our developers a new revenue channel and is a low risk way for consumers to try out different content pieces.
What are some of your favorite games that you’ve seen come to the Vive over the past year?
It’s hard for me to pick an outright favorite, because I always get to see the next big thing that’s on the horizon that hasn’t commercialized yet.
My favorite right now is the Rick and Morty game. It’s so engaging, but I’ve only had a chance to play maybe an hour or so. I love the puzzle games like The Gallery. That’s always been a favorite of mine, even before we launched the Vive. Google Earth is something I spend a lot of time in.
I’m also really enjoying the new innovations that are happening to locomotion in games too, like what Survios has done with Sprint Vector. We actually have a leaderboard for that game in our house and my son is beating me handily.
What are some of the new controller types and innovations you’ve been impressed with using the Vive tracker?
While we’re seeing obvious innovations like the gun and the sword, what we’re really excited about is the wide variety of solutions. Full body tracking is something that’s doable with the tracker. All you need is three trackers, the Vive and the controllers and you literally have your whole body tracked in virtual space.
We’ve also seen knuckle controllers, phone’s that can see into VR. We’ve seen a lot of experiments in the input area.
What’s important about the tracker though, is that it’s removing thousands of man hours of engineering and research and development to build their own tracked peripheral or object.
The movie and entertainment industry is now starting to use these trackers rather than motion capture as part of their development tool set too. While I can’t confirm which AAA studios are using the Vive, I can tell you that every single one of them is developing with trackers and looking at innovative ways for their IPs.
When do you think we’ll see the first AAA games start to appear on the Vive?
We’re very excited about Valve committing to VR with the three titles it’s making for it and Bethesda announced its Fallout strategy. We do know of other partners that are working on various large IP projects with the Vive and they just haven’t announced those yet.
I think the second half of 2017, I think we’ll see a lot more announcements and a lot of projects on the horizon. We’re going to start to see stuff that’s more relevant to that later this year and in 2018 there will be a lot more content coming.
We would expect that to be a turning point for the industry, where until those big experiences and IPs occur, hardware revenues will continue to outpace software revenues. As we get closer to 2020, we’re going to start to see content revenue outpace hardware. That’s a pretty normal path for what we think is going to happen with this sort of industry.
Valve and HTC both offered classes and courses for developers to help get them started with development in VR. How important have those been in helping to kickstart that over the past 12 months?
I think it’s been very critical. We wanted to produce the hardware, we wanted to produce the platform to make it possible to get the content launched. I think we did a good job of doing that as a foundation for the industry.
“We want to try and keep things as open as possible as we continue to expand the developer base.”
We’re also starting to see a lot of university programs which are great, hackathons. These guys are all really proactive in their communities and in organizing events for developers to meet up and talk about the tools that they’re using and the application for them.
If you look at the mixed reality filming setups that we use at every conference and event that we go to, that was developed by the Northway Games and Radial Games teams. They gave that software away and it made it much easier for other developers to create trailers and to advertise their games. We’re still in this phase where people are openly sharing their software and their code and ideas and I think that’s really positive. We want to try and keep things as open as possible as we continue to expand the developer base.
In our original interview last year, we spoke about exclusivity of VR games and platforms and you were quite clear that HTC was staunchly against such a practice. Is that something you maintain now a year on from release?
For us it’s very important. [Being open] is the best way for developers to monetize their content. Developers need to be able to make money. We spend a lot of time working on these platforms, but if a developer can make something for the Vive and then take their game to other VR platforms, we’re completely open for that.
From a typical or historical model in the console market, a developer could be really successful with a large install base of consoles. That’s not necessarily the case with VR right now. For a developer to be hamstrung or restricted to one store or platform only, that’s really limiting their ability to generate revenue and evolve their content.
That’s why we work so hard not to close things down, because that only limits developers further. We want them to have long term health and success.
VR arcades are something that HTC has been keen to sponsor over the past year. Do you think VR has the potential to bring back the public arcade experience?
I think so. We’re seeing already, early success of that. Just looking at IMAX theaters, they’re already claiming to have run 20,000+ people through them. I went to a birthday party last weekend at a Seattle warehouse for my son’s friends and the whole place was a virtual sports zone. Those rooms were full all the time and for many people that was their first experience of trying VR.
I think VR arcades have a distinct ability to attract a consumer and get them into VR and get them excited about it. This is a model that already exists in markets like China, for PC gaming and we’re now seeing that same sort of public setting for VR show up in Europe and the Americas. People have some really great and innovative ideas about how to do it.
What we’re really working on now, is how developers and arcade owners can monetize those experiences and not have to necessarily make their own deals with each other. They don’t necessarily have the relationships like we do, so we’re acting as a path for that.
The one thing that didn’t exist in the original arcades that does today, is a gaming audience. The kind of people that like to watch other people play games. Today you have these global leaderboards, you have Esports audiences, streamers, entertainment companies getting behind gameplay. I look at arcades and see a whole other method for people to get excited about what’s happening in VR.
How has the Vive been used to help product design through tools like MakeVR?
“I don’t know a single major automotive company that isn’t using a Vive to experiment with and use for design and engineering decisions.”
I can say with confidence, that I don’t know a single major automotive company that isn’t using a Vive to experiment with and use for design and engineering decisions. We’re seeing it in the architecture design industry and we’re starting to see the medical industry really take hold of VR technology.
These companies would love to not pay hundreds of millions of dollars to make mockups of new cars and products.
It’s not just about design but collaboration. You can literally take 20 of your designers and put them in the room with the design of the product and go, “ok, let’s make design decisions about this.” Instead of putting people on planes, you can now make those sorts of design decisions in VR.
You’ve continued to make changes to the Vive’s design over the past year. Why were some of those innovations not present in the original version?
On this first headset there were things we wanted to do that we didn’t get a chance to. It wasn’t that we didn’t do them because we had to get to market at a specific time, it was that we didn’t have a solution to make it better and this is what works.
We originally wanted to launch with built in audio, but the design we had at the time just wasn’t comfortable, so we decided to move forward as we did. As a phone manufacturer, we had a lot of experience with the question of, ‘do we want to launch with audio in the box or not?’ There are a lot of people who like their own audio. We know who our early adopter, ‘innovators’ are, these people are really discerning about the type of audio products they use. Yes there are some people who are going to use the in-box earbuds, but a lot of early adopters want to have their own choice of audio. Especially if they’re hardcore gamers.
Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends
We made a conscious decision with the launch of the Vive to leave the audio strap for now and give people the option. Now we’re getting into a different consumer as we grow the consumer base and that is an audience that is more interested in being given an embedded audio solution.
As we grow the audience further, we’re growing the peripherals that go with it. We’re listening to audiences and developers and basing a lot of our design decisions off of that. If we can bring a lighter tether that makes it more comfortable mid-generation, there’s no harm in us doing that.
When it comes to major jumps like resolution, that’s new-new products.
When can we expect to learn more about the Vive 2?
We’re always continuing to listen to developers, what they think is the most beneficial next-generation improvements and that’s how we’re solving the next headset and when that will come to market. It’s not about picking a production cycle and timeline, it’s about bringing really meaningful innovation that helps the developer community to create compelling new experiences.
When third parties like TPCast are developing technology like wireless virtual reality, is that something that HTC will co-opt, or can we expect it to have its own solution with a next-generation headset?
TPCast is actually a ViveX company that we invested in and we’re helping them come to market. That is an add-on. In 2017 I feel like wireless is going to be an option for consumers. Later on in 2018, wireless will be an expected feature.
I think there’s going to be multiple wireless solutions together. We’ve seen models where partners are building their own proprietary wirelesss solutions as an add-on and would rather just design a reference design and license out the solution to HTC or TPCast. Developers who spend five or more hours in virtual reality are really looking forward to wireless and a more comfortable head strap. It just makes it easier for users to use VR. As you get closer to wireless, a lighter more versatile headset, you broaden that consumer audience and what they are ready to buy.
Have you noticed a trend over the past year that new graphics card releases aid VR adoption?
Absolutely. When you look at the adoption rate of VR, in the early days we knew there were eight to 10 million people just on Steam alone, who had a PC that didn’t need to update at all to run a Vive. We also knew that there was another base of around 15-20 million consumers who only needed a graphics card upgrade to be ‘VR ready.’ We know that the GPU is the next addressable market, so as the cost of those graphics cards comes down, as the performance of them has improved, we’ve seen an immediate positive impact on sales. Like when we bundle a Vive with a graphics card.
“Valve is an invaluable resource in terms of feedback and thoughts on future designs.”
When we look at the adoption curve, we’re moving through the innovators with the high-end systems and now we’re going through the early adopter phase. These are people who understand what GPUs, CPUs are and what they need and that’s very different than when you reach adoption in a mass consumer base.
Is augmented reality something that HTC plans to implement in the Vive in the future or address in another hardware solution somehow?
Augmented reality is something that will absolutely occur. Is it going to happen next year in a meaningful way? No, but within four to five years, for sure.
AR is still on [HTC’s] mind and as that market evolves, we will very much look to have our brand in that space as well. You won’t hear from us on that until we have something to say that is meaningful to the developer community.
What is the relationship like between HTC and Valve today?
We’ve really not changed our model of collaboration. We share concepts and designs and thoughts about future products. We worked with Valve on the trackers and the new headstrap design. Valve is an invaluable resource in terms of feedback and thoughts on future designs.
Android is secure, but your phone probably isn’t. 3.5 million pieces of malware in 2017 means that matters.
When you’re king of the hill you are a target for everyone and everything. Sometimes that’s great — LG’s G6 is an awesome phone that wants to compete with the Galaxy S8 because the GS8 will be the king of the Android hill. Other times it’s not, and security company G Data takes a look at one of those not-so-great times.
When you’re on top you are a target.
Android’s market dominance means it is the main target for people writing malware. Just like Windows for your PC, the fact that more than 70% of smartphone users worldwide use Android means it’s where you want to focus if you’re trying to steal user data. There is certainly malware for iOS, and probably Windows 10 Mobile, but to increase the odds, Android is the target.
G Data forecasts that it will see 3.5 million cases of malware for Android in 2017. A look at the numbers since 2012 shows that it’s not making an outrageous claim, either.
Image courtesy G Data.
There’s a reason why malware is successful with Android, and it’s one that still hasn’t been addressed: most phones are using old software and haven’t been patched against it.
Google does a lot of work to make Android secure and keep it that way. It pays people to find security exploits, works with hardware vendors like Qualcomm or NVIDIA to fix them if needed, then writes a patch that can be injected into the existing version with no fuss. If you have a Pixel or Nexus or BlackBerry product, you’ll then get these patches. If you have any other phone you roll the dice and hope the people who made it care enough.
More Androids run Gingerbread (2010) than run the current version.
Forget about the Pixel or a Nexus for a minute. They have to be updated because there is no way Google can say that these updates are really important if they aren’t. Google may be silly sometimes, but not that silly. But BlackBerry? It’s hard for me to imagine any scenario where you can set the bar lower than using BlackBerry as the example.
BlackBerry (the software company from Canada) is a company that operated a month away from bankruptcy for a year or so and has found a way to stay afloat and reinvent itself. It’s not in the black (pun intended) because it can ship a security patch 30 days after it received it. Security may be BlackBerry’s “thing” but as far as resources, Asian phone manufacturers dwarf it. My take is that it does it because it has found a way to streamline the process and not have to spend hundreds (or more) man-hours on the patches. And whether a model sells a million units or 50 million units, you’re only writing one patch.
Android 7.1 is on 0.5% of the 1.5 billion+ Android phones that are in use worldwide. The number with the May 2017 patch is likely to be close to this because the only phones that have it are running 7.1. And remember, the company that made your phone has had that patch for at least a month before it was released. Even worse: more phones are running Android 2.3.3 — which was released in 2010 — and no longer see any security updates than are running up-to-date software.
Not everyone wants one of these.
Real talk: there has not been a security apocalypse for mobile devices. Yet. But this is a recipe for one, and it could happen tomorrow. Isn’t preventing a massive data breach that affects millions and millions of us better than crossing fingers and hoping it doesn’t happen? Not everyone wants a “boring ass” Pixel or a BlackBerry. People want the things a Galaxy S8 or LG G6 give them. One of those things needs to be a little protection against the shitware that very smart people are making and looking for ways to give to everyone.
Security updates need to become a feature along with a great camera and slinky glass body.
Usually, security companies write blog posts to push their products and a specific agenda. While G Data’s post may serve to those goals it also highlights the very real and very serious problem of having software that’s easy to hack storing your credit card numbers and user passwords.
We wish there was better news here, but as usual, we can only offer the advice to be careful what you install and get all of your apps from Google play. Stay safe.
When director James Gunn revealed that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 would be the first movie shot with Red’s 8K Weapon camera, he triggered a bit of speculation: what prompted the move beyond the incredibly high resolution? You might have a better answer today. Red has posted a behind-the-scenes look at the movie that, to no one’s surprise, talks a lot about why the Vol. 2 team shot with such relatively exotic gear. And no, it’s not just about that picture quality.
As director of photography Henry Braham summarizes: the Weapon is a “large format” camera that’s simultaneously “tiny.” That let the crew shoot very detailed imagery regardless of the shot — important for a CG-heavy movie, since it maintains a consistently sharp look. They could use the same cameras for handheld close-ups or unusual rigs, such as a spider rig that flies along a wire. In short, they didn’t have to switch cameras or resort to convoluted setups.
The behind-the-scenes video is undoubtedly a puff piece meant to sell you on both the camera and the movie. However, it’s also a hint as to where movie technology is going. You can expect 8K digital cameras to become more commonplace, of course, but they also promise more elaborate cinematography that might have been difficult just a few years ago.
Seemingly every connected device has at least one wireless radio in it. However, that often requires some big compromises. Those radios often chew up a lot of power, which isn’t always practical with Internet of Things gadgets that may not have much room for a battery. Disney Research may have a solution to that problem: ditch the radios entirely. Its scientists have developed technology that uses ambient radio waves to communicate. The approach uses very low-power sensor nodes to reflect radio waves from virtually any background source, whether it’s a distant tower or the phone in your pocket. RFID tags already use a similar approach, but the use of many more sources and multiple channels gives you a much longer range — in tests, the researchers achieved data links at distances up to 164 feet.
Naturally, you won’t see this in every device you own. You need other wireless signals for this to work, after all. That also rules out using the hardware in remote areas where there are few if any ambient radio waves. Disney’s invention might be very useful in smart homes and other electronics-heavy places, though. At the least, it could lead to slicker devices that don’t need big batteries. And at best, it could lead to smart devices that weren’t even possible before due to size or power requirements. You might also see more connected electronics that run primarily or exclusively on solar power.
Source: Disney Research


From the press office of Giorgio Armani for the United Kingdom, to be founder and designer of By Pariah, a London brand specialized in quality jewelry, but not excessively demanding. Sophie Karg achieved success in a short time, because she founded By Pariah only in 2016. The name has nothing to do with the jewels: instead, it refers to a Caribbean beach that Sophie admired on the pages of National Geographic.
In any case, the designer has maintained an instinctive link with the world of fashion: before the Armani fashion shows, as a child Sophie used to parade her brothers on a home catwalk with her grandmother’s silk scarves. And even jewels seem to have a link with the fashion world. They are made of 9 or 14 carat gold, assists with precious and semiprecious stones: diamonds, dark red tiger’s eye, green amethyst, yellow citrine and lapis lazuli. The price is affordable, the most expensive jewels, those with diamonds, slightly exceed the thousand euros, but for those with hard stones and 9 carat gold the figure must be divided by five.
An interesting detail: Pariah uses ecological packaging, so the bags and boxes are made to be 100% stored.


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Details about Vitamins And Minerals That You won’t Discover Elsewhere
Do you look at labels to see what nutrients is in your food? A number of buyers don’t actually perceive what the vitamin and mineral content material on the facet of the field means. The article forward has some skilled advice on being smarter along with your health and understanding vitamins and minerals.
Many people who find themselves in need of supplemental vitamins and minerals simply battle physically with swallowing the pills as they are often giant and, in all honesty, horrible tasting. Try drinking water that has vitamins and minerals contains with some type of fruit taste added. This lets you get a number of the vitamins you require as well as including to your daily water intake.
When shopping for fats-soluble vitamins, like omega-3, it is a good idea to retailer them within the refrigerator. Since they comprise fats, improper store can cause them to change into rancid. Also, make certain to maintain them away from heat and light because this could break them down and make them ineffective.
Try adding extra magnesium, Omega-three fatty acids, and vitamin D to your diet if you’re feeling sad. A deficiency in any of these may very well result in depression. Omega-3 fatty acids are recognized to assist mind health, while magnesium might help your physique and mind calm down and chill out.
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Folic acid prevents beginning defects, sure cancers, stroke and heart illness. This B vitamin is added to flour, cold cereal and pasta. Moreover, many leafy vegetables, melons, beans and meats comprise folic acid. Folic acid is used to deal with Alzheimer’s, macular degeneration, RLS, neuropathy, osteoporosis and different indicators of aging.
When buying vitamins, at all times test the expiration date on the package before you buy them. Vitamins have a shelf life and don’t final forever. Storage time, exposure to light and temperature can all impact the standard of vitamins and further scale back the expiration date. So make sure that that you’re buying quality vitamins that haven’t expired.
As many nasty air borne germs that result in illness change into immune themselves to our vaccination strategies, the time is right to begin including vitamins to your weight loss program. Vitamin C, E and others will typically do extra to fight off a cold or flu in some individuals than something a physician injects in our physique so why not win the combat before it may even start?
Glucosamine treats a wide range of joint ache points. This supplement is made from seashells and shark cartilage. Patients have reported glucosamine supplements assist relieve knee pain, again ache, glaucoma and the ache related to osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis; nevertheless, there will not be ample medical proof to help these claims.
Have been 威爾鋼 that a deficiency in Vitamin D, omeg-3 and magnesium can cause depression. Omega-3 is perhaps the most well-liked complement out there, and there is an efficient motive for that. It helps the healthy of the brain and different things. Magnesium is a complement that may help keep your body calm.
When consuming veggies, make sure to eat them raw or steam them. This may lead to the vegetables dropping their nutrients. Steaming is a good cooking choice when not wanting to go away out vitamins. Vegetables that have been flash frozen comprise excessive levels of vitamins as properly as long as you don’t cook them too lengthy.
Suggested Reading is one thing that’s harming the standard of life in millions of individuals world broad and there is a straightforward resolution for a good proportion of these folks. By including vitamins and minerals like Vitamin C and choline to your food plan, you will get rid of among the stress as C is an anti-stress vitamin and choline does some improbable things to assist the mind and nerves.
Your physician is an excellent source of information on choosing the optimal supplements. You may also peruse reputable outlets on-line for vitamin opinions. Vitamin and mineral pills should not regulated by the government, so it’s up to you to search out out all you may about the totally different choices.
If you’re finding it problem to get the vegetable and fruit nutrition you want day-after-day, try adding a multi-vitamin to your common routine. There are web -vitamin selections for all ages, activity ranges and medical situations. You may get the nutrition you want even when you don’t eat right.
You may want a deeper data of what vitamins and minerals are beneficial. You’ve learn some other ways to get vitamins into your system and how they may increase well being. Use the information you’ve just been given. They can make your physique glad.

domain: medical


After the completion of their Premier Division campaign on Saturday, the Hi Hi’s have another match at Millfield next Tuesday, 16th May, when they entertain Coldstream in a League Cup quarter final tie. The match kicks off at 7.30pm. Coldstream maybe fighting relegation in the lower reaches of Division One but they have proved to be stuffy opponents in recent years. Whoever wins Tuesday’s tie will have home advantage against either Bo’ness Athletic or Rosyth in the semi final which will be played the following Tuesday 23rd May. There should be a good crowd at Millfield hoping to cheer their favourites into their first semi final since 2018.
Haddington have reached this stage of the competition by defeating Craigroyston 5-0 at Millfield before beating Lothian Thistle HV 3-0 after extra time at the same venue. Lochore Welfare were next to fall by 4-1 when the Hi Hi’s travelled to Fife in April.


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Now this arcade classic takes me back, way back to my long fantastic, just for fun years I spent playing on the good old SNES as a child. I only played the original Street Fighter II
on the SNES whereas the XBLA's Street Fighter II Hyper Fighter
is slightly different, with the main difference being the faster and tougher gameplay and the option to play as the four boss characters; Balrog, Vega, Sagat & M. Bison. As soon as I spotted this on the games marketplace, this was an instant buy for me and unsurprisingly I was not dissapointed.
Street Fighter II Hyper Fighter is a pretty slick classic fighting game originating from the mega successful Street Fighter
series during the 90's. To start with the basics: Players would fight against either the CPU or another human player in 1V1 close range combat, once a player was knocked out by decreasing their 'life' (vitality), the round would be won by the standing player. Default options would mean matches would be played to the best out of three rounds, rounds could end in a draw on some occasions if the fighters managed to K.O. each other at the same time.
The fighting and special moves for the characters are fairly easy to master so the learning curve and amount of time spent getting into the game is very small. For some players the Xbox 360's D-pad can be a nightmare for pulling off certain special moves, on a personal note; I never had too many problems with the D-pad which I had to use as I couldn't hack using the Anolog stick at all. But if you really really
want to go truly old school, you could get your hands on the classic style joysticks and see how that works out for you.
For those of us who are not too amazing at fighting games; there is a Training mode you can spend as much time as needed in, to perfect your skills and take down some of the meanest and baddest asses of the online multiplayer and put up a pretty decent fight. The Arcade mode is just how it used to be; you fight against all eight of the original characters (including your chosen one), and then take on the three sub-boss fighters leading onto the finale with M. Bison himself. Think you will be failing to conquer the Arcade mode? Don't worry, the amount of continues you can use is unlimited and each continue offers the chance to change to a different character if you want to.Gameplay
The gameplay is simple and easy to get used to like most fighting games, but what seperates the elites from the noobs and the winners from the knocked out is: patience
, and the ability to pull off different key moves fluently and execute these moves during pressured and intense moments of combat. The Single Player Arcade mode can be set at different difficulty levels but regardless of which level the difficulty is set at, the battles gradually become harder as you defeat more opponents. Facing against the likes of Ryu or Ken in the more difficult forms can be a damn nightmare, the computer can be horrifyingly smart so to speak when it comes to countering your fighting style and absolutely wiping you out at the far side of the screen.
The only downside with some of the fights against the CPU is how cheap their fighting can be, and also how quick they can execute special moves which need two or three seconds worth of button commands to actually pull off (dependant on which character they are using). Take Guile for instance; he's not an amazingly tough opponent to beat but two of his special attacks consist of holding a direction for two seconds before hitting the opposite direction with either a kick or a punch button. One counter attack the CPU likes to use if you're a jump and kick type of fighter is the 'Flash Kick', this is basically a huge backflip whilst kicking in an arc shape. Despite the fact that Guile won't have been crouching sometimes to even charge up for two seconds, the CPU can still pull this move off instantly and whenever it feels like it, which can be really annoying. Maybe I'm being to picky about the whole special move situation for the CPU but believe me, when it comes to trying to unlock the Perfect World Champion Achievement
, every little factor of the fights begin to annoy you if you start losing. But, that's just the joy of grinding out some of these tough achievements!
Bonus stages are still included as you work your way through the arcade mode, which include literally punching and kicking a car till it's a wreck within a certain amount of time, and fighting off a barrage of barrels dropping from the top of the screen off two separate conveyor belts. Successfully completing these bonus stages will award you with extra points towards your high score should you complete the arcade mode or decide not to continue after losing a match.
The multiplayer side of the game is great... most of the time. Still sticking with the classic 1V1 style, online battling can still be pretty intense. Light-hearted players should be warned that if choosing to fight online with voice chat turned 'on', you better be ready to recieve some serious sh*t if you lose! Of course voice chat can be turned off for those of us who prefer to remain focused and let the fighting do the talking. Good old Ranked matches allow for stats to be tracked which include your wins, losses, matches played, points earned and worldwide rank.
The only slight downside to online matches is the lag of course, personally I never had any completely game ruining lag in battles I fought, as most of the time the online matches were as smooth and fluent as the single player expirience. But on occasion little bits of lag would kill a special move I was about to perform or cost me a punch/kick here and there, one little missed opportunity or mistake could turn the whole match around and cost you the win.
Exclusive to the XBLA version of the game is the new 'Quarter Match', paying a bit of respect to the roots of Street Fighter
; players need to put their 'quarters' up in order to play the winner of a fight already in progress, in which the waiting player can happily spectacte the currently ongoing match. Unfortunately the Quarter Matches are not ranked, but still contain a lot of fun and are ideal for you and your old school street fighting buddies to fight it out just for the bragging rights.Graphics
The graphics are still presented in the classic 2-D style and so they should be, the fighters still look as great as ever and include the option to wear alternate outfits. What's also cool about the old school graphics is how characters and background features are still pretty much the same as they were for the SNES. Say for example a man is cheering in the background; he will only have two or three separate positions/stances: one with his arm up which instantly changes to the other with his arm down if you catch my drift, classic! Also featured on certain stages are the satisfying statues or sign post that can be smashed by characters being knocked over into them, this adds as a compliment for sweeping your opponent off their feet or throwing them through the air into an obstacle.Sounds
Staying with the old school fashion; the sounds are as classic as expected, ranging from the variety of music to the sound effects of receiving and delivering kicks and punches. The characters themselves like to shout certain babble when using a special move. Ryu is one character who has a signature and very popular shout of
"SHORYUKEN!" which he shouts when using the famous uppercut maneuver known as the 'Dragon Punch'. The sounds and music blend in perfectly with the seriously intense battling and really help in creating fights full of pressure, exhausting victories and many memorable moments as you battle these legendary characters.SummaryThe Good
- Arcade classic which brings back lots of great memories
- Smooth fluent gameplay
- Cheap price at 400 MSP
- Includes Training Mode, Local VS, Quarter Mode & XBL Multiplayer
- Fast action and challenging achievements.The Bad
- Slight lag can mess up Ranked Matches
- Unlocking all of the achievements will be pretty tough for most people.
There is nothing significantly bad about this game at all, but for those who are weak in the fighting department and are not willing to put some time in to practice; Steer clear! The average skill rating of the now pretty quiet online community for this game is rated pretty high if you ask me, but at the same time the single player expirience can be tough too. I'm not that great at fighting games at all but I have a lot of patience when achievements are involved so eventually my practice paid off. But for those with short fuses, the need for patience & persistance in this game could just ruin the expirience for you.
Thanks for reading!
This is my first review on TA so any and all opinions on any errors or how I could improve my reviewing would be much appreciated. Please be as brutal as necessary but in a constructive manner

domain: hobby


US rail company Amtrak had a banner year in 2019, bringing the network...
Australi's Victorian Government is set to start improvement works on tram route 58 to ensure a more comfortable journey for passengers.
Réseau Électrique Métropolitain (REM) is an under-construction fully automated light rail transit (LRT) project that will serve the major metropolitan areas in Montréal, Canada.
US rail company Amtrak had a banner year in 2019, bringing the network closer than ever to the operational break-even point after decades of losses. Can the US’s foremost passenger rail provider overcome the remaining barriers to profitability, or will political hostility and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic set it back?
Sound Transit is constructing the University District (U District) station in Seattle, Washington in the US. The project is part of the $1.9bn Northgate Link light rail extension between the University District and Northgate.
Data analytics company EMSOL has been working with Network Rail to monitor air quality in train stations and come up with a strategy to bring down pollution around them. The project could largely benefit patients recovering from Covid-19 as well as people with respiratory issues, who are highly exposed to poor air quality in busy areas.
Over the past few months, Hong Kong rioters have repeatedly targeted the city’s subway operator, the MTR. With the COVID-19 outbreak now predicted to cause a major drop in ridership, what does the future hold for Hong Kong's rail network?
Stantec has been selected by Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario (IO) to provide technical advisory services for the Hurontario Light Rail Transit (LRT) project in Ontario, Canada.
Future Rail is the essential reading material for decision-makers in the railway industry, bringing you the latest news and analysis in an exciting, interactive format.


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Notable Inc. is an international entertainment management and promotion company established in 2001. Notable Inc has established a unique and strong business network within the international music industry, and is well represented worldwide having successfully booked, managed and assisted international artists. The company has assumed many different roles over the years and provides professional booking, consulting, management and promotion/co-ordination services.
Notable Inc. produced Naples … That’s Amore! It also produced A Night with Pasquale in October 2004 celebrating the release of Pasquale’s second album, “My Destiny”. In addition to producing musical productions, Notable Inc. produced all of Pasquale’s CDs: “My Passion” (2000), “My Destiny” (2004), and “ Naples … That’s Amore!” (2005). Notable Inc.’s future projects involving Pasquale Esposito include the release of his fourth CD, in 2007, a collection of original songs.Aside from Notable Inc., funding for the production was made possible through sponsorship from several private individuals and corporations.

domain: artistic


JTEKT’s Efforts. For the purpose of protecting the safety of JTEKT customers and fulfilling its social responsibilities as a leading bearing manufacturer, the JTEKT Group is implementing various initiatives around the world with a strong attitude not to allow counterfeit products absolutely.
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On October 23rd, 2014, we updated our
By continuing to use LinkedIn’s SlideShare service, you agree to the revised terms, so please take a few minutes to review them.
A proud alumna of Purdue University who earneda Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Rhetorical Advocacy in May 2012where she was a member and executive ofﬁcer ofthe Association forWomen in Communications and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars,and the winner of The 2010 Liberal Arts Lucie Scholarship for Critical ThinkingA skilled and driven young professional who has worked withPurdue Marion & Associates as an Account Coordinator and Social Media Specialistin LasVegas, Nev. from September 2012 to the presentwhere she manages multiple client accounts for which she has gained media hits in many majornews sources including the LasVegas Review-Journal, the Washington Post, KTNV 13, and KLAS8, manages and develops daily content for more than 25 social media accounts, and aids in theexecution of eventsBrand Ltd. as a Social Media and Public Relations Internin LasVegas, Nev. from July to September 2012where she was an implementer of successful social media strategies, a generator of detailedmarketing reports, and a developer of public relations plansPreferred Public Relations as a Public Relations Internin LasVegas, Nev. from May to August 2012where she was an assistant to associate publicists and client relations managers, a writer ofcopy, press releases, and media alerts, and an aid in event coordinationHungry Boiler.com as a Marketing Representativein West Lafayette, Ind. from October 2010 to May 2012where she was a social media plan developer, a coordinator of marketing events for a campus ofover 40k students, a blogger aiding in SEO, and a marketer aiding in the acquisition of thousandsof new registered usersChisenhale Dance Space as a Public Relations Internin London, England from May to July 2011where she was a writer of press releases and media invitations that gained hits in the GuardianNewspaper and Time Out Magazine, a social media manager and planner, and a marketer thatdirectly inﬂuenced increased proﬁtsLiberal Arts Career Development as an Internin West Lafayette, Ind. from January to May 2011where she was a writer of monthly newsletters that reached over 9k students, designer andexecuter of advertising campaigns, and a generator of over $3k in sponsorships for CareerWeek 2011and who has been trained in Radian6, Daylite, Hootsuite, Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Ofﬁce, Apple iWork,iMovie, and FrenchMegan A. FingertCalifornia Native, Proud Boilermaker, Public Relations ProfessionalMegan.Fingert@gmail.com 765.413.8063 www.MeganFingert.com


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Dr Harindra Jayasekara has been working on understanding the links between drinking alcohol and the risk of cancer.
When he started his PhD in 2010, Dr Harindra Jayasekara, MD, was handed a treasure trove of data. When HEALTH 2020 was first started, most studies of its kind overwhelmingly asked their participants only about their alcohol drinking in ‘the previous 12 months’. What makes the HEALTH 2020 data so valuable is that it was one of the few studies to also gather information about participants’ lifetime consumption.
Alcohol is a known carcinogen, acting as a toxin, damaging body tissues and interfering with the body’s metabolism. Dr Jayasekara wanted to find whether drinking at younger ages could affect cancer risk in later life. Since then, he and his colleagues have made some interesting – and important – findings.
Drinking alcohol was already known to be a risk factor for female breast cancer, but the HEALTH 2020 data identified a critical period that affects the rest of a woman’s life: a woman who drinks in the years between her first monthly period and her first full-term pregnancy is at 35% greater risk of breast cancer than a non-drinker. In other words, women who drink before pregnancy have a 1 in 7 chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer, while women who do not drink before pregnancy have a 1 in 9 chance of the disease.
These years are likely important because the breast is more vulnerable to carcinogens during this period of its rapid growth. This process of change is regulated by female reproductive hormones (such as oestrogen) and alcohol has been shown to affect these hormones and disrupt the process.
An analysis of colorectal cancers in HEALTH 2020 participants reinforced the finding that drinking alcohol, even at younger ages, can cause the most common types of colorectal cancer later in life. These findings contributed to the Cancer Council’s public health campaign ‘Drink Less, Live More’ that was launched in 2015.
More recently, Dr Jayasekara and his collaborators have turned their attention to the link between drinking alcohol and cancer survival as well as cancer recurrence. One of these projects looks at less-common cancers, such as cancers of the pancreas, thyroid, kidney, blood and stomach.
Because these cancers are not common, and it is not good science to reach conclusions based on a small number of cases, HEALTH 2020 researchers are collaborating with other researchers worldwide, making this the largest-ever pooling project for alcohol related cancer.

domain: news


text: Legendary Chinese swimmer Wu Chuanyu was the first male swimmer to represent China in the Olympic Games. Born in Indonesia, the ethnically Chinese Wu represented Nationalist China and in the 1948 London Olympics and in 1952 represented the People’s Republic of China. In 1953 he became the first Chinese athlete to win a gold medal at a major international sports competition for the PRC. He was also the first athlete to participate in the first People’s Congress of the PRC in 1953. Tragically, he died in a plane crash before reaching his great potential as a swimmer. Accepting the award on his behalf is his friend and teammate Hwang Hongjiu.

domain: history


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Its been a staple for Marvel to have everything connected and now it seems clear just how huge Marvel's universe seems to be getting. This dates back to Marvel taking that leap of faith with Phase 1 and after Avengers they knew they had us all in the palm of their hands. Then we got Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D which proved that Marvel was not only capable of taking cinemas over but also networks with the shows following. What else could Marvel do to prove they are here to stay? That's right take over streaming services which have now become a staple for many who just don't want cable. Their latest show is Daredevil which is a Netflix original and has proven to be quite a success in its first day. So many people were waiting anxiously to binge watch this and so far i haven't heard a complaint about it. This must be music to Marvels ears who has four more Netflix originals on the way Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and the team up Defenders show. We already have seen repercussions from the cinematic universe in Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D after Captain America Winter Soldier. This leads me to believe that Ultron's events could also affect Daredevil and all the other Netflix originals. We decided to discuss this on our latest Nerd Round Table. If you're new to this its the show where a bunch of us sit down and discuss our feelings on all the movie news happening around us. Grab a seat and see us duke it out but be sure to give your input as well and don't forget to subscribe for more awesome content in the channel. Everything from movie reviews, movie news, trailer talk, trailer reaction, and of course our weekly Nerd Round Table!
THE LUIS EXPERIENCE

domain: entertainment


The White Room
Francis and the Lights
American culture has been defined by pop music. It’s who we are—and our pop stars must cultivate a persona, while maintaining an unquestionable sense of authenticity. Or are those things one and the same? It is a delicate balance of conscious mythmaking and absolute earnest humanity. Or could it be one pursuit alone?
Reclusive singer, songwriter, and pianist Francis Farewell Starlite will be in residence to create a new pop music spectacle—The White Room. White Room references the small, white, environmentally controlled chamber used by NASA astronauts to make final preparations before entering the spacecraft, such as donning parachute packs, putting on helmets, and detaching portable air conditioning units. First used in Project Gemini, its use continued through subsequent programs up to and including the Space Shuttle program.
You may not have expected a show like this to be produced at EMPAC, but here it is. Don’t miss it!
Francis and the Lights is the symbolic band name used by the reclusive and eccentric performer Francis Farewell Starlite. The term “and the Lights" does not refer to his backing band; the “Lights” are intended to represent stage lights and screen pixels.
Starlite’s single vision and explosive live performances have drawn comparisons to David Byrne and James Brown, among others. Last year, he toured the US with rap superstar Drake (at his personal invitation), as well as opened for MGMT, Ke$ha, La Roux, and Mark Ronson.


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Elmer Dickerson opened his grocery store on a dirt horse-and-wagon road at the base of Mount Tabor in 1893. His family had sold much of his hilltop farmland to the Methodist Camp Meeting, and their summer retreat quickly became a year-round community.
The Dickerson family transitioned from farmers to grocers, to service the growing small town.
Ron Dickerson, 85, pointed to a long-range photograph of the day, hanging over the empty produce aisle of the third incarnation of the Dickerson’s market. A spare number of houses dotted mountain and valley.
“It’s the one with the red roof,” he said, “on the road that’s now Route 53.”
In that picture is an expanse of green, undeveloped “swampland,” as Ron Dickerson, 85, called it.
It was Dickerson property, then as it is now. Except it now holds a strip mall anchored by the Dickerson’s Foodtown for more than five decades. That run ended Monday, when Jeff Dickerson, the great grandson of the founder, closed up for the last time and a 125-year-old business came to an end.


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(Bloomberg) — Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, a firm
founded in 2012 that invests in energy projects, acquired a
39.3-megawatt biomass plant under development in the U.K. for
1.6 billion kroner ($227 million).
The Brite project, which will use local waste wood as fuel,
is expected to begin generating power in 2017, according to an
e-mailed statement on Wednesday from the firm known as CIP.
Babcock & Wilcox Volund, based in Denmark, and U.K.-based
Interserve Plc will build the plant.
Stobart Biomass Group is providing fuel for the plant under
a long-term contract. Babcock & Wilcox Volund also will maintain
the facility, which is in Rotherham near Sheffield.
“The Brite project is an attractive investment opportunity
for CIP in a country with a well-established and stable
regulatory regime,” Christian Skakkebaek, a senior partner at
CIP, said in the statement. “It fits very well with our
strategy of developing projects benefiting from long-term
contracts with strong industrial partners in order to deliver
To contact the reporter on this story:
Justin Doom in New York at
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at
Robin Saponar, Steven Frank