Apple will begin accepting pre-orders for the new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus on Friday, September 15 at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time or 3:01 a.m. Eastern Time in the United States, according to the company’s website. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will launch simultaneously in all first wave launch countries, so pre-orders will kick off at 8:01 a.m. in the United Kingdom and 3:01 p.m. in Hong Kong, for example.
While there are many who may be waiting for the iPhone X, customers planning to buy an iPhone 8 or an iPhone 8 Plus should attempt to pre-order early as it’s not clear what available supply looks like.
There were rumors suggesting that supplies of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus would be constrained alongside the iPhone X, and Plus models in particular are often in short supply.
Apple will accept pre-orders both on its Apple.com website and in the Apple Store app. The Apple Store app often comes back online earlier than Apple.com and is easier to use when ordering.
Other stores and carriers, like Best Buy, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile, are also likely to begin accepting iPhone 8 pre-orders on September 15 at 12:01 a.m.
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus first wave launch countries include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UAE, the UK, the US and US Virgin Islands. In all of these locations, the two new devices will be available for pre-order on September 15 with general availability coming on September 22.
Pricing on the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus begins at $699 and $799, respectively. Pricing for iPhone Upgrade Program customers starts at $34.50 for iPhone 8 and $39.50, and Apple today began offering pre-approvals for iPhone Upgrade Program users who want a streamlined ordering experience.
Though a specific pre-order time is not listed for the Apple Watch Series 3 nor the Apple TV 4K, both are also likely to be available for order at 12:01 a.m. alongside the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus.
The iPhone X, Apple’s new $999 flagship iPhone, will not be available for pre-order until October 27 ahead of a November 3 launch.
Related Roundups: iPhone 8, iPhone X
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Why it matters to you
The practically pure green diode will help make future screen displays even sharper.
Not all greens are created equal. There’s lime green, mint green, British racing green. And now there’s practically pure green, thanks to chemical engineers at ETH Zurich, who have created the world’s greenest green. They say it will improve color quality in the ultra high-definition displays of the future.
“To date, no one has succeeded in producing green light as pure as we have,” Chih-Jen Shih, a chemical engineering professor who co-created the light-emitting diode in his lab, said in a statement.
The screens of today’s ultra high-def (UHD) TVs, computers, and smartphones are a sight to behold, and yet there’s still room for improvement. But, in order to make that progress, researchers first have to develop pure red, blue, and green light, which will be able to display images in unparalleled detail and with more nuanced color ranges. Pure red and blue have been achieved, according to the researchers, but green remained elusive until now.
This is because the human eye is able to pick up more green hues than we can with red and blue.
“This makes the technical production of ultra-pure green very complex, which creates challenges for us when it comes to developing technology and materials,” said Sudhir Kumar, who helped Shih create the light in his lab.
The purity of Shih and Kumar’s green can be grasped by comparing it to the technical standards, known as Rec. 2020. The purest TV displays currently available don’t exceed 80 percent, and average between 73.11 and 77.72. The ETH Zurich green falls within the 97 and 99 range.
But Shih and his team’s efforts didn’t stop there. They also created an ultra-thin, bendable light-emitting diode that can emit this pure green light at room temperature, whereas previous LED technology required high temperatures to generate the pure light.
“Because we were able to realize the entire process at room temperature, we’ve opened up opportunities for the simple, low-cost industrial production of ultra-green light-emitting diodes in the future,” said co-creator Jakub Jagielski.
As with most breakthroughs, there’s a bit of a catch — the LED converts electricity to light at just three percent efficiency, compared to commercial TV screen, which work at five to ten percent. That means he and his team will have to focus on making their technology more efficient before it’s ready for commercial application.
A paper detailing the research was published in the journal Nano Letters.
Why it matters to you
Insiders on the Fast Ring can stay up to date on all of the latest bug fixes with this release.
Following an issue which prevented it from being downloaded, Microsoft has fixed up its latest Windows 10 Insider preview build, 16288, and has now made it available to all Fast Ring Insiders. As with some of its other recent releases, this one is all about the bug fixes, shoring up all flaws and holes in the run-up to the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update release.
Although originally scheduled for release early on September 12, the Insider Build 16288 didn’t become available to all Fast Ring Insiders (not those who have skipped ahead) until around 10:30 p.m PT (thanks OnMSFT). Purportedly there was an issue that prevented some from downloading the build, which Microsoft quickly corrected.
Now that it’s out in the wild though, this build should fix up a lot of outstanding bugs and issues with Windows systems. In its blog post on the matter, Microsoft details the 35-plus unique bug fixes, which were broken down into different categories.
Improvements to the Windows Shell have led to bug fixes in Facebook Messenger, local app search with Cortana, and have fixed an outstanding problem with notifications issued during a system lock. Input improvements include situations where incorrect characters were being inputted when using a full touch keyboard layout or a couple of handwriting panel options, and the improvements also addressed problems with certain non-Western typesets.
Although the Windows Insider program isn’t aimed at gamers, there were a couple of gaming-related fixes in this latest release. Ghost Recon: Wildlands now has a fixed Easy Anti-Cheat component and Skyrim’s Mod Organizer should now load mods correctly.
Launching alongside the desktop release of Windows Insider Build 16288 is its mobile counterpart, Build 15250. While its PC counterpart might be aimed at fixing up problems, the portable one is much more security focused. It adds two-factor authentication for unlocking a Windows 10 mobile device. Aimed more at enterprise users, the feature requires not only a standard pin code to unlock but a secondary, user-chosen credential. One given example is an NFC tag, making it a location-specific login system.
This build also improves a number of aspects of the VPNs on Windows Mobile, as well as more specific fixes with a fingerprint reader on the HP Elite X3 and a strange corruption issue that sometimes affected call history when a user upgraded.
Android 8.0 Oreo, the latest version of Google’s Android operating system, has a picture-in-picture (PiP) mode that shrinks videos down to a resizeable window. It’s like the PiP setting on your flat-screen TV, but for apps.
It can be a little tricky setting it up on your phone, but what’s worse is how it won’t work for any app. Developers have to implement picture-in-picture mode on a case-by-case basis. We’ve compiled a list of popular supported apps so far, and we explain how to use picture-in-picture mode in Android 8.0 Oreo.
Apps that support Android 8.0 Oreo’s picture-in-picture mode
It isn’t always clear whether an app supports Android 8.0 Oreo’s picture-in-picture mode, as it’s incumbent on developers to specify on the app’s Play Store description, but not all of them have.
To make matters a bit simpler, we’ve compiled a list of popular apps that support Android 8.0 Oreo’s picture-in-picture mode. It’s not exhaustive, but it should help get you started.
- Google Play Movies & TV
- Google Duo
- Google Maps
How to launch Android 8.0’s Picture-in-Picture Mode
There isn’t a predictable way to launch Android 8.0 Oreo’s picture-in-picture mode. Most apps switch to a floating window view with a tap of Android’s home button, but that’s not always the case.
Take Google Chrome, for example. To get picture-in-picture mode working properly, you have to watch a video in fullscreen mode before tapping the home button. In VLC, you have to tap the app’s menu button and the picture-in-picture option while the video’s playing.
YouTube is another matter entirely. As of publication time, YouTube’s picture-in-picture mode requires $10-a-year subscription to YouTube Red, YouTube’s premium ad-free service.
To figure out how to launch an app’s picture-in-picture mode, you’ll have to play around in the app or the app’s settings.
How to use Android 8.0 Picture-in-Picture Mode’s controls
Android 8.0 Oreo’s picture-in-picture mode puts playback controls front and center. Tap on the PiP window and you’ll see play, fast forward, and rewind buttons, and a center button that maximizes the app. If you’re watching a video from YouTube or VLC, you’ll get a headphone shortcut that plays the video in the background. And if you’re watching a playlist, tapping the fast forward button skips to the next video in the list.
When you’re done with the playback controls, tapping on the window again hides them.
The picture-in-picture window is moveable. Tap, hold, and drag to move it to any part of your phone or tablet’s screen, and lift your finger to release it. If you let go somewhere in the middle, the window snaps to the closest valid location.
When you’re ready to dismiss it, a simple tap, hold, and drag to the bottom of the screen does the trick.
How to disable Android 8.0 Oreo’s picture-in-picture mode for specific apps
Android 8.0 Oreo’s picture-in-picture mode might be useful for multitasking, but it can be annoyingly easy to trigger by mistake. Luckily, you can disable picture-in-picture mode on a per-app basis.
Here’s how to do it:
- Open the Settings menu on your phone or tablet.
- Tap Apps & Notifications, and then tap on the Advanced menu.
- Tap Special App Access.
- Look for the picture-in-picture option and tap on it.
- You’ll see a list of all installed apps that support picture-in-picture. They’re enabled by default; to disable one, tap it and slide the Allow picture-in-picture toggle to off.
Everyone likes Apple apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers put paid apps on sale for free for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up while you have the chance. Here are the latest and greatest iOS app deals available from the iOS App Store.
These apps normally cost money and this sale lasts for a limited time only. If you go to the App Store and it says the app costs money, that means the deal has expired and you will be charged.
Action Tasks is an artisanal to-do list app that makes completing your tasks fun and rewarding with action sounds and force feedback.
Amazingly beautiful 3D images of our planet draws your attention for so long that you may forget that this application has other useful features that grant you easy access to precise global weather information.
7 Minutes Workout Program
7 Minutes Workout Program features more than 20 different exercises, and each workout lasts 7 minutes maximum. You can also customize your own workout settings, and exercise without even looking at the phone.
There’s no need DSLR camera to create bokeh effects now. You can have bokeh photos instantly with this app. Just snap a picture on your iPhone and filter it through this easy-to-use tool.
This app, my.eggbite, tracks and records your activities and achievements. Record elapsed time, distance, altitude, speed, and minimum and maximum speed, no matter what you’re doing.
Phoenix Photo Editor
Phoenix is a powerful and fast photo editor with a bunch of editing tools, and importing and sharing options. With Phoenix you will have all the freedom to customize your photos with pretty filters, effects, borders, and fonts.
Why it matters to you
It’s a good start, but Nintendo needs to make more substantial changes to its chat service for it to be useful.
The Nintendo Switch uses a dedicated smartphone app in order to facilitate voice chat, instead of using a built-in program like just about every other modern console. Up to this point, the app has been severely limited, not even allowing users to continue talking if their phones went to sleep, but this is no longer the case.
The latest update for the Nintendo Switch Online app, which you can download now on both iOS and Android devices, allows you to continue talking in voice chat even if your device goes into sleep mode or its screen is locked. Previously, doing so would call your call to end abruptly. The same is also true for using other apps at the same time — you can now check texts or look at Twitter without ending a call with your friend in Splatoon 2.
The Nintendo support page stresses, however, that calls will still end if the app you’re using has audio output, so watching a YouTube video could cause problems. On newer Android devices using power-saving features, you’ll also need to disable battery optimization to guarantee that your calls aren’t ended prematurely, as well.
To some, however, this is still going to be a Band-Aid solution to a larger problem. Without a traditional voice chat program available on the Nintendo Switch, it’s impossible for players to chat if the two aren’t playing the same game. Given the size of the Switch’s library, this isn’t a huge issue right now, but as more games are released and players’ game collections begin to vary, friends won’t be playing the same games with each other as frequently. Right now, it still makes far more sense to just Skype chat with your buddies, as you don’t have to hook your phone up with a confusing series of wires. In many ways, the Wii U’s infrastructure was more convenient than the Switch’s, even offering a simple video chat application.
Will the recent update make you more likely to use the Nintendo Switch Online app to chat with friends, or will you stick with a third-party option? With Nintendo Switch Online transitioning to a paid subscription service in 2018, Nintendo still has its work cut out for it.
Odds are the speakers that came with your computer or built into your monitor aren’t that great. Today is a perfect day to upgrade them by adding ELEGIANT’s USB-powered soundbar to your setup for just $22.49. This is the lowest price the soundbar has ever sold for, and about $8 less than its average selling price.
For $29.99 you can pick up the wireless version of the soundbar, which is probably worth the extra few dollars.
With over 700 reviews at Amazon, it maintains a 4.3 out of 5-star rating. Some of its features include:
- It offers users a low profile, stylish sound solution that matches the styling of various monitors with convenient USB power.
- The headphone jack that allows users to enjoy audio from their favorite games, music and movies, without sacrificing valuable desk space.
- The USB-powered device makes it easy to use your speaker through USB port, eliminating the need for batteries or a power cord.The cable is about 1.2 meter (4 ft) long. If you want to make it longer you should get the extension cords connected.
- You can simply plug in the speaker to an open USB port in your computer and get started using the drive without the need to install any software.
- It provides high-performance quality sound so you’ll be able to enjoy your speakers as soon as you plug it in. This sound bar is designed for computer according to the computer power which means 3Wx2 will be suitable.
This pricing is only good for today, so be sure to grab one before it jumps back up to the regular price.
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More from Thrifter:
- Tips for becoming an expert eBay seller
- How to maximize your Amazon Prime membership
For more great deals on tech, gadgets, home goods and more, be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!
It’s the battle of the best streaming boxes! Android TV vs. tvOS!
Sandwiched between the new Apple Watch and iPhone announcement, Apple announced the latest version of its streaming box, the Apple TV 4K. It’s a big improvement over the current generation of Apple TV boxes — but how does it stack up against the reigning king of Android TV, the NVIDIA Shield TV? Let’s take a look!
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Apple has significantly boosted the processing power in the Apple TV 4K compared to its predecessors, including the A10X Fusion processor that’s been powering the latest iPad Pro. But beyond the upgraded processor, how does the Apple TV 4K stack up to the NVIDIA Shield Pro’s impressive specs? It’s pretty balanced except in a few categories — internal storage and compatibility with accessories.
The Shield TV Pro includes two USB-A ports on the back that can be used to connect or charge accessories. It also supports expandable storage via the aforementioned USB ports or with the included microSD card slot.
|Operating system||tvOS 11||Android TV 7.0 NougatGoogle Cast|
|Processor||A10 X Fusion||NVIDIA Tegra X1 processor256-core Maxwell GPU|
|Storage||32GB or 64GB||16GB / 500GB (Pro) Adoptable storage over USB or microSD|
|Video output||4K, HDR, 60fps||4K, HDR, 60fps|
|Audio output||Up to Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound||Dolby Atmos and DTS-X surround sound over HDMIHigh-resolution audio playback up to 24-bit/192kHz over HDMI|
|Connectivity||Wi-Fi 802.11ac with MIMOBluetooth 4.0 IR reciever||Wi-Fi 802.11ac dual-band, 2×2 MIMOBluetooth 4.1 LEIR receiver|
|Ports||Gigabit ethernetHDMI 2.0a||USB-A 3.0 (2), Gigabit ethernet, Micro-USB, microSDHDMI 2.0b w/ HDCP 2.2 and CEC|
|Assistant||Siri||Google Assistant (coming soon)|
|Dimensions||98 x 98 x 35 mm 425g||98 x 159 x 26mm (130 x 210 x 25mm Pro)250g (654g Pro)|
|Price||$179 (32GB) $199 (64GB)||$199 (16GB), $299 (Pro)|
Streaming video and music has completely changed the way we enjoy our favorite media, and there’s a ton of different ways to stream content — whether from Netflix, Hulu, Spotify or any of the countless other streaming services and apps out there. The benefit of owning a dedicated streaming box like the Apple TV or NVIDIA Shield is that it’s always ready to serve your streaming needs without requiring you to connect a laptop to your TV or sift through clunky apps on your favorite video game console. Both offer 4K streaming and HDR quality (as long as you have a 4K TV, too), so let’s look at the differences in the content offered.
Apple will be automatically upgrading all HD iTunes content to 4K where possible.
Apple TV’s offerings are largely centralized around what’s available on iTunes and Apple Music, so they typically lead with that content first. With the launch of the Apple TV 4K, Apple will be automatically upgrading any HD content you’ve bought through iTunes to the 4K version if you upgrade your setup to 4K, and that top-quality 4K content will remain the same price as the currently offered HD content. Beyond Apple’s offerings, most of your favorite streaming apps are available on tvOS, although Spotify and Amazon Prime Video are noticeably absent, though it is coming later this year.
Apple spent some time during the Apple TV portion of the keynote talking about the latest additions to the TV App, which gives you an all-in-one place for all your favorite streaming apps (excluding Netflix, for some reason). This app will be launching in seven new countries by the end of the year, starting with Australia and Canada in September. Apple also boasted the inclusion of live sports in the TV app, which will be compelling to those with a cable subscription — but a whole lot of nothing for those of us who’ve cut out cable completely. Both the TV app and Apple’s library of downloadable content is available across all iOS devices, too, so you can take things on the go with you if you’re fully bought into the Apple platform.
The NVIDIA Shield TV matches Apple TV’s available streaming options, with equivalent Google Play Movies & TV services for renting and owning digital content if that’s your thing. There’s also great support for all your favorite streaming services — Spotify and Amazon Prime Video included — and although Android TV lacks an equivalent all-in-one TV app (an admittedly cool idea from Apple) the Shield home screen does a pretty decent job recommending content from across your favorite streaming apps.
NVIDIA has gone a step beyond for cord cutters by including fantastic integration for setting up a Plex Media Server on the Shield TV Pro.
But NVIDIA has also gone a step beyond for those cord cutters out there who’ve stockpiled their own favorite TV shows and movies on external hard drives. Thanks to wonderful integration with premium Plex features, you’re able to set up your NVIDIA Shield to act as a Plex Media Server. There’s a Plex app for Apple TV, too, for streaming content from your Plex server, but the 500GB of internal storage on the NVIDIA Shield Pro makes it a compelling storage option for your favorite TV shows and movies — which you can then stream from your Shield to Plex apps on your other devices.
The Shield Pro also works great as a Chromecast, although Google Home won’t recognize it as such which is disappointing, and also offers support for OTA tuners for watching live TV without a cable subscription.
Really, you’re only better off with an Apple TV 4K if you already own and use other Apple devices like an iPhone or an iPad, or if you own a deep library of content through iTunes. Otherwise, Android TV lets you do more overall with better customization for how you consume your — and there’s no better Android TV box than the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro.
If part of your consideration deciding between an Apple TV or NVIDIA Shield TV comes down to gaming, it’s no contest — NVIDIA markets the Shield as “the streamer for gamers” and has designed the Shield TV Pro with specs capable of playing (and streaming) a growing library of titles being ported to the Google Play Store as well as AAA titles via GameStream which allows you to stream games from your PC to your living room, not to mention the GeForce NOW subscription service that allows you to the latest games to your Shield.
While there are some great games on the Apple TV, the Shield TV offers a better experience out of the box.
NVIDIA simply offers the better gaming experience right out of the box, starting with the obvious stuff like including an actual honest-to-goodness gaming controller. Apple sells a quality controller made by SteelSeries, but only includes the Siri Remote with the box.
Whereas Apple really pushes its exclusive offerings via iTunes and Apple Music on the Apple TV platform, NVIDIA follows a similar strategy with gaming on the Shield. Sure, Apple does manage to use the clout of these keynotes to snag exclusivity on some games such as Sky, which was unveiled during the keynote. It’s a cooperative multiplayer game developed by the team behind the gorgeous game Journey — and an Apple-exclusive title for the time being. But as a company best known for making cutting edge gaming graphic cards, gaming really is NVIDIA’s bread and butter, and you simply won’t find better gaming options on another box TV console that isn’t a PS4 or Xbox One.
Another area that’s close, but ultimately where Apple takes the win, is when comparing the A10X Fusion chip with the NVIDIA Tegra X1 processor. While the X1 is still a fantastic, dynamic and gaming-focused piece of silicon, the A10X has it beat for absolute power and GPU performance, and that may count for something if you take your gaming seriously.
If you’re after getting the bigger bang for your buck, Apple can’t be beaten. The NVIDIA Shield TV Pro is priced at $299, while the 16GB standard NVIDIA Shield TV box is still a whopping $199.
Compare that to Apple’s offering — $179 for the 32GB model and $199 for the 64GB model. Is the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro worth the extra $100? That will depend on your streaming and gaming habits. If you’re a heavy streamer that’s cut the cord and looking for maximum flexibility and customization for accessing your favorite content (including ample internal storage and optional expandable storage via USB or microSD), investing the extra money in the Shield might make sense — especially if you throw in all the cool features for gamers.
Which is better?
Sure, call us biased but we’ve got to give the nod to the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro as the superior option whether you rock an Android or an iPhone. Apple TV 4K is going to be a great upgrade for those already fully bought into the Apple ecosystem, as it matches the Shield’s 4K HDR output while also building on features for accessing content across iOS devices. Meanwhile, you can simply do more with the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro, with the convenience of the Shield’s Chromecast capabilities available whether you’re on Android or iOS.
The Shield is pricier, yes, but you get what you pay for with the extra storage space, included gaming controller and all that extra computing power available for top-quality game streaming. And while Apple may claim that the Apple TV 4K is pushing living room streaming into new territory with its 4K HDR output, in reality, they’ve only just caught up to the competition.
Do you agree with our assessment? Sound off in the comments.
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NVIDIA Shield Android TV
- Read our Shield Android TV review
- The latest Shield Android TV news
- Shield vs. Shield Pro: Which should I buy?
- Join the forum discussion
- Complete Shield Android TV specs
Amazon UK is offering a six-month Prime trial to eligible students in the UK, followed by 50 percent off the price of Prime for a year. Here’s what you need to know.
If you happen to be returning to school or starting a new placement in the UK, you’ll want to check out this promotion currently underway at Amazon. The online retail giant is offering students the opportunity to sign up for a six-month trial of Amazon Prime, which is followed by an annual fee of just £39, a 50 percent discount on the usual price.
During the six-month trial, you get access to all benefits normal members enjoy, including:
- Unlimited one-day delivery.
- Stream thousands of movies and TV shows.
- Access exclusive student offers, including 10 percent off textbooks.
- Listen to more than two million songs.
- Early access to lightning deals.
And when the trial comes to an end you have the option to purchase an entire year of Prime for just £39. That’s impressive.
Sign up to Amazon Prime today!
Using your face as a password just got a little more exciting.
At the September 2017 Apple event, the iPhone X was revealed. It seems like Apple went all out on its “Anniversary” model, and one of the new features is Face ID.
Unlocking your phone with your face isn’t exactly new. Android has had the feature for a while, and Samsung has used a special iris scanner since the Galaxy Note 7. But Apple is doing things very differently, as it is wont to do. Rather than use a pattern to create an unlocking token, Apple is using the shape of your face. And it has some pretty specialized hardware in place to do it.
I haven’t used the iPhone X just yet, but this is an area where I have a good bit of experience. Modulated acquisition of spatial distortion maps, then turning the acquired data into something a piece of software can use as a unique identifier has been around for a while, and products you have in your house right now were built, packaged or quality-checked using it. I’ve been involved in designing and deploying several systems that use depth image acquisition to sort produce (apples, peaches, plums, etc.) by grade, shape, and size and understand how the technology used in Face ID will work.
Android’s facial recognition
Face unlock debuted on the Galaxy Nexus in 2012.
Unlocking your phone with your face has been part of Android since version 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich. This is the least complicated and least secure of the three things we’re comparing.
Using the front facing camera, your Android phone can grab an image of your face and Google’s facial-recognition software then processes it to build a set of data based on the image. When you hold the phone to your face to unlock it, an image is collected, processed and compared to the stored data. If the software can match both of them, a token is passed to the system so your phone will unlock.
Face unlocking came to Android in 2012, and Samsung has made it much better on their newest phones.
The data isn’t sent anywhere and is collected and processed all on the phone itself. It is stored securely and encrypted, and no other process is able to read the raw data. Android face unlocking also doesn’t need any special lights or sensors or cameras — it uses the same front-facing camera you use to take selfies with.
Samsung has improved the experience with the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 phones by starting scanning as soon as the screen is tapped, and the processing is faster and more accurate because of the better camera and CPU. Face unlock on the Galaxy S8 is fast and generally works well once you get a feel of how to hold the phone while you’re using it.
The biggest problem with face unlock is that it’s not secure. It’s not advertised as being secure, even by Google or Samsung. It’s a convenience feature that was built to showcase (and refine) Google’s facial recognition algorithms, and a printed photo of your face will defeat face unlock.
Thankfully, Samsung also offers an alternative way to recognize your face.
Samsung’s iris scanning
Samsung first brought iris scanning to the Galaxy line with the Galaxy Note 7. Having a computer scan your eyeballs to authenticate you is something we’ve all seen in movies, and it is used for secure entry in real government facilities. Samsung is using the same concept with its iris scanning system, just scaled back so it can work faster and work with the limited resources of a smartphone. It’s more than secure enough for your phone, even if it’s not 100% foolproof.
Every eye has a different pattern, and your right eye is even different than your left.
Every eye has a unique pattern in the iris.Your left eye even has a different pattern than your right. Iris patterns are actually more distinct than a fingerprint. Because every eye is unique, Samsung is able to use your eyes to identify you and act as your credentials. These credentials can be used for anything a fingerprint or even a passcode could. You hold the phone so the special camera can see your eyes and your phone will unlock.
To do this, Samsung is using specialized hardware on the face of the phone. A diode emits near-infrared light and illuminates your eyes. It’s a wavelength of light that humans can’t see but it’s fairly intense and “bright.” Near-infrared light is used for two reasons: your pupils won’t contract and you’ll have no change in vision, and it illuminates anything with a color pattern better than the wavelengths we can see. If you look closely at your iris you’ll see that there are hundreds of different colors in a distinct pattern. Under near infrared, there are thousands of colors and they contrast with each other very well. It’s just better for grabbing an image of your iris, because even though you don’t see any of this, your phone can and uses it to build a dataset.
Samsung uses near-infrared light and a special camera to collect and process data about your eyes.
Once the iris is illuminated, a specially tuned narrow-focus camera grabs an image. The regular front facing camera on your Galaxy S8 could register color information under infrared illumination, but it wasn’t designed to do it. That’s why a second camera is needed.
This image is analyzed and a distinct set of data is created and stored securely on your phone. All the processing, analyzing and storage of the data is done locally and is encrypted so only the process of recognizing your iris has access to it. This data is used to create a token, and if the iris scanner process provides the right token a security check was passed — those are your eyes, so any software that needs your identity is able to proceed.
Of course, Samsung also collects some data about your face using the normal front-facing camera. Most likely, the facial data is used to help position your face so the iris scanner has a clear view.
Your eyes need to be in the right spot to setup and use the iris scanner.
There are some inherent drawbacks. Because using iris scanning to unlock your phone needs to be very fast, not as much data is collected about the pattern in your eyes. Samsung had to find the right balance of security versus convenience and since nobody wants to wait five or 10 seconds for each scan, the iris scanning algorithms can be fooled with a high-resolution photo laser printed in color and a regular contact lens to simulate the curvature of an eye. But, honestly, nobody is going to have a photo of your eye that is clear enough to unlock your Galaxy S8 or Note 8. If they do, you have a much bigger problem on your hands.
Samsung’s iris scanning works well as long as your eyes are in the ‘sweet spot.’
The bigger issue is accuracy. Enough of your irises need to be analyzed to pass the software check, and because the camera that grabs the image for recognition has a very narrow focus there’s a “sweet spot” your eyes need to be in. You need to be in that sweet spot long enough to pass the checks. The system is of no use if it doesn’t collect enough data to prevent someone else’s eyes identify as you, so this is just how it has to work.
It’s a good system as far as biometric security goes, and for many it’s great. Only your eyes will work (ignoring the off chance some spy agency has photos of your eyeballs) and it’s fairly fast. You just have to learn to use it correctly — and yes, that typically comes as a result of many times holding your phone unnaturally high with your eyes wide open.
Apple’s Face ID
Apple has entered new territory when it comes to biometric security on a phone. It wasn’t so long ago that you needed specialized lighting, multiple cameras with special lenses and a very expensive image processing computer board for each of them to collect enough shape data for unique recognition. Now it’s done with some components on the face of the iPhone X, Apple’s new A11 chipset, and a separate system to crunch the numbers.
Face ID projects an intense infrared light to illuminate your face. Just like the light used by Samsung’s iris scanner, it’s a wavelength a human can’t see but it’s very “bright.” It’s like a flood light — an equal amount of light across a wide area that washes your face and will fall off quickly at the edges of your head.
Apple is trying something very different with Face ID and how it gathers data about your face.
While your face is illuminated, a matrix of infrared LED lasers is projected over your face. These LEDs use a wavelength of light that contrasts with the light used for illumination and thousands of individual points of light cover your face. As you move (and we can never be perfectly still) the points of light reflect the changes.
With your face illuminated with the infrared lamp and a light matrix is projected over it, a special camera is collecting image data. Every point of light is marked and as you move and they change, those changes are also logged. This is known as depth image acquisition using modulated pattern projection. It’s a great way to collect data that shows shape, edge detection, and depth while an object is in motion under any type of lighting conditions. A ton of data can be collected and used to show a distinct shape that can be recreated in 3D.
The data is then passed to what Apple is calling the A11 Bionic Neural Engine. It’s a separate subsystem with its own processor(s) that analyzes the data in real time as it is being collected. The data is used to recreate your face as a digital 3D mask. As your face moves, the mask also moves. It’s an almost perfect mimic, and Apple does an excellent job showing it off with its new iMessage animated emojis in iOS 11.
Face ID uses some of the same technology as Android phones with Tango.
For authentication purposes, the data set is also used to calculate a unique identifier. Just like Samsung’s iris scanner, Face ID securely stores this data and can compare it against what the special camera is seeing while Face ID is actively running. If the data set matches what the camera can see, the security check is passed and a token that verifies that “you are really you” is given to whatever process is asking for it.
While Apple is also making a few concessions to ensure Face ID is fast and easy, there are some clear advantages from a user perspective. Face ID is actually more secure because you’re moving (more data is being analyzed) and there is no “sweet spot” as all of your face is being used and the camera uses a wider field of view. The matrix projected on your face contrasts well against whatever is in the background because a sense of depth is used to isolate your face’s shape.
As a bonus, the shape data of your face in real time can be used for other purposes using what Apple calls the TrueDepth Camera system. We saw an example of this with the new portrait mode for selfies, the animated emojis, and Snapchat masks. Apple has built the Bionic Neural Engine in a way that it can share simple shape data with third party software without exposing the data it uses to build a secure identifying token.
Which is better?
We can’t say anything is really better until we’ve tried it.
Better is subjective, especially since we’ve not yet used Face ID or the iPhone X in the real world. For authentication purposes, the important thing is that the process is accurate and fast. Samsung’s iris scanner can be both as long as you point the phone so it can find the data it needs, but on paper, Face ID will be easier to use because it doesn’t need to lock on any particular spot to work. And for many of us neither is better and we would prefer a fingerprint sensor, which the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 both still have.
Whichever you prefer, there’s little doubt that Apple has outclassed the competition in this regard. Extensive hardware to build and collect data about your face’s shape and features, combined with its own processing system to analyze it all more akin to Tango than any previous facial recognition we’ve seen on a phone. I’m excited to see this level of technology come to mobile devices, and can’t wait to see how future products build on what we see from Apple.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
- Galaxy Note 8 review
- Complete Galaxy Note 8 specs
- Galaxy Note 8 vs. Galaxy Note 5
- Which Note 8 color is best?
- Join our Galaxy Note 8 forums


Koran Angelfish or Pomacanthus semicirculatusbelong to the family Pomacanthidae.This species is endemic to the Indo-Pacific and the Rea Sea as far east as Samoa. Their geographical range stretches from Japan down the entire east coast of Africa to Western Australia and New South Wales. These are reef fish occupying depths from 3-100 feet.
One of the common traits among large angelfish is the dramatic transitional color change between the juvenile and adult phases of their lives. It is simply amazing watching a juvenile’s gradual metamorphosis into its adult color palette. Korans undergo three distinctive stages on the sojourn to adulthood. The Greek word semicirculatus refers to the initial phase of their life. Baby Korans have black bodies with blue and white striping that expands concentrically forward from the base of their tails. This patterning very much resembles ½ of the ripples on a still pond when a pebble is suddenly dropped into it. A baby Koran could easily be mistaken for a juvenile emperor angelfish. Closer examination reveals that Koran’s have wider stripes and fewer of them. When these fish reach about 3 inches in length the semicircular markings slowly straighten into sweeping lines. At roughly five inches in length the fish begins to exhibit patterning between the blue lines on the tail fin that resembles Arabic script, hence the name Koran angelfish. They exhibit a combination of juvenile and adult coloration. This marks the conclusion of stage two. At approximately two years of age and between 6-7 inches in length this species morphs into its adult color palette. Adults are typically a yellowish green in color with varying amounts of blue or browns spotting on their bodies and caudal fin. Their heads may be blue or their primary body coloring. Gills and fins are outlined in blue. This species is marketed by the aquarium industry under the following names; Koran Angel, Blue Koran Angel, Half-circle Angel, Half-circled Angel and Semicircle Angel.
These fish will grow to a maximum adult length of 16 inches. Because of their size they will require a large aquarium. A minimum tank size of 135 gallons is recommended. A well populated multi-species tank should be considerably larger.
This fish has a semi-aggressive temperament. It may bully smaller fish. It will for the most part ignore other larger species. It will, however, display major territorial behavior toward conspecifics and other angels. It is advisable to only keep a single large angle fish of any species in an aquarium.
Many species of large angles carry an expert care level. Korans are rated moderate. A healthy Koran may live 15-20 years.
Korans are omnivorous. In nature their diet consists of a mixture of corals, algae, sponges, worms, mollusks and crustaceans. Their dietary habits make them unsuitable for a marine reef aquarium. They will, however require a large enough of assortment of live rock for a fish of their proportions. Having a food source they are already accustomed to will aid in the acclimation process. You can begin training them to recognize aquarium fare as an acceptable food source by mixing increasing amounts with live food offerings such as brine shrimp. This is the best technique for weaning them off live food. Make sure to choose a high quality food product formulated for marine angelfish. Once they are successfully weaned, their diet can be supplemented with the following; chopped fresh crustaceans and mollusks for protein, table vegetables such as chopped spinach, zucchini and yellow squash for plant matter, frozen or dried algae such as algae sheets to insure a well balanced diet.


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Volvo has launched a new business that will only focus on autonomous applications for industrial and commercial transportation, the new group is titled Volvo Autonomous Solutions. The group will have a mandate that will attempt to foster the development and commercial implementation of autonomous transportation.
The company created the Volvo Autonomous Solutions group due to the increasing demand for autonomous technology. The group will not be operational until January 2020, and Volvo is currently looking for someone to be the head of the new group.
The need for commercial autonomous vehicles differs from the larger demand for autonomous technology. This is due to the fact that commercial routes are fixed and almost always repetitive, where urban autonomous transportation has more unpredictability.
Image Credit: Volvo

domain: automotive


Against gases and vapors (solvents, adhesives, cleaning products, resins, hydrocarbons ...)
Also available in 250 mm
-Mix of silks and synthetic.
-Virole copper-plated steel.
-Handboard sanded natural wood.


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THE PREVENTION MEDICINE OF THE FUTURE
PROGNOS® uses Electro-Puncture Diagnostics (EPD) methodology which is based on collection of the electro-physiological properties of the skin, such as skin impedance, at the location of acupuncture points (AP) following TCM meridians.
There is still a confusion about what is skin resistivity measurement (as in EAV, EDS, skin galvanic response) and skin impedance measurement (as in Prognos). Please find here a clear explanation to better understand Prognos methodology in comparison with skin galvanic response (EAV, EDS) technique:
- Impedance, denoted as Z, is an expression of the opposition that a system offers to alternating current (AC); It is the quantitative terms a complex ratio of resistance to AC circuit;
- Impedance is a two-dimensional vector with magnitude and phase corresponding to resistance (R) and reactance;
- Resistance, denoted as R, is a measure of the extent to which a system opposes to the movement of electrons among all other atoms. The easier the electrons are moving through the system when applying a DC or AC, the lower the resistance is. R is expressed in ohm. This is what you measure with EAV and EDS devices;
- Reactance denoted as X, is an expression of the extent to which a system stores and releases energy when voltage and current fluctuate in an AC current circuit. Energy might be stored or released in form of a magnetic field, in which case reactance is inductive. If the energy is stored and released as an electric field, the reactance is capacitive.
Impedance and Resistivity
- Electrical impedance of biological materials such as the skin, reflects the clinical status of the tissue tested. In general, impedance at low frequencies is related mainly to the electrical properties of the extra-cellular environments, whereas impedance at high frequencies is related both to the electrical properties of the intra- and extracellular environments and the capacitive properties of the cell membranes.
Prognos measures bio-impedance at different acupuncture points (AP) located on 12 meridians. These 12 TCM meridians are different from Dr. R. Voll EAV and EDS meridians.
Stomach: Earth Energy Yang Organ
Spleen: Earth Energy Yin Organ
Heart: : Fire Energy Yin Organ
Small Intestine: Fire Energy Yang Organ
Bladder: Water Energy Yang Organ
Kidney: Water Energy Yin Organ
Pericardium: Fire Energy Yin Organ
Triple Burner: Fire Energy Yang Organ
Gallbladder: Wood Energy Yang Organ
Liver: Wood Energy Yin Organ
Lung: Metal Energy Yin Organ
Large Intestine: Metal Energy Yang Organ
TCM 12 meridians, the biological clock and 5 elements
Exhaustive studies in the field of EPD already started in the 1950s when discovering the phenomenon of the reflexogenous zones with the abnormal electrodermal activity such as of AP.
In the 70s, especially Russian scientists started to develop a diagnostic method based on EPD. At first, Prognos was used effectively during the space flight. In 1984, the first measuring device was already tested by scientists and physicians on a real space flight. The results confirmed the future potential of the application of Prognos for the evaluation of the functional condition of the organism under extreme conditions.
In 1988/1989 the physician and cosmonaut W.W. Poljakow confirmed further improvements of the Prognos measuring process throughout a period of 9 months in space. In 1994/1995, the hard and software of Prognos system was used by W.W. Poljakow on space station “MIR” during his second flight, which was over a period of 437 days, 16 hours and 32 minutes. Down to the present day, the development of the Prognos technology has been driven especially by scientists from Russia and has been supplemented by appropriate evaluation software, which is based on millions of measurements.
Learn more about Prognos here:
Prognos System technology is now continuously developed by the German company Medprevent Systems in cooperation with many international experts among which Prof. Dr. A. Rosanov, Albrecht Binder, Prof. Dr. med. Jürgen Kleditzsch and an enthusiastic team of scientists and engineers. Prognos products are certified as medicine products.
Prognos identifies with a high precision which meridians are energetically out of balance, which are the causes of these disturbances and how to clear the sickness manifested as blockages on the meridians. Main target is to find the real causes of disturbances – diseases and to prove that the therapy was efficient.
Meridians before Therapy
Meridians after therapy
Lack of energy 70%
Energy after therapy
Lack of energy 8%
There are three main Prognos systems for human diagnostic and therapy and one for horses. We present here the modules for human medicine.

domain: physics


The growth of algae, lichens and mosse often constitute a problem in marine environments. Nanocoatings reduce both water drag resistance and maintenance and cleaning time by 60%. The fuel cost can be reduced by 10 to 15%. Self-cleaning properties above and below the waterline are installed on the substrate. Protection of the boat hull can even restore the original color & gloss, and protects the substrate against UV. Ultra-high scratch resistance, higher chemical resistance are also obtained by using nanocoatings. Nanoparticles enhance the properties of the boat hull in composite material.


We welcome the arrival of the eagerly awaited addition to Sony's successful cyber shot range, the RX100m3. Its compact body is jam packed with everything you need to make your experiences as memorable as can be! The advanced lens expands your range of expression with the enhanced perspective of a wide 24mm focal length, 70mm lens with bright F2.8 telephoto shooting. This allows you to produce outstanding close-up performance as well as produce beautiful portraits with stunning background defocusing. You can also capture moving subjects in dimly lit settings. Legendary ZEISSå¨ optics ensure superb edge-to-edge depiction, while a ZEISSå¨ T1 coating reduces flare and ghosting, aspherical lens elements reduce aberrations as well as lens size, and a built-in 1/8 ND filter expands shooting freedom in bright scenes. See more detail with a larger 20.1 effective MP 1.0-type Exmor R°ã¢ CMOS sensor and BIONZ X°ã¢ image processing engine that ensure bright, high-definition details and textures in all your photos and videos. Get four times better light capture with a back-illuminated sensor and three times more processing power than the previous BIONZ engine with the RX100 III. Between the wide variety of manual options and a custom button, you can quickly bring more creative control to every shot. Features such as MF Assist (enlarging the image) and Peaking (highlighting edges in focus) make it easy to incorporate manual focus in your shooting when you desire the added flexibility. Experience personalised control by assigning up to 42 functions to the "C" custom button to your exact preference and selecting shutter speed, aperture and more with the convenient lens-mounted control ring. Sony's high-contrast, high-resolution OLED Tru-Finder provides the uncompromising clarity and framing precision that serious photographers demand. Its advanced eyepiece optics are treated with a ZEISS T1 coating for bright, clear viewing from corner to corner, while an eye sensor allows instant shifting between the viewfinder and LCD monitor for stress-free shooting. The 1,440k-dot (approx.) viewfinder fully retracts when not in use. Another feature of the RX100 III that raises the bar for compact cameras is its 3.0-inch, 1,229k-dot extra-fine clear and bright LCD monitor which tilts up to 180å¡ upward and 45å¡ downward for easy selfies, commemorative shots while traveling, and flexible shooting from various angles.
- Pocket sized body
- High resolution EVF - Compose your images accurately
- Large 1.0 Inch sensor - Excellent image quality
- Built in Wi-Fi & NFC - Share your images easily
- Full HD video at 60p
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With respect to Trust, an infant when in hunger or thirst, will learn from the first few experiences of whether they are or are not given what is needed. When negative informal sanctions encourage an individual to seek more positive behavioral choices. An exit test that must be passed 15. A violation of established contextual, cultural, or social norms, whether folkways, mores, or codified law. Erikson believed that when youth successfully navigate this crisis they emerge with the ability to form honest, reciprocal relationships with others and have the capacity to bond with others to achieve common goals e. Children are becoming more independent, and begin to look at the future in terms of career, relationships, families, housing, etc. And yet, both are inevitable, unless we die young, something that is even less desirable than eventually dying of old age.
He also continued to use the shorter form 'Integrity v Despair'. Thus, family psychology can play an important role in helping individuals to recover from identity crises. A second crisis during this time period that must be resolved is identity versus identity diffusion Meacham, 1982. If however, the individual has not been able to connect with others because of doubt, guilt, and self-criticisms, then the opposite would be true. A form of constant monitoring in which the observation posts are decentralized and the observed is never communicated with directly.
At his Jewish temple school, he was teased for being a tall, blue-eyed, blonde, Nordic-looking boy who stood out among the rest of the kids. The adolescent mind is essentially a mind or moratorium, a psychosocial stage between childhood and adulthood, and between the morality learned by the child, and the ethics to be developed by the adult Erikson p. Even with minor advances in technology, the important roles that elders played in many cultures have faded with time. The breakdown of communication between technological innovators and the general public. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of competence.
Don't do anything to anyone else that you wouldn't want done to yourself. Sherry is in her mid-eighties and is moving to a nursing home. If children are encouraged to make and do things and are then praised for their accomplishments, they begin to demonstrate industry by being diligent, persevering at tasks until completed, and putting work before pleasure. Joseph and Paula are excited to welcome their child into the world. People who are very old can no longer trust their own capabilities, and they may need to be cared for, thus losing some of their autonomy. This infant will carry the basic sense of mistrust with them to other relationships. Each stage contains far more meaning than can be conveyed in just two or three words.
To resolve these feelings of uncertainty, the infant looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and consistency of care. A child who experiences the satisfaction of achievement - of anything positive - will move towards successful negotiation of this crisis stage. Occasionally you'll see the term extended to biopsychosocial, in which bio refers to life, as in biological. This summary attempts to show the main points of the Erikson psychosocial crisis theory of human development. In that younger period of adulthood, Freud seemed more in need of a close friend, particularly since he was in the process of creating the field that was becoming well-established by the time Freud met Jung. It is a profound reaction to the loss of identity that typically arises when identity development has lost the promise of wholeness that one expects to obtain from their identity.
In this respect the 'feel' of the model is similar to other flexible human development frameworks for example, , and. Mistrust Infants depend on caregivers, usually parents, for basic needs such as food. Infancy - Basic Trust vs. In all cultures, according to Erikson, at this age beginning at 5 to 6 years old children receive some form of systematic training, and they also learn eagerly from older children. The influences of a total institution b. As such Erikson's theory is useful for teaching, parenting, self-awareness, managing and coaching, dealing with conflict, and generally for understanding self and others. Erikson also became an American citizen Coles, 1970; Friedman, 1999.
During this period, they explore possibilities and begin to form their own identity based upon the outcome of their explorations. In later writings malignancies were also referred to as 'antipathies'. According to Erikson's theory, the way a person resolves the crisis will determine their personal identity and future development. Genital stage - Puberty in other words. The term cyberfeminism is defined by the text as: a. Through their introductions, Erikson was able to gain the confidence of the individual Sioux and Yurok who provided Erikson with invaluable evidence on their traditional ways of life and their child-rearing practices. Since the beginning of time, our species has tried in leaps and bounds to explain the human mind on a psychological level.
Ignore society and live alone without much interaction with other people 10. Guilt is a confusing new emotion. Raising a family and having a career are two key activities that contribute to success at this stage. Part of Erikson's appeal is that he built on Freud's ideas in a socially meaningful and accessible way - and in a way that did not wholly rely on adherence to fundamental Freudian thinking. It is frightening to see what can happen to the human body as a result of what is simply a natural process old age, that is, dementia is certainly not a given with old age. Wise people are not characterized by a continuous state of ego integrity, but they experience both ego integrity and despair. Some failure may be necessary so that the child can develop some modesty.

domain: psychology


By Beatrice Omotosho
Climate as a Phenomenon
Climate is characterized by mean air temperature, humidity, winds, precipitation, and frequency of extreme weather events over a lengthy period of time, at least thirty years scientists say. The climate forms and follows long term trends usually of periods of warming and cooling. Climate change is therefore a natural phenomenon, but of course who didn’t know that? However, this is only the case when it occurs steadily, over a significantly long period of time, such as 100,000 years or more not 60/70 years like we are seeing today. Earth’s atmosphere is chaotic; a little like me before a 9am lecture, and this is why we see such high variability in weather patterns, not because of me, we’re back to the climate now. However, unlike weather, climate is a lot more stable and change occurs over many decades. This change is measured by climatologists across the globe using different methods and data such as weather station records, situ thermometers, remote sensing, tree rings, Antarctic ice deposits, instrument records from land stations and ships etc, how they extract information from ice, beats me. These observations have shown that earth’s climate has changed significantly since 1900 (I mean it would be strange if it didn’t), largely due to increased concentrations of Greenhouse gases (GHG) in our atmosphere.
The main GHG’s are, N2O, CH₄, CO2 and H2O, and their increase means earth has seen a gradual warming over the last 100 years, particularly since the early 1980s, due to the intensification of the greenhouse effect illustrated in figure 1. Figure 1 shows this in terms of energy flows, illustrating the necessary balance between short wave and long wave radiation specifically for years 2000-2004. It shows the flow of energy in proportion to their actual importance through the use of black arrows. These energy flows are not always balanced (like my diet) creating energy surpluses in tropical regions and deficits in polar regions, hence energy is transferred poleward to maintain a balance, this is illustrated by Figure 2.
Since 1880, global land and ocean yearly temperature has increased at an average rate of 0.07°C per decade, and since 1980, this rate has been twice as high. From figure 3, we see that from 1980, earth’s global surface temperature really started to increase and even more rapidly, since the late 1990’s, with the warmest 10 years recorded since 1998, 9 of which were after 2005. We see this upward trend in global mean temperatures in figure 4.
Natural Influences on Global Climate: Orbital and Solar Variability
The key natural influences on Global Climate are orbital variations, solar variability, volcanic eruptions, El Niño events and naturally occurring GHG. Orbital variations influence the climate, as they govern the timing of glacial and interglacial periods. This however takes place over thousands of years and therefore you can tell those ‘natural climate change’ believers, that this definitely doesn’t play a role in climate change since 1900s. Solar variability refers to changes in the radiation that the sun emits such as the variation with the 11-year oscillations of the sun’s energy output known as the sunspot cycle and also other long- term variations i.e. “geopotential height variations”.
The main causes of solar variability are solar evolution which is fuelled by the conditions in the Sun’s core, and the sun’s magnetic field. These 11-year oscillations are often illustrated by sunspots (a cool region associated with convection, shown in Image 1), which is how solar activity and energy output was previously recorded for a long time, before satellites enabled direct observations. When plotted on a graph, (Figure 5), we see the total solar irradiance since 1978 and an amplitude of about 0.1 per cent. When plotted against a graph of climate records of average temperatures (Figure 6), we notice there is actually no close correlation between the two since 1900s. A steep rise in temperature post 1980s, leaves irradiance far behind, subsequently meaning that unlike orbital variations, though more relevant, but likewise, it still cannot explain the recent rise in temperatures that has been observed since the 1900s, at best, there is a “weak secular trend”. So out goes another argument for those saying this is all natural. In part 3, I will explore volcanic eruptions, El niño events and other natural issues.


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Leather Woman Slipper Beige (71F23BG)
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Ladies with Achilles Tendonitis, Bunions, Corns, Calluses, Plantar Fasciitis, and Arch Pain.

domain: fashion


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Market Week September 24, 2018
The Markets (as of market close September 21, 2018)
Performance of the benchmark indexes listed here was a mixed bag last week. Large caps of the Dow and S&P 500 outperformed the tech stocks of the Nasdaq and the small caps of the Russell 2000. Maybe investors are becoming immune to the ongoing trade battle between the United States and China, as threats of an additional $200 million in U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports didn't seem to push investors away from stocks. The yield on 10-year Treasuries reached a four-month high last Thursday, ultimately closing at 3.06% by Friday afternoon, as prices for long-term bonds plummeted.
The price of crude oil (WTI) reached a two-month high last week, finally settling at $70.71 per barrel by late Friday, up from the prior week's closing price of $68.98 per barrel. The price of gold (COMEX) rose for the first time in several weeks, reaching $1,203.30 by early Friday evening, up from the prior week's price of $1,198.30. The national average retail regular gasoline price fell to $2.841 per gallon on September 17, 2018, $0.008 higher than the prior week's price and $0.207 more than a year ago.
Chart reflects price changes, not total return. Because it does not include dividends or splits, it should not be used to benchmark performance of specific investments.\
Last Week's Economic Headlines
· The housing market remained stagnant in August, although it is showing signs of gaining momentum. Existing home sales, which had declined four straight months, did not change in August from July. Sales are down 1.5% from a year ago. Sales picked up in the Northeast and Midwest, while remaining down in the South and West. The median price for existing homes in August was $264,800, up 4.6% from August 2017 ($253,100). Inventory for existing homes remained unchanged in August from the prior month, sitting at 1.92 million existing homes available for sale.
· Although applications for building permits fell in August, housing starts and completions notably increased. According to the latest report from the Census Bureau, building permits for privately owned housing units dropped 5.7% and permits for single family homes decreased 6.1% in August from July. On the other hand, housing starts for all housing types jumped 9.2% above July's figures, while the start of construction for single family homes climbed 1.9% for the month. In what should add to new home inventory, housing completions rose 2.5% from July, led by an 11.6% increase in single family home completions.
· In the week ended September 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was 201,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since November 15, 1969, when it was 197,000. According to the Department of Labor, the advance rate for insured unemployment claims remained at 1.2% for the week ended September 8. The advance number of those receiving unemployment insurance benefits during the week ended September 8 was 1,645,000, a decrease of 55,000 from the prior week's level, which was revised up by 4,000. This is the lowest level for insured unemployment since August 4, 1973, when it was 1,633,000.
Eye on the Week Ahead
This week will be full of important economic reports, highlighted by the final figures for the second-quarter gross domestic product. The Federal Open Market Committee meets this week, which is likely to result in an interest rate hike.
Data sources: News items are based on reports from multiple commonly available international news sources (i.e. wire services) and are independently verified when necessary with secondary sources such as government agencies, corporate press releases, or trade organizations. Market data: Based on data reported in WSJ Market Data Center (indexes); U.S. Treasury (Treasury yields); U.S. Energy Information Administration/Bloomberg.com Market Data (oil spot price, WTI Cushing, OK); www.goldprice.org (spot gold/silver); Oanda/FX Street (currency exchange rates). All information is based on sources deemed reliable, but no warranty or guarantee is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed herein constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities, and should not be relied on as financial advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. All investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal, and there can be no guarantee that any investing strategy will be successful.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a price-weighted index composed of 30 widely traded blue-chip U.S. common stocks. The S&P 500 is a market-cap weighted index composed of the common stocks of 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. The NASDAQ Composite Index is a market-value weighted index of all common stocks listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The Russell 2000 is a market-cap weighted index composed of 2,000 U.S. small-cap common stocks. The Global Dow is an equally weighted index of 150 widely traded blue-chip common stocks worldwide. Market indices listed are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment.

domain: statistics


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Muller Thurgau is a variety that was created in the 1880s in Germany by Hermann Müller who was Swiss at Geisenheim. He was from Thurgau in Switzerland, hence the name of the variety. It came to Italy in 1939 in the Trentino Alto Adige. The parents of the variety seem to be Riesling and a grape called Madeleine Angevine. I remember the first time I tried one. It was 1997 and I was studying with my first professor in Italy – Luigi Amore, I kid you not, was his name. He had a long handlebar mustache and he taught me the basics of Italian wine. I remember when he got to Muller Thurgau thinking it was odd that this Germanic sounding variety should be grown in Italy.
Even stranger is that it factors into the Erice DOC in Sicily. I visited Erice in 2004. In 40 Celsius heat, I bet Mueller Thurgau is refreshing.
I have tasted a number of them through the years. Last year at Vinitaly, I tasted one from Castel Sallegg. The wine was fruity and floral with more mature white fruits and flowers than I might have expected. It also has a particular note of nutmeg. It grows in Alto Adige in the Isarco Valley, Bassa Atesina and Oltradige. It grown throughout the world, including in the US. Apparently they are making sparkling Mueller Thurgau in Sicily as well.
This is one of those varieties that it is hard to say are indigenous to Italy but

domain: agronomy


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The human obsession with flight stems from a refusal to accept limitations and an intense desire to find out which of your neighbors secretly have pools. Put your eyes in the skies with this Groupon.
$299 for a Parry Island flight tour for four (a $445.75 total value)
- 25-minute dock to dock scenic flight tour for four (a $98.98 value per person)
- In-flight photography throughout the tour (a $49.95 value)
Departing from the floatplane dock, each air tour takes passengers soaring over Georgian Bay. The seaplane follows the Bay's coastline to natural sights such as Hole in the Wall, Killbear Provincial Park, and Parry Island, before returning over the South Channel and flying past the Swing Bridge.
Georgian Bay Airways
To say that Keith and Nicole Saulnier have taken root in Parry Sound is something of a fallacy. Sure, they call the rugged natural landscape home, and have fallen in love with the surrounding glacier-carved coastlines, but they are by no means grounded there. Both are career bush pilots whose passion for soaring through the clouds has led them to found Georgian Bay Airways. From behind the stick of their sea planes, they share their intimate knowledge of land and sky, hosting air tours that launch from their waterfront docks May through October.
The Saulniers' aerial adventures are limitless in their form. Preplanned trips glide over sprawling Parry Island or the 30,000 Islands' network, passing wilderness and historic towns along the way. But they can also customize flight adventures to vary the way passengers interact with the landscape. Upon request, their planes can drop customers off for fishing at nearby lakes, ATV rides across the Canadian Shield, or drop-in visits with their cool uncle who keeps fireworks in his garage.

domain: geography


text: is offering a well-cared- for, highly productive corn and soybean Iowa farm For Sale in Shelby County, Iowa. Over 85 tillable. Located in a strong agricultural area and 3/4 of a mile north of a hard surface road. We are also offering another 49.38+/- acre frac14 of a mile north of this 40+/- acres. These two excellent quality farms are located in North Central Shelby County, Iowa. This is a great opportunity to invest in a well maintained 90+/- acres, a perfect size farm for an investor, young farmer or an add on unit to your present operation. This 40+/- acre farm has 35 +/- tillable acres with a Csr2 average of 66.3.


12" Maverick Wheel and Desert Eagle Tire Package | Black/Machined
The 23X10-12 Desert Eagle with Black/Machined Maverick wheel package will give your vehicle a unique custom look with a high-performance tire. The Maverick is a black wheel with machined spokes and accents that will give your vehicle an edgy, yet tough appearance. The 23X10-12 Desert Eagle tire has a directional, all-terrain tread pattern that will provide exceptional grip on dirt, in mud, on sand, gravel, grass, or on road.
Note: This set will require a 4" lift kit.


QCRI is at an exciting stage of growth with world-class researchers. I am excited about the opportunity to establish QCRI at the forefront of data mining research.
At QCRI, Zaki will focus on high performance and “intuitive” data mining methods for large-scale data, with focus on social media and bioinformatics applications.
Zaki is a Professor of Computer Science at RPI. He received his Ph.D. degree in computer science from the University of Rochester in 1998. He has over 225 publications in data mining and bioinformatics. He is currently on the Board of Directors of ACM SIGKDD, and is the Information Director for ACM SIGBIO. He is an Area Editor for Statistical Analysis and Data Mining, and an Associate Editor for Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery, ACM Transactions on Knowledge Discovery from Data, Knowledge and Information Systems, Social Networks and Mining, and International Journal of Knowledge Discovery in Bioinformatics. He has served as the program co-chair for all the main data mining conferences -- SDM'08, SIGKDD'09, PAKDD'10, BIBM'11, CIKM'12, and ICDM'12, and he is the founding co-chair for the BIOKDD workshop. He is the general chair for the International Symposium on Network Enabled Health Informatics, Biomedicine and Bioinformatics, 2013, and the SIAM International Conference on Data Mining, 2014.
o ACM SIGKDD: Special Interest Group on Data Mining, Board of Directors
o ACM SIGMOD: Special Interest Group on Databases
o ACM SIGBio: Special Interest Group on Bioinformatics, Computational Biology and Biomedical Informatics, Information Director
o IEEE Computer Society
Journals and Conferences
In the Media
Map apps may have changed our world, but they still haven’t mapped all of it yet. Specifically, mapping roads can be difficult and tedious: even after taking aerial images, companies still have to ...
Machine Learning and Data Analytics Symposium - MLDAS 2019 Building on the success of the three previous events , Boeing and QCRI will hold the fifth Machine Learning and Data Analytics Symposium (...
Visit by Antonio Torralba, who teaches machines to automate tasks that a human visual system can accomplish, is part of annual spring research update between QCRI and MIT-CSAIL.
Pact aims to apply data analysis and artificial intelligence techniques to solve humanitarian problems.
Well-known inventor of database recovery algorithms to deliver keynote at QCRI's first blockchain workshop.


Where Is The Nearest Iron Ore Processing Plant - cz-eu
Where Is The Nearest Iron Ore Processing Plant. Iron Ore Smelting Process - Brighthub Engineering. At the surface iron ore processing plants, the iron ore is put through crushers and ball mills to break it into a uniform . Iron Ore Smelting Process Using Modern . Get Price And Support Online; Ore Processing Plants - Ore Processing Plant Exporter .


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Cross-stitch “stitches together” donations from the many ELS Women’s Mission Societies and attempts to accomplish significant blessings among our mission affiliates worldwide. This year’s projects include:
The money is given as “humanitarian aid” to the orphanages is essential for the existence of the Indian church. They just received a 5-year registration renewal so we can send money to them.
In India, Cross-stitch supports college and vocational education for older orphans who will soon leave the orphanages. In some cases, the women gain degrees and teach in our schools.
Jungle school food program
These funds are used to buy food for the students. Pastor Heyn reported that the jungle village was able to buy solar panels for computers, etc. with government funding.
Divine Mercy (Home Mission)
Divine Mercy in Weatherford, TX plans to launch a Power-Hour preschool program in the fall to reach families in the community.
Living Waters (Home Mission)
The Board for Home Outreach plans to replace Missionary Peter Heyn’s laptop at the mission in San Angelo, TX.
In 2022–23 many lives will be blessed as Cross-stitch proposes, with your help, to raise:
India – Orphan support (food, clothes) $20,000
India – India orphan vocational scholarships $5,000
Peru – Food for jungle schools $5,000
Divine Mercy, TX $2,500
Living Waters, TX $2,500

domain: christianity


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In theaters March 8, 2019! Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes while Earth is in a galactic war with aliens.
Watch Captain Marvel (2019) Full Movie Free Online Stream on Putlockers in HD HQ 720p 1080p 4K Quality without downloading and sign up or fees.
We provide Hollywood’s latest “Captain Marvel” streaming movie sites online in March 2019 and Captain Marvel watch full movie. We are one of the top 20 sites in 2019, which offers all latest movies free. The main thing is that 123movies is the largest internet site that Providers Captain Marvel is free and movies with all the different languages. It enables its consumers to experience the convenience of virtual home entertainment anywhere, anytime.
Captain Marvel is an extraterrestrial Kree warrior who finds herself caught in the middle of an intergalactic battle between her people and the Skrulls. Living on Earth in 1995, she keeps having recurring memories of another life as U.S. Air Force pilot Carol Danvers. With help from Nick Fury, Captain Marvel tries to uncover the secrets of her past while harnessing her special superpowers to end the war with the evil Skrulls.
Release date: March 8, 2019 (USA)
Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Budget: 152 million USD
Based on: Carol Danvers; by: Roy Thomas; Gene Colan
Screenplay: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Nicole Perlman, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Meg LeFauve, Liz Flahive, Carly Mensch
How powerful is Captain Marvel? She made the internet’s foulest minds explode, and prompted a major website to alter a longstanding policy — and that was before people saw the movie “Captain Marvel,” easily one of the most fun, exciting and important chapters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
There are fanboys itching to attack me for that last sentence. They’ll say I’m getting paid off by the Disney/Marvel oligarchy. Or they’ll say I’m “virtue signaling,” a repellent insult hurled at liberals by the far right, a shorthand way to call someone a liar and a poser who doesn’t believe in the equality or fairness they espouse.
Fanboys have targeted “Captain Marvel” for phony outrage because of its star, Brie Larson. She noticed that the majority of reporters and critics she reads are white men — and wondered aloud if wouldn’t it be nice if the press corps was more diversified?
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domain: movie


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Lovely, luscious stunning silver. Who wouldn’t be excited to wear something like this? Now how excited would you be if you had just made that bracelet? In my day job, I make forged silver and gold jewelry. And I have a blog where I talk in general about metalsmithing techniques, custom design projects, and gemstones. But this is my blog to share both my love for metal, and how, specifically, to work with precious metals.
Have I mentioned I love what I do? Now I want to share that love with you, and help you learn to love metal as much (or more!) than I do.
My plan is to list a project, with step by step instructions on how I built that project. I’ll also share some similar inspiring projects from metalsmiths around the world, along with other types of input that influence my artistic process. Then, I’ll post your completed projects in the Gallery section. I envision this blog as a meeting ground for enthusiastic smiths, artists, and interested passers-by. It should be a ton of fun. 🙂

domain: artistic


On Saturday, the 26th of August, the Wilson Band Hall will be open from 10 am – 3 pm to allow all band students to put their instruments and band supplies in their band lockers prior to the first day of school. We hope this will lighten the load that our Wildcat Band students will have on day one of school. After all…a trombone case is almost impossible to accessorize with new school clothes!
Beginner parents: If your instrument was delivered to the band hall, you and your child are welcome to come to the band hall and put your child’s instrument and supplies in their band locker
School owned instruments have been assigned and will be available to be put in lockers. Students may still come and pick their locker and place their band supplies in said locker. This is also a great time to bring back your summer instruments!
There will not be any access to any other part of the school! Please park in the back parking lot and enter through door #18.


Leading in Probiotics:
Dairy Only One Facet
Chr. Hansen owns the world’s largest commercial bank of bacterial strains. Building on this strong foundation, the company continues to innovate and produce the most effective bacterial solutions for dairy and beef cattle, as well as for other species, including poultry and swine, and for silage inoculation.
Our unequaled microbial range enables selection of the best individual strains and formulation of the best combination products to meet animal health and production challenges.
In fact, we have over 1,300 strains of Bacillus alone! And our scientists continue to select and develop new spore-forming probiotic strains that can be further developed into future products. Chr. Hansen bacterial strain production is FAMI-QS and ISO certified.
Our science differentiates us from the rest. Everything we do is backed by science and we are proud to offer the world’s most documented probiotic strains. Our purpose within Chr. Hansen is to bring microbial-based probiotic health solutions to life.
Did you know: Our solutions are used every day for human health from pre-term babies to adults, for the health and productivity of diverse animal species, and for the safe preservation of food and feed. Every day more than 1 billion people — and millions of animals — consume products containing our natural ingredients.
Chr. Hansen is the world’s most sustainable food ingredients company and uniquely positioned to drive positive change through our microbial solutions. Over more than 145 years, we have worked to enable sustainable agriculture, cleaner labels, and healthier living for more people around the world.
We are passionate about what we do because we know we can make a difference for people, animals, and plants. And ultimately for our planet. It’s part of our culture, our history, and our strategy.


HIGH LOFT FLEECE JACKET "BLACK"
- The And Wander High Loft Fleece Jacket is constructed from Polartec high loft fleece which provides warmth while still being breathable. High density polyester fabric is used to reinforce sides, waist and wrist for added durability. The jacket features two zippered hand pockets and one zippered chest pocket for secure storage, and drawstrings at the hem and collar for an adjustable fit. Reflective details around the chest pocket, reflective And Wander branding, and reflective stitching are used to increase visibility in low light conditions. This lightweight Jacket is designed to be a warm, flexible, and breathable making it a versatile layer that will keep you comfortable in a variety of conditions.
- 100% polyester
- Polartec fleece fabric
- Full length front zipper
- Two zippered hand pockets
- Zippered chest pocket with reflective details
- Reinforced sides, waist, and wrists
- Reflective stitching
- Drawstring waist and collar
- Made in Japan
- Regular fit
- Emerson is 180cm and 70kg, wearing XL
How we measure
L XL XXL 1/2 Chest 67 69 71 Length 77 79 81 Sleeve 70 71 72
- Machine wash 40. Do not bleach. Do not tumble dry. Do not iron.


_UPDATE TO THE REFORMED ZONE
The State Government released its reformed zones on 5 March 2013. The following week the Department of Planning and Community Development advised Planning Matters subscribers that there had been a publishing error with the zones released on this date. The errors have been corrected, and the final versions of the zones are now available on the Department website.
The changes made to the reformed zones relate only to the General Residential and Neighbourhood Residential Zone. No changes have been made to the content of the Residential Growth Zone.
Changes to the General Residential Zone include some alterations to the condition requirements for two (food and drink premises and take away food premises) of the Section 2 uses. In addition, ‘office’ (with the exception of medical centre) has moved to a Section 3 use (this was previously a permit required use) and is prohibited in the General Residential Zone. Changes to the Neighbourhood Residential Zone include an additional condition requirement for medical centres and the removal of a number of conditions associated with food and drink premises.
The final version of the reformed zones can be found at:
We invite you to contact Collie if you wish to discuss these changes with us.


JERUSALEM, N.Y. (WETM) — At 12:20 p.m. on Mar. 14, a missing female kangaroo was captured and reacquainted with her owner in Jerusalem, New York.
The young kangaroo was reported missing Saturday at approximately noon near Coates Road and Williams Hill Road.
Its handler, Laura Miller, was visiting family with the animal when it got away.
The owner is Stokoe Farms of Scottsville, N.Y. who were on the scene when captured.
Volunteers had the kangaroo surrounded in an abandoned brush covered vineyard several hundred feet of County House Woods Road in the Town of Jerusalem.
Although scared, cold, and hungry, the kangaroo appeared uninjured.
A Yates County Sheriff’s Deputy was able to secure the animal with use of a blanket.
“The Sheriff’s Office thanks the approximately 40 – 50 volunteers assisting in the lost area vicinity, the forming a circle during capture, as well as all the calls received,” said Sheriff Ron Spike.


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Sat, 28 Dec 2019 12:45 - Updated Sat, 28 Dec 2019 12:45
Sinotrans invests over USD 30 million in Angola
Lobito - The investment by the Chinese logistics company Sinotrans in Angola has already exceeded USD 30 million in the last eleven years, said Friday in Lobito, its deputy general director Tchum Long Ning.
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Benguela: Tchum Long Ning, deputy general director of Sinotrans (right) and Luís Teixeira, CEO of CFB
Photo: Cortesia do GCII do CFB
The official was speaking at the ceremony of delivery of the first batch of 60 wagons supplied to the Benguela Railway (CFB) by Sinotrans Angola.
Tchum Long Ning said that with the strong support of the Government and various partners, the Chinese company has seen significant growth since it entered Angolan territory in 2008.
He also indicated that the “very significant” investment is associated with several projects, the most recent being the production in China of 60 freight wagons for CFB and the implementation in Luanda of a logistics support warehouse for other provinces.
The Chinese official noted that Sinotrans was a partner of the state in the construction of Kilamba, Sequele and other centralities throughout the country, having worked in the logistics of goods from China for the implementation of these projects linked to the Angolan state.
On the other hand, he announced that the investment cooperation between Sinotrans and the Benguela Railway should be raised to a reference model in terms of public-private partnership in Angola.
- 25/12/2019 13:20:17
Ganda - The Ganda Municipality in the centre-west Benguela Province intends to invest in coffee crops and make it reach levels of production similar to the heyday of the decade of 1970 in which production would reach 200 tonnes annually, instead of the present 10 tonnes.
- 18/12/2019 18:24:44
Luanda - Chinese company Dongfang Huaqiang - Commerce and Service announced today (Wednesday) in Viana district, Luanda, its intention to be the link between the Asian country and Angola, to boost and develop the electronics and home appliances industry.
- 06/12/2019 19:02:03
Luanda - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Thursday, 05, the third grant to Angola of USD 247 million, out of a total of USD 1.48 billion, in the framework of the reform programme agreed with the Angolan Government, ANGOP learned from an institutional source.

domain: economics