Friday, March 29

Month: July 2014

Amazon’s Slated New Phone Could Spell Lost Ad Revenue for Google
Business

Amazon’s Slated New Phone Could Spell Lost Ad Revenue for Google

It's interesting times right now for search engine optimization (SEO), and Amazon's announcement of its upcoming Amazon Fire smartphone launch has only stirred the pot more when it comes to Google's dominance of search engine results. As an intriguing mix, the center example of what could happen if people take to Amazon's phone is something called "coconut flour." For anyone unfamiliar with coconut flour, it's a gluten-free alternative to normal flour that's made from crushed, dried coconut fiber. Unlike regular flour, coconut flour is liable to absorb moisture. For this reason, stores need to stock it reliably so that it's never sitting out too long before reaching customers. Coconut flour is an example of the many millions, and even billions, of dollars in ad revenue that are at st...
Unicode Updated to Include 250 More Emoji Symbols for Phones and Computers
Lifestyle

Unicode Updated to Include 250 More Emoji Symbols for Phones and Computers

Unicode is getting an update which will include 250 more "emoji" symbols, as well as other updates for languages around the world. Smartphone users around the world, rejoice. Among the many updates are a hammer, a spider, an arriving airplane, a hot pepper, and a satellite. The update release is Unicode Version 7. Unicode is a system that came into existence during the early 90s as a way to provide a uniform code for different character and letters. Years ago, many countries and languages used their own systems for text encoding. Before the internet, this worked out fine. After the introduction of the World Wide Web, however, a problem quickly became apparent. When a page was written on one standard but seen by a web browser as another standard, the page would appear on the scree...
China Plans to Deal With Food Safety Scandals in Upcoming Session
World

China Plans to Deal With Food Safety Scandals in Upcoming Session

China is no stranger to food scandals. One of the latest controversies involved international retail giant Walmart. This January, investigators found that meat sold at the store and labeled as donkey meat was actually fox meat, which came from a local supplier. According to an official government report, Chinese police dealt with over 52,000 criminal food safety cases within the past three years. This number doesn't represent the number of consumers affected -- simply the number of infractions. The Standing Committee of the China's National People's Congress is having its bi-monthly session right now, and lawmakers will be looking to improve upon existing regulations and laws concerning food producers and food safety. "The draft amendment proposes that a unified supervision and manag...
Thieves More Likely to Steal Teeth Whitening Strips Thanks to Online Reselling
Business

Thieves More Likely to Steal Teeth Whitening Strips Thanks to Online Reselling

UPDATED 1/11/21 How desperate are you for whiter teeth? According to CBS, one man in Exton, Pennsylvania needed teeth whitening strips so badly that he stole nearly $1,000 in teeth whitening strips from a local Target. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rMKWytvqew Investigators say that the suspect, who was captured on video surveillance but has not yet been identified, entered the store and dumped multiple boxes of Crest White Strips into a trash bag. Retailing from $20 up to $40, whitening strips are often a popular shoplifting target because they are easy to conceal and carry away, easy to resell online for close to the typical asking price, and they are not behind a counter like other small, more expensive items. And of course, some crooks with coffee stained teeth might ...
In the Latest Bout of Technology Meets Art, Drones Become a Medium for Photography
Lifestyle

In the Latest Bout of Technology Meets Art, Drones Become a Medium for Photography

Drones are typically associated with military invasions. But can they be used for something more innocent -- artwork? Two military aviators who work with drones had the idea to use their machines to take photographs that no human would be able to capture. Their remote-controlled aerial devices were able to create unique shots. One of their photos, "Lost" -- which features a woman walking alone along sand dunes -- won an aerial photography prize. The prize made them think that their work might be more than just a passing hobby. "We realized that some of the stuff we were creating was really, really aesthetically pleasing," said one pilot. Right now, the pilots only wish to be known by their pseudonym, DroneArt31 -- since they are still in the military, security is a likely concern. Th...