Watch Boeing’s Starliner Meet Its Rocket for the 1st Time in This Awesome Drone Video – Space.com

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A drone flying around the Kennedy Space Center recently captured incredible footage of a small step forward for NASA's delayed commercial crew program.

Boeing joined its Starliner spacecraft, which is supposed to carry astronauts to the International Space Station in the near future, to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for the first time on Nov. 21.

An epic new drone video shared on NASA's commercial crew Twitter shows Starliner (accompanied by the requisite train of personnel in their own vehicles) making its way to the launch pad, where it was hoisted into position atop its booster. If all goes to plan, Starliner will launch on Dec. 17 for its first uncrewed test in orbit.

Related: In Photos: Boeing's Starliner Pad Abort Test Launch

"From #Starliner rollout and move to #AtlasV mate, this week has been AMAZING," Boeing said on Twitter. "Now we're counting down the days until the December 17 launch for our Orbital Flight Test to @Space_Station."

NASA echoed the excitement in its own tweet. "A major step forward for @Commercial_Crew this week: @BoeingSpace's #Starliner spacecraft rolled out of the processing facility and was secured atop a @ulalaunch rocket," it said.

NASA has two companies vying for commercial crew opportunities: Boeing and SpaceX. SpaceX's Crew Dragon made a test flight in March and both companies are still working toward their first crewed launches. NASA contracted each company in 2014 for crewed launches that at the time were expected to occur in 2017. Today, the most optimistic estimates say astronauts will use these vehicles in 2020.

The NASA Office of the Inspector General recently released a report citing numerous schedule and technical issues in the commercial crew program, and warned that the U.S. may have to continue using Russian Soyuz flights to the space station for even longer than planned. Boeing strenuously objected to some of the findings last week, adding that it still plans to launch crew in early 2020.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Watch Boeing's Starliner Meet Its Rocket for the 1st Time in This Awesome Drone Video - Space.com

Original NASA ‘Red Number’ Prints Up for Auction, Expected to Fetch Thousands per Photo – PetaPixel

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As we wrap up 2019 and the 50th anniversary of the moon landing in 1969, Sothebys has one more NASA-themed auction up their sleeve. Launched yesterday, the Space Photography auction includes over 100 original NASA red number prints, including some of the most iconic images to come out of the US space program.

This lot of 140 prints comes from the collection of photography collector and dealer Philip Kulpa, and theyre not just anyones old prints of NASA public domain photographs. These are Red Number prints, meaning that they are the original chromogenic color prints direct from NASA, complete with NASA and the mission name or number stamped in the margin in red ink.

Included in the collection are some of the most iconic images to come out of both the Gemini and the Apollo programs, including Buzz Aldrin at Tranquility Base, mans first footprint on the moon, a view of the Earth rise as captured from the lunar surface, and Apollo 16 Commander John Youngs famous jumping flag salute.

Here are just a few examples:

This Space Photography auction is online only, and is running from the 25th of November (yesterday) through the 2nd of December. And while we dont expect anyone will be able to snag any of these for under one grand minimumeach of the 10 x 8-inch prints pictured above are expected to go for between $2,500 and $5,000none of the items seem to have a reserve, with some bidding as low as $50 as of this writing.

Who knows put in a bid and you might get lucky.

To see all of the red number prints currently up for saleas well as some other great items like a signed print of Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon thats expected to fetch up to $9,000head over to the Sothebys website.

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Original NASA 'Red Number' Prints Up for Auction, Expected to Fetch Thousands per Photo - PetaPixel

20 Questions We Have for the 2020s – Popular Mechanics

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Ko Hong-Wei / EyeEmGetty Images

December 31, 2019, will mark the end of one whirlwind decade, and perhaps the beginning of the most important decade in recent memory with such existential threats like climate change, automation, and AI hovering over humanities head.

As we get ready to welcome the new decade, here are some questions we have for the 2020s.

1Will James Dean Be the Biggest Movie Star of the Next Decade?

Earlier this month, producers announced that James Dean will star in a new movie about the Vietnam War, set to hit theaters on Veterans Day 2020. The catch, of course, is that Dean died in a car crash 64 years ago at age 24.

No matter: Thanks to the wonders of CGI, the long-dead heartthrob will live again on the big screen, setting a creepy precedent for reanimating old movie stars because we cant find new ones anymore. Stay tuned for Charlie Chaplins eight-episode Netflix sitcom.

2Are We Headed for a UFO Revolution?

3Will Big Tech Finally Get a Bit Smaller?

Google. Facebook. Amazon. These are some of the most powerful firms in the world and, arguably, the Microsofts of the 2010s, given their outsize market power.

Theres a burgeoning antitrust movement against these so-called Big Tech firmswith four state attorneys general probing into Googles alleged anti-competitive practices and Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren promising to break up Big Tech if electedbut this decade has trended in the direction of bigger and bigger behemoths.

Just this July, for instance, the Justice Department approved a $26 billion merger between two telecommunications companies, Sprint and T-Mobile.

4Will We Ever Get a TV show Like Game of Thrones Again?

When Game of Thrones said goodbye last spring after eight years, it wrapped up its historic run as arguably the biggest TV series everand certainly the last show the world will collectively watch together. Replicating the success of a juggernaut like Thrones is impossible for any number of reasons, but mostly because it debuted and became a phenomenon well before the advent of the streaming age.

We now have over 100 on-demand entertainment services to satisfy our fractured tastes; the notion of ever reaching a consensus on a sci-fi or fantasy series again seems insane.

But that wont stop the networks and streamers from trying to capture the zeitgeist: HBO says Thrones spinoffs are coming, and Amazon has a billion-dollar Lord of the Rings prequel series in the pipeline. Could they possibly break through?

5Will Augmented Reality Finally Go Mainstream?

Remember Pokmon Go? Its hard to believe the augmented reality app debuted over three years ago in summer 2016, but when it didit did in a big way. It got the people outside and exercising, meeting new friends, and exploring their neighborhoods.

And the augmented reality (AR) game has generated some handsome revenue from this relatively small business unit: to the tune of $470 million in revenue after only 80 days on the app store.

Except, most augmented reality apps are fun for about five days and the we forget about them and they clutter up our phone and hog up precious memory storage. Will it be any different in 2020 as Apple promises to enter the game?

6Will We Finally Regulate Self-Driving Car Tests?

While 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg was walking her bike across a poorly lit street outside of a Tempe, Arizona crosswalk in March 2018, a self-driving Uber struck and killed her. That sparked a whole new debate about the safety of autonomous vehicles testing and just how much leeway regulators should give to private firms like Uber, Waymo, and Argo AI.

Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board found that the Uber safety driver behind the wheel was guilty of hitting and killing Herzberg, not the company. Just six months after the accident, which marked the first time a pedestrian had ever been killed by an automated vehicle, the U.S. Department of Transportation put out some pretty weak guidelines that firms may choose to ignore.

However, there is still freedom for states to impose their own rules, but in most cases these are simply guidelines, not requirementsand the difference between those two terms could be life or death for others like Herzberg.

So, will we see hard lines on what is and is not allowed when it comes to testing in the 2020s? Its hard to say, but in any case, it looks like were still a longshot away from fully robotic vehicles.

7What Will We Clone Next?

Weve already cloned cows, sheep, cats, dogs, deer, and horses and in 2002, Clonaid, a cloning companyfounded by the followers of Raelianism, who believe that humans are clones of extraterrestrialsmade a huge claim: they had successfully cloned a baby girl named Eve.

However, theres been no evidence to prove the existence of Eve or the subsequent clones the company claims to have created. Theres controversy surrounding the ethics of human cloning, so were curious to see where the scientific community will take this issue over the course of the next 10 years.

8What Will Next-Gen Biometrics Look Like?

Biometrics have become incredibly prevalent thanks, in large part, to phones being able to recognize our faces and fingerprints. There are also retinal scans and Apples Siri can be trained to recognize and respond to the voice of the devices owner and no one else.

Were wondering what kinds of security threats enhanced biometrics could pose and how far this kind of tech will go before its too far and becomes an invasion of privacy (which for some, began at fingerprints).

9Will the World Finally Get Serious About the Climate Crisis?

Are we going to sink or swim? The climate crisis has spawned a generation of people gravely concerned with what the future will look like if we dont take action now to create sustainable living conditions using things like renewable resources.

Its surprising how debated global warming has become considering the fact that its backed by hard scientific evidence. Were hoping the 2020s will be the decade of innovating and creating a better, more sustainable future.

10Will Hollywood Overcome its Marvel Addiction?

Its hard to ignore the outsized importance of Marvel movies in Hollywood in the 2010s. Avengers from 2011 and Endgame in 2019 are perfect bookends for a decade of cinema that lost itself in the tight spandex and wide profit margins of superheroes.

But with growing ire from creative giants and overall audience fatigue with similar franchises like Star Wars, could the superhero franchise finally reach its end? One can only hope.

11Will We Start Trusting Science Again?

The 2010s displayed one major troubling trend in sciencea growing distrust in the conclusions of overwhelming scientific research. One prominent example (and sadly not the only one) is the surprising rise of measles.

According to the CDC, During January-September 2019, 1,249 U.S. measles cases were reported, the highest annual number since 1992. Eighty-nine percent of measles patients were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status, and 10 percent were hospitalized.

Will the 2020s cure humanity of this reckless inability to accept scientific consensus?

12Will the U.S. Finally Focus on Infrastructure?

Its no secret that U.S. infrastructure is crumbling, and when you consider the growing threat of climate change, things start to look downright apocalyptic. Another administration has comeand will likely gowithout addressing this hugely important issue.

The U.S. used to be the envy of the world in terms of infrastructure (in fact, it helped save U.S. democracy), can the country reclaim the crown in the 2020s?

13Will We Finally Witness the End of the Combustion Engine?

14How Many More Species Will Go Extinct?

In 2018, we lost three bird species alone and there are currently several species who will become extinct within the next few yearslike the Northern White Rhinoceros. Will the next 10 years help or hurt the animals on the brink of extinction?

15Google Achieved Quantum Supremacy, So What Comes Next?

After vying against the likes of IBM, Intel, and others, Google claimed to achieve an important quantum computing milestone before anyone else in the world. Their quantum computer performed a task in just over 3 minutes that no standard or supercomputer could complete in 10,000 years, according to a paper published Oct. 23 in Nature.

Companies and countries alike are leaning hard into the quantum craze. The Trump Administration is investing more than a billion dollars in quantum research through its National Quantum Initiative, and China has invested nearly half that amount and filed a slew of patents.

But what does all of this mean for us? Advances in quantum computing are sure to drive innovation in artificial intelligence, power the modeling and forecasting of complex systemslike the weather!and change the way we encrypt, well, everything. Will this be the decade we finally harness its power?

16Will We Set Up Shop on the Moon?

This year, NASA announced its new Artemis mission, in which it will send the next man and first woman to the moon by 2024. Next year, India aims to avenge the death of its Vikram lander by sending Chandrayan-3 to once again visit our natural satellite and attempt a landing. Russia has plans to visit in 2023, and China has vowed to open a permanent base on the Moon by 2030.

And then theres private spaceflightSpaceXs Starship and Blue Origins Blue Moon are both vying for a chance to land on the lunar surface in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Its going to be a big decade for the moon, and were eager to see how our exploration and colonization of the lunar surface unfolds.

Its all missions go.

17Will 5G Live Up to the Hype?

You hear the term 5G everywhere, all the time, right? Industry experts, such as John Donovan, CEO of AT&T Communications in Dallas, Texas, believe that this fifth-generation mobile technology will create a virtually instantaneous real-time network.

That not only means streaming lags on your Disney+ account could dissolve into thin air, but also that self-driving cars could potentially become a reality. But is it all just a marketing ploy?

Only time will tell, but according to a report by McKinsey, optimists tout the great benefits of low latency and high capacity that will eventually enable new value-added use cases, while pessimists focus on the lack of actual new use cases to emerge so far and what they see as a wobbly commercial rationale, not to mention the huge capital expense required.

18Will the 2020s Be a Decade of Cures?

Earlier this year, the FDA announced that the first approval of the first vaccine designed to mitigate the spread of dengue fever in endemic regions. In August, researchers announced two treatmentsan experimental vaccine and a drug called Zmapphave shown promise in combating against the spread of ebola.

Recently developed treatments for HIV have made the virus all but disappear, living virtually undetectable in the body. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is pouring money into curing poliothere were less than 40 cases worldwide in 2016and malaria, the worlds deadliest disease.

Researchers are slowly beginning to untangle the ins and outs of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimers and Parkinsons. The race to cure the worlds most prolific diseases has been a long, hard-fought battle, but, somehow, it feels like may be inching closer to curing them.

19Will Nuclear Fusion Finally Arrive?

Nuclear fusion energy, a renewable, carbon-free source of energy, powers our sun and other stars. Weve been trying to harness this power here on Earth for decades.

ITER, the largest of the nuclear fusion energy projects, says theyll achieve their first plasma reactionthe first of many stepsin 2025. MIT researchers partnering with a private company claim theyll achieve fusion within 15 years. Its ambitious by any stretch of the imagination.

While we may not see fusion turned into viable energy in the next decade, well likely see incredible progressespecially as the impacts of climate change worsen and pressure to find alternative solutions increases.

20Will the Space Force Get Off the Ground?

President Trumps dream of a sixth branch of the armed services, meant to manage off-planet defense, is in its nascent stage, with planners sketching out what it would look like when its formally established.

The only problem? We have no idea when that will be. Building an entire military branch is a big task, with concerns both budgetary (some estimates peg the price tag at nearly $5 billion) and logistical (can the Pentagons space weapons strategy catch up with the pace of growing threats?).

Well certainly see Steve Carrells Space Force long before we ever sniff the real thing.

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20 Questions We Have for the 2020s - Popular Mechanics

Legendary Bitcoin contributor Hal Finneys Twitter profile is safe for now – The Next Web

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Bitcoin fans can rest easy as Twitter has backpedalled on its plans to purge inactive accounts until it can figure out how to memorialize them.

The furor was sparked yesterday, after Twitter announced its plans to purge unused accounts starting in December.

In response, Bitcoin BTC rewards application Lolli asked Twitter to memorialize Hal Finneys account and tweets.

Finney, who sadly passed away in August 2014, was a well-known computer scientist and an early Bitcoin adopter.

He received the first Bitcoin transaction from the cryptocurrencys mysterious creator Satoshi Nakamoto, sparking speculation that he may have indeed invented the coin, something he fervently denied.

Finneys Twitter profile currently boasts 15,000 followers, even though his last tweet was sent on September 15, 2010, several years before he passed away in Phoenix, Arizona due to complicationsderiving from ALS.

A former developer for the PGP Corporation and acypherpunk, Finney joined Twitter in October 2007. Then, on January 11, 2009, Finney tweeted saying he was running Bitcoin.

To date, the tweet has been retweeted over 6,000 times and liked by more than 15,000 users.

Finney will forever be part of Bitcoins history and I for one Im not surprised by the communitys desire to preserve his memory.

Published November 28, 2019 13:16 UTC

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Legendary Bitcoin contributor Hal Finneys Twitter profile is safe for now - The Next Web

Wealth Inequality Has Reached Levels Only Seen Right Before the Great Depression and the French Revolution Due to Central Bank Currency Manipulation;…

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From the 1950s until right before the Great Recession of 2008, the growth in household wealth for the bottom 50%, middle 40%, and the top 10% of society was steadily growing. This meant that there was a sizeable and financially healthy middle class, and even in the lower class, it was relatively easy to move up in society and earn a solid living.

Source

However, that all changed when the Great Recession of 2008 hit. Financial markets tumbled, and the middle and lower classes saw their investment portfolios evaporate.

The upper class was essentially saved from any great loss by an extreme financial bailout, with the Federal Reserve injecting $3.8 trillion into banks and corporations between 2008 and 2015. This money was produced via debt monetization, essentially the same as printing money out of thin air.

The idea was that the major banks and corporations going bankrupt during the Great Recession were too big to fail and they had to be saved to protect America. Also, then-Federal Reserve ChairmanBen Bernanke, who initiated this policy, thought the wealth would trickle down, with higher stock market prices boosting consumer wealth.

The trickle-down theory was highly flawed, however, since the top 20% of society held practically all of the assets as of 2010, with the bottom 80% holding a large majority of the debt. So the federal injection of money that was printed out of thin air stabilized the wealth of the upper class while the wealth of the lower class tumbled.

The regime change from persistent growth in all classes of society to a sudden increase in wealth inequality can be seen in the above chart, and the pivot point was indeed the 2008 Great Recession.

This wealth inequality is currently surging, with the top 1% of society holding as much wealth as the middle and upper classes combined. Data also shows that, since 2008, the percentage of wealth held by the top 10% has increased from 60% to 64% while the percentage of wealth held by the bottom 90% has decreased from 40% to 36%. This data makes it clear that the Federal Reserves policy of printing money and injecting it into banks and corporations has essentially transferred wealth from the poor to the rich.

Perhaps the fundamental cause of this transfer of wealth is that the Federal Reserves liquidity injections provide ample opportunities for banks, corporations, and stockholders to make money, while the rest of society does not have such opportunities. This is especially true since as of 2016 the top 10% of society owns 93% of all stocks and mutual funds. Thus, the richest fraction of society gets wealthier and the rest of society sees practically no wealth increase whenever these liquidity injections happen, and the wealth inequality gap grows.

The Federal Reserve has been once again printing money, to the tune of $280 billion since the beginning of September, so the problem being discussed in this article is happening right now. $280 billion is almost enough to give $1,000 to every man, woman, and child in the United States, which probably would have caused a massive uptick in consumer spending, but instead it was used just to pump up stock prices which causes practically no growth in the real economy.

It is important to note that this issue is not confined to the United States. There are over 20 countries where serious protests have occurred in 2019, mostly driven by a large amount of people not having basic food and necessities.

The most shocking fact is that the top 0.1% of society owns as much wealth as the bottom 90%, and that was in 2013, so by now the top 0.1% of society has more wealth than the bottom 90%. The only time this has happened before was in the years leading up to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Also, apparently the economic situation was similar right before the French Revolution.

Notably, even during the worst of the Great Depression the top 0.1% continued to hold more assets than the bottom 90%, which intuitively makes sense since most people could not afford food or a place to live. In other words, a small fraction of all the people had wealth during the Great Depression while most people suffered extreme poverty. This is perhaps a glimpse of what is to come.

Bitcoin (BTC) Has The Potential to Solve the Wealth Inequality Issue

In the Bitcoin (BTC) genesis block, Satoshi Nakamoto included the statement 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks. This alluded to one of Satoshis primary reasons for creating Bitcoin (BTC), which was to fight against centralized currency manipulation by providing a decentralized currency for the world. Indeed, Satoshi launched Bitcoin (BTC) in the midst of the Great Recession of 2008.

Additionally, a month after launching Bitcoin (BTC) Satoshi explicitly said The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust thats required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust.

Satoshis words could not have been more accurate since, in the years after, the Federal Reserve printed trillions of dollars. In this specific quote, Satoshi is referencing how money printing causes centralized fiat currency to lose value, but the other serious issue with money printing is that it leads to drastic wealth inequality.

The problem is that fiat currency and Central Banks almost completely control the global economy for now, especially the USD and the Federal Reserve, so even though Bitcoin (BTC) exists, it cannot solve this issue completely.

People can choose to own Bitcoin (BTC) and protect themselves against inflation and even make money long term, so that is one way Bitcoin (BTC) helps as of now. However, wealth inequality is so drastic that the lower and middle classes can barely afford to own Bitcoin (BTC), so for a large fraction of the population this is not even an option.

If the great economic crash finally does come, perhaps at that point countries will have a chance to switch over to Bitcoin (BTC) as a primary currency. Already, the crash has come for some countries like Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Iran, and Lebanon, but unfortunately the trend so far is toward governments trying to suppress cryptocurrency activity even when local fiat currencies collapse.

Therefore, the scenario that Bitcoin (BTC) becomes the primary global currency is highly speculative and uncertain. Governments will not easily let go of controlling fiat currency and Central Banks even if the system completely fails since that is where most of their power is derived from. That being said, if Bitcoin (BTC) did become the primary global currency, Central Banks and governments will no longer be able to manipulate currency, possibly resolving the wealth inequality issue of the modern era and preventing it from reemerging.

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Wealth Inequality Has Reached Levels Only Seen Right Before the Great Depression and the French Revolution Due to Central Bank Currency Manipulation;...

No, Bitcoins Circulating Supply is Not 18 Million – BeInCrypto

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A recent analysis from CoinMetrics hints that over 1,500,000 Bitcoins could permanently be out of the total circulation. While BTCs active supply should currently be over 18 million, the quantity fell short.

Notably, on October 19 this year, 18 million BTC officially entered circulation, which happened at block 600,000. At this time, the community began cheering up as it highlighted the end of the inflation process for Bitcoin. However, things arent as they appear. The supply reportedly fell short which brought on a sense of fear, where are these lost coins going?

In essence, the creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, capped the asset to a supply of 21 million coins, which highlights the scarcity of the giant digital asset. Bitcoin halves every four years on average, and with the latest finding, the network must have put BTCs circulating supply at approx 18 million Bitcoins. But the actual supply seems much lower than the reported figure, i.e 16 million BTC. Consequently, the difference between these figures drove the concept of lost coins.

Being a digital currency data and research site, CoinMetrics divided lost Bitcoin into two different segments provably lost and probably lost. The subject of lost coins often comes with the debate that Bitcoins most significant value proposition is scarcity. Interestingly, however, when Satoshi created the Bitcoin protocol, they clarified that lost coins could also be stolen, burned or even forgotten. Nevertheless, he had also mentioned that the lost coins make everyone elses coins worth slightly more.

According to CoinMetrics study, provably lost coins are those 50 BTC coins that are locked in the first block. The research firm adds:

The result is that those 50 BTC are not present in Bitcoins ledger, even if they are visible in a transaction included in the main chain.

As the firm dives into the calculation, it stresses that;

In total, we can compute Bitcoins actual supply at block 600,000 working backward from the expected 18M BTC value and subtracting what is provably lost, the study details. This figure of 17,999,817 BTC as of block 600,000 is the technically correct view of Bitcoins supply.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Twitter.

Did you know you can trade sign-up to trade Bitcoin and many leading altcoins with a multiplier of up to 100x on a safe and secure exchange with the lowest fees with only an email address? Well, now you do!Click here to get started on StormGain!

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No, Bitcoins Circulating Supply is Not 18 Million - BeInCrypto

Changpeng Zhao (CZ): Blockchain Will Be Bigger Than The Internet – CryptoPotato

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One of the most influential people within the cryptocurrency community, Changpeng Zhao, recently spoke about the current and future state of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, in general. The founder and CEO of Binance shared his opinion on the market, the prices, and his belief that blockchain will have a more significant impact on the world than the internet.

In a recent interview, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of the largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, said that he doesnt follow the day-to-day cryptocurrency price actions. According to him, short-term price predictions are hard to do because the market doesnt handle news that well and it overreacts. However, he is a firm believer in blockchain and its potential global impact. In fact, he seems to believe that it would be bigger than the Internet itself.

The market always overreacts. Its very hard to predict price short-term, but if you look at 3, 5, 10, 100 years out, blockchain is going to have a bigger impact on our society than the internet. Right now, theres probably around 0.1% of our population who has crypto, or probably less, so theres got to be a thousand times more it can grow, potentially. We know that this technology is not going away; its going to disrupt the world; its going to disrupt our lives.

He also touched upon the fact that a lot of the cryptocurrencies have a limited supply. According to him, more people are going to get involved with the industry and as this happens, the price will have no other direction but to go up.

The second-largest country by GDP is a hot topic within the community as of late. While the ban on cryptocurrencies is still active, officials in the country are actually pro blockchain and are urging for further adoption.

CZ also confirmed the Blockchain, not Bitcoin narrative that China has been running. However, he says that owning the largest cryptocurrency in the country is not illegal. He even mentions a few legal cases where people have lost their bitcoins, and the court has ruled in their favor, protecting their assets. Zhao also believes that China is a strong supporter of mining.

CZ thinks that it could make sense if the country is restricting cryptocurrencies and exchanges, as a preparation step for the potential use of their own government-backed currency:

My own understanding would be that it will be very logical for the Chinese government to say, Hey, the Chinese Central Bank-issued coin (DCEP) should be the only one used in the country. Also, the DCEP people are taking out of context. It was originally named Digital Currency / Electronic Payments. It should be used only for online payments. Its not going to be a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, where you can do whatever you want with it. [] China is going to promote its own currency instead of the other cryptocurrencies not controlled by them. How much control and restrictions they will apply to this DCEP we dont know yet.

A week ago, news broke that the Shanghai office of Binance has been shut down due to a clampdown by authorities. CZ responded quickly, saying that Binance has no office in the whole country, meaning that there was no involvement from the authorities. He even went further by expressing intentions to take the media to court because they have published fake news.

Naturally, the interview also touched on this widely-discussed topic. CZ reaffirmed that Binance doesnt have an office in China ever since the company moved out of the country in 2017. He said that they are investing in some Chinese-based businesses but dont operate from there. When asked if his opinion for the lawsuit has changed, he said that he is not sure yet but may proceed with it, if his lawyers say so.

One of the biggest debates in the industry is whether or not the Australian computer scientist, Craig Wright, is behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. When asked if this could be true, CZ firmly declined it as an option, saying, there is no way.

Additionally, he spoke about the most recent hack of a cryptocurrency exchange UpBit, saying that his company will help with whatever they can. He thinks that improving security on exchanges and monitoring funds is actually much easier than recovering them once they have disappeared.

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Changpeng Zhao (CZ): Blockchain Will Be Bigger Than The Internet - CryptoPotato

How Technology Is Transforming Executive Coaching – Harvard Business Review

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Executive Summary

Coaches have always sought to help their clients improve. Moving forward, strategically applying technology alongside their own judgement, warmth, and integrity will be an increasingly important way for them to do so. The authors describe four key areas where technology can transform the act and the impact of coaching: 1) Technology can help monitor progress towards goals against a clear baseline. 2) It can build a richer picture of what the client is saying (and not saying). 3) It can develop options based on scenarios, simulations, and extrapolations. 4) It can use nudges to encourage and reinforce target behaviors.

Years ago, executive coaching was stigmatized as remedial help for underperformers. More recently, its transformed into an elite, high-cost activity, often reserved for the highest-status executives. But in both cases whether helping the worst or the best performers executive coaching has been inherently small scale, due to its bespoke, one-on-one nature. Organizations have increasingly embraced the idea of internal leaders providing more coaching to their direct reports.

Now, technology is now making it possible for far greater numbers of employees to benefit from outside executive coaching at scale. At a basic level, platforms are making it easier to find and select a coach, to do long-distance coaching via video conferencing or potentially evenholoportation in the future and to manage the administration involved.

Additionally, some coaching tech has enabled coaching conversations without the involvement of a human at a much lower cost. Bots, such as Pocket Confidant and People Squared, allow people to ask questions, work on simulation challenges, and practice their skills in competitive games. Technology and AI permit this to happen anytime and anywhere. Some companies, such as Axa and IBM, are encouraging their adoption to provide large-scale access to coaching.

But perhaps the biggest impact of technology will come from how it enables individual executive coaches (or leaders who act as coaches) to better connect with and serve their clients. This will help to supplement their powers of recall, observation, interpretation, visualization, and encouragement. There are four key areas where technology can transform the act and the impact of coaching. In many cases, the tech solutions have emerged from applications in other contexts, such as sports coaching and customer research.

Of course there are perils to avoid. Too much technology could impede the efficacy and experience of coaching. Coachees could become overly dependent on the answers provided by a bot. Coaches and coachees may hold back, editing what they say for fear of how the app will use their information. The coach may feel overloaded with information, which could result in inertia or confusion.

But in many instances (think humans and chess), weve seen that the mix of human and machine insight is superior to either alone. It may even become harder to coach without technology as its application increases. Coachees will expect it over time, not least because AI and analytics are playing more prominent roles in their lives, from Netflix recommendations to AI-enhanced customer service. Indeed, there are some scenarios in which people prefer the judgement of algorithms to that of humans for example, when they are given advice in response to a question.

Coaches have always sought to help their clients improve. Moving forward, strategically applying technology alongside their own judgment, warmth, and integrity will be an increasingly important way for them to do so.

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How Technology Is Transforming Executive Coaching - Harvard Business Review

Meet The Family Behind QWIN: Revolutionizing CBD Technology – Forbes

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Family Photo

Warren Bobrow=WB: Please tell me about yourselves? Where are you from? What was your path to your healing with cannabis? Who were your mentor(s)?

Phiton Nguyen=PN: Growing up in Orange Countys Little Saigon as second-generation immigrants from Vietnam, my sister and I had an ideal environment to explore our mutual interests in nature and health. I was interested in cannabis plants from an early age and even grew 8 plants in our backyard when I was 13. Most recently, I spent several years in the e-cigarette industry pursuing another interest born out of curiosity more than personal use, and learned the mechanics of vaporizer technology. At the time, devices on the market were complicated to use and sometimes downright unsafe, usually designed for self-learned or inexperienced users. I was intrigued by the challenge of engineering a vaporizer that was well designed, safe, high quality, and practical for ex-smokers who wanted to offset health risks. Our parents have been our greatest supporters and mentors. They overcame unimaginal hardship as refugees during the Vietnam War and were able to start a renowned record company, Lang Van once they came to America. Their entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen has guided many of our critical decisions as a young company.

QWIN logo w bar (1)

Mimi Nguyen=MN: We began to explore the medicinal uses of cannabis after my mom and I were both diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully, we are both in remission now, but the experience was serious wake up call for our entire familys health. We collectively developed more health-conscious habits and started researching the benefits of cannabis and Eastern medicine. When California legalized recreational cannabis, we began exploring the potential applications of cannabis as a wellness tool. While there were countless options available on the market, we realized that the majority of those products were designed in a way that mitigated the plants nutrient-rich and medical benefits when consumed. When eaten, at least half of the cannabinoids are effectively lost to the digestive process, and while inhalation allows a higher absorption rate of cannabinoids, many arrive dormant or destroyed by the heat used in standard methods of combustion. Phitons expertise in vaporizer technology and our familys penchant for holistic experimentation converged as a family pursuit of smarter cannabis consumption, leading us to create the product that becameQWIN.

WB: Why CBD? Where do you source your products from?Tell me about your company a bit more? What is micro-fusion technology? How do you determine dosages?

PN & MN: We believe that CBD has the potential to help individuals who depend on medications that are either addictive or have adverse side effects to manage chronic physical or mental conditions. We wanted to create a natural source of relief for anyone who is spending numerous hours a day dealing with pain, anxiety, or distress. Our CBD is sourced from an extraction facility in Milwaukee that is also USFDA approved for bottling and is in the process of being CGMP certified.QWINs MicroFusion technology is an ultrasonic emulsion process where we create a more bioavailable formula where the CBD becomes more absorbent particles that your body can process faster and more efficiently. The process also infuses food-grade flavors into each formula and creates an effective product and maintain a lower cost to the user. We designed QWIN to be used frequently throughout the day to give our customers a steady and balanced feeling. Each CBDi cartridge contains 100 mg of full-spectrum CBD and approximately 45 doses. We do not have a recommended dosage amount because each body is different, but users should feel the effects within 5 minutes of inhaling and can decide if they need more from there.

WB: Did you go to B-School (or school of hard knocks)? What is your professional background in this field? What is your six month and twelve month plan?

MN: I went to Chapman University for film production and did not have a formal business education, but being involved in my familys music business at a young age gave me the skills and insight to runQWIN. I manage the legal aspects of every project, design our digital licensing program for our entire catalogue of music and videos, and lead the acquisition of our cannabis facility and licenses. In the next six months, we expect to have a fully licensed cannabis manufacturing and distribution facility, launch a line of high potency CBD and microdose THC capsules, and focus on building our educational and influencer partnership divisions.

PN: I went to UC Santa Cruz for printmaking and mathematics and also learned how to manage a production facility producing artists which taught me the day-to-day business operations and distribution of entertainment from our parents business. My product development background helped me design and launch QWINs innovative technology. During my five years in the industry, Ive developed several product lines in hardware technology and e-liquid brands. In 12 months, we hope that other vape companies will use QWINs technology and platform in their own products.

WB What kind of stigmas do you face? How do you anticipate removing these obstacles? What do you see as the future of wellness?

PN & MN: The entire vape industry has received a lot of negative press due to the rise in lung illnesses linked to illicit THC cartridges. The media has characterized all vape use as dangerous, which is vastly misguided. Inhaling medicine has been around for decades and is one of the most effective methods for instant relief. The only way to challenge this misperception is through public education. Just like how cannabis use was widely vilified decades ago, people are often scared of what they do not know. We see this current vape crisis as an opportunity to engage with consumers and health officials about the benefits of vaping legal CBD and THC and will diligently work with testing labs to reinforce that our products are safe. The future of wellness lies in taking a preventative approach by having access and education to natural remedies and learning how to be more mindful of our health choices.

Kits-CBDi-Starter (1)

WB: What is your passion?

PN: I love developing products that can enhance peoples life experiences. Some of the most life-changing products ever created resulted in incremental changes that made a significant difference in peoples lives. While we cant solve the underlying problems that cause chronic health issues, what we can do is give individuals a natural tool to make their lives easier as they navigate this challenge.

MN:The Mongo verb temu comes to mind. It roughly translates to, I believe that I am not passionate about one particular thing, but a way of living life. I want to be in a constant state of inspiration, always creating and rushing to create holistic solutions for individuals trying to improve their quality of life.

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Meet The Family Behind QWIN: Revolutionizing CBD Technology - Forbes

How Technology Is Improving The Future Of Home Service Installations – Forbes

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As winter sets in, a warm home is important. In the U.K., home heating is almost exclusively done with a boiler, which conjures images of cantankerous elderly equipment that fails at the worst moment. If you think that home heating is a relic of the analog world and technology wants nothing to do with it, think again.

Thermostat on radiator. (Photo by BuildPix/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images)

However advanced technology becomes, the digital world has to work in conjunction with the analog one. A smart home where the morning alarm clock triggers the central heating, the lighting and even the tea kettle still needs the right plumbing, gas supply and mains power. Big organizations like British Gas or Boxt, which is a recent addition to the service industry, are eager to make digital and analog work together.

Boxt is an installer of boilers, air conditioning and, soon, electric vehicle chargers. Like British Gas, the Boxt engineers work with smart home accessories, too. So, when a boiler is installed, you can opt for a Nest learning thermostat, for instance, just as British Gas can supply its favored Hive system.

British Gas has a huge team of engineers, while Boxt has a network of local suppliers and installers.

Technology can help keep costs down, and one way to do this includes an initial connection thats done exclusively through a carefully detailed website. This is key for Boxt and is the first contact the customer has with the company. There are increasingly specific questions greeting the site visitor, such as Is your boiler combi or system?. It enquires which room your current boiler is located in and whether youre in a flat, bungalow or terrace. It even establishes water pressure in accessible terms by asking how quickly the water comes out of the cold tap, in accessible terms such as: Slow, takes more than 10 seconds to fill a pint glass.

These are questions that determine the kind of boiler and lead to the website deciding the price. Boxt claims the site can deliver a quote within 90 seconds. I tried the site multiple times with imagined scenarios of varying complexity. Sometimes it took longer, but never more than about six minutes in total. Crucially, this automation avoids the need for an engineers visit in almost all cases, which keep costs down. As a result, Boxts quotes can compare favorably to British Gas.

If a particular property is more complicated, youre asked to call Boxt so they can discover more details, or you may be required to send photos of your current boiler. If needed, Boxt can arrange an engineer visit.

Although it doesnt mean the service cant do complicated installations, there may be some situations like a complete relocation of the boiler to another room, say where it could be simpler to use a local tradesperson after all.

Boxt takes advantage of the fact that many new boilers are like-for-like swaps where the old one is removed and the new plonked in its place.

Key to the whole experience is the immediacy of availability: if your heating has broken, and you are keying in your details before 3PM, you can even choose a next-day installation. This attracts a price premium.

There are also higher prices for weekend visits, lower ones for midweek dates that are a little time off.

A central heating boiler, here installed by BOXT, can look good enough that you don't need to hide ... [+] it in a cupboard.

The boiler, pipes, fittings and all accessories arrive automatically by courier on the day of the appointment and apart from one phone call where the installer introduces themselves, everything is automated though customer service staff are available if needed. Costs are competitive but even when they are not the lowest, the fixed-price element is critical to the simplicity of the service.

None of this would matter much if the actual installation and supply part of the deal wasnt up to scratch.

Dre Smith, a musician who lives in Sandy, Bedfordshire, had her new system installed by Boxt. I asked her about her experience and she was impressed. I used the website to specify what boiler I needed. It took a few minutes, but it was straightforward and there were explanations to help if youre not sure. I got my quote immediately, and I chose a day when installation was a bit cheaper Id planned ahead because my boiler was still working. I think I might have been able to get a cheaper price elsewhere, but the fixed price was one of the main attractions, and you dont feel youre being upsold. I had the option of a free Google Nest Learning Thermostat and Google Home Mini, too. The day before installation, I got a call from my assigned engineer to arrange what time they'd come and on the morning, the boiler and other accessories were delivered about an hour before the engineer arrived.

British Gas also has a website where customers can specify what theyre after and estimated prices are quickly shared there, too. But there seems to be a hand-off to humans sooner than with Boxt.

As more parts of the process are computerized, costs can be controlled and human involvement limited almost until the first moment where tap meets wrench. At which point, the providing of cups of tea to the humans in your house is still mandatory.

_________________________

Follow me on Instagram by clicking here: davidphelantech and Twitter: @davidphelan2009

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How Technology Is Improving The Future Of Home Service Installations - Forbes

Is technology the future of craftsmanship? – Financial Times

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I do feel this is one of those pivotal moments, says Sarah Myerscough, the London gallerist who has spent the past 15 years nurturing a particularly 21st-century kind of craft practice. We are sitting in her new gallery space in south-west London an old boat house in Barnes near the river Thames on a bench that looks like a very hairy dog, minus the head. It turns out that the ivory-coloured hair which is perfectly stitched along a parting is agave sisal. It is the work of Fernando Laposse, a Mexican designer based in London, whose other miraculous material invention is a surfacing veneer made from heritage corn husks.

The pivotal moment Myerscough is referring to, however, will happen in Miami. She has been selected to take part in Design Miamis Curio programme, in which 15 galleries or artists are given a small room-like booth at the fair (now in its 15th year) and invited to present an installation of new work. We only accept 10 per cent of the proposals we receive, says Branden Grom, Design Miamis director of exhibitions, so its a highly competitive process. It allows us to give a platform to design ideas that arent necessarily represented in the core gallery programme.

Myerscough has shown at Design Miami before, at both its Basel and Miami fairs. She says she got in by the back door. I didnt know much about design fairs, but I decided to do the more outlying ones, like Design Days in Dubai in 2012 and 2013, which put me alongside some really established galleries, she says. And it worked. I got accepted. The outing to Dubai was also another useful lesson. People came to the design fair from the art fair that was on at the same time. Thats when I realised that you need to be in the proximity of a good art fair. The best conversations tend to be with people who are already collecting contemporary art. They look at the kind of work I show, which can be quite experimental, and they see it in fine art terms.

Myerscough believes that innovation and exploration in craft and design are essential. It is the only way for craft to stay relevant, she says. If were too protective of traditional skills and materials, then it stops progress. Instead she advocates a kind of craftsmanship that uses technology and machinery as in the case of woodworker Gareth Neal, who employs 3D printing and CNC cutting and investigates new materials.

At Miami, she will show new pieces by Marcin Rusak, a 32-year-old Polish practitioner with studios in Warsaw, London and Rotterdam. As much a storyteller as a designer, Rusak is interested in ephemerality and the fusion of nature with material processes. For the fair, he has created a new series of his Perma works, where flowers in mid-decay are set into resin to create a complex patterned sheet material. Perma was originally made in black (with pieces shown in Miami last year), and the change in colourway has had a particular effect. The black version looked like it was dug out of the earth, it has the vibe of something natural and organic, says Rusak. The white looks more like white chocolate, or soap.

From the material, he then makes furniture that appears to be slotted together. Its puzzle-like, he agrees. Like archetypes of household furniture. It is usable, but Id really hope it was more about evoking an emotion in the owner.

These are pieces that might gradually fall apart as time passes. A collector can have the joy of acquisition and ownership but probably not forever.

Myerscough started out as an art adviser, with an interest in painting and photography. She helped build a collection for the global law firm DLA Piper and they rewarded her with funding for a gallery space in Mayfair. But when she visited a client to hang a John Hoyland painting they had acquired from her, she was exposed to the world of wood. Id always been interested in tactile, sensual pieces, she says. But Id never known this kind of work existed until I visited the house of Hana and Brian Smouha in Chelsea. I was blown away by all the processes of turned wood, the intricacies and variety of what could be achieved from one material.

The Smouhas, who had moved from Washington DC to London, helped her bring work from American artists such as Philip Moulthrop and John Jordan to London to show at the first edition of Collect, the fair run by the UKs Crafts Council. People hadnt seen anything like it, says Myerscough.

These designers are inspired by the world around them now, by technology and geopolitics

Inspired by the experience, she sought out more local talent, discovering woodturning artists such as Ernst Gamperl and Liam Flynn, and started showing their work in her gallery. Now she has a roster of 20 makers, whose work ranges from Diana Scherers textiles woven from plant roots to Marlne Houissouds bench made of silkworms cast in pewter. These designers arent looking at vintage work. Theyve no parameters. Theyre inspired by the world around them now, by sustainability, technology and geopolitics.

At the PAD London design fair in October, Myerscough showed two vessels by Gareth Neal. Created using 3D printing in a new black silicate material, they were rough to the touch and mesmeric in their apparent movement. They were totally removed from the touch of the hand, she says. Yet they still had that power you get from hands-on making. The world of craft can be a tame one, but in Myerscoughs hands at least, it seems to have a fantastic future.

December 3-8, designmiami.com; sarahmyerscough.com

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Is technology the future of craftsmanship? - Financial Times

Diversity in the defence industry the vital role that technology plays – ITProPortal

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The Ministry of Defence (MoD) continues to work towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce, with technology skills playing an increasingly important role for building relationships and carving out career pathways. The MoD is recognising the strength that comes with recruiting and building a workforce of individuals with diverse skills, backgrounds, and perspectives. A diverse workforce brings a multitude of benefits not only to the MoD, but also the wider Civil Service and to society as a whole.

The private sector has long recognised the benefits of a diverse workforce and has come to realise how essential this is for continued commercial success. Public Sector industries followed suit swiftly, albeit limited in part by legacy technology decisions which did not provide attractive career options to new entrants into the industry. Defence has perhaps been one of the slowest to recognise the tight coupling between digital transformation and workforce diversity, but this is changing. Its vital to ensure our defence industry is filled with bright people with a variety of backgrounds, equipped with the right technology. Before diving into this, however, its important to have a foundational understanding of the British defence industry today.

The MoDs linear association as a developer of weaponry and protector of the United Kingdom by force is an oversimplified summary. The MoDs global work includes anti-piracy, anti-smuggling, humanitarian and disaster relief. Its expanded role and heavy dependence upon the latest technology makes it absolutely necessary to have a broad and skilled workforce to support it. Key role models are emerging from within the MoD itself, such as Clare Cameron, Director Defence Innovation. In her role, she is responsible for enabling innovation across the MoD while also changing cultural behaviours in the process.

Elsewhere, back in September, the UKs defence industry launched a new declaration, the Women in Defence Charter, with the aim of accelerating the desperately-needed progression of gender diversity across the sector. The chairs and chief executives who support the new Charter are committing to improve the industrys gender balance by pledging to support the career development of more women into Senior Management roles.

Thanks to the complex variety of partnerships within Defence spanning both the Public and Private sectors, with spokespeople hailing from vendors and academic institutions alike the benefits of gender diversity are particularly relevant for the industry. As technology continues to evolve at an ultra-fast rate and the widespread move towards digitisation across society, there needs to be more opportunities to harness the fresh thinking that accompanies a better gender balance.

To achieve this, however, theres much more work to be done in the British defence industry to plug gaps in both technological innovation and diversity and the latter would go a long way to help solve the former. Technology innovation is especially vital for the MoD due to the need for collaboration with other sectors where technology is pivotal. Security is a prime example here, as there are many crossovers in the way that technology can be deployed the potential of which needs to be harnessed more across all government departments.

In order to improve, we need to look at the way we manage and train our personnel and retain the right skill sets whilst also being open to what we dont know we even need yet. It is, of course, impossible to recruit an expert with years of experience in an emerging technology! Focusing specifically on gender diversity, its important to establish some clear and actionable lessons on how defence teams can recruit more women to its workforce, which will help modernise the UKs defence industry from a technology perspective. Its specifically here, where aptitude and potential win out over experience. These desired characteristics open the door to embracing the recruitment of a more diverse workforce. Technological innovation cant happen if half the prospective workforce is cut out or deterred.

First of all, there needs to be much more information about the careers that are available for women for example, many technical and digital roles dont require someone to have worked in MoD from the beginning and lend themselves well to flexible working. Other options include financial and commercial roles, which need to be more widely promoted.

Working closely with schools also shouldnt be overlooked, as its here that theres a real chance to make a difference early on, before any emerging misconceptions sink in (potentially irreparably) further. Government support for promising female STEM-inspired students is also key. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) recently announced that the number of girls applying for its CyberFirst summer courses shot up by 47 per cent in 2019. This is an especially notable figure, considering that compared to 2018 there was only a 29 per cent increase in the overall number of applications for the courses.

This is largely because, in January last year, the NCSC announced the launch of its CyberFirst Girls Competition to help encourage more young women into computer science, with a view to a career in cybersecurity. This follows on from October last year, when the MoD alongside the NCSC launched its Cadets CyberFirst programme to communicate cybersecurity skills and expertise to over 2,000 cadets each year, empowering them to tackle emerging cyberthreats in future.

Another tactic is to proactively raises issues such as not getting enough CVs from women then examine honestly why that might be. To start, you might want to ask yourself if the language of the job advert could be considered off-putting ambitious isnt synonymous with challenging, yet the two are often conflated.

Beyond this, its also pertinent to consider how to better engage those already employed. One step towards this is to encourage both men and women in senior leadership positions to set an example by working in a way that is flexible enough for others to do the same. In doing so, this makes MoD more accessible for those with families or those who might have other commitments. Supplement this by building a strong internal network of male and female advocates in senior positions who have the power to influence and implement. The MoD now states directly on its recruitment pages that it is seeking enabling flexible ways of working as the norm.

Theres no doubt that technology is moving at an exponential speed; whats more, malicious actors are capitalising on these opportunities of vulnerability at an alarming rate and, all too often, in a manner thats completely impossible to anticipate. The lesson? The MoD needs to act faster to predict cyber-warfare and other nefarious technology tactics, anticipating their potential sources and uses. Workforce diversity is key to that. It is crucial that the UK defence industry moves rapidly to diversify its staff and embrace emerging technology to work more efficiently, enabling it to get on with what matters most saving lives.

Kat Stubbings, , Head of Service Delivery, UKCloud

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Diversity in the defence industry the vital role that technology plays - ITProPortal

How cities are using technology to solve their trash problems – CNN

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As urban populations continue to grow, some cities are struggling to cope. Many are turning to new technologies for cost-effective solutions to clean up waste.

Cities that address waste problems immediately have the best chance to avoid severe long-term consequences, says Ricardo Cepeda-Mrquez, solid waste director for C40 Cities, a global network of cities committed to tackling climate change.

Waste that goes uncollected can lead to blocked drains, flooding and the spread of waterborne diseases. Organic matter dumped in landfills where it lacks the air to decompose quickly generates methane gas, accelerating climate change.

Generating energy from waste

The plant, which burns waste instead of fossil fuels, is capable of converting 450,000 tons of trash into energy annually, delivering electricity to 30,000 households and heating to 72,000.

Though it still produces CO2 emissions from burning, the city plans to install a system to capture the carbon released by the incineration process, and then store the carbon or find a commercial use for it. By tapping an otherwise unused resource, it will also help the city move away from its dependence on fossil fuels.

"Instead of placing waste outside in a big landfill, we use the waste to produce energy for heating and electricity in the most efficient way currently available," the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen Frank Jensen told CNN Business in an email.

"Efficient waste incineration supplies district heating for 99% of the buildings in Copenhagen, so we will eliminate the pollution from coal, oil and petroleum," he adds, helping the capital meet its goal to become the world's first carbon-neutral city by 2025.

But Cepeda-Mrquez warns that this technology has its limits. A city needs solid infrastructure and a strong waste collection system already in place before it can reap the benefits of one of these plants.

"Many global south cities, with badly managed waste management systems, expect that with the ideal incinerator or waste-to-energy facility all of their problems will go away," he says. "But if you have a broken system, there is no technology that is going to fix it."

Smarter systems

Other cities are starting on a street level, using artificial intelligence and automation to sort recyclables, or sensors to reduce the amount thrown away.

For instance, Singapore and Seoul, South Korea, have installed smart, solar-powered trash cans on their streets. Each is equipped with a compactor, enabling it to hold more trash. Once the bin is full, its sensors alert the waste collectors.

Typically, cities send out different trucks to collect different types of waste - one truck collecting plastic for recycling, another collecting food waste, for example. But that requires a lot of trucks, which means added costs and more traffic.

"In many cities in Europe, the streets are very narrow, and there isn't a lot of open space for multiple waste collection trucks to be doing the rounds," says Cepeda-Mrquez.

Norway's capital Oslo has designed a clever model to avoid this. Since 2012, city residents have been required to use different colored bags for different types of waste, and instead of collecting them separately, trucks gather all the bags at once and take them to an optical sorting plant.

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How cities are using technology to solve their trash problems - CNN

Inside America’s increasing addiction to technology – WISC – Channel3000.com – WISC-TV3

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Inside America's increasing addiction to technology More Headlines

MADISON, Wis. - Tyler Kurwicki is like many American teenagers - he spends some of his downtime playing video games. In fact, by some counts, more than 90% of children across the United States engage in some form of video games, whether it be on their phones, their iPads or their gaming system of choice.

His mom, Tiffany, does her best to keep him from going overboard with it.I usually top him out at an hour a day, but I don't let him play video games every day. As a social worker herself, Tiffany Kurwicki is well-researched, and knows that too much of anything can be a bad thing.

"I think his counselor said that it was like cocaine for the brain, says Tiffany Kurwicki, so the brain supposedly acts the same way as if you were using illegal drugs.

And in some people, with certain games, some research indicates the addiction may work in much the same way. Earlier this year, the World Health Organization added "gaming disorder" to its International Classification of Diseases.

The WHO called gaming addiction "a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behavior" so severe it "takes precedence over other life interests". And the rise in video game popularity is evident from the amount of money spent on the games. Variety reported in May 2019 that revenue has climbed from $7.4 billion in 1999, to $131 billion in 2018, and some reports speculate the industry could make $300 billion within the next five years.

According to Recovery Village, 64% of the U.S. population now considers itself, gamers."The most likely to become addicted are, not surprisingly, males between the ages of 18-24.

C. Shawn Green, Ph.D., who has studied the impact that video games have on our brains at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says he is often asked by parents if their child is developing such an addiction. Green, who isnt afraid to speak of the benefits of the games, says too often parents are quick to assume their child is addicted.

If they are just enjoying the time that they're spending playing games then it's unlikely to have any. Actually we wouldn't consider it to be an addiction in that case," says Green, "if there are negative outcomes, there are kind of real damage happening to someone's life in terms of their academic success their social relationships,then there's room to be concerned."

For some people, too much of anything becomes a major problem, disrupting their lives in disastrous ways.

HiIlarie Cash started reStart in 2009, after spending 15 years as a therapist in the Pacific Northwest, she realized there was a need for those whose lives were under the control of video game technology, and more recently, their smartphones and the internet in general. Her first experience with a patient in need of recovery from a video game addiction started in 1994.

He was a man of 25, says Cash, and he was addicted to a Dungeons and Dragons early user domain game. It was a text-only game, but he was classically addicted to it.

Since then, she realized that she and her co-founders of reStart could help many more on their 5-acre Washington property. The $550/day intensive withdrawal program for some addicts means a total change of lifestyle.

First they need to be away from screens, says Cash, for a minimum of twomonths and then during that time we're really building the foundations of health, so we're focused on their physical health.

Cash is quick to point out these arent your run-of-the-mill 13-year-olds like Tyler Kurwicki who like to play Minecraft for an hour per day in their parents' basement.

Academically we are working with teenagers and young adults and most of them are failing academically because the gaming has taken over their lives, she says. Socially theyre avoidant and not getting along with family. If they ever had friends or girlfriends, those folks that they might have been dating -- that hasn't worked out.

So how can you keep your child from falling into such a trap? Green has at least two ways. For one, look at the entire picture of who your child really is.

I certainly have parents who say, 'Oh, my kid's on their iPad all the time' and I say, 'Well, OK, what are they doing?' You need to know what they're doing, says Green, Is it something you want them to be doing? Is it something that they can stop if they want to stop?"

Next, he says, dont be afraid to not only play the games with your child, dont be afraid to lose.

Its a really great way for parents to interact with the kids because kids like being better than their parents at stuff, right? Or to be able to explain things that their parents don't know, says Green, I always suggest parents to play with their kids and just get over the frustration with the fact that they're better than you at it"

Back at home, Tyler Kurwicki has a good grasp, even at his young age, that mom is keeping him on the right track.

"I understand what my mom says about the certain time limit," says Tyler.

Tiffany Kurwicki wants make sure her son experiences more than whats on the screen.

"I want him to have those moments, says Tiffany, but I want to make sure he's also outside getting his hands dirty, learning real life skills, as opposed to pressing buttons on a controller.

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Inside America's increasing addiction to technology - WISC - Channel3000.com - WISC-TV3

Unified Command Team sheds light on county messaging technology – KEYT

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SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - It's been a wild week for first responders and emergency personnel in Santa Barbara County and its only Wednesday.

While the rain helped people that fled the Cave Fire's path get back in their homes faster, it presented another set of circumstances to react to.

After flames and debris flow concerns, some 5,000 evacuees were allowed to return home Wednesday.

Weve gone through this a few times and its still stressful no matter what you do, said Jo Anne Sciortino, as she returned to her home.

Some say a vague tweet and a late-night Debris Flow Evacuation Warning added to that stress

As we were making decisions, we knew that we were going to put areas into a warning so we wanted to provide some information out to the community that we were going to do something and then the decision was made for the warning area and then we have to develop a message, said Lt. Brian Olmstead, Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office.

County, fire and law enforcement representatives make up a Unified Command System and they decide what to do as a group.

We look at how many people are impacted what the true risks are and what is in the best interest of public safety, said Commander Kevin Huddle, Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office.

Huddle and Olmstead represented the Sheriffs Office in the Unified Command and say the National Weather Service was embedded in the process.

When you do the alerts, similar to our Amber Alerts, there are restrictions. Theres only so many characters so you have to craft a message that gets information out without causing more questions but when youre limited by so many characters you have to be very conscientious on how you put that out to make sure it doesnt cause confusion, said Huddle.

Lt. Olmstead says the messaging technology isnt exactly user-friendly which could explain why people in Nipomo got the alert or why some got it in only Spanish.

Sometimes when you type it in, it changes into a default where it ends up being a bigger area people so unfortunately, people outside the affected area got the message, said Olmstead.

Officials say they are always evaluating what worked, what didnt and how they can improve.

Were always trying to put out the best information as fast as possible, said Olmstead.

While it was all hands on deck for the Cave Fire, the county also upstaffed to prepare for a potential debris flow. Olmstead said they had helicopters, extra fire, law enforcement, and search and rescue crews ready to go.

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Unified Command Team sheds light on county messaging technology - KEYT

Using media to connect African farmers with scientific innovation and technology – Alliance for Science

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I had one of those way-cool moments and what I now call the most memorable experience of my life this past week in Mombasa, Kenya.

It all started in late October, when I received an invitation from the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) to attend the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB) 2019 Media Awards on Nov. 21.

The AATF is a nonprofit organization focused on providing smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa with practical technology solutions capable of addressing their farm productivity constraints and improving their livelihoods. One of its initiatives is OFAB, which works to enhance knowledge-sharing and awareness on agricultural biotechnology across seven African countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda, Nigeria and Burkina Faso.

Exactly 18 days after receiving AATFs invitation, OFAB-Nigeria named me best agricultural biotechnology reporter in the print and online category and overall journalist of the year for my entry GMO debate affects public sentiment in Nigeria. I understood then that AATFs email was but a confirmation that I would be representing Nigeria at the continental level of the media awards in Mombasa.

As is typical of Mombasas fluctuating tropical climate, it was a relatively cool evening when the crme de la crmeof Africas science journalists joined scientists and policymakers from the seven OFAB countries for the media awards ceremony at the Sarova Whitesands Hotel. Dressed in a light-blue striped, knee-level kaftan, a black cap and a green-white-green traditional scarf, I joined the throng of people dressed primarily in their own colorful national and traditional garb.

Eugenia Abu, a veteran multimedia journalist who spoke on behalf of the panel of judges, said the awards were intended to acknowledge excellence in science journalism. We congratulate all the winners and urge for more synergy between science and journalism to enable AATF and OFAB to promote better lives for small-holder farmers on the continent through technology, Abu said.

As the crowd cheered, I heard my name announced as the winner in the print and online category. Visibly excited, but also bewildered, I began making my way to the stage. Many thoughts raced through my head at that auspicious moment, such as why are farmers in Africa slow in adopting agricultural innovations? I recalled that in developing my award-winning piece, I had interviewed many people on the streets who did not know what genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are or understand the term biotechnology.

Moreover, I thought again, studies have shown that our current trajectory for crop yields is insufficient to nourish the worlds population by 2050. Hence, with the worlds growing population and climate change, theres a need for greater and more consistent food production around the globe. This is particularly true in Africa, which is projected to hit 2.2. billion people by 2050.

Africa cannot achieve food sufficiency or realize its dream of becoming the food basket of the world without farmers having access to improved seeds, agricultural tools and technology on their farms. Thus journalists have a critical role to play in informing and educating African farmers and consumers about advances in modern agriculture and ensuring that farmers have access to options, including biotechnology. My aim is to connect these scientific innovations and technology to farmers in Africa through better communication.

On Nov. 23, as my Ethiopian Airlines return flight touched down in Abuja, I was filled with a sense of satisfaction for all that had transpired in Mombasa as well as nostalgia for the incredibly talented African journalists with whom I had shared the homey hospitality of the Sarova Whitesands Hotel for the past three days.

As a science journalist, I also felt a strong reconfirmation of my belief that Africas agriculture needs science and technology more than any other continent in the world. Consequently, African journalists must understand and believe in the potential of science and technology so as to report, write and communicate science accurately and spur economic development on the continent.

Asante!

Abdullahi Tsanni is a Nigerian science writer and Alliance for Science contributor.

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Using media to connect African farmers with scientific innovation and technology - Alliance for Science

TechEd A premier technology event to learn, innovate and network – Economic Times

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By: pallavi.chakravorty@timesgroup.com

SAP TechEd, the premier technology event, has been a big draw for enterprise architects, developers, engineers and other IT professionals from across the globe. The event is an annual staple from SAPs stable organised in the US, Europe and India and it received a similar response in Bengaluru this year.

By definition, TechEd is the essential technical training and networking conference for IT professionals who develop, implement, innovate and upgrade SAP solutions. With a vision to help participants discover new functionality, optimisation and security practices from SAP developers and product experts using SAP solutions, the conference provides a fantastic opportunity to informally network with the technology experts, senior executives from SAP and various industry and technology peers from around the world. This years highlight was the keynote address by Juergen Mueller, CTO and Executive Board Member, SAP SE who talked about the solutions that SAP offers and how the platform is evolving from being a digital one to becoming a business technology platform.

A big part of the conference was the education sessions, which were grouped into seven tracks and 32 learning journeys. The journeys were designed to help participants explore their educational path based on their role, career level or interest. The types of sessions were Road-map sessions to get a detailed understanding of SAPs current roadmaps; Hands-on workshops expert-led exercises and training; Demo-rich lectures deep dive with SAP technology and platform experts; SAP CodeJam collaborating with developers during hands-on coding sessions; Code Review assessing real code examples and learning new tips and techniques.

Since TechEd is all about learning and is attended by a big community of developers, hands-on exercises are critical. Hundreds of hands-on exercises were offered at the event in the form of classrooms and at the developers garage for participants to experiment.

In all, there were 265+ classroom lectures, 310+ hours of hands-on exercises, 1,000+ hours of application coding, and 800+ hours of demo. This year, the focus was on delivering intelligent enterprise. Participants learnt about intelligent technologies and business technology platform.

The event experienced a heavy footfall like each year Leaders Speak:

HELPING BUSINESSES BECOME TRUE INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISES: SINDHU GANGADHARAN, SVP and MD SAP Labs India

When I joined SAP in Bengaluru in 1999, we were a small team of just over 200 people. Today, we have grown to be the second-largest R&D lab in SAPs network of 17 labs across 20 countries. We are a strong family of 13,000+ people in India and are growing pretty fast working in close collaboration with our customers, and partners.

What is also unique is that we have the entire breadth of SAPs product portfolio represented out of one location. The market in this region is very different compared to some of the other global markets. India, as a country, is going through a wave of digitalisation, and we are witnessing many dramatic shifts in the way businesses are transforming themselves leveraging emerging technologies such as AI, ML, RPA, IoT, etc.

On the capital markets day in New York, SAP outlined to grow its cloud revenue from $5 billion to $15 billion in 2023. A lot of that growth will be based on the work that we will be driving out of India. A big part of this growth will also be fuelled through our partner ecosystem. We are privileged to have a huge ecosystem of 600+ partners in India. We are proud of the fact that six of the 16 global partners helping our customers go digital, are from India.

With SAP Startup Studio, our in-house startup accelerator which works on cutting-edge and futuristic products, and our strong base of in-house talent, we help our customers solve their critical business challenges.

MOVING TOWARDS BEING A BUSINESS TECH PLATFORM: JUERGEN MUELLER, CTO and Executive Board Member, SAP SE

Namaste! I have been to many TechEd events, but this year its the first time that I attended them as the SAP CTO. I wanted to deliver keynotes at all the three TechEd events in Barcelona, Las Vegas and in Bengaluru. And I must say I am thrilled to be here.

Today, I want to talk about how we support companies with our end-to-end solutions. I also want to showcase our new Business Technology Platform as SAPs new central building block for companies to become intelligent enterprises. This platform helps companies connect business processes and experiences. It allows them to make confident decisions based on data by bringing together everything a company needs to do so: data management, analytics, AI, blockchain, application development and integration services on an open cloud platform. We are convinced that our Business Technology Platform is the fastest way to turn data into business value.

SAP technology helps store vast amounts of data generated by consumers, combine them with operational data and external sources using our database and data management solutions. We generate necessary business insights, even without being an analytics expert with SAP Analytics portfolio. We have been incrementally evolving our digital platform to move towards a business technology platform. What does that mean? First, we bring HANA and Analytics closer together with its own platform. Second, we provide easier access to SAP data. Third, we provide business services like billing as a service, document processing as a service, tax as a service. Fourth, we are much more open, for example by including certain Hyperscale services; and fifth, we make the business technology platform easier to consume also from a commercial perspective with our cloud platform enterprise agreement.

The SAP Cloud Platform is very important to us as there are about 30,000 productive applications running on the platform, and we ourselves run more than 500 productive applications on the cloud platform. We are fully committed to the platform and Cloud Foundry Environment and we continue to make them evolve.

SAP Cloud Platform is available on Hyperscalers infrastructures on Azure, on AWS, on Google, on Ali Cloud and also on SAP data centres.

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TechEd A premier technology event to learn, innovate and network - Economic Times

Iotic raises 6.5 million to drive growth of Digital Twin Technology – Prolific London

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London-based Internet of Things security firm Iotic has secured investment of 7.5 million to accelerate growth and meet increasing demand for its pioneering digital twin technology.

Iotic enables enterprises and their ecosystems of assets, objects, companies and people to interact automatically and securely.

The digital software company provides the secure operating environment and tools to create digital twins of any thing, enabling their secure interactions, and building true interoperable ecosystems.

The investment from leading European VCs; IQ Capital, Talis Capital and Breed Reply, will drive rapid deployment, deepen channel partnerships and expand market adoption of its patented Iotic Operating Environment, Twin technology and Event Analytics.

The funding will allow Iotic to capitalise on its patented technology and unique market position.

The Iotic vision is a world where any thing can interact with any other thing - from the smallest sensor,to the largest power station, engine, train and plane along with people, suppliers and customers.

The digital version of a thing, the Twin, has access to all its data and controls throughout its entire life, converting those end points into meaningful events - empowering enterprises to deliver on the promise of AI and Machine Learning, and to truly be digital.

The investment enables Iotic to build on its global pipeline of enterprise customers, including Rolls-Royce Power Systems and BAM Nuttall, who have deployed Iotics technology to overcome fractured, inflexible IT infrastructure and data management problems to solve significant business challenges and create new services and better customer experiences.

Robin Brattel, CEO of Iotic said, This investment is a further major endorsement of our Operating Environment and tools and the business strategy behind them.

Having already secured a number of high-profile clients, we are focused on further development and scaling initially targeting high-value manufacturing, construction and infrastructure sectors.

Our longer-term vision is for our interoperable Twins and their Event Streams to be incorporated into every single technology stack that will help to underpin digital transformation and to deliver a strong return on investment for our customers.

Founded in 2014 out of Cambridge, growing enterprise and channel demand globally has opened up new markets enabled by Iotics new North American operations hub in Raleigh, North Carolina.

This has been supported by the expansion of the management team with the hiring of new COO Hans Weinberg, (previously CIO at ABB, North America), and Kathy Reppucci, (who joins Iotic as VP Marketing from IBM) to deliver global integrated marketing strategies.

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Iotic raises 6.5 million to drive growth of Digital Twin Technology - Prolific London

Technology and its impact on personal finance – Daily Advertiser

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Mary Fox Luquette, MBA, CLU, ChFC Published 8:00 a.m. CT Nov. 28, 2019

Technology has made tracking our finances and paying our bills a lot easier, but it comes with plenty of its own risks, too.(Photo: Getty Images)

Technology is changing our world.The internet exposes us to exotic locations, foreign lifestyles, and different forms of government. From our living rooms we can watch any number of movies, documentaries, or historical archives with the touch of a television remotes button. We can manage our lives simply by going online.

Technology has offered us a wide array of convenience, opportunity, and information. However, it does come at a price.

Once upon a time, everyone received a pay stub or physical check on payday. It required a trip to the bank and the time needed to make a deposit. Today, we get a virtual stub through a secure email account and our pay is directly deposited. This is convenience. It also means that our accounts are subject to scams, phishing, and hacking. More security is required and multiple passwords need to be created to ensure the safety of our money.

Mary Fox Luquette(Photo: Amy Windsor)

Not long ago we had to go to the retail store for our shopping and spend hours waiting for our turn to be served by the store clerk. Today we can shop online, find just what we want, and have it delivered to our front door in a matter of days no trip to the store is necessary. We can shop from our favorite easy chair. This also means that our credit card number and our identity can be misused by online thieves.For safety purposes, it is important to monitor our credit score and our card statements to catch any felonious activity as quickly as possible.

It wasnt long ago that any banking that needed to be done, had to be done in person. Cashing a check or making a deposit were regular activities done at the nearest bank branch. Today we can take a picture of a check with our smartphone and upload it into our bank account. We have the ability to use an ATM card and withdraw cash with only a little of our time being spent on the activity. Unfortunately, scammers can mimic emails from our bank and convince us to share personal data with them. We must be vigilant on a daily basis knowing that our email can hide deceitful and malicious malware. A simple click can link a thief with our private information.

The internet is loaded with information. We can investigate the return on a stock, view legal documents, or even consult a medical professional regarding our health all from the comfort of our living room. Convenience is becoming an integral part of our lifestyle, however, it must be tempered with the knowledge that we must always be on guard against those who want to do us harm. If an online lifestyle is your goal, make sure that you have observed all of the safety protocols and stay vigilant against scammers and hackers. If you are notified about a potential breach, follow the guidelines suggested to ensure that your accounts stay safe especially the one about changing your password.

Mary Fox Luquette, MBA, CLU, ChFC is a finance instructor in the B I Moody III College of Business at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

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Technology and its impact on personal finance - Daily Advertiser

Russia’s Sberbank Agrees Venture With Driverless Technology Firm – The New York Times

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MOSCOW Russia's largest lender, Sberbank, has added driverless cars to its list of technology ventures, by teaming up with AI transport developer Cognitive Technologies, the two companies said on Thursday.

Sberbank and Cognitive Technologies have signed a legally binding document to create a new company, Cognitive Pilot, they said in a statement.

Sberbank will have a 30% share in the company, while Cognitive Technologies will take 70%. The two companies did not disclose financial details of the deal, which will be completed in December.

The move marks the latest foray into Russia's digital economy for state-owned Sberbank, which finalised the terms of a food delivery joint venture with Mail.Ru earlier this month and agreed to buy an equity stake in the internet company.

The new company will be engaged in developing "digital economy projects in transport, agriculture, computer vision and artificial intelligence," the statement said.

Russian internet giant Yandex currently leads the way in Russia's driverless car market, testing its technology on the streets of Moscow and Israel, with a license to begin testing in the United States from next summer.

Earlier this month, Yandex said it had begun testing autonomous delivery robots.

Cognitive Technologies founder Olga Uskova will head the new venture with Sberbank.

Her company builds components for driverless vehicles, as well as developing autonomous control systems for agricultural machinery, trains and trams.

Its clients include Hyundai Mobis, Russian Railways and Rusagro, a Russian agricultural firm.

This month, Sberbank said it had agreed to transfer a "golden share" it holds in Yandex to a new public interest company proposed by Yandex.

(Reporting by Nadezhda Tsydenova, Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Katya Golubkova and Mark Potter)

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Russia's Sberbank Agrees Venture With Driverless Technology Firm - The New York Times