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The side effects of swallowing tiny batteries and an increasing risk for children including causing harm and death

Over 40,000 kids in America were admitted to emergency rooms between 1997 and 2010 due to swallowing tiny batteries.  According to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 72% of these admitted to ERs were kids age 4 or younger.  CDS also found than there were 14 deaths due to tiny batteries.

Historical data from CDC showed that only about 1,900 children treated in hospital due to swallowing tiny batteries in 1998.  The number has increased to 4,800 in 2010, or an increase of over 150% for duration of twelve years.

World food prices increased an average of 10% in July 2012 as hot weather damaged harvest lands in America and Eastern Europe

World Bank has urged governments such as in Africa and the Middle East to add more programs to help its helpless populations as world food prices soared an average of 10% in July 2012.  According to World Bank, the prices of main food sources such as corn and wheat had increased by 25% from June to July 2012. While other top food sources including soybean has increased by 17% within the past two months.  Only the price of rice went down about 4% during the period.  Due to the high prices, World Bank urged the head of nations to draw the right policies to help its unfortunate citizens.   

World Bank worried that the recent price hikes could impact on poor families as many of those will not be able to afford to send their kids to schools.  Many kids will suffer from malnutrition as most of them will eat less food due to the high prices.

This year’s hot weather in America has damaged crops which impacted on farmers to produce less corns and soybeans.  While dry summer in Eastern Europe countries such as the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, has reduced wheat production.

(Logo: World Bank)

Men who ate a moderate amount of chocolate (dark chocolate) every week are less likely to suffer strokes

Using sample of 37,103 Swedish men, a team of researchers led by Susanna Larsson, Ph.D., of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, found that men who ate the most chocolate every week are less likely to suffer strokes.  Researchers believe men who ate at least 63 grams of chocolate per week could reduce their chances of suffering a stroke by about 17%, compared to men who ate a very little or no chocolate at all on a weekly basis. The study is being published in the journal Neurology on September 18, 2012 issue. 

Researchers have followed men in the sample, age from 45 to 79 year old, for duration of about 10 years.  Men who consumed chocolate, especially dark chocolate, show health benefits on their cardiovascular which also reduce chance of getting heart attacks. 

Dark chocolate contains high amount of flavonoids.  This type of ingredients also found in many type of fruits, vegetables, and wine.  Eating dark chocolate could also help to lower blood pressure and increase blood flow and healthy blood vessels.  Health experts believe that dark chocolate seems to improve the good cholesterol level and reduce the bad cholesterol level.

(Image: Hershey’s dark chocolate)

New York's top lawyer is conducting investigation on energy drinks (caffeine-heavy and carbonated flavor beverages) including popular brands AMP’s Boost, Monster, and 5-hour Energy drink

The multibillion-dollar energy-drink industry is under attack from New York’s top lawyer.  According to WSJ, New York's attorney general Eric T. Schneiderman has filed a case to investigate PepsiCo Inc. that produces popular energy drink with brand AMP’s Boost.  The New York’s AG also filed a case to probe Monster Beverage Corporation (the maker of "Monster Energy" drink) and Living Essentials LLC (the maker of "5-hour Energy" drink).  The concerns are whether those beverage producers have misled consumers with their marketing tricks.  New York’s AG is very worried if producers have overstated their products’ ingredients and health benefit.  

Young adults have consumed a lot of energy-drink in recent years.  As per WSJ, sales in America reached $8.9 billion in 2011, or an increase of 16% from the previous year.  In term of popular brands, Monster captured the number one sales spot in America, followed by Red Bull and Rockstar. 

Health experts and beverage researchers believe that energy drinks contain a lot of caffeine.  A can of energy drink could contain as much as three time of caffeine than a regular cup of coffee.

There are nothing new and surprise in the state of New York, as officials have been investigating several beverage-related issues.  Moreover, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently started a plan to ban the sale of 1 liter soda bottle in convince store, at restaurants and at movie theater.

(Image: left, Monster drink; right, 5-hour Energy drink)

Global weapons transfer agreements hit new record sales: America controls 77.7% of all sales, as Saudi Arabia is the number one weapons purchasers, India is the number two, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the number three

Global weapons sales agreements between developing and developed governments have reached $85.3 billion in 2011.  According to a report provided by Congressional Research Service, America controlled 77.7% of the worldwide sales in 2011 and generating $66.3 billion from all transactions. This was the highest sales since 2004. The 2011 sales also considered as the highest single year sales in term of total in the history of weapons sales from America. 

Russia was the second-highest seller on weapons sales.  The cold-war rival generated $4.8 billion in sales in 2011, or representing 5.6% of the total.

In term of buyers, Saudi Arabia bought the most weapons as the oil-rich nation spent $33.7 billion in 2011.  Almost 99% of the Saudi Arabia’s spent went to America’s weapons companies.  India was the number two buyer and spent about $6.9billion on weapons.  At the third spot was the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and spent $4.5 billion buying sophisticated weapons in 2011. 

InterActive Corporation (IAC) acquired About.com from the New York Times for a total of $300 million in cash

One of the oldest newspaper companies in America, the New York Times (NYT), will let go its top Internet property.  The buyer is InterActive Corporation (IAC).  The deal is valued at $300 million in cash.  As both companies, NYT and IAC, are located in New York City, the acquisition will benefit both sides in terms of transition especially retaining content writers.

About Group includes several Internet properties including About.com, ConsumerSearch.com and CalorieCount.com.  About.com is one of the oldest web properties that have been publishing articles since 1996.  The website manages 1,000 microsites and covers 3 million articles which attracted 100 million users who visiting the site every month.

The buyer, InterActive Corporation (IAC), controls over 150 brands and sites in Internet, such as Match.com (dating service) and Ask.com (a search engine).  While Ask.com is considered a small site compared to Google and Bing, the site captured about 100 million users worldwide. Ask.com makes money thru selling pay-per-click ads. The dating site Match.com is one of the popular sites for people searching for a mate or a life partner. Users of the service require paying a monthly fee.

The number two largest car rental company in America, Hertz, is acquiring the number four company, Dollar Thrifty, for about $2.5 billion

There are four largest car rental companies in which capturing about 95% of the car rental businesses in America today.  Those big four companies are the following:

1. Enterprise, also owns Alamo and National Car Rental
2. Hertz, also maintains its budget brand Advantage
3. Avis Budget Group which makes up of Avis and Budget car rental
4. Dollar Thrifty which splits into two brands Dollar and Thrifty

In order to catch the top spot of car rental market in America with Enterprise, Hertz is trying to acquire Dollar Thrifty during the past few years.  However, most of the Hertz’s offers had been turned down by Dollar Thrifty shareholders due disparities over asking price and questions over regulatory approval for a merger in car rental business.

According to Reuters, Hertz Global Holdings is now approaching Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group shareholders and may soon agree to acquire the fourth largest car rental company for about $2.5 billion. If the deal closes soon, the two companies’ executives will settle down and end a long year of business travelling to deal with rental car businesses.

Evernote will soon launch more features to help business users to collaborate among employees within a company, small business, or organization

Evernote provides services to help users to remember and keep important stuff which includes thoughts and ideas.  Services from Evernote include store work experience, tasks, feedback and later allow users to organize those items easily. 

Evernote is set to launch a new version catered for business users in December 2012.  The business version will help to improve collaboration among employees within an organization or a small business. 

Evernote Business version will include a number of new features, such as: (a) providing an Admin Console to help users to manage data and access to all records; (b) providing a feature for sharing notes, content, and work experience. Users can create a directory which is also known as "Notebook."  The Notebook contains important stuffs for employees to share.   Employee can create and publish content and use content to collaborate among employees; (c) letting users to manage business data and split data from personal account.

(Image: Evernote logo)

Cartoon stickers, such as Elmo, Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob, may influence elementary school students’ food choices

Researchers at Cornell University and New Mexico State University found that elementary school students’ were more likely to take an apple or an orange for lunch when fruits were attached with a cartoon sticker, such as Elmo, Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob.  The study is being published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine and was first released online on August 20, 2012.

The study with a title “Can Branding Improve School Lunches?“ was conducted by three researchers, including both Brian Wansink, PhD and David R. Just, PhD from the Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, and Collin R. Payne, PhD from the Department of Marketing, New Mexico State University.

Using sample of 208 elementary school students, from 8 to 11 years, during a lunch time for one week period, researchers found over one-third of the youngsters picked up fruits that were attached with a cartoon sticker.  When there were no cartoon stickers, only about a quarter of the youngsters picked up fruits.

(Images: top left, Elmo sticker; top right, Apple)

We accept PayPal: the world’s largest online-payment unit of eBay partners with Discover to offer mobile payments

There will be more merchants to accept PayPal as the world’s largest online-payment unit of eBay has signed a partnership with Discover.  Discover is one of the four giants in the credit-card industry including Visa, Master, and American Express. With the PayPal partnership, Discover will soon get more transactions thru stores as PayPal has previously partnered with several top merchants including Home Depot, Abercrombie & Fitch, Barnes & Noble, Office Depot, and others.

PayPal was founded about 14-year ago and later was acquired by eBay, the world’s largest auction website.  PayPal’s headquarter is located in Silicon Valley, San Jose, California.  The online-payment system is very popular among early Internet adopters, and now has accumulated over 50 million active users in America alone.  Most online merchants accept PayPal payment where customers deposited money thru debit cards, credit cards, checking accounts, or transferred from other PayPal users.

After the partnership, PayPal service is now available in retailers that accept Discover.  Users can enter their smartphone number and few digits of personal identification number (PIN) on store’s cashier terminal.  There is no need to swipe a credit card.

(Logo: PayPal)

Microsoft Skype launches new updates for Apple iOS devices (iPhone and iPad), enhances photo sharing capability and increases battery life

In anticipating of the new Apple iPhone 5 which is to be launched sometime in mid-September this year, Microsoft Skype offers its Apple iOS users with much better features.  Skype improves its mobile applications for both iPhone and iPad. 

One of the new features is photo sharing for iOS devices.   The new feature will allow users to send pictures to friends or family members, after they took those photos with their iPad or iPhone camera.  Users do not have to worry about the picture size as they can send any large size photos. While sending pictures users can still do multiple tasks including answering Skype phone calls when someone calling in, and utilizing IM to chat with friends and family members.

The technology team at Skype also improves users’ hardware performance.  The latest mobile application will take less battery life. Previously version of Skype could drain the battery faster than usual. 

(Image: Skype iOS app)

Microsoft has opened registration for Windows 8 operating system version “Pro” upgrade for $14.99 as long as buying a Windows 7 PC

At 10:23 AM Pacific Time, on Monday, August 20, 2012, Windows team sent out a tweet and announced the giant software company has opened registration for its Windows 8 upgrade promotion as long as users have bought a Windows 7 PC.  Users who purchased Windows 7 hardware from June 2, 2012 to January 31, 2013 are eligible to get the Windows 8 version “Pro” for $14.99.

Microsoft also assigned a website for the Windows upgrade offer.  The website has listed 140 countries that are eligible for the cheap upgrade.  Go to windowsupgradeoffer.com for the full list of countries.

The Windows 8 operating system is slated for release on Friday, October 26, 2012.  The announcement was made by Windows division President, Steven Sinofsky, during a Microsoft annual sales meeting on July 18, 2012. 

(Images: top, @Windows Twitter handler; bottom, Windows 8 Upgrade promotion website)

Off and off: a Los Angeles’s restaurant is offering diners a 5% off if they turned off their digital devices, including cellphones, music players, and tablets

One restaurant located in mid-town in Los Angeles is giving diners a 5% off in their bill if they turn off their digital devices such as cellphones, music players, and tablets.  Customers must check in their gadgets at the door before getting a table.  Later, a 5% discount will be deducted from their bill.

Eva Restaurant is located on Beverly Boulevard near the Glove shopping mall and the Fairfax district. Citing Eva Restaurant’s owner and also the eatery chef, Mark Gold, the Southern California Public Radio reported that the owner wants to let the restaurant customers to enjoy the food and relax without bothering with phone rings, and also give more time to chat in-person with friends and family members.

Many restaurant goers have been distracting other customers with their gadgets, especially talking on cellphone and taking picture with a phone camera.  Many diners utilized digital devices to take pictures of the foods and at the same time updating their social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter.  Some also acted as a food reviewer for food sites such as Yelp.

(Image: Apple iPhone)

Ghost writers: Oracle sent paychecks to a blogger to write about patent lawsuit against its competitors, while Google denied hiring anyone to write about the patent lawsuit

Oracle confirmed that the company has sent paychecks to an expert to write about the patent lawsuit against Google.  According to bloomberg.com the “ghost writer’ for Oracle was Florian Mueller, who acted as a consultant to the world’s largest search engine and also as an author of a blog site called FOSS Patents.

On the other hand, Google said it didn’t pay anyone to write about the patent lawsuit regarding lawsuit on Google Android software.  However, Google has given grants and supports to many nonprofits, universities and trade groups, as those groups have commented on the patent lawsuit case.

(Logo: Google)

Top 10 online video content providers in America in July 2012, data was compiled using the number of viewers, including YouTube, Facebook, Yahoo!, VEVO, MSN and Bing

While the Western hemisphere has entering the summer season, Internet users are still flocking into their computers desktops, laptops, and tablet devices to watch videos.  According to monthly data provided by comScore Video Metrix that was published on Friday, August 17, 2012, the number of Internet users who watched online video has reached 184.2 million viewers in America in July 2012. All viewers watched about 36.9 billion videos in one full month of July.

Online video content providers are still dominated by Google Sites.  The world’s largest search engine which is the owner of YouTube attracted about 157 million viewers.  While some people may have missed several episodes of their favorite TV shows, they turned into YouTube to find those lost episodes.  One of the biggest sport events was held in London as many viewers flocked into YouTube to watch the 2012 Olympic Games.  Overall, Google Sites played about 19.6 billion videos in July.

The second spot was captured by Facebook with 53 million viewers. Yahoo! dropped to the third position in July 2012 and received 48.7 million viewers.  At number four was held by VEVO with 44.8 million viewers. Microsoft Sites which include MSN and Bing received 42.7 million viewers and captured the number five spot. Rounding out top 10 sites include AOL, Viacom Digital (providing sites catered for kids such as Nick.com, NickJr.com), NDN (online video platform for news sites), Amazon Sites, and Turner Digital (providing sites such as Cartoon Network).
 
(Table: comScore)

The benefits of eating walnut include improving sperm quality and vitality, and helping men to stride into fatherhood

Using a sample of 117 men, a team of researchers at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) found eating walnuts everyday will improve human sperm quality and vitality.  The study was led by Wendie A. Robbins of UCLA Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, Fielding School of Public Health.  The study with a title “Walnuts Improve Semen Quality in Men Consuming a Western-style Diet: Randomized Control Dietary Intervention Trial” is being published in Biology of Reproduction on August 15, 2012.

Researchers divided the sample into two groups.  One group consisted of 59 men and consuming walnuts, as this group experienced improvement in sperm quality and vitality.  This group of men was given 75 grams of walnuts every day for duration of 12 weeks.

The second group consisted of 58 men and avoiding walnuts, as this group of men showed no improvements in their sperm quality and vitality.

(Image: Walnuts wikipedia.org)

All in One Digital Wallet: America’s largest superstores formed a mobile payment technology called Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), including top retailers 7-Eleven, Best Buy, CVS, Lowe, Sears, Shell, Target, Wal-Mart, and others

Several top brands and superstores in America formed a mobile payment technology called “Merchant Customer Exchange” (MCX).  The newly formed company announced the decision in Dallas with the support of several largest merchants, including 7-Eleven, Best Buy, CVS, Lowe, Sears, Shell, Target, Wal-Mart, and others. 

As mobile payments market will grow significantly in the next few years to over hundred billion dollar business, the latest format of MCX as the concept of “All in One Digital Wallet” was formed to determine a standardized mobile payment technology and developing a mobile-commerce solution which will include customizable offers and special promotions for the merchants’ clients. 

The latest moves will definitely challenge Google Wallet which has been in used for several months and the mobile payment app was integrated into Google Android powered smartphone such as Samsung Galaxy S III.  However, Google Wallet adoption has been slow due disagreement between mobile operators and merchants who accepting mobile payments. 

One week ago, with the help of the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), several top mobile operators in America (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon) has formed a committee which is known as the Mobile Payments Committee.  The committee was formed to taking care of a task to improve mobile payments globally and also in America.  So, the fighting field of mobile payment among mobile operators, search engines, and retailers, is really crowded this year.

(Image: MCX logo)

10 million users after two weeks and counting: Microsoft’s Outlook, a cloud-based email service to replace the old Hotmail gaining momentum, while SkyDrive.com, a cloud-storage service, has a face-lift with the new Modern UI (a.k.a. “Metro” UI)

There are many re-designs regarding products, operating system, and services in the world’s largest software company.  Microsoft has decided to dump the “Metro” naming convention from its new Windows 8 operating system and changed it to “Modern” style.  About two weeks ago, Microsoft launched Outlook (.com) to replace the old Hotmail (.com) email system.  The team noted that over 10 million users around the world have signed up and started using the new email service.

This morning the giant tech company also announced that SkyDrive.com, a cloud-storage service, has a face-lift by adding the new Modern UI.  This used to be called “Metro” UI. 

SkyDrive is companion storage system for synchronizing all Microsoft products, such as Office 365, Office 2013, Windows Phone, and Windows 8 operating system. Microsoft also introduced a new cloud storage service for people who have been using Google Android devices such as Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone.

(Image: top, Outlook and SkyDrive logo; bottom, SkyDrive.com Android App)

States in America with the highest obesity rates and BMI percentages include Mississippi (34.9), Louisiana (33.4), West Virginia (32.4), Alabama (32.0), Michigan (31.3), and others

According to a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 12 states in America that have very high obesity rates among its residences.  The survey was based on telephone interviews of 400,000 people who live America in 2011.  There were two important data points to be collected during the interview include the respondent’s height and weight.

Some states in America continued to maintain their obesity rates, but some states also increased their BMI percentages.  There are 12 States that hit above 30 percent obesity rates, include:

• Mississippi (34.9 percent)
• Louisiana (33.4)
• West Virginia (32.4)
• Alabama (32.0)
• Michigan (31.3)
• Oklahoma (31.1)
• Arkansas (30.9)
• Indiana (tie) (30.8)
• South Carolina (30.8)
• Kentucky (tie) (30.4)
• Texas (30.4)

(Image: CDC)

Cheap NOOK Tablet and NOOK Color: the tablet (8 GB) will now carry a new price tag of $179 while the e-reader color will start at $149

Due to competitions from two Android-based gadgets manufactured by two giant companies, Google Nexus and Amazon Fire, Barnes & Noble has decided to lower its two popular gadgets, tablet and e-reader.  The NOOK tablet (8 GB) will now carry a new price tag of $179, compared to the previous asking price of $199 (a drop of $20 or 10%).   The 16GB tablet will now cost $199 (compared to $249, or a drop of 20%).  The NOOK tablet is facing a very stiff competition from Google's new tablet called Nexus 7 ($200) that was launched a couple of weeks ago.

While Amazon Fire has taken large market share in the e-reader category since last year’s Thanks Giving holiday, Nook Color also dropped its asking price from $169 to $149, or a saving of $20 or a 12% drop from the previous asking price.

The new lower prices of Nook are now available thru 700 stores worldwide.  Users can buy online at NOOK.com.  The new prices for the two devices were leaked by engadget.com in early Sunday, August 12.  Later, the official announcement was released in late Sunday.

Most of those 7-inch gadgets from several manufacturers is ideal for reading and exploring much great content such as books, magazines, interactive children's books, apps, watch top video and listen music services, read e-mail and just doing website browsing.

(Image: screenshot of NOOK Tablet and NOOK Color)

Top 25 best companies to work for people who are trying to achieve an equal work-life balance for 2012, including CareerBuilder, LinkedIn, RackSpace, and Orbitz

Silicon Valley’s tech companies have been trying to attract great talents and maintained its pool of employees by being great places to work.  Perks include free food, free daycare for kids, and providing workouts room and equipment.

According to the latest list of best companies to work for provided by Glassdoor, many workplaces have been trying to achieve an equal work-life balance.  However, the 2012 list of companies that had achieved their goals is surprising.  Several well-known tech companies that had offered the good life during the past few years have disappeared from this year list, including the world’s largest social networking company Facebook (was at #7 in 2011).

There are still a handful tech focused companies on the latest list.  Those companies include CareerBuilder, LinkedIn, RackSpace, and Orbitz.  Glassdoor believe those tech companies still offering great benefits to their workers who could balance their office activities and personal life.   Tech companies offered benefits such as telecommuting schedules, out-of-office working options, free personal care options, and others.

(Screenshot: Glassdoor)

The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) formed a committee to handle mobile payments revolution which include top mobile operators in America (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon)

The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) has formed a committee which is known as the Mobile Payments Committee.  This committee will carry a task to improve mobile payments in America and worldwide.  Four of the top mobile network operators including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon will join force to find solutions to create policy and solving business issues regarding mobile payments. 

The committee will guide and give direction on the best way to grow mobile payments.  One of the several options includes finding ways to attract merchants which will provide mobile payments to their consumers.  Other tasks include educating general public about mobile payments and also train merchants to start using mobile payments.

Other technology companies such as PayPal, Google and Apple are supporting the mobile payments. Several top credit card issuers such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover, will also join the committee.  Aside of that, banks include Wells Fargo and Capital One will support the new body of governance to handle mobile payments. 

(Logo: The Electronic Transactions Association, ETA)

The side effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs (incl. increasing the risk of diabetes in some people) is dwarfed by the benefits of the statins (incl. preventing cardiovascular deaths)

Using a sample of 17,603 men and women, a team of researchers led by Prof. Paul Ridker of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, found there are more benefits of taking cholesterol-lowering medications than risks.  In recent years health experts have identified their concerns regarding the side effects of statins (such as Lipitor, Crestor, and others), including increasing the risk of diabetes in some people.

Prof. Ridker and colleagues believe that patients who are taking statins experienced significant reductions in their chance of getting cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke.  The study was funded by AstraZeneca (the drug maker of Crestor) and is being published in The Lancet.

Researchers found that some people could increase their risk of diabetes while taking statins.  The study found people with higher chances to carry positive diabetes risk factors are people who are obesity and have high blood sugar levels.

(Image: Crestor)

Microsoft Windows Phone operating system experienced a strong growth rate year-over-year in worldwide smartphone shipments and market share in Q2-2012, Windows Phone will soon capture the number three mobile OS ranking

The new mobile operating system from Microsoft which is known as Windows Phone has experienced a significant growth rate year-over-year in worldwide smartphone shipments and market share in Q2-2012.  One of the reasons for the high growth rate was due to the help of Microsoft’s partner Nokia.  During Q2-2012, Nokia launched several new smartphones including Nokia Lumia 800 and 900 series.  Each new Lumia phone required a two years contract with average down-payment of $99 at AT&T and other mobile operators. 

Windows Phone is expected to capture the number three ranking soon as the smartphone pioneer RIM BlackBerry continued to drop its market share.  According to IDC, Windows Phone captured 3.5% share of smartphone OS market in Q2-2012, compared to 2.3% share in the same quarter one year ago.  Smartphone manufacturers (incl. Nokia) shipped 5.4 million units of handsets powered by Windows Phone in Q2-2012, compared to only 2.5 million units in the same quarter one year ago.

Google Android and Apple iOS continued to dominate the world’s smartphone shipments and market share in Q2-2012.  Android captured 68.1% share in Q2-2012, compared to 46.9% share in Q2-2011.  Smartphone manufacturers (incl. Samsung) shipped 104.8 million units of handsets powered by Android in Q2-2012, compared to 50.8 million units in the same quarter one year ago.

iOS captured 16.9% share in Q2-2012, compared to 18.8% share in Q2-2011.  Apple shipped 26.0 million units of handsets in Q2-2012, compared to 20.4 million units in the same quarter one year ago.

(Images: top right, Nokia Lumia smartphone; bottom: IDC table)

America’s lawmakers urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to keep up-to-date its standards for radiation exposure from wireless phones

Members of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have asked Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to update its guidelines regarding radiation exposure from wireless phones.  Lawmakers worried that America’s standards are far behind from the international standards.

Due to health concerns such as causing brain tumors, GAO members have asked FCC to conduct more tests on radio-frequency energy from wireless phones and also asked FCC to upgrade the testing requirements for mobile phones.  FCC guidelines were created in 1996 while wireless technology (such as Apple iPhone, Google Android) has been growing in faster pace than other technology in recent years.  In many studies, health experts have been trying to connect their findings on radiation exposure from wireless phones to cancer, headaches, memory loss or other health concerns.

With the support of GAO, FCC may be considered to altering its mobile phone testing measures.  The future guidelines could be toughens the current standards, especially for mobile devices that are being used by kids.

Amazon U: the world’s largest ecommerce company launched Textbook Rental for college students and helping students to save money on textbooks

College students in America can save some money this semester as the new school year will start in the next few weeks.  Amazon.com, the world’s largest ecommerce company, has launched Textbook Rental for college students.  Amazon provides the one-stop shop for students to buy or rent books.

In a special designated website, the Amazon Textbook Rental, the company provides a list of thousands of textbooks.  Students can sign up, search and select “Rent Now.”  During the debut promotion, students who are eligible on orders of more than $25 will get free shipping.  Students can save up to 70% cost of buying textbooks.  At the end of the semester (max 130 days), students must returns those textbooks by putting them into a box with a prepaid label.

(Screenshot: Amazon Textbook Rental)

 

Say hello to Samsung Galaxy Note II: the world largest smartphone maker will showcase the second generation phablet (phone + tablet) in an event in Berlin on August 29, 2012

The South Korean-based company has been selling close to 1 million units of Galaxy Note first generation since it was launched near the end of 2011.  The Galaxy Note is a large screen smartphone which is also known as phablet (phone + tablet).  Galaxy Note has a screen size of 5.3-inch and it is considered as the largest available smartphone in the market today.  The device is equipped with a stylus pen.  By using the pen, it helps users to write in non-alphabetical and local languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and others. 

In early August 2012, Samsung executives have confirmed that the company will showcase the next generation Galaxy Note at the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event in Berlin, on Wednesday, August 29. The showcase is in conjunction with IFA as the biggest consumer electronics trade fair in Europe. 

Tech watchers reported that the second generation Galaxy Note will be equipped with unbreakable 5.5-inch display.  It will be 0.2 inch larger than the first generation.  The new phablet will also equipped with a faster processor and a higher resolution digital camera.

(Image: Samsung Note phablet first generation)

Cigarette smoking continues to decline but cigar use up in America: cigarette use dropped about 2.6% while tobacco products use increased 17% between 2010 and 2011

Cigarette use dropped slightly between 2010 and 2011, as Americans cut costs as the average price of a pack of cigarettes reached about $6. Cigarette use dropped about 2.6% in recent years. 

On the other hand, tobacco products use jumped significantly between 2010 and 2011, as people in America took advantages of loopholes in the tax system.  Cigarette-like cigars use increased about 17% in the last few years. 

The findings were published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on August 3, 2012, with a report title as “Consumption of Cigarettes and Combustible Tobacco, United States, 2000–2011.”

AT&T to say bye-bye to 2G wireless network service starting on January 1, 2017, as over 60% of its current customers already have smartphones

comScore reported early this week that over 110 million phone subscribers in America have used a smartphone to connect, chat, texting, and watching video, the demand for feature phones have decreased significantly in the past few years.  There are only two popular smartphone makers including Samsung and Apple, which controlled over 50% worldwide smartphone market share.  AT&T believes that about 62% of its customers have already used smartphones as a means to placing a call, sending texting, watching movie and TV, and accessing mobile web.

Due to lack of demand and high cost of maintaining 2G network, AT&T decided that the America’s largest mobile operator is going to close its 2G wireless network on January 1, 2017. In the company’s submission form to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), dated on August 3, AT&T stated that the company will ask its customers to switch to 3G/4G services.  According to AT&T, only 12% of its subscribers still use 2G handset by the end of the latest quarter which ended on June 30, 2012.  This is equal to about 8.4 million subscribers.

AT&T introduced the 2G network in the early 1990's.  The 2G network usually is also known as Global System for Mobile Communications, or GSM.   AT&T started to offer 4G services since September 2011.  One of the biggest advantage of 4G is users will experience very fast speed to access web.  There are still few models of 4G handsets including Samsung 4G Galaxy S III and Nokia Lumia 900.  The world’s largest mobile devices company Apple plans to launch the4G phones in October.

(Logo: att.com)

Fakebook: the world’s largest social network holds over 83 million illegitimate accounts representing about 8.7% of total accounts

As the world’s largest social network reported its quarterly earnings report last week and submitted paperwork to America’s regulators dated July 31, 2012, Facebook also revealed that the company has received about 83 million illegitimate accounts or representing about 8.7% of total accounts.  As of this week, Facebook has about 955 million monthly users that are still being active.  However, Facebook has said that 83 million active accounts broke the company’s rules.

There are several problems with Facebook total users.  Some of those discrepancies include duplicate profiles, as one user registered more than one accounts which made up close to 5% of all registered members.  Some of those fake accounts had been registered for non-human users such as for pets (about 2% of all accounts was in this category). 

The latest figures from Facebook continue to hurt its business models, as many experts have questioned the effectiveness of placing advertising on the Facebook platform.

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