Amazon went public 20 years ago today — here's how much its earliest investors have earned

On May 15, 1997, Amazon, then an online bookstore, went public.

The company's stock has seen a stunning 36% compounded annual gain since then.

Amazon closed at $961.35 on Friday, giving the company a market value of about $466.2 billion. That's 490 times its split-adjusted stock price close at $1.96 on day one.

Amazon has earned fortunes for its most disciplined shareholders and its founder, Jeff Bezos, who in March became the world's second-richest person, overtaking Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett and retail tycoon Amancio Ortega.

As The Wall Street Journal reported when Amazon first filed for its initial public offering, the company was just three years old and had no clear path to profitability. It faced a growing list of competitors that included Simon & Schuster and Barnes & Noble, each of which was already selling books online.

Amazon has now turned a profit for eight straight quarters, thanks in large part to the strength of its cloud-computing business, Amazon Web Services. Its more popular retail segment is not as profitable but is often cited as the existential threat not only to other bookstores but to any company in the brick-and-mortar retail business.

Walmart, America's largest brick-and-mortar retailer, is worth $228.25 billion, less than half what Amazon is worth.

Link : https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-went-public-20-years-124345586.html

Simple things you can do to protect against ransomware attacks

In the wake of a worldwide cyber attack that has debilitated more than 200,000 organizations in over 150 countries, experts shared tips with ABC News on simple things you can do to help protect yourself against a ransomware attack.

Ransomware is defined as "a type of malicious software, or malware, designed to block access to a computer system until a ransom is paid," according to a 2016 U.S. Department of Homeland Security blog post.

This weekend's unprecedented ransomware attack started Friday, but authorities said Sunday that the worst may be yet to come as many people return to work on Monday.

The U.S. Computers Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) issued specific advice to protect against the recent WannaCry ransomware threat that spread this weekend, saying computer users should "Be careful when clicking directly on links in emails, even if the sender appears to be known."

The U.S. CERT also advised to use caution when opening attachments, and to be "particularly wary of compressed or ZIP file attachments."

Quincy Larson, a software engineer and the founder of freecodecamp.com told ABC News that ransomware is usually spread through your email.

"If you are going to be infected by ransomware, it will happen when you get an email or some other form of message that's asking you to download and run it, and when that file runs, then usually, the attacker will encrypt your hard drive, or encrypt part of your hard drive so that your computer is still operable and you can continue to use it, but you can't access all your files," Larson explained.

Larson told ABC News the best way to prevent ransomware attacks is to make sure that every time your operating system or a software asks if it can run a system or security update -- you update it.

"It's absolutely critical that you install updates to your operating system and to all your software as they become available," Larson said. "One of the reasons why you download the updates is not just for new features but it's also for additional security."

Larson said that unlike larger companies and organizations, "individuals are particularly vulnerable because they don't necessarily have recently updated software and one of the best ways you can prevent ransomware or malware in general from getting on your computer is just to make sure that your operating system ... is updated to the latest version."

"Finally, just be very vigilant," Larson said. "You need to constantly look out for emails that seem suspicious, and you need to err on the side of not downloading random files."

Worst of global cyberattack may be yet to come, law enforcement official says
Jason Tanz, the site director at "Wired," echoed Larson's sentiments, telling ABC News, "individuals are particularly easy to prey on because most of them are not being extremely up-to-date with their software. They're not necessarily paying attention to all the security updates, and therefore they're more likely to be vulnerable."

Tanz added that "if you're the victim of a ransomware attack you'll open your computer and instead of your normal files you'll see a pop-up appear that says, 'Surprise, we've taken control of your computer and if you want access to your files you need to pay us.'"

Tanz cited this weekend's ransomware attack as an example of why you should always update all your software, saying, "For instance this latest ransomware attack only hit earlier versions of Microsoft Windows."

Tanz said another way to protect yourself against ransomware attacks is to back up your files remotely.

"The next thing is to make sure you're backing up your files every day, and that means on a hard drive that is not connected to the internet," Tanz added. "Ransomware is only effective if you don't have record of the files they're holding for ransom."

Tanz said if you have all your files backed up, it leaves those using ransomware against you, "without any power whatsoever."

"Finally, the last thing to do is to be very suspicious about clicking unfamiliar links," adding that you should also use caution when, "downloading files from people you don't know and sometimes people you do know."

Western Digital Unveils New Helium Based Hard Drive With 12 TB Of Storage

HGST which is a subsidiary of Western Digital has revealed the fourth generation of its helium based drives Ultrastar He12 holding a massive 12 TB of storage space in the standard 3.5-in form factor.

The Ultrastar He12 is meant to help businesses and data centers to manage the increasing data loads, with a faster speed, improved energy efficiency, and better stability. Helium does not sound like the best idea for storage purposes, but according to HGST, it is the power behind speed and stability improvements. The density of helium is a seventh of that of air, which significantly reduces the drag for better power consumption. It helps reduce the size, allowing to pack more disks in the same space. The capacity has increased with the new hard drive as the number of disks with this one has risen to eight.

The previous 10 TB hard drive from HGST was built with the SMR (shingles magnetic recording) technology which allows for improved data density by overlapping tracks instead of keeping them in parallel. The new version, however, uses the previously used perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) system which much more reliable.

The Ultrastar He12 comes either with a 6Gb/s SATA or 12 Gb/s SAS interface. The second one has a backward compatibility for the data centers using the old 6 Gb/s SAS systems. The security is improved with an Instant Secure Erase feature that ensures removal of any sensitive data. The mean time between failures (MTBF) for the new drive is 2.5 million hours which is 0.5 million hours more than its predecessors.

There are no details on the price of the Ultrastar He12, but Western Digital says the drives have already begun shipping.

Microsoft is selling its own Samsung Galaxy S8 Microsoft Edition

Samsung originally bundled Microsoft’s Skype, OneDrive, and OneNote apps on the Galaxy S6 and S7, but it appears things are a little different this year. Samsung unveiled its latest Galaxy S8 handset yesterday, and now Microsoft is planning to offer its own customized version. The Samsung Galaxy S8 Microsoft Edition is available for preorders today at Microsoft's US retail stores, and will include Microsoft’s range of apps and services.

“A Microsoft customization is applied to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ Microsoft Edition when the devices are unboxed and connected to Wi-Fi,” says a Microsoft spokesperson. “This customization ensures customers a best-in-class productivity experience with Microsoft applications such as Office, OneDrive, Cortana, Outlook and more.”

Microsoft originally started bundling its apps on Samsung’s Galaxy S6 handset after a bitter Android royalties dispute. Both companies settled, eventually, but kept the deal terms confidential. This secret deal doesn't appear to have expired for the Galaxy S8, as Microsoft continues to bundle the OneDrive, Skype, and Office on all handsets. This special Microsoft edition includes additional apps like Outlook and Cortana. We’ve reached out to Microsoft to clarify why the additional apps aren’t bundled on all Galaxy S8 handsets, and we’ll update you accordingly.

GoPro finally realizes that smartphones can do exactly what its cameras can

One of GoPro's biggest challenges is competition. 

The action-camera maker is striving to return to profitability, and on Wednesday announced its third round of layoffs in just over a year.

GoPro cut 270 full-time and open positions in the latest round. Last November, it laid off 200 people, or about 15% of its workforce, and reduced its headcount by 100 people in January. 

In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, CEO Nick Woodman said the company had realized one crucial error it made since it went public in 2014.

"We failed to make GoPro contemporary and failed to align GoPro to the smartphone movement," Woodman said. "The smartphone has set a new bar for convenience" and for how much work consumers are willing to put into making video, he added. 

GoPro largely achieved the brand recognition of being the catch-all moniker for small point-of-view cameras. "We believe that there's a mega trend of consumers who are increasingly sharing themselves online," Woodman said. 

However, GoPro faced a tough ask getting consumers with smartphones to buy an additional camera. In addition, GoPro's niche was getting crowded with cheaper models. GoPro's flagship device, the Hero5 Black, retails for $399.99 excluding any mounts or harnesses needed to use it handsfree. 

GoPro has also struggled with new product launches. To the dismay of some analysts, the company cut the price of its tiny Hero4 Session camera by $100 to $299 within three months of its launch in 2015. At the time, Morgan Stanley's James Faucette and his team said in a note that consumers preferred the preceding model's better video quality over the Session's form factor.

The company entered the drone market last September but quickly recalled about 2,500 units of the Karma after some of them lost power mid-flight. The Karma went back on sale in February. 

Achieving profitability

Amid these challenges, GoPro shares have fallen 76% from their 2014 IPO. Traders cheered news of the latest cost cuts, sending the stock up nearly 15% to $8.53 a share on Thursday. 

However, Morgan Stanley analysts said there was room for deeper cost cuts. 

"While we are encouraged by further cost cutting, we are not convinced GoPro can achieve profitability this year yet," said Morgan Stanley's Jerry Liu and his colleagues in a note on Wednesday. 

They raised their price target on GoPro shares from $7 to $7.50, but maintained their "underweight" rating. Liu said they were encouraged by the cost cuts, and what CJ Prober, the chief operating officer, described as a shift from focusing on growth to costs.

GoPro estimated restructuring charges of up to $10 million in the latest round of layoffs, mostly related to severance costs. It raised its revenue guidance for the first quarter of 2017.

2017 ‘Dodge Barracuda Price and Specs

To start with the design of the 2017 Dodge Barracuda, we immediately see some familiar exterior elements. We see the highly recognizable elements that were taken from the legendary 1971 model and we see that they have been given a modernistic twist on them, making this a highly interesting choice to go with. The front fascia adds a retro vibe to it but has been made to be slightly bigger compared to before. It is also slightly taller than the Plymouth original and does come with a whole ne set of new LED shaped headlights. But the overall length of the car has been shorten and this modern version has taken a few inches off the top.

But this has been done in order to improve the specs of the car and the performance, so with a shorter body comes a lighter body as the lightweight materials and carbon additions truly make a difference. The estimation is that this new version has been made a total of 300 ponds lighter and it makes for much better performance rates of the car and driving ability. All in all, the vehicle is much more impressive aesthetically speaking. The shell of the care is a lot bigger and much more masculine and with the added twin exhaust pipes to the back it turns on the aggressiveness even more.

Interior

The interior of the 2017 Dodge Barracuda has an equally impressive combination of traditional and modern elements as the outside of the car has. The classic parts and the new ones give us a very vogue-like cabin. The upholstery is pretty handsome looking with the stylish black fabric that goes with the metal accents is a great choice for the car and brings out the best in the latest Barracuda model.

There are a few exciting pieces of news related to the engine options for the 2017 Dodge Barracuda model. The base one will certainly be the 6.0L V8 engine which can produce 425 hp and also is going to come with a 5 speed manual transmission. But we also manage to get a much more powerful option in the 6.2L V8 engine which is capable of going beyond 700 hp. Further engine possibilities that have been rumored are also the 3.6 l V6 liter Pentastar, 2.4L Tigershark and a 6.2 L Hellcat, but we are still waiting for these to be confirmed. But the thing that has been confirmed is the base option ahs an EPA rating of 15 mpg in the city and 19 mpg on the highway with a top speed of around 167 mph.

Release date and price

The newest 2017 Dodge Barracuda is going to be available by next year with a release date at around the first quarter of the year. The sales rate is going to be somewhere between $30,000 to $50,000 as the price is yet to be determined exactly.

Nokia’s 3310 returns to life as a modern classic

Nokia has sold 126 million of its original 3310 phone since it was first introduced back in September, 2000. It was a time before the iPhone, and Nokia ruled with popular handsets that let you play simple games like Snake. Now the 3310 is making a nostalgic return in the form of a more modern variant, thanks to Nokia-branded phone maker HMD. Like its predecessor, it will still be called the Nokia 3310, but this time it’s running Nokia’s Series 30+ software, with a 2.4-inch QVGA display, a 2-megapixel camera, and even a microSD slot.

Those specs are still fairly basic by our modern phone standards, but that’s the beauty of such a basic featurephone. Unlike the brick-like sturdiness of the old 3310, the modern variant is a little smaller, thinner, and lighter all round. It’s also a lot more colorful this time around, with glossy yellow and red colors, and matte grey and dark blue models. It’s instantly recognizable as a Nokia, and HMD has even included a modern Snake game on the handset just to play on the nostalgia.

Opera Mini is bundled for basic web surfing, but the real selling point is battery life. Just like most featurephones, standby time on the Nokia 3310 is 25 days, alongside a talk time of 22 hours. That’s a massive amount of battery life, but as the phone is so basic you’re hardly going to be wasting battery away on Snapchat or Facebook.

HMD is planning to make the new Nokia 3310 available in Q2 this year for 49 euros ($52).

PAL-V Liberty – World First Flying Car on Sale

The flying car developer announced that the PAL-V Liberty, its 3-wheel gyrocopter, is now for sale, with first deliveries expected by the end of 2018.In the air, the Liberty can climb to a maximum altitude of 3500m. Its 197hp flying engine can propel it up to a top speed of 112mph (180 kph).

The drive mode engine has 99 horsepower and a top speed of 100mph (160kph), with 0-62mph (100kph) sprint taking 9.0 secondes.

The standard Liberty Sport model starts at $399,000/€299,000. The Pioneer Edition, which comes with added options and is limited to 90 vehicles, costs $599,000/€499,000.

Both come with introductory training lessons and power heating, according to PAL-V’s website. Operators need a gyroplane pilot’s license to fly the vehicle.

To reserve a Liberty of your own, you will have to front a $10,000 or $25,000 nonrefundable deposit for the Sport and Pioneer, respectively. The company is also accepting $2,500 refundable deposits to put customers on a waiting list.

Nokia’s legendary 3310 rumored to return at MWC

The Nokia 3310 is one of the most iconic cellphones of the early mobile age. It’s known for its nearly indestructible design, indefatigable battery life, and Snake II — and it might be making a modern-day comeback. The news comes from notable phone leaker Evan Blass, who reports over at VentureBeat that HMD Global — the Finnish company that licensed the rights to produce Nokia phones — will be announcing a relaunch of the classic 3310 phone at MWC that will allegedly cost just €59 (roughly $62.61).

Along with the rumored 3310 remake, Nokia has already teased new Android phones for MWC, in addition to the currently China-only Nokia 6 that was announced late last year. According to Blass, those will be the Nokia 5 and Nokia 3, two more midrange devices running Android Nougat and rumored to cost €199 (roughly $210.87) and €149 (roughly $157.89), respectively. The Nokia 5 is said to have a 5.2-inch 720p screen, 2GB of RAM, and a 12-megapixel camera, along with the same Snapdragon 430 processor as the 6. Less is known about the Nokia 3, except that it’s meant to be the budget model of the line.

If correct, those specs are a bit of a disappointment for anyone looking for a flagship Nokia device, as it would make the 5 a step down from the already midrange 6, which has a 1080p, 5.5-inch display, 4GB of RAM, and 16-megapixel camera for €249 (roughly $263.85).

We’ll find out if resurrection of the 3310 is real, along with confirmation of these rumored Android devices, when Nokia and HMD Global have their formal event at MWC on February 26th.

The iPhone 8 will likely have wireless charging — but that could make it prone to overheating

All three iPhones expected to launch later this year will have wireless charging, according to a new forecast by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Apple is expected to release three new iPhones next fall — one premium model with a better screen using "OLED" technology, and two more iterative improvements to the current iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Apple may be concerned that the new iPhones may overheat more than older phones, according to the research. Glass casing and wireless charging are "unfavorable to thermal system operation," says Kuo.

From the note:

Adoption of glass casing & wireless charging unfavorable to thermal system operation for three new 2017F iPhone models; bigger impact on OLED model. The thermal system becomes less efficient with glass casing, as compared to metal casing used previously. Furthermore, wireless charging increases handset temperature. While we don’t expect general users to notice any difference, lamination of an additional graphite sheet is needed for better thermal control and, thus, steady operation; this is because FPCB is replaced with film, which is more sensitive to temperature change of the 3D touch sensor in OLED iPhone.

Kuo notes that the new, premium phone will have more overheating issues than the other two. Apple might have to add an insulating graphite sheet to prevent it from malfunctioning. That sheet, and other tech changes, could raise the price that Apple pays for the 3D Touch module for the new OLED iPhone as much as 50%.

The research note distributed to clients focuses on some of the parts that Apple buys from suppliers to make its screens and features like 3D touch work.

"We believe OLED iPhone will provide a better 3D touch user experience on the back of the new design," Kuo writes. Because of this, Kuo advises clients to expect shares of Apple suppliers General Interface Solution and TPK Holding Company to outperform.

The cost of cutting edge parts may be one reason why it's rumored that the premium OLED iPhone could cost over $1000, according to a recent report.

Here's what we're expecting from the iPhone 8:

• A 5.8-inch OLED screen.
• Wireless charging. 
• Sides made of "forged stainless steel" and a back made of glass.
• The home button and fingerprint sensor built into and under an edge-to-edge screen.
• A double lens camera, like on the iPhone 7 Plus.
• New 3D-sensing technology enabling "some form of facial/gesture recognition."

4K TV broadcasts are coming: here’s what you need to know

Ajit Pai, the new chairman of the FCC, published an op-ed today in Multichannel News advocating for the television industry to move forward with implementing ATSC 3.0, the latest standard to govern over-the-air broadcast TV. Along with the editorial, Pai presented a proposal to the FCC commissioners yesterday that would allow broadcasters to begin voluntarily using the new standard by the end of the year.

Now if you're like me, chances are you read that and have questions like, "What is ATSC 3.0? What does it actually mean for the future of my TV watching life? And will I have to buy new stuff again to make it work?" Fortunately, we've put some answers together that should help explain what the new standard is and the significance of Pai's push to implement it. Read on!

Before we get into ATSC 3.0, let's first talk about the ATSC itself — the Advanced Television Systems Committee. The ATSC is a group that was founded in 1992 that established the standards for digital television, which are currently used in the United States, Canada, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and South Korea. Its self-described goal is to "coordinate television standards among different communications media." And while you may not have heard of the group by name, you may have seen the effects of its work: it developed the standard (ATSC 1.0) for the 2009 transition from analog to digital broadcasting in the US.

ATSC 1.0 (digital TV) is best known for offering high definition resolution (at 1080i and 720p resolutions) for broadcast television, with Dolby Digital audio, dramatically improving the quality of television (along with a host of far more complicated differences on a deeply technical level). From a more practical standpoint, the changeover meant that customers had to switch over to digital TV tuners that could receive the new format.

ATSC 3.0 is the next major version of the broadcast TV format. (Version 2.0 was intended as a backward compatible update that was eventually canceled in favor of the more significant 3.0 update.) Where ATSC 1.0 added digital technology and HD video, ATSC 3.0 is planned to be an IP-based (internet protocol) system. It’s still an over-the-air system, but it’s built on the same protocols as most internet technology, making it possible to easily view broadcast TV on modern connected devices. It’ll be a huge change in the technology that's underlying our TV systems, and it should greatly expand the capabilities of broadcast TV.

Among the planned additions in ATSC 3.0 is support for HD video in up to 4K resolution, HDR (which is an entirely different rabbit hole of competing standards), high frame rate, wide color gamut, and 3D. Furthermore, ATSC says that the new standard could make it far easier to broadcast live TV directly to mobile devices, similar to what’s done with a traditional TV. The changeover to ATSC 3.0 could have some complications, however. Since the system isn't compatible with old systems, customers will have to get new tuners to receive the signals. And on the broadcasting side, the transition is also looking to be extremely complicated.

Pai's proposal would allow for broadcasters to begin using ATSC 3.0, but still require them to offer a ATSC 1.0 version of their channels, to ensure that legacy devices aren't left behind (for now, anyway). But there's still a lot of questions as to how the actual implementation will work, including the standard itself, which has yet to be finalized. But it still would mark an important first step in actually getting 4K over-the-air TV by allowing US broadcasters to begin using the format, if they choose.

On the consumer side of devices, there's not much to do or worry about yet. LG announced that it would be selling TVs this year with both ATSC 3.0 and ATSC 1.0 tuners in preparation of South Korea rolling out ATSC 3.0 broadcasts this year (the country began testing the system in December of last year, something Pai calls out as a sign that the US could be "in danger of falling behind" when it comes to broadcasting). And future TV and set-top box devices will presumably also begin to use the new standard as it gets finalized, something that Pai's push should help. And when the standard does eventually replace ATSC 1.0, as ATSC 1.0 replaced digital, we'll probably see a similar transition to the new tuner format.

You can now add a $25 fingerprint sensor to Dell's latest laptops

Dell announced today that its XPS 13 and XPS 15 laptops now can be configured with a fingerprint sensor built into the keyboard for an extra $25. The sensor is compatible with Windows Hello, Microsoft’s system for alternative, faster login methods on Windows 10, making it a useful addition to the devices. And the price is on par with external solutions, so it’s a good deal if you’re looking for the feature.

The option is available on all versions of the XPS 13 and XPS 15, including the entry level spec models, which is nice. Both the XPS 13 and XPS 15 are available for purchase with the new sensor today from Dell’s website.

GoPro's Karma drone is back on sale, three months after recall

GoPro’s Karma drone is returning to store shelves after a three-month-long recall. The company announced in a press release that it has fixed the issue that nearly doomed its quadcopter, and that Karma is going back on sale today at GoPro.com and with “select US retailers” including Best Buy, B&H, and Amazon.

Pricing remains the same: the Karma drone will sell for $799 with no camera or $1,099 with a Hero 5 Black in the US. GoPro is also offering a version with of Karma without a stabilizer for $599, since the company began selling Karma’s removable stabilizer separately while the drone was not for sale. The camera company also says shipments will be limited at first, and that Karma will be available internationally later this spring.

Karma was recalled just weeks after going on sale in October 2016 because some of the 2,500 units sold fell out of the sky mid-flight. GoPro attributed the problem to a fault in the design of the latch that holds the drone’s battery in place. This led to loose battery connections that caused several drones to power down while in the sky, resulting in some spectacular crashes. The company says the updated Karma drones have a redesigned battery latch that went through “extensive testing” that should prevent future failures.


“We’re a little bit embarrassed that it was something as basic as a battery retention issue,” GoPro CEO Nick Woodman said at a small press gathering at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. “But at the same time we’re relieved that we can show the world that we do understand drones, we do understand the technology, and that it was an unfortunate mechanical engineering slip-up that led to the recall of Karma.”

Woodman also told The Verge at CES that GoPro plans to make more drones, despite the recall. “Our existing customers and new customers are really excited about Karma’s value proposition,” he said. “The foundation has been laid for great things to come in the Karma line.”

Meanwhile, GoPro’s stock price remains low, and it laid off 15 percent of its workforce after the recall in November. It was the company’s second round of layoffs in 2016. GoPro will report on its fourth quarter earnings from 2016 later this week.

The final 'Beauty and the Beast' trailer is here and it makes some changes from the animated movie

"Beauty and the Beast" — Disney's latest movie in a string of live-action remakes — hits theaters on March 17. With just over a month to go, Disney has released a new full-length trailer for the film. 

The new (and final) trailer shows off more of Emma Watson as Belle, and Dan Stevens in his Beastly form. 

So far the trailers were giving die hard Disney fans hope that the live-action reboot will stay very loyal to the original source material, but the latest footage looks like the film may make some departures. Notably, it looks like Belle will be less of a damsel and more in control of her fate when it comes to being imprisoned by the Beast. 

Watch the full new trailer below: 

Netflix now lets Android users download movies and shows onto SD storage

It was a truly glorious day when Netflix announced offline downloads, but maybe less impactful for those of you with limited storage on your smartphone or tablet. Today Netflix is taking a step to help Android users stuck in that situation; you can now store those downloaded movies and TV shows on microSD cards.

The latest version of the Netflix app gives you a choice of saving things to internal storage or, if your phone supports SD, picking the external option instead. Until now, Netflix only let you save content to internal memory, which had to be annoying for anyone carrying a phone with 32GB of built-in space and a ton of expandable storage.

Keep in mind that offline content does expire (time limits vary depending on the content), so you won’t be able to store movies or shows on microSD and just leave them there to watch much later. And Netflix notes that the feature doesn’t support any and all Android devices with a microSD slot. But this small change definitely makes offline downloads much more convenient on the Android side of things.

Apple's Night Shift is coming to macOS

Before I'd ever heard of how LCD-originated blue light is slowly killing all of us maybe, I downloaded this weird little app for my Mac called F.lux, which pegged my screen's color temperature to the time of day. The result? Less eye strain, and a lot of orange-tinted Netflix. Then last year Apple added a feature called "Night Shift" to iOS, which mirrored this functionality, after shutting down a version of F.lux for iOS.

Well, now Apple’s Night Shift is coming to macOS. It just popped up in the latest 10.12.4 beta of Sierra, which is supposed to land alongside iOS 10.3. It's always a little sad to see an ingenious bit of software from a small upstart be copied by the Apple juggernaut ("Sherlocking," as it's called, due to Apple's notorious creation of Sherlock in response to an existing search product called Watson). Still, I eventually uninstalled F.lux because it was a little buggy, and I found living with a blue screen preferable to having my screen flash between orange and blue on occasion. So maybe I’ll actually use Apple’s implementation.

F.lux still exists for Android, Linux, and Windows (Microsoft is actually looking at including blue light reduction in Windows 10), so maybe it will live on. If not, at least it will be fondly remembered by me as the app that convinced me how horrible and life-sucking blue light really is.

Watch These 19 Chinese Buildings Turn To Dust In 10 Seconds

Chaos in any shape and form is music to our generation’s ears. Thus today, we present a video of a real-time massive destruction of the sky-high buildings in China that collapsed into rubble and dust.

Recently, 19 buildings in total, each one being seven to 12 stories high were simultaneously imploded in a beautiful pandemonium to make way for a new and improved business center in Hankou, Hubei, central China. The most surprising part of all was that everything happened within 10 seconds and was conducted just after the stroke of midnight on Sunday, 22 January 2017 given the hustle and bustle of the area during the day.


The implosion is reportedly the largest ever in China, taking down 15 hectares in area. The structures required more than 5 tons of explosives to be placed in 120,000 locations, resulting in a massive blast adjacent to an operational train line.


Click here to watch the video

Zoom in on the crowd in CNN’s inauguration gigapixel portrait

Gigapixel imagery can capture an incredible amount of detail, whether it’s a stunt for a car promotion or if it’s used to capture every detail in fine art. CNN has released a new image of yesterday’s Presidential inauguration, allowing you to take in every detail of the event.

These sorts of pictures have been taken before: The Washington Post and The New York Times released massive pictures of President Obama’s inauguration in 2013, which highlighted notable attendees or allowed visitors to tag themselves. The CNN image only allows you to zoom in on just a handful of people, including President Trump, Presidents Obama, the Supreme Court, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and others.

The image also allows you to pan across the crowd, and the resolution is just good enough to make out Make America Great Again on the sea of red hats in attendance — at least in the first couple of sections.

Clik this to Gigapixel imagery

Mark Zuckerberg has a small army of Facebook employees who delete comments on his page

Mark Zuckerberg’s personal Facebook page looks unusually good for a busy CEO. He’s posted heartwarming photos of his family, engaging statuses, and amusing videos. He’s even sometimes responded to random commenters’ thoughts. What a guy. But if anyone was under the delusion that Zuckerberg toils away every night keeping his Facebook fresh, Bloomberg Businessweek is here to crush those dreams.

Zuckerberg relies on a team of at least 12 people to delete harassing comments and spam from his page while an additional team manages his communications and writes his posts and speeches, Bloomberg reports. Facebook also employs personal photographers to capture Zuckerberg in the wild. One of those photographers, Charles Ommanney, previously covered the refugee crisis in Syria for The Washington Post. No, Zuckerberg doesn’t run a country, just a social media platform with a billion users.

We know Zuckerberg, the guy who wants to bring internet to the developing world with Facebook-branded drones, has a bit of an ego issue. Have you seen The Social Network? But it’s wild that he employs a massive team to take care of his personal page, although again, it’s not completely unexpected. His page clearly serves as his primary vessel for interacting with the community and ensuring people see the full potential of his platform.

With Facebook suffering from a deluge of fake news, the company’s drone being put under investigation for a structural failure, and Oculus going to court over allegations of stealing trade secrets, it’s cringeworthy to learn that so many human resources are dedicated to keeping Zuckerberg’s Facebook page looking perfect.

This Is What Happens If You Try To Open the Emergency Exit Door Of An Airplane During Flight

What if we tell you about someone who opened the emergency exit door mid-flight? You would obviously say that even the thought is absurd. But what if someone plans to do that in real and gets successful in doing so. Here is the answer for you:

If that someone is a super human capable of applying three to four tons of force, then you can quickly open the door. Otherwise, the doors employed in aircraft are plug doors. Such doors only open when there is a significant pressure differential.

At high altitudes, the insides of the plane are pressurized, and the pressure on the hatch door is about three to four tons. They are designed to open only towards the inside, which is the area of high pressure.

When the plane is depressurized, only then is it possible to open this door. But even then, the pressure on the door is about 800 pounds.

The only way the door can open is by an accident where the door gets damaged; it’ll be super noisy, scary and well you’d have a very hard time breathing.

Oh and in case you are thinking of attempting to open the door on your next flight for fun don’t do it. Even though the door won’t open the authorities will report you to police and well you might get fined like a man in China did, only $30,000.

Facebook will test 'fake news' filtering in Germany

Facebook users will soon be able to flag news stories as fake and the social network may subsequently label the stories as "disputed" in a test of fake news filtering tools starting soon in Germany.

The test will send user-flagged stories to Correctiv, a third-party fact checker. If the fact checker finds they are unreliable, the story will be de-prioritized in Facebook's news feed algorithm, meaning that fewer people see the story in their feed, according to the Financial Times. 

“Our focus is on Germany right now but we’re certainly thinking through what countries will unveil next,” a Facebook spokesperson told the Financial Times.

The Facebook test comes as Germany has had its own "fake news" problem, including one false viral story that said that Germany's oldest church was set on fire.

German officials had previously threatened internet companies like Facebook with prosecution under strict libel and slander laws if they did not curb "hate speech" and other fake news on their platforms. 

"We need to fully utilize all the legal authority at our disposal," Heiko Mass, Germany's Justice Minister, said in December.

The proliferation of misleading and false news stories on Facebook has been a heated point of debate in the US as well, with some studies suggesting that clearly false stories — like one about the Pope endorsing President-elect Donald Trump before the election — were more widely read and distributed than truthful stories.

Some observers have said that "fake news" contributed to Trump's election. President Obama called fake stories on Facebook a "dust cloud of nonsense" and "crazy conspiracy theorizing."

Facebook currently does not use a fake news filtering system in the US. Facebook did not immediately return a request for comment. 

You can now buy a handgun that looks like a smartphone and police are worried

European police have been warned to remain vigilant as a gun disguised as a mobile phone goes on sale in the US. The Ideal Conceal pistol, a .380 calibre handgun that can be folded up to look like a generic smartphone, will go on sale in the coming months and is expected to be imported illegally into Europe.

Created by Minnesota-based manufacturer Ideal Conceal, the double-barrelled pistol can carry two bullets and comes complete with laser sights. The pistol grip can be folded upwards to disguise the weapon as an unassuming mobile phone, leading it to be dubbed the "iPhone gun".

According to The Times, Ideal Conceal has already received 12,000 pre-orders for the handgun, which costs $395 (£325, €375) and is due to begin shipping during the first quarter of 2017. Belgian police, who are already on high alert following a spate of terrorist attacks in Europe in recent months, were issued a warning over the weekend that the gun is expected to turn up on the continent via illegal imports.

"To the eye, nothing can distinguish it from a mobile telephone," the police alert read, according to local newspaper Dernière Heure. "Most people possess a smartphone, meaning that it can pass completely overlooked."

According to its manufacturer, the Ideal Conceal pistol has been designed to "hide in plain sight" and easily fits into a purse or back pocket, making it "virtually undetectable". The gun fires high-velocity ammunition, meaning it can be discharged with speed and is hammerless so that the pistol does not have to be "cocked" before being fired.

"In today's day and age, carrying a concealed pistol has become a necessity," Ideal Conceal's website reads.

"The idea for Ideal Conceal follows the present-day demand for handguns that people can carry on a day to day basis, in a manner that makes carrying a gun easy to do. From soccer moms to professionals of every type, this gun allows you the option of not being a victim."

The Ideal Conceal pistol was originally supposed to launch in 2016, however, an update posted to the company's Facebook page by founder Kirk Kjellberg on 5 January revealed that it had run into production delays.

In July last year, a passenger travelling through Stansted Airport in Essex was stopped by police for carrying an iPhone case designed to look like a gun.

Pakistan Successfully Tests First Nuclear Capable Submarine Launched Cruise Missile

Pakistan tested an enhanced version of its indigenously developed Babur Cruise Missile in December 2016 according to a statement released by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media branch of Pakistan Armed Forces.
According to the ISPR statement:

Babur Cruise Missile is a low flying, terrain hugging missile that carries certain stealth features and is capable of carrying various types of warheads. The missile incorporates advanced aerodynamics and avionics having the ability to strike targets both on land and sea with a range of 700 kilometers.

Having been equipped with state of the art navigation technologies of Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM) and Digital Scene Matching and Area Co-relation (DSMAC), the missile is enabled to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy even in the absence of GPS navigation

Earlier in 2016, Pakistan also successfully tested an indigenously developed Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) named Ra’ad.