2016年12月26日星期一

第八週三星note7爆炸

Samsung is recalling the Galaxy Note 7 worldwide over battery problem

by Jethro Mullen and K.J. Kwon @CNNTech

September 2, 2016: 6:50 PM ET

Samsung is recalling millions of new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones worldwide after reports that the devices can catch fire while charging.

The massive recall of one of Samsung's flagship devices is an embarrassing setback for the world's biggest selling smartphone maker. The Note 7 was unveiled just a month ago, and big rival Apple (AAPL, Tech30) is expected to show off its new smartphone next week.

Samsung (SSNLF) said Friday it had found a problem with the battery in some of the phones and was halting sales in 10 countries, including South Korea and the U.S. It will offer customers a new product for free in the coming weeks to replace the 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7s that have been sold.

Samsung said devices in China don't appear to be affected because it used another battery supplier. But it was unclear if models sold in China would nonetheless be recalled.

The company originally said it would take about two weeks to prepare the recall, but later announced Note 7 users in the U.S. can exchange their device for a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge, starting next week. It will also refund the cost of Note 7-specific accessories.

Samsung is giving Note 7 users a $25 gift card or bill credit for the inconvenience.

More details about how the recall program will work will be announced shortly, the company said. In the meantime, people worried about their batteries should contact their nearest Samsung service center.

Target and Amazon said Friday that it has stopped selling the phone and is working with Samsung to replace the devices already sold in stores and online. Amazon and Best Buy have also said they are no longer selling the Note 7. Best Buy customers can return or exchange the phone if they already bought one.

U.S.

mobile carriers AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint have suspended sales. Meanwhile, Sprint is offering up similar devices for customers to use during the recall process.

South Korean news agency Yonhap had previously reported that there have been five claims around the world of Note 7s catching fire while charging. Unverified photos posted on social media showed charred devices.

A Galaxy Note 7 owner in South Korea, who asked that he not be identified, told CNNMoney he was awoken in the middle of the night when he "smelled something burning." His phone had melted and he used his older model Samsung, Galaxy Note 2, to take photos that he posted online.

"I saw small flames on the phone where it was melted," he told CNNMoney. "It disappeared soon after."

Samsung, a giant South Korean company, said it had been alerted to 35 claims of faulty phones worldwide. It said it had so far found 24 devices with problems for every million sold.

U.S.

mobile networks sell the Galaxy Note 7 for at least $850. At a news conference, company executives declined to comment on exactly how much replacing all the devices would cost.

"It is a big amount that is heartbreaking," said Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung's mobile communications business.

Samsung had the biggest share (22%) of the global smartphone market in the three-month period ending June 30, according to research firm IDC. By comparison, Apple held 12%.

Samsung benefited from the popularity of the Galaxy S7, IDC said, and the Galaxy Note 7 was expected to keep that momentum going into the second half of the year.

The phone was well received by reviewers, drawing attention for several unique features such as an iris scanner, which allows users to unlock the phone with their eyes.

-- Felicia Wong, Hope King and Julia Horowitz contributed to this report.

CNNMoney (Hong Kong)

First published September 2, 2016: 3:49 AM ET

http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/02/technology/samsung-galaxy-note-7-recall/

What: Samsung is recalling millions of new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones worldwide after reports that the devices can catch fire while charging.

Who: Samsung

Key words:

Halt 停止

Accessory 附件

Suspend 暫停；使中止

Agency 代理機構；代理

Unverified未經證實的
Faulty有缺點的；不完美的；錯誤的
Executive 執行者

Momentum 氣勢；動量

2016年12月12日星期一

第七週 ISIS伊斯蘭國

Europe's Christmas markets at risk of ISIS terror attack, US warns tourists

THE US state department has issued a stark warning for tourists to Europe, advising them of ‘credible information’ of an attack on Christmas markets this holiday season.

By SIOBHAN MCFADYEN

PUBLISHED: 09:38, Tue, Nov 22, 2016 | UPDATED: 09:57, Tue, Nov 22, 2016

Officials say Islamic State is also planning to attack churches over the Christian holiday season warning visitors to be careful of visiting "places of worship."

Winter-time markets are popular in France, Germany, the UK, Austria, Switzerland and attract millions of people each year.

And millions will attend Christian services all over the continent on the run up to Christmas day.

However, US intelligence services are warning there is a high risk of attack from Islamic terrorists determined to continue their reign of terror this year.

In an unprecedented release the US has warned all citizens to be on their guard if travelling to Europe.

They say: "Credible information indicates the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or Da'esh), al-Qa'ida, and their affiliates continue to plan terrorist attacks in Europe, with a focus on the upcoming holiday season and associated events.

citizens should also be alert to the possibility that extremist sympathisers or self-radicalised extremists may conduct attacks during this period with little or no warning.

"Terrorists may employ a wide variety of tactics, using both conventional and non-conventional weapons and targeting both official and private interests.

citizens should exercise vigilance when attending large holiday events, visiting tourist sites, using public transportation, and frequenting places of worship, restaurants, hotels, etc.

"Be aware of immediate surroundings and avoid large crowds, when possible.

"Review security information from local officials, who are responsible for the safety and security of all visitors to their host country."

The news comes after police thwarted an imminent attack which could have killed hundreds of people in Paris, French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve has said.

Four men were arrested in Strasbourg, eastern France and two in Marseille after police spotted some of the suspects waiting for what appeared to be delivery of weapons in Strasbourg.

One of the world’s oldest and largest Christmas markets opened in Strasbourg on Friday.

The market was initially thought to have been one of the attackers’ targets along with a local police station and several as-yet-undisclosed public places, according to Le Parisien.

But Mr Cazeneuve has now said Paris was the intended target in “a long-planned terror attack on our soil”.

More than 230 people were killed in terror attacks in France between January 2015, including 130 in coordinated strikes in Paris in November last year.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/734963/Europe-Christmas-markets-at-risk-of-ISIS-terror-attack-as-state-dept-warns-US-tourists

Who: Officials and Islamic State

What: Islamic State is planning to attack churches

When: over the Christian holiday season

Where: places of worship

Key words:

Extremist極端主義者

Tactics 戰術、策略

Weapon 武器、兵器

Vigilance 警戒、警覺

Imminent（危險等）逼近的；即將發生的

Self-radicalized 自我形成激進意識的人

2016年12月5日星期一

第六週熊本地震

Japan

earthquake: Powerful new tremor in Kumamoto

A more powerful earthquake has rocked the southern Japanese city of Kumamoto in the middle of the night, a day after an earlier tremor killed nine people.

The magnitude-7.3 quake hit at a depth of 10km (six miles) at 01:25 on Saturday (15:25 GMT on Friday) in Kyushu region. At least three people died and hundreds were injured.

A village has been evacuated after a dam collapsed, media reports say.

A tsunami warning was issued, and lifted some 50 minutes later.

Japan

is regularly hit by earthquakes but stringent building codes mean that they rarely cause significant damage.

This new earthquake in Kyushu was much bigger and hit a wider area than the one that struck Kumamoto on Thursday night, says the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo.

In one town near the coast, the city hall has been so badly damaged there are fears it could collapse. A hospital has been evacuated because it is no longer safe.

Thousands of people have fled on to the streets and into parks - where they are huddled under blankets looking dazed and afraid, our correspondent says.

But there are numerous reports of people trapped inside buildings, including at least 60 inside an old people's home.

Public broadcaster NHK says the dam collapsed in the Nishihara village.

Television pictures showed thousands of people filling streets and parks, looking dazed across the region.

NHK had warned of sea waves of up to 1m (3ft).

Japan

's nuclear authority said the Sendai nuclear plant was not damaged.

The quake was originally assessed as magnitude 7.1 but revised upwards to 7.3 later.

Gavin Hayes, a research geophysicist with the US Geological Survey (USGS) in Colorado, told the BBC that the latest earthquake would hamper the earlier rescue operation that was already under way.

He said more damage could be expected as the earthquake had been shallower and the fault-line had been much longer.

"The ground surface would have moved in the region of 4-5m. So, you are talking very intense shaking over quite a large area. And that's why we'll probably see a significant impact from this event."

The Associated Press news agency said guests at the Ark Hotel near the Kumamoto Castle, which was damaged, woke up and gathered in the lobby for safety.

Thursday's magnitude-6.2 quake caused shaking at some places as intense as the huge earthquake that hit the country in 2011,

Japan

's seismology office said.

That quake sparked a huge tsunami and nuclear meltdown at a power plant in Fukushima.

Most of those who died in Thursday's quake were in the town of Mashiki where an apartment building collapsed and many houses were damaged.

More than 1,000 people were injured.

Some 40,000 people had initially fled their homes, with many of those closest to the epicentre spending the night outside, as more than 130 aftershocks had hit the area.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36059487

Where: Kumamoto

When: in the middle of the night

What: A more powerful earthquake has rocked the southern Japanese city of Kumamoto

Key Word:

Magnitude 巨大、廣大

Evacuate 撤退

Collapse 倒塌

Intense 劇烈的、強烈的

Epicentre = epicenter 震央、中心

2016年11月28日星期一

第五週虛擬實境

Mark Zuckerberg: Virtual reality can become the most social platform

BARCELONA — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a surprise appearance at Samsung’s Mobile World Congress press conference Sunday to talk up progress in virtual reality and to promote VR in the future as “the most social platform.”

Facebook, of course, paid some $2 billion in 2014 to buy Oculus which has been working with Samsung on its Gear VR consumer headsets. In fact, Zuckerberg appeared on stage during the MWC event just after audience members took off the Gear VR headsets they had donned to experience virtual reality during Samsung’s presentation.

Zuckerberg is actually scheduled to deliver a keynote address to MWC attendees Monday, presumably to address Internet.org and Facebook’s struggles to bring affordable Internet to poor places around the world, which has met opposition because of net neutrality concerns.

But Zuckerberg was all about VR during his brief appearance on the Samsung stage.

“Pretty soon we’re going to live in a world where everyone has the power to share and experience whole scenes as if you’re just there, right there in person,” Zuckerberg says. “Imagine being able to sit in front of a campfire and hang out with friends anytime you want. Or being able to watch a movie in a private theater with your friends anytime you want. Imagine holding a group meeting or event anywhere in the world that you want. All these things are going to be possible. And that’s why Facebook is investing so much early on in virtual reality. So we can hope to deliver these types of social experiences.”

Facebook also said Sunday it had formed a team to create social interactions in virtual reality. The team will work with Oculus and others at Facebook. It also said it was bringing its streaming technology for 360 video to Samsung Gear VR in coming weeks.

Facebook has been selling Gear VR for $99, though for the time being it will be bundled for free to folks who preorder the company’s latest flagship phones that were unveiled here, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. According to Zuckerberg millions of people will get their hands on a Gear VR this year.

To deal with the challenges in delivering social VR, Facebook recently created new teams to build the next generation of social apps in VR. Hundreds of new titles are coming to Oculus store this year, Zuckerberg says, including Minecraft.

“We’re excited to be focused on building this next important computing platform that has the potential to be changing our lives and to be doing it with zest.”

Virtual reality is getting a lot of focus at Mobile World Congress. HTC, in partnership with Valve, announced that it will begin taking preorders on the consumer version of HTC Vive on Feb. 29; the price is $799 for now.

Samsung and Korean rival LG announced new 360 cameras and the latter is also bringing own VR headset to work with its new G5 phone.

And Chinese-owned Alcatel will ship its new Idol 4S smartphones in a plastic box that doubles as Google Cardboard compatible VR viewer.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2016/02/21/mark-zuckerberg-vr-can-become-most-social-platform/80706338/

Who: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

How: Made a surprise appearance at Samsung’s Mobile World Congress press conference to talk up progress in virtual reality and to promote VR in the future as “the most social platform.”

When: Sunday

Key words:

virtual reality 虛擬實境

headset 耳機

unveil揭開

preorder 預購

neutrality 中立

2016年11月8日星期二

第四週火星探險

Mars Rover Curiosity Completes First Full Drill

By Marc Kaufman, for National Geographic News

For the first time in history, humans have drilled a hole into rock on Mars and are collecting the powdered results for analysis, NASA announced Saturday.

After weeks of intensive planning, the Mars rover Curiosity undertook its first full drill on Friday, with NASA receiving images on Saturday showing that the procedure was a success.

Curiosity drilled a hole that is a modest 2.5 inches (6.35 centimeters) deep and .6 inches (1.52 centimeters) wide but that holds the promise of potentially great discoveries.

"The most advanced planetary robot ever designed now is a fully operating analytical laboratory on Mars," John Grunsfeld, NASA associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement on Saturday.

"This is the biggest milestone accomplishment for the Curiosity team since the sky-crane landing last August."

The site of the much-anticipated penetration is a flat section of Mars rock that shows signs of having been underwater in its past.

Called Yellowknife Bay, it's the kind of environment where organic materials—the building block of life—might have been deposited and preserved long ago, at a time when Mars was far wetter and warmer than it is today.

The contents of the drilling are now being transferred into the rover's internal collection system, where the samples will be sieved down to size and scoured to minimize the presence of contamination from Earth.

Then the sample will be distributed to the two instruments most capable of determining what the rocks contain.

The first is the Sample Analysis on Mars (SAM), which has two ovens that can heat the powdered rock to almost 2000°F (1093°C) and release the rock's elements and compounds in a gaseous form.

The gases will then be analyzed by instruments that can identify precisely what they are, and when they might have been deposited. Scientists are looking for carbon-based organics believed to be essential for any potentially past life on Mars.

Powder will also go to the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument for a related analysis that looks especially at the presence of minerals—especially those that can only be formed in the presence of water.

Louise Jandura, chief engineer for Curiosity's sample system at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said that designing and testing a drill that can grab hold of Martian rock and commence first a percussive shallow drilling and then dig a deeper hole was difficult.

The drill, which is at the end of a 7-foot arm, is capable of about 100 discrete maneuvers.

"To get to the point of making this hole in a rock on Mars, we made eight drills and bored more than 1,200 holes in 20 types of rock on Earth," Jandura said in a statement.

Results from the SAM and CheMin analyses are not expected for several days to weeks.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130209-mars-rover-curiosity-first-drill-space-planets/

Who: NASA

How: For the first time in history, humans have drilled a hole into rock on Mars and are collecting the powdered results for analysis

Where: On Mars

When: Saturday

Key words:

Curiosity 好奇

Propulsion 推進

Contamination 汙染

Sieve 篩選

Compound 增加、使惡化、使混合

2016年10月31日星期一

Man Who Filmed Fatal NYC Police Chokehold of Eric Garner Sues City

Published at 6:08 PM EDT on Jul 27, 2016

The New York City man whose cellphone video captured the fatal police chokehold of unarmed black man Eric Garner is suing the city for $10 million over a drug arrest that he says was police retaliation.

Ramsey Orta was arrested last June after authorities say he sold an undercover officer $40 worth of the party drug known as Molly. The charges were later dropped.

Lawyer Andrew Plasse tells the Daily News Orta feels he was "unjustly singled out for arrest." The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court claims it was an effort by the NYPD to "discredit" Orta's video.

The July 17, 2014 video showed Garner calling out "I can't breathe" as New York City police officers pinned him down, one holding him in an apparent chokehold, after the 43-year-old man was stopped for selling loose untaxed cigarettes. In the video, Garner tells officers to leave him alone and refuses to be handcuffed.

Officer Daniel Pantaleo is seen putting Garner in an apparent chokehold, which is banned under NYPD policy, as he was taken to the ground. Garner, who was heavyset and had asthma, was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The medical examiner's office later ruled Garner's death a homicide. His dying words, immortalized by the footage, became a rallying cry at protests nationwide over police killings of black men amid a nationwide debate over police use of force.

A New York grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo in 2014 and he remains on desk duty while police officials await the outcome of an ongoing federal civil rights probe. Pantaleo's attorney has maintained his client didn't violate Garner's civil rights and that he was performing his duties, which he was trained to do.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Man-Who-Filmed-Fatal-NYC-Police-Chokehold-Sues-City--388476262.html

Who: Eric Garner

What: The New York City man whose cellphone video captured the fatal police chokehold of unarmed black man Eric Garner.

Key words:
Chokehold 掐脖子
Discredit 使丟臉、敗壞……的名聲
Asthma 氣喘
Unarmed 未武裝的、無武器的、徒手的
pin 壓住、按住、使不能行動

2016年10月25日星期二

Aylan Kurdi Fund

Aylan Kurdi Fund

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Ranj Alaaldin

On 2 September 2015 the world was provided with a stark reminder of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Middle East. 3-year old Aylan Kurdi and his 5-year old brother, Galip, were escaping Syria, where four years of war has led to the worst humanitarian crisis in a generation. They both drowned, along with their mother and at least eleven others.

The image of Aylan washed up on a beach has prompted outcry around the world. That image symbolizes the collective failure of the international community as a whole. The sad reality is that Aylan is not the first child victim of conflict in Syria and will certainly not be the last. Tens of thousands of children have been killed as a result of conflict in Syria. Millions have been forced from their homes, are living in over-stretched or poorly serviced refugee camps and are unable to go to school.

This fund has been set-up to honour the pursuit of peace, well-being and education that many thousands of children have bravely undertaken and continue to undertake, children like Aylan and his brother that, all too often, are let down by humanity at large. The Aylan Kurdi Fund will engage in a number of fund-raising work over the coming period and, for its inaugural campaign, is donating all proceeds to Hand In Hand For Syria, a UK registered charity that has been at the forefront of humanitarian aid in Syria since the conflict began. The organisation’s work has been widely reported, including by the BBC, Guardian and Channel 4 News.

https://aylankurdi.com/2015/09/03/aylankurdi/

When: on 2 September 2015

Where: in the Middle East

Who: Aylan Kurdi and his 5-year old brother, Galip

What: the world was provided with a stark reminder of the humanitarian crisis unfolding

Key words:
Humanitarian 人道主義者
Prompt 促使
Honour 正義感、榮譽 (=honor)
Inaugural 就任的
Campaign 競選活動、戰役
Forefront 最前方、最前線

2016年10月17日星期一