6. Interesting Reads
“Teenagers’ school days shouldn’t begin before 8:30 a.m., says American Academy of Sleep Medicine, linking early start times to car accidents, depression and poor academic performance. In a position statement published Saturday in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, the sleep research group asserted that later start times aid peak alertness and performance while supporting better mental health and student safety. As teenagers enter puberty, their biological programming for sleep shifts later, the statement notes, causing a clash with early start times that results in sleep depravation.”
“Surprise! AMD revealed a fresh lineup of graphics cards on Tuesday, and the Radeon RX 500-series is a perfect complement to the company’s new Ryzen 5 processors. What they aren’t, however, are AMD’s hotly anticipated Vega GPUs. Instead, the Radeon RX 500 series are based on the same Polaris graphics processors as the Radeon RX 400 series launched last year, with the exception of a new low-end GPU focused solely on e-sports and home theater PCs. “Polaris refined and evolved,” as AMD calls it. Yep, they’re tweaked refreshes, with one notable exception.”
(PC World)
“The reports this weekend were breathless. Mashable said Russia was sending a “death dealing” robot with the power to shoot guns to the International Space Station. Pravda reported that the Russian cyborg, Fyodor, had frightened the West. It was like the Terminator, only in space, and only for reals. In reality, probably not. The stories were written after the Russian deputy prime minister overseeing military and space activities, Dmitry Rogozin, posted on Facebook and Twitter about the country’s humanoid robot, Fyodor. Rogozin was proud that the robot had demonstrated the ability to shoot from both hands. “Fine motor skills and decision-making algorithms are still being improved,” he tweeted. But maybe we shouldn’t call upon Arnold Schwarzenegger to save us just yet. “Shooting exercises is a method of teaching the robot to set priorities and make instant decisions,” Rogozin added. “We are creating AI, not Terminator.””
“As far as defining what a great company is, you can’t go wrong with citing one of the 10 most profitable companies in the world in 2017 as an example. Earning a lot of revenue is one thing; for instance, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT), the company with the highest revenue in the world, easily pulls in almost half-a-trillion dollars in sales each year. But with net income of just $14 billion as of 2016 (a huge figure, yes, but still way down from half a trillion bucks), the company suddenly doesn’t look to be as attractive of an investment as it did when looking solely at its top-line results. That just goes to show that being a great company is more than just earning more revenue than the next guy; it’s also about ensuring that whatever you earn and spend on your business will get you to the maximum possible income.”
“Snapchat is adding a new way to use its app that brings its popular filters beyond faces. The new ‘World Lenses’ add augmented reality elements to any scene you can capture with your camera, placing 3D objects you can actually walk around with your smartphone’s camera, which is actually a lot closer to what we used to mean when we said “augmented reality” in its earlier days. Snap notably doesn’t use “augmented reality” or “AR” once in its blog post announcing the news, preferring instead to talk about how users can “paint the world” with “3D experiences.” The intro video, however, will reveal something pretty familiar to anyone who bought into the early hype of the Nintendo 3DS, which came with AR cards that let you place and virtually interact with 3D graphics that looked like they were anchored to, and blended with, the real world.”
“Apple is preparing three iPhones for launch as soon as this fall, including upgraded versions of the current two iPhone models and a new top-of-the-line handset with an overhauled look, according to people familiar with the matter. For the redesigned phone, Apple is testing a new type of screen, curved glass and stainless steel materials, and more advanced cameras, the people said. Those anxiously awaiting the redesigned iPhone, however, may have to wait because supply constraints could mean the device isn’t readily available until one or two months after the typical fall introduction.”
