Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the “Kyliest” of them all?

Teenage girls usually get angry when another girl wears their same clothes and sometimes even when someone in their class has their same name, as they don’t feel as special or as unique. However, these types of fights have been blown out of proportion with the feud between Kylie Minogue and Kylie Jenner. For those of you who don’t know them, Kylie Minogue is an Australian singer, songwriter, actress, author and entrepreneur who was born in Melbourne in 1968 and Kylie Jenner, on the other hand, is a 19- year old American television personality, socialite, model and businesswomen member of the famous Kardashian family. Although these two have little in common, it has been the only thing that they have the same the source of their legal troubles, as they both wanted to trademark their first name for their business endeavours.

When Kylie J created and released her cosmetics line in 2014, she decided to name it KYLIE after herself and, in order to prevent people from stealing her idea and image, she tried to register “KYLIE” at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), for “advertising services” and “endorsement services”. However, Kylie M opposed this as she had already trademarked her name before. As Kylie M argued, she had trademarks for that name in a wide variety of products such as perfumes, jewellery, songs, books and even has her own webpage www.kylie.com so she stated that allowing Kylie J’s trademark could be confusing and tarnishing to Kylie M’s reputation as she had been using it since the 1980s. Furthermore, Kylie M’s lawyers filed documents describing the Keeping up with the Kardashians star as a “secondary reality television personality” who had been critised for “photo exhibitionism and controversial posts” and recently over false marketing as many customers have spotted that her new lip kits are old ones called differently and charged at a higher price, whereas Kylie M was described an “internationally renowned performing artist, humanitarian and breast cancer activist”.

Despite the harsh words, since the legal action started, the case has been suspended twice already, which seemed to imply there was an understanding and that there would be a solution. However, this has not been the case with both Kylies still fighting for their name. Although neither one of the Kylies nor their respective teams have said anything, Kylie M has finally come up on top as the USPTO has sided with her and she will continue to use Kylie for her business and recording projects. Nevertheless, Kylie J has appealed against this sentence so the incident isn’t entirely closed yet. Thus, we will have to stay tuned to see what the final verdict is.

If Kylie J’s appeal is cancelled she might have to take away her name from all of her cosmetic products, especially taking into account that the trademark for her using her full name “KYLIE JENNER” was also denied. This makes the situation tricky for Kylie J and hopefully she will be able to solve it quickly and without this much drama. In the meantime, Kylie Minogue 1- Kylie Jenner 0.

Sources

http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?pno=86810719&pty=EXA&eno=1

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/35689207/its-kylie-minogue-versus-kylie-jenner-in-a-battle-for-who-owns-their-name

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/35689207/its-kylie-minogue-versus-kylie-jenner-in-a-battle-for-who-owns-their-name

Spanish sources:

http://elpais.com/elpais/2017/02/06/estilo/1486406095_136245.html

http://www.glamour.es/celebrities/noticias/articulos/kylie-jenner-polemica-labiales-ediciones-limitadas-engano/25902

 

 

 

India’s on the move

Being a member of the BRICS has helped India establish itself as a powerful emerging economy with a growing GDP and unprecedented levels of growth of its life expectancy and social well-being. BRICS is an acronym for an association of 5 emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa that all have a very large population and have the fastest growing economies in the world. With a GDP in 2016 of $2,288 bn US dollars (a 7.6% increase from last year) and the literacy rate up to 82%, India certainly is moving fast and is becoming more developed every year. For example, India’s GDP is higher that France’s GDP in 2015 and is catching up to countries such as Germany.

Companies all over the world have definitely noticed this and, as a result, the country is getting more opportunities that, in turn, could boost their development even more. A recent example of this would be that Apple is planning to start assembling their phones and later start manufacturing in Karnataka, a state in the south of the country. Although Apple hasn’t confirmed this, Priyank Kharge, minister of information technology and biotechnology in Karnataka, told the AFP news agency: “We have an understanding with Apple and we expect them to start manufacturing in Karnataka by the end of April.”

Unfortunately, the difference between the rural and urban population still remains unresolved as poor people in rural areas still face a lack of resources and opportunities and the gap between rich and poor is still overwhelming. As a result, there is a wide disparity and the differences between those well off and the people who struggle are more than evident. Therefore, the government already has plans to solve the issue. The administration plans to spend $7.09bn on a scheme that would offer every rural household 100 days of work each year and, as a result, people could have money to boost the local economy. Furthermore, funds have been allocated in order to improve roads, electricity, irrigation and access to housing and sanitation to the most rural areas so that rural spending and quality of life could be improved. There are also plans to halve taxes for the poorest percentage of the population.

Overall, the government plans to drive economic development to try to mitigate the current situation in India and to also reduce the negative effects of their decision to ban rupees in rural and semi-rural areas of India. This was such a bad idea as most transactions in these areas happen in cash, which has been in short supply since the rupee ban in November last year. If everything goes well, rural and farm spending would be increased by 24% as part of the administration’s strategy to double farm incomes over five years.

Nevertheless, in order for the plan to be successful, the country would still have to undertake many economic reforms in order to avoid the “leakage system” so the people who are most affected actually receive the help they need so desperately. Finally, top authorities would also have to plan and assort the adequate financial needs as accurately as possible as the government is planning to carry on many schemes and each one of them should receive the funds and time they need. As much as I admire plans to improve India’s rural areas, caution is needed, as all schemes should get sufficient money so that the whole country could really develop as a whole unit and to reduce the rural and urban inequalities.

Sources

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38853640

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-38828452

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-38824368

 

Don’t show your fingers in selfies

This title might seem slightly confusing mainly because most people show their faces in selfies, not their fingers and even if they do, they usually do the peace sing which is not harmful at all. So, what is this whole thing about?

When biometric fingerprint locks started to be developed for our devices, many thought it was one of the safest methods of data protection developed so far. However, researchers in Japan working at the country’s National Institute of Informatics (NII) have found otherwise. According to their findings, hackers could lift fingerprints from our pictures up to three meters away if the image has a good lighting and is clear enough. Hackers could use our biometric information to steal our identity and to access our documents such as our bank details. Furthermore, hackers could also unlock our phones, computers, doors and anything that requires fingerprint identification.

As a result, experts have warned about the safety breaches that could happen as a result of it. They have identified that celebrities could be most at risk although normal people could be affected as well and so, they have developed some solutions. For instance, they have created a film made of transparent titanium oxide, which can be worn on our fingertips and therefore can hide them without inhibiting unlocking our phones. Another solution would be using a type of paint that prevents people from being able to access your fingerprints although this method is not fully tested as it is still being perfected. Other simpler solutions could be wearing gloves or not showing our fingers at all when taking pictures. Despite this, it is important to take into account that our fingerprints can never be changed therefore, once stolen, people could use them all the time with a wide degree of ease.

Nevertheless, there is no need to panic as of right now. Firstly, because this technology is still not fully developed and secondly because the companies building and creating fingerprint scanners are refining their process daily to make the scan even more precise. This makes it increasingly harder for the hackers to be able to get our fingerprints, as you need a very specific machine to be able to access our full fingerprint.

Although we don’t need to worry right now, it is useful to know this information for our future security, as we always want to feel as protected as possible and enjoy taking pictures without worrying who might be able to access them or any of your body’s information. So peace out readers, but remember, just in case don’t show your fingertips when taking any pictures!

 

Sources

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tech/making-peace-sign-selfies-could-9611242

 

Spanish sources

http://tecnologia.elpais.com/tecnologia/2017/01/27/actualidad/1485512728_331052.html

 

Make America tolerant again

“Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victim of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in jihad”. This was one of the many statements Trump made during his campaign when he first started to use certain racist language towards Muslims. Now, his promises are a reality as he recently passed his executive order halting Muslim immigration in the US.

However, what does this order exactly imply? The order primarily targets Muslim immigrants especially those coming from these seven countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen as anyone coming from these countries will face a 90-day visa suspension. Everyone coming from these countries will be affected, even the ones with dual nationalities, and only some special types of people like diplomats will be allowed in. Furthermore, there is an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees (even Christians coming from Syria) and the order also suspends several programmes such as the US Refugee Admissions Programme for 120 days and the Visa Interview Waiver Programme, which helped renew immigrants’ temporary visas. Finally, the order limits the total number of refugees that can be accepted in the US: 50,000 (a very low figure compared to the 110,000 refugees limit during Obama’s administration).

The order has sparked many protests not only in the US but also in many other countries. Countless amounts of celebrities, politicians and citizens all over the world are complaining and showing their dissatisfaction with what they claim as an illegal, racist order. This is because they argue that the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 made amendments to ban the widespread discrimination against immigrants on the basis of national origin, replacing the old prejudicial system. As the presidents could still find loopholes to pass executive orders against immigrants using a 1952 Act, Congress had to make the wording stricter as they had to specify that no person could be discriminated against because of the person’s race, sex, nationality, place of birth or place of residence.

These should be enough legal reasons to prevent Trump from enforcing his order, but instead there have already been cases that suggest the contrary such as the example of a Scottish student traveling with an Iranian passport who was not permitted to do a layover in the US. Despite the fact that the legality of Trump’s order won’t be completely clear until it faces more hearings in federal courts, these actions and previous occasions might seem to suggest that Trump could actually get away with this ban. This is because Trump has not been the first President to pass an order banning immigrants. There have actually been plenty of events with similar characteristics in the past.

Before 1965 there had been a ban on Asians more specifically the Chinese in the late 1880s. Subsequently there was a ban Jewish refugees during World War II and later towards Communists in the 1950s. After that, Nixon issued an executive order in 1972 where he authorised restrictions on entry for Arab countries and made it even more difficult for Arabs to apply for permanent resident status. In addition, following the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, when 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days at the US embassy in Teheran, American President Jimmy Carter cut diplomatic relations with and imposed sanctions on Iran. He also banned Iranians from entering the country. Thus, these examples suggest that it is possible for presidents to not adhere to Congress Acts, painting a very bleak picture as the Muslim ban could last for some time.

The responses from the population have been enormous. There have been protests, Tweets and signs of encouragement and tolerance towards Muslims. For instance, many actors at the recent SAG awards supported refugees and immigrants. Canada’s PM also said that all refugees were welcomed into Canada and similarly Airbnb chief executive Brian Chesky offered free accommodation to all of those affected. Several members of the UN and from other governments have also rejected this policy creating great tension as many claim that this policy could actually make America less safe and make the defeat of ISIS harder. As Hossein Naqavi Hosseini, a spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee states “If they were going to impose a visa ban on terrorists, they had to do so with the citizens of Saudi Arabia and some other countries that have had a role in the 9/11 attack,” he said. As a result, this could not only be detrimental for US business and relations but similar catastrophic events could be triggered around the world.

The day after the election when we finally knew Trump was going to be the 45^th president of the USA, I was initially a bit worried but decided I would give him a chance and not judge him because he hadn’t done anything too bad yet. However, in his first 10 days as the US president he has already alienated himself and the US against many countries and has passed several orders that should not be allowed nowadays in a modern world. Furthermore, as the image shows there is a terrible misconception about America’s safety as in America it is more likely to be killed by a cow and not by a refugee so I agree with  Hossein Naqavi Hosseini. For a country that was mainly built and founded as a result of settlers and immigrants, I find it ironic and quite upsetting to prohibit the entry to people who can contribute to America’s greatness everyday no matter the colour of their skin, nationality or religion. Therefore, I refuse to believe in the negative connotations of the word “immigrant” as for me, America is great for all the people living in it, not in spite of them.

Sources

http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/middle-eastern-and-north-african-immigrants-united-states

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/01/06/a-new-estimate-of-the-u-s-muslim-population/

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/12/donald-trump-calls-halt-muslims-entering-151207220200817.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38781302

http://immigrationtounitedstates.org/351-arab-immigrants.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/opinion/trumps-immigration-ban-is-illegal.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/01/times-banned-immigrants-170128183528941.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/38787374

http://www.forbes.com/sites/dominicdudley/2017/01/29/trump-muslim-ban/#4502999f6c6f

 

 

 

 

 

A Series of Unfortunate (and Exploding) Events

When launching their Note 7 phone, little did Samsung know these phones would go down in history not as the iPhone rival they were initially designed to be, but instead as the exploding phones of many internet memes. For those of you who don’t know what a meme is, it’s a virally-transmitted cultural symbol or social idea usually through captioned photos or videos that are intended to be funny, ridiculing an idea o product. Examples of such memes include pictures such as the following:

Despite the YouTube videos of burning phones, the negative stories and being mocked by the entire internet, Samsung does not seem to have been too badly tarnished by the bad press. The South Korean company actually made a quarterly profit of 9.2 trillion won ($7.2bn; £5.8bn), the firm’s highest since 2013. Indeed, the company’s results are mesmerizing taking into account their technological problems with their phones. However, the company’s flat screen televisions, semiconductors and chips have done extremely well, contributing greatly to the firm’s success. Furthermore, many experts agree that the firm’s brand loyalty is still very strong partially due to the firm’s success in recalling products quickly and in replacing phones for their customers.

In a recent investigation and presentation, Samsung claimed that it was the batteries that caused all the problems as you can read by clicking here  and that they are now working to avoid such problems in the development of their new S8 phone. In order to have their products in perfect state, Samsung is going to delay the phone’s launch instead of showing it at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, as had been expected. Nevertheless, there are some who claim that the delay is partially due to the court issues and rumoured corruption cases the company faces.

Although Samsung has faced many problems, I find it quite remarkable that they are still able to make such huge amounts of revenue and that they took the correct actions in order to avoid greater problems. Finally, it is extremely important to regain lost trust and thus, the delays in order to perfect its new products are a smart idea in the long run.

To end this post on a positive note, here is a link to view a funny video created by my friend Barbara Meuser about the Note 7 explosions. Check the video out here!You can follow her on instagram: @miss.babimeuser and on youtube: Babi Meuser

Sources:

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38727651

http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=7482

 

Trump VS China: The Superpower showdown

The Cold War (1946-1991) was known as being a period of hostility between the most powerful capitalist country (USA) and its supporters against the most influential communist country (USSR) and its allies. The poor communication and fragile relations amongst these two countries tore the world apart for more than 40 years. As a result of this tension, governments all over the world decided to work together to try to create a more stable environment in which peace and cooperation could prosper. Despite this, current affairs seem to indicate that history could be repeating itself. Are we be facing another capitalist vs. communist showdown?

During his presidential election, Trump heavily criticised China as he emphasized all of the problems Chinese products had caused in the US. Now, president Trump seems to continue with this mentality as his National Trade Council leader Peter Navarro is an outspoken China critic. Navarro claims that because China entered the World Trade Organisation, the US grew at a much smaller rate. In Navarro’s words, “After China got into the World Trade Organisation, got access to our markets and flooded our markets with its illegally subsidised exports, we grew at a rate of 1.8% from 2002 to 2015.” Navarro also states that before 2001, the American economy grew annually at a rate of 3.5% and that the main reason that halted growth was China.

Some of Trump’s tweets about China

In spite of this, there are many other more persuasive arguments that suggest other reasons for the reduction in growth. Firstly, and probably the most important reason, the economic recession that has been affecting most of the world’s economies since 2008, secondly the fall of the value of the dollar in the early 2000s and thirdly, a reduction in industrial production and investment are all reasons that have contributed to a fall in economic growth more than China ever has. However, we have to keep in mind that the US is still one of the most powerful countries in the world and that the US has never been in a very critical situation compared so some European countries that faced extreme hardships during the recession. In fact, trade and economic partnerships with China have actually benefited the US, as cheap imports have been very useful for hard-pressed US consumers who have enjoyed lower prices in the shops, which in turn has increased spending helping the US economy.

An additional feud that complicates Chinese relations with the US is Taiwan. Trump said in December that the US was not necessarily going to follow its long-standing position of acknowledging Taiwan as part of a “one China”. Instead, Trump accepted Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen’s call, an action that the Chinese government did not like. The Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that the US should not get involved in issues relating to China’s sovereign territory as it could cause major disputes between both countries, affecting their economic and political wellbeing. The relationship amongst the two superpowers is still tense as Rex Tillerson, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, infuriated Beijing when he claimed that China should not have access to the islands of South China and Beijing declared Trump could face a “large-scale war” if the US followed through on Tillerson’s threat.

Although the unresolved issues amongst these countries threaten today’s stability, news such as that McDonald’s is opening new franchises in China and that Trump had, as he classified, a “great meeting” with Alibaba’s boss Jack Ma definitely makes us feel more optimistic about Chinese and American relations. Both countries have a huge social, economic and political power with huge enterprises with the ability to create lots of jobs and opportunities for people in both countries and, in turn, for people all over the world. As a result, I believe both countries should stop provoking each other and continue working together in order to not repeat the tensions lived during the Cold War period so that the world can move forward and that everyone can live and work in a more pleasant environment.

What do you think?

Sources:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38564679

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38404404

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2016/08/06/donald-trumps-economic-adviser-peter-navarro-is-simply-wrong-about-trade-wholly-and-entirely/#c95f4f04f260

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38552276

http://www.ofm.wa.gov/researchbriefs/2002/brief015.pdf

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/15/china-warns-trump-that-taiwan-policy-is-non-negotiable

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-taiwan-idUSKBN1570R8

Spanish sources:

http://www.elmundo.es/internacional/2017/01/12/587688b8e2704ef6548b460e.html

http://www.elmundo.es/internacional/2016/12/12/584e3af8e2704eb41d8b4579.html

 

 

 

alternative energy

For the last years, many governmental agencies have tried to pursue policies to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Due to this, businesses that operate with renewable energies have been given grants and the market for alternative energy has grown and increased in value. To keep encouraging this trend, there are many examples of countries that are operating mostly with renewable energy. Bonaire, a Dutch island territory off the coast of Venezuela, operates at nearly 100% renewable energy, and will likely reach that milestone soon with the help of an unlikely energy source: algae. Iceland already gets all of its electricity from renewable energy sources, and about 85% of all its energy is produced by geothermal and hydropower sources.

Three other European countries (Sweden, Bulgaria, and Estonia) have already hit their 2020 renewable energy goals. Denmark, which gets 40% of its energy from wind, wants to ditch fossil fuels completely by 2050. The problem with operating completely on renewable energy, as some Danes have noted, is that fossil fuels are still needed as a backup plan if, for instance, there’s a stretch of time when the country hasn’t experienced enough wind or sunshine to power everything. But the rise of renewable energy has rendered many conventional power plants unprofitable, and owners of those plants are trying to close up shop. These examples show the commitment and potential future market for renewable energies.

On top of this good news, there is one country that has registered even more incredible results, Costa Rica. Costa Rica has been powered with 100% renewable energy for 75 straight days! “The year 2015 has been one of electricity totally friendly to the environment for Costa Rica,” the state-owned power supplier Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) said in a press release.  The ICE says the country’s zero-emission milestone was enabled thanks to heavy rainfalls at four hydroelectric power facilities in the first quarter of 2015. These downpours have meant that, for the months of January, February and so far March, there has been no need to burn fossil fuels to generate electricity. Instead, Costa Rica has been powered primarily by hydro power – both pumped storage and run-of-the-river plants – and a mixture of geothermal, wind, biomass and solar energy.

Although this is an incredible achievement, it’s important to remember that Costa Rica is a small nation with a total area of about 51,000km², (about half the size of the US state of Kentucky), and it has a population of only 4.8 million people. Furthermore, its primary industries are tourism and agriculture, rather than heavy, more energy-intensive industries such as mining or manufacturing. As a result, this makes it easier for the country to operate only on renewable energy. Still, Costa Rica has done an excellent job developing it electricity sector, and supplying affordable, reliable power to its citizens.

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2014 Global Competitiveness Index, Costa Rica ranks second in Latin American countries behind only Uruguay with regards to electricty and telecommunications infrastructure. Reporter Sophie Vorrath from RenewEconomy writes that the country is “providing a household coverage rate of 99.4% at some of the region’s lowest prices”.  Costa Rica’s record on renewable generation also stands out. As recently as last year, hydropower accounted for 80 percent of all electricity production, while geothermal energy was reported back in 2010 to account for upwards of 13 percent of the country’s electricity profile. In mid-2014, the Costa Rican government approved a US$958 million geothermal energy project. According to Jake Richardson from CleanTechnica, “the first plants are expected to generate about 55 MW and cost approximately $333 million to build”, and two other 50 MW plants will also be built nearby.

This is an incredible achievement and thanks to this more countries and businesses will be encouraged to use renewable energies to protect our fragile world for future generations. Well done Costa Rica!

Sources:RenewEconomy, CleanTechnica and http://www.sciencealert.com/costa-rica-powered-with-100-renewable-energy-for-75-days

Firms fail to pay minimum wage

Ministers have publicly named 48 employers including French Connection and Foot Locker that have paid their workers less than the minimum wage. Together, the companies owe workers £162,000 and face fines of £67,000.They span sectors including fashion, publishing and hospitality, and include a Champneys spa and a branch of hairdressing chain Toni and Guy and have 28 days to pay the workers.

Toni and Guy said: “As a company with over 400 salons globally under its brand umbrella, we do not condone any kind of mishandling of staff wages. Once made aware, the franchisee resolved the issue swiftly.” G1 Venues, trading as Arta Restaurant in Glasgow, was the worst offender, having failed to pay £45,124 to 2,895 workers, according to HM Revenue and Customs. Fashion retailer French Connection UK, London, failed to pay almost £16,500 to 367 workers, while Freedom Sportsline – trading as Foot Locker – owes more than £16,700 to 601 employees. A spokesman for French Connection said the underpayments were regrettable but the amounts were small in most cases. “French Connection co-operated fully with HMRC in assessing the amounts involved and paid the arrears at the earliest possible opportunity. French Connection fully supports the UK Government’s minimum wage legislation and we are apologising to our staff for the inconvenience,” he added.

Ongoing probe

In October 2013 the Government revised rules allowing it to publicly name companies that have been found to breach wage laws. Since that time, a total of 210 companies have been accused of wage theft, after investigations by HMRC. In total, those firms owe some £635,000 to workers, as well as fines of nearly £248,000. Business minister Jo Swinson said: “There’s no excuse for companies that don’t pay staff the wages they’re entitled to.” Last week, the Government announced that the minimum wage will increase by 20p an hour to £6.70 from October.It stands at £6.50 per hour for adults, £5.13 per hour for 18 to 20-year-olds and £3.79 per hour for 16 to 17-year-olds. Apprentices must be paid at least £2.73 an hour. Employers who fail to pay the appropriate wages can face fines of up to £20,000, as well as criminal prosecution.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32027007

Amazon drone trial gets US regulator approval

Technology and business are two industries that are continuously developing and increasingly working together even more. The increase of online retailers and the higher levels of technology in our lives mean that people want more electronic devices and businesses have adapted to this new environment. More firms sell technological products and companies have increased the levels of technology in their manufacturing processes and offices. One of the most important technological firms is Amazon.

Although Amazon started as an online bookshop, it now delivers a diverse range of products. Several months ago, Amazon developed and started promoting the idea of creating delivery drones. Now, the company is a step closer to achieving its drones as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved Amazon’s plans to begin testing drones for online deliveries. The FAA said it had granted Amazon a certificate for people with pilot’s licenses to test the unmanned aircraft. The draft regulations issued by the FAA insist that drones must remain within the line of sight of their pilot and that the drones must be flown at 400 feet or below during daylight hours, and must remain within sight of the pilot. As part of this ruling, the Internet retail giant must also provide data on the number of flights conducted and any other relevant information, such as results of the experiment as also report on accidents on a monthly basis.

Currently, under US law, operating drones for commercial purposes is illegal. However, those rules could change over the next years. This is because the rules are under revision by the FAA, which is expected to issue new rules regarding the operation of unmanned aircraft for commercial and recreational purposes. Amazon plans to trial the drones for 4 months until the end of July to see if the results are satisfactory. If the results are good, In December, the firm warned that it might begin testing the programme – known as Amazon Prime Air – in other countries. However, “Without approval of our testing in the United States, we will be forced to continue expanding our Prime Air R&D footprint abroad,” wrote Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president of global public policy, in a letter to the FAA at the time.

Other companies have also started following the drone delivery market as Chinese Internet giant Alibaba, Google and parcel service UPS are among other companies carrying out more private trials of drones

Although I greatly support technology, I have a few questions referring to this new invention. For example, will drones and airplanes be compatible in sky or will it just put further risks to the air travel? Will the drone just leave delivered items outside house? What about fragile items? I’m pretty sure that Amazon might have already thought about these questions and that the trials will help Amazon improve their drones. However, we will have to wait until the future until we know all the details. What do you think about drone delivery?

Machines in the learn

Google is a company that is constantly innovating. Its open culture and democratic leadership is always encouraging change and the development of new products. Over recent years, many more cars have introduced and developed technology in their cars e.g. many automotive firms have opted to introduce driver-assist functions in cars. However, Google’s latest product takes this technology a step further as the company developed the self-drive car, a fully automated new car.

Google’s own car will be an electric car but with no steering wheel or conventional controls. The main aim of this new car is to reduce car accidents and making circulation more secure because due to the increase in cars circulating around roads the increase in number of car accidents. Chris Urmson, Google’s new director told delegates at the Ted (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference that his inspiration and motivation to develop and pursue this project was his son, as Urmson wants safer roads and cars for the next generation.

Google’s retrofitted self-drive cars have undergone extensive testing, racking up more than 700,000 miles on the road, and in 2013 were given to one hundred employees to test. Mr. Urmson shared with the Ted audience some of the more unusual traffic situations that the fleet of Google self-drive cars had encountered, including a child driving a toy car in the road and a woman in an electric wheelchair chasing a duck. Having passed some of the most complex tests (as the car slowed down and reacted appropriately in each case) Mr. Urmson said that the cars should be ready by 2020, following some additional testing.

This car issue has opened a heated debate. This is because some are not convinced by the news and urge caution on the development of fully-automated cars. Sven Beiker, executive director of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford, said that driverless cars may still require human input in extreme circumstances and that they may cause more problems as people may forget how to operate their vehicles if they do not do it regularly and thus car accidents may increase.

In the presentation of the new car models the Ted audience heard two differing points of view on the growing debate about how damaging Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be for humanity. Philosopher Nick Bostrom urged those involved in building super-intelligent systems to make sure AI’s “were motivated to pursue our values”. But Oren Etzioni, chief executive of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence maintained that just because we are developing intelligent machines did not necessarily mean that they would operate autonomously.

There is a heated debate. What do you think about AI and the new fully automated cars? What do you think the future of our cars will be?

Read more about the future of machines and robots here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-31931914