In The News

Pressured by China, Apple Apologizes for Warranty Policies

David Barboza, Nick Wingfield April 3, 2013
Consumer and labor advocates in the West often gripe that trade with China is a “race to the bottom” for wages or environmental standards. But China increasingly demonstrates the power of a huge, united market. On International Consumer Day, “China Central Television criticized the American company’s after-sales iPhone customer service in China because it gave only a one-year warranty, while in...

Google Glass to Be “Made in USA”

Tim Bradshaw April 3, 2013
Google Project Glass is a wearable computer, much like a smartphone, that connects a user via voice-recognition software to an array of programs and apps, including maps, email, calendar and more. The company announced that the digital eyewear will be manufactured in California, near the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters with many Asian components. “Google is working with Hon Hai Precision...

American Cows Have Indian Origins, Scientists Find

Subodh Varma March 29, 2013
Genetic research is showing that breeds of cows in the Americas, including the Texas Longhorn, are descendants of cows from India, reports Subodh Varma for the Times of India. India has the world’s largest cattle population in the world, followed by Brazil, China and US. The Indian breeds were shipped to East Africa, then to Spain and eventually to the Caribbean, suggests a study from the...

Saudi Arabia “Threatens Skype Ban”

March 28, 2013
Skype, WhatsApp and Viber offer an array of free messaging and telephone calls. All are cross-platform internet services with widely popular free plans that reach out to numerous nations. Demanding the right to monitor the applications, the government has given the three companies a week to respond. Reports have emerged that the telecommunications regulator may block the services and may have...

Wind Rush

Edward Humes March 20, 2013
Wind turbines on vast ranches and fields of corn, soy and wheat have transformed US farmers into energy producers. Eight large turbines in one Iowa community produce 12.8 megawatts, enough to power 6,000 Iowa homes, and “generate healthy annual returns of up to 16 percent on the $12,000 to $50,000 individual investments from 180 local farmers,” reports Edward Humes for Sierra. “At four cents a...

World Agriculture Suffers From Loss of Wild Bees

March 18, 2013
Wild bees are better at fertilizing plants than bees managed by humans, and their falling numbers are hurting global agriculture, according to a study in the journal Science, reported on by Health24. Wild bees live in edge habitats, borders between grasslands and forests, which are increasingly targeted by development. The Canadian researchers examined 41 crop systems. “Paradoxically, most...

UK Seabed Resources Joins Deep-Ocean Mineral-Mining Rush

David Shukman March 15, 2013
Technology, including robotics, is allowing more mining firms to explore the ocean floor for oil and minerals, as “surveys have revealed huge numbers of so-called nodules – small lumps of rock rich in valuable metals – lying on the ocean floor south of Hawaii and west of Mexico,” reports David Shukman for BBC News. Another method involves removing material near hydrothermal vents....