Doomsday Clock 2018: Doomsday Clock Now 2 minutes To Midnight

Photo by: Sky NEWS

A global catastrophe is but two minutes away, according to the Doomsday Clock, which measures, metaphorically, how long the world has left before it succumbs to a man-made disaster.

The Doomsday Clock originally featured in a magazine back in the 1940s, when the development of nuclear arms first became a global fear. 

In its first outing the clock read seven minutes to midnight. The furthest away from midnight it has ever been came in 1991 after the end of the Cold War – when it struck 17 minutes to midnight.

Managed by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, a group of scientists and academics, the clock was moved 30 seconds on Thursday. The clock’s hands had been at two-and-a-half minutes to midnight in 2017.

For decades the clock has been used as an ominous reminder of how close humanity is to destroying the world. Midnight represents total disaster or an apocalypse.

Originally decided on by Bulletin Editor Eugene Rabinowitch, the clock is now in its 71st year. It’s settings are now based on an academic board’s view on the advancement of nuclear arms, climate change and artificial intelligence.

Earlier this year, the Bulletin’s Nuclear Notebook warned of North Korea’s nuclear missile potential.

The organization now believes “the world is not only more dangerous now than it was a year ago; it is as threatening as it has been since World War II,” Bulletin officials Lawrence M. Krauss and Robert Rosner wrote in an op-ed published Thursday by The Washington Post. 

“In fact, the Doomsday Clock is as close to midnight today as it was in 1953, when Cold War fears perhaps reached their highest levels.”

Krauss, a theoretical physicist, and Rosner, an astrophysicist, added: “To call the world nuclear situation dire is to understate the danger — and its immediacy. 

North Korea’s nuclear weapons program appeared to make remarkable progress in 2017, increasing risks for itself, other countries in the region and the United States.”

A board of scientists and nuclear experts meets regularly to determine what time it is on the Doomsday Clock. This group, called the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, was founded by veterans of the Manhattan Project concerned about the consequences of their nuclear research. 

One of them, nuclear physicist Alexander Langsdorf, was married to artist Martyl Langsdorf, who created the clock and set it at seven minutes to midnight, or 11:53, for the cover of the group's magazine. Her husband moved the time four minutes ahead in 1949.


REFERENCES:
1. Washington Post 
2. RT NEWS

Jack Ma Best Quotes In Davos 2018

Photo By; WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

In Davos, Alibaba founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma spoke openly and at length about some of the key challenges facing the world, delivering a stream of perspectives and guidance.

On the impact of technology

"We are very lucky because the world is in a big transformation because of technology. This new technology will create a lot of successful people, interesting careers but honestly every new technology will create social problems.

"If we don’t align together, human beings are going to fight each other, because each technology revolution makes the world unbalanced."

On the key to success

"To gain success a person will need high EQ; if you don't want to lose quickly you will need a high IQ, and if you want to be respected you need high LQ - the IQ of love."

On women in business

"If you want your company to be successful; if you want your company to operate with wisdom, with care, then women are the best.

"37% of senior management in Alibaba are women. Part of the 'secret sauce' of our success is because we have so many women colleagues."

On the future of globalization

"I think globalization cannot be stopped - no-one can stop globalization, no-one can stop trade. If trade stops, the world stops. Trade is the way to dissolve the war not cause the war.


"Global trade must be simple and modernised; it must be inclusive so everyone has the same opportunity. The next generation of globalisation must be inclusive."

On the impact of artificial intelligence

"Artificial intelligence, big data is a threat to human beings. I think AI should support human beings. Technology should always do something that enables people, not disable people.

"The computer will always be smarter than you are; they never forget, they never get angry. But computers can never be as wise a man. The AI and robots are going to kill a lot of jobs, because in the future it'll be done by machines. Service industries offer hope - but they must be done uniquely."

On learning from failure

"Learn from your mistakes - no matter how smart you are you will learn from them. We must share the mistakes with others.

"My thinking is that - if you want to be successful, learn from the other peoples’ mistakes, don’t learn from success stories. The book I want to write is "Alibaba: 1,001 Mistakes".

On the value of teamwork

"You don’t need to know a lot of things, but you need to find the people who are smarter than you are. My job is to make sure smart people are working together."

"The best way to promote your company is through your product or services, or employees."

On the education challenge

"A teacher should learn all the time; a teacher should share all the time. Education is a big challenge now - if we do not change the way we teach thirty years later we will be in trouble.

"We cannot teach our kids to compete with the machines who are smarter - we have to teach our kids something unique. In this way, 30 years later, kids will have a chance."

On the responsibilities of tech giants

"Google, Facebook, Amazon and AliBaba - we are the luckiest companies of this century. But we have the responsibility to have a good heart, and do something good. Make sure that everything you do is for the future."

REFERENCE: Written by
Gay Flashman, Formative Content
This article is part of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

Langit Antartika Bagaikan Filem Sains Fiksyen

Photo By; Strange Sound

FENOMENA UNIK: Langit Antartika bagaikan ada 'mata besar' di angkasa. Fenomena itu dikenali sebagai 'sun dog' – atau 'parhelion'.

Lebih menarik fenomena jarang-jarang berlaku sempat dirakamkan seorang fotojurnalis, Christopher Miche yang mengambil keadaan fenomena itu berlaku semasa lawatannya.

Dia merakamkan fenomena itu ketika beberapa kilometer dari South Pole bersama Syarikat Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions iaitu syarikat yang menyediakan perkhidmatan sains tourism.

Photo by: Strange Sound

- The phenomenon is known as a sun dog – or parhelion – and it happens when there are hexagonal ice crystals in the air, tending to float horizontally because in that position, they refract light so that it appears there are two other baby suns flanking the real sun. 

When crystals are more vertical, they create a halo around the original sun.

SUMBER: STRANGE SOUND

Netflix Tingkatkan Belanjawan Pemasaran Kepada AS$2 bilion

Photo By: Mommyish

BISNES: Pengasas dan Ketua Pengarah Eksekutif Netflix, Reed Hastings berkata NETFLIX meningkatkan belanjawan pemasaran dari S$1.3bilion (RM5.09 bilion) kepada US$2 bilion (RM7.84 bilion), menurut laporan tahunan suku keempat syarikat itu.

Beliau memaklumkan, syarikat itu kini lebih memberi fokus kepada aspek pemasaran.

Ditambah pula, apabila Netflix berpuas hati dengan filem ‘Holy Grail Dream’ yang mendapat sambutan luar biasa. Ini membuktikan perkhidmatan pemasaran yang baik ketika itu ditambah dengan kandungan filem yang relevan.

Katanya beliau mahukan kandungan filem terbaik dan berbaloi dengan belanjawan dilaburkan supaya akhirnya memberi manfaat kepada pembangunan syarikat tersebut.

Secara keseluruhan, Netflix berjaya meningkatkan pendapatan penstriman sebanyak 36 peratus apabila ia melebihi AS$11 bilion (RM43.11 bilion) dan berlaku juga penambahan keahlian baru sebanyak 24 juta berbanding dengan dua tahun lepas iaitu sebanyak 19 juta.

Di peringkat antarabangsa pula, syarikat tersebut mencapai sumbangan keuntungan positif buat kali pertama. Selain itu, pelaburan teknologi dan pembangunan bagi perkhidmatan streaming akan ditingkatkan juga kira-kira AS$1.3 billion (RM5.09 bilion) pada 2018.

Pada suku tahun 2017, Netflix mengumumkan akan membelanjakan kira-kira AS$7billion (RM27.43 bilion) dan AS$8 bilion (RM31.35 bilion) untuk kandungan pada 2018. Ini diikuti dengan perkembangan pendapatan sebanyak AS$2.985 juta (RM2985 juta) pada suke ketiga 2017, tahun ke tahun pertumbuhan meningkat sebanyak 30.3 peratus berbanding suku tahun sebelumnya.

Sebelum ini, pada Julai 2017, mengumumkan akan melabur sehingga AS$750 juta (RM2939.25 juta) untuk kandungan dan perkembangan global.

Tindakan tersebut dibuat untuk meningkatkan pelaburan pada kandungan terutama dalam siri-siri asli filem dan akhirnya, mengembalikan keuntungan syarikat.


Netflix is an American entertainment company founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph on August 29, 1997, in Scotts Valley, California. 

It specializes in and provides streaming media and video-on-demand online and DVD by mail. 

Founded: August 29, 1997, Scotts Valley, California, United States
CEO: Reed Hastings (Sep 1998–)
Revenue: 8.83 billion USD (2016)
Founders: Reed Hastings, Marc Randolph

Netflix is an American entertainment company founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph on August 29, 1997, in Scotts Valley, California. It specializes in and provides streaming media and video-on-demand online and DVD by mail. In 2013, Netflix expanded into film and television production as well as online distribution. It is headquartered in Los Gatos, California.

Netflix's initial business model included DVD sales and rental, although Hastings jettisoned DVD sales about a year after Netflix's founding to focus on the DVD rental by mail business.

 In 2007, Netflix expanded its business with the introduction of streaming media, while retaining the DVD and Blu-ray rental service. The company expanded internationally, with streaming made available to Canada in 2010 and continued growing its streaming service from there; by January 2016, Netflix services operated in over 190 countries.

Netflix entered the content-production industry in 2013, debuting its first series, House of Cards. It has greatly expanded the production of both film and television series since then, offering "Netflix Original" content through its online library of films and television. Netflix released an estimated 126 original series or films in 2016, more than any other network or cable channel.

As of January 2018, Netflix had 117.58 million subscribers worldwide, including 54.75 million in the United States. Their efforts to produce new content, secure the rights for additional content, and diversify through 190 countries has resulted in the company racking up billions in long term debt: $21.9 billion as of September 2017, up from $16.8 billion from the same time the previous year.(although half of this is long term debt, the other is obligations)

Netflix's headquarters are in 100 Winchester Circle, Los Gatos, California, United States. They also have other offices in the Netherlands, Brazil, India, Japan and South Korea. 

SUMBER RUJUKAN: AGENSI/ WIKIPEDIA

TM & AXIATA Bakal Bergabung?

Photo by: The Star Online

BISNES: Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif (CEO) Celcom Axiata Bhd Michael Kuehner berkata, cadangan penggabungan antara Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) dan Axiata Group Bhd ‘munasabah', namun terpulang kepada pemegang saham untuk membuat keputusan muktamad.

Beliau berkata TM dan Celcom merupakan syarikat telekomunikasi besar, yang memiliki rangkaian terbesar dalam negara, lapor BERNAMA.

“Ini perlu dikekalkan, dan saya boleh bayangkan sinergi besar yang boleh terhasil daripada penggabungan ini,” katanya kepada pemberita selepas menandatangani Memorandum Persefahaman (MoU) bagi pihak Celcom Axiata dengan CEO Malaysia Airlines Bhd Izham Ismail di sini, Khamis.

Celcom Axiata adalah milik Axiata Group.

Cakap-cakap mengenai penggabungan TM dan Axiata muncul sejak tahun lepas, selepas kedua-dua syarikat berpisah pada 2008.

Kuehner, bagaimanapun berkata sukar untuk menentukan hasil cakap-cakap terbabit.

“Berdasarkan pengalaman saya, tidak semua yang munasabah menjadi kenyataan. Sukar untuk menjangkakan, terpulang kepada pemegang saham untuk membuat keputusan,” katanya.

Ditanya sama ada penggiat pasaran, Yoodo, yang akan memasuki pasaran Malaysia menjelang akhir bulan ini, akan mencetuskan saingan  sengit  kepada Celcom, Kuehner berkata beliau tidak melihatnya begitu.

Sebaliknya, kehadiran syarikat itu boleh menjadikan industri berkenaan lebih kompetitif dan menawarkan pilihan kepada pelanggan.

Mengenai unjuran, beliau berkata industri itu akan kekal kukuh tahun depan memandangkan syarikat telekomunikasi mencatatkan hasil yang lebih rendah sejak tiga tahun lepas.

“Mungkin kita akan lihat pertumbuhan hasil yang lebih stabil tahun depan,” katanya.

Kini, Celcom mempunyai 11 juta pelanggan, dengan dua pertiga daripadanya merupakan pelanggan prabayar dan selebihnya pelanggan pasca bayar.

Mengenai MoU yang ditandatangani hari ini, urus niaga jangka panjang itu bermatlamat untuk meningkatkan gaya hidup digital pelancong.

Manfaatnya termasuk cara mudah untuk mendapat mata dan berbelanja perbatuan Enrich MAB, diskaun penerbangan bagi pelanggan Celcom mulai 1 Februari 2018, selain pelan perayuan yang menarik.

SUMBER: Bernama

PIDM: Tahap Kefahaman Perlindungan Simpanan Dan Insurans Masih Rendah

PIDM

INFO: Tahap kesedaran orang ramai terhadap perlindungan takaful dan insurans diperuntukkan Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia (PIDM) di bawah Sistem Perlindungan Manfaat Takaful dan Insuran didapati masih rendah.

BERNAMA melaporkan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutifnya, Rafiz Azuan Abdullah berkata berdasarkan kajian tahun lepas hanya 62 peratus orang ramai di negara ini yang sedar mengenai perlindungan takaful dan insurans yang diberikan oleh PIDM walaupun pelbagai usaha penerangan dilaksanakan.

"Kesedaran itu pun kerana mereka mengenali PIDM berdasarkan logo dan jenama PIDM yang sering dilihat di bank-bank.

"Apa yang kami mahukan supaya orang ramai mengetahui mengenai PIDM dengan lebih mendalam dengan harapan apabila berlaku sesuatu perkara di kemudian hari, mereka tahu cara bagi menanganinya," katanya kepada media ketika ditemui di majlis "PIDM KL Sentral Community Outreach', di sini, hari ini.

Menurutnya sehubungan itu PIDM akan mempertingkatkan usaha kesedaran dan promosi dalam kalangan orang ramai dan yakin masih ada ruang untuk meningkatkan tahap kesedaran sedia ada.

Selain itu Rafiz turut mengingatkan orang ramai supaya berwaspada dengan skim kewangan yang meragukan yang didapati semakin berleluasa semata-mata bagi memperdaya orang ramai.

Beliau turut menasihati orang ramai yang berhasrat untuk menyertai sebarang skim kewangan yang ditawarkan oleh mana-mana pihak supaya membuat semakan dengan pihak berkuasa bagi pengesahan sebelum menyertainya.

Sementara itu, PIDM menjemput orang ramai hadir ke program komuniti anjurannya yang berlangsung di NU Sentral, di sini, bermula hari ini selama tiga hari.

Program itu yang menampilkan pelbagai aktiviti untuk keluarga turut menawarkan pelbagai hadiah kepada pengunjung yang mengambil bahagian dalam pelbagai aktiviti.

PIDM yang ditubuhkan pada 2005 di bawah Akta Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia (Akta PIDM) adalah sebagai sebahagian daripada jaringan keselamatan kewangan Malaysia yang diberi mandat untuk melindungi kepentingan pendeposit dan pemilik sijil takaful dan polisi insurans terhadap kegagalan mana-mana institusi ahli PIDM.

Badan berkanun itu juga bertindak melindungi pendeposit daripada kehilangan deposit yang diinsuranskan yang disimpan di bank-bank ahli.

Orang ramai yang ingin mendapatkan maklumat lanjut berhubung PIDM boleh menghubungi talian 1-800-88-1266 atau melayari laman web www.pidm.gov.my.

SUMBER: BERNAMA

How to Save Your Wet Cellphone...With Rice!

Photo By: The Popular Mechanics

DIY: Even if a wet cellphone seems dead, there's a good chance it can be resuscitated as long as you act fast. 

This is a DIY moment: Your phone's warranty probably doesn't cover water damage.

Even if a wet cellphone seems dead, there's a good chance it can be resuscitated. Just make sure you act fast--the longer the water sits inside, the greater the likelihood it will destroy the phone for good.

This is a DIY moment. While consumers are conditioned to send back broken merchandise, your phone's warranty probably doesn't cover water damage. 
And you may not have much luck pulling a fast one on your phone company--most of today's phones come with a "water sticker" that permanently changes color if it gets wet.

Step 1: Remove the Battery

Immediately cut the power by removing the battery. I know it's tempting, but resist the urge to power up your phone to see if it works--just turning it on can short out the circuits. 

If you have a GSM phone (the type used by AT&T and T-Mobile), you'll want to remove the SIM card as well. Even if your phone turns out to be beyond repair, the SIM should retain a lot of its onboard information, such as the contacts in your phone book.

Step 2: Dry Your Phone

Dry your phone, and dry it fast. If you let the moisture evaporate naturally, the chance of corrosion damaging the phone's innards increases. Instead, blow or suck the water out. 

But don't use a hair dryer--its heat can fry your phone's insides. Instead, opt for a can of compressed air, an air compressor set to a low psi or a vacuum cleaner (a wet/dry Shop-Vac would be perfect). The idea is to use air to push or pull moisture out through the same channels it entered.

Step 3: Use a Desiccant

Use a desiccant to wick away any leftover moisture. The most convenient choice is uncooked rice. Just leave the phone (and its disconnected battery) submerged in a bowl of grains overnight. 

If you're worried about rice dust getting inside your phone, you can instead use the packets of silica gel that often come stuffed in the pockets of new clothes. 

But acting fast is far more important than avoiding a little dust, so don't waste time shopping if you don't already have a drawer full of silica gel.

The most important thing to remember is to avoid heat. That means no hair dryers, ovens, microwaves or extended periods in direct sunlight. While heat will certainly evaporate the moisture, it could also warp components and melt adhesives. 

Those fragile glues are also why you'll want to avoid dunking the phone in rubbing alcohol (an oft­prescribed tip on the Web). Alcohol is a solvent and can dissolve the internal adhesives. (If you drop your phone in the toilet, it's okay to wipe the outside with alcohol to disinfect it.)

One final, perhaps surprising, note: If your phone gets soaked in salt water, you should probably flush the whole thing in fresh water before it dries. 

When salt water evaporates, it leaves crystals that can damage a phone's fragile components. Just be sure to remove the battery before flooding the device.


REFERENCE: http://www.popularmechanics.com

Toys R Us Is Closing 182 Stores

Image via Top-Toy

Toys R Us announced plans to close 182 stores nationwide, creating new opportunities for big-box stores, online retailers and mom-and-pop shops to pick up a larger share of the toy business.

The Washington Post reported the retail chain, which filed for bankruptcy protection in September, has been fighting an uphill battle to stay relevant amid growing competition from the likes of Target, Walmart and Amazon.com. 

It’s woes only seemed to magnify in recent months: The retail industry enjoyed its best holiday season in years, but Toys R Us struggled to find its footing.

“Target, Walmart, Amazon — they’ve smelled weakness for some time, so they’ve stepped it up in their toy selection,” said Kelly O’Keefe, a professor of brand management at Virginia Commonwealth University. 

“There’s no question that they’re going to benefit from Toys R Us’s failure. I mean, think about it: Why would anyone go to Toys R Us, when they can go to Target and Walmart and buy toys at the same time they buy pantyhose and celery?”

Online sales of toys have also picked up in recent years, as Amazon.com, Walmart and others have expanded their selections. Roughly 14 percent of toy purchases were made online in 2016, up from about 7 percent in 2011, according to research firm GlobalData Retail. 

Toys R Us, meanwhile, has been slow to adapt. The retailer offers free shipping on orders over $29, but analysts say the site feels dated and clunky. (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos also owns The Washington Post.)


“Toys R Us is coming off a very bad year: They did badly in stores, and they did badly on the Web,” said Jim Silver, chief executive of toy review website TTPM. “If they have another year like 2017, it’ll be very tough for them to survive.”

In all, Toys R Us says it will close about one-fifth of its 880 U.S. locations, including a dozen stores in its home state of New Jersey, 15 in New York and 27 in California. 

(In the greater Washington area, it is closing stores in Potomac Mills, Va.; Newport News, Va.; and Clinton, Md.) Closures are slated to begin in early February and continue until mid-April. Other locations will be rebranded to include both Toys R Us and Babies R Us selections under one roof.

“The reinvention of our brands requires that we make tough decisions about our priorities and focus,” chief executive David A. Brandon wrote in a letter to customers on the retailer’s website. 

“As the leader of this company, I want you to know that we can and will address the gaps in the experience that you may have had when shopping this holiday.”

Overall, the holiday season was a successful one for retailers, with Americans spending $691.9 billion in November and December, marking the strongest growth in holiday retail sales since the end of the Great Recession. 

Holiday sales rose 6.9 percent at Kohl’s and 3.4 percent at Target. Amazon, which has yet to release holiday figures, said 2017’s Cyber Monday was its biggest sales day ever.

Despite turnaround efforts at Toys R Us, which included adding more hands-on “play labs,” retail experts say the company has been unable to get customers back into its stores. It doesn’t offer the low prices or convenience of its larger competitors, nor the fun-filled experience that many smaller outfits do.

“We know that customers are willing to pay more for an enjoyable experience — just look at the lines at Starbucks every day — but Toys R Us has failed to give us anything special or unique,” said O’Keefe, the Virginia Commonwealth University professor. “You can find more zest for life in a Walgreens.”


The latest round of closures could also eat away at the company’s buying power, analysts said, making it more difficult to snag exclusive offerings, such as its Star Wars Family Feud game and Lego Duplo Fire Boat.

They added that Toys R Us’s steady decline could create new opportunities for independent toy stores, which are seeing a revival as parents and children look for unique shopping experiences.

“Toys R Us cutting 20 percent of its stores — that’s no small number,” said Richard Gottlieb, chief executive of Global Toy Group, a research and consulting firm. “This is going to create ‘toy deserts,’ which is a great opportunity for specialty retailers to step in.”

SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST

Operasi Baharu Cari MH370 Bermula

GAMBAR OLEH: Daily Mirror

GLOBAL: Sekumpulan saintis Australia yang terbabit dalam operasi terbaharu mencari kapal terbang Malaysia Airlines (MAS) MH370 berharap menemui pesawat tersebut dalam tempoh beberapa minggu di selatan Lautan Hindi.

Agensi Berita Antarabangsa AFP melaporkan kapal pencarian berteknologi tinggi, Seabed Constructor diberi tanggungjawab mencari pesawat Boeing 777 dengan 239 penumpang yang hilang ketika dalam perjalanan dari Kuala Lumpur ke Beijing pada 8 Mac 2014.

Usaha terbaharu itu dikendalikan oleh firma swasta pene­rokaan dasar laut, Ocean Infinity yang berhasrat untuk menamatkan kisah penerbangan yang paling mencetuskan misteri di dunia sehingga hari ini.

“Kami berharap mereka dapat menemui pesawat berkenaan dalam bulan pertama pencarian itu. Malaysia memberikan mereka tempoh selama tiga bulan untuk menyempurnakan pencarian itu.

“Kami kini berada pada minggu pertama. Kita berharap menerima berita baik dalam beberapa minggu atau dalam 90 hari tetapi jangan menganggap ia misi yang mudah,” kata pakar oseanografi Australia daripada Pertubuhan Kajian Saintifik dan Industri Komanwel, David Griffin.

Firma dari Amerika Syarikat itu hanya dibayar sekiranya berjaya menemui bangkai atau kotak hitam pesawat MH370.

Kerajaan Malaysia telah menawarkan ganjaran sebanyak AS$70 juta (RM273 juta) jika mereka berjaya menemui pesawat berkenaan dalam tempoh yang ditetapkan itu.

Operasi pencarian di zon baharu itu dijalankan berdasarkan analisis dan bukti kukuh bagi merungkai misteri nahas kapal itu sejak empat tahun lalu.

Zon baharu itu ditetapkan berdasarkan empat imej satelit Pe­rancis selepas dua minggu nahas pesawat MH370 yang turut menunjukkan sekurang-kurangnya 70 objek terapung di laut.

“Kami lihat semua itu merupakan objek besar berwarna putih dan sebahagiannya bersaiz 40 meter persegi di sebuah lokasi pada kedudukan koordinat 35.6S 92.8E,” katanya.

Kapal Seabed Constructor yang membawa lapan dron autonomi dilengkapi dengan sonar dan kamera dikatakan mampu me­lakukan penerokaan sedalam 6,000 meter. 

SUMBER: AFP