【推荐1】The one thing everyone loves to hate when it comes to the Internet—the user password—is under fire now. Actually, it’s been under fire for a long time.

In an ideal world, people would use a long string composed of completely random characters, numbers and symbols. Furthermore, a unique password would be used for every site or application the user uses. Unfortunately, the more complex the passwords become, the more people are likely to forget them. The longer the passwords are, the more easily forgotten they are. Therefore, people use the same password for every service or application. It is a no-no and extremely defeats the purpose of a password.

Google is trying to kill off the user password, at least on Android devices by introducing the Trust API, which does what simple passwords cannot. It gives developers a framework for securing their applications using a number of security system and metrics (衡量标准) on the device. A Trust Score will be generated based on the metrics the device gathers and will allow or deny access to applications based on whether or not your Trust Score is high enough.

The Trust Score will be generated based on metrics like your device location, face scanning and fingerprint, and the things like your typing speed or the way you speak. Taken one at a time, these metrics are not secure. But taken together, these metrics will help define the real “you”.

Passwords have been around since the dawn of computing and although the security of systems has been improved, they haven9t done much to improve the usability of systems. Google appears to have the best of both worlds—a highly secure system that end users won^ even notice. Maybe that never-ending conflict between security and convenience will be able to take a break once the trust system comes out.

【推荐2】The race to 5G is on. All four major US carriers now have some form of 5G wireless, although it’s all limited roll-outs in only a few cities, mostly using expensive phones that won’t support future nationwide 5G networks. We’re tracking the roll-outs monthly on our Race to 5G page.

The early 5G roll-outs are more like a public test than a final product. AT＆T, Verizon, and T-Mobile are all using technologies that only travel about 800 feet from a cell site, which means there isn’t much coverage. All four carriers are waiting for upgrades（升级）to their base stations that will improve coverage, speed, and reliability. Around the end of this year or the beginning of 2020, AT＆T, Verizon, and T-Mobile all intend to launch 5G networks that use the existing 4G spectrum（频谱）, which will have slower speeds but broader coverage.

We’ve tested AT＆T in Dallas and Las Vegas Sprint in Dallas and New York; Verizon in Chicago, New York, and Providence; and T-Mobile in New York. Every month, we’ve been seeing better performance and more new devices. It’s messy. It’s very early days. And if you like new technology, it’s very exciting.

In previous mobile transformations, we’ve seen most of the big changes happening years after the first announcement. Take 4G, for instance. The first 4G phones in the US appeared in 2010. But the sorts of 4G applications that changed our world didn’t appear until later. So following that plan. While we’re getting a little bit of 5G right now, you should expect the big 5G applications to crop up around 2021 or 2022.

5G stands for fifth-generation-cellular（蜂窝状的）wireless, and the initial standards of it were set at the end of 2017. But a set of standards doesn’t mean that all 5G will work the same-or that we even know what applications 5G will enable. There will be slow but responsive 5G, and fast 5G with limited coverage.

【推荐3】Australian experts have expressed concerns that too many millennials (千禧一代) are hoping to use their social media accounts to build their careers.

Their concerns follow the sudden rise in “insta-celebrities” who make money by posting sponsored (赞助的) photos online. For the lucky few who are not only talented photographers but also good-looking and business-savvy (有商业头脑的), making money off social media isn’t impossible.

Instagram is flooded with social media professionals paid to promote products and services. However, social scientist Lauren Rosewarne, from the University of Melbourne, says that in reality, there are far fewer people making money off the platforms than one may think.

She said many young Australians were getting involved in by the appeal of making money on platforms like Instagram, describing it as “totally unrealistic” and extremely difficult to do.

“Young people are hoping to be famous in numbers that were simply not there 20 years ago,” Rosewarne told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Saturday. “There are some people who can make fortunes out of their Instagram posts, but that is not the norm (常态).”

She said it was up to parents and schools to discourage students from seeking Insta-fame, as many believe it is a possible career choice. “There’s the warning for parents; this is not a normal or even common occurrence that you can monetize (使赚钱) your Instagram account.”

Meanwhile Toni Eager from Australian National University said social problems could arise from spending too much time with social media.

“Where do the insta-celebrities go… to separate the life people see on Instagram from their actual normal life?” Eager said. “All of a sudden, people own your private life.”

【推荐1】After at least five years of transporting you around the country, car batteries will now spend their retirement making you tea and toast and running your washing machine.

Used electric car batteries are being changed into home energy storage units which can be linked to rooftop solar panels to keep lights on and devices running when the sun goes down. The plan between Honda and Snam, an Italian energy infrastructure company, will reuse or recycle thousands of batteries from electric and hybrid cars and trucks across Europe, with single batteries installed（安装）in homes and lines of them linked to wind farms to store electricity.

They will also be used by homes and businesses on "time of use" electricity rates—to be charged up when electricity is cheap and used when the rate increases at times of peak demand. The plan will help solve one of the biggest challenges for the rapidly growing electric car industry —how to deal with large batteries which contain valuable metals such as lithium and cobalt but are expensive to break down and recycle.

Most have a warranty（保证）lasting five to eight years depending on how well they are managed and how often recharged. Used batteries have 50 to 90 per cent of their original capacity, according to Aceleron, which makes batteries that are easier to reuse and recycle.

Amrit Chandan, its founder, said："Transport is the largest source of carbon emissions in the UK, and in order to reduce carbon emissions, million electric vehicles are sold each year. But we are currently solving one environmentally friendly issue while ignoring another. Waste is the elephant in the room. By designing batteries for the circular economy from the start, we can prevent mountains of battery waste from being created worldwide. "

【推荐3】400 million tons of plastic are generated annually, most of which comes from single-use plastic While countries are making progress in reducing this waste through paper bags and straws, there are still applications where the properties of plastic are necessary.

Transparent (透明的) wood is an alternative for such applications and is highly preferred since it prevents the harm of petroleum-derived (石油衍生的) plastic products. German scientist Siegfried Fink first created transparent wood in the year 1992, and over the past three decades it has been significantly improved by other researchers as well.

In its natural form, wood is not transparent. However, researchers have found that removing lignin, a naturally occurring biopolymer that provides structural support for the plant tissue, can make it transparent. To do so, the wood is soaked in a warm solution consisting of multiple chemicals, followed by boiling it in another solution. This removes the lignin completely and turns the wood white. However, the space that was occupied by lignin needs to be filled up to maintain structural integrity. This process is done by using a resin (树脂) at a temperature of 185 Fahrenheit (85℃).

The final product can have as much as 90 transparency, and it doesn’t break easily. More importantly, it is more biodegradable than glass or plastic.

While transparent wood isn’t commercial yet, it has been employed in a wide variety of applications ranging from construction to energy storage, making flexible electronics and packaging.

The researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology ( IIT) conducted a life-cycle analysis (LCA) of transparent wood to determine the environmental impact of its production and end-of-life (EOL) cycle. The study found that using hydrogen peroxide for delignification, followed by using epoxy for infiltration, was the most eco-friendly. When scaled up for industrial production, the former method would lower electricity consumption by as much as 98. 8 percent.

EOL analysis showed that transparent wood had a reduced ecological impact compared to polyethylene (聚乙烯), paving the way for it to be commercially adapted to replace the petroleum-based material.

【推荐1】The worst time to look for a job is when you feel desperate and must have a new one immediately.     1     If you are not in need of an immediate career change, here are ways you can improve your long-ter career prospects today:

Identify at least two different roles. You do not have to be qualified for these positions today, nor do they have to exist in your company. However, these roles should be related to your current skill set. They are career options that look interesting.     2     Pay close attention to what appeals to you, and write it down. This will give insight into your motivations and targets. Subscribe to a career specific magazine. Knowledge is power in the workplace. All businesses must stay relevant to their customers in order to win the competitions and increase revenue (收益), Reading about industry trends, advancements and success stories keeps you in touch with market conditions. This information allows you to see which companies and professionals are leading the pack. You can follow their examples in your own workplace.     3    

Do exceptional work. In any role, there is a way to perform at your best. Look for ways to deliver a top performance. Show up early, be flexible to new assignments, have a positive attitude, cooperate with other departments, pay attention to the little details.

Be professionally curious. Talk to people about their careers. Learn more about how success measured in other roles, departments and companies, Ask people their thoughts on different industries.     4     People hire people. You never know what connections may be relevant when you start your next job search, so develop a habit of making good connections no matter where you go. Take the time to learn about others, and be helpful when you can.

As in all things in life, getting in front of a difficult task early is always less stressful than reacting to a career surprise. Changing jobs is to be expected. No matter how secure you feel today, the time will come when either you or your employer decide it is time to change.