【推荐1】New media has been growing fast and influencing people’s lives in ways few things have done before. In 2010, China’s new media industry witnessed explosive development. But with “new” comes uncertainties and challenges. The following are brief reviews on the development of China’s new media and outlooks on its future.

Micro-blogging (微博)

Short and convenient, micro-blogs also experienced “a big bang” in China last year, with the number of micro-bloggers at China’s popular portal(门户网站) sina.com.cn almost doubling in less than six months. Afterwards, the other three major web portals, including sohu.com, qq.com and 163.com, each set up their own micro-blogging services. With more government officials and entities(实体) registering, China’s micro-blogging services are expected to play a more important role in connecting the public and the governments in 2011.

Search Engines

Baidu’s position in the search engine market would face fierce challenges from sohu.com,

Microsoft’s Bing and goso.cn from the People’s Daily. Xinhua is also preparing to start its search engine together with China Mobile, a leading company in mobile networks. Goso and Xinhua both have the advantage of providing content, while Bing has a big edge in technology and funds. They are expected to pose threats(威胁) to Baidu in 2011.

Internet of Things

IoT refers to a network of real-world objects linked by the Internet and interacting through on-line services. China set up its first IoT research center in Shanghai in March 2010.Within the same week, Premier Wen Jiabao stated in the annual government report that it would “accelerate the research and development, as well as application of the Internet of Things. ”

However, some experts say China’s IoT is still in an early stage, and it’ll take a long time for it to let the public enjoy its full functions.

【推荐2】French children are saying “Hello” to the new academic year and “Bye” to their cell phones during school hours. That’s because a new law has come into effect which bans phone use by students up to the age of 15. The rule, which follows a campaign promise by French President Emmanuel Macron, also bans tablets and smart watches.

The ban ıs also in place at break times with exceptions in cases of emergency and for disabled children, the French Education Ministry said in a statement. In emergencies, students can ask their teachers for permission to use their phones. Meanwhile, high schools can voluntarily carry out the measure.

Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said the new rules aim to help children focus on lessons, better socialize and reduce social media use. The ban is also designed to fight online bullying and prevent thefts and violence in school. Blanquer has claimed the rule would improve discipline among France’s 12 million school students, nearly 90% of whom have mobile phones. “Being open to technologies of the future doesn’t mean we have to accept all their uses,” Blanquer said in June as the bill was going through in Parliament.

As for carrying out the ban, it’s up to individual school administrations to decide how to put through the ban. School principals can decide to store students’ phones in lockers or allow them to keep them, switched off, in their backpacks. The law allows teachers to take away the phones until the end of the day in case of someone disobeying the bans.

Jacqueline Kay-Cessou, whose 14-year-old son, David, is entering eighth grade at the Camille See International School, told the reporter she was happy to hear of the ban. “It’s fantastic news. It’s something I’ve wanted for years,” Kay-Cessou said. “I think phones are socially harmful. Kids can’t think and sit still anymore and it’s highly addictive.”

【推荐3】We ate on the go more than ever before. Here are three health apps that can help you better manage your health when you pursue your dreams.

(1) Doctors On Demand

Doctors On Demand enables you to visit a doctor without ever leaving your home, helping you use a computer, tablet or smart phone to have a doctor video chat with you. The service will help you locate and connect you to licensed doctors, psychologists, pediatricians (儿科医生) and more. Fees can be paid with HAS & FSA. It costs $ 40 for 15 minutes with a doctor or $50 for 20 minutes with a psychologist.

(2) Text 4 baby

I’m a big fan of Text4baby for a few reasons. The free service for pregnant women and new moms works by sending text messages to your smart phone three times a week with information about how to have a healthy pregnancy and baby. And the messages are timed to the pregnant woman’s due date or the baby’s date of birth, sending tips that are relevant to where a mother is in her pregnancy or where a baby is in stages of development. Tips range from breastfeeding to car seat safety to reminders about exercise, nutrition and more. The service combines interactive text messages, an app, video and web content in English and Spanish. Sign up by texting BABY to 511-411 or by downloading the app.

(3) RISE

RISE, an app available on iPhone (coming to Android in 2016), pairs you up with (与绑定) a registered dietitian to improve your diet and reach health goals. You share photos of your meals and your exercise for the day with your coach, who then looks for areas where you can improve and gives advice, helps you set goals and is there to pat you on the back virtually (虚拟地) when you hit a milestone. What’s also great is that you can text as much as you want with your dietitian and there is no need to go into an office. Fees for this service range from $9 per month to $50 a month. There is a free 7-day trial so you can try it out for a week to see if it’s fit for you.

【推荐3】People say money doesn’t buy happiness, but how much money you make can affect the way you experience it?

While it’s true that money can’t buy happiness, having money has certain benefits. For example, money can buy you time to do things that make you happier, and giving away some of your money can make you happier as well. Now scientists from the University of California at Irvine have found that how much money you make may impact (影响) how you experience happiness; higher earners are more likely to experience positive emotions focused on themselves, while lower earners are more likely to experience positive emotions focused on connecting with other people.

Scientists used data from an existing survey of 1,519 U.S. adults between the ages of 24 to 93, to be representative of the entire U.S. population. From the survey, scientist collected the household income of each person and analyzed how each person experienced the seven emotions that are believed to cause happiness: amusement, admiration, compassion, satisfaction, enthusiasm, love, and pride.

What they found was that higher earners were associated with the happiness-related emotions of satisfaction, pride, and amusement, all of which are self-focused in nature. Lower earners were associated with more other-oriented (他人指向) happiness-related emotions: compassion, love, and admiration. There were no differences observed with enthusiasm.

As to reasons for the difference, the researchers suppose that while pride and satisfaction may reflect upper class individuals’ (个人) desire for independence, increased love and compassion may help lower class individuals form more harmonious (和谐的), interdependent bonds to help deal with their more threatening environments. In other words, the researchers are not saying that one way of getting happiness is better than another, but rather that the way one obtains happiness may be a product of existing and coping within one’s particular circumstances.

【推荐1】If your pilot calls “Mayday” on the communication system, you’re in big trouble. In May 2020, the pilot of Pakistan International Airlines Flight PK 8303 gave the horrible “Mayday” signal. “We have lost two engines “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday,” were the pilots’ last words, according to “Business Insider” Ninety-seven people died. “Mayday” is an international distress (遇险) signal used by airplane pilots and boat captains.

The signal arose just after World War, as air traffic between Britain and Europe increased greatly. All nearby nations needed an internationally understood signal that would warn authorities of urgent aircraft problems. Ships communicated through telegraph (电报) using Morse code (摩斯密码), and this technology made “SOS” unmistakable. However, aircraft pilots used radio calls, and “SOS” owing to its consonants (辅音) could be misheard as other letters, like “F”.

So Frederick Mock ford, a senior radio officer in London, was put in charge of finding a proper code word. He reasoned that because so much of the air traffic flew between Croydon and Le Bourget Airport in Paris. It might make sense to use a word that has been developed from a French word. He came up with “Mayday”, the French pronunciation of “m’aider” (help me) which itself is a clear version (版本) of “venez m’aider,” (come help me). The U. S. formally adopted “Mayday” as a distress signal in 1927.

Given its importance, most people respect the “Mayday” signal and use it only when completely necessary. Sadly, the Coast Guard occasionally deals with hoax calls. As a result a lot of dollars and countless man-hours may be wasted trying to rescue people who were never in danger. People who misuse this system can be put in prison for up to 10 years.