Internet Essentials

This week, a marketing firm named Y&R launched a new campaign called "The Whole Story Project". The project incudes an app that allows users to see, share, and add virtual statues of important women alongside existing statues of men. The app uses augmented reality ("augmented reality makes digital images appear on top of real-life objects when you look at them on a smartphone or tablet") and GPS to allow users to find statues and subsequently learn about women's contributions. "The Whole Story" app is avaiable for free on iOS and Android. I think this is a wonderful thing to help showcase great women throughout history.. Article on App Showing Virtual Statues of Historic Women

Northern Royal Albatross Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey and the Canterbury Museum in New Zealand have found that they can use high-resolution satellite imagery from space to count endangered birds, specifically albatrosses. Albatrosses are hard to study because they breed on remote, inaccessible islands. The WorldView-3 satellite makes it possible to count the birds individually. Knowing the number of endangered birds is important to conservation efforts. One of the lead researchers believes the satellite can also be used to count other large birds. Saving endangered species is important to me so I am happy that the scientists have found a way to help. Article on Counting Endangered Birds from Space

Warren Buffett, one of the world's most well-known investors, admits he missed out on the opportunity to invest in two immensely successful tech companies, Google and Amazon. He said he should have known early on that Google was going places. He admitted to being amazed that Google was able to make more money without an increase in cost, but he still didn't buy the stock. He said he "blew it." Also, he admitted to admiring the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, and expressed regret in never owning a share of his company.  I think I would feel the same way if I was in his shoes, but he's done incredibly well even if he missed two great opportunities. Article on Warren Buffet Regretting Missing Out on Google

Researchers from the University of Utah have created an automated machine that can perform complex cranial surgery 50 times faster than standard procedures. A surgery to remove noncancerous tumors in patients with substantial hearing loss would normally take two hours with a hand drill. The same surgery would take two and a half minutes with the robotic drill. The drill's speed reduces the amount of time a wound is open and a patient is under anesthesia. This decreases costs, the chance of infection, and human error. I think this is a great invention. My main worry was eased by the fact that a surgeon would stand by during the surgery and can turn off the drill at any time. Link to Article on New Robotic Drill  

As a response to the recent forced removal of a passenger on an overbooked United Airlines flight, a Chrome extension has been created to help you boycott the airline. The extension, called Drop United, removes United Airlines as an option when searching for flights on Google Search, Google Flights, Kayak, and Expedia. For those who are upset enough with United to boycott them, this is a great extension. Article on New Chrome Extension That Helps Boycott United Airlines

On April 21, Samsung's Galaxy S8 and S8+ will launch in the U.S. However, the digital assistant Bixby will not be fully functional in time for the release. Apparently, some elements of Bixby will be included, but the voice activation feature will not be available. Considering the Bixby tool was widely promoted when news of the Samsung Galaxy S8 started coming out, it is a bit embarrassing that some of its features will not be ready for the U.S. launch. However, I do think it is smart of Samsung to perfect Bixby instead of rushing to include a fully operational version that might end up having problems. Article on Samsung's Siri Rival Not Being Ready for New Galaxy Phone Launch