NYT: Starbucks’ China Problem: Coffee Drinkers Want More for Less
For years, Starbucks was the dominant coffee chain in China. Now rivals offering local flavors and cheaper prices are crushing the company’s bottom line in its second-largest market.
NYT: This Brazilian Velvet Ant Is So Dark That It’s Super-Black
A team of scientists led by Dr. Lopez recently found that the black parts on female velvet ants were actually ultrablack — so matte that they absorbed nearly all visible light. The discovery, published in the Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology this month, makes this particular species of velvet ant, Traumatomutilla bifurca, the first known insect among Hymenoptera — the group of animals consisting of bees, wasps and ants — to display such a striking shade.
“We have never seen this kind of color in the dragonflies or bees or beetles we have analyzed,” said Rhainer Guillermo-Ferreira, another entomologist at the Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro and an author of the paper.
SMH: Electric vehicle chargers: Plan to install chargers on power poles
Drivers across Victoria could charge their electric cars directly from power poles on the street if a joint trial by energy companies is approved.
CitiPower, Powercor and United Energy want to install 100 electric vehicle chargers on power poles across Melbourne’s inner and south-eastern suburbs, the Mornington Peninsula and parts of western Victoria next year.
MacRumors: iCloud Backups No Longer Available for iPhones and iPads Running iOS 8 or Earlier
Making a device backup over iCloud now requires iOS 9 or later, which means iPhones and iPads that are running iOS 8 or earlier are no longer able to be backed up using iCloud.
Last Updated: 19.Dec.2024 17:59 EST
