Dr M Khalid's global village blog

1. Issue with iPhone6 iPhone 6s users report 'too hot to touch' Home Button Freelance designer Jonnie Hallman took to Twitter on Monday (5 October) to report that his iPhone 6s had shut off with 50% battery still remaining, claiming that the Home Button became so hot that he couldn't touch it. When asked by another Twitter user whether the smartphone had been exposed to hot weather or sunlight, Hallman replied that the device had been in his pocket all day. Ref: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/iphone-6s-users-report-too-hot-touch-home-button-1522629 2. Issue wiith Surface Book PCWorld: New Surface Book owners complain of unexpected freezes, other bugs. Although Microsoft's Surface Book is officially just a few days old, the "ultimate laptop" is being hit by a wave of unexpected lockup problems that has concerned new users. A thread on Microsoft's support forums has begun to gain steam, with users reporting similar symptoms: The notebook just suddenly stops workin

The tunnel was narrow, and a mere 16in high in places. The workers could barely kneel in it, let alone stand. Thick,choking coal dust filled their lungs as they crawled through the darkness, their knees scraping on the rough surface and their muscles contracting with pain. A single 'hurrier' pulled the heavy cart of coal, weighing as much as 500lb, attached by a chain to a belt worn around the waist, while one or more 'thrusters' pushed from behind. Acrid water dripped from the tunnel ceiling, soaking their ragged clothes. Many would die from lung cancer and other diseases before they reached 25. For, shockingly, these human beasts of burden were children, some only five years old. Robert North, who worked in a coal mine in Yorkshire, told an inspector: 'I went into the pit at seven years of age. When I drew by the girdle and chain, my skin was broken and the blood ran down … If we said anything, they would beat us.' 

It may be a mistake for China to abandon the One child policy. There may be increasing number of millionaires but the Average quality of life has not really moved to a good level. China ranks 67 in the 2015 Human Capital Index rankings as can be seen here: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Human_Capital_Report_2015.pdf The Human Capital Index is compiled by : 'The World Economic Forum' (WEF) which is a Swiss nonprofit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva. It defines itself an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic developmental activities. China's ruling Communist Party will abandon the one-child policy introduced in the late 1970s to defuse a demographic time bomb that threatens to choke growth in the world's second biggest economy. The party's decision-making Central Committee approved plans to allow all couples in China to have two children, the official Xinhua News Agency said

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228354.500-revealed--the-capitalist-network-that-runs-the-world

This is  Change Log  — my weekly observations and links on the intersection of tech, commerce, health, culture and markets. Free of its past penchant for frugality and utilitarian design, the new Google launched a slew of beautifully polished products last week. The new Google is talking the talk but sales will prove if it can walk. … The new name for the parent company, Alphabet, takes effect this week. For a spell at least. …. Apple execs seem to be passionate about blocking ads and trackers but it's clear they have no defense for Facebook and that's a big problem because just three mobile apps now account for 80 percent of media consumption on mobile devices…  Blackberry waited until its own operating system was completely obliterated before finally working with Google to build an Android powered device .  Canadians, sometimes to their detriment, are so darned polite…  Few expected the first big beneficiary of the Internet of Things (IoT) to be cars

Housing economists have long used a home price/rent ratio as one way to gauge whether or not home prices are inflated or undervalued. Moreover, on a very practical level, relating home prices to rents can give you a more detailed view of whether there's a financial payoff to homeowning, says Gary Smith, Pomona College professor and co-author of "Houseonomics." A housing P/E The use of a price/rent ratio is analogous to employing a price/earnings ratio for stocks. When a stock price is high, and its earnings per share relatively low, the P/E is high. A high P/E often indicates that the stock is too expensive, and the share price is headed for a drop. What someone is willing to pay to rent a place is that home's "earnings." And, just as in the stock market, a high home price related to the rental earnings mean homes values will probably drop. For a specific look at how a home's P/E is determined, let's consider a home that is listed for either rent or