Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Saturday, May 31, 2014

drag2share: Illegal Prescription Drugs Keep Showing Up On Amazon

source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/y9NLNsYJKXc/amazon-prescription-drugs-2014-5

pills medicine Physician Ford Vox started noticing prescription drugs on Amazon that were available without a prescription, he writes on Slate.

All of the drugs linked to in his article have since been removed from Amazon, indicating that the company removes potentially illegal goods when they have been identified.

But other listings for prescription drugs mentioned in the article can still be found on the e-commerce site.

A quick search for the medication Vitara Clinda Gel brings up more than 100 results. Searching for its prescription-regulated ingredient, clindamycin, yields more than 300 results. Clindamycin, Vox writes, is known to cause severe and even deadly reactions if used improperly. There's a reason it's not supposed to be easy to get.

Vox writes there are many more strong and dangerous drugs available on Amazon that would usually require a doctor's signature, such as prescription-strength muscle relaxers and antibiotics, which can contain harmful compounds and are lethal with misuse.

Here's what Amazon told Vox:

I asked Amazon public relations manager Erik Fairleigh a number of specific questions about how illegal products make it through to the site to end up being sold to Amazon customers. I wanted to know if Amazon employees manually review each product before it is listed, why products are removed following reporting like this only to reappear later on the site, a! nd if Am azon considers itself protected from liability when third-party distributors are selling illegal products to Amazon's customers. Fairleigh declined to answer these questions, but he did point me to Amazon's policy on counterfeiting, which attempts to distance the company from the third-party sellers in its marketplace by saying "it is each seller's responsibility to source and sell only authentic products." The policy goes on to state that, "if we determine that a seller account has been used to engage in fraud or other illegal activity, remittances and payments may be withheld or forfeited."

---
drag2share - drag and drop RSS news items on your email contacts to share (click SEE DEMO)

Around Half Of All American Adults Were Hacked In The Last Year

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/half-of-american-adults-were-hacked-last-year-2014-5

target shopping carts

New data says 110 million Americans, about 47% of American adults, lost some personal information to hackers in the past year, Digital Trends reports. This information includes everything from names and phone numbers to credit card numbers and security questions.

The data comes from Ponemon Institute and CNN Money and is not exact, but is estimated from numbers from the Identity Theft Resource Center and different corporate disclosures, Digital Trends says.

This is likely thanks to some large-scale hacks from the past year. The Heartbleed Bug, the Snapchat hack, and the Target hack all left millions vulnerable to hacks and theft. Other companies, like eBay and AOL, had large-scale security issues but have yet to release figures about how many accounts were at risk. This is why 110 million people can only be an estimate, CNN Money reports.

Hackers are also growing more efficient and sophisticated. A hack can go on for years without being detected. CNN Money says.

Join the conversation about this story »

Friday, May 30, 2014

drag2share: New Method of Quantum Teleportation Could Bring Us a Quantum Internet

Source: http://gizmodo.com/new-method-of-quantum-teleportation-could-bring-us-a-qu-1583771236

New Method of Quantum Teleportation Could Bring Us a Quantum Internet

A team of Dutch scientists just announced a new method of quantum teleportation that uses entanglement as a form of communication. They can successfully teleport data over a distance of ten feet. But, more importantly, they can also do so with 100 percent reliability.

drag2share: Samsung's latest smartphone-camera hybrid launches in the UK tomorrow

source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/30/samsung-galaxy-k-zoom-uk-launch/?utm_source=Feed_Classic_Full&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Engadget&?ncid=rss_full

Samsung appears intent on single-handedly bringing back the word "cameraphone," if the Galaxy S4 Zoom and recently announced Galaxy K Zoom are anything to go by. The newer of the two does a much better job of hiding its hybrid bloodline, and tomorrow (May 31st) it arrives in the UK at various online and bricks-and-mortar outlets, including at Carphone Warehouse and Samsung's own Experience stores. If the official K Zoom product page is any indication, you'll be looking at around £400 all-in, and we doubt they'll be a wealth of carrier-subsidised deals on offer for the niche device. The K Zoom doesn't quite rival the Galaxy S5 in terms of raw power, but it's the 20.7-megapixel camera with 10x optical zoom you'll be buying it for; and, how can you resist something with a Selfie Alarm mode?

---
drag2share - drag and drop RSS news items on your email contacts to share (click SEE DEMO)

drag2share: This Futuristic Floating City Could Become A Reality In China

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/china-may-build-this-floating-city-2014-5

Renderings of this futuristic Floating City (via Dezeen) could very easily pass for the storyboard of a Hollywood sci-fi flick set in the distant future.

But this design for a floating city, by London-based architecture firm AT Design Office, may very well become reality.

According to the city's designers, the project's backers are in talks with a large Chinese investment group to discuss the possibility of constructing the City. "China Transport Investment Co. is reviewing the proposal and is likely to start to test this ambitious project from a smaller scale next year," project architect Slavomir Siska said in a press release. Commissioned by Chinese construction firm CCCC, the Floating City is a proposed four-square mile floating structure comprised of hexagonal modules connected by underwater tunnels that create a network of roads and walkways. Floating City 6 The eco-friendly project is expected to be self-sufficient, with on-island food production, power generation, and waste management systems. Movement throughout the city is expected to be facilitated by electric cars or other zero-carbon forms of transport. Floating City 1 Logistically, the movement of goods in and out of the Floating Cit! y may be a challenge, but designers are hoping a network above, as well as underwater transport canals with fleets of transport yachts and submarines, will ease the strain.

In fact, the City's center harbor,with access to its shopping and entertainment districts, could be used as a parking location of commercial submarines. Floating City 2 The Floating City will consist of both above and underwater segments, and will feature all of the residential, commercial and entertainment accoutrements of a major city. Planners expect the City to house luxury hotels, restaurants, shopping, and other recreational options. The Floating City will even come equipped with docking facilities for cruise ships to encourage tourism. Floating City 3 The architects at AT Design Office have also included a copious amount of green space in their design, both above and under water. The above-ground green belt is designed to provide residents with recreational space, while the underwater greenery will provide fresh air and additional relaxation space. Floating City 4 While it is unlikely the completed Floating City will be an exact facsimile of these renderings, many of the construction techniques needed to bring the project to life is already exist. The City's backers expect to construct the city out of a series of 500 x 100-foot prefabricated blocks by implementing techniques CCCC is currently using to build a 31-mile-long bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai.