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October 24th, 2014
02:41 PM ET

Watch Mark Zuckerberg speak Chinese

In case you missed it, here's Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaking Mandarin Chinese at Beijing's Tsinghua University.

Zuckerberg surprised the audience by speaking and answering questions in Mandarin for almost 30-minutes.

His heavy accent caused a few moments of misunderstanding - like when he tried to say the word "billion" but it came out as "eleven."

But no matter. It was an inspiring effort!

October 23rd, 2014
06:51 AM ET

Anson Chan's message to Beijing

For four weeks now, pro-democracy demonstrators have blocked major roads and highways in Hong Kong.

It's a sight that's become the new normal in a city known as a hyper-efficient financial hub.

Parts of the central business district have transformed into a tent city - a hotbed of political activism while both sides refuse to back down.

The protesters want true universal suffrage. They don't want Beijing to vet who can stand in Hong Kong's next leadership election.

But Chinese authorities say there is no way Beijing will take back its decision on 2017 elections.

That’s not acceptable for former Chief Secretary of Hong Kong, Anson Chan.

"We need a new chief executive who at long last will stand up for Hong Kong’s best interests,” she says.

Anson Chan was the second in command in Hong Kong's colonial government and after the handover. In recent years, she's taken a high-profile role in the campaign for universal suffrage.

I spoke to Chan about the way forward for Hong Kong and passing the torch of democracy to a new generation.

She also has this message for China:

"I would like to say to Beijing - trust the people of Hong Kong, trust our young protest leaders. They are our future, and use Hong Kong as a testing ground for introducing full democracy."

Click on for the full interview.

October 13th, 2014
12:58 PM ET

Sachs: Ebola is a controllable epidemic

An American nurse has become the first person to contract Ebola in the U.S., raising fear and alarm about the outbreak in the West.

In the Ebola hotzone of West Africa, desperation grows as thousands of people are struck by the deadly virus - including healthcare workers on the front line.

The outbreak may be spreading, but professor and senior United Nations advisor Jeffrey Sachs tells me Ebola can be controlled in 6 months.

"This is a controllable epidemic but the epidemic has so far outrun the control efforts," he says.

"This is logistics, it's equipment, it's basic health protocols, it's diagnostics. All the pieces of a basic control system that need to be rapidly scaled up."

Watch the video to hear his recommended next steps, and what is at stake for Africa and the world if Ebola is not contained.

October 2nd, 2014
03:25 PM ET

Is Hong Kong playing chicken with China?

Hong Kong is in a standoff with Beijing. It’s a fight ostensibly about universal suffrage. But in some ways, it’s also a litmus test for financial freedoms under President Xi Jinping.

Right now, Hong Kong is governed by a “one country, two systems” charter mandating that until the year 2047, the territory will remain a capitalist economy - with a good deal of political autonomy.

The tens of thousands of protesters taking to the streets this week are banking on Hong Kong’s financial leverage over the world’s second largest economy. But the unspoken worry is that Hong Kong just isn’t as important to China as it used to be.

FULL POST

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Filed under: China
October 1st, 2014
01:37 PM ET

How Hong Kong protesters spread their message

It has been dubbed the "Umbrella Revolution." But that isn't the only symbol to come out of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests.

Local artist Kacey Wong also explains the meaning of the yellow ribbons and numbers spotted on signs.

He believes there is a lot at stake during this demonstration for universal suffrage.

"Right now I can see this war on culture. The winners will get to keep their way of life and their culture. And if you lose in this war, we have to fall back," Wong says. "We don’t want to fall back into the chaos that we read in the news from mainland China. I think it is time for mainland government officials to learn that if they want to join the international community, they have to behave in a civilized way. And this is a golden opportunity."


Filed under: General
September 26th, 2014
02:19 PM ET

Life a little less 2D

Forget what you know about conventional printing – and start thinking three-dimensionally.

3D printing – once considered niche – is now becoming more mainstream. UPS, for example, just expanded its 3D printing services to locations across the United States to keep up with demand.

But Bre Pettis and the folks at Stratasys are working to bring 3D printing to your home.

Pettis is the co-founder of Makerbot, the company that pioneered 3D printers for consumers. Now at Makerbot’s parent company, he’s part of an innovation workshop called Bold Machines.

“We’re exploring the frontier of what’s possible,” Pettis says. “Imagine Iron Man’s workshop. We’ve got all the 3D printers in the Stratasys lineup – from Makerbots to wax printers – that make wax 3D models that you can then take into a foundry and make beautiful customized jewelry.”

So how does it work? FULL POST

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Filed under: Gadgets • Movies • Technology • Titans of Tech
September 24th, 2014
02:16 PM ET

ISS gets its first 3D printer

Life on the International Space Station may never be the same. The crew is now unpacking the latest cargo delivery, which includes the station's first-ever 3D printer.

"Having that on-demand capability is a real game-changer," says Niki Werkheiser, NASA's 3D Printing in Zero-G project manager.

Astronauts will test how the printer performs in microgravity. Samples will be brought back to Earth, to confirm that the technology works the same as on the ground.

If it's successful, the ISS crew will no longer have to rely on resupply missions to bring them the tools they need.

And down the line, a 3D printer would also be a key part of deep space exploration missions.

"We won't be able to launch every single thing that we might ever need with us," Werkheiser says. "So we'll have to have sustainable technologies that allow the astronauts to be able to adapt and use whatever resources are available to them for living and operations."

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Filed under: Space • Technology
September 17th, 2014
09:30 AM ET

"Humans of New York" a window to the world

The very act of observing something changes it.

Brandon Stanton, the 30-year-old photographer behind the Humans of New York blog, experiences this daily. The formula is simple: he walks up to strangers, takes their portraits, asks a few questions and documents the interaction.

"I don't pretend to be showing the whole person," Stanton says. "What I want to do is give people a small window into the lives of these people that they might pass by every single day and not even think twice about."

Since August, Humans of New York has gone global. The United Nations is sponsoring Stanton's world tour to promote its Millenium Development goals.

"We're trying to go to a variety of different places and just listen to people around the world, and hear their stories as they tell them," Stanton says.

So far those places have ranged from a shopping mall in Erbil, Iraq to a refugee camp in Jordan... a bar in Kampala, Uganda to a sidewalk in Kiev, Ukraine.

News Stream caught up with Stanton while he was in New Delhi, India. Hear about some of the most powerful experiences from his trip in the video above.

September 11th, 2014
10:19 PM ET

Did Apple do enough?

September 9th was one of the biggest days for Apple in years. They introduced two larger iPhones, a mobile payments system, and the long-awaited Apple Watch - the first major new product created without the input of the late Steve Jobs.

But are any of them new enough?

After all, the trend for larger phones was pioneered by their arch-rival, Samsung. Mobile payment systems have been around for some time now. And while everyone expected Apple to completely redefine what a smartwatch is... the Apple Watch appears to be just a better version of what's out there; an evolution of current smartwatches instead of a revolution.

So how did Apple do? The New Yorker's Nicholas Thompson gave his take to Kristie Lu Stout.

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Filed under: Gadgets • Technology
September 11th, 2014
02:26 PM ET

The end of the iPod Classic

Thirteen years ago, Apple was a small computer maker. It's now the most valuable company in the world.

And that transformation was triggered by the iPod.

Apple has quietly discontinued the iPod Classic, the latest incarnation of the original iPod. While the line lives on in the shape of the Touch, Nano and Shuffle, they aren't as iconic as the original. When you think iPod, you think of the Classic: Shaped like a deck of cards, with a metallic back, and of course, the scrollwheel.

But the original design lives on in one tiny way: The top row of icons on the Apple Store includes the classic iPod silhouette.

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Filed under: General • Technology
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