NEW VISIONS: HOW TECHNOLOGY

HAS CHANGED OUR REALITY

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MUSIC FANS GOODBYE, iTUNES:

CAN NOW PLAY ONCE-REVOLUTIONARY APP
SPOTIFY TUNES GONE IN MAC UPDATE
VIA SIRI AND
APPLE TV

58
THE TECH IS ADVANCED, BUT
‘GEMINI MAN’ IS LIFELESS

08 112
 PAYPAL DROPS OUT OF LIBRA, FACEBOOK’S PAYMENTS PROJECT 26

SMALL BUSINESSES INCREASINGLY A TARGET FOR CYBERCRIMINALS 30

TOUGH TIMES FOR CHIPMAKERS AS SAMSUNG WARNS OF PROFIT DROP 36

BOEING TO INVEST $20 MILLION IN VIRGIN GALACTIC 54

DOCTORS TURN TO THUMBS FOR DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT BY TEXT 64

NOBEL PRIZE HONORS BREAKTHROUGHS ON LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES 74

3 WIN NOBEL PRIZE FOR SHOWING HOW CELLS SENSE LOW OXYGEN 82

US SEEKS TO BLACKLIST CHINESE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FIRMS 90

‘MICHAEL JACKSON’S THIS IS IT’ GETS BOX SET AFTER 10 YEARS 122

NEW TECHNOLOGY BRINGS OLD TLINGIT HAT BACK TO ALASKA 126

GLOBAL PLAN AIMS TO BETTER TAX DIGITAL BUSINESS 134

EU COMPETITION CHIEF: READY TO ACT ON DIGITAL TAX 138

EU’S TOP REGULATOR FOR BIG TECH LOOKS TO USE STRONGER ACTION 140

LEGOS LYING AROUND? TOY MAKER TESTS WAY TO RECYCLE BRICKS 156

CONSUMER GOODS GIANT UNILEVER VOWS TO SLASH USE OF PLASTIC 160

CHINA CRITICIZES APPLE FOR APP THAT TRACKS HONG KONG POLICE 166

VIRGINIA TO DEVELOP 4 NEW SOLAR ENERGY PROJECTS 172

iTUNES REVIEW 96

TOP 10 SONGS 146

TOP 10 ALBUMS 148

TOP 10 MUSIC VIDEOS 150

TOP 10 TV SHOWS 152

TOP 10 BOOKS 154

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MUSIC STREAMING SERVICE
BECOMES MORE EMBEDDED
INTO APPLE’S ECOSYSTEM
You probably don’t need to have been watching
the recent technology headlines very closely
to appreciate that Apple and Spotify haven’t
always been best buddies lately. However, it also
can’t be denied that both of these tech and
media giants have benefitted greatly from each
other’s resources and ecosystems. That’s why
it’s so great to see the announcement of new
features effectively bringing the two of them
closer together, especially as far as ordinary
music fans are concerned.

IT’S NOW EVEN EASIER TO APPRECIATE

SPOTIFY ON AN APPLE DEVICE
Monday saw Spotify reveal several new
developments that could make a big difference
to how users engage with the streaming service.
Perhaps the most eye-catching one comes
courtesy of the company’s iOS 13 update,
which enables users to ask their Apple device’s
Siri voice assistant to play albums and playlists
using Spotify. Provided that you have iOS
13 and the updated Spotify app installed on
your device, all that you have to do is say “Hey,
Siri, play…” followed by the audio you want,
concluding with “on Spotify”. This Siri integration
is also available to users of Spotify’s “new and
improved” iPad app.
That’s not all, though, as Spotify now also has an
app on Apple TV, which means you can enjoy
any of the service’s 50 million available tracks
directly from your TV. You can take advantage of
the app on the Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K,

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downloading it from the tvOS App Store, and it
looks much like the equivalent Spotify apps that
you may have previously experienced on other
TV platforms like Android TV, Amazon Fire TV,
Roku or Samsung Tizen.
At the time of typing, however, it seemed that
the availability of these features was still a little
patchy compared to what has been claimed.

Writing for 9to5Mac, for example, iOS developer

Benjamin Mayo noted that while the release
notes for the Spotify update stated the Siri
integration was compatible with iPhone, iPad,
CarPlay, AirPods, and HomePod via AirPlay, “in
our testing, the HomePod does not recognize
Spotify song requests.” He suggested that
HomePod users may therefore have to wait for
an iOS 13.2 software update for this feature to
become operational for them.

EXPLORING THE INS AND OUTS OF THE

NEW iOS APP UPDATE
Let’s put the Spotify Apple TV app to one side
for a moment, and instead focus on the updates
that the streaming firm has been able to
introduce to its iOS app as a consequence of the
release of iOS 13.
When we say “has been able to introduce”,
we do mean that, because while Siri support
for Spotify has been a long-requested feature
among music listeners using the streaming
service, it wasn’t Spotify’s fault that such
functionality remained absent for so long.
Indeed, only with the introduction of iOS 13
has such support even become an option, with
Apple finally opening up its SiriKit framework
to third-party apps.

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It’s a change that means end users can now
finally better control their favorite apps using
the power of their voice alone, and it’s telling
that not only Spotify, but also the likes of
Pandora, Google Maps and Waze have already
introduced Siri integration to their apps since
it became available. Some of these companies’
apps are rivals to equivalents offered by Apple
on iOS, so it’s clear that many of them have been
eager to take advantage of such Siri support at
the earliest opportunity.

On the music front, for example, Spotify has

long arguably been at a disadvantage when
compared to Apple Music – and even with the
introduction of the new Siri support, if you
simply ask the voice assistant to “play [album
name]” or “play [artist name]”, it will still default
to Apple Music. In fact, as Mayo discovered, even
if you uninstall Apple Music on your device in
an attempt to make Spotify Siri’s go-to app for
such commands, the voice assistant will still
ignore Spotify by default, complaining that “I
can’t do that because I can’t find ‘Music’ on
your phone.” So, you’ll need to remember to
mention Spotify in your request to prevent Siri
determinedly defaulting to Apple Music.

There’s another interesting thing that the

updated Spotify app supports, though – iOS
13’s new Low Data Mode. This mode doesn’t
do anything on its own, instead effectively
telling apps to behave in a manner that uses
less data, as will doubtless be handy for users
who often don’t have much bandwidth to play
with. Of course, it’s a feature that requires those
third-party apps receiving the instruction to
cooperate in the first place, so it’s great that
when the updated Spotify app detects the

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device is in Low Data Mode, it automatically
activates its Data Saver music streaming mode.

WELCOME CHANGES FOR APPLE TV

AND iPAD USERS, TOO
We touched above on the fact that Spotify has
also refreshed its iPad app, seemingly with an
eye to making the most of the greater amount
of screen ‘real estate’ offered by the tablet.
However, there are still some things lacking,
such as Spotify’s animated album art, given
that these videos are designed with a phone
form factor in mind.

As for the Apple TV app, you won’t even

necessarily need to head to the tvOS App
Store to download it, as if you sync your
downloads across iPhone and Apple TV, you
can expect the new software to automatically
download regardless.

Spotify finally debuting an Apple TV app will

be welcome news to those GitHub followers
who were told by the company three years
ago that such an app wouldn’t be available
“anytime soon”, such a development having
apparently been “down prioritized” at the time.
This was thought to be due to the ongoing
dispute between Spotify and Apple, which
was promoting its Apple Music competitor –
but whatever the reason, it left fans having to
consider the use of third-party clients costing
as much as $10 in order to access Spotify
streaming on the tvOS platform.

Thankfully, it looks like the official app was

worth the wait. Its interface incorporates a
gorgeously minimalist ‘now playing’ screen, for
example, which displays the currently playing

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track front and centre, with two prior tracks and
two upcoming tracks on either side. This allows
users to easily review and flick backward and
forward through their music streams.

Spotify subscribers using the new Apple TV

app are also able to look through their Spotify
libraries, recently played music and playlists,
while also accessing the search feature and in-
app settings that they are likely to already be
familiar with from other Spotify software.

SIGNS OF HOPE AMID THE CONTINUING

STANDOFF BETWEEN THE COMPANIES
Now, in another universe, such developments as
the above might have been regarded as merely
mildly diverting instead of something that
watchers of the wider tech and media industries
would be taking much interest in. However, they
could actually be very significant indeed in the
grand scheme of things, given the recent feud
between the two major players.
To give a quick refresher for those who may be
unaware, Spotify has long accused Apple of anti-
competitive business practices, stating that the
way it manages its app platform favors Apple’s
own apps. Spotify has directed particular ire at
what CEO Daniel Ek has described as the “Apple
tax” – the 30% cut that Apple takes from every
Spotify subscription signed up via the App Store
during the first year, although this drops to 15%
for each subsequent year.
Ek stated in a blog post in March that “if we
pay this tax, it would force us to artificially inflate
the price of our Premium membership well
above the price of Apple Music.” He added that
Spotify refusing to pay the “tax” resulted in Apple

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imposing “a series of technical and experience-
limiting restrictions on Spotify”, and also accused
the Cupertino firm of blocking Spotify from
implementing “experience-enhancing upgrades”
with regard to Siri, HomePod and Apple Watch.
You can read Apple’s response to those claims
here. Effectively, its defense against Spotify’s
criticisms amounted to stating that the music
streaming specialists wished to continue to
enjoy the benefits of the App Store that had
enabled them to achieve their stellar growth to
date, without contributing to that marketplace.

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Given that Spotify’s complaints about Apple
that it filed with the European Union (EU) –
reportedly prompting the latter to decide
to launch an antitrust investigation into the
Cupertino giant earlier this year – included
a lack of Siri integration, could the latest
developments mark a change in the recently
fiery relationship between the two companies?

While such Siri integration has now happened

at last with the arrival of iOS 13, Spotify might
argue that it’s still not enough, particularly
given that users have to mention Spotify’s
name to use the functionality. The company
might also point out that such support is only
presently provided on iOS 13 devices, instead of
all devices running any variant of Apple’s mobile
operating system.

Nonetheless, we certainly hope that the latest

announcements mark the start of Spotify and
Apple once more becoming something closer
to friends than enemies. Both companies, after
all, have derived considerable benefit from each
other’s success stories over the past decade or so
– and we have our fingers crossed that those are
success stories very much destined to continue
for decades to come.

by Benjamin Kerry & Gavin Lenaghan

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PAYPAL DROPS OUT OF
LIBRA, FACEBOOK’S
PAYMENTS PROJECT

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 PayPal has pulled out of Facebook’s digital
currency project, known as Libra, a blow to the
social media company that has faced stronger-
than-expected scrutiny over its proposed
creation of an alternative payments system.
The digital payments company said it is
withdrawing from the Libra Association so it can
focus on its existing businesses.
“Facebook has been a longstanding and valued
strategic partner to PayPal, and we will continue
to partner with and support Facebook in various
capacities,” PayPal said.
Facebook has presented Libra as a currency that
could be used for digital payments, particularly
outside the U.S. It would be backed by real
currency, unlike other digital currencies like
Bitcoin or Etherium.
The Libra Association, based in Switzerland,
was supposed to give the currency project
a comfortable arm’s length distance from
Facebook, which wouldn’t own Libra.

Image: Paul Sakuma

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Despite Facebook’s efforts, financial regulators
as well as members of Congress have
questioned the company’s motives for creating
a new digital currency, particularly in light of
criticisms that Facebook’s business model is too
invasive of its users’ privacy.
Rep. Maxine Waters, the chairwoman of the
House Financial Services Committee, has
demanded Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg
testify in front of her committee before Libra is
rolled out. Along with privacy concerns, Waters’
has cited the potential for Libra to be used in
money laundering and other financial crimes.
Republicans and Democrats and even President
Donald Trump have called for in various degrees
for Facebook to be subject to U.S. banking laws
— an arduous, complicated prospect — if the
social media company does move forward with
the Libra project. In response, Facebook has
reportedly hired several prominent Washington
lobbyists to convince politicians to give their
approval to Libra.
PayPal Holdings Inc., which is based in San Jose,
California, is the first company to publicly end its
partnership with Libra, but other companies have
been reportedly having second thoughts. The Wall
Street Journal reported this week that Mastercard
and Visa, the world’s largest payment providers,
were considering ending their Libra relationships.
The Libra Association said it plans to continue to
move forward with the project without PayPal.
“Building (Libra) is a journey, not a destination...
each organization that started this journey will
have to make its own assessment of risks and
rewards of being committed to seeing through
the change that Libra promises,” said Dante
Disparte, head of policy and communications for
the Libra Association.

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SMALL BUSINESSES
INCREASINGLY
A TARGET FOR
CYBERCRIMINALS

While small and mid-sized businesses are

increasingly targets for cybercriminals, companies
are struggling to devote enough resources to
protect their technology from attack.
That’s one of the findings of an annual survey
of companies released by the Poneman
Institute, which researches data protection, and
Keeper Security, a manufacturer of password
protection software.

The survey found that 76% of the 592 U.S.

companies surveyed had experienced a
cyberattack in the previous 12 months. That was
up from 70% in a survey in 2018, and 63% in a
2017 survey.

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The most common attacks were phishing
and social engineering scams, cited by 57%
of companies. These are invasions that target
unsuspecting computer, smartphone and tablet
users with realistic-looking emails; if a user clicks
on a link or attachment in the email, malicious
software is downloaded onto the device. Forty-
four percent of companies reported an attack
that came via a website.

While businesses of all sizes are victims of

cyberattacks, the smaller the companies, the
more vulnerable they can be. They don’t have
large information technology staffs and many
don’t have expensive, sophisticated software
designed to monitor their systems and defend
against attacks.
Lack of personnel and not enough money were
the top two challenges keeping companies
from having a fully effective information
technology program. Seventy-seven percent
of companies said they didn’t have enough
staffers, up from 72% a year ago. And 55% said
money was a problem, down from 58% a year
ago, but still a reflection that a considerable
number of companies struggle to meet their
cybersecurity needs.

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Companies are most concerned about protecting
their customer records; 62% cited it as a priority.
That was followed by intellectual property,
cited by 48%, customer credit and debit
card information, cited by 43% and financial
information, cited by 30%.
Small and mid-sized company owners have
embraced mobile devices as a way to run
their businesses. But they recognize that the
convenience and efficiency these devices off
come at a price; half said the devices have
diminished the cybersecurity of their companies.

The survey was conducted during August

and September.

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TOUGH TIMES FOR
CHIPMAKERS AS
SAMSUNG WARNS
OF PROFIT DROP

Samsung provided the latest sign of the tough

times afflicting computer chipmakers as it
braced investors for a sharp drop in profit.
The sobering forecast this week wasn’t entirely
unexpected, given an industrywide glut that
has forced chipmakers to slash prices to clear
out inventory.
Although Samsung also makes smartphones
and an array of other devices, it also is among
the world’s largest chip suppliers.
Chipmakers are suffering the consequences
from misreading industry demand for their
products. The industry invested heavily in
2016 and 2017 to ramp up production in
anticipation of being flooded with orders for
chips used in smartphones, internet-connected
cars and other products.
Instead, smartphone sales have been dwindling
as a lack of innovation and rising prices have
caused consumers to hold on to their existing
devices for longer periods. Automakers also
haven’t been ordering as many chips as
anticipated, and expected breakthroughs in
artificial intelligence, robotics and virtual reality

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Image: Lee Jin-man

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 haven’t materialized as quickly as envisioned,
IHS Markit analyst Les Jelinek said.
Supply and demand “just went in completely
opposite directions, and the bottom kind of fell
out,” Jelinek said. “When you look at 2019, there
wasn’t a bright spot for the industry.”
Worldwide chip revenue is projected to decrease
13% this year to $423 billion, down from $485
billion last year, according to IHS Markit.
President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war
with China also has caused market upheaval, but
the fallout mostly has affected U.S. chipmakers
that usually sell a lot of processors to Chinese
companies, particularly Huawei — a major
target of the administration’s sanctions.
The adverse market conditions are the main
reason Samsung expects its operating profit
for the July-September quarter to fall 56% from
the same time last year to $7.7 trillion won ($6.4
billion). The South Korean company says its
third-quarter revenue likely rose 5% from last
year to 62 trillion won ($52 billion).
Analysts say Samsung’s sales during the third
quarter should have been boosted by the
launch of its Galaxy Note 10 smartphone and an
improvement in display shipments driven by the
release of new devices by Apple.
Samsung did not provide a detailed account of
its performance by division. It will provide that
breakdown when it releases its full third-quarter
report later this month.
Conditions are expected to improve next year
as the shift to the next generation of ultrafast
wireless connections, known as 5G, rekindles
demand for chips in networking equipment,
compatible smartphones and other devices.
IHS Markit expects industrywide chip revenue to
bounce back slightly next year, to $448 billion.
Image: Lee Jin-man
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 Image: Christopher Polk
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 Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock

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Where we’d once enjoy a concert with our own
eyes, we now film every moment to share online,
and where we’d once gossip about the news, we
now have access to 24/7 content at the touch of
a button, with live commentary from the people
who matter. This week, we delve deeper into our
ever-changing world, exploring the downsides,
as well as new possibilities…

THE SELFIE GENERATION

Perhaps the most obvious indicator of today’s
ever-changing times is social media and the
selfie generation. Millennials and Gen Z have
built careers off of the back of Instagram and
YouTube, sharing their every moment with
their fans, generating an income through
adverts, sponsorship deals and merchandising.
Huda Kattan, for example, has amassed a
following of almost 40 million by posting
makeup tutorials on her Instagram page and
has built a $1 billion dollar beauty empire in
just a couple of years. And whilst influencers
have transformed the way we think about
fame, beauty, and entertainment, it’s also
created large sections of society who hide
their personal photos behind filters, artificial
improvements, and special effects. You only
have to conduct a quick search on the App
Store for selfie or photo editing to find tens
of thousands of options, and that’s without
mentioning software such as Photoshop and
Instagram’s in-built filters. Whilst we all want
to look good, consumers are increasingly
altering their reality to increase the number
of likes they attract on their posts.

Indeed, society has encouraged us to assess

our personal value through numbers on Twitter

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and Facebook, with us lacking confidence and
self-doubting if these figures are low. What’s
particularly concerning, however, is that research
shows that the “buzz” of receiving likes on
an Instagram post releases similar levels of
endorphins as taking Class A drugs, creating
an addictive experience that ties users into
these networks. It’s true that app developers
use psychological tricks that continuously
grab your attention, and because “likes” are
unpredictable, consumers are chasing more
attention to fuel their cravings, encouraging
some influencers to push themselves too far.

YouTuber Logan Paul, for example, uploaded

a video of him and his friends exploring the
Aokigahara Forest of Japan in 2018, sometimes
called the “suicide forest,” where he found the
body of a young man who appeared to have
recently hanged himself - and laughed. The
controversy caused shockwaves, with many
calling for platforms to be better policed, whilst
raising questions over the lengths influencers
will go to for attention online. Earlier in the
year, one influencer staged her engagement,
telling brands in advance so she could sign
contracts to promote their products, whilst
another was accused of faking her own
motorcycle accident with a strategically-
placed bottle of Smart Water.
Alone, these scenarios are easy to write off or
dismiss - indeed, the entertainment industry
has always been full of controversy and fakery -
but there’s a fine line between a TV star putting
on weight to release a fitness DVD, and an
influencer faking an incident for views. Where
things become particularly dangerous is in
regards to mental health. Both depression and
Image: Samantha Tran
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suicide rates have risen sharply amongst
teenagers worldwide in recent years, fueled
partly by the rise of technology and social
media, forcing social networking companies to
take combative action.
But it is clear that networks need to do more. In
the UK, teachers are warning of “sadfishing” - a
growing “behavioral trend”, where people make
“exaggerated claims about their emotional
problems to generate sympathy” online,
which often results in increased mental health
problems down the road. And for those who are
genuinely suffering from debilitating conditions,
such behaviors are particularly harmful.

In today’s “looking glass,” we’re able to choose

between the real world and a comfortable
version of reality on our smartphones. Instagram
and Facebook timelines are not reality, where
everything and everyone is constantly positive,
happy, and successful. That in itself can influence
young people’s perceptions and expectations,
encouraging them to make dangerous choices.
What’s good to hear, however, is that Instagram
and Facebook are experimenting with hiding
likes though only in some markets. Whether
this will encourage us to spend less time on our
phones and more time experiencing real things
with real people remains to be seen - but it’s
certainly a start.

Image: Prateek Katyal

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THE FAKE NEWS
Whilst social media is changing the way we
act on a personal level, it’s also affecting the
way we think, with “fake news” the buzzword
of the past five years. True news is now under
the lens, but with anyone able to disseminate
fake information to millions of followers online,
it’s seemingly impossible to overcome the
constitutional challenges that are unfolding.
Echo chambers can breed extremism, as we see
on Twitter every day from both sides of political
and religious groups, and finding a solution to
such problems is not as easy as you’d think.

Many are convinced that Trump’s 2016 election

win was influenced by fake news campaigns
and Russian interference, with millions spent on
Facebook Ads; and an investigation on Brexit in
the UK paints a similar picture.

Companies like Apple are attempting to

empower news organizations to transform their
business models (like with the introduction of
Apple News+) and reduce their reliance on click-
baited content which, in itself, forms part of the
fake news agenda. Consumers naturally rush
to articles with a controversial headline to
pass on “shareable” messages to friends, even
if they’re inaccurate or only tell part of a story.

Social networking sites such as Facebook have

promised to play their part by disrupting fake
news by building new products to curb the
spread of false information and help people
make more informed decisions when they
encounter fake news stories on their timelines.
Earlier in the year, Mark Zuckerberg confirmed
to the media that Facebook was to hire
journalists to fight against fake news stories,

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and Google similarly launched a $300 million
News Initiative as well as using AI to reduce
the promotion of hoax videos and fake news
on YouTube, but whether that will be enough
remains to be seen. Human language and news
stories are complicated in ways that computers
have difficulty dealing with right now, and
any automated method of fact-checking risks
reflecting the biases of the programmers who
created it, causing problems of their own.

THE FUTURE
Whilst our selfie-obsessed, fake-news-
consuming society may seem all doom and
gloom from the outside, the truth is that there
are benefits to seeing our world through a
lens. Social media, though often criticized,
has informed the world of incredible stories
of both heroism and injustice, and being part
of a global story will help us as we attempt to
combat climate change. The reaction to Greta
Thunberg’s speech at the United Nations
Climate Action talk was immense on both sides
of the argument, demonstrating the value of
open democratic spheres such as Twitter, which
is an essential sounding board in our uncertain
political, environmental and economic times.
That’s without mentioning the huge potential
of experiencing the world through augmented
reality - an expanded view where we can access
real-time information to inform us of the world
around us. Imagine putting on Apple’s rumored
AR Glasses to take a trip around the planet to
see news happening before your very eyes, and
using Siri to ask questions about the protests
in Hong Kong or the problems in the Amazon
Rainforest? AR also offers huge potential in

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 Image: Maxim Potkin
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healthcare and personal relationships, allowing
people to access their doctor or even go on
virtual dates with real people before meeting
in the flesh - with, or without, the filters! AR can
also expand our consciousness of the planet,
help us experience different cultures and
witness life through the lens of others in ways
we never thought possible.

But the truth is that there’s no knowing where

we’re going to be in ten year’s time. Today’s
melting pot of cultures and ideologies and
the commercialization and globalisation of
the world could mean anything. By embracing
technology but being aware of its risks, we can
build a better society and a human race that’s
more environmentally-friendly and accepting of
all cultures and beliefs. We have a long way to
go, but with technology, we’ll get there…

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 BOEING
TO INVEST
$20 MILLION IN
VIRGIN GALACTIC

Boeing plans to invest $20 million in Virgin Galactic

as the space tourism company nears its goal of
launching passengers on suborbital flights.
The companies announced the investment
this week, saying they will work together on
broadening commercial access to space and
transforming global travel technologies.
Virgin Galactic has conducted successful test
flights of its winged rocket ship at Mojave,
California, and is preparing to begin operations
at Spaceport America in New Mexico.

55
Test flights will be conducted there before
passenger flights begin.
Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides says the
company is projecting commercial flights by
mid-2020.

Virgin Galactic announced in July it intends to

go public through a merger with Social Capital
Hedosophia Holdings Corp.
Boeing’s investment is in return for shares, so it is
contingent on that transaction closing.

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GOODBYE,
iTUNES: ONCE-
REVOLUTIONARY
APP GONE IN
MAC UPDATE

It’s time to bid farewell to iTunes, the once-

revolutionary program that made online music
sales mainstream and effectively blunted the
impact of piracy.
That assumes, of course, that you still use
iTunes — and many people no longer do. On
iPhones, the functions have long been split into
separate apps for music, video and books. Mac
computers follow suit this week with a macOS
update Catalina.
Music-subscription services like Spotify and
Apple Music have largely supplanted both the
iTunes software and sales of individual songs,
which iTunes first made available for 99 cents
apiece. Apple is now giving iTunes its latest
push toward the grave. For anyone who has
subscribed to Apple Music, the music store will
now be hidden on the Mac.
Sidelining the all-in-one iTunes in favor of
separate apps for music, video and other
services will let Apple build features for specific

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types of media and better promote its TV-
streaming and music services to help offset
slowing sales of iPhones.
In the early days, iTunes was simply a way to
get music onto Apple’s marquee product, the
iPod music player. Users connected the iPod to
a computer, and songs automatically synced —
simplicity unheard of at the time.
“I would just kind of mock my friends who were
into anything other than iPods,” said Jacob
Titus, a 26-year-old graphic designer in South
Bend, Indiana.
Apple launched its iTunes Music Store in 2003,
two years after the iPod’s debut. With simple
pricing at launch — 99 cents a single, $9.99 for
most albums — many consumers were content
to buy music legally rather than seek out sketchy
sites for pirated downloads.
But over time, iTunes software expanded to
include podcasts, e-books, audiobooks, movies
and TV shows. In the iPhone era, iTunes also
made backups and synced voice memos. As
the software got bloated to support additional
functions, iTunes lost the ease and simplicity
that gave it its charm.
And with online cloud storage and wireless
syncing, it no longer became necessary to
connect iPhones to a computer — and iTunes —
with a cable.
Titus said he uses iTunes only to hear obscure
Kanye West songs he can’t find streaming. “At
the time it seemed great,” he said. “But it kind of
stayed that same speed forever.”
The way people listen to music has changed,
too. The U.S. recording industry now gets
80% of revenue from paid subscriptions and
other streaming. In the first half of 2019, paid
subscriptions to Apple Music and competing

61
services rose 30% from a year earlier to 61
million, or $2.8 billion, while revenue from digital
downloads fell nearly 18% to $462 million.
“The move away from iTunes really does
perfectly mirror the general industry move away
from sales” and toward subscriptions, said Randy
Nelson, head of insights at Sensor Tower.
Rachel Shpringer, a 35-year-old patent agent
in Los Angeles, spent years curating playlists
on iTunes. But over time, she realized that was
cutting her off from new music. She now gets
music through a SiriusXM subscription.
The Mac’s new Music app, which gets the old
iTunes icon, is the new home for — drum roll —
music. That includes songs previously bought
from the iTunes store or ripped from CDs, as well
as Apple’s free online radio stations. It’s also the
home for Apple’s $10-a-month music subscription.
Apple Music subscribers will no longer see the
iTunes music store, unless they restore it in
settings. Non-subscribers will see the store as a
tab, along with plenty of ways to subscribe to
Apple Music. (On iPhones, iTunes Store remains
its own app for buying music and video.)
The iTunes store for TV shows and movies will still
be prominent on Macs, though now as part of the
TV app. Video available to buy or rent will be mixed
in with other movies and shows — including
exclusive offerings through Apple TV Plus.
The new Podcasts app gets a feature that
indexes individual episodes, so you can more
easily search for actors or fads that don’t appear
in the podcast’s text description. The Mac
previously got separate apps for voice memos
and books, including audiobooks. The iPhone
syncing and backup functions traditionally
found in iTunes have been incorporated into the
Mac’s navigation interface, Finder.

62
63
 Image: Randall Benton
64
 DOCTORS TURN
TO THUMBS FOR
DIAGNOSIS AND
TREATMENT BY TEXT

Dr. Anna Nguyen spoke with none of the five

patients she treated on a recent weekday
morning. She didn’t even leave her dining room.
The emergency physician nevertheless helped
a pregnant Ohio woman handle hip pain,
examined a Michigan man’s sore throat and
texted a mom whose son became sick during a
family trip to Mexico.
Welcome to the latest wrinkle in health care
convenience: the chat diagnosis.
Nguyen’s company, CirrusMD, can connect
patients with a doctor in less than a minute.
But such fast service comes with a catch: The
patient probably won’t see or talk to the doctor,
because most communication takes place via
secure messaging.
“We live in a consumer-driven world, and I think
that consumers are becoming accustomed to
being able to access all types of service with

65
their thumbs,” CirrusMD co-founder Dr. Blake
McKinney said.
CirrusMD and rivals like 98point6 and K Health
offer message-based treatment for injuries or
minor illnesses normally handled by a doctor’s
office or clinic. They say they’re even more
convenient than the video telemedicine that
many employers and insurers now offer, because
patients accustomed to Uber-like convenience
can text with a doctor while riding a bus or
waiting in a grocery store line.
Millions of Americans have access to these
services. The companies are growing thanks to
a push to improve care access, keep patients
healthy and limit expensive emergency room
visits. Walmart’s Sam’s Club, for instance, recently
announced that it would offer 98point6 visits as
part of a customer care program it is testing.
But some doctors worry about the quality of
care provided by physicians who won’t see
their patients and might have a limited medical
history to read before deciding treatment.
“If the business opportunity is huge, there’s a
risk that that caution is pushed aside,” said Dr.
Thomas Bledsoe, a member of the American
College of Physicians.
Message-based care providers say they take
steps to ensure safety and recommend in-
person doctor visits when necessary. Nguyen,
for instance, once urged an 85-year-old woman
who contacted CirrusMD about crushing chest
pain to head to an emergency room.
These companies note that a thorough medical
history is not crucial for every case. They also
say doctors don’t always need vital signs like
temperature and blood pressure, but they can
coach patients through taking them if necessary.

66
Image: Randall Benton
67
Doctors also can opt for a video or phone
conversation when needed.
Even so, the companies estimate they can
resolve more than 80 percent of their cases
through messaging.
About 3 million people nationwide have access
to CirrusMD doctors, mostly through their
insurance. The insurer or employer providing the
coverage pays for the service, allowing patients
to chat with doctors at no charge.
At first glance, a visitor to Nguyen’s Sacramento
home wouldn’t be able to tell if she was the
doctor or the patient during her recent shift.
She sat at her dining room table and tapped her
iPhone to bounce between patients.
The doctor’s phone started dinging shortly after
her five-hour shift began.
She gave physical therapy recommendations
to the pregnant woman and helped a Colorado
man who hurt his back moving boxes at work. A
Michigan man checked in about his sore throat
as that conversation wound down.
Then the mom messaged from Mexico. Her
6-year-old started vomiting and developed a
fever and diarrhea after his brother and father
became sick during a vacation. Nguyen wanted
to know how the boy was acting, so she asked
several questions and requested a picture.
The emergency physician could tell by his skin
color that he wasn’t dehydrated.
“The picture itself looks reassuring,” she said. “If
he had encephalitis, he’d be really confused and
out of it.”
The doctor said she thought the boy just had a
stomach bug, and she told his mother to make
sure he kept drinking fluids.
Nguyen said she enjoys this type of care because
the format gives her more time with patients.

68
69
“I think patients will like it a lot because
most really hate going to their doctor,” she
said referring to the hassle of setting an
appointment, getting to the office and then
waiting for the visit.
Some patients simply don’t have time for all that.
Ohio Wesleyan University student Jasmine Spitzer
contacted a 98point6 doctor in a panic earlier this
year because her throat was sore, and the music
education major had an opera recital coming up.
She texted for help as she walked to class.
The doctor couldn’t prescribe anything. But she
sent pictures of common medications Spitzer
could buy, including cough drops with lower
levels of menthol, which dries out vocal chords.
“I wish that there is a way for me to... tell her,
‘Thank you so much, you kind of saved my life,’”
Spitzer said. “I was able to give my recital and it
was great.”
98point6 customers first describe their
symptoms to a chatbot that uses a computer
program to figure out what to ask. That
information is then passed to a doctor for
diagnosis and treatment.
“There are many, many cases where the
physician does not have to ask a single
additional question,” CEO Robbie Cape said.
The company launched its service in January
2018 with 600 customers and expects to have
about 1 million people signed up by the end of
this year.
K Health also started in 2018 with a business
that offers personalized health information to
patients who might otherwise Google their
symptoms. Those patients then have an option
to chat with a doctor.
These companies say their doctors often answer
an array of quick questions as well provide

70
71
care. Nguyen had a Louisiana woman send her
a picture of her thumb, which she punctured
cleaning out a chicken coop, just to see if the
doctor thought it might need attention.
Patients and doctors have long emailed outside
of office visits, usually about prescription refills
or follow-up questions. These newer, message-
based treatments often involve care by a
physician who doesn’t know the patient and
who may have a limited view of that person’s
medical history.
That concerns Bledsoe, the American College of
Physicians doctor. He noted, for instance, that
a patient who wants a quick prescription for
another bladder infection may actually need a
cancer test.
“Sometimes what seems to be a limited problem
to a patient is actually part of a bigger problem
that requires some more evaluation and
treatment,” he said.
Virtual care like this also might lead to antibiotic
overprescribing, said Dr. Ateev Mehrotra. The
Harvard researcher said it’s probably easier for
a doctor who knows a patient to explain face
to face why they don’t need a medicine than it
would be for a stranger to deliver that news by
text and risk upsetting a customer.
CirrusMD and 98point6 executives say they
closely monitor antibiotic prescription rates
and take other precautions. Neither company
prescribes highly addictive painkillers, and
98point6 sends doctors through six months
of training.
Instead of hurting care, these chat-diagnosis
companies say they help by improving
access, especially if someone’s regular doctor
isn’t available.
“We’re meant to fit into your life,” Cape said.

72
73
NOBEL PRIZE
HONORS
BREAKTHROUGHS
ON LITHIUM-ION
BATTERIES

If you’re reading this on a mobile phone or

laptop computer, you might thank this year’s
three laureates for the Nobel Prize in chemistry
for their work on lithium-ion batteries.
Yet the batteries developed by the British,
American and Japanese winners that make those
devices possible are far more revolutionary than
just for on-the-go computing and calling. The
breakthroughs the three achieved also made
storing energy from renewable sources more
feasible, opening up a whole new front in the
fight against global warming.
“This is a highly-charged story of tremendous
potential,” said Olof Ramstrom of the Nobel
committee for chemistry.
The prize announced this week went to John
B. Goodenough, 97, a German-born American
engineering professor at the University of Texas;

74
75
M. Stanley Whittingham, 77, a British-American
chemistry professor at the State University of
New York at Binghamton; and Akira Yoshino, 71,
of chemicals company Asahi Kasei Corp. and
Meijo University in Japan.

The honor awarded to the three scientists is a

capstone of a truly transformative technology
that has permeated billions of lives across the
planet, including anyone who uses mobile
phones, computers, pacemakers, electric cars
and beyond.

“The heart of the phone is the rechargeable

battery. The heart of the electric vehicle is the
rechargeable battery. The success and failure
of so many new technologies depends on the
batteries,” said Alexej Jerschow, a chemist at
New York University, whose research focuses on
lithium ion battery diagnostics.
Whittingham expressed hope the Nobel
spotlight could give a new impetus to efforts to
meet the world’s ravenous — and growing —
demands for energy.
“I am overcome with gratitude at receiving
this award, and I honestly have so many
people to thank, I don’t know where to begin,”
he said in a statement issued by his university.
“It is my hope that this recognition will help
to shine a much-needed light on the nation’s
energy future.”
Goodenough, who is considered an intellectual
giant of solid state chemistry and physics, is
the oldest person to ever win a Nobel Prize —
edging Arthur Ashkin, who was 96 when he
was awarded the Nobel for physics last year.
Goodenough still works every day.

76
77
78
“That’s the nice thing — they don’t make you
retire at a certain age in Texas. They allow you
to keep working,” he told reporters in London.
“So I’ve had an extra 33 years to keep working
in Texas.”

The three each had unique breakthroughs

that cumulatively laid the foundation for the
development of a commercial rechargeable
battery, to replace alkaline batteries like those
containing lead or zinc, which had their origins
in the 19th century.

Lithium-ion batteries — the first truly portable

and rechargeable batteries — took more than a
decade to develop, and drew upon the work of
multiple scientists in the U.S., Japan and around
the world.

The work had its roots in the oil crisis in the

1970s, when Whittingham was working on
efforts to develop fossil fuel-free energy
technologies. He harnessed the enormous
tendency of lithium — the lightest metal —
to give away its electrons to make a battery
capable of generating just over two volts.

By 1980, Goodenough had doubled the

capacity of the battery to four volts by using
cobalt oxide in the cathode — one of two
electrodes, along with the anode, that make up
the ends of a battery.
But that battery remained too explosive for
general commercial use. That’s where Yoshino’s
work in the 1980s came in. He substituted
petroleum coke, a carbon material, in the
battery’s anode. This step paved the way for the
first lightweight, safe, durable and rechargeable
commercial batteries to be built and enter the
market in 1991.

79
80
“We have gained access to a technical revolution,”
said Sara Snogerup Linse of the Nobel committee
for chemistry. “The laureates developed
lightweight batteries with high enough potential
to be useful in many applications — truly portable
electronics: mobile phones, pacemakers, but also
long-distance electric cars.”

“The ability to store energy from renewable

sources — the sun, the wind — opens up for
sustainable energy consumption,” she added.

Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo, Yoshino

said he thought there might be a long wait before
the Nobel committee turned to his specialty —
but he was wrong. He broke the news to his wife,
who was just as surprised as he was.

“I only spoke to her briefly and said, ‘I got it,’ and

she sounded she was so surprised that her knees
almost gave way,” he said.
The trio will share a 9-million kronor ($918,000)
cash award. Their gold medals and diplomas
will be conferred in Stockholm on Dec. 10 —
the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel’s
death in 1896.
On Tuesday, Canadian-born James Peebles
won the Nobel physics prize for his theoretical
discoveries in cosmology together with Swiss
scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz, who
were honored for finding an exoplanet — a
planet outside our solar system — that orbits a
solar-type star.
Americans William G. Kaelin Jr. and Gregg L.
Semenza and Britain’s Peter J. Ratcliffe won
the Nobel prize for advances in physiology or
medicine on Monday. They were cited for their
discoveries of “how cells sense and adapt to
oxygen availability.”

81
82
3 WIN NOBEL PRIZE
FOR SHOWING
HOW CELLS SENSE
LOW OXYGEN

Two Americans and a British scientist won a

Nobel Prize on Monday for discovering details
of how the body’s cells sense and react to
low oxygen levels, providing a foothold for
developing new treatments for anemia, cancer
and other diseases.

Drs. William G. Kaelin Jr. of Harvard University,

Gregg L. Semenza of Johns Hopkins University
and Peter J. Ratcliffe at the Francis Crick Institute
in Britain and Oxford University won the prize for
advances in physiology or medicine.
The scientists, who worked largely
independently, will share the 9 million kronor
($918,000) cash award, said the Karolinska
Institute in Stockholm.

83
They “revealed the mechanism for one of life’s
most essential adaptive processes,” the Nobel
committee said.

Cells can encounter lowered oxygen not only

from situations like living at high altitudes, but
also from things like a wound that interferes
with local blood supply. Their response triggers
reactions that include producing red blood cells,
generating new blood vessels and fine-tuning
the immune system.

The Nobel committee said scientists are focused

on developing drugs that can treat diseases by
either activating or suppressing the oxygen-
sensing machinery. Such manipulation could
help in attacking cancer cells, experts said.

Another payoff is pills to boost production of red

blood cells in anemia, which can appear in people
with chronic kidney disease. One such drug has
been approved in China and Japan and a filing for
approval in the U.S. is expected soon, Kaelin said.

Youtube video thumbnail

Still other potential targets include heart attack

and stroke, and a condition of reduced blood
flow in the limbs that can lead to amputation,
the researchers said.
Kaelin, 61, said he was half-asleep when the phone
rang Monday morning with the news of his award.
“I don’t usually get phone calls at 5:00 in the
morning, so, naturally, my heart started racing
and I could see the call was from Stockholm,” he
said. “And so I think at that point I almost had an
out-of-body type of experience.”

Kaelin is paid by the Howard Hughes Medical

Institute, which also supports AP’s Health and
Science department.

84
Image: Josh Reynolds
85
86
Ratcliffe, 65, said he learned the news after he
was summoned out of a meeting this morning
by his secretary, who had “a look of urgency.”

Trained as a kidney specialist, Ratcliffe said his

research began when he and colleagues simply
wanted to figure out how cells sense oxygen.
“I thought it was a definable problem and
just thought we’d find out how it worked,”
he said. It was about two years into their
research program, which began in 1990, that
they realized the discovery had much wider
significance, Ratcliffe said.

“We saw that it wasn’t just cells in the kidney

that know how to sense oxygen, but all cells in
the body. ... There are hundreds and thousands
of processes the body uses to adapt to and
regulate its oxygen levels.”
He said while some promising drugs have
been developed, it will be years before it’s clear
whether such discoveries are going to change
the lives of tens of thousands.

In Baltimore, Semenza, 63, said he slept through

the Nobel committee’s initial phone call. “By the
time I got to the phone it was too late,” he said.
He went back to sleep but was able to answer
the second call from Stockholm.

He said kidney cancer may be the first malignancy

in which a drug based on the prize-winning work
might make chemotherapy more effective, and
that he hopes many other cancers will follow.
Speaking at a news conference at Johns Hopkins
University’s School of Medicine, Semenza paid
tribute to his biology teacher, Rose Nelson, at
Sleepy Hollow High School in Sleepy Hollow,
N.Y., for inspiring his pursuit of medicine.

87
“She used to say, ‘Now when you win your
Nobel Prize, I don’t want you to forget that
you learned that here,’” he said. “It’s my great
sadness that she is not still alive to share the
moment because I know it would have meant
a lot to her. She was my inspiration.”
“That’s the importance of teachers,” he added.
“To make that kind of spark.”
Steven McKnight of the UT Southwestern
Medical Center in Dallas noted that the
process discovered by the three researchers
is widespread in the animal kingdom, found
even in the worm. He said the honored
work is “of a heroic nature.”

Last year, James Allison of the United States

and Tasuku Honjo of Japan won the 2018
Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work in
immunotherapy, activating the body’s natural
defense system to fight tumors.

Monday’s announcement kicked off this year’s

Nobel Prizes.

The 2018 Nobel Literature prize was

suspended after a sex abuse scandal rocked
the Swedish Academy, the body that awards
the literature prizes, so two prizes are being
awarded this year.

Officially known as the Bank of Sweden Prize

in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred
Nobel, it wasn’t created by Nobel, but by
Riksbanken, Sweden’s central bank, in 1968.
The laureates will receive their awards at
elegant ceremonies in Stockholm and Oslo
on Dec. 10 — the anniversary of Nobel’s
death in 1896.

88
89
90
 US SEEKS TO
BLACKLIST
CHINESE ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE FIRMS

The United States is blacklisting a group of

Chinese tech companies that develop facial
recognition and other artificial intelligence
technology that the U.S. says is being used to
repress China’s Muslim minority groups.

A move this week by the U.S. Commerce

Department puts the companies on a so-called
Entity List for acting contrary to American
foreign policy interests.
The blacklist effectively bars U.S. firms from
selling technology to the Chinese companies
without government approval.

91
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a
written statement that the U.S. government “will
not tolerate the brutal suppression of ethnic
minorities within China”.
The blacklisted companies include Hikvision and
Dahua, both of which are global providers of
video surveillance technology.

Hikvision said in a statement that it respects

human rights and strongly opposes the
Trump administration’s decision. The company
said it has spent a year trying to “clarify
misunderstandings about the company and
address their concerns,” and that this will hurt its
U.S. business partners.

Prominent Chinese AI firms such as Sense

Time, Megvii and iFlytek are also on the list.
Sense Time and Megvii are known for the
development of computer vision technology
that underpins facial recognition products, while
iFlytek is known for its voice recognition and
translation services.

The companies are among 28 organizations

added to the blacklist. Along with the tech
companies, the Commerce Department’s filing
targets local government agencies in China’s
northwestern Xinjiang region.

The filing said the listed groups have been

implicated in “China’s campaign of repression,
mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology
surveillance” against Uighurs, Kazakhs and other
predominantly Muslim minority groups.

The Chinese embassy and several of the

targeted companies didn’t immediately return
requests for comment.

92
93
94
The Trump administration earlier this year
used the same blacklisting process to punish
Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant targeted by
the U.S. over national security concerns. Added
to the list in June were five Chinese groups
working in supercomputing.
Ross said this week action will ensure
U.S. technologies “are not used to repress
defenseless minority populations”.

China is estimated to have detained up to

1 million Muslims in prison-like detention
centers in the region. The detentions come on
top of harsh travel restrictions and a massive
surveillance network equipped with facial
recognition technology. China has denied
committing abuses in the centers and has
described them as schools aimed at providing
employable skills and combating extremism.

95
 Toy Story 4 | Official Trailer

Movies
&
96
TV Shows
 Toy Story 4

Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the gang are

joined by Forky, a spork that has been made
into a toy. They subsequently embark on a
road trip with Bonnie that shows just how
big the world can be for a toy

FIVE FACTS:
1. Toy Story 4 is the fourth installment of the
computer-animated Toy Story series, and the
sequel to 2010’s Toy Story 3.
2. Most of the series’ previous voice actors,
including Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim
Allen as Buzz Lightyear, reprised their roles
for the film.
by Josh Cooley 3. Don Rickles intended to reprise his role as
Genre: Kids & Family Mr. Potato Head, but died in April 2017. On
Released: 2019
Price: $19.99 his family’s request, he was featured in the
film through the use of archival recordings.
4. Other members of the voice cast include
401 Ratings
Annie Potts as Bo Peep, Tony Hale as Forky
and Keegan-Michael Key as Ducky.
5. Rotten Tomatoes’ critics consensus
says of the movie: “Heartwarming, funny,
and beautifully animated, Toy Story 4
manages the unlikely feat of extending –
and perhaps concluding – a practically
perfect animated saga.”

Rotten Tomatoes

97 %

97
98
“Giggle McDimples” Clip | Toy Story 4

99
Stuber

Uber driver Stu Prasad, played by Kumail

Nanjiani, finds himself recruited by grizzled
LAPD detective “Vic” Manning (Dave Bautista)
for an unexpected night of adventure in
pursuit of a sadistic, bloodthirsty terrorist.

FIVE FACTS:
1. Stuber is a buddy action comedy film
directed by Michael Dowse.
2. Nanjiani and Bautista are joined in the
cast by Iko Uwais as ruthless drug trafficker
and cop killer Oka Tedjo, and Natalie Morales
as Vic’s daughter, Nicole.
3. 20th Century Fox purchased the spec
script for Stuber from Tripper Clancy for a by Michael Dowse
mid-six figure deal in April 2016. Genre: Action & Adventure
Released: 2019
4. Principal production took place in Price: $14.99
Atlanta, Georgia from May until July 2018.
5. Variety’s Peter Debruge said of the film: 37 Ratings
“It’s both funny and familiar to see these
two incredibly different personalities thrust
together for what’s meant to be a short ride.”

Rotten Tomatoes

42 %

100
Stuber | Official Trailer [HD] | 20th Century FOX

101
102
Stuber | “Lock It Down” Clip | 20th Century FOX

103
 SuperM 슈퍼엠 ‘Jopping’ MV

104
Music
 SuperM
The 1st Mini Album
SuperM

The debut extended play (EP) by the K-pop

supergroup features the single “Jopping”, and
showcases the seven-piece’s vocal and rap
skills across five tracks, plus two instrumentals.

FIVE FACTS:
1. SuperM is a group consisting of seven
Genre: K-Pop members from the three SM Entertainment
Released: Oct 4, 2019 boy groups Shinee, Exo and NCT.
7 Songs
Price: $4.99 2. The ‘M’ in the group’s name stands for
MATRIX & MASTER, implying the ‘Super’
synergy of the members.
280 Ratings
3. The group’s members are Taemin from
Shinee, Baekhyun and Kai from Exo, and
Taeyong, Mark, Ten and Lucas from the NCT
sub-units NCT 127 and WayV, respectively.
4. The group’s members have been touted
as the “Avengers of K-pop”.
5. “Jopping” was produced and co-written
by London-based duo LDN Noise, noted
for their work with other K-pop groups
including Red Velvet, Sistar and TVXQ.

105
106
SuperM Group Trailer

107
 Danny Brown - Dirty Laundry

108
 uknowhatimsayin¿
Danny Brown

The Detroit native’s fifth studio album features

guest appearances from Run the Jewels,
Obongjayar, Jpegmafia, and Blood Orange. It
has also already produced three singles: “Dirty
Laundry”, “Best Life” and “3 Tearz”

FIVE FACTS:
1. Danny Brown is the professional name of
Daniel Dewan Sewell.
Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap 2. He has been described by veteran hip-
Released: Oct 4, 2019
11 Songs hop journalist Rob Markman as “one of rap’s
Price: $9.99 most unique figures in recent memory”.
3. uknowhatimsayin¿ is executive-produced
74 Ratings by Q-Tip, who is best-known for being
the main producer for New York hip-hop
collective A Tribe Called Quest.
4. Brown has said of the album’s title and
lack of concept: “Half the time, when black
people say, ‘You know what I’m sayin’,’ they’re
never saying nothing. This is just songs. You
don’t have to listen to it backwards. You
don’t have to mix it a certain way. You like it,
or you don’t.”
5. uknowhatimsayin¿ has been hailed
by critics, with Pitchfork’s Jayson Greene
commenting that it showed Brown
“remains one of the most inventive and
dimensional rappers working today.”

109
 10 Things Danny Brown Can’t Live Without | GQ

110
111
112
 THE TECH IS
ADVANCED, BUT
‘GEMINI MAN’
IS LIFELESS

Will Smith is usually an asset for a movie. He’s

the kind of true movie star whose charisma can
elevate even the most mediocre material. You’d
think then that it would be a good thing to have
not just one but two Will Smiths in a movie if you
can. That was at least part of the idea behind
”Gemini Man .” The action film from Ang Lee
also uses state of the art de-aging technology
to create a basically believable 20-something
version of Smith and has billed itself as a “true
event film” that “redefines action cinema.”
Those are some lofty claims, but unfortunately
its biggest accomplishment seems to be in
sapping all the charm out of Smith (twice!).

113
 Gemini Man - Official Trailer

114
115
For all the hype about the modern technology,
the story is curiously stale and at times feels
like a mashup of other, better movies. It makes
more sense when you learn that “Gemini Man”
was written over 20 years ago and has gone
through enough possible directors and stars
to fill out a baseball team. Certainly it’s been
updated since whatever version was making
the rounds in 1997 — “Game of Thrones”
showrunner David Benioff shares a story and
screenplay credit with Darren Lemke and Billy
Ray — but it still has a dated core, and not in a
good, self-consciously retro way.

Smith, at his current age, plays Henry Brogan,

a talented assassin employed by the U.S
government who just wants to retire. The film
begins with his last job: He has to assassinate
someone on a full speed bullet train while
perched on a hill outside. Brogan is a one-in-
a-million sniper, you see, and a bunch of other
guys failed where he succeeded.

But of course hanging up his hat afterward

for a quiet life of fishing isn’t as simple as
he hoped. He soon finds out that he’s being
monitored, and then hunted by his former
employers including a bureaucrat played by
Linda Emond and a private contractor named
Clay Varris (Clive Owen), who is one of the most
one-dimensional “bad guys” we’ve had the
privilege of spending time with in a while.

Henry has no choice but to go on the run,

bringing the young agent who was assigned
to surveil him, Danny (Mary Elizabeth
Winstead), along because, well, there has to a
potential love interest in a movie like this, so
why not?

116
Gemini Man - Official Trailer 2

117
 Gemini Man - Behind-The-Scenes Featurette

118
119
 How They Made Me Look 23 in Gemini Man

120
This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who
has seen any sort of “Gemini Man” marketing,
although the movie seems to think it is a
surprise, but they soon discover that the person
Henry’s being hunted by is a much younger
version of himself. “Junior” (a de-aged Smith) is
part of a shadowy program run by Varris called
Gemini. The construct of “he knows every move
I’m going to make” is an interesting one, but
this film barely does anything with it. It’s too
busy inexplicably continent hopping and giving
Winstead, Smith and Benedict Wong one-liners
even they can’t sell.

Lee once again is using the high frame rate he

deployed in “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk”
(which I liked more than most) but it’s even
more distracting this time around. The hyper
reality makes everything look somehow cheaper
and less cinematic and it detracts from some
of the genuinely well-choreographed action
set pieces. And while “Junior” does look pretty
good for a computer-generated approximation
of a 23-year-old Smith, it’s hard not to wish that
all the time and money spent on this gimmick
might have been put toward making sure the
script and story were at least engaging and
entertaining. As it stands, “Gemini Man” is a lot of
show, but there’s no life behind the eyes.

“Gemini Man,” a Paramount Pictures release, is

rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association
of America for “violence and action throughout,
and brief strong language.” Running time: 117
minutes. One star out of four.

MPAA Definition of PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material

may be inappropriate for children under 13.

121
122
‘MICHAEL JACKSON’S
THIS IS IT’ GETS BOX
SET AFTER 10 YEARS

A small-batch box set of film, music and

memorabilia will be released to celebrate the
10th anniversary of “Michael Jackson’s This Is It,”
the movie that captured Jackson’s final concert
rehearsals before his death.
Only 1,000 numbered copies will be made of
the set that is available for presale at the Jackson
online store and will be released on Dec. 11,
Sony Music and the Jackson estate announced.

123
Each will include four LPs on translucent-blue
vinyl, a 3-D Blu-Ray disc of the film, a 60-page
coffee table book and a ticket for a July 24, 2009
concert at O2 Arena in London that was never
held because Jackson died 18 days before the
shows was scheduled to begin.
The film, which had the highest global box
office gross of any concert documentary, was
released in theaters that October, the first
of several posthumous projects the Jackson
estate would produce.

It was culled from the rehearsal footage for

what was to have been a comeback tour before
Jackson’s doctor after his doctor gave him a fatal
dose of the anesthetic propofol.

It’s among the first Jackson projects announced

since renewed allegations of child sexual abuse
against the singer made in the Emmy-winning
documentary “Leaving Neverland,” which
Jackson’s estate has repeatedly attacked and
challenged in court.

124
125
126
Image: Michael Penn

NEW
TECHNOLOGY
BRINGS OLD
TLINGIT HAT BACK
TO ALASKA

A Tlingit clan hat was welcomed back to

southeast Alaska with ceremony and dance after
spending more than a century away.
A ceremony Sept. 25 included both an original
sculpin hat that was taken in 1884 from Sitka
and became part of the Smithsonian Institution’s
collection, and a newer replacement hat, which
was given to the Kiks.adi clan.
“It’s like seeing an old friend come around
the corner when you thought you’d never see
them again,” said clan leader Ray Wilson in an
interview with the Juneau Empire. During part
of the ceremony at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall,
Wilson donned the new hat.
The team-up and technology that led to the new
hat and ceremony are unprecedented as far as
the Smithsonian is aware.

127
“As far as we know, it’s never been done
before,” said Eric Hollinger, tribal liaison for the
repatriation office of the Smithsonian National
History Museum. “This is the first time that
we’re aware of that an object has been digitally
scanned and repaired and a new one made to
replace it and be made it into a sacred object.”
The replacement hat was made through careful
study of the original hat, 3D imaging and
consultation with the clan, Hollinger said.
“It shows what can happen when people work
together,” Wilson said.
The new hat came to be after Harold Jacobs,
cultural resource specialist for Central Council of
Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, noticed
the hat was in the Smithsonian’s collection,
Hollinger and Wilson said.
Jacobs asked if it would be possible for the
original hat to be digitized and repaired,
Hollinger said. He said at the time something
similar had been done to replicate Dakl’aweidi
clan hats, and it could be possible.
The Smithsonian got in touch with Wilson and
the Kiks.adi clan, who expressed interest in
proceeding with the project.
“We began that process with seven years of
consultation and work to try to figure out where
to get the wood, where to get the funds for it,
how to do it, what’s the appropriate ways to do
it,” Hollinger said. “The clan and the several units
of the museum, the Smithsonian Institution
Exhibits and digitization program office of the
Smithsonian worked with the Natural History
Museum to acquire the wood and the materials
and work with the clan for guidance on how to
attach things.”
Funding for that effort came from a $26,000
grant from the Smithsonian Women’s

128
Image: Jon Alexander

129
Committee, Hollinger said. That also helped pay
for creating a second replica, which Hollinger
said the Smithsonian wanted to have to help it
tell the hat’s story.
Chris Hollshwander, exhibition specialist and
model maker for Smithsonian Institution, who
helped mill the hat, was adopted into the Sitka
Kaagwaantaan. That was done so the hat maker
would come from a non-Raven moiety.
“I think it turned out beautiful,” Hollshwander
said in an interview. “I’ve been adopted into
the culture and given a chance to do a very
special piece.”
The newer hat was made because the centuries-
old hat is delicate after hundreds of years of
wear and tear. Both Smithsonian personnel
and tribe members said it needs to be treated
carefully and kept in a controlled climate in
order to continue to exist.
“The original hat is fragile and can’t be danced,
this hat is a new functional hat,” Smithsonian
National Museum of Natural History Director
Kirk Johnson said in an interview.
The new hat, which Wilson said will live at a still
undetermined location in Sitka, will have staying
power in Southeast Alaska.
“Our grandchildren will be using this hat down
the line,” Wilson said.
Not entirely old hat
While the old and new hats are extremely
similar, they are not identical. That’s by design.
“The milling (cut) is all the same and based on it,
but they wanted to add slightly different things,”
Hollinger said.
Some of those changes reflect the history of
the original hat, which was gleaned in part
from a CT scan, Hollinger said. The scan showed
evidence of past repairs, which Hollinger said

130
131
132
indicated it had likely been around for many
years before it was collected in 1884.
“It’s hard to tell how old it was, but because it
had all those repairs on it, it could have been
100, 200 years old,” Hollinger said. “We have no
way of dating something from that time.”
The carver of the hat is also unknown.
Some of the paint used on the old hat contained
mercury, Hollinger said, so it was likely made
post-contact — after non-indigenous people
and Alaska Natives met. However, he said it’s
possible it existed in the 1700s, and the telltale
paint came during repairs.
The scan also showed areas where sea lion
whiskers were likely present, so the new hat
has whiskers on one side. The newer hat also
includes shell inlay that was not present in the
older hat.
“The shell inlay here was not on the original
hat, but the original hat had an incised circle
as if they intended to put inlays in there. They
learned from the original hat and restored it to
where they thought they would have liked to
have it.”
Wilson said the two hats are also
spiritually distinct.
At.oowu, sacred clan objects, are considered to
have spiritual properties, so a repatriated item
is thought to come with the spirits of ancestors
attached. Wilson said the old hat’s spirits will be
retained rather than transferred to the new hat.
“It will have its own spirits, and the old hat will
still be as powerful,” Wilson said. “We did ask the
old hat if they would treat the new hat like it was
his child and he could pass on any information
he would want it to have.”

133
 Image: Hannibal Hanschke

GLOBAL PLAN AIMS

TO BETTER TAX
DIGITAL BUSINESS

134
A global economic body has proposed
overhauling the way multinationals - particularly
tech giants - are taxed to make sure they pay
their fair share in countries where they do
significant business.
The plan from the Paris-based the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development,
which advises 134 countries, comes after France
and the United States agreed in August to find a
way to better tax digital businesses by mid-2020.
The proposal, which applies to multinationals in
all sectors, would re-allocate some tax revenue
to countries where big companies like Google,
Facebook, Amazon and Apple “have significant
consumer-facing activities and generate their
profits,” the OECD said.

135
Currently, multinationals tend to pay most of
their tax in the country where they are based.
That’s particularly true for business carried out
online, such as ad revenue from online searches
or social media.
“We’re making real progress to address the tax
challenges arising from digitalization of the
economy, and to continue advancing toward a
consensus-based solution,” said OECD Secretary-
General Angel Gurría.
The issue has become particularly big in the
European Union, where multinationals with
business across the continent pay taxes almost
exclusively in the EU nation where their local
headquarters are based, often a low-tax haven
like Ireland, Luxembourg or the Netherlands.
In some cases, the small countries have been
accused of offering advantageous tax terms
to multinationals who agree to establish
headquarters there. The EU has ordered Apple
to pay Ireland almost $15 billion in back taxes,
for example, after finding that their tax deal was
unfair because it was better than what other
regular companies could expect.
The issue of how to better tax multinationals,
particularly digital businesses, came to a head
over the summer after France put a tax on the
digital operations of large tech companies. That
drew complaints from the U.S., where most of
the big tech companies are based.
The two sides agreed in August to try to reach a
global deal, after some other European countries
had threatened to follow France’s path. France
pledged to reimburse companies any excess
taxes once an international deal is in place.
The OECD’s proposal will be presented to finance
ministers of the G-20 in Washington next week.

136
137
138
 EU COMPETITION CHIEF:
READY TO ACT ON DIGITAL TAX

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe

Vestager says the bloc should agree on a tax to
ensure global digital companies pay “their fair
share” in Europe.
Vestager, who has been designated to continue
her work in the new European commission,
said during her confirmation hearing by EU
lawmakers that “we want these taxation rules
to be based on a global agreement. But if that’s
not possible by the end of 2020, then we are
prepared to act.”

Vestager will also oversee the bloc’s digital

policy if she is confirmed.

The EU is trying to find a way to tax big companies

that do huge business across the continent but
pay taxes only in the EU nation where their local
headquarters are based, often a low-tax haven like
Luxembourg or the Netherlands.

139
140
 EU’S TOP
REGULATOR
FOR BIG TECH
LOOKS TO USE
STRONGER ACTION

The EU’s powerful antitrust chief said she’s

weighing up stronger measures to curb
anticompetitive behavior because huge
fines that she has levied on tech multinationals
aren’t working.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe

Vestager didn’t offer specifics on possible
actions she’s considering, although she
downplayed the idea of breaking up companies.

Vestager is arguably the world’s most powerful

technology regulator. She made a name for
herself by hitting Silicon Valley giants with
eyepopping fines, including nearly $10 billion in
penalties for Google in three antitrust cases.

141
“You’re right to say that fines are not doing the
trick and fines are not enough because fines
are for illegal behavior in the past,” Vestager
told European Union lawmakers.
“Some of the things we will look into are even
stronger remedies for competition to pick up in
these markets.”

She cited the 1.49 billion-euro ($1.7 billion)

fine she gave Google this year for abusing
its dominant role in online advertising. Even
though the company stopped its behavior two
years ago, “the market hasn’t picked up - what
do we do? We have to consider remedies that
are more far-reaching.”

Vestager was speaking at a hearing to

confirm her for a second term as competition
commissioner and for a new role as executive
vice president responsible for making “Europe
fit for the Digital Age.”

When asked about the possibility of breaking

up companies, she said it “is a tool we have
available.” But she added that she is obliged
to “use the least intrusive tool to restore
fair competition.”

In response to concerns that EU antitrust

investigations have dragged on for years —
time that critics say allows big companies to
cement their dominant position — Vestager
said she plans to act more quickly, including
deploying “intermediate measures” to pause
any anti-competitive behavior.

Her other plans include coming up with a deal

on a tax to ensure global digital companies pay
“their fair share” in Europe.

142
143
144
“We want these taxation rules to be based on a
global agreement,” she said, but added if that’s
not possible by the end of 2020, then the EU is
prepared to act alone.
The EU is trying to find a way to tax big companies
that rake in big profits across the continent but
pay taxes only in the EU nation where their local
headquarters are based, often a low-tax haven like
Luxembourg or the Netherlands.

Vestager also outlined her plans to regulate

artificial intelligence and big data.
She said she’ll look at how companies that have
collected a lot of data can use that data “as an
asset for innovation but also as a barrier for
entry” to for smaller companies.

One of Vestager’s goals is coming up with rules

on the ethical use of artificial intelligence 100
days after the European Union’s new executive
Commission takes office on Nov. 1.
The EU will likely need new rules for items it
already regulates that are increasingly equipped
with AI. She gave as an example an AI-equipped
refrigerator that can sense when it’s empty and
have it refilled with more food.

“How do you make sure those products are

your preferred products and not someone else’s
preferred products?”

145
146
 10,000 HOURS
Dan + Shay

MEMORIES
Maroon 5

TRUTH HURTS
Lizzo

CIRCLES
PoSt MaLone

YOU SAY
Lauren DaigLe

GOOD AS HELL
Lizzo

SOMEONE YOU LOVED

LewiS CaPaLDi

LOVER
tayLor Swift

THE BONES (WITH HOZIER)

Maren MorriS

EVEN THOUGH I’M LEAVING

what you See iS what you get

147
148
 LOOK UP CHILD
Lauren DaigLe

LOVER
tayLor Swift

TREASURE EP.FIN: ALL TO ACTION

ateez

FIRE & BRIMSTONE

BrantLey giLBert

HOLLYWOOD’S BLEEDING
PoSt MaLone

CLOSER THAN TOGETHER

the avett BrotherS

OVER IT
SuMMer waLker

CUZ I LOVE YOU (DELUXE)

Lizzo

FEAR INOCULUM
tooL

SOUND & FURY

SturgiLL SiMPSon

149
150
 10,000 HOURS
Dan + Shay & JuStin BieBer

JOPPING
SuPerM

YES
fat Joe, CarDi B & anueL aa

THE GIT UP
BLanCo Brown

SEÑORITA
Shawn MenDeS & CaMiLa CaBeLLo

LA MEJOR VERSION DE MI
roMeo SantoS & natti nataSha

THE SOUND OF SILENCE

Pentatonix

YOU SAY
Lauren DaigLe

SOMEONE YOU LOVED

LewiS CaPaLDi

MEMORIES
Maroon 5

151
152
 THREE’S COMPANY
keePing uP with the karDaShianS, SeaSon 17

LINES WE CROSS
the waLking DeaD, SeaSon 10

MAN DOWN!
BeLow DeCk, SeaSon 7

BIG O’S AND BROKEN TOES

the reaL houSewiveS of orange County, SeaSon 14

PILOT
BatwoMan, SeaSon 1

INTO THE VOID

the fLaSh, SeaSon 6

HAIL TO THE CHIEF

MaDaM SeCretary, SeaSon 6

UNHINGED
thiS iS uS, SeaSon 4

AMERICAN IDOL
fBi, SeaSon 2

THE SEARCHERS
9-1-1, SeaSon 3

153
154
 LETHAL AGENT
vinCe fLynn & kyLe MiLLS

BLOODY GENIUS
John SanDforD

THE DUTCH HOUSE

ann PatChett

THE BOYS IN THE BOAT

DanieL JaMeS Brown

BLOWOUT
raCheL MaDDow

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

DeLia owenS

INSIDE OUT
DeMi Moore

THE INSTITUTE
StePhen king

THE WATER DANCER

(OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB)
ta-nehiSi CoateS

RUTHLESS
SyBiL BarteL

155
156
 LEGOS LYING
AROUND?
TOY MAKER
TESTS WAY TO
RECYCLE BRICKS

Lego is looking to keep its plastic bricks out of

the trash.
The Danish toymaker is testing a way for
customers to ship their unwanted bricks back
and get them into the hands of other kids.
It said that customers in the U.S. can print out a
mailing label on its site, dump their used Lego
bricks in a box and ship them off for free. Lego said
the pieces will be cleaned, put in a box and given
to Teach for America, a nonprofit that will donate
them to classrooms across the United States. Some
bricks will be also sent to the Boys & Girls Clubs of
Boston for their after-school programs.
Lego said if the test is successful, it may expand
the program beyond the U.S. next year.
The company typically tells its customers to
keep their bricks or pass them on to others. But
some have asked for another way to donate
them, said Tim Brooks, Lego’s vice president of
environmental responsibility.

157
158
Lego, like other big brands, is looking to please
customers worried about plastic’s impact on the
environment. Plastic doesn’t disintegrate but
instead can break down into tiny pieces and be
eaten by birds or other wildlife, endangering
their health.
It is also working to find other materials for its
colorful bricks. But finding one as durable as
plastic has been a challenge, Brooks said. Last
year, however, it began making Lego trees and
bushes out of sugar cane.
Rival Hasbro, which makes Monopoly and Mr.
Potato Head, said it plans to eliminate plastic
use in its packaging by 2022. It too has said that
finding a material to replace the plastic in its toys
has been tricky.

159
160
CONSUMER GOODS
GIANT UNILEVER
VOWS TO SLASH
USE OF PLASTIC

Consumer products giant Unilever, whose

brands include Dove soaps and Lipton teas, said
it aims to halve its use of non-recycled plastics
by 2025.
The move, which appears crafted to resonate
with younger, more environmentally aware
consumers, will require a “fundamental rethink”
in the company’s packaging policies, said CEO
Alan Jope.
Unilever aims to achieve the goal by reducing
its use of all plastics by 100,000 metric tons and
using more recycled plastic.

161
 Image: Hazel Thompson

The multinational previously pledged to make

all its plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or
compostable by 2025 and to use at least 25%
recycled plastic in packaging by that year.
The company also said it aims to collect
and process more plastic packaging than
it sells by 2025.

“Plastic has its place, but that place is not in the

environment,” Jope said. “We c n only eliminate
plastic waste by acting fast and taking radical
action at all points in the plastic cycle.”

He said meeting the new targets will require

“new and innovative packaging materials” and a
rapid increase in packaging that can be reused
or refilled.

Unilever has already started selling products

including toothbrushes made of bamboo,
and cardboard deodorant sticks and refillable
toothpaste tablets.

Even so, the Anglo-Dutch company says it

produces some 700,000 metric tons of plastic
packaging annually.

Experts at analytics firm GlobalData say that

surveys show young consumers are influenced
by environmental considerations when they buy
something, so Unilever’s move may be good for
the its business, too.

162
163
“Unilever’s decision to cut its plastic production
may seem like a contrived attempt to connect
with a younger generation. However, it is a
necessary move for a brand trying to maintain
its relevance and reputation,” said Carmen Bryan,
an analyst for the analytics firm GlobalData.
Elvira Jimenez, a plastics campaigner with
Greenpeace, welcomed the announcement,
“in the sense that they are the first ones that
are actually acknowledging that there has to
be a reduction.”

However, she said the environmental

organization would like to see Unilever shift
its focus even further toward packaging and
products that can be reused or refilled.

Experts say that some 9 million tons (8 million

metric tons) of plastic waste, including plastic
bottles, bags, toys and other items, flow annually
into the world’s oceans.

164
165
166
 CHINA CRITICIZES
APPLE FOR APP
THAT TRACKS
HONG KONG
POLICE

Apple became the latest company targeted

for Chinese pressure over protests in Hong
Kong when the ruling Communist Party’s main
newspaper criticized the tech giant this week for
a smartphone app that allows activists to report
police movements.
HKmap.live, designed by an outside supplier
and available on Apple Inc.’s online store,
“facilitates illegal behavior,” People’s Daily said in
a commentary.

“Is Apple guiding Hong Kong thugs?” the

newspaper said.

167
Beijing has pressed companies including
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways to take the
government’s side against the protests, which
are in their fourth month.
Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request
for comment.
HKmap.live allows users to report police
locations, use of tear gas and other details that
are added to a regularly updated map. Another
version is available for smartphones that use the
Android operating system.

Asked whether the Chinese government had

asked Apple to remove HKmap.live from its
online store, a foreign ministry spokesman said
he had no information about that.

“What I can tell you is that these radical, violent

crimes in Hong Kong have seriously challenged
the legal system and social order in Hong Kong,
threatened the safety of Hong Kong residents’
lives and property, and undermined the
prosperity and stability of Hong Kong,” said the
spokesman, Geng Shuang.

“Anyone who has a conscience and justice

should resist and oppose instead of supporting
and indulging those actions,” Geng said at a
regular news briefing.

The demonstrations began over a proposed

extradition law and expanded to include other
grievances and demands for greater democracy.
Criticism of Apple followed government attacks
starting last weekend on the National Basketball
Association over a comment by the general
manager of the Houston Rockets in support of
the protesters. China’s state TV has canceled
broadcasts of NBA games.

168
169
“Apple jumped into this on its own and mixed
together business with politics and commercial
activity with illegal activities,” People’s Daily said.

The newspaper warned Apple might be

damaging its reputation with Chinese consumers.

Brands targeted in the past by Beijing

have been subjected to campaigns by the
entirely state-controlled press to drive away
consumers or disruptive investigations by tax
and other regulators.
China has long been critical to Apple’s business.

The mainland is Apple’s second-biggest market

after the United States but CEO Tim Cook has
said since 2013 it will eventually become No. 1.
Sales in China declined 4% in the quarter ending
in June, but that was an improvement over the
25% contraction in the first half of its fiscal year.
“This recklessness will cause much trouble
for Apple,” People’s Daily said. “Apple needs to
think deeply.”

Apple also is an important asset to China.

Most of its iPhones and tablet computers are

assembled in Chinese factories that employ
hundreds of thousands of people. Chinese
vendors supply components for Mac Pro
computers that are assembled in Texas.

170
171
172
 VIRGINIA TO
DEVELOP 4
NEW SOLAR
ENERGY PROJECTS

Permits were issued last week for the

construction and operation of four new solar
projects that are expected to offset carbon
dioxide emissions in the state by 459 million
pounds — the equivalent of driving more than
44,000 cars for a year.
“Virginia is adopting solar technology at record
rates, and we are building an economy that
is cleaner and greener as a result,” Gov. Ralph
Northam stated in a press release announcing
the permits, issued by the Virginia Department
of Environmental Quality.

The four new solar projects will produce

an additional 192 megawatts of electricity.

173
On average, 1 megawatt of solar energy can
provide 190 homes with electrical power, according
to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

The newly announced solar projects will consist

of the following:

• Danville Farm, which is being developed in

Pittsylvania County by Strata Solar Development
and will generate 12 megawatts of electricity.
• Dragonfly Solar, which is being developed
in Campbell County by Apex Clean Energy
Holdings and will generate 80 megawatts
of electricity.
• Grasshopper Solar Project, which is being
developed in Mecklenburg County by Dominion
Energy Services and will generate 80 megawatts
of electricity.

• Turner Solar, which is being developed in

Henrico County by Cypress Creek Renewables
and will generate 20 megawatts of electricity.
“Over the last five years, Virginia has seen
a dramatic increase in installed solar
developments,” DEQ Director David Paylor stated
in a press release. “As of August this year, there
are nearly a dozen small projects in Virginia
producing 357 megawatts, enough to power
more than 86,000 homes.”
Last month, Northam issued Executive Order
43, which calls for 100% of Virginia’s electricity
to come from carbon-free sources by 2050. The
executive order also calls for 30% of the state’s
electricity to be powered by renewable energy
resources by 2030. In 2018, 7% of Virginia’s
electricity was generated from renewable
energy sources, according to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration.

174
175
176
“This Executive Order will help ensure that
Virginia remains at the forefront of clean energy
innovation, meets the urgency of the challenges
brought on by climate change, and captures the
economic, environmental, and health benefits
of this energy growth in an equitable way that
benefits all Virginians,” Northam stated in a press
release when the executive order was issued.

Solar energy developments can save taxpayers

money. Partnering with Sun Tribe Solar, a
Charlottesville-based company, Libbie Mill
Library in Henrico County began installation
of a rooftop solar system in September. The
122-kilowatt system is projected to save Henrico
taxpayers $150,000 over the next 25 years.

177
According to the governor’s executive order,
at least 3,000 megawatts of electricity will
be generated from solar and onshore wind
sources by 2022. And by 2026, up to 2,500
megawatts of electricity will be generated by
offshore wind sources. Currently, the state does
not generate any large-scale electricity through
wind farms, according to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration.
Dominion Energy announced last month
that it is building a 220-turbine wind farm off
Virginia’s coastline. The project, projected to cost
$7.8 billion, will be the largest offshore wind
development in the U.S. Once the wind farm is
complete, Dominion claims it will power 650,000
homes at peak wind.
“Governor Ralph Northam has made it clear
Virginia is committed to leading the way in
offshore wind,” Mark Mitchell, vice president of
generation construction for Dominion Energy,
said in a press release. “We are rising to this
challenge with this 2,600-megawatt commercial
offshore wind development.”

DEQ is responsible for administering state and

federal environmental policy in Virginia. The
agency issues permits to regulate levels of
pollution throughout the state.

Image: Steve Helber

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