WeChat is a social mobile application with voice and text messaging timeline and several social features like ‘Message in a Bottle'. WeChat, a popular instant messaging tool run by Tencent Holdings, aims to help users access mobile services without downloading separate apps, which experts said may challenge the business of smartphone app distributors such Apple Store.

This new feature, named ‘Mini Programs', allows WeChat users to find a variety of services such as ticket buying by scanning a QR (quick-response) code, saving them the trouble of installing a number of different apps on smart devices, according to the transcript of a speech by Zhang Xiaolong, Tencent's senior executive vice president, on Wednesday. The new function is expected to come online on January 9.

    Zhang, known as the father of WeChat, emphasized that ‘Min Programs' is not a mobile app distributing function.

    Still, experts and app developers said that the rollout (推出) of ‘Mini Programs' on WeChat will erode the market share of app distributors like Apple Store in China.

     “‘Mini Programs' will attract lots of start-ups, because a program based on WeChat can help them build up businesses at much lower costs,” a Shanghai-based app developer, told the Global Times Wednesday.

    If a start-up wants to promote its business via a separate application, it has to hire a special team to develop two different apps— one each for iOS and Android.

    Lsiunched in 2011, WeChat has evolved to include services such as ‘Order Taxi', ‘Food Delivery', e-commerce and payments from just an instant messaging app.

    A new phone app uses shaking from smartphones to warn people about earthquakes. The new app is called MyShake, which is the work of four researchers at the University of California. Berkeley.

    Smartphones are equipped with accelerometers(加速器). MyShake uses phone accelerometers to measure seismic (地震的) activity. It has been programmed to know the difference between normal activity and earthquake movement. The software developers say their app is right 93 percent of the time. A smartphone sends seismic information to the app developers. If the developers receive several warnings from one area, it recognizes that an earthquake may be taking place or will take place soon. Using information sent from the app, the network then judges the location and strength of the quake in real time. MyShake can record 5.0 earthquake at distances of 10 kilometers or less.

    MyShake uses very little power, according to its developers. Only when seismic activity is sensed by the app does it become active and sends data to the network. The app works best when your phone is resting on a flat surface, like a table.

    The developers hope that MyShake can add to information collected by the U.S Geological Survey. That U.S agency has created the Earthquake Early Warning System, also known as the EEW. The EEW has used sensors for measuring quakes in many areas. In places where no such equipment exists, MyShake may be the only method of early quake detection (发现). The app also shows ways to stay safer during an earthquake. The developers say it will become more effective as more people use it.

    The developers say they hope to add a feature that will warn people about possible tsunami after an earthquake.

    Street art is a very popular form of art that is spreading quickly all over the world. You can find it on building, sidewalks, street sings and trash cans from Tokyo to Paris, and from Moscow to Cape Town. Street art has become a global culture and even art museums and galleries are collecting the works of street artists. Even advertising companies also use street art in their ads due to its popularity.

    Street art started out very secretly because it's illegal to paint on public and private property without permission. People often have different opinions about street art. Some people think it is a crime with others think it's a new form of culture.

    Art experts claim that the movement began in New York in the 1960s. Young adults sprayed words and images on walls and trains. This colorful and energetic style of writing became known as graffiti(涂鸦). Graffiti art showed that young people wanted to rebel against society. They didn't want to accept rules, and they travelled around cities to create paintings that everyone could see. In many cases, they had trouble with the police and the local government.

    Many street corners in Paris show the works of Space Invader. A French artist uses small pieces of glass to make images of space creatures. He has been doing this for some years and the police have arrested him a few times. On his website, you can see many other places where he has created this form of art.

    Street artists do their work for some reasons. Some of them do not like the artists who make so much money in galleries and museums. They choose street art because it is closer to common people. Some artists try to express their political opinion in their works. They often want to protest against big firms and corporations. Others like to do things that are forbidden and hope they don't get caught.

    In today's world, the Internet has a big influence on street art. Artists can show their pictures to people all over the world. Many city residents, however, say that seeing a picture on the Internet is never as good as seeing it alive. The street art movement lives with the energy and life of a big city. There it will continue to change and grow.

    Why do you go to the library? For books, yes--but you like books because they tell stories. You hope to get lost in a story or be transported into someone else's life. At one type of library, you can do just that--even though there's not a single book.

    At a Human Library, instead of books, you can “borrow” people. Individuals volunteer as human “books” and participants in the event can “read” the book--meaning they would have a one-on-one conversation with the volunteer and share in a dialogue about that individual's experience. “Books” are volunteers from all walks of life who have experienced discrimination (歧视) based on race, religion, class, gender identity, age, lifestyle choices, disability and other aspects of their life

    For a certain amount of time, you can ask them questions and listen to their stories, which are as fascinating and as attractive as any you can find in a book. Many of the stories have to do with some kind of stereotype. You can speak with a refugee (难民), a soldier suffering from PTSD, a homeless person or a woman living with HIV. The Human Library encourages people to challenge their own long-held beliefs-to truly get to know, and learn from someone they might otherwise make a quick judgment about.

    According to its website, the Human Library is “a place where difficult questions are expected, appreciated and answered.” It provides the opportunity for the community to share and understand the experiences of others in their community.

    The Human Library Organization came to be in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2000. Ronni Abergel, his brother Dany, and some colleagues hosted a four-day event during a major Northern European festival, hoping to raise awareness about violence among youth. After the success of this event, Abergel founded the Human Library Organization, which has been growing ever since.

    Though there are a few permanent human libraries, most aren't places at all, but events. Though many do take place at physical libraries, you don't need a library card—anyone can come and be part of the experience. There have been human library events all over the globe, in universities and in pubs, from Chicago to Tunis to Edinburgh to San Antonio.

The stories these "books" tell range from fascinating to heartbreaking and everything in between. And that's the very point of the organization--to prove that no person can be summed up in just one word. It seeks to show people that you truly can't judge a book by its cover—or by its title or label.

    Every summer, the Serengeti plains (平原) of Africa are worth visiting. Millions of wild animals begin their 1,800-mile journey northwards on their annual migratory (迁移的) route.

    In the month of November, polar bears in their thousands cross the Canadian Arctic, as they head towards the ice sheets of Hudson Bay. The sea ice that forms every winter is the key to the bear's managing to exist, for here they hunt for seals (海豹).

    The Great Bustard, one of the heaviest flying birds, migrates each year across Europe and Asia to its wintering grounds. Unluckily, these and other migratory animals are in danger from human activity.

    We have written several articles on climate change and the effect of rising ocean temperatures. Since 1979, ice sheets in the Arctic have gone down by 30 percent. What does this mean for polar bears? They are forced to stay on land for longer periods of time, which delays their search for food. As a result, bears today are 60 pounds lighter than what they were. Besides, smaller bears also produce weaker babies, and their chances of survival are at risk. In the plains of Africa, migratory animals like gazelles are traveling long distances for food, just to avoid falling prey (牺牲品) to humans who hunt them.

    In an unusual step, experts from 120 countries have agreed to protect 31 migratory mammals, fish and birds. The United Nation's 11th annual Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) was held in Quito, Ecuador. For the first time, 900 experts attended the conference, and the enthusiastic support shows the world is united in conservation (保护) efforts.

    What does getting on a protected list mean? Countries that have signed the agreement will be required to pass laws locally and work with other countries that fall within the animal's migratory path. Only one animal did not make the list. The African lion was rejected (拒绝) for lack of information of the countries where it lives.

    Angel Garcia Crespo is a computer engineer at Carlos III University of Madrid in Spain. His group has invented a new way for deaf-blind people to “watch” TV. The idea for the technology grew out of previous work by his group. The team had already worked on making audiovisual(视听的) materials accessible to people with either vision or hearing disabilities. But the group wanted to help people with both challenges. So they asked some deaf-blind people what would help.

    In addition to relying on their sense of touch to communicate, deaf-blind people can also get and send information with a Braille line. The Braille system uses patterns of raised dots to stand for letters and numbers. A Braille line is an electronic machine with a changeable Braille display. Dots rise up or drop down based on the information sent to the machine.

    Now the new system changes TV signals to data a Braille line can use. “The key to the system is the possibility of using subtitles(字幕) to collect TV information, " Garcia Crespo explains. "Subtitles travel with the image(影像) and the audio in electromagnetic waves we don't see. But an electronic system can keep those waves."

    First, a computer program, or app, pulls out the subtitles and visual descriptions from the broadcast signal. The system then combines the information and changes both into data for Braille.

    Now another app gets to work, which sends the data out to people's Braille lines on demand. “This is done in real time, in less than a second, " Garcia Crespo says. This lets a deaf-blind person "watch" TV as it's broadcast. The system will work with various Braille lines, as long as there's a bluetooth connection available. Now, the system is only used in Europe, and it should soon be available in the US.