Latest news with #Liang
1News
3 days ago
- Science
- 1News
Two Kiwi students shine in Apple's global coding competition
Two 16-year-olds from New Zealand have been named among Apple's Swift coding competition winners for 2025. Alex Liang from Westlake Boys High School and Ben Lawrence from Kaiapoi High School were named among the 350 winning submissions from the tech giant's global competition associated with the Worldwide Developers Conference. Applicants span the globe, representing 38 countries and regions, and incorporating a wide range of tools and technologies. Liang's entry called Make A Wish follows his success last year as the only winner from New Zealand, this time using maths to predict a meteor path, track it in the sky and capture pictures of meteor showers from a phone, rather than a meteor camera. He said he vividly remembered standing outside in May 2021, holding his mother's phone up for three hours and being "very happy and proud of myself" when he finally captured a meteor on camera — but it was time consuming. ADVERTISEMENT "My app is focused on meteors because many people actually try to see meteors and then try to take a picture of it. Right now, the cheapest way to capture a meteor without having to endure it is to use a meteor camera." Alex Liang demonstrates his app to a fellow student. (Source: Supplied) For Liang, it's the second year in a row that he has been named as a winner and he said there had been a "very clear rise" in the number and calibre of applicants this year, and in the use of Artificial Intelligence. "And so this year, unlike last year, I mentioned little planets, which was no AI at all. But this year I did actually implement AI/machine learning in the form of object detection." Liang said he was "not surprised at all" that Apple had decided to allow the use of AI in the competition this year but all usage had to be disclosed. "In fact, I was expecting it. Without AI, many of the things from the app I made would not be possible. "I use it to bump up my efficiency sometimes because I do actually use AI to debug and stuff and then sometimes to create new features or learn new frameworks. But using it does not mean you have to rely entirely on it. ADVERTISEMENT "You have to understand your code top to bottom, every single line, not just saying 'hey GPT do something for me, just write me an app that's doing this'. And AI is not able to create things like that just by saying one word." Liang said planning was already underway for next year's entry, and Make A Wish was being reviewed by Apple to be added to the App Store. "Words cannot describe the experience. I felt like I stepped up to the whole next level of not just astronomy, but innovation. It is something I'm very profound about, something I'm very happy about." Helping money make 'Good Cents' Ben Lawrence pictured using his app, Good Cents. (Source: Supplied) 16-year-old Ben Lawrence from Kaiapoi High School, Christchurch, told 1News he "didn't expect anything" after entering his submission, Good Cents. The app simulates real-world financial scenarios in which users get a job, spend and save money and navigate complex financial curveballs. ADVERTISEMENT 'You do a quiz on some financial questions like 'What is a good way to spend money?' 'How do you save?' 'What's a budget used for?'. 'And based on that, you'll be awarded points, you'll get promotions and the player can also complete lessons that will teach you certain elements and aspects and then I'll quiz you on it to make sure you've actually read through it." Throughout the game, Lawrence gave examples of "random events" players could encounter designed to test whether they will spend money or not. "Oh, the new iPhone came out. You know you already have one, but you want the new one. Do you want to do it, or should you save your money? That kind of thing." Ben Lawrence's app, 'Good Cents'. (Source: Supplied) "Or if your savings are low but you have tonnes of money in your spending [the app] might say, 'hey do you want to put some money into your savings, get some interest on it?'." Lawrence said learning money skills in class could be "pretty boring" and hoped his app could be a way to make learning finances more fun. ADVERTISEMENT "Just making learning more fun and then also helping people with skills better pretty darn important and going into adulthood." The app took him three months to develop, and he hoped to launch it on the App Store soon. 'But I'm working on kind of upgrading it, almost making it so it's more of a platform so schools can sign up to it, license it, whatever and you can have classrooms and teachers can assign work to students and certain aspects of it. 'Phones are banned in schools so that's a huge problem, but I'm working on making it so that they can do it through a website now as well.' An idea that could go 'global' Denis Vida, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Western University in Ontario Canada, runs a project called the Global Meteor Network (GMN), which has over 1400 meteor cameras globally across 42 countries. Liang said he was collaborating the organisation with the goal of sharing his app with the global astronomy community. ADVERTISEMENT Adjunct Research Professor at the University of Western Ontario. (Source: Supplied) "Essentially everyone can follow a simple set of instructions and buy very reasonably low-cost hardware and install a meteor camera, then install our open-source software and contribute to the project," Vida said. He said "you don't really need to know much about space or science" to do so. "We have a lot of participants in New Zealand who are farmers with no previous context or interest in astronomy, but when they heard about potential meteor fall in their area they got in touch to get a camera installed." He said Liang reached out to him as one of New Zealand's "strong, well-organised" group of space enthusiasts, and was excited to collaborate with him on a project to solve a common problem. Vida said the main issue they faced was that people may be told when a meteor event could happen in their area, but won't know where exactly to look or which way to point their phone in the sky. "Most of the time when people do it, they hold their phone up, they wait for the right time, and it turns out they were looking the completely wrong direction. Or they'll swing the phone and then the only thing they have in the frame is just the fireball with no other reference points. ADVERTISEMENT "The problem is if we want to make measurements in that, we can't use it. There needs to be stars, it needs to be static or have some kind of reference points." He said developing an app to solve this problem sounded like the perfect project for programming pro Liang. "So the idea was let's build an app or some service that people can install where every time something like that happens within a certain radius of you, you'll get a notification and a set of instructions of how to start calibration and the sorts of images to take." Vida said now that Liang had created the app, the next step was getting it installed on a lot of phones, to get other meteor agencies on board. "Once we know that, you know things are going to happen and then people are going to install it, they're going to take pictures with the app and then once we show results that's where the app is going to get more established or where people are going to get more recognised." He said with some more rigorous testing and development of some features, Liang's app would have the potential to have an "oversized impact" globally. "Impacts of little asteroids happen all over the world in a random way. So something's on the App Store and anyone can download it, that's literally [going to] go global." ADVERTISEMENT "These challenges are a great way to find talent. You have pretty small investment and you set some sort of a goal, and you find talented people who are inspired by it," he said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
FWD Group names new president and CEO for Philippines unit
FWD Group has appointed Lau Soon Liang as president and CEO of FWD Philippines, pending approval from regulatory bodies. Liang will assume the position on 1 June 2025. Currently serving as chief growth officer for South East Asia within FWD Group, Liang joined the company in 2016. He is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, UK. Liang said: 'I am honoured to take on this role and excited to build on the strong foundation that has been established at FWD Philippines. I look forward to working with our talented team to continue delivering customer-led innovations and financial solutions that empower Filipinos to celebrate living.' FWD Group's South East Asia senior managing director chief business operations officer, Binayak Dutta, said: 'Soon Liang brings extensive experience in driving growth and fostering strategic partnerships across South East Asia. His strong leadership will be invaluable in steering the next phase of growth in changing the way Filipinos feel about insurance.' Meanwhile, outgoing CEO Antonio De Rosas will move to an advisory role, added Dutta. The company entered the Philippine market in 2014 and has a bancassurance alliance with Security Bank. The Insurance Commission of the Philippines regulates FWD Philippines, granting it the legal authority to provide insurance products and services within the country. FWD Philippines, which began its commercial operations in September 2014, is a part of FWD Group, which serves approximately 30 million customers across ten markets in Asia, including BRI Life in Indonesia. In June last year, Reuters reported that FWD Group is preparing for an initial public offering in Hong Kong. "FWD Group names new president and CEO for Philippines unit " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Historic Boon Siew Villa demolished to make way for luxury condo project
GEORGE TOWN: Penang's rich heritage has once again suffered a blow with the loss of one of its landmarks. The Boon Siew Villa, once a majestic coastal home at Shamrock Beach in Jalan Batu Ferringhi, has been demolished to make way for a luxury development. Hoarding has been erected around the site and a construction crew has moved in to begin the building of the 43-storey Ascott Residences Batu Ferringhi condominium project. The loss is felt not just by the people who lived near the villa, which stood as a symbol of old Penang, but also heritage advocates who see it as another blow to the state's historical landscape. They said the villa, with sweeping views of the Tanjung Bungah coastline, was not just a building but also a monument to history and the life of Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew, the self-made tycoon who introduced Honda cub motorcycles to Malaysia. Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) president Clement Liang expressed his disappointment over the demolition. "The Boon Siew Villa was not just a house; it was a living part of Penang's history. It had a unique place in our heritage. "It is deeply regrettable that the developer chose to demolish it rather than incorporate it into their new development plans," he told the New Straits Times. Liang, a long-time advocate in preserving Penang's heritage, said the villa was not the only historical structure facing such a fate. Many other heritage buildings, especially those outside the George Town World Heritage Site, lack legal protection and are at risk of demolition. "Unfortunately, many buildings are not protected and there is a lack of effort to preserve them. These buildings are more than just four walls — they are part of history; the stories of our town," he added. Last October, Singaporean real estate and lodging company, The Ascott Ltd, joined forces with Instant Icon Sdn Bhd (VST Property Group) to develop Ascott Residences Batu Ferringhi. This upscale seafront development is expected to open its doors in January 2028 and is set to elevate Penang's luxury living landscape. But for heritage advocates, this is far too costly. "The loss of such landmarks is like erasing part of the city's memory. Each time a historical building is replaced, we lose a part of what makes Penang unique," said Liang. The demolition of Boon Siew Villa is yet another chapter in a growing narrative of historical buildings being sacrificed for development. Liang said other landmarks that could fall victims to the city's development boom included the Art Deco buildings along Chow Thye Road. "These are private properties and without strong legal protections, there is little to stop these buildings from being torn down for new developments," he said.
NDTV
24-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
Trump Wants Apple To Make iPhones In US. Experts On Challenges He Faces
President Donald Trump's bid to bring manufacturing of Apple's iPhone to the United States faces many legal and economic challenges, experts said on Friday, the least of which are the insertion of "little screws" that would need to be automated. Trump threatened on Friday to impose a 25% tariff on Apple for any iPhones sold, but not made, in the US, as part of his administration's goal of re-shoring jobs. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS last month that the work of "millions and millions of human beings screwing in little, little screws to make iPhones" would come to the U.S. and be automated, creating jobs for skilled trade workers such as mechanics and electricians. But he later told CNBC that Apple CEO Tim Cook told him that doing so requires technology not yet available. "He said, I need to have the robotic arms, right, do it at a scale and a precision that I could bring it here. And the day I see that available, it's coming here," Lutnick said. The fastest way for the Trump administration to pressure Apple through tariffs would be to use the same legal mechanism behind punishing tariffs on a broad swath of imports, said trade lawyers and professors. The law, known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, allows the president to take economic action after declaring an emergency that constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the U.S. "There's no clear legal authority that permits company-specific tariffs, but the Trump administration may try to shoehorn it under its emergency power authorities," said Sally Stewart Liang, a partner at Akin Gump in Washington. Other means of levying company-specific tariffs rely on lengthy investigations, Liang said. But tariffs on only Apple "would provide a competitive advantage for other important phones, which undermines Trump's goals of bringing manufacturing to the United States," Liang said. Experts said Trump has viewed IEEPA as a flexible and powerful economic tool, because it is not clear that courts have the power to review the president's response to a declared emergency. "In the administration's view, as long as he enacts the ritual of declaring an emergency and pronouncing it unusual or extraordinary, there is nothing a court can do," said Tim Meyer, an international law professor at Duke University. In a case brought by 12 states challenging Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs in the Manhattan-based Court of International Trade, the court is considering that issue, and whether IEEPA authorizes tariffs at all. If the Trump administration wins that case, "the president is not going to have any trouble coming up with an emergency as a justification to impose tariffs on Apple iPhone imports," Meyer said. Trump could even simply include iPhones under the trade deficit emergency that already formed the basis for tariffs declared earlier, Meyer said. But moving production to the U.S. could take up to a decade and could result in iPhones costing $3,500 each, Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, said in a research note. Apple's top-of-the-line iPhone currently retails for around $1,200. "We believe the concept of Apple producing iPhones in the US is a fairy tale that is not feasible," Ives said. Even without getting that far, a tariff on iPhones would increase consumer costs by complicating Apple's supply chain and financing, said Brett House, an economics professor at Columbia. "None of this is positive for American consumers," he said.
The Star
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
'Little, little screws' one of many hurdles to US-made iPhones
FILE PHOTO: A store of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Apple (AAPL) is seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 22, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's bid to bring manufacturing of Apple's iPhone to the United States faces many legal and economic challenges, experts said on Friday, the least of which are the insertion of "little screws" that would need to be automated. Trump threatened on Friday to impose a 25% tariff on Apple for any iPhones sold, but not made, in the U.S., as part of his administration's goal of re-shoring jobs. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS last month that the work of "millions and millions of human beings screwing in little, little screws to make iPhones" would come to the U.S. and be automated, creating jobs for skilled trade workers such as mechanics and electricians. But he later told CNBC that Apple CEO Tim Cook told him that doing so requires technology not yet available. "He said, I need to have the robotic arms, right, do it at a scale and a precision that I could bring it here. And the day I see that available, it's coming here," Lutnick said. The fastest way for the Trump administration to pressure Apple through tariffs would be to use the same legal mechanism behind punishing tariffs on a broad swath of imports, said trade lawyers and professors. The law, known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, allows the president to take economic action after declaring an emergency that constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the U.S. "There's no clear legal authority that permits company-specific tariffs, but the Trump administration may try to shoehorn it under its emergency power authorities," said Sally Stewart Liang, a partner at Akin Gump in Washington. Other means of levying company-specific tariffs rely on lengthy investigations, Liang said. But tariffs on only Apple "would provide a competitive advantage for other important phones, which undermines Trump's goals of bringing manufacturing to the United States," Liang said. Experts said Trump has viewed IEEPA as a flexible and powerful economic tool, because it is not clear that courts have the power to review the president's response to a declared emergency. "In the administration's view, as long as he enacts the ritual of declaring an emergency and pronouncing it unusual or extraordinary, there is nothing a court can do," said Tim Meyer, an international law professor at Duke University. In a case brought by 12 states challenging Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs in the Manhattan-based Court of International Trade, the court is considering that issue, and whether IEEPA authorizes tariffs at all. If the Trump administration wins that case, "the president is not going to have any trouble coming up with an emergency as a justification to impose tariffs on Apple iPhone imports," Meyer said. Trump could even simply include iPhones under the trade deficit emergency that already formed the basis for tariffs declared earlier, Meyer said. But moving production to the U.S. could take up to a decade and could result in iPhones costing $3,500 each, Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, said in a research note. Apple's top-of-the-line iPhone currently retails for around $1,200. "We believe the concept of Apple producing iPhones in the US is a fairy tale that is not feasible," Ives said. Even without getting that far, a tariff on iPhones would increase consumer costs by complicating Apple's supply chain and financing, said Brett House, an economics professor at Columbia. "None of this is positive for American consumers," he said. (Reporting by Jody Godoy and Karen Freifeld in New York and David Shepardson in Washington)
