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China says it cloned a police dog to speed up training
It can be costly and time-consuming to train police dogs when each candidate might have different skills and personalities. China's solution? Make copies of the best-performing dogs. The state-backed China Daily reports that the city of Kunming, the Yunnan Agricultural University and Beijing Sinogene Biotechnology are about to train Kunxun, a two-month-old Kunming wolfdog cloned from a "great" canine detective. The aim, as you might guess, is to save time and money -- they'll know that Kunxun is more likely to learn quickly and perform well.
Two more fake Apple Stores spotted by officials in China, two get the smackdown
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but that didn't go down too well with the three KIRF Apple Stores in Kunming, China. In fact, after American expat BirdAbroad made her local stores famous last week, local officials have since been combing through the city's 300-plus gadget shops on behalf of Apple China, and managed to dig up two more "Apple" stores. It's not exactly clear if these new offenders are at the same severity as the ones spotted by BirdAbroad, but the authorities have confirmed that none of the five stores are Apple Authorised Resellers, let alone having its permission to use its logo on their store front. Additionally, two out of the five stores have since been shut down due to unlicensed retail operation. The fate of the remaining three is still unknown -- the officials have only concluded that no KIRF products have been found in the stores, though details such as the decor and staff uniform are certainly very similar to those of the real deal. Well, we're glad they agree, but this is only just the beginning -- BirdAbroad has since gathered photos of more sketchy Apple stores across the world, so go take a gander. Oh, and for those who have been out of the loop, there's a hands-on video of one of the Kunming stores after the break.
The ultimate KIRF: fake Apple Store spotted in China
This Apple Store looks so real we still can't quite believe it isn't. The KIRF-ers have excelled themselves this time: mimicking or at least reinventing everything from the Brave New World posters down to the dog-tags and "We live here" demeanor worn by the staff. There were a few giveaways, however, which led observant blogger BirdAbroad to whip out her camera and start gathering evidence: slight imperfections in the decor, a lack of individual names on staff badges, plus an unlikely location in the Chinese Backwaterville of Kunming. Hey Apple, we feel your pain. You'll find further unbelievable pics after the break and over at BirdAbroad's blog.
