Headline April 29th, 2012 / FIGHT OR FUSE

"FIGHT OR FUSE"

 Respectful dedication to past and future generations!

Robert Di Niro

Martin Amis

Curtis James Jackson iii 50 Cent

I must begin this Headline Post by thanking the readers on the scores and scores of communications that we received!! One particulat reader from Europe went on to ask a very basic question: ''Are we not men!!?'' Haha! Well, more to this later, but first lets face up to the wave! 

So, continuing her gale, Jones wrote out this eviscerating column about Manthropology, using McAllister's book to -metaphorically speaking- smash to death every man. ''Men might all wear trainers and tracksuits and workwear such as denim jeans and combat trousers,'' Janus wrote, "but it is all just dressing up, an illusion, a hark back to the days when men actually knew how to do physical things like, ooh hoo, I don't know, put in a light bulb or change a duvet cover!?" Stabbingly titling her article as "The Modern Male---He's Softer Than A Slug With A Beer Belly!" Jones went to eloquently entertaining length about her disgust for the physical state of all modern males. ''Like snails---soft, spongy, grey bodies inside the crisp shells of their automobiles.....'' This was strong stuff!! Every line vibrating with genuine repulsion.

 And it is worth a mention that any male journalist who happened to write about women in a similar manner would in all likelihood lose his job. And obesity knows no gender?! But, but what Jones and all the other female journalists, who jumped on Manthropology with such sadistic delight, needed to consider was that one could easily make exactly the opposite case.

Therefore, Soft bodies?? All the males I know are obsessed with going to the gym. Poor fellows, they push their aching bodies to the limit of endurance. And in addition the stark truth is that modern male is far more obsessed with their health than their forefathers ever were. But like all best propaganda this modern male hating thesis contains many germs of truth. But in all the ways that count, the strong, silent majority of males are far better than they have ever been!

So don't miss morrow's post as we unleash some more reasoning!
Thanks !W O W!
Good Night folks and God bless!

SAM Daily Times - The Voice Of The Voiceless


Part-1  Part-2   

Sapphire discovery in Madagascar sparks rush

(Telegraph) The Ankeniheny-Zahmena corridor is made up of pristine rainforest and has been earmarked to join the Unesco World Heritage List because of its unique wildlife, including the rare Indri lemur, which featured in the 2011 Sir David Attenborough series Madagascar.

But conservationists are now warning that the discovery of a "substantial" deposit of sapphires earlier this month could see huge swathes of the remote rainforest destroyed. As many as 10,000 miners and precious stone traders from around the world are reported to have raced to the eastern region to extract the blue-tinted stones and ship them overseas. As well as digging up the forest floor, they are cutting down trees for firewood and shelter in the hitherto untouched wilderness and hunting resident animals, particularly lemurs, for bushmeat. Hoteliers in Ambatondrazaka, the capital of Alaotra-Mangoro region where the find was recorded, say their normally quiet residences have been booked up weeks in advance.

One claimed that police and soldiers have also arrived in the area, "not to protect but too profit". Conservationists say the government has called an emergency meeting about the issue, but lacks the security manpower to block the miners.

Rasolonirina Ramenason, the region's Environment and Forestry director, said that of the 10,000 people who have travelled to the area, around half had encroached the conservation zone. James MacKinnon, from US charity Conservation International, said people in the precious stones industry were taking the discovery "very seriously". "There have been around four big sapphire rushes in Madagascar but in terms of the numbers of people, this is the biggest I am aware of," he said. Richard Hughes, Madagascan representative with the World Wide Fund for Nature, said with little or no formal protection of the rainforest, the damage would be equally significant.

"Sapphires require excavating," he said. "That will do direct damage but also for the big influx of people, there's no roads or infrastructure in place so they will be dependent on the forest for firewood, shelter and food and that will cause additional damage."

Farming 'spread by migrant wave'

A new study of DNA from ancient remains provides further evidence that farming was first spread to Europe by migrants.

It casts doubt on the alternative theory in which agriculture was adopted by Europe's existing hunter-gatherer populations, spreading via cultural exchange with neighbouring tribes.

The researchers extracted DNA from 5,000-year-old
 remains found in southern Sweden 

Science journal says a team compared DNA from the skeleton of an ancient farmer with that from three hunters.

They found the "farmer" was genetically distinct from hunters.

Pontus Skoglund, from Uppsala University, Sweden, and colleagues extracted genomic DNA (genetic material contained in the nucleus of cells) from the 5,000-year-old remains unearthed in southern Sweden.


Ensuring the DNA obtained from these remains was genuinely ancient and uncontaminated by modern DNA required the team to use advanced molecular and statistical techniques.

They compared the genetic profiles of the stone age (Neolithic) farmer and contemporary hunter gatherers with those of modern populations.

Although the female farmer appears to have been born in the region, her genetic make-up was most similar to that of modern people from south-east Europe.

This would be consistent with evidence from archaeology, which posits a spread of agriculture from Anatolia (modern Turkey) towards the north and west of Europe after 8,000 years ago.

Meanwhile, the hunter-gatherers did not match any living group well but their DNA most closely resembled that of present-day Finnish people.

The researchers say their research supports the idea that the agricultural revolution was driven by people who migrated from southern Europe. (BBC.co.uk)

Black gold brings hope to French Guiana

French Guiana, an overseas department bordering Brazil, is one of France's poorest regions, where unemployment is at a record level. But with oil being discovered, locals are starting to hope for a better life.

Right in the middle of the economic crisis, oil companies Tullow Oil, Shell and Total announced in September 2011 they had discovered an oilfield 150 kilometres off the coast of French Guiana. The find was described as "significant" and "historic".

It is indeed highly relevant for the population of one of the country's poorest areas, and also means France as a nation could become the world’s third or even second oil producer in 15 years’ time, when new sources of oil are expected to be of worldwide importance.  (france24.com)

At work bored men and happy women,flirt

A UK Research : Men who flirt with female colleagues do so because they are bored of their job and lacking in sensitivity, psychologists claim.Flirty men had lower levels of job satisfaction, suggesting that rather than being a sign of passion their amorous behaviour could be down to ennui.


A follow-up questionnaire suggested that men who flirted in the workplace had lower levels of "emotional intelligence", or understanding of other people's feelings.


The second study, but not the first, also indicated that women who flirted at work were happier in their jobs but researchers said the result could have been a fluke.The psychologists, from Surrey University, set out to test the theory that flirting could improve people's chances of being promoted at work.


Dr Adrian Banks, who led the study, said: “What we found was the complete opposite. Flirts don’t perform better at work and men who flirt are less satisfied with their jobs.There is strong evidence against that notion that you can flirt your way to the top.”

Iran plans to control the internet access

Iran is planning to further censor and block access to foreign-based social media sites and email. There will be an  Iranian version of Facebook  and a new email service, to be called Iran Mail. Users will have to register their home address and social security number with police.

When the system, called Halal internet or National Internet by the regime, is introduced this summer only a few approved and carefully monitored businesses and government departments will have access to the World Wide Web. In effect Iran will have a giant, country-wide intranet, with cyber police blocking websites that are not approved.

'heart shrinking' study to help patients

Liverpool, UK: A patient is going to be operated on soon in new research to combat heart failures. It will involve electrically stimulating one of the nerves leading to the heart, which it is hoped could shrink the heart and improve life expectancy.

The heart pumps blood around the body, and when it fails to do this properly people can become tired and out of breath far more quickly. For some patients it feels like running a marathon when they are only sitting in an armchair.  As the heart loses its ability to pump, it fills with too much blood and becomes stretched over time. The more the heart enlarges, the worse the symptoms.

The surgeons will fit a device - similar to a pacemaker - to the vagus nerve which runs to the heart. Surgeons said the electrical stimulation should "protect the heart" from the effects of the hormone adrenaline.

Hong Kong pop star pays tribute to London

Hong Kong pop singer Eason Chan paid tribute to English fans after selling out the O2 Arena in around 20 minutes and crashing the venue's web servers. He made history by becoming the first Chinese performer to play the arena, starring in his sold-out DUO Concert.

Some 12,000 fans descended upon the London venue on Monday to hear Chan perform 25 songs from his Mandarin and Cantonese repertoire.

The 37-year-old singer said he was surprised and pleased to have so much international support. "I never thought I had so many fans in Europe. I heard people are coming from Belgium, Germany, France and Luxembourg and Spain," he said.

"Maybe they're bored," Chan added, joking.

Twitter thinking of getting simpler

Twitter Vice President of Product, Satya Patel says : "Success is if everybody in the world wakes up and checks Twitter". 


Twitter's long term goal is to get to 2 billion active users. Facebook has 1 billion users today and twitter 140 million. The growth rate of twitter is accelerating with the use of # tags and @, making it very possible for the company to hit 200 million active users by August.

Google is ahead in in search, Facebook in the social web, Apple in mobile devices, Amazon in e-commerce, and Microsoft on the desktop. The path to becoming more mainstream and attracting 2 billion tweeters is making the product more approachable to mere mortals, Patel said.

Recently "Discover" option was added on the site to help users become more fluent in the service.

Twitter VP of product siad:

"There is incredible awareness of Twitter, but the gap between awareness and ability to extract value is too great. We have to make it simpler for users to get close to what is most meaningful to them and easier to discover information."

State pupils 'not being pushed for Oxbridge' prompting fears hundreds of youngsters are being held back

More than half of state school teachers are failing to encourage their brightest pupils to apply to Oxford and Cambridge, according to a survey out today.

They ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ advise their most gifted pupils to apply to the elite institutions, prompting fears that hundreds of youngsters are being held back.

The survey results suggest that many teachers perceive Oxbridge to be the preserve of wealthy private school pupils, even though 57 per cent of entrants are state-educated.

Institutions are coming under intense Government pressure to increase their intake of state school pupils despite fears such moves could introduce crude ‘social engineering’ into admissions. Today’s survey suggests too few bright pupils are applying in the first place amid a failure by their teachers to encourage them.

The poll of 730 secondary state school teachers, by the National Foundation for Educational Research, showed nearly two thirds believed less than 30 per cent of Oxbridge pupils came from state schools.

One in five said they would ‘never’ advise their brightest pupils to apply to Oxbridge, while 29 per cent would do so ‘rarely’. Only 16 per cent said they would ‘always’ advise applying, with 28 per cent saying ‘usually’ and 10 per cent saying they ‘didn’t know’. Head teachers last night insisted that Oxbridge was ‘only one of many’ routes for bright students.

Read more here.

Recession has created 'scavenger' pupils

Recession has created 'scavenger' pupils who hunt scraps of food in schools and use it as a place to warm up, poll reveals

The economic crisis is so bad in parts of the UK that schoolchildren are being forced to eat leftovers from other pupils’ dinners because their families can barely afford to feed them, a new survey suggests.

Teachers have reported witnessing ‘scavenger’ pupils finishing scraps from classmates' plates and the poll by the Prince’s Trust and the Times Educational Supplement also found that youngsters were using school as a place to warm up with many arriving for lessons dirty and unable to concentrate.

More than half (57%) of the teachers questioned said they encounter young people who are hungry at least once a week with four out of ten saying they see young people desperate for food every day. Worse still, 16 per cent of teachers say they have seen a pupil suffering from malnutrition or showing signs of not eating enough every day. One teacher told researchers they see 'scavenger pupils finishing off scraps, as they haven’t eaten enough'.

The findings, based on interviews with 515 secondary school educators, come the day after it was announced that the UK has fallen back into recession. Teachers increasingly fear that high youth unemployment will leave their pupils facing a future on the dole, the survey concluded.

Read more here.

Pakistanis rank 4th on global intelligence survey

LONDON - Pakistanis have been ranked the fourth most intelligent people across the world in a globally-held survey. “Pakistanis are equal to the people of developed and industrialised countries when it comes to intelligence,” the survey report said. The poll was organised by the Institute of European Business Administration in 125 countries. The survey quantifies various aspects of brilliance and intellectual work in the nations of the surveyed countries. “Pakistanis outshine in the field of intelligence despite a dearth of required resources and opportunities,” the poll inferred.

The case studies of Ali Moeen Nawazish, Arfa Karim and Moosa Firoz were also quoted to prove the mental aptitude of the Pakistanis. Ali secured 22 As in A-levels exams; Arfa Karim had earned title of the youngest Microsoft Certified Expert; and Moosa recently won the World Mathematics Championship.


Source article here.

Student Loan:'It's Been Nothing But Confusion'

The Department of Education has been transferring large batches of federal student loans to new loan-servicing companies — leaving in the lurch some borrowers who are suddenly encountering problems with their loans, such as payments that are mysteriously adjusted up or down.

The switch, which has been going on for months and will ultimately include millions of loans, is mandated by a little-known provision tucked into the 2010 healthcare overhaul. Pushed by a consortium of nonprofit student loan companies, the provision forces the DOE to use nonprofit loan servicers. But at least in the short run, the switch has caused problems.

Borrower Isabelle Baeck said that after a new servicer, Mohela, took over her loans in December, she received a letter saying that her monthly payments had been reduced to $50 — roughly a quarter of what they had been. The change meant Baeck would ultimately pay more in interest over a longer period of time. Concerned, she said she has made repeated calls to get the problem fixed, only to have the payments repeatedly readjusted.

A Mohela representative declined to comment on specific borrower situations but said that the company is working hard to minimize disruption and to resolve issues as they arise.

Baeck is not alone. Since last fall, one million borrowers have had their federal student loans randomly assigned to one of the new companies, all nonprofits or subsidiaries of nonprofit organizations. It is not known what proportion of borrowers has had problems during the switch.

Like their for-profit counterparts, many of these nonprofit student loan companies traditionally originated, bought and insured student loans, with the day-to-day servicing making up only a portion of their business. Several — including at least six that the department has transferred or is planning to transfer loans to — have been touched by scandal in those other capacities, with accusations ranging from bad lending practices to violating state law to overbilling the Education Department.


In all, the Department of Education expects to add more than a dozen new servicers to the mix, roughly tripling the total number of companies that were handling direct federal loans this time last year. The move would also mean that borrowers with such loans would eventually be using about a dozen separate servicer websites, whereas before there was a single website for all direct loans.

Read More

Albion College Signs Agreement To Implement New Programs In Sustainability Studies

Albion College and its French partner, the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), are taking a global approach to sustainability in more ways than one. The two institutions have recently signed an agreement to implement two new programs for Albion students that will involve them in sustainability studies on both institutions' campuses.

Students may choose either an undergraduate major in sustainability studies or a one-year postgraduate course of study based at UVSQ culminating in a certificate of sustainability studies which is equivalent to completing the first year of a master's program. The programs will provide a worldwide perspective on key environmental problems and solutions and will prepare students to advance sustainable lifestyles on a broad scale.

"This new program with UVSQ builds on the good work that Albion College has already been doing through its Center for Sustainability and the Environment," said Albion President Donna Randall. "We have much to learn from our European counterparts about incorporating sustainability into everyday life, and this international partnership will enable our students to see best practices in action and bring those practices back home to the United States."

Albion's major in sustainability studies will offer an interdisciplinary program melding the sciences, social sciences, and humanities for students wishing to prepare themselves to meet current and future environmental challenges. Students will explore the economic and political tradeoffs between protection of the environment and use of natural resources. Courses and research will cover issues such as climate change, sustainable agriculture, radioactive waste management, and preservation of marine and coastal ecosystems, while weaving these topics within themes of social justice and the democratic political process.

"The program will give students who have an interest in sustainability, environmentalism, and social action the skill set to transition directly into entities—both governmental and nonprofit environmental or sustainability organizations," said Andrew French, a professor of chemistry who has been appointed director of Albion's sustainability studies major. "The skills, courses and experiences these students will receive at Albion and in France will position them uniquely for those careers.


Read details here.

Real-time GPS sensor could give earlier quake warning

Super-precise sensor networks promise to deliver almost instant warnings when strong earthquakes hit, and assess their magnitude more accurately

WHEN a magnitude-8.6 quake struck in the Indian Ocean last week, millions of people were forced to play an awful waiting game. With memories of the tsunami that devastated the region in 2004 still fresh, residents fled from the coasts, not knowing whether waves were on their way.

A system of super-accurate GPS sensors being tested in several earthquake and tsunami-prone areas may change all that. Instead of passing tense minutes and hours waiting for deadly waves to make landfall, the system promises to be able to deliver warnings almost instantly, saving lives and possessions.

Current global seismographic networks detect seismic waves rippling through the planet, but they can saturate for quakes larger than magnitude 7, leading to underestimates of quake strength that can have dire consequences.

To complement seismometers, several groups of researchers are assembling networks of real-time GPS sensors that measure their locations every second within 5 to 10 millimetres, far more accurate than consumer GPS. When a quake strikes, the sensors can detect precisely how much the crust has moved. "If we see large static displacement, we know it is a big quake," says Richard Allen, director of the seismology laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley.

Pilot projects of such networks are now in place in the US states of California, Oregon and Washington. They combine GPS sensor data with seismometer readings to rapidly assess quake magnitude. "The goal is to be able to use these for early warning of earthquakes, and also for determining areas that are affected by earthquakes," says Yehuda Bock of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California.

In California, such a network might be able to identify intense quakes and give surrounding areas a few seconds of warning, allowing people to seek cover before the seismic waves hit.

Washington and Oregon lie next to the offshore Cascadia subduction zone, which can cause quakes greater than magnitude 9 and trigger tsunamis. Here and in other tsunami-prone regions, the system may be able to provide more advanced warning before a tsunami reaches shore.

The long-term goal is to integrate GPS with seismic stations to create a system that within a couple of minutes could measure earthquake magnitude, locate the fault that failed and determine whether a tsunami was imminent. That would be a big improvement over the warnings issued after last year's Tohoku quake, which Japanese officials initially put at magnitude 8. "It took them about 20 minutes to realise they had a magnitude 9", about 30 times more powerful, says Bock. That meant that the initial tsunami warning underestimated the danger.

(newscientist.com)

Crowdsourced piano-playing lets you choose the tune

Tae Kim steps back from the piano and shakes his hands limply. "If I ever do this again, I'm going to have to remember to take a break," he says.

Kim, a graduate of the New England Conservatory, had been playing the piano in the MIT Media Lab's "Opera of the Future" lab for three and a half hours at the lab's spring meeting earlier this week. But there was no sheet music on the music stand. Instead, Kim watched colourful bubbles on an iPad that displayed what people watching along online wanted to hear.

The piece was "an experiment in collaborative improvisation", says composer and lab directorTod Machover. People at home could listen to ten clips of music from Bach to the Beatles andrate their preferences. If listeners said, "This is nice, but I'd like a little more Radiohead and a little less Schubert," Kim had to respond by improvising in real time.

"There's something about improvisation that I find really enjoyable," Kim told New Scientist."There's a freedom that you don't get otherwise. But it's difficult, because I always have to think ahead." He said he had to learn a few Radiohead songs just that morning, and sometimes found himself just playing the melody to "Yellow Submarine" over and over again.

"If I had a say in it, I'd have put in more Chopin," he admitted.

The experiment was a sort of dry run for a project Machover is working on called "A Toronto Symphony: Concerto for Composer and City" scheduled to premier 9 March, 2013. Machover wants the entire city of Toronto, Canada, to participate in the symphony in a feedback loop. He calls it "the next step beyond crowdsourcing".

"Could you really make a collaboration between a lot of people so that as an artist, you're satisfied, and the audience is satisfied?" he asked. The collaborative improv Kim demonstrated on Tuesday might make a good platform.

Samsung overtakes Nokia in mobile phone shipments

Samsung Electronics has overtaken Nokia to become the world's largest maker of mobile phones, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

Nokia took the top spot in 1998 from Motorola, but in the first quarter of 2012 Samsung shipped 93m phones compared to almost 83m by Nokia.

Samsung also reported its highest quarterly profit since 2008.

Net profit was 5.05tn won ($4.5bn; £2.8bn) in the quarter ending 31 March, up 81% from 2.78tn won last year.

Samsung is also the world's biggest TV and flat screen maker.

"We cautiously expect our earnings momentum to continue going forward, as competitiveness in our major businesses is enhanced," said Robert Yi, head of investor relations at Samsung.

Bright future

The firm said its IT and mobile communications division, which manufactures the smartphones, made an operating profit of 4.27tn won during the period, as revenues in the division surged 86% from a year earlier.

Samsung will unveil the latest version of its Galaxy range of phones on 3 May.

The Galaxy range has been very popular and helped Samsung overtake Apple to become the world's biggest seller of smartphones.

"The smartphone market has almost only two players, Samsung and Apple," said Lee Sei-Cheol of Meritz Securities.

"Since its Galaxy3 phone is being unveiled in May, Samsung will keep enjoying sales growth in its mobile phone division."

Chip troubles

Another area of concern for Samsung is likely to be its chip manufacturing unit, which has been hurt by slowing global demand for personal computers.

However, demand for these chips has been declining as consumers turn to tablet PCs, which mostly use flash memory chips.The firm is one of the world's biggest makers of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips, which are widely used in personal computers.

At the same time, falling prices have also hurt profitability in the sector.

Samsung's memory-chip division saw its profits slide by 54% during the first quarter when compared with the same period a year earlier.

The company said it expected the demand for DRAM chips to rebound in the coming months, but warned that growing competition in the sector "will lead to a price decline".

Google reveals two international probes

Google said today that both South Korea and Argentina have recently opened probes into its activities, moves that increase the spotlight on the way the search giant collects data and competes with others.

According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Google revealed in a quarterly regulatory filing that the two countries are conducting inquiries into "certain business practices" of Google.

A Google spokesperson told the Journal that "Argentina's regulator 'notified us that they are conducting a preliminary inquiry into our search and search advertising services, and we are of course happy to answer their questions.'"

Argentina's National Commission for the Defense of Competition said that its Google inquiry is about finding out if the search giant "has a dominant position in its respective markets that could affect Argentina," wrote the Journal.

At the same time, South Korean officials are conducting an inquiry that began in 2011, and Google is also cooperating with officials there, the company spokesperson told the Journal. Last year Korean officials raided Google's Seoul offices, looking into how the company has dealt with competition on its Android operating system.

Regulators were interested in information about the company allegedly restricting rival search engines' access on Android. In April 2011, Korea's NHN and Daum Communications requested an investigation by the country's Fair Trade Commission to look into Google's business practices regarding mobile search.

Google cannot be happy about the new probes, especially given that they come just as the company is facing U.S. Federal Trade Commission interest into whether it uncompetitively leveraged its dominant position in search, and European regulators are looking into whether the company is guilty of antitrust violations there. The U.S. Justice Department, however, did close its probe into Google Street View, the company announced yesterday.

Source

Yahoo swings again at Facebook in patent war

Yahoo today replied in court to Facebook's countersuit, and now asserts that Facebook is infringing on two more patents -- up from the10 patents named in its initial suit against Facebook.

In today's filing, Yahoo denies that it violates any of the Facebook patents cites in Facebook's countersuit, and argues that "Facebook lacks a good faith basis for most, if not all, of its counterclaims, particularly those patents that it purchased from others." In a statement, Facebook said that it remains "perplexed by Yahoo's erratic actions" and that it disagreed with these latest claims. The company added that it will continue to defend itself "vigorously."

The two patents that Yahoo added to the suit include one that covers a "system and method to determine the validity of and interaction on a network" and another for a "system and method allowing advertisers to manage search listings in a pay for placement search system using grouping. You can read them in their full-text glory below."

In a statement, Yahoo said:

Today's filing underscores the breadth of Facebook's violation of Yahoo!'s intellectual property. As we have stated previously, Yahoo!'s technologies are the foundation of our business that engages over 700 million monthly unique visitors and represent the spirit of innovation upon which Yahoo! is built. We intend to vigorously protect these technologies for our customers and shareholders.

Source

BlackBerry phones a no-show at BlackBerry World

Eager to see Research In Motion's latest phones at BlackBerry World next week? Prepare to be disappointed.

RIM will be taking a software-heavy approach this year, using the event to formally unveil its BlackBerry 10 operating system.

"We are not unveiling any BlackBerry 10 hardware," a company representative confirmed.

There's never been a more crucial BlackBerry World than this next event. The annual confab is a chance for BlackBerry developers, product enthusiasts, and business partners to take inRIM's latest and future wares. This year, RIM has the added task of convincing its shrinking band of supporters that the company is still worth taking a chance on amid declining market share and the notion that it is too far gone to be saved.

Its single hope: the BlackBerry 10 platform build on QNX, which also powers its PlayBooksoftware. The platform represents a break from its older -- almost archaic -- BlackBerry operating system and is the company's best hope at mounting a comeback. CEO Thorsten Heins sees it more than simple software for phones; he said during the last quarterly conference call that he believes multiple devices beyond phones will emerge from BlackBerry 10.

His strategy isn't unique; Google's Android and Apple's iOS both power multiple types of mobile devices, while Microsoft's Windows 8 will be extended to PCs, laptops, and tablets.
RIM will make its case that it too should be included in the conversation next week at BlackBerry World in Orlando, Fla. The company plans to launch a beta version of its BlackBerry 10 toolkit.Developers in attendance will also be getting a Dev Alpha device, according to a RIM representative. The device, however, isn't a BlackBerry 10 phone, nor will it be running the software.

The event will also likely be a showcase for the apps that are currently being developed for BlackBerry 10. A few developers will be showing off demonstrations of what they are building for BlackBerry 10.

Still, the lack of hardware has to be disappointing to some BlackBerry fans who were expecting a strong showing at the event. Last year, RIM used the conference to debut its BlackBerry Bold 9900, its flagship phone last year. The phone marked the first device to use its BlackBerry 7 operating system, which was an update of its older platform.

RIM has maintained that it plans to launch the first BlackBerry 10 phone in the second half, withsome speculation that it may emerge in August and hit stores in October.

Source

Nokia demos indoor-location tracking with 'white space' tech

Nokia and several other technology companies are showing off some innovative uses for unlicensed "white space" technology in a trial in the United Kingdom.

For the past 10 months, the handset maker has been working to demonstrate applications for the white-space spectrum in trial alongside 17 other technology companies and TV broadcasters, including the BBC, BSkyb, BT, Microsoft, Virgin Media, and Samsung.

"White space" refers to unused wireless spectrum that sits between broadcast TV channels and was originally used as a buffer to mitigate interference. For the most part, white-space spectrum is unused. But in some places, it's used for other wireless gear such as microphones. As a result, technology companies that want to use the spectrum for Internet access have had to demonstrate that by using a database query system interference can be mitigated. And the white-space spectrum can essentially be used between different entities.

This particular trial, which took place at the Imperial War Museum near Cambridge, shows how useful white-space technology can be used for indoor location-based services. Satellite GPS is great for locating users outside, but the signal is lost indoors. The white-space technology and database makes it much easier to map and track things indoors. Researchers set up the demonstration in the hopes of showing off the technology to U.K. regulators, who are expected to put a framework in place to allow white-space spectrum to be used.

In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission approved the use of these unlicensed airwaves in 2010. But so far no devices have been built that actually use the unlicensed spectrum. The demonstration in the U.K. is a good example of how the technology can be useful.

According to an article about the demonstration on Nokia's Web site, researcher Scott Probasco used the unlicensed wireless spectrum to set up a wireless network that delivers information on different exhibits to a Nokia N9. Since the technology hasn't been put into a chip yet, a large portable receiver was connected via USB to the Nokia N9.

White-space devices naturally have good location features built in, mainly because to use the spectrum, the devices must check a database to make sure that they are not operating on spectrum that's already being used by other devices.

In the trial, researchers used this location tracking to push rich multimedia content to the device.

"You know when you go to a museum and you put the headset on, and listen to the information about what you're seeing," Probasco told Nokia for its article on the trial. "Well, this basically does away with that."

The Nokia N9 can detect a museum patron's location as he or she wanders through the exhibit. The museum is able to push tidbits of information, such as a video or text, directly to the device as someone passes by a particular part of the museum.

Probasco said that eventually store owners could use the same technology to deliver marketing information to customers as they shop in the store, pushing coupons and other special offers to shoppers.

There have already been several demonstrations of how white spaces can be used throughout the world. And regulators have been working to establish rules and set the spectrum aside for unlicensed use. But getting devices in the hands of customers is still a few years away. First, a standard needs to be developed. It's currently being worked on. After that, chips can be developed and mass produced to fit inside smartphones and other products.

Meanwhile, Nokia and other technology companies are looking at doing other trials in places, such as Brazil, Singapore, and Finland.


Source

The Avengers (2012)

The Avengers is a 2012 superhero film produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures1, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is the sixth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was written and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast, which includes Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, and Samuel L. Jackson. In The Avengers, Nick Fury, director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D., recruits Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Captain America to save the world from destruction.

Development of The Avengers began when Marvel Studios received a grant from Merrill Lynch in April 2005. After the success of the film Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel announced that The Avengers would be released in July 2011. With the signing of Scarlett Johansson in March 2009, the film was pushed back for a 2012 release. Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the screenplay that was originally written by Zak Penn. Production began in April 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio in August 2011 and New York City in September 2011. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.

The Avengers premiered on April 11, 2012 and is scheduled for release on May 4, 2012 in the United States in 2D and 3D.

Gallatin Canyon: Stories by Thomas McGuane

Books Description:
A superb collection of stories -- his first in twenty years -- from one of our most acclaimed literary figures, whom The New York Times Book Review has called “a writer of the first magnitude.”

Place exerts the power of destiny in these ten stories of lives uncannily recognizable and unforgettably strange:  a boy makes a surprising discovery skating at night on Lake Michigan; an Irish clan in Massachusetts gather at the bedside of their dying matriarch; a battered survivor of the glory days of Key West washes up on other shores. Several of the stories unfold in Big Sky country, McGuane’s signature landscape:  a father tries to buy his adult son out of virginity; a convict turned cowhand finds refuge at a ranch in ruination; a couple makes a fateful drive through the perilous gorge of the title story before parting ways. McGuane’s people are seekers, beguiled by the land’s beauty and myth, compelled by the fantasy of what a locale can offer, forced to reconcile dream and truth.

The stories of Gallatin Canyon are alternately comical, dark, and poignant. Rich in the wit, compassion, and matchless language for which McGuane is celebrated, they are the work of a master.

Donatella Versace making 'emotional' return to Ritz Paris for couture show

Atelier Versace announced April 24 its return to the couture catwalk for the Fall/Winter 2012 shows, with a runway presentation to take place at the Ritz Paris -- host to the late Gianni Versace’s last collection in July 1997.

The label gave its first couture presentation in eight years at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week back in January, choosing the Ecole des Beaux Arts as the setting. It will return to the capital again this July -- although this time with an even more familiar location and a catwalk show.

"It is with tremendous emotion that I return to the Ritz where I shared so many special moments with my brother," said Donatella Versace.

The Atelier Versace show is scheduled to take place July 1, with Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week running July 2-5. The iconic hotel and frequent fashion hangout will close for a major renovation project as of July 31.

"The closing of the Ritz Paris for two years represents the end of an era but also the beginning of a new one, so to be able to show Atelier Versace there one last time will be a memorable milestone," added Versace.

TOP 5 MUSEUMS OF FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

Thousands of museums can be found all over the world ranging from the boring ones to those beloved not only by adults but children as well. Explore top five museums focusing on fictional characters and get ready for unique experience. Brought to you by Tourism-Review.com.

   

THE SHERLOCK HOLMES MUSEUM (LONDON, UK)

The Sherlock Holmes Museum can be found, not surprisingly, on the legendary Baker Street, London. The museum depicts the home and work life of the detective Sherlock Holmes, the fictional character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The museum is a four story building designed in full Victorian style. It can be accessed through the shop on the ground floor which sells an assortment of Holmes related books and mementos.

The first floor is the study overlooking Baker Street. It was cleverly designed and arranged to look like Sherlock’s room described in the book. The items mentioned in the book that people commonly associate with Holmes can be found easily in his study and bedroom. Also, there is a real-life Doctor Watson welcoming the visitors. The third floor contains wax models of other characters that appeared in the popular books by Doyle as well.

THE PINK PANTHER MUSEUM (SANTA ROSA, USA)

The Pink Panther Museum, located in Santa Rosa, CA, boasts a personal collection of 6000 items all of which are connected to the Pink Panther character. The items were bought and brought from Spain, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Australia, the US, and many other countries. It includes all kinds of things including clothing, food items, toys, advertising materials, holiday decorations, office supplies, china and all other things with the image of Pink Panther.

MADAME TUSSAUDS WAX MUSEUM (LAS VEGAS, USA)

Madame Tussauds is a famous wax museum with chains all over the globe. The Las Vegas chain does not disappoint with its considerable number of wax figures of celebrities, fictional characters, politicians, and other people of importance.

A variety of wax figures are on display at the museum in Las Vegas as well. It includes athletic superstars, pops tars, Hollywood A-list stars, cultural icons, and television stars. Visitors love to take pictures of Spiderman, James Bond, Jack Sparrow, and many others.

In addition, there are special exhibits where guests can pose with the wax figure in a themed setting. An example is the "Sing for Simon Cowell" exhibit where visitors can pretend to audition in front of the veritable critic and former American Idol judge.

JARA CIMRMAN MUSEUM (PRAGUE, CZECH REP.)

Opened in 2002 the museum is popular especially among local fans of the great fictional icon, Jara Cimrman. It is placed in the basement of an old tower on Petrin Hill, Prague. The position is very well chosen because the main inspiration of the architects who built the Petrin Tower is the Eiffel Tower in Paris. In stories, Cimrman was told to be one of those who assisted in designing the infamous landmark.

Cimrman is a fictional character created by a comedy theater group. He was portrayed as one of the greatest Czech poets, playwrights, teachers, poets, travelers, detectives, philosophers, mathematicians, inventors, and sportsmen of the 19th and early 20th century.

Although he was intended to be just a caricature for the Czech people, he became immensely popular and is often considered to be a national hero. In most stories, he was said to be the inventor of almost everything, including a light bulb and dynamite, but was not acknowledged for his works.

POTTER'S WAX MUSEUM (ST. AUGUSTINE, USA)

Potters Wax Museum, the first American wax museum, is a great place to visit in St. Augustine Fla. It is filled with 160 sculptures of both fictional and famous people. Although Madame Tussauds made the wax figurines famous in the 1800, George L. Potter was the first one to open a wax museum in the United States. That trivia alone makes the place a must visit.

The museum features people like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Albert Einstein, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and even Scooby Doo. In addition, the museum has a mini theatre that features short 12 minute clips and a nice gift store filled with collectibles and memorabilia.

Aamir Khan attends rickshaw puller son’s wedding

VARANASI: Perfectionist Aamir Khan kept his promise and attended rickshaw driver Nathuni's son's wedding in Varanasi on Wednesday.

Aamir especially came down to Varanasi to attend Rajeev's wedding, son of Ramlakhan Paswan aka Nathuni, an auto-rickshaw driver. When Aamir toured the country in various disguises while promoting his 2009 film, 3 Idiots, he had met Lakhan in Varanasi, and bonded with him over three days, says a member of Aamir’s entourage.

It’s been almost three years but Lakhan hadn't forgotten the bond, and he recently arrived in Mumbai with a wedding invitation for the actor.

Aamir Khan was touched by his behaviour and was trying his best to make it to the wedding.

The actor's spokesperson had said at the time, “It’s not yet confirmed but he is trying to make time for it.” And the actor did make it to the wedding!

Aamir Hussain Khan (born 14 March 1965) is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema.

Starting his career as a child actor in his uncle Nasir Hussain's film Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), Khan began his professional career eleven years later with Holi (1984) and had his first commercial success with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988). He received his first National Film Award (Special Jury Award) for his roles in the films Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Raakh (1989). After eight previous nominations during the 1980s and 1990s, Khan received his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in the major grosser Raja Hindustani (1996) and later earned his second Best Actor award for his performance in the Academy Award-nominated Lagaan, which also marked the debut of his own production company.



Clarke takes five in 75-run victory

Australian captain Michael Clarke claimed his second
five-wicket haul of his Test career

The West Indies showed cheek but Australia emerged with the last laugh after Michael Clarke claimed a rare five-wicket haul to spin his team to a 75-run win in the third Test on Friday.
The Australians claimed victory shortly before lunch, dismissing the home side for 294 to complete a hard-fought 2-0 series win in the Caribbean against the world No.7.
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Clarke copped considerable stick from the Windies' tail but pocketed the wickets of Deonarine and Ravi Rampaul on his way to figures of 5-86 - his second Test five-for and first since his famous 6-9 against India in 2004.
"A day like today shows you how much spin there was in that wicket," Clarke said when asked if his fourth-innings heroics were an indication that he should bowl himself more.
The result was not in doubt once Narsingh Deonarine, the hosts' last recognised batsman, departed in the seventh over of the day though the hosts went down swinging thanks to a whirlwind innings from Darren Sammy.
The Windies captain thrashed a career-best 61 off 51balls and shared an entertaining 49-run stand for the last wicket with local hero Shane Shillingford, much to the delight of a raucous crowd.
The pair smashed Clarke and Nathan Lyon out of the attack and even had the gumption to see off six overs against the new ball.
Shillingford, whose unbeaten 31 off 46 balls was his highest first-class score, was agricultural early but grew in confidence and produced arguably the shot of the day - a powerful cover drive off Mitchell Starc.
Sammy was game in defeat, taking the challenge up to the Australians - particularly against Clarke, whom he smashed for 17 runs in four balls in one over.
"It's been a wonderful series, a really hard-fought series from both teams and I hope West Indies get a lot of credit for the way they played," Clarke said.
"Yes, the result says 2-0 but i can guarantee you every part of this Test series has been fought hard, played in the right spirit and I think it's been great for Test cricket so they deserve a lot of credit.
"We've seen some tough battles. As Darren said we just managed to win the tough battle at times that you need to to win the Test matches.
"It's the toughest game in the world - five days and you can't afford to be off for an hour and I think in conditions like this, nice and hot and pretty slow, low wickets it becomes even tougher."
The Windies will be ruing a lack of discipline from several members of their lower order, with the exception of Kemar Roach, who was dismissed trying to defend.
Carlton Baugh, who has been dropped from the Windies touring squad for Tests in England, was most culpable, playing an ugly swipe off Lyon to Ricky Ponting - who held a sharp overhead catch at mid-wicket. His dismissal came at a time when Sammy was running red hot.
Ravi Rampaul, a more than capable tailender, also could not resist the urge to attack when defence would have better served his team.
Matthew Wade was named man of the match for his bruising century in the first innings which handed the ascendancy to the visitors.  (smh.com.au)