Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Sales In The US Rose 73% In 2012 ...

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Electric and hybrid vehicle sales rose 73% in the US in 2012, according to the research firm Mintel. That makes them the fastest-growing sector of the US auto industry, with around 440,000 hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric vehicles sold in 2012.

Mintel is predicting that sales in 2013 will rise even more significantly, reaching at least 535,000 units sold by the end of the year, which would be a 14% increase over sales in 2012.

And, by 2017, it?s predicted that sales will reach 850,000 units a year, making up 5% of the total car market in the US.
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Silicon Republic writes:

?According to Colin Bird, an automotive analyst with Mintel, new models such as the Toyota Prius v (Prius+ in Europe) and the Chevrolet Malibu Eco are catching on with consumers. He said the segment would expand further in 2013 with the onslaught of new models, such as the Ford Fusion Hybrid series and the Honda Accord Hybrid.?

He also notes that one of the main driver of EV and hybrid adoption is that people are looking to protect themselves from expected future increases in gas prices.

Source: Silicon Republic
Image Credit: Nissan Leaf via Wikimedia Commons

Source: http://cleantechnica.com/2013/01/09/electric-hybrid-vehicle-sales-in-the-us-rose-73-in-2012/

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Divergent Casting Rumors: Who Will Play Four?

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/divergent-casting-rumors-who-will-play-four/

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Bucks beat Suns 108-99 in Boylan's first game

MILWAUKEE (AP) ? Brandon Jennings glanced over and expected to see coach Scott Skiles on the end of the Milwaukee Bucks' bench. Instead, he saw Jim Boylan sitting in Skiles' old spot.

Jennings scored 29 points and the Bucks gave Boylan a win in his first game as coach with a 108-99 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.

"I'm just hooping," Jennings said. "It was weird looking on the end of the bench and he wasn't there. I'm sure I'll get over it soon. Jim's been here for four years. It'll be good sooner or later."

The Bucks parted ways with Skiles on Monday in what was called a mutual decision, and the Bucks tapped Skiles' top assistant Boylan as a replacement.

"I almost called Jim 'Scott' at one point," Jennings said. "But, hey, it's a business. I understand now. I've seen a lot."

Milwaukee's new head coach said before the game his top priority would be to get the Bucks playing well again after losing four consecutive games.

The Suns were a perfect opponent, playing poorly in the last few weeks with nine losses in the previous 10 games overall to go with a nine-game losing streak on the road.

"We can't play 40 minutes, 42 minutes or 38-minute games where we play pretty good and give ourselves an opportunity and then let it deteriorate away over a four- or five-minute period," Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said. "That's kind of how our season has gone, really. We've just got to find a way to get better. The season is slipping away."

This is the second time Boylan has succeeded Skiles midseason. He took over the Chicago Bulls when Skiles was fired on Christmas Eve in 2007.

"I've been down this road before," Boylan said. "I won my first game against the Bucks when I was in Chicago, and it felt great. Feels great right now, too."

Jennings, who before the game said he was frustrated that he learned of the coaching change from Skiles himself instead of someone from the Bucks organization, made 9 of 15 shots and had nine assists.

"The main thing is I wasn't thinking," he said. "I was just, you know, taking whatever the defense gave me. I was able to find guys. Guys were making shots tonight."

Goran Dragic scored 21 points and Jared Dudley added 18 for Phoenix.

Larry Sanders had 10 points, eight rebounds, six blocks and three steals for Milwaukee. The Suns scored only 10 points in the paint in the second half as Sanders dominated defensively.

"Everything went down again," Marcin Gortat said of the second half. "Brandon Jennings, he just took it over, he started shooting 3s. We couldn't stop him."

The Bucks won despite an off-night from leading scorer Monta Ellis, who missed 14 of 19 shots and committed five turnovers. Ellis finished with 13 points after coming in with a 19.4 average.

Boylan made a couple of significant changes in his first game at the helm, inserting forward Ersan Ilyasova into the starting lineup and giving more minutes to rookie forward John Henson, the team's first-round draft pick.

Ilyasova had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes. Henson had 12 points and 11 rebounds in 19 minutes.

"I like the way that looks right now," Boylan said of playing Henson and Ilyasova.

Milwaukee took control with a 12-3 run that spanned the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters. Beno Udrih had four points in the spurt and hit a 17-foot jumper with 8 minutes left to give the Bucks a 90-79 lead.

Phoenix pulled to 95-91 on a pair of free throws by Dragic with 3:49 left, but Henson scored on a dunk and Mike Dunleavy made a driving layup to extend the Milwaukee lead to 99-91 with 2:45 remaining. Phoenix never seriously threatened the rest of the game.

The Bucks used a 13-0 run, keyed by a pair of 3-pointers from Jennings and four points from Ilyasova, to open a 71-66 lead with 4:57 left in the third quarter.

Luis Scola's baseline jumper tied it at 71, but Ellis drove the lane for a basket that gave Milwaukee the lead for good, 73-71, with 3:34 left in the third.

Notes: Bucks GM John Hammond said before the game he and the team were talking about a contract extension. ... The ball stopped motionless at the back of the Phoenix rim ? not stuck ? with 9:24 to go in the second quarter, prompting wide grins from the Suns bench. Milwaukee won the ensuing jump ball. ... The teams meet again Jan. 17 in Phoenix.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bucks-beat-suns-108-99-boylans-first-game-034102436--spt.html

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Festival will bring a taste of Japanese culture to Lincoln | This is ...

A Festival of Japanese Culture is coming to Lincoln, showcasing Japanese film, music, art, food and drink.

Lincoln based Blueprint: Film Foundation are producing the event to educate and celebrate Japanese culture and share it with the Lincolnshire community.

1. A scene from Japanese film 'Pigs and Battleships'.

The main event is on January 27, screening two films, 'Akira' as well as 'Pigs and Battleships' in The Venue cinema at Bishop Grosseteste University College.

Alongside the films will be artists, musicians, traditional martial arts, food and drink and a talk from acclaimed Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp.

Darren Bolton, one of the organisers said: "Things like this just don't happen in Lincoln, people can experience another country's culture and we aren't just doing it ourselves, we've got Japanese people coming in.

"Hibiki Ichikawa will be one of the musicians and is the only professional player of the tsugaru shamisen instrument in the UK and we also have a local Japanese artist Kauru Shimada taking part.

"There is an exclusive for Lincoln as well with the film Akira being released later this year across the UK for its 25th anniversary but screened at the festival 6 months early."

Doors open at 2pm and the final film ends at 10pm. Tickets are now available online.

In the week leading up to the festival there will be an exhibition of Japanese inspired art from local Japanese artist Kauru Shimada. The exhibition will be held at Cafe Portico, on the ground floor of The Terrace, Lincoln from January 21 to 26.

Source: http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/Festival-bring-taste-Japanese-culture-Lincoln/story-17791859-detail/story.html

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Securfi Almond+ hands-on (video)

Wireless routers aren't the sexiest of gadgets to come across on the CES showfloor, but Securifi's doing its best with the Almond+. The all-white router, an update to last year's OG Almond, still features a 2.8-inch touchscreen, but now supports the 802.11ac standard for high speeds over 5GHz, in addition to Zigbee and Z-Wave for home automated control. That latter bit is a recent addition to the Almond+'s UI interface, allowing users with compatible Zigbee or Z-Wave products to control lights around the house or even monitor and receive notifications (cloud-synced via a free iOS or Android app) when their door is being opened or closed. Around back the innocuously designed device sports one USB 2.0 and five for gigabit ethernet. At present, Securifi intends to launch the Almond+ on Kickstarter for $99 sometime within the next week, so look for it to debut there soon. While you wait, take a look out our gallery below, as well as video demo just after the break.

Gallery: Securifi Almond+ hands-on

Continue reading Securfi Almond+ hands-on (video)

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/z4Zs-IPneY4/

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Puzzlebox Orbit mind-on: brainwaves and hack-friendly helicopters (video)

At large trade shows like CES, we're accustomed to seeing tried and true products receive refreshes -- sometimes major, sometimes minor -- year after year. But here on the Showstoppers floor, we came across the type of gadget that gets us positively giddy: the Puzzlebox Orbit. Originally a Kickstarter-funded project that's just now hitting retail shelves (available for $189), the copter-in-a-cage works with Neurosky's EEG Bluetooth-enabled headset and companion app (compatible with iOS or Android) to help users achieve specific meditative or focused mental states. Hack-happy geeks take note, Puzzlebox encourages your creative tinkering, so it's made the software open source, opening the door to any number of applications. But the primary focus for this is education, as combos of this kind can be used to explain neuroscience to children -- brainwaves and the like.

To get the Orbit's blades whirring, users first need to set a pre-determined goal by adjusting a slider in the app. And once that desired state is achieved, the included IR transmitter (which plugs into your smartphone or tablet), will send a signal to the Orbit, effectively giving it flight. It's not the weak sort of take-off either -- this spherical delight can really grab some air. But don't just take our many words for it. Why not just check out our demo after the break?

Gallery: Puzzlebox Orbit hands-on

Continue reading Puzzlebox Orbit mind-on: brainwaves and hack-friendly helicopters (video)

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Fox: Passion, disagreements with new 'Idol' team

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) ? Five minutes into their season-opening news conference and the new team at "American Idol" were having their first disagreement ? about their disagreements. Then Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj kept it going.

"We're professionals. Have you ever had an argument with someone you've worked with?" Minaj said after repeated questions Tuesday about her reported feud with new fellow judge Carey.

"This was sort of one-sided," interjected Carey, wearing a queenly smile.

"No, it wasn't," snapped back Minaj.

Fox network executive Mike Darnell was asked by reporters with the Television Critics Association if the clash was authentic. He said there was a lot of musical passion within the group, which also includes country star Keith Urban and returning judge Randy Jackson, and that triggered disagreements.

"The fighting is what it is," Carey said at one point. "This is 'American Idol.' It's bigger than all that. It's bigger than some stupid trumped-up thing."

Reports that the two divas were at odds surfaced last fall. On "The View," Barbara Walters recounted a phone conversation with Carey in which the pop star said that Minaj threatened to shoot her after a taping. The rapper quickly responded with dismissive tweets.

Trumped up or not, she and Minaj appeared on the panel with Urban carefully placed between them and indulged in their briefly testy "one-sided" exchange. But they also responded to a request to say something nice about each other.

Minaj called Carey one of her favorite all-time artists who has shaped a generation of singers. In return, Carey fondly recalled working with Minaj on a single titled ? "ironically," as Carey noted ? "Up Out My Face."

"I knew she was going to go far, and still is," Carey said.

"American Idol" begins its 12th season Wednesday facing questions once again about its ability to endure as a top-rated show, especially given the increasingly crowded talent show landscape that includes NBC's hit "The Voice." All the shows are down in the ratings, Darnell noted.

Veteran executive producer Nigel Lythgoe is used to hearing the query. Famous judges have the pre-debut spotlight and media attention but the contestants ultimately are what keep viewers watching, he said after the panel.

That's not to say the panel isn't key, said Trish Kinane, another executive producer.

"We wanted judges who were experts and had a right to be here, and we also wanted honesty," she said. "We very much took that into consideration. I think we've got it. They're not shrinking violets, they say what they think, and we encourage that."

Minaj displayed that Tuesday, saying firmly that "Idol" is not the show for rap, her own genre.

"If you're looking for people to believe you and feed you as a rapper, I wouldn't do it," said Minaj, adding that viewers love "American Idol" as an "honest singing competition, and I'm not here to change that."

___

Online:

http://www.fox.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fox-passion-disagreements-idol-team-194243074.html

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Report: Syrian troops repulse rebels in Aleppo

A Free Syrian Army fighter feeds a cat bread in the old city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013. The revolution against Syrian President Bashar Assad that began in March 2011, started with peaceful protests but morphed into a civil war that has killed more than 60,000 people, according to a recent United Nations recent estimate. (AP Photo/Andoni Lubaki)

A Free Syrian Army fighter feeds a cat bread in the old city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013. The revolution against Syrian President Bashar Assad that began in March 2011, started with peaceful protests but morphed into a civil war that has killed more than 60,000 people, according to a recent United Nations recent estimate. (AP Photo/Andoni Lubaki)

Syrian men leave the old city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013. The revolution against Syrian President Bashar Assad that began in March 2011, started with peaceful protests but morphed into a civil war that has killed more than 60,000 people, according to a recent United Nations recent estimate. (AP Photo/Andoni Lubaki)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syria's state media said Monday that government troops repulsed a rebel attack on a police school in the northern city of Aleppo, one day after President Bashar Assad called on Syrians to fight an opposition that he characterized as religious extremists.

SANA news agency said members of the "terrorist group" were killed and wounded in the late Sunday battle but did not specify the number. The government and the pro-regime media refer to rebels as terrorists.

Aleppo, Syria's largest city and a former commercial hub, has been a major front in the civil war since July, with battles often raging for control of military and security facilities such as the police school. Rebels have recently made significant advances there, in the east, and in the capital Damascus, bringing the civil war closer to the seat of Assad's power.

In his speech Sunday, Assad laid out terms for a peace plan but dismissed any chance of dialogue with "murderous criminals" who he said were responsible for nearly two years of violence. Nearly 60,000 people have died, according to a recent United Nations estimate.

Assad appeared confident and relaxed in a one-hour speech ? his first public address in six months. He struck a defiant tone, ignoring international demands for him to step down and saying he is ready to hold a dialogue ? but only with those "who have not betrayed Syria." He also vowed to continue the battle "as long as there is one terrorist left."

He offered a national reconciliation conference, elections and a new constitution but demanded regional and Western countries stop funding and arming rebels trying to overthrow his regime first.

Syria's opposition swiftly rejected the proposal. Those fighting to topple the regime, including rebels on the ground, have repeatedly said they will accept nothing less than the president's departure, dismissing any kind of settlement that leaves him in the picture.

The West, including the U.S. and Britain that have called on Assad to step down denounced the speech that came amid stepped-up international efforts for a peaceful way out of the Syrian conflict.

The foreign minister of Iran, one of Syria's closest allies, hailed Assad's initiative. Ali Akbar Salehi said it contains "solutions" to the conflict and outlines "a comprehensive political process which guarantees the presence of all voices in power." Salehi called on the international community to support Assad's plan to end the war in Syria.

"All regional and international partners should help the immediate resolution of the crisis and prevent its spread to the region," Salehi said in a statement that was carried by the state-run IRNA news agency Monday.

Previous diplomatic initiatives have failed to stem the bloodshed.

Syria conflict began as peaceful protests after the uprising against Assad authoritarian rule erupted in March 2011. It morphed into civil war after a brutal government crackdown on dissent. The conflict has increasingly taken sectarian overtones in the past year, with predominantly Sunni Muslim rebels fighting the ruling regime that is dominated by Alawites, an offshoot group of Shiite Islam.

Fighting continued unabated the day after Assad's address of the nation.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels clashed with troops in the suburbs of Damascus, including in Daraya south of the capital. They said the army sent new reinforcements there to join in an offensive aimed at dislodging rebels from the district, located just a few kilometers (miles) from a strategic military air base west of the capital, the Observatory said.

The towns and cities around Damascus have seen relentless fighting in the past weeks, as rebels try to push through the government's heavy defenses in the capital. The regime has responded with withering counterattacks including barrages by artillery and warplanes. The Observatory also reported clashes in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, in the central region of Homs and in the southern province of Daraa, the birthplace of the uprising in March 2011.

There were no reports on casualties in Monday's fighting. At least 80 people were killed in violence nationwide the day before, according to The Observatory's tally. The group relies on reports from activists on the ground.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-07-Syria/id-2b6700f69f4d4ab8888e51c93d6e26fa

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Baby Boomers: Start Turning Nursing Homes Upside Down ...

If the generation that grew up with the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, and Woodstock is to live out the last chapter of their lives in nursing homes, then there will have to be some changes made. Whenever I walk into a nursing home, I feel as if I am in a giant fish tank of people. But the fish have it better, they have the freedom to swim about and get some exercise.

It's time to start now to turn nursing homes upside down. ?We all know someone we love in such a facility -- a family member, a neighbor. ?Their quality of life within the fishbowl of open doors and little privacy is improved with every visit from "the outside." ?But from a selfish perspective, baby boomers should start today to assess nursing homes, lobby for better care, and demand responsive physicians as well as integrated recreation with qualified counselors and activities that stimulate the mind and body.? With health care?s entrenched models of convenience for providers, it may take a full 10 - 20 years before we begin to see nursing homes that any of us would like to consider home.

Dr. S. Jay Olshansky, University of Chicago

Getting a handle on the nursing-home situation is critical for baby boomers as was underscored at the recent Gerontological Society of America?s 65th annual scientific meeting.

A member of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on an Aging Society, S.?Jay Olshansky,?Ph.D. pointed out: ?As this generation of those ages 55 to 64 move into retirement within?the next 10 to 15 years, they are going to experience levels of morbidity, disability and frailty that are higher than the generations that preceded them into retirement? because they will live longer.? Museum of Science and Industry |?S.?Jay Olshansky podcast.

Nursing home inspect: New way to make comparisons

Nursing homes are often associated with one?s final move. Once there, you stay. But families who are actively involved with the nursing homes where someone they love resides are evaluating care and even changing nursing homes when they identify deficiencies or are dissatisfied with placements made during hasty hospital-discharge planning.

Whether to determine an initial placement or identify a new home for change, making comparisons has been challenging because of how information is presented on state and national web sites.

However, recently?a tool was devised that appears on the?website of?ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization in New York.?Called?Nursing Home Inspect?the tool lets users easily examine trends at the facilities, according to?reporter?Charles Ornstein, one of those who spearheaded the project. ??

Ornstein said: ?U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) made the decision to put inspection reports?online, but there was no means to?quickly?compare homes. With our tool?people can search through and obtain information that they need. This tool makes available more than 58,000 nursing home inspection reports from the past three years encompassing over 262,500 deficiencies.?

Is it too traumatic to change nursing homes?

One concern about making a nursing-home change is the perception of transfer trauma. Robert L. Kane, M.D., professor and chairman in the Long-term Care and Aging Department of the University of Minnesota, said that there has been a belief that nursing-home transfers are beleaguered with setbacks.

He explained: ?What we know about care in general is that change introduces an opportunity for bad things to happen. You counter this by preparation and engaging the resident in the decision as much as possible.

?Caregivers should recognize the importance of arranging for the information transfer of medical history, medication and behavioral records. The caregiver is the only person who really knows what is going on and the more you can compile the better the chances for success at a new home.?

While caregivers may fret with worry, Dr. Kane, author of ?The Good Caregiver: A One-of-a-Kind?A One-of-a-Kind Compassionate Resource for Anyone Caring for an Aging Loved One??added: ?We do know that humans are incredibly adaptable. However, if a person is happy in a situation that is not good, how do you weigh the benefits against the disruption? And keep in mind that you as ?the weigher? are already biased.?

Become proactive today or there will be no change tomorrow

Finding an appropriate nursing home is a challenge. However the facilities we see today will be there unchanged tomorrow unless boomers demand new models of care. The only way that is going to happen is to get on nursing home boards, volunteer to assist with activities, bring a choral group to engage residents, visit relatives and friends and stay for lunch and dinner. Make a note of everything you dislike in a particular home and address it with the staff. ?Watch to see signs of depression. ?Few facilities have a psychiatrist on staff. And of course, check to see about a physician.

Is there a doctor in the house?

If there is a physician on staff, he or she may not often be willing to talk to family members. Perhaps this can change. ?Writing in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Paul R. Katz, M.D., made a compelling argument for a new model of nursing home physician.?

?We contend that rather than accepting a diminished presence of physicians in nursing homes and finding alternative care models, it is time to fully consider, appropriately fund, and test the nursing home specialist model. If nearly half of the baby boomers spend some time in a nursing home, the question 'Is there a doctor in the house?' will take on new urgency and meaning.? ?Nursing Home Physician Specialists -?Annals of Internal Medicine

Dr. Katz, University of Rochester, and his team were long-term care poster presenters at the GSA: "Medical Models in Veterans Health Administration Community Living Centers."

Written through the MetLife Foundation Journalist in Aging Fellows program, a collaboration of New America Media and the Gerontological Society of America. Copyright 2013 Rita Watson, MPH.

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Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/love-and-gratitude/201301/baby-boomers-start-turning-nursing-homes-upside-down

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Weapons of Mass Disruption #3: How and Why Consoles Will Die

By Ben Cousins

Many people (me included) have been saying publicly that they think the ?console'?dedicated hardware designed primarily for gaming?is on its way out.

I used to keep a list of famous developers and executives who shared my view, but it got too big to maintain!

Anyway, here's just two whom you might care about: David Jaffe and Hideo Kojima.

For many people, the idea that the mighty console will die out is too radical to comprehend. It sounds so outlandish that it requires further explanation than I was able to put across in a 26-minute Game Developers Conference presentation. So how about I go through the mechanics and the economics of it?

I base my view on a bunch of Assumptions and Data Points. Assumptions would be things I believe are true, but that we have no data for, and Data Points are things that we know are true. You can argue with assumptions, but it's pretty much impossible to argue with data.

1. Data point?Consoles like Xboxes, PlayStations & the Wii U are sold at a loss. It costs more to manufacture and distribute the device than it is sold for. Console manufacturers do this because they hope to make back the money from the license fee they charge for every game sold on the system. In order to offset the huge cost of hardware production, distribution, R&D and marketing, a hardware platform holder must sell vast quantities of hardware, and even bigger quantities of software. So much needs to be sold, in fact, that the data points to PS3 and Xbox 360 having made huge losses, despite having sold 70+ million units of hardware each.
2. Data point?Of those 70 million Xbox 360s sold, a large proportion (approx. 40%) were bought after the most recent price cut of August 2009. Of the 70 million PS3s sold, a large proportion (approx. 42%) were bought since the introduction of the PS3 Slim.
3. Assumption?The large proportion of sales of these consoles coming so late in the cycle, and at low prices, indicates a large proportion of the console user base that isn't looking for the most advanced system (indeed, a custom gaming PC is the most advanced in terms of CPU and GPU this late in the cycle). This mainstream sector of the market bought a console because it offered them the best balance of price/performance/convenience. Let's call these people "mainstream console gamers." They are the types of people who buy hits only?Madden, FIFA, Call of Duty, Halo only, i.e. not Kotaku readers. In fact, they probably don't visit any gaming websites.

   Without this huge group of people buying consoles or console games, the console platform holders will no longer be able to make enough money to justify developing, marketing and manufacturing the devices.

4. Data point?Eighteen months ago our research, at my mobile gaming company, told us that 50% of console owners also owned a smartphone or tablet and that this number was growing fast.
5. Assumption?For these "mainstream console gamers" mentioned in (3), a high-end tablet or smartphone actually suits their gaming needs better than a console in terms of the balance of price/convenience/performance. From a performance point of view it may be below console, but the device is more convenient to use, the software is cheaper or free, and the device has a low or zero perceived cost, because the user owns one anyway or pays for it in instalments via a carrier.
6. Data point?Mobile developers and publishers are starting to target these "mainstream console gamers" aggressively. I work for a mobile publisher just slightly smaller than EA, and we are targeting them aggressively.

Given those data points and assumptions, what I think will probably happen is that, as smartphones and tablets continue to get more and more powerful (and they are increasing in power faster than any other class of device), and as more and more publishers start to actively target those "mainstream console gamers" with mobile games, more and more of those people will gradually move their gaming hours and dollars away from console gaming to their mobile devices. Without this huge group of people buying consoles or console games, the console platform holders will no longer be able to make enough money to justify developing, marketing and manufacturing the devices.

It doesn't matter that there will "always be a market for consoles" among the hardcore, because the console model as we know it relies so much on the money from the "mainstream console gamers."

In the future, I see gaming as having two main markets:

1. Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets will serve the biggest market?covering kids, casual gamers and the mainstream console people.
2. The core and ultra-core gamers would be served by PC gaming, which will be smaller than mobile, but that will continue to grow. Many of the old-school PC gamers I know that moved to playing games on Xbox over the last 10 years are coming back to PC because of free-to-play and indie games, controller and TV support, as well as incredible digital distribution on platforms like Steam.

If you are a console gamer and can't ever see yourself playing games on a mobile device, then I expect you will be one of the 10s of millions who will move more and more of your hours and money to playing PC games.

Many people often dispute my position on the matter by arguing, "he would say that, he's a mobile developer!" but those people are getting cause and effect mixed up. I spent eight years of my life working on console games for companies like Microsoft, Sony and EA. The reason I moved to mobile a year and a half ago is precisely because I came to the conclusion the consoles were on their way out. I bet my career on it. That's how much I believe in it...

Ben Cousins (@benjamincousins) is a 13-year veteran of the games industry who's worked at Lionhead, Sony and EA among others. He currently runs Scattered Entertainment, a studio in Stockholm owned by Japanese mobile gaming giant DeNA. where his team are working on disruptive AAA mobile FPS The Drowning.

Top image: A scene from the movie Minority Report.

Weapons of Mass Disruption #1: It's The Best Time To Be A Gamer, And Here's How That Happened

As a gamer, you've probably noticed a bunch of really interesting stuff happening in the games industry over the last few years.
It seems like only a while back, we were stuck in a situation where, as gamers, our options were limited and frankly, boring. More ?

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Weapons of Mass Disruption #2: Why Is (Almost) Every Video Game Suddenly Free?

There are three main gaming platforms. The PC, the mobile or ?smart' device, and the dedicated games console. Looking worldwide, two out of three are now dominated by free-to-play. More ?

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Source: http://kotaku.com/5973498/weapons-of-mass-disruption-3-how-and-why-consoles-will-die

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Janette Miller's Blog: About Death - Something to Tell Your Family

I wish I could find a happier way to start 2013 but over the past 18 months I have had four close deaths of people very dear to me and in three cases I nearly didn't find out! The plea is Please friends, let your family know I exist so that I can grieve and come to your funeral!

Life has changed! Families now do not play the important part in many people's lives than they once did. Many families have split up and live countries apart and so friends and next door neighbors start to occupy a more important place in one's life than perhaps they once would have done.

I was told immediately in fact the same day as death on the family member but in the case of my dear friend above who I saw at least twice a week and with whom I spent many happy hours, I was not informed. I nearly missed his funeral and as he was a mason and the church was full I nearly didn't get in. He forgot to ensure that his other friends, like me were told. The Masons were not to know. What he needed to do was to make a list of people to be told.

Few do this. In the case of my neighbors I too was the last to know. I had lived next door to one neighbor for 38 years. I knew he was dying but not one member of the close family thought to tell me that the man I spoke to daily, who banged about doing up his house, who helped me repel intruders and picked me up when I fell off the ladder was dead. I learned exactly five days later from another neighbor, his?niece. ?I was very upset at the death of a friend I had come to well the word may be misconstrued if I say love but to me he was almost my family.

38 years is a long time but I was reminded that I was NOT family. Again ?a list of friends would help. I was not the only one to be disappointed at not being told. Nowadays few read the death's column of local papers that families rely upon. I could easily have missed the funeral and then the family would be annoyed that a next door neighbour of 38 years had not turned up.

It happend again when another neighbor died. I only knew her for two years but as she was terminally ill and we did spend a very meaningful time together. The family in their grief closed rank. All outsiders were kept at bay. I was told nothing. I did not know she was dying and when I asked was told that a mutual friend?in Christchurch would let me know. ?They did not think that a woman across the road mattered. I was told of the death by a mutual friend in Christchurch.

Again it seems friends however close do not count.

This seems to be the modern way of death. Family who may not have been around for years takes over and close friends are excluded. I do not think this is done on purpose it is just that they have no idea of their relation's lives. I was guilty of this myself when I had to go to Bournemouth on my father's death. I did not invite friends to his funeral because I had no idea who they were. A close friend of his soon put me right and she was quite right to do so!

So my friends please leave a list of people you want informed of your death to avoid this unpleasantness. I shall tell my daughter! Make this your New Year Resolution. It is a good one!

Source: http://janetteheffernan.blogspot.com/2013/01/about-death-something-to-tell-your.html

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Study: Men Find Penises To Be Shorter After Prostate Cancer ...

A man with prostate cancer is wheeled into an operating room for a bracytherapy operation. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

ATLANTA (CBS Atlanta) -?A new study has found that some men who undergo treatment for prostate cancer have, upon its completion, complained of having a seemingly shorter penis.

One patient in particular expressed shock at the diminished size of his penis after treatment.

?I specifically asked my doctors before the surgery multiple times about possible complications and cosmetic outcomes and never once was possible penile shortening mentioned,? the 32-year-old man was quoted as saying on MedHelp, an online support forum. ?Stroke, heart attack and death were mentioned as risks during surgery and failure, recurrence, and ED were mentioned as possible side effects of the procedure [as well as scars.]?

He added, ?Erectile length probably?shouldn?t?matter if the surgery is otherwise successful, but I would?ve [sic] preferred at the very least a warning about the risk of shortening ? even if temporary ? so I could?ve at least psychologically prepared for the possibility or perhaps opted for another treatment.?

Upon noticing repeated incidents of such complaints ? as many as 25 patients out of a total of 948 surveyed patients whose insights contributed to the study ? researchers concluded that doctors should discuss the possibility of seeing a decrease in penis size post-treatment with their patients.

Prostate cancer affects hundreds of thousands of men ? 214,633 in one year alone, according to the Centers for Disease control and Prevention in Atlanta. And of those men, a reported 28,471 lost their lives to it.

The American Cancer Society additionally states that prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men, the website Common Health is reporting.

?Some people might think this is frivolous ? who cares about a slightly shortened penis? But it really does affect people?s lives,? Lead author Paul L. Nguyen, M.D., a radiation oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women?s Cancer Center in Boston, was quoted as saying. ?If guys [in the study] had this bad result they were much more likely to regret the path they chose. This is important to talk about up front when people are making their decisions.?

The website additionally learned that complaints of a shorter penis were made most by men who either had their prostate surgically removed or those who used a combination of hormone inhibitors and radiation therapy to eradicate the cancer.

The study was published in the journal Urology last year, and was presented at the 2012 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

Source: http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2013/01/06/study-men-find-penises-to-be-shorter-after-prostate-cancer-treatment/

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BeeWi's Ghost Bee Bluetooth headphones also stream music to your stereo (hands-on)

BeeWi may not be a well-known name in the audio world, but the company's bringing some innovation to the space with its new Bluetooth headphones. Called Ghost Bee, the cans have capacitive buttons on the right earpiece that serve as music and phone call controls. The Ghost Bee also comes with a base station that connects to the headphones via micro-USB and hooks up to any home stereo's 3.5mm audio-in jack. That base station is what really sets the Ghost Bee apart from other wireless headphones on the market. You see, using the free BeeWi iOS or Android companion app, you can dock the headphones and stream both locally and cloud-sourced tunes from your phone wirelessly to the stereo speakers.

We got a chance to see the thing in action, and works quite well. Once you've paired the headphones to your phone, its simply a matter of spooling up some tunes in the app, and you're good to go -- return the Ghost Bee to its cradle and the music starts coming out of the speakers. Easy peasy. Unfortunately, given the cacophony of the show floor, we can't speak to the sonic quality of the headphones, but the system did work well in our brief time with it. Though its functionality is quite clever, we weren't enamored with the Ghost Bee's glossy plastic exterior. Aside from giving it a smudgy look when handled, the plasticky build lends it a cheap appearance -- not good considering the $180 asking price. The Ghost Bee is set to go on sale in the next month or so at retailers nationwide, so you'll be able to see (and hear) it for yourself soon.

Gallery: BeeWi Ghost Bee Bluetooth headphones hands-on

Jamie Rigg contributed to this report.

Continue reading BeeWi's Ghost Bee Bluetooth headphones also stream music to your stereo (hands-on)

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/06/beewis-ghost-bee-bluetooth-headphones-hands-on/

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Freemium Customer Care - CRM Magazine

The freemium business model is meant to deliver benefits for both business and customer: For the business, it's a strategy to foster loyalty, product or service awareness, and long-term revenue potential, and for the customer, it makes discovering a product or service effortless and worry-free. However, this business approach presents a series of unique challenges?and customer service is one of them. As career-long customer care specialists, we've seen that one size doesn't fit all. Freemium model customer care must include a distinct approach.

Taking care of freemium customers requires thought and a personal touch, or you run the risk of creating more problems than solutions. Generally, dialogue about freemium customer care deficits pivots around the fact that customer service departments aren't adapting for this model, which thrives on live, customized interaction between agents and customers.

The difference between the freemium and subscription model?that the former offers customers a scaled-down set of product or service features for free before, or instead of, purchasing a subscription, the latter not offering a free level of product or service at all?is what defines the difference between customer support strategies for the two models. Because customer retention isn't built in to the freemium model, customer care agents for freemium businesses have an incredibly high standard to meet and ultimately drive business success.

Over the years, we've observed that specific best practices hold true time and again in freemium customer interactions. They may confirm that what you're doing in freemium customer care is on track, or inspire you to uplevel the way your agents communicate with your customers. There are five such practices.

Don't just serve, care. The number one mindset shift that needs to be made with freemium customer interactions is that the goal is to establish personal relationships, not isolated transactions. The idea of customer service connotes a certain flatness and mechanical response. Caring for the customer and keeping him at the center of the dialogue is crucial in a freemium support capacity because there is no reason that a customer must continue using?or paying for?your product or service. If a customer is experiencing a technical issue or upset about another aspect of the service, an agent's personalized approach to solving the problem can be the difference between retention and attrition.

Rethink success. The freemium-based business should center success metrics around its customer-centric mission, not necessarily pure sales or length of calls. Of course revenue and conversion play a role in a freemium organization's success, but at the forefront of measurement should be customer happiness. Satisfaction surveys and random call monitoring are ways businesses can track this, the most critical of all metrics.

Crunch?and use?the numbers. The call center inherently holds tons of rich qualitative and quantitative data. The successful freemium business finds ways to leverage that data and package it in a way that becomes meaningful throughout the organization, including marketing, product, and technology groups. At MyLife, we implemented a feedback mechanism that gathered data around customer usage of our Web site and presented findings and trends to our entire organization. As a result, we implemented a new service that helps customers manage their online presence, something that was an expressed need directly from customers and which became a new revenue stream for our organization.

Expect more from agents. The onus is higher on the freemium company to continue delivering value, so the business' challenge is to build a customer care team that broadens traditional call center boundaries. Freemium models include paid options that expand on the free service set. Bring on board agents with sales backgrounds, who are skilled at confidently educating customers on the value of the product or service, leading a call, and reselling a customer on the value. In addition, incorporate formal personality profiling to identify what top performing agents have in common and work to assimilate those characteristics throughout the team.

Make it personal. We cannot stress this enough?your customer care agents need to have a passion for forming personal connections with your customers. If you're scripting your agents, every call will feel like the same call, every customer will be treated like the one before, and true listening and problem solving cannot occur. The freemium call center is not there for the sole purpose of solving technology issues or resolving billing concerns, but it is there to make customers feel comfortable enough with your company that they want to keep spending their valuable time and money on what you sell. To keep care agents focused on the individual customer, do away with scripts and measuring agents on the duration of their calls. Without these constraints, true customer care can flourish.

When supporting freemium customers, businesses must recognize the long-term value of each and every person on the customer support line, and vouch to listen as though he or she is the only customer. One size doesn't fit all when it comes to freemium customer service, and if businesses align their practices to this philosophy, they won't just meet the high customer care bar, they'll clear it outright.

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Aaron Taylor is the vice president of customer care at MyLife, a Web site that enables more than 60 million members to connect to and manage all their social and email accounts, monitor their online information, and make new connections all in one place. For more information, visit www.mylife.com.

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Source: http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/Web-Exclusives/Viewpoints/Freemium-Customer-Care-86944.aspx

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Britain's top tabloid scolds Argentina over the Falklands

BUENOS AIRES/LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest-selling newspaper had a simple message for Argentina in an editorial published on Friday in the South American country: "HANDS OFF" the Falkland Islands.

The seven-paragraph epistle, penned by the populist Sun tabloid and published in Argentina's main English language newspaper, came in response to fresh demands from President Cristina Fernandez to open talks over the sovereignty of the South Atlantic archipelago.

The two countries fought a 10-week war in 1982 over the remote islands, which are part of Britain's self-governing overseas territories and are known in Argentina as Las Malvinas.

Britain won the war but Argentina started pressing its sovereignty claim anew last year after oil exploration began in waters near the islands.

"British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands dates back to 1765, before the Republic of Argentina even existed," the Sun said in its open letter to Fernandez, published in both Spanish and English in the Buenos Aires Herald.

"In the name of our millions of readers," the Sun said, "HANDS OFF!"

The Sun, part of media mogul Rupert Murdoch's empire, has a long history of publishing fervently patriotic articles. One of its front pages during the 1982 war it marked the news that British forces had sunk the Argentine warship General Belgrano with the banner headline "GOTCHA."

As the extent of Argentine losses began to emerge, the Sun changed its headline in later editions. A total of 323 Argentines lost their lives in the attack on the Belgrano.

While the rhetoric has yet to reach such levels, tensions have flared between London and Buenos Aires against the new backdrop of oil prospects.

Crude was found to the north of the Falklands in 2010 by Rockhopper Exploration, drawing interest from hedge funds and other investors despite threats from Argentina to disrupt the activity.

In an open letter from Fernandez to Prime Minister David Cameron published in British newspapers on Thursday, the fiery two-term Peronist leader accused Britain of breaching United Nations resolutions calling for a negotiated solution.

Cameron rejects negotiations, saying the approximately 3,000 people of the Falkland Islands have chosen to be British.

In its Friday edition, the Sun used less moderate language for its own British readers than in its open letter to Fernandez, labeling her country a "banana republic."

"Stirring up trouble over the Falklands creates a convenient sideshow for Argentina's tin-pot leaders as they battle problems at home," the Sun said in its editorial, referring to economic woes in Argentina punctuated by slow growth and high inflation.

"But they are wasting their breath. And they should remember what happened last time."

(Additional reporting Estelle Shirbon in London; Editing by Vicki Allen)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/britains-top-tabloid-scolds-argentina-over-falklands-152825428.html

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Saudi Air Force sergeant accused of Vegas child rape

Las Vegas PD via AP

Mazen Alotaibi, 23, faces charges including kidnapping, sexual assault with a minor and felony coercion.

By The Associated Press

A sergeant in Saudi Arabia's air force was jailed in Las Vegas on charges that he pulled a boy into a hotel room and sexually assaulted him the morning of New Year's Eve.

Mazen Alotaibi, 23, faces charges including kidnapping, sexual assault with a minor and felony coercion that could get him decades in state prison, according to police and charging documents obtained Friday.

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The boy, who is younger than 14, told police the man forced him into a room at the Circus Circus hotel on the Las Vegas Strip and raped him. Police arrested Alotaibi after being called to the hotel before 9:30 a.m. Dec. 31.

"There was a kidnapping and sexual assault with force," Las Vegas police Lt. Dan McGrath said. "The victim said he was forced into the room and sexually assaulted. We have a strong case based on the evidence."

The boy, who lives out of state, was staying at the hotel with his family, McGrath said. He was taken to a hospital for medical treatment and evidence collection and released later to family members. His name was not made public.

McGrath said Alotaibi produced a Saudi Arabian military identification and said he was stationed at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland near San Antonio, Texas. U.S. federal authorities and Saudi military officials were notified, the police lieutenant said.

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Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland spokesman Brent Boller told The Associated Press that records showed Alotaibi is currently stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss. Boller said he could not immediately verify if Alotaibi had been at Lackland, but noted that international military students attend a Defense Language Institute English Language Center on the base to improve their English-language skills.

Alotaibi's lawyer, Don Chairez of Newport Beach, Calif., said Friday he had been in contact with U.S. military authorities at both air force bases and with the Saudi government. He said Alotaibi had come to Las Vegas for the New Year's celebration and will plead not guilty.

Alotaibi also is charged with burglary, which in Nevada can stem from a person entering a building with intent to commit a felony.

The alleged attack took place on the sixth floor of a 15-story hotel tower. Circus Circus has a total of 3,767 guest rooms in three towers and five three-story motor lodge-style buildings dubbed Circus Circus Manor.

The arrest was first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It cited a police report saying the boy was 13.

Alotaibi was being held without bail at the Clark County jail pending an evidence hearing Jan. 17.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/05/16358783-saudi-air-force-sergeant-accused-of-vegas-child-rape?lite

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Previous studies on toxic effects of BPA couldn't be reproduced

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Following a three-year study using more than 2,800 mice, a University of Missouri researcher was not able to replicate a series of previous studies by another research group investigating the controversial chemical BPA. The MU study is not claiming that BPA is safe, but that the previous series of studies are not reproducible. The MU study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also investigated an estrogenic compound found in plants, genistein, in the same three-year study.

"Our findings don't say anything about the positive or negative effects of BPA or genistein," said Cheryl Rosenfeld, associate professor of biomedical sciences in MU's Bond Life Science Center. "Rather, our series of experiments did not detect the same findings as reported by another group on the potential developmental effects of BPA and genistein when exposure of young occurs in the womb."

Creating reliable data on the effects of the chemicals on mice is important to human health since people are frequently exposed to BPA and genistein and humans share similar biological functions with mice. BPA is a chemical used in certain plastic bottles and may be found in the lining of some canned goods and receipt paper. Genistein occurs naturally in soy beans and is sold as a dietary supplement. Research by Fredrick VomSaal, professor of biological science at MU, and others suggests the chemicals may have other adverse effects on many animals, including humans.

Researcher who conducted the original series of experiments claimed that exposure to BPA and genestein resulted in yellow coat color, or agouti, offspring that were more susceptible to obesity and type 2 diabetes compared to their brown coat color, healthy siblings. However, Rosenfeld and her team did not obtain the same results when repeating the study over a three-year period.

After failing to repeat the original experiments findings with similar numbers of animals, Rosenfeld's group extended the studies to include animal numbers that surpassed the prior studies to verify that their findings were not a fluke and to provide sufficient number of animals to ensure that significant differences would be detected if they existed. However, even these additional numbers of animals and extended experiments failed to reproduce the earlier findings. However, the current studies demonstrate that a maternal diet enriched in estrogenic compounds leads to a greater number of offspring that express an agouti gene compared to those that do not, even though equal ratios should have been born.

"This finding suggests that certain uterine environments may favor animals with a 'thrifty genotype' meaning that the agouti gene of mice may help them survive in unfavorable uterine environments over those mice devoid of this gene, Yet, the downside of this expression of the agouti during early development is that the animals may be at risk for later metabolic disorders, such as obesity and diabetes" Rosenfeld said. "In this aspect, humans also have an agouti gene that encodes for the agouti signaling protein (ASIP) that is expressed in fat tissue and pancreas, and there is some correlation that obese individuals exhibit greater expression of this gene compared to leaner individuals. Therefore, the agouti gene may have evolved to permit humans the ability to survive famine, but its enhanced expression may also potentiate metabolic diseases under bountiful food conditions."

While the research casts doubt on the previous study, Rosenfeld said that by understanding the genetic profile of the mice in the first series of studies, scientists could learn more about the correlation between certain genes and obesity. This could eventually influence prevention and treatment programs for patients with diabetes and other obesity-related diseases in humans.

###

University of Missouri-Columbia: http://www.missouri.edu

Thanks to University of Missouri-Columbia for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/126114/Previous_studies_on_toxic_effects_of_BPA_couldn_t_be_reproduced

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Microsoft working on a fix for Halo 4 SmartGlass issues, arriving in 'the coming weeks'

Microsoft's SmartGlass and Microsoft's Halo 4 apparently aren't quite getting along on Windows Phone 8 devices. Using SmartGlass, Halo 4 players can normally access their stats and other info about their robot supersoldier using the long-established Waypoint service -- except for Windows Phone 8 users, apparently. A forum thread dating back to Halo 4's November launch highlights the issue -- as Xbox.com forum user "Scion Eon" puts it: "Whenever I try to log into SmartGlass on my phone while playing Halo 4, I am immediately greeted with a message that says 'Your device is missing certain required features.'" As it turns out, Mr. Eon isn't the only one experiencing said connectivity issues -- specific to Windows Phone 8 devices -- and Microsoft's aware of the situation.

"We are aware that there is an issue with the Xbox SmartGlass experience for 'Halo Waypoint' on Windows Phone 8 devices, which may prevent users from accessing Halo 4 player stats," a Microsoft rep told us this afternoon. Thankfully, Redmond's also taking care of a solution. "We are actively working on a fix and expect to have a solution within the coming weeks. We appreciate your patience as this gets resolved and apologize for any inconvenience this causes," the statement reads. Of course, should you want to access Halo 4's Waypoint functionality on SmartGlass before that fix, you can always use Microsoft's competitor's devices. But then who'd do that?

[Thanks Colin!]

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Software, Mobile, Microsoft

Comments

Source: Xbox.com

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/04/halo-4-smartglass-windows-phone-8/

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Rare Stephen King book for auction in Maine

ELLSWORTH, Maine (AP) ? A signed copy of a rare Stephen King book is up for auction at a Maine bookstore, with proceeds going to a nearby homeless shelter's emergency home heating fund.

The copy of "The Regulators," written by horror writer and Maine native King under the pen name Richard Bachman, was donated by a customer of Scottie's Bookhouse in Hancock.

Owner Michael Riggs says there are only 550 copies of the book in a special collector's box.

Auction proceeds will go to the Emmaus Homeless Shelter's emergency fuel fund in Ellsworth.

Emmaus director Sister Lucille MacDonald tells WABI-TV (http://bit.ly/RuFghD ) it's an "ingenious" way to help people struggling to buy heating oil.

The book is on display at Scottie's and bids are being accepted by email, phone and in person until Jan. 31.

___

Information from: WABI-AM, http://www.wabiam910.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rare-stephen-king-book-auction-maine-140914466.html

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Fatah party stages first rally in Gaza since 2007

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) ? Leaders of the Palestinian Fatah party led tens of thousands of supporters Friday in a mass rally in the Gaza Strip, the first such gathering for the largely secular party in the territory since the rival Islamist Hamas seized power there in 2007.

The demonstration, which was condoned by Hamas, showed how the long-bitter relations between the rival Palestinian factions have improved since an Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip in November.

While Friday's rally pointed to the improving ties between Hamas and Fatah, it also served as a reminder of the conflicts within Fatah that continue to dog the movement: Officials cancelled the event halfway through after 20 people were injured due to overcrowding, and shoving matches erupted between separate Fatah factions.

Yahiya Rabah, a top Fatah official in Gaza, said the rally was cancelled "due to the huge number of participants and logistical failures."

But witnesses said one pushing match was between supporters of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and partisans of former Fatah's former Gaza security commander Mohammed Dahlan, who was expelled from the party because of conflicts with Abbas.

Another Fatah official, who spoke anonymously because he did not want to embarrass the party, said the rally was cancelled because hundreds of Dahlan supporters jumped up on the stage and clashed with Abbas supporters.

Fatah spokesman Fayez Abu Etta attributed the injuries to overcrowding and the excitement of the rally.

Overnight, throngs had camped out in a downtown Gaza square to ensure themselves a spot for the anniversary commemoration of Fatah's 1965 founding, and tens of thousands marched early Friday carrying Fatah banners. When the rally began, people stampeded to the stage to try to shake leaders' hands.

Hamas was not directly involved in the event but allowed it to take place. Top Fatah officials arrived in Gaza for the first time since they were ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2007.

Abbas, who rules in the West Bank, did not attend the event, but spoke to the crowd via a televised address, telling them that "there is no substitute for national unity."

Organizers then ended the rally, cancelling the other planned speeches and musical performances.

Hamas has gained new support among Palestinians following eight days of fighting with Israel in November, during which Israel pounded the seaside strip from the air and sea, while Palestinians militants lobbed rockets toward the Israeli cities of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv for the first time.

Following the fighting, relations have thawed somewhat between Hamas and Fatah. Hamas was allowed to hold its first West Bank rallies since the 2007 split in which Hamas seized Gaza and Fatah was left in control of the West Bank. Hamas returned the favor Friday by allowing the Fatah rally.

Senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath said the party received a congratulatory message from Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, who expressed hope that the two factions could reconcile their differences and work together as joint representatives of the Palestinian people.

"This festival will be like a wedding celebration for Palestine, Jerusalem, the prisoners, the refugees and all the Palestinians," Shaath said.

Reconciliation between the two factions, however, is still far from a done deal. Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal, considered more pragmatic than Hamas' Gaza-based hardline leaders, forged a reconciliation agreement with Abbas in 2011.

But the Gaza-based leadership, unsupportive of the deal, has held up implementing it. Fatah enjoys Western support and has been pressured not to forge a unity agreement with the militant Hamas - facing a potential cutback in foreign aid if it does. Hamas has carried out hundreds of deadly attacks against Israeli citizens and is regarded by the U.S. and Israel as a terrorist organization.

Fadwa Taleb, 46, who worked as a police officer during the previous rule of Fatah, gathered at the rally with her family. "We feel like birds freed from our cage today," Taleb said. "We are happy and feel powerful again."

A Gaza security official said a Fatah-linked former aide to the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died of a heart attack in the square overnight, saying he was shocked by the large crowd that was allowed to gather.

In the West Bank, Palestinian President Abbas signed a presidential decree changing the name of the Palestinian Authority to the "State of Palestine," following the Palestinians' upgraded status at the United Nations as a non-member observer state.

According to the decree, reported by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa Thursday night, all stamps, signs, and official letterhead will be changed to bear the new name.

It is the first concrete, albeit symbolic, step the Palestinians have taken following the November decision by the United Nations. Abbas has hesitated to take more dramatic steps, like filing war crimes indictments against Israel at the International Criminal Court, a tactic that only a recognized state can carry out.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fatah-party-stages-first-rally-gaza-since-2007-104909186.html

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