Outbreak Specialists Track Down Recent Coronavirus

Health officials are trying to figure out if the virus is moving from person to person

By Helen Branswell

Image: BioWiki

Maria Zambon was having d?j? vu. Earlier this fall, she found out about a new coronavirus that had come seemingly from nowhere to kill a Saudi man in Jeddah in June and seriously sicken another.? The survivor had been flown from Qatar to a London hospital. His lungs were overwhelmed with infection, his kidneys failing. Virologists at Erasmus Medical Center, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, were already working on an isolate from the Saudi man to decode the virus's genetic sequence. They named the virus HCoV-EMC, short for human coronavirus and the institution's initials.

The situation reminded Zambon, director of reference microbiology for Britain's Health Protection Agency, of the SARS outbreak of 2003, which spread from China to as far as Toronto and killed 916 people. Fortunately, the recent coronavirus appears to be emerging more slowly than SARS did (also a coronavirus). To date, only six cases have been reported?four in Saudi Arabia and two in Qatar. Two of the infections have been fatal. The gnawing concern, however, is that the virus will start spreading from person to person, fanning out more broadly to infect people around the globe.

A recently discovered cluster of illnesses in Saudi Arabia has raised concerns that the virus may be able to move from person to person. Four men who lived in the same household in Riyadh became sick with similar symptoms within a short period of time. Two of the men tested positive for the virus. The two others?one of whom died?are currently classified as probable cases. Their infection status may remain ambiguous. With the source of the infection unknown and the incubation period unclear, authorities may never get a definitive answer about whether these family members were all infected from a common source, or whether one of them got sick and infected the others, says Anthony Mounts, the World Health Organization's technical expert for the outbreak.? "It sure raises your concern. But it's not definitive." If the virus spread from person to person in that Riyadh household, it has apparently since sputtered and died out.

Still, the discovery of additional cases, some in a cluster, has prompted WHO to cast a wider net in its search for other cases. The Geneva-based global health agency had initially warned countries to be on the lookout for cases of severe and unexplained respiratory illness in people who had visited or were residents of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Now it is convinced that whatever the source of the virus is, it is probably not unique to those countries. By getting health authorities around the world to look harder for possible cases, it hopes to answer another question that people like Mounts and Zambon have been asking themselves: Is this virus actually new, or has it just newly come into view? If it is the former, then worries about what the virus might do will remain high.? But if it has been infecting people for years but was only spotted because two severe cases brought it to light, then the virus may seem like less of a threat.

"There's always a question of 'Well, actually, has it been around forever and a day and we just missed it because we haven't tested?'" Zambon notes. It is commonly accepted that medical science has not identified all the bugs that make people sick. In fact, before the SARS outbreak, only two viruses in the coronavirus family were known to infect people. In the years after SARS became the third, the human coronaviruses NL63 and HKU1 were added to that list.

Finding the answer means testing more patients with similar symptoms to see if they too are infected with the EMC virus. Some countries?Britain among them?have been testing sick pilgrims returning from this year's Hajj, the world's largest annual pilgrimage that brings roughly three million Muslims to? Mecca every year. So far there have been no reports of additional cases among the returning Hajjis. And as time passes, concerns about the pilgrimage as a disease-amplification opportunity are starting to wane. "The government of Saudi Arabia does quite extensive surveillance during the Hajj and was particularly vigilant during this season. They have reassured us that nothing unusual happened," Mounts says.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=b2c7902d8f9bcaa84416d14e8472214f

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Drew University Men?s Lacrosse Team Aids in Sandy Relief Efforts

Like so many other residents of the tri-state area, former Drew University men?s lacrosse team captain, PJ Martin C?04, saw some of the devastating effects of Super Storm Sandy first hand and looked to his former team for help.

Martin, a former teacher and coach at the Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J. located miles from the some hardest impacted areas of the storm, reached out to former Peddie School graduate and current Drew junior, Kyle Mariboe to see if the current team would be interested in helping out.

Head Coach Tom Leanos, who also coached Martin, was approached by Mariboe to see if he can enlist his teammates to join the relief effort. Within days Martin and Mariboe had a small army comprised of 31 Drew men?s lacrosse players and two coaches including Leanos to help with the clean-up.

?This Drew lacrosse program is a family,? explained Leanos. ?If one of our family members needs assistance, we?re going to figure out a way we can help out.?

The Ranger contingent helped clean-up, assist in demolition, remove furniture and drywall for about 10 homes in a flood zone located about one block of the Raritan Bay. The team divided into six groups with each group working under the direction of a previously existing group called, Team Pecyna, which stepped up and taken responsibility for civilian relief in Keansburg.

Martin now owns his own lifestyle apparel company called Uncommon Fit based in Hightstown and is spearheading a relief campaign called ?We Shore Will?. His apparel company and the campaign have been able to motivate different college age volunteers and young professionals to come down to help in Keansburg and have raised thousands of dollars that are directly benefiting organizations, residents and small business in the Raritan Bay area.The most notable effort in raising funds was at the recent Hope for Highlands concert helping raise an extra $5500 through t-shirt sales by his company.

?This was a life-changing experience for us and hopefully for the people down here as well,? said junior Mark Barus. ?I?m grateful we were made aware of this opportunity by PJ and glad we could help out.?

Although each Drew student-athlete was affected by Super Storm Sandy, the relief effort brought heightened awareness to all involved of how dramatic the hardship was for other communities and families in the Garden State. It also brought a true sense of what the Drew Lacrosse family is all about to the current-student athletes and alumnus PJ Martin.

Other individuals or organizations interested in volunteering in Keansburg may do so by emailing Shawn at Keansburgstrong@gmail.com for information. To see how and when other Drew University relief efforts are being made, join the facebook group ?Drew Disaster Relief?.

You can also purchase apparel from Uncommon Fit that directly benefitx the Keansburg community by visiting www.uncommonfit.com

Photo Gallery

Source: http://www.lacrosseplayground.com/drew-university-mens-lacrosse-team-aids-in-sandy-relief-efforts/

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Priest parade poll. Which handsome priest from DOOL could make you convert? Surp...

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Iran: Uranium enrichment to be speeded up

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran will step up its uranium enrichment program by sharply increasing the number of centrifuges used to make nuclear fuel, a senior official said Wednesday, in direct defiance of Western demands.

The statement by Iran's nuclear chief, Fereidoun Abbasi, is likely to escalate tensions. The West suspects Iran's nuclear program could be headed toward weapons production and has imposed punishing sanctions to try to persuade Tehran to stop enrichment.

Iran has denied the charges, saying its program is peaceful and geared toward generating electricity and producing radioisotopes to treat cancer patients.

Uranium enriched to a low level is used to produce nuclear fuel for reactors, but high level enrichment would make it suitable for use in atomic warheads.

Abbasi said Iran is making nuclear advances in the face of the severe economic measures imposed by the U.N. and the West.

"Despite sanctions, we will most likely see a substantial increase in the number of centrifuge machines this year. We will continue enrichment with intensity," Abbasi was quoted by state TV as saying Wednesday. The Iranian calendar year ends on March 20.

Abbasi did not say if Iran's stepped up work would be at the five percent fuel level or the higher 20 percent quality, which has worried the West because it can be purified to weapons grade more quickly. There have been indications that Iran may push its enrichment even higher than the 20 percent acknowledged to U.N. nuclear watchdogs.

His remarks came days after the U.N. agency said Iran is about to double its output of higher enriched uranium at its fortified Fordo underground facility. That could move Iran closer to weapons capability.

A Nov. 8 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran has installed about 2,800 centrifuges at Fordo and is poised to double the number of operating centrifuges, from the current 700 to nearly 1,400.

Iran says it needs 20 percent enriched uranium to make fuel for a medical research reactor in Tehran that produces isotopes for about 1 million patients annually.

Abbasi also said Iran will soon conduct a test run of its heavy water reactor in Arak in central Iran, despite demands from the U.N. to stop the work. The test will use virtual fuel, not actual radioactive material, he said.

He said construction of the 40-megawatt research reactor is progressing on schedule, but he noted that experts are handling the project with greater care in anticipation of possible sabotage attempts.

"The Arak reactor is progressing without any problem according to the schedule. Only because of security considerations, we are moving with caution, since enemy intends to harm this reactor," he was quoted by state TV as saying. "All the equipment needed to operate this reactor has been purchased."

The West is concerned that the heavy water reactor could produce enough plutonium for a nuclear weapon each year, if the spent fuel is reprocessed. That would be another pathway for bomb-grade material, but Iran is not known to possess a plutonium reprocessing facility

Iran has experienced explosions and malfunctions at its nuclear and industrial sites, partly due to faulty equipment secretly procured on the global market.

Also, Iran says it is the target of a campaign that has included the abduction and assassination of scientists, the sale of faulty equipment and the planting of a destructive computer worm known as Stuxnet, which briefly brought Iran's uranium enrichment activity to a halt in 2010.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-uranium-enrichment-speeded-164043288--finance.html

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The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) | Coordination - tice

The EQF aims to relate different countries'
national qualifications systems to a common European reference
framework. Individuals and employers will be able to use the EQF to
better understand and compare the qualifications levels of different
countries and different education and training systems. Agreed upon by the European institutions in
2008, the EQF is being put in practice across Europe. It encourages
countries to relate their national qualifications systems to the EQF so
that all new qualifications issued from 2012 carry a reference to an
appropriate EQF level. An EQF national coordination point has been
designated for this purpose in each country.
Shifting focus
The core of the EQF concerns eight reference levels describing what a learner knows, understands and is able to do ? 'learning outcomes'. Levels of national qualifications will be placed at one of the central reference levels, ranging from basic (Level 1) to advanced (Level 8). This will enable a much easier comparison between national qualifications and should also mean that people do not have to repeat their learning if they move to another country. The EQF applies to all types of education, training and qualifications, from school education to academic, professional and vocational. This approach shifts the focus from the traditional system which emphasises 'learning inputs', such as the length of a learning experience, or type of institution. It also encourages lifelong learning by promoting the validation of non-formal and informal learning. This reflects a wider shift within which the EQF is acting as a catalyst for reforms: most Member States are now developing their own National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) based on learning outcomes. Several countries (IE, MT, UK, FR and BE-Flanders) already have one in force.
Easier comparison
At present, an enterprise in France may hesitate to recruit a job applicant from, say, Sweden, because it does not understand the level of the qualifications presented by the Swedish candidate. But once the EQF is fully implemented, a Swedish person's certificates will bear a reference to an EQF reference level. The French authorities will have already decided where their own national certificates in the field concerned lie, so the French enterprise would use the EQF reference to get a better idea of how the Swedish qualification compares to French qualifications. An EQF advisory group brings together representatives from national authorities and other stakeholders to help with the implementation of the framework. Its work is complemented by the EU-wide Learning Outcomes Group which supports debate and peer learning on relevant issues, focusing on the development of national qualifications frameworks and the validation of non-formal and informal learning. The EQF initiative is closely related to the qualifications framework for the European Higher Education Area: the two frameworks are compatible and their implementation is coordinated.
More information EQF internet portal

• Referencing the Lithuanian Qualifications Framework to the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning and the Qualifications Framework for the European Higher Education Area,

• Portal dedicated to the implementation of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning

Reports on the referencing of national qualifications frameworks to the EQF

• Referencing the Lithuanian Qualifications Framework to the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning and the Qualifications Framework for the European Higher Education Area,

• Referencing of the Estonian Qualifications and Qualifications Framework to the European Qualifications Framework

• Referencing the Danish Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning to the European Qualifications Framework

• Referencing of the Latvian Education System to the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning and the Qualifications Framework for the European Higher Education Area

• The referencing document of the Dutch National Qualification Framework to the European Qualification Framework

• Referencing of the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) to the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning.

• Referencing of the Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF) to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and the Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area (QF/EHEA)

• Referencing the Qualifications Frameworks of the United Kingdom to the European Qualifications Framework

• R?f?rencement du cadre national de certification fran?ais vers le cadre europ?en de certification pour la formation tout au long de la vie

European Qualifications Framework Series EQF Newsletter

Source: http://blog.univ-provence.fr/blog/coordination-rgionale-paca/qualification/2012/11/29/the-european-qualifications-framework-eqf

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Europe sees US debt crisis as dire as its own

16 hrs.

John W. Schoen , NBC News

Now it?s Europe?s turn to worry about U.S. economy.

American officials have been wringing their hands for the past two years about the heavy burden of government debt piling up in Europe. On Tuesday, Europe?s Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development warned that the U.S. "fiscal cliff" threatens prospects for the eurozone?s economic recovery.

?We?re talking here about the medium and long-term viability of the United States economy,? OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria told CNBC. ?Not only to avoid the fiscal cliff but then get to a moment where (U.S.) debt stops rising and the debt to GDP starts coming down to an area where we call all breathe more comfortably.?

In its latest Economic Outlook, the influential Paris-based think tank said that?with the eurozone?s economy already headed in reverse, the United States faces the same fate if lawmakers fail to agree a deal to avoid a combination of tax hikes and budget cuts that will otherwise take effect next year.

?The US ?fiscal cliff,' if it materializes, could tip an already weak economy into recession, while failure to solve the euro-area crisis could lead to a major financial shock and global downturn,? Gurria told reporters in Paris.

Even if a deal is reached, the OECD joined other forecasters calling for a continued global economic slowdown in 2013. For the U.S., that means expansion of just 2.0 percent, versus the OECD's 2.6 percent forecast in May.

The eurozone economy is expected to shrink by 0.4 percent this year and another 0.1 percent next year, before recovering at a weak 1.3 percent growth rate in 2014, the forecasters said.

Negotiations in Washington continued this week on a broad range of alternatives to the current budget law, which would impose roughly half a billion dollars in government spending cuts and tax increases starting Jan. 1. Uncertainty over the outcome has depressed hiring and investment by businesses, some economists say.

On Monday, White House economists estimated that the budget measure, unless altered or postponed, would carve some $200 billion out of consumer spending, which accounts for about two thirds of the U.S. economy. Together with deep cuts in government spending, the package would wipe out the current weaker recovery and shrink the U.S. economy by about 0.5 percent in 2013, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

Congress and the White House have been deadlocked on solutions since the law was enacted after a bitter battle in July 2011 over increasing the government?s legal borrowing authority. Though President Barack?Obama and Republican leaders have made conciliatory comments since the November election, there has been little in the way of concessions needed to reach a compromise.

Most observers believe that the worst of the tax hikes will be avoided ? if only because they would be so politically unpopular. The so-called Alternative Minimum Tax, for example, would ensnare some 28 million households with new taxes next year unless Congress once again agrees to a ?patch.?

But broad compromise on reforming the thicket of deductions, exemptions and other breaks in the tax code, along with restructuring the massive Medicare and Social Security entitlement programs, will be much harder to pull off.

?I think it is a romantic hope that to believe that these politicians can agree to a grand bargain that will fundamentally fix our budget deficit issue,? said Richard Hoey, chief economist at BNY Mellon. ? I think that is totally unrealistic.?

That kind of sweeping fundamental reform has eluded European governments for years.

On Monday, facing the latest precipice in their two-year saga trying to head off a Greek debt default, European leaders hammered out yet another bailout package that calls on the Greek government to pare down its debt in the coming decade.

But while the latest plan appeared to buy more time, the threat of the longer-term crisis remains.

?Athens? cash reserves must be down to vapors,? said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. ?Any interruption in implementation of this scheme could cause an ugly default, with little or no warning.?

The details of the latest ?solution? are murky, and the plan still faces opposition from both individual eurozone governments and potential legal challenges.

Terms of a proposed buyback of Greek debt that would leave some bond holders with losses haven?t been worked out. And the 44 billion euro ($53 billion) bailout payments over the next two months will be made in stages ? with each new payment conditioned on Athens meeting milestones called for by its European benefactors.?

The longer term solution to Europe's debt crisis is even murkier - a possible portent of what U.S. lawmakers face if they can't work out a broad tax and spending compromise soon.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/europe-sees-us-debt-crisis-dire-its-own-1C7275560

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Rovi is shutting down its OTA TV guide service without notice

The company with so much love it changed its name to fool its fans is at it again, this time killing the signal that provides guide data directly to many televisions and set-top boxes. You see, before changing its name from Macrovision, Rovi acquired Gemstar-TV guide in 2008 -- which was probably most well known for the integrated program guide common in higher end TVs throughout the last decade. While most people just use the guide offered on their provider's set-top, this guide is for those who actually use the clear-QAM or over-the-air tuner in their TV. The way it worked is that manufacturers baked the software into the TV, which would then tune into a local affiliate's broadcast of a week's worth of guide data. The setup successfully made it through the digital transition -- minus the truckloads of analog-only TVs ceasing to work along the way -- as new TVs featured a digital version of the service, as well as some digital converters, like the DTVpal DVR.

Continue reading Rovi is shutting down its OTA TV guide service without notice

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: Twice, AVS Forum

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/27/rovi-gemstar-tv-quide-ota-shutdown/

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stephmodo: Real Life Home No.18 - Annalise Neil's 1946 California ...

Since Monday is an important day to feel inspired, I want to share this gorgeous "real life home" tour with you today. ?I simply cannot wait another moment to do so! ?I discovered Annalise Neil's beautiful, San Diego home via the lovely Jora of Domestic Reflections--one of my favorite blogs. ?And thank goodness I did, because Annie's eclectic home exudes so much love, warmth and depth, that it simply cannot be contained. ?

This 1946 bungalow, affectionately referred to as "Neilhaus", is situated on a quiet, dead-end street above a tiny canyon that is home to gray foxes, possums and other small wildlife.??Marking the beautiful home are two, wind-swept juniper trees, which you can see a portion of above.??It truly sounds like an ideal location to raise a family, which is just what this?printmaker?and freelance writer is doing!??In fact, as your eyes move through this home tour, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for Annalise?s original etchings, prints, copper plates and drawings dotting the photographs (which were also snapped by Annie).

For those of you just tuning in,?this original series?showcases living spaces decorated by people who are not formally-trained interior designers; people who mix new finds with antiques and secondhand pieces from?Craigslist?(or the like). People who have figured out, on their own, what looks and feels good in their living space, be it a free-standing home, an apartment, or in one particular case,?a tower?:)

Her light-filled living room, populated by what Annalise refers to as a ?motley assortment of vintage mid-mod, militaria and scores from Anthropologie sample sales? is the room that first caught my eye.? Having moved around several times, Annie?s home is the perfect example of bringing together little treasures from both near and far. ?And, as someone who prefers large, open windows sans treatments, I really appreciate the open feeling these windows create.

Like me, Annie procured her antique dining table on Craigslist?a fabulous source if you prefer a mix `n? match look.? Isn?t it well-paired with those dramatic, but minimal chairs?? And the perfectly arranged wall of art?? I love the idea of enjoying a simple meal with friends around this table.? It?s such an inspiring setting.

The nursery at Neilhaus is home to Annie?s little 8-month-old, Baby O.? The walls are adorned with vintage ephemera, including a favorite print by Arthur Rackham.? Annalise was lucky enough to discover this ?Alice in Wonderland? print when helping her mother clean out a closet.? A few other special details in the nursery include the crewelwork bouquet on the rocking chair, the blessing gown from Annie?s favorite antique store in Philadelphia, and the woodland imagery she created over the mirrored chest of drawers (also an Anthro sample).

Her 3-year-old son?s room is an ideal space for a toddler, but is decorated in a way that will easily transition her little man into a ?big boy?, with just a few minor changes.? I love the room to grow in this space!

When crafting a space for a child, there is such a temptation to buy everything new, (I know because I?ve been there before!).? But what I appreciate most about Annalise?s style is that she creates character by mixing antiques in with new pieces.? Special antiques in this room include the chest of drawers from ?a perfectly cluttered? thrift store in upstate New York and a vintage sardine advert found down the road. ?She purchased the mouse tapestry in China many years ago with the intention of hanging it in a future child?s room.? I love that.

The last bedroom to be featured in this particular home tour is that of Annalise and her husband.? Hanging front and center is an old lithograph they discovered together in the basement of their old row house in Philadelphia years ago (such a great story!).? Flanking the antique lithograph are two of Annie?s own lithographs?one of her husband and one of herself.

I am also impressed by the clever display of books in their bedroom.? Is anyone else amazed at how surprisingly monumental it is to come up with the best way to display a personal book collection?? It sounds so simple, but it often proves to be a vexing design issue I find.? Annalise seems to make it look effortless here.

Bougainvillea beckons guests through the door to the small dwelling out back.? Slated to be Annalise?s future studio, it currently serves as a guest home for visiting family and friends.?
The beautiful backyard is not only home to the small animals that venture out of the canyon, but to persimmon, pomegranate, peach, lemon and fig trees.? Sounds pretty heavenly, doesn?t it???
If you'd like to peek at some more "real life homes", enjoy these previous posts. ?Annalise, thank you for sharing your beautiful home with us!

Real Life Home No. 17 - Maria of Dreamy Whites
Real Life Home No. 16?- Chelsea's Michigan Farmhouse
Real Life Home No. 15?- Erin's Upcycled Hollywood Glam
Real Life Home No.14?- Nadia's Converted Barn in Vermont

Real Life Home No.12?- Aunt Patty's sophisticated mid-century home
Real Life Home No.11?- Rubyellen of Cakies and her French-inspired flea market finds
Real Life Home No.10?- Julie's coastal home with reclaimed materials
Real Life Home No. 9?- Petra's Tower in downtown Seattle
Real Life Home No. 8?- Kayce's Nashville Home that's both Southern + sweet
Real Life Home No. 7?- Sara's colorful and eclectic Portland Home
Real Life Home No. 6?- Amy's Calming Neutrals in California
Real Life Home No. 5?- Lynne of Sugar City Journal and her whimsical details
Real Life Home No. 4?- Emily's gorgeous whites and woods in Dallas
Real Life Home No. 3?- Kirsten of Simply Grove's clean and textural Idaho home
Real Life Home No. 2?- Maria of Two Peas and a Pod and her white kitchen
Real Life Home No. 1?- My sister Cherilee's eclectic, mid-century home

images by Annalise Neil

Source: http://www.stephmodo.com/2012/11/real-life-home-no18-annalise-neils-1946.html

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ChannelAdvisor reports faster holiday sales growth on eBay

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - ChannelAdvisor said on Tuesday that client sales on eBay Inc's online marketplace grew faster than on Amazon.com Inc's website during the crucial first five days of the holiday shopping season.

ChannelAdvisor reported clients sales on eBay.com grew 55.2 percent on Cyber Monday, compared to the same day last year. For the five-day period from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, which ChannelAdvisor calls the "Cyber Five," client sales on eBay.com rose 38.3 percent compared to the same days in 2011.

ChannelAdvisor said client sales on Amazon.com jumped 42.4 percent on Cyber Monday compared to a year earlier. Over the "Cyber Five," client sales on Amazon.com rose 37.7 percent, the firm said.

(Reporting By Alistair Barr; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/channeladvisor-reports-faster-holiday-sales-growth-ebay-175200006--sector.html

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Mighty Mommy : 6 Ways to Create Family Traditions :: Quick and ...

by Cheryl Butler

The holiday season is probably the most popular time for practicing family traditions. But the rituals we share with our families are important to observe all year long, not just during the holidays.?They don?t have to be extravagant, time consuming, or tied into ethnicity (unless you want them to be).

Traditions can be as simple as reading to your child every night, having a movie and popcorn night every Friday, or discussing things you are grateful for around the dinner table each evening.?Traditions are the glue that keeps a family together.?We all have busy lives, and adding a small tradition here or there can make all the difference in maintaining and strengthening your family bonds.

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Don?t be discouraged, however, if you don?t have many traditions in place just yet.?The beauty is that you can start them any time, any place, and your newfound traditions will still have a positive impact on your entire family regardless of how old they are.?

Here are 6 ideas to get you started in establishing traditions and rituals in your home:?

Tip # 1:?Evaluate What You?re Already Doing

Before you plunge into new finding new rituals, assess what you?re already doing first.? Evaluate things like what you do on each holiday. How do you celebrate your children?s birthdays??Do you celebrate the first or last days of school? ?What about seasonal activities such as visiting the pumpkin patch or tagging a Christmas tree during the holidays, or Easter Egg hunts every Easter Sunday?

As a family, ask how important these things are to you.?For example, in our family of 8 kids, my husband always picks the birthday child up from school early, takes him or her out to lunch and then for an afternoon of doing whatever activity the child chooses?just the two of them.?Our 7-year-old daughter just celebrated her special day by going roller skating and then shopping for accessories and furniture for her doll house.?My husband was a good sport and catered to her every whim and ended up actually enjoying the visit to the doll store because he saw how excited she was.?Successful family rituals and traditions should be fun, frequent, flexible, and simple.?? Make a list of these things you already do on a regular basis and fine-tune the ones that can become regular traditions.

Tip # 2:?Creating Daily Rituals

Traditions do not have to be elaborate and fussy.?There are many things you do daily that, if done consistently, can become cherished rituals that your kids will lovingly pass onto their own children.?

Take bedtime for instance.?Bedtime rituals are now in decline because of the stress so many families face at the end of their busy days. Without regular bedtime structure, it?s difficult to establish rituals. Instead, children are staying up late ? watching television, exchanging instant messages, playing video games, or doing homework ? until they decide they are ready for bed. A lot of young children fall asleep somewhere in the house and are carried to bed by a parent. At that point, a bedtime ritual involving talking about the day, storytelling, or reading is not possible. If this sounds like your family, take steps to slowly re-establish calm bedtime routines.

See also: How Routines Will Simplify Your Life

Sharing dinner together as a family on a regular basis is also becoming more difficult for many households.?If dinner isn?t possible, how about breakfast? A bowl of cereal and hot chocolate is a great way to start your day off on a positive note and connect with one another before all going your separate ways.?If you have a pet, you can create a ritual around their care as well.?

For instance, every day one of our kids takes our two dogs for a walk in the neighborhood before dinner.?As my colleague The Dog Trainer would certainly agree, the two dogs have come to expect this ritual every day, and it?s a great way for both the pets and kids to get some exercise.

See also: Fun Ways to Keep Your Kids Active

Tip #3:?Tradition of the Red Plate

Some of you may have heard of the Red Plate Tradition, and even have it integrated in your family. ?This is something I?ve been doing for the past 10 years now.?

Basically, the idea is that the red plate gets to be used by a member of your family on their special day.?Many gift stores carry an ?official? red plate (check out www.redplatestore.com) or you can use any red plate that you have on hand.

This special plate can be used for the birthday boy or girl, if someone gets a good grade, a promotion at work, winning a baseball game, getting a driver?s license, or whatever accomplishment you want to celebrate.?It's a great way to highlight big events and also makes a wonderful gift for a wedding, a new baby, or a housewarming..

Tip #4:?Birthday Traditions

Birthdays are a great way to establish new traditions.?Besides the tradition of my husband taking each of our kids out for a special 1:1 outing on their birthdays, I also take out the birthday child?s baby and early childhood scrapbooks and photos and display them all throughout the house for a few days around their birthday.?Each birthday child also gets to open one gift before they head off to school and the rest of their gifts after their birthday dinner.?

A friend of mine who is from Germany has a birthday tradition every year for her kids called ?The Breakfast Table? in which they have cake and ice cream for breakfast. In addition, whimsical and fun gifts await the birthday child after school. And when her kids were young, she would send in small toys, such as jacks or matchbox cars, for each of her child?s school friends so they could help celebrate the special occasion as well.

Tip #5:?Food Traditions

Does your family have a signature recipe or meal that you are known for throughout your neighborhood or amongst your relatives??If you enjoy cooking, food is a wonderful way to establish a tasty tradition that can involve the whole family.?We have a recipe for New England clam chowder and homemade clam cakes that has been in our family for over 50 years.?

Every 4^th of July we go clamming and then make enough chowder to eat, give to friends, and freeze for the winter.?Strawberry picking or going to an apple orchard every fall is also another way to incorporate a seasonal tradition which can result in homemade strawberry jam or delicious apple pies.?Making homemade cookies and candy to give to teachers or neighbors is another fun tradition that many families do each year. Something as simple as enjoying pancakes each Sunday morning is another easy way to bring your family closer together using food.?

Tip #6:?Establish a Family Motto

A family motto helps to draw a family together. It provides focus and can motivate the family to work on specific goals, as well as lighten the mood when things are not going well.?My husband coined our family motto almost 20 years ago??Every day is good, some are better!? At first I thought he was crazy, but the more I thought about it, the more it resonated.?Not every day is going to be great, but as long as we have one another and can stay positive when times are tough, there will always be a balance.

What are some of your favorite family traditions and rituals??Let me know in Comments or post them on the Mighty Mommy Facebook page. You can also connect with me on Twitter @MightyMommy or e-mail me at mommy@quickanddirtytips.com.

Check back next week for more parenting tips.?Don?t forget to check out my family-friendly boards at Pinterest.com/MightyMommyQDT. Stay connected with your family traditions and until next time?Happy Parenting!

Father and Daughter out to Lunch, Family Eating Breakfast,?Red Plate?and Boy PIcking Apples?images from Shutterstock

Source: http://mightymommy.quickanddirtytips.com/6-ways-to-create-family-traditions.aspx

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GaryMoller.com - Health, Fitness - Naturally!: Is there a better ...

A morbidly obese teenager and her mother consult a weight-loss surgeon about bariatric surgery for weight loss. ?The surgeon advises mother and daughter that she is a good candidate for surgery; however, she needs to lose at least 10kg before they can safely do the procedure.

Mother and daughter leave the consultation rooms with excitement and are straight into diet and exercise to shed those excess kilograms.

Three months later, they are back at the consultation rooms where the weigh-in shows that she has lost over 15kg! ?"Wonderful results!", she is told. ?"We can now proceed with the surgery".

Now what's morally and professionally wrong about this story? ?Of course, the young woman and her mother should have been told to go away and lose another 10kg, and then another. ?Bariatric surgery, in her case, would have been unnecessary, if she had been keep on her present course of voluntary weight loss.

Instead the surgery went ahead. ?She would have lost weight from the surgery but been shouldered with a lifetime of dependence on vitamin pills, B vitamin injections and chronic health problems over the short and longterm.

My observation of bypass surgery is that there are initial and often dramatic weight losses, along with improvements in related health problems like diabetes and joint pain. ?However; much of these benefits are cancelled out as the years progress. ?Issues related to malnutrition begin to take hold, diabetes reappears, deathly fatigue sets in, as does depression, blood pressure may be sky-high and the weight may gradually begin creeping upwards. ?What also creeps up are the number and potency of medications - blood pressure pills, diabetes medication and antidepressants are some of the most frequently prescribed.

Health issues that develop years after a procedure are often dismissed as unrelated

Bariatric surgery costs approximately $20,000 in New Zealand. ?This does not include the cost of treating the not so infrequent complications that can be many times more expensive than the initial surgery.

Not measured are the social consequences that may cancel out some of the benefits of weight loss. ?In some societies, it is an insult not to heartily tuck into the meal prepared by your host. ?Dating usually involves sitting down and enjoying a meal prepared by the suitor, or relaxing in a fine-dining restaurant. ?Socialising with your workmates may including downing a beer or two. ?It is not relaxing to know you may have to leave the room, sometime through the meal to vomit. ?It may be easier to avoid the discomfort and embarrassment of such occasions and remain a house hermit.

Obesity usually runs through a family. ?The father having the surgery does nothing for the rest of the family, including the children.

Treat the family dynamics - not the individual!

My healthy alternative to bariatric surgery

If I was approached by the Government, which now funds these operations out of tax-payer dollars, what would I do with $20,000? ?Here's an example of the plan:

Treat the entire family - not the individual

This is self-explanatory and common-sense. ?If family dynamics relating to eating, exercise and socialising are ?not taken into account, then failure is certain.

Be sensitive to ethnic needs

Eating is central to most societies and social occasions and food choices are important. ?These must be taken into account when counselling on food choices and eating practices.?

Correct metabolic imbalances and better manage any health issues

This is done with a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis. ?No need to say more about this as there is plenty to read about this on my blog.

Assign a personal chef and a nutritionist to the family

The nutritionist would visit the family to analyse their diet, organise their pantry and take them on shopping expeditions. ?There would be weekly home visits to ensure progress and compliance.

The chef would be in the home each evening for the first week, teaching the family how to cook healthy meals. ?This would reduce to once or twice a week thereafter.

Assign a personal trainer

Every morning at 6am their personal trainer will be knocking on the door to take the family through their paces. ?This may be a brisk walk in the morning sun or a strenuous cross-fit class.

Duration

We would go pretty hard-out for three months. ?It takes at least eight weeks for old habits to be replaced by new, healthy ones, so 12 weeks is sensible. ?After three months there will be a gradual withdrawal of the service gradually cutting the family loose to be fully independent of outside help.

Can I do this all for $20,000? ?I could do it for half that - But I'll take the 20k, thanks.

"Sounds like a good plan, Gary, so what's stopping you?"

It will never happen. ?It is pure fantasy. ?People have been brain-washed into expecting the easy quick-fix. ?They have been soothed into a sense of false security about the safety and the wonders of high-technology medical solutions. ?I don't wear a white coat. ?In addition, all the funding has been?corralled?by a small group of elite professionals and there is no way hopeful interlopers, like Gary Moller, are ever going to get their dirty little hands on THEIR money!

Source: http://blog.garymoller.com/2012/11/is-there-better-alternative-for-weight.html

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Consumers to spend less if middle-class taxes rise: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A White House report says that if that Congress allows taxes to go up on middle-class families, consumers will spend $200 billion less in 2013.

The report by the White House's National Economic Council and Council of Economic Advisers, released on Monday, was the latest salvo by President Barack Obama to encourage lawmakers to extend tax cuts for families making less than $250,000 a year and fix a tax aimed at making sure wealthy people pay a minimum amount.

The newly re-elected Democratic president is negotiating with Republicans in Congress over the "fiscal cliff" - a combination of tax increases and spending cuts that would go into effect next year if the two sides do not reach a deal to stop it.

While the White House and Republican leaders wrangle over raising taxes on the wealthy - a key campaign promise of the president's - Obama would like Congress to pass measures now to lock in lower tax rates for the middle class, the primary constituency he courted in his re-election campaign.

"The president has called on Congress to act now on extending all income tax cuts for 98 percent of American families and not to hold the middle-class and our economy hostage over a disagreement on tax cuts for households with incomes over $250,000 per year," the report said. "The Senate has passed this bill and the president is ready to sign it."

The White House also wants lawmakers to fix the alternative minimum tax, which was set up decades ago so that wealthy Americans could not avoid taxes using legal tax breaks and loopholes. The AMT was not indexed for inflation and has to be updated or "patched" every year to avoid sweeping in millions of less affluent taxpayers.

"Allowing the middle-class tax rates to rise and failing to patch the Alternative Minimum Tax could cut the growth of real consumer spending by 1.7 percentage points in 2013," the report said.

"This sharp rise in middle-class taxes and the resulting decline in consumption could slow the growth of real GDP by 1.4 percentage points, which is consistent with recently published estimates from the Congressional Budget Office."

The CEA estimated that consumers would spend nearly $200 billion less next year as a result of higher taxes. The drop would hurt the retail industry, which has accounted for nine percent of employment growth since the U.S. recession ended in June 2009, the report said.

(Editing by Fred Barbash and Jackie Frank)

Source

Source: http://finance.blogrange.com/finance-news/consumers-to-spend-less-if-middle-class-taxes-rise-white-house/

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Casey Anthony detectives overlooked Google search

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) ? The Florida sheriff's office that investigated the disappearance of Casey Anthony's 2-year-old daughter overlooked evidence that someone in their home did a Google search for "fool-proof" suffocation methods on the day the girl was last seen alive.

Orange County sheriff's Capt. Angelo Nieves said Sunday that the office's computer investigator missed the June 16, 2008, search. The agency's admission was first reported by Orlando television station WKMG. It's not known who performed the search. The station reported it was done on a browser primarily used by the 2-year-old's mother, Casey Anthony, who was acquitted of the girl's murder in 2011.

Anthony's attorneys argued during trial that Casey Anthony helped her father, George Anthony, cover up the girl's drowning in the family pool.

WKMG reports that sheriff's investigators pulled 17 vague entries only from the computer's Internet Explorer browser, not the Mozilla Firefox browser commonly used by Casey Anthony. More than 1,200 Firefox entries, including the suffocation search, were overlooked.

Whoever conducted the Google search looked for the term "fool-proof suffication," misspelling "suffocation," and then clicked on an article about suicide that discussed taking poison and putting a bag over one's head.

The browser then recorded activity on the social networking site MySpace, which was used by Casey Anthony but not her father.

A computer expert for Anthony's defense team found the search before the trial. Her lead attorney, Jose Baez, first mentioned the search in his book about the case but suggested it was George Anthony who conducted the search after Caylee drowned because he wanted to kill himself.

Not knowing about the computer search, prosecutors had argued Caylee was poisoned with chloroform and then suffocated by duct tape placed over her mouth and nose. The girl's body was found six months after she disappeared in a field near the family home and was too decomposed for an exact cause of death to be determined.

Prosecutors presented evidence that someone in the Anthony home searched online for how to make chloroform, but Casey Anthony's mother, Cindy, claimed on the witness stand that she had done the searches by mistake while looking up information about chlorophyll.

Many jurors apparently went into hiding amid public outrage over the verdict and refused to comment, but two have said prosecutors couldn't conclusively prove how Caylee died.

Prosecutors Linda Drane Burdick and Jeff Ashton didn't respond to emails from The Associated Press on Sunday.

But Ashton told WKMG that "it's just a shame we didn't have it. This certainly would have put the accidental death claim in serious question."

Baez didn't respond to phone or email messages Sunday from The Associated Press but told WKMG that he expected prosecutors to bring up the search at trial.

"When they didn't, we were kind of shocked," Baez, who no longer represents Anthony, told the station. Her attorney, Cheney Mason, who was also on the trial team, didn't return an email message from AP Sunday, and his office answering service refused to take a phone message.

The sheriff's office didn't consult the FBI or Florida Department of Law Enforcement for help searching the computer in the Anthony case, a mistake investigators have learned from, Nieves said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/casey-anthony-detectives-overlooked-google-search-153900682.html

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BitTorrent?s Matt Mason On Rethinking The Music Industry Business Model: ?The Hustle Is Changing?

It's been a big year for BitTorrent, said Matt Mason, the company's executive director of marketing. Mason and his team have been working with big names like DJ Shadow and Tim Ferriss to figure out how to turn filesharing into a source of revenue. I met with Mason (who also wrote The Pirate's Dilemma) last week to discuss how BitTorrent can work with the music industry and the company's plans for next year. Mason joined BitTorrent?almost exactly a year ago, and since then, the company has run a total of 16 artist campaigns. It hasn't found the One True Solution to monetizing music yet, and Mason said the answer won't come in the next few months, but the next quarter "will get us closer."

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/d8UQJUN9vMA/

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'Wigglo Pets' Creator Makes Generous Donation | KEYT.com - News ...

Story Created: Nov 23, 2012 at 8:52 PM PST

Story Updated: Nov 23, 2012 at 8:53 PM PST

A talented entrepreneur is seeing to it that her new toy creation will end up in some stockings belonging to the less fortunate. It's another example of what's right in our community.

Fourth grade business owner Maya Grace is donating 25 of her 'Wigglo Pets' creations to Unity Shoppe in Santa Barbara. The furry hand-sized toys have a unique ability to respond to a person's touch. Maya creates each one by hand in her family's garage.

Maya has always used her art as a way to help others. The Goleta 4th grader has sold some of her other art creations to help tsunami victims in Haiti and the Santa Barbara Humane Society. Now comes her latest act of generosity just in time for the holidays.

Watch KEY News tonight at 11 for a live report.

Source: http://www.keyt.com/news/local/Wigglo-Pets-Creator-Makes-Generous-Donation-180659861.html

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Fils-Aime: Just one game purchase makes Wii U profitable - AfterDawn

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Nov 2012 1:41

Apple has been ordered by a federal judge to disclose the terms of its patent settlement with HTC.

The ruling was part of Samsung's ongoing war with Apple over hardware and software patents relating to the Galaxy line of smartphones and the iPhone and iPad.

Judge Paul Grewal ruled a copy of the agreement must be released to Samsung under an "attorneys-eyes-only" designation, keeping it out of the public's eye: "HTC is not entitled to special treatment, especially when it has recognized the general sufficiency of the protective order and the integrity of Samsung's outside counsel."

HTC and Apple recently agreed to a 10-year licensing deal. Reports stated HTC now owes Apple between $6-$8 per smartphone sold but HTC CEO Peter Chou denied the reports, calling them "outrageous."

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Nov 2012 1:12

According to investment bank UBS, Samsung is likely to ship over 60 million smartphones this quarter.

The record number will be fueled by the popularity of the Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy S III.

Samsung shipped 58 million units in the third quarter.

UBS says shipments will reach 61.5 million for the quarter, and could reach as high as 63 million depending on sell-through.

Reads the report: "The Galaxy Note 2 has shipped 3 million units in its first five weeks of sales, with sell-through strong in Asia and Europe, and the U.S. gathering pace post-launch. We hence forecast 7 million Galaxy Note 2, compared to our initial expectation of 5 million for the fourth quarter."

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Nov 2012 0:01

Instagram has announced that Thanksgiving helped the service smash its previous records for most photos shared.

Over the holiday, fans shared 10 million photos at a rate of 226 per second at its peak.

The total number of photos shared were double that of the average, which fluctuates between 4 and 6 million daily.

Adds Instagram: "We're thrilled to see people use Instagram to share their holidays. Whether celebrating with friends and family or sharing photos with them halfway across the globe, we're excited to see the intimacy and immediacy of the Instagram experience bring us all closer together over this holiday season."

Instagram has over 120 million users and was purchased in April by Facebook.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Nov 2012 21:51

Last week, we reported that the Nexus 4 had a dormant LTE chip built-in alongside its HSPA+ radio.

Last night, videos began showing up on YouTube of Nexus 4 owners in Canada running the phone with LTE enabled. It turns out it was a very simple "hack" to enable it, as well.

By dialing *#*4636#*#*, users are able to select their preferred network type option, whether it be LTE, LTE and GSM or LTE and CDMA.

The videos show that LTE will then work if "Band 4 is available." Telus, Rogers and Bell in Canada use AWS 2100 / 1700MHz LTE bands. AT&T in the U.S. does not use the band, but T-Mobile USA is building their LTE network with Band 4 for next year.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Nov 2012 21:15

Nokia, which is trying to return to relevancy in the smartphone market, has lost one of its top executives.

Head of camera and imaging Damian Dinning has left the company, reveals Amateur Photographer. Dinning was the man behind PureView and other Nokia innovations relating to the camera.

Noted Nokia of the exec's decision: "Following the relocation of key strategic roles to Finland, and with great reluctance, Damian Dinning has made a personal decision to leave the company effective 30 November 2012.

During the past nine years, [Damian] has made many innovative and valuable contributions to Nokia, most recently as a lead program manager in our Smart Devices business.We thank him for his service to the company and certainly wish him the best."

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Nov 2012 20:52

According to the hit-or-miss Taiwan-based Digitimes, manufacturers are increasing their demand for Apple chips for an early launch of the fifth-generation iPad and also the iPhone 5S.

The sources, which are supposedly Apple suppliers, are preparing for launches of the new devices by May of next year.

Reads the report: "Apple is expected to introduce its next-generation iPad and iPhone series around the middle of 2013, which will boost demand for ICs in particular communications related chips during the latter half of the first quarter, according to the observers."

Component orders will rise significantly between March and April of next year, adds the site.

As has been the rumor, Samsung will no longer supply all of the A-series chips seen in iOS devices, with Apple moving production to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Nov 2012 20:34

According to a new report, Fujifilm will have 1TB optical discs by 2015.

The company has developed a new recording method that can reach 25GB per layer, with double sided discs between up to 20 layers.

Current Blu-rays offer the same capacity per layer (25GB) but only go as high as 100GB for special Blu-ray XL discs.

Fujifilm will look to commercialize the technology by 2015. The new method involves "two-photon absorption technology to increase the number of layers and it employs a 405nm Ti/S laser."

If allowed to evolve, the tech can eventually offer a capacity of 15TB.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Nov 2012 2:11

Just weeks after they began banning file-sharing hosts, Paypal has extended the bans to major Usenet services, citing piracy concerns.

Outside of banning the providers, the company has also frozen the assets in the accounts.

A few of the Usenet providers banned are XSUsenet, EasyUsenet and Usenet4U with smaller services being banned, as well.

The providers can now no longer accept Paypal payments and their funds have been frozen for the next 180 days.

Paypal recently banned major file sharing sites like Putlocker and Mediafire, for not adhering to their new rules regarding file sharing. Putlocker even explained to TF that Paypal demanded that they be given full access to the backend of the site, to see all files that are being uploaded, regardless of the privacy settings of the user.

View the rules here:

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Nov 2012 1:44

Mozilla has killed the 64-bit version of Firefox before it ever became widely available.

Engineering Manager Benjamin Smedberg posted the decision in a discussion thread titled "Turning off win64 builds."

Smedberg did post the reasons, with most making sense (via TNW):

Many plugins are not available in 64-bit versions.
The plugins that are available don't work correctly in Firefox because we haven't implemented things like windowproc hooking, which means that hangs are more common.
Crashes submitted by 64-bit users are currently not high priority because we are working on other things.
This is frustrating for users because they feel (and are!) second-class.
It is also frustrating for stability team triage because crash-stats does not easily distinguish between 32-bit and 64-bit builds in the topcrash lists and other reports. We basically ignore a set of nightly "topcrashes" because they are 64-bit only. (See bug 811051).

Read more...

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Nov 2012 1:24

According to Win App Update, the Windows 8 Store has reached 20,000 apps, with most being free.

The company says about 18,000 of the apps are free, and also notes that not every country's store will have that number. In fact, the U.S. only has 13,000, Canada has 14,000 and the UK has 11,000 apps available.

Previous reported from earlier this month had the entire Store at 13,000 apps, so it appears growth has been increasing.

If the current rate continues, the store will hit about 35,000 by the end of the year.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Nov 2012 1:01

Amazon has announced this week that Instant Video is now available to Wii U owners.

The console launched on the 18th, and Netflix and Hulu Plus released apps for the system over the last couple of days.

Interested parties can download the free app from the console's home screen or through the eShop.

Amazon Instant Video offers access to 140,000 movies and TV episodes for purchase or rental. Additionally, if you are an Amazon Prime subscriber, you also have streaming access to 30,000 movies and shows for free.

As with other streaming services for Wii U, you can use the 6.2-inch GamePad to browse for titles or even playback the titles on the tablet screen.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Nov 2012 0:12

The French cyber-warfare agency has accused the U.S. of hacking into former president Nicolas Sarkozy's PCs.

Computers of the president and close advisers including the Chief of Staff Musca were compromised in May by a virus that the agency claims is similar to the "Flame" virus that took down Iran's nuclear centrifuges.

Supposedly, the hacking took place just days before the presidential elections in which Sarkozy lost to socialist newcomer Francois Hollande.

President Obama's administration denied the allegations: "We categorically deny the allegations by unnamed sources that the U.S. government participated in a cyberattack against the French government. France is one of our strongest allies.

"Our outstanding cooperation in intelligence sharing, law enforcement and cyber defense has never been stronger, and remains essential in successfully combating the common threat of extremism."

Another official called the accusation "preposterous."

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Nov 2012 22:32

HTC's new DROID DNA flagship is now available via Verizon Wireless.

The biggest selling point of the phone is its 1920x1080 resolution Super LCD 3 display with 440 ppi, easily the highest pixel density available on a smartphone. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 2.

HTC has packed the phone with a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro at 1.5GHz, 2GB RAM and a "high-end GPU."

Additionally, the phone runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with HTC Sense 4 on top. The hardware includes dual cameras, 2.1/8MP and camera features like HTC ImageSense and the HTC ImageChip. The front-side camera is "f/2.0, 88-degree, ultra-wide angle that allows more to be captured in self-portraits, and up to four people for group shots." NFC and LTE support are built-in. As with all HTC devices, Beats Audio is built in, promising better bass, midrange and highs.

Read more...

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Nov 2012 22:02

Grand Theft Auto V, set for release during the Spring of next year, is a PS3 and Xbox 360 exclusive, at least at launch.

Today, a Rockstar Games exec has stated that the developer is at least considering Wii U and PC versions of the game, much to the delight of fans of the different platforms.

Added Rockstar Vice President Dan Houser: "We are a third-party publisher. We're not Nintendo, we're not Sony, we're not Microsoft. We love all of them in different ways. But we can do what we want wherever there's the appropriate business opportunity and chance to find a market.

Some other people talk about the limitations of the [current] hardware. We don't feel there are that many limitations. We feel we can do some very impressive stuff and do it for a large audience. This felt like the way."

Read more...

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Nov 2012 20:58

Adding the iPhone to their device portfolio would force the carrier to make major sacrifices, says a T-Mobile executive.

Having the iPhone would likely lead to a decent boost in customers for the struggling carrier, which offers the best prices on monthly plans.

"Make no mistake about it: We would love to carry the iPhone. However, we want the economies to be right for us," added Jim Alling, COO of T-Mobile USA (via FW).

MetroPCS, the carrier T-Mobile USA is merging with, had similar comments on the smartphone, with COO Tom Keys saying: "It would be harmful to MetroPCS to have to cut out part of our handset portfolio to accommodate one phone from one provider that the economics could be at risk."

Alling also noted that T-Mobile certainly did not want to make a deal like rival Sprint recently made. The company signed a four-year, $15.5 billion deal last year to sell iPhones. Having that contract has put a massive burden on Sprint, who does not expect to see any profit from the Apple device until at least 2015.

Read more...

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Nov 2012 18:10

According to new court documents, Megaupload helped the U.S. in its investigation into NinjaVideo, which was later shut down for good.

This was all 18 months before Kim Dotcom and the company's other operators were indicted, with the popular file hosting site being taken down for good, as well.

In June 2010, the U.S. issued a warrant to search Megaupload's servers in Virginia as part of an investigation into NinjaVideo, a piracy streaming site that used Megaupload's own "Megavideo" service. The government kept it secret, telling Megaupload to do the same.

Kim Dotcom lawyer Ira Rothken said the service "responded as good corporate citizens," turning over information about the five alleged NinjaVideo operators, "as well as database information on the 39 pirated movies detailed in the warrant." The information helped lead to indictments of all five top NinjaVideo administrators.

Adds Rothken: "Megaupload complied with the warrant and cooperated with the government's request. Megaupload had gotten a number of such warrant and subpoena type requests a year and still have an expectation that as classic 'online service providers' they are immune from liability for the acts of users who are the target of such warrants and subpoenas."

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Nov 2012 23:30

Since the release of the Galaxy S III, rumors for next year's Galaxy S IV have been trickling in and today we have some more.

Allegedly, the phone will have a 5-inch, 1080p display. Additionally, the device will run on a quad-core Cortex A15 chip, the Exynos 5450.

The Exynos is built by Samsung itself, moving away from Qualcomm-made chips like the Snapdragon. The new Nexus 10 and the latest Chromebook already use similar chips.

Furthermore, the camera will be 13MP and include some more new and improved Samsung software.

Regardless, we will not know for sure about the new device until MWC next February.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Nov 2012 23:13

Last week, we reported about an unfortunate bug with the new Android 4.2 operating system found on the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, and new Nexus tablets.

In the stock People/Contacts app, the month of December is completely missing, making it impossible to add events or birthdays for any contacts if that occasion is in December.

The bug was added to the bug tracker but Google has finally widely acknowledged the issue:

"We discovered a bug in the Android 4.2 update, which makes it impossible to enter December events in optional fields of the People app (this bug did not affect Calendar). Rest assured, this will be fixed soon so that those of you with December birthdays and anniversaries won't be forgotten by your friends and family."

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Nov 2012 22:26

Although Valve has not confirmed, sources claim Steam will start a week-long fall sale starting tomorrow.

Additionally, the company will have a winter sale from December 20th until January 4th.

The report comes via Tam?s Bak?, CEO of Artery Studios and the creator of Secret of the Magic Crystal.

Bak? notes that they will be selling the game for $1.99 during the promotion, aiming at selling 50,000 copies.

Steam has numerous sales over the year, with each slashing prices on 50-100 games by as much as 80 percent.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Nov 2012 21:17

Two weeks ago, Apple and HTC announced an end to their global patent war, agreeing to a 10-year licensing agreement.

Last week, Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said industry sources told him Apple will get between $6-$8 for every HTC phone sold. Today, HTC has slammed that report, calling it outrageous.

"I think that these estimates are baseless and very, very wrong. It is a outrageous number, but I'm not going to comment anything on a specific number. I believe we have a very, very happy settlement and a good ending," said HTC CEO Peter Chou at a KDDI Corp product launch in Tokyo.

Neither company has disclosed the terms of the agreement which will have HTC pay royalties to license certain Apple patents related to smartphones for the next ten years.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Nov 2012 21:00

In a slap to the face of privacy, a new Senate proposal will let government agencies read your emails without warrant.

A vote on the bill, which was recently re-written by Patrick Leahy, the influential Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, is set for next week.

Cnet has pinpointed all the new changes to the bill:

* Grants warrantless access to Americans' electronic correspondence to over 22 federal agencies. Only a subpoena is required, not a search warrant signed by a judge based on probable cause.
*Permits state and local law enforcement to warrantlessly access Americans' correspondence stored on systems not offered "to the public," including university networks.
* Authorizes any law enforcement agency to access accounts without a warrant -- or subsequent court review -- if they claim "emergency" situations exist.
* Says providers "shall notify" law enforcement in advance of any plans to tell their customers that they've been the target of a warrant, order, or subpoena.
* Delays notification of customers whose accounts have been accessed from 3 days to "10 business days." This notification can be postponed by up to 360 days.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Nov 2012 20:31

Not really a news piece but a funny tidbit from the rest of the Web.

It appears that Apple has a specialist who's named Sam Sung. The picture of the employee's business card comes from The Loop.

Sam Sung is employed at the Pacific Centre Apple Store in Vancouver, British Columbia.

As is obvious, Apple's biggest rival and the other half of their global patent war is Korea's Samsung Electronics.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Nov 2012 20:17

John McAfee, anti-virus software pioneer and potential bath salts junkie, has written this week on his blog that he is offering $25,000 to anyone who helps capture the murderer of expat Gregory Faull.

Faull was murdered last week near his home in Belize and the story was broken that McAfee was the lead suspect in the case.

Since then, McAfee has been in hiding but also blogging about his adventure, including how he dresses in disguises daily. One such disguise is a Guatemalan street vendor with a limp. He has said the charges against him are a vendetta for his refusal to donate money to Belize's ruling United Democratic Party.

For now, McAfee says he wants to find justice for Faull's murder and is willing to do so monetarily.

The developer told interviewers two years ago that his once $100 million fortune had dwindled to $4 million due to the financial crisis in 2008.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Nov 2012 17:18

Xbox World, which is set to cease publication after their December issue, has published a large 8-page feature showing off "everything" they know about the upcoming Xbox 8/Xbox 720/Xbox Next/Xbox/Durango.

The magazine has a good track record for Microsoft Xbox leaks, but with no official confirmation until next year, at least, take everything written with a grain of salt.

Says editor-in-chief Dan Dawkins (via CVG): "Xbox World has been at the cutting edge of Durango coverage for over 12 months. Unless something really dramatic changes, everything we reveal in our penultimate issue will be revealed long before E3 in June."

The mag speculates Microsoft will name the upcoming console simply "Xbox," similar to how Apple has stopped numbering their iPad tablets.

With its release, the new Xbox will introduce Kinect 2.0, Blu-ray support, directional audio, a TV output and input, a new 'innovative controller' and finally, augmented reality glasses (to be released in 2014/15).

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Nov 2012 15:39

One of the remaining major holdouts has made their music available via iTunes.

Rock band AC/DC has made all 25 albums available through the online digital download store, and you can also buy the tracks individually.

In 2011, the band said they would not make their music available unless it was sold only as full albums, not a la carte. Back in 2008, the company said iTunes would likely 'kill music,' taking a hardline stance.

Since then, it appears the band has had a change of heart and will now sell the tracks, albums, LP versions, live versions and two "digital box-sets,' a Studio Collection and a more expensive Complete Collection. Additionally, the band has "sold out" completely and will offer ringtones, as well.

Recently, another major holdout, Kid Rock, finally made his music available on iTunes, as well.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Nov 2012 15:17

According to Appsfire, Apple has now seen 1 million apps submitted to the marketplace since launch in July 2008.

The count includes all iOS apps (iPad and iPhone) and does not include Mac App Store applications.

736,247 are currently live in the App Store, with 336,270 being paid. Of the total, 120,065 are games says the report.

The store has seen 35 billion downloads in four years and is accessed by nearly all of Apple's 400 million users.

It may be some time until Apple sees 1 million live apps, since many have been removed by Apple or the developers themselves, and others have been taken down by copyright notices. Some have also been rejected right from the get go.

Rival Android has reached 25 billion downloads and has over 650,000 live apps.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Nov 2012 14:59

Just a week ago, Microsoft announced that DirectX 11.1 will be a Windows 8 exclusive. The company said there were no plans to make it available for Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7, either.

Today, however, it seems the company has given in to critics, and will make some features available to those with Windows 7.

Microsoft says the following features will be added to W7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, as well:

ID3D11Device1, ID2D1Factory1, IDWriteFactory1, IDXGIFactory2, IWICImagingFactory2, ID3DUserDefinedAnnotation and related APIs are available
Improved Direct3D 11 device interoperability via ID3DDeviceContextState, including the improved interop with Direct2D/DirectWrite
D3D11_FEATURE_DATA_D3D9_OPTIONS feature detection
In addition to the new Windows 8 WIC features, this update also fixes decoding of 96bpp floating-point TIFF images.

Everything else will remain a Windows 8 exclusive.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Nov 2012 13:20

According to sources, the upcoming Mac OS X 10.9 will integrate Siri and Apple Maps from its iOS counterpart.

So far, these sources have tested early builds of the operating system, and say the Siri voice command software works very similar to iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad.

Currently, Macs with Mountain Lion have access to "Dictation," which uses the same hardware and software infrastructure as Siri.

Furthermore, Apple will look to integrate the oft-criticized Apple Maps into the OS X framework for developers. Devs will then be able to embed a map into their applications for the Mac App Store.

More official word on OS X 10.9 is expected by February.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Nov 2012 12:54

According to Business Insider, MySpace is trying to raise $50 million in funding so it can re-invent itself as a rival to Pandora and Spotify.

An ad company called Specific Media purchased MySpace from News Corp. for $35 million. In 2005, News Corp and its CEO Rupert Murdoch purchased the social network for $580 million. With the launch of Facebook, MySpace largely disappeared, outside of its music streaming capabilities.

After changing their name to Interactive Media Holdings and taking new funding from venture capitalists and even Justin Timberlake, MySpace's traffic has grown 36 percent since December 2011. Despite the traffic boost, revenues are still low and the company expects MySpace to lose $25 million next year.

According to their new plans, however, Interactive has some big plans, looking to become a music alternative to Spotify and Pandora. The company will need $50 million in new funding, with $10 million going to marketing and $25 million going to licensing deals with the labels. The rest is slated for "general working capital," as can be expected.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Nov 2012 11:56

Intel CEO Paul Otellini has announced today that he will be retiring from the company next year.

Otellini will step down in May, giving enough time for the company to forge a succession plan.

After 8 years as CEO and almost 40 years with the company itself, the executive says it was time to move on. He wil end all day-to-day duties but will be available in an "advisor" capacity into the future.

Intel board of directors chairman Andy Bryant added: "Paul Otellini has been a very strong leader, only the fifth CEO in the company's great 45-year history, and one who has managed the company through challenging times and market transitions."

The company has yet to select a new CEO.

Concludes Otellini:

I've been privileged to lead one of the world's greatest companies. After almost four decades with the company and eight years as CEO, it's time to move on and transfer Intel's helm to a new generation of leadership. I look forward to working with Andy, the board and the management team during the six-month transition period, and to being available as an advisor to management after retiring as CEO.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Nov 2012 11:43

Windows Phone 8 users have been reporting that their new devices are being hit with random reboots and freezing issues, certainly not something Microsoft or the phone manufacturers want to hear.

While the numbers are not great given the amount of phones that have supposedly been sold, they are large enough that at least Nokia has responded. A thread in their support forum over Lumia 920 freezing has run to 4 pages.

Most of the problems have been reported for the HTC 8X and Lumia 920, which are the two most popular WP8 devices. Blame has been slung everywhere for the issue, with some blaming the Facebook app, others blaming HTC hub and others blaming NFC applications.

Nokia had this response: "There have been reports of a small number of people experiencing this unusual performance on their Nokia Lumia 920. We are investigating but suspect some apps may be at the root of the issue when left running in the background. While we learn more, we advise people when finished with an application to navigate away using the back button to ensure it is no longer active."

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Nov 2012 11:16

Earlier this week, AndroidPolice discovered an unfortunate bug with the new Android 4.2 operating system found on the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, and new Nexus tablets.

In the stock People/Contacts app, the month of December is completely missing, making it impossible to add events or birthdays for any contacts if that occasion is in December.

The site says the bug has been reported to the Android bug tracker as bug #39692 with Google acknowledging it over the weekend:

Adds the site: "After digging through the AOSP source, I think the bug can be likely found in one of these commits, probably in the packages/apps/Contacts/src/com/android/contacts/datepicker/DatePicker.java file - if you spot it, definitely drop a note in the comments. I think it has to do with adjusting for indexes that start with 0 - "off by 1" bugs are quite common."

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Nov 2012 11:05

Just hours after launch, AnandTech has given the Nintendo Wii U a proper teardown.

First off, the site says the hardware seems repair-friendly, with an easy to open chassis. That being said, there are a few delicate connections that are soldered together, however.

Under the hood, the Wii U has 2GB of DDR3-1600 RAM, doubling the peak bandwidth of its predecessor, at 12.8GB/s.

The Wii U optical drive, as reported earlier this year, is a proprietary format for game storage, but matching low-end Blu-ray storage at 25GB per disc. The site says "max sequential read speeds are pretty high compared to the current gen consoles at 22MB/s."

There is a multicore PowerPC processor and a large GPU with supposedly high amounts of eDRAM.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 18 Nov 2012 20:34

For the third quarter, Android powered ahead in its smartphone market share dominance, says research firm Gartner.

Android accounted for 72.4 percent of all smartphones sold during the quarter, up from 52.2 percent during the same period in 2011.

Samsung led the way, selling 55 million smartphones of a total of 136 million sold. Apple saw strong growth, as well, selling 23.5 million iPhones, however overall share fell from 15 percent in 2011 to 13.9 percent for this quarter.

"The pace of innovation in Android is faster than Apple," said Gartner vice president of mobile computing Ken Dulaney. "They are just trying harder; Apple is way behind in that area. What you get with Android is this incredible feedback loop with developers, equipment makers, customers, and designers.

"At Apple, as long as they have a great vision internally it is fine but they don't have the feedback Android does."

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 18 Nov 2012 17:53

AT&T has announced that their 4G LTE network deployment is moving well ahead of schedule.

The network is available in 24 new markets as of this weekend, now covering 152 million people.

By the end of 2013, the carrier says it wants to reach 250 million people and then 300 million by the end of 2014. At the end of 2011, AT&T covered just 75 million Americans.

Rival Verizon currently covers more people and has plans to reach over 300 million by the end of next year.

However, AT&T has HSPA+ for those in non-LTE coverage areas, which offers 4G-esque speeds for those with 3G-capable devices, including all iPhones before this year's iPhone 5.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 18 Nov 2012 16:27

According to Paul Thurrott, sales of Windows 8 PCs are well below the company's internal projections.

Perhaps more notably, the well-known Microsoft insider says the company has been blaming PC makers for their lackluster designs and availability.

More specifically, the source blames PC makers' "inability to deliver," extremely strong words that completely justifies Microsoft's move into building their own hardware, the Surface.

Additionally, the software giant has been looking to expand their Microsoft retail stores, which could put them in even bigger competition with their hardware partners.

Another potential reason for the slow sales is the confusing different versions of Windows, most notably the Windows RT seen on the Surface tablet. There has been widespread confusion on the differences between RT and the upcoming Windows 8 Pro. RT can only use apps built for RT, unlike Pro which can run on AMD or Intel chips and has access to the hundreds of thousands of Windows legacy applications.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 18 Nov 2012 15:28

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has said Amazon will one day be a real competitor to them, but they will need to keep spending to do so.

The executive says Amazon has been losing up to $1 billion a year as it looks to acquire streaming video content rights.

Hastings based his numbers on content deals that Amazon won over Netflix when they competed head to head earlier this year and last year.

Netflix says it will spend $2.1 billion next year on content.

According to recent figures, Amazon Prime only controls 1.8 percent of Internet traffic compared to Netflix's 33 percent. Netflix has over 27 million subscribers, paying $8 per month for the service. Amazon has not revealed how many Prime members they have. Prime costs $79 per year and includes unlimited streaming and free 2-day shipping on all Amazon-sold products.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 18 Nov 2012 15:10

Earlier this week, Google began selling its new LG Nexus 4, the latest in the vanilla Android Nexus line.

While the phone has been met with good critical success, the main deterrent for the device is its lack of LTE support. While LTE may not be everywhere in the U.S., the major carriers all plan to blanket the nation by the end of next year.

iFixit has completed their teardown of the device, and strangely found an LTE radio chip.

The chip is the Qualcomm WTR1605L, which supports all known LTE networks around the world, but remains dormant as the phone uses a pentaband HSPA+ chip instead.

While the dormant chip is certainly interesting, there is very little devs can do with it. iFixit says there is no LTE power amplifier on board, and they believe the chip may be permanently disabled.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 18 Nov 2012 14:49

With high demand and seemingly tight supply, the Nintendo Wii U has gone on sale today in the U.S.

The console is the first of the next generation of systems, and is notable for its use of a tablet-esque controller, dubbed the GamePad. Additionally, the company will add a new TV-viewing service next month, called TVii.

"The value of Wii U goes well beyond day one," says Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo's North America president. "Nintendo will be enhancing the Wii U experience with continuous updates and new services for Wii U owners."

While analysts have suggested that Nintendo should move away from hardware and concentrate on making games based on their extremely popular characters (Pokemon, Mario, Link, etc) for smartphones and tablets, executives will not even consider it. Instead, the company continues to innovate on the hardware side, looking to create a "ground breaking experience," notes Fils-Aime.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 18 Nov 2012 14:31

Xbox Live has turned 10 years old this weekend.

In addition to the significant milestone, Microsoft has announced that the timing coincides with a new record for the service, as well.

"I'm proud to announce that during the week of Nov. 6 through Nov. 13, our members spent more time on Xbox LIVE (gaming and watching entertainment) than any other week in the history of our service: a total of 442 million hours," added Major Nelson.

Xbox Live will live into the future with the Xbox 360 sequel expected next year.

The online service has become an integral part of Microsoft's console ecosystem since its launch with the original Xbox in 2002.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 18 Nov 2012 14:03

Less than a week after two thieves drove out of JFK airport with two pallets of iPad Mini valued at above $1.5 million, a suspect has been charged.

Agents said they arrested Renel Rene Richardson after co-workers said he made "suspicious" inquiries about the shipment before it came in and where to find forklifts in the warehouse.

The tablets were stolen from the same cargo building that was featured in the hit movie "GoodFellas," better known as the Lufthansa heist.

At around midnight last Monday, the thieves used forklifts to load two massive pallets onto a truck before driving off. The original plan had been to take 5 pallets, but they had to leave three after being confronted by an airport worker who was returning from a late dinner.

Richardson has been accused of being the lookout and the man who let the thieves in and out that night.

The iPads have not been recovered as of yet.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 18 Nov 2012 1:35

Although they have not officially announced it, pictures have leaked of the Huawei Ascend W2.

The phone will be the company's first running on Windows Phone 8, unless another rumored Huawei device hits first, the aptly named W1.

While details are scarce, the W2 has a 4.5-inch screen, measures 132 x 67 x 10 mm, has an 8MP camera, and is LTE-ready.

The phone is expected to have a higher-end dual-core processor.

Huawei is one of China's largest smartphone makers, but they have yet to break into the American market dominated by Samsung and Apple.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 Nov 2012 14:33

By the end of this month, the new "six-strikes" Copyright Alert System will go live in the U.S.

Verizon and Time Warner have outlined their plans for repeat pirates, the first of the cable companies to do so.

Time Warner says they will warn subscribers through popup notifications and eventually restrict browsing by in-browser redirects. Verizon will notify alleged pirates via email and even voice mail, and will eventually throttle speeds.

Both companies are part of the Center for Copyright Information (CCI), which was started by the MPAA and RIAA with the major ISPs in America.

For Verizon, the process will be in three stages. The first two alerts will be via email/voice mail informing the alleged pirates that someone on their connection has been flagged for copyright infringements. In the second stage, a pop up is delivered to users who must read and confirm it before it goes away. After that, actual punishments are a possibility, with throttling of Internet speeds occurring. The throttling is temporary, says the ISP, being lifted after 3 days.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 Nov 2012 13:07

Over the last 8 weeks, the once invincible Apple has seen its stock fall almost 30 percent, while the broader stock market fell 9 percent in the same period.

While many stocks see extreme declines over the course of their lifetime, Apple's is most notable given its current valuation.

After a nice 5 percent rebound on Friday, the company is valued at $496 billion, $100 billion more than the second-largest public company in the world and more than Google and Microsoft combined.

Before the drop, the company was valued as high as $660 billion, meaning in just two months the company lost a value of $164 billion, more than the entire worth of Amazon, eBay and Netflix combined. In other words, the drop was significant.

Apple has seen some slowing growth for their products in recent quarters and have been accused of becoming less innovative, especially when compared to Google and Samsung.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 Nov 2012 12:05

Nintendo has announced that the highly-anticipated "TVii" feature will launch next month, and not at launch.

The service, which is for U.S. and Canadian Wii U owners only, places a full TV program guide on the Wii U's touch GamePad, allowing users to view or control programming from cable or satellite.

Additionally, TViii lets users control YouTube and other video on demand services. You can also comment on Twitter, Facebook and Miiverse.

Unfortunately, some of the most popular video-on-demand services will not be available for a few weeks, including Hulu Plus, Netflix and Amazon Instant Video.

The Wii U Basic and Deluxe bundles are set for release tomorrow, with the base model costing $300 and the deluxe edition selling for $350. The base model will include the Wii U console with 8GB memory and the Wii U GamePad in all white. The deluxe edition comes with 32GB and a GamePad charging cradle. Additionally, it will come bundled with the game NintendoLand.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 Nov 2012 11:42

T-Mobile USA, the U.S.' fourth-largest carrier, has said today that it expects only three of the major carriers to make it into the future.

The carrier recently just announced a merger with MetroPCS that should be completed early next year.

Even with the merger, however, the company still trails the big 3 significantly. Verizon and AT&T have over 110 million subscribers each while Sprint has 56 million. T-Mobile with MetroPCS has about 39 million.

"A major part of our strategy is to drive some shift in share amongst the big four, and that's going to be the richest area we see with the greatest return," added CEO John Legere. "There is a near- and medium-term opportunity for us to aggressively grow and take on share."

Legere also specifically named AT&T and Sprint when saying rival carriers have some "challenges with a limited LTE capacity."

More notably, T-Mobile Chief Operating Officer Jim Alling said an industry deal to consolidate the major carriers is likely into the future, but not during the tenure of President Obama. "Is it possible that four major players could go down to three?" Alling added. "I think that is possible, and likely in the longer term. I don't know how likely that is, based on the current regulatory environment."

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Nov 2012 16:23

According to a survey from anti-virus company Avast, most Windows users in the U.S. know what Windows 8 is, but only a few are looking to upgrade to it.

Worse for Microsoft, is the fact that almost one third of those surveyed said they would look to Apple when it came time to upgrade from their Windows XP, Vista or 7 machine.

The survey comes on the heels of Microsoft firing Steve Sinofsky, the longtime head of the Windows division. It remains unclear whether the move was a personality clash between Sinofsky and Ballmer or because of the lukewarm reception to Windows 8.

Avast polled 1.6 million users of its software and received 135,329 responses from U.S. Windows users.

65 percent used Windows 7, 22 percent still used Windows XP and 8 percent used Vista. 60 percent were aware of Windows 8 but just 9 percent "said they would accelerate a decision to buy a new computer just to have Windows 8, while more than 70 percent said they planned to stick with what they have."

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Nov 2012 15:44

According to the WSJ, Google has been in talks with Dish Network to potentially begin offering a new wireless service that would rival major carriers like AT&T and Verizon.

For now, the talks are preliminary and could lead nowhere, say the sources.

Dish has supposedly spoken with multiple companies in recent times, with all discussions remaining in the exploratory stage.

The satellite TV company has been acquiring spectrum since 2008 and it appears they finally want to use it. The wireless network would include cellular service and mobile broadband.

Google would make a great partner, as they also have plans for connecting customers to the Internet, laying fiber networks in Kansas City as a pilot. The fiber network is faster than all existing cable and fiber networks offered by cable companies, and also has no restrictions on bandwidth. Additionally, Google has $45 billion in cash, which could certainly help in acquiring spectrum or building infrastructure.

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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Nov 2012 14:48

According to multiple reports, Google has been distributing a test version of Google Maps for iOS to some beta testers outside of the company.

When completed, Apple will have to accept it into the App Store before iOS users can download it.

A Google spokesman added: "We believe Google Maps are the most comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-use maps in the world. Our goal is to make Google Maps available to everyone who wants to use it, regardless of device, browser, or operating system."

The software should come as a relief to iOS 6 users who may not be happy with the still-buggy Apple Maps released last month. Apple Maps comes pre-installed with all new iOS devices including the iPhone 5, iPad and iPad Mini.

Google Maps remains the golden standard for mobile, and the upcoming app is expected to contain Navigation as it does with Android.

Source: http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2012/11/24/fils-aime_just_one_game_purchase_makes_wii_u_profitable

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