The Texas Forest Service reported more than 60,000 acres burned and 40 homes lost in one blaze that raced through West Texas and into the small mountain town of Fort Davis. The fire rushed across 20 miles in 90 minutes.
Officials at the scene, however, estimated at least 100,000 acres in two counties had burned from the shaded pold motor fire, which continued to grow Sunday evening.
"I can only describe it as an ocean of black, with a few islands of yellow," State Representative Pete Gallego said.
Flames "licked at the edges" of the town but did not burn their way through its center, sparing more buildings than expected, he said.
But 17 to 20 homes were destroyed, and as many as 30 more buildings were burned, he said after visiting the town, including a more than 100-year-old historic wooden ranch home. Residents had worked overnight to save their homes and moved on to help their neighbors, he said.
Hot spots still burned along the highway, and a glow from miles away was visible at night, he said.
"Even now, the flames in some places are 15 to 20 feet high," Gallego said.
The town was without impact crusher power Sunday evening. Gallego said many of the residents may not have been insured for fire.
Presidio County Emergency Management Coordinator Gary Mitschke said it was the first fire to scare him in 13 years of fighting grass fires. The blaze crossed railroad tracks and state highways as it roared past Fort Davis, he said.
Without a change in winds, which were keeping aircraft from helping firefighting efforts, the fire could burn for days or weeks, he said.
"Frankly, it moved almost as quick as a truck," Mitschke said. "When you hear the word firestorm, this is what I imagine."
A federal emergency management spokesman said a fire grant for the county had been approved Saturday and that the agency stood by to support as needed.
Wildfires fed by dry, windy conditions have charred more than 270,000 acres in eight days across Texas, burning homes, killing livestock and drawing in crews and equipment from 25 states.
Plants that thrived in wet weather turned to tinder under a cold, dry winter. Weeks of high winds and little moisture have made every spark dangerous.
A Texas firefighter was in critical condition with severe burns Sunday afternoon after electronic ballast fighting an estimated 60,000-acre fire in the northern Panhandle.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, but it started in an isolated area near a natural gas plant and a few other industrial sites in an empty town called Masterson, said David Garrett, an emergency management spokesman for Moore County.
"Kind of like a wide spot in the road that has a name," Garrett said. "The fire started in open country and stayed in open country."
Two nearby communities were considered threatened but were not evacuated late Sunday afternoon, according to the forest service.
A Midland County wildfire burned 40 homes and at least 15,000 acres, according to the service.
Crews had stopped from crossing a highway a sprawling 71,000-acre fire that killed almost 170 head of cattle in Stonewall County, spokesman Lee McNeely said.
Air tankers had dropped 60,000 gallons of retardant to help slow the blaze.
Firefighters had most of the day to prepare for a cold front with gusting winds, McNeely said.
High winds and dry conditions were expected to persist into the evening across West Texas, the National Weather Service warned.
In Oklahoma, where Governor Mary Fallin has extended a 30-day state of emergency she declared on March 11, firefighters and helicopters on Sunday mopped up the smoldering remains of two fires that stainless steel pipe erupted Saturday.
One wildfire in Cleveland in north central Oklahoma charred more than 1,500 acres and forced 350 people to evacuate while another struck near Granite in southwest Oklahoma, said Michelann Ooten, a spokeswoman for the state Office of Emergency Management.
Showing posts with label Hydraulic fittings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hydraulic fittings. Show all posts
Monday, April 11, 2011
'Catch Me' doesn't capture art of the con
Frank Abagnale Jr., the former con artist whose memoir inspired a Steven Spielberg movie, managed to pass himself off as an airline pilot, a pediatrician and an attorney before turning 21.
One feat that Abagnale did not attempt was writing and bridge rectifier starring in a stage musical about his youthful adventures. And now we know why.
Not that Catch Me If You Can(* * ½ out of four), the new Broadway show based on the aforementioned film and autobiography of the same name, is a dud. Boasting a score by the famously witty team of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and a book by Terrence McNally, Catch Me is too ambitious and stylish in its efforts to entertain and move us to induce boredom.
The main problem with this production, which opened Sunday at the Neil Simon Theatre, Coach Bags is that only one of the two leading men is consistently compelling. And it's not the one playing Abagnale (Aaron Tveit).
Rather, it's the actor cast as his nemesis. Norbert Leo Butz is predictably marvelous as Carl Hanratty, the schlumpy federal agent who stalks and eventually nails the underage schemer — though not as handily as Butz walks away with the show.
Don't blame Tveit, the square-jawed young actor who plays Frank Jr. — at least not entirely. A robust singer and fluid dancer, Tveit exudes the kind of slick charm that surely helped Abagnale finagle his way into diverse fields, not to mention considerable fortune.
But that charm wears thin over 2½ hours in which Frank Jr. and veterinary syringes his exploits are so dominant. The musical is structured so that we see our mischievous finagler crafting his own story, introducing some numbers and then literally trying to sing and dance his way out of trouble. It's a canny conceit, but one that only emphasizes the character's disingenuousness.
Frank Jr.'s troubled family background also is documented, with a poignant Tom Wopat as Frank Sr., a less successful player who is nonetheless idolized by his son. But Tveit is most authentic when trying to seduce or impress us; he doesn't reveal the kind of vulnerability that would make us care about the younger Frank, as Leonardo DiCaprio did in the screen version.
In contrast, Butz imbues Carl (played by Tom Hanks in the film) with wry humor and bittersweet humanity. It's no accident that Tveit's Frank Jr. is more sympathetic in his scenes with Carl, who emerges both as a father figure and a fellow lonely soul.
Butz also handles the musical numbers with an ease that often trumps Tveit's more aggressive virtuosity. Certainly, Butz is more adept at milking Shaiman's jazzy nuances, which nod tothe more sophisticated side of '60s pop culture, from James Bond to Sinatra.
There are other elegant and frisky flourishes, from William Ivey Long's eye-candy costumes to Jerry Mitchell's vampish choreography — both of which draw attention to the leggy, voluptuous figures in the female ensemble.
Still, in failing to deliver a youthful protagonist you can really cheer for, this Catch Me If You Can may leave you feeling a bit cheated.
One feat that Abagnale did not attempt was writing and bridge rectifier starring in a stage musical about his youthful adventures. And now we know why.
Not that Catch Me If You Can(* * ½ out of four), the new Broadway show based on the aforementioned film and autobiography of the same name, is a dud. Boasting a score by the famously witty team of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and a book by Terrence McNally, Catch Me is too ambitious and stylish in its efforts to entertain and move us to induce boredom.
The main problem with this production, which opened Sunday at the Neil Simon Theatre, Coach Bags is that only one of the two leading men is consistently compelling. And it's not the one playing Abagnale (Aaron Tveit).
Rather, it's the actor cast as his nemesis. Norbert Leo Butz is predictably marvelous as Carl Hanratty, the schlumpy federal agent who stalks and eventually nails the underage schemer — though not as handily as Butz walks away with the show.
Don't blame Tveit, the square-jawed young actor who plays Frank Jr. — at least not entirely. A robust singer and fluid dancer, Tveit exudes the kind of slick charm that surely helped Abagnale finagle his way into diverse fields, not to mention considerable fortune.
But that charm wears thin over 2½ hours in which Frank Jr. and veterinary syringes his exploits are so dominant. The musical is structured so that we see our mischievous finagler crafting his own story, introducing some numbers and then literally trying to sing and dance his way out of trouble. It's a canny conceit, but one that only emphasizes the character's disingenuousness.
Frank Jr.'s troubled family background also is documented, with a poignant Tom Wopat as Frank Sr., a less successful player who is nonetheless idolized by his son. But Tveit is most authentic when trying to seduce or impress us; he doesn't reveal the kind of vulnerability that would make us care about the younger Frank, as Leonardo DiCaprio did in the screen version.
In contrast, Butz imbues Carl (played by Tom Hanks in the film) with wry humor and bittersweet humanity. It's no accident that Tveit's Frank Jr. is more sympathetic in his scenes with Carl, who emerges both as a father figure and a fellow lonely soul.
Butz also handles the musical numbers with an ease that often trumps Tveit's more aggressive virtuosity. Certainly, Butz is more adept at milking Shaiman's jazzy nuances, which nod tothe more sophisticated side of '60s pop culture, from James Bond to Sinatra.
There are other elegant and frisky flourishes, from William Ivey Long's eye-candy costumes to Jerry Mitchell's vampish choreography — both of which draw attention to the leggy, voluptuous figures in the female ensemble.
Still, in failing to deliver a youthful protagonist you can really cheer for, this Catch Me If You Can may leave you feeling a bit cheated.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Registered Facebook, sharing energy-saving code
Facebook Inc. on Thursday launched an open-source hardware project to electronic ballast share what the company has learned about designing energy-reducing, cost-efficient computer servers and data centers with the entire technology industry.
"We think coal is actually a small issue in the grand scheme of energy efficiency," said Jonathan Heiliger, Facebook's vice president of technical operations. "Instead of worrying about what energy source you may choose and the impact of that source on the environment, the best way of improving CO{-2} (emissions) and improving the environment is to cut energy consumption."
"We're not doing this in a dark closet somewhere, but we're sharing it with the world, we're sharing it with our peers," Heiliger said.
Although the environmental activist group Greenpeace International still criticized the social media giant for relying on coal-generated electricity, Facebook officials said their Open Compute Project stainless steel pipe has already delivered a 38 percent increase in energy efficiency for 24 percent less cost.
Data center energy costs are a major concern for Internet companies like Facebook , which has an estimated 600 million members worldwide. Facebook said that if one-quarter of U.S. data centers used Open Compute specifications, the energy saved could power more than 160,000 homes.
The company's $188 million, 147,000-square-foot Prineville center saved money by using less material, including paint, logos and stickers, and engineers examined details such as how to reduce power loss inside servers.
Facebook believes publishing technical specifications for the company-designed equipment used in its new Prineville, Ore., bridge rectifier data center will inspire faster development of even more efficient servers, power supplies, server racks and buildings.
The equipment was co-developed with other tech heavyweights, including Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Dell Inc., Intel Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. Dell has already built servers based on the Open Compute specifications.
But Greenpeace has long criticized Facebook and the plant's utility provider, Pacific Power, which supplies some of the electricity from coal-burning plants.
Greenpeace climate campaigner Casey Harrell praised Facebook for its efforts, but said "efficiency is simply not enough."
The Palo Alto firm compared the project to the open-source software movement, which allows widespread collaboration on computer programs instead of relying on individual, proprietary development.
"As the global warming footprint of the IT industry, and Facebook specifically, continues to grow significantly, a focus on energy efficiency alone will only slow the speeding train of unsustainable emissions growth," Harrell said in a statement. "If Facebook wants to be a truly green company, it needs to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Coach Bags the way to do that is decouple its growth from its emissions footprint by using clean, renewable energy to power its business instead of dirty coal and dangerous nuclear power."
"We think coal is actually a small issue in the grand scheme of energy efficiency," said Jonathan Heiliger, Facebook's vice president of technical operations. "Instead of worrying about what energy source you may choose and the impact of that source on the environment, the best way of improving CO{-2} (emissions) and improving the environment is to cut energy consumption."
"We're not doing this in a dark closet somewhere, but we're sharing it with the world, we're sharing it with our peers," Heiliger said.
Although the environmental activist group Greenpeace International still criticized the social media giant for relying on coal-generated electricity, Facebook officials said their Open Compute Project stainless steel pipe has already delivered a 38 percent increase in energy efficiency for 24 percent less cost.
Data center energy costs are a major concern for Internet companies like Facebook , which has an estimated 600 million members worldwide. Facebook said that if one-quarter of U.S. data centers used Open Compute specifications, the energy saved could power more than 160,000 homes.
The company's $188 million, 147,000-square-foot Prineville center saved money by using less material, including paint, logos and stickers, and engineers examined details such as how to reduce power loss inside servers.
Facebook believes publishing technical specifications for the company-designed equipment used in its new Prineville, Ore., bridge rectifier data center will inspire faster development of even more efficient servers, power supplies, server racks and buildings.
The equipment was co-developed with other tech heavyweights, including Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Dell Inc., Intel Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. Dell has already built servers based on the Open Compute specifications.
But Greenpeace has long criticized Facebook and the plant's utility provider, Pacific Power, which supplies some of the electricity from coal-burning plants.
Greenpeace climate campaigner Casey Harrell praised Facebook for its efforts, but said "efficiency is simply not enough."
The Palo Alto firm compared the project to the open-source software movement, which allows widespread collaboration on computer programs instead of relying on individual, proprietary development.
"As the global warming footprint of the IT industry, and Facebook specifically, continues to grow significantly, a focus on energy efficiency alone will only slow the speeding train of unsustainable emissions growth," Harrell said in a statement. "If Facebook wants to be a truly green company, it needs to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Coach Bags the way to do that is decouple its growth from its emissions footprint by using clean, renewable energy to power its business instead of dirty coal and dangerous nuclear power."
CDC said before going abroad, babies need MMR vaccine for measles
The Centers for Disease Control announced today that it is investigating seven cases of measles in American babies who traveled overseas and caught the disease. None had received the MMR vaccine cone crusher for measles, mumps and rubella.
This comes one day after reports that some tourists to the Orlando area returned home with the measles — and could have caught the disease here.
Although measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000, it is still present in other regions of the world, including Western Europe. Imported cases continue to occur among U.S. residents returning from foreign travel and among foreign visitors to the United States.
The risk of complications or death from measles is highest among young cold room children. In the first two months of 2011, seven cases of measles were reported among 6- through 23-month-old American infants who traveled abroad. Four of the children were hospitalized due to severe measles-related complications.
Although all seven children had been eligible for vaccination before travel, none had received the MMR vaccine, the only measles-containing vaccine currently available in the United States.
The CDC is reminding parents that travelers of all ages should be up to date with their vaccinations before traveling abroad.
Considering the high risk of measles complications in children, infants aged 6 to 11 months should receive one dose of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine before traveling internationally, and children aged 12 months and older should autoclave receive two doses (separated by at least 28 days).
Physicians should consider measles as a possible diagnosis of rash illness among patients with a recent history of international travel.
This comes one day after reports that some tourists to the Orlando area returned home with the measles — and could have caught the disease here.
Although measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000, it is still present in other regions of the world, including Western Europe. Imported cases continue to occur among U.S. residents returning from foreign travel and among foreign visitors to the United States.
The risk of complications or death from measles is highest among young cold room children. In the first two months of 2011, seven cases of measles were reported among 6- through 23-month-old American infants who traveled abroad. Four of the children were hospitalized due to severe measles-related complications.
Although all seven children had been eligible for vaccination before travel, none had received the MMR vaccine, the only measles-containing vaccine currently available in the United States.
The CDC is reminding parents that travelers of all ages should be up to date with their vaccinations before traveling abroad.
Considering the high risk of measles complications in children, infants aged 6 to 11 months should receive one dose of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine before traveling internationally, and children aged 12 months and older should autoclave receive two doses (separated by at least 28 days).
Physicians should consider measles as a possible diagnosis of rash illness among patients with a recent history of international travel.
Nobody saw this coming: An 'American Idol' shocker
American Idol viewers eliminated their fifth consecutive female singer Thursday. In a development that left contestants, judges and the studio audience stunned, Pia Toscano was exercise bike sent packing. Though the judges had told her she needed to work on her stage presence and had criticized her for singing too many ballads, many considered Pia to have given Wednesday's best performance and to be almost a lock for the finals.
Jennifer's in tears. "I have no idea what just happened here. I'm shocked. I'm angry. I don't even know what to say."
"What a shock, what a surprise," Ryan says as boos axial fan rain down from the audience.
"A mistake is one thing, but a lack of passion is unforgivable," Steven says. "They're wrong."
"We're all in shock," says Randy. "I'm gutted."
Pia's exit almost guarantees a male winner for the fourth consecutive year. But with such unpredictable voting from week to week, a once-promising season suddenly looks much, much different.
As her swansong, Pia sings The Pretenders' I'll Stand by You, breaking down at the end and receiving a standing ovation impact crusher from everyone in the room, many of them in tears.
Jennifer's in tears. "I have no idea what just happened here. I'm shocked. I'm angry. I don't even know what to say."
"What a shock, what a surprise," Ryan says as boos axial fan rain down from the audience.
"A mistake is one thing, but a lack of passion is unforgivable," Steven says. "They're wrong."
"We're all in shock," says Randy. "I'm gutted."
Pia's exit almost guarantees a male winner for the fourth consecutive year. But with such unpredictable voting from week to week, a once-promising season suddenly looks much, much different.
As her swansong, Pia sings The Pretenders' I'll Stand by You, breaking down at the end and receiving a standing ovation impact crusher from everyone in the room, many of them in tears.
Crave Caffeine? It May Be in Your Genes
DNA may play a large role in determining how much caffeine people consume in beverages such as coffee, tea, and soda and food such as chocolate, new research indicates.
Scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health, the National Cancer Institute, electronic ballast and other institutions say they have discovered two genetic variations that influence the metabolism of caffeine and are associated with how much caffeine people consume. People with particular variations of two specific genes are more likely to consume caffeine, and to drink more of it when they do, study leader Marilyn C. Cornelis, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, tells WebMD.
The researchers say in a news release that their conclusions are based on an analysis of five studies conducted between 1984 and 2001. Average caffeine consumption via coffee, tea, caffeinated sodas, or chocolate was recorded.
So what does this mean?
Caffeine is implicated in a number of medical and physiological conditions. Caffeine affects mood, sleep patterns, energy levels, and mental and physical performance.
“Clearly these genetic variants are affecting stainless steel pipe how our body processes caffeine,” she tells WebMD.
About 80% of the caffeine intake among participants involved in the analysis was from coffee, similar to the adult caffeine consumption in the U.S. “We propose that those with the genotype corresponding to ‘higher caffeine consumption’ are metabolizing caffeine at a different rate vs. those with the ‘lower caffeine consumption’ genotype, and so require a different level of intake to maintain or achieve physiological caffeine levels that produce pleasurable effects,” Cornelis tells WebMD.
“Caffeinated products, particularly coffee, have long been implicated in various health conditions.”
She says that “studying the effects of caffeine, say, on the cardiovascular system, would be challenging if the group of subjects we’re studying process caffeine differently.”
The genes are identified as CYP1A2, long known to play some role in caffeine metabolism, bridge rectifier and another called AHR, which affects regulation of CYP1A2.
Cornelis says her own father may carry the variations that correspond to higher caffeine consumption because he drinks “at least 10 cups” daily.
“He’s not trying to achieve pleasurable effects,” she tells WebMD. “Rather, he’s trying to maintain levels as a means to avoid the withdrawal symptoms. Without a cup he’d wake up in the middle of the night with a headache.”
All people have both genes, but the study, involving more than 47,000 middle-aged Americans of European descent, finds that people with the highest-consumption variant for either gene consumed about 40 milligrams more caffeine than people with the lowest-consumption gene varieties. Forty milligrams is the equivalent of 1/3 cup of caffeinated coffee or one can of soda.
That suggests he “could possibly have the genetic profile of a fast caffeine metabolizer,” she says in an email.
The researchers say it’s likely that genetics plays a major role in other behaviors, such as alcohol consumption and smoking.
This genetic knowledge could be used “to advance caffeine research and potentially identify subgroups, Coach Bags defined by genotype, of the population most susceptible to the effects of caffeine,” Cornelis tells WebMD. “More research on the precise function of these variants is needed, however, and there are likely more ‘caffeine genes’ to be identified.”
She tells WebMD that her team’s findings “demonstrate that our search approach -- scanning the entire human genome -- works.”
Also, it shows for the first time that genetics may be responsible for inherited differences in how people drink coffee.
Scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health, the National Cancer Institute, electronic ballast and other institutions say they have discovered two genetic variations that influence the metabolism of caffeine and are associated with how much caffeine people consume. People with particular variations of two specific genes are more likely to consume caffeine, and to drink more of it when they do, study leader Marilyn C. Cornelis, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, tells WebMD.
Coffee Consumption
The researchers say in a news release that their conclusions are based on an analysis of five studies conducted between 1984 and 2001. Average caffeine consumption via coffee, tea, caffeinated sodas, or chocolate was recorded.
So what does this mean?
Caffeine is implicated in a number of medical and physiological conditions. Caffeine affects mood, sleep patterns, energy levels, and mental and physical performance.
“Clearly these genetic variants are affecting stainless steel pipe how our body processes caffeine,” she tells WebMD.
About 80% of the caffeine intake among participants involved in the analysis was from coffee, similar to the adult caffeine consumption in the U.S. “We propose that those with the genotype corresponding to ‘higher caffeine consumption’ are metabolizing caffeine at a different rate vs. those with the ‘lower caffeine consumption’ genotype, and so require a different level of intake to maintain or achieve physiological caffeine levels that produce pleasurable effects,” Cornelis tells WebMD.
“Caffeinated products, particularly coffee, have long been implicated in various health conditions.”
She says that “studying the effects of caffeine, say, on the cardiovascular system, would be challenging if the group of subjects we’re studying process caffeine differently.”
Genes and Coffee
The genes are identified as CYP1A2, long known to play some role in caffeine metabolism, bridge rectifier and another called AHR, which affects regulation of CYP1A2.
Cornelis says her own father may carry the variations that correspond to higher caffeine consumption because he drinks “at least 10 cups” daily.
“He’s not trying to achieve pleasurable effects,” she tells WebMD. “Rather, he’s trying to maintain levels as a means to avoid the withdrawal symptoms. Without a cup he’d wake up in the middle of the night with a headache.”
All people have both genes, but the study, involving more than 47,000 middle-aged Americans of European descent, finds that people with the highest-consumption variant for either gene consumed about 40 milligrams more caffeine than people with the lowest-consumption gene varieties. Forty milligrams is the equivalent of 1/3 cup of caffeinated coffee or one can of soda.
That suggests he “could possibly have the genetic profile of a fast caffeine metabolizer,” she says in an email.
The researchers say it’s likely that genetics plays a major role in other behaviors, such as alcohol consumption and smoking.
More ‘Caffeine Genes’ May Be Identified
This genetic knowledge could be used “to advance caffeine research and potentially identify subgroups, Coach Bags defined by genotype, of the population most susceptible to the effects of caffeine,” Cornelis tells WebMD. “More research on the precise function of these variants is needed, however, and there are likely more ‘caffeine genes’ to be identified.”
She tells WebMD that her team’s findings “demonstrate that our search approach -- scanning the entire human genome -- works.”
Also, it shows for the first time that genetics may be responsible for inherited differences in how people drink coffee.
Lawyers want grim Jackson autopsy photos excluded from trial
Showing the pictures of the "Thriller" singer's autopsy risk jeopardizing the trial in May of Dr. Conrad Murray, they said. Murray is charged with inadvertently causing Jackson's June 2009 death by giving him the bridge rectifier powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid, as well as other sedatives.
They argued that "admission of these photographs to the jurors will jeopardize Dr. Murray's right to a fair trial because of the significant risk that the jury will base their decision not on the evidence presented, but on emotional grounds which play no part in a criminal action."
Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Opening arguments in the trial are scheduled for May 9. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor is expected to rule later this month on the defense request.
"These photographs are graphic, gruesome and highly prejudicial," Murray's attorneys wrote in the court papers.
Murray's attorneys, Ed Chernoff and Nareg Gourjian, stainless steel pipe argued that, "there is absolutely no relevance whatsoever to all of this sexually scandalous information."
Jackson, 50, chose Murray as his personal physician as he rehearsed for a series of comeback concerts in London.
v
Murray's lawyers also want references to Murray's trips to strip clubs, where he met at least one woman with whom he had an affair, to be excluded from evidence at the trial.
Jury selection for the trial has been underway for more than two weeks.
Murray's attorneys have suggested in electronic ballast previous court hearings that Jackson had grown dependent on propofol, and plan to argue at trial that the singer administered the fatal dose of the anesthetic to himself.
A 29-page questionnaire, publicly released on Thursday, asks potential jurors if they are fans of Jackson or his family. It also asks whether they know anyone with addiction to prescription medication; if they think celebrities are jaw crusher treated differently in the court system; and if they are familiar with the anesthetic propofol and other medications.
They argued that "admission of these photographs to the jurors will jeopardize Dr. Murray's right to a fair trial because of the significant risk that the jury will base their decision not on the evidence presented, but on emotional grounds which play no part in a criminal action."
Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Opening arguments in the trial are scheduled for May 9. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor is expected to rule later this month on the defense request.
"These photographs are graphic, gruesome and highly prejudicial," Murray's attorneys wrote in the court papers.
Murray's attorneys, Ed Chernoff and Nareg Gourjian, stainless steel pipe argued that, "there is absolutely no relevance whatsoever to all of this sexually scandalous information."
Jackson, 50, chose Murray as his personal physician as he rehearsed for a series of comeback concerts in London.
v
Murray's lawyers also want references to Murray's trips to strip clubs, where he met at least one woman with whom he had an affair, to be excluded from evidence at the trial.
Jury selection for the trial has been underway for more than two weeks.
Murray's attorneys have suggested in electronic ballast previous court hearings that Jackson had grown dependent on propofol, and plan to argue at trial that the singer administered the fatal dose of the anesthetic to himself.
A 29-page questionnaire, publicly released on Thursday, asks potential jurors if they are fans of Jackson or his family. It also asks whether they know anyone with addiction to prescription medication; if they think celebrities are jaw crusher treated differently in the court system; and if they are familiar with the anesthetic propofol and other medications.
FOREX-Yen downtrend pauses,euro rally pause file
* Yen off lows but downtrend firmly in place
* Euro rally takes a breather after expected ECB rate hike
* Aussie also pauses after scaling fresh peak vs USD
The broad selloff in the yen stalled early in Asia on Friday as shaded pold motor investors took profit on short positions following a major aftershock in northeast Japan, while comments from the European Central Bank head saw the euro retreat from 14-month highs.
Following a widely expected 25 basis-point interest rate hike to 1.25 percent, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said the central bank had not decided that Thursday's rate rise was the first in a series of moves.
"The EUR experienced a classic "buy the rumor, sell the fact" reaction to the ECB rate hike ... which proved to be one of the most universally expected events of the year," said Michael Woolfolk, analyst at BNY Mellon.
Economists polled by Reuters expect the ECB to stand pat for a couple of months before raising rates again in July.
"With Trichet failing to provide any guidance on further rate hikes and the phrase "strong vigilance" removed from the policy statement, players took profit on long EUR positions."
The euro last traded just under $1.4300, having slipped to a low of $1.4240, down from a 14-month peak around $1.4350 set on Wednesday.
Its downside, however, was limited by a calm bond market reaction to Portugal's plea autoclave for financial help from the European Union. Fears of contagion to Spain also eased after Madrid comfortably sold 4.1 billion euros of a new three-year bond.
Indeed, traders said there is demand for short-term upside strikes in the $1.4400 region as market players looked to protect against a further rise in the euro.
On the charts, a break of the key $1.4280 level is positive for the euro and BNP Paribas analysts expect the euro to next aim for $1.4375.
Still, some analysts expect a deeper pullback given exercise bike the common currency had risen 3.8 percent since early March when Trichet first hinted at an April rate hike, far earlier than markets had then been expecting.
Meanwhile, the yen's decline stalled as investors booked some profits after a 7.4 magnitude quake hit northeast Japan late on Thursday.
* Euro rally takes a breather after expected ECB rate hike
* Aussie also pauses after scaling fresh peak vs USD
The broad selloff in the yen stalled early in Asia on Friday as shaded pold motor investors took profit on short positions following a major aftershock in northeast Japan, while comments from the European Central Bank head saw the euro retreat from 14-month highs.
Following a widely expected 25 basis-point interest rate hike to 1.25 percent, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said the central bank had not decided that Thursday's rate rise was the first in a series of moves.
"The EUR experienced a classic "buy the rumor, sell the fact" reaction to the ECB rate hike ... which proved to be one of the most universally expected events of the year," said Michael Woolfolk, analyst at BNY Mellon.
Economists polled by Reuters expect the ECB to stand pat for a couple of months before raising rates again in July.
"With Trichet failing to provide any guidance on further rate hikes and the phrase "strong vigilance" removed from the policy statement, players took profit on long EUR positions."
The euro last traded just under $1.4300, having slipped to a low of $1.4240, down from a 14-month peak around $1.4350 set on Wednesday.
Its downside, however, was limited by a calm bond market reaction to Portugal's plea autoclave for financial help from the European Union. Fears of contagion to Spain also eased after Madrid comfortably sold 4.1 billion euros of a new three-year bond.
Indeed, traders said there is demand for short-term upside strikes in the $1.4400 region as market players looked to protect against a further rise in the euro.
On the charts, a break of the key $1.4280 level is positive for the euro and BNP Paribas analysts expect the euro to next aim for $1.4375.
Still, some analysts expect a deeper pullback given exercise bike the common currency had risen 3.8 percent since early March when Trichet first hinted at an April rate hike, far earlier than markets had then been expecting.
Meanwhile, the yen's decline stalled as investors booked some profits after a 7.4 magnitude quake hit northeast Japan late on Thursday.
Snooki And JWoww Reveal 'Jersey Shore' Spin-Off Details
On Thursday (April 7), MTV announced that we will be seeing a lot more of Snooki, JWoww and Pauly D. The three "Jersey Shore" castmembers will be featured in two untitled reality projects cold room set to debut on MTV in 2012.
"The 'Jersey Shore' cast is at the center of the show's ongoing success, and Nicole, Pauly D and Jenni have become household names as a result of their unique, sometimes outrageous and often hilarious personalities," said Chris Linn, MTV executive vice president of programming and head of production.
The inseparable dynamic duo of Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and best friend Jenni "JWoww" Farley will give viewers a look at what life, love and friendship is like away from Seaside Heights.
"It's pretty much just the concept of me and Jenni being on our own without our roommates," Snooki told MTV News recently.
The two best friends mobile crusher will be living in a yet-announced location, but it seems the girls planned to be roommates even if the cameras weren't rolling.
"It was a concept before the show [was green-lit]. We legitimately just wanted to buy a house together,"
JWoww revealed. "She wanted to get out of her dad's, and I wanted to move out of the home that everyone could see on TV, so they were like, 'Let's shoot it!' "
JWoww and Snooki will share the spotlight with fellow castmember DJ Pauly D. The cameras will follow him (and his blowout) as he continues to pursue his dream of becoming one of the most successful and recognized DJs in the music business.
"I used to be this DJ in Rhode Island, DJing two sets a week, hustling, promoting," he earlier this year, "and all of a sudden, I'm on this show, and now they're sending private jets for me to DJ for these electronic ballast huge crowds, yet I'm still the same guy that was DJing for 200 people, just loving life."
Both untitled series will be 12 episodes, and production begins later this year.
"The 'Jersey Shore' cast is at the center of the show's ongoing success, and Nicole, Pauly D and Jenni have become household names as a result of their unique, sometimes outrageous and often hilarious personalities," said Chris Linn, MTV executive vice president of programming and head of production.
The inseparable dynamic duo of Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and best friend Jenni "JWoww" Farley will give viewers a look at what life, love and friendship is like away from Seaside Heights.
"It's pretty much just the concept of me and Jenni being on our own without our roommates," Snooki told MTV News recently.
The two best friends mobile crusher will be living in a yet-announced location, but it seems the girls planned to be roommates even if the cameras weren't rolling.
"It was a concept before the show [was green-lit]. We legitimately just wanted to buy a house together,"
JWoww revealed. "She wanted to get out of her dad's, and I wanted to move out of the home that everyone could see on TV, so they were like, 'Let's shoot it!' "
JWoww and Snooki will share the spotlight with fellow castmember DJ Pauly D. The cameras will follow him (and his blowout) as he continues to pursue his dream of becoming one of the most successful and recognized DJs in the music business.
"I used to be this DJ in Rhode Island, DJing two sets a week, hustling, promoting," he earlier this year, "and all of a sudden, I'm on this show, and now they're sending private jets for me to DJ for these electronic ballast huge crowds, yet I'm still the same guy that was DJing for 200 people, just loving life."
Both untitled series will be 12 episodes, and production begins later this year.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
U.S. gets tough on privacy protection
With social networking emerging as the most potent force on the Internet, federal regulators are moving to limit how companies can exploit personal information.
Google Inc. just became Exhibit A.
In a settlement hailed as the first of its kind, the Federal Trade Commission said laminating machine Google had agreed to strict new measures to protect the privacy of its users. Moreover, the company agreed to submit to independent audits for the next 20 years to ensure that it is following the rules.
The agreement settles claims that Google used deceptive tactics in recruiting its Gmail customers last year for its Buzz social network, a competitor to Facebook. In signing up for Buzz, many Gmail users unwittingly agreed to make public a list of the people with whom they emailed most frequently.
FTC officials said it was the first time the government had required a company to put in place a sweeping privacy policy to protect consumer data.
"When companies make privacy pledges, they need to honor them," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in announcing the terms Wednesday. "This is a tough settlement that ensures that Google will honor its commitments to consumers and build strong privacy protections into all of its operations."
Privacy advocates said the action has far-reaching implications beyond Google, as Internet search and social network ventures rely heavily on the mining of user information to sell advertising.
Facebook, for example, sells targeted advertising to its users based on their stated preferences in movies and music. Google computers scan the contents of Gmail messages, looking for key words such as "camping," say, to hit users with ads for camping gear. In both cases, the companies explain those features in their privacy notices.
"This will limit the data mining of social media companies that try to do it without a clear-cut explanation of what they're doing," said Joseph Turow, a professor at University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. "The FTC is trying to stake out territory to say that when a company says it's doing something to keep data private, it better do it."
Even so, privacy experts said the FTC's recent actions were evidence of Stainless Steel Pipe a greater industrywide problem. The absence of strong federal privacy laws has allowed many technology companies to freely gather a great deal of information about consumers without their explicit permission — and without federal oversight.
The agreement came as Google once again launched into the social networking arena Wednesday with a tool, called +1, that lets users tag search results and advertisements so they can recommend them to friends.
The feature, aimed at competing with Facebook and getting a bigger foothold in social networking, connects to the same list of personal contacts that Buzz did. The idea is that users will trust Web page recommendations from friends over those from the computerized search engine.
Several of Google's best-known products have attracted intense scrutiny and even penalties in the U.S. and abroad.
Google was fined 100,000 euros — about $141,300 — by the French government last week for improperly gathering private data for its Street View feature, which allows users of Google's maps to view street-level photos of hundreds of thousands of homes and locations around the world.
Last year, officials discovered that the camera-equipped cars Google uses to gather the photos also had been collecting data from private Wi-Fi networks — in some cases passwords, personal emails and Web browsing histories.
Google has said it didn't realize that it had been gathering that data and said it would erase the information as soon as possible.
The company also has come under pressure recently over whether its search engine unnecessarily shares data about users searches with commercial websites, as well as whether software on its Android smartphones too easily shares exercise bike data about users' geographic locations with advertisers.
Google's settlement with the FTC emphasizes the government's stepped-up scrutiny of privacy issues.
The FTC said this month that it settled with short-message site Twitter Inc. for "serious lapses" in which the company "deceived consumers and put their privacy at risk" by failing to adequately protect their information.
Twitter admitted the episode was a "very serious breach of security" and agreed to create a comprehensive information security plan, as well as to allow the FTC to audit the company every other year for 10 years.
Facebook andApple Inc. each have come under scrutiny from lawmakers over concerns that they were sharing user information with third parties. Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), who is drafting a broad privacy bill, said the Google settlement showed the need for tough new laws.
"Google has admitted error, but Google is far from alone in the collection, use and distribution of immense amounts of our information," Kerry said. "Every company should adhere to this kind of standard, not just Google.
Google has admitted that Buzz was beset with problems.
"The launch of Google Buzz fell short of our usual standards for transparency and user control — letting our users and Google down," Alma Whitten, its autoclave director of privacy, product and engineering, wrote in a blog post Wednesday.
The settlement "thankfully put this incident behind us," she said.
Under the terms, Google will be required to give users "clear and prominent notice" and obtain "express affirmative consent" before sharing the users' information with any third party "in connection with a change, addition or enhancement to any product or service."
The independent review every two years for two decades will certify that Google's privacy policy adheres to standards set in the settlement. Google faces civil penalties of up to $16,000 for each violation.
"It's a broad reaching order, applicable to all their products," said Jessica Rich, deputy director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
She noted that the FTC dismissed a complaint against Google for its Street View data collection last year because there was no violation of law. If a similar incident comes up now, it could violate the settlement and allow the FTC to take action, she said.
The Google case arose from a complaint filed last year with the FTC by the cold room Electronic Privacy Information Center.
"The message to companies is they're going to have to be more careful about the collection and use of information from users," said Marc Rotenberg, EPIC's executive director.
Google Inc. just became Exhibit A.
In a settlement hailed as the first of its kind, the Federal Trade Commission said laminating machine Google had agreed to strict new measures to protect the privacy of its users. Moreover, the company agreed to submit to independent audits for the next 20 years to ensure that it is following the rules.
The agreement settles claims that Google used deceptive tactics in recruiting its Gmail customers last year for its Buzz social network, a competitor to Facebook. In signing up for Buzz, many Gmail users unwittingly agreed to make public a list of the people with whom they emailed most frequently.
FTC officials said it was the first time the government had required a company to put in place a sweeping privacy policy to protect consumer data.
"When companies make privacy pledges, they need to honor them," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in announcing the terms Wednesday. "This is a tough settlement that ensures that Google will honor its commitments to consumers and build strong privacy protections into all of its operations."
Privacy advocates said the action has far-reaching implications beyond Google, as Internet search and social network ventures rely heavily on the mining of user information to sell advertising.
Facebook, for example, sells targeted advertising to its users based on their stated preferences in movies and music. Google computers scan the contents of Gmail messages, looking for key words such as "camping," say, to hit users with ads for camping gear. In both cases, the companies explain those features in their privacy notices.
"This will limit the data mining of social media companies that try to do it without a clear-cut explanation of what they're doing," said Joseph Turow, a professor at University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. "The FTC is trying to stake out territory to say that when a company says it's doing something to keep data private, it better do it."
Even so, privacy experts said the FTC's recent actions were evidence of Stainless Steel Pipe a greater industrywide problem. The absence of strong federal privacy laws has allowed many technology companies to freely gather a great deal of information about consumers without their explicit permission — and without federal oversight.
The agreement came as Google once again launched into the social networking arena Wednesday with a tool, called +1, that lets users tag search results and advertisements so they can recommend them to friends.
The feature, aimed at competing with Facebook and getting a bigger foothold in social networking, connects to the same list of personal contacts that Buzz did. The idea is that users will trust Web page recommendations from friends over those from the computerized search engine.
Several of Google's best-known products have attracted intense scrutiny and even penalties in the U.S. and abroad.
Google was fined 100,000 euros — about $141,300 — by the French government last week for improperly gathering private data for its Street View feature, which allows users of Google's maps to view street-level photos of hundreds of thousands of homes and locations around the world.
Last year, officials discovered that the camera-equipped cars Google uses to gather the photos also had been collecting data from private Wi-Fi networks — in some cases passwords, personal emails and Web browsing histories.
Google has said it didn't realize that it had been gathering that data and said it would erase the information as soon as possible.
The company also has come under pressure recently over whether its search engine unnecessarily shares data about users searches with commercial websites, as well as whether software on its Android smartphones too easily shares exercise bike data about users' geographic locations with advertisers.
Google's settlement with the FTC emphasizes the government's stepped-up scrutiny of privacy issues.
The FTC said this month that it settled with short-message site Twitter Inc. for "serious lapses" in which the company "deceived consumers and put their privacy at risk" by failing to adequately protect their information.
Twitter admitted the episode was a "very serious breach of security" and agreed to create a comprehensive information security plan, as well as to allow the FTC to audit the company every other year for 10 years.
Facebook andApple Inc. each have come under scrutiny from lawmakers over concerns that they were sharing user information with third parties. Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), who is drafting a broad privacy bill, said the Google settlement showed the need for tough new laws.
"Google has admitted error, but Google is far from alone in the collection, use and distribution of immense amounts of our information," Kerry said. "Every company should adhere to this kind of standard, not just Google.
Google has admitted that Buzz was beset with problems.
"The launch of Google Buzz fell short of our usual standards for transparency and user control — letting our users and Google down," Alma Whitten, its autoclave director of privacy, product and engineering, wrote in a blog post Wednesday.
The settlement "thankfully put this incident behind us," she said.
Under the terms, Google will be required to give users "clear and prominent notice" and obtain "express affirmative consent" before sharing the users' information with any third party "in connection with a change, addition or enhancement to any product or service."
The independent review every two years for two decades will certify that Google's privacy policy adheres to standards set in the settlement. Google faces civil penalties of up to $16,000 for each violation.
"It's a broad reaching order, applicable to all their products," said Jessica Rich, deputy director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
She noted that the FTC dismissed a complaint against Google for its Street View data collection last year because there was no violation of law. If a similar incident comes up now, it could violate the settlement and allow the FTC to take action, she said.
The Google case arose from a complaint filed last year with the FTC by the cold room Electronic Privacy Information Center.
"The message to companies is they're going to have to be more careful about the collection and use of information from users," said Marc Rotenberg, EPIC's executive director.
Google adds +1 for recommendations
Taking a cue from Facebook's popular "Like" button, Google (GOOG) on Wednesday announced a new option for its users to recommend individual search results to their friends and contacts.
Google's new program, known as "+1", represents the Mountain View search giant's latest move to capitalize on the growing power of online social networks exercise bike, as it also tries to fend off the increasing competitive threat posed by Facebook and other rivals.
Recommendations have become a key part of online interactions, said industry analyst Hadley Reynolds, director of search and digital marketplace technologies for the IDC research firm. "It's becoming almost a standard of web commerce."
The new program works by letting a Google user click on a "+1" button to recommend a particular search result or search ad; eventually it will let them click on a similar button when they visit a web page. When someone else in that user's circle of contacts conducts a search on a similar topic, they will get the usual list of results and ads, but those endorsed by their friend will be flagged with a note that says their friend "+1'd this."
Google said the recommendations will eventually become one of the factors used to calculate search rankings, although a spokeswoman said it "will take some time to figure out how strong a signal or how useful it is."
But after the recent outcry over privacy concerns related to its Google Buzz initiative last year, Google stressed that "+1" has safeguards to protect users from revealing information they don't intend to share.
Coincidentally, Google reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over the Buzz issue on Wednesday.
"You have the option to never '+1' something," said Google spokeswoman Katie Watson. Users who click on the button will be reminded that their recommendation will be made public to others, she added. "If you're not prepared to share it with the world, you shouldn't '+1' it, and we're being very explicit about that."
Users must create a Google account and a profile to participate in the program. If a recommendation autoclave comes from outside their circle of contacts, users may see how many people endorsed a site, but not the endorsers' names.
The new program expands on earlier moves that Google has taken to add social networking features to its services. Since 2009, for example, users who search while logged into their Google account have been able to see results that are flagged if they include blog posts,Twitter links or other content created by friends in their circle.
Google plans to eventually show "+1" endorsements from users' contacts in other public networks, such as Twitter or Flickr. For now, participants will only see endorsements from the people listed in their Gmail contacts, Gmail chat buddy list or people they're following on Google Reader or Buzz. The program won't include Facebook friends because Facebook does not make that information public.
Facebook has a similar program that lets its users recommend posts, pages or even ads to their friends, by clicking a "Like" button. It recently launched a partnership with Microsoft that lets Facebook "likes" show up in results from Microsoft's Bing search engine.
The power of recommendations can be seen in their increasing use by a variety of Internet companies, from Amazon to Yelp, said IDC's Reynolds. "Many web commerce businesses are now much more dependent on the presence of recommendations, and the tone of recommendations, than they have ever been before."
The exploding popularity of Facebook has created a huge audience for advertisers, which analysts say could pose an increasing threat to Google's ad business. That's led to speculation that Google is attempting to build its own social network with programs like "+1."
But at this point, Reynolds noted that Google still dominates the Internet search business, handling cold room nearly two-thirds of all searches in the United States.
"Having that kind of audience, that can now consume a recommendation feature, gives Google yet another way of influencing commerce that it's not clear to me that Facebook can match," said Reynolds.
Google's new program, known as "+1", represents the Mountain View search giant's latest move to capitalize on the growing power of online social networks exercise bike, as it also tries to fend off the increasing competitive threat posed by Facebook and other rivals.
Recommendations have become a key part of online interactions, said industry analyst Hadley Reynolds, director of search and digital marketplace technologies for the IDC research firm. "It's becoming almost a standard of web commerce."
The new program works by letting a Google user click on a "+1" button to recommend a particular search result or search ad; eventually it will let them click on a similar button when they visit a web page. When someone else in that user's circle of contacts conducts a search on a similar topic, they will get the usual list of results and ads, but those endorsed by their friend will be flagged with a note that says their friend "+1'd this."
Google said the recommendations will eventually become one of the factors used to calculate search rankings, although a spokeswoman said it "will take some time to figure out how strong a signal or how useful it is."
But after the recent outcry over privacy concerns related to its Google Buzz initiative last year, Google stressed that "+1" has safeguards to protect users from revealing information they don't intend to share.
Coincidentally, Google reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over the Buzz issue on Wednesday.
"You have the option to never '+1' something," said Google spokeswoman Katie Watson. Users who click on the button will be reminded that their recommendation will be made public to others, she added. "If you're not prepared to share it with the world, you shouldn't '+1' it, and we're being very explicit about that."
Users must create a Google account and a profile to participate in the program. If a recommendation autoclave comes from outside their circle of contacts, users may see how many people endorsed a site, but not the endorsers' names.
The new program expands on earlier moves that Google has taken to add social networking features to its services. Since 2009, for example, users who search while logged into their Google account have been able to see results that are flagged if they include blog posts,Twitter links or other content created by friends in their circle.
Google plans to eventually show "+1" endorsements from users' contacts in other public networks, such as Twitter or Flickr. For now, participants will only see endorsements from the people listed in their Gmail contacts, Gmail chat buddy list or people they're following on Google Reader or Buzz. The program won't include Facebook friends because Facebook does not make that information public.
Facebook has a similar program that lets its users recommend posts, pages or even ads to their friends, by clicking a "Like" button. It recently launched a partnership with Microsoft that lets Facebook "likes" show up in results from Microsoft's Bing search engine.
The power of recommendations can be seen in their increasing use by a variety of Internet companies, from Amazon to Yelp, said IDC's Reynolds. "Many web commerce businesses are now much more dependent on the presence of recommendations, and the tone of recommendations, than they have ever been before."
The exploding popularity of Facebook has created a huge audience for advertisers, which analysts say could pose an increasing threat to Google's ad business. That's led to speculation that Google is attempting to build its own social network with programs like "+1."
But at this point, Reynolds noted that Google still dominates the Internet search business, handling cold room nearly two-thirds of all searches in the United States.
"Having that kind of audience, that can now consume a recommendation feature, gives Google yet another way of influencing commerce that it's not clear to me that Facebook can match," said Reynolds.
why Nokia has become such a huge player
In the world of mobile communications, the world is divided into two basic places, the U.S. and everywhere else. While I hate to think of this as an Us versus Them situation, that’s actually what it is. The reason ultimately boils down to exercise bike relatively little competition in the way phones are sold in the U.S., and in how wireless companies operate.
In the U.S., for example, you see a nearly even divide between CDMA and GSM phones. Outside of North America, CDMA hardly exists. Just about everyone uses GSM, the frequencies are mostly compatible and the carriers don’t have nearly the leverage on handset selection as they do in the U.S.
Visit a mobile phone store outside the U.S., for example, and you’ll find phones, but you’ll find either no carrier presence at all or you’ll find that the store will carry SIM cards for several carriers. While the carriers do have their own phone stores, they don’t have the dominance that they have in the U.S. Even the process of adding money to your SIM card is divorced from the carriers. When I was in Germany covering CeBIT, I added money to my German T-Mobile SIM card by going to the Shell service station across the street from my hotel.
This nearly total disconnect between phones and carriers means that there are a lot more phones available outside the U.S. In addition, the differences in economic circumstances and social communications are different from what happens in the U.S. In India, for example, there is an entire social network based not on Web browsing as you do with Facebook, but on SMS messages.
This is the world that phone makers compete in outside the U.S. and this is why Nokia has become such a huge player. In the U.S., most of the competition seems to be centered around smartphones. Elsewhere, most people can’t afford an iPhone or a BlackBerry. They need a phone with some features, but it has to be affordable. Nokia is a major player in this global phone market and its Symbian operating system is a major part of Nokia phones.
This outside-the-U.S. phone market is now changing. Nokia, which has long been the biggest European phone company, has decided to move autoclave ahead with Windows Phone 7 from Microsoft. This is the phone OS that will power the smartphones and in many cases the higher-end feature phones in the rest of the world. As a result, recent reports that Windows Phone 7 may be a dominant player might not be too far off the mark.
In the U.S., for example, you see a nearly even divide between CDMA and GSM phones. Outside of North America, CDMA hardly exists. Just about everyone uses GSM, the frequencies are mostly compatible and the carriers don’t have nearly the leverage on handset selection as they do in the U.S.
Visit a mobile phone store outside the U.S., for example, and you’ll find phones, but you’ll find either no carrier presence at all or you’ll find that the store will carry SIM cards for several carriers. While the carriers do have their own phone stores, they don’t have the dominance that they have in the U.S. Even the process of adding money to your SIM card is divorced from the carriers. When I was in Germany covering CeBIT, I added money to my German T-Mobile SIM card by going to the Shell service station across the street from my hotel.
This nearly total disconnect between phones and carriers means that there are a lot more phones available outside the U.S. In addition, the differences in economic circumstances and social communications are different from what happens in the U.S. In India, for example, there is an entire social network based not on Web browsing as you do with Facebook, but on SMS messages.
This is the world that phone makers compete in outside the U.S. and this is why Nokia has become such a huge player. In the U.S., most of the competition seems to be centered around smartphones. Elsewhere, most people can’t afford an iPhone or a BlackBerry. They need a phone with some features, but it has to be affordable. Nokia is a major player in this global phone market and its Symbian operating system is a major part of Nokia phones.
This outside-the-U.S. phone market is now changing. Nokia, which has long been the biggest European phone company, has decided to move autoclave ahead with Windows Phone 7 from Microsoft. This is the phone OS that will power the smartphones and in many cases the higher-end feature phones in the rest of the world. As a result, recent reports that Windows Phone 7 may be a dominant player might not be too far off the mark.
SNAPSHOT-Japan's nuclear crisis
(Reuters) - Following are main developments after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated northeast Japan and crippled a nuclear power station, raising autoclave the risk of an uncontrolled radiation leak.
- UN watchdog suggests widening of the exclusion zone around Fukushima nuclear power station after radiation measured at a village 40 km from the facility exceeds a criterion for evacuation.
- French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who chairs the G20 and G8 blocs of nations, due to arrive in Tokyo on Thursday. He will be the first foreign leader in Japan since the March 11 quake and tsunami.
France also flew in two experts from state-owned nuclear reactor maker Areva and its nuclear research body to assist Japan's heavily criticised plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) .
- Singapore has told the U.N. nuclear watchdog some cabbages imported from Japan had radiation levels up to nine times the levels recommended for international trade. Japan urges the world not to impose "unjustifiable" jaw crusher import curbs on its goods.
- Japan says comprehensive rules will be drawn up for power plant operators in light of the accident that ripped apart the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. It was the first acknowledgment that norms were insufficient when the March 11 earthquake and tsunami wrecked the facility.
- Plant operator TEPCO says its chairman is at the firm's helm after its president, barely seen since the crisis began, was taken to hospital suffering from high blood pressure and extreme dizziness.
Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata says TEPCO wants to remain a publicly listed company while acknowledging that emergency loans of 2 trillion yen ($24 billion) will not cover current costs.
- New readings show a sharp rise in radioactive iodine in the sea off the power plant to 3,355 times the legal legal limit, according to the state nuclear safety agency.
- Around 27,500 people dead or missing from the earthquake and tsunami. About 173,600 living in exercise bike shelters on high ground above the vast plains of mud-covered debris.
- Estimated cost of damage from the earthquake and tsunami to top $300 billion, making it the world's costliest natural disaster. The 1995 Kobe quake cost $100 billion while Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused $81 billion in damage. (Tokyo bureau; Compiled by World Desk Asia)
- UN watchdog suggests widening of the exclusion zone around Fukushima nuclear power station after radiation measured at a village 40 km from the facility exceeds a criterion for evacuation.
- French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who chairs the G20 and G8 blocs of nations, due to arrive in Tokyo on Thursday. He will be the first foreign leader in Japan since the March 11 quake and tsunami.
France also flew in two experts from state-owned nuclear reactor maker Areva and its nuclear research body to assist Japan's heavily criticised plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) .
- Singapore has told the U.N. nuclear watchdog some cabbages imported from Japan had radiation levels up to nine times the levels recommended for international trade. Japan urges the world not to impose "unjustifiable" jaw crusher import curbs on its goods.
- Japan says comprehensive rules will be drawn up for power plant operators in light of the accident that ripped apart the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. It was the first acknowledgment that norms were insufficient when the March 11 earthquake and tsunami wrecked the facility.
- Plant operator TEPCO says its chairman is at the firm's helm after its president, barely seen since the crisis began, was taken to hospital suffering from high blood pressure and extreme dizziness.
Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata says TEPCO wants to remain a publicly listed company while acknowledging that emergency loans of 2 trillion yen ($24 billion) will not cover current costs.
- New readings show a sharp rise in radioactive iodine in the sea off the power plant to 3,355 times the legal legal limit, according to the state nuclear safety agency.
- Around 27,500 people dead or missing from the earthquake and tsunami. About 173,600 living in exercise bike shelters on high ground above the vast plains of mud-covered debris.
- Estimated cost of damage from the earthquake and tsunami to top $300 billion, making it the world's costliest natural disaster. The 1995 Kobe quake cost $100 billion while Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused $81 billion in damage. (Tokyo bureau; Compiled by World Desk Asia)
Libya's foreign minister in Britain
Dealing a major blow to the embattled Moammar Qadhafi regime in Libya, its Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa has fled to Britain, reports said.
Britain's Foreign Office confirmed the defection and said in a exercise bike statement that Koussa had arrived at Farnborough Airport in southern England, on a flight from Tunisia on Wednesday.
"He traveled here under his own free will. He has told us that he is resigning his post. We are discussing this with him and we will release further details in due course. We encourage those around Gaddafi to abandon him and embrace a better future for Libya that allows political transition and real reform that meets the aspirations of the Libyan people," it said.
According to the Foreign Office, Koussa is "no longer willing" to work for the Qadhafi regime.
"Koussa is one of the most senior figures in Gaddafi's government and his role was to represent the regime internationally - something that he is no longer willing to do," a Foreign Office spokesperson said.
Even though Tunisia's TAP news agency reported on Monday that Koussa had left Libya for Tunisia, a Libyan government spokesman denied speculation that Koussa had defected.
Earlier on Wednesday, the British government expelled Libya's military attache and four other diplomats over their alleged involvement in intimidating opposition Libyan opposition groups based in London.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, told lawmakers that the move was to "underline autoclave our grave concern at the regime's behavior".
"...We have today taken steps to expel five diplomats at the Libyan embassy in London, including the military attache. The government also judged that, were those individuals to remain in Britain, they could pose a threat to our security." he added.
Britain's Foreign Office confirmed the defection and said in a exercise bike statement that Koussa had arrived at Farnborough Airport in southern England, on a flight from Tunisia on Wednesday.
"He traveled here under his own free will. He has told us that he is resigning his post. We are discussing this with him and we will release further details in due course. We encourage those around Gaddafi to abandon him and embrace a better future for Libya that allows political transition and real reform that meets the aspirations of the Libyan people," it said.
According to the Foreign Office, Koussa is "no longer willing" to work for the Qadhafi regime.
"Koussa is one of the most senior figures in Gaddafi's government and his role was to represent the regime internationally - something that he is no longer willing to do," a Foreign Office spokesperson said.
Even though Tunisia's TAP news agency reported on Monday that Koussa had left Libya for Tunisia, a Libyan government spokesman denied speculation that Koussa had defected.
Earlier on Wednesday, the British government expelled Libya's military attache and four other diplomats over their alleged involvement in intimidating opposition Libyan opposition groups based in London.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, told lawmakers that the move was to "underline autoclave our grave concern at the regime's behavior".
"...We have today taken steps to expel five diplomats at the Libyan embassy in London, including the military attache. The government also judged that, were those individuals to remain in Britain, they could pose a threat to our security." he added.
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