How Developers Coded in 1985

Programmer John Graham-Cumming tells a fascinating story about what coding like was back in 1985. Unlike today's programmers who wear hoodies, down energy drinks and use a paper thin computer, programmers in 1985 had to code by hand... with actual paper.

The story behind the handwritten code is fascinating. Graham-Cumming was tasked with making the software for a machine that put labels on bottles without any fancy futuristic tools. He had to write code for the software by hand because there wasn't an assembler and the KIM-1 singleboard computer he was using to prototype computer control only had a hex keypad and a small display. It was a time consuming process, to say the least.

John Graham-Cumming writes:

Of course, writing code like this is a pain. You first had to write the code (the blue), then turn it into machine code (the red) and work out memory locations for each instruction and relative jumps. At the time I didn't own a calculator capable of doing hex so I did most of the calculations needed (such as for relative jumps in my head).

In our world that's become littered with gadgets, it's always mind blowing to see how far we've come in the past 30 years. It's like creating technology with nothing! [John Graham-Cumming]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/how-developers-coded-in-1985-485041376

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1 dead after 2 small planes collide near L.A.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. (AP) ? Two small airplanes collided in midair over the Southern California mountains Monday, sending one crashing into a rocky ridge and killing its pilot while the second was able to maneuver a belly-flop landing on a nearby golf course, officials said.

Rescuers searched through the wreckage of the plane that crashed and sparked a fire in rocky terrain in Calabasas and found the body of one person believed to be the only one aboard, Los Angeles County sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.

Firefighters responding to a report of a small wildfire at about 2 p.m. spotted the aircraft debris, put out the fire and began a search for survivors, county fire Inspector Quvondo Johnson said.

Three people on the plane that landed on a fairway while stunned golfers looked on had minor injuries.

Aaron Jesse, 47, said he had left work early for a round with friends at Westlake Golf Course and saw the low-flying plane hit a tree, spin around 180 degrees and land surprisingly gently.

"Finally being a bad golfer paid off," Jesse told the Los Angeles Times. "I hit it in the trees to the right. They landed 50 feet to the left of us in the center of the fairway. All we heard was a thud and then he made a gentle bounce and slid down the center of the fairway."

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said a preliminary review of radar records showed the two flight-paths crossed just after 2 p.m.

The golf-course plane, a single-engine Cessna 172, was flying west at an altitude of 3,500 feet when the second plane, also a Cessna 172, approached from the east after leaving Santa Monica Airport for a test flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA are investigating.

FAA records show the plane on the golf course was manufactured in 1980 and is registered to Ameriflyers of Florida, LLC. A message left at a number listed for the company was not immediately returned.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/1-dead-2-small-planes-collide-near-la-042041314.html

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Google Kills Chrome's Unpopular Redesigned New Tab Page Before It Hits Stable Channel

At the end of last year, Google announced that it would start testing a number of changes to Chrome’s New Tab page. The changes that were currently percolating through the development channels were anything but popular. Instead of the usual eight links to your most-visited sites, the Chrome beta channel currently features a large Google Search box and just your four most-visited links. Now, it looks like Google is giving up on these changes. The other major change that was massively annoying (and made me switch back to the stable channel, too), was that Google added an “Apps” tab to the bookmarks bar and removed the usual shortcuts to web apps from the Chrome Web Store from the second page of the New Tab page. The latest beta version of Chrome has now reverted back to the old New Tab page. As intrepid Google watcher (and now Google employee) Francois Beaufort noticed last week, the offline version of Chrome now renders two rows with four tiles each again, with the Google Search box still sitting above these, though). Chances are this design will now make its way through the release channels. It’s not clear what will happen to the “Apps” icon in the bookmarks bar, though. You can still see what the experience would have looked like by switching the “Enable Instant extended API” to “enabled” in the latest Chrome beta.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/GHAP7-YmU5Q/

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US-MUSIC Summary

"Trombone Shorty" carries on New Orleans jazz tradition

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Musician Troy Andrews, better known as "Trombone Shorty," witnessed his first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at age 12 - not from the viewing area but on stage. "I was playing with my brother's brass band," said Andrews, now 27.

Michael Buble mixes it up on album of standards, original songs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With a son on the way and a new album with more original songs than ever, Michael Buble is venturing into uncharted territory without letting go of his personal or artistic roots. "To Be Loved," the 37-year-old Canadian singer's follow-up to his 2011 "Christmas" album, mixes standards inspired by jazz, Motown and even the Bee Gees, with tracks written by Buble as well as collaborations with Bryan Adams and Reese Witherspoon.

South Korean rap sensation Psy honored at Tribeca Film Festival

NEW YORK (Reuters) - South Korean rapper and Internet sensation Psy was honored as a transcultural phenomenon by the Tribeca Film Festival on Friday along with a host of other luminaries ranging from choreographer Twyla Tharp to controversial media host Glenn Beck. "Who knew, right?" Psy said as he was presented his Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award. "Giving me this award in itself is innovation, I think."

Country singer George Jones dead at 81

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - George Jones, a classic country singer with a voice full of raw honky-tonk emotion and a life full of honky-tonk turmoil, died on Friday at age 81, his spokesman said. Jones, whose career spanned more than six decades and included hits such as "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and "Window Up Above," died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in Nashville.

Mamma Mia! Bookie offers odds on ABBA reunion

LONDON (Reuters) - A British bookmaker is taking bets on an ABBA comeback after singer Agnetha Faltskog hinted at a possible reunion for Sweden's most successful band. Faltskog, who has come out of retirement to release a solo album called "A", was asked by German's Die Zeit Magazine if she would be open to an ABBA reunion and she responded positively.

African diva Angelique Kidjo wins Songlines Best Artist award

LONDON (Reuters) - African diva Angelique Kidjo was named Best Artist in Songlines magazine's annual world music awards on Friday, lauded for her high-energy shows and her championing of social causes. French veterans Lo'jo, who mix French folk with African and Arabic sounds, picked up the Best Group award and the young Zimbabwean band Mokoomba was chosen as top Newcomer.

Psy knocked from top of Korean charts by 63-year-old singer

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean rapper Psy, whose latest video "Gentleman" tracked global megahit "Gangnam Style" by going viral on the Internet, has been knocked from the top of the music charts in his native country by a 63-year-old easy listening pop singer. "Gangnam Style", which holds the YouTube record for most views with more than 1.5 billion, catapulted the sunglassed Korean with the garish jackets to world stardom and made him one of the best-known faces to grace the growing K-pop music scene.

Documentary about deceased British singer Amy Winehouse in the works

(Reuters) - A documentary is in the works about the late British soul singer Amy Winehouse and it features previously unseen material, the film's distributor said on Wednesday. The film, which will include archival footage never seen by the public, will be directed by Briton Asif Kapadia, whose 2010 film "Senna," about Brazilian auto racer Ayrton Senna, won a BAFTA for best documentary.

Kurdish singer sparks identity debate on Arab talent show

ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - A singer from Iraq's Kurdistan region has made it through to the semi-final of an Arab talent contest, igniting heated debates over Iraqi identity and politicizing the popular TV show. A panel of judges praised 24-year-old Parwaz Hussein and she was voted through to the next round of "Arab Idol", in which aspiring popstars from Morocco to Bahrain compete for a recording contract.

Justin Bieber shrugs off "rumors" after Swedish drug find

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Teen idol Justin Bieber on Thursday seemed to shrug off the latest controversy surrounding his European tour after Swedish police said they had found drugs on his tour bus but could not link them to any single person. Bieber, 19, has made headlines in the past two months for showing up late for his own London concert, walking shirtless through airport security in Poland, posting a cartoon of himself in bed with a young woman, and expressing the hope that Holocaust victim Anne Frank would have been a "belieber" like his millions of fans.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-music-summary-133156745.html

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Man stabs 4 people at church in Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) ? Police say a man stabbed four people at a Catholic church in Albuquerque as a Sunday mass was nearing its end.

Police spokesman Robert Gibbs says a man in his 20s jumped over several pews at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church around noon Sunday and walked up to the choir area where he began his attack.

The injuries to the four church-goers weren't life-threatening. All four were being treated at hospitals.

Numerous parishioners subdued the attacker and held him down until police arrived.

Gibbs says the attacker is in custody but that police don't yet know his identity, the motive for the stabbings, whether he had any ties to the victims or whether he regularly attended the church.

The stabbings occurred as the choir had just begun its closing hymns.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-28-Church%20Stabbing/id-8c173e8e50e3414588e706d22e0edddc

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Higher expectations for digital media at NewFronts

FILE - This undated image released by Columbus 81 Productions shows comedians Jerry Seinfeld, left, and Michael Richards, former co-stars in the popular comedy "Seinfeld," in a scene from the finale of Seinfeld's web series, ?Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.? The Digital NewFronts will run Monday through Friday, as media companies like Google, Hulu and Vevo make presentations of their upcoming programming to advertisers in New York. Crackle, the Sony Pictures Entertainment digital network, is expected to promote the second season of Jerry Seinfeld?s Web series ?Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.? (AP Photo/Columbus 81 Productions)

FILE - This undated image released by Columbus 81 Productions shows comedians Jerry Seinfeld, left, and Michael Richards, former co-stars in the popular comedy "Seinfeld," in a scene from the finale of Seinfeld's web series, ?Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.? The Digital NewFronts will run Monday through Friday, as media companies like Google, Hulu and Vevo make presentations of their upcoming programming to advertisers in New York. Crackle, the Sony Pictures Entertainment digital network, is expected to promote the second season of Jerry Seinfeld?s Web series ?Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.? (AP Photo/Columbus 81 Productions)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Last year, the inaugural Digital NewFronts didn't skimp on the hype.

Google, Hulu, Yahoo and others made brash, glitzy presentations to advertisers trumpeting their ascendancy in a rapidly changing media landscape. Even Jay-Z dropped by.

There will be plenty of the same this week in New York at the second Digital NewFronts, the digital world's take on the annual TV "upfront" tradition. But ahead of this year's five-day-long overture to Madison Avenue, the talk is of both the great progress of digital entertainment and unrealized promises.

"It was absolutely a learning experience," Doug McVehil, senior vice president of content and programming for the music video destination Vevo, says about last year's NewFronts."I know there's some things we can do better this year both at the presentation itself and in terms of follow-up. But we're all fairly new at this. This is a young thing for the digital media industry."

In 12 months' time, the industry has come a long way. Netflix's first major original series, "House of Cards," proved that streaming video can compete with the most prestigious cable programs. Google's YouTube rolled out its 100-plus funded channels in a bid to bring higher quality videos (and thus advertisers) to its platform. One of the biggest TV stars, Jerry Seinfeld, launched a handsome Web series, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee."

But some of the digital series touted last year have disappointed. Although Yahoo's "Bachelor"-spoof "Burning Love" has proved a modest hit, its Tom Hanks animated sci-fi series, "Electric City," didn't live up to its creator's reputation. While the top YouTube channels have grown considerably, several of its star-driven efforts have fizzled.

"Last year, there were some big promises about not only the quality but the volume of shows that people are going to make," says Eric Berger, executive vice president of digital networks for Sony Pictures TV, which owns the video site Crackle. "If you look back over the course of the year, as we talked to brands and agencies, there're some questions about quality and about the volume of things that were actually produced."

Crackle didn't participate in the NewFronts last year but will this year. It will be promoting, among other shows, an upcoming second season of Seinfeld's series.

Naturally, growing pains are inevitable, especially when so much is changing so fast. The wide array of NewFront presenters this year exhibits the evolving nature of media companies.

New presenters include The Wall Street Journal and Conde Nast, both venerable publishers known for their print products. But Conde Nast earlier this year launched online series slates for two of its magazines (GQ and Glamour), with plans to do the same for its other properties, including Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. The Journal, more than any other newspaper, has developed live video programing with its "WSJ Live" app.

"The Journal has really transformed itself since News Corp.'s acquisition into a complete content provider and not just business, finance and economics," says Michael Rooney, chief revenue officer for The Journal, explaining its entry to the NewFronts. "The world still needs to learn and understand about that and what we have to offer."

Yahoo will come into its presentation on the heels of acquiring the rights to archival clips to all 38 years of "Saturday Night Live." YouTube recently announced that in May it will begin a series of theme weeks to highlight its premium channels, starting with comedy. On Sunday night, Vevo will kick off the fourth year of its flagship program "Unstaged," a concert live stream. (Vampire Weekend will perform with Steve Buscemi directing the webcast.)

Performances will play a big part of Vevo's presentation, with appearances by Carly Rae Jepsen, Kendrick Lamar and Jessie Ware. But McVehil says at this year's NewFronts, brands want more than a good show.

"As we mature, I think it's going to be about people looking hard at real numbers and performance and judging companies based on that more than how sexy their presentation was," McVehil says.

Some companies are going it alone. NBCUniversal's digital division, having been a part of the NewFronts last year, held a separate event in New York last week, as did the gaming network Machinima. The talent agency CAA will preview its clients' digital projects this week, but not in an official NewFront.

Still, there are close connections for several of the 18 media companies in the NewFronts. Disney Interactive has several YouTube channels and in February partnered with Vevo to produce family friendly music content.

Ad agency Universal McCann predicted deals at the NewFronts could reach $1 billion. That's still a fraction of what broadcast upfront presentations pull in, but few don't expect digital media to continue to increase their share of the advertising pie.

"We're bigger this year, both in terms of the scope of the event and the amount of content," says Mark Walker, senior vice president of Disney Interactive Entertainment. "We had a few programs before and some speculation. Now, we have conclusively demonstrated that there's a robust audience demand for the kind of high quality video content that we're producing."

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jake_coyle

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-04-28-Digital%20NewFronts/id-7b16c6ad907f43458c4f8c847d28429d

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2 engineers detained in Bangla building collapse

SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) ? Police say they have detained for questioning two engineers involved in approving the design of an 8-story building with garment factories that collapsed this week, killing at least 324 people.

Police said the two men, Imtemam Hossain and Alam Ali, were detained on Saturday. They did not say what role they played in approving the design of the building, which had three floors added to it illegally. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media. Two owners of one of the several garment factories in the building were also arrested, and the wife of the building's owner detained in an attempt to pressure her husband to surrender to the police.

Military spokesman Shahinul Islam said 324 bodies have been recovered and 2,419 survivors accounted for since the collapse of the building on Wednesday morning.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2-engineers-detained-bangla-building-collapse-074112693.html

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The Bird That Struts Its Stuff

Copyright ? 2013 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Up next, it's our Video Pick of The Week. And here with me, as always, is our managing editor and correspondent for video, Flora Litchman. Hi, Flora.

FLORA LITCHMAN, BYLINE: Hi, Ira.

FLATOW: You went on a...

(APPLAUSE)

FLATOW: You went on a local expedition for us.

LITCHMAN: I love Salt Lake City.

FLATOW: Yeah.

LITCHMAN: I just want to...

FLATOW: They love you, it sounds like. Tell us about your expedition.

LITCHMAN: We went on an adventure for this week's video pick, and we went looking for a local celebrity. But I actually was hoping to sound check that with you guys, maybe via applause-o-meter. Who in the audience has heard a sage-grouse?

(APPLAUSE)

LITCHMAN: Well, there you go. OK. And who here has seen a sage-grouse strut?

(APPLAUSE)

FLATOW: Whoa...

LITCHMAN: Wow. Pretty good.

Before we get more into this, I want to bring on our sage on sage-grouse. Jason Robinson is the upland game coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. Thanks for joining us today and for being our tour guide for this week's Video Pick.

JASON ROBINSON: Thanks, Flora.

LITCHMAN: Describe what the strut looks like and why these birds do it.

ROBINSON: Well, it's kind of hard to explain, but I'll do my best. Basically a sage-grouse male has a white collar that's really bright. And what it does is they gather on this leks, and a lek is a location where males gather to kind of strut their stuff for the female hens.

And the males dance around a little bit, all puffed out, their tail feathers are all erect; they have very sharp pointy tail feathers, and they have these air sacs on their chest that they fill up with air and they rub their wings against those stiff feathers on the side and puff out to make kind of a unique noise that attracts the females, and hopefully is - makes them successful for mating.

FLORA LICHTMAN, BYLINE: And we have a little clip of the noise of the sage-grouse while it's strutting and puffing up its chest. Can we hear that?

(SOUNDBITE OF SAGE-GROUSE'S PUFFING)

FLATOW: Oh.

LICHTMAN: Oh.

(LAUGHTER)

FLATOW: Can you do that one? Can you do that noise?

ROBINSON: You know, I've been asked several times to do that and I'm not able to.

(LAUGHTER)

FLATOW: This is SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR.

LICHTMAN: I'm Flora Lichtman.

FLATOW: And I'm Ira Flatow here at Salt Lake City talking about the sage grouse. You went on this expedition to look for one, right? And you found it right in the first - what did you got?

LICHTMAN: Unfortunately, no.

(LAUGHTER)

FLATOW: No?

LICHTMAN: We did not see any sage-grouse despite Jason's excellent effort. We went all over, mountain to mountain, and we were totally unsuccessful. But our viewers...

FLATOW: The good news is...

LICHTMAN: Yeah. The good news is if you go to our website you can see them, thanks to Jason's agency, which has beautiful footage of these birds strutting it around. And they do this every year at this time, right?

ROBINSON: Right. Yeah. So they go to the same locations, year after year, for generations, and so we keep tracked to that information. You know, normally on a good day - we didn't have the best weather, but usually they're pretty predictable when they're going to be there and what times that sort of thing.

LICHTMAN: And these birds are facing some challenges here.

ROBINSON: They are. They're actually a candidate species for listing under the Endangered Species Act. So there's a lot of conservation efforts to try and save sage grouse and keep the populations from declining.

FLATOW: Can I ask you a question? I found interesting - the video is up on our website at sciencefriday.com. And as part of the video - I watched your adventures, it was quite interesting - is - you said that it requires a huge range of area, lot of open space for it to be successful. Why is that? Why does it need so much territory?

ROBINSON: Well, kind of referencing that, sage-grouse are sagebrush obligate. That means they have to have sagebrush in order to exist, but not just a few plants. They need vast landscapes of sagebrush, anywhere from 10 to hundreds of square miles. And the main reason for that is sagebrush is arid. They don't get much precipitation. There's not a whole lot for them to eat so they're adapted to eat the sagebrush. So they need these large expanses to be able to fulfill the life requirements they have.

LICHTMAN: And they can even gain weight over the winter, you said, because they do so well.

ROBINSON: Yeah. So they're so highly adaptive to eating sagebrush, and sagebrush is actually quite nutritious, the leaves, that they can gain weight in the winter if they have enough sagebrush available.

LICHTMAN: So the populations are declining. Why can people still hunt these birds?

ROBINSON: Well, that's actually the question I get asked most often. And it's probably one of the more controversial things surrounding sage grouse. You know, our agency's primary goal and objective is to keep sage-grouse on the landscape. You know, we work very hard doing that.

One of the things to keep in mind is sage grouse (unintelligible) birds, who actually produce more young than will be able to survive. So some of those are going to die of predation, or starvation or other - other factors.

Here in the state of Utah, we actually harvest less than three percent of the total statewide sage grouse population. And one of the benefits that we get from that is we get a lot of data that we wouldn't get otherwise to help us manage the species.

We also have out sporting group, hunters or conservationists, and they're very good conserving species and being advocates for the species. In addition to that it also generates some funds for protection of habit, for hiring biologists to be spokesmen for sage grouse and for conservation.

FLATOW: Mm-hmm. Well, if you want to see Flora's great adventure out there, looking for the sage grouse, it's up on our website at sciencefriday.com. And also it's very funny.

LICHTMAN: Don't miss it - these birds are really striking.

FLATOW: They are. And I've never seen a sage grouse before, and it's really - I'm struck by how beautiful it is and how unusual is to see that. Thanks, Flora.

LICHTMAN: Thanks, Ira.

FLATOW: Thank you, Jason Robinson, for being our tour guide today.

ROBINSON: Thank you.

FLATOW: It's up on our website at sciencefriday.com. That's about all the time we have. And so we want to thank the folks, everybody here at Grand Theatre at Salt Lake Community College, everybody at KUER - your local public radio station - for making it possible for us to be here.

(APPLAUSE)

FLATOW: Thank you. We want to thank all of you out in the audience. It's well-bunch of people here. It's - what a great record for us to set here in Salt Lake City. Thank you all. You all deserved a round of applause to yourself for coming out to see us today.

(APPLAUSE)

FLATOW: And if you missed any part of the program, or would like to see Flora's Video Pick of the Week, it's up there on our website. Also we podcast in this show, we have a Facebook page, we tweet all the time at SCIENCE FRIDAY. @scifri is our handle out there. And also you can take us along to join your - for anything that you carry along in one of those electronic devices that you have. Thank you again for coming out to see us today. We'll be back in New York. Thanks again. I'm Ira Flatow in Salt Lake City.

Copyright ? 2013 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/04/26/179224941/the-bird-that-struts-its-stuff?ft=1&f=1007

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Grizzlies Beat Clippers 94-82 In Game 3: Zach Randolph, Memphis Cut L.A. Series Lead To 2-1

MEMPHIS, Tenn. ? Zach Randolph's fast start helped the Memphis Grizzlies return to their inside dominance.

Randolph had 13 of his 27 points in the first quarter, and he finished with 11 rebounds and the Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Clippers 94-82 on Thursday night to pull within 2-1 in this first-round series.

"Zach was huge," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. "He got started quickly. He had 18 at halftime, and that got us going and everyone else just flowed into that. I thought our defense, for the most part, was solid."

Randolph hadn't scored more than 13 in each of the first two games and had only 12 rebounds combined in Los Angeles. He looked much more like the All Star who had 45 double-doubles this season, and he also had six offensive rebounds after leading the NBA with 310 in the regular season.

The man known as "Z Bo" was the last of the Grizzlies off the court in pre-game warmups, and he had his shot working early.

"I definitely wanted to come out and be aggressive," Randolph said. "They've been double-teaming, triple-teaming me. So just go fast, you know hit a couple jump shots and open it up. Most definitely, I wanted to come out and be aggressive."

The Grizzlies snapped the Clippers' nine-game winning streak by outrebounding and dominating on second-chance points, the same things Los Angeles did so well on its home court to start the series in beating Memphis at its own style.

Game 4 is Saturday in Memphis.

Marc Gasol accepted his trophy as the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year before tipoff, then scored 16 points. Quincy Pondexter and Tony Allen had 13 each. Mike Conley was 1 of 9 but had 10 assists and no turnovers on a night where he was so sick he sipped on soda and didn't talk much.

Pondexter said Gasol anchored the Grizzlies on the defensive end to help them return to "Grizzlies' basketball" and called Randolph and Gasol two of the best big men in the NBA.

"They are really great," Pondexter said. "Marc is the best center in my eyes. Zach has the ability to play like the best power forward in the league. When those two guys are doing what they do, it's hard to stop us."

Blake Griffin scored 16 points for the Clippers. Matt Barnes had 12, Chauncey Billups 11 and Jamal Crawford and Caron Butler 10. Chris Paul had eight points on 4-of-11 shooting and added six assists.

"We didn't make any adjustments," Hollins said of defending Paul. "We just played better."

Paul wasn't happy with himself after he had five of the Clippers 18 turnovers. He also didn't get to the free throw line either.

"It's uncharacteristic of us. You know I mean especially me," Paul said. "I had five turnovers tonight, and our turnovers led to 17 of their points. They got offensive rebounds, things we hadn't let them do in Game 1 and Game 2. We just got to be better."

The game was a continuation of the roughness in Los Angeles with a flagrant foul, three technicals and a lot of whoofing along with a bear hug by Randolph after Barnes' flagrant foul.

The Clippers had beaten the Grizzlies three straight in Memphis, including a Game 7 win in the first round a year ago. They also had won six of the last seven in the series overall.

Memphis outrebounded the Clippers 45-33, including 17-5 on the offensive boards. That gave the Grizzlies a 22-4 edge in second-chance points, which was similar to what the Clippers did to Memphis in Game 1 when they held a 25-5 advantage. The Grizzlies also outscored Los Angeles 40-26 in the paint and led by as much as 16.

"That's what they do," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We have been able to contain it pretty well for the first couple of games, but we just didn't do a good enough job. We've got to find a way to get everybody in there."

The Clippers last led 10-8 in the first quarter before the Grizzlies took control with Randolph hitting four of his first five shots and all five free throws for 13 points in the quarter.

They tried to make a run late in the third and into the fourth as they have so often to beat Memphis in this series. They got as close as 74-69 with 8:39 left on a pair of free throws by Barnes.

"He came out aggressive, and that's what they needed," Griffin said of Randolph.

Memphis answered with a 7-2 spurt to push the lead back to double digits on a reverse layup by Pondexter off an assist from Randolph. During the run, Paul stole the ball from Grizzlies guard Jerryd Bayless and passed to Eric Bledsoe for a 3 he missed. Gasol got the rebound.

The Grizzlies outscored the Clippers 23-20 in the first quarter and 24-19 in the second, taking a 47-39 lead into halftime. They hadn't led by more than six in Los Angeles and were up by seven in the first quarter back on their own court. They pushed that to 12 in the second quarter.

Memphis' lead grew to 14 a couple times in the third, the last at 68-54 on a pair of free throws by Pondexter with 1:22 left.

That's when the Clippers went on a 10-2 run featuring back-to-back 3s by Crawford and then Lamar Odom. Ronny Turiaf dunked to pull the Clippers to 70-64 with 11:04 to go.

Pondexter then scored five points for Memphis as he got the rebound after he missed his second free throw attempt and put it back while being fouled by Barnes.

Pondexter added the free throw, pushing Memphis' lead back up to double digits with 10:16 remaining.

Notes: Randolph wound up part of a double foul situation for a third straight game in this series with Griffin late in the game. ... The Clippers hadn't lost in Memphis since Game 5 last year in the playoffs and won 24 road games during the regular season. ... The Grizzlies went 28-of-38 at the free throw line compared to 21-of-23 for the Clippers. ...The Clippers' 82 points were two shy of a franchise low in the postseason. ... Pondexter had only five total points in the first two games of the series. ... Paul had averaged 23.5 points in the first two games of the series.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/grizzlies-clippers-game-3-playoffs_n_3160075.html

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Tax cheats pony up $5.5 billion in amnesty program

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Internal Revenue Service has recouped more than $5.5 billion under a series of programs that offered reduced penalties and no jail time to people who voluntarily disclosed assets they were hiding overseas, government investigators said Friday.

In all, more than 39,000 tax cheats have come clean under the programs.

But there's more.

Government investigators suspect that thousands of other taxpayers have quietly started reporting foreign accounts without paying any penalties or interest. The number of people reporting foreign accounts to the IRS nearly doubled from 2007 to 2010, to 516,000 accounts, a report by the Government Accountability Office said.

The sharp increase suggests that some people are simply starting to report their accounts without taking part in the disclosure programs, the report said.

"IRS has detected some taxpayers with previously undisclosed offshore accounts attempting to circumvent paying the taxes, interest and penalties that would otherwise be owed," the report said. "But based on GAO reviews of IRS data, IRS may be missing attempts by other taxpayers attempting to do so."

Some taxpayers try to avoid penalties through a technique the IRS calls "quiet disclosure," in which they file amended tax returns that report offshore income from prior years. Others simply declare existing offshore accounts for the first time with their current year's tax return, the report said.

"If successful, these techniques result in lost revenue for the Treasury and undermine the offshore programs' fairness and effectiveness," the report said.

Peter Zeidenberg, a partner at the law firm DLA Piper in Washington, said it's pretty obvious that people are starting to report foreign accounts that probably existed for years.

"I don't think you get an increase like that from people just all of a sudden getting the idea I'm going to open an account in Switzerland," Zeidenberg said.

Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller said catching overseas tax dodgers is a top priority of the agency. In a written response to the report, he said the agency is working to improve the way it identifies people who are still trying get around the agency's disclosure programs.

The IRS has run four voluntary disclosure programs since 2003. The last three ? in 2009, 2011 and 2012 ? have yielded almost all of the $5.5 billion in back taxes, penalties and interest. The latest program is still open.

The agency stepped up its efforts in 2009, when Swiss banking giant UBS AG agreed to pay a $780 million fine and turn over details on thousands of accounts suspected of holding undeclared assets from American customers.

The GAO's report looked at data from the 2009 program. More than 10,000 cases from that program have been closed so far. The median account balance: $570,000.

U.S. taxpayers can hold offshore accounts for a number of legitimate reasons, the report says. They may want to diversify their investments, facilitate international business transactions or get easier access to money while living or working overseas.

But, the report notes, "some use them to illegally reduce their tax liabilities, often by not reporting the income earned on these accounts."

Taxpayers with foreign accounts totaling more than $10,000 must report them to the IRS or face stiff penalties.

The IRS has long had a policy that certain tax evaders who come forward can usually avoid jail time as long as they agree to pay back taxes, interest and hefty penalties. Drug dealers and money launderers need not apply. But if the money was earned legally, tax evaders can usually avoid criminal prosecution.

Fewer than 100 people apply for the program in a typical year, in part because the penalties can far exceed the value of the hidden account, depending on how long the account holder has evaded U.S. taxes.

The disclosure programs offered reduced penalties, but they were not a complete amnesty. In the 2009 program, most of the tax cheats were required to forfeit 20 percent of their accounts, the report said.

Miller said the agency is using information from people who have come forward to target banks and financial advisers.

The disclosure programs helped build political momentum to pass a law in 2010 that will require foreign banks to report U.S. account holders to U.S. authorities, said Ian Comisky, partner at Blank, Rome, a law firm based in Philadelphia.

If foreign governments refuse to disclose the information, U.S. banks must withhold 30 percent of certain payments to financial institutions in those countries ? a big incentive for countries to cooperate.

Together, the disclosure programs and the new law offer a powerful incentive for tax dodgers to come clean, Comisky said.

"They are more scared, and they are coming in where they might have been sitting out in the cold," Comisky said. "Now they're trying to come in, even if there's a penalty to do so."

___

Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-26-US-Tax-Cheats/id-1cb72db2adfd43d896f2abda76967a4a

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Police: Boston suspects planned to attack New York

NEW YORK (AP) ? The Boston Marathon bombers were headed for New York's Times Square to blow up the rest of their explosives, authorities said Thursday, in what they portrayed as a chilling, spur-of-the-moment scheme that fell apart when the brothers realized the car they had hijacked was low on gas.

"New York City was next on their list of targets," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told interrogators from his hospital bed that he and his older brother decided on the spot last Thursday night to drive to New York and launch an attack. In their stolen SUV they had five pipe bombs and a pressure-cooker explosive like the ones that blew up at the marathon, Kelly said.

But when the Tsarnaev brothers stopped at a gas station on the outskirts of Boston, the carjacking victim they were holding hostage escaped and called police, Kelly said. Later that night, police intercepted the brothers in a blazing gunbattle that left 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev dead.

"We don't know if we would have been able to stop the terrorists had they arrived here from Boston," the mayor said. "We're just thankful that we didn't have to find out that answer."

The news caused New Yorkers to shudder with the thought that the city may have narrowly escaped another terrorist attack, though whether the brothers could have made it to the city is an open question. They were two of the most-wanted men in the world, their faces splashed all over the Internet and TV in surveillance-camera images released by the FBI hours earlier.

Dzhokhar, 19, is charged with carrying out the Boston Marathon bombing April 15 that killed three people and wounded more than 260, and he could get the death penalty. Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz in Boston, would not comment on whether authorities plan to add charges based on the alleged plot to attack New York.

Investigators and lawmakers briefed by the FBI have said the Tsarnaev brothers ? ethnic Chechens from Russia who had lived in the U.S. for about a decade ? were motivated by anger over the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Based on the younger man's interrogation and other evidence, authorities have said it appears so far that the brothers were radicalized via Islamic jihadi material on the Internet instead of any direct contact with terrorist organizations, but they warned that it is still not certain.

Dzhokhar was interrogated in his hospital room Sunday and Monday over a period of 16 hours without being read his rights to remain silent and have an attorney present. He immediately stopped talking after a magistrate judge and a representative from the U.S. Attorney's office entered the room and gave him his Miranda warning, according to a U.S. law enforcement official and others briefed on the interrogation.

Kelly and the mayor said they were briefed on the New York plot on Wednesday night by the task force investigating the Boston bombing.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said in a CNN interview that the city should have been told earlier.

"Even though this may or may not have been spontaneous, for all we know there could be other conspirators out there, and the city should have been alerted so it could go into its defensive mode," he said.

Asked about the delay, Bloomberg said: "There's no reason to think the FBI hides anything. The FBI does what they think is appropriate at the time, and you'll have to ask them what they found and what the actual details of the interrogation were. We were not there."

Kelly, citing the interrogations, said that four days after the Boston bombing, the Tsarnaev brothers "planned to travel to Manhattan to detonate their remaining explosives in Times Square."

"They discussed this while driving around in a Mercedes SUV that they hijacked after they shot and killed the officer at MIT," the police commissioner said. "That plan, however, fell apart when they realized that the vehicle they hijacked was low on gas and ordered the driver to stop at a nearby gas station."

A day earlier, Kelly said that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had talked about coming to New York "to party" after the attack and that there wasn't evidence of a plot against the city. But Kelly said a later interview with the suspect turned up the information.

"He was a lot more lucid and gave more detail in the second interrogation," Kelly said.

Kelly said there was no evidence New York was still a target. But in a show of force, police cruisers with blinking red lights were lined up in the middle of Times Square on Thursday afternoon, and uniformed officers stood shoulder to shoulder.

"Why are they standing like that? This is supposed to make me feel safer?" asked Elisabeth Bennecib, a tourist and legal consultant from Toulouse, France. "It makes me feel more anxious, like something bad is about to happen."

Above the square, an electronic news ticker announced that the Boston Marathon suspects' next target might have been Times Square.

Outside Penn Station, Wayne Harris, a schoolteacher from Queens, said: "We don't know when a terrorist attack will happen next in New York, but it will happen. It didn't happen this time, by the grace of God. God protected us this time."

In 2010, Times Square was targeted with a car bomb that never went off. Pakistani immigrant Faisal Shahzad had planted a bomb in an SUV, but street vendors noticed smoke and it was disabled. Shahzad was arrested as he tried to leave the country and was sentenced to life in prison.

With tens of millions of dollars in federal homeland security funding at stake, Bloomberg and Kelly have repeatedly sought to remind the public that New York remains at the top of terrorists' wish list. They have said the city has been targeted in more than a dozen plots since 9/11.

Kelly said Dzhokhar was photographed in Times Square with friends in April 2012 and was in the city again in November 2012, but "we don't know if those visits were related in any way to what he described as the brothers' spontaneous decision to hit Times Square."

He said the police intelligence division is trying to establish Dzhokhar's movements in the city and determine who might have been with him.

Meanwhile, the Tsarnaev brothers' father said he is leaving Russia for the U.S. in the next day or two, but their mother said she was still thinking it over.

Anzor Tsarnaev has expressed a desire to go to the U.S. to find out what happened with his sons, defend the hospitalized son and, if possible, bring the older son's body back to Russia for burial.

Their mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, who was charged with shoplifting in the U.S. last summer, said she has been assured by lawyers that she would not be arrested, but was still deciding whether to go.

___

Associated Press writers Verena Dobnik and Tom Hays in New York contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-boston-suspects-planned-attack-york-182015679.html

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Nokia hosting Lumia event on May 14th, invites us to 'see what's next'

The next couple months are gearing up to be pretty busy, and Nokia's joining the fun with a press event on May 14th. The Finnish company is putting out a rather hefty teaser to get us intrigued, stating that the Nokia Lumia story continues, and we'll get to "see what's next." The timing of this new device is rather curious, given the fact that the flagship Lumia phones typically get shown off later in the fall. Is this the rumored 41MP PureView Windows Phone we've been hoping for ever since the 808 came out? Perhaps we'll see the Lumia 928 that we hear is supposed to hit Verizon in May (though London would be an odd and unlikely locale for a US-only handset unveiling). Could it simply be a lower-end device along the lines of the 520 or 620? We doubt that as well, but either way, we'll be there to get the scoop as Mr. Elop (we'd expect) shows off the latest Windows Phone coming out of Espoo.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Nokia

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Via: TechnoBuffalo

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/25/nokia-lumia-event-may-14/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Crossing a 'red line'? US says Syria used poison

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks with reporters after reading a statement on chemical weapon use in Syria during a press conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Thursday, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Jim Watson, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks with reporters after reading a statement on chemical weapon use in Syria during a press conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Thursday, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Jim Watson, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks with reporters after reading a statement on chemical weapon use in Syria during a press conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Thursday, April 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Jim Watson, Pool)

FILE - In this March 28, 2013 file photo, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaks at the Pentagon. Hagel said Thursday that U.S. intelligence has concluded "with some degree of varying confidence," that the Syrian government has used sarin gas as a weapon in its 2-year-old civil war, (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The White House declared Thursday that U.S. intelligence indicates Syrian President Bashar Assad has twice used deadly chemical weapons in his country's fierce civil war, a provocative action that would cross President Barack Obama's "red line" for a significant military response. But the administration said the revelation won't immediately change its stance on intervening.

The information, which has been known to the administration and some members of Congress for weeks, isn't solid enough to warrant quick U.S. involvement in the 2-year-old conflict, the White House said. Officials said the assessments were made with "varying degrees of confidence" given the difficulty of information gathering in Syria, though there appeared to be little question within the intelligence community.

As recently as Tuesday, when an Israeli general added to the growing chorus that Assad had used chemical weapons, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the administration was continuing to monitor and investigate but had "not come to the conclusion that there has been that use."

The Syrian civil war has persisted, with an estimated 70,000 dead. Obama has so far resisted pressure, both from Congress and from within his own administration, to arm the Syrian rebels or get involved militarily. He has, however, declared the use of chemical weapons a "game changer" that would have "enormous consequences."

The White House disclosed the new intelligence Thursday in letters to two senators, but had Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announce it to reporters traveling with him in the United Arab Emirates. The letters were sent in response to questions from senators of both parties who are pressing for more U.S. involvement, and it marked the first time the administration has publicly disclosed evidence of chemical weapons use.

"Our intelligence community does assess, with varying degrees of confidence, that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically, the chemical agent sarin," the White House said in the letters, which were signed by Obama's legislative director, Miguel Rodriguez. He went on to write that "given the stakes involved," the U.S. was still seeking "credible and corroborated facts" before deciding how to proceed.

Two congressional officials said the administration has known for weeks ? and has briefed Congress ? that the CIA and other intelligence agencies have evidence of two incidents of sarin gas use.

A U.S. official said intelligence agencies have had indications of chemical weapons use since March and reached the conclusions made public Thursday about two weeks ago. The two incidents are believed to have occurred around March 19 in the Syrian city of Aleppo and suburbs of Damascus, the official said.

The officials commented only on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly by name.

The White House described the attacks as "small scale," but the full extent of the chemical weapons use and resulting casualties was not immediately known.

Even as Assad has ratcheted up the attacks on his own people, Obama has limited U.S. assistance to non-lethal aid, including military-style equipment such as body armor and night vision goggles. However, he has repeatedly said that the use of chemical weapons, or the transfer of the stockpiles to a terrorist organization, would change things.

"That's a red line for us," he said in August. "There would be enormous consequences if we start seeing movement on the chemical weapons front, or the use of chemical weapons. That would change my calculations significantly."

A senior defense official said the White House letters were not an "automatic trigger" for policy decisions on the use of military force. The official alluded to past instances of policy decisions that were based on what turned out to be flawed intelligence, such as the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq after concluding that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.

Lawmakers from both parties sounded less than patient.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, a member of the Democratic leadership, was asked what should be done about Assad crossing the "red line." He said, "That's up to the commander in chief, but something has to be done."

And Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said, "I think it's pretty obvious that that red line has been crossed. Now I hope the administration will consider what we have been recommending now for over two years of this bloodletting and massacre and that is to provide a safe area for the opposition to operate, to establish a no-fly zone and provide weapons to people in the resistance who we trust."

Other lawmakers questioned whether a cautious U.S. response to the newly disclosed intelligence would only strengthen Assad's resolve to keep a grip on power.

"If Assad sees any equivocation on the red line, it will embolden his regime," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

The White House disclosure put the U.S. in line with Britain, France, Israel and Qatar, key allies who have cited evidence of chemical weapons use. The four countries have also been pressing for a more robust response to the conflict.

U.S. commanders have laid out a range of possible options for military involvement in Syria, including establishing a "no-fly zone" or secured area within Syria where citizens could be protected, launching airstrikes by drones and fighter jets or even sending in tens of thousands of ground forces to secure the chemical weapons caches. But the military has made it clear that any action would likely be either with NATO backing or with a coalition of nations similar to what was done in Libya in 2011.

Following the U.S. disclosure, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said, "There would doubtlessly be a very strong reaction from the international community if there were evidence that chemical weapons had been used."

Ahmad Ramadan, a member of the Syrian National Coalition opposition group's executive body, called the U.S. assertion an "important step," and he said that America had a "moral duty" to follow it with action.

The White House said the current intelligence assessments of sarin use are based in part on "physiological samples." U.S. officials said that could include human tissue, blood or other body materials, in addition to soil samples.

Sarin is an odorless nerve agent that can be used as a gas or a liquid, poisoning people when they breathe it, absorb it through their skin or eyes, or take it in through food or water. In large doses, sarin can cause convulsions, paralysis and death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people usually recover from small doses, which may cause confusion, drooling, excessive sweating, nausea and vomiting.

The Aum Shinrikyo cult used sarin in attacks in the Tokyo subway system in 1995 that killed 12 people and sickened thousands.

The White House said it was still seeking to confirm the "chain of command" that led to the chemical weapons use. But officials said they were confident attacks were initiated by the Assad government, not rebels, given that they see no evidence of Assad losing control of the stockpiles.

The U.S. said the completion of a stalled U.N. investigation would be critical in confirming the use. But it's unclear whether U.N. inspectors will ever be able to conduct a full investigation in areas where there is the most evidence of chemical weapons use.

The Syrian government has so far refused to allow the U.N. experts to go anywhere but Khan al-Assal, where Assad's government maintains the rebels used the deadly agents.

Officials said the U.S. was consulting with allies and looking for other ways to confirm the intelligence assessments.

___

AP National Security Writers Robert Burns in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and Lara Jakes in Washington, as well as AP Intelligence Writer Kimberly Dozier, and AP writers Lolita C. Baldor and Lauran Neergaard in Washington and Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-25-US-Syria/id-6c6ac517f7474506b91d7f05b9058c1d

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Logitech G500s Laser Gaming Mouse

Logitech has been a household name for years, well known for its quality computer mice and keyboards. But it's not just the mundane peripherals where Logitech has made a name for itself. The company's G-series of gaming peripherals is a perennial best-seller, and the latest mouse to join the party is the Logitech G500s Laser Mouse, a wired mouse that will have you shooting, casting, swiping, and bashing in no time.

Design
The Logitech G500s takes a fairly mundane looking design and ratchets it up a few clicks with gamer-friendly features, like a precision laser sensor, adjustable weight, and adjustable DPI, complete with a glowing built-in meter. It's more of an update to the previously successful G500, but there's no point in messing with a winning formula. The new iteration gets a more accurate laser sensor and an updfated paint-job, but it's otherwise unchanged.

The contours of the mouse make it a comfortable fit for right-hands, and the side-grips are covered with a rough textured coating, similar to the Roccat Savu. The mouse measures 1.73 by 3 by 5.1 inches (HWD), which is a little bigger than most similar gaming mice, but not uncomfortably so. Logitech spices up the otherwise bland grey and black design with grey and white stripes, but the look won't appeal to everyone. While the mouse looks a bit wild, the feel in hand is fairly normal, other than the grippy sides.

The mouse itself has 10 buttons, with the usual right- and left-click buttons, a clickable scroll wheel, and a button the switches the scroll wheel from free-spinning to ratcheting. On the outside edge of the left-click button are two buttons for on-the-fly DPI adjustment, and two thumb buttons let you navigate forward and back in your web browser. A third thumb button is unassigned, but (along with all of the other buttons) can be assigned to any desired function. The G500s is a wired USB mouse, with a 6.6-foot nylon braided cord preventing tangles.

Flip over the mouse and you'll find an ejectable weight cartridge. Logitech includes twelve weight inserts?six that are 4.5g each and six that are 1.7g each?meaning that you can adjust the weight between six ounces (when empty) and a maximum seven ounces. You can also mix and match weights and try different placements of those weights to shift the center of gravity and find a balance most comfortable to you. For a more customizable design, consider Logitech's other laser gaming mouse, the Logitech G9X .

Features and Performance
Much like the Roccat Lua or the Editors' Choice Corsair Vengeance M65 , the G500s is a fairly straightforward mouse, made with first-person shooters and similar action games in mind. It's perfect for games like Bioshock Infinite, which largely use left and right clicking as the primary interaction.

The G500s can be customized by programming buttons in the downloadable Logitech Gaming Software (Version 8.45), but you likely won't need to do much with the software. The plug and play functionality is quite good, though you can use the software dashboard to remap some of the extra buttons to specific functions, or to adjust the DPI settings.

In actual performance, the G500s delivers exactly as expected, with smooth consistent tracking, worry free clicking, and a scroll-wheel that can be used either free spinning or ratcheting. The on-the-fly DPI adjustment is useful in those instances when you need to switch from the fast movements of close-quarter melee combat to the tightly controlled accuracy of a sniper's shot. The G500s handles it all with reliable aplomb.

Conclusion
For a mouse that only differs from its predecessor in terms of sensor accuracy, the Logitech G500s is a surprisingly good mouse. While I didn't particularly care for the paint job?it looks like it's trying way too hard to convince me that it's cool?it's hard to argue with the actual performance. The Logitech G500s is a solid, accurate and straightforward gaming mouse. For the G500 fan that needs an upgrade, it's a no-brainer. For everyone else, while the Editors' Choice Corsair Vengeance M65 still leads with a slightly better design, the Logitech G500s is still worth a look.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/JCOO8Hr1Bd8/0,2817,2418132,00.asp

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Nearly 50 killed as sectarian violence flares in Iraq

By Suadad al-Salhy

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Nearly 50 people were killed in clashes on Thursday in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, sources said, on the third day of the most widespread violence in Iraq since U.S. troops withdrew in December 2011.

More than 100 people have been killed in fighting since Tuesday, when troops stormed a Sunni protest camp, triggering clashes that quickly spread to other Sunni areas in western and northern provinces.

Thousands of Sunni Muslims have taken to the streets since December in protest at the perceived marginalization of their sect since the U.S.-led invasion overthrew Saddam Hussein and empowered majority Shi'ites through the ballot box.

Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition took the lead in eight of the 12 provinces that held provincial elections at the weekend, including the capital Baghdad, preliminary results showed on Thursday.

The strong showing by Maliki's State of Law alliance - based on 87 percent of the results - consolidates his position ahead of parliamentary elections due in 2014, when he has hinted it will be time to form a majority government.

Iraqi politics are deeply split along sectarian lines, with Maliki's government deadlocked over how to share power among Shi'ites, Sunni Muslims and ethnic Kurds, who run their own autonomous region in the north.

SYRIAN FALLOUT

The delicate ethno-sectarian balance has come under growing strain from the civil war in neighboring Syria, where mainly Sunni Muslim rebels are fighting to overthrow a leader backed by Shi'ite Iran.

Violence, including bomb attacks that have killed dozens of people at a time, has increased across Iraq this year. Provisional figures from rights group Iraq Body Count indicate about 1,365 people have been killed so far in 2013.

Gunmen attacked Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, on Wednesday night and took control of western parts of the city after using a mosque loudspeaker to rally Sunnis to join the battle.

Military sources said federal police and the army regained control after surrounding a police headquarters occupied by militants, who were holding 17 hostages. The federal police chief said 31 militants had been killed in the fighting.

A source at a local morgue said it had received the bodies of nine militants and 15 policemen but others had yet to be recovered.

Insurgents also seized the town of Sulaiman Pek, 160 km (100 miles) north of Baghdad, overnight on Wednesday. Troops and tanks surrounded the town and gave the militants 48 hours to lay down their arms and leave, threatening to attack them otherwise.

The highway between Kirkuk and Baghdad was closed.

In a televised speech, Maliki warned Iraq was in great danger, calling on clerics and tribal leaders to rein in those who sought to plunge the country back into strife.

Clashes erupted in Falluja, 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, after militants attacked a federal police headquarters. The number of casualties was not known.

A bomb exploded in a parked car in central Najaf, killing three people, police said.

Sectarian bloodshed reached its height in Iraq in 2006-2007, three years into the U.S. occupation, after al Qaeda bombed the Shi'ite Askari shrine in Samarra, triggering a cycle of retaliation.

(Additional reporting by Sufyan al-Mashhadani in Mosul and Raheem Salman in Baghdad; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/least-10-iraq-policemen-killed-clashes-militants-sources-101125738.html

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Tom Cruise Likes To Go Fast In 'Jack Reacher' Featurette

When filming "Jack Reacher," Tom Cruise presented director Christopher McQuarrie with a unique problem. Most actors do not do their own stunt driving and therefore require stand-ins and crafty camera work to create the illusion that they do. As we see in this exclusive featurette from the Best Buy edition of the "Jack Reacher" Blu-ray, [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/04/23/tom-cruise-jack-reacher-featurette/

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Time for Apple to Answer Its Wake-Up Call ... - Yahoo! Finance

When earnings expectations are as low as they are for Apple (AAPL), results don't get "released" as much as they escape captivity. Even if Apple sandbagged its guidance in order to make the actual numbers look good, the company is almost certain to report shrinking year-over-year profits for the first time in more than a decade.

According to Yahoo! Finance, Apple is expected to report earnings of $10.07 per share on $42.6 billion in revenues. In the same quarter last year Apple earned $12.30 a share. Negative earnings growth means Apple's much cited P/E of 9 isn't all that it would seem.

Hank Smith, CIO and VP of Haverford, is long Apple and says investors can win big tonight with just a little help from CEO Tim Cook. Smith says Cook can send shares higher one of two ways.

First, the company can come up with a more creative capital allocation strategy in the form of buybacks or a dividend hike. Smith reasons that Apple is better off buying shares with the stock at $400 than when it was $300 higher. Unfortunately Apple already started a $10 billion buyback program last October with the stock in the mid-$600 area. Suffice it to say, the program did little to support the shares.

Smith would much prefer a boost in the payout to shareholders. "Dividends are very real and the most tangible statement a company can make about the confidence in their current condition and future prospects," he states.

What would really get the Street's blood pumping would be some sort of new product. The iPad, iPhone and iPad all changed the world, but that was a long time ago. By tradition Apple releases products only during "events" that occur whenever the company pleases. This caginess has only fed the bear case and the growls are getting louder.

"It's one thing being coy and non-communicative when your stock price is rising every single month and every single quarter," notes Smith, "but when you drop from $700 a share to under $400 in a mere 4 or 5 months, I think that's a wake up call."

The stage is set for Apple to come up with an organic upside surprise tonight and it doesn't even involve selling more product. All the company has to do is come up with some sort of release date on almost anything new whether it be distributing cash to shareholders or proving it can innovate without Steve Jobs.

Tim Cook has gotten his wake-up call. Tonight Wall Street gets to see if he's asleep at the switch or out to lunch.

[Jeff Macke owns shares of Apple]

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/time-apple-answer-wake-call-150550115.html

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The Lenovo Ideaphone K900 is coming May 6; looks like the best phone you'll never get to use

Intel's Clover Trail processor is coming soon to the far east market

Remember back at CES when we looked at the Lenovo K900? Five months later and it finally has an official release date of May 6 according to Lenovo's Chinese website. There is no price or any other information attached, but it certainly looks like this one is destined for China and / or the rest of the far east only. And that's a shame.

I'm certain there are plenty of us here on this side of the world who would love to see the first Intel Clover Trail powered smartphone for sale. The 5.5-inch 440+ ppi screen hides a 2.0GHz dual-core Intel processor and 2GB of RAM, with a 13MP camera (including a Sony Exmor lens) around the back. It's all tied together with Android 4.2 inside a nice metal chassis. The whole package left us pretty impressed when we had a look.

If this one ever ends up in the Americas, I'd love to take it for a spin. In the meantime, we have some lovely pictures of it at the source link. At least Kobe gets to play with it.

Source: Lenovo; via: GSM Insider

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/UqFCYVkc3A8/story01.htm

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Beyonce Gets Fists Pumping In New Tour Trailer: Watch Here!

A week into the Mrs. Carter Show trek, Queen Bey drops a concert trailer that features hit songs and sparkly costume changes.
By Jocelyn Vena

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706187/beyonce-mrs-carter-tour-trailer.jhtml

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Galaxy goes green in burning stellar fuel

Apr. 23, 2013 ? Astronomers have spotted the "greenest" of galaxies, one that converts fuel into stars with almost 100-percent efficiency.

The findings come from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the IRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer in the French Alps.

"This galaxy is remarkably efficient," said Jim Geach of McGill University in Canada, lead author of a new study appearing in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. "It's converting its gas supply into new stars at the maximum rate thought possible."

Stars are formed out of collapsing clouds of gas in galaxies. In a typical galaxy, like the Milky Way, only a fraction of the total gas supply is actively forming stars, with the bulk of the fuel lying dormant. The gas is distributed widely throughout the galaxy, with most of the new stars being formed within discrete, dense 'knots' in the spiral arms.

In the galaxy, called SDSSJ1506+54, nearly all of the gas has been driven to the central core of the galaxy, where it has ignited in a powerful burst of star formation.

"We are seeing a rare phase of evolution that is the most extreme -- and most efficient -- yet observed," said Geach.

The results will provide a better understanding of how the central star-forming regions of galaxies take shape.

SDSSJ1506+54 jumped out at the researchers when they looked at it using data from WISE's all-sky infrared survey. Infrared light is pouring out of the galaxy, equivalent to more than a thousand billion times the energy of our sun. The galaxy is so distant it has taken the light nearly six billion years to reach us.

"Because WISE scanned the entire sky, it detected rare galaxies like this one that stand out from the rest," said Ned Wright of UCLA, the WISE principal investigator.

Hubble's visible-light observations revealed that the galaxy is extremely compact, with most of its light emanating from a region just a few hundred light-years across. That's a big star-making punch for such a little size.

"While this galaxy is forming stars at a rate hundreds of times faster than our Milky Way galaxy, the sharp vision of Hubble revealed that the majority of the galaxy's starlight is being emitted by a region with a diameter just a few percent that of the Milky Way," said Geach.

The team then used the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer to measure the amount of gas in the galaxy. The ground-based telescope detected millimeter-wave light coming from carbon monoxide, an indicator of the presence of hydrogen gas, which is fuel for stars. Combining the rate of star formation derived with WISE, and the gas mass measured by IRAM, the scientists get a measure of the star-formation efficiency.

In regions of galaxies where new stars are forming, parts of gas clouds are collapsing due to gravity. When the gas is dense enough to squeeze atoms together and ignite nuclear fusion, a star is born. But this process can be halted by other newborn stars, as their winds and radiation blow the gas outward. The point at which this occurs sets the theoretical maximum for star formation. The galaxy SDSSJ1506+54 was found to be making stars right at this point, just before the gas clouds would otherwise be blown apart.

"We see some gas outflowing from this galaxy at millions of miles per hour, and this gas may have been blown away by the powerful radiation from the newly formed stars," said Ryan Hickox, an astrophysicist at Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., and a co-author on the study.

Why is SDSSJ1506+54 so unusual? Astronomers say they're catching the galaxy in a short-lived phase of evolution, possibly triggered by the merging of two galaxies into one. The star formation is so prolific that in a few tens of millions of years, the blink of an eye in a galaxy's life, the gas will be used up, and SDSSJ1506+54 will mature into a massive elliptical galaxy.

The scientists also used data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the W.M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and the MMT Observatory on Mount Hopkins, Arizona.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. J. E. Geach, R. C. Hickox, A. M. Diamond-Stanic, M. Krips, J. Moustakas, C. A. Tremonti, A. L. Coil, P. H. Sell, G. H. Rudnick. A REDLINE STARBURST: CO(2-1) OBSERVATIONS OF AN EDDINGTON-LIMITED GALAXY REVEAL STAR FORMATION AT ITS MOST EXTREME. The Astrophysical Journal, 2013; 767 (1): L17 DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/767/1/L17

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/rDyS8XB5HOM/130423153744.htm

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