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Windows Phone Marketplace Reportedly Hits 50,000 Apps
Posted on Thursday, December 29, 2011 by ? Karthick
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According to a recent report, Windows Phone Marketplace has crossed 50,000 apps.
All About Windows Phone reports that Windows Phone Marketplace has reached the 50,000 mark under 14 months of its launch. For the last four weeks, it has been adding 265 new apps every day. The likely causes of this acceleration are the expanded availability of the Windows Phone Marketplace and the Launch of Nokia?s first Windows Phone device.
?The 50,000 mark, which has been reached sooner than we estimated, is a key milestone, but more important is the accelerating growth of the Marketplace. It took just over a year to get to 40,000 apps, but just 40 days to add the next 10,000 apps. That bodes well for Windows Phone in 2012,? said Rafe Blandford of All About Windows Phone.
However, out of those 50,000 apps, almost 6,000 apps are no longer available, while some apps are available in only select marketplaces.
Dot Com Infoway is a Windows application development company with many popular apps to its credit. To know more about our services, visit our Windows app development page and Mobile app development page.
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TM_Outbreak: Rhiza Labs FluTracker Forum ? View topic - Community Transmission of Oseltamivir-R.. http://t.co/7Hgz7KUc (via @EricPiet)
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Targeted therapy extends progression-free survival of patients with advanced ovarian cancer
ScienceDaily (Dec. 29, 2011) ? Targeted drugs, which block or disrupt particular molecules involved in the growth of tumors, have been shown to be effective treatments against many types of cancer. A new phase 3 clinical trial conducted by the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) showed that a targeted therapy called bevacizumab (Avastin) effectively delayed the progression of advanced ovarian cancer. Patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer now typically undergo surgery and chemotherapy, but the new research suggests an additional avenue of treatment.
The results of the trial appear in the December 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"This approach can be looked upon as a third major component of treatment for ovarian cancer and related malignancies," says Robert A. Burger, MD, lead investigator on the GOG study and director of the Women's Cancer Center at Fox Chase Cancer Center. "We've had the combination of surgical management and cytotoxic chemotherapy for many years, but we haven't really seen anything else in terms of a fundamental class of treatment. This represents a new way for us to control the disease."
The placebo-controlled study, which was sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, enrolled 1,873 patients with previously untreated advanced disease from 336 sites, primarily in the United States, but also in Canada, South Korea, and Japan. The patients either had stage III ovarian cancer that could not be entirely removed with surgery, or stage IV disease, and were randomly assigned to one of three groups. For patients who received bevacizumab with chemotherapy followed by bevacizumab for up to an additional 10 months, the median time until their cancer progressed was 14.1 months, compared to 10.3 months for patients in the control group, who received chemotherapy with a placebo and then continued with a placebo. The net effect was a 28% reduction in the risk of disease of ovarian cancer progression over time. Patients who received bevacizumab only with chemotherapy, but not afterward, had a median progression-free survival of 11.2 months.
The National Cancer Institute estimates that nearly 22,000 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2011, and more than 15,000 died of the disease. For patients diagnosed before the cancer has spread, the five-year relative survival rate is about 93 percent (relative survival measures survival of cancer only, independent of other causes of death). But ovarian cancer is insidious -- early symptoms, like bloating, abdominal pain, and trouble eating, are typical of many illnesses and easily dismissed as non-threatening. Women often do not learn they have the disease until it's already spread. In 62 percent of new cases, the patient's cancer has metastasized to distant sites, and the five-year survival rate is just under 27 percent.
Bevacizumab is already FDA-approved for use against some types of colon, lung, kidney and brain cancers; its accelerated approval for metastatic breast cancer was recently revoked by the FDA. The drug acts by binding with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a protein produced by certain cancers that helps initiate the growth of new blood vessels that feed the tumor. The process of growing new blood vessels is called angiogenesis, and bevacizumab is an angiogenesis inhibitor.
"Bevacizumab blocks the growth factor VEGF, which is important in the process of ovarian cancer progression," says Burger, "and we've seen that this drug is also active in patients with recurrent disease."
Angiogenesis happens at the interface between the host and the disease, which makes it an appealing target for treatment, says Burger, who also led the Phase II GOG study on using bevacizumab in women with recurrent ovarian cancer. He says different ovarian cancers may appear identical under the microscope but differ biologically, which means they'll respond differently to treatment.
In the NEJM paper, Burger and his co-authors point out that another ovarian cancer trial conducted primarily in Europe called ICON7 demonstrated positive results in using becavizumab in combination with chemotherapy and then continued for up to 7 months.
Co-authors on the NEJM paper include Mark F. Brady, Roswell Park Cancer Institute; Michael A. Bookman, Arizona Cancer Center; Gini F. Fleming, University of Chicago; Bradley J. Monk, Creighton University School of Medicine; Helen Huang, Roswell Park; Robert S. Mannel, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City; Howard D. Homesley, Wake Forest University School of Medicine; Jeffrey Fowler, James Cancer Hospital at the Ohio State University, Hilliard; Benjamin E. Greer, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance; Matthew Boente, Minnesota Oncology and Hematology; Michael J. Birrer, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital; and Sharon X. Liang, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Fox Chase Cancer Center.
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Journal Reference:
- Robert A. Burger, Mark F. Brady, Michael A. Bookman, Gini F. Fleming, Bradley J. Monk, Helen Huang, Robert S. Mannel, Howard D. Homesley, Jeffrey Fowler, Benjamin E. Greer, Matthew Boente, Michael J. Birrer, Sharon X. Liang. Incorporation of Bevacizumab in the Primary Treatment of Ovarian Cancer. New England Journal of Medicine, 2011; 365 (26): 2473 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1104390
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111229091841.htm
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বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৯ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১
Apple Posts iTunes Match Video Walkthrough, FAQ, Setup Guide
Apple has posted a dedicated web site to iTunes Match, the company?s annual $25 service, to provide clarification on some of the most important aspects surrounding the product, including setup, availability, and usage.
?With iTunes in the Cloud, the music you buy from the iTunes Store automatically appears on all your devices,? Apple says on the new site.
?And for music you haven?t purchased from iTunes, iTunes Match is the perfect solution. iTunes Match is built right into iTunes on your computer and the Music app on your iOS devices. It lets you store your entire collection in iCloud, even music you?ve imported from CDs or purchased somewhere other than iTunes,? the Mac maker adds.
?When it?s in iCloud, it?s available on all your devices. So you can enjoy all your music anywhere, anytime ? on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, PC, or Apple TV.?Apple then details the song matching and uploading process, and offers a setup guide, a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ), and a walkthrough video.
For example, the first question answered in the FAQ is ?Who can use iTunes Match??
Following the international rollout earlier this month, ?Anyone with an Apple ID in the U.S and select other countries can use iTunes Match,? Apple says.
The company then outlines the system requirements, which include iTunes 10.5.1 or later on Mac or PC, and iOS 5.0.1 or later on iPhone 3GS or later, iPod touch (3rd and 4th generation), or iPad.
Stuff like which music formats can iTunes Match handle, and how many devices can iTunes Match support, is also explained.
Finally, there?s a blue button at the bottom of the page that says ?Subscribe to iTunes Match?. The link takes you to the setup page in iTunes, but only if your country is supported.
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Romney's rivals attack in final Iowa caucus push (AP)
DES MOINES, Iowa ? Attacking in waves, Mitt Romney's Republican presidential rivals cast the former Massachusetts governor as a less-than-reliable conservative on taxes, gay marriage and more Tuesday in the final, intensifying phase of a costly Iowa caucus campaign.
"I think I'm going to get the nomination if we do our job right," countered Romney, sounding like the front-runner his rivals made him out to be a week before the first major test of the race.
In a measure of the political stakes, the candidates and allied groups have spent more than $12 million on television commercials to air through caucus day next Tuesday. Romney, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and supporting groups account for nearly half the total, according to one estimate.
Most of Romney's rivals preceded him into the state during the day at the end of a holiday lull, seeking support in caucuses that are likely to dispatch one or more of them to a hasty campaign exit.
"My idea of gun control? Use both hands," said Perry, setting out on a bus tour in hopes of resurrecting his once-promising candidacy.
"I've been a conservative all my life," said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He called Romney a "Massachusetts moderate ... who campaigned to the left of Teddy Kennedy."
In Dubuque, the first stop of a bus tour through the state, Gingrich said his own economic proposal for an optional flat-tax as well as the elimination of all capital gains taxes was a more pro-growth approach than Romney's prescription.
In a radio interview, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said Romney had "sort of gotten a pass'" when he said in a recent debate he had done all he could as Massachusetts governor to block same-sex marriages in the state.
Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota had a bus of her own, and saw herself as the rightful Romney alternative.
"I am the only consistent conservative in the race and the only candidate with the proven leadership and experience to create more American jobs and repair our economy," she wrote in an email seeking donations for her underfunded candidacy.
Bachmann, Perry and Gingrich have all spent time atop the Iowa public opinion polls in recent months, either alone or alongside Romney, only to fall back.
Recent soundings suggest Texas Rep. Ron Paul is Romney's likeliest threat in Iowa. He is due in the state on Wednesday.
A conservative with libertarian leanings, Paul commands strong allegiance from his own supporters but appears to have little potential to expand his appeal and emerge as a serious challenger for the nomination.
Unlike his rivals and most Republican voters, he says the federal government should have no authority to ban abortion.
And Paul was alone among the GOP contenders in a recent debate in saying the United States should not consider preemptive military action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, an issue of significant importance to Israel. He warned against jumping the gun, adding, "That's how we got into that useless war in Iraq."
Romney, making his second run for the nomination, has relied on a well-funded and disciplined organization, generally strong debate performances and deep-pocketed allies to keep his balance as others have risen to challenge him and fallen back.
According to one tally of television advertising in the state, the Massachusetts governor and a super PAC run by supporters have spent $3.7 million combined on ads through Jan. 3
The total was exceeded only by a combined $5.5 million for Perry and a super PAC set up by his supporters.
Whatever the outcome, there was a recognition that for some, Iowa might simultaneously be the first and last test of the campaign.
"If I finish dead last way behind the pack I'm going to pack up and go home," Santorum said in a radio interview on WHO in Des Moines. "But I don't think that's going to happen," he added instantly.
Santorum, more than any of the others, has campaigned in Iowa the old fashioned way by doggedly visiting all 99 counties and holding hundreds of town hall meetings.
In Mason City, on a final swing through the state, he, like the others, urged potential caucus-goers to look past the appeal of conservative pretenders.
"The siren song of `this person can win' has been the mantra of a lot of the candidates," he said. "Vote for me because I can win."
In the state where caucuses propelled Obama toward the White House in 2008, the president's campaign organization pointed toward Election Day next Nov. 6.
With offices in eight Iowa cities, officials said Obama's re-election campaign has placed hundreds of thousands of phone calls since April to potential supporters.
___
Associated Press writers Chuck Babington in Des Moines, Tom Beaumont in Mason City, Philip Elliott in Council Bluffs, Shannon McCaffrey in Dubuque and Steve Peoples in New Hampshire contributed to this report.
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Jessica Simpson's 'Hot' Fiance (omg!)
Jessica Simpson posted a pic on Wednesday of her fiance and soon-to-be baby daddy, Eric Johnson.
"My man is SO hot," Jessica wrote as a caption for the black-and-white snapshot.
The couple first announced their engagement last year, but have yet to nail down an official date for their nuptials.
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বুধবার, ২৮ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১
pdamerica: What does it mean to be a "Friend of Coal?" #Coal #Cancer #P2 #CTL http://t.co/eO36jDfG
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শনিবার, ১৭ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১
শুক্রবার, ১৬ ডিসেম্বর, ২০১১
House backs tough sanctions on Iran (AP)
WASHINGTON ? The House on Wednesday endorsed harsher sanctions on Iran as it seeks to weaken Tehran economically and derail its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
The overwhelming votes of 410-11 and 418-2 were largely symbolic, however, as the Senate was not expected to act on the legislation in the few remaining days of the congressional session.
Separately, Congress was poised to back a sweeping defense bill that already included crippling sanctions on foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's Central Bank, a provision that the Senate backed unanimously last week.
Determined to show their hawkish stand on Iran and pro-Israel credentials, House lawmakers voted for two bills that would strengthen current sanctions while expanding the list of companies and individuals subject to penalties.
The legislation builds on sanctions that Congress overwhelmingly passed ? and President Barack Obama signed ? last year. Those penalties targeted exports of gasoline and other refined petroleum products to Iran and banned U.S. banks from doing business with foreign banks providing services to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The United Nations and the European Union have also imposed sanctions on Iran.
"Our fundamental strategic objective must be to stop Iran before it obtains nuclear weapons capabilities and to compel it to permanently dismantle its pursuit of such weapons," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The United States has tried repeatedly to coax Iran into international negotiations with the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany over its nuclear program. Iran contends that its program is designed to generate electricity, not build weapons.
Among the new provisions, the House bills would restrict foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies from doing business with Iran. Bartering is included among the activities that could be sanctioned, and Americans would be prohibited from conducting commercial or financial transactions with the Revolutionary Guard.
Directing its ire at Syria and North Korea as well, one provision would strengthen the prohibition on granting landing rights in the United States to vessels that have visited Iran, North Korea or Syria in the last two years.
The defense bill would impose tough new penalties on Iran, targeting foreign financial institutions that do business with the Central Bank in Tehran. The legislation requires the president to prohibit or impose strict conditions on that financial institution and its ability to maintain corresponding accounts in the United States.
The sanctions appear to be taking a toll in Tehran. Last month, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad acknowledged that the current penalties were impeding Iran's financial institutions, saying, "our banks cannot make international transactions anymore."
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Colorado requires disclosure of fracking chemicals (AP)
DENVER ? Environmentalists and regulators in Colorado will have more information than any state about what chemicals energy companies are pumping into the earth as they try to extract gas from rock formations deep underground.
Starting in April, energy companies will have to disclose the concentrations of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, which some environmentalists and residents fear is contaminating groundwater and tainting the air.
Colorado regulators unanimously approved the new rules Tuesday. Drillers also will have to make public some information about chemicals considered trade secrets, and give 48 hours' notice before pumping the chemicals into the ground.
The rules are similar to those in a first-in-the-nation law that Texas regulators implemented Tuesday, but Colorado's go further by requiring the concentrations of chemicals to be disclosed.
"That's the big advancer here. We're getting a full picture of what's in that fracking fluid," said Michael Freeman, an attorney for Earthjustice who worked with the industry to write the rules for Colorado.
Halliburton Co. and other drilling companies had opposed the rules, saying the chemicals were proprietary. Both environmental groups and industry attorneys hammered out the regulations in what both described as an informal atmosphere.
"It yielded a good rule for the state and a workable rule for the industry," said Jep Seman, an attorney for the Colorado Petroleum Association.
The Environmental Protection Agency last week found a possible link between groundwater pollution and hydraulic fracturing beneath Pavillion, Wyo. The EPA found compounds likely associated with fracking chemicals in the groundwater beneath the small central Wyoming community where residents complain their well water smells like chemicals. Health officials last year advised residents not to drink their well water after the EPA found low levels of hydrocarbons.
Industry officials pointed out that the EPA announcement didn't focus on the domestic water wells but two wells drilled somewhat deeper into the aquifer specifically to test for pollution. The owner of the Pavillion gas field, Calgary, Alberta-based Encana Corp., said the compounds could have had other origins not related to gas development.
Dave Neslin, director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, said commissioners are reviewing the draft EPA report but the state already has implemented regulations meant to protect its groundwater. Those rules include how to properly encase and cement wells, clean up spills and properly dispose of waste.
"Disclosure is important for transparency and public education, but it's not our first line of defense," he said.
Also, if Colorado drillers claim a trade secret, they have to certify it's a trade secret but would still have to disclose the ingredient's chemical family. In emergencies, companies would have to tell health care workers what those secret ingredients are. The public can challenge whether a company in Colorado can claim something's a trade secret.
Texas' regulations allow companies to claim trade secrets unless the attorney general or a court determines the information doesn't qualify.
Companies have been fracking for decades, but as drilling expands to more populated areas, residents near wells are concerned about the effects on their health and drinking water. Texas, in passing its law this summer, noted that fracking has been done safely in that state for 60 years.
Arkansas, Montana, Texas and Wyoming all require companies to disclose the chemicals in fracking fluid but not their concentrations, said Matt Watson, senior energy policy manager for the Environmental Defense Fund. Louisiana and New Mexico only require disclosure of some chemicals deemed workplace hazards by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Other states, including Michigan and Pennsylvania, have proposed similar regulations.
Both Colorado and Texas require companies to list fracking fluid chemicals on FracFocus.org, a national website created by two intergovernmental agencies. Companies in Texas must begin complying starting in February.
Gov. John Hickenlooper had called for Colorado to draft a disclosure rule.
"I think we've reached the fairest and most transparent rules on the transparency of frack fluids of any state in the country," the Democratic governor said. "I think this will likely become a national model that if other states they don't copy it, they will certainly use it as a touch point."
Commission staff said a survey of Colorado disclosures on FracFocus.org shows a small percentage claim trade secrets, though the website includes only voluntary disclosures. Companies on the website say their fracking fluid is mostly water mixed with sand and small percentages of petroleum chemicals and alcohols such as isopropanol, which is used in rubbing alcohol. Some fluids contain hydrochloric acid, which can cause irritation and burns.
Freeman said some fracking fluids also might contain diesel fuel, benzene and other chemicals commonly found in gasoline.
The database is searchable by company, well location and type of chemical used.
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iPads become child's play (AP)
NEW YORK ? Make room in the toy box for the iPad.
Crayola allows tots to doodle on the iPad using its iMarker just as they would a crayon on a coloring book. Tweens are able to belt out their favorite Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez tunes on a Disney microphone that turns the tablet into a karaoke machine. And technology accessories company Griffin enables teens to fly its toy helicopter by using the iPhone as a remote control.
This holiday season, toy makers have turned Apple Inc.'s pricey tablet and smartphone into playthings for kids. They figure in this weak economy, parents will be willing to splurge on toys for their children that utilize devices they already have ? or want ? themselves.
Tiffany Fessler of Gainsville, Ga., certainly was willing to do that even though when she initially bought her $829 iPad she never imagined she'd be sharing it with her 20-month-old son. But whenever she sat down to check emails on the iPad, he'd climb into her lap wanting to use it.
So, Fessler decided to get him the $29.99 Crayola iMarker, which transforms the iPad into a digital coloring book using a Crayola's free ColorStudio HD application that parents can download. Kids can draw and color using the iMarker, which has a soft tip so it doesn't scratch the tablet's glass screen.
"When you have a screaming toddler in a restaurant or any public area, you want to have something to calm him down with," says Fessler, 39. "This is just another way to keep him entertained."
That the iPad and iPhone have infiltrated the $22 billion toy market this season is no surprise. Smartphones and tablets ? particularly Apple products ? are more popular than ever with people of all ages. This year, Apple is expected to double the number of iPhones sold to 90.6 million worldwide, according to research firm Gartner, while the number of iPads sold is expected to triple to 46.7 million.
And Apple products have a certain "cool factor" with kids that toy companies, which can make up to half of their revenue during the holidays, are hoping to tap into. In fact, the iPad and iPhone are among the most coveted electronics this holiday season among kids. About 44 percent of 6- to 12-year-olds want the iPad this year, according to a survey by research firm Nielsen. The iPod touch came in the No. 2 spot with 30 percent, followed by the iPhone at 27 percent.
Not to mention, anyone who's a parent knows all too well that babies and older kids alike love to fiddle with or drool all over mommy's iPad. Nearly 40 percent of 2-to 4-year-olds have used a smartphone, iPad or video iPod, according to a survey by nonprofit group Common Sense Media. That number rises to 52 percent for 5- to- 8 year olds. And even 10 percent of infants have used one of the devices before their first birthday.
"It's mostly something for kids to use in the car or at the doctor's office," says Chris Baynes, a toy analyst. "It's a way to get the kid to be quiet."
With that in mind, Crayola teamed up with Nashville, Tenn.-based Griffin Technology, which is mostly known for selling iPhone and iPad cases and car chargers, to make the iMarker and the ColorStudio HD app for kids. The iMarker, which is like a stylus that resembles a Crayola marker, is targeted at children ages three and up.
"Regardless of who they buy it for, once it is in the household, we know that kids use it," says Vicky Lozano, vice president of marketing at Crayola, which makes the iMarker.
Other toy makers also have gotten into the game:
? Griffin's $49.99 remote-controlled toy helicopter is aimed at teens over 14. Called the "HELO TC," it flies using a device that plugs into an iPhone, iPad or iPod. A free app turns the touchscreen of the devices into a cockpit that controls the helicopter.
? Mattel Inc.'s Fisher-Price unit is selling "The Laugh and Learn Apptivity Case" aimed at babies for $15. The case locks the iPhone into a colorful, easy to grab case that looks like a big round rattle. The case stops babies from making unwanted calls and protects the iPhone from something else: drool. Parents can open up three free apps that play music, read words aloud and count numbers. The company plans to release an iPad version of the case this spring.
? Disney has three offerings. The "Disney Spotlight" microphone, which is $69.99 or $99.99 for a wireless version, plugs into the iPad and allows kids to sing along to Disney songs from shows such as "Hannah Montana" ? or to their own music ? and record their own music video. Disney's $79.99 AppClix digital camera enables kids to upload their pictures to an iPad and a free app allows them add Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck into the photos. And Disney teamed up with Canadian toy maker Spin Master to create "Appmates," a toy car based on the characters from the company's "Car's 2" animated movie. One car sells for $12.99 while a two-pack goes for $19.99. Using a free app, kids can "drive" on different courses by moving the car across the iPad screen.
? Spin Master, which makes toys such as Air Hogs and Bakugan, started a new line this year of toys for the iPad and iPhone called "AppFininity." Its first toy in the line is the $19.99 AppBlaster, a plastic gun for kids over age eight. After slipping an iPhone or iPad touch on top of the AppBlaster, kids can shoot at aliens that pop up on the screen.
Analysts say these toys are just the beginning of a new niche for toy makers. Indeed, most of the companies say they plan to roll out more products for smartphones and tablets ? including some that use Google Inc.'s Android software_ next year.
"I think it's going to be a growing segment," says Jim Silver, editor-in-chief at toy review website TimeToPlaymag.com. "Next year, there will be even more (products) than you can possibly imagine."
___
Joseph Pisani can be reached at http://twitter.com/josephpisani.
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World pledges long-term help to Afghanistan (AP)
BONN, Germany ? Afghanistan will need the financial support of the international community for at least another decade beyond the 2014 departure of international troops, Afghan President Hamid Karzai told an international conference Monday.
"Together we have spent blood and treasure in fighting terrorism," Karzai said. "Your continued solidarity, your commitment and support will be crucial so that we can consolidate our gains and continue to address the challenges that remain."
But the international conference on the future of Afghanistan in Bonn was overshadowed by a public display of bad blood between the United States and Pakistan, the two nations with the greatest stake and say in making Afghanistan safe and solvent.
Pakistan boycotted the conference to protest an apparently errant U.S. air strike last month that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the rough border with Afghanistan. The strike furthered the perception in Pakistan that NATO and the U.S. are its true enemies, not the Taliban militants that operate on both sides of the border.
"It was unfortunate that they did not participate," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said at a news conference. "I expect that Pakistan will be involved going forward and we expect them to play a constructive role."
Pakistan is seen as instrumental to ending the insurgency in Afghanistan because of its links to militant groups and its unwillingness, from the U.S. and NATO perspective, to drive insurgents from safe havens on its soil where they regroup and rearm.
During the one-day conference, about 100 nations and international organizations, including the United Nations, jointly pledged political and financial long-term support for war-torn Afghanistan to hinder it from falling back into chaos or becoming a safe haven for terrorists.
"We will need your steadfast support for at least another decade," Karzai told the delegates, echoing a recent assessment by the World Bank that predicted a sharp budget shortfall as the 130,000 international troops gradually withdraw.
Organizer Germany and the United States had once hoped the conference would showcase progress toward a political settlement between Afghanistan and the Taliban-led insurgency that 10 years of fighting by international forces has failed to dislodge. Instead, it became a status report on halting progress on other fronts and a glaring reminder that neither the Taliban nor Pakistan is ready to sign up to the international agenda for Afghanistan.
Participating nations pledged their support for an inclusive Afghan-led reconciliation process on condition that any outcome must reject violence, terrorism and endorse the Afghan constitution and its guarantee of human rights.
"The entire region has a stake in Afghanistan's future and much to lose if the country again becomes a source of terrorism and instability," Clinton told the delegates.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani later told The Associated Press in Lahore, Pakistan, that his country remains committed to working with Afghanistan to bring insurgent leaders into talks with the government.
"I think we have evolved some mechanisms, and we are ready to cooperate," he said, referring to meetings with Afghanistan's military and intelligence chiefs on a framework for talks.
The Bonn conference's final declaration outlines a series of "firm mutual commitments" for the decade following the troop withdrawal.
Afghanistan commits in the document to do to its homework in terms of reform, fighting corruption, promoting good governance and strengthening democracy. The international community, in return, pledged to direct "financial support toward Afghanistan's economic development and security-related costs," conveying the message that Kabul can count on its partners beyond 2014.
"We reiterate our common determination to never allow Afghanistan to once again become a haven for international terrorism," the declaration stated.
Afghanistan's western neighbor, Iran, did join the conference, represented by Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi. That set up a rare occasion when two U.S. and Iranian representatives were in the same room, and came a day after Iran claimed it shot down a U.S. surveillance drone. The Pentagon has said it lost a drone last week in western Afghanistan due to mechanical failure.
Iran stands ready to support Afghanistan and an Afghan-led reconciliation process, Salehi said, while strongly condemning the idea of any military bases remaining after 2014.
The U.S. is currently seeking an agreement with the Afghan government establishing operating rules for the small number of remaining U.S. forces and other issues after international forces withdraw.
Donor nations did not commit to specific figures at Monday's meeting, but pledged that economic and other advances in Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban government in 2001 should be safeguarded with continued funding. A donor conference will be held in July in Japan.
The United States announced it would free more than $650 million in support for small community-based development projects in Afghanistan, frozen because of financial irregularities in Afghanistan's key Kabul Bank.
Afghanistan estimates it will need outside contributions of roughly $10 billion in 2015 and onward, slightly less than half the country's annual gross national product, mostly because it won't be able to pay for its security forces which are slated to increase to 352,000 personnel by the end of 2014.
The conference pledged to support the Afghan security forces' "training and equipping, financing and development of capabilities beyond the end of the transition period" in 2014.
Despite more than a decade of international intervention, Afghanistan still ranks among the world's poorest and most corrupt nations.
It is failing in two major areas in particular: security and good government. Violence has gone up sharply this year with increasingly brazen attacks, and has spread to the once-peaceful north of the country. Widespread corruption is bedeviling attempts to create a viable Afghan government and institutions to take over when the U.S. and NATO leave.
Moreover, Afghanistan provides about 90 percent of the world's opium, the raw ingredient used to make heroin. Money from the sale of opium is also used to fuel the insurgency, helping to buy weapons and equipment for the Taliban.
"The road ahead will remain stony and difficult. It will require endurance and tenacity," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said.
There are many measures of improvement in Afghanistan since 2001, however, including higher school enrollment, especially for girls, and better health. Afghans are living longer, fewer infants are dying and more women are surviving childbirth because health care has dramatically improved around the country in the past decade, according to an Afghan Health Ministry survey.
More than 6 million children are in school today, according to the United Nations. During the Taliban, girls were denied schooling, and before that most schools were closed because of fighting.
___
Chris Brummit in Lahore, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
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O'Neill gets close view of Sunderland's problems
By STUART CONDIE
AP Sports Writer
Associated Press Sports
updated 2:10 p.m. ET Dec. 4, 2011
LONDON (AP) -Martin O'Neill got an idea of the problems he has to deal with at Sunderland when he watched his new team lose 2-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Sunday.
With Kieran Richardson having put Sunderland ahead shortly after halftime, the former Celtic and Aston Villa coach watched from the stands as his club missed a chance for 2-0 when goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey saved a penalty from Sebastian Larsson.
Steven Fletcher equalized immediately from the resulting counterattack and scored again with nine minutes left to lift his team above Sunderland in the standings.
O'Neill will officially succeed the fired Steve Bruce as manager on Monday, with the side he supported as a boy just one point and one place above the bottom three.
Richardson gave Sunderland a 52nd-minute lead at the end of a stunning length-of-the-field counterattack. Nicklas Bendtner and Stephane Sessegnon combined to release Richardson in the area and the forward smashed an angled shot high into the net.
Larsson won a penalty kick when he tumbled to the ground theatrically under a challenge from Jody Craddock, although replays showed that any slight contact appeared to occur just outside the area.
Hennessey saved the kick low to his left and rolled the ball out for the 73rd-minute counter that ended with Fletcher heading in a cross by Matt Jarvis. Eight minutes later, Fletcher scored the winner with a left-foot shot from about 12 meters (yards).
"It was a superb goal they scored but the crowd stuck with us and it was a great team effort," Wolves manager Mick McCarthy said. "Wayne was brilliant. He's one of the best in the league for me. He's very young but he's proved again that he's an outstanding goalkeeper."
Wolves moved up two places to 15th, two points ahead of Sunderland. Only Blackburn, Bolton and Wigan in the relegation zone are below the Black Cats.
With all the high-flying clubs having played Saturday - partly to give Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal an extra day rest before their midweek Champions League assignments - Stoke won 1-0 at Everton in Sunday's other game.
Defender Robert Huth's first goal of the campaign - the German defender turned Dean Whitehead's 15th-minute shot into the net - meant that Stoke recorded a victory after a Europa League match for only the second time this season.
Apostolos Vellios made just his second start up front for Everton in place of Louis Saha, and his club did not pose enough of a threat in the opposition penalty area despite dominating the second half.
Stoke rose five places to eighth, two points ahead of Everton.
"It has been a great week for the club, " Stoke manager Tony Pulis said. "To get six points and to qualify for the latter stages of the Europa League is first class. We have had a dip of form, which most clubs do, and we have shown a lot of character and spirit the last week."
Leader City stayed five points ahead of United with a 5-1 win over Norwich, while United won 1-0 at Aston Villa. Chelsea won 3-0 at Newcastle, Arsenal won 4-0 at Wigan and third-place Tottenham beat Bolton 3-0.
? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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More newsMan United vs. Man City again
Manchester United will meet defending champion Manchester City in the FA Cup for a second straight season after the local rivals were drawn against each other in the third round.
Season set
Major League Soccer's 2012 season will open March 10 with six games.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44131091/ns/sports-soccer/
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Obama promises big push on payroll tax cut (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama on Friday pledged an aggressive push to pass an extension to the payroll tax cut for U.S. workers, saying lawmakers must not leave for their holiday break without taking action on it.
"We need to get this done. And I expect that it's going to get done before Congress leaves. Otherwise, Congress may not be leaving and we can all spend Christmas here together."
Speaking after fresh data showed the U.S. unemployment rate fell to a 2-1/2-year low of 8.6 percent, Obama said it was not the time to "slam the brakes" on the U.S. economy recovery.
He also pushed another priority - extending emergency benefits for the unemployed.
"Failure to take either of these steps would be a significant blow to our economy. It would take money out of the pockets of Americans who are most likely to spend it and it would harm small businesses that depend on the spending," Obama said.
He spoke after touring a Washington office building with former President Bill Clinton and announcing a $4 billion effort to increase the energy efficiency of government and private sector buildings.
The White House predicted the two-year plan, part of Obama's strategy of using his executive powers to take action while his broader $447 billion jobs program remains stalled in Congress, would create tens of thousands of jobs.
(Reporting by Caren Bohan, Matt Spetalnick and Jeff Mason; Editing by Vicki Allen and Todd Eastham)
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Moral dilemma: Would you kill 1 person to save 5?
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Public release date: 1-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Carlos David Navarrete
cdn@msu.edu
517-432-8391
Michigan State University
EAST LANSING, Mich. Imagine a runaway boxcar heading toward five people who can't escape its path. Now imagine you had the power to reroute the boxcar onto different tracks with only one person along that route.
Would you do it?
That's the moral dilemma posed by a team of Michigan State University researchers in a first-of-its-kind study published in the research journal Emotion. Research participants were put in a three dimensional setting and given the power to kill one person (in this case, a realistic digital character) to save five.
The results? About 90 percent of the participants pulled a switch to reroute the boxcar, suggesting people are willing to violate a moral rule if it means minimizing harm.
"What we found is that the rule of 'Thou shalt not kill' can be overcome by considerations of the greater good," said Carlos David Navarrete, lead researcher on the project.
As an evolutionary psychologist, Navarrete explores big-picture topics such as morality in other words, how do we come to our moral judgments and does our behavior follow suit?
His latest experiment offers a new twist on the "trolley problem," a moral dilemma that philosophers have contemplated for decades. But this is the first time the dilemma has been posed as a behavioral experiment in a virtual environment, "with the sights, sounds and consequences of our actions thrown into stark relief," the study says.
The research participants were presented with a 3-D simulated version of the classic dilemma though a head-mounted device. Sensors were attached to their fingertips to monitor emotional arousal.
In the virtual world, each participant was stationed at a railroad switch where two sets of tracks veered off. Up ahead and to their right, five people hiked along the tracks in a steep ravine that prevented escape. On the opposite side, a single person hiked along in the same setting.
As the boxcar approached over the horizon, the participants could either do nothing letting the coal-filled boxcar go along its route and kill the five hikers or pull a switch (in this case a joystick) and reroute it to the tracks occupied by the single hiker.
Of the 147 participants, 133 (or 90.5 percent) pulled the switch to divert the boxcar, resulting in the death of the one hiker. Fourteen participants allowed the boxcar to kill the five hikers (11 participants did not pull the switch, while three pulled the switch but then returned it to its original position).
The findings are consistent with past research that was not virtual-based, Navarrete said.
The study also found that participants who did not pull the switch were more emotionally aroused. The reasons for this are unknown, although it may be because people freeze up during highly anxious moments akin to a solider failing to fire his weapon in battle, Navarrete said.
"I think humans have an aversion to harming others that needs to be overridden by something," Navarrete said. "By rational thinking we can sometimes override it by thinking about the people we will save, for example. But for some people, that increase in anxiety may be so overpowering that they don't make the utilitarian choice, the choice for the greater good."
###
A 2-D example of the virtual environment used in this study is available at www.cdnresearch.net/vr
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 1-Dec-2011[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Carlos David Navarrete
cdn@msu.edu
517-432-8391
Michigan State University
EAST LANSING, Mich. Imagine a runaway boxcar heading toward five people who can't escape its path. Now imagine you had the power to reroute the boxcar onto different tracks with only one person along that route.
Would you do it?
That's the moral dilemma posed by a team of Michigan State University researchers in a first-of-its-kind study published in the research journal Emotion. Research participants were put in a three dimensional setting and given the power to kill one person (in this case, a realistic digital character) to save five.
The results? About 90 percent of the participants pulled a switch to reroute the boxcar, suggesting people are willing to violate a moral rule if it means minimizing harm.
"What we found is that the rule of 'Thou shalt not kill' can be overcome by considerations of the greater good," said Carlos David Navarrete, lead researcher on the project.
As an evolutionary psychologist, Navarrete explores big-picture topics such as morality in other words, how do we come to our moral judgments and does our behavior follow suit?
His latest experiment offers a new twist on the "trolley problem," a moral dilemma that philosophers have contemplated for decades. But this is the first time the dilemma has been posed as a behavioral experiment in a virtual environment, "with the sights, sounds and consequences of our actions thrown into stark relief," the study says.
The research participants were presented with a 3-D simulated version of the classic dilemma though a head-mounted device. Sensors were attached to their fingertips to monitor emotional arousal.
In the virtual world, each participant was stationed at a railroad switch where two sets of tracks veered off. Up ahead and to their right, five people hiked along the tracks in a steep ravine that prevented escape. On the opposite side, a single person hiked along in the same setting.
As the boxcar approached over the horizon, the participants could either do nothing letting the coal-filled boxcar go along its route and kill the five hikers or pull a switch (in this case a joystick) and reroute it to the tracks occupied by the single hiker.
Of the 147 participants, 133 (or 90.5 percent) pulled the switch to divert the boxcar, resulting in the death of the one hiker. Fourteen participants allowed the boxcar to kill the five hikers (11 participants did not pull the switch, while three pulled the switch but then returned it to its original position).
The findings are consistent with past research that was not virtual-based, Navarrete said.
The study also found that participants who did not pull the switch were more emotionally aroused. The reasons for this are unknown, although it may be because people freeze up during highly anxious moments akin to a solider failing to fire his weapon in battle, Navarrete said.
"I think humans have an aversion to harming others that needs to be overridden by something," Navarrete said. "By rational thinking we can sometimes override it by thinking about the people we will save, for example. But for some people, that increase in anxiety may be so overpowering that they don't make the utilitarian choice, the choice for the greater good."
###
A 2-D example of the virtual environment used in this study is available at www.cdnresearch.net/vr
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/msu-mdw120111.php
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After war in Iraq, Biden heralds new era of US involvement (The Christian Science Monitor)
Vice President Joe Biden arrived Tuesday in Iraq for a surprise visit aimed at touting the administration's promise to end the war, and also to thank US and Iraqi troops ??? and to start talks on a "new phase" in US-Iraqi relations.
The White House cast Biden's unannounced visit ? just over two weeks before the last US forces are scheduled to leave the country ? as a chance to highlight President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign promise to wind down the war in Iraq.
The administration said Biden would "commemorate the sacrifices and accomplishments of US and Iraqi troops" as well as meet with Iraqi officials as the US begins a "new phase" of cooperation with the country on a wide range of issues.
Can you find Iraq on a map? Take our Middle East geography quiz.
It's Biden's eighth visit to Iraq since becoming vice president.
"It's good to be back for this purpose," said Biden. At the US Embassy in Baghdad, which was decorated for Christmas, he met with Ambassador James F. Jeffrey and Gen. Lloyd Austin, the commander of US forces in Iraq. Biden, who was last in Iraq in January, noted that Austin kidded him that he's now eligible for Iraqi citizenship.
'Ending the war responsibly'White House spokesman Jay Carney called Biden's visit the fulfillment of a promise "where we are withdrawing the remaining US forces from Iraq and we are ending that war responsibly and giving the Iraqi people the chance for a better future that they deserve and also maintaining an important strategic relationship with Iraq."
While there, Biden will co-chair a meeting of the US-Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee and meet with Iraqi leaders, including Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, President Jalal Talabani and Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi.
Republicans on the campaign trail and in Congress have criticized Obama for withdrawing all US troops from Iraq and failing to secure an agreement with Maliki to keep some U.S. forces in the country to help assure that it remains relatively stable. A sticking point for the administration was the Iraqi government's refusal to give US troops immunity from prosecution. Maliki is scheduled to meet with Obama at the White House on Dec. 12.
A new phase of US involvementAnalysts noted that the withdrawal of US forces doesn't end American involvement in Iraq, given its considerable oil resources and location: next to Iran.
"The timing is not so much dictated by the fact we're going to leave at the end of the year, but the fact that we do not have anything like the civil or military relationship we'd hoped to build a year ago," said Anthony Cordesman, a national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a center-right think tank. "We need to see if we can find a better relationship and one that will do a better job of containing Iran and trying to bring political and security stability to the country."
Cordesman said he didn't expect any dramatic breakthrough from Biden's visit, but he said that with senior Iranian officials visiting Iraq, and Iraqi officials visiting Iran, "the last thing on Earth you want to do is leave a power vacuum in this area."
"We can say in a way that the war has ended, but our relationship with Iraq hasn't," Cordesman said.
Fears of a resurgence of violenceThe US ended its combat mission in Iraq on Aug. 31, 2010, and drew down to fewer than 50,000 troops from about 144,000 in January 2009. The administration maintains that violence in Iraq has remained at its lowest level since 2003, though some analysts fear a resurgence of violence after US troops withdraw.
In a statement, the White House said that Obama and Maliki "agreed that it was in the best interests of both the United States and Iraq to draw down US forces by the end of 2011 and embark on a new phase in our relationship ??? a long-term strategic partnership across a range of sectors."
The statement said that as part of a US-Iraq agreement, the two countries are "deepening our cooperation on politics and diplomacy; trade and finance; energy; services, technology, the environment, and transportation; law enforcement and the judiciary; and defense and security."
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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20111130/wl_csm/430552
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