A proposal by the Transport Security Administration (TSA) to condone “small knives” and select sporting equipment such as novelty baseball bats and ski poles in carry-on baggage has garnered copious backlash from federal air marshals, flight attendants, pilot unions and even members of the U.S. Congress.

According to the TSA’s March 2013 ‘Changes to Prohibited Items List’ – which, after 9/11, was revised to include the prohibition of nail clippers, match books and box cutters – knives now permitted onboard must fit the following criteria: the blade is no more than 2.36 inches in length and ½-inch in width; and the knife does not have a non-retractable or fixed blade with a molded grip for targeted wielding. Should the new regulations be approved, passengers will additionally be free to tote lacrosse sticks, pool cues, golf clubs (a maximum of two), hockey sticks, and ski poles, which have a metal point at the end of the shaft and – falling into the TSA’s “prohibited” criteria – a molded handle.

Unmoved by public outcry, TSA administrator John Pistole told a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee earlier this month, “I think the decision is solid and it stands and we plan to move forward.” The TSA’s stance maintains that checking for and confiscating these small knives – of which 2,000 are found and confiscated in US airports daily – is “time-consuming”  and “distracts” the officers during baggage screenings from “focusing on the components of an improvised explosive device.”

Pistole cited the two to three minute lag time incurred when a knife is picked up by the metal detector and the passenger having to riffle through the piece of luggage to produce the knife for confiscation. “A small pocket knife,” he posits, “is simply not going to result in the catastrophic failure of an aircraft, and an improvised explosive device will.” A TSA spokesman asserted that the presence of federal air marshals, armed pilots traveling as passengers, who are not guaranteed to be present on every flight, and airline crew trained in self-defense confers an extra layer of security.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, disagrees. “You need to stop this now. These cause bleeding,” she said. “These cause injury. These can cause a terrible tragedy. And I don’t want to take it to the next length. It can possibly cause someone to lose their life.”

In an afternoon news conference in New York on March 10, Senator Charles Schumer expressed his bewilderment at the new ruling, stating that the TSA’s objective to expedite the baggage screening process is nullified by the time consumed in measuring and assessing each and every knife and baseball bat in passenger’s luggage. “These items are dangerous, and have not become less so in the years since they were banned from planes. Now is not the time for reduced vigilance, or to place additional burden on TSA agents who should be looking for dangerous items,” he said.

During the conference, Schumer held up a bottle of shampoo and then a razor blade as a comical juxtaposition to show his perplexity that while knives are ‘in’, the 2006 TSA ban on non-flammable liquids, gels and aerosol paints in quantities exceeding 100ml stays. “I don’t understand. I can’t carry my shampoo but they will let people carry knives. It doesn’t make much sense to me,” traveler Colleen Krauss told WNCN, an NBC affiliate.

Transport Workers Union Local 556, which represents over 10,000 flight attendants at Southwest Airlines, raised concerns over “air rage,” which refers to any violent or disruptive behavior perpetrated by a passenger or crew member. “While we agree that a passenger wielding a small knife or swinging a golf club or hockey stick poses less of a threat to the pilot locked in the cockpit, these are real threats to passengers and flight attendants in the passenger cabin,” the union said in a statement.

The TSA’s proposal comes on the heels of a passenger risk-profiling concept put forward by the International Air Transport Association, the premise of which is to analyze passenger’s potential “risk” based on previous itineraries, birth date, passport number and criminal record and subject them to screenings accordingly. The U.S. government has been urging the populace to apply for Global Entry, a program that allows those who pass background checks to be identified as “trusted” and gain access to PreCheck lanes for expedited security screening at certain airports.

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A woman was saved from a tragic death on the New York City Subway tracks yesterday after falling off the platform. The incident happened on the G Brooklyn–Queens Crosstown Local line heading north through Brooklyn, before the Hoyt-Schermerhorn Station.

According to an eyewitness, the unidentified woman had a seizure on the subway platform and fell on the tracks. An incoming train was entering the station when an operator noticed the woman on the tracks and immediately slammed on the brakes.

A passenger at the station captured a photo of the incident, which was then shot by local photography project Humans of New York.

Brandon Stanton, the photographer behind Humans of New York, was on board the incoming train and stated on his Facebook, “The conductor shut down the power of the train and held us there for about 20 minutes.” The woman was attended by members of the public with medical crews arriving on the scene soon after.

Following the recent bout of subway related incidents, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) has been urging their motormen to be more aware of their surroundings. They have also been encouraged to reduce their speed to about 10 miles per hour when entering the stations to avoid hitting someone who might be on the tracks. Trains are known to enter a station at a speed of 30 to 35 miles per hour.

According to John Samuelsen, President of Transport Workers Union Local 100, “The union’s motives are to save riders’ lives – and save motormen from the emotional trauma of running someone over.”

This latest effort was put in place after several recent high-profile accidents involving New York subway trains. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), however, believes that this latest message of caution from the TWU is an effort to stage a work slowdown, and any operators found to be slowing down their train without the MTA’s permission will be charged with taking part in an illegal job action which could lead to a job suspension.

While the public has urged the MTA to install platform doors or barriers to prevent further unwanted mishaps, an MTA spokesman said that platform doors would be expensive to install because it would require upgrades of the train signal system.

Despite debates surrounding ways of tackling subway safety issues, one theme has been consistent: due to the vigilance of a train operator, a life was saved. With the photograph now circulating the web, many believe that yesterday’s incident was nothing short of a miracle.

Image Courtesy : Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York

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Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, announced January 7 the acquisition of Knovel. New York City-based Knovel provides a web-based application that integrates technical information with analytical and search tools to drive innovation and deliver answers engineers can trust.

Founded in 2001, Knovel has developed a deep knowledge of the engineering community and is a valuable tool for thousands of engineers and students in more than 700 corporations and engineering schools worldwide.  Knovel integrates information and data from more than 100 engineering societies and publishers and makes it highly searchable and interactive so that engineers can easily manipulate the data they find and use it in other engineering applications.

“Knovel’s comprehensive list of content contributors, engineering-specific search, and tools such as interactive graphs, together with Elsevier’s deep engineering content base and global market reach, will allow us to deliver an even more comprehensive and better integrated solution for engineers and engineering students,” said Alexander van Boetzelaer, Managing Director of Elsevier Corporate Markets. “This acquisition will give us the opportunity to provide an enhanced experience for our customers as they work to overcome engineering challenges and improve technical outcomes.”

Recently named by research firm Outsell one of the “10 to Watch” in scientific/technical and medical publishing, Knovel has expanded its offerings and customer base as multiple factors have influenced the engineering technical reference market segment. This market has grown rapidly, driven by advancements in technology, the proliferation of technical data, the demand for cross-disciplinary knowledge, an aging engineering workforce and need to educate the next generation of engineers.

“This is a great new chapter for Knovel,” said Chris Forbes, Knovel President and CEO.  “The acquisition gives us an exciting way to expand Knovel’s technology, innovation and comprehensive content selected from the best engineering publishers and societies to more organisations across the world.”

As a leading publisher of engineering journals and books, Elsevier offers global reach, an extensive partner network and a high-quality pool of relevant engineering content.  Elsevier has a longstanding content licensing relationship with Knovel and will continue to seek out the best engineering content available for customers.

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Houston, U.S.A. — America’s space program has come a long way from the early days when astronauts ate food packed in toothpaste tubes. Today, nutrition is known to be a key ingredient in astronaut health in space, just as it is for humans on Earth.

NASA scientists and educators have teamed up to publish a book, aimed at intermediate school students, that explains the role of nutrition in the space program. The free e-book describes how space nutrition research is conducted and highlights this important avenue of ongoing research at NASA. Educator Guides that suggest ways to incorporate the material into the classroom, along with mapping to National Science Education Standards, accompany the text.

“Spaceflight provides the backdrop to gain kids’ interest,” said Scott M. Smith, NASA nutritionist. “These books provide an opportunity to expand and educate beyond space to everything from science, math, nutrition, health, history, reading and more. The fact that this material was developed by scientists actually conducting research on Earth and with astronauts in space provides insight into what it takes to conduct research at NASA, or anywhere – from an initial concept to the final publication in a scientific journal.”

“It’s a new mission for education, shaping the future of our next generation of space explorers,” said Lisa Neasbitt, educator and coauthor. “Educators who use Space Nutrition will be treated to an educator guide based on recent cognitive neuroscience.  These strategies, such as using another’s point of view, promote rigor through higher order thinking and depth of knowledge. Space Nutrition encourages project-based learning such as radio shows, scientific inquiry, plays, skits, songs and dances that incorporate student strengths and facilitate confidence and competence in students.”

The book is available in two forms: a PDF document version and an interactive iBook version for use on iPads. Both can be accessed for free here.

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Washington, U.S.A. — A new investigation into online puppy sales highlights the problem of the Internet being used as a tool for exploiting dogs and consumers.

To bring awareness to the magnitude of the issue, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) on December 12, released its latest investigative report, How Much is that Doggie on my Browser? The Truth Behind Online Puppy Sales, marking the first publicly available large-scale examination of the connection between Internet puppy sales and suspected puppy mill operations.

The one-day investigation focused on over 12,000 advertisements representing a total of over half a million puppies for sale on nine major buyer-seller Internet websites on just one day. Six of these sites are dedicated primarily to the puppy market and three offer puppies amongst a variety of other commodities.

Employing the criteria set forth by a panel of experts, investigators further isolated the nearly 10,000 ads from the six puppy-specific websites and found that 62% of the ads qualified as “likely puppy mills.”

“Consumers opting to purchase puppies over the Internet are duped into believing they are buying from reputable breeders,” said Ben Stein, Honorary Member, IFAW Board of Directors. “The cute puppy images shown on many seller websites hide the heartbreaking reality of the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in which the dogs are housed.”

Lacking the regulation assigned to some brick-and-mortar establishments, the Internet has become a preferred platform for unscrupulous commercial facilities to sell puppies directly to  innocent consumers who are unwittingly supporting the puppy mill industry.

“Most federal regulations designed to address the puppy trade pre-date the Internet and are insufficient in addressing the specific issues relating to online puppy sales,” noted Tracy Coppola, IFAW Campaigns Officer.  “We launched our investigation to determine the scope and scale of the trade in an effort to better inform decision-makers as they are currently considering new policies to eliminate loopholes allowing this practice to continue.”

The report also recommends that websites strengthen efforts to shut down puppy mill advertisements.

According to a recent survey from the American Pet Products Association, the number of dogs living in U.S. homes is at an all-time high — more than 78 million and growing.

“As America’s demand for pet dogs grows, so does the number of online puppy sales,” added Jeff Flocken, DC Office Director, IFAW.  “This holiday season and beyond, we hope that consumers looking to add a new puppy to their family will not fall victim to the deceptive practices of puppy mill operators over the Internet.  Instead, they should proactively take a stand against puppy mills by always adopting from local shelters, responsible local breeders and rescue facilities.”

The exploitation of animals over the Internet is not limited to dogs and other domestic animals.  Since 2004, IFAW has performed numerous investigations on Internet wildlife trade; and its investigative report,Killing with Keystrokes, convinced eBay to institute a global ban on the sale of ivory products from its website.

To download a full copy of How Much is that Doggie on My Browser?  The Truth Behind Online Puppy Sales, please visit www.ifaw.org.

About IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare)
Founded in 1969, IFAW saves animals in crisis around the world. With projects in more than 40 countries, IFAW rescues individual animals, works to prevent cruelty to animals, and advocates for the protection of wildlife and habitats. For more information, visit www.ifaw.org. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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New York, U.S.A. — Cyber Monday has emerged in recent years as a convenient way to get great holiday shopping deals from the comfort of your home and avoid having to brave the crowds on Black Friday or rise before daybreak to save money on those must-have gifts.

However, buyer beware. Scams abound online, and Cyber Monday is a time to be particularly vigilant about protecting yourself from becoming a victim of online theft. AARP’s consumer expert, Sid Kirchheimer offers tips on how to shop safely at home on Cyber Monday.

Surfing for gifts in cyberspace can be risky, courtesy of copycat websites that shoppers sometimes visit inadvertently after typing the name of that sought-after item into a search engine.

Although legitimate online retailers pop up on the screen, so do “cybersquatters,” bogus businesses that steal or alter the Internet addresses of well-known companies to launch copycat sites.

Some are simply fronts for scammers to collect shoppers’ credit card numbers. Others actually sell things, but their “incredible deals,” if delivered at all, are usually poorly made knockoffs.

How to Shop Safely Online

• When you click through to a website, carefully read the domain name — the Internet address — that appears at the top of your browser. Beware of any site whose name has even the slightest change from a legitimate online retailer’s — extra words or letters, misspellings — and anything but the usual .com or .org ending.
• Make sure that addresses of ordering pages always begin with “https://” instead of “http://.” The “s” means it is secure.
• Pay attention to disclosures at the bottom of the page. Most legitimate online retailers have a “Contact Us” page with a phone number and physical address, and a “Terms and Conditions” link detailing return policies and such. Bogus websites may lack these pages or have them but not tell you what you need to know.
• Avoid any website that doesn’t provide a physical address, which you can verify by looking up the company on the Internet, or a phone number. Scam sites often allow only for e-mail correspondence, which makes for better hiding in cyberspace. If a phone number is listed, call it to ensure it’s not a fax machine or voicemail with no live operator — two more red flags for a potential scam.
• Watch for “scammer grammar.” Although legitimate retailers may not moonlight for Webster’s dictionary, their websites tend to be absent of the frequent misspellings and grammatical errors of the websites, ads and e-mail of scammers, who are often foreigners with poor command of English or fly-by-nights with little time to spell-check while trying to stay one step ahead of the law.
• Reject any requests for wire transfer payment. It’s the quickest way to lose money, especially if it’s sent overseas. Legit online retailers accept credit cards, which offer you more protection than debit transactions if you need to dispute payment.
• Don’t believe sob stories. Beware of “act now” offers that tell you the seller is a soldier needing cash for possessions before deploying to a war zone or a recent divorcee wanting to unload her former husband’s belongings. These tactics are often bait to empty your wallet; the items typically don’t exist.
• Research the prices. Similar items typically fall into a general price range. If one being offered to you falls way below that range, you need to ask yourself why. The usual answer: Scammers use ridiculously low prices to lure consumers into a bogus bargain.
• Be on guard at online auctions. Lost the winning bid on eBay or another auction website? Don’t be taken in by follow-up e-mails offering the same deal. Scammers often cruise online auction sites to pounce on losing bidders and direct them away from those secure buying environments.

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Abingdon, England – Android versions 2.3.6, or ‘Gingerbread’, and 4.0.4, also known as ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ were the most popular Android targets among cybercriminals in Q3, according to the latest analysis of Android malware by Kaspersky Lab experts.

The rapid growth in the number of new mobile malicious programs for Android continued in the third quarter, prompting the specialists at Kaspersky Lab to identify the platform versions most frequently targeted by cybercriminals. Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread accounted for 28 per cent of all blocked attempts to install malware, while the second most commonly attacked version was the new 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, which accounted for 22 per cent of attempts.

“Although Gingerbread was released back in September 2011, due to the segmentation of the Android device market it still remains one of the most popular versions, which, in turn, attracts increased interest from cybercriminals,” commented Yuri Namestnikov, Senior Malware Analyst at Kaspersky Lab. “The popularity of the most recent version of the Android OS – Ice Cream Sandwich – among virus writers can be explained by the fact that the devices running the latest versions of the OS are more suitable for online activities. Unfortunately, users actively surfing the web often end up on malicious sites.”

Distribution of detected malware by Android OS version, Q3 2012

More than half of all malware detected on users smartphones turned out to be SMS Trojans, i.e. malicious programs that steal money from victims’ mobile accounts by sending SMS messages to premium rate numbers. The OpFake family has become the most widespread (38.3 per cent of all the malicious programs detected for Android) among all the mobile malware families. All the programs in this family disguise themselves as OperaMini.

A fifth of the malicious programs detected on user devices are versatile Trojans, most of which belong to the Plangton family. After being installed on a device, these Trojans collect service data on the phone, send it to the command server and wait for the cybercriminals’ commands. Specifically, malicious programs in this family can stealthily change bookmarks and the home page. The third most widespread malware was the FakeInst family, whose members pretend to be installers for popular programs (17 per cent). These two types of malware are mostly distributed via so-called alternative app stores created by cybercriminals.

Mobile threats of this kind can be neutralised with the help of dedicated mobile applications. For example, in addition to reliable protection against information theft via malware, Kaspersky Mobile Security and Kaspersky Tablet Security also ensure data stays safe even if a device is lost or stolen.

The full version of the report “IT Threat Evolution: Q3 2012″ is available at securelist.com.

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San Jose, U.S.A. — G-Technology, a developer of innovative storage solutions engineered specifically to meet the needs of the content creation and Apple Mac communities announced on November 5, the grand prize winner of its “Driven Creativity” 2012 awards competition.

The highly competitive awards competition – a first of its kind for G-Technology in the U.S. – drew nearly 600 submissions from professionals and amateurs across the country in short film, photography, animation, GoPro Active and music categories. Open from June 19 to September 24, 2012, the competition was designed to recognize established and up-and-coming talent, with all entrants having an equal chance of winning, regardless of size and budget within each category.

Uri Lotan, Elizabeth McMahill and Adam Campbell, computer animation students at Ringling College of Art and Design, are the grand prize winners and will receive $5,000, an innovative G-Technology 8TB G-RAID with Thunderbolt external storage solution and will have their work showcased at G-Technology’s gallery event for their winning animation, “The Ballad of Poisonberry Pete.” Entered in the amateur animation category, the piece is a witty cowboy pie Western that focuses on Poisonberry Pete, the baddest pie in the yeast who comes to town looking for trouble. Using clever pie puns, jokes and characters, this animation – from voicing, story, animation, lighting and rendering – is expertly executed.

“Winning this award truly solidifies the many reasons we have fought to keep our passion alive for so many years,” said Lotan. “We are incredibly grateful G-Technology offered artists like us a creative forum and the opportunity to showcase our work among the masses throughout the contest and gallery event inNew York. We hope this win inspires other students and artists to keep their drive to succeed in the industry and to continue to do what they love.”

A jury panel of G-Technology’s expert G-TEAM members and industry professionals judged the shortlist of candidates to decide the grand prize winner and winners and runners-up in each category. Decisions were based on the uniqueness, quality, creativity and the resourcefulness that went into achieving the end result of each category winning entry. Judges included DJ 2ndNature, Alex Buono, Clifton Collins Jr.,Jeremy Cowart, Lucas Gilman, Ken Kaminesky, Vincent Laforet and MC Lars.

Open to the public, the G-Technology Driven Creativity gallery event will be held on November 7-11 in New York City at Gallery 69 (69 Leanard Street, New York City). “The Ballad of Poisonberry Pete” as well as additional category winners and runners-up artwork from the Driven Creativity competition will also be available for guests to view. The gallery opening event will take place on November 7 from 6:00 to 9:00pm. Please RSVP to http://gtechnyc.eventbrite.com/.

“G-Technology is proud to honor the unique work, talent and dedication that went into all of this year’s entries,” said Mike Williams, vice president and general manager, HGST Branded Business. “Recognizing and rewarding talent within the creative community helps build and foster future artists and we want to say thank you to everyone who submitted a project.”

What Makes a Creative Person Tick?

The Driven Creativity competition celebrates creative accomplishments in multiple disciplines from all over the world. As part of the competition, G-Technology conducted a survey with entrants who participated in the U.S. and European 2012 Driven Creativity competition to gain a deeper understanding of what drives the creative community. The results paint a picture of highly dedicated individuals who are willing to sacrifice a lot to answer their creative calling.

Based on survey results, passion (80 percent) is what drives their creativity versus adventure/challenge (18 percent) and recognition/fame (2 percent), with day-to-day life experiences (47 percent) influencing their creativity.

Although 51 percent said their parents did not support their career in the arts, 64 percent said they started at age 18 or younger, with 56 percent being self-taught, 22 percent attending a trade or art school, and 17 percent claiming it was their natural ability. And they’d never give up their passion. Thirty-nine percent said they’d give up Facebook and 2 percent said they’d give up their best friend in order to keep practicing their artistry.

What’s most time-consuming about the creative process? Thirty-six percent of respondents said post-production, followed by production (21 percent), developing the initial idea (28 percent) and pre-production (15 percent). As for the storage solution they couldn’t live with out, 39 percent said a high performance RAID solution for pre- and post-production

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Andover, U.S.A. — Enterasys Networks, a Siemens Enterprise Communications Company, announced on November 5, that the City of Staunton, Virginia, has upgraded its network with an Enterasys OneFabric Edge solution to better serve its citizens at 30 city government locations.

Based upon Enterasys identiFi, the city is offering free public Wi-Fi Internet access in the city’s Gypsy Hill Park, which includes a pool, baseball field and bandstand where several events take place each week. This deployment is an extension of the free Wi-Fi the city implemented in the Staunton Public Library nearly ten years ago as one of the state’s first public libraries to offer wireless access.

Located in the Shenandoah Valley, Staunton is a 20-square mile city with 24,000 residents. As a long-time Enterasys customer, Staunton has been using Enterasys solutions for 20 years through several network upgrades. The city has 450 nodes on its network, which includes wide area support for the city schools, fiber connect in all its city government facilities, and 28 access points for Wi-Fi access.

“With a five-person IT staff, we are challenged to keep our network stable and running, a critical function for a municipality. Similar to a public utility, there is a high expectation for the network to be always available and so far, our employees have had no complaints about the coverage,” said Kurt Plowman, CTO at City of Staunton. “As a long-time customer, I can say that Enterasys’ identiFi and OneFabric solutions consistently exceed our expectations.”

The City of Staunton has plans to build on its current network to continue to expand Wi-Fi access throughout the city. They are also planning a project to offer enhanced mobility to its police and fire department, which will be supported by the Wi-Fi network. The city is also considering replacing its existing Enterasys core switch with a new Enterasys S-Series. “Enterasys solutions work so well we haven’t needed to upgrade. We ran one of our Enterasys switching platforms for more than 10 years. Their products simply work and are built to last the test of time,” said Plowman.

“One key benefit of using Enterasys is the low cost of annual maintenance, as well as the low support costs and lifetime warranties on products. Just the other day, I spent some time on the line with Enterasys tech support and never felt rushed and was very happy with the service provided,” said Plowman.

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Redmond, U.S.A. — Major global brands, including Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, Johnson & Johnson Services, Rooms To Go, Bank of America and PCL Constructors, are among the early adopters deploying Windows 8-based apps to address their business needs and engage consumers in new ways.

From offering partners sneak peeks at TV shows and movies, to staying in lockstep with consumers at retail, to helping keep workers safe by preventing construction site incidents, these companies are discovering how Windows 8 apps can improve the way they do business.

“It’s so great to see a number of the world’s most well-known companies choosing Windows 8 to advance their businesses,” said Erwin Visser, senior director of Windows Commercial Marketing at Microsoft. “Windows 8 opens new doors for businesses to improve the way they collaborate and share information, enhance customer experiences, uncover new business opportunities, and much more.”

Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution

Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, a division of Twentieth Century Fox responsible for the global distribution of its library of television series and feature films, has developed a Windows 8 app for its industry-leading customer site, FoxFast.com. FoxFast.com was created to give broadcast partners 24/7 access to screen the vast library of programs, as well as to easily access all the marketing materials needed to create and support launches.

With an increasingly mobile business landscape and the division’s transition to a fully digital distribution model, the studio needed a simple method for broadcasters to securely screen its products and download their marketing assets on-the-go. Creating the Windows 8 app was the next natural evolution for FoxFast.com — a touch-first app that scales to work on a variety of devices — making the site’s offerings accessible anytime, anywhere around the world. Like FoxFast.com, the new app provides customers with an authenticated user experience to securely screen content and manage marketing assets. The FoxFast app is now available in the Windows Store for download.

Johnson & Johnson Services

Johnson & Johnson has developed a new Windows 8 app called the Digital Health Scorecard. Available in the Windows Store, the app provides consumers with a simple way to understand the state of their health and what they can do to lessen their long-term risk for developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease. According to the World Health Organization, these common conditions account for three out of every five deaths around the globe. The insight gained from the Digital Health Scorecard can help engage and motivate people to make small changes that can lead to healthier, happier lives.

The Digital Health Scorecard has been designed to be fast and easy to use. The app can and should be reused on a regular basis so that people can understand their progress over time. Johnson & Johnson has led the effort to develop the science behind calculating the score and will update it over time as new data becomes available.

Rooms To Go

Rooms To Go, a furniture retailer, has developed a Windows 8 line-of-business app that provides an intuitive, touch-enabled point-of-sale experience for customers, taking advantage of continuous connectivity. The app consists of a suite of mini-apps that allow the sales associates to stage the sales process and transaction in-store without leaving the customer’s side. Customers can also seamlessly browse the full line of available inventory through the app and conceptualize different room settings. This allows for a cost-effective solution for all sales associates across 175 stores.

Bank of America

Bank of America has developed the Bank of America Mobile Banking app for Windows 8 that gives customers a digital experience that is optimized for the Windows 8 user interface and takes advantage of features such as Live Tiles.

Customers have the convenience and accessibility of checking balances, paying bills, making transfers, locating ATMs and banking centers, making deposits, receiving alerts, and redeeming BankAmeriDeals offers from tablets, laptops and desktops.

PCL Construction

PCL Construction, a construction company based in North America and Australia, relies on technology to enable the business. PCL considered Windows 8 a promising new platform for improving the capabilities available to its employees, with a particular focus on field staff, executives and frequent travelers. The company developed a Windows 8 line-of-business app called the Safety Management Center that allows its field staff to record observations while on the construction site and simultaneously fill out inspection forms remotely — helping employees address potential incidents on the job site before they occur. More importantly, Safety Management Center is helping PCL deliver on its ongoing goal of zero safety incidents.

Read more about Windows 8 enterprise customers developing apps on the Windows for your Business blog. More information about how organizations are turning to Microsoft technology is available on the Microsoft Customer Spotlight newsroom.

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Las Vegas, U.S.A. —  On November 5, Nanotech Entertainment announced it has completed its development of a new proprietary technology, NanoFlix3D.

NanoTech Media, the IPTV division of NanoTech Entertainment, is now offering content providers and publishers a unique set of tools for the creation of fully immersion 3D TV Channels and Smart TV apps. NanoFlix3D is now available on the Roku IPTV platform, and will be available on Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV as well as several other platforms.

NanoTech Media has the only fully immersive 3D user interface available on the Roku platform. The proprietary system provides users with a continuous 3D experience from the moment the channel is launched. Unlike other so called 3D channels, users don’t have to toggle their TV back and forth between 2D mode and 3D mode every time they use the menu to select 3D content for viewing.

“The NanoTech team is the only company to have solved the problem of providing a 3D user interface and menu system on the Roku Platform,” stated Jeff Foley, CEO of NanoTech. “NanoTech is committed to providing ground breaking technology. Our team has a rich history of innovation in every market that we have been in and continue to create state of the art solutions. We are excited to be the only company offering a solution that provides a continuous 3D experience.”

With 3D Television sales breaking records in 2012, NanoTech is poised as a market leader in providing its proprietary 3D TV technology. Foley concluded “Users want a smooth experience when viewing 3D content and by using NanoTech’s system, NanoFlix3D provides a seamless and unique experience.”

In the US, first-quarter volumes grew nearly 74% in units and 64% in revenue over last year’s, according to market research company, The NPD Group’s Retail Tracking Service. Ben Arnold, director of industry analysis for The NPD Group, cited his observations from NPD’s Survey where 14% of respondents interested in, or expecting to purchase, a flat-panel TV set in the next six months, say 3D is a “must-have” feature, and another 68% say [3D] is a “nice to have” feature. “3D has been a success for the TV market from a sales perspective,” Arnold elaborated. “In addition to movies and gaming, sports are essential to growing 3DTV ownership. Nearly six-in-10 sports fans are interested in watching games and matches in 3D.”

NanoTech will be licensing the NanoFlix 3D library for content publishers as well as providing turnkey 3D channel solutions for companies wishing to publish their content on the latest 3D Platforms.

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Calabasas, U.S.A. — The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) unveiled on October 24, new details and opened registration for the 12th Annual D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit and Awards program, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, February 5 – 8, 2013.

The annual event, which draws some of the brightest and most influential interactive entertainment industry leaders, decision makers and visionaries, is evolving to better reflect the growth of the industry and foster deeper engagement and interaction among conference attendees. Changes include a new Summit format, a larger venue, and the renaming of the annual awards program, now known simply as the D.I.C.E. Awards.

The Academy established the D.I.C.E. Summit to celebrate the core pillars of the interactive entertainment industry: Design, Innovate, Communicate, and Entertain. Those ideals define the revamped 2013 Summit, which will include an all-conference keynote each morning, followed by focused sessions – centered on each of the core pillars – to drive the rest of the agenda. The first speakers announced include: Randy Pitchford, president of Gearbox Software; Jenova Chen, creative director and co-founder of thatgamecompany; and Jesse Schell, CEO of Schell Games and distinguished professor of the Practice of Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon University.

“Interactive entertainment is ingrained in our culture. We’re a $60 billion global industry of individuals and companies who are pushing the boundaries of technology, creativity and artistic expression every day,” said Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. “The Academy established the annual D.I.C.E. Summit and awards program to not only celebrate our industry achievements, but to provide a dedicated forum to share ideas and foster innovation. Our industry is maturing, and we’re excited to reflect that with changes, such as the new format and new look for the Awards, so that we remain at the forefront of shaping and moving our industry into the next stage of its evolution.”

Each year, the Academy and the global game community gather at the D.I.C.E. Summit to celebrate the artistic achievements that push the scope of interactive entertainment with the annual Interactive Achievement Awards. These peer-driven, annual awards have become one of the highest honors to bestow upon video games and their talented game makers. This year, the Academy is unveiling a new name for the annual awards, the D.I.C.E. Awards.

“Over the past several years, our members and many supporters independently began referring to our awards program simply as the D.I.C.E. Awards – a nickname celebrating the shared history and principles embodied in the D.I.C.E. Summit moniker,” said Rae. “We began to think that this nickname, coined by our community, would serve as the best and boldest way to represent the awards. It truly encapsulates what we are all about – the celebration of the amazing designers, innovators, communicators, and entertainers within the video game and interactive entertainment industry.”

The 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards will be held the evening of February 7, 2013, on the main stage of Hard Rock Hotel’s acclaimed concert venue, The Joint. Call for nominations for the D.I.C.E. Awards will be announced in the coming weeks.

2013 D.I.C.E. Summit Format Changes

The 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit gets underway on Tuesday, February 5, 2013, with a full day of networking events for attendees. New activities this year include a 5K run and whiskey, beer and wine tastings, which join the annual golf, go-kart and poker tournaments.

A new all-conference keynote will kick off each day with a discussion that touches on all of the four pillars of the D.I.C.E. moniker. The rest of each day will offer attendees four separate experiences, each defined by one of those pillars, led by a track keynote at the start of each segment. Concluding each conference track will be a special networking event where attendees will have an opportunity to mingle with attendees and speakers in that section. The three-day event will be capped off with the 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards celebration.

First D.I.C.E. Summit Speakers

The D.I.C.E. Summit speaker program is renowned for jump starting the key industry conversations that resonate throughout the year, and impact the trends directly affecting the industry. The first speakers exemplify the types of industry luminaries who will enlighten, inspire and challenge the attendees.

• Randy Pitchford, co-founder, owner and President of Gearbox Software, and the individual who spearheaded the award winning, best-selling original franchises Brothers in Arms and Borderlands
• Jenova Chen, creative director and co-founder of thatgamecompany, and the visionary designer of the award-winning games Flow, Flower, and most recently the critically received Journey
• Jesse Schell, CEO of Shell Games, and Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon University, who will be presenting for the first time a follow-up to his provocative 2010 D.I.C.E. Session talk on game-a-geddon, also known as Design Outside The Box.

Registration for the 2013 D.I.C.E. Summit is currently open. Register until November 9, 2012 to get the early registration pricing at www.dicesummit.org.

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Houston, U.S.A. — NASA astronaut Kevin Ford and Russian cosmonauts Evgeny Tarelkin and Oleg Novitskiy launched aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket on their mission to the International Space Station at 5:51 a.m. CDT Tuesday (4:51 p.m. Kazakhstan time). The trio lifted off from Site 31 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. This is the first time in 28 years the pad has been used for human spaceflight.

Ford, Tarelkin and Novitskiy will spend the next two days inside their Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft as they close in on the space station. Novitskiy is serving as the commander of the Soyuz and will be at the controls as the spacecraft docks with the Poisk module of the station Thursday. The three will join Expedition 33 Commander Sunita Williams of NASA and Flight Engineers Aki Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Yuri Malenchenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency, who have been living aboard the orbiting laboratory since July.

NASA TV will provide live coverage of the Soyuz docking beginning at 7 a.m. CDT (8 a.m. EDT) Thursday. Coverage of the hatch opening and welcome ceremony aboard the space station will begin at 9:45 a.m. Hatch opening is scheduled for approximately 10:15 a.m.

Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin will remain aboard the station until March 2013. Williams, Malenchenko and Hoshide will return to Earth Nov. 19. When Williams, Malenchenko and Hoshide undock from the station, it will signal the end of Expedition 33 and the beginning of Expedition 34 with Ford as commander.

For NASA TV downlink information, up-to-date schedules and links to streaming video, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

For information on the International Space Station and the Expedition 33 crew, visit http://www.nasa.gov/station.

Image Courtesy of NASA
Photo Credit: NASA

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Medina, U.S.A. — On October 17, Antivirus and security firm Thirtyseven4 announced the launch of antivirusday2012.com, a website commemorating the 9th annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM). This year’s NCSAM theme is “Our Shared Responsibility”, and in response to the critical need for online safety, Thirtyseven4 is providing their most recent version of antivirus protection (Thirtyseven4 Antivirus 2013) for Free to the first one thousand visitors who register at antivirusday2012.com.

“Here at Thirtyseven4 we absolutely agree that staying safe online is a “shared responsibility,” says Steven Sundermeier, owner of Thirtyseven4. “To demonstrate our commitment to this theme, we are making Thirtyseven4 Antivirus 2013 available at no cost to the first 1,000 registrants on October 23rd.”

This giveaway is the first time Thirtyseven4 has offered its antivirus solution free to the public.

“We understand that there are many users who simply can’t afford adequate protection and are either online with no security software installed or are forced to install a low grade free AV or malware scanner. Many free options are feature-limited and leave users vulnerable to sophisticated cybercriminal attacks,” concluded Sundermeier.

New features included for Thirtyseven4 Antivirus include:

* Dedicated AntiMalware & AntiRootkit Removal Components

* Sandbox Web Browsing

* Data Theft Protection

* Silent Firewall

* Email Security

* Optimized Virus Scanner

* Zero-Day Protection

In addition to the gift of free antivirus protection, Thirtyseven4 is making its Internet Security Awareness Poster Set available for free PDF download, along with other articles and materials relating to the topic of Cyber Security, at antivirus2012.com. “Sharing the Responsibility” of educating others about best Cyber Security practices is part of the Thirtyseven4 mission to make spending time online a safe and secure experience.

This offer is available to U.S. Residents only.

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Las Vegas, U.S.A. – On October 8, at the American Trucking Association Management Conference and Exhibition, Rand McNally unveiled its new “HD 100″ device, which provides electronic Hours of Service (HOS) recording, text- and dispatch-integrated messaging plus driver performance monitoring capabilities.

The HD 100 will be commercially available in April of 2013 for use with Android tablets and the Rand McNally IntelliRoute TND 720 truck GPS device. Later in the year, the HD 100 will integrate with other platforms including Android smart phones and iOS tablets and smart phones.

Designed to work seamlessly with a variety of mobile devices, the HD 100′s Hours of Service recorder qualifies as a compliant electronic driver log. The HD 100 plugs into a truck’s on-board diagnostics port and records the truck’s GPS position along with critical vehicle-specific information such as engine diagnostics and driving behavior. The device – roughly 3 ½ inches by 5 inches – can be installed in less than 10 minutes.

Drivers interact with the HD 100′s HOS and messaging functions through an application that they download and run on their mobile device or Rand McNally’s IntelliRoute TND 720.

“With the HD 100, Rand McNally now provides a wide range of options for compliance, communication, and electronic Hours of Service. Our product line offers large fleets and smaller operators’ unparalleled flexibility with features and pricing options,” said Dave Muscatel, CEO of Rand McNally.”Our goal is to be hardware agnostic in order to provide a cost effective EOBR solution for owner operators who already own a smart phone, tablet, or one of our GPS devices and the HD 100 accomplishes this objective. The HD 100 will help fleets and drivers alike with meeting the upcoming EOBR implementation mandated by MAP 21.”

Just as with the company’s premier enterprise solution, TPC 7600, and the robust yet cost-effective single-box device, the TND 760, the HD 100 allows data integration with more than twenty third-party dispatch and fuel tax applications via Rand McNally Connect software.

About Rand McNally

Rand McNally is the most trusted source for maps, directions, and travel content. Rand McNally’s products and services include: Road travel review site www.BestoftheRoad.com; Interactive travel referral service, www.Tripology.com; America’s #1 Road Atlas; and TripMaker RVND GPS for RVers; IntelliRoute truck routing software and navigation devices; TruckPC and the TND 760 Fleet Edition mobile communication solutions for the transportation industry; and the leading geography-based educational resources for the classroom. Consumers, businesses, truckers, and educators depend upon Rand McNally to help navigate today’s world. www.RandMcNally.com

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San Francisco,U.S.A — Crittercism, the world’s first Mobile App Performance Management (APM) platform, announced on October 3, the availability of its new mobile app crash reporting service for HTML5. The new service allows developers, for the first time, to view errors and issues for HTML5, Mobile Web and Hybrid apps through Crittercism’s real-time app performance monitoring service.

Crittercism is the first and only solution to allow developers to manage all apps, regardless of language, native iOS and Android, HTML5, Mobile Web, combined native, or any other combination through a single interface. Available for a free 30-day trial, developers can sign up and download the lightweight SDK in less than five minutes. Once integrated, developers simply log in and see all identified bugs in real-time.

“Wrapp has hundreds of thousands of users and is growing rapidly. We’ve created a fun and easy way to give free and paid gift cards to Facebook friends, which involves an intricate combination of code, mobile payments and several app configurations,” said Nicklas Ansman Giertz, Senior Developer, Wrapp. “We are always trying new methods of mobile app development that span across native iOS and Android as well as HTML5. Crittercism provides us with a great overview on exactly how our apps are being used and performing, especially now that we are combining native code with HTML5.”

“Developers are continually exploring and pushing the boundaries of mobile app development. We started out as mobile developers, so we understand how important it is to explore new languages, techniques and best practices in order to offer the best service,” said Andrew Levy, Crittercism co-founder and CEO. “We are thrilled to offer developers, of all sizes, an easy method of uncovering issues and bugs in their HTML5 and Hybrid apps.”

In addition to Crash Reporting, Crittercism also offers advanced Mobile APM features such as Handled Exceptions, Breadcrumbs, Crittercism NDK and Dynamic Real-Time Alerts to developers under a 30-day free trial. Following that, developers can choose from three flexible billing plans: Free Crash Reporting, Premium Error Monitoring and Enterprise App Monitoring.

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New York, U.S.A. — Teachem officially launched the School of You on October 2, giving anyone the ability to create unlimited classes from YouTube videos. Never before has such an easy to use teaching and learning platform been integrated so closely with YouTube videos. It is perfect for universities and other learning institutions, teachers, companies, and experts of any kind. Best of all, it’s free.

The format is simple: First you create and brand your school, such as the School of Entrepreneurship. Next you create classes using YouTube’s wealth of educational videos. Finally, you add an interactive layer on top of the videos with time-stamped flashcards and review questions. What makes this platform so ideal for any organization is that the user can specify who has access to the School of You. It can either be made private (invite only) or public (anyone can enroll).

Teachem is also a huge win for learners as it allows them to create any school of their interest and use YouTube’s 700,000+ educational videos as their own classroom. Since teaching is the best form of learning, by creating teachem classes they will not only learn the information but actually retain it.

For more information please visit http://teachem.com/ or its own school at http://www.teachem.com/faq.

About Teachem

The team at teachem built its online platform based on 4 core beliefs. First off, they do not like waste. For them that means wasting amazing educational videos on YouTube that get lost in its abyss and are never organized into a classroom format. Second, they love organizing information. The simplest way to organize a video is to create time stamped flashcards that follow along with it. Third, they obviously love learning. They created teachem for themselves. They want to learn something new each and every day. The teachem platform allows them to do just that. Fourth, and finally, they love simplicity.

Teachem’s parent company is FurtherEd which started as Lawline.com in 1999 and is currently the largest provider of online continuing legal education in the country. Last year it reached 1,000,000 courses viewed by close to 100,000 attorneys. From day one Lawline.com’s mission was always more expansive than providing high quality courses to attorneys. It’s focus was providing learning based products and services that lead to personal growth. This bigger mission is what led to FurtherEd and now to teachem.

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Dallas, U.S.A — Sakar International, a manufacturer of tech, toy and consumer electronics products, announced on October 2, a licensing agreement with Activision Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, to create a line of accessories that feature the newest heroes from Skylanders Giants. The accessories will hit the shelves of Toys “R” Us this fall in the United States and Canada.

Launching in October and one of this fall’s most hotly anticipated titles, Skylanders Giants is the sequel to Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure, the #1 Selling Console and Handheld Title Of 2012. Both titles merge the physical and virtual realms with innovative “smart” toys that kids can bring to life in the gaming adventure world of Skylands. Skylanders Giants introduces 16 new characters and a raft of technological and gameplay innovations that create even more opportunities for collaborative and competitive play.

“Activision’s  Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure and Skylanders Giants games are an innovation among video games that melds the online world with real toys that kids can touch and feel. It’s that unique experience that’s made Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure one of the most popular video game titles today, and we are thrilled to be a part of the phenomenon,” says Liza Abrams, VP Licensing,  Sakar. “Our accessories and electronics toys will give fans another opportunity to have fun with adventurous and mighty heroes in the world of Skylands.”

Sakar’s new line of Skylanders Giants products include a selection of cases for portable devices, an alarm clock radio with dock, molded earbuds and headphones, walkie talkies, night vision goggles and more.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Sakar and believe that their strength in the electronics and accessories product categories will be a perfect complement to the exciting world of Skylands,” saysAshley Maidy, head of Global Licensing & Partnerships at Activision Publishing.

According to NPD, GfK Chartrack, and Activision internal estimates, based on revenue, inclusive of accessory packs and figures, worldwide between January and June 30, 2012.

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Dallas, U.S.A — Sakar International and KIDZ BOP, a music brand for kids ages 5-12 in the U.S., are set to debut a new line of KIDZ BOP audio/video youth electronics at Toys R Us across the country this month. Sakar gave a sneak peek of the new products at the annual Toy Industry Association’s Fall Toy Preview Oct. 2-4 at the Dallas Market Center/World Trade Center.

Inspired by the best-selling KIDZ BOP music series, featuring today’s biggest hits sung by kids for kids, the new licensed KIDZ BOP karaoke gear is perfect for budding young pop stars to sing along to their favorite songs.

Get the party started with these new KIDZ BOP products:

• The KIDZ BOP Karaoke Machine is a portable CD/CD+G and iPod/MP3 plug-and-play compatible player that displays song lyrics onto any TV with the included AUX cable. One microphone is included, but dual mic inputs make it easy to add a second mic and share the fun with a duet. The machine comes with a free KIDZ BOP Karaoke CD, A/C adapter and user manual, all for $69MSRP.
• The KIDZ BOP Karaoke Microphone & Stand connects directly to any iPod or MP3 player and features built-in flashing light show to accent any live performance. The adjustable stand and microphone come with an AUX cable and user manual for just $29.99 MSRP.
• The KIDZ BOP MP3 Karaoke Microphone connects to any iPod/MP3 player and automatically removes the vocals to any song to let you be the star of the show, complete with built-in sounds of the roaring crowd. Connecting cable is included for just $19.99 MSRP.
• Pump up the volume with the wireless KIDZ BOP MP3 Panel Speaker system featuring a contemporary flat panel design and high-definition sound quality for just $29.99 MSRP.

“Kids of all ages—and even their parents—love KIDZ BOP for its fun, family-friendly approach to today’s hottest music,” said Sakar President Jeff Saka. “These new karaoke products make it easy and exciting for everyone to get in on the action and be their own pop star.”

Perfect for holiday gift giving, the new KIDZ BOP karaoke products go on sale this month at all Toys R Us locations in the U.S. To see the complete lineup of Sakar International licensed products, stop by the Sakar Booth #1201 during the TIA’s Fall Toy Preview October 2-4. For more information, visit www.Sakar.com.

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Tualatin, U.S.A — Cutting edge technology, durability, interactive content, a design made just for kids and a full line of action-packed accessories. The MEEP! tablet from Oregon Scientific has it all. The new 7-inch, Android 4.0 (‘Ice Cream Sandwich’) tablet is Wi-Fi enabled and features the most rugged durability of any tablet on the market.

With a protective and fun, bright orange silicon bumper, a recessed screen and a cutting-edge zForce touch screen that won’t shatter when dropped, MEEP! withstands wear and tear from the backseat or the playground to the schoolyard or the couch. MEEP! ($149.99) is currently available at all major national retailers including Toys “R” Us, Target,Best Buy, RadioShack, Kmart, Meijer, Boscov’s, BJ’s, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart.com, Kohls.com and QVC.

Every aspect of MEEP! was designed for kids and the way they interact with electronics. From the rugged, horizontal design to the easy-to-use, uncluttered interface laid out to be controlled by kids’ thumbs, MEEP! is designed to be a pick-up and play device that kids can take with them anywhere they go. The innovative zForce touch screen powered by Neonode Multisensing Technology makes it simple for kids to quickly access content with the lightest touch of their thumb, and a scrolling menu system makes apps, games, music, videos and more quickly accessible.

As much as MEEP! was designed for kids, the tablet also appeals to parents with customizable cloud-based settings that parents can control and adjust without having to take the tablet out of their child’s hands. By simply visiting the Parents Portal on MEEPTablet.com from any device with a web browser (computer, smart phone, tablet), parents can not only hand-pick (“whitelist”) which websites or keywords their kids have or don’t have access to, but they can add words to the tablet’s built-in “bad word” list so their child will not be able to search for those words or use them in the chat feature.

Oregon Scientific also maintains a “blacklist” of inappropriate content that is updated by moderators on an ongoing basis which parents can add to. In addition, parents can actively monitor their child’s online activity, limit play time duration and provide a virtual allowance for purchasing apps via MEEP! coins without needing to access the physical tablet.

From the hottest pre-loaded content including Angry Birds, UNO, Toon Goggles, art and learning apps and more to the MEEP! Store, MEEP! provides the rich interactive experience that kids are clamoring for. Games, books, videos and apps available in the MEEP! store have all been cleared for kid-friendliness by Oregon Scientific and are either free or can be purchased with MEEP! coins.

Additionally, Google Play can be accessed from the Parents Portal to purchase additional content, and applications are seamlessly downloaded to the tablet with parental permission.  Music, movies and e-books that parents or kids have previously purchased on a PC or Mac can also be easily transferred to the MEEP! via the USB cable that is included in the package.

The MEEP! tablet has 4GB of internal storage and a micro SD card slot to install additional memory. Kids can also capture favorite moments – still photos or videos – to share with friends and family via the tablet’s built-in, front-facing camera and can display content on the tablet to a television through HDMI.

A full suite of accessories is available for MEEP!, allowing kids to rock ‘n roll with a portable piano, drum pad, headphones and microphone or master gaming skills with a joystick, steering wheel or dualplay Game-Pro Case. For added customization, additional silicon bumpers are available in Meepadelic Purpleand Meepto Pink.

“We wanted to design a tablet that had all of the features and technology that tablets geared toward adults had without being ‘dumbed-down’ for 6-12 year olds. The challenge was providing them with content they would enjoy and that parents would feel confident was safe,” said Bill Fleckner, Vice President of Sales for Oregon Scientific, “We achieved that and more with MEEP! and are thrilled at the overwhelming response we’ve had so far from our retailers and content partners alike.”

“Oregon Scientific has a long history in creating innovative consumer technology and we’ve had tremendous success in the electronic learning products category,” said David Riley, Product and Marketing Director for Oregon Scientific, “We are excited to leverage that experience with a natural extension into the kids tablet category.”

MEEP! will be supported by dedicated marketing and public relations campaigns that include national TV advertising, parent and kid-directed online ads, a Radio Disney campaign and promotional support of theRyan Seacrest Foundation featuring Selena Gomez. The national TV advertising plan includes :15 and :30 spots on the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney XD and The Hub.

The MEEP! tablet is geared for kids 6 and up and is currently available at mass market retailers and online stores for a suggested retail price of $149.99. Accessories are each sold separately.MEEP! comes complete with a charger, USB cable and a quick start guide. For more information visitwww.MeepTablet.com or like MEEP! on Facebook.

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San Francisco, U.S.A. — Media Sentiment, is of the opinion that the following is a material event which warrants a public release. The Company is pleased to report that it is in the final stages of finalizing the acquisition of a new asset, namely the social media video curation technology of videocourier.com.

Media Sentiment immediate plans are to start the work on integrating the videocourier.com technology into the media sentiment set of tools. The plan is to use this new social networking technology to enable users from around the world to easily create and share video channels, in real-time by curating video clips of material importance to equities, currencies, bonds and any other financial instruments.

The intent is to make this technology available in as many languages as possible, from available news sources around the world. Currently, the technology already supports video clips from news sources such as CNBC, Reuters, Forbes, CNN Money, The Wall Street Journal, TheStreet.com, CBS News, Morningstar, Yahoo Daily Ticker, AOL Business, as well as international sources such as BBC, Aljazeera, European Commission and EuropeNews and others.

Marion Munz, Media Sentiment’s CEO said, “Social media curation is seen by many experts as the next major media trend for social networking technologies, following the extraordinary valuations of the traditional social media networks. As an example, Pinterest.com, one of the latest darlings of Silicon Valley investment community, has recently received a $1.5 billion valuation, due in part to the perceived growth potential.”

Media Sentiment sees as a tremendous opportunity to create one of the most comprehensive databases of video news that shakes markets around the world, by making use of its trademarked thumbs up and down symbols to indicate the sentiment coming from video news and information that moves markets. The trademarked meaning of the thumbs up and thumbs down symbols should be easily understood by anyone, in any language, therefore maximizing the impact and timeliness of the news.

The company will continue its search for additional acquisition candidates, and foresees closing this transaction within the next 3 to 5 business days.

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North Providence,U.S.A — Mobile Beacon, a nationwide leader in providing low-cost, mobile 4G Internet service exclusively to nonprofit and educational entities, was honored during The Foundation for Florida Virtual School’s inaugural Opening Doors to the World Awards Celebration on Wednesday, September 19, 2012. The event, which was inspired by a quote from a Florida Virtual School student – “Mine is not your typical classroom, it’s a door to the world,” honored those who have been instrumental in opening doors to educate students in Florida, the United States, and around the world.

“As the philanthropic organization of Florida Virtual School, we recognize that it takes the commitment and innovation of many pioneering individuals and organizations to transform education worldwide, one student at a time,” said Star Kraschinsky, president of The Foundation for Florida Virtual School. “The award recipients have helped to provide the platform to spark creativity and provide the necessary support to deliver high quality, technology-based education that provides the skills and knowledge students need, and deserve, to succeed.”

The Bridging the Gap Virtie Award was presented to Mobile Beacon for demonstrating a resourceful approach to education.  The award illustrates the out-of-the-box thinking it takes to connect students to the technology they need to succeed. This past year, Mobile Beacon awarded a grant to The Foundation for Florida Virtual School, providing 125 brand new laptops with 4G mobile USB modems for The Foundation to use in Community Learning Centers in different regions throughout the state of Florida.

This grant represents one of the many grants Mobile Beacon has provided to K-12 schools, school districts, and higher education facilities since launching its laptop and 4G modem donation program in 2011. This program provides up to 25 laptops and 4G modems to help schools serve disadvantaged students who might not otherwise have access to these resources outside of school. In addition, as part of the grant, Mobile Beacon provides free, unlimited 4G Internet service for one year for each modem requested. After that, a grant recipient may continue the 4G service for a flat rate of $10/month. To date, Mobile Beacon has donated more than 2,300 laptops and 1,600 4G modems.

“Mobile Beacon is proud to be able to provide these technology resources to schools, that in turn, can provide them to the students who need them most,” said Katherine Messier, Managing Director of Mobile Beacon.

“Our grant recipients have shared their successes with us and it continues to inspire us to do more. For example, some schools are now providing access to students whose families have had their internet service shut off, others who are currently homeless, and students with long-term illnesses who cannot attend classes,” Messier added.

Other recipients of the Opening Doors to the World “Virtie” Award were Innosight Institute’s Co-Founder and Executive Director Michael Horn, UCompass, Florida Virtual School Student Bailey Reese and Governor Jeb Bush.

For more information about Mobile Beacon’s education donation programs, an interested school or district should visit the education section of Mobile Beacon’s website.

About Mobile Beacon

Mobile Beacon is a pioneer in offering fourth generation (4G) mobile broadband services exclusively to education and nonprofit organizations across the United States. Mobile Beacon was created by a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that has more than 20 years experience serving the educational community and one of the largest national educational broadband service (EBS) providers in the country. Through an agreement with Clearwire, Mobile Beacon provides high-speed data services and mobile Internet access to educational and nonprofit organizations. Learn more at www.mobilebeacon.org.

About the Foundation for Florida Virtual School

The Foundation for Florida Virtual School (The Foundation for FLVS), the philanthropic organization of Florida Virtual School (FLVS), strives to ensure all students have access to world-class education and quality online learning opportunities that prepare them for a lifetime of success. The Foundation for FLVS invests resources to award scholarships for academic achievement, provide support for clubs and events, and extend FLVS access to students who may not otherwise have the opportunity to benefit from online education. To learn more about The Foundation for FLVS and to make a donation, visit www.flvsfoundation.org.

Image Courtesy of   Mobile Beacon

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California, U.S.A. — The mission team for NASA’s long-lived Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity will be awarded the Haley Space Flight Award. The team will receive the award Sept. 12 during the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Space 2012 Conference and Exposition in Pasadena, California.

The award is presented for outstanding contributions by an astronaut or flight test personnel to the advancement of the art, science or technology of astronautics. Past recipients include Alan Shepherd, John Glenn, Thomas Stafford, Robert Crippen, Kathryn Sullivan and the crew of space shuttle mission STS-125, which flew in 2009 on the last shuttle mission to NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.

The award citation praises this project’s “new techniques in extraterrestrial robotic system operations to explore another world and extend mission lifetime.” Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager John Callas of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, will accept the award for the team.

“On behalf of the many hundreds of scientists and engineers who designed, built and operate these rovers, it is a great honor to accept this most prestigious award,” Callas said. “It is especially gratifying that this comes right as Opportunity is conducting one of the most significant campaigns in the eight-and-a-half years since landing. We still are going strong, with perhaps the most exciting exploration still ahead.”

In its eighth year operating on Mars, Opportunity is surveying a crater-rim outcrop of layered rock in search of clay minerals that could provide new information about a formerly wet environment. Spirit worked for more than six years — until 2010 — 24 times longer than its original three-month prime mission.

In just the past two months, Opportunity has driven about a third of a mile (more than 525 meters), extending its total overland travel distance to 21.76 miles (35 kilometers). Recent drives along the inner edge of the Cape York segment of the western rim of Endeavour Crater have brought the rover close to a layered outcrop in an area where clay minerals have been detected from orbit. These minerals could offer evidence of ancient, wet conditions with less acidity than the ancient, wet environments recorded at sites Opportunity visited during its first seven years on Mars.

Opportunity’s position overlooking 14-mile-wide (22-kilometer-wide) Endeavour Crater is about 5,200 miles (8,400 kilometers) from where Curiosity, NASA’s next-generation Mars rover, landed inside Gale Crater a month ago.

JPL manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

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Chicago, U.S.A. – Chicago Ideas Week (CIW), the annual seven-day celebration of ideas, innovation, and community geared towards turning provocative ideas into action, announced its speakers for this year’s program, taking place October 8-14, 2012. Tickets are currently on sale and details can be found at www.chicagoideas.com.

“Chicago Ideas Week is once again bringing together some of the world’s top innovators and thinkers to share their ideas and engage with our vibrant Chicago community,” said Brad Keywell, founder and co-chairman of Chicago Ideas Week. “By doubling the size of the event this year, we are continuing to build a platform for provocative ideas, bold thinkers, and active members of our community, creating an ecosystem that will spark new initiatives and ventures.”

CIW will host over 130 thought-provoking Talks, Labs, and other events throughout the week with the goal of inspiring new perspectives and activating new relationships and initiatives. Events and speakers vary from a discussion on sustainable design by jewelry designer Monique Péan to a demonstration of the first humanoid robot by Dennis Hong. Other confirmed speakers include:

• David Gregory, moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press”
• Eva Paterson, president of Equal Justice Society
• Kohl Crecelius, CEO & Co-Founder of Krochet Kids International
• Chris Hughes, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, The New Republic
• Tim Ferriss, Best-Selling Author of  “4-Hour Work Week”
• Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Academy Award-Winning Journalist and Filmmaker
• Brandon Boyd, Artist and Lead Singer of Incubus

These speakers are some of the 200 innovators, creators and leaders presenting on themes such as social entrepreneurship, the future of food, military, explorers, the latest personal technology, philanthropy and giving, scientific breakthroughs, and more.

Chicago Ideas Week is generously supported by several integral partners, including: TIME, JPMorgan Chase, Starcom MediaVest Group, Leo Burnett Worldwide, MSLGROUP, Illinois Office of Tourism,University of Illinois, United Airlines, Hyatt, Microsoft, McCormick Foundation, Walgreens, The Joyce Foundation, Cars.com, Ernst & Young, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Magazine, Crain’s Chicago Business, NBC 5 Chicago, WBEZ91.5, Lefkofsky Family Foundation, Grosvenor Capital Management, The Pritzker Group, Accenture, Turnstone, Boeing, CBRE, DLA Piper, and Harrington College of Design.

For more information on the CIW Member Program, interested parties may contact us at membership@chicagoideas.com.

About Chicago Ideas Week

Chicago Ideas Week is a premier annual gathering of global thought leaders created to provoke new ideas and inspire actionable results. CIW is a platform of events and interactive experiences, created for innovators, thinkers, doers and interested citizens from across Chicago, the greater Midwest, and the world. CIW’s goal is to stimulate new initiatives and ventures, create new connections and collaborations, and establish a community of people who have the desire to achieve great things. For more information, please visit www.chicagoideas.com or visit us on Twitter at @ChicagoIdeas for updates.

Image Courtesy of    TechCocktail

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New York, U.S.A. — A new landscape is emerging in the US: it is no longer a question of consumers’ willingness to share data but one of establishing a fair value exchange. This finding is highlighted Sexy Little Numbers, a new book by Dimitri Maex, Managing Director of OgilvyOne New York, the digital direct arm of Ogilvy & Mather. Sexy Little Numbers shows how to grow your business using the data you already have.

“Despite the handwringing that has accompanied the age of ‘Big Data,’ our research shows that 72% of US consumers are, in fact, willing to share data – they just want to receive fair value in exchange. This finding indicates a fundamental shift in the data privacy debate – and even in attitudes towards privacy – and foreshadows opportunities for those companies that figure out the value consumers place on their personal information. These forward-looking companies will have the edge as they are able to develop offers and incentives that draw consumers into more intimate relationships with brands,” said Maex.

There are three types of value exchanges: rewards and monetary benefits; better service; and transparency and control in data usage. Some distinct groups are emerging:

• The “Cash for Information” consumer: typically young professionals, 94% of whom will share information in exchange for monetary benefits;
• The “Privacy Cautious” consumer: typically older consumers, 41% of whom will share data such as their telephone number in exchange for better services. This number increases to nearly 50% among retired respondents;
• While 52% agreed that a cash reward was the most preferred exchange benefit, “Affluents” (those earning over $150k) were more interested in receiving exclusive deals/discounts on products & services (51%).

In Sexy Little Numbers, Maex has set out to demystify data, making it accessible to anybody who wants to grow their business using the data they already have. Written for the general reader, Maex’s book explains which data is the best to track, how to extract the storyline it reveals and where companies can find untapped profits.

“Before the digital age, it was fairly simple to target customers using direct mail and traditional customer relationship management (CRM) techniques. Today, with every customer move transparent, the huge quantity of data that is now easily available gives companies an unprecedented window into how customers engage with brands – and more importantly – where that can lead to revenue,” said Maex.

Big data can be overwhelming. For example, how can you sort through all the mountains of information to find out why a customer bought your product? Maex aims to make answering questions like “where are the customers?” and “how do I get them hooked?” understandable. Here are a handful of highlights from the new, “sexy” toolset that you’ll understand more fully after reading this book:

• Predict what your customers and potential customers will be worth to you in the future using the models once restricted to the data elite such as value spectrum and risk propensity.
• Find where your customers are, both geographically and online, what sites or social networks they spend their time on, what apps they use and what they are searching for.
• Determine which customers buy your product because it is perfect for their needs, which ones buy it because they liked your ad, or which ones decided based on price. Find out if the purchase came from word-of-mouth recommendation.
• Discover how to allocate your marketing assets in ways that will generate the highest possible returns.
• Optimize your sales and marketing efforts using the latest technology.

Each page is filled with real world examples and actionable advice for companies and marketers striving to find and reach the most profitable customers and get the biggest return on their marketing dollars.

Sexy Little Numbers will interest small business owners eager to grow faster and get leaner, R&D teams seeking to create new products or services, customer service professionals who want to know which buyers are the most valuable, finance execs responsible for growing the bottom line, and creatives looking for new ways to increase their output.

Dimitri Maex is managing director of OgilvyOne New York, Ogilvy & Mather’s digital direct operations. He also serves as the head of the company’s Global Data Practice, a team that has been recognized by Forrester Research as number one in the industry. Renowned worldwide for the statistical methods he’s developed, Maex has helped companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, IBM, Philips, Siemens, UPS, Unilever, and many other global enterprises employ hugely profitable and radically new uses for their data analysis.

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Washington, U.S.A. — Americans are becoming increasingly reliant on mobile devices during emergencies to provide information, useful tools and a way to let loved ones know they are safe, according to a new survey conducted by the American Red Cross.

Mobile apps now tie social media as the fourth-most popular way to get information in an emergency, following TV, radio and online news. The Red Cross survey found that 20 percent of Americans said they have gotten some kind of emergency information from an app, including emergency apps, those sponsored by news outlets and privately developed apps.

“We’ve monitored more than 100,000 mentions about Hurricane Isaac on social media,” said Wendy Harman, director of social strategy of the Red Cross. “People are stressed out, scared and seeking information. Social media and apps become a way to reach out to them with emotional support and tips on staying safe.”

The survey also identified a subsection of the population deemed “emergency social users,” people who are the most dedicated users of social media during emergencies. These users are likely to take a safety or preparedness action based on the information they see in their social networks. Three out of four of these users say they’ve contacted friends and family to see if they were safe and more than a third say social information has motivated them to gather supplies or seek safe shelter.

Other key findings include:

• Emergency social users are also most likely to seek and share information during emergencies. While they look for the hard facts—road closures, damage reports and weather conditions—they share personal information about their safety statuses and how they are feeling.
• Three out of four Americans (76 percent) expect help in less than three hours of posting a request on social media, up from 68 percent last year.
• Forty percent of those surveyed said they would use social tools to tell others they are safe, up from 24 percent last year.

The Red Cross continues to encourage people to call 9-1-1 as the best first action when in need of emergency assistance. At the same time, the organization is responding to the interest in mobile assistance by releasing a series of free apps for both iPhone and Android users.

The Red Cross introduced apps for shelter locations, first aid tips and instruction and hurricane preparedness, the last of which also includes a flashlight feature as well as one-touch, “I’m safe” messaging that connects directly to the users’ social media channels Red Cross plans to unveil several other preparedness apps throughout the fall. Links to the apps can be found at redcross.org//prepare/mobile-apps.

For more information and to view the full survey and infographic, visit redcross.org

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Jacksonville, U.S.A. — Retina-X Studios, a monitoring software publisher, has released AceSpy v6.0 for Windows. Among several new features is full Facebook monitoring and restriction. The software allows parents to silently monitor and restrict Facebook and other social media websites. They are able to see every single action their child does and block those they deem inappropriate.

First created in 2003, AceSpy is a hidden program which silently records detailed activities of a monitored computer. Results are accessed inside an easy-to-understand user interface. Activities such as typed keystrokes, websites visited, Facebook activity, chats and visual screenshots can be viewed on demand. The software can automatically forward all emails and chats directly to the parents’ email address.

The Facebook Monitoring feature silently captures activities such as mail, search and IM chatting. The IM viewer allows users to monitor conversations live as they occur in real time. Offline IM monitoring records the IM window every 15 seconds logging both sides of the conversation.

“Social media sites are quickly becoming the bane of our existence. If a parent suspects their child is doing something naughty, they should investigate. With AceSpy, parents can learn whether or not their child is behaving themselves on social networks. They can also block activities they don’t want to happen,” said CEO James Johns.

Further parental control features allow parents to set up scheduled usage times limiting access to the entire computer, thus creating a controlled environment. Along with time restrictions, users will also have the option of blocking specific websites from being viewed by creating a URL or keyword list of restricted sites.

The advanced watch list system alerts a parent to pre-specified events. They can monitor for specific keywords within a website or email and then receive an alert if the keyword is encountered. Alerts can be sent via email or text message.

AceSpy Spy Software is available now for Windows and Mac OS X computers at http://www.acespy.com/details.html

About Retina-X Studios

Founded in 2003, Retina-X Studios designs and develops tools which allow parents and employers to monitor the usage of computers, tablets and smartphones. The entire Retina-X Studios lineup is available at http://www.retinax.com.

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‘Twitter’ is a place where users can communicate with other people by posting what they think in a short sentence. To express what you think or to talk to other people, you should be ‘following’ someone, or you need to collect your own ‘followers.’

It is generally thought that someone who has many followers is popular amongst followers or influential online. This is why there are some people trying to create more followers in unconventional ways. Two weeks ago a friend e-mailed me, claiming that he could demonstrate how to create 5,000 followers in two weeks. Two weeks later, he got over 5,000 followers, just as he had said. How was that possible?

The method he revealed was quite easy. Write ‘how to collect followers easily,’ on a search site, such as Naver, a Korea’s biggest portal site, and it shows a series of websites which can help you  increase your number of followers. Among those, the most popular one was ‘twitaddon.’

Twitaddon shows people a list of twitter users who have 100 percent rate of following. It means when you follow someone on this list, the chances of he or she following you back is 100 percent. In that regard, if you want to increase the number of your followers, it is better for you to follow someone who is on the top of the list shown by twitaddon. Twitaddon also has a place in which people can promote their twitter account. Twitaddon allows people to follow only 100 people an hour, which means that if you try this every hour, you can follow up to 2,400 people a day.

It is quite easy to spot people who have over 1,000 followers on this website; however, most of them have not posted anything on their twitter accounts.

It cannot be said someone who has 5,000 followers is influential or popular, because it is quite easy to see those who have over one hundred thousand followers nowadays. The unusual manner with which to collect followers that mt friend showed  questions whether having many followers is really that important.

The problem with people doing this, is that they are not interested in what other people are saying. The only purpose of these people is to increase their number of followers. It seems that Twitter’s original purpose of communicating with other users has vanished among those people.

However, since a lot of people still believe that someone with many followers is influential online, it is likely that the number of people trying to increase their followers, in any way, will rise.

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After a year of scorched-earth process of legal action, a nine-person United States jury in San Jose, California last week found that Apple’s biggest rival Samsung has infringed six of the seven patents for Apple mobile devices — the big issue of the trial. The jurors also confirmed the validity of all seven of Apple’s innovative patents, many of which covered the design of the iPhone. The United States jury ordered the South Korean company to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages, less than half of the amount Apple attempted to obtain. Apple had sought nearly $2.75 billion in damages, claiming Samsung had illegally copied four design and three software patents.

Apple Inc. filed its patent infringement lawsuit in April 2011, occupying a vast number of the United States’ highest-paid attorneys to demand $2.75 billion from its giant smartphone rival. Samsung Electronics Co. fired back with its own lawsuit claiming that the Californian company infringed five of its own patents and demanded $399 million. Samsung’s lawyers supported that Apple was trying to prevent Samsung from accomplishing legitimate competition. However, the verdict favored Apple since the jury rejected all of Samsung’s claims against the Californian company.

The jurors needed less than three days to deliver the verdict, causing some surprise, considering the complexities of the case. The nine-person jury was asked more than 600 questions during their deliberation. The jury decided that Samsung had illegally used Apple’s tech innovations in some of its own products, such as the ‘bounce-back’ feature when a user scrolls to an end picture and the ability to zoom texts with tapping a finger.

Harold McElhinny, Apple’s lawyer, claimed that after iPhone’s launch in 2007, the South Korean company was facing a design crisis and thus company’s executives decided to illegally take advantage of the revolutionary device’s success. Besides the billions Apple sought for damages, the company’s attorneys also demanded that Samsung pull its most popular mobile devices and computer tablets from the United States market.

Of course Samsung’s lawyers argued that the company had not done anything illegal. The South Korean tech giant was only giving customers what they wanted: smart phones with big screens. They claimed that Samsung’s manufacturers did not infringe on Apple’s software and design patents, though, according to them, many of Apple’s revolutionary patents were actually concepts or ideas stolen from Sony Corp. and other companies. According to Samsung’s lawyers, Apple’s products may be great but that does not mean the company has a monopoly on the design of phones with rounded corners.

Apple’s legal victory in California did not give the company’s legal team many reasons to celebrate, because the effect of the verdict on the other legal battles between the two companies outside of the United States still remain unclear. The U.S trial was only the first part of this historic patent battle, as both companies have pursued legal actions in eight other countries including South Korea, Japan, Australia, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and the Netherlands.

Last Friday, Samsung won a motherland court ruling. According to Judges in Seoul, Samsung did not infringed the design patents for iPhone, but they said that the Korean company did violate the patent on the ‘bounce-back’ feature. Judges also decided that Apple infringed on Samsung’s wireless technology and both companies were ordered to pay damages.

Yesterday, a United States Judge set a court date for December 6 in order to hear Apple’s request for a permanent ban against Samsung’s mobile devices. Apple claimed to have eight devices it will demand for a permanent sales ban on.

While Apple and Samsung have both pursued legal actions against each other’s manufacturers, experts say this is not a battle between Apple and Samsung. The real target is Google. The truth is Apple and Samsung are using courts in order to help them negotiate and set prices for cross-licensing agreements.

The two tech rivals are trying to figure out whose intellectual property is worth what. Samsung has emerged as one of Apple’s greatest competitors, becoming the leading smartphone-making company thanks to Google. It was Google that gave Samsung and other phone makers the Android mobile operating system for free. In the end it is going to be a battle between the two operating systems.

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Pasadena, U.S.A. — NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has begun driving from its landing site, which scientists announced today they have named for the late author Ray Bradbury. Making its first movement on the Martian surface, Curiosity’s drive combined forward, turn and reverse segments. This placed the rover roughly 20 feet (6 meters) from the spot where it landed August 6th.

NASA has approved the Curiosity science team’s choice to name the landing ground for the influential author who was born 92 years ago today and died this year. The location where Curiosity touched down is now called Bradbury Landing. “This was not a difficult choice for the science team,” said Michael Meyer, NASA program scientist for Curiosity. “Many of us and millions of other readers were inspired in our lives by stories Ray Bradbury wrote to dream of the possibility of life on Mars.”

The drive confirmed the health of Curiosity’s mobility system and produced the rover’s first wheel tracks on Mars, documented in images taken after the drive. During a news conference at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., the mission’s lead rover driver, Matt Heverly, showed an animation derived from visualization software used for planning the first drive. “We have a fully functioning mobility system with lots of amazing exploration ahead,” Heverly said.

Curiosity will spend several more days of working beside Bradbury Landing, performing instrument checks and studying the surroundings, before embarking toward its first driving destination approximately 1,300 feet (400 meters) to the east-southeast.”

Curiosity is a much more complex vehicle than earlier Mars rovers. The testing and characterization activities during the initial weeks of the mission lay important groundwork for operating our precious national resource with appropriate care,” said Curiosity Project Manager Pete Theisinger of JPL. “Sixteen days in, we are making excellent progress.”

The science team has begun pointing instruments on the rover’s mast for investigating specific targets of interest near and far. The Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument used a laser and spectrometers this week to examine the composition of rocks exposed when the spacecraft’s landing engines blew away several inches of overlying material.

The instrument’s principal investigator, Roger Weins of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, reported that measurements made on the rocks in this scoured-out feature called Goulburn suggest a basaltic composition. “These may be pieces of basalt within a sedimentary deposit,” Weins said.

Curiosity began a two-year prime mission on Mars when the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft delivered the car-size rover to its landing target inside Gale Crater on August 5 PDT (August 6 EDT). The mission will use 10 science instruments on the rover to assess whether the area has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.

In a career spanning more than 70 years, Ray Bradbury inspired generations of readers to dream, think and create. A prolific author of hundreds of short stories and nearly to 50 books, as well as numerous poems, essays, operas, plays, teleplays, and screenplays, Bradbury was one of the most celebrated writers of our time.

His groundbreaking works include “Fahrenheit 451,” “The Martian Chronicles,” “The Illustrated Man,” “Dandelion Wine,” and “Something Wicked This Way Comes.” He wrote the screenplay for John Huston’s classic film adaptation of “Moby Dick,” and was nominated for an Academy Award. He adapted 65 of his stories for television’s “The Ray Bradbury Theater,” and won an Emmy for his teleplay of “The Halloween Tree.”

JPL manages the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The rover was designed, developed and assembled at JPL.

More information about Curiosity is online at: http://www.nasa.gov/msl

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