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Coolest iPhone Accessories

2013-02-20T00:36:00.001-08:00

Let’s face it; iPhone is arguably the most amazing looking smartphone around. The finesse and suave it packs in itself still makes its competitors whimper in pain. Let’s have a look at all the accessories you can club with it to make it more awesome than it already is!

1. iPhone Motorbike Pack

It has been a geek's dream to wear something cool and chunky around the wrist and be able to touch it, talk into it, and just flash it around. The iPhone Motorbike Pack does just that. All you need to do is put your iPhone inside the pack, and it allows you to operate it through the layer of plastic with ease. Now riding a bike and using your cell is classy as hell!

2. Black Ops Throat Mic iPhone Headset

Tom Clancy and every other Black Op game fan rejoice! The Black Ops Throat Mic iPhone Headset allows a user to wear this around his neck and converse with the caller with ease. The headset operates on the basis of registering your vocal cords and transferring them to the caller. This offers seamless voice transfers and you can whisper and still be heard clearly on the other end and the person you’re speaking to hears no outside sound, only your voice. Time to wear your spy-gear and nose around snoopingly.

3. SoundClip iPhone Audio Booster

A very handy accessory, as the name suggests, the SoundClip iPhone Audio Booster works on the technology of simple acoustics and throws the sound from the back speaker straight to the holder in a crispier, louder and clearer manner. This is perfect for a quick video/sound-clip experience in a crowded place, and avoids a user cupping his hands behind the cell!

4. Scosche flipSYNK USB 2.0 Cable for iPod and iPhone

An accessory from heaven, the Scosche flipSYNK USB 2.0 Cable for iPod and iPhone is definitely a must-have for every iPhone and iPod user. The FlipSYNK is perfect for use in dire-situations when you're hunting for a charging source or want to connect your phone instantaneously to any desktop. A handy accessory, this one should definitely be on your shopping list!

5. Soulra XL

We've seen hordes of portable speakers doing their trick time and again, but this one takes the cake for packing a mean punch. The Soulra XL comes equipped with a massive solar panel that charges the speaker's in-built battery and can juice up the whole battery in 5 hours under perfect sunlight! Steeply priced at $300, this one's still a steal nonetheless. We hope to see some more cheaper variants in the future though!

6. iFlash External Flash For iPhone

We've all cribbed about the poor performance of the iPhone's disheartening flash, and hoped for a better alternative, and the iFlash External Flash For iPhone does just that! Simply attach the iFlash to your iPhone 3G or iPod and you have instant access to an efficient flash to help illuminate most poorly lit areas. It can even attach to your iPad to provide great back-lighting. Simply brilliant!

7. Dual SIM Card

Before you gawk, yes, it's real and it isn't some geeky prank played by the manufacturers. You can now club your two SIMs together and seamlessly swap from one to another without any hassle. Perfect for travellers who want to switch between users and datapacks, it is definitely handy, and a boon for the ones who are not keen on fidgeting with insertion and removal.

8. Wrap™ 310XL

One look at it and you know there is something special with this accessory. The Wraop 310 XL displays both standard 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios and plays standard 2D and side-by-side format 3D movies. With the advent of Wrap 310XL, the future of virtual reality is here to stay.

Most Amazing, Annoying Alarm Clocks

2013-02-20T00:31:00.003-08:00

There was a time when we were awakened by the divine chirping of the birds and the first glow of the morning sun, and with the advent of technology it was soon substituted by Alarm Clocks.

They disrupt our sweet sleep and causes third degree torture. So we bring to you a list of the best/worst alarm clocks that are bound to take the pain to the next level. Check them out!
1. Wake-n-Work Out Clock

This one's fun. Most of us work-out every morning, or atleast try to, but this one make you work out no matter how tired or hungover you are! An in-built motion sensor makes you do 30 bicep curls until it switches off. No snooze, nothing. Talk about pumping iron the minute you wake up!

2. Blender Clock

This one will rattle your brain like an earthquake reading above six on a Richter scale! A brilliant concept, the blender is full of styrofoam and will go on whenever the alarm is set and you'll be awakened by the shrill sound of balls rattling together. And if that wasn't all, it also plays annoying jingles to make matters worse.
3. Tumbler

What happens when you have a clock that's capable of wheeling itself away and hide in some obscure corner only to buzz at that precise moment and have you hunt for it? That's Tumbler. It's equipped with two massive wheels that'll whiz it around and keep it further away from you every time you hit snooze. And as a double edged sword, it'll move 3 feet away every time you hit snooze.
4. Twist Equation Alarm Clock

This one was made by engineers from hell. The only way to stop the alarm in this one is to solve an equation that it'll throw at you. Nothing works as well as having your grey cells churned in the right way every morning. Talk about taking your brain for an early morning run, this one's a 100 metre sprint!
5. Kim The Chatter Clock

We always say that having a woman in bed is much much better than having an alarm clock. They chatter and cuddle at the same time. Double-edged sword. This one only elucidates the horrifying aspect of it. It resembles a horrible woman's face, and never shows the time. And you have to press the nose to make it stop. The agony is hell.
6. Sonic Bomb

The name says it all, yet if you don't get the drift, we'll elucidate further. It throws out a monstrous sound at you at 130 decibels. That's as loud as a jackhammer. And if that wasn't enough, it even flashes bright red lights AND shakes the bed. This one is the epitome of self inflicted torture.
7. Laser Tag

Love playing laser tag? Wait till we make you hate it to the core. This one will make a shrill noise unless and until you hit your laser the right way. And by right way, we mean a bullseye! There are many obstacles, firstly, waking up because of the shrill noise; secondly, trying to find the damn remote; thirdly, taking the aim in a sleep induced delirium; and eventually breaking the bloody clock out of sheer frustration. Good luck with this one!

How to Trace your Lost Mobile with the IMEI Number

2013-02-17T22:34:00.001-08:00

Hi friends , i think now a days mobiles are one of the parts of life.World is just running on a race, where they cannot afford to waste time and sometimes as little Careless.This Happens to our Phones also, so Do not worry When you lost your Mobile, here is the best way to trace it.

Our phone numbers are assigned with the Unique Identification Number.

The Number which can be used to track any time is the International Mobile Equipment Identity number (IMEI)

For the IMEI number on your mobile just type *#06# in your Handset or it is Given behind the mobile.It is advisable to note this number

1) First after the Handset theft or loss , File an FIR in the Police station

2) Then Along with FIR and IMEI number, Go to the User Service Provider and Give to them

3) Now The user Service Provider will trace your mobile number by this IMEI number.

4) Even the Phone uses other sim, or if it do not have sim, still it is Traceable

5) Then the Police will able to help for finding and giving to you safely

6) User can Able to block the phone that no one can use them after it is lost by contacting user service provider

7) To Quick access for your lost phone, Do this actions immediately after your Phone is lost or stolen

8) So Be careful in your IMEI number, Make sure to Keep it as a Secret

How to Use Your Smartphone to Take Amazing Pictures

2013-02-17T22:25:00.003-08:00

Mobile phones equipped with a camera have been the biggest boon for one and all, yet wielding the camera the right way to get a good image is practically impossible.

So here’s a short guide on taking some measures to click some great images using your smartphone.
1. Right Settings

Your smartphone is smart enough to give you an array of settings. Choose them wisely. Keep the resolution and the image quality on high to ensure the best image quality. Keep the setting on auto unless you are clicking all images indoors or on a beach or outdoors. In that case, keep the specific settings for those environments to guarantee optimum quality. Flash is another major aspect to be taken care of.
2. Flash

Use the flash even if it’s remotely dark or shadowy. Your eyes may have a brilliant perception in dim lighting, but the smartphone’s camera wont. Keep it on, off, or on auto depending upon the environment’s lighting.
3. Burst Mode

Burst Mode has to be a blessing. Capable of capturing anywhere between three to 10 shots in a sequence, it allows a user to capture the whole moment and then select the appropriate photographs among those chain of images.
4. Zooming

Don’t use zoom. We repeat, DO NOT use zoom. Zooming on a smartphone is different from zooming on a DSLR. In a professional camera, the zooming is done by the chunky lens in front. Unfortunately your cellphone lacks that, and it makes up by stretching and enlarging a specific portion of the image, meaning, it only distorts the image giving you an impression of zooming.
5. Framing

The second most important aspect is the framing. See to it that your subject is fitting inside the frame correctly. Hold the phone steady. Cameras are capable of registering the minutest details. Also, if the subject is in motion, adjust the setting accordingly and go trigger happy!

Everything About The New Blackberry!

2013-02-17T22:20:00.005-08:00

Blackberry has definitely found itself in a do-or-die situation, especially after the advent of Android and iPhone eating up in its market. And this may very well be Blackberry’s last resort into

making a comeback into the smartphone industry. This time around, they have loaded with their ace of spade that happens to be the Z10 and the Q10!

Z10

The phone that may redeem Blackberry’s status or kill it for good, the Z10 is touted to be a user’s delight! Loaded with impressive specs to challenge the best smartphones in the market, the Z10 may very well be Blackberry’s future. Hardware such as Dual core TI OMAP 4470 1.5GHz processor, 4.2-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 356 pixels per inch (better than the iPhone 5’s 326), 2 GB RAM, 16 GB storage, NFC and an 8-megapixel camera, the Z10 is a high-end phone with all the right specs. To be placed up there with the likes of Samsung S-III, iPhone 5 and HTC One X+, Blackberry may very well carve a niche and be capable of preserving their honour in the cellphone department! And if the Z10 wasn’t enough, they have another trick up its sleeve! And that trick is none other than the Blackberry Q10!

Q10

The Q10 is a Blackberry user’s bundle of happiness. Considered to be the apt successor for the Blackberry Bold 9900, the Q10 is a QWERTY phone based on the traditional Blackberry design, and it looks as enthralling as it could ever be! Sporting a polished look that makes it as classy as ever, it definitely feels like a cut above the rest. Equipped with a touchscreen and a comparatively better QWERTY keypad than its predecessor, the Q10 would be the right choice for a Blackberry loyalist. The Q10, just like the Z10 is loaded with a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage. Oh, and it also has a 8-megapixel camera, a major leap for a Blackberry handset and a boon for BB users.

Yet that isn’t the biggie of Blackberry this time around, Blackberries till date were always riddled with mediocre and substandard operating systems. Something that may be overlooked for the competitors weren’t offering anything groundbreaking either. But that’s when the boom happened and Blackberry was left behind to bite the dust from Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. Both staggeringly beautiful and captivating as opposed to the Blackberry OS, which faced some major slack. Now, Blackberry is here to seek redemption with their all new operating system, the Blackberry 10!

Blackberry 10

The heart of Blackberry, BB 10 will be the final verdict of Blackberry’s future. Blackberry has never had a strong point when it came to operating systems and always fell short by a mile in these terms. But with the BB 10, the company is making a comeback unlike any other. By the looks of it, it’s as good as any other operating system in the market today. Flawless and efficient, it’s packed with a whole new messaging system that is touted to pave way for numerous other OS to adapt to. New and innovative design ensures it will take some heavy-duty beating. Yet, that will only be told once the users get their hands on this. From a bird’s eye view, it looks fabulous, and let’s hope that it delivers as it has promised!

5 Samsung Phones Expected In 2013

2013-02-17T09:21:00.002-08:00

The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2013 began on January 8th and ended on January 11th, and Samsung has already made some announcements,

much to the delight of Smartphone lovers. It has a number of phones in the pipeline to be unravelled in 2013. Let’s scroll through the list:

1. Samsung Galaxy 4

Samsung did create a stir in the market with their Samsung Galaxy S3. They are following it with Galaxy S4. According to reports, they plan to give this phone a metal chassis, reminiscent of the iPhone5. The phone will be capable of playing a video of 1080p. The screen size is rumoured to be 5-inch and it will incorporate an HD display. Even the RAM would be greater than most phones with 3GB. It will be powered by the ARM Cortex A15 quad-core processor.

2. Samsung Galaxy Grand

Samsung Galaxy Grand comes with a capacitive Touchscreen. The phone would arrive with a 1080p@30fps 5 inch display. The Dual-core 1.2 GHz CPU would be supported by a operating system of Android v4.1.2 (Jelly Bean). The primary camera specifications include 8 Megapixels, 3264x2448 pixels and the autofocus feature.

3. Samsung Galaxy Chat

Samsung Galaxy Chat is a 3G phone powered by an 850 MHz processor. The operating system, Android OS, v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) can be upgraded to v4.1 and for facilitating smooth chat, there is an easily clickable QWERTY keyboard. The camera specifications include-2 MP and 1600x1200 pixels. It doesn’t come with any secondary camera. It has a 4GB of internal memory and the GPS comes with an A-GPS support and GLONASS.

4. Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus

The latest Galaxy offering by Samsung is an improvement over the successful Samsung Galaxy S2. It has a screen of 4.3 inches, an internal memory of 8GB and a RAM of 1 GB. It has two cameras with specifications for primary camera being 8 Megapixels and 3264x2448 Pixels. It can play videos of 1080P and a Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9 processor.

5. Samsung ATIV S

Samsung ATIV S is powered by a processor of Qualcomm S4 series 1.5 GHz dual-core Krait CPU. The GPU for the phone is Adreno 225. The display is 720 x 1280 pixels and with a size of 4.8 inches. It has a Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen with 16M colors. The primary camera is 8 megapixels and secondary camera is 1.9 MP.

How To Cure Social Media Addiction

2013-02-17T09:13:00.004-08:00

Social media has slowly crawled into our lives to become one of the most vital aspects of it in the past few years. Social media addiction has now become an emerging issue

and it may soon turn into a grave one if not curbed at the right time. Let’s take a look at few measures that’ll help you out in the long run!

1. Understand the Issue

Do you sit on a social media site like Facebook, Twitter, etc. endlessly at a stretch of 4-6 hours refreshing the page over and over again? Do you have no idea why you indulge in that meaningless task for hours without anything productive coming out of it? Beware; you’re slowly turning into a social media addict. The first step is to understand the issue and its magnitude.

2. Understand the Repercussions

Has something that has occurred on the medium affected you gravely at an emotional level? Have you been pondering over a certain altercation that went down between you and an accomplice on a site which has disrupted your thought pattern? These tend to be the symptoms that point towards social media addiction. Having it affect your day-to-day life reaffirms the impact it is causing over your thinking.

3. Set a Routine

The first step towards bringing the addiction to a halt is to keep a tab on the amount of time you spend on the sites. Usually addiction is detected when your surfing time starts eating into your work-time or family-time. To avoid that, dedicate a specific time-span that you’d spend on the social networking site on a daily basis. Going ‘Cold Turkey’ and completely shutting out social media networking may not work well and may backfire. To avoid that, set up a timetable and stick to it!

4. Substitute Social Media with a Hobby

The next step would be to create an equally captivating distraction for yourself, so that you deviate your mind from social media. Pick up a new hobby; revive a hobby that you once cheerfully cherished. Dedicate some of your networking time to it and go ahead. This’ll help you in keeping your mind busy and focused towards something useful and productive and will also assist in slowly easing you out of the social media addiction.

5. Don’t Prioritize

Never prioritize social media over anything else. Social media has to be the lowest on the priority list. The minute you start prioritizing social media over your job, your family, or your personal health, things start turning ugly. Avoid that. Social media is only a source of entertainment and should be done in your leisure time.

Social Media Platforms Every Marketer Should Know

2013-02-17T09:08:00.001-08:00

If you work in the field of marketing, you need to keep yourself up-to-date with the various platforms that exist, in the realm of social media.

These could help your business do better numbers and reach out wider. Read on to find out more.
1. Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg co-founded Facebook in 2004, and since then it has created an Internet revolution. The site has more than a billion active users, making it the single largest platform for all target groups to be present on – college students, young entrepreneurs, employees, employers, seniors, etc.

2. Twitter

This microblogging site allows users to send out messages within a 140-character limit. With the rise of the use of Internet usage on smartphones, the popularity of this platform has increased manifold.
3. Google+

Google’s social networking platform, Google+ or Google Plus, has more than 500 million registered users, as of statistics collected in December 2012. With features such as Circles, Streams, Hangout, Sparks, Events, Ripples and Communities, businesses are rapidly switching to this medium for brand promotion.
4. LinkedIn

The single most popular ‘professional networking’ site, LinkedIn is the hub for recruiters, job-seekers as well as companies looking to create a strong professional presence online.
5. Pinterest

This virtual pinboard makes users’ lives more interesting with visual representation of interests, hobbies and likes made easier to manifest, virtually and socially. This ends up being a great way to drive customers to your business.
6. Blogging

Whilst not even realized as a social media platform, blogging is perhaps amongst the most persuasive ad effective of them all. Promoting your product, service or ideas on your blog can generate a strong user following, interest and rate of conversions.
7. MySpace

A highly effective medium of reaching out to the youth, this platform is a hub of entertainment, with the focus being on celebrity, music, TV and others.
8. Tumblr

Tumblr came into existence in 2007 and has gained popularity pretty rapidly over the last few years. With a range of apps, posts, videos, music and photos, this platform lets users customize and share stuff in a really appealing way. It presents a great way to businesses to promote and add a strong appeal to their online content.
9. YouTube

The most popular video sharing platform, YouTube works as a subsidiary of Google, and is loaded with features such as uploading, localization, commenting, etc. A great tool indeed for achieving that viral effect!
10. Plaxo

Get your business’ online address book. This completely helps do away with the physical telephone and address directory of bygone eras! It is compatible with Outlook, Thunderbird, Mac’s Address Book and that of BlackBerry, making it the single most popular online contact information storage platform.

So, if you want to promote your business, make you sure you are doing so actively and professionally on each or at least most of the above platforms.

Health Benefits of Banana

2013-02-17T09:00:00.003-08:00

Bananas are one of the most famous common fruits amongst people of every age. Enjoyed in its various forms, bananas are eaten raw, accompanied with desserts, added in smoothies and consumed in many more ways too. Let us look at the benefits of eating this fruit.
1. Blood Pressure Regulation

Banana is a fruit that contains high amount of potassium and low levels of salt. This combination helps to regulate the blood pressure. It reduces the risk of heart related diseases.
2. Bone Strength

The potassium content in bananas is good for the health of your bones. Eating bananas on a regular basis can prevent your bones from deteriorating. Consuming bananas can also neutralize the amount of sodium in your body, which ultimately saves calcium to get washed out from your body.

3. Source of energy

Bananas are loaded with a lot of vitamins and minerals like Vitamin C and Vitamin B-6. Considering this fact, it is evident that eating the fruit can provide you with great energy. Pack yourself a couple of bananas to eat in the afternoon after your lunch has been digested and your stomach asks for some food.

4. Bowel Health

If you are suffering from constipation, banana is the fruit you need to pick. The fruit contains dietary fiber that aids the maintenance of the bowel system of your body.

5. Stress Reduction

When you are in stress, the metabolic rate of your body shoots up and potassium levels consequently decrease. Eating a banana can thereby flush your body with potassium, which will automatically ease you and regularize your heartbeat.

6. Brain Food

The potassium in bananas also does wonders by making you more mentally alert. Research shows that this yellow fruit aids concentration and hence is a marvelous fuel for the brain.

7. Iron rich fruit

People suffering from iron deficiency can resort to eating bananas. This fruit, which is rich in iron, can supply your body with the amount of iron it needs. This can also benefit you when you are suffering from an injury and require the blood to clot faster with the help of haemoglobin.

It is unimaginable how one tiny yellow colored fruit can give your body numerous health benefits. Include bananas in your breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner and enjoy the phenomenal benefits it imparts your body with.

We got Kallis dismissal wrong, say Test officials

2013-02-17T08:54:00.001-08:00

The playing control team in charge of the second Test between South Africa and Pakistan admitted on Friday that a mistake had been made when star home batsman Jacques Kallis was given out.

Kallis was given out caught at short leg off spinner Saeed Ajmal by umpire Steve Davis but the batsman immediately sought a review, which went to television umpire Billy Bowden.

Replays showed the ball had not touched Kallis' bat before looping to Azhar Ali.

The sequence of events after that was not clear but after numerous replays Kallis was given out leg before wicket.

That was because the pitch map replay indicated the ball would have brushed the outside of his leg stump, which is within the area known as "umpire's call" where the benefit of the doubt goes according to the decision made by the on-field umpire.
Kallis made two as South Africa struggled to 139 for five in reply to Pakistan's 338.

The International Cricket Council issued a statement from Dubai acknowledging that "an honest error" had been made.

"The umpires followed usual umpiring principles in giving Kallis out lbw on umpire's call. The review was for the batsman out caught. This is because the normal principle is that an appeal covers all forms of dismissal," said the ICC.
"However the playing conditions state that when the third umpire observes that the batsman could be out by another mode of dismissal, the decision being reviewed using DRS should be as if the batsman had been originally given not out.
"Therefore in this instance Kallis, as the point of impact was umpire's call, should not have been given out."
Kallis appeared astonished when he was given out and stayed at the wicket, appearing to seek an explanation, before reluctantly heading to the dressing room.
Before the ICC statement was issued, South African team manager Mohammad Moosajee said he could not comment in detail because there was a code of conduct regarding the decision review system.
"All we did was seek clarity from the umpire, which we were happy with," he said.
"The rule states that if an umpire has given a batsman out and the batsman appeals, he can be given out for something else."

First tweeting pope remains silent over resignation

2013-02-16T22:44:00.001-08:00

VATICAN CITY - It could have been the tweet of the century.

But Pope Benedict decided not to announce his resignation on Twitter, which he joined last year in a foray into social media that has reaped uncertain spiritual returns and could be curtailed by his successor.

Obviously keen to avoid any leak of his resignation - which would have been a risk as his tweets are typed up by an aide - the pope announced it in person, in Latin, to a restricted group of cardinals. The video was then given to the world's media.
News of the first pontiff to resign in seven centuries scorched through Twitter, generating 1.5 million comments in the first 36 hours, according to analytics firm Crimson Hexagon.
But of those, a third were negative, criticising the pope or the Roman Catholic Church, and 38 percent were jokes. Just 7 percent were positive, expressing concern for the pontiff or hope about the future.

"We are receiving tweets that I consider not worthy of a human person," said Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, a Vatican office set up in the 1940s to address the flourishing film industry, but which under Benedict branched into Twitter, YouTube and smartphone download "The Pope App".

An easy target of Internet "trolls", the pope has come in for plenty of online abuse.
"It's a problem," Celli said in an interview in the marble-floored offices near St. Peter's Basilica that house the communications hub. "When you are offending in a vulgar way, that is not worthy of a human being."
Nevertheless, the 85-year-old was not "naive" in joining the micro-blogging site synonymous with instant news, irreverence and mob behaviour. "The idea of the Holy Father was simple: I want to be present where people are present," Celli said.
NO HINT
There was no hint of the resignation in recent tweets, sent from a locked room in the Vatican from a computer kept especially for the purpose and fortified against possible hacks.
Last Sunday, one day before the announcement, he tweeted: "We must trust in the mighty power of God's mercy. We are all sinners, but His grace transforms us and makes us new."
The only tweet from @Pontifex since then was on Ash Wednesday, the start of lent this week, when he reminded his more than 1.5 million online followers the Christian fasting period had begun.
The Vatican's communications apparatus, put in place mostly by Benedict's predecessor, is readying for its busiest weeks since John Paul II's death and Benedict's election in April, 2005.
The day Benedict announced his resignation, hits on the Vatican's news website jumped from 14,000 to 190,000 in a day, forcing technicians to switch from one to four servers to prevent a crash.
Benedict is likely to send his last tweet on February 28, his final day as pontiff before he departs the Vatican in a helicopter.
After that - during the "Sede Vacante" or "Empty See" when there is no pope - the @Pontifex Twitter account will be silent.
Anyone with "The Pope App" on their smart phone will be able to watch for the white smoke that heralds a new pontiff on a live stream trained on the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.
Benedict's push into online media was part of a battle that was central to his papacy: to win back believers in the rapidly secularising developed world. But patchy success means the next pontiff may choose not to Tweet.
"It will depend on him for sure. When the new pope will be elected we are going to present to him such an opportunity," said Celli.
"We need to touch the imagination of people. We need to touch their heart. Because we have a lot of new technology, but do you realise how really difficult it is to communicate with people?"

High stakes if Apple e books antitrust case goes to trial in US

2013-02-16T22:39:00.003-08:00

NEW YORK - As the only remaining defendant in the U.S. government's e-books antitrust case, Apple Inc appears headed for a high-stakes trial that could significantly increase the personal computer company's liability in related litigation.

Apple faces a June 3 trial date over civil allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice that it conspired with five publishers to raise the price of e-books and to fight the dominance of Amazon.com Inc.

On Friday, Macmillan became the fifth and final publisher to settle with the government. The Justice Department alleges that Apple came to agreements with each of the publishers meant to ensure that e-book prices at its iBookstore and other retailers would remain higher than those offered by Amazon.com.

At the Apple trial, to be overseen by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan, the Justice Department will seek not monetary damages but a judicial decree that Apple violated antitrust law, court papers said.

Among other things, government lawyers want the judge to issue an order enjoining Apple from engaging in any conduct similar to that alleged in the case. Such a judgment could make Apple vulnerable to steep damages in related litigation.
Apple and the publishers also face a class-action suit filed on behalf of consumers and a similar suit filed by dozens of state attorneys general. Neither suit puts a figure on the exact amount of damages sought.
The Consumer Federation of America estimated in a letter last year to the Senate antitrust subcommittee that e-book price fixing would likely cost consumers more than $200 million in 2012. State and federal antitrust laws allow plaintiffs to recover triple the amount of actual damages established at trial.
If Apple loses against the Justice Department, those plaintiffs would be in a "powerful position" to win their cases, according to Harry First, a professor at New York University School of Law specializing in antitrust.
Under the Clayton Act, an antitrust statute, plaintiffs can use judgments obtained by the U.S. government as evidence against defendants.
If Apple loses, it is unclear whether both the states and the private plaintiffs will be able to seek and recover damages for the same conduct.
By contrast, if Apple were to prevail, it would cause "a lot more trouble" for the plaintiffs in the other cases, First said.
Apple declined to comment. It still may settle with the U.S. government.
In December, Apple and four publishers came to an agreement with European Union regulators over their antitrust probe into e-books. The fifth publisher, Pearson Plc's Penguin group, also under investigation, was not part of the European deal announced in December.
LITTLE TO GAIN
Apple may have little to gain by going to trial in the United States, according to some legal experts.
Under settlements with the Justice Department, the five publishers were required to terminate or not renew deals with Apple and other retailers that the government claimed were anti-competitive.
Apple and the government have less to argue over since those deals have been undone, Daniel Crane, a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School, said.
"What are they fighting over?" he said.
Crane added that Apple may be interested in going to trial to establish an antitrust principle that might help other aspects of its business such as content deals with entertainment companies.
The trial would be a big test for the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, which has sought to enhance its reputation for its trial capabilities under the Obama administration.

The government has been represented by Mark Ryan, who is director of litigation, a new position in the Antitrust Division. Ryan, who began in January 2012, was hired by Joseph Wayland, the former acting assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division.

Last year Wayland cited Ryan in a speech about the Antitrust Division's focus on enhancing its litigation capabilities. Under the Obama administration, the Antitrust Division has scored a number of high-profile trial victories, including a criminal price-fixing case against Taiwan-based AU Optronics Corp last year and a successful challenge of H&R Block Inc's acquisition of 2SS Holdings Inc, developer of the TaxACT digital tax preparation business, in 2011.
Apple is represented by lawyers at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. One of the law firm's attorneys who recently made an appearance in the case, Orin Snyder, won a favorable settlement last year for Voom HD Holdings, once a unit of Cablevision, following a trial against Dish Network.
Voom sued Dish for $2.4 billion alleging it violated a 15-year contract to carry a suite of high-definition channels, including those devoted to Kung Fu and video games. Under the settlement, Dish agreed to pay $700 million to Cablevision and AMC Networks, which Cablevision spun off last year.
The case is United States v. Apple Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-02826.

South Africa fightback puts Test on knife edge

2013-02-16T22:33:00.000-08:00

Robin Peterson and Dale Steyn led a South African fightback which left the second Test against Pakistan evenly poised at the end of the third day at Newlands on Saturday. Pakistan were 100 for three at the close, a lead of 112.

Peterson hit 84 to enable South Africa to get within 12 runs of Pakistan's first innings total of 338 and Steyn bowled at blistering pace to take two wickets as Pakistan lost their first three second innings wickets for 45 runs.

At that stage South Africa were slightly on top but Azhar Ali and captain Misbah-ul-Haq shared a largely cautious unbeaten partnership of 55 to see Pakistan through to the close without further loss.

South Africa were hampered by a recurrence of a hamstring injury to Morne Morkel, who left the field after bowling one ball in his second spell. He had to stop bowling because of the same injury in the first innings as well and seems unlikely to take the ball again in the match.

Team manager and doctor Mohammad Moosajee said he was a doubtful starter for the third and final Test starting at Centurion on Friday. Peterson led a fighting performance by South Africa's lower order batsmen as they recovered from an overnight 139 for five to reach 326 all out.

"I had a good chat to a few people about how we were going to play Saeed Ajmal," he said.

Off-spinner Ajmal took all five wickets on Friday and finished with six for 96. "Saeed is a genius of spin bowling," added Peterson.

"He can bowl about four different deliveries an over. Even if you can pick all of them it is tough to have that absolute concentration all the time. We had our hands full but the more overs he bowled the easier it became."

Both Peterson and Pakistan bowling coach Mohammad Akram felt that a target of around 250 was a benchmark. "We don't want to chase more than 300," said Peterson. "Hopefully it will be under 250."

Akram said: "Anything over 250 will be a really good total." He said although Pakistan were disappointed that South Africa's lower order had made so many runs the team was in a good position.

"South Africa are a good side. You expect you will get serious resistance. We are still in the game. After (defeat in the first Test in) Johannesburg, the boys are really upbeat about where we are today," added Akram.

Pakistan's first innings lead of 12 runs was soon shown to be negligible as Steyn and Vernon Philander both took wickets in their first overs. Mohammad Hafeez was comprehensively trapped leg before wicket by a ball which swung into him while, in the next over, Nasir Jamshed fell in similar fashion to Philander.

Azhar Ali and first innings centurion Younis Khan battled through some testing bowling against Steyn, Philander and Morkel. Bowling downwind in his second spell, Steyn was timed at more than 146kmh and troubled both batsmen before Younis, forced on to the back foot, chopped the ball into his stumps.

After being dismissed without scoring in the first innings, Misbah took 18 balls to score his first runs in the second innings. Scoring slowed to a crawl, with left-arm spinner Peterson conceding only four runs in his first eight overs. But Misbah gained in confidence, three times hitting Peterson for six as he reached 36 not out while Ali was unbeaten on 45.

Overnight batsmen AB de Villiers and Dean Elgar started South Africa's recovery when they took their sixth wicket stand to 55 before Elgar was caught at slip off Ajmal for 22. At that stage off-spinner Ajmal had taken all six wickets.

The left-handed Peterson shrugged off a poor run of batting form which had yielded just 15 runs in his previous seven international innings, including five noughts. He went to his second Test fifty off 73 balls and went on to pass his previous best score of 61 against Bangladesh in Dhaka 10 years ago.

De Villiers fell to Mohammad Irfan for 61 in the first over with the second new ball after a seventh wicket stand of 46 with Peterson. But Peterson and Philander (22) added an innings-best 67 for the eighth wicket.

The last two wickets brought another 49 runs before Peterson was last out, caught on the long-on boundary off Hafeez. Peterson made his 84 runs off 106 balls with 15 fours.

The tall Irfan, playing in his first Test, took three for 86 and troubled the batsmen with steep bounce.

10 super snacks that boost your Hair Growth

2013-02-13T07:04:00.002-08:00

10 super snacks that will help for Hair Growth. So include this Snacks in your Diet.

1. Almonds :

Almonds looks small but it is very good for Health which are rich in Vitamin E that helps us for good hair growth.

2. Walnuts :

Walnuts are also having Vitamin E besides this walnuts having more Zinc that helps us for yielding a Shiny hair.

3. Sunflower Seeds :

Sunflower seeds are rich in Proteins, Zinc, Iron, Potassium, magnesium, calcium, Vitamin B and Vitamin E. So these will helps us sustainable strong hair growth and also as it contains Proteins, so it gives good energy.

4. Fig

Fig is a Fruit, it is rich in Iron, Magnesium, Zinc, Sodium, Potassium and Vitamins A, B, C, So those are all helpful for good hair growth.

5. Peaches :

Peaches are having good essentials to increase the hemoglobin and rich in Iron. Those who suffers from anemia this will gives sufficient iron and also it contains all the vitamins that required for hair growth.

6. Bananas

Bananas are rich in Amino Acids that will gives more energy to our body and also helpful for good digestion. the natural oil which is present in banana helps for yielding soft hair.

7. Strawberries

Strawberries are rich in Vitamins A and E helps to monetize good blood circulation and makes the hair shiny.

8. Oranges

Oranges are rich in Vitamin C that provides required fiber content for hair and makes the hair stronger and Softer.

9. Raisins

Raisins which are rich in Iron that increase the amount of oxygen in the blood and supplies to the hair, this will makes the hair gets required proteins for good hair growth.

10. Milk

Milk is rich in Vitamin A , Vitamin B12 and Proteins that gives the sufficient energy required for hair.

Charles helps West Indies to consolation win

2013-02-13T07:01:00.004-08:00

BRISBANE: The West Indies ended their disappointing tour of Australia with a morale-boosting 27-run win over Australia in a one-off T20 international on Wednesday.

After losing all five one-day internationals and a warm-up game against the Prime Minister's XI, the T20 world champions cruised to an easy win against a below-strength home side.

The West Indies romped to 191 for six in their 20 overs, then restricted Australia to 164 for eight on a perfect batting strip.

Australia, whose five-man pace attack was badly exposed by the West Indies batsmen, started brilliantly.

But they were reined in by the off-spin of Sunil Narine and the run outs of Sean Marsh (21) and Adam Voges (51) when both were in full flight.

Voges and Marsh put on 74 at better than a run a ball until they were run out within three runs of each other.

Narine, who finished with 2-19 from his four overs, then chipped in with the key wicket of Australian skipper George Bailey (15) to put the hosts under intense pressure.

Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin (22) and debutant Ben Rohrer (16) threatened briefly, but the asking rate was too much and the innings fell away towards the end.

Earlier West Indies opener Johnson Charles scored a blistering 57 off just 35 balls as the visitors dominated the Australian attack.

Charles took control after fellow opener Chris Gayle (8) failed once again, and hit seven fours and a six in a sparkling innings.

Any thoughts Australia had of keeping the West Indies under control after Gayle's early departure were soon ended by a brilliant partnership between Charles and Darren Bravo.

They added 88 in quick time before Charles played on to Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Bravo followed soon after when he was run out for 32 following a dreadful mix-up with Kieron Pollard, which left both batsmen stranded at the non-striker's end.

Pollard was looking dangerous until he miscued a drive off Faulkner and holed out to Marsh at long on for 26, with Dwayne Bravo (13) clean bowled two balls later.

But Darren Sammy (20) and Andre Russell (23 not out) took the Australian attack apart, smashing 35 runs off the last two overs.

Left-armer James Faulkner was the pick of the attack, with 3-28 from his four overs, but the other four seamers were all expensive on a flat batting track.

Working out when to exercise in the cold and flu season

2013-02-12T05:26:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sniffles, runny noses and flu-like symptoms can deter, delay and even derail many exercisers just when enthusiasm for that New Year's resolution is beginning to flag.

Health and fitness experts advise to starve a fever of exercise. But feeding a cold moderately, with a brisk walk, may not be a bad idea.

"The classic line from every sports medicine doctor is, 'If you can do it, do it. If you can't, don't,'" said Dr. Lewis G. Maharam, author of "Running Doc's Guide to Healthy Running."

Usually if symptoms are confined to above the neck, exercising is OK, he explained. But if you're running a fever of 101 degrees Fahrenheit (38.3 degrees Celsius) or higher, skip it.

Body heat rises during exercise due to increased metabolism, explained Maharam, who practices medicine in New York City. If you start high, your body's way of cooling you down is out of balance.

"If fever gets too high, you break down proteins, maybe in the kidneys or liver," he said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 425 million case of colds and flu occur annually in the United States. The average person has about three respiratory infections per year.

Dr. David C. Nieman, a professor of health sciences at Appalachian State University, North Carolina Research Campus, said research shows that regular, moderate aerobic exercise strengthens the immune system, and that people who exercise report fewer colds than their inactive peers.

Nieman said five days or more of aerobic activity per week was found to be a powerful factor in lowering the number of sick days.

"Even three to four days was effective. To be avoided was being sedentary," he explained.
But when animals infected with a systemic virus are forced to exercise in fever and pain, studies show that their symptoms are exacerbated, prolonged, and sometimes life-threatening.
'BED REST'

"It's very dangerous." said Nieman, who has written about the impact of exercise on the common cold. "If you have flu or virus with fever and pain, the best remedy is bed rest. The worst thing is to sweat it out with exercise."

He said common cold and flu viruses can stay on objects, such as door handles, treadmills and computer keyboards, for hours. The main route to infection is through touching one's mouth or nose with unwashed hands.

Patrick Strait, of Snap Fitness, a franchiser of gyms with locations worldwide, said this time of year fitness centers step up cleaning efforts because they see a lot more traffic and so many people catch colds and the flu.

"It's a public place where a lot of people are sweating," said Strait. "We tell manager/owners to clean once an hour, wash down the equipment with bleach, etc."
He urged clients to wipe down equipment and wash hands often.
"And if you're sick, don't come to the gym," he said.
Jessica Matthews, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise, said some days symptoms dictate scaling back your workout or, if you're contagious, skipping the gym entirely.
"Always listen to your body," she said. "It might be a good idea to exercise at home or privately."
Nieman said that while moderate exercise strengthens the immune system, elite athletes will experience a rise in stress hormones and a dip in immunity after about 90 minutes of high-intensity activity.
Maharam said the immunity of marathoners is decreased for up to 72 hours after a race. During that time, the athletes are more susceptible to colds, flu, and, most commonly, the so-called "marathon sniffles."
He said symptoms usually subside within 48 hours.
"At the end of a race, when you're all sweaty and they're all sweaty, you don't need to be hugging and kissing people," Maharam said. "Your immune system isn't as strong as it was."

No date for Valentines Day? New apps may help

2013-02-12T05:21:00.002-08:00

TORONTO (Reuters) - Singles who believe in love at first sight can turn to new apps that will match them with potential dates in time for Valentine's Day, but only if each person has expressed an interest.

With the new dating apps, users simply flip through photos of people in nearby locations and express their interest in dating someone. If there's a mutual attraction, the app connects them for a conversation. If not, their feelings remain anonymous.

"It limits the conversations to people you've actually expressed an interest in. So each of those conversations starts at a very deep level," said Sean Rad, co-founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based company Tinder, which developed the app of the same name.

Makers of the Tinder app, which is available worldwide for iPhone, said it has matched more than 10 million couples since it was launched in September.

The app pulls in member photos of people from Facebook, and then it's as simple as anonymously indicating interest in that person. If both people like each other, messages can be sent between the two users.

Rad said most users are between 18 and 30 years old.
Let's Date, which was released across the United States last week for the iPhone, is a similar app. But rather than simply focusing on the photo, the app provides the person's interests from Facebook for a broader view of the potential date.

"Our goal was to create an app that replicated the real world experience of going to a party or bar full of potentially eligible people," said Sean Suhl, founder of Let's Date.

"You're put into a crowd of people and if someone catches your eye and they catch your eye, then a conversation is struck up and then someone might ask the other person out on a date," he added.
The app resulted from a frustration with other dating apps, according to Suhl, who described them as "artificial and laborious".
"We're just presenting you the daters and you're just saying yes or no," he added.
Both apps require a login with Facebook, so people must use their real identity. Let's Date also stipulates that users must have been active on Facebook for a year, and have at least 50 friends before signing up.
Although the apps can set people up quickly, it still could take a while to find the right person.
"People are literally getting dates the same night, but you might want to give yourself enough time to find the right Valentine," Rad said.
Both companies plan to release Android apps.

Finmeccanica head arrested over India bribe allegations

2013-02-12T05:19:00.003-08:00

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian police arrested the head of defence group Finmeccanica SpA on Tuesday over bribery allegations, adding to a series of corporate scandals shaking Italy less than two weeks before a general election.

Finmeccanica Chief Executive and Chairman Giuseppe Orsi was arrested over bribes allegedly paid to secure the sale of 12 helicopters to India, when he was head of the group's AgustaWestland unit, a judicial source with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

Police were searching Orsi's home and the offices of AgustaWestland close to Milan, a source close to Orsi's lawyer said. The Milan offices of state-owned Finmeccanica, Italy's second-biggest corporate employer after Fiat Spa, were also searched, the judicial source said.

An Indian defence ministry source said kickbacks worth 40 million rupees allegedly paid to Indian officials to grease contracts for Finmeccanica were being probed and that Delhi was considering the deferral of the Finmeccanica helicopter deal, worth 560 million euros.

The Italian business world has been shaken in recent weeks by a series of corruption cases, notably a derivatives scandal at Italy's No. 3 lender Banca Monte dei Paschi and a probe into alleged bribery over contracts in Algeria that has hit oil major Eni SpA and its 43-percent owned oil services group Saipem SpA.

Highlighting the political sensitivity of the Finmeccanica case ahead of national elections on February 24 and 25, Prime Minister Mario Monti said the Italian government would deal with management issues at the company.

"There is a problem with the governance of Finmeccanica at the moment and we will face up to it," Monti told RAI state television.

Orsi, a long-serving defence industry executive, has always denied any wrongdoing with regard to the corruption probe, which has been going on for a year.

In a brief statement, Finmeccanica expressed its support for Orsi and said it hoped his legal position could be clarified as soon as possible. Its business was operating as normal in the meantime, the company added.
The company's board could broaden the powers of Chief Financial Officer Alessandro Pansa to help manage the company, sources close to the matter said.
JUSTICE CARD
The wave of corporate scandals has become an issue in Italy's parliamentary election campaign. Orsi's appointment to lead the indebted defence group in May 2011 was backed by the Northern League party, an ally of then Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Centre-left politicians had called for Orsi to step down when he was first targeted in the corruption probe.
"Some of the parties clearly have an interest in playing the justice card for political capital in view of the vote," said Stefano Zamagni, professor of economics at Bologna University.
Besides Orsi, three other people have been placed under house arrest as part of the probe, including AgustaWestland chief Bruno Spagnolini.
Finmeccanica shares were down 8 percent by 1055 GMT, while its rail technology unit Ansaldo STS was down 3 percent.
Concern has been growing that the corruption probes could tarnish Finmeccanica's reputation and distract management while the company is carrying out a tough restructuring.
Being excluded from the growing Indian market could be a major headache for the group, which faces defence budget cuts in its main Italian, British and U.S. markets.

Under Indian defence procurement rules, companies found to have been involved in corruption can be punished with blacklisting and fines, an Indian defence ministry source said.

India, currently the world's largest weapons importer, has a history of corruption in defence deals. A multi-million dollar scandal in the 1980s over the purchase of Swedish Bofors artillery guns contributed to an electoral defeat for then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of the Congress party.
Orsi's arrest also risks derailing Finmeccanica's plans to sell its non-core energy and transportation assets, something the company wants to do to avoid further downgrades of its credit ratings.
The group has put up for sale its AnsaldoEnergia power engineering unit and its rail units Ansaldo Energia and Ansaldo STS.
In January, Standard & Poor's downgraded Finmeccanica to "junk" status after the group missed its target for 1 billion euros of asset sales by the end of 2012.

Sourav supports selectors decision to drop Gambhir

2013-02-12T05:17:00.003-08:00

Calcutta: Sourav Ganguly has never minced words. Neither as a player, nor now when he dons the commentator’s hat.

So it wasn’t a surprise when the former India captain said that dropping Gautam Gambhir from the squad for the first two Tests against Australia was a correct decision.

He in fact backed the selectors’ choice, the in-form Shikhar Dhawan, as one of the three openers in the squad.

“Gambhir wasn’t scoring runs… That’s why he has been dropped. Dhawan, on the other hand, has been amongst runs. So if you score, you will be in the team… And if you can’t, you won’t be considered.

“Now, Gambhir should try and get back among runs if he wants to return to the Indian team,” Sourav said on Monday, on the sidelines of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) working committee meeting.

Sourav said that the likes of Dhawan and Murali Vijay should make the most of the Australia series as tougher tests await later this season. “This is the platform for players like Vijay and Dhawan to make a mark and try and cement their places in the squad. In other words, this is a very good opportunity for them since India’s future assignments are far more tougher.”

Asked about India’s chances against Michael Clarke’s men, Sourav predicted that Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Co. are the favourites to win the series.

Both teams will miss key senior batsmen who have retired — Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman for India and Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey for Australia.

But the visitors’ weakness in the spin department would give the Indians a definite edge, Sourav said.

“Both India and Australia are going through a transitional phase… At the end of the day, though, the team that plays spin better will be on the winning side. However, Australia’s spin attack isn’t too strong. (Nathan) Lyon and (Xavier) Doherty aren’t as good as England’s Graeme Swann and (Monty) Panesar. The English spinners were far better,” Sourav said.

He, however, warned that the Indians should be on guard against Australia’s superior pace attack. “Australia have some quality pacers, who can certainly come in handy,” he said.

But that doesn’t mean that he belittled the Indian pace trio of Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ashok Dinda.

“Both Bhuvneshwar and Ishant fared well in the recent ODIs (against England). Dinda, too, has been performing well. So at present, this is the best possible attack.

He also had some advice for statemate Dinda. “My advice to Dinda would be to just focus on accuracy,” he said.

Sourav welcomed the selectors’ decision to include Harbhajan Singh in the squad. But he wasn’t sure if the off-spinner, who is on the threshold of playing his 100th Test, will get a chance in the playing XI of the first Test, which begins in Chennai on February 22.

“It’s great to see Harbhajan back… He’s a world-class bowler and deserves a comeback… Whether he’ll play in the first Test depends entirely on Dhoni,” Sourav said.

McCullum helps New Zealand draw level

2013-02-12T05:15:00.006-08:00

HAMILTON - Captain Brendon McCullum led the way with the bat while his bowlers produced a disciplined display to beat England by 55 runs in the second Twenty20 international at Seddon Park on Tuesday and level the three-match series.

McCullum had anchored New Zealand's innings to power them to 192 for six with 74 runs from 38 balls as he plundered England's attack for six boundaries and five sixes.

Mitchell McClenaghan, who took two wickets in successive balls in the second over, Trent Boult and Ian Butler then put the power-packed England batting line-up under constant pressure with aggressive pace bowling.

Butler finished with two for nine from four overs, while McClenaghan had two for 24. James Franklin mopped up the tail to finish with 4-15 off 3.3 overs.

Jos Buttler produced a cameo of 54 but received little help as England were dismissed for 137 in 19.3 overs.

England had won the first match at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday by 40 runs, which was their sixth successive victory over New Zealand in the shortest format of the game and McCullum said he was pleased his side had put that behind them.

"It was good. The other night was disappointing and England blew us off the park," McCullum said in a televised interview.

"The boys are very happy with the performance (and) ... to bounce back from the other day. We knew we were short (on Saturday) and today was a really good performance from us."

Unlike Auckland, openers Hamish Rutherford and Martin Guptill kept the run rate above nine before Rutherford feathered a catch to Buttler off Luke Wright for 40 to leave the hosts well placed at 75-1 in the ninth over.

The run rate however dropped markedly after Rutherford fell as England's bowlers varied their length and pace with Wright and Jade Dernbach adept at disguising their slower deliveries.

Guptill (47), Ross Taylor (four) and Colin Munro (seven) all fell when they failed to pick slower deliveries and lofted mistimed shots into the deep, while Grant Elliott (four) was bowled by a Dernbach delivery that was 30kph slower than the previous one.

McCullum, however, took 22 off the 19th over from Stuart Broad, which included three sixes, before he became Dernbach's third wicket on the penultimate delivery of the innings.

The series decider will be in Wellington on Friday.

"It was obviously a disappointing performance throughout but Twenty20 cricket can be like that," Broad said.

"You can be fantastic one day and then things don't go your way the next day. So credit goes to New Zealand they outperformed us in everything."

NASA rover drills into its first Martian rock

2013-02-11T05:56:00.002-08:00

The Mars rover Curiosity drilled into the Martian surface for the first time as part of an effort to learn if the planet most like Earth in the solar system ever had conditions to support microbial life, NASA said on Saturday.

Pictures beamed back to Earth on Saturday showed a hole about 0.63 inches (1.6 cm) wide and 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) deep in a patch of fine-grained sedimentary bedrock that appears to have been in contact with water.
The drilling, which took place on Friday, produced a small pile of powder that will be fed into two onboard laboratory instruments to determine the rock's chemical makeup.
"First drilling on Mars to collect a sample for science is a success," NASA posted on Twitter.
Engineers spent days preparing to use Curiosity's drill, including boring practice holes earlier in the week. Previous Mars probes have had tools to scrape and grind into rock, but never a drill to collect interior samples.

Curiosity's first drill target was a rock laced with veins of what appear to be water-deposited minerals. The rover, which landed on Mars on August 6 for a two-year mission, is looking for geologic and chemical conditions needed to support and preserve microbial life.
Engineers do not yet know exactly how much powder was produced, but are confident there is enough for a planned instrument cleaning and lab analysis, Avi Okon, a drill engineer with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement.

NASA's lead scientist, John Grunsfeld, said using the drill was "the biggest milestone accomplishment for the Curiosity team since the sky-crane landing last August."

Curiosity's ultimate target is a 3-mile- (5-km) high mound of layered sediment rising from the floor of the Gale Crater landing site.
The drill is the last of the rover's 10 science instruments to be tested.

Two days after hanging, speed post reaches Guru's family

2013-02-11T05:53:00.002-08:00

Srinagar, Feb 11 (IANS) The speed post sent by Tihar Jail superintendent to Afzal Guru's family in Kashmir Valley's Sopore town was delivered Monday, two days after he was hanged in the national capital. The letter reached postal authorities here Saturday evening, several hours after he was executed.

"A speed post letter has been delivered to us by postal authorities today. Tihar Jail authorities have sent this speed post to Afzal's family," Afzal Guru's cousin Yaseen told journalists in Daibgah (Jageer) village near Sopore town.

Senior postal officials in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital, said the speed post was received Saturday evening - Afzal Guru was executed at 8 a.m. Saturday - but delivered Monday as Sunday was a public holiday.

"We received the speed post by air Saturday evening. It was addressed to Tabassum Guru (his wife). Sunday being a public holiday, the speed post has been delivered today," John Samuel, chief post master general (Jammu and Kashmir), told journalists.

Afzal Guru, hanged for his role in the 2001 attack on parliament, last met his Tabassum and son Ghalib in August 2012.

His family has said they heard the news of his execution from a television channel as they had received no communication from jail authorities about the hanging.

Home Secretary R.K. Singh said Saturday: "The family was informed earlier. I checked from the jail authorities and they informed me that two letters had been sent by speed post. The DGP Kashmir was asked to crosscheck too. It is not correct that the family was not informed."

Jammu and Kashmir Chief minister Omar Abdullah has been highly critical of the Jail authorities for having used speed post for intimating Afzal's family.

"As a human being, I find it very difficult to reconcile myself to the fact that we executed a person who was not given the opportunity to see his family for the last time. If in this day and age, we are relying on speed post to inform a family that their loved one is going to be executed, there is something seriously wrong. I wish we were the ones who were authorised to inform the family," he told a TV channel.

Australia to grill Apple, others on pricing

2013-02-11T05:36:00.003-08:00

CANBERRA - Apple Inc has been ordered to appear before Australia's parliament with fellow technology giants Microsoft Inc and Adobe Systems Inc to explain why local consumers pay so much for their products, despite the strong Aussie dollar.

Broadening a row between the world's most valuable company and Australian lawmakers over corporate taxes paid on Apple's operations, Apple executives were formally summonsed on Monday to front a parliamentary committee in Canberra on March 22.

"In what's probably the first time anywhere in the world, these IT firms are now being summonsed by the Australian parliament to explain why they price their products so much higher in Australia compared to the United States," said ruling Labor government MP Ed Husic, who helped set up the committee.

High local prices and soaring cost-of-living bills for basic services are hurting the popularity of the minority Labor government ahead of a September 14 election it is widely tipped to lose, giving political momentum to the inquiry.

All three companies have so far declined to appear before the special committee set up in May last year to investigate possible price gouging on Australian hardware and software buyers, despite the Australian dollar hovering near record highs above the U.S. currency around A$1.03.

A 16GB WiFi iPad produced by Apple with Retina display sells in Australia for A$539, $40 above the price in the U.S., despite the stronger local currency. Microsoft's latest versions of office 365 home premium cost A$119 in Australia versus $99.99 in the United States.
IT firms and other multinationals have blamed high operating costs in Australia including high local wages and conditions, as well as import costs and the relatively small size of the retail market in the $1.5 trillion economy.
Failure to appear before the committee as ordered could leave all three firms open to contempt of parliament charges, fines or even jail terms.
"For some time consumers and businesses have been trying to work out why they are paying so much more, particularly for software, where if it's downloaded there is no shipping or handling, or much of a labour cost," Husic told Reuters.
Adobe and Microsoft have previously provided separate written statements and submissions to the inquiry. But executives have been reluctant to explain their pricing before a public inquiry.
Apple executives in Australia declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
"The companies have blamed each other for not appearing. One will say 'we're not going to appear if the other is not going to appear'. So we've cut straight to the chase and said we'll just summons you," Husic said.
Price gouging in IT for hardware and software, Husic said, could be costing Australia's more than 2 million small and medium businesses as much as $10 billion extra.
Husic took aim at Apple last week over local taxes paid by the company, telling parliament that Apple generated A$6 billion in revenue in Australia in 2011, but paid only A$40 million in tax - less than one percent of turnover.
"While they generated A$6 billion in revenue, they apparently racked up from what I understand A$5.5 billion in costs. How?" Husic said. "They do not manufacture here. They have no factories here."
He accused Apple executives of maintaining a "cloak of invisibility", while dodging scrutiny of operations. Apple has been criticised elsewhere for its zealous secrecy.
"Ask anyone who has sought answers from them about their Australian operations and you will hear a common theme. They will not talk," he said.

Hackers target Twitter, could affect 250,000 user accounts

2013-02-11T05:34:00.000-08:00

SAN FRANCISCO - Anonymous hackers attacked Twitter this week and may have gained access to passwords and other information for as many as 250,000 user accounts, the microblog revealed late on Friday.

Twitter said in a blog post that the passwords were encrypted and that it had already reset them as a "precautionary measure," and that it was in the process of notifying affected users.

The blog post noted recent revelations of large-scale cyber attacks against the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, but unlike the two news organizations, Twitter did not provide any detail on the origin or methodology of the attacks.

"This attack was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident," Twitter said. "The attackers were extremely sophisticated, and we believe other companies and organizations have also been recently similarly attacked."
Privately held Twitter, which has 200 million active monthly users, said it was working with government and federal law enforcement officials to track down the attackers.

The company did not specifically link the attacks to China in the blog post, in contrast to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, which both said the hackers originated in China.

Twitter, the social network known for its 140-character messages, could not speculate on the origin of the attacks as its investigation was ongoing, said spokesman Jim Prosser.
"There is no evidence right now that would indicate that passwords were compromised," said Prosser.
The attack is not the first time that hackers have breached Twitter's systems and gained access to Twitter user information. Twitter signed a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission in 2010, subjecting the company to 10 years of independent privacy reviews, for failing to safeguard users' personal information.

India hoping for a spin ambush

2013-02-11T05:30:00.002-08:00

Mumbai: Despite the home Test series loss against England, India are expected to welcome the young Australia batsmen with turning tracks. The Australia team, arriving in batches for the series starting in Chennai on February 22, must brace themselves for a spin-oriented bowling attack. After the victory over England in the first Test at Ahmedabad, India skipper MS Dhoni had demanded rank turners. The captain's wish was fulfilled but the plan backfired as the visitors won the four-match series 2-1.

However, what is apparent is the wickets will not be fresh, and with an entire Ranji season having been played out, they are bound to afford turn. "Indian wickets always offer turn. After so many domestic games, there is obviously going to be turn," Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Sanjay Jagdale told HT when asked if tracks similar to the ones given to England will be prepared for Australia. "We will play on the wickets the curators give us."
Calculated Move

While England had quality spinners in Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar, Australia have only the inexperienced Nathan Lyon and Xavier Doherty to fall back on.
India have a stronger spin attack compared to the depleted pace attack. With Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav injured, the hosts have included Ashok Dinda and Bhuvneshwar Kumar - both yet to play Tests - to partner Ishant Sharma for the first two Tests. There are even doubts surrounding Ishant's fitness while R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja are the spin options.

These factors could provide a further thrust to turners being laid out for the Tests to be played at Chennai, Hyderabad, Mohali and Delhi. HT has also learnt that when the BCCI's curators met in Chennai for a meeting, instructions to prepare turners were passed on to the associations staging the Tests.
"After the meeting in Chennai, the BCCI's top officials asked the four venues to prepare turners as Dhoni once again demanded them," said a source. "It is unlikely any of the venues will go against that."
However, Jagdale denied any such move. "The meeting was mainly to discuss pitches during the IPL. There is no directive."