BSkyB could get reprieve from UK regulator - paper

[ [ [['A picture is worth a thousand words', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/why-facebook-bought-instagram-4-theories-160400376.html', '[Related: Why Facebook bought Instagram: 4 theories]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 9]], 'http://contributor.yahoo.com/join/yahoonews_virginiabeach', '[Did you witness the jet crash? Share your story with Yahoo! News]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Dick Clark', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dick-clark-dies-at-82-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/c/21/c217c61aa2d5872244c08caa13c16ec5.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

2012 holidays prosperity japan earthquake bosom buddies diplo rodney atkins fergie

'Idol' reveals its 2 finalists after shocking cut

By Craig Berman, TODAY.com contributor

Michael Becker / FOX

Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez are the finalists of season 11 of "American Idol"

The judges are going to have to find themselves a new favorite to promote in the ?American Idol? finale.

Joshua Ledet, who set the unofficial record for Most Standing Ovations From the Judges with his consistently big performances this season, was voted off the show on Thursday. He finished in third place, while Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez move on to compete for the title next week.

If he likes, Joshua can blame mentor Jimmy Iovine, who said that in hindsight, he wished he?d picked something that offered more of a melody than Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama" for the teenager to perform Wednesday. He also regretted his pick for Jessica, thus shattering the ?Idol? record of self-critical comments in one night. (He?ll need a remedial course of ?Idol 201: The Art of Never Admitting Mistakes? if he wants to come back next season.) And they were more than empty words -- Jimmy seemed genuinely upset with himself when the results were announced, perhaps wondering if a better pick on his part would have been a game-changer.

Joshua could also blame a backlash or overconfidence stemming from the judges? fervent support of him over the past month, though that sure hadn?t hurt him over the previous few weeks. But really, he can probably blame his growling most of all. In a final three as close as this one appears to be, any little mistake hurts, and his over-the-top crashing about the stage on his final song didn?t do much to win the tender loving care of the audience. When in doubt, he tends to shout, and ultimately, it looks like the viewers plugged up their ears instead of picking up the phones for him.

That sets up the Phillip-Jessica finale, or Dave Matthews 2.0 vs. The Oldest-Sounding Teenager in America. But the big question next week won?t just concern who?s going to win. We'll also find out whether Ford will give Phillip a car like it normally does for the two finalists, despite the fact that he?s been absent from the video shoots. Is he secretly in league with the Japanese auto companies? And what are they going to do for that Ford video shoot next week? Have Jessica sing by herself? (Remember: Phillip has a doctor's note to skip filming those!)

Joshua can also take solace in the fact that he wasn?t the worst performer to take the stage this week. That would go to a lip-synching Lisa Marie Presley, who dragged herself onto the ?Idol? stage for the first time. She was part of a gothic set that had her both looking and sounding like something undead. Somewhere up there, Elvis is probably shaking his head and wondering whether she?s studied tapes of him performing. He?s also probably thinking that if he were alive, he?d make one heck of an ?Idol? judge.

But for now, it's the viewers who have spoken, and it?ll be a former pawn-shop worker or a California teenager who gets the confetti and the million-dollar deal on Wednesday.

Are you surprised that Joshua was cut? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

{"contentId":"11750013","totalVotes":"2002"}

Who do you think will win?

Related content:

More in The Clicker:

?

john derbyshire kinkade thomas kinkade paintings easter bunny navy jet crash virginia beach isiah thomas passover

Irish 'terror network' busted as queen's visit nears

[ [ [['A picture is worth a thousand words', 5]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/why-facebook-bought-instagram-4-theories-160400376.html', '[Related: Why Facebook bought Instagram: 4 theories]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 9]], 'http://contributor.yahoo.com/join/yahoonews_virginiabeach', '[Did you witness the jet crash? Share your story with Yahoo! News]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Dick Clark', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/dick-clark-dies-at-82-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/c/21/c217c61aa2d5872244c08caa13c16ec5.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'Reuters', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

jane goodall saturday night fever glamping forgetting sarah marshall taraji p. henson irs shuttle discovery

Video: Nevada teen strives to save lives in Africa

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

fabrice muamba collapse prometheus trailer patrice oneal shamrock slainte the quiet man yellow cab

Video: Worst Day for Stocks in 2 Weeks

Discussing the stock market slide and signs of a deflationary environment, with Ken Heebner, Capital Growth Management; Jim Lacamp, UBS; and David Goldman, Macro-Strategy.

Related Links:

Business & financial news headlines from msnbc.com

Top of page

dan marino david lee roth joe bodolai ben nelson extreme couponing taylor lautner sinead o connor

How to Effectively Communicate with Your Team as a Leader

Communication is Vital as Captain of the Ship!

Written by Shelly Verma, Contributing?Writer

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aiesecgermany/5404526682/

It is important in a leadership role that you communicate effectively, as an age old saying ?it?s not what you say, but how you say it? reiterates. Communication is what separates a poor leader from an exceptional one. Having effective communication skills is the key to good leadership.

When you communicate well with your team, it helps eliminate misunderstandings and can encourage a healthy and peaceful workplace. Efficient communication with your team will also let you get work done quickly and professionally. Once you get the lines of communication open with your team, the process of carrying out tasks and projects will most likely go by effortlessly.

Some things to keep in mind when communicating with your team:

As a team leader, you should take full responsibility for proper communication amongst your team members and you must position yourself as a model for how you want the team to communicate. Be entirely honest with your teammates, even if it means telling someone that you don?t entirely agree with their ideas or that you want to take the project in a different direction. Express your concern in front of the entire team rather than behind their back.

?Efficient communication with your team will also let you get work done quickly and professionally.

Before sending any messages, emails, or memos out, ask yourself why and to whom you are sending it. This will help to determine what information is essential and what is not. If it is not essential, perhaps it should only be communicated to those it concerns.

Make adjustments to your management style and communication skills first before you attempt to communicate effectively with your team. Try to understand the significance of formal verbal (e.g. meetings, conference calls, or any instructions to be delivered to the team) and non-verbal (e.g. e-mails, letters or minutes-of-the-meeting) communication cues when talking to your team and conducting meetings.

If there are any communication issues, talk with your team directly. Have a brief discussion with each team member individually to learn their concerns, suggestions or ideas of improvement to the current workflow process. Try to get to know each member of your team on a deeper level. This kind of one-on-one talk will allow you to learn more about each member?s way of communication and working style.

You could also discover which of these individuals has the qualities to make an effective team leader going forward.

When you take into consideration the information you are getting from team members in terms of what is important to them, you will be in a better position of achieving good communication skills like making sure what you are communicating to them is clear and assertive enough.

Set up a meeting with the entire team to discuss if any issues are causing a rift between members. Let each team member air out grievances regarding the work assigned or his role in the team.

Keep a fixed schedule when you?re conducting meetings in-person, online, or over the phone. Talk to your team using words that they can relate to instead of technical jargon or professional talk that they may or may not comprehend. Provide team members with reports of the meeting to help eliminate confusion later-on.
Once you have delivered your message, allow your team to ask questions to clear up any confusion or misunderstanding. For instance, if you send a written communication to your team, ask them to reply to your message with questions or concerns to discuss at your next meeting.

The point of working as a team is to share ideas and boost productivity, although broken down communication among the members can sidetrack the entire effort. Create some ground rules to keep everyone up to date, which helps avoid confusion and complete the project with ease.

Shelly Verma is an avid small business writer touching on topics from?insurance, health, higher education, career improvement, self-help to home improvement.

ARB Team
Arbitrage Magazine
Business News with BITE.

Liked this post? Why not buy the ARB team a beer? Just click an ad or donate below (thank you!)

Liked this article? Hated it? Comment below and share your opinions with other ARB readers!

academy awards 2012 albert nobbs a star is born oscar nominees oscar nominations 2012 kombucha tea separation of church and state

Coyotes Are the New Top Dogs

News | More Science

Coyotes are champions of change and have evolved in clever ways to take advantage of a human-dominated landscape

By Sharon Levy ?| May 17, 2012?|

Wolf genes make the coyotes of northeastern North America bigger and stronger than those elsewhere. Image: KITCHIN AND HURST/ALL CANADA PHOTOS/CORBIS

How does a Venus flytrap know when to snap shut? Can it actually feel an insect?s tiny, spindly legs? And how do cherry blossoms know when to bloom? Can they...

Read More??

By Sharon Levy of Nature magazine

Near the dawn of time, the story goes, Coyote saved the creatures of Earth. According to the mythology of Idaho's Nez Perce people, the monster Kamiah had stalked into the region and was gobbling up the animals one by one. The crafty Coyote evaded Kamiah but didn't want to lose his friends, so he let himself be swallowed. From inside the beast, Coyote severed Kamiah's heart and freed his fellow animals. Then he chopped up Kamiah and threw the pieces to the winds, where they gave birth to the peoples of the planet.

European colonists took a very different view of the coyote (Canis latrans) and other predators native to North America. The settlers hunted wolves to extinction across most of the southerly 48 states. They devastated cougar and bobcat populations and attacked coyotes. But unlike the other predators, coyotes have thrived in the past 150 years. Once restricted to the western plains, they now occupy most of the continent and have invaded farms and cities, where they have expanded their diet to include squirrels, household pets and discarded fast food.

Researchers have long known the coyote as a master of adaptation, but studies over the past few years are now revealing how these unimposing relatives of wolves and dogs have managed to succeed where many other creatures have suffered. Coyotes have flourished in part by exploiting the changes that people have made to the environment, and their opportunism goes back thousands of years. In the past two centuries, coyotes have taken over part of the wolf's former ecological niche by preying on deer and even on an endangered group of caribou. Genetic studies reveal that the coyotes of northeastern America ? which are bigger than their cousins elsewhere ? carry wolf genes that their ancestors picked up through interbreeding. This lupine inheritance has given northeastern coyotes the ability to bring down adult deer ? a feat seldom attempted by the smaller coyotes of the west.

The lessons learned from coyotes can help researchers to understand how other mid-sized predators respond when larger carnivores are wiped out. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, intense hunting of lions and leopards has led to a population explosion of olive baboons, which are now preying on smaller primates and antelope, causing a steep decline in their numbers.

Yet even among such opportunists, coyotes stand out as the champions of change. ?We need to stop looking at these animals as static entities,? says mammalogist Roland Kays of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. ?They're evolving?.

At a fast rate, too. Two centuries ago, coyotes led a very different life, hunting rabbits, mice and insects in the grasslands of the Great Plains. Weighing only 10 to 12 kilograms on average, they could not compete in the forests with the much larger grey wolves (Canis lupus), which are quick to dispatch coyotes that try to scavenge their kills.

The big break for coyotes came when settlers pushed west, wiping out the resident wolves. Coyotes could thrive because they breed more quickly than wolves and have a more varied diet. Since then, their menu has grown and so has their range; they have invaded all the mainland United States (with the exception of northern Alaska) and Mexico, as well as large parts of southern Canada.

The animals that arrived in the northeastern United States and Canada in the 1940s and 50s were significantly larger on average than those on the Great Plains, sometimes topping 16 kilograms. Kays and his colleagues studied the rapid changes in coyote physique by analyzing mitochondrial DNA and skull measurements of more than 100 individuals collected in New York state and throughout New England. They found that these northeastern coyotes carried genes from Great Lakes wolves, showing that the two species had interbred as the coyotes passed through that region. ?Coyotes mated with wolves in the 1800s, when wolf populations were at low density because of human persecution,? says Kays. In those circumstances, wolves had a hard time finding wolf mates, so they settled for coyotes.

nfl mvp lana del rey snl performance nick diaz sheryl sandberg superbowl recipes super bowl kick off chili recipes

Mentally ill inmates sue to get out of solitary

This undated photo provided by the Colorado Department of Corrections shows Troy Anderson, a mentally ill inmate in isolation at the Colorado State Penitentiary. Anderson is too dangerous to be among other offenders. His lawyers argued in court last week before a federal judge to fight for better medication for conditions said to lead to panic attacks. (AP Photo/Colorado Department of Corrections)

This undated photo provided by the Colorado Department of Corrections shows Troy Anderson, a mentally ill inmate in isolation at the Colorado State Penitentiary. Anderson is too dangerous to be among other offenders. His lawyers argued in court last week before a federal judge to fight for better medication for conditions said to lead to panic attacks. (AP Photo/Colorado Department of Corrections)

DENVER (AP) ? Troy Anderson is a mentally ill inmate in isolation at the Colorado State Penitentiary, deemed for more than a decade too dangerous to be among other offenders.

His lawyers argue, however, that prolonged solitary confinement is contributing to a vicious cycle, making his psychiatric conditions worse and resulting in misbehavior that warrants further punishment.

Prison officials defend the practice, saying administrative segregation, which can include up to 23 hours a day alone in a concrete cell, is a fundamental part of security.

Art Leonardo, executive director of the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents, says keeping prisoners away from the general population is a way to "keep them from being harmed."

But prisoners' rights advocates around the nation say putting mentally ill inmates in long-term solitary confinement amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. In some states, activists are pushing court challenges to get convicts, such as Anderson, out of isolation.

"People with mental illness suffer horribly in solitary confinement," said David Fathi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project.

Anderson, represented by University of Denver law students, last week appeared before a federal judge in Denver to ask for better medication for conditions said to lead to panic attacks. He's also asking to be let outside three times a week.

Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti says prison officials use isolation "to maintain offender and staff safety."

Inmates' rights activists might concede that temporary isolation has its place, but Anderson's lawyers say he has been in solitary for 12 years, and it's not helping.

Long-term isolation has "become an integral part of how we manage prisons in this country," Fathi said.

The National Prison Project has handled about 10 cases in the last dozen years dealing with mentally ill inmates indefinitely kept in isolation, Fathi said.

There are no statistics detailing how many of the more than 218,000 federal prison inmates are considered mentally ill. Similarly, there is no official estimate as to how many inmates are placed in solitary confinement.

U.S. Bureau of Justice statistics show that in 2010 there were more than 1.4 million inmates in state prisons. However, there are no official estimates for how many state prisoners are mentally ill or in isolation.

Cases involving inmates such as Anderson, convicted of attempted murder in 2000, are coming with increasing regularity, inmates' rights advocates say. The outcomes have been varied.

Lawyers on behalf of a North Carolina inmate with severe paranoid schizophrenia, depression and borderline personality disorder argued last year that a decade of solitary confinement, which sometimes included being shackled inside his cell, worsened his conditions considerably.

But a judge ruled against them, and Michael A. Williams remains in isolation.

A federal jury in January awarded $22 million to a New Mexico inmate who extracted a tooth by hand, rocking it back and forth in the socket for hours, after going without medical or dental care while in solitary confinement for two years.

Stephen Slevin had been isolated because he was depressed and someone checked a box on a form indicating he was suicidal, according to his attorney.

A pending class action lawsuit headed by a South Carolina advocacy group says the state has been punishing mentally ill inmates without giving them enough access to psychiatric care.

One of the four prisoners represented in the suit spent nearly 24 hours a day in his cell for 16 years and saw a counselor only once a month, according to court documents.

Defense lawyers, in closing arguments in March, said South Carolina prison officials are doing their best to treat mentally ill inmates with the limited money they receive from the state.

A judge is considering the case.

Psychiatrist Stuart Grassian says that long-term isolation for prisoners who need psychiatric help is counterproductive. He says the typical approach from prison officials ? "if you punish bad behavior, it'll eventually get better" ? does not work for mentally ill inmates without proper medical treatment.

Leonardo, head of the prison officials group, says that while isolation is not ideal, administrative segregation is the best way to manage inmates who pose a threat and need special care.

"A number of years ago, we began in this country to stop institutionalizing people who had mental illnesses. We just put them in jail. Jails really are not prepared or staffed in most cases to deal with them."

Laura Rovner, a law professor at the University of Denver whose students helped represent Anderson, says part of the reason behind the push for more lawsuits are mental health advocates proclaiming that isolation practices do not work.

"Being put in isolation," Rovner said, "is likely going to make you worse."

Associated Press

hunger games box office xavier joan crawford joan crawford john goodman kendall marshall whitney houston news

Free Fun in Austin: Free Improv for Kids and Teens at ColdTowne ...

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

nfl power rankings week 12 nfl power rankings week 12 brine turkey brine turkey uc davis super committee walmart black friday ad 2011

New DVD anti-piracy warning now packs double the nag

Starting this week, you'll find any newly-minted DVDs and Blu-ray discs will now include a similarly fresh anti-piracy message. Homeland Security's special agent badge now partners up with the FBI's own emblem on the new warning played before DVDs -- and it looks like it'll still be unskippable. If this dynamic duo isn't enough to scare into legitimate media consumption, how about another warning screen to really bring it on home? This one features the National Intellectual Property Center, which follows the same "piracy is bad" message, offering a helpful link as to why -- one we're sure you're going to investigate in the middle of movie night. Interestingly, these new screens themselves are still not in the public domain and only the major US movie studios are authorized to use them. No news yet on whether the authorities plan to include another screen explaining this, but you can check that second warning that you'll soon be yelling at right after the break.

Continue reading New DVD anti-piracy warning now packs double the nag

New DVD anti-piracy warning now packs double the nag originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 16:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Wired  | Email this | Comments

whitney houston will toyota recall

HP on laptop design similarities with Apple's: it's a struggle as we drive to simplicity

HP's spent the afternoon here in Shanghai to share some details about its latest products and strategy, and to our delight, there was one session dedicated to "Style Meets Function," during which Vice President of Industrial Design Stacy Wolff talked about his design philosophy and design goals for the current market. Most notably, we learned that some of HP's latest laptop designs were based on the work of its research centers from 11 different cities, and the company isn't afraid of admitting that it used consultants for an outside perspective as well.

Despite Stacy's upbeat presentation and interesting stats (apparently these days men have a boring color preference, from first to fourth favorite: black, gray, blue and white), the inevitable question popped up: One lady expressed her concern that the brand-spanking-new Envy Spectre XT reminded her of the MacBook Air a lot, so she wondered if HP's ever worried that Apple might sue.

Stacy kept his initial reply pretty brief:

"I would go back to the TC1000 [Tablet PC] from about 10 years, and that's a tablet. I think if you look at the new Spectre XT, there are similarities in a way, not due to Apple but due to the way technologies developed. Apple may like to think that they own silver, but they don't. In no way did HP try to mimic Apple. In life there are a lot of similarities."

As always, we wanted more from the horse's mouth, so we grabbed hold of Stacy right after the session and had a little chat over this topic -- you can see the full and surprisingly candid interview after the break.

Gallery: HP on laptop design similarities with Apple's: it's a struggle as we drive to simplicity

Continue reading HP on laptop design similarities with Apple's: it's a struggle as we drive to simplicity

HP on laptop design similarities with Apple's: it's a struggle as we drive to simplicity originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 May 2012 09:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

suh lindsey vonn lindsey vonn josef stalin kourtney and kim take new york anne hathaway nathan hale

Guy Gets Magnets Implanted in His Arm To Hold His iPod, Forgets There's a New Design Every Year [Video]

The touchscreen-equipped iPod Nano spawned a multitude of straps and cases letting users wear it like a watch. But none are as creative, or downright creepy, as this body piercing artist who had four magnets implanted in his arm to hold it in place. More »

giants eagles bcs rankings week 13 bcs rankings week 13 philadelphia marathon rhodes scholar cranberry sauce recipe mls cup

Facebook starts App Center beta, readies itself for paid web apps

Facebook is no stranger to letting members use real money in web apps, but only for in-app purchases. Its new App Center on the web and in mobile versions will let you buy web apps that have an up-front cost to use rather than shoehorning you into a freemium or subscription model. The portal will even have its own shopping portal, although it'll mostly be based around -- surprise -- recommendations coming from your social network profile. The addition should, in theory, lead to premium games and other apps that wouldn't fit into the Facebook Credit mould. Facebook is taking developer beta sign-ups now, although the apps themselves will have to wait.

Facebook starts App Center beta, readies itself for paid web apps originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 May 2012 18:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  Facebook Developers  | Email this | Comments

sea lion si swimsuit 2012 westminster dog show abe lincoln vampire hunter jeremy lin xi jinping matt bomer

Leica boosts compact portfolio with V-Lux 40 point-and-shoot, APS-C-equipped X2

Leica has built a name for itself in the compact market over the years with a handful of Panasonic rebrands -- these Lumix models come equipped with a matte black housing, Leica lens and that famous red dot, with the inflated price tag to match. With this latest batch of cameras, the company appears to be taking a more respectable approach -- at least with its high-end X2. But first, let's tackle the V-Lux 40. On the Panasonic front, this camera looks strikingly similar to the Lumix DMC-ZS20 we saw emerge after CES. Both cameras include 14.1-megapixel 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensors, a 20x, 24-480mm f/3.3-6.4 optical zoom lens and 1080p video capture. The housing has been modified slightly to include a recessed control panel, Panasonic branding has been removed and the Leica logo added. Such luxuries more than double the camera's price from $269 to $699. Ouch. You can pick up the V-Lux 40 beginning today, or you can grab two virtually identical ZS20s for the same amount, with significant cash to spare.

You may remember the Leica X1, but you probably don't. This $2,000 shooter was determined to be overpriced when it launched way back in 2009, and now the APS-C-equipped series has returned for a refresh. Dubbed the X2, this year's flavor ups the ante with a 16.2-megapixel CMOS sensor (boosted from 12.2) while retaining that beloved $2k sticker price. The compact all-in-one includes a fixed 24mm Leica Elmarit f/2.8 ASPH lens, which the company validates as a "classical focal length for photojournalism," and a 2.7-inch 230k-pixel LCD on the rear. There's also an option to add a Viso-Flex 1.4MP viewfinder with a 90-degree swivel function, along with a shoe-mounted mirror finder. The $1,995 camera's price tag may be tough to swallow -- but only until you discover the gratis copy of Adobe Lightroom in the box. Both the ZS20 V-Lux 40 and X2 are available now. Snap past the break for the pitch from Leica.

Gallery: Leica V-Lux 40

Gallery: Leica X2

Continue reading Leica boosts compact portfolio with V-Lux 40 point-and-shoot, APS-C-equipped X2

Leica boosts compact portfolio with V-Lux 40 point-and-shoot, APS-C-equipped X2 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 May 2012 17:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

dia frampton dia frampton zook eric decker eric decker dallas cowboys cheerleaders leftover turkey recipes

Rovio marks one billion downloads, untold pig casualties across Angry Birds games

Yeah, yeah, we all knew that Rovio was doing gangbusters with Angry Birds series, but here's a little number to put it all into perspective: one billion. That's how many times the slingshotting birds have been downloaded, when you add up all of the titles and all of the platforms. Naturally, the company made a video to celebrate the accomplishment. You can find it after the break.

[Image credit (McDonald's Sign): Alexis Bea / Flickr]

Continue reading Rovio marks one billion downloads, untold pig casualties across Angry Birds games

Rovio marks one billion downloads, untold pig casualties across Angry Birds games originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 May 2012 12:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

masters leaderboard frozen four joe avezzano kanye west theraflu joey votto the masters live mega millions winner