Google, Amazon, Facebook, Wikipedia and their Internet allies are threatening a co-ordinated protest against the US Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
The so-called NetCoalition companies are rumoured to be planning a day of protest by blacking out their sites and posting anti-censorship warnings. If the action goes ahead, visitors to the sites will be asked to contact politicians about their feelings.
NetCoalition executive director and general counsel Markham Erickson told Cnet, ?There have been some serious discussions about that. It has never happened before.?
The US government?s adoption process for SOPA stalled temporarily when the House Judiciary Committee for the Senate decided that a controversial provision that would allow the US Attorney General to order changes to the core Internet infrastructure to stop copyright infringement requires further investigation.
This followed a report from Republican congressman Dan Lungren, who heads the Homeland Security subcommittee on cybersecurity, said SOPA would undercut national security. His concerns were supported by the US Department of Energy declaring that the bill would ?negatively impact US and global cybersecurity and Internet functionality?.
These global concerns were picked up by the European Parliament which passed a resolution underlining ?the need to protect the integrity of the global Internet and freedom of communication by refraining from unilateral measures to revoke IP addresses or domain names?.
Despite this opposition, it looks likely that SOPA, which is heavily backed by the Hollywood studios and the recording industry, will be passed when a date is set for voting.
This would probably be the trigger for NetCoalition?s protest. If the trade association decides to adopt the Internet blacking policy, the actual form it would take would have to be planned carefully. Many of the members rely on advertising for funding and they would not want to jeopardise their revenue streams. Neither would they wish to inconvenience their users.
What is likely is that the home pages for the organisations will be replaced by a protest screen before users are passed through to the normal service.
The NetColition membership comprises Google, Yahoo, Amazon, eBay, PayPal, IAC, Bloomberg LP, Expedia, and Wikipedia, with support from AOL, Etsy, Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Mozilla, OpenDNS, Twitter, the Wikimedia Foundation, and the Zynga Game Network.
The head of the United Nations refugee agency voiced deep regret today at the killing of a Somali refugee leader in the Dadaab complex in north-eastern Kenya, describing the slaying as senseless.
Ant" Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), issued a statement after last night"s killing of the chairperson of a community peace and security team in Hagadera camp, which is part of Dadaab.
The man " whose name has not yet been released " was shot several times as he entered his compound about 7:45 p.m., according to UNHCR, which said the gunmen reportedly escaped. The victim was rushed to a camp hospital and later The peace and security team which the man headed is run by refugee residents in Dadaab, and UNHCR said they have been instrumental in helping to maintain security inside the camp.died as he was being evacuated to Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, for further treatment.
The peace and security team which the man headed is run by refugee residents in Dadaab, and UNHCR said they have been instrumental in helping to maintain security inside the camp.
Dadaab is the world"s largest refugee settlement, home to more than 460,000 people, overwhelmingly Somalis who have fled famine and fighting in their neighbouring homeland.
With tablets?finding their way into more and more households, there is a sensible need for a child-friendly solution. For most, giving your child free rein over an expensive device like the iPad 2?($499-$829, 4.5 stars) may not be the best idea. Not only are parents afraid of damage to their precious pads, but they should also be concerned about exposure to inappropriate content. That's where Fuhu's Nabi Kids Tablet ($199.99, sold exclusively at Toys R Us) steps in. The 7-inch? tablet features two distinct Android environments; one sheltered interface catering to kids and one nearly full featured, traditional Android interface. The Nabi is not a toy, but it is also not quite a tablet either. It packs a collection of pre-loaded apps and content, and a customizable child-safe interface, in a tablet that comes with a thick rubber bumper. But some problems with functionality and responsiveness hold the Nabi tablet back.??
Design and Display The first thing you will notice about the Nabi is its striking red, oversized rubber bumper. This thing is really solid and looks like it could withstand most anything a child might throw at it (or throw it at). But the bumper isn't integrated into the tablet; it's just a peel-off gel case. It's too easily removable and doesn't make the tablet waterproof. It does offer solid drop protection, but it also makes the Power and Volume buttons difficult to press.
Under the rubber bumper is an unassuming white plastic slab. Together with the bumper, the Nabi measures 10.6 by 7.7 by 3.5 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.2 pounds; bigger and heavier than the Kindle Fire?($199, 4 stars) at 7.5 by 4.7 by .45 inches (HWD) and 14.6 ounces, but far better equipped for the rigors of playtime. The Nabi sports a 7-inch, 800-by-480-pixel TFT display, a low resolution you're more likely to find on a phone than a tablet. It's an upgrade over child-oriented tablets like the LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer's ($99, 4.5 stars) 480-by-272-pixel display, but not as nice as the 1,024-by-600 screens on high-quality 7-inch tablets like the the Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet?($249, 4 stars). The screen is bright, and viewing angles are pretty narrow. The biggest problem with the Nabi's display is unresponsiveness. In my tests, it often took multiple touches to get the desired response. This was while navigating through the tablet's interface, and playing games like Cut the Rope.
The tablet is equipped with a mini HDMI port, so you can connect it to an HDTV for playback, and a front-facing camera. For connectivity, there's 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
OS, Apps, Performance The real draw of the Nabi Kids Tablet is the kids-only interface it lays on top of the now-obsolete Android 2.2. Kidz Mode is a child-safe, stripped-down environment that basically consists of oversized app icons, as well as shortcuts to Nabi's child-friendly Web and multimedia content. Any parent worried about what kind of trouble their kids can get into will appreciate the walled-off nature of Kidz Mode.
Parents can customize what apps appear in Kidz Mode, deciding for themselves what is or is not appropriate for their child. The tablet comes preloaded with games, educational apps, and childrens' books and videos. You get Angry Birds and Cut the Rope, 30 preloaded childrens' books with audio tracks for reading along, and Fooz Kids University, which is math training software for elementary schoolers. Kidz Mode also features a section of kid-safe Web shortcuts to third-party sites like Cartoon Network.
Though the browser supports Flash, which is used heavily in the third-party websites, the games and content didn't work very well on the Nabi in my tests. The sites were clearly meant to be enjoyed on a real computer, with little mobile, let alone tablet, optimization. For instance, one Cartoon Network link leads to a Flash-based game, which loads properly, but requires keyboard and mouse controls to work, which the Nabi lacks.
A hungry saltwater crocodile named Elvis was apparently pretty hungry today.
He also showed an apparent affinity for household machinery when he charged at a worker at an Australian reptile park before trying to eat ... his lawn mower.
"Before we knew it, the crocodile had the mower above his head," Tim Faulkner said. "He got his jaws around the top and picked it up and took it underwater."
The reptile workers quickly left Elvis alone to enjoy his newly acquired mower, which he sat by until he was bribed with some Kangaroo meat to relinquish it.
Most respondents to this week?s RBJ Daily Report Snap Poll say former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would be the strongest Republican presidential candidate in 2012.
When readers?regardless of their political affiliation?were asked to name the strongest candidate in the field of declared GOP hopefuls, 52 percent selected Romney. Former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah was named by 16 percent; 15 percent picked former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia.
After months of political campaigning and debates, the first electoral contest in the 2012 presidential race?the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses?is only days away. It will be followed a week later by the New Hampshire primary.
When the same poll question was posed in September, 35 percent of respondents said Texas Gov. Rick Perry would be the strongest Republican candidate. Romney was selected by 28 percent of participants in that poll.
In the first RBJ poll on the 2012 contest, conducted in November 2010, the plurality?21 percent?said Romney would be the strongest Republican presidential candidate.
Some 520 readers participated in this week?s poll, which was conducted Dec. 27.
In your opinion, who among those now seeking the Republican nomination would be the strongest GOP presidential candidate in 2012?
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney: 52%
Former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah: 16%
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia: 15%
Rep. Ron Paul of Texas: 10%
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas: 3%
Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania: 2%
Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota: 2%
COMMENTS:
He?s short, ugly and slurs his words, but he gets things done. It?s not the hairdo that matters but what is under it. I root for Newt, but only in small four-year doses.
?Ian Cunningham
Mitt Romney has the experience in leadership that the current occupant of the White House lacks.
?Robert W. Zinnecker, Penfield
(New Jersey Gov.) Chris Christie would be a welcome VP candidate to any of the above.
?Tony Schmitt, self-employed
Please give Ron Paul a chance. He is not the best-looking among the group; however, his decades of service in the House, his work as a medical doctor and his time in the service should qualify him to at least be looked into. His answers don?t change per every public opinion poll; he has ideas that may seem radical to some but, given the times that we are in, are the right thing to do.
?Will Phillips
Only Ron Paul has the new ideas and civil rights credentials to pose a threat to a second Obama term. Fortunately for the nation, his permissive stance on social issues means he won?t get that chance; he can?t possibly win the Republican nomination.
?Matthew D. Wilson
I think Gingrich would make the better president (than Romney) but has too much baggage to be elected. The GOP needs a candidate who can defeat Obama.
?Ken Ross
I read one columnist who joked that Huntsman is the Democrat?s choice. It?s a shame Huntsman didn?t have a stronger presence in the primary campaign. He has an excellent resume, and his opinions appeared to be more moderate and reasonable.
?Michael Shacket
I?m a Democrat and support the president. But I believe Jon Huntsman is the only Republican who will have a chance to beat the president.
?Craig Epperson
I think Sarah Palin may be the only Republican who can win! That?s a rather sad state of affairs!
?Hutch Hutchison, In T?Hutch Ltd.
Mitt Romney, my same opinion as in the previous Snap Poll. However, after the destructive years with the Republican Party, anything but a Republican will do.
?Ingo H. Leubner, Crystallization Consulting
Anybody in the White House but Obama come 2013.
?Jim Duke, Victor
(Former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah): Closest thing we have to a libertarian?but he may actually be electable.
?Devon Michaels, Chili
12/30/11 (c) 2011 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or e-mail service@rbj.net.
(Reuters) ? The Securities and Exchange Commission won a delay in its securities fraud lawsuit against Citigroup Inc, as the regulator tries to appeal a judge's decision to reject its $285 million settlement with the bank.
The case will be put on hold until a motions panel on January 17 begins considering the SEC's bid for a longer delay so it can pursue an expedited appeal, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said in its order on Tuesday afternoon.
That order was made public 78 seconds before U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, who rejected the Citigroup settlement last month, issued a ruling opposing any delay in the case, court records show. Citigroup supported the SEC's request for a delay.
The rulings come as the SEC tries to ensure it can continue settling enforcement cases without requiring corporate defendants to address whether they did anything wrong.
That practice was called into question when Rakoff on November 28 harshly rejected the proposed settlement with New York-based Citigroup.
He said the SEC's failure to require Citigroup to admit or deny its charges left him no way to know whether the settlement was fair. Rakoff also called the $285 million payout "pocket change" for the third-largest U.S. bank.
But the SEC said that ruling was "legal error," at odds with decades of court decisions allowing such settlements and letting investors get faster recoveries, and could affect its ability to reach similar accords with other companies.
SEC spokesman John Nester declined to comment. Citigroup spokeswoman Danielle Romero-Apsilos repeated that the bank disagreed with Rakoff's November 28 decision, and would have "substantial factual and legal defenses" at a trial.
The October 19 settlement was intended to resolve charges that Citigroup sold $1 billion of risky mortgage-linked securities in 2007 without telling investors that it was betting against the debt, and caused more than $700 million of losses.
Citigroup's $285 million payment was to include $160 million of disgorged profit and fees, $30 million of interest and a $95 million civil fine.
IRREPARABLE HARM, OR ILLUSORY HARM?
In a filing on Tuesday morning with the 2nd Circuit, the SEC said the urgency to put the case on hold came after Rakoff in a teleconference this month told Citigroup to answer the charges by January 3, 2012 - or 27 days sooner than federal rules require.
An answer can force Citigroup to deny some or all of the SEC allegations, or seek to dismiss the case entirely.
But this would cause the SEC "irreparable harm" by forcing it to devote substantial resources to the case, and would "disrupt a central negotiated provision" in which Citigroup agreed not to deny the allegations, the regulator said.
In his decision on Tuesday, which the motions panel may choose to follow or not follow, Rakoff said it is "patently clear" there was no statutory basis to appeal his November 28 ruling, and "derail the orderly conduct" of the case.
The judge said this was because the appeal focused on his alleged error in demanding more facts about the case, rather than on the injunctive relief provided by the settlement.
He also said the alleged harm faced by the SEC was "largely illusory" because the regulator is pursuing a related case arising out of the same facts against a Citigroup employee, director Brian Stoker, who contests the regulator's charges.
The SEC has asked Congress for authority to seek larger penalties in corporate cases than the law now allows.
Rakoff has set a July 16, 2012 trial date.
The cases are SEC v Citigroup Global Markets Inc, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 11-05227; and U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-07387.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Gary Hill)
KINGSTON, Jamaica ? Jamaica's opposition capitalized on discontent over the economy to return to power Thursday, as voters gave the country's first female leader a second chance to govern the island.
Supporters of former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, 66, shimmied and shouted in the capital, Kingston, as they heard that the center-right government of Prime Minister Andrew Holness had been defeated and their candidate had staged a dramatic political comeback in general elections.
Holness, Jamaica's youngest prime minister at 39, said the defeat will prompt a time of introspection and reflection for leaders of his Jamaica Labor Party to examine what went wrong.
"I wish the new government well. We hope for the benefit of the country that they will do a good job," said Holness, who warned during the campaign that an opposition win would scare away foreign investment and dash hopes of economic progress.
While official results have not been released, elections director Orrette Fisher told The Associated Press that preliminary results showed Simpson Miller's slightly left-of-center People's National Party, or PNP, heading to victory.
"Based on the margins, it appears safe to say" that Simpson Miller's party won, Fisher said shortly after Jamaican newspapers and broadcasters called the election for her faction. He expected his office to release the official count and breakdown of parliamentary seats on Saturday.
News station TVJ said the PNP won 41 seats in parliament and Holness's Jamaica Labor Party 22.
Simpson Miller is beloved by her supporters for her folksy, plainspoken style and is referred to affectionately as "Sista P" and "Comrade Leader." She became Jamaica's first female prime minister in March 2006 after she was picked by party delegates when P.J. Patterson retired as leader. But she was tossed out of office a year later in a narrow election defeat.
On Thursday, she thanked her supporters at party headquarters in Kingston, where more than a thousand elated partisans decked out in the party's color of orange swayed to reggae and soul tunes, waved flags and clapped hands.
"I am humbled as I stand before you and I wish to thank the Jamaican people for their love, for their support and for giving the People's National Party and the leader of the party her own mandate," she said, after receiving hugs from numerous candidates, some crying.
She has pledged to lift debt-wracked Jamaica out of poverty, secure foreign investment, and create jobs.
Her party will face deep economic problems in this island of 2.8 million people, with a punishing debt of roughly $18.6 billion, or 130 per cent of gross domestic product. That's a rate about 10 percentage points higher than debt-troubled Italy's.
Veteran opposition lawmaker Omar Davies said one of the first things the PNP will do is get "a true assessment of the state of the economy," a dig at Holness' party which was accused of rarely providing citizens with a clear picture of the island's dire fiscal straits.
Holness, who became prime minister two months ago after Bruce Golding, Jamaica's leader since 2007, abruptly stepped down in October amid anemic public backing, won his parliamentary seat with 54 percent of the vote.
Political commentator Patrick Bailey said Holness, who was a respected education minister before becoming prime minister, shouldn't be blamed for the loss.
"In fact, he is the one who made it competitive for the JLP," Bailey said.
Simpson Miller has been a stalwart of the People's National Party since the 1970s. She paints herself as a champion of the poor and was first elected to Parliament in 1976 and became a Cabinet member in 1989.
Partisans have long admired Simpson Miller as a Jamaican who was born in rural poverty and grew up in a Kingston ghetto, not far from the crumbling concrete jungle made famous by Bob Marley.
During her brief tenure as prime minister, her support waned amid complaints she responded poorly to Hurricane Dean and was evasive about a scandal regarding a Dutch oil trading firm's $460,000 payment to her political party leading up to 2007 elections.
After she was defeated in 2007 elections, she remained leader of her party, setting the stage for a political comeback.
The two top candidates' different styles were clear while they cast their votes.
Holness is largely seen as unexciting, but bright and pragmatic. He whisked into the voting center in the middle class area of Mona, barely interacting with voters. After being heckled by an opposition partisan, he said he was "very confident" of a Labor victory and departed after taking three questions from reporters.
By contrast, Simpson Miller hugged and chatted with supporters at a school in Whitfield Town and told election workers to help struggling elderly voters.
Her party, which experimented with democratic socialism in the 1970s, is still perceived as more focused on social programs for the poor than the slightly more conservative Labor. There are no longer stark ideological differences between the two clan-like factions that have dominated Jamaican politics since the onetime British colony began self-rule in 1944. Jamaica became independent within the British Commonwealth in 1962.
She has inspired some hope for a young, struggling nation fed up with chronic hard times.
"She cares about the ghetto people," said Trishette Bond, a twenty-something resident of gritty Trench Town who wore an orange shirt and a bright orange wig to show her allegiance to the People's National Party.
___
Associated Press Writer Howard Campbell in Kingston contributed to this report.
___
David McFadden on Twitter: http://twitter.com/dmcfadd
Windows Phone Timeline leaked, Tango and Apollo updates coming in 2012
?
There are a lot of expectations from Microsoft?s Windows Phone which has seen a sudden increase in its popularity since the launch of Nokia?s Lumia series on smartphones. The Redmond-based company is expected to launch a new Tango update for the platform sometime in 2012, but a leaked roadmap for Windows Phone suggests that there are two major update coming to the platform in the next year.
?
According to the leak by WMPowerUser the platform will first get the Tango update which is meant to support low-cost handsets and it will be available in Q2 2012. The next upate will be available in Q4 2012 and will be known as Apollo. The new update will be the major release amongst the two and it will include support for dual-core processors and HD screens. For now this is all the information we have about the upcoming updates, but keep visiting as we will let you know more.
WASHINGTON ? Military officials have not ruled out disciplinary action as a result of the cross-border attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, but no one has been punished to date, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
An investigation into the incident concluded that a persistent lack of trust between the U.S. and Pakistan, and a series of communications and coordination errors on both sides, led to the attacks.
Navy Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said military leaders will use the final report on the investigation to determine if anyone should be punished. Those decisions, he said, would be made by officers in the chain of command, depending on whether they found that mistakes were made by U.S. or NATO personnel.
As a result of the probe, the top U.S. general for the Middle East issued a list of improvements Monday he said must be made to keep similar mistakes from happening.
U.S. Marine Gen. James N. Mattis, commander of U.S. Central Command, ordered commanders in Afghanistan to improve coordination of operations along the Afghan-Pakistan border with Pakistani military, and ensure that all border stations are listed correctly on maps.
Mattis also ordered commanders to confirm border post locations before beginning operations along the border. And he ordered commanders to share military practices and procedures with the Pakistanis so they can better understand U.S. operations.
It's not certain the new orders will solve the problems, because Pakistan refused to participate in the investigation. It still is unclear why Pakistani troops initially fired on U.S. soldiers who had landed by helicopter near a village close to the border as part of a mission to go after insurgents.
The U.S. investigation found that the Pakistani forces fired first and that U.S. troops acted in self-defense. But U.S. efforts to determine if there were Pakistani forces in the area were foiled by bad maps, poor coordination and Islamabad's failure to provide the locations of its border posts.
The investigation, headed by Brig. Gen. Stephen Clark, an Air Force special operations officer, found that U.S. forces relying on erroneous maps and poor communications, determined that there were no Pakistani forces or border posts in the area. So they concluded that they were being fired on by insurgents.
U.S. forces also believed that since they had landed in distinctive, noisy Chinook helicopters and fired off warning flares, any friendly forces would have realized that they were shooting at American or NATO troops.
The report also revealed that a U.S. C-130 gunship briefly flew about two miles into Pakistan airspace during the assault.
Pakistani army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas has rejected the U.S. report and insisted that Pakistani forces retaliated only after coalition helicopters "started engagement." And he denied that Pakistan failed to notify NATO of the location of the two border posts that were attacked.
Pakistani officials have said the report is unlikely to repair the severely damaged relationship between the two countries.
In response to the incident, Pakistan shut down key border supply routes for the Afghanistan war and threw the U.S. out of its Shamsi air base in southwestern Baluchistan province. The base was used to maintain drones deployed in strikes against insurgents hiding in safe havens in Pakistan's lawless border region.
Pakistan has closed the border on at least two other occasions after disputes with the U.S. but reopened the supply routes after less than two weeks. American officials have acknowledged the closures are likely to last longer this time.
IBM's Watson supercomputer is about to begun work evaluating evidence-based cancer treatment options that can be delivered to the physician in a matter of seconds for assessment.
IBM and WellPoint, which is Blue Cross Blue Shield's largest health plan, are building applications that will essentially turn the Watson computer into an adviser for oncologists at Cedars-Sinai's Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute in Los Angeles, according to Steve Gold, director of worldwide marketing for IBM Watson Solutions.
Cedars-Sinai's historical data on cancer as well as its current clinical records will be ingested into an iteration of IBM's Watson that will reside at WellPoint's headquarters. The computer will act as a medical data repository on multiple types of cancer. WellPoint will then work with Cedars-Sinai physicians to design and develop applications as well as validate their capabilities.
Dr. M. William Audeh, medical director of the cancer institute, will work closely with WellPoint's clinical experts to provide advice on how the Watson may be best used in clinical practice to support increased understanding of the evolving body of knowledge on cancer, including emerging therapies not widely known by physicians.
Watson Solves Problems
IBM announced earlier this year that healthcare would be the first commercial application for the computer, which defeated two human champions on the popular television game show Jeopardy! in February.
WellPoint partnered with IBM this fall to develop Watson-based applications intended to improve patient care through the use of evidence-based medicine, which is designed to standardize patient treatments by identifying proven best practices. A simple example of evidence-based medicine in action is when a provider automatically places someone who has suffered a heart attack on an aspirin regimen upon leaving the hospital. Cedars-Sinai is the first application of the partnership.
"Where Watson really lends itself to solving problems is information rich opportunities and the information is changing constantly and in various forms, structure and unstructured coming from disparate systems," IBM 's Gold said. "Healthcare fits that requirement exceptionally well."
Custom Configuration
The Watson supercomputer that beat past Jeopardy champions was made up of 90 IBM Power 750 Express servers powered by eight-core processors -- four in each machine for a total of 32 processors per machine. The servers were virtualized using a kernel-based virtual machine (KVM) implementation, creating a server cluster with a total processing capacity of 80 teraflops. A teraflop is one trillion operations per second.
The iteration of Watson being used by Cedars-Sinai, which will reside on WellPoint's campus and can be accessed remotely over a WAN, is vastly smaller, according to Gold.
IBM's Watson supercomputer as it was used for the game show Jeopardy!. The iteration of Watson being used by Cedars-Sinai will be much smaller, but it will have the same capability to ingest and analyze data from disparate systems, both structured and unstructured "The Jeopardy! configuration was done with a specific purpose in mind. It was an in-memory application designed to respond to a question in three seconds," Gold said. "It had 2880 cores and 15 terabytes of memory. Most situations won't dictate that level of response time. For a doctor, if the response is in six seconds or 10 seconds ... obviously the implications for the response are more important than the turnaround time."
Working with speech and imaging recognition software provider Nuance Communications, IBM said the supercomputer can assist healthcare professionals in culling through gigabytes or terabytes of patient healthcare information to determine how to best treat specific illnesses.
For example, Watson's analytics technology, used with Nuance's voice and clinical language understanding software, could help a physician consider all related texts, reference materials, prior cases, and latest knowledge in journals and medical literature when treating an illness. The analysis could quickly help physicians determine the best options for diagnosis and treatment.
Watson will likely be good at helping physicians prescribe treatments that will have the best outcome, Gold said. For example, between the first and second prescribed treatments of a cancer patient, 50% of the time the prescribed medication changes for the second treatment based on the patient's reaction to the initial treatment, Gold said. Watson may be able to better prescribe initial treatments based on past patient data and information specific to the patient being treated.
"The goal is to assist physicians in evaluating evidence-based treatment options that can be delivered to the physician in a matter of seconds for assessment," he said.
Lucas Mearian covers storage, disaster recovery and business continuity, financial services infrastructure and health care IT for Computerworld. Follow Lucas on Twitter at @lucasmearian or subscribe to Lucas's RSS feed . His e-mail address is lmearian@computerworld.com.
Read more about health care in Computerworld's Health Care Topic Center.
For more enterprise computing news, visit Computerworld. Story copyright ? 2011 Computerworld Inc. All rights reserved.
Thinking of forking out some cash for a new gaming rig next year? CyberPowerPC has announced the launch of the Fang 3 ? the third generation of its desktop gaming PC series. Adding four new models to the Fang lineup (Rattler, Viper, Cobra and Black Mamba), the computers are designed to run all the latest games without breaking a sweat.
The Fang 3 computers will feature 2nd Generation Intel Extreme Core I processors, the latest Intel Chipsets that support dual channel and quad channel memory, PCIe 3.0 motherboard support, CyberPowerPC?s Advanced hydro liquid cooling, Venom Boost overclocking and gaming cases. Prices for the Fang 3 series computers range from under $999 for the entry-level Rattler all the way to $4999 for the top-of-the-line Black Mamba. Find out more.
(Reuters) ? Nearly $300 million in bonus payments have been awarded to 23 states for providing health coverage for children, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Wednesday.
To qualify for the bonuses, states needed to surpass a specified enrollment target under the Medicaid program for low-income Americans and adopt procedures that make it easier for children to enroll and retain coverage under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The performance bonus payments are designed help offset costs states incur when they enroll lower income children in Medicaid. They are funded under the 2009 Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act.
Since CHIP was reauthorized in 2009, the number of children with insurance has risen by 1.2 million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The 23 states eligible for performance bonuses are: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
DURBAN, South Africa (AFP) - Kumar Sangakkara hit a superbly-crafted century on the third day of the second Test match against South Africa at Kingsmead on Wednesday and put Sri Lanka in a strong position to "close out the game".
Sangakkara's 108 enabled Sri Lanka to reach 256 for seven in their second innings - an overall lead of 426, eight runs more than the highest successful run chase in Test history.
The left-handed former captain shared stands of 94 with Thilan Samaraweera and 104 with rookie wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal as Sri Lanka went in search of their first win of the year - and their first in four Test tours of South Africa.
Sangakkara admitted the Sri Lankans had been stung by criticism of their performance when they were beaten by an innings and 81 runs in the first Test at Centurion.
"Comments can inspire sides and pressure can make sides rise to the occasion," he said.
"We proved we have the ability to counter attack and get into winning positions. But the match is still not over. We put ourselves in a great position. Our job now is to make sure we close the match out."
South African coach Gary Kirsten said his team's poor batting performance in the first innings, when they were bowled out for 168, had put them "in a hole".
But he refused to write off South Africa's chances.
"I'm still quite excited by what can happen," he said. "There is a great opportunity for someone to be a hero for his country."
Both Sangakkara and Kirsten said the pitch remained good for batting and Sangakkara said Sri Lanka wanted to stretch their lead.
"Our target now is to get as many as we can in front of the South Africans and then make them work really hard to save the game," he said.
Sangakkara, whose first three innings in the series were 1, 2 and 0, had not added to his overnight score of three when he edged the fourth ball of the morning, from Morne Morkel, towards Graeme Smith at first slip. Wicketkeeper Mark Boucher dived for the ball, obscuring Smith's vision, and the South African captain put down the chance.
Sangakkara made the home side pay as he constructed a classy innings in overcast and gloomy conditions. Overnight and morning rain delayed the start by an hour and the floodlights were on during most of the day.
Sangakkara reached his fifty off 102 balls with four fours and then took command, scoring his second fifty off only 59 deliveries, adding nine more boundaries. It was his 28th Test century.
"I had to work quite hard in the nets after my first three innings," he said. "It was a case of going back to the basics and watching the ball a lot better."
First innings century-maker Samaraweera shared a crucial fourth wicket stand with Sangakkara after the first three wickets had fallen for 44 runs to give South Africa hope of bowling themselves back into contention despite trailing by 170 runs on the first innings.
Samaraweera made 43 before being deceived by a googly from Imran Tahir which he edged into his stumps.
Sri Lanka pressed home their advantage as Sangakkara and new cap Chandimal scored at almost a run a minute. Chandimal followed up his first innings 58 with 54 and earned high praise from Sangakkara.
"He was so impressive in this game, making his debut, getting twin fifties, batting in difficult conditions and building partnerships to get us into dominant positions.
"He showed that with a lot of hard work he can make quite an impact for us, batting at seven and keeping wicket."
TOKYO ? Sori Yanagi, whose designs for stools and kitchen pots brought the simplicity and purity of Japanese decor into the everyday, has died. He was 96.
The pioneer of Japan's industrial design died of pneumonia in a Tokyo hospital Sunday, Koichi Fujita of Yanagi Design Office said Monday.
Yanagi's curvaceous "butterfly stool," evocative of a Japanese shrine gate, won an award at La Triennale di Milano in 1957 and helped elevate him to international stature.
The work later joined the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Louvre museum in Paris.
Another typical Yanagi design was the stackable plastic stool, humorously called the "elephant stool," because of its resemblance to the animal's chunky feet.
The lines and curves of Yanagi designs were as distinctly Japanese as they were universal, winning him fans ? and a place in homes not only in Japan but around the world ? for his tea pots, ceramic cups and even the lowly whisk, which became artwork with his touch.
Yanagi chose design for his career after falling in love with the work of architect Le Corbusier while studying at a Tokyo fine art university.
Credited with paving the way on the international stage for younger Japanese designers, Yanagi also took up more monumental pieces, such as bridges and the Olympic torch, as well as a motorcycle and toys.
He supported Japanese traditional art throughout his life, and he served as head of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in Tokyo, which his philosopher father founded.
Funeral arrangements were not being disclosed as the ceremony is for family and close friends. He is survived by his wife Fumiko and four children, Fujita said.
___
Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama
Twitter sur votre mobile ? Cliquez ici m.twitter.com!
Passer cette ?tape
Connexion
Connexion
Rejoignez Twitter !
iFashionWeek ?850 ? ?170 iphone.orelabo.jp/app/340152303/ From London to Paris, New York to Milan, iFashionWeek dishes the latIl y a environ 4 heuresvia 3152bot
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Toddlers who have poor relationships with their moms are more likely to pack on extra pounds as they grow up, a new U.S. study shows.
Tracking nearly 1,000 kids into their teens, researchers found more than a quarter of those who scored lowest on mother-child relationship tests as toddlers went on to become obese at age 15.
By contrast, only 13 percent of the children who had a good relationship with their mother became obese.
While that doesn't prove cause and effect, researchers say other work has shown links between children's emotional and intellectual development and how they interact with their mother at a young age.
According to Sarah E. Anderson, who worked on the new study, it's possible that a stressful childhood could make a lasting impression on kids' brains.
"There is an overlap in the brain between the areas that govern stress and energy balance," said Anderson, of the Ohio State University College of Public Health in Columbus. "This stress response could be related to obesity through appetite regulation."
Dr. David Gozal, a pediatrician not involved in the new work, agreed. But he said unhealthy food and a lack of physical activity and sleep are likely to play a bigger role.
Still, he said, early childhood stress is known to take a toll later in life -- both via genetic reprogramming and behavioral changes -- and a poor mother-child relationship could be part of the equation.
"What you see in adulthood is obviously the cumulative effect of what has happened earlier in life," Gozal, physician-in-chief at the Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago, told Reuters Health.
Anderson's findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, are based on 977 kids who were videotaped while playing with their mother at about one, two and three years of age.
Researchers then assessed the toddler's relationship to their moms based on the mother's ability to recognize her child's emotional state and respond with warmth as well as the child's tendency to freely explore its environment, a measure of "attachment security."
A quarter of the toddlers had a "poor-quality" relationship to their mothers, whereas 22 percent scored perfect at each session. At 15 years, 26 percent of the kids with relationship trouble were obese -- twice as many as those without such problems.
However, the gap narrowed as more factors were taken into account, including maternal education and household income.
Today, 17 percent of all children and adolescents in the U.S. are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even if the epidemic is fueled by poor relationships at home, there is no point in chiding mothers, Anderson said.
"Blaming parents is not likely to solve anything," she told Reuters Health. "It's important to recognize that there are many competing demands on parents."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/rv1Bz3 Pediatrics, online December 26, 2011.
Twitter sur votre mobile ? Cliquez ici m.twitter.com!
Passer cette ?tape
Connexion
Connexion
Rejoignez Twitter !
Apple has plans to use hydrogen in batteries allowing iPhones and iPods to ...: By Meghan Keneally Batteries as ... bit.ly/toxg0WIl y a environ 4 heuresvia twitterfeed
Twitter sur votre mobile ? Cliquez ici m.twitter.com!
Passer cette ?tape
Connexion
Connexion
Rejoignez Twitter !
RT @chris2x: Ancient City Wall in the Fog ? Xi?an, China ? su.pr/33mW48 #FriFotos #best2011 #china #travel #photography << great picIl y a environ 6 heuresvia HootSuite
Nearly a year away from the 2012 election, we?ll talk to the president?s 2008 campaign manager, now White House Senior Adviser, David Plouffe. Then author of the definitive new biography on the late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson; Author of the new book ?The Time of Our Lives,? NBC News Special Correspondent, Tom Brokaw; Former Governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm; and Republican strategist, Mike Murphy.
?Store pickup - Select option(s) above to see your pickup
choices.
?Free shipping to storeFind
Getting the products you need is even easier with our free pickup options. Just give us your ZIP code, select a preferred store, and we\'ll be able to tell you what items are available to pick up today or can be shipped to your local store ? free.
?Free shipping to store and FedEx Office? locations
Order now and this item will be ready for pickup within 5-10 business days
We'll send you an email/text message when it's ready
We'll hold your order for 14 days. If you don't make it to the store by the deadline, we'll cancel the order and refund your method of payment
Please call your store for exact pickup hours
Order now and this item will be ready for pickup within 5-10 business days
We'll send you an email/text message when it's ready
FedEx Office will hold your order for 5 days. If you don't make it to the store by the deadline, we'll cancel the order and refund your method of payment.
Please call the FedEx Office location for exact pickup hours
?Free shipping to store with Site to Store
Order now and this item will be ready for pickup within 4 hours (Orders after 6pm ready for store pickup tomorrow)
We'll send you an email/text message when it's ready
We'll hold your order for 7 days. If you don't make it to the store by the deadline, we'll cancel the order and refund your method of payment
Please call your store for exact pickup hours
?
?Electronic delivery via email after purchase
??
This home free?item counts towards free shipping on a qualifying $45 order
Shop for items labeled home free. When you spend $45 on Home Free items, you'll get free shipping on those items.
* This item is being discontinued. Availability is limited.
Out of stock for shipping to home.
Please enter a valid 5-digit ZIP Code.
Store information not available. Please visit your local store to see if this item is in stock.
Show this number 0088411606161?to a Walmart associate to find this item in your store.
Product availability, styles, promotions and prices may vary between stores and online.Product availability, styles, promotions and prices may vary between stores and online.
With a glossy 14.0" display, the Dell Inspiron laptop PC brings convenience and ease back into your technological world. Featuring an 8-in-1 card reader and USB connectivity, this Dell notebook computer has the multimedia connectivity to keep your social media presence current and up to date.Dell 14.0" Inspiron Laptop PC:
4GB DDR3 SDRAM system memory (expandable to 6GB) Gives you the comfort for multimedia videos and images, video conferencing, basic gaming and all the other simple duties
320GB SATA hard drive Store 213,000 photos, 91,000 songs or 168 hours of HD video and more on your Dell notebook computer
8x CD/DVD burner Watch movies, and read and write CDs and DVDs in multiple formats
10/100 Network Connector and 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Connect to a wired network or Wirelessly connect to a Wi-Fi signal or hotspot with the 802.11b/g/n connection built into your Dell 14" laptop PC
14.0" LED widescreen display Intel HD Graphics 3000
Additional Inspiron Laptop PC Features:
1.0MP webcam
8-in-1 memory card reader
3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x headphone jack, 1 x HDMI
6-cell Li-ion battery
Software:
Genuine Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition. To learn more about the features of Windows 7 Click here
Microsoft Office Home & Student 2010 Full Version Pre-installed (To learn more about the features of Office 2010, click here)
McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 30-Days complimentary service
Backup and Restore options built into Windows allows you to create safety copies of your most important personal files, so you're always prepared for the worst
Support and Warranty:
1-year limited warranty and mail-in service
Restore discs are no longer included with PCs. We recommend you use the installed software to create your own restore and backup DVD the first week you use the Dell notebook computer.
What's In The Box:
Power cord
6-cell Li-ion battery
Official documentation
Quick Start Guide
To see the manufacturer's specifications for this Dell notebook computer, click here.
To see a list of our PC Accessories, click here.
Trade in your used computer and electronics for more cash to spend at Walmart. Good for your wallet and the environment - click here.
Battery Type:
6-Cell Lithium Ion
Primary Color:
Black
Multi Pack Indicator:
No
Model No.:
I14RN41101090DB
Shipping Weight (in pounds):
6.56
Product in Inches (L x W x H):
13.5?x?1.26?x?9.68
Walmart No.:
007221182
Dell Black 14" Inspirion 14r-1090DBK 14" Laptop PC with Intel Processor, Windows 7, Microsoft Office Home & Student Full edition Pre-loaded and Pop.Click.Switch Lid. 4.4 5 18 23
Great value as an economy laptop computer. I bought this computer as an upgrade to an old netbook I've been dragging around since May of 2009. I do most of my work on my desktop computer, but I've been very impressed with this computer in the three weeks I've had it.For having the lower-end Intel chip, it is very fast at performing the things I like to do with it (having 12+ tabs open in several Chrome windows, iTunes, work in Word, Excel, and OneNote). I'm often doing these at the same time and it doesn't miss I beat. I know this isn't exactly power computing, but it's about all I ever need to do on my laptop.I did notice that it would sometimes freeze and require a hard restart upon resuming from sleep. I wonder if that is the cursor issue the other reviewer was experiencing; that is what I thought I was encountering at first. Instead, I did a little reading online and discovered that the default Dell settings for powering down the harddrive before sleep could cause the freeze on resume from sleep. I changed the power settings to not turn the harddrive off until sleep and I haven't had an issue.Considering the relatively small battery, I was also impressed with the battery life. I've been able to get 3 to 4 hours of use per charge with the display settings held to a low level of brightness.Overall for under $500 with Office included, I thought this was a fantastic buy. 07/26/2011
great computer for college student, includes office programs, smaller size fits in backpack with books, love it 07/25/2011
Good computer for the price After my Mac got water damaged after 5 years of ownership I wasn't really in the market for an expensive replacement computer... all I really needed was Microsoft Word and Excel to get through my last year of college. I found this computer at my local store and thought for having Office pre-loaded it was a very good value. I have had this computer for about a month now and I am very happy with it. I have had the cursor jump while using Word..but I use a wireless mouse and I don't seem to have the issue. I feel like I got a good computer for the price paid. I also enjoy being able to change the lid. 07/31/2011
Excellent laptop for the price! Great industry-standard laptop! Solid build, good equipment, Dell didn't fill it with useless software and utilities. Has some awesome quick-keys to access utility functions (like turning wireless on and off).Only problem I've had is it tends to take a while to boot. Haven't identified why yet, doesn't seem to be anything in particular bogging it down, but 60% of boots take double the time it should... I'll amend the post if I find the reason.Other than that, GREAT. Love it so-far, it's sleek and fun, and every cost-effective. 08/08/2011
1-4of19 total reviews
Walmart Product Care Plans
A limited product warranty is included free for most items. With an optional Walmart Care Plan you can extend coverage up to 3 additional years. Walmart Care Plan Extended Warranties cover 100% of the cost for repair or replacement, including shipping charges for the exchange. See Details
We'll show you extended warranty options and pricing at checkout if applicable.
If you made your purchase in a Walmart store and would like to purchase a warranty Click Here
Gift options are not available for this item.
Enjoy Great Financing!
Make the most of your shopping experience with the Walmart Discover? or Walmart Credit Card.
Enjoy 6 months special financing on every purchase, every day
*Offer subject to credit approval
Learn More or Apply Now
No Payments + No Interest if Paid in Full in 6 Months!
Plus, New Bill Me Later? Customers:Get $20 off $100!
Enjoy no payments for 6 months. You'll have 6 months with no payments, and no interest if paid in full within 6 months on orders over $250. Otherwise, interest will be charged from the original date of purchase. Bill Me Later is the quick, easy, secure way to buy online without using your credit card. Simply select Bill Me Later at checkout. Subject to credit approval.
See Terms
Don't Miss a Single Rollback or Special Offer!
Subscribe to our RSS feeds to see the latest news and updated right in your RSS reader or RSS-enabled browser.
The US government?s adoption process for SOPA stalled temporarily when the House Judiciary Committee for the Senate decided that a controversial provision that would allow the US Attorney General to order changes to the core Internet infrastructure to stop copyright infringement requires further investigation.
taipeinewsnet 
Thinking of forking out some cash for a new gaming rig next year? CyberPowerPC has announced the launch of the Fang 3 ? the third generation of its desktop gaming PC series. Adding four new models to the Fang lineup (Rattler, Viper, Cobra and Black Mamba), the computers are designed to run all the latest games without breaking a sweat.
iphone_app_sale 
apphpod 
tripping 
Walmart Product Care Plans