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Thursday, December 20, 2012 Checked 2:15 AM; Last Updated 11:15 PM CST; 05:15 GMT
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Wednesday Highlights: Tim Cook named runner-up in Time Magazine's "Person of the Year"; having rejected Apple's request of ban on 26 Samsung products, judge Lucy Koh now weighing damages, Apple asks to increase, Samsung says should be lower; and in Apple vs. Motorola, the US International Trade Commission rules, preliminarily and subject to review, that Motorola's "finger slip" patent cannot be used against Apple?more legal coverage in our Apple/Macintosh, and Op/Ed sections; Apple among winners in Kodak's patent sale to Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation; Macworld reviews Evernote 5 for Mac, offers power tips for Safari 6, and Kirk McElhearn on what's changed, what's missing in iTunes 11; OS X Daily shows how to stream radio in iTunes 11; why isn't there an OS X version of Maps?; speaking of Maps, Google's new Maps app is seen driving hold-outs to upgrade to iOS 6; WSJ Blogs goes inside Foxconn facility in Shenzhen, China; IDC stats show Apple iPhone big-time in Japan, dominating Samsung; Near Field Communication is actually catching on in smartphones, despite Apple, but analysts see mobile wallets about 10 years off; is an Apple credit card in the future?; a Bloomberg video profiles Laurene Jobs, widow of Steve Jobs; and the ultra-detailed action figure of Steve Jobs to ship this month; CNET informs of a cryptic note from an analyst suggesting iPad mini gen-2 may arrive sooner than expected?more in our Hardware/Software section where we also have word from Taiwan that Apple is currently testing an Apple television at Hon Hai, but indications are there is no rush to launch it; Macworld UK reviews the new iMacs; Walt Mossberg says the new Google Maps on iOS is better than its Android counterpart; here's a suggested game plan from Benedict Tubuo for how Apple can keep competition in check; is iPhone 5 a loss-leader with stores like Walmart offering the phones at steep discounts?
The MacUpdate December 2012 Bundle is now available. 11 apps for just $49.99. A $479 value at 90% off!" The bundle includes Mac apps such as Data Rescue 3, Snapz Pro 2.5, MacDVD Ripper Pro 4, PopChar X6, Swift Publisher 3, and Company of Heroes, to name a few...
Welcome to MacSurfer's Headline News! Is this the headline you are looking for?
Wed Dec 19
"A Window Opens for Apple TV" The Motley Fool
8:08 PM
"Runner-Up: Tim Cook, the Technologist"?Time?10:18 AM
"Apple's Cook runner-up for Time's 'Person of the Year'"?USA Today?10:18 AM
"Apple CEO Tim Cook runner-up for Time's Person of the Year"?Los Angeles Times [Paid Membership Required]?4:02 PM
"Apple 'Pinch-to-Zoom' Patent Invalidated by U.S.: One of Apple Inc.'s touch-related patents, used as a cornerstone of its case against Samsung Electronics Co., has been invalidated by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office."?WSJ.com [Paid Membership Required]?5:36 PM
"Apple 'Pinch-to-Zoom' Patent for Devices Ruled Invalid"?eWeek?8:11 PM
"Apple 'pinch-to-zoom' patent invalidated by USPTO"?AppleInsider?4:02 PM
"U.S. Office Rejects 2nd Apple Patent"?New York Times [Free/Paid Registration Required]?8:33 PM
"Patent Office to Review Apple's Document-Scrolling Patent"?Wired?8:11 PM
"The most important Apple-Samsung decision left for Judge Koh: running royalties, not past damages"?Foss Patents?8:46 AM
"One Motorola patent defeats another in Google-Apple ITC case dismissed on preliminary basis"?Foss Patents?8:46 AM
"U.S. judge rules against Motorola in dispute with Apple: The ITC ruling is preliminary and needs approval of the full commission"?IDG News Service?8:32 AM
"Apple Scores With ITC but It May Be a Lose-Lose Game"?E-Commerce Times?1:46 PM
"Consumers Would Like To See Samsung And Apple Reconcile"?Forbes?9:01 AM
"Google can't use finger-fumble patent to poke Apple - Trade panel: International Trade Commission declares Motorola finger slip patent invalid"?The Register?8:37 AM
"Apple, Google and others win as Kodak sells patents to Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation for $525m"?The Next Web?8:22 AM
"Apple and Google benefit as Kodak sells patents for $525 million"?The Verge?8:23 AM
"Kodak Agrees To Sell Digital Imaging Patent Portfolio For $525M To Consortium Of 12 Licensees, Including Apple, Google, Facebook"?TechCrunch?8:43 AM
"Kodak Sells Digital Camera Patents to Apple, Google, Other Tech Giants"?Wired?3:45 PM
"Foursquare Partnership May Give Apple a Route to Maps Success"?MacNewsWorld?1:46 PM
"Apple Breaks Ground on 1-Million-Square-Foot Texas Outpost"?Wired Magazine?8:39 AM
"Apple Notifies European Publishers of 5-Year Halt to 'Most Favored Nation' E-Book Clause"?MacRumors?3:18 PM
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News
"The legacy of NeXT lives on in OS X: NeXTSTEP technologies still fuel Macs, iPhones, and iPads 16 years later."?Ars Technica?2:19 PM
"Apple seeds updated OS X 10.8.3 build, focuses on Software Update notification for pre-release builds, other changes"?O'Grady's PowerPage?1:31 PM
Reviews/How-To/Tips
"Review: Evernote 5.0 for Mac improves an already-indispensable service"?Macworld?8:32 AM
"Four power tips for Safari 6"?Macworld?8:32 AM
"iTunes 11: What's missing, what's changed"?Macworld?9:44 AM
"Seeing double with Mail VIP notifications"?Macworld?8:43 AM
"Install the Old AirPort Utility in Mountain Lion"?Macinstruct?8:17 AM
"Stream Radio and Access Podcasts in iTunes 11"?OS X Daily?10:19 AM
"Wirelessly browse your Mac's files from your iOS device"?Macworld?8:08 PM
"Quick Tip: Quickly Switch Between Wired and Wireless Connections"?Mactuts+?8:46 AM
"MacMost Now 802: Places To Store Bookmarks In Safari"?MacMost?8:06 AM
"Keep The Help Viewer From Appearing On Top Of All Your Other Apps [OS X Tips]?Cult of Mac?1:47 PM
"Reset App Access to OS X Privacy Data from the Command Line"?OS X Daily?3:46 PM
"For those having issues with iTunes 11 with the search function being sloooowwww, uncheck the Search All feature by clicking the magnifying glass next to the search box. I, too, was experiencing this slow down, and by doing this, it helped immensely. The other thing is to update to the newest version of iTunes and that lets you resume the full search functionality of the software."?MacInTouch?8:52 AM
"Add Realistic Wood, Metal & Fabric Textures To Images With Elemento EZ"?AddictiveTips?1:34 PM
"The Almost Free Tool That Every Mac Using Graphic Designer Needs Now"?McSolo?8:08 AM
"How To Use Your Mac To Create Your Own Talking Head Videos (you write, they talk)"?Mac 360?8:08 AM
"It Seems Only Appropriate That The MacPaint Of 2012 Is Named JobsPainter"?Mac 360?8:08 AM
"Try The Mac Photo Effects App That's Like A Mini Point And Click Photoshop"?TeraTalks?8:08 AM
"The Mac, iPhone, And iPad's Best Free To-do Manager Is New And Improved"?Mac 360?8:08 AM
"I Am, Therefore, I Am A Mac User (and a couch potato who needs iMuscle)"?BohemianBoomer?8:08 AM
"Less Is More, Small Is Beautiful, So Manage Your Expenses With A Petty Cash App"?NoodleMac?8:08 AM
Op/Ed
"'Thanks for the suggestions, everybody. I forgot to mention I had already tried Disk Warrior. It didn't find any problems, so I didn't replace the file structure with the rebuilt one. Should I bother?': Disk Warrior also optimizes the rebuilt directory (not the 'file structure' per se), so it wouldn't hurt to replace it, even if there were no errors. That will speed up access a little. Sorry I can't help with you disk full errors. Have you checked for huge hidden folders/files?"?MacInTouch?8:52 AM
Press Releases
"Infinisys Flying Toaster Screen Saver + Mac"?iLounge?10:33 AM
"VMware View Client adds local USB support"?ZDNet?10:30 AM
"Northmark: Hour Of The Wolf Brings Adventure To MGS"?Inside Mac Games?9:02 AM
"Exif Everywhere for OS X - Display + Delete Photo's Exif or GPS Metadata"?prMac?8:16 AM
"Holiday Mac Deals: Photoshop Elements 11, Premiere Elements, $69.99"?FairerPlatform?1:29 PM
"New Weekly Specials at TheMacBundles are Clean Text and LinkOptimizer"?TheMacBundles?8:07 AM
"Google Maps app drives iPhone iOS 6 upgrades"?Computerworld?8:07 AM
"iOS 6 adoption surges after release of Google Maps app"?CNET News?8:40 AM
"Google Maps Spurs iOS 6 Adoption: Data from mobile advertising networks suggests that many iPhone owners updated their devices to iOS 6 after Google Maps became available again."?InformationWeek?3:59 PM
"Google Maps 'spurs iOS 6 upgrades'"?Telegraph?8:34 AM
"iOS 6 adoption grows 29% after release of Google Maps"?TUAW?10:37 AM
"Kindle Fire sales Q4 2012: iPad mini causes weak Kindle Fire demand"?BGR?12:13 PM
"Apple still dominates Samsung, locals in Japan smartphone business: IDC finds that Apple's handset shipments more than doubled those of Samsung in the July-September quarter"?IDG News Service?8:40 AM
"Life Inside Foxconn's Facility in Shenzhen"?WSJ Blogs?8:36 AM
"Infographic: Free Apps Dominated Apple's App Store in 2012"?PC Magazine?8:41 AM
"Despite Apple, NFC is catching on?just not for payments quite yet?Mobile wallets in the U.S. are a decade from widespread use, analysts agree."?Computerworld?8:40 AM
"Apple given all clear to launch 3G/4G iPad mini and iPad in China: To date only the WiFi versions of the devices are available in China due to a regulatory hurdle"?Macworld UK?8:21 AM
"Billionaire Countdown: Get to Know Laurene P. Jobs" [Video Report]?Bloomberg?8:56 AM
"UWS offers 11,000 iPads to staff, students: The University of Western Sydney will furnish all academic staff and domestic first year students next year with a 16GB iPad to promote online learning."?iTNews Australia?8:09 PM
"Australian University to hand out 11,000 iPads"?The Register?11:13 PM
"Detailed Steve Jobs figure set to ship this month, but will it get banned? Steve Jobs dolls haven't had much success in the past"?Macworld UK?8:20 AM
"The Incredibly Detailed Steve Jobs 'mini' Action Figure Debuts, Get It While You Can"?App Advice?8:33 AM
Non-Apple News
"Brazilian company selling 'iPhone' that runs Android -- legally"?Associated Press [Free Registration Required]?8:10 PM
"Millions of Android phones and tablets vulnerable to Samsung Exynos processor hack"?VentureBeat?11:32 AM
"Sony to deliver Jelly Bean to Xperia handsets from February"?ZDNet?10:26 AM
"Rackspace's John Engates offers cloudstack update"?ZDNet?10:26 AM
"LED-Embedded Rocks Used to Illuminate 'Digital Campfire'"?Wired?10:23 AM
"Google Music's Free Scan and Match Feature Comes to the U.S."?Techland?10:14 AM
"Kim Dotcom flashes his rack: Kim Dotcom has shown off his rack ? in IT parlance, not with reference to his ample frame ? by posting the picture below which he says depicts a node of mega.co.nz."?The Register?10:14 AM
"Automatica syncs your vehicle to the cloud"?TG Daily?10:11 AM
"Indoor positioning made more precise: Korean engineers say they've made a major breakthrough in high-precision indoor positioning that will make it faster and more accurate."?TG Daily?10:10 AM
"Instagram tests new limits in user privacy"?Reuters?10:44 AM
"Instagram tries to talk its way out of disaster"?TG Daily?10:10 AM
"Twitter Confirms 'Download Your Tweet Archive' Feature Is Being Rolled Out ? 'Slowly'"?TechCrunch?10:05 AM
"Facebook to roll out autoplay video ads by April: report"?Los Angeles Times?10:03 AM
"Dexter malware's source still unknown, connection to Zeus disputed"?CSO?9:56 AM
"Best high-tech holiday light shows of 2012"?PCWorld?9:51 AM
"LG Magic Remote gets Siri-like voice recognition"?PCWorld?9:51 AM
"Sonim's Super-Tough Phones Come to Sprint"?PC Magazine?9:50 AM
"Hon Hai Intros the Hybrid Notebook Trackpad/Wireless Mouse"?Patent Bolt?9:09 AM
"Google's Gmail Finally a Registered Trademark in the US"?Patent Bolt?9:08 AM
"Bankrupt Eastman Kodak to sell patents for $525 million"?Reuters?8:30 AM
"Kodak sells its imaging patents for $525M"?CNET News?8:29 AM
Publications/Podcasts
"It's the last Your Mac Life show of 2012!"?Your Mac Life?1:28 PM
Deal Brothers Daily Deal: Think Geek Apocalyptic Clearance - up to 75% off
Reviews
"How to find a good iPad Mini case or bag"?CNET?5:45 PM
"Apple iMac (Late 2012) review (21.5- and 27-inch): Thinner, faster iMacs reviewed"?Macworld UK?8:45 AM
"Pro App Shootout, Part Two: 'late 2012" 27-inch iMac 3.4GHz Core i7 versus five recent Macs"?Bare Feats?1:28 PM
"Review: Bluelounge Postal Bag - An Apple-Worthy Courior"?MacTrast?8:19 AM
iPad/iPhone/iPod touch Apps
"Test Run: Addappt, a Connected Address Book for iPhones"?New York Times [Free/Paid Registration Required]?5:52 PM
"Google Maps for iPhone Returns Better Than Ever"?AllThingsD?11:42 AM
"Fly Or Die: Google Maps For iOS"?TechCrunch?8:58 AM
"1Password Review: 1Password is the one and only password and information manager anyone could need."?148Apps?12:13 PM
"After 3 Million Downloads, CloudOn 3.0 Now Brings Microsoft Office To iPhone, iPad Mini & Nexus 7"?TechCrunch?11:30 AM
"CloudOn: Microsoft Office on the iPhone, Right Now"?Techland?11:29 AM
"Evernote Launches Food 2.0 With Major Redesign, iPad Version, And More"?MacStories?1:47 PM
"Daily iPad App: Color Blindness Test by EnChroma"?TUAW?8:57 AM
"Review: New York Coffee Guide for iPhone"?MacTrast?8:19 AM
"iOS Gems: A&E Apps, Google Maps, GTA: Vice City, Kindergarten Reading + Rounds: Parker Penguin Article"?iLounge?4:02 PM
"Appidemic: Guide the Light for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch"?AppleTell?8:34 AM
"This Scrap Tank Is Tougher Than It Looks"?App Advice?3:22 PM
"BitMonster Releases (THRED), an iOS Game with a Cause"?Mac|Life?3:45 PM
"MangoHero Review"?148Apps?8:46 AM
How-To/Tutorial
"iPad digitizer repair in 7 minutes."?YouTube?5:04 PM
"Resetting a forgotten iPad passcode Article"?iLounge?4:02 PM
"How To Use Siri With Google Maps On iPhone For Getting Directions The Easy Way"?Redmond Pie?11:30 AM
"How To Force Quit An Unresponsive iPhone Or iPad App"?Redmond Pie?1:32 PM
"How to Resend an iMessage As an SMS Text Message"?MacTrast?8:19 AM
Tips
"Wirelessly browse your Mac's files from your iOS device"?Macworld?11:33 AM
"How To Send iTunes Gift Cards And Individual Apps From Your iOS Device This Holiday"?App Advice?10:30 AM
"Is your Gmail app for iOS sending out duplicate emails? Google says it's working on a fix"?The Next Web?11:12 PM
"Apple's Chinese Horoscope: It's selling 500 iPhone 5 devices in China ? every minute"?Emirates 24/7?8:34 PM
"Apple Maps: 3 Times More Likely to Get You Lost Than Google"?Mashable?8:11 PM
"Apple Is Dominating The Small And Medium Business Market In Q4"?BGR?8:09 PM
"Which Company Has the iPhone Effected the Most?"?The Motley Fool?4:25 PM
"Poor Poor Pitiful Me: At the last MacGroup meeting, someone asked me what I thought of Google Maps (which, if you haven't heard, is now available for free for iOS)."?MacNews Blog?3:52 PM
"AAPL: 'Major Victory' for Samsung in Injunction Refusal, Says Bernstein"?Barron's?3:44 PM
"Apple's Cook, 'God particle' on Time's list of 2012 notables"?Computerworld?3:50 PM
"Time Magazine Profiles Tim Cook As Runner-Up For Person Of The Year"?Cult of Mac?3:44 PM
"Goliath Versus Goliath" ["Given this experience with electronic items and as a trained Electronics Engineer, no wonder, I refuse to fork out $800 or so for a top of the line iPad that would have WiFi and 4G wireless connectivity. Even a sparingly configured iPad would cost more money that I am willing to pay for the reasons stated above. I expect an iPad bought today to be worth nothing in a few years."]?The Motley Fool?2:16 PM
"Is Apple prepping an iPad Mini 2?"?TG Daily?1:46 PM
"Why Did Apple Agree To Let Google Maps Back In The Tent?"?Forbes?1:34 PM
"This Is What Happens When You Really Screw Up At Apple"?Business Insider?1:31 PM
"Apple Portable Computing 2012 ? A Tumultuous Year In Review ? The 'Book Mystique"?MacPrices?1:29 PM
"A Gameplan For Apple To Keep Its Competitors In Check"?Seeking Alpha?11:33 AM
"The Next iPad Mini With A Better Screen Might Launch Sooner Than You Think"?Business Insider?10:19 AM
"Rumor: Apple Is Testing The Apple TV In Secret, No Rush To Launch"?TechCrunch?9:02 AM
"How The Apple vs Samsung Litigation Hurts Apple"?Forbes?9:02 AM
"Apple's iPhone 5 as loss leader"?Fortune?8:36 AM
"Macs in 2013: What Mac treats are in store? A Mac Pro is a given, or is it?"?Macworld UK?8:21 AM
"Apple's control-freak vetting process inspires consumer confidence"?Macworld UK?8:19 AM
"Apple Product Price Drops: Spirit Of Holidays Or Sign Of Bad Times To Come?"?Mac 360?8:08 AM
"Why Apple's Stock Took A Dive And What Apple Must Do To Bring It Back"?PixoBebo?8:08 AM
Non-Apple
"Your Internet Is Already on Your TV"?AllThingsD?3:46 PM
"It's official: Your Twitter archive is here and now, sort of"?CNET News?10:42 AM
"Internships alone insufficient for cybersecurity education"?ZDNet?10:27 AM
"What we'll see in 2013 in data"?GigaOM [Free Registration Required]?10:21 AM
"Android phones hijacked for botnet: If you've downloaded any free Android games recently and don't have an unlimited SMS plan, you may be in for a nasty surprise when the next phone bill hits the mat."?TG Daily?10:11 AM
"LTE Phone Shipments Will Triple To 275M Units In 2013, With Amazon + Mozilla Among Those Waiting In The Wings To Pounce"?TechCrunch?10:07 AM
"RIM and BlackBerry 10: Palm 2.0 or a real comeback?"?ZDNet?10:26 AM
"Team BlackBerry, RIM's Biggest Fans, Are Super Excited About BB10"?TechCrunch?10:05 AM
"Prevent these issues when choosing a 7-inch tablet: A survey from FixYa details the most common complaints with the leading 7-inch slates."?PCWorld?9:57 AM
"Samsung leads a tightly grouped pack in printer satisfaction"?PCWorld?9:52 AM
"Was 2012 the Year of Tech Blunders?"?PC Magazine?3:57 PM
"Top tech blunders of 2012"?EE Times?10:00 AM
"A New Year's resolution you can keep: A clean inbox/The Inbox Zero method will help you unbury from your email inbox overload"?InfoWorld?9:40 AM
"How can IT compete with SaaS? Ask your mechanic"?InfoWorld?9:39 AM
"London Calling: Is Oregon courting fab project?"?EE Times?9:27 AM
"Notebook demand expected to be weak in 1Q13"?DigiTimes?9:26 AM
"Internet Of Things: Coming To Pool Near You? IT pros need to start conversations about how networked devices might change their businesses, no matter how unlikely the application might be."?InformationWeek?9:09 AM
"Say what: The top tech quotes of 2012"?CNET News?9:04 AM
"2012: A year of patents, mobile fights, and one big IPO"?CNET News?9:04 AM
"The year in Google: Legal fights, acquisitions, mobile hardware - but little from core search business"?V3?10:17 AM
"Top Ten Technology Articles and Interviews of 2012"?Forbes?8:49 AM
"Instagram alternatives, steps to consider before deleting your account"?Washington Post [Free Registration Required]?10:21 AM
"How to protect your Instagram photos"?CNNMoney?8:31 AM
Humor/Cartoons
"The Onion uncovers Apple's new 'iPhone 5C'/A new model already? Yep, the next iPhone will cater expressly to a very important market: college girls."?CNET Reviews?5:45 PM
"Exclusive: A look at Tim Cook's holiday newsletter"?Scoopertino?8:04 AM
"ESPN Releases Redesigned 'ScoreCenter' App for iPhone"?MacRumors?11:14 PM
"ESPN brings new interface to ScoreCenter for Android and iOS"?Engadget?11:13 PM
"iPhone App From Orion Health Connects Doctors to HIE Data"?eWeek?8:11 PM
"Tumblr for iOS finally gets iPad support, featuring Path-like explore menu, markdown support"?The Next Web?8:10 PM
"Tumblr launches its long-awaited app for iPad"?The Verge?8:10 PM
"MindSnacks Moves To iPad, With More Educational Games"?Forbes?8:07 PM
"CloudOn MS Office app adds support for iPhone, SkyDrive"?Morningstar?5:47 PM
"Cute and cuddly Tickle Critters now available on iPhone iPad and Android"?prMac?5:06 PM
"Where To? makes it incredibly easy to locate the closest steakhouse, bank branch, billiard club or anything else you may be looking for, at the drop of a hat! Finally you can find local businesses without any typing, using a slick, intuitive user experience."?FutureTap?5:05 PM
"ESCORT and Dyle Mobile TV Bring Live Television to iOS Devices"?Business Wire?3:54 PM
"Siano Debuts 'Meron'- New Mobile Wireless Accessory Transforms Android and AppleTM Devices Into Free TV!"?Business Wire?3:53 PM
"Javelin Finds Android and iPhone are Attractive Fraud Targets in $20B Mobile Payments Market"?Business Wire?3:53 PM
"With 5M Downloads To Date, MindSnacks Brings Its Addictive Educational Games To The iPad"?TechCrunch?3:19 PM
"Google Launches Free Quickoffice iPad App For Google Apps For Business Customers, iPhone And Android Coming Soon"?TechCrunch?3:19 PM
"Redbox Instant, Verizon's Netflix-killer, launches as private beta on iOS and Android"?iDownload Blog?1:30 PM
"The Virtual Mall For The iPad, Flit Raises $750K From Crosslink, YouWeb And Others"?TechCrunch?12:19 PM
"With Platform Ambitions In Mind, Evernote Updates Its iOS And Android SDKs, Including China And Business Support On iOS"?TechCrunch?11:33 AM
"iStopMotion for iPad 2 Is Here and You're Going to Like the Sound of It"?Boinx Software?11:27 AM
"Love your free players to unlock the full potential of free-to-play games"?VentureBeat?10:33 AM
"Doodle Jump Christmas Special 2.0: Jump Your Way To The North Pole"?RazorianFly?10:33 AM
"Flickr for iPhone gains better sharing features"?iDownload Blog?10:30 AM
"The best apps of 2012: iOS, Android or Windows - our top ten this year"?The Independent?9:45 AM
"Smithfly Waterproof Roll-Top Gadget Pouch Looks Pretty Fricken' Awesome"?Cult of Mac?8:57 AM
"Last-Minute Gift Ideas for the Apple Lover"?Apple Gazette?8:46 AM
"Apple's top iPhone apps of 2012" [Slideshow]?MarketWatch?8:44 AM
"Stevie brings its unique take on social TV to the iPhone and grabs $1.5m funding from Horizons Ventures"?The Next Web?8:22 AM
"After 5M iOS Downloads, House Remodeling Platform Houzz Launches Its Android App"?TechCrunch?8:22 AM
"Leanback TV app Stevie releases iPhone version, raises $1.5M"?GigaOM?8:18 AM
"yaPlayer: Video Player for iPhone + iPad"?prMac?8:17 AM
"Fairy Fashion Show dress-up app for girls 3+ now on iOS and Android"?prMac?8:17 AM
"New Kids iPhone/iPad Game Lead Balloon Now Available on the App Store"?prMac?8:16 AM
"Cubasis 1.0 for Musicians - A Mobile Recording Studio for the iPad"?prMac?8:16 AM
"MyCountdown for iOS: Countdown Special Events with Personalized Pictures"?prMac?8:16 AM
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) ? More funerals and a memorial service are scheduled to be held in Connecticut and New York for students and teachers killed by a gunman at an elementary school.
Funerals are scheduled Thursday in Connecticut for 7-year-old Grace McDonnell and 6-year-olds Benjamin Andrew Wheeler, Catherine Violet Hubbard and Jesse Lewis.
A funeral will be held Thursday morning in Katonah, N.Y., for teacher Anne Marie Murphy.
A memorial service has been scheduled for teacher Lauren Gabrielle Rousseau.
In addition, the families of 6-year-old Olivia Rose Engel and behavioral therapist Rachel Marie D'Avino have calling hours Thursday.
At least nine funerals and wakes were held Wednesday, and more are planned.
Gunman Adam Lanza burst into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last Friday, killing 20 children and six adults before committing suicide.
19 December 2012Last updated at 17:29 ETBy Jonathan AmosScience correspondent, BBC News
A powerful new telecommunications satellite for the UK military has blasted into orbit.
The five-tonne Skynet-5D platform was sent up on an Ariane rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.
It complements three others already in operation, enabling British forces to stay connected over most of the globe.
The Skynet system, which includes the radio equipment deployed on ships, on vehicles and in the hands of troops, is the UK's single biggest space project.
It is valued at up to ?3.6bn over 20 years and is run by a commercial company, Astrium, in a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) with the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
UK forces pay an annual service charge for which they get guaranteed bandwidth, with spare capacity then sold to "friendly forces". These third party customers include the Nato allies such as the US.
The Ariane left the ground at precisely 18:49 local time (21:49 GMT) and dropped off Skynet-5D 27 minutes later over the east coast of Africa. 5D will now use its own propulsion system to move into a geostationary position at an altitude of 36,000km. The eventual operating position early next year will be at 53 degrees East.
The first three spacecraft in the Skynet series were launched in 2007-2008. They all match the sophistication of the very latest civilian platforms used to pass TV, phone and internet traffic, but have been "hardened" for military use.
Classified technologies on board will resist, for example, attempts to disable the spacecraft with lasers or to "jam" their operation with rogue signals.
Jonathan Amos was given special access to Skynet-5D before its launch
Putting a fourth spacecraft in the fleet gives some assurance to the MoD that a basic service can be maintained through this decade even if there is a failure in orbit of one or two satellites.
5D is largely a clone of 5A, 5B and 5C, and even includes a number of spare parts held in reserve.
"From a distance you would not be able to tell the difference between them all," said Van Odedra, the Skynet programme manager at Astrium, Europe's biggest space company.
"It is inside though that there have been some subtle changes in terms of the configuration - particularly the UHF payload. We were able to introduce some design changes to be able to provide more than double the number of channels compared with 5A, 5B and 5C."
UHF (Ultra High Frequency) is much in demand. The frequency supports "comms on the move" - soldiers in forward deployments with backpack radios, and the like.
The MoD wants more of it and Astrium is keen to be able to sell additional capacity to its third-party customers.
A lot of key encrypted data will go through the satellite's X-band (SHF, Super High Frequency) payload.
Astrium intends to purchase further X-band capacity on a Canadian satellite launching next year. This will be positioned over the Americas and when combined with Skynet's own X-band offering will give UK forces coverage from 178 West to 135 East - near global coverage.
Antarctic support
Although principally a military system, Skynet is finding use also in civilian sectors.
"Using Skynet, we also support something called the High Integrity Telecommunication System (HITS) for the UK Cabinet Office," explained Simon Kershaw, executive director of government communications at Astrium Services.
"HITS is a civil-response, national-disaster-response capability. It was deployed during the Olympics. It provides emergency comms support. The network runs from police strategic command centres across the UK into the crisis management centres, and into government as well," he told BBC News.
"And we still fly three of the old Skynet-4 satellites, one of which is now 22 years old - not bad for a design life of eight years.
"Skynet-4C is now in such an inclined orbit that we offer several hours of coverage over the South Pole each day. It's a niche and unique capability for what is a geostationary satellite." The British and American Antarctic operations make use of this service.
5D represents probably the completion of the current generation Skynet system. Already, Astrium is in discussion with the MoD about the shape of a possible follow-on.
It is not clear just yet what the military's requirements will be in the 2020s but it is almost certain to include some satellite capability.
Whatever happens, those spacecraft still working at the end of the Astrium contract will pass to the ownership of the MoD for the sum of ?1.
Ariane's second "passenger" for Wednesday's flight was the three-tonne Mexican telecommunications platform Mexsat Bicentenario. It was released by the rocket's upper-stage 36 minutes after launch.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos
More than 70 companies and associations in the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry have signed a letter to the European Commission (EC) calling for action against member states that enact retroactive measures or cancel support for renewables.
The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) coordinated this letter to EU Energy Commissioner G?nther Oettinger, referencing recent or imminent action in Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy and Spain.
"Such measures seriously damage the investment climate in general and for renewables in particular, not only in the countries where they occur, but also throughout Europe," declares the letter.
"We therefore call on you to react strongly to these decisions and use, where appropriate, all the legal means the European Commission has to stop this trend, which threatens the climate of confidence needed in Europe to attract further investors."
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Increased cost of investment endangers RE goals
The letter also notes that actions which increase the perceived risk in investment in renewables, and PV in particular, increase the cost of capital for private operators, endangering progress towards 2020 targets.
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2012-12-19 | Courtesy:?EPIA; Image: European Commission | solarserver.com ? Heindl Server GmbH
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http://www/naturalhealthcommunity.org/davidchurch/ David Church is the president and founder of the Smart for Love relationship enhancement program. David created Smart for Love because he wanted to help couples experience greater happiness and success in their love relationships.
You Are Here: Home ? General News, Second Lead ? Ghana to conduct agriculture census in 2013 after three decades
Page last updated at Wednesday, December 19, 2012 16:16 PM //
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) will organize an agricultural census next year 2013.
The project that would be funded by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is aimed at generating fundamental data on the organizational structure of agricultural holdings.
Dr Philomena Nyarko, Acting Government Statistician, disclosed these in a speech read on her behalf by Mr Kofi Agyeman-Duah, Acting Deputy Government Statistician, at a stakeholders meeting in preparation for the 2013 Agriculture Census, in Accra.
Dr Nyarko said the last agriculture census was conducted in 1984 and another one was expected to be conducted in the following ten years, according to FAO recommendations.
She said since 1986, the Statistics, Research and Information Directorate of the MOFA had conducted annual agricultural surveys to make estimates for crops and livestock production.
Dr Nyarko said the GSS had designed a national strategy for the development of statistics proposed to conduct an agriculture census after the 2010 Population and Housing Census, and that the proposal was justified because Ghana had not undertaken an agriculture census for almost three decades now.
She said government applied to the FAO for technical support in May 2011, which was granted in September 2012, and a team of agricultural statistics experts was appointed to prepare for the census that would take place next year.
Mr Ibrahim Kebe, of the Crop Production FAO Sub-regional Office for West Africa, said the objective of the FAO mission was to evaluate the technical and financial conditions, and ensure the feasibility of the agricultural census and prepare a feasibility report outlining a strategy for implementation and associated financing.
He said the census would provide a data on agriculture holdings such as farm size, land use, land tenure, livestock numbers and the use of machinery as well as the number of holdings with each crop livestock type.
Mr Kebe said the census would also give a large-scale statistical operation for the collection and derivation of quantitative information about the structure of agriculture in the country.
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) ? Volcano monitors say Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano shot lava a half mile (1 kilometer) above its crater overnight and blasted hot rock and gas nearly 2 miles (3 kilometers) down its flank.
The regional director for the government's emergency agency is Lourdes Mayorga and she says officials have prepared shelters and are working to evacuate any people in danger on Tuesday.
The country's National Geophysics Institute said the volcano blasted lava well above its crater overnight and sent out a plume of ash and gas about a mile (1.5 kilometers) high.
The renewed eruption in central Ecuador began last week and plumes on Sunday rose as high as 3 miles (5 kilometers) above the 16,479-foot (5,023-meter) crater.
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The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) will organize an agricultural census next year 2013.