Thursday, January 31, 2013

Nintendo Q3 earnings show 3 million Wii Us sold, sales forecasts lowered again

Nintendo Q3 earnings report show

Nintendo's Q3 earnings report is out, and it's sold just over 3 million units of its new Wii U console (at a loss) along with 11.69 million pieces of software. The other big news is that it's adjusted sales forecasts downward -- again, after it announced they were being cut back in October. However, since the flagship console is sold at a loss, while Nintendo is predicting 17 percent lower revenue, its prediction for net income has actually moved up by eight billion yen ($87 million).

It's not all bad news however, as it's showing about $160 million in net income for the year, compared with last year's losses. The 3DS has jumped up to 29.84 million sold, while the original Wii is within shouting distance of the 100 million number. Need more numbers? Hit the source links to check out all the sales data firsthand.

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Comments

Source: Nintendo Q3 earnings (PDF), Financial Forecast adjustment (PDF)

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/BfjtGJUv-Vo/

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21ST CENTURY SKILLS WITH NEW P21 PRESIDENT DR STEVEN PAINE - Jan 30,2013

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    On his show, Comedian Rodney Perry covers arts and entertainment, everything from comedy and politics to music and acting, with his signature comedic slant.

  • MashUp Radio is a 30-minute podcast that discusses the fusion of technology, life, culture and science. Host Peter Biddle, engineer and executive for Intel?s Atom Software, dishes up a thought-provoking discussion.

  • Joy Keys provides her listeners with insight to improve their lives mentally, physically, monetarily and emotionally. Past guests on the show have included Meshell Nedegeocello, Blair Underwood, in addition to an impressive list of CEOs, humanitarians and authors.

  • Host Barry Moltz gets small businesses unstuck. He has founded and run small businesses with a great deal of success and failure for more than 15 years. This is a business radio show where he shares all the craziness of small business. It?s that craziness that actually makes it exciting, interesting and totally unpredictable.

  • The Bottom Line Sports Show is hosted by former NBA stars Penny Hardaway, Charles Oakley, Mateen Cleaves. Tune in to get the inside scoop on what's happening in sports today.

  • Deepak Chopra Radio provides an online forum for compelling and thought provoking conversations on success, love, sexuality and relationships, well-being and spirituality.

  • Hits Radio covers basketball, sports culture and entertainment with past guests including Jason Kidd, Robin Lundberg and Chris Herren.

  • Listeners get an earful on The Halli Casser-Jayne Show, Talk Radio for Fine Minds. Whether it?s the current political cocktail or the latest must-read award-winning book, Halli tackles all topics and likes to stir ? and sometimes shakes ? things up.

  • Official Internet radio show of forthcoming epic paranormal investigation book by Eric Olsen and "Haunted Housewife" Theresa Argie.

  • Award-winning World Footprints is a leading voice in socially responsible travel and lifestyle. Hosts Ian & Tonya celebrate culture and heritage and bring a unique voice to the world of travel.

  • Football Reporters Online is a group of veteran football experts in the fields of coaching, scouting, talent evaluation, and writing/broadcasting/media placement. Combined, the group brings well over 100 years of expertise in sports.

  • Host John Martin interviews the nation's leading entrepreneurs and small biz experts to educate small business owners on how to be successful. Past guests have included Emeril Lagasse and Guy Kawasaki.

  • The Movie Geeks share their passion for the art through interviews with the stars of and creative minds behind your favorite flicks and pay tribute to big-screen legends. From James Cameron and Francis Ford Coppola to Ellen Burstyn and Robert Duvall, The Geeks have got'em all.

  • Sylvia Global presents global conversations pertaining to women, wealth, business, faith and philanthropy. Sylvia has interviewed an eclectic mix from CEOs and musicians to fashion designers and philanthropists including Randolph Duke and Ne-Yo.

  • Mr. Media host Bob Andelman goes one-on-one with the hottest, most influential minds from the worlds of film, TV, music, comedy, journalism and literature. That means A-listers like Kirk Douglas, Christian Slater, Kathy Ireland, Rick Fox, Chris Hansen and Jackie Collins.

  • Paula Begoun, best-selling author of Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, separates fact from fiction on achieving a radiant, youthful complexion at any age. She?s regularly joined by health and beauty experts who offer the latest on keeping your skin in tip-top shape.

  • Source: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/edutalk/2013/01/30/21st-century-skills-with-new-p21-president-dr-steven-paine

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    English students seeking Scottish university places rises 15%

    Figures from admissions body Ucas, as of the January 15 deadline, reveal 14.7% more applications from England and 17.3% more from Northern Ireland, while 4.1% fewer people from Wales applied.

    Total applications to Scottish universities to start courses this autumn, including from EU and non-EU countries, increased to 103,219, a rise of 7.1%.

    Source: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/education/english-students-seeking-scottish-university-places-rises-15.1359554637

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    New order found in quantum electronic material: May lead to new materials, magnets and superconductors

    Jan. 30, 2013 ? Two Rutgers physics professors have proposed an explanation for a new type of order, or symmetry, in an exotic material made with uranium -- a theory that may one day lead to enhanced computer displays and data storage systems and more powerful superconducting magnets for medical imaging and levitating high-speed trains.

    Their discovery, published in this week's issue of the journal Nature, has piqued the interest of scientists worldwide. It is one of the rare theory-only papers that this selective publication accepts.

    Collaborating with the Rutgers professors was a postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who earned her doctorate at Rutgers.

    "Scientists have seen this behavior for 25 years, but it has eluded explanation." said Piers Coleman, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the School of Arts and Sciences. When cooled to 17.5 degrees above absolute zero or lower (a bone-chilling minus 428 degrees Fahrenheit), the flow of electricity through this material changes subtly.

    The material essentially acts like an electronic version of polarized sunglasses, he explains. Electrons behave like tiny magnets, and normally these magnets can point in any direction. But when they flow through this cooled material, they come out with their magnetic fields aligned with the material's main crystal axis.

    This effect, claims Coleman, comes from a new type of hidden order, or symmetry, in this material's magnetic and electronic properties. Changes in order are what make liquid crystals, magnetic materials and superconductors work and perform useful functions.

    "Our quest to understand new types of order is a vital part of understanding how materials can be developed to benefit the world around us," he said.

    Similar discoveries have led to technologies such as liquid crystal displays, which are now ubiquitous in flat-screen TVs, computers and smart phones, although the scientists are quick to acknowledge that their theoretical discovery won't transform high-tech products overnight.

    Coleman, along with Rutgers colleague Premala Chandra and MIT collaborator Rebecca Flint, describe what they call a "hidden order" in this compound of uranium, ruthenium and silicon. Uranium is commonly known for being nuclear reactor fuel or weapons material, but in this case physicists value it as a heavy metal with electrons that behave differently than those in common metals.

    Recent experiments on the material at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico provided the three physicists with data to refine their discovery.

    "We've dubbed our fundamental new order 'hastatic' order, named after the Greek word for spear," said Chandra, also a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The name reflects the highly ordered properties of the material and its effect on aligning electrons that flow through it.

    "This new category of order may open the world to new kinds of materials, magnets, superconductors and states of matter with properties yet unknown," she said. The scientists have predicted other instances where hastatic order may show up, and physicists are beginning to test for it.

    The scientists' work was funded by the National Science Foundation and the Simons Foundation. Flint is a Simons Postdoctoral Fellow in physics at MIT.

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    Story Source:

    The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rutgers University.

    Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


    Journal Reference:

    1. Premala Chandra, Piers Coleman, Rebecca Flint. Hastatic order in the heavy-fermion compound URu2Si2. Nature, 2013; 493 (7434): 621 DOI: 10.1038/nature11820

    Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

    Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

    Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/physics/~3/T3kcgVXVD2k/130130184410.htm

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    Is high Klout good for your SEO

    In Israel it became a joke. Prior to the recent elections Benjamin Netanyahu?s press officer boasted that the Israeli Prime Minister?s Facebook page had accumulated 50,000 ?likes? in just two days. That?s a lot in local terms. Some thought ? too much. Within an hour of that announcement, a blogger noticed that 32,000 of the new followers were from Indonesia. Yes, that?s right, most of Netanyahu?s Facebook fans had come from the largest Muslim country. Not because of some surprising admiration Indonesians were feeling for the Israeli Prime Minister ? but because they were paid to click ?like? via platforms like Fivrr and Odesk. Embarrassing huh?

    Google has pushed SEO towards two major focal points:

    The first one is about social indicators and ?content success parameters? that measure the performance of the content engagement performance and distribution.

    The second one concerns the two most reknowned Google algorithm changes ? Panda and Penguin. Panda and Penguin push SEO professionals and webmasters to weed out any hint of unnatural, spam-like ?behavior or risk being punished in the SERPs.

    Anyone who does not take these two focal points to heart and implement the necessary changes and updates to their Internet presence, is doomed. For SEO folks whose business model is based on tactics like providing unnatural, fake social indicators and social shares and delivering paid-for backlinks and link exchange schemes, the end is near (and there are lot of those SEO companies out there!).

    Feigning social popularity has been a major loophole for spammers and Google is painfully aware of the need to address it. I suspect that the search engines are compiling ?quality? scores to define authority and trust of individuals. In the next major algorithm change (I suggest calling it ?Panther?), similarly to how Panda and Penguin have addressed quality and spam of actual websites, the search engines will address the quality and credibility of individuals.?Fraudulent?behavior, like buying 100,000 Twitter followers, could flag you as a socio-spammer. ?Could that raise privacy issues? Sure, but that has never stopped Google before.??Is Google panther change coming up

    How frequently do you receive a Twitter ?follow? note from a person with a zillion followers who also follows a zillion Twitter accounts? I get those on a daily basis and until recently, I thought to myself, ?Cool! I?ll follow back and improve my Klout,? simultaneously acknowledging that I?ll never read those Tweets. ?If I am right about the upcoming Google Panther update, and knowing that most of those followers are machine generated, imagine how those Follows will effect my ?Panther? trust score!

    It?s really quite simple. If you spend your energy on trying to scheme the system, Google will always catch up with you and that?s going to be really bad for your business. So take the high road. It is?unarguably?more interesting and satisfying to spend your energy on creating quality and delivering a good user experience.

    Source: http://www.webwhile.com/internet-marketing/2013/01/30/proud-of-your-high-klout-it-might-be-bad-for-your-seo-google-panther-update/

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    Pentax expands ruggedized series with Optio WG-3, Target-exclusive WG-10

    Pentax expands ruggedized series with Optio WG3, Targetexclusive WG10

    Think it might be time for a new ruggedized Pentax? It looks like the company agrees -- two new models are making their debut this week at CP+. The first is actually a rebranded WG-1, now called the WG-10, which will be available exclusively at Target stores and the website beginning in April. It's identical to the WG-1, save for the obligatory red finish and a $180 price tag. The second model is more of an original number -- it's an update to last year's WG-2. The new compact, dubbed the WG-3, maintains the unique design of the other two Optios, including a nifty LED ring around the lens for lighting macro shots.

    There's a 16-megapixel, 1/2.3-inch BSI CMOS sensor, a 3-inch 460k-dot LCD, a 4x lens with an f/2 wide-angle maximum aperture, along with options for 1080/30p and 720/60p video capture. It's waterproof to 14 meters (46 feet), shockproof to 2 meters (6.5 feet) and freeze-proof to -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit). The basic version will run you $300, while a tricked-out $350 model adds GPS and Qi wireless charging, along with a secondary LCD that displays the current time, barometric pressure, a compass, altitude and underwater depth. Snag a peek in the gallery below.

    Show full PR text

    PENTAX Introduces 15th Generation Ruggedized Camera -the WG-3 GPS and WG-3

    Performance meets photographic demands with fast F2.0 lens, in-camera shake reduction, and increased waterproof, crushproof and shockproof ratings

    Denver, CO (January 29, 2013)- Leveraging its long-standing and comprehensive expertise in the waterproof category, PENTAX RICOH IMAGING AMERICAS CORPORATION (PENTAX) has introduced the 15th generation in its adventureproof line-up of point and shoot cameras, the WG-3. Boasting a diverse set of new features and improved specifications, the WG-3 is the ideal companion to capture life's planned and unplanned adventures.

    The WG-3 boasts a rich feature-set that has been optimized to meet the rigorous and demanding needs of the adventurous photo enthusiast, whose travels and exploits can take them into a variety of scenarios too challenging for the traditional point-and-shoot. Its newly designed, large-aperture, 4x optical zoom lens (with the maximum aperture of F2.0 at wide-angle end), high-sensitivity, back-illuminated 16 megapixel CMOS image sensor, and sensor-shift Shake Reduction system ensure sharp, high-quality, low-noise images.

    The rugged features of the WG-3 include an improved waterproof depth rating to 45 feet, while the WG-3 GPS offers enhanced GPS functionality for geo-tagging images that can be mapped back to your journey and a dedicated second display showing compass direction, elevation or depth below water. Additionally, the WG-3's category defining Digital Microscope mode and six LED lights surrounding the lens barrel enable focusing as close as one centimeter from the subject producing bright, shadow-free macro images.

    For the unplanned adventure, the WG-3 offers a worry-free shooting experience with an increasingly ruggedized body that is shockproof from drops of up to 6.6 feet, coldproof to 14 degrees Fahrenheit and crushproof, withstanding up to 220 foot pounds of force. The WG-3's rugged design is enhanced by its folded optical zoom lens that reduces its vulnerability to moisture and dust while ensuring a compact and pocketable size without the protrusion of a lens barrel. Finally, the sturdy construction and sharp design, unique to the WG-3, features a texturized grip for a controlled ergonomic grasp and colorful grip accents to further enrich its rugged styling.

    "The WG-3 GPS truly leverages our experience in this category," said John Carlson, Sr. Marketing Manager, PENTAX. "New features like the easy-to-read second LCD, dedicated video record button, double-locking battery door and wireless charging capabilities show PENTAX's dedication to improving our offering in this category."

    To enhance creative expression during shooting PENTAX offers an optional lens adapter with wide-angle coverage to 20mm, and the SportMount Chest Harness which allows for the hands free capture of adventures and features a quick and easy mechanism to review your images and footage without having to remove the camera from its mount.

    Pricing and Availability

    Priced at $349.95 the new WG-3 GPS is available in a choice of purple or green. The WG-3 is available in black or orange for a price of $299.95. Both models will be available at retailers nationwide and online in March 2013. To find a retailer near you, please visit: http://www.pentaximaging.com/where-to-buy

    PENTAX Announces 14th Generation Adventure Proof WG-10, Expanding Image Capturing Possibilities Beyond the Traditional Point and Shoot Camera

    WG-10 offers compact pocketability with advanced features suitable for almost any environment

    Denver, CO (January 29, 2013) - PENTAX RICOH IMAGING AMERICAS CORPORATION (PENTAX) has today announced the availability of the compact and highly portable WG-10 adventureproof point and shoot camera, an ideal option for the on-the-go shooter who requires a capable yet sturdy image and video capturing device. Its durable assembly and robust feature-set makes the WG-10 the ideal companion camera for life's explorers; striking the perfect balance between a point and shoot and PENTAX's category defining adventure-ready features.

    Waterproof to depths of 33 feet, the WG-10 can withstand the rough-and-tumble lifestyle of an active shooter. The WG-10 bridges the gap between the common point and shoot and life's more challenging photo opportunities that might require waterproofing or the ability to function in a very cold environment; like a trip to the waterpark or an impromptu snowball fight. The WG-10 offers a 14 megapixel backlit CMOS image sensor and a state-of-the-art imaging processing engine assuring rich and detailed imagery.

    "The WG-10 is a compelling offering for the active family or dynamic shooter," said John Carlson, Sr. Marketing Manager, PENTAX. "With the WG-10 you no longer need to sit on the edge of the pool at the waterpark or flinch when your six-year-old grabs the camera to take a picture. It is durable enough to withstand the elements, yet still capture vibrant images worthy of framing or sharing."

    Within its compact body, the WG-10 also features a 5X optical zoom lens with coverage from 5mm to 25mm (equivalent to approx. 28mm wide angle to approx. 140mm medium telephoto in the 35mm format). This versatile zoom lens comes in handy for a wide variety of scenes and subjects, from wide-angle snapshots, to telephoto images. Additionally, the WG-10 features PENTAX's category defining LED Macro lights coupled and Digital Microscope mode enabling focusing as close as one centimeter from the subject producing shadow-free, evenly-lit images.

    Pricing and Availability

    The WG-10 will be available in mid-April in red for $179.95.
    Additional information including product specifications is available here: www.pentaximaging.com/news

    Filed under:

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    Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/29/pentax-optio-wg-3-wg-10/

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    Roaming cows create havoc at Mass. cemetery

    (AP) ? The vandals that damaged a Massachusetts cemetery this week have pleaded "moo."

    Police say a small herd of cows knocked over 40 American flags and veterans' bronze grave markers, then snacked on a few flower arrangements, at the Center Cemetery in Southampton on Monday.

    Motorists called to report that the cows were loose. Police contacted the owner, Henry Wykowski, who caught and removed the cows from the cemetery.

    Chief David Silvernail says the cows are an "ongoing problem," and his department has responded to complaints about the roaming bovines three or four times since last spring.

    Cemetery Commission member Robert Floyd tells The Daily Hampshire Gazette (http://bit.ly/WPQ4py ) he plans on asking the farmer to pay for the damage once he comes up with an estimate.

    ___

    Information from: Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, Mass.), http://www.gazettenet.com

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-01-30-Bovine%20Vandals/id-703caa810c50435ea1d6512d6b81ce4f

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    Online gaming and the language barrier | Lazygamer .:: The Worlds ...

    language-barrier

    Don?t you just hate it when you join a game online and the first thing you see in chat is a language you don?t understand? Yeah, me too. Every Dota 2 player out there see?s this in almost every public match and believe it or not, we still don?t know what the hell they are saying. There?s a growing issue when it comes to playing online and the language barrier on European servers, I think something should be done about that.

    Whether you?re playing an MMO or MOBA, you have probably experienced the frustration of people in your party (group) being blatantly rude and having a whole conversation in French, German, Polish or Russian (yes, there are probably some other languages in the mix too). And even if you, as an English speaking South African, American or any other nationality speaking the universal language, ask for these gamers to speak English, they just flat-out ignore you and carry on.

    This creates not only a bad atmosphere but obviously a lack of communication and more often than not, causes the group to fail at whatever they are doing. Try getting some boss tactics in order while in an instance (dungeon) or communicating in a Dota 2 game while 3/5 of the party members refuse to speak English, it just doesn?t work. The problem isn?t that people speak different languages, but that this defeats the public match making feature in games when it results in failure and arguments or people just quitting games. It?s not enjoyable and it?s now a part of our everyday lives. The solution is that we need a way to communicate with each other without conflict and only having one option: to only speak English.

    My suggestion to developers is to include an in-game translator to the chat boxes. ?Some might argue that this is a violation of privacy, because maybe the people speaking the other language don?t want you to see what they are saying. My response to that is: if you are typing anything into a public party chat, you don?t give a crap since any one can use Google translate to know what you?ve just typed, and you also don?t know enough about the people in the party to know that they don?t understand the language you are typing in. ?It would be easy for us to say ?if you want to type in your language, use personal messaging?, but we all know that?s not going to happen.?It?s a lot easier to say ?if you don?t want me to know what you are saying?, don?t type it in public.

    Having an in-game translator in my mind cannot be impossible to code into a game. If I can connect to Facebook and Twitter in Rift (the MMO) and have the game automatically tweet and post achievements or upload screenshots, then I?m sure it can be coded to grab text, detect the language and translate it. This means that if I?m for example French and I don?t understand English, I can translate the English text in-game and no one has to sit through the frustrating experience of not understanding each other.

    Bottom line, if you?re giving us the option of public match making, give us the option to understand each other and break that language barrier that makes the whole experience more painful than ripping off that piece of skin right next to your finger nail.

    Agree with me? What is your opinion on the matter and do you have any solutions or suggestions to fix this problem?

    Source: http://www.lazygamer.net/general-news/online-gaming-and-the-language-barrier/

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    Wednesday, January 30, 2013

    Photos: War vet receives double-arm transplant

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

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/war-vet-receives-double-arm-transplant-slideshow/

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    Checking out open access

    Checking out open access [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 30-Jan-2013
    [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

    Contact: Clea Desjardins
    clea.desjardins@concordia.ca
    514-848-2424
    Concordia University

    Concordia librarian looks at how libraries can use technology to keep information free in the digital age

    This press release is available in French.

    Montreal, January 20, 2013 From Wikipedia to shareware, the Internet has made information and software more widely available than ever. At the heart of this explosion is the simple idea that information should be open and free for anyone. Yet with publishers charging exorbitant fees for subscriptions to academic journals, university libraries are struggling to keep up.

    Writing in the Journal of Academic Librarianship, Concordia collections librarian Geoffrey Little says that a key way to meet that challenge is through the use of open source technology. "In order to make information freely available through open access policies, it's important to look beyond traditional and expensive methods of dissemination and turn instead to open source software," he says.

    Open source software is non-proprietary software for which source code (the instructions that make computer programs work) and documentation are freely available. "It's an ideal way for libraries to avoid having to pay large amounts of money to commercial vendors for new products or ongoing maintenance and access. The ability play with source codes in order to modify the program also means that tools can be customized to meet a library's needs and the specific community of users," says Little.

    Open source technology is already being used in academic libraries across the country. Tools such as archival management software and course management systems rely upon open source software to disseminate information to a wide public. As journal prices continue to increase, new online scholarly journals are being created outside of traditional commercial publishing channels and are hosted independently rather than by an academic press or commercial publisher.

    Here at Concordia University, a landmark Senate resolution on open access encourages all faculty and students to make their peer-reviewed research and creative output freely accessible online through an institutional repository, called Spectrum. In fact, Concordia is the first major university in Canada where faculty members have given their overwhelming support to making the results of their research universally available.

    Little hopes the infrastructure and support that is necessary to ensure sustainability of the long-term future of open access projects and initiatives can be guaranteed. "Librarians need to be advocates for open access to ensure that institutional support does not evaporate after a few years. Our mission is to help the users of our libraries access resources that will enable them to write their papers, craft their survey instruments and conduct their lab experiments and open access is a big part of that."

    "Thinking about our work through a lens of open access and using open source technologies where and when they make sense can help academic librarians in our mission to support the scholarly enterprise," continues Little. "Open access is an audacious and evolving initiative that presents us with a unique set of opportunities and challenges. We should not be afraid to experiment, investigate, and be bold in our thinking about the ways in which we can incorporate open access into our work and mission."

    ###

    Related links:

    Media contact:

    Cla Desjardins
    Senior Advisor, External Communications
    Concordia University
    Tel: 514-848-2424, ext. 5068
    Cell: 514-909-2999
    e-mail: clea.desjardins@concordia.ca
    Web: concordia.ca/media-relations
    Twitter: twitter.com/CleaDesjardins


    [ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

    ?


    AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


    Checking out open access [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 30-Jan-2013
    [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

    Contact: Clea Desjardins
    clea.desjardins@concordia.ca
    514-848-2424
    Concordia University

    Concordia librarian looks at how libraries can use technology to keep information free in the digital age

    This press release is available in French.

    Montreal, January 20, 2013 From Wikipedia to shareware, the Internet has made information and software more widely available than ever. At the heart of this explosion is the simple idea that information should be open and free for anyone. Yet with publishers charging exorbitant fees for subscriptions to academic journals, university libraries are struggling to keep up.

    Writing in the Journal of Academic Librarianship, Concordia collections librarian Geoffrey Little says that a key way to meet that challenge is through the use of open source technology. "In order to make information freely available through open access policies, it's important to look beyond traditional and expensive methods of dissemination and turn instead to open source software," he says.

    Open source software is non-proprietary software for which source code (the instructions that make computer programs work) and documentation are freely available. "It's an ideal way for libraries to avoid having to pay large amounts of money to commercial vendors for new products or ongoing maintenance and access. The ability play with source codes in order to modify the program also means that tools can be customized to meet a library's needs and the specific community of users," says Little.

    Open source technology is already being used in academic libraries across the country. Tools such as archival management software and course management systems rely upon open source software to disseminate information to a wide public. As journal prices continue to increase, new online scholarly journals are being created outside of traditional commercial publishing channels and are hosted independently rather than by an academic press or commercial publisher.

    Here at Concordia University, a landmark Senate resolution on open access encourages all faculty and students to make their peer-reviewed research and creative output freely accessible online through an institutional repository, called Spectrum. In fact, Concordia is the first major university in Canada where faculty members have given their overwhelming support to making the results of their research universally available.

    Little hopes the infrastructure and support that is necessary to ensure sustainability of the long-term future of open access projects and initiatives can be guaranteed. "Librarians need to be advocates for open access to ensure that institutional support does not evaporate after a few years. Our mission is to help the users of our libraries access resources that will enable them to write their papers, craft their survey instruments and conduct their lab experiments and open access is a big part of that."

    "Thinking about our work through a lens of open access and using open source technologies where and when they make sense can help academic librarians in our mission to support the scholarly enterprise," continues Little. "Open access is an audacious and evolving initiative that presents us with a unique set of opportunities and challenges. We should not be afraid to experiment, investigate, and be bold in our thinking about the ways in which we can incorporate open access into our work and mission."

    ###

    Related links:

    Media contact:

    Cla Desjardins
    Senior Advisor, External Communications
    Concordia University
    Tel: 514-848-2424, ext. 5068
    Cell: 514-909-2999
    e-mail: clea.desjardins@concordia.ca
    Web: concordia.ca/media-relations
    Twitter: twitter.com/CleaDesjardins


    [ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

    ?


    AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


    Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/cu-coo013013.php

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    Oscar hits the road to visit more than 10 cities

    FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2012 file photo, an Oscar statue is seen on the red carpet before the 84th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says the golden statuette will visit at least 10 cities as part of its first national tour. Beginning Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, in New York City, the golden guy?s journey will be chronicled online. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

    FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2012 file photo, an Oscar statue is seen on the red carpet before the 84th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says the golden statuette will visit at least 10 cities as part of its first national tour. Beginning Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, in New York City, the golden guy?s journey will be chronicled online. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

    (AP) ? Oscar is going on a road trip.

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says one of the golden statuettes that are handed out at the Academy Awards will visit at least 10 cities as part of Oscar's first national tour.

    Beginning Monday in New York City, the golden guy's journey will be chronicled online. Fans can follow the Oscar statue's progress and even make suggestions for stops along the way.

    The statuette will make appearances in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Mo., Houston, Dallas and Phoenix before arriving in Hollywood for the Academy Awards on Feb. 24. Fans in those cities will have a chance to pose for photos with the Oscar trophy.

    ___

    Online:

    http://www.oscars.org

    Associated Press

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-29-Oscars-National%20Tour/id-f1a64651183a41e0b341670a16f33f55

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    Google's newly detailed North Korea maps offer a peek into an isolated land

    Google's newly detailed North Korea maps offer a peek into an isolated land

    North Korea has yet to welcome the internet with open arms despite Eric Schmidt's visit, but the internet is certainly welcoming North Korea: as of a sweeping update, Google Maps touts detailed cartography of the secluded state rather than the voids we've known before. The results still leave significant blank spots, although that's forgivable when Google Map Maker is virtually the only option to improve accuracy. We doubt a suspicious government is about to let Street View cars run freely on Pyongyang's streets when visitors can't even get mobile internet access, after all. Google already plans to patch those holes in a timelier fashion by incorporating future Map Maker changes as soon as they're proven accurate. While many of those covered by the update might never see it for themselves, Google's work at least paints a more complete picture of the world for the rest of us.

    Filed under: , ,

    Comments

    Via: The Next Web

    Source: Google Lat Long Blog

    Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/28/google-posts-newly-detailed-north-korea-maps/

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    Chinese Poultry Products Investigated by FDA for Pet Illnesses

    The
    export of poultry from China to the United States is currently
    banned--past food safety concerns, bird flu outbreaks, even the frequent
    turnover of Chinese officials involved in negotiations, are cited as
    reasons for the continued ban. However, reports indicate officials from
    the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are scheduled to inspect
    Chinese poultry-processing plants in late January or early February in
    an apparent step toward lifting the ban.

    Although banned from exporting chicken for human consumption in the United States, China is allowed to export chicken for pet food. Since 2007, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has conducted extensive testing on chicken jerky treats consumers claim are harming pets. According to the FDA, as of Dec. 17, 2012, it has received 2,674 reports involving 3,243 dogs, including 501 deaths, and nine cats, including one death.

    Much to the dismay of effected pet owners, the FDA has yet to indentify a contaminant or cause for illnesses associated with chicken imported from China and therefore will not enact a recall. It has issued a warning to pet owners of the possible dangers of feeding pets products such as Nestle?s Waggin? Train and Canyon Creek Ranch brands and Del Monte?s Milo?s Kitchen Home-style Dog Treats. Presently, Milo?s Kitchen?s Chicken Jerky and Chicken Grillers treats are voluntarily recalled due to trace amounts of residual antibiotics.

    Politically, the planned inspections could relax tense trade relations between the countries embattled in negotiations for the past seven years. China is anxious to import poultry, as the United States is interested in reversing China?s 2003 ban on American beef. The National Cattlemen?s Beef Association, representing U.S. ranchers and beef producers, estimated last year the U.S. could be exporting $200 million of beef to China per year if the ban was lifted.

    However, it seems there won?t be one ban lifted without the other.

    Source: http://blog.nilesanimalhospital.com/2013/01/chinese-poultry-products-investigated.html

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    Official handling Guantanamo shutdown will not be replaced

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. diplomat charged with closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is taking up a new post and will not be replaced, with most of his duties being turned over to the State Department's top lawyer, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

    The fact that Ambassador Dan Fried will not be replaced may raise questions about the Obama administration's plan to close the prison, though the officials denied any erosion in their commitment to shutter the detention center.

    There are now 166 prisoners held at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba in a detention center set up after the September 11, 2001, attacks to hold people captured in counterterrorism operations overseas.

    On taking office in 2009, President Barack Obama ordered the prison closed within a year but that initiative failed in part because of security concerns among Americans and opposition from Congress, which passed laws making it harder to transfer prisoners out.

    Fried is becoming the State Department's sanctions coordinator, where much of his work will focus on efforts to use economic penalties in conjunction with diplomacy to try to force Iran to address questions about its nuclear program.

    The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Fried's work on transferring Guantanamo Bay prisoners would now be handled by the office of the State Department legal adviser.

    "The placement of the Guantanamo portfolio in the Office of the Legal Adviser does not signal a diminution of the administration's commitment to close Guantanamo," said a senior State Department official.

    "The Administration has made clear that closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility is in the interest of our national security and remains committed to the responsible and safe transfer of the remaining detainees," the official added.

    He stressed the administration's "opposition to congressional restrictions that impede our ability to implement these transfers."

    During Fried's tenure, 71 Guantanamo Bay detainees have been transferred to various destinations, including 40 who were sent to countries rather than to their own nations, the officials said.

    Fried's unrelated work on closing Camp Ashraf in Iraq, used by members of the Mujahadin-e Khalq Iranian dissident group, will be handled by the State Department's bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

    (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/official-handling-guantanamo-shutdown-not-replaced-175921774.html

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    Canada holds U.S. to draw in soccer friendly

    Given the expectations placed on this version of Canada's men's soccer team, Tuesday's scoreless draw against the United States felt like a massive victory.

    The young Canadians were under pressure for virtually the entire 90 minutes against a more skilled American side on a night that ended with a downpour of rain.

    But to their credit, the Canucks dealt with everything that came their way.

    As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Canada frantically defended a final American free kick in the fourth minute of stoppage time. After the ball was cleared the safety and the referee blew the final whistle, the Canadian bench erupted in celebration.

    "It might not have been the silkiest performance at times but I'll tell you what, if we were going to give a goal away tonight it was going to be through a mistake and I'm so proud of the players," said Canadian interim head coach Collin Miller, his voice hoarse from 90 minutes of shouting. "Every single one of them on the park contributed."

    The Canadian team is in rebuilding mode after being eliminated from World Cup qualifying last year in humiliating fashion, an 8-1 loss to Honduras that cost former coach Stephen Hart his job.

    This incaration, filled with young players and sprinkled with a few veterans, completed a pair of January games with a draw and a loss following Saturday's 4-0 defeat to Denmark in Tucson, Ariz.

    Miller, in his second stint as Canadian interim head coach, was beaming following his first result in five games at the helm of the national team.

    He was also at the reigns in 2003 when Canada lost against Finland, Ireland and the Czech Republic.

    "That's what I've told the guys. That's my first point in five games," he said. "I'm so proud to get a good result. It means the world to me."

    Another scoreless draw

    It's the second straight scoreless draw between the nations after a 0-0 draw at Toronto's BMO Field in June.

    Canadian captain Dwayne De Rosario, one of the few vets in the squad, tried to lead by example on Tuesday and nearly had the 64th-ranked team in the world on the board in the sixth minute.

    Right back Nik Ledgerwood fired in a cross, and while it was over De Rosario's head, he chased the ball down and fired on a hop with his left foot, forcing U.S. goalkeeper Sean Johnson to punch clear.

    "The improvement we've made in the game in such a short turnaround was really refreshing to see," said De Rosario, who ran tirelessly up and down the field for 81 minutes. "It's one game. It's one good result and hopefully we can continue to build on that."

    From there Canada had to defend wave after wave of American attack as the hosts held 70 per cent of the possession in the first half. The Canadians packed the defensive end and the U.S., ranked 28th in the world, simply lacked the quality to break down the resolute defence.

    It was a night-and-day performance for the Canadian defence following Saturday's disjointed and disorganized performance against Denmark.

    "We saw the mistakes we made and we fixed it and from then on we played our game," said defender Dejan Jakovic, who was Canada man of the match. "Everyone was hungry and wanted to play and we got a decent result against a good team."

    For a squad looking for confidence it was certainly a first half to build on as three players made their first appearances at the senior level for Canada.

    The U.S. pressure mounted as the night wore on, with Canada having to deal with a number of dead-ball situations.

    De Rosario also had Canada's best chance in the second half. Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Russell Teibert delivered a left-footed free kick from the right side that De Rosario got his head to but it went agonizingly wide of the post in the 55th minute.

    The United States, meanwhile, which is preparing for its opening game in the final round of World Cup qualifying, saw defender Omar Gonzalez return lineup after a two-year absence.

    U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann changed all 11 starters from November's 2-2 tie at Russia and is likely to change the entire lineup again for the Feb. 6 qualifier against Honduras at San Pedro Sula. These players were auditioning for backup roles on next week's trip.

    Gonzalez was the senior member of the backline. Making his third international appearance, the six-foot-five Los Angeles Galaxy centre back was joined by three players making their national team debuts: right back Tony Beltran, centre back Matt Besler and left back Justin Morrow. Will Bruin and Alfredo Morales made their debuts when they entered in the 74th minute.

    Gonzalez made his national team debut in August 2010 against Brazil and played against Chile the following January. He tore his left anterior cruciate ligament last January on his first day training with Nuremberg and returned to the field for the Galaxy on July 4.

    With Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore and the other regulars remaining with their clubs in Europe for weekend matches, the U.S. started an all-Major League Soccer lineup for the first time since January 2007 against Denmark.

    Source: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2013/01/29/sp-soccer-canada-us-friendly.html?cmp=rss

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    Army warning: unrest pushing Egypt to brink

    CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt's army chief said political strife was pushing the state to the brink of collapse - a stark warning from the institution that ran the country until last year as Cairo's first freely elected leader struggles to contain bloody street violence.

    Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a U.S.-trained general appointed by President Mohamed Mursi last year to head the armed forces, added in a statement on Tuesday that one of the primary goals of deploying troops in cities on the Suez Canal was to protect the waterway that is vital for Egypt's economy and world trade.

    Sisi's comments, published on an official army Facebook page, followed 52 deaths in the past week of disorder and highlighted the mounting sense of crisis facing Egypt and its Islamist head of state who is struggling to fix a teetering economy and needs to prepare Egypt for a parliamentary election in a few months that is meant to cement the new democracy.

    Violence largely subsided on Tuesday, although some youths again hurled rocks at police lines in Cairo near Tahrir Square.

    It seemed unlikely that Sisi was signaling the army wants to take back the power it held for six decades since the end of the colonial era and through an interim period after the overthrow of former air force chief Hosni Mubarak two years ago.

    But it did send a powerful message that Egypt's biggest institution, with a huge economic as well as security role and a recipient of massive direct U.S. subsidies, is worried about the fate of the nation, after five days of turmoil in major cities.

    "The continuation of the struggle of the different political forces ... over the management of state affairs could lead to the collapse of the state," said General Sisi, who is also defense minister in the government Mursi appointed.

    He said the economic, political and social challenges facing the country represented "a real threat to the security of Egypt and the cohesiveness of the Egyptian state" and the army would remain "the solid and cohesive block" on which the state rests.

    Sisi was picked by Mursi after the army handed over power to the new president in June once Mursi had sacked Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, in charge of Egypt during the transition and who had also been Mubarak's defense minister for 20 years.

    DEEPLY POLARISED

    The 58-year-old previously headed military intelligence and studied at the U.S. Army War College. Diplomats say he is well known to the United States, which donates $1.3 billion in military aid each year, helping reassure Washington that the last year's changes in the top brass would not upset ties.

    One of Sisi's closest and longest serving associates, General Mohamed el-Assar, an assistant defense minister, is now in charge of the military's relations with the United States.

    Almost seven months after Mursi took office, Egyptian politics have become even more deeply polarized.

    Opponents spurned a call by Mursi for talks on Monday to try to end the violence. Instead, protesters have rallied in Cairo and Alexandria, and in the three Suez Canal cities - Port Said, Ismailia and Suez - where Mursi imposed emergency rule.

    On Tuesday, thousands were again on the streets of Port Said to mourn the deaths of two people in the latest clashes there, taking the total toll in Mediterranean port alone to 42 people. Most were killed by gunshots in a city where weapons are rife.

    Mohamed Ezz, a Port Said resident speaking by telephone, heard heavy gunfire through the night. "Gunshots damaged the balcony of my flat, so I went to stay with my brother," he said.

    Residents in the three canal cities had taken to the streets in protest at a nightly curfew now in place there. The president's spokesman said on Tuesday that the 30-day state of emergency could be shortened, depending on circumstances.

    In Cairo on Tuesday afternoon, police again fired teargas as stone-throwing youths in a street near Tahrir Square, the centre of the 2011 uprising. But the clashes were less intense than previous days and traffic was able to cross the area. Street cleaners swept up the remains of burnt tires and other debris.

    Street flare-ups are a common occurrence in divided Egypt, frustrating many people desperate for order and economic growth.

    Although the general's comments were notably blunt, Egypt's military has voiced similar concerns in the past, pledging to protect the nation. But it has refused to be drawn back into a direct political role after its reputation as a neutral party took a pounding during the 17 months after Mubarak fell.

    WARY MILITARY

    "Egyptians are really alarmed by what is going on," said Cairo-based analyst Elijah Zarwan, adding that the army was reflecting that broader concern among the wider public.

    "But I don't think it should be taken as a sign that the military is on the verge of stepping in and taking back the reins of government," he said.

    In December, Sisi offered to host a national dialogue when Mursi and the rivals were again at loggerheads and the streets were aflame. But the invitation was swiftly withdrawn before the meeting went ahead, apparently because the army was wary of becoming embroiled again in Egypt's polarized politics.

    Protests initially flared during the second anniversary of the uprising which erupted on January 25, 2011 and toppled Mubarak 18 days later. They were exacerbated in Port Said when residents were angered after a court sentenced to death several people from the city over deadly soccer violence.

    Since the 2011 revolt, Islamists who Mubarak spent his 30-year rule suppressing have won two referendums, two parliamentary elections and a presidential vote.

    But that legitimacy has been challenged by an opposition that accuses Mursi of imposing a new form of authoritarianism. Mursi's supporters says protesters want to overthrow Egypt's first ever democratically elected leader by undemocratic means.

    The army has already been deployed in Port Said and Suez and the government agreed a measure to let soldiers arrest civilians as part of the state of emergency. Sisi reiterated that the army's role would be support the police in restoring order.

    The instability has provoked unease in Western capitals, where officials worry about the direction of a powerful regional player that has a peace deal with Israel. The United States condemned the bloodshed and called on Egyptian leaders to make clear violence was not acceptable.

    Mursi's invitation to rivals to a national dialogue with Islamists on Monday was spurned by the main opposition National Salvation Front coalition, which described it as "cosmetic".

    The only liberal politician who attended, Ayman Nour, told Egypt's al-Hayat channel after the meeting ended late on Monday that attendees agreed to meet again in a week.

    He said Mursi had promised to look at changes to the constitution requested by the opposition but did not consider the opposition's request for a government of national unity. Mursi's pushing through last month of a new constitution which critics see as too Islamic remains a bone of contention.

    (Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh and Omar Fahmy in Cairo, Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia and Abdelrahman Youssef in Alexandria; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egyptian-protesters-defy-curfew-attack-police-stations-074130394.html

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    Apple releases iOS 6.1, giving Siri the power to buy movie tickets

    18 hrs.

    Apple has released a software update?? iOS 6.1 ? which gives you the ability to purchase movie tickets through?Fandango using Siri, supports LTE?capabilities?for a bunch of carriers around the world?and adds the ability to download individual songs from iCloud.

    You can find a complete list of the newly supported LTE-capable carriers on Apple's website.?(There's now support for LTE connectivity for 36 additional iPhone carriers and 23 additional iPad carriers around the world.)?

    iOS 6.1 is available is compatible with the?iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, third- and fourth-generation?iPad, iPad Mini, iPad 2,?and fourth- and fifth-generation?iPod Touch. You can snag it by?connecting your device to iTunes and hitting the "check for updates" button. (Alternatively, head into your gadget's "Settings" menu, select the "General" tab, and tap the "Software Updates" option to download the update over?the air.)

    Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.

    Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/apple-releases-ios-6-1-giving-siri-power-buy-movie-1C8144611

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    Video: Big CAT's Big Q4 Earnings

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

    Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50614619/

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    UK shocker: BlackBerry PlayBook is outselling the new iPad

    iPad Sales UKBlackBerry PlayBook

    British electronics distribution specialist Context dropped a bit of a bombshell on Tuesday by claiming that Research In Motion?s (RIMM) PlayBook tablet outsold Apple?s latest iPad during the last two months of the 2012. Of course, Apple (AAPL) has its own retail stores in the UK where most in-store sales likely occur, but the sales channels monitored by Context still make up most of the electronics distribution in the UK.

    [More from BGR: Apple unveils new 128GB iPad]

    According to Context, the PlayBook shifted 160,000 units and the latest-generation iPad 113,000 units over the Christmas period, giving RIM a fairly substantial lead. All iPad models combined sold 203,000 units. Of course it?s important to note that the recommended retail price of the PlayBook was??129 while the fourth-generation iPad starts at??399, but this data emphasizes an important shift in the market.

    [More from BGR: Purported ?iPad 5? case with major redesign revealed in leaked photos]

    The PlayBook?s strong channel performance is only the latest sign of how rapidly the cheap tablets are gaining market share in the UK ? last week, sales updates from Argos and Carphone Warehouse stressed the same theme.

    Interestingly, The Register points out that one of the reasons for the strong PlayBook sales may be the big profit margin RIM offers for retailers for pushing its tablet. This could very well be a stratagem RIM will also employ when it launches its new BlackBerry phones in the UK, possibly within one week.

    If the PlayBook is still commercially viable in the UK after the drubbing it took a year earlier, then the new BlackBerry handsets also have a shot at redemption. British consumers have always been the most pro-RIM people in Europe by a fairly large margin; BlackBerry smartphones? market share topped 20% in the UK two years ago.

    This article was originally published on BGR.com

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-shocker-blackberry-playbook-outselling-ipad-143523733.html

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