With all of these patent wars ongoing, it's actually astonishing that these companies have any time to get anything done. In fact, we often wonder how much more could be done if needless, incessant litigation weren't around to muck things up. All that aside, Apple and LG Electronics are likely celebrating a victory today, as a verdict in a San Diego courtroom has found that neither company infringed on an Alcatel-Lucent unit's patents for "electronic devices including phones and computers."
The trial at hand began on November 27th, as it saw A-L accuse Apple and LG of infringing up a "video-compression technology that allows data to be sent more efficiently over communications media, including the internet and satellites, or stored on DVDs and Blu-ray Discs. Various versions of the iPhone, iPod, iPad and MacBook were named on the Apple side, while LG's Chocolate Touch VX8575, Bliss UX700, Touch AX8575, Lotus Elite LX610, Mystique UN610 and Samba LG8575 were also pinpointed. Of course, Apple can only rejoice so hard -- earlier today, it lost a patent verdict to MobileMedia.
As we hinted at time and time again, Google has released its native Maps app for iOS…before Christmas. The timing couldn’t come soon enough, as many people have become frustrated with the built-in iOS 6 Maps that Apple offers. Even Apple’s own CEO took it upon himself to apologize for the not-so-polished product, an stand-up act which I actually applauded. Today is about Google Maps, though. The company has spent the past seven years refining its offering, making its internal systems run quickly to keep up with as many detours, traffic conditions and new apartment complexes that it can. All of that hard work paid off with this app, it’s absolutely gorgeous, runs as smooth as a video game and is a complete user experience overhaul from any Google Maps experience you’ve ever had. The new swipe gestures to bring up menus, as well as the great detail in which information is displayed are clear as soon as you open the app. Good thing, because 50% of the Google Maps usage comes from mobile devices, obviously. Now here’s the bad news on this version of Google Maps, there are no biking directions, offline mode (although as soon as you get a route, it is cached on your device), indoor maps or offers as of yet. This would seem to be incomplete, but clearly the team wanted to put together a fantastic Maps app that serves the need of iOS users right this moment. Yes, Google didn’t want to pack everything in too tightly until the world had a chance to play with it. Fair enough, but some of these things would have been nice. But yes, overall, it’s that good. I took it for a spin yesterday and was able to figure out its new UI immediately. Basically, the map is the UI. All of the menus are neatly tucked away, pulled up and out with gestures that are masterfully designed for iOS. If Apple had only waited a bit longer, this could have been the experience that shipped with iOS 6. It also complete with a brand new SDK so that developers can start integrating it into their apps. I spoke with Google Maps for Mobile Director, Daniel Graf, and while he said that Google didn’t hold out as long as it possibly could to release this, I would say that waiting until Apple’s infamous Holiday App Store freeze
WASHINGTON -- New York mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Wednesday that he has joined Campaign to Fix the Debt, a controversial debt-reduction group funded by corporate CEOs and private equity billionaire Peter G. Peterson. Bloomberg, a political independent, will join former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) and former New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg (R) as a national co-chair of the group.
?The federal deficit poses a serious and eminent (sic) threat to the U.S. economy,? Bloomberg said in a statement. ?Congress and the White House have an obligation to work together to ? implement pro-growth policies that increase long-term policy certainty for business and investors."
The Campaign to Fix the Debt has emerged as an influential voice in the lobbying effort surrounding ongoing budget negotiations in Congress, in part because of a high-profile public relations blitz reported to have cost more than $30 million.
But as The Huffington Post reported, the group's bipartisan leadership masks politically conservative backing, and the group's leading council of CEOs is made up largely of Republican political donors. Bloomberg, a billionaire media mogul, was a registered Republican until 2007.
Fix the Debt's policy recommendations also tend to favor corporations and the very wealthy, including calls for lower corporate taxes on profits made overseas, steep cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and putting an end to tax breaks that benefit the middle-class, like the mortgage interest deduction. Members of the group are careful not to get too specific about policy during public appearances, instead focusing on the dangers to investors and corporations if Congress and the White House don't reach a deal.
Bloomberg adopted this position in an op-ed Wednesday in The Washington Post. "While the tax revenue and entitlement cuts being discussed are both less than what I and many others believe are necessary to maximize long-term growth, the specifics of the deal are to some extent less important than the act of getting one," he wrote.
Bloomberg is the second high-profile mayor to join Fix the Debt in recent weeks. Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) also signed on to the group earlier this month, citing his support for reforming Social Security and Medicare. Democrats in Los Angeles responded by circulating an online petition urging Villaraigosa to withdraw, which garnered by 20,000 signatures.
Do you know an MMA fan who proudly reminds you at every opportunity that he's been watching since UFC 1? Who complains about the rules and time limits "ruining everything?" Who rewatches PRIDE fights every weekend? Well, if you drew this person in Secret Santa, Cagewriter has the perfect gift.
Lenne Hardt, the woman who melodically and memorably announced fighters during introductions during PRIDE bouts, will record your voicemail message or ringtone. Here she is introducing Wanderlei Silva at PRIDE 33.
That's pretty awesome, and it can be your name that she's saying. Voicemails and ring tones start at $50, and she'll also do wedding announcements. Check it all out here.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) ? Steven Spielberg's Civil War epic "Lincoln" led the Golden Globes on Thursday with seven nominations, among them best drama, best director for Spielberg and acting honors for Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.
Tied for second-place with five nominations each, including best drama are Ben Affleck's Iran hostage-crisis thriller "Argo" and Quentin Tarantino's slave-turned-bounty-hunter tale "Django Unchained."
Other best-drama nominees put forward by The Hollywood Foreign Press Association are Ang Lee's shipwreck story "Life of Pi" and Kathryn Bigelow's Osama bin Laden manhunt thriller "Zero Dark Thirty."
Nominated for best musical or comedy were: the British retiree adventure "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"; the Victor Hugo musical "Les Miserables"; the first-love tale "Moonrise Kingdom"; the fishing romance "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"; and the lost-soul romance "Silver Linings Playbook."
Globe attention can give contenders a boost for Hollywood's top honors, the Academy Awards, whose nominations come out Jan. 10, three days before the Globe ceremony.
The directing lineup came entirely from dramatic films, with Affleck, Bigelow, Lee, Spielberg and Tarantino all in the running.
"It's very gratifying to get this many nominations from the HFPA for a film I worked so hard on and am so passionate about. I look forward to having fun at the Golden Globes with my cast mates and fellow nominees," Tarantino said in a statement.
Filmmakers behind best musical or comedy nominees were shut out for director, including Tom Hooper for "Les Miserables" and David O. Russell for "Silver Linings Playbook."
Along with Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Spielberg's epic, best dramatic actor contenders are Richard Gere as a deceitful Wall Streeter in "Arbitrage"; John Hawkes as a polio victim trying to lose his virginity in "The Sessions"; Joaquin Phoenix as a Navy veteran under the sway of a cult leader in "The Master"; and Denzel Washington as a boozy airline pilot in "Flight."
Dramatic-actress nominees are Jessica Chastain as a CIA analyst hunting Osama bin Laden in "Zero Dark Thirty"; Marion Cotillard as a whale biologist beset by tragedy in "Rust and Bone"; Helen Mirren as Alfred Hitchcock's strong-minded wife in "Hitchcock"; Naomi Watts as a woman caught up in a devastating tsunami in "The Impossible"; and Rachel Weisz as a woman ruined by an affair in "The Deep Blue Sea."
For musical or comedy actress, the lineup is Emily Blunt as a consultant for a Mideast sheik in "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"; Judi Dench as a widow who retires overseas in "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"; Jennifer Lawrence as a young widow in a new romance in "Silver Linings Playbook"; Maggie Smith as an aging singer in a retirement home in "Quartet"; and Meryl Streep as a wife trying to save her marriage in "Hope Springs."
Nominees for musical or comedy actor are Jack Black as a solicitous mortician in "Bernie"; Bradley Cooper as a troubled man fresh out of a mental hospital in "Silver Linings Playbook"; Hugh Jackman as Hugo's long-suffering hero Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables"; Ewan McGregor as a British fisheries expert in "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"; and Bill Murray as Franklin Roosevelt in "Hyde Park on Hudson."
Competing for supporting actor are Alan Arkin as a Hollywood producer helping a CIA operation in "Argo"; Leonardo DiCaprio as a cruel slave owner in "Django Unchained"; Philip Seymour Hoffman as a mesmerizing cult leader in "The Master"; Tommy Lee Jones as firebrand abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens in "Lincoln"; and Christoph Waltz as a genteel bounty hunter in "Django Unchained."
The supporting-actress picks are Amy Adams as a cult leader's devoted wife in "The Master"; Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln in "Lincoln"; Anne Hathaway as a mother fallen into prostitution in "Les Miserables"; Helen Hunt as a sexual surrogate in "The Sessions"; and Nicole Kidman as a trashy mistress of a Death Row inmate in "The Paperboy."
Kidman was a dual nominee, also in the running as best actress in a TV movie or miniseries for "Hemingway & Gellhorn."
"As an actor you look for roles that are rich, complicated, and that stretch you and this year I was blessed to find two," Kidman said in a statement. "To have the chance to play them was a gift in itself and to then be acknowledged this way is icing on the cake."
"Quartet" star Smith also had a second nomination, for supporting actress in a TV series, miniseries or movie for "Downton Abbey."
Snubbed completely was the low-budget critical darling "Beasts of the Southern Wild," which won top honors at last January's Sundance Film Festival. Also shut out was the stripper hit "Magic Mike," which had good buzz for supporting player Matthew McConaughey, who also earned acclaim for roles in "Bernie" and "Killer Joe." Another film to not notch a single nomination was "The Hobbit," a prelude to the "The Lord of the Rings" films, which all got Globe nods.
With three nominations, "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" was a surprise inclusion Thursday, since the film had virtually no awards buzz behind it.
There will be some friendly rivalry among the hosts at the Globe ceremony, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Both were nominated for best actress in a TV comedy, Fey for "30 Rock" and Poehler for "Parks and Recreation."
Fey and Poehler follow Ricky Gervais, who was host the last three years and rubbed some Hollywood egos the wrong way with sharp wisecracks about A-list stars and the foreign press association itself.
The Sarah Palin drama "Game Change" leads TV contenders with five nominations: including best movie or miniseries and acting honors for Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Ed Harris and Sarah Paulson.
Best TV comedy series nominees are "The Big Bang Theory," ''Episodes," ''Girls," ''Modern Family" and "Smash." TV drama picks are "Breaking Bad," ''Boardwalk Empire," ''Downton Abbey: Season 2," ''Homeland" and "The Newsroom."
Globe acting winners often go on to receive the same prizes at the Oscars. All four Oscar winners last season ? lead performers Meryl Streep of "The Iron Lady" and Jean Dujardin of "The Artist," and supporting players Octavia Spencer of "The Help" and Christopher Plummer of "Beginners" ? won Globes first.
The Globes have a spotty record predicting which films might go on to earn the best-picture prize at the Academy Awards, however.
Last year's Oscar best-picture winner, "The Artist," preceded that honor with a Globe win for best musical or comedy. But in the seven years before that, only one winner in the Globes' two best-picture categories ? 2008's "Slumdog Millionaire" ? followed up with an Oscar best-picture win.
Along with 14 film prizes, the Globes hand out awards in 11 television categories.
Jodie Foster, a two-time Oscar and Globe winner for "The Accused" and "The Silence of the Lambs," will receive the group's Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.
With stars sharing drinks and dinner, the Globes have a reputation as one of Hollywood's loose and unpredictable awards gatherings. Winners occasionally have been off in the restroom when their names were announced, and there have been moments of onstage spontaneity such as Jack Nicholson mooning the crowd or Ving Rhames handing over his trophy to fellow nominee Jack Lemmon.
UTSA anthropologist honored for contributions researching primates in AfricaPublic release date: 11-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kris Edward Rodriguez kris.rodriguez@utsa.edu 210-458-5116 University of Texas at San Antonio
Lambert recognized for her research in the field of primate feeding biology
SAN ANTONIO, DEC. 10, 2012 Joanna Lambert, professor in the UTSA Department of Anthropology, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for the outstanding contributions she has made to the field of primate feeding biology at evolutionary and ecological scales.
Lambert was one of 702 members worldwide selected for her scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. She will receive an official certificate and gold and blue rosette pin at a ceremony at the 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013.
"I am very honored to be recognized at the national level by my scientific peers. The AAAS represents the largest scientific scholarly organization in the world," said Lambert.
For more than 20 years, Lambert has conducted research focused on the evolutionary and community ecology of primates, primarily in Kibale National Park in Uganda. Her studies have found that chimpanzees and an array of monkey species contribute an extremely high percentage of the seed dispersal taking place in forests like Kibale and elsewhere in equatorial Africa.
"A very high percentage of ape and monkey diet is comprised of fruit, so they are eating and dispersing thousands of seeds a day throughout the forest," said Lambert. "They are undoubtedly amongst the most important agents of forest regeneration in Kibale National Park and elsewhere in Africa."
Additionally, Lambert has been recognized for her research looking at the impacts of climate shifts on primate feeding adaptations with a goal of shedding light on the evolution of human and primate diet.
Lambert's love for Africa developed at an early age. She was eight years old when she read a book that described how leopards consume prey by pulling it into the trees to avoid conflicts with other larger carnivores.
The author of more than 100 books, journal articles and abstracts, Lambert currently serves as Handling Editor for the journal Oecologia, Academic Editor for PLoS ONE, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Tropical Conservation Science. Previously she was Associate Editor for the American Journal of Physical Anthropology and Associate Editor for the American Journal of Primatology. Lambert has also served an appointment in Washington D.C. as the Director of the National Science Foundation's Biological Anthropology Program. She was the co-founder of the Northwest Primate Conservation Society, and has been an advisor to the United Nations Environmental Program on great ape conservation.
Lambert's accolades include the Vilas Associate Professorship for Research at the University of Wisconsin Madison, the R.A. Bray Faculty Fellowship for Excellence in Scholarship from the University of Oregon and the Emerald Professor of the Year, Oregon, in 2003.
She received her doctoral degree in biological anthropology from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign and her master's and bachelor's degrees in biology and anthropology from Northern Illinois University.
Established in 1848, AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society with more than 10 million individuals and 261 affiliated societies and academies of science. The organization publishes Science, the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world with an estimated total readership of more than one million.
###
About UTSA
The University of Texas at San Antonio is one of the largest of nine academic universities and six health institutions in the UT System. As a multicultural institution, UTSA aims to be a national research university providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
UTSA serves nearly 31,000 students in 135 degree programs in the colleges of Architecture, Business, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Honors, Liberal and Fine Arts, Public Policy, Sciences and the Graduate School. Founded in 1969, UTSA is an intellectual and creative resource center andsocioeconomic development catalyst for Texas and beyond. Learn more at www.utsa.edu/today
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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.
UTSA anthropologist honored for contributions researching primates in AfricaPublic release date: 11-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kris Edward Rodriguez kris.rodriguez@utsa.edu 210-458-5116 University of Texas at San Antonio
Lambert recognized for her research in the field of primate feeding biology
SAN ANTONIO, DEC. 10, 2012 Joanna Lambert, professor in the UTSA Department of Anthropology, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for the outstanding contributions she has made to the field of primate feeding biology at evolutionary and ecological scales.
Lambert was one of 702 members worldwide selected for her scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. She will receive an official certificate and gold and blue rosette pin at a ceremony at the 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013.
"I am very honored to be recognized at the national level by my scientific peers. The AAAS represents the largest scientific scholarly organization in the world," said Lambert.
For more than 20 years, Lambert has conducted research focused on the evolutionary and community ecology of primates, primarily in Kibale National Park in Uganda. Her studies have found that chimpanzees and an array of monkey species contribute an extremely high percentage of the seed dispersal taking place in forests like Kibale and elsewhere in equatorial Africa.
"A very high percentage of ape and monkey diet is comprised of fruit, so they are eating and dispersing thousands of seeds a day throughout the forest," said Lambert. "They are undoubtedly amongst the most important agents of forest regeneration in Kibale National Park and elsewhere in Africa."
Additionally, Lambert has been recognized for her research looking at the impacts of climate shifts on primate feeding adaptations with a goal of shedding light on the evolution of human and primate diet.
Lambert's love for Africa developed at an early age. She was eight years old when she read a book that described how leopards consume prey by pulling it into the trees to avoid conflicts with other larger carnivores.
The author of more than 100 books, journal articles and abstracts, Lambert currently serves as Handling Editor for the journal Oecologia, Academic Editor for PLoS ONE, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Tropical Conservation Science. Previously she was Associate Editor for the American Journal of Physical Anthropology and Associate Editor for the American Journal of Primatology. Lambert has also served an appointment in Washington D.C. as the Director of the National Science Foundation's Biological Anthropology Program. She was the co-founder of the Northwest Primate Conservation Society, and has been an advisor to the United Nations Environmental Program on great ape conservation.
Lambert's accolades include the Vilas Associate Professorship for Research at the University of Wisconsin Madison, the R.A. Bray Faculty Fellowship for Excellence in Scholarship from the University of Oregon and the Emerald Professor of the Year, Oregon, in 2003.
She received her doctoral degree in biological anthropology from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign and her master's and bachelor's degrees in biology and anthropology from Northern Illinois University.
Established in 1848, AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society with more than 10 million individuals and 261 affiliated societies and academies of science. The organization publishes Science, the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world with an estimated total readership of more than one million.
###
About UTSA
The University of Texas at San Antonio is one of the largest of nine academic universities and six health institutions in the UT System. As a multicultural institution, UTSA aims to be a national research university providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
UTSA serves nearly 31,000 students in 135 degree programs in the colleges of Architecture, Business, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Honors, Liberal and Fine Arts, Public Policy, Sciences and the Graduate School. Founded in 1969, UTSA is an intellectual and creative resource center andsocioeconomic development catalyst for Texas and beyond. Learn more at www.utsa.edu/today
[ | E-mail | 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.
To state the obvious, I am new here. You can call me Pink. I found this site on a Google search. I used to roleplay all the time, but life kind of got crazy and I no longer had the time to do the things I love. If figure, in order to keep what's left of my sanity, I should probably get back to some things that I actually enjoy. So, I searched for RP sites, and that's how I ended up here! I love to write, and enjoy a medieval or modern fantasy setting. Looking forward to roleplaying here!
As we hinted at time and time again, Google has released its native Maps app for iOS…before Christmas. The timing couldn’t come soon enough, as many people have become frustrated with the built-in iOS 6 Maps that Apple offers. Even Apple’s own CEO took it upon himself to apologize for the not-so-polished product, an stand-up act which I actually applauded. Today is about Google Maps, though. The company has spent the past seven years refining its offering, making its internal systems run quickly to keep up with as many detours, traffic conditions and new apartment complexes that it can. All of that hard work paid off with this app, it’s absolutely gorgeous, runs as smooth as a video game and is a complete user experience overhaul from any Google Maps experience you’ve ever had. The new swipe gestures to bring up menus, as well as the great detail in which information is displayed are clear as soon as you open the app. Good thing, because 50% of the Google Maps usage comes from mobile devices, obviously. Now here’s the bad news on this version of Google Maps, there are no biking directions, offline mode (although as soon as you get a route, it is cached on your device), indoor maps or offers as of yet. This would seem to be incomplete, but clearly the team wanted to put together a fantastic Maps app that serves the need of iOS users right this moment. Yes, Google didn’t want to pack everything in too tightly until the world had a chance to play with it. Fair enough, but some of these things would have been nice. But yes, overall, it’s that good. I took it for a spin yesterday and was able to figure out its new UI immediately. Basically, the map is the UI. All of the menus are neatly tucked away, pulled up and out with gestures that are masterfully designed for iOS. If Apple had only waited a bit longer, this could have been the experience that shipped with iOS 6. It also complete with a brand new SDK so that developers can start integrating it into their apps. I spoke with Google Maps for Mobile Director, Daniel Graf, and while he said that Google didn’t hold out as long as it possibly could to release this, I would say that waiting until Apple’s infamous Holiday App Store freeze![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tASqEU3ozxhfuf3szC7-JeNzvKag9uwPRJpWYoSH76r79tb8DepR451dfm63kHclq4Z_PHjjHB98lDlGWxnizW7NqSDYQckHyH0OGKSo4=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 11-Dec-2012
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