Over the past couple of decades, the NSA has gone to crazy lengths to tap into computer networks of friends and enemies, alike. Backdoors, shell companies, repurposed hacktivists—they've tried it all, and to great success. That is, until Edward Snowden blew the lid off it all
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San Jose Sharks watch as teammate Dan Boyle is placed onto a stretcher during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in St. Louis. Boyle suffered a head injury. The Sharks won 6-2. (AP Photo/Bill Boyce)
San Jose Sharks watch as teammate Dan Boyle is placed onto a stretcher during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in St. Louis. Boyle suffered a head injury. The Sharks won 6-2. (AP Photo/Bill Boyce)
San Jose Sharks' Dan Boyle, on stretcher, is taken from ice during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Bill Boyce)
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — St. Louis Blues forward Maxim Lapierre has been offered an in-person hearing for his hit that knocked out San Jose defenseman Dan Boyle.
The NHL Department of Player Safety announced Wednesday that Lapierre is suspended pending his hearing. Players have an opportunity for an in-person hearing for any suspension that could exceed five games.
Lapierre was given a game misconduct for hitting Boyle from behind in the first period of San Jose's 6-2 win Wednesday night. Boyle was knocked out on the play and taken off the ice on a stretcher before spending the night at the hospital.
The Sharks say Boyle will return to San Jose later Wednesday for treatment and further evaluation. He will miss at least Thursday's game in Dallas.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-10-16-HKN-Blues-Lapierre-Hearing/id-6a3f53fbe9884ac0b3d6602f349e33ccU.S. homebuilders are feeling less confident in the housing market, reflecting their uncertainty over the budget impasse in Washington.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Wednesday fell to 55 in October. That's down from a reading of 57 in September. September's reading was revised one point lower from its initial estimate.
Measures of current sales conditions for single-family homes, builders' outlook over the next six months and traffic by prospective buyers all declined in October.
The partial government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, has made it harder for some buyers to close on their mortgages, raising concerns that a prolonged shutdown could undercut the strength of the housing recovery. The survey was conducted from Oct. 1 through Oct. 11.
Still, builders remain optimistic that the recovery will endure. Any reading above 50 indicates more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor.
"Once this government impasse is resolved, we expect builder and consumer optimism will bounce back," said David Crowe, the NAHB's chief economist.
The association estimates that builders broke ground on single-family homes in September at a seasonally adjusted annual rate between 620,000 and 630,000 homes last month, in line with the August pace of 628,000. Official estimates from the U.S. Census haven't been released because of the government shutdown.
"Single-family starts dipped in July but rebounded in August, and we expect continued strength in September," Crowe said.
Builders' confidence in the market for newly built homes has improved steadily since national measures of home sales and prices began to recover early last year.
But some builders reported a slowdown in sales this summer as mortgage interest rates began to tick up in May, stoking worries that rising rates could hinder the housing recovery.
Rates began to increase after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled the central bank might reduce its $85-billion-a-month in bond purchases. The bond buys are intended to keep longer-term interest rates low, including mortgage rates.
But the Fed held off last month, and since then mortgage rates have moved lower.
Last week, the average rate on a 30-year loan edged up to 4.23 percent from 4.22 percent a week earlier, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. Those are both the lowest averages since July.
Now, the partial government shutdown and uncertainty over a possible U.S. debt default are weighing most on builders' confidence.
Furloughs at the Federal Housing Administration are slowing the agency's processing of loan guarantees for some low- to moderate-income borrowers and first-time homebuyers. About 30 percent of U.S. home mortgages are insured by the FHA. And some lenders are having a hard time getting confirmation of applicants' income tax returns and Social Security data because of government agency closures, delaying some mortgage closings.
In addition to the uncertainty over the federal government's budget battle, the survey also highlighted concerns over the cost and availability of construction labor.
The latest survey, which is based on 261 respondents, a measure of current sales conditions for single-family homes fell two points to 58, while a gauge of traffic by prospective buyers dipped two points to 44. Builders' outlook for single-family home sales over the next six months also slid two points to 62.
Though new homes represent only a fraction of the housing market, they have an outsize impact on the economy. Each home built creates an average of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue, according to data from the homebuilders association.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-10-16-Builder%20Sentiment/id-71e20f49cf4a484394e728015277edfaFormer Secretary of State Hillary Clinton poses onstage for a photograph with Elton John ( R) after receiving her Founders award during the Elton John AIDS Foundation's 12th Annual "An Enduring Vision" benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Invision/AP)
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton poses onstage for a photograph with Elton John ( R) after receiving her Founders award during the Elton John AIDS Foundation's 12th Annual "An Enduring Vision" benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Invision/AP)
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks as Elton John ( R) and his partner David Furnish (L) look on, after receiving her Founders award during the Elton John AIDS Foundation's 12th Annual "An Enduring Vision" benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Invision/AP)
Billy Joel arrives at the Elton John AIDS Foundation's 12th Annual "An Enduring Vision" benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Invision/AP)
Elton Elton arrives at the Elton John AIDS Foundation's 12th Annual "An Enduring Vision" benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Invision/AP)
Alexis Roderick and Billy Joel arrive at the Elton John AIDS Foundation's 12th Annual "An Enduring Vision" benefit gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Invision/AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Elton John honored Hillary Rodham Clinton for her work to help those affected by HIV and AIDS at an annual event for his foundation.
Clinton was excited as she accepted the first founders award from the Elton John AIDS Foundation Tuesday night in New York City. The former secretary of state told the crowd at Cipriani's restaurant that "we still have so far to go" when it comes to helping those affected by HIV and AIDS.
"There are so many challenges in front of us," Clinton said. The former senator added that she wants to see an "AIDS free generation" and that accomplishing that must be "our north star."
"I thank you, but I know there's more for us to do," she said. "Humans may discriminate, but viruses don't."
Billy Joel, Alec Baldwin, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Lisa Marie Presley and Courtney Love also attended John's "An Enduring Vision: A Benefit for the Elton John AIDS Foundation" event. Recent Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Heart performed a dozen songs, including the hits "What About Love" and "Alone."
"One of my favorite bands of all time," John yelled before Heart hit the stage.
John was passionate throughout the night, urging the attendees that there should be AIDS "treatment for everyone, treatment for all."
"We must never give up on anyone," he said, adding that those who want to help have to be "stubborn" when it comes to finding ways to assist those affected by AIDS.
The event raised $1 million through an anonymous donor and more funds through an auction, which included a lunch with Anderson Cooper for $12,000 and a one-hour tennis lesson with Novak Djokovic for $60,000. Two different signed photos of John taken by Terry O'Neill went for $26,000 and $27,000, respectively.
Matt Lauer hosted the gala, filling in for Anderson Cooper who was on assignment in Washington, D.C. He provided laughs at the start of the event, but received helped from John's partner, David Furnish, who also worked to facilitate the program.
John's foundation is celebrating its 20th year. Before presenting Clinton with her award, John paid tribute to Furnish.
"We are a week away from our 20th anniversary," he said to gushes from the crowd.
John added that he was touched by Clinton's speech in Geneva, when she declared that "gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights."
John told the AP before the event that he hopes Clinton runs for president in 2016.
"She's a great human rights campaigner for people of color, for people of sexual orientation," he said. "She's made our fight easier by being such a staunch supporter of AIDS and for people's human rights."
Clinton also headlined a New York fundraiser on Tuesday night for Terry McAuliffe, a longtime family friend who is running for Virginia governor.
The former secretary of state has largely avoided political events this year but is helping McAuliffe and New York mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio, a former campaign aide. Mrs. Clinton plans to publicly endorse McAuliffe at a campaign event in Falls Church, Va., on Saturday.
___
Associated Press entertainment producer John Carucci contributed to this report.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-10-16-Elton%20John-Hillary%20Clinton/id-c8d97e4ddc994ff48ab8c81f2476ee30WASHINGTON (AP) — Bank of America Corp. says its third-quarter profit surged as it saw increases from investments and interest charged on loans.
The second-largest U.S. bank reported Wednesday that it earned $2.5 billion in the July-September period, up from $340 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, earnings were 20 cents, beating the 19 cents expected by financial analysts.
Bank of America has been slimming down and cutting jobs since CEO Brian Moynihan took over in early 2010. The strategy is meant to make the bank easier to manage and to reduce riskier businesses.
Third-quarter revenue slipped to $22.2 billion from $22.5 billion.
The bank, based in Charlotte, N.C., said it cut expenses by about $1 billion from a year earlier, to $16.4 billion. Bank of America cut 24,651 full-time jobs in the third quarter.
Bank of America said it had strong growth in lending in the third quarter as well as improved quality of outstanding loans and high deposit balances. The amount set aside for potential losses on loans dropped sharply to $296 million from $1.8 billion a year earlier.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-10-16-Earns-Bank%20of%20America/id-b9b38cdab8a748f486d8ac52d9b08b1cFILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012, file photo, Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts speaks at the National Retail Federation's annual convention in New York. Apple said Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, that Ahrendts, who used technology to drive a remarkable turnaround at Burberry, will take charge of Apple's expansion plans and retail operation, as she will become a senior vice president at the company next spring. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012, file photo, Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts speaks at the National Retail Federation's annual convention in New York. Apple said Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, that Ahrendts, who used technology to drive a remarkable turnaround at Burberry, will take charge of Apple's expansion plans and retail operation, as she will become a senior vice president at the company next spring. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
LONDON (AP) — Apple said Tuesday that Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts, who used technology to drive a remarkable turnaround at her luxury fashion house, will take charge of the company's expansion plans and retail operation.
Ahrendts, who will become a senior vice president at Apple next spring, is credited with helping transform Burberry from an established if stodgy brand known for its iconic trench coats to one of the fashion world's leading companies. Together with chief creative officer Christopher Bailey, Ahrendts championed melding digital and mobile technology with the runway.
"She shares our values and our focus on innovation, and she places the same strong emphasis as we do on the customer experience," Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said in a statement.
Bailey, who will become Burberry CEO on Ahrendts' departure, live-streamed his catwalk shows to fans worldwide through online channels like Twitter. Shoppers who wanted the runway's coats, shoes and bags could point and click — staking a claim to the hottest fashions months ahead of the items appearing in stores.
The pair proved a powerful team, with Ahrendts presiding over the head office while Bailey oversaw creative marketing, store design and consumer technology, helping complete a turnaround started by another American executive, Rose Marie Bravo.
Burberry was rewarded with growth, particularly in Asia, where luxury and classic British craftsmanship proved a highly successful combination. The company's share price has consistently outperformed the FTSE 100 stock index, and she has proved one of country's most prominent female executives.
Burberry on Tuesday reported first-half sales rose 14 percent to 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion).
The move to Apple Inc. marks another step in the career of Ahrendts, a native of New Palestine, Indiana, who also served as executive vice president at Liz Claiborne Inc. and president of Donna Karan International.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-10-15-Apple-Burberry/id-2cfa65b01efc4a77a260e203b770764a![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
ShareContact: Morgan Kelly
mgnkelly@princeton.edu
609-258-5729
Princeton University
A class of molecules called microRNAs may offer cancer patients two ways to combat their disease.
Researchers at Princeton University have found that microRNAs small bits of genetic material capable of repressing the expression of certain genes may serve as both therapeutic targets and predictors of metastasis, or a cancer's spread from its initial site to other parts of the body. The research was published in the journal Cancer Cell.
MicroRNAs are specifically useful for tackling bone metastasis, which occurs in about 70 percent of patients with late-stage cancer, said senior author Yibin Kang, Princeton's Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor of Molecular Biology. During bone metastasis, tumors invade the bone and take over the cells known as osteoclasts that normally break down old bone material as new material grows. These cells then go into overdrive and dissolve the bone far more quickly than they would during normal bone turnover, which leads to bone lesions, bone fracture, nerve compression and extreme pain.
"The tumor uses the osteoclasts as forced labor," explained Kang, who is a member of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and adviser to Brian Ell, a graduate student in the Princeton Department of Molecular Biology and first author on the study. Kang and Ell worked with scientists at the IRCCS Scientific Institute of Romagna for the Study and Treatment of Cancer in Meldola, Italy, and the University Cancer Center in Hamburg, Germany. In this video, Ell describes his research on using small RNAs for treating and monitoring bone metastasis.
MicroRNAs can reduce that forced labor by inhibiting osteoclast proteins and thus limiting the number of osteoclasts present. Ell and his colleagues observed that bones exhibiting metastasis developed significantly fewer lesions when injected with microRNAs. Their findings suggest that microRNAs could be effective treatment targets for tackling bone metastasis and also may help doctors detect the cancer's spread to the bone, Kang said. Samples collected from human patients revealed a strong correlation between elevated levels of another group of microRNAs and the occurrence of bone metastasis, the researchers found.
In a commentary accompanying the study in Cancer Cell, researchers who were not associated with the work wrote, "This [study] represents significant insight into our understanding of the organ-specific function and pathological activity of miRNAs, which could lead to improvements in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of bone metastases and elucidates a unique aspect of the bone microenvironment to support tumor growth in bone." The commentary was authored by David Waning, Khalid Mohammad and Theresa Guise of Indiana University in Indianapolis.
Kang said he ultimately hopes to extend mice experimentation to clinical trials. "In the end, we want to help the patients," he said.
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[Images can be seen at http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S38/18/50A40. To obtain high-res images, contact Princeton science writer Morgan Kelly, (609) 258-5729, mgnkelly@princeton.edu]
The research was supported by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, grant BC123187 from the U. S. Department of Defense, grants R01CA134519 and R01CA141062 from the National Institutes of Health, and the Brewster Foundation. The research was also supported by the Preclinical Imaging and Flow Cytometry Shared Resources of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey (P30CA072720). Collaborators were supported by the Champalimaud Foundation, the European Research Council, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the German Minister of Education and Research.
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.
ShareContact: Morgan Kelly
mgnkelly@princeton.edu
609-258-5729
Princeton University
A class of molecules called microRNAs may offer cancer patients two ways to combat their disease.
Researchers at Princeton University have found that microRNAs small bits of genetic material capable of repressing the expression of certain genes may serve as both therapeutic targets and predictors of metastasis, or a cancer's spread from its initial site to other parts of the body. The research was published in the journal Cancer Cell.
MicroRNAs are specifically useful for tackling bone metastasis, which occurs in about 70 percent of patients with late-stage cancer, said senior author Yibin Kang, Princeton's Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor of Molecular Biology. During bone metastasis, tumors invade the bone and take over the cells known as osteoclasts that normally break down old bone material as new material grows. These cells then go into overdrive and dissolve the bone far more quickly than they would during normal bone turnover, which leads to bone lesions, bone fracture, nerve compression and extreme pain.
"The tumor uses the osteoclasts as forced labor," explained Kang, who is a member of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and adviser to Brian Ell, a graduate student in the Princeton Department of Molecular Biology and first author on the study. Kang and Ell worked with scientists at the IRCCS Scientific Institute of Romagna for the Study and Treatment of Cancer in Meldola, Italy, and the University Cancer Center in Hamburg, Germany. In this video, Ell describes his research on using small RNAs for treating and monitoring bone metastasis.
MicroRNAs can reduce that forced labor by inhibiting osteoclast proteins and thus limiting the number of osteoclasts present. Ell and his colleagues observed that bones exhibiting metastasis developed significantly fewer lesions when injected with microRNAs. Their findings suggest that microRNAs could be effective treatment targets for tackling bone metastasis and also may help doctors detect the cancer's spread to the bone, Kang said. Samples collected from human patients revealed a strong correlation between elevated levels of another group of microRNAs and the occurrence of bone metastasis, the researchers found.
In a commentary accompanying the study in Cancer Cell, researchers who were not associated with the work wrote, "This [study] represents significant insight into our understanding of the organ-specific function and pathological activity of miRNAs, which could lead to improvements in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of bone metastases and elucidates a unique aspect of the bone microenvironment to support tumor growth in bone." The commentary was authored by David Waning, Khalid Mohammad and Theresa Guise of Indiana University in Indianapolis.
Kang said he ultimately hopes to extend mice experimentation to clinical trials. "In the end, we want to help the patients," he said.
###
[Images can be seen at http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S38/18/50A40. To obtain high-res images, contact Princeton science writer Morgan Kelly, (609) 258-5729, mgnkelly@princeton.edu]
The research was supported by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, grant BC123187 from the U. S. Department of Defense, grants R01CA134519 and R01CA141062 from the National Institutes of Health, and the Brewster Foundation. The research was also supported by the Preclinical Imaging and Flow Cytometry Shared Resources of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey (P30CA072720). Collaborators were supported by the Champalimaud Foundation, the European Research Council, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the German Minister of Education and Research.
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.
Since launching last year, online fitness startup Wello has been trying to democratize training with Google Hangout-like video conferencing sessions. By doing so, Wello enables its customers to get into shape in their own homes and on their own time, while also offering up individual and group training sessions that are usually much cheaper than purchasing through your local gym.
The company started with individual training sessions, allowing customers to set their own workout schedules and connect with trainers that would most appeal to them. Earlier this year it began offering group sessions that were priced lower than individual workouts, and also provided a social component — users could invite their friends to work out with them and a trainer at a time of their choosing.
The next big business move for Wello is to begin offering gym-like membership subscriptions, which packages a group of workouts together and lowers the price further for users. With its subscription offering, Wello is offering a selection of different prices for users, based on whether they want to work out alone or in groups, as well as the number of sessions that they plan to use per month.
Pricing breaks down like this:
Group Class Memberships
1-on-1 Personal Training Memberships
If users max out on their number of sessions for a given month, they can always upgrade, or buy more on an a la carte basis. Group classes cost $14 each, while individual training sessions still cost $29 a piece.
Each of its trainers are certified and tested out before they join the platform, and are rated by users who take part in sessions with them. Wello has more than 10,000 options available for different types of workouts at various levels of proficiency, so each user should be able to find something that works for them.
Wello has seen pretty good retention from customers who have already signed up for its video-enabled fitness sessions, but the subscription offering should provide the company with more visibility into recurring revenue on a month-to-month basis. According to co-founder and CEO Leslie Silverglide, about two-thirds of all customers who sign up and try one exercise session come back and do it again. And the average customer already takes about six sessions each month.
For Wello, the new subscription offering is designed to provide a new way to appeal to customers and to get people to sign up to train at home, instead of using a gym. The company has raised $1 million in seed funding from Kleiner Perkins, Mohr Davidow, Aberdare Ventures, Mayo Ventures, Morado Ventures, S-Cubed Capital, PhilQuo Ventures, and other angels.
Wello is re-envisioning wellness by taking what’s proven to work – meeting with experts – and combining it with emerging video technology. Wello’s first product delivers LIVE, online fitness training via two-way video to clients across the country and around the world. Wello matches clients with the right Wello-vetted trainer and workout program for them, provides seamless scheduling and payment, and establishes the live video connection for the workout to take place.
When David Goyer said that the still-untitled follow-up to this summer's Man of Steel was further along than most people realized, it provoked a lot of speculation about whether or not the screenplay had already been completed and pre-production was on the table. Turns out, things could be even further along than that, with one report suggesting that the movie will start shooting this weekend.
According to the East Los Angeles College Campus News (first spotted by Latino Review), three takes of a fictional football game between Gotham City University and Metropolis State University will be shot during the halftime of the real-life ELAC/Victor Valley College game this Saturday, October 19, with spectators temporarily becoming Gotham City supporters for the duration.
STORY: Goyer Reveals Who'd Win in His Personal Superman-Batman Face-Off
"Our visibility among the film community is higher than a lot of schools," ELAC’s College event and Venue Coordinator Ernest Burnett told the Campus News. "The experiences of the people that have come and shot here are very good." Burnett went on to say that the production chose the school because "they wanted to support the school," and called the shoot "a big opportunity for us."
Whether or not this report turns out to be true -- if nothing else, the ELAC Campus News definitely seems to believe that is is -- one thing's for sure: Attendance at Saturday's game is likely to be far, far higher than usual levels, especially amongst the important "Just Hoping to Glimpse Zack Snyder at Work" demographic.
Getty Images
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis performing
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis topped the list of 2013 American Music Award nominees with six, including Artist of the Year, New Artist of the Year and Single of the Year, for "Thrift Shop."
Justin Timberlake scored five nominations, including Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist and Favorite Male Pop/Rock Artist and Album. Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Robin Thicke nabbed four nominations each.
It was also announced that Miley Cyrus and Imagine Dragons would be performing on the American Music Awards, which will air live from the Nokia Theatre in L.A. on Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
Last year's big winner, Justin Bieber, who took home three trophies, was not nominated in any categories this year.
Winners will be determined by by fans through online voting, which is now open.
Photo by Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Photo by Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Photo by Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Photo by Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
Photo by Josh Valcarcel/WIRED
HTC announced a new device Monday morning: a giant smartphone with a 6-inch screen.
The One Max is the third member of the One family, so now there’s a One for everyone. Those who prefer phones of a reasonable size have the demure 4.3-inch mini. Fans of the beastly two-handers can pick up the new 5.9-inch One Max. And the rest of us can go for the flagship One, the 4.7-inch phone designed to compete with all the other Android handsets from major manufacturers that measure just below 5 inches.
HTC says the One Max will be available overseas in late October, and that you’ll be able to pick one up stateside on either Verizon or Sprint “before the holidays.”
Specs-wise, the Max is more than just a scaled-up version of the original One. It has a larger battery of course (3,300mAh), and a microSD card slot has been added. You can remove the aluminum back of the phone to swap microSD cards, but not to swap the battery. The front-facing speakers are larger on the Max, so they sound a little better. The camera is the same, but HTC has updated its software, and has made some overall tweaks to its Android skin and content browser, Blinkfeed.
There’s also a fingerprint scanner centered on the back of the Max. The idea is that if you’re holding the phone naturally, using your thumb and your last three fingers to grip the lower half, you can reach up with your index finger and stroke the sensor. One neat twist: You can set it up to launch different applications depending on which finger you swipe. So, your index finger launches the home screen, your middle finger launches Twitter, and your pinkie launches Facebook, or whatever you want. It just can’t authenticate you inside apps — for now, it only unlocks the phone.
Will the One Max sell? Well, people do seem to like the bigphones like the Galaxy Note. But the hot feature on the Note is the stylus, which can be used for writing notes and with various handwriting recognition apps. The pen has been a key to the Galaxy Note’s success in Asia, where the written characters are more complicated than ours. But the One Max doesn’t have a stylus, and I don’t know if that will make it less popular than the Note oversees. The other thing people love about bigphones is that they’re great for reading text and watching videos — they make very nice consumption devices. For that, this phone is glorious. It’s still comically large for my tastes, but I understand the thirst for these huge screens.
A full review will follow once we get our review unit (HTC probably has to ship it freight, so it might take a while).
Ron White Gets Married
Blue Collar Wedding
... Eat Some Frito Pie!
Exclusive
It all went down Sunday at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas ... where the 56-year-old traded "I dos" with his longtime girlfriend Margo Rey, a singer/songwriter.
Sources connected to the shindig tell TMZ ... the wedding was awesome -- with famous guests, a performance from John Oates (of Hall & Oates) and FRITO PIE for the guests!!
**Note -- Frito Pie is a concoction of delectable Southern goodness made by combining Fritos corn chips, chili and cheese ... it's delicious.
We're told guests included John Paul DeJoria and Dr. Phil -- who partnered with White a while back to form Margo's music label.
Dr. Phil’s kid, Jay McGraw performed the wedding ceremony.
But the couple that REALLY stole the show was Ron and Margo's dogs, Pearl and Gurdy -- who were dressed up in wedding attire and hung out on stage during the performances.
Congrats!!!
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Visionary and traditional, wispy and soulful, tender and cool, Spike Jonze's Her ponders the nature of love in the encroaching virtual world and dares to ask the question of what might be preferable, a romantic relationship with a human being or an electronic one that can be designed to provide more intimacy and satisfaction than real people can reliably manage. Taking place tomorrow or perhaps the day after that, this is a probing, inquisitive work of a very high order, although it goes a bit slack in the final third and concludes rather conventionally compared to much that has come before. A film that stands apart from anything else on the horizon in many ways, it will generate an ardent following, which Warner Bros. can only hope will be vocal and excitable enough to make this a must-see for anyone who pretends to be interested in something different.
In terms of ethereal tone, offbeat romanticism and evanescent stylistic flourishes, the film that bears some comparison to Her is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which dealt with the search for love, its memory or its prospect, in a similarly fleeting, lightly heartbreaking manner. The theme and dramatic drive behind Jonze's original screenplay, the search for love and the need to “only connect,” is as old as time, but he embraces it in a speculative way that feels very pertinent to the moment and captures the emotional malaise of a future just an intriguing step or two ahead of contemporary reality.
PHOTOS: It's Lonely Out Here: 'Gravity' and 10 More Films About Isolation
Set in a downtown Los Angeles as thick with highrises as Manhattan, as modernistic as Shanghai and populated exclusively with citizens both gainfully employed and well dressed (an optimistic, if unplanned antidote to the recent Elysium), the film focuses intently upon Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), who is very good at his job, that of writing eloquent, moving, heartfelt letters for others who aren't up to the task; he's a sort of Cyrano for all seasons. With his glasses, mustache and high-hitched trousers with no belt (the era's one bad fashion fad), he's a bit of a neatnik and a nerd, but acutely attuned to people's inner feelings.
As it will for two hours, the camera stays very close to this well-mannered, proper fellow, who goes home to his upper-floor apartment to play a life-sized 3D video game featuring a foul-mouthed cartoon character who insults him, in all a poor substitute for his wife (Rooney Mara), who's divorcing him. Quick and funny anonymous phone sex follows, but Theodore then explores a new electronic offering, an operating system (OS1) that absorbs information and adapts so fast that the resulting conversation matches anything real life can offer. Or -- and this is the part that's both seductive and unnerving -- it might be even better.
The OS Theodore prescribes calls itself Samantha. With a vivacious female voice that breaks attractively but also has an inviting deeper register, “she” explains that she has intuition, is constantly evolving and can converse so well because she has total recall and instantaneous adaptability. Samantha laughs, makes jokes, commiserates, advises and even proof-reads one of his letters. Based on their (programmed) rapport, Samantha very quickly defines what Theodore is looking for in a woman, even if he'll never know what the viewer knows, that this inviting voice belongs to Scarlett Johansson.
The man's complicity with this new confidant is only increased after an intense, and intensely disappointing, blind date with a stunning and initially flirtatious young lady (a vital Olivia Wilde). Not only is Samantha endlessly cooperative and (literally) interactive, but her emotions seemingly escalate at the same pace as his own.
Even up to this point, less than an hour in, the film provokes many questions and musings. Can an artificial being who's “made for you” provide greater fulfillment than a flesh-and-blood human of more erratic capacities? Is it not ideal to have someone there for you whenever you want and then not when you prefer to be alone? Does a strictly verbal relationship sustain a desirable level of fantasy while holding reality at bay? Does a virtual romance have equal value to a real one? Because Theodore and Samantha get along so well, do we, as an audience, root for this relationship to “work out?” Isn't this electronic rapport a lot better than Ryan Gosling's relationship with an inflatable doll in Lars and the Real Girl? Does virtual marriage constitute the next legislative frontier?
Where Jonze goes with his intriguing exploration in the second half is both sobering and a tad soft. It's also the place where you realize that Phoenix's Theodore is at the center of every scene and, due to the fact that his confidant doesn't corporeally exist, is often the only one onscreen for extended periods. This fact has compelled the director to get Theodore out of the house, so to speak, and keep him on the move, which is what provides the film with the measure of forward momentum it possesses. All Theodore needs to talk to Samantha is a small earpiece, so he often converses while walking through the city (only in the most fabulously scenic sections), on the subway, by the beach, later on a fast train (in what must have been the credited Chinese part of the shoot) and hiking through a forest. When he is surrounded by other solitaires engaged in deep conversation, Her resembles nothing so much as the final scenes of the film version of Fahrenheit 451, in which society's rebels promenade about while devotedly reciting from banned books they've memorized.
Although the final stretch is devoted to the resolution of Theodore and Samantha's intimate relationship, the dramatic limitations of the film's presentational one-sidedness become rather too noticeable as the two-hour mark approaches. The director's visual panache, live-wire technical skills and beguilingly offbeat musical instincts work overtime to paper over what can only be conveyed in extended conversation (not collaborating with cinematographer Lance Accord for the first time, Jonze benefits from great work behind the camera by Hoyte van Hoytema, while the score by Arcade Fire casts a spell of its own). The feeling at the end is that of a provocative if fragile concept extended somewhat beyond its natural breaking point.
In a tender about-face from his fearsome performance in The Master, Phoenix here is enchantingly open, vulnerable, sweet-natured and yearning for emotional completion. Accoutered to look both goofy and cool, he's nonetheless appealing and the actor exhibits an unprecedented openness that is entirely winning. Passages in Jonze's writing really grapple with what people want out of love and relationships and Phoenix, with Johansson piping in on the other end of the line, makes it all feel spontaneous and urgent.
Amy Adams is on the same emotional page as a longtime friend of Theodore who, rather too conveniently, is also going through a romantic separation.
The film is beguilingly sincere and touching in how it approaches loneliness and the compulsion to overcome it, and it asks the relevant question of whether technology fosters distance from others, helps surmount it, or both. It also inquires into the different sorts of satisfactions, and lack of same, offered by human beings and machines in an age we've already entered.
Venue: New York Film Festival (closing night)
Opens: December 18 (Warner Bros.)
Production: Annapurna Pictures
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde, Chris Pratt, Matt Letscher, Portia Doubleday, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Spike Jonze
Screenwriter: Spide Jonze
Producers: Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze, Vincent Landay
Executive producers: Daniel Lupi, Natalie Farrey, Chelsea Barnard
Director of photography: Hoyte Van Hoytema
Production designer: KK Barrett
Costume designer: Casey Storm
Editors: Eric Zumbrunnen, Jeff Buchanan
Music: Arcade Fire
R rating, 126 minutes
Leaky as a Sieve
Image by Kodak Roam via Flickr.
The government have announced “tough new curbs” on illegal immigration. They will be part of the Immigration Bill. The Telegraph headlines them Illegal Immigrants to be Kept Off Road.
Apparently, according to the Telegraph, they are
the Government’s response to the rise of the UK Independence Party and growing public unease about immigration.
If it’s their response then it is an inadequate one.
Firstly, of course, these measures only cover illegal immigration. Legal immigration is not affected, including the unlimited right of citizens from all other EU member states to settle in the UK. From January 1st, that right will be extended to the citizens of Romania and Bulgaria, but it already applies to places like Poland and Latvia.
Remember – those government figures for “net migration”, currently running at over 200,000 per year, only cover legal migration.
Worse – the measures in the Bill are empty posturing anyway.
First up: driving licences.
The Bill will give the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency powers to check the immigration status of people applying for a licence. In addition, immigrants who are found to have overstayed in Britain will have their licences revoked.
Let’s have a look at the current process for applying for a UK driving licence.
You have to provide identification, obviously, to get a driving licence. From the DVLA website:
You can send:
- a full valid current passport
- a biometric residence permit (formerly known as the identity card for foreign nationals)
- a UK certificate of naturalisation
In other words, you already have to prove you are not an illegal immigrant to get a driving licence. I guess in any case that if you are happy to be in the country illegally, you probably aren’t too worried about driving without a driving licence either.
The “new” provisions on driving licences, then, will do absolutely nothing that the law does not already do to keep illegal immigrants off the road.
Next up: bank accounts.
Bank staff will be legally required to check applicants’ details against databases held by anti-fraud organisations. The Home Office said that such databases hold government data on “tens of thousands of illegal migrants”.
What – wait! (As the Americans say.) They are admitting that they know the details of tens of thousands of illegal immigrants, including their addresses, and they are still in the country?!
The “new” measures, like the driving licence ones, are little different from the current law anyway. Under the current regulations, as the British Bankers’ Association says:
By law, bank staff must verify your identity and your address. They cannot use the same document to verify both.
For example, Barclays Bank requires one of the following to prove your identity:
plus one of the following to prove your address:
In effect, then, you already have to prove that you are resident in Britain to open a bank account.
And finally: housing.
As the Telegraph says:
Despite doubts about its viability, the Bill will also contain a legal requirement for private landlords to check the immigration status of tenants.
Yes, even the Telegraph precedes that with “despite doubts about its viability”.
However, I guess such a duty could indeed be imposed, although it would be mighty hard to enforce.
Here’s a question: how would a landlord check “the immigration status of tenants”? You could check their passport, or their driving licence, or indeed their bank account details. Frankly, I would assume that most landlords already check those. Would landlords do that?
The very scrupulous ones would. You know, the ones who already check that their tenants are legitimate – not least, because they’re keen to make sure the tenants are likely to go on paying the rent.
Do you think that the unscrupulous ones would check? How likely would they be to be discovered not checking such a thing? What would happen if they were discovered? A small fine? Would that be enough to encourage them to check immigration status?
Sounds pretty unworkable to me. But of the three measures in the Bill, it’s the only one that is even half meaningful.
So there we have it. The Government’s response to the rise of UKIP.
Two meaningless measures that are the same as the law is now, and a third measure that even the Tory-supporting Telegraph thinks is of doubtful viability.
What then would a serious attempt to control illegal migration look like?
It would start with counting people in and out to make sure they don’t outstay their welcome at the end of their holiday visas. John Major’s Conservative government abolished that. Tony Blair promised to reimpose it by 2012. In October last year we were still waiting. Since then, it has gone very quiet.
Incidentally, when I last visited Ukraine a couple of years ago, they were still counting people in and out very successfully using their antiquated USSR-era computer system. But it’s apparently too hard in our “advanced Western economy”.
As usual, the government’s new “announcement” is all about news management. Even Acts of Parliament these days are more like government press releases than actual measures designed to govern the country.
