Apple trademarks new FaceTime logo, settles on green

There's certainly been a lot of brouhaha surrounding the new design language Apple introduced for iOS 7 at WWDC. Some (ourselves included) feel it's modern and fresh while others loathe the brighter palette and simpler, flatter icons. A lot can change between now and the launch of iOS 7 this fall, but if Apple's recent trademark filing is any indication, FaceTime's new logo / icon -- which consists of a stylized white video camera inside a rounded-off green square -- fits squarely (ahem) within the aesthetic we saw on stage in San Francisco. Of course, companies often trademark logos, so we can't really say this comes as much of a surprise, either. If you're curious where Jony Ive might have found his inspiration for the pastel colors and thin lines showcased in iOS 7's iconography, check out Otl Aicher's design work for the 1972 Olympics in the "more coverage" link after the break.

Filed under: Software, Mobile, Apple

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Source: Patently Apple

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/30/apple-trademarks-new-facetime-logo-settles-on-green/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Like Fire and Ice

Alright. I was just thinking of making a character on that side, possibly two characters on each side. How about a professional mercenary who is adapt at utilizing both his Ice manipulation/(something else less powerful than the royal families since he isn't one) and his sword techniques. Tell me through PM whether you want my character to have powerful Ice powers.

Then the other would be a female fire knight in the military. I have plans for them. *Evil laugh that I do not know how to do*

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/VLnKLIa_i90/viewtopic.php

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AP PHOTOS: Images of the western US heat wave

Well, the hits just keep on coming. Grease being Paula Deen has not just been dropped from her ham company in the wake of her racist remark scandal. She's also been dumped by Walmart, and now Home Depot, and diabeetus drug company Novo Nordisk. All because she admitted to saying and doing some racist things years ago in a deposition. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-photos-images-western-us-heat-wave-083000457.html

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Lester pitches Red Sox to 7-4 win over Blue Jays

BOSTON (AP) ? With one ace already on the disabled list, the Boston Red Sox weren't taking any chances when their other star pitcher landed awkwardly after a pitch late in the game.

By that point, though, Jon Lester had more than done his job.

Lester pitched into the eighth inning before jamming his right hip and leaving the game, and Dustin Pedroia homered during a seven-run second to help the Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 in the opener of a four-game series Thursday night.

"I slipped a little bit. I guess the doctors were kind of calling it a little jammed hip, a type of zinging sensation down my leg." Lester said. "It just didn't feel normal and like I said, at that point in the game, especially with that offense ? they can score some runs in a hurry ? so there's no point in trying to be a hero. We've got a long way to go the rest of the season."

Toronto, which reeled off 11 straight wins this month, had won 12 of its past 14 games and 15 of 19 to close within 6? games of the AL East-leading Red Sox.

Then the Blue Jays ran into Lester.

The left-hander retired 10 straight to begin the game and didn't allow a hit until the fifth. But he exited the game with a 7-2 lead after giving up consecutive singles to start the eighth and running the count to 3-0 on Emilio Bonifacio.

Farrell came darting out of the dugout as the infielders crowded around Lester. Moments later, Lester walked off the field and Junichi Tazawa came on in relief.

"The final pitch that he threw, his landing foot kind of gave way and he jammed his hip," Farrell said. "Given where we were in the ballgame and the number of pitches he had thrown, he clearly had done his job and we weren't going to take any chances."

It was quite a scare for Red Sox Nation.

Clay Buchholz, who is 9-0 with a 1.71 ERA, hasn't pitched since June 8 because of neck stiffness and a sore shoulder.

Lester, however, isn't concerned about his leg. He has experienced this before and doesn't think he will miss any starts.

"I'm not too worried about it. The doctors didn't seem worried about it," he said. "I actually feel fine now. Walking off the field, it just kind of stays with you for a little while, and then after the docs looked at me, I feel normal. Hopefully that will carry over to tomorrow and we won't have to worry about it."

The Blue Jays capitalized when Lester left the game, cutting the deficit to 7-4 on a sacrifice fly by Jose Reyes and a groundout by Jose Bautista.

Koji Uehara preserved the lead with a perfect ninth for his third save.

Lester (8-4) was charged with four runs on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks in winning for just the second time in his last eight starts.

"I feel that responsibility to go out there and save the bullpen and that's what we tried to do tonight," Lester said. "Obviously would have liked to give (Tazawa) a little better situation than what he came into, but he kept us with the lead and that's the main thing."

After starting the season 6-0 with a 2.72 ERA through his first nine starts, Lester struggled over his past seven, going 1-4 with a 7.30 ERA.

He returned to form just in time to face baseball's best team in June ? and Boston's bats provided him all the support he needed.

The Red Sox jumped all over Chien-Ming Wang, tagging the right-hander for seven runs while batting around in the second. Wang (1-1) lasted just 1 2-3 innings, allowing all seven runs on six hits with two walks and no strikeouts.

"They dropped seven on us," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "Against a good pitcher, you are never going to catch that. Too much to overcome."

Lester needed only 30 pitches to get through three innings and didn't allow a baserunner until Bautista walked with one out in the fourth.

Melky Cabrera singled for Toronto's first hit with one out in the fifth and moved to second on a base hit by Rajai Davis. Maicer Izturis drove them both home with a double to left-center.

Yet it wasn't enough to make up for Boston's blistering start.

Wang allowed the first seven batters to reach base during the drawn-out second.

David Ortiz and Mike Carp walked, Daniel Nava delivered an RBI single off the Green Monster in left field and Jarrod Saltalamacchia followed with an RBI single up the middle to make it 2-0.

Stephen Drew's double to right scored Nava, and consecutive base hits by Jose Iglesias and Jacoby Ellsbury stretched the lead to 5-0 before Wang even managed an out.

It got even worse.

After inducing a double play, Wang served up Pedroia's fifth homer of the season, a two-run shot that landed in the first row of Green Monster seats and ended Wang's evening after just 45 pitches.

"We swung the bats well," Pedroia said. "A lot of guys strung together some quality at-bats. It was a huge inning for us."

NOTES: The Red Sox played their 81st game, marking the 16th consecutive season Boston has owned a winning record halfway through the season. ... Red Sox RHP Clay Buchholz, on the DL with a neck strain, has been shut down for two to three days with lingering soreness in his right shoulder, according to Farrell. Buchholz (9-0, 1.71 ERA) underwent an MRI on Wednesday that revealed inflammation in the bursa sac area, but no structural damage. Farrell said he hopes Buchholz will resume throwing this weekend. ... Ellsbury has hit safely in eight straight games and 22 of the past 25. ... Wang fell to 6-7 in 16 career appearances against the Red Sox. ... Toronto RHP Josh Johnson (1-2, 4.60 ERA) will face Allen Webster (0-2, 11.25) in the second game of the series Friday. ... Carp returned to the lineup after missing three games and eight of the past nine with right hamstring tightness.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lester-pitches-red-sox-7-4-win-over-020133344.html

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Tornado watch called after funnel cloud spotted near Choiceland

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A picture tweeted by @cazbone6 appears to show a funnel cloud near Nipawin Friday.

Photograph by: Twitter , @cazbone6 (Chad Caza)

Environment Canada has issued a tornado watch for the area around Melfort, Tisdale, Nipawin and Carrot River.

At around 10 a.m. Friday, a funnel cloud was spotted five kilometres north of Choiceland it was headed southeast at 20 kilometres per hour.

"Conditions are favourable for the development of funnel clouds or weak tornadoes," according to the notification on Environment Canada's website.

? Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

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Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F280/~3/BgCnPitcxg0/story.html

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WSJ: Google working on an Android-powered game system, smart watch and new Nexus Q

According to the Wall Street Journal, Google might make another foray into living room hardware as it's currently developing an Android powered gaming console. Since that's just not enough of a rumor bomb, the talkative "people familiar with the matter" also claim a wristwatch and followup to its "postponed" Nexus Q project are on the way. If you believe the rumors, its reason for jumping into all these categories is to beat products Apple is reportedly developing in the same categories, with at least one of them launching this fall. Finally, the leaks indicate Google's next major Android update will be "tailored to low-cost devices in developing countries," and are ready to go in a much wider variety of devices.

That could mean laptops or even appliances running the rumored Key Lime Pie flavor of Android, built by manufacturers like Samsung which is already working on a watch of its own. Also mentioned is HP, which the report goes on to claim is building laptops that run Android. Companies like Ouya, Mad Catz, Pebble and GEAK probably think Mountain View is already late to the party, but official OS-level support and heavily marketed hardware could take these segments to the next level.

Filed under: Gaming, Wearables, HD, Mobile, Samsung, Google, HP

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Source: Wall Street Journal

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/27/wsj-google-android-game-console/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Sony RX100 II: A Totally New Sensor, a More Perfect Point-and-Shoot

Last year, Sony overhauled basically its entire line of cameras from the very bottom to tippiest top. Surprisingly, the most exciting of the bunch weren't mirrorless cameras or DSLRs, but fixed-lens Cyber-shots: The RX100, a point-and-shot superior to all others, and the RX1, a compact full-frame sensor camera priced for professionals. Sony's expanding on its success on both cameras with some well-considered fine-tuning.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/O9PKK0U75l8/sony-rx100-ii-a-totally-new-sensor-a-more-perfect-poi-593962573

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Setting up a social media business strategy ? The Punch - Nigeria's ...

While many businesses have a social media presence, many are not engaging on those platforms and thus not meeting their goals.

With planning, your small business can use social media effectively.

Here are seven steps to a social media strategy for your business:

1: Determine your business objectives for social media

How do you want to use social media to help your business? What goals do you want to achieve?

Make your goals as concrete, measurable and achievable as possible. For example, if you currently get five new leads a month, setting a goal to get 100 new leads in the next 12 months is more realistic than setting a goal to get 5,000 new leads.

2: Know your audience

Determine the prospects and customers with whom you want to engage on social media. This is your target audience.

The more you know your audience, the easier it will be to engage with them on social media and get the results you?re looking for.

3: Choose your ?hot buttons?

These are your firm?s core topics. By clearly defining the right hot topics for your company and creating content and conversations around these topics, you?ll find it easier to get the results you want from social media.

Offer a variety of content formats, not just text. People take in content differently. Attract attention with images, since some social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram are image-based.

4: Stake your social media turf

Create a presence on all major social media platforms.

Take ownership of your firm?s name across social media entities. Understand that this may not be possible, depending on your company name and similarly named organisations. But you?ll want to secure your name for the main social media profiles.

Branding is a shorthand that helps customers to recognise your company without thinking. After you?ve claimed your space, remember to incorporate elements of your brand into your profile.

Also think ?findability? and post your store location, phone number and local hours. Remember to include a link to your website.

A strong social presence will help you get the most out of your social media marketing.

5: Set your social media engagement

Be strategic with your social media time usage. It?s easy to spend more time than you need to on social media. A social media plan?together with a strategic approach?will help you find the right balance.

Use your existing communications such as email and in-store signage to encourage your customers to get onto social media and engage with you.

6: Plan your resource use

For many small businesses, the concept of planning resource utilisation may be new. Even if you?re a solopreneur, you must take a strategic view of your time. If you don?t, you?ll find that you?re running from one online emergency to another.

Decide who will handle your social media engagement. For most small businesses, this is often the owner.

Set parameters for social media use. This means defining your social media guidelines for both employees and visitors.

Create processes where possible. Depending on your business, assess where you have opportunities to develop content that supports your goals. Think customer interactions, purchases and conferences.

Actionable marketing tip: Prepare for creating content. Have a camera, smartphone or iPad ready to capture content while you?re doing business! Don?t forget to get customers? permission to use their images to ensure you don?t have issues later. Have a plan in place to determine how and where you?ll use the information.

7: Measure your social media results

Don?t forget to set up everything you?ll need to measure your results. The metrics you?ll want to track will be based on the business objectives you defined. Track indicators that help show that you?ve accomplished your objectives. For most businesses, this means more than comments and social media shares.

Over to you

The bottom line is that your small business can successfully use social media to achieve your business objectives. To this end, plan ahead to ensure that the time spent on social media reinforces your other business messaging and engagement and yields measureable results.

?socialmediaexaminer.com

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Source: http://www.punchng.com/i-punch/setting-up-a-social-media-business-strategy/

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Oil price rises above $97 as Fed fears ease

NEW YORK (AP) ? The price of oil rose above $97 a barrel Thursday, as the latest U.S. economic data raised hopes for an increase in gasoline demand but suggested the Federal Reserve can wait to pull back on its current stimulus measures.

Meanwhile, the price of natural gas fell to nearly a 4-month low, and the cost of filling up the family car dropped again as the July Fourth holiday approaches.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell by 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 346,000 last week, evidence that the job market is still improving modestly. Steady job gains could help the economy expand later this year, and would mean more people driving to work.

But the Commerce Department revised downward its estimate of consumer spending for three of the year's first four months. That could signal weaker than expected growth in the April-June quarter. A day earlier the government downgraded its estimate for growth in the January-March quarter to a 1.8 percent annual rate, from a previous estimate of 2.4 percent. The main reason for the revision was consumers spent less than initially estimated.

Tepid growth could keep the Federal Reserve from scaling back its program of bond purchases later this year. The bond purchases have helped keep interest rates low, and encouraged investors to seek better returns in stocks and oil futures.

Benchmark oil for August delivery was up $1.57, or 1.6 percent, to $97.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange around midday. Oil has gained nearly 4 percent this week, after a sharp drop last Thursday and Friday when the Fed signaled it could start curtailing the bond-buying program as early as September if the economy improves enough.

Natural gas futures moved in the opposite direction after the Energy Department said supplies rose more than expected last week. Natural gas fell 16 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $3.57 per 1,000 cubic feet. That's the lowest level since March 6. Gas was priced at $4.17 per 1,000 cubic feet just a month ago.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of gas fell 1 cent to $3.53, the lowest average since May 7. That's 10 cents cheaper than a month ago, although still 15 cents more expensive than at this time last year.

Brent crude, which is used to set prices for oil used by many U.S. refineries to make gasoline, rose $1.44 to $103.10 a barrel.

In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:

? Heating oil rose 4 cents to $2.90 a gallon.

? Wholesale gasoline rose 1 cent to $2.73 a gallon.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-06-27-Oil%20Prices/id-fea6a71b064d4b698ec9dbceb6beec97

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Potential boost for world's food supply: Resistance gene found against Ug99 wheat stem rust pathogen

June 27, 2013 ? The world's food supply got a little more plentiful thanks to a scientific breakthrough.

Eduard Akhunov, associate professor of plant pathology at Kansas State University, and his colleague, Jorge Dubcovsky from the University of California-Davis, led a research project that identified a gene that gives wheat plants resistance to one of the most deadly races of the wheat stem rust pathogen -- called Ug99 -- that was first discovered in Uganda in 1999. The discovery may help scientists develop new wheat varieties and strategies that protect the world's food crops against the wheat stem rust pathogen that is spreading from Africa to the breadbaskets of Asia and can cause significant crop losses.

Other Kansas State University researchers include Harold Trick, professor of plant pathology; Andres Salcedo, doctoral candidate in genetics from Mexico; and Cyrille Saintenac, a postdoctoral research associate currently working at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in France. The project was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Borlaug Global Rust Initiative.

The team's study, "Identification of Wheat Gene Sr35 that Confers Resistance to Ug99 Stem Rust Race Group," appears in the journal Science.

It identifies the stem rust resistance gene named Sr35, and appears alongside a study from an Australian group that identifies another effective resistance gene called Sr33.

"This gene, Sr35, functions as a key component of plants' immune system," Akhunov said. "It recognizes the invading pathogen and triggers a response in the plant to fight the disease."

Wheat stem rust is caused by a fungal pathogen. According to Akhunov, since the 1950s wheat breeders have been able to develop wheat varieties that are largely resistant to this pathogen. However, the emergence of strain Ug99 in Uganda in 1999 devastated crops and has spread to Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen, though has yet to reach the U.S.

"Until that point, wheat breeders had two or three genes that were so efficient against stem rust for decades that this disease wasn't the biggest concern," Akhunov said. "However, the discovery of the Ug99 race of pathogen showed that changes in the virulence of existing pathogen races can become a huge problem."

As a first line of defense, wheat breeders and researchers began looking for resistance genes among those that had already been discovered in the existing germplasm repositories, he said.

"The Sr35 gene was one of those genes that was discovered in einkorn wheat grown in Turkey," Akhunov said. "Until now, however, we did not know what kind of gene confers resistance to Ug99 in this wheat accession."

To identify the resistance gene Sr35, the team turned to einkorn wheat that is known to be resistant to the Ug99 fungal strain. Einkorn wheat has limited economic value and is cultivated in small areas of the Mediterranean region. It has been replaced by higher yielding pasta and bread wheat varieties.

Researchers spent nearly four years trying to identify the location of the Sr35 gene in the wheat genome, which contains nearly two times more genetic information than the human genome.

Once the researchers narrowed the list of candidate genes, they used two complimentary approaches to find the Sr35 gene. First, they chemically mutagenized the resistant accession of wheat to identify plants that become susceptible to the stem rust pathogen.

"It was a matter of knocking out each candidate gene until we found the one that made a plant susceptible," Akhunov said. "It was a tedious process and took a lot of time, but it was worth the effort."

Next, researchers isolated the candidate gene and used biotechnical approaches to develop transgenic plants that carried the Sr35 gene and showed resistance to the Ug99 race of stem rust.

Now that the resistance gene has been found, Akhunov and colleagues are looking at what proteins are transferred by the fungus into the wheat plants and recognized by the protein encoded by the Sr35 gene. This will help researchers to better understand the molecular mechanisms behind infection and develop new approaches for controlling this devastating pathogen.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/pyaQ1l90Ii4/130627141726.htm

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Pats player Hernandez taken from home in handcuffs

NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) ? New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was taken from his home in handcuffs Wednesday morning, more than a week after a Boston semi-pro football player was found dead in an industrial park a mile from the player's house.

Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player for the Boston Bandits, was found slain June 17. Officials ruled the death a homicide but did not say how Lloyd died.

Lloyd's relatives said he was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee, that the two men were friends and that both men were out together on the last night of Lloyd's life.

It's unclear why Hernandez was being taken into custody Wednesday around 9 a.m. and put into the back of a police cruiser. He was wearing a white V-neck T-shirt, with his arms inside the shirt and behind his back. He casually spit into some bushes on his way to the car.

The Associated Press emailed a message to his attorney, Michael Fee, who hasn't discussed the investigation beyond acknowledging media reports about it. A message also was left with the Bristol County district attorney's office.

Lloyd's mother, Ursula Ward, declined to comment at her Boston home Wednesday morning.

"Nothing to say, please. Thank you," she said, before shutting the door.

State police have searched in and around Hernandez's home in North Attleborough several times. At least three search warrants have been issued in connection with the investigation.

Reporters have been camped out for days at Hernandez's sprawling home on the Rhode Island line, not far from the stadium where the Patriots play. They reported Tuesday that Hernandez got a visit from Boston defense attorney James Sultan.

The Patriots drafted Hernandez, who is originally from Bristol, Conn., out of the University of Florida in 2010. Last summer, the team gave him a five-year contract worth $40 million.

Patriots spokesman Stacey James has said the team did not anticipate commenting publicly during the police investigation.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pats-player-hernandez-taken-home-handcuffs-131332109.html

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Rain-Dodging Headlights Can Now Handle Snow

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Rain-Dodging Headlights Can Now Handle Snow
Last year we reported that researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Intel had developed a prototype headlight that could avoid lighting up raindrops, giving a driver a clearer view of the road ahead. That team has now developed a version able to cope with wind-blown snowflakes, too, and tested it during a snowstorm in Pittsburgh.

Source: Technology Review
Posted on: Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013, 8:19am
Views: 17

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/128792/Rain_Dodging_Headlights_Can_Now_Handle_Snow

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Survivor of stellar collision is new type of pulsating star

June 26, 2013 ? A team of astronomers from the UK, Germany and Spain have observed the remnant of a stellar collision and discovered that its brightness varies in a way not seen before on this rare type of star. By analysing the patterns in these brightness variations, astronomers will learn what really happens when stars collide.

This discovery will be published in the 27 June 2013 issue of the journal Nature.

Stars like our Sun expand and cool to become red giant stars when the hydrogen that fuels the nuclear fusion in their cores starts to run out. Many stars are born in binary systems so an expanding red giant star will sometimes collide with an orbiting companion star. As much as 90% of the red giant star's mass can be stripped off in a stellar collision, but the details of this process are not well understood. Only a few stars that have recently emerged from a stellar collision are known, so it has been difficult to study the connection between stellar collisions and the various exotic stellar systems they produce. When an eclipsing binary system containing one such star turned up as a by-product of a search for extrasolar planets, Dr Pierre Maxted and his colleagues decided to use the high-speed camera ULTRACAM to study the eclipses of the star in detail. These new high-speed brightness measurements show that the remnant of the stripped red giant is a new type of pulsating star.

Many stars, including our own Sun, vary in brightness because of pulsations caused by sound waves bouncing around inside the star. For both the Sun and the new variable star, each pulsation cycle takes about 5 minutes. These pulsations can be used to study the properties of a star below its visible surface. Computer models produced by the discovery team show that the sound waves probe all the way to the centre of the new pulsating star. Further observations of this star are now planned to work out how long it will be before the star starts to cool and fade to produce a stellar corpse ("white dwarf'") of abnormally low mass.

Dr Pierre Maxted from Keele University, who led the study, said "We have been able to find out a lot about these stars, such as how much they weigh, because they are in a binary system. This will really help us to interpret the pulsation signal and so figure out how these stars survived the collision and what will become of them over the next few billion years."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Keele University, via AlphaGalileo.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Pierre F. L. Maxted, Aldo M. Serenelli, Andrea Miglio, Thomas R. Marsh, Ulrich Heber, Vikram S. Dhillon, Stuart Littlefair, Chris Copperwheat, Barry Smalley, Elm? Breedt, Veronika Schaffenroth. Multi-periodic pulsations of a stripped red-giant star in an eclipsing binary system. Nature, 2013; 498 (7455): 463 DOI: 10.1038/nature12192

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_science/~3/CV6uAPRK4io/130626142856.htm

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IG: IRS credit cards used for wine, pornography

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Poor oversight by the Internal Revenue Service allowed workers to use agency credit cards to buy wine for an expensive luncheon, dorky swag for managers' meetings and, for one employee, romance novels and diet pills, an agency watchdog said Tuesday.

Two IRS credit cards were used to buy online pornography, though the employees said the cards were stolen. One of the workers reported five agency credit cards lost or stolen.

IRS employees used agency credit cards to make more than 273,000 purchases totaling nearly $108 million in 2010 and 2011, according to the report by the Treasury inspector general for tax administration.

The vast majority of those purchases were legitimate, the report said. However, the report said the IRS has inadequate controls to prevent inappropriate purchases.

For example, investigators found that one IRS employee spent $2,655 on diet pills, romance novels, steaks, a smartphone and baby-related items, including bottles, games and clothes. The case was referred to the IG's office that investigates employee misconduct, the report said.

Among other "improper" purchases identified by the inspector general:

? $3,152 to rent a popcorn machine and to buy prizes for an employee event, including bandanas, stuffed animals, sunglasses and stovepipe hats.

? $418 for novelty decorations and swag at managers' meetings, including kazoos, bathtub toys and "Thomas the Tank Engine" wristbands.

? $119 for Nerf footballs that were never used and were found stored in a filing cabinet.

"Inadequate procedures to identify, report and address inappropriate use leaves the IRS purchase card program vulnerable to repeated violations of applicable laws and regulations," said J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration.

The report comes as the IRS faces intense scrutiny over agents targeting conservative groups for additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status. Documents released Monday show that liberal and progressive groups were singled out, too.

Also, the inspector general released a report earlier this month that detailed lavish spending at employee conferences. In all, the agency spent nearly $50 million on employee conferences from 2010 through 2012.

"Clearly, any inappropriate card use impacts our bottom line and is cause for concern," said acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, who took over the agency last month. "Wasteful spending cannot be tolerated, and any employees found to be abusing the system will be held accountable. In fact, we are following up on several inappropriate incidents mentioned in the report, ranging from internal actions to criminal charges."

"That said, more than 99.75 percent of IRS purchases adhered to the rules," Werfel added. "The IRS has made important progress over the past two years in strengthening the controls in our purchase card program. We are committed to protecting taxpayer resources, and we will take quick action to implement all of TIGTA's recommendations."

The new report highlighted a 2010 conference in Washington for tax officials from other countries. At a luncheon, the IRS bought 28 bottles of wine ? for 41 guests, the report said. A dinner at the conference cost the agency $140 a person, four times the allowable government rate at the time.

In all, the agency spent more than $50,000 on meals, receptions and meetings at the five-day conference, the report said. Agency credit cards were used for about $12,500 of the purchases.

"It is important to note that the luncheon described in the report took place in 2010 for an international business meeting of tax officials from several of the world's largest countries. This meeting is an important forum for international leaders on major tax issues," Werfel said. "However, given the excessive purchases for the luncheon, I am directing the IRS business units to more closely review spending in advance for any similar events to ensure all spending is appropriate."

The IRS participates in the General Services Administration's SmartPay purchase card program. Under the program, agency employees can use purchase cards, which act like credit cards, to buy work-related items. The maximum amount for an individual purchase is $3,000.

More expensive items are subject to competitive pricing policies.

In 2010 and 2011, internal controls at the IRS found 327 cases in which employees divided their purchases to skirt the $3,000 limit. The inspector general's office found an additional 34 cases. In all, the purchases totaled $493,000, the report said.

The report said 94 employees were responsible for the purchases, including 22 workers who had done it more than once in a six-month period. However, the report said, none of the employees were disciplined.

As for the two IRS employees whose cards were used to buy pornography, the inspector general's report didn't determine who bought the material or whether their cards were actually stolen. One of the employees is no longer at the agency. The IG is continuing to investigate the other employee, the report said.

___

Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ig-irs-credit-cards-used-wine-pornography-190551115.html

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2013 Stanley Cup Final PHOTOS: Chicago Blackhawks' Last-Minute Goals Eliminate Boston Bruins

Michal Rozsival

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Michal Rozsival, of the Czech Republic, hoists the Stanley Cup after the Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

The Chicago Blackhawks celebrate after beating the Boston Bruins 3-2 in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Harry How, Pool)

Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago Blackhawks fans celebrate on Madison St. in Chicago after the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2 to win the Stanley Cup on Monday, June 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Andrew Shaw

Chicago Blackhawks center Andrew Shaw skates from the glass after celebrating with fans after the Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Rich Peverley, Patrice Bergeron

Boston Bruins centers Rich Peverley, left, Patrice Bergeron (37) and teammates acknowledge their fans after the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Bruins 3-2 in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Corey Crawford, Tuukka Rask

Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) is congratulated by Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40), of Finland, after the Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Michal Handzus , Patrice Bergeron

Chicago Blackhawks center Michal Handzus (26), of Slovakia, shakes hands with Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron (37) after the Blackhawks beat the Bruins 3-2 in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Michal Handzus , Zdeno Chara

Chicago Blackhawks center Michal Handzus (26), and Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (33), both of Slovakia, speak at center ice after the Blackhawks beat the Bruins 3-2 in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Corey Crawford, Johnny Oduya

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya (27), of Sweden, hugs Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) after winning Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals 3-2 against the Boston Bruins, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

The Chicago Blackhawks pose with the Stanley Cup after beating the Boston Bruins 3-2 in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Chicago Blackhawks left wing Bryan Bickell, center, celebrates his goal with Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews (19) and Chicago Blackhawks center Michal Handzus (26), of Slovakia, during the third period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals against the Boston Bruins, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Marcus Kruger, Dave Bolland

Chicago Blackhawks center Dave Bolland (36) celebrates his game-winning goal against the Boston Bruins with Chicago Blackhawks center Marcus Kruger (16) during the third period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. The Blackhawks won 3-2. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Milan Lucic, Duncan Keith, Corey Crawford

Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic, left, reacts after scoring past Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith (2) and goalie Corey Crawford, hidden during the third period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Milan Lucic, Duncan Keith, Corey Crawford

Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic, foreground, reacts after scoring past Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith (2) and goalie Corey Crawford, right, during the third period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Milan Lucic, Kaspars Daugavins

Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic, right, celebrates with left wing Kaspars Daugavins, of Latvia, after scoring against the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Johnny Boychuk, Patrick Sharp

Chicago Blackhawks center Patrick Sharp (10) shoots as Boston Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk (55) defends during the third period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013 in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Corey Crawford, Daniel Paille

Boston Bruins left wing Daniel Paille (20) moves the puck in front of Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) during the third period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Brandon Saad, Patrice Bergeron, Dennis Seidenberg

Boston Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg (44), of Germany, and center Patrice Bergeron (37) check Chicago Blackhawks left wing Brandon Saad, center, in front of the goal during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Harry How, Pool)

David Krejci, Michal Rozsival

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Michal Rozsival (32), of the Czech Republic, and Boston Bruins center David Krejci (46), of the Czech Republic, tangle during the third period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Johnny Boychuk, Michael Frolik

Chicago Blackhawks center Michael Frolik, top, of the Czech Republic, rides down Boston Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk (55) during the third period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013 in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Patrick Kane, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask

Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (33), of Slovakia, turns the puck from the net in front of Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, right, of Finland, as Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane, left, moves in during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Harry How, Pool)

Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Tuukka Rask, Dennis Seidenberg

Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews, left, skates past the net after his puck landed in the net, right, behind Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, of Finland, as Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane, right celebrates during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. Watching at center is Boston Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, of Germany. (AP Photo/Harry How, Pool)

Corey Crawford, Johnny Oduya, Daniel Paille

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya, right, of Sweden, knocks Boston Bruins left wing Daniel Paille (20) into the crease in front of Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Harry How, Pool)

Daniel Paille, Chris Kelly, Claude Julien

Boston Bruins center Chris Kelly (23) and left wing Daniel Paille, right, hop from the bench in front of head coach Claude Julien during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Patrick Kane, Michal Rozsival, Duncan Keith

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Michal Rozsival (32), of the Czech Republic, looks to the scoreboard during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals against the Boston Bruins, Monday, June 24, 2013 in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Rich Peverley, Marcus Kruger

Boston Bruins center Rich Peverley (49) checks Chicago Blackhawks center Marcus Kruger (16) during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013 in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Corey Crawford, Duncan Keith, David Krejci

Boston Bruins center David Krejci (46), of the Czech Republic, and Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith (2) rush the net in front of Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Harry How, Pool)

Joel Quenneville

Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville walks behind the bench during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals against the Boston Bruins, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Brad Marchand, Corey Crawford

A puck goes past the shoulder of Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Patrick Kane, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask, Rich Peverley

Boston Bruins center Rich Peverley (49), defenseman Zdeno Chara, second from left, of Slovakia, and goalie Tuukka Rask, center, of Finland, defend the net against Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Brad Marchand, Corey Crawford

Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) pokes the puck away from Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Johnny Oduya, Daniel Paille

Boston Bruins left wing Daniel Paille (20) checks Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya (27), of Sweden, during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013 in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Johnny Oduya, Daniel Paille

Boston Bruins left wing Daniel Paille (20) checks Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya (27), of Sweden, during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013 in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane

Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews (19) celebrates his goal with right wing Patrick Kane (88) during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals against the Boston Bruins, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Carl Soderberg, Johnny Oduya

Boston Bruins center Carl Soderberg (34), of Sweden, and Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya (27), of Sweden, fight for position along the boards during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013 in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Tuukka Rask

Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, of Finland, checks the scoreboard after giving up a goal by Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Corey Crawford, Johnny Oduya, Daniel Paille

Boston Bruins left wing Daniel Paille (20) ties up Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya (27), of Sweden, in front of Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Tuukka Rask, Jonathan Toews

A goal by Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews hits the net behind Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40), of Finland, during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane

Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews (19) celebrates his goal with right wing Patrick Kane (88) during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals against the Boston Bruins, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Michal Rozsival

Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews, left, celebrates his goal against the Boston Bruins with right wing Patrick Kane, center, and defenseman Michal Rozsival (32), of the Czech Republic, during the second period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Johnny Oduya, Chris Kelly, Tyler Seguin

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya (27), of Sweden, Boston Bruins centers Chris Kelly (23), and Tyler Seguin (19) fight for position in front of Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Harry How, Pool)

Chris Kelly, Corey Crawford

Boston Bruins center Chris Kelly, left, scores past Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Harry How, Pool)

Corey Crawford, Chris Kelly

Boston Bruins center Chris Kelly (23) scores past Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50)during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Johnny Boychuk, Duncan Keith

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith (2) checks Boston Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk (55) during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013 in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Jonathan Toews, Corey Crawford, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Chris Kelly

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson (4), of Sweden, and Boston Bruins center Chris Kelly (23) go down between Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford, left, and Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews, right, during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013 in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Tuukka Rask, Michal Handzus , Patrice Bergeron

Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron (37) and Chicago Blackhawks center Michal Handzus (26), of Slovakia, fight for the puck in front of Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40), of Finland, during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Monday, June 24, 2013 in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Standing on artificial legs, Boston Marathon bombing victim Jeff Bauman and Carlos Arredondo, wearing the hat, who assisted him at the scene, waves the Boston Strong banner before Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals between the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Dave Sandford, Pool)

Standing on artificial legs, Boston Marathon bombing victim Jeff Bauman and Carlos Arredondo, wearing the hat, who assisted him at the scene, waves the Boston Strong banner before Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals between the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Dave Sandford, Pool)

Johnny Oduya, Shawn Thornton

Boston Bruins right wing Shawn Thornton (22) and Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya (27), of Sweden, scrap for the puck during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Chris Kelly

Boston Bruins center Chris Kelly (23) celebrates his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Andrew Shaw

Chicago Blackhawks center Andrew Shaw lays on the ice after taking a puck to the face against the Boston Bruins during the first period in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Monday, June 24, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/25/stanley-cup-finals-photos-blackhawks-bruins_n_3493939.html

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will.i.am Sues Pharrell For 'I Am Other' Brand

will claims P's logo is 'confusingly similar' to his own.
By Chandra Johnson

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709645/will-i-am-pharrell-i-am-other-lawsuit.jhtml

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Device Shipments Up 6% To 2.4B In 2013, Driven By Android Smartphones, Tablets Amid More PC Decline

Gartner today has released its latest figures charting its overall predictions for how IT devices -- from PCs to mobile handsets -- are going to perform this year and in 2014. As in years before, numbers will continue to climb: in 2013, total shipments will rise 5.9% to 2.35 billion, and will rise again in 2014 to 2.5 billion units, driven by portable, often less expensive, but just as powerful mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android will account for just over one-third of all devices this year, and nearly half in 2014.?It's an Android world after all.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/C20iQ56uBu4/

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4 ways higher ed has changed, post recession

More urgent. More crowded. More expensive. Also, more flexible and accessible to millions.

That, in a nutshell, is how higher education has changed around the world in the wake of the global financial crisis that struck five years ago, and the Great Recession that followed.

Here's how it happened: Increasing financial pressures to get more people through higher education more efficiently opened the door to new technologies. Those technologies, in turn, have begun "unbundling" individual classes and degrees from traditional institutions ? much in the same way iTunes has unbundled songs from whole albums and the Internet is increasingly unbundling television shows and networks from bulky cable packages.

Here are four trends whose origins predate the Great Recession, but which have been unmistakably fueled by it:

?Certificates. Austerity by European governments and U.S. states hammered the budgets of public universities, leaving students to foot more of the bill. Many have responded by seeking faster and more affordable options, targeted to deliver immediate jobs. Certificates ? bite-sized credentials typically in narrow, occupational fields ? don't count as formal degrees, but they're cheaper and can produce a substantial salary boost. Their popularity has exploded in the United States ? about 11 percent of American workers now have them, up from 2 percent in 1980. And while data is spotty, Anthony Carnevale of the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce in Washington, D.C., says their equivalents are growing elsewhere in the developed world, and possibly in developing countries as well, where the inaccessibility of four-year degree programs is even more pressing.

?Competency-based learning. Until now, the main currency of academia has been the "credit hour" ? if you spend a certain amount of time in the classroom and pass the course, you earn credit. That may be changing with a broad-based move toward giving students credit for what they can demonstrate they know, regardless of how much time they spend in class. Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Education signaled to colleges they can get approval to collect federal aid dollars for competency-based programs, and such programs are starting to emerge. These options could save students time and money. As technology makes self-directed learning more available in the rest of the world, other countries will be pressed to consider similar moves.

?Accreditation. The very definition of a university may be changing. Traditionally, in the United States, the "club" of higher education has been guarded by a process of accreditation that's essentially run by traditional universities themselves. Regional and national associations determine whether schools meet specific standards, and can continue to issue diplomas. The government wants more flexibility that would bring into the system specialized providers ? companies that can offer targeted teaching even if they lack the full trappings of a traditional college. Many countries around the world envy the United States its accreditation system as a quality control. But they face similar, or even greater, challenges to ramp up higher education capacity quickly, so they also will be thinking outside their own traditional boxes.

?Pressure to cut costs and "scale up" teaching helped pave the way for the popularity of MOOCs, or "Massive Open Online Courses" taught by elite universities. Two leading platforms, Coursera and edX, are closing in on five million users worldwide. These courses started out as a way for learners to sample teaching by famous professors at top universities, but options for gaining academic credit are beginning to emerge, and they are quickly infiltrating the teaching at traditional universities. To some critics, the MOOCs are little more than glorified online lectures, and dangerous ones at that; their cost-cutting promises could become an excuse for politicians to cut funding for higher education even further. MOOCs also have huge drop-out rates, with estimates that 90 percent who sign up fail to finish. Some evidence is emerging that mixing MOOCs and in-person learning can be effective. Close to half the students who've signed up for edX and Coursera come from developing countries, where demand for higher education massively outstrips supply.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/4-ways-higher-ed-changed-154613728.html

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Beamdog Hoping For Baldur's Gate III Despite 'Legal Hell' | Rock ...

By Nathan Grayson on June 24th, 2013 at 8:00 am.

For a while there, it looked as though Baldur?s Gate had finally emerged from the dank dungeons of obscurity, prepared to crush modern glitz-and-glamour RPGs under a mountain of depth and 20-sided dice. But then things happened. Law things. Now Baldur?s Gate: Enhanced Edition is stuck in neutral ? with Beamdog unable to continue fixing some rather worrisome launch issues ? and Baldur?s Gate II: Enhanced Edition has been put on indefinite hold. Yikes. But are things really as bad as they sound? And where does this leave Baldur?s Gate III, which Beamdog described as a ?long-term goal? no so long ago? I got in touch with Beamdog head Trent Oster to find out.

?The prognosis [for resuming work on Baldur's Gate] is mixed,? he admitted to RPS. ?Best case, we can sort this out soon. Worst case, this could be in legal hell for a while. I like making games, but this contractual dispute bullshit keeps me up at night.?

As a result, the team hasn?t given up on Baldur?s Gate III, but the road to the pie-in-the-sky sequel just got a whole, whole lot rockier.

?Baldur?s?Gate?II: Enhanced Edition is on indefinite hold, as is the current patch,? said Oster. ?Baldur?s?Gate?III, we are still interested in the concept, but currently I?d say were very demoralized.?

That sentiment doesn?t bode particularly well, but Oster and co are trying their hardest to turn things around. For now, Beamdog can?t name which ?publishing partner? is hounding it, but it?s fairly safe to assume that they hold some serious sway. You don?t just take down your main moneymaker and slam the breaks on your next over a little squabble, after all.

So it?s a tricky situation. Here?s hoping for a resolution ? and a Baldur?s Gate III befitting of the series? standards ? sooner rather than later.

Source: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/06/24/beamdog-hoping-for-baldurs-gate-iii-despite-legal-hell/

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Gerrit Cole pitches Pirates past Angels 5-2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) ? Gerrit Cole wasn't nervous about making his first major league road start in his backyard until he heard "Calling All Angels," the syrupy Train ballad played before every game at Angel Stadium.

"I've probably been listening to that song here since I was like 6 years old," said Cole, the Pittsburgh Pirates phenom with pure Southern California roots. "I might have a couple of Rally Monkeys at home."

Once the music faded, Cole shook off his homecoming jitters and kept rolling on an outstanding start to his career.

Cole pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning in his native Orange County, earning his third straight victory in the Pirates' 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.

The Pirates' 22-year-old right-hander out of Orange Lutheran High School and UCLA dazzled the Angels, repeatedly hitting 100 mph on the stadium radar gun. He struck out five and retired 11 straight before Albert Pujols' leadoff homer in the seventh, leaving later in the inning to a warm ovation from his hometown fans.

"It was a lot of fun to see everybody and be back in California," Cole said. "I wasn't expecting to be back here for another few months, so it was great."

Cole (3-0) is the first Pittsburgh pitcher to win his first three career starts since Myrl Brown in 1922. He even outpitched Angels ace Jered Weaver (1-4), who yielded nine hits and four runs over six rocky innings in his fourth straight winless start.

After beating Cy Young winners Tim Lincecum and Zack Greinke in his first two starts, it's clear Cole can hold his own against the majors' best ? and still keep a sense of humor about his rising star.

"That's like $400 million worth of pitching," Cole said. "We've just been scoring runs and giving me a chance."

Until they ran into Cole, the Angels had won six of eight while enjoying perhaps the best offensive stretch of their disappointing season. Los Angeles had scored at least five runs in six of its last eight games, including 10 runs and 17 hits while rallying from a seven-run deficit to beat Seattle on Thursday.

"That's a power arm, there's no doubt about that," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "The ball comes out hot. I think we had some good at-bats against him and hit some balls hard, but for the most part, he was pounding the zone with good stuff and pitched a good game for those guys."

Cole, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft, was born in nearby Newport Beach, Calif., and went to high school 15 minutes from Angel Stadium, racking up 121 strikeouts with an 0.46 ERA as a senior.

After three years at UCLA, Cole rocketed through the Pirates' system and made his major league debut in Pittsburgh to much fanfare 10 days ago. The 6-foot-4 power pitcher hasn't disappointed, beating San Francisco and the Dodgers in Pittsburgh before besting Weaver, who finished second in last year's AL Cy Young voting.

"He pitched like he was pitching in front of his friends and family," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. "He was geared up. He got after it. It was like he was pitching in his hometown, and he wasn't going to let anybody down."

Pedro Alvarez and Jordy Mercer homered in the second inning of the Pirates' first game in Anaheim since 2007.

Jason Grilli pitched the ninth for his NL-leading 26th save.

Cole retired Los Angeles' first seven hitters before back-to-back singles by Hank Conger and Peter Bourjos in the third, but he escaped the jam and didn't allow another baserunner until the seventh.

The Angels finally got to Cole when Pujols led off with his 488th career homer off the fake rock pile in left-center field. That was the first major-league homer allowed by Cole, and he followed up by issuing his first career walk to Mark Trumbo.

Howie Kendrick then hit a liner back to the mound that hit Cole on the upper left thigh, but he stayed in the game.

"It's pretty sore," Cole said. "Got me right on the thigh. Good thing I've got fat legs."

The Angels finally chased Cole on Alberto Callaspo's RBI single, and the Anaheim crowd cheered the local kid on the way to the dugout.

Weaver hasn't been his usual dominant self in five starts since returning from a 45-day stint on the disabled list. After he gave up Alvarez's 17th homer to lead off the second inning, Mercer followed with a two-run shot, his fourth of the season.

"The last three starts it just kind of seems like there's one inning that's a blow-up inning, and I've just got to learn to stay away from that," Weaver said. "It's frustrating. I'm not doing a whole lot to help the team right now. I just have to keep battling, and hopefully things will turn around."

The Pirates added another run in the fourth when Bourjos, normally a spectacular fielder, lost track of Starling Marte's two-out fly to center. The ball landed well behind him for an RBI triple.

Josh Hamilton sat out with a sore right wrist, and the $125 million slugger isn't likely to start a game this weekend while the Angels give him some rest. Hamilton, who was available off the bench, was in a 3-for-26 skid in the first seven games of the Angels' homestand.

NOTES: Pittsburgh improved to 2-5 at the Big A, getting its only previous win here on June 11, 2002. ... RHP Billy Buckner, selected from Triple-A Salt Lake before the game to take injured Jason Vargas' roster spot, pitched 2 2-3 sharp innings of relief for Weaver, giving up one hit and one walk. ... Mike Trout went 0 for 4, but made a full-stretch diving catch on Gaby Sanchez's drive into the left-field corner in the fifth.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gerrit-cole-pitches-pirates-past-angels-5-2-050903374.html

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Parenting and home environment influence children's exercise and eating habits

June 18, 2013 ? Kids whose moms encourage them to exercise and eat well, and model those healthy behaviors themselves, are more likely to be active and healthy eaters, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.

Their findings, published online in the International Journal of Obesity on June 18, 2013, remind parents that they are role models for their children, and underscore the importance of parental policies promoting physical activity and healthy eating.

Exercise and healthy diets are critical in fighting childhood obesity, a considerable problem in the United States, where over a quarter of kids ages two to five are already overweight or obese.

"Obesity is a complex phenomenon, which is influenced by individual biological factors and behaviors," said study author Truls ?stbye, M.D., PhD, professor of community and family medicine at Duke. "But there are variations in obesity from one society to another and from one environment to another, so there is clearly something in the environment that strongly influences the obesity epidemic."

The home environment and parenting can influence a child's health by shaping dietary and physical behaviors, such as providing access to fruits and vegetables or encouraging kids to play outside.

"The 'obesiogenic' environment is broad and multi-faceted, including the physical neighborhood environment, media and advertising, and food tax policies, but we feel that the home environment is critical, particularly among children. However, we didn't have a lot of evidence as to how important this was," ?stbye said.

In this study, ?stbye and his colleagues examined the relationship between the home environment and behaviors related to obesity -- dietary and exercise habits -- among preschoolers.

The researchers studied data from 190 kids, ages two to five, whose mothers were overweight or obese. They collected information on the children's food intake over the past week, with foods rated as junk food or healthy food. To gauge their levels of physical activity, the children wore accelerometers for a week, which measured moderate to vigorous physical activity as well as sedentary time.

The mothers reported information about their children's environments, including family policies around food and physical activity, accessibility of healthy versus junk foods, availability of physical activity equipment, and whether they model healthy eating or exercise for their kids.

When they analyzed the data, the researchers found significant associations between these environmental measures and the preschoolers' physical activity and healthy versus junk food intake. They concluded that to promote healthy behaviors in children, a healthy home environment and parental role modeling are important.

For example, limiting access to junk foods at home and parental policies supporting family meals increased the amount of healthy foods kids ate. Overall, the home environment had more influence on the children's dietary habits than on their physical activity levels.

This study reminds parents that their children are watching and learning from observing their behaviors, both good and bad.

"It's hard for parents to change their behaviors, but not only is this important for you and your own health; it is also important for your children because you are a role model for them," said Marissa Stroo, a co-investigator on the study. "This might be common sense, but now we have some evidence to support this."

The researchers also looked at socioeconomic factors of the mothers, including their education levels and whether they worked, to see if this had an effect on the children's behaviors. The mother's socioeconomic factors did not affect their kids' physical activity, but had mixed results when it came to their dietary habits.

Further research is needed to better understand how a mother's socioeconomic factors influence her child's health, but it is possible that different strategies may be needed to prevent obesity in children depending on a mother's education and work status. More research is also necessary to see if the influence of the home environment changes as children get older, and if parenting strategies should adapt accordingly.

In addition to ?stbye and Stroo, study authors at Duke include Bernard Fuemmeler in the Department of Community and Family Medicine, Rebecca Brouwer at Duke Global Health Institute, and Nancy Zucker in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Rahul Malhotra of the Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School and Cheryl Lovelady of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro also contributed to this research.

The study was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (R01-DK-07549, 1-K23-MH-070-418-01 and 1-K07-CA-124-905-01).

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/lp2z-IcpGMg/130618113652.htm

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Your Door Is About to Get Clever: 5 Smart Locks Compared

I hope you've always wanted a smartphone-controlled door lock because the tech world is here to shove them in your face. Or hand, rather.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/MK5WrwyZSWg/

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