Indie sensibilities embraced at gaming conference

FILE - In this March 25, 2009 file photo, Video game enthusiasts attend the Game Developers Conference, in San Francisco. The schedule for the 2013 GDC held March 25-29, illustrates the dramatic changes that have reshaped the gaming industry in recent years, an evolution that's as much about business models as it is about pixels. GDC organizers have added a summit on free-to-play games, planned talks on topics like crowd funding and micro-transactions and coordinated panels with such titles as "Making Money with Mobile Gaming" and "Why Won't FarmVille Go Away?" (AP Photo/Ben Margo, Filet)

FILE - In this March 25, 2009 file photo, Video game enthusiasts attend the Game Developers Conference, in San Francisco. The schedule for the 2013 GDC held March 25-29, illustrates the dramatic changes that have reshaped the gaming industry in recent years, an evolution that's as much about business models as it is about pixels. GDC organizers have added a summit on free-to-play games, planned talks on topics like crowd funding and micro-transactions and coordinated panels with such titles as "Making Money with Mobile Gaming" and "Why Won't FarmVille Go Away?" (AP Photo/Ben Margo, Filet)

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2013 file photo, Mark Cerny, lead system architect for the Sony Playstation 4 speaks during an event to announce the new video game console, in New York. The schedule for the 2013 GDC held March 25-29, in San Francisco, illustrates the dramatic changes that have reshaped the gaming industry in recent years, an evolution that's as much about business models as it is about pixels. Sony is angling to reignite developers' enthusiasm with the PlayStation 4. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

FILE - In this March 25, 2009 file photo, Video game enthusiasts attend the Game Developers Conference, in San Francisco. The schedule for the 2013 GDC held March 25-29, illustrates the dramatic changes that have reshaped the gaming industry in recent years, an evolution that's as much about business models as it is about pixels. GDC organizers have added a summit on free-to-play games, planned talks on topics like crowd funding and micro-transactions and coordinated panels with such titles as "Making Money with Mobile Gaming" and "Why Won't FarmVille Go Away?" (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 20, 2013 file photo, Andrew House speaks at an event to announce the Sony Playstation 4, in New York. The schedule for the 2013 GDC held March 25-29, in San Francisco, illustrates the dramatic changes that have reshaped the gaming industry in recent years, an evolution that's as much about business models as it is about pixels. Sony is angling to reignite developers' enthusiasm with the PlayStation 4. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? It's a time of transition for the video game industry.

With last year's launch of the Wii U, the impending arrival of the PlayStation 4 and the likelihood of a new Xbox on the horizon, the next generation of video game consoles is nearly here.

However, more than half of the attendees at this week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco identify themselves as indie developers and their next creations will be for smartphones and tablets. So when it comes to the next generation of consoles, the question on their minds doesn't seem to be "What's next?" but rather "Who cares?"

The schedule for this year's GDC illustrates the dramatic changes that are reshaping the gaming industry, an evolution that's as much about business models as it is about pixels. GDC organizers have added a summit on free-to-play games, plan talks on topics like crowd funding and micro-transactions, and are presenting panels with such titles as "Making Money with Mobile Gaming" and "Why Won't FarmVille Go Away?"

For the past 15 years, the Independent Games Festival has served as the Sundance of GDC, specifically honoring and highlighting the work of indie developers. But the lines have increasingly blurred between the IGF and GDC, the 27-year-old conference that serves as the largest gathering of the gaming industry in the U.S. outside the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

Simon Carless, executive vice president at UBM Tech Game Network, which hosts GDC, IGF and several other technology conferences throughout the year, said 58 percent of developers surveyed by organizers plan to release their next game for tablets and smartphones. That's a big switch from 15 years ago when GDC was known as CGDC ? the Computer Game Developers Conference.

"I think what we're seeing is that there's many more small developers," said Carless. "For example, 53 percent of developers identify as an indie developer and 46 percent of those surveyed work at companies with 10 employees or less. It's simply a fact that people are more excited by platforms where there's a low barrier for entry."

Sony is angling to reignite developers' enthusiasm with the PlayStation 4.

When the Japanese electronics giant announced the PS4 during a splashy press conference in New York last month, Sony boasted that the successor to the PS3 would essentially be a "supercharged PC," a platform that would make it easier for developers to create and sell games. Sony plans to detail more about the PS4's technology during a Wednesday panel at GDC.

Nintendo will also be on hand with a Wednesday session outlining easier ways for developers to make apps for the Wii U, the touchscreen controller system that kicked off the latest generation of consoles last year but has failed to catch fire the way the original Wii did when it launched in 2006.

Microsoft will likely wait to tease how it plans to succeed its Xbox 360 console and camera-based Kinect system until E3 in June, although the company has scheduled several talks at GDC this week, including how to create games for Windows smartphones and second-screen experiences for Xbox SmartGlass, its companion app that connects mobile devices to Xbox 360s.

Meggan Scavio, general manager of GDC, said 23,000 attendees are expected at this year's conference, which kicked off Monday at the Moscone Convention Center and continues through Friday. While an increasing number of game makers are more interested in creating the next "Minecraft" instead of the next "Call of Duty," Scavio noted that so-called triple-A games continue to have a place at the conference.

"We're still talking about all the really big titles," said Scavio. "We've got talks on 'Dishonored,' 'Borderlands 2' and 'Assassin's Creed III.' Bungie is going to be talking about 'Destiny.' The guys from 'The Walking Dead' game are doing panels. Hideo Kojima is going to be there. It's not indie central yet."

In perhaps the most impressive indication of indie dominance, the artsy PS3 platform game "Journey" is up for the most awards at Wednesday's Game Developers Choice Awards, which honor the best titles of the past year and are selected by a jury of game creators. "Journey" was designed by thatgamecompany, a studio that went indie last year.

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang .

___

Online:

http://www.gdconf.com

http://www.igf.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-26-Games-Game%20Developers%20Conference/id-2f0cfc0119fd43c1b5addcc240a92567

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Notre Dame researchers scoring a win-win with novel set of concussion diagnostic tools

Public release date: 26-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Christian Poellabauer
cpoellab@nd.edu
574-631-9131
University of Notre Dame

From Junior Seau, former San Diego Chargers linebacker, to Dave Duerson, former Chicago Bears safety who both committed suicide as a result of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) have been making gruesome headlines at an alarming rate. In the United States alone, TBIs account for an estimated 1.6 - 3.8 million sports injuries every year, with approximately 300,000 of those being diagnosed among young, nonprofessional athletes. But TBIs are not confined to sports; they are also considered a signature wound among soldiers of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The potential impact on the health and well-being of individuals with brain injuries are numerous. These individuals might display a range of symptoms such as headaches, depression, loss of memory and loss of brain function which may persist for weeks or months. The effects of brain injuries are most devastating when they remain unrecognized for long periods of time. This is where Christian Poellabauer, associate professor of computer science and engineering; Patrick Flynn, professor of computer science and engineering; Nikhil Yadav, graduate student of computer science and engineering; and a team of students and faculty are making their own impact.

Although baseline tests of athletes prior to an injury are trending up, these tests must still be compared to examinations after an injury has occurred. They require heavy medical equipment, such as a CT scanner, MRI equipment, or X-ray machine, and are not always conclusive. The Notre Dame team has developed a tablet-based testing system that captures the voice of an individual and analyzes the speech for signs of a potential concussion anytime, anywhere, in real-time.

"This project is a great example of how mobile computing and sensing technologies can transform healthcare," Poellabauer said. "More important, because almost 90 percent of concussions go unrecognized, this technology offers tremendous potential to reduce the impact of concussive and sub-concussive hits to the head."

The system sounds simple enough: an individual speaks into a SmartPhone equipped with the Notre Dame program before and after an event. The two samples are then compared for TBI indicators, which include distorted vowels, hyper nasality and imprecise consonants.

Notre Dame's system offers a variety of advantages over traditional testing, such as portability, high accuracy, low cost and a low probability of manipulation (the results cannot be faked); it has also proven very successful. In testing which occurred during the Notre Dame's Bengal Bouts and Baraka Bouts, annual student boxing tournaments, the researchers established baselines for boxers using tests such as the Axon Sports Computerized Cognitive Assessment Tool (CCAT), the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 2 (SCAT2), and the Notre Dame iPad-based reading and voice recording test.

During the 2012 Bengal Bouts nine concussions (out of 125 participants) were confirmed by this new speech based test and the University's medical team. Separate tests of 80 female boxers were also conducted during the 2012 Baraka Bouts. Outcomes of the 2013 Bengal Bouts are currently being compared to the findings of the University medical team on approximately 130 male boxers.

The testing was done in cooperation with James Moriarity, the University's chief sports medicine physician, who has developed a series of innovative concussion testing studies.

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Public release date: 26-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Christian Poellabauer
cpoellab@nd.edu
574-631-9131
University of Notre Dame

From Junior Seau, former San Diego Chargers linebacker, to Dave Duerson, former Chicago Bears safety who both committed suicide as a result of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) have been making gruesome headlines at an alarming rate. In the United States alone, TBIs account for an estimated 1.6 - 3.8 million sports injuries every year, with approximately 300,000 of those being diagnosed among young, nonprofessional athletes. But TBIs are not confined to sports; they are also considered a signature wound among soldiers of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The potential impact on the health and well-being of individuals with brain injuries are numerous. These individuals might display a range of symptoms such as headaches, depression, loss of memory and loss of brain function which may persist for weeks or months. The effects of brain injuries are most devastating when they remain unrecognized for long periods of time. This is where Christian Poellabauer, associate professor of computer science and engineering; Patrick Flynn, professor of computer science and engineering; Nikhil Yadav, graduate student of computer science and engineering; and a team of students and faculty are making their own impact.

Although baseline tests of athletes prior to an injury are trending up, these tests must still be compared to examinations after an injury has occurred. They require heavy medical equipment, such as a CT scanner, MRI equipment, or X-ray machine, and are not always conclusive. The Notre Dame team has developed a tablet-based testing system that captures the voice of an individual and analyzes the speech for signs of a potential concussion anytime, anywhere, in real-time.

"This project is a great example of how mobile computing and sensing technologies can transform healthcare," Poellabauer said. "More important, because almost 90 percent of concussions go unrecognized, this technology offers tremendous potential to reduce the impact of concussive and sub-concussive hits to the head."

The system sounds simple enough: an individual speaks into a SmartPhone equipped with the Notre Dame program before and after an event. The two samples are then compared for TBI indicators, which include distorted vowels, hyper nasality and imprecise consonants.

Notre Dame's system offers a variety of advantages over traditional testing, such as portability, high accuracy, low cost and a low probability of manipulation (the results cannot be faked); it has also proven very successful. In testing which occurred during the Notre Dame's Bengal Bouts and Baraka Bouts, annual student boxing tournaments, the researchers established baselines for boxers using tests such as the Axon Sports Computerized Cognitive Assessment Tool (CCAT), the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 2 (SCAT2), and the Notre Dame iPad-based reading and voice recording test.

During the 2012 Bengal Bouts nine concussions (out of 125 participants) were confirmed by this new speech based test and the University's medical team. Separate tests of 80 female boxers were also conducted during the 2012 Baraka Bouts. Outcomes of the 2013 Bengal Bouts are currently being compared to the findings of the University medical team on approximately 130 male boxers.

The testing was done in cooperation with James Moriarity, the University's chief sports medicine physician, who has developed a series of innovative concussion testing studies.

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

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

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/uond-ndr032613.php

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Judge recommends Ceglia case vs Facebook be dismissed

By Jonathan Stempel and Nate Raymond

(Reuters) - A federal magistrate judge has recommended the dismissal of a civil lawsuit in which Paul Ceglia, a former wood pellet salesman, claimed a huge ownership stake in Facebook Inc.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie Foschio in Buffalo, New York, said on Tuesday that there is clear and convincing evidence that a 2003 contract under which Ceglia claimed a one-half interest in the social media company is a "recently created fabrication."

In October, Ceglia was criminally charged by federal prosecutors with mail and wire fraud in connection with the alleged forgery of documents related to Facebook.

Paul Argentieri, a lawyer for Ceglia, was not immediately available on Tuesday for comment.

In his civil lawsuit against Facebook and its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, Ceglia had claimed that a 2003 contract he signed with Zuckerberg, then a Harvard University freshman, entitled him to the stake.

Though Zuckerberg had done programming work for Ceglia's company StreetFax.com, Facebook maintained that Zuckerberg's agreement involving that entity, which did not entitle Ceglia to a big Facebook stake, was the real contract between the two.

In a 155-page recommendation, Foschio said Ceglia's arguments largely consisted of "self-defeating inconsistencies" that established the "fraudulent nature" of his claims.

"Plaintiff has utterly failed to rebut the plethora of evidence establishing that it is highly probable and reasonable the StreetFax document was the operative contract that governed the business relationship between plaintiff and Zuckerberg," the judge wrote.

Foschio also said it is "highly probable and reasonably certain" that the contract Ceglia said was real was "fabricated for the express purpose of filing the instant action."

The case now goes to U.S. District Judge Richard Arcara, who will decide whether to approve Foschio's recommendation.

Colin Stretch, deputy general counsel of Facebook, said in a statement that Foschio's recommendation "confirms what we have said from day one: this lawsuit is an inexcusable fraud based on forged documents."

The civil case is Ceglia v. Zuckerberg et al, U.S. District Court, Western District of New York, No. 10-00569.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-recommends-ceglia-lawsuit-vs-facebook-dismissed-213417957--sector.html

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Deal of the Day ? Nest 1st-gen WiFi thermostat (T100577)

Monday’s LogicBUY Deal is the 1st-generation?Nest WiFi thermostat (T100577) for?$179.00. ?This smart thermostat remembers your preferred temperature, can automatically adjust the setting while you are away, and can be controlled with your smart phone when connected to your home WiFi. $249 – $70 savings = $179 with free shipping. This deal expires March 25, 2013 [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/03/25/deal-of-the-day-nest-1st-gen-wifi-thermostat-t100577/

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Difference between MS Word & Adobe FrameMaker | Black and ...

Technical writers have to produce documents in different formats such as printed, online help, HTML, Electronic publishing, etc. Writers must often publish the same text in several formats. Is there a one-tool solution? Is it possible for technical writers to write once and publish many times? Which tool is the best ?Microsoft Word or FrameMaker?

What is MS Word?

Microsoft Word is a word processing program. We all use it to one extent or another in our daily activities. MS word is simple and plain. Word is arguably the best one available in the market. MS word was intended to allow users to write letters, memos, short technical publications, user manuals, and articles, design documents, faxes, and many other documents.

What is Adobe FrameMaker?

FrameMaker is a desktop publishing program. When it comes to producing complex, business critical documents for web applications, print, and CD-ROM. MS word is excellent for everyday business application and for shorter documents. FrameMaker has been designed to offer superior benefits for producing long documents.

FrameMaker vs. MS Word: What is the difference?

Functionality	Microsoft Word	Adobe FrameMaker
Managing Document	Word does not handle large document well and begins to have difficulties when it goes over 100 pages.	Ideal for creating large documents or books i.e. 200+ pages.
Creating TOC or Index	Compiling the TOC and indexes for multiple files takes much longer in Word than FrameMaker	FrameMaker creates TOC and indexes across the whole book.
Formatting	Formatting diagrams and images is awkward and prone to crash the document.	FrameMaker has a powerful features such as formatting multiple paragraphs, formatting tables,
Graphics	Word?s performance degrades when graphics files are imported.	FrameMaker is the best for document creation that includes large amount of graphics, and graphics layout.
Templates	Creating templates in word is limited, as it is designed for writing letters.	We can design separate templates for table and paragraphs in FrameMaker, ensuring consistent format for each type.
Printing	We have to print every chapter in a manual seperately. In word, you can select a range of pages such as 1, 3, 5-9, 11-14.	In FrameMaker, you cannot print a discontinious range of pages other than odd or even.

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Source: http://bwtechwriting.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/difference-between-ms-word-adobe-framemaker/

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Samsung devices used by most early-adopters on Android: Opera

Opera has come out with an interesting list of devices reflecting the early adopters on Android platform and it has revealed that Samsung is the most popular manufacturer among the early-adopters.

Opera measured the Android devices installations of its recently released beta version of webkit-based browser.

?The Opera for Android beta has been in the Google Play app store since early March and the download statistics offer some interesting insights as to what devices early adopters on Android like to use,? Opera noted in a press release.

Among the top ten devices, on which Opera Beta was downloaded, Samsung made devices are present five spots (six, if you include Galaxy Nexus too).? Here is the full list.

• Samsung Galaxy S2
• Samsung Galaxy S3
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus
• Asus Nexus 7
• Samsung Galaxy Y
• HTC Desire HD
• HTC Sensation 4G
• Samsung Galaxy Note
• Samsung Galaxy Ace
• Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman

?As the list shows, the browser does well within the premium segment of Android devices. Some older devices are also represented, reflecting the variety of users in different countries testing out the Opera for Android beta,? Opera added.

Given the market share taken by Samsung in Android world, it is not really surprising that Samsung devices are so popular, but the fledging Android developer community for Samsung devices has really ?helped it in being a favourite among early-adopters.

Source: http://androidos.in/2013/03/samsung-most-popular-among-early-adopters-on-android-opera/

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NYC art museum accused of duping visitors on fees

In this Tuesday, March 19, 2013 photo visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York wait in line to buy admission tickets. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Tuesday, March 19, 2013 photo visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York wait in line to buy admission tickets. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Tuesday, March 19, 2013 photo the exterior of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is photographed. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Tuesday, March 19, 2013 photo visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York congregate in the main lobby. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Tuesday, March 19, 2013 photo, the board at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York displays admission fees, which are recommended but not mandatory. Many visitors to the museum, especially foreign tourists, don?t realize that the fees listed on the sign are merely suggestions. Confusion over what?s required to enter the Met, which draws more than 6 million visitors a year, is at the heart of a class-action lawsuit this month accusing it of an illegal ?scheme? to defraud the public into believing the fees are required. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

NEW YORK (AP) ? A lawyer is suing New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art, claiming the institution is purposely misleading people about how much they have to pay to get in.

Like other museums in the city, the Met has what it calls a recommended admissions charge. It's $25 for adults.

But people don't actually have to pay that much to get in if they don't like. They can legally enter the museum for a donation as low as one penny.

The lawsuit says the museum fails to make this clear to visitors. It says the signs and the cashiers make people think they must pay the full $25.

Met spokesman Harold Holzer denies any deception was in place. He called the lawsuit a "nuisance."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-25-Museum%20Admissions/id-af2c75497d874ce9aab9d6766a7252d1

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Depp, Stewart win at slimy Kids Choice Awards

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Johnny Depp and Kristen Stewart avoided slime ? mostly ? while picking up blimp-shaped trophies at the Kids Choice Awards on Saturday.

The "Dark Shadows" star won as favorite movie actor at the 26th annual awards extravaganza, while the "Twilight" leading lady was selected as favorite movie actress and female butt-kicker.

"Dude, I was too much of a coward to accept this," she said embracing the slime slathered on the podium at the University of Southern California's Galen Center.

Pitbull and Christina Aguilera kicked off the silly show with their song "Feel This Moment" and were joined by young backup dancers resembling the smooth-headed rapper and blonde diva. At the end of their performance, Aguilera smashed a button, covering Pitbull and the dancers in the show's signature green goo.

That was just the beginning of the celebrity sliming.

In one of his first acts as show host, "Transformers" star Josh Duhamel dumped the goop on Los Angeles Lakers player Dwight Howard.

"I guess that's what we call a slime dunk!" Duhamel said.

Sandra Bullock and Neil Patrick Harris caught a wave of the green stuff after a magic trick from the "How I Met Your Mother" co-star went awry.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who picked up the trophy for male butt-kicker, blasted a sumo-suited Nick Cannon and Duhamel with the goo. The first few rows of the audience were also doused.

Duhamel said a record-breaking 350 million votes had been cast for this year's viewer-voted ceremony, which honors kids' favorites in film, music, sports and TV.

Other winners included "Victorious" as favorite TV show, Katy Perry as favorite female singer, Adam Sandler as favorite voice from an animated movie for "Hotel Transylvania," race car driver Danica Patrick as favorite female athlete and "The Hunger Games" as favorite movie and book.

"Always be nice to your parents," Sandler told the crowd of screaming kids while accepting his awards. "Always be nice to your teachers."

___

Online:

http://www.nick.com/kids-choice-awards/

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/depp-stewart-win-slimy-kids-choice-awards-023845258.html

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France confirms death of al-Qaida chief Abou Zeid

PARIS (AP) ? The al-Qaida-linked warlord Abou Zeid was killed in combat with French-led troops in Mali in February, France said Saturday, ending weeks of uncertainty about whether one of the group's leading commanders in the region was dead.

In a statement Saturday the office of French President Francois Hollande said the death was "definitively confirmed" and that the killing "marks an important step in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel."

Chad's president had said earlier this month that Chadian troops killed Abou Zeid while fighting to dislodge his al-Qaida affiliate in northern Mali. French officials have maintained for weeks that the Algerian was "probably" dead but waited to conduct DNA tests to verify.

Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, thought to be 47, was a pillar of the southern realm of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, responsible for the death of at least two European hostages and a leader of the extremist takeover of the north.

The French military moved into Mali on Jan. 11 to push back militants linked to him and others who had imposed harsh Islamic rule and who are seen as an international terrorist threat.

Abou Zeid was killed in operations in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains in northern Mali in late February, the statement from Hollande's office said.

One analyst warned that Abou Zeid's death will not significantly weaken AQIM, as some analysts predict, and may in fact lead to greater unity among its factions.

Jean-Paul Rouiller, director of the Geneva Center for Training and Analysis of Terrorism, described AQIM's organization as a set of insulated cells under the larger al-Qaida umbrella, which existed independently of each other.

The region of Mali ? known in the group's parlance as the "emirate of the Sahara" ? was divided between units loyal to Abou Zeid and those loyal to his rival, Moktar Belmoktar, the international terrorist who led the attack on the Ain Amenas gas plant that left 36 foreigners dead in Algeria earlier this year.

Chad's military chief has claimed that his troops killed Belmoktar, but France has not confirmed the death and many analysts say they don't believe it.

Rouiller said the likely scenario is that Abou Zeid's longtime associate, Yahya Abou El-Hammam, will take over control of his brigade. For years, Hammam acted as the go-between when Abou Zeid wanted to communicate with Belmoktar, suggesting he likely had a good relationship with Belmoktar.

"Especially if Hammam takes over, there could be a chance for a better coordinated relationship with Moktar Belmoktar," Rouiller said. "In terms of controlling Mali, the death of Abou Zeid could mean more cooperation between the arms of AQIM."

Abou Zeid's brigade, believe to be one of the most violent in al-Qaida's North African franchise, was thought to be holding four French nationals kidnapped two years ago at a uranium mine in Niger. The fate of those hostages, working for French company Areva, was unclear.

Abou Zeid held a Frenchman released in February 2010, and another who was executed that July. He's also been linked to the execution of a British hostage in 2009.

A powerful and shadowy figure, mystery surrounds even his real name. Along with his nom de guerre, Abou Zeid had an alias, Mosab Abdelouadoud, and nicknames, the emir of the south and the little emir, due to his diminutive size. But the Algerian press has raised questions about his legal identity ? Abid Hamadou or Mohamed Ghedir.

He was viewed as a disciplined radical with close ties to the overall AQIM boss, Abdelmalek Droukdel, who oversees operations from his post in northern Algeria.

Abou Zeid fought with a succession of Islamist insurgency movements trying to topple the Algerian state since 1992. He reportedly joined the brutal, and now defunct, Armed Islamic Group that massacred whole villages in northern Algeria, then joined the Salafist Group for Call and Combat that morphed into al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in 2006.

An Algerian court tried him in absentia in January 2012, convicting him of belonging to an international terrorist group and sentencing him to life in prison.

In the Sahara, Abou Zeid was known to be more brutal toward hostages than Belmoktar, who generally allowed foreigners in his care to receive medicine when needed.

Rouiller says that an analysis done by his center of proof-of-life videos released by AQIM suggests that Hammam and another commander are just as brutal as Abou Zeid was.

______

Associated Press writers Elaine Ganley in Paris and Rukmini Callimachi in Dakar, Senegal contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/france-confirms-death-al-qaida-chief-abou-zeid-132129385.html

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An update on Iran?s nuclear program (Powerlineblog)

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Achebe inspired generations of Nigerian writers

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) ? Nigerian author Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani was just 10 years old when she first read Chinua Achebe's groundbreaking novel "Things Fall Apart."

She devoured the rich use of Igbo proverbs in his book, which forever changed Africa's portrayal in literature.

That inspiration carried over into the creation of a pivotal character in her debut work, "I Do Not Come to You by Chance," which pulls readers into the dark and greedy world of Nigerian Internet scam artists.

"Like many contemporary Nigerian writers, I grew up on a literary diet that comprised a huge dose of Achebe's works," she said. "My parents were so proud of his accomplishments, and quoted the Igbo proverbs in his books almost as frequently as they quoted Shakespeare."

Achebe's death at the age of 82 was announced Friday by his publisher. His works inspired countless writers around the world, though the literary style of "Things Fall Apart," first published in 1958, particularly transformed the way novelists wrote about Africa.

Adewale Maja-Pearce, a literary critic who succeeded Achebe as the editor of Heinemann's African Writers Series, called him a pioneer whose "contribution is immeasurable."

In breaking with the Eurocentric lens of viewing the continent through the eyes of outsiders, Achebe took readers to a place full of complex characters who told their stories in their own words and style.

Achebe once wrote that a major goal "was to challenge stereotypes, myths, and the image of ourselves and our continent."

He resisted the idea that he was the father of modern African literature, recalling a rich and ancient tradition of storytelling on the continent. Still, his influence on younger writers of the late 20th and early 21st century, particularly those from his homeland, was undeniable.

"Achebe's influence has been completely seminal and inspirational, and there are writers that have been called the School of Achebe who have imitated his style," said Chukwuma Azuonye, professor of African and African Diaspora Literatures at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.

A newer crop of successful novelists with ties to Nigeria has broken away from Achebe's mode, Azuonye said, developing their own modernist style of writing that focuses on clashes of cultures and other issues facing Nigerians abroad.

Among those influenced by Achebe was Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who won the Orange Prize for Fiction for "Half of a Yellow Sun."

On Friday, she released an elegy she had written for Achebe in the Igbo language.

"Something has happened. Something big has happened. Chinua Achebe is gone. A great writer, a man of great wisdom, a man of good heart," she wrote.

"Who are we going to boast about? Who are we going to take out to the world? Who is going to guide us? A storm has passed! Tears fill my eyes.

"Chinua Achebe, go in peace. It is well with you. Go in peace."

Nigerian novelist Lola Shoneyin, whose works include "The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives," says Achebe's fiction gives her something new each time she reads his work.

"In the last five decades, just about every post-colonial African author, one way or another, has been engaged in a creative call-and-response with Chinua Achebe," she said.

Igoni Barrett, the author of a collection of stories called "From Caves of Rotten Teeth," said Achebe had achieved a "saintly status among Nigerian writers" through his pioneering involvement in the African Writers Series.

"Chinua Achebe was an inspiration to me not only for his singular talent and his dedication to truth in art and life, but also because he had the fortitude to overcome the countless disappointments of the Nigerian state," he said.

One of Senegal's best-known novelists, 66-year-old Boubacar Boris Diop, was in high school when he read "Things Fall Apart." He says that in it, he found "the real Africa."

"I systematically advise young authors to read Chinua Achebe. I've often bought copies of 'Things Fall Apart' and offered them to young writers. It's well written ? in the sense that it's not written at all. In it, you won't find any great lyrical phrases. That's the great force of this book. It's written in simple language," said Diop.

"He wrote about a continent that is far from perfect, but which at the same time has things within it that fill you with wonder."

___

Larson reported from Dakar Senegal. Associated Press writer Rukmini Callimachi also contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/achebe-inspired-generations-nigerian-writers-183301229.html

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Loans for a Niche Market

If interest-only loans were issued too freely before the foreclosure crisis, their availability now is restricted to a privileged few.

A staple of the jumbo market, interest-only loans continue to be used by affluent borrowers to help them manage irregular cash flow, reap a tax benefit, or free up cash for investment elsewhere.

In particular, people in the financial services industry who derive most of their compensation from yearly bonuses commonly rely on interest-only loans to keep their mortgage payments manageable the rest of the year. "Then they take some of that bonus and pay down their mortgage each year," said David Adamo, the chief executive of Luxury Mortgage in Stamford, Conn. "And their monthly payment then also goes down."

Thus, interest-only loans have evolved into a financial tool, and no longer a means to affordability.

Freddie Mac stopped backing the loans in 2010 after suffering big losses; as a result, fewer lenders offer them. Those that do have strict qualifying standards. Lenders generally require that the borrower have at least 30 percent equity in a property, and a minimum FICO score of 720. Determination of ability to pay back the loan is based on the fully amortized payment, not the interest-only payment.

Additionally, "a lot of lenders will want to see assets to cover as many as 24 months' worth of principal, taxes and insurance payments," said Richard Pisnoy, a principal of Silver Fin Capital, a brokerage in Great Neck, N.Y.

Interest-only loans are primarily adjustable-rate products with an initial fixed period when only interest is due. Available in 5-, 7- or 10-year terms, they "are generally done for 10 years so there's no payment shock in the near term," said Tom Wind, the executive vice president for residential and consumer lending at EverBank, a national lender based in Jacksonville, Fla.

Interest rates are usually an eighth- to a half-percentage point higher than on fully amortized jumbo loans. After the fixed term is up, the mortgage re-amortizes, and both principal and interest are due.

On a $700,000 loan with a fixed rate of 3.875 for the first 10 years, the monthly payment would be $2,260, as calculated by Mr. Pisnoy. After 10 years, based on the same rate, the payment would rise to $4,195. If over time the rate adjusted upward by as much as five percentage points (the usual cap), the payment could reach $6,700.

To avoid such a scenario, however, borrowers generally put money toward their principal balance ahead of time, or refinance out of the loan before a full payment is due.

Two lenders ? Community National Bank and National Cooperative Bank ? offer interest-only loans for co-ops in the New York market. Demand is weak, however, because so many co-ops take a dim view of such financing, said Jordan Roth, a senior branch manager of GFI Mortgage Bankers in Manhattan.

"We're finding a number of co-ops that are becoming more conservative when it comes to the mortgage products they will allow their prospective buyers to use," Mr. Roth said. "Very rarely do you find one that allows an interest-only mortgage in the current market."

More lenders may yet decide to get out of the interest-only segment. Under rules issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, beginning next January, lenders will face greater legal exposure on interest-only loans that go into foreclosure.

But mortgage executives played down that risk, citing the high qualifying ratios for these loans. "These are very strong loans," Mr. Wind said, "and that's creating availability among smaller lenders as well as larger banks."

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100582195

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Powerball bounces back into the stratosphere with $320 million jackpot

Powerball players are going online to share their dreams about winning Saturday's jackpot. The odds of winning are long, at 175 million to 1.

By M. Alex Johnson, staff writer, NBC News

The line forms here, or more likely out on the sidewalk and down the block. Wannabe millionaires were flocking to convenience stores, gas stations and other lottery outlets to get in on Saturday's Powerball drawing, the sixth-richest ever, at $320 million.

"While this is business as usual, we do expect our retail locations to see an increase in foot traffic over the weekend, as sales have already been brisk," Jeff Anderson, director of the Idaho Lottery, one of the 43 state lotteries that will take part in Saturday night's drawing, told NBC station KTVB of Boise, Idaho.

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Saturday's jackpot swelled after no one won Wednesday's top prize of $261.6 million ? the 12th straight drawing without a winner ? and players were streaming into New Orleans lottery sellers before dawn Friday in what officials called a "Powerball frenzy," NBC station WDSU of New Orleans reported.

The Multi-State Lottery Association, which administers Powerball, said the odds of hitting the precise combination of five numbers plus the Powerball multiplier were 175,223,510 to 1. Winners can take the full $320 million spread out over 30 years, or they can opt for an immediate one-time payout of $198.3 million.?

The biggest jackpot was handed out only four months ago, when two winners in Arizona and Missouri split $587.5 million. Here are the rest of the top five:

• $365 million: One winner in Nebraska on Feb. 18, 2006.
• $340 million: Two winners in Oregon on Oct. 19, 2005.
• $337 million: One winner on Aug. 15, 2012, in Michigan.
• $336.4 million: One winner in Rhode Island on Feb. 11, 2012.

Anderson of the Idaho lottery warned players to be careful, because the prospect of loot like that can lure them into trouble.

"Big Powerball jackpots are a lot of fun," he said. But "we want to remind everyone that when they do play to only spend what they can afford ? not to go overboard. It does only take one ticket to win."

Saturday's drawing is at 9:55 p.m. ET.

Follow M. Alex Johnson on Twitter and Facebook.

Watch US News videos on NBCNews.com

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Police search for boy suspects in Ga. baby killing

Authorities investigate the scene of shooting in Brunswick, Ga. on Thursday, March 21, 2013. A young boy opened fire on a woman pushing her baby in a stroller in a Georgia neighborhood, killing the 1-year-old boy and wounding the mother, police said. The woman, Sherry West, told WAWS-TV that two boys approached her and demanded money Thursday morning. Brunswick Police Chief Tobe Green said the boys are thought to be between 10 and 15 years old.(AP Photo/The Morning News, Terry Dickson)

Authorities investigate the scene of shooting in Brunswick, Ga. on Thursday, March 21, 2013. A young boy opened fire on a woman pushing her baby in a stroller in a Georgia neighborhood, killing the 1-year-old boy and wounding the mother, police said. The woman, Sherry West, told WAWS-TV that two boys approached her and demanded money Thursday morning. Brunswick Police Chief Tobe Green said the boys are thought to be between 10 and 15 years old.(AP Photo/The Morning News, Terry Dickson)

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) ? A Georgia woman says a teenager trying to rob her at gunpoint asked "Do you want me to kill your baby?" before he fatally shot her 13-month-old son in the head.

Sherry West wept Friday as she told The Associated Press she pleaded with the gunman that she had no money to give him.

West was walking with her baby, Antonio Santiago, in his stroller near their home in coastal Brunswick. The mother was shot in the leg and says another bullet grazed her ear.

Police are combing school records and canvassing neighborhoods as they search for the gunman and a young accomplice a day after the slaying Thursday.

Despite West's account of the shooting, Brunswick police spokesman Todd Rhodes says there is "no clear motive."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-22-Baby%20In%20Stroller%20Slain/id-18a2c118d5cd4bbdaa4a286ef3b7f1a7

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Obama health law anniversary finds two Americas

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Three years, two elections, and one Supreme Court decision after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, its promise of health care for the uninsured may be delayed or undercut in much of the country because of entrenched opposition from many Republican state leaders.

In half the states, mainly led by Democrats, officials are racing deadlines to connect uninsured residents to coverage now only months away. In others it's as if "Obamacare" ? signed Mar. 23, 2010 ? had never passed.

Make no mistake, the federal government will step in and create new insurance markets in the 26 mostly red states declining to run their own. Just like the state-run markets in mostly Democratic-led states, the feds will start signing up customers Oct. 1 for coverage effective Jan. 1. But they need a broad cross-section of people, or else the pool will be stuck with what the government calls the "sick and worried" ? the costliest patients.

Insurance markets, or exchanges, are one prong of Obama's law, providing subsidized private coverage for middle-class households who currently can't get their own. The other major piece is a Medicaid expansion to serve more low-income people. And at least 13 states have already indicated they will not agree to that.

"It could look like two or three different countries," said Robert Blendon, a Harvard School of Public Health professor who studies public opinion on health care. "The political culture of a state is going to play an important role in getting millions of people to voluntarily sign up."

Civic leadership ? from governors, legislators, mayors and business and religious groups ? is shaping up as a huge factor in the launch of Obama's plan, particularly since the penalty for ignoring the law's requirement to get coverage is as low as $95 the first year.

People-to-people contacts will be key, and the potential for patchwork results is real.

"Obviously it's a possibility in terms of there being some real difficulties," said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., whose efforts helped pass the law. Casey also said he believes the Obama administration will be ready to lead in states holding back.

Disparities already are cropping up.

Town Meeting Day ? the first Tuesday in March ? is a storied tradition in Vermont, and this year it provided a platform to educate residents about their options under the health care law. As many as 250,000 may eventually get coverage through Vermont Health Connect, as the state's marketplace is known.

"Even before we were a state, these town meetings existed," said Sean Sheehan, director of education and outreach. "It's a way people come together as a community, and we are counting on those community connections to get the word out." The health care plan was on the agenda at about 100 town meetings, and other local gatherings are taking place.

Texas residents are entitled to the same benefits as Vermonters, but in the state with the highest proportion of its population uninsured, Gov. Rick Perry will not be promoting the federal insurance exchange, a spokeswoman said. Nor does Perry plan to expand Medicaid.

The result is a communications void that civic and political groups, mayors, insurers and hospitals will try to fill.

"You have people who aren't really charged up about it because they don't even know that they would qualify," said Durrel Douglas, spokesman for the Texas Organizing Project, an activist group. A national poll this week by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation found that two of every three uninsured people don't know enough about the law to understand how it will affect them.

Supporters of Obama's law in Texas say the federal government hasn't shown up yet to launch the state's insurance exchange and no one is sure when that will happen.

"It is a much bigger lift here," said Anne Dunkelberg, associate director of the Austin-based Center for Public Policy Priorities, which advocates for low-income people. "The sooner the federal exchange can get engaged and working with all the folks here who want to promote enrollment, the better."

The Congressional Budget Office predicts a slow start overall, with only 7 million gaining coverage through the exchanges next year, rising to 24 million in 2016.

At a recent insurance industry meeting, federal officials directing the rollout rattled off a dizzying list of deadlines. Public outreach will begin in earnest this summer and early fall, said Gary Cohen, head of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.

The government sees three main groups of potential customers for the new insurance markets, he said.

There's the "active sick and worried," people who are uninsured or have pre-existing medical conditions. Under the law, insurers will no longer be able to turn the sick away.

There's the healthy and young. "They feel invincible, they don't feel a need for health insurance," said Cohen.

Finally, there's the passive and unengaged. "For these people, a significant education effort needs to happen," he said.

To keep premiums affordable, the government will need to sign up lots of people from the last two groups to balance those in poor health, who will have a strong motivation to join.

The official heading consumer outreach for the rollout, Julie Bataille, acknowledges the challenge but says she's confident.

"This is a really an enormous opportunity for us to change the conversation around health care and help individuals understand the benefits they can get," she said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-health-law-anniversary-finds-two-americas-163934835--politics.html

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SKorea misidentifies China as cyberattack origin

A South Korean police officer from Digital Forensic Investigation walks inside the Cyber Terror Response Center at National Police Agency in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 22, 2013. South Korea said Friday it was preparing for the possibility of more cyberattacks as a new team of investigators tried to determine if North Korea was behind a synchronized shutdown of tens of thousands of computers at six South Korean banks and media companies.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A South Korean police officer from Digital Forensic Investigation walks inside the Cyber Terror Response Center at National Police Agency in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 22, 2013. South Korea said Friday it was preparing for the possibility of more cyberattacks as a new team of investigators tried to determine if North Korea was behind a synchronized shutdown of tens of thousands of computers at six South Korean banks and media companies.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A South Korean police officer from Digital Forensic Investigation comes out from the Cyber Terror Response Center at National Police Agency in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 22, 2013. South Korea said Friday it was preparing for the possibility of more cyberattacks as a new team of investigators tried to determine if North Korea was behind a synchronized shutdown of tens of thousands of computers at six South Korean banks and media companies.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A South Korean police officer from Digital Forensic Investigation walks inside the Cyber Terror Response Center at National Police Agency in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 22, 2013. South Korea said Friday it was preparing for the possibility of more cyberattacks as a new team of investigators tried to determine if North Korea was behind a synchronized shutdown of tens of thousands of computers at six South Korean banks and media companies.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

In this photo released by Korean Broadcasting System, KBS employees try to recover a computer server a day after a cyberattack caused computer networks at the company to crash, in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 21, 2013. Investigators have traced a coordinated cyberattack that paralyzed tens of thousands of computers at six South Korean banks and media companies to a Chinese Internet Protocol address, but it was not yet clear who orchestrated the attack, authorities in Seoul said Thursday. The discovery did not erase suspicions that North Korea was to blame. IP addresses are unique to each computer connected to the Internet, but they can easily be manipulated by hackers operating anywhere in the world. (AP Photo/KBS)

Customers use the automated teller machine at a branch of Nonghyup Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 21, 2013. Investigators have traced a coordinated cyberattack that paralyzed tens of thousands of computers at six South Korean banks and media companies to a Chinese Internet Protocol address, authorities in Seoul said Thursday. Nonghyup Bank was one of the six targets. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? In an embarrassing twist to a coordinated cyberattack on six major South Korean companies this week, investigators said Friday they wrongly identified a Chinese Internet Protocol address as the source.

A joint team of government and private experts still maintains that hackers abroad were likely to blame, and many analysts suspect North Korea. But the error raises questions about investigators' ability to track down the source of an attack that shut down 32,000 computers Wednesday and exposed big Internet security holes in one of the world's most wired, tech-savvy countries.

South Korean investigators said Thursday that a malicious code that spread through the server of one of the hackers' targets, Nonghyup Bank, was traced to an IP address in China. Even then it was clear that the attack could have originated elsewhere because hackers can easily manipulate such data.

But the state-run Korea Communications Commission said Friday that the IP address actually belonged to a computer at the bank. The IP address was used only for the company's internal network and happened to be identical to a public Chinese address.

"We were careless in our efforts to double-check and triple-check," KCC official Lee Seung-won told reporters. He blamed the error on investigators' rush to give the public details on the search for a culprit.

Yonhap news agency, in an analysis Friday, called the blunder "ridiculous" and said the announcement is certain to undermine government credibility.

Yonhap criticized officials for failing to dispel public anxiety in a country where people's lives are closely interwoven with services provided by media and financial institutions.

An initial assumption that the attack came from abroad may have made investigators jump to conclusions, said Lee Kyung-ho, a cybersecurity expert at Seoul's Korea University.

"They rushed," he said. "They should've investigated by checking the facts step by step."

The investigation will take weeks. Investigators have said the attacks appeared to come from "a single organization" and suspect the hackers were from outside the country. Lee Seung-won, the KCC official, discounted the possibility that the attack could have come from within South Korea, but he didn't elaborate.

Lee Kyung-ho and many other South Korean experts suspect North Korea is behind the attack on broadcasters YTN, MBC and KBS, as well as Nonghyup and two other banks.

While there are many possible explanations, he said, including a homegrown hacker, the culprits are most likely to be North Koreans angry over ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills. Lee said Pyongyang is well aware that an attack on financial institutions and media companies would create lots of publicity and turmoil in South Korea's vibrantly capitalistic society.

North Korea has issued many threats against the South and the U.S. in recent days, but by Friday it had yet to mention the South Korean computer crashes in state-run media.

South Korean officials say they have no proof of Pyongyang's involvement. The country is preparing to deal with more possible attacks, presidential spokesman Yoon Chang-jung told reporters earlier Friday. He didn't elaborate.

Determining who's behind a digital attack is often difficult, but North Korea is a leading suspect for several reasons.

It has unleashed a torrent of threats against Seoul and Washington since punishing U.N. sanctions were imposed for Pyongyang's Feb. 12 nuclear test. It calls ongoing routine U.S.-South Korean military drills a threat to its existence. Pyongyang also threatened revenge after blaming Seoul and Washington for a separate Internet shutdown that disrupted its own network last week.

Seoul alleges six previous cyberattacks by North Korea on South Korean targets since 2009.

Wednesday's cyberattack did not affect South Korea's government, military or infrastructure, and there were no initial reports that customers' bank records were compromised. But it disabled cash machines and disrupted commerce.

All three of the banks that were hit were back online and operating regularly Friday. It could be next week before the broadcasters' systems have fully recovered, though they said their programming was never affected.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-22-SKorea-Computer%20Crash/id-23bd09f0f0904f37883c9f3b4d338775

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Delicious Discussions: Cycling Long Island | Southampton Sports ...

The Hampton Library, in the heart of Bridgehampton, serves Bridgehampton and Sagaponack. Anyone with a Suffolk County library card may borrow materials or use the computers, but Bridgehampton patrons have preference when it comes to computer use. There are six computers for adults, two for teens and six for children. In addition to books for youth and adults, and large-print book, the library's collection includes DVDs, VHS tapes and audiobooks on CD. It also carries local, state and national periodicals. There is a literacy room named for library supporters Arlene and Alan Alda. The Hampton Library was founded in 1876 and underwent a major renovation in 2009, reopening in January 2010. The upstairs, which was once only accessible to the staff, was opened to patrons, and excavation was done to expand the lowest level of the library. There is also a landscaped backyard with benches for enjoying a book or newspaper outside.

Source: http://southampton.patch.com/events/delicious-discussions-cycling-long-island

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Brain mapping reveals neurological basis of decision-making in rats

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Scientists at UC San Francisco have discovered how memory recall is linked to decision-making in rats, showing that measurable activity in one part of the brain occurs when rats in a maze are playing out memories that help them decide which way to turn. The more they play out these memories, the more likely they are to find their way correctly to the end of the maze.

In their study, reported this week in the journal Neuron, the UCSF researchers implanted electrodes directly on a region of the rat brain known as the hippocampus, which is already known to play a key role in the formation and recall of memory. This same region is active when animals are learning, and it is damaged in people who have Alzheimer's and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The study showed that when the rats paused before an upcoming choice, sometimes the hippocampus was more active and sometimes it was less active. When it was more active it did a better job of recalling memories of places the animal could go next, and the animal was more likely to go to the right place.

"We know that considering possibilities is important for decision-making, but we haven't really known how this happens in the brain," said neuroscientist Loren Frank, PhD, who led the research. Frank is an associate professor of physiology and a member of the UCSF Center for Integrative Neuroscience at UCSF.

The work builds upon several years of investigations in Frank's laboratory that have shown how activity in the hippocampus is a fundamental constituent of memory retrieval. Their recent work shows that this activity is not just about remembering the past ? it is also important for thinking about the future. When the brain does a better job of thinking about future possibilities, it makes better decisions.

Next, the team wants to tease out why sometimes the hippocampus does not do a good job of playing out future options. Problems with memory and decision-making are central to age-related cognitive decline, and a deeper understanding of how this works could pave the way for interventions that make the brain work better.

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The article, "Hippocampal SWR Activity Predicts Correct Decisions during the Initial Learning of an Alternation Task" is authored by Annabelle C. Singer, Margaret F. Carr, Mattias P. Karlsson, and Loren M. Frank. The work appears in the March 20, 2013 issue of the journal Neuron.

University of California - San Francisco: http://www.ucsf.edu

Thanks to University of California - San Francisco for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127385/Brain_mapping_reveals_neurological_basis_of_decision_making_in_rats

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Trawling for Babel Fish: The Quest for the Universal Translator

What the world needs now is a universal translator built into every smartphone on the planet. A new feature in Samsung's Galaxy S4 could be a step in the right direction.

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AT&T Wireless Home Phone goes prepaid, emulates landlines on demand

We can't say that most attempts to replicate the landline experience with a wireless link have panned out -- Verizon Hub, anyone? AT&T is wagering that it can overcome some of that hesitance with new prepaid tiers for Wireless Home Phone. Those who plug their wired phones into the $100 cellular hub can now pay only for those times they want pseudo-traditional service, whether it's $20 per month for unlimited US-wide calls or $15 for 1,000 minutes of international long distance. It's hard to make a case for the new Wireless Home Phone option when many of us already have cellphones, but we can see its uses: think snowbirds or apartment dwellers who want a cheap, traditional phone option that will follow them around for a few months at a time. If you haven't (or can't) cut the cord entirely, AT&T may have the next best thing.

Filed under: Wireless, AT&T

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The Humble Bundle: another way to purchase quality Android games

Those who pay attention to the world of independently produced video games should be intimately familiar with the Humble Bundle concept. A group of developers contribute games to a bundle, which players can buy at whatever price they want. If they pay more than the average price, they get some extra games and goodies, like soundtracks. Meanwhile, when you set the buy price, you can also decide how much of the money goes to the developers, charity, or the people who run the Humble Bundle website. Just note that the games are available this way for a limited time, as indicated by the site?s countdown.

The most recent one is called Humble Bundle with Android 5. In this particular version of the Humble Bundle, you get DRM-free versions of the game for Mac, Windows and Linux, along with Android APKs. I've spoken before about the need for there to be both mobile and computer versions of most indie games, as well as bundles that included both editions, and here we are. While this bundle is no longer available, Humble Bundle is now doing weekly deals, and Bastion is this week's feautured title.

The games in the most recent bundle were?Beat Hazard Ultra, Dynamite Jack, Solar 2, and NightSky, and if you pay above the average (just under $7 as of this writing) you also got?Splice, Super Hexagon, Dungeon Defenders, Crayon Physics Deluxe and Sword & Sworcery.

That's a pretty great haul, and for some really excellent games. Dungeon Defenders is an old iOS hit finding its way to Android for the first time, and of course Terry Cavanagh's Super Hexagon is far from unknown to us. Sword & Sworcery, as well, saw a big user bump when it was offered for a quarter during the Google Play store?s holiday sale. But the rest are certainly less well known, and these bundles do a great job of exposing folks to the fact that there are even Android versions of them.

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Also on Android Apps

Zinio put together a survival guide for magazine lovers, now that many magazine and newspaper publishers are embracing digital. Read about their counsel in this Guest Post.

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Can?t put a price on discovery

What's most astonishing about the bundle was that a couple of these games (Dynamite Jack and Crayon Physics Deluxe) made their Android debuts with this bundle, which on their own make the bundle worth buying even if you already have the games. One can never have too many Android games, as they say, and new Android versions of games we already like are always exciting.

But for Android gamers, this bundle, and others like it (there will be many more, I am sure) give you the chance to obtain some really great games for a low price. Humble Bundles tend to attract what are truly some of the best indie games out there. They are worth buying at regular full price, and more so worth buying together for whatever you want to pay.

But it's surprising that deals like this are not the norm. It seems like a no-brainer to me that the indie folks would want to provide the most value that they can in order to encourage sales, but bundling computer and mobile versions of games is still unusual. That said, there are enough of these cross-platform titles to have supported five of these Humble Bundles, and there are more that have not been included in the bundles.

Bridging the PC-mobile gap

In any case, it's encouraging to see these folks, primarily seen as PC developers, embracing the Android platform. As an open mobile platform, they are free to distribute their games for it however they choose, and the Humble Bundle with Android is a really smart way of doing it. Still, wrapping computer and mobile should be a regular thing rather than an exception. It should be the fault mode of operations. These people are not, after all, the major publishers, who exist to get every possible dime out of every consumer. These smaller developers realize that offering a great deal is an effective sales tactic, and we know that because they've bought into the Humble Bundle model. But they should also understand that while they don't have to do anything as absurd as the Humble Bundle on a regular basis, but offering an Android version along with the normal-priced PC version would make the package that much more appealing.

This Humble Bundle has earned about $1.3 million, which is not bad for a relatively short sale for these developers. I'd be curious to see the download data for the Android APKs, though, just to see how many of these folks really are interested in those versions. The developers themselves must have analyzed that data and seen something encouraging, because the bundles keep getting better.

You can watch a video promoting Humble Bundle with Android 5 below:

Source: http://www.androidapps.com/games/articles/13319-the-humble-bundle-another-way-to-purchase-quality-android-games

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