Securifi to display its revolutionary touchscreen wireless router at CEATEC

TAIPEI —Securifi, an innovative consumer electronics company best known for developing Almond, the world’s first Wi-Fi router and range extender with an intuitive touch screen interface, said that the highly anticipated product is now available with Japanese language support. Almond is being showcased at this week’s CEATEC show, which runs Tuesday-Saturday at Makuhari Messe in Chiba.
First introduced at CES 2012, Almond made headlines for its modern design and simple touch screen interface that configures in seconds and does away with PC or Mac or CD based setup or maintenance. Almond’s range extender functionality has delighted customers who wanted an easy way to extend the range of their existing routers.

Leading publications such as the New York Times, EE Times Japan, CNet, CNBC, Men’s Journal and others have widely praised Almond’s innovative design and interface. Not only is Almond a critical success, but it also struck a chord with consumers long frustrated by the headache inducing traditional routers. In the brief 2 months Almond has been in the USA market, it has already become the No. 1 Best-rated wireless router on Amazon.com, which is the largest online retailer in the World.

Almond has a 2.8” 320x240 TFT LCD touchscreen, two internal MIMO antennas, 300Mbps 802.11b/g/n tech with industry-standard WEP/WPA/WPA2 security. Each Almond comes with unique security key pre-configured at the factory so users have a secure wireless network from the moment they power it on. It also eliminates recent loopholes with WPS that plague routers from other manufacturers.
Securifi’s Almond is expected to be available at various online and retail locations in Japan starting in early 2013.

Baby Doe Law saves lives

"Our nation’s commitment to equal protection of the law will have little meaning if we deny such protection to those who have not been blessed with the same physical or mental gifts we too often take for granted." - President Ronald Reagan, 1982

On April 9, 1982, a baby boy was born in Indiana. Because he had Down syndrome and a malformed esophagus (the malformed esophagus is a relatively common problem and easy to correct with surgery), his parents allowed him to be starved to death. "Baby Doe" died at 10:03 p.m. on April 15, 1982.

Shockingly, this kind of treatment of disabled newborns was a relatively common practice at the time. However, the case of Baby Doe, and the high-profile court challenge that accompanied it, shed light on the practice of starving and denying medically indicated treatment to such newborns.

Shortly after the fate of Baby Doe became public, President Ronald Reagan and Congressional leaders started to look for ways to ensure that Baby Doe’s fate didn’t become the fate of other disabled newborns.

Less than a year after the short life of Baby Doe, new federal rules were released mandating that hospitals receiving federal aid must provide disabled babies with the same quality care that would be given to other infants. Unfortunately, the rules were struck down by the courts. Additional federal rules were issued by the Reagan administration, and fought for in the courts for the next couple years.

It was not until October 9, 1984, that President Reagan was able to sign into law new regulations requiring that standard care be provided to disabled infants. The provision stipulated that "withholding of medically indicated treatment" was a form of child abuse and required states that received federal funds for child abuse programs to set up procedures to protect "disabled infants with life-threatening conditions."

The Minnesota Legislature passed the Baby Doe Law in May 1985 to conform to the new federal requirements.

Facebook tailoring ad services for businesses

NEW YORK —Facebook’s chief operating officer was in New York working to bolster investor confidence with assurances that the social network was intent on making money.

Sheryl Sandberg echoed co-founder Mark Zuckerberg’s disappointment in the company’s dismal stock market debut in May and said that revenue-generating schemes being considered included charging for upscale services, also said, We’ve heard from businesses all over the world that they want more from us, there are things they’d pay for, they want us to provide, so it’s an area we’re starting to explore.

Facebook had no specific products to announce, but the opportunity is being pursued. The change requires payments, starting at $5 per ad, for the deals offered through Facebook making companies pay for what had been free advertising until now. Facebook last week added a feature that lets people send real-life cupcakes, coffee, stuffed animals or other gifts to friends in the social network.

The Gifts program is being rolled out gradually, starting in the United States, and Facebook stands to get a fee for brokering purchases. The world’s largest social network with more than 950 million members has seen its stock price sag since its market debut at $38 per share. 

Nokia in map deal with Oracle

HELSINKI —Nokia says it will make its maps and location services available to customers of Oracle Corp with a built-in link created by the U.S software maker.
 
Nokia says the service aimed at corporate clients will provide maps of some 200 countries, integrating its location platform with Oracle applications, maps and business data. It gave no financial details.
 
The Finland-based company said, the service will help businesses save time, money and resources while allowing them to gain a geographic perspective on their business. Struggling against stiff competition from Apple Inc, Samsung and phones using Google’s popular Android software, Nokia has increased emphasis on providing more location-based services for its users.

Nokia stock was up 1.3 percent at (EURO)2.03 ($2.61) in late afternoon trading in Helsinki.

Operation Palestine

Wheelchair-bound Palestinian freelance photographer Moamen Qreiqea takes pictures of his daughter outside his home in Gaza City October 1, 2012. Qreiqea, 25, lost both his legs in an Israeli air strike in 2008 while taking pictures east of Gaza. The father of two is determined to continue his career despite his disability. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

Graphic! Miami Zombie Victim Speaks Out

Ronald Poppo, the man who had his face chewed off by the so-called Miami zombie, Rudy Eugene, in July recounted to Miami police what happened during the attack and what it was like. CBS Miami kept up with the story and ran Poppo's full interview.

Poppo was blinded by the attack, which happened in May. Eugene was shot dead at the scene. Poppo is now living in a long-term assisted care facility in South Florida.

Discovery News read the transcript of Poppo's interview with a Miami detective. Below, Poppo describes in detail what happened that day.
Detective: On the day of May 26, 2012 ... can you tell me, in your own words, speak slowly and clearly, what happened on or about two o'clock p.m. that afternoon?

Poppo: The hithchiker returned from the beach, who was in a kind of a glad mode for a while. Then he turned kind of vicious after -- after -- after a minute or two. And he started to rip -- rip me apart.

He mashed my face into the, ah, sidewalk. My face is all bent, mashed up. My eyes -- my eyes got plucked -- plucked out. He was strangling me in wrestling holds. At the same time, he was picking my eyes out. He was strangling me in wresting holds.

For a very short amount of time, I thought he was a good guy. But he just went and turned berserk. He apparently didn't have a good day at the beach, and he -- he was coming back. And I guess he took it out on me -- or something. I don't know.

Poppo went on to talk about how he met up with his attacker after he had come back from the beach, what he was wearing and how he had seemed flustered before he jumped on him for no apparent reason.
Detective: What was he saying when he was assaulting you?

Poppo: "You, me, buddy, and nobody else here. I'm gonna -- gonna kill you." or something like that, I guess.

D: Did he say why?

P: No, he just started to scream. And he was talking kind of funny talk for a while too, yeah.

D: What do you mean by "funny talk"?

P: That I was gonna die. And he was gonna die. He must have been souped up on something.

D: Okay.

P: He -- he had some kind desperate preoccupation of that type.

D: Did you say anything to him to provoke him?

P: I don't see where. Nothing like that. What can provoke an attack of that type?

Poppo said he got the impression that his attacker dealt drugs and that he used them too; at one point Eugene referred to himself as an acid head. He described how Eugene first seemed nice, but then attacked Poppo when he was standing. And then Poppo said this:
D: ... is there anything else you want to say that, um ... ?

P: Nah, I thank the Miami Police Department for saving my life. That -- that's about the best I could sum it up as.

If they didn't get there in a nick of time, I would -- would've definitely be in worse shape. Possibly I'll be DOA.

PODs by Michelle K. Pickett

Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it’s in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it’s a balm for the broken soul.

After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That’s the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters.

Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.

Chloe's Flirtatious New Volumes

There are certain days when one realizes that the best way to see French romanticism is from the vantage point of an English rose.

That was very much the case on Monday afternoon, Oct. 1, in Paris on viewing the curling and ruffled and rather determinedly expansive spring 2013 collection designed by the house of Chloe's creative director Claire Waight Keller, an energetic English-born lady.

One could not accuse Waight Keller of pulling her punches when it came to volume - from huge culottes, designed for slim ladeis but large enough for a linebacker, to abstract hibiscus print pajamas for day, so large they billowed down the catwalk.

Waight Keller's sunny personality was reflected in the setting - a wide white board catwalk reminiscent of a posh seaside terrace illuminated by sun beaming through the lofty panels in the custom built tent in the Tuilleries gardens in Paris.

The designer was in harmony with many of the key trends in Paris: a sense of lady-like distinction, metallic fabrics - most memorably iridescent Lurex - and a new twisted silhouette.

She cropped and chopped sleeves, added peplums to cocktails dresses, ruffled necklines incessantly and finished pants and skirts in patches of fabric flowers. In a word, Waight Keller determinedly broke new ground rather than referenced the past. Accessorized with some great new Art Deco shoulder bags, this was a charming moment for Chloe.

The show celebrated the 60th anniversary of Chloe, and was dedicated to the house's founder, Gaby Aghion. Two days before, Waight Keller feted the opening of Chloe Attitudes, a sleek exhibition that included work from each of Chloe's nine key designers all the way back to Aghion's first show, a charmingly informal affair at the Cafe de Flore on Paris' Left Bank in 1956.

Today the brand crossed the Seine, a little like Waight Keller crossed the Chanel, to create a certain casual chic that will forever be Chloe.

UK will travel for EURO 2012 this year

It is expected about 5000 football fans from UK will travel for EURO 2012 this year, while in 2010 to visit Fifa World Cup South Africa travelled about 10 000 UK football fans. "Stay at home, watch it on TV. Don't even risk it... because you could end up coming back in a coffin." These are the exact words that the former England captain Sol Campbell advises fans at the BBC documentary program, Panorama. This was in regards to the selection of Poland and Ukraine as the host countries for Euro 2012. Campbell openly advices the fans to stay at home and not even risk going to the event due to rising issues in violence and racism.

The documentary show had taken over a month's time to film matches held in both of the host countries. Footage revealed people in the stands mocking the black players on the field with monkey chants and Nazi inspired salutes. Footage of violent assault on Asian students was also provided. The documentary show caught a crowd in Poland chanting anti-Semitic songs. They also showed a reel of black players being insulted directly by the crowd with monkey chants and calls. There were also two eye-catching events recorded in Ukraine. In the Metalist Stadium (Kharkiv, Ukraine) approximately two thousand (2,000) fans gave off the Nazi salute in support of their team. Some of them later explained to BBC that they were shouting "Sieg Heil". This was a direct reference to Adolf Hitler's hatred towards blacks and Jews. Colonel Volodymyr Kovrygin, chief of the local police denied this however and claimed that the people were merely pointing at the opposing team. Just two weeks after the event another broke out when Metalist assaulted a small group of supporters. They were Indians studying in Ukraine

The Pacific (TV miniseries)

The Pacific is a 2010 television series produced by HBO, Seven Network Australia, Sky Movies, Playtone and DreamWorks that premiered in the United States on March 14, 2010.

The series is a companion piece to the 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers and focuses on the United States Marine Corps' actions in the Pacific Theater of Operations within the wider Pacific War. Whereas Band of Brothers followed one company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment through the European Theater, The Pacific centers on the experiences of three Marines (Eugene Sledge, Robert Leckie and John Basilone) who were all in different Regiments of the 1st Marine Division.

The Pacific was spearheaded by Bruce McKenna (co-executive producer), one of the main writers on Band of Brothers. Hugh Ambrose, the son of Band of Brothers author Stephen Ambrose, served as a project consultant.

Synopsis: The Pacific is based primarily on two memoirs of U.S. Marines: With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge; and Helmet for My Pillow by Robert Leckie. The miniseries tells the stories of the two authors and Marine John Basilone, as the war against the Empire of Japan rages. It also draws on Sledge's China Marine and Red Blood, Black Sand, the memoir of Chuck Tatum, a Marine who fought alongside Basilone on Iwo Jima.

The miniseries features well-known battles with Japan involving the 1st Marine Division, such as Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, Peleliu, and Okinawa, as well as Basilone's involvement in the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Historian Hugh Ambrose, son of Band of Brothers author Stephen E. Ambrose, wrote the official tie-in book to the miniseries, which follows the stories of two of the featured men from the miniseries, Basilone and Sledge, as well as stories of Sledge's close friend Sid Phillips and two men not featured in the series, Marine Corps officer Austin Shofner and Navy pilot Vernon Micheel. The different cast provides a wider view of the Pacific theatre, allowing the book to include the fall of the Philippines, Midway, Philippine Sea and Luzon and expand the narrative to include depictions of life as experienced by prisoners of war, senior officers and the development of naval aviation. It was published in the U.K. and the U.S. in March 2010.

Drew Barrymore gives birth to her first child

NEW YORK (AP) — Drew Barrymore is a mom.

The 37-year-old actress and her husband, Will Kopelman, welcomed a baby girl named Olive Barrymore Kopelman on Sept. 26.

A statement from Chris Miller at Barrymore's production company, Flower Films, said the baby was born "happy, healthy and welcomed by the whole family." The statement didn't provide specifics on the birth.

Barrymore wed Kopelman, an art consultant, in June. He's the son of former Chanel CEO Arie Kopelman.

Drew Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer, and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered States in 1980. Afterwards, she starred in her breakout role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. She quickly became one of Hollywood's most recognized child actresses, going on to establish herself in mainly comic roles.

Following a turbulent childhood which was marked by drug and alcohol abuse and two stints in rehab, Barrymore wrote the 1990 autobiography, Little Girl Lost. She successfully made the transition from child star to adult actress with a number of films including Poison Ivy, Bad Girls, Boys on the Side, and Everyone Says I Love You. Subsequently, she established herself in romantic comedies such as The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates.

Headline Oct3,2012 / !WOW!: ' DEBUGGING THE QUANTUM COMPUTER!'' 'Whisper Sweet Everythings!''

!WOW!: " DEBUGGING THE QUANTUM COMPUTER!''
"Whisper Sweet Everythings!''

!WOW! is a rarest of the Diamonds!
The idea is totally crazy! But all great ideas usually are. It is now well within reach that in the next decade, Atoms and Photons are being used to build Supercomputers far more powerful and faster than any computer today.
So, every code would be breakable, and every possible Logarithm computable.

The Key: qubits. Built from subatomic particles, qubits work like silicon chips, by storing and processing information as either a Zero or a One.
But qubits have one huge advantage: Due to a phenomenon called ''superposition''  -an electron can be split in two directions, clockwise and counterclockwise, at once -which means that qubits can be zero and one simultaneously, which also means that they can perform various computations at the same time.

There are a few hurdles that Scientists are still tackling. By nature, the subatomic particles don't like to stand still, which means that even if they can be harnessed, the slightest interference from a nearby atom might cause a quantum chain reaction that crashes the system. The challenge, therefore, is how to figure out and do computation in such a way that if one or two quantum bits go wrong, you can still reconstruct the original quantum state, says Daniel Gottesman, a quantum-information theorist at the Perimeter Institute.

The answer that Gottesman invented at in a grad school at Caltech -is a ''quantum correction'' code that isolates where specific errors might occur and build firewalls to keep errors from wreaking havoc.
Gottesman, who once worked at Microsoft and Los Alamos National Laboratory, has begun exploring applications for Quantum computers, especially ''Cryptography'' an area that is of great interest to the entire world.
Obviously, everybody and even every country is interested in breaking other peoples and country codes. And, of course, they don't want to be the first to have their own codes broken by qubits.


Many thanks to !WOW! 

Good Night and God Bless.

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless

Eurozone unemployment hits record 18.2 million

Unemployment across the 17 countries that use the euro remained at its record high rate of 11.4 percent in August, official data showed Monday, renewing concerns that efforts to slash debts have sacrificed jobs.

While European leaders have managed to calm financial markets in recent months with promises to cut spending and build a tighter union, they have been unable to solve the eurozone’s deep-rooted economic problems and the rising tide of joblessness.

In August, 34,000 more people lost their jobs in the eurozone, according to data released Monday by the European statistics agency, Eurostat. The unemployment rate -- the highest since the euro was created in 1999 -- is the same as July’s, which was revised up from 11.3 Monday.

Europe’s problems are dragging down the entire global economy. The region is the U.S.’s largest export customer and any fall-off in demand will hit American companies -- as well as President Barack Obama’s election prospects.

The 17-country eurozone is in danger of slipping into recession this year after its economic output dropped 0.2 percent in the second quarter. Six countries -- Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Malta and Portugal -- in the eurozone are already in recession.

- AP

iPhone 5 Data: Apple, Verizon Issue Fix For Bug Causing Huge Data Overages

Apple might not be done apologizing just yet.

Just days after issuing a mea culpa for the lackluster quality of its Maps application for iOS 6, Apple is again acknowledging a problem with its new iPhone: This time, it's a bug that's causing Verizon customers to go through huge amounts of cellular data even though they are connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Commenters have flooded the Apple discussion forums to complain that their iPhones were going through data unusually quickly; now Apple and Verizon have jointly issued a patch to fix the bug. iPhone 5 owners on Verizon are urged to download the patch immediately in the "Settings" section of their iPhone. (Scroll down for complete instructions or visit Apple's website).

Verizon has confirmed to CNN Money that iPhone owners who have been affected by the bug will not be charged for their data overages. If you're a Verizon customer, and you own an iPhone 5, you should definitely check your monthly usage on the Verizon website and make sure that you're not nearing your data cap. You can also check your usage on your iPhone: Go into Settings, then General, then Usage, then Cellular Usage to see how much data you've used so far in your cycle.

Organized Crime Is Responsible For Up To 90 Percent Of Tropical Deforestation, U.N. Report Indicates

With more than 80 percent of Earth's forests already destroyed, saving the planet's natural forests has become a prime environmental issue with activists seeking out the main sources of deforestation. The United Nations Environment Program recently released an alarming report indicating organized crime is responsible for 50 to 90 percent of illegal logging in tropical countries in the Amazon basin, Central Africa and South East Asia.

The UNEP released "Green Carbon: Black Trade" in association with international police organization Interpol. The illegal timber trade, which accounts for 15 to 30 percent of the logging industry, is estimated to net between $30 million and $100 million per year.

Taking into account the many concealment techniques used by the cartels, the report found that illegal logging rates are on the rise.

“Illegal logging is not on the decline, rather it is becoming more advanced as cartels become better organized," the authors wrote in the report's preface.

Honda Accord Recall Affects 600,000 Cars

DETROIT — Honda is recalling 600,000 Accord midsize cars in the U.S. and Canada to fix a faulty power steering hose that can leak fluid and cause a fire.
The recall affects Accords with V-6 engines from the 2003 through 2007 model years. Honda has a report of one fire but no injuries or crashes.
The five-passenger Accord is consistently among the top-selling vehicles in the United States, mainly because of its reputation for reliability and fuel economy. For years it has been the nation's second-best-selling car, beaten only by the Toyota Camry.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the government agency that monitors vehicle safety, said in a posting on its website during the weekend that the Accord's power steering hose can deteriorate with prolonged exposure to engine heat. The hoses can crack and leak, possibly causing a fire or loss of power-assisted steering, the documents said.
Honda will replace the hoses for free, but it won't have the parts available until early next year. Any owner who suspects a leak should take their car to a dealer for inspection, Honda spokesman Ed Miller said Monday.
The company that makes the Accord's power-steering hoses had to ramp up manufacturing to make them since the affected cars are more than five model years old and the hoses were out of production, Miller said.
"We're going to start making them and getting them out there as soon as we can," he said.
The Accords are being added to a May recall of 53,000 Acura TL midsize luxury cars in the U.S. from the 2007 and 2008 model years. Acura is Honda's luxury brand.
The replacement hoses for the Accords are different from the hoses in the original Acura recall, Honda said.

-  AP

NASA captures Earth's 'song'

A NASA spacecraft has captured a beautiful song "sung" by our own planet.

The noise - which sounds similar to whale song - is called a "chorus", Craig Kletzing of the University of Iowa explained.

"This is one of the clearest examples we've ever heard," he told NASA Science.

Chorus is an electromagnetic phenomenon caused by plasma waves in Earth's radiation belts. Ham radio operators have been able to listen to the sounds from Earth for years, but now NASA's two Radiation Belt Storm Probes have transmitted the sound back to Earth, from where it is emitted.

Hear the chorus on the NASA website here.

Kletzing's team built the Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science receiver which picked up the signal.


"This is what the radiation belts would sound like to a human being if we had radio antennas for ears," Kletzing said.

Chorus is made of radio waves that oscillate at acoustic frequencies, between 0 and 10 kHz, which can be picked up by magnetic search coil antennas on the Radiation Belt Storm Probes.

"One of things we noticed right away is how clear the chorus sounds in the recording," Kletzing said. "That's because our data is sampled at 16 bits, the same as a CD, which has not been done before in the radiation belts. This makes the data very high quality and shows that our instrument is very, very healthy."

As there are two spacecraft with two receivers, Kletzing hopes to eventually record the Earth's chorus in stereo.

Chorus may be responsible for so-called killer electrons, high energy particles which can threaten satellites and astronauts. The Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission, which was launched in August and lasts two years, is to find out for sure what produces these electrons.

By Paul Harper - Nzherald.co.nz