Tivoli Audio BluCon Wireless Bluetooth Receiver

• Pros

  Functional. Attractive design.

• Cons Very expensive for what it is. Limited connectivity.
• Bottom Line

  The Tivoli Audio BluCon lets you turn any speaker into a Bluetooth speaker, but it's pretty pricey given that it doesn't do anything else.

By Will Greenwald

Bluetooth is fast becoming a hot feature for audio products. If you have a mobile device, it probably has Bluetooth. If you recently bought a speaker dock, it might have it. If you have both, you can play music from one wirelessly on the other. However, if you have an older speaker system and can't bear to part with it, you can't use Bluetooth unless you get some kind of adapter. Tivoli Audio offers just such an adapter in the Tivoli Audio BluCon. It works well enough, but at $149.99 (list) with no RCA stereo, coaxial, or optical audio outputs, it's hard to justify unless you really, really love your existing system and want to let it play music from your smartphone or tablet wirelessly at any cost.

The BluCon is a simple 1.1-by-2.9-by-2.8-inch (HWD) square weighing only 2.6 ounces. The top and bottom are white and framed by a band of walnut, cherry (wood), white, or black, depending on the version you purchase. A Tivoli Audio logo sits on a small triangular ridge on the top, and it glows blue when connected to a device. That's the only display on the BluCon. There are no controls anywhere on the device?only a mini USB port for power with the included AC adapter and a 3.5mm port for connecting the BluCon to a speaker with the included cable. The 3.5mm port should be enough for most consumer speaker docks, desktop speakers, and bookshelf speakers, but optical, coaxial, or RCA ports would have given it a lot more flexibility.

Pairing the BluCon to a mobile device is simple, if a little frustrating. Because there are no controls, the device goes into pairing mode as soon as you plug it in. However, it can take a few seconds to a minute to completely turn on and become visible to your device. There aren't any real settings to handle multiple devices, or a way to manually set the plugged-in BluCon into pairing mode to add other devices. You need to juggle your mobile device's Bluetooth settings if you want to pair anything else.

Once paired, the BluCon and its connected speaker works like any Bluetooth speaker. I found a range of approximately 30 feet between my Samsung Galaxy S III and the BluCon before music started to cut out, which is typical for Bluetooth speakers. Music played clearly through the BluCon-connected speaker, and I noticed no loss in quality compared to the wireless competition. I didn't expect any; the BluCon uses the same A2DP profile to stream music as any Bluetooth speaker, so there's no reason to think there would be any change in how well it works. It depends on the speaker system itself, and as long as it has a 3.5mm input (or you use a home theater system with a 3.5mm input), it works.

The Tivoli Audio BluCon is functional, but expensive and limited. Logitech used to offer a similar Bluetooth speaker adapter, the Logitech Wireless Speaker Adapter for Bluetooth, and it's still available online at some retailers for less than half the price. The Logitech adapter also features stereo RCA ports as well as a 3.5mm port, so if you can find it, it's the better way to hook up your speakers to Bluetooth. As it is, the BluCon costs more than a very good portable Bluetooth speaker, like the Editors' Choice Logitech UE Mobile Boombox, and many other speakers, speaker docks, and sound bars have Bluetooth built in, so it seems unnecessary. If you have an older speaker and really want to hook it up to Bluetooth, you're better off looking for the discontinued Logitech adapter. The BluCon works well enough, but it's $150 for a single-purpose device that should cost half that. Still, with so many users with older stereo systems who might want to add wireless audio without compromising its components, you could do worse.

By Will Greenwald Analyst, Consumer Electronics

Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for more than six years, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. Since graduating from Syracuse University in 2005, Will has...

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Big 12's future bowl lineup could include state of Florida

Big 12 (January 29, 2013)

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Officials from the Big 12 wrapped up discussions Tuesday involving the future of the conference including the possibility of new bowl agreements that could feature at least one game in the state of Florida.

After meeting with athletic directors from member schools, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told reporters that the group discussed a variety of subjects from NCAA legislation down to the fan experience at sporting events.

One of the topics broached was future bowl agreements.

Under the new four-team playoff model which goes into effect in 2014, there will be three contract bowls ? Rose, Sugar and Orange ? and three host bowl games. The champions of the Big 12 and Southeastern Conference will play in the Sugar if they are not part of the playoff.

The three host bowls have yet to be determined, but reportedly could include Cotton, Chick-fil-A and Fiesta. The two national semifinal games would be rotated amongst those six games.

Once those games are filled, the remaining eligible teams would be funneled into the remaining bowl games.

Many of the current bowl agreements are set to expire after 2013 so league?s like the Big 12 are ramping up its discussions with bowl sites including some that aren?t currently on their bowl menu.

?Once we know host bowls, we will be anxious to put additional bowl agreements together,? Bowlsby said Tuesday. ?This was a way to identify priorities.?

Those priorities could include playing a bowl game in the state of Florida.

?We?ve spoken with three bowls in Florida and would like to have at least one there,? Bowlsby added indicating that the group has already spoken with officials from the Gator Bowl and two other sites.

The state of Florida currently hosts six bowl games: Beef ?O? Brady?s, Gator, Outback, Russell Athletic, Capital One and Orange Bowl, however none of those game currently feature a tie-in with the Big 12.

The league?s current bowl tie-ins include the Cotton, Holiday, Insight, Meineke, New Era, Ticket City and Alamo bowls.

It makes sense to me that Bowlsby and league officials would be interested in a bowl game in Florida. The conference has no direct ties to the state and member schools are always looking to develop pipelines into a talent-rich Sunshine State. What better way to do that than by playing in front of recruits in their home states. It?s quite the selling point.

According to Bowlsby, the decision will be based on several factors.

?Destination is important. Fan experience is important and student-athlete experience is important,? he said.

Nothing screams out great destination and fan experience like Orlando.

The Capital One Bowl features some of the top teams from the SEC and Big Ten which makes it unlikely that it would be a candidate. The Russell Athletic Bowl, however, features a matchup between the ACC and Big East with Notre Dame as a throw-in every four years. That could be a possible candidate.

The Outback and Gator bowls also have connections with the SEC and Big Ten however the Outback falls right behind the Capital One in the pecking order with the Gator Bowl right behind.

mmurschel@tribune.com

Don't forget about Matt's Murschel's weekly mail bag. If you have any college football questions you would like answered or just issues or players you would like his thoughts on please email him at?mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com.?Follow him on Twitter at?@osmattmurschel.

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No Buyers Agreement Prior to Offer...Now Realtor Seeks Admin Fee

A question for foreclosure buyers from a novice: how common is it for a buyer's agent to charge the buyer a flat "office admin fee" for a foreclosure that closes? (fee is in addition to 3% commission). Purchase price is 64k.

Background: I first met the buyers agent several months ago when he was a listing agent for a HUD property. Did not buy that property, but I liked the agent and so called him recently when I found a HUD home I wanted to bid on. I asked if he wanted to represent me for this one, and he agreed. We saw the property together and submitted a bid on the same day. (He has not been working for me previously or sending listings). He did not provide me with a copy of the buyers representation agreement prior to submitting the bid, and I did not think to ask for the paper copy. When we discussed commission verbally he only mentioned the standard 3% commission paid by the seller. The bid was accepted and then he provided me with a copy of the representation agreement, asking me to sign. It includes a flat $200 "office admin fee" to be paid by the buyer at closing.

1) Is this standard?
2) If not, how do you recommend I handle it now that the bid has been accepted?

Lesson learned on this one. Identify the commission structure in advance and on paper.

Thanks,
Matt

Source: http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/21/topics/82233-no-buyers-agreement-prior-to-offernow-realtor-seeks-admin-fee

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Adver-teasers: Super Bowl viewers get peek at ads

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2012, file photo, Ron Blydenburgh, of Hampton Bays, N.Y., watches the broadcast of the 2012 NFL football Super Bowl. In 2013, Super Bowl advertisers are learning the art of the tease. More Super Bowl advertisers are ditching the tradition of keeping spots secret and are instead releasing shortened versions of their Game Day spots called ?teasers? to get pre-game buzz going on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 5, 2012, file photo, Ron Blydenburgh, of Hampton Bays, N.Y., watches the broadcast of the 2012 NFL football Super Bowl. In 2013, Super Bowl advertisers are learning the art of the tease. More Super Bowl advertisers are ditching the tradition of keeping spots secret and are instead releasing shortened versions of their Game Day spots called ?teasers? to get pre-game buzz going on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

This screenshot provided by Kraft shows the Super Bowl teaser advertisement for Kraft's Mio water enhancing drops. Tracy Morgan seemingly curses in the spot introducing him as the spokesman for the drops. (AP Photo/Kraft)

This screenshot provided by Kraft shows the Super Bowl teaser advertisement for Kraft's Mio water enhancing drops. Tracy Morgan seemingly curses in the spot introducing him as the spokesman for the drops. (AP Photo/Kraft)

This screenshot provided by Kraft shows the Super Bowl teaser advertisement for Volkswagen called ?Get In. Get Happy. (AP Photo/Volkswagen)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Super Bowl advertisers are learning the art of the tease.

Supermodel Kate Upton appears in an online Mercedes-Benz video in a low-cut top. An unknown man wakes up with his face covered in smeared lipstick and his hands bound in furry handcuffs in a Gildan Activewear clip. And "30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan seemingly curses in a spot for Kraft's Mio flavored drops.

"Hey, can you say (bleep) on TV?" he asks in the spot titled "Bleep."

Super Bowl advertisers no longer are keeping spots a secret until the Big Game. They're releasing online snippets of their ads or longer video trailers that allude to the action in the Game Day spot.

It's an effort to squeeze more publicity out of advertising's biggest stage by creating pregame buzz. Advertisers are shelling out $4 million to get their 30-second spots in front of the 111 million viewers expected to tune into the game. But they're looking for ways to reach even more people: About half of the more than 30 super Bowl advertisers are expected to have teaser ads this year, up from 10 last year, according to Hulu, which aggregates Super Bowl ads on its AdZone Web site.

"It's a great way to pique people's interest," said Paul Chibe, chief marketing officer at Anheuser-Busch, which introduced snippets of one of its Super Bowl ads showing a woman in a shiny dress striding down a hallway with a beer. "If you create expectations before the game people will want to look for your ad in the telecast."

There's an art to teasers. Each spot, which can run from a few seconds to over a minute long, is intended to drive up hype by giving viewers clues about Game Day ads. But the key is to not give too much away. So marketers must walk a fine line between revealing too much ? or too little ? about their Super Bowl ads.

Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed said introducing a teaser helps people feel as if they're "in the know" about the company's Super Bowl ad before it airs. The company's teaser shows an elderly man, who is also the star of its Game Day ad, doing wheelies in a scooter on a football field.

"On game day, we want people to say, 'Shh, shh, shh. Here comes the ad,'" he says.

Some companies have been successful using Super Bowl teasers in the past. Last year, Volkswagen's teaser that showed dogs barking "The Imperial March" from the Star Wars movie was a hit. In fact, it was almost as popular as the Game Day ad, which had a Star Wars-themed twist ending. Both the teaser and the ad each received about 16 million views on YouTube.com.

But other spots fall flat, or worse, are all but been forgotten once the mystery is revealed during the Big Game. For instance, Bridgestone put out several teasers for its Super Bowl ad last year. But the Game Day ad itself did not show up the USA Today AdMeter, which ranks the popularity of ads.

"It makes sense that people would want to get more mileage out of their ads than just a single viewing on the Super Bowl because of the cost," said Barbara Lippert, columnist at mediapost.com. "But it's a big risk. It can have a big reward, too, but what usually happens is the spots just don't live up to the hype. The effect is amplified if you release it early."

To be sure, no matter how carefully marketers try to control pre-game buzz, sometimes it gets away from them. Volkswagen, following its past success with "The Imperial March," teaser, is facing some criticism this year.

On Monday, it released its Super Bowl ad showing a Minnesotan office worker who adopts a Jamaican accent because he's so happy with his car. Some online columnists called it culturally insensitive because it shows a white man adopting an accent associated with black Jamaicans.

Volkswagen said the accent is intended to convey a "relaxed cheerful demeanor."

Still, some ad experts say by releasing the ad early, Volkswagen might have spared itself backlash later. After all, now they have time to tinker with the spot before it airs.

"Even though it's not a good ad, they managed to get as much attention this year as they did last year before the game," Lippert, the ad critic, says. "It's amazing to use America as their test kitchen, which they did."

Here are some teasers on the Web:

Mercedes-Benz Kate Upton teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPq7jVGPs3g

Volkswagen's "Get In. Get Happy" ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H0xPWAtaa8

Gildan Activewear teaser: On the Web: http://www.youtube.com/user/GildanTV?v=_KIKjcMTKPk

Kraft's Mio ad with "30 Rock's Tracy Jordan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eenSfU7YYnY

Budweiser Black Crown Lager teaser: https://www.youtube.com/user/blackcrownbeer

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-29-US-Super%20Bowl-Advertising-Art%20of%20the%20Tease/id-cc64206e3b544ac689f2a6243a09ade4

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Making Your Home with YoungHouseLove at Garanimals Blog

Here?s the ingredients. A young family. Their second home-in-need-of-work. A budget. A boatload of creativity. A sense of style. And a great sense of humor. Put them all together and you have younghouselove.com.

Sherry and John bring you inside of their lives and share everything from the results of their home improvement projects, to their wedding, to the fun and funny things that go on in their daily lives via their family blog. They have a daughter and a dog and lots of friends and fans who take part in this mashup of home, family, crafting, gardening, entertaining and making a life. These two are a great example of how you can use all of the low cost resources out there to mix up a brew of style, creativity and fun.

Thanks to their site we can all watch them turn their finds from tag sales, thrift shops, discount stores and furniture outlets, into fabulous decorating and design solutions for their home and garden. They use smartphone apps, arts and craft supplies and everyday items to personalize and customize their surroundings.

They share what they see, what they do, and what their fans and followers contribute. The site is full of links and references to other resources that can help you reach some of your own home improvement, craft and organizing goals. They engage their followers in challenges and have even written a best selling book.

I love this site. As a tag sale junkie myself I can totally relate to many of the cool things they?ve done with their finds and the the really nifty ideas they have for projects they design and make themselves. Their house is their design palette and with their incredibly creative, low cost and practical solutions, they bring individuality into everything they do and the results are terrific. I applaud their success and look forward to continuing on their journey with them.

You can also find Paula on?LinkedIn,?Facebook?and Twitter?@techsmart319. Feel free to reach out if you have questions.

Source: http://blog.garanimals.com/2013/01/29/making-your-home-with-younghouselove/

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Scientists discover process that turns normal liver cells to cancer cells

Jan. 28, 2013 ? A team of scientists from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has identified a genetic process in which normal liver cells transform into cancerous ones. The finding provides new understanding into the pathogenesis of human cancers.

The team, which also includes researchers under the direction of Professor Guan Xin-Yuan at The University of Hong Kong, is the first to provide direct evidence that the "editing" of this protein-making sequence promotes the development of cancer.

Normally, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which comprises the genetic code, serves as a template for production of ribonucleic acid (RNA) in precise fashion such that the DNA code and RNA code are identical. Editing is the process in which the RNA is changed after it is made from the DNA, resulting in production of an altered gene product.

This novel study, which was conducted from June 2010 to November 2012, was first published in the online version of Nature Medicine on 6 January 2013.

Focus on RNA

The development of liver cancer is believed to be a multi-step process, in which genetic and epigenetic alterations build up. However, it is much easier technically to detect genetic mutations through DNA sequencing. Epigenetic changes, which by definition do not involve changes in DNA sequence, have not been as well defined because it is much more difficult technically to identify them and demonstrate their role in cancer.

While recent use of next-generation sequencing of DNA and RNA have been suggestive, no apparent causal relationship between the levels of RNA editing, a process of altering RNA sequences, and cancer progression was thought to exist -- until now. As such, RNA editing is a novel epigenetic alteration in cancer.

Recognising the importance of molecular mechanisms that underlay the development of liver cancer, the research team studied the roles that RNA plays in the formation of proteins to carry out functions within the body. The researchers are the first to clearly link the RNA editing event of a protein to be significantly associated with the development of liver cancer.

Professor Daniel Tenen, Director of CSI and Principal Investigator for the study, said, "Up to now, scientists have focused on studying DNA, not RNA. Because RNA can be more easily modified than DNA, it suggests that therapeutic approaches are potentially available."

RNA Editing Process Changes Protein

In the study, the researchers performed genomic analysis of three pairs of tissue samples, each pair comprising a sample of liver cancer tissue and an adjacent non-tumour tissue, from surgical specimens of liver cancer patients.

They found that the RNA editing of a specific gene known as antizyme inhibitor 1 (AZIN1) was much higher in the tumour samples. They discovered that this editing process was catalysed by an enzyme called adenosine deaminase acting on RNA-1 (ADAR1), which changed the product of the AZIN1 protein to a form which promoted the development of cancer.

To verify their findings, the team repeated the tests on paired tissue samples of some 180 liver cancer patients.

The results obtained were consistent with the initial genomic analysis, indicating that the RNA editing of the AZIN1 gene in tumours is significantly associated with the presence of liver cirrhosis, tumor recurrence, and poorer survival rate.

Said Dr Polly Chen, Research Assistant Professor at CSI, and the lead author of the research team, "We believe that there is high possibility that the findings are applicable to other cancers, but further studies are required to ascertain this."

The Next Step

Moving forward, Prof Tenen and Dr Chen will investigate the characteristics of AZIN1 and ADAR1 to further understand their impact on tumour development. They also intend to look at these mechanisms in other cancers. They will also work on ways to correct the RNA editing process so as to block the cells' conversion from normal to malignant.

Both scientists hope that their findings will provide the medical community with a useful biomarker that can be used to detect early disorders leading to liver cancer, and even other forms of cancer, before clinical symptoms become apparent.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by National University of Singapore, via Newswise.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Leilei Chen, Yan Li, Chi Ho Lin, Tim Hon Man Chan, Raymond Kwok Kei Chow, Yangyang Song, Ming Liu, Yun-Fei Yuan, Li Fu, Kar Lok Kong, Lihua Qi, Yan Li, Na Zhang, Amy Hin Yan Tong, Dora Lai-Wan Kwong, Kwan Man, Chung Mau Lo, Si Lok, Daniel G Tenen, Xin-Yuan Guan. Recoding RNA editing of AZIN1 predisposes to hepatocellular carcinoma. Nature Medicine, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nm.3043

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/genes/~3/NhGyeFUzQow/130128104424.htm

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More than 1 brain behind E=mc2

Monday, January 28, 2013

Two American physicists outline the role played by Austrian physicist Friedrich Hasen?hrl in establishing the proportionality between the energy (E) of a quantity of matter with its mass (m) in a cavity filled with radiation. In a paper about to be published in EPJ H, Stephen Boughn from Haverford College in Pensylvannia and Tony Rothman from Princeton University in New Jersey argue how Hasen?hrl's work, for which he now receives little credit, may have contributed to the famous equation E=mc2.

According to science philosopher Thomas Kuhn, the nature of scientific progress occurs through paradigm shifts, which depend on the cultural and historical circumstances of groups of scientists. Concurring with this idea, the authors believe the notion that mass and energy should be related did not originate solely with Hasen?hrl. Nor did it suddenly emerge in 1905, when Einstein published his paper, as popular mythology would have it.

Given the lack of recognition for Hasen?hrl's contribution, the authors examined the Austrian physicist's original work on blackbody radiation in a cavity with perfectly reflective walls. This study seeks to identify the blackbody's mass changes when the cavity is moving relative to the observer.

They then explored the reason why the Austrian physicist arrived at an energy/mass correlation with the wrong factor, namely at the equation: E = (3/8) mc2. Hasen?hrl's error, they believe, stems from failing to account for the mass lost by the blackbody while radiating.

Before Hasen?hrl focused on cavity radiation, other physicists, including French mathematician Henri Poincar? and German physicist Max Abraham, showed the existence of an inertial mass associated with electromagnetic energy. In 1905, Einstein gave the correct relationship between inertial mass and electromagnetic energy, E=mc2. Nevertheless, it was not until 1911 that German physicist Max von Laue generalised it to include all forms of energy.

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Boughn S., Rothman T. (2013), Hasen?hrl and the Equivalence of Mass and Energy, European Physical Journal H, DOI 10.1140/epjh/e2012-30061-5

For more information, please visit www.epj.org.

Springer: http://www.springer.com

Thanks to Springer 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/126477/More_than___brain_behind_E_mc_

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Switched On: PixelSense without the premium

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Amid all the origami variations of the PC at CES this year -- things that swiveled, folded, docked and rotated around their hinges -- one of the more intriguing form factor variations came not from a twist on the classic clamshell, insurgent slate or a hybrid of the two. Rather, it was a variation of the desktop via the all-in-one, one of the few of that embryonic breed known as table PCs courtesy of the Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon.

Table PCs entered a broader collective consciousness in 2007 when Microsoft introduced Surface (a name it would later repurpose for its tablet line). A chunky, waist-high device that married a Windows PC with a 30-inch projection display and five embedded cameras, the original Surface offered an integrated multi-touch experience without a touchscreen.

Surface was capable of interaction with other devices that seemed magical, especially without using NFC. Place a marked glass on top of it and it could tell you the ingredients in the cocktail it contained. Place a WiFi-enabled camera on it and the photos would appear to spill out onto the screen, ready to be freely flipped, rotated, stretched and easily converted into emails via a simple postcard creation feature.

Alas, at about $10,000 and with most consumers already having a coffee table, Surface was too pricey for consumers. Mocked as a "big-ass table" in a parody video, it was relegated to a few hotels, casinos, AT&T stores and other public places. Prior to the release of the Surface tablet, Microsoft recreated the table-based incarnation using flat-panel technology. Samsung offers that product as the 40-inch SUR40 with Microsoft PixelSense. With a street price of about $8,000, it retains the ability to handle more than 50 touch points and interact with real-world objects.

Starting at around $1,699, though, the Lenovo IdeaCentre Horizon promises to deliver much of the Surface experience at a consumer price. Unlike the original Surface, it is practical to use as a regular Windows 8 all-in-one desktop. Snap in the stand and lay it flat, though, and you can take advantage of a Lenovo app store that includes optimized games and other media-centric apps for the device. They are very much in the spirit of those early Surface apps.

Moving to a device the size of the Horizon forces one to give up the kind of orientation features one takes for granted in today's smartphones and tablets.

A good example of how this works is with the classic board game Monopoly, an engaging version of which has been created for the iPad. But putting that same experience on the Horizon really opens it up to multiplayer interaction in a way that the tablet-driven experience cannot. You can see the whole board during everyone's turns. Air hockey comes closer to approximating the actual experience (although there was some controller lag in the version shown at CES).

Just as the iPad's larger palette enabled experiences that were either inferior or impossible on the iPhone, the same can be said for Horizon versus the iPad. This is especially true for multiuser experiences, a novelty in the realm of personal touch devices. That said, moving to a device the size of the Horizon forces one to give up the kind of orientation features one takes for granted in today's smartphones and tablets. With Horizon you don't rotate the tablet; you rotate around it.

Horizon is not the first time Lenovo has been led down the sometimes challenging path of creating its own app store; it rolled its own for TV apps when it introduced its Android-based smart TV (not available in the US) at last year's CES. Indeed, yet another challenge that 2007's Surface faced was competing for developer mindshare with Apple's iPhone. But just as modern Windows 8 dockable tablets or convertibles reduce risk for the PC manufacturer by serving as a PC as well as a tablet, Lenovo can fall back on the Horizon's use as a large all-in-one with normal viewing angles and keyboard input if optimized apps don't take off. It's low table stakes for a table PC.

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Ross Rubin is principal analyst at Reticle Research, a research and advisory firm focusing on consumer technology adoption. He shares commentary at Techspressive and on Twitter at @rossrubin.

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/pl1ENBk-2o8/

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Berries may be healthful, but some health benefits of berries may not make it past your mouth

Jan. 28, 2013 ? Research has suggested that compounds that give colorful fruits their rich hues, especially berries, promote health and might even prevent cancer. But for the first time, scientists have exposed extracts from numerous berries high in those pigments to human saliva to see just what kinds of health-promoting substances are likely to survive and be produced in the mouth.

It's too early to name the best berry for health promotion based on this initial work. But the researchers have discovered that two families of pigments that provide berries with their colors, called anthocyanins, are more susceptible to degradation in the mouth than are the other four classes of these pigments.

The Ohio State University study also showed that bacteria living in the mouth are responsible for most of the breakdown of these compounds that occurs in saliva. Researchers are investigating whether it's the berry pigments themselves, or instead the products of their degradation, that actually promote health.

Scientists say that these early findings will contribute to the further development of confectionaries, gums and other delivery devices for the prevention and possibly the treatment of conditions such as periodontal disease and oral cancers.

The researchers exposed extracts of anthocyanin pigments from blueberries, chokeberries, black raspberries, red grapes and strawberries to the saliva collected from 14 people. Black raspberries, in particular, have been shown in numerous previous studies to have chemopreventive effects on tumors in the mouth, esophagus and colon, mostly in animal studies. Their high anthocyanin content has been linked to those benefits.

"All fruits are unique because their chemical composition, or fingerprint, varies," said Mark Failla, professor of human nutrition at Ohio State and interim chair of the Department of Human Sciences. "There are many different edible berries. Some might be better for providing health-promoting effects within the oral cavity, whereas others may be more beneficial for colonic health. We simply do not know at this time.

"Increased intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with decreased risk of some chronic diseases. An understanding of the metabolism of these compounds, and the relative activities of the compounds in the consumed fruit and their metabolic products, is needed to make scientifically sound dietary recommendations and to develop effective delivery vehicles for the mouth," Failla said.

The research is published in a recent issue of the journal Food Chemistry.

Failla and colleagues asked 14 healthy individuals between the ages of 21 and 55 years to collect saliva in the morning before they had eaten breakfast or brushed their teeth. Research participants later collected additional saliva samples before and after they had rinsed their mouths with an antibacterial liquid.

The five fruits selected for study allowed the scientists to test the six distinct families of the anthocyanin pigments. Researchers purified the anthocyanins from each berry type and added the extracts to saliva.

The extent of the pigment degradation in saliva was primarily a function of the chemical structure of a given anthocyanin, said Failla, also an investigator in Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center and Food Innovation Center.

Two families of anthocyanins consistently degraded when exposed to saliva: delphinidin and petunidin. Four other families were more stable: cyanidin, pelargonidin, peonidin and malvidin.

"Our observations suggest that the bacteria within one's oral cavity are a primary mediator of pigment metabolism. The bacteria are converting compounds that are present in the foods into metabolites," Failla said. "One area of great interest is whether the health-promoting benefits associated with eating anthocyanin-rich fruits like berries are provided by the pigment itself, the natural combinations of the pigments in the fruit, or the metabolites produced by bacteria in the mouth and other regions of the gastrointestinal tract."

There is context for this study that further complicates the understanding of anthocyanins' benefits. Multiple studies have led to the conclusion that anthocyanins themselves are very poorly absorbed by the body.

"If anthocyanins are the actual health-promoting compound, you would want to design food products, confectionaries and gels containing mixtures of anthocyanins that are stable in the mouth. If, on the other hand, the metabolites produced by the metabolism of anthocyanins are the actual health-promoting compounds, there will be greater interest in fruits that contain anthocyanins that are less stable in the oral cavity," Failla said. "We lack such insights at this time."

The extent to which the anthocyanins were degraded varied among the 14 people whose saliva was used in the study. However, two families of anthocyanins consistently degraded the most in all volunteers. Failla said the observed variation among individuals is likely related to differences in the microbial community that resides in each person's mouth.

This research group is continuing the work, examining which bacteria are most involved in the metabolism of anthocyanins and testing the stability of the pigments in berry juices in the mouths of human volunteers rather than in test tubes containing their saliva.

This work was supported in part by the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.

Co-authors include Kom Kamonpatana of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Nutrition; Monica Giusti and Ken Riedl of the Department of Food Science and Technology; Chureeporn Chitchumroonchokchai of the Department of Human Nutrition; and Maria MorenoCruz and Purnima Kumar of the Department of Periodontology, all at Ohio State. All but MorenoCruz are also investigators in the Food Innovation Center.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Ohio State University. The original article was written by Emily Caldwell.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. Kom Kamonpatana, M. M?nica Giusti, Chureeporn Chitchumroonchokchai, Maria MorenoCruz, Ken M. Riedl, Purnima Kumar, Mark L. Failla. Susceptibility of anthocyanins to ex vivo degradation in human saliva. Food Chemistry, 2012; 135 (2): 738 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.04.110

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/nutrition/~3/veYPg32Q77U/130128113819.htm

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Study Bolsters Quantum Vibration Scent Theory

Girl Smelling Marigolds Image: Flickr/moodboardphotography

How does the sense of smell work? Today two competing camps of scientists are at war over this very question. And the more controversial theory has just received important new experimental confirmation.

At issue is whether our noses use delicate quantum mechanisms for sensing the vibrations of odor molecules (aka odorants). Does the nose, in other words, read off the chemical makeup of a mystery odorant?say, a waft of perfume or the aroma of wilted lettuce?by ?ringing? it like a bell? Chemistry and forensics labs do this all the time with spectrometers?machines that bounce infrared light off mystery materials to reveal the telltale vibrations that the light provokes. Olfaction might, according to the vibration theory of smell, do the same using tiny currents of electrons instead of infrared photons (see previous coverage of the vibration theory here).

The predominant theory of smell today says: No way. The millions of different odorants in the world are a little more like puzzle pieces, it suggests. And our noses contain scores of different kinds of receptors that each prefer to bind with specific types of pieces. So a receptor that is set to bind to a molecule called limonene sends a signal to our brains when it finds that compound, and that's one of the cues behind the smell of citrus. Likewise that same receptor wouldn't bind to hydrogen sulfide?which smells of rotten eggs.

So, the promoters of the standard theory say, the familiar chemical interactions between receptor and odorant are all that's needed to explain olfaction. No fancy quantum vibration theory is necessary.

Yet here's a twist: odorant molecules typically contain many hydrogen atoms. And hydrogen comes in multiple forms, each very chemically similar to the others. But those different isotopes of hydrogen do strongly affect how a molecule vibrates. So deuterium, containing a hydrogen nucleus that has both a proton and a neutron (as opposed to plain-old-hydrogen that has just a proton), might help scientists discriminate between the proposed vibration and standard chemical binding theories of olfaction.

According to new research published today in PLoS ONE, human noses can sniff out the presence of at least some kinds of deuterium. Specifically, experimenters found regular musk molecules smelled different from ones that contain deuterium. "Deuterated" musks, says researcher Luca Turin of the Alexander Fleming Biomedical Sciences Research Center in Greece, lose much of their musky odor and instead contain overtones of burnt candle wax.

The finding represents a victory for the vibration theory, Turin says. And, he adds, it makes some sense, when you consider the purpose of our olfactory ability?whatever its mechanism is. The natural world contains millions of types of molecules. Some are good for us, and some are bad. The nose helps to distinguish one from the other. "Olfaction is trying to be like an analytical chemist," Turin says. "It's trying to identify unknowns." Chemists identify unknowns using spectrometers. Olfactory receptors, according to the vibration theory, act like little wetware spectrometers.

Adding to Turin's quiver is a 2011 finding in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicating that drosophila flies, too, can smell the difference between a molecule called acetophenone (which to humans smells sweet) and its deuterated cousin.

That?s all well and good, says Eric Block, professor of chemistry at the University at Albany in New York State. But, he says, it hardly proves the vibration theory, which faces some contrary evidence. For one, he points out that Turin once claimed humans, like drosophilia, could sniff out a deuterated version of the molecule acetophenone from the regular stuff, yet in 2004 Nature Neuroscience published a contrary claim, that human noses can't smell the presence of deuterium in acetophenone (Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group). And, Turin himself says in his new paper that he has confirmed the negative 2004 finding, although he thinks he has an explanation for the failure: deuterated acetophenone has relatively few deuteriums in it and thus may generate a weak vibrational signal that is too weak for humans to detect. Block says Turin can't have it both ways: either noses can smell deuterium or they can't.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=ade08dd9841015afffd10cdbdd57b5c4

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Austria's Hirscher win slalom before home fans

Austria's Marcel Hirscher celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Kitzbuehel, Austria, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Austria's Marcel Hirscher celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Kitzbuehel, Austria, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Germany's Felix Neureuther competes on his way to take second place, during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Kitzbuehel, Austria, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Croatia's Ivica Kostelic competes on his way to take third place, during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Kitzbuehel, Austria, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Austria's Marcel Hirscher celebrates after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Kitzbuehel, Austria, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

KITZBUEHEL, Austria (AP) ? Marcel Hirscher won a World Cup slalom for the 10th time in his career Sunday, drawing roars from a home crowd that included Austria-born Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Hirscher became the first Austrian since Klaus Kroell in 2009 to win a race at the Hahnenkamm event, one of the classic stops on the men's World Cup calendar.

Ivica Kostelic of Croatia won the combined, which adds the slalom results to those from Saturday's downhill. He became the first skier to win that competition four straight years.

Hirscher was third in the opening leg but was fastest in the second run to finish in a combined time of 1 minute, 44.34 seconds for his 17th career title. It was Hirscher's first victory in Kitzbuehel.

"If you want to be among the greatest skiers, you have to win in Kitzbuehel at least once," Hirscher said. The defending overall champion extended his lead in both the overall and slalom World Cup standings.

In the overall title race, Hirscher has 1,035 points to lead Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal by 114.

Felix Neureuther of Germany was 0.77 back in second, and Kostelic finished third, 0.91 behind Hirscher. Ted Ligety of the United States was among those who failed to finish.

Ligety skied out after five gates, failing to score points for a second straight day after missing a gate in the downhill. He finished sixth in Friday's super-G and remained in third place in the overall standings with 736 points.

"Kitz weekend started well but went sideways fast. Literally and figuratively," Ligety wrote on Twitter.

In the combined, Frenchmen Alexis Pinturault and Thomas Mermillod Blondin were second and third. Kostelic matched Norway's Kjetil Andre Aamodt's record of six straight podium finishes in this event.

Hirscher, who was beaten by Neureuther in a slalom in Wengen, Switzerland, last week, has won five races and finished on the podium 13 times this season.

With each victory worth 100 points, the Austrian has now gained a stunning 700 points in eight slaloms this season. Neureuther trails him by 134 points in second.

"It's not getting easier, the pressure is immense," Hirscher said. "If you get so many podiums in one season, you expect yourself to finish top five in each race."

Hirscher used an attacking yet error-free second run to win the race after trailing Stefano Gross and Giuliano Razzoli in the opening run. Both Italians, however, had costly mistakes in their final runs and finished 11th and fourth, respectively.

"It was a very, very tough race," Neureuther said. "In the second run, I raced tactically smart. Marcel showed the aggression you need to win here. He was always going to be the man to beat."

Kostelic called himself fortunate after finishing on the podium despite being more than 0.4 seconds off the top three in his opening run.

"I was lucky today and I wasn't expecting a top-three finish anymore," said Kostelic, adding that he admired the run of Austrian veteran Benjamin Raich. "I was inspired by the way Benni was skiing today."

Raich posted the second-fastest time in the final leg, just 0.10 slower than Hirscher, to climb from 25th to fifth place.

In a difficult first run, 28 racers failed to finish. The slalom gates were placed by Italian technical coach Jacques Theolier after an initial course set by Croatia's Ante Kostelic, father of Ivica and former women's overall champion Janica, was rejected as being too difficult by the international ski federation.

According to men's race director Guenter Hujara, the course was "unskiable" and Kostelic refused to change it, prompting the jury to ask the Italian team to replace the gates.

The new course still proved challenging, with Ligety, Mario Matt of Austria, Manfred Moelgg of Italy, last year's winner Cristian Deville of Italy and slalom world champion Jean-Baptiste Grange of France unable to finish.

This is the last season Kitzbuehel will run the classic combined event of downhill and two slalom runs on consecutive days. The competition is likely to be replaced next year by a super-combined event with a speed race and one slalom run on the same day.

A limited group of slalom skiers will take part in a city event in Moscow on Tuesday, the last World Cup race before the Feb. 5-17 world championships in Schladming, Austria.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-27-SKI-Men's-World-Cup/id-48edc53913b74713bbc3f8ac30be2290

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Officials examine rules for investing in education in neighbouring ...

Education

Chularat Saengpassa,
Wannapa Khaopa
The Nation January 28, 2013 1:00 am

Officials are preparing Thailand for investment in education among Asean Economic Community (AEC) countries and to be an international hub in the region when the community is launched in 2015.

Office of the Private Education Commission (OPEC) acting secretary-general Chanwit Tubsuphan told The Nation of the plans in an interview last week.

He said the officials were studying regulations and conditions for educational investment in Asean countries to prepare Thailand's involvement under agreements with AEC members.

The demand for international education and English programmes (EP) has been increasing unceasingly and was expected to continue growing, especially when AEC comes into effect and brings a free market to the region. OPEC will study these plans to see limitations and opportunities in educational investment for investors.

"Each country in Asean has regulations and conditions for educational investment. For example, some countries may not allow foreigners to provide basic education in their countries. We're studying this and its effect on people, culture and perspectives before Thailand makes a decision on how much it would be open for foreign investors to invest in the country's education," Chanwit said.

There are 133 international schools in Thailand. The amount has grown from about 40 in 1992. There are 40,000-50,000 students at those schools at present, said Usa Somboon, president of International Schools Association of Thailand (ISAT) in a separate interview.

Also, global international education has increased dramatically and will keep growing. The total number of English-medium international schools in the world is more than 6,400 with more than 3.2 million students. By 2022, it is expected that there will be 11,300 international schools and 6.2 million students, according to ISC Research, part of the International School Consultancy Group and Usa.

According to Chanwit, the number of private schools with EP increased from 144 in 2008 to 162 in 2012, while the number of EP students rose from 35,800 in 2008 to 54,800 in 2012. In all, 400 state and private schools across the country are offering EP and Mini-EP to hundreds of thousands of students. Ten per cent of them are foreigners.

"We expect that more students from Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam will come to Thailand to study at our international and EP schools after AEC takes effect. Apart from children of expats from Western countries, many foreign students in such schools are from those countries," he said.

Usa said: "Our country is ready to be an international school hub for the region. I would like the government to sincerely support international education in Thailand in terms of strategic planning. We've been asking many times about having an independent entity or agency to support international education in Thailand and that it acts like a centre of information for international schools in Thailand and helps develop strategically how to promote and compete in a growing global society."

"We are the leader in international education in Asean. If our resources are developed and supported in the right way and right time, we will be able to expand within the country and in the Asean region," said Wirach Amonpattana, vice-president and treasurer of ISAT.

Also, Usa and Wirach voiced the association's desire for empowerment of international schools. It would like educational agencies to change some regulations about Thai language and culture training for foreign teachers that were considered major obstacles for them in obtaining a teacher's licence in Thailand. They said they wanted the government to allow international schools to independently manage their own executive board members.

Chanwit said as OPEC supervised international schools and he was a board member of the Teachers' Council of Thailand, he would propose the council allow ISAT and universities to provide training for foreign teachers in different parts of the country. It would then be more convenient for them and would also adjust assessment methods that were more suitable for foreign teachers.

"OPEC is considering the proportion of foreign and Thai people who are appointed to international schools' executive boards. At present, at least half of the board members must be Thai. OPEC will check if the laws need to be changed following agreements in AEC," he said.

Although government agencies are focusing on attracting foreign students to study in Thailand rather than promoting schools to expand to other countries, Chanwit agreed with Usa and Wirach that Thailand was unable to completely block foreign educational investment flowing into the country under the AEC. International schools in Thailand, he said, would have to expand their business aggressively in neighbouring countries as well.

Wirach said Ruamrudee International School was planning to open a school in Myanmar.

"OPEC could be a reference for the international schools to guarantee their quality in any countries in which they will invest," Chanwit said.

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Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Officials-examine-rules-for-investing-in-education-30198820.html

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Photos: Best images captured at Obama's second inauguration

US Army Military District of Washington Major General Michael L. Linnington, Commander JFHQ National Capitol Region (C) is flanked by US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama (L side) and Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden as they prepare to review troops as Congressional leaders (top step) also attend, during inauguration ceremonies at the US Capitol, Washington DC, January 21, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

US Army Military District of Washington Major General Michael L. Linnington, Commander JFHQ National Capitol Region (C) is flanked by US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama (L side) and Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden as they prepare to review troops as Congressional leaders (top step) also attend, during inauguration ceremonies at the US Capitol, Washington DC, January 21, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/2013-inauguration-slideshow/

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Effective Tweeting: A Twitter Checklist - Legal Productivity

Twitter is a great platform for meeting people, building relationships, and keeping up with breaking news. You do this sharing content, including your own blog posts, and engaging. But many drop off after a spirited start. Here?s a Twitter Checklist to help keep you active and engaged.

1. Tweet when your followers are around ? The busy time on Twitter is 8am ? 7pm. Send most of your tweets out during this time.

2. Tweet frequency ? Try to send at least 3 tweets a day. 6-12 tweets per day is plenty. A lot more and you risk diluting the content you share and becoming a ?too-frequent poster? that results in unfollows.

3. Retweet ? Retweets are part and parcel of the Twitter experience. It gets you on someone?s radar who is more likely to retweet one of your updates, sparking conversation and helping tweets to go viral. Include at least 2 interesting retweets per day.

3. Tweet great content ? This includes links and original content. Here?s How To Find Awesome Content For Your Twitter Feeds.

4. Give attribution ? Give Twitter users props for their content by including their Twitter handle. It?s the proper thing to do and builds relationships.

5. Engage ? Twitter is a broadcast medium. It?s also a platform to engage. Many do both and do it well. Some brands broadcast with a sliver of engagement, while personal accounts tend to be more talkative. Engaging means that you spend more time on Twitter, but it makes for a more rewarding experience. Engaging is, of course, situational, but a reply or two per day on average is good enough.

6. It?s OK to schedule posts ? When you find a free 15 minutes to catch up on your blog reading and Twitter updates, it?s easy to tweet out content that you find useful or interesting all at once. But no one like to see 12 tweets in a row from one account. Use Buffer App instead to schedule your twitter content as you discover it, ensuring a level of activity throughout the day.

7. Optimize your Twitter bio ? You have 160 characters: Use it to make it easier for people to find and follow you. Growing your tribe leads to more meaningful and productive engagement and relationship building. Link to your blog, website, or LinkedIn profile.

8. Create Twitter lists ? Starting to follow too many people and can?t keep up with the speedy Twitter stream? Create Twitter lists ? public and private ? of your favorite Twitterers and view tweets from those lists only, when pressed for time.

RELATED POSTS:
How To Find Lawyers And Legal Professionals To Follow On Twitter
4 Twitter Productivity Tips

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Source: http://www.legalproductivity.com/legal-marketing/twitter-checklist/

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1 shot dead, 1 stabbed after punk rock brawl

By Robert Henry, Olsen Ebright and Antonio Castelan, NBC LosAngeles.com

LOS ANGELES -- A brawl at a punk rock concert spilled out into the parking lot and ended with one man fatally shot and another man stabbed, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The incidents happened about 12:15 a.m. Sunday (3:15 a.m ET) at Alpine Village Center in Torrance, Calif., Deputy Irys Alvarez said.

"These two incidents of violence are likely separate crimes occurring at the same venue. Each incident is believed to involve a separate suspect," according to an LASD update released Sunday.

More news from NBCLosAngeles.com

According to deputies, Oxnard-based punk band Agression was headlining the event.?

Alpine Village Center offers dining, concerts, swap meets and other entertainment.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/21/16619175-brawl-at-punk-rock-gig-ends-with-1-shot-dead-1-stabbed?lite

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