Gaborik bests Lundqvist to earn All-Star MVP honor (AP)

OTTAWA ? Now that forward Marian Gaborik and goalie Henrik Lundqvist have playfully settled their NHL All-Star game rivalry, the two can go back to combining their talents and creating headaches for the rest of the league.

With much of the focus this weekend on all-star captains Daniel Alfredsson and Zdeno Chara, the unsettled future of the Phoenix Coyotes, and a still cloudy outlook regarding Sidney Crosby's health, Gaborik grabbed the limelight in capping the league's All-Star festivities in Ottawa.

The 11-year veteran earned MVP honors after scoring three times and adding an assist in leading Team Chara to a 12-9 win over Team Alfredsson on Sunday.

Gaborik proved he was the Rangers' top star by beating Lundqvist twice during the first period in delivering payback after the goalie ? and Team Alfredsson assistant captain ? failed to push for his selection in the All Star player draft on Thursday.

"I was trying to get into his mind over the whole weekend," Gaborik said, referring to a series of back-and-forth comments and tweets the two had exchanged the past few days. "And I think it was a pretty good challenge against him, and worked a little better for me."

No worries, said Lundqvist, who prefers Gaborik as a teammate.

"Obviously, he has a lot of leverage from all the games we've had against each other," Lundqvist said, recalling the time he gave up five goals to Gaborik, when the forward was with the Wild. "Hopefully, he stays in New York for a long time so I don't have to face him in a game."

The one-two punch of Gaborik and Lundqvist has had the Rangers on a roll for much of this season.

Gaborik's team-leading 25 goals and 39 points, and Lundqvist's 1.82 goals-against average ? best among NHL goalies with at least 25 starts ? has the Rangers (31-12-4) with 66 points, one behind league-leading Detroit.

The final two-plus months of the season resumes with 13 games on Tuesday. And if Sunday's game is any measure, the league isn't bereft of stars in the absence of Crosby, who's played only eight games this season due to a concussion and neck injury, and Alex Ovechkin, who didn't attend after the NHL suspended him for three games for an illegal hit.

Chara delivered by scoring the eventual winner in the midst of a decisive three-goal outburst over a 1:22 span that put his team up 11-8 with 6:34 remaining.

The Vancouver Canucks' Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, continued to prove they're among the game's top play-makers with several nifty passes.

And even in defeat, Alfredsson rewarded the hometown fans with two goals and an assist to further cement his place as Ottawa's favorite athlete, before providing a hint that he might come back for one more season.

With one year left on his contract, Alfredsson has sidestepped questions over whether he might retire after this season.

In an interview broadcast on the arena's scoreboard, the 39-year-old broke into a wide grin in giving his most definitive answer yet by saying, "Fifty percent yes, and my wife's going to have to decide the other 50," as the crowd broke into a cheer.

Even Chara got into the spirit of the exhibition, saying he was rooting for his former Senators teammate to complete his hat trick.

"Alfie's such a classy guy, obviously a big icon in Ottawa and Sweden, as well, and such a great player to represent this team," Chara said. "So of course I was pulling for him."

There was plenty to root for after fans were treated to a wide-open, no-hitting style in a game that featured plenty of nifty passing, numerous odd-man breaks and even a penalty shot awarded to Steven Stamkos, who leads the NHL with 32 goals.

Stamkos, however, was foiled on his freebie ? the second in All-Star game history ? when he attempted the same spin-around move he used to beat Carey Price in the skills competition on Saturday night. Jimmy Howard didn't bite on Sunday, holding his ground and hugging the post to stop Stamkos' penalty-shot attempt.

"I think I ran out of moves," Stamkos said. "I tried something fancy and hoped it would work. It didn't. But I just tried to have fun with it."

Tim Thomas made 18 saves in the final period, and extended his record by winning his fourth All-Star game.

Marian Hossa and Jarome Iginla had a goal and two assists, and Joffrey Lupul scored twice for Team Chara.

For Team Alfredsson, Henrik Sedin had a goal and two assists, and Daniel Sedin, John Tavares, Jason Pominville and Milan Michalek had a goal and assist each.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_sp_ho_ga_su/hkn_all_star_game_folo

pinterest saul alinsky red dawn annapolis the perfect storm trisomy wwe royal rumble

China boosts police presence in restless Xinjiang (AP)

BEIJING ? Thousands of additional police officers are being dispatched to combat religious extremism and other security concerns in China's volatile, heavily Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang, state media reported Monday.

Officials plan to recruit 8,000 officers to ensure every village in Xinjiang has at least one on patrol, the Xinhua News Agency said.

Their primary tasks will be "security patrols, management of the migrant population and cracking down on illegal religious activities," it said. The officers will be joined in their tasks by security guards and local militia, who are typically unarmed, Xinhua said.

The beefing up of the police force is a sign of Beijing's concern over unrest in Xinjiang, where long-simmering resentment against Chinese rule boiled over in 2009, when nearly 200 people were killed in fighting between native Uighurs and Han Chinese in the regional capital, Urumqi, according to the government.

Dozens have been killed or wounded in recent months, and authorities have increasingly relied on overwhelming force and heavy-handed policing to control the situation. China has blamed overseas activists for what it described as organized terrorist attacks, specifically Pakistan-based militants affiliated with al-Qaida.

Violence has also worsened in Tibetan areas to the south, following the self-immolations of Buddhist monks, nuns and former clergy. Police have fired into crowds of protesters, killing and wounding dozens, while barring outsiders from traveling to the area.

Xinjiang regional spokeswoman Hou Hanmin confirmed to The Associated Press that the 8,000 officers were being recruited under a "one village, one officer" campaign. She said their main job would be to improve public services.

The deployment also appears aimed at avoiding a Xinjiang crisis during a year that will see the start of a generational leadership transition in Beijing.

Leading Xinjiang security official Xiong Xuanguo pledged earlier this month to strictly guard against "violent terrorism" and create a "harmonious social environment" ahead of the ruling Communist Party's national congress due this fall, an event held once every five years.

"Local authorities must further improve their capabilities for maintaining social stability and amplify the crackdown on religious extremist activities," Xiong said.

As with Tibetans, Xinjiang's Uighurs have been angered by restrictions on cultural and religious life, as well as an influx of Han migrants they feel has left them economically marginalized in their own homelands.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_as/as_china_xinjiang

pasadena famu famu martina mcbride terry jones andy reid elf on the shelf

Nokia clarifies battery update on Lumia 800, promises audio / camera fixes soon

Nokia already came clean about the Lumia 800 battery bug, but evidently that just wasn't enough to appease the masses. A community manager in the outfit's own forums has just responded to pages upon pages of comments regarding the most recent update, partly to (re)set the record straight regarding the battery, and partly to address more fixes that are just around the bend. The latest update (1600.2483.8106.11500) was meant to "enhance standby time as well as to bring an improvement to the issue reported by some customers in December," and according to Nokia, said update does indeed address those problems. However, folks that still have concerns regarding audio and camera settings aren't being ignored; those quirks will be worked out in "a series of future updates." Eager to learn more? The full reply is embedded just after the break.

Continue reading Nokia clarifies battery update on Lumia 800, promises audio / camera fixes soon

Nokia clarifies battery update on Lumia 800, promises audio / camera fixes soon originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MobileTechWorld  |  Nokia  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/7xhbv4bmfkU/

neville neville george lucas numerology the game new hampshire primary hue jackson

Interstate 75 Car Crashes: Florida Pileup Kills At Least 10

Debris and wreckage lie along the highway after a multi-vehicle accident that killed at least nine people, on Interstate 75 near Gainesville, Fla., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-25-Campaign-Hispanics/id-652902a6f7464060bc6315d3d06e307d

mona simpson grady sizemore grady sizemore samhain great pumpkin charlie brown the strangers all hallows eve

Yahoo delivers another listless performance in 4Q (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO ? Yahoo slipped further behind in the online advertising race during the fourth quarter as the Internet company entered the fourth year of a revenue slump.

The results announced Tuesday marked the latest in a succession of disappointing performances. The persisting malaise led to the firing of Carol Bartz as CEO four months ago.

Yahoo Inc. recently replaced Bartz with PayPal executive Scott Thompson, anointing him as the fourth CEO in less than five years to try to snap the company out of a funk that has depressed its stock. Thompson, who was hired just three weeks ago, promised to move quickly to fix the problems.

"There is no question we need to do better and we will," Thompson assured analysts in a Tuesday conference call.

The company earned $296 million, or 24 cents per share, in the October-to-December period. That is down 5 percent from $312 million, or 24 cents per share, a year earlier.

The earnings matched analysts' estimates, but the company missed Wall Street's revenue target.

Fourth-quarter revenue dropped 13 percent from the previous year to $1.32 billion. After subtracting advertising commissions, Yahoo's revenue totaled $1.17 billion, or $20 million below analyst projections. It's the 13th straight quarter that Yahoo's net revenue has declined from the prior year.

Although Thompson said it was still too early to share precise details about his turnaround strategy, he said he will close some Yahoo services. That could mean layoffs among Yahoo's workforce. The company added 300 employees in the fourth quarter to end the year with 14,000 workers.

Bartz had also closed or sold some of Yahoo's less popular services while jettisoning jobs to cut costs and sharpen the company's focus. Those moves, though, didn't increase Yahoo's revenue or stock price, leading Yahoo to fire her in September with more than 15 months left on her contract.

Besides closing services, Thompson said Yahoo will expand into some fields where he sees opportunities to make money. He didn't elaborate on that or on which services to close.

Thompson also pledged to develop more innovative products to keep Yahoo's audience of 700 million users on its websites for longer periods. Accomplishing that could make Yahoo more attractive to online advertisers. Thompson said he hopes to harness the data that Yahoo collects about its audience to help advertisers do a better job of putting their marketing messages in front of the people most likely to buy their products.

"I'll always ask a lot of questions and I'll immerse myself in the details but when it comes to making decisions, I make them quickly and then push to move fast, fast, fast," Thompson said.

But Yahoo isn't promising a quick start under Thompson's leadership. Yahoo predicted its net revenue in the current quarter will range from $1.02 billion to $1.1 billion. The mid-point of that target works out to $1.06 billion, unchanged from last year's first quarter.

Investors appear to be taking a wait-and-see attitude with Thompson. Yahoo's stock shed 15 cents to $15.54 in extended trading after the report came out. The stock price has fallen by about 40 percent from five years ago.

Yahoo's downturn in revenue has occurred as advertisers are shifting more of their budgets to the Internet as people spend more of their time on the Web. The biggest beneficiaries of this boom so far have been Internet search leader Google Inc. and Facebook, the owner of the largest online social network.

While Yahoo continued to struggle during the final three months of last year, Google's revenue rose 25 percent from the same period in 2010. As a privately held company, Facebook doesn't disclose its financial results, but data compiled by independent research firms show that its website has been luring advertisers away from Yahoo.

Google has become so dominant in Internet search that Yahoo teamed up with another rival, Microsoft Corp., in an effort to become more competitive and save money. Yahoo's search engine now relies on Microsoft's technology to handle most requests. The alliance, forged in mid-2009, hasn't generated as much revenue so far as Yahoo had hoped, although there were signs of progress in the fourth quarter.

Net revenue from search totaled $376 million in the fourth quarter, a 3 percent decrease from a year earlier. The company, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., had been suffering year-over-year declines of more than 10 percent in previous quarters.

As it tries to boost its revenue and lift its stock price, Yahoo is considering selling its stakes in China's Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan. Yahoo is pursuing those negotiations with "great enthusiasm," according to Tim Morse, the company's chief financial officer. Neither Morse nor Thompson elaborated on when a deal might be reached.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/search/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_hi_te/us_earns_yahoo

four loko michael savage aj burnett aj burnett jason wu jason wu the fall

Ancient Jewish scrolls found in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan?? A cache of ancient Jewish scrolls from northern Afghanistan that has only recently come to light is creating a storm among scholars who say the landmark find could reveal an undiscovered side of medieval Jewry.

The 150 or so documents, dated from the 11th century, were found in Afghanistan's Samangan province and most likely smuggled out ? a sorry but common fate for the impoverished and war-torn country's antiquities.

Israeli emeritus professor Shaul Shaked, who has examined some of the poems, commercial records and judicial agreements that make up the treasure, said while the existence of ancient Afghan Jewry is known, their culture was still a mystery.

1. More science news from msnbc.com

   1. Stephen Hawking's cosmic curios explained

      Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: The cosmic curios of the world's best-known physicist go on display at a science museum, chronicling the amazing 70 years of Stephen Hawking's life.

   2. Monkey long believed extinct found in Indonesia
   3. Evidence found for oldest popcorn in South America
   4. Leap second lives on after tiff over time

"Here, for the first time, we see evidence and we can actually study the writings of this Jewish community. It's very exciting," Shaked told Reuters by telephone from Israel, where he teaches at the Comparative Religion and Iranian Studies department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The hoard is currently being kept by private antique dealers in London, who have been producing a trickle of new documents over the past two years, which is when Shaked believes they were found and pirated out of Afghanistan in a clandestine operation.

It is likely they belonged to Jewish merchants on the Silk Road running across Central Asia, said T. Michael Law, a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at Oxford University's Center for Hebrew and Jewish Studies.

"They might have been left there by merchants traveling along the way, but they could also come from another nearby area and deposited for a reason we do not yet understand," Law said.

"Sold elsewhere for 10 times more"
Cultural authorities in Kabul had mixed reactions to the find, which scholars say is without a doubt from Afghanistan, arguing that the Judeo-Persian language used on the scrolls is similar to other Afghan Jewish manuscripts.

National Archives director Sakhi Muneer outright denied the find was Afghan, arguing that he would have seen it, but an adviser in the Culture Ministry said it "cannot be confirmed but it is entirely possible."

"A lot of old documents and sculptures are not brought to us but are sold elsewhere for 10 times the price," said adviser Jalal Norani, explaining that excavators and ordinary people who stumble across finds sell them to middlemen who then auction them off in Iran, Pakistan and Europe.

"Unfortunately, we cannot stop this," Norani said. The Culture Ministry, he said, pays on average $1,500 for a recovered antique item. The Hebrew University's Shaked estimated the Jewish documents' worth at several million dollars.

Thirty years of war and conflict have severely hindered both the collecting and preserving of Afghanistan's antiquities, and the Culture Ministry said endemic corruption and poverty meant many new discoveries do not even reach them.

Interpol and U.S. officials have also traced looted Afghan antiquities to funding insurgent activities.

In today's climate of uncertainty, the National Archives in Kabul keeps the bulk of its enormous collection of documents ? some dating to the fifth century ? under lock and key to prevent stealing.

Instead reproductions of gold-framed Pashto poems and early Korans scribed on deer skin, or vellum, are displayed for the public under the ornate ceilings of the Archives, which were the 19th century offices of Afghan King Habibullah Khan.

"I am sure Afghanistan, like any country, would like to control their antiquities. ... But on the other hand, with this kind of interest and importance, as a scholar I can't say that I would avoid studying them," said Shaked of the Jewish find.

(Additional reporting by Mirwais Harooni)

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46102501/ns/technology_and_science-science/

republican debate tonight tinker tailor soldier spy rich forever rick ross project runway all stars elin nordegren kansas state tangled ever after

Adele joins "Titanic" in her 16-week chart reign (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? British singer Adele's multi-platinum selling album "21" scored its 16th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, entering an elite list of only five albums to cross the that mark in the past 20 years.

"21," which has been selling more than 100,000 copies each week for 33 weeks, joined the ranks of the soundtrack to the 1997 box-office phenomenon "Titanic," Whitney Houston's soundtrack to 1992 film, "The Bodyguard," country crooner Garth Brooks' "Ropin' The Wind" and Billy Ray Cyrus' "Some Gave All," also in 1992, all of which crossed 16 weeks at No. 1.

Recently disbanded Christian rock group David Crowder Band made the highest chart debut this week at No. 2 with new album "Give Us Rest," selling 50,000 copies.

Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol debuted their sixth studio album, "Fallen Empires," at No. 5, following Black Keys' "El Camino" and Drake's "Take Care."

Adele also snatched the top spot on the Digital Songs chart with "Set Fire to the Rain" from last week's No. 1, Jason Mraz's "I Won't Give Up," which fell to No. 9.

This week saw low sales on the album chart, as the bottom three CDs on the Top 10 list sold less than 20,000 copies each, the first time in Nielsen SoundScan history that albums selling less than 20,000 have entered the top 10.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120118/music_nm/us_adele_chart

gluten free diet oprah winfrey iaa blackberry torch 2 ea sports ovarian cancer symptoms angola

The rail and road network in Spain does not follow economic criteria, but central

Public release date: 18-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: SINC
info@plataformasinc.es
34-914-251-820
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology

A researcher at the University of Barcelona has examined the construction of surface transportation infrastructure in Spain from 1720 to 2010. The economist and author of the study, Germ Bel explains how both the construction of train lines and state highways in Spain since the 18th century has been based radially around Madrid as the political capital and not on the commercial activity of routes.

"In Spain, infrastructure policy tends to follow a national construction model comprising connections that converge in one point the political capital. This mainly happens as of the 23rd April, 1720 with the implementation of a new ruling that drives centralization by prioritizing radial roads for administrative reasons, not according to traffic flow," explains Germ Bel, lead author of the study published in the Business History journal.

The article highlights that in other countries such as Germany, Italy and the UK, and even France, infrastructure policy is linked to the economic and productive activity. In other words, the type of infrastructure such as the temporal sequence in which the building takes into account criteria of economic activity and productivity of the economy.

As the researcher clarifies, "the fact that Spanish infrastructure construction tends to be more economic and productive use, does not mean that investment is made solely in and around Madrid but that route financing comes from differing sources."

In this respect, Germ Bel states that when funding was needed from the user, by tolls or private levies, investment has been made in routes with commercial activity. "In this way the first toll motorways were built across the Mediterranean Corridor and the Valle del Ebro," says the researcher. However, on an instrumental level, when their use does not correspond to commercial activity, they have generally been built using funds from the state budget.

"Public money has been systematically used to make infrastructures radially converge in Madrid. As a general rule they are funded mainly from the state budget, including their upkeep, and they are generally older. If for whatever reason, like a recession, infrastructure construction undergoes a rational rethink, it is much more transversal (not radial) and leans towards the corridors where productive activity is higher," explains the researcher.

AVE: the high-speed train with the longest and least commercial route

The geographical centralization of transport services also occurs in the case of the train. In particular, the high-speed AVE train has a radial extension policy expressly declared on the 25 April, 2000 by the then president of the Spanish government, Jos Mara Aznar. He stated that the focal point of its infrastructure policy was to create "a high-speed rail network that in ten years time would connect all of Spain's provincial capitals with the centre of the country in four hours." (Aznar, 2000). Germ Bel asserts that "An example of this is that, along the Barcelona-Valencia, for example, that in the 80's was the most densely-line traffic continues without high speed, and still single track sections on the Iberian gauge ride."

Historically however, the first commercial trains linked Barcelona with Matar (1848), Sama with Langreo (1852/56), Valencia with Xtiva (1854) and Madrid with Aranjuez (1851). The latter was the only line built using public money.

The expert stresses that demand for rail services is small compared to other pioneering countries despite it have the most railway tracks in kilometres in Europe. As the researcher points out, "AVE passengers in Spain represent just 6% of passengers in Japan, less than 20% in France and 30% in Germany."

###

References: Germ Bel, "Infrastructure and nation building: The regulation and financing of network transportation infrastructures in Spain (1720 -2010)", Business History 53 (5): 688 705, 2011.

---

[ | 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: 18-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: SINC
info@plataformasinc.es
34-914-251-820
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology

A researcher at the University of Barcelona has examined the construction of surface transportation infrastructure in Spain from 1720 to 2010. The economist and author of the study, Germ Bel explains how both the construction of train lines and state highways in Spain since the 18th century has been based radially around Madrid as the political capital and not on the commercial activity of routes.

"In Spain, infrastructure policy tends to follow a national construction model comprising connections that converge in one point the political capital. This mainly happens as of the 23rd April, 1720 with the implementation of a new ruling that drives centralization by prioritizing radial roads for administrative reasons, not according to traffic flow," explains Germ Bel, lead author of the study published in the Business History journal.

The article highlights that in other countries such as Germany, Italy and the UK, and even France, infrastructure policy is linked to the economic and productive activity. In other words, the type of infrastructure such as the temporal sequence in which the building takes into account criteria of economic activity and productivity of the economy.

As the researcher clarifies, "the fact that Spanish infrastructure construction tends to be more economic and productive use, does not mean that investment is made solely in and around Madrid but that route financing comes from differing sources."

In this respect, Germ Bel states that when funding was needed from the user, by tolls or private levies, investment has been made in routes with commercial activity. "In this way the first toll motorways were built across the Mediterranean Corridor and the Valle del Ebro," says the researcher. However, on an instrumental level, when their use does not correspond to commercial activity, they have generally been built using funds from the state budget.

"Public money has been systematically used to make infrastructures radially converge in Madrid. As a general rule they are funded mainly from the state budget, including their upkeep, and they are generally older. If for whatever reason, like a recession, infrastructure construction undergoes a rational rethink, it is much more transversal (not radial) and leans towards the corridors where productive activity is higher," explains the researcher.

AVE: the high-speed train with the longest and least commercial route

The geographical centralization of transport services also occurs in the case of the train. In particular, the high-speed AVE train has a radial extension policy expressly declared on the 25 April, 2000 by the then president of the Spanish government, Jos Mara Aznar. He stated that the focal point of its infrastructure policy was to create "a high-speed rail network that in ten years time would connect all of Spain's provincial capitals with the centre of the country in four hours." (Aznar, 2000). Germ Bel asserts that "An example of this is that, along the Barcelona-Valencia, for example, that in the 80's was the most densely-line traffic continues without high speed, and still single track sections on the Iberian gauge ride."

Historically however, the first commercial trains linked Barcelona with Matar (1848), Sama with Langreo (1852/56), Valencia with Xtiva (1854) and Madrid with Aranjuez (1851). The latter was the only line built using public money.

The expert stresses that demand for rail services is small compared to other pioneering countries despite it have the most railway tracks in kilometres in Europe. As the researcher points out, "AVE passengers in Spain represent just 6% of passengers in Japan, less than 20% in France and 30% in Germany."

###

References: Germ Bel, "Infrastructure and nation building: The regulation and financing of network transportation infrastructures in Spain (1720 -2010)", Business History 53 (5): 688 705, 2011.

---

[ | 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/2012-01/f-sf-tra011812.php

battle field 3 battle field 3 dana wilkey dana wilkey chuck liddell chuck liddell dancing with the stars

Apple turns educator with iBook Textbooks for iPad

Jacob Aron, technology reporter

(Image: Mark Lennihan/AP/Press Association Images)

Students groaning under the weight of multiple textbooks can now swap their hefty tomes for an iPad - if they can afford one. Apple today launched a new range of interactive textbooks specifically designed for its tablets.

iBook Textbooks dump the paper-flipping effect of ebooks for a more app-like experience, offering images, videos and interactive diagrams alongside the text. Students can also highlight passages and make notes, then touch a button to have them transformed into study cards.

Apple has worked with textbook publishers McGraw-Hill, Pearson, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to produce a small range of books at launch, but it is also offering anyone the ability to create their own directly on the iPad using its free iBooks Author app. Teachers can also use the Author app to create iPad-based courses and message students when they set homework.

The textbooks can be automatically updated by the authors, eliminating the need to buy a new version each year, and will sell for $15 or less - a significant price-cut over paper books.
Of course, you'll also need to buy an iPad for $499 or more.

That could be affordable for university students - some institutions have already started giving undergraduates a "free" iPad as part of their tuition fees - but outfitting an entire secondary school with tablets might be beyond the budget of cash-strapped educators.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/1bf7eb83/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Conepercent0C20A120C0A10Capple0Elaunches0Einteractive0Etex0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

alec baldwin rock and roll hall of fame erin andrews erin andrews blagojevich sentence mythbusters cannonball uss arizona

Ravens beat Texans 20-13, move into AFC title game

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is stopped by Houston Texans outside linebacker Connor Barwin during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff football game in Baltimore, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is stopped by Houston Texans outside linebacker Connor Barwin during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff football game in Baltimore, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Baltimore Ravens free safety Ed Reed intercepts a pass intended for Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson during the second half of an NFL divisional playoff football game in Baltimore, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Houston Texans quarterback T.J. Yates, left, congratulates running back Arian Foster on his touchdown during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak reacts to a play during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Baltimore Ravens free safety Ed Reed, right, celebrates his interception with teammate outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, left, during the second half of an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Houston Texans in Baltimore, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. The Ravens won the game 20-13. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

BALTIMORE (AP) ? The Baltimore Ravens didn't just earn another home win. They stole it away from the Houston Texans.

Ed Reed sealed a 20-13 victory Sunday with Baltimore's fourth takeaway, and when he finally limped off the field, the Ravens were assured their second trip to the AFC championship game in four seasons.

Baltimore (13-4) will visit Tom Brady and the New England Patriots next Sunday, with the winner moving on to the Super Bowl.

"We know we have a big test next week," linebacker Ray Lewis said. "Tom is playing excellent up there, and what they did to the Broncos last night, I think they sent a message to whoever was coming up there. So, we've got our hands full."

The Patriots lead the series 6-1, but Baltimore's lone win came in the postseason.

The Ravens have been in the playoffs for four years running, but this was their first home game since 2006. It was anything but easy.

Baltimore forced two turnovers in the first quarter in building a 17-3 lead thanks to touchdown passes by Joe Flacco, and interceptions by Lardarius Webb and Reed in the fourth quarter helped the advantage stand up.

"We knew what was coming," Lewis said. "This young team, they are so freakin' fiery. They've got so many great pieces over there. I just take my hat off to them, just simply for the way they came out and fought today.

"More importantly, I take my hat off to my team, as well, because we came out and we knew it was going to be tough. We made some plays, they made some plays and at the end of the game, we made the plays that counted."

One week earlier, in the first playoff game in Texans history, Houston (11-7) didn't commit a turnover in a 31-10 home rout of Cincinnati. Against Baltimore, the Texans' couldn't hold onto the ball and quickly fell behind by two touchdowns.

Arian Foster ran for 132 yards, the first player to rush for 100 yards in the playoffs against the Ravens. But rookie quarterback T.J. Yates threw three interceptions.

Down 17-13 at halftime, Houston twice held the Ravens without a first down in the third quarter before driving to the Baltimore 32. From there, Neil Rackers' 50-yard field goal try hit the crossbar and dropped into the end zone.

Baltimore then launched a drive in which seldom-used Lee Evans made a sensational one-handed catch for a 30-yard gain on third-and-5 from the Houston 39. On fourth-and-goal inside the 1, Ray Rice was stuffed by linebacker Tim Dobbins for no gain.

The Texans couldn't move the ball, and the Ravens took the ensuing punt at the Houston 49. But three plays netted only 4 yards, and Sam Koch punted for the seventh time.

Minutes later, the Ravens went three and out for the fourth time in five second-half possessions. Fortunately for Baltimore, the defense compensated for the team's inability to add to its early lead.

Webb's second interception came with 7? minutes left and the Ravens clinging to 17-13 advantage. Baltimore moved 45 yards to get a field goal by Billy Cundiff with 2:52 left.

Reed ended the Texans' subsequent drive with his eighth career playoff interception inside the 5-yard line.

"When we got up 17-3, the No. 1 thing I told them is: 'They're going to make a rally. Every great team makes a rally,'" Lewis said. "And this is what playoff football is all about. I mean, year after year and time after time, great competition going against each other, it really does get no better."

Houston's Danieal Manning muffled the record crowd of 71,547 by taking the opening kickoff 60 yards to the Baltimore 41. Yates then completed two straight passes, and after the Ravens stuffed Foster on a third-and-1, Rackers kicked a 40-yard field goal.

Baltimore failed to get a first down on its first possession and had to punt. Jacoby Jones inexplicably attempted to field the bouncing ball at the 13-yard line, was immediately hit by Cary Williams and lost the ball, which was recovered by rookie Jimmy Smith at the 2.

On third down, Flacco threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Kris Wilson ? the tight end's first catch of the season.

After a Houston punt, Flacco completed a 21-yard pass to Anquan Boldin to set up a 48-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead.

Later in the first quarter, Webb stepped in front of Andre Johnson for an interception at the Houston 35. Five plays later, Flacco tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Boldin in the right side of the end zone.

Yates then completed a pair of third-down passes in a 59-yard drive that ended with a field goal.

After Yates misfired on third down from the Baltimore 10, the rookie came off the field he was greeted by coach Gary Kubiak, who put a hand on the back of the quarterback's jersey while chatting.

Yates returned after a Baltimore punt to direct a 12-play, 86-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Foster, who accounted for 66 yards ? including 54 on the ground.

Yates went 17 for 35 for 184 yards. Johnson had eight catches for 111 yards.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-15-FBN-Texans-Ravens/id-06c257c0430a4170ab547eae7b993594

chicago news gop debate republican debate golden girls robert e lee dez bryant aaliyah

US: Strong signs Iran is giving Syria weapons

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A senior Obama administration official says a recent visit by the commander of Iran's elite Quds force to Damascus is the strongest sign yet that Iran is supplying weapons to aid Bashar Assad's crackdown on the Syrian people.

The U.S. has long said Iran is helping drive the deadly crackdown on dissent in Syria. But the official says the visit by Quds Force Commander Ghassem Soleimani provides a concrete example of direct high-level cooperation between Iran and Syria.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly.

Iran is one of the few international allies that Syria has left after its nearly year-long crackdown.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-17-US-Iran-Syria/id-ab06d2c1e21941a5b7c1829702eaedd7

uss carl vinson holly marie combs unc basketball college basketball gunsmoke papelbon papelbon

Acer's Aspire S5 Ultrabook Comes In As the Ultra-Thinnest—For Now [Acer]

Acer's first Ultrabook, the Aspire S5, also happens to be one of the first of what will certainly be a tidal wave of Ultrabooks announced at CES this year. It's just 15mm thick at its largest point, and weighs in at less than 3 pounds. But it's probably only going to hold that "world's thinnest" title for a few hours until the Ultrabook floodgates open. Tick tock. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/7kn9GirkRiI/acers-aspire-s5-ultrabook-comes-in-as-the-ultra+thinnest

deliverance muhammad ali pentatonix nicki minaj barbie doll nicki minaj barbie doll black dahlia drew