Debbie Reynolds plans new memoir, 'Unsinkable' (omg!)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Debbie Reynolds must have thought she'd said it all in her memoir a quarter-century ago.

But now she's got plenty more to share, including her tale of betrayal by her third husband that left the film legend divorced anew, not to mention financially bankrupt.

William Morrow publishers said Tuesday that Reynolds will release her tell-all tome, titled "Unsinkable," next year.

In the book, Reynolds will revisit important moments of her life as an actress during Hollywood's Golden Age. She also will re-examine the scandalous end of her first marriage in 1959 when singer Eddie Fisher left her for their best friend, superstar Elizabeth Taylor, said William Morrow.

At 79, Reynolds continues to perform in a one-woman show and make television appearances.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_debbie_reynolds_plans_memoir_unsinkable172846718/44366390/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/debbie-reynolds-plans-memoir-unsinkable-172846718.html

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LG Optimus L3 emerges in Sweden, appears to be new entry-level offering

LG has been busy selling various flavors of its high-end Optimus LTE over the past few months, but that doesn't mean it's forgotten about its entry-level line-up. A new budget device, dubbed the LG E400 Optimus L3, has appeared over on Swedish retailer CDON, running Android 2.3 (and LG's Optimus UI) on a 3.2-inch screen. Other specs include a 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA and Wifi connectivity and a microSD card slot. There's no information on what CPU you'll find powering this thing, but we wouldn't expect anything beathtakingly fast -- maybe a 1GHz single-core chip, if that. Nevertheless, from the outside the Optimus L3 looks like a stylish little device for anyone on a budget.

But there's some cause for concern regarding that 3.2-inch screen, as according to CDON's spec list, it's a QVGA (320x240) panel. In 2012, that kind of resolution borders on unacceptable, even on a budget device. Last year's Optimus One was fitted with a HVGA (480x320) screen, so we're hoping this is just an error on the part of the retailer.

The Optimus L3 is shown with a pre-order price of 1290 SEK (~£120, $190) off-contract, with stock apparently due to arrive on Feb. 27.

Source: CDON; via: GSMArena

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/7zCKSO74WrE/story01.htm

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Juventus looking to extend unbeaten Serie A season

Associated Press Sports

updated 8:23 a.m. ET Jan. 30, 2012

MILAN (AP) -Serie A leader Juventus will look to extend its unbeaten league run to 21 games this season at Parma on Tuesday and move four points provisionally clear at the top of the standings.

Juventus is the only club still unbeaten in Serie A, with every other team having lost at least three games.

"We're performing beyond the most rose-colored predictions," defender Giorgio Chiellini said. "We were convinced we could have a very good season but we were also coming off the back of two difficult years and in summer, although we didn't start building again from zero, we changed a lot.

"We've been good in immediately finding a balance and a style of play and now we're continuing to grow. It's a process that has not stopped yet and it has to continue if we want to achieve a dream."

Parma is unlikely to pose Juventus much of a challenge, having won just once in its past 10 games.

Juventus gave another solid performance on Saturday by beating third-place Udinese 2-1 to remain a point clear of second-place AC Milan, which faces Lazio on Wednesday in a rematch of last week's Italian Cup clash. Milan won that match 3-1.

Tuesday will also be significant in that the transfer window closes at 7 p.m. local time (1800 GMT) and Juve has not ruled out strengthening its squad still further.

"If tomorrow we sense the possibility of improving the squad, we will do so," general director Giuseppe Marotta said on Sunday. "We shouldn't hide, the numbers are on our side. We're unbeaten and we have to act out the role of protagonists. We will fight until the end so that we can give everyone a glorious finish."

Milan is likely to chase Juventus all the way and the current Serie A champion is still clinging close after a comfortable 3-0 win against Cagliari as the bid for the title swiftly looks like developing into a two-horse race.

"The table's stretched out a bit now," Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri said. "It was important to win to remain in Juventus' wake and to create a gap between third and fourth after the weekend's results."

Allegri is also unconcerned that midfielder Alexander Merkel will be out for at least two months with a knee injury.

"I'm sad to have lost Merkel for two months," he said. "However, it's not a worry for me because Emanuelson played very well. This lad has grown a lot in the last few games, also because he has played in a run of games."

Maxi Lopez could make his debut after the new signing was on the bench for Milan at the weekend.

Lazio will present a tougher challenge than Cagliari. It beat Chievo Verona at the weekend to leapfrog above Inter Milan and into fourth place in the standings. Any slip up from Udinese, which faces rapidly-improving Lecce, could see Lazio move into third in the table.

Inter is a point behind Lazio after a surprise loss to Lecce at the weekend which snapped the Nerazzurri's seven-match winning streak in the league.

Claudio Ranieri's team hosts Palermo, which has picked up just three points on its travels all season.

Elsewhere, it's: Atalanta vs. Genoa; Bologna vs. Fiorentina; Cagliari vs. Roma; Napoli vs. Cesena; and Siena vs. Catania. On Thursday rock-bottom Novara faces Chievo.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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More newsMike Zarrilli / Getty Images Contributor

Arsenal recovers

Roundup: Arsenal kept its bid to end a seven-year trophy drought on track Sunday.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44225939/ns/sports-soccer/

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RBS chief waives bonus after UK political storm (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? The chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) has decided to waive a bonus worth almost one million pounds ($1.6 million), the bank said on Sunday, after the handout angered Britons bearing the brunt of government austerity measures.

A spokesman for the partly state-owned bank said CEO Stephen Hester would no longer be taking the bonus, which was awarded at a time when most British workers are suffering wage freezes or sub-inflation rises.

"He's waived the bonus," said the spokesman for RBS, which is 83 percent owned by the British government following a state bailout during the 2008 credit crisis.

Hester had been due for the stock bonus, worth roughly 998,640 pounds based on Friday's closing price of RBS shares, on top of his basic salary of 1.2 million pounds. His decision followed a similar move by RBS Chairman Philip Hampton.

The deal provoked a row across Britain's political spectrum, with the opposition Labor Party leading the attack.

The Liberal Democrat party, junior partner in the coalition government, also criticized the decision and even some members of Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives joined the assault.

RBS made its announcement shortly after Labor stepped up the pressure by saying it would force a parliamentary debate when it would have called on the government to use its 83 percent stake in RBS to cancel Hester's bonus.

Salaries at RBS and Lloyds (LLOY.L) are particularly controversial as both banks were bailed out with 66 billion pounds of taxpayers' money during the crisis. The British government owns 40 percent of Lloyds, along with its RBS stake.

DEFLECTED ATTENTION

Throughout the past week the Conservatives - the senior coalition party - had sought to deflect criticism over the government's handling of the affair by saying it was up to Hester to decide whether or not to take up his bonus.

The government had said overruling the RBS board would risk destabilizing a bank whose balance sheet is as large as Britain's entire economy. It also pointed out that the bonus scheme had been drawn up under the previous Labor government.

Hester, a former Abbey National and Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) banker, joined RBS in October 2008 from property company British Land (BLND.L) as RBS was reeling from its disastrous acquisition of Dutch bank ABN AMRO and the effects of the credit crisis.

Britain used about 45 billion pounds of taxpayers' money to rescue RBS, leading to the eventual resignation of former head Sir Fred Goodwin, who was replaced by Hester.

Hester was given a brief to restructure RBS and restore its fortunes, and the bank has cut more than 30,000 jobs under him.

Like many banks, RBS's share price has fallen sharply over the last year, which again made Hester's bonus hard to justify.

Britain aims to sell its state holdings in RBS and Lloyds back to the private sector, although volatile markets have meant the timing of any disposal is uncertain.

(Editing by David Stamp)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/bs_nm/us_rbs_ceo

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Santorum cancels morning campaign events to be with hospitalized daughter, Bella (Star Tribune)

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Wendy Kopp: We Need to Put Education on the Global Agenda (Huffington post)

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Gwinnett County?s Greatest Hits (Theagitator)

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Samsung Central Station (SyncMaster C23A750X)

The Samsung Central Station SyncMaster C23A750X ($449.9 list) is not your typical 23-inch monitor. In addition to the usual HDMI and VGA inputs, it offers docking station capabilities with multiple USB ports, a wired Ethernet port, and an audio output. Better yet, your laptop can connect wirelessly via a tiny USB dongle. You'll pay a premium for all this connectivity, however, and although the Central Station delivers good color and viewing angle performance, it has trouble accurately reproducing dark and light shades in the grayscale.

Design and Features
The Central Station uses a 23-inch TN+ panel with a 1,920-by-1,080 resolution and a non-reflective matte anti-glare coating. The screen is framed by thin (0.75-inch) piano black bezels with clear trim and sits in a razor-thin (0.70-inch) black cabinet. A SyncMaster logo is affixed to the upper left side bezel. You won't find any buttons or inputs on the panel cabinet; instead, everything is contained on the base. The panel is attached to a wide curved support arm with a dual hinge mechanism that provides height and tilt maneuverability, so you can adjust the screen for the most comfortable viewing position. The curved piano black base is 9.2-inches deep and sports the Samsung logo on its front edge.

Connectivity options abound. On the left side are two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI video input, and an audio output jack for headphones or an external speaker system (the Central Station does not have embedded speakers). Over on the right side are two USB 2.0 ports, and the rear of the base holds VGA and Ethernet ports, a PC USB input, and the power jack. For viewing HD video and obtaining the best all-around picture quality, you'll want to connect to the monitor via the HDMI port, but you can also connect using the VGA port or one of the USB ports. What's more, you can use the USB 3.0 ports to charge your USB devices.

The monitor also comes with a small USB dongle for your laptop that allows you to wirelessly connect to the Central Station. With the dongle and drivers installed on your system all you have to do is walk within five feet of the monitor and the base will recognize the laptop and a connection is made. I managed to stay connected from up to ten feet away, but Samsung suggests a range of no more than five feet. You won't get the best video quality via wireless USB and there's a noticeable lag, but it's fine for everyday office tasks. As an added bonus you can connect to the internet wirelessly via the USB dongle as long as you have a wired connection to the base's Ethernet port. Lastly, the base can be used as a four port USB hub to connect to a variety of peripherals.

On top of the base are a series of touch sensitive buttons used to navigate the on-screen display, adjust volume and brightness, and select an input. The Menu button that takes you into the Picture settings menu where you can access the Samsung Magic presets, including Magic Angle, Magic Bright, and Magic Color. Magic Angle cranks up the brightness and contrast to accommodate five different viewing scenarios such as leaning back, standing, side mode, and group view. Activating any of these modes significantly changes the image quality for the worst. Viewing angles are actually pretty good without having to enable this feature, so I'd suggest leaving this feature off. Magic Bright changes the brightness for specific viewing apps including Standard, Game, Cinema, and Dynamic Contrast. The Standard mode offers the best overall image quality for everyday viewing and the Cinema mode works well in dim lighting. The Magic Color feature can be set to Full (enhanced skin tones), Intelligent (more vivid colors), Demo (split screen comparison), or you can turn it off. Other picture settings include brightness, contrast, sharpness, and tint. You can also tweak red, green, and blue color values, set tone and gamma levels, and adjust the HDMI black level to obtain darker blacks while using an HDMI signal. The Hub button that takes you into a separate menu system where you can enable/disable the wireless USB feature and view the connection status for the hub, including the USB, VGA, HDMI, and USB super charging ports. This screen also shows you the wireless ID for the Central Station.

In addition to a three year parts, labor, and backlight warranty, the Central Station comes with a driver/user guide CD, a PC to dock USB cable, and the wireless USB dongle.

Performance
As noted above the Central Station delivers good off-angle viewing without having to enable the Magic Angle feature. There's some slight color shifting when viewed from an extreme side angle, but the effect is minimal. The panel did a god job of displaying uniform colors on the DisplayMate Color Scales test and delivered sharp image detail and vibrant colors while playing the BBC's Planet Earth on Blu-ray. Small text from the Scaled Fonts test was well defined and completely legible. The monitor was unable to display every swatch from the 64-Step Grayscale test, however. The darkest shades of gray appeared black and the lightest shades of grays were whitewashed. As such, the Central Station is not well suited for professional-grade photo editing or any application where grayscale accuracy is vital.

As is usually the case with edge-lit LED backlighting there's minor backlight seepage along the top and side edges of the panel. Chances are you won't notice it during regular use, but it's apparent when the majority of the screen is displaying black.

The monitor's Eco Saving feature lets you reduce power consumption by 50 or 75 percent, but in doing so the screen image becomes way too dim. With Eco Saving disabled the monitor used 32-watts of power during my testing, which is twice the amount used by the 24-inch Lenovo LS2421p ($219.99 direct, 4 stars) (16-watts), but much less than the 24-inch HP LA2405wg ($379 direct, 3.5 stars) (41-watts). You mileage will vary depending on how many USB devices are hooked up and drawing power.

The Samsung Central Station SyncMaster C23A750X may cost more than the average 23-inch monitor, but that's because it functions as a docking station with a slew of connectivity options. Not only do you get solid color, text, and viewing angle performance from this versatile monitor but you can connect wirelessly to keep cable clutter to a minimum. Its grayscale performance and backlight issues notwithstanding, the Central Station is a good fit for mobile users seeking a quality HD display, a wireless docking station, and a USB hub all rolled in to one space-saving package.

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Samsung Central Station (SyncMaster C23A750X) with several other monitors side by side.

More monitor reviews:
??? Samsung SyncMaster S23A550H
??? Samsung Central Station (SyncMaster C23A750X)
??? AOC e1649Fwu
??? Lenovo ThinkVision LT1421
??? Asus VG278H
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/JROnmybAYe8/0,2817,2399196,00.asp

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Microsoft is planning to bring Xbox Live to Apple iPhone and iPad

Microsoft is planning to bring more Xbox Live experiences to Apple?s iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, as well as Google's Android platform.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/ZD8oEwSswBg/story01.htm

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Retail gasoline prices up 2 cents across Texas (AP)

HOUSTON ? A survey finds that retail gasoline prices across Texas have risen an average 2 cents this week.

AAA Texas on Thursday reported the average price at the pump reached $3.25 per gallon.

The association's survey found that the nationwide retail gasoline price held steady at $3.38 per gallon.

Texarkana, Dallas and Fort Worth had the most expensive gasoline statewide this week, at $3.28.

AAA Texas says Amarillo reported the least expensive gasoline, at $3.03 a gallon.

Analysts say oil markets continue to be under pressure amid mounting international tensions with Iran.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gas_prices_texas

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Vice President Biden: Obama Ordered Rescue Operation Because of American's Failing Health (ABC News)

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Could the cure for cancer be found by a team of video gamers? (Yahoo! News)

Players of an online game were able to crowdsource an enzyme 18-times more reactive than a team of biochemists'??

A team of scientists at the University of Washington have turned protein research into an addicting computer game. So addicting, in fact, that the amateur players have become more skilled at protein design than the scientists themselves.

The game, called?Foldit, was released to the public in 2008. After solving a few tutorial puzzles, players are given a massive, complex protein that they're able to bend, twist, and shake. The players' goal is to use their toolbox to fold the protein chain to make it more stable. The more stable the protein chain, the more points are awarded.?(If you're interested in giving the game a try, point your browser at?fold.it and download the client.)

The most recent puzzles given to players involved an enzyme that university?biochemists had created. Using the nearly 180,000 molecular blueprints submitted by players, the biochemists were able to create an enzyme 18-times more powerful than the scientists had been able to create themselves. A?paper on the crowdsourced enzyme was published Sunday in the journal?Nature Biotechnology.

While that particular enzyme doesn't have any practical real-world applications, the current puzzle being solved by gamers involves a protein designed to block the flu?virus that caused the 1918 pandemic. Solutions to that puzzle could lead to new drugs capable of treating the disease.

Scientific American via?Gizmodo

[Image source:?Foldit]

This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/techblog/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20120124/tc_yblog_technews/could-the-cure-for-cancer-be-found-by-a-team-of-video-gamers

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Sony?s new 13MP CMOS image sensor could lead to thinner iPhones with better cameras

Sony has announced a new 13 megapixel back-illuminated CMOS image sensor that may be included in the next iPhone's camera.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/dMAr33uuR18/story01.htm

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Convicted fraudster admits try to kill NY witness (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? The architect of a $100 million mortgage fraud scheme admitted on Monday to attempting to arrange the murder of a witness who testified against him at trial.

Aaron Hand, 40, pleaded guilty to first- and second-degree conspiracy to commit murder before Acting Supreme Court Justice Laura Ward in Manhattan.

"The defendant's actions strike at the heart of the justice system," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. "Nothing is more important than the safety of witnesses, and my office will do everything in its power to ensure their safety."

Hand is serving a prison sentence of 8 1/3 to 25 years for racketeering, grand larceny, fraud, and conspiracy. He faces a further 8- to 16-year term when he is due to be sentenced on February 6.

His lawyer, Kevin Canfield, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Prosecutors declined to identify the threatened witness.

Hand was convicted in July 2010 of masterminding a mortgage fraud scheme, following an investigation that eventually led to the indictment of 27 defendants from all corners of the real estate industry, all of whom either were convicted or pleaded guilty.

According to prosecutors, in 2011, Hand met in prison with an undercover investigator posing as a hit man, and tried to hire him to murder an unidentified witness for $2,000.

Prosecutors said Hand was caught on tape giving instructions to the undercover "hit man" on how to kill the witness -- and, if necessary, his wife and child -- without leaving evidence.

Hand created his company, Long Island-based AFG Financial Group, solely to defraud lending banks of millions of dollars while taking advantage of low-income homebuyers, according to prosecutors. The company located distressed properties and recruited straw buyers -- people who had excellent credit but little cash -- to purchase them.

Hand used phony appraisals, forged documents, and false loan qualifications for the buyers to secure financing, with the aid of corrupt bank and mortgage lender employees, appraisers, lawyers, and real estate agents, according to prosecutors.

The company kept most of the bank's loan money, allowing the properties to be foreclosed upon and leaving the straw buyers with ruined credit and no return on their investment, prosecutors said.

(Editing by Daniel Trotta)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120123/us_nm/us_newyork_murder_for_hire

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HealthLawProf Blog: Lombardo on Legal Archaeology

? Worth Reading This Week | Main | Health Law Headlines of the Week (1/15-1/21) ?

January 21, 2012

Lombardo on Legal Archaeology

Paul A. Lombardo published an essay "Legal Archaeology: Recovering the Stories behind the Cases" in the Fall 2008 issue of the Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics. ?It reminded me of the wonderful chapters in this volume of "health law stories." ?Here are some excerpts that may be of interest:?

?Every lawsuit is a potential drama: a story of conflict, often with victims and villains, leading to justice done or denied. Yet a great deal, if not all, that we learn about the most noteworthy of lawsuits ? the truly great cases ? comes from reading the opinion of an appellate court, written by a judge who never saw the parties of the case, who worked at a time and a place far removed from the events that gave rise to litigation.

Rarely do we admit that the official factual account contained in an appellate opinion may have only the most tenuous relationship to the events that actually led the parties to court. The complex stories ? turning on small facts, seemingly trivial circumstances, and inter-contingent events ? fade away as the ?case? takes on a life of its own as it leaves the court of appeals.

How can a law professor correct this bias? ?Here are some of Lombardo's suggestions:?

The best starting point for doing legal archaeology is the case record itself. We all begin our investigation of cases by reading an appellate opinion. With some extra effort, we can retrieve the records and briefs that the judges relied on as they wrote that opinion. Of course, the case record that is printed for submission to an appellate tribunal will include only a small portion of the documents that make up the lawsuit?s paper trail.

Much of the material contained in the case record is now filed electronically, and for recent cases, may be available on the Web. But even for most pre-Internet cases, finding the proper repository for all these records is not difficult. A visit to your school?s reference librarian with copies of the articles referenced here should get you started.

Lombardo also suggests consulting newspapers and magazines, professional journals, and material generated by the parties and their lawyers. ?Though some students may complain of "reading overload," skillful editing can make the effort to contextualize the cases well worth everyone's while. ?I also anticipate that internet archives of particular helpful case studies will accumulate over time.

Selected References from Lombardo

P. Brooks and P. Gewirtz, eds., Law?s Stories: Narrative and Rhetoric in the Law (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997).

J. L. Maute, ?The Value of Legal Archaeology,? Utah Law Review 2000, no. 2 (2000).

D. L. Threedy, ?Legal Archaeology: Excavating Cases, Reconstructing Context,? Tulane Law Review 80, no. 4 (2006)

C. Geertz, ?Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture,? in The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays.

[FP]

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AMD A8-3870K

There's good news and less-good news about AMD's new A8-3870K Accelerated Processing Unit (or APU). The good news is that it surpasses its predecessor, the A8-3850, in every way (if only slightly),
and provides overclocking features and performance potential beyond what you may think you can expect from a chip with a $135 (list) price?whether from AMD or Intel. But for all the strides AMD has made since it released the previous APU this past summer, the A8-3870K still can't replace a solid CPU?discrete video card combo for even quasi-serious gamers. But it shows that AMD is taking its Fusion product seriously, and thus hints at more good things to come.

Like the A8-3850, the A8-3870K is based on a 32nm production process and contains four CPU cores and a DirectX 11 (DX11)?supporting Radeon HD 6550D GPU with 400 GPU cores (in roughly the middle budget range of AMD's video products, judging by the previous generation's naming scheme). There's 128KB of L1 cache and 1MB of L2 cache available per core, and the APU supports dual-channel DDR3 memory at speeds of up to 1,866MHz. The A8-3870K of course also requires a motherboard that uses the (relatively) new FM1 socket, based on either AMD's A75 (with enhanced USB 3.0 and SATA III support) or A55 (USB 2.0 and SATA II) chipsets.

One important reminder about the graphics system on the APU: If you have a discrete video card installed, the APU will by default function as the boot-up video adapter, meaning any displays connected to a video card won't work until Windows loads the proper video drivers. This can be annoying if you only have one display, but you can toggle this "feature" in the motherboard's BIOS or UEFI settings. Second, the APU lets you access AMD's new Dual Graphics technology to "combine" the power of a discrete GPU with the integrated graphics; but this only works if both your hardware (the video card must be relatively low-end, and if you're only using one DIMM of memory, the whole thing might not work) and software (you'll need the AMD Vision Engine Control Center running) is correctly configured. Make sure your PC meets all the requirements before trying it out.

The biggest difference between the A8-3850 and the A8-3870K is in terms of the clocks. The CPU core on the newer chip has been bumped up from 2.9GHz to 3GHz, though the GPU clock remains unchanged at 600MHz?but both are now unlocked. This means you may overclock them to your heart's (and your PC's thermal) content, independently of each other, to get as much new performance as you can muster. It's also one of the first genuinely compelling reasons we've seen for enthusiasts (or just wannabes) to consider an APU that, by the broader standards of AMD's product line, is not an exceptional performer.

As we said when we reviewed the A8-3850 last year, Intel doesn't have any products that directly compare with AMD's new APUs in terms of overall capabilities. But if you care about raw processing more than graphics, an Intel platform based on chips like the lower-end Core i3-2100 or the considerably more powerful Core i5-2500K will serve you better. At its stock clock speeds, the A8-3870K represents only a tiny increase over the A8-3850; its multicore CineBench R11.5 score rose from 3.46 to 3.55, it took only six seconds less (5 minutes 12 seconds versus 5 minutes 18 seconds) to apply 12 filters in Adobe Photoshop CS5, cryptography throughput in TrueCrypt 7.0 raised from 106MBps to 109MBps, and its score in our full-system Futuremark PCMark 7 benchmark was functionally unchanged.

Video tests showed similarly small increases, with scores rising from 1,024 to 1,026 in 3DMark 11, frame rates increasing from 6.3 frames per second (fps) to 6.4fps in Lost Planet 2, and frame rates not improving at all in the Heaven Benchmark 2.5 (it remained at 5.5fps both times). These were all at basic resolutions, by the way?the Performance (1,280 by 720) preset for 3DMark 11, and 1,280 by 1,024 for the other two?though we maxed up all the details. By reducing the titles' resolutions or turning down the visual effects, you'll be able to get something much closer to playable frame rates, but you'll be making quite a few sacrifices.

This is where the overclocking comes in, right? Theoretically. We're happy to report that overclocking (when the APU was installed in the Gigabyte GA-A75-UD4H motherboard) was a breeze, and being able to separately focus on the CPU and GPU was an enormous frustration reducer. We had very little trouble nudging the GPU clock up from 600MHz to 900MHz and the CPU clock from 3GHz to 3.5GHz, using just a basic air cooler?and AMD tells us that, with more aggressive cooling and fine tuning of voltages, a combo rate of 960MHz/3.8GHz is possible. The A8-3870K offers you a lot of leeway.

But is it worth it? That depends on your point of view. The 3DMark 11 score rose from 1,026 to 1,244, CineBench from 0.90 to 1.04, the Heaven Benchmark from 5.5fps to 6.4fps, Lost Planet 2 from 6.4fps to 7.5fps, PCMark 11 from 2,509 to 2,691, Photoshop times down from 5:12 to 4:36, and TrueCrypt throughput up from 109MBps to 119MBps. (Predictably, load power rose as well, from 134.6 watts to 142.3 watts.) These aren't poor jumps by any stretch of the imagination. But except for those who might be really excited to overclock with such an inexpensive chip, we're not sure they're dazzling enough to set many hearts racing.

Still, the AMD A8-3870K is a fascinating part that shows how serious AMD continues to take the mainstream processor race. Our conclusion with this APU remains the same as with the A8-3850: Though you'll want a standalone video card for any real gaming purposes, AMD's blending of processing and video performance delivers a balance you just can't get from Intel right now. This may change when Intel ships its Ivy Bridge CPUs, which will support advanced DX11 graphics rather than Sandy Bridge's DX10, in a few months. But for now, AMD's Fusion approach is generating the most comforting heat in the midrange market.

More Chipsets & Processors Stories:
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??? AMD A8-3870K
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/2pbnTN29974/0,2817,2398957,00.asp

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Top Myanmar dissidents back Suu Kyi but won't contest election (Reuters)

YANGON (Reuters) ? Myanmar's most famous political prisoners on Saturday voiced support for democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a week after their mass release, but said they would not contest April by-elections for seats in parliament.

The "88 Generation Students Group," which led a 1988 uprising that was brutally suppressed by the then military regime, said it was too soon to form a political party and would take a wait-and-see approach to reforms being initiated by the nominally civilian government that came to power last year.

The group, led by Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, who were freed this month after being jailed for leading the 1988 revolt, is regarded as Myanmar's most popular opposition group after Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

"We support Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's decision to take part in the upcoming election for the emergence of genuine democracy," the group said in a statement read at a conference attended by more than 800 people in Yangon. Daw is a Burmese honorific.

"The 88 Generation Students Group will provide her with support and encouragement," it said.

Suu Kyi, herself a former political prisoner who was released in November 2010, has reversed her stance on boycotting Myanmar's army-dominated political system following a series of surprise reforms by the new government.

The NLD boycotted the widely criticized 2010 elections but has re-registered as a party and will field candidates -- including Suu Kyi herself -- in April by-elections for 48 vacant seats in the 1,158-seat national legislature.

LEAP OF FAITH

The NLD's decision to take part has been welcomed by the international community but has not been entirely supported by the Burmese public, some of which feel Suu Kyi is being used by the former generals now in government to legitimize their new political system.

Analysts and diplomats say last week's release of more than 300 political prisoners, together with transparent April polls, could see the start of a gradual lifting of Western sanctions imposed due to the harsh rule of the country's former junta.

Ko Ko Gyi said the group would keep an open mind regarding the reforms under way in recent months, which include prisoner releases, more media freedom, tentative moves to overhaul the long stagnant economy and peace talks with ethnic militias.

"We are neither optimistic or pessimistic. We just try to see things as they are," he said.

"We don't care whether the glass is half full or half empty. We will just watch what they will do with the water already in the glass."

The 88 Generation said it would fully cooperate with the government to build a "new state" and said all parties, including the military, needed to work together for a brighter future, which should include activists still in detention or those driven into exile.

The stance reflects a remarkable lack of bitterness towards those still in power, who were part of a regime that ensured members of the group were locked up for years in dire conditions, some subjected to torture and malnourishment.

"We will cooperate with all national forces for the emergence of a wider peace process through talks being held at present," it said.

"For democracy, peace and development, we will do all we can to the best of our ability to cooperate with the government led by the president, the People's Parliament, the National Parliament, the military, all political parties, ethnic nationalities and all the pro-reformists from all walks of life in our society."

(Writing by Martin Petty)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120121/wl_nm/us_myanmar_politics

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Divers resume desperate search as Costa stabilizes

Divers had to stay out of the water, at risk of getting injured by the beached ship. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.

By NBC News and msnbc.com news services

Divers resumed the search of the wreckage of the capsized Costa Concordia after data indicated the cruise ship had stabilized in the sea off Tuscany.

Italian coastguard spokesman Cosimo Nicastro told NBC News Saturday that the navy had punctured two holes in the carcass of the ship, which has been lying on its side near the port of Giglio island since shortly after it crashed into a reef on Jan. 13.

---

Divers were expected to search the area around bridge number four, an emergency meeting point near to where other bodies were found. They had been hoping to reach that area for days, NBC reported.

They are searching for bodies or survivors, although it is unlikely any of the 21 missing in the accident could still be alive. The search was suspended on Friday after the Concordia shifted, prompting fears the ship could roll off a rocky ledge of sea bed and plunge deeper into the sea.

There are also fears the Concordia's fuel could leak, polluting pristine waters.

On Friday, the Concordia owner's CEO said the captain did not relay correct information either to the company or the crew after the ship hit rocks.

Pierluigi Foschi told Italian state TV that the company spoke to the captain some 20 minutes after the ship ran aground, but could not offer proper assistance because the captain's description "did not correspond to the truth," Reuters reported.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/21/10204464-divers-blast-more-holes-resume-desperate-search-as-cruise-ship-stabilizes

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This Is What the Megaupload Million-Dollar Car Seize Looks Like [Megaupload]

Yesterday the feds shut down MegaUpload. They've also seized an awful lot of the founders' possessions, including Kim "Dotcom" Schmitz's rather expensive car collection. Here's what towing away his millions of dollars of cars looks like. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/6uCb7cDVBGw/

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