Cyprus details heavy losses for major bank customers

By Karolina Tagaris

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Major depositors in Cyprus's biggest bank will lose around 60 percent of savings over 100,000 euros, its central bank confirmed on Saturday, sharpening the terms of a bailout that has shaken European banks but saved the island from bankruptcy.

Initial signs that big depositors in Bank of Cyprus would take a hit of 30 to 40 percent - the first time the euro zone has made bank customers contribute to a bailout - had already unnerved investors in European lenders this week.

But the official decree published on Saturday confirmed a Reuters report a day earlier that the bank would give depositors shares worth just 37.5 percent of savings over 100,000 euros. The rest of such holdings might never be paid back.

The toughening of the terms sends a clear signal that the bailout means the end of Cyprus as a hub for offshore finance and could accelerate economic decline on the island and bring steeper job losses.

Banks reopened to relative calm on Thursday after the imposition of the first capital controls the euro has seen since it was launched a decade ago.

The streets of Nicosia were filled with crowds relaxing in its cafes and bars on Saturday, but popular anger was not hard to find.

"Europe shouldn't have allowed this disaster to happen here. Cyprus was paradise and they've turned it into hell," said Tryfonas Neokleous, owner of a clothes shop on a cobbled street in the center of the city.

He said he didn't except business to pick up even now that the banks were open again after an almost two-week shutdown.

"I don't expect anything and I don't hope for anything anymore. People are going to spend their money on food and everything else they've been deprived of the last 15 days."

There are no signs for now that bank customers in other struggling euro zone countries like Greece, Italy or Spain taking fright at the precedent set by the bailout.

"Cyprus is and will remain a special one-off case," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told German mass-selling daily Bild. "Savings accounts in Europe are safe."

European officials have worked hard this week to stress that the island's bailout was a unique case - after a suggestion by Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem that the rescue would serve as a model for future crises rattled European financial markets.

"Together in the Eurogroup we decided to have the owners and creditors take part in the costs of the rescue - in other words those who helped cause the crisis," said Schaeuble, one of the architects of the euro zone's response to a debt crisis now in its fourth year.

"Cyprus's economy will now go through a long and painful period of adjustment. But then it will pay back the loan."

ANGRY

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said on Friday that the 10-billion euro ($13 billion) bailout had contained the risk of national bankruptcy and would prevent it from leaving the euro.

Cypriots, however, are angry at the price attached to the rescue - the winding down of the island's second-largest bank, Cyprus Popular Bank, also known as Laiki, and an unprecedented raid on deposits over 100,000 euros.

"We're numb. People are numb. But their hidden hope is that something good will happen eventually," said Pantelis Panayotou, 70, a jeweler whose stands in his shop are half empty.

The island has seen none of the angry street violence that frequently erupts in Greece but peaceful protests by students and bank workers have become an almost daily occurrence. At least 2,000 students protested outside parliament this week.

Etyk, a bank workers' union, called a rally outside parliament for Thursday to protest against potential job cuts and a hit on their pension funds.

Under the terms of Saturday's decree, the assets of Laiki will be transferred to Bank of Cyprus. At Bank of Cyprus, about 22.5 percent of deposits over 100,000 euros will attract no interest. The remaining 40 percent will continue to attract interest, but will not be repaid unless the bank does well.

Those with deposits under 100,000 euros will continue to be protected under the state's deposit guarantee.

The imposition of the capital controls has led economists to warn that a second-class "Cyprus euro" could emerge, with funds trapped on the island less valuable than euros that can be freely spent abroad.

Among other things Cypriots and foreigners are allowed to take only up to 1,000 euros in cash when they leave the island.

Anastasiades said the restrictions - unprecedented in the currency bloc since euro coins and banknotes entered circulation in 2002 - would be gradually lifted. He gave no time frame but the central bank said the measures would be reviewed daily. ($1 = 0.7788 euros)

(Additional reporting by Erik Kirschbaum in Berlin; Writing by Patrick Graham; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/big-depositors-cyprus-lose-far-more-feared-012924300--business.html

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GDC 2013: Live Streaming API Coming To Games Courtesy Of ...

Gamers love watching other people play games. It?s the only way to explain of popularity of Let?s Plays and live streams on YouTube, Twitch.tv and other sites. The only problem is that those who do live streams must have video capture equipment or software thus preventing a number of players from broadcasting their exploits.

At GDC 2013, YouTube announced its intentions to change all that with a new API that allows game developers to integrate YouTube live streaming into their games. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 proved the API?s popularity last year when the game allowed players to live-stream matches without the use of any third-party program.

YouTube isn?t reserving live-streaming capabilities just for the hardcore crowd eiher. The API will be available to iOS and Android developers soon so mobile gamers can start sharing their screen with the world in real time.

An interesting aspect of the new API is that YouTube may be helping content creators monetize their streams. There are tools in the API that would allow live-streamers to drop ads in the middle of their stream. It?s unknown if the live streamer would actually be able to make money off of their content though. Some publishers have rules in regards to monetization of in-game video so those rules may be left up to them.

These APIs come at a time when YouTube faces stiff competition from other established, and more gamer centric, live streaming services like Twitch.tv. Twitch still requires extra software or hardware to stream, however, so YouTube?s APIs may just help bring more streamers and viewers to its side.

[h/t: The Verge]

Source: http://www.webpronews.com/gdc-2013-live-streaming-api-coming-to-games-courtesy-of-youtube-2013-03

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Why the Obama Administration?s Novel Medicaid Idea Might Not Catch On

A few weeks ago, the Obama administration set out to entice Republican governors and state legislators to expand their Medicaid programs under the federal health reform law by floating a novel approach.

The option to use private health plans instead of the government program for low-income residents was very appealing in theory, intriguing politicians in Arkansas, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and other states.

But on Friday, the administration dampened that enthusiasm by laying out strict rules for the program that will interest only a few states.

?This does not make it look very appealing to states,? said Dennis Smith, a managing director at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, and a former George W. Bush administration Medicaid director and Health and Human Services secretary in Wisconsin. ?I?m disappointed that they passed up the opportunity.?

The details will reassure many Medicaid advocates, who were worried that the current administration would weaken long-standing protections of the entitlement program in exchange for Republican buy-in. But the rules also could discourage some on-the-fence states from pursuing a Medicaid expansion at all, leaving more Americans without health insurance after the health law?s biggest provisions kick in next year.

?There?s a multisided dynamic here,? said Matt Salo, the executive director of the Association of Medicaid Directors, who had anticipated that the new initiative could bring 10 or more additional states into the expansion. Now, he says, it will likely appeal to only a few.

Eight Republican governors have already said they will seek to expand their existing Medicaid programs, but many politicians who had ruled out such an option have been expressing interest in the private alternative.

The tension for the administration?between its desire to cover more people and its commitment to ensuring robust coverage for vulnerable populations?has been clear since Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, first announced that he had reached an agreement over a private Medicaid option in late February. HHS still has?not acknowledged any agreement, but Beebe told reporters that Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had agreed that the federal government would pay for Medicaid beneficiaries to buy the same private insurance plans that will be offered to higher-income residents.

For Republicans in the Arkansas Legislature?and politicians in many other states?the idea of offering private coverage instead of Medicaid was exciting. But there were many uncertainties in the plan. The private plans would have covered fewer benefits than Medicaid, and exposed beneficiaries to more out-of-pocket costs. Estimates from the Congressional Budget Office suggest that, on average, the private plans would cost 50 percent more than Medicaid plans, meaning a 10-year price tag in the tens of billions if enough states signed on.

With the document released Friday, HHS explained that it would only approve such a plan if it also included funding for the extra benefits, kept the usual, low Medicaid copayments, and could be shown to be cost-effective for the federal government, when compared to a traditional program. It also said that if states want to require private plans, instead of just offering them as an option, it will have to apply for a special waiver. That sets a high bar for the states to clear.

But Arkansas thinks it can still move forward. ?It is what we expected, and we?re glad to see it,? said Amy Webb, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-obama-administration-novel-medicaid-idea-might-not-170918182--politics.html

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Herschel Walker tells soldiers: 'Don't be afraid to ask for help'

He admits it was easier being Herschel Walker, the Heisman Trophy winner. Easier being Herschel Walker, the All-Pro NFL running back.

But now, as he stepped in front of a room packed with soldiers eager to hear his story, he was Herschel Walker, a man with mental health issues. And Walker's message was simple and to the point.

?Don't be afraid to ask for help,? he said. ?I did.?

RECOMMENDED: 10 quotes from people who made a difference

Mr. Walker, the 1982 Heisman winner while at the University of Georgia, said if he hadn't he would have killed someone. Probably his ex-wife. And probably a man who had failed to deliver a package on time.

?I got my gun and I got in my car,? Walker told an attentive audience.

Fortunately for Walker, and for the unsuspecting delivery man, the former NFL running back saw something on the bumper sticker of the delivery van. It read, ?Honk if you love Jesus.? That jarred Walker out of his angered state.

?That's when I realized I needed help,? Walker said.

Following treatment and counseling, Walker was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder.

?When I came out years ago, I was hurting,? Walker said. ?No one ever saw it. No one knew I had problems. But I did. I said I'm not ashamed of who I am. I love who I am.?

But Walker needed a scary wake-up moment before he admitted he needed help. It required courage.

?It was very tough asking for help,? Walker said. ?It's very difficult. I was totally confused. You know I'm Herschel Walker. I've won a Heisman Trophy. I won an NFL rushing title. How could I have a problem? That was it more than anything. Just admitting I had a problem. Even sometimes today I won't admit it.?

Walker recently talked an hour with soldiers at Fort Lewis, Wash., telling snippets of his life story, from when he was a child to when he was a highly recruited All-American running back coming out of high school in George.

Walker, who played for the Dallas Cowboys and four other NFL teams from 1986 to when he retired in 1997, is comfortable in front of a crowd. Without using notes, he talked about the struggles he had as a kid in the classroom and on the playground.

?My teacher told me I was special,? Walker said, a broad smile breaking on his face.

But it wasn't the kind of special he wanted. He said he was transferred to special education because he couldn't read well. At recess, kids made fun of him because he was overweight. Eventually, Walker, motivated by the anger he felt toward his teacher and his classmates making fun of him, began working out and studying hard.

?This is going to freak you out,? Walker told the crowd. ?I told my mom the reason I started working out was because I wanted to break the necks of the people picking on me. I wanted to hurt them. I said I didn't want any teacher to put me down any more.?

So, Walker got up early in the morning to exercise and to study. He'd do pushups until his arms couldn't hold him. He'd run by himself until his lungs ached, working hard to turn his fat into muscle.

?I had that anger in me,? Walker said.

It wasn't until Walker went to a counselor after his NFL career ended that he realized his emotional problems, that he had dual personalities that vary between a nice, likeable Walker to an angry, want-to-hurt-you Walker.

?If you remember, every kid wanted to beat me up,? Walker said. ?I had teachers who said I was not good enough. So, I said I will become good enough. So I became this guy who became obsessed to become good enough. Now I sit down and tell people who I was. Now, I say, 'Do you know who I am?' ?

With a broad smile, Walker paused and panned the audience. He painted a picture of a desperate man, a man who didn't understand fear or pain. He talked of how he separated his shoulder in a game at the University of Georgia and insisting that the trainer pop it back into place while he was on the sidelines, and not in the locker room, as the trainer suggested.

Off the field, Walker took unreasonable risks.

?I was this guy who used to love playing Russian Roulette,? Walker said. ?People would say, 'What do you want to do? Kill yourself?' I'd say no. It was a game for me. Playing Russian Roulette showed how tough I was. I used to say to my ex-wife that I was going to kill her. Later, she told me that I had said that, and I didn't remember it.?

In front of a room packed with soldiers, Walker didn't hide behind his trophies. He revealed his hurting side. He then shared a message of hope with the soldiers, some of whom are having trouble adjusting after assignments in the Middle East.

?I'm here today to [talk with] you if you're burdened, if you don't think you can make it,? Walker said. ?You've got problem? Talk with a friend. Get help. God loves you. I love you.?

Wives of soldiers in the audience began wiping tears.

?We have the DNA of our Lord Jesus Christ,? Walker said. ?You're somebody. We all have problems. I finally saw that.?

In the past year, Walker has given several similar talks to soldiers across the country. He tells them that people like him with dissociative identity disorder (DID) have emotions beyond their control. He tells them how he created alternate personalities to deal with some of his problems. Those alternate personalities are often the result of profound abuse or a traumatic event in a person's life.

Admitting he needed help wasn't easy.

?But it's easier today,? Walker said. ?Years ago if you said you had a mental problem, it would be tough. Today there are so many leaders saying if you've got a problem go get help. Get treated.?

It's Walker's openness about his mental issues that the Army hopes will help hurting soldiers decide to make a call for help.

?One of the things we combat in the military is the stigma that if you're really strong, you don't have problems,? said Col. Dr. Dallas Homas, the commander of the Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis.

RECOMMENDED: 10 quotes from people who made a difference

And often if a soldier does admit to himself he has a problem, he doesn't tell anyone else.

?I think what Herschel brings is a testimony that it's okay to admit that you have a problem,? Colonel Homas said. ?Her's a guy who is a super hero, who is brave enough to say, 'Hey, I've got a problem. I had a problem. I took it on, head on, and I'm better for it.' ?

In his book, ?Breaking Free,? Walker writes about his mental health issues. He's said if he could help just one person, then going public with his problem would be worth it.

?[For] every individual out here who might be wrestling with an internal demon or a challenge, Herschel has shown them it's okay to go get help for it,? Homas said. ?Not many of our sports heroes are as giving, as selfless, as Christian as he is. He's a model for everyone to emulate.?

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/herschel-walker-tells-soldiers-dont-afraid-ask-help-132941639.html

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Judge strikes down parts of Indiana immigration law

By Susan Guyett

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - A federal judge has ruled sections of a 2011 Indiana immigration law unconstitutional, making permanent an injunction against a law inspired by Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigrants.

The state will forego an appeal on Thursday's ruling, Attorney General Greg Zoeller said on Friday.

The Indiana bill, signed into law by the previous governor, Mitch Daniels, permitted warrantless arrests of non-citizens and prohibited the use of consular IDs as forms of identification.

It was inspired by Arizona's law, known as S.B. 1070 that took over some aspects of immigration enforcement from the U.S. government.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Immigration Law Center and law firm of Lewis & Kappes brought the class-action suit, contending Indiana's law allowed police to make warrantless arrests based on assumed immigration status and criminalized the usage of a consular identification card.

Judge Sarah Evans Barker of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana said the law violated the Fourth Amendment because it permitted state and local authorities to "effect warrantless arrests for matters that are not crimes."

The rest of the law went unchallenged in this lawsuit and is not part of the judge's ruling.

The state would not appeal the decision although, Zoeller said in a statement, his office is defending a challenge to another section the law in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.

Last summer, Zoeller said the warrantless arrest aspects of the Indiana could not be defended following a U. S. Supreme Court decision on the Arizona immigration law.

Last June, the court struck down a warrantless arrest provision of the Arizona law and other aspects while upholding the Arizona law's most controversial aspect, a requirement that police check the immigration status of people they stop, even for the most minor of offenses.

Three state senators then filed motions to intervene in the case and Barker dismissed their motion.

Barker previously issued a preliminary injunction against the Indiana law so it never went into effect, according to Kelly Jones Sharp of the ACLU of Indiana.

(Editing by Daniel Trotta and Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-strikes-down-parts-indiana-immigration-law-195503356.html

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Malala Yousafzai, shot for defying Taliban, to write book

LONDON (AP) ? Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager shot in the head by the Taliban as she returned home from school, is writing a book about the traumatic event and her long-running campaign to promote children's education.

Publisher Weidenfeld and Nicolson announced that it would release "I am Malala" in Britain and Commonwealth countries this fall. Little, Brown and Co. will publish the 15-year-old's memoir in the United States and much of the rest of the world.

"Malala is already an inspiration to millions around the world. Reading her story of courage and survival will open minds, enlarge hearts, and eventually allow more girls and boys to receive the education they hunger for," said Michael Pietsch, executive vice president and publisher of Little, Brown.

A Taliban gunman shot Malala on Oct. 9 in northwestern Pakistan. The militant group said it targeted her because she promoted "Western thinking" and, through a blog, had been an outspoken critic of the Taliban's opposition to educating girls.

The shooting sparked outrage in Pakistan and many other countries, and her story drew global attention to the struggle for women's rights in Malala's homeland. The teen even made the shortlist for Time magazine's "Person of the Year" in 2012.

Malala was brought to the U.K. for treatment and spent several months in a hospital undergoing skull reconstruction and cochlear implant surgeries. She was released last month and has started attending school in Britain.

Malala said in a statement Wednesday that she hoped telling her story would be "part of the campaign to give every boy and girl the right to go to school.

"I hope the book will reach people around the world, so they realize how difficult it is for some children to get access to education," she said. "I want to tell my story, but it will also be the story of 61 million children who can't get education."

Publishers did not reveal the price tag for the book deal.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/shot-pakistani-teen-malala-yousafzai-writing-book-100913748.html

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Americans oppose paying for storm-ravaged beaches

WASHINGTON (AP) ? More than 4 out of 5 Americans want to prepare now for rising seas and stronger storms from climate change, a new national survey says. But most are unwilling to keep spending money to restore and protect stricken beaches.

The poll by Stanford University released Thursday found that only 1 in 3 people favored the government spending millions to construct big sea walls, replenish beaches or pay people to leave the coast.

This was the first time a large national poll looked at how Americans feel about adapting to the changes brought on by global warming, said survey director Jon Krosnick, a professor of political science and psychology at Stanford.

The more indirect options the majority preferred were making sure new buildings were stronger and reducing future coastal development. New building codes rated the highest with 62 percent of those surveyed favoring it.

Three in 5 people want those who are directly affected by rising seas to pay for protection, rather than all taxpayers.

Krosnick said the low favorability of sea walls and sand replenishment "reflect the public's fatalistic sense that it's more realistic to just give up the beach than to try to save it when other storms in the future will just wash it away again."

The nationally representative survey of 1,174 Americans conducted online by GfK Custom Research has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

University of Miami geology professor Harold Wanless, who wasn't involved in the survey, said he was at a Miami Beach meeting on Thursday with business and political leaders on how to try to keep from losing their "hugely expensive" land. But they are afraid of spending money in vain attempts that won't work.

There are three ways the public can deal with the effects of rising seas on beaches, said coastal geology professor S. Jeffress Williams of the University of Hawaii. He is an expert on sea level rise and methods of adapting to it. You can "hold the line" with expensive sea walls, retreat and leave the beach, or compromise with sand dunes and beach replenishing.

Sand dunes helped protect the New Jersey town of Seaside Park more than its dune-less neighbor Seaside Heights when Superstorm Sandy hit last fall, said Laurie Mcgilvray, a government coastline science expert.

Williams said the public's attitude about not doing much to protect current beach development would be fine if it were 100 years ago. "But we've got tremendous trillions of dollars of a tourist economy that depends on the coast.

"You should expect that if you are going to use the coast, you need to put some money in to maintain it," he said.

But people surveyed said money is an issue.

When it came to the general question of who should pay to protect the coast, 60 percent of the public said it should be paid for by local property owners and businesses, not the general taxpayers. And when it comes to specific solutions, about 80 percent of those surveyed said the money should come from local property taxes, not federal or state income taxes.

Nearly half, 47 percent, said the government should prohibit people from rebuilding structures damaged by storms.

The survey also found that 82 percent of the public believes global warming is already happening. About 3 out of 4 people said rising sea levels caused by global warming is a serious problem.

___

Online:

Stanford study: http://stanford.io/16kTvKo

___

Seth Borenstein can be followed at http://twitter.com/borenbears

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2013-03-28-Climate%20Poll/id-4bb2c34e6cdc4a05b7f40cf5d7fcfb03

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Obesity on the menu' for kids, group says | WTKR.com

(CNN) ? Fried chicken fingers, hamburgers, French fries and sugary sodas dominate children?s menus in most chain restaurants, and most kids? meals fall short of meeting basic nutritional standards, a nonprofit health advocacy group said Thursday.

Some 97% of nearly 3,500 kids? meals analyzed don?t meet basic nutritional standards, the Center for Science in the Public Interest said in its report ?Kids? Meals: Obesity on the Menu.?

What?s more, 91% don?t meet the National Restaurant Association?s own nutritional guidelines for its Kids LiveWell program, a voluntary program for restaurant owners, according to the report.

?Given that 1 out of 3 American children are overweight or obese, it?s pretty stunning that the top chain restaurants are still serving up the same old fried chicken nuggets, burgers, macaroni and cheese, fries and soda,? said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the CSPI and lead author of the report.

The worst offender: Applebee?s grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough bread with fries and 2% chocolate milk. The meal came in at a whopping 1,200 calories and 21 grams of saturated fat.

That?s followed by Chili?s pepperoni pizza meal with homestyle fries and a soda, which packs 1,120 calories, and Dairy Queen?s fried chicken strip meal with fries, a slushy drink and an ice cream bar, with 1,030 calories.

The CSPI nutritional standard was no more than 430 calories per meal, while the Kids LiveWell standard is 600 calories. Standards for both groups included no more than 770 milligrams of sodium per meal.

Nineteen restaurant chains offering kids meals, or 56%, fail to offer any meals meeting CSPI?s standards, the report says, and nine do not have one meal meeting the Kids LiveWell standards.

?It?s as if the restaurant industry hasn?t heard there is an obesity epidemic,? Wootan said.

In response to the report, Applebee?s and Chili?s pointed out that while one meal may have been singled out, they do offer healthy options for children.

?Although this report focuses on one sandwich from our children?s menu, the full Applebee?s children?s menu provides many options that are significantly lower in calories, fat and sodium? and meet the Kids LiveWell standards, said spokesman Kevin Mortesen. The chain?s grilled chicken sandwich meal for kids, with steamed broccoli and apple or grape juice, totals only 355 calories, he said.

?We know Applebee?s best serves our guests by providing a wide selection of dishes, and we?ll continue to do so by expanding the number of options for kids by the end of this year.?

Chili?s says it offers a number of lower-calorie, lower-sodium and low-fat options on both its adult and Pepper Pals child menus, and that guests may customize and modify their orders ? substituting side items, for instance.

?We do our part on our Pepper Pals menu to meet these requirements (for a well-balanced meal) by offering choices, including grilled chicken, salad with low-fat ranch dressing, fresh pineapples, steamed broccoli and celery sticks,? the company said in a statement.

Chili?s was an ?inaugural partner? of the National Restaurant Association?s Kids LiveWell program, according to the statement, and ?continues to support this organization which empowers parents to make informed decisions about their children?s meals as part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.?

The National Restaurant Association, meanwhile, touted the program. Joy Dubost, the association?s director of nutrition and healthy living, called Kids LiveWell ?a first-of-its-kind, voluntary initiative that helps parents and children select healthful menu options when dining out at nearly 40,000 locations nationwide.

?The program, now with more than 120 restaurant brands, has achieved significant momentum in just 18 short months ? participating restaurants offer and promote healthful meals for children,? Dubost said.

Dairy Queen did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment on the report.

The CSPI describes itself as a Washington-based nonprofit health advocacy group focusing on nutrition and food safety. Of the kids? meals it analyzed, 86% contained more than 430 calories, and 50% have more than 600 calories, the report says. About two-thirds ? 66% ? exceeded the sodium standard.

The federal government?s Dietary Guidelines for Americans states that children ages 4 to 10 consume between 400 and 670 calories at each meal, depending on their age, gender and physical activity levels.

While some chains offer non-soda and fruit options, ?soft drinks and fried potatoes are still more common options on children?s menus,?? according to the report. The CSPI recommendations include offering more fruit and vegetable options and making those the default side dishes with every children?s meal.

However, the news isn?t all bad, according to the report. All eight of Subway?s Fresh Fit for Kids meal combinations met CSPI?s nutrition criteria.

The chain also was lauded for not offering sugary drinks as an option with kids? meals, instead including low-fat milk or bottled water and apple slices with its child-sized subs. However the group recommended that Subway increase the whole-grain content of its breads and continue to lower sodium.

The best Subway option: a kids? roast beef sub, apple slices and 1% milk, which comes in at 395 calories.

Other healthy choices: Burger King?s oatmeal, IHOP?s whole wheat blueberry pancakes, Outback Steakhouse?s kids sirloin with apples and grapes, and Olive Garden?s cheese ravioli with broccoli and orange juice.

?Four years ago we found that only 1% of kids? meals at the top chain restaurants were healthy, and now 3% are healthy,? Wootan said. ?So there is a tiny bit of improvement, but it?s very, very small.?

Sodium rates also have shown improvement, she said. In 2008, only 15% of restaurant meals met the sodium standard; now 35% do.

The bottom line, she said: There?s a lot of work to do.

?In order for parents to feed their children healthfully, restaurants need to help,? Wootan said. The group encourages participation in the Kids LiveWell program, and says restaurants should offer more whole grains and get rid of soda and other sugary drinks.

?We know they can do it, because some are already doing it,? she said.

Source: http://wtkr.com/2013/03/28/obesity-on-the-menu-for-kids-group-says/

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What happens if North Korea collapses?

Pyongyang is threatening nuclear war. But that might not even be the worst-case scenario

North Korea shut down its last military hotline to South Korea on Wednesday, warning that nuclear war was imminent. The threat was the latest in a series of increasingly belligerent statements made by the Hermit Kingdom since world leaders imposed sanctions as punishment for the communist regime's recent missile and nuclear tests. Pyongyang has threatened to nuke both South Korea and the U.S.

On the bright side, security experts say North Korea?doesn't have the ability to strike the U.S., and war on the Korean Peninsula is far from inevitable. "The North's wild gesticulations are unsettling," but "this is the seventh time Pyongyang has renounced the 1953 ceasefire" with the South, Doug Bandow points out at The American Spectator. "War has yet to erupt." One can't take anything for granted, but there's little reason to believe that North Korea's untested young leader, Kim Jong Un, "and those around him have turned suicidal after the death of his father."

SEE MORE: WATCH: The grim new trailer for The Wolverine

North Korea is certainly dangerous, but as many experts point out, this is a war that the West would likely win. Perhaps that's why officials in Washington have been planning to confront "a more insidious threat: the untimely collapse of Kim Jong Un's government," says Geoffrey Ingersoll at Business Insider. This is the most closed-off country in the world. If its struggling regime finally collapses, our forces will have to dash over the 38th parallel blind to secure North Korea's nuclear stockpiles and long-range missiles in a rush that will make "the Pentagon's frenzied scramble looking for Iraq's WMD's look calm and orderly by comparison."

The Army has conducted war games to prepare, says James Joyner at?Outside the Beltway,?and it took 90,000 American troops 56 days to get into a dummy failed nuclear state and round up its nukes. If we ever do have to go into North Korea, "it would not be a cakewalk."

SEE MORE: A brief history of the real-life invisibility cloak

The trouble is, says Robert Taylor at PolicyMic, the "threats, sanctions, and dangerous, tax-guzzling war games off the Korean peninsula" are costing the U.S. big-time, even if there's no war and the North Korean regime somehow manages to stay afloat. With President Obama's pivot to Asia, we're adding to billions to the fortune we've spent meddling in Korean affairs over the past several decades. In this time of sequester cuts, Taylor says, this kind of thing could be "disastrous to the fiscal state of America." As Dennis Rodman suggested, maybe the time has come for the U.S. to "try a little basketball diplomacy instead."

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/happens-north-korea-collapses-154000983.html

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Obamacare to raise claims cost 32 percent, study shows (cbsnews)

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Moniker Is Looking To Crowdfunding To Create A Custom Guitar Business

Austin-based Moniker Guitars is running a Kickstarter campaign to create a line of semi-hollow-body guitars for discerning git-fiddlists. The company will offer their first guitars for a $700 pledge, not bad for a hand-made guitar from rockabilly city.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/faXh3ZkcfoU/

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New evidence ancient asteroid caused global firestorm on Earth

Mar. 27, 2013 ? A new look at conditions after a Manhattan-sized asteroid slammed into a region of Mexico in the dinosaur days indicates the event could have triggered a global firestorm that would have burned every twig, bush and tree on Earth and led to the extinction of 80 percent of all Earth's species, says a new University of Colorado Boulder study.

Led by Douglas Robertson of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES, the team used models that show the collision would have vaporized huge amounts of rock that were then blown high above Earth's atmosphere. The re-entering ejected material would have heated the upper atmosphere enough to glow red for several hours at roughly 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit -- about the temperature of an oven broiler element -- killing every living thing not sheltered underground or underwater.

The CU-led team developed an alternate explanation for the fact that there is little charcoal found at the Cretaceous-Paleogene, or K-Pg, boundary some 66 million years ago when the asteroid struck Earth and the cataclysmic fires are believed to have occurred. The CU researchers found that similar studies had corrected their data for changing sedimentation rates. When the charcoal data were corrected for the same changing sedimentation rates they show an excess of charcoal, not a deficiency, Robertson said.

"Our data show the conditions back then are consistent with widespread fires across the planet," said Robertson, a research scientist at CIRES, which is a joint institute of CU-Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Those conditions resulted in 100 percent extinction rates for about 80 percent of all life on Earth."

A paper on the subject was published online this week in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences, a publication of the American Geophysical Union. Co-authors on the study include CIRES Interim Director William Lewis, CU Professor Brian Toon of the atmospheric and oceanic sciences department and the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and Peter Sheehan of the Milwaukee Public Museum in Wisconsin.

Geological evidence indicates the asteroid collided with Earth about 66 million years ago and carved the Chicxulub crater in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula that is more than 110 miles in diameter. In 2010, experts from 33 institutions worldwide issued a report that concluded the impact at Chicxulub triggered mass extinctions, including dinosaurs, at the K-Pg boundary.

The conditions leading to the global firestorm were set up by the vaporization of rock following the impact, which condensed into sand-grain-sized spheres as they rose above the atmosphere. As the ejected material re-entered Earth's atmosphere, it dumped enough heat in the upper atmosphere to trigger an infrared "heat pulse" so hot it caused the sky to glow red for several hours, even though part of the radiation was blocked from Earth by the falling material, he said.

But there was enough infrared radiation from the upper atmosphere that reached Earth's surface to create searing conditions that likely ignited tinder, including dead leaves and pine needles. If a person was on Earth back then, it would have been like sitting in a broiler oven for two or three hours, said Robertson.

The amount of energy created by the infrared radiation the day of the asteroid-Earth collision is mind-boggling, said Robertson. "It's likely that the total amount of infrared heat was equal to a 1 megaton bomb exploding every four miles over the entire Earth."

A 1-megaton hydrogen bomb has about the same explosive power as 80 Hiroshima-type nuclear bombs, he said. The asteroid-Earth collision is thought to have generated about 100 million megatons of energy, said Robertson.

Some researchers have suggested that a layer of soot found at the K-Pg boundary layer roughly 66 million years ago was created by the impact itself. But Robertson and his colleagues calculated that the amount of soot was too high to have been created during the massive impact event and was consistent with the amount that would be expected from global fires.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Colorado at Boulder.

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. Douglas S. Robertson, William M. Lewis, Peter M. Sheehan, Owen B. Toon. K-Pg extinction: Reevaluation of the heat-fire hypothesis. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1002/jgrg.20018

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/k2wC9zxC0PY/130327144249.htm

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Signed contracts to buy US homes dips slightly

In this Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, photo, a sale pending announcement sits atop a for sale sign in a home's yard in Richardson, Texas. Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February, but the level stayed close to a nearly three-year high. The report suggests sales of previously occupied homes will keep rising in the coming months. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

In this Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, photo, a sale pending announcement sits atop a for sale sign in a home's yard in Richardson, Texas. Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February, but the level stayed close to a nearly three-year high. The report suggests sales of previously occupied homes will keep rising in the coming months. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February, but the level stayed close to a nearly three-year high. The report suggests sales of previously occupied homes will keep rising in the coming months.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that its seasonally adjusted index for pending home sales dipped to 104.8 in February. That's down from January's reading of 105.2 ? the highest since April 2010, when a homebuyer's tax credit was boosting sales.

Signed contracts are 8.4 percent higher than a year ago.

There is generally a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed sale.

In February, completed sales of previously occupied homes rose to a seasonally adjusted pace of 4.98 million, the fastest in more than three years. The gains in both signed contracts and completed sales point to a housing recovery that is strengthening, although re-sales remain below the 5.5 million that are consistent with healthy markets.

Steady hiring and near record-low mortgage rates have encouraged more Americans to buy homes more than six years after the housing market started to collapse. More people are also moving out on their own after living with friends and relatives in the recession. That's driving a big gain in apartment construction and also pushing up rents.

Pending home sales rose 0.4 percent in the Midwest and 0.1 percent in the West last month. They fell 2.5 percent in the Northeast and 0.3 percent in the South.

One concern is that a shortage of available homes is limiting sales in many markets. More people are also starting to put their homes on the market, which could help sales in the coming months.

The Realtors' group last week said that the number of available homes for sale rose 10 percent last month, the first monthly gain since April. Even with the gain, the inventory of homes for sale was still 19 percent below a year ago.

A limited supply of homes for sale has helped drive prices higher.

U.S. home prices rose 8.1 percent for the 12 months that ended in January, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index. That's the fastest annual pace since June 2006. Prices rose in all 20 cities surveyed and eight markets posted double digit gains.

Stable price gains should encourage more people to buy and put their homes on the market, keeping the housing recovery going. And higher home prices make people feel wealthier, which leads consumers to spend more and drives more economic growth.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-27-Pending%20Home%20Sales/id-a40b56d00855448e894e33d732fecacb

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Michigan official seeks grand jury to probe meningitis outbreak

Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/michigan-official-seeks-grand-jury-probe-meningitis-outbreak-203831356.html

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iPhone 5 coming to T-Mobile April 12th, 4S and 4 available in 'select markets'

Remember when T-Mobile announced that it would begin carrying Apple products sometime this year? It looks like today's the day we finally get more information. As we've been expecting, the fourth-largest carrier is now ready to officially offer the iPhone after years of inviting customers to bring an unlocked model onto its network. The iPhone 5 will be available in retail stores and online starting April 12th, but you'll be able to pre-order one beginning April 5th. Additionally, the iPhone 4S and 4 will be coming to "select markets," though we haven't seen details on which markets or when they'll be offered.

What about pricing? You can grab the iPhone 5 for $100 down and pay the rest in $20 monthly installments for the next two years; the 4S will be $70 down (with the same $20 installments) and the 4 will be $15 down with $15 monthly payments. No doubt, this move will make its forthcoming LTE launch even more enticing, but that's not all: T-Mobile CEO John Legere stated on stage that his company's version of the iPhone 5 will support AWS HSPA+ in addition to LTE. HD Voice is also offered on this particular model.

We also learned that despite the network's use of the "UnCarrier" brand, its version of the iPhone 5 will be locked to T-Mobile until the phone is completely paid off.

Stay updated on T-Mobile's announcements with our liveblog!

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Apple, T-Mobile

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Source: T-Mobile

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/26/t-mobile-iphone/

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How the world's web browsers are tightening up privacy... | Stuff.co.nz

It's often hard to tell which is the web's priority: helping you learn about the world or helping the world, especially advertisers, learn about you.

However, that balance is beginning to shift, to the delight of consumer advocates and the horror of industry groups.

Browser makers are increasingly embracing privacy controls that could limit the ability of advertisers to track users, threatening to undermine business models that support many popular online services.

The development is driven more by market forces than government action, as highlighted by the recent announcement that the maker of one of the world's most popular browsers, Firefox, is experimenting with new restrictions on the use of cookies - bits of computer code that allow companies to monitor users as they move among websites.

The news has sparked a fervent debate about the economic value of online tracking and the importance of cookies to the smooth functioning of the digital world. On the day of Firefox's announcement last month, an official from the Interactive Advertising Bureau tweeted that the browser's maker had launched a "a nuclear first strike" against the industry.

That prompted fears that internet companies could respond with more sophisticated tools that would allow tracking to continue or even expand.

"We're at risk of an arms race here," says Peter Swire, a Clinton administration privacy expert, now an Ohio State University law professor.

"This could break the internet. It interferes with existing browsing modules and it puts greater pressure on users to take escalating steps to protect their privacy."

Swire was tapped in November to help resurrect talks aimed at giving consumers an easy way to block tracking of their web behaviour. The initiative, called "Do Not Track" and pushed by the Obama Administration, has foundered over deep divisions between internet industry trade groups and privacy advocates.

The two sides have not agreed on what "Do Not Track" even means, much less how it should be implemented.

Mozilla, the maker of Firefox, is a non-profit group that is much smaller than other browser makers, such as Google, Microsoft and Apple. Yet its potential impact is outsized because Firefox is used by about 20 per cent of the world's desktop computers, according to NetMarketShare.

Mozilla is testing its new cookie restrictions on a version of Firefox released to about 10,000 users, says Harvey Anderson, vice-president and general counsel. No decision has been made on a general release, but limiting tracking would make Firefox operate more clearly in the interests of consumers.

Anderson cites a February report by Ovum, an industry research group, showing that 68 per cent of people using the internet in 11 countries say they would limit tracking of their web traffic if they easily could.

"This kind of feature creates a web that's more in line with a user's expectations," he says.

The changes under consideration for Firefox would allow shopping or news websites, for example, to place cookies on a user's computer to enable the tracking of preferences for customised service. It would block cookies from sites users never knowingly visited, such as those of the networks that place advertising on sites maintained by news organisations or other groups.

Firefox's changes would mimic how Apple's Safari browser has long handled cookies. Apple was once a small player in the browser market, but the success of its iPhone and iPad has made Safari the most popular browser on mobile devices.

The biggest player in the desktop browser market, Microsoft, has implemented new privacy controls on its latest generation of Internet Explorer, activating by default a feature that requests ad networks to not track users. The setting has little practical effect because ad networks generally ignore such requests, but the move signalled the rising importance of privacy issues to browser makers.

Digital advertisers say that ads targeted by user behaviour are effective, allowing baseball fans to see ads for game tickets or people learning a language to see ads for travel packages.

The revenue generated by these online businesses pays for many of the free programs and services that users enjoy.

The Digital Advertising Alliance trade group runs a program allowing users to opt out of most forms of targeted advertising.

Browser changes that disrupt online business models would come at a high cost, advertisers say, hitting smaller companies and websites hard.

To survive, these companies might turn to tracking technology that's harder for browsers to block, such as digital fingerprinting that can use basic information about the location of a computer and the software installed to distinguish it from other machines.

"Innovation absolutely will happen. Work-arounds absolutely will happen. But in the time that takes to happen, a lot of blood will be left on the tracks," says Randall Rothenberg, president and chief executive of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

Anderson says Mozilla takes such concerns seriously and would consider altering the proposed cookie restrictions to make sure they don't unfairly skew the digital advertising market.

Some of the biggest players in online advertising are Facebook, Yahoo and Google, but they probably would avoid the kinds of restrictions Firefox is considering because of an exception that allows cookies to be placed by sites users voluntarily visit.

The role of Google, which gets most of its revenue from advertising and has been criticised in recent years for its approach to personal privacy, has drawn particular attention from those pushing for greater controls.

Google's Chrome browser has features that allow users to limit tracking or opt out altogether from targeted advertising, but the company is not publicly considering the more aggressive actions taken by Apple or Microsoft and under consideration by Mozilla.

"We'll continue to work with [the] industry on a common approach to responding to the Do Not Track feature," Google spokesman Chris Gaither says.

As web traffic increasingly shifts to mobile devices, Google's role is likely to grow.

Smartphones based on its Android operating system are the most popular in the world. Mobile devices, and the browsers made for them, generally have fewer privacy controls than desktop or laptop computers.

Some analysts say the intensity of the debate gives internet advertisers an opportunity to make a public case for the value of tracking before browsers limit it further. Shopping websites, for example, use cookies to recommend books or clothes to regular visitors.

"There's a risk that the industry will see this as an opportunity to escalate, and that will lead down a rat hole," says Jules Polonetsky, director of the Future of Privacy Forum, an industry-supported think tank.

"It's fine for tracking to come out into the sunlight and for companies to realise that if all you're trying to do is sell people stuff.

"Most people are cool with that, as long as they believe people are trying to do things for them rather than to them."

-Washington Post

Comments

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/8469714/Tensions-rise-over-online-tracking

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Girl, 9, walks to get help after crash kills dad

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A 9-year-old girl crawled out of a mangled SUV, climbed out of a canyon and walked about a mile in the middle of the night to find help after surviving a highway crash that killed her father in Southern California, authorities said.

The 2010 Ford Escape was launched about 200 feet down an embankment along a semi-rural stretch of the Sierra Highway in Acton about 1 a.m. Sunday, said California Highway Patrol Officer Cheyenne Quesada. The vehicle overturned several times.

The girl managed to extricate herself and walk through rugged terrain to a nearby home, but nobody answered the door, the CHP said. Then she hiked up the steep embankment and along the road to a commuter rail station where she flagged down a passing motorist at about 2:30 a.m.

"She walked quite a distance in a very, very threatening environment. It's very black out there, very dark," CHP Sgt. Tom Lackey told KABC-TV. "It's very steep and it's brushy and there's also coyotes in the background."

Responding officers found a man in his 30s had been killed, Quesada said. His name was not released but officials said he was from Los Angeles.

A helicopter transported the girl to Children's Hospital Los Angeles. She was treated for minor injuries including bumps and bruises and a cut on her face.

Television footage showed crews extricating the severely damaged black SUV from the canyon.

The CHP is investigating whether alcohol played a role in the crash.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/girl-9-walks-help-crash-kills-dad-192010126.html

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Knox awaits verdict from Italy's highest court

ROME (AP) ? Amanda Knox was "very anxious" as Italy's top criminal court heard arguments Monday from prosecutors appealing her acquittal in the murder of her roommate, her lawyer said.

"She's carefully paying attention to what will come out," attorney Luciano Ghirga said as he arrived at Italy's Court of Cassation. "This is a fundamental stage. The trial is very complex."

Prosecutors are asking the high court to throw out the acquittals of American Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend in the murder of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher, and order a new trial.

Knox, now 25, and Raffaele Sollecito were arrested in 2007, shortly after Kercher's body was found in a pool of blood in her bedroom in the rented apartment she shared with Knox and others in the university town of Perugia, where they were exchange students. Her throat had been slashed.

Knox and Sollecito were initially convicted and given long prison sentences: 26 years for Knox, 25 for Sollecito. But in 2011 the appeals court acquitted them, criticizing virtually the entire case mounted by prosecutors in the first trial. The appellate court noted that the murder weapon was never found, said that DNA tests were faulty and added that Knox and Sollecito had no motive to kill Kercher.

After nearly four years behind bars, Knox returned to her hometown of Seattle and Sollecito resumed his computer science studies.

In the second and final level of appeal, prosecutors are now seeking to overturn the acquittals, while defense attorneys say they should stand.

"We're here to defend that sentence," said Sollecito's attorney, Giulia Bongiorno, who called the entire case "an absurd judicial process."

Monday's hearing began with one of the judges reading a summary of the gruesome case, including how Kercher essentially choked on her own blood from the stab wound. Neither Knox nor Sollecito was in court, though Sollecito's father attended.

If the court does throw out the acquittal and orders a retrial, Knox wouldn't have to return to Italy, as there is no requirement for defendants to be in court.

Defense attorneys said they were confident the acquittals would be upheld. "We know Raffaele Sollecito is innocent," Bongiorno said.

A verdict could come later Monday.

Knox and Sollecito have both maintained their innocence, though they said that smoking marijuana the night Kercher was killed had clouded their recollections.

Prosecutors have alleged that Kercher was the victim of a drug-fueled sexual assault.

A young drifter from Ivory Coast, Rudy Guede, was convicted of the slaying in separate proceedings and is serving a 16-year sentence. Kercher's family has resisted theories that Guede acted alone.

The lawyer for the Kercher family, Francesco Maresca, was in court Monday.

The court is also hearing Knox's appeal against a slander conviction for having accused a local pub owner of carrying out the killing. The man was held for two weeks based on her allegations, but was then released for lack of evidence.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/knox-awaits-verdict-italys-highest-court-102712317.html

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Insert Coin: MiiPC promises a kid-safe Android PC that allows surfing, gaming for $99 (video)

Kickstarter launched for MiiPC ? the first family friendly Android Computer

eMachines Founder Aims to Disrupt PC Market through Crowd Funding

San Mateo, CA-March 25, 2013- MiiPC, a new Kickstarter project, has been launched today by Young Song, the founder of eMachines. Young is looking to upset the traditional PC market again by launching the first family computer on Android, starting from $89 on a Kickstarter early bird discount. MiiPC allows parents to give their young children access to the Internet under their supervision from a companion mobile app.

MiiPC offers parents the chance to let their children surf the web, play games, watch media and do their homework, safe in the knowledge that they can make sure their children are not exposed to disturbing videos, unsuitable apps and inappropriate websites. The device comes
with a HDMI connection, so it can be hooked up to computer monitors and most modern TVs and with two USB ports the whole experience is optimized to provide a true keyboard and mouse experience.

Parents also have access to a MiiPC companion mobile app giving them complete peace of mind knowing that they can monitor the real-time activities of their children from anywhere - work, the supermarket, a restaurant. While they're on the move, parents can instantly adjust
the settings that allow their children access to games, YouTube, Facebook and other distractions from homework and learning at home.

Young Song, co-founder of eMachines which was acquired by Gateway in 2004 for $265m, is the brains behind this new concept of PC and admits that kids should be trusted to use the internet, under supervision: "MiiPC came out of my experience with my two kids. We think the Internet has opened up all sorts of possibilities and I love my children have access to information for their classes at the tip of their fingertips. However at the same time the Internet poses significant challenges for parents.

Traditional software or hardware solutions simply block kids from going to certain websites. This is inherently limiting and it also does not address what we believe is a key challenge with kids and the Internet: its addictiveness."

"We developed MiiPC as a simple and elegant solution. It allows you to monitor your child's activity, but at the same time start an open and honest conversation with them about the content they're looking at and the time they spend on different tasks."

Time Management

MiiPC has been developed to stop family squabbles over the computer use, too. Multi-user accounts can be set-up for different family members, giving each different access to suitable apps and games. A parent can register any number of family members and can carefully
monitor use (and misuse!) in real time on the MiiPC companion mobile app. You can see if one member is hogging the computer and make sure that every child gets their time online.

Specifications

MiiPC runs on top of Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and is compatible with many popular Android applications. To complete the desktop computing experience MiiPC comes with pre-bundled Android apps and access to a Web Apps Center which will include productivity,
games, entertainment, multimedia and educational selections.

Full specifications include:

? Processor: Marvell? ARMADA? 1500 Series Dual Core1.2GHz SoC /
Memory: 1GB DDR System RAM
? Storage: 4GB Internal Flash (expandable via SD Slot and USB port)
? Connectivity: WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), Ethernet Port, and Bluetooth (4.0)
? Connect to TV: HDMI (1080p/720p) output
? I/O: 2 USB 2.0 Ports, Speaker & Microphone Jack
? MiiPC Companion Mobile App for iOS and Android

*Keyboard, mouse & HDMI cable are sold separately

MiiPC is hoping to raise $50,000 on Kickstarter to test the market for a PC aimed at bringing back 'power to the parents' and can only become a reality by being backed by parents from around the world. To back MiiPC please visit: www.miipc.com/kickstarter and as an early bird
backer you will receive your MiiPC before June 15th 2013.

About MiiPC

www.miipc.com

MiiPC has been created by a team of developers at ZeroDesktop, Inc, based in Silicon Valley.

ZeroDesktop, Inc. is a leading developer of next generation Cloud Operating System and Cloud Service Brokerage Solutions for Consumers, Telecoms, OEMs, ISVs and Enterprises. The ZeroDesktop Infrastructure aggregates scattered digital content from local storage, network
drives and cloud services providing unified access by PCs, tablets andmobile devices.

Combining their software expertise in Cloud technologies along with their own personal understanding and experience of family struggles with the Internet led them to conceive of MiiPC.

This is ZeroDesktop's first product that combines hardware and software aimed at the consumer marketplace. ZeroDesktop is headquartered in San Mateo, CA and has 18 employees worldwide with development centers in both Silicon Valley and Europe.

Find MiiPC on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Miipc/164658463684389 and Twitter@MiiPC4kids

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/25/insert-coin-miipc-android/

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Hyperkin Retron 5 plays the cartridges of nine classic consoles (video)

Hyperkin has developed a reputation for modern takes on legendary game consoles that are often better than the real thing. If true, its just-unveiled Retron 5 is a nostalgia singularity. The hardware emulator can use its namesake five cartridge slots to play original games from no less than nine vintage consoles, including the Genesis (Megadrive), NES (Famicom), SNES (Super Famicom) and GameBoys from the original through to the GameBoy Advance. It keeps going: there's a custom Bluetooth controller that can handle every system, mix-and-match original controller support, save states and upscaling for both video (to 720p, through HDMI) as well as audio. While we'll have to see just how well the Retron 5 works whenever it exists as more than a conceptual graphic, that opportunity may come quickly when Hyperkin is tentatively shooting for a July release at less than $100. About all that's left for a follow-up Retron are Jaguar and Turbografx 16 slots -- pretty please?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/24/hyperkin-retron-5-plays-cartridges-of-nine-classic-consoles/

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Search Marketing | Four Proven Offline Marketing Tactics that Work

On this site we preach Search Marketing, search engine optimization, social media marketing, and online marketing in general. And online marketing has certainly become an increasingly important marketing segment that all businesses are paying attention to. But we also want to remind you not to forget about traditional offline marketing. They still work with great ROI. With all the attention that?s placed on online marketing, many businesses are forgetting the fact that they must continue to market offline if they want to continue to grow their business and gain new clients.

When it comes to marketing offline, there are tactics that have worked for many decades which shouldn?t be ignored. Some of these tactics work better than others, but it?s no secret that these tactics do work. If you?re looking for some ways to up your offline marketing efforts, check out these proven tactics to make sure everything goes great.

Direct Mail?

One of the best old-fashioned methods that still works to generate leads and grow business is a direct mail campaign. Direct mail marketing almost always generates a substantial return on investment, as long as the mail piece is well-written, researched, and all around good.

Direct mail can help generate new leads and reinvigorate old leads, as long as the direct mail campaign is sent to the right people. If you?re able to precisely target your campaign based on market research, you?ll no doubt see a fantastic return on investment.

Promotional Materials

Another traditional marketing method that still works in today?s digital age is distributing promotional materials is more effective vs. advertising. Whether you offer some sort of reward to someone who comes in to your business, or you?re just passing things out at a fair or festival, promotional materials remain one of the most effective online marketing tactics.

Return on investment with promotional materials tends to be pretty significant, mainly because ordering your promotional materials in bulk from places like Minespress.com tends to be pretty cheap. It?s best to purchase a wide variety of promotional materials for events, ranging from things like sunglasses and Frisbees to mugs and notepads. The more diversity you have in your promotional materials the better, so make sure you?ve got heavily branded things to pass out to gain some more business.

Referrals

Referrals remain one of the best types of marketing tactics, as word of mouth is the best way to advertise. Increase the number of referrals that you get by offering rewards to customers that bring you referrals. Setting up some sort of referral reward program is a great way to gain business and see a large return on investment, especially because you?ll only have to offer rewards if you get a referral.

This would be a great opportunity to offer some of the previously mentioned promotional materials as a reward to a customer who gives you referrals.

Hold Classes

Holding free classes or workshops is a great way to get traffic coming through your doors which will lead to more sales. Whatever your business is, hold free classes or workshops to help people become better at whatever it is that you do.

For example, if you run a home improvement store, offer classes on how to shingle roofs or put up drywall. You?ll get people into your store and build customer loyalty because you?re offering a great resource for free.

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Source: http://searchmarketingpost.com/four-proven-offline-marketing-tactics-that-work/

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