Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/265979288?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Sunday, November 25, 2012
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Xbox TV: New rumours detail AAA game-less Xbox 360 - Pocket-lint
Microsoft is rumoured to be working on an Xbox set-top box that would offer casual gaming and all the entertainment functions of the current console, but without the capability of playing traditional AAA games like Halo 4 or Assassin's Creed III.
According to "multiple sources" talking to gadget site The Verge, the console, which Pocket-lint suggested Microsoft should make and sell back in June, would be a smaller low-cost alternative to its Xbox console and allow the company to expand on its home entertainment offering to non-core gamers.
"We're told that the set-top box is part of a two-SKU strategy for Microsoft's next-generation of Xbox hardware that will be unveiled in 2013, with a release date ahead of the holiday shopping season," claims the site.
According to the site and its sources, the?Xbox 360 TV?will?"run on the core components of Windows 8 and support casual gaming titles rather than full Xbox games typically found on a dedicated console."
Supposedly, hardware specs aren't fully locked down.
On the rumours, Microsoft has issued the following statement: "Xbox 360 has found new ways to extend the console lifecycle by introducing controller-free experiences with Kinect and re-inventing the console with a new dashboard and new entertainment content partnerships. We are always thinking about what is next for our platform and how to continue to defy the lifecycle convention."?
The rumours tie in with a lengthy blog post from the firm that it published in June?ahead of the annual gaming conference, E3, in LA.
In it, Yusuf Mehdi, chief marketing officer for the company's Interactive Entertainment Division,?said the console would move away from being just that.
READ:?Nintendo Wii U, Xbox SmartGlass and PS Vita: second screen entertainment explored
"To date, our success with Xbox has been led by a box in the living room. Moving forward, Xbox will go beyond the box to reach all new families of devices. Just as Xbox has grown to mean more than just games, it also is more than just a console. This year, Xbox becomes the premium entertainment service for Microsoft.
"Whether on your PC, tablet, TV or phone, Xbox will be a gateway to the best in music and video, your favourite games and instant access to your friends. With the launch of Windows 8, we?ll bring Xbox entertainment to everyone. With Xbox on Windows 8 devices, we rapidly accelerate the reach of Xbox entertainment from more than 60 million people to hundreds of millions of people worldwide."
Mehdi went on to say, "We understand that entertainment has become a multi-screen experience where you and your friends are watching TV, listening to music, and playing games while interacting with your tablets and phones in new ways. We?ve got ideas for making all the entertainment you love more personal, interactive and social across the devices you love - and on the phenomenal Windows 8 devices that are to come."
READ:?Xbox Entertainment: Games, Video, Music, SmartGlass on all your Microsoft devices
Shortly after those comments, Microsoft launched among other things, Xbox SmartGlass, its tablet and smartphone app that allows users to interact with the console.
We suspect that?SmartGlass?would be a key element of a set top Xbox TV box and save Microsoft needing to include a controller with the TV only device, and allow it to drive prices down even further.
Currently in the US there are two TV on-demand boxes that dominate the market; Roku and Apple TV, although Google is also trying to gain market share with Google TV. Roku, which launched in the UK in January this year, sees it as a core business, while Apple still sees the miniature set-top-box as a sideshow.
If Microsoft is about to enter the market, things could get a lot more interesting.
Source: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/48506/xbox-tv-2013-planned-launch
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Nebraska schools, students show improvement on state tests (AUDIO)
Nebraska public schools and students seemed to be making progress, according to a report issued today by the Nebraska Department of Education.
Nearly three of every four public school districts graduated 90% or more of their high school seniors. Most school districts demonstrated improvement and growth under the new state accountability results.
?First of all, as we reported last August, the overall story is that Nebraska public school students are making progress and we attribute that to Nebraska teachers and administrators who have consistently demonstrated this trend over the last decade,? Nebraska Education Commissioner Roger Breed stated during a news conference today at the Department of Education offices in Lincoln.
More than 152,000 students from all 249 public school districts took the standardized tests, from elementary schools to middle schools as well as juniors in high school.
The new accountability report uses student scores to measure the progress of their school districts, whether the districts demonstrated both improvement and growth; whether test scores this year exceeded those the previous year.
?On this measure, 185 of 248 school districts demonstrated improvement across the grades on the reading tests,? according to Breed. ?177 of 248 school districts demonstrated improvement across the grades on the math tests.?
This year, 180 or 249 Nebraska public school districts graduated 90% of more of their high school seniors. More than 50 school districts graduated all of their seniors. Statewide, 88% of the high school seniors graduated, up from 86% last year.
As for student scores, 74.2% of the state students passed the reading tests, up from 71.8% the year before. Math scores improved from 62.8% to 67.4%. In science, 66.9% scored proficient and in writing, 73.3%.
AUDIO:?Nebraska Education Commissioner Rober Breed releases accountability report. [23 min.]
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United found not liable for alleged 9/11 security lapse
NEW YORK (Reuters) - United Airlines bears no responsibility for the collapse of a third World Trade Center building on September 11, 2001, stemming from suspected airport security lapses that allowed hijackers to crash an American Airlines plane into the complex, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein granted a request by United and its parent, United Continental Holdings Inc, to dismiss negligence claims by Larry Silverstein, the leaseholder of the World Trade Center property, over the destruction of 7 World Trade Center.
Tower 7 collapsed several hours after being pierced by debris from the crash of AMR Corp's American Airlines Flight 11 into the nearby 1 World Trade Center, one of the Twin Towers.
Two of the Flight 11 hijackers, Mohammed Atta and Abdul Aziz al Omari, had begun their trip to New York at the Portland International Jetport, in Maine. There, they boarded a flight by US Airways carrier Colgan Air to Boston's Logan International Airport, from which they connected onto the American Airlines plane.
Silverstein said that because United was among the carriers that ran Portland's only security checkpoint, it was legally responsible for the screening of all passengers and had missed a "clear chance" to prevent the hijacking.
Hellerstein, a judge in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, in Manhattan, concluded that United did not owe "a duty of care" to Silverstein. He said that United, which is currently the largest U.S. carrier, could not have foreseen events that led to the destruction of Tower 7.
"It was not within United's range of apprehension that terrorists would slip through the security screening checkpoint, fly to Logan, proceed through another air carrier's security screening and board that air carrier's flight, hijack the flight and crash it into 1 World Trade Center, let alone that 1 World Trade Center would therefore collapse and cause Tower 7 to collapse," Hellerstein wrote.
In 2009, Hellerstein had dismissed claims against other airlines for damages caused by United Flight 175, which also crashed into the Twin Towers. Hellerstein has presided over almost all U.S. litigation over the September 11 attacks.
SILVERSTEIN TO PURSUE SEPARATE CASE
Bud Perrone, a spokesman for Silverstein Properties, said the firm was disappointed with Wednesday's ruling, but said it continues to pursue a similar negligence case over United's Flight 175.
"We are determined and look forward to presenting the facts before a jury, which will decide whether the defendants' insurance companies should finally be forced to pay up in order to finish the rebuilding of the World Trade Center," he said.
A United spokeswoman, Mary Ryan, declined to comment.
The September 11 attacks killed more than 3,000 people in New York, at the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and in Pennsylvania.
Silverstein is building three office towers at the 16-acre World Trade Center site, which is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, though redevelopment has been hobbled by political battles and cost overruns.
The total project cost was recently estimated at $14.8 billion. Silverstein completed a $700 million, 52-story building at the 7 World Trade Center site in 2006, and it is now fully leased.
Silverstein has also sought to hold AMR, which now operates in bankruptcy, liable for the loss of property and business.
His $8.4 billion lawsuit filed in 2008 also named Boeing Co, the Massachusetts Port Authority, which manages Logan Airport, and security companies as defendants.
Hellerstein has limited potential recovery to the $2.8 billion that Silverstein paid for his leases.
The September 11 attacks prompted the creation of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, which now oversees security at airport checkpoints.
The case is World Trade Center Properties LLC et al v. American Airlines Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-03722.
(Reporting by Basil Katz and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Gerry McCormick, Bernadette Baum and Leslie Adler)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/united-airlines-not-liable-alleged-9-11-security-160209026--finance.html
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Wednesday, November 21, 2012
How Linden Lab Hopes To Find Second Life In Mobile Creative Play
The timing is likely right for Linden Lab to change direction: reports recently indicate Second Life is shedding users, with passive viewing becoming the dominant interaction method. Gaming industry notable Rob Humble, who previously worked with EA on the Sims franchise, took the reins at Linden Lab as CEO in 2011, however, and now the company is putting out mobile products that look vastly different from its intriguing, sometimes sordid past with Second Life.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/DK1pmLBPI6o/
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Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Buying a house? Bank loan is your best bet - Real Estate India
??|?? November 20, 2012 ?? 07:16pm ??|
The lender not only conducts due diligence for the property, but you can also avail of tax deductions.
Hariprasad Nair, a sales representative with a reputed multinational company, has saved enough money to buy a small house in a suburb of Mumbai. However, he has decided to take a bank loan to fund a part of his purchase. ?The 1-BHK house I want to buy costs around 15 lakh. Though I can arrange for the money through my savings and by borrowing from friends, I prefer to take a loan worth 5-6 lakh,? says the 36-year-old.
Nair?s reasoning is that since he doesn?t have the time to check on the property title and documentation, and doesn?t want to trust the broker implicitly, it will be better for him to pass on this job to a bank. ?I don?t have the information or the time to exercise due diligence as far as the property is concerned. As the bank needs to safeguard its money, it will carry out a more detailed scrutiny, and furnish me the loan only after it is fully assured,? he adds.
Safety checks
A loan is often the only financially viable method for a person to fund a massive purchase like a house. However, as Nair has discovered, there are other advantages of taking a loan. Real estate experts believe that buying property through a home loan ensures some level of safety to the property buyer. Says Sandeep Sadh, chief executive officer of mumbaipropertyexchange.com: ?The potential buyer is saved the time and hassle required to check the authenticity of the title and the various documents of the property.?
Anuj Puri, chairman & country head, Jones Lang LaSalle India, cautions that though banks exercise due diligence for any property that a prospective home loan borrower intends to purchase, it?s depth often varies among banks. ?Taking a home loan does provide a reasonable safety net for the buyer most of the times. However, it is prudent for the buyer to examine the property?s antecedents himself if he has any doubt,? adds Puri.
Financial/tax benefits
Ganesh Vasudevan, chief executive officer of Chennai-based , explains that purchasing a property through a bank loan also provides financial efficiency to the buyer. ?Today, home loans are available at 10.5-11% interest rate. If you factor in the inflation of 7-8% a year, which will push up the property prices much higher in the future, taking a loan now seems to be a win?win situation for the buyer,? he says.
Apart from the fact that a bank?s due diligence amounts to a legal check for the property, there are significant tax benefits available on a home loan. The mortgage payments by the borrower help him get tax deductions from his total taxable income. The equated monthly instalment (EMI) comprises two components?principal and interest?both of which qualify for tax deductions.
Under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, a borrower can get a deduction for a maximum of 1 lakh for the principal amount paid each year, irrespective of his tax bracket. Under Section 24(b), the borrower can claim tax deduction of up to 1.5 lakh a year for the interest paid.
If the buyer books a house that is still under construction and gets partial disbursement of loan according to the stages of completion, he can still claim tax benefits. Though he is not eligible for tax deductions till he actually gets the possession (even if he has begun repaying the loan), the interest paid can be claimed as deduction after receiving the possession. Under Section 24, the interest paid during the construction phase can be claimed as deduction in five equal instalments, subject to the upper limit of 1.5 lakh.
In case two people are buying a house jointly, they can opt for a home loan together. The benefit is that both of them will be able to avail of the tax benefits on the joint loan. Since the maximum tax deduction available to a single borrower is 1.5 lakh and this applies to each borrower, the total deduction will be 3 lakh. If the interest paid for that assessment year is less than 1.5 lakh, the couple can share the benefit according to the amount contributed by each for the mortgage payment.
Disadvantages
Though taking a home loan from a bank seems to be a beneficial move there are some pitfalls that borrowers should be aware of.
? Better discounts on lump-sum deals
When it comes to negotiating the price of a property, buyers with ready cash always have an edge over those who fund their purchase through a home loan. This is because the former can expect an additional discount of 5-10%.
? Five-year sale restriction
If you sell the property within five years of the end of the financial year in which you purchase it, all the deductions claimed under Section 80C with respect to the property will be added to your taxable income in the year that you sell it. This means that the deduction in terms of the interest and principal will be added to your taxable income. Suppose you sell the property after four years of buying it and avail of the maximum deduction in terms of the principal amount and interest repaid, then 10 lakh ( 2.5 lakh deduction each for four years) will be added to your taxable income. If you are in the highest tax bracket you will end up paying an additional tax of 3 lakh.
What if the bank rejects the house?
?One reason that the bank may not approve of the house is that it is not satisfied with the revelation from its due diligence of the property, or that the price stated is excessive. If this is the case, the aspiring buyer should take heed of the implications and perhaps not invest in the house,? says Puri.
Another reason could be that the buyer?s credit worthiness has come into question. ?In such a case, the borrower should check his credit score and try to repair it (in terms of the outstanding credit card bills, existing loans, etc) before approaching the same bank again or taking a loan from another lender,? adds Puri.
Before you take a home loan
? While selecting a home loan lender, check for the various terms and conditions, and charges regarding the loan.
? Don?t choose a lender till you have identified a property.
? You should be able to fund 25-35% of the cost of the house yourself.
? Approach at least three lenders, get their figures for all fees and charges, and then bargain.
? Apart from the interest rates, check up on the various charges, such as processing fees and valuation fees.
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Source: http://www.indianrealtynews.com/home-loans/buying-a-house-bank-loan-is-your-best-bet.html
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U.S. Officials Emphasize 'De-escalating' Gaza Violence
As news reports emerged Tuesday of a cease-fire or truce to end the crisis in Gaza, American officials made it a point not to use either of those terms.
Instead, U.S. officials were talking about "de-escalating" the violence in Gaza as a step toward a long-term resolution.
Briefing White House reporters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes repeatedly said "de-escalation" was the goal for ending the violence in Gaza and Israel.
When asked if he was avoiding using the term "cease-fire," Rhodes said, "No, I mean, there are many ways that you can achieve the goal of a de-escalation." He added, " Our bottom line is, is an end to rocket fire. We're open to any number of ideas for achieving that goal. We've discussed any number of ideas for accomplishing that goal. But it's going to have to begin with a reduction of tensions and space created for the situation to calm. "
At the State Department briefing earlier in the day, spokesperson Victoria Nuland was also using "de-escalation."
Nuland was asked several times why she was using that term instead of "ceasefire" or "truce." She indicated it was because the State Department did not want to get into characterizing acceptable terminology. "I'm not going to characterize X is acceptable, Y is not acceptable. That's a subject for negotiation," she said.
Furthermore, she said, "because the parties are talking, we're going to be part of that, and we're not going to negotiate it here from the podium. We're not going to characterize it here from the podium."
The message she did want to get across was that "any de-escalation is a step forward."
Of the long-term aims of Secretary of State Clinton's last minute mission to Jerusalem, Ramallah and Cairo, Nuland said you "obviously start with a de-escalation of this conflict." From there, "we have to see an end to the rocket fire on Israel. We have to see a restoration of calm in Gaza. And the hope is that if we can get through those stages, that will create space for the addressing of broader issues, but I don't want to prejudge. This is obviously ongoing and live diplomacy."
Before her meeting in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Clinton too avoided using the term "cease-fire."
After describing America's commitment to Israel's security as "rock-solid and unwavering," Clinton said, "That is why we believe it is essential to de-escalate the situation in Gaza."
Clinton said that the rocket attacks into Israel from Gaza "must end and a broader calm restored." She added that the focus was on "a durable outcome that promotes regional stability and advances the security and legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians alike."
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