Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/169269899?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Monday, December 5, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Vizio VSB200
The Vizio VSB200 soundbar speaker system?offers amplified stereo sound for an HDTV in a small living room or den at a budget price of just $149.99. The VSB200 is a two-channel, stereo soundbar that lacks a companion subwoofer. It measures 3.7 by 39.6 by 4.3 inches (HWD); the included stand raises the height by roughly one inch.
Like all soundbars, the VSB200 won't deliver audiophile-quality performance, as they lack the stereo separation, higher-quality drivers, and larger cabinets necessary for proper imaging and resolution. That said, the better soundbars do a convincing job of making audio sound bigger and bolder, with more bass rumble, than you'd get from built-in TV speakers?much like how an iPod speaker dock works, except for home theater sound instead of just music.
We haven't tested the Vizio VSB200. We did test the comparably priced Insignia NS-BAR-A Home Theater Soundbar ($199.99), which didn't quite measure up to expectations: while it did reach impressive decibel levels for a budget soundbar, its audio quality didn't measure up even against its peers, and the bass seemed to disappear as we increased the volume.
More speaker reviews:
??? Crosley Radio CR3001A Ranchero
??? Genius SP-HF2020 Digital 4-Way Hi-Fi Speakers
??? Sony RDP-X500IP Personal Audio Docking System
??? iHome iW1
??? Altec Lansing iMT630 Classic
?? more
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/MqVL28BS4xI/0,2817,2397148,00.asp
"Top Gear" host apologizes for anti-strike remarks (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) ? "Top Gear" television show presenter Jeremy Clarkson on Thursday apologized for saying Britain's striking public sector workers should be "shot in front of their families."
Clarkson, whose mocking personality helped make the "Top Gear" car show a popular broadcast around the world, caused a furor with his comments on Wednesday as nurses, teachers and civil servants staged a 24-hour strike against government plans to make them pay more and work longer for their pensions.
"I'd have them all shot," the 51-year-old said on BBC television's "One Show".
"I would take them outside and execute them in front of their families," he added. "I mean how dare they go on strike when they have got these gilt-edged pensions that are going to be guaranteed while the rest of us have to work for a living?"
After a media furor, Clarkson apologized, while a BBC spokesman noted the "One Show" had apologized at the end of the show to viewers who may have been offended.
"I didn't for a moment intend these remarks to be taken seriously -- as I believe is clear if they're seen in context. If the BBC and I have caused any offence, I'm quite happy to apologize for it alongside them," Clarkson said on Thursday.
British Prime Minister David Cameron who is a friend of Clarkson's, had called the comments a "silly thing to say."
"I'm sure he didn't mean it," he added.
Unison, the public service trade union, welcomed Clarkson's apology and dropped plans for litigation and calls for his resignation.
"We would like to invite him to spend a day on a hospital ward, with one of our healthcare assistants. They do vital work caring for patients - cleaning up sick, bathing patients, and wiping bottoms," Unison added in a statement.
Unions estimated more than 2 million public sector workers in the UK went on strike over changes to their pensions on Wednesday, though polls showed not all Britons supported them.
Clarkson is known for his outspokenness. He aroused public anger over comments about former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's partial blindness and for suggesting the Welsh language should be abolished.
In February, he was at the center of a diplomatic row after making offensive remarks about Mexico, suggesting the country didn't have an Olympic team, "because anyone who can run jump or swim is already across the (U.S.) border."
(Editing by Steve Addison and Paul Casciato)
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Saturday, December 3, 2011
Are Your Smartphone Keystrokes Being Copied and Transmitted? (NewsFactor)
Are the text messages you type into your Android, Nokia, or BlackBerry smartphone being sent back to your carrier? A security researcher is saying yes.
Developer Trevor Eckhart has recently posted a video showing that software from a company called Carrier IQ sends text messages, encrypted searches, and other user actions to the carrier. Eckhart found out that the information is sent even before a call is made. In the video demonstration, Eckhart noted that "every button you press in the dialer before you call, it already gets sent off to the IQ application." The information is also sent if the user is using Wi-Fi, not the carrier's cell phone network.
'Operational Information'
Eckhart described the Carrier IQ as a rootkit, and said it cannot easily be removed without reinstalling the operating system.
Carrier IQ, he said, listens on the phones for commands "contained in 'tasking profiles' sent a number of ways and returns whatever 'metric' was asked for." In the video, Eckhart shows keystrokes being made on the demonstrated smartphone, and immediately appearing on another screen, which represents the information being sent by Carrier IQ. The transmissions are also reported to include information about installed apps and battery life.
After he described the software as a rootkit, the Mountain View, Calif.-based Carrier IQ sent him a cease-and-desist letter. The Electronic Frontier Foundation quickly took up his cause, and Carrier IQ has since withdrawn its legal threat.
In a Media Alert posted on its Web site, Carrier IQ said that its software delivers mobile intelligence "on the performance of mobile devices and networks to assist operators and device manufacturer in delivering high-quality products and services to their customers."
The software, the company said, counts and measures "operational information" in mobile devices, which is used to "improve the quality of the network, understand device issues and ultimately improve the user experience." It noted that the software is embedded by device manufacturers, along with other diagnostics, before shipping.
140 Million Devices
Carrier IQ insisted that it is "counting and summarizing performance, not recording keystrokes or providing tracking tools." It added that no personal subscriber information is sold by Carrier IQ to third parties, and that all information is encrypted and secured in the carrier's network and in its "audited and customer-approved facilities."
The software comes pre-installed on 140 million devices made by Samsung, HTC, Nokia and Research In Motion. There are also reports that references to Carrier IQ have been found in Apple's iOS 5, but there is not yet evidence that the software is installed or that it records keystrokes as on devices from other manufacturers.
John Pescatore, an analyst with industry research firm Gartner, noted that, if keystrokes are being sent without a user's permission, "it's a huge issue." He added that it's important to know more details, especially since performance-measurement can mean different things.
Pescatore suggested that Carrier IQ's software might offer "a legitimate kind of function, but they may not have adequately considered privacy issues."
Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20111201/bs_nf/81189
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Friday, December 2, 2011
Mass. AG hits big banks with foreclosure lawsuit (Reuters)
(Reuters) ? The Massachusetts attorney general has filed a lawsuit against five large U.S. banks accusing them of deceptive foreclosure practices, a signal of ebbing confidence that a multi-state agreement can be worked out.
Attorney General Martha Coakley said on Thursday she filed the lawsuit partly because it has been taking too long to hammer out a nationwide settlement.
For more than a year, state and federal officials have been negotiating a deal in which banks would pay billions of dollars in fines - to go toward housing relief - in exchange for legal protection against future suits.
The Massachusetts lawsuit, filed in state court in Boston, accuses Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co Inc, Citigroup Inc, Wells Fargo & Co and GMAC of deceptive foreclosure practices, such as using robo-signers and false documents.
"Our suit alleges that the banks have charted a destructive path by cutting corners and rushing to foreclose on homeowners without following the rule of law," Coakley said in a statement.
The attorney general in Iowa, Tom Miller, who is leading the negotiations for the states, said in a statement they hope to reach a settlement "soon." He also said Coakley had indicated she is still open to joining the settlement.
"We're optimistic that we'll settle on terms that will be in the interests of Massachusetts," Miller said.
However, analysts said Coakley's lawsuit is a bad sign for banks, which hope a deal with states and federal authorities could help the industry move beyond the legal fallout that has dogged it since the peak of the financial crisis.
"I can't say anything is dead, but it sure looks like this is a negative. The banks are going to have these suits out there for years." said Paul Miller, a bank analyst with FBR Capital Markets.
The mortgage servicing units of the five banks are accused of taking shortcuts as a way to deal with a deluge of foreclosures in the wake of the 2008 credit crisis.
State attorneys general, the Justice Department, and other federal officials have been talking with the banks for more than a year.
The discussions have been bogged down by states concerned the deal was either too lenient or provided the wrong kinds of relief, and by the banks who sought release from mortgage-related claims beyond the original conduct at issue.
GOING IT ALONE?
The Massachusetts complaint accuses the banks of using fraudulent documents when processing foreclosures; of foreclosing on properties without holding the actual mortgage; and of failing to uphold promises to modify loans for the state's homeowners.
It also names the banks' private mortgage registry, MERS, as a defendant, accusing it of dodging fees and corrupting the state's land recording system.
On Thursday, Coakley was firm that she would not sign a mortgage settlement that included "broad liability release regarding MERS and other issues."
A person familiar with the talks said Massachusetts has sought to protect its ability to pursue certain claims against the banks for their use of MERS. Those liability issues are still being hashed out in negotiations, the person said.
The banks targeted in the suit said Coakley's move imperils chances for broader relief.
Bank of America said in a statement that a collaborative resolution, rather than continued litigation, would more quickly heal the housing market and help drive an economic recovery.
Chase said in a statement that it is disappointed Massachusetts filed a lawsuit when negotiations are ongoing on a broader settlement that it said could bring immediate relief to borrowers.
GMAC said it was unhappy that Massachusetts "elected not to continue a more constructive path that could help borrowers in the state, but rather has chosen to use the court process."
Wells Fargo disagreed with Coakley that it has not kept a promise to modify loans.
Citi said it had not yet reviewed the lawsuit, but the bank believes it has operated appropriately and in compliance with existing laws.
Coakley, who took office in 2007, has been aggressive in moving against Wall Street firms and U.S. banks. Her office said it has secured more than $600 million in relief for investors and borrowers, while keeping more than 24,000 people in their homes.
(Additional reporting by Scott Malone, Svea Herbst, Rick Rothacker and Joe Rauch; editing by Andre Grenon)
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Oil-sands opponents turn focus to Pacific project (Reuters)
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) ? Enbridge Inc's proposed C$5.5 billion ($5.3 billion) pipeline to British Columbia poses a raft of environmental risks, according to a new report that signals the project will become the next battleground over the future of Canada's oil sands.
The study by a trio of environmental groups, released on Tuesday, comes fast on the heels of a decision to push back approval of TransCanada Corp's Alberta-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline by more than a year.
The delay has led the Canada's oil industry and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government to intensify their emphasis on exporting oil sands-derived crude to Asia.
The Enbridge project, known as the Northern Gateway pipeline, is the first attempt at doing that in scale.
But the new report - issued by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Pembina Institute and Living Oceans Society - says the project would threaten native communities, salmon fishery and wildlife habitat on land and in waters off the West Coast.
The report uses last year's Enbridge pipeline rupture and oil spill in Michigan, and even the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, as examples of why governments and regulators should block the proposal to bisect the rugged Western Canadian province with steel pipe.
Northern Gateway would move 525,000 barrels of crude a day to the port of Kitimat, where it would be loaded onto tankers and shipped to Pacific Rim refiners. The project is a key part of the Harper government's plans for a National Energy Strategy.
Regulatory hearings are scheduled to begin in January and will take months. About 4,000 people have registered to comment on the project.
"The Joint Review Panel assessing the proposed project and the cabinet ministers with final decision-making authority over its fate should reject the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline given the grave safety risks it would impose on a culturally, economically, and ecologically valuable region," said the report.
NUMEROUS THREATS AT ONCE
The study also aims to build general opposition to Alberta oil sands development, which green groups say is 23 percent more carbon-intensive than conventional oil production. By contrast, a much-referenced report last year by IHS CERA, the energy consultancy, said it was 6 percent more carbon intensive when judged from production to end use.
Environmentalists used similar greenhouse-gas intensity and other arguments in their battle against Keystone XL. They include an unproven assertion that oil sands-derived crude is more corrosive in pipelines, increasing risks of ruptures.
An Alberta study released last week disputed that argument, but pointed out there is still no formal, peer-reviewed research on the controversial issue.
The report said Enbridge has failed to gauge the impact on the pipeline if numerous threats emerged at once, as with the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which contributed to the Fukushima nuclear plant catastrophe.
"A fall frontal rain storm that triggered a rock avalanche could rupture the pipeline. Poor weather conditions combined with associated floods and erosion could prevent ground or air access for emergency response crews," it said.
"Avalanches, rockslides, explosions, or leaks from the (proposed adjacent) natural gas pipeline all can have cumulative impacts that worsen the ability to respond."
($1.04 Canadian)
(Reporting by Jeffrey Jones; Editing by Frank McGurty)
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Wall Street soars as central banks move to ease crunch (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Stocks rose more than 3 percent on Wednesday as major central banks acted jointly to add liquidity to the global financial system, boosting appetite for risky assets.
All ten S&P sectors were sharply higher, with the energy and materials groups approaching gains of 5 percent.
The U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank as well as the central banks of Canada, Britain, Japan and Switzerland agreed to lower the cost of existing dollar swap lines -- or reducing the cost of temporary dollar loans -- to banks by a half percentage point, starting December 5.
The central banks' actions was intended to ensure that starved European banks facing a credit crunch have enough funding as the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis worsens.
Also, China unexpectedly cut bank reserve requirements in hopes of boosting an economy running at its weakest pace since 2009.
Further encouraging investors, the latest economic data suggested the U.S. economy was moving more solidly toward recovery. The U.S. private sector added the most jobs in nearly a year in November, while business activity in the U.S. Midwest grew faster than expected in November surged.
Other data showed pending sales of existing U.S. homes surged in October by the most in nearly a year.
"There's a perfect storm of bullishness. PMI came out better than expected, plus what happened overseas, and ADP was well above consensus," said Donald Selkin, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York, with about $3 billion in assets under management.
"With this turnaround, we're right back in the same range we were a few weeks ago. For this rally to continue it will be incumbent on the data to keep coming out OK. I don't think it'll be up, up and away here, but I believe we won't break the bottom we had in October."
The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) soared 420.35 points, or 3.64 percent, at 11,975.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) jumped 42.98 points, or 3.60 percent, at 1,238.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) advanced 89.46 points, or 3.56 percent, at 2,604.97.
Financial stocks rose after the central banks' action. Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) was up 4.9 percent to $5.32, while JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) added 6.4 percent to $30.39, and Citigroup Inc (C.N) rose 5.1 percent to $26.55.
Still, financial shares could be pressured after Standard & Poor's on Tuesday reduced its credit ratings on 15 big banks, mostly in Europe and the United States as part of a sweeping overhaul of its ratings criteria. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) each had their rating reduced by one notch each.
(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
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