SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Shares of Vical Inc. plunged 51 percent Monday after the drug developer said its potential cancer treatment failed in a late-stage study, and that it would now shift its focus to infectious disease vaccines.
Allovectin did not show a statistically significant improvement in either response rate or overall survival when compared with chemotherapy in patients with metastatic melanoma, which is an advanced form of the deadliest type of skin cancer.
Vical has several independent and collaborative infectious disease vaccine programs. The San Diego company is planning to start an early-stage study of a vaccine against herpes simplex virus type 2 before the end of the year.
Vical said it had $70 million in cash and investments as of June 30, which it believes will meet its needs at least through the end of 2014.
"In the coming weeks, we will make the necessary changes to focus resources on our infectious disease vaccine programs and reduce expenses to conserve cash," CEO Vijay B. Samant said in a statement from the company.
Vical's shares $1.83 to hit $1.75 before the opening bell. The shares had climbed 23 percent so far in 2013 as of Friday's closing price of $3.58.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel named 26 Palestinians on Monday it will free from jail this week under a deal enabling U.S.-backed peace talks to resume.
But the goodwill gesture was clouded by new plans to expand Israeli settlements that the United Nations and European Union condemned as illegal and which the Palestinians said were aimed at provoking them to pull out of the negotiations.
The 26 prisoners are the first of a total of 104 that Israel has decided in principle to free as part of an agreement reached after shuttle diplomacy by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to renew talks for Palestinian statehood.
Some Israelis reacted angrily to the release - scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday - of the long-term Palestinian prisoners.
"Shame on the government and shame on the prime minister and his supporters," Zvia Dahan, whose father, Moshe Becker, was killed while tending his orange grove in Israel in 1994, wrote on Facebook. One of Becker's three killers is to be freed.
Israel sweetened the deal for far-right members of its governing coalition on Sunday by announcing plans to build 1,187 new dwellings for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank and parts of the territory it annexed to Jerusalem after the 1967 Middle East war.
Israel's Channel 10 television said another 900 units were planned for the Beit Jallah area near Bethlehem. An official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in response that the project was not yet under construction.
"Those who do these things are determined to undermine the peace negotiations, are determined to force people like us to leave the negotiating table," Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told Reuters.
A spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said: "Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law and threaten to make a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict impossible."
Eduardo del Buey, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said: "settlements in the occupied territories are illegal, they have been and continue to be illegal".
Mark Regev, a spokesman for Netanyahu, said the new construction would take place in areas that Israel intends to keep in any peace agreement. "This in no way changes the final map of peace. It changes nothing," he said.
Some 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem amid 2.5 million Palestinians. Israel withdrew in 2005 from the Gaza Strip, which is now governed by Hamas Islamists opposed to permanent co-existence with the Jewish state.
LOW EXPECTATIONS
Peace talks halted three years ago in a row over settlement building. They resumed in Washington on July 30, with a second round due in Jerusalem on Wednesday and later in the West Bank.
Few expect the latest negotiations to resolve issues that have defied solution for decades, such as borders, settlements, Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.
Washington, which pressed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to return to the table, wants a deal within nine months.
With neighboring Egypt and Syria in upheaval and with Israel facing the threat of a potentially nuclear-armed Iran, Netanyahu decided he could ill afford to alienate the United States, and led his pro-settlement government into the talks.
The decision to free the 26 prisoners, regarded as heroes by Palestinians and jailed as murderers by Israel between 1985 and 1994, was made late on Sunday.
A list of the prisoners, along with the names of the people they were convicted of killing, was published by Israel's Prisons Service as part of a process in which opponents of their release have 48 hours to appeal to the High Court. Based on past decisions, the court is widely expected not to intervene.
"I cannot believe (it), no matter what anyone tells me, until I hold my son's hand. When I touch him, then I can say my son has come home," said Emtawe el Khor, whose son Fayez has been in jail since 1985, convicted of murdering an Israeli.
Fourteen of those going free will be deported or sent to the Gaza Strip, and 12 to the West Bank. Two would have completed their terms in six months, and six over the next three years.
Israel has a number of times freed Palestinians before they served out their time, but mostly in swaps for Israeli soldiers or their remains held by its enemies.
For Abbas, who has vowed to seek freedom for all Palestinian prisoners, the prospective release is a boost after years of failed talks with Israel. Many of the inmates were said to have been linked to his Fatah movement or one of its allies.
(Additional reporting by Allyn Fisher-Ilan and Ori Lewis; Editing by Alistair Lyon and Robin Pomeroy)
PUBLISHED: 07:33 EST, 11 August 2013 | UPDATED: 07:35 EST, 11 August 2013
The New Zealand Rugby Union are hoping to lure Sonny Bill Williams back to the All Blacks in time for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Reports in New Zealand suggest the 28-year-old has been offered a three-year contract that would see him switch codes from rugby league to rugby union before next year's Super Rugby championships.
Williams is one of the most gifted New Zealanders of his generation but his All Blacks career has been balanced with a talent for rugby league and boxing.
Talent: Williams takes on the England defence in the 2010 Autumn Internationals
Code switcher: Williams in action for rugby league's Sydney Roosters in July
The centre is currently playing for the Sydney Roosters in Australia's National Rugby League and if the NZRU succeed in their bid it would be the fourth time Williams has switched codes.
'We have made Sonny and Khoder [Williams' manager] an offer,' said NZRU CEO Steve Tew.
'We have been talking to them and the dialogue has been positive but we don't have any ink on paper.
'We would obviously love Sonny to come back and play rugby here and we have made that clear - it is up to Sonny and Khoder now.'
If the deal goes ahead then Williams will have the opportunity to add to his 19 All Black caps at the forthcoming World Cup in England and Wales.
While there will be no shortage of foreign interest in the player's services, Williams has already indicated that he would like a return to the Hamilton-based Chiefs.
Big hitter: Williams poses with boxing trainers Tony Mundine and Anthony Mindine
Power: Williams takes on two Irish defenders at New Zealand's Waikato Stadium
Miami Marlins starting pitcher Nate Eovaldi (24) works in the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Miami Marlins starting pitcher Nate Eovaldi (24) works in the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Alex Wood works in the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins in Atlanta, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Atlanta Braves right fielder Jason Heyward makes a diving catch to retire Miami Marlins' Adeiny Hechavarria in the first inning of a baseball game in Atlanta, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Miami Marlins Adeiny Hechavarria (3) is greeted at the dugout after scoring the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013. Miami won 1-0. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Miami Marlins starting pitcher Nate Eovaldi works in the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
ATLANTA (AP) ? Evan Gattis blames himself for not getting his catcher's mitt lower and keeping Adeiny Hechavarria from scoring on a wild pitch.
Had he done so, the Atlanta Braves might still have a long winning streak, but Gattis says the team's goal now is to win the three-game series.
"Yeah, man, we had a good run," Gattis said. "I hate that it ended."
The Braves' 14-game winning streak ended Saturday night with a 1-0 loss to the last-place Miami Marlins, who scored on reliever Jordan Walden's wild pitch in the ninth inning.
Miami stopped its own six-game skid.
The Braves fell one victory shy of tying the 2000 team for the franchise's longest winning streak since the 1891 Boston Beaneaters won 18 straight.
Hechavarria led off the Miami ninth with a triple and scored on the wild pitch by Walden (4-2).
"I'm more disappointed in not blocking it," Gattis said. "I didn't see the replay, but I'm pretty sure I just came up on it. I think it went through me. I just came up on it a little bit with my mitt."
Marlins starter Nate Eovaldi allowed one hit in seven innings. Mike Dunn (3-3) got the win and Steve Cishek earned his 24th save, striking out Paul Janish with a runner on first to end it.
Both teams finished with just three hits.
Hechavarria's NL-leading sixth triple bounced against the bottom of the wall in left-center field and was the game's only extra-base hit. He scored standing up ? ending the Marlins' 22-inning scoreless string ? when Walden's fourth pitch to the next batter, Ed Lucas, got past Gattis.
Cishek posted his 19th straight save. He got Justin Upton to line out and Freddie Freeman to ground out before Gattis singled. Janish took a called third strike.
Chad Qualls recorded one out in the Atlanta eighth before Andrelton Simmons reached on an infield hit. Dunn struck out pinch-hitter Brian McCann and retired Jason Heyward on a groundout.
Eovaldi allowed a first-inning single by Freeman and retired his final 14 batters. He walked three and struck out eight.
"They're a great team," Eovaldi said. "I threw the ball really well tonight, It was just a great win all around."
Braves rookie starter Alex Wood had retired 12 straight batters before Jeff Mathis singled with two outs in the fifth. Wood gave up two hits, struck out seven and walked one in six innings.
Relievers David Carpenter and Luis Avilan combined to allow no baserunners and strike out three over the next two innings.
Eovaldi received no run support for his fifth straight start. The Marlins haven't scored while Eovaldi has been in a game since his 8-3 victory over Washington on July 12. He has a 1.04 ERA in his last four starts.
"He's always had a good arm to me," Heyward said after going 0 for 3. "Attacks the strike zone, has a lot of movement on his pitches, especially the fastball. Sometimes it's a little bit wild and effective as far as which side of the plate."
Braves third baseman Chris Johnson, who leads the NL with a .338 batting average, was ejected by plate umpire Jim Joyce to end the first after taking three pitches ? all fastballs ? for strikes with runners on first and second.
Johnson yelled at Joyce and threw his bat and helmet before walking to the dugout. After a 54-minute rain delay, Janish replaced Johnson.
Johnson was upset with himself for not being in the batter's box with two out in the ninth.
"Yeah, I'm one of those guys that wants to be in the game the whole time and wants to be in that spot," he said. "So, yeah, I'm definitely kicking myself a little bit."
Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton didn't play. Manager Mike Redmond said he gave his star the night off because "it seems like he's just really grinding and not having a whole lot of fun out there."
The Marlins have the NL's worst winning percentage and they're last in the majors in homers, RBIs and slugging percentage.
NOTES: Walden left the game after taking a liner off his pitching hand from Logan Morrison, the third batter he faced. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said Walden might need a couple of days to rest his hand, but added that the injury didn't appear serious. ... RHP Anthony Varvaro got Atlanta's final out in the ninth. ... McCann was held out of the lineup with a sore knee as Gattis took his place. ... Atlanta OF Jordan Schafer was activated from a rehab assignment before the game and optioned OF Jose Constanza to Triple-A Gwinnett. ... Upton went 0 for 4 to end a 13-game hitting streak.
"Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters," the second installment in the movie adaptations of the "Percy Jackson" series, arrived in theaters Aug. 7. Are you wondering why your child suddenly knows all about Greek goddess Persephone? Or feeling mystified by the movie trailers? Here's our quick guide to all things Percy.
- Molly Driscoll,?Staff Writer
1. Riordan's universe
Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson" series consists of five books, beginning with "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" and ending with "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Last Olympian." The books are set in a universe that looks very much like our modern-day world but also includes the Greek gods as well as monsters from the Greek myths.
Riordan himself taught middle school social studies and English for several years, among other teaching experience. "I taught mythology almost every year that I was a teacher," the author writes on his website. "It was always my favorite thing, and the students always liked it, too!"
The author says he got the idea for the "Jackson" series when his son, Patrick, asked him to tell the Greek legends as bedtime stories. "When I ran out of myths, he was disappointed and asked me if I could make up something new with the same characters," Riordan said. The author created Percy Jackson and told Patrick the story of Percy's quest for the lightning bolt.
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The owner of a Queens Chinese restaurant is in critical condition after a fire broke out Saturday night.
The fire happened at the Emperor House Chinese Restaurant on 10th Avenue near the Cross Island Parkway in Whitestone.
Authorities say the fire started in the kitchen on the first floor of the building.
"We heard, like, a bomb start exploding, some kind of exploding sounds, and our wall was a little shake," said one witness. "And later, next door, the owner of the Chinese, the Chinese guy was on fire, and then his wife and child were burnt. That's what happened."
Three firefighters and another person were treated for minor injuries.
The short answer to that question is no. Arbitration is never required in an auto accident case. In the State of Utah, arbitration occurs either when the parties mutually agree to it, or when a claim is worth less than $50,000, a plaintiff?s attorney can file for mandatory arbitration in his or her initial pleadings, or even motion for one within fourteen days of receiving a defendant?s answer during litigation. Arbitration is a very common form of alternative dispute resolution. That means that it is an alternative to formal litigation that is used for resolving disputes. It is much more similar to formal litigation than mediation is in its processes and in its application. Defense counsel is usually ok with going through arbitration because it is more predictable than a jury trial and it brings their costs down as well.
The process of arbitration is much like the trial process except that it is not as formal. The opposing sides will agree upon and hire an arbitrator. An arbitrator is usually an experience attorney or former judge who understands the applicable area of law. A time will be scheduled for the arbitrator to meet with both sides and conduct a proceeding much like a trial. Each side will have an opportunity for an opening statement; each side may call witnesses and make closing arguments. The arbitrator may even have questions for a witness or for one of the attorneys. When the proceeding is complete, the arbitrator will go on his merry way and will typically respond with an order within a short period of time. That order does in fact carry the force of the law. The parties will either follow the order, or they will appeal the award by simply asking to go to trial. They would be entitled to a de novo review, or a fresh look, at trial. In an effort to discourage these orders ending up back at trial, the statute dictates that the side who appeals must see a 30% change in the outcome of the case or they will be responsible for the other sides fees up to the amount of $6,000. That way, neither party will appeal the order unless they are extremely confident that they will see a significant change. After all, the point of arbitration is to speed things up, not slow them down.
Arbitration can be a great alternative to trial in a case where a settlement cannot be reached. Most victims want their claim taken care of as quickly as possible. Arbitrations limit the discovery process to less than 150 days. That is relatively short compared to the one to two years that a full-blown trial may take. Arbitrations do tend to get a bad rap for ?splitting the baby.? Because arbitrators are privately hired, some people say that they favor the repeat customers. That is usually the defense side. Others against arbitration claim that the awards are too often split right down the middle rather than one side winning or losing big based on the particular case. While these generalizations may carry some weight, arbitration still may be right for your case. Unless a case is incredibly unique, a predictable award somewhere down the middle of what you might expect is not necessarily a bad thing. Juries can be very unpredictable; to end up with nothing after a long drawn out claim would be heart breaking. An experienced personal injury attorney can advise you as to whether arbitration is a good option for you.
This article is offered only for general information and educational purposes. It is not offered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion. You should not act or rely on any information contained in this article without first seeking the advice of an attorney.
BANGKOK (AP) ? Global stock markets were choppy Friday after China reported improved but still tepid economic data.
Producer prices, or the price of goods as they leave factories, fell in July but at a slower rate than the month before ? a sign that demand may be strengthening following a prolonged slump. Production prices fell 2.3 percent compared with a year earlier, but the result was better than June's 2.7 percent drop, the government reported. Food prices rose 5 percent.
Retail sales and industrial production data were mixed. The official Xinhua News Agency quoted the National Bureau of Statistics as saying that retail sales grew 13.2 percent in July from a year earlier, slightly down from June's growth rate. However, industrial production grew 9.7 percent, up from June's 8.9 percent and the highest year-on-year growth in five months.
"The biggest concern amongst these numbers here is the rise in food prices ... making it difficult for Chinese authorities to take any measures to loosen policy further, to boost growth," Michael Hewson of CMC Markets said in an email.
European stocks were mixed in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent to 6,543.16. Germany's DAX shed 0.2 percent to 8,305.8 and France's CAC-40 lost 0.2 percent to 4,056.02.
Wall Street looked headed for early losses. Dow Jones industrial futures were down 0.2 percent to 15,416. S&P 500 futures were 0.2 percent down at 1,689.70.
On Thursday, customs data showed Chinese exports and imports both increased in July, beating expectations and easing concerns over the slowdown that has dragged down growth in the world's second-biggest economy to a two-decade low.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index vacillated throughout the day but ended 0.1 percent higher at 13,615.19. South Korea's Kospi gave up early gains to close 0.2 percent lower at 1,880.71.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.7 percent to 21,807.56. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent to 5,055.20, dragged down by losses in the banking sector.
China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4 percent to 2,052.24 and the Shenzhen Composite Index for China's second, smaller stock market gained 0.2 percent to 996.42.
Geely Automobile Holdings jumped 5.8 percent in Hong Kong while Greatwall Motor advanced 4.7 percent. Linus Yip, strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong, said consumer and auto shares were advancing on the back of improving sentiment, due to the perception of a modest improvement on the Chinese mainland.
"The economy in mainland China is coming back gradually so the market focus returns to consumer stocks. I think it's reasonable," Yip said.
Benchmark oil for September delivery was up 40 cents to $103.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 97 cents to close at $103.40 on the Nymex on Thursday.
In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3383 from $1.3377 late Thursday. The dollar fell to 96.64 yen from 96.82 yen.
Google announced the introduction of a new awesome feature in Google Webmaster Tools named manual action viewer.
The manual action viewer let's you see if your site currently has any manual actions applied to it. So if you have paid links pointing to your site, if you are hiding text or if you have user generated content spam - you can learn about it in the manual spam action viewer without Google having to send you an email about the issue.
Google said it is unlikely for you to see anything in that manual action section because "under 2% of domains" in the Google index "are manually removed for webspam," according to Google.
Here are some examples of what you may see.
No Manual Action:
Linking Out Badly Manual Action:
In addition to this, Google has documented most, if not all, of the manual actions you can get in their help center. You can see them over here.
You should click through to all those documents, there is good content there, many with videos. This can help you learn Google's mindset to these manual actions and help clients deal with them as they come up.
I have summarized them all in one page named Google's manual actions search spam.
Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help, WebmasterWorld, BlackHat Forum, John Muller Google+ & Matt Cutts Google+.
Update: There is an issue and Google took it offline. Cutts wrote on the blog:
Update (12:50pm PT, August 9th): Unfortunately we've hit a snag during our feature deployment, so it will be another couple days before the feature is available to everyone. We will post another update once the feature is fully rolled out.
Web edition: August 9, 2013 Print edition: August 24, 2013; Vol.184 #4 (p. 30)
The threat of rising seas is not new. Since the last Ice Age began windingdown 15,000 years ago, the ocean has ascended 120 meters in a series of pulses. But when the world was thinly populated, small bands of hunter-gatherers could pick up and go when the sea surged. Now that hundreds of millions of people are settled in crowded coastal cities, the rising seas predicted for a warming world are more dangerous than ever, argues Fagan, an archaeologist.
Fagan chronicles the history of the climbing oceans and their influence on the development of early civilizations such as those of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. He also shows how modern societies from New Orleans to Shanghai continue to feel these effects. Without hyping the risks, Fagan provides solid geological, archaeological and historical evidence to support his arguments about what the future may hold.
Submerged land is but one hazard humanity faces as polar ice melts and oceans expand. Sea level rise will also exacerbate flooding from tsunamis and hurricanes. Wetlands, marshes and mangroves provide a natural barrier against these disasters by, for example, staving off erosion, Fagan notes. But humans are increasingly bulldozing this protection to make way for cities and industry. Of course, people have developed their own ways to fight back the seas, with levees, seawalls and the like. But these barriers aren?t foolproof, and sometimes they create their own environmental problems.
Fagan offers no simple solutions for impending sea level rise over the next century ? because there aren?t any. But he warns that society has to start tackling the problem now.
PARIS (AP) ? French industrial production continued to decline in June, widening the economic gap with Europe's largest economy, Germany, and raising concerns about its ability to emerge from recession.
France's national statistical agency, INSEE, said in a statement Friday that industrial production shrank 1.4 percent from a month earlier. That followed a 0.3 percent monthly drop in May. Within manufacturing, steep declines were recorded in the food and car industries.
France's figures stand in stark contrast to Germany, where industrial production grew 2.4 percent in June.
This is bad news for French President Francois Hollande. He's promised to reverse the rise in unemployment by the end of the year, but that is looking increasingly unlikely. Unemployment hit 10.8 percent in the first quarter, and some economists say it won't peak until at least next year.
The government sought to gloss over the June performance, with Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici saying he's "delighted at the favorable evolution." He pointed out that for the second quarter as a whole, manufacturing production was up 1.5 percent.
The International Monetary Fund this week called on Hollande's government to accelerate economic reforms, saying the rigid labor market, high taxes and inefficient public spending are dragging down the economy.
There are concerns a recovery may not get traction. France's economy is now officially in recession again, after gross domestic product shrank 0.2 percent in the first quarter.
INSEE will release its first estimate of second-quarter GDP on Aug. 14. The French government expects a 0.2 percent rise in growth during the quarter, bringing the country out of recession. But some independent analysts expect a flat reading and, after Friday's figures, the risk is GDP will undershoot expectations.
France's weak economy has raised concerns even in the U.S. Earlier this week, Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher said in an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt that he was worried about the country, saying the financial risks there shouldn't be under estimated.
Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick announced she will not run for Texas Comptroller in 2014. She will remain on the commission.?
Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick squashed rumors that she would run for Texas Comptroller in 2014, according to a statement posted on her Facebook page Wednesday afternoon.
"Over the last several weeks, I was encouraged by many supporters to consider running for Comptroller. I did give this opportunity considerable thought, however, I have concluded that I can best serve the people of Texas by continuing to oversee a stable and positive regulatory climate for Texas' thriving energy industry at the Railroad Commission of Texas. I do believe we need strong conservatives in office up and down the ballot and I intend to work hard to help Republicans win in 2014."
Fellow Railroad Commissioner Barry Smitherman announced in July that he would run for Texas Attorney General in 2014. The Republican said he wants to continue the "great work" done by current Attorney General Greg Abbot, who is running for governor.
The Texas Legislature passed a bill earlier this year that would have prohibited sitting commissioners from campaigning for public office but Gov. Rick Perry vetoed it.
Nicholas covers the energy and banking beats for the Dallas Business Journal. Subscribe the Energy Inc. newsletter
Source: recordonline.com --- Wednesday, August 07, 2013 CHICAGO ? The Major League Baseball Players Association has formally appealed Alex Rodriguez's 211-game suspension. ...
Who's got the HTC One, and what to do with it once you've picked it up?
Today's the day many of us have been waiting for -- the HTC One is finally available. Folks in the UK and a couple other countries have had it for a week or two now, and even a few in the U.S. sneaked one out over the past few days. But today it's official. Three U.S. operators and others worldwide are now selling the phone that many believe is a must-win for HTC.
We've been using the HTC One for more than a month now -- be sure to read our full HTC One review -- and it's safe to say that this is a lot of phone. The hardware is certainly is something to crow about -- the display is gorgeous, the phone is fast and the new front-facing speakers have to be heard to be believed. The new camera has some excellent features and is capable of taking excellent photos. And HTC got some interesting new software features.
So if you're just getting started with the HTC One, or if you're just now looking at getting one, strap it. We'll explain it all for you.
It?s hard to believe I?m writing these words, but here goes! After 10 crazy and wonderful years, I?m handing off my current presidential duties at Epic, and transitioning into an advisory role as well as remaining on the Epic board of directors.
If you haven?t heard, I have a baby boy on the way. I?m fortunate that with Epic?s success and generosity, I can be a stay at home dad for a while. My wife Julianne and I are very happy in Raleigh, and other than cleaning up baby barf, I don?t have much planned. I might do some teaching, spend more time on creative writing, and maybe get more active with a few charities.
After dedicating a decade of my life to Epic, and with so many close friends here, it?s impossible to just walk away. I absolutely love this company. If you cut me, I think I probably bleed nanoblack and Imulsion. (Wow, just think about what mixing those would do?) Epic founder and CEO Tim Sweeney and other board members asked me to stay on the board, and I?m thrilled to do so as I?m truly excited about our future games and Unreal Engine 4.
As I mentioned above, I?ll continue to be available as a resource to Epic, to provide context or advice where I can. Whatever I can do to help in Epic?s success, I?m in! I?ve got great confidence in our executive team ? VP of Development Paul Meegan is new to our Raleigh HQ, but we?ve worked with him for years, and I can only contemplate this retirement knowing that he and VP of Operations John Farnsworth can manage development better than I ever did.
Our partners and customers can reach me anytime on my Epic email address, and I?ll still be posting the occasional foodie and gamer musings on @epicactual. As a member of the board, I?ll help keep the ship pointed directly towards Na Pali, and make sure that everything we do is Epic.
Posted by FlakDec 04, 2012Last Updated Dec 04, 2012
Sure, you've heard of a 20-sided die, but what about a 20-button mouse? Logitech's G600 MMO Gaming Mouse features a score of buttons that can be can programmed to work with popular games such as "Guild Wars 2" and "Star Wars: The Old Republic." In addition, the $79.99 mouse has switchable DPI and three onboard memory profiles. But are all those buttons handy or a handful?
Design
Click to EnlargeThe G600 is intimidating at first glance. Thanks to its deep, swooping vertical grooves and asymmetrical shape, the 4.6 x 2.9 x 1.6-inch, 3.98-ounce device looks more like the guidance system for an interstellar vehicle than a computer accessory.
Our ring, middle and index fingers fit easily into the G600's black matte plastic grooves while our palm rested comfortably on the mouse's base. The right side of the mouse sports a rubberized finish with a honeycomb pattern, ensuring our pinky had a firm grip. The left side of the G600 is higher than the right, making room for the 12 backlit buttons embedded in the glossy black plastic thumb panel. The top features a small black matte scroll wheel made of soft-touch plastic and a pair of buttons, one of which activates the mouse's alternative command functions.
A small gray G600 logo sits on the rear while a larger Logitech insignia resides on the bottom above the laser sensor. We're also fans of the 6.5-foot black braided fabric cord. It's more durable than a plastic cord and gives the mouse a touch of sophistication.
Buttons
Click to EnlargeThe G600 has a whopping 20 buttons that can be customized for your fragging, questing or fighting pleasure. Twelve of the buttons, numbered G9-G20, are located along the left of the mouse in a 4-by-3 grid. However, the buttons are small and lack the spacing of the Razer Naga's thumb panel. This led to us pressing the wrong button, which put us on the business end of a head or gut shot far too many times.
Two buttons rest below the clickable, tiltable scroll wheel. There are also three primary buttons cleverly hidden in the top panels of the mouse: The traditional left and right buttons are complemented by a third button that rests under your ring finger. All of the buttons and panels delivered strong, springy feedback. But if you feel like you can use a few more options, you can hit the G-Shift button below the scroll wheel, which activates the buttons' secondary functions.
Macros
Click to EnlargeSetting up macros and profiles can be incredibly simple or complex, according to your preferred level of customization. The mouse has three profiles where gamers can store all their lighting and button preferences. This really comes in handy when you're using the mouse with multiple PCs. However, it would have been nice if Logitech could have included the Logitech Gaming Software on the mouse, instead of making us download it from its site.
Once we downloaded Logitech's software, we were almost overwhelmed by the all the choices. Automatic Game Detection enables the mouse to use game profiles stored on the computer. Amazingly, the software already recognized 248 titles, including "Assassin's Creed," "Mass Effect" and the "Rainbow Six" series.
We chose the "Borderlands 2" profile and tweaked button commands to fit our gameplay, placing weapons, health and eagle vision commands among the top six buttons on the left of the mouse. Assigning macros was simple -- just drag and drop the command over to the corresponding button. When we were done, we saved and began gleefully blasting Bullymongs and Psychos. Gamers can also add custom commands by entering single or multiple keystrokes, depending on the desired action.
The G600 can also be used for more mundane productivity tasks with a few button changes. Logitech's software is configured to perform Windows commands such as Copy, Paste, Show Desktop and Close Window. There are also seven multimedia commands (Play/Pause, Stop, Previous Track, Next Track, Volume Up, Volume Down and Mute) that can be mapped to the button.
Features
Click to EnlargeWhen we plugged the Logitech G600 into an Alienware M17x R4, the thumb panel buttons immediately began to glow, rotating between deep greens, blues, reds and purples, similar to the M17x's customizable backlit keyboard. Our favorite feature of the Logitech software was the ability to customize the color of these buttons. The software only has two effects (Pulse and Cycle lighting), but you can create a wide variety of colors to give the G600 some flair. Better yet, you can assign colors to specific game profiles to give each title its own unique look.
The Logitech gaming software also let us toggle pointer settings including DPI (Dots Per Inch), Sensitivity Levels, Report Rate and acceleration speed.
Gameplay
Click to EnlargeAs we played "Borderlands 2" and "Guild Wars 2," the G600 skated as smoothly across our desk as Apolo Ohno. Switching DPI on the fly allowed us to kick things into overdrive, zipping our aiming reticle over the field to quickly lay down cover fire with the assault rifle. We ramped down dpi for more precision shots with our sniper rifle.
The top six buttons on the left side of mouse were easy to reach. Reaching the bottom six, however, was like trying to scratch a hard-to-reach itch. We compensated for this by mapping some our least-used functions to these buttons. We had a much easier time hitting all the buttons on the Razer Naga. We were able to play "Borderlands 2" for more than three hours without so much as a cramp.
Verdict
Click to EnlargeThe Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse crams a lot of power into a relatively small package. For $79.99, gamers get a highly customizable piece of hardware. Gamers can spend hours creating custom macro loadouts and color profiles. The adjustable DPI delivered speed and precision while the 20 buttons made saving the world a whole lot easier. We prefer the Razer Naga, which offers customizable side panels, larger, snappy buttons and unlimited profiles for the same price. Overall, the G600 is a very good choice for fans of MMO-style games such as "World of Warcraft" or "Star Wars: The Old Republic," but FPS fans might want something better suited to their play style.
Driverless vehicles expected to navigate intersection of safety, speedPublic release date: 4-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lynn Nystrom tansy@vt.edu 540-231-4371 Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech study of autonomous vehicles at intersections wins recognition
How do driverless vehicles navigate through intersections? Faster and safer than if humans were in charge, according to researchers with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.
Autonomous vehicles will turn themselves over to an automated intersection controller, which adjusts the trajectory and speed of the vehicles to prevent crashes, said Ismail Zohdy of Cairo, Egypt, a Ph.D. student in civil engineering at Virginia Tech, and Hesham Rakha, director of the Center for Sustainable Mobility at the transportation institute and professor of civil engineering at the university.
Their research on "Optimizing Driverless Vehicles at Intersections," presented at the Intelligent Transportation Society World Congress in Vienna, won the Best Scientific Paper Award for North America. ITS also stands for intelligent transportation systems.
"The paper develops a step-by-step procedure, or algorithm, for managing driverless vehicles through intersections," said Zohdy. "The proposed system considers the vehicles' location, speed, and acceleration plus the surrounding environment, such as weather and intersection characteristics."
"The proposed intersection controller, which allows vehicles to keep moving, reduces the delay for each vehicle compared to traditional intersection control," said Rakha. "Keeping vehicles moving is also more fuel efficient and reduces emissions."
But, with driver behavior considered to be the leading cause of more than 90 percent of accidents, safety is the primary motivation for driverless vehicles.
"Somewhere in the future, you will not be driving your car anymore; you will be driven by your car," said Zohdy. "A driverless vehicle can much more accurately judge distances and velocities, and react instantly to situations that could cause an accident due to a delayed human reaction."
"We are not talking about the distant future," said Rakha. A May 5, 2011, article in the New York Times reported that after the successful test of the Google driverless vehicle, Nevada passed a law that could let self-driving cars on the road as soon as March 1, 2012. This provided the motivation for Zohdy's work on developing innovative optimization algorithms for controlling such vehicles, and the Intelligent Transportation Society's interest.
"Intelligent transportation systems are an interaction of many complex entities that communicate with each other, such as vehicles, traffic signals, and advisory signs. Driverless vehicles would be capable of interacting with these other entities," said Zohdy.
"Many such intelligent systems already exist, such as dynamic routing and congestion management, and intelligent traffic control," said Rakha. "Autonomous vehicles are inspired by the research done on robotic control."
In Zohdy and Rakha's research, the intersection controller governs the vehicles within 200 meters from the intersection. The vehicles report their physical characteristics, such as power, mass, speed, location, and acceleration.
"The aim of giving complete authority to the controller is to overcome any selfish behavior by an autonomous vehicle and benefit all vehicles in the intersection zone," said Zohdy. "The controller determines the optimum speed and acceleration at each time step for every vehicle within the intersection zone by processing the input data through a real-time simulator/tool."
The research was done based on a four-way intersection with one vehicle entering from each direction and moving straight through. It has since been expanded and tested on more congested intersections involving not fully deployed systems and comparing this type of control to traffic signal and roundabout control.
"We were testing it if only 10 percent of the vehicles were automated and the other 90 percent were regular vehicles with driver control. We varied the level of automation from 10 to 100 percent at 10 percent increments," said Rakha. This effort has resulted in two papers that will be presented that the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in January 2013.
Zohdy and Rakha will also be testing their system on a roundabout on the Virginia Tech campus as part of the Connected Vehicle/Infrastructure University Transportation Center.
###
Founded in 1991 as a Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S. Department of Transportation and now operating as a nonprofit organization, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) is the leading advocate for deployment of technologies that improve the safety, security and efficiency of the nation's surface transportation system.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Driverless vehicles expected to navigate intersection of safety, speedPublic release date: 4-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Lynn Nystrom tansy@vt.edu 540-231-4371 Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech study of autonomous vehicles at intersections wins recognition
How do driverless vehicles navigate through intersections? Faster and safer than if humans were in charge, according to researchers with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.
Autonomous vehicles will turn themselves over to an automated intersection controller, which adjusts the trajectory and speed of the vehicles to prevent crashes, said Ismail Zohdy of Cairo, Egypt, a Ph.D. student in civil engineering at Virginia Tech, and Hesham Rakha, director of the Center for Sustainable Mobility at the transportation institute and professor of civil engineering at the university.
Their research on "Optimizing Driverless Vehicles at Intersections," presented at the Intelligent Transportation Society World Congress in Vienna, won the Best Scientific Paper Award for North America. ITS also stands for intelligent transportation systems.
"The paper develops a step-by-step procedure, or algorithm, for managing driverless vehicles through intersections," said Zohdy. "The proposed system considers the vehicles' location, speed, and acceleration plus the surrounding environment, such as weather and intersection characteristics."
"The proposed intersection controller, which allows vehicles to keep moving, reduces the delay for each vehicle compared to traditional intersection control," said Rakha. "Keeping vehicles moving is also more fuel efficient and reduces emissions."
But, with driver behavior considered to be the leading cause of more than 90 percent of accidents, safety is the primary motivation for driverless vehicles.
"Somewhere in the future, you will not be driving your car anymore; you will be driven by your car," said Zohdy. "A driverless vehicle can much more accurately judge distances and velocities, and react instantly to situations that could cause an accident due to a delayed human reaction."
"We are not talking about the distant future," said Rakha. A May 5, 2011, article in the New York Times reported that after the successful test of the Google driverless vehicle, Nevada passed a law that could let self-driving cars on the road as soon as March 1, 2012. This provided the motivation for Zohdy's work on developing innovative optimization algorithms for controlling such vehicles, and the Intelligent Transportation Society's interest.
"Intelligent transportation systems are an interaction of many complex entities that communicate with each other, such as vehicles, traffic signals, and advisory signs. Driverless vehicles would be capable of interacting with these other entities," said Zohdy.
"Many such intelligent systems already exist, such as dynamic routing and congestion management, and intelligent traffic control," said Rakha. "Autonomous vehicles are inspired by the research done on robotic control."
In Zohdy and Rakha's research, the intersection controller governs the vehicles within 200 meters from the intersection. The vehicles report their physical characteristics, such as power, mass, speed, location, and acceleration.
"The aim of giving complete authority to the controller is to overcome any selfish behavior by an autonomous vehicle and benefit all vehicles in the intersection zone," said Zohdy. "The controller determines the optimum speed and acceleration at each time step for every vehicle within the intersection zone by processing the input data through a real-time simulator/tool."
The research was done based on a four-way intersection with one vehicle entering from each direction and moving straight through. It has since been expanded and tested on more congested intersections involving not fully deployed systems and comparing this type of control to traffic signal and roundabout control.
"We were testing it if only 10 percent of the vehicles were automated and the other 90 percent were regular vehicles with driver control. We varied the level of automation from 10 to 100 percent at 10 percent increments," said Rakha. This effort has resulted in two papers that will be presented that the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in January 2013.
Zohdy and Rakha will also be testing their system on a roundabout on the Virginia Tech campus as part of the Connected Vehicle/Infrastructure University Transportation Center.
###
Founded in 1991 as a Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S. Department of Transportation and now operating as a nonprofit organization, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) is the leading advocate for deployment of technologies that improve the safety, security and efficiency of the nation's surface transportation system.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Until very recently, Microsoft wasn't known for making hardware. Sure, it put out the occasional Zune, but most of the tech running Redmond's desktop and mobile operating systems traditionally comes from its partners -- the Surface being the exception, of course. According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft might consider making that exception a rule: some of the firm's part suppliers say that the company is experimenting with a smartphone design of its very own. Folks familiar with the matter say the device in question is between four and five inches, putting it in a sweet-spot that's larger than the iPhone 5, but not quite as daunting as a Samsung Galaxy Note II. Don't get too excited, however, sources aren't sure the if the device will go into mass production, and Microsoft is expectantly tight-lipped about the rumor. Still, we wouldn't scoff at a smartphone with a build quality to match the Surface -- though it might rub some of Redmond's hardware partners the wrongway.
Google announced the introduction of a new awesome feature in Google Webmaster Tools named manual action viewer. 
It?s hard to believe I?m writing these words, but here goes! After 10 crazy and wonderful years, I?m handing off my current presidential duties at Epic, and transitioning into an advisory role as well as remaining on the Epic board of directors.
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Public release date: 4-Dec-2012
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