China's Baidu developing digital eyewear similar to Google Glass

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Baidu Inc , China's largest search engine, is developing prototype digital eyewear similar to Google Inc's Google Glass that will leverage Baidu's strengths in image search and facial recognition, a Baidu spokesman said on Wednesday.

Internally known as project "Baidu Eye", the glasses are being tested internally and it is not clear whether the product will ever be commercialized, said Kaiser Kuo, Baidu's spokesman.

Kuo said the device will be mounted on a headset with a small LCD screen and will allow users to make image and voice searches as well as conduct facial recognition matches.

"What you are doing with your camera, for example, taking a picture of a celebrity and then checking on our database to see if we have a facial image match, you could do the same thing with a wearable visual device," Kuo said.

Baidu's first foray in wearable technology will draw comparisons to Google's Google Glass product, which is a piece of electronic eyewear that can live-stream images and audio and perform computing tasks. Earlier this year Google launched the Google Glass Explorer program, opening up the eyewear for early enthusiasts to test.

Kuo said comparisons to Google Glass were premature as Baidu has not decided whether or not to commercialize the product.

"We haven't decided whether it is going to be released in any commercial form right now, but we experiment with every kind of technology that is related to search," Kuo said. Kuo declined to comment on the other functions of the Baidu Eye or whether Baidu is working on other forms of wearable technology.

Wearable technology is the latest technology initiative with many firms, including Google and Apple Inc , set to roll out devices based on the belief that users will increasingly seek to stay connected without being tethered to a desktop, laptop or tablet computer.

Apple is experimenting with a device similar to a wristwatch that would operate on the same platform as the iPhone and would be made with curved glass, the New York Times reported in February.

(Reporting by Melanie Lee; Editing by Matt Driskill)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-baidu-developing-digital-eyewear-similar-google-glass-085707587--sector.html

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Apple CEO Tim Cook Apologizes For Warranty Policies - Business ...

Apple CEO Tim Cook has written an apology for the company's warranty policies in China.

It is?posted on Apple's Chinese site.

Apple says it's going to change its warranty policies.

China's state-controlled media outlets were hammering Apple for the last week over its warranty policies. China said they were in violation of local law and not equal with Apple's practices elsewhere in the world.

Cook has said that he believes China will be Apple's largest market eventually. The attacks from China's government put that in jeopardy, so this is likely an attempt to smooth things over.

This is Cook's second big apology as CEO. The last one was for Apple Maps, which was slammed upon release for being unreliable.

UPDATE: We have another post on this, with a real translation. Cook says, "We sincerely apologize to our customers for any concern or confusion we may have caused."

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-ceo-tim-cook-apologizes-for-warranty-policies-2013-4

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TripWhat: All the Travel Data You Need Sucked Into One Little App

Traveling, even when its meant to relax, can be an immensely overwhelming experience. And sifting through the endless sea of apps supposedly meant to "ease" the process doesn't exactly help the situation. TripWhat, however, takes those apps you already know and love and combines them to make one, comprehensive conglomerate of an app that takes at least some of the pain out of trip planning. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/hjPUo-kBA1U/tripwhat-all-the-travel-data-you-need-sucked-into-one-little-app

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Are US drones ethical?

Whether drones should be used in the US is the wrong question. Americans should be asking: Is it ethical to use drones anywhere??Is it fair to search for security for ourselves at the expense of perpetual insecurity for others?

By Jack L. Amoureux / April 1, 2013

People gather around a vehicle destroyed by a US drone strike last year that was targeting Al Qaeda-linked militants, in the town of Jaar in southern Yemen, Feb. 1. Op-ed contributor Jack Amoureux says drone coverage in Arab media focuses on 'individuals who speak of the psychological terror from the daily presence of drones.... constantly wondering which patterns of behavior drone controllers find suspicious.'

Khaled Abdullah/Reuters/File

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Recently, concerns about how the US government manages and deploys its fleet of around 7,000 drones have become especially prominent. Drones have become a hot-button issue for a surprisingly diverse set of political actors, but opposition has coalesced around questions of law and procedure, including the constitutional rights of US citizens (those who might be targeted by drone attacks on foreign soil and those whose privacy rights might be violated by surveillance drones over US soil), and the need for greater transparency and regulation.

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Some have even raised concerns about the potential use of armed drones by law enforcement in the US. Many companies are now marketing small, armed drones to law enforcement agencies, and some experts see their eventual implementation as ?inevitable? ? a source of great concern for many.

There is, however, a worrisome void in this debate about US drone policy ? the lack of focus on the ethics of drones, whether used domestically or abroad. This neglect puts the United States out of step with the debates that are happening in the areas of the world most affected by drones. Whether or not drones should be employed in the US is the wrong question. Americans should be asking: ?Is it ethical to use drones anywhere??

In researching media coverage of drones over the past 12 years, I have found striking differences in what is reported in the US press relative to Arab media. US news outlets largely ignore pressing ethical questions about drones as a way to wage war and instead fixate on the technological and strategic innovations of drones, their multiple uses, diplomatic intrigue over downed drones in ?unfriendly? countries, and whether drone strikes are legal.

In contrast, Arab media tend to focus on the loss of life among families and communities, the multifaceted costs of drones as weapons, and US disregard for other nations? sovereignty. In covering the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, news sources such as Al Jazeera and Asharq Al-Awsat depict individuals who speak of the psychological terror from the daily presence of drones. They share stories of people constantly wondering which patterns of behavior drone controllers find suspicious.

They also reveal a sense of inferiority and embarrassment when a large, powerful country arrives on (over) their soil to make decisions about who will live and die, how much civilian death is acceptable, and how a ?militant? will be defined (loosely, it turns out). Citizens in these countries worry that all of these drones are creating even more extremism and terror at home. And they incredulously ask whether drones are not themselves a form of terror.

The American public is not debating these issues and engaging in dialogue with those most affected by US drone policies. If Americans elicited those voices, we could ask: Are we creating acute conditions of insecurity in other countries when individuals constantly live in fear of death falling from the sky? Is it fair to search for security for ourselves at the expense of perpetual insecurity for others? Are drones really the best alternative for the welfare of everyone, both in the short term and long term?

Domestic and international legal questions about drones reflect deeply held American values, but legal discussions fail to make sense of how these values might be reconciled in the face of specific ethical dilemmas. Nor do they recognize and grapple with the values and anxieties of other communities. And both the Bush and Obama administrations have demonstrated that it is easy to provide legal justification for controversial policies. Legal debates can distract us from urgent ethical questions.

Relationships that feature intense violence and vulnerability deserve deep reflection and deliberation. Indeed, if there are to be ?new rules? in a continuing and more expansive war against terror (what the Obama administration calls its Overseas Contingency Operation), America should listen to those who are most impacted by those ?new rules.?

Perhaps the prospect of armed drones hovering above Americans is ultimately a productive step for taking these ethical questions seriously if it leads us to imagine how whole populations feel about the continuous possibility that right now, in the company of friends and in their own homes, they could be in the crosshairs of a drone.

Jack L. Amoureux is a visiting assistant professor of politics and international affairs at Wake Forest University who teaches ?The Politics of Technology and Violence.?

And earlier version?of this piece first appeared in US News & World Report.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/TdqRKMElvvw/Are-US-drones-ethical

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The risk of autism is not increased by 'too many vaccines too soon'

Monday, April 1, 2013

Although scientific evidence suggests that vaccines do not cause autism, approximately one-third of parents continue to express concern that they do; nearly 1 in 10 parents refuse or delay vaccinations because they believe it is safer than following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) schedule. A primary concern is the number of vaccines administered, both on a single day and cumulatively over the first 2 years of life. In a new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers concluded that there is no association between receiving "too many vaccines too soon" and autism.

Dr. Frank DeStefano and colleagues from the CDC and Abt Associates, Inc. analyzed data from 256 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 752 children without ASD (born from 1994-1999) from 3 managed care organizations. They looked at each child's cumulative exposure to antigens, the substances in vaccines that cause the body's immune system to produce antibodies to fight disease, and the maximum number of antigens each child received in a single day of vaccination.

The researchers determined the total antigen numbers by adding the number of different antigens in all vaccines each child received in one day, as well as all vaccines each child received up to 2 years of age. The authors found that the total antigens from vaccines received by age 2 years, or the maximum number received on a single day, was the same between children with and without ASD. Furthermore, when comparing antigen numbers, no relationship was found when they evaluated the sub-categories of autistic disorder and ASD with regression.

Although the current routine childhood vaccine schedule contains more vaccines than the schedule in the late 1990s, the maximum number of antigens that a child could be exposed to by 2 years of age in 2013 is 315, compared with several thousand in the late 1990s. Because different types of vaccines contain varying amounts of antigens, this research acknowledged that merely counting the number of vaccines received does not adequately account for how different vaccines and vaccine combinations stimulate the immune system. For example, the older whole cell pertussis vaccine causes the production of about 3000 different antibodies, whereas the newer acellular pertussis vaccine causes the production of 6 or fewer different antibodies.

An infant's immune system is capable of responding to a large amount of immunologic stimuli and, from time of birth, infants are exposed to hundreds of viruses and countless antigens outside of vaccination. According to the authors, "The possibility that immunological stimulation from vaccines during the first 1 or 2 years of life could be related to the development of ASD is not well-supported by what is known about the neurobiology of ASDs." In 2004, a comprehensive review by the Institute of Medicine concluded that there is not a causal relationship between certain vaccine types and autism, and this study supports that conclusion.

###

Elsevier Health Sciences: http://www.elsevierhealth.com

Thanks to Elsevier Health Sciences for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 28 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127535/The_risk_of_autism_is_not_increased_by__too_many_vaccines_too_soon_

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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West to Kash in on Baby Name

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/kim-kardashian-and-kanye-west-to-kash-in-on-baby-name/

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Wichita State upsets OSU 70-66 for Final Four trip

Wichita State's Carl Hall (22) and teammates pose with the regional trophy after defeating Ohio State 70-66 in the West Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Wichita State's Carl Hall (22) and teammates pose with the regional trophy after defeating Ohio State 70-66 in the West Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Wichita State's Carl Hall, right rear, Fred Van Vleet, left, and Demetric Williams celebrate their team's 70-66 win over Ohio State in the West Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall celebrates after Wichita State defeated Ohio State 70-66 in the West Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Wichita State players react to a field goal scored against Ohio State during the second half of the West Regional final in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Wichita State's Carl Hall, rear, and Malcolm Armstead, right, break up a scoring attempt by Ohio State forward Evan Ravenel (30) during the first half of the West Regional final in the NCAA mens' college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2013, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Cleanthony Early kept stealing glances down at the hat in his hands while he waited for his turn to climb the stepladder. The Wichita State forward seemed stunned at the words on the side of his brand-new ballcap: "Final Four Atlanta."

"It's crazy. I still can't believe we're here," Early said. "You try to expect it, but you expect a lot of things that don't happen. This really happened."

Believe it. Wichita State is going to Atlanta, and these Shockers are no longer a surprise after the way the tenacious ninth seeds held off mighty Ohio State in the West Regional final.

Malcolm Armstead scored 14 points, Fred Van Vleet bounced in a big basket with 1 minute left, and Wichita State earned its first trip to the Final Four since 1965 with a 70-66 victory over the Buckeyes on Saturday.

Van Vleet scored 12 points as the Shockers (30-8) followed up last week's win over top-ranked Gonzaga with a nail-biting victory over the second-seeded Buckeyes (29-8), whose 11-game winning streak ended one short of their second straight Final Four. Wichita State's 20-point lead in the second half dwindled to three in the final minutes, but several Shockers stepped up with big plays to stop the surge, heeding coach Gregg Marshall's halftime command to "play angry."

All that anger turned into a joyous postgame party at midcourt, even though the Shockers realize they've got more work to do.

"I don't think we're Cinderella at all," Marshall said. "Cinderellas usually are done by this stage. If you get to this point, you can win the whole thing. You beat a No. 1 seed and a No. 2 seed ? I don't think Cinderella just found one glass slipper. I think she found four."

Wichita State is just the fifth team seeded ninth or higher to reach the Final Four since seeding began in 1979, but the second in three years following 11th-seeded VCU's improbable run in 2011. The Shockers' celebration was wild, if a bit disbelieving, in front of several thousand roaring fans.

"Last year we were watching all this on television," said Early, who scored 12 points despite spraining his ankle in the second half. "I just feel like we've got the same potential as those (big-name) guys, regardless if they know who we are or not. We just tend to work hard."

Wichita State roared to a 20-point lead with 11 minutes to play after Ohio State played an awful first half, but LaQuinton Ross scored 15 of his 19 points after halftime, leading a ferocious rally that got the Buckeyes within three points in the final minutes.

Tekele Cotton hit a clutch 3-pointer for Wichita State with 2:20 left and grabbed a key offensive rebound moments later, allowing VanVleet to score on a shot that bounced all over the rim before dropping. Ron Baker and Cotton hit last-minute free throws to secure the second Final Four trip in Wichita State's history and a school-record 30th win.

"We're happy, but I'm still shocked," said Carl Hall, the glasses-wearing big man who scored eight points and led the Shockers' strong defensive effort. "We've got a team full of fighters. I brought them all together near the end and said, 'No matter what happens, I love y'all.' We had to fight so hard. We've got each other's backs, and it's hard to beat a team that's got five guys who work together like us."

Deshaun Thomas scored 21 points after missing nine of his first 12 shots for Ohio State, which made just 24 percent of its first-half shots. Aaron Craft scored nine points on 2-for-12 shooting against Armstead and a host of defenders for the Buckeyes, who dug a hole too deep to escape with their second-half rally.

"The way we shot coming into the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, everything was falling," Thomas said. "Today, it just wasn't our night. Nothing was falling. We had great looks, some of them, but they just weren't falling."

Yet after two weeks of upsets in the wild West bracket, underdog Wichita State seemed an appropriate pick to cut down Staples Center's nets. The Shockers' well-balanced roster managed built that enormous lead with the same consummate team play that they've shown throughout the tournament.

The Shockers are also the kings of Kansas, reaching the national semifinals after the powerful Jayhawks and Kansas State both went down.

Two sections packed with cheering Shockers fans provided all the encouragement necessary for a team that didn't win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and was thought to be a bubble team for an NCAA berth. Now, Wichita State is the MVC's first Final Four team since Larry Bird led Indiana State to the title game in 1979.

Another giant awaits the Shockers in Atlanta next weekend: They'll face the winner of Sunday's Midwest Regional final between Duke and Louisville.

"We're all new to this, but I think we're ready for this," Early said. "We're going to prepare ourselves, and this game was pretty good preparation. We started at the bottom, and we've been working our way up."

Everybody chipped in for the Shockers. Armstead, the Oregon transfer, was named the regional's top player. Baker made nine free throws without a miss on his 20th birthday. And both Early and Hall returned to the court with second-half injuries, pushing Wichita State forward.

Seven seasons after underdog George Mason crashed the Final Four and underlined college basketball's growing parity, the Shockers are the latest smallish school to get on a big roll in the tournament. Butler made the national championship game in 2010 and 2011, and the Bulldogs were joined by that VCU team in the Final Four two years ago.

This year's tournament included stunning wins by Florida Gulf Coast, La Salle and Harvard, but nobody kept it going longer than Wichita State.

Although the Shockers have a beautiful home arena and robust support from fans and donors in Kansas' largest city, Marshall acknowledged that Wichita State's athletic budget is a fraction of what a BCS school can spend. He hasn't let it slow the Shockers, who made the NCAA tournament last year only to lose to 12th-seeded VCU in the first round.

After the Shockers easily beat La Salle two days ago to reach their first regional final since 1981, Marshall's pregame speech to the Shockers on Saturday finished with talk of cutting down the nets at Staples Center before getting on that plane back to Kansas, saying Wichita State didn't have to play "a perfect game" to beat mighty Ohio State.

"The Mecca awaits in Atlanta," he said.

Marshall was right, but he couldn't have anticipated just how imperfect Ohio State would be.

The postseason-tested Buckeyes appeared calm and confident during warmups in front of their healthy fan contingent, yet they proceeded to play the first half just like NCAA newbies.

They missed their first seven shots after the opening tip in a string capped by an airballed 3-pointer from Thomas, who missed his first five overall. The junior star was labeled "a bad-shot taker and a bad-shot maker" by Marshall on Friday, but he only lived up to the first part of that billing while going 4 for 13 in the first half.

Early hit two 3-pointers in the opening minutes, and the Shockers stretched their lead to 13 points shortly before halftime.

"You've got to give them credit," Craft said. "They really came out firing and we really didn't regain our footing until it was too late."

Hall went to the locker room after drawing a charge from Thomas early in the second half, holding the back of his head after Thomas' elbow clipped him on the jaw. Hall found his glasses and got back in the game 66 seconds later.

Wichita State gradually stretched its lead early in the second half, with Early's layup putting the Shockers up 53-33 with 12:09 to play.

Ross desperately tried to rally the Buckeyes, scoring eight consecutive points and leading a 23-6 run midway through the second half. Ohio State went into a full-court inbounds defense, and Shannon Scott's free throws with 2:49 left cut the lead to 62-59 ? but Ohio State couldn't get any closer.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-31-NCAA-Wichita%20St-Ohio%20St/id-3fc95301d30e4182a656794c8f262520

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