Protesters across US decry Wis. anti-union efforts

MADISON, Wis. – Rallies were held across the country Saturday to support thousands of protesters holding steady at the Wisconsin Capitol in their fight against Republican-backed legislation aimed at weakening unions.
Union supporters organized rallies from New York to Los Angeles in a show of solidarity as the protest in Madison entered its 12th straight day and attracted its largest crowd yet: more than 70,000 people. Hundreds banged on drums and screamed into bullhorns inside, while others braved frigid weather and snowfall during a rally that spilled into city streets.
"I want to thank you for coming out here today to exercise those pesky First Amendment rights," actor Bradley Whitford, who starred in television's "The West Wing," told his hometown crowd. "This governor has to understand Wisconsin is a stubborn constituency. We fish through ice!"

Obama says Gadhafi's time is up as Libya's leader

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama dropped the careful condemnation, threats of consequences and the reminders to Moammar Gadhafi's regime about its responsibility to avoid violence. In their place he delivered a more forceful message to the Libyan leader: Leave.
The president called on Gadhafi to step down for the first time Saturday, saying that the Libyan government must be held accountable for its brutal crackdown on dissenters. The administration also announced new sanctions against Libya, but that was overshadowed by the sharp demand for Gadhafi's immediate ouster.
"The president stated that when a leader's only means of staying in power is to use mass violence against his own people, he has lost the legitimacy to rule and needs to do what is right for his country by leaving now," the White House said.

`Last Airbender' rules Razzies as worst picture

LOS ANGELES – The action fantasy "The Last Airbender" — about people who can command fire, air, water and earth — now controls something else: the Razzie awards for Hollywood's worst film achievements of 2010.
"The Last Airbender" led Saturday's Razzies with five awards, among them worst picture, worst director and worst screenplay for M. Night Shyamalan.
The movie also received Razzies for worst supporting actor (Jackson Rathbone, who was cited for both "The Last Airbender" and "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse") and for a special award, worst eye-gouging misuse of 3-D.
A spoof of the Academy Awards, the Razzies were announced the night before the Oscars, Hollywood's biggest party.

UN Council slaps sanctions on Libya's Gadhafi

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council moved as a powerful bloc Saturday to try to halt Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's deadly crackdown on protesters, slapping sanctions on him, his children and top associates.
Voting 15-0 after daylong discussions interrupted with breaks to consult with capitals back home, the council imposed an arms embargo and urged U.N. member countries to freeze the assets of Gadhafi, four of his sons and a daughter. The council also backed a travel ban on the Gadhafi family and close associates, including leaders of the revolutionary committees accused of much of the violence against opponents.
Council members additionally agreed to refer the Gadhafi regime's deadly crackdown on people protesting his rule to a permanent war crimes tribunal for an investigation of possible crimes against humanity.
The council said its actions were aimed at "deploring the gross and systematic violation of human rights, including the repression of peaceful demonstrators." And members expressed concern about civilian deaths, "rejecting unequivocally the incitement to hostility and violence against the civilian population made from the highest level of the Libyan government."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated council members for the unified vote, saying it "sends a strong message that gross violations of basic human rights will not be tolerated."
"I hope the message is heard, and heeded, by the regime in Libya," Ban said.
British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant called the vote "a powerful expression of the deep concern, indeed the anger, of the international community." U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said it was "a very powerful message to the leadership of Libya that this heinous killing must stop and that individuals will be held personally accountable."
French Ambassador Gerard Araud said the unanimous referral of the case to the tribunal signaled a new commitment by the international community to its responsibility to protect citizens. "A wind of liberty and change is sweeping throughout the Arab world and I think the Security Council succeeded in responding to this new era of international relations," he said.
Top EU diplomat Catherine Ashton said the European Union "fully endorses this resolution and will implement the restrictive measures as a matter of urgency." Ashton noted that the EU had already started work on its own sanctions, and formal adoption is expected soon.
The sanctions were welcomed by Libya's deputy U.N. ambassador, Ibrahim Dabbashi, whose entire mission is among Libyan diplomats around the world who have renounced Gadhafi.
Dabbashi said the council vote will engender "moral support for our people who are resisting" and could help defeat "this fascist regime still in existence in Tripoli." He called on the Libyan armed forces to abandon Gadhafi and throw their support to the protesters.
Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch's international justice program, was impressed by the council's unanimous vote and said the action "sends a powerful signal on behalf of justice for the people of Libya and all others victimized by mass force and violence."
The Libyan uprising that began Feb. 15 has swept over nearly the entire eastern half of the country, snatching entire cities in that region out of the government's grasp. Gadhafi and his backers continue to hold the capital Tripoli and have threatened to put down protests aggressively.
There have been reports that Gadhafi's government forces have been firing indiscriminately on peaceful protesters and that as many as 1,000 people have died.
Council members did not consider imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, and no U.N.-sanctioned military action was planned. NATO also has ruled out any intervention in Libya.
Indian Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri noted his country is not an ICC member, and would have "preferred a calibrated and gradual approach," but decided to accept the referral because other council members believed it would help end the violence in Libya.
There had been doubts that China, a permanent council member with veto power, would join the vote if the referral to the tribunal was included. But Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong said his country was concerned about the large number of Chinese citizens who work in Libya.
Earlier on Saturday, U.S. President Barack Obama said in a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Gadhafi needs to do what's right for his country by "leaving now."
The White House on Friday announced sweeping new sanctions and temporarily abandoned its embassy in Tripoli as a final flight carrying American citizens left the embattled capital. The U.S. put an immediate freeze on all assets of the Libyan government held in American banks and other U.S. institutions. The sanctions also freeze assets held by Gadhafi and four of his children.
Britain and Canada, meanwhile, temporarily suspended operations at their embassies in Tripoli and evacuated their diplomatic staff.
Gadhafi is no stranger to international isolation.
U.N. sanctions were slapped on his country after suspected Libyan agents planted a bomb that blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people, mostly Americans.
Libya accepted responsibility for the bombing in 2003 and pledged to end efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. and Libya in 2009 exchanged ambassadors for the first time in 35 years, after Libya paid about $2.7 billion in compensation to the families of the Lockerbie victims.
In Geneva on Friday, the U.N. Human Rights Council called for an investigation into possible crimes against humanity in Libya and recommended Libya's suspension from membership of the world body's top human rights body.

North Korea threatens to fire at South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea's military threatened Sunday to fire at South Korea, as Seoul prepared to start annual joint drills with U.S. troops — maneuvers Pyongyang says are a rehearsal for an invasion.
The North's military warned that it would shoot directly at South Korean border towns and destroy them if Seoul continued to allow activists to launch propaganda leaflets toward the communist country, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said. The warning was conveyed to South Korea's military earlier Sunday, it said.
"South Korea's traitor puppet regime must recognize the seriousness of the prevailing situation and immediately stop anti-(North Korea) psychological warfare," the KCNA said.
It accused South Korean activists and lawmakers of flying balloons carrying hundreds of thousands of leaflets critical of North Korea's government, one-dollar bills, DVDs containing corrupt animation files and other materials on the North's most important national holiday, an apparent reference to leader Kim Jong Il's 69th birthday, which was Feb. 16.
It was unclear whether activists have launched more balloons since then and if they plan more leafletting in coming days.
The warning came one day before the start of annual military drills between South Korea and the United States.
Pyongyang has called the drills a preparation to invade North Korea, though South Korean and U.S. officials have repeatedly said the maneuvers are purely defensive and that they have no intention of attacking.
The 11-day drills are aimed at rehearsing how to respond to any potential emergency on the Korean peninsula. About 12,800 U.S. troops and some 200,000 South Korean soldiers and reservists will take part in the drills, which involve computer war games, live-firing exercises and other field training, according to the U.S. and South Korean militaries.
The South Korean Defense Ministry confirmed it had received the North's warning. A ministry official said South Korea's military keeps a close watch on North Korean military movement. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules.
Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin told parliament Friday that North Korea may launch new attacks this spring and that South Korea's military was ready to cope with any types of hostilities.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula spiked last year over two deadly incidents — the sinking of a South Korean naval ship blamed on the North and a North Korean artillery barrage that killed four people on a front-line South Korean island. North Korea denies it was involved in the sinking of the ship, which killed 46 South Korean sailors.
The countries' military officers met earlier this month but failed to reach a breakthrough, with both sides accusing the other of rupturing their first dialogue since the November bombardment of the island. North Korea later threatened not to hold any more military talks with Seoul.
The two Koreas are still technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea to help deter potential aggression by the North.

Armed pro-Gadhafi gangs roll in Libyan capital

TRIPOLI, Libya – The embattled Libyan regime passed out guns to civilian supporters, set up checkpoints Saturday and sent armed patrols roving the terrorized capital to try to maintain control of Moammar Gadhafi's stronghold and quash dissent as rebels consolidate control elsewhere in the North African nation.
As violence mounted, Gadhafi came under growing pressure from the international community to halt the crackdown on his people. Echoing moves by the United States, Britain and other nations, the U.N. Security Council on Saturday imposed sanctions, including an arms embargo and a travel ban, and said the International Criminal Court in the Hague should investigate.
Residents of its eastern Tajoura district spread concrete blocks, large rocks and even chopped-down palm trees as makeshift barricades to prevent the SUVs filled with young men wielding automatic weapons from entering their neighborhood — a hotspot of previous protests.
With tensions running high in Tripoli, scores of people in the neighborhood turned out at a funeral for a 44-year-old man killed in clashes with pro-regime forces. Anwar Algadi was killed Friday, with the cause of death listed as "a live bullet to the head," according to his brother, Mohammed.
Armed men in green armbands, along with uniformed security forces check those trying to enter the district, where graffiti that says "Gadhafi, you Jew," "Down to the dog," and "Tajoura is free" was scrawled on walls.
Outside the capital, rebels held a long swath of about half of Libya's 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) Mediterranean coastline where most of the population lives, and even captured a brigadier general and a soldier Saturday as the Libyan army tried to retake an air base east of Tripoli. The state-run news agency also said the opposition held an air defense commander and several other officers.
On Friday, pro-Gadhafi militiamen — including snipers — fired on protesters trying to mount the first significant anti-government marches in days in Tripoli.
Gadhafi, speaking from the ramparts of a historic Tripoli fort, told supporters to prepare to defend the nation as he faced the biggest challenge to his 42-year rule.
"At the suitable time, we will open the arms depot so all Libyans and tribes become armed, so that Libya becomes red with fire," Gadhafi said.

Nintendo 3-D handheld goes on sale in Japan

TOKYO – Nintendo's latest game machine, offering glasses-free 3-D images, went on sale in Japan on Saturday ahead of a global rollout, and analysts say it promises to be the world's first 3-D mass-market product.
"I'm so excited," said 9-year-old Natsumi Miyasaka, clutching her brand new blue 3DS portable that her father bought for her.
Lines formed outside Tokyo electronics stores, although they weren't as long as some previous gadget launches, as Nintendo offered purchase reservations in advance.
The Nintendo 3DS, which costs 25,000 yen ($300) in Japan, goes on sale in Europe on March 25 for 250 euros, and arrives in the U.S. on March 27 for $250.
Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. is banking on the 3-D technology as sales momentum gradually fades for earlier hits such as the Wii home console and predecessor DS models.
Nintendo expects to sell 4 million of the 3DS machines through the end of March — 1.5 million in Japan and the rest overseas. The company is expected to have no problems meeting that target.
"It is the most comprehensive handheld gaming device from Nintendo to date, with high-quality graphics and online features," said Hiroshi Kamide, an analyst with J.P. Morgan in Tokyo. "I believe the 3DS will be the first mass-market 3-D device."
While 3-D technology for TVs has created a buzz, and 3-D camcorders are also gaining some attention, such products have not sold in big numbers so far, making for a tiny fraction of overall TV and camcorder sales. So selling 4 million 3DS machines in a month would be significant for a 3-D product.
The 3DS looks much like older DS machines, and has two panels. The top panel shows 3-D imagery, giving players an illusion of virtual reality, such as a puppy licking the screen from inside the machine. The bottom screen is a touch panel.
The device also comes with three cameras, and allows the user to take 3-D photos. It doesn't require the special glasses needed for 3-D theater movies or 3-D game consoles like rival Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3. They also don't require 3-D TV sets.
Sony is promising a new handheld code-named NGP later this year, but has yet to give pricing and the machine does not offer 3-D gaming.
On the downside are growing fears about the health effects of too much 3-D. Some people have gotten sick by watching 3-D movies or playing 3-D games.
Nintendo has issued a warning that the 3DS could harm the eyesight of children 6 or younger, recommending they play in 2-D. It also says users should stop playing if they become tired or start to feel ill.
Although more game software is expected to be ready by the Europe and U.S. launch dates, only eight games were ready for the Japan launch. But the machine comes with several built-in games and other features.
Such drawbacks didn't faze Toyohisa Ishihara, a 43-year-old engineer, who stood in line for two hours to get his 3DS.
"The images seem to pop out. There is a sense of a world spreading beyond," he said. "I can't wait to play it."
Compared to Westerners, Japanese are expected to use 3DS for networking, creating avatars, listening to music and other lifestyle enjoyment, rather than just for games — partly because of their long daily train commutes.
"The 3DS is moving in on the territory typically held by Apple products," said Ricardo Torres, editor-in-chief of GameSpot, an online gaming review site. "I expect Nintendo to sell 3DS as fast as they can get them into stores."

US tweaks China over web-erasing diplomat's name

WASHINGTON – The U.S. is tweaking China for its online blocking of the American ambassador's name.
Searches for Ambassador Jon Huntsman's name in Chinese on a popular microblogging site called Sina Weibo were met with a message Friday that said results were unavailable due to unspecified "laws, regulations and policies."
Huntsman, a Republican, is leaving his post and is seen as a potential White House contender in 2012.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in a Twitter posting Saturday that "it is remarkable" that even before Huntsman leaves Beijing, "China has made him disappear from the Internet."
China apparently widened its Internet policing after online calls for protests like those that have swept the Middle East.

Google tweaks search to punish 'low-quality' sites

NEW YORK – Google has tweaked the formulas steering its Internet search engine to take the rubbish out of its results. The overhaul is designed to lower the rankings of what Google deems "low-quality" sites.
That could be a veiled reference to such sites as Demand Media's eHow.com, which critics call online "content farms" — that is, sites producing cheap, abundant, mostly useless content that ranks high in search results.
Sites that produce original content or information that Google considers valuable are supposed to rank higher under the new system.
The change announced late Thursday affects about 12 percent, or nearly one in every eight, search requests in the U.S. Google Inc. said the new ranking rules eventually will be introduced in other parts of the world, too. The company tweaks its search algorithms, or formulas, hundreds of times a year, but most of the changes are so subtle that few people notice them. This latest change will be more difficult to miss, according to Google engineers.
"Google depends on the high-quality content created by wonderful websites around the world, and we do have a responsibility to encourage a healthy web ecosystem," Google fellow Amit Singhal and principal engineer Matt Cutts wrote in a blog post. "Therefore, it is important for high-quality sites to be rewarded, and that's exactly what this change does."
Google makes significant adjustments to its search formula on the same scale as the latest change four or five times a year, Singhal said in a statement Friday.
What makes the new revisions so notable is that Google spent about a year trying to come up with a way to judge the quality of the content posted on the site.
That focus could hurt Demand Media, which depends on search engines for about 41 percent of the traffic to its websites, with most of those referrals coming from Google, according to documents filed last month after the company completed an initial public offering of stock.
Demand Media, based in Santa Monica, assigns roughly 13,000 freelance writers to produce stories about frequently searched topics and then sells ads alongside the content at its own websites, including eHow.com and Livestrong.com, and about 375 Internet other destinations operated by its partners. Articles range from the likes of "How to Tie Shoelaces" to "How to Bake a Potato" and more.
Many of the ads appearing alongside those articles are sold by Google, which accounts for about one-fourth of Demand Media's revenue of $253 million last year.
Demand Media said it doesn't consider itself a "content farm" or "content mill," but rather as a more responsive approach to addressing topics on people's minds.
"We believe that our platform for satisfying today's consumer demand is the most comprehensive and effective of any online publisher," Demand Media CEO Richard Rosenblatt told analysts earlier this week after the company announced the first quarterly profit in its four-year history. "The standards we put in place, the process that we follow, and most important, the qualified professionals we rely on to create and copy at the solution are unprecedented in traditional and new media.definition."
In a Friday blog post, another Demand Media executive said the company applauds search engine changes that "improve the consumer experience." Google's revisions caused some of Demand Media's articles to rank higher and other to rank lower in search results, wrote Larry Fitzgibbon, Demand Media's executive vice president of media and operations.
"It's impossible to speculate how these or any changes made by Google impact any online business in the long term — but at this point in time, we haven't seen a material net impact," Fitzgibbon wrote.
Investors seemed uncertain how Google's move would affect Demand Media. After falling nearly 5 percent in earlier trading, Demand Media's shares rebounded to close at $22.96, up 36 cents for the session.

Five myths about Ronald Reagan

It has been argued that Ronald Reagan was a myth himself, a construct of his own and other people's imaginings, rather than an extraordinary American about whom some untruths are told. The sentimental colossus his acolytes are trying to erect today, with gilded pecs, red-painted smile and an NRA-approved pistol in each manly fist, bears no resemblance to the man I knew: in private a person of no ego and little charisma, in public a statesman of formidable purpose.

What (we think) we know about iPad 2; announcement event next week

No one will ever accuse Apple (AAPL) of subtlety.
This morning, the company sent out email invites to its next big press event, taking place on March 2. In classic Apple form, the image for the invite has the big iOS calendar icon for the date on it, with the edge being peeled back to reveal what is clearly an iPad screen.
Get it -- iPad. Two. About as subtle as a hammer, but no less effective.
So with just a week between us and whatever new product Apple is about to throw at us, how about we run down all the rumor and speculation surrounding the next big launch from the tablet segment’s biggest powerhouse, shall we?

Five iPhone physics puzzlers to topple Angry Birds from its perch

Everyone with an iPhone or an Android phone has heard of Angry Birds by now. According to the sales charts, more than a few have actually played it. Part of the game’s appeal is its simple controls and physics-minded puzzle scheme that has players firing various kinds of birds at structures to squash pigs hiding within them. But Angry Birds isn’t the only game that does physics well, nor is it the only iPhone title that uses slingshots, living projectiles and smashed enemies to score you points. Below we’ve compiled five iPhone titles that will push your physics knowledge and puzzle-solving skills to the test, both with and without flying characters.

Topple (Free)

It doesn’t get more simple or physics-heavy than trying to beat gravity, but that’s your goal in Topple, a free game in which you attempt to build the tallest tower you can using blocks of various sizes and shapes. The blocks fall from the top of the screen and require you to position them carefully using touch controls. Topple’s towers get out of hand in a hurry, so the game also works-in tilt controls to help you maintain balance while you drag and drop blocks to keep building. You can also rotate blocks for a better fit, and the faces drawn onto the pieces aren’t just part of the humorous art style -- they’ll also provide you clues about whether what you’re attempting is working or not. Best of all, this one’s a freebie. If you can't get enough, check out Topple 2 Plus+ (Free)

Google adding e-books to Android Market

Android owners were probably a bit disappointed that the rumor of an Android Market music store to drop with Honeycomb didn’t pan out, seeing as the Motorola Xoom and Honeycomb are here, but no Google Music service.
But that doesn’t mean the music store isn’t happening, it’s just not here yet, as evidenced by the fact that the Android Market’s e-book portal has gone live.
Here’s the lowdown, according to Engadget: Rumors were bouncing around in the last week because two new Market-related URLs popped up on the Internet: http://market.android.com/music/ and http://market.android.com/movies/. That prompted some speculation about Android closing the gap on similar services available to iOS users through Apple’s iTunes software. We were hearing that the music store was going to drop with Honeycomb, but obviously that didn’t materialize.
But a third URL, http://market.android.com/books/, is now live and selling e-books to Android users on the web-based Market, and that suggests that the music and movies portals probably aren’t too far behind.
As we reported a few days ago, the rumor on the Android music store front is that record companies are balking at the idea of making music available in a “new format” -- Google’s (GOOG) cloud-based system that would allow users to buy songs and store them online, then stream or download them to multiple devices. Reportedly, Google’s working on buttering up the record companies to get them to go for the streaming idea.
But obviously, there’s something to those URLs. We’ll keep paying attention to get the latest on when Android users might be treated to some cool new content. Meantime, warm up your Motorola (MMI) Xoom sync with some e-books.

Mobile gaming has surpassed consoles, handhelds

Expect to see more Android titles with cross-platform compatibility and more partnerships between traditional video gaming and mobile gaming, because it seems (if you hadn’t heard) that mobile is very much the future.
A new report from analysis firm Flurry suggests that mobile gamers number about 250 million, which is more than the audiences of the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the Nintedo Wii -- 180 million, taken all together. That story comes from Fone Home.
Some key numbers from the Flurry analysis: 37 percent of all apps downloaded onto mobile devices are games, and the demographic of mobile gamers ranges from 18 to 49, where video game consoles usually attract players from 18 to 34. Mobile gamers are also more female than male by a ratio of 53 percent to 47 percent. That’s vastly different than traditional video gaming, where the demographics skew much more to the male end of the spectrum.
That pretty much suggests that a shift toward mobile gaming by the heavy hitters in the game industry is on the horizon, if they haven’t already embraced it. Sony has the Xperia Play, console and PC developer Epic Games has Infinity Blade, Electronic Arts (ERTS) and Capcom have big mobile gaming catalogues. I wouldn’t be surprised if more developers start taking Microsoft’s (MSFT) approach with Windows Phone 7, which pushes connectivity between mobile games and consoles games on the company’s Xbox 360.
So keep downloading mobile games -- it should shortly be leading to all kinds of cool innovation for gamers, on all fronts.

Study: Apple's Mobile Browser is Fastest

Sick of waiting for pages to load on your mobile device? Get an iPad or iPhone. That’s the upshot of a mobile browser speed study done by a company called Gomez. They found that Apple’s mobile version of Safari was fastest and BlackBerry’s browser the slowest.
According to Gomez, the iPad fully loads pages in 8.4 seconds on average. The iPhone comes in second at 19.7 seconds, followed by Android at 36.5 seconds, and Blackberry at 61 seconds.
Gomez also analyzed perceived page loading times--that is, how long it took each browser to load the items visible "above the fold" on screen (i.e. the elements visible to you when you first visit the page without scrolling down). Perceived load times are shorter because … In this, the iPad again came out on top, with a perceived load time of roughly 6.6 seconds. The iPhone clocked in at about 15.7 seconds, followed by Android at 28.2 second, and BlackBerry at around 43.8 seconds.
Some have tested mobile browsers on a particular OS--such as our Android browser comparison from September--or have compared browsing on one phone to browsing on another, but as far as we're aware, nobody else has released this sort of mobile browser speed comparison before.
Here's a complete chart of Gomez's browser data, including its data for PC (i.e. laptop/desktop) browsers:
Browser Testing: No Clear Winners
These are by no means end-all, be-all numbers. Browser speed testing can be a bit of a thorny issue. There are many variables involved, depending on your hardware, your network connection, your operating system, the Web site itself, and so forth. For example, Gomez's numbers don't match up exactly with the testing we've previously done.
In the case of Gomez, the company, which helps companies improve the performance of their Websites and applications, decided to take what it considers to be a "real-world" approach to measuring browser performance. Its data is based on over 282 million Webpages served across over 200 popular sites. Gomez used data collected from business customers that use its performance monitoring services. It only takes into account Webpages visited using the browser included with the operating system, so browsers like Opera Mini were not included.
Also, since the data is in aggregate, it includes data from both Wi-Fi and cellular network users, and users from different cellular networks. It also includes data from all sorts of different phones and tablets with different hardware configurations. Still the information they provided to us is interesting, and gives us at least an idea of what the general experience of using each browser is like.
And as we've said in the past, other factors beside speed should dictate your choice in browsers--and now, smartphone OSes. Go with whatever works best for you.
How about you? Do Gomez's numbers reflect what you've experienced? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Next Up: iPhone 5

Next week Apple will spill the beans on the iPad 2, which can only mean one thing: It's time to start focusing on the iPhone 5 -- which will (probably) be announced in June.
Like clockwork, 9 to 5 Mac on Friday uncovered a photo from a Chinese reseller of Apple parts that will get that process under way.
The site suggests the unconfirmed part could be the digitizer panel for the next iPhone. Interestingly enough, the part appears to have a larger cutout section for a screen which could support earlier reports from DigiTimes that the new model will feature a four-inch display to compete with some Android devices.
Besides being unconfirmed, the photo is problematic because the part doesn't appear next to anything -- giving it no scale. It could just as easily mean that the upcoming iPhone could be smaller if the screensize remains the same and the bezel shrinks. The screen could also be any other size, there's really no way to tell.
Regardless if this is a legit part or not, it seems like Apple has a few changes in store for the next iPhone besides a larger screen.
Jonny Evans of Computerworld reported last month that the new model is expected to run on a multi-core A5 CPU and may feature a dual-core graphics core. Evans also suggests that Apple will be getting into the NFC field after hiring veteran Benjamin Vigier as the Mobile Commerce Manager.
Stay tuned. The iPhone 5 rumor mill is sure to heat up in the coming months. iDealsChina, the website that leaked the part photo, seems to hint that more photos will be popping up soon.

Chrome Browser Acts More Like an OS, But Security Is Unclear

Google has announced that forthcoming releases of its Chrome browser will be able to run apps in the background. Essentially, the feature moves Chrome one step closer to becoming a true application platform--and with continuing efforts to develop HTML5, in a few years time it's very likely the Chrome browser will have more in common with an operating system than a humble Web browser.
Google says the new feature will see use "checking for server-side changes and pre-emptively loading content into local storage," and it's not hard to imagine how apps could use the feature. A chat application could listen for messages, for example, and then pop up a new window should somebody want to message you. A cloud office suite could watch for changes made to your online docs and download them locally, ready for you to work on them instantly when you choose.
The background processes keep running for as long as Chrome is running, even if no browser windows are open. Right-clicking the taskbar icon will allow users to see what background apps are running.
One of the central definitions of a contemporary operating system is the capability to run tasks in the background. MS-DOS did it with infamous terminate-and-stay-resident programs, while Windows does it with Services. Linux and Unix use daemons.
As with those operating systems, significant security issues come up with the capability to run background apps. Running code in the background without the user's knowledge is the modus operandi of viruses, for example.
It's not clear how Chrome is going to be able to tell apart good and bad background processes, or whether Google intends to rely on third-party applications like antivirus suites to do so.
Google says "backgrounding" will be allowed only for apps and extensions, and not Web pages, which will avoid drive-by infections from nefarious Websites. Chrome users already have to confirm installation of apps and extensions, giving security warnings at the time. If the app or extension isn't offered via Google's official distribution channels, it's usually blocked from installation unless the user makes a configuration change allowing it.
However, as anybody who's used the Android Marketplace will know, Google takes a laissez-faire attitude towards monitoring apps. Last year the company pulled around 50 third-party and unauthorized Android banking apps from the Marketplace after suggestions came up that they could easily be used to harvest account details.
To ensure user safety, the bar for app and extension quality is going to have to be set high, and there's no indication in this announcement that that's going to happen.
However, security issues aside, Google's efforts will bring a smile to cloud computing advocates. By blurring the distinction between browser and operating system, Google's making it far more intuitive for us both to work and store our data online. Of course, data is what Google is interested in, and it seems Google won't be satisfied until it has control of all the data in the world.
It's not hard to imagine a future scenario whereby we first boot our computer and then "boot the Internet" by double-clicking a browser like Chrome. Upon starting, Chrome will automatically log into all our favorite Web applications, and start any necessary background services. The new tab screen within Chrome, which shows installed apps, could easily evolve into a desktop-like experience in the future, wherein users are able to start and stop apps, and manage any data stored online.
A lot has been written about whether the Chrome browser or OS will ultimately succeed, but it's not an either-or situation. It's better to view the projects as two heads of the same animal. If you buy a new computer, then Google can provide an operating system, but if you prefer to stick with what you know--such as Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux--then Google will offer you the same functionality via a program you can download.
Essentially, Chrome browser and Chrome OS are heading in the same direction, which is to turn the Internet into an platform where we all can work. If we're ready to abandon our desktops, however, is yet to be seen.
Keir Thomas has been making known his opinion about computing matters since the last century, and more recently has written several best-selling books. You can learn more about him at http://keirthomas.com. His Twitter feed is @keirthomas.

World Cup format promotes fixing: Latif

Karachi: Pakistan former captain Rashid Latif has criticised the 2011 World Cup format and believes the International Cricket Council itself has opened the window for spot-fixing in the tournament.

"What sort of format or formation have they applied in such a big event! It is obvious that the real competition will only start from the quarterfinal stage. This means it encourages bookmakers to try to corrupt players to indulge in white collar spot-fixing crime in the group matches," Latif told PTI.

He pointed out that as far as the present formation of teams was concerned, it was obvious that the top eight Test playing nations would make the quarterfinals from the two groups.

"The formation is such that even if a top team loses a match or two, this really will not stop it from qualifying for the quarterfinals," he said.

"Take for example group A. How can the ICC expect teams like Kenya or Canada to cause any upset and it is obvious Zimbabwe is weaker compared to Pakistan, Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand."

The former wicketkeeper batsman, who blew the whistle on match-fixing 16 years back, said he was surprised that the ICC, despite having a large staff and some of the best cricket and management minds, could not come up with a more competitive format and formation.

"My fear is this format and formation only encourages spot-fixing and it is difficult for anyone to identify such things. Even our three players were only caught because their own partner got greedy," said Latif, who played 37 Tests and 169 ODIs.

Latif felt that the best format for the next World Cup should be that the top eight Test teams compete for the honours on single league basis.

"This format will do two positive things. It will raise the bar of competition among teams in the four-year cycle to finish among the top eight to qualify for the World Cup and give more meaning to the series played the year around," he said.

"The second good thing would be that the single league format would encourage top competition and no team would be able to take any match lightly," he added.

Latif said if the ICC wanted to encourage the associate and weaker teams, they should hold competitions for these teams all the year around.

"Don't expect these weaker teams to improve by just playing a few tournaments in the year. They require exposure against top teams and also the ICC must help them improve their domestic structures," he said.

Pakistan's former captain Imran Khan has also said that the real competition in the World Cup will only start from the quarterfinals as many of the group matches will be meaningless.

Stand-off between IPL players, franchises

Mumbai, Feb 25: It seems the Indian Premier League's (IPL) controversies refuse to die down. Another scandal of sorts has erupted following an impasse between the managements of the various franchises and their respective contracted players. The players have decided to play hard-ball and refuse to endorse brands associated with the franchises. They have backed up their refusal with a claim of conflict of interest, saying that they are already promoting brands separately and these rival those of the franchise-associated brands.

In light of the tense situation, the IPL Governing Council will hold a General Body meeting tomorrow. They will discuss at length whether the players are obliged to promote the franchises' brands in addition to those stemming from their independent contracts.

The IPL's GC will also discuss the transfer of uncapped player Manish Pandey from his original team - Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) - to the Sahara Pune Warriors. Pandey's move is being viewed as a contravention of IPL rules for uncapped players. Pandey was reportedly disappointed at being left out of the IPL player auction owing to his uncapped status and having to settle for a minimal salary of Rs 20 Lakh. But Pune had offered him a higher cut, prompting him to make the shift.

Weather "clear" for Ind Vs Eng match

Bangalore: Feb 26: With the chaos concerning ticket sales sorting itself out, somewhat, and fans set to storm Chinnaswamy Stadium at Bangalore for Sunday's crucial World Cup tie between India and England, all arrangements for a scintillating game of cricket appear to be in place. Almost.

Many will be worrying about whether or not the weather will hold up. Bangalore as a microcosm of India, has to bear the brunt of the defining factor of our atmosphere - unpredictable weather. After a few days of light showers beating down across the city, fans and city residents alike, will be hoping that the trend doesn't continue into Sunday afternoon. The signs from the Met department are positive. The forecast says "partly cloudy", though with no real chance of rain. So do we fall back on an optimistic weather prediction or rely on heavy prayers ahead of the game? Either way, the weather is out of our hands and the falling solely in the indisputable domain of the rain gods.

Rain ha already left its mark on this World Cup. The game between South Africa and the West Indies was momentarily disrupted by a thick drizzle on Thursday evening. Hopefully, teh same won't happen when India and England take the field on Sunday at 2:30 in the afternoon.

Misbah, Younis guide Pak to 277/7 vs SL

Colombo, Feb 26: Pakistan put on a competent performance with the bat, reaching a competitive total of 277/7 in 50 overs against Sri Lanka, in the 10th match of the World Cup. Misbah top-scored with a forceful, unbeaten 83 off 91 balls and was rendered abundant support from Younis Khan, who made 72 off 76. While their fielding was top-notch, there was nothing extraordinary about the Lankan bowling with Thisara Perea picking up 2/62 off 9 overs and Rangana Herath ensnaring 2/46 off 10.

Winning the toss and opting to bat first, Pakistan got off to a fairly forceful start. Ahmed Shehzad struck Nuwan Kulaseakara and Thilan Perera for a four each in the first two overs, while Mohammad Hafeez did the same in the fourth and fifth. But the Perera got his revenge when he had Shehzad caught behind for 13 off 23 balls and Pakistan were 28/1 in 5.3 overs. At the other end, Hafeez decicded to counter attack belligerently, carting Kulasekara for a six and a boundary in successive deliveries. Then Kamran Akmal got into the act, smacking a four off Perera in the 8th over and two boundaries off Kulasekara in the 9th over as Pakistan moved past 50 in the 9th over. The fours kept coming fairly fluently till in the 14th over, Hafeez was run out for 32 off 31 balls as Pakistan slipped to 76/2 in 13.1 overs.

Then with Younis Khan for company, Kamran Akmal pressed on and struck a four off Angelo Mathews to bring up Pakistan's 100 in the 19th over. But soon after he was stumped off Rangana Herath for 39 off 48 balls. Pakistan were 105/3 in 20.2 overs.

Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis settled into a rhythm of taking ones and twos welcoming the occasional boundary. Their patience paid off as Pakistan crossed 150 in the 30th over and then 200 in the 39th over. En route, at 170/3, Younis took a single off Herath to notch up his 50 and Misbah brought up his own in teh 40th over from a double of the same bowler.

After a 108-run stand, for the fourth wicket, Younis was finally foxed by Herath when he holed out to deep square leg for 72 opff 76 balls. Pakistan were 213/4 in 40.5 overs.

In the 45th over, Umar Akmal and Misbah teamed up to each knock a four off Kulasekara. But in the next over, the old war-horse Muttiah Muralitharan struck to dismiss Umar Akmal for 10 of balls. Pakistan were 238/5 in 45.3 overs.

In the 48th over, Misbah and Afridi each took a four off Perera as Pakistan crossed 250 before Afridi rounded off the over with another boundary. In gthe penultimate over, Misbah got Mathews away for a four, but 3 balls later, the bowler foxed Shahid ASfirid who was out for 16 off 12.

In the final over of the Pakistan innings, after Misbah flicked Perer for nother boundary, the bowler got Abdul Razzaq caught off the last ball as Pakistan finished with 277/7 in 50 overs.

Antennagate 2: Verizon iPhone 4 Drops Calls With “Death Grip” [REPORT]

Remember Antennagate? It’s back — this time on Verizon. Stalwart reviews magazine Consumer Reports just announced it will not list the Verizon iPhone 4 among its recommended smartphones because holding it in a “specific but quite natural way can cause dropped calls.”
Shortly after the launch of the iPhone 4 on AT&T, reports began to emerge that the phone would lose signal and drop calls if held in a certain way — the so-called “death grip.” Apple called a press conference, gave its iPhone 4 customers free bumpers that helped solve the issue and announced it was largely AT&T’s fault.
If anything, this news is worse than the first Antennagate. Apple has had time to solve the problem and avoid another PR nightmare. This comes straight from a highly trusted source; the flaw was discovered through rigorous lab tests, rather than anecdotal evidence. There have been few complaints so far on the part of users, so Apple — which is trying to focus on next week’s highly anticipated iPad 2 launch — may not have been expecting this distraction. And one of the top reasons AT&T iPhone owners have given for switching to Verizon is the relative quality of voice calls.
“The phone performs superbly in most other respects, and using the iPhone 4 with a case can alleviate the problem,” Consumer Reports wrote in a blog post. But it couldn’t ignore the death grip problem, which is caused by a gap in the casing and is not found on any other smartphone the magazine tested:
“As with our tests of the AT&T iPhone 4, putting a finger across one particular gap — the one on the lower left side — caused performance to decline. Bridging this gap is easy to do inadvertently, especially when the phone is in your palm, which might readily and continuously cover the gap during a call,” the publication says.
The problem only appears to occur if the cell signal strength isn’t at its strongest, but that is a problem you’re going to run into, even on a relatively reliable network like Verizon.
Are you a Verizon iPhone 4 user? Have you experienced mysterious dropped calls? Let us know in the comments.

New MacBook Pros Bring Faster Processors, Thunderbolt & HD Camera

After weeks of rumors and speculation, Apple has updated its MacBook Pro line, upgrading processors and graphics and adding a high-speed Thunderbolt I/O port and a new FaceTime-enabled HD camera.
The biggest news is the inclusion of Thunderbolt (Light Peak) technology, which Intel developed. In practice, it’s a dual Thunderbolt/DisplayPort I/O port (marked by a lightning icon) that provides two bi-directional channels with data transfer speeds up to 10 Gbps.
The new FaceTime HD camera triples the resolution of the previous MacBook Pro cameras, enabling 720p video chats.
Finally, note the inclusion of Intel’s new Sandy Bridge CPU architecture, coupled with a switch to AMD Radeon graphics for the 15-inch and a 17-inch models, which have previously been powered by Nvidia’s graphics chips.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,199, with a 2.3 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 CPU, Intel’s HD graphics 3000, and a 320 GB hard drive, and can be upgraded to a 2.7 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 CPU and a 500 GB hard drive for $1,499.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro is also available as two models: One starts at $1,799 with a 2.0 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU, AMD Radeon HD 6490M and a 500 GB hard drive, and the other has a 2.2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750 GB hard drive starting at $2,199.
The 17-inch model starts at $2,499 and features a 2.2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU, AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics and a 750 GB hard drive.
The Apple Store is still down at the time of this writing, but it should come back any minute.

---

Facebook Writes Its Privacy Policy in a Language Humans Can Read

Facebook rolled out a new way for users to read and understand its privacy policy. Although none of the terms of the privacy policy have changed, the new site and policy outlines has been rewritten, reformatted and reorganized in a way that makes it easy for non-lawyers to understand.
This trial format comes a day after Facebook responded to an inquiry from the the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. In its response, Facebook said that it agreed with the FTC’s finding “that any privacy framework must be implemented in a way that both honors consumers’ expectations in the contexts in which they use online services and promotes the innovation that has fueled the growth of the Internet of the past two decades.”
Facebook explained the rationale behind the new human-friendly draft of its privacy on the Site Governance page, stating it had settled upon a few basic principles when trying to figure out what users want from a privacy policy.
These principles are:

1. First, it should be easy to understand, even when the concept is complicated or is of no use to anyone.
2. Second, it should be visual and interactive, because that’s the way people use the web today.
3. Third, it should focus on the questions Facebook users are most likely to ask, because that makes it relevant.

Looking at the draft policy and at Facebook’s official privacy policy, we know which one we prefer.
It’s really amazing what kind of difference larger fonts and well organized information can have on the readability of a document.
Make no mistake: Even in this early draft, the Facebook’s privacy policy is still a dense document. That said, information is much more understandable and the navigational aspects are a huge improvement.
Frankly, our hats are off to Facebook for putting this type of document together. We wish other companies (read: Google) would be so willing to better present this type of information.