Author: Serkadis

From the AP in Shanghai:

Chinese shares rose Monday on World Expo enthusiasm, led by airline and tourism stocks.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged up 12.95 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 3,237.1. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China’s smaller second exchange added 1.2 percent to 1,240.98.

Analysts said investors are looking for smaller shares amid liquidity jitters after the central bank’s order last week for more bank reserves.

Over the weekend, Chinese President Hu Jintao called for a successful Shanghai World Expo ahead of Thursday’s 100-day countdown to the event.

“Smaller Expo-related shares are among those investors are buying, while heavy weights are sluggish,” said Zhang Gang, an analyst for Central China Securities in Shanghai.

Shares of Shanghai-based companies also soared on hopes of more business driven by the six-month long Expo. Shanghai Shentong Metro Co. advanced the daily maximum of 10 percent to 14.45 yuan, while Shanghai New World Co., a local department store, surged 7.2 percent to 17.94 yuan.

Airline and tourism shares rose on expectations of higher revenue ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays next month.

China Eastern Airline Co. gained 5.1 percent to 6.65 yuan, while AirChina Ltd., the country’s biggest international carrier, jumped 4.6 percent to 11.09 yuan.

Guilin Tourism Corp. advanced 10 percent to 14.36 yuan, while Beijing Capital Tourism Co. rose 5.4 percent to 24.45 yuan.

Retailers extended gains after the Commerce Ministry on Friday said the growth rate in retail sales last year might have been the highest in two decades. The figures are expected later this week. Nanjing Xinjiekou Department Store Co. rose 4.8 percent to 12.45 yuan, while Beijing Xidan Department Store Co. added 2.9 percent to 12.43 yuan.

In currency markets, the yuan strengthened to 6.8267 to the U.S. dollar, up from Friday’s close of 6.8270.

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Article Tags: Front Page News, Himalayan Glacier Data, Pachauri Conflict of Interest

FRESH doubts were cast over controversial global warming theories yesterday after a major climate change argument was discredited.

The International Panel on Climate Change was forced to admit its key claim that Himalayan glaciers would melt by 2035 was lifted from a 1999 magazine article. The report was based on an interview with a little-known Indian scientist who has since said his views were “speculation” and not backed up by research.

It was also revealed that the IPCC’s controversial chairman, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, described as “the world’s top climate scientist”, is a former railway engineer with a PhD in economics and no formal climate science qualifications.

Dr Pachauri was yesterday accused of a conflict of interest after it emerged he has a network of business interests that attract millions of pounds in funding thanks to IPCC policies. One of them, The Energy Research Institute, has a London office and is set to receive up to £10million from British taxpayers over the next five years in the form of grants from the Department for International Development.

Dr Pachauri denies any conflict of interest arising from his various roles.

Yesterday, critics accused the IPCC of boosting the man-made global warming theory to protect a multi-million pound industry.

Climate scientist Peter Taylor said: “I am not surprised by this news. A vast bureaucracy and industry has been built up around this theory. There is too much money in it for the IPCC to let it wither.”

Click source to read FULL report from Anil Dawar

Source: express.co.uk

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Roush Performance announced over the weekend the promotion of Steve Ford, former regional sales manager for the eastern United States, to executive director of sales, North American Dealer Sales Channel. He will coordinate six regional managers and their dealer activities.

"Steve has done a great job as a regional manager for the past several years and the dealerships he has worked with have consistently been among the top ROUSH sellers. I’m confident that he can put this knowledge and e… (read more)

The intersection of the classical instrument known as a guitar and the modernist urge to modify everything has resulted in plenty of nutty, zany, and just plain questionable products in its time. It’s quite a pleasure, therefore, to point you in the direction of a so-called Digital Guitar that keeps the axe looking refreshingly familiar, while turning into something that poses a legitimate threat of actually being useful. Essentially a MIDI controller, the Misa guitar has 24 frets and a large multifunctional touchscreen, which you can use to interface with the appropriate software on your pc. We’ve got a video demonstration after the break, and you can hit up the source link for more info including details on how you might be able to buy one for yourself.

Continue reading Misa Digital Guitar cuts the strings, brings the noise

Misa Digital Guitar cuts the strings, brings the noise originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 02:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I loved the Citroen DS3 photo shoot in the gallery below, and the anti retro message in the DS3 promo videos works for me, as well. I’m not always convinced by using past, deceased celebrities for marketing, but the idea is crystal clear: move over the retro obsessed Mini and Fiat 500, the Citroen DS3 is modern, chic and very cool. Who needs the 60’s when you’ve got this? The first video above features John Lennon, and after the jump you can see how Marilyn Monroe fits the anti retro bill for Citroen. Enjoy.

This horrific incident is simply beyond words. A 15-year-old Romanian boy stabbed his adoptive mother to death after she refused to pay the Internet bills. The boy, Ionut, is addicted to online video games.
 
 
 

With refueling ban being the most important change in the 2010 rulebook of Formula One, fuel consumption will become crucial in the teams’ strategies for the upcoming year. While building larger fuel tanks for their 2010 challengers, the teams will also have to work very close with their fuel & lubricant suppliers in order to improve in-race fuel consumption.

And here’s where it becomes tricky for Ferrari. The Italian team has been known to benefit from quite hungry powerplants, as their V8s … (read more)

American manufacturer Chrysler, in partnership with Dick Clark Productions, NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press, took advantage of the 67th edition of the Annual Golden Globe Awards to donate several of its vehicles to charity, including to the worldwide Haiti relief effort.

As the sponsor of the event, Chrysler provided the Chrysler 300 vehicles in which celebrities came to the event. The cars are powered by the 5.7l HEMI V8 engine with Multi-displacement System (MDS) and are painted differ… (read more)

Amid rumors and artifacts of Twitter’s testing accounts managed by multiple users, we’ve found a startup focusing on precisely that problem.

The biggest and perhaps best known competitor in this space is CoTweet, a truly enterprise-scalable solution for Twitter accounts with multiple users. It’s well-suited to brands or news organizations in particular, but BirdHerd might provide a low-cost alternative for small- to medium-sized businesses or other groups.

Sponsor

Here’s how it works: Users sign in via Twitter’s OAuth feature. They then choose which other Twitter users should have the ability to tweet from the chosen account.

The other users they choose can then direct message the original Twitter account at any time. The DMs appear in the original account’s timeline with a slash-via attribution system that lets users know who sent the tweet.

For example, I gave @Eston access to my account tonight, and he DM’d me this message, which was immediately broadcast to all my Twitter followers:

The BirdHerd website states, “At some point in the future, we will offer paid ‘pro’ plans with extra features, interesting stats and quicker response times.” At the moment, all accounts are free with an invite code, and future accounts will always be available free of charge to any user. Additionally, beta testers will receive 2 months of “pro” features free.

The app is a collaboration between self-described “code ninja” Colin Brumelle of Mixed Content and design studio twothirty.

To access the site and use its awesome, group- and team-friendly features, use the code “rww” to login and set up your account. That code will work for the first 200 users; after that, you’ll have to put yourself on a waiting list and hold your breath until the site goes public.

And do let us know what you think of the app in the comments.

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Renault recently introduced the new TomTom version of the popular Kangoo, a limited series based on the Privilege that also adds a number of exclusive features. The TomTom Edition flavor is the fifth Kangoo available in France, in addition to Access, Authentique, Expression and Privilege.

It comprises features such as the built-in Carminat TomTom navigation system, Climate Control Pack – automatic climate control, automatic windscreen wiper and headlamp activation, panoramic glass sunroofs, … (read more)

Aol’s answer to Wikipedia is Owl, a new site described as “a living, breathing library where useful knowledge, opinions and images are posted from experts the world over.”

Owl seems more of a testbed for Seed than anything else. Seed, of course, is Aol’s new
low-cost content management system for soliciting articles and photographs for its network of existing Websites. Owl will crowdsource freelance work from “experts” who submit articles about movies, books, health, sports, money, parenting, computers, and other topics.

An “expert” is anyone who gets approved through Seed. Contributers get paid a little bit and the articles tend to be more how-to advice such as “How To Survive A Long Flight”, “The Right Way To Pop a Zit,” and “Top 5 Ways To Score Free Food.” It’s all very search-engine friendly.

Actually, Owl is less like Wikipedia than it is like Helium, which also pays for expert articles and has been around for more than three-years. Right now, Owl is rather spare. Most of the articles still seem to be written by Owl/Aol staff instead of contributors. That should change once more people find out about it.

Owl fits neatly into Aol’s plan to create as much content as possible on current topics or evergreen interests so that it can throw more ads against those Web pages. Even if Owl is way late to the game (see About.com, Helium, eHow, wikiHow, HowStuffWorks, Instructables, Expert Village, and so on), AOL operates a big enough network that it can just cross-promote Owl from its own sites. And, as I mentioned, search engines love that type of content.

The only question is whether or not Seed can feed Owl with enough articles to keep it healthy.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Verdell Jones made a 12-foot jumper with 32.8 seconds left in overtime to give Indiana the lead and freshman Christian Watford made two free throws to seal the Hoosiers’ 81-78 victory over Minnesota.

Jones finished with a career-high 24 points. Watford had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The victory ended Indiana’s three-game losing streak and sent students onto the court.

The Hoosiers (8-9, 2-3) have now won more Big Ten games than they did last season.

Minnesota (12-6, 3-3) lost for the third time in four games. Devoe Joseph led the Golden Gophers with 19 points. Ralph Sampson III had 17.

The Hoosiers never trailed in regulation and Minnesota couldn’t tie it until Joseph hit a 10-footer with 9.6 seconds to go.

Photo: Indiana’s Verdell Jones celebrates. (AP / Darron Cummings)

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

Much has been written about the number one status within Mercedes GP’s lineup for the 2010 season of Formula One. Given Michael Schumacher’s history of having lieutenant drivers rather than teammates has made most F1 pundits believe Nico Rosberg will have to play second fiddle to the 41-year old driver for the upcoming 3 seasons (the duration of Schu’s contract).

Talking about all these allegations, Chairman of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Dieter Zetsche revealed that the man res… (read more)

MLB.com reports: For the 15th Joyce Thome Benefit for Children’s Hospital of Illinois in Peoria, Andrea Thome decided to bring a few special guests — White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko and Phillies manager Charlie Manuel.

“There are not too many things that will get past me, put it that way,” said former Sox slugger Jim Thome.

“For them to take the time and come in like this, it’s humbling. It means a lot.

“You play with guys and it’s a really cool situation. It tears you up a little bit when I found out they were coming. It was a neat thing.”

The event, held Saturday, is a tribute to Jim’s mother Joyce Thome, mother who lost her battle with lung cancer in January 2005.

Get the full story at mlb.com.

Photo: Paul Konerko is greeted by Jim Thome after a home run. (Scott Strazzante / Tribune)

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

Unwanted by their teams, Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady are still adored by their fans.

The Memphis Grizzlies quickly parted ways with Iverson. The Houston Rockets are trying to trade McGrady.

Despite having little to no impact this season, both went into the final hours of voting in position to start, thanks to loyal fans who still consider them stars even though their stats say otherwise.

And with fans showing signs of getting it so wrong, Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen thinks it’s time to limit their influence.

The nine-time All-Star said the fan voting has made the game “watered down” and calls for a change in the process.

“I like the fact that the fans get the opportunity to vote and pick who they’d like to see in the All-Star game, but I don’t think it should be 100 percent,” Allen said this week.

Allen said fans should have 50 percent of the vote, with the other 50 percent being divided evenly between the media and the players. He said players know who is playing the best, and believes with his idea, “you’d look at five guys starting the All-Star team regardless of hype or highlight.”

The NBA likes things the way they are.

“We look at it as a great way to engage the fans,” NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said. “We think it’s a good system.”

The NBA went to fan voting for the starters in the mid-70s and this season made it even more available to its fans by allowing them to vote by text messaging.

Paper balloting has already closed, but votes can be cast until 11:59 p.m. Monday night on nba.com or by texting a player’s last name to 6-9-6-2-2 (MYNBA). Starters will be announced Thursday night.

During Shaquille O’Neal’s unproductive, injury-plagued final season in Miami in 2008, former Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said he planned to vote him as a reserve anyway, recalling when he played that respected older players such as Julius Erving still made All-Star teams late in their careers.

That’s why Charlotte coach Larry Brown supports Iverson’s election.

“I’ve seen Willie Mays and those older guys start based on what they’ve done in their career in baseball and we’ve had that happen in basketball for years, guys that have made a contribution,” Brown said.

“That’s why the fans are involved and I think it’s kind of neat that they are involved. They support the league, they vote for their favorite players. I always look at a guy’s body of work.”

Read the original article from Tribune News Services.

Ever wonder what the offspring of an after-party Twitter and Digg copulation might look like? No, well aren’t you pure and normal. Regardless, we fantasize about it all the time but never expected this iPhone payment dongle to be first from the litter. Square is Jack Dorsey’s (Twitter co-founder) new startup that now has Kevin Rose (Digg founder) on board as an investor and YouTube pitch man for the prototype payment device that plugs directly into the iPhone’s headphone jack. We’ve covered Square before but this is the first video that clearly demonstrates the full capability of the credit card swipe system on a live device. A compelling proposition for receiving cashless payments if you’re a small business owner looking to exploit irresponsible credit card debt or just the average Joe hocking goods at a garage sale, farmers market, or Craigslist. Assuming of course, Square’s cut of the transaction isn’t too egregious. Demo after the break.

Continue reading Square payment dongle demoed for iPhone toting hippies and you (video)

Square payment dongle demoed for iPhone toting hippies and you (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 01:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fermi hardware might still be two months away, but NVIDIA has done the sage thing and released some tantalizing numbers and architectural details to keep the fanboys chirping in the meantime. The GF100 will signal the end of tiresome rebadging and clock speed massaging, and early adopters will find 512 CUDA cores, 48 ROPs, and a 384-bit GDDR5 memory interface sprawled across three billion transistors. Big changes are also afoot in how the card will do its work, with a reorganization toward a more parallel workflow leading to promises of up to eight times better geometry performance than on the GT200. HardOCP reports that anti-aliasing results have improved “notably,” while the video we’ve got stashed after the break for you shows the GF100 beating the GTX 285 handily in a Far Cry 2 benchmark. Still, the PC Perspective crew expressed some apprehension about the massive die size and how it could impact yields given the still young 40nm production process — a sentiment echoed by other publications who questioned whether NVIDIA would not have been better off trying for a less ambitious, more gaming-oriented board. We should all know that answer soon enough.

Read – AnandTech
Read – Hot Hardware
Read – PC Perspective
Read – HardOCP
Read – Tom’s Hardware

Continue reading NVIDIA Fermi / GF100 architectural details revealed

NVIDIA Fermi / GF100 architectural details revealed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 01:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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