The Next Xbox: Everything We Think We Know

We're finding out about the new Xbox in just a few hours. But that doesn't mean we have no idea what's coming. Here's a rundown of everything we know, or think we know, about the next Xbox.

The Specs

We are pretty sure we know what the guts of the new Xbox look like. It'll have a 64-bit, 8-core, 1.6GHz processor made by AMD with x86 architecture and 8GB of DDR3 RAM. (x86 means, broadly, that it's a lot like the chips in your home computer, which is a change for Xbox, which had until now run on PowerPC.) The GPU is an 800mhz DirectX 11.x, and will be accompanied by custom hardware to accelerate certain Xbox-specific tasks. It's also got an ethernet port, an optical disc drive (reported Blu-ray), a default 500GB SATA 2 HDD, USB 3.0 ports, and HDMI out and in ports.

For reference, the current Xbox 360 has a 500MHz GPU, a 3-core 3.6GHz processor, and 512MB of RAM. The upcoming PlayStation 4 also has an 8-core 64-bit processor and 8GB of RAM.

Price

This one's tricky. There is zero official information out there. But we do have some clues. Microsoft supernerd Paul Thurott spitballed a "$500, $300 with subscription" number that hints at the real issue with the new Xbox: subsidized pricing.

Microsoft already offers a subsidized Xbox 360 + Kinect package for $100 up front, if you sign up for two years of Xbox Live Gold at $15 per month. That comes out to $360 for just the two years, which is more than you'd pay if you're bargain hunting for cheap subscription renewals.

A two-year subscription for a next gen Xbox probably wouldn't stick in the craw as much as being locked into two years with the current system (though there's no reason to think the current subscriptions won't work on a new Xbox). But the relative surety of the subsidized pricing implies two things. One, this is probably coming in higher than the $400/$300 levels of the 360. And two, Microsoft understands that a gaming console, no matter how many features you pack in, is a tough thing to swallow as that big of an up-front cost.

Availability

This seems like a no-brainer, but a Microsoft exec strongly indicated recently that the next Xbox would be in stores in time for your holiday shopping spree. Which is good! Not many people are looking to buy a gaming console as a President's Day gift.

Name

There's a popular rumor floating that the next Xbox is going to be called Xbox Infinity, but it's not based on much more than a clever mock-up made by a Redditor. While Xbox has trademarked Xbox 8 (which is an infinity sign turned upright), there's no real indication that that will be the name, any more than Xbox 720 or just plain old Xbox.

The Controller

Largely the same! Most of what we know about the new Xbox controller comes from our friends at Kotaku, who tell us the controller is mostly the same, if a little smaller.

According to Kotaku's sources:

The controller, according to Kotaku sources, actually seems quite similar to the current Xbox 360 one. Same two analog sticks in the same upper-left/lower-right position, same positioning of the d-pad and face buttons and forward and back buttons. Triggers. Bumpers. Top-center power button. It all seems to be the same, though we can't tell if any of these buttons have been improved-if, say, the d-pad responds more crisply, if the triggers pull more deeply, and so on.

More broadly, this means that you won't see new points of interface on the new controller, like the Wii U's 5-inch LCD or the PlayStation 4's touchpad.

Kinect 2: Mandatory

OK, so the part about the controller being mostly unchanged is only partially true. Why? The Kinect will be standard with every next gen Xbox sold, making it even more of a de facto controller extension than the current iteration.

The Kinect 2 will be upgraded significantly, to not just detect broad arm movements and laborious, seizure-like movements generously described as "dancing", but finer hand gestures sent from multiple users. It's also said to implement more natural language controls (think Siri), as well as features like wake-on-speech.

Which sounds great. But in reality, it's probably more realistic to expect the new Kinect to perform the tasks the original was meant to at a now-acceptable level, and for these new features to be at about the same level as the curent Kinect (that is, passable, at times). So look for refined gesture recognition and improved speech control accuracy, chiefly.

Other less certain rumored features include eye-tracking, which can be amazing in the right environment, and features like pausing videos or games when you turn your head (which might be the most pointless feature being adopted by multiple companies right now).

"Always On"?

This has been a major sticking point. Rumors have persisted that the new Xbox will require a persistent internet connection, presumably at broadband level, in order to play games. And the people have not been amused.

The move, which we've seen with individual games like Diablo 3 and SimCity, would presumably be to enforce stricter security and anti-piracy features. It would also prevent a smaller-every-day but still significant group of people from playing and enjoying Xbox games. But we've also heard that it could only pertain to entertainment features, which would make slightly more sense, since that would require constantly pulling down information about content.

Microsoft has kowtowed to public sentiment on other future-facing issues after backlash from the slow or unreliably networked, like its original musings about ditching the optical drive this generation in favor of downloaded games. So it could go either way.

Update: An internal Microsoft memo obtained by Ars Technica indicates that you'll be able to play Xbox games offline after all. Phew! Hopefully.

Xbox TV

One of the underplayed details is that the new console will reportedly have an HDMI in port. What does that mean? The Xbox is in all likelihood going to be used to control literally everything your TV does.

How would that work? The HDMI-out from your cable box would route through your Xbox, which would then apply its own interface on top of it. Theoretically, that would let Microsoft integrate all sorts of features into that. It's likely where the reports of the Kinect controlling your cable box came from.

Don't sleep on this as a major feature of the new Xbox. It could include capabilities ranging from deep content recognition to DVR to (hypothetically) picture-in-picture TV shows in games. This is especially interesting given the reported capability to "hot switch" between two games, effectively running both at once. The WSJ recently reported that Microsoft had definitely at least explored these options?though how many show up tomorrow is anyone's guess outside of Redmond.

And don't forget, Microsoft is also reported to have a cheaper, set-top-box-only version of these features coming later this year, too.

Original Content?

Back in September, Microsoft hired a CBS executive to head up production of "original video content" for the Xbox. We still don't really know what that means. (The UK Xbox is already getting into the business of distributing movies, for instance.) It could be that, like Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu, Xbox Live Gold and the Microsoft Video Store is going to get its own original series. Which would be sort of insane. But don't rule it out.

Windows Integration

This is based on speculation, but hear us out anyway. The new Xbox will probably integrate tightly into Windows 8, and the broader Windows Universe that Microsoft is building. It will do this as a gaming system, but also as a set top box.

The first thing to note is that this is actually possible this generation. The new Xbox has moved to an AMD x86 chip, meaning it's using the same type of chip that Windows PCs have. Rumors have the new Xbox running Windows 8, but even if it's not quite running the same operating system, the change of platforms should make developing games, especially for indie developers, a lot easier.

Consider: Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is hugely successful. It's a wonderful place to find and enjoy indie content. And that's exactly the sort of thing that Microsoft would love to get into its Windows Store, which is doing fine, more or less, but still hasn't reached the level Microsoft would like.

Further, tighter integration of apps like Xbox Music, Internet Explorer, and other Windows 8 features, would make sense for the central location of Windows 8 in your home. Of course, that doesn't mean you'd just fire up the Xbox and see the Windows 8 start screen. The Dashboard has been revamped a few times, but it's already in tune with the Windows 8 aesthetic (and, really, was the incubator for it), so figure that'll go along mostly untouched.

Goodbye, Used Games?

The biggest bummer to come out of the rumor mill is that the new Xbox might ditch the ability to play, and therefore buy and sell and trade, used games. It's unclear whether that will happen, but we do know that games will have to be installed to be played, though that will take place in the background over the course of play, instead of up front before you can even get into the game.

Xbox Tablet?

Microsoft is also rumored to have a 7-inch Xbox tablet coming this year, running on an ARM processor (possible Intel SoC in the future). Originally reported by the Verge, the tablet is supposed to be running a "custom Windows kernel" instead of Windows RT, which would make sense if it's to retain ties to older XBLA titles.

For a more hardcore gamer perspective on the new Xbox, check out Kotaku's rundown on what to expect.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5995375/the-next-xbox-everything-we-think-we-know

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Washington DC Weather: Warm and muggy air lingers but a nice weekend ahead

Continued warm and muggy with a refreshing push for the holiday weekend!

Today:

AM Clouds/Fog, Break for Sun, Warm & Humid, Chance of PM Storms

Highs: 83?-88?

Precipitation: 40%

Overnight:

Stray Storm Early, Otherwise Partly Cloudy, Muggy

Lows: 63?-73?

Precipitation: 30%

Tomorrow:

More Clouds than Sun, Scattered Thundershowers

Highs: 79?-83?

Precipitation: 70%

Today will shape up much like yesterday and the day before. PLEASE FRIEND ME ON FACEBOOK AND FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!

Morning clouds and fog eventually break for sunshine and temperatures should push a few degrees higher into the mid and possibly upper 80s. Regardless, the humidity will make it feel even warmer with a couple of afternoon storm possible. Some of which could be on the heavier side, especially northwest of the city! Tomorrow brings another cloudy start with a higher likelihood of some scattered thundershowers as a cold front approaches. Friday could see some lingering showers, but it will be much cooler and becoming less humid. It still looks like the holiday weekend should be rather pleasant with lots of sun, low humidity and refreshing highs in the low and middle 70s. Stay tuned and have a great week!

Source: http://www.wjla.com/blogs/weather/2013/05/washington-dc-weather-warm-and-muggy-air-lingers-but-a-nice-weekend-ahead-18882.html

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Siri Competitor Maluuba Brings Sports Results And TV Schedules To Its Android And Windows Phone Apps

Maluuba, the Waterloo, Canada-based Siri competitor and TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2012 Battlefield finalist, today announced that it has added two new features to its voice-powered personal assistant app for Android and Windows Phone: sports and TV schedules. With this, Maluuba users in the U.S. and Canada can now ask it for near real-time sports results and query the service for TV listings in their area by name, genre or channel. One aspect of the service the Maluuba team has always been proud of is the fact that it has managed to add additional domains to the service quickly. The service started out with 18 domains, including restaurants, movies and general knowledge queries, but the team has continued to expand the range of topics it can handle since then. It has also rapidly expanded internationally since its launch and launched its Windows Phone 8 app earlier this year, too. With the new sports integration – and thanks to Maluuba’s expertise in natural language processing – users can ask Maluuba questions like “When is the next Blackhawks game?” or ?How many wins do the New York Yankees have?” and get answers almost immediately. To get this data, the company has partnered with Sports Direct. For TV shows, Maluuba now understands questions like “When’s The Big Bang Theory playing next?” or “What’s on Channel 5?” ?These features are a testament to our vision. Users want exact results, not just blue links that are merely?related,” Mohamed Musbah,?Maluuba’s product manager, said in a canned statement today.?”When you first use Sports or TV search on Maluuba, you?ll realize how easy and fast search can?be.” With its recently announced “conversational search” feature, Google is also adding more voice and NLP-powered search tools to its feature set. Maluuba, right now, still seems to be ahead of Google in many areas, The company tells me that it believes Google’s entry into this market validates Maluuba’s model and the team doesn’t seem to be afraid of Google for now.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/f54MkBNIPQc/

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Spot satellite-powered Global Phone keeps adventurers connected for $499

Sick of that spotty (read: non-existent) cell coverage 1,000 miles off the coast of Alaska? This time, you can't blame AT&T. There is an option for getting connected, though, and it's not quite as pricey as you think. Spot, a subsidiary of satellite communications giant Globalstar, recently announced its new Global Phone, a fairly basic lightweight handset that supports phone calls, SMS and compressed data at speeds of up to 28 kbps for $499. Usage fees are also fairly reasonable, with plans ranging from 10 minutes per month for $25 to unlimited calling for $150, plus a $50 activation fee. There's also an 80-minute plan for $40, 200 minutes for $65 or 400 minutes for $100 with monthly billing. The device itself sports four hours of talk time or 36 hours of standby, and provides direct access to GEOS International Emergency Response Coordination Center when you dial 911. The Global Phone is available now through a variety of retailers, including Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's and REI.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: Spot

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/rGKq6rUqPCs/

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Bottom Line ? Regulatory Fairness Meeting for Small Business

On Thursday June 6, small business owners will have an opportunity to discuss issues regarding Federal regulatory compliance and enforcement. SBA Acting National Ombudsman Yolanda V. Swift will meet with members of the Seattle-area small business community to hear issues and comments about Federal regulatory enforcement and compliance actions.?Small business owners, representatives of trade associations, and community and business leaders are invited to participate, comment about compliance actions and enforcement of regulations by Federal agencies, and learn more about the impact of Federal regulations on small businesses.

This Seattle Hearing will be your opportunity to testify/discuss issues regarding Federal regulatory compliance and enforcement and how you have been affected as a small business owner. The SBA?s Office of the Ombudsman?s mission is?to assist small businesses when they experience excessive or unfair federal regulatory enforcement actions, such as repetitive audits or investigations, excessive fines, penalties, threats, retaliation or other unfair enforcement action by a federal agency.

The event will take place on Thursday, June 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Rainier Club (820 4th Avenue, Seattle). To RSVP, contact Jose.Mendez@Seattle.gov.

The SBA?s Office of the Ombudsman also allows you to fill out a comment form on your experience working with Federal regulations. The comment form can be found here.

For more information or if you have any questions about this meeting, contact SBA Fairness Board Member Rich Gaspar at Rich@Gaspars.com

Source: http://bottomline.seattle.gov/2013/05/20/regulatory-fairness-meeting-for-small-business/

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Samsung plans to launch 65-, 55-inch 4K TVs in June

When Samsung unveiled its first 4K Ultra HD TV at CES this year, it said other sizes would follow, both larger and smaller than the initial 85-inch version. Now it's apparently ready to fulfill part of that promise, announcing in Korea that 65- and 55-inch models will launch next month. Of course our next question is how these smaller models will compare to the $39,999 MSRP 85S9 UHD TV in price. Hopefully they'll follow the path blazed by Sony, which recently introduced models at that size with pricing well below the $10,000 benchmark, although we expect Seiki's 50-incher will still hold the crown for value pricing. The press release mentions they will feature Samsung's upgradeable Smart TV platform and the "micro dimming ultimate" LED lighting of their larger cousin, but the odd "Timeless Gallery" frame / stand (pictured above on the 85-incher) was not listed.

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD, Samsung

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Source: Korea Newswire

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ySBHz47brtM/

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Gunmen shoot into Calif. home, 10-year-old killed

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Authorities were searching for at least two gunmen who walked up to the door of a Northern California home and opened fire, killing a 10-year-old girl and injuring her parents.

"Whoever these gunmen were, they were directly outside the front door," Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jason Ramos said Sunday. "This was not a drive-by. These gunmen approached the house and shot inside."

Sacramento County sheriff's officials suspected that a family member had gang ties.

"You have to be hard pressed to think a 10-year-old girl was the intended target," Ramos said.

At least a dozen shots were fired from two guns at the house on Saturday night, killing Elvira Campos and injuring her parents, Ramos said. The names of the parents ? both of whom were in their 40s and were expected to survive ? were not released.

The girl's 14-year-old brother was playing video games in a back room and was not hurt.

Detectives were canvassing the neighborhood for possible witnesses and forensic units were gathering evidence at the home Sunday, where a cluster of bullet holes marked a front window and more holes were found in the front door and a window frame.

The family had lived in the home in an area about 11 miles northeast of downtown Sacramento for less than a year, Ramos said. There were no records of sheriff's officials being sent there previously, he said.

"I can't even imagine what would bring people to do that," neighbor James Corbett told The Associated Press. Corbett, who lives about three houses down from where the girl was shot, described the neighborhood as quiet, with a "bunch of young families."

On Sunday morning, about a half dozen grieving relatives arrived at the home, The Sacramento Bee reported.

"We have no idea what happened ? she was a very happy little girl," Tony Reys, the uncle of the girl, told the newspaper.

Sheriff's officials were also investigating a separate shooting Sunday morning that took place not far from the home. The victim of that shooting ? a 32-year-old man who survived ? was "definitely a gang member" and detectives were looking at the possibility the shootings were related, Ramos said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gunmen-shoot-calif-home-10-old-killed-080442096.html

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Rome protest turns up heat on new PM Letta

ROME (Reuters) - Thousands of people protested in Rome on Saturday against austerity policies and high unemployment, urging new Prime Minister Enrico Letta to focus on creating jobs to help pull the country out of recession.

"We hope that this government will finally start listening to us because we are losing our patience," said Enzo Bernardis, who joined the sea of protesters waving red flags and calling for more workers' rights and better contracts.

Less than a month in power, Letta is trying to hold together an uneasy coalition between his center-left Democratic party and the center-right People of Freedom, led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Confidence in the government, cobbled together after inconclusive elections, is already falling, with one poll on Friday by the SWG institute showing its approval rating had dropped to 34 percent from 43 percent at the start of the month.

"We can't wait anymore" and "We need money to live" were among slogans on banners held up by the crowds.

Letta promised to make jobs his top priority when he came to power in April after two months of political deadlock. But several protesters complained he was not sticking to his vow, focusing instead on a property tax reform outlined this week.

Union leaders said he needed to shift away from the austerity agenda pursued by former Prime Minister Mario Monti, who introduced a range of spending cuts, tax hikes and pension reform to shore up strained public finances.

"We need to start over with more investment. If we don't restart with public and private investments, there will no new jobs," said Maurizio Landini, secretary-general of the left-wing metalworkers union Fiom.

Italy is stuck in its longest recession since quarterly records began in 1970, and jobless rates are close to record highs, with youth unemployment at around 38 percent.

Other protesters were pessimistic that Letta's fragile government would be able to take effective action.

"This government will last a very short time," said demonstrator Marco Silvani. What we need is a new leftist party that fights for the rights of the people," he said.

(Reporting By Carmelo Carmilli and Roberto Mignucci, writing by Catherine Hornby; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rome-protest-turns-heat-pm-letta-114700250.html

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Coach K return to US team no longer ruled out

Mike Krzyzewski is no longer ruling out a return as coach of the U.S. Olympic men's basketball team.

Though the Duke coach had repeatedly said he wouldn't be back after last summer, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo says they spoke about a week ago and there has been "movement" toward a return.

Krzyzewski told Sports Illustrated in a story Saturday that "there's a chance" he would lead the United States in 2016 for an attempt at a third gold medal.

Krzyzewski, 66, took over as U.S. coach in 2005. The Americans won a bronze medal in the 2006 world basketball championship and haven't lost a game since.

Even as Krzyzewski kept saying he was finished, Colangelo hoped he would reconsider. Colangelo wants a coach in place before the team holds a minicamp in July and believes there will be a decision soon.

The Americans' next tournament is the 2014 World Cup of Basketball in Spain.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/coach-k-return-us-team-no-longer-ruled-021743392.html

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Don't miss the 6th Annual International Museum Day on Sunday ...

Source: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/05/18/2581672/dont-miss-the-6th-annual-international.html

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Google's Plan To Take Over The World - Business Insider

Getty/Justin Sullivan

Google CEO Larry Page at I/O.

Google's big keynote at its I/O developers conference this week wore me out.

Not because it lasted a grueling three hours and fifty minutes, but because of what was announced. With every new product update, every new feature, every new virtual service, it became more and more clear that Google isn't just a search company that makes loads of cash by showing you ads. It's creeping into every aspect of our digital, physical, and private lives at an exponential rate.?

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it.

Google isn't just the backbone of the Internet anymore. It's rapidly becoming the backbone of your entire life, all thanks to data you're voluntarily giving up to a private company based on your Web searches, photos, Gmail messages, and more.

After spending three days at I/O this week, it became more apparent than ever that unless millions (billions?) of people suddenly change their mind and start using alternative tech tools, or unless the government steps in waving the anti-trust banner, our lives, our history, and our personal wealth could be managed by one company ?? Google.

It's the most apparent in Google Now, a voice-powered personal assistant that launched on Android phones last year. At I/O, it became even more clear that Google no longer sees search as returning a list of 10 or 20 relevant links when you type in a query. Google Now is much more than that. It's the embodiment of that geeky dream of a "Star Trek Computer," an intelligent machine that understands natural language and real-world context to assist you before you even know you need assistance.?

Google Now scans your email and knows when your Amazon package is arriving. It knows what sports scores to show you based on the teams you've searched for. It knows what stock prices to show you based on the companies you search for. It scans your calendar and reminds you when to leave to make your appointment on time. And all that data is delivered to you without you having to ask.?

Following I/O, Google Now is more prevalent than before. Google recently launched the app on iPhones and iPads, and it's coming to the desktop soon if you use the Chrome Web browser. Next year, you'll be wearing Google Now on your face if you buy Google Glass.

Then there are photos, arguably the most personal things you share online. Now, Google scans every single one you upload to Google+. It can learn what your family members look like and group photos of them into albums automatically. It can tell if your subjects are smiling. If they're not smiling, it can stitch their faces in from other images where they are and create the perfect photo for you. It knows if you're taking pictures of mountains or puppies or buildings or famous landmarks and group your photo albums together accordingly.

It's creepy and magical at the same time.

Google Glass didn't get any stage time during the I/O keynote, but it was still a significant part of the event. You couldn't go anywhere ?? the press room, the cafeteria, the?restroom ?? without someone's computerized headgear staring back at you. It was oddly discomforting knowing that thousands of people had the ability to take a photo or video of you just by winking at their Glass.?

It's far too early to tell if Glass will take off when it's ready for the general public, but if it does, then it'll be just another example of how Google has reached into the physical space to take over everything we see and do.

I could go on and on, but this week I learned that Google has its hand in almost every aspect day-to-day life and its penetration is only accelerating.

Android is growing like crazy with 900 million activations to date, and it has the potential to connect billions of people to the Internet for the first time in the next few years. Google Maps has a new look, and it's turned into a snappy way to find places to visit and get recommendations. Gmail is turning into a money transfer service. I can only imagine what Google co-founder Sergey Brin is working on at Google X, the company's lab for futuristic products.

The question to ask now is, are we OK with this? Does the benefit of faster search, better transportation, and automated news updates outweigh giving up so much of our lives to a computer run by a private company that mines our data??

They're issues we'd have to tackle gradually, but hopefully not before Google advances faster than we can adapt.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/googles-plan-to-take-over-the-world-2013-5

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Iran's Farhadi and China's Jia make Cannes splash

CANNES, France (AP) -- Two directors from countries with tough film censorship brought bold and probing movies to the Cannes Film Festival on Friday ? one exploring China's social problems, the other delving into the mysteries of the human heart.

Jia Zhangke's "A Touch of Sin" depicts facets of fast-changing China that the government prefers to avoid: corruption, greed, violent crime and the growing gap between economic winners and losers.

"The Past," by Academy Award-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, is an unsparing tale of domestic upheaval, set in and around Paris and made with a largely French cast.

Both films are competing for Cannes' top prize, the Palme d'Or ? and both have been cleared for release in their homelands, where filmmakers often fall foul of restrictions.

Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has approved "The Past" for screening, and "A Touch of Sin" is due to open in China in the fall.

The two directors are pleased their films will be seen at home, but they gave very different descriptions of working in settings where official censorship is an everyday reality.

"I'm someone who is deeply attached to my creative freedom, and I always do my utmost to ensure I don't indulge in any form of self-censorship," said Jia, who has explored China's rapid transformation throughout his career ? from early underground films such as "Unknown Pleasures" to documentaries to the Venice Film Festival prize-winning 2006 feature "Still Life."

Farhadi, though, said the effect of censorship was more insidious.

"One can try to free oneself of the past, but the past doesn't let you do that," he said ? both a theme of "The Past" and an observation of his own situation.

"There are two kinds of censorship," he told reporters. "You have official censorship which works in a certain way. But there is also self-censorship. You impose it on your innermost self."

Iran's authorities have long had an uneasy relationship with the country's filmmakers, and influential clerics have often denounced the domestic cinema as dominated by Western-tainted liberals and political dissenters. Some directors and actors have faced arrest or fled the country.

While Farhadi shot previous films including "A Separation" ? the 2012 foreign-language Oscar winner ? in Iran, "The Past" was made entirely outside the country. It follows an Iranian man (actor-director Ali Mosaffa), who returns to France to finalize a divorce from his ex (Berenice Bejo, from "The Artist"), but soon becomes entangled again with her, her children and her new love ("A Prophet" star Tahar Rahim).

The film premiered at Cannes Friday and was hailed as the first Palme d'Or contender of the festival. Critics praised its meticulous and non-judgmental look at the messy effects of relationships and their breakdown, on adults and on children.

Farhadi admitted that he felt "more secure" shooting outside Iran, free of external restrictions ? but not of his own inner guidelines. He said he tried to see these "not as an obstacle but as an asset" ? part of his creative makeup as a director.

Like his previous work, "The Past" is emotionally revealing but not overtly political. The director said he was happy to keep working on an intimate canvas, exploring the dynamics of personal relationships.

"There is so much suffering and pain attached to a couple, but the suffering and pain is always unique," he said. "I could spend my whole career exploring this theme without ever exhausting it."

Farhadi said he doesn't know what he will make next ? or whether it will be in Iran.

"I won't decide where it will take place," he said. "It's history that will decide for me."

In contrast, "A Touch of Sin" feels strongly political. Made up of four linked episodes focusing on uprooted citizens of the new China, its storylines have been ripped from the headlines. There's a villager driven to violence by official corruption; an amoral killer roaming the land; a factory worker driven to suicide.

Jia ? whose film "24 City" played at Cannes in 2008 ? said he became preoccupied by the increasingly frequent stories of violence he saw in the media, and wanted to dramatize the stories for Chinese moviegoers.

"In society people often hear about these violent events, but they quickly forget," he said. "It's not by turning your back on violence or hiding violence that you make progress."

Jia said he didn't think the topics he depicted "are particularly touchy or secretive in any way, because they were already covered in the Chinese press and on the Internet."

But the director also was careful to stress ? and the censors no doubt happy to hear ? that the stories were timeless, not the product of modern politics, economics or technology.

"If these people were alive 100, 200, 300 years ago, at the time of the emperors, their motivation for acting like that would be exactly the same," he said. "We live in the era of the Internet and high-speed trains, but have people changed?"

___

Jill Lawless can be reached at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/irans-farhadi-chinas-jia-cannes-192522722.html

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IRS Planted Question About Tax Exempt Groups

Steven Miller

The Internal Revenue Service planted a question at an American Bar Association conference in order to reveal that it had inappropriately targeted conservative groups prior to the 2012 elections. But members of Congress are questioning why they weren't told earlier.

The question that prompted Lois Lerner, IRS director of tax exempt organizations, to apologize for the agency's actions came from Celia Roady, a prominent Washington lawyer in private practice. Roady said that she received a call from Lerner the day before the May 10 conference, requesting that Roady ask a question about tax exempt groups.

"I received a call from Lois Lerner, who told me that she wanted to address an issue after her prepared remarks at the [American Bar Association] Tax Section's Exempt Organizations Committee Meeting, and asked if I would pose a question to her after her remarks," Roady said in a statement obtained by ABC News.

"I agreed to do so, and she then gave me the question that I asked at the meeting the next day. We had no discussion thereafter on the topic of the question, nor had we spoken about any of this before I received her call. She did not tell me, and I did not know, how she would answer the question." (The event was not recorded.)

But at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing today, lawmakers questioned why Lerner had appeared before the committee just days before the conference and failed to disclose what she knew about the targeting.

"A little more than a week ago Lois Lerner was in front of our Oversight Subcommittee. She serves as the director of the Exempt Organization Division, and she has been directly involved in this matter, yet she failed to disclose what she knew to this committee, choosing instead to do so at an ABA conference two days later," Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) said on Friday morning. "This is wholly unacceptable."

Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller was grilled by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) over what he called the IRS's "scheme" to plant a question at the ABA but not inform Congress.

Miller said he spoke with Lerner about how to make the information in the inspector general's investigation public.

"So we were going to do it at the same time, I believe, that our intent was to talk to [Congress] at the same time," Miller said.

Asked by Roskam whether Congress was informed "at the same time," Miller said, "It did not happen, I don't believe."

In a conference call with reporters on May 10, Lerner said that she did not publicly reveal the fact that the IRS had targeted conservative groups earlier because she had never been asked.

"Somebody asked me a question today, so I answered it," Lerner said.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/irs-planted-tax-exempt-groups-225212609--abc-news-politics.html

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Activists: Rebel groups kidnap in Syria's Aleppo

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian activists say that a wave of tit-for-tat kidnappings between rival Islamic militant groups in the northern city of Aleppo risks sparking large-scale internal fighting between rebels.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Saturday that a coalition known as the Judicial Council had accused another rebel force, the Ghurabaa al-Sham, of robbing factories in Aleppo's industrial neighborhood.

He said the two groups clashed on Tuesday and the Judicial Council is now holding Ghurabaa al-Sham members captive. The Ghurabaa al-Sham is also holding Judicial Council members.

Aleppo-based activist Mohammed Saeed said Ghurabaa al-Sham withdrew its fighters from several neighborhoods, including the industrial area.

Aleppo is Syria's largest city and is split between rebel and government control.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/activists-rebel-groups-kidnap-syrias-aleppo-102825981.html

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Save Your Legs With This Self-Balancing Briefcase Unicycle

Honda has been demoing its sitting Segways for years now, but the Hammacher Schlemmer version has one crucial advantage over them: it's actually for sale. So instead of just being tantalized by a future where legs are an unnecessary human feature, we're now officially living it.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/QUQE8k_nKgU/save-your-legs-with-this-self-balancing-briefcase-unicy-507545114

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New CEO vows Intel will be more responsive in mobile push

By Noel Randewich

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp's new CEO Brian Krzanich said on Thursday that under his leadership the top chipmaker will be more responsive to customers in an intensified focus on the fast-growing smartphone and tablet market where it lags its rivals.

Krzanich took over as chief executive at Intel's annual shareholders meeting, replacing Paul Otellini, who in November unexpectedly announced his plan to retire. Under Otellini, Intel has been sidelined in smartphones and tablets while demand for its PC processors is on the wane.

"Yes, we missed it, we were slow to tablets and some of the mobile computing. We do believe we have a good base," Krzanich told shareholders at an annual meeting.

Krzanich, a 30-year Intel veteran who made his name running Intel's cutting-edge manufacturing plants, said he and software honcho Renee James, who the board elevated to president, have already started meeting with manufacturing customers.

"They're all showing us - here's where the market's moving and here's where we need Intel to move," Krzanich said. "We're going to make adjustments in our architecture and our product choices."

Intel for decades has called the shots in the personal computer industry but it was slow to react to the explosion of smartphones and tablets, markets now dominated by competitors like Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics, which design their chips using architecture licensed from ARM Holdings Plc.

Intel's strength has traditionally come from its manufacturing prowess, and Krzanich's promotion is seen as confirmation by the board that the company's multibillion-dollar network of cutting-edge factories still holds the key to success.

James' promotion underscores a belief in Intel that software and other related services are also important ingredients.

"I think the emphasis is important," Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith said of Krzanich's remarks.

"A focus on the end-customer, a focus on execution and a really strong focus on the ultra-mobile segment of the business. That's pretty important," Smith told Reuters.

Last week, Intel unveiled the most extensive overhaul to date of its Atom mobile processors that underpin its push into smartphones and tablets.

Intel's processors have been used in a handful of smartphones in Asia, Africa and Europe but the company has yet to release Long Term Evolution, or LTE, a high-speed wireless technology already offered by Qualcomm and increasingly found in smartphones launched in the United States, including Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy line.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Alden Bentley)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ceo-vows-intel-more-responsive-mobile-push-180505918.html

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Arson not ruled out in fire that caused plant explosion

By Lisa Maria Garza

WEST, Texas (Reuters) - The cause of a fire that triggered a massive explosion at a West, Texas fertilizer plant has been ruled undetermined, and investigators have not eliminated the possibility that the fire was set intentionally, state and federal officials said on Thursday.

Robert Champion, a special agent in charge at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said that while authorities could not rule out arson, they also could not eliminate the plant's electrical system or a golf cart at the plant as potential causes.

The West Fertilizer Co facility, which supplied fertilizer to area farmers, exploded on April 17 about 20 minutes after a fire was reported at the plant. The blast - actually, what officials described Thursday as a pair of blasts separated by milliseconds, - killed 14 people and badly damaged a residential area including an apartment building, nursing home and school.

The investigation, which cost the ATF more than $1 million, involved pursuing 280 leads, interviewing 500 people, and sifting through 300,000 pounds of corn by hand to collect evidence, Assistant State Fire Marshal Kelly Kistner said.

"It's like taking a large puzzle, putting it on the coffee table and trying to put the pieces back together, but you don't know if the pieces are all there to begin with," Kistner said.

The scene investigation is complete, but the overall probe into the fire is continuing, State Fire Marshal Chris Connealy said. The fire marshal's office is also investigating the deaths of the first responders.

Most of the dead were firefighters and paramedics who responded to the initial fire. Some 200 people were injured.

"This was one of the worst events among first responders," Connealy said. "We wanted to leave no stone unturned to give this community some aspects of closure."

The plant stored anhydrous ammonia, a liquid fertilizer, as well as ammonium nitrate, a dry fertilizer that can ignite in certain conditions. Ammonium nitrate was an ingredient in the device used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Investigators had previously ruled out possible causes including the weather, natural causes, a fire within the ammonium nitrate bin, a rail car containing ammonium nitrate and anhydrous ammonia - another fertilizer component.

Investigators believe the fire started somewhere in the 12,000-square-foot (1,100-square-meter) fertilizer and seed building. They confirmed last week that ammonium nitrate stored at the plant detonated in the explosion.

"As temperature increased, the pressure increased, which made the ammonium nitrate change states and its sensitivity to shock increase," Kistner said Thursday. "A portion of ammonium nitrate caused the first explosion."

The small explosion produced enough heat and shock to cause the remaining ammonium nitrate to massively explode, he said.

Between 28 and 34 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded at the plant, and an additional 20 to 30 tons were in the building but did not explode, Kistner said. In addition, there were 100 tons of ammonium nitrate in a rail car that did not explode, though the rail car itself "was a victim of the explosion," Kistner said.

"To put this in a different perspective, the ammonium nitrate that exploded was equivalent to approximately 15,000 to 20,000 pounds of TNT," Kistner said.

State officials last week announced a criminal probe into the explosion.

Bryce Reed, a paramedic who was among the first responders at the explosion site, was arrested last week for possession of pipe bomb components. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Waco on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to the charge on Wednesday, federal prosecutors said.

"At this time, we won't speculate on whether there is a connection between (Reed) and the fertilizer plant explosion," Champion said.

Reed's lawyer, Jonathan Sibley, said in a statement on Wednesday that Reed denies any involvement in the plant explosion.

"We continue to ask our community to reserve judgment until the facts and evidence are known," Sibley said.

(Writing by Corrie MacLaggan; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/arson-not-ruled-fire-caused-west-texas-blast-002635317.html

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Jolie: From girl with tattoo to woman with a cause - seattlepi.com

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? In her bad girl days, Angelina Jolie's body was a billboard for tattoos that said such things as "Billy Bob."

Now she's sharing intimate details of her anatomy to help women at risk, going public with her preventive double mastectomy to greatly reduce her high odds of breast cancer.

It's the latest peak in Jolie's turn-around from hedonist to humanitarian, party girl to inspirational poster girl. The way she went public with her medical story on her own terms, in her own time ? with a New York Times op-ed piece Tuesday that caught the media fishbowl of Hollywood completely by surprise ? reveals a woman who once seemed out of control to be one of Hollywood's most forceful and compassionate stars, using her fame with surgical precision to promote matters dear to her.

"I'm in awe of her. She remains one of the most inspiring women that I've ever encountered," said former Paramount Pictures boss Sherry Lansing, who heads the Sherry Lansing Foundation for cancer research. "By letting people know about her personal issue, she is touching countless women who have the same genetic mutations, and she is showing them that they have choices and they can be empowered and can take care of their own health. And by doing so, I believe she is going to save countless lives."

Jolie's come a long way from her wild-child days of 10 or 12 years ago. She was branded a home-wrecker when she took up with Billy Bob Thornton, who broke up with Laura Dern and married Jolie. Thornton and Jolie were a tabloid writer's dream team, an odd couple who wore lockets with a drop of each other's blood.

Back in 2000, Jolie proudly showed off the newest of her 10 tattoos, the name "Billy Bob" etched across her left shoulder. The marriage ended three years later, and new home-wrecker accusations arose after Brad Pitt left Jennifer Aniston for Jolie, his co-star in the 2005 assassin adventure "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

But since then, while paparazzi stalk them and entertainment reporters scramble to chase the latest rumor that Jolie and Pitt are finally going to wed, they have emerged as the ultimate Hollywood power couple. They switch off on film projects so one is free to mind their six children, they travel the world talking up good deeds.

"If she wasn't one of the top actresses in Hollywood, she'd be one of the top publicists," said Howard Bragman, vice chairman of Reputation.com. "It's hard to think of a couple that has a better image in this town, both for their careers, family, humanitarian work. ... They're very good at it, and one of the reasons is they have a very intimate circle that they trust, and they don't go beyond that. It's unusual in Hollywood circles, but they're very strict about their personal life, about what gets out there. When something gets out there, it's usually planned to get out there. It doesn't leak. They don't even have publicists."

A special envoy on refugee issues for the United Nations, Jolie, 37, has become as much about causes as career.

She still makes big studio entertainment such as next year's "Maleficent," a twist on "Sleeping Beauty" in which she stars as the wicked sorceress who puts a curse on the fairy-tale princess. Yet Jolie puts her humanitarian interests on screen, too, making her directing debut with 2011's "In the Land of Blood and Honey," a war drama about two lovers ? a Bosnian Muslim woman and a Bosnian-Serbian man ? caught up in the horrors of work and rape camps.

"There is no difference between the star Angelina Jolie and the woman Angelina Jolie. The choices she made even as a director are still strong," said Thierry Fremaux, director of the Cannes Film Festival, where Jolie has been a frequent guest with films such as "Changeling" and "A Mighty Heart."

As for Jolie's op-ed piece about her mastectomy, "we all know that she didn't do that for herself but as giving an example to all the women on this planet Earth who are suffering from the same disease," Fremaux said. "We knew she was a great star, but she's a great person, as well."

Jolie wrote about her mother's death from cancer at 56 and that she carries a gene herself that, according to doctors, left her with an 87 percent chance of breast cancer and 50 percent chance of ovarian cancer. She describes in detail the procedures she underwent from early February to late April to remove tissue and reconstruct her breasts with implants.

She was treated at the Pink Lotus Breast Center in Beverly Hills, Calif. Dr. Kristi Funk, who founded the center in 2007, read a short statement to reporters Tuesday, saying "we hope that the awareness she is raising around the world will save countless lives."

The procedures reduced her risk of breast cancer to less than 5 percent, Jolie wrote.

"I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy that I made," Jolie wrote. "I can tell my children that they don't need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer."

One of the most remarkable aspects of the story is how two of the most recognizable people in the world were able to make repeated incognito trips to Pink Lotus, where Jolie writes that Pitt was there for every minute of her surgeries. Jolie and Pitt are hounded by the press, so how they kept this a secret is anyone's guess.

"It's almost unspeakably amazing. In this world there is no privacy. David Petraeus couldn't keep a secret," said Hollywood publicist Michael Levine, who once represented Jolie's father, Jon Voight. "It's hard to imagine how they did it."

Announcing it in such a personal and classy way can only enhance Jolie's stature in Hollywood. With family and philanthropic work, Jolie has eased back on film projects, with future prospects including a possible sequel to her action hit "Salt," in which she played a sexy CIA agent on the run.

Will the mastectomy have any effect on Jolie's sex-symbol image?

"I feel like she is the kind of person who will do whatever it takes to still look fantastic. I think she has a discipline that is unmatched," said Dave Karger, chief correspondent for movie-ticket seller Fandango.com. "She will make sure that she looks just as great as she has in the past.

"I don't think that's going to make much of a difference, and I think a lot of people are going to have more respect. This humanizes her in a way. She's not that perfect specimen sticking her leg out at the Oscars anymore. She's a real human being with real health issues like any other human being."

A real human being, and no less of a woman, to hear Jolie tell it.

"I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity," Jolie wrote.

Source: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Jolie-From-girl-with-tattoo-to-woman-with-a-cause-4516789.php

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Missouri House endorses transportation sales tax

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A penny sales tax that would be dedicated to state and local transportation projects cleared the Missouri House on Tuesday but ran into opposition in the Senate.

The proposed sales tax, which officials estimate could generate nearly $8 billion over a decade, would require voter approval to take effect and would be resubmitted to the ballot every 10 years. Proceeds would fund state highways, local roads and other modes of transportation such as railroads, airports, mass transit and river ports.

The House approved a proposed constitutional amendment containing the tax increase by a 100-57 vote. That sent the measure back to the Senate, where lawmakers had approved a similar transportation sales tax earlier this year. But some Republican senators stalled a final vote Tuesday night that was needed to refer the measure to the 2014 ballot.

Republicans hold a majority in both chambers. But the party was splintered philosophically over whether to ask voters to raise taxes.

"This is not what I understood the Republican Party to stand for," said Sen. John Lamping, R-St. Louis County, who helped lead the effort to block the transportation tax.

The House vote also split along party lines. Republican Majority Leader John Diehl and Democratic Minority Leader Jake Hummel supported it, while Republican House Speaker Tim Jones voted "no," as did numerous Democrats.

Rep. Dave Hinson, who sponsored the measure, said Missouri's large transportation system needs more funding. Others said a funding boost could support thousands of jobs and argued that rejecting the sales tax could lead to other efforts to boost funding for transportation.

"Let's get Missouri moving in a forward direction with our roads," said Hinson, R-St. Clair.

Opponents cited resistance to raising taxes and concern about how the sales tax would affect the poor and seniors.

"We are asking our senior citizens on fixed incomes, the lowest income people, to fund this big project," said Rep. Rory Ellinger, D-University City. "I respectfully can't do that. I ask us to look for some alternate funding mechanisms in the future."

Republican Rep. Rick Brattin said many voters who gave the GOP its veto-proof House majority last year believe they are taxed enough and that government should operate with its existing resources.

"It blows my mind that our party is even bringing this kind of stuff up," said Brattin, of Harrisonville.

Attention on transportation funding comes after years of concern.

As early as 2006, then-Transportation Department Director Pete Rahn said the annual highway construction budget would decline significantly by 2010 as bond payments for past projects came due. The decline was delayed because of federal economic stimulus money approved in 2009. But in the last year, Missouri's highway construction funding has fallen from $1.2 billion to less than $700 million.

Missouri's highway system has depended on fuel taxes. Supporters of creating the sales tax contend change is needed because people are driving more fuel efficient vehicles and buying less gas when prices rise.

Under the sales tax measure, the state transportation commission would develop a list of projects to be funded before the tax appeared on the ballot. If passed by voters, the commission would produce an annual status report for the Legislature and the governor. Tax proceeds would be divided, with cities and counties each getting 5 percent for local transportation needs. The remainder of the funds would go to state projects.

The sales tax would not be levied on food or medicine, and when it is in effect, voter approval would be needed to change the gas tax rate or place tolls on existing roads and bridges.

Based on the annual report filed in the fifth year after voters approved the tax, the Legislature's Joint Committee on Transportation could recommend suspending appropriations from the state transportation sales tax fund for projects that were approved but not yet included in the statewide improvement program. The suspension would require a two-thirds vote in the joint committee and passage of a resolution by the House and Senate. It would be lifted when the transportation commission adds back the project.

__

Transportation sales tax is SJR16

Online:

Legislature: http://www.moga.mo.gov

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/missouri-house-endorses-transportation-sales-153442357.html

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Richter painting breaks record for living artist at N.Y. auction

By Chris Michaud

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A 1968 oil painting by German artist Gerhard Richter sold for some $37 million at Sotheby's contemporary art auction on Tuesday, a new record for a work by a living artist.

The sale took in $293,587,000, at the low end of the pre-sale estimate of $284 million to $383 million, with 83 percent of the 64 lots on offer finding buyers.

It featured some big numbers with five works selling for more than $20 million. But results were uneven as offerings by such contemporary stars such as Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jeff Koons either underperformed or failed to sell.

Barnett Newman's "Onement VI," a vibrant blue work from 1953 being sold by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, fetched the top price - $43,845,000 including commission. It set a record for the artist, beating the high estimate of $40 million.

But it was the 81-year-old Richter's "Domplatz, Mailand (Cathedral Square, Milan)," offered by the Hyatt Hotels Corp., which broke the record already held by Richter for a work at auction by a living artist. It sold for $37,125,000, near the middle of the $30 million to $40 million estimate.

Tobias Meyer, head of Sotheby's contemporary art department who also served as auctioneer, called the price "a major accomplishment."

The work, which Sotheby's sold about 15 years ago for about $3.5 million, was bought by collector Don Bryant, founder of Napa's Bryant Family Vineyard. He pumped his fist in the air as the hammer came down with his winning bid.

"This just knocks me over," he said of the work, which depicts a cityscape rendered in a style that suggests a blurred photograph, after the sale.

"I just love it ... . I just love art," Bryant, founder and chairman emeritus of St. Louis employee benefits firm the Bryant Group, told Reuters.

But the auction also had some big hiccups, notably Francis Bacon's "Study for Portrait of P.L.," which carried an estimate of $30 million and $40 million but failed to attract even a glimmer of interest.

One of Koons' signature "readymades," a sculpture featuring four Hoover vacuum cleaners estimated at $10 million to $15 million, went down when bidding fell shy of the reserve - the secret minimum price at which a consigner agrees to sell a work.

Other highlights included Yves Klein's "Sponge Sculpture Blue, SE 168," which sold for $22 million, and Clyfford Still's "PH-21," which fetched $20.9 million, both works selling for prices in line with their estimates.

Jackson Pollock's "Blue Unconscious" went for $20.9 million, a bargain considering the $20 million to $30 million estimate (estimates do not include commission, which runs just over 12 percent).

The auctions continue on Wednesday with Christie's sale of post-war and contemporary art.

(Editing by Xavier Briand)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/richter-painting-breaks-record-living-artist-n-y-035208194.html

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