NASA's NuSTAR helps solve riddle of black hole spin

Feb. 27, 2013 ? Two X-ray space observatories, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton, have teamed up to measure definitively, for the first time, the spin rate of a black hole with a mass 2 million times that of our sun.

The supermassive black hole lies at the dust- and gas-filled heart of a galaxy called NGC 1365, and it is spinning almost as fast as Einstein's theory of gravity will allow. The findings, which appear in a new study in the journal Nature, resolve a long-standing debate about similar measurements in other black holes and will lead to a better understanding of how black holes and galaxies evolve.

"This is hugely important to the field of black hole science," said Lou Kaluzienski, a NuSTAR program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

The observations also are a powerful test of Einstein's theory of general relativity, which says gravity can bend space-time, the fabric that shapes our universe, and the light that travels through it.

"We can trace matter as it swirls into a black hole using X-rays emitted from regions very close to the black hole," said the coauthor of a new study, NuSTAR principal investigator Fiona Harrison of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "The radiation we see is warped and distorted by the motions of particles and the black hole's incredibly strong gravity."

NuSTAR, an Explorer-class mission launched in June 2012, is designed to detect the highest-energy X-ray light in great detail. It complements telescopes that observe lower-energy X-ray light, such as XMM-Newton and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Scientists use these and other telescopes to estimate the rates at which black holes spin.

Until now, these measurements were not certain because clouds of gas could have been obscuring the black holes and confusing the results. With help from XMM-Newton, NuSTAR was able to see a broader range of X-ray energies and penetrate deeper into the region around the black hole. The new data demonstrate that X-rays are not being warped by the clouds, but by the tremendous gravity of the black hole. This proves that spin rates of supermassive black holes can be determined conclusively.

"If I could have added one instrument to XMM-Newton, it would have been a telescope like NuSTAR," said Norbert Schartel, XMM-Newton Project Scientist at the European Space Astronomy Center in Madrid. "The high-energy X-rays provided an essential missing puzzle piece for solving this problem."

Measuring the spin of a supermassive black hole is fundamental to understanding its past history and that of its host galaxy.

"These monsters, with masses from millions to billions of times that of the sun, are formed as small seeds in the early universe and grow by swallowing stars and gas in their host galaxies, merging with other giant black holes when galaxies collide, or both," said the study's lead author, Guido Risaliti of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., and the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics.

Supermassive black holes are surrounded by pancake-like accretion disks, formed as their gravity pulls matter inward. Einstein's theory predicts the faster a black hole spins, the closer the accretion disk lies to the black hole. The closer the accretion disk is, the more gravity from the black hole will warp X-ray light streaming off the disk.

Astronomers look for these warping effects by analyzing X-ray light emitted by iron circulating in the accretion disk. In the new study, they used both XMM-Newton and NuSTAR to simultaneously observe the black hole in NGC 1365. While XMM-Newton revealed that light from the iron was being warped, NuSTAR proved that this distortion was coming from the gravity of the black hole and not gas clouds in the vicinity. NuSTAR's higher-energy X-ray data showed that the iron was so close to the black hole that its gravity must be causing the warping effects.

With the possibility of obscuring clouds ruled out, scientists can now use the distortions in the iron signature to measure the black hole's spin rate. The findings apply to several other black holes as well, removing the uncertainty in the previously measured spin rates.

For more information on NASA's NuSTAR mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/nustar .

For more information on ESA's XMM-Newton mission, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/YUYpI6 .

The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA.

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/astronomy/~3/mGV3Xds4pSo/130227132544.htm

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Discoveries suggest icy cosmic start for amino acids and DNA ingredients

Public release date: 28-Feb-2013
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Contact: Dave Finley
dfinley@nrao.edu
575-835-7302
National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Important prebiotic chemicals found in interstellar space

Using new technology at the telescope and in laboratories, researchers have discovered an important pair of prebiotic molecules in interstellar space. The discoveries indicate that some basic chemicals that are key steps on the way to life may have formed on dusty ice grains floating between the stars.

The scientists used the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia to study a giant cloud of gas some 25,000 light-years from Earth, near the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. The chemicals they found in that cloud include a molecule thought to be a precursor to a key component of DNA and another that may have a role in the formation of the amino acid alanine.

One of the newly-discovered molecules, called cyanomethanimine, is one step in the process that chemists believe produces adenine, one of the four nucleobases that form the "rungs" in the ladder-like structure of DNA. The other molecule, called ethanamine, is thought to play a role in forming alanine, one of the twenty amino acids in the genetic code.

"Finding these molecules in an interstellar gas cloud means that important building blocks for DNA and amino acids can 'seed' newly-formed planets with the chemical precursors for life," said Anthony Remijan, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO).

In each case, the newly-discovered interstellar molecules are intermediate stages in multi-step chemical processes leading to the final biological molecule. Details of the processes remain unclear, but the discoveries give new insight on where these processes occur.

Previously, scientists thought such processes took place in the very tenuous gas between the stars. The new discoveries, however, suggest that the chemical formation sequences for these molecules occurred not in gas, but on the surfaces of ice grains in interstellar space.

"We need to do further experiments to better understand how these reactions work, but it could be that some of the first key steps toward biological chemicals occurred on tiny ice grains," Remijan said.

The discoveries were made possible by new technology that speeds the process of identifying the "fingerprints" of cosmic chemicals. Each molecule has a specific set of rotational states that it can assume. When it changes from one state to another, a specific amount of energy is either emitted or absorbed, often as radio waves at specific frequencies that can be observed with the GBT.

New laboratory techniques have allowed astrochemists to measure the characteristic patterns of such radio frequencies for specific molecules. Armed with that information, they then can match that pattern with the data received by the telescope. Laboratories at the University of Virginia and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics measured radio emission from cyanomethanimine and ethanamine, and the frequency patterns from those molecules then were matched to publicly-available data produced by a survey done with the GBT from 2008 to 2011.

A team of undergraduate students participating in a special summer research program for minority students at the University of Virginia (U.Va.) conducted some of the experiments leading to the discovery of cyanomethanimine. The students worked under U.Va. professors Brooks Pate and Ed Murphy, and Remijan. The program, funded by the National Science Foundation, brought students from four universities for summer research experiences. They worked in Pate's astrochemistry laboratory, as well as with the GBT data.

"This is a pretty special discovery and proves that early-career students can do remarkable research," Pate said.

The researchers are reporting their findings in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

###

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 28-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dave Finley
dfinley@nrao.edu
575-835-7302
National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Important prebiotic chemicals found in interstellar space

Using new technology at the telescope and in laboratories, researchers have discovered an important pair of prebiotic molecules in interstellar space. The discoveries indicate that some basic chemicals that are key steps on the way to life may have formed on dusty ice grains floating between the stars.

The scientists used the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia to study a giant cloud of gas some 25,000 light-years from Earth, near the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. The chemicals they found in that cloud include a molecule thought to be a precursor to a key component of DNA and another that may have a role in the formation of the amino acid alanine.

One of the newly-discovered molecules, called cyanomethanimine, is one step in the process that chemists believe produces adenine, one of the four nucleobases that form the "rungs" in the ladder-like structure of DNA. The other molecule, called ethanamine, is thought to play a role in forming alanine, one of the twenty amino acids in the genetic code.

"Finding these molecules in an interstellar gas cloud means that important building blocks for DNA and amino acids can 'seed' newly-formed planets with the chemical precursors for life," said Anthony Remijan, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO).

In each case, the newly-discovered interstellar molecules are intermediate stages in multi-step chemical processes leading to the final biological molecule. Details of the processes remain unclear, but the discoveries give new insight on where these processes occur.

Previously, scientists thought such processes took place in the very tenuous gas between the stars. The new discoveries, however, suggest that the chemical formation sequences for these molecules occurred not in gas, but on the surfaces of ice grains in interstellar space.

"We need to do further experiments to better understand how these reactions work, but it could be that some of the first key steps toward biological chemicals occurred on tiny ice grains," Remijan said.

The discoveries were made possible by new technology that speeds the process of identifying the "fingerprints" of cosmic chemicals. Each molecule has a specific set of rotational states that it can assume. When it changes from one state to another, a specific amount of energy is either emitted or absorbed, often as radio waves at specific frequencies that can be observed with the GBT.

New laboratory techniques have allowed astrochemists to measure the characteristic patterns of such radio frequencies for specific molecules. Armed with that information, they then can match that pattern with the data received by the telescope. Laboratories at the University of Virginia and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics measured radio emission from cyanomethanimine and ethanamine, and the frequency patterns from those molecules then were matched to publicly-available data produced by a survey done with the GBT from 2008 to 2011.

A team of undergraduate students participating in a special summer research program for minority students at the University of Virginia (U.Va.) conducted some of the experiments leading to the discovery of cyanomethanimine. The students worked under U.Va. professors Brooks Pate and Ed Murphy, and Remijan. The program, funded by the National Science Foundation, brought students from four universities for summer research experiences. They worked in Pate's astrochemistry laboratory, as well as with the GBT data.

"This is a pretty special discovery and proves that early-career students can do remarkable research," Pate said.

The researchers are reporting their findings in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

###

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/nrao-dsi022813.php

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Leap Motion Controller Ships Pre-Orders May 13, Hits Best Buy Store Shelves May 19 For $79.99

Leap Motion today announced that its innovative motion controller for PCs will start shipping to pre-order buyers beginning May 13, and will launch in the U.S. at Best Buy locations on May 19. Full retail price for the Leap Motion Controller will be $79.99, the company announced, $10 more than the pre-order asking price.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/W8SbAKcLb7I/

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Senate panel hearing from Newtown father, doctor

FILE - In a Jan. 28, 2013 file photo Neil Heslin, holds a picture of himself with his son Jesse and wipes his eye before testifying at a hearing in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Conn., Heslin will testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday Feb. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

FILE - In a Jan. 28, 2013 file photo Neil Heslin, holds a picture of himself with his son Jesse and wipes his eye before testifying at a hearing in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Conn., Heslin will testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday Feb. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Neil Heslin says it's all about his slain son, Jesse.

Heslin, a 50-year-old construction worker, says he normally pays little attention to politics. But he was yanked painfully into the middle of the nation's gun debate last December, when his 6-year-old son, Jesse, along with 19 other first-graders and six educators, was shot dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

"It's a burden, it's more than a burden on me," Heslin said in an interview Tuesday as he and three dozen others ? including other Newtown families and relatives of other mass shooting victims ? arrived in Washington for two days of lobbying lawmakers. "But I have to do it for my little boy."

Heslin is set to testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday in support of legislation by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to ban assault weapons.

Other witnesses testifying to the Senate panel include William Begg, an emergency room doctor who treated Newtown victims that day, and U.S. attorney John Walsh from Colorado.

"Guns that are fashioned from war don't belong on the streets," Feinstein said Tuesday, acknowledging that her legislation to ban assault weapons faced difficult odds in Congress. "Maybe I've just seen too much from my days as mayor and watching this stuff for 30 years."

Feinstein, who rose to become San Francisco mayor, was on the city's board of supervisors in 1978 when Mayor George Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk were fatally shot in City Hall.

Across the Capitol on Wednesday, the House Education and Workforce Committee planned to hear from school safety experts and counselors about how to keep students safe.

Witnesses testifying to the Republican-controlled House panel were expected to emphasize the role of school resource officers ? security professionals who are often armed and can double as informal counselors and liaisons to law enforcement. Those officers are commonplace in many schools and help officials develop safety plans.

Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers, was among those slated to testify, along with a school counselor and a school safety director.

Heslin and his group met with around six lawmakers and aides Tuesday, mostly Senate Democrats from Republican-leaning states. Participants said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said he would try to help and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., expressed optimism that the Senate would produce gun legislation, but neither committed to anything specific.

In his prepared Senate testimony, Heslin said he's been told his son died yelling to people to run. He said Jesse was hit by one bullet grazing the side of his head, another hitting his forehead.

"That means the last thing my son did was look Adam Lanza straight in the face and scream to his classmates to run," Heslin said, referring to the 20-year-old who committed the massacre. "The last thing he saw was that coward's eyes."

Despite the raw emotion, Feinstein's effort to ban assault weapons is expected to fall short due to opposition by the National Rifle Association and many Republicans, plus wariness by moderate Democrats.

Feinstein's bill has attracted 21 co-sponsors, all Democrats. Including herself, it is sponsored by eight of the 10 Judiciary panel Democrats ? precarious for a committee where Democrats outnumber Republicans 10-8. Democrats on the panel who haven't co-sponsored the measure include the chairman, Pat Leahy of Vermont, who said Monday he hadn't seen the bill.

President Barack Obama made bans on assault weapons and large capacity magazines key parts of the gun curbs he proposed in January in response to the Connecticut school massacre.

The cornerstone of his package is a call for universal background checks for gun buyers, some version of which seems to have a stronger chance of moving through Congress. Currently, only sales by federally licensed gun dealers require such checks, which are designed to prevent criminals and others from obtaining firearms.

Obama also proposed providing more money to school districts to hire school resource officers and counselors and take other safety steps.

Feinstein's bill would ban future sales of assault weapons and magazines carrying more than 10 rounds of ammunition but exempt those that already exist. It would bar sales, manufacturing and imports of semiautomatic rifles and pistols that can use detachable magazines and have threaded barrels or other military features. The measure specifically bans 157 firearms but excludes 2,258 others in an effort to avoid barring hunting and sporting weapons.

Feinstein, who helped create a 1994 assault weapons ban that expired in 2004, and other supporters cite studies showing use of the firearms in crimes diminished while the prohibition lasted. A 2004 report said the proportion of gun crimes involving assault weapons dropped by up to 72 percent in five cities studied.

Opponents cite data from that same study showing assault weapons were used in only 2 percent to 8 percent of gun crimes, arguing that a ban would have little impact. The study also estimated there were 1.5 million assault weapons owned privately in the U.S. in 1994, and an estimated 30 million high-capacity magazines as of 1999, which critics say means exempting them would diminish a ban's effect

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-02-27-Gun%20Control-Congress/id-3a37125bd36d4c97a7223c470743e99c

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Music revenues increase for first time since Napster's rise ...

LONDON -- More than a decade after online file swapping tipped the music industry into turmoil, record executives may finally be getting a sliver of good news.

Industry revenue is up. A measly 0.3 percent, but it's still up.

"We're on the path to recovery," said Frances Moore, whose International Federation of the Phonographic Industry put together the figures released in a report Tuesday. "There's a palpable buzz in the air."

In her forward to the IFPI report, Moore said the return to growth was a tribute to the transformation of the music industry, saying it had "adapted to the Internet world."

That change has been a long time coming. Online song sharing popularized by services such as Napster at the turn of the millennium seriously destabilized the industry, which reacted with a barrage of lawsuits and lobbying. But the war on piracy failed to stem the tide of free music, and by the time executives finally began making legal music available through download services such as Apple's (AAPL) iTunes, the industry was in a free fall.

Since its 1999 peak, the global music industry's revenues have crashed more than 40 percent. Tuesday's figures, which show a rise in global revenue from $16.4 billion in 2011 to $16.5 billion in 2012, are the first hint of growth in more than a

decade.

Mark Mulligan, of U.K.-based MIDiA consulting, warned that Tuesday's figures did not mean the industry had put its misery years behind it.

"We're probably near the bottom," he said, "but it's so marginal we could easily have another year or two where it could get worse."

The physical music market -- everything from vinyl records to DVDs -- continues to contract, losing another $500 million in revenue between 2011 and 2012, according to Tuesday's IFPI figures. The industry group has placed its bets on downloads, streaming, and subscription services to make up for lost ground, but there's still a long way to go.

Downloads and streaming audio now account for most of the music sold in the United States and Scandinavia, but physical music still accounts for the majority of industry revenue worldwide.

Illegal music downloads remain a problem worldwide, particularly in potentially huge markets such as Russia, India, and China. Moore urged governments to follow the example of the international enforcement action against Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, accused by American prosecutors of facilitating millions of illegal downloads. Dotcom, who is fighting an attempt to extradite him from New Zealand to the United States, denies the allegations.

The report hailed the action against Megaupload and sites like The Pirate Bay -- which has been blocked by several European countries -- but it estimated that 32 percent of all Internet users still regularly downloaded pirated music.

"What other industry has to cope with a third of its customers being able to get copies of its products from illegal services?" Moore said.

With growth uneven across various countries and piracy still a stubborn problem, it could take years for the industry to return to its previous health. If it ever does.

Mulligan said he believes some of the lost revenue may never be recovered, with many casual users who used to buy the odd CD turning to free services such as YouTube, television music channels, or Internet radio instead.

"This is a case of managed decline," he said, predicting "a sustainable but smaller market built around more engaged music fans."

------

Online:

The IFPI's report: http://www.ifpi.org/content/section--resources/dmr2013.html

Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_22670996/music-revenues-increase-first-time-since-napsters-rise

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David Bowie: The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

After his melancholic and dreamy Where Are We Now, David Bowie's second single after more than ten years of silence is out to wake you up with a blast of electric guitars. It's pure Bowie—and it's great. Watch the video, starring the always incredible Tilda Swinton and David Bowie himself—who I wish went back to star in another movie too (Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence caliber, not Labyrinth). More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8BxNk6Ej0TE/david-bowie-the-stars-are-out-tonight

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Pope recalls 'joy' of papacy, and difficulties

Pope Benedict XVI greets pilgrims in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 for the final time before retiring, waving to tens of thousands of people who have gathered to bid him farewell Benedict was driven around the square in an open-sided vehicle, surrounded by bodyguards. At one point he stopped to kiss a baby handed up to him by his secretary. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Pope Benedict XVI greets pilgrims in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013 for the final time before retiring, waving to tens of thousands of people who have gathered to bid him farewell Benedict was driven around the square in an open-sided vehicle, surrounded by bodyguards. At one point he stopped to kiss a baby handed up to him by his secretary. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives for his last general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Tens of thousands of people toting banners saying "Thank you!" jammed St. Peter's Square on Wednesday to bid farewell to Pope Benedict XVI at his final general audience, the appointment he kept each week to teach the world about the Catholic faith. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Benedict XVI greets pilgrims in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI greeted the Catholic masses in St. Peter's Square Wednesday for the last time before retiring, making several rounds of the square as crowds cheered wildly and stopping to kiss a half-dozen children brought up to him by his secretary. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

A Vatican Swiss guard stands in front of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI is preparing for his final general audience, the weekly appointment he kept with the faithful and tourists to teach them about the Catholic faith. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

A man holds a cross as he stands in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Pope Benedict XVI is preparing for his final general audience, the weekly appointment he kept with the faithful and tourists to teach them about the Catholic faith. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Pope Benedict XVI basked in an emotional sendoff Wednesday from a massive crowd at his final general audience in St. Peter's Square, recalling moments of "joy and light" during his papacy but also times of difficulty when "it seemed like the Lord was sleeping."

An estimated 150,000 people, many toting banners saying "Grazie!" ("Thank you!"), jammed the piazza to bid Benedict farewell and hear his final speech as pontiff. In this appointment ? which he has kept each week for eight years to teach the world about the Catholic faith ? Benedict gave deep thanks to his flock for respecting his decision to retire.

Benedict clearly enjoyed the crowds, taking a long victory lap around the square in an open-sided car and stopping to kiss and bless half a dozen children handed to him by his secretary. A total of 70 cardinals, some tearful, sat in solemn attendance.

But Benedict made a quick exit, foregoing the typical meet-and-greet session that follows the audience; the Vatican has said there were simply too many people who would have wanted to say goodbye.

Given the historic moment, Benedict also changed course and didn't produce his typical professorial Wednesday catechism lesson. Rather, he made his final public appearance in St. Peter's a personal one, explaining once again why he was becoming the first pope in 600 years to resign and urging the faithful to pray for his successor.

"To love the church means also to have the courage to take difficult, painful decisions, always keeping the good of the church in mind, not oneself," Benedict said to thundering applause.

He noted that a pope has no privacy: "He belongs always and forever to everyone, to the whole church." But the pope promised that in retirement he would not be returning to private life ? instead taking on a new experience of service to the church through prayer.

He recalled that when he was elected pope on April 19, 2005, he questioned if God truly wanted it. "It's a great burden that you've placed on my shoulders," he recalled telling God.

During his eight years as pope, Benedict said, "I have had moments of joy and light, but also moments that haven't been easy ... moments of turbulent seas and rough winds, as has occurred in the history of the church when it seemed like the Lord was sleeping."

But he said he never felt alone, that God always guided him, and he thanked his cardinals and colleagues for their support and for "understanding and respecting this important decision."

Under a bright sun and blue skies, the square was overflowing with pilgrims and curiosity-seekers. Those who couldn't get in picked spots along the main boulevard leading to the square to watch the event on giant TV screens. Some 50,000 tickets were requested for Benedict's final master class. In the end, the Vatican estimated that 150,000 people flocked to the farewell.

"It's difficult ? the emotion is so big," said Jan Marie, a 53-year-old Roman in his first years as a seminarian. "We came to support the pope's decision."

With chants of "Benedetto!" erupting often, the mood was far more buoyant than during the pope's final Sunday blessing. It recalled the jubilant turnouts that often accompanied him at World Youth Days and events involving his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

Benedict has said he decided to retire after realizing that, at 85, he simply didn't have the "strength of mind or body" to carry on.

"I have taken this step with the full understanding of the seriousness and also novelty of the decision, but with a profound serenity in my soul," Benedict told the crowd Wednesday.

Benedict will meet Thursday morning with cardinals for a final time, then fly by helicopter to the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo south of Rome.

There, at 8 p.m., the doors of the palazzo will close and the Swiss Guards in attendance will go off duty, their service protecting the head of the Catholic Church over ? for now.

Many of the cardinals who will choose Benedict's successor were in St. Peter's Square for his final audience. Those included retired Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, the object of a grass-roots campaign in the U.S. to persuade him to recuse himself for having covered up for sexually abusive priests. Mahony has said he will be among the 115 cardinals voting on who the next pope should be.

Also in attendance Wednesday were cardinals over 80, who can't participate in the conclave but will participate in meetings next week to discuss the problems facing the church and the qualities needed in a new pope.

"I am joining the entire church in praying that the cardinal electors will have the help of the Holy Spirit," said Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz, 82.

Herranz has been authorized by the pope to brief voting-age cardinals on his investigation into the leaks of papal documents that exposed corruption in the Vatican administration.

Vatican officials say cardinals will begin meeting Monday to decide when to set the date for the conclave.

But the rank-and-file faithful in the crowd Wednesday weren't so concerned with the future; they wanted to savor the final moments with the pope they have known for years.

"I came to thank him for the testimony that he has given the church," said Maria Cristina Chiarini, a 52-year-old homemaker who traveled by train from Lugo in central Italy with some 60 members of her parish. "There's nostalgia, human nostalgia, but also comfort, because as a Christian we have hope. The Lord won't leave us without a guide."

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-27-Vatican-Pope/id-4add0e47c2c846589c9caf0b03d52c9b

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The Bachelorette Announcement, Premiere Dates Revealed!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/02/the-bachelorette-announcement-premiere-dates-revealed/

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First Gaza rocket in 3 months rattles cease-fire

Israeli explosives experts stand by an rocket fired from the northern Gaza Strip that landed near the costal city of Ashkelon, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. It was the first such projectile from the Palestinian territory to hit Israel since Israel-Gaza hostilities last November. The rocket fire came one day after Israeli troops injured two Palestinian teenagers near a holy site close to Bethlehem, during one of the many demonstrations Palestinians in the West Bank have staged in recent days. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Israeli explosives experts stand by an rocket fired from the northern Gaza Strip that landed near the costal city of Ashkelon, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. It was the first such projectile from the Palestinian territory to hit Israel since Israel-Gaza hostilities last November. The rocket fire came one day after Israeli troops injured two Palestinian teenagers near a holy site close to Bethlehem, during one of the many demonstrations Palestinians in the West Bank have staged in recent days. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

A Palestinian man throws a stone towards Israeli soldiers after the funeral of Arafat Jaradat in the West Bank of Hebron, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. Thousands have attended the funeral procession of a 30-year-old Palestinian man who died under disputed circumstances in Israeli custody. Palestinian officials say autopsy results show Jaradat was tortured by Israeli interrogators, while Israeli officials say there's no conclusive cause of death yet and that more tests are needed.(AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

Israeli security forces take positions during clashes after the funeral of Arafat Jaradat in the West Bank of Hebron, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. Thousands have attended the funeral procession of a 30-year-old Palestinian man who died under disputed circumstances in Israeli custody. Palestinian officials say autopsy results show Jaradat was tortured by Israeli interrogators, while Israeli officials say there's no conclusive cause of death yet and that more tests are needed.(AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

Israeli border policemen fire tear gas during clashes after the funeral of Arafat Jaradat in the West Bank of Hebron, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. Thousands have attended the funeral procession of a 30-year-old Palestinian man who died under disputed circumstances in Israeli custody. Palestinian officials say autopsy results show Jaradat was tortured by Israeli interrogators, while Israeli officials say there's no conclusive cause of death yet and that more tests are needed.(AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Gaza militants on Tuesday fired a rocket into Israel for the first time in three months, rattling a cross-border truce that has held since Israel's last major military offensive against the Hamas-run territory.

Militants claiming affiliation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement took responsibility for the attack, saying they fired the rocket to avenge the death of a Palestinian in Israeli custody.

The detainee, Arafat Jaradat, 30, died over the weekend after interrogation by Israel's Shin Bet security services. Palestinian officials, citing an autopsy, said the detainee was tortured, while Israel says more tests are needed to determine the cause of death.

Jaradat's death sparked protests in the West Bank, including near the town of Bethlehem on Monday.

Two Palestinian teens, ages 13 and 16, were wounded in a confrontation with Israeli soldiers. The older boy was transferred to Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital after being shot in the head and was in critical condition Tuesday, breathing through a respirator, officials said.

In the West Bank, Abbas on Tuesday accused the Israeli military of using increasingly harsh methods to clamp down on Palestinian rock-throwing protests.

"We don't want tensions. We don't want escalation," Abbas said, rejecting recent allegations by Israeli officials that he was stoking tensions for political gains.

The rocket from Gaza landed south of the Israeli city of Ashkelon early Tuesday, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. The rocket caused damage to a road, but no injuries, he said.

It was the first rocket fired from Gaza since Israel's last major military offensive against rocket squads in the coastal strip last November. The Hamas militant group has ruled Gaza since ousting forces loyal to Abbas in 2007.

Over the past decade, Gaza militants have fired thousands of short-range rockets and mortar shells at Israel, and Israel has responded with military strikes. In between periods of cross-border violence, informal cease-fires have taken hold.

In an email sent to reporters, militants claiming affiliation with Fatah's violent offshoot, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, said they fired the rocket to avenge Jaradat, the detainee who died in Israeli custody. It was impossible to verify the claim. The Fatah-allied militant group has kept a low profile since the Hamas takeover.

Hamas government spokesman Ehab Ghussein denied a rocket was fired, indicating the Islamic militant group was trying to distance itself from the incident. In the past, militant splinter groups have fired rockets at times when Hamas tried to discourage such attacks.

Hamas has carefully enforced an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire that ended eight days of heavy fighting with Israel in November. Israel's army had no immediate comment.

In the West Bank, there has been an increase in clashes between Palestinian stone throwers and Israeli troops in recent weeks.

In Monday evening's confrontation near Bethlehem, the Israeli military said protesters threw "improvised hand grenades" at a Jewish shrine in the area, endangering worshippers inside.

Soldiers fired at the legs of a Palestinian throwing grenades, lightly wounding him, the military said. Later, soldiers fired rubber-coated steel pellets at demonstrators, seriously wounding one who was taken to an Israeli hospital, the official said.

Palestinian medical officials said two Palestinians, ages 13 and 16, were seriously wounded by live fire. The 13-year-old was wounded in the abdomen and the older boy in the head, the officials said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-02-26-Israel-Palestinians/id-0a1810c05a3f4a3d8b0ea9787c6c718f

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2 missing boys, grandmother found dead in Conn.

This photo released by the Connecticut State Police during an Amber Alert Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, shows Alton Dennison, 6, left, and Ashton Denison, 2 months old, right, who were taken from their daycare by their grandmother Tuesday afternoon. State police said the bodies of Ashton and Alton Perry and their grandmother, Debra Denison, 47, were found Tuesday night in Preston, Conn. (AP Photo/Connecticut State Police)

This photo released by the Connecticut State Police during an Amber Alert Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013, shows Alton Dennison, 6, left, and Ashton Denison, 2 months old, right, who were taken from their daycare by their grandmother Tuesday afternoon. State police said the bodies of Ashton and Alton Perry and their grandmother, Debra Denison, 47, were found Tuesday night in Preston, Conn. (AP Photo/Connecticut State Police)

PRESTON, Conn. (AP) ? Connecticut state police are calling the shooting deaths of a woman and her two young grandchildren a double murder-suicide and say she had permission to pick them up from their daycare.

State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance says 47-year-old Debra Denison was armed when she left her Stonington home to pick up the children from their daycare in North Stonington Tuesday afternoon.

State police issued an Amber Alert Tuesday evening for Denison, 2-year-old Alton Perry and his 6-month-old brother, Ashton. The three bodies were found in a parked car in nearby Preston Tuesday night.

State police believe Denison shot the kids and herself. The chief medical examiner's office will be performing autopsies.

Denison's family said she suffered from bipolar disorder and had a history of mental health problems.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-27-AP-US-Grandmother-Children-Deaths/id-0cd54c43b523448da3e48d52e433fe0c

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Vendor Verification for Secure Free File Share

Cave has a B.S. degree in Computer Science and holds other high level Computer Security certifications. His experience in Secure File transfer and sending of large files though the Internet are all well noted in other popular industry publications. More info visit http://www.VirtualDrive.com

View all articles by Cave Johnson

With ever increasing computing and data sharing, there are more chances that your data faces thefts irrespective of the location where you save it. The recent competitor in the milieu of free file share is cloud, but it is not risk free. The best way to achieve secure cloud services is to stay informed and aware about its proper usage and most importantly selecting the right vendor.

To verify a vendor to be suitable and safe for your data, you do not need to learn a new technical lingo or be a sophisticated computer expert. All you need is to check their credibility and ask some questions to verify that they have a good and tested plan of action to secure your data and identity. Remember, an untried precaution is equivalent to no precaution at all!

Question Your Vendor

Questioning your vendor to ensure they meet your requirement can be the best idea to verify and to be cautious about your data security. The following are the questions that you can ask your vendor to avail stress free file share and secure cloud services:

Question 1: How and where is your data stored?

This is extremely crucial to know. If you avail free file share, it is necessary for you to know how your vendor manages

to retrieve the data in case of any disaster or if the data centre catches fire. Also make sure that your vendor has a plan for system availability during any unfortunate events.

Question 2: What plans are executed for data backup and recovery?

If your vendor has strong backup plan that is implemented regularly and timely, you can recover your data in case it is lost due to any event. Make sure that they have a tested data recovery plan as they may have huge data of multiple corporate users. Verify sturdy data maintenance and recovery plan.

Question 3: What are the plans to secure unwanted access?

It is very important to safeguard your data from external and internal intrusion. Powerful intrusion protection measures are mandatory. They should have identified personal employees and controlled access of data even among employees of the same organization.

Question 4: How protected is the portable data?

While availing file share on the go, make sure that your vendor uses encrypted codes. This could easily be verified by the online browser through HTTP URL and security icon on the address bar.

It can be advantageous if your vendor maintains different versions of the data saved at different times with secure cloud services.

Source: http://www.articlesbd.com/articles/328225/1/Vendor-Verification-for-Secure-Free-File-Share/Page1.html

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New 'Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2' Poster Is Deliciously Ferocious

Just like the first teaser image, the new poster for "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" continues to wow us with its wide variety of creative food monsters. Also, Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally have a special song for you in today's Dailies! » A 10-minute documentary on Patton Oswalt, "To Be Love & [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/02/26/cloudy-with-a-chance-poster/

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Christoph Waltz Wins Best Supporting Actor Oscar

Austrian thesp clenches second statuette for his performance in 'Django Unchained.'
By Amy Wilkinson

Christoph Waltz at the 2013 Oscars
Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702508/christoph-waltz-supporting-actor-oscar-win.jhtml

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A Taste Of Style And Elegance From The Best That Melbourne Has ...

A trip to Melbourne is bound to be an exciting one for anyone that has never been there before. There is so much for a person to see and do that its essential for a person to do a bit of planning before they get there. There is plenty sporting action for the sports fan, loads of sights to see for the tourist types and plenty to do outdoors if you are the outdoors active type. If you are bringing your family along for the trip, then you can keep your kids entertained for the better part of the holiday, simply exploring the inner city. When you are done with exploring and all your adventures, you can always head off to the beach to relax in the sand, catch some sun and make catch a few waves while you are at it.

Melbourne is generally quite a sunny and warm city for the most part of the year. You will often find they hold outdoor events throughout the year to keep all the locals satisfied with something to do. Its important to book your accommodation well in advance if you want to ensure that you have a good spot to stay in. Grandhotelmelbourne.com.au is a great example of a place to stay and people often have great reviews about the place once they leave. You can check in there to a fully equipped suite that has everything you need right there.

Once you have checked in and put your bags down, the first thing you will want to do is head out and make for the beach or explore the town. There are several local sporting grounds where you can catch anything from tennis and cricket to Australian Rules football and the Grand Prix. The beaches are usually lined with Kite surfers and boogie-boarders and people often prefer to lounge about in the sun, working on their tans. There is plenty for the arts and culture fanatics, with a ton of museums and galleries littered throughout the city. In fact, they even have the artworks of famous sculptors all over the place.

The Melbourne countryside has plenty place for you to explore the great outdoors and view some of Australias unique wildlife. They are the only continent in the world that has marsupials like the kangaroo and the Koala. You can take long hikes or enjoy a bout ride up the Yarra River. There is wine tasting in the Yarra Valley and you might even end up taking a few bottles of fine Australian wine home with you.

About the Author:
John M Wilson primarily writes articles that offer recommendation about planning and booking for serviced apartments Melbourne city. If you would like to use any of John Wilsons existing work please visit the grandhotelmelbourne.com.au.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/A-Taste-Of-Style-And-Elegance-From-The-Best-That-Melbourne-Has-To-Offer/4454603

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Self Help Recommendations Requin Chaussure TN That Happen ...

If you are being affected by a problem, there are a variety of methods to handle it, however the http://www.baskettnrequinfr.com very first choice of many is to locate some kind of personal-assist. Even so, it can often be difficult to acquire good advice about them. Keep reading for any compilation of personal-assist recommendations on many different concerns.

With self improvement, be sure that you adapt to alter regardless how significantly issues it may well result in. This is very important for the reason that entire world is usually altering and when you accept modify you acknowledge all the inevitability in this particular lifestyle. You should be conscious of methods you will need to improve and measures you will need to get to do this.

Use beneficial affirmations to fight negative thoughts and comments. If you find yourself property on a bit of TN Pas Cher negativity, whether or not this originates from your very own worries or from another person, use it from your thoughts. You will need a positive affirmation that contradicts the negative considered. Use an pre-existing affirmation or create a replacement and perform repeatedly it to oneself 20 instances.

A way of accomplishing an excellent sense of self improvement is through identifying and correcting you concepts. How you respond is determined by by your concepts. Bearing this in mind, terrible rules bring out awful behaviours. When you can enhance the great rules that you may have, the more effective your perspective may become.

Get prepared. Arrange your points nightly before heading to bed so TN Pas Cher you are prepared to use on the following day. This will help organize your feelings for the next day when you are acquiring things jointly. This will aid reduce stress since you will possess every day organized before you.

Usually do not speak about undertaking some thing instead of follow-through. In case you have an idea about one thing will not vocalize it right up until you are ready to do it. This makes you feel happier about not receiving to some objective that you have seriously considered. Place them practical.

Make sure to program concepts in the center-term and also the simple and long lasting. When making self improvement programs, everyone is usually easily able to see Requin Chaussure TN what they really want accomplished quickly and what their ultimate desired goals are. Nonetheless, it's also important to figure out the steps that will get you against your simple-expression objectives on the long-term objectives. Retain the pace heading with a prepare in place for all the method.

You should have a being thirsty for understanding if you are dealing with a process of self improvement. When you aspire to understand interesting things every day, you may find that the abilities produce without your aware hard work. Moreover, possessing assorted passions and teaching yourself are fantastic approaches to make yourself a far more intriguing and nicely-rounded particular person.

As you have seen, there are several excellent ideas Requin Chaussure TN that you could put into action within your everyday routine to hold you both healthy and delighted. Practicing self-assist all through your daily life will allow you to be strong and unbiased. Every day life is less difficult since it appears if you are equipped with understanding that allows you to support yourself.

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Source: http://crew.valkry.com/blog/85342/self-help-recommendations-requin-chaussure-tn-that-happen-to-be-certain-to-/

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FDA approves Bayer drug for rare gastrointestinal tract cancer

It began as a seemingly awkward Jack Nicholson introduction of the very long list on nominees, but the Best Picture denouement?at a very long Oscars ceremony on Sunday turned into a surprise appearance by Michelle Obama, via satellite from the Governors' Ball in Washington, D.C.?where earlier she had sat next to Chris Christie?to introduce and announce the winner,?Argo.?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fda-approves-bayer-drug-rare-gastrointestinal-tract-cancer-190854600--finance.html

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Increased Humidity From Climate Change Could Make It Harder To Tolerate Summers

It's not just the heat ? it's the humidity. Health experts actually apply that principle to workers, soldiers and sportsmen who toil outside and in places that lack air conditioning. A study in Nature Climate Change says that global warming will noticeably reduce the amount of time people can spend working and playing safely outside.

Copyright ? 2013 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Now, a story about heat, the sweaty, miserable kind. Heat plus humidity. Working outdoors or playing sports on a hot, muggy day can be dangerous, even deadly. And as the climate continues to warm, being outside will become even more challenging. Those are the findings of a new study in the journal Nature Climate Change.

NPR's Richard Harris tells us more.

RICHARD HARRIS, BYLINE: The one-two punch of heat and humidity is so serious, the military keeps a close eye on it and calls off physical activity when it gets too bad. Similar rules govern some outdoor workers as well. Howard Frumkin at the University of Washington School of Public Health says there's good reason for that.

HOWARD FRUMKIN: First, you get relatively mild reactions, such as a heat rash. Then, you can get heat cramps, then heat exhaustion and then more severely, if people keep on pushing through, heat stroke and possibly death.

HARRIS: Scientists measure this heat and humidity combination with a thermometer they swath in a wet cloth and then swing around their heads. This is called a wet bulb globe temperature. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's lab at Princeton decided to forecast what will happen to these measurements worldwide as the planet warms.

John Dunne says the answer is a lot.

JOHN DUNNE: Heat stress itself affects more people as climate warms and affects the people that it already affected more severely.

HARRIS: To put a number on this, Dunne and his colleagues measured something called labor capacity. In essence, it asks how much time people have to rest when working outside during the hottest months of the year. Right now, globally, people can work 90 percent of the time and have to take a break 10 percent of the time. But that will change a lot by 2050.

DUNNE: The labor capacity will reduce from 90 percent down to 80 percent during peak months.

HARRIS: And as temperatures rise, that will get worse and worse. By the end of the century, it's quite possible the planet will have heated up 3 degrees Celsius, about 5 degrees Fahrenheit. That will make hot and sticky places truly miserable.

DUNNE: The lower Mississippi Valley would see decreases in the ability for people to work outside safely down to about 30 percent during peak months.

HARRIS: And some time in the subsequent century, unless warming is brought under control, New York City would become as hot and humid as the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain is today. Dunne says the impact on human beings is much more serious when you look at it this way as opposed to just thinking about average temperature increases.

DUNNE: The potential seems frightening. But, you know, I have great hope in the ability of humanity to adapt.

HARRIS: The change will happen gradually, he says, and technologies like air conditioning can help, at least among people who now work in open air factories. But Howard Frumkin worries that this effect will hit hardest among the world's poor people who barely make it by today working in farm fields or sweat shops.

FRUMKIN: Especially in times of economic desperation or in places where people really need to work to provide food to their families. I think there's a real danger that people will try to power through and endanger themselves.

HARRIS: And Frumkin says the new research probably underestimates the effect because it doesn't take into account that cities are hot and home now to half the planet's population.

FRUMKIN: Cities will be far hotter places than the countryside and we can expect the diminished work capacity to hit especially hard in cities.

HARRIS: And while air conditioning can help, it also requires electricity, which is often generated by burning fossil fuels, which adds to global warming. Richard Harris, NPR News.

Copyright ? 2013 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/02/25/172905430/increased-humidity-from-climate-change-could-make-it-harder-to-tolerate-summers?ft=1&f=1007

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Dell Latitude 10

The Dell Latitude 10 ($1,146.98 direct bundle, $749 alone) tablet has a laser-tight focus on the corporate business. While other manufacturers are trying to follow where the Windows tablet space is going, Dell is trying to lead the Windows tablet space down a path it knows well: serving the corporate user. The Latitude 10 has several IT and corporate-friendly features that differentiate it from the other systems in the tablet space. All-day battery life, corporate Windows compatibility, and extreme portability are the traits that make it our new Editors' Choice for business tablets.

Design and Features
The Latitude 10 is a very compact tablet, with a 10.1-inch IPS (In-Plane Switching) capacitive touch screen. The frame is made of magnesium alloy, but the exterior is covered in a soft-touch material. The front of the tablet is a seamless piece of Gorilla Glass. The Latitude 10 measures about 11 by 7 by 0.41 inches (HWD) and weighs under a pound and a half with the standard battery, making it very portable. The bottom of the system has a micro-USB port which can be used to charge the unit if you don't have the supplied charger that plugs into the docking port. This makes it very handy if you forget your Dell charger at work but still have the micro-USB charger for your phone.

Around the other three sides, you'll find a full-size USB 2.0 port, an SD card reader, volume control, power button, mini-HDMI port, and a Kensington lock port. Unfortunately, the USB port isn't the speedier USB 3.0, but it will fully power external hard drives, something that can't be said about one of Dell's rivals, the Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 ($729 list).

The IPS screen has a 450-nit rating and a 1,366 by 768 resolution. This makes it bright, but the resolution is lower than true 1080p HD. This means that the screen natively displays less pixels than the Editors' Choice for Windows 8 Slate tablets, the Microsoft Surface Pro ($999 list), which has a 1080p screen. That said, at this size, 1,366 by 768 is perfectly adequate for viewing Word, PowerPoint, and other work documents.

You can drive a 1080p external monitor using the Latitude 10's mini-HDMI port or via the system's productivity dock. The $100 productivity dock comes with four more USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, audio, Ethernet, and power connector. The Latitude 10 supports dual monitors, whether you connect directly or use the HDMI port in the dock. Like most Windows 8 setups, spanning and mirroring dual displays are supported. The front mounted webcam is 720p HD/2MP, and the rear camera with flash is 8MP.

The Latitude 10's screen supports 10-finger touch gestures, plus you can add a $34 Wacom stylus to your purchase. The Wacom stylus supports pressure sensitivity, right click, and erase. This is similar to the Microsoft Surface Pro's stylus, and is actually better than the Lenovo Tablet 2's stylus, which lacks the eraser function. When you bring the stylus tip near the screen, it activates the Wacom digitizer and disables the touch screen. This way it won't register your hand or palm when you try to draw on the Latitude 10's screen. It would have been nice to have a way to clip the stylus to the Latitude 10 directly, but you can use a case or your pocket to store the stylus when it's not in use.

Our review unit also came with a $50 Dell KM632 wireless keyboard and mouse combo, extra $50 power adapter, $40 case, and a $55 60Whr extended battery from Dell, bringing the bundle total to $1,146.98. The external keyboard and mouse help the Latitude 10 act more like a desktop when plugged into its docking station, and we'd recommend the dock if you work from a desk for significant periods of time. Keeping an extra power adapter in your travel bag will help keep your tablet charged, as will the extended battery. This highlights one of the Latitude 10's biggest differentiators among its rivals: It uses replaceable batteries, bucking the sealed battery trend popularized by the Apple iPad and continuing through the HP Envy X2 and Acer Iconia W510-1422. As seen below, the extended battery can give you more power without the added bulk of a keyboard dock.

The Latitude 10 has three storage options: 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB of flash storage. You can, of course, supplement this with a SD card, but you will need to choose wisely when initially equipping your tablet. When we took the Latitude 10 out of the box, Windows reported that it had 36.8 out of 52.2 GB free. This is certainly enough for a few corporate apps with some room left over for document storage, but you should consider getting the 128GB model if you need to carry lots of video files along in your journeys. The 32GB units should be limited to those who are constantly connected and using Internet cloud storage or corporate servers for storage. You can get to those servers via 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi or using the HSPA+/3G WWAN radio in our review unit. As an option, 4G LTE will be available after this month, but the 4G LTE and Wi-Fi-only models will not have the GPS circuitry found in our review unit.

As befits a corporate-oriented system, the Latitiude 10 didn't come with any pre-loaded apps aside from Skype and a tile from Dell showing users how to get started with Windows 8. This helped with the Latitude 10's free space, which was much better than the 28GB left free on the Acer Iconia Tab W510. Other IT-friendly features include TPM for network and file security. Dell offers an even more secure version of the Latitude 10 with a fingerprint and smartcard reader built in. The Latitude 10 comes with a one-year standard warranty, which can be extended to three years with options including pro-level 24/7 support.

Performance
You wouldn't expect barn-burning multimedia benchmark results from a system with 2GB of memory and an Intel Atom Z2760 processor, but on the flip side the Atom processor is very frugal with battery consumption. The Latitude 10 scored relatively high on CineBench R11.5 (0.55 points), matching the HP Envy X2. It also got one of the better Atom-based scores on our Handbrake video encoding test (6:27). Its 1,291 point score on PCMark 7 was middling, far behind the Microsoft Surface Pro (4,768 points) and its ultrabook-class competitors. Basically, if you need a fast system, go with one of the ultrabook-class slates like the Surface Pro or Acer Iconia W700.

If you need Windows program and Windows corporate network compatibility with all-day computing, then the Latitude 10 is right up your alley. The Latitude 10 lasted 9 hours, 20 minutes on our battery rundown test using the standard slim 30WHr battery; it lasted a phenomenal 19:38 using the extended 60WHr battery. The HP Envy X2 fell far behind with and without its battery-clad keyboard dock (7:08/12:34), and the Acer Icona W510 was a bit better alone (10:27), but was short with its keyboard battery dock (17:50). All of these Atom-powered systems lasted many hours longer than ultrabook-class tablets like the Microsoft Surface Pro (4:58) and Sony VAIO Duo 11 (3:09). The only drawbacks to the extended battery are that the battery sticks out of the back of the Latitude 10 by a few mm, and add a bit of weight (1.87 pounds). That said, the Latitude 10 is still much more portable than the three-pound HP X2 and Acer W510 when you clip on their keyboard docks.

If battery power, maximum portability, legacy program compatibility, and IT mandates are keeping your business from rolling out tablets, then take a long hard look at the Dell Latitude 10. It can fulfill your traveling workers' need to stay on the corporate programs and servers, while giving them extreme mobility. It's more of a stay-in-touch and information-retrieval device than a multimedia workhorse, but if your workers are clamoring for tablets, and Mordac the Preventer is keeping Windows RT, iPads and Android tablets off your corporate network, then the Dell Latitude 10 is the one you want. If you want more power for multimedia and number crunching, then the Editors' Choice for Windows 8 slate tablets Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Pro is a better performance tablet, but its battery life is half that of the slim Latitude 10. As such, we award the Dell Latitude 10 with our first Editors' Choice for Business Windows 8 Slate Tablets for its IT-friendly features and true all-day battery life.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Dell Latitude 10 with several other laptops and tablets side by side.

More laptop reviews:
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??? Dell XPS 10
??? Dell Latitude 10
??? MSI GT70 One-609US Dragon Edition
??? Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Pro
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laptop

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/Js3F0p53EIY/0,2817,2415770,00.asp

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Armani, Dior rack up fashion wins at Oscars

Giorgio Armani could claim some big wins at the Oscars on Sunday night: the designer dressed Jessica Chastain and Quvenzhane Wallis.

Chastain, in a glistening copper-tone strapless gown with mermaid hem, looked like an old-world glamorous movie star, especially with her oversized vintage Harry Winston diamond earrings and bright red lipstick. "I chose it because to me it was a throwback to old Hollywood," she said.

Meanwhile, she told E!: "It's a very 'Happy birthday, Mr. President' dress."

Naomi Watts wore a gunmetal beaded gown with a geometric cutout on the bodice, also by Armani. She and Chastain were both considered fashion "gets" for the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

Quvenzhane, with a silver headband in her hair and carrying her puppy purse, wore an Armani Junior navy-blue dress with black, navy and silver jewels scattered on the skirt and a big bow on the back. She supposedly has another Armani dress, a pink one, ready for the afterparty. "I liked it because it was sparkly and puffy."

Dior Haute Couture dressed Jennifer Lawrence and Charlize Theron ? both are spokesmodels ? and they both hit it right in white. Lawrence was the belle of the ball in a white-and-pale pink strapless gown with fitted bustier and poufy hemline, sophisticated pulled-back hair, diamond-ball earrings and a delicate long necklace that hung down in the back. Theron was sleek in an angular strapless dress with a fashion-right peplum and a buzz-cut hairdo.

Christos Garkinos, longtime red-carpet watcher and owner of Decades vintage store in Los Angeles, predicted the "Who wore Dior best?" battle will be a big part of the next-day Oscars buzz. Also worth mentioning, he said, were the post-50s actresses such as Jane Fonda and Sally Field not shying away from bold dress choices. Fonda wore a taxicab yellow Versace, and Field was in bright red.

Jennifer Aniston kept up the tradition of Valentino's special brand of Hollywood red, wearing a strapless princess gown. Amanda Seyfried's metallic halter dress by Alexander McQueen with a keyhole opening was three months in the making, and Halle Berry said she trusted Donatella Versace to dress her like the Bond girl that she has been on the big screen. She ended up in a silver beaded-and-black gown with long sleeves and V neck.

Stacy Keibler's Naeem Khan silver-and-black gown had a flapper vibe. Jennifer Hudson's shiny, second-skin blue Roberto Cavalli almost looked like an animal print.

Anne Hathaway's blush pink Prada dress, seemingly sweet but with a strategically open back and sexy sides, said she made her choice only a few hours earlier. "It fit my mood and place where I'm at right now," she said.

Kristen Stewart had on an even paler blush gown; hers a hand-beaded strapless with tulle inserts by Reem Acra.

Jennifer Garner chose a violet-colored Gucci with cascading ruffles in the back. She said on ABC, "I save up all my fashion for red-carpet events." Her 200-carat diamond-and-dark platinum necklace from the Neil Lane archives was a big statement.

Beaded gowns had a strong presence, worn by Sandra Bullock, in a fully embroidered Elie Saab; Renee Zellweger, in sleek Carolina Herrera; and Adele in Jenny Packham. Catherine Zeta-Jones was statuesque in an all-gold Zuhair Muhad. Queen Latifah's white V-neck tank dress by Badgley Mischka had a lot of sparkle on the straps.

Salma Hayek's midnight-blue velvet Alexander McQueen gown had a gold embellished collar, and she carried a gold skull box clutch.

Helen Hunt wore a little bit of her conscious along with her blue column gown. It was from fast-fashion retailer H&M. She chose it because it was both accessible and because the company has launched a substantial green initiative. She did wear it, however, with hundreds of thousands of dollars of borrowed jewels.

For the men, the trend was beards, with George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Ben Affleck and Tommy Lee Jones, among them.

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Associated Press Writer Beth Harris contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/armani-dior-rack-fashion-wins-oscars-015651351.html

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