A Windows 8.1 survivor's guide: Hardware

Wanted: Windows 8.1 wrapped in slick hardware.

(Credit: CNET)

Here are some handy survivor tips for the Windows hardware camp as the traditional PC continues to decline.
With Microsoft's upcoming release of Windows 8.1, devices will need to be cooler, lighter, and...Well, let's just leave it at cooler.
The consensus seems to be that Windows 8.1 is, at the least, a modest improvement over 8.0.
There's a "Start tip" that sends you to a more customizable Start screen; you can make the app view the default in the Start screen; and new settings can send you directly to Desktop, among other tweaks.
But software alone won't improve the odds for Windows 8.1 in a world populated with Apple and Android mobile devices.
Hardware that could make Windows 8.1 more relevant, viable:

• Small tablets sans so-so me-too: Microsoft is now making sure Windows 8.1 works well on smaller screens. Enter the 8-inch Acer Iconia W3 and Lenovo MiiX 8. But Acer's tablet doesn't appear to be a game changer, i.e., consumers aren't going to drop their iPad Minis and pick up a W3. "The 7.9-inch tablets like the iPad Mini and Galaxy Note 8...[weigh] well under a pound. The W3 weighs 1.10 pounds and its surplus of girth is immediately palpable. That is to say: for an 8.1-inch tablet it feels heavy and is noticeably thicker than either aforementioned tablet," said CNET Reviews.
  That's not a good start. With all of their collective design experience and expertise, you would think that Acer, Asus, HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Sony could consistently trump Apple on tablet design. A potentially bigger problem: companies like Asus and Samsung -- which straddle the Windows and Android worlds -- could throw their weight behind Android. That would be a game changer.
  Here's one suggestion. More products like the HP Android-based SlateBook x2 need to appear on the Windows side of the ledger. The SlateBook sports a IPS (1,920x1,200 display) screen, a fast new processor, and, with a keyboard dock, is priced under $500.
  
  And Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 running Windows 8.1 would be more than welcome. CNET Reviews says it's "a stunning tablet" with a great screen. It would be equally stunning on Windows 8.1.
  
• Surface makeover: Back in May, CNET learned that Microsoft is eyeing a 7.5-inch-class Surface. If this comes to fruition, this is good news. While Surface hasn't sold in huge numbers, Microsoft is on the right track. So, a sleek, light, inexpensive yet well designed Surface tablet packing fast silicon and a high-resolution screen could sell in greater numbers.
  
• More touch laptops like Acer's new Aspire S7: CNET Reviews gave the S7 high marks, saying it's a premium-looking ultrabook, with great performance, strong battery life, and a high-res touch screen. It's definitely a looker. The more great looking Windows laptops, the better.
  
• I'll have that tablet in large, please: Dell's XPS 18 is interesting because it's relatively lightweight for its size and combines the novelty of a large tablet with an all-in-one.
  
• New Windows players with fresh ideas: This is a wild card. Something revolutionary that emerges from a Skunk Works project or a garage. Probability of it happening? Less every month as Windows PCs lose momentum.

Bluetooth blues: Wired speakers sound better than the best BT speakers

Back row, from left, Peachtree Audio Deepblue, Klipsch KMC3, Cambridge Minx Air 200; front Bowers & Wilkins Z2

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg/CNET)

The continuing popularity of Bluetooth speakers mystifies me. The under $50 ones sound pretty weak, but they have a good excuse: they're cheap! Sadly, the $100 models aren't much better: they sound undernourished next to my $52 Dayton Audio B652 stereo speakers, powered by my $25 Lepai LP-2020A+ stereo amplifier. Before we go any further let's put aside for a second the question of how BT sounds; the biggest problem with BT speakers is that it's just one speaker, and can't fill a room as well as two speakers, spread five or more feet apart. Then consider that each B652 has a 6.5-inch woofer and a 5/8-inch dome tweeter; I've never heard a BT speaker, even a $500 one, that has two 6.5-inch woofers; some don't even have tweeters! Yes, the Lepai/Dayton system takes up more room and has wires, but if you want decent sound for a rock-bottom price, there's absolutely no comparison. Plug in a phone or iPod, and you're good to go for $77.
Obviously, more upscale BT speakers sound better than cheap ones, so for this blog I listened to four higher-end models, the $400 Peachtree Audio Deepblue, $400 Bowers & Wilkins Z2, $599 Cambridge Minx Air 200, and the $400 Klipsch KMC3. The Deepblue was my favorite; it made the deepest and most powerful bass and sounded fairly clear in the midrange, but I found the treble grating and harsh. The Minx Air 200 was easier on the ears, it was the most refined-sounding of the four BT models. The Z2 was a lot smaller than the others, and still sounded OK.

My iPod Classic, with the left Audioengine A5+ speaker

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg/CNET)

Some are quick to blame BT compression technology for BT speakers' less than stellar sound quality. They're right; the speakers sounded a little better when I didn't use BT and ran a $5.30 cable between my iPod Classic and the speakers. With the wire inline, sound quality improved, but the BT speakers still left me cold, especially because there are better-sounding alternatives for the same or fewer dollars. I hooked up a pair of $399 Audioengine A5+ speakers, placed six feet apart, plugged my iPod into the left A5+ with the 25-foot cable, sat on the couch, and enjoyed my tunes. The Audioengine speakers have built-in amplifiers, 5-inch woofers, and 1-inch tweeters. One by one I compared the A5+s with the BT speakers. Technically, the BTs are stereo speakers -- they have two sets of drivers -- but since they are 12 inches or so apart, the sound was essentially mono. So they can't fill a room as well as a pair of speakers. That's a very significant limitation that even the highest-priced BT or AirPlay speaker can't overcome.
The BT speakers play loudly, no problem, but the Audioeninge A5+s sound better playing loud. The Peachtree Audio Deepblue made more bass than the A5+s, but the Deepblue's bass sounded muddier than the A5+s. Frankly, the best BT speakers sound like powerful table radios; the A5+ is closer to the sound of a decent hi-fi system.
Now sure, if you don't have the space for two speakers, or need the wireless connection, go BT. But if you care about what your music sounds like, consider Audioengine, Emotiva, or Adam Audio speakers.

The brains behind BitTorrent get on TV's good side (Q&A)

Flingo's algorithms recognize what's happening on live television and, if viewers opt in with their remotes, can pull up information about what's up and offer ways to interact.

(Credit: Flingo) For years, Ashwin Navin ran BitTorrent, the peer-to-peer technology company that many people associate with pirated entertainment. Now he's flipped to the other side. He and a contingent of BitTorrent engineers are playing on the same team as television broadcasters at his current venture, Flingo.

Flingo is to video what Shazam is to music. They're both so-called "automatic content recognition," or ACR, software programs. Where Shazam can recognize a song simply by listening to it, Flingo can recognize actors who walk on screen during a TV broadcast -- and it can offer information and ways to interact related to them.
Flingo raised $8.5 million in its first round of venture capital backing, attracting the likes of billionaire Mark Cuban and August Capital, whose David Marquardt was the sole investor in Microsoft.
Navin, the co-founder and chief executive of Flingo, talked with CNET about what's changing (and what's not) in television, and how Flingo is approaching it differently than others in Silicon Valley. The following is an edited Q&A.
Q: Talk a little about your history and how that brought about Flingo.
Navin: I ran BitTorrent for four years, and most of Flingo's co-founders are engineers from BitTorrent. BitTorrent continues, and is doing better than ever, but we were intrigued by television. We were interested in figuring out how to use digital rights to make a TV service, but when cable operators saw smart TVs and consoles bring connectivity into the living room, the cost of digital content went sky high. We pivoted and got away from that quickly.
Some in Silicon Valley thought cable would die a quick death, but the buying power they have will keep them in business for another decade or two. We've pivoted to the opposite opinion, and now we're thinking of how to use the Internet to deliver the content but in a different way.
What is Flingo's technology?
Navin: Our tech sits within the televisions and in the phones and tablets themselves. Our software is ACR -- think of Shazam -- when you're trying to think of the name of the song, it will grab audio from the room. That, in industry jargon, is ACR: automatic content recognition. We fall into that group, as a company that makes ACR technologies. Basically, Flingo does the same thing but for video not audio.
What can Flingo do?
Navin: The most common thing is having instant access to cast and crew information. If you see an actress walk on a screen and can't remember her name, Flingo can recognize her and bring up information about her. That metadata lives either in a TV overlay that the user created or in a phone app or tablet app. It can do other things, too. The most natural extension of reality programming would be the ability to interact with viewers, such as voting with your TV remote for "American Idol" rather than with a phone. Other examples are the likes of a CNN or Fox News having the ability to take polls with TV remote. We've built up a bunch of building blocks for networks to use.

Flingo's Ashwin Navin.

(Credit: Flingo)

How can viewers use Flingo?
Navin: With a show, regardless of whether it comes from Netflix or Comcast, you're able to unlock clips or behind-the-scenes content, for example. You can do that in a tablet, but also we came up with a really simple interface for televisions themselves, where you get a Shazam-like icon in the corner of the screen that you can click on. For the creators, it doesn't matter how they choose to bring their content to market, the intelligence is in the device.
It's called Samba -- the underlying tech -- that synchronizes a Web browser, and it will become ubiquitous. Right now, it requires people to buy devices that have this technology in them. Last year, that population was nonexistent. It's small this year, but next year it will get bigger [The company is in talks with manufacturers to have its technology shipped in TVs later this year.] The software we've written over the history of our company is sitting in 30 million devices. We've always been focused on the TV devices or Blu-ray players, now we're turning our attention to phones and tablets.
What has been the response from the hardware makers and television companies?
Navin: The thing we get asked a lot from device manufacturers and from broadcasters is, "How does this make money?" The answer is that all the things that make content more engaging also apply to ads. So, for example, if you're watching a Volkswagen ad, maybe it piques your interest, maybe you can find the nearest dealership with the click of a remote. We're having those conversations now. In a world where Hopper is stripping the ads, this is very timely. TV ads will have to transform into something more personalized and multiscreen. And it leverages the fact that people are viewing broadcast content about 5 hours a day, if you believe Nielsen.
How does Flingo itself make money?
When we create an experience both on a television and on a second device, those are monetized with ads. We anticipated, and this is starting to get proven out now, those screens will be sponsored by a brand. A whole new category of programming is emerging that's synchronized with television. We're acting as execution of the commitments made by ad sales teams at networks.
If you add up all of Google's revenue, all of Yahoos' revenue, all of Facebook's revenue, it still doesn't even get you to half of the up-fronts every year for TV ad business. We would love to make that system more efficient and more engaging. Every startup's business plan is that if it can take X percent of television ad dollars, then it'll be a success. We said, "Hey, why don't we try to make the TV ad budget bigger rather than smaller?"

Human Head Transplants Now Possible!

An Italian scientist said he believes doctors have the ability to transplant a human head to another body, and he has created an outline for how the surgery could be possible.

In a recent research paper, Sergio Canavero described how to connect donor and recipient spinal cords – the one component that was missing from making human head transplants possible, according to U.S. News &World Report.

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Russian scientist Vladimir Demikhov experimented with head transplants on dogs in the 1950s. In the 1970s, American neurosurgeon Robert White successfully transplanted the head of one monkey to the body of another, but because White could not connect the spinal cords, the monkey only lived for a few days.

Canavero said he thinks he has solved the spinal cords connection problem with an untested method he calls the GEMINI procedure.

The two bodies involved in the surgery would be cooled to 55 to 59 degrees and then the spinal cords would be cut with extremely sharp blades.

"It is this 'clean cut' that is key to spinal cord fusion, in that it allows proximally severed axons to be 'fused' with their distal counterparts," Canavero wrote in his paper, U.S. News & World Report reported.

The doctor would then use chemicals like polyethylene glycol, or PEG, to immediately fuse the spinal cords.

Many scientists said head transplant surgery would serve no benefit to humans and the research is a waste of time.

"Connecting a head to a body is worthless to human beings today. The whole concept is bizarre," British Transplantation Society professor Anthony Warrens told the Telegraph.

"This sounds like something from a horror movie," Calum Mackellar, from the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, added.

Canavero ignores the naysayers and defended his research.

"This is no longer science fiction," Canavero told The Telegraph. "This could be done today — now. If this operation is done it will provide a few people with a substantial amount of extra life. The only reason I have not gone further is funding."

4 Things You’ll Feel Right Before a Heart Attack

When your body tries to tell you something, how well do you listen?

With many health issues, your body sends out signals that something has gone awry. Of course, listening to your body when it complains that you just ate too much spicy food or you have a minor cold coming on may not be of life-shattering importance.

However, when it comes to your heart, listening to your body is crucial — because ignoring or misinterpreting these bodily signals can be deadly.

In fact, researchers at Duke University Medical Center have recently determined that unrecognized myocardial infarctions (or “silent” heart attacks, in layman’s terms) are much more common than physicians had previously suspected. And unfortunately, they note these silent heart attacks carry a very high risk of death.

Studies indicate that about 200,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year without even realizing it. These unrecognized heart attacks account for about one-fourth of all heart attacks, making this a serious public health issue.

Fortunately, according to renowned cardiologist Dr. Chauncey Crandall, you can easily train yourself to listen to your own body’s signals when it comes to the state of your heart health.

Dr. Crandall recently collaborated with Newsmax Health to make available a special video presentation: 4 Things You’ll Feel Right Before a Heart Attack. In this no-cost video, you’ll see four major ways your body tries to warn you — before it’s too late to intervene and survive the damage.

Because, while they are called “silent” heart attacks, your body will warn you of these impending attacks days, weeks, even months before the actual cardiac events. However, symptoms may be mild, vague, or even painless — and many people don’t even realize they’re heart-related.

In particular, four things you could feel are the most sinister signs of a silent heart attack. Just don’t expect the stereotypical “Hollywood” heart attack, where you see an actor clutching at the left side of his chest in severe pain. This is actually less common.

When it comes to surviving a heart attack, statistics show a clear link between delay in treatment and disability or death. That’s why knowing what to look for in terms of symptoms is critical, especially when they’re the kind that most people don’t think to associate with a heart attack — like the four things in this complimentary video presentation: 4 Things You’ll Feel Right Before a Heart Attack. The video also discusses simple strategies to prevent and reverse general heart disease and high cholesterol.

Dr. Crandall, chief of the cardiac transplant program at the esteemed Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic in Florida, practices on the front lines of interventional, vascular, and transplant cardiology. Decades of experience have afforded him the chance to detect little-known warning signs and symptoms like the ones addressed in the video.

Editor’s Note: For a limited time, Newsmax Health is making 4 Things You’ll Feel Before a Heart Attack: A Newsmax Heart Health Special Report available at no charge. Click here to discover how to listen more effectively to your body’s signals about your heart health.

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Egypt Crises: Nigeria Calls for Immediate Restoration of Democracy

The federal government has described the removal of Egypt's President, Mohammed Morsi and the suspension of the country’s constitution by the Egyptian armed forces as a serious setback for the remarkable progress made by the continent in fostering democracy.

The federal government’s statement came just as the North African country’s military launched a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood movement which launched Morsi to power as the country’s first democratically-elected president.

The Nigerian government, however, expressed grave concern at the situation in Egypt where after days of protests across the country, the armed forces issued an ultimatum to Morsi to adhere to the “wishes” of the people and subsequently announced his removal.

The federal government called for the immediate restoration of democratic order with a request to the Egyptian army to allow democratic culture to thrive in the country.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja Thursday, said Morsi's removal was a truncation of the aspirations of the Egyptian people to freely express themselves through the ballot box.

“This unfortunate development is a gross violation of the Constitutive Act of the African Union which prohibits unconstitutional change of government.

“It constitutes a serious setback for the remarkable progress which Africa has made in fostering culture of democratic governance on the continent,” it read.

“Nigeria also calls on the Egyptian people to exercise utmost restraint in the peaceful pursuit of their legitimate grievances,” the statement added.

Following the overthrow of Morsi on Wednesday and his replacement with the top judge of Egypt's Constitutional Court, Adly Mahmud Mansour, a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood movement got underway in Egypt Thursday.

The BBC reported that a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood warned that the ouster of Morsi, a member of the movement, could prompt some groups to resort to violence, though he said the Brotherhood would not do so.

The deposed president was under house arrest at the Republican Guard Club and most members of presidential team had also been placed under house arrest, a Brotherhood spokesman said.

Judge Tharwat Hammad said Thursday that judicial authorities had opened an investigation into accusations that Morsi and eight other senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood had defamed the judiciary. A travel ban was imposed on all of them. The prosecutor expects to question Morsi sometime next week.

A prosecutor also ordered the arrest of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie, and a top deputy, Khairat el-Shater, for allegedly ordering the killing of protesters outside of the Brotherhood’s headquar

ters on Sunday, judicial sources said. The whereabouts of the two men are still unknown.

The action was taken as a judge appointed to Egypt’s constitutional court by Hosni Mubarak - the strongman leader ousted by the Arab Spring uprising - was sworn in as interim president Friday.

Mansour, Chairman of the Supreme Constitutional Court, pledged to look after the interests of “the great people of Egypt,” promised fresh elections, and urged the revolutionaries who helped topple Islamist President Morsi to stay in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
Mansour, 68, said he would respect the rule of law and “look after the interests of the people,” according to a live translation by BBC News.

The US, meanwhile, was keeping a close eye on developments with President Barack Obama meeting with his national security team about the situation.

In a statement, Obama said the United States supported “a set of core principles, including opposition to violence, protection of universal human rights, and reform that meets the legitimate aspirations of the people”.

He added: “We are deeply concerned by the decision of the Egyptian armed forces to remove President Morsi and suspend the Egyptian constitution.

“I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible through an inclusive and transparent process, and to avoid any arbitrary arrests of President Morsi and his supporters.”

Early Thursday, it remained unclear whether the US government would define the military’s decision to oust Morsi as a coup. This could affect the $1.5 billion in aid given to Egypt annually.

The US law bans military or financial assistance “to the government of any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree”.

Varsities Divided over ASUU Strike

Members  of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU)  are divided over their participation in an indefinite nationwide strike ordered by the union.

While the strike, which began on Monday, has paralysed academic activities on some campuses, lecturers in other universities have refused to boycott work in compliance with the union’s directive.

At the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), the local chapter of the union said it would not take part in the strike.

The strike, however,  has caused a rift among lecturers at the  Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka as some of them have complied with the order, while others said they would not join in the industrial action until students finish their ongoing second semester examinations.

The Chairman, UNILORIN chapter of ASUU, Professor Wahab Egbewole,  Wednesday defended the members’ decision not to take part in the strike.

He said the local chapter of the union  was not carried along in the decision that led to the strike.

Egbewole, while addressing  journalists in Ilorin, said: "We will not be part of the ongoing nationwide strike being embarked on by some branches of ASUU because we have not been consulted or informed about the strike.

"Its important to note that before a union will go on strike, there is the need for consultation. Up till now, I have not been informed in any way or form of communication and I sincerely believe that other universities who are participating in the strike did get the directive on the pages of newspapers.

“I have said it severally at our congresses that we are not averse  to a positive working relationship with the ASUU national headquarters, we have made several efforts towards this development which were rebuffed."

He, however, expressed the belief that strike was not the solution to any disagreement between the union  and the federal government.

A visit by THISDAY to the campus of the university revealed that  academic activities were going on unhindered.

The rain semester  examinations, which began three weeks ago, were going on undisrupted,  as students were seen in their halls writing their examinations without any hindrance.

But while some lecturers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka joined the strike, others said they would not until the students have finished their examinations.

The institution’s ASUU Wednesday officially joined other colleagues nationwide in the strike, but a faction of the union in the institution, which goes by the name ‘ASUU NAU Progressives’, said it would not join the strike until after the examinations that have been slated to start on July 8.

At its monthly general congress yesterday, moderated by the NAU ASUU Chairman, Prof. Ike Odimegwu, the congress adopted to join the nationwide strike and warned that any form of academic activities in the institution would be sanctioned.

He said lectures held in NAU on Monday and Tuesday because the branch was yet to hold its congress to take a resolution on the strike.

But in swift reaction, the ASUU NAU Progressives, led by Prof Maduabuchi Dukor, and which claimed to have the support of  majority of the academic staff in the institution, said it would not join in the strike.

He called on the federal government to look into the demands of ASUU and meet them to avoid punishing students and parents unjustly.

Dukor told journalists that his group might consider joining the strike, after students had finished their examinations.

He said: “We are speaking for the school, and we have held consultations and arrived at the conclusion that we will not be part of the strike. Our reason is that our students have started the second semester examination, and to join in the strike will amount to a disservice to parents, students and other persons in the university. Besides, this examination is vital for national and international accreditation of some faculties in out university, and without it we may fail.”

But at the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto the local chapter of ASUU  had joined the strike and suspended the first semester examination.

Addressing journalists in Sokoto Wednesday,  the university ASUU Chairman, Dr. Faruk Mohammed Tambuwal, said the university management decided to adhere to the directive  of the national body of the union by suspending the examinations.

He explained that the local branch of ASUU had no option than to suspend the first semester examinations to avoid the wrath of the national body.

"As intellectuals, we cannot fold our arms and allow the university system to deteriorate. We are not ready to beg anybody, we are not ready to be subservient and be enslaved  in our country.

"So  this strike is total and indefinite and we will continue with it until a truce is reached between ASUU and the federal government," Tambuwal added

President Jonathan Congratulate Governor Babatunde Fashola at 50.

President Goodluck Jonathan  Thursday congratulated Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State as he celebrates his 50th birthday today.

Jonathan, according to his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, conveyed his felicitations to  Fashola through a letter, where he prayed that God Almighty would grant him many more years of commendable service to the people of Lagos and Nigeria.

“On behalf of my family, the government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and on my own behalf, I write to express warm felicitations to you on the landmark occasion of your 50th birthday anniversary.

“As you deservedly celebrate this glorious day, it is my prayer that Almighty God, who has richly prospered you and ordered your every step this past half century, will continue to bless you with good health and fulfillment in the many more years of worthy service ahead of you,” the president wrote.

The president  wished Fashola very happy birthday celebrations.

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Nigeria New Guiness Word Record.

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