Friday, May 17, 2013

Soft Inflation Poses a Growth Test (WSJ)

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Powerball jackpot quickly jumps to $550 million

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? The Powerball jackpot jumped to $550 million on Thursday ? the third largest lottery in history ? as dreamers in all but the seven states where the game isn't played snatched up tickets for the minuscule chance at a life on easy street.

Thursday's announcement by the Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association means ticket sales have soared since Wednesday night's drawing for an estimated $360 million jackpot, in which no one picked all six numbers correctly.

Sales jumped by $260 million in the days before November's biggest Powerball jackpot win in history ? a prize of $587.5 million. And Iowa Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neubauer said it's possible that Saturday's could end up eclipsing that amount.

A $550 million jackpot would be the second largest in Powerball history and the third largest for any lottery.

Lottery officials expect jackpot totals of this size to continue to climb in shorter amounts of time, thanks in part to a game redesign in January 2012 that increased the odds of winning some kind of prize, but also lowered the possible number combinations to win the Powerball.

There's also "cross-selling" of Powerball and Mega Millions tickets ? states being able to sell both Powerball tickets and Mega Millions tickets ? that began in January 2010. As a result, large jackpots will continue to surpass all-time jackpot records set years ago, said Neubauer.

"It usually took a handful of months, if not several months, for a jackpot to reach this large amount," she said. "Now it's achieving that within a handful of weeks. I think the redesign is achieving exactly what we had wanted it to achieve, which is the bigger, faster-growing jackpot."

The redesign means players don't necessarily have to strike big to get lucky. A $1 increase and new $1 million and $2 million prizes means the odds of winning something have increased. On Wednesday, $1 million prizes were won in 16 states, and $2 million prizes were won in two states.

In fact, more than half of the all-time jackpot records have been reached in the last three years. The top two all-time jackpots ? $656 million from a Mega Millions jackpot and $587.5 million from a Powerball jackpot ? were achieved in 2012.

The last major jackpot win came when a New Jersey man won a $338.3 million jackpot on March 23. It is now considered the fourth largest Powerball jackpot in history.

Players aren't complaining about the large sums. Rachel Rand said she just couldn't help herself and bought several Powerball tickets.

"How can you not play $2?" said the 32-year-old insurance adjustor. "A $10 investment if you win is pretty good."

Insurance agent Joe Williams, of Middleton, Wis., doesn't necessarily spend more when the prize is high. But his $4 investment in the quick-pick option means he does spend.

"I know rationally it makes no sense," he said. "But at the same time, without a ticket, I have zero chance."

Tom Powers, 52, a janitor from Omaha, Neb., bought several tickets Tuesday from a convenience store. He said he would definitely walk away from work if he won the jackpot, but he's not sure how he would spend all the winnings.

"It's really unfathomable the amount of money this is putting out," Powers said.

___

Associated Press writers Kevin Wang in Madison, Wis., and Josh Funk in Omaha, Neb., contributed to this report.

___

Follow Barbara Rodriguez at http://twitter.com/bcrodriguez

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/powerball-jackpot-quickly-jumps-550-million-182533554.html

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Razer Atrox arcade stick entices Xbox 360 fighters with swappable parts

Razer Atrox arcade stick entices Xbox 360 fighters with pro focus, swappable parts

Look out, MadCatz -- Razer's ready to add an Xbox 360 arcade stick to its peripheral lineup. The $200 Atrox should please serious button mashers, thanks to Sanwa-sourced controls and completely customizable parts. A total of 10 buttons sit alongside the joystick, and you'll find storage compartments for an additional stick and the bundled 13-foot detachable USB cable under the lid. Fighting game enthusiasts can pre-order the Atrox beginning on May 21st from Razer's online store, with global availability set for June -- Japan's lucky shores will see it this month. There's no word on variations for other systems, but that may be the price to pay for the integrated Xbox Live headset jack. Catch a render of its internals and a press release after the break.

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Source: Razer

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/lNPF1gtNt6s/

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Lenovo's Intel-powered K900 smartphone on sale now in China, ships internationally this summer

Lenovo's Intelpowered K900 smartphone on sale now in China, ships internationally this summer

It arrived with a bang, but it's been dead silence ever since. Lenovo's Intel Clover+ smartphone, the Android-based K900, is finally ready to make its grand entrance into the consumer realm. The 5.5-inch powerhouse will ship with a dual-core Atom Z2580 CPU (2.0GHz) within, a PowerVR SGX 544MP2 GPU, a 1080p IPS panel slipped behind a coating of Gorilla Glass 2 and a 13 megapixel camera. Despite the sizable display, it weighs just 162 grams and measures 6.9 millimeters thick, and should be available across greater China right now for RMB 3,299 (around $536) -- or RMB 2,999 if you're lucky. For those outside of Lenovo's homeland, you'll need to wait until summer for it to hit an unspecified amount of "international markets."

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Source: Lenovo, JD.com

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/7WlNFORiKuI/

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Tips On Home Rehabilitation And Heating | Grandview Information ...

Home improvement is often as simple as painting a place or higher complicated like remodeling your home. Regardless, they?re some tips you will probably find useful to avoid unnecessary frustration and/or headaches.

One valuable do-it-yourself project that can save you funds are setting up fans. Using a fan in each of one?s rooms may help have them cool and permit the air to circulate. If you use the fans rather than air conditioning, your summer energy bill will be dramatically reduced.

In relation to small remodels, a very important factor that should be understood is always that sometimes you need to spend some money to avoid wasting money. Purchasing a new fridge could help you save funds on electricity, and insulating a place or especially an attic can help to conserve on heating and air-conditioning bills. All these kind of improvements will likely help to increase the value of your home if you choose to sell in the foreseeable future.

A great do-it-yourself and approach to saving funds are to set up a complete-house fan. These are excellent sources of energy savings since they typically utilize one-tenth the electricity of an ac. If you live in an area where air conditioning is not required year round, this is a great alternative to central air. http://hvac-pros-riverside.info/riverside-heating.php

In relation to do-it-yourself, consider adding more fans to your house to help in the warm months. This will be significant because running fans will cost much less than air conditioning, and offer a cooling benefit as well. Remember also that a lover only provides cooling benefit if you are space, so switch it off if your room will not be occupied.

Should your chimney is dated back a century or higher, you might want to consider replacing it. A classic chimney becomes hazardous and decreases your homes efficiency as well. They?re able to become cracked or clogged causing issues if you wish to utilize it, while a greater portion of your home?s heating and air can escape via an old chimney.

If you?re tired of not having enough warm water, a great idea is a tankless water heater. Tankless heaters present you with warm water only because you require it, and never have to have a holding tank. By only heating water you?ll immediately use, it?s also possible to save the energy. In addition they take up a lot less room than traditional tank heaters. www.hvac-pros-riverside.info/riverside-heating.php

Get some new water heater into a tankless style to have an endless method of getting warm water and lowered energy bills. Instead of heating a sizable drum water continuously, they heat water as it passes through the heater, which is a lot more efficient than tank-style water heaters. You consider whole-house heaters, or those that are supposed to supply water to at least one room or faucet.

For those who have decided to replace houses roof with metal you can invest some time with this with there being many to pick from. Ensure you pick the one which can save you in heating and cooling costs, that are fire resistant, water and snow proof, and last longer.

Remember, do-it-yourself won?t have to become daunting task! The correct information will help you to make sound decisions. Whether one does-it-yourself or hire your work, enjoy your ?facelift? ? some effort goes further!

Source: http://www.grandview-infocom.com/140-tips-on-home-rehabilitation-and-heating

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Thursday, May 16, 2013

Rocket blasts off from Florida carrying new GPS satellite


CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida | Wed May 15, 2013 8:33pm EDT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An unmanned Atlas rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Wednesday to deliver an upgraded global positioning system satellite into orbit.

The 189-foot (58-meter) tall rocket, built and launched by United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, soared into blue skies over Florida's east coast at 5:38 p.m. EDT.

Perched on top of the rocket was a 3,400-pound (1,542 kg) Boeing-built GPS 2F satellite, the fourth of 12 upgraded spacecraft expected to be added to the orbiting constellation over the next several years.

"It's a big moment for all of us," Travis Pond, a lieutenant with the U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, said during a United Launch Alliance launch webcast.

The navigation satellites are used by the U.S. military and allies, as well as millions of civilians. The upgraded versions offer greater accuracy, enhanced internal atomic clocks, better protection against signal jamming and a new signal for commercial aviation.

The satellite, which cost about $121 million, will replace a spacecraft launched in 1996 that already is twice past its design lifetime. That satellite will be repositioned for use as a spare.

With Wednesday's launch, the GPS network will include 31 operational satellites in orbit.

The next GPS launch is slated for October aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

(Editing by Kevin Gray and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/scienceNews/~3/T3tKfTnH9lo/story01.htm

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Google I/O Live Blog - Business Insider

just wrapped up a massive keynote presentation at its annual I/O developers conference, which culminated in a surprise appearance by CEO

.

Page gave an insightful speech about where he sees technology moving, noting that we as a race have only achieved 1% of what we're capable of. In a surprising move from a CEO of a major company, Page then took questions from the audience where he touched on everything from getting more women involved in technology to Google's future in the real world with projects like self-driving cars.

Before Page's appearance, Google's executives showed off a slew of new products and updates to existing products. Google+ has a brand new look, there's a new streaming music service, and Google Maps is getting a massive, gorgeous update.

A lot happened, so check out our stream of events below to catch up on all the news that happened today.

google io

This is a big thank you to the 6,000 developers in attendance today.

Most people in the world used one operating system, Windows. With the advent of smartphones and other mobile devices...people are adopting web-connected devices.

This is a pretty wonky explanation. Barra is talking about Google Services, which are tools Android developers can use to make apps.

One new tool is a location API that will greatly reduce the battery life your phone's GPS uses. That's a big deal because many location apps suck away battery power.

Another tool is called Activity Recognition. It can automatically figure out if the user is walking, driving, or biking. This will be useful for mapping apps.

Developers can also use Google+ so users can sign into a service on the website and log into the Android app at the same time.

google io

This means players can save their games virtually. You can start a game on your phone and pick up playing where you left off on your tablet.

Google+ Circles will let you compare stats and scores in games with your friends. It'll also work on iPhone/iPad and the Web.

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It also encourages developers to make tablet version of their apps, which is a good move. Android tablets usually just run bigger versions of the smartphone apps, which doesn't look good on a large screen.

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He's going to talk about some new features in the Android app store that will make it easier for you to find apps.

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We're getting a demo now.

It has editors that curate songs.

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You can add songs to your playlists and listen to songs you have stored in your virtual file locker.

The menu changes based on what you've listened to recently and what's stored in your online locker.

If you sign up before June 30, you only have to pay $7.99 per month.

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The crowd was not happy about the price. Lots of grumbles.

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It's pretty impressive. The demo shows a game from "The Hobbit" movie with 3D graphics and touch controls. Not bad for a game running entirely in the browser.

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He's talking about some developer tools for Chrome that will improve speed and image loading.

He also showed off some tools that will make shopping online easier on Chrome for mobile devices and others that will make designing for the Web look the same on any device.

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The Pixel is a great computer with a high-resolution touchscreen. The crowd went nuts.

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Google has some new tools that make it easy for teachers to send apps to their students' tablets.

Schools can make purchase orders for apps in a special version of the Android store.

New stream design and new photos.

It's really pretty. It has a multi-column design with content shared by your friends. Posts like photos and videos can span multiple columns. There are some really neat animations for menus too.

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Big lead up here. Gundotra criticized Apple's chatting tools for only working with other Apple devices.

It's a standalone app. The app keeps all your shared photos and texts in one stream. You can also video chat with your groups of friends. It syncs across all devices: web, Android, iOS. The app launches today. It's kind of like GroupMe and Facebook Messages merged together.

google io HANGOUT

You can't do that on popular services like Instagram or Facebook.

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How does it know?

It takes out blurry images and duplicates.

It can also recognize landmarks and feature those photos.

The machine algorithms can tell if people are smiling and can pick out pretty shots.

Finally, it recognizes people close to you and features photos with them in it.

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It can also tell if you've taken multiple photos of the same group of people and composite a photo where they're all smiling.

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This is Google's search tool that brings you the answer to the questions you ask.?

Eventually, Knowledge Graph will be able to anticipate what question you'll ask next based on older searches.

This is already available on mobile phones, but now it's part of Chrome for desktop.

You don't even have to touch a button. Just say "Okay, Google" and ask your question.

Google Now getting an update that lets you set your own reminders.

Hands free: "Okay, Google. Show me things to do in Santa Cruz."

Very cool!

It's really smart. You can ask it any kind of question you want. You speak to Google naturally. No typing necessary.

"How long will it take me to drive to Santa Cruz beach?" ?? Google shows you directions with Google Maps and tells you how long it'll take to get there.

google io search

You can set reminders, send emails, etc. "Remind me to call Katie next Wednesday."

Reminders can work on times, dates, locations. For example, you can say, "Remind me to take out the garbage when I get home," and Google Now will remind you.

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Talking about the launch of Google Maps on iPhone. "...and most importantly, it's accurate." Nice jab at Google.

The app includes Zagat integration for restaurant and venue reviews.

You can search for basic stuff like "coffee." Google Maps also integrates offers from big brands like Starbucks. You can redeem the offer within the app.

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Traffic view will alert you when there's an accident on your route.

Dynamic rerouting: Google can warn you of poor conditions ahead and change your rout.

Includes the iPad.

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There's a gorgeous full screen mode. The side bar is now gone.

It also connects to Google+ so you can get recommendations on venues that your friends like. You can even peek inside of venues like restaurants.

It uses Google Now data to learn your habits and get better the more you use it.

If you click on a certain area in Google Maps, road names and landmarks will automatically pop up. It also recommends other similar places to explore.

There's a new schedule viewer for public transit, walking, or biking. It tells you exactly how long it'll take for you to get somewhere.

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It looks incredibly realistic. Gorgeous. And it's all done within the browser. You can also take a 3D tour inside of buildings. This is an amazing demo.

Users can upload their own photos inside buildings and add to Google Maps.

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He's going over the importance of building great experiences across all the various devices we use today.?

"Technology should do the hard work so people can do the things that make them the happiest in life."

Devices will eventually understand context in your life and make your life better. But we're at the early stages.

Says companies need to add interoperation with other companies. "I've been sad the industries hasn't been able to advance those things...focus on negativity and zero-sum games."

"We have a strong desire for freedom of speech and free flow of information."

Make sure we talk to government leaders around the world to advance that.?

Making sure we protect private information, ensure computer security...and being as transparent as we can about requests we get from governments.

"I think it's kind of sad we have all these computers out there and they're all connected to each other through a tiny little pipe that's super slow."

We know if we build that capacity, we'll be able to build those computers to do great things.

Google X is focused on these projects. Sergei Brin is heading up these projects.

"Possibilities for some of those things are incredible great."

Technology in transportation hasn't really started yet...it's also a way the company can scale. All our products are interrelated.

When we launched Gmail people said we were nuts because we were a search company...but we new a lot about data centers etc...it was great we did it.

No matter how much money we try to spend on automated cars, etc...they end up being small chunks so they don't end up being a business issue.

Glass is different than existing computing devices...our main goal is to get happy users using Glass.

Want to make sure we're building experiences that really make people happy.?

Team built minimal set of things that make happy users.

We'll get going and work on it for the next 10 years.

Part of the answer is we don't know...I think the basic use cases we have around photography are amazing.

Communications are amazing, navigation is amazing. Walking around Manhattan is really nice.

Ultimately a lot of your experiences can move to Glass...a lot of you can figure that out.

"I use Google a lot...understand the crazy people in an area."

You want to think about the biggest thing...raw materials of smartphones only cost $1...so when I see people making things in the industry I ask how far off you from the raw materials cost...they never know the answer.

You have to ask what is the real issue...I don't think people answer those questions. Most of the work that's done is very incremental and we don't make the progress we need to.

I encourage non-incremental thinking and a real deep understanding of what you're doing.

"Yeah we've had a difficult relationship with Oracle."

Money is more important to them than any sort of collaboration. I think we'll get through that.

"I think people are concerned about change...and change is good...we haven't adapted mechanisms to deal with that."

"I think it's been difficult...we had Google Health...did not make much progress on it. All issues were regulatory."

I think we'll see amazing things in healthcare...like DNA sequencing...something amazing will happen.

I just disclosed my voice issues yesterday and I got so many thoughtful emails and great advice...I felt I should've done it sooner. I asked why people are so focused on keeping medical history private...the answer is probably insurance...that makes no sense...we should change the rules so insurers have to insure people.

We've been super focused on that forever...Sergei and I spend a lot of time interviewing women.

The only answer is we have to start early and make sure we get more young women and girls excited about technology.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-io-live-blog-2013-5

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