Google Maps For iOS Was Downloaded Over 10M Times In Its First 48 Hours After Launch

According to Google’s Jeff Huber, Google Maps for iOS is a runaway success, having seen over 10M downloads in just 48 hours after its launch. This is a pretty huge number, and rare that a company as large as Google would share such numbers. Still, it’s impressive in every way. The app stands atop the free app leaderboard on Apple’s App Store, clearly suggesting that the people have spoken. They prefer Google’s offering to Apple’s, bundled with iOS 6. We knew it was coming, the question was just when. We hinted that it would be coming before Christmas, and Google waited until the last possible moment to do so, as Apple freezes its App Store over the holidays, when it comes to new releases and submissions. This is what Huber had to say: More than 10 million downloads in less than 48 hours after release! We’re excited for the positive reception of Google Maps for iPhone around the world. Congratulations to the Maps Team on the recognition for the passion and hard work they poured into it, for this release and over the last 7+ years. If you’re an iPhone user and haven’t downloaded the Maps app yet, get it on the App Store or visit: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id585027354?mt=8. If you already have it — thank you, and please tell a friend. Any feedback you have is welcomed, here in G+ or in the app (just shake it). You can read our entire run-through of Google Maps for iOS here, and it seems like the feedback from users has been mostly positive. The Maps team told me that the company will be iterating on it quickly, meaning that some of the features that were left out at launch, such as biking directions, might find its way into the app in the new year. The future is bright for Google’s mobile apps, having also released a massive overhaul to Gmail and Google+ on iOS as well. It looks like the “borg” has found its design heart.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/a6vTRGGylIo/

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Four Ways That Social HR Will Transform Business in 2013

?Tis the season for decking the halls and finalizing 2013 budgets.

As you and your company crunch the figures for the year ahead, there?s something that can dramatically alter your bottom line to get on your radar: Social HR. Over the coming months and years, businesses that don?t embrace social HR will not only struggle to retain employees but companies that don?t understand what this is all about, will struggle to survive at all.

The year 2013 will be the year that social HR shifts from being a buzzword to a business imperative.

Social HR is so much more than letting your employees tweet or use Facebook. It?s way more than social recruiting.

Social HR, if done right, has the potential to transform your business and your employees into a powerhouse of productivity, motivation and actionable insights. So stop thinking of human resources as a department for hiring and firing and start thinking about these four ways social HR can transform your business in 2013.

1. Employees in charge

First, management needs to recognize that there?s been a confluence of events that are putting more power in the hands of employees than ever before. The spread of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movements and the new norm of allowing social networking to be part of day-to-day work provides employees with more control. For instance, a recent Cisco study found that more than half of millenial?s say wont work at a company that bans social networking.

Also, economic timing plays a role in this shift of power. We?re coming out of a recession, and the political focus in North America is all about getting people to work. Recruiting will be back on the rebound, which means there will finally be more power in the hand of job seekers.

Tech companies saw it earlier, but more employers will realize in 2013 that individual employees are now brands? social ambassadors and they play an essential role in not only bringing new clients and talent onboard but also in conveying awareness of your organization and your company culture to the world.

2. Make corporate culture part of onboarding

Whether or not you acknowledge it, your company already has a culture. All businesses have one, either by design or (more commonly) by default.

The challenge lies in fostering a culture that is truly exceptional from the moment an employee walks in for an interview. Why? Because companies with exceptional cultures attract and retain the best employees, nurture strong and lasting customer relationships, and deliver consistently solid business results.

It is generally accepted that an idea that gets buy-in from key stakeholders from the get-go has a better chance of success than something that is introduced in the middle of things. With that in mind, it is best to start on day one by defining your company culture before the new employee does it on their own.

Provide them with language on how to talk about values and what the company does best. Give suggestions on when to share things about the company, like events, milestones, or even job openings and recognition, on their personal social channels. And, most importantly: live up to the values you establish to set an example.

3. Reinventing performance management

A recent study published by Ventana Research found that 77 percent of executives and managers say the performance of the workforce is the most important metric, and performance reviews are the most regularly applied type of analytics in half of organizations. But tradition has us only sitting down once a year and hearing how the boss thinks you stack up.

In 2013, everything of value is done in ?real-time? and your employee review process should be done that way, too.

To get a more complete picture of employee performance, managers should collect feedback on an ongoing basis from peers, direct reports, and other workplace associates. Making this a regular occurrence across levels and departments makes it more social and actionable.

Continuous feedback allows for faster recognition of a problem facing an employee but also for the success of a particular employee. If there is something being done well, this also provides managers an opportunity to give kudos to a deserving employee, maybe even sharing the recognition across an employee?s network.

To take the review process one step further, companies should think about creating a review system that ties back to company culture. A SHRM/Globoforce study found that 51 percent of HR professionals say their company?s recognition program does not currently relate to corporate values. Adding these elements to the review process will build a culture of positive reinforcement and real-time accountability that leads back to the beliefs at the core of your organization.

4. Unlock HR intelligence

Big data isn?t just for sales and accounting anymore. In 2013, harnessing the power of large sets of data is a best practice for forward thinking HR departments. One area where data ? social data in particular ? is making a difference is in the hiring process.

According to another recent survey by SHRM, 56 percent of HR professionals said they use social networking sites to recruit candidates, up from 34 percent in 2008. A whopping 95 percent of HR professionals in this poll said they use LinkedIn; 58 percent use Facebook. About 42 percent use Twitter.

It is also advantageous for businesses to take a step back and analyze their own personnel data to pull out trends both positive and problematic to illuminate areas for improvement. Recently we published a report, which found that at over 2,000 small and medium sized businesses women received more raises than men, but men received larger raises. By taking the time to spot trends like this in their own data before they impact their corporate culture, companies will save time, money and potentially their reputation.

Making HR more social means constantly working to quantify social intangibles, sharing performance data within and across departments, letting employees take charge of their own performances, developing ongoing feedback processes, and promoting a culture and common set of values that employees actually believe in. Companies that want to be well positioned need to make these HR management strategies real in 2013.

Joseph Fung is co-founder and CEO of TribeHR, pioneer of the industry?s first social HR platform and headquartered in Boston and Waterloo, Ontario. Connect with him at info@tribehr.com.

Source: http://www.tlnt.com/2012/12/17/four-ways-that-social-hr-will-transform-business-in-2013/

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Woman with quadriplegia feeds herself chocolate using mind-controlled robot arm

Dec. 17, 2012 ? Reaching out to "high five" someone, grasping and moving objects of different shapes and sizes, feeding herself dark chocolate. For Jan Scheuermann and a team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC, accomplishing these seemingly ordinary tasks demonstrated for the first time that a person with longstanding quadriplegia can maneuver a mind-controlled, human-like robot arm in seven dimensions (7D) to consistently perform many of the natural and complex motions of everyday life.

In a study published in the online version of The Lancet, the researchers described the brain-computer interface (BCI) technology and training programs that allowed Ms. Scheuermann, 53, of Whitehall Borough in Pittsburgh, Pa. to intentionally move an arm, turn and bend a wrist, and close a hand for the first time in nine years.

Less than a year after she told the research team, "I'm going to feed myself chocolate before this is over," Ms. Scheuermann savored its taste and announced as they applauded her feat, "One small nibble for a woman, one giant bite for BCI."

"This is a spectacular leap toward greater function and independence for people who are unable to move their own arms," agreed senior investigator Andrew B. Schwartz, Ph.D., professor, Department of Neurobiology, Pitt School of Medicine. "This technology, which interprets brain signals to guide a robot arm, has enormous potential that we are continuing to explore. Our study has shown us that it is technically feasible to restore ability; the participants have told us that BCI gives them hope for the future."

In 1996, Ms. Scheuermann was a 36-year-old mother of two young children, running a successful business planning parties with murder-mystery themes and living in California when one day she noticed her legs seemed to drag behind her. Within two years, her legs and arms progressively weakened to the point that she required a wheelchair, as well as an attendant to assist her with dressing, eating, bathing and other day-to-day activities. After returning home to Pittsburgh in 1998 for support from her extended family, she was diagnosed with spinocerebellar degeneration, in which the connections between the brain and muscles slowly, and inexplicably, deteriorate.

"Now I can't move my arms and legs at all. I can't even shrug my shoulders," she said. "But I have come to the conclusion that worrying about something is experiencing it twice. I try to dwell on the good things that I have."

A friend pointed out an October 2011 video about another Pitt/UPMC BCI research study in which Tim Hemmes, a Butler, Pa., man who sustained a spinal cord injury that left him with quadriplegia, moved objects on a computer screen and ultimately reached out with a robot arm to touch his girlfriend.

"Wow, it's so neat that he can do that," Ms. Scheuermann thought as she watched him. "I wish I could do something like that." She had her attendant call the trial coordinator immediately, and said, "I'm a quadriplegic. Hook me up, sign me up! I want to do that!"

On Feb. 10, 2012, after screening tests to confirm that she was eligible for the study, co-investigator and UPMC neurosurgeon Elizabeth Tyler-Kabara, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Neurological Surgery, Pitt School of Medicine, placed two quarter-inch square electrode grids with 96 tiny contact points each in the regions of Ms. Scheuermann's brain that would normally control right arm and hand movement.

"Prior to surgery, we conducted functional imaging tests of the brain to determine exactly where to put the two grids," she said. "Then we used imaging technology in the operating room to guide placement of the grids, which have points that penetrate the brain's surface by about one-sixteenth of an inch."

The electrode points pick up signals from individual neurons and computer algorithms are used to identify the firing patterns associated with particular observed or imagined movements, such as raising or lowering the arm, or turning the wrist, explained lead investigator Jennifer Collinger, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R), and research scientist for the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. That intent to move is then translated into actual movement of the robot arm, which was developed by Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Lab.

Two days after the operation, the team hooked up the two terminals that protrude from Ms. Scheuermann's skull to the computer. "We could actually see the neurons fire on the computer screen when she thought about closing her hand," Dr. Collinger said. "When she stopped, they stopped firing. So we thought, 'This is really going to work.'"

Within a week, Ms. Scheuermann could reach in and out, left and right, and up and down with the arm, which she named Hector, giving her 3-dimensional control that had her high-fiving with the researchers. "What we did in the first week they thought we'd be stuck on for a month," she noted.

Before three months had passed, she also could flex the wrist back and forth, move it from side to side and rotate it clockwise and counter-clockwise, as well as grip objects, adding up to what scientists call 7D control. In a study task called the Action Research Arm Test, Ms. Scheuermann guided the arm from a position four inches above a table to pick up blocks and tubes of different sizes, a ball and a stone and put them down on a nearby tray. She also picked up cones from one base to restack them on another a foot away, another task requiring grasping, transporting and positioning of objects with precision.

"Our findings indicate that by a variety of measures, she was able to improve her performance consistently over many days," Dr. Schwartz explained. "The training methods and algorithms that we used in monkey models of this technology also worked for Jan, suggesting that it's possible for people with long-term paralysis to recover natural, intuitive command signals to orient a prosthetic hand and arm to allow meaningful interaction with the environment."

In a separate study, researchers also continue to study BCI technology that uses an electrocortigraphy (ECoG) grid, which sits on the surface of the brain rather than slightly penetrates the tissue as in the case of the grids used for Ms. Scheuermann.

In both studies, "we're recording electrical activity in the brain, and the goal is to try to decode what that activity means and then use that code to control an arm," said senior investigator Michael Boninger, M.D., professor and chair, PM&R, and director of UPMC Rehabilitation Institute. "We are learning so much about how the brain controls motor activity, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our trial participants. Perhaps in five to 10 years, we will have a device that can be used in the day-to-day lives of people who are not able to use their own arms."

The next step for BCI technology will likely use a two-way electrode system that can not only capture the intention to move, but in addition, will stimulate the brain to generate sensation, potentially allowing a user to adjust grip strength to firmly grasp a doorknob or gently cradle an egg.

After that, "we're hoping this can become a fully implanted, wireless system that people can actually use in their homes without our supervision," Dr. Collinger said. "It might even be possible to combine brain control with a device that directly stimulates muscles to restore movement of the individual's own limb."

For now, Ms. Scheuermann is expected to continue to put the BCI technology through its paces for two more months, and then the implants will be removed in another operation.

"This is the ride of my life," she said. "This is the rollercoaster. This is skydiving. It's just fabulous, and I'm enjoying every second of it."

In addition to Drs. Collinger, Tyler-Kabara, Boninger and Schwartz, study co-authors include Brian Wodlinger, Ph.D., John E. Downey, Wei Wang, Ph.D., and Doug Weber, Ph.D., all of PM&R; and Angus J. McMorland, Ph.D., and Meel Velliste, Ph.D., of the Department of Neurobiology, Pitt School of Medicine.

The BCI projects are funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Institutes of Health grant 8KL2TR000146-07, the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs, the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute and the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Jennifer L Collinger, Brian Wodlinger, John E Downey, Wei Wang, Elizabeth C Tyler-Kabara, Douglas J Weber, Angus JC McMorland, Meel Velliste, Michael L Boninger, Andrew B Schwartz. High-performance neuroprosthetic control by an individual with tetraplegia. The Lancet, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61816-9

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/c19DyHHh8dA/121217030957.htm

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Connecticut Shooter Adam Lanza's Guns Were Registered To Mother Nancy Lanza: Official

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Cynthia Alvarez (R) is comforted by her mother Lilia as people gather for a prayer vigil at St Rose Church following an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on Friday after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A young girl's message (bottom) is lposted on a memorial board as people gather for a prayer vigil at St Rose Church following an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on Friday after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

People gather for a prayer vigil at St Rose Church following an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on Friday after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

People gather for a prayer vigil at St Rose Church following an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on Friday after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

NEWTOWN, CT - DECEMBER 14: Connecticut State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance (L) and Lt. George Sinko of the Newtown Police Department brief the media on the elementary school shooting during a press conference at Treadwell Memorial Park on December 14, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. According to reports, 27 are dead, including 20 children, after a gunman identified as Adam Lanza in news reports, opened fire in at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Lanza also reportedly died at the scene. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

People gather for a prayer vigil at St Rose Church following an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on Friday after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

People gather for a prayer vigil at St Rose Church following an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on Friday after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

People gather for a prayer vigil at St Rose Church following an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012. A young gunman slaughtered 20 small children and six teachers on Friday after walking into a school in an idyllic Connecticut town wielding at least two sophisticated firearms. AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A woman comforts a young girl during a vigil service for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Conn. (AP Photo/Andrew Gombert, Pool)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

In this photo provided by the Newtown Bee, a man stands with his hands on his head outside of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where authorities say a gunman opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Newtown Bee, Shannon Hicks)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A mother runs with her children as police above canvass homes in the area following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. where authorities say a gunman opened fire, leaving 27 people dead, including 20 children, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Mourners gather inside the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church at a vigil service for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that left at least 27 people dead, many of them young children, in Newtown, Conn. Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. Police have identified the gunman as Adam Lanza, whose mother was a teacher at the school. (AP Photo/Andrew Gombert, Pool)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A man carries a child away from the area of a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of New York City, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. A man opened fire Friday inside two classrooms at the school where his mother worked as a teacher, killing 26 people, including 20 children. The killer, armed with two handguns, committed suicide at the school and another person was found dead at a second scene, bringing the toll to 28, authorities said. A law enforcement official identified the gunman as 20-year-old Adam Lanza. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

In this frame grab provided by WCBS in New York, Ryan Lanza, the 24-year-old brother of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza, is escorted by police into a cruiser in Hoboken, N.J., Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. Adam Lanza, 20, killed his mother at home and then opened fire Friday inside the elementary school where she taught, massacring 26 people, including 20 children, as youngsters cowered in fear to the sound of gunshots echoing through the building and screams coming over the intercom. (AP Photo/WCBS-TV)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Connecticut State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance speaks at a news conference on the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school, where a gunman opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. (AP Photo/The Journal News, Frank Becerra Jr.)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Brenda Hernadez of Enfield Conn., comforts her daughter Crystal at a makeshift shrine on the Enfield Town Green, Friday evening, December 14, 2012, after a candlelight vigil in Enfield, Conn. The vigil was organized by social media in memory of the school shooting victims in Newtown as residents in Enfield, 70 miles from Newtown, and in through out the state, feel the grief of the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday morning. (AP Photo/Journal Inquirer, Jim Michaud)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

In this photo provided by the Newtown Bee, paramedics and others rush toward Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where authorities say a gunman opened fire, killing 26 people, including 20 children, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Newtown Bee, Shannon Hicks)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Mourners gather inside the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church at a vigil service for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that left at least 27 people dead, many of them young children, in Newtown, Conn. Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. Police have identified the gunman as Adam Lanza, whose mother was a teacher at the school. (AP Photo/Andrew Gombert, Pool)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Mourners gather for a vigil service for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, at the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Conn. Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. A man killed his mother at their home and then opened fire Friday inside the elementary school where she taught, massacring 26 people, including 20 children, as youngsters cowered in fear to the sound of gunshots reverberating through the building and screams echoing over the intercom (AP Photo/Andrew Gombert, Pool)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Mourners gather at a vigil service for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, at the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Conn. Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. A man killed his mother at their home and then opened fire Friday inside the elementary school where she taught, massacring 26 people, including 20 children, as youngsters cowered in fear to the sound of gunshots reverberating through the building and screams echoing over the intercom (AP Photo/Andrew Gombert, Pool)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy bows his head during a moment of silence during a vigil service for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, at the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Conn. Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Andrew Gombert, Pool)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy speaks to mourners at a vigil service for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, at the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Conn. Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. A man killed his mother at their home and then opened fire Friday inside the elementary school where she taught, massacring 26 people, including 20 children, as youngsters cowered in fear to the sound of gunshots reverberating through the building and screams echoing over the intercom (AP Photo/Andrew Gombert, Pool)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

This July 2010 photo provided by the Newtown Bee shows Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, principal at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Conn. (AP Photo/Eliza Hallabeck) MANDATORY CREDIT: NEWTOWN BEE

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Mourners gather for a vigil service for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, at the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Conn. Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. A man killed his mother at their home and then opened fire Friday inside the elementary school where she taught, massacring 26 people, including 20 children, as youngsters cowered in fear to the sound of gunshots reverberating through the building and screams echoing over the intercom (AP Photo/Andrew Gombert, Pool)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Mourners look in from outside during a vigil service for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, at the St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown, Conn. Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. A man killed his mother at their home and then opened fire Friday inside the elementary school where she taught, massacring 26 people, including 20 children, as youngsters cowered in fear to the sound of gunshots reverberating through the building and screams echoing over the intercom (AP Photo/Andrew Gombert, Pool)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Across the street from the elementary school in Sandy Hook, Conn. neighbors hoisted an American flag and created a make-shift prayer for the deceased inside the school late Friday Dec. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A car drives past the town line as the sun breaks the horizon, a day after a school shooting tragedy, in Newtown, Conn., Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A U.S. flag is covered with numbers representing the people that died when a gunman opened fired at Sandy Hook Elementary School during a shooting rampage a day earlier, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012, in Sandy Hook village of Newtown, Conn. The massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary school elicited horror and soul-searching around the world even as it raised more basic questions about why the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, would have been driven to such a crime and how he chose his victims. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A woman waits to hear about her sister, a teacher, following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Two unidentified nuns on December 14, 2012 leave the scene at the aftermath of a school shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that brought police swarming into the leafy neighborhood, while other area schools were put under lock-down, police and local media said. Local media quoted that the gunman had died at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, northeast of New York City. At least 27 people, including 18 children, were killed on Friday when at least one shooter opened fire at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, CBS News reported, citing unnamed officials. AFP PHOTO/DON EMMERT

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

An unidentified woman on December 14, 2012 leaves the scene at the aftermath of a school shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that brought police swarming into the leafy neighborhood, while other area schools were put under lock-down, police and local media said. Local media quoted that the gunman had died at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, northeast of New York City. At least 27 people, including 18 children, were killed on Friday when at least one shooter opened fire at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, CBS News reported, citing unnamed officials. AFP PHOTO/DON EMMERT

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

People leave the scene, on December 14, 2012, from the aftermath of a school shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that brought police swarming into the leafy neighborhood, while other area schools were put under lock-down, police and local media said. At least 26 people, including 20 young children, were killed when a gunman assaulted a US primary school on Friday and another body was found dead at a second linked crime scene, police said. Police spokesman Lieutenant Paul Vance told reporters that the attacker killed 20 children and six adults, including someone that he lived with, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The gunman also died at the scene, and a 28th body was found elsewhere. - AFP PHOTO / Don EMMERT

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 14: U.S. President Barack Obama wipes tears as he makes a statement in response to the elementary school shooting in Connecticut December 14, 2012 at the White House in Washington, DC. According to reports, there are 27 dead, 20 of them children, after Adam Lanza opened fire at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Reports say that Lanza is dead at the scene and his mother, a teacher at the school, is also dead.

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

NEWTOWN, CT - DECEMBER 14: People walk on Dickson Street near the scene of an elementary school shooting on December 14, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. According to reports, there are about 27 dead, 18 children, after a gunman opened fire in at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. The shooter was also killed. (Photo by Douglas Healey/Getty Images)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Parents walk away from the Sandy Hook Elementary School with their children following a shooting at the school, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012 in Newtown, Conn. A man opened fire inside the Connecticut elementary school where his mother worked Friday, killing 26 people, including 18 children, and forcing students to cower in classrooms and then flee with the help of teachers and police. (AP Photo/The Journal News, Frank Becerra Jr.)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A woman waits to hear about her sister, a teacher, following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of New York City, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. A gunman entered the school Friday morning and killed at least 26 people, including 20 young children. (AP Photo/The New Haven Register, Melanie Stengel)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting Police Audio

Police scanner audio from the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting.

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Parents walk away from the Sandy Hook Elementary School with their children following a shooting at the school, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012 in Newtown, Conn. A man opened fire inside the Connecticut elementary school where his mother worked Friday, killing 26 people, including 18 children, and forcing students to cower in classrooms and then flee with the help of teachers and police. (AP Photo/The Journal News, Frank Becerra Jr.)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

School children wait for their parents at the Sandy Hook firehouse following a mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. on Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/The Journal News, Frank Becerra Jr.)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A man reacts following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of New York City, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. A gunman entered the school Friday morning and killed at least 26 people, including 20 young children. (AP Photo/The New Haven Register, Melanie Stengel)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A young girl cires following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of New York City, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. A gunman entered the school Friday morning and killed at least 26 people, including 20 young children. (AP Photo/The New Haven Register, Melanie Stengel)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

A mother hugs her daughter following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of New York City, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. A gunman entered the school Friday morning and killed at least 26 people, including 20 young children. (AP Photo/The New Haven Register, Melanie Stengel)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Sandy Hook School Shooting Newtown

Schoolchildren wait for their parents at the Sandy Hook firehouse following a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012 in Newtown, Conn. (AP Photo/The Journal News, Frank Becerra Jr.)

A young girl is comforted following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of New York City, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. A gunman entered the school Friday morning and killed at least 26 people, including 20 young children. (AP Photo/The New Haven Register, Melanie Stengel)

A mother hugs her daughter following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northeast of New York City, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. A gunman entered the school Friday morning and killed at least 26 people, including 20 young children. (AP Photo/The New Haven Register, Melanie Stengel)

Sandy Hook School Shooting Newtown

A woman weeps as she arrives to pick up her children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012 in Newtown, Conn. A man opened fire inside the Connecticut elementary school where his mother worked Friday, killing 26 people, including 18 children, and forcing students to cower in classrooms and then flee with the help of teachers and police. (AP Photo/The Journal News, Frank Becerra Jr.)

Sandy Hook School Shooting Newtown

Parents walk away from the Sandy Hook School with their children following a shooting at the school Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. A man opened fire inside the Connecticut elementary school where his mother worked Friday, killing 26 people, including 18 children, and forcing students to cower in classrooms and then flee with the help of teachers and police. (AP Photo/The Journal News, Frank Becerra Jr.)

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/15/connecticut-shooter-guns_n_2306913.html

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Porcupine Quills Inspire Better Needles

The barbs on porcupine quill tips let them penetrate flesh with less force and hold on with more force than a barbless needle. Sophie Bushwick reports

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Porcupines sport some 30,000 quills, which easily penetrate flesh?and then stay stuck in it. Now, scientists have analyzed the shape of individual quills to discover what makes them so effective?and how we can harness their power for medical devices. The study is in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [Woo Kyung Cho et al., Microstructured barbs on the North American porcupine quill enable easy tissue penetration and difficult removal]

The black tip of each quill features backward-facing barbs. These barbs are tiny: a row of two hundred of them would be short of an inch long. The barbs help a quill penetrate flesh more easily than a hypodermic needle of about the same diameter, and using only half the force required to push a barb-free quill through tissue. Once the quill is in, the barbs then greatly increase what force would be needed to pull it back out again.

The researchers think understanding porcupine quill properties can help them make less painful needles, because of the lower force needed for penetration. Also stickier adhesives, because of the greater force needed for removal. And the study reminds us that you really, really don't want to mess with a porcupine.

?Sophie Bushwick

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=97c5b6d4dc153e4e2a9cc64ac876c2a0

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Microsoft reveals typing features in Windows Phone 8

With a number of Windows Phone 8-based smartphones now out in the wild, their owners have been constantly using the virtual keyboard included in Microsoft's latest mobile OS. Today, the company went into detail about the auto-correcting features that have been put into the keyboard.

In a blog post, Microsoft discussed Word Flow, which the company says gives Windows Phone 8 users 94 percent accuracy in terms of auto-correcting words while using the keyboard in Windows Phone 8. Microsoft said they reviewed 2.5 billion English words, including popular slang terms, and then put in about 600,000 words in the dictionary of Windows Phone 8. Microsoft claims these words work best for the corrections and suggestions that the Word Flow feature uses.

It's one thing to find and include the most common words that people will type into the keyboard. It's another for Word Flow to figure out which word would be used next when a person types a phrase out. Microsoft states:

Specifically, we look at three words of context (the fancy word for this is ?trigram?) to figure out what words are best to suggest. Imagine if a user typed ?I miss? and then tapped the letter ?y.? Can you guess what most people are trying to type? The answer is ?you,? of course, because we mostly use our phones to stay in touch with people we care about. (If you said ?yodeling,? you?re in a very small minority.) Trigrams are great for common SMS phrases like ?I love you?. But it also means Windows Phone knows that when you type ?Harry,? you?re probably going to type ?Potter? afterwards.

There's also the "fat finger" issue when a person presses down a finger that can cover more than one key on the virtual keyboard. In some situations, it could cause the wrong key to be pressed. The above video shows how Microsoft solved this problem. Basically, a key's "hit target" changes constantly as a person types with the virtual keyboard and the on board dictionary in Windows Phone 8 helps to figure out how big or small the hit target should be on each key.

Finally, the dictionary in Windows Phone 8 is also learning what a Windows Phone 8 user types into the keyboard the more he or she uses it. As a result, more accurate corrections are provided the more a person types with a Windows Phone 8 device.

Source: Windows Phone blog | Image via Microsoft

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/neowin-main/~3/250sQJV9cb4/microsoft-reveals-typing-features-in-windows-phone-8

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President Sargsyan participated at the Council of the Heads of the CIS member states in Turkmenistan, met with the RF President Vladimir Putin

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President Sargsyan, who is in Turkmenistan on a working visit, participated today at the Council of the Heads of the CIS member states in Ashgabat.

At the sessions conducted first in the closed and later in the extended formats, the Heads of the CIS member states delegations discussed and adopted over two dozens of documents pertinent to the deepening of cooperation in the economic and humanitarian areas, security and some other areas. It was decided to hold the next meeting of the Heads of the CIS member states in October 2013, in Minsk. Chairmanship of the CIS was passed on to Belarus.

In the framework of the Summit held in Ashgabat, today President Serzh Sargsyan had a brief meeting with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The Presidents of the two countries discussed a number of issues of the Armenian-Russian strategic partnership agenda.

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Source: http://www.president.am/en/press-release/item/2012/12/05/President-Serzh-Sargsyan-working-visit-to-Turkmenistan-CIS-meeting-with-Vladimir-Putin/

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