Engadget Primed: ports, connectors and the future of your TV's backside

Primed goes in-depth on the technobabble you hear on Engadget every day -- we dig deep into each topic's history and how it benefits our lives. You can follow the series here. Looking to suggest a piece of technology for us to break down? Drop us a line at primed *at* engadget *dawt* com.

For many among us, what goes on behind and along the sides of a high-definition television is almost as compelling as what's displayed on that big, beautiful flat screen. Of course, we're talking connectors, with their attendant chaos of cords. A high-def TV is only as good as its connection to a high-def signal. The same holds true for the array of disc players, game consoles and other peripherals we cluster around our sets. So it may seem quaint, then, that we still often confront more analog ports than digital ones on our high-end TVs. You'd think with advances in wireless technology, we'd have done away with the spider web of wires entirely. Alas, like flying cars and fembots, we're just not there yet.

In this installment of Primed, we'll examine the best and the bogus when it comes to TV connectors, and spend some time tracing the arc of how we got to where we are in this particular moment of television evolution. The narrative on television and home entertainment remains a work in progress. But we'll endeavor to get you caught up to date, and as an added bonus offer a glimpse of what the future of your TV's backside will likely look like.

Continue reading Engadget Primed: ports, connectors and the future of your TV's backside

Engadget Primed: ports, connectors and the future of your TV's backside originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Deal reached to extend payroll tax cut

Ventre: Penn St. ugliness dominated 2011 headlines

Ventre: 2011 was one big surprise party in sports. There were enough astounding developments ? both positive and negative ? to keep mouths agape, eyes agog and Twitter atwitter. Unfortunately, the one that stands out the most is the ugliest story possible.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/45770121#45770121

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Mitt and Chuck (TIME)

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Woman charged with sending money to Pakistan group

LOS ANGELES?? A woman was indicted Wednesday on charges she sent money to Pakistan to help fund terrorist attacks against U.S. military personnel, authorities said.

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Oytun Ayse Mihalik, 39, faces three counts of providing material support to terrorists and one count of making a false statement. If convicted of all counts, Mihalik could face up to 53 years in prison.

Mihalik funneled about $2,000 to a person in Pakistan over a three-week period beginning late last year, knowing the money would be used to prepare for and carry out attacks against the U.S. military and others overseas, federal prosecutors said.

An email message left with her attorney, Alan Eisner, was not immediately returned.

Mihalik, who worked as a pharmacist, has been in federal custody since she was arrested in August after she attempted to board a flight to Turkey, her native country.

She previously pleaded not guilty to the false statement charge.

Mihalik lied to federal agents during an interview at Los Angeles International Airport following a six-month trip to Turkey by telling them she never used an alias to wire money overseas and she had only sent funds once, authorities said.

She told investigators the money was meant for a family friend who was having financial problems, according to an affidavit.

Authorities wouldn't elaborate on why they believe the money Mihalik wired overseas was going to be used for terrorist attacks.

However, court documents reveal Mihalik's arrest is "related to national security investigations in other areas of the United States." As of August, Mihalik had been cooperating with investigators, records show.

"The charges are based on the defendant's intent to cause harm to U.S. military personnel," said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles. "We have not alleged any attacks that may have resulted from the funding because the legal issue is the defendant's intent as to what the money would be used for."

A trial on the false statement charge was set for February. Mihalik will be arraigned on the new charges at a later date.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45758830/ns/us_news/

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BOJ keeps policy steady, offers bleaker view on economy (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) ? The Bank of Japan kept monetary settings unchanged on Wednesday but offered a bleaker view on the economy than last month on mounting evidence of the pain Europe's debt crisis is inflicting on global growth and Japan's recovery prospects.

Slowing exports, worsening business sentiment and soft capital spending are challenging the central bank's view that the world's third-largest economy will recover early next year.

In a sign of the growing damage from the global slowdown, Japan's exports fell at their fastest annual pace in six months in November with shipments to Asia declining on weak demand for semiconductor chips and digital cameras.

The BOJ held off on offering additional monetary stimulus, as widely expected, but cut its economic assessment to say that the pickup in economic activity was pausing due to the effect of slowing overseas growth and the yen's strength.

It also revised down its view on export and output growth to say it is flattening, and sounded slightly more gloomy on the outlook, warning that the economy will resume recovery only after a brief period of stagnation.

"Japan's economy will remain more or less flat for the time being" before resuming a moderate recovery, the central bank said in a statement announcing the policy decision.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Global interest rates http://link.reuters.com/myt65s

BOJ, Fed balance sheets http://link.reuters.com/nyt65s

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MORE EASING SOON?

Japan's economy rebounded from a recession triggered by the March earthquake and tsunami, but is expected to slow sharply this quarter as the initial spurt driven by companies restoring supply chains and production facilities tails off.

Many in the bank are counting on support for growth from fiscal spending for reconstruction from the March disaster, but that may not be enough to offset weakening overseas demand.

"The bleaker economic assessment is no surprise given slumping exports that show weakness not only in Europe but Asia as well. The BOJ's longer-term forecast of a moderate recovery is subject to skepticism," said Masamichi Adachi, senior economist at JPMorgan Securities Japan.

Analysts say the BOJ may ease policy again by March next year with the most likely trigger a renewed spike in the yen or market turmoil caused by Europe's crisis.

"We expect the BOJ to implement additional easing steps in January-March as there is a chance the yen will appreciate further during that period," said Takahide Kiuchi, chief economist at Nomura Securities.

"Another trigger could be a credit rating downgrade for European sovereign debt. If that happens and causes financial market turmoil, coordinated monetary easing with U.S. and European central banks could be a possibility."

Central banks are flooding markets with liquidity as markets remain on edge about Europe's ability to put a floor under a bond market selloff that is pushing borrowing costs for countries such as Italy and Spain towards unsustainable levels.

The Fed has pledged to keep interest rates near zero until mid-2013 and the ECB cut its main interest rate to a record low this month, as the fallout from Europe's debt crisis stoked fears of a global economic slump.

The BOJ, too, has kept rates virtually at zero and eased policy in October by topping up its asset buying scheme to ease the pain from sharp yen rises on the export-reliant economy.

It stood pat since then but has expressed its readiness to inject huge amounts of liquidity in market operations and loosen monetary policy to fend off any contagion from Europe as it sees a global credit crunch as a real potential risk.

(Additional reporting by Rie Ishiguro, Kaori Kaneko and Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Joseph Radford and Chris Gallagher)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111221/bs_nm/us_japan_economy_boj

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Presented By: (talking-points-memo)

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Mugger beaten up by self-identified ?ultimate fighter champion?

A mugger in Chicago found out the hard way that he should do a better job picking his victims. He approached a man sitting in a parked car, but ended up with that a face covered in bruises and a bullet in his ankle.

With a gun pulled, Anthony Miranda demanded money from the unnamed victim. He handed it over, but Miranda ordered him out of the car. The victim wrestled with Miranda, causing Miranda to shoot his own ankle, and then pinned Miranda down until police arrived.

And here's why this is being written up in a mixed martial arts blog. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

The victim, who told police he's a martial arts expert and ultimate fighting champion was able to pin Miranda down until police arrived. Police arrived to find Miranda with a face full of cuts and two black eyes. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital for treatment, police said.

Judging by Miranda's face, the victim knew how to throw a punch or 20. It's understandable that the police didn't release the name of the victim. It's good practice to protect a victim's privacy.

No, the question is who describes himself as an "ultimate fighting champion," unless he is actually carrying around a belt? Though several UFC fighters call Chicago home, none are champions. What's more likely is that when describing his training, the victim had to invoke the name of the UFC, and this is what the police heard.

So if you are this man, give us a yell. Tell us your story. Also, kudos in not getting shot and staying alive.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Mugger-beaten-up-by-self-identified-8216-ultim?urn=mma-wp10310

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Italy PM Monti raises taxes, reforms pensions in austerity drive (Reuters)

ROME (Reuters) ? Prime Minister Mario Monti unveiled a 30-billion-euro package of austerity measures on Sunday -- increasing value added tax, reintroducing a property tax, and raising the pension age -- in a drive to gain control of Italy's strained public finances.

The measures, intended to reassure financial markets which have sent Italy's borrowing costs to untenable levels, come ahead of a vital week of meetings in which European leaders race to prevent the euro zone debt crisis from sliding out of control.

Monti said the package, divided between 20 billion euros of budget measures over 2012-14 and a further 10 billion euros in measures to boost growth, contained big sacrifices, but the government had sought to spread the burden as fairly as possible.

(Reporting By James Mackenzie, Catherine Hornby and Steve Scherer)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111204/bs_nm/us_italy

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Private college presidents' pay up modestly (Providence Journal)

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Forums: No 4G on the iPhone, Holiday wallpapers

As we bust on into the holiday season it’s time to get jolly. As you you can see, we spruced up the place for the event and we’ve got plenty more lined up for you both here on the blogs and in the forums. That said; if you have...

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Lynch carries Seahawks to 31-14 win over Eagles

Seattle Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch runs in for a touchdown past Philadelphia Eagles' Nate Allen in the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Seattle Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch runs in for a touchdown past Philadelphia Eagles' Nate Allen in the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Seattle Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch celebrates his touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Seattle Seahawks' Kam Chancellor (31) intercepts a pass intended for Philadelphia Eagles' DeSean Jackson in the first quarter of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Philadelphia Eagles' Trent Cole goes in for the sack of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Tarvaris Jackson in the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

SEATTLE (AP) ? Marshawn Lynch loves the prime-time stage, even if he's rarely given such a spotlight.

But he wasn't about to accept any praise on a night when he certainly deserved it.

"It was all about the offensive line. We managed the game, we came out victorious, everybody's happy, and now we're on to our break," Lynch said during a very brief locker room appearance. "Thank you."

Seattle's hard-charging running back bulled through Philadelphia for 148 yards and a pair of first-half touchdowns, David Hawthorne returned the third of Vince Young's four interceptions 77 yards for a score, and the Seahawks rolled to a 31-14 victory Thursday that only added to the Eagles' miserable season.

Lynch ran into and escaped from a massive pileup for a 15-yard TD run in the first quarter, then made a quick cut and went back against the flow for a 40-yard scoring dash on the first play of the second quarter to give the Seahawks (5-7) a 14-0 lead.

It was the second-best performance of Lynch's career and a capper to what has been his finest stretch as a pro. Lynch never had consecutive 100-yard rushing games until a few weeks ago. Now he's done it in four of Seattle's past five, and the only time he didn't, Lynch had 88 yards in a victory over St. Louis.

His first-quarter, escape-act touchdown against Philadelphia (4-8) gave Lynch eight straight games with at least one score and added a highlight reminiscent of his famous tackle-breaking, 67-yard TD run in last year's NFC playoffs against New Orleans.

It's all adding up to more dollars likely coming Lynch's way. He's a free agent after the season.

"He fights for every yard, every carry he gets," Seattle quarterback Tarvaris Jackson said. "It's like every carry is his last carry."

Lynch had 90 yards by halftime, the most first-half yards rushing in his career. He averaged 6.7 yards per carry and almost immediately provided a spark the Seahawks needed on a short week.

And he did it while battling an upset stomach that occasionally forced him to the sideline.

"The guy blows my mind every time we step on the field," Seattle fullback Michael Robinson said.

Golden Tate's 11-yard, toe-tapping touchdown grab along the back edge of the end zone in the third quarter pushed Seattle's cushion to 17. Jackson finished 13 of 16 for 190 yards and the one TD pass.

But the Seahawks' third victory in their last four games wasn't secured until Hawthorne stepped in front of a swing pass intended for LeSean McCoy and raced untouched in the other direction with 4:24 left. It was Hawthorne's third interception of the season, but he was getting plenty of grief from his teammates for the length of time it took him to get to the end zone.

And of course, the first guy to greet Hawthorne in the end zone was Lynch running off the sideline without his helmet.

"There is no grief in touchdowns. The slowest touchdown, the fastest touchdown equals seven," Hawthorne said while teammates yelled "slow" in the background.

Making his third straight start in place of Michael Vick and his two broken ribs, Young couldn't find the same magic he did in the 2006 Rose Bowl when he led Texas to an upset of Pete Carroll and USC.

Young's first pass of the night was an awful interception thrown right to Seattle safety Kam Chancellor and nowhere near an Eagles receiver. Young was intercepted in the third quarter as well when a perfect pass deflected off the hands of Riley Cooper and into the hands of cornerback Brandon Browner. Both turnovers led to Seattle touchdowns.

Then came a pass for McCoy when Young clearly didn't see Hawthorne, ruining the Eagles' last chance to rally. Seattle safety Earl Thomas jumped Young's primary target and by the time he came back to McCoy, Hawthorne was ready for the pass.

"He was expecting him to be open and he wasn't," Hawthorne said.

Young added one more interception in the final moments, another one grabbed by Browner that left the quarterback with a career-high four picks.

Young finished 17 of 29 for 208 yards. McCoy got more chances than he did last Sunday against New England when he touched the ball just 14 times, a number that drew criticism from Eagles fans believing the leading rusher in the NFL deserved more opportunities.

McCoy finished with 84 yards on 17 carries and added another four catches for 49 yards. But he was upstaged by Lynch.

"He was the key today to their offense," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "And we didn't do a very good job of stopping him."

On first-and-goal at the 15, Lynch ran into a massive crowd near the 10. He got lost in the pile, wiggled out of the arms of linebacker Jamar Chaney and suddenly burst into the end zone.

Lynch's second touchdown was an opportunity for him to show off his open-field speed. As the flow of the play went to Lynch's left, he immediately cut back right and found open field, beating the Eagles defense to the corner and going 40 yards untouched.

The quick bounce-back by the Seahawks only magnified their missed chance last Sunday when they blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and lost 23-17 to Washington. Even with the win over Philadelphia and another home game coming up against St. Louis, any hopes the Seahawks have of jumping into the playoff race are likely gone.

"We felt like we let one go last week and that was all we could think about," Hawthorne said. "So to come on a fast week and get it out this fast, it's a positive."

Notes: Carroll thinks LT Russell Okung may have a serious pectoral injury sustained in the closing seconds. ... Lynch's career high was 153 yards rushing against Cincinnati with Buffalo in 2007. ... Philadelphia CB Nnamdi Asomugha left in the first half with a head/neck injury and did not return. ... Philadelphia fell to 5-2 in Thursday night games. ... Jackson's 137.0 QB rating was the best of his career. ... Browner had the first two-interception game of his career.

___

Follow Tim Booth on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ByTimBooth

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-02-Eagles-Seahawks/id-111f6815c47e417f8b65ce85a3bb0d0e

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Sleigh Bells To Return With Reign Of Terror

Brooklyn band unveils new album with a thoroughly badass teaser trailer.
By James Montgomery

Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells
Photo: Getty Images

When it comes time to reveal a thoroughly badass album title, there's really no other way to do it than with a thoroughly badass teaser trailer. And that's exactly what Brooklyn bashers Sleigh Bells just did, premiering an ominous, thundering clip for their new album ... which is called Reign of Terror.

The teaser opens with a scene of the Bells' Alexis Krauss sitting at a vanity mirror, very seriously combing her hair (while wearing a Marine Dress Uniform), then quickly switches to series of hectic, seizure-inducing live clips, interspersed with various shots of life-on-the-road ephemera (they apparently attended at least one LSU football game) and in-the-studio hijinks (Bud Light! Guns! A mirrored skeleton mask!) It's all backed by a churning, chunky guitar track, which seems to hint that Reign of Terror is most definitely going to be a loud — if not slightly terrifying — listen.

And while there's plenty of visceral gristle in the teaser trailer, it doesn't actually include a release date for the new album, the follow-up to Sleigh Bells' 2010 breakout Treats (one could reasonably assume it's due in 2012, however).The dynamic duo rode that disc hard, including a thunderous performance at the 2011 mtvU Woodie Awards, and a collaboration with none other than Beyoncé, one that was reportedly supposed to appear on her 4 album. That track (or tracks) never materialized. Instead, the Bells focused on writing and recording Terror.

And, judging by what we've now seen ... that was probably the right decision. Their Reign is set to commence next year.

Sound off on the Bells' Reign of Terror teaser trailer in the comments below!

Related Artists

• Sleigh Bells

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1675296/sleigh-bells-reign-of-terror.jhtml

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PROMISES, PROMISES: Candidates shield records (AP)

WASHINGTON ? In the final weeks of Mitt Romney's term as Massachusetts governor, a small team of aides combed through statehouse filing cabinets. They filled more than 630 cartons with papers destined for the state archives as the primary documentary legacy of his administration. One floor, though, was almost completely off limits to them: Romney's inner sanctum, his third-floor office.

The former legislative affairs director who headed the archiving effort, John O'Keefe, recalls that his team was given a stack of Romney's public schedules over four years and a limited variety of other documents from the governor's executive office, but not much else. "We were told we were not in charge of archiving the third floor," he says.

The mystery deepened recently when the chief legal counsel for Romney's Democratic successor, Gov. Deval Patrick, said that just before Patrick took office, material on a state government web server that housed Romney's emails was erased. Top Romney aides also bought and removed their state-issued computer hard drives, and remaining leased computers were replaced. Romney said he followed the law in authorizing the purge, and his campaign aides said their actions were based on a 1997 Massachusetts court ruling that all governors' records are private.

Romney's selective policy toward public access and preservation of his executive records raises stark questions about how transparent his administration would be if he were to become president. He's not alone. Other leading candidates for the presidency ? incumbent Barack Obama and Texas Gov. Rick Perry ? have touted their commitment to transparency, but their administrations also have been selective at times in the records they disclose. They have limited, stalled or denied access when it suited their purposes.

"What I wish Americans could expect is a politician who talked a good game and walked a good game, too," said Ken Bunting, executive director of the nonpartisan National Freedom of Information Coalition. "The reality is everybody gives lip service to transparency and accountability."

Romney's submission of paper documents to the Massachusetts archives was made "in the interest of transparency and to help provide a record of his time in office," said Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior campaign adviser. But the holdings in the archives are far from comprehensive. An Associated Press reporter sent from Washington earlier this fall spent a week examining the Romney archives, but did not find paper copies of any emails to or from Romney or any internal calendars or in-house memos ? all commonly used by governors. There are no state archives records accounting for what happened to those materials.

The growing use by government agencies and political campaigns of new channels of electronic communication, including text messages, online videos and social media services, has opened new dimensions in the availability of public records. But presidential candidates haven't been especially transparent.

"There's the potential for a lot more raw information than in the past as emails and other electronic communications replace phone and face-to-face conversations," said Peter Scheer, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, a nonprofit public interest group. "The problem is we're seeing officials and governments moving more and more to shield those materials from public access."

Only about one-quarter of the 630 cartons of Romney paper records are available for inspection at the Massachusetts archives. State legal officials have yet to say whether the 1997 court ruling allows access to the other material. Even if they do, Assistant State Archivist Michael Comeau said, staff shortages and time-consuming redaction checks could extend delays close to the 2012 election. More than 75 cartons examined by the AP revealed staff and legislative documents but no internal materials written to or from Romney himself ? except for ceremonial bill-signing and official letters.

As governor, Romney's careful line on providing records was based on a 1997 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling that "the governor is not explicitly included" among other state officials and agencies covered by the state's Public Records Law, which generally requires agencies to submit to records requests. Other governors since 1997 have interpreted the ruling similarly.

The AP submitted detailed questions to Romney about how his administration handled public records when he was governor, but the campaign responded with only a brief statement: "The governor's office in Massachusetts is not subject to the state's public records law. As a legal matter, it is not required to disclose any documents." Fehrnstrom, who was Romney's chief spokesman during that era, said the Romney campaign does not possess any remaining gubernatorial records outside of the Massachusetts archives.

After The Boston Globe first reported that his aides had purged electronic files, Romney said the deleted materials might have contained confidential medical, judicial or personnel records. Still, when Romney's archive team found confidential files at the end of his administration, they separated those materials from thousands of other documents that were turned over to the archives. O'Keefe, now city manager in Manchester, Vt., recalled that anything that appeared "confidential in nature" was turned over to a private vendor for shredding.

Suggesting that Romney's Massachusetts administration "deliberately sought to delete public records" in advance of his 2007 presidential run, the Democratic National Committee has pressed three separate Massachusetts public records requests for more background on the purge. Romney's campaign has responded with its own request to Patrick's office asking for any evidence of collaboration between his staff and Obama re-election officials.

Gavi Wolfe, a legal counsel for the Boston office of the American Civil Liberties Union, said Romney's authorization of the purging of third-floor electronic files set an "alarming" precedent: "I would be concerned about the chief executive wanting to shield the actions of his administration from public scrutiny." Romney said during a New Hampshire campaign stop that if elected, his presidential administration "would do what's required by the law and then some."

In three years in the White House, Obama set an even more ambitious standard, committing publicly to improving transparency and setting clear goals for federal agencies to respond more quickly and expansively to public records requests.

Obama signed an executive order on his first day in office in 2009, directing federal officials to make good on his detailed commitment to broaden accountability. His directive led to the opening of White House visitor logs and plans to improve responses to records requests, whistleblower protections and declassification of outdated secret documents.

But many of Obama's broad commitments have not been met. In the face of criticism, the Justice Department abandoned a proposal that would have allowed officials to pretend that some government files didn't exist when people asked to see them. And the government completely turned down records in one-third of all requests in 2010 ? even censoring 194 pages of internal emails about Obama's Open Government directive.

The White House and Energy Department have been hesitant and selective turning over records related to the GOP-led congressional investigation of Solyndra, the failed California solar panel company. The AP pressed three separate appeals for records in September, but Energy Department officials said they would take months because of the number of documents and requests to read them. In early October, as Congress threatened to issue subpoenas, White House officials quickly provided reporters with thousands of pages and DVDs filled with hundreds of emails.

White House officials would not comment on the sudden shift, but campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said, "The president and this administration are changing the ways Washington works in terms of transparency."

In Texas, Perry has made similar claims, pointing to broad swaths of electronic data that his administration has made available online ? from state agency expenditures to death certificates. But Perry's administration has also blocked viewing of expenditures for his security guards when he travels, even though much of that travel has been subsidized by campaign funds or by private business executives. He also barred access to his reviews of death penalty cases and to his private calendars, even though his predecessor, former President George W. Bush, had made both available when he was governor.

"The people of America aren't seeing the real Rick Perry," said Keith Elkins, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. "They may get a glimpse of him on the campaign trail, but the real record has been hidden and carefully parceled out."

___

Associated Press writers Brett J. Blackledge, Matthew Daly and Jack Gillum contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111130/ap_on_el_pr/us_campaigns_transparency

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Toyota taking orders in Japan for Prius Plug-in (AP)

TOKYO ? Toyota began taking orders Tuesday for the plug-in version of its hit Prius hybrid, announcing efficient mileage and a relatively affordable starting price of 3.2 million yen ($41,000), which comes down with green vehicle subsidies.

Toyota is targeting Prius Plug-in sales of 35,000 to 40,000 a year in Japan, and 60,000 globally. The car is set for delivery in Japan in January. With subsidies the cost comes down to 2.75 million yen ($35,200). It starts at $32,000 in the U.S. and 37,000 euros in Europe, according to Toyota.

Japan's top automaker says the plug-in, which it calls the Prius PHV, is for those who want something more innovative than a regular gasoline-electric hybrid, but are worried about running out of power on the road, as can happen with pure electric vehicles.

When a plug-in runs out of power to keep the electric vehicle going, it becomes a hybrid.

"The plug-in is the premier next-generation ecological car that will follow the hybrid," said Executive Vice President Takeshi Uchiyamada, the Toyota Motor Corp. engineer known as the "father of the Prius."

The Prius Plug-in has an estimated electric vehicle cruise range per charge of 26.4 kilometers (16 miles), according to Toyota.

Its mileage is estimated at 61 kilometers per liter for Japanese test conditions, which converts to a whopping 143 miles per gallon. Such numbers vary depending on road conditions. Toyota is promising 87 mpg for the U.S. Prius Plug-in, which will be delivered starting in March. Orders are already being taken online in the U.S.

Green cars such as the Prius Plug-in are expected to take centerstage at the Tokyo Motor Show, which opens to the public this weekend.

Japanese consumers have taken to the Prius, despite a languishing auto market overall, thanks to government-backed subsidies. Nations around the world are offering similar perks, boosting its chance for success.

The Prius Plug-in, which seats five people, comes with a new lithium-ion battery that can be charged from a household outlet, much like an electric car. It also recharges itself while driving like a gasoline-electric hybrid. The battery is more powerful and compact so the back trunk fits three golf bags.

Uchiyamada told reporters that the plug-in was the best solution for green cars as most Japanese don't drive more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) a day and Toyota studies showed that most people don't want to use EVs for drives longer than 100 kilometers (60 miles).

How the plug-in fares in coming months will help show whether Toyota can keep riding on its success of the Prius as a global leader in green technology. Toyota said it had collected data from 600 people around the world who had leased the plug-in on a trial basis.

Toyota has sold more than 3.4 million hybrids worldwide so far, including models other than the Prius.

Selling in big numbers is important because it helps cut costs and allows the automaker to offer products at affordable prices.

Honda Motor Co., which has also been aggressive with hybrid technology, has sold 770,000 hybrids worldwide.

Nissan Motor Co., which hasn't released a global hybrid sales number, is banking more on pure electric, selling 17,500 Leaf cars around the world so far.

In Japan, Toyota will work on services with its housing unit to support plug-in owners' charging stations, it said.

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111129/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_toyota

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This Week Panel: Newt Gingrich On Immigration Is The Latest GOP ?Scandal Of Sanity?

video

With Newt Gingrich nabbing a major endorsement in New Hampshire this morning, the panel on This Week assessed his strengths and chances of making it through to the nomination with a record like his. While agreeing that he was, among other things, ?undisciplined,? they noted his comments on immigration could be a positive in the general, with Michael Gerson labeling yet another ?scandal of sanity? in the GOP.

RELATED: Newt Gingrich Secures Key New Hampshire Union Leader Newspaper Endorsement

Panelist Jon Karl noted that the paper endorsing Gingrich, the Union Leader, was very strong support, as it goes out of its way to campaign regularly over the election season. With that in mind, host Christiane Amanpour wondered whether Gingrich was the ?last non-Romney candidate.? That, added Cokie Roberts, depended on whether Gingrich would master his natural lack of discipline. ?He?s one of the greatest strategists? so interesting, but he?s undisciplined!? Sam Donaldson agreed, adding that ?he has five ideas a day: one or two of them are brilliant, one or two of them are okay, and one of them is terrible and he doesn?t know the difference.?

Gerson noted something strange about the fact that the answer on ?immigration indicates Gingrich?s lack of discipline,? forming yet another ?scandal of sanity, in which a Republican says something obviously true and they have to retract because of the conservative base.? The ?gaffe,? he argued, proved ?Gingrich unplugged can actually be quite admirable as well as undisciplined.?

The panel ended with a round of guesses as to who would win the Iowa caucus, with a surprising half of the panel suggesting Rick Santorum has a chance there. The segment via ABC below:

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2012 elections, abc, Christiane Amanpour, Cokie Roberts, Iowa, Jon Karl, Michael Gerson, Mitt Romney, newt gingrich, Republicans, Rick Santorum, Sam Donaldson, This Week

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Source: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/this-week-panel-newt-gingrich-on-immigration-is-the-latest-gop-scandal-of-sanity/

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Teen tweeter won't apologize to Kan. governor (Providence Journal)

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Communications Signals Modulation of Computer Simulations ...

Abstract

The Automatic Modulation Recognition (AMR) of communication signals is very important for both civil and military communication, especially in the situation of non-cooperative communication or communication confrontation, such as signals identification, electronic confrontation, software radio, military threat analysis, etc. Additionally, the parameter estimation of signals will be a great help in interference suppression, developing improved condition for successful recognition and demodulation.Some of the existing traffic signal modulation recognitionprocessing algorithms each have their own advantages are better atsome signal processing algorithms for the other few studies and Some algorithms is still in the theoretical stage and under the existing communication channels through some special signal processing of less. This review focuses on these issues for some useful especially to try and improve the various algorithms and implementations withcomputer and other hardware to do some research.This paper is focused on the application of pattern recognition in AMR. Several AMR algorithms are discussed which are based on the analysis of statistical characteristics of the modulation parameters, or cluster algorithm, or high order cumulant, or time_frequency domain analysis, such as Wigner_ville Distribution, Wavelet Transform, or character abstraction from spectral correlation of communication signals. Some improved solutions to the above algorithms are proposed. Performance comparisons are provided by simulations which prove the feasibility of the proposed algorithm and point out the corresponding application prerequisites.

Source: http://www.it-paper.com/communications-signals-modulation-of-computer-simulations.html

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Weeki Wachee Springs founder inducted into Florida Tourism Hall of Fame

Brooksville, FL -- Newton Perry, founder of the world-renowned Weeki Wachee Springs Park and famed Mermaids, was recently inducted into the Florida Tourism Hall of Fame as a Tourism Honor Roll recipient.

The award was presented as part of the opening ceremonies at the 44th?Annual Florida Governor's Conference on Tourism. On hand to receive the award was Delee Perry, one of Newton's daughters who currently resides in Ocala.

Along with his tourism accomplishments, Newt Perry experimented with underwater breathing hoses and invented the method of breathing with free flowing air hoses supplying oxygen from a compressor, rather than swimming with a tank strapped to the back. The air hose gave the appearance that humans could breathe twenty feet underwater on their own.

Created in 2007, the Florida Tourism Honor Roll serves to acknowledge those historical visionaries whose achievements and extraordinary careers significantly impacted the growth of Florida tourism.?

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Source: http://springhill.wtsp.com/news/news/92949-weeki-wachee-springs-founder-inducted-florida-tourism-hall-fame

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