Michael Jackson fantasies play out on Xbox - PS3

Michael Jackson fans will get to show off how well they sing and dance like the King of Pop in videogames crafted by Ubisoft for play on Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) consoles.
The French videogame titan on Tuesday will release versions of "Michael Jackson: The Experience" that tap into motion and voice sensing capabilities of popular Kinect and Move accessories for the Xbox 360 and PS3 respectively.
Ubisoft has sold about three million copies of a version of the game released in late November for play on Nintendo Wii consoles.
"The Move is a platform dying for an awesome dance game and we already know it works on the Kinect," Ubisoft senior vice president of sales and marketing Tony Key told AFP. "The timing is great."
"Michael Jackson: The Experience" takes advantage of camera, voice and gesture-tracking capabilities of Kinect controllers for Xbox 360 consoles to track how well players are imitating the late music legend's moves.
The game features Ubisoft technology that projects players into on-screen scenes inspired by Jackson's live performances and music videos including his famous "Thriller" work.
Kinect players are represented by animated characters that mirror their appearances and movements.
"You actually see yourself moving and your goal is to follow along with the backup dancers," Key said. "You can see your hair flitting, what you are wearing -- all of that."
Move player actions are tracked with the help of handheld wands, and dance steps executed by on-screen characters. Ubisoft tailored software to each game system's strengths.
Unlike game play on the Wii, "Michael Jackson: The Experience" on the Kinect and Move combines singing the late artist's hit songs with matching his trademark choreography.
"Michael Jackson had an awesome voice and was able to sing and dance like no other artist ever," Key said. "This is about stepping into those shoes and trying to emulate him as much as possible."
Ubisoft has been a longtime believer in motion controls for videogames and the potential for 3-D cameras to immerse players in the on-screen action.
The firm seized the opportunity to work with Nintendo on titles tailored for the Wii and had action videogame "Red Steel" ready when the innovative motion-controlled consoles launched in late 2006.
Ubisoft finished 2010 as the top third-party developer for Kinect, which lets people play with no hand-held controllers at all and even recognizes faces and voice commands.
Microsoft reports having sold more than 10 million Kinects, while Ubisoft claims about 19 percent of the market of videogames for the Xbox 360 accessory that debuted in November.
Ubisoft is also in tune with the hot dance game genre, with its title's representing about 80 percent of that type of play on Wii consoles.
"The dance category for us has been a huge win," Key said.
"We created a reason for people to dance in their living rooms," he continued. "This always turns out to be a great time for anybody who is in the house -- we really touched a nerve."
An Ubisoft page at social networking service Facebook featured an abundance of dance game stories and videos posted by players.
"More and more, the dance category is becoming a story that consumers are telling for us," Key said. "How many videogames have people posting videos of themselves playing?"
"Michael Jackson: The Experience" will be priced at $49.99 when it becomes available in the United States on Tuesday. The game will be released in Europe two days later.

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Hackers hunt prey on smartphones, Facebook

Hackers are following prey onto smartphones and social networking hotspots, according to reports released Tuesday by a pair of computer security firms.
Cyber criminals are also ramping up the sophistication and frequency of attacks on business and government networks, one of the companies, Symantec, said in the latest volume of its Internet Security Threat Report.
Symantec depicted a "massive" volume of more than 286 new computer threats on the Internet last year, continued growth in attacks at online social networks and "a notable shift in focus" by hackers to mobile devices.
"The major mobile platforms are finally becoming ubiquitous enough to garner the attention of attackers," Symantec said in its findings.
In March, smartphones running on Google-backed Android software were the target of the largest attack ever on the devices, noted a PandaLabs report focused on the first three months of this year.
"This assault was launched from malicious applications on Android Market, the official app store for the operating system," PandaLabs said.
Within a four-day span, seemingly legitimate Android smartphone applications rigged with malicious "Trojan" computer code were downloaded more than 50,000 times, according to PandaLabs.
"The Trojan steals personal information from cellphones, and downloads and installs other apps without the user's knowledge," the computer security firm said.
"Google managed to rid its store of all malicious apps, and several days later removed them from users' phones."
The Symantec report indicated that cyber crooks were also infiltrating news-feed capabilities at popular social networking services to "mass-distribute" attacks.
Such tactics typically involve getting into one person's account at a social network and then sending others links to websites booby-trapped with malicious computer code.
"Social network platforms continue to grow in popularity and this popularity has, not surprisingly, attracted a large volume of malware," Symantec said.
PandaLabs gave an example of a 23-year-old California man facing sentencing after pleading guilty to using information found on Facebook to hack email accounts to find compromising messages for blackmail.
Even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg saw his fan page at the social networking website hacked this year, the security firm noted.
PandaLabs researchers logged an average of 73,190 new snippets of malicious computer code daily during the first three months of this year in what was said to be a 26 percent jump from the same period in 2010.
Hackers showed a strong predeliction for a kind of malicious code used to mine bank account data and, ultimately, get into people's accounts, the computer security firm indicated.
China, Thailand and Taiwan had the highest rates of infection, with nearly 70 percent of the computers in those countries "riddled with malware," according to PandaLabs.
Many attacks on company or government computer networks involved hackers researching key employees and then duping them or colleagues into enabling access to protected networks, Symantec's report showed.
Researchers warned that onslaughts by "hacktivists" such as the group "Anonymous" and others with seeming political goals could signal a dangerous cyber arms race.
"Stuxnet and Hydraq, two of the most visible cyber-events of 2010, represented true incidents of cyberwarfare and have fundamentally changed the threat landscape," said Symantec Security Technology and Response senior vice president Stephen Trilling.
"The nature of the threats has expanded from targeting individual bank accounts to targeting the information and physical infrastructure of nation states."

US judge tosses $625 million award against Apple

A US District Court judge in Texas has tossed out a $625.5 million damages award against Apple in a patent infringement case involving a document management and display system.
Judge Leonard Davis of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Tyler, Texas, vacated the jury's finding against Apple in the case filed by a company called Mirror Worlds in March 2008.
Mirror Worlds had accused Apple Macintosh computers powered by the Mac OS X operating system of infringing on patents held by the company founded by a Yale University professor.
In October, a jury found that Apple had infringed three patents and awarded $208.5 million in damages for each patent.
Judge Davis, however, in a 44-page ruling on Monday, vacated the damages award, which would have been one of the largest ever in the United States.
"Separate and apart from the sufficiency of evidence regarding infringement, there is insufficient evidence to support the jury's $208.5 million damages award," the judge said.
"No matter how attractive a party paints the facade of its case, it is worthless without the requisite foundational support," the judge said.
"In this case, Mirror Worlds may have painted an appealing picture for the jury, but it failed to lay a solid foundation sufficient to support important elements it was required to establish under the law," he said.

Obama to answer questions at Facebook HQ

US President Barack Obama will answer questions submitted via Facebook during an appearance at the social network's California headquarters later this month, the White House said Tuesday.
In an announcement on its own Facebook page, the White House said Obama will sit down with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg for a "town hall" event at Facebook's Palo Alto offices on April 20.
The "Facebook Live" event will be streamed live on Facebook starting at 1:45 pm Pacific time (2045 GMT).
The White House said Facebook will select questions on the economy and innovation for Obama to answer during the event.
Questions can be submitted through WhiteHouse.gov/facebooktownhall or the Facebook event page.
Obama, who announced on Monday through Facebook and Twitter that he would seek reelection in 2012, met with the 26-year-old Zuckerberg and other Silicon Valley technology leaders during a visit to California in February.

Real Madrid’s Pepe & Schalke’s Jefferson Farfan to miss Champions League quarter-final return matches

Real Madrid centre-back Pepe and Schalke winger Jefferson Farfan will miss the return legs of the Champions League quarter-finals for their respective sides.
Pepe was shown the yellow card after 36 minutes in Madrid’s 4-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the Bernabeu tonight for a cynical challenge on Gareth Bale as the Welshman raced away down the left flank. The Portugal international will now serve a one-match suspension.
Peter Crouch will be unavailable for Tottenham in the return at White Hart Lane after he was given his marching orders at the Bernabeu just 15 minutes into the match for two bookable offences.
Defending European champions Inter lost 5-2 to Schalke in Milan in the first leg of their quarter-final tie, and they have also lost defender Cristian Chivu for the second leg. The Romanian was shown two yellow cards in quick succession in the second-half.
Schalke too have a suspension for the return leg in Germany as Farfan got his fifth yellow card of the competition on the stroke of half-time.
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Google's citizen cartographers map out the world

Google on Thursday revealed that an army of citizen cartographers is behind its widely used mapping service, helping the Internet search giant chart the world, including often inaccessible places.
Volunteers from various countries post updates on their neighbourhoods or travel to remote places to map the area before uploading their findings to Google Map Maker, the company said at a conference in Singapore.
Contributors can add new roads and landmarks or debate with neighbours about the names of streets on the virtual map, which is constantly updated with new information.
Google Map Maker allows people to add or edit features, such as roads, businesses, parks and schools, and give detailed information about the locations.
"You are now the mapping agency of the world, and many of the mapping agencies are recognising that fact," Google's geospatial technologist Ed Parsons said at the Google Geo Community Summit attended by contributors from different countries.
"The large, top-down approaches to making maps that traditionally the industry has followed for many thousands of years are changing very rapidly," he added.
"They now go from a bottom-up approach, where local experts, people like yourselves are making maps, they are updating the maps, because you are the experts in your local neighbourhoods."
Parsons said Google maps have been used extensively to help relief efforts during natural disasters such as in the recent earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on March 11.
Indian retiree CNR Nair spends about two hours daily updating mapping information on India. He travels to different places, and even checks if the latitudes tally from the ones on Google Map Maker.
But mapping out his homeland has not been entirely smooth sailing for Nair. Working without government approval, he initially met resistance from the local police who threatened to arrest him.
"Google Maps should serve the community," he told AFP.
"During the Indian (Ocean) tsunami, we mapped all these tsunami affected areas so that in the future at least people should be aware to get (people) evacuated from the possible tsunami affected areas or flood areas."
Other volunteers have travelled from Moscow to Siberia by rail, filming the entire journey from the train window and uploading it onto Google Map Maker, the conference heard.

Drogba back on target, Etuhu hits 1st since August

Ivorian Didier Drogba was on target for the first time in 11 matches to help Chelsea to a 1-1 draw away to Stoke, while Nigerian Dickson Etuhu got his first English Premiership goal since August for Fulham over the weekend.
On the receiving end of Etuhu's goal show was Ghana's Richard Kingston, who had helped his country to a 1-1 draw with England last week but was powerless to prevent his club Blackpool going down 3-0 to the west London side.
On the continent, there were also goals aplenty for African players, Lille's Senegalese international striker Moussa Sow notably adding to his tally as the top French league scorer with his 20th goal of the season.
ENGLAND
DIDIER DROGBA (Chelsea)
The Ivory Coast striker scored for the first time in 11 matches to earn his side a 1-1 draw at Stoke. Drogba equalised for Chelsea with a diving header from Nicolas Anelka's cross in the 33rd minute, but the Blues were forced to settle for a frustrating draw that all but ended their title challenge.
YAYA TOURE (Man City)
The Ivory Coast midfielder bagged the final goal in Manchester City's emphatic 5-0 victory over Sunderland at Eastlands. Toure seized on Lee Cattermole's woeful back pass and clipped a cool finish into the net. It was Toure's first Premier League goal since January and he also provided the pass that allowed Adam Johnson to open the scoring.
DICKSON ETUHU (Fulham)
The Nigeria midfielder claimed his first Premier League goal since August as Fulham cruised to a 3-0 win against Blackpool at Craven Cottage. Etuhu was on hand to steer in the third goal from Brede Hangleland's miscued shot in the 72nd minute.
RICHARD KINGSON (Blackpool)
The Ghana goalkeeper ended a memorable week on a low note as his club were crushed at Fulham. Just four days earlier Kingson had helped Ghana to a 1-1 draw with England in a friendly at Wembley, but he could do nothing to stop Blackpool continuing their slump towards the relegation zone.
CHRISTOPHER SAMBA (Blackburn)
The Congo defender gave a rock solid performance to frustrate Arsenal in a 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium. Samba was at his imperious best as he denied the likes of Robin van Persie and helped Rovers to their first clean sheet in four matches. It could be a valuable result as Rovers are now two points above the relegation zone.
DEMBA BA (West Ham)
The Senegal striker ended up on the losing side as Manchester United won 4-2 at Upton Park, but he almost played a key role in swinging the game West Ham's way. Ba was fouled twice by United defender Nemanja Vidic and the Serbian could have been sent off on both occasions. The first looked a clear red card as Vidic was the last man when he tugged back Ba. Instead, he was booked and then escaped another yellow card after chopping down Ba moments later.
FRANCE
PAPE DIAKHATE (Lyon)
The sending off of Senegalese defender Pape Diakhate on 90 minutes proved another blow for former seven-time champions Lyon's title ambitions as it opened the floodgates which allowed struggling Nice grab a 2-2 draw.
Diakhate got his first yellow card for a tackle on Danijel Ljuboja only for the Serbian striker to miss that penalty but the Senegalese player's second just before the whistle allowed Nice's Gabon striker Eric Mouloungui net a penalty with Argentine defender Renato Civelli levelling three minutes later.
BROWN IDEYE, RYAD BOUDEBOUZ (Sochaux)
Nigerian striker Brown Ideye scored a last-gasp winner which gave Sochaux a 2-1 win over Brest. The 22-year-old found the net one minute into extra time after Franco-Algerian teammate Ryad Boudebouz opened from a penalty after seven minutes.
MOUSSA SOW, AURELIEN CHEDJOU (Lille)
Senegalese international striker Moussa Sow added to his tally as the top French league scorer with his 20th goal of the season. Sow, 25, netted the third goal in Lille's 3-1 win over Caen. Cameroon defender Chedjou turned striker as the 25-year-old opened for the league leader's Lille after 30 minutes.
YOUSSEF EL ARABI (Caen)
Moroccan international El Arabi grabbed a goal back for Caen five minutes from time but it was too little to late as the Normandy side, three points above the drop zone, fell 3-1 to their third heavy defeat of the season to Lille.
BENJAMIN MOUKANDJO BILE (Monaco)
Cameroon striker Moukandjo Bile was on target for Monaco opening after 29 minutes in their 2-0 win over tailenders Arles-Avignon, but the Riveria outfit nevertheless remain in the drop zone.
SOULEYMANE CAMARA (Montpellier)
Senegalese striker Camara's 75-minute goal gave sixth-placed Montpellier a 1-0 win at Toulouse to keep their bid for a Europa League spot alive.
GERMANY
HANS SARPEI (Schalke 04)
The Ghana defender played in the Bundesliga clash at St Pauli which was abandoned a minute before time with Schalke leading 2-0 after the assistant referee was struck in the back by a cup of beer thrown by a fan. The result is likely to stand and hosts St Pauli are set to be heavily fined when the German Football Federation (DFB) announce their ruling on the game.
PAPISS DEMBA CISSE (Freiburg)
The Senegal striker scored after just a minute of Freiburg's 1-1 draw with Mainz 05 to go joint top of the Bundesliga goal-scoring table alongside Bayern Munich's Germany star Mario Gomez. The 25-year-old did not end on the winning side after Tunisia striker Sami Allagui equalised with a second-half header.
DIDIER YA KONAN (Hanover 96)
The Ivory Coast striker made his 23rd league appearance of the season, but failed to add to his 12 goals and was powerless to prevent his side losing 4-1 to Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund.
ITALY
KEVIN-PRINCE BOATENG (AC Milan)
Since returning from injury the Ghana midfielder has quickly re-established himself in the Milan first team. He began playing in an advanced role in the crucial 3-0 derby victory over champions Inter Milan that maintained the rossoneri's three-point lead at the top. He tried to push forward and get in behind the Inter defence without much success. But in the second period the Ghana man played a more controlled role helping Milan exploit their numerical advantage by controlling the ball in midfield. He did nothing spectacular but was part of the collective success.
SAMUEL ETO'O (Inter Milan)
This was not a game to remember for the Cameroon captain who was no more than a peripheral figure throughout. Inter stuggled to create chances despite enjoying superiority in terms of possession and territory in the first half. After the break they were quickly reduced to 10-men and Eto'o's involvement decreased even further. He did miss one glorious chance from three yards out, poking wide of the post when it looked easier to score, but he had anyway been adjudged offside. In the second half he caused one moment of panic when his nifty footwork almost created a chance in the box but Milan's Thiago Silva threw himself in front of the Cameroon star to snuff out the danger.
HASSAN YEBDA (Napoli)
The Algeria midfielder has gradually established himself as a permanent fixture in the Napoli team but he was far from dominant during the wild 4-3 victory over Lazio that kept the southerners in the title hunt. Yebda was tidy and committed but rarely appeared to contribute anything creative to a team that lacked spark until the hour mark when the game burst into life.
MEHDI BENATIA (Udinese)
Having earnt many plaudits over the previous few weeks, Benatia was not at his best as Udinese's title hopes went up in smoke with a 2-0 defeat at Lecce. He was regularly troubled by David Di Michele, rarely looking comfortable.
DJAMEL MESBAH (Lecce)
The Algeria midfielder worked hard up and down the flank both defensively and in going forward as his team secured a shock 2-0 success against Udinese. He has been one of the main bright sparks in a difficult season for the Serie A strugglers.
SPAIN
FREDERIC KANOUTE (Sevilla)
The veteran Mali striker converted a penalty as Sevilla defeated Real Zaragoza 3-1 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium to move up to fifth in the Spanish first division table. Kanoute, 33, weighed in with his ninth league goal of the season on 56 minutes after Martin Caceres had been felled in the area.
PIERRE WEBO (Real Mallorca)
Cameroon striker Webo had a mixed evening in a 2-1 loss at Deportivo La Coruna. He opened the scoring on 26 minutes with a header but then lost his cool in the final minute of the match and was red-carded for a foul on Ruben Perez.
SEYDOU KEITA (Barcelona)
Injuries and suspensions saw Mali midfielder Keita start for Barcelona as the champions won 1-0 at Villarreal to move eight points clear at the top of the table. Keita, 31, was replaced by Argentine ace Lionel Messi on 52 minutes as Barcelona pushed for a goal and it duly arrived on 67 minutes through Gerard Pique.

Facebook sued for $1 billion over Intifada page

Released on - Saturday,02 April , 2011 -02:06

Facebook and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg have been hit with a lawsuit seeking more than $1 billion in damages over a page on the social network which called for a "Third Intifada" against Israel.
Facebook this week shut down the "Third Intifada" page, which had almost 500,000 fans, but the lawsuit filed in a court here claims that the social network showed "negligence" by not quickly responding to appeals to remove the page.
Besides awarding damages, the complaint calls on the court to bar Facebook "from allowing the Facebook page titled 'Third Palestinian Intifada,' and other related and similar sites, which advocate violence and death to Jews."
The suit, a copy of which was obtained by technology blog TechCrunch, was filed in DC Superior Court by Larry Klayman, who describes himself in the complaint as "an American citizen of Jewish origin" who is "active in matters concerning the security of Israel and all people."
Klayman also identifies himself as the founder of Freedom Watch, whose website describes it as a political advocacy group dedicated to protecting privacy, free speech and other rights and "our national sovereignty against the incompetent, terrorist state-controlled United Nations."
Facebook dismissed the case as "without merit" and said it would fight.
"While we haven't been served with a complaint, we believe the case is without merit and we will fight it vigorously," a Facebook spokesman said.
Facebook shut down the page on Tuesday, several days after Israeli Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein sent a letter to Zuckerberg urging him to remove it.
Facebook said the page was initially tolerated because it "began as a call for peaceful protest" but direct calls for violence began appearing and the page was removed for violating Facebook's policies.

Hamilton says Vettel won't have it all his own way

Released on - Saturday,02 April , 2011 -14:45

Lewis Hamilton has revved up his bid to reclaim the world title by warning Sebastian Vettel that he cannot expect to have it all his own way as the 2011 Formula One season unfolds.
But the 26-year-old Briton, who won the title in 2008, has conceded that it will take his hard-working McLaren team a couple of races to reach top speed in pursuit of the 23-year-old defending champion.
German Vettel won last Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix to establish himself as the man to beat once again in his super-fast Red Bull car, nicknamed 'Kinky Kylie'.
Looking ahead to next weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, Hamilton said: "I think the track at Sepang is going to suit the Red Bulls again because it is a massive down-force circuit, but we are going to be competitive and I really believe we will close the gap."
Hamilton finished second behind Vettel in Melbourne where McLaren were running their hastily-revised new car for the first time after a late overhaul of the exhaust system and floor.
And Hamilton added that the Red Bull team will need to utilise their Kinetic Energy Regeneration System (KERS) if they hope to stay in front - last Sunday they did not use it at Albert Park.
"Malaysia is a down-force track so you're going to see Red Bull be as quick if not quicker again," said Hamilton, who plans to fly home to England to see his younger brother Nicolas make his racing debut at Brands Hatch in the Clio Cup series.
"But I have no doubts our car can be competitive as well. If you've seen their (Red Bull) front wing, it's almost trailing on the ground. That is massive down-force.
"Ours is much higher off the ground. That alone is like 20 points of down-force, like half a second, so as soon as we close that loophole or find out how to do that we will close that performance gap.
"We have some small upgrades coming. Whether or not we can compete with them on pure qualifying pace, I don't know, but I think when it comes to the race there is a much longer straight going into turn one.
"If we can get on the first two rows again we can compete with our KERS. I don't think they are going to be able to go too long without KERS. They will need it."
Red Bull boss Christian Horner, who cautioned against his team celebrating their supremacy too soon after last weekend's triumph in which Australian Mark Webber came home fifth, said it was essential for them to have KERS in Malaysia.
And Hamilton's McLaren team-mate and fellow-Briton Jenson Button, added: "I don't think they have a good system - we gain between 3.5 and five-tenths from our KERS but I think Red Bull only gain 1.5 and that's why they did not bother with it and the extra weight."
While the McLaren duo relish the prospect of Malaysia, Ferrari were left looking for consolation after a drab run in Australia where they failed to live up to expectations.
Spaniard Fernando Alonso, seeking his third world title and first with Ferrari, was a distant fourth, but realistic about the struggle the team faces to deliver glory this year as demanded by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo.
Alonso said: "Obviously, it wasn't the start that we all wanted, but nor is it anything to get worried about.
"I already said it at the track: 12 points is not far below the world champion's average last year and two title contenders finished behind me. So, overall, the Australian Grand Prix can't be defined as disastrous.
"Certainly, in qualifying we were very far from Vettel's Red Bull and far from Hamilton's McLaren, but in the race the situation improved - perhaps not compared to Sebastian, but certainly against the others."

Injuries could damage Manchester United's chances of winning the treble - Sir Alex Ferguson

Released on - Saturday,02 April , 2011 -08:47

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes that winning the treble this season will be much harder than in 1999 because of all the injuries his squad are attempting to cope with.

United have seven players out injured, as well as Paul Scholes and Jonny Evans suspended, going into today’s Premier League clash with West Ham United at Upton Park.

Fergie reckons that this handicap could ultimately prevent a repeat of their 1999 treble, when they won the Premier League, the Champions League and the FA Cup in stunning fashion.

'It’s bad luck, with all the injuries we’ve got,' said Ferguson. 'It’s more difficult now than it was in 1999 because we didn’t have an injury back then.

'We went through the last three months of the season without one injury. It was amazing.

'That kind of luck has deserted us at the moment because we have so many injuries, particularly to defenders, which makes it more difficult.

'But there’s a great desire to do it [the treble]. Anyone given the opportunity to achieve that type of target will always try to take it.

'You see the character of our players and I’m happy with that. We never give in. We have a chance but it’s more difficult than ever.

'The next couple of weeks are crucial because if we can get players back then that enhances our chances.

'The kind of games we’re playing today are far more competitive than they were in 1999. The speed of the game has increased, there’s more sports science involved and the standard of training and pitches has improved.

'The main difference from 1999 is our pitch. It was shocking at times back then, particularly around January and February. But now it’s fantastic.

'The games are fast because you can pass the ball with accuracy, you can have more penetration, the game is quicker and you run the risk of injury because of that.'

However, Ferguson added that although winning the treble would be a great feat with all the injuries at hand, United have not won anything this season thus far.

'But there’s no achievement yet, I’m sorry to say,' he admitted. 'I wish I could say there has been, but we’re still involved in three competitions and that’s as much as I can say about it.

'It would be a great achievement to get through this spell with the injury situation we’ve had. We’ve got the ability, attitude and character to do that, so we’ll just carry on.'

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Affectiva technology taps into people's emotions

Released on - Friday,01 April , 2011 -11:22

Computers may soon understand people better than their spouses do, courtesy of innovations from startup Affectiva that expand on groundbreaking sensing research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Affectiva co-founder and MIT professor Rosalind Picard showed off the fledgling firm's feelings-sensing applications at a Web 2.0 Expo that ended Thursday in San Francisco.
"Feelings are complicated," she said. "Now, we can begin to measure them and learn."
Affectiva technology enables computers powering websites to scan web camera imagery for facial expressions, eye movements, and gestures that provide clues to emotional reactions to anything from film scenes, to game action or ads.
"It is getting past wishful thinking and wondering to understanding what is really going on, and that makes it much more actionable," Picard told AFP.
"We all have trouble reading emotional cues when we are on the Web," she continued. "Everybody who has been there for a while has been misunderstood at some time."
People with Web cameras connected to computers were invited to try the technology by viewing a set of ads online at an "Interactive: Analyze Your Smile" page at forbes.com.
Picard provided a glimpse at a "Q Sensor" that can be strapped to a wrist or ankle to assess when people are excited or bored. The sensor measures electricity being conducted through the skin to determine arousal.
A research version of the Q Sensor was available, with a consumer model due out by the end of the year.
"There are therapists using this, there are parents using this, we had a lawyer buy one the other day to measure his own stress," Picard said as she pointed to a Q Sensor on her wrist.
"Anywhere there is emotion, there is an application."
Affectiva has built prototype eyeglasses with a small camera and other technology in the frames.
Wearers engaged in conversations are signaled with tiny green, yellow, or red lights when they are being captivating, losing a companion's attention, or should simply shut up, according to Picard.
Research that led to the startup came from efforts to read the feelings of people with autism or other conditions that rendered them unable to effectively use words to communicate.
"We can't replace all the words they want, but at least we can read if their frustration levels going up and they are ready to explode," Picard said.
"I just saw that we could make a difference in people's lives with something to help them be better understood," she continued. "That is what we are really after."
Picard also envisions Affectiva technology helping people to better understand themselves and avoid situations like "buyer's remorse" by letting their true feelings govern a purchasing decision.
"This is going to be amazing for the science," Picard said. "We could really finally understand what the heck is going on with how people communicate emotionally."

Boateng's season all but over: Mancini

Released on - Friday,01 April , 2011 -14:53

Manchester City's Jerome Boateng has been ruled out for the rest of the season, bar the final two games, after being told he needs to undergo knee surgery.
Boateng suffered the injury while on injury duty with Germany last week.
City manager Roberto Mancini said Friday: "He will have surgery in the next two or three days. Maybe he will be fit for the last two games."
There was more positive news regarding Micah Richards. Mancini said he was hoping that the defender, who suffered a hamstring injury last week while with the England Under-21 team, will be fit in time for the FA Cup semi-final clash with rivals Manchester United at Wembley on April 16.
"We are trying to get him fit for the semi-final. I don't know if it is possible but we hope," said Mancini.
The twin problem, coupled with Kolo Toure's continued absence following his failed drugs test, leaves City struggling for defenders ahead of their Premier League encounter with Sunderland.

Syria's Assad under pressure as new protests called

Released on - Thursday,31 March , 2011 -14:33

Protesters have called for rallies across Syria after weekly Muslim prayers on Friday, upping the pressure on President Bashar al-Assad after he dashed hopes of an end to decades of emergency rule.
"Our date is Friday, from all houses, all places of worship, every citizen and every free man, to all squares, for a free Syria," said a statement posted Thursday on Facebook group The Syria Revolution 2011.
The group, which remains anonymous, has been a driving force behind protests which erupted on March 15, focused mainly in Daraa, south of the capital, and in the confessionally divided coastal city of Latakia.
Assad is facing domestic pressure unprecedented in his 11-year rule as protests demanding greater freedoms in the country, which has been in a state of emergency for close to 50 years, enter a third week.
While Assad failed to announce the end of a state of emergency in his speech Wednesday -- his first appearance since the dissent broke out -- state-run news agency SANA reported a "study" was under way to replace the emergency law with new legislation on national security and counter-terrorism.
"Under a directive by President Bashar al-Assad, a committee of legal experts has been formed to study new laws on national security and counter-terrorism, in order to pave the way for ending the state of emergency," SANA said.
"The committee should finish its work by April 25," it added.
Demonstrators have defied the state of emergency with street gatherings in the south and north, emboldened by the wave of dissent that has rocked the Arab world since December.
While small protests initially surfaced in the capital Damascus, they were quickly contained by Syria's renowned security forces, and AFP correspondents have witnessed activists being dragged away by plain-clothes security force members armed with batons.
Rights activists estimate more than 130 people have been killed in clashes with security forces, mainly in Daraa and Latakia. Officials put the death toll at closer to 30.
Assad has blamed Syria's "enemies" for the unrest, saying they were targeting Syria's unity and taking advantage of the needs of the people to incite division, in a country that has long prided itself on coexistence in a region torn by sectarian strife.
"This conspiracy is different in shape and timing from what is going on in the Arab world," he said. "Syria is not isolated from the region... but we are not a copy of other countries."
Key Assad aide Buthaina Shaaban had told AFP on Sunday that the government intended to lift the state of emergency, but she could not say when.
Syria's emergency laws authorise the arrest and interrogation of any individual and restrict gatherings and movement.
Assad, who appeared relaxed and exchanged jokes with parliamentarians, echoed that statement on Wednesday, saying talks were under way on new laws on the media and political pluralism.
"There are more, unannounced reforms... but giving a timeframe is a logistic matter. When we announce it in such circumstances, it is difficult to meet that deadline."
Gunfire broke out in Latakia immediately after Assad's speech, with unconfirmed reports of casualties.
But his address failed to impress rights groups, who said the 45-year-old president had failed to seize a golden opportunity to improve the Baath-ruled country's human rights record.
Amnesty International said Assad had "missed a crucial opportunity" to lift the emergency laws.
Nadim Houry, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, described the speech as "extremely disappointing."
"President Assad simply repeated the same vague promises of reform that he’s been uttering for over a decade," Houry told AFP.
Washington said the speech "fell short", while Republican Senator John McCain and Independent Senator Joe Lieberman urged US President Barack Obama to get behind the opposition to Assad.
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri's government tendered its resignation on Tuesday and a new cabinet is expected to be announced in days.

Japan PM: stricken nuclear plant to be scrapped

Released on - Friday,01 April , 2011 -06:26

Japan has said its crisis-hit nuclear plant must be scrapped, but currently had no plans to evacuate more people, despite calls for a larger exclusion zone around the crippled facility.
Grappling with the aftermath of a massive earthquake and tsunami, its biggest post-war disaster, Japan's government hosted French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who called for clear international standards on nuclear safety.
Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan said, in talks with the Japanese Communist Party leader, that the facility at the centre of the worst atomic accident since Chernobyl in 1986 must be decommissioned, Kyodo News reported.
Officials have previously hinted the plant would be retired once the situation there is stabilised, given the severe damage it has sustained including likely partial meltdowns and a series of hydrogen blasts.
Radioactive iodine-131 in groundwater 15 metres (50 feet) beneath the plant has reached a level 10,000 times the government safety standard, the plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said early Friday.
It cautioned the figure -- showing radioactive runoff from efforts to cool the plant has entered the water table -- might be revised. TEPCO said Thursday iodine-131 in nearby seawater had hit a new high 4,385 times the legal level.
However, there were no plans to widen a 20-kilometre (12-mile) exclusion zone around the Fukushima plant despite the UN atomic watchdog saying radiation at Iitate village 40 kilometres away had reached evacuation levels.
"At the moment, we do not have the understanding that it is necessary to evacuate residents there. We think the residents can stay calm," said Yoshihiro Sugiyama, an official at the nuclear safety agency.
Japan's top government spokesman Yukio Edano also said further evacuations were not imminent, although he did not rule out that this could change.
"We will continue monitoring the level of radiation with heightened vigilance and we intend to take action if necessary," he told reporters.
The comments came after the IAEA added its voice to that of Greenpeace, which has warned for several days that residents, especially children and pregnant women, should leave Iitate village.
The IAEA's head of nuclear safety and security, Denis Flory, told reporters in Vienna that radiation levels there had exceeded the criteria for triggering evacuations.
He said the IAEA -- which has no mandate to order nations to act -- had advised Japan to "carefully assess the situation, and they have indicated that it is already under assessment."
The reading in Iitate was two megabecquerels per square metre -- a "ratio about two times higher than levels" at which the IAEA recommends evacuations, said the head of its Incident and Emergency Centre, Elena Buglova.
Authorities later said they would Friday lift restrictions issued earlier on drinking tap water in the village, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Radiation exceeding the legal limit was found for the first time in beef from near the Fukushima plant, Kyodo News reported early Friday, adding to concerns over food safety.
The local news agency also said up to 1,000 bodies of tsunami and earthquake victims were lying unclaimed in the nuclear exclusion zone.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Tokyo on Thursday in a show of solidarity with the disaster-hit nation, and urged nuclear authorities in the Group of 20 to establish an international safety standard.
"We call on the independent authorities of G20 members to meet, if possible in Paris, to define an international nuclear safety standard" for power plants, he said in a speech earlier in the day at the French Embassy in Tokyo.
"It is absolutely abnormal that these international safety standards do not exist," he said, suggesting the Paris meeting could take place as early as May.
French nuclear group Areva is assisting TEPCO, which runs the Fukushima Daiichi plant, and the Japanese utility has asked it to provide more help, said Areva Japan president Remy Autebert.
"We'll need a bit of time, but our actions will probably increase in response to their requests," he told AFP.
About 150 Marines of the US Chemical Biological Incident Response Force were due to arrive Friday, although there were no plans for them to take part in the emergency work to stabilise Fukushima, US defence officials told AFP.
At the plant itself, workers pushed on with the high-stakes battle to stabilise reactors, into which water has been poured to submerge and cool fuel rods that are assumed to have partially melted down.
They are also struggling to safely dispose of thousands of tons of highly contaminated run-off water.
Japan has considered a range of high-tech options -- including covering the explosion-charred reactor buildings with fabric, and bringing in robots to clear irradiated rubble.
Workers also plan to spray an industrial resin at the plant to trap settled radioactive particles, although plans to start Thursday were delayed because of weather conditions.

Injured Real trio doubtful for Spurs clash

Released on - Friday,01 April , 2011 -13:40

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said injured trio Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo appear unlikely to be fit to play Tottenham in the Champions League next week.
"According to the information that I have from the medical service, Cristiano can only play at Bilbao (on April 9), Marcelo can only play at Bilbao and Karim can only play at Bilbao," Mourinho told a news conference on Friday.

The three players, who trained apart from the rest of the squad on Friday morning, would therefore to be unavailable for the Champions League quarter-final first leg clash with Tottenham in Madrid on Tuesday.
They would also miss Saturday's league match on Saturday against Sporting Gijon.
Portugal striker Ronaldo suffered a recurrence of a thigh injury last week, while Brazil winger Marcelo is also fighting his way back from injury.
France forward Benzema suffered a thigh injury during France's scoreless draw with Croatia in a friendly Tuesday in Paris.
Real are second in Spain's Primera Liga, five points behind arch-rivals Barcelona.