7 Wireless Speakers to Take Your Beats Outdoors

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This summer, take your music outside with you. These seven wireless speakers will connect to your mobile phone, tablet, or digital audio player, and some even use Bluetooth, allowing you to pair them with any Bluetooth-enabled device.

By Lisa Cassavoy

", credit: "abhisawa/Flickr", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/qG/7-wireless-speakers-01-0613-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/uC/7-wireless-speakers-01-0613-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide2", url: "7-wireless-speakers-to-take-your-beats-outdoors-2", slidetype: "image", title: "Jawbone Jambox", description: "Price: $129.99\n

\nDon\'t write off Jawbone\'s Jambox as just a pretty face. Hidden behind its bold colors and cool styling are proprietary acoustic drivers that deliver a powerful blast of music.\n

\nTechnical Details: Connects to Bluetooth-enabled devices. The Jambox includes a 36-inch stereo cable, 60-inch micro USB cable, wall charger, and carrying case. In addition, a built-in microphone allows the Jambox to become a speakerphone, in case an important call interrupts your dance party.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/Lj/7-wireless-speakers-02-0613-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/b8/7-wireless-speakers-02-0613-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide3", url: "7-wireless-speakers-to-take-your-beats-outdoors-3", slidetype: "image", title: "Jabra Solemate", description: "Price: $199.99\n

\nThe Solemate is designed for outside use. It comes with a water-resistant sound bag that keeps it safe from dust, dirt, and splashes, but it\'s designed to let the music play, loud and clear. With three front-facing speakers, the Solemate delivers solid sound. As far as wireless speakers go, it\'s one to consider if you want a product that won\'t get damaged with normal outdoor use.\n

\nTechnical Details: Connects to Bluetooth-enabled devices. A built-in microphone allows for use as a speakerphone. It includes 3.5 mm audio cable for wired connections.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/E7/7-wireless-speakers-03-0613-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/65/7-wireless-speakers-03-0613-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide4", url: "7-wireless-speakers-to-take-your-beats-outdoors-4", slidetype: "image", title: "Bose SoundLink", description: "Price: $299.95 to $349.95\n

\nBose has long been known for its music-docking systems, but the SoundLink Bluetooth Mobile speaker II ditches the dock for a wireless connection. It\'s slightly bigger than the Jambox and the Solemate, but at just 3 pounds, the SoundLink is still easily portable.\n

\nTechnical Details: Connects to Bluetooth-enabled devices. It includes a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for eight hours of playback and a built-in folding protective cover.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/1S/7-wireless-speakers-04-0613-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/RO/7-wireless-speakers-04-0613-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide5", url: "7-wireless-speakers-to-take-your-beats-outdoors-5", slidetype: "image", title: "Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air", description: "Price: $599.95\n

\nAt almost $600, the Zeppelin Air iPod Dock & Wireless Speaker system system isn\'t cheap. And at more than 2 feet long, it isn\'t exactly portable. But it delivers great sound and features the iconic Zeppelin-like shape that\'s sure to make it an attention-getter.\n

\nTechnical Details: Dock features both 30-pin and Lightning connectors to connect to most iPods and iPhones. AirPlay allows the Zeppelin to connect wirelessly to any iOS device running version 4.3.3 or later. It can also connect wirelessly to Mac OS X and PCs running iTunes 10.2.2 or newer.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/oM/7-wireless-speakers-05-0613-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/5R/7-wireless-speakers-05-0613-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide6", url: "7-wireless-speakers-to-take-your-beats-outdoors-6", slidetype: "image", title: "Libratone Zipp", description: "Price: $399.95\n

\nWith its tall, cylindrical shape and wool cover, Libratone Zipp doesn\'t exactly look like a high-end piece of audio equipment. But don\'t be fooled by looks: This is an impressive device that delivers high-quality sound and a wireless connection.\n

\nTechnical Details: PlayDirect technology allows the Zipp to connect wirelessly to AirPlay-compatible devices, including the latest iPads, iPods, and iPhones. It also connects wirelessly to Macs and PCs running iTunes 10.1 or later. A rechargeable battery offers four hours of wireless playback.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/8V/7-wireless-speakers-06-0613-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/qf/7-wireless-speakers-06-0613-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 450, srcheight: 600 }, { id: "slide7", url: "7-wireless-speakers-to-take-your-beats-outdoors-7", slidetype: "image", title: "Philips Fidelio SoundRing", description: "Price: $299.99\n

\nPhilips\' Fidelio SoundRing takes a whimsical doughnut-like design and gives it a sophisticated twist. The ring-shaped design allows the device to deliver clear sound via two front-facing and two side-facing speakers.\n

\nTechnical Details: AirPlay allows it to connect wirelessly to any iOS device running version 4.3.3 or later. It can also connect wirelessly to Mac OS X and PCs running iTunes 10.2.2 or later. There\'s a USB port for charging iPods, iPhones, and iPads, and an AUX-in connection for playback from CD players and stereos, or an older MP3 player (such as a Microsoft Zune) if you haven\'t yet updated.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/HF/7-wireless-speakers-07-0613-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/Ie/7-wireless-speakers-07-0613-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide8", url: "7-wireless-speakers-to-take-your-beats-outdoors-8", slidetype: "image", title: "Beats by Dre Pill", description: "Price: $199.95\n

\nNames don\'t lie, at least in the case of the Pill from Beats by Dre. This wireless speaker looks exactly like an oversize pill. Why a pill? Because it\'s \"just what the doctor ordered,? according to the company. This speaker is cord-free and, even though it\'s compact and portable, the Pill delivers booming bass.\n

\nTechnical Details: Pill connects to Bluetooth-enabled devices. A built-in microphone allows for use as a speakerphone. It includes audio cable, USB 2.0 charging/data cable, AC power adapter and carrying case.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/8d/7-wireless-speakers-08-0613-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/ZH/7-wireless-speakers-08-0613-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 } ] };

Some wireless speakers are truly portable, like the Jawbone Jambox, which is small enough to be held in one hand and easy to take on the road. But the Jambox lacks the outdoor case that the Jabra Solemate offers, which makes that product a better option for a day at the beach. The bigger speakers, especially the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air and the Beats by Dre Pill, prioritize sound quality over portability. The mid-size Bose SoundLink strikes a nice balance between sound quality and portability, while the Libratone Zipp and Philips SoundRing offer designs worth talking about.

Whatever your taste in music and musical accessories, there's a wireless speaker for you.

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Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/reviews/7-wireless-speakers-to-take-your-beats-outdoors?src=rss

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Sharp to form LCD tie-up with China Electronics, license technology

By Mari Saito

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sharp Corp, a leading supplier of displays to Apple Inc, said Thursday it will form a $2.9 billion alliance with state-owned China Electronics Corp that includes an agreement by Sharp to license its advanced power-saving IGZO screen technology.

The new venture will be 92 percent owned by China Electronics, also known as CEC, which supplies equipment to China's military. The venture will set up a an LCD plant with the goal of mass-producing panel displays for televisions, notebook PCs and tablets in 2015.

Licensing IGZO, or indium gallium zinc oxide displays, fits into a strategy by cash-strapped Sharp to leverage its technology to bolster its finances. Sharp, in December, signed a pact with Qualcomm Inc, selling the U.S. company an equity stake for $120 million and agreeing to develop new screens based on IGZO technology.

IGZO screens boast power consumption as low as a tenth of conventional LCDs, high resolutions and faster reaction speeds. While an agreement to license the technology to a Chinese military-linked state company may raise eyebrows, Sharp does not exclusively own the technology, only being the first to commercialize it.

The agreement, which is a revised version of one agreed to with CEC in 2009, may instead represent a retreat by the Chinese company to win access to Sharp's more advanced tenth-generation LCD manufacturing techniques. CEC is planning to build an 8.5 generation facility.

Sharp is the only panel maker in the world to have built a tenth generation factory able to fabricate liquid crystal sandwiched in glass sheets thinner than a credit card that are 3.13 meters long by 2.88 meters wide. Smaller 8.5 generation sheets measure 2.2 meters by 2.5 meters.

CEC in November blamed deteriorating ties between Japan and China over their territorial spat in the East China Sea for shelving cooperation with Sharp to build a tenth-generation facility. Sharp, which sold a stake in its advanced LCD plant to Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry last year, says no such agreement ever existed.

Thursday's deal, including the construction of the 8.5 generation factory in Nanjing, represents one of the highest-profile transactions between a Chinese and Japanese company since tensions flared last year over a chain of disputed islands known as the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

A Sharp spokesman declined to say how much in royalties the company expected to receive for the technology transfer. A portion of those proceeds will be used to fund Sharp's 8 percent stake in the joint venture, the spokesman said.

The new joint-venture will represent a total investment of $2.9 billion for Sharp, which was rescued in October by its banks. To rebuild its business, Sharp has also sought closer ties to Samsung Electronics, selling it a 3 percent stake for $103 million and pledging to supply it with small display screens.

(Additional reporting by Sophie Knight; Writing by Tim Kelly; Editing by Matt Driskill)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sharp-form-lcd-tie-china-electronics-license-technology-082534336.html

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How Ira Glass Gets People to Talk

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 20: Radio personality Ira Glass attends 72nd Annual George Foster Peabody Awards at The Waldorf=Astoria on May 20, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images)

Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images

The public radio show This American Life is at once old school and ahead of its time. A weekly hourlong program divided into acts, the show?s stock-in-trade are character-driven stories that are long on surprising plot twists.?

On its face, a weekly radio documentary program might seem like a holdover from a bygone media era bound inevitably for extinction. But as This American Life founder and host Ira Glass likes to point out, the show?s personal conversational style is perfectly suited to the Internet age. Which may explain why the show, now in its 18^th year, has added nearly 1 million weekly listeners online through podcasts and streaming to go along with a base radio audience of about 1.8 million.

As This American Life prepares to put out its 500^th episode, Glass sat down with Slate?s Jacob Weisberg to talk about evolution of the program and how he approaches its most critical ingredient, the interview.

In the days ahead, look out for more of our interview with Glass, including some of his favorite highlights from This Amerian Life and how podcasting has helped reinvigorate the program.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/video/conversations_with_slate/2013/06/ira_glass_interview_to_mark_this_american_s_life_500th_episode_host_sits.html

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A Fifteen-Year-Old Has Invented an Incredible New Kind of Flashlight

Are you ready to play everybody's not-so-favorite guilt game: what was I doing at that age? Ann Makosinski, a tenth grader from Victoria, British Columbia, has created a simple LED flashlight powered by body heat. So instead of having to recharge it or swap in a fresh pair of AAs every so often, you literally just need to hold it in your hand for it to start glowing.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ybGPxDzuICQ/a-fifteen-year-old-has-invented-an-incredible-new-kind-609647364

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Israeli leader signals readiness to compromise

JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel's prime minister, known for his rigid negotiating positions, has been sending signals that he is ready for significant compromises in a peace deal with the Palestinians ? and that he accepts the narrative increasingly favored by his opponents that says ending the West Bank occupation is essential for Israel itself.

While some of Benjamin Netanyahu's political allies say he is serious, the Palestinians remain skeptical. This week's visit by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry could show which way things can go.

In recent speeches, Netanyahu has stressed the importance of reaching a peace deal, saying it is essential to ensuring Israel's long-term survival.

On Thursday, he made reference to Israel's nightmare scenario in which the peace process breaks down, Palestinians drop their pursuit of an independent state and instead demand equal rights in a single, binational state compromising today's Israel plus the West Bank and Gaza. Most experts believe that given the high Palestinian birthrate, such an Israel could not long survive as a country that is both democratic and somehow Jewish in character.

"It's correct. We do not want a binational state," Netanyahu said at a memorial ceremony for the Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl.

On the front page of the Haaretz daily, an anonymous Cabinet minister in Netanyahu's Likud Party was quoted as saying Thursday that Netanyahu is prepared to withdraw from most of the West Bank and evacuate numerous Jewish settlement as part of a peace deal. The story became the focus of much discussion in Israel, widely taken as a trial balloon and an attempt to signal seriousness by the government.

Another Cabinet minister, Yaakov Peri, told the Army Radio station that Netanyahu "knows he will have to carry out a painful evacuation of a number of settlements" as part of any deal.

Netanyahu recently told the Washington Post that if Kerry were to pitch a tent to hold peace talks with the Palestinians, he would "stay in the tent and negotiate for as long as it takes to work out a solution of peace and security."

Such pronouncements were once unthinkable for Netanyahu, who for years was the leader of Israel's nationalist camp and an opponent of Palestinian independence.

That began to change after Netanyahu was elected four years ago and for the first time endorsed the idea of a Palestinian state.

Even so, peace efforts failed to get off the ground, in large part due to Palestinian suspicions toward Netanyahu.

The Palestinians have called on Netanyahu to freeze all Jewish settlement in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war that the Palestinians claim for their future state along with the Gaza Strip, which Israel also occupied but pulled out of in 2005. More than 500,000 Israelis now live in such Jewish settlements, making it increasingly difficult to divide the land into two states.

The Palestinians also say Netanyahu should accept Israel's pre-1967 boundaries as the basis for a final border, with slight modifications worked out in negotiations. Previous Israeli leaders accepted the 1967 borders as a basis for talks.

Netanyahu has refused the Palestinian demands, saying talks should begin without any preconditions.

On Thursday, Israel's outgoing central bank chief, Stanley Fischer, lamented that Israel could have "done more efforts to reach an agreement" with the Palestinians. It was a rare political pronouncement by the internationally respected economist.

Given Netanyahu's refusal to spell out his vision for a final peace deal in any detail, and his past hardline policies and views , the Palestinians remain deeply suspicious.

They note the hundreds of housing starts on occupied land already this year, with thousands more in the pipeline ? including 69 homes that received final permission for construction in an area of east Jerusalem this week.

"Israel has a selected repertoire awaiting U.S. officials ... which includes settlements, settlements and more settlements," the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said Thursday. "The international community should understand that in order to create the right environment for negotiations it should not grant impunity to Israel over its repeated crimes and violations."

Following the re-elections of both Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, the U.S. has launched a new mission aimed at reviving peace talks.

Kerry has been shuttling between the sides in search of an acceptable formula. His arrival in Israel late Thursday marked his fifth visit to the region since taking office early this year.

The Americans have been putting pressure on both sides without tangible signs of progress so far. Kerry's proposal is expected to call for compromises by both, including a partial halt to settlement construction, economic aid to the beleaguered Palestinian economy and guarantees that Israel will negotiate border issues in a timely manner.

U.S. officials traveling with Kerry said he will be using long-time relationships with officials from both sides to coax them into talks, and at the same time will remind them of what could happen if no accord is reached.

Earlier this month, in a speech to the American Jewish Committee Global Forum in Washington, Kerry said that the best way to truly ensure Israel's security is by ending the conflict and reaching a negotiated resolution that results in two states.

" The Palestinian Authority has committed itself to a policy of nonviolence," he said. "But if that experiment is allowed to fail, ask yourselves: What will replace it?" The failure of the moderate Palestinian leadership could very well invite the rise of the very thing that we want to avoid: the same extremism in the West Bank that we have seen in Gaza or from southern Lebanon."

It is far from clear whether Kerry will succeed, and Netanyahu's grand vision, if he has one, remains a secret.

Dore Gold, a former Netanyahu adviser who remains a confidant of the prime minister, said the Israeli leader "is determined to make the peace process work" and show "considerable Israeli flexibility."

"At the same time, he's cognizant of the fact that Israel is in a much more dangerous neighborhood," he said, referring to the civil war in neighboring Syria and the takeover of Gaza by Hamas militants. That requires far-reaching security guarantees, Gold said.

Yossi Beilin, a dovish former Israeli politician who helped negotiate interim peace accords with the Palestinians, said there is a complicated "dichotomy" with Netanyahu. Beilin said he has held discussions with Netanyahu and believes he truly is serious about pursuing peace. But he also remains a fervent nationalist and security hawk who will not make the concessions demanded by the Palestinians.

"He is not somebody with whom you cannot talk. But ... not really ready to pay the price of a permanent agreement," Beilin said.

Beilin said the Palestinians should consider pursuing an "interim" deal, granting them independence in 50 to 70 percent of the West Bank while leaving the most difficult issues, such as final borders and the status of Jerusalem, for later. As long as Hamas, which opposes a peace deal with Israel, controls Gaza, a partial deal is the best anyone can hope for anyway, he said.

"There is an opportunity with him," Beilin said, referring to Netanyahu.

___

Associated Press correspondent Deb Riechmann contributed to this report from Amman, Jordan.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israeli-leader-signals-readiness-compromise-191022140.html

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Microsoft demos Lego Mindstorm EV3 platform using Surface-controlled robot

Robot toys aren't what you'd normally expect from Microsoft's developer-focused Build conference, but that's just what the company served up today. In a chat about developer tools, Microsoft's VP of Web Services Antoine Leblond demoed a version of Lego Education's unreleased Mindstorm EV3 platform using, what else, a brick-built robot and a Surface tablet. Citing the Win RT APIs that let users interact with device-specific protocols (i.e., USB, Bluetooth, etc.) Leblond was able to stream live video of his face, using a separate Windows tablet, to the tank-like, franken-toy. All whimsy aside, this MS / Lego collaboration's less about giving kids a neat, remote spying tool and more about making programming fun and approachable. You know, STEM stuff. And we're all for it.

Filed under: Robots, Software, Microsoft

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/o9jUKd62AA0/

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People prefer 'carrots' to 'sticks' when it comes to healthcare incentives

June 26, 2013 ? To keep costs low, companies often incentivize healthy lifestyles. Now, new research suggests that how these incentives are framed -- as benefits for healthy-weight people or penalties for overweight people -- makes a big difference.

The research, published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, shows that policies that carry higher premiums for overweight individuals are perceived as punishing and stigmatizing.

Researcher David Tannenbaum of the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles wanted to investigate how framing healthcare incentives might influence people's attitudes toward the incentives.

"Two frames that are logically equivalent can communicate qualitatively different messages," Tannenbaum explains.

In the first study, 126 participants read about a fictional company grappling with managing their employee health-care policy. They were told that the company was facing rising healthcare costs, due in part to an increasing percentage of overweight employees, and were shown one of four final policy decisions.

The "carrot" plan gave a $500 premium reduction to healthy-weight people, while the "stick" plan increased premiums for overweight people by $500. The two plans were functionally equivalent, structured such that healthy-weight employees always paid $2000 per year in healthcare costs, and overweight employees always paid $2500 per year in healthcare costs.

There were also two additional "stick" plans that resulted in a $2400 premium for overweight people.

Participants were more likely to see the "stick" plans as punishment for being overweight and were less likely to endorse them.

But they didn't appear to differentiate between the three "stick" plans despite the $100 premium difference. Instead, they seemed to evaluate the plans on moral grounds, deciding that punishing someone for being overweight was wrong regardless of the potential savings to be had.

The data showed that framing incentives in terms of penalties may have particular psychological consequences for affected individuals: People with higher body mass index (BMI) scores reported that they would feel particularly stigmatized and dissatisfied with their employer under the three "stick" plans.

Another study placed participants in the decision maker's seat to see if "stick" and "carrot" plans actually reflected different underlying attitudes. Participants who showed high levels of bias against overweight people were more likely to choose the "stick" plan, but provided different justification depending on whether their bias was explicit or implicit:

"Participants who explicitly disliked overweight people were forthcoming about their decision, admitting that they chose a 'stick' policy on the basis of personal attitudes," noted Tannenbaum. "Participants who implicitly disliked overweight people, in contrast, justified their decisions based on the most economical course of action."

Ironically, if they were truly focused on economic concerns they should have opted for the "carrot" plan, since it would save the company $100 per employee. Instead, these participants tended to choose the strategy that effectively punished overweight people, even in instances when the "stick" policy implied a financial cost to the company.

Tannenbaum concludes that these framing effects may have important consequences across many different real-world domains:

"In a broad sense, our research affects policymakers at large," says Tannenbaum. "Logically equivalent policies in various domains -- such as setting a default option for organ donation or retirement savings -- can communicate very different messages, and understanding the nature of these messages could help policymakers craft more effective policy."

Co-authors on this research include Chad Valasek of the University of California, San Diego; Eric Knowles of New York University; and Peter Ditto of the University of California, Irvine.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/NltV_68swwU/130626143118.htm

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Sony Xperia Z Ultra: hands-on with a 6.4-inch Android phone (update: video)

Sony's been explaining the design story behind its new Xperia range at a UK briefing, how it's trying to balance both the dematerialization of tech (touchscreens, gesture interfaces) and a design that's both desirable and beautiful -- and Sony's certainly got the latter down on its new smartphone. The Xperia Z Ultra follows the lines of the rest of the Z series. It has the same "OmniBalance" plane, uniform screen surface, but this time it measures in at 6.4 inches across, but still running at 1080p resolution. Yep, it does feel substantially bigger than the original Xperia Z -- check out our comparison gallery, the new Ultra model dwarfs it. You're looking at a screen width almost identical to a passport and that 6.5mm profile helped fit it into pockets. We managed to cram it into our trouser pockets without an issue. It's certainly a bigger device than the likes of LG's Optimus G Pro or Samsung's Galaxy Note II and you're going to have to test it out for yourself to see if you'd be willing to talk into this Xperia like phone -- it's going to catch the eye.

There's also Qualcomm's notable Snapdragon 800 powering the device on a relatively large 3,000mAh battery, while Sony's simplified the design dropping a few of those much-maligned protective flaps, at least on the headphone socket. There are more impressions and a hands-on video after the break!

Gallery: Sony Xperia Z Ultra hands-on

Gallery: Sony Xperia Z Ultra vs. Xperia Z... fight!

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/25/sony-xperia-z-ultra-hands-on/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Sorry Uber, Los Angeles Has Been Banning Ride-Shares For a Century

This week the city of Los Angeles sent a cease-and-desist letter to ride-sharing app companies Uber, Lyft and Sidecar. The city and Los Angeles Yellow Cab claim that these services are "rogue taxis" that are "bypassing all safety regulations created to protect riders and drivers." But this isn't the first time that this town has gone after the unregulated four-wheeled menace. This crackdown on unlicensed taxis in the City of Angels is nearly identical to a battle that raged a century ago ? without all the iPhones and whatnot, of course.

In 1914, an idea emerged in Los Angeles that would rapidly sweep the city in just a few short months: the jitney. Jitney was slang for "nickel" and for that low, low price (about $1.10 adjusted for inflation) you could catch a ride with a friendly Angeleno driver who would take you wherever you needed to go.

The very first known jitney driver took to the L.A. streets in the summer of 1914, and by 1915 there were about 700 jitney cars carrying 150,000 people per day around the city. But this disruption of the transportation industry didn't just stay contained to Los Angeles. The idea quickly swept the country, with jitney cars and buses popping up all around major cities in the U.S.

Needless to say, the established transportation companies (mainly in the form of railcars and trolleys) were not too happy about these wheel-bound disruptors. It took a few years, but thanks to a crackdown by the mayor, the jitney cars were pretty much non-existent in L.A. by 1918. Nationally, the jitney's numbers had been cut back by 90% that same year.

It's still too soon to tell if ride-sharing apps like Uber, Lyft and Sidecar will meet the same fate as the jitney. But as we learn time and again, there's nothing new in Hollywood.

You can read my entire story on the rise and fall of the jitney at Pacific Standard.

Update: In an email from Uber, they point out that they signed an operating agreement with the California Public Utilities Commission explicitly stating that Uber services can operate statewide. On whether they'll comply with the cease-and-desist from the city of Los Angeles: "...the PUC has authorized us to operate statewide and we will continue to."

Image: Jitney vehicle circa 1910-15, Library of Congress

Source: http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/sorry-uber-los-angeles-has-been-banning-ride-shares-fo-574851806

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'Spider-Man' Villain Catchphrase? Jamie Foxx Reveals Terrifying Lullaby

'White House Down' actor talks to MTV News about improvising a phrase to make his character extra sinister.
By Brett White, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1709542/amazing-spider-man-2-jamie-foxx-electro-catchphrase.jhtml

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New theory: Emotions arise through the integration of perceptual and cognitive information

June 25, 2013 ? A life without feelings -- unimaginable. Although emotions are so important, philosophers are still discussing what they actually are. Prof. Dr. Albert Newen and Dr. Luca Barlassina of the Institute of Philosophy II at the Ruhr-Universit?t Bochum have drawn up a new theory. According to this, emotions are not just special cases of perception or thought but a separate kind of mental state which arises through the integration of feelings of bodily processes and cognitive contents.

They describe the model in the journal Philosophy and Phenomenological Research.

Earlier theories of emotion

Around the turn of the 20th Century, the psychologists William James and Karl Lange proposed that emotions are nothing other than perceptions of bodily states. According to the James-Lange theory, we do not tremble because we are scared, but rather we are scared because we tremble. "This theory does not, however, consider the cognitive content of many emotions," says Albert Newen. If a student is anxious about an exam, then he is experiencing this anxiety because he thinks, for example, that the exam is important and that he will have a blackout. The so-called "cognitive theory of emotions" therefore says that emotions are essentially an assessment of the situation based on reason: this dog is dangerous because he is baring his teeth. "This theory is also unsatisfactory," says Newen, "because it forgets the feelings as a central component of the emotion." A person can realistically judge that a dog is dangerous and at the same time have no fear because he is an expert in handling dangerous dogs. So the cognitive assessment does not necessarily determine the emotion.

Integrative embodiment theory of emotions

Bochum's philosophers call their new model the "integrative embodiment theory of emotions." The emotional level is -- as postulated by William James -- the central starting point. An emotion only comes into existence, however, when the perception of bodily states is integrated with other aspects. The brain has to combine at least two components here: the perception of our own bodily states in a given situation, for example trembling, and the intentional object, such as the dog, which triggers the fear. Moreover, in "cognitive" emotions, typical thought content can also play a role, for example, with regard to a bull terrier: "bull terriers are particularly strong and dangerous." The result is a separate kind of mental state, namely an emotion that we conceive as a complex pattern of distinctive characteristics.

Emotions for things that do not even exist

According to Newen and Barlassina, the new theory is also superior to Jesse Prinz's most sophisticated theory of emotions so far, because this does not take into account that an emotion can also be directed at an object that is not present or does not even exist. A case study: Karl goes with his girlfriend Antje to a new bar. Because Karl has already been served by the barkeeper Fritz, Antje waits alone at the bar. Karl hears that she is insulted, but does not see by whom. He assumes it is Fritz. In the meantime, however, Fritz has left the room and John, an employee, is at the bar. He passes the insult and then leaves immediately. When Karl comes to the bar to vent his anger at the insult, Fritz is back. Karl is angry with Fritz although the cause of his bodily states associated with the feeling of anger was the utterance by John. The cause, John, and the object of the anger, namely Fritz, do not coincide. The object of anger is also known as the intentional object of anger, because it does not have to exist. People can even experience emotions about things that aren't real, for example, fear of vampires. While all feeling theories of emotion overlook the intentional object as an essential part of the emotion, the cognitive theories do tend to forget the feeling dimension of the emotion. Only the integrative embodiment theory takes all these components into account as constitutive of the emotion.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/8d45QfySl4k/130625073819.htm

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Grab yourselves a copy of the Grays Sports Almanac for your iPad!

OK, so it's not the Grays Sports Almanac, instead we're looking at a limited edition iPad case available from UK retailer Firebox. But, the book is one of the most iconic props, from one of the most iconic movie trilogies of all time. And now, you can dress your iPad in that iconic sleeve.

It's basically a padded book style iPad case with a frame inside for support, and will cost you ?19.99. It is exclusive to Firebox, at least for the time being, and supposedly a limited edition. It also doesn't list which iPad it fits, but it's probably safe to assume since it's a new item the iPad 2 and above should be catered for. It looks awesome, and I've already ordered mine being a huge Back to the Future nerd. Who's with me?

Source: Firebox via Pocket-Lint

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/QCvxQmeej9Y/story01.htm

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Should I buy a real stucco home in Dallas? - Zillow Real Estate Advice

Hi, I am interested in a real stucco home in Dallas (price ~650k, bulit in 2000 by Toll Brothers). I like the house very much, but I am concerned about the potential problems associated with stucco (including mold, termite, water damage, repaint cost and resell issues). Should I go with the house after the Stucco inspection (if the inspection results are fine)? Thanks!

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Source: http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/Should-I-buy-a-real-stucco-home-in-Dallas/498692/

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Two mutations triggered an evolutionary leap 500 million years ago

June 24, 2013 ? Evolution, it seems, sometimes jumps instead of crawls. A research team led by a University of Chicago scientist has discovered two key mutations that sparked a hormonal revolution 500 million years ago.

In a feat of "molecular time travel," the researchers resurrected and analyzed the functions of the ancestors of genes that play key roles in modern human reproduction, development, immunity and cancer. By re-creating the same DNA changes that occurred during those genes' ancient history, the team showed that two mutations set the stage for hormones like estrogen, testosterone and cortisol to take on their crucial present-day roles.

"Changes in just two letters of the genetic code in our deep evolutionary past caused a massive shift in the function of one protein and set in motion the evolution of our present-day hormonal and reproductive systems," said Joe Thornton, PhD, professor of human genetics and ecology & evolution at the University of Chicago, who led the study.

"If those two mutations had not happened, our bodies today would have to use different mechanisms to regulate pregnancy, libido, the response to stress, kidney function, inflammation, and the development of male and female characteristics at puberty," Thornton said.

The findings were published online June 24 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Understanding how the genetic code of a protein determines its functions would allow biochemists to better design drugs and predict the effects of mutations on disease. Thornton said the discovery shows how evolutionary analysis of proteins' histories can advance this goal, Before the group's work, it was not previously known how the various steroid receptors in modern species distinguish estrogens from other hormones.

The team, which included researchers from the University of Oregon, Emory University and the Scripps Research Institute, studied the evolution of a family of proteins called steroid hormone receptors, which mediate the effects of hormones on reproduction, development and physiology. Without receptor proteins, these hormones cannot affect the body's cells.

Thornton's group traced how the ancestor of the entire receptor family -- which recognized only estrogens -- evolved into descendant proteins capable of recognizing other steroid hormones, such as testosterone, progesterone and the stress hormone cortisol.

To do so, the group used a gene "resurrection" strategy. They first inferred the genetic sequences of ancient receptor proteins, using computational methods to work their way back up the tree of life from a database of hundreds of present-day receptor sequences. They then biochemically synthesized these ancient DNA sequences and used molecular assays to determine the receptors' sensitivity to various hormones.

Thornton's team narrowed down the time range during which the capacity to recognize non-estrogen steroids evolved, to a period about 500 million years ago, before the dawn of vertebrate animals on Earth. They then identified the most important mutations that occurred during that interval by introducing them into the reconstructed ancestral proteins. By measuring how the mutations affected the receptor's structure and function, the team could re-create ancient molecular evolution in the laboratory.

They found that just two changes in the ancient receptor's gene sequence caused a 70,000-fold shift in preference away from estrogens toward other steroid hormones. The researchers also used biophysical techniques to identify the precise atomic-level mechanisms by which the mutations affected the protein's functions. Although only a few atoms in the protein were changed, this radically rewired the network of interactions between the receptor and the hormone, leading to a massive change in function.

"Our findings show that new molecular functions can evolve by sudden large leaps due to a few tiny changes in the genetic code," Thornton said. He pointed out that, along with the two key changes in the receptor, additional mutations, the precise effects of which are not yet known, were necessary for the full effects of hormone signaling on the body to evolve.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/eBlUGA6HrNo/130624152617.htm

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Carrey kicks his 'Kick-Ass 2' for being too violent

Movies

Randee Dawn NBC News contributor

2 hours ago

Universal

Jim Carrey in "Kick-Ass 2."

"Kick-Ass 2" won't be in theaters until August, but it already has a major detractor slamming the film on Twitter: Jim Carrey, one of its stars.

Carrey took to Twitter on Sunday to denounce the film, a satirical look at the superhero genre that's a follow up to 2010's "Kick-Ass," saying that he could no longer support the film in the wake of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. last December.

The 51-year old actor, who plays Col. Stars and Stripes and pairs up with the titular superhero, later added:

The film began shooting in July 2012 and wrapped production around Thanksgiving of last year.

The creator of the comic book series "Kick-Ass" is based on, Mark Millar, shot back at the Twitter comments on his website's comments forum.

After praising Carrey's talents and his performance in the film, Millar says he was "baffled by this sudden announcement" and Carrey's timing of his thoughts. "Nothing seen in this picture wasn't in the screenplay eighteen months ago," he added.

"Like Jim, I'm horrified by real-life violence," wrote Millar, "but 'Kick-Ass 2' isn't a documentary. ... ('K)ick-Ass' avoids the usual bloodless body-count of most big summer pictures and focuses instead on the CONSEQUENCES of violence. ... Ironically, Jim's character in 'Kick-Ass 2' is a Born-Again Christian and the big deal we made of the fact that he refuses to fire a gun is something he told us attracted him to the role in the first place."

Millar also said that "our audience is smart enough to know they're all pretending and we should instead just sit back and enjoy the serotonin release of seeing bad guys meet bad ends as much as we enjoyed seeing the Death Star (in "Star Wars") exploding."

Carrey has been a proponent of gun control for some time, and recently made headlines by mocking gun enthusiasts in a short video reminiscent of "Hee Haw." He also wrote an op-ed for the Huffington Post in April, looking for some form of moderation.

"(Gun control) thugs, though menacing, are a minority but they will have their way if good people don't step forward now and make a difference," he said. "Every American has the right to speak their mind. Every American has the right to bear arms. But it is up to every American to draw the line when it comes to the type of guns that are considered a reasonable means of self-defense."

(Warning: Video has some vulgar language.)

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/entertainment/jim-carrey-slams-his-kick-ass-2-film-being-too-6C10424009

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This Walking Lego Steampunk Ship is Terrifying!

As far as post-apocalyptic, steampunk-themed trading ships go, this MOC build is pretty impressive. Jason Allemann's landship, Amagosa, is based on the "Strandbeest," a badass kinetic sculpture created by Theo Jansen. It's mesmerizing to watch this Lego machine in action, but the tarantula-esque movements of the walker sorta freak me out (in the sense that I'm reminded of the giant mechanical spider from that terrible film, Wild Wild West).

This remote-controlled build is powered by the Lego Power Functions system (including an IR receiver, battery box and two M-size motors), and Lego Technic elements for the frame, legs and crankship. Instructions for how to build the walking frame are available here. Pro-Tip: If you build one, wait 'til your girlfriend's asleep, then freak her out by having it crawl around the bed. [Flickr]

You're reading Leg Godt, the blog with the latest Lego news and the most awesome models on the web. Follow us on Twitter.

Source: http://lego.gizmodo.com/this-walking-lego-steampunk-ship-is-terrifying-543090728

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Edward Snowden In A 'Safe Place' As U.S. Prepares To Seek Extradition

By Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - Edward Snowden was in a "safe place" in Hong Kong, a newspaper reported on Saturday, as the United States prepared to seek the extradition of the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor after filing espionage charges against him.
The South China Morning Post said Snowden, who has exposed secret U.S. surveillance programs including new details published on Saturday about alleged hacking of Chinese phone companies, was not in police protection in Hong Kong, as had been reported elsewhere.
"Contrary to some reports, the former CIA analyst has not been detained, is not under police protection but is in a 'safe place' in Hong Kong," the newspaper said.
Hong Kong Police Commissioner Andy Tsang declined to comment other than to say Hong Kong would deal with the case in accordance with the law.
Two U.S. sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was preparing to seek Snowden's extradition from Hong Kong, which is part of China but has wide-ranging autonomy, including an independent judiciary.
The United States charged Snowden with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence to an unauthorized person, according to the criminal complaint made public on Friday.
The latter two offenses fall under the U.S. Espionage Act and carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison.
America's use of the Espionage Act against Snowden has fueled debate among legal experts about whether that could complicate his extradition, since Hong Kong courts may choose to shield him.
Snowden says he leaked the details of the classified U.S. surveillance to expose abusive programs that trampled on citizens' rights.
Documents leaked by Snowden revealed that the NSA has access to vast amounts of internet data such as emails, chat rooms and video from large companies such as Facebook and Google, under a government program known as Prism.
They also showed that the government had worked through the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to gather so-called metadata - such as the time, duration and telephone numbers called - on all calls carried by service providers such as Verizon.
On Friday, the Guardian newspaper, citing documents shared by Snowden, said Britain's spy agency GCHQ had tapped fiber-optic cables that carry international phone and internet traffic and is sharing vast quantities of personal information with the NSA.

STEALING DATA
The South China Morning Post said on Saturday that Snowden offered new details on U.S. surveillance activities in China.
The paper said documents and statements by Snowden show the NSA program had hacked major Chinese telecoms companies to access text messages and targeted China's top Tsinghua University.
The NSA program also hacked the Hong Kong headquarters of Pacnet, which has an extensive fiber-optic network, it said.
"The NSA does all kinds of things like hack Chinese cellphone companies to steal all of your SMS data," Snowden was quoted by the Post as saying during a June 12 interview.
President Barack Obama and his intelligence chiefs have vigorously defended the programs, saying they are regulated by law and that Congress was notified. They say the programs have been used to thwart militant plots and do not target Americans' personal lives.
Since making his revelations about massive U.S. surveillance programs, Edward Snowden, 30, has sought legal representation from human rights lawyers as he prepares to fight U.S. attempts to force him home for trial, sources in Hong Kong say.
The United States and Hong Kong signed an extradition treaty in 1998, under which scores of Americans have been sent back home to face trial.
The United States and Hong Kong have "excellent cooperation" and as a result of agreements, "there is an active extradition relationship between Hong Kong and the United States," a U.S. law enforcement official told Reuters.
However, the process can take years, lawyers say, and Snowden's case could be particularly complex.
An Icelandic businessman linked to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said on Thursday he had readied a private plane in China to fly Snowden to Iceland if Iceland's government would grant asylum.
Iceland refused on Friday to say whether it would grant asylum to Snowden. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by James Pomfret, Venus Wu and Grace Li in HONG KONG, Tabassum Zakaria and Mark Hosenball in WASHINGTON; Editing by Eric Beech)

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/22/edward-snowden-safe_n_3483716.html

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Congo delays end to Rwandan refugee status

GOMA, Congo (AP) ? Congo's government said it will not immediately apply a cessation clause ending refugee status for more than 120,000 Rwandans who fled to Congo after the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and are still there.

Rwanda has accepted Congo's arguments in favor of a phased approach to the refugees' repatriation, Congolese interior minister Richard Muyej said Saturday. Rwanda had in 2011 asked Congo to apply a cessation clause on June 30, 2013.

"We thought we should do this in stages to give a chance to all the refugees to go home" Muyej said after a meeting between officials from each country in Rwanda's capital, Kigali. "Happily we had a convivial meeting and have now agreed on this approach."

The Rwandan government has repeatedly said that since peace has now returned to the country its citizens no longer need to live in exile.

Refugee issues have soured relations between the two countries for nearly two decades.

Rwanda has often accused Congo, and the international community, of protecting Rwandan refugees who took part in the genocide and allowing them to rearm on Congolese soil. Rebels in Congo have also claimed they are fighting for their compatriots' right to return from exile in Rwanda.

Muyej said it was important to agree on refugee issues so these would no longer be excuses for conflict.

Julien Paluku, governor of North Kivu province where most of the Rwandan refugees have settled told the Associated Press that the two countries have agreed on the next steps to resolve the issues.

Rwandan refugees will first be identified, registered and asked if they want to return. A follow up meeting will be held in October after which a repatriation plan will be drawn up and the parties will consider whether to apply a cessation clause.

Rwanda's minister for refugees Seraphine Munkatabana said her government understands there are preliminary steps to be taken by October to allow the cessation clause to be activated, according to U.N. Radio Okapi in Congo.

Refugees who do not want to return will have a choice between applying for a residence permit, or for Congolese nationality, which may be granted on a case-by-case basis but not collectively, Paluku added.

Congolese refugees in Rwanda are also welcome to come back, Paluku said. "The areas they will return to (mainly in North Kivu) are now largely secure," he said.

When asked if the refugees would be able to return to their homesteads and farm their land, he said:

"People cannot come back and claim what they did not have before, but the government must ensure they get back what is rightfully theirs."

Land disputes are among the reasons why there are more than two million internally displaced people within Congo as well as an estimated 72,000 Congolese refugees in Rwanda.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/congo-delays-end-rwandan-refugee-status-105208009.html

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NSA leaker charged with espionage, theft

This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, in Hong Kong, Sunday, June 9, 2013. The man who told the world about the U.S. government?s gigantic data grab also talked a lot about himself. Mostly through his own words, a picture of Edward Snowden is emerging: fresh-faced computer whiz, high school and Army dropout, independent thinker, trustee of official secrets. And leaker on the lam. (AP Photo/The Guardian) MANDATORY CREDIT

This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, in Hong Kong, Sunday, June 9, 2013. The man who told the world about the U.S. government?s gigantic data grab also talked a lot about himself. Mostly through his own words, a picture of Edward Snowden is emerging: fresh-faced computer whiz, high school and Army dropout, independent thinker, trustee of official secrets. And leaker on the lam. (AP Photo/The Guardian) MANDATORY CREDIT

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Justice Department has charged former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden with espionage and theft of government property in the NSA surveillance case.

Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs.

A one-page criminal complaint unsealed Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., says Snowden engaged in unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information. Both are charges under the Espionage Act. Snowden also is charged with theft of government property. All three crimes carry a maximum 10-year prison penalty.

The federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia where the complaint was filed is headquarters for Snowden's former employer, government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.

The complaint is dated June 14, five days after Snowden's name first surfaced as the leaker of information about the two programs in which the NSA gathered telephone and Internet records to ferret out terror plots.

The complaint could become an integral part of a U.S. government effort to have Snowden extradited from Hong Kong, a process that could turn into a prolonged legal battle. Snowden could contest extradition on grounds of political persecution. In general, the extradition agreement between the U.S. and Hong Kong excepts political offenses from the obligation to turn over a person.

It was unclear late Friday whether the U.S. had made an extradition request. On Saturday, Hong Kong legislators said the Chinese government should make the final decision on whether Snowden should be extradited to the United States.

Outspoken legislator Leung Kwok-hung said Beijing should instruct Hong Kong to protect Snowden from extradition before his case gets dragged through the court system. Leung also urged the people of Hong Kong to "take to the streets to protect Snowden." The charges against Snowden were first reported by The Washington Post.

The Espionage Act arguably is a political offense. The Obama administration has now used the act in seven criminal cases in an unprecedented effort to stem leaks. In one of them, Army Pfc. Bradley Manning acknowledged he sent more than 700,000 battlefield reports, diplomatic cables and other materials to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. His military trial is on-going.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, welcomed the charges against Snowden. "I've always thought this was a treasonous act," he said in a statement. "I hope Hong Kong's government will take him into custody and extradite him to the U.S."

But the Government Accountability Project, a whistle-blower advocacy organization, said Snowden should be shielded from prosecution by whistle-blower protection laws. "He disclosed information about a secret program that he reasonably believed to be illegal, and his actions alone brought about the long-overdue national debate about the proper balance between privacy and civil liberties, on the one hand, and national security on the other," the group said in a statement.

Michael di Pretoro, a retired 30-year veteran with the FBI who served from 1990 to 1994 as the legal liaison officer at the American consulate in Hong Kong, said "relations between U.S. and Hong Kong law enforcement personnel are historically quite good."

"In my time, I felt the degree of cooperation was outstanding to the extent that I almost felt I was in an FBI field office," said di Pretoro.

The U.S. and Hong Kong have a standing agreement on the surrender of fugitives. However, Snowden's appeal rights could drag out any extradition proceeding.

The success or failure of any extradition proceeding depends on what the suspect is charged with under U.S. law and how it corresponds to Hong Kong law under the treaty. In order for Hong Kong officials to honor the extradition request, they have to have some applicable statute under their law that corresponds with a violation of U.S. law.

In Iceland, a business executive said Friday that a private plane was on standby to transport Snowden from Hong Kong to Iceland, although Iceland's government says it has not received an asylum request from Snowden.

Business executive Olafur Vignir Sigurvinsson said he has been in contact with someone representing Snowden and has not spoken to the American himself. Private donations are being collected to pay for the flight, he said.

"There are a number of people that are interested in freedom of speech and recognize the importance of knowing who is spying on us," Sigurvinsson said. "We are people that care about privacy."

Disclosure of the criminal complaint came as President Barack Obama held his first meeting with a privacy and civil liberties board as his intelligence chief sought ways to help Americans understand more about sweeping government surveillance efforts exposed by Snowden.

The five members of the little-known Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board met with Obama for an hour in the White House Situation Room, questioning the president on the two NSA programs that have stoked controversy.

One program collects billions of U.S. phone records. The second gathers audio, video, email, photographic and Internet search usage of foreign nationals overseas, and probably some Americans in the process, who use major providers such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Yahoo.

___

Associated Press writer Jenna Gottlieb in Reykjavik, Iceland, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-06-22-NSA%20Surveillance/id-05fc58eced5a44dcb635e8cd50e39862

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