The Arizona Cardinals are no longer among the ranks of the undefeated.
Arizona?s offense couldn?t do much of anything on Thursday night in St. Louis, stalling repeatedly on the ground and through the air as the Rams won 17-3. Their first loss of the season drops the Cardinals to 4-1, while the Rams improve to 3-2, already topping their win total from their 2-14 season in 2011 and having their first winning record at any point during any season since Week Eight of 2006.
The Rams? pass rush was ferocious, pressuring Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb all night, sacking him nine times and keeping him from ever getting comfortable in the pocket. Although Kolb?s numbers ? 28-of-50 for 289 yards, with no interceptions ? don?t look terrible, he couldn?t do much of anything except dump off short passes.
On offense, the Rams struggled mightily after their best receiver, Danny Amendola, went down with a broken collarbone. But with their defense dominating the Rams didn?t need much, and when Rams quarterback Sam Bradford hit Chris Givens for a 51-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, it pretty much sealed the game. Bradford completed just seven of his 21 passes, but three of those completions were a 44-yard bomb to Amendola, a seven-yard touchdown to Lance Kendricks and that 51-yard touchdown to Givens. That turned out to be all the Rams needed from their quarterback.
After surprising everyone by starting 4-0, the Cardinals looked more like the team everyone expected them to be on Thursday night. The Cardinals may still turn out to be a good team, but they?re not going to win many games putting three points on the board.
The hacker group Anonymous posted a YouTube video vowing that Friday, October 5, will be "the biggest thing we have ever done." The video does not get into specifics, but the threat comes amid several DDoS attacks against various Swedish agencies, including the National Board of Health and Welfare, which went down Tuesday, and the Swedish Riksbank, which was down on Wednesday.
A Simple, Elegant Solution That Allows Movies to Be played Instantly Anywhere, Any Time, On Any Device
Company Inks First Content Deal with FilmChest Media Group
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Chico, CA, September 27?Since the advent of the CD and DVD, the entertainment industry?s next content major delivery platform has been ?right around the corner.???In the last few years, however, USB-based storage media has become so compact, it was only a matter of time before someone came along to marry the ubiquitous USB platform with pre-loaded, solid state entertainment content users can enjoy on?any?device. Now, a technology company led by lifelong serial entrepreneur John Strisower has launched?FlixChip Corp.,?a company that promises to deliver entertainment content smaller, simpler and faster with its new family of devices:?muvichip?, muvifi??and?gamerschip?.?muvichip?isn?t just any USB device, however; it is packaged as a credit card-sized unit with high quality graphics and a magnetically attached solid-state media that entices the consumer.
FlixChip has partnered with FilmChest Media Group?the same group that first provided movie content to Vudu back in 2007 (that company was purchased by Wal-mart, Inc. in 2010).???FilmChest hasone of the largest libraries of film classics and TV series in the world. These titles will be among the first available on FlixChip?s?muvichip, where through its USB-compatible format a movie can be played on any device without the Internet. For devices without a USB port, (such as many smartphones and tablets), FlixChip has developed a companion device, the?muvifi,?that wirelessly transmits the movieto any Wi-Fi-enabled device. As many as five devices can stream a movie from?muvifi?at the same time.
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The industry and the public are ready and eager for FlixChip?s products.??While a lot of music content is migrating to the cloud, ?metered? wireless (and soon, wired) data plans and still-jittery, intermittent?wireless streaming of bandwidth-hungry content means the public promises to embrace a solid-state solution that provides instant access and a familiar interface, yet requires no optical drive, which has already begun disappearing from computers.
FlixChip?s first product offering, the?muvichip, is a small, durable, streamlined, solid-state device with pre-loaded film content that works on anything with a screen and a USB port. Pull it from its case, insert in the port and voila: movies on the go, in the car, wherever you are, even without an Internet connection. There?s no need to preplan a download, sync movies to portable devices, or learn to rip DVD?s. Now movie fans and gamers can take their entire collection along?even without Internet access.?muvifi?is cross compatible with iOS, Windows, OS X, and Android, and FlixChip plans support for other platforms beginning in early 2013. Manufacturing has already begun;?muvichip?and?muvifi?are expected to be available on the FlixChip website and Amazon with FilmChest and any other content confirmed by then within the next 45 to 60 days?just in time for?the holidays.
??The time is definitely now for the launch of filmed entertainment on the USB platform,? explains CEO and founder John Strisower, whose?half-dozen plus start-ups paired state-of-the-art technology?typically semiconductors, computer hardware and software?with electronic, electromechanical and laser-based technologies to address industry problems and opportunities. ?The key thing is that the customer already OWNS the hardware they need for?muvichip?playback and?muvifi?local streaming, and they already know how to use it.??Along with hard media, VOD and other digital delivery systems,muvichip?promises to be the next major content delivery platform.?
The?muvichip?has both method and physical patents and patent pending properties, and uses the industry?s UltraViolet? (UV) movie distribution and digital rights management protocols.?The Sierra Club Green Home recently recognized?muvichip?as a friend of the environment, since it requires far less plastic than a DVD, as well as less packaging that could end up in a landfill.?Strisower expectsmuvichip?pricing to be competitive with BluRay; the?muvifi?will retail for around $35.
Customers can pre-buy?muvichip?and all of FlixChip?s products on FlixChip?s IndieGoGo site atwww.indiegogo.com/muvichip?and on?http://facebook.com/flixchip.??We?re friend-raising as well asmotivating the experimenters, the first movers in this category,??says Strisower.
Senior management includes Strisower; co-founder COO Greg?Helland, whose company?wrote the software that allowed all the major studios, broadcasters and sports entities like NASCAR and the NHL to manage their intellectual property; CFO Pat Bennett, with 40 years of experience??as a CFO and legal officer; Aidan Foley, VP business?development, who has held top management positions at companies such as Tektronix, Kodak and Ascent Media and consulted on business development for Sony, NCR and News Corp.; and Han Cho, VP manufacturing and design, who?s worked with Barnes & Noble, Apple and Motorola throughout Asia.
Initial industry reaction to FlixChip has been very positive.?FlixChip?s management is already in negotiations with four major film studios and numerous independent distributors to license their proprietary movie content for?distribution on FlixChip media, and the company has begun discussions with two video game producers and a number of other content providers.??Distribution deals are being inked with brick and mortar and online retailers in time for holiday/winter 2012/13.
The numbers augur just as positively on the customer side. Even though media sales are moving to the cloud, physical media sales continue to account for over 50% of music (CD) and over 90% of movies (DVD/Blu-ray) according to Sony, DECE (Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, LLC), The Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) and Morgan Stanley (information released in 2012). Industry experts believe consumers? buying habits could remain close to these levels for the next decade.
Not withstanding its manifest advantages, FlixChip believes it can succeed owing to download and streaming not always being available?such as on airplanes, boats and in vehicles, or anywhere due to inconsistent Internet bandwidth or overloaded or unavailable cellular service?or overseas, where roaming costs are prohibitive. In this way, FlixChip serves as a reliable, compact bridge technology between the bulky DVD?s, CD?s, game cartridges and other hard media of the past and an uncertain cloud-based future.
Strisower concludes, ?FlixChip products represent a new yet familiar?model for digital media distribution.?We?re working with the world?s largest and smallest entertainment companies to bring their content to audiences.??With the disappearance of optical drives from computers, optical media are becoming buggies.??Our products represent the next step in the miniaturization and portability of filmed and gaming content.?
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Henry Eshelman Managing Director Platform Media Group 1111 North Las Palmas Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90038 www.platformgrp.com
LONDON (Reuters) - Investors are going for gold as their top commodities choice in what looks like a turbulent fourth quarter for the sector, planning for the possibility of a "fiscal cliff" that could shrink the U.S. economy and spur more money printing.
Many are wary of extending exposure in several basic resources - including industrial metals - as global economies struggle and a slowdown dampens demand in top raw materials consumer China.
Gold is the exception, since persistent concerns about future inflation from central bank stimulus measures are keeping the precious metal in the portfolios of many investors.
Previous bouts of quantitative easing (QE) have sent commodity markets soaring with other risk assets, but commodities have recently broken away from tracking equities as investors question the impact of the third round of U.S. bond-buying along with other programs in Europe, Japan and China.
"Quantitative easing for us is not the rising tide that lifts all boats, it's not as straightforward as loose monetary policy must lead to higher commodity prices, with perhaps one exception," Paul Horsnell, head of commodities research at Barclays, told a recent presentation. "It is good for gold."
Spot gold, which hit an 11-month high on Friday, has gained 12 percent since mid-August to just under $1,800 an ounce, while the 19-commodity Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index has only added 3 percent.
U.S. hedge funds and money managers boosted their gold futures positions to the most bullish in almost seven months, data showed last week.
FISCAL CLIFF
Investors relish gold as a quasi-currency and inflation hedge, especially ahead of the "fiscal cliff" in the United States of potential spending cuts and tax hikes, since the Federal Reserve will probably have to step up its QE response.
If the U.S. Congress can't agree a deficit reduction deal by January, $600 billion of tax hikes and spending cuts automatically come into force, which experts say would trigger a recession.
"That will mean more stimulus, and that might be another leg up for gold. In six months time, we might see gold flirting with $1,900 or $1,950," said Pau Morilla-Giner, chief investment officer at London & Capital, which has $3.2 billion of assets, including over $400 million in commodities.
Morilla-Giner has 55 percent of his commodities portfolio in precious metals, mostly in gold, which touched a record peak of $1,920.30 an ounce in September 2011.
With many other commodities struggling, the bounce from QE may already be largely priced in after the sector rebounded in July and August as policymakers hinted at more stimulus measures.
Commodities had the biggest quarterly gain in nearly two years during the three months to September.
The CRB index gained a fifth from late June until mid-September, but has since drifted as investors refocus attention on poor economic data, especially in Europe and China.
FOCUS ON FUNDAMENTALS
On Monday, manufacturing data showed euro zone factories suffered their worst quarter since early 2009 and activity in China also contracted for a seventh consecutive quarter.
The concerns have translated into the first drop in long commodity positions in six weeks as hedge funds and other bid speculators pulled more than $5 billion from U.S. commodity markets, trade data showed last week.
Gabriel Garcin, a portfolio manager at Europanel Research & Alternative Asset Management in Paris, which invests in European hedge funds and CTAs, says in the current environment, specialist commodity funds will increasingly have an advantage.
"Commodity managers who have a physical background, who know the supply-demand dynamics have a real edge in these market conditions," he said.
The move towards more fundamental-based price action is occurring as commodities break away from tracking other risk assets.
The 30-day correlation between the CRB and the S&P 500 equity index dropped from 71 percent in early August to 24 percent on September 25, a matter of days after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced unlimited purchases of mortgage securities, before settling at 32 percent on Friday.
Much of the focus on fundamentals centers on demand from China, which uses 40 percent of the world's copper and is the second biggest energy consumer after the United States.
Caution about China has led Koen Straetmans at ING Investment Management in the Netherlands to rate commodities slightly underweight.
The group, which has 295 billion euros ($383.65 billion)under management worldwide, prefers equities and real estate for the time being.
"The Chinese data so far have been on the weak side," said Straetmans, senior strategist at the group, who said he is closely watching for a rebound. "We still expect a bottoming in Chinese economic data between now and the end of the year."
Straetmans said his underweight decision was partly based on analysis of two sectors, energy and grains. They contributed strongly to the third quarter's strong performance, but are "segments that I consider are peaking or close to peaking."
He was less enthused than most on gold.
"I've seen quite a build-up in speculative non-commercial positions in both gold and silver and it feels to me it's getting a bit stretched."
New museum-university partnership ushers in new era of environmental science educationPublic release date: 15-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Rachel Ewing raewing@drexel.edu 215-895-2614 Drexel University
Drexel, Academy of Natural Sciences partnership emphasizes experiential learning early and often
PHILADELPHIA (May 15, 2012) This fall, Drexel Environmental Science students will have a breadth of new research and academic opportunities locally and across the globe as a result of the University's unique academic affiliation with the Academy of Natural Sciences. Out of the affiliation comes the Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science (BEES), where students will work and learn among some of the world's leading scientists and have access to the Academy's extensive natural science collections and community outreach programs.
"Our motto is 'experiential learning early and often,' which means incoming freshmen won't have to wait until classes start to roll up their sleeves," said Dr. David Velinsky, head of the new BEES department at Drexel, and vice president for Environmental Research at the Academy.
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is America's oldest natural history museum and a world leader in biodiversity and environmental research. For 200 years, the Academy has encouraged and cultivated the sciences, exploration of biodiversity and sharing discoveries with the public.
Freshmen entering Drexel's environmental science major in the fall of 2012 will be the first to enroll in a newly redesigned environmental science bachelor's curriculum, which features a weeklong interactive courseprior to orientationat the Barnegat Bay Field Station in New Jersey. The field station provides opportunities for biological surveys and estuary studies of over 180 acres of diverse coastal and forest habitats; students will gain hands-on research experience in turtle ecology, wetland processes and climate change, fisheries biology and nutrient dynamics during their pre-orientation week.
In addition to the redesigned bachelor's degree in environmental science, the department will offer a minor in ecology as well as master's and doctoral degrees in environmental scienceall previously housed in the Department of Biology at Drexel.
"After the pre-term fieldwork at Barnegat Bay," said Velinsky, "our students will continue their experiential learning for the rest of their academic careers at Drexel through basic and applied research and opportunities to work in field stations in the U.S. and abroad."
In Philadelphia, students will have access to the Academy's natural science collections, some of the most extensive in the world, which provide an exceptional context and resources for the assessment of environmental change on a local and global scale. Through Drexel's cooperative education program (co-op), students can gain full-time work experience at the Academy in research and education positions, and can also get involved in the Academy's extensive community outreach work, including public seminars and educational events and programs with Philadelphia high schools.
Across the U.S. and the globe, the Academy affiliation is also expanding field research opportunities for Drexel environmental science students. In addition to existing opportunities in Patagonia, Costa Rica and Bioko Island in West Africa, new study and co-op abroad programs are now available at Academy field sites, including Upper Mongolia, Jamaica and Arctic regions of Canada.
The new BEES department in the College of Arts and Sciences brings together more than a dozen scientists from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University with the exceptional environmental science faculty from Drexel's Department of Biology.
"I am excited about the expanded opportunities Drexel students will experience as a result of our affiliation with the Academy," said Dr. Donna Murasko, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "We are proud to welcome the Academy's scientists to our faculty and look forward to new collaborations and a brilliant future for the BEES Department."
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
New museum-university partnership ushers in new era of environmental science educationPublic release date: 15-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Rachel Ewing raewing@drexel.edu 215-895-2614 Drexel University
Drexel, Academy of Natural Sciences partnership emphasizes experiential learning early and often
PHILADELPHIA (May 15, 2012) This fall, Drexel Environmental Science students will have a breadth of new research and academic opportunities locally and across the globe as a result of the University's unique academic affiliation with the Academy of Natural Sciences. Out of the affiliation comes the Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science (BEES), where students will work and learn among some of the world's leading scientists and have access to the Academy's extensive natural science collections and community outreach programs.
"Our motto is 'experiential learning early and often,' which means incoming freshmen won't have to wait until classes start to roll up their sleeves," said Dr. David Velinsky, head of the new BEES department at Drexel, and vice president for Environmental Research at the Academy.
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is America's oldest natural history museum and a world leader in biodiversity and environmental research. For 200 years, the Academy has encouraged and cultivated the sciences, exploration of biodiversity and sharing discoveries with the public.
Freshmen entering Drexel's environmental science major in the fall of 2012 will be the first to enroll in a newly redesigned environmental science bachelor's curriculum, which features a weeklong interactive courseprior to orientationat the Barnegat Bay Field Station in New Jersey. The field station provides opportunities for biological surveys and estuary studies of over 180 acres of diverse coastal and forest habitats; students will gain hands-on research experience in turtle ecology, wetland processes and climate change, fisheries biology and nutrient dynamics during their pre-orientation week.
In addition to the redesigned bachelor's degree in environmental science, the department will offer a minor in ecology as well as master's and doctoral degrees in environmental scienceall previously housed in the Department of Biology at Drexel.
"After the pre-term fieldwork at Barnegat Bay," said Velinsky, "our students will continue their experiential learning for the rest of their academic careers at Drexel through basic and applied research and opportunities to work in field stations in the U.S. and abroad."
In Philadelphia, students will have access to the Academy's natural science collections, some of the most extensive in the world, which provide an exceptional context and resources for the assessment of environmental change on a local and global scale. Through Drexel's cooperative education program (co-op), students can gain full-time work experience at the Academy in research and education positions, and can also get involved in the Academy's extensive community outreach work, including public seminars and educational events and programs with Philadelphia high schools.
Across the U.S. and the globe, the Academy affiliation is also expanding field research opportunities for Drexel environmental science students. In addition to existing opportunities in Patagonia, Costa Rica and Bioko Island in West Africa, new study and co-op abroad programs are now available at Academy field sites, including Upper Mongolia, Jamaica and Arctic regions of Canada.
The new BEES department in the College of Arts and Sciences brings together more than a dozen scientists from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University with the exceptional environmental science faculty from Drexel's Department of Biology.
"I am excited about the expanded opportunities Drexel students will experience as a result of our affiliation with the Academy," said Dr. Donna Murasko, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "We are proud to welcome the Academy's scientists to our faculty and look forward to new collaborations and a brilliant future for the BEES Department."
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Young people are too pressured to choosePublic release date: 15-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Goran Puaca goran.puaca@sociology.gu.se 033-435-4277 University of Gothenburg
Young people are forced to choose an educational path early in life. International trends in the educational sector have led to reduced opportunities to change direction later on, according to a new doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
In his doctoral thesis, Goran Puaca is studying the educational and professional choices that upper-secondary and higher education students are forced to face, as well as how the choices have changed over time. His study shows that the pressure to make the right choice early in life has increased.
'The whole thing has become unreasonable. Young teenagers are expected to know what they want to do when they are 25 or 30,' says Goran Puaca.
The changes made in the last decade have made it more difficult to change from one upper-secondary programme to another. It has also become harder to top-up your education with new focus areas later in life. The political agenda has changed from a focus on reduced social differences and young people's self-realisation to an emphasis on employability and on reducing the costs of having young people make the 'wrong' choices.
Pauca says that these changes in the Swedish school system reflect international trends that have put more responsibility on the individual, whose educational choices are expected to contribute to a better match between education and working life.
Puaca's study is based on policy texts concerning how education shall contribute to an effective transition to working life, as well as interviews with teachers, study advisers, educational leaders and higher education and upper-secondary students regarding how education is matched with working life in practice. The expectations of the students regarding education and future jobs were also explored via a qualitative survey.
'The study points to a lack of agreement between, on the one hand, political notions of how rational choices should be made based on effective matching of education and working life and, on the other hand, how young people form their paths into the future in real life,' says Puaca. 'Many students made their educational choices due to lack of better alternatives, and are often very unsure about where their choices will take them in life.'
'My thesis shows that there is a need for concrete support in schools in order to turn students' insecurity about the future into useful strategies and solid educational and professional paths. This type of support is an important democracy issue in a time when the opportunity to choose among different alternatives in upper-secondary school is diminishing and it is getting more difficult to correct educational mistakes later in life. Otherwise there is a clear risk for increased class differences', says Puaca.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Young people are too pressured to choosePublic release date: 15-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Goran Puaca goran.puaca@sociology.gu.se 033-435-4277 University of Gothenburg
Young people are forced to choose an educational path early in life. International trends in the educational sector have led to reduced opportunities to change direction later on, according to a new doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
In his doctoral thesis, Goran Puaca is studying the educational and professional choices that upper-secondary and higher education students are forced to face, as well as how the choices have changed over time. His study shows that the pressure to make the right choice early in life has increased.
'The whole thing has become unreasonable. Young teenagers are expected to know what they want to do when they are 25 or 30,' says Goran Puaca.
The changes made in the last decade have made it more difficult to change from one upper-secondary programme to another. It has also become harder to top-up your education with new focus areas later in life. The political agenda has changed from a focus on reduced social differences and young people's self-realisation to an emphasis on employability and on reducing the costs of having young people make the 'wrong' choices.
Pauca says that these changes in the Swedish school system reflect international trends that have put more responsibility on the individual, whose educational choices are expected to contribute to a better match between education and working life.
Puaca's study is based on policy texts concerning how education shall contribute to an effective transition to working life, as well as interviews with teachers, study advisers, educational leaders and higher education and upper-secondary students regarding how education is matched with working life in practice. The expectations of the students regarding education and future jobs were also explored via a qualitative survey.
'The study points to a lack of agreement between, on the one hand, political notions of how rational choices should be made based on effective matching of education and working life and, on the other hand, how young people form their paths into the future in real life,' says Puaca. 'Many students made their educational choices due to lack of better alternatives, and are often very unsure about where their choices will take them in life.'
'My thesis shows that there is a need for concrete support in schools in order to turn students' insecurity about the future into useful strategies and solid educational and professional paths. This type of support is an important democracy issue in a time when the opportunity to choose among different alternatives in upper-secondary school is diminishing and it is getting more difficult to correct educational mistakes later in life. Otherwise there is a clear risk for increased class differences', says Puaca.
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
In sync with Sprint's plans to get its sub-brands on 4G using its legacy WiMAX network, both Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile have trotted out their initial 4G lineups. The early Virgin mix includes retreads of two Sprint data-only devices -- a Broadband2Go-badged version of the Sierra Wireless Overdrive Pro 3G/4G hotspot and a matching version of the Franklin U600 previously seen at Clear. Virgin's real star, however, is the HTC EVO V 4G: though it's ultimately the EVO 3D with a slightly more 2D name, it's shipping with Android 4.0 from the start and has HTC's Frankenstein-like Sense 3.6 rather than the 4.0 of the One series. The network upgrade and all three new devices swing into action on May 31, and while your $35 minimum monthly plan will stay in effect even with unlimited on-device 4G, you'll need to spend $300 (contract-free) to take home an EVO V 4G, $150 on the Overdrive Pro or $100 on the U600 stick.
Boost Mobile is also going the Sprint rebadge route through the HTC EVO Design 4G. As with its bigger brother over at Virgin, the single-core EVO Design 4G is identical in hardware to its Sprint equivalent but slaps Android 4.0 and Sense 3.6 on top to keep the software fresh. The update does mark the first time a Boost phone gets Visual Voicemail, so you can feel slightly less guilty when you miss a call. HTC's phone will oddly cost the same $300 off-contract as the more advanced EVO V 4G, although Boost is likely counting on customers sticking around long enough for an all-inclusive unlimited plan to drop to $40 per month and make it worthwhile.
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Public release date: 15-May-2012
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