Japan glasses translate menu as you read

CHIBA — Augmented reality glasses that can translate a menu in real time were unveiled at a Japanese gadget fair Monday, with promises they could be ready for visitors to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

NTT Docomo was showing off its latest development where cameras, computers and know-how combine to give the wearer a whole different view of what they are looking at.

One function of the gizmo overlays the wearer’s first language onto unfamiliar text, making signs and menus instantly understandable — a boon to travellers in Japan, where foreign-language menus are not commonly found off the tourist trail.

“Character recognition technology enables instant language translation for users travelling abroad and reading restaurant menus and other documents,” Docomo said in a statement, as it showcased the gadget at CEATEC Japan.

Another application turns any flat surface into a touchscreen, with a finger ring relaying positioning information to the device that lets wearers “touch” tags that only they can see, perhaps to perform an Internet search.

Other uses include facial recognition that is intended to look up someone’s identity — and job title — from a smartphone’s directory.

source: interaksyon.com

Sony’s PS4 tops Xbox One as gamers’ holiday choice: poll

SAN FRANCISCO — More U.S. shoppers prefer Sony Corp’s upcoming PlayStation 4 than Microsoft Corp’s Xbox One, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, as the industry’s two leading videogame console makers prepare to do battle this holiday season.

Asked about their interest in dedicated game devices, 26 percent of 1,297 people surveyed online last week say they are likely to purchase the new PlayStation 4 when available, versus 15 percent opting for the Xbox One.

The rift widens among those below the age of 40. Of that group of 408 people, 41 percent picked Sony’s PS4 versus 27 percent for Microsoft’s Xbox One, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from Sept 23 to Sept 27.

Though based on a limited sample, the results potentially point to a lopsided battle during the crucial holiday season, with Microsoft and Sony hoping to get their newest consoles into U.S. households. Apart from games, they act as conduits for living-room entertainment, from TV shows to music.

Microsoft came under fire from gamers after initially saying it would set restrictions on used games, and require an Internet connection to play. After a flurry of complaints, the company reversed its policies in June. In contrast, Sony has consistently touted support for used games and offline gameplay at industry events. And the PS4 comes $100 cheaper.

Sony said at video game industry trade show in Germany that it had received more than 1 million pre-orders for its upcoming console, while Microsoft has revealed only that preorders for the Xbox One exceeded those of its predecessor, the 360, eight years ago.

Microsoft “couldn’t make up their mind and Sony hadn’t wavered from the beginning,” said 26-year-old gamer Christopher Turner from Salem, Alabama, who intends to spend his cash on the PS4. “The PlayStation 4 is for both hardcore and casual gamers.”

But 56-year-old participant Jon Leigh, who plays six to 10 hours of video games a week and lives in Harlan, Kentucky, thinks the Microsoft controversy won’t sway Xbox fans.

“People who use Microsoft products will continue to use them, he said. Leigh will go with the Xbox One because of its upgraded “Kinect” motion sensor, and because he’s more familiar with the Xbox than the PlayStation.

The $399 PS4 and $499 Xbox One represent the first major upgrades of mainstream gaming hardware in years, setting game developers scrambling to put out new releases that take advantage of better graphics and faster processors.

They are scheduled to hit store shelves from mid-November, about a year after Nintendo’s slow-selling Wii U. Of the 1,297 respondents, only 3 percent said they now played games on the Wii U, versus 20 percent on the Xbox 360, 20 percent on computers, and 18 percent on Sony’s PlayStation 3.

Reversing the tide

More broadly, the shrinking videogames industry hopes the advent of the two new game consoles can breathe fresh life into a sector battered by the proliferation of free games on mobile devices and PCs, as well as on social networks like Facebook Inc’s.

Indeed, 64 percent of total respondents said they would not buy any new game hardware at all this season, when posed with choices ranging from the Xbox and PS4 to Nintendo’s 2DS and Valve’s Steam Box.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll underscored strong interest in Activision Blizzard Inc’s “Call of Duty: Ghosts,” slated for November, which will try and take on Take-Two Interactive Software’s mega-hit, “Grand Theft Auto V.”

GTA V, the latest in the critically acclaimed series that helped ignite a nationwide debate about violence in the media, became the fastest game to hit the $1 billion sales-mark, just three days after sales began on Sept 17.

About a quarter of 715 participants who owned gaming devices said they were likely to buy GTA V, while 22 percent said they would pick up a copy of “Ghosts,” the latest from Activision’s money-spinning Call of Duty franchise.

Analysts say GTA V, which won rave reviews, benefited from pent-up demand as the first major game from the franchise in five years. In contrast, Activision spits out a new Call of Duty game annually. Last year’s “Call Of Duty: Black Ops II” raked in $500 million on its first day.

Ubisoft’s historical action-game “Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag” came in third place in the poll with 19 percent expressing interest. Electronic Arts’ “Madden NFL 25″ and shooter “Battlefield 4″ were the participants’ fourth and fifth choices, respectively.

source: interaksyon.com

‘Meatballs’ sequel gobbles up US, Canadian box office

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK | The sequel to “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” devoured the weekend box office competition.

The animated 3D “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2,” which tells the story of monster-sized fruits, vegetables and cheeseburgers that come to life as “foodimals,” earned $35 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday, easily beating all competitors.

“Cloudy 2″ outpaced car racing drama “Rush,” which pulled in $10.3 million from Friday through Sunday to finish third, behind last week’s winner, drama “Prisoners” starring Hugh Jackman, which made $11.3 million.

The “Cloudy” sequel features the voices of Bill Hader and Anna Faris and is a follow-up to a 2009 hit that saw the fictional island of Swallow Falls attacked by giant food that plunges from the sky.

In the new installment, the food comes to life and evolves into “foodimals” that include a hippopotamus, eggplanatee and cheespider, a cheeseburger with sesame-seed eyes and french-fry legs.

Some forecasters projected “Cloudy 2″ would gross up to $45 million, though Sony said it expected a lower debut of between $30 million and $35 million. The movie cost $78 million to produce.

“This is just a fantastic start,” said Rory Bruer, Sony Pictures’ worldwide president of distribution.

“We knew that people really loved the film from our early screenings, and it’s one of those times that the sequel is better than the first one,” he said.

Bruer also predicted that the film would resonate with audiences overseas, saying: “I’m certain it’s going to do even better internationally.”

“Rush,” from Oscar-winning director Ron Howard, tells the story of the 1976 battle for the Formula One racing championship. Chris Hemsworth stars as Englishman James Hunt and Daniel Bruhl as his rival, Austrian Niki Lauda.

The movie expanded to nearly 2,300 theaters after a very limited debut a week ago. It was produced for $38 million by Cross Creek Pictures and Exclusive Media and distributed by Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp.

Nikki Rocco, president for domestic distribution at Universal Pictures, said: “Although we started out on the low end of where we thought we would be, strong exit polls and good word-of-mouth will help it find its niche in the weeks to come.”

“Rush” won strong reviews from critics with an 88 percent positive rating from compendium website rottentomatoes, and an A-minus grade from CinemaScore, which polls moviegoers.

“Prisoners,” starring Jackman as a father on a desperate search for his missing daughter, brought its domestic sales total to $39 million after two weekends. The movie, which topped box office charts when it debuted a week ago, was released by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc.

New romantic comedy “Baggage Claim,” distributed by Fox Searchlight, a unit of 21st Century Fox and starring Paula Patton as a woman on a 30-day quest to find a mate, finished in fourth place with $9.3 million.

Raunchy comedy “Don Jon” debuted in the weekend’s No. 5 spot with $9 million. The movie stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a young man whose pornography addiction interferes with his relationship with a young woman, played by Scarlett Johansson. Gordon-Levitt also wrote and directed the film, which Relativity Media acquired for $4 million.

source: interaksyon.com

Philippines, 4 northern European countries eye free trade deal

MANILA - The Philippines and four countries in Europe that are not part of the European Union (EU) are eyeing a free trade deal, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. told reporters last week that the Philippines and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) composed of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland would start by November impact studies as well as technical discussions for a free trade agreement (FTA).

Cristobal said EFTA’s member-countries first expressed interest to pursue a free trade deal with the Philippines on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) ministerial meeting in 2011. The visit to the Philippines of Swiss State secretary for economic affairs Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch last June was a follow through to that interest in a Philippine-EFTA trade agreement, Cristobal said.

“They [EFTA members] showed strong interest in an FTA with the Philippines. We’re reciprocating that interest,” he said.

He said the four EFTA countries are seen as an emerging source of foreign direct investment (FDI). “We’re studying closely the potential advantages,” Cristobal said.

He said the Philippine-EFTA trade agreement may “move faster” than the ongoing discussions for an FTA with the EU.

The Philippines and EU remain in scoping talks for a free trade deal, with technical discussions and consultations with stakeholders from both sides yet to wrap up.

On its website, EFTA said it is also “currently engaged in negotiations on free trade agreements” with other Asean members such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. EFTA already has an existing FTA with Singapore. The group is engaged in 26 FTAs involving 36 trading partners.

EFTA was formed in 1960 as “an economic counterbalance to the more politically driven European Economic Community (EEC)” or now more popularly known as the EU.

source: interaksyon.com

To unify Catholics, conservative Pope John Paul II to be canonised alongside progressive John XXIII

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican said late popes John Paul II and John XXIII will be made saints at an unprecedented joint ceremony on April 27, 2014, in a bid to unite Catholic conservatives and liberals.

Pope Francis made the announcement on Monday at a meeting of cardinals known as a consistory.

The canonisations of two popular popes are set to bring hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to Rome.

The popular Polish pope John Paul and his Italian predecessor, two of modern-day Catholicism's most influential figures, will be canonised at a joint ceremony at the Vatican.

The unprecedented double sainthood for two popes is seen by Vatican watchers as an attempt to breach a traditional left-right divide in the Church.

"John XXIII is generally a hero to the church's progressive wing while John Paul II is typically lionized by Catholic conservatives," said John Allen, Vatican expert for the US National Catholic Reporter.

Allen said the decision could be interpreted as "a statement that any attempt to set them at odds is artificial, and that what they had in common is more fundamental than any perceived differences".

Sainthood normally requires two "confirmed" miracles, though Francis has approved the canonisation of John XXIII (1958-1963) -- with whom he shares a personal touch and reformist views -- based on just one.

John Paul II, who served as pontiff from 1978-2005, was credited with his first miracle just six months after his death, when a French nun said she had been cured, through prayer, of Parkinson's -- a disease he had also suffered from.

His second miracle was reportedly carried out on a woman in Costa Rica, who said she was healed from a serious brain condition by praying for John Paul's intercession on the same day he was beatified in 2011.

The Polish pope was popular throughout his 27-year papacy and helped topple Communism -- although he alienated many with his conservative views and was blamed for hushing up paedophile priest scandals.

At his funeral in 2005, crowds of mourners cried "Santo Subito!" -- "Sainthood Now!" -- prompting the Vatican to speed up the path to sainthood, which normally begins five years after death.

Nicknamed "The Good Pope", John XXIII made his name by calling the historic Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) which overhauled the Church's rituals and doctrines, reached out to other faiths and raised the status of lay people.

Many compare the Italian pope, who died in 1963, with the current head of the Roman Catholic Church for their similar pastoral attitudes, humble, open manner and sense of humour.

The reportedly miraculous healing of an Italian nun who had severe internal hemorrhages was attributed to John XXIII when he was beatified in 2000.

Francis is believed to have waived the need for a second miracle because his canonisation had been called for by the participants of the Second Vatican Council in 1965, who wanted to pay homage to the man who ushered the Church into modern times.

Francis also promises to be a reformist pope, planning an overhaul of the Vatican bureaucracy and finances and promising a "poor Church for the poor".

On Tuesday, he will begin three-day talks with an advisory board of eight cardinals he has appointed to help him clean up the troubled Roman Curia -- the intrigue-filled administration -- and improve communication between the Vatican and local churches.

Vatican experts say it is not clear whether details from the meetings will be made public, but liberal Catholics hope that the conciliatory tone adopted by Francis on many issues will translate into action.

Topics may include the role of women in the Church, whether priests should be able to marry, if Catholics who remarry should receive the Eucharist and the Church's position on homosexuality and gay clergy.

source: interaksyon.com

Banks ordered to provide more detailed info on credit card business

MANILA - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is requiring banks and other financial institutions to submit monthly credit card business activity reports (CCBAR) containing data on credit card issuers, cardholders, complaints, and card use location.

The BSP intends to enhance its credit card database to ensure transparency and availability of information on credit card operations and complaints resolution, and afford analysis of the credit card industry for policy-making.

The new rules are contained in Circular 812.

The CCBAR, which will be submitted in monthly, aims to ensure consumer protection as well as managing risks involved in credit card transactions, banks/quasi-banks including subsidiaries and affiliates.

The BSP aims to capture more credit card data, including the number of credit card holders in the country. To date, the BSP regularly reports data on credit card receivables of banks, including that portion which is non-performing.

Credit card receivables climbed 11 percent to P131.9 billion in the first quarter, from P118.8 billion in the same three-month period last year. Universal and commercial banks held bulk of the receivables at 82.6 percent, with their subsidiaries cornering the remaining 17.3 percent.

Non-performing receivables increased to 11.2 percent of total credit card transactions, but eased to 13 percent of big banks' total amount of bad loans.

Recently, the BSP issued new rules to strengthen the security banks and non-bank financial institutions' electronic products, including credit cards.

The regulation requires BSP-supervised institutions to adopt end-to-end Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES) for the whole ATM network by January 1 and shift from magnetic stripe technology to more secure WMV chip-enabled cards by August 1, 2017.

source: interaksyon.com

Universal Robina hikes capex to build consumer foods business into Asean brand

MANILA – The maker of C2 ready-to-drink tea and Jack ‘N Jill snack foods is building up its branded consumer food business and eyeing acquisitions in a bid to become an Asean powerhouse.

During the BPI Securities 2014 Market Outlook Conference on Saturday, Universal Robina Corporation (URC) vice president Michael Liwanag said the company wants to grow its branded business to $3 billion in five to six years, expanding at a rate of 12-15 percent per year.

“We want to double our branded business every five to six years,” Liwanag said.

Gokongwei-owned URC is hiking its capital spending to $150 million in the fiscal year 2014 -- higher than the $120 million spending in the last three years – to finance its foray into Myanmar in the next six months. The company may tap the debt market or use internally generated funds to finance its capex given its net cash position of around $200 million.

Aside from organic growth, URC can tap acquisitions outside the Philippines for $500 million to $1 billion.

"The priority is to become an Asean multinational down the road with strong brands," Liwanag said.

Myanmar is the next challenge for the Philippine firm after establishing a strong presence in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia through its brand-building efforts and distribution capability.

"Vietnam is the next Philippines. Thailand is a mature market. If we can grow it [in the] low to mid teens, that is the target," Liwanag said, adding that URC expects challenges in Indonesia in the form of higher wages, devaluation of rupiah and the removal of the oil subsidy.

He said pricing products to target the middle market and adapting to consumer tastes were the factors behind URC's successful foray into these foreign markets.

URC has taken a market leadership position in various food categories, including snacks, candies, chocolates, biscuits, canned beans, cup noodles, coffee and ready-to-drink tea.

In expanding its footprint in the region, the food-and-beverage company has replicated this multi-category strategy on a selective basis and is among the top three in categories it is in.

"We have what it takes to erode market share of multinationals," Liwanag said. URC has made inroads in the coffee category through number two player Great Taste with the leading multinational's market share falling to 54 percent from 92 percent.

"We thought the Philippine market [was] mature, but the innovation like coffee in Philippines [gave] room for us to grow. Modern retailing is growing, we have to come up with products for modern retailing," Liwanag said.

URC, which is also in the commodity and agro-industrial businesses, expects net sales to grow by 13.3 percent to P80.7 billion in the 2013 fiscal year ending September from P71.2 billion in the same period last year.

The company's local branded business will jump 23 percent year-on-year to P42.2 billion this fiscal year from the previous year's P34.4 billion, 20 percent of which will come from volume growth and three percent from price increase. International sales will increase by a tenth to $520 million from $471 million last year.

Earnings before interests and taxes will hit $10 billion in 2013, up by almost 30 percent from year ago levels.

"[For 2104] you just have to monitor the soft commodity prices. Over the short term until December, we're protected," Liwanag said, adding that it will "selectively increase prices" but robust growth of the outsourcing industry and remittances will prop up demand for its products.

source: interaksyon.com

US Republicans to amend budget bill, return it to Senate

WASHINGTON - The US House will vote Saturday on a Republican plan that funds the government through mid-December and delays implementation of the country's new health care law, a strategy that could lead to a crippling shutdown.

House Speaker John Boehner gathered his caucus and called for a rare Saturday session as Congress struggles to break a funding impasse that, if unresolved, would see federal agencies close after the fiscal year ends Monday night.

Under pressure from his party's far-right conservative wing, Boehner doubled down on his caucus's bid to stop President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement, his health care law, vowing to send a bill back to the Senate with barely any time for legislative action to avoid a shutdown.

"Later today, the House will vote on two amendments to the Senate-passed continuing resolution that will keep the government open and stop as much of the president's health care law as possible," Boehner said in a statement after the meeting.

"We will do our job and send this bill over, and then it's up to the Senate to pass it and stop a government shutdown."

In addition to a one-year delay of the law that has become known as "Obamacare," one of the amendments would repeal an unpopular medical device tax.

"This is exactly what we wanted," conservative congressman Raul Labrador told reporters.

"We're united on sending (it) back to the Senate," congressman Darrell Issa said after the meeting.

"Obamacare is not ready, and the delay is clearly essential."

Issa argued that a one-year delay "might actually be what saves" the health care law, parts of which are set to take effect on October 1.

"And for those of us who believe there are flaws, it gives the president an opportunity to do what he said he would do afterwards, which is start negotiating absurd things like the medical device tax out of Obamacare."

The move sets up a confrontation with the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid has insisted that no legislation that defunds or delays the health care law would pass the chamber.

He also warned that the only bill that would prevent a shutdown was the stopgap funding measure passed by the Senate on Friday.

"Harry Reid will be shutting down the government if he doesn't accept this pretty sensible solution to the debate that we're having right now," conservative congressman Raul Labrador told AFP.

The Republican plan "is exactly what we wanted," he said.

Boehner and fellow House leaders had struggled to stake out a position palatable to their divided members.

Congress now has less than 60 hours to strike a deal that funds government beyond the current fiscal year.

If lawmakers fail, federal agencies will shut their doors and order hundreds of thousands of employees to stay home, while more than a million soldiers will remain on duty without pay.

As if anticipating a possible shutdown, Boehner said the House would also "vote on a measure that ensures our troops get paid, no matter what."

Obama chided Republicans Friday for their budget brinkmanship, but also warned that while he is prepared to negotiate on ways to reduce spending, "we're not going to do this under the threat of blowing up the entire economy."

source: interaksyon.com

Facebook to show users less unwanted ads in newsfeed

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook newsfeeds will contain fewer ads for products or services that users are not interested in, Facebook Inc said on Friday, announcing changes in advertising policy.

It was the Web company’s latest effort to refine the newsfeed ads that have become more important to its business.

“When deciding which ad to show to which groups of people, we are placing more emphasis on feedback we receive from people about ads, including how often people report or hide an ad,” Facebook said.

“If someone always hides ads for electronics, we will reduce the number of those types of ads that we show to them,” the company said.

Facebook has been trying to make ads more prominent without triggering a backlash among its 1.15 billion users.

The world’s No.1 online social network, which generates roughly 85 percent of its revenue from advertising, now injects one paid ad into every 20 “stories” users see in their newsfeeds, the company said in July.

While big brands such as Toyota and AT&T advertise on Facebook, the company also makes money from marketers of weight-loss and teeth-whitening products. Analysts say some users may not welcome these less-glamorous pitches in their newsfeed.

Forrester Research analyst Nate Elliott said Facebook needs to take steps to keep the latter category of ads in the less intrusive, right-hand side of the Web page, while reserving the space within users’ newsfeed for higher-quality ads.

“If Facebook allows unappealing advertising to invade that space then they’re in trouble. That harms the user experience, and reduces the value of that inventory for high-quality marketers,” Elliott said.

Facebook said some marketers “may see some variation in the distribution of their ads” in coming weeks. The company did not elaborate.

Shares of Facebook finished Friday’s regular trading session up 1.7 percent at $51.24, the highest closing level since the company went public in May 2012.

source: interaksyon.com

Megan Young bags Philippines’ first Miss World crown

After a long wait and several near misses, the Philippines finally won its first Miss World title as 23-year-old Megan Young, a Filipino-American actress from Olongapo, captured the coveted crown at the Bali International Convention Center in Bali, Indonesia on Saturday.

The result was posted on the Facebook page of the prestigious beauty pageant as Young bested nine other semifinalists from Brazil, Australia, France, Nepal, England, Indonesia, Spain, Jamaica and Ghana. There were a total of 131 contestants from around the world — the most in the pageant’s history.

“It’s destiny!” Miss World Phillippines franchise holder Cory Quirino said in a text message to InterAksyon. “The honor is not only Megan’s but the Philippines’. We have made history and have proven once and for all that the Filipina is the most beautiful woman in the world! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas,” she added.

Prior to her coronation, Young also figured prominently in three of the preliminary compeititions in the pageant, winning the Top Model challenge and finishing in the Top 5 of the Beach Fashion and Multimedia Award contests.

She achieved her victory despite the malicious resurfacing of her sexy photos from a March 2012 magazine shoot courtesy of what Miss World Philippines franchise holder Cory Quirino called “a smear campaign by a neglible sector of the Philippine pageant industry”.

Megan became the country’s official representative after winning the Miss World Philippines pageant last August in a lopsided contest where she swept most of its special awards, including Best in Fashion Runway, Miss Sports by FILA, Miss Reducin, Miss Olay, Miss Laguna, Miss Bold and Glamorous by Revlon, Miss Figlia and Miss Bench Body.

Also a digital filmmaking student at the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, Megan recently appeared in the TV5 sexy drama series, “Misibis Bay” and headed the ensemble cast of the independent crime anthology, “Bang Bang Alley”.

Established in 1951, Miss World is the oldest major international beauty pageant in the world and is part of the “Big Four” international beauty pageants that also includes Miss Universe, Miss Earth and Miss International.

source: interaksyon.com

Wall Street falls as U.S. government faces possible shutdown

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks declined on Friday and the S&P 500 and Dow posted their first weekly drop in four, as Democrat and Republican lawmakers struggled to agree on an emergency funding bill to avert a U.S. government shutdown days away.

The S&P 500 declined 1.1 percent for the week and is roughly 2 percent below its record high set September 18 when the Federal Reserve announced it would keep its stimulus program unchanged for the present.

Time was running short for lawmakers to avert a partial shutdown of operations by the U.S. government on October 1. Republicans in the House want to use the spending legislation to gut the new healthcare overhaul, a goal of the conservative Tea Party.

The Senate passed the emergency funding bill on Friday, which will keep U.S. agencies operating after September 30. The measure must now be approved by the Republican-controlled House where it is expected to encounter rough going. The House could vote on a bill in an unusual Saturday or Sunday session.

"I think investors right now are contemplating what is the impact on consumer confidence, revenues and earnings if Washington gets caught up in a quagmire," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Eight of the 10 S&P 500 sectors ended lower, with the materials sector leading losses on the index. The S&P materials index .SPLRCMA declined 1.2 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 70.06 points, or 0.46 percent, at 15,258.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 6.92 points, or 0.41 percent, at 1,691.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 5.83 points, or 0.15 percent, at 3,781.59.

For the week, the Dow was down 1.3 percent and the Nasdaq was up 0.2 percent.

Just before the close, President Barack Obama urged House Republicans to avoid a government shutdown without cuts to his healthcare law or other conditions.

He said he would not agree to delaying or defunding the new healthcare reform law, and that the Senate acted responsibly earlier in the day to keep the government open.

Shares of J.C.Penney fell 13.1 percent to $9.05 and was the worst percentage decliner on the S&P 500 after it said its public offering of 84 million common shares was priced at $9.65 per share.

Shares of Lumber Liquidators Holdings declined 5.2 percent to $107.13 after the company said it was cooperating with authorities after federal agents searched its headquarters and another office in a probe of the import of certain wood flooring products.

Among gainers, Nike Inc jumped 4.7 percent to $73.64, giving the Dow its biggest boost, a day after the maker of sports clothes and shoes reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit.

The latest Fed officials to comment on stimulus measures included Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans, who said the Fed could start reducing its asset purchases this year based on economic forecasts, but the decision to wind back stimulus could be pushed into next year.

Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota told Reuters the Fed needs to speak more clearly and tell the world it will do "whatever it takes" to boost employment.

The day's economic data showed U.S. household spending rose in August as incomes increased at the fastest pace in six months, a sign that momentum could be picking up in the U.S. economy. Another report showed consumer sentiment slid in September to its lowest in five months.

Volume totaled about 5.5 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, below the average daily closing volume of about 6.3 billion this year.

Decliners outpaced advancers on the NYSE by about 2 to 1 and on the Nasdaq by about 1.6 to 1.

source: interaksyon.com

Just what happens if US government shuts down?

WASHINGTON - A US government shutdown is looming. Congress is struggling to pass a stopgap budget measure that would keep the doors open beyond the fiscal year, which ends at midnight September 30.

But with congressional bickering in full swing, and the deadline less than four days away, there is increasing anxiety about who and what will be affected.

During the previous two shutdowns, for six days in November 1995 and 21 days from December that year into early 1996, some 800,000 federal employees were ordered to stay home, according to a congressional report.

Here is a snapshot of what is likely to occur in the event Congress cannot agree on a federal spending bill by October 1.

WHITE HOUSE and CONGRESS: These facilities will remain open, although both are likely to furlough some staff. The State Department has said it will temporarily furlough non-essential staff too.

PENTAGON: Military personnel will remain on duty, although the Department of Defense says there may be delays in their paycheck processing. More than half of the department's 800,000 civilian employees are expected to be furloughed, and the Pentagon has warned of likely "hardships" for many workers.

NATIONAL SECURITY: Such services will remain operational, such as US border patrol and airport screeners. Personnel who are deemed to "protect life and property," such as emergency service providers like disaster response teams, would stay on duty.

MEDICAL RESEARCH: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) could be severely impacted. It would not be allowed to begin new clinical trials or see new patients.

MUSEUMS and PARKS: The Smithsonian museums and all 368 sites in the National Park Service system would close. Seven million tourists were affected during the last shutdown.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: EPA administrator Gina McCarthy warned that the agency "effectively shuts down." That means virtually no one monitoring or enforcing air and water quality or oil pollution regulations.

POSTAL SERVICE: Since the US Postal Service has its own independent sources of funding, it remains open, as does the Federal Reserve.

SOCIAL SECURITY: Most entitlement programs will continue, although there will be hiccups. Social Security checks will be mailed, but Social Security offices will close. Military veterans will receive their benefits as well, but disability claims will be backlogged. Veterans hospitals will remain open.

WASHINGTON: Congress is granted exclusive jurisdiction over the US capital, and during the 1995-96 shutdown, the city was the focus of embarrassment as it halted its trash collection. Now, Mayor Vincent Gray says he will declare all city employees as "essential personnel" in the event of a shutdown, and use a contingency cash reserve fund to pay wages.

ECONOMY: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Friday that a temporary shutdown would "shatter our economy." That may be hyperbole, but the impact could well be significant. According to Macroeconomic Advisers, the effect on fourth-quarter GDP grown of a two-week shutdown beginning October 1 would be 0.3 percentage points.

source: interaksyon.com

Boracay, Guimaras raise number of rabies-free islands to 14

MANILA, Philippines -- World famous Boracay in Aklan and Guimaras province were declared “rabies-free” by the Departments of Health and of Agriculture, raising the number of islands that have registered zero incidence of the fatal disease for at least three consecutive years to 14.

The declaration was made Friday, "World Rabies Day."

The other islands previously declared rabies-free are Siquijor, Batanes, Biliran, Camiguin, Marinduque, Limasawa, Camotes, Olimpia in Bais City and Apo, both in Negro Oriental, and Palawan’s Coron, Culion and Busuanga.

All these places effectively eliminated human and animal rabies, primarily by vaccinating 70 percent of the dog population and impounding strays.

"Rabies is considered as a neglected disease. That is because even if it is 100 percent fatal, it is also 100 percent preventable," Health Secretary Enrique Ona noted.

The disease " continues to be a significant public health problem that is responsible for 200 to 250 deaths annually,” he added. “In 2012, a total of 213 rabies cases and 414,553 animal bites were reported to the DOH."

For decades, said Ona, "effective and safe vaccines to prevent the disease in humans and animals have been available."

"Therefore, none of these deaths need have occurred if we had only made use of the tools necessary to prevent rabies from infecting and killing both humans and animals," he stressed.

He acknowledged that poverty and ignorance are the main obstacles to rabies prevention and elimination.

The Philippines hopes to eliminate rabies by 2020.

Rabies naturally affects only mammals and is transmitted to humans and between animals through the saliva of an infected animal, usually through a bite. In the Philippines, dog bites are responsible for 87 percent of human transmission.

Its initial symptoms include fever, pain or unusual or unexplained tingling and burning sensations or pricking at the site of the wound. When the virus spreads to the central nervous system, it could lead to the fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cords.

Region 4-A reported the most number of human rabies cases (37); followed by Region 1 (22); Region 3 (20); Region 2 (19) and Region 12 and Region 9 (18 cases each).

"The key to successful rabies elimination rests on combined efforts of effective dog vaccination program as part of responsible pet ownership and human vaccination after rabies exposure from rabid dog bites," Ona said.

Dog vaccination is mandatory under Republic Act 9482 or the Anti-Rabies  Act of 2007.

Ona said immunizing a dog ever year costs only P20 compared to P1,500 for vaccinating a person bitten by a dog.

source: interaksyon.com

Poland's Catholic church apologizes as pedophile scandal spreads

WARSAW - Poland's powerful Roman Catholic church on Friday apologized over two alleged pedophile priests as prosecutors on both sides of the Atlantic began probing the men, one a former Vatican envoy.

Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic have asked Interpol to arrest fugitive Polish priest Wojciech Gil, 36, who allegedly abused several young boys while serving on the Caribbean island.

A Vatican probe is already under way into allegations of child sex abuse against Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, a 65-year-old Pole who served as papal envoy in Santo Domingo for around five years.

Senior Polish church officials said they were unaware of the whereabouts of both men on Friday as prosecutors in Warsaw also launched criminal investigations against them.

"Trust in the church is waning. We are sorry. This is the least we can do," Bishop Wojciech Polak, a senior official with the Polish episcopate, told reporters on Friday.

The church would however not offer victims any material compensation, he said in Warsaw.

"The scale of pedophilia in the church in Poland is unknown," Jesuit priest Adam Zak, responsible for child and youth welfare in the Polish episcopate, said at the same press conference.

"The cases that end up in court are just the tip of the iceberg," he said, pointing to 27 priests convicted of child sex abuse in Poland over the last decade.

In the latest scandal to make headlines, a Warsaw priest who was convicted of committing so-called "other sexual acts" continued to work with children, with the full consent of his superiors.

Unlike the United States or Ireland, the string of crimes in heavily Catholic Poland has not provoked widespread public outcry.

Wesolowski was recalled by the Vatican on August 21 after the allegations of abuse surfaced.

He is suspected of engaging in sexual relations with underage prostitutes in the historic center of the Dominican capital, Santo Domingo, according to press reports.

Reports also linked him with the fugitive Gil, accused of raping minors in the city of Santiago, about 155 kilometers (96 miles) north of the capital.

Gil went missing in May when the allegations surfaced and he was suspended from his duties as a priest.

"We have had no contact with him since May 28," Father Tadeusz Musz, spokesman for Gil's order of the Michaelite Fathers, said at the press conference.

Bishop Polak added that Wesolowski had served under the Vatican's jurisdiction and was not "an archbishop in Poland or a member of the Polish Episcopate".

Religious affairs experts in Poland say its powerful church is ill-prepared to deal with the pedophiles in its ranks.

"The Polish church isn't ready to confront this issue. It's a rigid institution, very bureaucratic, detached from reality and certain of its power," Warsaw-based sociologist Pawel Boryszewski told AFP Friday.

"These cases could fuel a wave of criticism against the church."

Wesolowski was ordained in 1972 by then-Archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, who later became Pope John Paul II.

The late pontiff named Wesolowski the Vatican's envoy to Bolivia. He was later posted to several Asian countries before being dispatched to the Dominican by former pope Bendict XVI in 2008.

Earlier this month, Pope Francis came under fire from victims groups following news he had quietly sacked Wesolowski.

Pope Francis has vowed to crack down on abuse in the Catholic Church, reiterating the zero-tolerance approach taken up by his predecessor Benedict XVI after a wave of revelations.

source: interaksyon

Napoles Ritz Carlton condo in LA put on market; It can be yours for $1.4 million

A Los Angeles property under the name of the daughter of businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles has been posted for sale on at least three US-based real-estate websites.

Napoles' Ritz Carlton condo, officially under the name of her daughter, Jeane, is on the market for $1.4 million.

Ads for its sale were posted earlier this week.

The unit, with address at "The Ritz Carlton at LA Live unit no: #37i, 900 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015" is being offered at $1,475,000. Interested buyers must also factor in $1,639 monthly homeowners' association dues.

The unit is the same property that was exposed by media reports in July, a centerpiece in what was made to illustrate the Napoles' high-living, in the face of a scandal that also placed them atop a P10-billion pork barrel scam.

The unit for sale has two bedrooms, two baths, and a parking space. It is listed at 1,579 square feet, or around 146 square meters.

"The first showings of this unit are slated to begin on Friday, September 27th," the website DLXco.com  said in its post.

The ad describes the building and unit thus:

"The Residences at LA Live have far surpassed its competitors and proven to be one of the most successful and desirable properties in Los Angeles. With little inventory available, this prime floor plan is the best deal in the building and will go quickly. It has eastern views of Staples Center, downtown and the Ritz Carlton Pool and has the much desired white high gloss Snaidero Kitchen Cabinetry, oak floors in the living/dining area and a huge master suite that is usually only seen in the much larger floor plans. some of the resident amenities include full complimentary breakfast every day in the sky lounge, Ritz Carlton Spa access, wine room, billiard room and much more."

source: interaksyon.com

World's longest-running cartoon to go digital in Japan

TOKYO—The world's longest-running cartoon is to go fully digital, its Japanese broadcaster said Friday, abandoning hand-drawn celluloid-based animation after a run of 44 years.

Fuji Television Network said episodes of "Sazae-san" aired from October would be produced entirely digitally. The move will mean there are no hand-drawn cartoons left on Japanese television, according to the Association of Japanese Animations.

Until the 1990s many cartoons were created by artists working directly on celluloid, a painstaking process that meant characters had to be drawn in many different postures to give them impression of movement as the camera was repeatedly started and stopped.

Two decades ago, computer animations began to become widespread, slowly squeezing out the traditional method.

"Sazae-san", which first aired in 1969, revolves around the life of the Mrs Sazae of the title, a cheerful but klutzy full-time housewife who lives with her parents, husband, son, brother and sister.

The 30-minute episodes, which can readily garner more than one-in-seven Sunday evening viewers, tend to focus on tiny incidents in the family's everyday life and are dotted with seasonal festivals.

"Doraemon", a Japanese cartoon about a robot cat from the future that has a following across Asia went entirely digital in 2002.

"Sazae-san", whose broadcast denotes the end of the weekend for many Japanese, began the switch in 2005.

source: interaksyon.com

Megan Young wins Top Model challenge, boosts her chances of winning Miss World title

Notwithstanding a recently posted online news item that recalls her sexy cover shoot for the men’s magazine Rogue, Miss World Philippines 2013 Megan Young won the Top Model challenge of this year’s Miss World beauty pageant.

As posted on the prestigious beauty pageant’s official website Friday, Megan bested four other top candidates from the United States, France, Ukraine and Brazil to win the Miss Top Model title which automatically catapults her to the semifinal round of the prestigious beauty contest.

Megan also figured prominently in two other challenges in the pageant. After earlier landing in the Top 11 of the Beach Fashion competition, the 23-year-old Fil-Am charmer from Olongapo placed 5th overall in the final tally trailing the candidates from Jamaica, Ghana, France and eventual winner Miss Brazil Sancler Frantz who will also advance to the semifinals with her win.

In the Multimedia Award competition, Megan finished 4th overall behind contestants from Nepal, Thailand and winner Miss India Navneet Dhillon who also finished 9th in the Beauty with a Purpose race won by Miss Nepal Ishani Shrestia.

Megan’s sterling showing in these preliminary competitions has further bolstered her strong chances of becoming the country’s first ever Miss World title holder. Aside from Miss Brazil, Miss India and Miss Nepal, other contestants who are expected to land in the semifinals based on their showing in the challenges are Miss France Marine Lorphelin, Miss Ghana Naa Okailey Shooter, Miss Australia Erin Holland, Miss Ukraine Anna Zaiachkivska, Miss Netherlands Jacqueline Steenbeek who won the Sports and Fitness challenge and host country representative Miss Indonesia Vania Larissa who earlier won Miss Talent.

Winners of two more challenges, the World Fashion Designer Award and The People’s Champion (online voting), where Megan is ranked number two as of September 25 will be announced on the coronation night.

source: interaksyon.com

New fund launched for bitcoin investors

NEW YORK CITY — Bitcoin Thursday got a lift with the arrival of a new investment vehicle that lets wealthy and professional investors bet on the virtual currency.

SecondMarket, a New York-based investment platform that specializes in alternative ventures, Thursday began accepting investors in its Bitcoin Investment Trust, a private investment vehicle that will purchase the virtual currency, store it in a virtual safe of sorts and allot new shares of stock to shareholders as they buy in.

The fund kicked off with seed investment of $2.25 million from SecondMarket, which specializes in alternative investments.

Mark Murphy, a SecondMarket spokesman, said the fund had heard from financial professionals, technology figures, gold enthusiasts and others.

“There’s really high interest,” said Murphy, who said there is no goal as far as the size of the fund.

The fund’s arrival comes as investors look for new ways to bet on the four-year old currency, increasingly used to make payments in online transactions.

There is an estimated $1.5 billion in bitcoin on the market.

Partisans of bitcoin say it offers promise as a global and easily transacted currency outside the purview of central bankers.

SecondMarket designed the fund as a means for investors to bet on bitcoin without having to procure the currency themselves.

“We believe that bitcoin may have significant upside given the size and scope of the industries that are potentially impacted by bitcoin,” said SecondMarket founder Barry Silbert in a statement.

“However, bitcoin also faces regulatory uncertainty and widespread adoption issues that make investing in bitcoin a highly risky endeavor.”

As a private fund, the venture is open to accredited investors, those who meet specific criteria such as, for an individual, earning at least $200,000 a year for the last two years.

The minimum investment in the fund is $25,000.

The fund is regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, but is not registered with the agency, Murphy said.

The fund’s launch comes as some regulators have stepped up probes into use of the virtual currency.

The New York Department of Financial Services in August sent subpoenas to leading investors in bitcoin and expressed concern that it could be used by drug traffickers and gun runners and threaten US national security.

The department said it was considering new regulations on the currency.

source: interaksyon.com

Asian shares firm, but U.S. budget impasse constrains

TOKYO - Asian shares ticked up on Friday after U.S. jobless claims data pointed to an improving labor market, but the lack of progress in budget and debt negotiations in Washington kept investors on edge.



The solid jobs data revived expectations of a reduction in U.S. monetary stimulus, but not without reservation, after the Federal Reserve's surprise decision not to do so last week and conflicting messages from various top Fed officials since then.



MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.1 percent, with Australian shares scaling a five-year high, in sympathy with Wall Street shares, which broke a five-day losing streak on Thursday.



"Though U.S. jobless claims data is positive enough to marginally lift the market, investors need further evidence of a U.S. economic recovery as well as a settlement in Washington," said Hanyang Securities analyst Lim Dong-rak.



U.S. weekly initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped 5,000 last week despite economists' expectations of a rise, helping U.S. shares to end a five-day losing streak.



The claims data's four-week moving average, a key gauge that smoothes out weekly volatility, dropped to 308,000, the lowest level since June 2007.



That fall could add to the case that the Fed is safe to go ahead with winding down its bond buying program later this year. Yet, investors are now cautious not to jump to a conclusion.



"The communication between markets and the Fed has broken down since last week. And different Fed officials are saying different things these days, and nobody knows exactly why the Fed did not taper this month after all," said Tohru Yamamoto, chief fixed income strategist at Daiwa Securities.



Indeed, four top Fed officials acknowledged on Thursday the Fed confused markets but they hardly agree on what to do next, with both hawks and doves making their own cases, doing little to ease investors' confusion.



Budget showdown



Traders also see an impasse in U.S. congressional negotiations over the budget and increasing the federal borrowing limit as likely to cap gains in global shares in the next few weeks.



Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives refused to give in to President Barack Obama's demands for straight-forward bills to keep the government running beyond September 30, raising the chance of a government shutdown.



While investors see limited economic impact from a short period of shutdown, that does not bode well for negotiations on the more important issue of raising the debt ceiling.



Failure to act on the ceiling by October 17, when the Treasury will have run out of money, could lead to an unprecedented U.S. sovereign debt default.



The cost of protection against U.S. sovereign default in the credit default swap market has risen to its highest level in four months.



In the currency market, the dollar held onto modest overnight gains following the jobless claims data, but was on track to end the week flat, hampered by the risk of U.S. default.



The dollar was also helped by the euro's fall amid renewed concerns Italy's fractious coalition government could fall apart.



Italian center-right deputies supporting former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi renewed threats to resign if their leader is expelled from Parliament following a tax fraud conviction.



The euro traded at $1.3480, off a seven-month high of $1.3569 hit last week while the dollar fetched 98.80 yen, maintaining most of its 0.6 percent gain on Thursday.



The yen had no reaction to data that showed Japan's core inflation rose to a five-year high.



Oil prices were soft as fears of an escalation in a military conflict in the Middle East eased as the United States and Russia agreed on a draft resolution that would demand Syria give up its chemical arms and Washington and Tehran held the highest-level dialogue since the Islamic revolution in Iran three decades ago.



U.S. crude futures dropped 0.3 percent to $102.71.

source: interaksyon.com

Facebook is top smartphone app in Philippines, Nielsen says

MANILA – Facebook is the most engaging smartphone application or "app" in the Philippines, according to Nielsen, affirming the social network's popularity among Filipinos online as well as the revenue potential for the country's telecom companies.

Citing the results of the Nielsen Informate Mobile Insights, the multinational consumer research company said Facebook was tops in three of the four Southeast Asian countries included in the study. Apart from the Philippines, the study also covered Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Indonesia and Malaysia were the two other markets that ranked Facebook as the most engaging smartphone app, while Thailand considered the social network app only second next to Line, a Japanese messaging app.

Apart from Facebook, other smartphone apps among the top 10 in the four markets were Google Play Store, YouTube and Line.

Among the four countries, the Philippines was the only place where Skype and Vibr – both Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) apps – figured among the top 10 apps. Microblogging app Twitter was among the top 10 apps in only one of the four countries – Indonesia


The ranking combined app penetration with average time spent per month. The study used a smartphone metering technology across Android, Blackberry and Symbian operating systems, but Nielsen didn't indicate the size of its sample, only to say it maintains opt-in panels in the markets covered.

On average, people from the four Southeast Asian countries spent 45 minutes a day using smartphone apps. Filipinos spent slightly less than that at 41 minutes, while Malaysians led the pack with 66 minutes a day.

“The importance and influence of apps within today’s highly-competitive mobile market has soared in recent years,” said Sagar Phadke, Nielsen director for Telecom and Technology Practice in Southeast Asia, North Asia and Pacific.

“Smartphone users in Asia are highly engaged in apps usage, and the app user base in Asia is growing rapidly, presenting huge opportunities for brand marketers to leverage apps to build lasting connections with consumers,” Phadke said.

Last year, mobile browsing revenues grew by double-digits, making it one of the drivers of an otherwise mature Philippine telecom market – a feat both Smart and Globe attributed to the increasing penetration of smartphones and aggressive rollout of promotional mobile data plans.

Smart parent firm PLDT closed the first six months of this year with a two percent in revenues to P81.1 billion from P79.7 billion last year. Globe ended the same period with a nine percent increase in revenues to P44.5 billion from P40.8 billion a year ago.

source: interaksyon.com

Termites fight extermination with poop

ORLANDO -- Scientists trying to understand why destructive wood-eating termites are so resistant to efforts to exterminate them have come up with an unusually repugnant explanation.

Termites' practice of building nests out of their own feces creates a scatological force field that Florida scientists now believe is the reason biological controls have failed to stop their pestilential march all over the world.

A nine-year study concluded that termite feces act as a natural antibiotic, growing good bacteria in the subterranean nests that attack otherwise deadly pathogens, according to the findings published this month in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

"When they make a poop, it's not like they can throw it away and say forget about this. And over the millions of years of evolution it somehow evolved to take advantage of the poop there," said Nan-Yao Su, a University of Florida entomology professor and lead scientist and co-author of the study, along with Thomas Chouvenc, a University of Florida research associate.

Su also is the inventor of the popular Sentricon termite baiting and control system, which in 1995 became the first major alternative to liquid chemical treatments.

The findings could put an end to 50 years of failed research attempts to find a species of fungi that could kill termites when introduced into nests. Research repeatedly showed that fungi killed termites in a petri dish but not in the wild, Su said.

"Nobody was able to make it work in the field, but nobody would admit it," he said.

Su's goal was to find out why biological control never worked. His research colleagues determined that Streptomyces bacteria that are found in the nests and feed on fecal matter may be producing beneficial antimicrobial compounds that protect the termites from other potentially toxic matter.

Termites, mostly the voracious Formosans, cause $40 billion worth of damage a year worldwide, eating through wood structures particularly in Japan, China and the United States, Su said.

By the time a house is infested, the underground termite nest typically is 300 feet in diameter, hosting several million termites with a biomass weight of approximately 30 pounds, the weight of a medium-sized dog.

In one example, termites took nine months to bring down a new house in Hawaii built in the 1970s inadvertently on top of an untreated termite colony, Su said.

Further research will attempt to discover a way to bypass the protective compounds to destroy the termites, and to determine whether the findings can lead to new antibiotics for humans to replace those that have become ineffective.

source: interaksyon.com

Peru confirms bishop defrocked for alleged pedophilia

LIMA - A Peruvian bishop has been defrocked over allegations of pedophilia in line with an order from Rome, the Peruvian Bishops Conference said Thursday.

This is the first time a bishop has been accused of abusing children in Peru.

The alleged offender is Gabino Miranda, until now the auxiliary bishop of Ayacucho in southeastern Peru. His whereabouts are unknown.

His punishment -- being reduced to a layman -- was first reported September 15 by another Peruvian bishop. Now it has been confirmed by the full blown bishops conference. It is the harshest punishment the Vatican can impose on a clergyman.

Pope Francis notified Peru in July via the Vatican's embassy here that Miranda must be dismissed and stripped of his status as a clergyman, said Salvador Pineiro, president of the bishops conference.

Pineiro said he supported a government investigation under way into Miranda's alleged pedophilia.

Pineiro is archbishop of Ayacucho and thus had worked with the alleged pedophile.

"In the two years I have been archbishop of Ayacucho, I have never received a complaint against him," Pineiro said in a statement.

After news of the case first broke, Ayacucho prosecutor Gary Nunez began proceedings to have Peru's foreign ministry ask the papal nuncio -- the pope's ambassador -- for information so as to launch a probe of Miranda.

source: interaksyon.com

Over a hundred billion apps will be downloaded from app stores in 2013 — Gartner

MANILA, Philippines — The mobile ‘app’ ecosystem will see strong growth in 2013 as research firm Gartner predicts that more than 100 billion apps will be downloaded from various app stores this year, up 60 percent from last year’s figures.

Majority of these apps will be free, the Gartner report said, but paid downloads will also see a surge this year as 9 billion paid apps will be installed on modern smartphones by the end of 2013.

“Free apps currently account for about 60 percent and 80 percent of the total available apps in Apple’s App Store and Google Play, respectively,” said Brian Blau, research director at Gartner. “iOS and Android app stores combined are forecast to account for 90 percent of global downloads in 2017. These app stores are still increasingly active due to richer ecosystems and large and very active developer communities.

Both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store celebrated 50 billion downloads from their respective mobile storefronts this year, with Apple reporting as much as 800 apps being installed on iOS devices every second.

Android currently holds a majority share of the market with three in four smartphones around the world bearing Google’s mobile operating system. Apple, on the other hand, as a 13.2-percent share of the smartphone pie.

Other app stores available today include Amazon’s app store, BlackBerry World, and the Microsoft Windows Phone Store, all of which have marginal shares in the overall app store market.

Gartner said they see no signs of app movement slowing down in the next few years, but will see a gradual tapering of growth by 2017.

“We expect average monthly downloads per iOS device to decline from 4.9 in 2013 to 3.9 in 2017, while average monthly downloads per Android device will decline from 6.2 in 2013 to 5.8 in 2017. This relates back to the overall trend of users using the same apps more often rather than downloading new ones,” the research firm explained.

Despite this, revenues from these app downloads will still see marked increase in the coming years, with in-app purchases seeing a jump from 17 percent of the total $26 billion in 2013 to as high as 48 percent after four years.

Research shows that IAP contributes to a significant amount of Apple’s App Store revenue from iPhones worldwide. Other platforms have not reached such high levels as the iPhone, but analysts expect they will also see IAP contributions increase in the future.

“We see that users are not put off by the fact that they have already paid for an app, and are willing to spend more if they are happy with the experience,” Blau added. “As a result, we believe that IAP is a promising and sustainable monetization method because it encourages performance-based purchasing; that is, users only pay when they are happy with the experience, and developers have to work hard to earn the revenue through good design and performance.”

source: interaksyon.com

Ex-Westlife lead vocalist in Manila for promotional tour

Former Westlife lead vocalist Shane Filan arrived in Manila on Thursday for a promotional tour.

The 34-year-old Irish singer is expected to perform his debut single “Everything To Me” and other songs from his first solo album, which is set for release by year-end and for exclusive distribution by MCA Music (Universal Music Philippines).

Filan will perform on Saturday at 6PM at The Block of SM City North Edsa and on Sunday at 4PM at the Podium.

The former Westlife frontman is best remembered for the lead vocals on the Irish boy band’s hit songs “If I Let You Go”, “I Lay My Love On You”, “Swear It Again” and “Flying Without Wings”. Westlife have sold over 50 million records worldwide.

source: interaksyon.com

Tablets to outpace total PC shipments in last quarter of 2013 — IDC

MANILA, Philippines — For the first time since their re-introduction to the market, tablets will outship PCs worldwide during the last quarter of the year, signifying a continuous decline for the PC industry as consumers opt for more portable devices.

But though this is the case, PC unit shipments will remain to be larger than the tablet category for the entirety of 2013, as the latter settles with just 227.3 million units shipped around the world compared with the former’s combined unit shipments of 315.3 million for both desktop and laptop devices.





“PCs shipments are still expected to be greater than tablet shipments for the full year, but IDC forecasts tablet shipments will surpass total PC shipments on an annual basis by the end of 2015,” IDC said in a recent statement.

Though both the smartphone and tablet markets are showing early signs of saturation, IDC said it believes the introduction of lower-priced devices in more markets will be a “game changer” for both categories.

These low-cost tablet devices will spark more interest and uptake among first-time buyers in several commercial sectors around the world such as education, it added. This view is reinforced by a recent report by research firm GfK, which stressed that the “strong showing of tablet sales in early 2013 could be attributed to the decline in average pricing for most tablet models, which are now being sold at around P13,000, compared to the P24,373 average pricing recorded last year.”

GfK also pointed out that as much as P3.6 billion worth of tablet devices were sold locally during the first five months of the year, led by 7-inch tablets that have become the sweet spot for size and affordability for consumers.

“Introducing new handsets and tablet devices at cheaper price points along with special initiatives like trade-in programs from Apple and BestBuy will accelerate the upgrade cycle and expand the total addressable market overnight,” said Megha Saini, Research Analyst with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Smart Connected Device Tracker.

Phablets eating tablets

Despite the glowing growth forecasts for the tablet segment, IDC said some form of cannibalization is in the horizon: smartphones are slowly encroaching on the space safely held by 7-inch tablets as manufacturers like Huawei, ZTE, and Samsung produce mobile devices with sizes exceeding six inches.

“The device world has seen several iterations of cannibalization impacting different categories, with the last few years focused on tablets cannibalizing PC sales,” said Bob O’Donnell, Program Vice President, Clients and Displays. “Over the next 12-18 months, however, we believe the larger smartphones, commonly called ‘phablets’, will start to eat into the smaller-size tablet market, contributing to a slower growth rate for tablets.”

Looking forward, IDC said the worldwide smart connected device space — which includes PCs, tablets, and smartphones — will continue to surge, with overall shipments surpassing 2 billion units by the end of 2015 with a market value of $735.1 billion.

In terms of device mix, total PC shipments accounted for 28.7 percent of the smart connected device market in 2012 while tablets accounted for 11.8 percent and smartphones for 59.5percent.

By 2017, total PCs are expected to drop their share to 13 percent, while tablets and smartphones will contribute 16.5 percent and 70.5 percent respectively to the overall market. The shift in demand from the more expensive PC category to more reasonably priced smartphones and tablets will drive the average selling price (ASP) for the collective market from $462 in 2012 to $323 in 2017, IDC added.

source: interaksyon.com

Print newspapers could become ‘luxury’: Amazon chief

NEW YORK CITY — Amazon chief executive and new Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos said Wednesday that print newspapers could one day become a luxury item.

“Some day, I don’t know how many years in the future — it could be decades — but I think printed newspapers on actual paper may be a luxury item,” Bezos told NBC in an interview.

“People still have horses but it’s not their primary way of commuting to the office,” Bezos added.

Bezos was questioned on whether he envisions a day when the Washington Post, which he bought in August, is no longer printed.

The Amazon founder shook up the media world when he announced last month the $250 million purchase of the Post, ending decades of control by the Graham family that included the newspaper’s history-changing coverage of the Watergate scandal and other giant stories.

Bezos said in a recent interview that he is eager to experiment with new techniques to win reader loyalty in the digital era, as he tries to reverse the Post’s decline and restore it to profitability.

source: interaksyon.com

Nissan to recall 910,000 cars worldwide over accelerator issue

TOKYO — Japanese auto giant Nissan said Thursday it would recall about 910,000 cars worldwide over an accelerator glitch that can stall vehicle engines.

The global recall cover five models, including the Serena minivan and X-Trail SUV, produced between October 2004 and June this year, it said.

About 765,000 cars will be recalled in Japan, with about 100,000 units of its luxury Infiniti M sedan being called back in North America.

Another 24,000 vehicles in Oceania and others in Europe, the Middle East and Asia were also being recalled, a company spokesman said.

The recall comes after more than 1,400 complaints from customers, mostly in Japan.

No accidents tied to the accelerator glitch have been reported, the spokesman said.

If drivers step on the accelerator pedal at an angle, sensors measuring pressure exerted on the pedal can malfunction, causing an engine stall, Nissan said.

Japanese automakers, including Nissan rivals Toyota and Honda, have recalled millions of vehicles in recent years, dealing a blow to their reputation for safety and quality.

source: interaksyon.com

US lawmakers move to rein in NSA snooping

WASHINGTON -- Democratic and Republican US senators introduced legislation on Wednesday to end the National Security Agency's bulk collection of Americans' communication records and set other new controls on the government's electronic eavesdropping programs.

The measure introduced by Democrats Ron Wyden, Mark Udall and Richard Blumenthal, and Republican Rand Paul, is one of several efforts making their way through Congress to rein in sweeping surveillance programs.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is holding a public hearing on Thursday when the panel's leaders are expected to discuss their surveillance reforms, the Senate Judiciary Committee is addressing the issue and several members of the House of Representatives have also introduced legislation.

"The disclosures over the last 100 days have caused a sea change in the way the public views the surveillance system," said Wyden, a leading congressional advocate for tighter privacy controls, told a news conference.

The surveillance programs have come under intense scrutiny since disclosures this spring by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that the government collects far more Internet and telephone data than previously known.

The legislation introduced on Wednesday combines several surveillance reforms that legislators had introduced separately.

Besides banning the bulk collection of Americans' records, it would create the position of "constitutional advocate" to represent the public in the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that oversees the eavesdropping programs.

And it would let Americans affected by the eavesdropping sue for damages in US courts and allow companies to disclose more information about cooperation with government surveillance.

"These reforms are the right thing to do, but they are also essential to the public believing that the system is complying with the law," Blumenthal said.

Many members of Congress staunchly defend the surveillance programs as an essential defense against terrorist attacks, but support for change has been growing.

In a 217-205 vote in July, the House narrowly defeated an amendment to an appropriations bill that would have sharply limited the NSA's ability to collect electronic information.

The strong support for the amendment -- bolstered by an unlikely alliance of liberal Democrats and libertarian Republicans -- surprised many congressional observers because House leaders and members of the Intelligence Committee had strongly opposed it.

Given the level of dissent - and widespread public concern - lawmakers said they expected some reforms would be included in the National Defense Authorization Act, which Congress is due to pass late this year to authorize Defense Department programs.

source: interaksyon.com

Fake iOS 7 ‘waterproof advertisement’ fools iPhone users

In a report posted on the Telegraph, a spoof advertisement saying that Apple’s latest mobile operating system can make their iPhones and iPads “waterproof” have fooled some users, and in the process breaking their Apple gadgets.

The fake commercial was said to be identical to an Apple advertising poster complete with image of an Apple mobile device and similar fonts, with a message that says “Update to iOS 7 and become waterproof”.

The poster also also suggested: “In an emergency, a smart-switch will shut off the phone’s power supply and corresponding components to prevent any damage to your iPhone’s delicate circuitry.” And at the bottom, it said: “waterproofing [is] covered by Apple’s warranty policy”.

The U.K.’s Telegraph also reported that “after being shared on social media sites by users encouraging people to try the new feature soon angry complaints appeared from those fooled by the joke.”

According to the report, the prank was started by controversial forum 4Chan, which already had a history of hosting faked material.

Apple iOS 7 is the newest operating system for Apple mobile devices that include the latest iPhone 5S and 5C. iOS 7 will also work with earlier version of the iPads (from iPad version 2) and iPhones (from iPhone 4).

iOS 7 is Apple’s biggest upgrade to the operating system since the mobile device software debuted six years ago, providing major changes in the look, feel, and settings on the hardware.

The iPhone 5s and 5c, already preloaded with iOS 7, went on sale on Friday, September 20, and on Monday, Apple reported selling more than nine million iPhones in its opening weekend.

source: interaksyon.com

Samsung to launch smartphone with curved display in October

SEOUL — Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said it will introduce a smartphone with a curved display in October, as the world’s top handset maker seeks to set the pace of hardware innovation and maintain its supremacy in a fiercely competitive business.

Curved displays are an early stage in screen evolution which is shifting to bendable or foldable designs, eventually allowing mobile and wearable gadgets to take on new forms that could radically change the high-end smartphone market.

“We plan to introduce a smartphone with a curved display in South Korea in October,” Samsung’s mobile business head of strategic marketing D.J. Lee said on Wednesday at an event launching the Galaxy Note 3 smartphone in Seoul.

In January Samsung, which has taken over from Apple Inc as the global smartphone leader, showed off prototype products with a flexible screen and a display that extends from the side of a device.

But technology firms have yet to figure out how to mass produce the parts cheaply and come up with display panels that can be as thin as a sheet and highly heat resistant.

Curved display is already commercially available in large-screen televisions. Samsung and its home rival LG Electronics Inc had started selling curved OLED TV sets this year priced at about $9,000.

source: interaksyon.com

PH stock market tracks Wall Street slide

MANILA - Philippine share prices on Wednesday tumbled for the second straight session, tracking the decline on Wall Street.

At the Philippine Stock Exchange, the benchmark index slid 40.96 points or 0.63 percent to close at 6,420.42. Except for the mining and oil sector, the other counters finished in the red with the service sub-index losing nearly a percent.

Decliners beat advancers, 79 to 60, while 47 issues were unchanged. A total of 810.68 million stocks worth P6.92 billion changed hands.

Most actively traded stocks were Metrobank, LT Group, PLDT, Alliance Global and URC. Top gainers were Mabuhay Vinyl, IMI and Megaworld, while the biggest losers were Synergy Grid, Calapan Ventures and GMA Holdings.

US stocks extended their losing streak to a fourth session as lingering uncertainties over budget discussions and the tapering of US stimulus weighed on sentiment. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 66.79 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,334.59

source: interaksyon.com