Record US lottery jackpot hits $950 million

NEW YORK - Americans with dreams of life-changing riches flocked Saturday to buy lottery tickets and a chance at winning the record $948.9 million jackpot, the largest in US history.

The winning numbers, announced just before 0400 GMT, are 32-16-19-57-34 and the Powerball is 13, organizers said.

No winner has yet been announced, but one person could take home a lump sum of $558 million before taxes, they said.

The jackpot began on November 7, but rolled over a surprising 19 times before Saturday.

The Powerball prize skyrocketed from $800 million on Friday, fueling excitement across the US.

Saturday's prize shatters the previous record for a US lottery jackpot of $656 million, scooped up by three winning tickets in North Carolina, Puerto Rico, and Texas in March 2012.

In the Powerball lottery, which takes place each Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. (0359 GMT), five white balls are drawn from a drum containing 69 balls. One red one is pulled from a drum with 26.

To win the jackpot, a ticket holder has to match all the numbers on the six balls selected.

The winner can choose to be paid the full jackpot in annual installments over 29 years -- or take a lower one-off payment in cash.

source: interaksyon.com

VIDEO | Movie-style soundtracks for immersive e-reading

Booktrack is an enhanced platform for e-books that turns reading into an immersive movie-like experience with a synchronised soundtrack. Reuters’ Matthew Stock reports.

 A New Zealand-based start up is hoping to change the way people read e-books. Called Booktrack – it’s a soundtrack for books.

Instead of putting on headphones to just drown out distractions, they’ve added a synchronised soundtrack to accompany the on-page action. UPSOT It’s made up of music, ambient sound and sound effects that dynamically adjust depending on where the reader is up to in the story.

“We are the only enhancement for reading delivered while you read. The most powerful thing about reading is being lost in that reading experience, so what we do is add just one layer of that to get you into the experience quicker and keep you there for longer,” Paul Cameron, Booktrack CEO and co-funder, saying

Michael Tamblyn from e-reader makers Kobo says devices like Booktrack bring an added dimension to reading.

“We’re fighting against all of the other distractions that we have in modern life, and try to carve out a place for books and reading in it…. that’s why you see people trying to create immersive experiences that sort of push away at the distractions that can pull you out of reading,” Michael Tamblyn, CEO of KOBO, saying.

Readers can use Booktrack in their browser or download the software on to their smartphone or tablet. Popular books on Booktrack at the moment include Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and the Sherlock Holmes stories. Key to Booktrack’s immersive platform is how their audio software learns a person’s reading speed.

“What Booktrack does is as you read we know how many words are on the page, every time you turn the page we’re measuring how fast or slow you’re reading, and then the soundtrack dynamically adjusts to match… It’s a bit like having a conductor sitting there going “hang on a minute, slowed down reading, right; cue the next track. So it’s dynamically moving with you as you’re reading the story,” Cameron saying.

Booktrack currently has over 16,000 soundtracked titles in 30 languages. They’ve also released a tool for authors to create and add soundtracks to their own work using a database of sounds and music.

source: interaksyon.com

Tickets sell out for Guns N’ Roses reunion at Coachella

LOS ANGELES | Tickets quickly sold out Wednesday for the Coachella music festival where hard rockers Guns N’ Roses will reunite after more than two decades.

Passes for the three-day festival in the southern California desert went on sale online at 11 am (1900 GMT) and one hour later Coachella social media accounts said that all tickets were gone.

Coachella, which has become one of the world’s best-known festivals, draws more than 180,000 people a year over two consecutive three-day weekends with identical lineups.

Guns N’ Roses, whose 1987 album “Appetite for Destruction” remains the top-selling U.S. debut ever, are scheduled as headliners on the two Saturdays — April 16 and April 23.

The festival will mark the first time that singer Axl Rose and guitarist Slash play together since 1993 when they ended a tour in Argentina amid personality disputes.

Other prominent acts at Coachella this year will include LCD Soundsystem, the influential New York electronic band from the 2000s that is also reuniting, as well as pioneering gangsta rapper Ice Cube and singers Ellie Goulding and Sia.

source: interaksyon.com

CES 2016 | Huawei targets premium segment with new phone, watch

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Chinese electronics giant Huawei took aim Tuesday at the premium segment dominated by Apple, unveiling a new large-screen smartphone along with a tablet and luxury smartwatch.

As it unveiled its latest flagship smartphone called the Mate 8 at the Consumer Electronics Show, Huawei said it sees a path to becoming the number two global vendor in the sector — a spot now held by US-based Apple.

“Every year, every month, we are increasing our market share,” said Huawei consumer devices chief Richard Yu.

“Within a few years we believe we can be number two.”

At CES, Huawei announced the launch of its premium flagship phone claiming better performance and battery life than rivals made by Apple and Samsung.

With a six-inch display, it still has a smaller overall footprint than similar smartphones, said Kevin Ho, who heads Huawei’s handset operations.

The Mate 8 will launch in 30 countries — but not the United States — starting at 599 euros ($650), in line with flagship models from Apple and Samsung.

The first wave of markets where the Mate 8 will be launched are in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.

Ho said the new device has a battery life of more than two days. It has a fingerprint identification system for payments, improved camera audio and microphone technology.

Huawei designed its own chipset for the device, ensuring it stays cool despite high performance, Ho said.

“High performance does not always mean hot,” he said.

Huawei boosted its global smartphone market share to 7.7 percent in the third quarter behind Samsung and Apple, according to research firm Gartner.

It has taken a leading position in China ahead of Samsung, but its US offerings have been limited until its recent agreement to produce a Nexus phone for Google.

Yu said Huawei’s total consumer device revenues grew 70 precent in 2015 to more than $20 billion as it shipped 108 million handsets.

He added that Huawei has in the past few years boosted its global brand awareness and trust from consumers. Huawei’s image was tarnished several years ago amid concerns over its ties to the Chinese government.

“We regained trust from consumers,” Yu said.

Huawei also unveiled a 10-inch tablet which appears to be designed as a rival to the iPad.

The MediaPad M210 will be sold in the US and more than two dozen other markets starting at $349.

The company also unveiled two new versions of its smartwatch — called Jewel and Elegant — which appear aimed at the luxury segment occupied by Apple Watch.

Aimed at women, the two new models start at $499 and $599. The Jewel is made in collaboration with Swarovski and features the European company’s diamond-emulating glass stones known as Zirconia circling the face.

source: interaksyon.com

US stocks plunge after global rout

NEW YORK - US stocks slumped Monday, the first trading day of 2016, as heavy sell-offs in global markets and geopolitical tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia rattled nervous investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 276.09 points, or 1.58 percent, to 17,148.94. The S&P 500 dropped 31.28 points, or 1.53 percent, to 2,012.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 104.32 points, or 2.08 percent, to 4,903.09.

China's shares tumbled 7 percent Monday, triggering the new "circuit breaker" mechanism. The decline is generally being attributed to downbeat market sentiment stemming from weaker than expected manufacturing activity in December and a steep fall in the yuan exchange rate on the day.

The Caixin General China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), released Monday, edged down to 48.2 in December from 48.6 in November. The December reading, the 10th monthly figure in a row below the 50-point level, suggests a contraction.

Tokyo stocks plunged on the first trading day of the New Year as below-par manufacturing data from China compounded a dour market mood, with sentiment initially dashed by Wall Street's slump at the end of last year.

European equities also suffered big losses following Asian stocks' sharp decline Monday, with Germany's benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange diving 4.28 percent.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic ties with Iran over the weekend and asked all Iranian diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours.

Analysts said the heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East sent traders scurrying from stocks to safe haven assets.

On the economic front, the US December ISM Manufacturing Index moved down from November's 48.6 to 48.2, missing market expectations of 49.2, said the Institute Supply Management Monday.

"That the manufacturing sector was weak in 2015 is not news, but a weaker-than-expected reading to close the year raises concerns the slowdown may continue well into 2016," said Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial.

US construction spending data also came out disappointing. The Commerce Department announced Monday that construction spending during November 2015 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of US$1,122.5 billion, 0.4 percent below the revised October estimate.

source: interaksyon.com

Microsoft’s latest operating system running on 200 million devices

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft Corp’s latest operating system, Windows 10, is running on 200 million devices in what the company said was the fastest adoption rate of any of its operating systems.

Windows 10, which the company released as a free download in July, powers both personal computers and devices like phones. It replaced Windows 8, the heavily criticized system dating from 2012.

Just over two months ago, Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said 110 million devices were running Windows 10, meaning the system is now on almost double the number of phones and PCs compared to before the holiday season.

“I would characterize this as white hot adoption out of the gate,” said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets, who has an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Much of the growth comes from retail consumers, with devices such as Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console helping drive adoption of Windows 10, the company said. Xbox’s busiest day ever was Dec. 28, it added.

But the ultimate success of Windows 10 will be judged by the take-up rate among businesses. About three-quarters of Microsoft’s enterprise customers are testing Windows 10, the company said.

Microsoft also needs more mobile developers to build apps for Windows 10 to help catch up with players like Apple and its popular iPhone and iPad devices. It reported some progress in that area Monday, citing more visits to its Windows Store for apps such as video service Netflix and music service Pandora.

source: interaksyon.com

FROM PHONES TO DRONES | China’s risk-takers who rule the world

BEIJING — From a company founded by a college student in 2006 to a global leader in the civilian drone industry, the story of Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) illustrates just what a true commitment to innovation can do.

“The key to innovation is not 1-to-n, it’s the 0-to-1 part that makes all the difference,” said Wang Tao, DJI’s founder.

“First-mover advantages are difficult to lose when you are in the market with groundbreaking technology.” he said.

In 2010, DJI sales were a respectable 3 million yuan (460,000 U.S. dollars). In 2014, that number jumped to nearly 3 billion yuan. DJI is on track to make a billion dollars in 2015.

The Shenzhen company sells nearly 70 percent of the world’s civilian drones, and 80 percent of its revenue is generated outside China.

DJI’s success story is not an isolated case. Xiaomi, a mobile phone firm founded in 2010 became the third-biggest seller of mobile phones worldwide in 2014, the same year that Xiaomi came 35th on a list of the world’s most innovative companies compiled by The Boston Consulting Group.

Aside from its low price, Xiaomi’s popularity can be explained by its innovative MIUI OS which was more smooth than the original Android OS.

As Xiaomi took the phone market by storm, it continually looked to the future and now offers a diverse range of Internet of Things products that interact with its mobiles including an air purifier, bathroom scales, blood pressure monitors, light bulbs, TVs and a webcam.

The success of Xiaomi and DJI boils down to continually reinventing themselves. The search for new technology and new ideas has become a palpable tide in China as the era of cheap labor and fast exports is washed away.

Innovation was put in first place in China’s plan for the next five years, a plan with the grand goal of doubling 2010 GDP and per capita income of both urban and rural residents.

The government set aside 40 billion yuan last year to nurture startups. In the first three quarters of 2015, 10,000 new companies were registered each day.

As China becomes prosperous and more families, even those from rural backwaters, have access to higher education, people are becoming more confident risk-takers. Stable government jobs have gradually lost their shine with the chance of making a new product and reaping rich rewards within the reach of many.

In 2014, venture capitalists pumped a record 100 billion yuan into startups. The figure for 2011 was 30 billion yuan, but there is still ample room for improvement.

Despite being the world’s second biggest gross R&D spender behind the United States, China still lags behind developed countries which normally spend 3 to 4 percent of their GDP on R&D. Last year, expenditure in research and development reached 1.3 trillion yuan, up 9.9 percent from 2014, and more than 2 percent of GDP, only the second straight year above the 2-percent mark.

source: interaksyon.com

Two gunmen dead in Indian air base attack - police

PATHANKOT, India - Two suspected Islamic insurgents were killed Sunday when fighting flared up again at an Indian air force base, a senior police officer said, a day after the initial bloody raid on the base close to Pakistan.

Seven soldiers and four attackers were earlier confirmed killed during the assault on the Pathankot base in the northern state of Punjab, which triggered a 14-hour gunbattle Saturday.

The attack -- a rare targeting of an Indian military installation outside disputed Kashmir -- threatens to undermine improving relations with Pakistan.

It came just about a week after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a surprise visit to Pakistan, the first by an Indian premier in 11 years

Security officials suspect the gunmen belong to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, the group that staged the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament which brought the two countries to the brink of war.

Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh Saturday tweeted "all five terrorists" have been killed but security officials at the site had found only four bodies.

Early Sunday afternoon security forces came under heavy fire inside the base during a search for munitions and possible militants.

The police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity the two militants were killed four hours after the first contact was made Sunday. But the search would continue before the base was declared safe.

"Both have been killed. We are yet to retrieve their bodies," the officer said.

The base commander, J S Dhamoon, told reporters separately the operation was close to completion but gave no information on any fresh casualties.

The Pathankot air base houses dozens of jet fighters and is important for its strategic location about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Pakistan border.

Rajiv Mehrishi, a top home ministry official, said troops and police had foiled the aim of the intruders to damage equipment at the base.

"Due to active intelligence and quick action taken by forces we were able to ensure there was no damage to the assets," Mehrishi told reporters in New Delhi.

Mehrishi said seven security personnel were killed and 20 injured but declined to give any details of Sunday's gunbattle.

Among the military dead was a lieutenant-colonel in the elite National Security Guard, a commando unit. Also killed was Subedar Fateh Singh, a gold medallist at the 1995 Commonwealth Shooting Championships in New Delhi, an air force spokeswoman said.

In July three gunmen said to be Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militants killed seven people including four policemen in an attack in the Sikh-majority state of Punjab.

The possible involvement of Pakistan-based militants in the latest raid could be a setback for peace overtures between the nuclear-armed rivals, who have fought three wars since independence in 1947.

Modi Saturday termed the attackers as "enemies of humanity" but did not blame Pakistan.

Islamabad, meanwhile, moved quickly to condemn the attack which it described as a "terrorist incident".

The US State Department termed the assault "a heinous" terrorist attack and urged the two rivals to work together to hunt down those responsible.

Modi's December 25 visit to the Pakistani city of Lahore to meet his counterpart Nawaz Sharif indicated a potential thaw in tensions, and the foreign secretaries of both countries are scheduled to meet in Islamabad this month.

source: interaksyon.com

'Unforgettable' singer Natalie Cole dead at 65

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - Grammy-winning singer Natalie Cole, whose biggest hit came in a virtual duet with her late father, pop legend Nat King Cole, of his decades-old hit "Unforgettable," has died at the age of 65, her family said on Friday.

The family's statement said Cole died on Thursday night at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles from "ongoing health issues."

Cole's career spanned five decades in the R&B, soul, jazz and pop genres. In 2015, she had canceled appearances citing medical reasons.

"It is with heavy hearts that we bring to you all the news of our Mother and sister's passing," the Cole family statement said. "Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived - with dignity, strength and honor. Our beloved Mother and sister will be greatly missed and remain UNFORGETTABLE in our hearts forever.”

The statement was signed by Cole's only child, Robert Yancey, and her twin sisters, Timolin and Casey Cole.

Tributes quickly poured in for Cole, with singer Tony Bennett saying on Instagram he was "deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Natalie Cole, as I have cherished the long friendship I had with her, her father Nat, and the family over the years."

Bennett added: "Natalie was an exceptional jazz singer and it was an honor to have recorded and performed with her on several occasions."

‘Unforgettable’ comeback

Cole broke out in 1975 with the hit "This Will Be," which won the Grammy for best R&B female performance and also earned her the Grammy for best new artist. Critics compared her to Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin but her career floundered in the 1980s when she ran into problems with heroin.

She bounced back, and her career reached the superstar level in 1991 when she recorded "Unforgettable ... With Love." The album contained songs associated with her father, the silky-voiced baritone who was one of the most popular performers of the 1940s and '50s but died before his daughter began her solo career.

Using technology that was cutting edge at the time, studio engineers merged her voice with her father's in the song "Unforgettable," which had been a hit for Nat King Cole in 1951. The result was a moving, sentimental No. 1 hit 40 years later, that actually sounded as if the two were singing a duet.

The song and the album it came from earned Cole three Grammy Awards.

"I thank my dad for leaving me such a wonderful, wonderful heritage," Cole said in accepting her awards.

Cole's other hits included "Everlasting," "Sophisticated Lady," "I've Got love on My Mind," and "Good to Be Back." In all, she won nine Grammys.

The success of "Unforgettable" capped her comeback after a dark period of heroin, crack and alcohol abuse. In "Angel on My Shoulder," her 2000 memoir, Cole said she turned to drugs because of unresolved issues in her life, including being molested as a child and her father's death when she was 15.

She spent six months in a rehabilitation program at the Hazelden Clinic in Minnesota and told CBS in 2006 that "those people gave me my life back one day at a time."

Cole was diagnosed with hepatitis in 2008 from sharing needles with drug addicts, and underwent kidney transplant surgery in 2009. This past autumn, she canceled several concerts scheduled for November and December, citing a recent medical procedure.

Her 2008 album of pop standards, "Still Unforgettable," included another duet with her father, "Walkin' My Baby Back Home." Her most recent work was 2013's "Natalie Cole en Espanol."

Cole was only 11 when she first sang professionally, with her father. But she went to the University of Massachusetts in Amherst with no plans of an entertainment career. While in college, she performed with bands and set aside plans for being a child psychologist.

Cole's mother, Maria Cole, also had been a singer with the Duke Ellington and Count Basie bands.

Cole portrayed herself in "Livin' for Love: The Natalie Cole Story," a 2000 television movie that depicted her drug addiction. She was married three times.

"We’ve lost a wonderful, highly cherished artist and our heartfelt condolences go out to Natalie’s family, friends, her many collaborators, as well as to all who have been entertained by her exceptional talent," Neil Portnow, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Singer Patti LaBelle tweeted “Sending prayers and condolences to all the loved ones of my friend #NatalieCole! She will be truly missed but her light will shine forever!”

Singer Lenny Kravitz posted on Instagram: "As the new year was ushered in, an angelic instrument moved on. Natalie Cole's voice was perfection. And what a lady... You will be missed my dear. Love."

source: interaksyon.com

Robert Redford death reports are ‘sick hoax,’ publicist says

NEW YORK | Robert Redford is alive and well, his publicist said on Thursday, calling reports on Twitter that the “Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid” actor had died “a sick hoax.”

Twitter briefly erupted with R.I.P. tributes after a tweet purporting to come from Britain’s Sky News said the 79-year-old actor had died after falling off a golf buggy in the Southern California beach city of Santa Monica.

The fake news feed where the post appeared, Sky Breaking News, in the past has spread other celebrity death reports that proved untrue.

“This is a sick hoax. I just spoke to him and there is no truth to this whatsoever,” Robert Redford’s publicist, Cindi Berger, said. She said the actor was at home and fine.

In the roughly 15 minutes in which the hoax report spread like wildfire on Twitter, posters tweeted their sadness, calling Redford an icon, a “looker in his day” and a “proper star.”

There was no comment from Redford himself, who is not on Twitter or Instagram.

source: interaksyon.com