Mecca crane collapse 'act of God': engineer

MECCA, Saudi Arabia - The collapse of a construction crane that killed 107 people at Mecca's Grand Mosque was "an act of God" and not due to a technical fault, an engineer for the developer said Saturday.

The massive red and white crane, which crashed into the court of the mosque during a rainstorm and high winds Friday, also injured around 200 people.

The engineer for Saudi Binladin Group, which is carrying out a massive expansion of the mosque, told AFP the crane, like many others on the project, had been there for three or four years without any problem.

"It was not a technical issue at all," said the engineer, who asked not to be identified.

"I can only say that what happened was beyond the power of humans. It was an act of God and, to my knowledge, there was no human fault in it at all."

Authorities are investigating the tragedy, which occurred as hundreds of thousands of Muslims from around the world were gathering for the annual hajj pilgrimage.

The engineer said the crane was the main one used on work to expand the tawaf, or circumambulation area around the Kaaba -- a massive cubed structure at the centre of the mosque that is a focal point of worship.

"It has been installed in a way so as not to affect the hundreds of thousands of worshippers in the area and in an extremely professional way," he said.

"This is the most difficult place to work in, due to the huge numbers of people in the area."

The crane's heavy hook, which is able to lift hundreds of tonnes, began swaying and moved the whole crane with it, toppling into the mosque, the engineer explained.

A witness said the accident occurred during winds which were so strong they shook his car and tossed billboards around.

The development project is expanding the area of the Grand Mosque by 400,000 square metres (4.3 million square feet), allowing it to accommodate up to 2.2 million people at once.

Saudi Binladin Group belongs to the family of the late al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

source: interaksyon.com

Apple TV aims to capture ‘cord cutters’

SAN FRANCICO — The new Apple TV unveiled this week has the potential to do for television what iPhone did to mobile phones, while claiming a starring role in home entertainment.

Updated Apple TV hardware set for release in late October wasn’t expected to revolutionize the television industry, but it could strike a blow to cable companies that have been in a power seat when it comes to delivering shows and other content.

“It turns out fears surrounding the long-term prospects of the cable industry were well warranted,” said Yahoo senior vice president Simon Khalaf, whose mobile analytics company Flurry was bought last year by the Internet pioneer.

“We believe that the industry is facing a perfect storm: apps, app stores and Apple.”

While the unveiling of a new Apple TV on Wednesday did not come with word of deals to stream shows or films from networks or studios, it will have a version of the App Store that has been a hit on iPhones.

“We believe the future of television is apps,” chief executive Tim Cook said.

Apple released a software kit for outside developers, and showed off early versions of Apple TV applications being crafted by streaming services Netflix, Hulu, and HBO.

Siri searches shows

The product launch “sent a warning shot at the cable industry in particular and the media industry in general,” Khalaf said in a blog post.

“Now rather than having dozens of channels to watch, US consumers will have thousands of apps to enjoy on their flat panel TVs ranging from games, to e-sport apps, to live entertainment apps, and to whatever these developers will cook up over the next year.”

Siri virtual assistant software built in Apple TV allowed for natural language searches for shows, such as asking for something funny or a certain actor by name.

Analysts keyed in on the fact that Siri will search across applications on Apple TV, meaning that where shows or films come from should be unimportant to viewers.

People should also be able to see what they want on-demand instead of being at the mercy of cable broadcast schedules.

These options can spur a trend of “cord cutting” or ending the subscription “bundles” offered by cable and satellite TV firms.

Apps trump TV

A Flurry report found that for the first time ever, people in the US in the second quarter of this year spent more each day using mobile applications than they did watching television: a daily average of 198 minutes versus 168 minutes

“Just as they did on the iPhone and iPads, consumers will download these apps and spend plenty of time on them, leaving the dozen or so cable channels lost in a sea of apps,” Khalaf said.

By letting media companies keep control of their content in apps, Apple could find new money-making models while sidestepping worries studios might have about distribution rights.

Since games consistently rank as the most popular apps on mobile devices, the genre is expected to be thrive on Apple TV.

An Apple TV remote control features a touchpad along with sensors that allow it to act as a motion controller similar to those that transformed video game play as part of the original Nintendo Wii console.

Apple TV lacked the kind of computing power and storage capacity found in hard-core video game consoles but was fine for the kinds of “casual” game apps that have rocketed to success on mobile devices, according to analysts.

“I think Apple TV will usher in an era of casual games in the living room,” said Gartner analyst Brian Blau.

The new Apple TV will launch in late October at a starting price of $149.

Apple TV has lagged rivals with similar devices. According to the research firm Parks Associates: Roku leads the US market with a 37 percent market share, to 19 percent for Google Chromecast and 17 percent for Apple TV. Amazon’s Fire TV devices have 14 percent.

Apple shares rebounded a day after a lukewarm market reaction to the US tech giant’s launch of upgraded iPhones and other devices.

Shares rallied 2.2 percent to end at $112.57.

Analysts say Apple is seeking to diversify its product line amid a competitive global smartphone market, and that its new iPad Pro, Apple TV streaming device and Apple Watch may help.

“The new offerings are welcomed additions to the portfolio that will strengthen not only the competitiveness of each product category, but also the wider ecosystem and the increasing developer effort behind this platform,” said analyst Kulbinder Garcha at Credit Suisse in a note to clients.

Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research said that while the iPhone accounts for most Apple revenue, the upgraded Apple TV device “one of the biggest and most important things announced” and “should drive significant new revenue for Apple and for developers.”

source: interaksyon.com

WATCH | Apple unveils iPhone 6S, 6S Plus

Apple Inc unveiled the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus on Wednesday (September 9), the latest iteration of its lucrative smartphone that offers 3D touch, a display technology that responds differently depending on how hard users press their screens. The new phones, which will come in four metal finishes, will also come with an improved, 12 megapixel camera. Apple also said the new iPhone will record 4K video. Apple relies heavily on the sale of its flagship iPhones, which drove nearly two-thirds of the company’s revenue in the most recent quarter.

source: interaksyon.com

Tech world waits for iPhone news and hopes for magic

SAN FRANCISCO — The tech world on Wednesday will have its eyes on Apple, expecting new versions of the company’s coveted iPhone but hoping for magic in the form of unexpected innovation.

Apple remained mum even as rumors ran rampant about what is in store at an upcoming San Francisco media event.

Analysts and industry insiders predict that Apple will unveil updated iPhones along with an Apple TV revamp that may signal a push into the online television streaming sector, dominated by Netflix.

In trademark enigmatic style, Apple has provided little more than the time and place of the event.

An update to the iPhone lineup is considered a sure thing, since the company has a pattern of doing just that every September.

Improvements are expected to include faster processing and better cameras.

New iPhone models might also feature the “force touch” technology used in the Apple Watch, which allows a user to control a device based on how hard the screen is pressed.

The iPhone remains a hot seller, accounting for the bulk of Apple’s revenue, but upgrades are needed to keep iPhone “at the top of the heap” in the competitive smartphone market, according to Gartner analyst Van Baker.

Apple consistently entices the market with tricked-out new iPhones in time for the crucial year-end holiday shopping season.



Apple TV tuned


Another expected star at the event could be Apple TV, which may get an App Store open to outside developers and perhaps focus on game-play, in a challenge to video game consoles.

The third-generation Apple TV was introduced slightly more than three years ago. The California-based company long downplayed Apple TV as a “hobby” after the original version was released in 2007.

“They are finally revisiting their hobby, the Apple TV,” said Forrester analyst Frank Gillett.

Apple is dabbling with the idea of making online television programming, a move that would challenge established players such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, according to a recent report in show-business magazine Variety.

“Original programing is the only solution to Apple’s biggest problem in the video world — that is, that nobody wants to sell Apple content rights,” said Forrester analyst James McQuivey.

“After watching what happened to the music business when Apple was given the keys to the kingdom, video producers and programmers are more than gun shy about handing the same power to Apple in the world of TV shows.”

Apple became a power to be reckoned with in digital music sales due to the popularity of its mobile devices and iTunes online shop.

While Apple was at the forefront of the shift to digital music, the world of Internet-streamed television already has powerful players such as Netflix and Amazon.


Watching for magic


There is weaker speculation that Apple could introduce a new, bigger iPad in what would be a break from the company’s tradition of unveiling tablet news at a separate event in October.

Tablet sales have cooled overall, and Apple faces the challenge of coming up with an innovation that re-ignites interest in iPads, according to analysts.

One way could be by tying iPads to more cloud services that better anticipate what users do using Apple products.

“I think they can make more magic happen,” Gillett said of App. “That is what I am going to look for.”

source: interaksyon.com

Snowden attacks Russia rights curbs, would prefer to go home

OSLO, Norway - Former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden on Saturday criticised Russia -- the country that has granted him asylum -- calling its crackdown on human rights and online freedom "fundamentally wrong" and said he would prefer not to live in exile.

Snowden said Moscow's restrictions on the web were "a mistake in policy" and "fundamentally wrong" as he accepted a Norwegian freedom of expression prize by videophone from Russia.

"It's wrong in Russia, and it would be wrong anywhere," said Snowden, 32, who sought asylum in Russia two years ago after Washington filed a warrant for his arrest for having leaked documents that revealed the vast scale of US surveillance programmes.

Pushed on Moscow's deteriorating human rights record, the whistleblower said the situation is "disappointing, it's frustrating" and described restrictions on the Internet as part of a wider problem in Russia.

"I've been quite critical of (it) in the past and I'll continue to be in the future, because this drive that we see in the Russian government to control more and more the Internet, to control more and more what people are seeing, even parts of personal lives, deciding what is the appropriate or inappropriate way for people to express their love for one another...(is) fundamentally wrong," he said.

Russia 'never my plan'

Snowden said he had "never intended to go to Russia, that was never my plan" and that he had been transiting the country en route for Latin America when US officials cancelled his passport.

"I applied for asylum in 21 countries," he told the audience at the ceremony for the Norwegian Academy of Literature and Freedom of Expression's Bjornson Prize. "They were all silent. Russia was actually one of the last countries in that sequence that I applied for."

The computer expert had left his job with a contractor for the US National Security Agency (NSA) in Hawaii in May 2013 in order to leak his trove of classified information to the British newspaper The Guardian from Hong Kong.

He recalled that the idea of leaving that city for Russia had been suggested by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange -- who himself had to seek asylum in Ecuador's embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden over sexual assault allegations.

"I think his (Assange's) intention was good. He was focused primarily on my safety as a publisher, and having a source, he was interested in the source protection angle," said Snowden.

"But for me, the problem is I wasn't interested in my own safety, my own protection. I never expected to be free today. I expected to be in prison."

The technical expert also criticised many "developed countries"  for ignoring the public's concern about intelligence monitoring by imposing more restrictive laws, which he said turn out to be useless.

"They say: well these things are necessary to keep us safe, " he said, and cited for instance the deadly attack in January by jihadists on a French satirical magazine over its cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

"In the Charlie Hebdo attacks for example, the intelligence services say: 'Oh yes, we knew who these people were'. But it didn't stop the attack."

Normal life
Despite his extraordinary situation, Snowden described his life as "normal", while adding: "I mean, I would prefer to live in my own country."

"But exile is exile," he said.

The White House in July rejected a petition to pardon Snowden, saying the fugitive should return to the United States and "be judged by a jury of his peers" for leaking US government secrets.

And despite his criticism of Russian Internet restrictions and laws encroaching on freedom of speech, Snowden said he feels he is allowed to express himself in Russia.

"I do. And I think it's primarily in the context of the fact that most activities happen online. I mean, when people ask me where I live, the most honest answer is on the Internet."

source: interaksyon.com

Fiat Chrysler US to recall 7,810 SUVs to prevent hacking

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s U.S. arm said on Friday it would recall 7,810 sport utility vehicles in the United States to update software for radios to prevent hacking.

The announcement by FCA US LLC, formerly Chrysler Group LLC, comes more than a month after the company recalled about 1.4 million vehicles in the United States for the software update.

Cybersecurity researchers used the Internet to turn off a car’s engine as it drove, escalating concerns about the safety of Internet-connected vehicles.


FCA said on Friday that it was unaware of any injuries related to software exploitation.

The recalled vehicles include 2015 Jeep Renegade SUVs equipped with 6.5-inch touchscreens.

FCA said that more than half of the recalled vehicles remain with dealers and will be serviced before they are sold.

source: interaksyon.com

IFA 2015 | Samsung to make new smartwatch available to competition

BERLIN — Samsung Electronics said on Thursday it would make its next smartwatch technology available to its competitors who also use Google Inc’s mobile platform Android, hoping to increase its share of the market, which is now dominated by Apple Inc.

The watch will be available as of October, it said at an event in Berlin tied to the IFA, Europe’s largest consumer electronics trade show.

Making the new smartwatches compatible with smartphones made by competitors could help sales for Samsung, which saw its market share shrink sharply following the launch of arch rival Apple’s Apple Watch.

Worldwide smartwatch shipments grew to 5 million in the second quarter of this year from 1 million in the same period last year, according to data of research firm Strategy Analytics.

“We are leading the way in this segment,” said Younghee Lee, Samsung’s global marketing head for mobile. “But we realise we can’t do it alone.”

Apple Watch captured a 75 percent global smartwatch market share, followed by Samsung with an 8 percent share.

Samsung launched its new watch on Monday. The Gear S2 comes with mobile payment technology just like Apple’s Watch.

Samsung did not give a price tag for the watch.

source: interaksyon.com

Kim Kardashian takes Instagram crown with record 45 million followers

LOS ANGELES | Reality television star Kim Kardashian is now more than ever the queen of social media, announcing Wednesday that her Instagram account has a record 45 million followers.

“45 million Instagram followers!!!!! I love you guys!!!!!” Kardashian informed those same followers, captioning a selfie of a sidelong smile and copious cleavage.

With that tally, the star of “Keeping up with the Kardashians” and wife of rapper Kanye West now has more followers than any other Instagram user.

Pop stars Taylor Swift and Beyonce are close behind at 44.7 million and 44.6 million, respectively, and two other pop stars, Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande, round out the top five.

Instagram, acquired by Facebook in 2012, is a platform for users to share photos, with little emphasis on text, a format that may be particularly well-suited to Kardashian’s particular self-promotion genius.

A photo of newlyweds Kardashian and West kissing at their wedding, posted to her account last year, became the most “liked” photo on Instagram before being surpassed by a photo on the account of her younger half-sister, Kendall Jenner, earlier this summer.

Kardashian still has plenty of room for improvement on less photo-centric social media; Katy Perry leads all Twitter users with 74.8 million followers, while Kardashian has a mere 34.9 million.

source: interaksyon.com

Bill Gates asks: 'Who will suffer most from climate change?'

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna -- “Who will suffer most from climate change?” Bill Gates posed this question in his latest blog post.

“The world’s poorest farmers show up for work each day for the most part empty-handed. That’s why of all the people who will suffer from climate change, they are likely to suffer the most,” Gates wrote, answering his own question.

Gates is optimistic, noting that many of the tools farmers need to adapt are quite basic, including better seeds, fertilizer, and training.

“The Gates Foundation and its partners have worked together to develop new varieties of seeds that grow even during times of drought or flooding,” he added.

The tools he mentioned included the “scuba” rice, a flood-tolerant rice variety that can survive underwater for up to two weeks. So far, 10 million farmers in South Asia have access to scuba rice, among other climate-smart rice varieties.

Scuba rice is being promoted by the Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia (STRASA) Project, an IRRI-led project supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In April of this year, senior officers of the Gates Foundation came to IRRI headquarters in Laguna to see for themselves the work being done at the world’s premier research center on rice. They toured IRRI’s research facilities and heard updates on the science and partnership between the two organizations, including the latest on climate change-ready rice varieties.

Gates’s response aligns with the International Rice Research Institute’s mission to confront the challenges of growing rice in the midst of the changing climate.

, , IRRI director general, pointed out that many farmers who belong to the poorest of the poor have not benefited fully from the first Green Revolution of the 1960s-70s. This time around, the second Green Revolution seeks to leave no farmer behind.

source: interaksyon.com

Twitter Ads expands to over 200 countries, territories

MANILA, Philippines -– Twitter expanded its self-service ads platform from 33 countries to over 200 countries and territories.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) from Honduras to Hong Kong can now effectively reach target audiences on it social media platfom in 15 languages according to a Twitter statement.

Furthermore, Twitter said that Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region worldwide and the platform expansion provides additional support for SMBs in Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, and the Philippines. In a recent research study from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), 98 percent accounts for SMB enterprises in Asia.

“Small and medium-sized businesses face the most challenges and are least resourced to promote the good work they do,” said Emily Huo, SMB lead for Asia Pacific at Twitter. “With the expansion of the Twitter self-service ads platform, we are excited to help SMBs level the playing field with digital advertising.”

Twitter launched Twitter Ads for SMBs over two years ago. There are now approximately 100,000 active advertisers on Twitter, including SMBs.

source: interaksyon.com