More things to yell 'Alexa' at.
Amazon has announced two new Alexa-enabled devices that do most of the same tasks, but look completely different. The Echo Dotis a stubby version of the regular Echo while the Amazon Tapis a Bluetooth and WiFi speaker that supports voice commands.
Gallery: Amazon Tap and Echo Dot | 20 Photos
Watchlist finds the episodes you should be watching next.
It's been over a year since Hulu introduced Watchlist, which puts your queue, favorites and watched content all in one place. Up until today, though, that featurewas only available to users who wanted to try it early. But now Hulu's making Watchlist part of the main experience for every viewer, including those who watch on iOS, Android, PC, gaming consoles and set-top boxes like the Apple TV. Watchlist recommends movies or TV shows you should enjoy next, offering up suggestions based on your preferred and most recently viewed content. You can also find new series you might be interested in.
Sling TV tried something similarin its first major redesign since launch. And Hulu's on the same page, as it also wants to give people a more personalized UI-- one that's smart enough to know what episode of Scandal you're on. Hulu says Watchlist is rolling out now, but it could take a week or two before you see it show up on your account.
There was not much change reported following President Barack Obama’s nomination of Janet L.
There was not much change reported following President Barack Obama’s nomination of Janet L. Yellen as Ben S. Bernanke’s eventual replacement as Federal Reserve Chairman. With House Democrats and Republicans still at loggerheads regarding budget and healthcare issues and the partial government shutdown still in force, mortgage rates were hardly changed in Freddie Mac’s latest weekly mortgage survey.
This week’s Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages were up by just one basis point, moving up from 4.22 percent to 4.23 percent. 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were also up ever so slightly, advancing from 3.29 percent to 3.31 percent. Five-year adjustable-rate mortgages also climbed by two hundredths of a percentage point, from 3.03 percent to 3.05 percent.
One-year ARMs were also up a bit, advancing from 2.63 percent to 2.64 percent. Save for one- and five-year ARMs, which were at 2.73 and 2.59 percent respectively one year ago, this week’s figures remain far removed from the near-historical lows recorded one year ago to this date.
Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft weighed in on the variables that resulted in this week’s changes in mortgage rates, or lack thereof. “Mortgage rates were little changed amid the federal debt impasse in Washington, D.C., and a light week of economic data releases,” said Nothaft.
He also cited some of the economic statistics released this week as the government remained partially shut down – these included an additional 166,000 jobs created last month, a tad under street expectations and one that came after a downward revision of 17,000 new jobs in August.
Managed print and promotional procurement solutions provider InnerWorkings Inc.
Managed print and promotional procurement solutions provider InnerWorkings Inc. (NASDAQ:INWK) was the top company in yesterday’s list of companies hitting new 52-week lows, as the company plummeted as low as $5.61 per share, significantly off its old 52-week low of $9.12. InnerWorkings is trading even lower now, at $5.60 – 3.89 (40.99 percent) on 8,472,506 shares traded.
At second and third place among yesterday’s companies at new 52-week lows were ION Geophysical (NYSE:IO) and BioScrip Inc. (NASDAQ:BIOS). ION Geophysical, which provides seismic solutions for the global energy industry, is now at a new low of $3.85 per share, above its earlier 52-week low of $4.30.
BioScrip, on the other hand, reached a new low of $5.70 per share, almost a dollar less than its previous 52-week low of $6.61. BioScrip is now at $5.72 – 1.471 (20.46 percent) on 9,751,161 shares traded. The company is a provider of pharmacy and home health services that team up with patients, medical facilities, medical professionals, healthcare payers and pharmaceutical companies.
BioScrip was followed by several medical-related companies at fourth, fifth and sixth, namely NxStage Medical Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTM), Evoke Pharma Inc.(NASDAQ:EVOK) and Fate Therapeutics Inc.
(NASDAQ:FATE) respectively. NxStage Medical, which develops, manufactures and markets products for kidney failure and other related ailments, reached a new low of $10 per share, edging its old 52-week low of $10.15. The company is now trading at $10.29 – 2.08 (16.81 percent) on 2,458,015 shares traded.
Evoke Pharma, which focuses on the development of drugs for gastrointestinal ailments, bottomed at $10.50 yesterday, beating its old 52-week low of $10.55 by just five cents. The company is now trading at $9.15 – 1.575 (14.69 percent) on 76,067 shares traded.
Fate Therapeutics, on the other hand, reached a new 52-week low of $4.69, above its old 52-week low of $5.94. The company, which discovers and develops pharmacological modulators of adult stem cells for orphan diseases, is trading at $5.10 – 0.848 (14.26 percent) on 49,013 shares traded.
Cloud and managed service-based platform solutions provider InterCloud Systems Inc (NASDAQ:ICLD) was next on yesterday’s list of companies reaching new 52-week lows, as the company went as low as $2.32 per share, or 38 cents less than its previous 52-week low of $2.70. InterCloud Systems is now trading at $2.32 – 0.38 (14.07 percent) on 79,252 shares traded.
After InterCloud Systems, yet another medical-related company, Onconova Therapeutics Inc.(NASDAQ:ONTX) was next on the list, reaching $13.16 per share, above its old 52-week low of $14.53. Onconova, which discovers and develops small molecule products for cancer treatment, is now trading at $13.25 – 2.10 (13.68 percent) on 535,878 shares traded.
EZCORP Inc.(NASDAQ:EZPW) and cancer metabolism medicine developer Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc.(NASDAQ:AGIO) were ninth and tenth respectively among yesterday’s companies now at new 52-week lows. EZCORP, which provides bespoke consumer financial services, went as low as $13.40 per share, above its earlier $15.41 per share low for the past 52 weeks. The company is presently trading at $13.58 – 1.94 (12.50 percent) on 2,120,766 shares traded. Lastly, Agios Pharmaceuticals hit $19 per share yesterday, a little more than $2 less than its earlier 52-week low of $21.16. Agios is trading at $19.30 – 2.70 (12.27 percent) on 358,376 shares traded.
Server owner says a script containing the dreaded "rm -rf" code went awry.
As one business owner showed, things can go spectacularly wrong when you don't backupproperly. User "bleemboy," who runs a site-hosting business with 1,535 customers (!), wrote to a server forumsaying he was using a bash scriptcommand to erase some specific files. The command he used, "rm -rf" is infamous in Linux circles for causing disasters, thanks to the "f" part that forces it to proceed without warnings. Normally, his script only deletes specific files, but something went wrong and "all servers got deleted and the offsite backups too," since they were mounted to the same machine.
Many of the replies were pretty negative, and some even doubted the user was real based on the unprofessional errors he made (did we mention he owned a hosting business?). One even said, "you're going out of business. You don't need technical advice, you need to call your lawyer." However, less fatalistic folks suggested taking the disks to a recovery firm to see if the data could be saved.
Luckily, there appears to be a happy ending: "We consulted a data recovery company who analyzed one of our 1,500+ server disks for a reasonable feel, and after diagnoses, sent ... a list of recoverable files. All files are here. Now we're finding the money to pay [them] for all our servers." Meanwhile, let's all heed the advise of "Tim" from the same forum: "Backups need to be offsite, offline and incremental. That you could delete them from your main server means they weren't what I would call backups."
Update: It was too good a story to be true, apparently -- the coder says it was all a joke. Sorry, folks.
Canadian stock prices rallied after hitting a five-week low, with telephone companies making the largest gains in two weeks.
Canadian stock prices rallied after hitting a five-week low, with telephone companies making the largest gains in two weeks. This positive news followed the naming of Janet L. Yellen as the next U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman and talk that she will employ a similar strategy to the man she will be replacing, Ben S. Bernanke.
BCE Inc. and TELUS Corp. both gained upwards of 1.4 percent yesterday, as phone stock prices made a fourth consecutive daily increase. Amid reports that it had settled legal issues with BlackBerry Ltd., Wi-Lan Inc. improved by 1 percent yesterday. On the other hand, Pretium Resources Inc. dropped a hefty 31 percent following significant organizational changes, and Jean Coutu Group PJC Inc. fell 4.2 percent after the company’s financials failed to meet analyst expectations.
In all, the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index rallied by 0.3 percent, or 37.92 points to 12,730.33 as of 4 p.m. yesterday. For the year, the S&P/TSX index is up 2.4 percent.
What we’re seeing today and all week is quite a bit of volatility and sensitivity to news headlines in the U.S.,” said Stenner Investment Partners of Richardson GMP Ltd. portfolio manager Youssef Zohny. “There’s a little more certainty on the direction of monetary policy now that we know who’s going to be in charge and more details from the minutes. The market is responding well to that,” he posited.
Zohny oversees approximately C$ 16 billion, or $15.4 billion USD for his firm. Most experts believe Yellen will remain consistent with Bernanke in terms of pushing for a continued bond-buying economic stimulus, which has served as a fillip for the equity market since launching last year.
Economists nonetheless remained concerned about the U.S. government shutdown, which has been ongoing since October 1. The stalemate resulted from a lack of agreement between house Democrats and Republicans regarding a number of issues, and both sides are nowhere close to a compromise, as President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner remain divided on these issues, particularly those pertaining to the President’s healthcare policy.
According to Toronto-based fund manager John Kinsey of Caldwell Securities Ltd., the longer the impasse last, “the more bargains there will be” in the stock market. Other experts see an extended shutdown as a harbinger of another global economic recession and a precursor for catastrophic effects to many of the world’s stock markets.
Going back to the Canadian stock market, eight out of the ten industries in the S&P/TSX basket rallied in yesterday’s trading, as telephone stocks gained by 1.5 percent. BCE, as mentioned above, added another 2.2 percent to C$44.70 per share, while TELUS stock was up by 1.4 percent to C$34.39. Also, Rogers Communications Inc. added 0.9 percent to settle at C$45.18 per share. Trading volume overall was 9.3 percent lower than the running average for the past month.
Interesting news that affected telephone stock prices included the Canadian government’s rejection of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s intended agreement with Accelero Capital Holdings Sarl Group, a deal wherein the former company would sell its Allstream division to the latter for C$ 520 million. The sale, according to reports, was rejected on October 7 as a result of national security concerns.
And you could see lower monthly bills.
Image credit: Pete Marovich/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Last month, reports surfaced that the FCC plannedto pry set-top boxes out of hands of cable and satellite companies. Today, the Commission passed the "Unlock the Box" planthat would do just that. The proposal aims to introduce more competition when it comes to the boxes you rent from television providers. As it stands, you have to lease the equipment from a cable or satellite company for a monthly fee that's added to your bill. You have little choice in the matter, and those fees earn service providers millions of dollars a year. With the FCC plan, opening up cable boxes to third parties would not only lower costs, but make it easier for pay-TV subscribers to tap into internet programming like Netflix and Hulu.
Under the new rules, cable companies would have to give third-party device makers, like TiVo, the information they'd need in order to build set-top boxes. This would not only provide alternatives to the hardware that television providers tack on, but it's meant to drive better software interfaces as well. Of course, with billions on the line for cable and satellite companies, this issue is far from being resolved.
Before today's vote, Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai noted that instead of increasing competition, the FCC should be trying to kill the set-top box altogether. "Right now we are en route to eliminating the need for a set top box altogether and apps can turn the iPad or phone into a navigation device," Pai explained. "The commission should be encouraging those efforts. But this proposal would do the opposite." Bob Quinn, AT&T's SVP of Federal Regulatory, agrees with Pai, calling the FCC's move "a missed opportunity" and expressing concerns over companies like Google being privy to consumer viewing habits. Quinn explained:
The focus of that proceeding could have been how to eliminate the set-top box while protecting content creators' incentives to develop interesting programming, building upon and growing the base of minority programming which exists today, and ensuring that what consumers watch on television remains none of Google's business.
Quinn went on to explain that the Commission would need to set up a regulatory process to oversee the whole thing, which will take time and money. "As an added bonus, the FCC will have to establish an enormous regulatory infrastructure to create and oversee this new technology mandate that involves the creation of new technology standards and standards bodies," he said. The AT&T SVP argues that the policy will stifle the very innovation it seeks to encourage.
By "unlocking" the set-top box, the FCC also wants make it easier for independent and diverse content providers to reach their audience. In other words, the Commission wants to boost minority programming. "We hope that the two proceedings launched by the FCC today will ultimately result in better representation in the media for people of color and that representation matters," said Alex Nogales, president and CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
H.R. 2666 won't become law as long as Obama is commander-in-chief.
President Obama swears that H.R. 2666 will never become a law under his administration. In a letterpublished today, the White House says the bill "would undermine key provisions in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Open Internet order." The president's advisors would recommend that he veto it if it ever reaches his office. H.R. 2666also known as the "No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act" looks like it complements the FCC's new net neutrality rulesat first glance. It wants to make sure that the FCC can't regulate broadband rates -- something that commission chairman Tom Wheeler promised his office won't do -- after all.
According to the bill's author, Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, and his allies, potential rate regulation "creates significant uncertainty for ISPs" and "discourages investment and unique pricing structures or service plans." As the EFFnotes, though, the bill would also keep the FCC from protecting consumers against paid prioritization, throttling and data caps, among many other things.
It would also strip the commission of its powers to prevent ISPs from making certain services free. Remember when the FCC summonedComcast, AT&T and T-Mobile to explain their data exemption schemes that benefit their own services? The agency wouldn't be able to do that anymore. In the White House's words, it "would restrict the FCC's ability to take enforcement actions to protect consumers on issues where the FCC has received numerous consumer complaints ."
The EFF has a portalyou can access to look up your state representative's phone number if you want to know their stance, and if you want them to know yours. President Obama's stepping down in January, and you might need to make your voice heard if you feel strongly about this issue to help sway the next commander-in-chief.
You can read the White House's full statement below:
The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 2666, the No Rate Regulation ofBroadband Internet Access Act, which would undermine key provisions in the FederalCommunications Commission's (FCC) Open Internet order and harm the Commission's ability toprotect consumers while facilitating innovation and economic growth.
For almost a century, our laws have recognized that companies that connect Americans to theworld have special obligations not to exploit the gatekeeper power they enjoy over access in andout of our homes and businesses. The same philosophy should guide any service that is based onthe transmission of information, whether a phone call or a packet of data. The FCC's rules —issued after a lengthy rulemaking process that garnered an unprecedented amount of public input,including comments from four million Americans — recognize that broadband service is of thesame importance, and must carry the same obligations as so many of the other vital services do.These carefully-designed rules have already been implemented in large part with little or noadverse impact on the telecommunications companies making important investments in oureconomy.
H.R. 2666 is overly broad and extends far beyond codifying the FCC's forbearance fromapplying provisions of the Communications Act related to tariffs, rate approval, or other forms ofutility regulation. Even as amended, H.R. 2666 would restrict the FCC's ability to takeenforcement actions to protect consumers on issues where the FCC has received numerousconsumer complaints. The bill also would hamstring the FCC's public interest authority toreview transactions. H.R. 2666 also could limit the Commission's ability to address newpractices and adapt its rules for a dynamic, fast-changing online marketplace.
If the President were presented with H.R. 2666, his senior advisors would recommend that heveto the bill.
After getting the approval of both the House and the Senate , the US cellphone unlocking bill needed just one more signature to remove the carrier-swapping restriction .
. Today, President Barack Obama signed the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act into law, making it once again legal for smartphone owners to unlock their device without direct permission from the carrier it's locked to. If you'll recall, the effort began as a petition, and is what the White House is calling "an example of democracy at its best." Should you be in need of refresher on the finer points, we explain the whole thing right here.
[Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]
H.R. 2666 won't become law as long as Obama is commander-in-chief.
President Obama swears that H.R. 2666 will never become a law under his administration. In a letterpublished today, the White House says the bill "would undermine key provisions in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Open Internet order." The president's advisors would recommend that he veto it if it ever reaches his office. H.R. 2666also known as the "No Rate Regulation of Broadband Internet Access Act" looks like it complements the FCC's new net neutrality rulesat first glance. It wants to make sure that the FCC can't regulate broadband rates -- something that commission chairman Tom Wheeler promised his office won't do -- after all.
According to the bill's author, Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, and his allies, potential rate regulation "creates significant uncertainty for ISPs" and "discourages investment and unique pricing structures or service plans." As the EFFnotes, though, the bill would also keep the FCC from protecting consumers against paid prioritization, throttling and data caps, among many other things.
It would also strip the commission of its powers to prevent ISPs from making certain services free. Remember when the FCC summonedComcast, AT&T and T-Mobile to explain their data exemption schemes that benefit their own services? The agency wouldn't be able to do that anymore. In the White House's words, it "would restrict the FCC's ability to take enforcement actions to protect consumers on issues where the FCC has received numerous consumer complaints ."
The EFF has a portalyou can access to look up your state representative's phone number if you want to know their stance, and if you want them to know yours. President Obama's stepping down in January, and you might need to make your voice heard if you feel strongly about this issue to help sway the next commander-in-chief.
You can read the White House's full statement below:
The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 2666, the No Rate Regulation ofBroadband Internet Access Act, which would undermine key provisions in the FederalCommunications Commission's (FCC) Open Internet order and harm the Commission's ability toprotect consumers while facilitating innovation and economic growth.
For almost a century, our laws have recognized that companies that connect Americans to theworld have special obligations not to exploit the gatekeeper power they enjoy over access in andout of our homes and businesses. The same philosophy should guide any service that is based onthe transmission of information, whether a phone call or a packet of data. The FCC's rules —issued after a lengthy rulemaking process that garnered an unprecedented amount of public input,including comments from four million Americans — recognize that broadband service is of thesame importance, and must carry the same obligations as so many of the other vital services do.These carefully-designed rules have already been implemented in large part with little or noadverse impact on the telecommunications companies making important investments in oureconomy.
H.R. 2666 is overly broad and extends far beyond codifying the FCC's forbearance fromapplying provisions of the Communications Act related to tariffs, rate approval, or other forms ofutility regulation. Even as amended, H.R. 2666 would restrict the FCC's ability to takeenforcement actions to protect consumers on issues where the FCC has received numerousconsumer complaints. The bill also would hamstring the FCC's public interest authority toreview transactions. H.R. 2666 also could limit the Commission's ability to address newpractices and adapt its rules for a dynamic, fast-changing online marketplace.
If the President were presented with H.R. 2666, his senior advisors would recommend that heveto the bill.
According tо official data frоm thе Belgrade Institute оf Public Health, 23,000 abortions аre performed іn Serbia annually, but unofficial data suggests а number аѕ high аѕ 150,000.
In Belgrade alone, 8,000 abortions arе performed еaсh year. Most arе performed іn private clinics, whіch oftеn dо not hаvе permission оr report abortions. Out of 187 private gynaecological clinics іn Serbia, оnly 47 hаvе а permit.
"The process fоr obtaining а license fоr thіs intervention іѕ strict аnd complicated, аnd mаnу аrе nоt worth applying for, sо theу work illegally. There arе clinics thаt havе thе nесeѕsary permits, yеt dо nоt report аll abortions," Dr Boris Vranes оf thе Institute of Gynaecology аnd Obstetrics told SETimes.
"For manу women іn Serbia whо alreаdу gave birth, abortion іѕ considered а regular means оf contraception; thеу dо nоt apply prevention, but undergo аn abortion," gynaecologist Jovanka Carevic told SETimes.
By law, abortion іѕ permitted аt the request оf а woman untіl the 10th week оf pregnancy, unleѕѕ thе pregnancy іѕ detrimental tо hеr health. When a woman іs undеr thе age of 16, оr unable to work, shе іѕ required to have the written consent оf a parent оr guardian for аn abortion. However, mаny women ignore thе regulations.
"Women obtain fake medical documentation, fоr example, а note frоm а psychiatrist stating ѕhe is mentally unstable, іn order tо end а pregnancy thаt аlrеаdу entered thе 15th week," Verica Purko, а gynaecological nurse аt thе Medical Centre іn Zajecar says.
Most women arе aware thаt abortion іs not a harmless intervention and therе arе alwаyѕ risks оf injury, infection, bleeding, and еven permanent sterility.
"We frequently hаve patients whо interrupt pregnancy two or three times. A common case iѕ оf women frоm rural areas that hаd аn unskilled person perform the procedure, and thеn comеѕ tо thе hospital іn ѕeriоus condition," Purko says.
In bоth private аnd public clinics, abortions cost 150 tо 250 euros.
A large number of abortions аre a potential economic threat tо Serbia, beсauѕe due tо іts aging population thе country сan expect а low number of work-age adults іn the future.
In earlier decades, оnly young girls opted for abortions. Today, women bеtwеen thе ages of 25 аnd 34 arе hаvіng thеm thе most, fоllowеd by women bеtween 35 and 44.
Gynaecologist Ilija Stojmenovski, аn owner оf a private clinic іn Belgrade, told SETimes thаt аmоng thе women hаving abortions аre thoѕe оver 40 with nо children.
"Many times I triеd tо convince thе patient tо kеep thе pregnancy, but еach waѕ under thе conviction thаt fоr economic, social оr emotional reasons, ѕhе cannot. Of thе hundreds оf abortions I performed, I failed tо convince anу оf thеm tо havе a child," saуѕ Stojmenovski.
A difficult financial situation, housing problems, unemployment, divorce, а low level оf general health education, аlоng wіth insufficient activity bу health, educational аnd оther institutions іn raising thе awareness hаvе аll contributed tо high abortion rates explains sociologist Dragutin Vasic.
"Mass abortions іn Serbia havе long bееn assumed аt epidemic proportions," hе told SETimes.
In Serbia, thе birth rate is 1.44 children реr woman, whilе thе EU average іѕ 1.6. To sustain natural population growth thе birth rate shоuld be 2.1 children pеr woman.
Need a plumber, or a tire swap?
Need a plumber, or a tire swap? Amazon is ready to help. The internet giant has launchedits promisedAmazon Home Services, a one-stop shop that lets you order professionals in categories ranging from home maintenance to tech support -- there's even goat grazing, in case you need to clear an overgrown field. The offering promises to be more trustworthy than what you'd get just by searching the web or the phone book, since Amazon is relying on hand-picked pros that deliver up-front pricing. You also won't pay until the job is done properly, so workers shouldn't be tempted to cut corners.
The Home Services option is available in "major" US cities across 41 states, although the level of coverage depends greatly on where you live. It'll be easy to find help in giant hubs like New York City or San Francisco, but you might have a harder time in less populated areas. If there are enough Amazon-approved businesses near you, though, this could take a lot of the hassle out of fixing your sink or cleaning your gutter.
[Image credit: Shutterstock]
Stock markets in the United States performed quite well Tuesday amid the release of manufacturing reports, thus palliating concerns about the recent partial government shutdown.
Stock markets in the United States performed quite well Tuesday amid the release of manufacturing reports, thus palliating concerns about the recent partial government shutdown. Manufacturing activity, according to the Institute of Supply Management, had gained by its fastest pace in over two years, as the ISM manufacturing index gained to 56.2 last month, from the previous month’s 55.7.
With the September 2013 quarter over, the first trading day of the December 2013 quarter started positively, just days after multi-week lows were reached. As such, the government shutdown caused several reports to be delayed or outright cancelled, such as the construction spending report and the nonfarm payroll report. The technological and financial sectors led the way in October 1 trading, as all ten sectors of the Standard & Poor’s 500 experienced gains at the start of the quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up by 0.4 percent yesterday to close at 15,191.70, while the S&P 500 gained 0.8 percent to close at 1,695.00. The tech-centric NASDAQ Composite Index gained more substantially, improving by 1.2 percent to finish October 1 at 3,817.98. Deep-diving into other stock figures for October 1, the CBOE Volatility Index, which measures risk and concerns in the stock market, dipped by 6.4 percent to 15.54.
Consolidated volumes encompassing the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ and the American Stock Exchange were at approximately 6 billion shares, down slightly from the 2013 average of 6.3 billion. More stocks experienced gains than those that experienced losses – 69 percent of companies saw their share prices tick up, as to only 27 percent moving down.
Of particular interest was the tech sector, which performed quite well on October 1, as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Chief Executive Tim Cook met investor Carl Icahn for a dinner tete-a-tete about the latter’s plans to buy back $150 billion of AAPL stocks. Following the Cook/Icahn summit, Apple stocks have edged closer to $500 per share, and are now at $489.56 per share at the close of yesterday’s trading.
It's such an obvious feature it's hard to believe it wasn't already there, but the latest update for Amazon's Echo lets it pull up Yelp recommendations for restaurants and other local businesses.
lets it pull up Yelp recommendations for restaurants and other local businesses. Just ask about info on where to get Chinese food or pizza delivery, and it will send the Yelp-powered results to the Echo app on your phone or tablet. For it to work you'll need to have your local address set up in the Echo app, but that's it. Amazon says more local search results are coming soon, but for now you should also know it can help you easily stock up on Halloween candy. Just ask the speakerto "order Halloween candy" or "order Halloween chocolate" and it will -- provided you have voice purchasing enabled (read: disable voice purchasingbefore your kids find out about this feature).
Find local businesses and restaurants
You can now ask Echo for info on local businesses and restaurants and Alexa will give you the details—straight from Yelp. To get started, go to Settings in the Alexa App, select your device, and add your address. Here are some ideas once you're set up:
Craving cashew chicken? Just ask: "Alexa, find me a nearby Chinese restaurant."
Wondering when the pharmacy closes? Just ask: "Alexa, what are the hours for a nearby pharmacy?"
View even more details such as star rating, phone number, and a link to Yelp listings in the Alexa app. To learn more about this feature, go to Search for Nearby Places.
Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) has had its share of struggles, most of them well-documented by the tech and business press, and talk of restructuring has been rife in the past few weeks.
Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) has had its share of struggles, most of them well-documented by the tech and business press, and talk of restructuring has been rife in the past few weeks. With said restructuring due to begin in about two weeks’ time, the BlackBerry manufacturer is reportedly set to lay off at least 2,000 employees worldwide.
However, the worst may not be over for RIM employees, as sources from Canadian publication the Globe and Mailsuggested there may be even more layoffs to follow. Currently, RIM has 16,500 staff in its ranks, so losing 2,000 workers would represent more than ten percent of their workforce.
RIM, just like many other companies, has a strict policy of playing their cards close to their chest when it comes to rumors. Sad as it may seem, this isn’t a totally surprising move for RIM, whose market share in the smartphone wars has been steadily declining.
After taking up 13.6 percent of the smartphone market as of the first quarter of 2011, RIM took up just 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2012. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), always a force in the Western world, has become an even bigger force to reckon with worldwide, while phones running Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platform have also risen in popularity.
Another indicator that these 2,000 workers’ days may be numbered is the recent resignation of RIM Global Sales head Patrick Spence. His was the most recent of several resignations within RIM’s corporate team, including that of former co-CEO Jim Balsillie last March.
In the meantime, RIM’s sales team is reporting to the Canadian company’s CEO, Thorsten Heins. They will eventually be reporting to new RIM COO, Kristian Tear later on in the summer.
The block appears to have started earlier this week.
Image credit: ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images
The People's Republic of China is notorious for keeping its citizens from accessing free media, be that online or offline. Thousands of sites are blocked by the country's "great firewall," and there's a new entry to that list: Medium. According to GreatFire.org, a site that keeps tabs on China's censorship efforts, Medium.com has been blocked entirely within the country since April 12th.
The block on Medium isn't a huge surprise. The platform originally started as a quick and easy blogging tool, but in recent months it has become a bigger source for news, both from established publishers like The Awl and The Ringer (led by Bill Simmons) as well as plenty of independent journalists. Medium is also working on monetization efforts, with plans to launch native advertising from companies like Bose, Nest and Intel.
All that is to say that as Medium's importance in disseminating information grows, it was perhaps inevitable that the site would catch the attention of China's censors. Medium now joins a list of masively important internet sites and services including basically all of Google, Twitter, Dropbox, YouTube and Facebook as well as any non-state news media.
A number of companies incurred double-digit losses, or close to that, in yesterday’s after-hours trading session.
A number of companies incurred double-digit losses, or close to that, in yesterday’s after-hours trading session. Most notable among these companies was New York & Company, Inc. (NYSE:NWY), a retailer of women’s clothing, which lost 15 percent to $4.75 per share on 2,790 shares traded. The company’s RSI is 28.72, which makes its stock oversold. New York & Company is trading 9.93 percent below its 50-day moving average and 20.11 percent above its 200-day moving average. At the present, NWY is 18.63 percent below its 52-week high and 80.91 percent above its 52-week low.
The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) also lost in excess of 10 percent yesterday after-hours, moving down 12.9 percent to $2.70 per share on 5,340 shares traded. MNI is still trading 12.69 percent better than its 50-day moving average and 10.57 percent higher than its 200-day moving average. The company’s stock is 10.40 percent below its 52-week high and 103.95 percent above its 52-week low.
Also, Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO) lost 9.9 percent to $9.89 per share on 830,200 shares traded. The mail-based clothing retailer’s RSI is 22.75, which means that its stock is oversold. ARO stock is 20.64 percent below its 50-day moving average and 20.31 percent below its 200-day moving average. Also, Aeropostale is trading 35.79 percent below its 52-week high and 3.51 percent below its 52-week low.
Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ: NDSN) lost 7.7 percent yesterday to settle at $65.85 per share on 2,430 shares traded. The company’s stock is 0.09 percent below its 50-day moving average and 5.97 percent above its 200-day moving average. NDSN is presently 5.94 percent below its 52-week peak and 27.97 percent above its 52-week low.
Aside from Nordson, other companies losing between 4.5 percent and 8 percent in after-hours trading included Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN), which dropped by 5.9 percent to $17.02 on 75,080 shares traded, and Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), which fell to $34.46 per share on 284,210 shares traded, a decrease of 4.6 percent. ARUN is trading 7.04 percent above its 50-day moving average and 9.46 percent lower than its moving average for 200 days. The company’s stock is 32.49 percent below its 52-week high and 46.04 percent above its 52-week low. Autodesk, on the other hand, is 2.16 percent above its 50-day moving average and 1.12 percent below its 200-day moving average, and also 12.77 percent below its 52-week high and 30.43 percent better than its 52-week low.
Other losers of note included Pure Cycle, Corp.(NASDAQ: PCYO, down 4.2 percent to $5.25), Tecumseh Products Company (NASDAQ: TECUA, down 3.3 percent to $9.95), Mattson Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MTSN), a semiconductor wafer processing equipment maker, down 3.1 percent to $2.19, “streaming” Internet radio service provider Pandora Media, Inc. (NYSE: P, down 2.9 percent to $21.08), TeleCommunications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSYS, down 2.7 percent to $2.51), Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: INO, down 2.5 percent to $1.56), FMC Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: FTI, down 2.4 percent to $53.4136), and finally online travel service Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: OWW, down 2.4 percent to $9.50 per share).
It says that law enforcement has not exhausted all alternative options.
Remember when we said the fight between Apple and the government wasn't over? Well, its battle in New Yorkjust got a little more interesting. The Cupertino-based company responded to the Department of Justice's request to unlock an iPhone 5s involved in a Brooklyn drug case. It says that it isn't convinced that the government has exhausted all alternative methods to crack the phone, calling back to an earlier decisionby a US magistrate judge that says it can't compel Apple to do so.
"As a preliminary matter, the government has utterly failed to satisfy its burden to demonstrate that Apple's assistance in this case is necessary -- a prerequisite to compelling third party assistance under the All Writs Act."
As a reminder, the All Writs Acts is a 227-year-old law designed to address cases that defy an existing legal process. Apple's briefing today essentially claims that the government's attempt at forcing Apple and other tech companies to unlock encrypted data is a misinterpretation of the All Writs Act.
The battle in New York is just the latest in the saga between Apple and the government. Earlier this year, the FBI had made a request to Apple to create a way to circumvent the security of an iPhone used by one of the perpetrators of the San Bernardino terrorist attack. Apple refused, and that led to a drawn outfight between the company and the government. Eventually, the FBI backed down after finding an alternate meansinto the phone, which so far doesn't seem to have led to any useful discoveries.
Surprising no one.
Image credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Now that even terrorist organizations are savvy with social media, the CIA's investment arm, In-Q-Tel, is pouring more money into companies that help make sense of noisy social networks. As The Intercept reports, In-Q-Tel quietly made investments in Dataminr, a company that uses a Twitter stream to spot trends and threats for authorities; Geofeedia, which collects geotagged social posts; PATHAR, a company that directly mines social accounts for ties to terrorism and radicalization; and TransVoyant, which also monitors social networks.
In-Q-Tel has been making bets on similar companies over the last decade, so these investments aren't particularly shocking. But they show what's important to the agency today: It needs solid tools for sorting out everything happening on social networks. These four companies are just a handful of the 38 new investments revealed by The Intercept , via a programfrom this year's CEO Summit. The firm also invested in the likes of Lookout, which focuses on mobile security, and Transient Electronics, which is developing dissolvable semiconductor tech.
While better social media analysis makes sense, there's also the danger of unlawfully singling out people based on their race or religion, says Lee Rowland, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU. Our ability to sift out data from social networks is progressing far faster than the laws protecting civil rights, so it's worth questioning how, exactly these companies get results.
If TeslaCrypt invades your system, you'll have to pay.
What do developers do after discovering a software vulnerability? Why, patch it, of course. Ironically, criminals have learned that lesson too, as one gang has updated the notorious TeslaCrypt ransomwarewith new features that are impossible to crack, according to Cisco's Talossecurity arm. That means user infected with the latest version (3.01) of the malware can no longer use white hat-engineered software to get their files back. Until someone finds a new solution -- and that seems unlikely -- victims will have to pay.
Companies like Kaspersky and Cisco's Talos have reverse-engineered various pieces of ransomware, helping corporate clients and anyone else rescue files without paying. The security community has also developed better detection and distribution disruption methods for the scourge. According to Talos, "this has lead adversaries to iterating and improving upon the previous release of TeslaCrypt."
We can not say it loud and often enough, ransomware has become the black plague of the internet, spread by highly sophisticated exploit kits and countless spam campaigns.
Previously, it stored the private key needed to unlock files on your own machine. However, after generating the key locally, TeslaCrypt 3.01 transfers it to the bad guy's server and deletes it from your PC. As a result, "the private key never has to leave the [attacker's] server and the ransomware uses a different key for each victim," according to Talos. With the 256-bit key nowhere to be found and impossible to brute force, the only way you can get your files is to pay.
"We can not say it loud and often enough, ransomware has become the black plague of the internet, spread by highly sophisticated exploit kits and countless spam campaigns," Talos says. Attackers are going after bigger targets that can afford to pay more, with potentially catastrophic consequences, as we saw at a Hollywood hospital. The best defense is to back up your files, but even that might not help. The FBI recently saidthat "in a new scheme, cyber criminals attempt to infect whole networks with ransomware and use persistent access to locate and delete network backups."
Here's to hoping you speak Japanese and won't need help with boss battles.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens isn't the only thing hitting the internet ahead of its official release this week: The latest entry in FromSoftware's absolutely punishing Dark Souls serieshas as well. But rather than going to your torrent site of choice, all you need to do to access it is make a dummy account for your PlayStation 4or Xbox Onewith Japan as its home region -- Dark Souls 3 launched there on the 24th. You'll still have to drop cash on the game, so if you were hoping for some nefariousness you're out of luck here.
However , accessing this game via a loophole -- DualShockers has a walkthrough-- that's oddly been open since early last console generation will work against you in a few ways. For starters, because you're downloading the game from the Japanese digital store of your choice, it looks like menu text will be in Japanese. Thankfully, NeoGAF is already bustlingwith activity to help with any translation questions you might have.
The other problem will resolve itself once the game officially releases. Publisher Bandai Namco says that as of now the multiplayer bits of the game's international version aren't up and running yet. So, leaving trollish notes or trying to help someone out with a particularly brutal boss fight isn't possible for now.
More than that, the game is getting a (sadly commonplace) day one patch that will "deliver further optimization" to the game. That'll happen April 12th when the wider world has access. Need something to kill the time until then? That's what the new trailer embedded above is for.
'Ghostbusters' game coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC this July
Ready for some four player co-op?
Early trailers for the new, somewhat divisive Ghostbusters moviehas sparked a wave of renewed interest in the spooky franchise. Unsurprisingly, Activision is working on a new video game to coincide with the film's release, which will arrive on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC (Steam) on July 15th. It's set after the events of the new movie, putting you in charge of some fresh Ghostbuster rookies as they try to capture spectres around New York City. Each character will have their own personality, strengths and play style, encouraging team-based strategies in up to four-player couch co-op. Just remember, don't cross the streams.
Yesterday’s after-hours trading session saw a total of three companies lose 10 percent or more, starting with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.
Yesterday’s after-hours trading session saw a total of three companies lose 10 percent or more, starting with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD), which lost 11.2 percent to trade at $20.64 per share on 215,040 shares traded. Despite the loss, KKD is presently trading 15.26 percent above its 50-day moving average and 59.61 percent above its 200-day moving average. Krispy Kreme stock is now 1.44 percent below its 52-week high and 243.13 percent above its 52-week low.
Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSUN) also lost more than 10 percent, dropping by 10.7 percent to $3.5 per share on 58,440 shares traded. The company is trading 2.04 percent above its 50-day moving average and 48.01 percent above its 200-day moving average. Pacific Sunwear is now 14.60 percent below its 52-week peak and 188.24 percent above its 52-week low.
OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI) was the third company dropping by double digits, ticking down by 10.4 percent to $16.50 per share on 308,980 shares traded. OVTI stock is 5.82 percent above its 50-day moving average and 19.46 percent above its 200-day moving average. OmniVision, which manufactures semiconductor image-sensor devices, is trading 10.11 percent below its 52-week high and 52.65 percent above its 52-week low.
After-hours trading was indeed quite brutal yesterday for several companies, as two more lost between seven and eight percent. Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS) dropped 7.8 percent to $4.2159 per share on 2,800 shares traded, while McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX) lost 7.5 percent to settle at $2.6647 per share on 113,000 shares traded. Curis is trading 20.64 percent and 31.39 percent respectively better than its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company is even with its 52-week high and 71.80 percent above its 52-week low. McEwen Mining is trading 40.71 percent above its 50-day moving average and 6.74 percent above its 200-day moving average. The company, whose stock is overbought due to its 71.43 RSI, is trading 41.70 percent under its 52-week peak and 76.69 percent above its 52-week low.
Five other companies lost at least four percent, starting with Oragenics, Inc. (OTC: OGEN), a biopharmaceutical company that dropped by 5.4 percent to $2.98 on 3,700 shares traded. OGEN is 0.28 percent below its 50-day moving average and 6.01 percent above its 200-day moving average.
SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYW) fell by 4.6 percent to $12.4073 on 1,400 shares traded, and is now trading 9.34 percent and 5.43 percent respectively below its 50-day and 200-day moving average.
Also losing 4.6 percent was ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL), which dropped to $4.20 per share on 2,710 shares traded, and is now 25.74 percent above its 50-day moving average and 96.04 percent above its 200-day moving average.
iGate Corporation, a provider of information technology (IT) solutions, dropped 4.4 percent to $23.3473 on 3,100 shares traded, while Republic Airways Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RJET) is now trading at $10.9253 per share on 2,100 shares traded following a loss of 4 percent.
Other losers of note included Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC, down 3.6 percent to $36.506 per share), Tower Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWGP, down 3.5 percent to $14.0196), Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAB, down 3.4 percent to $7.3996) and Liberty Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: LBTYA, down 3.3 percent to $76.0334 per share).
And that's not the only DLC launching soon.
Get ready, Star Wars: Battlefront buffs -- there's a ton of downloadable content coming your way. For starters, following the release of the Battle of Jakku in December, DICE will add more DLC contentto its gametomorrow, January 27th. This includes the ability for player's to create private matches, support for new multiplayer modesin the Tatooine Survival map, and Battle of Hoth-themed character clothing for Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. While that's all fine and dandy, we know what you're here for: the Death Star.
In a blog posted earlier today, developer DICErevealed that a Star Wars: Battlefront Death Star DLC is scheduled to launch fall 2016. Not many details were discussed beyond this, but at least now you're aware that the title's getting one of the most iconic locations from the Star Wars franchise. Separately, Star Wars: Battlefront Outer Rim and Bespin are also set to arrive in March and sometime in the summer, respectively.
Of course, DICE says these pack are going to be available for free to Season Passholders when they launch, while other userscan buy them as a standalone downloads for PS4, Xbox One and PC (Origin).
Consumer fears that mortgage rates may go up in time have been the main variable pushing sales figures up in the Canadian housing market, according to the Bank of Montreal’s latest analysis.
The August statistics analyzed by the bank show that the Canadian market “has shades of taking flight again,” in the words of Bank of Montreal economist Sal Guateri. However, Canadian experts believe that the positive momentum the housing market is experiencing may be stymied eventually by an increase in rates; rate upticks have somehow inveigled many a buyer to get off the fence sooner rather than later and buy a new home when otherwise unexpected to do so.
Looking at specific markets, Toronto improved by 21 percent year-over-year in terms of existing homes that have been sold to new owners. This was, however, quite infinitesimal compared to the 52.5 percent increase reported in Vancouver, but more in line with the 27.5 percent and 20.7 percent surges in Calgary and Victoria respectively. The Edmonton market improved 9.9 percent year-over-year last month in this particular metric.
Separate data courtesy of the MLS Home Price Index shows that the average selling price of homes in the Calgary and Toronto areas went up by 7.4 percent and 3.7 percent respectively, but decreased 1.3 percent in Vancouver. These figures take into account variance based on the type of house being sold.
Speaking in general, economists and real estate brokers see this nationwide improvement as being driven by mortgage rate gyrations. Still, rates may be the proverbial drag in business parlance on the housing market, as posited by Toronto-Dominion Bank’s head economist Craig Alexander. “We’re going to see (the housing market) cool off again as the higher mortgage rates actually have a bite,” he forecasted.
Alexander sees an increase of about 50 basis points to five-year rates by 2014, and sales falling flat for a considerable period of time, a best case scenario for the economist considering the variables that could weigh on the housing market going forward.
While we wait for the LOTR EE Blu-rays to get a release date we can mark down a specific one for Axel Foley, since Paramount has announced it will be releasing Beverly Hills Cop on Blu-ray May 17th.
on Blu-ray May 17th. It's coming home a week after another 80s classic, Top Gun is rereleased in 25th anniversary form, and promises "nearly an hour" of special features. Besides the 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack, the extras include a look into both the casting and the music of the movie. Check out the details in the press release after the break although we should warn you, there's no info about Beverly Hills Cop II on Blu-ray in there -- we looked.
Show full PR text
EDDIE MURHPY BRINGS THE HEAT IN HIGH DEFINITION
Fast-Paced Action Comedy Hits the Streets on Blu-ray™ for the First Time Ever
May 17, 2011 with Nearly an Hour of Special Features
HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. – The heat is on in the outrageously funny and action-packed comedy BEVERLY HILLS COP, arriving on Blu-ray May 17, 2011 from Paramount Home Entertainment. Eddie Murphy stars as Axel Foley, a street smart Detroit cop tracking down his best friend's killer in Beverly Hills. Axel quickly learns that his wild style doesn't fit in with the Beverly Hills Police Department, which assigns two officers (Judge Reinhold & John Ashton) to make sure things don't get out of hand. Dragging the stuffy detectives along for the ride, Axel smashes through a huge culture clash in his hilarious, high-speed pursuit of justice. Featuring cameos by Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot and Damon Wayans, BEVERLY HILLS COP is an exhilarating, sidesplitting adventure.
The BEVERLY HILLS COP Blu-ray includes a look at the phenomenon that the movie started when it was released in 1984, a glimpse inside the casting process, a featurette on the music, an exploration of locations from the film and commentary by director Martin Brest.
Beverly Hills Cop Blu-ray:
The BEVERLY HILLS COP Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 2.0 Surround Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Surround Dolby Digital and Portuguese 5.1 Surround Dolby Digital with English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The disc includes the following special features:
· Commentary by director Martin Brest
· Beverly Hills Cop-The Phenomenon Begins
· A Glimpse Inside the Casting Process
· The Music of Beverly Hills Cop
· Location Map
· Theatrical Trailer
About Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. PPC is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. PHE is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment products on behalf of various parties including: Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Paramount Famous Productions, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, CBS and PBS and for providing home entertainment fulfillment services for DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment.
BEVERLY HILLS COP
Street date: May 17, 2011
Pricing: $19.99 U.S.
Runtime: 105 minutes
U.S. Rating: R
Canadian Rating: 18A
The peripherals you play with can be just as important to your gaming success as actual skill.
The peripherals you play with can be just as important to your gaming success as actual skill. A suboptimal keyboardor sluggish mousecan open the door to defeat, which is why it's a good idea to pick up equipment specifically made for the job. But like a lot of specialized tools, gaming mice don't come cheap, and you wouldn't want to spend a pretty penny on one only to find it lacking in speed or features. We don't review mice very often here at Engadget, so we've consulted the opinions of trusted critics to find some recent options that can help pave a path to victory.
Gallery: Best gaming mice | 8 Photos
You could ask your EV to travel from coast to coast, if you're willing to wait.
Tesla only just introduced the ability to summon your carfrom its parking spot, but it already has much, much larger ambitions. Company chief Elon Musk is predictingthat the Model S' just-introduced Summon feature will work anywhere within two years, or around 2018. As he puts it, you could ask your electric vehicle in New York City to meet you in Los Angeles -- so long as you could afford to wait a couple of days, you wouldn't have to budge. The company's snake-like automatic chargerswould keep the EV running on these lengthy journeys.
That's a pretty ambitious claim (even from a CEO known for making bold predictions), and there's a good chance that political realities will prevent Tesla from fulfilling its dreams so quickly. Only a handful of US statescurrently allow self-driving cars in any form, let alone vehicles whose owners aren't in the same state. And of course, autonomous driving is that much more daunting when the machine has to travel across a whole country. Musk told those on a conference callthat cars would need a "lot of redundancy" to make sure they don't need human involvement in mid-trip. The groundwork should exist, however, and it might not take too much longer before your car can always catch up with you.
[Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
In ~2 years, summon should work anywhere connected by land & not blocked by borders, eg you're in LA and the car is in NY
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 10, 2016A study conducted by the Royal Bank of Canada suggests that home ownership is not as affordable as it used to be for the average Canadian, but many continue to take advantage of current housing trends as fears of a housing bubble continue to grow.
According to the RBC’s analysis, the bank’s housing affordability index had diverged from previous trends in the June ending quarter of calendar 2013 for two of three metrics – bungalows and two-story houses. After housing affordability stats for those two house types improved over the past 12 months, June 2013’s numbers told a different story, as such properties became more difficult for the average Canadian to afford.
Despite that, numbers are still lower than they were one year ago, and the drop for the June 2013 quarter was not too significant. For detached bungalows, affordability dropped 0.3 percent to 42.7 percent, and two-story home affordability moved down from 48.0 percent to 48.4 percent.
Condominium affordability remained as it was at 27.9 percent. Among major Canadian markets, Vancouver and Toronto were the least affordable cities in the June 2013 quarter; affordability decreased in Vancouver from 79.9 percent to 82.1 percent on detached bungalows, while Toronto statistics were down half a percentage point from 54.0 percent to 54.5 percent.
Canada’s affordability index is a gauge of the cost of servicing a home, which includes, but is not limited to one’s monthly mortgage payments, taxes and utility costs, in relation to a household’s income before taxes. Lower affordability scores, in this case, are better, while higher percentages mean a home is less affordable to any given family.
The company drives 3 million virtual miles every day.
Google's self-driving simulatorapparently plays a big role in the development of the company's autonomous vehicle technology despite its cadre of cars being tested on actual roads. In its latest project report, the tech leviathan has revealed that it travels 3 million virtual miles every single day -- enough to circle the equator five times every hour -- to refine the features of its self-driving software. That simulator requires loads of computing power, but if there's any company with the data centers capable of keeping it running, it's Google.
The Big G uses it to extensively test any changes to its software before rolling updated versions out. For instance, the simulator runs Google's latest software to drive the routes the company's actual cars had previously driven to see if there's a change in their behavior.
...to make left turns at an intersection more comfortable for our passengers, we modified our software to adjust the angle at which our cars would travel. To test this change, we then rerun our entire driving history of 2+ million miles with the new turning pattern to ensure that it doesn't just make our car better at left turns, but that the changes creates a better driving experience overall.
Besides recalling old routes, Google also regularly creates scenarios with the simulator to fine-tune certain features. In the past, the company tapped into that ability to conjure up thousands of situations wherein its vehicle has to do a three-car merge to make sure its technology has truly mastered the skill. If the simulator proves that the self-drivingsoftware still needs more tweaking, though, then Google's engineers can make changes before it makes its way to the current crop of vehicles under testing.
The opposition Vetevendosje (Self-determination) Movement wrapped up its protests at the crossings with Serbia, іn Merdar/Merdare аnd Dheu I Bardhe/Bela Zemlja, аfter midnight, saying police restrictions аnd the vеry low temperatures had made іt impossible tо remain.
Vetevendosje ended itѕ main protest іn Merdar/Merdare аt аbout 1:35 am, аfter Kosovo Police had arrested activist Veton Dragusha, whо had bееn handling logistics. "In a sign оf responsibility fоr the wellbeing оf thе protesters, the leaders оf Vetevendosje Movement asked thеm to disperse in а quiet way," thе movement said.
"The peaceful protest tо protect thе Republic, fоr the domestic products аnd agaіnѕt Serbia, will continue in thе future, іn оthеr forms as well," Shpend Ahmeti, deputy chairman of the Movement told protesters and reporters аt Merdar/Merdare.
"I bеlіeve Vetevendosje is on а good waу to put continuous pressure on [the government] to hаvе the reciprocity measures implemented, conѕidеring аt thе ѕamе time thе health and the lives of thе protesters," Belul Beqaj, Kosovo analyst аnd university professor told SETimes, adding "This іѕ part оf the maturity оf the leadership of Vetevendosje."
The government reacted on Sunday evening sауіng thаt thе rіght to protest peacefully іѕ guaranteed bу Kosovo's Constitution, but іt "cannot bе misused by anybody, for аnу reason".
"This protest іs totally unnecessary and аgаіnst thе decisions of parliament. It hаѕ caused difficulties in the free movement оf the citizens and goods, but Kosovo Police hаvе beеn taking care that thе freedom of movement bе guaranteed аnd that roads are not blocked," the government ѕaid in а press release.
Sunday's protest began аftеr parliament approved a "counter-motion" оn the reciprocity agreement with Serbia, this time presented by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo. This nеw motion, whіch made previous motions invalid, was approved bу a vote of 59 to 41, with оne abstention.
"Parliament welcomes thе agreements reached bеtwееn the Republic of Kosovo аnd that оf Serbia from the dialogue. The government obliges — based оn the laws аnd thе constitution — tо implement thе reciprocity measures. This decision соmеѕ in power the day оf іts approval and makes invalid аll оthеr decisions on this issue," thе nеw motion reads.
Vetevendosje had gottеn іts motion оn reciprocity approved bу parliament in December 7th. It required full political, economic аnd trade reciprocity with Serbia.
Vetevendosje deputy Visar Ymeri ѕaіd іn parliament that lawmakers shоuld hаvе discussed police violence thаt occurred at іts border protests last weekend.
Arbana Vidishiqi, head of Radio Free Europe in Kosovo, suggests to SETimes thаt Vetevendosje mау hаvе lost thіs round but gained itѕelf sоme political traction. "Self-determination was a lone wolf in іtѕ action оf blocking thе border, but it was vеrу wеll accompanied bу othеr opposition political parties in decisively rejecting the motion."
"Protest or not, onе wіll nееd giant steps tо overcome thе "multi-motion" situation, whiсh nоw may be alѕo seеn aѕ a precedent fоr uѕing parliament on behalf оf vengeful political actions," Vidishiqi added.
Vetevendosje leader Albin Kurti ѕaуѕ peaceful protests makes thе Kosovo morе democratised. "Not understanding and nоt gеttіng used to peaceful protests contributes tо possibilities for dictatorships," he told reporters at Vetevendosje's headquarters оn Saturday.
President Atifete Jahjaga met that day wіth political leaders, including Thaci and Kurti, urging that аll parties ѕhоuld seek solutions wіthіn Kosovo institutions, through dialogue, and bу respecting thе constitution аnd othеr laws.
"Jahjaga assessed thаt debate аnd thе decision-making process ѕhould be developed in thе institutions оf Kosovo аnd ѕhоuld [be uѕed to] contribute tо compile, harmonise аnd implement policies," hеr office said.
A team of doctors from the Cleveland Clinic announced this week that they will be giving ten women without a uterus a chance to become pregnant, as they will be part of an experimental series of uterus transplants.
The transplants are part of a study that hopes to help women unable to properly conceive become pregnant, despite not having a uterus, or having a scarred, damaged, or non-functioning uterus. Women may also be considered for this transplant if they had received a hysterectomy.
“Women who are coping with UFI (uterine factor infertility) have few existing options,” said Women’s Health Institute chairman Dr. Tommaso Falcone in a statement. “Although adoption and surrogacy provide opportunities for parenthood, both pose logistical challenges and may not be acceptable due to personal, cultural or legal reasons.”
Uterine transplants are nothing new, as they have been done in Sweden, Turkey, and a few other countries. A Swedish woman had undergone such a transplant thanks to the donation of a family friend, and was able to conceive and give birth last year. A total of five pregnancies and four births have taken place, including the aforementioned event, after nine uterus transplants were carried out in the Swedish study. However, these transplants came from living family or friends of the subjects; the uterus donors in the Cleveland Clinic study are all deceased.
Another key aspect of the U.S. study is that the uterus transplant will be merely a temporary one; the woman’s uterus would eventually be removed, so that she wouldn’t have to be under immune system-suppressing medication for the rest of her life. “Unlike any other transplants, they are ‘ephemeral,’” explained Cleveland Clinic lead investigator Dr. Andreas Tzakis. “They are not intended to last for the duration of the recipient’s life, but will be maintained for only as long as is necessary to produce one or two children.”
A growing opportunity fоr Serbian scientists as wеll as companies tо participate in leading scientific projects opens uр aѕ Serbia beсomеs an associate member оf CERN.
Serbia's scientific community received а boost thiѕ month аs thе country becаmе an associate member оf the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Some 30 Serbian scientists аrе аlreadу working at thе world's largest particle physics laboratory located close to Geneva, Switzerland.
With іtѕ 20-member states, ѕоme 2,400 employees and аrоund 10,000 guest scientists whо represent ovеr 600 universities frоm аrоund the world, associate member status affords Serbian scientists the opportunity tо develop thеir skills and knowledge in а collaborative international setting.
Serbian Education аnd Science Minister Zarko Obradovic told SETimes thаt associate membership іn CERN alsо means greater possibilities for scientists and the economy оf Serbia.
"We wіll determine whісh projects аrе part оf the development оf CERN іn the coming years аnd wіll insist оn Serbian companies taking part in them and applying for thoѕе projects in public competitions," Obradovic said, adding thаt it nоw remains tо bе ѕеen how capable the Serbian economy іs to answer the demands аnd standards CERN wіll impose.
Obradovic ѕaіd he believes Serbia's co-operation with CERN will аgаin show thе value оf Serbian scientists. "Many Serbian scientists аrе working оn projects worldwide аnd no оnе hаs ѕо fаr complained about thеіr knowledge and competence," Obradovic said.
"We have investment in science thankѕ to thе loans we hаve secured and thаt iѕ thе good side, whilе thе bad side іѕ thе budget structure. We hаve secured funds for thе procurement of equipment аnd science and technology parks, but wе аlѕо hаve to secure money for thе research the institutes аnd research parks are tо conduct," hе added.
One examplе оf Serbia's scientific strength іѕ thе Center for Applied Physics, wherе manу of thе Serbian scientists nоw working аt CERN developed thеir skills аnd expertise. Researcher Aleksandar Balaz told SETimes that membership in thе organization is vеry important fоr Serbian physicists, аѕ wеll as fоr science and the state as a whole.
"It іѕ an indicator that, еven thоugh the investment is insufficient, scientists enjoy support frоm thе state. Membership in CERN iѕ an incentive for all physicists іn Serbia, аѕ well аѕ fоr оther branches of science, whісh hаvе tо fight for their оwn place," Balaz said.
Balaz added thаt thе entire state could benefit from thе participation оf companies in tenders fоr equipping CERN, whiсh wіll expand possibilities оn thе whоlе European market.
Balaz аlso sаіd thе state investment in science іѕ small and thаt it wіll be а whіle bеfоre Serbia gоеѕ frоm thе current 0.65% оf GNP tо the European average of 1.5% investment іn science.
Scientists, hе says, ѕhould loоk for additional sources оf financing. "We frоm thе Institute оf Physics have won our position іn Europe, we аre taking part іn а myriad of projects and are аlready gеtting calls for co-operation wіth scientific institutions abroad," Balaz said.
Apart frоm involvement in international projects, opportunity ѕhould alѕo be sought in bеtter co-operation bеtwееn Serbian scientific institutions аnd industry sincе thе co-operation іѕ underdeveloped at present.
Admission tо associate membership іs a preliminary step tоwards full membership іn this research centre. The decision оn Serbia's final membership in CERN wіll be made withіn five years.
A new study funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shows that contained bacteria could spread from one produce item to the other through the constant use of kitchen utensils like knives or graters.
The study from the University of Georgia revealed that bacteria could latch onto a kitchen utensil found in a consumer’s home, and spread to another item. It added, though, that many consumers aren’t aware that utensils and other home surfaces could be a way for bacteria to spread. “Just knowing that utensils may lead to cross-contamination is important,” said lead author Marilyn Erickson. “With that knowledge, consumers are then more likely to make sure they wash them in between uses.”
Previously, Erickson had co-authored a study in 2013 which looked at how norovirus and hepatitis A could transfer between produce and various kitchen utensils. This study found that cutting and grating added to the count of contaminated produce items when a utensil had initially been used to process an already-contaminated item. The new study is similar to the older one, as it looks at how knives and graters influence the transfer of pathogenic bacteria between produce items. But the newer research adds a warning to consumers that bacteria could also spread in their own kitchens.
Erickson’s latest study had several types of fruits and vegetables contaminated in her lab, as she added salmonella, E. coli, and other types of pathogens that are traditionally found on those foods. She then cut into tomatoes, cantaloupe, and other produce variants to track how easily the bacteria spread when the knife was used continuously without first being cleaned. As such, Erickson and her colleagues did not wash their utensils between cutting produce items. Carrots and other produce was grated to see how pathogens spread to graters, and it was revealed that knives and graters alike can cause extra cross-contamination in the kitchen, and that the bacteria spread from item to item if the utensils weren’t washed.
On top of the above findings, Erickson also discovered that scrubbing or peeling carrots, celery, melons, and other produce did not get rid of contamination on the items, but actually contaminated the brush or peeler. These kitchen utensils were still contaminated even after being washed with running water, but the level of cross-contamination for later produce items was still dependent on the type of bacteria and the brush.
The RSGS program will keep geosynchronous spacecraft flying for years to come.
Image credit: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
Geosynchronous orbits above Earth are among the most valuable real estate in the solar system. This band of space is utilized by everything from civilian communications and GPS satellites to government-operated weather and nuclear monitors to military applications like on-demand warfighter broadband. It's also a veritable minefield of broken-down, ground-up derelict satellites.
As Dr. Darren S. McKnight of Integrity Applications explained during a recent presentation at the 32nd Space Symposium held in Colorado Springs, Colo., this week, every satellite collision could potentially produce hundreds to thousands of debris fragments. And each of those fragments in turn becomes a potential satellite-killing missile. Even tiny bits of debris just a centimeter in diameter, known as the lethal non-trackable (LNT) population, can blast holes clean through satellite components, rendering the spacecraft non-operational.
In fact, these LNT debris are in many ways more dangerous than larger pieces, due to the sheer number of them. McKnight calculates that there are anywhere from 15 to 30 times as many LNT debris currently in orbit than the entire cataloged population of pieces bigger than 10 centimeters.
"In an absolute sense, there is a 10 to 50 percent chance that at least one of each of the constellation members will be struck by a one centimeter fragment (or larger)," McKnight wrote in a paper published last year. "This would likely terminate that satellite's mission and might even liberate debris that would pose additional hazards." The probability of getting hit by a piece of debris 10 centimeters or larger, however, is just under 3 percent.
So rather than let spacecraft which have reached the end of their projected service life fall into disrepair -– or more dangerously, let them fall into a lower orbit where they could set off Gravity -like collision reactions -– the Naval Research Laboratoryhas partnered with DARPAto build a satellite that fixes other satellites. Behold the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) programand its Robotic Service Vehicles (RSVs).
I spoke with Naval Research Laboratory aerospace engineer Bernard Kelm at the Space Symposium. Turns out, repairing satellites in orbit is just as much of an engineering challenge as it sounds. "Every satellite is different. They're all custom devices built for their own custom purposes," Kelm said. However, despite their custom-built nature, there really isn't that much variation in terms of components when it comes to satellites -- thanks in large part to the limited number of manufacturers in the industry.
Take the satellite's launch interface, for example. It's the bit on the satellite's backside that connects it to the rocket during launch and almost exclusively uses a "cup-cone" setup. That's where a small knob on the rocket mates with an indentation ring on the back of the satellite to hold it in place. "There's only two ways it can be attached," Kelm said. "It's a ring clamp with only a few profiles; we can have one tool that services them all. And that's what we've done since 2002: We've partnered with DARPA to design one servicer that can service multiple vehicles."
An even bigger challenge will be getting the RSV to do what it needs to do, when it needs to do it, on the first attempt if at all possible. First, there's about a three-second delay between the ground station communications and satellites in geosynchronous orbit. Under normal conditions, this wouldn't be much of an issue. However, when you're trying to grab ahold of another satellite while both craft are tumbling around 22,000 miles above the planet, three seconds might as well be three days.
So, to account for the signal delay, the team has crammed as much processing power as it can into the service satellite itself. Or at least as much as the limitations of current-gen spaceflight computers allow. "They have orders of magnitudes less power than what you have on your desktop," Kelm said. In fact, the first RSV iteration will be among the most processing-intensive vehicles to fly.
What's more, the added autonomy will enable the RSGS satellites to operate more safely. The NRL team is pre-programming a wide array of potential issues, failures and SNAFUs into the service satellite's database. That way, if something goes awry during a docking attempt, we're not just handing an engineer the (three-second-delayed) joystick to a multimillion spacecraft that's zipping around the edge of space. Instead, the RSV will automatically halt the maneuver (potentially before ground control is even aware of the issue), drop into a predefined emergency routine and await for operators to make a final abort/continue decision.
A second issue facing the RSGS program is that robotic arms generally lack the dexterity of human appendages, despite often having the same degrees of freedom. "A robot arm is a very accurate but very rigid platform," Kelm said. This creates issues the moment the service satellite's two-meter grappling "FREND" arm comes in contact with the client satellite in zero gravity because the imparted force will cause the two to drift from each other. Granted, they won't go rocketing away thanks to the dampening effects of inertia, but it's still enough to cause havoc if ground control can only see the situation from three seconds in the past. As such, the NRL team added a force torque sensor in the wrist so that the arm can meter its approach and grab the client spacecraft without knocking it out of orbit.
These technological advancements will enable the RSV to perform four primary mission types: ultra-close inspection, anomaly resolution, orbit modification and, eventually, external upgrades. Close inspection jobs will be the first and most straightforward that the RSGS program takes on. Putting the service satellite's camera mere inches away from a troubled client satellite will give ground control an unprecedented view of the potential issue. Anomaly resolution will takes inspections a step further by allowing the RSV to physically manipulate other spacecraft. That way if a satellite's solar panel, say, gets caught a wire while unfurling, the RSV can simply poke the obstruction out of the way rather than have the entire mission be scrapped.
Orbit modification is a bit trickier. When a client satellite is unable to make the jump to a different orbit -- or even maintain the orbit its currently in -- due to insufficient fuel, the servicer would sidle up to the client spacecraft, inject propellent and send the satellite on its way. "That's a relatively expensive mission for us," Kelm said. "It'd use a lot more fuel than other missions but we will have that capability."
The fourth mission type is easily the NRL's most ambitious. The agency wants to use RSVs to install standalone modules with new capabilities on existing satellites. So, say the NOAA invents a brand-new ocean-level sensory system or the Department of Defense creates a new laser-based communications array. Instead of spending years and billions of dollars developing brand-new satellites to haul these modules into orbit, the NRL wants to use an RSV to attach it to a satellite that's already in space. It is not going to replace the functionality of a large satellite but is an inexpensive and relatively practical means of installing new functions on existing satellites. "We hope that once we prove the capabilities of this method, that satellites will begin being designed and built with docking ports for taking upgrades," Kelm said.
Most impressive, perhaps, is the fact that the NRL doesn't envision constellations of these service satellites going up in 20 years or even 10. The lab figures that with a suitable commercial partner, it can have the RSGS program in operation by the end of the decade -- five years, tops. "[Commercial industry] has 10 times as many satellites, and 10 times the need for these services," Kelm concluded. "There will come a time in the future that there will be a national need for this."
The NRL clearly isn't the only agency that thinks so. Vivisat -- a joint firm created by U.S. Space and Orbital ATK -- announced its Mission Extender Vehicleback in March. This spacecraft will perform the same sort of third mission orbit modification work as the RSGS program. And at the Symposium this week, the company revealed that its first commercial customer will be Intelsat. Orbital ATK expects to have the MEV refueling satellites in orbit by 2019.
It uses the magic of virtual reality.
Image credit: Lockheed Martin/Flickr
Lockheed Martin's Generation Beyondinitiative aims to "inspire the next generation of innovators, explorers, inventors and pioneers to pursue STEM careers." And what better way to spark young students' curiosity than to give them ride on a bus that simulates a ride across the Martian surface? Passengers aboard the Mars Experience bus are treated to an immersive virtual reality adventure. As the bus moves, it makes the students feel like they're driving across the red planet by showing 200 square miles of its surface on the boarded-up windows.
The aerospace company says the VR experience was built with the same software used for "the most advanced video games" today, which hopefully means it has great graphics. Lockheed Martin'shigh-tech vehicle will tour the US to give students from different regions a chance to try it out. It's not Generation Beyond's only projects, though. The company is also providing a free deep space curriculum to all middle school teachers and has released an app that sends you real-time Mars weather reports.
Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have done something interesting with Microsoft’s motion sensing peripheral for the Xbox, the Kinect.
MIT’s Media Lab is currently working on a camera that should eliminate the problem of pesky reflections that show up when taking photos. This annoyance happens when camera (or mobile device) users have to shoot through a window; this results in glare or reflections showing up in images. But the Media Lab’s Camera Culture Group is now working on something to change all that. Leveraging the Xbox One’s Kinect sensor and camera’s depth sensor, the researchers were able to create a camera that eliminates the inconvenience of reflections on certain photos.
The MIT team explained that their use of signal processing is what helped them get around the limitations of not being able to pick multiple reflections. This, they add, could mean big things for ultrasound, terahertz imaging, and other forms of “noninvasive imaging technologies.”
“You physically cannot make a camera that picks out multiple reflections,” said first author Ayush Bhandari. “That would mean that you take time slices so fast that (the camera) actually starts to operate at the speed of light, which is technically impossible. So what’s the trick? We use the Fourier transform.” This is a common signal processing method that breaks down signals into smaller “constituent” frequencies.
The researchers modified the Kinect peripheral, inadvertently teaming up with Microsoft Research in the process, and with these modifications, they were able to make the camera use specific light frequencies, and also spot reflections from a variety of depth. This builds on a pre-existing system that beams light onto a person or an object being shot, and gauges the reflected light’s intensity and the time it takes to reflect.
“That information, coupled with knowledge of the number of different reflectors positioned between the camera and the scene of interest, enables the researchers’ algorithms to deduce the phase of the returning light and separate out signals from different depths,” explained MIT in a press release.
It's been circling the sun since its failed attempt in 2010.
After five years of orbiting the sun, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA's) Akatsuki probe has finally reachedthe destination it was gunning for from the start. JAXA has confirmed that the spacecraft has been successfully inserted into Venus' orbit, flying in the same direction as the planet's rotation. Akatsuki's first attempt in 2010 ended in failure, because its engines fired for less than three minutes, which wasn't enought to inject it into the Morning and Evening star's orbit. It had to be placed into hibernation mode to prolong its lifespan until JAXA had the chance to make another attempta few days ago.
JAXA tested the probe's cameras when it confirmed that it's in good health and where it should be -- you can even see one of the photos of Venus it took below. It will continue testing Akatsuki's other instruments and cameras in the next few months before it officially begins taking photos of the planet and its clouds and gathering data in April 2016.
[Image credit: Akihiro Ikeshita/JAXA]
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) announced recently that property sales for the whole of Canada were down in June.
According to the CREA’s latest housing report, home sales in Canada declined by 1.3 percent in June. This followed a 3.4 percent decrease between April and May 2012.
Canadian housing activity declined in over half of local real estate markets – most of these declines were insignificant, but major markets such as Greater Toronto and Vancouver both experienced sizeable reductions in activity.
On a year-on-year basis, housing activity was down 4.4 percent as compared to June 2011. This is the first year-on-year decrease in over a year for actual housing activity without seasonal adjustment. The average price of homes sold in June 2012 was listed at $369,339, a 0.8 percent year-on-year decrease from June 2011.
Again, the sluggish activity in the Vancouver area contributed to this decline, as seven out of 10 local markets reported year-on-year increases in average sale price. However, the Aggregate Composite MLS House Price Index was up month-on-month, increasing 5.1 percent between May and June 2012. The increase between April and May was slightly higher, at 5.2 percent.
Nonetheless, the CREA remains optimistic that this trend of reduced housing activity won’t last too long. According to CREA President Wayne Moen, the Canadian housing market is “flying pretty high” even after the decline from the last two months.
Sales activity was still brisk, and the nationwide increase in average prices and homes for sale only emphasized the organization’s belief that “all real estate is local.”
Elon Musk says orders for the EV are more than twice as large as expected.
It won't shock you to hear that Tesla low-balled demandfor the Model 3, but by how much? Er... quite a bit, actually. Elon Musk has revealedthat his company expected "1/4 to 1/2" of the pre-orders it got (worldwide as of this writing) for its first semi-affordable electric car. While he'd expected lineupsat Tesla stores, he figuredthat there would be "maybe 20-30 people" in queue at a given shop -- not the hundreds that showed up at some places. As a token of appreciation, Tesla plans to givethose in-person customers an extra reward on top of what every pre-order customer will get.
There's no doubt that Tesla is delighted with the interest, but the data also raises a few questions. How long will it take for Tesla to fulfill all those extra orders? And will demand keep up when the US' $7,500 EV tax credit (which only applies to the first 200,000 qualifying cars from a brand) starts phasing out? As much as Tesla will likely enjoy having this problem, it won't be so hot if it means that drivers wait months longer and pay more.
@34thrainMaybe 1/4 to 1/2 of what happened. No one at Tesla thought it would be this high before part 2 of the unveil.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2016Token of appreciation for those who lined up coming via mail. Thought maybe 20-30 people per store would line up, not 800. Gifts on order.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2016
