The Next PlayStation: 5 Lessons I Hope Sony’s Learned

From wishful thinking to shockingly sudden all-but-certainty, Sony‘s next game system may be here at last (I’ll try to avoid calling it things Sony hasn’t, like “PlayStation 4″ or “Orbis”), apparently head-faking Microsoft to debut earlier than expected at what’ll no doubt be a media circus in New York (and online) come Feb. 20.The event invite cleared my inbox last night accompanied by, well,...

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The Lede Blog: Frank Video of Mass Sexual Assault in Cairo Is Released by Anti-Harassment Activists

Egyptian activists released a brutally frank video on Friday, using images recorded during the mass sexual assault of a woman last week in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to urge volunteers to join their campaign against attacks during demonstrations.The video, created by the filmmakers Aida Elkashef and Salam Yousry, uses disturbing overhead images of a crowd of men swarming around a woman being assaulted...

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Why is Beckham sitting on the bench for nothing?

PARIS (AP) — David Beckham has won league championships in three countries on two continents, earns millions of dollars in endorsements and his name is practically synonymous with celebrity itself. He has his own cologne, for goodness sake. So why is he even bothering to sit on the bench for the Paris Saint-Germain football club?His royal highness of football doesn't need the money — and he's said...

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Americans Closest to Retirement Were Hardest Hit by Recession

David Maxwell for The New York TimesSusan Zimmerman, 62, has three part-time jobs. Michael Stravato for The New York TimesArynita Armstrong, 60, at her home in Willis, Tex. She last worked five years ago. “When you’re older, they just see gray hair and they write you off,” she says. In the current listless economy, every generation has a claim to having been most...

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Apple edges out Samsung for mobile phone sales lead in fourth quarter

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc became the top mobile phone seller for the first time in the lucrative U.S. market during the fourth quarter of 2012, outshining arch rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, a report by Strategy Analytics showed.Apple‘s share of the U.S. mobile phone market, including feature phones and smartphones, jumped to 34 percent from 26 percent, while Samsung’s share grew to 32.3...

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The Lede Blog: Video and Images of New Clashes in Cairo

As our colleagues Kareem Fahim and David Kirkpatrick report, Egyptian protesters clashed with riot police officers outside the presidential palace in Cairo on Friday night.Protesters hurled rocks and launched fireworks over the building’s outer wall, setting fire to a guard tower and drawing a robust response from security forces, who protesters said fired tear gas, rubber bullets and birdshot, causing...

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NFL's Goodell: Proper tackling, HGH key issues

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league needs to make football safer by doing more to eliminate blows to the head and knees and by suspending players for illegal hits.During his annual news conference two days before the Super Bowl, Goodell also said Friday he wants a "new generation" of the Rooney Rule because "we didn't have the outcomes we wanted" when none of 15 recent...

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Well: Gluten-Free Muffin Recipes

For people who need to eliminate gluten from their diet, baking becomes a challenge. Beginners often find gluten-free baked goods too dense. Even the Recipes for Health columnist Martha Rose Shulman didn’t like the flavor of a commercial gluten-free flour mix, which left her gluten-free cookies and tart-shells with a strong taste of bean flour. As a result, she created her own gluten-free mix for...

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Bits Blog: The Origins of 'Big Data' : An Etymological Detective Story

Words and phrases are fundamental building blocks of language and culture, much as genes and cells are to the biology of life. And words are how we express ideas, so tracing their origin, development and spread is not merely an academic pursuit but a window into a society’s intellectual evolution.Digital technology is changing both how words and ideas are created and proliferate, and how they are...

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OpenStack at Linux.conf.au 2013

I’m writing this blog post from Canberra Australia, while attending the Linux.conf.au (LCA) open source conference. Among the people who do these sorts of things, LCA has a well deserved reputation as one of the very best open source conferences in the world.Geeks from across Australia and New Zealand, and from across the rest of the world, come together for a week in January (summer in this part...

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Hagel Offers Endorsement of U.S. Military Might

Tough Questions for Hagel at Hearing: Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee for secretary of defense, had some sharp exchanges with Senator John McCain.WASHINGTON — Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee to be secretary of defense, came under sharp and sometimes angry questioning Thursday on a wide range of issues from fellow Republicans at his Senate confirmation hearing, including from his old...

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Ready to rumble: Super Bowl fans get in the game

NEW YORK (AP) — You don't have to be a football player to be a part of the action on Super Bowl Sunday.Coca-Cola is asking people to vote for an online match between three groups competing in a desert for a Coke on Game Day. Pepsi and Toyota are using viewers' photos in their ads. Audi let people choose the end of its Super Bowl ad, while Lincoln based its spot on more 6,000 tweets from fans about...

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Anti-Wal-Mart Labor Groups Agree to Stop Picketing the Chain

(Reuters) - Labor groups that have long spoken out against Wal-Mart Stores Inc will stop much of their picketing against the world's largest retailer, though they still plan to continue to push the company to improve working conditions. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, or UFCW, and OUR Walmart reached an agreement with the National Labor Relations Board, the groups...

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TSX closes lower as RIM, Fed decision weigh

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index closed lower on Wednesday, hurt by a fall in Research In Motion Ltd after it released its long-awaited BlackBerry 10 devices, and broad market weakness after the U.S. Federal Reserve decided to leave its stimulus program intact.The Toronto Stock Exchange‘s S&P/TSX composite index <.gsptse> closed 36.12 points, or 0.28 percent, lower at 12,794.44....

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Israeli Jets Attack Inside Target in Syria

JERUSALEM — Israeli warplanes carried out a strike deep inside Syrian territory on Wednesday, American officials reported, saying they believed the target was a convoy carrying sophisticated antiaircraft weaponry on the outskirts of Damascus that was intended for the Hezbollah Shiite militia in Lebanon. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Israelis had notified the...

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Lewis says he's 'agitated,' not angry about story

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Smiling, even laughing, at questions about a report linking him to a company that purports to make performance-enhancers, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said Wednesday he "never, ever took" the stuff.Lewis described himself as "agitated," not angry, that the story has become part of the Super Bowl-week prelude to Baltimore's game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.He...

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The Consumer: The Drug-Dose Gender Gap

Most sleeping pills are designed to knock you out for eight hours. When the Food and Drug Administration was evaluating a new short-acting pill for people to take when they wake up in the middle of the night, agency scientists wanted to know how much of the drug would still be in users’ systems come morning.Blood tests uncovered a gender gap: Men metabolized the drug, Intermezzo, faster than women....

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Facebook Beats Forecasts on Earnings and Revenue

SAN FRANCISCO — Wall Street is still not sure about Facebook. After an eight-month roller coaster ride on the public market, the company on Wednesday beat earnings expectations by aggressively ramping up targeted advertisements to its users, including on mobile phones. It reported fourth-quarter revenues of $1.59 billion, representing 40 percent growth. Analysts were looking for a 34...

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Survey shows strong consumer interest in BlackBerry 10, but few are willing to buy just yet

The good news for RIM (RIMM): Lots of people are interested in checking out its upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform. The bad news: Few are willing to commit to buying a BlackBerry 10 device at the moment. According to a new online survey of more than 1,100 Americans commissioned by mobile application specialist BiTE interactive and conducted by reputable pollster YouGov, 47% of Americans find “at least...

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