USB-IF releases extensions to USB video class 1.1, offloading compression is a go
June 21, 2011 No Comment
For those unaware, a USB video class describes a device that’s capable of streaming video — you know, things like webcams , camcorders, TV tuners and even still-image cameras. For the longest time, you needed to rely on your machine to do the grunt work associated with encoding video , but new extensions to the USB video class 1.1 have enabled those very devices to support H.264. In other words, H.264 encoding can now be offloaded to the device itself, and furthermore, the compression provides more bandwidth for additional USB devices. We’re told that the H.264 Payload specification is compatible with drivers based upon the USB-IF’s UVC 1.0 and 1.1 specifications and relies on proper support of the MJPG and/or Stream Based payload format, and if you’re an engineer looking to integrate, the goods you need are stocked away in the source link below. Continue reading USB-IF releases extensions to USB video class 1.1, offloading compression is a go USB-IF releases extensions to USB video class 1.1, offloading compression is a go originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …ABC Freaks Out Over the ‘Political Calamity’ of John McCain Linking Illegals to Forest Fires
June 21, 2011 No CommentGood Morning America's reporters on Tuesday hyperbolically attacked John McCain for creating a “firestorm” and a “political calamity” by suggesting that illegal immigrants have been responsible for fires in the southwest.
Continue reading …“I’ve had all I can stand, Fox TV, and I can’t stand no more,” former White House “green jobs” czar Van Jones said in recent tirade against the Glenn Beck and his soon-to-be-ex-employer. Jones, who resigned in 2009 after being targeted by Beck, has challenged the host to debate him…
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High inflation and weak wage growth means family spending power fell by £14 a week in May, according to Asda Households are about £60 a month worse off than they were a year ago as rising inflation puts the squeeze on household budgets, latest figures show. Family spending power fell by £14 a week in May, according to the Asda income tracker, a record low since the supermarket started publishing the data in January 2007. The figures show that the average family had just £165 a week to spend in May, 8% lower than this time last year due to higher food bills and soaring transport costs. Staple foods have risen in price by 40% over the past 12 months, while the cost of getting around by car and public transport is 8% higher than a year ago. The report indicates that while the UK economy continues to gradually recover, consumers remain under significant financial pressure as wage growth fails to keep pace with the rising cost of living. Consumer price inflation was at 4.5% in May, unchanged from the 32-month high seen in April and more than double the current average earnings growth. Whilst the latest labour market data shows a slight fall in unemployment, it also highlights earnings growth remaining at 2%. Asda calculates family spending power as the amount remaining after the average UK household has been taxed and has paid for necessities such as mortgage or rent, gas and electricity, food, drink and transport. Transport costs were again a big contributor to the headline rate of inflation in May. The cost of getting around is now 8% higher than a year ago – driven mainly by fuel and oil rising 13.7% over the year, and air fares increasing by 13.8%. Recent AA data showed that unleaded petrol prices are 12.7% higher in May 2011 than in the same month a year ago. Drinkers and smokers have also been penalised as alcohol and tobacco prices went up by 9.8% over the year to May 2011 – the highest inflation rate of all product categories and the fastest year-on-year increase since March 1992. The analysis has been produced for Asda by the Centre for Economics and Business Research , an independent economics and business research consultancy. Managing economist Charles Davis said: “Pressure continued to mount on household finances in May as the rapidly increasing price of transport and food pushed the cost of living even higher, and the price of alcohol and tobacco rose at the fastest rate since 1992. “The Asda income tracker shows discretionary income is under further pressure as annual earnings growth remains historically weak – under half the rate of inflation. The current picture of low wage increases and rapid inflation is likely to persist for the rest of the year, pointing to an extended squeeze on real disposable income.” Family finances Consumer affairs Rebecca Smithers guardian.co.uk
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Printing errors in GCSE maths papers force apology from AQA while further mistakes are under investigation by exams watchdog One of England’s biggest exam boards has been forced to apologise after GCSE students were set a paper containing questions from an old exam, the latest in a series of mistakes to affect pupils this summer. Due to a printing error the maths paper, set by the AQA exam board, included questions originally answered by pupils taking the same exam in March. Over 31,000 pupils at 567 schools and colleges took the paper on Tuesday morning. Two other new errors in exam papers have also been discovered, in a GCSE Latin paper and a physics A-level exam, both set by the OCR exam board. The Latin GCSE paper, taken by up to 8,000 students at 540 schools and colleges, contained incorrect names of writers and characters. The physics A-level paper contained a measurement given in both centimetres and metres, when it should have been in metres only. Almost 8,000 students at 661 schools and colleges sat the exam. An OCR spokesman said: “We deeply regret these errors. We are extremely angry, because this is not fair on students, parents and teachers.” He added: “It is not acceptable, and if we find that someone has not done their job, they will lose their job.” AQA, which sets 49% of GCSE exams, said some schools received the correct maths paper, while others received the “problem” paper, which had new questions at the beginning and end, but old ones in the middle. Some schools were sent a combination of correct and flawed exam papers. The exams regulator, Ofqual, has confirmed it is already investigating six errors – five in AS-level papers and one in a GCSE. AQA said it was very sorry that its maths paper “caused some students distress” . “We have told schools that students should attempt the paper as it is and we will consider the most appropriate action to protect students’ interests, when we have a full understanding of the extent of the problem,” an AQA spokeswoman said. “The batches of papers that we checked as part of our quality assurance process are all fine and we are in the process of investigating with our printers how this problem has arisen.” In one of the previous exam board blunders, all the answers to a multiple-choice question in a biology AS-level paper set by Edexcel were wrong. The question was worth one mark out of a possible 425. The board has promised that markers will adjust scores to ensure no candidate is disadvantaged. A business studies AS-level paper set by AQA left out crucial information, meaning one question, worth three marks, could not be answered. It asked students to calculate the profits a fictional chocolate company was making, but failed to include all the information required. The OCR board included an “impossible” question in a maths AS exam. Students were asked to solve an equation but were not given the information needed to do so. In a statement issued last week, Ofqual’s chief executive, Glenys Stacey, said exam boards had carried out additional checks on their papers. She said: “Students who have sat one of the question papers that included a mistake can be assured that the awarding organisations have procedures in place to make sure that so far as possible, no candidate is disadvantaged. “The measures taken will depend on the exact circumstances. Ofqual has asked the awarding organisations for detailed information on the actions they have taken already and will be taking during the awarding process.” Ofqual warns against comparisons with previous years, as it says changes in reporting arrangements may mean mistakes made in the past were not recorded by the regulator. But there appears to be a spike in exam-related problems this year. No incidents of errors in setting exams were reported last year, or in the 2009 season. In 2008 there were three incidents – two in GCSE papers and one in A-levels – according to figures kept by Ofqual. One flawed A-level paper was reported in 2007 and one GCSE paper with a mistake in 2006. The NUS has called for an inquiry into this year’s exam season and said affected students should be given the option of resits. There are around 5,000 exam papers scheduled this summer for GCSE, AS and A-level candidates in England. GCSEs AS-levels A-levels Schools Mathematics Physics Jeevan Vasagar guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Woody Allen has announced the cast for his new movie—and it includes Woody Allen. The 75-year-old director, whose new release Midnight In Paris has charmed critics and looks set to attract his biggest audience in years, will have a role in The Bop Decameron , reports the Los Angeles Times…
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Chancellor’s taciturnity follows comments by Danny Alexander that intervention would reach ‘hundreds of millions’ of pounds George Osborne has refused to be drawn on the cost of the Libyan intervention, following comments at the weekend by Danny Alexander that it would reach “hundreds of millions” of pounds. The chancellor and his chief secretary to the Treasury, both present in the Commons, were pressed to confirm the figure by the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, during Treasury questions. Balls said that in March the government had said the operation would cost “tens of millions not hundreds of millions”. Instead it was announced there will be a Ministry of Defence statement next week. On Sunday Alexander told Sky News: “The campaign is costing tens of millions, potentially into the hundreds of millions as it goes on, but that money is coming from the reserve that we have set aside, precisely for contingencies such as this.” When the military campaign started, the chancellor said the cost would be “in the order of tens of millions of pounds, not hundreds of millions”. Since then, defence economists have warned that it could reach £1bn if the campaign stretches on into the autumn. The news came as a minister in Libya’s opposition force, the National Transition Council (NTC), wrote an open letter challenging the decision by the UK attorney general, Dominic Grieve, not to release funds to the rebels. Dr Ali Tarhuni, minister for finance and oil in the NTC, said the body would run out of funds in less than a week, according to journalists in Benghazi. Grieve has said Britain can not release the 1.4bn dinars (approximately £700m) printed by De La Rue – Britain’s banknote printer – which have been impounded in the UK as the revolution has unfolded. De La Rue printed Libya’s currency during Gaddafi’s rule, and in an attempt to cripple his regime, the UK impounded the near $1.5bn-worth of dinars. Now Libya’s opposition forces believe they should be allowed the money impounded in the UK or risk being unable to fund continuing operations. Last month the Grieve said he was not legally able to release the funds. Tarhuni wrote: “Here in Benghazi we cannot sufficiently express our gratitude for the support the UK has extended to Libyans during our struggle against the tyrannical regime of Muammar Gaddafi. Together with her international partners, the UK has played a leading role in this defining battle for a free Libya. No one will ever forget this act of generosity and support for a democratic state. “[But] at present we face a liquidity crisis which threatens the stability of liberated Libya. With every day that passes we approach financial collapse. Funding pledges from international donors have yet to materialise. Our monthly salary bill, meanwhile, is in the region of 340m dinars. At present our money supply is almost finished. “The neatest short-term solution to this crisis is for the UK government to release the 1.4bn dinars printed by De La Rue and currently sitting in Britain. “We are deeply grateful that London has impounded this money, which was originally intended for the Tripoli regime. We would now ask the UK to exert every effort to take the next step and transfer this physical cash to the NTC to enable us to keep our economy afloat and pay our people. “Although there are inevitably serious legal issues that must be dealt with relating to the release of the De La Rue dinars, we sincerely hope the UK can give this burning issue the urgent attention it deserves. The future of a stable Libya after Gaddafi is too important to let this issue fester.” George Osborne Libya Middle East Africa Danny Alexander Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk
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Jon Huntsman, Obama’s former ambassador to China, declares Republican 2012 candidacy with deliberate nods to Reagan era President Barack Obama’s former ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, has entered the Republican party’s 2012 presidential race, pledging to make the “hard decisions” he says are required to deal with America’s debt. “I’m a candidate for the office of president of the United States of America,” Huntsman told supporters at Liberty State Park in New Jersey, with the Statue of Liberty in the background. President Ronald Reagan launched his bid for the White House at the site in 1980. “For the first time in our history, we are passing down to the next generation a country that is less powerful, less compassionate, less competitive and less confident than the one we got,” Huntsman said. “This, ladies and gentlemen, is totally unacceptable and totally un-American.” Huntsman called for “broad and bold” changes to US tax laws and regulations and said America should seek energy independence and boost job creation, but gave no specifics on his plans. “We must make hard decisions that are necessary to avert disaster,” the former Utah governor said, painting a bleak picture of what it would mean for the country if it does not reduce its debt. Democrats have said they see Huntsman, who was a popular governor known for some moderate policies, as a potentially formidable candidate against Obama, although he currently lacks national name recognition and many polls put his support at less than 2%. Huntsman was Obama’s ambassador to China from 2009 until April, when he resigned to return to the United States and lay the groundwork for his presidential bid. Conservatives have attacked Huntsman for his work with Obama, which Huntsman has described as service to the country. Democrats have attacked Huntsman as changing his former moderate positions in order to appeal to the most conservative Republican base. Republican presidential nomination 2012 US elections 2012 Republicans US politics Obama administration Ronald Reagan United States guardian.co.uk
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At the New York premiere for her film ‘Bad Teacher,’ actress Cameron Diaz talks about creating the “least sexiest sex scene ever” with her ex, Justin Timberlake. While co-star Jason Segal reveals what subject he would like to teach. (June 21)
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Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman says he will run a campaign that is based on who would be a better president, not who is a better American. (June 21)
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