Once upon a time the inPulse was a BlackBerry peripheral , but no more — now, it’s a fully programmable device-agnostic Bluetooth wrist computer. That’s because its manufacturer Allerta released an SDK this week, which lets the 52Mhz ARM7 processor and 8Kb of RAM within display whatever you’d like on the 1.3-inch, 96 x 128 pixel screen. Like the time of day… or this tiny, practically unplayable 3D game. Yours for $149. inPulse smartwatch turns programmable, and it can almost play Doom (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Continue reading the main story Taliban Conflict Make-or-break year ahead Can Afghan forces step up? Who are the Taliban? Pakistan’s very unhappy new year US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will say on Friday that Taliban fighters in Afghanistan face a stark choice between war and peace, as US pressure mounts on them….
Continue reading …Good Morning America on Friday spun the protests in Wisconsin from the perspective of the unions and Democratic lawmakers who oppose Republican efforts to reform collective bargaining. Co-host George Stephanopoulos even interviewed a Democratic lawmaker from a top secret location outside the state. Correspondent Chris Bury's piece on the protest featured five clips of those protesting the efforts by Republican Governor Scott Walker to make government employees contribute to their retirement plans. He allowed just one in support. The reporter narrated, ” Last night, more public workers, including these firemen, poured into the capitol. Some families camping out overnight, in a last-ditch effort to protest budget cuts they fear would cripple their union rights .” Bury only included Walker as the voice speaking out for the reforms. In contrast, he highlighted one woman fretting, “I want to do everything in my power to raise awareness that this can't happen!” Another protester complained, “This is about stripping away our rights to have a union.” After weighting the first report heavily against Walker and the Republicans, Stephanopoulos then interviewed yet another Democrat. Talking to State Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller, a hidden Democrat who fled the state, the co-anchor explained, “He joins us from a location we cannot disclose. We know where you are, obviously, senator.” Stephanopoulos did actually ask some adversarial questions, wondering, “So, do you have an alternative? Do you have a way to close the deficit if you don't like the governor's plan?” But, wouldn't it have been more balanced to feature the Republican perspective of this story? A transcript of the Bury segment, which aired at 7:02am EST on February 18, follows: 7am tease ABC Graphic: Rage in America GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: And this morning, high-stakes battle the heartland. Thousands converge on Wisconsin's capital, camp-out overnight, to protest the governor's budget cuts. Teachers call in sick. And Democrats escape the state to prevent a vote. Is your state next? 7:02 ROBIN ROBERTS: And, George, let's begin by talking about the massive gatherings that we've seen in Wisconsin. A really dramatic political confrontation going down there, where tens of thousands of teachers, students, prison guards, descending on the state capitol, to protest a budget package that would strip most public workers of collective bargaining rights and cut benefits. And as George said, Democratic legislators even went into hiding to delay a vote. Chris Bury is there and has all the details for us this morning. Good morning, Chris. [Signs that can BRIEFLY be seen on camera: "Scott Mubarak: Get Out!", "King Walker, Union Buster" Hitler signs.] CHRIS BURY: Good morning, Robin. It's been a wild week here at the state capital. Some protesters are still camped out inside the building and a dramatic political showdown is under way. Last night, more public workers, including these firemen, poured into the capitol. Some families camping out overnight, in a last-ditch effort to protest budget cuts they fear would cripple their union rights. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I want to do everything in my power to raise awareness that this can't happen! BURY: On Thursday, Republicans were sent to pass a budget requiring state workers to pay more for pensions and health care. But what really has them steamed is a dramatic move by the Republican governor to eliminate union bargaining on everything from wages to work rules. DEBORAH CALDWELL: He wants to dictate what we'll do, when we'll do it, how it will be done. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: This is about stripping away our rights to have a union. BURY: So, Senate Democrats, more than a dozen, fled the state, to prevent a vote and keep Wisconsin police from rounding them up. STATE SENATOR JON ERPENBACH (D-WI, 27th District): The state police jurisdiction stops at the Wisconsin border. So, that's why we had to leave the state. It's not like we wanted to do this. ST. SENATOR JIM HOLPERIN (D-WI, 12th district): We feel that by delaying the vote for a while, the people of the state will have more opportunity to talk about this issue. WISCONSIN GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER: I think it's time for them to come home and do their job. BURY: Wisconsin's new governor, Scott Walker, faced with a $3.6 billion deficit, denies he's trying to bust the unions. WALKER: The bottom line is we're broke. We can't negotiate for something we don't have the ability to give on. BURY: Meanwhile, the historic standoff continues, until at least one Democrat returns to the state senate. Once the Democrats do come back here, they are very likely to lose. And other governors facing similar budget crises are watching Wisconsin very carefully. George? — Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter .
Continue reading …Soldiers fired tear gas and shot weapons into the air as thousands of protest marchers defied a government ban Friday and streamed toward a landmark square that had been the symbolic center of the uprising against the Gulf nation’s leaders. (Feb. 18)
Continue reading …Iran’s top opposition leader and his wife have gone missing, and their daughters fear they have been detained. Mir Hossein Mousavi hasn’t been seen or heard from since Tuesday, and security forces have surrounded his family home and cut all communications in and out, his daughters tell the New York…
Continue reading …Dear Lawrence O’Donnell, The cable news industry has fundamentally changed the way Americans get their news, and not necessarily for the better. News has now morphed into an uncomfortable amalgam of entertainment, opinion and information. It has created media stars out of pundits unafraid to say the shocking thing, which makes “good” television, though not necessarily informational television. And all the while, you’re competing for as much market share as possible against your rivals. I relate this to you only to show you that I am aware of the situation you find yourself. Given the time slot formerly held by Keith Olbermann, a polarizing figure to be sure, but also one whose understanding of the above enabled him to build a considerable audience and following for MSNBC, you’ve got big shoes to fill. You’ve admitted as such yourself . So I have to ask the question: what the hell was Ann Coulter doing on my television screen last night? She adds nothing to the conversation. Seriously, who gives a flying fig about who she “loves” and who she thinks should have the Republican nomination in 2012? It would be one thing if you had used the opportunity to show how consistently and constantly she is wrong–maybe show video of her praising McCain who she so disdains now. But the “Aryan from Darien” has an open invitation to Hannity’s show to spout her fact-free opinions unchallenged. She does not need one from you too. And here’s the thing, Lawrence (Can I call you Lawrence? After all, you follow me and C&L on Twitter, so you obviously want to know what we’re talking about): there is absolutely no dearth of platforms for conservatives to add to the national dialog. They have a fairly well-trafficked (and corporately funded) choice of blogs, publications, radio, television and cable. Take a look at the Sunday shows . How many Democrats do you see on them? Now, quick, how many liberals or progressives do you see on them? It’s the same with talk radio and other television outlets. That’s the real tragedy of booking Coulter, Lawrence. I really think most Americans see the world as I — and you — do. We believe in equal rights, in the freedom to love, worship, live, and learn as we want, as long as it doesn’t hurt others. We believe that government serves a purpose by providing safety nets to ensure that we don’t fall through the cracks. We believe that justice should be equally and fairly applied. We believe that people should not be less important than corporations. The percentage of people who don’t believe in those truisms is small, but yet they get an overwhelming percentage of airtime to push the dialog far to the right, edging us out of a seat at the table. And that’s what you did by booking Coulter. Once again, her narrow-minded, hate-filled (did you catch her insulting you, saying that obviously Hannity is smarter than you, since you’re a registered Democrat? Classy.) and marginal intelligence is given legitimacy and liberals are not. That’s why people don’t realize how truly liberal their beliefs are. It’s never represented to them. I suspect that you and your producers justified bringing Coulter on by thinking it proved you’re not afraid to have on opposing viewpoints. Honestly, I’m not all that impressed, as that seems to be the same simplistic binary thinking that “balance” means bringing on a Democrat and a Republican. There are not always two equally valid viewpoints. In Coulter’s case, there’s a history of viewpoints that I’d say should invalidate any further platforms. Please, Lawrence, leave Coulter to Fox News. Won’t you please be a platform to bring liberal voices and viewpoints to cable news? Won’t you consider being the vehicle by which we can shift the dialog back from the right? Nicole Belle
Continue reading …For a long time — a long, long time — Logitech and Gran Turismo have gone together like rubber and asphalt. Like carbon fiber and fender flares. Like drivers’ privates and their Nomex underpants. The two were tight, but with GT5 came a changing of the guard. Thrustmaster , a company world-renowned for its high-end flight controls and its giggle-inducing name, stepped in and bought the license. The purpose? To release the decidedly high-end T500 RS wheel, the controller designed to abolish memories of all the plasticy racing controllers that have come before from the company. Does it succeed, and is it worth the pucker-inducing price of $599? These questions and more answered below. Gallery: Thrustmaster T500RS Continue reading Thrustmaster T500 RS review Thrustmaster T500 RS review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 12:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …The nation’s newest folk hero? According to Gawker , it’s a former Yale student and current DJ/musician who calls himself PAZ … and who recently crashed Paris Hilton’s swanky 30th birthday party and stole her $2,000 cake. On his website , PAZ explains how it happened—it was his friend’s idea,…
Continue reading …Photo Credit: Kristine Paulus via Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License . The Dervaes family of Pasadena is well-known for practicing self-sufficiency on their urban lot. They grow over 7000 pounds of food. They use very little power from the grid. They have been an inspiration to many in the urban homesteading movement. So, the news that they had trademarked the terms “urban homestead” and “urban homes… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Clashes broke out on Friday in Jordan’s capital between government supporters and opponents at a protest calling for more freedom and lower food prices, injuring eight (Feb. 18)
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