Attractions In Santa Clarita - Apple Beats Android In Smartphone Wars

Source      - http://www.bostonglobe.com/
By             - Hiawatha Bray
Category   - Attractions In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Attractions In Santa Clarita

Apple’s timing was perfect. The new iPhone 5s hit the stores two years after I bought an iPhone 4s, entitling me to a $200 trade-in, and a painless upgrade.

But the contract on my other phone had run out a few months earlier. So I picked up an HTC One, powered by Google Inc.’s Android operating system. And I am delighted with it. Android began by aping the iPhone, but it has evolved into software so good that the flow of borrowed ideas runs both ways, with Apple adding a number of Android’s best features.

So which is better? After comparing the way each phone handles several important tasks, it was an easy call. Android’s fine; Apple’s even finer.

This comparison was no cakewalk. Android’s features can vary from phone to phone. It has open-source software, so phone makers like Samsung Corp. and HTC Corp. add their own special tweaks. Phones running Apple’s iOS 7 and its older brother, iOS 6, always work the same way. Still, we can make a few worthwhile side-by-side critiques.

Let’s start with utilities — the tools and controls used to set up the phone and get basic tasks done. Android has long done it better. There is no hunting for the settings control. Just pull down the notifications bar at the top of the screen and there it is. Want to add app shortcuts to a screen? Just touch it to view your options.

The new iOS 7 has caught up in a big way. It now has Control Center, a marvelous menu that pulls up from the bottom of the screen. Control Center allows instant access to a bunch of vital utilities — airplane mode, screen brightness, music volume, a timer, and a calculator. It even has a flashlight mode, so there is no need to download a separate app for that. You can do all these things with an Android, but not quite so easily. Advantage: Apple.

Android came up with the idea of posting notifications of incoming messages on a pull-down menu at the top of the screen, but Apple is perfecting it. The iOS version has always been superior to Android’s and in iOS 7 it has gotten much better. I especially like the today feature, which tells you the day’s appointments, the local weather, and even a preview of what is on tap tomorrow. In this department, Android has lots of catching up to do.

How about device security? The fingerprint scanner on the new iPhone 5s is cool, but a team of German hackers have already figured out how to beat it. Maybe we should stick to the old-school password system that the iPhone uses as a backup. Androids have password protection, too. But what they did not have for a long time was something like Apple’s Find My iPhone feature. This lets users find a lost or stolen phone and remotely wipe the information on it, to protect sensitive data. The new iOS 7 just added a kill switch that can remotely lock the phone to make it permanently useless to thieves.

But Android has closed the gap on security. Last month, it launched Android Device Manager, a website where a user can see their phone’s location on a map. They can order it to blast out a ringtone, or delete stored information. This week, Android added a remote locking feature of its own. With this new tool, my Android phone is as secure as the iPhone.

Both iOS and Android offer excellent speech recognition tools. Android’s Google Now service has actually worked better for me than the iPhone’s vaunted Siri system. Google Now is great for all kinds of online searching, and it even launches the apps on Android phones with a voice command. But the iOS 7 Siri upgrade has pushed Apple back into the lead. It is much faster than the previous edition, with a more pleasant, human-sounding voice (female or male). And it has a heap of features that Androiders can only dream of. You can ask Siri to read your e-mail aloud, play a favorite piece of music, or run a hashtag search on Twitter. I have no doubt that Google will soon pull even, but for now, give it up for Apple.

I still prefer my HTC One. It runs fast as a laser, its screen is much bigger than that of the 5s, and I’m addicted to HTC’s custom-designed screen interface, which displays the latest news headlines and Facebook messages. With help from a few good apps, it can do nearly anything the iPhone 5s can do. Yet the iPhone’s combination of beauty and efficiency is as magical as ever.

Attractions In Santa Clarita - Scientists Raise Mini Human Brain In a Petri Dish

Source        - http://news.cnet.com/
By              - Dara Kerr
Category     - Attractions In Santa Clarita
Posted By   - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

 

Attractions In Santa Clarita

Petri dishes have hosted all sorts of experiments, like cultivating mold or creating amoeba breeding grounds. But now, truly futuristic events are happening in these circular glass plates -- most notably, growing a brain.

That's right, scientists are now raising brains in petri dishes.

According to a study in the science journal Nature, biologists at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna have grown a human brain using stem cells. This brain isn't full-grown; instead, it is small 3D sections of tissue that apparently resemble the brain of a 9-week-old fetus. It is about 3 to 4 millimeters in size.

Despite not being fully developed, this brain model still has distinct regions of the brain, like the dorsal cortex, ventral forebrain, and an immature retina.

"The parts are correctly organized, but not put together," said study coordinator Juergen Knoblich, according to Popular Science. Knoblich describes it as "a car where you have an engine, you have the wheels -- but the engine is on the roof... that car would never drive, but you could still take that car and analyze how an engine works."

The goal of these scientists is to be able to use lab-grown brains to study illnesses, like schizophrenia and autism. Apparently, animal brains are too dissimilar from human brains for conclusive studies on many types of neurological diseases.

Scientists have created other body parts, like livers and heart tissue, but these organs are nowhere near as intricate as a brain. According to Popular Science, the 3D brain model created by the Viennese researchers is the most complex in vitro creation of tissue to date.

Attractions In Santa Clarita - Over a Million Are Denied Bank Accounts For Past Errors

Source - http://dealbook.nytimes.com/
By -  JESSICA SILVER
Category - Attractions In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Attractions In Santa Clarita

Mistakes like a bounced check or a small overdraft have effectively blacklisted more than a million low-income Americans from the mainstream financial system for as long as seven years as a result of little-known private databases that are used by the nation’s major banks.

The problem is contributing to the growth of the roughly 10 million households in the United States that lack a banking account, a basic requirement of modern economic life.

Unlike traditional credit reporting databases, which provide portraits of outstanding debt and payment histories, these are records of transgressions in banking products. Institutions like Bank of America, Citibank and Wells Fargo say that tapping into the vast repositories of information helps them weed out risky customers and combat fraud — a mounting threat for banks.

But consumer advocates and state authorities say the use of the databases disproportionately affects lower-income Americans, who tend to live paycheck to paycheck, making them more likely to incur negative marks after relatively minor banking missteps like overdrawing accounts, amassing fees or bouncing checks.

When the databases were created more than 20 years ago, they were intended to help banks guard against serial fraud artists, like those accused of writing bogus checks. Since then, though, the databases have ensnared millions of low-income Americans, according to interviews with financial counselors, consumer lawyers and more than two dozen low-income people in California, Illinois, Florida, New York and Washington.

Jonathan Mintz, the commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, says banks’ growing reliance on customer databases has frustrated efforts to help an estimated 825,000 New Yorkers without bank accounts gain access to the mainstream financial system.

“Hundreds of thousands of Americans are being shut out for relatively small mistakes,” Mr. Mintz said.

As a result, many have no choice but to turn to costly fringe operations to cash checks, pay bills and wire money. Saving for the future, financial counselors say, can be especially difficult.

The ranks of those without bank accounts have swelled — up more than 10 percent since 2009, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation — as banks have sharpened their focus on more affluent customers who typically generate twice the revenue of their lower-income counterparts. Many banks are closing branches in poor areas and expanding in wealthier ones, according to an analysis of federal data.

Rejection for would-be bank customers can come as a shock. Tiffany Murrell of Brooklyn says a credit union denied her checking account application in September 2012 even though she had a job as a secretary and was up to date on her bills.

Attractions In Santa Clarita - Businesses React To Health Care Act Delay

Source - http://www.usatoday.com/
By - Tim Mullaney
Category - Attractions In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Attractions In Santa Clarita

Businesses reacted with relief to the Obama administration's decision to give large and midsize employers until 2015 to provide health care coverage for their workers or face fines.

Before the administration's announcement Tuesday, businesses with 50 or more employees had to provide affordable coverage to their full-time employees starting Jan. 1 or risk a series of penalties if even one worker ended up getting government-subsidized insurance.

Reaction marked a divide between representatives of big business, who mostly provide insurance already and were focused on complying with complex new reporting rules, and representatives of small business who said they need much bigger changes.

"This is a wise decision," says Bill Kramer, executive director for national health policy for the Pacific Business Group on Health. It represents national employers in all 50 states, including General Electric and Wal-Mart.

Small-business groups that opposed Obamacare entirely said the move didn't go far enough.

They are still lobbying for changes that will mandate coverage only for employees who work at least 40 hours a week, rather than 30, along with other fixes, said National Federation of Independent Business spokeswoman Cynthia Magnuson.

"This is a temporary fix and we need long-term relief,'' Magnuson said.

The delay may also calm the nerves of small business people, who have been reluctant to expand because of the new mandate, said Mark Cerminaro, senior vice president of small-business lending company RapidAdvance.

Since the economy is expected to be growing faster by late 2014, the delay will let small-company owners buy insurance or pay the penalties without worrying as much about how it will affect their businesses, he said.

"You have a tendency, where there's economic uncertainty already, to see individuals get a little more cautious,'' he said. ``With the extra time, they'll have an extra confidence level.''

Most large employers will still provide health insurance benefits — and wouldn't be subject to penalties — Kramer said. But the law's reporting requirements for those companies will still be an administrative burden, he said.

The decision to delay "is a recognition of how complex the implementation is," says Allan Zaremberg, CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce.

He says many regulations implementing the act weren't published until late last year and many companies wouldn't be ready to implement it.

More than 90% of the California Chamber of Commerce's member companies already offer coverage, he said.

Erik Stewart, who advises small-business owners at the Washington Small Business Development Center in Aberdeen, Wash., says the delay will let small-business owners overcome ``incorrect information" about what the law actually requires. Many employers with fewer than 50 employees mistakenly think they have to buy insurance, he said.

"What they hear on TV usually isn't the whole story, and so what has happened is that there is a culture of fear concerning these laws," says Stewart.

Attractions In Santa Clarita - Scientists Solve 3.5 Billion-Year-Old Mystery Of Life And Its Link To Meteorites

Source - http://thespacereporter.com/
By - Press Release
Category - Attractions In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Attractions In Santa Clarita

It seems life may have received a boost from asteroids smashing into the surface of Earth early in its life.

According to a newly published report produced by researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) and the University of Washington, life-producing phosphorus may have landed on Earth 3.5 billion years ago, providing a boost to early life forms.

USF professor Matthew Pasek, who led the study, says the phosphorus, when released in water, may have over time incorporated themselves into prebiotic molecules. The phosphorus, which has been found in asteroids, was likely carried to Earth via comets and meteorites, which released the element when impacted Earth.

By focusing on the Hadean and Archean eons of early Earth, the scientists were able to discern that meteorites delivered phosphorus in minerals currently not seen on the surface of Earth. By examining Earth core samples from Zimbabwe, Australia, Wyoming, West Virginia, Florida the team was able to determine the origin of the minerals. According to researchers, the minerals likely corroded in water, releasing large amounts of phosphorus in a form only found during Earth’s early formation. The phosphite would have likely resulted in an adjusting of the chemistry of Earth’s early oceans, with its chemical signature later becoming trapped in marine carbonate where it was preserved.

“The importance of this finding is that it provides the missing ingredient in the origin-of-life recipe: a form of phosphorus that can be readily incorporated into essential biological molecules,” said Roger Buick, a co-author of the study.

There are few natural sources of phosphite that are Earth-based. Some of the examples include lightning strikes, geothermal fluids  and possibly microbial activity under extremely anaerobic condition. However, none of the Earth-based forms could have produced the quantities of phosphite needed to be dissolved in early Earth oceans that gave rise to life, according to researchers.

According to the report, the conditions that led to a boom of life on Earth no longer exist and the elements delivered by asteroids are few and far between. Previous research has already confirmed that before the emergence of DNA-RNA-protein life , the earliest forms  of life on Earth evolved by relying on RNA alone. While the evolution of early life is fairly well understood, it remained unclear how early RNA–based life forms synthesized environmental phosphorus, which in its current form is relatively insoluble and unreactive.

This is not the first study to propose how life may have evolve from elements delivered to Earth via asteroids and comets. A number of scientists have examined and noted the abundance of reactive phosphorus in the form of the mineral schreibersite, a iron–nickel phosphide.

The report is published in the latest edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Attractions In Santa Clarita - America's Jobs Are Moving To The Suburbs

Source - http://money.cnn.com/
By - Steve Hargreaves
Category - Attractions In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Attractions In Santa Clarita

Jobs within 3 miles of a city center fell from 24.5% of overall positions in 2000 to 22.9% in 2010, according to a report released Thursday from the Brookings Institution. During the same time, jobs in the outer suburbs -- between 10 and 35 miles of a city's center -- grew from 40.9% in 2000 to 43.1% in 2010.

The recession halted the flight of jobs to the suburbs for a few years as industries like manufacturing, construction and retail -- businesses that thrive in a city's outer regions -- bore the largest brunt of layoffs. But by 2010, the suburbs accounted for nearly twice the share of jobs as city centers, continuing a trend that has been underway for decades.

"Where the jobs are matters to the overall development of a region," said Elizabeth Kneebone, a fellow at Brookings' Metropolitan Policy Program. "It can impact long-term productivity."

Related: Firms are firing less, but not hiring enough

Low-density development away from city centers can be a drag on growth for several reasons, Kneebone said.

For poorer people without access to a car, it can make it harder to physically get to a job. For those with a car, it can lead to longer commute times and more money spent on gas.

It's also more expensive for taxpayers. Infrastructure costs can be 40% higher in low-density areas than higher ones, she said.

Innovation can also be crimped, as fewer people from similar industries get to interact with one another. Brookings pointed out in a separate report that patenting rates are higher in more densely populated locales.

Kneebone noted that not all suburban job growth is done poorly. Some metro regions, like San Francisco, have done a good job concentrating suburban job growth in specific areas, eliminating many of the potential negatives. Other regions are physically constrained from growing any more near their downtown, due to obstacles like mountains or water.

The metro regions with the highest rate of job density are San Jose, Calif.; Las Vegas; Virginia Beach; Salt Lake City and New York.

The regions with the most "job sprawl" are Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia and St. Louis.

Despite the much-hyped revitalization taking place in many city centers across the country, Kneebone said the jobs are not necessarily following the shift of residents toward downtown districts. In many places, these new urban dwellers end up reverse commuting to the suburbs for work.

She thinks better planning and zoning laws are required to encourage denser development, and urged more cooperation at both the regional level and among government agencies, such as economic development and transportation departments.

The Brookings report looked at the nation's 100 largest metro areas, which account for about two-thirds of both the country's population and its jobs. To top of page

Attractions In Santa Clarita - Eat Fish And Live Longer

Source - http://abclocal.go.com/
By - Jennifer Matarese
Category - Attractions In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Attractions In Santa Clarita

Most of us know eating fish is good for our health.

But exciting new research has found, for the first time, evidence that shows exactly how heart healthy it can be and the key to reaping the benefits is to start eating fish when you are young.

The evidence is in the blood.

Eating fish rich in omega 3 fatty acids may help you to live longer.

Lillian Irani says she eats a lot of salmon.

"I feel great and I have more energy when I eat it," Irani said.

Until now, scientific studies showing omega 3's are heart healthy have primarily been based on what people say they eat.

Now scientists can point to something better.

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health looked at the blood stream.

They studied data on more than 2,600 people, finding fish eaters who had the highest levels of omega 3 fatty acids in their blood reaped significant benefits.

"There was about a 23 percent reduction in total death and about a 35% reduction in cardiovascular incidence. This is really significant," said Christopher Ochner, St. Luke's Roosevelt Medical Center.

They also lived, on average, a little over two years longer.

But the research was done on older folks, ages 65 and up.

Nutrition expert Christopher Ochner says its people in their 20's 30's and 40's that need to get the message. "The idea is to start early. That's where the main benefit is going to be in terms of long term longevity improving health, appearance, energy levels sleep and everything in our everyday lives starting now," Ochner said.

The American Heart Association recommends eating 3.5 oz fatty fish at least two times a week.

That includes fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines and albacore tuna.

But even if you don't eat that much fish, its ok, what's most important is to start and the younger the better .

"If people are eating no fish, that's where the largest opportunity for benefit is because those are the people who are really going to see the most improvement from no fish to a little bit of fish you are really going to get that protective effect," Ochner said.

Make small changes, not drastic ones at first .

Ochner says people won't stick to very drastic changes even if they can do them for a couple of months.

Instead, make small, incremental changes that you can follow for a lifetime.

If you don't like fish, the study's author says supplements might work for some people but the benefits are uncertain.

Attractions In Santa Clarita - Another Bidder Joins Fray For Dell

Source - http://www.bdlive.co.za/
By - Serena Saitto and David Carey
Category - Attractions In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Attractions In Santa Clarita

NEW YORK — Blackstone Group is weighing a bid for Dell, the computer maker seeking offers to rival the proposed $24.4bn buyout by founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake Management, said people with knowledge of the matter.

Blackstone may bid as part of a group including other investors, said one of the people, who asked not to be named.

The private-equity firm has not made a decision, another person said.

Under the go-shop provision of the Silver Lake merger agreement, Dell’s board has until March 22 to seek superior proposals, and can negotiate beyond that date if it receives an offer it deems serious.

An offer from Blackstone would increase the pressure on Michael Dell and Silver Lake to raise their $13.65-a-share bid after Dell’s two biggest outside shareholders already opposed what would be the largest leveraged buyout of a technology company since the financial crisis.

Billionaire Carl Icahn has also amassed a stake and is pressing for a special dividend over a buyout. Still, it may be difficult for new bidders to turn Dell around without the CEO’s buy-in as PC business slumps, said Bloomberg Industries analyst Anand Srinivasan.

"It’s very hard to put a value on a business that’s in structural decline," he said. "Going private is all about how much value you can create."

Blackstone, Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo have inspected Dell’s books after signing nondisclosure agreements, people familiar with the matter said this month. Michael Dell is trying to take the PC maker private after a quarter century as a publicly traded company, as business has shifted toward cloud computing, where storage and software are delivered at low cost over the internet.

Dell spokesman David Frink declined to comment. Blackstone spokesman Peter Rose was not immediately available.

Dell’s shares climbed as high as $14.69 in after-hours trading on Tuesday, or 7.6% above the bid from Michael Dell and Silver Lake, signalling that investors are betting the price tag will ultimately exceed the $24.4bn offer. In German trading on Tuesday, the stock traded at the equivalent of $14.52 as of 9.30am in Frankfurt.

Mr Icahn this month asked Dell’s directors to pledge they will implement his $9-a-share special dividend proposal if shareholders reject the Michael Dell-led offer. Otherwise, Mr Icahn said, he will start a proxy fight and seek to replace the board with his own slate.

At least five analysts this month said a bid for Dell could reach as high as $15 a share.

Attractions In Santa Clarita - Chinese Smog Is Choking My Creativity, Says Film-Maker

Source - http://www.guardian.co.uk/

By - Press Release

Category - Attractions In Santa Clarita

Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Attractions In Santa Clarita

Some say success is the enemy of creativity; others have blamed the pram in the hall. But one of China's best-known film directors has found a new culprit: smog.

"Cornered by the terrible weather, I have nowhere to go … I am unable to focus on my artistic creation," said Chen Kaige, who won the Palme d'Or for his 1993 film Farewell My Concubine.

His comments reflect growing public concern about China's environmental record, exacerbated by the severe air pollution in Beijing and other areas this winter, water pollution scandals and the government's refusal to release research on soil pollution.

Chen, 61, described the weather as weird, appalling and unbelievable, according to the state news agency Xinhua. He cited the death of a prized jujube tree two years ago as proof of Beijing's deteriorating environment, asking: "If a tree dies like this, how can humans fare any better?"

He said the government should take speedy action to shut down polluters instead of trying to undo the damage already done.

Chen himself was criticised over environmental issues several years ago when a watchdog in Yunnan province said a lake had been damaged during the filming of his movie The Promise.

Xinhua said Chen had been elected to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top political advisory body, which began its annual session on Sunday and includes several celebrity members such as the actor Jackie Chan, the Nobel literature laureate Mo Yan and the basketball star Yao Ming.

Its meeting runs alongside that of the country's largely rubber-stamp legislature, the National People's Congress.

On Saturday, the spokesman for the session said the official timetable for cities to meet national air quality standards was too long. "Eighteen years is too long to wait," said Lyu Xinhua. "We wish to shorten the period."

In January, the ministry of environmental protection said cities where average air pollution levels were 15% above the standard or less should meet the standard by 2015. The worst-hit cities, with pollution 30% or more above the national standard, should tackle the problem by 2030.