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Sunday, January 29, 2012

EFF working to keep jailbreaking legal, wants your help

Jailbreaking or rooting your smartphone is currently "legal" under Digital Millennium Copyright Act, but that exemption is set to expire in 2012. The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) is looking for help and support to keep it that way, and they would like people to contact the US Copyright office and express their opinion. They are offering up a handy set of questions and concerns readers can use in their appeal to the copyright office, and have done as much as they can to streamline the process and make it painless, with direct links and a petition.

The idea behind it all is that once we pay our hard-earned money for our expensive electronic toys, they are ours to do with as we please. As long as safety regulations are met, and we don't do anything to adversely affect our cellular carrier, we should be able to do anything we wish. It's a great idea, and it's a shame that this even requires an exemption in the DMCA.

The DMCA has been used against people who hack game consoles, and used against people trafficking cell phones, but has anyone ever been prosecuted for rooting their smartphone? I've searched the net for a few days, and every time I find something that sounds promising, it ends up being more than just someone jailbreaking their iPad or rooting their Bionic. Yeah, carriers and manufacturers probably hate it, and we can't blame them, but I don't see a case like HTC vs. Jerry Hildenbrand for rooting his Wildfire S getting much traction in a court of law. Unfortunately, we can't trust things will stay this way in a world full of companies like Microsoft and Apple.

It's absolutely ridiculous that we would require some sort of waiver to be allowed to mess up our own hardware. It's even more ridiculous that carriers and device makers have acted in ways to put the fear of prosecution in us so we want an exemption in the first place. It's mine. If you want to tell me what to do with it, you need to pay me for it. Until then, leave me the hell alone and let me enjoy my toys.

Hit the link below, and do your part to make sure the Copyright Office does the right thing.

EFF: Jailbreaking is not a crime

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/q4rHz7aO0tc/story01.htm

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Chevron profit falls as refineries, output suffer (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Chevron Corp reported lower quarterly earnings on Friday, missing Wall Street forecasts, as rising spending on oil and gas projects and losses at its U.S. refinery business offset gains from higher crude oil prices.

Oil and gas output at the No. 2 U.S. oil company also declined to 2.64 million barrels per day (BPD) from 2.79 million BPD a year-ago, although benchmark oil prices rose about 25 percent during the quarter.

Chevron had said earlier this month its refinery margins were suffering and would be near breakeven for the quarter, but the U.S. losses pulled the entire segment into the red, and the company's profits from oil and gas sales also appeared weaker than expected.

Its shares fell 2.5 percent in early trading.

"It was a miss on some non-controllable factors," said Pavel Molchanov, analyst with Raymond James in Houston, citing the timings of sales and global pricing differences as the likely reason oil and gas profits fell about $500 million below his forecast.

Still, Chevron added 1.67 billion barrels of oil equivalent to its reserves last year, 171 percent of its 2011 output, a very strong performance, Molchanov said.

Chevron is embroiled in two major legal battles in South America, where a Brazilian prosecutor plans to file criminal charges against it and some of its local managers.

The company is facing an $11 billion lawsuit there related to an offshore oil spill in November, and it also remains locked in a legal war against plaintiffs in Ecuador, who won an $18 billion judgment against it in a court there.

PROFIT DIP

Fourth-quarter profit slipped to $5.1 billion, or $2.58 per share, from $5.3 billion, or $2.64 per share, a year earlier.

That fell short of the $2.84 per share that analysts had forecast, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Chevron's warning of weaker earnings on January 11 knocked 17 cents per share off the average analyst estimate.

Among other U.S. oil companies, the quarterly profits from ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum Corp earlier this week topped Wall Street estimates, though Hess Corp fell short.

Exxon Mobil is due to report earnings on Tuesday, Jan 31.

Chevron is spending piles of money on production growth that will not really kick in until 2014. Its 2012 capital budget of $32.7 billion is nearly $5 billion higher than last year.

In the fourth quarter, Chevron's spending on oil and gas projects in the United States nearly doubled from a year ago to $2.0 billion, while outside the U.S. it grew by more than a quarter to $5.1 billion.

Shares of Chevron fell 2.5 percent to $103.94 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Matt Daily in New York, additional reporting by Braden Reddall in San Francisco, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/bs_nm/us_chevron

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NFL's Ochocinco, US House speaker trade tweets

In this Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 photo provided by the Press Office of the Speaker of the House, Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, sits at his desk in Washington next to a Cincinnati Bengals helmet for use in responding to a tweet from New England Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco. The New England Patriots wide receiver known for prolific social media interactions tuned in to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night, and he soon was wondering about the unsmiling man sitting behind the Democratic president. Informed by a friend it was Republican Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, the former Cincinnati Bengal decided to reach out to him on Twitter, asking Tuesday night if he was "OK." (AP Photo/Bryant Avondoglio)

New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (85) smiles at team practice in Foxborough, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The Patriots will face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco speaks to a reporter while sitting at his locker in Gillette Stadium at Foxborough, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The Patriots are preparing to face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco leans back in a chair at his locker while speaking to a reporter in Gillette Stadium at Foxborough, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The Patriots are preparing to face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco speaks to reporters at his locker at the NFL football stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The Patriots are scheduled to face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

CINCINNATI (AP) ? Chad Ochocinco, meet the speaker of the U.S. House. On Twitter, of course.

The New England Patriots receiver known for prolific social media interactions tuned in to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night, and he soon was wondering about the unsmiling man sitting behind the Democratic president. Informed by a friend it was Republican Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, the former Cincinnati Bengal decided to reach out to him on Twitter, asking Tuesday night if he was "OK."

Apparently still concerned Wednesday, Ochocinco asked Boehner in another message if he was in better spirits, and told him: "If all else seems bad in life, just remember I love you kind sir."

Boehner thanked Ochocinco in a tweet and wished him good luck in the Super Bowl. Ochocinco said Thursday the two exchanged contact information and made plans to meet after the Patriots' season is over.

New England plays the New York Giants for the National Football League championship on Feb. 5.

"We'll see you in the playoffs next year," Boehner added, using "Bengals" and their fans' cheer "WhoDey" to tag his response on Twitter.

Boehner's Twitter feed later included a photo of him at his desk with a Bengals helmet in the foreground.

In the Patriots locker room in Foxborough, Mass., Ochocinco asked a reporter questions about Boehner's place in the presidential line of succession. The House speaker is second in line, after the vice president.

"He's a pretty powerful man, then," the football player said. "For him to contact me back, it's awesome."

Ochocinco has more than 3.1 million Twitter followers, including President Felipe Calderon of Mexico.

"Me and the president of Mexico tweet back all the time," Ochocinco said. "That's two powerful people."

___

Contact this reporter at http://www.twitter.com/dansewell

___

AP Sports Writer Jimmy Golen in Foxborough, Mass., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-26-US-Ochocinco-Boehner/id-d706f04e68e845c0b66824a5ae59cac6

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Amnesty: Tear gas used on Bahrain protesters kills

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Bahrain must investigate more than a dozen deaths that followed the use of tear gas by security forces, rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday after the Gulf kingdom reported that a man had died while in custody.

Reuters reported that Bahrain's Interior Ministry said that a man detained by police over "acts of sabotage" died in the?hospital, without elaborating on the cause of death.

According to Amnesty, a Bahraini human rights group has reported at least 13 deaths resulting from the security forces' use of tear gas against peaceful protesters as well as inside people's homes since February 2011, with a rise in such deaths in recent months.

Bahrain fires tear gas, stun grenades to halt protesters

A 20-year-old was seriously injured and hospitalized after being hit in the head by a tear gas canister launched by riot police, the group said. Amnesty went on to document a series of incidents that allegedly showed how tear gas had been used improperly, including against women, children and the elderly.

Bahrain last year crushed protests led by its Shiite Muslim majority demanding an end to sectarian discrimination and limits to the authority of the Sunni ruling family, relying in part on backing from troops from fellow Sunni-led Gulf monarchies.

More than a thousand people were detained in the crackdown, at least four of whom died in official custody. An inquiry Bahrain commissioned into the protests and government crackdown found systematic abuse of detainees, including torture.

The ministry said last month it would begin recording the questioning of detainees in line with the recommendations of the inquiry, which also disputed Bahrain's claim that the protests were fomented by Iran through its Shiite coreligionists.

Bahrain to citizens living abroad: Spy on countrymen, no protests permitted

Washington, which bases its Fifth Fleet on the Gulf island, has linked a $53 million arms sale to the kingdom's response to the inquiry. Bahrain has said it is implementing the inquiry's recommendations, but the top U.N. human rights official argues that Bahrain is not punishing those behind abuses.

Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Source: http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/26/10243804-amnesty-tear-gas-used-on-bahrain-protesters-kills

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Former Guatemala dictator faces war crimes charges (Reuters)

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) ? Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt will face trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity as the Central American nation seeks to close files on a brutal 36-year civil war.

A judge found sufficient evidence that linked Rios Montt, who ruled during a particularly bloody period in 1982 and 1983, to the killing of more than 1,700 indigenous people in one counterinsurgency effort.

"I believe that there is enough evidence in these charges," said Judge Carol Flores, who agreed with prosecutors that Rios Montt, as head of the government, should answer for brutality under his rule.

Prosecutors allege that Rios Montt, who ruled as commander-in-chief for 17 months, turned a blind eye as soldiers used rape, torture and arson to rid Guatemala of leftist insurgents.

Lawyers also charge that Rios Montt conceived a counterinsurgency plan that killed at least 1,771 unarmed members of the Ixil tribe that he said were aiding guerillas and drove another 29,000 more into forced exodus.

Defense attorneys claim that Rios Montt, 85, did not control battlefield operations during the 1960-1996 internal conflict that left nearly a quarter of a million dead or missing and therefore cannot be held responsible.

"Each commander is responsible for making decisions in his own post," attorney Danilo Rodriguez said.

Ixil women clad in bright red indigenous dresses attended the hearing that ended in Rios Montt being ordered to house arrest until a preliminary hearing in March.

The right-wing party Rios Montt founded has lost relevance and the former general was turned out of Congress in a September general election, loosing the immunity from prosecution granted to public officials.

(Reporting By Michael McDonald; editing by Christopher Wilson and Eric Beech)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wl_nm/us_guatemala

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

SOTU Response: We???re Still in Bad Shape (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Tuesday night was the night of speeches. First there was the State of the Union; then there was the GOP response. While I'm not a fan of Mitch Daniels, I liked his answer. It was more factual and current then Obama's State of the Union address, and it highlighted the importance of the 2012 elections. As a country, we cannot do another four years of Obama, and the answer is electing a Republican president.

Gov. Daniels crafted an impressive response to Obama's State of the Union address. I particularly liked Daniels' speech when he stated, "The president did not cause the economic and fiscal crises that continue in America tonight. But he was elected on a promise to fix them, and he cannot claim that the last three years have made things anything but worse: the percentage of Americans with a job is at the lowest in decades. One in five men of prime working age, and nearly half of all persons under 30, did not go to work today."

While I'm not in either of those demographics, I didn't go to work yesterday. In fact, I gave up looking for traditional employment in November 2011. There are no jobs out there. There are no jobs for the uneducated, and there are no jobs for the educated. I fall into the latter category. I have two degrees, and I'm thinking about getting a third degree. I shouldn't need three degrees to find a job. With two degrees I'm already overeducated, but that's the world Obama has created.

I had a job in 2008, and I still had a job in 2009 after Obama was elected. I wasn't downsized until April 2009. Supposedly, the recession ended during that summer, but a more than two years later, I'm still not traditionally employed. It's a problem, and it's not just a problem for me. It's a problem for the nation.

The United States cannot thrive with high unemployment. "The federal government now spends one of every four dollars in the entire economy; it borrows one of every three dollars it spends. No nation, no entity, large or small, public or private, can thrive, or survive intact, with debts as huge as ours," said Gov. Daniels.

It's been more than two years since the recession officially ended. Yet, the unemployment rate is still a whopping 8.5 percent. While Obama wants to take credit for the improvements no matter how marginal, I don't see enough improvement.

The answer to the economy is to elect a Republican president. We can't do another four years of Obamanomics. That means we need to pay close attention during this year's primaries. We need to scrutinize each candidate as if our lives depended on it. Then, we, as a nation, need to pick the best republican presidential candidate so we can get this nation and its jobs and its citizens back on track.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120125/pl_ac/10883091_sotu_response_were_still_in_bad_shape

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Klipsch Mode M40 noise-cancelling headphones review

Around these parts, we've generally had favorable opinions of Klipsch's audio products. Whether it's been something as small as its S4 line of smartphone oriented in-ears or grand speaker systems like its AirPlay-enabled G-17 Air, we've usually ended up awarding the brand our highest praise. If you'll recall, it was little over a year ago that Klipsch introduced its $150 Image One on-ear headphones -- the company's first set ever that weren't of the intra-aural variety, and a favorite of our own James Trew.

Fast forward to the present, and the company's unleashed its second proper over-the-head headphone, the Klipsch Mode M40 with active noise-cancellation. In recent years, headphones have exploded in popularity -- many companies have been furiously trying to blend good sound with fashion-forward looks. It's safe to say that's Klipsch's end game here, and is asking that you part ways with 350 bones to get in on the action.

Put simply, these aren't a follow-up to the Image Ones, but rather, a luxury pair that takes cues from the company's reference series headphones. Of course, as we've come to expect from Klipsch, the M40s do have some notable tricks up their yokes aside from their debatably fashionable looks -- the company promises they'll cancel noise for a massively long 45 hours on a single AAA battery, and both earcups feature an interesting dual-driver array with a 15mm tweeter and a 40mm woofer. So, have the M40s made us smitten with Klipsch all over again? Or not? Maybe something a bit more complicated? Click on past the break to find out!

Gallery: Klipsch Mode M40 noise-cancelling headphones review