PFT: Embattled LB McClain near deal with Ravens

AP

With almost a month of free agency in the books, here is our rundown on the best players still available at each position ? a list that includes some of PFT?s top 100 free agents as of earlier in the offseason.

Quarterback: Byron Leftwich.

The Seahawks? move for Brady Quinn made a lot of sense ? he was probably the best backup option left. Leftwich has a strong arm and plenty of experience but has struggled to stay healthy.

Down the road, Tim Tebow seems a solid bet?to join the jobless QB ranks, and the moment he does, he becomes the X-factor of the group. Will another team give him a chance?

Running back:?Ahmad Bradshaw.

Durability looms as the major concern with Bradshaw, who has had foot issues.

Fullback: Mike Cox.

Cox started 12 games in the last two seasons for Atlanta.

Wide receiver: Brandon Lloyd, Julian Edelman.

Lloyd would be a fine short-term solution for a team looking for an outside receiver.? Edelman?s youth and versatility give him a slight nod over other candidates for this spot, but can he stay healthy in a regular role?

Tight end: Dallas Clark.

The best receiving option at his position still left on the market. However, he turns 34 in June.

Offensive tackle: Andre Smith, Bryant McKinnie.

Smith has a strong 2012 season but comes with injury and consistency risk. Nevertheless, the young right tackle is the best free agent available. McKinnie gets the nod over Tyson Clabo and Eric Winston on account of his long track record at left tackle.? That said, McKinnie will be 34 in September, and his conditioning can be an issue.

Offensive guard: Brandon Moore, Stephen Peterman.

Moore started 137 connective games for the Jets, while Peterman played every game the last three seasons before being released by the Lions. Both can be serviceable for 2013.

Center: Dan Koppen.

Started 12 games for the AFC West-winning Broncos in 2012. Turns 34 in September.

Defensive end: Dwight Freeney, John Abraham.

They are both pass-rushing aces, but they?re on the wrong side of 30.

Defensive tackle: Sedrick Ellis, Richard Seymour.

Ellis never lived up to his first-round status in New Orleans, but he will only be 28 at the start of the season. Seymour could still help a team, but Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports reported in March that it might take a lucrative deal to get the longtime standout lineman back onto the field in 2013.

Outside linebacker: Shaun Phillips, Daryl Smith.

Phillips will be 32 in May, but he?notched 9.5 sacks in 2012, so it?s not as if he couldn?t be of assistance to a defense that uses 3-4 looks.?Smith was limited to two games a season ago with a groin injury, but he?s the best 4-3 outside linebacker available. Age could also be a concern with Smith, who turned 31 in March. Let?s also mention James Harrison, like Phillips an interesting short-term option for a club employing a ?30? front.

Inside linebacker: Karlos Dansby, Brian Urlacher.

Dansby lost his job when the Dolphins added Dannell Ellerbe, but he comes off a 134-tackle season and has a long track record of success. There?s probably still a place for him in the league, and the Bengals are meeting with him on Wednesday. Urlacher fit best in Chicago, but the door seems to have closed on his return.? Besides, he?ll be 35 in May. Honorable mention goes to Nick Barnett, who has notched more than 100 tackles in every season in which he?s played even close to 16 games.

Cornerback: Antoine Winfield, Quentin Jammer.

Winfield is reportedly getting a good deal of attention in free agency; the ex-Viking is tough and skilled. Reliability and availability are Jammer?s strengths at this stage of the game. He?s made 161 career starts and missed just four games in 11 NFL seasons, all with San Diego.

Safety: Kerry Rhodes, Charles Woodson.

This position was thinned further Tuesday when Dawan Landry agreed with the Jets. Rhodes, who intercepted four passes a season ago, has shown a playmaking flair throughout his career, but he will be 31 this season. Woodson can play multiple secondary spots but has said his phone isn?t exactly ringing off the hook just yet.

Placekicker: Steven Hauschka.

Only 27 years old, Hauschka connected on 24-of-27 field goals in 2012 for Seattle.

Punter: Brian Moorman.

Bounced back in 2012 stint with Cowboys, posting a 38.9-yard net average in 12 games.

Return specialist: ?Josh Cribbs.

Cribbs, who had knee surgery earlier in the offseason, can be a difference-making returner and coverage player.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/10/report-rolando-mcclain-nearing-deal-with-ravens/related/

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5 UN peacekeepers, at least 7 civilians killed in ambush in South Sudan

By Charlton Doki and Nirmala George, The Associated Press

JUBA, South Sudan -- Five United Nations peacekeepers from India, and at least seven civilians, were killed Tuesday when armed rebels opened fire on a convoy in South Sudan.

South Sudan's military spokesman, Col. Philip Aguer, blamed the attack on fighters led by David Yau Yau, a Sudan-backed rebel leader South Sudan's military has battled for months.

The top U.N. envoy in South Sudan, Hilde Johnson, said in a statement that five peacekeepers and seven civilians working with the U.N. mission were killed. She said at least nine additional peacekeepers and civilians were injured and some remain unaccounted for.

Aguer said the attack took place on a convoy traveling between the South Sudanese towns of Pibor and Bor on Tuesday morning.

"Definitely this attack was carried out by David Yau Yau's militia," Aguer said. "They have been launching ambushes even on the SPLA for about six months now," he said, using the acronym for South Sudan's military.

South Sudan ended decades of civil war with Sudan in 2005 and peacefully formed its own country in 2011. But the south is still plagued by internal violence and shaky relations with Sudan. Leaders in Khartoum, Sudan's capital, deny that they are arming Yau Yau.

Syed Akbaruddin, spokesman of India's Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, India, said the convoy, which included 32 Indian soldiers, was attacked by rebels in Gurmukh in the volatile state of Jonglei. He said the casualties are being brought to the capital of South Sudan, Juba, and the injured will be sent to the U.N. mission hospital. The Indian embassy will work with the U.N. to bring the bodies back to India, he said.

India has about 2,200 Indian army personnel in South Sudan. They are in two battalions. One is based in Jonglei and the other is in Malakal, in the Upper Nile, on the border with Sudan.

The Indian embassy said it will inform families before releasing the names of the soldiers killed.

The top U.N. envoy in South Sudan, Johnson, sent condolences to the families of the dead and injured.

Related:

South Sudan prisons in tatters after decades of war

S. Sudan president: Sudan has declared war on us

PhotoBlog: Building South Sudan from scratch

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Strict school meal standards associated with improved weight status among students

Strict school meal standards associated with improved weight status among students

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

A study suggests that states with stricter school meal nutrition standards were associated with better weight status among students who received free or reduced-price lunches compared with students who did not eat school lunches, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) was started in 1946 to improve student nutrition by providing school lunches according to standards sets by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, the program has faced criticism that the lunches did not meet USDA nutrient-based standards, and the NSLP may be a missed opportunity to improve students' weight status and reduce the health consequences of obesity, the authors write in the study background.

Daniel R. Taber, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois at Chicago and colleagues conducted a study using a sample of 4,870 students in 40 states. Student data were obtained from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class, which began collecting data from a nationally representative sample of kindergarten students in fall 1998.

In states that exceeded USDA school meal standards, the difference in obesity prevalence between students who received free or reduced-price lunches and students who did not get lunches was 12.3 percentage points smaller compared with states that did not exceed USDA standards.

"In states that did not exceed USDA standards, students who obtained free/reduced-price lunches were almost twice as likely to be obese than students who did not obtain school lunches (26 percent and 13.9 percent, respectively), whereas the disparity between groups was markedly reduced in states that exceeded USDA standards (21.1 percent and 17.4 percent, respectively)," according to the study results.

Researchers also found that there was little evidence that students compensated for school meal laws by buying sweets, salty snacks or sugar-sweetened beverages from other school venues, such as vending machines, or from other sources, such as fast food restaurants.

"The evidence in this study suggests that ongoing changes to school meal standards have the potential to reduce obesity, particularly among students who are eligible for free/reduced-price lunches, though additional longitudinal research is needed to confirm this," the study concludes.

(JAMA Pediatr. Published online April 8, 2013. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.399. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)

Editor's Note: Support for the research was provided by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

Editorial: School Meals a Starting Point for Countering Childhood Obesity

In a related editorial, Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H., of New York University, writes: "In this issue of JAMA Pediatrics, Taber and colleagues provide important evidence to support the value of strong, far-reaching public health initiatives to counter childhood obesity."

"In short, the study found an association between more stringent school meal standards and more favorable weight status, especially among low-income students," Nestle continues.

'The study produced one other noteworthy result. Students did not compensate for the healthier school meals by buying more snacks or sodas on school premises," Nestle concludes.

(JAMA Pediatr. Published online April 8, 2013. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.404. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)

Editor's Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

###

The JAMA Network Journals: http://www.jamamedia.org

Thanks to The JAMA Network Journals for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127633/Strict_school_meal_standards_associated_with_improved_weight_status_among_students

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AZ Electronic shares slide after profit warning

LONDON (Reuters) - AZ Electronic Materials, a maker of chemicals for Apple's iPad displays and memory chips, warned that profit would be lower than expected in the first half, wiping a quarter of the value of its share price.

The company said on Tuesday that its core earnings margin for the first six months of the year would dip below 30 percent, resulting in 2013 group margins coming in below normal levels. It forecast an improvement in the second half.

A weaker than expected performance in the part of its business which provides materials used in integrated circuits was to blame, said the company.

Shares in AZ Electronics crashed 27 percent to 269 pence at 3:43 a.m. ET, hitting their lowest level for around nine months and leading the FTSE 250 losers board.

"Softness in demand patterns within the integrated circuit industry was compounded by increased pressure from dual sourcing by certain customers," AZ said in a statement.

Analysts at Singer called the update "disappointing" and said that the lower than normal margin implied a possible 2013 earnings downgrade of over 10 percent.

"We believe that a number of the challenges are likely to be short term ... but we expect the shares to come under some pressure pending visibility of the anticipated second half recovery," they said.

AZ said discussions with customers meant it was confident of a stronger second half. It also gave assurances on profit growth beyond 2013 citing encouraging progress on the development of new products.

(Reporting by Sarah Young, editing by James Davey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/az-electronic-shares-slide-profit-warning-081723369--finance.html

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Sustainability, wellness expo set for Saturday | Health and Fitness ...

BLOOMINGTON ? The annual Illinois Sustainable Living and Wellness Expo will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Illinois Wesleyan Shirk Center, 302 E. Emerson St. The free expo includes about 100 exhibits, in addition to information sessions and ?

Best Prices on all YOUR Health and Fitness Requirements! CLICK HERE

Source: http://www.16g.org/sustainability-wellness-expo-set-for-saturday/

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Profiles in Science: Elizabeth Blackburn: Molecular Biologist Charts Her Own Course

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A Nobel-winning molecular biologist explores the connections of emotional stress, health and DNA.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/science/elizabeth-blackburn-molecular-biologist-charts-her-own-course.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Calif. governor looks to China for investments

FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2005 file photo, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger waves while taking the stage to begin a rally to promote California's products in Hong Kong, Saturday Nov. 19, 2005. California has the highest population of Chinese-Americans and is China's top trade partner among U.S. states. Yet it has no trade offices in China, opting to eliminate them in a cost-cutting move a decade ago, and is feeling the pressure from other states that have been far more aggressive in pursuing business from the world's second-largest economy. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2005 file photo, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger waves while taking the stage to begin a rally to promote California's products in Hong Kong, Saturday Nov. 19, 2005. California has the highest population of Chinese-Americans and is China's top trade partner among U.S. states. Yet it has no trade offices in China, opting to eliminate them in a cost-cutting move a decade ago, and is feeling the pressure from other states that have been far more aggressive in pursuing business from the world's second-largest economy. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 17, 2012 file photo, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping is greeted by California Governor Jerry Brown as Commerce Secretary John Bryson looks on at the JW Marriott hotel before attending the US-China Economy and Trade Cooperation Forum in Los Angeles. California has the highest population of Chinese-Americans and is China's top trade partner among U.S. states. Yet it has no trade offices in China, opting to eliminate them in a cost-cutting move a decade ago, and is feeling the pressure from other states that have been far more aggressive in pursuing business from the world's second-largest economy. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Robert Gauthier, Pool , File)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ? California Gov. Jerry Brown has designs on building some of the most expensive public works projects in the nation and wants to keep the state moving forward in its slow recovery from the recession.

Where better to go searching for the money to further those interests than the world's second largest economy and a country that has piles of cash to invest around the globe?

The governor of the most populous U.S. state heads to China next week to begin a weeklong trade mission that he hopes will produce investments on both sides of the Pacific. Brown will lead a delegation of business leaders in search of what he calls "plenty of billions."

"They've got $400 billion or $500 billion they're going to invest abroad, so California's got to get a piece of that," Brown said in an interview last week ahead of his seven-day trip to China.

The governor and business leaders accompanying him are trying to rebuild the state's official relationship with China after the state closed its two trade offices and others around the world a decade ago in a cost-cutting move. California finds itself playing catch-up to other states that have had a vigorous presence in China for years.

California, which would be the world's ninth largest economy if it were a separate country, will open a trade office in Shanghai during Brown's visit. The Bay Area Council, a coalition of business interests from the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley, is raising about $1 million a year in private money to operate it.

"California shouldn't be the only state in the union not to have a presence with key foreign trading partners like China," said Jim Wunderman, president of the group.

The council opened its own office in Shanghai in 2010 to fill the void after the closure of the trade offices. Bruce Pickering, executive director of the Northern California office of the Asia Society, called the 2003 decision "penny wise but pound foolish."

"We've basically said, 'We're California, show up and stand in line with everybody else,'" Pickering said. "You have to do a little more than just say you're welcoming a business. ... You have to really send a message that you are ready for it."

Asia Society, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes collaboration between the U.S. and Asia, reported in 2011 that businesses from China have established operations and created jobs in at least 35 of the 50 U.S. states, including California.

Pickering said California is behind other states in recruiting Chinese investment, while states as varied as Pennsylvania, Missouri, Florida and Arkansas have had an official presence there. The Republican governors of Iowa, Virginia, Wisconsin and Guam also are visiting China this month and meeting with provincial leaders to discuss trade and the environment.

"I would think it would be very difficult to try to attract investment without having someone on the ground there on your behalf," said Joe Holmes, a spokesman for the Arkansas Economic Development Agency.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe led a mission to China last year, and a number of deals are being discussed as a result, Holmes said.

Asia Society reported this year that China's direct foreign investment is poised to skyrocket to between $1 trillion and $2 trillion by 2020. California is ideally situated to capture some of that money if it goes after it: China already is California's third-largest export partner after Mexico and Canada.

And Brown already has a relationship with President Xi Jinping. The two met to discuss trade issues last year when the then-vice president visited California.

Technology, life sciences, real estate, banking, health care and agriculture are among the industries state business leaders and officials hope to target. The concentration of skilled technical engineers and the clean-energy sector in the Silicon Valley also are a draw for emerging companies, along with Chinese tourism to California.

State and local tourism officials are among those joining Brown on the trip, along with winemakers, cheese proprietors and almond growers. In all, about 75 business and policy leaders from a cross-section of California industries are joining the mission, which will include stops in the capital city, Beijing, as well as Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Those cities are among the most developed and important in China. Shanghai, a port city, is an important center of industry and finance, while Guangzhou is in the heartland of the Pearl River Delta region, which is home to the myriad processing and assembling factories that have made China the world's factory floor.

The nearly $4 billion a year in computer and electronic products California sends to China account for the state's largest export, followed by waste and scrap, non-electrical machinery and transportation equipment. The agriculture products such as strawberries, almonds and lettuce are fifth.

According to the governor's office, the vast majority of Chinese exports headed to the United States go through California ports.

The trip also signals a pivot for Brown as he seeks to rebuild California's nearly $2 trillion economy after the state's tumultuous ride during the Great Recession. It was the epicenter of the housing crisis and weathered double-digit unemployment for nearly four years.

Brown said the state budget has stabilized, in large part because of voter-approved tax increases, and that he is now moving on to broader policy issues.

"California is a place where it's a cauldron of creative activity, and I see that China has some of that, maybe a lot of that," Brown said in the interview. "You have always got to find a way to renew things, and that's what I see as my job here."

The governor's boldest and most expensive projects are a $68 billion high-speed rail system that is expected to start construction this summer and a $24 billion project to build massive water-delivery tunnels and restore parts of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the largest estuary on the West Coast.

Brown is especially interested in studying China's extensive high-speed rail system and use it as a way to promote his own plan, which has come under intense criticism and has been losing public support as its projected cost has soared. The governor is scheduled to ride part of China's rail system from Beijing to Shanghai, accompanied by the chairman of California's high-speed rail board, Dan Richard.

China has the world's longest high-speed rail system, covering 5,800 miles, and has tried to turn it into a showcase. But the system also has faced problems: Part of a line collapsed in central China after heavy rains and a crash in 2011 killed 40 people. The former railway minister, who spearheaded the bullet train's construction, and the ministry's chief engineer, were detained in a corruption investigation.

Brown said he likes "the exuberance" with which Chinese officials approached building high-speed rail and would welcome investment in the California system or any other infrastructure projects in the state.

Despite the governor's enthusiasm, it's not clear how applicable the Chinese system is to a major infrastructure project in the U.S. The Chinese high-speed rail network benefits from heavy government financing and faces few of the environmental and legal hurdles in California. The land needed to build the Chinese system is often forcibly procured at below market prices.

___

Associated Press writer Charles Hutzler in Beijing contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-06-California-China/id-2a6a818963da48539453c038bb5e7274

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NKorea aggression could strengthen US-China bond

WASHINGTON (AP) ? North Korea's latest outburst of nuclear and military threats has given the U.S. a rare opportunity to build bridges with China ? a potential silver lining to the simmering crisis that could revitalize the Obama administration's flagging policy pivot to Asia.

The architect of the administration's Asia policy described a subtle change in Chinese thinking as a result of Pyongyang's recent nuclear tests, rocket launches and abandonment of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 war with South Korea.

Pyongyang has taken similar actions in the past, prompting Washington to step up military readiness in the region to soothe allies South Korea and Japan. But in an unusual rebuke this week, Beijing called North Korea's moves "regrettable" ? amounting to a slap from Pyongyang's strongest economic and diplomatic supporter.

"They, I think, recognize that the actions that North Korea has taken in recent months and years are in fact antithetical to their own national security interests," former Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told a panel Thursday at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

"There is a subtle shift in Chinese foreign policy" toward North Korea, said Campbell, who retired in February as the administration's top diplomat in East Asia and the Pacific region. "I don't think that provocative path can be lost on Pyongyang. ... I think that they have succeeded in undermining trust and confidence in Beijing."

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland described "good unity" between the U.S. and China in responding to North Korea.

"The issue here is to continue to recognize that the threats we share are common, and the approaches are more likely to be more effective if we can work well together," she told reporters Thursday.

President Barack Obama recently called China's new president, Xi Jinping, as part of an effort to brief the Chinese about American plans to take steps to deter the threats coming from the North, The New York Times reported on its website Friday night.

For now, the crisis has given new rise to the White House's decision to bolster U.S. economic and security in the region that for years was sidelined as a priority by war and terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa.

Much of the policy has centered on China ? both in strengthening diplomatic ties and economic trade. But China is an unreliable American ally and has been suspicious about the U.S. entreaty, which it sees as economic competition on its own turf.

Now, North Korea's threats have focused China and the U.S. on a regional security threat instead of an economic rivalry.

"Part of the pivot is to also take a more active interest in the security issues in Asia," Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who chairs a committee overseeing East Asia, said in an interview this week. "And clearly, North Korea is the most difficult country and one that represents security issues for the countries in Asia, as well as indirectly affects U.S. interests."

"With North Korea making these noises, it will require the U.S. to deal with security issues in Asia," Cardin said.

North Korea has ratcheted up an almost daily string of threats toward the U.S., South Korea and Japan and moved a missile with "considerable range" to its east coast, South Korea's defense minister said Thursday. But he emphasized that the missile was not capable of reaching the United States, and officials in Seoul and Washington agree there are no signs that Pyongyang is preparing for a full-scale conflict.

Last year, North Korea launched two long-range rockets ? it claims they were satellites but were widely believed to be missiles ? and in February announced it conducted an underground nuclear test. A month later, the country declared its 1953 armistice with South Korea void. And this week, Pyongyang said it would restart a shuttered nuclear reactor and ramp up production of atomic weapons material, and began turning away South Korean workers from jointly run factories in the North.

Much of the bellicosity is seen as an effort to shore up loyalty among citizens and the military for North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un. But U.S. and U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang after the February nuclear test fueled tensions and began the unusually high level of threats.

It's also a response to annual U.S.-South Korean military drills that ? intentional or not ? antagonize the North. The ongoing drills have shown a conspicuous display of firepower, including flying American bombers and fighter jets in recent weeks over South Korea and off the Korean peninsula's coast, where a U.S. missile-defense ship also has been deployed.

North Korea's military issued a statement saying its troops have been authorized to counter U.S. "aggression" with "powerful practical military counteractions," including nuclear weapons. Experts doubt Pyongyang is able to launch nuclear-tipped missiles, although the extent of its nuclear arsenal is unclear.

China historically has been lax on enforcing international sanctions against the North. But in what the U.S. took as a positive development, China signed on to stiffer measures in the latest round of U.N. Security Council sanctions announced after the February nuclear test, and there are initial indications that it's increasing cargo inspections. Whether this will lead to concrete steps that will crimp North Korea's weapons' programs and illicit trade in arms, however, remains to be seen.

Patrick Cronin, an Asia expert at the Center for a New American Security and a senior State Department official during the George W. Bush administration, said Beijing also is helping set up back-channel negotiations with North Korea to ease the tensions.

But ultimately, he said, the U.S. isn't likely to succeed in winning China over as a reliable partner against North Korea beyond the current flare-up.

"There is an opportunity for the U.S. and China to renew cooperation on a North Korean strategy," Cronin said. "But we can't put all of our hopes on that cooperation, because it's been less than satisfying in the past. There are limits to how far China and the U.S. have coincidental interests with regard to North Korea. But it's not enough ? because, more likely, we're likely to fail."

Asia expert and peace activist Hyun Lee agreed that Washington will be unlikely to turn Beijing against North Korea in the long run. But she said China does not want to see a stepped-up U.S. military presence in the region, and Beijing certainly doesn't want a war on its borders.

China "doesn't want to deal with headaches like the tension between the U.S. and North Korea," said Lee of the Working Group for Peace and Demilitarization in Asia and the Pacific. "I think China is trying to restrain both sides."

___

Follow Lara Jakes on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/larajakesAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nkorea-aggression-could-strengthen-us-china-bond-072505915--politics.html

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Android this week: Facebook Home phones, software, privacy and fragmentation potential

Another tech giant is building off of Google Android, using the platform to expand its potential influence. Facebook didn?t introduce its own phone, but instead debuted Facebook Home software and a partner handset with HTC. The HTC First has mediocre specifications and will cost $99 with contract on AT&T?s network when it launches on April 12. Facebook Home will appear in the Google Play store that same day, but only for five current Android phones initially.

Will people install it? Out of 622 GigaOm readers that responded to our poll asking that question, 63.02 percent said no, although 21.54 percent said they will at least try it. I certainly will install it, but mainly for work and testing purposes.

Facebook Home will appeal to those who spend more time in Facebook apps than in any others. The home screen shows updates from friends and can easily be liked with a double-tap. The new ChatHeads feature allows for Facebook messages to appear atop any other open app. And it?s easy to navigate to other Facebook apps.

As a Facebook user, it sounds great except for one thing, at least to me: I want my home screen to have information relevant to me and my environment. Things like local weather, my scheduled events, breaking news and such.

Jason Perlow wrote a thought-provoking piece on the potential fragmentation that Facebook Home could bring. I don?t see as huge an issue, however, as Facebook Home is, at least for now, just a launcher. There are numerous launchers and hundreds of launcher themes available on Google Play but they don?t introduce fragmentation. On your own Android phone, you can choose to install and use, install and disable, or simply not install Facebook Home. Even on the HTC First, you can disable the Facebook Home launcher and the phone will revert to the native Android Jelly Bean look and feel.

Perlow notes that if Facebook adds deeper hooks into the Android system, APIs and its own app store, that could cause problems. I agree but think it?s unlikely to happen. The only companies that completely take over an Android phone are the ones that build their own hardware: HTC, Samsung, even Amazon. Even Amazon?s forked version of Android and app store isn?t creating much, if any, of a fragmentation issue for users or developers. We?ll have to see if Facebook Home works out any differently; it?s certainly a situation work watching.

The more immediate issue is one of privacy. My colleague, Om Malik, wrote a fantastic post on greater mistrust of Facebook Home and use of data, so I won?t rehash the privacy concerns. I don?t really see Facebook Home having any greater (or lesser) impact on privacy, however.

Why? Because Facebook already has deep hooks into user data on Android and other devices. Once I can install the Facebook Home software next week, I?ll be looking to see if the launcher has any additional data permissions even though Facebook has already said it won?t. I?ll then compare them to the current app permissions, which include these abilities and more:

• Access to photos and videos
• Both approximate and precise location from the phone?s GPS
• Reading and modifying your contacts, including the ability to see who you contact the most
• Your phone number as well as the recipient phone number when on a voice call; access to full call logs
• Getting a list of all other app/data accounts on your phone

I understand Om?s points on privacy in regards to Facebook. I still use the service, however, I think the bigger privacy issue should be focused on Facebook itself, not Facebook Home; unless I see something new in the permissions when Facebook home arrives.

Source: http://gigaom.com/2013/04/06/android-this-week-facebook-home-phones-software-privacy-and-fragmentation-potential/

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Microsoft Game Studios creative director Adam Orth took to Twitter today to air...

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Source: http://www.facebook.com/VG247/posts/508813595823032

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