Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx review

Most of today's smartphones, especially those of the LTE-enabled persuasion, have earned a bad rap for exceptionally bad battery life, with large displays and hungry radios that suck the juice out faster than a three year-old can down a CapriSun. The race to construct the thinnest phones on the market doesn't help much either, since whittling down handsets results in less space for generously sized battery packs. The Motorola Droid RAZR is currently the slimmest phone this side of the Pacific, offering a thickness of 7.1mm at its thinnest end, and the title likely won't hold for long as new phones like the Huawei Ascend P1 S aim to knock the RAZR off its throne. But at what point do we stand up and insist on adding a little extra heft for the sake of having a bigger battery?

Droid RAZR review

Droid RAZR Maxx available now

Droid RAZR Maxx hands-on at CES

Enter the Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx. A mere two months after its predecessor was released on Verizon, this new contender came around to challenge the battery life of every single next-gen phone we've ever used. Its back end has been filled out somewhat to make room for a bigger battery, but at 8.99mm, it's still slimmer than a huge number of competing handsets on the market today. So what makes the Maxx different from the RAZR? Is it worth paying $300 with a two-year commitment -- a $100 premium over its original? Read on to find out.

Gallery: Motorola Droid Razr Maxx overview

Continue reading Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx review

Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Water trucked to Texas town where wells ran dry

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? A Central Texas village that's the first community to run out of water due to the ongoing drought will have water trucked in by the Lower Colorado River Authority.

Agency spokeswoman Clara Tuma says the region's wells are no longer producing enough water to meet Spicewood Beach's needs. The first tanker was expected to arrive Monday afternoon.

The village located on Lake Travis has about 500 water connections that serve roughly 1,100 people.

Spicewood Beach has watched the water level drop since October 2010, when the worst single-year drought in Texas began.

Tuma said the river authority, which operates the wells, will truck water to the community for as long as it is needed.

She did not have an estimate of what the operation will cost.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-30-US-Texas-Drought-Wells-Run-Dry/id-6654258b521245958f5af390fb464e4e

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London Bus Checker makes a stop on Android, wants to make London travel a bit easier

Anyone who lives in or has ever visited London will be well aware of the often nightmarish transportation around the city. A new app to stop by the Android Market, London Bus Checker, aims to take away some of the pain of using a bus in the Capital. 

We'll get the boring bits out of the way first: It is a paid app, setting you back a very reasonable £1.24. There is a "lite" version though which offers up a 30-day free trial before you have to open your wallet. 

The idea behind it is very simple, to provide anyone planning to use a bus in London with as much real time information as possible across the 20,000 bus-stops in the city. The implementation is what sets it apart though, as the information is pulled live from the Transport for London services which provides accurate, up to the minute data. 

The app will locate you via GPS, and then by selecting the relevant stop you can see live arrival/departure information, full route maps, and real time diversion and cancelation information. There's even a homescreen widget that you can set for your local stop and receive the same real-time information right there. 

Applications like this and Hailo (for taxis), are brilliant reasons why smartphones are fast becoming an everyday necessity. Hit the break for download links to the free 30-day lite version and a short promo video from the developers. 

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/zkIIUa00G4Y/story01.htm

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All Day Pajamas, Boisterous Debates, and Fixing the Oscars

?Literature of the 0.1 Percent: At Last, the latest of Edward St. Aubyn?s masterful novels of privilege and the ways it warps its victims,? by Jessica Winter. An author who comes from privilege writes his fifth and perhaps final autobiographical novel about his advantaged yet anguished main character, Patrick Melrose. Winter praised the book saying, ?At Last suggests, boredom?not therapeutic epiphany, not substance-aided euphoria? may finally cure the series? now-middle-aged Melrose.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=ad5548fa323767394374abeecab57124

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'Beasts of the Southern Wild' wins at Sundance

Director Benh Zeitlin, left, holds up actress Quvenzhane Wallis as they accept the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic award for the film "Beasts of the Southern Wild" during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony in Park City, Utah on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

Director Benh Zeitlin, left, holds up actress Quvenzhane Wallis as they accept the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic award for the film "Beasts of the Southern Wild" during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony in Park City, Utah on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

Director Benh Zeitlin, left, and actress Quvenzhane Wallis, right, pose with the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic award for the film "Beasts of the Southern Wild" during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony in Park City, Utah on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

Director Eugene Jarecki, right, puts his hand on the pregnant belly of producer Melinda Shopsin, left, as they accept the Grand Jury Prize U.S. Documentary during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony in Park City, Utah on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

Actress Quvenzhane Wallis poses with the Grand Jury Prize U.S. Dramatic award for the film "Beasts of the Southern Wild" during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony in Park City, Utah on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

Actress Quvenzhane Wallis poses for a photo after the film that she stars in, "Beasts of the Southern Wild," won the Grand Jury Prize U.S. Dramatic during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony in Park City, Utah on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) ? A mythical film starring an 8-year-old girl and a documentary about the war on drugs took top honors at the Sundance Film Festival.

"Beasts of the Southern Wild" won the grand jury prize in the U.S. dramatic competition, and "The House I Live In" won the same honor in the U.S. documentary category Saturday at the independent film festival's awards ceremony.

Directed and co-written by 29-year-old first-time filmmaker Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild" follows a girl named Hushpuppy who lives with her father in the southern Delta. The film also won the cinematography prize.

Zeitlin said he was grateful to the Sundance Institute and labs, where he worked on the film for more than three years.

"This project was such a runt, this sort of messy-hair, dirty, wild child, and we just have been taken care of and just eased along until we were ready to stand up on our own," he said in an interview after the ceremony. "It's just great that it happened here. This is the right place for the world to meet the film."

Zeitlin described his spunky young star, Quvenzhane Wallis, as "the biggest person I know." She said she is ready to be a movie star, but first will be going back to third grade.

Fox Searchlight acquired the film earlier this week.

Eugene Jarecki's documentary "The House I Live In" examines the social, human and financial costs of the war on drugs. The filmmaker won the same award in 2005 for his documentary "Why We Fight."

As he accepted his award, Jarecki called the war on drugs "tragically immoral, heartbreakingly wrong and misguided."

"If we're going to reform things in this country, putting people in jail for nonviolent crime, in many cases for life without parole, for possession of a drug, for sentences longer than is now given for murder in this country, must end," he said.

Kirby Dick's documentary about rape in the military, "The Invisible War," won the audience award, as did Ben Lewin's heartfelt drama "The Surrogate," which stars John Hawkes as a paralyzed 38-year-old man who hires a sex surrogate, played by Helen Hunt, to help him lose his virginity. Fox Searchlight acquired that film, too.

"I don't think most people have ever seen this sort of story before," Lewin said after the ceremony. "I think it was very new and unexpected... From the experiences I've had seeing it with an audience, it seems to be a real emotional ride."

"The Surrogate" also won a special jury prize for its ensemble cast.

World cinema jury prizes went to the documentary "The Law in These Parts," about Israel's legal system in occupied Palestinian territories, and the drama "Violeta Went to Heaven," about Chilean musician Violeta Parra.

The audience favorites in world cinema were the documentary "Searching for Sugar Man," which also won a special jury award, and the drama "Valley of the Saints," which also claimed the Alfred P. Sloan film prize. A second winner of the Sloan Award, which recognizes films with science as a theme or a scientist as a major character, was "Robot and Frank." The film, which premiered at Sundance, stars Frank Langella as a retired jewel thief who befriends the caretaker robot his children have given him, eventually bringing the robot along on his illegal outings.

Other winners:

? U.S. drama directing award: Ava DuVernay, "Middle of Nowhere."

? U.S. documentary directing award: Lauren Greenfield, "The Queen of Versailles."

? World cinema drama directing award: Mads Matthiesen, "Teddy Bear."

? World cinema documentary directing award: Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi, "5 Broken Cameras."

? U.S. drama screenwriting award: Derek Connolly, "Safety Not Guaranteed."

? World cinema screenwriting award: Marialy Rivas, Camila Gutierrez, Pedro Peirano, Sebastian Sepulveda, "Young & Wild."

? U.S. documentary editing award: Enat Sidi, "Detropia."

? World cinema editing award: Lisanne Pajot, James Swirsky, "Indie Game: The Movie."

? U.S. documentary cinematography award: Jeff Orlowski, "Chasing Ice."

? World cinema drama cinematography award: David Raedeker, "My Brother the Devil."

? World cinema documentary cinematography award: Lars Skree, "Putin's Kiss."

? U.S. drama special jury prize for producing: Andrea Sperling and Jonathan Schwartz, "Smashed" and "Nobody Walks."

? U.S. documentary special jury prizes: "Love Free or Die," ''Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry."

? World cinema drama special jury prize: "Can."

? Short film audience award: "The Debutante Hunters."

? Best of NEXT audience award: "Sleepwalk With Me."

___

Follow Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at www.twitter.com/APSandy .

___

Online:

http://www.sundance.org/festival/

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-29-Film-Sundance-Awards/id-4c73ff1ecd994f7a8c4869785c919c71

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Boxer Puppy And Cows Make Friends During Walk In Newcastle (VIDEO)

Puppies just born by a sniffer dog sleep at a police dog training base September 16, 2005 in Beijing, China. The dogs are trained by a police squad to learn identifying, catching, tracking and other skills. According to the Ministry of Public Security, there is an estimate of over 10,000 working police dogs in China. These dogs are divided into 30 kinds according to international conventions and are widely used in police work, rescue and military missions. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Puppies just born by a sniffer dog sleep at a police dog training base September 16, 2005 in Beijing, China. The dogs are trained by a police squad to learn identifying, catching, tracking and other skills. According to the Ministry of Public Security, there is an estimate of over 10,000 working police dogs in China. These dogs are divided into 30 kinds according to international conventions and are widely used in police work, rescue and military missions. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/28/boxer-puppy-cows-make-friends_n_1210271.html

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Analysis: Republican Romney back on track in White House race (reuters)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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Fed's low interest rate pledge boosts markets (AP)

LONDON ? World stock markets rose Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates low until late 2014 to nurture the country's stubbornly slow economic recovery.

The Fed cut rates to near zero in December 2008 during the financial crisis and has held them there ever since. The announcement that it expected rates to remain low was a sign that the Fed expects the U.S. economy, which is improving, to need significant help for three more years. But it also reinforced investors' confidence that the Fed was committed to restoring growth.

The statement was made by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the central bank's group of policy-setters.

"With the FOMC sending out a strong signal that monetary policy is likely to remain accommodative for even longer than previously expected, risk assets are in a very good position," said Stan Shamu of IG Markets in Melbourne.

Economic data out of the U.S. also helped market sentiment. Orders to U.S. factories for durable manufactured goods increased in December, lifted by solid business spending on machinery and equipment. Separate data showed a rise in weekly jobless claims, although the four-week average is still trending down.

Combined with the Fed's comments, the indicators pushed investors to snap up stocks, the euro, emerging markets currencies and commodities.

Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.4 percent to 5,805.36, Germany's DAX gained 1.9 percent to 6,540.93 and France's CAC-40 added 1.5 percent to 3,363.08. The euro was up 0.4 percent at $1.3153.

Wall Street likewise rose on the open ? the Dow Jones industrial was up 0.4 percent at 12,809 while the S&P 500 futures rose 0.3 percent to 1,329.

Corporate news was mostly upbeat, with strong earnings from construction equipment maker Caterpillar and conglomerate 3M. In Europe, Nokia posted a loss but its shares rose on hopes that sales of its new Windows phone would gain pace.

Developments in Europe's debt crisis were also mostly positive. An Italian bond auction saw a drop in the country's borrowing rates, further easing pressure on Italy, the country considered the next most vulnerable in the debt crisis but too expensive for Europe to rescue.

The resumption of talks on a crucial Greek debt relief deal also heartened traders. Greece and its bailout rescuers ? other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund ? are asking private creditors to swap their Greek bonds for new ones with a lower value and interest rate.

The two sides have disagreed over what interest rate the new bonds should take and the hope is they will find a compromise shortly. The creditors' representatives have said they aim to get a deal by Monday, when European leaders meet in Brussels.

In Asia, gains were more muted. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.3 percent to 1,957.18 though Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.6 percent to 20,439.14 on its first trading day since the Chinese New Year holiday. Benchmarks in Thailand, Singapore and New Zealand also rose.

Japan's Nikkei was 0.4 percent lower at 8,849.47 as a weakening dollar pressured the country's exporters. Benchmarks in Malaysia and the Philippines also fell.

The dollar fell to 77.57 yen from 77.81 yen. The prospect of low interest rates dragged on the dollar, since it reduces the returns that investors get from holding assets denominated in that currency.

Markets in Taiwan and mainland Chinese remained closed for the Chinese New Year. Markets in India and Australia were closed for public holidays.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was up $1.77 at $101.17 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose by 45 cents to finish at $99.40 per barrel in New York on Wednesday.

Oil prices have been torn between worries about slow economic growth and tensions over Iran. Iran has threatened to block crude shipments out of the Persian Gulf if Western nations don't retract their embargoes on Tehran over its disputed nuclear program. The EU and Australia were the latest to boycott Iran in hopes of pressuring it to drop a nuclear program that they claim aims to develop nuclear weapons.

___

Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

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Senate OKs Giffords anti-smuggling bill (AP)

WASHINGTON ? A day after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' emotional departure from Congress, the Senate on Thursday passed and sent to the president the final legislative act sponsored by the Arizona Democrat who was severely wounded in an assassination attempt a year ago.

The legislation, passed by voice vote, increases penalties for those flying ultralight planes to smuggle drugs into Giffords' home state and other states along the border.

The bill "will not only help to secure our southwest border, but it also affords us the opportunity to honor an incredible colleague," said Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M, a sponsor of a Senate counterpart measure.

The House passed the legislation on a 408-0 vote Wednesday, minutes after Giffords formally submitted her resignation surrounded by hundreds of House members gathered to pay tribute to their wounded colleague.

A year ago, the 41-year-old Democrat was shot in the head and severely injured by a would-be assassin who opened fire at a meet-and-greet event outside a Tucson supermarket, killing six and wounding 13. Giffords, who is undergoing speech and physical therapy, said she wanted to devote all her time to her recovery.

The House passed a similar version of Giffords' bill in 2010, but it was not taken up by the Senate. She reintroduced it on Jan. 6, 2011, just two days before she was shot.

Drug smugglers using ultralight planes have been subject to weaker criminal penalties than those flying larger aircraft because the single-seat planes that can fly low enough to evade radar detection have not been classified as aircraft under existing federal law.

The legislation would close the legal loophole that gives ultralight plane smugglers lesser penalties than those using other airplanes or cars and add a provision to aviation smuggling law to allow prosecutors to charge people other than the pilot who are involved in aviation smuggling.

It directs the Defense Department and Department of Homeland Security to work together to identify equipment and technology that could be used by customs officials to detect ultralights.

Udall said that hundreds of ultralight aircraft carrying drugs cross the border every year, each capable of carrying hundreds of pounds of narcotics.

"Congresswoman Giffords is committed to taking this crucial step that would help secure the border against drug smugglers," Giffords' chief of staff, Pia Carusone, said in a statement. "That's why she decided this would be the last bill she introduces before she steps down."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_go_co/us_giffords_bill

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What Actually Happened When The SEALs ... - Business Insider

When 32-year-old Jessica Buchanan was kidnapped by her Somalian guides in October of 2011, not many believed she or her partner Hagen Thisted, 60, would ever be seen alive again.

Working for the Danish Deming Group?assisting refugees along Somalia's war-torn border, Buchanan and Thisted were seized on their way to the Galkayo airport by pirates outraged at the West.

Jim Miklaszewski at NBC reports the pirates demanded ransom for

Danish Refugee Council Jessica Buchanan

the pair, but negotiations had stalled as the kidnappers were a heavily armed medley of locals rather than any organized group.

Haunted by the 1993 debacle in Somalia from which the movie Black Hawk Down is based, the U.S. was reluctant to intervene, knowing that any mistakes would cause outrage in the States and more embarrassment abroad.

Putting aside its concern, and prompted by reports that Buchanan's health was declining, the Pentagon ordered a rescue mission and sent two helicopters into the Somalian village last night where the pair were being held, and rescued them both.

The SEALs had parachuted in about 60-minutes prior, securing the area and locating the hostages, before the choppers were sent to pick everyone up ? including?up to nine pirates and as many as five additional hostages.

Debbie Wilgoren at The Washington Post reports the pirates guarding the pair had been chewing the narcotic leaf khat and were passed out when the SEALs swept in.

No U.S. troops were injured and the pair were apparently in good health, before being taken to a "safe location" to reunite with their families.

It's thought they are currently in Djibouti, where the U.S. has a small base on the coast of the Red Sea and that they will remain there for medical checks before being sent home.

The American people were given their first hint of the rescue during the President's State of the Union Speech when he pointed to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in the crowd and said, "Leon. Good job tonight. Good job tonight." Check out 11 incredible weapons that only the U.S. has >

Check out the ABC video below:

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/seals-rescue-somalia-jessica-buchanan2012-1

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Obama to take on economy in State of the Union (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama is ready to reclaim the spotlight with a plea for economic fairness in a State of Union address that opposition Republicans panned in advance as a rehash of old ideas.

Obama delivers his third State of the Union address Tuesday in a capital and country shot through with politics, with his re-election campaign well under way and his potential GOP opponents lobbing attacks against him daily as they scrap for the right to take him on.

Obama's 9 p.m. EST address to a joint session of Congress and millions of television viewers will be as much as anything an argument for his re-election, the president's biggest, best chance so far to offer a vision for a second term.

Senior political adviser David Plouffe said Tuesday morning the president is "happy to have a debate" about his performance.

Bill Galston, a former Clinton administration domestic policy adviser now at the Brookings Institution, said, "Almost by definition it's going to be at least as much a political speech as a governing speech."

"The president must run on his record," Galston said, "and that means talking candidly and persuasively with the country about the very distinctive nature of the challenges the American economy faced when he took office and what has gone right for the past three years, and what needs to be done in addition."

With economic anxiety showing through everywhere, the speech will focus on a vision for restoring the middle class, with Obama facing the tricky task of persuading voters to stick with him even as joblessness remains high at 8.5 percent. Obama can point to positive signs, including continued if sluggish growth; his argument will be that he is the one to restore economic equality for middle-class voters.

Implicit in the argument, even if he never names frontrunners Gingrich and Mitt Romney, is that they are on the other side.

Obama's speech will come as Gingrich and Romney have transformed the Republican campaign into a real contest ahead of Florida's crucial primary next week. And he'll be speaking on the same day that Romney, a multimillionaire, released his tax returns, offering a vivid illustration of wealth that could play into Obama's argument about the growing divide between rich and poor.

Asked in an interview Tuesday about Romney's relatively modest tax rate in the range of 15 percent, given that he's a multi-millionaire, Plouffe said, "We need to change our tax system. We need to change our tax code so that everybody is doing their fair share."

Obama will frame the campaign to come as a fight for fairness for those who are struggling to keep a job, a home or college savings and losing faith in how the country works.

The speech will feature the themes of manufacturing, clean energy, education and American values. The president is expected to urge higher taxes on the wealthy, propose ways to make college more affordable, offer new steps to tackle a debilitating housing crisis and push to help U.S. manufacturers expand hiring.

Aides said the president would also outline more specifics about the so-called "Buffett Rule", which Obama has previously said would establish a minimum tax on people making $1 million or more in income. The rule was named after billionaire Warren Buffett, who has said it is unfair that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does.

White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said on Twitter Tuesday that Buffett's secretary, Debbie Bosanek, would attend the State of the Union in the first lady's box.

Even before Obama delivered his speech, Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, said he already felt "a sense of disappointment."

"While we don't yet know all of the specifics, we do know the goal," he said. "Based on what the president's aides have been telling reporters, the goal isn't to conquer the nation's problems. It's to conquer Republicans. The goal isn't to prevent gridlock, but to guarantee it."

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has called the themes of Obama's speech a "pathetic" rehash of unhelpful policies. But he said Tuesday he hoped Obama would "extend somewhat of an olive branch" to work with Republicans on the economy during his prime-time address.

For three days following his speech, Obama will promote his ideas in five states key to his re-election bid. On Wednesday he'll visit Iowa and Arizona to promote ideas to boost American manufacturing; on Thursday in Nevada and Colorado he'll discuss energy; and in Michigan Friday he'll talk about college affordability, education and training. Polling shows Americans are divided about Obama's overall job performance but unsatisfied with his handling of the economy.

The lines of argument between Obama and his rivals are already stark, with America's economic insecurity and the role of government at the center.

The president has offered signals about his speech, telling campaign supporters he wants an economy "that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few." Gingrich, on the other hand, calls Obama "the most effective food stamp president in history." Romney says Obama "wants to turn America into a European-style entitlement society."

Obama will make bipartisan overtures to lawmakers but will leave little doubt he will act without their help when it's necessary and possible, an approach his aides say has let him stay on offense.

The public is more concerned about domestic troubles over foreign policy than at any other time in the past 15 years, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center. Some 81 percent want Obama to focus his speech on domestic affairs, not foreign ones; just five years ago, the view was evenly split.

On the day before Obama's speech, his campaign released a short Web ad showing monthly job losses during the end of the Bush administration and the beginning of the Obama administration, with positive job growth for nearly two Obama years. Republicans assail him for failing to achieve a lot more.

Presidential spokesman Jay Carney said Monday that Obama is not conceding the next 10 months to "campaigning alone" when people need economic help. On the goals of helping people get a fair shot, Carney said, "There's ample room within those boundaries for bipartisan cooperation and for getting this done."

Plouffe appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" and was interviewed on NBC's "Today" show and "CBS This Morning."

___

Associated Press writers Ben Feller, Julie Pace and Alan Fram contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_state_of_the_union

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Nokia fined for spam texts in Australia (Reuters)

HELSINKI (Reuters) ? Australian regulators have fined Nokia, the world's largest cellphone maker by volume, A$55,000 ($58,000) for spamming customers and said the Finnish company should change its text message (SMS) marketing.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority said texts Nokia sent to clients as tips to get more out of their phones promoted the company without offering an 'unsubscribe' option as required by law.

Nokia said it has discontinued the service in Australia and was ramping it down elsewhere, adding unsubscribing was simpler on its current devices.

The regulator said Nokia had agreed to train employees engaged in SMS marketing about legal requirements.

"Some businesses are still not getting SMS marketing right. The same rules apply to SMS marketing as for email marketing, and the same rules apply to all businesses, big and small," said Richard Bean, acting chairman of the authority.

While advertisers have great hopes for cellphone marketing, including location-based services, potential hostility from customers has held them back.

The Australian regulator said it saw a 370 percent rise in reports from the public about SMS messages believed to be spam in 2010-11.

(Reporting By Tarmo Virki; Editing by Erica Billingham and Dan Lalor)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/security/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/wr_nm/us_nokia_australia

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Identity theft insurance not always worth the cost ? Maine Business ...

The phrase ?identity theft? has become one of those terms that makes one?s blood run cold. We?ve heard so many stories of financial losses, ruined credit and related horrors that we react emotionally to the subject.

That emotional response has prompted many consumers to buy insurance that kicks in if some form of identity theft strikes the insured. The question before us is, is such insurance worth the cost?

There?s no simple answer, as is usually the case in consumer matters. The quick historical view back to 2006 finds Consumer Reports said such coverage was ?typically not worth the money.? The magazine notes more than half of ID theft protection is sold by banks, and that those premiums amount to a consumer subsidy for federally required loss protection through credit card and bank account fraud. The passing of time hasn?t changed CR?s opinion that you can ? and should ? take more effective steps yourself to protect your credit and good name.

ID theft insurance typically costs $120 to $300 a year. That?s more than victims often incur through the theft and misuse of their credit card numbers, the most frequent type of ID theft. Federal law limits liability in such cases to $50 per card.

Those who sell the coverage point to the time-consuming process of restoring credit and correcting information on their credit histories. The insurers say their policies can help consumers cope with what can be a trying and frustrating process.

Most people in the insurance industry give the same advice they would when buying other types of coverage. Find out what the policy limits are; the National Association of Insurance Commissioners says most ID theft policies have policy limits of $10,000 to $15,000. If the policy covers lost wages, find out how the coverage is triggered and what limits apply. Know if there is a deductible; some policies require the holder to pay as much as $500 toward the cost of reclaiming your financial identity before the insurer pays a penny.

Before buying, check your homeowner?s insurance policy. It may include ID theft coverage, or you might be able to add coverage more affordably than buying separate coverage. If you decide to buy a separate policy, compare the coverage of several companies.

The insurance commissioners warn against becoming a victim of insurance fraud by making sure the agent and company you?re dealing with are licensed to do business in Maine. Find the Bureau of Insurance online ( http://www.maine.gov/pfr/insurance), by phone (207-624-8475 or TTY 888-577-6690) or by writing to the Bureau at 34 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333.

David Leach, principal consumer credit examiner for the Maine?s Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, advises people to be their own advocates. Leach says it?s critical for each of us to get one free credit report from one of the reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and Trans Union) every four months. Do this by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com and only that site. That, plus keeping a close watch on all credit card activity, will help keep identity thieves at bay.

As to separate insurance, Leach says, ?Consumers who sign up for these types of services are paying close to $250.00 a year for a service they can essentially run themselves.? He notes that most financial institutions that issue credit cards will waive all losses in cases of identity theft or fraud. Visit the bureau?s website at www.credit.maine.gov.

For a rundown on federal ID theft laws and tips to protect yourself, visit the Federal Trade Commission website, www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast CONTACT, Maine?s membership-funded, nonprofit consumer organization. Individual and business memberships are available at modest rates. For assistance with consumer-related issues, including consumer fraud and identity theft, or for information, write: Consumer Forum, P.O. Box 486, Brewer 04412, or go to necontact.wordpress.com, or email atcontacexdir@live.com.

Source: http://bangordailynews.com/2012/01/22/business/identity-theft-insurance-not-always-worth-the-cost/

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Who's the Biggest Spender in the GOP Primary? (ABC News)

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Minn. bear delivers at least 2 cubs on Internet

ELY, Minn. (AP) ? A 3-year-old bear in Minnesota has given birth to at least two cubs before an Internet audience.

Lynn Rogers of the Wildlife Research Institute, affiliated with North American Bear Center, says Jewel gave birth in a den near Ely to the first cub at 7:22 a.m. Sunday, and a second at 8:40.

According to the Duluth News Tribune (http://bit.ly/xuFrjP), Rogers says a third cub might have been born at 9:08 a.m., but the den camera's view was blocked.

Rogers and his colleagues recorded the birth of a bear named Hope in 2010. A Hunter killed Hope last year.

Jewel is the younger sister of Lily, who gave birth to Hope. A hunter killed Hope last year.

___

Online:

North American Bear Center: http://www.bear.org

___

Information from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-22-US-Internet-Bear-Sister/id-203799182ea4455cbba6af0e99be3812

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Lawyers: Abortion doctor immune from prosecution (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Lawyers for a Utah abortion doctor charged with murder for the death of a fetus in Maryland asked a judge Friday to throw out the charges, arguing she is immune from prosecution and that the state is trying to infringe upon a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy.

Dr. Nicola Riley and her former colleague, Dr. Steven Brigham of New Jersey, were indicted last month under a law that allows murder charges to be brought in the death of a viable fetus. The 2005 law had only been used previously for cases in which defendants were accused of assaulting or killing pregnant women, and prosecutors have acknowledged they are in uncharted territory by using it to charge abortion doctors. Thirty-seven other states have similar statutes.

At Riley's bail review hearing Friday in Cecil County Circuit Court in Elkton, Md., attorney Stuart O. Simms argued that prosecutors were attempting to criminalize constitutionally protected medical treatment.

"Based on their interpretation of the statute, they are now threatening to charge any medical professional in Cecil County with a state crime," Simms told The Associated Press after the hearing.

Judge Keith Baynes set bail for Riley at $300,000, the amount requested by Deputy State's Attorney Kerwin Miller, who argued that the evidence against the 46-year-old Salt Lake City resident is strong and characterized her as a flight risk. She was arrested Dec. 28 on a fugitive warrant and was extradited to Maryland on Thursday.

"It gets no bigger than this," Miller said in reference to Riley's first-degree murder charge, the Cecil Whig of Elkton reported.

Riley posted bail shortly after the hearing and was released from custody. As a condition of her release, she was ordered not to perform abortions.

Miller and State's Attorney Ellis Rollins did not return messages seeking comment. They have declined to speak to reporters since they were criticized by Riley's attorneys for discussing the indictment publicly while it was still under seal.

The charges against Riley stem from a botched abortion in August 2010 at Brigham's Elkton clinic. The 18-year-old patient suffered serious injuries, and Riley drove her to a nearby hospital rather than call 911, according to medical regulators. The fetus was 21 weeks old. Doctors generally consider fetuses to be viable outside the womb starting around 23 weeks.

Brigham, of Voorhees, N.J., has been charged with murder in the death of that fetus and four others. He was released from custody Jan. 6 after posting a $500,000 bond. His attorney has also argued that Brigham has not violated the fetal homicide law.

Riley's Maryland medical license was suspended over the August 2010 incident, and Brigham was ordered to stop practicing medicine without a license in Maryland. Regulators discovered that Brigham was beginning second-trimester abortions in New Jersey and having patients drive themselves to Elkton the next day to complete the procedures.

Brigham was not authorized to perform abortions in New Jersey after the first trimester, and regulators called his actions manipulative and deceptive. He also lost his New Jersey license, leaving him without a valid license in any state.

In Maryland, licensed physicians can perform abortions before the fetus is deemed capable of surviving outside the womb, and abortions of viable fetuses are permitted to protect the life or health of the mother or if the fetus has serious genetic abnormalities.

The state's fetal homicide law was approved in 2005 in the wake of the highly publicized slaying of Laci Peterson in Modesto, Calif. Peterson was seven months pregnant, and her husband, Scott Peterson, was convicted of killing both her and their unborn son.

The law specifically exempts licensed physicians performing legal abortions. Before the bill was passed, its sponsor, Delegate Charles Boutin, wrote in a letter to a committee chairman that it is "clearly and solely a victim's rights bill. It takes care of the `Laci Peterson' issue in Maryland, while protecting a woman's right to choose."

"The General Assembly never intended for doctors to be prosecuted at all for performing abortions, let alone convicted and subjected to criminal penalty," Riley's attorneys argued in their motion to dismiss the indictment.

Experts on both sides of the abortion debate say the use of a fetal homicide law to target doctors ? or medical professionals of any kind ? is highly unusual if not unprecedented in U.S. history. Most states have provisions excluding doctors from prosecution. Clarke Forsythe, senior counsel with Americans United for Life, an anti-abortion group, said the Cecil County prosecutors appeared to be testing the limits of that exclusion.

"It's a case of first impression," Forsythe said.

Jennifer Nash, a policy analyst with the Guttmacher Institute, a research institution that favors abortion rights, noted that abortion doctors have faced prosecution dating to the mid-19th century, but most such cases have fallen under criminal abortion statutes.

Some anti-abortion activists have hailed the arrests of Brigham and Riley, saying the charges shed light on the troubling practices of certain abortion doctors. A search of Brigham's Elkton clinic revealed a freezer containing 35 late-term fetuses, including one believed to have been aborted at 36 weeks, according to documents released by medical regulators.

___

Follow Ben Nuckols on Twitter at http://twitter.com/APBenNuckols

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_re_us/us_md_abortion_doctors_charged

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Satellite observes spatiotemporal variations in mid-upper tropospheric methane over China

Public release date: 20-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Zhang Xingying
zxy@cma.gov.cn
86-106-840-7020
Science in China Press

Atmospheric methane (CH4), one of the main greenhouse gases, has increased dramatically worldwide since the pre-industrial era. However, much work is needed to build on intermittent and scattered observations since the 1960s and systematic study since the 1980s. Since 1983, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has coordinated global in-situ measurement of methane. Quantification of methane emissions still has large uncertainties, mainly because of undersampling over most regions of the globe by surface observation networks. In particular, spatiotemporal variations of mid-upper tropospheric methane in China are not well understood, because of limited in-situ measurements.

Dr. ZHANG Xingying and his group at the National Satellite Meteorological Center of the China Meteorological Administration tackled this problem using satellite observations. Using Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) methane data from 2003 to 2008, they revealed spatiotemporal variations of mid-upper tropospheric methane in China.

Their study shows that in the mid troposphere, a center of low CH4 concentration is located over western China, attributable to minimal industrial and agricultural activity. The lowest CH4 mixing ratio in the upper troposphere is over southern China, related to atmospheric transport from the ocean.

A seasonal cycle of methane has been discovered. One peak in summer and the other in winter over eastern, northeastern and northwestern China. Only one peak (in summer) occurs over southern and western China.

Before 2007, CH4 mixing ratio was nearly stable. The average mixing ratio during the last 6 years over major northern hemispheric countries is similar. However, there has been a significant increase in tropospheric CH4 concentrations after 2007 in most northern hemispheric areas, with slightly larger increases over China.

Dr. ZHANG Xingying has stated that the trend of CH4 based on satellite observation is still somewhat uncertain, because of the short, 6-year dataset. More satellite data of higher quality are needed for further trend analysis.

To understand the profile of methane in China and provide data for validation of satellite products, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements were made at a ground-based hyperspectral remote sensing laboratory at the National Satellite Meteorological Center. A Bruker FTIR instrument (IFS 120 M, made in Ettlingen, Germany) with 0.008 cm-1 spectral resolution, was used for observations. Several years of data have been collected.

Implementation and promotion of this work will publicize methane spatiotemporal variations and their potential sources. In so doing, informed efforts may be mounted to reduce methane emission and resulting global climate change.

The National Satellite Meteorological Center manages satellite climate products in China. Two payloads for greenhouse gas monitoring are in development for the next satellite. One of the payloads is similar to AIRS for mid-upper tropospheric greenhouse gases. The other is for low tropospheric greenhouse gases, and uses a near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer. Meanwhile, more in-situ measurements have been carried out in China for more detailed investigation of greenhouse gases.

Dr. XIONG Xiaozhen, an expert from NOAA, is in charge of AIRS methane product retrieval. He believes that this study is the first to use satellite data for analyzing mid-upper tropospheric methane over China, and represents important step in the study of climate change.

###

See the article: Xingying Zhang, Wenguang Bai, Peng Zhang, 2011, Study on three-dimensional structure of tropospheric methane over China based on satellite observations, Chinese Science Bulletin?56(31): 3321-3327

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 20-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Zhang Xingying
zxy@cma.gov.cn
86-106-840-7020
Science in China Press

Atmospheric methane (CH4), one of the main greenhouse gases, has increased dramatically worldwide since the pre-industrial era. However, much work is needed to build on intermittent and scattered observations since the 1960s and systematic study since the 1980s. Since 1983, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has coordinated global in-situ measurement of methane. Quantification of methane emissions still has large uncertainties, mainly because of undersampling over most regions of the globe by surface observation networks. In particular, spatiotemporal variations of mid-upper tropospheric methane in China are not well understood, because of limited in-situ measurements.

Dr. ZHANG Xingying and his group at the National Satellite Meteorological Center of the China Meteorological Administration tackled this problem using satellite observations. Using Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) methane data from 2003 to 2008, they revealed spatiotemporal variations of mid-upper tropospheric methane in China.

Their study shows that in the mid troposphere, a center of low CH4 concentration is located over western China, attributable to minimal industrial and agricultural activity. The lowest CH4 mixing ratio in the upper troposphere is over southern China, related to atmospheric transport from the ocean.

A seasonal cycle of methane has been discovered. One peak in summer and the other in winter over eastern, northeastern and northwestern China. Only one peak (in summer) occurs over southern and western China.

Before 2007, CH4 mixing ratio was nearly stable. The average mixing ratio during the last 6 years over major northern hemispheric countries is similar. However, there has been a significant increase in tropospheric CH4 concentrations after 2007 in most northern hemispheric areas, with slightly larger increases over China.

Dr. ZHANG Xingying has stated that the trend of CH4 based on satellite observation is still somewhat uncertain, because of the short, 6-year dataset. More satellite data of higher quality are needed for further trend analysis.

To understand the profile of methane in China and provide data for validation of satellite products, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements were made at a ground-based hyperspectral remote sensing laboratory at the National Satellite Meteorological Center. A Bruker FTIR instrument (IFS 120 M, made in Ettlingen, Germany) with 0.008 cm-1 spectral resolution, was used for observations. Several years of data have been collected.

Implementation and promotion of this work will publicize methane spatiotemporal variations and their potential sources. In so doing, informed efforts may be mounted to reduce methane emission and resulting global climate change.

The National Satellite Meteorological Center manages satellite climate products in China. Two payloads for greenhouse gas monitoring are in development for the next satellite. One of the payloads is similar to AIRS for mid-upper tropospheric greenhouse gases. The other is for low tropospheric greenhouse gases, and uses a near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer. Meanwhile, more in-situ measurements have been carried out in China for more detailed investigation of greenhouse gases.

Dr. XIONG Xiaozhen, an expert from NOAA, is in charge of AIRS methane product retrieval. He believes that this study is the first to use satellite data for analyzing mid-upper tropospheric methane over China, and represents important step in the study of climate change.

###

See the article: Xingying Zhang, Wenguang Bai, Peng Zhang, 2011, Study on three-dimensional structure of tropospheric methane over China based on satellite observations, Chinese Science Bulletin?56(31): 3321-3327

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/sicp-sos010912.php

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Reductio Creep (Theagitator)

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Rob Lowe Talks Twitter Controversy On The Ellen Degeneres Show

Earlier this week, actor Rob Lowe's 140-character updates on Twitter caused controversy when he proclaimed that Peyton Manning was retiring. Check out the clip above to see Lowe on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, as he discusses the sheer power of the social media platform.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/20/rob-lowe-ellen-degeneres-show-twitter_n_1217524.html

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Obama's rejection of the Keystone pipeline: Winners and losers (The Week)

New York ? Republicans all but dared the president to say no to a big Canada-to-Texas pipeline project, and Obama took the bait. A look at the fallout

As part of last year's payroll-tax deal, congressional Republicans squeezed a seemingly unrelated promise out of President Obama: Instead of punting until after the 2012 election, he'd have to decide by Feb. 21 whether to allow TransCanada to build an oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to the Texas Gulf Coast. On Wednesday, Obama made his decision,?denying TransCanada's permit request ? at least for now. The State Department notes that TransCanada can still reapply for a permit, and the company says it will try again. But in the meantime, the political fallout was swift and immediate. Here, some winners and losers from the rejected Keystone project:

WINNERS

SEE MORE: Will ethanol survive without government subsidies?

?

Environmentalists
"Environmental activists deserve to take a bow" for the (at least temporary) death of Keystone XL, says Steve Benen at?Washington Monthly. They successfully increased "visibility of the issue, and the pressure no doubt affected White House" thinking on the pipeline. "Denying this one permit isn't going to halt climate change," says Erik Loomis at?Lawyers, Guns, and Money. But keeping environmentally awful tar-sands crude from flowing through, and spilling into, the U.S. Midwest is "a pretty big victory for those trying to move us to a cleaner energy future."

Mitt Romney
Obama's rejection of the Keystone pipeline "is being greeted with glee by Republicans" and their probable 2012 presidential nominee, says Jennifer Rubin at?The Washington Post. And rightly so: Romney immediately recognized the "political gift" Obama had given him, accusing the president of robbing America of potential jobs and confusing "the national interest with his own interest in pleasing the environmentalists in his political base." You can bet that Romney will "make the Keystone pipeline a centerpiece of his general-election campaign," says Jonathan Chait at?New York.

SEE MORE: Will Iran's oil threat lead to $5 gas?

?

President Obama
The Keystone rejection was "politically beneficial to all parties involved," including Obama, say Glenn Thrush and Darren Samuelsohn at?Politico. In fact, except for angering labor unions, this is "no-brainer election-year politics" for the president. The pipeline was as much a cause celebre for deep-pocketed environmentalists as it was for pro-pipeline Republicans, and only one of those groups cuts Obama checks. Besides, says Ed Morrissey at?Hot Air, in punting the decision until after the election, Obama essentially got what he wanted in the first place, House GOP be damned.

LOSERS

President Obama
Republicans rightly point out that Keystone would have resulted "in job gains during a sluggish economic recovery" ? the key issue in the election, says The Washington Post in an editorial. And it has to sting that Obama's own jobs council just recommended building oil pipelines. "The Obama team knew that the issue had the potential to be a loser no matter how it was decided," says Alex Koppelman at?The New Yorker. "Congressional Republicans aren't stupid" to have forced his hand.

Big Oil
"There have been very few days in the last two decades when the scientists have been smiling and Big Oil scowling," but this is one of them, says Bill McKibben at?The Daily Beast. Building a "leaky pipeline" through the Midwest that would raise gas prices there, for fuel that would be shipped overseas, only makes sense for one reason: "To make even more money for the richest industry on earth." Killing Keystone won't stop climate change, "but it does stop Big Oil's winning streak, and that's a hopeful sign."

U.S.-Canada relations
Obama's decision "will probably be ugly for U.S.-Canada relations,"?says Michael Levi at?The Washington Post. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had made the pipeline a top priority, and he even invoked Iran's oil blockade threat to change Obama's mind. After the decision, Canada started threatening to ship their tar sands exports to China. "Certainly,"?David Pumphrey at the Center for Strategic and International Studies?tells?Bloomberg, this "introduces new uncertainties into the economic relationship" between the U.S. and Canada.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politicsopinion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/theweek/20120119/cm_theweek/223442

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EBay cautious in short run as Europe weighs (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) ? EBay Inc gave a conservative quarterly sales forecast despite unveiling better-than-expected results, warning that a weak European economy may take the gloss off rip-roaring growth in online commerce.

But CEO John Donahoe -- who is overseeing a turnaround in its core "marketplaces" division and pitting a company once synonymous with auctions against Amazon.com Inc -- remained confident about the longer-term outlook, citing robust e-commerce growth and strength in its PayPal online-payments arm.

Shares of the company gained 2.4 percent to $31.07 in after-hours trading following the earnings report.

In early 2012, a weakening euro may also dent eBay's bottom line. The recent decline of the currency against the U.S. dollar reduces the value of sales in euro zone countries when converted to greenbacks. Currency volatility also restrains cross-border transactions, a profitable source of growth for PayPal.

"They're exemplifying the bearish outlook for the currency by telling people how much the weak euro will affect their earnings in the next quarter. They want to under-promise and over-deliver," said Bill Smead of Smead Capital Management, which owns eBay shares.

"But earnings are going to grow 15 to 20 percent a year for years, and all these little wiggles in the short run are just noise."

In the long run, EBay is riding a growth wave as more shoppers buy online and via smartphones and tablet. It benefits from this trend because Marketplaces charge fees on transactions and other activity. PayPal also takes a cut of a rising volume of electronic payments processed on its network.

The company forecast first-quarter profit of 50 cents or 51 cents a share and revenue of $3.05 billion to $3.15 billion. Analysts were expecting first-quarter earnings of 54 cents a share and revenue of $3.16 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

HEADWINDS FORECAST

The company's main marketplaces business, however, is growing roughly in line with e-commerce.

Donahoe said e-commerce has evolved into a fixed-price business and away from the online auctions that eBay pioneered in the 1990s.

EBay's fixed-price business, which accounts for about 65 percent of volume, grew 15 percent in the fourth quarter in the U.S. and bigger, top-rated sellers grew 19 percent, Donahoe noted during an interview with Reuters.

Meanwhile, auctions grew 2 percent in the fourth quarter.

"This part of the business is unique and profitable and adds to our selection," Donahoe said. "We'll do our best to have this market grow."

Gross Merchandise Volume, or GMV, on eBay's online marketplaces in the United States rose 10 percent in the quarter from a year earlier, excluding auto-related sales.

Its international GMV grew 9 percent.

Colin Sebastian, an analyst at RW Baird, said that growth was slightly weaker than expected. That was partly driven by a decline in the price of gold, which is frequently bought and sold on eBay's online marketplaces, he said.

Chief Financial Officer Bob Swan said growth in Germany, a big market for eBay, continued to be "sluggish," during a conference call with analysts.

EBay generates about 30 to 40 percent of its revenue in Europe, where many economies have been dented by the debt crisis.

"We remain anxious about the European economy and the impact of weaker European currency on our cross-border transactions, Swan told analysts.

Still, eBay raised the midpoint of its 2013 revenue forecast by about $550 million and lifted its estimate for PayPal's profit growth, CFO Swan noted.

EBay shares should trade at a higher multiple to earnings but are unlikely to match richer valuations of faster-growing rivals, Smead said.

EBay reported fourth-quarter net income of $2 billion, or $1.51 a share, compared with $559 million, or 42 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 35 percent to $3.38 billion.

It recognized a big gain from the sale of its remaining stake in Skype during the fourth quarter. Excluding that and other items such as stock-based compensation expenses, profit was $788.6 million, or 60 cents a share, the company said.

Analysts, on average, expected eBay to earn 57 cents a share on revenue of $3.32 billion.

(Reporting By Alistair Barr; Editing by Andre Grenon, Bernard Orr, Steve Orlofsky, Gary Hill)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/bs_nm/us_ebay

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