YouTube adds video captions

English-language video clips will be captioned automatically, in a move designed to make the site more accessible for the deaf or hearing-impaired By Matt Warman, Consumer Technology EditorPublished: 9:04AM GMT 05 Mar 2010 YouTube has started to add captions to all its English-language videoYouTube has announced that every English-language video uploaded to the site will be captioned automatically. The move means that Britain’s nine million deaf or hearing-impaired people will be able to access YouTube’s ever-increasing range of films and videos.Google stressed that the roll-out of the service is only just beginning, and that the automatic software...

Read More

Google Enlists DocVerse in Attack on Microsoft

Google's got its head in the cloud--again. The search giant today announced that it has bought DocVerse, a software startup that makes an online collaboration plug-in for Microsoft Office. The Wall Street Journal reports that Google paid $25 million for the San Francisco-based developer, which was founded in 2007 by former Microsoft employees Shan Sinha and Alex DeNeui.The DocVerse deal wraps up an acquisitive week for Google, which announced Monday that it gobbled up online photo-editing site Picnik.Office, Meet AppsSo what are Google's intentions for its latest conquest? "Our first step will be to combine DocVerse with Google Apps to create...

Read More

Apple iPad to go on sale on 3 April in US and 'late April' in UK

Apple yet to provide details on UK or international release dates, selling prices or associated mobile network companiesApple's touchscreen iPad tablet computer will go on sale on 3 April in the US, but no specific date – beyond "late April" – has been given for its release in the UK and other international locations.The company declined to set either the selling price for its models abroad, or to name any of the mobile network companies that will be providing connectivity for the more expensive iPad systems, which have 3G data sims built in.US customers will be able to pre-order the iPad, which Steve Jobs described as a "magical and revolutionary...

Read More

Oscar hopeful Sandra Bullock crowned worst actress

(Reuters) - Sandra Bullock has earned a few honors in Hollywood, "America's Sweetheart" among them, and on Saturday she was crowned with the dubious title of worst actress of 2009, one day before she's favored to win an Oscar.Entertainment | Film | PeopleBullock, whose drama "The Blind Side" has made her the odds-on favorite to claim the best actress Oscar, was given a Razzie Award for worst female performance in "All About Steve." No performer has ever won a Razzie and an Oscar the same year.The actress played a socially awkward designer of newspaper crosswords, who falls in love with a cameraman (Bradley Cooper) and stalks him in the movie.Organizers...

Read More

Oscars 2010: odds on best film

The 10 films in the running for best movie are: Jeremy Renner starring in The Hurt LockerSam Worthington and Zoe Saldana in AvatarSam Worthington and Zoe Saldana in Avatar Photo: REUTERSBrad Pitt in this year's Oscar contender 'Inglourious Basterds'Brad Pitt in this year's Oscar contender 'Inglourious Basterds'The Hurt Locker (8-11)Heart-stopping drama about a US Army bomb disposal unit in Iraq, directed by Kathryn Bigelow. Despite several controversies, including criticism from some Iraq war veterans, it is the favourite. James Cameron's 3-D spectacle silenced the doubters to become the biggest grossing film of all time. Set on a faraway moon...

Read More

Security tight as Iraq prepares to vote

By Middle East correspondent Ben Knight and wiresCurfews are in place across Iraq ahead of today's national parliamentary elections.In Baghdad, the streets are closed to all but official vehicles and will stay that way until tomorrow.There was a one bomb attack yesterday in the city of Najaf.The car bomb exploded killing four people near the country's holiest Shiite shrine, that of Imam Ali, the Prophet Mohammed's son-in-law.Past elections have passed smoothly, but security forces are taking no chances.This is the second national election since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein - one that Al Qaeda has threatened to stop using military means.The...

Read More

Obama pushes health-care compromise

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged Congress to pass a revised version of his health-care legislation that includes a number of Republican proposals.In a speech delivered in the White House on Wednesday, Obama called on lawmakers to finish their work on health care, saying the country "is waiting for us to act.""This is where we've ended up," Obama said. "It's an approach that has been debated and changed and I believe improved over the last year."Before an audience of health-care workers, including doctors and nurses, Obama urged the leaders in both the Senate and House of Representatives to schedule a vote in the next few weeks.Obama...

Read More

Iraq elections: calls for swift results as Iraqis go to the polls

Fears that wrangling over the results will trigger a return to violence has overshadowed last-minute campaigning for the Iraqi election. By Richard Spencer in BaghdadPublished: 8:07PM GMT 05 Mar 2010 Female supporters wave Iraqi flags at a rally for Ammar Al-Hakim in BaghdadThe lead-up to Saturday's vote has been more peaceful than most Iraqis and international observers dared predict.Violence has risen overall but rumours of al-Qaeda "spectaculars" in Baghdad, similar to suicide car-bombings that killed hundreds of people last year, have so far been unfulfilled.Western diplomats are hailing the election as the best hope for democracy since the...

Read More

Angkor: How can a UNESCO site keep tourist temple raiders in check?

Image credit: Angkor Wat (Workbook Stock/Thomas Kokta/Getty Images)Fri Mar 5, 2010By Sarah DowdeyDiscovery NewsIt only takes a quick Google image search to understand why Angkor, the Khmer empire's ancient seat, makes plenty of "must-see" travel lists. Its ruined temple complexes pop out through the forests, and its sprawling reservoirs offer a testament to the city's impressive engineering.When I podcasted on Angkor a while back, my co-host and I talked a bit about the possible role of environmental degradation in the city's downfall. Deforestation may have caused silting, something that could damage the complex waterworks that kept the city...

Read More

Military Makes Mighty Show of Rockets [-Several hundreds of thousands dollar rockets just for a show?]

Cambodian soldiers test fire multiple rocket launchers (BM21) at the air field in Kampong Chhnang provinceBy Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer Original report from Kampong Chhnang04 March 2010It was as though lightning leapt from the rocket barrels. Fifteen trucks firing multiple rockets each, nearly 200 all, in a military exercise in Kampong Chhnang province early Thursday morning that officials insisted was not a show of force.Rows of trucks were parked at the province’s giant, dusty airstrip, launching 122-mm rockets over the rice fields and palm trees and across the plains. The shots came first in a trickle, as single rockets were fired for aim,...

Read More

Cambodian military tests rockets

Cambodian soldiers test fire multiple rocket launchers (BM21) at the air field in Kampong Chhnang province Cambodian soldiers prepare to test-fire a multiple rocket launcherCambodian troops fired some 200 rockets in their first public drill since the country's civil war endedThursday, March 04, 2010By Suy Se (AFP)KAMPONG CHHNANG, Cambodia — Cambodia's military mounted a rare public test of rockets on Thursday amid a lingering troop standoff over disputed territory with neighbouring Thailand.In their first public drill since the country's civil war ended more than a decade ago, troops fired some 200 rockets from truck-mounted...

Read More

Shuttle flights would continue under new proposal

WASHINGTON — The space shuttle era could get a new lease on life under a bill filed today by U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.The measure would delay the shuttle’s planned retirement in 2010 until NASA is confident that a replacement spacecraft is ready or that the shuttle and its massive payload bay is no longer needed to keep the International Space Station afloat through 2020.The 37-page bill also authorizes an additional $1.3 billion in NASA spending next year above President Barack Obama’s request of $19 billion. The extra money would help prepare NASA for as many as two additional shuttle flights per year after 2010, as well as fund...

Read More

Opera says its browser is the "fastest" of them all

Opera Software has launched version 10.50 of its web browser - which it claims is the world's "fastest" for Windows-based systems.The latest iteration of the browser also includes a redesigned GUI, along with a feature known as "private browsing" which attempts to hide all traces of visited site"Opera 10.50 is the fastest browser in almost all speed tests. But, more important than any speed test is the real-world speed during use. We designed Opera 10.50 to be easy to use, while making our unique features stand out, so you can get more out of the Web," explained Opera CEO Lars Boilesen. 

"Under the hood, we introduced a new JavaScript engine,...

Read More

Chile quake may have shortened day

This composite image of the Earth is based on data from the MODIS instrument on the Terra satellite. It represents the most detailed image of the Earth from space ever taken. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)The 8.8-magnitude Chilean earthquake released so much energy that it may have slightly shortened the length of the Earth's day, a NASA scientist says.Richard Gross, a researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory computed how the Earth's rotation may have been affected by the Feb. 27 quake, which has killed at least 723 people.The JPL computer model suggests that the length of the Earth day may have been shortened by 1.26 millionths of a...

Read More

Google 'considering China options'

Google has said it is continuing to review the future of its China operations, almost two months after the firm said it would stop complying with Chinese government regulations requiring it to censor search results.On Tuesday a senior executive from the internet search giant told a US senate committee that the company's investigation into alleged hacking attacks on its email service was still in process.Google warned in January that it was considering pulling out of China altogether after discovering that Chinese dissidents using Google's Gmail service were being spied on.Speaking to the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Human Rights,...

Read More

Apple suit likely a shock to Google phone maker Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/03/02/apple-htc-patent-lawsuit.html#ixzz0hD35DDrS

Apple's patent lawsuit against HTC is likely coming as a shock to the Taiwanese phone maker, which holds the American company in high regard."I have always been an Apple fan, all of my life," said John Wang, HTC's chief marketing and innovation officer, in a recent interview. "I stay up till 1 a.m. to see [Apple CEO] Steve [Jobs'] speeches, every time he speaks. Apple is such a respectable company in this world."On Tuesday, the Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple filed a lawsuit against HTC that claims the company has violated 20 of its patents related to graphical interface, underlying architecture and hardware in several of its handset models. Apple...

Read More

Asian stock markets rise after jobless report

By PAN PYLASThe Associated PressBusinessmen are reflected in the electric stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo Monday, March 1, 2010. Asian stock markets advanced Monday, with Hong Kong's index up nearly 2 percent, after China said manufacturing continued to grow last month albeit at a slower pace. Nikkei 225 stock average ended at 10,172.06, up 46.03 points.Koji SasaharaBusinessmen are reflected in the electric stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo Monday, March 1, 2010. Asian stock markets advanced Monday, with Hong Kong's index up nearly 2 percent, after China said manufacturing continued to grow last month albeit at a slower pace....

Read More

Fed: Economy grows, but snowstorms hurt some areas

By JEANNINE AVERSAThe Associated PressWednesday, March 3, 2010; 5:21 PMWASHINGTON -- The economy is growing slowly, but snowstorms crimped activity along the East Coast last month, according to a Federal Reserve report.The Fed's Beige Book survey, released Wednesday, showed that the nation's recovery is managing to plod ahead though not at a strong enough pace to persuade companies to ramp up hiring. The Fed said "economic conditions continued to expand ... although severe snowstorms in early February held back activity."Of the Fed's 12 regions surveyed, nine showed improvement. The Richmond district, which includes Maryland, Virginia and the...

Read More

Google China hackers stole source code: researcher

BOSTON (Reuters) - The hackers behind the attacks on Google Inc (GOOG.O) and dozens of other companies operating in China stole valuable computer source code by breaking into the personal computers of employees with privileged access, a security firm said on Wednesday.ChinaThe hackers targeted a small number of employees who controlled source code management systems, which handle the myriad changes that developers make as they write software, said George Kurtz, chief technology officer at anti-virus software maker McAfee Inc (MFE.N).The details from McAfee show how the breach of just a single PC at a large corporation can have widespread repercussions...

Read More

Business Breaking News

ISM: Service sector growth accelerates in FebruaryThe service sector, which accounts for the vast majority of U.S. jobs, has seen much slower, bumpier improvement as layoffs and tight credit weigh on consumers. Its health is crucial to a sustained recovery from the deep recession that began in December 2007.The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday its index measuring service industry activity rose to 53 in February from 50.5 in January.Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a smaller increase to 51.Any level above 50 signals growth. The 53 reading is the highest since January 2008, when ISM revised how it measured the service...

Read More

Bankruptcy stalks Greece, says Prime Minister George Papandreou

Athens George Papandreou, the Greek Prime Minister, said yesterday that his country was fighting for survival against bankruptcy and urged civil servants and pensioners to accept sacrifices to save the debt-burdened nation.In a dramatic speech to his Socialist PASOK party on the eve of a Cabinet meeting expected to approve new austerity measures, Papandreou said: “I will fight to save the fatherland from whatever the nightmare possibility of bankruptcy might entail.”Under pressure to meet European Union demands to find up to €4.8 billion in additional savings before he visits Germany on Friday, he played up the risk of default, saying speculators...

Read More

Clinton fails to win over Brazil on Iran

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton failed to win Brazil's support on Wednesday for more sanctions against Iran and said Tehran would not talk seriously about its nuclear program until the United Nations took new action.Barack Obama | BrazilEven before he met with Clinton, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said: "It is not wise to push Iran into a corner. It is wise to establish negotiations."Clinton's visit to Brasilia came as U.S. diplomats seek to persuade key U.N. Security Council members that the time had come for action on Iran, which has defied U.N. demands it stop enriching uranium."I think it's only...

Read More

SKorea: NKorea crossed border to hunt for defector

A South Korean protster with a defaced photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and what protesters say is Kim's youngest son Kim Jong Un, right, shouts slogans during a rally to mark the March First Independence Movement Day, the anniversary of the 1919 uprising against Japanese colonial rule, in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 1, 2010. South Korea's president Lee Myung-bak said Monday that he wants to achieve "genuine" reconciliation with North Korea through dialogue and renewed his offer of a package of incentives for the North's nuclear disarmament. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) SEOUL, South Korea—South Korea's military says several North Korean...

Read More

China parliament examines growth, living standards

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese leadership's efforts to engineer a trouble-free succession and push both economic growth and improved living standards in coming years move to the national parliament from Friday.The annual full session of the National People's Congress (NPC) will open with a report by Premier Wen Jiabao, who with President Hu Jintao is entering the last stretch of a second five-year term steering the world's third-biggest economy. They are due to make way to a new generation of leaders from 2012.Wen's speech in the Great Hall of the People will be as cautious as the Communist Party-controlled parliament, whose 3,000-odd delegates...

Read More

63 Killed in Stampede at Indian Temple

At least 63 people were killed in a massive stampede at a temple in northern India, Thursday.Police say the dead included women and children, while many other people were injured.Thousand of people had gathered at the Ram Janki temple in Uttar Pradesh to collect free clothes and other goods being handed out during a religious festival.The stampede broke out when the main gate of the temple collapsed.Some information for this report provided by AFP, AP and Reute...

Read More

Taliban militants 'attack army in north-west Pakistan'

Dozens of suspected militants have attacked an army checkpoint in the tribal Mohmand region of north-west Pakistan, a military source says.More than 30 militants and one soldier were killed in the clash, according to the source. But a Taliban spokesman told the BBC only four militants died.The clash occurred close to the Bajaur tribal region where troops recently declared victory over local Taliban.There has been no official confirmation of the incident from the army.The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says the fighters who stormed the checkpoint in Mohmand's Chamarkand area appear to have slipped out of the Taliban stronghold of Damadola in...

Read More

Quake survivors await aid as aftershocks rattle Chile

Despite fears from the aftershocks, crews are focused on providing aid to the most vulnerable.Aid was flowing into some hard-hit areas Wednesday, but some residents said they still had not received food or water. Security forces also fanned out to stop looters.Chilean President Michelle Bachelet urged residents Wednesday to remain calm despite the shortages and lawlessness in Concepcion, Talcahuano, and other areas of central and southern Chile. For the second consecutive day, she warned that looting will not be tolerated."Nobody can argue that taking a refrigerator is an act of survival," Bachelet told reporters. "That is simply vandalism and...

Read More

Polling stations bombed as Iraq elections begin

A suicide bomber has attacked a polling station in Baghdad killing at least three soldiers and wounding 15 others, it has been reported.Early voting has begun for hundreds of thousands of government employees in Iraq's parliamentary elections.Earlier in the day, another blast killed five and wounded 10 people near a polling station.On Wednesday three suicide bombers attacked police and a hospital in Baquba, killing at least 30 people.There were conflicting accounts of the first bomb in north-west Baghdad.Security testSome reports said it was a roadside booby-trap, others said a rocket had been fired near a school due to be used as a polling station...

Read More