Amazon selling over 1 million Kindles a week (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it is selling more than one million Kindle devices a week, an unusual disclosure from the largest Internet retailer that comes in the wake of some negative reviews of its new Kindle Fire tablet.

Amazon said customers are buying "well over" one million Kindles per week. This level of sales has occurred for three straight weeks, it added in a statement.

The sales numbers include the Kindle Fire tablet and all the versions of the Kindle e-reader. The company did not break out sales numbers for the Fire tablet alone.

However, Amazon executive Dave Limp said Kindle Fire sales increased week over week for each of the last three weeks.

Amazon previously said it sold "millions" of Kindles, but the company has never before given a sales number for a week, according to a spokeswoman.

The disclosure comes after a spate of negative reviews of the Kindle Fire that focused on issues such as slow response from the user interface and Web browser, the need for more privacy and child settings, and the lack of external volume control.

"The press release was very bullish and clearly a response to the few high-profile negative articles," said Ben Schachter, an analyst at Macquarie.

Amazon shares climbed 1.1 percent to $182.18 at mid-afternoon on Thursday. The stock fell to almost $170, its lowest level since March, on Wednesday.

Recent reviews and articles have been "overdone," partly because they often compare the $199 Kindle Fire to Apple Inc's iPad, which starts at $499, the analyst added.

"That's like comparing a $20,000 car with a $50,000 car," Schachter said. "These reviews certainly hurt because people read them. Will it work as well as the iPad? No."

Despite the negative coverage, Schachter is sticking to his forecast of about five million Kindle Fire sales in the fourth quarter.

Amazon said earlier this week that it plans a software upgrade to the Kindle Fire in coming weeks that will "improve performance, touch navigation, and give customers the option to choose what items display on the carousel."

The carousel refers to windows that appear on the home display of the Kindle Fire showing what applications ran most recently. Some users have complained that exposing what they last did with the device is a privacy problem.

"It's a new product that can be improved," Schachter said. "We don't think any of the problems discussed are deal breakers."

(Reporting by Alistair Barr; Editing by Gunna Dickson and Richard Chang)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/tc_nm/us_amazon_kindle

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Ex-Pa. prof, Okla. teacher held in child porn case (AP)

OKLAHOMA CITY ? An Oklahoma prosecutor said Friday he "fully expects" more young victims to emerge in the case of a former third-grade teacher accused of making child pornography involving her students and sharing it online with a retired college professor in Pennsylvania.

Former McLoud school teacher Kimberly Ann Crain, 48, and retired Pennsylvania professor of early childhood development Gary Doby, 65, were charged Thursday in the case in which prosecutors allege Crain took photographs of as many as 14 young girls while they were changing in her classroom and at her home and shared them with Doby. Crain also is accused of setting up video chats on her school computer between her students and a man named "Uncle G," who authorities say was Doby.

"Any person who has a child that's been a student of Mrs. Crain has been on pins and needles wondering if their child is a victim," said Pottawatomie County District Attorney Richard Smothermon. "We've had at least three or four more parents contact us. Potentially there are many more victims.

"Until we have identified every victim, the investigation will continue."

Crain, who resigned in November, was charged with 23 felony counts, including eight counts of manufacturing juvenile pornography, 10 counts of lewd molestation and aggravated possession of juvenile pornography. Doby, who was arrested Thursday outside his Bloomsburg, Pa. home, was charged with eight counts of manufacturing juvenile pornography and one count of conspiracy to manufacture juvenile pornography.

Crain and Doby were being held Friday on $1 million each. If convicted on all counts, Crain could be sentenced to life in prison, while Doby could face up to 170 years, Smothermon said.

Doby was being held in Columbia County Prison near Bloomsburg University, the state-owned school about 90 miles northwest of Philadelphia from which he retired in 2008. Pennsylvania court officials said Friday they have no record of an attorney for Doby and that an extradition hearing hadn't been scheduled.

A not-guilty plea was entered on Crain's behalf during her arraignment Thursday in Pottawatomie County. Her attorney, Cregg Webb, did not return a phone message Friday left at his office in Shawnee.

Smothermon said he's also discussing the possibility of federal charges, but that Oklahoma statutes carry lengthier sentences.

"We want to make sure we can get the maximum amount of time that we can," he said.

The case first came to light in November when the parents of a 9-year-old girl contacted police after their daughter attended a pizza party at Crain's McLoud home. The girl told police Crain had several girls change into Christmas-themed bras and panties and then took pictures of them decorating a Christmas tree and made a video of them doing a cheer dance, according to a police affidavit.

Police later uncovered more than 100 sexually explicit photographs of young girls from Crain's cellphone, computers and digital cameras, authorities said.

Officers who interviewed Doby at his home in Pennsylvania earlier this week said he admitted his relationship with Crain and that he communicated with her via Skype and received photos of young girls in their underwear, according to the affidavit.

Crain and Doby apparently met when she was a student and he was a professor at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee between 1985 and 1987, Smothermon said. Although Smothermon did not disclose the nature of their relationship, court records show investigators found evidence of numerous "sexual chats" between the two on Crain's computer.

"Our community is distressed by the alleged crimes," Marty O'Gwynn, assistant to the president at OBU said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families."

George Wright, an attorney for the families of some of the alleged victims in the case, said both parents and the children are "traumatized."

"They're horrified daily," Wright said. "It seems like every day we hear something that was worse than the day before. It's an onslaught."

___

Associated Press writer Joseph Mandak in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_re_us/us_ex_professor_child_porn

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Beach Boys reuniting for new album, tour in 2012 (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Iconic California surf band The Beach Boys will reunite in 2012 to release a new album and embark on a 50-date worldwide tour celebrating their 50th anniversary, the band said on Friday.

Members Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks, who were all involved in early versions of The Beach Boys band in the 1960s, when their fame rose due to the popularity of songs such as "Surfin' USA," "California Girls" and "Good Vibrations," are producing a new record after a 15-year studio album hiatus.

"This anniversary is special to me because I miss the boys, and it will be a thrill for me to make a new record and be on stage with them again," Wilson, 69, said in a statement.

Singer Love, 70, added "It was a thrill to be around a piano again with Brian, Alan and Bruce and experience firsthand the brilliance of Cousin Brian's gift for vocal arrangements."

The still untitled new album will be released in April, and be tied to a 50-date tour starting at Jazz Fest in New Orleans that is part of their 50th anniversary campaign spotlighting the band's career, music catalog with commemorative releases.

The Beach Boys struck their first chords in Hawthorne, California in 1961, with brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, their cousin Love and school friend Al Jardin. Johnston and Marks joined later versions of the Beach Boys to fill in for departing members.

The band became known for their upbeat songs about California's carefree beach lifestyle, pioneering the sound for surf-rock. Their albums included "Pet Sounds" and "Smile."

The Beach Boys hold the title for America's top-selling band according to Nielsen SoundScan figures, and also hold the record for the most Billboard Top 40 chart hits with 36 songs.

Despite the deaths of Dennis and Carl Wilson in 1983 and 1998, respectively, the band have continued to tour successfully over the years. They have received numerous accolades including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement award and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/music/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/music_nm/us_beachboys

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Rock fractures may amplify quake shaking

Strong earthquakes may fracture bedrock in a way that amplifies shaking during subsequent seismic events, increasing the chances of future rockslides and other quake-linked hazards, researchers find.

Loose soils are known to amplify shaking and damage from earthquakes in a process called liquefaction, where the ground takes on a soupy character. Seismic waves moving through bedrock slow down as they enter soil, but since their overall energy is conserved, the waves become stronger and deadlier.

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In addition, soil generally emphasizes lower frequencies of shaking over higher ones, and lower frequencies typically shake manmade structures more than higher ones do. Moreover, seismic waves can get trapped in basins of sediment, prolonging shaking.

Bedrock, on the other hand, is generally not thought to ?amplify seismic waves, remaining much more stable. However, new findings in the most seismically active part of Switzerland are undermining this notion.

Unstable slope
Scientists investigated ground motions during small earthquakes at a large unstable rock slope about 175 million cubic feet (5 million cubic meters) in volume at Randa, Switzerland. The area is home to strong magnitude-6-or-larger earthquakes every century or so that invariably cause landslides.

Seismometers measuring vibrations of the earth there revealed that fractured rock could amplify ground motion by up to a factor of 10 compared to more-solid adjacent bedrock.

"Rock is normally considered to be stable with respect to seismic amplification, but here we show that this is not always the case," researcher Jeffrey Moore, an engineering geologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, told OurAmazingPlanet.

One key to understanding why the fractured rock intensifies shaking is that the kind of fractures considered in this study are compliant ones, meaning they close or open easily when pressure is placed on or removed from their walls. They break the rock into compartments ? at Randa, these are typically rectangular blocks that are long and deep but not very wide, "something like 100-by-50-by-10 meters (330-by-165-by-30 feet), almost like a magazine standing up vertically and turned on its side," Moore said.

When these blocks are shaken at their base, they shake easily in one direction, the side of the slope exposed to air. As such, motion at the surface is greatly amplified, Moore explained.

Evaluating hazards
These results give scientists new tools to help evaluate seismic hazards in steep regions ? that is, ones dominated by steep rock slopes, Moore said. Earthquake-triggered landslides in such regions "are typically among the most damaging secondary effects of large earthquakes," he explained.

The scientists hope one day to capture how this unstable rock slope behaves before and after a strong earthquake, to test their theories.

"Our measurements are for weak, low-strain earthquake motions, meaning we don't and can't yet know how our slope will respond under strong ground motion," Moore said. "The amplification results may be similar, but they may also change ? we could see greater amplification, but also attenuation is possible."

The researchers detailed their findings in the December issue of the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

? 2011 OurAmazingPlanet. All rights reserved. More from OurAmazingPlanet.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45685538/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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2011's most searched person? Justin Bieber

Brendan Mcdermid / Reuters

By Courtney Hazlett

Let's cut to the chase here: Despite all the moaning and complaining the internet (and this site, and my Twitter and Facebook) receives about Justin Bieber and all the media coverage of him, he's still Google's most-searched person of 2011.

And guess who is No. 2? The other celebrity everyone loves to hate (but apparently, secretly searches, early and often): Kim Kardashian.?

David Livingston / Getty Images Contributor

To say any of this is surprising would be disingenuous. Record sales, ratings, the line outside the Dash boutique on any day that ends in "Y" -- these indicators don't lie. Biebs and Kim K are clearly people the general population is attracted to, it's just a little shocking to see that more people are plugging their names into Google than say, Steve Jobs (No. 8), a truly enigmatic innovator whose mark will be left on this world long after Bieber and Kardashian have faded from memory.

While it's no surprise that Lady Gaga would come in at No. 3 (unless you think it's surprising that she finished behind Kardashian), it is somewhat surprising that Nicki Minaj was the fourth most searched person in 2011. The hip hop artist caught the attention of most of America during the Grammy Awards in February (which was went Google searches for her spiked). Click on the video below for a reminder as to why.

TV Guide Network is live on the red carpet for music's biggest night, the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards! Host Chris Harrison interviews Nicki Minaj!

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Related content:

Source: http://scoop.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/15/9467307-2011s-most-searched-person-justin-bieber

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Senate Democrats to offer new tax cut plan (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Senate Democrats plan to offer a new proposal on Monday to extend a popular payroll tax cut amid signals that Republican leaders would accept a compromise that covers the cost to the federal Treasury.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, a Democrat, said that the offer would be a "serious attempt to move this ball forward," and avoid a December 31 expiration of the popular tax cut.

The proposal will be put forward by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, on Monday, Conrad told the "Fox News Sunday" program. He declined to give details.

Conrad called Reid's proposal "a compromise," but a spokesman for Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Republicans were not consulted.

President Barack Obama and other Democrats want to expand and continue the payroll tax break for workers and extend it to employers, arguing it would help stimulate the sluggish U.S. economy. They have offered to cover the plan's cost with a new tax on millionaires.

Republicans instead offered to extend the tax break, which reduces the Social Security tax to 4.2 percent from 6.2 percent, and cover its roughly $110 billion cost largely by continuing a federal workers' pay freeze through 2015 and gradually reducing the federal workforce by 10 percent.

The competing plans were defeated on Thursday in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

While declining to discuss details, Conrad said the cost of Reid's proposal would be fully covered and not increase the nation's record $15 trillion debt.

"It will be paid for, it will be in a way that is credible and serious," Conrad said.

SKEPTICISM

Many Republican lawmakers are skeptical that extending the tax cut beyond this year will spur job creation, and they say it will have only a temporary effect on the economy.

Some also argue an extension would take money out of the government-run Social Security retirement program, which is under increasing financial strain.

Democrats contend that revenue from the federal government's general fund - money not earmarked for specific programs or activities - will be used to make up for any loss of funds intended for the Social Security program.

Fearing a possible backlash from voters in the 2012 elections, most Republicans want to at least extend the current tax break. Republican leaders announced last week a willingness to compromise with Democrats on the issue.

Obama has pushed for extending the payroll tax cut as well jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed in campaign-style trips around the nation. The nation's unemployment rate is currently 8.6 percent.

"Probably they both (payroll tax break and unemployment insurance) will be extended," Republican Senator Tom Coburn said on "Fox News Sunday."

The White House, investment banks and some economists have warned that U.S. economic growth could suffer in 2012 if the tax cut for workers is allowed to expire.

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner put himself at odds with some members of his fellow Republicans who are skeptical of its benefits last week when he agreed that extending the tax break would help the economy.

Republican House leaders have not offered a counterproposal, but an aide said the chamber could consider its version of the payroll tax extension as early as this week.

(Editing by Paul Simao)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/democrats/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111204/ts_nm/us_usa_taxes

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Man pleads to firearm charge in militia case (Providence Journal)

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