Video games take off as a spectator sport

Editorial: "Give video games a sporting chance" EVERY sport has its idols and superstars. Now video gaming is getting them too. Professional gaming, or e-sports, exploded in popularity in the US and Europe last year. ...

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N.Korea tells China of nuclear test plan: report

SEOUL: A North Korean official has apparently told Chinese authorities that the communist state is planning to conduct a third nuclear test in the coming week, a news report said on Saturday."We've heard a North Korean official in Beijing told the Chinese side that the North planned to carry out a nuclear test between January 13-20," the Joongang Ilbo daily quoted an unidentified Seoul...

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ZTE readies itself for U.S. expansion in 2013

Lixin Cheng, the CEO of ZTE USA, at CES 2013. (Credit:Lynn La/CNET)LAS VEGAS--Lixin Cheng and the rest of his division are determined to make it in America.Cheng is the CEO of ZTE's U.S. division, and in addition to strengthening the company's carrier relationships, Cheng also has big plans in the near future to increase ZTE's presence in the U.S."There are a lot of things already in the pipeline,"...

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Pictures: Civil War Shipwreck Revealed by Sonar

Photograph by Jesse CancelmoA fishing net, likely only decades old, drapes over machinery that once connected the Hatteras' pistons to its paddle wheels, said Delgado.From archived documents, the NOAA archaeologist learned that Blake, the ship's commander, surrendered as his ship was sinking. "It was listing to port, [or the left]," Delgado said. The Alabama took the wounded and the rest of the crew...

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CDC: Flu Outbreak Could Be Waning

The flu season appears to be waning in some parts of the country, but that doesn't mean it won't make a comeback in the next few weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Five fewer states reported high flu activity levels in the first week of January than the 29 that reported high activity levels in the last week of December, according to the CDC's...

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Personal assistant for your emails streamlines your life

IT'S one of the luxuries of the corporate elite: a personal assistant who takes your overflowing inbox and turns it into a simple to-do list. Many people would love such help, if only they could afford it. But what if the cost was less than $2 a day? That's the idea behind software that uses crowdsourced workers...

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China notes S Korean frustration with Pyongyang policy

SEOUL: A top Chinese envoy acknowledged on Friday South Korea's "dissatisfaction" with China's policy towards North Korea, but asked for Seoul's understanding over Beijing's reluctance to punish Pyongyang.Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun also suggested that China and South Korea should stand side by side in pushing Japan to face up to its aggressive militaristic past.Zhang was...

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Google revs Chrome for Android faster with new beta release

Android users who want to live an edgier life now can try a beta version of Chrome.Google yesterday released the Chrome 25 beta for Android 4.x smartphones and tablets, a version number in sync with the release for personal computers. Previously, the only option was the stable version of Chrome for Android, which is still way back at version 18.The Chrome for Android beta is available on the Google...

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Google and Twitter Help Track Influenza Outbreaks

This flu season could be the longest and worst in years. So far 18 children have died from flu-related symptoms, and 2,257 people have been hospitalized. Yesterday Boston Mayor Thomas Menino declared a citywide public health emergency, with roughly 700 confirmed flu cases—ten times the number the city saw last year."It arrived five weeks early, and it's shaping up to be a pretty bad...

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Judge: Holmes Can Face Trial for Aurora Shooting

Jan 10, 2013 8:45pm (Arapahoe County Sheriff/AP Photo)In a ruling that comes as little surprise, the judge overseeing the Aurora, Colo., theater massacre has ordered that there is enough evidence against James Holmes to proceed to a trial.In an order posted late Thursday, Judge William Sylvester wrote that “the People have carried their burden of proof and have established...

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Smartphones make identifying endangered animals easy

Everyday mobile tech takes the legwork out of tracking hard-to-find animals, and makes life easier for field biologists FIELD biology is notoriously laborious. In one famous 1982 study, Smithsonian entomologist Terry Erwin counted by hand the number of insect species in one hectare of forest canopy in Panama. By extrapolation...

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Taiwan probes illegal money transfer for Macau casinos

TAIPEI: Taiwanese prosecutors said on Thursday they were investigating a locally-based Hong Kong firm for allegedly carrying out huge money transfers for use in Macau casinos, circumventing strict forex rules.The company, which opened in Taiwan in 2009, allegedly accepted deposits by Taiwanese gamblers allowing them to withdraw the money once they were in Macau, said the Taipei district...

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Google's Schmidt presses North Korean officials for open Web

Google's Eric Schmidt (right) upon his arrival in North Korea earlier this week with former N.M. Gov. Bill Richardson.(Credit:CBS News/Screenshot by CNET)Eric Schmidt wrapped up a controversial visit to North Korea on Thursday, saying that his private delegation warned officials that global Internet access was key to developing its economy."As the world becomes increasingly connected, their decision...

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Embryonic Sharks Freeze to Avoid Detection

Jane J. Lee Although shark pups are born with all the equipment they'll ever need to defend themselves and hunt down food, developing embryos still stuck in their egg cases are vulnerable to predators. But a new study finds that even these baby sharks can detect a potential predator, and play possum to avoid being eaten.Every living thing gives off a weak electrical field. Sharks can sense...

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Holmes 'Delighted' by Creepy Self-Portraits: Victims

After two days of apparent indifference, accused Aurora shooter James Holmessmiled and smirked at disturbing self-portraits and images of weapons shown in court today, according to the families of victims who watched him."When he sees himself, he gets very excited and his eyes crinkle," Caren Teves said outside of the courthouse, after the hearing. "Your eyes are the window...

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Time to nail the number one problem of green energy

ONE of the frustrating things about renewable energy is that there is so much of it available and yet we utilise so little. Every minute, enough solar radiation hits the earth to meet global energy needs for a year. Wind energy, too, could single-handedly power the planet. ...

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Third Delhi gang-rape suspect to plead not guilty: lawyer

NEW DELHI: A third suspect accused of fatally gang-raping a 23-year-old student in a moving bus in New Delhi last month will plead not guilty to all charges, his lawyer said on Wednesday.Advocate M L Sharma said he would file the plea on behalf of Ram Singh, the driver of the bus where the attack allegedly took place which has fuelled angry protests across India."I am representing Ram...

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BlackBerrify your iPhone with Spike keyboard case

LAS VEGAS--No one likes typing on a touch screen. So what if your iPhone case had a very mini QWERTY keyboard?That's just what Spike from SoloMatrix is designed to be. When we heard about it last year, the Spike TypeSmart keyboard was part of a Kickstarter campaign that proved successful. The tactile keyboard swivels out from its case and its keys make contact with the iPhone's on-screen keyboard....

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Pictures: Wildfires Scorch Australia Amid Record Heat

Photograph by Jo Giuliani, European Pressphoto AgencySmoke from a wildfire mushrooms over a beach in Forcett, Tasmania, on January 4. (See more wildfire pictures.)Wildfires have engulfed southeastern Australia, including the island state of Tasmania, in recent days, fueled by dry conditions and temperatures as high as 113ºF (45ºC), the Associated Press reported. (Read "Australia's Dry Run" inNational...

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Dead Lotto Winner's Wife Seeks 'Truth'

The wife of a $1 million Chicago lottery winner who died of cyanide poisoning told ABC News that she was shocked to learn the true cause of his death and is cooperating with an ongoing homicide investigation."I want the truth to come out in the investigation, the sooner the better," said Shabana Ansari, 32, the wife of Urooj Khan, 46. "Who could be that person who hurt him?"It...

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Tony Fadell: From iPhones to sexing up thermostats

After quitting Apple, the tech guru behind the iPod wanted to revolutionise our homes – starting with the humble thermostat After you left Apple, you developed a "smart" thermostat. Was that always your plan?Not at all! The plan was to retire with my wife, who also worked for Steve [Jobs], and spend time with...

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Korean pop icon Rain confined to barracks to "repent"

SEOUL: South Korean pop icon Rain has been confined to barracks for a week, the defence ministry said Tuesday, after his dating put him on the wrong side of the country's strict military service rules."Under a decision by the disciplinary commission of his unit, Rain will be confined to his barracks to spend seven days of repentance," a defence ministry spokesman said.The 30-year-old singer...

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Synology lauches DSM 4.2 beta at CES 2103

DSM 4.2 adds a slew of improvements to already excellent Synology NAS servers.(Credit:Synology)LAS VEGAS -- When it comes to network attached storage (NAS), Synology's DiskStation Manager (DSM) operating system has been as good as it gets. Yet it's about to get even better.The NAS server maker announced and demoed today at CES 2013 the public beta of its latest DSM 4.2. This is a major upgrade from...

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Primitive and Peculiar Mammal May Be Hiding Out in Australia

It’d be hard to think of a mammal that’s weirder than the long-beaked, egg-laying echidna. Or harder to find.Scientists long thought the animal, which has a spine-covered body, a four-headed penis, and a single hole for reproducing, laying eggs, and excreting waste, lived only in New Guinea. The population of about 10,000 is critically endangered. Now there is tantalizing evidence that...

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Meet Obama's Defense Secretary Nominee

President Obama nominated former Senator Chuck Hagel as the next U.S. secretary of defense. To those who haven't followed the Senate closely in the past decade, he's probably not a household name.Hagel is a former GOP senator from Nebraska and Purple-Heart-decorated Vietnam veteran, but he wouldn't necessarily be a popular pick with Republicans in Congress.At age 21, Hagel and...

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West vs Asia education rankings are misleading

Western schoolchildren are routinely outperformed by their Asian peers, but worrying about it is pointless MATHEMATICS and science are as essential to modern economies as coal was to the industrial revolution. So when the results of international tests show Western schoolchildren lagging behind their peers...

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