Liu Xiaobo Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Liu Xiaobo Wins Nobel Peace Prize - Liu Xiaobo is hardly a household name inside China. Most people have never heard of the man who is the first person of Chinese origin to win a Nobel Prize while living in China.
Liu is a political philosopher who first angered the Chinese government in 1989, when he was involved in orchestrating peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square that ended with a military crackdown.

Decades later, Liu co-wrote Charter 08, a petition calling for multi-party democracy in China. He has spent much of his life in and out of prison, often living under house arrest.

Within the small community of people who are familiar with Liu Xiaobo's work, not everyone is comfortable with the idea that the Nobel was given to a single Chinese activist.

Liu Xiaobo Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Many support Liu Xiaobo's efforts to promote human rights on a philosophical level, but believe others who have sacrificed their freedom — and sometimes their lives — also deserve recognition.

The U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China keeps a database listing 1,452 current political prisoners in China, although researchers admit that list is far from complete.

Liu Xiaobo Wins Nobel Peace Prize

I Am Number Four Trailer Released

I Am Number Four Trailer Released - "Glee's" Dianna Agron only has eyes for a handsome blonde alien in the just released trailer for the sci-fi flick "I Am Number Four."

The movie, based on the book by James Frey and Jobie Hughes of the same name, centers around a human-resembling teen alien named John Smith (Alex Pettyfer) who is on the run from an enemy species, named the Mogadorians, that are out to destroy him.

Three of his kind have already been killed and his guardian, played by Timothy Olyphant, tells John that they can only kill in sequential order, revealing that he is number four.

I Am Number Four Trailer Released

Barbara Walters 10 Most Fascinating People

Barbara Walters 10 Most Fascinating People - Barbara Walters annual special The 10 Most Fascinating People aired Thursday night on ABC and overall, what a snooze fest but BWalt did her best to give us 10 personalities that we couldn’t stop talking about. So here is the list:

Betty White. Now Betty is all sorts of fabulous, but what’s more interesting is that in a culture so obsessed with youth (Bieber, Cyrus, The Twilight crew,) the octogenarian is still relevant. Is this a trend?

Mark Zuckerberg. Rehashed clips of the Facebook creator and inspiration for the movie The Social Network. I yawned twice while typing that. And this could have been something solid – he is quirky and challenging and even if he wouldn’t agree to a sit down, this segment was dull.

Justin Bieber. I have nothing against Bieber but this felt like Walters trying to get tweens and teens to watch the show. I am fascinated by the reaction his fans will have when he changes his hair. And I’m also very scared of it.

Jersey Shore Cast. I understand that I am in the minority here – but I really don’t get the fascination. Gym. Tan. Laundry. Barbara?

Sandra Bullock. Sympathetic absolutely. More than that – well,

See the rest of the list under.

Barbara Walters 10 Most Fascinating People

Jennifer Lopez. Taking a seat at the American Idol judges table is a fascinating choice for her career, I suppose…

LeBron James. No new interview – again, Played out.

Kate Middleton. What I find interesting – was she on this list 3 weeks ago, before she got the engagement ring? Who did Barbara replace?

Sarah Palin. Yes, she should be on the list – whether you like her politics or not – she will make waves in the next Presidential election, whether she chooses to run or she backs another candidate.

Barbara Walters 10 Most Fascinating People

iPad 2 Coming Soon

iPad 2 Coming Soon - Component suppliers for Apple Inc's iPad are gearing up for a new round of production in the first quarter, sources said on Friday, with one saying the product will be a revamp of the popular tablet computer including front- and back-mounted cameras.

Touchscreen chip designer Wintek Corp, battery maker Simplo Technology Co Ltd and AVY Precision, an unlisted maker of covers for electronic products, are among suppliers for the next batch of iPads, four people familiar with the situation said.

Two could only confirm they were ramping up for a new round of production in the first quarter for components previously supplied for the original iPad, while two said the ramp-up was for a new iPad.

iPad 2 Coming Soon

One of those said the revamped model would feature cameras on the front and rear, while the other said the new model would be slimmer, lighter and have a better resolution display.

Camera module makers Genius Electronic Optical Co Ltd and Largan Precision Co Ltd were also starting new supply deals with Apple, two sources said, but neither could confirm for which product the modules were intended.

"It makes sense for these suppliers to begin delivering their goods in February," said Steven Tseng, an analyst at RBS in Taipei. "I think Steve Jobs will announce the new product in January, and we should see the new product hitting shops in about April."

iPad 2 Coming Soon

Cruise Ship In Antarctica

Cruise Ship In Antarctica - Chris Seigler had already visited every continent on the planet except Antarctica, and the Independence resident was on his way home from the icy land when the ship he was on ran into some of the most impressive waves you are ever likely to see.

Now, his wife is waiting at home for word from her husband on the stranded cruise ship, which lost power after getting smacked by 30-foot waves and 90-mile-per-hour winds as it was returning to Argentina from Antarctica.

"I found out by my daughter seeing it on Yahoo and saying 'Mom, what ship is Dad on?'" said Linda Seigler, who has had no communication from her 61-year-old husband since Saturday when he posted a message on Facebook.

"Well, I'm in Antarctica have not set foot on the Continent yet but should do so tomorrow the crossing of the Drake Passage was very rough," read the message on Seigler's Facebook page, and that was even before the ship ran into trouble.

"Even when they were going through the Drake Passage originally, one of the ladies fell out of bed and had a big black eye, another fell and broke her arm and had to get stitches some place on her face," said Linda Seigler.

Cruise Ship In Antarctica

Seigler is among 88 Americans and 165 people overall on the Clelia Two cruise ship. Linda Seigler didn't go with her husband because she had just started a new job, plus she was worried she might get sea sick.

"He wanted to make all the continents, and he had this opportunity so I told him he needed to go for it, and now it's my fault," said Linda Seigler with a laugh.

On Wednesday, she was told that an Argentinian Navy ship is helping guide the Clelia Two back to land. After this experience, Linda Seigler says that cruise ships are not a likely mode of transportation in her future.

Cruise Ship In Antarctica

Sylvie Cachay Was A Rising Star

Sylvie Cachay Was A Rising Star - A beautiful young designer whose swimsuits were worn by celebrities like Lindsay Lohan was found dead with red marks on her neck in an overflowing bathtub at the SoHo House Thursday morning.

Sylvie Cachay, 33, was found in the room of 24-year-old Nicholas Brooks, police said. Brooks is the son of infamous songwriter Joseph Brooks, who was indicted last year on several counts of sexually assaulting young women.

Cachay had dated Brooks, according to police sources. He was being questioned at the Greenwich Village precinct late into the night Thursday.

The stunning designer, who once interned for Marc Jacobs, grew up in the wealthy D.C. suburb McLean, Va. She had dual-citizenship in the U.S. and Peru and split her time between Virginia and South America, according to her website.

Her love for design grew out of the time she spent as a young girl in her mother's art studio, and her decision to pursue swimwear stemmed from her appreciation of the "beach lifestyle," her website reported.

Cachay went to a college prep school and then attended Parsons in Paris where she studied fashion and art, online research showed. After she moved back to the U.S., she attended Marymount University in Virginia.

After working for Marc Jacobs and Tommy Hilfiger, Cachay was discovered by Victoria's Secret in 2002 and the megabrand recruited her to head up their swimwear line, which she did until 2006, when she started her own line, according to her website.

The designer's work has been featured in magazines including Vogue, Elle and People.

Sylvie Cachay Was A Rising Star

Sources said Cachay's body was discovered wearing only a sweater and underwear, partially submerged in a bathtub in a SoHo House room. She had red marks around her neck when she was found, sources said.

Police sources said drugs may have led to her death. Her hair was singed when police found her, sources said, and there was a prescription pill bottle half full found near the bathtub.

People that knew Cachay from her West Village neighborhood were very upset to hear of her death.

Karey Smith, 29, a fashion designer and party host at the Hudson Street bar Employees Only, said that Cachay came into the lounge once or twice a month.

Sylvie Cachay Was A Rising Star

Samsung LCD Televisions

Samsung LCD Televisions - What is it with Samsung flat-screen TVs? Since late last year, ConsumerAffairs.com has been flooded with complaints from consumers who say their Samsung HD TVs overheat, refuse to turn on, power themselves off or simply fizzle off into oblivion. To make matters worse, in most cases, this happens after the one-year warranty has expired.

Samsung isn't saying much about the problem. After repeated inquiries, a company spokeswoman could do no better than this rather tepid response:

"As a first step, we encourage customers who experience any issues with our TVs to call 1-800-SAMSUNG. Our customer service team will fully investigate and discuss each customer’s specific experience so that we can help identify the best resolution to fit each case. Customers’ experiences with our products and service teams are of the utmost importance to us. When we see a problem frequently reoccur, Samsung takes the necessary steps to correct the issue."

Some more helpful guidance comes from the guys who work on dead Samsungs every day. At A+ TV Repair in Southern California, a technician named Phil who asked that his last name not be used said he thinks the Samsung line has been “deliberately under-engineered.”

Samsung LCD Televisions

Plasma Television

A plasma display panel (PDP) is a type of flat panel display common to large TV displays (80 cm/30 in or larger). They are called "plasma" displays because the pixels rely on plasma cells, or what are in essence chambers more commonly known as fluorescent lamps. A panel typically has millions of tiny cells in compartmentalized space between two panels of glass. These compartments, or "bulbs" or "cells", hold a mixture of noble gases and a minuscule amount of mercury. Just as in the fluorescent lamps over an office desk, when the mercury is vaporized and a voltage is applied across the cell, the gas in the cells form a plasma. (A plasma is a collection of particles that respond strongly and collectively to electromagnetic fields or electrical charges, taking the form of gas-like clouds or ion beams.) With flow of electricity (electrons), some of the electrons strike mercury particles as the electrons move through the plasma, momentarily increasing the energy level of the molecule until the excess energy is shed. Mercury sheds the energy as ultraviolet (UV) photons. The UV photons then strike phosphor that is painted on the inside of the cell. When the UV photon strikes a phosphor molecule, it momentarily raises the energy level of an outer orbit electron in the phosphor molecule, moving the electron from a stable to an unstable state; the electron then sheds the excess energy as a photon at a lower energy level than UV light; the lower energy photons are mostly in the infrared range but about 40% are in the visible light range. Thus the input energy is shed as mostly heat (infrared) but also as visible light. Depending on the phosphors used, different colors of visible light can be achieved. Each pixel in a plasma display is made up of three cells comprising the primary colors of visible light. Varying the voltage of the signals to the cells thus allows different perceived colors.

Plasma displays should not be confused with liquid crystal displays (LCDs), another lightweight flat-screen display using very different technology. LCDs may use one or two large fluorescent lamps as a backlight source, but the different colors are controlled by LCD units, which in effect behave as gates that allow or block the passage of light from the backlight to red, green, or blue paint on the front of the LCD panel.

LCD TV Advantages

If you've gone shopping for televisions lately, you've noticed that you have many different choices. The old tube-style televisions now share shelf space with plasma and LCD televisions. There are many advantages to choosing an LCD television, which could make LCD the right choice for you.

Just from looking at an LCD television, you can tell that an LCD TV is flatter than a tube television with the same screen size. They even tend to be a little flatter than a plasma TV of the same size. Also, there is a major difference in weight. LCD televisions are much lighter than tube televisions. They are even lighter than the flat screen plasma TVs, which can weigh twice as much as an equivalent LCD TV. This makes them easier to move around and easier to mount on a wall.

LCD televisions are also much brighter than other televisions. They also have anti-glare technology in their screens. These things put together mean that LCD screen televisions are easy to watch in a well-lit room. Having an LCD TV means you no longer have to turn out the lights and close the curtains just to watch TV.
LCD panel TVs are not prone to "burn-in" like plasma and tube televisions. Plasma or tube TVs sometimes show "ghost images" left behind by something that was displayed on the screen for too long. These images interfere with what is displayed on the screen, and degrade picture quality. This is much less likely to happen with an LCD TV.

LCD screen TVs are also multi-talented. You can use them to watch normal TV or HDTV. LCD televisions have composite video input, component video input, and even RGB input for computers. Plasma screen televisions tend to have trouble when used as computer monitors. Text and still images tend to look jagged on a plasma screen, and plasma TVs have greater risk of burn-in. LCD televisions don't suffer from burn-in like plasma TVs, and text and computer graphics look sharp.

LCD TVs have energy-efficient fluorescent backlights. Plasma TVs don't, and they spend energy lighting up every single pixel on the screen, including the dark ones. A typical plasma TV uses 50% more power than a typical LCD TV.

Buying a Plasma Television

Plasma television could capture substantial market share in the past decade due to the superb performance it could offer to the consumers. Those who swear on a plasma tv have no doubt about its qualitative superiority. The technology behind the plasma is a unique one. Plasma screen consists of glass panes with noble gas in between. When the gas gets electrically charged, the phosphor gas reacts with it to produce red, blue and green pixels. It is this chemical reaction of plasma that brightens the pixels on the screen. The remarkable phenomenon creates sharp images with colour saturation. The thin, flat screen is considered as the best ever produced in television history, especially when it comes to large sized screens. That is the reason why it is widely preferred by consumers.

Panasonic, Samsung, LG, Fujitsu, Sanyo and Funai are some of the leading plasma television producers in the global markets. In the early stages there were many problems that plagued the plasma tv. High rate of energy consumption was worrisome. Consumers found plasma TV not economical in view of the spiraling energy bills. Another problem was the burn- in that occurs on the screens. But both these problems were effectively addressed by the manufacturers. Adoption of Motion Logo technology helped to eliminate burn-in problem. Quality of phosphorus gas was improved. New cell design helped to reduce energy consumption.

In this context, the Neo PDP model of Panasonic is an innovative product. They stopped the utilization of lead which is considered as an environmental pollutant. A new technique namely ionization of phosphorus gas was adopted with the twin objective of making plasma television eco-friendly and energy efficient. Latest models of plasma television have many positive aspects. High refresh rates and faster response time are important factors that made them the most suitable televisions to watch movies, sports or action programmes. Longevity of plasma TV is now estimated to be 60,000 hours which is considered as highest among similar categories of televisions. Wider viewing angles is a remarkable feature of plasma, which is an ideal product in the large screens segment. Plasma screen is at its best in sizes above 32 inches. Contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1 is yet another positive factor which along with the wider viewing angles make the product suitable for group viewing and demonstration purposes. For this reason large plasma television is chosen widely for commercial purposes.

The sleek and sophisticated plasma television is poised to become the most sought after product in the global markets. DLNA certified display offers full HD wireless connectivity, digital comb filter, progressive span and integrated digital tuner as some of the special features. Further with the adoption of FED and OLED technologies, the product is acknowledged as one that can offer utmost viewing comforts. Even though plasma television is considered as an expensive product, the fact remains that it is comparatively cheaper when size is taken into account. For instance a plasma TV of 32 inches will be cheaper than an LCD of the same size. Most of the modern brands of plasma TV are environmental friendly and with energy stars.

Flat Panel Televisions

A flat panel TV can be wall mounted so that it takes up zero floor space and is perfect for use in smaller rooms. A flat screen television is usually light weight and very portable because there are no picture tubes to blow out. Depending on the materials used to make a thin panel television it may be more energy efficient than a regular tube in TV. The picture is clearer on a flat screen television there is less blur.

The screen can be viewed from most any angle in a flat panel television without losing any of the picture quality. The ability to see the picture clearly from any angle in the room on a panel television really opens up chair placement options.

A flat panel TV is normally cable ready and can easily be hooked up to a computer or lap top as well so typically they double as computer monitors as well.

If a flat screen television is made with plasma technology the power usage is twice that of other televisions. This type of television also tends to have flicker issues in large areas of the screen. A thin panel television that is crafted using plasma material has a glass front; this of course can break easily. The cost of a thin panel television can be rather high.

This type of television can be purchased from any electronics store. A flat panel television may also be purchased at a discount store. Typically they will have a warranty in place against manufacturer defects but will not cover a cracked screen. When a purchase is made, usually there is an offer to purchase an additional amount of protection; this may be a good idea, depending on what the coverage protects.

Comparison shopping for the best deal is always recommended when shopping for a flat screen television. The prices vary greatly and through comparison shopping the best deal can be had. A little education in the form of research can go a long way in determining the desired features, brand and price range that is desired in a flat panel television.

Television viewing is much different from the way it was 20 years ago, and this is more apparent in today's TVs than ever.