Book Review : BOOK REVIEW: Science Ink: Tattoos of the Science Obsessed by Carl Zimmer

Review by Erika Engelhaupt

By Carl Zimmer

Strip away the lab coat, and you?d be surprised what you might find on a scientist?s backside. You might uncover not only a butterfly on a lepidopterist, but an extinct lobe-finned fish or the name of a lover spelled in DNA letters.

Zimmer, a science writer and the author of 10 books, pulls together some of the most fascinating tattoos worn by scientists and science fans. Several years ago, Zimmer noticed a scientist friend?s DNA tattoo at a pool party and wondered what else scientists were hiding. He posed that question on his blog, and soon he couldn?t keep up with the flood of responses. ?Without intending it,? Zimmer writes, ?I became a curator of tattoos, a scholar of science ink.?

In the book?s tattoo collection, an astronomer carries a whole galaxy on his foot, and Schr?dinger?s cat is frozen, forever dead and alive, on a forearm. Photographs of tattoos are organized by scientific topic, and each is accompanied by a short essay telling the story of the tattoo and the science behind it. The essays are fresh and clever, adding scientific substance and making the volume more than a coffee-table book.

As Zimmer points out, science is a natural subject for tattoos; of course people obsessed with the particulars of a species or a class of molecules would etch the object of their fascination in their skin, so as to always carry it close.

So watch out: This is the kind of book that might give readers some wild ideas. It?s also the kind of subject that makes other science writers wish they had thought of it first.

Sterling, 2011, 271 p., $24.95

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/336640/title/Book_Review__BOOK_REVIEW_Science_Ink_Tattoos_of_the_Science_Obsessed_by_Carl_Zimmer

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Romney's Rough Week (ABC News)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/169227237?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Beachcomber scores find from '91 'Perfect Storm'

Gary Higgins / Patriot Ledger via AP

Richard Figueiredo poses with a lobster trap in Pembroke, Mass.

By msnbc.com staff

The 1991 "Perfect Storm," the deadly event off Massachusetts?that led to a best-selling book and Hollywood movie, is still generating news.?A?man who?lost?lobster traps in the storm?was contacted?by a?beachcomber in Ireland who'd found a tag with?his last?name on it.

A quick search on Facebook led to a connection last week?and then a phone call Thursday brought the two sides even closer together, The PatriotLedger.com reported?Friday.

"You can see it's been around," said Richard Figueiredo of?the trap tag after seeing a photo sent?by beachcomber?Rosemary Hill of Waterville, Kerry County.

"A very well-traveled tag indeed" is how Curt Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer known for studying flotsam, described the find. He estimated it could have drifted 50,000 miles in currents before ending up on the Irish beach.

The tag likely drifted into the Gulf Stream, Ebbesmeyer said,?where it would then float?into the mid-Atlantic and probably get?stuck in a huge gyre that traps flotsam for multiple three-year loops before letting go. The pot itself might have been stuck in the ocean floor for many years before the tag came free and started drifting, he said.

Figueiredo said that Hill offered to mail the tag back, but he wants her to keep it.

"The meaning it has over there is what matters,"?he said. "I am honored that she has put so much enthusiasm into this. What's happening now is a gift to me."

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/02/9173204-beachcomber-scores-find-from-1991-perfect-storm

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Icon of US military now in Iraqi hands

In this Oct. 15, 2011 file photo, a U.S. Army soldier walks past a sign outside a base exchange after its closure at Camp Victory that is set to close in Baghdad, Iraq. Victory Base Complex, as it's formally called by the military, started life as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. Little reminders of the base's former life such as a sign reminding patrons where to park or when the casino would be open are still located on the base. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

In this Oct. 15, 2011 file photo, a U.S. Army soldier walks past a sign outside a base exchange after its closure at Camp Victory that is set to close in Baghdad, Iraq. Victory Base Complex, as it's formally called by the military, started life as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. Little reminders of the base's former life such as a sign reminding patrons where to park or when the casino would be open are still located on the base. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, File)

U.S. soldiers leaving Al Faw palace at Camp Victory, one of the last American bases in this country where the U.S. military footprint is swiftly shrinking, after a special ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. Vice President Joe Biden thanked U.S. and Iraqi troops for sacrifices that he said allowed for the end of the nearly nine-year-long war, even as attacks around the country killed 20 people, underscoring the security challenges Iraq still faces. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Iraqi flags wave as U.S. soldiers leave Al Faw palace at Camp Victory, one of the last American bases in this country where the U.S. military footprint is swiftly shrinking, after a special ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. Vice President Joe Biden thanked U.S. and Iraqi troops for sacrifices that he said allowed for the end of the nearly nine-year-long war, even as attacks around the country killed 20 people, underscoring the security challenges Iraq still faces. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed, Pool)

In this Nov. 7, 2011 photo, a U.S. army soldiers walks past military armored vehicles are ready to be shipped out of Iraq at Camp Victory Baghdad, Iraq. Victory Base Complex, as it's formally called by the military, started life as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. Little reminders of the base's former life such as a sign reminding patrons where to park or when the casino would be open are still located on the base. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

In this April 26, 2011 photo, U.S. Army soldiers walk through Al Faw palace in Camp Victory Baghdad, Iraq. Victory Base Complex, as it's formally called by the military, started life as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. Little reminders of the base's former life such as a sign reminding patrons where to park or when the casino would be open are still located on the base. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq (AP) ? Inside palace walls built by Saddam Hussein, U.S. generals plotted the war's course, tracked the mounting death toll and swore in new American citizens under gaudy glass chandeliers.

Just outside the palace, American troops whacked golf balls into man-made lakes or fished for carp while others sat down with a cigar and a can of nonalcoholic beer hoping for a respite from incoming rockets or mortar shells.

Along another lake some distance away, a jailed Saddam tended to tomatoes and cucumbers in a small, walled-off enclosure with guards patrolling overhead.

Ever since the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division fought their way into the Baghdad airport grounds nearly nine years ago, the sprawling area they renamed Camp Victory has held a special place in the American military experience in Iraq.

From here, the highest-ranking generals sitting behind banks of telephones and video screens communicated with commanders in the field and political leaders in Washington and dictated strategy that unfolded on the streets of Fallujah, Mosul and Najaf.

It was an intersection in the war where U.S. troops, hot and dusty after traveling across Iraq's deadly roads and highways, could relax with a latte or bootlegged movie before heading back out again.

On Friday, the base that at its height was home to 46,000 people was handed over to the Iraqi government as part of American efforts to move all U.S. troops out of the country by the end of the year.

"The base is no longer under U.S. control and is under the full authority of the government of Iraq," said U.S. military spokesman Col. Barry Johnson.

The area, which the military formally calls Victory Base Complex, was originally used as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. A visitor can still find small relics of that era, such as signs advising patrons where to park or the hours in which the casino was open.

Saddam built the palace complex near the airport out of embarrassment. During the 1978 Arab League summit he was forced to house incoming dignitaries in private homes in Baghdad because he had no proper accommodations, according to Robert O. Kirkland, a former U.S. military historian who interviewed former Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz and other Iraqis who were once in American custody.

To rectify the problem, Saddam went on a palace-building spree, eventually building nine buildings of varying size and impressiveness. He gave some of them names that reflected his often convoluted view of the world: Victory over America, Victory over Iran and Victory over Kuwait.

In the run-up to the war, U.S. military planners were confused by a cone-shaped structure they could see from satellite imagery, said Col. Les Melnyk, another former U.S. military historian in Iraq. They labeled it a possible prayer site. It turned out to be a pigeon coop.

Maj. William Sumner was a captain when his unit arrived at Camp Victory in mid-April 2003. He remembers how Iraqi looters managed to get into the complex and make off with geese, pelicans and other animals from a small zoo Saddam had built.

"I think that's when the cougar got out of the enclosure," he said. For weeks afterward, a large feline that Sumner said could have also been a bobcat was spotted wandering around the base.

In the early days after the invasion, soldiers swam in the man-made lakes or toured the islands with paddle boats.

But quickly the atmosphere became more like bases back in the U.S. That meant rules and regulations ? and military police to enforce them. Sumner said during his unit's second week at Victory he was pulled over for speeding.

"After we moved onto our other place, we just tried to refuse to go back there whenever possible," he said.

Victory Base Complex was essentially a city, often hit by rockets or mortar shells. One time the violence came from within. In May 2009, a U.S. soldier shot and killed five fellow troops at a combat stress clinic.

The facility was so big it was divided into sections with different names. Troops could travel from Camp Stryker to Camp Liberty without leaving the base. A public bus system with posted routes transported people to the dining facilities, the gym or a dirt speedway where troops and contractors would race remote-controlled cars.

By the numbers supplied by the U.S. military, it was a substantial operation:

? The incinerators destroyed an average of 178,000 pounds of waste a day.

? A water purification plant produced 1.85 million gallons of water a day.

? A bottled water plant filled 500,000 one-liter bottles a day.

? Three separate plants produced 60 megawatts of power a day.

If soldiers grew tired of food at the massive chow halls, they could grab takeout at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Cinnabon, Burger King or Subway.

At various stores they could buy anything from illegal DVDs to a Harley Davidson motorcycle delivered straight to their door back in the U.S. when they returned from the war. In the early days of the war, troops could even buy Saddam Hussein's personal silverware and place settings.

Troops and contractors visiting from other bases took tours of the palaces.

One particularly entertaining pastime was feeding the carp in the lake surrounding Al Faw palace, where the top generals and U.S. military officials were based. The aggressive fish would jump out of the water for cereal, Girl Scout cookies and Pop Tarts.

Off-limits to most troops: the jail used to house Saddam and some of his cohorts. In a dilapidated, bomb-damaged building encircled by concertina wire, American troops interrogated and guarded the former dictator before he was handed over to the Iraqis and executed in 2006.

The Iraqi government has not yet announced plans for the complex, prime real estate in a country sorely lacking in parks and public spaces. The Iraqi military is already using some parts, and there is talk of turning Saddam's jail cell into a museum.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-02-ML-Iraq-End-of-Victory/id-ea6c5e7d4cbb492b8cc33a943b498b9f

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Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich review

The next version of each smartphone's operating system is always the best. We impatiently wait for the latest and greatest firmware to come around, expecting it to liberate us from the shackles of last year's code and features that haven't shown up yet. This happens incessantly with Google's Android OS, and version 4.0 -- unveiled at this year's I/O conference in May -- is no different. Known as Ice Cream Sandwich (referred to henceforth as ICS), the last word in the title indicates the merging of Gingerbread, the most recent phone platform, and Honeycomb, the version optimized for use on tablets. We knew this much, but were otherwise left with conjecture as to how the company planned to accomplish such a feat -- and what else the new iteration had in store.

Which devices will get Ice Cream Sandwich?

Hands-on screenshot gallery

Galaxy Nexus and ICS roundup

But now the time of reckoning is upon us, and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus -- Android 4.0's mother ship -- is slowly spreading across the globe, its users being treated to this year's smartphone dessert. ICS is one of the largest and most important upgrades we've witnessed from Android since its humble beginnings, making a huge change in user experience as well as a massive number of bullet points on the list of features. Now that we've had the opportunity to take it for a spin, where does it stand in the ranks of mobile operating systems? Follow us beneath as we dig into the layers of this sweet sandwich.

Continue reading Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich review

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/01/android-4-0-ice-cream-sandwich-review/

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Camp Victory, Icon Of U.S. Military, Now In Iraqi Hands (VIDEO)

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq -- Inside palace walls built by Saddam Hussein, U.S. generals plotted the war's course, tracked the mounting death toll and swore in new American citizens under gaudy glass chandeliers.

Just outside the palace, American troops whacked golf balls into man-made lakes or fished for carp while others sat down with a cigar and a can of nonalcoholic beer hoping for a respite from incoming rockets or mortar shells.

Along another lake some distance away, a jailed Saddam tended to tomatoes and cucumbers in a small, walled-off enclosure with guards patrolling overhead.

Ever since the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division fought their way into the Baghdad airport grounds nearly nine years ago, the sprawling area they renamed Camp Victory has held a special place in the American military experience in Iraq.

From here, the highest-ranking generals sitting behind banks of telephones and video screens communicated with commanders in the field and political leaders in Washington and dictated strategy that unfolded on the streets of Fallujah, Mosul and Najaf.

It was an intersection in the war where U.S. troops, hot and dusty after traveling across Iraq's deadly roads and highways, could relax with a latte or bootlegged movie before heading back out again.

On Friday, the base that at its height was home to 46,000 people was handed over to the Iraqi government as part of American efforts to move all U.S. troops out of the country by the end of the year.

"The base is no longer under U.S. control and is under the full authority of the government of Iraq," said U.S. military spokesman Col. Barry Johnson.

The area, which the military formally calls Victory Base Complex, was originally used as a country club for the Baghdad elite under Saddam. A visitor can still find small relics of that era, such as signs advising patrons where to park or the hours in which the casino was open.

Saddam built the palace complex near the airport out of embarrassment. During the 1978 Arab League summit he was forced to house incoming dignitaries in private homes in Baghdad because he had no proper accommodations, according to Robert O. Kirkland, a former U.S. military historian who interviewed former Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz and other Iraqis who were once in American custody.

To rectify the problem, Saddam went on a palace-building spree, eventually building nine buildings of varying size and impressiveness. He gave some of them names that reflected his often convoluted view of the world: Victory over America, Victory over Iran and Victory over Kuwait.

In the run-up to the war, U.S. military planners were confused by a cone-shaped structure they could see from satellite imagery, said Col. Les Melnyk, another former U.S. military historian in Iraq. They labeled it a possible prayer site. It turned out to be a pigeon coop.

Maj. William Sumner was a captain when his unit arrived at Camp Victory in mid-April 2003. He remembers how Iraqi looters managed to get into the complex and make off with geese, pelicans and other animals from a small zoo Saddam had built.

"I think that's when the cougar got out of the enclosure," he said. For weeks afterward, a large feline that Sumner said could have also been a bobcat was spotted wandering around the base.

In the early days after the invasion, soldiers swam in the man-made lakes or toured the islands with paddle boats.

But quickly the atmosphere became more like bases back in the U.S. That meant rules and regulations ? and military police to enforce them. Sumner said during his unit's second week at Victory he was pulled over for speeding.

"After we moved onto our other place, we just tried to refuse to go back there whenever possible," he said.

Victory Base Complex was essentially a city, often hit by rockets or mortar shells. One time the violence came from within. In May 2009, a U.S. soldier shot and killed five fellow troops at a combat stress clinic.

The facility was so big it was divided into sections with different names. Troops could travel from Camp Stryker to Camp Liberty without leaving the base. A public bus system with posted routes transported people to the dining facilities, the gym or a dirt speedway where troops and contractors would race remote-controlled cars.

By the numbers supplied by the U.S. military, it was a substantial operation:

_ The incinerators destroyed an average of 178,000 pounds of waste a day.

_ A water purification plant produced 1.85 million gallons of water a day.

_ A bottled water plant filled 500,000 one-liter bottles a day.

_ Three separate plants produced 60 megawatts of power a day.

If soldiers grew tired of food at the massive chow halls, they could grab takeout at Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Cinnabon, Burger King or Subway.

At various stores they could buy anything from illegal DVDs to a Harley Davidson motorcycle delivered straight to their door back in the U.S. when they returned from the war. In the early days of the war, troops could even buy Saddam Hussein's personal silverware and place settings.

Troops and contractors visiting from other bases took tours of the palaces.

One particularly entertaining pastime was feeding the carp in the lake surrounding Al Faw palace, where the top generals and U.S. military officials were based. The aggressive fish would jump out of the water for cereal, Girl Scout cookies and Pop Tarts.

Off-limits to most troops: the jail used to house Saddam and some of his cohorts. In a dilapidated, bomb-damaged building encircled by concertina wire, American troops interrogated and guarded the former dictator before he was handed over to the Iraqis and executed in 2006.

The Iraqi government has not yet announced plans for the complex, prime real estate in a country sorely lacking in parks and public spaces. The Iraqi military is already using some parts, and there is talk of turning Saddam's jail cell into a museum.

'; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/02/camp-victory-transfer-of-power_n_1124957.html

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Obama hosting EU leaders in White House summit (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama is hosting European Union leaders for a summit Monday that is likely to focus on the European debt crisis.

Obama will meet at the White House with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

The Obama administration is watching warily as European countries struggle to bolster confidence in the euro currency. The crisis has seen smaller eurozone nations Greece, Portugal and Ireland bailed out and is now threatening much bigger economies, such as Italy and Spain.

The Obama administration has expressed concerns that the crisis could damage the U.S. economy.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111128/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_us_eu_summit

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Canon EOS 1000D washes ashore in BC, Canada, SD card reveals it was lost at sea for over a year (update)

What you're looking at was once a fully functional Canon EOS 1000D, now merely a relic of the sea (the Pacific Ocean, to be exact), which was recently posted on Google+. User Marcus Thompson, found the DSLR washed up near a wharf while on a diving job in Deep Bay British Columbia, Canada and decided to take it home to find out what could be salvaged. After removing and cleaning the SanDisk Extreme III SD card inside of it, he was successfully able to recover about 50 photos with EXIF data from August 2010, showcasing what's described to be a firefighter and his family on vacation. While he hasn't located the owner of the shooter turned coffee table decoration just yet, Marcus is currently asking the "Google+ hive mind" to help get the two reunited. If you're from BC area and want to help out -- or just curious to see this DSLR from more angles -- you'll find some pictures from the SD card and more information about the camera at the source link below.

Update (5:00PM): The original Google+ post was updated within the last hour, noting that the owner of the camera has indeed been identified!

Canon EOS 1000D washes ashore in BC, Canada, SD card reveals it was lost at sea for over a year (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Nov 2011 15:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  Marcus Thompson (Google+)  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/27/canon-eos-1000d-washes-ashore-sd-card-reveals-it-was-lost-at-se/

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How drought-tolerant grasses came to be

Thursday, November 24, 2011

If you eat bread stuffing or grain-fed turkey this Thanksgiving, give thanks to the grasses ? a family of plants that includes wheat, oats, corn and rice. Some grasses, such as corn and sugar cane, have evolved a unique way of harvesting energy from the sun that's more efficient in hot, arid conditions. A new grass family tree reveals how this mode of photosynthesis came to be.

The results may one day help scientists develop more drought-tolerant grains, say scientists working at the U. S. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center.

From the grasslands of North America, to the pampas of South America, to the steppes of Eurasia and the savannas of the tropics, the grass family contains more than 10,000 species, including the world's three most important crops: wheat, rice and corn. We rely on grasses for sugar, liquor, bread, and livestock fodder.

Like all plants, grasses harvest energy from sunlight by means of photosynthesis. But grasses use two strategies that differ in how they take up carbon dioxide from the air and convert it into the starches and sugars vital to plant growth. The majority of grasses use a mode of photosynthesis called the C3 pathway, but many species ? especially those in hot, tropical climates ? use an alternate mode of photosynthesis known as C4. In hot, arid environments, C4 grasses such as maize, sugar cane, sorghum and millet have a leg up over C3 plants because they use water more efficiently.

An international team of researchers wanted to figure out how many times, and when, the C4 strategy came to be. To find out, they used DNA sequence data from three chloroplast genes to reconstruct the grass family tree. The resulting phylogeny represents 531 species, including 93 species for which DNA sequence data was previously unavailable.

"By working collaboratively across many labs, from the US to Argentina to Ireland to Switzerland ? with some people providing new plant material, and others doing the DNA sequencing ? we were able to get a lot done in a very short amount of time," said co-author Erika Edwards of Brown University.

The results suggest that the C4 pathway has evolved in the grasses more than 20 separate times within the last 30 or so million years, Edwards said.

What's most surprising, she added, is that C4 evolution seems to be a one-way street ? i.e., once the pathway evolves, there's no turning back. "We can't say whether it is evolutionarily 'impossible', or whether there simply hasn't been a good reason to do it, but it seems increasingly unlikely that any C4 grasses have ever reverted to the C3 condition," Edwards said.

"The new tree will be extremely useful for anyone who works on grasses," she added.

For example, scientists are currently trying to engineer the C4 photosynthetic pathway into C3 crops like rice to produce more stress-tolerant plants. By helping researchers identify pairs of closely related C3 and C4 species, the evolutionary relationships revealed in this study could help pinpoint the genetic changes necessary to do that.

"The next challenge is getting these species into cultivation and studying them closely, and ideally, sequencing their genomes," Edwards said.

The results will be published this week in the journal New Phytologist.

###

Grass Phylogeny Working Group II (2011). "New grass phylogeny resolves deep evolutionary relationships and discovers C4 origins."New Phytologist. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.03972.x

National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent): http://www.nescent.org

Thanks to National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/115455/How_drought_tolerant_grasses_came_to_be

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Santos: 4 slain were longest-held rebel captives

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) ? Colombia's president says the four security force members found slain during a military operation were the longest-held captives of the country's main rebel group.

President Juan Manuel Santos says all four were killed execution-style, three with shots to the head and one with two shots to the back.

Santos said the three police officers and a soldier whose bodies were found Saturday morning after combat in the southern state of Caqueta had been held between 12 and 13 years.

He called the killings "a crime against humanity."

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) ? Four security force members held by Colombia's main rebel group were found slain Saturday, the defense minister said.

All four were killed execution-style, three with shots to the head and one with a shot to the back, Juan Carlos Pinzon told reporters in a brief appearance.

He said the bodies were found following combat in the country's south between troops and rebels.

He did not name the four or take questions, but blamed the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

"They were cruelly murdered with coups de grace," Pinzon said. He said that chains were found with the bodies.

The FARC is known to hold about 20 security force members, some for more than 13 years, and typically binds them with chains.

It would not be the first time the FARC has slain captives when under military pressure.

In June 2007, FARC fighters killed 11 regional lawmakers they had been holding for five years, apparently under the mistaken belief they were under attack by government forces.

In 2003, FARC fighters killed 10 captives, including a former defense minister and governor, during an attempted rescue when they heard approaching military helicopters.

Latin America's last remaining rebel army, the FARC took up arms in 1964 and has suffered a series of recent setbacks including the combat death earlier this month of its leader, Alfonso Cano.

It is believed to comprise about 9,000 fighters.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-26-LT-Colombia-Rebels/id-c2f1c32f70004e87b58291144a4afee6

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Dream Come True: Ice Cream Sandwich Comes To The HTC G1, Unofficially

HTC's G1, the first Android phone, had a long and interesting life until it was retired last year, and although I loved the phone, I'll be the first to admit that being limited to Android 1.6 was kind of a disappointment. Naturally modders had their way with it, but development slowed down long ago in favor of newer and more popular phones. But today, in a feat of nostalgia and hacking skills, XDA-Dev poster Jcarrz1 has made a working AOSP port of the latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, for the venerable G1. It may not extend the life of many phones out there (most have been long since abandoned, though not mine), but definitely demonstrates the flexibility of the platform.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/3NOah5YEo10/

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Va. appeals court overturns SC murder conviction (AP)

RICHMOND, Va. ? A federal appeals court on Tuesday tossed out the conviction of a South Carolina man who has spent most of the last 29 years on death row, ruling his trial attorneys failed to challenge forensic evidence that could have exonerated him in the slaying of a 75-year-old widow.

In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond said defense attorneys' "blind acceptance of the state's forensic evidence" violated Edward Lee Elmore's constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel.

"Needless to say, we are very gratified that the court of appeals has reached what we think is the right result," said Elmore's appellate attorney, J. Christopher Jensen. "We've been saying for years that Mr. Elmore did not have a fair trial, and the court agreed."

The South Carolina attorney general's office was reviewing the ruling and weighing its options, spokesman Bryan Stirling said. The attorney general could ask the full appeals court to reconsider the case or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Elmore, described by the appeals court as a mentally retarded handyman, was convicted in 1982 of the murder of Dorothy Edwards of Greenwood.

Edwards, who had sporadically employed Elmore, was stabbed 52 times and found inside a bedroom closet at her home. She also had 11 broken ribs, head wounds and internal injuries.

Over the years, Elmore has had several appeals challenging his conviction and sentence. The U.S. Supreme Court set aside his death sentence in 1986, but he was convicted and resentenced to death in two subsequent trials. In 2010, a judge ruled Elmore mentally unfit to be executed and another judge sentenced him to life in prison without possibility of parole.

Judge Robert King wrote in the appeals court's majority opinion that after reviewing the record of Elmore's three trials and many appeals, "we recognize that there are grave questions about whether it really was Elmore who murdered Mrs. Edwards."

A major issue in Elmore's latest appeal was a blond hair found on Edwards that did not match her or Elmore. That hair and others removed from the victim's body during the autopsy were falsely reported by police as being "blue fibers" and were concealed for nearly 17 years, the court said.

In 2001, a judge denied Elmore's lawyers' request to exhume the body of another man they said could have killed Edwards. Attorneys wanted to see if DNA from that man's body matched the blond hair.

The appeals court also said investigators failed to follow standard procedures in collecting an unusually large number of Elmore's hairs from the victim's bed. They did not take photos, collect bedcovers or sheets for further forensic analysis or package the hairs like other evidence taken from the crime scene.

Defense attorneys also failed to capitalize on an expert's finding that Edwards likely died at a time when Elmore could prove he was elsewhere, the court said.

In a scathing dissent, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III said the majority failed to give the lower court rulings the deference they are due under federal law and Supreme Court precedent.

"And in the course of its decision, the majority unjustly impugns the criminal justice system of South Carolina, slanders a deceased man who simply had the misfortune of discovering his neighbor's mutilated body, and grants habeas relief to a prisoner whom overwhelming evidence suggests brutally raped and murdered an elderly woman in her home," Wilkinson wrote.

The record in Elmore's case was so voluminous and complicated that it took the appeals court 14 months after hearing oral arguments to decide the case.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_re_us/us_sc_murder_appeal

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Supercommittee failure complicates election year (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The failure of Congress' deficit-reduction supercommittee adds a new dimension to the 2012 political contests, drawing political battle lines around broad tax increases and massive spending cuts that now are scheduled to begin automatically in 2013.

President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger will be forced to debate alternatives for reducing deficits, made all the more urgent by the looming consequences of congressional inaction. The dividing lines already are sharply drawn, with Obama supporting deficit reduction that includes a mix of spending cuts and tax increases on the wealthy, while Republicans have declared themselves averse to tax hikes.

An election that has been shaping up as a referendum on Obama's stewardship of the economy now will require the candidates to offer competing forward-looking deficit-reduction plans to avoid cuts and tax hikes that neither side wants to see materialize.

For Obama, that is a more favorable place to be, drawing contrasts with his opponent and arguing for higher taxes on the rich rather than defending his oversight of an economy that could still be suffering from high unemployment and slow growth next November.

Beginning in 2013, the federal government faces two oncoming trains. When the supercommittee was unable to find agreement by Wednesday, it triggered spending cuts of $1.2 trillion starting in January 2013 and extending over 10 years. Half of the cuts would come from defense spending, the other from education, agriculture and environmental programs, and, to a lesser extent, Medicare.

At the same time, tax cuts adopted during the presidency of George W. Bush will expire at the end of 2012, meaning an increase for every taxpayer.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said the cuts would "tear a seam in the nation's defense."

Meanwhile, the tax increases would hit a still-fragile economy, endangering a recovery and raising prospects of another recession.

But while neither side wants those outcomes, Washington's recent history of tackling fiscal problems shows Congress does not act unless faced with a dire deadline. It extended Bush-era tax cuts in 2010 just days before they expired, it avoided a government shutdown by hours and it put off a debt crisis this summer in the face of a government default.

"The next big event, barring some movement from Congress, may just well be the 2012 election," said Kevin Madden, a former senior House leadership aide and an outside adviser to Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. "Then we look to either a new president and a new Congress, or the same president and the same Congress to restart it all."

Election years do not lend themselves to big legislative initiatives. Lawmakers are too busy seeking re-election to take potentially controversial stances that could cost them votes. Moreover, congressional leaders may well want to see how the elections affect Washington's balance of power before undertaking changes that require compromises.

An angry public could demand swift action. But even if Congress were to attempt to find common ground next year, the legislative maneuvering would unfold in the midst of the presidential contest, and White House aides acknowledge that it can't avoid becoming a part of the political debate.

They repeatedly point out that each of the eight Republican candidates have refused to endorse any deficit-reduction plan that contains any tax increases and that they reiterated that position en masse during a recent presidential debate.

"The very men and woman who would occupy the Oval Office stood up on a stage and all raised their hand and said they would not accept a deal that had as its foundation $10 in spending cuts for every $1 in revenue," White House spokesman Jay Carney said this week.

While Republicans have criticized Obama for not engaging directly in the supercommittee negotiations, his hands-off approach was calculated, coming in the aftermath of his own failed attempts to strike a deficit deal with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. In a gridlocked Congress, Obama is more likely to lose if he gets deeply involved.

The detachment allows him to set a clear dividing line for voters, one in which he can cast Republicans as protecting the rich. It's a stance that for now has political appeal. A number of recent public opinion polls show that up to two-thirds of Americans support raising taxes on individuals earning more than $1 million, and about half favor raising taxes on families earning at least $250,000 a year.

Even if some Republicans were disposed to negotiate a new deficit-reduction plan, Obama's sharpening of the lines between the parties could drive them away.

"If the president has decided that he is now in full campaign mode, that's going to make things very difficult in terms of finding common ground," said David Winston, a GOP strategist who advises House Republican leaders.

Eager to maintain pressure on Congress, Obama this week issued a veto threat against any efforts to change the automatic spending cuts triggered by the supercommittee's inaction.

Aides said Obama did not prefer those cuts, but he made it clear that the threat of such cuts was essential to get Congress to act.

"There will be no easy off-ramps on this one," Obama said Monday. "We need to keep the pressure up to compromise, not turn off the pressure. The only way these spending cuts will not take place is if Congress gets back to work and agrees on a balanced plan to reduce the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion."

Republicans pounced on the veto threat, portraying Obama as indifferent to deep Pentagon reductions.

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, said he found the veto threat "reprehensible." He added: "If Leon Panetta is an honorable man, he should resign in protest."

But Democrats, and Obama in particular, don't feel as vulnerable on defense as the party once was. Aides point to foreign policy advances, the killing of Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders, and the drawdown of forces from Iraq and Afghanistan as evidence that Obama has credibility on military issues.

But Carney this week also said that if critics worry about maintaining defense spending levels, "There is an easy way out here, which is be willing to ask the wealthiest Americans to pay a little bit more in order to achieve this comprehensive and balanced deficit-reduction plan."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111124/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obama_supercommittee

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Sprint releases Unlimited iPhone 4S commercial

Sprint has released an advert for the iPhone 4S titled ?Unlimited iPhone?. The ad is all about the Sprint unlimited data plan that comes with an iPhone 4S on its network.

With over half a million apps, there’s no limit to what the iPhone can do. So why would

...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/eZOzrJZUCXA/story01.htm

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AD: Buckeyes won't turn down bowl (AP)

COLUMBUS, Ohio ? If the NCAA allows Ohio State to go to a bowl game, the Buckeyes will pack their bags.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said Tuesday that Ohio State would not penalize itself by keeping the football team from making a postseason trip as a way of mitigating potential NCAA sanctions.

In an exchange of text messages with The Associated Press, Smith said, "Cannot speculate on what they (the NCAA) may do. No, we do not intend to self impose a post season sanction."

There has been speculation that the NCAA might hand Ohio State a bowl ban in addition to its other penalties. College sports' ruling body is still deciding Ohio State's sanctions for several instances of players accepting improper benefits and coach Jim Tressel not revealing knowledge of violations and playing ineligible players. Tressel was forced out on May 30.

Ohio State has offered to vacate its 12-1 record in 2010, return $389,000 from its share of Big Ten bowl receipts last season, go on two years of NCAA probation and surrender five football scholarships over the next three years.

Schools often ban themselves from bowl games as a way of softening the NCAA's eventual sanctions.

In a second letter of allegations sent to Ohio State this fall, the NCAA charged that the school had shown a "failure to monitor" its football program. That was the first time the NCAA had accused Ohio State of a systemic, organizational problem; all previous violations had revolved around individuals breaking NCAA rules.

Ohio State has been under a microscope for almost a year, after it was revealed last December that several Buckeyes football players had accepted cash and free or discounted tattoos from the subject of a federal drug-trafficking investigation. That led to players being suspended at the start of the 2011 season.

When Ohio State subsequently learned that Tressel knew of his players' involvement with the owner of a local tattoo parlor, it suspended him for two games. After that suspension was increased to five games, a steady onslaught of accusations and rumors led to Tressel being pressured to resign.

Star quarterback Terrelle Pryor, one of the players initially suspended for five games for receiving benefits in violation of NCAA bylaws, decided this summer to leave the school for the NFL. He now plays for the Oakland Raiders.

Also this fall, three players were suspended for two games for accepting envelopes containing $200 at a charity event last spring. Four games into the season, more players were suspended ? or had existing suspensions extended ? for getting too much money for too little work at summer jobs.

Ohio State banned the booster who was behind those incidents from contact with athletes.

The Buckeyes (6-5, 3-4 Big Ten) under interim coach Luke Fickell are bowl-eligible going into Saturday's annual rivalry game with No. 17 Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.

It is still too early to speculate what bowl game they might go to, but the Big Ten has ties to the Rose (Pasadena, Calif.), Capital One (Orlando, Fla.), Outback (Tampa, Fla.), Insight (Tempe, Ariz.), Taxslayer.com Gator (Jacksonville, Fla.), Meineke Car Care (Houston), Ticketcity (Dallas) and Little Caesars (Detroit) bowls.

___

Follow Rusty Miller on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rustymillerap.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_ohio_st_bowl_bid

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Gates testifies in $1B lawsuit against Microsoft

Microsoft founder Bill Gates arrives at the Frank E. Moss federal courthouse in Salt Lake City, Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. Gates was scheduled to testify in a one billion dollar antitrust lawsuit brought by Novell Inc. Gates, wearing a gray suit and a yellow tie, was the first witness to testify as Microsoft lawyers presented their case in the trial that's been ongoing in federal court in Salt Lake City for about a month.(AP Photo/Jim Urquhart)

Microsoft founder Bill Gates arrives at the Frank E. Moss federal courthouse in Salt Lake City, Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. Gates was scheduled to testify in a one billion dollar antitrust lawsuit brought by Novell Inc. Gates, wearing a gray suit and a yellow tie, was the first witness to testify as Microsoft lawyers presented their case in the trial that's been ongoing in federal court in Salt Lake City for about a month.(AP Photo/Jim Urquhart)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ? Microsoft's Windows 95 rollout presented the most challenges in the company's history, leading to several last-minute changes to technical features that would no longer support a rival software maker's word processor, Bill Gates testified Monday in a $1 billion antitrust lawsuit filed by the creator of WordPerfect.

"We worked super hard," the Microsoft co-founder said. "It was the most challenging, trying project we had ever done."

Gates was the first witness to testify Monday as Microsoft lawyers presented their case in the trial that's been ongoing in federal court in Salt Lake City for about a month. He is set to resume testimony Tuesday morning.

Utah-based Novell Inc. sued Microsoft in 2004, claiming the Redmond, Washington, company violated U.S. antitrust laws through its arrangements with other software makers when it launched Windows 95. Novell says it was later forced to sell WordPerfect for a $1.2 billion loss. Novell is now a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group, the result of a merger that was completed earlier this year.

Gates said Novell just couldn't deliver a Windows 95 compatible WordPerfect program in time for its rollout, and its own Word program was actually better. He said that by 1994, Microsoft's Word writing program was ranked No. 1 in the market above WordPerfect.

Gates called it an "important win."

He testified later that Microsoft had to dump a technical feature that would have supported WordPerfect because he feared it would crash the operating system.

"We were making trade-offs," he said.

Novell argues that Gates ordered Microsoft engineers to reject WordPerfect as a Windows 95 word processing application because he feared it was too good.

WordPerfect once had nearly 50 percent of the market for computer writing programs, but its share quickly plummeted to less than 10 percent as Microsoft's own office programs took hold.

Microsoft lawyers say Novell's loss of market share was its own doing because the company didn't develop a Windows compatible WordPerfect program until months after the operating system's rollout.

Novell attorney Jeff Johnson has conceded that Microsoft was under no legal obligation to provide advance access to Windows 95 so Novell could prepare a compatible version. Microsoft, however, enticed Novell to work on a version, only to withdraw support months before Windows 95 hit the market, he said.

Microsoft lawyer David Tulchin said Gates decided against installing WordPerfect because it couldn't be made compatible in time for the rollout. He argued that Novell's missed opportunity was its own fault, and that Microsoft had no obligation to give a competitor a leg up.

"Novell never complained to Microsoft," Tulchin said during arguments Friday. "There's nothing in the evidence, no documents."

Johnson maintains Novell was tricked in violation of federal antitrust laws so Microsoft could monopolize the market.

"We got stabbed in the back," he said.

Microsoft's arguments for a dismissal of the case resumed Monday afternoon.

Throughout arguments Friday, U.S. District Judge Frederick Motz openly expressed doubts that Novell's claims had merit.

"I don't see why I have to give a product to a competitor so he can beat me," Motz told Novell attorneys.

Gates, a billionaire, began by testifying about Microsoft's history. He was just 19 when he helped found the company. Today, Microsoft is one of the world's largest software makers, with a market value of more than $210 billion.

"We thought everybody would have a personal computer on every desk and in every home," Gates said. "We wanted to be there and be the first."

___

AP writer Jennifer Dobner contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-11-21-Antitrust%20Lawsuit-Microsoft/id-1b530e85f45c4ab7b920cbbeab23545b

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Italy's Monti reviews finances before EU meetings (Reuters)

ROME (Reuters) ? Newly installed Prime Minister Mario Monti got straight to work at the weekend, reviewing Italy's parlous finances before a round of meetings in coming days with European leaders to discuss the growing euro zone debt crisis.

Monti easily won confidence votes in record time in both houses of parliament last week, just days after his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi lost his majority and quit -- the latest EU premier to fall victim to the Europe-wide economic emergency.

The new government of technocrats, supported by almost all Italy's main parties, will focus first on enacting austerity measures passed by Berlusconi that aim to balance the budget in 2013 and halt the rise in Italy's monumental debt pile.

But with the economy looking certain to slow, additional measures will be needed and Monti, who is also economy minister, spent his first hours in office reviewing the latest data.

Italian newspapers said on Sunday that new budget measures were likely to be unveiled within two weeks, with a property tax abolished by Berlusconi set to return, plus moves to tackle tax evasion and a cut in payroll taxes to lift employment.

As the broad outlines of his program emerge, Monti will travel to Brussels on Tuesday for talks with Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, and Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission.

On Thursday he will have lunch in Strasbourg with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Europe's two main powerbrokers showed growing exasperation with Berlusconi, believing he had failed to grasp the severity of the crisis, and there was obvious relief in Paris and Berlin over the arrival of Professor Monti, a former EU commissioner.

"Up until now Italy was part of the problem, now it is part of the solution," said Daniel Gros, the head of the Center for European Policy Studies in Brussels.

EUROBOND DIVISIONS

But Monti will find himself at odds with Merkel over ways out of Europe's financial crisis, which has roiled markets and raised fears for the future of the euro single currency.

While Germany has rejected calls for common euro zone debt issuance, Monti enthusiastically endorsed the measure before taking office, writing in the Financial Times in July that eurobonds "are the only answer to Europe's crisis."

He is only likely to make headway on this issue if he can show Europe that he has a firm grasp on Italy's finances and a clear vision of how to cut its debt, currently running at a perilous 120 percent of gross domestic product.

Although he secured huge support in last week's vote from a parliament spooked by a sudden jump in Italian borrowing costs, he could face a battle as he tries to win backing for greater austerity or implementing a pledge to liberalize the hidebound economy.

Berlusconi said on Sunday he expected Monti to stay in office until the end of the legislature in 2013. While he was ready to back a new property tax, Berlusconi warned that other measures, such as a mooted wealth tax, were not acceptable.

"The government is made up of highly competent technocrats. That does not mean they have carte blanche on everything. We will be very attentive on every single measure," he told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

"Monti cannot ignore us. (My party) is the biggest party in parliament and will be an irreplaceable point of reference for this government," he added.

(Editing by Tim Pearce)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111120/bs_nm/us_italy

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13 eunuchs killed in fire in India (AP)

NEW DELHI ? A fire tore through a makeshift tent at a gathering of thousands of eunuchs in the Indian capital on Sunday, killing 13 people and injuring at least 33 others, police said.

Emergency workers said the blaze was most likely caused by an electrical short and quickly spread through the tent, which was about 100 feet (30 meters) long.

The tragedy struck during a gathering of about 5,000 eunuchs for a prayer ceremony and feast held once every five years, said Shapo, an organizer of the event who uses only one name.

The Press Trust of India news agency reported that local residents raced to the area to pull the injured from the blaze before police and fire fighters arrived. Police official Sanjay Jain said the fire killed 13 people and injured 33 others.

India's estimated 700,000 eunuchs traditionally survive by begging, dancing at weddings, or blessing newborn babies, and frequently are subjected to discrimination.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111120/ap_on_re_as/as_india_eunuchs_killed

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Google Music vs Amazon MP3 vs iTunes: Which Online Music Store is the Best for You? [Music Stores]

Google opened its new music store to all comers in the US this week, touting its partnerships with music labels and indie musicians, and its broad reach thanks to the Android Market. The new store has millions of songs for sale, but whether it's a game changer, serious competition for iTunes and Amazon MP3, or the best online music store out there is another question entirely. Let's take a look at each service based on its features.

Each music store is a little different. This showdown is all about the music stores that these companies offer?not their respective players, applications, or services. We can't help but mention them in terms of usability and integration with the store and the user experience, but we're going to try and focus on the features of the stores and steer clear of the bugs or quirks of each player.

Google Music: The New Kid on the Block is Perfect for Android Faithful, Indie Music Lovers, and Free Music Fanatics

Google Music has been around for a while, but Wednesday's launch of the music store put Google in direct competition with Apple and Amazon (among others.). The new music store has been added to the Android Market so you can access it on the web or any Android device. The web player is still as sharp as ever, and combined with Google's Magnifier music blog gives you multiple points of entry to download great free music you've never heard, and shop for albums you've been waiting for.

Who Google Music Is For

• Bleeding edge music fans and indie music lovers. People with playlists populated with bands they'll be happy to tell you you've never heard of. Google's velvet-gloved approach to independent artists was on display at Wednesday's event.
• Android faithful. Android fans will get the most benefit from the music store. After all, it will be pre-installed on every Android device, and songs you buy or add for free from the music store won't count against your 20,000 song limit.
• Music fans on a budget. Budget-conscious music fans who already have large libraries will appreciate the ability to upload a ton of songs absolutely free, and the plethora of free music already available to add to your Google Music account.
• Google+ users. Fans of Google's burgeoning social network will adore the ability to share your purchases with your circles. The Google+ integration means that after buying an album, it'll make sense to share it so your friends can listen and let you know what they think. Even better, create a "Music Lovers" circle on Google+ where you all trade music suggestions and post your purchases.

Pros

Google Music's biggest perk is that aside from the songs themselves, it's free. Accounts and storage for 20,000 songs is free, as is additional storage for any free or purchased songs. The music store boasts a 13 million track catalog of songs from three of the four major labels and thousands of indie artists. Tracks come in DRM-free 320kbps mp3 files, and you don't need to download another app to get access to your purchases. They're automatically added to your Google Music account (you can download them there), and are available instantly in the web player and on your Android device.

Indie music lovers and independent musicians will love Google's new music store. After all, $25 for the Artist's Hub gives you access to 200 million Android devices, not to mention the Google Music users who use the web player on their desktops or iOS devices, and 45 million Google+ users. No other music store has embraced indie music the way Google has, and that's huge, not just for indie musicians and fans, but DJs, basement bands, and anyone else who wants to get their name and their music out there. Hear that? It's the last nail being driven into MySpace's coffin.

Google's music store is pretty compelling, especially for Android users (although the web player on iOS is slick too), prefer webapps to desktop players, or own a lot of music already they'd like to take with them.

Cons

One drawback to Google Music is that it's only available in the United States. It's unfortunate, but it's a reality of dealing with the music industry in different parts of the world. The agreement that works for labels in the US may not be the agreement that works for the labels in the UK, or in Australia. These things take time, and Google decided to play on its home turf first.

Speaking of labels, the gaping hole in the music store where Warner Music should be is unfortunate. One Google rep on-stage at the event casually mentioned that "other labels are welcome if they choose to join," clearly a statement designed to both point the finger at Warner for missing the bus and assure viewers that Warner should be along shortly. Here's hoping they are.

The only other minus we could find is pricing. Songs are competitively priced, but in more than a few cases they're not the best price. This makes sense, since Amazon and Apple have history and a bit more bargaining power, but we live in a time where the difference between a $0.99 track and a $1.29 track can mean a lost sale for the more expensive store.

Amazon MP3: The Pioneer of DRM-Free, Cheap Music Soldiers On Despite the Competition

Long before Google got into music, and before Apple was willing to remove DRM from purchased songs, Amazon MP3 came pre-installed on Android phones and allowed you to download DRM-free mp3s and copy them to any of your devices. Today, Amazon boasts a huge catalog, offers free cloud storage for your purchased music, and continuously beats the competition on price.

Who Amazon MP3 Is For

• Music fans who have to have the absolute lowest price. Amazon MP3's pricing is often the lowest across all of the major music stores, especially for popular artists and new releases. Amazon often doesn't bother highlighting popular artists the way other stores do: they assume you'll search for what you want. Instead, the front page of the MP3 store is populated with "Albums under $5," and "$0.69 songs." They want to be the value player, and it works?as long as you're not interested in cloud storage.
• Bargain hunters who live for daily deals and special events. A day without a discounted album on Amazon MP3 or a refreshed list of completely free music is a day without sunshine. Amazon may not go out of the way to highlight its free music the way Google does, but that doesn't mean it's not there.
• Amazon shopaholics and Prime members. Frequent customers are occasionally treated to $5 credits to Amazon MP3 purchases after a purchase, and those credits are pretty hard to pass up, especially considering how far your money goes at Amazon MP3.
• Kindle Fire Owners. The Kindle Fire, even though it's new, is probably one of the few devices that provides a real integrated experience for Amazon's various services. Sure, there's an Amazon MP3 app for Android, and it's an okay player, but the user experience leaves a little to be desired, and the store isn't well integrated.

Pros

Amazon MP3 is overall the most affordable music store available, a feat considering its 16 million track catalog. The store has music from all four major labels, and it is a great place to look if you're searching for specific songs, special releases, and EPs that the other stores don't have. Purchases come as 256kbps variable bitrate MP3s without DRM, and can be automatically added to your Amazon Cloud Drive. When you do add them, the space they take doesn't count against your overall storage limit.

It doesn't hurt that Amazon MP3 is already on many Android devices. Before the Google music store existed, it was the only good way you could browse, buy, and download music directly to your Android phone. It's still a great option, and Amazon hasn't sworn allegiance to any one mobile OS. Amazon's play as the music store with one of the biggest catalogs of popular music at super-low prices makes it an attractive option, or at least a place to stop and check prices before you buy from another store.

Cons

One of the biggest problems with the Amazon music store is the Amazon Downloader. It works in most situations, but when it doesn't, it sucks badly, and the fact that you have to download an app to download the songs that you just purchased at Amazon is a nuisance at best and a troubleshooting nightmare at worst. Of course, you can always just have your music dropped into your Amazon Cloud Drive, but let's be honest, given the pricing and storage limits, is anyone actually paying for Cloud Drive?

We also really have to ding Amazon a bit for the quality of its player. The web player is no real joy to use, and the fact that the app is only available for Android leaves iOS users somewhat out of the action, which sucks. It means that iPhone and iPad owners who want to buy from the Amazon MP3 store have to buy, download, and then add their music to iTunes if they want it on multiple devices: no Cloud Player for iOS users unless they use the special iPad-optimized webapp.

Finally, if you're an indie music fan or love independent artists and labels, your mileage may vary with Amazon MP3. There are indie artists and labels at Amazon, but the focus is clearly on more popular musicians and major labels. Also, Amazon's music store is only available in the US and the UK. If you like to share music with friends, Amazon's social features are limited to Twitter and Facebook buttons to tell your friends about your purchase, and if you like to preview before you buy, you can listen to a 30 second clip of the song - a far cry from iTunes' and Google's 90-second previews.

iTunes: The Biggest Digital Music Store Still Thrives on Its Ecosystem

Regardless of what you think about Apple or the iTunes software, there's no debating that the iTunes Music Store transformed the way we enjoy music. It heralded the end of widespread piracy and proved to the music labels that you don't have to treat music fans like criminals to convince them to buy music. With the launch of iTunes Match and iCloud, the iTunes Music Store just got much more attractive.

Who iTunes Is For

• New release hunters. iTunes is the juggernaut in the digital music space for a reason. It has agreements with all of the major labels, and new launches and special editions often appear on the iTunes first.
• Cloud haters and organization freaks. iCloud and iTunes Match exist, sure, but by default all of your music purchases are downloaded to your computer via iTunes, and are stored locally. If you like taking your music with you or don't care for web players or cloud services, iTunes still delivers that "click to buy and to download" experience that makes you feel like you're getting something tangible. Plus, your music comes from a single source, with tags, album art, and metadata intact, can be organized in a single app (even if it is iTunes) and if it's lost, you can?with strings attached?redownload it.
• iOS device owners. Let's face it, the reason there's no Amazon MP3 app for iOS is because Apple has no desire to allow a competing music store on its devices. If you want your Amazon MP3 purchases on your iOS device, you'll have to downlaod them and add them to iTunes. The same applies for Google Music - the store is built-in to the Android Market, so don't expect that on your iPhone anytime soon. The iTunes Music Store, on the other hand, is right there, full of music that you can buy and download immediately. Once you do, it's synced to iCloud.
• People who need fast, easy, and cheap. iTunes' dominance isn't only due to its closed ecosystem with the iPhone and iPod. It's also the fact that iTunes is dead simple to use and shop from. The iTunes' music store plus jukebox experience is still very popular with a lot of people. Attitudes may be changing however, and fewer people want to install iTunes just to shop for music, but right now it offers a seamless union between the music you already own and new music you can purchase.

Pros

iTunes is clearly the best option for people invested in the Apple ecosystem. The music selection is massive?larger than any of the other stores?with over 20 million tracks in the catalog from all four major labels and scores of independents. Even if you don't have an iOS device, it's a great music store with a broad depth of music at solid prices. The days where everything was $0.99 are over, but the vast majority of songs are still around that mark, with older songs and releases by independent musicians often less than that. iTunes also has a huge selection of comedy, spoken-word, latin music, and other genres with narrower appeal, along with "sub-stores" created by specific companies (like Starbucks) and playlists by celebrities to feature music they enjoy.

Tracks can be previewed for 90 seconds, and purchased songs come as 256kbps DRM-free AACs. From there it's automatically added to your music collection, albums get their own playlists, and the song is added to your "Recently added" or "Downloaded" playlists. Combined with an iOS device or iCloud, iTunes is still a great music store and holistic music experience. Without either of those however, it's a huge music store where you'll have no trouble finding something you like at a decent price.

Cons

For as big as its catalog is and as deep its library is, iTunes hasn't really changed or improved in any meaningful way in years. You don't necessarily want to fix what isn't broken, and we get that iCloud and iTunes Match will give iOS users a new way to back up and access their music on other devices (even though iTunes Match doesn't stream and has no web player) but to get the most from these services you have to be fully wrapped up in Apple's ecosystem. Even freeing your music from iTunes if you prefer to listen to it on your non iOS device or in another music player can be an irritating process. Possible, but an unnecessary pain.

For as great as its shopping experience is, iTunes loses points for its lackluster social experience, which consists entirely of Ping?Apple's half-assed social network that no one really uses (unless they're using it to post to Twitter.) Plus, even though Apple bought and killed LaLa back in 2009, we have yet to see a meaningful web component to iTunes. There's iTunes Preview, but frankly, it's awful. Where other music stores are integrating social networks to help you discover music and giving you more ways to enjoy the music you buy anywhere, iTunes is spinning its wheels. That's fine for now, but it won't be forever.

The Verdict: Which Music Store Deserves Your Money?

If you've followed along with us so far or you've skipped to the end to see which service you should buy your music from, the answer is?as always?that it depends on what kind of music lover you are:

• Google Music is best for people who would say "I need access to the music I already own everywhere I go," or "I'm a huge indie music fan," and people who are onboard and comfortably seated on the Android train.
• Amazon MP3 is best for bargain hunters who don't want to buy elsewhere before checking for a better deal and want the best possible deal. It's also best for people who still aren't sure about this whole Google Music thing and have Android devices. Plus, if you don't trust Google and can't stand Apple, well, here you are.
• iTunes is best for people wrapped up in Apple's cozy blanket of walled-off products and services. Getting in from the outside with another service is a herculean feat, one that's really not worth it if you have all the music you want to buy in iTunes at good prices and you own an iOS device. You may want to check Amazon for better prices now and again, and then import the songs to iTunes.

Everyone Else: Zune Marketplace, eMusic, and the Others

Apple, Amazon, and Google aren't the only players. There are still a lot of smaller, independent music stores out there, even if most of them are struggling to get by. Bandcamp is a great indie music store that lets artists sell directly to their fans, and EMusic is still kicking around with a 13 million song catalog and DRM-free mp3s. Subscription-only services like the Zune Music Store, Napster, and even Rhapsody often sell individual tracks and walk the line between a la carte and subscription-only.

For music lovers who don't mind renting their music instead of owning it, it may make financial sense to sign up for all-you-can-eat plans where you get tons of music for a monthly fee. With the Zune store, each month you used to get to keep some of the songs you've rented, so it's a little of both worlds. They may not have the selection or mobile and cloud features that the big guys do, but these services are worth mentioning because they cater to specific markets or often go out of their way to be platform agnostic.

A Nod to Streaming Music Services

Speaking of renting music, no look at online music stores would be complete without mentioning the explosion of streaming and cloud-based music services, some of which work with music you own, and others that exist purely in the cloud. Contrary to traditional music stores, with these services you're paying for regular access to a service's music library. You don't own anything, and you don't even rent the songs themselves?you just pay to listen to them whenever you like.

Streaming music services are trendy, and many of them even allow you to cache songs offline to simulate the feeling of owning your music. Most of them are platform agnostic, and offer apps, webapps, and tools for every OS. Even so, most people use them in addition to?not a replacement for?a music store that lets them buy or listen to their own music. That may change as they grow in popularity.

Which music store excites you the most? Where will you be spending your money? Perhaps you prefer a different store we haven't mentioned, or you're giving up on buying music entirely and going the streaming route instead. Whatever you think, let us know in the comments below.

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You can reach Alan Henry, the author of this post, at alan@lifehacker.com, or better yet, follow him on Twitter or Google+.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/CtqZ9_I4b0s/google-music-vs-amazon-mp3-vs-itunes-which-online-music-store-is-the-best-for-you

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