Facebook's Sandberg says she had planned to be aboard reportedly fatal flight

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg posts to the social network, saying she was originally planning on taking an Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul, South Korea, that wound up crashing at San Francisco's main airport. Two people have reportedly died as a result of the crash.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said she had planned to be on a flight that crashed on landing at San Francisco's main airport Saturday in an accident that reportedly killed two people. Meanwhile, a Samsung executive who was on board very quickly posted an eyewitness shot to the Web.
Sandberg posted to her page on the social network that she had originally intended to be on board the Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul, South Korea. "Thank you to everyone who is reaching out -- and sorry if we worried anyone," she wrote, explaining that she had switched to a different airline to take advantage of frequent flyer miles.
The shot by Samsung executive David Eun shows the smoking, tailless plane at the side of the runway with its emergency slides deployed and other passengers making their way toward where he is standing.

(Credit: Screenshot by CNET)

"I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I'm ok. Surreal..." reads a tweet Eun sent with a link to the photo.
It's not clear at the time of this writing exactly what happened or precisely what the injury or fatality count might be. A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman confirmed the crash, of Asiana Flight 214, and local television station KPIX reported that the San Francisco Fire Department had confirmed that two people had been killed and 61 injured.
The airport -- San Francisco's SFO -- has been closed to in-coming and out-bound traffic.
A Facebook representative told CNET that the social network had no official comment to make. "Her post says it all," the rep wrote in an e-mail. "Sheryl and her family are shocked and saddened but thankfully safe."
CBS News has ongoing coverage of the crash here. And here's a video posted by CBS:

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Animated WebP graphics support no shoo-in for Chrome

Google WebP engineers are encountering resistance from Google Chrome engineers about whether it's worth supporting the animated version of the image format.

 

Google introduced WebP in an attempt to speed up the Web, but now the company's engineers are raising concerns that one of the graphics format's features will actually slow it down.
WebP is designed to compress graphics more efficiently than JPEG, GIF, and PNG. Shrinking file sizes more means data arrives faster, though there can be a penalty of longer times to encode and decode image files. One of WebP's newer features is support for animation -- a package of multiple images shown in sequence to display a short movie.
Animated GIFs have risen from obscurity to become an unlikely art form, but now there's the possibility that WebP could take their place. That's just what some WebP fans would like, and they've begun building animated WebP support for Chrome, as detailed in an announcement by Google's Urvang Joshi of a plan to ship the feature in Chrome.
But the announcement triggered a discussion this week about whether animated WebP support is worth messing with, in particular given that in the years since animated GIFs arrived on the scene, Web-based video has arrived, built into the HTML standard used to describe Web pages.
"Animated GIFs are power hogs and really contribute much to slowing down the Web," said Chrome team member Darin Fisher in a response. "I'd imagine that animated WebP is superior, but by how much? How does it compare to the equivalent content packaged up in a video format?"

One response from Alpha (Hin-Chung) Lam, analyzing 63 cat videos from Tumblr, found animated WebP file sizes to be 38 percent of the animated GIF format originals. Videos encoded with Google's VP8 video codec were 53 percent of the animated GIF originals, a notch larger than the animated WebP version but still smaller than the animated GIFs.
Another Google engineer, Peter Kasting, expressed worries that animated WebP would merely continue with problems on the Web that come with animated GIFs.
"If you're not trying to fix GIF, I am opposed to shipping animated WebP at all," Kasting said. "Since you're going to be trying to convince the entire world to change direction anyway [from animated GIF to animated WebP], you should convince them all to switch to <video> and be done with it."
Nonanimated WebP images -- the primary use case for the graphics format -- are a less contentious issue. Google itself has found the format to save dramatically on network bandwidth, and Facebook is a notable WebP ally.

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Western Powers Call for Democracy in Egypt as Muslim Brotherhood Threatens Action

Morsi's ouster could result in increased violence in Cairo

 

 he violence does not appear to be de-escalating as the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi's conservative Islamist Party that spread throughout his government, called on supporters to begin a "Friday of Rage."

The instability is beginning to spill over into parts of the already tense region of the Middle East. Militant political party Hamas, which rules the neighboring Gaza Strip, is reportedly jolted by the ouster of Morsi, a known ally. Morsi's alignment with the conservative Muslim Brotherhood was among the sources of discontent in the Egyptian protesters.
"We are not afraid of losing our cause, no fear that our cause will be absent from the Islamic nation's agenda, despite the difficulties and hard circumstances that sometimes the Islamic nation faces," said Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Friday.
The Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. declined to comment Friday on the situation in Egypt.
The question remains whether the events that have occurred this week amount to a military coup. If overtly so the party, has called on supporters to protest. It has said it will not work with subsequent leadership appointed under military rule and says hardliner supporters should engage in a "Friday of Rage" if the military does not back down.
"We declare our complete rejection of the military coup staged against the elected president and the will of the nation," a spokesman said in a statement. "We refuse to participate in any activities with the usurping authorities."

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01 THE qutes

"WHAT EACH KISS MEANS"
- Kiss on the Forehead: We're cute together .
- Kiss on the Cheek: We're friends.
- Kiss on the Hand: I adore you.
- Kiss on the Neck: I want you, now.
- Kiss on the Shoulder: Your perfect.
- Kiss on the Lips: I LOVE YOU...
____________________________________________________
WHAT EACH GESTURE MEANS:
- Holding Hands: We definitely like each other.
- Holding you tight pressed against each other: I want you.
- Looking into each other's Eyes: I like you, for who you are.
- Playing with Hair: Let's fool around.
- Arms around the Waist: I like you too much to let go.
- Laughing while Kissing: I am completely comfortable with you.
____________________________________________________
ADVICE:
- If you were thinking about someone while reading this, you're definitely
in Love.
____________________________________________________
REQUIREMENTS:
- Add this to ur favorites after reading!!
Or you will have a bad year of Relationships.
____________________________________________________
IF YOU (LIKE), (LOVE), OR (MISS) SOMEONE RIGHT NOW:
- and can't get them out of your head.
- then add this to ur favorites within One Minute and Whoever you are missing
will surprise you.

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Jay-Z Android app cloned by hackers

 

Hackers have cloned the Android app of rapper Jay-Z and inserted messages criticising the US government.

The official app is being used by the rapper as a way to promote his latest album - Magna Carta Holy Grail.
Cloned versions of the app available via unofficial sites contain code that unlocked anti-Obama messages on 4 July.
The attack is believed to be part of protests against US government surveillance programs revealed this month.
Security firm McAfee discovered the app on third-party Android app sites. In a blogpost, McAfee researcher Irfan Asrar said the program initially appeared to do everything that the official app did.
However, he wrote, code added to the cloned version copied and sent information to a command-and-control server every time the phone was re-started. Once it made contact, the app tried to download extra code that included the anti-government images and messages.
A timer in this extra code waited for 4 July and then changed the app's wallpaper from pictures of album artwork and Jay-Z to that of President Obama wearing headphones. Above his image were the words "Yes we scan"- believed to be a reference to the NSA's extensive Prism scanning system. It is also plays on the slogan that President Obama campaigned under "Yes, we can."
"The image and the service name NSAListener suggest a hacktivist agenda," wrote Mr Asrar, "but we haven't ruled out the possibility that additional malware may target financial transactions or other data."
To avoid falling victim to this and other mobile threats, users should avoid downloading apps from unofficial sources and ensure security software is kept up to date, he added.

 

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Samsung issues weaker than expected profit forecast

 

Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest mobile phone and TV maker, has forecast weaker-than-expected profits for the April to June quarter.

It has estimated an operating profit of 9.5 trillion won ($8.3bn; £5.5bn) for the quarter. Most analysts had expected a figure closer to 10.1tn won.
The success of its smartphones has been key to Samsung's recent growth.
However there have been concerns that its growth rate may be slowing despite the launch of new models.
Samsung shares fell 3.8% after the profit guidance. Its shares have dropped more than 15% since early June, after a various brokerages downgraded their outlook for the firm.
"The slowdown in its handset business appears to be worse than expected and the disappointing result simply reinforces the market view that Samsung's smartphone growth momentum is slowing," said Lee Sei-chul, an analyst at Seoul-based Meritz Securities.
'Diversification key'

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

One of the biggest risks for Samsung Electronics going forward is that 70% of total operating profit comes from mobile business”

Jeff Kim Hyundai Securities

Samsung has enjoyed tremendous success in the smartphone market in recent years. The popularity of its Galaxy range of smartphone saw it replace Nokia as the world's biggest mobile phone maker last year.

According to research firm Strategy Analytics, Samsung accounts for almost 95% of the Android smartphone sector's profits.
But despite all that success, there have been concerns in recent weeks that the rate of growth that Samsung's smartphones have enjoyed in recent years may be slowing, a trend that may eventually hurt profits.
Earlier this month, South Korea's Woori Investment & Securities cut its earnings forecast for the technology giant. That was followed by similar moves from JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and others.
The concerns have been triggered in part by the launch of new products from rival manufacturers as well as relatively low-cost smartphones by Chinese firms.
Analysts said that for Samsung to be able to maintain its high growth rate the firm needed to come up with new and innovative products and also reduce its reliance on the mobile phone business to drive growth.
"One of the biggest risks for Samsung Electronics going forward is that 70% of total operating profit comes from mobile business," said Jeff Kim of Hyundai Securities.
"Diversification is key. Wearable devices are the next stage in a saturated industry that needs constant innovation to survive.
"We'll see flexible smartphones in the fourth quarter from Samsung and LG Electronics, and iWatch and Galaxy Watch are expected to be one of the first waves."
However, some analysts were sceptical about whether wearable devices would bolster earnings.
"It's more likely to complement its earnings at best," said Byun Han-joon, an analyst at KB Investment & Securities.
Jung Sang-jin, a fund manager at Dongbu Asset Management, added: "The problem is no one is sure whether these products can really wow investors and consumers."

 

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Human gestures perplex Asimo, Honda museum robot guide

 

Honda's popular robot Asimo faced problems with gesture recognition on its first day as a museum guide at the Miraikan science museum in Tokyo.

The machine struggled to differentiate between museum-goers raising their hands to ask a question and raising their hands to take photos, Associated Press reported.
It is "working" as a tour guide at the museum for the next four weeks as a trial.
Asimo cannot respond to voice commands.
The robot is instead designed to answer 100 questions selected via touchscreen from a written panel.
But during a demonstration it froze and asked: "Who wants to ask Asimo a question?" repeatedly when people pointed their cameras at it.
"Right now, it can recognize a child waving to it, but it's not able to comprehend the meaning of the waving," said Honda robotics technology specialist Satoshi Shigemi.
'Not able to comprehend' Asimo has been in development since 1996.
Speaking to the BBC last year, Prof Chris Melhuish, director of the British Robotics Laboratory at Bristol University, said that interaction with humans was the next big step for robotics.
"The key thing, and it's what we're working on at the moment, is safe human-robot interaction," he said.
"That's not just making the robot compliant, it's making it have advanced social intelligence. If a robot is handing you something hot or sharp, for example, it needs to know whether it has your attention."
Honda's head of robotics, Satoshi Shigemi, told the AP news agency: "Right now, it can recognise a child waving to it, but it's not able to comprehend the meaning of the waving."

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Despicable Me 2': The Reviews Are In! Critics say the sequel is not as strong, but still very entertaining.

In case those ubiquitous billboards featuring funny-faced yellow pills hadn't tipped you off, "Despicable Me 2" is coming to theaters this week, reuniting Gru with his wacky Minions for a whole new set of adventures. In this follow-up to the 2009 blockbuster, Gru (Steve Carell) trades in his supervillain costume in exchange for the life of a super-dad, only to find domestic bliss — and single-parenthood — challenged by the arrival of Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig), a government operative hoping to enlist him to hunt down another former baddie who's disappeared.

Whether or not Gru becomes a bona fide hero, the film certainly promises some hilarious hijinks. But do they live up to the ones in the original "Despicable Me?" MTV News took a look at some of the reviews that popped up as the film nears its July 3 release date and compiled some critics' thoughts about the film.

Despicable Me 2

How Worthy — Or Necessary — Is This Follow-Up To 'Despicable Me?'
"This new picture feels like... a hastily thought-up opportunity to put our characters through some kind of adventure. Any kind of adventure. Whereas the original had Steve Carell's evil genius and his cache of spazzed-out weapons trying to hijack the moon, this film sends him to the mall." — Jordan Hoffman, Screencrush

Still, What Can Audiences Look Forward To In the Sequel?
"After reluctantly admitting that he made a second-rate baddie at best, Steve Carell's overcompensating character gets a chance to prove himself a first-class hero, providing ample opportunity for comic support from his Minions. While not quite as charming or unique as the original, 'Despicable Me 2' comes awfully close, extending co-directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin's delightfully silly sensibility to a bit larger universe." — Peter Debruge, Variety

How Are Steve Carell And Kristen Wiig As A Comedic Couple?
"Steve Carell's Slavic inflections as Gru do the trick, as before. Wiig's clever hesitations and comic timing help save the day." — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

Pharrell's 'Despicable Me 2' Soundtrack Makes Him 'The Luckiest Guy'

Will Grown-Ups And Kids Be Enertained?
"Little kids won't be too bored, but adults who found themselves charmed by the first "Despicable Me" may or may not be along for the ride this time. Universal has already announced a third sequel, 'Minions' (which, sadly, isn't solely centered on those walking ids), and here's hoping Gru can be a little despicable-r next time." — Alonso Duralde, The Wrap

How Funny Are Those Minions?
"The minions also routinely score on the comedy front, though let's be clear, they are basically glorified little yellow stooges. Their humor is completely based upon miscommunication and physical comedy. Again, not a bad thing, but a worry as the series goes forward, because physical comedy tends to wear thin if continually repeated." — Laremy Legel,Film.com

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Samsung buys set top box maker Boxee

Samsung is buying Boxee - an Israeli firm that makes media streaming devices.

The South Korean electronics giant said it had "acquired key talent and assets" from the company.

"This will help us continue to improve the overall user experience across our connected devices," it added.

Boxee's latest product lets subscribers record TV shows onto its servers and then stream them to TVs, computers and smart devices "from the cloud".

It had previously raised $26.5m (£17.3m) in funds from a range of US and Israeli investors.

Samsung is the world's best-selling maker of smart TVs - screens which which offer access to apps, video-on-demand and other internet content without the need for a separate set-top box.

According to Informa Telecoms and Media, 54 million smart TVs were sold worldwide in the last year, and it expects that number to grow to 221 million in 2017.

The consultancy suggested the takeover might prove a good match because, despite its apparent success, Samsung was still struggling to convince consumers to use its services rather than those of others.

"When people are going into stores they may end up with a smart TV by default but at the moment they have little desire to use their internet functions even if they have a fast enough connection," said Paul Jackson, principal analyst at Informa.

"But within the TV industry there is a lot of optimism that consumers will want to use these kind services in the future.

"Boxee has been playing with its own TV user interface and has a good reputation for making a link between its hardware and a back-end service.

"But it's still early days for cloud TV services and it's been difficult for Boxee to make money. It makes more sense for it to be part of a wider offering rather than selling itself as a single function device."

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Computer mouse inventor Doug Engelbart dies at 88

Dr Engelbart's first ever moThe inventor of the computer mouse, Doug Engelbart, has died aged 88.

Engelbart developed the tool in the 1960s as a wooden shell covering two metal wheels, patenting it long before the mouse's widespread use.

He also worked on early incarnations of email, word processing and video teleconferences at a California research institute.

The state's Computer History Museum was notified of his death by his daughter, Christina, in an email.

Her father had been in poor health and died peacefully on Tuesday night in his sleep, she said.

Doug Engelbart was born on 30 January 1925 in Portland, Oregon, to a radio repairman father and a housewife mother.

'Mother of all demos'

He studied electrical engineering at Oregon State University and served as a radar technician during World War II.

How the computer mouse got its name

He then worked at Nasa's predecessor, Naca, as an electrical engineer, but soon left to pursue a doctorate at University of California, Berkeley.

His interest in how computers could be used to aid human cognition eventually led him to Stanford Research Institute (SRI) and then his own laboratory, the Augmentation Research Center.

His laboratory helped develop ARPANet, the government research network that led to the internet.

Engelbart's ideas were way ahead of their time in an era when computers took up entire rooms and data was fed into the hulking machines on punch cards.

At a now legendary presentation that became known as the "mother of all demos" in San Francisco in 1968, he made the first public demonstration of the mouse.

At the same event, he held the first video teleconference and explained his theory of text-based links, which would form the architecture of the internet.

He did not make much money from the mouse because its patent ran out in 1987, before the device became widely used.

SRI licensed the technology in 1983 for $40,000 (£26,000) to Apple.

At least one billion computer mouses have been sold.

Engelbart had considered other designs for his most famous invention, including a device that could be fixed underneath a table and operated by the knee.

He was said to have been driven by the belief that computers could be used to augment human intellect.

Engelbart was awarded the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT prize in 1997 and the National Medal of Technology for "creating the foundations of personal computing" in 2000.

Since 2005, he had been a fellow at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.

He is survived by his second wife, Karen O'Leary Engelbart, and four children.use demo

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