From their low-key love to fun times with Matilda, this celebrity couple seemed made for each other
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Updated: Wednesday Feb 27, 2013 | 05:00 PM EST
By: Kiran Hefa
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Hewlett-Packard Co said on Monday it will sell the webOS operating system to South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc, unloading the smartphone software it acquired through a $ 1.2 billion acquisition of Palm in 2010.
LG will use the operating software, used in now-defunct Palm smartphones years ago, for its “smart” or Internet-connected TVs. The Asian electronics company had worked with HP on WebOS before offering to buy it outright.
Under the terms of their agreement, LG acquires the operating software’s source code, associated documentation, engineering talent, various associated websites, and licenses under HP’s intellectual property including patents covering fundamental operating system and user interface technology.
HP will retain the patents and all the technology relating to the cloud service of webOS, HP Chief Operating Officer Bill Veghte said in an interview.
“As we looked at it, we saw a very compelling IP that was very unique in the marketplace,” he said, adding that HP has already had a partnership with LG on webOS before the deal was announced.
“As a result of this collaboration, LG offered to acquire the webOS operating system technology,” Veghte said.
Skott Ahn, President and CTO, LG Electronics, said the company will incorporate the operating system in the Smart TV line-up first “and then hopefully all the other devices in the future.”
Both companies declined to reveal the terms of the deal.
LG will keep the WebOS team in Silicon Valley and, for now, will continue to be based out of HP offices, Ahn said.
HP opened its webOS mobile operating system to developers and companies in 2012 after trying to figure out how to recoup its investment in Palm, one of the pioneers of the smartphone industry.
The company had tried to build products based on webOS with the now-defunct TouchPad tablet its flagship product.
HP launched and discontinued the TouchPad in 2010, a little over a month after it hit store shelves with costly fanfare after it saw poor demand for a tablet priced on par with Apple’s dominant iPad.
WebOS is widely viewed as a strong mobile platform, but has been assailed for its paucity of applications, an important consideration while choosing a mobile device.
(Additional reporting By Paul Sandle and Alistair Barr; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Tim Dobbyn and M.D. Golan)
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BANGKOK — When angry villagers clashed with security forces on Tuesday over land seizures in Myanmar, the police apparently got the worst of it.
Officials and a doctor at a hospital said on Wednesday that one officer was killed and dozens were wounded; most of those whose injuries were severe were police officers.
The episode took place in Maubin, a township in the Irrawaddy River delta, when the police tried to disperse villagers who were protesting the taking of land by a private company. It was the second time in four months that a crackdown by the police related to land seizures turned violent. In November, dozens of monks were badly burned when police officers in riot gear used what a group of lawyers has said were white phosphorus incendiary devices, a weapon usually reserved for warfare.
Dr. Myint Soe, the head of the hospital in Maubin, said that of the 46 people who were treated there late Tuesday, 27 were officers. One was transferred to a larger hospital in Yangon and later died, the doctor said.
The issue of land seizures has dogged the administration of President Thein Sein, who took office in 2011 after five decades of military rule. A parliamentary committee investigating land seizures has been presented with evidence of numerous cases dating from before the transfer to civilian rule.
The protests in Maubin began last week, according to reports in the Myanmar news media, with several hundred farmers gathering at an agricultural project owned by a businessman, U Myint Sein. Farmers say the land was confiscated in 1996 and then sold to Mr. Myint Sein, and that they were never compensated.
“We just want our land back,” said Khin Mar Win, 32, a villager. “All we have is our land.”
The protests continued on Wednesday. It was not clear what had touched them off now, 17 years after the seizures, though both police officers and villagers said that tensions over the project had been worsening in recent years.
“It is an old problem, but now it has exploded,” said Lt. Col. Tot Shwe of the police.
Colonel Tot Shwe would not comment on exactly how the episode on Tuesday had escalated into violence, except to say that the police had fired rubber bullets and not more lethal ammunition.
But a video posted on Facebook by The Voice, a private weekly news journal, appeared to show the police bracing for a confrontation, with a commander instructing a line of officers in riot gear about how to use their batons.
“When you beat, strike from above, like this,” the commander is heard to say. “Beat any parts you can reach.”
He adds, perhaps presciently, “Keep in mind that they also have hands — so they will defend themselves.”
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: February 27, 2013
Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to the amount of time that elapsed between land seizures in Myanmar and protests against those seizures. It was 17 years, not seven.
Santiago Perez and his neighbors went straight to Councilman Eric Garcetti when they heard that a developer planned to build a 62-unit housing and retail development on their quiet street in Echo Park.
Worried that the four-story complex would tower over homes and bring excess traffic, the group emerged from their meeting at Los Angeles City Hall feeling relieved. "He told us that, yes, he's with us and he will do everything possible to reject the plan," Perez said.
But months later in front of the citywide Planning Commission, a Garcetti representative offered the lawmaker's tacit support for the project, saying it was "designed well" and would bring needed jobs and housing to the area.
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Perez and his neighbors felt blindsided. "He said one thing and then he did another," Perez said. One of his neighbors fired off an angry message via Twitter: "Eric Garcetti went back on his word."
If Garcetti succeeds in his bid to become L.A.'s next mayor, he will face new pressure to take decisive action on hotly contested issues. A number of colleagues and constituents say he has not always been a steadfast ally and decision maker.
Another mayoral front runner, Wendy Greuel, alluded to that allegation in a recent appearance before city workers, saying they need someone who will "be true to their word."
FULL COVERAGE: L.A.'s race for mayor
Garcetti insists he never wavers from a promise. In nearly 12 years in office, he has made decisions that have upset some people, he acknowledged. But the vast majority of people he has worked with have had positive experiences, he said.
He said that he never committed to fighting the Echo Park development and that he "reserves the right" to take his time forming a position on an issue. "I listen to a lot of people to make sure I'm as well-informed as possible up until the last hour," he said.
Councilman Bernard C. Parks, who has served alongside Garcetti for more than a decade, said Garcetti too often tests the political winds before taking a stand. Parks, who is backing Councilwoman Jan Perry's bid for mayor, alleges that Garcetti misled him last year by voting for a controversial redistricting plan after indicating he opposed it. Garcetti also undermined the city's efforts to hold down costs of employee union contracts, Parks said.
INTERACTIVE MAP: How Los Angeles voted
"I think he doesn't want to make an enemy of anyone," Parks said.
Garcetti said that he never told Parks he would oppose the redistricting plan and that the tough stance he took with the unions is "the reason I don't have [them] lining up behind me."
Questions of Garcetti's reliability arose for Marc Galucci, who went to the councilman for support in turning his Echo Park cafe into a restaurant serving beer and wine.
Galucci assembled neighbors to back his application for a liquor license for Fix Coffee, but parents of some children at a nearby school opposed it.
Galucci said Garcetti told him that he would remain neutral but offered suggestions on how to gain community support. Then, at 10 p.m. the night before the liquor license hearing, a Garcetti representative phoned. "Tomorrow at the hearing we're going to oppose this," she said.
"I was just flabbergasted," said Galucci. He later learned that Monica Garcia, president of the Board of the Los Angeles Unified School District, had asked Garcetti to oppose the request.
In the end, Galucci got the license, but he said the situation left him with a bad taste.
Garcetti acknowledged that the issue had been "a contentious one," but he said he had not pledged to remain neutral. He said that he initially liked the idea of a liquor permit for Fix but that community opposition "continued to grow and grow."
02/26/2013 at 12:30 PM ET
Splash News Online; Inset: Landov
Emma Stone went blonde for her role in the Spider-Man series, and now another star has made a change for the franchise. Shailene Woodley debuted new red locks on Monday, while snapped on the New York City set of the second film in the series, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Woodley, who has several films in production for the year ahead, generally has highlighted brunette hair, so the new hue is a big change — one we’re liking!
The Descendants starlet plays redheaded Peter Parker love interest Mary Jane Watson in the upcoming film, set for release in 2014. (In the last Spider Man series, Kirsten Dunst filled Mary Jane’s shoes — and also went red for the role.)
Stone and boyfriend Andrew Garfield, who plays Parker, are both returning for the movie, as are Sally Field and Martin Sheen. Jamie Foxx, Paul Giamatti and Felicity Jones are joining the cast, as well. Tell us: What do you think of Woodley’s new do?
Last Updated, 5:59 p.m. As our colleague David Kirkpatrick reports, at least 18 people were killed and three were injured when a high-altitude balloon carrying tourists burst into flames near the Egyptian monuments at Luxor on Tuesday.
According to Egyptian media accounts, the pilot had been pulling a rope to stabilize the balloon as it landed in a field of sugar cane near the southern city of Luxor. A gas hose ripped, the fire began and the pilot and some passengers jumped from the burning balloon before it soared back up into the air and burst into flames.
The Guardian obtained distressing video of the disaster recorded by a passenger in another balloon nearby.
Mohamed Youssef, the pilot of the balloon from which the video of was shot, told the BBC that after the fire started when the balloon was close to the ground, “the pilot jumped because the fire was on his body. Another customer near the edge of the balloon jumped.” After those two people jumped from the basket beneath the balloon, Mr. Youssef said, the balloon rose as a result of the loss of weight and the heat. “At 10 to 15 meters, another customer jumped,” he added. “Then it reached 300 feet. Four people jumped. Then the basket separated from the envelope because of the heat. Then it falls to earth.”
The Egyptian television channel Youm 7 broadcast video of the wreckage, which was also shown in images posted online by witnesses.
Video Youm 7 footage of the crash scene.
An Egyptian witness, Mahmoud Mohamed Salem, took photographs of the crash scene, showing remnants of the balloon and the covered remains of victims, and posted them on his Twitter account, while his Facebook photographs showed the recovery efforts.
Several other witnesses described the aftermath of the disaster to news organizations, including France 24 and The Telegraph.
An American photographer, Christopher Michel, was on a balloon trip nearby and posted a series of serene shots of the balloons above Luxor before the accident on his Web site and Twitter feed.
“I heard the explosion just prior to our landing,” Mr. Michel explained in a telephone interview with The Telegraph. He added that over the subsequent hour he and others near the scene started to realize there had been fatalities.
In responses to other photographers who disagreed with his decision to make his photographs on the balloon trip available to news organizations without charge, Mr. Michel wrote that he did not want to profit from the tragedy.
Hot air balloon accidents in Egypt have been documented before in videos and in this report in the Daily Telegraph in 2009.
Los Angeles police over the weekend warned officers who patrol the skid row area to wear protective masks and minimize face-to-face contact with suspects or the public if there is reason to believe that they are infected with tuberculosis.
The warning, contained in an internal communication to officers and employees in the department's Central Division, comes after The Times reported that public health officials have launched a new, coordinated effort to contain what they are calling the largest TB outbreak in a decade.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have dispatched scientists to
Los Angeles to help local health officials gain a better understanding why TB is
spreading and strategies on how to stop it.
Public health officials are searching for more than 4,500 people who may have been exposed to
the disease. In all, nearly 80 tuberculosis cases have been identified and 11 people have died since
2007, most of them homeless people who live in and around skid row.
Scientists have recently linked the outbreak to a tuberculosis strain
that is unique to Los Angeles, with a few isolated cases outside the
area.
Tuberculosis is easily passed along. It is contracted by inhaling droplets
from infected patients when they sneeze, cough or laugh. When left untreated,
the disease can be deadly. The skid row strain can be treated by all anti-TB
medications. Treatment lasts six to nine months.
LAPD officers who patrol the area have long been warned to be on the lookout for people on the street who exhibit symptoms of communicable diseases which include Hepatitis to HIV and staph infections to drug-resistant TB. Officers must also contend with individuals who have parasitic conditions like scabies and lice.
While noting that risk to law enforcement from TB is "very small," the internal communique nonetheless warns employees to take precautions to reduce the chance of exposure.
"If you have reason to believe that you have been exposed to
a person with TB, notify a supervisor immediately," the email from Capt. Michael Oreb said. "MSD [The City's Medical Services Division] will test any
employee who has been occupationally exposed."
The email also recommends that officers carry protective masks them with them into the field and don them "if officers have reason to believe an individual is infected with TB."
Capt. Horace Frank, commanding officer of Central Division, would not comment specifically on the email but said the issue had been brought up in roll calls.
"Keep in mind that we’ve always stressed to our officers the importance of proper hygiene and conducting business in a safe and healthy manner," Frank said. "This is just a reminder for us to continue exercising the same precautions which we’ve exercised in the past. The key is
that we continue to go about doing the job we have sworn to do, which is to protect and
serve the public."
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-- Andrew Blankstein
Norah Jones and Sarah Oda
Courtesy Norah Jones
Singer Norah Jones shared her first-ever Oscar experience with PEOPLE, snapping exclusive shots as she prepared to walk the big red carpet.
Jones, 33, decided to make it a Hollywood weekend, staying in the Roosevelt Hotel right across from the Dolby Theatre, getting ready with pal Sarah Oda.
After conquering the carpet, Jones took the stage to perform the nominated Best Original Song "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" from Ted.
But the busy singer couldn't even enjoy the evening's parties, as she jetted off to Singapore for work directly from the ceremony.
For more on Norah's night and all the details on Hollywood's biggest night, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
BARCELONA (Reuters) – China’s Huawei, little known to consumers just a couple of years ago, is now leading the pack of smartphone makers chasing Apple and Samsung, with ZTE, another Chinese company, snapping at its heels.
Huawei, which sold 32 million smartphones in 2012, up 60 percent on 2011, unveiled its new flagship Ascend P2 smartphone in Barcelona, boasting a connection speed of 150 MB per second, the fastest on the market.
The company was third in smartphone sales in the final quarter of 2012, according to research firm IDC, with ZTE in fifth place and Sony sandwiched in between. Samsung and Apple, however, were far in front with half the market between them.
Wan Biao, chief executive of Huawei Device Co, said the Ascend P2′s faster download speeds would make a difference to customers using 4G networks in countries such as Japan.
The device also includes power-saving technology, developed using expertise from its networks business, which Biao said helped it stand out against other high-end phones running Google’s Android software.
“Our target is for Huawei to provide the best smartphones in the world, better than the iPhone, better than Samsung,” he said in an interview on Monday. “Our target is top three in market share.”
Huawei, which became established by selling unbranded phones to operators, said the Ascend P2 would be available from the second quarter priced at 399 euros, hundred of euros less than flagship devices from its rivals.
Biao said that the company was still establishing itself as a brand in the minds of consumers, so its phones did not attract high subsidies from network operators.
“Operators give a high subsidy to Samsung and Apple,” he said. “We have a very high quality product but the price we set is not as high as these two smartphones; we have to develop differentiated products.”
Analyst Carolina Milanesi at Gartner said the Ascend P2 was a notable step forward for the Chinese company, showing a focus on the most important aspects for consumers, such as speed, an impressive screen and longer battery life.
ZTE, which also developed its technology by making devices for others, is equally ambitious. On Monday, it said it expected to increase smartphone revenue by 30 percent this year.
“We at ZTE consider ourselves as not tier one yet, we see ourselves as tier two, comparable to HTC, Sony and Motorola,” He Shiyou, head of mobile services division, said in an interviewer via a translator. “We have to be as aggressive as possible.”
He said ZTE would reduce its product range to achieve larger sales of fewer models, and focus on the strongest markets for smartphones – the United States, China, Europe and Australia.
It previously took ZTE six months to catch up with the Samsung’s software and hardware specifications, he said, but now it only took a quarter. “We need to close that gap,” he said.
“By 2015, we are hoping to achieve the top three by market share, but in terms of branding image and also pricing segmentation, we want to reach the top five,” he said.
ZTE unveiled a 5.7 inch Grand Memo handset in Barcelona, firmly in the “phablet” screen dimensions that Samsung has popularized in its Note range, and the ZTE Open, a smartphone running on Mozilla’s Firefox OS open ecosystem.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
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