U.S. leaders "not near finish line" on fiscal cliff talks: White House

MELBOURNE, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Tiger Woods's taxpayer-funded visits Down Under did nothing to help Australia's ailing golf tour, which is stuck in a losing battle for relevance unless it does more to embrace Asia, according to five-times British Open champion Peter Thomson. Woods's tournament appearances in Sydney and Melbourne over the last three years brought crowds and media attention to Australian golf courses not seen since former world number one Greg Norman was in his prime. Any hopes that Woods had put Australia back on the golfing map, however, were specious, Thomson told Reuters. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-leaders-not-near-finish-line-fiscal-cliff-163714186--business.html

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The 5 best name-brand HDTVs under $800

22 hrs.

Geoff Morrison , HD Guru

Sizes go up, prices fall.?These are the two hallmark rules of the TV land. Just a few years ago, $800 couldn?t buy you a screen much larger than a postage stamp. Now, they can get you 50 inches or more ? and from a reputable brand, no less. Here's what we'd choose if we couldn't spend more than $800 on a set.

(Note: TV pricing is always subject to change, so you may see different pricing than the market prices we've listed here. However, these sets probably aren't going to go up in price, not this close to Black Friday.)

Panasonic TC-P50UT50 50-inch 3-D plasma
Price: $799
Why we like it: Panasonic has a long track record of making some of the best looking flat panels on the market. This mid-range plasma may not have the black level and contrast ratio of its upmarket brethren, but that doesn?t mean it?s a slouch. Excellent picture quality, none of the viewing angle issues of LCDs, and excellent motion resolution make this an excellent choice for just about every room.

Samsung PN51E450 51-inch plasma
Price: $550
Why we like it: A 51-inch TV for under $600? Sign us up. It?s one of the cheapest 50-inch TVs around, yet still has great picture quality. The downsides??With a resolution of 1,024 x 768, it?s not 1080p "full" HD, and it only has two HDMI inputs. However, it?s one of the best TVs you can get for this price. There?s even a 43-inch version that?s under $450.

Sony KDL-42EX440 42-inch LED LCD
Price: $580
Why we like it: Sometimes, you just need the extreme light output potential of an LCD. Sony?s offering is 1080p and features LED edge-lighting. It doesn?t have the contrast ratio of the plasmas mentioned above, but offers decent black levels and color for a very low price.

Toshiba 46L5200U 46-inch LED LCD
Price: $700
Why we like it: Color accuracy isn?t this TV?s strong suit, but its brightness and contrast are good compared to other LCDs in this range. Unlike most of its competitors, the 46L5200U is 120Hz, which will help to minimize the?motion blur seen most commonly in cheaper LCDs.

LG 42LM6200 42-inch 3-D LED LCD
Price: $750
Why we like it:?The LM6200 from LG has a full suite of Smart TV features, and has an in-plane switching LCD panel for viewing angles almost as good as a plasma.?It's the only passive 3-D TV on our list. Passive 3-D uses cheaper lightweight glasses (and this TV comes with six pairs of them!). Bear in mind, there are pros and cons with all of the different 3-D methods.?The main downside with passive is that the resolution isn't as good, but you may not notice from where you're sitting.?

Geoff Morrison writes about TVs for HD Guru and other publications. His novel "Undersea"?is now in?paperback.

More?from HD Guru:

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/5-best-name-brand-hdtvs-under-800-1C7132707

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The Direct Benefit Effect in the Classic ?PC Gaming v. Console ...

http://technicallyeasy.net/2011/02/is-pc-gaming-dying/

In the article, the idea of PC gaming dying out due to rises in the console gaming market is discussed. The notion is ruled out as something that will not likely take place because of the versatility and?upgrade-ability?of PC systems; however the author addresses that the notion does gain a foothold every so often and begin to be accepted as truth. How does this notion get popular from time to time?
In general, it all begins with a small spike in the console gaming market. This initial spike is often due to people trying to get away from negatives of PC gaming mentioned in the article (e.g. it is more expensive, it is more difficult to maintain, it has a greater density of bugs and glitches) or alternatively, a very popular game is released that is exclusive to a certain console. Then the rumour that PC gaming is going to die out begins to circulate in gaming communities. This is a?self-fulfilling?prophecy in a way: the more people hear that PC gaming is dying out, the more they switch away from PC gaming and to a console because of the direct benefit effect, and the more people that switch to consoles, the more believable the spreading notion becomes. But how does the direct benefit effect begin to come into play here? When a game is released it is often initially released on one system. It is then ?ported? or made into different, slightly altered, versions to work on the other popular systems. Unfortunately, many times multiple ports of the same game are not compatible for online multiplayer, which is currently one of the most popular form of interaction between gamers. For instance, suppose gamer A is playing game A on system A and gamer B is playing game A on system B. Now suppose the two would like to play the game together via an internet connection across their systems. This is often not possible as two ports of the same game are sometimes not compatible. Therefore people will want to be using the console that the most people are using so that there will be more gamers and friends to play with without having to worry about cross-platform compatibility issues. In this way the direct benefit effect takes hold and fuels the self fulfilling prophecy because a gaming platform becomes more desirable if it has more people using it just because it has more people using it. The cascade begins but stops because there is always a devoted core of hardware-loving PC gamers who cling to the PC platform for it?s customisation and?upgrade-ability?in a market of stagnant consoles, as described in the article. This core group of gamers stops the cascade and prevent console gaming from completely taking over the market. ?Yours truly tries to keep things interesting by playing a mix of console games and pc games, something many gamers do, because we gamers like to have our cake and eat it too. ?That is, as long as said cake is not a lie. -S.J.H.

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Source: http://blogs.cornell.edu/info2040/2012/11/16/the-direct-benefit-effect-in-the-classic-pc-gaming-v-console-gaming-debacle/

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Sports briefs: PHS soccer alumni game on Nov. 24 | SeacoastOnline ...

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November 17, 2012 2:00 AM

PHS soccer alumni game on Nov. 24

PORTSMOUTH ? The Portsmouth High School varsity boys soccer team will clash with past players on Saturday, Nov. 24 in the annual Alumni Soccer Game.

The game will be played on the PHS turf field, starting at 11 a.m.

Coach Martin Carter said an official referee will be on hand to keep the game competitive, safe and fun.

This year's team went 8-8-2, and made program history with a win in the preliminary round of the Division II playoffs. The win was believed to be the program's first-ever postseason victory.

Alumni players looking to take on the current team are asked to bring $25 to donate to the "Peter Coren Soccer Scholarship Fund."

The suggested donation will include a free "alumni game" T-shirt, in addition to free refreshments after the game, as well as hotdogs and hamburgers.

There will be other refreshments such as coffee, hot chocolate, chowder, and baked goods that spectators can buy as well.

Past players interested in taking part should email Carter at mcarter@portsmouth.k12.nh.us to confirm.

Neat Photo earns basketball victory

PORTSMOUTH ? Jon Jones scored 25 points and Chris Coates added 21 to lead Neat Photo to an 89-82 victory over Marshall Rental Center in Portsmouth Recreation Department Men's City League basketball action on Thursday.

Devin Rucco paced Marshall Rental Center with 31 points, while Chris Ray (15) and Kevin Zinka (13) also chipped in.

In Thursday's other game, Tyler White and Dana Brearley each scored 18 points in N.H. Sports and Social Club's 79-63 victory over Old Ferry Landing.

Dave Haley led Old Ferry Landing with 25 points, while Andrew George added 16.

Marshwood pep rally today

SOUTH BERWICK, Maine ? Marshwood High School is holding a pep rally for both the football and cheerleading teams today at the school prior to the Class B state championship game.

Those wanting to attend the pep rally ? called the "Purple-Out Send-off" ? should arrive by 2:30 p.m. and park in the lower lot. The team buses leave at 2:45 p.m.

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Source: http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20121117-SPORTS-211170341

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Montreal English-speaking mayor is 1st in century

MONTREAL ? The French-speaking city of Montreal elected an Anglophone mayor Friday for the first time in 100 years, following his predecessor's resignation over allegations of corruption.

Michael Applebaum won a city council vote to serve as interim mayor for only a year, with a promise not to run in the next municipal election of November 2013.

Applebaum speaks French, but it's not his first language and Anglophones in Canada's French-speaking province of Quebec rarely hold prominent political roles.

Because former mayor Gerald Tremblay resigned last week, a year before an election, provincial law dictates that his successor had to be picked by the city council on an interim basis.

Tremblay stepped down as a public inquiry hears testimony linking him to graft and organized crime.

Martin Dumont, who worked for Tremblay's Union Montreal party, testified that the mayor knew about illegal financing within his political party and didn't care.

Tremblay, mayor for 11 years, has denied any knowledge of wrongdoing and says he was let down by underlings. There is no suggestion he profited personally and he said he was resigning to spare his city further difficulty.

Frank Zampino, once a top adviser to Tremblay, faces fraud charges and current employees have been suspended.

Following Tremblay's resignation, Gilles Vaillancourt, the mayor of Quebec's third-largest city stepped down after 23 years as mayor of Laval, a suburb of Montreal.

Quebec, the only province with French as its official language, has fought to maintain this linguistic identity despite changing demographics due to immigrant populations.

In Montreal, Canada's second largest city with a population of 1.7 million, about 13 percent of people claim English as their mother tongue and the notion of an Anglophone mayor would have seemed highly unlikely just a few weeks ago.

Even last week, Applebaum appeared to have a slim chance of success but he went about building support, and as details of the corruption scandal unfolded, he grew increasingly popular.

In his speech before the vote, Applebaum cast himself as a historic candidate not for linguistic reasons but because he wanted to create a multi-party coalition, bringing together former foes to clean up the scandal-plagued city.

"You have a chance to make history today," he told council colleagues, "as the city council that moved beyond the sterile bickering."

Source: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/11/16/2369944/montreal-english-speaking-mayor.html?storylink=rss

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