Engadget HD Podcast 277 - 12.06.2011

We've been talking about initiatives with the potential to change how we watch TV and now, one of them is finally ready to launch. We spent a lot of time going over Microsoft's new dashboard for the Xbox 360 and what it could, but probably won't, do to the market. Of course the folks in Redmond aren't the only ones with something to show as we also cast an eye towards new iPad apps from Dijit and Cox, as well as the possibility we'll see DirecTV's HR34 Home Media Center DVR this week. Other topics include the cable companies getting out of wireless, Lovefilm switching from Flash to Silverlight, and Time Warner's tablet app arriving on Android. As usual we close out with our picks of what to watch this week, so press play and see if you agree with our choices,

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Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@rjcc)

Producer: Trent Wolbe

00:03:09 - Xbox 360 Dashboard update review (fall 2011)
00:03:50 - Xbox 360's new video services won't all launch right away; Comcast, Verizon, and HBO Go delayed
00:12:15 - Xbox Companion app for WP7 will launch alongside the new dashboard December 6th
00:39:00 - DirecTV's new five tuner HR34 Home Media Center DVR ready to launch December 8th?
00:45:29 - Hands-on with Dijit's universal remote app for iPad
00:51:07 - Cox TV Connect app brings more live cable TV streaming to iPads
00:55:00 - Time Warner Cable's tablet app available for Android, live TV streaming still iPad only
00:53:56 - BBC brings global iPlayer iPad app to Canada, one step closer to the US
00:55:09 - Lovefilm's movie streaming will switch from Flash to Silverlight on PCs in 2012
00:57:53 - Verizon scores new spectrum from Comcast, Time Warner and Bright House for $3.6 billion (update)
01:00:29 - Kogan advertises Samsung LCDs in its HDTVs, Samsung would rather not take credit
01:02:09 - Lenovo trudging into the smart TV arena, plans LeTV launch in Q1 2012 (update: aka IdeaTV)
01:04:39 - Must See HDTV (December 5th - 11th)

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Engadget HD Podcast 277 - 12.06.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Davis' block lifts No. 1 Kentucky over No. 5 UNC

North Carolina's Dexter Strickland, left, looks for a teammate as Kentucky's Anthony Davis, right, and Marquis Teague defend during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

North Carolina's Dexter Strickland, left, looks for a teammate as Kentucky's Anthony Davis, right, and Marquis Teague defend during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

North Carolina's Reggie Bullock, left, shoots in front of Kentucky's Terrence Jones during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Thursday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

North Carolina's Tyler Zeller, center, shoots between Kentucky's Anthony Davis, left, and Terrence Jones during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

Kentucky head coach John Calipari urges his team on during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against North Carolina in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

North Carolina's Reggie Bullock, center, shoots between Kentucky's Terrence Jones, left, and Eloy Vargas during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) ? Pushed and pressured all day, Anthony Davis finally went somewhere else no one could on the floor. Up.

The freshman soared to block John Henson's shot in the final seconds and No. 1 Kentucky held on to beat No. 5 North Carolina 73-72 on Saturday to extend the Wildcats' home winning streak to 39 games.

"I just jumped as high as I could with my arm up," said Davis, who had seven points and nine rebounds. "I thought I probably would (block it). I have long hands."

Freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Kentucky (8-0) and Doron Lamb added 12 of his 14 points after halftime in the heavily hyped matchup.

"I didn't realize, because I hadn't been watching much TV, that this game was being played up like the end alls of end alls," Kentucky coach John Calipari said.

Davis sure ended it, all right.

Reggie Bullock hit a 3-pointer for North Carolina (6-2) to cut the Wildcats' lead to 73-72 with 48 seconds left. After freshman Marquis Teague missed the front end of a one-and-one, Davis blocked Henson's shot, grabbed the rebound and the Wildcats ran out the clock.

"If he doesn't block the shot, we lose," Calipari said. "Both teams gutted it out, just gutted it out. This is supposed to be March, not now. I'm exhausted."

Tyler Zeller and Harrison Barnes scored 14 points apiece for the Tar Heels, who led by as many as nine in the first half and held a six-point lead in the second before Kentucky rallied.

The Wildcats haven't lost at Rupp Arena since Calipari took over, a span of 38 games that includes winning their final one at home under Billy Gillispie.

Lamb converted a three-point play as part of a 7-0 run that gave Kentucky a 63-60 lead. After Zeller hit a jumper to cut it to one, Lamb hit a pair of 3s, the second in the corner that gave the Wildcats a 69-64 lead with 3:47 left.

"He had a couple of layups, a couple of threes and they were big shots, they were big shots. That one in the corner was a huge shot and he knocked it down," Calipari said. "I've got good players. We're young, we're inexperienced, but I have really good players."

After a 3-pointer by Barnes, North Carolina's 11th of the game, made it 69-67. Darius Miller's basket made it 71-67. Henson hit two free throws and Kidd-Gilchrist answered with two more before Bullock's 3 set up the final sequence.

After Teague missed the front end of the one-and-one following a foul by Kendall Marshall with 21 seconds left, the Tar Heels had one more chance.

Marshall found Zeller and as Terrence Jones came to double team, he found Henson. Henson went up for a winner, but Davis used his 6-foot-10 frame and massive wingspan to block the ball. He grabbed the rebound as North Carolina never tried to foul as time expired.

"He came from the other side of the lane, it was a great play by him," Henson said.

Jones finished with 14 points and Miller had 12 for the Wildcats. North Carolina's P.J. Hairston scored 11 and Henson finished with 10.

Kentucky last reached No. 1 under Calipari in 2009-10, but promptly lost its first game after receiving the ranking. The Wildcats beat St. John's 81-59 on Thursday night before this matchup ? the first between top five teams in Lexington in 13 years.

Last year, these two teams played a pair of memorable games with North Carolina winning 75-73 in Chapel Hill before Kentucky topped the Tar Heels 76-69 in the NCAA regional finals in March.

This one was equally as entertaining even though North Carolina slipped from the No. 1 spot last week when they lost to UNLV in Las Vegas to keep this from being the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the 35-year history of Rupp Arena.

The Tar Heels committed five early turnovers, but Hairston, who had been questionable to play because of a sprained left wrist, hit a pair of 3-pointers upon entering to give North Carolina a 24-18 lead.

A jumper by Barnes extended it to 34-25, the biggest deficit the Wildcats faced this season and Kentucky trailed at the half for the first time this season, 43-38.

It's the first time the two schools have met this highly ranked since Dec. 26, 1981 in East Rutherford, N.J., when Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Sam Perkins combined for 66 points in North Carolina's 82-69 victory.

Kentucky standout Sam Bowie didn't play in that game because of a stress fracture in his left leg, but that game still featured 18 draft picks ? including five that went in the first two rounds. The NBA draft was 10 rounds through 1984.

This matchup had even more media anticipation and included more than two dozen NBA scouts and front office personnel. Kentucky's young squad that starts three freshmen and two sophomores responded.

"We felt like this was a good test to see where we're at against one of the best teams in the country," Miller said. "We came out with a W. I think we're all pretty happy about it."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-03-T25-NCarolina-Kentucky/id-1ab6af2885fe45af83d0741eba988fa1

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Obama: Relations with tribes at turning point (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama says his administration offers a turning point in the tangled relationship between Washington and Native American tribes.

Obama told tribal leaders that as president, he's "got your back."

Obama spoke Friday to the nation's 565 tribal leaders. The president said he has honored his promise to Native Americans to make his administration more responsive to their needs.

Obama used the annual Tribal Nations Conference to announce a new education initiative for American Indians and Alaska natives. It aims to expand educational opportunities for Native Americans, including learning their native languages, cultures and histories.

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

There's little doubt President Barack Obama has won high esteem among Native Americans by breaking through a logjam of inaction on issues that matter to them.

The Obama administration this week proposed sweeping changes to federal tribal-land leasing rules that had not been touched in 50 years. Obama nominated a Native American to the federal bench, signed a law renewing the Indian Health Care Act and settled a tribal royalties lawsuit that had dragged on through three administrations.

"Obama has done better for tribes than the others, except for the Nixon administration," said Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a former Republican senator from Colorado. President Richard Nixon advocated tribal self-determination and opposed the termination of American Indian tribes that had been occurring since the mid-1940s.

Against that backdrop, Obama on Friday speaks for the third time with the nation's 565 tribal leaders in Washington. The annual Tribal Nations Conference will allow Obama to boast about how he's kept his 2008 campaign promises for the 5.2 million American Indians and Alaska natives in the U.S. It also is a chance for tribal leaders to lay out what else they expect.

"We've made historic progress on many fronts but we recognize, as you recognize, that we have a lot more work to do," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said as he opened the gathering.

American Indians have been both "well-served" and "hurt" by other administrations, said Bill John Baker, principal chief of the largest Indian tribe, the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. Obama has gone beyond lip service, Baker said, and "backed up his words with actions that have made a positive impact on the lives of Native people."

But with the accomplishments come greater expectations from a people whose rates of unemployment, violent crime, youth suicides, poverty and high school dropouts are significantly higher than in the rest of the country.

"It's two steps forward, one step backward," Campbell said. "No matter what we do, we have to find a way for Indians to be self-sufficient and not dependent on the federal government, except for those services required by treaty in the old days."

The administration still must implement laws Obama signed and fund lawsuit settlements. Also, tribes want to see the administration push legislation through Congress to get around a 2009 Supreme Court decision limiting the interior secretary's authority to accept land into federal trust on behalf of Indian tribes. The decision has held up economic development for tribes.

Salazar told the leaders Friday the court's decision was a "wrong decision" and needs to be fixed.

"We still need improvements in roads, bridges, schools, hospitals as well as addressing the digital, electrical and clean water disparities that hamper development and quality of life issues for our people," Baker said.

Thomas Shortbull, president of Oglala Lakota College on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, said for now he's giving Obama a B-minus. He notes that the president hasn't issued an executive order, as Clinton and Bush did, reminding agencies to provide money to tribal colleges.

Still, Obama has assembled a respectable bragging list. He has:

_Signed the Tribal Law and Order Act to improve law enforcement and public safety in tribal communities.

_Renewed the Indian Health Care Improvement Act and made it permanent.

_Settled the class-action Cobell lawsuit over federal government mismanagement of royalties for oil, gas, timber and grazing leases and an American Indian farmers discrimination lawsuit.

_Nominated Arvo Mikkanen to be a federal judge in Oklahoma. His nomination is awaiting Senate confirmation.

_Launched a test crime-fighting program on four reservations that early results show has led to drops in violent crime in the first year.

Jacqueline Johnson Pata, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians and an Alaska native, said native peoples' enthusiasm for Obama goes deeper.

Obama has embraced Native American tribal sovereignty preserved in the Constitution, court decisions and treaty agreements and made that the foundation for his administration's dealings with tribes, Pata said.

All this has come about as tribes have become increasingly politically savvy, as well as more organized in making their agenda known, she said.

Like former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Obama appointed a Native American to his Intergovernmental Affairs staff. But he also appointed Kimberly Teehee, a member of the Cherokee Nation, as senior policy adviser for Native American Affairs.

In addition, Obama reminded executive department heads and agencies in a November 2009 memo of their obligation to regularly consult and collaborate with tribal officials on policies that impact Native Americans.

"I think we have made strides under the Obama administration the likes of which tribes have not seen for 30 years," said Stacy Bohlen, executive director of the National Indian Health Board. Bohlen is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan.

Several agencies have yet to draft policies, according to the National Congress of American Indians.

___

Follow Suzanne Gamboa at http://twitter.com/APsgamboa .

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_native_americans

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World's Gutsiest Guy Goes Skydiving Without Wearing a 'Chute [Video]

This is Greg Gasson—either the bravest or craziest man alive. Why? He has a habit of jumping out of planes sans parachute. Sure he brings one with him—nobody's dumb enough to leave home without it—but it's not like he wears the thing. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/N0yrMojxCFs/worlds-gustiest-guy-goes-skydiving-without-wearing-a-chute

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Thawing permafrost vents gases to worsen warming (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Massive amounts of greenhouse gases trapped below thawing permafrost will likely seep into the air over the next several decades, accelerating and amplifying global warming, scientists warn.

Those heat-trapping gases under the frozen Arctic ground may be a bigger factor in global warming than the cutting down of forests, and a scenario that climate scientists hadn't quite accounted for, according to a group of permafrost experts. The gases won't contribute as much as pollution from power plants, cars, trucks and planes, though.

The permafrost scientists predict that over the next three decades a total of about 45 billion metric tons of carbon from methane and carbon dioxide will seep into the atmosphere when permafrost thaws during summers. That's about the same amount of heat-trapping gas the world spews during five years of burning coal, gas and other fossil fuels

And the picture is even more alarming for the end of the century. The scientists calculate that about than 300 billion metric tons of carbon will belch from the thawing Earth from now until 2100.

Adding in that gas means that warming would happen "20 to 30 percent faster than from fossil fuel emissions alone," said Edward Schuur of the University of Florida. "You are significantly speeding things up by releasing this carbon."

Usually the first few to several inches of permafrost thaw in the summer, but scientists are now looking at up to 10 feet of soft unfrozen ground because of warmer temperatures, he said. The gases come from decaying plants that have been stuck below frozen ground for millennia.

Schuur and 40 other scientists in the Permafrost Carbon Research Network met this summer and jointly wrote up their findings, which were published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

"The survey provides an important warning that global climate warming is likely to be worse than expected," said Jay Zwally, a NASA polar scientist who wasn't part of the study. "Arctic permafrost has been like a wild card."

When the Nobel Prize-winning panel of climate scientists issued its last full report in 2007, it didn't even factor in trapped methane and carbon dioxide from beneath the permafrost. Diplomats are meeting this week in South Africa to find ways of curbing human-made climate change.

Schuur and others said increasing amounts of greenhouse gas are seeping out of permafrost each year. Some is methane, which is 25 times stronger than carbon dioxide in trapping heat.

In a recent video, University of Alaska Fairbanks professor Katey Walter Anthony, a study co-author, is shown setting leaking methane gas on fire with flames shooting far above her head.

"Places like that are all around," Anthony said in a phone interview. "We're tapping into old carbon that has been locked up in the ground for 30,000 to 40,000 years."

That triggers what Anthony and other scientists call a feedback cycle. The world warms, mostly because of human-made greenhouse gases. That thaws permafrost, releasing more natural greenhouse gas, augmenting the warming.

There are lots of unknowns and a large margin of error because this is a relatively new issue with limited data available, the scientists acknowledge.

"It's very much a seat-of-the-pants expert assessment," said Stanford University's Chris Field, who wasn't involved in the new report.

The World Meteorological Organization this week said the worst of the warming in 2011 was in the northern areas ? where there is permafrost ? and especially Russia. Since 1970, the Arctic has warmed at a rate twice as fast as the rest of the globe.

The thawing permafrost also causes trees to lean ? scientists call them "drunken trees" ? and roads to buckle. Study co-author F. Stuart Chapin III said when he first moved to Fairbanks the road from his house to the University of Alaska had to be resurfaced once a decade.

"Now it gets resurfaced every year due to thawing permafrost," Chapin said.

___

Online:

Nature: www.nature.com/nature

Permafrost network: http://bit.ly/uSOvLR

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/environment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111130/ap_on_sc/us_sci_warming_permafrost

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Arduino hacker conjures NES and Etch-a-sketch wonderment (video)

You never know when that creative spark will ignite in your brain and compel you to sketch out some ideas. But when that genius moment finally arrives, you might consider grabbing your original Nintendo controller, quickly wiring it up to an Arduino board, connecting that to some motors and then using those to drive the dials on an Etch-a-Sketch. Modder Alpinedelta32 tries it in the video after the break and it turns out to be a breeze -- and so much more tactile than other idea-capturing devices.

Continue reading Arduino hacker conjures NES and Etch-a-sketch wonderment (video)

Arduino hacker conjures NES and Etch-a-sketch wonderment (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Nov 2011 22:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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