Dish Network's long-gestating tie-up with ViaSat and Hughes has finally arrived under the name dishNET. Sounding like an implement you'd use to clean dirty dinner plates, the nationwide satellite broadband service launches from October 1st, targeting customers in rural areas that are underserved with fixed line gear. $40 a month gets you 5 Mbps down / 1Mbps up with a 10GB data cap, while subscribers can get a $10 discount if they pick up a TV package at the same time. We asked the company if this was related to the service based upon its spectrum purchases that was hinted at back in August, and it confirmed this is just leveraging ViaSat Exede and HughesNet.
If the phrase ?blowing into a video game cartridge? doesn?t immediately strike up years of memories from your early gaming days, you missed out. It was a ritual, a tradition, a part of the coming-of-age of the golden days of gaming. But did you ever stop to wonder if blowing your moist breath all over a fragile electronic product was actually the right thing to do?
When the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was released in the US, its design is believed to be what led to the cartridge-blowing phenomenon. Having the game encased inside a hidden compartment led to the conception that it could become filled with dust and other particles, since users could not really see where cartridges made contact with the system. So blowing into the system, and blowing into the cartridges, seemed to make sense. The most compelling reason was because it seemed to work. Of course, there is also an argument that taking the cartridge in and out without blowing into it could have had the same effect.
Chris Higgins from Mental Floss decided to research the age-old phenomenon, and found that experts tend to think that it was overall a bad idea, with some calling it nothing more than a placebo effect. Others say it actually led to damage of the games over time.
Also brought to light was a study that gaming enthusiast Frankie Viturello conducted in which he blew into one NES cartridge every day for a month, did not tamper with another one, and then used both of them equally. The results can be seen in the picture above. No one can say that looks like a healthy cartridge.
Perhaps it is true that there was an immediate positive impact by blowing into the games, but the experts seem to agree that no matter how tempting it is, it should be avoided.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Ross Detwiler and his teammates watched the Philadelphia Phillies celebrate enough division titles, hoping one day to return the favor.
Not this year.
Darin Ruf homered for his first major league hit, Carlos Ruiz and Domonic Brown also went deep and the Phillies beat the playoff-bound Washington Nationals 6-3 on Tuesday night.
The Nationals' magic number for winning the NL East remained at five because Atlanta beat Miami 4-3. Their lead over the Braves dropped to four games with eight left.
The loss assured that Washington won't pop bubbly in Philadelphia this week. The earliest the Nationals can secure the NL East is Friday. Philadelphia clinched three times against Washington in the past five years.
"We'd like to have celebrated on their field like they did with us," Detwiler said. "I didn't let it happen."
Detwiler (10-7) gave up five runs and five hits in five innings to lose for the first time since Aug. 22.
"When I don't have a fastball, that's what happens," Detwiler said. "It was embarrassing."
Cole Hamels (16-6) overcame five shaky innings to set a career high in wins and help the five-time defending NL East champion Phillies keep their faint postseason hopes alive. Hamels allowed three runs and seven hits, tying his shortest outing of the year.
Philadelphia is 5 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the NL's second wild-card spot. Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Dodgers also are ahead of the Phillies in the standings with eight games remaining.
Ruf earned the nickname "Babe" by leading all minor leaguers with 38 homers this season, breaking Ryan Howard's season record at Double-A Reading.
He didn't take long to show his power stroke.
Ruf connected off Detwiler in the second inning, turning on an inside pitch and hitting a towering drive out to left-center. The rookie got the silent treatment in the dugout. Players held back smiles and ignored Ruf until the inning ended before congratulating him with high-fives. Fans in left field gave him a standing ovation when he jogged out to his position.
Control problems hurt Detwiler in the third. He walked John Mayberry Jr. and Chase Utley to start the inning. Howard followed with an RBI single on an 0-2 pitch. Ruiz then lined a three-run shot to left to make it 5-1.
"He has such a good fastball that sometimes that's all he wants to throw," Nats manager Davey Johnson said.
Hamels, the 2008 World Series and NLCS MVP, won 15 games in 2007. The three-time All-Star hadn't won more than 14 since until now.
This wasn't one of his better outings.
Five Philadelphia relievers tossed four innings of one-hit ball. Jonathan Papelbon finished for his 37th save in 41 tries.
Hamels issued a two-out walk to Danny Espinosa in the second. Espinosa stole second and scored on Kurt Suzuki's single to center for a 1-0 lead.
Bryce Harper hit an RBI single with two outs in the fifth to cut it to 5-2. Harper alertly advanced to second on the throw to the plate and scored Ryan Zimmerman's single that got the Nationals within two runs.
Brown gave the Phillies a 6-3 lead when he blasted Craig Stammen's first pitch way out to right leading off the bottom of the sixth.
NOTES: Hamels is 13-5 vs. Washington. ... Detwiler is 7-2 vs. NL East teams. ... The Nationals fell to 13-10 in September. They are the only team in the majors with a winning record each month. ... Kyle Kendrick (10-11) faces John Lannan (3-0) on Wednesday night. Lannan is 2-12 vs. Philadelphia.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
advertisement
More news
Braves are in!
Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to put the Atlanta Braves back in the playoffs with a 4-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night.
If you're anything like us, you'll have plenty of wall chargers left over from devices you've long since parted company with. Observe above, the mangled husk of our two and a half year-old HTC Desire charger, still in service today. Knowing that many older chargers are still in use, O2 UK and HTC have decided to take a radical step to cut down on waste, and presumably save a bit of cash at the same time. O2 claims that 70 percent of all phone buyers already have a "relevant charger" at home.
The two are to offer an upcoming, unnamed HTC flagship device with a microUSB cable, but no charger, in an effort to improve their green credentials. And according to a report on UK tech site Pocket-Lint this morning, O2 and HTC are serious about this latest endeavor.
"I have a simple vision for O2: we want to take chargers out of boxes full stop," said Ronan Dunne, CEO of O2. "Right now, O2 with HTC has to go it alone on this matter - we both believe in it passionately enough that we can’t wait for the industry as a whole to join us in this crusade. That said, we hope that we will be able to pave the way for others to follow us as this has to be a collective effort if we are to achieve the bigger aim of eliminating chargers sold with every new phone in the UK."
We're all for cutting down on unnecessary waste, but from our perspective, the most interesting thing about this story is that it tacitly confirms that we're due a new HTC flagship in the weeks ahead, and that O2 will offer it. The fact that the device itself is unnamed suggests it's yet to be announced -- possibilities include the rumored One X+ and One X 5. We'll be watching with interest to see what devices emerge from HTC and O2 as 2012 draws to a close.
Nokia has announced its cheapest capacitive touchscreen Ashas to date: the Asha 309 and the Asha 308 were unboxed in Jakarta, Indonesia, and like the rest of the Asha range will primarily target emerging markets. The two Series 40-based phones are expected to retail at around $99 -- undercutting previous all-touch Ashas such as the Asha 311 and 306.
Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Autoresponders Articles from EzineArticles.com
Top 3 Ways To Use Your Autoresponder To Make Your Internet Marketing Business More Successful
In this article, you will learn the top three ways to use your autoresponder to your advantage in your Internet marketing business. If you did not know your autoresponder is your most powerful tool in online marketing. The reason that it is so powerful is because you are able to build a targeted group of people who are all focused on solving or achieving the same thing. You will not be able to collect e-mails and market to the people without having an autoresponder. I wanted to set the tone and let you know how important having an autoresponder is before I give you the top three ways on how to use your autoresponder to your best advantage.
Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Product-Creation Articles from EzineArticles.com
Develop or Port Your Applications to Android Platform
Is your business missing the push to grow in the competitive market? It?s time that you focus on Android as a mobile operating system for developing mobile applications for your target market. You can either develop or port your applications to Android platform to attract higher target market.
Self-Improvement:Motivation Articles from EzineArticles.com
Break a Weight Loss Plateau? How I Did It Against All Odds
Have you ever tried to break weight loss plateau that was just impossible to break? That was me, even though I used to be able to drop those excess pounds as soon as I stopped eating the Christmas crap. But here it was July, and those I was still pushing 150. Here?s my story?
Montreal technology uses cold to treat heart conditionPublic release date: 25-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Marie-Jose Nantel marie-josee.nantel@icm-mhi.org 514-376-3330 Montreal Heart Institute
A Canadian firsty at the MHI
Montreal, September 25, 2012 A team of cardiologists from the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) specializing in cardiac arrhythmias has used for the very first time in Canada, a technology developed in Montreal to treat a patient with atrial fibrillation. Recently licenced by Health Canada, this sophisticated device is a balloon inserted by catheter that uses extreme cold to burn malfunctioning heart tissue. This medical milestone is excellent news for hundreds of Canadians as one in 20 people will suffer from atrial fibrillation at some point in their lives.
On September 4 2012, Doctor Marc Dubuc and Doctor Peter Guerra, both cardiologists at MHI, performed the procedure in a 67-year-old female patient. The patient had been suffering from arrhythmia for a number of years and drug-based treatments had proved ineffective. The patient tolerated the procedure well and she was able to return to the comfort of her home barely 24 hours after the procedure.
Technology developed in Montreal
This innovative technology was developed by Medtronic CryoCath, based in Montreal. The success of this procedure is particularly significant for Dr. Dubuc the principal investigator for the research carried out at Montreal Heart Insititute that resulted in the development of this technology. "This cryoballoon is a major milestone in the treatment of atrial fibrillation, as the duration of the procedure is reduced and it is both effective and safe for patients", Dr Dubuc stated proudly. Furthermore, a North American study has demonstrated that 69.9% of patients treated with this type of device no longer suffered from atrial fibrillation after one year, compared with 7.3% of those taking medication alone.
A type of heart disease that affects one in 20 people
In Canada, almost 250,000 people suffer from this form of arrhythmia. Closely associated with an aging population, this type of arrhythmia is becoming more and more common. The main symptoms are palpitations, blackouts and shortness of breath. The heart beats very quickly in an irregular and unpredictable manner. This weakens the heart and encourages blood clots to form, which can cause strokes and peripheral embolisms.
###
About the Montreal Heart Institute: www.icm-mhi.org
Information: Marie-Jose Nantel
Communications Officer
Montreal Heart Institute
Telephone: 514 376-3330, extension 2641
marie-josee.nantel@icm-mhi.org
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Montreal technology uses cold to treat heart conditionPublic release date: 25-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Marie-Jose Nantel marie-josee.nantel@icm-mhi.org 514-376-3330 Montreal Heart Institute
A Canadian firsty at the MHI
Montreal, September 25, 2012 A team of cardiologists from the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) specializing in cardiac arrhythmias has used for the very first time in Canada, a technology developed in Montreal to treat a patient with atrial fibrillation. Recently licenced by Health Canada, this sophisticated device is a balloon inserted by catheter that uses extreme cold to burn malfunctioning heart tissue. This medical milestone is excellent news for hundreds of Canadians as one in 20 people will suffer from atrial fibrillation at some point in their lives.
On September 4 2012, Doctor Marc Dubuc and Doctor Peter Guerra, both cardiologists at MHI, performed the procedure in a 67-year-old female patient. The patient had been suffering from arrhythmia for a number of years and drug-based treatments had proved ineffective. The patient tolerated the procedure well and she was able to return to the comfort of her home barely 24 hours after the procedure.
Technology developed in Montreal
This innovative technology was developed by Medtronic CryoCath, based in Montreal. The success of this procedure is particularly significant for Dr. Dubuc the principal investigator for the research carried out at Montreal Heart Insititute that resulted in the development of this technology. "This cryoballoon is a major milestone in the treatment of atrial fibrillation, as the duration of the procedure is reduced and it is both effective and safe for patients", Dr Dubuc stated proudly. Furthermore, a North American study has demonstrated that 69.9% of patients treated with this type of device no longer suffered from atrial fibrillation after one year, compared with 7.3% of those taking medication alone.
A type of heart disease that affects one in 20 people
In Canada, almost 250,000 people suffer from this form of arrhythmia. Closely associated with an aging population, this type of arrhythmia is becoming more and more common. The main symptoms are palpitations, blackouts and shortness of breath. The heart beats very quickly in an irregular and unpredictable manner. This weakens the heart and encourages blood clots to form, which can cause strokes and peripheral embolisms.
###
About the Montreal Heart Institute: www.icm-mhi.org
Information: Marie-Jose Nantel
Communications Officer
Montreal Heart Institute
Telephone: 514 376-3330, extension 2641
marie-josee.nantel@icm-mhi.org
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Nokia has announced its cheapest capacitive touchscreen Ashas to date: the Asha 309 and the Asha 308 were unboxed in Jakarta, Indonesia, and like the rest of the Asha range will primarily target emerging markets. The two Series 40-based phones are expected to retail at around $99 -- undercutting previous all-touch Ashas such as the Asha 311 and 306.![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uZ2g8iiDmDKexsi7cCL0YS_1gDj9vt-I-lEa8D-gAUVYSpGoRmMw4IvFuMSLmUgn5VLvf9TJHD9N5Zq68E2Tf4Um8PT7kh447Sfqhv2RM=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 25-Sep-2012
Share ]