Hottest tech products of fall 2012

Every year we roll out our fall list of the products getting the most attention from readers, and every year it ends up being a list dominated by phones. But not this year. No, this time you guys are spicing things up with a surprising mix of products. Here’s what’s getting your attention right now.

Sony Vaio Tap 20

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

The good: By slapping a battery inside a 20-inch touch-screen all-in-one, the company has given birth to a new PC category with great potential in tech-savvy homes.

The bad: The touch screen has some frustrating drag, and Sony made a few missteps among some otherwise reasonable sacrifices for portability and price.

The cost: $999.99

The bottom line: A compelling experiment in tablet-desktop hybridization, the Sony Vaio Tap 20 is a great fit for home tech enthusiasts willing to try something new.

Toshiba Portege Z935-P300

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

The good: This Toshiba product has very good features, performance and battery life for its price and is very thin and very light.

The bad: The keyboard may be too small for some users and the laptop doesn’t feel particularly sturdy, especially the lid and display.

The cost: $779.99 to $876

The bottom line: The Toshiba Portege Z935-P300 is an excellent ultrabook value if you can overlook its few design shortcomings.

Apple iPad Mini

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: The ultrathin and light design makes it seem far more intimate and booklike than the larger iPad, and its cameras, storage capacities, optional LTE antenna and general functionality offer a full iPad experience. The screen’s dimensions elegantly display larger-format magazines and apps.

The bad: It costs too much, especially considering the lower resolution of its 7.9-inch display, which isn’t a Retina Display. The A5 processor isn’t as robust as the one in the fourth-gen iPad and iPhone 5. Typing on the smaller screen is not quite as comfy.

The cost: $329.99 to $549.99

The bottom line: If you want the full, polished Apple tablet experience in a smaller package, the iPad Mini is worth the premium price. Otherwise, good alternatives are available for less money.

Apple iPhone 5

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: The iPhone 5 adds everything we wanted in the iPhone 4S: 4G LTE, a longer, larger screen, free turn-by-turn navigation, and a faster A6 processor. Plus, its top-to-bottom redesign is sharp, slim, and featherlight.

The bad: Apple Maps feels unfinished and buggy; Sprint and Verizon models can’t use voice and data simultaneously; the smaller connector renders current accessories unusable without an adapter; there’s no NFC; and the screen size pales in comparison with jumbo Android models.

The cost: $199.99

The bottom line: The iPhone 5 completely rebuilds the iPhone on a framework of new features and design, addressing its major previous shortcomings. It’s absolutely the best iPhone to date, and it easily secures its place in the top tier of the smartphone universe.

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Women convicted of Medicare fraud at Fort Lauderdale therapy clinic

Two women who held senior positions with a Fort Lauderdale mental health clinic escaped convictions when a jury deadlocked on Medicare fraud charges against them.

The second time around, Lydia Ward and Nichole Eckert were not as lucky.

A Miami federal jury in Miami found them guilty last week of conspiring to defraud the taxpayer-funded Medicare program in the nation’s largest mental-health clinic racket, totaling $205 million.

Ward, 47, a Ph.D who served as the former program director of American Therapeutic Corp.’s Fort Lauderdale clinic, and Eckert, 35, the clinic’s one-time therapist, are now in custody and each faces up to 10 years in prison at their January sentencings.

At trial, the 12-person jury said it was unable to reach a unanimous health-care fraud conspiracy verdict against a third defendant, Hilario Morris. He had been convicted in the first trial of conspiring to pay kickbacks to residential home operators in exchange for providing patients to American Therapeutic.

Since Miami-based American Therapeutic’s seven-clinic chain was shuttered two years ago, about 35 defendants associated with the company have been charged and convicted of fleecing the Medicare program for the elderly and disabled – including the company’s owner, Lawrence Duran, of Miami. He is now serving 50 years in prison, the stiffest Medicare-fraud punishment in history.

Among others convicted in the elaborate scheme: Three psychiatrists, Mark Willner, of Weston, Alberto Ayala, of Coral Gables, and Alan Gumer, of Tamarac.

Gumer, who cooperated with the Justice Department, testified last spring against fellow doctors Willner and Ayala, who are serving 10-year prison sentences. They were convicted of altering diagnoses and medications of thousands of patients to make it look as if they qualified for group therapy sessions so that Medicare would pay fraudulent bills submitted by American Therapeutic.

At the latest trial ending in mid-November, the jury found that Ward and Eckert personally altered patient files and therapist notes to make it appear that patients were eligible for treatment of purported bipolar conditions, schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses.

Justice Department prosecutor Jennifer Saulino said the Fort Lauderdale clinic catered mostly to people with Alzheimer’s disease, addicts and alcoholics, bused from local assisted-living facilities. She said those types of patients could not have benefitted from the treatment.

Ward’s lawyer, Dennis Urbano, and Eckert’s attorney, Michael Tein, argued their clients were unaware of the fraud and provided legitimate therapy services.

But the jury, after last week’s deliberations, found them guilty.

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HTC “happy” with Apple settlement, slams media estimates

TOKYO (Reuters) – Taiwan’s HTC Corp is happy with its patent settlement with Apple Inc, but regards media reports on details of the licensing agreement as “outrageous”, chief executive Peter Chou told reporters on Tuesday.

HTC and Apple announced a global patent settlement and a 10-year licensing agreement this month after a bruising patent war between the two smartphone makers.

The companies did not disclose details of the settlement or the licensing agreement, but HTC said it will not change its fourth-quarter guidance.

Responding to a question about media reports that HTC will pay Apple $ 6 to $ 8 per Android phone as part of the patent settlement, Chou said it was an outrageous estimate.

“I think that these estimates are baseless and very, very wrong. It is a outrageous number, but I’m not going to comment anything on a specific number. I believe we have a very, very happy settlement and a good ending,” said Chou at a KDDI Corp product launch in Tokyo.

Apple sued the Taiwanese handset maker in 2010, its first major legal salvo against a manufacturer using Google’s Android operating system. Since the suit, a patent war has engulfed competitors including Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Google’s Motorola Mobility unit.

(Reporting by Mari Saito; Editing by Michael Watson and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Ryan Eggold: Next Taylor Swift Break-up Song?

Fresh off an appearance at Sunday night's American Music Awards, Ryan Eggold had one girl on his mind, Taylor Swift.

Fierce & Fabulous: The 2012 AMA Red Carpet Fashion

"I'm just hoping to meet Taylor Swift," he confessed of his crush at the Rolling Stone After Party in Hollywood. The 90210 actor would do just about anything to sweep her off her feet. The 11-time AMA winner is synonymous with penning songs about all her exes and Ryan's not afraid of becoming her next target. Coming up with a game plan, he told ET he'd willing oblige. "Date her for like a month and then just drop her like a rock and then get a great song out of it," he schemes.

VIDEO: Jenny McCarthy Imagines Dating Justin Bieber

Artists often use their loves as muses for lyrical inspiration. American Idol's Paul McDonald says with his blushing wife Twilight's Nikki Reed standing beside him, "I get a lot of my inspiration from this lady over here and it's good when we write together. It brings out a whole different thing than I'm used to from touring with a band."

VIDEO: Nikki Reed Duets with Hubby for 'Twilight' Song

Chicago Fire actress Teri Reeves' husband didn't need to be a hunky firefighter to win her heart. He serenaded her with a personally-written song at their wedding. "My husband is a musician. He doesn't wear a uniform, but he wears a guitar, which is equally as sexy," she gushes.

Watch the video for more about the AMAs, Dancing with the Stars, and Once Upon a Time.

VIDEO: Kesha on Justin Bieber: 'I Would Hit That'

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FBI: 4 Calif. men charged in alleged terror plot, planned to join al-Qaeda

LOS ANGELES — Four Southern California men have been charged with plotting to kill Americans and destroy U.S. targets overseas by joining al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, federal officials said Monday.

The defendants, including a man who served in the U.S. Air Force, were arrested for plotting to bomb military bases and government facilities, and for planning to engage in "violent jihad," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said in a release.

A federal complaint unsealed Monday says 34-year-old Sohiel Omar Kabir of Pomona introduced two of the other men to the radical Islamist doctrine of Anwar al-Awlaki, a deceased al-Qaida leader. Kabir served in the Air Force from 2000 to 2001.

The other two — 23-year-old Ralph Deleon of Ontario and 21-year-old Miguel Alejandro Santana Vidriales of Upland — converted to Islam in 2010 and began engaging with Kabir and others online in discussions about jihad, including posting radical content to Facebook and expressing extremist views in comments.

They later recruited 21-year-old Arifeen David Gojali of Riverside.

Authorities allege that in Skype calls from Afghanistan, Kabir told the trio he would arrange their meetings with terrorists. Kabir added the would-be jihadists could sleep in mosques or the homes of fellow jihadists once they arrived in Afghanistan.

The trio made plans to depart in mid-November to carry out plots in Afghanistan, primarily, and Yemen, after they sold off belongings to scrape together enough cash to buy plane tickets and made passport arrangements.

In one online conversation, Santana told an FBI undercover agent that he wanted to commit jihad and expressed interest in a jihadist training camp in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

The complaint also alleges the men went to a shooting range several times, including a Sept. 10 trip in which Deleon told a confidential FBI source that he wanted to be on the front lines overseas and use C-4, an explosive, in an attack. Santana agreed.

"I wanna do C-4s if I could put one of these trucks right here with my, with that. Just drive into, like, the baddest military base," Santana said, according to the complaint.

Santana added he wanted to use a large quantity of the explosive. "If I'm gonna do that, I'm gonna take out a whole base. Might as well make it, like, big, ya know," he said.

According to the complaint, at the shooting range that day both Santana and Deleon told a confidential FBI source they were excited about the rewards from becoming a shaheed, which is Arabic for martyr.

Ten days later, during another trip to the shooting range to fire assault-style rifles, Santana told the source he had been around gangs and had no problem taking a life.

On Sept. 30, Gojali was recruited to the plot after he was asked if he had it in him to kill in jihad. Gojali answered, "Yeah, of course."

"I watch videos on the Internet, and I see what they are doing to our brothers and sisters. ... It makes me cry, and it gets like I'm, like, so angered with them," Gojali said, according to the complaint.

The men wiped their Facebook pages of radical Islamist content and photos of themselves in traditional Muslim attire, and devised a cover story that they were going to Afghanistan to attend Kabir's wedding.

Federal authorities said the trio and the FBI's confidential source bought airplane tickets last week for a Sunday flight from Mexico City to Istanbul, with plans to later continue to Kabul.

After Kabir began talking to him about Islam, Santana said he "accepted Islam without knowing anything about it besides it being the truth" and that he believed the religion would help him "fit in and actually be able to fight for something that's right," according to the complaint.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum of 15 years in federal prison.

Kabir is being detained in Afghanistan. The other three appeared for a detention hearing Monday in Riverside, and all but Gojali were remanded to federal custody with no bail. His detention hearing was delayed.

After-hours calls left for the men's attorneys were not immediately returned Monday.

A preliminary hearing is slated for Dec. 3, and an arraignment is set for Dec. 5.

Kabir is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Afghanistan. Santana was born in Mexico, while Deleon was born in the Philippines. Both are lawful, permanent U.S. residents. Gojali is a U.S. citizen.

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South Florida hotels enjoyed a strong October

South Florida hotels enjoyed a strong October, as growing demand for rooms helped boost nightly rates.

A new Smith Travel report showed the typical room in Broward County generated 9 percent more revenue per night than did it did in October 2011. For Miami-Dade, the gain in revenue-per-room (known as “revpar” in the lodging industry) was 8 percent.

Improvements in two fronts drove the change. First, vacationers and business travelers rented more rooms, with occupancy up slightly in both markets. The average Broward hotel rented 69 percent of its rooms in October, while occupancy hit 75 percent in Miami-Dade hotels.

More importantly, hotels charged more for each room. The average rate in a Broward hotel was $108 a night, up four dollars from October 2011. In Miami-Dade, the average rate jumped $10 to $152 a night.

Monroe County, home to the Florida Keys, also saw gains. Occupancy rose slightly to 66 percent, while the average room rate jumped eight dollars to $185 a night. That caused revpar, which measures occupancy and room rates, to jump 9 percent.

DOUGLAS HANKS

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Pembroke Pines hosts winter camp for special needs kids

The City of Pembroke Pines is accepting registration for its two-week Winter Camp for special needs children ages 6 through 14.

Participants will engage in indoor and outdoor activities, games, arts and crafts, and other activities.

Participants must be independent in toileting skills and be able to administer, with supervision, their own medications.

The camp will be held at Rose G. Price Park, 901 NW 208th Ave., Pembroke Pines.

The camps will be 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 24 and 26 -28; and Dec. 31 and Jan. 2-4.

One week will cost $100; two weeks will cost $175. The fee does not include snacks, lunch or drinks, but it does include camp supplies. Payment is due at time of registration.

For additional information, contact Mary Wilson Palacios, Special Population Coordinator, at 954-450-3663 or mpalacios@ppines.com.

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Facebook takes another shot at settling privacy lawsuit

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A U.S. judge said he would consider whether to preliminarily approve Facebook‘s second attempt to settle allegations the social networking company violated privacy rights.

Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg rejected a proposed class action settlement over Facebook’s ‘Sponsored Stories’ advertising feature. But at a hearing on Thursday in San Francisco federal court, Seeborg was much less critical of a revised proposal and promised a ruling “very shortly.”

Five Facebook Inc members filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status against the social networking site, saying its Sponsored Stories feature violated California law by publicizing users’ “likes” of certain advertisers without paying them or giving them a way to opt out. The case involved over 100 million potential class members.

As part of a proposed settlement reached earlier this year, Facebook agreed to allow members more control over how their personal information is used. Facebook also agreed to pay $ 10 million for legal fees and $ 10 million to charity, according to court documents.

However, Seeborg rejected the proposed deal in August, questioning why it did not award any money to members.

In a revised proposal, Facebook and plaintiff lawyers said users now could claim a cash payment of up to $ 10 each to be paid from a $ 20 million total settlement fund. Any money remaining would then go to charity.

The company also said it would engineer a new tool to enable users to view any content that might have been displayed in Sponsored Stories and then opt out if they desire, the court document says.

In court on Thursday, Facebook attorney Michael Rhodes said the settlement provided meaningful protections and that Seeborg’s job was to ensure a fair settlement – not write national privacy policy.

“Trust me, I’m not proposing to set grand policy with privacy issues writ large,” Seeborg said.

Two children’s advocacy groups filed court papers opposing the deal, saying that an opt-in procedure with parental consent should be required before Facebook can use a minor’s content in ads.

However, plaintiff attorney Robert Arns said the deal balances the public good with Facebook’s ability to run a profitable social networking service.

“We believe we cracked the code so that it’s fair,” he said.

If Seeborg grants his preliminary approval, outside groups would be able to file further objections before a final hearing.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Angel Fraley et al., individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated vs. Facebook Inc, 11-cv-1726.

(Reporting By Dan Levine. Editing by Andre Grenon)

Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Justin Bieber Wins Big at American Music Awardss

Justin Bieber gave an emotional thank you to his mom, Pattie Mallette, who stood on stage with the pop star as he accepted Artist of the Year, his third award of the evening, at the culmination of the 40th annual American Music Awards Sunday in Los Angeles. 

The Biebs, who brought his mother along as his date for the show, took home the first and the last award of the night, (Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Artist of the Year, respectively) as well as Favorite Pop/Rock Album for Believe.

Fierce & Fabulous: The 2012 AMA Red Carpet

Nipping at his heels with two wins this year, Nicki Minaj nabbed the awards for favorite rap/hip hop album (Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded) and favorite rap/hip hop artist.

The big-winning twosome also graced the stage to sing (once with each other) hits from their current albums. Taylor Swift, Christina Aguilera, No Doubt, Usher, Carly Rae Jepsen, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, and Pink also made the night memorable with elaborate, theatrical performances.

Recently departed Dick Clark, who created the show forty years ago, was honored by Stevie Wonder with a variety of songs. Whitney Houston was also fondly remembered by singer Brandy, who introduced a brief tribute to the late artist.

Here's a rundown of all the winners honored at the 40th annual American Music Awards tonight:

Artist of the year: Justin Bieber

New artist of the year: Carly Rae Jepsen

Pop/rock female artist: Katy Perry

Country female artist: Taylor Swift

Pop/rock male artist: Justin Bieber

Pop/rock band, duo or group: Maroon 5

Country male artist: Luke Bryan

Country band, duo or group: Lady Antebellum

Soul/R&B male artist: Usher

Soul/R&B female artist: Beyonce

Alternative rock artist: Linkin Park

Adult contemporary artist: Adele

Artist, Latin: Shakira

Artist, electronic dance music: David Guetta

Artist, contemporary inspirational: tobyMac

Rap/hip-hop artist: Nicki Minaj

Pop/rock album: Justin Bieber, "Believe''

Rap/hip-hop album: Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

Country album: Carrie Underwood, Blown Away

Soul/R&B album: Rihanna, "Talk That Talk''

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President Obama discusses freedoms, offers 'hand of friendship' in Myanmar speech

AP

President Obama speaks in Myanmar Monday.

President Obama spoke about freedoms and empowerment during a Monday speech in Myanmar, encouraging the country to continue its transition to democracy.

“Hatred in the human heart can recede,” Obama said, suggesting that “the lines between races and tribes can fade away.”

Obama offered a “hand of friendship” and US support for Myanmar – long ruled by a repressive military – and other nations that respect its people’s rights and international law.

But he also said the new civilian government must nurture democracy or watch it, and US support, disappear.

During his speech at the University of Yangon, Obama addressed America’s own restrictive past.

“Once, the color of my skin would have denied me the right to vote,” he said. “If our country can transcend its differences, yours can too.”

The speech came during Obama’s four-day trip to Southeast Asia. He’s the first US president to visit Myanmar.

With AP

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