Singer Alicia Keys, the Global Creative Director of Blackberry, appears Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, in New York. The maker of the BlackBerry smartphone is promising a speedy browser, a superb typing experience and the ability to keep work and personal identities separate on the same phone, the fruit of a crucial, long-overdue makeover for the Canadian company. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Singer Alicia Keys, the Global Creative Director of Blackberry, appears Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, in New York. The maker of the BlackBerry smartphone is promising a speedy browser, a superb typing experience and the ability to keep work and personal identities separate on the same phone, the fruit of a crucial, long-overdue makeover for the Canadian company. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
NEW YORK (AP) ? All five nominees for album of the year at this year's Grammys will perform at the awards show next month.
The Recording Academy announced Thursday that R&B singer Frank Ocean will join Mumford & Sons, The Black Keys, Jack White and fun. at the Grammys, to take place live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 10.
Alicia Keys and Maroon 5 will join forces for a special performance. Presenters include Katy Perry, Keith Urban, Carly Rae Jepsen, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.
Six acts tie for the most nominations with six each, including Ocean, The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, Kanye West, Jay-Z, fun. and Mumford & Sons.
Japanese researchers show for the first time that primates modify their body movements to be in tune with others, just like humans do. Humans unconsciously modify their movements to be in synchrony with their peers. For example, we adapt our pace to walk in step or clap in unison at the end of a concert. This phenomenon is thought to reflect bonding and facilitate human interaction. Researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute report today that pairs of macaque monkeys also spontaneously coordinate their movements to reach synchrony.
This research opens the door to much-needed neurophysiological studies of spontaneous synchronization in monkeys, which could shed light into human behavioral dysfunctions such as those observed in patients with autism spectrum disorders, echopraxia and echolalia where patients uncontrollably imitate others.
In the research, published today in the journal Scientific Reports, the team led by Naotaka Fujii developed an experimental set-up to test whether pairs of Japanese macaque monkeys synchronize a simple push-button movement.
Before the experiment, the monkeys were trained to push a button with one hand. In a first experiment the monkeys were paired and placed facing each other and the timing of their push-button movements was recorded. The same experiment was repeated but this time each monkey was shown videos of another monkey pushing a button at varying speeds. And in a last experiment the macaques were not allowed to either see or hear their video-partner.
The results show that the monkeys modified their movements increased or decreased the speed of their push-button movement - to be in synchrony with their partner, both when the partner was real and on video. The speed of the button pressing movement changed to be in harmonic or sub-harmonic synchrony with the partners' speed. However, different pairs of monkeys synchronized differently and reached different speeds, and the monkeys synchronized their movements the most when they could both see and hear their partner.
The researchers note that this behavior cannot have been learnt by the monkeys during the experiment, as previous research has shown that it is extremely difficult for monkeys to learn intentional synchronization.
They add: "The reasons why the monkeys showed behavioral synchronization are not clear. It may be a vital aspect of other socially adaptive behavior, important for survival in the wild."
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The study was partly supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas 'Neural creativity for communication' (22120522 and 24120720) of MEXT, Japan.
Yasuo Nagasaka, Zenas C. Chao, Naomi Hasegawa, Tomonori Notoya, and Naotaka Fujii
"Spontaneous synchronization of arm motion between Japanese macaques." Scientific Reports, 2013 DOI: 10.1038/srep01151.
About RIKEN:
RIKEN is Japan's flagship research institute for basic and applied research. Over 2500 papers by RIKEN researchers are published every year in reputable scientific and technical journals, covering topics ranging across a broad spectrum of disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology, medical science and engineering. RIKEN's advanced research environment and strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration has earned itself an unparalleled reputation for scientific excellence in Japan and around the world.
Website: www.riken.jp
Find us on Twitter at @rikenresearch
About the RIKEN Brain Science Institute:
The RIKEN Brain Science Institute (BSI) was established to answer a growing need in society for cutting-edge brain science research and today enjoys an international reputation as an innovative center for brain science. Research at BSI integrates a wide range of disciplines including medicine, biology, physics, technology, information science, mathematical science, and psychology. BSI's research objectives cover individual organisms, behavior, microscopic molecular structures of the brain, neurons, neurocircuits, cognition, memory, learning, language acquisition, and robotics.
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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.
Primates too can move in unisonPublic release date: 28-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Japanese researchers show for the first time that primates modify their body movements to be in tune with others, just like humans do. Humans unconsciously modify their movements to be in synchrony with their peers. For example, we adapt our pace to walk in step or clap in unison at the end of a concert. This phenomenon is thought to reflect bonding and facilitate human interaction. Researchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute report today that pairs of macaque monkeys also spontaneously coordinate their movements to reach synchrony.
This research opens the door to much-needed neurophysiological studies of spontaneous synchronization in monkeys, which could shed light into human behavioral dysfunctions such as those observed in patients with autism spectrum disorders, echopraxia and echolalia where patients uncontrollably imitate others.
In the research, published today in the journal Scientific Reports, the team led by Naotaka Fujii developed an experimental set-up to test whether pairs of Japanese macaque monkeys synchronize a simple push-button movement.
Before the experiment, the monkeys were trained to push a button with one hand. In a first experiment the monkeys were paired and placed facing each other and the timing of their push-button movements was recorded. The same experiment was repeated but this time each monkey was shown videos of another monkey pushing a button at varying speeds. And in a last experiment the macaques were not allowed to either see or hear their video-partner.
The results show that the monkeys modified their movements increased or decreased the speed of their push-button movement - to be in synchrony with their partner, both when the partner was real and on video. The speed of the button pressing movement changed to be in harmonic or sub-harmonic synchrony with the partners' speed. However, different pairs of monkeys synchronized differently and reached different speeds, and the monkeys synchronized their movements the most when they could both see and hear their partner.
The researchers note that this behavior cannot have been learnt by the monkeys during the experiment, as previous research has shown that it is extremely difficult for monkeys to learn intentional synchronization.
They add: "The reasons why the monkeys showed behavioral synchronization are not clear. It may be a vital aspect of other socially adaptive behavior, important for survival in the wild."
###
The study was partly supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas 'Neural creativity for communication' (22120522 and 24120720) of MEXT, Japan.
Yasuo Nagasaka, Zenas C. Chao, Naomi Hasegawa, Tomonori Notoya, and Naotaka Fujii
"Spontaneous synchronization of arm motion between Japanese macaques." Scientific Reports, 2013 DOI: 10.1038/srep01151.
About RIKEN:
RIKEN is Japan's flagship research institute for basic and applied research. Over 2500 papers by RIKEN researchers are published every year in reputable scientific and technical journals, covering topics ranging across a broad spectrum of disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology, medical science and engineering. RIKEN's advanced research environment and strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration has earned itself an unparalleled reputation for scientific excellence in Japan and around the world.
Website: www.riken.jp
Find us on Twitter at @rikenresearch
About the RIKEN Brain Science Institute:
The RIKEN Brain Science Institute (BSI) was established to answer a growing need in society for cutting-edge brain science research and today enjoys an international reputation as an innovative center for brain science. Research at BSI integrates a wide range of disciplines including medicine, biology, physics, technology, information science, mathematical science, and psychology. BSI's research objectives cover individual organisms, behavior, microscopic molecular structures of the brain, neurons, neurocircuits, cognition, memory, learning, language acquisition, and robotics.
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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.
DES MOINES (Reuters) - Senator Tom Harkin, a veteran Iowa Democrat and one of the most liberal senators, said on Saturday he will not seek re-election in 2014, putting at risk what was considered a safe Democratic seat.
Harkin, 73, who has focused much of his nearly 40-year congressional career on farm policy, education and expanding rights for people with disabilities, is the third senator facing re-election next year who has announced his retirement, following Democrat Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia and Republican Saxby Chambliss of Georgia.
"It's somebody else's turn. It's time for me to step aside ... . I think that's not only good for our party, it's good for our state and for our nation," Harkin said in an interview with Reuters.
He said he had no health problems but had promised his wife that he would quit before it was too late to enjoy other things in life.
Iowa, site of the country's first presidential nominating contest, is considered a political swing state. Republican Charles Grassley is Iowa's other U.S. senator.
In remarks to the Iowa Democratic Party central committee after his announcement, Harkin said he would stay politically active.
"I'm not quitting today. This is not a time for legacy talks or anything like this," said Harkin, who has served in Congress since 1974.
Several committee members had tears running down their cheeks as he spoke.
President Barack Obama, a fellow Democrat, praised Harkin for his decades of public service.
"During his tenure, he has fought passionately to improve quality of life for Americans with disabilities and their families, to reform our education system and ensure that every American has access to affordable health care," Obama said in a statement.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, in a statement described Harkin as "a passionate progressive, whose deeply held principles have provided a guiding light to Democrats for decades."
SEARCH IS ON
Party officials said Harkin's announcement, coming early in the current two-year election cycle, provides ample time to recruit a strong Democratic candidate.
Among Democrats, U.S. Representative Bruce Braley is widely seen as a front-runner. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, and his wife, Christine Vilsack, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress last year, are also viewed as potential candidates.
Among Republicans, U.S. Representatives Tom Latham, a moderate, and Steve King, a conservative, are mentioned as possible candidates, which could produce a divisive Republican primary.
Obama won Iowa in the November election. But the state has a Republican governor, and a divided legislature and congressional delegation.
Harkin's retirement "just reinforces our belief that a grassroots Republican comeback can take place in 2014. Let's have it start in Iowa," Iowa Republican Party Chairman A.J. Spiker said in an email appeal to state Republicans.
The party needs to pick up six seats in the mid-term elections next year to get a majority in the 100-member Senate.
One of the last of the Senate's old-guard liberals, Harkin angrily opposed the White House over the recent fiscal cliff compromise that Vice President Joe Biden negotiated with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
Harkin said the deal that raised taxes only on the very rich helps the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.
First elected to the House of Representatives in 1974 and to the Senate in 1984, Harkin said someone younger needs to take his place.
"I've been there 40 years. I'm 73. By the time I run (for re-election), I'd be 75," he said.
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, David Morgan, Charles Abbott and Vicki Allen in Washington; Editing by Greg McCune and Xavier Briand)
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) ? A blaze raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing 232 people as the air filled with deadly smoke and panicked party-goers stampeded toward the exits, police and witnesses said. It appeared to be the world's deadliest nightclub fire in more than a decade.
Witnesses said that a flare or firework lit by band members may have started the fire.
Police Maj. Cleberson Braida Bastianello said by telephone that officials counted 232 bodies that had been brought for identification to a gymnasium in the city of Santa Maria, at the southern tip of Brazil near the borders with Argentina and Uruguay.
Another 117 people were being treated at hospitals, he said, and President Dilma Roussef arrived to visit victims after cutting short participation at a Latin American-European summit in Chile.
Bastianello said the recount lowered the toll from 245 earlier believed killed.
Television images showed smoke pouring out of the Kiss nightclub as shirtless, young male partygoers joined firefighters in wielding axes and sledgehammers, pounding at windows and walls to break through to those trapped inside. Teenagers sprinted from the scene desperately trying to find help. Others carried injured and burned friends away in their arms.
"There was so much smoke and fire, it was complete panic and it took a long time for people to get out, there were so many dead," survivor Luana Santos Silva told the Globo TV network.
Silva added that firefighters and ambulances responded quickly after the fire broke out, but that it spread too fast inside the packed club for them to help.
Michele Pereira, another survivor, told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper that she was near the stage and that the fire broke out after members of the band lit flares.
"The band that was onstage began to use flares and, suddenly, they stopped the show and pointed them upward. At that point the ceiling caught fire. It was really weak but in a matter of seconds it spread," Pereira said.
Most of the dead apparently suffocated, according to Dr. Paulo Afonso Beltrame, a professor at the medical school of the Federal University of Santa Maria who raced the city's Caridade Hospital to help victims.
He said survivors, police and firefighters told him a flare set off by a band member set the ceiling's soundproofing ablaze. "Large amounts of toxic smoke quickly filled the room and I would say that at least 90 percent of the victims died of asphyxiation," Beltrame told The Associated Press by telephone.
"The toxic smoke made people lose their sense of direction so they were unable to find their way to the exit. At least 50 bodies were found inside a bathroom. Apparently they confused the bathroom door with the exit door."
"In the hospital I saw desperate friends and relatives walking and running down the corridors looking for information. It was one of the saddest scenes I have ever witnessed," he added.
Rodrigo Moura, identified by the newspaper Diario de Santa Maria as a security guard at the club, said it was at its maximum capacity of between 1,000 and 2,000, and partygoers were pushing and shoving to escape.
Beltrame also said he was told the club was filled far past its capacity during a party for students at the university's department of agronomy. The event featured a group called Gurizada Fandangueira, which plays a driving mixture of local Brazilian country music styles. It was not immediately clear if the band members were among the victims.
Santa Maria Mayor Cezar Schirmer decreed a 30-day mourning period due to the nightclub disaster and Tarso Genro, the governor of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, said that all possible action was being taken.
Santa Maria is a major university city with a population of around a quarter of a million.
A welding accident reportedly set off a Dec. 25, 2000, fire at a club in Luoyang, China, killing 309.
At least 194 people died at an overcrowded working-class nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2004. Seven members the band were sentenced to prison for setting off the blaze with pyrotechnics.
A blaze at the Lame Horse nightclub in Perm, Russia, broke out on Dec. 5, 2009, when an indoor fireworks display ignited a plastic ceiling decorated with branches, killing 152
A nightclub fire in the U.S. state of Rhode Island in 2003 killed 100 people after pyrotechnics used as a stage prop by the 1980s rock band Great White set ablaze cheap soundproofing foam on the walls and ceiling.
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Associated Press writer Stan Lehman contributed to this report from Sao Paulo.
In this Friday, Jan. 18 2013 photo, activists hold signs during a rally at New York's City Hall to call for immediate action on paid sick days legislation in light of the continued spread of the flu. An unusually early and vigorous flu season is drawing attention to the cause that has both scored victories and hit roadblocks in recent years: mandatory paid sick leave. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
In this Friday, Jan. 18 2013 photo, activists hold signs during a rally at New York's City Hall to call for immediate action on paid sick days legislation in light of the continued spread of the flu. An unusually early and vigorous flu season is drawing attention to the cause that has both scored victories and hit roadblocks in recent years: mandatory paid sick leave. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
In this Friday, Jan. 18 2013 photo, Emilio Palaguachi, center, speaks during a rally at New York's City Hall to call for immediate action on paid sick days legislation in light of the continued spread of the flu. An unusually early and vigorous flu season is drawing attention to the cause that has both scored victories and hit roadblocks in recent years: mandatory paid sick leave. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
In this Friday, Jan. 18 2013 photo, Emilio Palaguachi, right, speaks during a rally in New York's City Hall to call for immediate action on paid sick days legislation in light of the continued spread of the flu. An unusually early and vigorous flu season is drawing attention to the cause that has both scored victories and hit roadblocks in recent years: mandatory paid sick leave. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Sniffling, groggy and afraid she had caught the flu, Diana Zavala dragged herself in to work anyway for a day she felt she couldn't afford to miss.
A school speech therapist who works as an independent contractor, she doesn't have paid sick days. So the mother of two reported to work and hoped for the best ? and was aching, shivering and coughing by the end of the day. She stayed home the next day, then loaded up on medicine and returned to work.
"It's a balancing act" between physical health and financial well-being, she said.
An unusually early and vigorous flu season is drawing attention to a cause that has scored victories but also hit roadblocks in recent years: mandatory paid sick leave for a third of civilian workers ? more than 40 million people ? who don't have it.
Supporters and opponents are particularly watching New York City, where lawmakers are weighing a sick leave proposal amid a competitive mayoral race.
Pointing to a flu outbreak that the governor has called a public health emergency, dozens of doctors, nurses, lawmakers and activists ? some in surgical masks ? rallied Friday on the City Hall steps to call for passage of the measure, which has awaited a City Council vote for nearly three years. Two likely mayoral contenders have also pressed the point.
The flu spike is making people more aware of the argument for sick pay, said Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values at Work, which promotes paid sick time initiatives around the country. "There's people who say, 'OK, I get it ? you don't want your server coughing on your food,'" she said.
Advocates have cast paid sick time as both a workforce issue akin to parental leave and "living wage" laws, and a public health priority.
But to some business owners, paid sick leave is an impractical and unfair burden for small operations. Critics also say the timing is bad, given the choppy economy and the hardships inflicted by Superstorm Sandy.
Michael Sinesky, an owner of seven bars and restaurants around the city, was against the sick time proposal before Sandy. And after the storm shut down four of his restaurants for days or weeks, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars that his insurers have yet to pay, "we're in survival mode."
"We're at the point, right now, where we cannot afford additional social initiatives," said Sinesky, whose roughly 500 employees switch shifts if they can't work, an arrangement that some restaurateurs say benefits workers because paid sick time wouldn't include tips.
Employees without sick days are more likely to go to work with a contagious illness, send an ill child to school or day care and use hospital emergency rooms for care, according to a 2010 survey by the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center. A 2011 study in the American Journal of Public Health estimated that a lack of sick time helped spread 5 million cases of flu-like illness during the 2009 swine flu outbreak.
To be sure, many employees entitled to sick time go to work ill anyway, out of dedication or at least a desire to project it. But the work-through-it ethic is shifting somewhat amid growing awareness about spreading sickness.
"Right now, where companies' incentives lie is butting right up against this concern over people coming into the workplace, infecting others and bringing productivity of a whole company down," said John A. Challenger, CEO of employer consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Paid sick day requirements are often popular in polls, but only four places have them: San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and the state of Connecticut. The specific provisions vary.
Milwaukee voters approved a sick time requirement in 2008, but the state Legislature passed a law blocking it. Philadelphia's mayor vetoed a sick leave measure in 2011; lawmakers have since instituted a sick time requirement for businesses with city contracts. Voters rejected a paid sick day measure in Denver in 2011.
In New York, City Councilwoman Gale Brewer's proposal would require up to five paid sick days a year at businesses with at least five employees. It wouldn't include independent contractors, such as Zavala, who supports the idea nonetheless.
The idea boasts such supporters as feminist Gloria Steinem and "Sex and the City" actress Cynthia Nixon, as well as a majority of City Council members and a coalition of unions, women's groups and public health advocates. But it also faces influential opponents, including business groups, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has virtually complete control over what matters come to a vote.
Quinn, who is expected to run for mayor, said she considers paid sick leave a worthy goal but doesn't think it would be wise to implement it in a sluggish economy. Two of her likely opponents, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Comptroller John Liu, have reiterated calls for paid sick leave in light of the flu season.
While the debate plays out, Emilio Palaguachi is recovering from the flu and looking for a job. The father of four was abruptly fired without explanation earlier this month from his job at a deli after taking a day off to go to a doctor, he said. His former employer couldn't be reached by telephone.
"I needed work," Palaguachi said after Friday's City Hall rally, but "I needed to see the doctor because I'm sick."
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Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Conn., contributed to this report.
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Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz
The ZTE Avid 4G gives you a lot of horsepower for $149, and it's an ideal smartphone for heavy Web browsing on MetroPCS's low-cost network. But almost every one of its other features is lackluster, so you should know what you're getting into here. With your eyes open, you'll probably appreciate the value.
I'm not recommending that anyone buy a high-end phone on MetroPCS right now. That's because in June, if the merger with T-Mobile?goes through, MetroPCS will stop selling its existing CDMA-based lineup and will switch over to a brand-new lineup of GSM phones. The CDMA phones will still work until 2015, but the older network will be neglected and, eventually, turned off. So anyone buying a Metro phone right now should expect to buy a new one in early 2014 to take advantage of the new post-merger network. (This has also rendered our Editors' Choice on MetroPCS moot, as we gave it to a more costly phone before we knew about the merger.)
Fortunately, Metro has a robust low-cost 4G LTE lineup. Along with the $149 Avid, there's the $99 Samsung Galaxy Admire 4G and the $49 LG Motion 4G, a crazy steal at that price. Now we've set the scene, so let's look at the Avid.
Physical Design and Phone Calling The ZTE Avid 4G is a blandly designed, black slab phone that's 4.9 by 2.6 by .5 inches (HWD) and 5.25 ounces. It's a little chunky and a little cheap-feeling, but at least it's solidly built. The back is soft-touch black plastic, and there's a bit of chromed plastic around the edges. The physical power and volume buttons are easy to find.
The first real downer about this phone, though, is the screen. Getting an 800-by-480 LCD into a $149 prepaid phone is a feat; the trick is to use the worst 800-by-480 screen in history. Unevenly lighted, the screen has an extremely poor viewing angle, which gets in the way of playing games with tilt controls. The panel also seems to be behind a sheet of plastic as thick as the Plexiglas divider in the Riker's Island visiting room.
Reception is strong here, but call quality is just acceptable. Earpiece volume is moderate-to-high; voices sound okay, but a little computery. Transmissions struggled with noise cancellation, becoming scratchy and thready in noisy areas. The speakerphone is too quiet to use outdoors, although it would be fine in a car. Bluetooth headsets worked fine, including triggering the standard Android voice dialing. Battery life was very good, at 10 hours, 8 minutes of continuous talk time.?
Android and Apps The Avid starts looking up when you start running apps on it. With a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm S4 processor, it benchmarked quite well, running full-screen games at smooth frame rates and delivering Web pages promptly. Web browsing plugged along nicley with the built-in Chrome browser and 4G LTE speeds ranging from 4-7Mbps in Manhattan. Maps loaded quickly and were accurate, and the Avid will work as both a tethered and a Wi-Fi hotspot with the right service plan. If you'll primarily be browsing the Web, the Avid 4G delivers very good value.?
The Avid 4G also runs a very close to stock version of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), including Google's attractive dialer and contact book. MetroPCS has added its usual bloatware, ranging from the useful Easy WiFi, which automatically connects to open Wi-Fi networks (although the phone supports 2.4Ghz only), to the infernal MetroXtras, which spams your phone with ads until you opt out. Unlimited Rhapsody music is available for just $5 added to most rate plans. There's no word on an Android 4.1 upgrade, and I wouldn't hold out hope.
Unfortunately, you can't run some more ambitious apps here because of a lack of internal storage. While the Avid supports memory cards up to 32GB in a slot under the back cover, it has only 2.3GB of internal memory, and I found I couldn't download games with large supplementary downloads like Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Asphalt 7: Heat because they needed to use internal memory as a staging area.
Multimedia and Conclusions The Avid 4G comes with two awful cameras. Technically, there's a 5-megapixel camera on the back and a VGA camera on the front, but numbers never tell the whole story. The autofocus lag feels nearly endless at 1.5 seconds. While photos taken with the main camera are okay in controlled conditions, my outdoor shots looked oversharpened in the center and soft at the edges. Low-light shots had blown-out white areas and suffered from low shutter speeds, leading to blur if I couldn't hold my hand completely steady. The front camera is terrible; every shot I took was either so soft it looked smeared, or extremely noisy.
Video recording was a tad better. The main camera records videos up to 720p resolution at 30 frames per second indoors and out, and they're of decent quality, although they have a reddish cast to them. The front camera, on the other hand, only recorded 360-by-480 videos at 15 frames per second, and they were so soft they were practically impressionistic.
Audio and video playback is as good as could be expected, given the very dim screen. The phone had no problem playing a wide range of audio formats, whether through wired or Bluetooth headphones. Video played back at resolutions up to 1080p, although quality was hampered by the dim screen. There's no HDMI out.
The ZTE Avid 4G does one thing well: with its 800-by-480 screen, you get a lot more real estate for Web browsing, email, and gaming than you do with 480-by-320 phones like the competing LG Motion 4G and Samsung Galaxy Admire 4G. That said, I still think the Motion is a better value for money. It's less expensive than the Avid right now, but all of its components are of higher quality, providing a better overall experience.
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As we approach the Second Inauguration of the country?s first black President, Barack Obama, commemorated on the same day we celebrate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we all agree that the right to vote is fundamental. As a child of the Civil Rights Movement I have firsthand knowledge of the struggle that my parents? generation endured to ensure that future generations could participate in the political process.
Those of us who fought those battles in the 1960?s and ?70?s understood that with a vote we had a voice, and with that voice we could affect change.
The fiasco surrounding the long lines at polling places before and during Election Day was unnecessary. Another voting debacle in Florida was unnecessary; and though voters in Miami-Dade County demonstrated resolve, standing in lines for hours, it was unnecessary.
Under the guise of ?voter fraud,? Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-led Legislature manufactured this problem by passing an election law intended to frustrate the will of voters and suppress turnout. Yet voters turned out.
To avoid another scenario like the one we saw on Election Day 2012, there are several ideas that I believe can be implemented to avoid the long lines and wait times.
??First, open up all precincts for early voting. If this is logistically impossible then open up the polling places where it is logistically possible. During early voting, ballots have to be customized for each voter according to their residence or municipality. Customizing ballots prolongs the wait for voters standing in line.
More precincts might be costly, but what is the price of democracy ? the price to ensure that our most fundamental right is exercised in a manner that encourages more voter participation rather than less voter participation?
In 2008 when early voting expanded to 14 days, the lines were even longer than in 2012, and in my opinion customized ballots were the reason for the delay. The gridlock at many precincts during early voting occurred at the check-in point where voters were receiving their ballots. Many voting booths remained empty as more and more people stood in line. Hiring more staff to customize each ballot would help.
??Likewise, we are a nation of immigrants and Miami-Dade County is immigrant rich so let?s be sensitive as we encourage immigrants to vote. When a ballot question is presented in three languages naturally the ballot is longer and confusing, making the wait for other voters longer.
Voters should have the option to select a single-language ballot at their precinct that they are comfortable with, either in English, Creole, or Spanish. Multiple language ballots combined in one document confuse and intimidate the very voters that they are intended to assist.
??Finally, we should encourage the use of absentee ballots. Offer voters the option to request an absentee ballot when they register to vote. These ballots, returned in pre-paid postage envelopes, would make the absentee ballot process more accessible.
In this era of electronic mail, 75 percent of the people reading this may not know the cost of a first-class stamp, and would not stand in line to buy a stamp. Pre-paid absentee ballots would also eliminate the need for ballot brokers or boleteros, and reduce absentee ballot fraud. Obviously the more people who vote absentee limits the number of people who utilize polling places during the early voting period and on Election Day.
Blood was spilled on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, children lost their lives in the Birmingham bombing, and countless other men and women of all races were murdered fighting for the right to ensure that all citizens could vote.
As Americans, we should do everything in our power to make sure that the voices of the people are heard at the ballot box. In my opinion, voting should be as accessible as shopping in the mall.
Quite frankly, the people spoke on Nov. 6. They want to be heard, even if it means standing in line for hours, even when it is not necessary.
U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson represents Florida District 17 in Congress.
California State University, Northridge?s Valley Performing Arts Center will continue to transform the cultural landscape of the San Fernando Valley with its spring 2013 season lineup.
?We are very excited about the performers coming to the Valley Performing Arts Center during the spring semester.?We believe we have gathered a very diverse and exciting series of exceptional artists from around the world that stimulate and entertain while exhibiting exceptional artistry,??said Robert Bucker, dean of the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication and executive director of the Valley Performing Arts Center. ?Our series will again present artists just beginning to receive international recognition and those that are at the pinnacle of their performance careers.?
The season debuts on Jan. 23, with the Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour. The celebratory anniversary tour, led by Grammy Award-winning bassist and musical director Christian McBride and Tony and Grammy Award-winning vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, is one of five renowned musical groups performing at VPAC this season. Each group offers a unique experience whether from another country or in style.
Singer, songwriter and producer Kenny Rogers, a marquee performance, will light up the Valley Performing Arts Center on March 17 with his band of distinguished musicians. Rogers, an award-winning artist who is known for his country style, will be accompanied by an array of classical, operatic and instrumental artists.
California State University, Northridge?s Valley Performing Arts Center spring 2013 season launches later this month. The lineup includes the Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour; singer, songwriter and producer Kenny Rogers; actress, singer and dancer Bebe Neuwirth; and the Russian National Ballet Theatre.
Best known for her Emmy Award-winning role as the repressed psychiatrist Lilith on the hit television comedy ?Cheers,? actress, singer and dancer Bebe Neuwirth is one of today?s most versatile performers. She has earned two Tony Awards on Broadway for her roles in ?Chicago? and ?Sweet Charity.? Neuwirth will bring the Northridge stage to life with an evening of songs from her critically lauded one-woman cabaret show on Feb. 23.
Dance also will be featured in the upcoming season, starting with two ballet interpretations of fairy tales by the Russian National Ballet Theatre. The company will be performing ?Sleeping Beauty? on Feb. 9 and ?Cinderella? on Feb. 10. Flamenco and contemporary dance also will be explored this season by other dance companies.
Aquila Theatre will perform Edmond Rostand?s classic tale of unrequited love, ?Cyrano de Bergerac,? on March 16. The famous French play will be the only featured theatrical production this season.
Marquee performances include Willie Nelson & Family, a show by the multi-award-winning singer with his family as band members on Feb. 27, and Chef Jacque P?pin, who will offer an insider?s view of the culinary arts world on May 4.
The new Flex 4 Ticket Subscription package is available. Purchase four different performances for any of the remaining 2013 spring season and save 10 percent on each ticket for each of the selected performances.
For more information about the Flex 4 Ticket Subscription and the spring 2013 season, visit the Valley Performing Arts Center website. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or at the box office at (818) 677-3000.
Seth MacFarlane is not for everybody. The jokester behind Family Guy and the movie Ted loves to offend people nearly as much as he loves to make them laugh. He's vulgar. He's smarmy. On the flip side, he can be uproariously funny, and he's extremely popular. How, then, does that bode for his role as Oscar host?
FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2012, file photo, Boeing's newest aircraft, the Boeing 787, sits on the tarmac at Huntsville International Airport after a 3600-mile flight from Dublin, in Huntsville, Ala. Boeing executives insisted Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, that its 787 Dreamliner is safe, and investors rallied behind the company. But federal investigators are probing a Monday, Jan 7, 2013 fire aboard an empty 787 in Boston, the latest glitch for a high-profile jet that has a lot riding on it, both for Boeing and its airline customers. (AP Photo/The Huntsville Times, Eric Schultz, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2012, file photo, Boeing's newest aircraft, the Boeing 787, sits on the tarmac at Huntsville International Airport after a 3600-mile flight from Dublin, in Huntsville, Ala. Boeing executives insisted Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, that its 787 Dreamliner is safe, and investors rallied behind the company. But federal investigators are probing a Monday, Jan 7, 2013 fire aboard an empty 787 in Boston, the latest glitch for a high-profile jet that has a lot riding on it, both for Boeing and its airline customers. (AP Photo/The Huntsville Times, Eric Schultz, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2012, file photo, Boeing's newest aircraft, the Boeing 787, sits on the tarmac at Huntsville International Airport after a 3600-mile flight from Dublin, in Huntsville, Ala. Boeing executives insisted Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, that its 787 Dreamliner is safe, and investors rallied behind the company. But federal investigators are probing a Monday, Jan 7, 2013 fire aboard an empty 787 in Boston, the latest glitch for a high-profile jet that has a lot riding on it, both for Boeing and its airline customers. (AP Photo/The Huntsville Times, Eric Schultz, File)
Boeing's 787 is supposed to revolutionize air travel. It just needs to get out of its own way first.
The new plane is undoubtedly Boeing's most visible. It's built from composites instead of aluminum and comes with the promise of the most comfortable ride in the sky. At $200 million each, 787s are an important part of Boeing's future, even though it will be a while before it makes money on them.
But this sophisticated piece of transportation wizardry hasn't been behaving as designed. Just this week one caught fire, and another suffered a fuel leak. The 787 was delayed for three years, so Boeing's investors and customers notice each time one has a problem. Boeing asserts such growing pains are typical for new models.
The 787's chief engineer said Wednesday that he has "extreme confidence" in the Dreamliner ? Boeing's nickname for the plane ? even as federal investigators try to determine the cause of the fire on board an empty, parked Japan Airlines plane on Monday in Boston. Officials have said one of the plane's lithium ion batteries burned.
The 787 is the first Boeing plane to use lithium ion batteries, which charge faster and can be molded to space-saving shapes compared to other airplane batteries. The liquid inside them is flammable, putting the battery at more risk for a fire than previous airplane batteries, the Federal Aviation Administration has found.
After Monday's fire, the big question for Boeing will be whether the issue is a manufacturing defect, which can be fixed relatively cheaply, or a design flaw, which might require expensive redesign and rework on existing planes, said Citi analyst Jason Gursky.
Boeing has delivered 50 of the 787s, starting in late 2011. It has almost 800 more on order. To get through the backlog, Boeing is ramping up production to build 10 787s per month in Washington state and South Carolina by the end of 2013. By comparison, it cranks out more than one 737 every day. The 737 is Boeing's best-seller, and the company has been building the smaller plane for decades.
In November, Boeing said it had begun making five 787s per month. But if any major manufacturing changes are needed to fix the electrical problems, the company could fall further behind in deliveries.
New planes like the 787 take years ? and hundreds of millions of dollars ? to develop. The roots of the 787 go back to 2003. Boeing has not said how much the research cost. It has estimated it will need to deliver 1,100 of them to break even by some accounting measures.
"It's definitely the most expensive plane program that they've ever developed," Gursky said.
No customers have canceled a 787 order following the fire, and several airlines have been reported saying they are confident in the plane.
"If airlines are worried, they sure aren't showing it," said Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner in a note to clients.
Investors rallied behind the company Wednesday, sending shares up by 3.5 percent to $76.74. That followed a two-day drop of 4.6 percent. Boeing shares had gained 11 percent in the three months prior to Monday as investors anticipated a growing flow of cash from Boeing's faster production of its big planes.
Besides the fire, another Japan Airlines plane leaked 40 gallons of fuel at Boston Logan on Tuesday. The airline said an open valve caused one tank to overflow through a vent. Last month a United Airlines 787 flying from Houston to Newark, N.J., diverted to New Orleans because of an electrical problem with a power distribution panel.
Japan's All Nippon Airways, meanwhile, said it cancelled a domestic flight to Tokyo on Wednesday after a computer wrongly indicated there was a problem with the Boeing 787's brakes.
Boeing insisted on Wednesday that the 787's problems are no worse than what it experienced when its 777 was new in the mid-1990s. That plane is now one of its top-sellers and is well-liked by airlines.
"Just like any new airplane program, we work through those issues and move on," said Mike Sinnett, the 787 chief engineer. He added, "We're not satisfied until our reliability and our performance are 100 percent."
Sinnett didn't say so, but other new planes have had their own issues, including the Airbus A380 superjumbo. Small cracks have been discovered on the wings, and in 2010 a Rolls Royce engine on a Qantas flight exploded in mid-flight.
He said the nature of lithium ion batteries means no fire extinguisher system will stop them from burning once they start. The NTSB said it took firefighters 40 minutes to put out Monday's fire.
Sinnett said Boeing has no plans to replace the lithium ion batteries with another type. If he had to re-do the choice to go with lithium ion, he said, he'd make the same choice today.
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AP Airlines reporter Scott Mayerowitz in New York contributed to this report.
The luxurious Jaguar XJ e hybrid is the most fuel efficient sedan from Jaguar till date. The vehicle was taken for the Future Car Challenge which is a 63 mile economy road test that was set up between London and Brighton. Jaguar had entered three cars and six drivers in the competition and the episode was partly financed by the Government aided Technology Strategy Board.
The drivers had to test the mettle of their car while testing their patience and driving skill and the Jaguar XJ e hybrid managed to win the most fuel efficient car challenge. The team of expert engineers employed at Jaguar won the merit award by the Technical Panel?s Association. The vehicle officially returned 87 MPG while emitting just 75 g/km. This is what the buyers will get to experience on buying the most efficient jaguar ever.
The Jaguar XJ e hybrid is set to be made available in most countries and their service backup will be greater than Porsche or other car makers. Porsche does have the Panamera and Cayenne hybrid vehicles but they are quite pricey and Porsche dealerships and service network is not as organized as that of Jaguar. As a result the XJ e hybrid will not face a great competition in the market at least for now.
Although the XJ e hybrid is quite a great performer, exterior wise, it does not look much different from the basic XJ. Under the hood is a 2.0 liter petrol engine from the Range Rover Evoque and mated to a hybridized transmission system, similar to the ZF transmission system. The electric motor has been kept between the clutches and a 12.3 kWh battery has been fixed below the boot space at the rear.
When fully charged, the battery can power the car till 25 miles, post which the petrol engine drives the vehicle. However, dedicated braking is an important task and regenerative braking needs to be done to save energy and fuel. The vehicle is extremely smooth and refined and the XJ e hybrid does not feel or drives like other hybrids on the road.
However, Jaguar has not completed work on the XJ e hybrid and as a result the vehicle will not be out on the road till the end of 2013. Jaguar is planning on a fuel efficient Range Rover and the company is working to make that a reality. Therefore, even if people want to buy the XJ e hybrid, they cannot.
The Jaguar XJ is a very reliable and fuel efficient ride and a hybrid will arrive eventually. However, the time has not arrived yet. Jaguar will showcase the XJ e hybrid at the Detroit Auto Show and that is the only time where the audience will be able to feast their eyes on the vehicle. However, the Range Rover is expected to use the same parts as that of the XJ e hybrid and as a result it should be as fun to drive as the Jaguar. However, this is just a speculation as of the moment.
Even point-and-shoot and cellphone shooters have double-digital megapixels nowadays, and Google+ is now letting you take advantage of all that resolution. It's brought photo pan and zooming capabilities, meaning that if you've uploaded a decently large photo, all that users in your circle or community will need to do is click it to bring up the lightbox, where they can proceed to explore all of an image's nooks and crannys. Since Google+ now supports full-sized Android photo backups, that'll give vacationers or artists a new way to let others discover their handiwork -- or other surprises. Hit the source to see how it works.
The sun's peak of solar activity this year will likely be the quietest seen in at least 100 years, say NASA scientists who watch Earth's closest star daily.
Sunspot numbers are low, researchers said, even as the sun reaches the peak of its 11-year activity cycle. Also, radio waves that are known to indicate high solar activity have been very subdued.
"It's likely to be the lowest solar maximum, as measured by sunspot 'number,' in more than a century," wrote Joe Gurman, a project scientist for NASA's sun-observing mission Stereo, or Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory. The current sun weather cycle is known as Solar Cycle 24.
Quiet as the sun may be, scientists still have a vested interest in watching it. A rogue flare could damage electrical grids or knock out communications satellites, as has happened many times before.
Though solar science is still in its infancy, it has advanced greatly even from the time solar activity knocked out much of Quebec's electrical grid in 1989, Gurman pointed out. [Worst Solar Storms in History]
"The interconnectedness of power grids has grown tremendously since the Hydro Qu?bec issue," he wrote.
"Compared to the frequency of widespread power outages due to trees falling on above-ground power lines during snowstorms or hurricane-force winds from storms such as the recent [Hurricane] Sandy, it's a very low order of probability event."
Killer flares 'a physical impossibility'
Galileo Galilei was among the first to sight sunspots when he turned his telescope to the sun in 1610. Reliable records of sunspots date back to about 1849, when the Zurich Observatory began daily observations, according to NASA.
Sunspots appear as dark blemishes on the sun, generally in clusters above and below the equator. Scientists now know these spots form due to the interplay between the sun's plasma (on the surface) and its magnetic field.
Under some circumstances, the twisting magnetic fields near sunspots cause huge explosions such as solar flares, and plasma-rich coronal mass ejections often associated with the flares. These send charged particles out from the sun, and occasionally toward Earth.
The strongest category of outburst, called an X-class solar flare, can cause havoc if it reaches Earth. The electrical charge can short out communications satellites or power grids. Medium-class M-type solar flares can supercharge Earth's northern lights displays, while weaker C-class flares and below can have relatively little effect, NASA has said.
It is impossible for the sun to produce "killer" solar flares that were made popular by 2012 doomsday predictions, NASA's C. Alex Young told SPACE.com in an email.
"On Earth we are completely protected from the direct effects of solar activity. The atmosphere shields us from the electromagnetic radiation from solar flares and the particles in a particle storm," wrote Young, a solar astrophysicist with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. [Doomsday Myths Debunked by NASA: Countdown]
"[Killer flares] would not happen. The sun cannot produce flares (or CMEs) with enough energy to do this. It is a physical impossibility. It would take the entire energy of the sun, like a supernova. The sun will not become a supernova."
Improvements in solar science
Solar watching is a young science, but in recent decades, NASA has been working to improve the ability to predict and track solar flares and CMEs. The primary way is through using satellites to peer at the sun.
The United States' official "space weather" forecaster is the Space Weather Prediction Center, a service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Several NASA satellites feed the center data to assist with its predictions.
According to NASA's William Pesnell, NASA's satellites work together like this:
The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) can watch for CMEs from the moment they erupt from the sun.
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) watches the charged particles, or plasma, on their journey toward Earth, making it easier to determine if they will hit the planet.
If the plasma is Earth-bound, the two Stereo satellitesorbiting the planet then observe the plasma and predict where it could hit.
"The Earth is a very small target in a big solar system, and the models that try to track the CME through the solar system are still being developed," added Pesnell, the project scientist for SDO, in an e-mail to SPACE.com.
"Our biggest advances," he added, "have been in models of the sun's magnetic field and using data in those models to explain the current sun. ... Our models try to explain the 11-year behavior of the solar cycle as the magnetic field moves around inside the sun, and then erupts through the surface to become sunspots."
NASA also plans to launch the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) mission in April 2013. When the satellite is ready, it will watch how energy and plasma move from the sun's surface to its corona or atmosphere, Pesnell said.
"That means we will have good overlap to combine the different measurements [with SDO] and better understand the magnetic field of the sun."
Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or SPACE.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+.
Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Personal finance is a tricky but critical skill in today?s world. Unfortunately, it?s something that is not taught very well or even at all, by many parents and schools. If you want to learn some good advice on the subject, keep reading this article to discover a few pointers that you may not be currently aware of.
Taking advantage of a bank?s program to automatically make deposits into a savings account, can be a wise personal finance move. Many banks offer such programs. They take a fixed percentage of every deposit or a set monthly sum out of a customer?s checking account and deposit it in a savings account. This can help the customer build up savings without any hassle.
Track your bank balances and account information daily by making your bank?s website one of your everyday online stops. Most people already visit social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter at least once a day. It is just as easy to add your account homepage to your regular rotation of site visits.
To teach your children about personal finance, start giving them an allowance when they are young. This is a good way to teach them the value of money while also teaching them responsibility. Earning their own money will ensure that children will know the worth of working and saving when they are older.
As a college student, you will want to reduce the amount that you spend on books and supplies. Instead of purchasing books at the campus bookstore, which is usually at retail price, make friends with upperclassman who can give you these books at a discount. This can save you hundreds of dollars per semester.
If you want to be in good financial shape, you should stop eating out at restaurants. Eating out at a restaurant will cost you as much as ten times more than it would cost to make the same meal at home. Being tight with your money now, will help you to create security for later.
Protecting your financial records is important. These days, keeping a digital copy of them is a great idea. Take the time to scan your most important documents, and always save the financial information that you receive online. Once you have your records in an electronic format, burn them to a few CDs. You can keep one for yourself and give another to a friend or relative for safe-keeping.
The general lack of knowledge of personal financial management was mentioned earlier, but now that you have read this far, you have hopefully learned a few key tricks and tips that will make money management easier for you. Apply what you have read and you are sure to see results in the coming weeks and months.
Jan. 4, 2013 ? A University of Alberta researcher's examination of fossilized dinosaur tail bones has led to a breakthrough finding: some feathered dinosaurs used tail plumage to attract mates, much like modern-day peacocks and turkeys.
U of A Paleontology researcher Scott Persons followed a chain of fossil evidence that started with a peculiar fusing together of vertebrae at the tip of the tail of four different species of dinosaurs, some separated in time and evolution by 45 million years.
Persons says the final vertebrae in the tails of a group of dinosaurs called oviraptors were fused together forming a ridged, blade-like structure. "The structure is called a pygostyle" says Persons. "Among modern animals only birds have them."
Researchers say fossils of Similicaudiptery, an early oviraptor, reveals feathers radiating from the fused bones at the tail tip. Similicaudiptery was not known to be a flying dinosaur and Persons contends its tail feathers evolved as a means of waving its feathered tail fans.
No direct fossil evidence of feathers has been found with the fossils of the oviraptors that followed Similicaudiptery, but Persons says there is still strong evidence they had a feathered tail.
Persons reasons that because the later oviraptor had the same tail structure as the feathered Similicaudipteryx, the tails of later oviraptors' still served the same purpose, waving feathered tail fans.
Persons says the hypothesis of oviraptor tail waving is supported by both the bone and muscle structure of the tail.
Individual vertebrae at the base of an oviraptor's tail were short and numerous, indicating great flexibility. Based on dissections of modern reptile and bird tails, Persons reconstruction of the dinosaur's tail muscles revealed oviraptors had what it took to really shake their tail feathers.
Large muscles extended far down the tail and had a sufficient number of broad connection points to the vertebrae to propel oviraptor's tail feathers vigorously from side to side and up and down.
Oviraptors were two-legged dinosaurs that had already gone through major diversifications from the iconic, meat eating dinosaur family. Oviraptors were plant eaters that roamed parts of China, Mongolia, and Alberta during the Cretaceous period, the final age of the dinosaur.
"By this time a variety of dinosaurs used feathers for flight and insulation from the cold, "said Persons. "This shows that by the Late Cretaceous dinosaurs were doing everything with feathers that modern birds do now," said Persons.
In addition to feathered-tail waving, oviraptors also had prominent bone crests on their head, which Persons says the dinosaur also may have used in mating displays.
"Between the crested head and feathered-tail shaking, oviraptors had a propensity for visual exhibitionism," said Persons.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Alberta, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
W. Scott Persons, IV, Philip J. Currie, and Mark A. Norell. Oviraptorosaur tail forms and functions. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 2013; DOI: 10.4202/app.2012.0093
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Andy Reid is the winningest coach in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles. Lovie Smith led the Chicago Bears to the 2007 Super Bowl.
Now they're looking for work.
Seven coaches and five general managers were fired Monday in a flurry of pink slips that were delivered the day after the regular-season ended.
Ken Whisenhunt is out after helping Arizona reach the Super Bowl following the 2008 season. Also gone: Norv Turner in San Diego, Pat Shurmur in Cleveland, Romeo Crennel in Kansas City and Chan Gailey in Buffalo.
Three teams made it a clean sweep, saying goodbye to the GM along with the coach ? San Diego, Cleveland, Arizona. General managers also were fired in Jacksonville and New York, where Rex Ryan held onto his coaching job with the Jets despite a losing record.
Reid was the longest tenured of the coaches, removed after 14 seasons and a Super Bowl appearance in 2005 ? a loss to New England. Smith spent nine seasons with the Bears.
Turner has now been fired as head coach by three teams. San Diego won the AFC West from 2006-09, but didn't make the postseason the last three years under Turner and GM A.J. Smith.
"Both Norv and A.J. are consummate NFL professionals, and they understand that in this league, the bottom line is winning," Chargers President Dean Spanos said in a statement.
Whisenhunt was fired after six seasons. He had more wins than any other coach in Cardinals history, going 45-51, and has one year worth about $5.5 million left on his contract. GM Rod Graves had been with Arizona for 16 years, nine in his current position. A 5-11 record after a 4-0 start cost him and Whisenhunt their jobs.
Gailey was dumped after three seasons with the Bills; Shurmur after two; and Crennel had one full season with the Chiefs.
Reid took over a 3-13 Eagles team in 1999, drafted Donovan McNabb with the No. 2 overall pick and quickly turned the franchise into a title contender.
But the team hasn't won a playoff game since 2008 and after last season's 8-8 finish, owner Jeffrey Lurie said he was looking for improvement this year. Instead, it was even worse. The Eagles finished 4-12.
"When you have a season like that, it's embarrassing. It's personally crushing to me and it's terrible," Lurie said at a news conference. He said he respects Reid and plans to stay friends with him, "but, it is time for the Eagles to move in a new direction."
Shurmur went 9-23 in his two seasons with the Browns, who will embark on yet another offseason of change ? the only constant in more than a decade of futility. Cleveland has lost at least 11 games in each of the past five seasons and made the playoffs just once since returning to the NFL as an expansion team in 1999.
"Ultimately our objective is to put together an organization that will be the best at everything we do," Browns CEO Joe Banner said. "On the field, our only goal is trying to win championships."
Crennel took over with three games left in the 2011 season after GM Scott Pioli fired Todd Haley. Kansas City will have the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft as a result of having one of the worst seasons in its 53-year history. The only other time the Chiefs finished 2-14 was 2008, the year before Pioli was hired.
"I am embarrassed by the poor product we gave our fans this season, and I believe we have no choice but to move the franchise in a different direction," Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement.
Gailey, the former Dallas Cowboys coach, compiled a 16-32 record in his three seasons in Buffalo, never doing better than 6-10.
"This will probably be, and I say probably, but I think it will be the first place that's ever fired me that I'll pull for," Gailey said.
Smith and the Bears went 10-6 this season and just missed a playoff spot. But Chicago started 7-1 and has struggled to put together a productive offense throughout Smith's tenure. His record was 81-63 with the Bears, and he took them to one Super Bowl loss and to one NFC championship game defeat.
Receiver and kick return standout Devin Hester was bitter about Smith's firing.
"The media, the false fans, you all got what you all wanted," Hester said as he cleared out his locker. "The majority of you all wanted him out. As players we wanted him in. I guess the fans ? the false fans ? outruled us. I thought he was a great coach, probably one of the best coaches I've ever been around."
The fired GMs included Mike Tannenbaum of the Jets; Gene Smith of the Jaguars; Tom Heckert of the Browns; Smith of the Chargers and Graves of Arizona.
"You hope that those guys that obviously were victims of black Monday land on their feet," Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. "You've got guys that have been to Super Bowls and won championship games and all of a sudden they've forgot how to coach, I guess."
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