Apple prepping a less-expensive iPhone, WSJ reports

Maybe Apple really is developing a low-cost version of its flagship iPhone. Following a rumor floated this morning by the less-than-reliable Taiwanese site Digitimes, the Wall Street Journal now reports that Apple could launch a cheaper iPhone -- presumably aimed at the developing world -- as early as this year.More to c...

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Pictures: Wildfires Scorch Australia Amid Record Heat

Photograph by Jo Giuliani, European Pressphoto AgencySmoke from a wildfire mushrooms over a beach in Forcett, Tasmania, on January 4. (See more wildfire pictures.)Wildfires have engulfed southeastern Australia, including the island state of Tasmania, in recent days, fueled by dry conditions and temperatures as high as 113ºF (45ºC), the Associated Press reported. (Read "Australia's Dry Run" inNational...

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CIA Nominee May Have 'Zero Dark Thirty' Problem

Navy SEALs are seen fighting through a dust storm in the new thriller directed by Kathryn Bigelow, "Zero Dark Thirty." (Columbia Pictures/AP Photo)There’s only one White House staffer portrayed in the new movie “Zero Dark Thirty,” and it is someone described in the credits as “National Security Advisor.”It’s a position that’s possibly filled in real life by John Brennan, the president’s counterterrorism...

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World's oldest pills treated sore eyes

In ancient Rome, physicians treated sore eyes with the same active ingredients as today. So suggests an analysis of pills found on the Relitto del Pozzino, a cargo ship wrecked off the Italian coast in around 140 BC. "To our knowledge,...

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Football: Italy pledges action on football racists

MILAN: Italian interior minister Annamaria Cancellieri on Monday called for "more incisive" action to be taken to end the abuse of non-white players by racist fans.Cancellieri was speaking after AC Milan's Kevin-Prince Boateng last week responded to racist chants by a small group of fans during a friendly against fourth division side Pro Patria by storming off the pitch.He was followed...

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The "Internet of Things" gets a consortium

Buzzword Central, also known as the Consumer Electronics Show, is getting a new entry. In the never-ending quest to hook up the physical and digital worlds -- as we wait for the world of networked computing to spread beyond the boundaries of computers and smartphones to just about anything -- a new consortium will hold its first meeting this week at CES to compare notes. The so-called "Internet of...

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Wasp Larvae Practice Food Safety

From refrigeration and pasteurization to hand washing and health inspections, humans go to great lengths to prevent foodborne illnesses—and it turns out we're not alone. A new study reveals that the parasitic emerald cockroach wasp (Ampulex compressa) has developed its own food hygiene technique, cleansing its cockroach victim using a cocktail of antimicrobial liquids.(Read a related article...

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Cops Break Down as They Describe Aurora Horror

Two veteran police officers broke down on the stand today during a preliminary hearing for accused movie theater gunman James Holmes, with one officer choking up when he described finding the body of a 6-year-old girl inside the theater.Sgt. Gerald Jonsgaard needed a moment to compose himself as he described finding the little girl, Veronica Moser Sullivan, in the blood splattered...

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Silent Skype calls can hide secret messages

Got a secret message to send? Say it with silence. A new technique can embed secret data during a phone call on Skype. "There are concerns that Skype calls can be intercepted and analysed," says Wojciech Mazurczyk at the Institute of Telecommunications in Warsaw, Poland. So his team's SkypeHide system lets users...

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Football: Milan call on football powers to act on racism

MILAN: AC Milan have called for football's authorities to take an official stand against racism in the sport as the controversy surrounding Kevin-Prince Boateng's walk-off continued on Sunday.Boateng hit the headlines last week when he responded to racist chants by a small group of fans during a friendly against fourth division side Pro Patria by storming off the pitch.He was followed...

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