The first time you see this latest picture of Saturn, you'll probably think it's fake. The rings are too perfectly round. The swirling surface of the planet is too smooth. The shadows are too sharp. But it's all real, thanks to the Cassini spacecraft and a Croatian software developer with too much time on his hands.
Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-most-beautiful-photo-of-saturn-youve-ever-seen-1447226686NEW YORK, Oct (KOSDAQ: 039200.KQ - news) 17 (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc
on Thursday posted stronger- than-expected third-quarter
earnings and revenue on strong wireless growth, sending its
shares up 2.4 percent in early trade.
While the company's wireless customer growth numbers were
slightly below Wall Street estimates, its Verizon Wireless
venture with Vodafone Group Plc posted good profit and
revenue growth as customers spent more on their services.
"The numbers were fine but it wasn't a blowout quarter. It
was a good third quarter," said Hudson Square analyst Todd
Rethemeier.
Verizon Wireless added 927,000 net retail subscribers in the
quarter, compared with Wall Street expectations of about 1
million customers, according to eight analysts, with estimates
ranging from 900,000 to 1.2 million. Verizon (NYSE: VZ - news) has agreed to buy
out Vodafone (LSE: VOD.L - news) 's 45 percent share of the mobile venture.
Verizon said it expects wireless customer growth to improve
sequentially in the fourth quarter.
Verizon reported a third-quarter profit of $2.2 billion, or
78 cents per share, compared with $1.59 billion, or 56 cents per
share, a year ago.
Excluding unusual items, Verizon earned 77 cents per share
in the quarter, compared with Wall Street expectations of 74
cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Its wireless profit margin was 51.1 percent, based on
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization(EBITDA) as a percentage of service revenue, and
above its target range of 49 percent to 50 percent for the full
year.
Rethemeier said the profit margin would likely come down in
the fourth quarter due to steep holiday season costs, since the
company kept its wireless margin target for the year despite the
strong third-quarter number.
Revenue rose 4.4 to $30.28 billion from $29.01 billion. Wall
Street expected $30.16 billion, according to Thomson Reuters
I/B/E/S.
A 7.2 percent increase in wireless revenue for the quarter
was offset by a slower 4.3 percent rise in wireline revenue.
Verizon shares rose 2.4 percent to $48.40 in premarket
trading after closing at $47.25 in the regular New York Stock
Exchange session.
Washington (AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta became the first world leader Thursday to meet President Barack Obama after the end of a debt default showdown and declared: "his success is our success."
Letta told Obama that a stable US economy was vital for the globe, only hours after the US Congress staved off a debt default by agreeing to extend the government's borrowing authority.
After talks in the Oval Office, Letta congratulated Obama for his "success" in ending the latest political drama in Washington to capture the world's attention.
"His success is also our success," Letta told reporters.
"Yesterday's decision was very important for the stability in the markets and the world."
"We need to have low interest rates; yesterday we had the lowest interest rates in Italy for two years," he added. "That was for us a very important achievement."
Obama, meanwhile, hailed Letta's work to stabilize the Italian economy.
The US leader also praised Letta for winning a vote of confidence in parliament earlier this month.
"It is clear that Italy is moving in the right direction in stabilizing its finances and embarking on reforms that will make it more competitive," Obama said.
He also said the two discussed the importance of European growth and, not for the first time, expressed concern at the high rate of youth unemployment in Europe.
"The United States is obviously not part of Europe but we have great interest in Europe," Obama said.
"When Europe is doing well, that means we are doing well also," he added, vowing to work to complete a proposed transatlantic trade agreement in the coming months.
The two leaders also discussed regional security issues including Syria, Libya and Italy's support for NATO operations in Afghanistan.
"It seems pretty solid from the supply chain that the new iPad will have a narrow bezel and, from what I've seen from accessories manufacturers, it seems the screen is narrower at the edges," suggested Jeff Orr, a senior practice director at ABI Research. A fingerprint sensor is also highly likely because "architecturally, the iPad will follow the iPhone 5," Orr added.
Apple on Tuesday sent out invitations to an undisclosed event to be held Oct. 22 in San Francisco, fueling fresh speculation about the company's planned product launches.
It's widely expected that Apple will unveil new versions of the iPad and iPad mini, among other things.
"The most solid rumors are that we'll see a 9.7-inch fifth-generation iPad," Jeff Orr, a senior practice director at ABI Research, told MacNewsWorld.
It's generally agreed that the iPad lost market share in Q2.
"It was inevitable that they would lose share from their lofty perch," commented Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for NPD Group. "However, I would contend that most of the business [Apple] has lost is not business it ever really wanted to win."
Apple did not respond to our request for further details.
Apple is expected to unveil an iPad mini with a Retina screen; another version of this small tablet with a polycarbonate case similar to the one used in the faltering iPhone 5C; a slimmer iPad with a narrower bezel; and 8 MP rear cameras in both the iPad and iPad mini, up from the current 5 MP version.
There is also speculation that Apple might launch a new Apple TV, which has not been updated for more than a year, and unveil the iWatch.
New MacBook Pros with Retina screens and Mac OS X Mavericks, Apple's next-generation desktop OS, might also make their appearance.
"It seems pretty solid from the supply chain that [the new iPad] will have a narrow bezel and, from what I've seen from accessories manufacturers, it seems the screen is narrower at the edges," ABI's Orr said.
The iPad 5 will probably have the A7 processor, Orr suggested.
A fingerprint sensor is also highly likely because "architecturally, the iPad will follow the iPhone 5," Orr argued.
An iPad mini with a Retina display will probably be in the cards for the Oct. 22 event, but "the rumor is that Apple is getting a bit behind on resolutions," Orr stated.
"As of Q2, the iPad mini has been the majority of iPad shipments, and the changes Apple make on it will impact their bottom line more than any iterations on the regular iPad," Orr averred.
However, the iPad mini will get a higher-resolution screen "only if they can make enough to satisfy demand," NPD's Baker told MacNewsWorld. "There have been some questions about their ability to build enough."
Apple still dominates the market for tablets larger than 8 inches, and it doesn't compete with low-cost Android tablets smaller than 8 inches, which have been growing at a triple-digit rate throughout 2013, Baker said.
Apple's business "in the markets they compete in -- more premium-priced products -- is actually quite good," Baker continued.
As the tablet market separates into markets for larger and for smaller tablets, two questions need to be answered, Baker suggested.
One is whether Apple can continue to be competitive on features and apps in the small-tablet market, and the other is how fast the standard iPad can evolve into a hybrid productivity and consumption device to beat competing Windows, Chrome and Android offerings.
"I would like to see [Apple] take a stand with enterprise or non-consumer audiences," ABI's Orr said. "iOS 7 has broken a number of enterprise-designed applications and VPN support."
By remaining quiet on these issues, Apple is sending a negative message to business audiences, Orr pointed out.
The company gives a tip of the hat to the enterprise market when it states in financial calls that the iPad's in test or deployment with a majority of Fortune 500 organizations, but "that's a meaningless statement,' Orr contended -- "I'm sure the people who make water coolers can say the same thing." 
Private RP between me and code6435
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It's official! Now Beliebers can lock down their holiday plans.
By Jocelyn Vena
12:22 PM PDT 10/16/2013 by Graeme McMillan
Ridley Scott's 1982 adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep contained many nods to film noir -- something only underscored by a new fan trailer for the movie that gives Blade Runner even more of a noir makeover than before.
The video is the creation of Chet Desmond, who explained that it "isn't meant to be a radical re-imagining of the film or a recreation of a 40's-style trailer." Instead, he said, he merely wanted to take the already-present elements of classic noir movies in Blade Runner and "accentuate them into something hopefully interesting."
STORY: 'Green Lantern' Scribe in Talks to Rewrite 'Blade Runner' Sequel
The result is something that manages to make Scott's thirty-year-old sci-fi classic oddly contemporary and fresh again. Watch for yourself below.
