Companion Is The New Assistant

Did you hear that 2012 is the year of the assistant??It?s clear: Siri was only the beginning. Today, assistants can do my bidding for a bunch of transactional, task-oriented use cases, saving me a precious steps along the way. In the future, assistants will be capable of doing more and more non-trivial things. And, Norm Winarsky is right -- Siri isn?t one assistant to rule them all. We?ll soon have a cadre of specialized software agents at our side.

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Apple releases iOS 5.1.1 update for iPad, iPod touch and iPhone: fixes AirPlay and network bugs

Plugged your iDevice into an iTunes-equipped machine lately? You should. Apple has just let loose iOS 5.1.1, a seemingly minor point update that actually promises to fix quite a few (potentially) substantial quirks. Coming two months to the day after the iOS 5.1 software update, the extra 0.0.1 is said to improve reliability of the HDR option for photos taken using the Lock Screen shortcut, address bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks and solve a few issues that were affecting AirPlay video playback "in some circumstances." There's also improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List, and Apple has purportedly fixed an issue where 'Unable to purchase' alert could be displayed after successful purchase. Sucked the update down yourself? Let us know how it goes in comments below, and peek the full changelog just after the break.

Update: Looks like iOS 5.1.1 has already been jailbroken. Huzzah!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Apple releases iOS 5.1.1 update for iPad, iPod touch and iPhone: fixes AirPlay and network bugs

Apple releases iOS 5.1.1 update for iPad, iPod touch and iPhone: fixes AirPlay and network bugs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 May 2012 13:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Celebration Pack Xbox 360 drapes itself in Union Jack, sings Rule Britannia

If the Queen's Jubilee and 2012 Olympics pride have overcome your sense of subtlety, Microsoft has a special game console for you. The Celebration Pack Xbox 360 is a plain-jane 4GB Kinect bundle underneath, but it slathers the console, the wireless gamepad and the Kinect sensor in a tattered Union Jack to remind everyone you're not from Canada. Gamers also get copies of Kinect Adventures and Kinect Sports to help them train for the 500-meter relay. Showing your patriotism with an Xbox will cost you £250 ($406) when the console is ready on May 25, while Microsoft will gladly sell you a just-as-British Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 for £30 ($49).

Celebration Pack Xbox 360 drapes itself in Union Jack, sings Rule Britannia originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 May 2012 17:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DataSift Raises $7.2M For Powerful Social Data Analysis And Business Intelligence Platform

DataSift, a data analysis company that provides developers and third parties with access to Twitter, Facebook and other social data sources, has raised $7.2 million in a follow-on Series A round from existing investors GRP Partners and IA Ventures. This brings DataSift's total funding to $15 million. For background, developers, businesses, media companies and organizations can essentially use DataSift to mine the Twitter firehose of social data, as well as Facebook, YouTube, blogs, forums and online message boards. But what makes DataSift special is that it can sort through billions of social interactions then filter this social media data for demographic information, online influence and sentiment, either positive or negative.

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1 Trend, 3 Ways: Shiny Mini Leggings

We spotted Jessica Alba's Honor and Adam Sandler's Sadie out and about looking adorable in shiny leggings. Check them out, plus our picks for every budget.

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Everything You Need To Wage Cubicle Warfare [Toolkit]

When you fill a drab, fluorescent-lit room full of people who'd rather be doing anything other than filling out spreadsheets, tensions are bound to rise. And it doesn't take much to spark a war. A misplaced stapler, a stolen lunch, even an inappropriate email meant only for the guys in accounting. More »

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Zimmerman lawyer starts social media effort

14 hrs.

Suzanne Choney

George Zimmerman's attorney has launched?an all-out social media campaign?on behalf of his client, accused of second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin.

That social media effort includes a?Facebook page, a website and a Twitter account on behalf of Zimmerman.

"We understand that it is unusual for a legal defense to maintain a social media presence on behalf of a defendant, but we also acknowledge that this is a very unusual case," says Zimmerman attorney Mark O'Mara on the new site, George Zimmerman Legal Case.?

The?American Bar Association's standards of?professional conduct does not deal with social media, a spokesman for the ABA told msnbc.com, but "it's certainly going to be on everyone's radar screen" now.

Stephen A. Saltzburg, a member of the ABA's governing body, the House of Delegates, and former chairman of the ABA's?criminal justice section, said?"generally speaking, lawyers are not supposed to be making public statements that could compromise a fair trial."?

Whether the Zimmerman social media effort will do that would be up to a judge, Saltzburg said.

"Social media is kind of a new thing. I suspect?judges in highly publicized cases are going to think about trying to order lawyers and defendants to stay away from social media in order not to taint the jury pool."

Zimmerman started his own website, "The Real George Zimmerman," April 9, two days before he was arrested and charged with Martin's murder. In the two weeks the site was up, Zimmerman?raised $204,000 before O'Mara shut that site down.

O'Mara said last week?that money now?has been put into an account?that can't be accessed directly by Zimmerman or his family.

"We have worked to shut down all of Mr. Zimmerman?s websites and social profiles," O'Mara said on the new site. "It is not in Mr. Zimmerman?s best interests to speak publicly about this case, and as he has hired us to represent him, we feel part of our responsibility to our client is to provide a voice for Mr. Zimmerman, but only when it is appropriate to do so."

The attorney said on the new site he understands and acknowledges "the criticism that this is an opportunistic move using the event of a tragedy for personal or firm gain. Rest assured, that if the controversy surrounding this matter subsided tomorrow, so would our efforts to address the perceived problems the way we feel is necessary."

But social media, he said, cannot be ignored "in this day and age ...?It is now a critical part of presidential politics, it has been part of revolutions in the Middle East, and it is going to be an unavoidable part of high-profile legal cases, just as traditional media has been and continues to be. We feel it would be irresponsible to ignore the robust online conversation, and we feel equally as strong about establishing a professional, responsible, and ethical approach to new media."

The defense team hopes to disrupt "misinformation" about the case, which they believe is rife. "There is a tremendous volume of conversation on the Internet regarding news about this case. Some of it is based on fact; some is opinion and speculation; some is rumor; and some is malicious misinformation. We are in a position to distinguish (when appropriate) fact from the rest," O'Mara said on the site.?

But some would say the defense is not in a position to distinguish fact "from the rest," as it is not the judge or the jury.?

O'Mara also?made clear on the website that the defense team "cannot and will not comment about the facts of the case, as that is the purpose of the courts and legal process. Part of our presence online is to discourage public speculation about the facts of the case."

How the defense will both distinguish the facts of the case without commenting on those facts may be quite tricky.?We tried reaching O'Mara at his office, and will update this story if we hear back.

The Facebook page, George Zimmerman Legal Case, shows a photo of a cozy-looking house. (It's not Zimmerman's; it's O'Mara's office in Orlando, Fla.)?

On the page, people are welcome to comment about the case, but, said O'Mara, "we have?begun removing posts that we feel are inappropriate, and if you find your post has disappeared, it is likely for one of the following reasons." Among them: "profane and/or racially charged language," "speculation about the facts?of the case which must and will only be discussed in a court of law," "aggressively disparaging or unfairly critical of people associated with the case," and perhaps chillingly, those that "contained a threat."

"We will not remove posts simply because they are critical of George Zimmerman or his legal defense," O'Mara says on the page.

A Twitter?account, GZlegalCase, is also up and running; a legal defense fund website is in the works.?

"We do intend to raise funds on behalf of our client, and when we are approved to do so, we will accept funds online," O'Mara said on the George Zimmerman Legal Case site. "We understand that this is controversial, but Mr. Zimmerman deserves a fair trial, and mounting a defense is an expensive proposition."

Check out Technolog, Gadgetbox, Digital Life and In-Game on?Facebook,?and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.

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Ben Stiller And Adam Scott Engage In A Fight In Today's Twitter-Wood

Shooting fantasy fight scene with @mradamscott. twitpic.com/9fnums — Ben Stiller (@RedHourBen) April 30, 2012 Before you put yourself on red alert and begin tweeting your friends, Ben Stiller and Adam Scott aren't actually fighting. The duo is filming a fight scene for their dramady, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." The adventure film follows Mitty [...]

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Torres gets Chelsea hat trick

By The Associated Press

Associated Press Sports

updated 6:22 p.m. ET April 29, 2012

LONDON (AP) - Fernando Torres got his first hat trick in more than 21/2 years on Sunday to lead Chelsea to a 6-1 English Premier League win over Queens Park Rangers.

Tottenham returned to fourth place with a 2-0 win over Blackburn, moving ahead of Newcastle on goal difference and pulling three points back of third-place Arsenal. Chelsea trails Spures by a point with three games remaining.

Defending champion Manchester United holds a three-point lead over second-place Manchester City heading into Monday's game between the rivals at Etihad Stadium.

In Chelsea's first match since reaching this season's Champions League final, Daniel Sturridge scored after 49 seconds, John Terry headed in a corner kick in the 13th minute and Torres scored in the 19th, 25th and 64th for his first three-goal game since Liverpool's 6-1 win over Hull on Sept. 26, 2009. Florent Malouda made it 6-0 in the 80th.

Djibril Cisse scored in the 84th for QPR, which remains out of the relegation zone on goal difference over Bolton

After just eight goals in his first 61 games since joining Chelsea for 50 million pounds ($80 million), Torres has four in his past two matches.

"I was feeling very good, very sharp, playing well, but I couldn't score," Torres said. "Now I feel I'm not playing as well as before, but I am scoring goals, which is the important thing for the strikers."

A large number of Chelsea fans jeered and taunted QPR defender Anton Ferdinand throughout for his accusation earlier this season that Terry had racially abused him. Terry lost the England captaincy and faces a criminal trial after the European Championship.

The furor meant that the traditional pre-match handshake between the sides was abandoned Sunday to avoid the players coming into contact outside of the game.

Rafael van der Vaart scored in the 22nd minute for Spurs and Kyle Walker added a goal in the 75th for Tottenham, which outshot Blackburn 19-0.

---

MADRID (AP) - Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 57th goal of the season, Karim Benzema added a pair and Real Madrid closed on its first Spanish league title in four years with a 3-0 victory over Sevilla.

Three-time defending champion Barcelona prevented Real from clinching by winning 7-0 at Rayo Vallecano as Lionel Messi scored twice for his 20th multigoal game this season. With four games left Messi has 65 goals, two short of the European record set by Bayern Munich's Gerd Mueller in 1972-73.

In Madrid, Ronaldo scored in the 19th minute, and Benzema in the 48th and 52nd. Ronaldo and Messi have each scored a Spanish league-record 43 goals.

Madrid, which has set the league mark with 112 goals, maintained a seven-point lead and can clinch a record 32nd championship with a win Wednesday at Athletic Bilbao.

Messi ended a three-game scoreless streak, putting Barcelona ahead in the 16th minute and getting the final goal in the 90th. Pedro Rodriguez also had two goals, and Seydou Keita and Thiago Alcantara one each in Barcelona's first game since coach Pep Guardiola said he was leaving at the end of the season and being replaced by assistant Tito Vilanova. Rober had an own goal for Rayo Vallecano.

---

ROME (AP) - Undefeated Juventus moved a step closer to the Serie A title with a 4-0 rout at neighbor Novara.

Mirko Vucinic got goals in the 16th and 64th minute, Marco Borriello scored in the 40th for goals in consecutive games and Arturo Vidal had a goal in the 50th.

Juventus is unbeaten in all 35 league matches this season, plus its four Italian Cup matches - it faces Napoli in the May 20 final.

With three rounds remaining, Juventus remained three points ahead of defending champion AC Milan, which won 4-1 at Siena. Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 29th and the fifth minute of second-half injury time, raising his league-leading goals total to 26. Antonio Cassano scored in the 26th, first goal since minor heart surgery in November, and Antonio Nocerino got a goal in the 90th, seven minutes after Erjon Bogdani scored for the hosts.

Elsewhere, Inter Milan and Udinese both won to create a four-way tie with Lazio and Napoli for third place and the final Champions League berth.

Pama won 2-1 at Lecce to leave the southern club in the relegation zone. Lecce remained third from bottom, one point behind Genoa, which lost 3-2 at Bologna.

---

PARIS (AP) - Eden Hazard tied the score with a penalty kick in the 71st minute, then helped set up Nolan Roux's goal in the 79th to lead defending champion Lille over Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 and keep alive its slim title hopes.

Javier Pastore had scored in the 48th minute for visiting PSG, which played a man short after Mamadou Sakho received a red card in the 70th. For the go-ahead goal, Hazard flicked the ball to Tulio De Melo, who nodded it back across goal for Roux to nod home.

Montpellier has a five-point leads over PSG with four games left, and Lille is another two points back.

---

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) - Scottish champion Celtic eased to a 3-0 win over Rangers, stretching its lead over its city rival to 21 points.

Goals by defender Charlie Mulgrew and midfielder Kris Commons in the 31st made it 2-0, and striker Gary Hooper completed the scoring in the 54th.

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AMSTERDAM (AP) - Theo Janssen converted a penalty kick in the 30th and Gregory van der Wiel scored a go-ahead goal in the 78th as defending champion Ajax beat Twente 2-1 to close in on the Dutch league title. Leroy Fer had tied the score in the 72nd.

Otman Bakkal scored in the 54th as Feyenoord beat AZ 1-0 to move into second, six points behind Ajax, which would clinch in the title with a win Wednesday against VVV Venlo.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Man City nears Premier title

Vincent Kompany's thumping header gave Manchester City a crucial 1-0 derby win against Manchester United on Monday to overtake its rival atop the Premier League with just two games remaining.

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