The CITE: Good Start to Fall Semester for edX

The fall semester is off to a rousing start for edX.

Harvard University, which teamed with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to found the nonprofit online education start-up last spring, announced that about 100,000 students signed up for its first free online courses on computer science and an adaptation of the Harvard School of Public Health classes in epidemiology and biostatics. Free online offerings at MIT and the University of California Berkeley, which joined the project over the summer, are attracting similar interest, according to edX President Anant Agarwal in an article in The Boston Globe. In fact, MIT attracted 155,000 students for a course in circuits and electronics last spring. The platform uses discussion groups and forums to engage students, who can enroll in as many edX courses they like. Certificates of completion are available to those who show they have mastered the course. ?We view this as an incredible opportunity for us to ask deeper questions about how people learn and how we as a university help people to learn,? Harvard Provost Alan Garber said in The Globe article. More good news for edX followed as Bloomberg reported that the University of Texas, Austin, plans to spend up to $5 million to join the venture. ?The UT System?s partnership with edX is great news for Texas and exactly the type of effort I hope more schools will consider as we aggressively pursue the goals of improving graduation rates and making a college education more accessible and affordable,? said Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the statement announcing the plan.

Source: http://thecite.blogspot.com/2012/10/good-start-to-fall-semester-for-edx.html

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Chip gear maker ASML to buy Cymer for $2.5 billion

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The world's leading microchip gear maker ASML, is to buy U.S. group Cymer, its key supplier of a light-based technology crucial to making a new generation of much smaller chips, for 1.95 billion euros ($2.5 billion).

The Dutch company said that Cymer would accelerate the development of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) semiconductor lithography, which will produce the chips that will increase power and functionality in future smartphones and tablet computers. The light source in ASML's EUV development plans has been an ongoing technological challenge for ASML, causing delays in production

Over the summer, ASML announced a string of deals with its three biggest customers, including Intel, Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. These will amount to the trio buying a collective 23 percent stake in ASML and supplementing its R&D budget to the tune of 1.38 billion euros.

Cymer and ASML have collaborated closely for more than a year and the acquisition was a natural evolution, ASML said.

The deal, which is due to close in the first half of 2013, is a cash-and-stock transaction. Each Cymer shareholder will receive $20 in cash and 1.1502 ASML ordinary shares per Cymer share. The total price is a premium of 61 percent over Cymer's average volume-weighted price in the 30 days to October 16.

ASML said that the deal is expected to boost earnings per share within two years, though Theodoor Gilissen analyst Jos Versteeg said that ASML is paying a steep price. Rabobank's Philip Scholte, meanwhile, said that it's an expensive way for ASML to get EUV back on track.

A bellwether for Europe's technology sector, ASML made the Cymer announcement as it reported lower than expected third-quarter bookings and said that fourth-quarter sales would be at the low end of expectations. However, it declined to give a 2013 outlook.

Its trading update echoed the downbeat message coming from other technology titans. Intel, one of ASML's biggest customers, said on Tuesday that its outlook remains weak for the remainder of the year because of falling PC sales.

ASML's third-quarter order book came in at 831 million euros, lower than analysts' expectations of 899 million euros.

The company saw weakness at customers who make memory chips because consumers were choosing cheaper versions of smartphones and tablet computers because of the weak economy, Chief Financial Officer Peter Wennink said.

Third-quarter net profit was 275 million euros, compared with a forecast for 278 million euros. Sales of 1.23 billion euros were in line with forecasts.

Petercam analyst Marcel Achterberg said that he expected ASML shares to fall on the news and would recommend buying on this weakness. The shares were down by 2.75 percent at 0827 GMT.

($1 = 0.7679 euro)

(Additional reporting by Gilbert Kreijger; Editing by David Goodman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chip-gear-maker-asml-buy-cymer-2-5-083144895--sector.html

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iPhone-Maker: Yes, We Employed 14-Year-Olds - Business Insider

BEIJING (AP) ? The company that manufactures Apple's iPhone said Tuesday it found underage interns as young as 14 working at one of its factories in China.

Foxconn Technology Group said the interns were found by a company investigation at its factory in the eastern city of Yantai and were sent back to their schools. China's minimum legal working age is 16.

Foxconn, owned by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., said it was investigating with schools how the interns were sent to its factory. It didn't say how many underage interns it found.

"We recognize that full responsibility for these violations rests with our company and we have apologized to each of the students for our role in this action," Foxconn said in a statement. "Any Foxconn employee found, through our investigation, to be responsible for these violations will have their employment immediately terminated."

Foxconn produces iPhones and iPads for Apple Inc. and also assembles products for Microsoft Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. The company gave no indication what products were made in facilities where the interns worked.

A labor rights group, China Labor Watch, said in a statement that primary responsibility lay with schools involved but "Foxconn is also culpable for not confirming the ages of their workers."

Conditions in factories in China are a sensitive issue for foreign brands that outsource production of shoes, consumer electronics and other goods to local contractors. Last month, Foxconn suspended production for one day at a factory in the city of Taiyuan following a brawl by as many as 2,000 employees that injured 40 people.

Foxconn is one of China's biggest employers, with about 1.2 million employees in factories in several cities.

The company has an internship program that takes vocational students who work for three to six months in its factories, accompanied by teachers.

Foxconn faced a complaint in August that vocational students were compelled by their schools to work in its factories in China. Foxconn said the students were free to leave at any time.

The Fair Labor Association, which was hired by Apple to audit working conditions at Foxconn factories, said in August that improvements it recommended in March were being carried out ahead of schedule. That included verifying the ages of student interns.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-maker-yes-we-employed-14-year-olds-2012-10

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Another 19 people diagnosed with meningitis in 9 states

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Lewis Hamilton blames suspension failure for struggling in Korean ...

Lewis Hamilton blames suspension failure for struggling in Korean GP ? Formula 1 news

Lewis Hamilton complained about a suspension failure after he had to battle for a tenth place in the Korean Grand Prix this Sunday.

On Saturday, Hamilton had qualified at third position but he was driving at fourth in the opening stint of the race. He was successful at matching his pace with Fernando Alonso of Ferrari in front of him. Hamilton soon fell back as the race proceeded as he encountered a problem with his car.

Hamilton confessed that the problem with his car had been a rear suspension failure similar to the one he had to deal with at Suzuka during the Japanese Grand Prix. He complained that the particular problem makes the car really difficult to handle and that he had to struggle with it throughout the race. He also shared his concerns with his team who assured him that it was safe for him to drive but it still had been a tough situation.

He was pleased that even though the car had given him a difficult time, he had been able to handle his circumstances really well. He was happy to have been able to score a point despite everything that had gone wrong.

?It was a real test but I just did absolutely everything I could. It wasn't particularly fun; moving backwards and then fighting with the Toro Rosso - a McLaren should never be fighting with a Toro Rosso and it should never be fighting with a Force India - but I put up as strong a fight as I could with Kimi without colliding,? Hamilton said.

He hinted at the fact sometimes it is not about winning but how much effort you put in do better. He insisted that he had done his best.

He said, ?This rules that we're pretty much out of the championship today but sometimes these races show the true spirit within, so I feel quite comfortable with myself that I pushed and I gave it everything.?

His car also got stuck with some Astroturf at the end of the game which caused his car to go even slower but he said it had only highlighted the problem he had been facing.

Hamilton is happy that he held on and was able to finish at tenth.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Lewis-Hamilton-blames-suspension-failure-for-struggling-in-Korean-GP-Formula-1-news-a194667

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Austrians proud of skydiver Fearless Felix

VIENNA (AP) ? In tiny Austria, where souvenir shops do brisk business in T-shirts bearing the crossed-out image of a kangaroo, some hope skydiver Felix Baumgartner's record-breaking jump will mean that ? for a while at least ? people will stop confusing their country with Australia.

The daredevil Austrian not only became the first man to shatter the sound barrier without traveling in a jet or spacecraft, he also made the highest jump ever ? a tumbling, death-defying plunge from a gossamer balloon floating in the stratosphere ? before landing safely Sunday in the New Mexico desert.

But the pride felt here in the man known as "Fearless Felix" goes beyond reminding the world that Austria is not Australia. It also resonates on a deeper level in a country whose positive achievements have often been overshadowed by its association with Adolf Hitler.

This nation of less than 9 million people gave birth to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Gustav Mahler and Sigmund Freud as well as scores of other Austrians who have left huge footprints across the centuries in music, politics, art and science. Its Alpine lakes and mountain peaks are immortalized in "The Sound of Music," and its famed contemporary human exports include Arnold Schwarzenegger and Hollywood chef Wolfgang Puck.

But Austria is also frequently invoked as the birthplace of the Nazi dictator ? and more recently as the home of Josef Fritzl, the man sentenced three years ago to life in prison for locking his daughter in a basement dungeon for 25 years and fathering her seven children.

Foreign media commentaries back then argued that there must be something inherently evil in a nation that can produce both Hitler and Fritzl, prompting the government to declare that Fritzl's crimes were an "isolated case" that the country could not be held hostage to.

With such associations weighing heavily on their minds, many Austrians were happy Monday for a new local hero swelling the ranks of the nation's good guys.

Vienna resident Mahir Dizdarevic described Baumgartner's stratospheric stunt as "good PR for Austria," adding with a laugh: "Let's hope we won't get mistaken for Australia anymore."

Peter Portugal, a fellow Viennese, also expressed his nation's pride. "He's Austrian, and I'm insanely happy that an Austrian did that," he said. "After all, he broke some records - and they will last for his entire life, my life and Austria's life."

Austria's president and chancellor sent their congratulations and Schwarzenegger tweeted his. Facebook users gleefully suggested that the stratosphere be renamed Baumgartner Heights ? now the name of a Vienna street.

Almost 3 million people ? more than a third of all Austrians ? watched the jump live on TV. It was front-page news on all the dailies, and even hard-bitten newspaper columnists broke with days of questioning the sense of the endeavor, especially whether the reported 50 million euros (nearly $65 million) spent on it could have been better used.

"We need people like Felix Baumgartner, who dare to transcend our boundaries so that we all can look over our own tiny horizons," wrote Wolfgang Fellner, publisher of the mass-circulation daily "Oesterreich."

_____

AP video journalist Philipp Jenne contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/austrians-proud-skydiver-fearless-felix-185735483.html

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Kim Kardashian Costume: Rawwwr!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/10/kim-kardashian-costume-rawwwr/

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