'First bionic eye' retinal chip for blind

June 29, 2013 ? University Hospitals (UH) Eye Institute will be one of the first medical centers in the United States to offer the Argus? II Retinal Prosthesis System ("Argus II").

The Argus II is the first and only "bionic eye" to be approved in countries throughout the world, including the U.S. It is used to treat patients with late stage retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Argus II was developed by Second Sight Medical Products, Inc., located near Los Angeles.

In preparation for the launch of Argus II later this year, implanting centers, including UH, will soon begin to accept consultations for patients with RP. UH is one of a select number of medical centers in 12 major markets in the nation, and the only one in Cleveland and the state of Ohio, chosen by Second Sight to offer the Argus II, which received FDA approval earlier this year.

Argus II works by converting video images captured by a miniature camera, housed in the patient's glasses, into a series of small electrical pulses that are transmitted wirelessly to an array of electrodes on the surface of the retina. These pulses are intended to stimulate the retina's remaining cells resulting in the corresponding perception of patterns of light in the brain. Patients then learn to interpret these visual patterns thereby regaining some visual function.

"This is a remarkable breakthrough," said Suber S. Huang, MD, MBA, Director, UH Eye Institute's Center for Retina and Macular Disease, who also served as the Independent Medical Safety Monitor for clinical trials of the system and gave the summary closing to the FDA Ophthalmic devices panel.

"The system offers a profound benefit for people who are blind from RP and who currently have no therapy available to them. Argus II allows patients to reclaim their independence and improve their lives."

RP is a rare inherited, degenerative eye disease that often results in profound vision loss to the level of bare light perception or no light perception. It affects nearly 100,000 Americans. Noted Cleveland businessman and professional sports owner Gordon Gund is blind from this disease.

"We are thrilled that several of the nation's top hospitals will be the first to offer Argus II to patients in the U.S.," said Brian Mech, Vice President of Business Development, Second Sight. "After an intensive and difficult selection process, these sites were chosen for their cutting-edge approach to medicine and unparalleled commitment to patient care. We are confident that RP patients seeking treatment at these centers will benefit greatly from the best-in-class services these sites provide."

Argus II had more than 20 years of work in the field, three clinical trials, more than $100 million in public investment by the National Eye Institute, the Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation, and an additional $100 million in private investment.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/Rl1fuNyJzyA/130629164628.htm

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Something About Japan: Naoki Yoshida on Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

Square Enix?s Naoki Yoshida, producer/director of Final Fantasy XIV Online: A Realm Reborn, spoke with Famitsu during E3 about the long-delayed PC/PS3/PS4 MMOG. Yoshida took over production of the game in 2010 after its original bug-riddled incarnation on PC became a high-profile critical disaster.

During the lengthy interview, Yoshida addressed concerns that the game will appeal to players both in Japan and the West, a feat that recent FF titles have generally failed to pull off.

?I want to make a game that will appeal to both markets,? he said. ?Western audiences have said the previous FF was too linear and not dark enough. On the other hand, when you go to Comic-Con or Japan Expo overseas you see a lot of people cosplaying as FF characters. Just like in Japan, the opinion of fans in the West is divided. So I?m taking the classic FF aesthetic and making it darker; that appeals to me, and it will appeal to certain fans in Japan and in the West.

?To be honest there?s not much difference now between the opinion of fans in Japan and in the West on FFXIV. They all think the Miqo?te are cool characters, for example, haha.?

MMORPGs are not especially popular in Japan, where PC gaming remains niche and many people prefer local multiplayer to online play.

?There aren?t as many people playing MMO games in Japan as in the West, so we?ve worked hard to make sure that the gameplay and the graphics are up to scratch for players in the West,? admitted Yoshida. ?The old FFXIV had an especially negative impact in Japan; so if a Western audience says the new game is great, I can take that as a straight response. There are differences in internet culture and opinions go up and down. The aim is to make something that people feel is interesting enough to try.?

FFXIV was originally destined for release on PS3 as well as PC, but the PS3 version was postponed while the game received an overhaul that is still ongoing. The game is now in beta-testing and is slated for release on 27 August 2013 on PS3 and PC, with a PS4 version further down the line in 2014.

When asked for his opinion on PS4, Yoshida replied, ?There?s so much memory! It?s fast! It has a lot of eye-catching features, like the social functions, integration with various devices, the touchpad on the DualShock 4, but the memory is a really big deal. In the case of FFXIV, when you have hundreds of customised characters on screen at once, it is after all hard to avoid a memory bottleneck.?

It may seem odd that Square Enix is even bothering with the PS3 version at all, since the PS4 version will surely be closer in quality to the PC rendition than the PS3 can hope to achieve. But Yoshida said that Square Enix has its reasons to persevere with the PS3 release.

?For one thing, we promised PS3 owners this game and we?ve kept them waiting for a long time,? he said. ?Even when the game was delayed for PS3, we promised that it would eventually come out. Another reason is that the game is a MMORPG with a monthly billing model, and so we want to make the game open to as many players as possible and have them look forward to new content as we update the game. Even if a lot of PS3 users migrate to PS4, I don?t expect PS4 to have two million users overnight. It took a long time for people to switch from PS2 to PS3 you know.

?But for players who want to have PC-parity visuals and more characters on screen, there is the option of PS4. Both versions are on the same server, so you can carry your character and account across.?

Yoshida detailed aspects of the gameplay and character classes, before going on to discuss planned expansion packs and patches.

?It?s hard to be specific because all sorts of things could change with the launch, but personally I hope to release an expansion pack within about a year and a half of the start of the service,? he said. ?It could be two years, though, because a year and a half could be too tight to create the volume of content we?re aiming for. As for update patches, we?ll probably release one every two and a half or three months ? four times a year.?

It?s been a rocky road to PlayStation for this ambitious project. With the release finally in sight, it won?t be long till we know whether the development team?s reshuffling has paid off. The proof will come not only in the subscription figures but on the cosplay catwalk too.

Source: http://www.edge-online.com/features/something-about-japan-naoki-yoshida-on-final-fantasy-xiv/

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Uh Oh: Forum Communications Confirms Missing Emails From ...

The timing of the deletion of emails from NDSU President Dean Bresciani?s inbox has always been interesting. It appears as though the mass-deletion of tens of thousands of emails took place between the time when an open records request from Forum Communicatinos was fulfilled and when an open records request from Legislative Council was received.

The folks at Forum Communications have gone back and compared the results of their open records request with the one from Legislative Council and found inconsistencies involving dozens of emails:

The newspaper compared the results of its own open records request for Bresciani?s emails, made in March, with those that the North Dakota Legislative Council received after a similar request in April and found that 53 emails were missing from the results of the council?s request.

Nearly all of the emails in the Legislative Council?s request were sent by Bresciani, with few incoming emails that would sit in an inbox, suggesting that at least part of the president?s inbox was deleted sometime after The Forum?s open records request was fulfilled in late April.

The missing emails, mostly innocuous replies to Bresciani from fellow school employees, are just a fraction of the 45,375 emails that were allegedly deleted from Bresciani?s account sometime in the two weeks leading up to the Legislative Council?s request for the president?s emails ? a possible violation of the state?s open records law. The emails are now at the heart of a probe by Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem?s office.

This in and of itself may not be all that shocking a revelation. A few dozen innocuous emails probably aren?t a big deal in the grand scheme of things. But what it absolutely shows is that emails were disappearing.

And, despite previous claims from university system officials that they couldn?t verify if emails had been deleted or not, they are now acknowledging that fact. ?After being asked about the 53 missing emails identified by the Forum, NDSU and North Dakota University System officials confirmed Friday that ?a large number of emails? have been deleted,? reports Kyle Potter. ?Bresciani and other university staff initially said they couldn?t verify whether any emails had been deleted from Bresciani?s account.?

Also, Bresciani?s claim that his system was ?compromised? has been shot down:

[Bresciani] also suggested his account may have been compromised by university system staff in a ?personally directed and malicious? effort against him. But Wallman and Feldner said in the statement that the only outsiders who accessed the president?s account were fulfilling open records requests.

Days ago I had filed an open records request with NDUS spokeswoman Linda Donlin asking for the log information showing the deletion of the files. After initially acknowledging my request I?ve gotten no further communications for Donlin (who is part of the staff upheaval going on, it seems) but a university system source has given me a screen shot of the log showing the deletion of emails:

We can now dismiss a lot of the spin and self-serving explanations coming from President Bresciani?s office and other sources and focus on some facts:

• The emails were absolutely deleted from Bresciani?s inbox.
• Bresciani?s inbox was not ?compromised? by anyone from the university system office, despite his wild allegations.
• NDSU did not fully complete the legislature?s request for emails given the discrepancies between the Forum Communications request and the Legislative Council request.

The questions that need to be answered is who deleted the emails, and were they deleted inadvertently or as an conscious effort to avoid an open records request? The latter, remember, is potentially a felony.

Word I?m getting from university system sources is that there were thousands of emails now-discovered that weren?t turned over to the legislature. That, if true, is damning.

Source: http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/uh-oh-forum-communications-confirms-missing-emails-from-brescianis-inbox/

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PlayStation through the years: Mark Cerny on the PS4's roots and the brand's evolution (video)

The genesis story: the long-lead up to every console's launch usually leaves one in its wake. Typically, we get some sanitized version, appropriately molded by corporate PR and fed to the public with the crust cut off. But when you're Mark Cerny, lead PlayStation 4 architect, and you've literally grown up with the games industry and the PlayStation brand itself, the tale you get to tell tends to be more truthful, mesmerizing, and chock full of the hard knocks that make success stories so great. And that's just what Cerny delivered at Gamelab in Barcelona this week, recounting the whirlwind career that led him to have the heaviest hand in shaping Sony's next-gen platform.

Not familiar with the man's esteemed background? Then sample this bit of historical trivia: Cerny was the youngest Atari employee at age 17 (!). How's that for inspiring? Oh, and what's more, Cerny even fesses up to the egotistical attitude that flattened Sony's PlayStation 3 launch (spoiler alert: it has to do with crushing third-party devs). There's much, much more insider-y goodness packed into the 45 minute-plus video after the break. Go on, now. Watch it. You'll be better for it, we promise.

Filed under: Gaming, Sony

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Source: PlayStation Blog

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/28/playstation-through-the-years-mark-cerny-on-the-ps4s-roots-and/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Iran's president-elect: Nation voted for change

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran's president-elect called his win in national elections this month a vote for change and vowed Saturday to remain committed to his campaign promises of moderation and constructive interaction with the outside world.

Hasan Rouhani's promises of outreach could lower the political temperature between Iran and the West and perhaps nudge the country's ruling Islamic establishment toward a more flexible approach in its standoff over Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

Rouhani has already promised greater openness on the nuclear issue while at the same time siding with the hard-liner establishment that refuses to halt uranium enrichment. He believes it's possible to strike a deal that would allow the Islamic Republic to keep enriching uranium while assuring the West it will not produce a nuclear weapon.

The U.S. and its allies fear Iran may ultimately be able to develop nuclear arms. Tehran has denied the charges, saying its program is peaceful and aimed at generating electricity and producing radioisotopes to treat cancer patients.

The reformist-backed Rouhani won a landslide majority in June 14 presidential election, defeating his conservative and hardline rivals. He will succeed hardline outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad early August.

"People chose a new path ... People said in this election: We want change," Rouhani told a conference in Tehran Saturday. "The best language of the people is the ballot box. The people's vote is very obvious. There is no ambiguity."

Rouhani's election has revived hopes for a mutually acceptable deal over Iran's disputed nuclear program, as it was seen in part as a referendum on Iran's nuclear diplomacy. The country's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, a hard-liner who supported a policy of resistance, finished third in the vote, which was widely seen as rejection of his tough stance on the nuclear issue.

Rouhani said he will keep his promise of following a path of moderation in domestic and foreign policy.

"Moderation in foreign policy is neither surrender nor conflict, neither passivity nor confrontation. Moderation is effective and constructive interaction with the world," he said.

The final word on all state matters, particularly on the nuclear issue, lies with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but a strong president can influence decision-making.

Rouhani has vowed that he will seek to have the stinging economic sanctions against Iran lifted and work with international powers to settle the nuclear issue through active diplomacy and dialogue.

The president-elect also said that the ruling system needs to allow more freedom for Iran's relatively young population.

"Happiness is people's right," he said. "I thank police for increasing the threshold of their tolerance." He was referring to wild street celebrations after he was declared winner of the election.

Iran's anti-vice police sporadically detain youths on vague charges of not observing Islamic codes. During Ahmadinejad's presidency, many detainees claimed to be mistreated while in detention.

"We should talk to girls and boys in the same way we talk to our own children. People's dignity must be preserved. Humiliating people is not acceptable but giving (polite) notice (of a morality offense) is fine," Rouhani said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/irans-president-elect-nation-voted-change-083803196.html

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T-Mobile buys wireless spectrum from U.S. Cellular for $308 million

Signage for a T-Mobile store is pictured in downtown Los Angeles, California August 31, 2011. REUTERS/Fred??

(Reuters) - T-Mobile US Inc agreed to buy wireless spectrum covering the Mississippi Valley region from U.S. Cellular Corp for about $308 million in cash.

The fourth-largest U.S. wireless service provider said the additional spectrum will allow it to expand its 4G LTE network across 29 markets covering 32 million people in several southern states.

(Reporting by Chandni Doulatramani in Bangalore; Editing by Anthony Kurian)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/t-mobile-buys-wireless-spectrum-u-cellular-308-123352590.html

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Big Labor's Anti-Immigration Rumor Machine

Editor?s note:?Vivek Wadhwa is a fellow at Stanford Law School, Director of Research at Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University, and VP of Innovation and Research at Singularity University. The passage of immigration reform by the Senate was a big step forward. The bill is far from perfect, but goes a long way towards solving Silicon Valley?s talent shortage -- and America?s immigrant exodus. But big hurdles lie ahead as anti-immigrant groups regroup. Extreme elements of the right will be fighting to close the borders while their counterparts on the left -- Big Labor in particular -- work to undermine high-skilled immigration.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ayH4it32Ayw/

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