Google+ got a slew of photo-oriented features at a special event on Tuesday, including much-improved Instant Upload on iOS, Auto Awesome Action and new HDR controls in Snapseed. However, the occasion also provided new insights into the performance of Google's young social network. The company now ...
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Before signing herself, a woman looks at a large board with supportive messages for victims of Superstorm Sandy in the Midland Beach section of Staten Island, New York, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Candles and flashlights will light up the shore along the East Coast as survivors of Superstorm Sandy's devastation pay their respects to what was lost when the storm roared ashore one year ago. In Staten Island, where Sandy roared ashore and killed 23 people, there are still plenty of reminders of the storm. Wallboard and debris are piled on front lawns. Bungalows are covered in plywood. "Restricted Use" signs are plastered on many front doors. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Before signing herself, a woman looks at a large board with supportive messages for victims of Superstorm Sandy in the Midland Beach section of Staten Island, New York, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Candles and flashlights will light up the shore along the East Coast as survivors of Superstorm Sandy's devastation pay their respects to what was lost when the storm roared ashore one year ago. In Staten Island, where Sandy roared ashore and killed 23 people, there are still plenty of reminders of the storm. Wallboard and debris are piled on front lawns. Bungalows are covered in plywood. "Restricted Use" signs are plastered on many front doors. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Volunteers plant beach grass on a newly constructed sand dune along the beach in the Breezy Point neighborhood in the Queens borough of New York, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. A year ago Superstorm Sandy ravaged the region. The beach grass will protect the new dune, 1200 feet in length, from erosion. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Volunteers plant beach grass on a newly constructed sand dune along the beach in the Breezy Point neighborhood in the Queens borough of New York, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. A year ago, Superstorm Sandy ravaged the region. The beach grass will protect the dune, 1200 feet in length, from erosion. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
In early morning darkness, workers prepare heavy machinery for the day as rebuilding work continues on the beach area of Seaside Heights and Seaside Park, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. A large Sandy-related fire on the boardwalk in September has slowed progress in the area. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
In early morning darkness, workers prepare heavy machinery for the day as rebuilding work continues on the beach area of Seaside Heights and Seaside Park, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. A large Sandy-related fire on the boardwalk in September has slowed progress in the area. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
NEW YORK (AP) — A year after Superstorm Sandy deluged coastal communities with seawater, many people still can't believe they're not back in their homes. Others are thankful for small victories in the long, arduous recovery process.
Devastated residents on Tuesday recalled the help they got from strangers in the days and months after Sandy. Some have mostly recovered from the storm, while others are still homeless or living without heat. In one touching moment, mothers sang "Happy birthday" to their 1-year-old babies who were rescued from darkened hospitals at Sandy's peak.
Sandy came ashore on Oct. 29, 2012, sending floodwaters pouring across the densely populated barrier islands of Long Island and the Jersey shore. In New York City, the storm surge hit nearly 14 feet, swamping the city's subway and commuter rail tunnels and knocking out power to the southern third of Manhattan.
The storm was blamed for at least 182 deaths in the U.S. — including 68 in New York and 71 in New Jersey — and property damage estimated at $65 billion.
Here is a look at anniversary observances through a series of vignettes detailing how people are commemorating the unprecedented storm:
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Myra Camacho's home in the Rockaways still has no electricity.
She spent nearly two months after Sandy trying to survive in her frigid, powerless home with her boyfriend, Walter Negron.
"We wrapped ourselves in blankets. We ate out of the churches," Negron said.
They moved out after Camacho had a heart attack. She moved in with relatives. He's been staying elsewhere.
Workers restored the home's heating system and did some electrical work, but it wasn't enough to fix the building's ruined circuitry. Camacho had no flood insurance and can't work because of poor health. Negron lost his job at a restaurant because of the storm.
Their luck might be about to change. The couple spent Tuesday morning with an inspector from a nonprofit housing group, who told them he could help with the restoration. He estimated it would cost $15,000.
"He said, 'Don't worry about it. We're going to take care of it,'" Camacho said. "I don't know. We've heard things like this before. I'm hopeful."
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One year after Sandy, what Ellen Bednarz of Sayreville, N.J., remembered most was the kindness of the debris haulers who carted away the family's ruined possessions.
"I never saw more caring people," she said at an event to thank firefighters who used boats to rescue scores of people.
Before the storm hit, Bednarz and her family hastily moved their patio set, family room and office furniture to a storage unit and checked into a hotel. Only when they were allowed back to their split-level days later did they see the water had risen 14 feet — destroying everything, even the items the family had moved upstairs.
Bednarz is renting an apartment and waiting to close on a government home buyout.
"It's over," she said. "It's probably one of the worst years of my life, but it's behind me."
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When Sandy darkened much of the city, some New Yorkers were only hours old. Others weren't even born.
On Tuesday, babies filled a Manhattan hospital room to celebrate their first birthdays — and their survival.
Kenneth Hulett III weighed only 2 pounds when emergency medical workers rushed him out of the New York Hospital intensive care unit and down the stairs while hooked up to an oxygen tank. His mother, Emily Blatt, says her faith sustained her as she was evacuated on an orange sled.
That day, more than 40 babies were safety moved from the hospital to other facilities.
On Tuesday, their parents and hospital staff lighted candles atop cupcakes and sang, "Happy birthday, dear babies."
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Visiting a flood-damaged firehouse in Seaside Park, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday was a day to remember volunteers and first responders who risked their lives to save others. Christie, who stayed overnight at the governor's beach house in neighboring Island Beach State Park, said he woke up and was struck by "just how much different we all feel a year later."
"I want us to think of how much better things look today than they did a year ago and celebrate that," Christie said. "We also have to acknowledge that there's still thousands of people out of their homes."
New York Gov. Cuomo visited the National Museum of the American Indian in lower Manhattan, which was temporarily shut down last year by flooding and power outages.
Cuomo recalled the "feeling of powerlessness" seeing the southern tip of Manhattan submerged in water. He also warned that extreme weather is "the new normal" but said the city and state is now better equipped to withstand it.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited Staten Island, Coney Island and the Rockaways, where he thanked and chatted with workers.
"Most New Yorkers are I suspect are struggling with somber memories today, which is only natural," Bloomberg said. "A year ago we endured the worst natural disaster ever to strike our city."
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Aiman Youssef found out the other day that one of his neighbors has been living in his own Staten Island garage.
He says many people in his shorefront neighborhood are still displaced or living in partially restored homes, often without basic facilities.
"A lot of people have moved out of the area," Youssef said. "A lot of houses went into foreclosure."
Some homeowners are still reluctant to accept help, Youssef said, while others have been stymied by bureaucracy. He pointed to a bungalow across the street from his tent on Midland Avenue.
A woman is living there without heat despite a city program that was supposed to restore heat, electric and water service, he said.
"We were lower middle class," Youssef said. "Now we're poor."
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Sam Darata recalled how he and his son stayed in their house in Little Ferry, N.J., as floodwaters coursed down their block and prompted many neighbors to seek rescue by boat.
"In retrospect, I should have left," he said. "If I'd known there was going to be 3 feet of water in here, I'd have been gone."
Like many others in the town, Darata didn't carry flood insurance because it never seemed necessary. He said he received a $10,000 federal homeowners' grant about two months ago but has had to tap into his retirement savings to cover the additional costs of replacing a boiler, refrigerator and other appliances.
Like others, he expressed concern that authorities haven't announced specific plans for preventing future flooding.
"I would rather give up the money I got to help build something that's going to prevent this from happening again," he said.
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The lobby of the Wall Street Inn, a boutique hotel located in a 19th-century building in lower Manhattan, was lonely and empty. But manager Rachel Fogel said business is steady again despite initial fears that the hotel started by her grandfather might never come back.
The hotel was evacuated as the storm hit. The scene on South William Street the next day was discouraging, she said.
"It was dark. It was cold. It smelled like gasoline," Fogel said.
Weeks of work was needed on basement electrical and heating systems before the hotel reopened in December. Contractors were the first post-storm guests.
Now the regulars are back. One was a man who came back months later to retrieve dry cleaning he sent on the eve of Sandy.
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Associated Press reporters Wayne Parry in Seaside Park, N.J., David Porter in Little Ferry, N.J., Angela Delli Santi in Sayreville, N.J., Frank Eltman in Babylon, N.Y., and Verena Dobnik, Jonathan Lemire, David Caruso and Tom Hays in New York contributed to this report.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-10-29-Superstorm-Anniversary/id-999c3b30eaaf4091b9336a53de40984e
From the horse's mouth, we're hearing some unfortunate news: Google has taken to its Spanish support pages to announce that the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is not on the list of devices to receive Android 4.4 KitKat. This seems a bit odd, given the new update's focus on "the next billion" and offering solid performance to other budget devices, but at the moment things aren't looking up for owners of the phone -- or any older Nexus devices, for that matter. We've reached out to Google for clarification on this and will update you if and when we hear back.
Google has developed a security feature for Chrome that lets the browser detect and stop malware downloads.
Browser hijacking and other browser-based malware infections are on the rise and Google needs to protect Chrome users with native security features, the company said. It is testing the feature in a pre-release version of the browser.
[ Find out how to block the viruses, worms, and other malware that threaten your business, with hands-on advice from expert contributors in InfoWorld's "Malware Deep Dive" PDF guide. | Keep up with key security issues with InfoWorld's Security Adviser blog and Security Central newsletter. ]
"Online criminals have been increasing their use of malicious software that can silently hijack your browser settings. This has become a top issue in the Chrome help forums; we're listening and are here to help," wrote Linus Upson, a Google vice president, in a blog post.
The security feature will trigger an alert, displayed in the download tray at the bottom of the screen, saying that Chrome blocked a malware file from being downloaded. Malicious hackers typically disguise these files as harmless applications, like screensavers and even security updates, to trick users into downloading them.
When installed, this type of malware software wrests control of the browser from users, changing settings, such as the default home page, and displaying unwanted ads.
Google has added the capability to Chrome Canary, a very early pre-release version of the browser that is intended for developers and tech-savvy end users because it "can sometimes break down completely."
Google didn't immediately respond to a request for more details about the way this feature works. Since antivirus products often step over each other when run simultaneously on the same computer, it remains to be seen if this new Chrome functionality will trigger conflicts for people who use other security software.
Chrome already lets users reset their browser settings and alerts them when they're about to visit a site that the company has identified as dangerous.
Juan Carlos Perez covers enterprise communication/collaboration suites, operating systems, browsers and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Juan on Twitter at @JuanCPerezIDG.
In this Oct. 22, 2013 photo, Saw Min lies still on a bed with weights on her eye after receiving local anesthesia ahead of a cataract operation at a government hospital in Bago, Myanmar. Saw Min waited with hundreds of Myanmar's poorest villagers to be prepped for the simple, free surgery she hopes will restore her sight. My heart is racing," said the 38-year-old mother of five, who lost all vision in her left eye one year ago and, in the months that followed, all but 20 percent in her right. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
In this Oct. 22, 2013 photo, Saw Min lies still on a bed with weights on her eye after receiving local anesthesia ahead of a cataract operation at a government hospital in Bago, Myanmar. Saw Min waited with hundreds of Myanmar's poorest villagers to be prepped for the simple, free surgery she hopes will restore her sight. My heart is racing," said the 38-year-old mother of five, who lost all vision in her left eye one year ago and, in the months that followed, all but 20 percent in her right. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
In this Oct. 22, 2013 photo, a patient with an eye patch rests inside a makeshift mosquito-net at a Buddhist monastery following a simple operation to remove a cataract in Bago, Myanmar. Five decades of isolation, military rule and woeful health care have left Myanmar with one of the highest rates of blindness in the region. Now the veil of darkness is starting to lift, thanks to an “assembly line” surgical procedure that allows cataracts to be removed safely, without stitches, through two small incisions. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
In this Oct. 22, 2013 photo, patients receive assistance after undergoing cataract surgeries at a government hospital in Bago, Myanmar. Accurate statistics concerning public health are difficult to come by in Myanmar, which only opened up to the outside world two years ago. The World Health Organization puts blindness prevalence rates at under 1 percent, high for the region in Myanmar, but one outside survey showed it peaking at 8.1 percent in some rural areas. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
In this Oct. 23, 2013 photo, Buddhist monks with eye patches exit a room in a Buddhist shrine following simple operations to remove cataracts in Bago, Myanmar. Five decades of isolation, military rule and woeful health care have left Myanmar with one of the highest rates of blindness in the region. Now the veil of darkness is starting to lift, thanks to an “assembly line” surgical procedure that allows cataracts to be removed safely, without stitches, through two small incisions. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
In this Oct. 22, 2013 photo, a woman suffering from blindness has tears dripping from her eye as she waits to enter an operation room to follow a simple surgical procedure to remove cataracts at a government hospital in Bago, Myanmar. Five decades of isolation, military rule and woeful health care have left Myanmar with one of the highest rates of blindness in the region. Now the veil of darkness is starting to lift, thanks to an "assembly line" surgical procedure that allows cataracts to be removed safely, without stitches, through two small incisions, a technique pioneered by Nepalese master surgeon Sandut Ruit. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
BAGON, Myanmar (AP) — Five decades of isolation, military rule and woeful health care have left Myanmar with a particularly high rate of blindness. Now the veil of darkness is starting to lift, thanks in part to an "assembly line" surgical procedure that allows cataracts to be removed safely, without stitches, through two small incisions.
Nepalese surgeon Sandut Ruit, who helped pioneer the technique, oversaw nearly 1,300 operations at two massive eye camps in 10 days in October, with dozens of local ophthalmologists looking on and helping.
Despite improvements over the last two decades, the vast majority still use a microincision surgical technique that requires two sutures. Doctors were confident the no-stitch procedure — cheap, easy to learn and taking as little as five minutes — would catch on quickly.
"This is a turning point in our cataract history," said Dr. Tin Win, the chief of Yangon Eye Hospital. He said his goal is to have all 60 eye centers in the nation of 60 million using the procedure by the end of next year. He says he will pass on the information to all doctors, together with training manuals and videos, at a nationwide eye conference in early November.
"If we succeed, we can double our cataract surgical rate," he said. "We can start getting rid of our cataract backlog."
Several organizations focused on preventing blindness have focused on Myanmar as a country in particular need of help. A 2005 survey conducted by the South Australian Institute of Ophthalmology in the rural Meiktila district of central Myanmar found that 8.1 percent of the population there was blind.
Ruit, who travels throughout the developing world holding free mass eye camps, was working in Myanmar for the first time.
He and his team were initially scheduled to perform 1,000 surgeries, but added nearly 300 patients due to the overwhelming response by potential candidates.
After the operation, some patients expressed hope they would be able to work again. Others were eager to see the faces of their children and grandchildren.
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-10-31-Myanmar-Gift%20of%20Sight-Photo%20Essay/id-fa93b10fd49d4104aec4dcdbb37c2dcb
We all have a lot of Nexus 5 and KitKat news to digest, but what's really important is how you'll get your hands on the latest Google phone. Right now there's a handful of different ways to get one, and availability spans across several countries officially — so let's take a look at when, where and how much it'll cost to get your hands on a Nexus 5.
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