DNA analysis confirms body as that of slain NIU student Keller

January 7th, 2011

The family of 18-year-old Antinette “Toni” Keller knew in their hearts that the charred body authorities discovered in a park last year near Northern Illinois University was hers, even before DNA testing confirmed it.

“This definitely makes the reality more tangible and vivid,” said Mary Tarling, Keller’s cousin and a spokeswoman representing Keller’s family.

Prosecutors in DeKalb County said Thursday at a brief hearing in DeKalb County Circuit Court that DNA analysis confirmed the body was that of Keller, an NIU art student from Plainfield.

A fragment of thighbone was sent to Dallas-based laboratory Orchid Cellmark several weeks ago to compare it with saliva samples from Keller’s mother and father, DeKalb County State’s Attorney Clay Campbell said.

Keller disappeared Oct. 14. A body believed to be hers was discovered Oct. 16, but positive identification had not been made.

William Curl, who is charged with murder, sexual assault and arson in Keller’s death, is being held on about $5 million bail. He appeared in court Thursday via video.

A forensic anthropologist is testing the charred remains.

Attorneys will reconvene in court Feb. 17.

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Huron Consulting Group Strengthens Wellspring+Stockamp, Huron Healthcare with Addition of Patient Flow Expert

January 5th, 2011

Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ: HURN), a leading provider of business consulting services, today announced that Patricia K. Cooper has joined the Company’s Wellspring+Stockamp, Huron Healthcare practice as a managing director focused on helping clients improve patient flow.

“Many hospitals are struggling with how to cope with the increased patient flow in an environment that is demanding higher quality and performance in the delivery of care,” said James H. Roth, chief executive officer, Huron Consulting Group. “Pat has a vast clinical and operations background helping hospitals manage patient flow while still maintaining and improving quality. We are pleased to welcome her to the Huron Healthcare team.”

Cooper has more than 30 years of experience in hospital operations. Cooper comes to Huron Healthcare from Quorum Health Resources, where she served as vice president, patient services. In her consulting experience, she led reengineering projects, productivity enhancement projects, operations improvements and strategic planning within most product lines. Additionally, Cooper has deep knowledge of nursing unit management and has worked as both a senior nursing executive and a nurse practitioner.

At Huron Healthcare, Cooper will assist hospital and healthcare clients address increased patient demand while continuing to balance quality of care. Specifically, she will be responsible for helping clients maximize patient flow in the hospital inpatient, perioperative and emergency department settings and enhance financial performance. Cooper holds a Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) from the University of Tennessee and is a Registered Nurse (RN). Read the rest of this entry »

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Facebook passes Google as most visited site of 2010

January 3rd, 2011

Social network also is the most searched-for term of the year, says Hitwise

It looks like 2010 was indeed the year that Facebook’s success exploded.

For the first time ever, U.S. Web surfers visited the social networking site more than any other site in 2010, beating out Internet behemoth Google, according to a report from Hitwise, an Internet analytics firm.

Facebook, which had a flood of good and bad publicity last year, grabbed 8.93% of all U.S. visits between January and November 2010. Google, which had been in the top spot in 2009, slipped to the No. 2 position with 7.19% of all visits, Hitwise said.

The analytics firm also reported that Yahoo! Mail came ranked third with 3.52% of all visits, while the main Yahoo! site was fourth with 3.3%. YouTube rounded out the top five with 2.65% of all site visits.

Facebook had been creeping up on Google during the last several months.

While Google has long been at the top of the heap when it comes to grabbing the most visitors and time spent on a Web site Facebook began making its mark last summer. Read the rest of this entry »

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Intel launches its combo graphics-microprocessor chips

January 3rd, 2011

Intel is formally introducing one of its most important chips in a long time today. The code-named Sandy Bridge chip combines graphics and a microprocessor on the same silicon chip.

The company is making the announcement in advance of the Consumer Electronics Show, the biggest tech event of the year which starts on Tuesday in Las Vegas. At CES, dozens of computer makers will introduce 500 new computers based on what Intel calls its second-generation Intel Core processor family.

With the Sandy Bridge design, computer makers don’t have to add separate graphics chips from Advanced Micro Devices or Nvidia — at least for laptops that don’t need stellar performance. AMD is also debuting its Fusion combo chip this week, making CES 2011 one of the most competitive computer events in a long time. Altogether, Intel has 29 new Core i3, i5 and i7 processors.

The new graphics-heavy approach for Sandy Bridge is a recognitio of how much users need 3D graphics and fast video performance in this day and age. Intel is calling this emphasis on graphics the User Visual Experience. Sandy Bridge can quickly convert video from one format to another, though not as fast as stand-alone graphics chips can. Read the rest of this entry »

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Apple expected to hold event by Valentine’s Day to announce Verizon iPhone

December 29th, 2010

Apple is expected to hold an event “very soon,” perhaps by Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14, 2011, to unveil a new CDMA version of the iPhone compatible with U.S. carrier Verizon’s network.

In a report issued Wednesday evening by Bloomberg Businessweek, the alleged coming debut of the iPhone on Verizon is portrayed as an “enormous problem” for AT&T, the current exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the U.S. While AT&T has had sole access to the iPhone since 2007, problems with its network have caused bad press, including a recent reader poll from Consumer Reports ranking AT&T the worst carrier in America.

“Verizon enjoys a reputation for reliability,” author Peter Burrows wrote. “AT&T is notorious for dropping calls, especially in densely populated places like New York and San Francisco where iPhones are most common and cell towers get loaded.”

The report said that Apple would hold one of its own “splashy product introductions to announce a new version of the iPhone that work’s on Verizon’s network,” and said that event would “maybe” come by Valentine’s Day.

Some have speculated that Apple would instead allow Verizon to announce the product at the Consumer Electronics Show in early January, an uncharacteristic move for the typically controlling iPhone maker. But the report specifically stated that a CES unveiling is not in the plans.

“Apple’s introduction of an iPhone for use on Verizon’s network will come sometime after the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in early January, according to a person familiar with Apple’s plans who is not authorized to discuss them publicly,” Burrows wrote. Read the rest of this entry »

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Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen Re-Launches Suit at Google, Apple

December 29th, 2010

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen re-launched his patent lawsuit against Apple, Google and a host of other large tech companies.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s firm Interval Licensing LLC has decided to re-launch a patent-infringement lawsuit against some of country’s biggest tech companies, including Apple and Google. That comes despite the original lawsuit’s dismissal earlier in December.

In the wake of that dismissal, Judge Marsha J. Pechman, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle, demanded that Allen’s legal counsel revise the lawsuit by Dec. 28. Specifically, Pechman asked for more detailed allegations; the new case (No. C10-1385 MJP) indeed seems to delve more deeply into the defendants’ supposed patent violations.

Allen’s original lawsuit, filed Aug. 27, claimed violations of patents developed by his Interval Research Corp., a technology incubator. In addition to Apple and Google, other companies in the crosshairs include AOL, eBay, Facebook, Yahoo, Office Depot, OfficeMax, YouTube and Staples. The four patents in question involve technologies related to e-commerce and online browsing, such as online user alerts and ways for drawing users’ attention to a nearby screen. Microsoft is not named in the lawsuit.

“Paul thinks this is important, not just to him but to the researchers at Interval who created this technology,” a spokesperson for Allen told The Wall Street Journal Aug. 27. “We recognize that innovation has a value, and patents are a way to reflect that.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Facebook Top Searched Term

December 29th, 2010

Facebook was the top searched term overall in 2010, the second straight year that the social networking website has topped web queries, while it was also the most visited website this year, according to data provider Experian Hitwise.

Hitwise reported four variations of the term “Facebook” were among the top 10 terms and accounted for nearly 3.5% of searches overall.

The term “Facebook login” moved up from the ninth spot in 2009 to the second spot this year, Hitwise said. YouTube was the third most-searched term this year, followed by Craigslist, Myspace and Facebook.com. Analysis of the search terms revealed that social networking related terms dominated the results, accounting for 4.2% of the top 50 searches.

Facebook was the top-visited website for the first time in 2010, accounting for 8.9% of all U.S. visits between January and November. Google Inc.’s (GOOG) namesake website ranked second, followed by Yahoo Inc.’s (YHOO) Yahoo! Mail site, Yahoo, and Google’s YouTube.

Hitwise also reported Kim Kardashian was the personality that drew the most searches for the year, while Star Wars was the top movie draw and Lady Gaga was the most searched artist. In the sports category, Tiger Woods and the Dallas Cowboys topped the athlete and sports team searches, respectively.

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Apple’s iPad 2 rumored to have USB port

December 29th, 2010

With the bulk of the holiday shopping buzz dying down, rumors of Apple’s new iPad 2 have sprung to life. The most recent rumor, courtesy of the Mobile Review blog editor-in-chief Eldar Murtazin, says the iPad 2 will include a USB port.

The tweet, discovered by AppleInsider, reads:

“Talked with colleague which working with some ODM vendors connected with Apple. He is research guy. According to his sources iPad2 will have usb port.”

AppleInsider reports that Murtazin is a trusted insider with good sources and the news of the integrated USB could be the result of a European device-maker pact that decided micro-USB ports should be standard device charging ports. Apple, of course, uses the 30-pin dock connector for its mobile devices, including the iPad.

Including an integrated USB port would also quickly make obsolete the USB adapter kit provided by Apple for the iPad. Currently, the USB adapter only supports importing photos from digital cameras, though some other peripheral devices have been said to work.

There is no word whether an integrated USB port would offer greater functionality. In the meantime, expect rumors to keep flowing from various sources as the new iPad gets closer to be announced and released.

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Microsoft Tablet Aimed at Fighting iPad Faces Long Odds

December 27th, 2010

Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, said to unveil new software for tablets at the Consumer Electronics Show next week, will face skeptics who say his company won’t soon narrow Apple Inc.’s iPad lead.

“By the time Microsoft gets it figured out everybody will already own an iPad,” said Keith Goddard, CEO of Capital Advisors Inc. an investing firm in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that holds Apple shares. “That train has left the station.”

Microsoft will announce a full version of the Windows computer operating system that runs on ARM Holdings Plc technology at the show, which begins in Las Vegas on Jan. 6, two people familiar with Microsoft’s plans said last week.

Allying with ARM is Microsoft’s way of stepping up rivalry with Apple, which has garnered the largest share of the tablet market with its iPad, a touch-screen device introduced in April that handles video, music and computing tasks. The effort may falter unless Ballmer can match the features consumers have come to expect from the iPad, Goddard said.

The new Windows version would be tailored for battery- powered devices, such as tablets and wireless handsets, the people said. Chips based on ARM technology are made by Qualcomm Inc., Texas Instruments Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.

Frank Shaw, a spokesman for Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, declined to comment, pointing instead to remarks by Ballmer in July.

“We’re tuning Windows 7 to new slate hardware designs,” Ballmer told analysts then. He also said, Apple has “sold certainly more than I’d like them to sell.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Microsoft Office 365 beta: Potentially useful, occasionally frustrating

December 27th, 2010

Microsoft Office 365, a suite of business-focused, cloud-based applications that was recently released in beta, is actually a repackaging and updating of various Microsoft offerings — optimized for the cloud. The intent is to give small businesses the kind of benefits that up until now only large companies have been able to get from services such as Exchange and SharePoint.

Don’t be confused by the product’s name — it’s not a new or updated version of Microsoft Office. Office 365 is an upgrade of Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Standard Suite (BPOS). This revamped and renamed version of the suite adds subscription-based access to Office 2010 to BPOS and includes hosted versions of Exchange, SharePoint and Lync (Microsoft’s communications server), along with Office Web Apps, the Web-based version of Microsoft Office.

Some versions of Office 365 do include a subscription-based version of Microsoft Office Professional, and there are some links between Office 365 and Microsoft Office: You can use your local version of Microsoft Office to pull down and edit documents from the cloud, or use Office Web Apps to create and edit documents.

Apart from that, though, there are no connections, and you don’t need Microsoft Office in order to use Office 365. It’s one more example of confusing branding and naming from Microsoft.

From what I’ve seen in the beta, Office 365 offers an excellent set of tools for companies that want the power of Exchange, SharePoint and Lync but don’t want to host them. It will be especially welcomed by small and midsize businesses that can’t afford data centers and sizable IT staffs.

But the product, at least in its current form, has enough rough edges that it feels more like a series of applications bolted together than a well-thought-out, integrated whole. Read the rest of this entry »

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