NEW YORK (AP) ? Despite a busy week with the selection of a new pope, the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts collectively had 11 percent fewer viewers than the week before ? and a glance outside the window reveals the primary reason why.
The simple act of moving the clock ahead one hour for daylight saving time is costly for the broadcasts, since the hour that turns from darkness to light happens to be the hour in which they are shown in most of the country.
It's not just a one-week phenomenon. The newscasts will have to deal with smaller audiences until the clocks are pushed back in the fall.
"What it shows is that a large proportion of the people that watch the news are not watching because they watch the news," said news consultant Andrew Tyndall. "They're watching it because they happen to be home when the news is on."
Both NBC's "Nightly News" and ABC's "World News" lost a million viewers from week to week, the Nielsen Co. said. The "CBS Evening News" lost 600,000. That's a total of 2.6 million, or a little more than the entire audience for the NBC sitcom "Community" last week.
While the situation isn't unusual, each newscast lost more viewers in the week-to-week comparison than they did between 2012 and 2011.
"This is part of a predictable cycle every year, so we know to expect a slight dip in viewership when people are enjoying longer hours of daylight," said Patrick Burkey, executive producer of "Nightly News." ''We approach the broadcast with the same mission every day regardless of what time the sun sets."
"Nightly News" had an average of 8.1 million viewers last week (5.4, 11). ABC was second with 7.2 million (4.9, 10) and CBS had 6.4 million viewers (4.3, 9).
In prime time last week, an estimated 10.4 million people watched Sean Lowe propose to Catherine Giudici in the finale of season 17 of "The Bachelor." That's up 13 percent over the audience that watched last year's finale, with an even bigger increase among the 18-to-49-year-old viewers that ABC considers most important for its advertisers.
Meanwhile, PBS reported that the third season of "Downton Abbey," which concluded last month, represented the most-watched drama on the public broadcaster in all time.
CBS averaged 8.6 million viewers (5.5 rating, 9 share) in prime-time to win the week. Fox had 6 million viewers (3.6, 6), ABC had 5.8 million (3.8, 6), NBC had 3.8 million (2.5, 4), the CW had 1.19 million and ION Television had 1.15 million (both 0.8, 1)
Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision led with a 3.3 million viewer average (1.8, 3), Telemundo had 1.3 million (0.7, 1), UniMas had 480,000 (0.3, 0), Estrella had 190,000 and Azteca 90,000 (both 0.1, 0)
A ratings point represents 1,147,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 114.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.
For the week of March 11-17, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 15.9 million; "Person of Interest," CBS, 14.34 million; "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 13.44 million; "NCIS," CBS, 13.18 million; "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 12.18 million; "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 11.95 million; "American Idol" (Thursday), Fox, 11.93 million; "Elementary," CBS, 11.33 million; "The Bible," History, 10.87 million; "The Walking Dead," AMC, 10.84 million.
___
ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. Fox and My Network TV are units of News Corp. NBC and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks. TeleFutura is a division of Univision. Azteca America is a wholly owned subsidiary of TV Azteca S.A. de C.V.
Egyptian motorists turn back with their vehicles after protesters closed the main street by the Nile river in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Hundreds of police officers went on strike in recent days but Egypt?s embattled interior minister, Mohammed Ibrahim, said on Sunday that he will not allow vigilante groups to fill in for his force, which has been strained by daily protests, violent clashes and harsh criticism from the media. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Egyptian motorists turn back with their vehicles after protesters closed the main street by the Nile river in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Hundreds of police officers went on strike in recent days but Egypt?s embattled interior minister, Mohammed Ibrahim, said on Sunday that he will not allow vigilante groups to fill in for his force, which has been strained by daily protests, violent clashes and harsh criticism from the media. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Egyptian protesters close the main street by the Nile river in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, March 10, 2013. Hundreds of police officers went on strike in recent days but Egypt?s embattled interior minister, Mohammed Ibrahim, said on Sunday that he will not allow vigilante groups to fill in for his force, which has been strained by daily protests, violent clashes and harsh criticism from the media. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
An Egyptian trader reads a newspaper at the stock market in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, March 10, 2013. Egypt is trying to meet conditions to close on a $4.8 billion loan package from the International Monetary Fund and an agreement would unlock more of the $1 billion in U.S. assistance promised by President Barack Obama last year. Arabic headline reads, "hate is burning Egypt." (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Mohammed Atian, 60, who is referred to by protesters as the father of revolutionaries, stands in Tahrir Square, the focal point of the Egyptian revolution, in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, March 11, 2013. Atian is holding a sign with a message to the Ultras Ahlawy, that supports the Cairo-based Egyptian premier league soccer club Al-Ahly. The Arabic reads, ? To Ultras youth: you are the future of Egypt, claws of treachery have killed your brothers in Port Said and dispersed your lines and are planning to kill all of you, be a grip for building and not for devastation.? (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
An Egyptian worker walks amid the fire damaged headquarters of the Egyptian Soccer Federation two days after protesters set it on fire following a court verdict, in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, March 11, 2013. An Egyptian court on Saturday confirmed the death sentences against 21 people for taking part in a deadly soccer riot but acquitted seven police officials for their alleged role in the violence. Fans enraged by the verdict torched the soccer federation headquarters and a nearby police club in Cairo in protest. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
CAIRO (AP) ? An official statement encouraging Egyptian civilians to arrest lawbreakers and hand them over to police has set off a new political storm in a country already mired in crisis.
A senior leader of a hard-line Islamist faction loyal to President Mohammed Morsi said his group was preparing lists of volunteers ready to take over police duties if needed.
The main opposition coalition saw the statement on citizen arrests by the attorney general's office as a prelude to the substitution of the police by militias belonging to Morsi's powerful Muslim Brotherhood group and allied Islamist groups who swept to power after Egypt's uprising two years ago.
"It is now clear why the regime insists on pitting the police against the people and relying on security measures to tackle problems that need social, economic and political solutions," the opposition National Salvation Front said in a statement on Monday.
Egypt has been embroiled in wave after wave of political protests since the 2011 uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak's autocratic regime.
The unrest has been fueled by the entire range of social ills from tenuous security to an unraveling economy and the leadership of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood controls parliament as well as the presidency and has won every election since Mubarak's ouster.
Morsi's government says the recent wave of protests sweeping many parts of the country is a conspiracy involving both Mubarak loyalists and the mostly liberal and secular opposition to undermine the authority of a democratically elected president.
The president said in a TV interview aired last month that he would like see more regular Egyptians take the initiative in dealing with protesters such as those who block roads. He has repeatedly warned that while peaceful protests are a given in today's Egypt, those who disrupt normal life hurt the economy and scare investors away.
The opposition statement recalled the events of Dec. 5 when Morsi supporters set upon opposition protesters camped outside the presidential palace and later arrested and interrogated dozens of them in makeshift detention centers outside the palace gates.
Later, videos posted on social networks showed the president's supporters hitting and stripping the protesters.
"That, it is clear now, was not unrelated to the plan designed to divide the country as a prelude to the rule of the militias," the opposition front said.
Former lawmaker Mustafa el-Nagar, a liberal opposition supporter, said the statement by the attorney general's office would cause more divisions in the country and empower anyone to make a citizen arrest under false pretenses.
"Under our present circumstances, we cannot open the door for such action because it will open the door to civil war," he said. "This has to be stopped and authorities must back down."
Late Sunday night, the office of the attorney general, the country's top prosecutor, issued a statement encouraging citizen arrests. It was attributed to a senior aide, Hassan Yassin.
Some of the offenses he cited as warranting citizen arrests have been commonplace in Egypt in the two years since the uprising and have become more frequent in recent weeks.
Among them are sabotaging state facilities, blocking roads, disrupting public transport, preventing state employees from reaching their workplace and terrorizing citizens.
The statement coincided with a partial strike by segments of the police to demand better working conditions and, in some cases, to protest what they see as an attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood to control the police. The Brotherhood denies the charge.
Meanwhile, the former jihadist group Gamaa Islamiya has begun enrolling followers in the southern province of Assiut, one of its main strongholds, in "popular committees" to maintain law and order, according to a senior leader of the group who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. The Islamist group supports Morsi.
Lists of volunteers with their addresses and phone numbers are being compiled there, he said. When activated, they will protect state installations, direct traffic and investigate complaints by residents, he claimed.
Before Gamaa Islamiya renounced violence, it played a key part in an anti-government insurgency in the 1990s. Now, it says the police strike and civil disobedience ?like that seen recently in the coastal city of Port Said ? are part of a conspiracy to topple Morsi's administration.
The group has said it would send members of its "popular committees" to the streets if police abandon their duties. Hard-line Islamists have already branded police strikes as religiously prohibited amid calls for legislation outlawing the strikes.
"We are calling on anyone anywhere who is experiencing a security vacuum to fill it with popular efforts," Assem Abdel-Maged, a senior leader of the Gamaa, said on Monday.
Later the same night, hundreds of Gamaa members toured the city of Assiut on motorbikes, assuring residents through loudspeakers that the group was capable of ensuring security in the city and inviting Muslims and Christians to join the "popular committees." Christians account for some 35 percent of the population in Assiut province.
A joint statement signed by 15 Islamist groups, including the Gamaa and the Brotherhood, said that they "valued" the role played by "honest policemen" and are opposed to any attempt to politicize the force.
They warned against any attempt to destabilize the country, calling on all political forces to support the police "by all possible means, including popular committees if need be."
Egypt's security woes date back to the days of the uprising against Mubarak, which was sparked in part by hatred for the police force over years of abuse of power and brutality.
The force melted away after the revolution's deadliest day of clashes on Jan. 28, 2011 and police have since returned to work. But police have yet to fully take back the streets.
The security vacuum exacerbated by the striking police and violence in the heart of Cairo on Saturday appeared to be fueling the calls for creating popular committees to aid in policing.
Thousands of angry soccer fans rampaged through the heart of the capital on Saturday, attacking and setting ablaze the headquarters of the national soccer federation after they torched a police club.
The twin fires sent columns of thick black smoke billowing over the city of some 18 million. The fans were angered by the acquittal of seven of nine policemen tried for their alleged part in a soccer riot last year that killed 74 people.
Also, police pulled out from the coastal city of Port Said on Friday after days of deadly clashes with protesters who torched the security headquarters. The military is now in control of the city, which has been in open rebellion against Morsi's rule since late January.
On Sunday, drivers of Cairo's popular communal taxis staged a strike to protest fuel shortages, creating a traffic nightmare on the already congested streets of the city. Some of the drivers, armed with knives and guns, attacked others who did not observe the strike or got into fights with other motorists angered by their action.
The statement by the attorney general's office raised fears that it could provide legal cover for Morsi supporters to take on anti-government protesters.
The right of civilians to make citizen arrests is enshrined in a little known article in Egypt's penal code. The article says that such arrests should only be made when a citizen witnesses a crime that warrants holding the suspect in police custody in the run-up to a trial.
That condition, according to lawyer and rights activist Mohsen Bahnasi, assumes familiarity with the law by ordinary civilians.
"This statement paves the way for the creation of militias at a time when the country is going through a difficult transition," he said.
____
Associated Press writer Amir Makar in Cairo and Mamdouh Thabet in Assiut contributed to this report.
There are many regarding web hosting companies which have been firing in place looking to produce its website hosting program well suited for providers and folks. You will find a one hundred dollars involving hosting services in fact it is challenging to pick from these people. Aspects that identify the particular internet hosting blueprints are generally price tag, overall performance, functions as well as aid. Being a best website hosting organization we should have the capacity to provide you with the client using just what exactly they want when it comes to functionality.
Look at Additional Discussion for the Discussion board Also consider best hosting cheapest domain registration domain name registrar domain hosting providers domain name cheap cheap domains
Due to the fact first 1990's, online marketing enterprise has turned into a flourishing field. Consequently, a lot of hosts ended up being established to provide hosting companies through which delivering individual internet site offered with the Online world. Due to good competitiveness with web hosting provider, it is sometimes complicated so you might go with a most effective and expense service provider. To be able to help you feel advantageous for any cent you make payment for for any solutions, we've been right here to give people some interesting capabilities for such two repair shops.
If you'd like know more about , visit the world wide web Seminars site business web hosting best web domain provider cheapest domain register domain name best domain provider get domain name
Web hosting service Discount codes permits you to decide on as well as avail the absolute best web hosting service assistance during this very competitive marketplace. Consistently fresh internet sites are usually arising in the realm of home business. Correct conclusion which helps that you attain the best in service plus fees.
By in this way, it is possible to preserve in intellect elements this sort of as budget and quality with the very same time. Now you'll be able to have your own private . By Simply click register domain names best domain provider cheap domain names domain purchase domain name cheap cheap domain names registration
Here is more information about register a website visit www.pensionegatti.com/catbook/stream/blog/view/491520/simple-constraints-pertaining-to-web-hosting-choices
(Reuters) - Autumn is the time of year most associated with bumper crops of new babies, and according to an Israeli study there may be a scientific reason for it: human sperm are generally at their healthiest in winter and early spring.
Based on samples from more than 6,000 men treated for infertility, researchers writing in American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology found sperm in greater numbers, with faster swimming speeds and fewer abnormalities in semen made during the winter, with a steady decline in quality from spring onward.
"The winter and spring semen patterns are compatible with increased fecundability and may be a plausible explanation of the peak number of deliveries during the fall," wrote lead researcher Eliahu Levitas from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva.
If there is a seasonal pattern, they said, that knowledge may "be of paramount importance, especially in couples with male-related infertility struggling with unsuccessful and prolonged fertility treatments."
For the new study, Levitas and his colleagues collected and analyzed 6.455 semen samples from men at their fertility clinic between January 2006 and July 2009. Of those, 4,960 were found to have normal sperm production, and 1,495 had abnormal production, such as low sperm counts.
The World Health Organization defines anything over 16 million sperm per milliliter of semen as a normal sperm count.
Taking into account the approximately 70 days it takes for the body to produce a sperm cell, the researchers found that men with normal sperm production had the healthiest sperm in the winter.
For example, those men produced about 70 million sperm per milliliter of semen during the winter. About 5 percent of those sperm had "fast" motility, or swimming speed, which improves a couple's chance of getting pregnant.
That compared to the approximately 68 million sperm per milliliter the men produced in the spring, of which only about 3 percent were "fast."
For men with abnormal sperm production, however, the pattern didn't hold. Those men showed a slight trend toward better motility during the fall and made the largest percentage of normal shaped sperm - about 7 percent - during the spring.
"Based on our results the (normal) semen will perform better in winter, whereas infertility cases related to low sperm counts should be encouraged to choose spring and fall," the researchers wrote.
Previous studies, mostly in animals, have found similar results in line with those species' breeding seasons, said Edmund Sabanegh, a urologist who was not involved with the new research.
"The hard part of this is really sorting out what factor is accounting for this," said Sabanegh, the chairman of the urology department at Ohio's Cleveland Clinic.
In animal studies, seasonal changes in sperm production and fertility have been linked to factors ranging from temperature, to length of daylight exposure and hormone variations.
Among people, previous research has found that sperm counts around the world are falling. While no one knows why, theories range from a more sedentary lifestyle to chemicals in the environment that affect sperm health.
Sabanegh said he doesn't think doctors will start telling men with low sperm counts to wait until the winter or spring to try to conceive a child.
"We would continue to encourage them to try regardless of the season, and they may benefit from interventions or treatments."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/13JGdnB
(Reporting from New York by Andrew Seaman, editing by Elaine Lies)
Mar. 10, 2013 ? Cangrelor, a novel intravenous anti-clotting medication, proves better across a broad population of patients receiving coronary stent procedures.
A new and experimental anti-clotting drug, cangrelor, proved better than the commonly used clopidogrel and was significantly more effective at preventing blood clots in a large trial of patients who underwent coronary stent procedures. These data, from the phase III CHAMPION PHOENIX study, were presented at the American College of Cardiology's 62nd Annual Scientific Session and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers report that the new drug, which is administered intravenously, reduced the odds of complications from stenting procedures. Specifically, those who received cangrelor had a lower combined incidence of death, myocardial infarction, ischemia-driven revascularization, or stent thrombosis at 48 hours after randomization.
"We are very excited about the potential for this new medication to reduce complications in patients receiving coronary stents for a wide variety of indications. In addition to being much quicker to take effect and more potent than currently available treatment options, this intravenous drug is reversible and has a fast offset of action, which could be an advantage if emergency surgery is needed." said Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, lead author of the study, director of the Integrated Interventional Cardiovascular Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and chief of cardiology at VA Boston Healthcare System, as well as professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
In this randomized double-blind trial, researchers compared the novel IV drug cangrelor against the oral clopidogrel standard of care in approximately 11,000 patients at 153 centers around the world. The study included a wide selection of patients with different types of heart attack, angina, and other conditions for which people undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), as long as they did not have high risk for bleeding or recent exposure to other anti-clotting drugs.
Researchers report significantly better performance by cangrelor compared with clopidogrel:
A 22 percent reduction in the odds of death, myocardial infarction, ischemia-driven revascularization, or stent thrombosis at 48 hours after randomization: 4.7 percent vs. 5.9 percent
A 38 percent reduction in the odds of stent thrombosis at 48 hours: 0.8 percent vs. 1.4 percent
Both treatment arms showed a quite low, statistically comparable incidence in severe bleeding at 48 hours: 0.16 percent vs. 0.11 percent.
Coronary artery stents are used in the majority of patients who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a common medical procedure used to treat arteries in the heart that have become narrowed or blocked due to coronary artery disease, which affects an estimated 14 million Americans. During this procedure, patients are regularly given oral doses of an anti-clotting agent to prevent blood clotting. Both cangrelor and clopidogrel interfere with the P2Y12 receptor, a platelet-surface protein that helps regulate blood clotting.
"We are encouraged by these compelling results, especially as it relates to the safety data, and believe that this drug has the potential to offer dramatic benefits to our patients" said Robert A. Harrington, M.D., chairman of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and co-chair of the study.
The company plans to file for approval with the Food and Drug Administration using data from CHAMPION PHOENIX and the earlier BRIDGE trial.
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Deepak L. Bhatt, Gregg W. Stone, Kenneth W. Mahaffey, C. Michael Gibson, P. Gabriel Steg, Christian W. Hamm, Matthew J. Price, Sergio Leonardi, Dianne Gallup, Ezio Bramucci, Peter W. Radke, Petr Widimsk?, Frantisek Tousek, Jeffrey Tauth, Douglas Spriggs, Brent T. McLaurin, Dominick J. Angiolillo, Philippe G?n?reux, Tiepu Liu, Jayne Prats, Meredith Todd, Simona Skerjanec, Harvey D. White, Robert A. Harrington. Effect of Platelet Inhibition with Cangrelor during PCI on Ischemic Events. New England Journal of Medicine, 2013; : 130310091208003 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1300815
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Elephants, rhinos, sharks and manta rays are among the animals that could be getting more international protection at the triennial meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Polar bears have already lost out, and for animals such as the crocodile the push is actually for fewer restrictions.
CITES (pronounced SITE-eez) meets every three years to discuss how to best regulate trade in plants and animals to ensure the survival of more than 35,000 species. CITES delegates represent 178 governments, as well as businesses, non-governmental organizations and groups speaking for indigenous peoples.
Much of CITES' work involves regulating trade to ensure that commercial demand for wildlife does not threaten their survival. Governments and nongovernmental organizations submitted 70 proposals for this week's meeting in Bangkok to increase or decrease the level of protection for plants or animals.
Here are some of the species that have delegates' attention:
MANTA RAYS
The manta ray, which lives in tropical and temperate waters around the world, is classified as vulnerable, a step below endangered, and its numbers are believed to be declining.
Environmental groups want regulation of cross-border commercial trade, noting that manta gills are used in some medicinal elixirs, especially in China, and demand is growing. The species is also especially vulnerable to being accidentally caught by fishermen. Manta rays have commercial value simply by living in the wild, since it is a thrill for divers to see them.
Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador are the official proponents of imposing regulated trade on the species. Multibillionaire Virgin Group boss Richard Branson is a backer of a conservation campaign called "Manta Ray of Hope."
SHARKS
There is widespread support for putting three species of shark ? the oceanic whitetip, the hammerhead and the porbeagle ? on the list for regulated trade. All three are under severe threat because of the voracious market for shark fin, an expensive delicacy in Asia that is used to make soup.
More than two dozen species of shark are officially endangered, and more than 100 others considered either vulnerable or near threatened. Like manta rays, sharks are seen as valuable to nations with dive tourism industries, with island territories such as the Bahamas, Fiji and the Maldives deriving major benefits. Eleven nations, including Brazil, the U.S. and Egypt, proposed regulating trade in the species.
The non-profit Pew Environment Group says Hong Kong is the world's biggest shark fin market, with 83 countries exporting more than 10.3 million kilograms (22.7 million pounds) of shark fin product there in 2011.
RHINOCEROS
Trade in most species of rhinos is already banned, yet poaching and smuggling are skyrocketing, as demand for rhino horn as a traditional medicine grows in East and Southeast Asia.
Up to about five years ago, about 10 rhinos a year were being poached in Africa. Last year, some 668 of the beasts were poached in South Africa alone, and the rate seems to be increasing. The trend risks reversing some major successes; white rhino populations have risen from about 2,000 in 1973 to close to 20,000 last year.
CITES' focus is on strengthening law enforcement where rhinos live, and on pressuring countries where rhino horn is sold to crack down. Kenya proposed that a temporary ban be put on hunting trophy white rhinos exported from South Africa and Swaziland, but critics suggested this would discourage South African programs that have been successfully increased the animal's population.
AFRICAN ELEPHANTS
Several reports presented at the CITES meeting warned that the illegal ivory trade is devastating Africa's elephant populations. An estimated 17,000 elephants were illegally killed in 2011 in African areas monitored by conservationists.
The causes of the crisis include corruption and lack of law and order in Africa; underequipped and undertrained law enforcement units facing well-armed gangs; and laxness in regulating the ivory trade in the East and Southeast Asian countries that are the main destinations.
CITES is promoting measures to help law enforcement in Africa, but is also threatening to punish eight nations ? including meeting host Thailand ? that they accuse of failing to adequately crack down on the ivory trade. Those nations will face trade sanctions if they fail to take action to curb illegal ivory sales by next year.
POLAR BEARS
CITES rejected a U.S. proposal to ban cross-border trade of polar bears and their parts. The U.S. had argued for tougher restrictions on international trade because climate change is shrinking the animals' habitat. Opponents of the U.S. proposal, led by groups representing Canada's indigenous Inuit people, contended that polar bear populations are not declining, and that Canada ? home to about two-thirds of the bears' estimated 28,000 worldwide population ? is ensuring that the hunting is sustainable. The Inuits said their way of life would be threatened by a ban. Russia had endorsed the U.S. proposal, while Canada was joined in opposition by some conservation organizations.
VICUNAS
The CITES meeting agreed to a proposal from Ecuador to ease controls on its national population of vicuna, an animal native to the Andes and a relative of the llama. Ecuadorean vicuna are banned from cross-border trade, but the country seeks to have the animal "downlisted" so it can engage in regulated trade in its wool, as some neighboring countries are allowed to do. Vicuna wool is harvested without killing the animals. There is a thriving wool industry in Peru, where the population has recovered after falling to low levels in the 1960s.
FRESHWATER TURTLES
The U.S., China and Vietnam have proposed trade restrictions for 44 species of freshwater turtles. In most cases, their populations have shown a heavy decline in recent years, with many sold for meat in China and others for the pet trade, and some facing degraded habitats. There are more than 300 species of freshwater turtles and tortoises worldwide, half of them under threat of extinction, with the more than 90 species in Asia particular vulnerable. The U.S. is seeking to have several of its native species for which trading demand is high be put on the list of species in which trade is regulated.
CROCODILES
Colombia and Thailand are seeking to lower restrictions and allow regulated cross-border trade of three protected species of crocodile ? the American crocodile, saltwater crocodile and Siamese crocodile.
Thailand farms its species in large quantities, but the number of specimens in the wild is small. Thailand has said it would impose a zero quota for wild specimens but wildlife experts say its plans don't detail how that would be enforced.
AAA??Mar. 7, 2013?11:37 PM ET Joy Behar leaving 'The View' By SANDY COHENBy SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer??
FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2010 TV publicity file image released by ABC, from left, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Barbara Walters, Elizabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd pose on the set of their daytime talk show, "The View," as they launch their 14th season, in New York. Behar is leaving the ABC daytime talk show at the end of the current season in August 2013. The network said in a statement Thursday, March 7, 2013, that it wishes Behar ?all the best in this next chapter, and are thrilled that we have her for the remainder of the season.? (AP Photo/ABC, Heidi Gutman) NO TABLOIDS. NO ARCHIVES.
FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2010 TV publicity file image released by ABC, from left, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Barbara Walters, Elizabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd pose on the set of their daytime talk show, "The View," as they launch their 14th season, in New York. Behar is leaving the ABC daytime talk show at the end of the current season in August 2013. The network said in a statement Thursday, March 7, 2013, that it wishes Behar ?all the best in this next chapter, and are thrilled that we have her for the remainder of the season.? (AP Photo/ABC, Heidi Gutman) NO TABLOIDS. NO ARCHIVES.
FILE - This April 20, 2011 file photo shows Joy Behar arriving to the opening night performance of the Broadway musical "Sister Act" in New York. The 70-year-old comedian is leaving the ABC daytime talk show at the end of the current season in August 2013. The network said in a statement Thursday, March 7, 2013, that it wishes Behar ?all the best in this next chapter, and are thrilled that we have her for the remainder of the season.? (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, file)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Joy Behar will be enjoying "The View" for only five more months.
The 70-year-old comedian is leaving the ABC daytime talk show at the end of the current season in August. The network said in a statement Thursday that it wishes Behar "all the best in this next chapter, and are thrilled that we have her for the remainder of the season."
Behar has co-hosted the show for 16 seasons. She was among the first co-hosts with co-creator Barbara Walters when the series debuted in 2006. The current panel includes Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd.
In addition to "The View," Behar hosted "The Joy Behar Show" on HLN from 2009 to 2011 and currently hosts "Joy Behar: Say Anything!" on Current TV, which debuted last year.
With the official start of free agency four days away and the unofficial launch at midnight tonight, Lions defensive end Cliff Avril is moving closer to becoming former Lions defensive end Cliff Avril.
Avril tells Anwar Richardson of MLive.com that, as of now, the Lions and Avril?s camp aren?t talking.
?We haven?t really been talking, but there?s still a few days,? Avril said. ?Maybe they will make a strong push, or we?ll make a push with them. At the same time, we haven?t really been talking. Last year, I got franchised, and we didn?t start talking to them until four or five days before that deadline. I don?t know if that?s their way of doing things, but we haven?t been talking.?
If Avril plays elsewhere, he?s willing to move to linebacker in a 3-4 defense.? He?s already been linked to the Browns, and we?ve reported that multiple 3-4 teams are interested in Avril.
?I think I can do it,? Avril said. ?I thought I was going to be a 3-4 coming out, obviously. I ended up getting drafted to the Lions at the defensive end position. The weird thing is all the guys out of Purdue from the last few drafts who played end became 3-4 ends. I?m the only one out of all of those guys who played linebacker and became a defensive end. Maybe I?ll join that club, if it?s the case.?
The problem remains that defensive end in a 4-3 often pays more than a 3-4 linebacker. For Avril, though, the real issue will be what any team will pay when it?s time to field offers.
The offers can officially be fielded as of midnight tonight.
In response to the increased attention and concern for America's rising rates of obesity and diabetes, the food industry has responded by creating what they often refer to as "better-for-you" foods. These include, among other things: bags of dried fruit slices, organic bars and cookies, yogurts, smoothies, vegetable crisps, and, of course, baked, not fried, potato chips. In turn, these items have begun to replace the more traditional junk food found in our children's school vending machines.
CITES: Crucial for conserving sharks and raysPublic release date: 7-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Stephen Sautner ssautner@wcs.org 718-220-3682 Wildlife Conservation Society
NEW YORK (March 6, 2013)Government delegates to the 16th meeting of the 178 member States of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) convening in Bangkok, Thailand this week can help conserve some of the world's most threatened sharks and raysancient, cartilaginous fish species that are under severe pressure globally from over-fishing by agreeing to extend CITES measures to these species. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, CITES is crucial for addressing the conservation needs and sustainable use of sharks and rays.
The United States, Brazil, Ecuador, and more than 30 other countries have proposed to list several shark and ray species under CITES, which will help control the largely unregulated international trade in these species and their products. Many shark and ray species are threatened with extinction as a result of directed fishing and unintentional fisheries "bycatch," much of which is driven by the high demand for their fins, meat, gill rakers, used in shark fin soup and other dishes.
"We commend the leadership of the United States and other government sponsors in requesting these essential measures to control and monitor international trade in these shark and ray species, and we implore other governments to vote in their favor," said Dr. Cristin Samper, President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society. "These taxa have suffered alarming declines from unregulated or insufficiently regulated fisheries and are in high demand for international commercial markets. There is a desperate need for trade controls to manage that demand and its impact on these vulnerable fishes."
Proposed for listing on CITES Appendix II, which provides for regulation of international trade, are the oceanic whitetip shark, porbeagle shark, three species of hammerhead shark, and two species of manta ray. Another species, the freshwater sawfish, is proposed for uplisting from Appendix II to Appendix I, which prohibits commercial international trade completely.
The proposals under consideration will significantly increase the number of sharks and rays that are regulated under CITES: currently, only a few of shark and ray speciesthe whale shark, basking shark, great white shark, and seven sawfishesare listed. In order to be adopted, the proposals will need approval from two-thirds of the governments voting.
"CITES listings for these species would help put controls on an international trade that threatens many shark species and the livelihoods that depend on them," said Dr. Elizabeth Bennett, Vice President of WCS's Species Program and leader of the WCS CITES delegation.
Unlike many bony fish species, most cartilaginous fishes are long-lived, late-to-mature, and produce few young, making them vulnerable to over-fishing and their populations slow to recover once depleted.
"Demand for shark finsthe prime ingredient in shark fin soup and gill rakers from manta rays is driving legal and illegal shark and ray fishing beyond what is sustainable, with estimates of tens of millions of animals killed annually to supply these trades, "said Dr. Rachel Graham, Director of WCS's Gulf and Caribbean Sharks and Rays Program. "Listing under CITES will provide a much-needed framework to monitor and regulate these heavily traded and highly sought-after species."
WCS is committed to saving sharks and rays as part of a global commitment to promote recovery of depleted and threatened populations of marine species, halt the decline of fragile marine ecosystems, and improve the livelihoods and resilience of coastal communities throughout the world's oceans.
WCS invests in a diverse array of long-term, seascape-scale conservation strategies across the waters of 20 countries and all five oceans to reverse the decline of marine ecosystems, restore populations of threatened marine species and improve coastal fisheries and livelihoods. We inspire millions to take action for the oceans through the New York Aquarium and all our parks in New York City. To achieve our long-term conservation goals, WCS marine conservationists work with local and national governments, as well as a range of local partners to improve management of coastal fisheries, mitigate key threats to marine species, expand effective marine protected areas, enhance ocean industry sustainability, and increase resilience to climate change.
Collectively, these efforts aim to build broader and deeper public understanding, advance scientific knowledge, and strengthen political commitment to our oceans and the biodiversity and livelihoods they support.
###
Note to Editors:
Deutsche Elasmobranchier-Gesellschaft (DEG), Humane Society International (HSI), Project AWARE Foundation, Shark Advocates International (SAI), the Shark Trust and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), with the support of Oceans 5, are working together to secure CITES listings for shark and ray species at the 16th Conference of Parties in March 2013.
The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth. Visit http://www.wcs.org.
Special Note to the Media: If you would like to guide your readers or viewers to a web link where they can make donations in support of helping save wildlife and wild places, please direct them to: http://www.wcs.org/donation
CONTACT: MARY DIXON (1-347-675-2294; mdixon@wcs.org)
STEPHEN SAUTNER: (1-718-220-3682; ssautner@wcs.org)
JOHN DELANEY: (1-718-220-3275; jdelaney@wcs.org)
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
CITES: Crucial for conserving sharks and raysPublic release date: 7-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Stephen Sautner ssautner@wcs.org 718-220-3682 Wildlife Conservation Society
NEW YORK (March 6, 2013)Government delegates to the 16th meeting of the 178 member States of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) convening in Bangkok, Thailand this week can help conserve some of the world's most threatened sharks and raysancient, cartilaginous fish species that are under severe pressure globally from over-fishing by agreeing to extend CITES measures to these species. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, CITES is crucial for addressing the conservation needs and sustainable use of sharks and rays.
The United States, Brazil, Ecuador, and more than 30 other countries have proposed to list several shark and ray species under CITES, which will help control the largely unregulated international trade in these species and their products. Many shark and ray species are threatened with extinction as a result of directed fishing and unintentional fisheries "bycatch," much of which is driven by the high demand for their fins, meat, gill rakers, used in shark fin soup and other dishes.
"We commend the leadership of the United States and other government sponsors in requesting these essential measures to control and monitor international trade in these shark and ray species, and we implore other governments to vote in their favor," said Dr. Cristin Samper, President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society. "These taxa have suffered alarming declines from unregulated or insufficiently regulated fisheries and are in high demand for international commercial markets. There is a desperate need for trade controls to manage that demand and its impact on these vulnerable fishes."
Proposed for listing on CITES Appendix II, which provides for regulation of international trade, are the oceanic whitetip shark, porbeagle shark, three species of hammerhead shark, and two species of manta ray. Another species, the freshwater sawfish, is proposed for uplisting from Appendix II to Appendix I, which prohibits commercial international trade completely.
The proposals under consideration will significantly increase the number of sharks and rays that are regulated under CITES: currently, only a few of shark and ray speciesthe whale shark, basking shark, great white shark, and seven sawfishesare listed. In order to be adopted, the proposals will need approval from two-thirds of the governments voting.
"CITES listings for these species would help put controls on an international trade that threatens many shark species and the livelihoods that depend on them," said Dr. Elizabeth Bennett, Vice President of WCS's Species Program and leader of the WCS CITES delegation.
Unlike many bony fish species, most cartilaginous fishes are long-lived, late-to-mature, and produce few young, making them vulnerable to over-fishing and their populations slow to recover once depleted.
"Demand for shark finsthe prime ingredient in shark fin soup and gill rakers from manta rays is driving legal and illegal shark and ray fishing beyond what is sustainable, with estimates of tens of millions of animals killed annually to supply these trades, "said Dr. Rachel Graham, Director of WCS's Gulf and Caribbean Sharks and Rays Program. "Listing under CITES will provide a much-needed framework to monitor and regulate these heavily traded and highly sought-after species."
WCS is committed to saving sharks and rays as part of a global commitment to promote recovery of depleted and threatened populations of marine species, halt the decline of fragile marine ecosystems, and improve the livelihoods and resilience of coastal communities throughout the world's oceans.
WCS invests in a diverse array of long-term, seascape-scale conservation strategies across the waters of 20 countries and all five oceans to reverse the decline of marine ecosystems, restore populations of threatened marine species and improve coastal fisheries and livelihoods. We inspire millions to take action for the oceans through the New York Aquarium and all our parks in New York City. To achieve our long-term conservation goals, WCS marine conservationists work with local and national governments, as well as a range of local partners to improve management of coastal fisheries, mitigate key threats to marine species, expand effective marine protected areas, enhance ocean industry sustainability, and increase resilience to climate change.
Collectively, these efforts aim to build broader and deeper public understanding, advance scientific knowledge, and strengthen political commitment to our oceans and the biodiversity and livelihoods they support.
###
Note to Editors:
Deutsche Elasmobranchier-Gesellschaft (DEG), Humane Society International (HSI), Project AWARE Foundation, Shark Advocates International (SAI), the Shark Trust and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), with the support of Oceans 5, are working together to secure CITES listings for shark and ray species at the 16th Conference of Parties in March 2013.
The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth. Visit http://www.wcs.org.
Special Note to the Media: If you would like to guide your readers or viewers to a web link where they can make donations in support of helping save wildlife and wild places, please direct them to: http://www.wcs.org/donation
CONTACT: MARY DIXON (1-347-675-2294; mdixon@wcs.org)
STEPHEN SAUTNER: (1-718-220-3682; ssautner@wcs.org)
JOHN DELANEY: (1-718-220-3275; jdelaney@wcs.org)
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The 2012 National Rugby League (NRL) grand finalists, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, have signed a three-year sponsorship deal with M&J Chickens.
The sponsorship agreement, which runs until the end of the 2015 NRL season, will see M&J Chickens? logo appear on the right panel of the Bulldogs? playing shorts, while?the Sydney-headquartered poultry firm has donated the left panel to Australian cancer charity Camp Quality.
Although financial terms of the agreement were not released, an apparel sponsorship of this stature is estimated to be worth around US$1 million over its three-year term.
Group general manager of M & J Chickens, Sam Phylactou, said: ?We are pleased to have extended and increased our support of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Like the Bulldogs, we have been in this area for many years and pride ourselves on being a community-based company providing quality products.
?As a commitment to the community we are also happy to donate one of our sponsorship panels back to Camp Quality, we feel they deserve the recognition for the great work that they do for children and their families who are doing it tough.?
Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg added: ?M&J Chickens have been associated with the club for the best part of a decade and year on year their commitment and involvement has grown. Sam and his team run a very professional organisation and that has been shown over the many years of the relationship we have had with them.?
The Bulldogs kick off their 2013 campaign against the North Queensland Cowboys this Saturday.
In this Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 photo, doughnuts are fried in cooking oil in New York. Willpower apparently can be bought. The chance to win or lose $20 a month enticed people in a yearlong study to drop an average of nine pounds - four times more weight than others who were not offered dough to pass up the doughnuts. The new study, done at the Mayo Clinic, was released Thursday, March 7, 2013. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
In this Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 photo, doughnuts are fried in cooking oil in New York. Willpower apparently can be bought. The chance to win or lose $20 a month enticed people in a yearlong study to drop an average of nine pounds - four times more weight than others who were not offered dough to pass up the doughnuts. The new study, done at the Mayo Clinic, was released Thursday, March 7, 2013. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Willpower apparently can be bought. The chance to win or lose $20 a month enticed dieters in a yearlong study to drop an average of 9 pounds ? four times more weight than others who were not offered dough to pass up the doughnuts.
Many employers, insurers and Internet programs dangle dollars to try to change bad habits like smoking or not exercising, but most studies have found this doesn't work very well or for very long.
The new study, done with Mayo Clinic employees, was the longest test yet of financial incentives for weight loss. Doctors think it succeeded because it had a mix of carrots and sticks ? penalties for not losing weight, multiple ways to earn cash for succeeding, and a chance to recoup lost money if you fell off the "diet wagon" and later repented.
Incentives are "not like training wheels where people learn healthy habits and then will continue them on their own" ? you have to keep them up for them to work, said one study leader, Dr. Steve Driver of Mayo in Rochester, Minn.
And if you're looking to set up a system like this at work or among friends, the key is to make it self-sustaining, Driver said. The Mayo one did that by having people who didn't lose weight put penalties into a fund that paid rewards to those who did.
It's also a good idea to make people pony up in advance. One woman flew into a tizzy when she stepped on a scale at a weigh-in and was told she'd have to pay.
"She headed for the door" but later came back and paid, Driver said. "People in Minnesota are pretty honest."
Driver will discuss the study this weekend at an American College of Cardiology conference in San Francisco. The group released results Thursday. Mayo paid for the study and Driver owns stock in Gympact, a company with an Internet program that gives financial incentives for exercising.
The diet study involved 100 obese employees at Mayo Clinic but was not a workplace wellness program. Half were given weight-loss counseling, monthly weigh-ins and a three-month gym membership. The others had those things plus financial incentives.
The aim was to lose 4 pounds a month up to a goal that depended on their starting weight. If they failed, they paid $20 into a kitty. If they succeeded, they got a voucher to collect $20 when the study ended. Part of the kitty was used to pay the rewards. The rest was put into a lottery that anyone could win, whether they had made their weight-loss goals or not.
"People saw that if they stuck with it, they had a chance at winning more than they had lost," Driver said.
Participants in the financial incentives group also earned $10 a month and lottery "tickets" for coming to monthly weigh-ins and texting their weights to study leaders each week, said Dr. Don Hensrud, preventive medicine chief at Mayo. So people could have lost as much as $240 or won as much as $360, plus what built up in the lottery fund.
After a year, 27 of the 50 financial incentive participants came out ahead moneywise. About 62 percent of them completed the study versus 26 percent of the other group. The incentives group lost a little more than 9 pounds on average, compared to 2.3 pounds for the others.
The results are promising, but people may need to lose more than 9 pounds to make a big difference in health, said Dr. Kevin Volpp, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics.
"There's been an explosion of interest in this" and 86 percent of large employers now provide incentive programs like this, he said.
The cash was a big motivator for one study participant ? Audrey Traun, 29, a lab training specialist who dropped 40 pounds, from 215 pounds to 175.
"I was impressed. I didn't think I was quite capable of that," said Traun, who lives in Kellogg, Minn. As the study went on, though, the cash became less important, and "it was actually more motivating to see my progress ? pounds lost and how my clothes were fitting," she said.
Traun used the nearly $400 she earned in the study on a family vacation.
In England, there was big enthusiasm a few years back for campaigns using cash or gift certificates to convince people to make healthier choices, like getting vaccinated, quitting smoking and losing weight. But after a few limited trials, the programs have mostly petered out. The most successful were those that offered pregnant women vouchers if they stopped smoking; several of those programs are still in place.
"You have to prove these schemes work otherwise it's just money down the drain," said Eleni Mantzari, who studies financial incentives in health at King's College London. People often revert to unhealthy habits once the financial motivation is gone, she said.
___
AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng in London contributed to this report.
___
Online:
Health incentives research: http://chibe.upenn.edu/
___
Marilynn Marchione can be followed at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP
Are there any contributors out there with an Android-based phone?
I've written a little app which lets you keep watch on your account and notify you of sales. It also shows you assorted statistics, sales details, and lets you read your iStock sitemail. It's free.
I have no plans to write a version for other platforms - sorry iPhone, Blackberry, Palm Pre, Windows Phone users.
Login Screen screenshot on phones from version 2.11.8
Main Screen screenshot on tablets from version 2.11.2
Main Screen screenshot on phones from version 2.11.2
Monthly Stats View screenshot from version 2.11.2
Yearly Stats View screenshot from version 2.11.2
Sitemail View screenshot from version 2.6.16
Getty Images and Partner Program Recent Sales View screenshot from version 2.10.8
Recent Uploads screenshot from version 2.11.22
Home Screen Widgets screenshot on phones from version 2.11.8: 4x2, 2x2 and 2x1 widgets
It is available (for free!) from the Android Market. Just start the Market application on your phone and search for Livestock. Or if you have a barcode scanner on your phone, just scan this:
As for privacy, you can be assured that I have no interest in you or your data . Here's the full LiveStock Privacy Policy.
The current version is 2.11.24 (as of 27th January 2013).
Edited to refer to the latest version.
(Edited on 2013-01-27 09:53:22 by theasis)
Posted Sun Nov 23, 2008 3:41AM
Updated LiveStock to correctly track Dollar Bin sales.
Edited to remove obsolete (and misleading) information.
(Edited on 2009-05-29 02:02:15 by theasis)
Posted Thu Nov 27, 2008 10:41AM
Updated to give better information (size and royalty earned) for recent sales.
Because this involves scraping data from more webpages, the very first time you run the application it will spend quite a while in the "Talking to iStock: Gathering data..." phase.? How long depends on quite a few factors including, of course, how good a signal your phone has and whether it's connected by 2G, 3G or Wifi.? Best to set it running and go make yourself a sandwich and a cup of tea (or a pie and a pint if that's more your thing).? Subsequent refreshes will be much faster (unless you have hundreds of sales and don't refresh for days).
Edited to remove obsolete screenshot.
(Edited on 2009-05-29 02:01:17 by theasis)
Posted Fri Dec 19, 2008 4:29PM
i really thank you for writing this app, finally somthing for the G1, but anyway im visiting the page from my phone but cant find any application link!! is it deactivated, the page i see is exactly like the one on my PC no difference..
maybe im missing something..
Posted Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:10AM
Hi there Posted By thesuperph:
i really thank you for writing this app, finally somthing for the G1, but anyway im visiting the page from my phone but cant find any application link!! is it deactivated, the page i see is exactly like the one on my PC no difference..
maybe im missing something..
That's odd. I just checked with my phone to make sure that it is still active and all looks fine. I took a look through the web logs and I don't see any Android browsers connecting for the last couple of days. My first thought was that you might be using one of the 3rd party browsers that are in beta-test, but I don't see any connections from them, either. Do you remember roughly what day and time you looked with your phone's browser (and what timezone you're in!) because I'd really like to get to the bottom of it if there's a problem on the server. However, on a different note...now that I have an API key from istock, I'm completely rewriting the application. It might be worth holding off for a little while whilst I knock it into shape.
Thanks a lot for your interest, Martin
Posted Sat Dec 20, 2008 3:06PM
well im checking now at this moment and only from my G1.. you can get the time from this post time..
still the same thing (i refreshed three times), also the browser that i use is the default built in one..
?
anyway i think the best thing o do is to wait for your newer one really thanx again for your effort
Posted Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:53AM
Thanks for trying again. My best guess is that there's a cache somewhere between your phone and the livestock webserver and it's feeding you old pages. My phone doesn't seem to give me a cached page, so I wonder if it's a difference between the USA and UK services, or if you're on some non-standard service.
When I have a stable version of the app I'll submit it to the Android Marketplace (it'll still be free) and any such problems should go away. Sorry that it's being a pain for you in the meantime
Posted Mon Dec 22, 2008 4:13PM
i have it now installed on my G1.. bugs are there but its cool to have something IS related on my mobile
ill be waiting for the final version, and thanks alot for your efforts..
Posted Mon Feb 16, 2009 8:28AM
Is this still in the works?? This would be especially useful now that the iStock page is slightly mangled in the Android browser (the main toolbar gets wrapped around under the search bar).
Posted Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:29AM
Development of LiveStock is on hold for the time being. I'm hoping to put some time aside in the next few weeks in order to knock it into a decent shape.
If I don't find time to do that, I'll put out the version that's currently on my phone. This doesn't do much more than let you know you've had a sale and what you've earned.
Sorry for the delay on this - real life sometimes gets in the way
Posted Tue Apr 7, 2009 11:49AM
Any update on this interesting project? Is real life still in the way?
Thanx for your effort.
?
Posted Thu Apr 9, 2009 4:12AM
Posted By Mac99:
Is real life still in the way? ;-) ?
Heh - actually, the reasons for delay have changed somewhat. The chap in the Glasgow store where I got my phone told me that I was one of the first people to get a G1 from them, and that I was definitely the first to bring one in for repair. I don't expect it back for at least another couple of weeks...hopefully I can then make some more progress.
Thanks for the patience!
Posted Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:29AM
A positive update, at last. My G1 has been repaired and returned. I'm re-implementing LiveStock, building on what I learned about programming for the G1 first time around. I'm planning on releasing an alpha version of LiveStock2 in the next few days: - the new version will be simpler than the old version to avoid using up the G1's resources so quickly - this should result in fewer bugs and better battery life; - I'll be releasing through the Android Market rather than my own web pages - that means installing and upgrading between versions will be more straightforward. I understand that it takes a little while for an application to work its way through the Market after release, so I'll not announce its availability until it's actually visible.
Thanks for your patience!
Posted Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:02AM
I'm happy to announce that a new version of LiveStock is now available. It is available (for free!) from the Android Market. You'll find it in the Market in Applications->Tools, or just search for "livestock".
The current version is 2.0.14 alpha (as of 17 April 2009); this is a complete rewrite of the previous version of the application. Although it is usable and, I think, useful, I'd like to stress that this should be considered alpha quality software.
I am aware of a few flaws. In particular, the first time you run it it can take a long time to pull some of your information from the istock servers. This pull really should happen in a background thread - because it doesn't, your phone may warn you that LiveStock is taking a long time to respond. If that happens, just touch the "Wait" button. This is the item highest on my priority list to fix.
The first time you run it, it will ask you to enter your istock login details. I strongly recommend that you touch the "Test" button before saving so that LiveStock can attempt a connection to the iStock servers to check you entered them correctly.
The main screen will display some current stats and your most recent downloads.
From the main screen, just touch the refresh button and it will pull your current details from istock.
This is still an early version and there are many things I want to improve and features I want to add. First on the list of things to fix is the horrible delay the first time you pull data from istock. The next most important feature is to make LiveStock run as a service so that it automatically pulls data from istock at regular intervals. Once that is done, it will be able to notify you as sales happen.
Of course, this isn't istock-supported software so please direct your complaints, plaudits, requests, rants, bug reports, etc to me either in this thread or via sitemail.
Enjoy.
Posted Fri Apr 17, 2009 2:15PM
Oh wow i just found it in the market browsing recent apps! I have not read this thread before but i was looking for such an app.
It works really good THANK YOU! You've made the G1 a much more interesting phone
Posted Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:13AM
I've just pushed a new version (2.0.15) to the Market. If you look for Livestock in the market and you already have 2.0.14 installed, you will be given the option to update.
The main change in 2.0.15 is that the disturbing silence (or even more disturbing Force Close/Wait dialog) when refreshing the list of recent downloads is now replaced by a progress indicator - no more wondering whether or not there's anything happening. A lesser, but related, change is that there is now a "Refresh recent DLs" option from the Menu button to force an update of the recent downloads list.
Please let me know if these changes don't seem to work for you, or if other issues appear.
The current plan is for the next release to run as a service and automatically inform you of sales - no more having to hit Refresh.
Posted Thu May 7, 2009 9:45AM
I'm pleased to announce that I've just pushed a new version (v2.1.0) of LiveStock to the Android Market. If you search for Livestock in the market on your Android phone you have the option to install or, if you have an earlier version installed already, to upgrade.
There are a number of changes in this release: - the list of recent downloads does not update automatically. You can request an update simply with MENU->Refresh Recent DLs. This was made manual as updating the DL list involves a fair amount of network traffic which helps run down your phone's battery. - you don't need to request that Livestock checks to see if you've had a sale. Instead it runs in the background and automatically checks for any changes to your balance. If your balance changes, you get a notification. (But see my note below!) - a few minor cosmetic changes. - quite a few small bugs have been squashed.
Automatic Checks Every 20 minutes or so, LiveStock will check to see if your balance has changed. If it does change, LiveStock posts a notification.
If your phone is in sleep-mode (i.e. when the screen has blanked), LiveStock will not wake the phone to check the balance. Waking the phone seems to be relatively power-hungry and it runs the battery down far too quickly. I hope to improve this in future. However, if some other application wakes the phone then LiveStock will take the opportunity to do its checks.
I hope you like the changes. Please do let me know of any bugs or strange experiences, or feature requests you may have.
Edit: I should add, this has been tested on both the older version of Android (1.1) and the new "cupcake" release (1.5).
Enjoy!
(Edited on 2009-05-07 10:08:02 by theasis)
Posted Tue May 12, 2009 4:01AM
Hi,
Most of the time if i open your app it says "stats updated" and if i close it and then open it it will give the new stats. I have never seen a notification about automatic stats update after 20 minutes. It only gives this message if i have the app opened. Am i missing something?
I love this app! thanks for your hard work.
Michel
Posted Tue May 12, 2009 5:27AM
Hi Michel Thanks for the feedback. Posted By micheldenijs:
Most of the time if i open your app it says "stats updated" and if i close it and then open it it will give the new stats. I have never seen a notification about automatic stats update after 20 minutes. It only gives this message if i have the app opened. Am i missing something?
Hmmm...I've seen the same thing some days, but not always. In a future version I'll try triggering the notifications a different way and see if that helps.
If I can get to the bottom of it, I'll put out a new version in the next couple of days. If I can't find the problem immediately, it will probably be a couple of weeks before I put out a new version due to other commitments.
Many thanks for the report!
Posted Wed May 27, 2009 5:09AM
I've completely rewritten the automated checking and it now works in a way that I think you'll like. The checking also does less processing, which means less drain on the battery. Which means LiveStock can now check for and notify you of sales even when the phone is sleeping.
I'll delay releasing it until after Thursday night's downtime just in case there are any site changes that would affect LiveStock.
?
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 7-Mar-2013
Share ] 
. Here's the full LiveStock Privacy Policy.
