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This is a romantic story, but one steeped in blood. Trust and betrayal are two sides of the same coin here. The heaven's may determine a man's fate, but it is his choice rather to follow it, or let it pass him by.
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"When I see you lately I'm wondering on White roses, caskets Your name on a stone."
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Yesterday I published results that show NVIDIA's
Linux driver is very competitive with Microsoft Windows 8 when it comes to
OpenGL gaming performance. It turns out that the NVIDIA BSD driver, which is still
mostly shared common code with Linux and Solaris and Windows, pairs very well
with FreeBSD's Linux binary compatibility layer. The NVIDIA BSD performance is
very good for OpenGL as shown in this article with a comparison of Windows 8 vs.
Ubuntu 13.10 vs. FreeBSD 9.1. In fact, for some OpenGL workloads the Linux games
are running faster on FreeBSD/PC-BSD 9.1 than Ubuntu!
FreeBSD (and some other BSD distributions) offer Linux binary compatibility
support for being able to run native Linux binaries on BSD. This feature was covered
at length two years ago on Phoronix when talking about FreeBSD
as a fast Linux gaming platform. The binary compatibility relies upon a FreeBSD
kernel module for Linux plus ported Linux run-time libraries (pulled from Fedora
10 RPMs at present). That aforelinked Phoronix article has more details on the
Linux emulation / binary compatibility support for those interested in the low-level
details.
One of the unfortunate limitations of the Linux binary support in FreeBSD is
that it's presently limited to x86 binaries without any support for x86_64 Linux
binaries or other architectures. Linux x86 binaries will work just fine on the
FreeBSD x86_64/amd64 host, which is what was used for this testing. With using
Unigine tech demos and other benchmarks, some of these binary-only OpenGL Linux
test cases are 32-bit only anyways so it's less of a deal. All benchmarking was
handled in an automated manner using the open-source Phoronix
Test Suite software for facilitating cross-platform tests.
The NVIDIA 310.44 FreeBSD display driver was used for testing, which is the
latest FreeBSD driver version available through FreeBSD Ports. As mentioned many
times before on Phoronix, the NVIDIA FreeBSD driver shares a majority of common
code with the Linux, Windows, and Solaris targets aside from platform-specific
bits. Traditionally we have found the NVIDIA driver performance to be roughly
the same across operating systems. The remainder of the PC-BSD 9.1 installation
was in largely a stock configuration and the system details are noted in the same
table above. For those curious about installing PC-BSD 9.1 on modern hardware
(such as Haswell), it's
not without some challenges.
The same hardware was used across benchmarking Windows 8, Ubuntu 13.10 Development,
and PC-BSD 9.1; the tested graphics cards were still the GeForce 9800GTX, GeForce
GTX 460, and GeForce GTX 680. The 64-bit versions of all operating systems were
used during testing. If you didn't read the earlier Windows
8 vs. Ubuntu Linux NVIDIA GeForce article though, be sure to read that first since
this article doesn't show the Nouveau Gallium3D (open-source NVIDIA) performance
results as shown in that earlier article.
IntoMobile writes, Opera Mediaworks released its Q2 State of Mobile Advertising report, briefing the industry on mobile monetization and advertising trends that unfolded during the period. Here are the highlights: iPhone is still a clear revenue winner, generating 36.4% of revenue compared to Android?s 27.8%. Additionally, iOS also accounts for 43.8% of impressions though Samsung?s dominance of the Android market (58.5%) makes it a strong contender. Baseball season kickoff makes Sports the No. 1 revenue generator for the quarter. Though Sports only commands a 6.5% share of the revenue generated across all?
Continue reading Opera Mediaworks releases Q2 State of Mobile Advertising report: iOS keeps bringing more money than Android at IntoMobile
It now takes even less time to show off your mad shredding skills. With the latest update to the GoPro companion app, owners of the popular action camera can now view, edit, and, most importantly, share content from a smartphone or tablet.
The above quote comes from aphorist Mason Cooley, who reminds us that the only cure for inactivity is action.
Regret has its purpose in the scope of human emotion, however sitting around feeling guilty because you haven't done anything all day (or all year) doesn't accomplish anything. For most of us, that moment or realization feels heavy. At 7pm on Saturday, when we realize we've spent the entire day on Netflix, the list of things we need to accomplish feels like a crushing weight. Yet, that first thought of "I haven't done what I need to do," should be all the nudging we need to get moving. Otherwise, we're just perpetuating the problem.
"Regret for wasted time is more wasted time." | The Quotations Page
Whether they're entering college or kindergarten, sending kids off to school is not cheap. This weekend, parents can save a little money by not having to pay state sales tax on certain purchases at participating retailers.
The tax holiday is from Friday to midnight Sunday.
The tax rate varies across the state, but exceeds 8 percent in some communities. In Carlsbad and Artesia, the sale tax rate is 7.438 percent.
No tax will be imposed on computers up to $1,000, including tablets; and computer hardware, such as a printer, that costs no more than $500.
Also tax-free are school supplies under $30 and certain clothing and shoes up to $100.
Cell phones, iPods, and MP3 players are subject to taxation.
Using common sense could help you save even more money. Whether you plan to shop here or elsewhere in the state, before you do, it may be beneficial to do some comparison shopping either on online or in person, money experts say. Using store coupons that you get in the mail or in the newspaper can also help bring down the cost.
***
We all know that the oil and gas industry is booming in Eddy County. But how long it is going to last is unknown. Some predict that it could be as long as seven years. If that's true, the lack of affordable housing will continue to be a problem, schools will remain overcrowded and the main thoroughfares through downtown Carlsbad will continue to be congested.
Mayor Dale Janway recognizes that
if the boom continues as some predict, local government leaders need to work on plans allowing for the growth of Carlsbad in an orderly fashion while accommodating the industry that has brought financial prosperity to Carlsbad and Eddy County. He has called for an oil and gas summit to get the ball rolling for Carlsbad's economic future.
The summit is scheduled for Aug. 26 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Walter Gerrells Civic Center Annex, 4021 National Parks Highway. The free summit and lunch is open to the public, but registration to attend is required. Deadline to register is Aug. 19.
Guest speakers will include oil and gas consultants Billy Munn and Keith Morris; Jim Peach from New Mexico State University and a panel representing local community planning experts.
The summit is being sponsored by local businesses that include Western Commerce Bank; Carlsbad Insurance Agency; Means Real Estate, Carlsbad National Bank; Carlsbad Department of Development; City of Carlsbad and Eddy County.
To register call (575) 887-3798 or email mayor.office@cityofcarlsbad.com.
Stella Davis may be reached at (575) 628-5546 or savis@currentargus.com.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]The chemical components crucial to the start of life on Earth may have primed and protected each other in never-before-realized ways, according to new research. It could mean a simpler scenario for how that first spark of life came about on the planet.
In science fiction movies, imagined futures and alternate environments become real places populated by humans. But even an existing cityscape becomes a fantastic spectacle in the hands of a talented director, which is why many of these films used real, existing architecture.
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FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2011 file photo, Arkansas' center Travis Swanson (64) stands on the field during an NCAA college football game against Auburn in Fayetteville, Ark. The Arkansas center has done much more than just avoid errors in his time with the Razorbacks, helping guide the team through the turmoil of the last year and a half. (AP Photo/Beth Hall, File)
FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas ? Travis Swanson's ascent to captain at Arkansas began well before last year's scandal-ridden spring and subsequent fall collapse.
How the center handled the turmoil off the field, however, may just prove to be the defining moment of a playing career that is among the school's best.
A core group of senior leaders, led by Swanson, gives new coach Bret Bielema a foundation to work with as Arkansas heads into fall practice next week. Swanson and Co. have been through a lot, too.
There was the Sugar Bowl three seasons ago. Then there was last year's epic collapse in the wake of former coach Bobby Petrino's firing; a 4-8 record under interim coach John L. Smith.
Through it all, Swanson's class has endured, thanks in large part to the four-year starter's endearing personality. The Texas native has earned his fair share of awards throughout his career, and he enters this season as a preseason first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection.
He's also earned plenty of praise from his new coach after just one set of spring practices.
"Travis Swanson is the best center, in my opinion, in college football," Bielema said.
For all of Swanson's accolades, it's worth noting the 6-foot-5, 318-pound former lacrosse standout had never played center prior to his arrival at Arkansas. It was only after a camp during his senior year of high school that Petrino recommended the former guard learn the new position.
Swanson took the advice to heart ? taking part in 4:30 a.m. workouts during his final semester of high school and learning everything he could about snapping the ball. It was the same kind of selfless display he had shown since first starting football at 6 years old, continuing into his sophomore year of high school when he was asked by coaches to also play on the defensive line.
Swanson accepted the defensive assignment, even though his career path was already winding its way toward the offensive line. The two-way experiment was a success before ending after three games, but it was Swanson's willingness to do whatever he was told that was remembered by his parents, Todd and Gina.
You see, Travis Swanson's theory on earning playing time was, and still is, a simple one: "Just don't give people a reason not to like you," he said. "And do everything right."
Swanson put that theory into practice while redshirting his first season at Arkansas, heeding the advice of coaches and older teammates, alike. By the time his second year came along, Swanson took over at center.
Even now, after spending the past eight months trying to impress a new set of coaches, Swanson's thoughts on his ability are less about his own considerable talent ? born out of a potent mix of intelligence, athleticism and size ? and more about the humble nature he's always known.
"The only reason a player doesn't play is if you give the coaches a reason, like if you do something that they don't like off or on the field," Swanson said. "There's no reason for me not to start if I don't give them a reason."
Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen served as Tyler Wilson's backup last season, and he exited the spring as the starter. Allen credited Swanson for much of his success in transitioning to his new role, saying the center helped him quickly deliver defensive adjustments to offensive coordinator Jim Chaney.
"It's almost like having another quarterback out there," Allen said.
New Razorbacks offensive line coach Sam Pittman echoed the praise for Swanson, both for his on-the-field ability as well as how the center has used his platform as captain to sell the upperclassmen on the merits of the new coaching staff.
"I've relied on him as much or more than anybody I've ever coached," Pittman said.
Swanson's most difficult task after being voted a captain last year came after Arkansas lost an early season game to Louisiana-Monroe ? beginning a losing stretch that sent the Razorbacks from preseason top five to missing a bowl game for the first time since the 2008 season.
He agonized about the best ways to approach teammates during the losing season, working with Wilson to use different methods of motivation on teammates. Sometimes, it was promoting what laid ahead in the professional ranks. Others, it was about simply playing for pride.
What struck Gina Swanson throughout the difficulties of last season was that her son never once complained about the predicament following Petrino's firing. Even during their private conversations, when she and her husband expressed doubts of their own, Travis Swanson would have none of it.
"I truly realized he had become a man," Gina Swanson said. "For Travis to just stand up and tell us this was their team and the boys supported everything and were absolutely 100 percent dedicated to this team and get through all of this ... I knew that at that point, 'We've done our job.'"
Kelly Osbourne has refused to cash in on her upcoming wedding.
The 'Fashion Police' star, who shot to fame on her family's fly-on-the-wall TV show 'The Osbournes', says she has been inundated with offers since announcing her engagement to Matthew Mosshart but they have no plans to profit from their wedding and marriage.
Speaking on 'The Talk', she said: ''People know we got engaged in December of last year but kept it a secret for six months.
''I realised very quickly that, in Hollywood, people don't realise that you get married for love.
''They think you get married for attention, and I don't want to do a reality show, I've already done that. Every morning we wake up to another email, it's like, 'an offer you cannot refuse.' I can refuse that, I don't want to be on another reality show. I'm fine right now, thank you.''
The couple began a long-distance relationship after meeting at the wedding of Kate Moss and Jamie Hince - who is in rock group The Kills with Matthew's sister Alison - in 2011.
The 29-year-old chef then made the ''biggest sacrifice'' by moving from New York to Los Angeles so they could be together more often.
Kelly, 28, explained: ''Long-distance relationships often don't work out. We'd dated for a year and knew we wanted to be together.
''People say we're co-dependent but we just want to be together all the time. I've never felt this close to another human being, ever.''
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The struggling bookseller says it overstated the amount of money it lost during 2011 and 2012 by $9 million. The actual loss during that period was $134 million, and not $143 million as the company had previously reported.
In addition, in 2010, the company had earnings of $43 million rather than $37 million.
Barnes & Noble said the errors were the result of ?inadequate controls over the accrual reconciliation process at its distribution centers.?
As suggested by the website Crain?s New York Business, the fact that Barnes & Noble bought more warehouses to fill customer demand more quickly could mean that accounting was unable to keep pace with the amount of business being conducted.
?When you ramp up distribution centers like Barnes & Noble did it really puts pressure on internal control systems, in my experience,? Villanova University School of Business professor Anthony Catanach told Crain?s New York Business.
Barclays analyst Alan Rifkin said the news didn?t inspire confidence.
?Today?s restatement is problematic, in our view, because it suggests that Barnes & Noble itself was unable to properly account for the complexities of its business model,? Rifkin told the Wall Street Journal.?
The company also recently announced it was seeking a partner for its Nook business. B&N?s CEO William Lynch resigned earlier this month following dismal numbers for the bookseller?s fourth quarter.
All Critics (44) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (2)
Fortunately, Bobby and Dannis, the surviving brothers, prove genial company.
If the brothers seem a little drunk on their own myth, they're also genuinely humbled by the band's rediscovery and warmed by the fact that their kids have carried on the family tradition.
Their story can feel almost too ready-made for the telling, but it's well worth a listen.
... a must-watch for fans of punk music, vinyl record wonks, or even those interested ... a visionary entertainment dream.
[A] generous, spirited documentary [that captures] one of the strangest and most inspiring of all family stories of tragedy and triumph that this crazy country has produced.
It was fans' ardor that began the Death revival and propels the movie's exhilarating second half.
An exceptional look at artistic integrity, musical innovation, and the power of family ties.
A rock 'n' roll fairy tale, well-told.
It's a bittersweet story of the fringes of fame and of three brothers who belatedly deserve to share the spotlight.
A band call Death comes back to live in this hilarious and poignant peon to hard rock with a soft heart.
Directors Mark Christopher Covino and Jeff Howlett tell this part of A Band Called Death without much artifice, relying on the natural charm and sunny dispositions of the surviving Hackney brothers to draw us in.
It's a soul-stirring tribute to a man whose vision was too bold and revolutionary for his lifetime, or the convention-bound ways of the music industry, but was ultimately too powerful to be denied.
An amazing story -- about the history of rock, about the capriciousness of fame and, perhaps most importantly, about the power of family.
Like 'Searching For Sugar Man,' 'A Band Called Death' takes its cue from the modesty and joyfulness of its subjects, letting the glory of their music speak for itself.
It's less about the rediscovery of genius than it is the value of obscurity, a sentiment that should give hope to every garage band out there.
Questions about what that reputation is worth today, and how the Hackney brothers struggled to find a foothold, give filmmakers Mark Covino and Jeff Howlett plenty of material to work with.
A Band Called Death shines the light on a previously unexplored corner of musical history and does it in an accessible, straightforward manner.
A Band Called Death is a film that is all heart, as was the band it looks to explore.
Death never got very far, and their story is a fascinating one, told beautifully by Jeff Howlett and Mark Christopher Covino.
Thanks to the new revelatory and inspiring documentary A Band Called Death, the truth behind the band's nearly simultaneous birth and death may yet find them their proper place in music history.
It is a deeply moving story of a family that was both bound together and driven apart by art, and it tells this personal story so beautifully that there were several moments that gave me actual chills.
Even if you didn't know a thing about the band and you don't even typically listen to the kind of music they play, you're going to find yourself thankful that the Hackney brothers are now in your life.
The story of Death sure adds an interesting and virtually unknown footnote to the annals of punk rock.
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35-year-old registered sex offender Michael Madison appears in court at his bond hearing in East Cleveland, Ohio, 22 July.
By Kim Palmer, Reuters
CLEVELAND - Accused serial killer Michael Madison faced additional charges on Monday in connection with the slayings of three women whose decomposing bodies were found wrapped in plastic bags around his suburban Cleveland home.
Madison, 35, a convicted sex offender, already was charged with aggravated murder and kidnapping in a case reminiscent of 11 slayings committed several years ago by Anthony Sowell, one of Cleveland's most notorious mass murderers. A grand jury on Monday charged Madison with raping his victims and abusing their corpses.
Madison was arrested July 19 after police, drawn by the stench of decomposing flesh, discovered the remains of Shirellda Terry, 18, in a garage behind his apartment in East Cleveland.
The following day the body of Shetisha Sheeley, 28, was discovered in a weeded lot two houses from Madison's apartment, and the remains of Angela Deskins, 38, were discovered in the basement of a vacant house near his home, according to police.
Two of the victims, Terry and Sheeley, were found to have been strangled. The cause of Deskins' death has yet to be determined.
During a police interview, Madison mentioned the name of Sowell, a Cleveland serial killer, according to East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton. Sowell was convicted of murdering 11 women and dumping their bodies in garbage bags in and around his home in 2009.
Aggravated murder is a capital offense in Ohio, but prosecutors have not decided whether they would seek the death penalty if Madison were convicted.
East Cleveland Municipal Judge William Dawson ordered Madison on July 22 to remain held on a $6 million bond. He is expected to be arraigned later this week.
Madison was confined in the same lockup as Ariel Castro, the former school bus driver who pleaded guilty to abducting and holding three young women captive in his home for roughly a decade during which they were starved, beaten and sexually assaulted.
He faces life in prison without parole plus 1,000 years under a plea agreement reached with prosecutors. His sentencing is scheduled for Thursday.?
Sex offender charged with murder after 3 women found in Cleveland suburb
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Canadian retail conglomerate Hudson?s Bay Company is snatching up America?s upscale department stores.
The parent company of tony Lord & Taylor has now set plans to acquire Saks Fifth Avenue, including its iconic Fifth Avenue flagship store in Manhattan, for $16.00 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at roughly $2.9 billion, including debt.
The acquisition is expected to close before the end of the year.?Saks Inc. currently operates 41 Saks Fifth Avenue stores and 67 OFF 5TH outlet stores.
(NRDC Equity Partners, parent company of Hudson?s Bay, purchased Lord & Taylor in 2006.)
In a press statement, HBC, which operates Hudson?s Bay and Home Outfitters, Canada?s largest department store and home chain, respectively, said it would seek to enhance Saks? ?market-leading position and identity as a luxury retailer.?
With this new deal, HBC plans to expand the Saks brand into Canada via full-line stores, outlet stores and online.
?We are excited about what this opportunity and being part of a much larger enterprise can mean for the future of the Saks Fifth Avenue brand,? Steve Sadove, Chairman and CEO of Saks, said in a statement.
Contact: Matthew Chin mchin@support.ucla.edu 310-206-0680 University of California - Los Angeles
Software remains completely functional but impervious to reverse-engineering
UCLA computer science professor Amit Sahai and a team of researchers have designed a system to encrypt software so that it only allows someone to use a program as intended while preventing any deciphering of the code behind it. This is known in computer science as "software obfuscation," and it is the first time it has been accomplished.
Sahai, who specializes in cryptography at UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, collaborated with Sanjam Garg, who recently earned his doctorate at UCLA and is now at IBM Research; Craig Gentry, Shai Halevi and Mariana Raykova of IBM Research; and Brent Waters, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Texas at Austin. Garg worked with Sahai as a student when the research was done.
Their peer-reviewed paper will be formally presented in October at the 54th annual IEEE Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science, one of the two most prominent conferences in the field of theoretical computer science. Sahai has also presented this research in recent invited talks at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"The real challenge and the great mystery in the field was: Can you actually take a piece of software and encrypt it but still have it be runnable, executable and fully functional," Sahai said. "It's a question that a lot of companies have been interested in for a long time."
According to Sahai, previously developed techniques for obfuscation presented only a "speed bump," forcing an attacker to spend some effort, perhaps a few days, trying to reverse-engineer the software. The new system, he said, puts up an "iron wall," making it impossible for an adversary to reverse-engineer the software without solving mathematical problems that take hundreds of years to work out on today's computers a game-change in the field of cryptography.
The researchers said their mathematical obfuscation mechanism can be used to protect intellectual property by preventing the theft of new algorithms and by hiding the vulnerability a software patch is designed to repair when the patch is distributed.
"You write your software in a nice, reasonable, human-understandable way and then feed that software to our system," Sahai said. "It will output this mathematically transformed piece of software that would be equivalent in functionality, but when you look at it, you would have no idea what it's doing."
The key to this successful obfuscation mechanism is a new type of "multilinear jigsaw puzzle." Through this mechanism, attempts to find out why and how the software works will be thwarted with only a nonsensical jumble of numbers.
"The real innovation that we have here is a way of transforming software into a kind of mathematical jigsaw puzzle," Sahai said. "What we're giving you is just math, just numbers, or a sequence of numbers. But it lives in this mathematical structure so that these individual pieces, these sequences of numbers, can only be combined with other numbers in very specified ways.
"You can inspect everything, you can turn it upside-down, you can look at it from different angles and you still won't have any idea what it's doing," he added. "The only thing you can do with it is put it together the way that it was meant to interlock. If you tried to do anything else like if you tried to bash this piece and put it in some other way you'd just end up with garbage."
Functional encryption
The new technique for software obfuscation paved the way for another breakthrough called functional encryption. With functional encryption, instead of sending an encrypted message, an encrypted function is sent in its place. This offers a much more secure way to protect information, Sahai said. Previous work on functional encryption was limited to supporting very few functions; the new work can handle any computable function.
For example, a single message could be sent to a group of people in such a way that each receiver would obtain different information, depending on characteristics of that particular receiver. In another example, a hospital could share the outcomes of treatment with researchers without revealing details such as identifying patient information.
"Through functional encryption, you only get the specific answer, you don't learn anything else," Sahai said.
###
The UCLA-based researchers were funded in part by the National Science Foundation, a Xerox Faculty Research Award, a Google Faculty Research Award, an equipment grant from Intel and an Okawa Foundation Research Grant.
The UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, established in 1945, offers 28 academic and professional degree programs and has an enrollment of more than 5,000 students. The school's distinguished faculty are leading research to address many of the critical challenges of the 21st century, including renewable energy, clean water, health care, wireless sensing and networking, and cyber-security. Ranked among the top 10 engineering schools at public universities nationwide, the school is home to eight multimillion-dollar interdisciplinary research centers in wireless sensor systems, wireless health, nanoelectronics, nanomedicine, renewable energy, customized computing, the smart grid, and the Internet, all funded by federal and private agencies and individual donors.
(http://www.engineer.ucla.edu | http://www.twitter.com/uclaengineering)
For more news, visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.
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Contact: Matthew Chin mchin@support.ucla.edu 310-206-0680 University of California - Los Angeles
Software remains completely functional but impervious to reverse-engineering
UCLA computer science professor Amit Sahai and a team of researchers have designed a system to encrypt software so that it only allows someone to use a program as intended while preventing any deciphering of the code behind it. This is known in computer science as "software obfuscation," and it is the first time it has been accomplished.
Sahai, who specializes in cryptography at UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, collaborated with Sanjam Garg, who recently earned his doctorate at UCLA and is now at IBM Research; Craig Gentry, Shai Halevi and Mariana Raykova of IBM Research; and Brent Waters, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Texas at Austin. Garg worked with Sahai as a student when the research was done.
Their peer-reviewed paper will be formally presented in October at the 54th annual IEEE Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science, one of the two most prominent conferences in the field of theoretical computer science. Sahai has also presented this research in recent invited talks at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"The real challenge and the great mystery in the field was: Can you actually take a piece of software and encrypt it but still have it be runnable, executable and fully functional," Sahai said. "It's a question that a lot of companies have been interested in for a long time."
According to Sahai, previously developed techniques for obfuscation presented only a "speed bump," forcing an attacker to spend some effort, perhaps a few days, trying to reverse-engineer the software. The new system, he said, puts up an "iron wall," making it impossible for an adversary to reverse-engineer the software without solving mathematical problems that take hundreds of years to work out on today's computers a game-change in the field of cryptography.
The researchers said their mathematical obfuscation mechanism can be used to protect intellectual property by preventing the theft of new algorithms and by hiding the vulnerability a software patch is designed to repair when the patch is distributed.
"You write your software in a nice, reasonable, human-understandable way and then feed that software to our system," Sahai said. "It will output this mathematically transformed piece of software that would be equivalent in functionality, but when you look at it, you would have no idea what it's doing."
The key to this successful obfuscation mechanism is a new type of "multilinear jigsaw puzzle." Through this mechanism, attempts to find out why and how the software works will be thwarted with only a nonsensical jumble of numbers.
"The real innovation that we have here is a way of transforming software into a kind of mathematical jigsaw puzzle," Sahai said. "What we're giving you is just math, just numbers, or a sequence of numbers. But it lives in this mathematical structure so that these individual pieces, these sequences of numbers, can only be combined with other numbers in very specified ways.
"You can inspect everything, you can turn it upside-down, you can look at it from different angles and you still won't have any idea what it's doing," he added. "The only thing you can do with it is put it together the way that it was meant to interlock. If you tried to do anything else like if you tried to bash this piece and put it in some other way you'd just end up with garbage."
Functional encryption
The new technique for software obfuscation paved the way for another breakthrough called functional encryption. With functional encryption, instead of sending an encrypted message, an encrypted function is sent in its place. This offers a much more secure way to protect information, Sahai said. Previous work on functional encryption was limited to supporting very few functions; the new work can handle any computable function.
For example, a single message could be sent to a group of people in such a way that each receiver would obtain different information, depending on characteristics of that particular receiver. In another example, a hospital could share the outcomes of treatment with researchers without revealing details such as identifying patient information.
"Through functional encryption, you only get the specific answer, you don't learn anything else," Sahai said.
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The UCLA-based researchers were funded in part by the National Science Foundation, a Xerox Faculty Research Award, a Google Faculty Research Award, an equipment grant from Intel and an Okawa Foundation Research Grant.
The UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, established in 1945, offers 28 academic and professional degree programs and has an enrollment of more than 5,000 students. The school's distinguished faculty are leading research to address many of the critical challenges of the 21st century, including renewable energy, clean water, health care, wireless sensing and networking, and cyber-security. Ranked among the top 10 engineering schools at public universities nationwide, the school is home to eight multimillion-dollar interdisciplinary research centers in wireless sensor systems, wireless health, nanoelectronics, nanomedicine, renewable energy, customized computing, the smart grid, and the Internet, all funded by federal and private agencies and individual donors.
(http://www.engineer.ucla.edu | http://www.twitter.com/uclaengineering)
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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) ? Deutsche Bank says its net profits fell by 50 percent in the second quarter, lowered by expenses for lawsuits against the company and by higher taxes.
Net profit fell to 335 million euros ($445 million) from 666 million euros a year ago.
The bank set aside 630 million euros to cover lawsuit losses and saw its effective tax rate jump to 58 percent from 31 percent a year ago.
The bank said Tuesday it was making progress in strengthening its finances to meet new regulatory demands and hold down costs.
Deutsche Bank faces legal challenges related to U.S. mortgage bonds and a scandal over rigging of a key interest rate benchmark by a number of banks. Its legal set asides have now reached 3 billion euros.
A church that fell into a parlous state after a century of neglect is one of the historic places of worship shortlisted for an English Heritage Angel Award.
St Alkmund's Shrewsbury, in Shropshire, was built in 1794 and is a Grade II listed building, but by 2000 it was in considerable need of repair. ?The roof was leaking, and the windows were falling apart, including the iron-framed east window containing glass by Francis Eginton. ?
In the following decade, the three surviving Coalbrookdale cast-iron windows were repaired, the entire nave roof was reslated and releaded, and the Eginton window was restored at a cost of ?150,000. ?
Toilets and kitchen facitlies were also added to the building to open it up for community use, and work was done to redecorate and improve the interior.?
The total cost of the most urgent repair work was ?1 million, of which English Heritage funded ?500,000. ?The remainder of the cost was met by a mix of grants and fundraising by the priest and parishioners. ?
The result is that St Alkmund's has been saved as a place of worship and has become a popular concert venue. ?
The church is up for an award in the Best Rescue or Repair of a Historic Place of Worship category.?
The other churches nominated in the category are Saltaire United Reformed Church, Bradford, St Andrew's Church, Epworth, and St James the Greater, Melton Mowbray.?
The rescue of Saltaire United Reformed Church, a Grade I listed building, has been led by its small but dedicated group of members, who came together to form a a restoration team in 2005 to oversee the work. ?Len Morris was singled out for praise for his "tireless" efforts in seeing the process through. ?Work has included repairing the portico canopy and steps, as well as window frames, safeguarding the 150-year-old Venetian glass. ?
The mausoleum of Sir Titus Salt had suffered water damage to the ornate plaster interior as a result of lead thefts, but the roof has now been restored using zinc instead to prevent further thefts. With the building in good condition after eight years of work, Morris is pressing ahead with plans to improve the church's facilities and disabled access. ?
At St Andrew's Epworth, extensive repairs have been made to correct damp and erosion to the masonry caused by a leaking roof and poor drainage. ?
The work has been overseen since 2002 by Melvyn Rose, whose role as chairman of the restoration committee has developed into a full-time voluntary position. ?The building is once again in sound condition following the completion of a programme of repairs that cost ?1.6 million. ?
St James the Greater was put at sudden and significant risk in 2006 by subterranean and water table issues. ?These exacerbated pre-existing water and drainage issues. ?By Christmas, the church had been forced to close because of concerns over structural instability, with the possibility that the closure would be permanent. ?
The repair work suffered considerable setbacks when the church was the victim of two separate lead thefts. ?However, the small community of Melton Mowbray rallied around and raised the funds to see the repairs through to the end. ?Work was finished this April and the church was reopened at the Easter Sunday service. ?Now the church is fundraising to carry out the redecoration and plastering of the interior.?
The Angel Awards were founded by Andrew Lloyd Webber and are supported by The Telegraph. ?The other categories are for the Best Craftmanship Employed on a Heritage Rescue, Best Rescue of a Historic Industrial Building or Site, and Best Rescue of Any Other Type of Historic Building or Site. ?
Members of the public are being invited to vote for their favourite rescue. ?Winners will be announced at a glittering award ceremony in London on 21 October hosted by TV presenter Paul Martin.?
Mr Lloyd Webber said: "I offer my heartfelt congratulations to the candidates shortlisted for this year's English Heritage Angel Awards who have been selected from a hugely impressive field of applicants.
"These Awards celebrate the time, energy and passion of volunteers across England who help to preserve our country's architectural heritage. Acknowledging these unsung heroes is incredibly important and has contributed to an increase in the number of sites being taken off English Heritage's At Risk register."
Simon Thurley, Chief Executive of English Heritage, said: "When heritage experts met recently to sift through almost 200 applications they were looking for passion, perseverance and imagination as well as the scale of the challenge and how well it had been tackled. What they found was that the quality of applications this year was higher than ever. We salute all these heroic heritage rescuers who prove that people not only care about their local heritage but are prepared to get stuck in and save it.
"With the aid of English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund, local authority conservation officers and countless other organisations - and sometimes simply on their own - our Angels applicants and thousands like them are tackling Heritage at Risk head on. As a nation enriched by its past, we should be truly grateful to our Angels for fighting the neglect and decay which threatens our future."
Medifund is a crowdfunding Web site that wants to increase the number of doctors in countries with a critical shortage by helping students afford medical tuition.?So far, the site, which is based in the Philippines and launched last month at Startup Weekend Cebu, has successfully completed the campaign of second-year medical student Kristine Bless, who raised PHP 25,000 (about $577 USD).
The Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Leader is accusing Egypt's military chief who forced former President Mohammed Morsi out of power of acting worse than Pharaoh, comparing his behavior in recent days to "the bitter Zionist enemies and their treacherous agents."
This latest tirade from Supreme Leader Mohammed Badie comes on the heels of bloody weekend clashes between supporters of Morsi and security forces that claimed the lives of 72 people, according to the Health Ministry, Egypt Independent reports.
Badie is accusing Defense Minister and Commander of the Egyptian Military Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of "committing massacres the likes of which we have only seen committed by the bitter Zionist enemies and their treacherous agents."
Mohammed-Badi-Egypt
Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohammad Badie (File photo: AP)
He also accused Israel of pulling the strings behind the scenes of the so-called Arab Spring protests that have gripped the Arab world for the past two years, attributing to the Jewish state expansionist ambitions. "Zionist fingers are at play in countries of the Arab Spring, so as to fulfill the vision of the Great Israel."
Badie continued with his theory, accusing the "Zionists" (i.e. Israel) of planting assassins in Libya and Tunisia to target more secular political activists opposed to Islamist rule.
Ynet reports that Badie suggested that Gen. Sisi is worse than the biblical Pharaoh. Badie said that Pharaoh killed children of believers and let women live, while Sisi and the security forces "are worse; you kill everybody."
The Egyptian presidency says it is "saddened" by the weekend bloodshed but linked the killings to "terrorism."
Al Arabiya reports that Mostafa Hegazy, an adviser to interim President Adly Mansour, told reporters, "We are saddened by the spilling of blood on the 27th." But he added "we cannot decouple this [incident] from the context of terrorism."
For their part, demonstrators and Morsi supporters accuse security forces of having used live fire against unarmed protesters on Saturday. Al Arabiya reports that the Interior Ministry insists security forces fired only tear gas.
An investigation has been launched into the circumstances behind Saturday's bloody events. Hegazy says the Egyptian leadership will "be taking a stance after investigation ends, regardless of whoever is found responsible."
But even before the investigation ends, he is calling the protest site in Cairo a "terror-originating spot," adding "There is a wave of terror and we will break this wave."
Besides Badie, other Brotherhood officials are also firing back against the new Egyptian leadership. Ynet reports that senior Freedom and Justice Party [linked with the Muslim Brotherhood] official Essam el-Erian posted on Facebook, "They will not be content until they bring back everything from the era of the corrupt, murderous security and intelligence state."
"They've stepped up their efforts to do so by committing massacres never before seen in Egyptian history," he added.
Badie has made a variety of anti-Israel statements in the past including a call for Muslims to wage "Holy Jihad" to conquer Jerusalem from Israel.
He has also referred to Jews repeatedly as "apes" and "pigs" in his speeches.? Here is one example cited by the Investigative Project: "The Zionists, the West and the lackey rulers conspired together. If the Muslim Brotherhood had remained in the field, the Zionist Entity would not have stood not its flag raised. Of old God forced the Jews to become pigs," Badie said in a 2010 sermon.
Psy ''did every animal'' before creating his infamous donkey dance.
The 'Gangnam Style' hitmaker worked with a group of choreographers for a month on the catchy routine and admits the moves could have been very different if it hadn't been for a chance viewing of a TV show.
He explained: ''We did every animal. We did this slithering on the floor that we called the snake dance. Then someone turned on the TV and there was a horse galloping across a yard.''
The Korean pop star has found global fame thanks to the catchy track but admits it is exhausting travelling the world and he hasn't seen his wife Yoo Hye-Yeon or their six-year-old twin daughters since April.
He told Sunday Times magazine: ''I've visited 20 countries and 50 cities. I'm not scared but it's too much. The flights!''
The 35-year-old singer smokes 60 cigarettes a day and confessed to drinking heavily.
He said: ''If I'm happy I'm drinking. If I'm sad I'd drinking. If it's raining, I'm drinking, if it's sunny I'm drinking. If it's hot, I'm drinking. If it's cold, I'm drinking.''
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) ? Organizers estimate that some 2 million people have come out to Copacabana beach for the final evening of World Youth day with Pope Francis.
Francis headed into the final hours of his first international trip riding a remarkable wave of popularity: Rio's mayor estimated that as many as 3 million people might turn out for his final Mass on Sunday, and by the time Francis' open-sided car reached the stage for Saturday night's vigil service, the back seat was piled high with soccer jerseys, flags and flowers tossed to him by adoring pilgrims lining the route.
The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said organizers had estimated 2 million people were on hand for the vigil. That's twice as many as there were at the last World Youth Day vigil in Madrid in 2011.
It now takes even less time to show off your mad shredding skills. With the 
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Public release date: 29-Jul-2013
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