Google Offers swings by the iPhone, saves dough for Apples

iPhone owners bummed that their Android-using friends were taking advantage of Google Offers they couldn't use can now level the playing field: an iOS port has just gone live. Much like its Google-native peer, the iPhone-optimized version can spot discounts in the neighborhood and will let you claim them on the spot. The chronically inattentive still get a lot of love in the process with both mentions of new offers and warnings for soon-to-expire deals. In keeping with Google Offers' current US-only focus, the app won't show outside of American borders just yet -- but if you've been thinking those yoga classes in Portland were a bit too dearly priced, your iPhone (and a well-timed sale) is now all it takes to set things right.

Google Offers swings by the iPhone, saves dough for Apples originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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European debt crisis hovers over G-20 summit in Mexico

Los Cabos, Mexico? European leaders at the G-20 summit struggled to reassure the world Monday that they were on the path to solving their continent's relentless economic crisis, defending the pace of their response even as market pressures pushed Spain closer to needing a bailout that would strain the world's ability to pay.

Before the summit began, U.S. President Barack Obama met Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss differences between the two countries on Syria.

Less than 24 hours after an election that eased fears of a Greek exit from the shared euro currency, the interest rate that Spain pays on its debt surged above the 7-percent level that had forced Greece, Portugal and Ireland to seek international help.

The prospect of a bailout for Spain's $1.39 trillion economy immediately eclipsed the good feeling at the G-20 from the election, and it dwarfed the host country Mexico's expressions of confidence that the meeting of the world's largest economies would lead to more than $430 billion in concrete commitment for the International Monetary Fund as insurance against future bailouts.

Later, the leaders of the world's largest economies agreed to step up their efforts to boost growth and job creation, which they call the top priority in fighting the effects of the European economic crisis, according to a draft of the statement to be released today at the end of the annual meeting.

The draft obtained by the Associated Press on Monday places the G-20 on the side of those who have been arguing for a focus on job creation, including through government spending.

Earlier Monday, Obama and Putin agreed that Syrians should choose their own next government, marking a subtle shift for both the U.S. and Russia as they confront the prospect that Russia's main ally in the Mideast could slide into civil war.

Sharing pledges of common ground, Obama and Putin met for the first time since the Russian leader returned to the presidency last month.

The two leaders "agreed that we need to see a cessation of the violence, that a political process has to be created to prevent civil war and the kind of horrific events that we've seen over the last several weeks," Obama said. Putin, seated next to Obama following the private meeting, said: "We've been able to find many commonalities" on Syria.

But Putin offered no specifics on what those were, and it was unclear how much the closed two-hour talk did to close strategic gaps about how to end the violence.

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Google completes buyout of Magnolia Broadband patents, puts a little extra protection under its belt

Magnolia Broadband revealed that Google was buying some of its patents at the start of June, but to say that its confirmation was brief would be an understatement. It's being more verbose now that the transaction has been cleared: Google now owns over 50 patents for beamforming wireless signals. Magnolia characterizes the techniques as important to making the best use of cellular connections, which could well be helpful to a company that just bought Motorola. Having said this, we can't help but think that the various patent battles of Google's recent acquisition may play a part; obtaining cellular-specific patents would give potential attackers a reason to think twice.

Continue reading Google completes buyout of Magnolia Broadband patents, puts a little extra protection under its belt

Google completes buyout of Magnolia Broadband patents, puts a little extra protection under its belt originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 14:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hungary says central bank deal would allow talks

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AP Exclusive: Feds: Design led to nuke plant woes

CAPISTRANO BEACH, Calif. (AP) ? After months of investigation, federal regulators have determined that design flaws appear to be the cause of excessive wear in tubing that carries radioactive water through California's troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant, a top federal regulator said.

The twin-reactor plant between Los Angeles and San Diego has been idle since January, after a tube break in one of four, massive steam generators released traces of radiation. A team of federal investigators was dispatched to the plant in March after the discovery that some tubes were so badly corroded that they could fail and possibly release radiation, a stunning finding inside the virtually new equipment.

Flaws in fabrication or installation were considered as possible sources of the rapid tube decay but "it looks primarily we are pointed toward the design" of the heavily modified generators, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Administrator Elmo Collins told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday.

Collins couldn't rule out that one or more of the generators, installed in a $670 million overhaul in 2009 and 2010, might have to be replaced.

Eight tubes failed during earlier pressure tests in the Unit 3 reactor and "we have not seen that in the industry before," Collins said.

"It's these four steam generators that either have, or are susceptible to, this type of problem," Collins said, referring to the unusual damage caused when alloy tubes vibrate and rattle against each other or brackets that hold them in place.

So far, a fix has remained elusive.

"It's not too hard to frame up the problem," he added. "The answers are very difficult, or they already would have emerged."

The disclosure will rivet new attention on a series of alterations to the equipment design, including the decision to add 400 tubes to each generator and installing V-shaped supports that were intended to minimize tube wear and vibration.

It's possible operator Southern California Edison could face penalties stemming from the federal investigation, Collins said.

The generators were designed to meet a federal test to qualify as "in-kind," or essentially identical, replacements for the original generators, which would allow them to be installed without prior approval from federal regulators.

An environmental group, Friends of the Earth, has claimed Edison misled the NRC about the changes that it has identified as the likely culprit in excessive tube wear. The federal agency previously disputed that charge, but Collins said that's under review as part of the investigation. The group on Monday filed a petition asking the NRC to keep the plant offline until the company amends its license to reflect the design changes.

Inside the guts of the machinery, the original steam generators and the replacements "look substantially different," Collins added.

The NRC is scheduled to discuss its findings Monday evening at a meeting near the plant.

Collins said safety would remain the first consideration at San Onofre. About 7.4 million Californians live within 50 miles of San Onofre, which can power 1.4 million homes.

"These are significant technical issues. They are not resolved yet," Collins said.

Cracked and corroded generator tubing has vexed the nation's nuclear industry for years.

Decaying generator tubes helped push San Onofre's Unit 1 reactor into retirement in 1992, even though it was designed to run until 2004. The following year, the Trojan nuclear plant, near Portland, Ore., was shuttered because of microscopic cracks in steam generator tubes, cutting years off its expected lifespan. Westinghouse Electric Corp. weathered a legal battle with five utilities in the 1990s that wanted the company to replace steam generators it manufactured for the Beaver Valley nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania after tubing corroded.

But the troubled San Onofre generators, manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, might be a unique case because of the extensive modifications. Only one other U.S. nuclear plant uses Mitsubishi generators, the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station, about 20 miles north of Omaha, but its generators are smaller than those at San Onofre and have not displayed excessive tube decay, federal officials say.

The cause of the unusual wear has been eagerly anticipated, as Edison prepares to submit a proposal to the NRC to restart one or both of the reactors. The company has suggested the reactors would run for a test period under reduced power to reduce vibration.

"The phenomenon that we think causes this tube-to-tube interaction is definitely proportional to the power," Collins said. "At least in some theoretical sense, that might be part of the answer."

The company has announced that 510 tubes have been plugged, or retired from use, in the Unit 2 reactor, and 807 tubes in its sister, Unit 3. Each of the generators has nearly 10,000 tubes, and the number retired is well within the limit allowed to continue operation.

What's at issue is why so many tubes degraded so quickly, when the design changes were intended to improve the plant's performance and longevity.

The steam generators ? two in each reactor ? function something like a car radiator, which controls heat in the vehicle's engine. The generator tubes circulate hot, radioactive water from the reactors, which then heats non-radioactive water surrounding them. That makes steam, which is used to turn turbines to make electricity.

The tubes have to be thin enough to transfer heat, but thick enough to hold up under heavy pressure. They represent a critical safety barrier ? if a tube breaks, there is the potential that radioactivity can escape into the atmosphere. Also, serious leaks can drain protective cooling water from a reactor.

The trouble began to unfold in January, when the Unit 3 reactor was shut down as a precaution after a tube break. Traces of radiation escaped at the time, but officials said there was no danger to workers or neighbors. Unit 2 had been taken offline earlier that month for maintenance, but investigators later found unexpected wear in tubes in both units.

The NRC has said there is no timetable to restart the reactors.

Edison has been facing pressure from some nearby communities and anti-nuclear activists that have raised safety concerns, while the company looks for a solution to the tube problem and a path to restarting the plant, an important source of power in Southern California. The design of the generators is also under congressional scrutiny.

The plant is owned by SCE, San Diego Gas & Electric and the city of Riverside. The Unit 1 reactor operated from 1968 to 1992, when it was shut down and dismantled.

___

Follow Michael R. Blood at http://twitter.com/MichaelRBloodAP

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Refresh Roundup: week of June 11th, 2012

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of June 11th, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of June 11th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Jun 2012 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pakistani court rules PM disqualified from office

FILE - In this Thursday, April 26, 2012 file photo, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani waves upon his arrival at the Supreme Court for a hearing in Islamabad, Pakistan. Pakistan's top court declared on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 that the country's prime minister was disqualified from office due to an earlier contempt conviction, delivering what appeared to be fatal blow against the premier's political career and ushering in political turmoil. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, April 26, 2012 file photo, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani waves upon his arrival at the Supreme Court for a hearing in Islamabad, Pakistan. Pakistan's top court declared on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 that the country's prime minister was disqualified from office due to an earlier contempt conviction, delivering what appeared to be fatal blow against the premier's political career and ushering in political turmoil. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, April 26, 2012 file photo, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, center, surrounded by guards, leaves the Supreme court following a hearing in Islamabad, Pakistan. Pakistan's top court declared on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 that the country's prime minister was disqualified from office due to an earlier contempt conviction, delivering what appeared to be fatal blow against the premier's political career and ushering in political turmoil. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, April 26, 2012 file photo, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani waves upon his arrival at the Supreme Court for a hearing in Islamabad, Pakistan. Pakistan's top court declared on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 that the country's prime minister was disqualified from office due to an earlier contempt conviction, delivering what appeared to be fatal blow against the premier's political career and ushering in political turmoil. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash, File)

ISLAMABAD (AP) ? Pakistan's top court dismissed the prime minister for contempt on Tuesday, ushering in a new round of political turmoil in a nation vital to American hopes of withdrawing from Afghanistan.

The Supreme Court ruling was a major escalation in a long-running confrontation between the judges and the government, and appeared to be a knockout blow against Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani, effectively dismissing his Cabinet as well.

A spokesman for Gilani's Pakistan People's Party, Zaman Kaira, acknowledged that Gilani "was no longer prime minister" but didn't say what the government would do now.

Gilani and his party, the largest in the ruling coalition, held an emergency meeting to discuss the ruling.

In the past, the party has said it would have the numbers in parliament to elect a new premier if Gilani was ousted by the court. Some suggested that Gilani and his boss, President Asif Ali Zardari, might try to resist the order. That could spark institutional deadlock and social unrest, even raising the possibility of the army staging a coup as it has done three times in the country's past.

The political chaos comes amid a near breakdown in relations between the United States and Pakistan, whose ties to the Afghan Taliban make it important in any negotiated settlement in neighboring Afghanistan. Washington wants Pakistan to reopen supply lines to Afghanistan that were blocked in November to protest U.S. airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani border troops. The latest upheaval makes a speedy resolution more unlikely.

The Supreme Court ordered the country's election commission to formally dismiss Gilani and said he had not legally been the prime minister since April 26, when the court convicted him for contempt for refusing to open a corruption probe against Zardari dating back to the 1990s and involving the jurisdiction of courts in Switzerland.

"The office of the prime minister shall be deemed to be vacant accordingly," said Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudry, who then ordered Zardari to begin the process of electing a new premier.

The ruling was the culmination of a process that began in a Supreme Court decision in 2009 ordering the government to ask authorities in Switzerland to reopen the cases against Zardari. Gilani refused, saying the president had immunity from prosecution so long as he was in office, and in January the court ordered contempt proceedings against him.

Gilani has been refusing to step down, saying he has done nothing wrong and accusing the Supreme Court's chief justice of having a vendetta against him and his party. It was unclear whether the government could appeal the court decision.

Fawad Chaudhry, an adviser to the prime minister, said Gilani would continue working as premier and any final decision about his fate would be taken by the parliament. He did not elaborate.

"The Supreme Court cannot disqualify the prime minister like this," he said.

In the world of Pakistani politics, the court order against Gilani could become an advantage to his and Zardari's party in elections that have to be called before early next year. It will likely portray the case against Gilani as the latest in a long line of unjust decisions by the courts and the army and use it to fire up the party's base ahead of elections. Party founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged by the court in 1979.

Rasul Bakhsh Rais, a professor at Lahore University of Management Science, said Zardari's government was unlikely to accept the court's decision.

"The political situation is not likely to be decided very peacefully I am afraid. It will be decided by demonstrations," he said.

If Gilani does not step down, the Supreme Court could call on the president or the military to enforce the decision, Rais said. "Pakistan is in a real mess."

_____

Associated Press Writers Rebecca Santana and Munir Ahmed contributed to this report from Islamabad.

Associated Press

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