Police combat crime with gadgets

(Mike Koozmin/Special to The Examiner)
Millbrae police Officer Stephen O’Malley uses the new Panasonic Arbitrator digital video camera system and a Panasonic Toughbook laptop computer with GPS in a squad car at the Millbrae Police Station on Monday.

Millbrae, Calif. (Map, News) - New cutting-edge technology will help Millbrae police stage an ongoing “Cops” episode and allow officers to respond more quickly to crimes and emergencies.

New laptops and digital video cameras added this month to two of nine patrol cars will be used to make crime fighting more effective and expedite administrative work, said Cmdr. Marc Farber. The other cars will get the new systems soon, he said.

The widescreen cameras will automatically start recording each time an officer turns on the patrol car's emergency lights, capturing any action in front of the car, such as field sobriety tests for potential drunken drivers. It can also back-record anything up to 15 minutes before the lights are turned on.

The video images appear on the laptop screen, and together they can make DVDs to play in court as evidence against criminals and to protect police accused of misconduct.

The laptops are also valuable because officers can file reports from their cars, which allows them to stay in the field so they can respond more quickly to an emergency or breaking crime. Previously, officers had to return to the station to write reports.

That advantage is important because the police force is shrinking, while the population expands, said former Millbrae police Sgt. Rich Dixon, who retired four years ago but worked part time until recently.

“If you’ve got a guy inside doing a report and only one guy roaming around, that’s less coverage you have out in the city,” Dixon said. “This is the way it should be. This way you keep all your officers on the street.”

Police can also use the computers to look up photos for suspects without identification, as well as research DMV files using license plate numbers, both of which keep radio traffic down, Farber said.

The total system costs about $11,000 per vehicle, he said.

“It’s kind of like a full-service office on wheels,” Farber said. “We here at Millbrae are trying to stay on the cutting edge of technology for our officers.”

When cruisers arrive back at the station, an antenna automatically records all the information from their camera and stores it for one year.

The equipment should be comforting to Millbrae residents, considering “there is nothing more important” than public safety in the city, Vice Mayor Nadia Holober said.

The tools should increase report accuracy and allow officers to do their jobs without having to juggle with recording, she said.

http://www.examiner.com/a-1017849~Police_combat_crime_with_gadgets.html

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The Los Angeles Lakers step into the 2007-08 National Basketball Association season with trade talk swirling around superstar Kobe

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The Los Angeles Lakers step into the 2007-08 National Basketball Association season with trade talk swirling around superstar Kobe Bryant.

Bryant, whose epic scoring exploits have proved inadequate to take the Lakers back to the NBA Finals, took Lakers management to task as far back as May for failing to bring in enough talent to support him in a playoff run, saying he wanted to be traded.

Things simmered down slightly during a summer in which Bryant helped the United States storm through the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament.

But talk of Bryant's possible - or in some reports imminent - departure was rampant as training camps wound up.

While the Lakers said Bryant was expected to play when the Lakers open the season at home to Houston on Tuesday, team owner Jerry Buss apparently raised his superstar's hackles in early October when he sid the team "would certainly listen" to trade offers.

Bryant is in his 12th season with the Lakers. He has four years remaining on an 88.6 million-dollar contract that will pay him some 19 million dollars this season.

Bryant will have the option to leave in two years, and even though Buss has said he would entertain offers for the player who currently defines the franchise, any team would have a hard time coming up with suitable trade material.

There was talk that the Dallas Mavericks, hugely disappointed in the first round of the playoffs last season after falling in the Finals the year before, might do well to make a play for him.
The Phoenix Suns, another Western Conference contender that has failed to get over the hump in the past two seasons, have been mentioned, along with a maturing Chicago Bulls team in the Eastern Conference.

ESPN.com cited unnamed sources in reporting Saturday that the Lakers and Bulls had been in "daily discussions" about a possible Bryant trade, and that the Lakers wanted "a package built around Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah."

The Chicago Tribune, however, reported that while the teams have talked, no such package has been specifically discussed.

Certainly the appeal of Chicago for Bryant would have to be dimmed if the Bulls' were drained of their emerging talent when he arrived, leaving him in essentially the same position he faces in Los Angeles.

Since Bryant has a no-trade clause that would let him veto a move, it remains to be seen how any team that wants him can satisfy the Lakers and still tempt Bryant.

As Bryant nursed a sprained right wrist in the final weekend before the season, Lakers coach Phil Jackson told the Los Angeles Times on Sunday that he wasn't convinced Bryant was committed to the Lakers campaign.

"It was my feeling, from a conversation with Kobe that he was going to work at this thing and put his full being into this," Jackson said. "Right now he's having a hard time doing that."
"You don't have to worry about that," Bryant retorted. "I'm ready to play."

Still, Jackson said, the uncertainty has affected the Lakers, leaving Bryant's teammates "confused."

"I think there's a certain sense of how does this all fit all together, which is natural because they haven't seen a situation like this before," Jackson said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071028/ts_alt_afp/basketnbalakersbryant_071028224548

Judge finally beats La Salle, now focusing on soccer playoffs

(La Salle's Patrick Sinnott (left) and Father Judge's John Myers battle for ball.)

As the referee blew his whistle one final time, signifying the game's end, the Father Judge soccer team sprinted to midfield, where they exchanged emphatic high-fives.

It wasn't an overwhelming celebration, but it was celebration nonetheless.

The Crusaders had defeated La Salle for the first time in 5 years, 2-1, on their home turf. More importantly, the Cruasders remained undefeated in Catholic League play, at 12-0-1. La Salle fell to 11-2-0.

Despite the emotional win, the Crusaders know they haven't won anything yet. And the two-time defending champion Explorers know they still have time to recover.

"We just met the challenge today," Judge coach John Dunlap said. "I think we wanted it a bit little more in the first half and got the edge."

"J.D. [Dunlap] and I have been around long enough to know that the big games are yet to come," La Salle coach Robert Peffle said. "But certainly in the standings and the battle for first place, sure, it's a big game. The players on both teams know that. The good part about this big game is, there still are games to go."

Senior forward Wayne Maminski put Judge on the board only a few minutes into the game and the Crusaders never looked back. Rich Romano, a senior midfielder, added another goal midway through the first half as the Crusaders shut out La Salle in the opening session.

Patrick Sinnott netted a score for the Explorers early in the second half, but that was all the scoring La Salle could muster.

Maminski's goal was his team-high 22nd, which he flicked over the head of La Salle's goalie for a 1-0 lead.

"Maminski's such a good player," Peffle said. "He plays the game the right way. He'll attack you. If you double him, he's going to lay it off to somebody else and then quickly move to get it back."

The Crusaders kept the ball in La Salle's zone for much of the first half, applying pressure from the flanks.

"Everyone was talking, everyone was really hyped before the game - focused," Maminski said. "We were just moving the ball really good. Everyone was talking, organized. When all that stuff works out, you're set for a good half."

Romano capped the half with his goal, which came on a pass John Myers placed 2 yards in front of the net. That gave Judge a 2-0 lead at halftime.

The Explorers adjusted their defense by applying more pressure to the sides, forcing Judge to attack from the center. La Salle got right back in the game when Sinnott scored shortly into the second half, cutting the lead to 2-1.

"We always start off good, but then we slack off," Romano said. "Once we get a lead we have to keep up the pressure the whole 80 minutes."

The Explorers scattered a few scoring opportunities throughout the remainder of the game, but they couldn't find the net and the Crusaders held onto first place.

"We don't score a lot of goals," Peffle said. "We win a lot of close games. To go down two against a really good squad like Judge is tough to come back."

Judge has two more games remaining before the league playoffs begin on Nov. 3, but is focused simply on attaining the top seed.

"It's playoff time now," Dunlap said. "You can start to feel the weather changing and we want to take it to the next level. Today playing La Salle, we knew this was a playoff game and we want to match that level."

If Judge indeed captures the No. 1 seed, and La Salle grabs the No. 2 spot, a potential rematch could occur for the championship on Nov. 17.

"There's a lot of soccer that has to go, if we play them again somewhere," Peffle said. "If we do, that will be great. That means we've survived a few playoff games." *

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20071025_Judge_finally_beats_La
_Salle__now_focusing_on_soccer_playoffs.html

Nintendo Wii Review: NBA Live 08

After bringing other EA Sports franchises to the Wii, the NBA Live franchise makes its debut in NBA Live 08. All things considered, this definitely looks and feels like a first attempt by EA to make a basketball game on the Wii. There are things that need to be fixed in next year’s game, and it feels more like a foundation to build on for NBA Live 09, but it’s still an okay game.

NBA Live 08 features two Wii-specific modes: a challenge mode, where you find yourself in the shoes of NBA superstars, having to complete in-game challenges. Also added is a party mode that is basically just the NBA All-Star weekend games from previous NBA Live installments. Unfortunately, create-a-player and dynasty modes are victims of party and challenge mode’s inclusions in the Wii port, as they didn’t make the cut.

The main focal point of Live 08 is the controls and whether they’re better or not. In some areas, they are better. Free body control, which is in the other versions of the game, is missing from this version. The Wii remote is programmed to be used in several motions, most notably for things like shooting, blocking, stealing and making lay-ups. While the movements are easy to make, the only downside is that everyone seems to be able to shoot with the same ease and skill. Even big guys like Shaquille O’Neal can shoot better than their real-life counterparts, and EA needs to fix this in the next Wii installment. Family Play also rears its ugly head with the same result: the game is basically played for you. It’s still lame.

For the slam dunk competition, you have to select a dunk from a predetermined list, each with point values. Then, you move the Wii remote in different directions, with the game gauging both that it was moved correctly and quickly enough. The better you do, the higher your dunk score. I’ll be bluntly honest – this feels ten times better than doing it on the DualShock or 360 controller. You don’t have the same control over movement, but it’s far less complicated.

The game’s graphics do seem old, but they’re better than on the PS2 version, so if you can handle the game looking like it’s from NBA Live 06 (and they weren’t too bad then), then this shouldn’t be a problem. As for sound, it’s crisp and perhaps the most well done part of the game, from the in-game sounds all the way to the soundtrack.

Online game play is around this time, but like Madden 08, it’s just not very good yet. Most of the replay value will come from offline multiplayer gaming in things like the slam dunk contest. Outside of just playing the game or party mode, there’s not a whole lot of replay value.

This is EA’s first shot at developing a NBA Live title on the Wii, and while there are things missing, a good foundation has been laid for future Wii versions. There aren’t full-body controls, and the graphics could use improvement, but this isn’t meant to be a direct port of the PS2, 360 and PS3 versions. There is definite room for improvement, and I hope EA takes the time to make NBA Live 09 for the Wii a great game, but as it stands now, NBA Live 08 on the Wii is a pretty average game.

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/10/25/224358.php

After a year of losses and lacklustre launches, Motorola is relying on Razr2

(The Motorola V9M Razr2 cell phone. With a sleek design and an even sleeker advertising campaign, Motorola is banking on its new Razr2 to pump up anemic sales. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Motorola Inc.)

CHICAGO - With a sleek design and an even sleeker advertising campaign, Motorola Inc. is banking on its new Razr2 cellphone to pump up anemic sales and provide a rosier future after a yearlong slump punctuated by back-to-back losses.

After a first half that may have put CEO Ed Zander's future employment into question, the end of Motorola's rough patch may be in sight.

"We indeed believe the worst is over," Citigroup analyst Jim Suva wrote in a research note last week.

But analysts say the cellphone maker needs a steady string of follow-ups to stay alive in an industry now dominated by products crammed with cutting edge features and software.

Consumers seem to agree: One group on the social networking site Facebook snarkily calls itself "My Motorola makes a better coaster than a phone."

Rival Samsung Electronics Co. overtook Motorola this summer to secure the No. 2 spot among cellphone manufacturers worldwide. Finland's Nokia Corp. remains the far-and-away leader. Some analysts say Motorola's market share has continued to erode and dropped back to 11 per cent in the third quarter, from 22 per cent last year.

Motorola hasn't had much luck on Wall Street either, where its stock has plunged 20 per cent since last fall.

"If they have another miss this quarter, the pressure is going to be huge on the board to do something," said Eric Jackson, a Naples, Fla., shareholder who launched the grass roots initiative called "Plan B" that calls for Zander's resignation, among other changes. "You only get to say 'mea culpa' so many times."

Wall Street analysts expect earnings to hit four cents per share on revenue of US$8.8 billion when the Schaumburg, Ill.-based company reports third-quarter earnings Thursday.

Any third-quarter profit would be driven by Motorola's hand-held business devices and high-tech home entertainment gadgets: The company has said its cellphone unit will remain unprofitable until at least 2008.

This is the same company whose original Razr was the cellphone of choice just two years ago, nearly doubling the company's market share in 18 months. But the company's decision to dramatically slash prices in order to maintain market share sent the company's profits into a free fall in the absence of another slam-dunk phone in its portfolio.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect annual revenue to fall 14 per cent this year to $36.7 billion and earnings per share to drop 84 per cent to 19 cents.

"Our primary criticism of Motorola's execution over the past three years has been this lack of steady stream of follow-on products," Bill Choi, an analyst at Jeffries & Co., wrote in a research note.

The Razr2's prospects to succeed where phones like the Rizr and Rokr have fallen flat remain uncertain. Sales figures aren't available, but Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Lawrence Harris told investors this week that Razr2 seems to be off to a slow start, lagging older Razr and Krzr models in the U.S. after two months on the market.

Experts say the company didn't seem to learn from past mistakes in its cellphone unit. A decade ago, when Motorola didn't plan a follow-up to its successful StarTac phone - one of the country's first popular flip phones - it found itself trailing competitors.

Motorola's struggles come as its rivals in the cellphone market are mostly thriving.

Nokia, buoyed by strong sales in India and China, nearly doubled its third-quarter earnings compared to last year. Apple Inc. has sold nearly 1.4 million iPhones since late June and predicts it will sell 10 million next year. And smart-phone rival Research in Motion Ltd., which makes the ubiquitous BlackBerry, has seen its stock price more than double this year.

Motorola executives say the cellphone unit is back on track after what Stu Reed, who replaced Ron Garriques this summer as its leader, called a "harsh lesson."

"The portfolio from now on you'll hear about is a wave, a drumbeat," Reed said during the annual meeting with analysts in September. "And it won't be a one-hit wonder, it'll be a multitude of products."

Motorola announced nine new handsets this month, including a holiday edition of the Razr2 with gold-plated accents and the Moto U9, a lightweight phone and music player that includes a camera and multiple messaging capabilities. Moto U9 is pegged for Asia, Latin America and Europe. Analysts expect more high-end products next year.

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/technology/071024/z102413A.html

Tour de France promises new rules, course for 2008

(Michael Rasmussen climbs the ascent of the Aubisque pass during the 16th stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday, July 25, 2007. (AP / Christophe Ena))

PARIS -- The Tour de France will have revamped rules and a slightly less mountainous but hopefully more exciting course in 2008, organizers announced Thursday, looking to inject fresh enthusiasm into cycling's doping-battered showcase race.

After the drug lows of the past two Tours, riders will cross a geographical high in 2008, scaling Europe's highest mountain pass, the 2,802-metre Col de la Bonette-Restefond. Last climbed by the Tour in 1993, it is one of 19 major mountain passes that riders will tackle, two less than in 2007.

And for the first time since 1967, the race will start with a full road stage -- 195 kilometres from Brest to Plumelec in Brittany -- instead of an opening individual time-trial race against the clock that had become traditional. The goal: to give more riders, and not just time-trial experts, the chance to compete for the race lead and its coveted yellow jersey from the very start.

Adding further unpredictability to the mix, organizers have done away with time bonuses that were awarded to the fastest finishers each day and those who were among the first at other fixed points along the route. That rule change, especially in the high mountains which often open up large time gaps between riders, could lead to a tighter and more suspenseful and open Tour.

The July 5-27 Tour will cover 3,550 kilometres, with 21 stages and two rest days. The first of two time trials will come on day 4. The second comes on the penultimate day, to fix the finishing order before the race concludes with its habitual processional final ride to the Champs-Elysees in Paris, when the winner often sips champagne in the saddle as he rides.

"The idea was really to break the classic scenarios,'' Tour director Christian Prudhomme said. "I am convinced that cycling will rediscover its romanticism that made it a legend.''

It needs to. Drug scandals have pushed the sport into crisis, denting sponsors' enthusiasm and television viewership. The 2006 Tour winner, Floyd Landis, was stripped of the title for failing a doping test. This year's edition was a doping debacle, with race leader Michael Rasmussen sent home for skipping drug tests and favorite Alexandre Vinokourov testing positive for a banned blood transfusion.

Cycling has responded with new anti-doping measures announced this week.

Prudhomme said it was "inconceivable'' that any rider would be allowed to start next year without signing on to perhaps the most important measure -- a series of tests that will allow drug-testers to build a blood profile for each athlete. If follow-up tests show significant changes to that profile -- which could be caused by drug use -- riders could be barred from racing.

Prudhomme called the program "a real progress in the fight against doping.''

"We're setting off with good hope,'' said Jean-Francois Pescheux, another senior Tour official. "We have to because otherwise cycling is heading for catastrophe. If the 2008 season is a repeat of 2007 and 2006 it's the end of cycling and I think everyone is aware of that.''

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071025/tour_france
_071025/20071025?hub=World

NBA Announces John Salmons' Arm is Now Part of the Ball

LOS ANGELES, October 25 -- The National Basketball Association announced Thursday it will debut a new ball at the start of the 2007-08 regular season after a successful test run in an October 24 preseason game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Sacramento Kings.

The new ball will still be made out of the leather, but John Salmons' forearm will be attached to it.

"We're very excited about the possibilities John Salmons' forearm adds to the game," said David Stern, NBA commissioner. "It added complexity to the Clippers and Kings game, especially in the final seconds. With the old ball, that would have been a foul when Cuttino Mobley raked John across the arm in the act of shooting a three to win the game. A foul would have led to free throws deciding the game, and that's not exciting. With the new ball, John's forearm is fair game. It makes for a better product."

The Clippers led 92-90 with seconds left when Salmons attempted a three-pointer. He incited Mobley to leap with a pump fake, and then went up. Replays showed Mobley clearly grabbing Salmons' forearm, causing the shot to come up short.

"I thought Cat really grasped the impact of the new ball and how that figured in our defensive strategy," said Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy. "We practiced that play in our shootaround, and it really paid off for us."

The new ball did cause some problems for the players, however. The forearm attached to the ball caused some problems dribbling and shooting. In one instance, Francisco Garcia attempted to receive a pass and got poked in the eye by the ball's wayward pinkie. Brad Miller attempted to use the ball to his advantage in the first quarter, by whipping the ball to a teammate by holding onto the forearm, as with a lacrosse racket. The ball came detached from the forearm, however, causing a short delay in play.

With his one remaining arm, Salmons shot 6-10 and scored 13 points.

http://www.sactownroyalty.com/story/2007/10/25/102914/32