This screen grab provided by Google Inc. on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 shows the newly reprogrammed YouTube website. The facelift, unveiled Thursday, is the latest step in YouTube's attempt to make the Internet's most popular video site as easy to navigate and as compelling to watch as cable TV. In the process, YouTube owner Google Inc. hopes to make money selling ads. (AP Photo/Google Inc.)
This screen grab provided by Google Inc. on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 shows the newly reprogrammed YouTube website. The facelift, unveiled Thursday, is the latest step in YouTube's attempt to make the Internet's most popular video site as easy to navigate and as compelling to watch as cable TV. In the process, YouTube owner Google Inc. hopes to make money selling ads. (AP Photo/Google Inc.)
This screen grab provided by Google Inc. on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011 shows the old YouTube website. A newly reprogrammed YouTube website unveiled Thursday is the latest step in YouTube's attempt to make the Internet's most popular video site as easy to navigate and as compelling to watch as cable TV. In the process, YouTube owner Google Inc. hopes to make money selling ads. (AP Photo/Google Inc.)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? YouTube has reprogrammed its website to make it easier for viewers to find and watch their favorite channels.
The facelift, unveiled Thursday, is the latest step in YouTube's attempt to make the Internet's most popular video site as easy to navigate and as compelling to watch as cable TV. In the process, YouTube owner Google Inc. hopes to make money selling ads.
As part of the redesign, YouTube is replacing its staid white background with a touch of gray.
The changes are part of the biggest renovation that YouTube has undertaken since Google bought the site for $1.76 billion five years ago.
Although Google has been steadily adding more frills to YouTube since that acquisition, the videos on the site often were stitched in a crazy quilt that often required visitors to do a lot of searching to find what they wanted.
Google also has been sprucing up other products in recent months, including its Gmail service and news section.
YouTube's website has been reorganized to display three main vertical columns instead of scattering clips in horizontal rows.
The left of the page is devoted to a column that can be customized to feature a viewer's favorite channels and monitor the videos being posted by their friends on social networks, including Facebook ? a rival to Google's own Plus service.
The effort to highlight channels comes a few weeks after YouTube agreed to invest $100 million in original programming from about 100 celebrities, media companies and video entrepreneurs. Most of these channels will debut next year. YouTube hopes additional advertising will enable it to reap a profit from the investment.
The middle of YouTube's new home page is where videos can be played. The selection will change as viewers click on a different channel included in their lists in the left column. The far right column will recommend other videos, based on what kind of clips that viewers have watched in the past.
Bringing more professionally-produced content and more organization to YouTube has become more important since last year's introduction of Google TV ? an attempt to seamlessly blend conventional television programming with Web surfing. YouTube's more streamlined look might make the site more attractive to watch on large-screen TVs using Google's product or other connections to the Internet.
Google TV has struggled so far, partly because major Hollywood networks such as News Corp.'s Fox and The Walt Disney Co.'s ABC have blocked their content from the platform because they think it will undercut their advertising revenue and fees from pay-TV distributors such as Comcast Corp. and DirecTV.
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Online:
YouTube's explanation for the redesign: http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/
The floor of Silicon Valley is littered with the carcasses of failed search startups. Without billions of dollars in resources like Microsoft or a tight vertical focus like travel site Kayak to help attract users, would-be competitors haven't been able to pull people away from Google. Helioid is a small startup out of New York that's trying to change that, by delivering results tied to categories of information. It's aiming at students, professionals and others who are trying to do exploratory research across a topic, and aren't just looking for a specific answer to a question. Its search results page shows a color-coded section on the left-hand side for the categories that it determines are most related to the search term. Each result has a dot next to it matching one of these categories, and a label showing the relative size of that category, with the most relevant ones at the top of the section.
Jason Segel and Robert Pattinson are both handsome and charming, and they both star in newly released films that are currently competing at the box office. Plus, the star of The Muppets and the leading vampire of Breaking Dawn -- Part 1 are both wildly popular among iVillage readers.
Seismology tip sheet for Dec. 2011: BSSAPublic release date: 1-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Nan Broadbent nan0604@msn.com 408-431-9885 Seismological Society of America
Dec. 2011 BSSA: Monitoring the earthquake source process in North America; fractured bedrock may amplify shaking; and historic 1909 quake near Montana/Canada re-assessed
Please cite the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA) as the source of this information.
Monitoring the Earthquake Source Process in North America
Earthquake monitoring has yielded a rich database quantifying the last 30 years of activity, particularly moderate and larger quakes in active seismic zones. Now scientists have implemented procedures to routinely determine earthquake source information for the smaller magnitude earthquakes typically observed in central and eastern North America.
The benefits of the approach are reduced uncertainty in earthquake magnitude, improved source depth estimates and information about the tectonic stresses that cause the earthquakes. These parameters, in turn, contribute to assessing seismic hazards by constraining ground motion and source scaling relations impact assessment products such as PAGER -- Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response.
This study applied two techniques for source inversion to earthquakes with reported magnitude greater than 3.5 in continental North America to create a catalog that includes 400 new well-calibrated moment magnitudes and source parameters for earthquakes. The catalog provides new detailed information on systematic variations in faulting styles and geometry for central and eastern regions of North America.
"Monitoring the Earthquake Source Process in North America," by Robert B. Herrmann at Saint Louis University, Harley Benz at U.S. Geological Survey and Charles J. Ammon at Penn State.
Corresponding author: Robert B. Herrmann, Saint Louis University, rbh@eas.slu.edu, 314-977-3120.
Fractured bedrock may amplify shaking, complicating seismic hazard assessments
Strong earthquakes may induce fracturing of bedrock that amplifies shaking during subsequent seismic events, increasing the likelihood of future rockslides and other earthquake-triggered slope failures, suggests a study of a large, unstable rock slope in Randa, Switzerland.
Unconsolidated soil and sedimentary basins are known to amplify shaking, but bedrock is generally thought to be stable. But at Randa, located within the most seismically active area in Switzerland, scientists evaluated ground motion recordings during small earthquakes and found that fracturing of the rock mass can amplify ground motion by up to a factor of ten.
"Site Effects in Unstable Rock Slopes: Dynamic Behavior of the Randa Instability (Switzerland)," by Jeffrey Moore, Valentin Gischig, Jan Burjanek, Simon Loew and Donat Faeh of ETH Zurich.
Historic 1909 earthquake near Montana/Canada re-assessed
A new study locates the May 16, 1909 earthquake near the Montana-Saskatchewan border along an extension of the mapped 186-mile long Hinsdale fault in Montana, suggesting local seismic hazards may be greater than previously recognized.
The largest historical earthquake in the northern Great Plains of North America, the estimated magnitude 5.3-5.4 earthquake was felt in the states of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming in the United States and in the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan in Canada.
The refined location of the quake may have seismic-hazard implications for the region, particularly for the earth-filled Fort Peck Dam constructed in the 1930's on the Missouri River in northeast Montana.
"The 16 May 1909 Northern Great Plains Earthquake," by W. H. Bakun of the U.S. Geological Survey, M. C. Stickney of Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology and G. C. Rogers of Geological Survey of Canada.
Corresponding author: W. H. Bakun, bakun@usgs.gov, 650-329-4793
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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.
Seismology tip sheet for Dec. 2011: BSSAPublic release date: 1-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Nan Broadbent nan0604@msn.com 408-431-9885 Seismological Society of America
Dec. 2011 BSSA: Monitoring the earthquake source process in North America; fractured bedrock may amplify shaking; and historic 1909 quake near Montana/Canada re-assessed
Please cite the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA) as the source of this information.
Monitoring the Earthquake Source Process in North America
Earthquake monitoring has yielded a rich database quantifying the last 30 years of activity, particularly moderate and larger quakes in active seismic zones. Now scientists have implemented procedures to routinely determine earthquake source information for the smaller magnitude earthquakes typically observed in central and eastern North America.
The benefits of the approach are reduced uncertainty in earthquake magnitude, improved source depth estimates and information about the tectonic stresses that cause the earthquakes. These parameters, in turn, contribute to assessing seismic hazards by constraining ground motion and source scaling relations impact assessment products such as PAGER -- Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response.
This study applied two techniques for source inversion to earthquakes with reported magnitude greater than 3.5 in continental North America to create a catalog that includes 400 new well-calibrated moment magnitudes and source parameters for earthquakes. The catalog provides new detailed information on systematic variations in faulting styles and geometry for central and eastern regions of North America.
"Monitoring the Earthquake Source Process in North America," by Robert B. Herrmann at Saint Louis University, Harley Benz at U.S. Geological Survey and Charles J. Ammon at Penn State.
Corresponding author: Robert B. Herrmann, Saint Louis University, rbh@eas.slu.edu, 314-977-3120.
Fractured bedrock may amplify shaking, complicating seismic hazard assessments
Strong earthquakes may induce fracturing of bedrock that amplifies shaking during subsequent seismic events, increasing the likelihood of future rockslides and other earthquake-triggered slope failures, suggests a study of a large, unstable rock slope in Randa, Switzerland.
Unconsolidated soil and sedimentary basins are known to amplify shaking, but bedrock is generally thought to be stable. But at Randa, located within the most seismically active area in Switzerland, scientists evaluated ground motion recordings during small earthquakes and found that fracturing of the rock mass can amplify ground motion by up to a factor of ten.
"Site Effects in Unstable Rock Slopes: Dynamic Behavior of the Randa Instability (Switzerland)," by Jeffrey Moore, Valentin Gischig, Jan Burjanek, Simon Loew and Donat Faeh of ETH Zurich.
Historic 1909 earthquake near Montana/Canada re-assessed
A new study locates the May 16, 1909 earthquake near the Montana-Saskatchewan border along an extension of the mapped 186-mile long Hinsdale fault in Montana, suggesting local seismic hazards may be greater than previously recognized.
The largest historical earthquake in the northern Great Plains of North America, the estimated magnitude 5.3-5.4 earthquake was felt in the states of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming in the United States and in the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan in Canada.
The refined location of the quake may have seismic-hazard implications for the region, particularly for the earth-filled Fort Peck Dam constructed in the 1930's on the Missouri River in northeast Montana.
"The 16 May 1909 Northern Great Plains Earthquake," by W. H. Bakun of the U.S. Geological Survey, M. C. Stickney of Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology and G. C. Rogers of Geological Survey of Canada.
Corresponding author: W. H. Bakun, bakun@usgs.gov, 650-329-4793
###
[ | 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.
Unless Indy continues to get throttled, it won't surpass recent Lions, Rams teams
Andy Lyons / Getty Images
Colts receiver Reggie Wayne is one of the few elite players on Indianapolis' roster.
ANALYSIS
updated 7:50 p.m. ET Nov. 29, 2011
Mike Tanier
As 0-11 teams go, the Colts aren?t half bad.
They still have All-Pro talent like Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney, and Robert Mathis on the roster. For every 62-7 loss on their r?sum?, there?s a close game that could have gone either way, like their 23-20 loss to the Steelers or Sunday?s 27-19 loss to the Panthers, which was not decided until the final seconds.
Put all of the winless teams in NFL history into a tournament, and this year?s Colts might even win. A battle with the 2008 Lions would be a pick ?em. They would smoke the 1976 Buccaneers, who lost their first five games by a combined 120-26 score and were shut out five times in 14 games. They would beat up the 1982 Colts, who scored just 10 offensive touchdowns in nine games en route to an 0-8-1 record. They would rip the leather helmets off the 1928-29 Dayton Triangles, who scored ? this is not a typo, folks ? 16 total points in two seasons.
Of course, the Colts don?t have to be as bad as the Dayton Triangles to rank as the league's worst team, the worst team of the decade or the worst team anyone under 40 can remember. Getting to the bottom of just how low the Colts have sunk can be tricky business. Far from being the worst team in history, the Colts aren?t even the worst team of the last 20 years.
They are more like the sixth worst, give or take.
The bottom of the barrel Using traditional statistics to evaluate awful teams is even harder than using them to evaluate good teams. Terrible teams are often on the receiving end of blowouts, so they spend a lot of fourth quarters facing backup quarterbacks and prevent defenses. The effect can usually be seen in statistics like passing yards allowed, in which the Colts rank a respectable 18th this season. The Colts' pass defense is actually dreadful, but lots of opponents have coasted through the ends of games against them.
So to rank the worst of the worst, we will use DVOA, the Football Outsiders metric that evaluates every play of every season and adjusts for down-and-distance situations, opponent strength, and other variables. The Colts rank dead last in DVOA this year, with a negative-43.1 percent rating. That means that they are 43.1 percent below the NFL average, which is terrible.
Their futility can be broken down by run defense (7.1 percent below average, 29th in the NFL), pass defense (36.2 percent below average), run offense (2.8 percent above average, hooray!), pass offense (21.6 percent below average, 30th), and special teams (7.0 percent below average, worst in the league).
The DVOA breakdowns provide some illumination about how the Colts got into this predicament. There are more than just Curtis Painter, who has been no worse than quarterbacks like Blaine Gabbert and John Skelton who somehow managed to eke out wins. Despite relatively low yardage totals, opposing quarterbacks have an efficiency rating of 105.1 against the Colts, an amazing figure when you realize the Colts have faced three rookies. Special teams, a long-time problem that was concealed by the presence of His Peytonness, have gone in the tank this year: Colts return men average an amazingly low 2.2 yards per punt return.
So this is a true team effort. But it is not quite historically terrible. DVOA can also be used to compare teams from different years. Football Outsiders may not have play-by-play data for the 1928 Dayton Triangles (if you find any in your attic, please email me!), but we have data that goes all the way back to 1992, and five teams have posted lower DVOA averages than the 2011 Colts.
Here?s a countdown of the worst of the worst. For a second opinion, I also provided Estimated Wins and Losses, as calculated by the folks at ProFootballReference based on a team?s points for and against.
5. 2009 Rams (1-15, DVOA -45.1 percent, Estimated W-L 1.6-14.4). These guys lost games by scores of 28-0, 35-0, 42-6 and 47-7. Someone named Keith Null started four games at quarterback. The Rams? only win was against the Lions, who we will meet in a moment.
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The floor of Silicon Valley is littered with the carcasses of failed search startups. Without billions of dollars in resources like Microsoft or a tight vertical focus like travel site Kayak to help attract users, would-be competitors haven't been able to pull people away from Google. ![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sdlpBEDcGN7zmoQ4_KEtbeI88ikalFRuZARND4rdakd6vOXqHdeT3d49ByxCXSgGMRZtRMqYB63R0iDfUa_SE-Hq82D8DufvrlfeOxDfM=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 1-Dec-2011
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