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By Sandra TraunerThese days books aren’t just made into films — they can be made into animated e-books, card games, even video games.In the expanding agents centre at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the heart of the annual event, it’s no longer a case of negotiating the rights to the paperback edition, or the translation of a book into foreign languages.Film producers, games publishers and video games developers are also on the prowl for what they call “content.” In fact the book fair isn’t really about books now, says the fair’s director, Juergen Boos, “it’s about intellectual property.”The spectrum of products you can make from what initially just happened to be a book is growing ever broader.British author Ken Follett was at the fair to present a video game based on his 1989 bestseller The Pillars of the Earth. The game is due to hit shelves in 2017.Follett, 66, says he was at first rather sceptical about the idea of a video game based on his book.“My initial reaction was ‘how would that work’?” But then he discovered that the writing of a book and the development of a video game have two important elements in common: “First I create an imaginary world and then I try to pull the reader in. That’s what they do too.”Is that art or is it entertainment, someone asks. To which Follett responds, “How do you define art?”For him, art is about bringing a story to life — and in that respect video games can certainly be their own art form.To see a book as art and everything else as entertainment is “snobby,” he says.Video game developers Daedelic Entertainment have been working on the game version of the historical novel for a year and a half.Only 15 per cent of the text will be found in the game, says chief executive Carsten Fichtelmann, who sees it as “interactive literature.”He has around 25 people working on the game and another 100 providing components such as music or voices for the characters — a lot more effort than writing, some might think. Consumers have the choice: read 1,300 pages or play out the story for 25 hours.Marco Schneider, content director at Bastei Luebbe, which publishes The Pillars of the Earth in Germany, thinks publishers will make more and more money in the future from spin-offs like the games.“It’ll certainly increase in the future,” he says.An e-book with interactive elements has been made out of the book and from there, it’s a small step to a video game.But it’s certainly not suitable for all books: “It has to be great stuff,” he says.“New technologies offer the possibility of expanding the book and bringing content to life again,” says Johannes Hauenstein, director of the publishers Ravensburger Buchverlag.Ravensburger makes books and games and has invented the bestselling tiptoi pen, which combines the two.The publisher calls its product range an “audio-digital learning system” and according to Hauenstein it’s already responsible for 20 per cent of the company’s sales. —DPA

AFP/WashingtonGlobal online freedom declined for a fifth consecutive year as governments around the world stepped up surveillance and censorship efforts, a study showed Wednesday. The annual report by non-government watchdog Freedom House found declines in online freedom of expression in 32 of the 65 countries assessed since June 2014, with "notable declines" in Libya, France and Ukraine. The deterioration also stems from governments pressuring Internet firms -- including US giants like Google and Twitter but also locally-based services -- to remove disputed content, even satire which is aimed at leaders, the Freedom House report said. Some governments are taking the strategy of targeting online companies because "they know that average users have become more technologically savvy and are often able to circumvent state-imposed blocks," said Sanja Kelly, project director for the report. Kelly said that the response around the world to revelations about vast US surveillance efforts has led to many governments ramping up their own efforts. She said than many countries, including democratic regimes, have implemented "stronger surveillance and data retention laws" following the revelations from documents leaked by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. "Instead of real reforms, we are seeing more countries pass laws to increase their surveillance power," she said. The researchers found 61 percent of Internet users live in countries where criticism of the government, military or ruling family has been subject to censorship. And 58 percent live in countries where bloggers or others were jailed for sharing content online on political, social and religious issues, according to the "Freedom on the Net 2015" report. Freedom House said governments in 14 of the 65 countries passed laws over the past year to step up electronic surveillance. In another new strategy, a number of governments are taking aim at encryption by users to avoid surveillance. Some countries "are trying to stigmatize encryption," Kelly said, citing Turkey as one example. "They are saying if you are using encryption you must be a terrorist." She added that "undermining online encryption and anonymity weakens the Internet for everyone, but especially for human rights activists and independent journalists."  Criticizing France The report said online freedom took a hit in France from new restrictions on online content that could be seen as an "apology for terrorism" and from a new surveillance law. It also noted France's "sweeping legislation requiring telecommunications carriers and providers to, among other things, install 'black boxes' that enable the government to collect and analyze metadata on their networks." In Libya, Freedom House cited "a troubling increase in violence against bloggers, new cases of political censorship, and rising prices for Internet and mobile phone services." In Ukraine, the report highlighted "more prosecutions for content that was critical of the government's policies, as well as increased violence from pro-Russian paramilitary groups against users who posted pro-Ukraine content in the eastern regions." The report cited a case in Morocco where police detained 17-year old rapper Othman Atiq for three months after he criticized authorities in online videos and it said other regimes in the region resorted to "public flogging" of bloggers. Overall, 18 countries were rated as "free" online, while 28 were classified as "partly free" and 19 "not free." The most free among the 65 countries assessed was Iceland, followed by Estonia, Canada, Germany, Australia, the United States and Japan. At the bottom of the list was China, worse than runners-up Syria and Iran in terms of a lack of online freedom. Cuba and Ethiopia rounded out the bottom five. Freedom House voiced special concern in the report about laws and policies, like France's, requiring Internet firms to keep so-called metadata, which includes the time, origin and destination of online communications. The report said criticism of the authorities was most likely to attract censorship or punishment. It found authorities in 40 of 65 countries imprisoned people for sharing information concerning politics, religion or society through digital networks, up from 38 in last year's report.

Google Cardboard allows people to watch immersive videos on smartphones. AFP/New York The New York Times and Google announced plans on Tuesday to team up on a virtual reality project which will distribute more than a million of the tech firm's Cardboard viewers. The low-tech gadget, which sells for as little as $4 and allows people to watch immersive videos on smartphones, will be distributed to New York Times subscribers for the release of a virtual reality film, The Displaced, about children uprooted by war. The film is "the first critical, serious piece of journalism using virtual reality," and is designed "to shed light on one of the most dire humanitarian crises of our lifetime," New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet said in a statement on Tuesday. The Times said it would distribute the viewers - a crude virtual reality device made of folded cardboard - to print subscribers the weekend of November 7-8, and would offer digital subscribers codes to obtain the device for free. The New York Times Magazine produced the film in collaboration with virtual reality company Vrse to show the experience of children caught in the global refugee crisis. It follows the daily lives of three children from South Sudan, eastern Ukraine and Syria. "The power of VR is that it gives the viewer a unique sense of empathic connection to people and events," said Jake Silverstein, editor-in-chief of the Times Magazine. "In the context of international reporting and conflict reporting, where our readers rely on us to bring them news and stories from remote and inaccessible places, this has huge potential. Through this immersive video experience, we can put our readers at the centre of the most important story of our time." A two-dimensional version of the film will also be available on the Times website. A Cardboard software kit works with Apple or Android smartphones, turning the phones into screens for the low-cost viewers. Hundreds of applications have been created to work with Cardboard, taking advantage of position-sensing capabilities in smartphones to give wearers a sense of looking around in virtual environments while turning their heads.

By Anand HollaIf you have always wondered about the fantastic world of animation but didn’t know where to start, a brisk two-week character animation workshop hosted by Doha Film Institute (DFI) might just be the jumpstart that your imaginary toon friends need.Offering a basic introduction to various animation techniques and the filmmaking practices involved in them, the workshop is mentored by Peter Peake. The UK-based animation director’s more than 23 years’ experience in the industry attests to his mastery of a range of techniques including Stop-Motion, CGI, Flash, and Live Action.Suitable for beginner to intermediate applicants, the workshop is open only to residents of Qatar and will go on from October 24 to November 5. However, to participate in the workshop, you will have to submit your CV or short biography, and a copy of your Qatar Residence Permit or Qatari passport, along with an email to [email protected]. The deadline for submission is Tuesday.“With an emphasis on character animation, the workshop is structured around lectures and practical exercises,” says the DFI. The first week will allow students to explore stop-motion animation by creating their own simple clay figures and then using them to produce a short test piece. The second week focuses on 2D computer animation using Adobe Flash and provides students with an outline of the software and an opportunity to use it to create their own animated work.” The workshop’s lectures cover areas such as model-making, concept/story/scripting, character design, art direction, storyboarding and animatics, sound and editing in animation, the role of the director and animation in advertising. Stop motion animation, for instance, is animation captured one frame at time, with physical objects that are moved between frames. When you play back the sequence of images rapidly, it creates the illusion of movement. Once you understand how 2D drawn animation works, stop motion is easy to figure, except it uses physical objects and not drawings.The basic process of animation involves taking a photograph of your objects or characters, moving them slightly, and taking another photograph. When you play back the images consecutively, the objects or characters appear to move on their own.Peake started working majorly for Bristol-based Aardman Animations in 1992 as a freelance animator. He worked on various short films and commercials for clients including Mita, Cadburys and Lurpak. “In 1994, he wrote, directed and animated his first short film for Aardman, Pib & Pog, which was BAFTA nominated in the same year and went on to win the McLaren Award at the Edinburgh Film Festival,” says a bio on Peake on animwork.dk.Soon, Peake was a key animator on Nick Park’s Oscar-winning A Close Shave and the first series of Richard Goleszowski’s Rex The Runt. As a stop-motion key animator, Peake’s work on A Close Shave included developing the character of Shaun the Sheep. In 1998, he wrote and directed Humdrum, his second short for Aardman. “This won several awards worldwide including a second McLaren Award, the Audience Prize at the British Animation Awards and nominations for Best Animated Short in the BAFTAs in 1999 and the Oscars in 2000,” the bio says.Four times Oscar-winning studio, Aardman Animations, of course, are best-known as creators of Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run and The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! Aardman films have made USD969 million worldwide and average USD161 million per film. In fact, their stop motion films are among the highest-grossing stop-motion films; their debut, Chicken Run, being their top-grosser as well as the highest-grossing stop-motion film ever.Peake has continued to work wonders with films such as the half-hour special Robbie the Reindeer II – Legend of the Lost Tribe for Comic Relief and BBC Worldwide, which won an International Emmy. Peake now continues to work with Aardman, directing television series, short films and commercials for clients including Coca Cola, Hotels.com and Wrigleys. His most recent short film for Aardman, Pythagasaurus, was completed in 2011.

  AFP/ San Francisco High-end electric vehicle maker Tesla is taking a major step toward self-driving cars by installing new autopilot software Thursday in North America to automatically change lanes, manage speed and even hit the brakes. Self-driving capabilities -- previously limited to cars tested by technology titans such as Google -- hit the streets "overnight" with the latest Tesla Version 7.0 software, the company said Wednesday. The feature, unveiled Wednesday, is being added to thousands of Tesla's Model S cars already on the road. By June 30, Tesla had already sold nearly 80,000 of the four-door sedans. The so-called Version 7.0 software is due to hit the European and Asian markets next week after obtaining the required authorization. "We're being especially cautious at this early stage so we are advising drivers to keep their hands on the wheel just in case," Tesla founder and chief executive Elon Musk told reporters. "In the long term, people will not need hands on the wheel, and eventually there won't be (steering) wheels or pedals." Autopilot allows Model S to steer within a lane, change lanes by tapping a turn signal and manage speed using "traffic-aware" cruise control. The car can also scan for available parking spaces, alert drivers when one is spotted and then  parallel park on command. A year ago, the California-based company began equipping Model S cars with radar, cameras, ultrasonic sensors and other hardware to begin incrementally introducing self-driving capabilities. But the new software has its limits. It still can't recognize the color of traffic lights, though it can alert drivers to parking spots. On its website, Tesla acknowledged that "truly driverless cars are still a few years away." "Tesla Autopilot functions like the systems that airplane pilots use when conditions are clear," it explained. "The driver is still responsible for, and ultimately in control of, the car." The autosteer capability is still in beta form, Musk stressed, adding that the system would be updating itself systematically across the whole network of connected cars. Tesla sold about 11,580 Model S cars during the third quarter. Model X SUVs, which the group put on the market several weeks ago in a limited release, are also due to get the software. But vehicle owners will have to pay an extra $2,500 for the autopilot software, either at the time of purchase or later.   - Driver still in charge - Alongside the connected car, autonomous driving is one of the new buzzwords in the automobile sector. Most automakers are rushing to invest in driverless technology, seen as the future in the industry. What makes Tesla stand out, however, is the fact that the cars are electric. The company boasts "supercar acceleration" that allows vehicles to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds. Among the best developed autopilot prototypes is Alphabet's Google Car, already on the road in several US states. The Google car uses the same technology as its fleet of Lexus SUVs, which has logged about a million miles (1.6 million kilometers). Mercedes presented a futuristic car with a traffic-jam assist that allows the car to steer, brake and accelerate on its own at slow speeds. Earlier this month, Toyota presented a car that can drive itself along a highway. The car, a modified Lexus GS, uses sophisticated sensors to navigate roads, merge lanes and overtake other vehicles. The company hopes to make other cars with similar features available within five years, in time for Tokyo's hosting of the Olympics. But South Korea's Hyundai has warned about the complex legal challenges of self-driving cars. While fully autopilot systems without any human involvement could be ready by 2025, such technology would also bring with it "huge, huge challenges for our legal systems," European operations chief Thomas Schmid cautioned. "Who is responsible for what? I'm not convinced until now that is a process which can be done in the next 10-15 years." Indeed, existent law does not yet allow for completely autonomous, driver-less cars on the roads. And consumers will also have to adapt.  

  AFP/ Dublin Facebook will begin testing a new feature allowing users to express a range of emotions on posts in Ireland and Spain from Friday -- but there will be no "dislike" button, the social network said. "We are testing Reactions, an extension of the 'like' button, to give you more ways to share your reaction to a Facebook post in a quick and easy way," Facebook said in a statement. Users have for years pressed the world's largest social network to introduce a "dislike" button to complement the existing thumbs up button, which allows users to express their "like" for a post. Last month Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said users wanted "the ability to express empathy" because "not every moment is a good moment". On Friday a trial will begin in Ireland and Spain where users can select six emotions as well as the like button on posts. The options for the trial are: love, yay, wow, haha, sad, and angry, and are similar to emojis used in text messaging. Chris Toss, Facebook product manager, said Reactions would give users greater ways of engaging with stories and content. "It's a much broader range of human emotions you can express," he told the Irish national broadcaster RTE. A spokesman had no information on the length of the trial or when it might be extended to Facebook's users outside Ireland and Spain. Toss also said the social network decided a "dislike" button would not "add value" to the site. "We felt by giving you a bunch of different ways of expressing yourself and saying 'This is how I feel about content' as opposed to just something that's positive or something that's negative," he said, speaking from California. "Liking" something on Facebook also plays a key role in the social network's algorithm, allowing users to see content they regularly engage with it, and also allowing for targeted advertising. The new range of empathy buttons could eventually be used for similar purposes, but not during the trial. "If you're coming for humorous content and you're saying 'haha' to lots of funny cat videos, down the road we might use that to show you more cat videos, but as of the initial test you won't see any of that," Toss said.  

Reuters/JerusalemAn Israeli team competing in a race to the moon sponsored by  Google has signed a contract with California-based SpaceX for a rocket launch, putting it at the front of the pack and on target for blast-off in late 2017, officials said on Wednesday. With the deadline to win a $20 million first-place prize just two years off, pressure is mounting on the 16 rivals from around the world hoping to complete a privately funded moon landing. Silicon Valley's Moon Express announced a week ago that it had signed a contract with Lockheed Martin-backed Rocket Lab. But Israel's SpaceIL is the first team to have a launch agreement reviewed, verified and accepted by XPRIZE, the group overseeing the contest. "The magnitude of this achievement cannot be overstated," said XPRIZE President Bob Weiss. "This is the official milestone that the race is on ... They've lit the fuse, as it were, for their competitive effort." The key hurdle was finding an affordable ride to outer space without government funding, said Eran Privman, CEO of SpaceIL. Because his team's spacecraft is much smaller than most competitors - it looks like a robotic, four-legged table, about 1.5 meters tall and wide - the SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher can carry 20 small satellites whose fares will help cover costs, Privman said. "Other teams are trying to find such solutions," he said. SpaceX is a private company owned and operated by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk. Much work remains. SpaceIL must manufacture hardware to fit the rocket and only then can it be shipped to the United States, Privman said. The mission is scheduled for late 2017, just before the contest deadline. Once exiting the rocket in space, the Israeli craft will make its journey to the moon. To win, a privately funded team must place an unmanned spacecraft on the moon's surface that can explore 500 meters and transmit high-definition video and images back to earth.   

* Lumia 950 to start at $549, Lumia 950XL at $649* To be available in Nov; smaller phone in Dec* Surface Pro 4 available Oct. 26, starting at $899* Band 2 fitness device starting at $249 from Oct. 30 Reuters/New York Microsoft Corp unveiled on Tuesday a new line of Lumia smartphones, a new Surface Pro tablet and an updated version of its wearable fitness tracker, Microsoft Band, that will run on Windows 10, its latest operating system. Windows 10, launched in July, is part of Microsoft's push to win a bigger share of the market for tablets and smartphones, now dominated by Apple Inc and South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. Microsoft, whose shares were up 0.9 percent at $47.06 in late morning trading, said there were now 110 million devices running Windows 10. Microsoft unveiled three phones at an event in New York.   The Lumia 950 and 950XL will have starting prices of $549 and $649 respectively when they go on sale in November, while the Lumia 550 will cost $139 when it becomes available in December. The Lumia 950 includes a 5.2-inch display and a hexacore processor, while the larger Lumia 950 XL has a 5.7-inch display with an octacore chip. The specs on the budget 550 had not been released as the event continued. The new Surface Pro 4 tablet - a larger but thinner and lighter version of the Surface Pro 3 - is priced at $899 and will be available from Oct. 26 with pre-orders starting on Wednesday. Launched nearly a year and a half after its predecessor, the Surface Pro 4 features a 12.3-inch screen with 267 pixels per inch. It runs on 6th-generation Intel Core processor and has 16GB of RAM and 1TBB storage. Surface Pro 4 is 50 percent faster than Apple's MacBook Air, Panos Panay, the corporate vice president for Surface Computing at Microsoft, said at the event. Microsoft also said its new tablet and smartphones will come with Windows Hello, an automatic biometric sign-in option introduced earlier this year. The feature allows users to scan their face, iris or fingerprints to verify their identity and give them access to Windows phones, laptops and personal computers. Microsoft also introduced a Surface Pen, which has year-long battery life, 1,024 pressure points and comes in five colours with inter-changeable pen tips. The 950 and 950XL handsets feature a 20-megapixel rear camera, have up to 32GB of storage, 4K video and use liquid cooling technology. Microsoft said storage on the phones could be extended to up to 2 terabytes using a memory card. The Microsoft Band 2, which allows users to monitor their fitness and exercise regime, will be priced at $249 when it becomes available on Oct. 30. Unlike its predecessor, Microsoft's entry product in the wearable technology market a year ago, the new Band has a curved display, which uses the Corning Gorilla glass 3, and has a barometer sensor to track elevation.    

  AFP/San Francisco Twitter made it easier Tuesday to seize hot tweets and high-profile posts from the flood of real-time commentary at the one-to-many messaging service. A new "Moments" feature that promised to let people quickly tune into "the best of Twitter" made its debut in the United States with a promise it would spread wider in the coming months. Hundreds of millions of tweets are fired off daily on Twitter, among them comments from world leaders, celebrities and people in the midst of dramatic events, according to product manager Madhu Muthukumar. "We know finding these only-on-Twitter moments can be a challenge, especially if you haven't followed certain accounts," Muthukumar said in a blog post. "But it doesn't have to be. Moments helps you find the best of Twitter as easily as tapping an icon." A new lightning bolt icon at Twitter takes people to lists of "moments" that promise to stand out from the maelstrom of tweets, according to Muthukumar. Stories in the Moments list are updated throughout the day, and the feature also lets people swipe through topics such as "Entertainment" and "Sports" to find relevant tweets from previous days. At launch, most of the offerings at Moments were selected by a Twitter curation team, but there were also contributions from partners including Getty Images, Fox News, NASA and The Washington Post. Twitter plans to expand the list of partners. "We look forward to seeing new and exciting uses of Moments from more partners soon," Muthukumar said. The Moments feature was added to Twitter applications for smartphones powered by Apple or Android software and to Twitter's website accessible from desktop computers.   - Evolving to thrive - Twitter is intent on implementing ways for people, especially those new to the service, to quickly and easily find riveting tweets that will keep them using the service. Launch of the new feature came just a day after co-founder Jack Dorsey returned for a second stint as permanent chief executive at the San Francisco-based social network. Dorsey, who had been interim CEO since June, will run Twitter while remaining chief executive of Square, the digital payments firm he founded. Twitter quickly become a global sensation after its launch in 2006, but the social media platform's growth has slowed and it has yet to turn a profit. Its board is likely hoping Dorsey's return will have the same winning effect on Twitter as the return of another Silicon Valley wunderkind, Steve Jobs, did for a once floundering Apple. "Our work forward is to make Twitter easy to understand by anyone in the world, and give more utility to the people who love to use it daily!" Dorsey tweeted Monday. Forrester analyst Nate Elliott maintained that Facebook has grown apace by offering new features and experiences at the social network, while Twitter has stagnated, looking pretty much the same as it did when it first launched a decade ago. "It's time for Twitter to build and innovate," Elliott said. "Not every new idea launched will succeed -- but if it launches enough new features, some will surely find a wider audience. And a wider audience is exactly what Twitter needs."    

Two thoughtful letter-writers tell Omar L Gallaga how we’re missing the heartbeats for the flat bleepsRecently, the new models of Apple’s iPhone — the iPhone 6S and the larger 6S Plus — landed in the hands of shoppers who upgraded or in some cases switched to a smartphone for the first time.It’s the ninth time Apple has had a launch day for iPhones. By now the process is more than familiar. The preorder period, the instant-gratification seekers who stand in line the morning of, the breathless reviews, which typically include very minor criticisms. It’s all very routine.But I sometimes forget that for a lot of people, it’s not an iPhone world. For some, the world’s best-selling smartphone is not a constant companion, but, as if in some Twilight Zone episode, a gadget that has made the world around them a lot more distracted and a little less friendly.In June, I wrote about the time I drowned my iPhone 6 in Hawaiian seawater, then experienced improbable bliss — and itchy withdrawal — as I wandered around phoneless for about a week. The column resonated with some readers, in particular two who wrote in similar responses that I held on to and thought about all summer.Carol Hitchcock, in a handwritten letter, wrote, “Dear Mr. Gallaga, your column struck a note with me. You are on point with people being addicted to their iPhones.“We were recently in Jamaica at a beautiful beach resort and people could not put their phones down to enjoy the wonderful scenery and, like you said, a gorgeous sunset or even converse with their travelling companions.“We are in our 70s, so I know we don’t understand all this new technology. We don’t own an iPhone and I realise it has many useful applications, but I think it’s sad that people are so addicted that they cannot enjoy surroundings or the people they are with.“We love our paper in the morning, reading it, and having a cup of coffee. I don’t want to sit @ a computer to do that. The paper is getting thinner and thinner so I hope we at least have a few years to read the paper in actual print. Carol.”I hope so, too.Another reader, Sterling Hartman, e-mailed to say, “I’m 71 and purchased my first cell phone yesterday — Apple iPhone 6 arriving tomorrow. I have used the $10 TracFone when we travel but figure that doesn’t count as a cellphone.“I’ve often wondered why cell phones are so addictive and have avoided them because I see young folks in their 20s, who should be interested in each other, praying to their cellphones. I see them checking their cells in church during the service. I see them at Hawaii airports turning them on at the earliest instant and waiting until the flight attendant comes by to tell them it is time to turn it off because we’re landing in 30 seconds.“They seem to think reality is in their cell phone screen and don’t realise the real reality is out there waiting to embrace them if they would but look up.“I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the cellphone addicts on their honeymoon both take their phones to bed with them.“I was in a student cafeteria and in walks a blind woman with her white cane with a stripe. She headed the wrong way and got herself boxed in a corner. I got up and helped her over to the cafeteria line. Not a single student came over to help because they were all so engrossed in the cellphones; no-one notices except one old geezer who didn’t have a cellphone, me.“I’m leaving my iPhone 6 at home when we go to Kauai in December and taking my $10 TracFone.”Since the column ran, I wish I could say I’ve been using the phone that replaced my dead one a lot less. The truth is, it’s still a vital part of my day for keeping up with news, corresponding with co-workers, friends and family, and for communicating with the world through social media, photos and video.But what the experience of being without a phone for a week has left me with is more awareness of when I should and shouldn’t take the phone out of my pocket and a better radar for what people around me are doing. On a recent evening, I went to an outdoor party and was stunned to see that, in a crowd of several hundred people, almost no-one was nose-deep in their smartphone. The only phones out were being used to shoot photos. There was no texting that I could see — and it was blissful. I thought perhaps, I had traveled in time.I think some of it may be generational; if I were in my 70s, I imagine I’d feel even more strongly about what cellphones are doing to us, as Hitchcock and Hartman do. But I do think some things — a great face-to-face conversation with a kindred soul, a refreshing beach swim, the stillness of mind that comes from an adventure where you’re completely cut off from anyone else — are universal. You don’t have to be that age to want back more of your life and attention from the smartphones we’ve adopted as our all-day companions.It’s up to each of us to reach out to someone we care about and remind them that the real world is a lot better — more fun and engaging — than what fits in a 4.7- or 5.5-inch smartphone screen. And then to convince ourselves, as often as we can, especially during those in-between, bored moments when that little glass rectangle seems to hold all the world inside. —Austin-American Statesman/TNS

Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the iPhone 6s during a media event in San Francisco, earlier this month.  AFP/Washington Apple said on Monday it sold 13mn of its new iPhones over the weekend, in a record-breaking launch for the newest models of its iconic smartphone. The California tech giant began selling the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus in nine markets, including China, on Friday. On Monday, the company said the devices will be available in 40 additional markets October 9 including Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain and Taiwan. "Sales for iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first weekend sales results in Apple's history," said chief executive Tim Cook. Apple has also unveiled new lease and finance terms for US customers, which analysts said could boost sales and shorten the upgrade cycle, at a time when carriers are moving away from smartphone subsidies. The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus have the same overall dimensions as the last version, with new technologies under the hood. One of the key new features is called "3D touch," which responds to pressure exerted on the screen to allow users to look inside messages and applications. The 6S has the 4.7-inch (about 12-centimeter) display of its predecessor and the 6S Plus - which updates one of the more popular handsets in the "phablet category" - has the same 5.5-inch screen. But the devices have more powerful processors that allow for improved graphics, harder glass and a new aluminum body. Pricing will be kept at the same levels as the earlier versions.

Apple store employee Cristian Zuniga shows the new iPhone 6s to Rajeev Sharma in Chicago. Reuters/New York/Sydney The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus hit stores around the world on Friday, at the start of what is expected to be a record weekend for sales of Apple Inc's marquee product. Eager buyers - joined by at least one robot - flocked to Apple stores from Sydney to New York, itching to get their hands on the new models, which boast a 3D touch feature and an improved camera. "The first thing I'm going to do is take a picture," Lithuanian student Justina Siciunaite, 25, said after buying a rose-gold iPhone 6s from Apple's flagship store on New York's Fifth Avenue. Analysts expect 12mn to 13mn phones to fly off the shelves in the first weekend, up from more than 10mn last year when the launch of the hugely successful iPhone 6 was delayed in China, the world's biggest smartphone market. Apple, whose shares were up 1% in premarket trading, has said pre-orders suggested sales were on pace to beat last year's first-weekend performance. Among the first to pick up the new iPhone 6s in a cold, rainy Sydney was a telepresence robot named Lucy, operated by marketing executive Lucy Kelly. "I obviously have my work and other things to attend to and can't spend two days lining up so my boss at work suggested I take one of the robots down and use it to stand in my place," she said, via an iPad mounted on top of the wheeled robot. After a dramatic redesign last year, which included an enlarged screen and the addition of mobile payments, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus boast more modest improvements. The phones, which are the same size as last year's models, feature 3D touch, a display technology based on a "Taptic Engine" that responds according to how hard users press their screens. This feature was one of the reasons that Haoyu Lin, a 22-year-old student and app designer, was first in line outside the Fifth Avenue store. "I'm a true Apple fan," he said, having stood in line since 2.00 am. Enough to upgrade? Several reviewers have said the new features might not be compelling enough to persuade iPhone 6 users to upgrade. "You might not feel the usual pull to get a new iPhone unless you really want a better front-facing camera," Nilay Patel of The Verge said in a review published on Tuesday. (http://bit.ly/1iutQKj) Apple has said just a fraction of its customers have upgraded to the iPhone 6, suggesting there is plenty of room to grow this year. Sales of iPhones accounted for nearly two-thirds of Apple's revenue in the latest quarter. First released in 2007, it is Apple's best-selling device to date. Repair firm iFixit, which opened up an iPhone 6s and 6s Plus on Friday, said battery capacity was down "a bit", probably to accommodate the Taptic Engine. Apple has said battery life is unchanged in the new phones. (http://bit.ly/1OxY5xs) The new iPhones use chips made by, among others, Qualcomm Inc, Avago Technologies Ltd, Qorvo Inc's TriQuint Semiconductor and RF Micro Devices, Texas Instruments Inc and Skyworks Solutions Inc. Lacklustre offerings this year from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd will help Apple stand out in the marketplace, analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy wrote in an email. "Over the long haul, the 6s will eclipse the 6 as Apple is even more competitive versus Samsung in emerging regions and is gaining share in traditional regions," Moorhead said. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus start at $199 and $299 respectively with a two-year service-provider contract. Apple's shares were trading at $116.20 in premarket trading on Friday. Through Thursday's close, the stock had risen 2.4% since Apple unveiled its latest iPhones on September 9.

A handout photo taken and released by Apple, shows the face of Australian woman Lucy Kelly appearing on an iPad attached to a Segway-style device as she became one of the first people to buy one of the latest iPhones at the Apple store in Sydney.  AFP AFP/SydneyDon't want to wait in line for your new iPhone? Why not send your iPad instead? One Australian woman decided to dispatch a "robot" to do the queueing for the release Friday of Apple's new device in Sydney. Lucy Kelly, 22, was the face and voice of the unusual-looking device -- an iPad attached to a remote-controlled Segway-style scooter --  which she parked outside the store 27 hours before the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus went on sale. "It's a clear demonstration of the future and what's coming," Kelly told AFP after becoming one of the first owners of one of each of the new phones. The device waited with other Apple fans until doors opened at 8:00am on Friday and was one of the first inside before being taken upstairs -- via a lift in its case -- to make Kelly's purchases. Kelly, whose face appeared on the iPad screen, was able to speak to  Apple staff and give her permission to use the credit card she had stuck to her small scooter. The marketing manager said the idea came about as she was lamenting to her boss that she couldn't be in two places at once -- spending two days in the queue as well as being at work. Between them they hatched a plan to use the "robot", which colleagues checked on from time to time.  Once payment was made, the Apple staff "just put my iPhones in a bag for me and hung it on my microphone", she added. Kelly then remotely wheeled her device out of the store and through Sydney's city centre where some of her colleagues were able to collect her phones for her. Kelly's robot helper was one of hundreds queueing for a new phone in Sydney, despite wet and windy weather. "The people in line were so fabulous," said Kelly who had been able to chat with them via the iPad. Australia was one of the first markets in the global rollout of iPhones on Friday, which also included Hong Kong, Japan, and China.

Reuters Facebook.com was down for some users on Thursday, although the mobile app and Messenger services appeared to be working. "Sorry, something went wrong. We're working on it and we'll get it fixed as soon as we can," a message on facebook.com said. Downdetector.com's Facebook map showed outages in North America, Europe, Australia and India. Facebook and its photo-sharing site Instagram were blocked around the world for up to an hour on January 27. Facebook blamed an internal fault. The company was not immediately available for comment on the latest outage.  

  AFP/ San Francisco Virtual reality is a dream of video game lovers, but it is poised to blast far beyond play to education, medicine, architecture and other learning arenas. Thanks to head gear from Facebook-owned Oculus VR (Rift) and Sony's "Project Morpheus" -- now renamed PlayStation VR -- virtual reality is expected to hit the mainstream next year. Some developers, however, are intent on putting virtual reality headsets to more productive uses than gaming. Andrew Tschesnok, founder and chief executive of Organic Motion, sees the target market as including anyone who uses video, from YouTube bloggers to CNN. Organic Motion bills itself as the world's first real-time virtual reality content creation studio and was among the innovative companies focused on the topic at a TechCrunch Disrupt startup conference in San Francisco this week. Tschesnok showed off his company's virtual reality spin on green screen backdrops. The Organic Motion device uses a ring of cameras to capture images of people in 3D and integrate the characters live into virtual reality video. Tschesnok said the technology's potential uses include allowing investigators to virtually enter a reconstructed crime scene.   - Skype in 3D - When Facebook bought Oculus last year in a deal valued at $2 billion, it touted virtual reality as the next major computing platform, allowing friends a means to visit one another no matter how far. Oculus and Sony have already unabashedly courted video game makers, with virtual reality being a major theme at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles in June. But the Disrupt conference took the technology a step beyond gaming, with startups such as VRChat, whose software lets people use Oculus Rift to get together in virtual worlds for conversations. The software creates a playful universe with customizable avatars in a style reminiscent of Manga, a demonstration showed. And the audience is small: VRChat chief technology officer Graham Gaylor claims about 600 active users. The company's technology was used last year in one of the first university courses in virtual reality experiences in Canada. Remi Rousseau, co-founder of two startups linked to virtual reality, said the technology was "full of social applications," allowing people to see real representations of one another, not just avatars. He described the technology as a sort of "Skype 3D." His Franco-Belgian company Mimesys is testing a device that allows two people equipped with headsets to get together at a table in a virtual meeting room. Rousseau emphasized that virtual reality holds great promise for professional applications, from presenting complex car prototypes to helping with medical care. His second startup, Surgevry, developed virtual reality camera gear that can be worn on surgeons' heads during operations. Virtual reality video captured that way has already resulted in sales, mainly to medical equipment suppliers who use it to show the right way to use their products. Real estate is also seen as fertile ground for virtual reality. Startup InsiteVR created an online service that lets architects or interior designers transport people into projects to see them from the inside. The service is available on-demand or by subscription and has 30 customers, according to co-founder Angel Say. InsiteVR charges about $200 for the virtual equivalent of a one-bedroom apartment, Say said.   - Big business by 2020 - Research company Tractica recently estimated that global revenue related to virtual reality gear and content has the potential to reach $21.8 billion by 2020, with a huge chunk of that resulting from professional uses. However the market remains far from critical mass. While virtual reality is a hot topic, there are not a lot of sales for now, Rousseau said. That sentiment was shared by Canada-based Retinad, which was in San Francisco showcasing software that can collect usage statistics on virtual reality applications, with the potential to distribute advertising in faux worlds. Beverage giant Coca-Cola has started some testing, but "there are not enough players in the market to justify that big brands are starting to advertise," said Retinad co-founder Samuel Poirier. But the market is ever-expanding. Already, Samsung Gear VR and inexpensive Google Cardboard have let people have virtual reality experiences using smartphones as screens fitted into headsets.  

Chinese customers visit a new Apple store in Nanjing, eastern China's Jiangsu province. Apple said it has removed software from its App Store, after reports said hundreds of apps including some of China's most popular were infected with malware. AFP/Paris Computer security firm Zerodium on Tuesday offered a $1mn (€890,000) bounty to hackers who can find a way to breach Apple's latest iOS 9 mobile operating system. Zerodium, launched early this year in the US by French online security expert Chaouki Bekrar, said it would pay out $1mn each to as many as three people or teams who manage to break into iPhones or iPads equipped with the iOS 9 software. To win the money, hackers must use a web page or text message to remotely bypass the iOS 9 security and discretely install an application on the iPhone or iPad by October 31, the company said in an online statement. The hackers must exploit previously unknown weaknesses in the security system. Apple's operating system is the most secure on the market, Zerodium said. "But don't be fooled. Secure does not mean unbreakable, it just means that iOS has currently the highest cost and complexity of vulnerability exploitation and here is where the million dollar iOS 9 bug bounty comes into play." Zerodium says it rewards independent researchers for discovering new software vulnerabilities. It then analyses the security data to help corporate and government agency clients to beef up their online defences. "The strength of iOS is essentially based on layers of security that are individually vulnerable but extremely effective together. It is nevertheless possible to attack each of these elements, which is a fairly long and costly process," Bekrar told AFP. Several researchers had expressed interest in the bounty, said the Zerodium boss. Apple had not been consulted about the bounty, he added. Apple, which launched iOS 9 on September 16, was not immediately available to comment.

Singal is designed for journalists who are using social media as part of their reporting efforts. AFP/Washington Facebook has unveiled a new tool aimed at helping journalists using the social network track breaking and trending news, in a challenge to Twitter. The service called Signal, which is available for both Facebook and the Facebook-owned Instagram platform, is designed for journalists who are using social media as part of their reporting efforts. "We've heard from journalists that they want an easy way to make Facebook a more vital part of their newsgathering with the ability to surface relevant trends, photos, videos, and posts on Facebook and Instagram for use in their storytelling and reporting," Facebook's Andy Mitchell wrote in a blog post. "Today we're excited to introduce Signal, for Facebook and Instagram, a free discovery and curation tool for journalists who want to source, gather, and embed newsworthy content from Facebook and Instagram, across news, culture, entertainment, sports, and more - all in one place." With Signal, journalists "can monitor which topics are trending and then quickly display related content that has been shared publicly." Journalists can also access lists of public figures ranked by who is being mentioned the most on Facebook, including "real-time conversations" involving politicians, authors, actors, musicians, athletes and others. The tool can also be used on Instagram for visual content, according to Mitchell. "Every Facebook post, every Instagram image or video, and every metric found in Signal can be easily saved into custom collections for later use," he wrote. "This is a first step in helping journalists use Facebook and Instagram more effectively and we'll gather feedback and iterate to make Signal as useful as possible for industry professionals."

  Reuters /San Francisco Apple Inc has just made buying a new iPhone every year more affordable - a move that analysts said will drive demand from now on, starting with the new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. Apple announced a program on Wednesday that will allow users to finance unlocked versions of the new iPhones through monthly installments starting at $32, regardless of carrier. Until now, customers could only lease subsidized phones on two-year contracts requiring an up-front payment. "We think this program should act as a tailwind for iPhone sales, since they serve to shorten the replacement cycle...," Susquehanna analysts wrote in a note on Thursday. The deal for iPhone owners, which will initially apply to the United States and 11 other key markets including China, emerged as one of the most positive announcements at Apple's annual launch event. Along with the new iPhones - which come with better cameras, faster chips, new colors and a force-sensitive "3D Touch" - Apple also unveiled a bigger iPad and a new TV set-top box that responds to voice commands. The new products got tepid response from investors, though, with commentators saying Apple had failed to deliver a truly transformative product that would merit a surge in its stock. Apple shares were up about 1.3 percent at $111.60 in early trading on Thursday, after closing down nearly 2 percent after the product event. The company's shares have lost more than 16 percent since they hit a year-high in April, hammered by concerns about demand in China and, more recently, by a broader stock market rout. Apple's shares also fell on Sept. 9 last year when the company rolled out the iPhone 6 to lukewarm reviews. But sales of the phone - and the company's stock price - soared in the following months, and Apple's revenue in the most recent quarter increased by nearly a third. Analysts say there's still plenty of room for sales to grow, particularly with the new incentive program. "We view it as the right strategy at the right time," FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives told Reuters, noting that  less than 30 percent of customers have upgraded to an iPhone 6. "Apple needs to aggressively do everything in their power to catalyze upgrades and this is another step in that direction." Analysts at Morgan Stanley also said the upgrade program should shorten the iPhone sales cycle and boost shipments. Assuming 10 percent of U.S. iPhone users choose this program in 2016 and upgrade to a newer version in 2017, the program would likely boost iPhone shipments by 6.5 million units in 2017 or add 25 cents per share to earnings, the brokerage said. However, Canaccord Genuity analysts said that while the program should be popular with consumers, "(we) will watch for reaction by carriers to the proposal." T-Mobile US Inc was first carrier to announce a plan for the new iPhones. The company said customers could pre-order an iPhone 6S for $20 a month for 18 months and an iPhone 6S Plus for $24 a month with no down payment, starting on Saturday. No brokerages announced changes to their recommendations on Apple's shares, but two - Macquarie Capital and Jefferies & Co - cut their price targets, to $133 and $126 respectively. Of the 47 analysts covering Apple, 35 have a "buy" or higher rating on the stock, 11 have a "hold" and only one rates it a "sell", according to Thomson Reuters data. The median price target on the stock is $147.50.      

GROUP PHOTO: The artistes who acted in the film. By Usha Wagle GautamOwing to a large community of non-resident Nepalese, Qatar is often seen as a secure market to film Nepalese movies. During the last few years, Nepalese films have been shot and screened in Qatar in high number. Formula, a recent flick produced under the banner of Abhinit SB Films Pvt Ltd, was premiered recently at Al Safir Hotel. Excited with the response, producer Narayan Dhungana said he would soon release his film in Nepal and Qatar. Director Shanta Bamjan praised the cast and crew of the movie, who despite the high mercury levels of June-July made the project highly successful. The movie deals with a love story set in contemporary Nepal. Formula deals with the issue of thousands of Nepalese youth who have to come to Gulf and other regions for work. The movie has a philosophical gist that values love and affection over material benefits. Kundan Chhetri, Samikshya Shrestha, OB Rayamajhi and Narayan Dhungana are among the actors. Likewise, former working committee member of Non-Resident Nepalese Association-National Coordination Committee (NRNA-NCC) late Shoya Dahal is also featured in the movie. Sachin Neupane and Badri Budhathoki are music and fight directors of the movie.

STILL OPERATING: The Strasburg Railroad began excursion rides in 1959 and continues to offer one-hour round-trips from Strasburg to Paradise. By Tim JohnsonAs the chief executive of what may be the first academy to train drone operators in Latin America, Jose Luis Gonzalez is acutely aware that unmanned aerial vehicles can be used for both good and evil.Most of the students who study at his Drone Academy are photographers seeking to capture sweeping aerial images, engineers using drones to photograph damage to structures like bridges or hobbyists eager to attain new playthings.But Mexico has its share of bad guys, and Gonzalez said it might not be long before drones are used for malevolent aims, such as remotely controlled murders.“This is our own brand, Helidroid, and we put this toy gun on it and if you press this button,” Gonzalez said, pausing as a rapid ft-ft-ft noise came out of the airborne drone, the sound of toy gunfire finishing his sentence for him. “Imagine if instead of a plastic gun you had a real gun, or if you put a grenade on it?”Across Latin America, the sale of drones to civilians is taking off. In most cases, the drones are mini flying devices, suitable only for tiny payloads of a couple of pounds or so, perhaps a small video camera with a gimbal to stabilise the image.But authorities around the region are scrambling to enact regulations to catch up to the reality of drone usage, seeking to reassure a citizenry that is not altogether calm about the phenomenon.Signs are already arising that criminals view drones as a new tool in their kit. This summer, two men pleaded guilty in US federal court in San Diego to smuggling 28.5 pounds of heroin into the United States from Mexico using drones.Laura Duffy, the US attorney for the Southern District of California, said smugglers have expanded beyond tunnels, fast watercraft and ultralight airplanes.“We have found their tunnels, their Cessnas, their jet skis, their pangas, and now we have found their drones,” she said following the guilty pleas of Jonathan Elias, 18, and Brayan Valle, 19, for smuggling across the border at Calexico on April 28.Drone accidents are spurring calls for regulation. Two Argentine women were walking along a Buenos Aires street August 15 when a drone hit them. Both were hospitalised. The 20-year-old operator said he had been filming a commercial.“It is time that the responsible parties on the matter jointly develop standards that address and regulate the activity of drones due to their irregular use,” a reader, Ruben Pascual, wrote to the La Nacion newspaper in a letter published August 19.Drones are banned from archaeological sites in Mexico, but it is not uncommon to see the remotely controlled devices flying in the capital, including around the landmark Angel de la Independencia monument or at crowded concerts.A drone disrupted a concert by the Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias in late May in Tijuana. As the drone approached him on the stage, Iglesias attempted to grab it, and a whirling rotor slashed his finger. Within minutes, his T-shirt was soaked with his blood.Drones were a concern as Pope Francis visited South America in July. Ecuador and Paraguay restricted their use near his large outdoor Masses, while Bolivian police deployed five drones to provide a constant video feed from the air of the pontiff’s whereabouts to ensure security.Mexico’s government issued a circular in April with recommendations for drone usage, saying that tiny drones should not fly higher than 400 feet or outside of visual control of the operator and should remain at least 150 feet above crowds.“It is a suggestion, a recommendation,” said Gonzalez. “If an inspector sees you flying one, he can ask you to stop but it’s not outlawed. There’s nothing that says you can’t do it.”Gonzalez said he foresees a lot of positive uses for drones. “Imagine if you could take a defibrillator to someone having a heart attack,” he said.His Drone Academy opened several months ago and now offers three nine-hour courses each month to give owners the basics of operation, simulator time and actual outdoor experience operating a drone. Among the clients are people using drones for mapping and measuring radiation emissions with remote sensors.“The Drone Academy is the first such academy in Mexico and all of Latin America,” Gonzalez said.Gonzalez said drones could be used to create havoc as well.“What would happen if you put C4 plastic explosives and loaded it with pellets?” he asked.Such concerns bedevil the Department of Homeland Security, which did not respond to written and telephoned queries about news reports of cross-border penetration by drones. It is also of concern to security experts and the Pentagon.“It’s sort of the dark side of the new technology,” Richard Whittle, author of the 2014 book Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution, said in a telephone interview. “People are violating the law all the time both here and abroad.”Civilian drones are noisy and not hard to shoot down, but they can be difficult to detect because the smallest drones are the size of large birds.“They are proliferating at a whirlwind pace,” Whittle noted.The Pentagon concluded its annual anti-drone exercise, known as Black Dart, August 7 at the Point Mugu, California, Naval Air Station. Each year, the exercise offers vendors a chance to demonstrate their latest technology to counter enemy drones.The latest exercise focused on weapons that can neutralise “across the full spectrum of size and capability,” Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Leary, Black Dart 2016 Project Officer, said in an e-mail.Leary said countering drones “is a focus area across the US government.”For some Latin countries, as the numbers soar, the potential nuisance factor of drones far outweighs concerns about terrorism.“You can buy these Chinese drones for $100, $150 or $200,” said Wladimir Fernandez de Liebana y Segovia, a Chilean psychologist, pilot and civilian drone expert. “We don’t have total control of the people who are operating these things.”The president of the Colombian Association of Remote-Controlled Aircraft, Edgar Fernando Quintero Lopez, said 150 businesses and seven universities belong to the group, a sign of the explosion of interest.He said he expects Colombian legislators may need at least a year to pass legislation regulating drones.“The governments of each country (in Latin America) are rushing to create their regulations,” Quintero Lopez said. “The governments are a little slower than the private sector.” —TNS