Tomorrow's Newspapers Online 10-18-2013 | Sci

The gadget - which is being targeted at runners - also includes a GPS location chip to maximise the accuracy of its readings.

It marks a move by the German firm into the smartwatch sector, although the device does not run third-party apps.

The news comes the same week as rival Nike updated its own activity tracker.

The two companies - which are best known for their sports clothing and shoe ranges - are taking different approaches with their flagship products.

At $399 (£350 in the UK) Adidas's Micoach Smart Run is more than double the price of Nike's $149 Fuelband SE. But it offers a wider range of sensors as well as the ability to play MP3 audio files to wireless headphones via Bluetooth.

It also has the advantage of offering partner apps for Android, Windows Phone and iOS devices. By contrast, Nike only offers a Fuelband app for the iPhone.

The US firm does, however, offer a separate Nike-branded watch made by the Dutch firm TomTom that features a GPS chip and can be paired with a heart rate strap made by another company.

Battery life

Adidas announced its new product at Gigaom's Mobilize conference in San Francisco.

It said athletes could use the watch to create a coaching programme to improve their fitness levels and would then receive feedback via animated graphics on its screen, vibrations, and audio commands - using paired headphones - telling them to speed up or slow down. The new device is bigger than less advanced digital watches and screenless activity trackers also sold by Adidas, but its 1.45in (3.7cm) display is smaller than the screens on Samsung and Sony's new smartwatches.

The Galaxy Gear and Smartwatch 2 both offer a range of activity apps of their own as well as other Android software, but rely on being paired with a smartphone for much of their functionality.

Adidas says its product's battery lasts about 14 days when its tracking sensors are switched off. However, that drops to just four hours when it is switched into "training mode".

Motorola's Motoactv watch may be its closest competitor. The gadget also features a GPS chip and MP3 player, but not a pulse rate sensor of its own.

Killer app

Analysts cut their price targets by between $2 and $6, to as low as $56. EBay shares were trading at $51.54 at midday.

EBay said on Wednesday that the U.S. economic environment and consumer confidence had deteriorated, in part because of the shutdown of the U.S. government.

However, several analysts said they were awaiting results from Google Inc later on Thursday and Amazon.com Inc next week to get a better picture of the e-commerce market.

EBay said it expects a profit of 79-81 cents per share for the holiday quarter, short of the 83 cents per share expected by analysts on average.

The update fixes 51 separate security bugs in Java, which owner Oracle says is used on billions of devices.

About a dozen of the bugs were serious enough to allow attackers to take remote control of a compromised system, researchers said.

Java is one of the most popular targets for cyber-thieves and malware writers seeking to hijack home computers.

In its advisory about the update, Oracle urged customers to patch the software as soon as possible "due to the threat posed by a successful attack".

Programming language Java has proved popular because software written with it can easily be made to run on many different types of computer.

Twelve of the holes in Java addressed by the update topped the table that ranked the severity of security weaknesses in software, wrote Qualys security expert Wolfgang Kandek in a blogpost.

If these bugs were exploited, attackers could bypass ID controls and take over a target system, he added.

He said those seeking to exploit Java would probably seed web pages with booby-trapped links in a bid to catch vulnerable machines.

Security glitches in Java are favourites among those that write and run so-called "exploit kits" that seek to compromise vulnerable websites and other systems.

Security blogger Brian Krebs said if people needed to run Java, it was well worth taking time to apply the update.

Those that did not need the software should consider disabling it altogether, he said.

"This widely installed and powerful program is riddled with security holes, and is a top target of malware writers and miscreants," he wrote.

The update is available via the main Java website and has prompted follow-up action from other electronics firms. Apple has released an update to the version of Java that runs on its computers. This update points people towards the official version of Java from Oracle instead of that supplied by Apple.

The "5C is in plenty supply" and "if you generally talk to each of the carriers I think they'll tell you the same thing," Shammo told Reuters in an interview Thursday after the company reported its third-quarter earnings.

Apple, which has its phones made by contract manufacturers overseas, is cutting production orders for the cheaper plastic-backed iPhone 5C just a month after its launch at the same time as the iPhone 5S, a source familiar with its supply chain told Reuters on Wednesday.

The production cutback was seen by analysts as a rare misstep for Apple, which typically only launches one phone at a time and tends to see massive demand for its devices, particularly during the quarter of their launch.

Consumer reception to the iPhone 5S appeared to have been much stronger, at least at Verizon Wireless, the biggest U.S. mobile operator.

Verizon's Shammo said scarcity of the iPhone 5S was a "significant issue" for Verizon Wireless, which missed Wall Street's third-quarter expectations for net subscriber additions as a result.

Shammo said iPhone 5S customers who were still waiting to receive their phones would be reflected in its numbers in the fourth quarter.

But he declined to say how much of an overall effect the shortage of the iPhone 5S had on the company's third-quarter figures.

About 51 percent of Verizon's smartphone activations in the quarter were for iPhone customers.

A Reuters review of government documents shows that the contract to build the federal Healthcare.gov online insurance website - key to President Barack Obama's signature healthcare reform - tripled in potential total value to nearly $292 million as new money was assigned to the work beginning in April this year.

The increase coincided with warnings from federal and state officials that the information technology underlying the online marketplaces, or exchanges, where people could buy Obamacare health insurance was in trouble.

In March, Henry Chao, deputy chief information officer at the lead Obamacare agency, said at an insurance-industry meeting that he was "pretty nervous" about the exchanges being ready by October 1, adding, "let's just make sure it's not a third-world experience." At the same event, his colleague Gary Cohen said, "Everyone recognizes that day one will not be perfect."

The contract to build Healthcare.gov, issued to the CGI Federal unit of Montreal-based CGI Group, has come under scrutiny after the site, offering new subsidized health insurance in 36 states, stalled within minutes of its October 1 launch, leaving millions of Americans unable to create accounts or shop for plans.

In its third week of operations, the website continues to experience problems, which government officials say they are working day and night to repair. Even allies of the Obama administration have been highly critical, with former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs calling it "excruciatingly embarrassing" and calling for "some people" to be fired.

How and why the system failed, and how long it will take to fix, remains unclear. But evidence of a last-minute surge in spending suggests the needs of the project were growing well beyond the initial expectations of the contractor and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"Why this went from a ceiling of $93.7 million to $292 million is hard to fathom," said Scott Amey, general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group that analyzes government contracting.

"I would not understate the importance of this round," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said of Iran's talks in Geneva on Tuesday and Wednesday with Russia, the United States, China, Britain, France and Germany.

"In our view, although it was very tough, it was quite, quite promising," Lukashevich said at a weekly briefing.

Iran's new proposals "could move the negotiating process forward, and are evidence of the Iranian side's intention to ... resolve the issues that are of concern to the six powers," he said. He gave no details of the proposals.

Lukashevich sounded more upbeat than Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, the Russian negotiator at the talks in Geneva, who said on Wednesday that the sides were far apart and there was no guarantee of further progress.

Russia, which built Iran's first nuclear power plant and sells Iran weapons, has in the past been more positive than the West about Iran's attitude toward the negotiations and less suspicious that it could be seeking nuclear weapons capability.

Obama stressed that he is willing to work with lawmakers wherever they can agree, but the tone he struck amounted to a rebuke of Republicans, whom Americans largely blame for pushing the United States to the brink of an economic calamity.

"The American people are completely fed up with Washington," said Obama in a White House speech attended by many of the aides who worked day and night through the various stages of the latest fiscal stalemate.

Hours after he signed into law a bill hastily cobbled together to end the crisis, Obama said events over the past two weeks had inflicted "completely unnecessary" damage on the U.S. economy.

An increase in borrowing costs caused by the near-debt default was harmful and consumers cut back on spending with hundreds of thousands of government workers suddenly idled, he said.

"There was no economic rationale for all of this," he said.

Though bruised by the battle, Obama emerged as the clear winner. He immediately sought to use the political capital gained to advance a domestic policy agenda centered around a fresh round of budget talks and an effort to win approval of two stalled items, immigration reform and a farm bill.

He did not mention an urgent challenge facing him now: Repairing the flaws in his signature healthcare law that have prevented many Americans from even signing up for it.

Obama issued an aggressive challenge to Congress, particularly the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, to stop focusing on who wins and loses political battles and get to work with him on issues critical to improving the economy.

"All of us need to stop focusing on the lobbyists and the bloggers and the talking heads on radio and the professional activists who profit from conflict and focus on what the majority of Americans sent us here to do," he said.

Obama's refusal to negotiate over the U.S. debt ceiling was credited by his aides as having forced Republicans to accept most of his terms for an agreement.

Even so, the president's strategy carried the risk of making him appear reluctant to engage his political opponents.

The US team believe the "waste removal system" is one of the fundamental reasons for sleep.

Their study, in the journal Science, showed brain cells shrink during sleep to open up the gaps between neurons and allow fluid to wash the brain clean.

They also suggest that failing to clear away some toxic proteins may play a role in brain disorders.

One big question for sleep researchers is why do animals sleep at all when it leaves them vulnerable to predators?

It has been shown to have a big role in the fixing of memories in the brain and learning, but a team at the University of Rochester Medical Centre believe that "housework" may be one of the primary reasons for sleep.

"The brain only has limited energy at its disposal and it appears that it must choose between two different functional states - awake and aware or asleep and cleaning up," said researcher Dr Maiken Nedergaard.

"You can think of it like having a house party. You can either entertain the guests or clean up the house, but you can't really do both at the same time."

Plumbing

Their findings build on last year's discovery of the brain's own network of plumbing pipes - known as the glymphatic system - which carry waste material out of the brain.

Scientists, who imaged the brains of mice, showed that the glymphatic system became 10-times more active when the mice were asleep.

Cells in the brain, probably the glial cells which keep nerve cells alive, shrink during sleep. This increases the size of the interstitial space, the gaps between brain tissue, allowing more fluid to be pumped in and wash the toxins away.

Dr Nedergaard said this was a "vital" function for staying alive, but did not appear to be possible while the mind was awake.

She told the BBC: "This is purely speculation, but it looks like the brain is losing a lot of energy when pumping water across the brain and that is probably incompatible with processing information."

She added that the true significance of the findings would be known only after human studies, but doing similar experiments in an MRI machine would be relatively easy. Commenting on the research Dr Neil Stanley, an independent sleep expert, said: "This is a very interesting study that shows sleep is essential downtime to do some housekeeping to flush out neurotoxins.

The team, from the University of Buffalo, New York, said the technology could help detect tsunamis, offering more reliable warning systems.

They aim to create an agreed standard for underwater communications, to make interaction and data-sharing easier.

Unlike normal wi-fi, which uses radio waves, the submerged network technology utilises sound waves.

Radio waves are able to penetrate water, but with severely limited range and stability. Sound waves provide a better option - as demonstrated by many aquatic species such as whales and dolphins.

Wireless communication underwater has been possible for some time, but the problem lies in getting separate systems used by different organisations to communicate with each other.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), for instance, uses acoustic waves to send data from tsunami sensors on the sea floor to buoys on the surface.

However due to infrastructure differences, this data cannot be shared quickly with other information gathered by the US Navy.

'Unprecedented ability'

Therefore, the University of Buffalo team is attempting to create a shared standard.

"A submerged wireless network will give us an unprecedented ability to collect and analyse data from our oceans in real time," said Tommaso Melodia, lead researcher.

"Making this information available to anyone with a smartphone or computer, especially when a tsunami or other type of disaster occurs, could help save lives."

The test was carried out at Lake Erie, near Buffalo. The research team dropped two 40lb (18kg) sensors into the water - and were then able to use a laptop to transmit information to them.

In future, the team hopes the sensors could be used to help detect and solve environmental issues. With a shared standard, different research groups with varied equipment could potentially combine their data gathering efforts with greater ease, and in real-time.

Chief executive Brian Krzanich said the delay was due to a technical glitch.

The Broadwell chips are expected to succeed the firm's Haswell line of processors, and are touted to be more power-efficient and faster.

Intel is the leading PC chip-maker and its updated products typically spur on new laptop and desktop sales.

"We and our (manufacturing) partners have a strong desire to get Broadwell to the market," Mr Krzanich said. "This is a small blip in the schedule."

'Tough environment'

The delay comes as Intel reported a slight fall in third quarter profits, hurt by slowing demand for personal computers (PCs).

It reported a net income of $2.95bn (£1.86bn) for the three months to the end September, compared to $2.97bn in the same period last year.

The division which makes chips for desktop computers saw sales fall 3.5%.

PC sales have now fallen for six quarters in a row and hit a five-year low in the July-to-September period.

Sales have been hurt by the growing popularity and falling prices of tablets and smartphones, hurting computer chip makers.

"The third quarter came in as expected, with modest growth in a tough environment," said Mr Krzanich said in a statement.

Shares of Yahoo were set to open 3 percent higher after the company said it was selling less of its 24 percent stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's planned initial public offering in 2014.

Analysts expect Yahoo to benefit from retaining a larger stake in Alibaba, which reported strong sales and profit growth in the second quarter.

Yahoo reported tepid profits on Tuesday, in the face of strong competition on online advertising from Facebook Inc and Google Inc.

"Yahoo continues to lose share in both display and search (advertising), but short-term, the stock should continue to benefit from Alibaba's very strong execution and prospects for a much sought-after IPO," Cantor Fitzgerald analysts wrote in a note.

The brokerage, which has a "buy" rating on Yahoo, valued the company's Asian assets, which include Alibaba and Yahoo Japan, at about $29 per share on a fully taxed bases.

That is 86 percent of Yahoo's Tuesday closing price of $33.38.

At least seven brokerages raised their price targets on Yahoo by as much as $9 to $38 a share, while two cut their targets.

"The amended sale agreement with Alibaba ... couple with our view that the IPO will price closer to our previously assigned $120 billion value (for Alibaba), leads us to see an incremental $4 value per Yahoo share," Evercore Partners analysts said.

Alibaba is preparing for an IPO that analysts expect to raise as much as $15 billion.

Yahoo, which owns 24 percent of Alibaba, cut the maximum amount it planned to sell to 40 percent of its stake from a previous sale of half.

Analysts at J.P. Morgan Securities and Cowen and Co were, however, cautious on Yahoo's core business as display advertising revenue fell 7 percent, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines. The company also lowered the midpoint of its annual revenue forecast.

The announcement on Wednesday was a blow to the expansion plans of Latin America's biggest company, which made its first foray outside of the region with its acquisition of KPN and Telekom Austria shares last year.

America Movil had accumulated nearly 30 percent of KPN's stock and it was not clear what would happen with that. America Movil declined to comment and KPN's foundation was not available for a comment.

Investors appeared to welcome the news, since it prevented a planned outlay of at least 7.2 billion euros ($9.52 billion), and America Movil's shares soared more than 6 percent immediately after the announcement before settling about 3.46 percent higher.

America Movil, which has never made an unsolicited offer, was taken aback by the KPN foundation's surprise move in August. Slim's son-in-law and main spokesman Arturo Elias said at the time that the company had been shown "a total lack of respect.

The company, in an uncharacteristically long statement in September, said it was negotiating with management and defended its offer, saying America Movil planned to invest heavily in KPN if it was able to control the company.

"The exercising of the call option by the foundation obstructs the completion of (the deal) as it is detrimental to KPN shareholders who want to participate in the deal," America Movil said in a filing.

"I think they ran out of patience," Andres Audiffred, an analyst with Ve Por Mas, said of America Movil.

America Movil's shares have been under pressure this year as investors question the value of Slim's expensive European foray, which marks a big step from the company's familiar Latin American turf.