Opera embraces WebKit in browser brain transplant

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Opera Software, an independent voice in the browser market since the 1990s, will dramatically change its strategy by instead adopting the WebKit browser engine used by Safari and Chrome.


The Norwegian company announced the move today and said it will show off the first fruits of the work with a WebKit-based version of its
Android browser at the Mobile World Congress show in less than two weeks. But the company will move to WebKit for its desktop browser, too.


A browser engine processes the Web page instructions written in HTML, JavaScript, and CSS then renders the results on screens. The engine also interactions that are increasingly important as the developer world expands from static Web pages to dynamic Web apps.


Opera Chief Technology Officer Hakon Wium Lie described the company's motives in a statement:


The WebKit engine is already very good, and we aim to take part in making it even better. It supports the standards we care about, and it has the performance we need. It makes more sense to have our experts working with the open source communities to further improve WebKit and Chromium, rather than developing our own rendering engine further. Opera will contribute to the WebKit and Chromium projects, and we have already submitted our first set of patches: to improve multi-column layout.


Hints of Opera's WebKit work emerged with a mobile-browser project called ICE in January, but today's news is a much more sweeping change than just a single product. Opera said it will move gradually to the WebKit for "most of its upcoming versions of browsers for smartphones and computers." It's not immediately clear which products will continue to use Opera's in-house technology.




Opera has struggled to keep its fifth-place ranking in the browser usage, but it's certainly not irrelevant. The company also announced today that 300 million people use its browsers each month.


But there are difficult trends the company must face. On mobile devices, Opera Mini is a strong contender, but its popularity is chiefly on lower-end phones; iOS and Android devices come with their own WebKit-based browsers. On personal computers, Google's Chrome rose from nowhere in a few years, quickly surpassing Opera and
Safari, while Microsoft by some measures has reversed declines in its share of browser usage.


The WebKit project began as the KHTML engine used in the KDE project to supply Linux with a polished user interface and a host of software utilities, but Apple became its chief sponsor when it based OS X's WebKit on the project. WebKit got another major boost with Google's embrace.


One notable consequence of moving to WebKit is that Opera will be able to more easily support the large and growing number of iOS devices. Apple rules prohibit browser engines besides a version of WebKit that Apple itself supplies (and incidentally, that runs slower than the version Safari on iOS itself uses). Google's Chrome for iOS uses this Apple-supplied version of WebKit, and Opera would be able to make such a move more easily if its own browser used WebKit, too.


WebKit is not a single, unified project, though. For example, Chrome and Safari differ dramatically under the covers in how they execute the JavaScript programs on Web pages. Chrome uses Google's V8 JavaScript engine, whereas Safari uses a different one called Nitro. It's not clear which Opera will use.


Another consequence of Opera's change is that developers could have an easier time supporting browsers. Although independent testing will still be required, Web pages likely will be easier to write and test -- especially advanced ones using newer features such as animations and "responsive" design that can handle a wide variety of screen types.


With Opera throwing in the towel on its own technology, the bulk of the browser market will be reduced to three primary engines: WebKit, Microsoft's Trident, and Mozilla's Gecko.


Updated at 12:53 a.m. PT
with further details.


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Charred Human Remains Found in Burned Cabin

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Investigators have located charred human remains in the burned out cabin where they believe suspected cop killer and ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner was holed up as the structure burned to the ground, police said.


The human remains were found within the debris of the burned cabin and identification will be attempted through forensic means, the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department said in a press release early this morning.


Dorner barricaded himself in the cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear Tuesday afternoon after engaging in a gunfight with police, killing one officer and injuring another, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said.


Cindy Bachman, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, which is the lead agency in the action, said Tuesday night investigators would remain at the site all night.


FULL COVERAGE: Christopher Dorner Manhunt


When Bachman was asked if police thought Dorner was in still in the burning cabin, she said, "Right… We believe that the person that barricaded himself inside the cabin engaged in gunfire with our deputies and other law enforcement officers is still inside there, even though the building burned."


Bachman spoke shortly after the Los Angeles Police Department denied earlier reports that a body was found in the cabin, contradicting what law enforcement sources told ABC News and other news organizations.








Christopher Dorner Manhunt: Police Exchange Fire With Possible Suspect Watch Video











Fugitive Ex-Cop Believed Barricaded in Cabin, California Cops Say Watch Video





Police around the cabin told ABC News they saw Dorner enter but never leave the building as it was consumed by flames, creating a billowing column of black smoke seen for miles.


A press conference is scheduled for later today in San Bernardino.


One sheriff's deputy was killed in a shootout with Dorner earlier Tuesday afternoon, believed to be his fourth and victim after killing an LAPD officer and two other people this month, including the daughter of a former police captain, and promising to kill many more in an online manifesto.



PHOTOS: Former LAPD Officer Suspected in Shootings


Cops said they heard a single gunshot go off from inside the cabin just as they began to see smoke and fire. Later they heard the sound of more gunshots, the sound of ammunition being ignited by the heat of the blaze, law enforcement officials said.


Police did not enter the building, but exchanged fire with Dorner and shot tear gas into the building.


One of the largest dragnets in recent history, which led police to follow clues across the West and into Mexico, apparently ended just miles from where Dorner's trail went cold last week.


Police got a break at 12:20 p.m. PT, when they received a 911 call that a suspect resembling Dorner had broken into a home in the Big Bear area, taken two hostages and stolen a car.


The two hostages, who were tied up by Dorner but later escaped, were evaluated by paramedics and were determined to be uninjured.


Rick Heltebrake told ABC News Radio that Dorner had "a big rifle" when he stole his truck.


"[Dorner] said I don't want to hurt you just get out and start walking up the road and take your dog with you. He was calm. I was calm. I would say I was in fear for my life but there was no panic.


Officials say Dorner crashed the stolen vehicle and fled on foot to the cabin where he barricaded himself and exchanged fire with deputies from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Office and state Fish and Game officers.


Two deputies were wounded in the firefight and airlifted to a nearby hospital, where one died, police said. The second deputy was in surgery and was expected to survive, police said.


Police sealed all the roads into the area, preventing cars from entering the area and searching all of those on the way out. Are schools were briefly placed on lockdown.






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Arctic sunshine cranks up threat from greenhouse gases

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IT'S a solar double whammy. Not only does sunlight melt Arctic ice, but it also speeds up the conversion of frozen organic matter into carbon dioxide.











The amount of carbon in dead vegetation preserved in the far northern permafrost is estimated to be twice what the atmosphere holds as CO2. Global warming could allow this plant matter to decompose, releasing either CO2 or methane – both greenhouse gases. The extent of the risk remains uncertain because the release mechanisms are not clear.













Rose Cory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her colleagues analysed water from ponds forming on melting permafrost at 27 sites across the Arctic. They found that the amount of CO2 released was 40 per cent higher when the water was exposed to ultraviolet light than when kept dark. This is because UV light, a component of sunlight, raises the respiration rate of soil bacteria and fungi, amplifying the amount of organic matter they break down and the amount of CO2 released.












The thawing Arctic is emerging as a potentially major source of positive feedback that could accelerate global warming beyond existing projections. "Our task now is to quantify how fast this previously frozen carbon may be converted to CO2, so that models can include the process," Cory says.












Journal reference: PNAS, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1214104110.




















































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Catholic Church in S'pore surprised by Pope Benedict XVI's sudden resignation

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SINGAPORE: The Catholic Church in Singapore is reeling from the news of Pope Benedict XVI's sudden resignation. The 85-year-old pontiff announced on Monday that he will step down on February 28, and cited age as the main factor for his decision.

Pope Benedict XVI is the first pontiff to resign in centuries, and Catholics in Singapore are still trying to come to terms with this break in tradition.

"I'm really surprised because normally Popes, they live and do their duties until God calls them back home," said a local Catholic.

The news also shocked the head of Singapore's Catholic Church, Archbishop Nicholas Chia.

He said: "Well, we're all very surprised by the announcement by Pope Benedict XVI about his resignation. We never expected it. But definitely he has been thinking about it, and with such serious reasons, he is taking the step."

Calling the outgoing Pope a brilliant man and a great academic, Archbishop Chia said he has also made great contributions to the Catholic Church.

"We're all very grateful to him for all he has done during his pontificate since 2005, and contributing so much to the church. We are sorry to lose him. But at the same time, we know that it is for the good of the church, for the future. So we pray for him," added Archbishop Chia.

Church leaders in Singapore said the Pope's resignation shows great humility.

Eugene Vaz, the Vicar-General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore, said: "I think (this is an) encouraging note to all Catholics in Singapore. An inspirational moment also... We've got a leader who's really caring. Not just for himself but for the Church, and ready to take the steps to make sure that the Church would move on, continue being relevant.

"As he himself says, at his age, he finds it difficult to keep pace with the quick changes that are taking place in the world. So you need somebody who would be more adept to that. And he feels his time is over."

Monsignor Vaz added that the Pope will be remembered for his strong leadership and as a champion of Catholic tradition.

-CNA/ac



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CNET Giveaway: Geek Squad-certified refurbished Kindle Fire

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Been staying up nights pining for a tablet of your very own? Here is your chance. Cast your vote below and be entered to win* one of five Geek Squad-certified refurbished Kindle Fires provided by our friends at Best Buy.

If you already have a
Kindle Fire, then we know you are mostly using it to check out the latest in tech using the oh-so-cool CNET app, but we are curious to know what else you are using it for. Enter below for a chance to win one for a friend or another for yourself. And be sure to check out CNET editor Sharon Vaknin's e-book guide to mastering the Kindle Fire.


Interested in winning? Here are the rules:


  • Register as a CNET user. Click on the log-in/join button on the upper right of this blog post. If you're not already registered, please do so. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again -- you just need to be logged in.

  • Vote in the poll -- select what you think is the best thing to do with a
    tablet.

  • Enter only once. You may enter for this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than once, you will be automatically disqualified.

  • There will be five (5) winners chosen randomly. Each winner will receive one (1)
    Kindle Fire (first generation) Geek Squad-certified refurbished, which has a list price of $129.95.
  • If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. The winner must respond within three days of the end of the sweepstakes. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
  • Entries can be submitted until Sunday, February 17, at 11:59 p.m. PT.
  • Thanks for entering the contest, and good luck!

Some legalese:

* NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. YOU HAVE NOT YET WON. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE UNITED STATES OR CANADA (EXCLUDING QUEBEC), 18 YEARS OLD OR AGE OF MAJORITY, WHICHEVER IS OLDER IN YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCE AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. SWEEPSTAKES ENDS 02/17/13. SEE RULES FOR DETAILS.


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Kumbh Mela: Pictures From the Hindu Holy Festival

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North Korea Says it Has Conducted a Nuclear Test

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North Korea says it has successfully tested a miniaturized nuclear device Tuesday, according to state media.


A large tremor measured at magnitude 4.9 was detected in North Korea and governments in the region scrambled to determine whether it was a nuclear test that the North Korean regime has vowed to carry out despite international protests.


Official state media said the test was conducted in a safe manner and is aimed at coping with "outrageous" U.S. hostility that "violently" undermines the North's peaceful, sovereign rights to launch satellites. Unlike previous tests, North Korea used a powerful explosive nuclear bomb that is smaller and lighter, state media reported.


President Obama called the test "a highly provocative act" in a statement Tuesday morning.


"The danger posed by North Korea's threatening activities warrants further swift and credible action by the international community. The United States will also continue to take steps necessary to defend ourselves and our allies,"Obama said.


"The United States remains vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations and steadfast in our defense commitments to allies in the region," he added.


The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on North Korea's nuclear test later this morning.


Suspicions were aroused when the U.S. Geological Survey said it had detected a magnitude 4.9 earthquake Tuesday in North Korea.


The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization told ABC News, "We confirm that a suspicious seismic event has taken place in North Korea."










North Korea Threatens More Nuclear Tests, Warns U.S. Watch Video







"The event shows clear explosion-like characteristics and its location is roughly congruent with the 2006 and 2009 DPRK (North Korea) nuclear tests," said Tibor Toth, executive secretary of the organization.


"If confirmed as a nuclear test, this act would constitute a clear threat to international peace and security, and challenges efforts made to strengthen global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation," Toth said in a statement on the organization's web site.


Kim Min-seok, a South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman, told reporters that North Korea informed United States and China that it intended to carry out another nuclear test, according to the AP. But U.S. officials did not respond to calls from ABC News Monday night.


The seismic force measured 6 to 7 kilotons, according to South Korea.


"Now that's an absolutely huge explosion by conventional terms. It's a smallish, but not tiny explosion by nuclear terms. It's about two-thirds the size of the bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima," James Acton, a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told ABC News.


North Korea threatened in January to carry out a "higher-level" test following the successful Dec. 12 launch of a long range rocket. At the time, North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un said his country's weapons tests were specifically targeting the United States.


The suspicious tremor comes just hours before President Obama is to give the State of the Union address, and it marks the first diplomatic test in the region for new Secretary of State John Kerry.


Also, South Korea's new president, Park Geun-hye, is scheduled to be sworn in on Feb. 25. One of North Korea's biggest holidays, Kim Jong-il's birthday, falls on Feb. 16.


China, North Korea's main ally in the region, has warned North Korea it would cut back severely needed food assistance if it carried out a test. Each year China donates approximately half of the food North Korea lacks to feed its people and half of all oil the country consumes.


Both of North Korea's previous tests used a plutonium-based method for making bomb fuel. The first was deemed a failure, the second only slightly less so. If the most recent test used HEU (highly enriched uranium), a far more difficult-to-detect method of producing bomb fuel, it would be a significant and worrisome step forward for North Korea's weapons program.






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Why we're building a €1 billion model of a human brain

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The Human Brain Project has just won a €1 billion research prize. Its director Henry Markram says the initiative will unify our understanding of the brain












Your project aims to recreate the human brain in a supercomputer. Why?
We want to reach a unified understanding of the brain and the simulation on a supercomputer is the tool. Today you have neuroscientists working on a genetic, behavioural or cognitive level, and then you have informaticians, chemists and mathematicians. They all have their own understanding of how the brain functions and is structured. How do you get them all around the same table? We think of the project as like a CERN for the brain. The model is our way of bringing everyone, and our understanding, together.












What do you hope will come of the project?
There are three goals. As the model becomes more accurate and behaves more like a brain, we could couple it to a robot and see the robot learning. Then we'll be able to trace the chain of events from molecules to cognition.












Second, we plan to collect data from hospitals around the world to search for biological signatures of disease. We believe this will give us a new classification of brain disease, which can be used to diagnose people objectively - not solely based on their symptoms.












And finally, we want to build neuromorphic computers, which would have processors that can learn, mimicking the way the brain does.












How close are you to recreating a brain?
We've developed an algorithm to work out some of the rules for how to reconstruct the brain. We can now make thousands of predictions that when tested are accurate, and we can reconstruct small brain circuits of up to about 1 million rat neurons. Now we've got to connect those groups of neurons to make brain regions, then connect the regions to make a computer model of a whole brain. Once we've modelled a rat brain, then we update the rules and gradually move towards a human model.












Could the model be too detailed?
People are afraid of detail and complexity. But a drug is a molecule. It doesn't hit a cell, or the brain, it hits other molecules. There's no reason why we shouldn't try to explain how all the molecules are interacting with one another. Sheer numbers do not equal complexity. One hundred billion neurons is numbers, not complexity.












What about criticisms that it drains funds from more readily achievable neuroscience?
That is an incredibly short-sighted view of how a big science project impacts the rest of the field. Take the Human Genome Project - you can criticise them for all the promises they made at the time, but we would be in the dark ages now if we hadn't done that project. It has benefitted every biologist and geneticist on the planet today.












Once completed, could the simulated brain ever become conscious?
When we couple the model to a robot, the robot will behave, and we'll see this in the way its neurons are firing. Does that mean it's conscious? That's a philosophical question - and an unresolved one.












This article appeared in print under the headline "One minute with... Henry Markram"




















Profile







Henry Markram is the director of the Human Brain Project at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). The project just won a €1 billion European research prize











































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New pilot scheme to fund youth projects which promote family bonding

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SINGAPORE: The National Family Council has launched a pilot scheme to encourage youths to start projects that promote family values and bonding,

The scheme, called Project Superglue, will provide successful applicants a one-time funding of up to S$10,000.

Some of these projects will be showcased in June 2013 as part of the council's National Family Celebrations.

One group which received funds created a collection of tales called "Happily Ever After...Now What?" They put their own spin on well-known fairy tales, incorporating information about fertility issues.

Nanyang Technological University undergraduate Chan Luo Er said the group plans to distribute their books in universities here.

She said: "Fertility is a hard topic, so fairy tales are actually a softer way to draw our audience in, before we actually educate them about the hard facts. The storylines are really short, they're a bit snarky. Youths of our age would be able to relate to them better because they're kind of sarcastic."

-CNA/ac



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Most-viewed tech on CNET right now

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Click through to find out where the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 falls on the list.


We spend a lot of time evaluating tech around here, looking at both the hardware and the software sides, and telling you which products we think are worth your hard-earned dough and which are best avoided. Behind the scenes, we're always keeping an eye on what you're looking at as well. Some gadgets are obviously going to draw a lot of attention, their appearance on the list of most viewed a given, but sometimes a product pops up that surprises us and gives a bit of insight into where consumer trends may be headed.


Without further ado, let's count down the top 20 products that you've clicked on the most over the past four weeks.


 
































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