Apple delivers first Mac OS X Lion update

Apple today issued the first update for OS X Lion, the new operating system it launched four weeks ago.

Mac OS X 10.7.1 comes in two versions for client systems: One for the new MacBook Air and Mac Mini that Apple refreshed last month, another for all other machines running the new operating system.
Apple said both updates fix problems users have encountered while playing video in Safari, improves the reliability of Wi-Fi connections, and quashes a bug that silenced audio when using routing data from a Mac via optical or HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) adaptors.
Several MacBook Air- and Mac Mini-specific problems were dealt with the update targeting those new systems, including one that supposedly deals with display flickering on the Air and another that is supposed to boost the speed of data transfers from the SD card slot on the Mini.
Users who quickly grabbed 10.7.1 reported different results for other problems that have garnered attention on Apple's support forum. In a very long and popular thread -- viewed over 46,000 times -- with the title "Lion randomly crashes - black screen" some users said that 10.7.1 had eliminated their BSODs (Black Screen of Death) while others said theirs persisted.
What's notable about 10.7.1 is its small size relative to typical Apple updates: 10.7.1 weighed in at just 17.4MB on several iMacs, compared with as much as 453MB for Mac OS X 10.6.8, the update to Snow Leopard Apple shipped in late June.
Lion is the first Mac OS X edition that deals out smaller "delta" updates, ones which deliver only changes. The change to delta updates will most affect Mac owners with slow or heavily-metered connections to the Internet.
By shifting to delta updates, Apple is following in the footsteps of its OS rival Microsoft, which has long shipped smaller patches and bug fixes. Microsoft's most recent Patch Tuesday, for instance, included eight updates to Windows XP that added up to 15.9MB worth of downloads.
There are apparently no security patches included with the 10.7.1 update.
The version of 10.7.1 for new MacBook Airs and Mac Minis is available from this page on Apple's website, while 10.7.1 for other machines can be found here.

 

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European leaders call for action as economy hits wall

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The leaders of France and Germany on Tuesday called for more integrated economic policies to help stabilize the euro and restore growth across the European Union.
But the comments disappointed many on Wall Street who were hoping the leaders would announce new plans to contain the sovereign debt crisis roiling global markets.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Paris to discuss, among other things, a proposed "golden rule" to require all 17 members of the currency union to commit to balanced budgets.
The goal, they said, is to promote greater "convergence" among the policies of the core members of the EU, such as France and Germany, with those of the more troubled nations on the union's periphery.
EU officials have been under pressure to come up with a lasting solution to the union's long-running debt crisis as market has accelerated in recent weeks. But Sarkozy and Merkel stopped short of endorsing an increase in the size of the EU's bailout fund, and were cool to the idea of a pan-European bond.

Who in the world is most in debt?

The meeting came on the same day that Eurostat, the EU statistical agency, reported a sharp slowdown in economic growth during the second quarter.
Gross domestic product for the European Union as a whole grew at a quarterly rate of 0.2%, according to preliminary estimates from Eurostat.
It was the weakest growth rate in two years and came after a 0.8% expansion in the first three months of 2011. Economists were expecting growth to have slowed, with many projecting a 0.3% rate in the quarter.
Germany, the largest economy in Europe, nearly ground to a halt in the quarter. The nation's GDP grew at a quarterly rate of only 0.1%, down from 1.3% in the first quarter.
France, the second largest EU economy, reported last week that its economy did not grow at all in the second quarter.
Merkel and Sarkozy both sounded optimistic about the outlook for economic growth in Europe. But Merkel acknowledged that weak economic growth abroad presents a challenge for Germany's export-driven economy.
In the United States, investors were particularly disappointed that Sarkozy said the size of the 440 billion EU stability fund is sufficient, despite economists' push to greatly expand the bailout fund. Some are even calling for funding of more than 1 trillion euro.

Sarkozy also said a tax on financial transactions is a "priority" for EU policymakers.
The leaders also agreed that issuing euro bonds, a collective bond to help pay off the debt of the peripheral countries, will not solve the European debt crisis.
The weakness in Europe's economic powerhouses raises concerns about the ability of stronger EU economies to support struggling members outside the core of the European Union.
Stock markets across Europe sold off after the GDP numbers were announced. But shares recovered late in the day to close modestly lower.
The slowdown was the latest sign that global economic activity has shifted into low gear.

World's 10 largest economies

On Monday, the Japanese government said GDP fell 0.3% in the second quarter. But the decline was smaller than expected, given the disruptions caused by the March earthquake.
Meanwhile, the U.S. economy grew 0.3% in the second quarter, compared with the prior quarter, according to statistics released last month. The annual growth rate for the United States was 1.3%.
In Europe, the decline in output came against a backdrop of turmoil, as the long-running debt crisis in Greece, Portugal and Ireland accelerated in the second quarter.
Investors have been rattled by fears that larger economies, including Spain and Italy, may need to be bailed out. That has raised fears about the future viability of the 12-year old currency union.
Meanwhile, political leaders in Europe have been working to contain the continent's sovereign debt problems and stabilize the euro.
The European Council announced a new €109 billion rescue package last month, and agreed to expand the powers of the EU financial stability fund.
To calm jittery financial markets, the European Central Bank began buying Spanish and Italian bonds last week. In addition, regulators imposed a temporary ban on short selling of stocks in France, Spain, Italy and Belgium.  

 

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The 10 key myths about Osama bin Laden

1. Osama bin Laden was 'created' by the CIA
He did not receive any direct funding or training from the US during the 1980s. Nor did his followers. The Afghan mujahideen, via Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency, received large amounts of both. Some bled to the Arabs fighting the Soviets but nothing significant.
2. He had a huge personal fortune
Bin Laden was forced to leave any cash he had when he in effect fled Saudi Arabia in 1991 for Pakistan and then Sudan. His family cut him off. Nor would the inheritance from his hugely wealthy father have been divided into equal parts anyway. What Bin Laden did have was contacts, which allowed him to raise money with ease.
3. He was responsible for 1993 bombing of World Trade Centre
Ramzi Yousef, who was the main perpetrator of the attack, was probably working for Khaled Sheikh Mohammed who was an independent operator at the time. Mohammed only started working with al-Qaida in 1996 and even then kept his distance from Bin Laden.
4. He got money from drug running
No evidence for this whatsoever despite repeated claims – such as in the post 9/11 British government dossier on al-Qaida.
5. He never exposed himself to any danger
He did not single-handedly seize a short-barrelled AK-47 from a dying Soviet general as he sometimes claimed but numerous witnesses report that he was in the thick of fighting in Jaji in 1987 and again at the battle of Jalalabad in 1989.
6. He spent a lot of time in caves
In the late 1990s, for propaganda purposes, Bin Laden invited select journalists to meet him in caves near Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan. However he lived in a much more comfortable compound a short drive away, near the former Soviet collective farm of Hadda owned by a local warlord. By 1999 he had moved to a complex of houses near Kandahar. When he was killed, he was living in a relatively comfortable detached house in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In between, there is no evidence that he spent any time living in caves. The rest of al-Qaida's senior militants appear to have lived in the semi-fortified houses that are common in the tribal zones.
7. He was a tearaway teenager who partied in Beirut before becoming religious.
There is no evidence for this either. Bin Laden appears to have been an intense, shy and pious youth who married young and spent an inordinate amount of time studying scripture.
8. He was near to dying of a kidney disease.
There are some reports – not least in the Guantánamo files – of renal problems but certainly not serious enough to kill him. It is more likely he had back problems caused by his height (around 6ft 5in) and relatively sedentary lifestyle.
9. He hid in Kashmir, was the leader of Chechen groups, was responsible for violence in the Philippines and in Indonesia, organised the Madrid 2004 attack and had an extensive network in Paraguay, sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa.
All these claims, made by various governments or intelligence services over the last decade have proved totally without foundation.
10. Bin Laden was an Arsenal fan
Despite fans reportedly chanting "Osama, woah-woah, Osama, woah-waoh, he's hiding in Kabul, he loves the Arsenal", Bin Laden was not a faithful of the north London club.

 

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Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon semi-submersible Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit experienced a large explosion and fire, while drilling in the Macondo Prospect oil field about 40 miles (60 km) southeast of the Louisiana coast. The blast caused an underwater wellhead to erupt and started a massive offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which flowed for three months. The environmental disaster is considered the largest in U.S. history. In all, the event resulted in the release of approximately 4.9 million barrels or 205.8 million gallons of crude oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. The spill continues to cause severe damage to marine and wildlife habitats, as well as the Gulf’s fishing and tourism industries.
By late November 2010, 320 miles (510 km) of the Louisiana shoreline was closed because of the spill. In January 2011, eight months after the explosion, an oil spill commissioner reported that tar balls continue to wash ashore, wetlands are fouled and dying, and crude oil remains visible off the Gulf of Mexico coastlines. Scientists have reported immense underwater plumes of dissolved oil not visible on the surface, as well as an 80-square-mile (210 km) “kill zone” surrounding the damaged BP well, where it looks like everything is dead on the seafloor. The disaster has put hundreds of endangered animal species at risk.
The North Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, prized for sushi and sashimi, regularly travels across the Atlantic seaboard to spawn in the Gulf of Mexico. Five of the world’s seven sea turtle species live, migrate and breed in the Gulf region. Kemp’s ridley is the world’s most endangered species of sea turtle. Ten days after the accident, scientists recorded 156 sea turtle deaths, most of the victims were Kemp’s ridleys. The grass beds south of the Chandeleur Islands are very close to the oil spill. These grasses are a nursing area for a large number of shark species. Oil spills pose an immediate threat to marine mammals because they need to surface and breathe. Some other notable creatures at risk are Louisiana oysters, shrimp, blue crab, and a huge collection of birds, including the Brown Pelican.
One of the biggest unknown factors surrounding the spill is related to the dispersants BP used to fight the oil. Dispersants are a collection of chemicals that rapidly disperse large amounts of certain types of oil from the sea surface by transferring it into the water column. The oil is effectively spread over a larger volume of water and taken off the surface of the ocean. Dispersants can delay the formation of persistent oil-in-water emulsions. The problem is that laboratory experiments show that dispersants have increased the toxic hydrocarbon levels in fish by a factor of up to 100 and may kill fish eggs. Some people believe that BP used these chemicals because they wanted the oil out of sight and mind.
BP didn’t want people to see the oil collecting on the surface of the water, so they made the premature decision to use the dispersants. A dispersant was used in an attempt to clean up the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989. During that spill, fisheries didn’t see a dramatic decline in business right away. However, four years after the disaster, the herring market made a strong decline. Since that time, there has been a steady downward trend of the salmon fisheries in the area where the Exxon Valdez spill occurred, which is Prince William Sound, Alaska. This has concerned environmentalists who have predicted that the damage caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is only beginning to impact the world economy and sea life.

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World Floods

World Floods

Beginning in late 2010 and early 2011, a series of floods have devastated certain areas of the world, most notably Australia and Rio de Janeiro. In December 2010, a great flood hit the state of Queensland, Australia, including its capital city, Brisbane. The floods forced the evacuation of at least 70 towns and over 200,000 people were affected. The December 2010 Gascoyne River flood was the one of the most severe floods to ever take place along the Gascoyne River in Western Australia. It was triggered by record-breaking rainfall, amounting to over 6,000% of the monthly mean in just four days. The flood caused widespread damage in the region, most notably the coastal town of Carnarvon.
A high intensity of rainfall between January 12 and 14, 2011, caused major flooding across much of the western and central parts of the Australian state of Victoria. The question has been raised. When will the rain stop? Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser said it is not possible to put a figure on the damage, but a rough estimate is currently putting lost revenue from Australia’s GDP at about A$30 billion. The floods damaged a large portion of Australia’s coal mines and cotton plantings, among other resources. The 2010 La Niña weather pattern, which brings wetter conditions to eastern Australia, was the strongest since 1973.
Record or near to record sea surface temperatures were recorded off the Queensland coast in late 2010. The month of December, 2010, was Queensland’s wettest on record. 2010 was the Australian continent’s third wettest year ever. Communities isolated by floodwaters have experienced food shortages, and a rise in the cost of fruits and vegetables. On January 11, the Wivenhoe Dam in South East Queensland filled to a level equivalent to 191% of its supply capacity. The dam can hold the equivalent of 225% of its supply capacity. As of January 14, 2011, 30 deaths have been attributed to the Australian floods, 15 of which are from the Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley area. Additionally, 14 people are listed as missing.
Starting on January 11, 2011, a series of floods and mudslides struck the Mountainous Region in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. The floods have caused at least 763 deaths so far, including 367 in the Nova Friburgo area and 310 in the city of Teresópolis. In a 24-hour period between January 11 and 12, 2011, this area of Brazil registered more rainfall than was expected for the entire month. Following the downpour, many areas in the region flooded. The disaster caused widespread property damage. Around 2960 people had their homes destroyed. The Brazilian local media has claimed that the combination of floods, mudslides and landslides in Rio de Janeiro has become the worst weather-related natural disaster in the country’s history. However, a similar flooding event occurred in 1967 when 1,700 people lost their lives.

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Ajka Alumina Plant Accident

Ajka Alumina Plant Accident

On October 4, 2010, approximately one million cubic meters of red mud was released from an alumina plant near Kolontár, in western Hungary. The ecological disaster occurred when the northwestern corner of the caustic waste dam at the Ajkai Timföldgyár alumina plant collapsed, releasing liquid waste from the red mud lakes. Red mud is a solid waste product of the Bayer process, which is the way industries refine bauxite to produce alumina. Alumina is then used in the production of aluminum metal. The toxic material presents one of the industry’s most challenging disposal problems. In most countries where red mud is produced, it is pumped into holding ponds, which need to be contained with large dams.
Due to the Bayer process, the red mud is highly basic with a pH ranging from 10 to 13. During the 2010 Ajka accident, the red mud was released as a 1–2 m (3–7 ft) wave, flooding several nearby localities, including the village of Kolontár and the town of Devecser. The high pH levels of the mud caused severe chemical burns to humans and animals, killing life in rivers and contaminating soil. At least nine people died and 122 people were injured. The chemicals extinguished all life in the 100 km (62 mi) long Marcal River.
On October 7, 2010, the red mud reached the Danube River, prompting countries, such as Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine to develop emergency plans in response. The Danube is Europe’s second longest river. It is notable for being classified as an international waterway. On October 11, the Hungarian government announced that the managing director of the company involved with the disaster had been arrested, to be charged with “criminal negligence leading to a public catastrophe.” After the spill, emergency teams began pouring plaster and acetic acid (vinegar) into the Raba-Danube meeting point to lower the pH value.
After a government inquest, the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán released a statement that indicated the cause of the spill was, presumably, human error. The Hungarian government has also said that the mud is “not poisonous” to humans. It has been suggested that the heavy metal concentrations are not continuing to impact the environment. On the hierarchy of industrial wastes, red mud is not as toxic as most. However, recent studies of the soil have indicated that a high level of salt in the ground is negatively impacting plant life. The ecological disaster remains one of the worst in the history of Hungary. Following the accident, a second dam was build directly behind the original to prevent the weakened wall from a complete failure.
 

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2010 Eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull

Eyjafjallajökull is one of Iceland’s smaller ice caps, located in the far south of the island. It is situated to the north of Skógar and to the west of the larger ice cap, Mýrdalsjökull. Eyjafjallajökull covers the caldera of a volcano, with a summit elevation of 1,666 meters (5,466 ft). The volcano has erupted relatively frequently since the last ice age. Before 2010, the most recent major event was in 1920. The 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruptions weren’t the largest ever recorded, but the subsequent ash clouds that were released caused an enormous disruption to air travel across western and northern Europe over a six day period in April 2010. It was the highest level of air travel disruption since the Second World War.
The most severe explosion occurred on April 14, 2010, and resulted in an estimated 250 million cubic meters (330,000,000 cu yd) of ejected tephra. The ash plume rose to a height of approximately 9 kilometers (30,000 ft). The subsequent air traffic closures caused millions of passengers to be stranded, not only in Europe, but across the world. Between the months of April and May, 2010, various regions, including Ireland, Scotland, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, northern Italy and Austria, had to completely close their airspace. The volcano was able to inject its ash plume directly into the jet stream. The ash was then carried over Europe into some of the busiest airspace in the world.
Previous eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull have historically been followed by eruptions of its larger neighbor, Katla. In the past 1,000 years, all three known eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull have triggered a subsequent Katla event, often times within months of each other. Katla is one of the largest and more dangerous volcanoes in Iceland. On April 20, 2010, Icelandic President Ólafur Grímsson said “the time for Katla to erupt is coming close, we [Iceland] have prepared. It is high time for European governments and airline authorities all over Europe and the world to start planning for the eventual Katla eruption.” The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that the airline industry worldwide lost €148 million (US$200 million, GB£130 million) a day during the air travel disruptions.

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