Why I still love the Nexus 7

There's something about the holidays and the cold January that often follows in the Northeast that makes me want to curl up on the couch with a good book -- or in this day and age, a book on my e-reader or
tablet.

The
Nexus 7 debuted more than six months ago at Google's annual developer conference, but I am still a big fan of the device. And I have no trouble recommending it to tablet buyers.

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I explain why the Nexus 7 is still a good device at a decent price. One Ask Maggie reader is tired of squinting to read books on his smartphone, but he's troubled by the $200 price tag. Meanwhile, the second reader is debating whether to get the smaller 7-inch Nexus 7 mini-tablet or a bigger
Android tablet from Samsung.

Nexus 7 or e-reader?

Dear Maggie,
I am debating whether I should get the Nexus 7 or not. The primary reason is the fact that I read books from the Google Play Store on my Razr Maxx right now and would love to have a larger screen that is portable. But at this point I have managed to read on the smaller screen, and I'm not sure spending $200 for a bigger screen makes sense. I've looked at e-readers, but if I am going to spend any money on a new device, I'd like to have the ability to do other things in addition to reading books. It would be great to be able to read email, play games, watch movies, etc.

I don't like using my computer for Web browsing and reading, but my smartphone seems too small. Do you think I should spend the $200 to get another device like the Nexus 7?

Based on your experiences, what would you recommend?

Thanks,
MagicWithMeaning

Dear MagicWithMeaning,
I hear you. I also think that a smartphone is too small for reading, although I know some people who don't mind it. My colleague Stephen Shankland read the entire Steve Jobs biography on his smartphone in a single night and wrote an amazing review of the book when it came out. I am afraid if I had attempted the same thing, I would have gone blind. And I probably would have only gotten through a quarter of the book in a night.

There's an array of options when it comes to choosing a device for reading e-books.

(Credit:
Sarah Tew/CNET)

At any rate, as I said, some people really don't mind the smaller size of a smartphone. And since you can magnify the text, it's certainly doable. But it sounds like you don't find this situation ideal. And I'm with you.

I think the Nexus 7 is a terrific step up, and I highly recommend it to readers. It's very light, and the size is perfect. It's about the size of a typical paperback book and can easily be held with one hand. It fits nicely into a pocket or purse, so it's portable if you read while commuting or traveling.

And since it comes with the full Android OS, you can access just about anything from the Google Play store. I mention this because other tablets of a similar size, such as the Kindle Fire, offer only a limited catalog of books, games, and movies. Whatever is available via Amazon is what's available on the Kindle Fire. This is great if you are already using that ecosystem to purchase your books and other media. But it sounds like you are already getting books and other stuff via the Google Play store, so it makes sense for you to continue using that ecosystem.

I know the $200 price tag isn't cheap. But it's a good deal considering how much other gadgets cost. Even full-priced smartphones are $400 to $500 more than the Wi-Fi only Nexus 7 tablet.

If you're looking to do more with your device, then the mini-tablet is a good pick over something like a dedicated e-reader. But the one thing I like about e-readers is the e-ink display. I think that display is a bit easier on my eyes, and I can sit and read a book for much longer than if I am using a device like the Nexus 7, which has a backlit screen.

But that is just my personal preference. I know plenty of people who don't have a problem with backlit screens. And in fact, it makes it easier to read in the dark, something that can't be done with an e-ink device.

I agree that if you're looking for the most bang for your buck, you might as well get a tablet that will give you a full browser and access to entire an app store instead of a limited-use e-reader.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2

(Credit:
Josh Miller/CNET)

But there is one option that you didn't mention in your question. What about getting a "phablet?" If you are able to upgrade to a new smartphone soon you may want to consider something like the Galaxy Note 2. With a 5.5-inch display, it's between the size of most Android smartphones and the 7-inch Nexus 7 tablet. It costs about $300 from carriers such as AT&T with a two-year contract. This is more than other smartphones such as the Galaxy S3. And it's more than the Nexus 7. But if you did need a new smartphone and you didn't want to buy a separate device, it might be a good compromise.

If a new smartphone isn't in the cards for you right now and you really are teetering on the edge of whether to buy the Nexus 7 or not, I'd say go for it. I know that $200 is nothing to sneeze at for many people. But when compared to larger tablets and full-priced smartphones, it's a bargain.

If you are strapped for cash, you could always wait a little longer to see if Google announces a cheaper version of the device. There are some reports from Asia that Google may be readying a $99 mini-tablet.

I hope this advice was helpful. And good luck!

Nexus 7 vs. Galaxy Tab 2 10.1

Dear Maggie,
I'm getting my first Android tablet, but I'm on a strict budget. I have wanted the Nexus 7 for a while, but found a great deal ($270) for a refurbished Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1. Which is better?

Thanks,
TEP

Dear TEP,
The answer to your question really depends on which screen size you like better. The Galaxy Tab 2 has a bigger 10-inch screen, while the Nexus 7 has the smaller 7-inch screen. Personally, I prefer the smaller screen to the bigger one. The smaller tablets are easier to stick in a pocket, bag, or purse. And you can hold it with one hand. I use the Nexus 7 for reading, and I find that it's fairly light and easy to hold with one hand.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1

(Credit:
Samsung)

That said, the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is a fine device. And it has gotten decent marks from CNET and other tech reviewers. If you like that size device and you want an Android tablet, then that is a good device to consider. And the price certainly sounds right.

But if the size is really a toss-up, and you could go either way, then I would still choose the Nexus 7. CNET rated it as one of the best Android tablets on the market. And at $200 brand new, it's still $70 less than the refurbished Galaxy Tab 2 that you have found.

I hope this advice was helpful. Good luck. And Happy New Year!

Ask Maggie is an advice column that answers readers' wireless and broadband questions. The column now appears twice a week on CNET, offering readers a double dosage of Ask Maggie's advice. If you have a question, I'd love to hear from you. Please send me an e-mail at maggie dot reardon at cbs dot com. And please put "Ask Maggie" in the subject header. You can also follow me on Facebook on my Ask Maggie page.

Read More..

Space Pictures This Week: Ice “Broccoli,” Solar Storm

• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Happy Trails

  Photograph by Alex Cherney, TWAN

  Amateur astronomer Alex Cherney captured these star trails as they blazed above Lake Tyrrell, a salt lake in Victoria, Australia in October 2011 and posted to The World At Night website December 25, 2012.

  (See pictures of another Australian salt lake, Lake Eyre.)

  Published December 31, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Tokyo From Space

  
  Image courtesy DLR

  The sprawling Japanese capital Tokyo looks like a funky computer chip in this image taken by Germany's Earth-observing satellite TerraSAR-X and released December 20.

  Launched in 2007, the satellite's radar sensors map Earth from 319 miles (514 kilometers) up in a near-polar orbit.

  Published December 31, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Extreme View

  
  Image courtesy SDO/NASA

  NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory snapped this extreme ultraviolet view of an active region on the sun as it rotated into view from December 16 to December 18. Ultraviolet light makes it easier to trace the whorls and loops created by superheated gas, or plasma, and the sun's magnetic field lines.

  Active solar regions such as this create space weather that, when aimed at Earth, can disrupt satellite communications and electronics. (See more pictures of solar activity and space weather.)

  Published December 31, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Saturn’s Dark Side

  
  Image courtesy SSI/Caltech/NASA

  This image of the unlit side of Saturn's S rings, released December 24, was taken with visible light by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

  The shadow of Saturn's innermost major moon, Mimas, is visible as a black oval south of the rings' shadow. For those with completely dust-free computer monitors, Janus, another Saturnian moon, is visible as a tiny white speck above the planet's north pole. (Learn about Saturn's major moons.)

  Published December 31, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  A River Runs Through It

  
  Image courtesy ESA/JAXA

  The European Space Agency released this picture—taken by Japan's satellite ALOS—of Italy's longest river on December 14.

  The Po river and its surrounding fields divide Italy into its northern and southern regions. The Japanese used ALOS, which they lost contact with in late April 2011, to generate precise land maps, monitor disasters, and conduct resource surveys. (Read an excerpt from National Geographic magazine about the Po river.)

  Published December 31, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Glacial "Broccoli"

  
  Image from DigitalGlobe/Getty Images

  The Moshniy glacier, located on the Russian archipelago Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean, calves chunks of ice and debris into a pattern reminiscent of broccoli in an image released December 20.

  Novaya Zemlya was a sensitive military area during the Cold War, and was also the site of the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated. The energy released by the 50-megaton "Tsar" bomb was ten times that of all the explosions set off during World War II.

  Published December 31, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Image courtesy Caltech/SSI/NASA

  Published December 31, 2012

  
  

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Senate Approves 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal, Sends to House

Two hours after a midnight deadline for action, the Senate passed legislation early New Year's Day to avert the so-called fiscal cliff with an overwhelming vote of 89-8.

Senate passage set the stage for a final showdown in the House, where a vote could come as early as today.

"While neither Democrats nor Republicans got everything they wanted, this agreement is the right thing to do for our country and the House should pass it without delay," President Obama said in a statement shortly after the vote.

"There's more work to do to reduce our deficits, and I'm willing to do it. But tonight's agreement ensures that, going forward, we will continue to reduce the deficit through a combination of new spending cuts and new revenues from the wealthiest Americans."

The bill extends Bush-era tax cuts permanently for individuals making less than $400,000 per year and couples making less than $450,000 but allows the top marginal tax rate on incomes above those levels to rise to 39.6 percent.

Capital gains taxes would rise to 20 percent from 15 percent.

The measure would raise the estate tax from 35 to 40 percent for estates larger than $5 million, prevent the alternative minimum tax from hammering millions of middle-class workers and extend unemployment benefits for one year.

'Fiscal Cliff': Lawmakers Scramble for Last-Minute Deal Watch Video

Lawmakers also decided at the last minute to use the measure to prevent a $900 pay raise for each member of Congress due to take effect this spring.

The steep "sequester" budget cuts scheduled to go into effect with the New Year -- a $1.2 trillion hit to defense and domestic programs -- would be postponed for two months.

"I've said all along our most important priority is protecting middle-class Americans, this legislation does that," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said early this morning prior to the vote.

The deal at hand does little to address the nation's long-term debt woes, however, and does not entirely solve the problem of the "fiscal cliff."

Indeed, the last-minute compromise -- far short from a so-called grand bargain on deficit reduction -- could set up a new showdown on the same spending cuts in two months amplified by a brewing fight on how to raise the debt ceiling beyond $16.4 trillion. That new fiscal battle has the potential to eclipse the "fiscal cliff" in short order.

Reid said he is "disappointed" they were unable to achieve a broader deal but that the compromise was necessary.

"We tried," he said. "If we did nothing, the threat of a recession is very real."

Speaking after Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the deal an "imperfect solution" and noted this should not be the model on how things get done in the Senate.

McConnell also thanked Vice President Joe Biden, who visited Capitol Hill late Monday night and brokered the deal with Senate Republicans.

The measure must now move to the Republican-led House.

Five Senate Republicans and three Democrats voted against the plan, but the large margin of passage was seen as boosting the bill's prospects in the House, even though fiscal conservatives were poised to vehemently oppose the deal when it comes to the floor for a vote.

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio said the House would not vote on any Senate-passed measure "until House members, and the American people, have been able to review" it.

Read More..

2012 review: The year in health science

Read more: "2013 Smart Guide: 10 ideas that will shape the year"

The first half of 2012 will be remembered for the saga over whether or not to publish controversial research involving versions of the H5N1 bird flu virus engineered to spread more easily in mammals. In the end openness won out, and both contentious studies did finally see the light of day.

This was also the year that saw the battle to eradicate polio reach its crucial endgame – just as another problem, in the form of totally drug resistant tuberculosis, reared its head.

Away from infectious disease, 2012 brought us a theory on the link between Tutankhamun, epilepsy and the first monotheistic religion, and an insight into the perils of premature ageing in Italy's ominously named Triangle of Death. Here are 10 more of the year's memorable stories.

Babies are born dirty, with a gutful of bacteria
Far from being sterile, babies come complete with an army of bacteria. The finding could have implications for gut disorders and our health in general

Forensic failure: 'Miscarriages of justice will occur'
Our survey of UK forensic scientists reveals that many are concerned that closure of the Forensic Science Service will lead to miscarriages of justice

Scandal of an underfunded and undertreated cancer
Lung cancer in those who have never smoked is on the rise – but they face the same stigma as their smoking counterparts

Ovarian stem cells discovered in humans
Stem cells capable of forming new eggs could promise limitless eggs for IVF treatments, and the rejuvenation of older eggs

Paralysis breakthrough: spinal cord damage repaired
An implant helping paralysed people stand unaided suggests the spinal cord is able to recover function years after severe damage

A real fMRI high: My ecstasy brain scan
Graham Lawton reports the highs, lows and psychedelic purple doors involved in taking MDMA while having his brain scanned

You may carry cells from siblings, aunts and uncles
Male cells found in the umbilical cord blood of baby girls with older brothers suggests fetal cells cross between mother and baby more than once thought

Can we deter athletes who self-harm to win?
The Paralympics may encourage a debate on a dangerous practice – and potential ways to prevent it

First non-hormonal male 'pill' prevents pregnancy
A non-hormonal drug that temporarily reverses male fertility appears to have few side effects in mice

Mining MRSA genetic code halts superbug outbreak
Whole genome sequencing of an MRSA outbreak has identified the person who unwittingly spread the bacteria around a hospital, stopping further infection

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.

If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.

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HTC hopes to get ahead of competition in 2013

TAIPEI: Taiwan's economy has been one of the worst performing economies in Asia this year.

A decline in exports has slowed its full year economic growth to one per cent.

2012 was a tough year for Taiwan's technology industry, especially for smartphone maker HTC, which lost much of its global market to rivals Apple and Samsung.

Its falling sales had not only hurt HTC's bottom-line, but also dragged Taiwan's exports into negative growth.

HTC is stepping up efforts to woo consumers. It hopes to turn its fortune around with new gadgets.

"Our storage capacity for HTC One X has increased to 64GB from the previous 32GB. Plus, its battery life is longer by up to 37 per cent," said Eric Chen, HTC Taiwan's marketing director on its HTC One X handset.

As Asia's second largest handset maker, HTC saw its sales falling some 40 per cent this year.

Competition from Apple and Samsung halved its global market share to 4 per cent.

This took a toll on Taiwan's export growth, of which a quarter came from HTC.

Sam Shen, Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute director said: "HTC's shipments last year exceeded 53 million units. This year could shrink to some 40 million units. So the decline stood out in the overall export figures."

The island's exports in 2012 are likely to contract by more than 2 per cent, to their lowest level in three years.

But Taiwan's market intelligence agency believes the worst is over for HTC.

Mr Shen said: "With the continuing advancement of smartphones and their key components, there's going to be greater demand from the emerging economies. Overall, the market will remain competitive, but demand will be high."

Global shipments for smartphones are expected to grow by more than 20 per cent in 2013.

HTC is fighting back by expanding its presence in China, the fastest growing market in the world. Still, it could be a rough road ahead for the company.

"On the high-end smartphones, HTC is competing against Samsung and Apple. And on the low-end handsets, HTC is up against China's Huawei Technologies and ZTE. So it's going to be tough," said Masson Li, Taishin Securities Investment Advisory's co-vice president.

Mr Li added: "Actually the lines between smartphones and tablets are blurring. So more tablet makers may want to get a piece of the smartphone market."

While it may take a while for HTC to get back on its feet, Taiwan can still count on tablets for support.

Currently, more than 80 per cent of tablets in the world are made by Taiwanese firms.

According to IDC, global shipments for tablets are estimated to soar 40 per cent in the coming year.

If the global market regains momentum as expected, Taiwan's economic growth could exceed 3 per cent in 2013.

- CNA/xq

Read More..

Fund this: An iPhone game controller that's also a case

The WynCase clips onto your iPhone or iPod Touch to provide tactile controls for a variety of games.

(Credit:
WynLabs)

Too many great iPhone games suffer from digit interruptus: onscreen controls force your thumbs or fingers to block too much of the action. Plus, there's no tactile feedback. meaning you don't get the button-mashing goodness associated with the best console and arcade games.

Developers have proposed a variety of solutions to this problem. For example, ThinkGeek's iCade 8-Bitty gives you a Nintendo-style controller with a D-Pad and lots of buttons -- but it works with only a smattering of games. Plus it's a hassle to carry around.

The upcoming iMpulse controller is small enough to ride on a keychain, but suffers from a similar functional limitation: because it relies on Bluetooth connectivity, it'll work with only a small subset of available iOS games.

Depending on the kinds of games you like to play, you might be much happier with something like the WynCase. This snap-on iPhone controller, which doubles as a protective case, requires no Bluetooth and no batteries.

So that means it plugs into the iPhone's docking port, adding lots of bulk, right? Wrong. The WynCase leverages a patent-pending technology called BridgeTouch: the case covers two slivers of the screen (the top and bottom edges) so that it can make contact with it, effectively relaying button presses as finger-touches.

That allows the WynCase to work with touch-powered games like Jetpack Joyride, Real Boxing, Tiny Wings, and, happily for me, racing games like Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Reckless Racing.

The case is compatible with the
iPhone 4/4S,
iPhone 5, and
iPod Touch (fourth- and fifth-gen models). Alas, the first edition looks like it was designed for the older hardware, meaning it'll block more than just a sliver of the iPhone 5's and new iPod Touch's screens. Hopefully the developers will introduce a wider version in the future.

Of course, that assumes the WynCase reaches its Kickstarter funding goal of $80,000 -- it's currently just under $15,000, with about 12 days to go. If you're interested, you can buy in for as little as $30, a price that includes shipping and your choice of a black or white case. Other colors, including red, yellow, and blue, can be had at the $40 pledge level. Keep in mind that delivery looks to be as far out as May, if not later.

I must say, of all the iPhone game controllers (both real and in the development stage) I've seen, this one shows the most promise. It deftly works around the compatibility problem associated with Bluetooth-powered controllers, and it makes your iDevice feel more like a handheld game console than a detached controller ever could. Plus, it requires no batteries -- always a plus.

What are your thoughts? Is this worth funding?

Read More..

Space Pictures This Week: Ice “Broccoli,” Solar Storm

• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Happy Trails

  Photograph by Alex Cherney, TWAN

  Amateur astronomer Alex Cherney captured these star trails as they blazed above Lake Tyrrell, a salt lake in Victoria, Australia in October 2011 and posted to The World At Night website December 25, 2012.

  (See pictures of another Australian salt lake, Lake Eyre.)

  Published December 31, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Tokyo From Space

  
  Image courtesy DLR

  The sprawling Japanese capital Tokyo looks like a funky computer chip in this image taken by Germany's Earth-observing satellite TerraSAR-X and released December 20.

  Launched in 2007, the satellite's radar sensors map Earth from 319 miles (514 kilometers) up in a near-polar orbit.

  Published December 31, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Extreme View

  
  Image courtesy SDO/NASA

  NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory snapped this extreme ultraviolet view of an active region on the sun as it rotated into view from December 16 to December 18. Ultraviolet light makes it easier to trace the whorls and loops created by superheated gas, or plasma, and the sun's magnetic field lines.

  Active solar regions such as this create space weather that, when aimed at Earth, can disrupt satellite communications and electronics. (See more pictures of solar activity and space weather.)

  Published December 31, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Saturn’s Dark Side

  
  Image courtesy SSI/Caltech/NASA

  This image of the unlit side of Saturn's S rings, released December 24, was taken with visible light by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

  The shadow of Saturn's innermost major moon, Mimas, is visible as a black oval south of the rings' shadow. For those with completely dust-free computer monitors, Janus, another Saturnian moon, is visible as a tiny white speck above the planet's north pole. (Learn about Saturn's major moons.)

  Published December 31, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  A River Runs Through It

  
  Image courtesy ESA/JAXA

  The European Space Agency released this picture—taken by Japan's satellite ALOS—of Italy's longest river on December 14.

  The Po river and its surrounding fields divide Italy into its northern and southern regions. The Japanese used ALOS, which they lost contact with in late April 2011, to generate precise land maps, monitor disasters, and conduct resource surveys. (Read an excerpt from National Geographic magazine about the Po river.)

  Published December 31, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Glacial "Broccoli"

  
  Image from DigitalGlobe/Getty Images

  The Moshniy glacier, located on the Russian archipelago Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean, calves chunks of ice and debris into a pattern reminiscent of broccoli in an image released December 20.

  Novaya Zemlya was a sensitive military area during the Cold War, and was also the site of the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated. The energy released by the 50-megaton "Tsar" bomb was ten times that of all the explosions set off during World War II.

  Published December 31, 2012

  
  











• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Image courtesy Caltech/SSI/NASA

  Published December 31, 2012

  
  

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Time's Up: Sides Closing In on 'Fiscal Cliff' Deal

Congressional and White House negotiators are closing in on a deal to avert across-the-board tax hikes and spending cuts that take effect at midnight, as the nation teeters on the edge of the so-called fiscal cliff.

An emerging tentative agreement would extend current tax rates for households making $450,000 or less; extend the estate tax at its current level of 35 percent for estates larger than $5 million; and prevent the Alternative Minimum Tax from hammering millions of middle-class workers, sources said.

The deal would also extend unemployment benefits set to expire Tuesday and avert a steep cut to Medicare payments for doctors.

Both sides also seem willing to delay by three months automatic spending cuts to defense and domestic programs, the sources said, setting the stage for continued fiscal debate in the next few months tied to the debt ceiling.

Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are leading the negotiations, sources said, holding several "good" conversations late into Sunday night and continuing a dialogue early this morning.

They are trying to broker an elusive compromise on taxes and spending that can win the support of bipartisan majorities in the Senate and House.

Even if a deal is reached between Biden and McConnell, members in both chambers would still need to review it and vote on it later today. Passage is far from guaranteed.

"This is one Democrat that doesn't agree with that at all," Iowa Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin said of the tentative deal. "No deal is better than a bad deal, and this looks like a very bad deal the way this is shaping up."

Failure of Congress to act on a tax measure by Tuesday morning would trigger income tax hikes on all Americans. The average family would pay an extra $3,446 in 2013 under the higher rates, according to the Tax Policy Center.

Regardless of the "cliff," virtually all workers are due to see less in their paychecks starting in January when the temporary 2 percent payroll tax cut will expire.

More than $1 trillion in automatic spending cuts to defense and domestic programs will also begin to take effect later this week unless Congress delays or replaces them.

"It is absolutely inexcusable that all of us find ourselves in this place at this time," Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Sunday night on the Senate floor.

"Something has gone terribly wrong when the biggest threat to our American economy is our American Congress," he said, echoing a frustration shared by many Americans.

Republican and Democratic Senate leaders wrangled all weekend over the outlines of a deal, but those talks eventually hit a brick wall on GOP insistence that Social Security savings be included in a deal.

"I want everyone to know I'm willing to get this done, but I need a dance partner," McConnell said Sunday, noting that he had directly reached out to Biden to break the impasse.

As part of any deficit reduction deal, the White House wants to raise income tax rates on people making more than $250,000 a year, a threshold on which President Obama campaigned for re-election.

Republicans, caving on outright opposition to any tax increases, want a higher income threshold for the tax hike of around $450,000, sources said. They also want to prevent the estate tax from rising above its current 35 percent rate on estates of $5.1 million or more.

"There is still significant distance between the two sides, but negotiations continue," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Sunday evening. "There is still time to reach an agreement, and we intend to continue negotiations."

Both sides say the cost of failure is high.

"If we are not able to reach an agreement, it will be dire," Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "Probably at least another million jobs lost, an unemployment rate over 9 percent, and putting us back into recession."

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Today on New Scientist: 28 December 2012

Best videos of 2012: Rare view of Challenger tragedy

Watch a rare amateur video of the Challenger explosion, our most-viewed video of the year

Strong jet stream super-charged US Christmas storms

Record snowfall and dozens of tornadoes snarled holiday travel as a powerful winter storm plowed across much of the US, while rainstorms battered the UK

2012 review: The year in life science

The year's biggest stories in life science, including James Cameron's descent into the Mariana trench and efforts to break into Antarctica's buried lakes

Superstorm lessons for adapting to climate change

As the post-Sandy rebuild gets under way, coastal cities around the world will be watching

Best videos of 2012: First MRI movie of childbirth

Watch a unique view of a baby's birth, at number 2 in our countdown of the year's top science videos

Fleadom or death: Reviving the glorious flea circus

The parasite-based sideshows were almost done for by the domestic vacuum cleaner - but they are bouncing back, finds Graham Lawton

Approval for gene-modified salmon spawns controversy

Apparently months late, US regulators have declared genetically engineered fish safe to farm and eat, but final approval could be some way off

Best videos of 2012: New aircraft flies inside out

Watch a novel flying machine use a unique mechanism to propel itself, at number 3 in our countdown of the top videos of the year

2012 review: The year in technology

The year's biggest stories in technology, including Kinect devices that may spot signs of autism and controlling a robot by the power of thought

Superdoodles: The science of scribbling

Far from being a distraction, doodling has an important purpose - and you can harness it

2013 Smart Guide: Wave goodbye to the mouse

The Leap, a 3D motion control device set to launch next year, will let you control your computer with touch-free hand and finger movements

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Chris Brown arrives with Rihanna for Africa's Kora Awards

ABIDJAN: US rapper Chris Brown arrived with singer Rihanna in the Ivory Coast city Abidjan on Sunday, when he was due to perform at an African music awards show.

Brown was billed as the star attraction at the glitzy Kora Awards, dubbed the "African Grammys", that recognise musical achievements from around the continent.

The event was initially set to take place on Saturday, but was delayed at the last minute. Organiser Ernest Adjovi initially blamed the delay on Brown missing his flight, but later said heavy rains and other logistical hiccups were behind the postponement.

R&B star Brown landed overnight in Abidjan, the Ivorian economic capital. Rihanna, who hails from Barbados, was by his side, wearing dark glasses.

The pair have a tumultuous history, and celebrity watchers obsessed about whether they are an item again after Brown admitted assaulting Rihanna in a case dating back to the 2009 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

Past Kora ceremonies have been attended by South African anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela and the late "King of Pop" Michael Jackson.

Brown, whom fans call Breezy, was also slotted to perform at a "Peace for Africa" concert at a stadium in Abidjan on Sunday afternoon.

Artists including the Nigerian duo P-Square, winner of the last top Kora prize in Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou in 2010, will also take part in that event.

The Kora Awards were due to start at 8:30 pm (2030 GMT) at a luxury hotel.

For Ivory Coast, which is still recovering from four months of post-election violence that ended in April 2011 after claiming some 3,000 lives, the event signals a return to normalcy.

But the awards have drawn fire over the price of admission, with tickets costing one million CFA francs (US$2,000) for a seat in the luxury hotel for the ceremony.

Such a sum is far from the reach of this poor west African country, the world's top cocoa producer.

Brown was sentenced to five years probation, a year-long domestic violence programme and 180 days of community labour after pleading guilty to assaulting Rihanna on the eve of the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in 2009.

- AFP/xq

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