Recalibrate your expectations of how good an in-ear headphone can sound

I've been listening to Jerry Harvey's custom-molded in-ear headphones for years. The very first one, the UE10, was a game changer; in 2006 it was the best sounding in-ear headphone I'd heard. Now with his new Freqphase JH13 and JH16 in-ears, Harvey's done it again. The performance gains in clarity, detail, resolution, and stereo imaging are huge -- the adrenaline-pumping sound of the music you love...

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Attack at Algeria Gas Plant Heralds New Risks for Energy Development

The siege by Islamic militants at a remote Sahara desert natural gas plant in Algeria this week signaled heightened dangers in the region for international oil companies, at a time when they have been expanding operations in Africa as one of the world's last energy frontiers. (See related story: "Pictures: Four New Offshore Drilling Frontiers.")As BP, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Eni, and...

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Inauguration to Cost Millions But Total Price Unclear

How much will all the inaugural events cost? It's hard to say.While most events that occur in the capital have a hard-and-fast budget, the inauguration's many moving parts, safety concerns and large geographic reach make it hard to quantify – especially before the main event.In 2009, ABC reported the total cost of Obama's first inauguration was $170 million. While incumbent...

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Moth navigation probed to improve micro-drone flight

It turns out moths are far better at video games than we might have thought. When navigating through a virtual forest, hawkmoths determine their route ahead of time depending on how much of the forest they can see. Mimicking their strategy might help us improve the flying ability of the micro-drones now being...

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Football: Valdes stuns Barcelona by refusing to renew contract

BARCELONA: Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes stunned the Liga leaders by informing them he will not renew his contract when it expires next year before they even had a chance to make an offer, officials said on Friday.The 31-year-old player's representatives met with the club on Thursday and told them of the "irrevocable decision not to renew his contract, thus avoiding entering into financial...

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Unlimited Verizon data customers beware: Make sure your next phone is 4G

Some Verizon Wireless subscribers will do almost anything to keep their unlimited data plans. And that includes buying a new device at full price instead of signing a two year contract and taking a sweet subsidy on that new phone.But what happens when a Verizon subscriber who bought a 3G iPhone realizes she may still see her unlimited data service slowed? In this edition of Ask Maggie, I explain the...

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First Human Contact With Large Emperor Penguin Colony

One of the largest emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica was discovered last month by a team from the International Polar Foundation's Princess Elisabeth station.The penguin colony had previously been identified through satellite imagery by researchers from the British Antarctic Survey. The penguins themselves didn't show up very clearly, but their excrement stains on the ice did.Expedition...

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Manti Te'o's Fake Girlfriend May Have Duped Others

Notre Dame star linebacker Manti Te'o's fake girlfriend "Lennay Kekua" may have hoaxed other unsuspecting suitors."Catfish" movie director and actor Ariel Schulman told "Good Morning America" today that he believes there may have been "a few other people duped by the fake Lennay character."Schulman and his brother Nev Schulman have been looking into the elaborate scam and claim...

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Obama to scientists: tell us how to curb gun violence

With a stroke of his pen, President Barack Obama yesterday ended a de facto freeze on US government research into gun violence as a public health problem – in place since the mid-1990s. "We don't benefit from ignorance," Obama said,...

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Football: Rodgers slams Suarez over diving admission

LONDON: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers on Thursday said that his controversial striker Luis Suarez could face punishment from the club after admitting that he dived to try to win a penalty in a league game with Stoke City.In an interview with Fox Sports Argentina, Suarez admitted "falling" during October's 0-0 draw between the clubs at Anfield, prompting Rodgers, who had defended him...

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