Google executive chairman and ex-New Mexico Gov. Richardson heading to North Korea

BEIJING, China - The executive chairman of U.S.-based Google, one of the world's largest Internet companies, was travelling Monday to North Korea, a nation with notoriously restrictive online policies.
Eric Schmidt, the most high profile U.S. business executive to visit North Korea since young leader Kim Jong Un took power a year ago, was in Beijing and scheduled to depart for Pyongyang aboard a commercial Air China flight.
Leading the delegation was former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who has travelled more than a half-dozen times to North Korea over the past 20 years. Richardson called the trip a private, humanitarian mission.
"This is not a Google trip, but I'm sure he's interested in some of the economic issues there, the social media aspect. So this is why we are teamed up on this," Richardson said without elaborating on what he meant by the "social media aspect."
"We'll meet with North Korean political leaders. We'll meet with North Korean economic leaders, military. We'll visit some universities. We don't control the visit. They will let us know what the schedule is when we get there," he said.
Richardson also said the delegation plans to inquire about a Korean-American U.S. citizen detained in North Korea.
"We're going to try to inquire the status, see if we can see him, possibly lay the groundwork for him coming home," Richardson said. "I heard from his son who lives in Washington state, who asked me to bring him back. I doubt we can do it on this trip."
The four-day trip, which is taking place just weeks after North Korea fired a satellite into space using a long-range rocket, has drawn criticism from U.S. officials. Washington condemned the Dec. 12 launch, which it considers a test of ballistic missile technology, as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions barring Pyongyang from developing its nuclear and missile programs. The Security Council is deliberating whether to take further action.
"We don't think the timing of the visit is helpful, and they are well aware of our views," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters last week.
The trip was planned well before North Korea announced its plans to send a satellite into space, two people with knowledge of the delegation's plans told The Associated Press. AP first reported the group's plans last Thursday. Schmidt, a staunch proponent of Internet connectivity and openness, is expected to make a donation during the visit, members of the delegation told AP. They asked not to be named, saying the trip was a private visit.

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Analysts see slow adoption for 'ultra-HD' TVs as makers prepare new models

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - "Ultra-HD" TVs are set to be the talk of International CES, the gadget show kicking off this week in Las Vegas. But the televisions aren't likely to account for much of the market even four years down the road.
That is the conclusion of analysts of the show's host, a day before TV makers such as Samsung, LG and Sony attempt to wow conference attendees with their latest models.
Ultra high-definition TVs, with four times as many pixels as HD TVs, are expected to account for only 1.4 million units sold in the U.S. in 2016, or about 5 per cent of the entire market. Sales in the rest of the world are expected to be smaller.
The analysts blamed high prices and low availability for the slow start.
"It's a very, very limited opportunity," said Steve Koenig, director of industry analysis at the Consumer Electronics Association, which officially kicks off the show Tuesday. "The price points here are in the five digits (in U.S. dollars) and very few manufacturers, at least at this stage, have products ready."
The consumer electronics industry is struggling to come back from a weak year in 2012, when an estimated $1.06 trillion worth of goods was sold around the world, down 1 per cent from 2011, hurt by a weak European economy and flat TV sales in China.
The market is seen recovering this year, with global sales rising 4 per cent to $1.11 trillion, pumped up due to renewed growth in the so-called BRIC countries, led by China, Brazil, Russia and India.
All the more reason for gadget makers to energetically tout their latest innovations. TV makers were somewhat chastened last year as enthusiasm for super-thin and vibrant organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs was hampered by production problems and delays. Now they have turned their focus to ultra-HD to drive consumer demand.
Steve Bambridge, business director for boutique research and consumer choices at GfK, said troubles making OLED sets are "not any secret." He added that while some makers planned to sell models this year after introducing them a year ago, he said he "won't be surprised if those go backwards."
Although the show has often unveiled the biggest and best of TV sets, the biggest electronics show in the Americas has increasingly been dominated by computers, tablets and mobile devices.
For good reason: In 2013, CEA and GfK predicted that for the first time, three categories of devices — mobile personal computers, tablets and smartphones — will account for over half of all consumer electronics spending worldwide.
Shawn DuBravac, the CEA's chief economist, said one trend at the show was the increasing number of exhibitors who display technology that uses a smartphone or tablet as their hub. He noted a 25 per cent increase in exhibitors from health and fitness companies, including those that sell heart monitors and blood pressure applications.
He also said the clamshell design of laptop computers, which hasn't changed much in two decades, will face a significant challenge. He expects 30 to 40 different hardware designs for the laptop to be presented on the show floor. Some intriguing computers on display will be giant touch-screen tablets meant for lying flat, and laptops whose screens can swivel around or detach from the keyboard easily.
"The clamshell design is still intact 20 years later. That's starting to change," he said.
More companies are also expected to do more with devices that respond better to a wider range of gestures and more natural speech.

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Clinton scheduled to return to work Monday after hospitalization for blood clot

WASHINGTON - The State Department says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will return to work Monday, a little over a week after she was hospitalized with a blood clot in her head.
The department on Sunday released a schedule which has Clinton meeting with assistant secretaries Monday morning. The most significant items on her agenda are meetings in Washington on Thursday and Friday with visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Clinton was admitted to New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Dec. 30 after doctors discovered the blood clot while following up on a concussion she suffered earlier in December. She was released Wednesday.
Clinton is expected to resign from the State Department soon. President Barack Obama has nominated Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry to replace her.

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McIlroy says he may skip 2016 Rio Olympics

LONDON (AP) — Rory McIlroy may skip the 2016 Olympics because of a problem over which country to represent.
The No. 1-ranked player from Northern Ireland is eligible to compete for either Britain or Ireland when golf returns to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He said he may miss the games to avoid having to choose between the two.
"I just think being from where we're from, we're placed in a very difficult position," the 23-year-old McIlroy said in a BBC documentary. "I feel Northern Irish and obviously being from Northern Ireland you have a connection to Ireland and a connection to the U.K."
McIlroy stirred controversy last year when he said in a British newspaper interview that he felt "more British than Irish." He then posted a clarification on Twitter saying he grew up "a proud product of Irish golf" and had not made a decision on the Olympics.
"If I could and there was a Northern Irish team I'd play for Northern Ireland," he said in the BBC program. "It's a tough one, whatever decision I make — whether it's play for Ireland, play for Britain or not play at all, maybe, just because I don't want to upset too many people.
"It's definitely an option. I either play for one side or the other or I don't play. Those are the three options that I have and I'm still considering them very carefully."
McIlroy, who has twice represented Ireland at the World Cup, was asked whether he regretted saying last year that he felt more British.
"It was a moment, I don't want to say of weakness, but of frustration with it all," he said. "People tune in to watch me play on TV and feel like they are connected to me in some way. I don't want to repay them for their support by doing something that they wouldn't want me to do.
"When I do make a decision, it's going to be one that I've thought long and hard about, and one I feel comfortable with.

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INTERVIEW-Golf-Monty would be mad to captain again - Harrington

LONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Colin Montgomerie would be mad to entertain the thought of returning as Europe's captain for the 2014 Ryder Cup, according to triple major winner Padraig Harrington.
The players committee will meet during the Jan. 17-20 Abu Dhabi Championship to decide on the successor to Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal at the biennial team event, with 2011 British Open champion Darren Clarke and Ireland's Paul McGinley the frontrunners.
Clarke, however, said last month that he believes Europe should appoint a leader with a "huge presence", suggesting 2010 skipper Montgomerie should be considered.
"There's not a chance, after what he went through last time, that Colin would ever take the captaincy again," Harrington told Reuters in an interview.
"He puts so much more on the line than anybody else - it would be madness for him. He's had a great Ryder Cup playing career, he's been a successful captain - why risk all that?
"I can't see in any shape or form him agreeing to do it again."
The United States, desperate to halt a run of seven defeats in nine editions, appointed eight-times major champion Tom Watson as captain last month.
"That was a big statement and brilliant for the event," said Clarke. "There are few more iconic figures in golf...and it sends out a statement they are serious about winning the trophy back.
"Maybe we have to consider other people. Whoever it is standing on that stage opposite Tom Watson needs a huge presence."
But Harrington, who won the British Open in 2007 and 2008 and the U.S. PGA Championship in 2008, said half of Montgomerie's career would go out of the window if he lost as skipper.
"I had a long chat with Monty the evening we won the Ryder Cup in 2010," said the 41-year-old Irishman. "I could see the relief Colin had when he won.
"I don't think he quite realised until then the enormity of being captain for him. Most players who take the captaincy, whether they win or lose, it doesn't change people's perception of their overall career.
GREAT RECORD
"Monty's career though is based on his eight order of merit wins and his Ryder Cup performances," added Harrington who has just signed a new multi-year deal with his club manufacturers Wilson Golf.
"By taking the captaincy he's putting far more on the line than anybody else because it would be hard to mention that he's unbeaten in the singles in the competition but, oh, he's also a losing captain as well. That would take the shine off his great record."
Harrington, a stalwart of six Ryder Cup campaigns, wants fellow-Irishman McGinley to take over as skipper at Gleneagles in Scotland next year before handing over to Northern Irishman Clarke for the 2016 version in the United States.
"Everybody's talking about it on the European Tour," said Harrington. "My own personal opinion is that McGinley should take it this time and for Clarke to do it in the U.S.
"I think Darren would be a better captain in America because of his stature over there. McGinley would be a better option to go up against Watson.
"He can't match Watson in terms of his stature in the game - nobody can do that. The only way McGinley would tackle a Ryder Cup is to knuckle down and do his own business and organise things - he would be ideal for Gleneagles."
Harrington, who launches his 2013 European Tour campaign at next week's Volvo Golf Champions event in South Africa, said he had heard on the golfing grapevine that Watson was going to be named as U.S. captain.
"That was the word, so it was no surprise when I found out he was appointed," said the genial Dubliner. "I had kind of heard earlier that they were going to do something different.
"I can understand it - they're not dominating the Ryder Cup and they need to bring in the heavyweight hitters to get the trophy back.
"They don't have the luxury at the moment of going through the ranks to pick the captain - they have to go right to the top of the pile and unless you pick Jack Nicklaus, there's no one else who carries the stature of Tom Watson," added Harrington.
"It will be fascinating for the U.S. players because if you can learn anything from Tom Watson, anything at all during Ryder Cup week, it would be a career highlight.

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Monty would be mad to captain again: Harrington

LONDON (Reuters) - Colin Montgomerie would be mad to entertain the thought of returning as Europe's captain for the 2014 Ryder Cup, according to triple major winner Padraig Harrington.
The players committee will meet during the January 17-20 Abu Dhabi Championship to decide on the successor to Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal at the biennial team event, with 2011 British Open champion Darren Clarke and Ireland's Paul McGinley the frontrunners.
Clarke, however, said last month that he believes Europe should appoint a leader with a "huge presence", suggesting 2010 skipper Montgomerie should be considered.
"There's not a chance, after what he went through last time, that Colin would ever take the captaincy again," Harrington told Reuters in an interview.
"He puts so much more on the line than anybody else - it would be madness for him. He's had a great Ryder Cup playing career, he's been a successful captain - why risk all that?
"I can't see in any shape or form him agreeing to do it again."
The United States, desperate to halt a run of seven defeats in nine editions, appointed eight-times major champion Tom Watson as captain last month.
"That was a big statement and brilliant for the event," said Clarke. "There are few more iconic figures in golf...and it sends out a statement they are serious about winning the trophy back.
"Maybe we have to consider other people. Whoever it is standing on that stage opposite Tom Watson needs a huge presence."
But Harrington, who won the British Open in 2007 and 2008 and the U.S. PGA Championship in 2008, said half of Montgomerie's career would go out of the window if he lost as skipper.
"I had a long chat with Monty the evening we won the Ryder Cup in 2010," said the 41-year-old Irishman. "I could see the relief Colin had when he won.
"I don't think he quite realized until then the enormity of being captain for him. Most players who take the captaincy, whether they win or lose, it doesn't change people's perception of their overall career.
GREAT RECORD
"Monty's career though is based on his eight order of merit wins and his Ryder Cup performances," added Harrington who has just signed a new multi-year deal with his club manufacturers Wilson Golf.
"By taking the captaincy he's putting far more on the line than anybody else because it would be hard to mention that he's unbeaten in the singles in the competition but, oh, he's also a losing captain as well. That would take the shine off his great record."
Harrington, a stalwart of six Ryder Cup campaigns, wants fellow-Irishman McGinley to take over as skipper at Gleneagles in Scotland next year before handing over to Northern Irishman Clarke for the 2016 version in the United States.
"Everybody's talking about it on the European Tour," said Harrington. "My own personal opinion is that McGinley should take it this time and for Clarke to do it in the U.S.
"I think Darren would be a better captain in America because of his stature over there. McGinley would be a better option to go up against Watson.
"He can't match Watson in terms of his stature in the game - nobody can do that. The only way McGinley would tackle a Ryder Cup is to knuckle down and do his own business and organize things - he would be ideal for Gleneagles."
Harrington, who launches his 2013 European Tour campaign at next week's Volvo Golf Champions event in South Africa, said he had heard on the golfing grapevine that Watson was going to be named as U.S. captain.
"That was the word, so it was no surprise when I found out he was appointed," said the genial Dubliner. "I had kind of heard earlier that they were going to do something different.
"I can understand it - they're not dominating the Ryder Cup and they need to bring in the heavyweight hitters to get the trophy back.
"They don't have the luxury at the moment of going through the ranks to pick the captain - they have to go right to the top of the pile and unless you pick Jack Nicklaus, there's no one else who carries the stature of Tom Watson," added Harrington.
"It will be fascinating for the U.S. players because if you can learn anything from Tom Watson, anything at all during Ryder Cup week, it would be a career highlight."

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ANALISIS-Poco ha cambiado en Italia tras reforma laboral de Monti

ROMA (Reuters) - Reacondicionar las rígidas leyes laborales de Italia se suponía que iba a ser la reforma clave de Mario Monti.
Ello requería negociaciones complejas y prolongadas con sindicatos, empleadores y partidos políticos. Pero seis meses después de su aprobación, las medidas parecen estar teniendo poco efecto en la contratación, el despido o el mercado laboral en general.
La intención del primer ministro saliente era alentar la contratación permanente en lugar de los trabajos temporales y facilitar los despidos a las empresas durante los malos momentos económicos. Sin embargo, las empresas y los sindicatos dicen que no está haciendo nada.
Monti, que dimitió como primer ministro el mes pasado, esperaba impulsar una tasa de empleo crónicamente baja y poner fin a un mercado laboral "dual", compuesto de trabajadores mayores sobreprotegidos y millones de jóvenes con trabajos temporales y sin derechos laborales.
Sin embargo, rápidamente tuvo una fuerte oposición, liderada por el sindicato CGIL, que encontró apoyo en el Partido Democrático (PD) de centroizquierda, en el que confiaba para su mayoría y que ahora, según los sondeos, será el probable ganador de las elecciones de febrero.
Los sindicatos, que en su mayoría representan a los trabajadores mayores y más protegidos, llevaron a cabo una serie de huelgas y protestas para defender la actual protección laboral. La ministra de Trabajo, Elsa Fornero, que redactó la propuesta de reforma, se convirtió en una figura odiada por millones de trabajadores.
Después de suavizarse durante su paso por el Parlamento, la versión final del plan, aprobado en junio del año pasado, aliviaba ligeramente las restricciones al despido en las empresas grandes y medianas y hacía más costosa la contratación temporal.
Los sindicatos advirtieron de que esto podría incrementar los despidos, mientras que las empresas dijeron que desalentaría las nuevas contrataciones. Seis meses después, los sindicalistas admiten que sus temores eran exagerados, pero los empleadores aseguran que sus preocupaciones están siendo confirmadas.
"No hay pruebas de que las compañías estén despidiendo más con las nuevas leyes. Esto simplemente no está pasando", dijo Pierangelo Albini, responsable de asuntos laborales del grupo empresarial Confindustria.
SIN DATOS
No hay datos disponibles sobre el número de trabajadores que han sido despedidos con las nuevas leyes, pero incluso los sindicatos, que estudian la situación de cerca, estiman que la cifra es insignificante.
Los sindicatos rápidamente denunciaron casos aislados que implicaron a las empresas de telecomunicaciones Huawei y Vodafone, que atrajeron la atención de los medios italianos, aunque cada uno no implicó a más de un par de trabajadores.
"La reforma en realidad no cambia mucho en términos de procedimientos de despido", dijo Michele Tamburini, abogado laboral de un bufete estadounidense en Milán.
"Potencialmente podría facilitar el despido, pero todo depende de cómo lo interpretan los jueces y casi nadie quiere comprobar eso", agregó.
Tamburini dijo que él y sus colegas de otras firmas legales no han visto un aumento de las impugnaciones por despidos, como esperaban algunos analistas.
Monti, que dijo que se presentará a las elecciones del 24 y 25 de febrero, inicialmente defendió la reforma pero ahora ha reconocido sus limitaciones, culpando al sindicato izquierdista CGIL por bloquear más cambios radicales.
"Las intenciones de Monti sobre la reforma laboral eran buenas pero las políticas fueron todas equivocadas", dijo Riccardo Barbieri, de Mizuho International.
"El PD no podía permitirle facilitar el despido en período preelectoral y en medio de una recesión", agregó.
A pesar de las críticas hacia algunas de sus reformas, a los inversores les encanta la idea de que el ex comisario europeo se quede en el cargo después de las elecciones, idealmente a la cabeza de una mayoría más consistente que le permita sacar adelante su nuevo programa.

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Nokia predicted to abandon mobile business, sell assets to Microsoft and Huawei in 2013

Nokia (NOK) appears to have finally turned a corner with the Lumia 920, a smartphone that is seemingly selling quite well after a string of early flops from the struggling smartphone maker. According to Keepskor founder and Forbes contributor Tristan Louis, however, Nokia’s recent efforts will ultimately be for naught. 2013 will see a great deal of movement in the mobile industry according to the executive, and Nokia’s departure from the handset market will be among the year’s most notable events.
[More from BGR: Can Samsung survive without Android?]
“The biggest shocker (and what I suspect will be my most controversial prediction), though, will be the the [sic] departure of Nokia from the phone business as the company sells its mobile operation and infrastructure divisions to Huawei in order to focus on software and services,” Louis wrote. ”With the company’s bet on Windows [Phone] 8 having failed in the marketplace, it will see Microsoft (MSFT) and Huawei competing for the mobile device division and will eventually sell its smartphone group to Microsoft and the rest of its telecom interests to Huawei.”
[More from BGR: Next-generation iPhone, iOS 7 discovered in website logs]
Unlike Louis’s other predictions, which are mostly common sense trends or speculation backed by months of rumors (Amazon will launch a phone, Microsoft will launch a phone, etc), the offloading of Nokia’s handset business appears to be a complete shot in the dark. The executive offers nothing to substantiate his theory and the involvement of Microsoft and Huawei also appear to be guesses based on loose logic.
Nokia has reported six straight quarterly losses and though the company’s struggles are expected to continue for some time, it has given no indication that selling its mobile business is even an option being considered at this point in time. Nokia was rumored in early 2011 to be discussing the possibility of selling its phone business to Microsoft, but it immediately denied that such negotiations were taking place.

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‘iPhone 5S’ to reportedly launch by June with multiple color options and two different display sizes

After a seven-month run that took Apple (AAPL) shares to an all-time high in late September, the company’s stock plummeted more than 25% and touched new lows as 2012 drew to an end. According to Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White, Apple’s strong portfolio, a reversal of the negative news trend surrounding the company, and a fresh new “iPhone 5S”  will help the stock rebound in 2013, and he maintains a Buy rating on Apple shares with a sky-high price target of $1,111.
[More from BGR: Nokia predicted to abandon mobile business, sell assets to Microsoft and Huawei in 2013]
“Apple is our top overall pick for 2013,” White wrote in a note to investors on Wednesday that discussed Topeka’s stock picks moving into the new year. “With the 25% correction in Apple’s stock from the high in September, the stock is now trading at just 7.7x our CY13 EPS estimate (less cash) and the company’s portfolio has never been stronger, in our view.”
[More from BGR: Next-generation iPhone, iOS 7 discovered in website logs]
He continued, “We believe tax-related selling was largely to blame for the downward bias in the stock price as we exited 2012 and this created a negative news cycle around Apple that we believe will be broken as we enter 2013. We believe there is still plenty to look forward to at Apple, including the potential for greater choices (i.e., colors, sizes) around the next iPhone in 2013, combined with accelerating momentum with the iPad mini and continued strength with the iPad franchise at large.”
White went on to explain that the iPad mini has seen incredible demand thus far in China, outselling the full-size iPad in the country. The analyst also called the rumored China Mobile iPhone launch and release of Apple’s HDTV “moving targets,” and he expects at least one of these major catalysts to become a reality in 2013.
In a separate note, White said that according to his checks with Apple’s suppliers, the next-generation iPhone will represent a huge departure from earlier models.
“Our checks indicate that the next iPhone will have more choices for customers,” the analyst wrote. “This entails an expansion in both the color patterns and screen sizes with the next iPhone (i.e., likely called the iPhone 5S) that we currently believe will be launched in May/June with certain supply production starting in March/April.”
White believes the next iPhone will be available in five different colors: pink, yellow, blue, white & silver and black & slate. He also believes there will be two different screen sizes available on the device, marking the first time Apple has released one phone with multiple display size options.
“Our checks are also indicating that the next iPhone will offer customers more choice in terms of screen size,” White reported. “Although Apple offers a 4-inch screen on the iPhone 5 and a 3.5-inch screen on the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, the Company has never offered multiple screen sizes for a single model. We believe this is about to change with the next iPhone offering different screen sizes that we believe will allow Apple to better bifurcate the market and expand its reach.”
He continued, noting that multiple screen sizes could allow Apple to better address emerging markets with a lower-cost iPhone.

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Relive Every Great Moment of 2012 in Just 4 Minutes

Relive Every Great Moment of 2012 in Just 4 Minutes
The ball has dropped which means it's time to begin alphabetizing your New Year's resolutions. But before welcoming in 2013 and throwing out last year's memories, take one last chance to relive all the glorious, splendid, heartbreaking, tragic, viral, sweet, crazy and fantastic moments of the past 12 months.
[More from Mashable: Google Wants You to Add to Its Global New Year’s Resolution Map]
From Honey Boo Boo to the birth of Blue Ivy, SOPA to NASA, iPhone 5 releases to GIF domination, Gabby Douglas' golden moments to Chick-Fil-A PR nightmare, cannibals to a Cruise-Holmes split, to a string of mass shootings that will make us remember this year's incredible heroes and victims -- here's to you, 2012.
SEE ALSO: Emotional Viral Video Looks Back at 'What Brought Us Together' in 2012
[More from Mashable: 8 Tech Resolutions for the New Year]
And best of luck 2013, you've got no Mayan apocalypse, Olympic games or U.S. presidential election on the books -- just hope K-Stew cheats on R-Patz again so we'll all have something to eulogize in 2014.
BONUS: 16 Things You Forgot Happened in 2012
1. GoDaddy Supported SOPA and Faced the Consequences
Technically this debacle took place in the last week of 2011, but the backlash lasted well into 2012. GoDaddy, the popular domain registrar and web hosting company, showed early support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a hotly contested bill regarding copyright violations that was introduced by U.S. Representative Lamar S. Smith. Many Internet users believed SOPA would lead to extreme censorship of the web and were shocked to hear that GoDaddy supported it. As a result, hundreds of high-profile sites joined a boycott and mass-transfer movement sparked by Ben Huh, founder of the Cheezburger Network, moving their domains away from GoDaddy. The company eventually withdrew its support for SOPA, but not before it lost many customers. In September 2012, GoDaddy faced another PR nightmare when its DNS servers went down due to a distributed denial of service attack, and with the servers went many customers' websites for a long period of time. The company apparently didn't have a backup plan, furthering soiling its reputation. Image courtesy of Flickr, dsleeter_2000.

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