Microsoft sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses in month: exec

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp has sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses in the month since the launch, according to one of the new co-heads of the Windows unit, setting a faster pace than Windows 7 three years ago.

The sales number represents a solid but unspectacular start for the touch-friendly operating system designed to combat Apple Inc's and Google Inc's domination of mobile computing, which has shunted aside PCs in favor of iPads and smartphones.

Tami Reller, finance and marketing head of the Windows business, did not give a precise comparison, but sales of 40 million licenses for Windows 8, launched on October 26, appear to be ahead of Windows 7, which sold just over 60 million units in the first 10 weeks on sale at the end of 2009.

Reller did not break down the Windows 8 license sales between relatively cheap upgrades and purchases of new machines running the new software, but suggested much of the growth was coming from upgrades.

"Windows 8 upgrade momentum is outpacing that of Windows 7," said Reller, speaking at an investor conference held by Credit Suisse. Upgrading to Windows 8 costs $40, compared to $70 for the full software package or hundreds of dollars for a new PC.

The latest figure does not mean that 40 million users have adopted Windows 8. Many of the sales are to PC manufacturers, who in turn sell a large number of machines to companies, very few of which are using Windows 8 yet.

According to tech research firm StatCounter, about 1 percent of the world's 1.5 billion or so personal computers - making a total of around 15 million - are actually running Windows 8.

Reller did not disclose sales of Microsoft's new Surface tablet, its first-ever own-brand PC, designed to challenge the iPad head on.

The first Surface, based on a chip designed by ARM Holdings Plc, does not run old versions of Microsoft programs. A slightly bigger version based on an Intel Corp chip that will run the full Windows 8 Pro operating system and be fully compatible with the Office suite of applications will be available in January, Reller said.

The investor conference was the first public appearance for Reller since she was named as one of two executives to run the Windows unit after president Steven Sinofsky unexpectedly left two weeks ago. Julie Larson-Green heads the engineering side of Windows.

Reller said the Windows unit had survived Sinofsky's surprise departure.

"The team holistically is in great, great shape. And the product is in great shape," she said, responding to a question from a Credit Suisse analyst. "I think transitions are always somewhat of a challenge, but I think that timing-wise it is a reasonable time, and the team is busy."

Earlier in the day, Microsoft said it had sold more than 750,000 Xbox game consoles in the United States last week, including the day after Thanksgiving, one of the country's biggest shopping days.

That is down from 960,000 sales in the same week a year ago, in line with reduced computer game spending across the board this year, as gamers hold off on purchases in the tight economy and move toward free online games.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Gary Hill, Andre Grenon and Bernard Orr)

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Phils' Ruiz suspended 25 games after positive test

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Add catcher to the Philadelphia Phillies' needs this offseason.

All-Star Carlos Ruiz was suspended Tuesday for the first 25 games of next season following a positive test for an amphetamine. The 33-year-old catcher had a career year in 2012, hitting .325 with 16 homers and 68 RBIs in 114 games.

"I am sincerely regretful for my mistake in taking a prohibited stimulant," Ruiz said in a statement issued by the Major League Baseball Players Association. "I apologize to my teammates, the Phillies organization and the Philadelphia fans. I will serve the imposed 25-game suspension to begin the season and I look forward to returning to the field and working toward bringing a championship back to Philadelphia in 2013."

Ruiz will be eligible to participate in spring training, including exhibition games.

"The Phillies fully support Major League Baseball's drug program," the team said. "We are disappointed by the news of this violation of the program. We will support Carlos in an appropriate manner and move forward to achieve our goal to play championship-caliber baseball in 2013."

Erik Kratz will likely begin the 2013 season as Philadelphia's starting catcher while Ruiz serves his suspension. Kratz, a career minor-leaguer, filled in nicely when he finally got a chance after Ruiz went down with a foot injury. Kratz hit .248, but had nine doubles, nine homers and 26 RBIs in only 141 at-bats. Kratz also threw out 45 percent of base-stealers (15 of 33).

Still, losing Ruiz hurts a lineup that struggled mightily last year. Ruiz moved up from his usual No. 8 spot and took over for an injured Ryan Howard as the team's cleanup hitter for a chunk of the season. He batted fifth after Howard returned in July.

The Phillies, who finished 81-81 after winning five straight NL East titles, have several holes to fill. Only Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins are certain regulars. Utley, though, didn't play until late May in 2011 and late June in 2012 because of chronic knee injuries.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. hopes to add a starting center fielder, another starting outfielder and a third baseman either through free agency or trades. Now he'll also need a backup catcher for Kratz for the first month. Brian Schneider served as the team's primary backup the last three seasons, but only batted .212 in 122 games.

The Phillies have two top prospects catching in the minors. Sebastian Valle hit .253 with 17 homers and 58 RBIs in 80 games at Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Tommy Joseph, acquired in the trade that sent Hunter Pence to San Francisco, hit .257 with 11 homers and 48 RBIs for the Giants' and Phillies' Double-A affiliates.

Ruiz became the eighth player suspended this year under the major league testing program, the second for amphetamines following Baltimore shortstop Ryan Adams. The eight suspensions are the most since 2007.

This had to be Ruiz's second positive test for a stimulant. An initial positive for a stimulant does not trigger a suspension, only that the player must undergo follow-up testing.

There have been 102 suspensions this year under the minor league testing program.

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Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobMaaddi

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CDC: HIV spread high in young gay males

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say 1 in 5 new HIV infections occur in a tiny segment of the population — young men who are gay or bisexual.

The government on Tuesday released new numbers that spotlight how the spread of the AIDS virus is heavily concentrated in young males who have sex with other males. Only about a quarter of new infections in the 13-to-24 age group are from injecting drugs or heterosexual sex.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said blacks represented more than half of new infections in youths. The estimates are based on 2010 figures.

Overall, new U.S. HIV infections have held steady at around 50,000 annually. About 12,000 are in teens and young adults, and most youth with HIV haven't been tested.

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Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns

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Judge bows out of 'pink slime' suit over ABC ties

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A federal judge has recused himself from presiding over a $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit against ABC because his daughter-in-law works as a producer on one of the network's morning shows.

Judge Lawrence L. Piersol recused himself from hearing the defamation lawsuit filed by South Dakota-based Beef Products Inc. against ABC because his daughter-in-law works as a producer on "Good Morning America."

The case has been reassigned to Chief Judge Karen Schreier.

Beef Products Inc. sued ABC in September over its coverage of a meat product called lean, finely textured beef. Critics have dubbed the product "pink slime." The meat processor claims the network damaged the company by misleading consumers into believing the product is unhealthy and unsafe.

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Chicago housing recovery lags other cities

A sale is pending on this home in San Francisco. The National Association of Realtors reported a decline in sales in September. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / October 19, 2012)

By Mary Ellen Podmolik




Tribune staff reporter

8:25 a.m. CST, November 27, 2012

The Chicago area's housing recovery continues to lag behind other metropolitan areas, according to a widely watched monthly index of home prices released Tuesday.

The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index found that area home prices in September fell 0.6 percent from August and were down 1.5 percent on an annualized basis. Chicago and New York City were the cities among the 20 studied where pricing was worse than their year-ago comparisons.

September's reading was the first monthly decrease for the Chicago area's home price index after five months of gains. Despite the slip in the overall market, area condo prices continued to recover, rising .9 percent in September from August, marking the six consecutive month of improvement.

Historically, condo prices remain at their spring 2001 level while the overall market's pricing is similar to its fall 2001 levels.

All combined, the 20 cities included in the home price index in September recorded a monthly gain of 0.3 percent in September. Year-over-year, prices rose 3 percent. On a quarterly basis, the national composite rose 3.6 percent in the third quarter compared with 2011's third quarter.

mepodmolik@tribune.com | Twitter @mepodmolik

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Cops: Gang member killed, another wounded at funeral

Rev. Corey Brooks talks about shooting after a funeral in Chicago on Monday, November 26, 2012. (Scott Strazzante, Chicago Tribune)

A reputed gang member was killed, and another seriously wounded, at a funeral for a man who was gunned down last week on the South Side, with a minister at the services tweeting afterward, "This is Crazy."

The two men were shot outside St. Columbanus Church in the 300 block of East 71st Street, across the street from the A.A. Rayner & Sons Funeral Home, shortly before 12:30 p.m., police said.

They were taken to Stroger Hospital, where one of them was pronounced dead. The other victim was in critical condition, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Will Knight. Both victims are convicted felons and known gang members, police said. Two guns were recovered at the scene.

The shooting occurred after the funeral for James Holman, 32, who was slain last week at an apartment building in the Washington Park neighborhood, according to police and the minister who was presiding, the Rev. Corey Brooks.

"I just preached a funeral and gunfire has broke out," Brooks tweeted. "Chaos about 500 people here. This is Crazy!!

"Please pray for Chicago," he added in a later tweet. "This is horrible."

Brooks had finished the eulogy and the man's family and close friends had gone out the front door of the church when shots rang out.

"That's when all the gunfire broke out and it was just crazy," said Brooks. "People were hollering and screaming and kids running everywhere. By the time we got back around to the front, you got these guys who have been shot."

Brooks said he usually accompanies families out of the church after funerals, but had left by a side door for a radio interview.

"I do know that the shooters were at that funeral," he said. "From what everyone is saying, those guys came out of the funeral and waited."

He said a witness told him one of the men raised his hand as he was shot.  "One of the guy's whole hand got shot off because he raised his hand to stop the shot and it shot his hand off," Brooks said.

Brooks believes the men who were shot were targeted. "It's not a random [shooting], you can mark that one off. If someone shoots at a funeral and somebody gets hit, more than one, it's direct, it's specific. . .This is more a hit: These are guys that I want and I want to get them. So it was a target."

Police said Holman was a gang member, but Brooks said he wasn't sure.

"I don't think that he was but I don't know for sure," he said. "No one told me that he was, and normally when I get ready to do funerals [for gang members], I've got guys around me who will say, 'Pastor, we need to take a couple of guys with us,' or 'You need to call the police to be at that funeral.' Everything that I heard was that he was a guy who liked to party and have fun."

Brooks is the pastor who spent weeks on the rooftop of an abandoned motel last winter in an effort to get it torn down to make way for a community center in the Woodlawn neighborhood. He is also considering a run for the congressional seat left vacant when Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. recently resigned.

"It says that things are definitely out of control," Brooks said. "There was a time with a lot of gangbangers, older guys, where things were off limits, weddings, funerals. Church was off limits. Now we are living at a day and time where these younger criminals have no regard for life or for street rules. That means things have gotten to a level where someone has to step in and do some drastic things to change it."

One witness said she saw someone firing at two people outside the church.

Deborah Echols-Moore said there were several hundred mourners in the sanctuary of the church when she heard gunshots. “We thought it was someone banging on the seats,” but soon realized it was gunshots, Echols-Moore said.

People panicked and made a rush to get out of the church. "A lady fell on me.”

chicagobreaking@tribune.com

Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking

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HP hit with civil securities lawsuit over Autonomy deal

Country music titan Dolly Parton is anything but shy.In an exclusive interview with "Nightline," Parton dished about her love life (including those rumors that she is secretly gay), losing a drag queen lookalike contest and building an entertainment empire estimated at half a billion dollars.Watch the full story on "Nightline" tonight at 11:35 p.m. ETIn her long reign as a country music legend, Parton, now 66, has done it all. In her new motivational memoir, "Dream More," which will be released on Nov. 27, Parton talks about growing up dirt poor in Sevierville, Tenn. ...

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US federal mediators to join NHL labor talks

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal mediators are entering the stalled NHL labor talks, with the season's first 2½ months already lost because of the lockout.

George Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, said Monday the parties had agreed to use the agency. He assigned three mediators to assist negotiations — deputy director Scot Beckenbaugh, director of mediation services John Sweeney and Commissioner Guy Serota.

"While we have no particular level of expectation going into this process, we welcome a new approach in trying to reach a resolution of the ongoing labor dispute at the earliest possible date," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said.

Cohen has worked with the players' associations for Major League Baseball, helping end the 1994-95 strike as an outside counsel, and the NBA. He was an adviser to the NHL players' union before joining FMCS three years ago.

"We look forward to their involvement as we continue working to reach an equitable agreement for both the players and the owners," said Donald Fehr, executive director of the NHL Players' Association.

Cohen mediated during the 2010 negotiations in Major League Soccer and 2011 talks in the NFL and NBA, along with this year's dispute between the NFL and its on-field officials.

Hockey players and management have not negotiated since last Wednesday. The NHL has canceled more than one-third of its regular season, including all games through Dec. 14, the New Year's Day outdoor Winter Classic and the All-Star weekend scheduled for Jan. 26-27 at Columbus, Ohio.

"I have had separate, informal discussions with the key representatives of the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association during the course of their negotiations for a successor collective bargaining agreement," Cohen said in a statement.

"Due to the extreme sensitivity of these negotiations and consistent with the FMCS's longstanding practice, the agency will refrain from any public comment concerning the future schedule and/or the status of the negotiations until further notice."

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Actor: CBS comedy ‘Two and a Half Men’ is ‘filth’

NEW YORK (AP) — The teenage actor who plays the half in the hit CBS comedy “Two and a Half Men” says it’s “filth” and through a video posted by a Christian church has urged viewers not to watch it.

Nineteen-year-old Angus T. Jones has been on the show since he was 10 but says he doesn’t want to be on it. He says, “Please stop watching it. Please stop filling your head with filth.”

The video was posted by the Forerunner Christian Church in California, where Jones says he went to meet his spiritual needs.

Show producer Warner Bros. Television has no comment. CBS hasn’t responded to a request for comment left Monday.

The show stars Jon Cryer as Jones’ uptight dad and originally featured Charlie Sheen as his hedonistic philandering uncle, but Sheen was replaced by Ashton Kutcher.

Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Bounce houses a party hit but kids' injuries soar

CHICAGO (AP) — They may be a big hit at kids' birthday parties, but inflatable bounce houses can be dangerous, with the number of injuries soaring in recent years, a nationwide study found.

Kids often crowd into bounce houses, and jumping up and down can send other children flying into the air, too.

The numbers suggest 30 U.S. children a day are treated in emergency rooms for broken bones, sprains, cuts and concussions from bounce house accidents. Most involve children falling inside or out of the inflated playthings, and many children get hurt when they collide with other bouncing kids.

The number of children aged 17 and younger who got emergency-room treatment for bounce house injuries has climbed along with the popularity of bounce houses — from fewer than 1,000 in 1995 to nearly 11,000 in 2010. That's a 15-fold increase, and a doubling just since 2008.

"I was surprised by the number, especially by the rapid increase in the number of injuries," said lead author Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Amusement parks and fairs have bounce houses, and the playthings can also be rented or purchased for home use.

Smith and colleagues analyzed national surveillance data on ER treatment for nonfatal injuries linked with bounce houses, maintained by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Their study was published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Only about 3 percent of children were hospitalized, mostly for broken bones.

More than one-third of the injuries were in children aged 5 and younger. The safety commission recommends against letting children younger than 6 use full-size trampolines, and Smith said barring kids that young from even smaller, home-use bounce houses would make sense.

"There is no evidence that the size or location of an inflatable bouncer affects the injury risk," he said.

Other recommendations, often listed in manufacturers' instruction pamphlets, include not overloading bounce houses with too many kids and not allowing young children to bounce with much older, heavier kids or adults, said Laura Woodburn, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials.

The study didn't include deaths, but some accidents are fatal. Separate data from the product safety commission show four bounce house deaths from 2003 to 2007, all involving children striking their heads on a hard surface.

Several nonfatal accidents occurred last year when bounce houses collapsed or were lifted by high winds.

A group that issues voluntary industry standards says bounce houses should be supervised by trained operators and recommends that bouncers be prohibited from doing flips and purposefully colliding with others, the study authors noted.

Bounce house injuries are similar to those linked with trampolines, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended against using trampolines at home. Policymakers should consider whether bounce houses warrant similar precautions, the authors said.

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Online:

Pediatrics: http://www.pediatrics.org

Trade group: http://www.naarso.com

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AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

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