Kidnapping case unnerves Austria as families ready for new school year

VIENNA, Austria Extra police officers and crossing guards will be on hand to help parents and their children feel safe when schools reopen next week in Austria, which is still reeling over revelations that a schoolgirl spent 8 1/2 years imprisoned in an underground cell.

But to many in this nation stunned by Natascha Kampusch's ordeal and her dramatic escape last week from her kidnapper, the heightened security was just window dressing.

"You almost don't want to let them out of your sight. Not even for a second," said Birgit Meisner, 34, watching her two young boys kick a soccer ball around a Vienna park on Friday.

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The $8.6 Billion Gold Deal

Mining company Goldcorp (GG) on Aug. 31 struck an agreement to acquire gold company Glamis (GLG) in an $8.6 billion deal, part of a wave of consolidation sweeping through the commodities sector as prices for everything from gold to copper to aluminum soar.

Goldcorp's shares tumbled as much as 12% during trading on Thursday and closed down nearly 10%, at $27.66, on fears that the company is paying too steep a price in the deal. The company's bid represents a 33% premium over Glamis' market price on Aug. 30. On top of that, Glamis Chief Executive Kevin McArthur will get to be chief executive of the combined companies.

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Tags: struck | sector | copper | commodities | aluminum | acquire | Goldcorp | Glamis | sweeping | Price | consolidation | billion | agreement | executive

Tropical Storm Ernesto Intermediate Advisory Number 30A

Center Of Ernesto Moving Inland Over Eastern North Carolina... ...Still Producing Winds Of Tropical Storm Force And Heavy Rains...

A Tropical Storm Warning Remains In Effect From North Of The South Santee River To Currituck Beach Light Including The Pamlico And Albemarle Sounds. Gale Warnings Are In Effect For The Atlantic Coast And The Chesapeake Bay North Of The Tropical Storm Warning Area Due To A Strong Pressure Gradient North Of Ernesto.

A Hurricane Watch Remains In Effect From South Santee River South Carolina To Cape Lookout North Carolina. A Hurricane Watch Means That Hurricane Conditions Are Possible Within The Watch Area...In This Case Within The Next Few Hours.

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Ford considers Aston Martin sale

Aston Martin could soon be sold off, after owner Ford announced that it was looking at the future of the brand.

Ford said it was exploring strategic options for the luxury brand "with particular emphasis on a potential sale" of all or part of the unit.

A spokesman for the firm said it had already received a number of approaches for the brand from potential buyers.

Ford added there was no guarantee the review would result in Aston - made famous by James Bond - being sold.

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Tags: sold | received | potential | owner | options | luxury | looking | exploring | emphasis | considers | brand | approaches | Martin | Aston | strategic | spokesman | Sale | firm | announced | Ford

Ford considers Aston Martin sale

Aston Martin could soon be sold off, after owner Ford announced that it was looking at the future of the brand.

Ford said it was exploring strategic options for the luxury brand "with particular emphasis on a potential sale" of all or part of the unit.

A spokesman for the firm said it had already received a number of approaches for the brand from potential buyers.

Ford added there was no guarantee the review would result in Aston - made famous by James Bond - being sold.

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Tags: sold | received | potential | owner | options | luxury | looking | exploring | emphasis | considers | brand | approaches | Martin | Aston | strategic | spokesman | Sale | firm | announced | Ford

Ford considers Aston Martin sale

Aston Martin could soon be sold off, after owner Ford announced that it was looking at the future of the brand.

Ford said it was exploring strategic options for the luxury brand "with particular emphasis on a potential sale" of all or part of the unit.

A spokesman for the firm said it had already received a number of approaches for the brand from potential buyers.

Ford added there was no guarantee the review would result in Aston - made famous by James Bond - being sold.

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Tags: sold | received | potential | owner | options | luxury | looking | exploring | emphasis | considers | brand | approaches | Martin | Aston | strategic | spokesman | Sale | firm | announced | Ford

Ford considers Aston Martin sale

Aston Martin could soon be sold off, after owner Ford announced that it was looking at the future of the brand.

Ford said it was exploring strategic options for the luxury brand "with particular emphasis on a potential sale" of all or part of the unit.

A spokesman for the firm said it had already received a number of approaches for the brand from potential buyers.

Ford added there was no guarantee the review would result in Aston - made famous by James Bond - being sold.

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Tags: sold | received | potential | owner | options | luxury | looking | exploring | emphasis | considers | brand | approaches | Martin | Aston | strategic | spokesman | Sale | firm | announced | Ford

Ford considers Aston Martin sale

Aston Martin could soon be sold off, after owner Ford announced that it was looking at the future of the brand.

Ford said it was exploring strategic options for the luxury brand "with particular emphasis on a potential sale" of all or part of the unit.

A spokesman for the firm said it had already received a number of approaches for the brand from potential buyers.

Ford added there was no guarantee the review would result in Aston - made famous by James Bond - being sold.

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Tags: sold | received | potential | owner | options | luxury | looking | exploring | emphasis | considers | brand | approaches | Martin | Aston | strategic | spokesman | Sale | firm | announced | Ford

Dell Japan blames Sony for battery recall

TOKYO, AUG 29: Dell Japan Inc President Jim Merritt blamed Sony Corp for flaws in batteries that had to be recalled because they may pose a fire hazard while being used in the computer makers' laptops.

“The trouble was not because of Dell’s system design,” the Yomiuri newspaper quoted Merritt as saying at press conference on Tuesday in Tokyo. “The defect occurred in the production process of the batteries” made by Sony, he said.

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Trio of women outsmart computer engineers, rocket scientists, and the NSA.

In November of 2005 ScrollQuest.com released The Guardian's Amulet, a nationwide treasure hunt that sent thousands of it's readers scouring the country in search of a mysterious coin that would be their ticket to winning a $50,000 bejeweled amulet. But six month's into this "Quest" it was widely speculated that the solution to solving this hunt had been heavily lopsided in favor of the freakishly intelligent. After all, several computer engineers, a rocket scientist, and a member of the National Security agency were all known to be playing and they could make no headway. What chance did a "normal" person have for solving this adventure? So when Holli Myers, a home-maker from Vestal, New York, finally plucked the coin from it's hiding spot in West Virginia, more than a few faces in the puzzle solving community went red.

Holli was part of a three woman team of "treasure hunters" that put their heads together to unravel the mysteries hidden within The Guardian's Amulet. Holli, along with Vickki Martinus and Martina Thompson spent several months working on the puzzles contained within The Guardian's Amulet. They even coined a name for themselves, "The GAGA Sisterhood". GA being an abbreviation for "Guardian's Amulet". When the three ladies figured out where the treasure was hidden in Harpers Ferry, they turned the actual finding duties over to Myers being that she was the closest of the three to West Virginia.

Ah-ha! So there's the rub. One of Holli's team mates must have had a doctorate in cryptanalysis, right? Well actually, the other two women were another home-maker from Allen, TX and a cookie-baking grandmother from Tulsa, OK.

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AMD refuses to back down against Intel

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is engaged in a price war with a rival six times its size, but refuses to go on the defensive.

This week, Marty Seyer, a senior vice-president at the world's second-largest computer chip company, said AMD could capture 40 per cent of the market for servers by 2009, up from about one-quarter now. Three years ago, AMD wasn't even in the server business.

His optimism comes on the heels of a new product launch that analysts say will keep the company competitive in the server market against Intel Corp., the No. 1 computer chip company.

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IT Business

Advanced Micro Devices believes it has more ammunition to take on its chief rival Intel through its historic purchase of Canadian graphics specialist ATI Technologies Inc.

The deal, valued at US$5.4 billion, is expected to close by the end of the year.

By buying ATI, AMD aims to carve out a bigger piece of the consumer and mobility markets, said the chipmaker's chairman and CEO, Hector Ruiz.

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IT Business

Advanced Micro Devices believes it has more ammunition to take on its chief rival Intel through its historic purchase of Canadian graphics specialist ATI Technologies Inc.

The deal, valued at US$5.4 billion, is expected to close by the end of the year.

By buying ATI, AMD aims to carve out a bigger piece of the consumer and mobility markets, said the chipmaker's chairman and CEO, Hector Ruiz.

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Tags: chipmaker | ATI | Canadian | AMD

YouTube suffers outage, breaks top 50

NEW YORK - The video-sharing site YouTube.com suffered an outage Tuesday, the same day a Web measurement company said the site had broken into its list of the Internet's top 50 for the first time. Few details on the outage were available.

Although the company's Web site had greeted visitors, "We're currently putting out some new features, sweeping out the cobwebs and zapping a few gremlins," an e-mail from YouTube blamed a temporary database problem.

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