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Yosemite will stay open despite being home a deadly virus that has killed two people. Picture: Robert Holmes Caltour Source: Supplied

THE deadly virus raising fears at California's Yosemite National Park does not spread easily, and, despite two recent deaths, does not warrant closing the park, a spokeswoman said Monday.

So far, at least six cases have been confirmed of the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a rare but serious illness that kills one in three victims and cannot be treated.

"The hantavirus is contracted by breathing a particle from mice faeces and mice urine,'' and is spread by the deer mouse, a rodent that lives in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, park spokeswoman Kari Cobb explained.

"As long as individuals are staying in an area with good ventilation,'' and keeping watch for signs of mice in the area, "they should be fine,'' she said.

"You cannot contract the hantavirus if you're just walking around the park,'' she emphasized, adding that visitors need not wear a mask to avoid contagion.

Cobbs said that while some cancelled their reservations for the long holiday weekend ending with Labor Day on Monday, the gaps had been filled and overall the park was about as busy as usual.

She did not give specific figures, but during an average weekend, Yosemite hosts around 7500 tourists.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that about 10,000 visitors could have been exposed to the deadly virus while staying at the park's scenic Signature Tent Cabins.

But park officials estimated just 3000 people stayed in the lodgings between June 10 and August 24, when they could have run the risk of developing the disease within the next six weeks.

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Yosemite open despite killer virus

September 4, 2012

Michael Harper for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

UDID leak? What UDID leak?

Its incredibly likely Apple planned to send out press invites to their next mega press event today. Though we had all more or less known theyd be holding this event on September 12th, not having any official word from Cupertino left even the tiniest shred of doubt that Apple would do as we expected.

As the 12th gets ever closer, today, the 4th, is a fine time to announce this next press event. However, announcing the press event just hours after a huge story began to circulate about an attack on an FBI laptop and the subsequent leak of 1 million Apple Unique Device Identifiers (UDIDs) is pure genius.

iPhone rabid fans have been successfully silenced as the pre-iPhone frenzy begins to kick into high gear.

In accordance with their long-held traditions of subtly tipping their hand as to what will be announced, the invite only says, Its almost here, above a giant 12.

The 12, however, is casting a very interesting shadow.

Ever since Apple released the new iPad with Retina Display this spring, theres been a raging war between those who expect the new iPhone to also lose its numerical identifier, taking on the same moniker as the new iPad.

This invite seems to crush this argument entirely, as the shadow being cast from the giant 12 actually displays a 5.

Original post:
Apple Press Invites Sent Out Today: iPhone 5 On The 12th

Updated: September 4, 2012, 6:35 PM ET

CLEVELAND -- Joe Haden's case remains mysterious and unresolved.

The Browns cornerback, and one of Cleveland's best players, is awaiting word from the NFL on a possible four-game suspension for failing a drug test. On Tuesday, Browns president Mike Holmgren revealed in a local radio interview that Haden has already had his appeal hearing with the league.

"Now it's up to someone else," Holmgren told 92.3 The Fan. "And we don't know."

Holmgren's comments were the first confirming Haden's suspension. Haden reportedly failed a test for taking Adderall, which is on the league's banned substance list.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an email that the league "has nothing to report at this point."

It's possible the league is still weighing Haden's appeal and a ruling may not be known for days, if not weeks. In the meantime, Haden is wondering if he will be able to play in Sunday's season opener against Philadelphia.

"I have no idea," Haden said when asked on Monday.

At this point, it appears Haden's safe for this week, but it's possible he may still have to sit out some games. The league does not announce suspensions until the appeal process is completed in order to protect the player's privacy.

The Browns can't afford to be without Haden for long. They're already missing three defensive starters -- defensive tackle Phil Taylor and linebacker Chris Gocong are injured and linebacker Scott Fujita is serving a three-game suspension for his role in the Saints' bounty scandal -- and Haden is their best coverage defender.

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Browns CB Haden awaiting word on suspension

By Rick Aristotle Munarriz | More Articles September 4, 2012 |

Renren (NYSE: RENN) may relish being called "the Facebook of China," but there is really little that the two social networking websites have in common.

Outside of being busted IPOs -- with Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) trading for half of its May debut, and Renren shedding more than two-thirds of its value since going public a year earlier -- the two companies have little in common.

"I'm in the camp that thinks paid services including e-commerce and gaming will be the mainstay of social networks," CEO Joseph Chen said in a recent Wall Street Journal interview.

The emphasis on gaming is already evident. The only reason why Renren was able to overcome the dip in online advertising revenue to deliver a 48% spike in revenue was because online gaming more than doubled during the quarter.

Online gaming is a big part of Facebook's model, but only as a developer-agnostic platform. Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA) contributes a healthy chunk of Facebook's revenue, but Facebook is simply there to skim royalties off the online transactions. Renren is taking a more hands-on approach in developing the games that now make up more than half of Renren's revenue.

Renren is also differentiating itself from Facebook by investing in the daily deals space. Facebook tried to hop on the Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN) bandwagon, but jumped off last year before jumping off was fashionable. Renren is committed to keeping its two-year-old Nuomi offering growing. The Groupon-like group-buying site is expected to drum up merchandise sales of more than $100 million next quarter.

Will the sum of Renren's parts be enough? It may be that Renren is simply trying to do too much. Being the master of all trades may eventually get in the way of running a social networking website. However, since monetizing social networking through online advertising appears to be a taller task in China than it is globally for Facebook, it's hard to argue with Renren's approach of trying on many different hats until it finds one that fits.

Now it's only a matter of seeing which of the two dot-com disappointments bounces back first for investors. One of the Fool's top tech analysts breaks down the chances of Facebook making its comeback first in our brand-new premium research report on Facebook, which details the opportunities and challenges in store for its shareholders. The report includes a full year of updates, but time's a-ticking. Check it out now.

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3 Crucial Reasons Why Renren Is No Facebook

Hordes of children across the country are heading back to classrooms, and experts say social networking and smartphones are radically changing the whole back-to-school experience.

"It's almost like multimedia friendship," said Ester Cole, psychologist and former chair of the Psychology Foundation of Canada. "It means children have a magnified exposure to information."

Cole says social media has become an intrinsic part of schooling. Today's students have more avenues to explore than any other generation before them and in some ways they'll be better off, she says.

But there's also a negative side to the gadgets they're carrying and the networks they're building at a young age.

Children get bombarded by photos and images all summer, Cole says, which can become a point of conversation and help them make new friends come the start of a new school year.

"It's a way kids can get their timelines straight and help them feel connected," she said.

While some might be quick to denounce kids carrying smartphones and using social media, Nora Spinks, chief executive officer at the Vanier Institute of the Family, says there are some practical bonuses.

"It's an easier way to stay connected to your friends and avoid negative situations," Spinks said.

A few years ago, young girls might have called each other first thing in the morning to pick out a wardrobe for their first day back. Now, much of that can be done much more efficiently through text messages, Spinks says.

If there's a bully waiting on a street corner, kids can text each other to avoid that situation, too.

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How social media is changing the face of back to school