One year later, Nokia and Microsoft’s software partnership surpasses industry expectations
BARCELONA, Spain — One year ago, Jo Harlow, the head of smart devices at Nokia, stood before a packed convention hall at the Mobile World Congress, the cellphone industry’s most important trade show, to explain the Finnish company’s new software alliance with Microsoft.
MITx targeted in Newsletter
The January/Februaryπ Faculty Newsletter (FNL) marks the second issue in a row in which MIT’s faculty launched a coordinated response to a major Institute development. Last issue, it was . Now, the faculty have turned their collective eye towards MITx — the set to open to the public next week.
CORRECTIONS
A Feb. 24 article about Caroline Shinkle ’15’s campaign for Republican State Committeewoman incorrectly stated that only registered Republicans could vote in the March 6 elections. Those registered as “unenrolled,” i.e. those who have not declared a party affiliation may also vote. The article also stated that The Tech was unable to verify Shinkle’s attendance at Republican City and Town committee meetings. Shinkle did attend a Feb. 16 Republican State Committee Candidates forum.
Front doors to the Institute old, cold, and controlled
Many a day has passed when pedestrians walking up the steps to Lobby 7 have encountered an “Out of Order” sign at one of the three entrance doors. The doors, some of the most-used on campus, have been under repair six times this academic year, according to Manager of Repair and Maintenance Kevin Connolly. In two of the instances, the doors were under repair for two and three weeks, while the other four instances were same-day repairs.
Anderson’s cause of death still unknown
No conclusion has been reached as to the cause of death of Brian G. Anderson ’13, the MIT junior who was found dead in his Next House dormitory room last Monday.
Shorts (left)
BAGHDAD — When Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki rounded up hundreds of former Baathists, accused the vice president of running a hit squad and threatened to use the apparatus of state to target other top Sunni leaders, some rivals and critics said that al-Maliki’s authoritarian streak had finally antagonized enough of Iraq’s political class to jeopardize his hold on power.
As fighting rages, Syria votes on a new Constitution
BEIRUT — As fighting churned on in major cities on Sunday, Syria held a referendum on a new constitution, an offer of reform that critics have dismissed as too little too late and Western leaders called a farce.
Thousands join anti-Kremlin protest in Moscow
MOSCOW — Thousands of anti-Kremlin protesters donned white ribbons and held hands along Moscow’s 10-mile ring highway on Sunday, demonstrating the resilience of the protest movement and continued dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin a week before he is to run in a crucial presidential election.
Multibillion dollar trial for BP’s Gulf oil spill delayed until next week
NEW ORLEANS — The civil trial over the United States’ biggest oil spill has been delayed for a week as efforts to settle the multibillion-dollar litigation intensify.
Shorts (right)
As same-sex marriage supporters celebrate victories in Washington and Maryland this month, they are keeping a wary eye on New Hampshire, where lawmakers may soon vote to repeal the state’s 2-year-old law allowing gay and lesbian couples to wed.
Germany backs $175 billion aid plan for Greece
BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany managed to keep her strategy for attacking Greece’s debt problems on track with a victory in Parliament Monday, but was able to win the vote only with the help of opposition parties.
President of Ecuador to pardon four in libel case
CARACAS, Venezuela — Declaring victory over what he called a “media dictatorship,” President Rafael Correa of Ecuador said Monday that he would pardon three newspaper executives and a columnist who were sentenced to three years in prison in a libel case.
Breezy day to precede potential snow on Thursday
The abnormally warm and dry weather that has characterized this winter season has continued this week, with temperatures upwards of 51°F recorded yesterday on the roof of the Green Building. However, after a breezy day today, a developing storm system to the west could bring wintry weather for the second part of the week. A low pressure system currently developing over the Central Plains will bring moisture and precipitation over New England tomorrow night, and temperatures could be cold enough to support snow through the day on Thursday.
The importance of S^3 for students
As with all of MIT, we are deeply saddened by the loss of another member of our community. Over this academic year, the deans in Student Support Services (S ^ 3) have met with many individuals who have been impacted by the student deaths. The loss and circumstances are almost incomprehensible to many friends and peers of these students and to the community.
UA needs long-term vision
The UA Senate was popularly perceived as being inefficient, ineffective, and just not doing all that much. This, in fact, provided much of the impetus behind the restructuring that led to the creation of the UA Council. And this is more than just a feeling; the “exit polls” of graduating seniors indeed indicate that many students are dissatisfied with student government at MIT. This logically leads to the question of what exactly is it that the UA should be doing? For as long as I can remember, the UA has lacked a real vision; sure, they want to improve life for undergraduates and advocate on their behalf, but how? What can the Senate point to that it actually accomplished? The answer to that question is “nothing.” The “doing things” part of the UA has always been the committees. The committees on dining, space planning, events, sustainability, and education, to name just a few, have always been the ones who can point to things that they have actually accomplished and tangibly improved undergraduate life through. And this makes sense; the committees all have clear charters and projects that are led by chairs who have a vision for the committee.
Clarification on La Révolution Française
Two weeks ago, I wrote an article stating my opinion on a new piece of French legislation that proposed to criminalize the public denial of the events of 1915 that culminated in the deaths of many Armenians. I argued that the French government, or any other government for that matter, does not have the authority to restrict the freedom of speech and expression. The point I tried to get across with the article was that of liberty. In order to give our lives meaning, each and every one of us chooses and adopts certain doctrines, ideals, and objectives. These pervade through our lifestyle, affecting everything from the way we think, to the way we act, to the way we conduct our relations with others around us.
Getting better by leaving the Institute
I am no longer an undergraduate at MIT, but my mother still receives notices from the parents’ association now and again. Last week, she received an email from Christina Aprea informing the MIT parents community that a junior was found dead in his dormitory room. The cause of death has not been officially released yet.
Affirmative action: the perspective from admissions
In response to the recent discussions taking place in these pages, where a lot has been said about the admissions process, I want to take this opportunity to add to the conversation with a few comments.
Men’s basketball wins NEWMAC championships
The MIT’s Men’s Basketball team had reason to celebrate last weekend, winning two games to earn the title of NEWMAC champions.
SPORTS SHORT
This past weekend our rifle team defeated Penn State in the Air Rifle competition of the MAC Championships. The Engineers finished the championships with 2249 points, a resounding 20 points ahead of Penn State. The Engineers’ sweet success may have come as a shock to the tough competition at Penn State, but the Engineers were hardly surprised. According to team captain Elizabeth A. Phillips ’13, the Engineers’ exceptional performance was a testament to the huge work that each member of the team put in over the last few months of the season. The team exhibited its admirable drive and unity as many shooters shot 4–13 points higher than their regular season averages for air rifle. Although the Engineers were disappointed to not qualify as a team for the smallbore side of the competition, they dominated this event individually. In fact, the sum of their individual smallbore scores would have put them ahead of Penn State as well as the Virginia Military Institute to win the division. The Engineers’ victory at the MAC Championships was a tremendous result and a great conclusion to the season.
An MIT student in Jeopardy!
For $1200: A computer message that something’s wrong; a classic one in DOS said, “abort, retry, fail?”
Institute Double Take
This photo is of the colorful MIT sail boats in front of Boston’s Back Bay. It is an HDR (high dynamic range) photo, meaning that it is a composite image of three different exposures that have been superimposed on one another. HDR was used to bring out the details in the shadows during the sunset. A small aperture was used to have both foreground and background in focus.
Solid to the core
Last week, Fresh Start discussed how adding weights to your workout routine can boost your endorphins, resistance to injury, and metabolic rate, helping you lean out faster than with cardio alone. Now that we’ve talked generally about planning workouts, we’re going to begin focusing on specific muscle groups. Next time, we’ll examine workouts to keep you lean and balanced, starting with a core routine you can do at home every day.
Overheard@MIT
LA talking to student in Course 6 class: *bursts out in laughter*Student: What’s so funny?LA: Oh, I was just thinking of a piece of code I saw earlier.
Events Feb. 28- Mar. 05
Events feb. 28 – mar. 03 Tuesday (3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) 2012 MIT Excellence Awards: annual celebration of outstanding staff members (5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.) Equity Bank: Redefining Business in Africa, presented by Dr. James Mwangi, reception to follow — E62-276 Wednesday (12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.) Artists Beyond the Desk Presents the MIT Gilbert and Sullivan Players: a concert celebrating Frederic’s 39th birthday — Killian Hall (14W-111) Thursday (4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) CSAIL Presents: Electrical Engineering and the World of Entertainment — 32-123 (4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.) Phillip A. Sharp Lecture in Neural Circuits — Singleton Auditorium (46-3002) Friday (2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.) Photons as a Probe for Discovery with the CMS Detector — Kolker Room (26-414) (6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.) The Anime Club shows Fate/Zero — 3-133 Monday (3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) Semiconductor Quantum Optics: New Frontiers for Information Processing and Precision Measurements — 34-401 (6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.) City Design and Development Lecture: Shrinking Cities — 10-485 Send your campus events to events@tech.mit.edu.
