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Monday, December 31, 2012

Apple?s 12 Days of Christmas Day 5: How I Met Your Mother, Season 1 Pilot

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Source: http://forums.iphoneincanada.ca/showthread.php?13546-Apple?s-12-Days-of-Christmas-Day-5-How-I-Met-Your-Mother-Season-1-Pilot&goto=newpost

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Santa Rosa family members recovering in Texas, Mexico hospitals

Donation boxes such as this are being circulated around Elsie Allen High School and elsewhere Santa Rosa Saturday for Cristina Garcia Torres, 16, and a niece, Alexis Vargas, 17, and other family members who were injured during a vehicle accident in Mexico on Dec. 23.

KENT PORTER/ THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 6:33 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 6:33 p.m.

Absent their usual bubbly excitement, Elsie Allen High School cheerleaders somberly took to the gym bleachers Saturday afternoon in Santa Rosa with a brown collection box.

The girls asked spectators at the girls basketball game for donations to help fellow Elsie Allen cheerleaders Cristina Garcia, 16, and her cousin Alexis Vargas, 17, who were critically injured in a traffic accident in Mexico Dec. 23 that took the life of Cristina?s mother, Mar?a Torres Garcia, 46.

At the entrance to the gym, more Elsie Allen cheerleaders sold cupcakes, cookies and other baked goods to help raise money for the girls and other their families injured in the one-vehicle roll-over. A similar bake sale held during two pre-season boys basketball games Friday night raised about $145, they said.

?They?re like family to us,? said Amelia Khoupradit, a 2012 Elsie Allen 2012 graduate who had served on the cheerleading squad with Cristina and Alexis. ?When we heard that they all didn?t have the money to come back and to get medical care, the cheerleaders started organizing.?

Khoupradit and the cheerleaders said that they?ve been circulating collection boxes in their neighborhoods and placing boxes in markets. They hope the modest collections are only the beginning of what could become a groundswell of support that includes efforts by Sonoma County Supervisor Efren Carrillo, Elsie Allen teachers and friends of the families.

The accident occurred while Cristina?s father, Francisco Garcia, a saw operator with Golden State Lumber in San Rafael, was driving the family?s Chevrolet Tahoe through the state of Coahuila in northern Mexico on the way to the state of Guanajuato in Central Mexico.

The family had planned to spend the Christmas holiday in El Jaral del Refugio, a small community just north of Acambaro in southern Guanajuato.

Sonoma County relatives of Francisco Garia say that the accident occurred when Garcia swerved to avoid hitting an animal in the roadway. He lost control of the SUV and it rolled, killing Garcia?s wife and severely injuring others.

Family members said the accident is still under investigation but they refuted early reports in a Mexican newspaper that Francisco had dozed off behind the wheel of the SUV because of a lack of sleep.

Cristina Garcia, who was transferred Wednesday to University Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, is recovering from a number of injuries. She is in stable but critical condition and will undergo surgery to her pelvis on Tuesday.

Alexis Vargas was recovering Saturday from facial surgery that involved the area around one eye, said her father, Gabriel Vargas, a health promoter and medical assistant at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Vargas, speaking by telephone from her his daughter?s room at Christus Muguerza Hospital in Saltillo, said she also has undergone surgery to her nose, cheek bone and a leg.

?I?ve been with her all the time; It?s just me and her at the hospital right now,? he said. ?She?s okay, but there are some times that she?s anxious because of the medicine and her surgery on her leg and ankle and her eye.?

Eliana Torres, a cousin of the two girls, said that Cristina?s eight-month-old daughter sustained internal bleeding and a skull fracture, though she is stable. Vega said that Cristina?s older brother, Daniel, is at University Hospital awaiting skin grafts to replace lost facial skin. He is in stable condition.

Vargas said that his 11-year-old son, Steven, Alexis? younger brother, was ejected from the SUV but miraculously was not seriously hurt.

?He didn?t panic at all; he just helped however he could,? Vargas said.

Vargas said he?s grateful for all the support from friends and community members. ?What I feel right now is that my family just grew,? he said. ?I see them as my family right now. I keep saying to myself there are good people. Sometimes we forget that there are good people.?

Carrillo, the county supervisor, said Saturday that he?s trying to organize a fundraiser at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds with the help of Art Ibledo, the owner of Pasta King, and Brien Farrell, an economics and government teacher at Elsie Allen.

Carrillo said he knew Alexis personally because she was among a group of Elsie Allen high school students who worked on his re-election campaign. He said he?s contacted U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer?s office and the Mexican Consulate office in San Francisco to find out what help can be given to the families.

?The entire community is going to get behind the girls and their families,? he said. ?The concern needs to be the health and well being of the young ladies and the families affected.?

Donations can be made to the Garcia Torres family at Chase Bank in the name of Guadalupe Garcia and to the Vargas family at Redwood Credit Union in the name of Gabriel Vargas.

Source: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20121229/articles/121229567

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Junior Dos Santos: "I Was Too Worried About His Takedowns And Didn?t Protect My Face"

UFC Discussion Discuss UFC, former WEC and former Pride events here.

12-30-2012, 06:11 PM

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?He was better and deserved the win, but I used the wrong strategy. I was too worried about his takedowns and didn?t protect my face, so he hit me. When the fight was on the ground, I should have used my jiu-jitsu more ? I trained it so much. But I just tried to get back up and it didn?t help me. But on the ground he is very good, very strong. I didn?t really connect with any good punches. It was disappointing, because I was feeling good, had an awesome training camp, everything was right. But that?s how fighting is ? I want (a rematch) now, soon. I won the first one and he got a rematch. Now I lost and I want my rematch. I?m saying I want this fight. I?ll get my belt back.?

Sunday, December 30, 2012

DirecTV Genie whole-home DVR review

We're very happy that 2012 ended up being the year of whole-home DVRs. We reviewed Dish Network's Hopper earlier this year and now we've spent some quality time with DirecTV's Genie -- can't say we expected the cute names. Capable of serving up to eight rooms in your house (but only four at once), the Genie system works with a variety of setups, including being built into some newer Samsung TVs. Only available as part of DirecTV service, the Genie can be had for free by some new DirecTV customers who are willing to sign a term agreement and select the right package, and available to existing customers as an upgrade for $300 depending on the circumstances. If DirecTV didn't already have you at five tuners, 1TB and up to eight rooms, then click through for a full rundown on the latest the original direct satellite broadcast TV provider has to offer.

Gallery: DirecTV Genie whole-shome DVR

Continue reading DirecTV Genie whole-home DVR review

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/2SriAppZ6yA/

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Senate leaders to make last-ditch "fiscal cliff" effort

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and congressional leaders agreed on Friday to make a final effort to prevent the United States from going over the "fiscal cliff," setting off intense bargaining over Americans' tax rates as a New Year deadline looms.

The focus now turns to the Senate, where Harry Reid, the Democratic majority leader, and Mitch McConnell, who heads the Republican minority, will try to come up with a deal that can then be approved in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives before the end of the year.

Obama said he was "modestly optimistic" that an agreement could be found that would prevent taxes going up for almost all working Americans.

If things cannot be worked out in the Senate, Obama said he wanted both chambers in Congress to vote on a plan of his that would increase taxes only for households earning more than $250,000 a year.

The plan would also extend unemployment insurance for about 2 million Americans and set up a framework for a larger deficit reduction deal next year.

"The hour for immediate action is here. It is now. We're now at the point where in just four days, every American's tax rates are scheduled to go up by law. Every American's paycheck will get considerably smaller. And that would be the wrong thing to do," Obama told reporters.

He was speaking after an hour-long meeting in the White House with the two Senate leaders plus their counterparts in the House, Republican Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

A total of $600 billion in tax hikes and cuts to government spending will start kicking in on Tuesday if politicians cannot reach a deal, which could push the U.S. economy into a recession.

To prevent that, the two Senate leaders will plunge into talks on Saturday that will focus mainly on the threshold for raising income taxes on households with upper-level earnings.

They will also discuss whether the estate tax should be kept at current low levels or allowed to rise, a Democratic aide said.

The chances of success were unclear. Earlier talks between Obama and Boehner collapsed last week when several dozen anti-tax Republicans defied their leader and rejected a plan to raise rates for those earning $1 million and above.

The Democratic aide said Boehner stuck mainly to "talking points" in Friday's White House meeting, with the message that the House had acted on the budget and it was now time for the Senate to move. A core of fiscal conservatives in Boehner's caucus opposes any tax hikes at all, and House Republicans also want to see Obama commit to major spending cuts.

Pessimism about the fiscal cliff helped push U.S. stocks down on Friday for a fifth straight day. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 158.20 points, or 1.21 percent.

(Additional reporting by David Lawder, Thomas Ferraro and Rachelle Younglai; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lawmakers-obama-last-chance-talks-fiscal-cliff-013608295--business.html

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Saturday, December 29, 2012

Software Test Engineer (SDET) II / Microsoft / Redmond, WA

Software Test Engineer (SDET) II

Posted Dec 29

Location: Redmond, WA, US
Job ID: 806188-100468
Division: Windows Division

Does the idea of working at the lowest level of the Windows operating system sound exciting to you? If so, the kernel test team may be the place for you! We are looking for a strong SDET candidate with the skills to become an expert at the development of tests and front line debugging of the most critical parts of the OS. You will have an opportunity to learn about areas such as the kernel scheduler, processor power management, SOC thermodynamics and much more! We have a lot of work ahead to support the next version of Windows and are looking for people that can help us create new and innovative test solutions. Strong coding skills in C/C++ are required and a BA/BS or MS in Computer Science or related technical discipline is preferred. You also need good communication, teamwork skills and the desire to follow all leads to ?search and destroy? bugs.

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Source: http://jobs.theroot.com/job/software-test-engineer-sdet-ii-redmond-wa-microsoft-2946d1f96c/?d=1&source=rss_page

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Shane Watson in doubt for Sydney Test ? Cricket News Update ...

Shane Watson in doubt for Sydney Test ? Cricket News Update

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson?s participation in the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at Sydney has come under the shadow of doubt after the 31-year-old suffered yet another calf strain while bowling on the first day of the ongoing second Test of the series, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Watson is most likely to have laid the grounds for the injury when he was forced to bowl more than he ever has in his first-class career during the first Test of the series at Hobart, where he delivered 20.4 overs during the first innings, and 27 during the second innings, after Ben Hilfenhaus sustained a side strain.

On the first day of the second Test, Watson bowled three overs against the visiting Sri Lankan team in the morning, and did not return to bowl after lunch. He is also unlikely to bowl during Sri Lanka?s second innings.

Injuries have formed an unfortunate and frequent part of Watson?s career. The all-rounder spent most of the last Test summer out of the national side owing to hamstring and calf injuries, and also suffered a calf strain earlier this year, which kept him out of the first two Tests against South Africa.

However, despite the most recent injury, Watson put forth an impressive batting performance on the second day at Melbourne, today on December 27, when he scored 83, and formed part of a 194-run stand with skipper Michael Clarke. However, he was unable to progress into triple figures, and eventually succumbed to Dhammika Prasad.

Despite having put forth a impressive performance for Australia in the T20I format of the game recently, having been awarded the Player of the Tournament title in the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka earlier this year, Watson had been undergoing a slump in the extended-overs format of the game. He scored his last Test century in 2010, and the recent 83 is his highest Test score in more than a year.

The recent injury comes as a severe blow, and if selectors choose to exclude him, Watson is likely to sit on the sidelines as Usman Khawaja takes his place in the third and final Test, due to be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Shane-Watson-in-doubt-for-Sydney-Test-Cricket-News-Update-a211333

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Friday, December 28, 2012

Mexico finds smuggling tunnel near US border

MEXICO CITY (AP) ? Mexican authorities have discovered a sophisticated smuggling tunnel equipped with electricity and ventilation not far from the Nogales port of entry into Arizona, U.S. and Mexican officials said Friday.

The Mexican army said the tunnel was found Thursday after authorities received an anonymous call in the border city of Nogales, Sonora, south of Arizona. U.S. law enforcement officials confirmed that the Mexican military had discovered the football field-long tunnel with elaborate electricity and ventilation systems.

U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Victor Brabble said the tunnel did not cross into the U.S.

The army said the anonymous caller was reporting gunmen standing outside a two-story house in a hilly neighborhood near the international bridge where motorists travel between Mexico and the United States.

Inside the house, soldiers discovered a fake wall inside a storage closet under a staircase that led to a dark room with buckets and clothes. After lifting a drain cover in that room, soldiers found another staircase at the entrance of the tunnel that went 16 feet underground and measured a yard in diameter. Light bulbs lit the underground passage and pipes stretched across the 120-yard tunnel that Mexican army officials believe was built to smuggle drugs.

It was unclear whether officials made any arrests, but the house where the tunnel was found was seized by the local government. Military officials did not say how long they believed the tunnel had been under construction, but authorities say it can take six months to a year to build such a passage.

Sophisticated secret tunnels stretching across the international border have become increasingly common as drug cartels invent new ways to smuggle enormous loads of heroin, marijuana and other drugs into U.S.

More than 70 such tunnels have been found since October 2008, most of them concentrated along the border in California and Arizona. In Nogales, Arizona, smugglers tap into vast underground drainage canals.

_______

AP correspondent Brian Skoloff contributed to this report from Phoenix, Ariz.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-28-Smuggling%20Tunnel-Nogales/id-9ccdf0ae21d3453e8a52db8496c38529

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Iran begins naval maneuvers near Strait of Hormuz

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? Iran's state TV is reporting the country's navy has begun maneuvers in the area of the Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of the world's oil passes.

It says the maneuvers began early Friday, involving warships, submarines jet fighters and hovercrafts.

The drills come as the West increases its pressure over Iran's nuclear program. The West suspects it may be aimed at producing nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.

Iran has threatened to close the straits over Western sanctions but has not repeated the threats lately.

The report says Iran warned ships to stay away from the site until Jan. 3. The maneuvers cover nearly 1 million sq. kilometers (400,000 sq. miles) from the Strait of Hormuz to northern part of Indian Ocean, including the Sea of Oman.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-12-28-Iran-Naval%20Drill/id-7eb2a5096479473f97536ec09656b5c1

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Chris Matthews now the broadcaster that conservatives love to hate

NEW YORK, N.Y. - To his boss, Chris Matthews has become a statesman. His critics probably have other words.

The veteran MSNBC host raised his profile as much as any member of the television commentariat during the presidential campaign. His 5 p.m. "Hardball" show has seen viewership jump by 24 per cent this year from 2011, 17 per cent for the rerun two hours later.

Matthews symbolized MSNBC's growing comfort in being a liberal alternative to Fox News Channel. He engaged in an uncomfortable on-air confrontation with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, seemed nearly apoplectic when President Barack Obama flubbed his first debate and had to apologize for appearing grateful that Hurricane Sandy might have helped Obama's re-election effort.

With Keith Olbermann out of sight, Matthews essentially replaced him as the commentator that most annoyed conservative viewers.

"During the run-up to the Iraq War, he just became really, really partisan and became even more so when MSNBC decided to become the anti-Fox," said Geoff Dickens, who used to watch Matthews as a fan and now monitors him regularly as part of his job with the conservative Media Research Center.

Matthews is not afraid to say what he thinks. He's a former newspaper columnist and one-time aide to a 1980s era Democrat, House Speaker Tip O'Neill. He seriously considered running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania a few years back, where he probably would have been asked repeatedly to explain why he voted for George W. Bush in 2000.

He's a motor-mouth infused with a love of politics that borders on the pathological.

"He's as good as he's ever been," said Phil Griffin, MSNBC president. "He's at a place in his life where he's really comfortable in his own skin. He's a statesman. He has so much knowledge and I think he understands it better. He's always been great, but I really think he's been at the peak of his game."

Iraq turned Matthews against Bush. He said war and peace, and civil rights, are the issues that drive him most and explain his enthusiasm for Obama.

Matthews seemed personally offended by efforts in individual states to tighten voter registration and identification laws. Republicans called it an attempt to curb voter fraud; Matthews said it was to suppress voters friendly to Obama. He said Republicans would use welfare and other issues to subtly appeal to white voters still uncomfortable with a black president.

"The number of African-Americans who have come up to me in the last three to six months has been unbelievable," Matthews said in a recent interview. "They come up, six inches from my face, and say 'thank you.' A lot of the times they say we can't do this like you do it. It's harder for them because it sounds like complaining." He's disappointed that more whites didn't express gratitude, too.

His repeated attention to the issue "irritates some people, because they can't stand being called bigoted. It drives them crazy. And I agree, it would drive me crazy."

The issue drove his confrontation with Prebius, which occurred on "Morning Joe" during the GOP convention. Matthews challenged Prebius about playing the "race card" during the campaign and for references to Obama's birth certificate. It devolved into a schoolyard insult match.

"He should have kept it together in terms of tone," Griffin said. "But in what was said, going back and forth, it was a legitimate point."

Prebius later called Matthews "the biggest jerk in the room." Matthews doesn't seem to have any regrets.

"I'd been talking like that for awhile," he said. "He didn't like it. I didn't expect he would. I felt that I had in my presence the guy who represented the party and it was an opportunity I shouldn't let pass. It's one of those moments in the campaign that's going to have endurance."

The one quote Republican critics repeatedly throw back at Matthews is when he reacted to an Obama speech in 2008 by saying "I felt this thrill going up my leg."

Matthews points out that he said something similar in 2004, after Obama addressed the Democratic national convention. Its frequent citation annoys Matthews, who knows it will never leave him, but probably also because he thinks people miss the point. He was speaking more about what Obama represented ? a black man seeking the highest office in a land with a troubled racial history ? than Obama himself.

It hasn't exempted himself from some high-level teasing, like when Obama appeared at the campaign's Al Smith dinner after the president's disastrous first debate.

"I particularly want to apologize to Chris Matthews," Obama said. "Four years ago I gave him a thrill up his leg. This time around, I gave him a stroke."

Matthews said "Hardball" has gotten a sharper focus. The editorial opinion has moved to the front of the show. Saying what he thinks isn't hard; Matthews' flirtation with running for the Senate ended in part because the need to adhere to party orthodoxy wouldn't mix with a man comfortable with voicing a dozen opinions per minute.

"I never want to do what everybody else is doing," he said. "I don't want to be part of the chorus."

Like most in his trade, Matthews seems a little lost with the end of a long campaign. He's done a few speculative 2016 stories, not recognizing the subject is enough to send most people screaming from the room.

Every day is one day closer to another election, though.

"He is sort of the model figure for who we are," Griffin said. "He doesn't stick out loving politics and being passionate about politics. It comes across in everything we do ... And that's Chris."

___

http://www.msnbc.msn.com

___

EDITOR'S NOTE ? David Bauder can be reached at dbauder(at)ap.org and on Twitter (at)dbauder.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chris-matthews-now-broadcaster-conservatives-love-hate-161013676.html

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Thursday, December 27, 2012

Fees undermine fliers' ability to compare fares

FILE - This Dec. 21, 2012 file photo shows travelers walking to a ticketing desk at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. For many passengers, air travel is only about finding the cheapest fare. But as airlines offer a proliferating list of add-on services, from early boarding to premium seating and baggage fees, the ability to comparison-shop for the lowest total fare is eroding. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? For many passengers, air travel is only about finding the cheapest fare.

But as airlines offer a proliferating list of add-on services, from early boarding to premium seating and baggage fees, the ability to comparison-shop for the lowest total fare is eroding.

Global distribution systems that supply flight and fare data to travel agents and online ticketing services like Orbitz and Expedia, accounting for half of all U.S. airline tickets, complain that airlines won't provide fee information in a way that lets them make it handy for consumers trying to find the best deal.

"What other industry can you think of where a person buying a product doesn't know how much it's going to cost even after he's done at the checkout counter?" said Simon Gros, chairman of the Travel Technology Association, which represents the global distribution services and online travel industries.

The harder airlines make it for consumers to compare, "the greater opportunity you have to get to higher prices," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, whose members include corporate travel managers.

Now the Obama administration is wading into the issue. The Department of Transportation is considering whether to require airlines to provide fee information to everyone with whom they have agreements to sell their tickets. A decision originally scheduled for next month has been postponed to May, as regulators struggle with a deluge of information from airlines opposed to regulating fee information, and from the travel industry and consumer groups that support such a requirement.

Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Air and Southwest Airlines ? with backing from industry trade associations ? are asking the Supreme Court to reverse an appeals court ruling forcing them to include taxes in their advertised fares. The appeals court upheld a Transportation Department rule that went in effect nearly a year ago that ended airlines' leeway to advertise a base airfare and show the taxes separately, often in smaller print. Airlines say the regulations violate their free-speech rights.

At the heart of the debate is a desire by airlines to move to a new marketing model in which customers don't buy tickets based on price alone. Instead, following the well-worn path of other consumer companies, airlines want to mine personal data about customers in order to sell them tailored services. You like to sit on the aisle and to ski, so how would you like to fly to Aspen with an aisle seat and a movie, no extra baggage charge for your skis, and have a hotel room and a pair of lift tickets waiting for you, all for one price? You're a frequent business traveler. How about priority boarding, extra legroom, Internet access and a rental car when you arrive?

"Technology is changing rapidly. We are going to be part of the change," said Sharon Pinkerton, vice president of Airlines for America, which represents most U.S. carriers. "We want to be able to offer our customers a product that's useful to them, that's customized to meet their needs, and we don't think (the Transportation Department) needs to step in."

If airlines have their way, passengers looking for ticket prices may have to reveal a lot more information about themselves, such as their age, marital status, gender, nationality, travel history and whether they're flying for business or leisure. The International Air Transport Association, whose 240 member airlines cover 84 percent of global airline traffic, adopted standards at a meeting earlier this month in Geneva for such information gathering by airlines as well as by travel agents and ticketing services that would relay the data to airlines and receive customized fares in return.

"Airlines want, and expect, their (ticket) distribution partners to offer passengers helpful contextual information to make well-informed purchase decisions, reducing the number of reservations made based primarily or exclusively on price," said a study commissioned by the association.

Consumer advocates question how airlines would safeguard the personal information they gather, and they worry that comparison shopping for the cheapest air fares will no longer be feasible.

"It's like going to a supermarket where before you get the price, they ask you to swipe your driver's license that shows them you live in a rich zip code, you drive a BMW, et cetera," Mitchell said. "All this personal information on you is going out to all these carriers with no controls over what they do with it, who sees it and so on."

The airline association said consumers who choose not to supply personal information would still be able to see fares and purchase tickets, though consumer advocates said those fares would probably be at the "rack rate" ? the travel industry's term for full price, before any discounts.

It's up to individual airlines whether they price fares differently for travelers who don't provide personal information, said Perry Flint, a spokesman for the international airline association.

The stakes, of course, are enormous. Since 2000, U.S. airlines have lost money for more years than they've made profits. Fee revenue has made a big difference in their bottom lines. Globally, airlines raked in an estimated $36 billion this year in ancillary revenue, which includes baggage fees and other a la carte services as well as sales of frequent flyer points and commissions on hotel bookings, according to a study by Amadeus, a global distribution service, and the IdeaWorksCompany, a U.S. firm that helps airlines raise ancillary revenue. U.S. airlines reported collecting nearly $3.4 billion in baggage fees alone in 2011.

One expense airlines would like to eliminate is the $7 billion a year they pay global distribution systems to supply flight and fare information to travel agents and online booking agents like Expedia. Airlines want to deal more directly with online ticket sellers and travel agents, who dominate the lucrative business travel market. Justice Department officials have acknowledged an investigation is underway into possible anti-trust violations by distribution companies.

Airlines also have been cracking down on websites that help travelers manage their frequent flier accounts. The sites use travelers' frequent flier passwords to obtain balances and mileage expiration dates, and then display the information in a way that makes it easier for travelers to figure out when it makes more sense to buy a ticket or to use miles.

"What the airlines are trying to do right now is reinvent the wheel so they can hold all their information close to their chest," said Charles Leocha, founder of the Consumer Travel Alliance. "As we move forward in a world of IT, the ownership of passenger data is like gold to these people."

By withholding information like fee prices, he said, "we are forced to go see them, and then we are spoon-fed what they want to feed us."

___

Airlines for America http://www.airlines.org

Travel Technology Association http://www.traveltechnologyassociation.org

Business Travel Coalition http://businesstravelcoalition.com/

___

Follow Joan Lowy at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-26-US-Airline-Fees/id-7b3d88cf1c664c75b8838cb9d5361560

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