Philips unveils the SlimStyle LED Bulb (hands on)

(Credit: Colin West McDonald/CNET)

Consumers looking for new lights in wake of the looming phase-out of 40- and 60-watt incandescents are going to have a new option next month, as today Philips introduced their new SlimStyle 60-watt replacement LED.

Using just 10.5 watts to give off 800 lumens, the SlimStyle LED offers the usual upgrade in energy efficiency, but the true story is the shape of the thing. Unlike traditional bulbs, it's flat, with a string of LEDs arranged into a horseshoe that arcs out from the base of the bulb. The new shape is designed to do a better job of dispersing heat than traditional LEDs, and eliminate the need for weighty aluminum heat sinks.

Unlike other LEDs, you won't find any heat sinks at the base of the SlimStyle.

(Credit: Colin West McDonald/CNET)

So far, Philips is being tight-lipped about how they'll price the SlimStyle LED (we'll update when we know), but without those heat sinks, the light should cost significantly less to manufacture. That could lead to savings at the cash register on top of the long-term savings you'll see in your energy bill. In addition, the SlimStyle LED was designed to meet or exceed Energy Star standards, and has already been submitted for qualification. If Energy Star certifies the light, then consumers living in regions that offer energy rebates can expect additional savings.

The SlimStyle LED glows at a color temperature of 2700K, giving it a warm, soft white tone. For comparison's sake, we screwed one in alongside Cree's 60-watt replacement LED, our current LED of choice. The two bulbs boast similar stats, though the SlimStyle is slightly more natural and less yellowy in tone than the Cree (the difference is more pronounced on camera than it is to the naked eye).

The SlimStyle LED (right) compared with the Cree 60-watt replacement LED (left).

(Credit: Colin West McDonald/CNET)

The clearest difference in what you'll get from the two bulbs comes with directionality. Both bulbs claim to be omnidirectional, meaning that they cast light evenly in all directions, and with the classic shape of its bulb, this is certainly true with Cree. With the SlimStyle, however, you'll notice distinct dim areas to each side of the LED's arc. The effect is especially noticeable if you use the SlimStyle under a lampshade. This isn't to say that the SlimStyle couldn't light up a room, but it is the type of thing that some users might find distracting.

Another key difference between the two bulbs is the warranty. Philips offers three years of limited coverage, while Cree offers an industry-leading ten. Three years is better than anything you'd expect from an incandescent bulb designed to last a year at most, but for an LED that promises to last over twenty years, it's a little underwhelming, and certainly nowhere near as reassuring as what Cree is offering.

In the end, it'll all come down to the SlimStyle's price point. If the absence of heat sinks is enough to keep the cost per bulb somewhere around $10 or less, then the SlimStyle LED stands to make a lot of sense -- particularly to consumers who are making first-time upgrades from newly obsolete incandescents, and who aren't looking to spend very much in the process. Any higher than that, though, and it'll be tough to imagine why you'd go with Philips over the $12.97 Cree bulb.

US Navy helicopter crashes in Japan

AFP 

A US navy helicopter crashed near Tokyo Monday in a failed emergency landing, injuring two of the four men on board, rescuers said.

Television footage showed the grey helicopter on its side on what appeared to be vacant land, with mangled propellors and a snapped tail-end.

The accident came at a sensitive time, with the Japanese public wary over the long-planned but stalled relocation of a US base in southern Okinawa.

Around half of the 47,000 US service personnel in Japan are based on the strategically located island chain, which is nearer to Taiwan than it is to Tokyo.

Accidents, crime and noise associated with the bases make them locally unpopular, although Japanese people as a whole welcome the US defence umbrella they help to provide.

Monday's crash happened mid-afternoon in Miura city, roughly 60 kilometres (38 miles) south of Tokyo, said a local fire department spokesman.

One crew member told local authorities that the helicopter experienced a transmission problem, national broadcaster NHK said.

"One person broke a thigh. Another person suffered a contusion on his thigh. The remaining two apparently escaped any injury," he said.

The accident did not cause a fire and the rescue operation ended quickly with the injured men taken to a local civilian hospital in neighbouring Yokosuka, home to a major US naval base.

The US navy in Japan said it could not comment on the issue immediately.

A 2004 incident in which a helicopter crashed into a university building in Okinawa sparked widespread outrage and fuelled anti-base animosity.

The accident was key in the 2006 decision to move an airbase in a crowded urban area of Okinawa to a quiet stretch of seashore.

However, the move has been stalled because of objections from the new host community.

Merkel names mother of seven first female defence chief

Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's first female defence minister, is a worldly and ambitious trained physician and mother of seven seen as a budding possible successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel.

With political star power and appeal especially for women voters, she has been a campaign asset for Merkel, but also a potential rival who has shown she is not scared to challenge the powerful leader.

Brussels-born, fluent in English and French, with a degree from the London School of Economics, she has cultivated a network of contacts on both sides of the Atlantic.

Most recently she toured European capitals with a drive to help Europe's jobless youths, as labour and social affairs minister.

Unlike the reserved and cautious Merkel, von der Leyen is not averse to taking the occasional political risk, prone to flash a winning smile even when it backfires.

The sharpest criticism of von der Leyen, 55, has been of her best-in-class style, of the super-mum who juggles family and work duties with discipline and a perfect hairdo in a way some voters and colleagues say they find slightly unnerving.

Often dubbed "the soloist" for her go-it-alone style, the political late-bloomer lacks a strong base within her conservative CDU, which she joined in her thirties only to breeze past many old-timers.

She is credited with driving social reforms, many borrowed from the centre-left opposition, including expanding child care and granting new fathers paid leave -- steps that helped modernise the image of her party.

Ursula von der Leyen was born on October 8, 1958 in Brussels into a venerable political family.

As the daughter of Ernst Albrecht, the former CDU state premier of Lower Saxony, she spent her late teenage years under police protection at a time when left-wing extremists were targeting political and business figures.

The threat, which has never been publicly spelt out, even forced her to move to London to live in an uncle's flat under the assumed name of Rose Ladson, and kept a security detail at her side well into adulthood.

A top-grade student, she studied economics then medicine, going on to work in a women's clinic. She interrupted her career to be a housewife when her husband, a professor of medicine, won a scholarship to Stanford.

She only joined the CDU at age 32 and entered the Lower Saxony parliament a decade ago, going on to win her first Bundestag seat in 2009 when Merkel made her family affairs minister.

Von der Leyen -- who once said she may have ended up in the ecologist Greens party were it not for her father -- has remained an outsider in the traditionally conservative and male-dominated CDU.

In a gamble this year, she broke party ranks to push for a women's quota in corporate boardrooms, citing her personal conviction. The challenge was risky, given Merkel's penchant for axing troublesome rivals.

In the end, von der Leyen agreed to a deal in which a parliamentary vote was scrapped but the CDU promised to support a quota in future. It is now set to become law under the incoming 'grand coalition' government.

At the time, von der Leyen had angered much of her party with her apparent disloyalty -- yet despite her defeat she looked like a winner, having challenged Merkel and survived.

Her nomination to defence minister suggests the chancellor has forgiven her and, some commentators believe, may even see her as a potential successor.

"With this appointment, she has definitively manoeuvered herself within the CDU into the role of the crown princess," news website Spiegel online wrote Sunday.

Demi Lovato can’t drink alcohol ‘responsibly’

Demi Lovato knows she can't smoke or drink without getting out of control.
The 21-year-old singer - who has previously been in rehab for addiction issues, an eating disorder and self-harm - admits she knows she can no longer indulge in alcohol in a 'responsible' way.
She said: 'Some people can smoke and drink recreationally. I'm not one of those people. If I do that, it will spiral out of control very quickly. I've lost the privilege of being able to drink responsibly.'
The 'X Factor' USA judge admits it was difficult to stay sober when her father died earlier this year, but she knew how important it was to stay 'strong' as giving in to one addiction would only spell more problems.
Speaking to OK! magazine, she said: 'I've definitely struggled a lot with drug and alcohol addictions - even more than with my eating disorder.
'But I decided to stay strong when my father died. I worked so hard on my sobriety - I wasn't going to give it up. When I feel like I want to give up I think to myself, 'No, what about the 17-year-old girl that's been free of self-harming for nine months?' If I give up my sobriety, that would mean it would be OK for her to go back to self-harming.'

Tributes pour in for Peter O’Toole

Tributes have flooded in for Peter O'Toole. 
The eight-time Oscar nominated actor passed away in London yesterday (14.12.13) aged 81, and many have expressed their sadness at the loss of the great Hollywood star.
His agent, Steve Kenis, said: 'He was one of a kind in the very best sense and a giant in his field.'
British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter: 'My thoughts are with Peter O'Toole's family and friends. His performance in my favourite film, 'Lawrence of Arabia', was stunning.'
Comedian and actor Stephen Fry tweeted: 'Oh what terrible news. Farewell Peter O'Toole. I had the honour of directing him in a scene. Monster, scholar, lover of life, genius.'
Irish actor Jason O'Mara said Peter was 'an acting legend and a hell raiser,'
adding: 'His last act of defiance was living to see 81, but the work will live on forever. RIP Peter O'Toole.' 
Many actors shared similar sentiments about what fun Peter - who played iconic leading men in 'Lawrence of Arabia', 'Becket' and 'Goodbye Mr. Chips' and more recently appeared in 'Ratatouille' and 'Stardust' - had been when they had worked with him. 
'How I Met Your Mother' star Neil Patrick Harris wrote: 'So sad to hear about Peter O'Toole passing away. Lucky to have worked with him for a month in Prague. Wonderful man, remarkable talent.'
Film director Kevin Smith added: ''I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!' the great Peter O'Toole said in MY FAVORITE YEAR. He was both #RIPPeterOToole (sic)'
Simon Pegg also weighed in, writing: 'Here's to Peter O'Toole, a true great.'
Peter had officially retired last year, but filmed one last role, as an ancient Roman orator, for the film 'Katherine of Alexandria', which is set for release next year.

German government to decide on replacing top ECB official

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble on Monday praised the work of German top ECB official Jörg Asmussen as the latter was preparing to return to domestic politics and take up a job as deputy labor minister in Chancellor Angela Merkel's new grand coalition government.

Asmussen, who has two children, cited personal reasons for ending his role as executive board member at the European Central Bank.

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble told Deutschlandfunk radio the new government in Berlin would 'consider carefully and quickly' who to propose for the influential ECB job after Asmussen's departure.

No time to be wasted

Media reports indicated German central bank Vice President Sabine Lautenschläger was being favored by the government to take over Asmussen's position at the ECB.

Asked about such an option, Schäuble said 'that would certainly be a good thought.' He added Lautenschläger had great experience in the filed of banking supervision as a job the ECB was about to take on as of next year.

Schäuble emphasized a replacement proposal would be made without any delay, with any nomination subject to approval by eurozone government

Verdi labor union widens walkout at Amazon in Germany

A delegation of German workers is also set to protest at Amazon's headquarters in Seattle, in the US with the help of American labor unions, Verdi said.

In addition, the union walkout in Germany is to spread to a distribution center in Werne on Tuesday.

The German union has launched a series of industrial action against Amazon this year in support of a demand that the firm accepted a collective bargaining agreement for the mail order and retail sectors as benchmark for workers' pay. Amazon, however, regards its staff as logistics workers who are normally lower-paid but receive above-average wages by the standards of that sector.

'Amazon\'s remuneration system is marked by low wages and permanent pressure as a result of temporary work contracts,' senior Verdi representative Stefanie Nutzenberger said.

Especially in the Christmas season, workers were doing a great job and would deserve being paid like mail order and retail workers, she told reporters.

Amazon, which employs about 9,000 workers in 8 logistics centers in Germany, has repeatedly refused to enter into wage negotiations with Verdi.