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Diesel hike lesser of two evils for struggling carmakers
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's first diesel price hike in more than a year clouds the only bright spot in the country's struggling car market, but carmakers will also be quietly relieved after lobbying hard against the gloomier alternative of a tax on diesel vehicles.
Diesel, a heavily subsidised fuel used mainly by farmers and in trucks and buses, has become increasingly popular as many middle class families look to cut their fuel bills, and diesel-powered vehicles are the industry's sole major growth area.
The hike of 5 rupees or 12 percent, announced by the government late on Thursday, comes after months of fierce lobbying by carmakers which argued a proposed tax on diesel-powered vehicles was unfair as it would leave other diesel consumers unscathed.
Even with the hike, petrol remains around 45 percent more expensive than diesel and shares in automakers rose in relief that the government had chosen not to slap a tax on diesel vehicles.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MRTI.NS), the country's biggest carmaker, climbed 2.4 percent while Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.NS) rose 3.3 percent and Mahindra & Mahindra (MAHM.NS) Ltd was up 1.1 percent.
"The way the price difference between petrol and diesel had grown was not desirable. There was a need for an increase," Sugato Sen, senior director of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, told Reuters after the announcement.
"It would have been better to have a smaller increase, but it is still definitely much better than a tax on diesel cars."
Diesel vehicles accounted for 40 percent of car sales last fiscal year, twice their share in the previous year. India's car sales look set to fall below industry estimates of 10 percent growth this year, as high interest rates and sluggish GDP growth dampen demand.
Over 80 percent of new orders for market leader Maruti Suzuki's (MRTI.NS) Swift hatchback are for the diesel version, while passenger vehicle sales at Mahindra & Mahindra (MAHM.NS), which almost exclusively builds diesel-powered utility vehicles, are up an annual 30 percent in the first five months of the fiscal year that began in April.
Raising the price of state-subsidised diesel is seen easing New Delhi's subsidy burden and a widening fiscal deficit.
(Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Edwina Gibbs)
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Modi takes first bite at coal to end India's power mess
India could allow commercial coal mining by foreign companies if they set up units in the country, opening the door for global giants like Rio Tinto to access the world's fifth largest coal reserves, a source familiar with the matter said. Full Article
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Market Preview: A Welcome Correction?
By Michael Baron - 05/07/12 - 6:49 PM EDTTheStreet) -- Judging by where U.S. stock futures were languishing early Monday morning, this wasn't looking like a very good day to boost your year-end target for the S&P 500. But when the dust cleared, Wall Street had answered the weekend's political fireworks in Greece and France with a yawn, and the decision by Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategist Savita Subramanian to boost the firm's expectation for the index to 1450 from 1400 didn't seem quite so ill-timed. That's not to say Subramanian doesn't see more turbulent days ahead. "Corrections of 10%+ occur nearly once a year on average, and given the ongoing tail risks surrounding Europe and our more cautious view on growth for the rest of 2012, we think the likelihood of another correction may be elevated," she wrote. "Our expectation that we avoid a recession in the US (even if it requires another round of quantitative easing) suggests fundamental support for the S&P 500 near 1150 (assuming an 800bp
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See all news From International Investing

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so nice card n birthday music
It is Beautiful card
this is a very nice and a touching card.
very colourful and interactive
card show our feeling also..2 gud
what a creativity yarrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wonderful & impressive card.gr8 ideas
nice card
Send across a cute teddy bear to give a tight birthday hug to your dear ones.
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Send a birthday ecard with which wishes come true.
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Cakes and candles to wish your special one a very happy birthday.
Send a sparkling birthday wish to your dear ones.
Cute cupcakes dancing along with a sweet birthday message.
Hula dancers, teddy bears and smileys dancing and wishing a very happy birthday.
Cute teddy wishes a very happy birthday.
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Send across a fun interactive birthday card packed with loads of fun and smiles.
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Posted 09 March 2013 - 17:38
Posted 09 March 2013 - 17:43
Thanks, I will have a look
Did you try GameCopyWorld and GameBurnWorld? I think those are the names. I'm sure they have game saves, and patches and stuff.
Are you wanting a save that's finished the game so you can finish DLC?
Posted 09 March 2013 - 17:49
the dlc takes place at different parts in the game , the ending is too late for all dlc. you should look for something around the middle.
Posted 25 March 2013 - 02:49


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HipHopSince88's DJ BOOTH PROFILE
Name: HipHopSince88
Join Date: June 5, 2012
Last Login: June 5, 2012
Total Ratings: 7
HipHopSince88's TOP HIP HOP SINGLES
Blak Nevada - "Push (Remix)"
"this joint is crazy. made the breakup soundtrack for sure. put this shit on whenever bae trippin"HipHopSince88's Rating: Posted on Apr 17, 2014
ANTHM - "Polaris"
"damn, this song has me by the balls right now. blu casually went in, dropped a stellar 16. this dude anthm is really good too.. just starting to listen to him but dude is a fierce lyricist.. but the main thing about this track, the beat is awesome. one of my top songs from 2012 so far"HipHopSince88's Rating: Posted on Jun 05, 2012
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Gabas Maldunas
Dartmouth's Gabas Maldunas will miss rest of season with a torn ACL
Jan 24, 2014, 5:30 PM EDT
Dartmouth's Gabas Maldunas will miss the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL to his right knee suffered in practice, the school announced this past Wednesday. Maldunas, who is the Big Green's leading scorer and rebounder, was having a standout season and a big reason for Dartmouth's improved play from last year. The…
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Friday, 15 Aug 2014 10:03 AM
SeaWorld says will build new, larger environments for killer whales at its theme parks, and will fund additional research on the animals along with programs to protect ocean health and whales in the wild.
Business for the Orlando, Fla., company has been hurt by negative publicity surrounding its treatment of killer whales.
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. will build a tank with 10 million gallons of water at its San Diego park, almost twice the size of the current tank. It says the new environment wills be more stimulating for the whales. It will open to the public in 2018. SeaWorld has similar plans for its Orlando and San Antonio locations.
The company also pledged $10 million for killer whale research as well as a multimillion-dollar partnership focused on ocean health.
© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Harper government snubs Caribbean festival — and Toronto: Editorial
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's failure to contribute to Toronto's Caribbean festival shows he doesn't care about the city. So much for fishing buddy Rob Ford.
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As thousands of sequin-clad revelers march in Toronto's jubilant Caribbean festival parade on Saturday they'll be carrying an invisible freeloader — Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government.
After years of dwindling support for North America's largest celebration of Caribbean culture, the federal level is contributing nothing to this year's annual event. Not one penny.
The Harper government had offered to provide a measly $13,000, but there were so many strings attached to this funding that festival organizers say they had to turn it down.
Yet Ottawa is set to cash in. An independent 2010 economic impact study concluded that Toronto's annual celebration of Caribbean food, music and dance generates almost $200 million in total tax revenue for all three levels of government. And about 55 per cent of that windfall goes to Ottawa. Only about $1 million ends up at city hall, which gets most of its money through property tax.
And what does the festival receive from Ottawa, in return? A snub and a shrug.
It's not fair, of course, but sadly predictable. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is a fishing buddy of Harper's but that hasn't stopped the federal Conservatives from repeatedly shortchanging Canada's largest city, especially since Ford took office. Ottawa's failure to support the Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival (formerly called Caribana) is just its latest failure to deliver.
But it's summertime. Costumes are ready. Aromas of jerk chicken, stuffed rotis and Jamaican patties are beginning to fill the air. And mas bands are preparing to shake Exhibition Place with the throb of soca, calypso and steelpan music.
More than a million people, including thousands of tourists from outside Canada, are expected for a parade that's become an exhilarating symbol of multicultural Toronto. Killjoy Conservatives can't ruin the fun. Harper doesn't appreciate it, but this city is set to dance, again, to the loud and exuberant beat of a festival that's among this country's greatest cultural treasures.
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Added Sep 9, 2012
by CreasdAnais
Paris, France
Satin dress from the Burda of July 2012. Very nice with a belt.
Sep 10, 2012, 04.15 PMby kisses
simple and nice….like the colour combination
Sep 9, 2012, 11.51 PMby Vanessa Velasquez
lovely, the color combination is really beautiful! it looks so comfy and so trendy, congratulations for your work!!
Sep 9, 2012, 07.19 PMby Mary Athey
fab dress and its lovely in you.the two colour's work well to.gether x
Sep 9, 2012, 06.33 PMby Sewing Your Style
i love your color combination and styling! very smart dress!
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Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Review: Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro« on: March 24, 2014, 10:44:39 AM »
I have posted my review of Sigma 105 Macro OS somewhere in the forum - It's a really nice lens, especially with the new price.
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
My adapter EF to EF-M looks exactly the same and it's good, but I can't understand why EF-NEX is 5 times more expensive...
This Viltrox zinc-alloy one seems okay as well. I have a Viltrox Canon EF to M adapter which works OK though a bit loose on camera end.
www.ebay.com/itm/Auto-focus-AF-Adapter-Canon-EF-EF-S-Lens...


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Southland Sharks fans get what they paid for
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Southlanders turned out in force tonight to bring the curtain down on the 2014 Southland Sharks' home campaign and the Sharks delivered for the occasion.
A season-high 2340 people turned out for the Sharks' ninth and last 2014 home National Basketball League game - a game that just may have clinched them a place in the playoffs in a fortnight.
In fact, tonight was the largest crowd in the Sharks' five-season history, with stadium staff having to open up the top of the stand for the first time.
The Sharks blitzed an under-strength Canterbury Rams 35-11 in the first quarter, which ultimately set up the 108-83 win.
Canterbury fought hard, winning the second and third quarters, but there was just too much ground to make up.
Brian Conklin was the Sharks' best with his 28-point and 15-rebound haul.
Luke Martin continues to impress as the season wears on, producing another impressive performance last night with his 21 points.
Tai Wesley again highlighted he has been an ideal pickup, scoring 22 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.
A team-sheet blunder by the Sharks in the first quarter meant Dan Peck's involvement in the game was limited.
Peck's name wasn't put on the sheet before the game and, after 34 seconds on the court, officials realised.
Peck was pulled and that was it for him for the game.
It didn't cost the Sharks but will be a lesson learned by Sharks management.
In the first quarter, referee Raewyn Willocks would have been thankful she was still in one piece after being collected by Sharks big man Conklin by accident.
Conklin and Rams American import Matt Rogers clashed, which sent Conklin flying and he collected Willocks in the process, sending her into the corporate tables.
Much to everyone's relief, Willocks - who is half the size of Conklin - got up with a smile.
The two Americans had a running battle throughout the night, which included both picking up unsportsmanlike fouls in the third quarter when Rogers took objection to a challenge Conklin made on one of his Canterbury team-mates.
The Sharks will now eye a double-header on the road against Canterbury and Nelson in the final round of the regular season next weekend.
One more win will certainly see Southland make the semifinals but if other results go their way, they may have already even done enough.
To be pushing towards another potential title his an impressive effort by the Sharks, given the season they have had off the court to date.
By rights, they probably should be struggling, given they are missing four frontline players from the start of the season but instead they believe they are a genuine shot at defending their title.
Some smart recruiting and other squad members stepping up has ensured they have remained a threat.
Southland Sharks 108 (Brian Conklin 28, Tai Wesley 22, Luke Martin 21) Canterbury Rams 83 (Ethan Rusbatch 20, Jeremy Kench 18, Matthew Rogers 18). 1Q: 35-14, HT: 57-38, Q3: 76-62
- The Southland Times
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Infinity boss Bob Robertson steps down
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Sam Morgan may face fire action
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Men tried to lure boy into car
Should a new site be found for Invercargill's second McDonalds?Related story: McDonald's location opposed
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Rain, becoming more intermittent around 3pm, before ending by late afternoon. Cloudy with strong winds. Temperatures steady near the low 40s. Winds NW at 25 to 30 mph. Hourly Details
Rain and wind. High 46F. Winds NW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Periods of rain and snow this evening. Windy and remaining cloudy overnight. Low around 30F. Winds NNW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of precip 60%. Snow accumulations less than one inch. Higher wind gusts possible.
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Victim of paedophile MP Cyril Smith speaks of grooming and abuse inside Houses of Parliament
- Smith accused of assaulting a 17-year-old while other politicians walked by
- Victim said he was groomed over 18 months and attacks worsened over time
- Victim: 'I was and still am deeply ashamed about what I let him do to me.'
Sir Cyril Smith has been accused of sexually abusing a 17-year-old in Parliament
Child abuser Cyril Smith groomed and abused a young activist inside the Houses of Parliament, it has been claimed.
The late Liberal MP for Rochdale has been accused of assaulting a 17-year-old-alleged victim in an office while other politicians passed by.
The victim said the assaults worsened over time and that he was groomed over a period of 18 months by Smith who died two years ago.
He claimed that the incident in Westminster was the culmination of the abuse.
He told the Telegraph: 'There we were in Parliament and he was manhandling me. I was and still am deeply ashamed about what I let him do to me.'
The accusation comes days after it was revealed that the 29-stone MP sexually abused boys at a children's home as late as 1980.
Prosecutors missed three chances to convict Smith for indecent assault, despite the fact detectives 40 years ago were convinced he was guilty.
Simon Danczuk, the current MP for Rochdale, who spoke out about Smith two weeks ago, said the latest case indicated the MP had been abusing victims over three decades.
He said: 'I am confident in saying, having met a number of the victims, that he went on to abuse into the 70s, 80s and even into the 90s, so he was empowered by the fact that he hadn't been prosecuted.'
The Telegraph reported that the alleged victim, now a businessman and a father of four, was a Liberal activist and said the abuse in Westminster came after 18 months of assaults.
He met Smith aged 19 when he was in a vulnerable state having fallen out with his adoptive parents. He told Smith about it.
Missed opportunities: Both Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said if Smith, right, had been accused today he would be charged and prosecuted
He said: 'He offered to pick me up in his car and took me to the moors. While he was driving and as we spoke to each other, his left hand moved up my leg into my groin.'
On some days, he said Smith grabbed and assaulted him but on others nothing would happen when they were alone. He has reported the matter to police.
The assault in Parliament happened after Smith invited the alleged victim down for a day.
Police have admitted that Cyril Smith should have been prosecuted
After 40 years, officers and lawyers have now agreed that Sir Cyril Smith attacked teenage boys and should have been prosecuted.
A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: 'The Force is now publicly acknowledging that young boys were victims of physical and sexual abuse committed by Smith.
'Three separate files regarding Sir Cyril Smith's actions were passed to first the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Crown Prosecution Service although on each occasion no prosecution was pursued.'
Afzal, Chief Crown Prosecutor confirmed that a file was handed to Sir
Norman in 1970, which contained allegations made by eight men that they
had been subjected to indecent assaults by Smith as teenagers.
But the then Director of Public Prosecutions wrote back to the Lancashire Constabulary, who had passed on the file, advising against a prosecution.
The politician inflicted humiliating punishments on teenage boys at a
hostel in the 1960s.
His victims detailed how he would spank their naked bottoms and order them to strip for 'degrading' and unnecessary medicals.
The claims were later investigated by police and files passed to lawyers but no case was brought against the former MP, who died two years ago aged 82.
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Lessons Gained from Parliamentary Information Visualization (PIV)
The emerging topic of Parliamentary Informatics (PI) has opened up new terrain in the research of the scope, usefulness and contribution of Informatics to parliamentary openness and legislative transparency. This is pretty interesting when visualizations are used as the preferred method in order to present and interpret parliamentary activity that seems complicated or incomprehensible to the public. In fact, this is one of the core issues discussed, not only on PI scientific conferences but also on parliamentary fora and meetings.
The issue of Parliamentary Information Visualization (PIV) is an interesting topic; not only because visualizations are, in most cases, inviting and impressive to the human eye and brain. The main reason is that visual representations reveal different aspects of an issue in a systematic way, ranging from simple parliamentary information (such as voting records) to profound socio-political issues that lie behind shapes and colors. This article aims to explore some of the aspects related to the visualization of parliamentary information and activity.
Untangling the mystery behind visualized parliamentary information
Recent research on 19 PIV initiatives, presented in CeDEM 2014, has proven that visualizing parliamentary information is a complicated task. Its success depends on several factors: the availability of data and information, the choice of the visualization method, the intention behind the visualizations, and their effectiveness when these technologies are tied to a citizen engagement project.
To begin with, what has impressed us most during our research is the kind of information that was visualized. Characteristics, personal data and performance of Members of Parliament (MPs)/Members of European Parliament (MEPs), as well as political groups and member-states, are the elements most commonly visualized. On the other hand, particular legislative proposals, actions of MPs/MEPs through parliamentary control procedures and texts of legislation are less often visualized, which is, to some extent, understandable due to the complexity of visually depicting long legislative documents and the changes that accompany them.
However, visually representing a legislative text and its amendments might possibly reveal important aspects of a bill, such as time of submission, specific modifications that have been performed, and additions or deleted articles and paragraphs in the text.
Another interesting aspect is the visualization method used. There is a variety of methods deployed even for the visualization of the same category of Parliamentary Informatics. Robert Kosara notes characteristically: "The seemingly simple choice between a bar and a line chart has implications on how we perceive the data".
In the same line of thought, in a recent design camp of the Law Factory project, two designer groups independently combined data for law-making processes with an array of visualization methods, in order to bring forward different points of view of the same phenomenon. Indeed, one-method-fits-all approaches cannot be applied when it comes to parliamentary information visualization. A phenomenon can be visualized both quantitatively and qualitatively, and each method can bring different results. Therefore, visualizations can facilitate plain information or further explorations, depending on the aspirations of the designer. Enabling user information and exploration are, to some extent, the primary challenges set by PIV designers. However, not all visualization methods permit the same degree of exploration. Or sometimes, the ability of in-depth exploration is facilitated by providing further background information in order to help end users navigate, comprehend and interpret the visualization.
Beyond information and exploration
Surely, a visualization of MPs' votes, characteristics, particular legislative proposals or texts of legislation can better inform citizens. But is it enough to make them empowered? The key to this question is interaction. Interaction whether in the sense of human-computer interaction or human-to-human interaction in a physical or digital context, always refers to a two-way procedure and effect. Schrage notes succinctly: "Don't view visualization as a medium that substitutes pictures for words but as interfaces to human interactions that create new opportunities for new value creation."
When it comes to knowledge gained through this exploration, it is understandable that knowledge is useless if it is not shared. This is a crucial challenge faced by visualization designers, because the creation of platforms that host visualizations and enable further exchange of views and dialogue between users can facilitate citizen engagement. Additionally, information sharing or information provision through an array of contemporary and traditional means (open data, social media, printing, e-mail etc.) can render PIV initiatives more complete and inclusive.
An issue of information representation, or information trustworthiness?
Beyond the technological and functional aspects of parliamentary information visualization, it is interesting to have a look into information management and the relationship between parliaments and Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations (PMOs). As also presented by a relevant survey, PMOs serve as a hub for presenting or monitoring the work of elected representatives, and seem to cover a wide range of activities concerning parliamentary development. This, however, might not always be easily acceptable by parliaments or MPs, since it may give to elected representatives a feeling of being surveilled by these organizations.
To further explain this, questions such as who owns vs. who holds parliamentary information, where and when is this information published, and to what ends, raise deeper issues of information originality, liability of information sources and trustworthiness of both the information and its owners. For parliaments and politicians, in particular, parliamentary information monitoring and visualization initiatives may be seen as a way to surveil their work and performance, whereas for PMOs themselves these initiatives can be seen as tools for pushing towards transparency of parliamentary work and accountability of elected representatives. This discussion is quite multi-faceted, and goes beyond the scope of this post. What should be kept in mind, however, is that establishing collaboration between politicians/parliaments and civil society surely requires time, effort, trust and common understanding from all the parties involved. Under these conditions, PIV and PMO initiatives can serve as hubs that bring parliaments and citizens closer, with a view to forming a more trusted relationship.
Towards transparency?
Most PIV initiatives provide information in a way compliant with the principles of the Declaration on Parliamentary Openness. Openness is a necessary condition for transparency. But, then, what is transparency? Is it possible to come up with a definition that accommodates the whole essence of this concept?
In this quest, it is important to consider that neither openness nor transparency can exist without access to information (ATI). Consequently, availability and accessibility of parliamentary information are fundamental prerequisites in order to apply any technology that will hopefully contribute to inform, empower and help citizens participate in public decision-making.
Apart from that, it is important to look back in the definition, essence and legal nature of Freedom of Information (FOI) and Right to Information (RTI) provisions, as these are stated in the constitution of each country. A closer consideration of the similarities and differences between the terms "Freedom" and "Right", whose meanings we usually take for granted, can provide important insight for the dependencies between them. Clarifying the meaning and function of these terms in a socio-political system can be a helpful start towards unraveling the notion of transparency.
Still, one thing is for sure: being informed and educated on our rights as citizens, as well as on how to exercise them, is a necessity nowadays. Educated citizens are able not only to comprehend the information available, but also search further, participate and have their say in decision-making. The example of the Right to Know initiative in Australia, based on the Alaveteli open-source platform, is an example of such an effort. The PIV initiatives researched thus far have shown that citizen engagement is a hard-to-reach task, which requires constant commitment and strive through a variety of tools and actions. In the long run, the full potential and effectiveness of these constantly evolving initiatives remains to be seen. In this context, legislative transparency remains in itself an open issue with many interesting aspects yet to be explored.
The links provided in the post are indicative examples and do not intend to promote initiatives or written materials for commercial or advertising purposes.
Aspasia Papaloi is a civil servant in the IT and New Technologies Directorate of the Hellenic Parliament, a PhD Candidate at the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies of the University of Athens and a research fellow of the Laboratory of New Technologies in Communication, Education and the Mass Media, contributing as a Teaching Assistant. She holds an MA with specialization in ICT Management from the University of the Aegean in Rhodes and a Bachelor of Arts in German Language and Literature (Germanistik) from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Her research area involves e-Parliaments with a special focus on visualization for the achievement of transparency.
Dimitris Gouscos is Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies of the University of Athens and a research fellow of the Laboratory of New Technologies in Communication, Education and the Mass Media, where he contributes to co-ordination of two research groups on Digital Media for Learning and Digital Media for Participation. His research interests evolve around applications of digital communication in open governance, participatory media, interactive storytelling and playful learning. More information available on http://www.media.uoa.gr/~gouscos.
VoxPopuLII is edited by Judith Pratt. Editors-in-Chief are Stephanie Davidson and Christine Kirchberger, to whom queries should be directed.
If you think that law isn't written for lawyers, try reading some. It can even start looking normal after a while (say about the length of time it takes to get through law degree). But research on the main street impact of legal language suggests that for most people, the law is likely to be either incomprehensible or very hard to read.
This problem is a focus of a research project which a team of us at ANU and Cornell LII have been addressing over the past months (Eric McCreath (Australian National University, Research School of Computer Science), Wayne Weibel (Cornell University Law School, Legal Information Insitute), Nic Ceynowa (LII), Sara Frug (LII), Tom Bruce (LII) and myself (ANU)). With the generous help of thousands of LII users, as part of a citizen science project, we've been collecting data on the readability of law as well as demographic data about the users of law.
If you are concerned about access to law, and many are, the current situation is not really good enough. Whether you tend to 'human rights', 'democratic values', 'economic efficiency', 'rule of law' or are just wanting to make sure your hapless minions follow your every command, you'll be able to think of a good reason why the law should be more accessible (readable) than it is.
Of course the problem has been around for a very long time, and plain language is a standing goal of many legislative drafting offices. Reform efforts have been underway since the middle ages. Certainly legal language has improved considerably, particularly as a result of 19th and 20th century reforms with that goal in mind. Still, the law can't be said to be readily accessible to the general public, in the sense of its readability.
What has changed that makes the problem more urgent today is that the general public can now at least get to the law. That's the revolution that's been achieved by online publishers of the law, including the Free Access to Law Movement and official and commercial law publishers. As the UK's First Parliamentary Counsel observed last year:
Legislation affects us all. And increasingly, legislation is being searched for, read and used by a broad range of people. It is no longer confined to professional libraries; websites like legislation.gov.uk have made it accessible to everyone. So the digital age has made it easier for people to find the law of the land; but once they have found it, they may be baffled. The law is regarded by its users as intricate and intimidating.
In 2010, the Plain Writing Act was adopted by the US Congress with the aim of improving government writing. Sad to say, the Act itself is no model of plain language. Section, sub-section and paragraph roll on, line after line, provision after convoluted provision. In substance they say not much more than: write clearly so that the public can understand and use what you write. Didn't anyone see the irony? Then again, reality check, most legislation is never read by the people who vote to make it law. Just to make sure the drawbridge was well and truly up, if you read through to the fine print at the end there is an important rider. What happens if no one can understand what the law is supposed to mean? Well, nothing a judge can do about it. Great aspiration, but …
A sea change could be on the way, though. The Good Law initiative is one great example of efforts to address the complexity and readability of legislation. What is significant is that how we are thinking about legal rules is changing. Official publishers of the law are beginning to talk about the law as if it's data. The UK National Archives Office has even published an API — Application Programmers Interface (basically a 'how to' for developers who want to use the "data").So now we're thinking of law as data. And we're going to unleash computer scientists on it, to do whatever their imaginations can come up with. Bommarito and Katz' work on the legal code as a mathematical network is a great example of the virtually infinite possibilities.
Our own research uses the potential of computational technologies in another way. Online legal sites are not just 'documents'. They are places where people are actively interacting with the law. We used crowd-sourcing to engage with this audience, asking them to rate law on readability characteristics as well as exploring the demographics of who uses the law. Our aim was to develop a labelled dataset that could be used as input to machine learning. "Labelled data" is machine learning gold — hard to get, but if you can you get it, you can use it to make predictions about what human judges would say. In our case we are trying to predict whether a legal sentence will be readable or not.
In the process we learned quite a bit about the audience using the law, and about which law they use. Scouring the Google Analytics data, it became obvious that the law is not equally read. We may all be equal before the law, but the law is not equal before us. Just 37 sections of the US Code account for almost 10% of the page visits to US code pages (there are about 65,000). So a tiny fraction of the Code is being read all the time. On the other hand there are huge swathes of the Code that hardly ever see the light of a back illuminated screen. This is not trivial news. Computer scientists love lists. Prioritised lists get their own special lectures for first year CS students — and here we have a prioritized list. You want to know what law is at the top of your priority list — the users will tell you. If you're concerned with cleaning up the law code or making it easier to understand, there's useful stuff here.
It will be no surprise that we found that law is harder for just about every part of the community than legal professionals. What was surprising was that legal professionals (including law students), turn out to be a minority of those interested enough to respond, on the LII site at least.
These were just a few of the demographic insights we were able to draw.
On the machine learning front, we were able to show that machine learning can improve on traditional readability metrics in predicting language difficulty (they've long been regarded as suspect in application to legal texts anyway). That said, it's early days and we would like to extend the research we have done so far. There is a lot of potential for future research applying computational techniques to the readability of law. A co-authored publication further describing the research introduced in this article will be presented at this year's Law Via the Internet Conference being held at the end of September.
But while we're thinking about it, there are other ways to think about `access' to law. What if instead of writing the law, it was visualized? You know — like in pictures. Before you storm off in contempt, note this: research is validating that pictures can improve user experience — for example in the contract space, where what your clients think of your contract can impact on your bottom line.
It's radical enough unleashing computer scientists on legal rules. What might the law look like if we try thinking like designers? 'User experience' of legal rules? That one didn't come up in law school. We're in some surreally different world at this point. Designers create artefacts for people to use which are optimised for functionality, beauty and other characteristics –- not things that are meant to tell people what to do. 'User experience' is their kind of thinking.
As readers of Vox Pop will know, the idea of legal design is starting to get traction. Helena Haapio and Stefania Passera's great article on legal design covers some of the field. An article they jointly published last year points out some of the benefits of visualization. Earlier this year, we worked on a joint paper exploring the feasibility of automating legal visualization. We were able to demonstrate the automation of visualization of clauses, such as a contract term clause, a liquidated damages clause or a payment clause. Visit our proof of concept site, where you can play with visualizing different options.
OK. So perhaps some of the above reads like we're on the up-slope of the hype curve. But that of course is the fun. For those of us who've spent many years in the law, looking at the law from a different professional paradigm can help us see things that didn't stand out before. It certainly enjoyable and brings a breath of fresh air to the law.
Michael Curtotti is undertaking a PhD in the Research School of Computer Science at the Australian National University. His co-authored publications on legal informatics include: A Right to Access Implies a Right to Know: An Open Online Platform for Readability Research; Enhancing the Visualization of Law and A corpus of Australian contract language: description, profiling and analysis. He holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales, and a Masters of International Law from the Australian National University. He works part-time as a legal adviser to the ANU Students Association and the ANU Post-graduate & research students Association, providing free legal services to ANU students.
Other related posts on VoxPopuLII on this topic include Law in the Last-Mile: The Potential of Mobile Integration into Legal Services by Sean Martin McDonald, Incomprehension Compounded by Mistranslation – The Imperatives of Access to Legal Information in South Africa by Eve Gray and Accessible Law by Nick Holmes
VoxPopuLII is edited by Judith Pratt. Editors-in-Chief are Stephanie Davidson and Christine Kirchberger, to whom queries should be directed.
In May 2014, we ran a Legal Communication Design class at Stanford's Institute of Design, or the d.school. Though legal communications have a reputation as dense, opaque & heavy, we wanted to open up some space for experimenting with what legal communication could be. The d.school proposes that professionals solve problems through collaborative, interdisciplinary experimentation, all while focused on building solutions that are user-friendly & engaging for specific end-users.
We decided to take this approach and apply it to legal communications. Our goals were twofold:
We formed a three-person teaching team: Margaret Hagan, a legal designer based at Stanford's d.school; Alex Gavis, in-house counsel at Fidelity Investments with expertise in consumer and financial regulations and product design; and Kursat Ozenc, an interaction designer trained at Carnegie Mellon's Design School and working at Autodesk.
We developed a two-day intensive "Pop Up" class at the d.school entitled, "Get Smart: Marking Complicated Information Simple." We intended for the class to be mostly populated by law students, but most of our applicants came from students studying in other fields: engineering, management science, business, political science, and anthropology. The class was oversubscribed, and ultimately limited to about 45 students.
2. Our approach to complex communication design
The pop-up class was an experiment to see what ideas would emerge from interdisciplinary groups of students using design to make complex legal information more comprehensible. As we prepared for the class, we began to form a Framework of Complex Communication Design. Our central insight is that complex information design can be categorized into two basic branches: (1) that for analysis and understanding, and (2) that for decision-making and action.
The first categorization can be described as making complex sets of information more understandable. There is considerable buzz around this type of complex communication design right now, especially around "data visualizations". This type of design draws on data sets underlying complex sets of facts, and it attempts to present the data sets in a lively and engaging matter.
In this branch of complex communication design, the goal is to educate. It is to shape data that is otherwise overwhelming into information that is digestible and attractive, and it helps the user understand the data and information. Ideally, the design will allow its author to convey large data sets for better comprehension by individuals — helping them to see patterns, trends, and meaning in an otherwise opaque set of information. The design might also be interactive and flexible enough to allow its end-user to find new insights and inspirations about the data topic, which the design's author was not aware of.
This type of communication design is commonly employed by scientists, journalists, and others who want to help people make connections between large data sets and the broader world.Communication Design for Decision-Making
The second stream of communication design is about making complex rules and systems both comprehensible and actionable. It applies to legal communications of notices, rights and warnings. Done well, this type of complex design has the author presenting the rules of a system in their complexity, but empowers the end-user to navigate this complexity — giving them an understanding of the rules and the ability to apply them to the user's specific situation and decisions.
The goal here is not so much about analysis, like in the first branch, but rather in as helping people make better decisions for themselves. It is about helping people understand the situation that they are in, what rules apply to them, what the consequences of these rules will be, and what kind of behavior to take in response to these rules.
This type of communication design is a legal design challenge. It is focuses on helping people understand the rules of the world and applying the rules to their own life. It is not education for education's sake. It is practical, but also quite challenging.
In practice, though legal communication design should apply directly to people's lives, it does not. The standard for this branch of design is currently low, if we look at the way terms and conditions are presented in consumer contracts, or the legal fine print at the bottom of television advertisements, or the privacy policies on websites. Most often the communications as presented are dense, jargon-laden, and pedantic. They do not provide the user with greater comprehension of the rules, nor do they empower better decision-making.Our Focus
Accordingly, our goal for the class was to focus on this second category of communication design. We intended to apply user-centered, experimental design process to explore what types of communication could lead to more user engagement, comprehension, and better decision-making.3. The Class
The d.school class was held over two days: the first day was an evening boot-camp in visual and communication design, followed by a second day "design sprint" to create and test complex legal communication designs in response to specific use-cases we created.
We created the boot-camp to be a staged training. We first taught the basics of good information design. Then, we scaled this knowledge to review complex information design techniques. After this two-staged boot-camp, the next day was an eight-hour session, during which students were challenged to apply what they learned in the first day to legal use-cases.The Design Bootcamp
Our challenge in the bootcamp was to to cover the basics of quality communication design to a student audience relatively un-versed in design, within a very restricted time. We decided to do a mixture of learning-by-doing and learning-by-exposure. We also created and distributed "cheat-sheets" covering the basic principles of communication design, blended with tips, templates, and suggestions.
We introduced the fundamental Gestalt principles of visual design (i.e., hierarchy, proximity, asymmetry), and then we showed examples of effective and ineffective design.
Prior to the class, we had asked students to post examples of complex communication design to our class website. We drew on these student-sourced images for in-class discussion, and our teaching team also scouted images that could demonstrate the fundamental principles. The examples of visual design ranged from those intended to educate, to those meant to delight or intrigue. We mixed in very practical graphics with those with innovative visual cues and illustrations.
Immersing students in many forms of communication design helped to demonstrate design principles in a way that verbal descriptions could not. The examples also provided good inspiration material for the teams to use, when trying to decide how to convey a message, or to synthesize data points into meaningful relationships. Our teaching strategy was to provide the students with a broad portfolio of types of design, so they could see for themselves why certain designs work or do not, and that they could borrow from the designs that engaged them as a user.
We next took the class through a series of short, 20-minute design exercises, to help them build their design muscles for use the next day. First, we asked students to design a flyer invitation to their next birthday – keeping them focused on how to make a convincing communication within space constraints. This was to practice their understanding of basic principles of good composition, messaging, color choice, and imagery.
Next, we ran a more legal design exercise, in which the students had to represent the complex text instructions for using a transit card in a usable way. The goal was to make these terms and conditions into a user-friendly, contextual communication that a user could actually use during their commute to avoid fines.
With each of these exercises, students worked by themselves for a short period, and then presented their work to the group. The design reviews provided some critical feedback, as well as encouragement for good design work. These short exercises were warm-ups and team building for the next day's design sprint.The Legal Communication Problem and Use Cases
On the second day, the class shifted focus from good communication design practices to the challenges of legal design. Alex began the day with a discussion of why good legal communications design matters. While the law does not require that contracting parties read an agreement, there must be a meeting of the minds. Reasonable processes for obtaining consumer acknowledgement or consent in online agreements are upheld by courts. It takes a lot of bad facts to unwind a contract as unenforceable.
Some laws are proscriptive to protect the public (e.g., the securities laws on full and fair disclosure) others are principles based (e.g., consumer protection laws prohibiting unfair and deceptive acts), and some are structured to validate legitimacy of actions (e.g., the federal and state electronic signature laws).
All this leads to legal dissonance on how consumers may be treated when in transacting online for goods or obtaining services. They generally make purchase decisions not based on any awareness of terms or conditions or the "fine print." They are confronted with contracts, terms-of-use, consents, and disclosures all over the place, but they typically do not take action on them (click, acknowledge, accept) until after making a decision — usually only upon checkout.
The requirements to make these legitimate in the law can vary by law, regulation, and jurisdiction. Many transactions or interactions wind up in the category of "agree now, worry later" for consumers.
Communications in which the message is well-crafted and the visual is well-rendered can help understanding and mitigate later problems. If there is understanding at the beginning of the consumer-commercial relationship, then there may be less at risk for both parties. Good design and communications may lead to better outcomes as both parties understand what is being asked and required of them and later disputes may be mitigated or dampened.
We assembled four use cases to demonstrate the importance of good communications design.Use Case 1: "And Where Do I Sign?"
The first use case mentions a fictitious consumer, Susan, who spends a lot of time researching and connecting with friends about where to put her money. She makes a decision and is eager to open an account quickly at the financial institution she has chosen.
This is where the road gets bumpy for her as she must suddenly navigate disclosures, notices, consents, agreements and the providing of personal information. This mishmash of activity occurs before she can successfully open an account, and she thinks that somewhere in all that language is something that she may wish she had known and understood.
Students were assigned to consider these facts and determine how to design a different experience that would engage and inform (and perhaps delight) Susan.Use Case #2: "I am on the Run, Just Tell Me What to Do."
The second use case involved a similar fact scenario to the first one, but asked students to imagine that Susan is a busy executive who travels all over the U.S. She has a small window of time in which to open an account one day and must do so at the airport between flights.
The students' assignment was to design a successful (and delightful) experience for Susan that can work with her mobility.
Use Case #3: "When Can I Play?"
The third use case involved a father–son interaction. Carlos wants to help his young son download an online game. The gaming company has agreements, notices, and terms and conditions that it needs Carlos to agree to before it will allow for the downloading of the game. Some of the conditions are required by law; some are required by the company to protect its intellectual property; and some may be required by the credit card company that is handling the billing.
The students' assignment was to consider how Carlos, in the process of obtaining information and accepting a free trial, can understand the various rights and responsibilities that he (and his son) will be taking on, including license and intellectual property rights, the conditions and responsibilities for payments and the policies and regulations regarding his and his son's privacy preferences. They were to design an experience that would allow Carlos to understand better what is involved, and from the standpoint of Carlos completing it online through a mobile device with limited print and storage capabilities.Use Case #4: "You Want Me to Say What?"
The final use case involved an example of advertising for financial services. Advertising provides a source of information to prospective customers about the products and services offered by financial services firms. Advertisers desire to keep the messaging in advertisements streamlined and straightforward, while at the same time making compelling messaging that will be understood by consumers and complying with regulatory standards.
The students were tasked with conjuring advertising across print, web, mobile and television that can meet the twin goals of being innovative in messaging while adhering to specific regulatory disclosure requirements. The students were provided with examples of the disclosure requirements and were asked to find ways to innovate with the display and positioning of required disclosures. They were challenged to discover new concepts in advertising design to meet the goals of understandability, simplicity and investor understanding.The Design Sprint
We formed the students into teams, mixing their disciplines to get a balance of law students, engineers, social scientists, and humanities students in each group. Then each group was able to choose which use case they wanted to work on.
With their use case chosen, the teams first worked to flesh out a persona in each case, around which to design and build their models. Next, the teams evaluated the type of information that the use-case required to be presented to the persona-audience. After that, they brainstormed design ideas, about what kinds of communications may engage their persona.
Once they developed ideas, the teams discussed their practicality and, in some cases, the groups voted on which one (or ones) to pursue. With this focus, they then spent an hour designing a prototype of the communication design to test in the field. Some created visuals by hand, others used digital tools to mock-up storyboards, app interfaces, or graphics.
After lunch, they went out onto the Stanford campus to find user testers. They asked members of the public for feedback on their ideas and design. Finally, in the last hour of the workshop, each team presented their final designs and user feedback to the class.4. Models that Emerged
We found that the students generated ideas that suggest several different models for how to provide notice in a legal situation.Model 1: Embedded Notice
This model involves embedding information concerning warnings into the context of the content that the user desires to consume.
For a television advertisement, for example, one team proposed that, instead of presenting images and voice together and then the legal disclosures (in "fine print" text) in a separate overlay, the message(s) from the legal disclosures could be woven into the images and the voiceover. This would allow a customer to comprehend the "fine print" information within the visual and aural content experience, without having to strain to read the disclosure text on screen.
For Use Case #3, one team suggested that the privacy disclosures and other legal warnings be incorporated into the game environment. The same avatars, background, points system and interfaces would exist for the game and for the disclosures. They suggested an approach where a game user goes through the disclosures and wins points, advancing in the game universe.
This allows the user to become educated on privacy and legal issues in the context of what he or she wants to do – play the game. It cleverly embeds the disclosures and warnings directly into the game flow.
The overall model has the legal and financial notice woven together with the juicy and non-legal content.1a: Interactive Games
One popular type of an embedded notice was game-based. Several teams built models around games, putting the information into a highly interactive and rewarding type of situation.
As discussed with the class, a drawback with this model is that it is very intensive, requiring an investment of time from the user as well as from the notice giver. A benefit is that it has a narrative that can be quite engaging. It has stages and incentives to keep exploring the information being communicated.
This model might work very well when the user is already within a digital environment, like a game on a computer or on an app. The notice-game can be woven seamlessly into the experience that the user is trying to enjoy. It should be considered for "entertainment experiences," when the user is already in an entertainment mode — for example, when he or she is about to play a game, watch a movie, read a magazine, or start a video game.Model 2: Roadmap with Zoom
This model involves a large map of the notice and message, which the user can then zoom in and out of. The user chooses where to focus, and can see both the complexity all at once from a distance, or zoomed into a particular part of it.
This type of design allows the user to engage with the material selectively and in a staged way. The omniscient user sets the terms.
Two different teams presented designs along this model, but with slight variations. In one model, the designer of the communication sets a sequential path through the communication, and the user goes step by step through it.
The second model is non-sequential and non-linear. The user browses through the communication, zooming in and out of particular topics and choices. The design tracks the progress they have made, but it does not strictly guide the user along a certain path.Model 3: Divide & Conquer
The divide and conquer model is a modular series of communications that add up to a complete, complex delivery of notice. It involves a modular, staged set of discrete "communication tasks," that the user proceeds through at their own pace.
The user receives a short communication and then must respond in some way to show that she has registered the information. Each communication is a task, with a two-way channel, of the designer presenting information to the user and the user having to respond in some way. The user goes through the communication tasks one by one, completing the stages and eventually getting the entire communication.
This model takes inspiration from a checklist, but it gives a focused experience for each task. It also lets the user do things in a short way, knowing how much time each of these modules should take and then conquering what they want depending on their situation at the time.3a: The efficient, clean click-through
One example of this model was more for a professional user, who values efficiency and practicality. The design's goal was to provide an interactive app that would efficiently let the professional target and flag important information. It was an even more streamlined version of Divide & Conquer, for people who don't want to dive into any details.
This model allowed for having the details sent later through email or reminders, for when the user may want to refer to the full text. It generally prioritized quick understanding over deep comprehension, but tried to give enough understanding to alert a user to anything she may be concerned about or may want to explore at a later time.Model 4: Personalized, Conversational, Growing Agreement
In this design, the user responds to prompts, asking him for his information and preferences. As he responds to each prompt, a customized communication is generated for him. It is presented alongside his responses, so he can see how the contract, notice, or other type of legal communication will change depending on his answers.
The legal notice is not a given, but rather is progressively generated by the user. The motive behind this model is to give the user a sense of authorship and control. The user is able to see how his choices affect the length and complexity of provisions of the agreement that he must accept at the end of the process. There is a dynamic nature to this process as paragraphs build or collapse depending upon actions. It is also to show flexibility from the designer and legal communicator — to let them show they are willing to defer to the preferences of the user. The experience becomes one that is constructive.Model 5: Proximate, Contextual Notification
In the proximate notice design, the legal communication is divided up into stages and then presented to the user as it relates to the topic at hand.
It was designed with the idea of presenting terms and conditions selectively, as it relates to the user's specific data disclosures. As the user enters data into a field, the design immediately prompts her with what the rules, restrictions and notices are for that piece of information. The user sees the conditions as applied to each data point individually.
The design intends to make the large, complex set of terms and conditions more understandable by contextualizing them, and by presenting them bit by bit. The model ideally helps the user understand concretely how each piece of information she discloses relates to the terms and conditions.Model 6: Protector Relationship
In the protector model, the design attempts to put the user in the mindset of protecting another person, or a future version of themselves. It may do this through the use of an avatar, who will be affected by the content of the communication. Or it could be through a design that shows the user a future version of herself, and encouraging her to think of the communication as applied to this future version.
The goal is to encourage more engagement with a legal communication by putting the user in the position of protecting someone else. Rather than passing over legal information, the user will invest attention into it because something is at stake for someone else. It taps into a sense of duty to protect, especially for someone who seems vulnerable.
This model of design attempts to facilitate more thoughtfulness about the legal communication — helping the user think about how it will play out over a long term. It may also encourage users to think of cause and effect.5. Ways Forward
The ideas that emerged were bounded by the limited one-day timing for the class. With more time, we are confident that additional ideas would be born. It was helpful to have a mixture of law, business, engineering, and students in other disciplines participating in the class, as they brought varied ideas to the table.
Now we are planning a follow-up workshop with a more specific group of participants: lawyers who work on legal communication challenges like those in our use cases, and designers who have an interest in engaging, resonant communications. Our plan is to take the models and prototypes that emerged out of the class, and to work with the lawyers and designers to validate or upend these initial drafts. We hope to hone a more definite set of good legal communication design patterns, which can be useful to those making complex information design.
After this next-stage workshop, we are considering a controlled test of several of the most promising concepts to determine whether they have the desired effect of making contracting more understandable and simpler. We could imagine these ideas being tested in any number of different contexts where a business would like its users to agree to specific conditions or agreements. This also could be the subject of psychology research and studies on the propensity for individuals to understand information that is designed for their consumption.
The class confirmed for us that there are design approaches — some of which our class developed and others yet to be found — that can directly address complexity in legal interactions and that may well resonate.
About the Authors
Alex Gavis is a member of the Corporate Legal Department of FMR LLC, the parent company of Fidelity Investments, one of the largest brokerage and mutual fund companies in the United States and the leading provider of workplace retirement savings plans. He manages a team of attorneys and professionals and is responsible for providing legal services to the firm's retail brokerage, college savings, stock plan and workplace retirement businesses. He also oversees and manages legal services for Fidelity's businesses involved in electronic and mobile commerce, start-up innovation, and social media. Mr. Gavis also oversees legal advice on all of Fidelity's national advertising and marketing initiatives. He is frequent speaker and lecturer on securities law and e-commerce issues.
Margaret Hagan is a fellow at Stanford Law's Center on the Legal Profession and a lecturer at Stanford Institute of Design (the d.school). She was a fellow at the d.school from 2013-2014, where she launched the Program for Legal Tech & Design, experimenting in how design can make legal services more usable, useful and engaging. She taught a series of project-based classes, with interdisciplinary student groups tackling legal challenges through user-focused research and design of new legal products and services. She also leads workshops to train legal professionals in the design process, to produce client-focused innovation. Her blog on legal design is Open Law Lab, and her portfolio of design projects and illustrations are available here.
Kursat Ozenc is a Senior User Experience Designer at Autodesk in San Francisco, building the next generation design tools for infrastructure professionals. He conducts user research, turns research insights into concept designs, & transforms designs into launch-ready systems, interactions, and interfaces. He completed his Ph.D. studies (2011) in design at Carnegie Mellon University. He holds an M.F.A. degree (2004) in Visual Communication Design from Sabanci University in Istanbul, and a bachelors degree (2002) in Industrial Product design from Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkiye.
Other posts on visualization and law on this blog include Visual Law: What Lawyers Need to Learn from Information Designers by Helena Haapio and Stefania Passera.
VoxPopuLII is edited by Judith Pratt. Editors-in-Chief are Stephanie Davidson and Christine Kirchberger, to whom queries should be directed.


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Sony set to make pre-emptive strike on Microsoft with PS4
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By Tim Kelly and Malathi Nayak | February 20, 2013 8:21 PM EST
Sony Corp is expected to showcase a new PlayStation console on Wednesday in a pre-emptive strike against Microsoft Corp's bid to make its Xbox the world's leading hub for household entertainment.
The rare PlayStation event in New York comes amid industry speculation that Microsoft is set to unveil the successor to its Xbox 360, which beats the seven-year-old PlayStation 3's online network with features such as voice commands on interactive gaming and superior connectivity to smartphones and tablets.
"Their focus is on establishing a beachhead for the next generation of consoles, and that's what February 20 is all about," said P.J. McNealy, CEO and founder of Digital World Research. "The reality is they have been playing catch-up."
Pushing ahead of Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo Co Ltd's new Wii U could help Sony revive an electronics business hurt by a dearth of hit gadgets, a collapse in TV sales and the convergence of consumer interest around tablets and smartphones built by rivals Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.
Tablets and smartphones already account for around 10 percent of the $80 billion gaming market. Those mobile devices, analysts predict, will within a few years be as powerful as the current slew of game-only consoles.
After six years, Sony PlayStation sales are just shy of Xbox's 67 million installed base and well behind the 100-million selling Wii, analysts said.
A lackluster launch in November of the Wii successor, the Wii U, gives Sony a chance to focus on toppling Microsoft as all three battle the encroachment of casual gaming on tablets and smartphones. Nintendo cut its sales target to 4 million machines from 5.5 million for the year ending March 31.
Microsoft's answer to the casual gaming threat has been software that gives users extra content and allows them to surf the Internet from their mobile devices. The Xbox already streams Netflix and ESPN and links to tablets and smartphones using Windows or Apple's iOS and Google Inc's Android. Sony's PS3 online network has lagged.
"For Sony, they have to come out and make this PlayStation event the definitive statement of why gamers need to adopt the PlayStation 4 or PlayStation Orbis or whatever they end up calling it," said Greg Miller, PlayStation executive editor at video game site IGN.com.
Sony's purchase in July of U.S. cloud-based gaming company Gaikai for $380 million hints that the Japanese company will pursue a similar streaming strategy to Microsoft. Sony, industry watchers say, may also offer an expanded range of free games to counter the threat from casual gaming.
Sony, which under its CEO Kazuo Hirai is focusing on gaming, mobile devices and cameras, needs a hit product. But by betting on a PS3 successor, Hirai, whose most profitable business is life insurance, risks deepening consumer electronic losses as he will have to sell consoles at below the manufacturing cost to gain market traction.
That choice is made harder because the other two pillars of Hirai's new Sony - cameras and mobile - are losing money.
Sony expects to post a $1.4 billion operating profit in the current fiscal year. Yet, much of that rebound is gains from offloading real estate, including $1.1 billion for its New York headquarters.
The PlayStation event in New York starts at 2300 GMT (1800 EST).
($1 = 93.5200 Japanese yen)
(Additional reporting by Reiji Murai; Editing by Ryan Woo)
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