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< Features
KVM qcow2 Performance
Improve the I/O performance of virtual machines using disk images in the qcow2 image format.
- Name: Kevin Wolf
- Email: kwolf at redhat
Current status
- Targeted release: Fedora 12
- Last updated: 2009-08-05
- Percentage of completion: 100%
In upstream qemu, qcow2 achieves a reasonable performance now, so the main goal is already met. There are only a few optimizations left that are harder to do. The qcow2 code still needs more testing as it is known to have been broken in subtle ways by past changes. Some more benchmarking is needed to measure more exactly what has been achieved.
To illustrate what dimension the improvements are, here the installation time for a minimal RHEL 5.3 VM with old and new qcow2, and for comparison raw images. The installation was done with all three different cache settings.
|cache =
|Old qcow2 (0.10.5)
|16:52 min
|28:58 min
|6:02 min
|New qcow2 (0.11.0-rc1)
|5:44 min
|9:18 min
|6:11 min
|5:41 min
|7:24 min
|6:03 min
Please note that compressed and encrypted images don't take as much profit from the optimizations as normal qcow2 images do. Additionally, it's obvious that compression and encryption come with an overhead of processing each cluster before it can be passed to the guest. You will probably still encounter low performance with compressed or encrypted images.
Detailed Description
qcow2 is the native disk image file format of qemu. It provides a couple of additional features over raw images, including base images, snapshots, compression and encryption. Also, qcow2 files grow as needed whereas raw files need to be created in the full size of the virtual disk.
Currently, qcow2 is very slow with disabled write cache on the host. Therefore users need to decide if they enable the write cache and run the risk of data loss (e.g. on a host crash, the guest thinks the data is written to disk and safe while it was sitting in the host cache and is lost - resulting in image or file system corruption) or to do without the qcow2 features and go for raw images.
The goal is to improve the performance of qcow2, so users don't risk their data, can take advantage from the additional features provided by qcow2 and still have acceptable performance.
Benefit to Fedora
See previous section. We can recommend a more advanced image format than raw to our users.
This feature needs work on qemu. A lot of changes are already made in upstream qemu and just need to be taken from there.
How To Test
Even though the major goal is to improve performance, it is easy to break the image format driver in subtle ways while doing so. Testing must have a focus on correctness first. A good way to test correctness is the qemu-iotests test suite which can be found on http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/hch/qemu-iotests.git.
Apart from correctness, testing should involve performance comparison between qcow2 and raw (possibly also old qcow2) in benchmarks, installation or other scenarios. Be sure to differentiate between an empty image which is growing during the test and an already used image with lots of rewrites. The greatest performance improvement is to be expected in the growing case. Best start off with new images before each test run to maintain comparability.
User Experience
qcow2 users should notice no change in functionality, but an improvement in their disk I/O performance. Users who have previously enabled the write cache for performance reasons may consider to turn caching off to improve data safety. Users who didn't use qcow2 because of the poor performance may consider to switch and take advantage of the additional features.
Contingency Plan
None. We would take the improvements already available and reconsider if we can recommend using qcow2 to everyone. The raw image format is retained and can still be used when performance is important.
Release Notes
The performance of qcow2 disk images has improved a lot when disabling the cache for data safety. Users who have previously enabled the write cache for performance reasons may consider to turn caching off to improve data safety. Users who didn't use qcow2 because of the poor performance may consider to switch and take advantage of the additional features the format provides over raw disk images.


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Hi everyone:
First of all, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Brian Brockman, and I am a senior manager in corporate communications at Nissan, based at our Americas HQ in Franklin, Tenn. While LEAF is fairly new to my list of official job responsibilities, I've been engaged in the program for some time, serving as our Midwest communications manager based in Michigan since 2007.
So I don't stretch this post too long, I'll get to the business of the day. Back in December, Jeff posted a message from Andy Palmer (http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=253595" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) outlining the expanded warranty protection against capacity loss in the LEAF's lithium-ion battery. In that message, they said that the warranty would go into effect this Spring for 2011 and 2012 LEAF owners. Today, I want to give you an update on that roll-out.
If you're a 2011 or 2012 LEAF owner, you'll receive a letter in the mail in the coming week or so confirming the expanded warranty coverage for your LEAF, as well as details on a software update available through your Nissan LEAF dealer for your battery capacity meter and on-board charger. I've pasted the text of that letter below for you to check out. As you are some of our most engaged owners, we wanted to give you a heads-up on this development.
(Note: For 2013 LEAF owners, this coverage was part of your battery warranty at purchase, and is outlined in your warranty information booklet.)
Thank you for your time, and for your continued feedback. It's exciting to see so many enthusiastic and engaged LEAF owners. I look forward to more conversations with you in the future.
Dear Nissan LEAF Owner:
Nissan values the feedback that we receive from our owners, and we try to use your comments to improve our products. With the goal to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction, Nissan is now offering two ongoing improvements for your Nissan LEAF.
First, Nissan is providing a new software enhancement for model year 2011-2012 LEAF vehicles, updating them with the software currently used in production for 2013 model year LEAF vehicles. The software enhancement is aimed at improving the accuracy of the battery capacity level gauge and providing greater compatibility with an expanded range of EV charging equipment.
Second, Nissan is now implementing expanded coverage under its New Electric Vehicle Limited Warranty, to protect against capacity loss in your LEAF's lithium-ion battery, as previously announced by Nissan in December 2012.
The 2013 LEAF features many improvements, including updated software that improves the performance of the battery capacity level gauge (outlined below) to more accurately reflect actual battery capacity. This update does not change the amount of capacity represented by the each of the bars in the meter.
In addition, the vehicle's on-board charger software has been enhanced to improve compatibility with a broader range of EV charging equipment. By updating the software for 2011 and 2012 vehicles, Nissan is providing customers with the benefits of these ongoing improvements enjoyed by owners of the 2013 LEAF.
To ensure your continued satisfaction and confidence in your car, your EV Certified Nissan dealer will update the software as described above at no cost to you for parts and labor.
Contact your EV Certified Nissan dealer at your earliest convenience in order to arrange your appointment. This service is free of charge and the work should take less than 2 hours to complete. To ensure the greatest convenience to you, it is important that you have an appointment before bringing your vehicle to the dealer for this service. Please bring this notice with you to your service appointment. Detailed instructions have been sent to your EV Certified Nissan dealer.
In addition to the existing lithium-ion battery coverage provided under the Nissan Electric Vehicle Limited Warranty for defects in materials or workmanship, the lithium-ion battery for your 2011 or 2012 Nissan LEAF is now also warranted against capacity loss below nine (9) bars (or approximately below 70 percent) as shown on the vehicle's battery capacity level gauge for a period of 60 months or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first.
This warranty covers any repairs needed to return battery capacity to a level of nine remaining bars on the vehicle's battery capacity level gauge. If possible, the lithium-ion battery components will be repaired or replaced, and the original battery pack will be returned to the vehicle. If necessary, the lithium-ion battery will be replaced with either a new or remanufactured battery. Any repair or replacement made under this Lithium-Ion Battery Capacity Coverage may not return the battery to an "as new" condition with all 12 battery capacity bars, but it will provide the vehicle with a capacity level of nine bars or more on the battery capacity level gauge.
Please apply the label at the bottom of this letter to your Warranty Information Booklet. If your vehicle's battery capacity level is currently at or above nine (9) bars, no further action is required.
If your vehicle's battery capacity level gauge is already displaying eight (8) or fewer bars of capacity prior to the above referenced software update (and within the first 5 years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first), your Nissan dealer will verify this condition and arrange for the repair or replacement of the lithium-ion battery in accordance with the terms of the warranty.
Please note that replacement lithium-ion batteries may require special ordering which may delay the actual repair by several weeks. Your patience in these circumstances is appreciated.
If you have any questions about this announcement, you may contact the Nissan LEAF Call Center at 877-N0-GAS-EV (877-664-2738), or by writing us at Nissan North America, Inc., P.O. Box 685003, Franklin, TN 37068-5003.
Thank you for providing us an opportunity to ensure your satisfaction. We hope you continue to enjoy smooth, zero emissions driving in your Nissan LEAF!


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Lifelong Coca-Cola 600 fans struggling with missing big race
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Harry and Judy Wiley plan to walk down their driveway in Johnson City, Tennessee on Sunday, climb inside their 39-foot motorhome, flip on the television and do the best they can to enjoy NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 — a staple of their Memorial Day weekend for decades.
It won't be the same as being in North Carolina.
"To me, I feel lost," Harry Wiley said.
The crown jewel race will go on as planned as NASCAR cranks up its schedule following a 10-week shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic. There are 20 races scheduled through June 21 but NASCAR does not plan to allow spectators to attend.
It's heartbreaking for the Wileys, who have made the yearly pilgrimage to Charlotte Motor Speedway since the late 1970s to see the longest race on the NASCAR calendar. They spend about 18 days every May camping at the track and reuniting with lifelong friends amid the backdrop of auto racing.
The Wileys plan their entire year around the event.
"When I pull into the Charlotte Motor Speedway every year it's like the golden gates of heaven to me," said Wiley, who is 73. "So this is like losing a friend. I have nothing to do now. I look forward to this so much."
The race can draw as many as 100,000 spectators, though numbers have dwindled in recent years. This will be the first time no one is there besides the tenants of a 52-unit condominium tower located outside the first turn.
The speedway is offering fans a 120% credit toward future races or fans can choose a full refund.
"This is the most bittersweet of circumstances for our entire team at the speedway," said Scott Cooper, the speedway's vice president of communications. "We work year-round to produce memorable experiences for our fans. The last thing we would ever want to is to run a race without spectators but these are unusual times. But it is rewarding for our staff to know we're at least playing a big role in bringing the races back to television."
Mike Kleban, a 78-year-old fan who lives a few miles from the track in Harrisburg, North Carolina, has attended the last 54 Coca-Cola 600 races. He dreads the thought of his streak coming to an end.
"I asked the folks at the track if they would let me in at the start of the race to watch the first three or four laps just to keep (the streak) alive," Kleban said with a laugh. "But they said, 'We can't do that.'"
Kleban feels even worse for the military service members he annually hosts as part of the speedway's Memorial Day weekend tribute to the armed services.
Last year, Kleban and friends rented 20 infield campsites and hosted more than 60 members of the military and their families, many of whom are a part of the Wounded Warrior program. They provided free meals, a place to sleep and hats and shirts. He estimates it cost $3,000 but is an enjoyable spend.
"It's like a reunion for them," said Kleban, who served four years in the Air Force. "We get together with guys who have fought together side by side. Every year it just keeps on growing with more and more people."
The Wileys often choose the RV campground outside of turn four for their campsite. They host a potluck dinner for more than 50 friends, a tradition that was born 15 years ago when Harry helped fix a fan belt in a stranger's RV that had broken down near the track. Harry was invited to dinner the following night in gratitude. Since then, they've become close friends and the potluck tradition was repeated every Wednesday night before the big race.
In the campground, Harry is known as "the mayor" because he knows just about everyone.
He said he'll miss the familiar scent of barbecue ribs on the grill, corn on the cob and sharing beverages with other fans in lawn chairs under awnings while talking about life, loved ones and, of course, racing. Man of them have become lifelong friends, and they've traveled to weddings and funerals across the country to be with them.
"It's friendships beyond friendships," Wiley said. "We've known a lot of these people for 30-plus years. They're family. So I'm going to miss everyone terribly."
Ronnie Mounts has made the trek every year from Gilbert, West Virginia. He has been to every race since the first World 600 in 1960 except for three he missed while serving in the Army. He was looking forward to seeing the friends he met from Canada at last year's race.
"Honestly, I think it's silly and I think we've gone too far in keeping fans away," Mounts said. "It's sad. It's like people smoking a cigarette and they can't have one."
He sighed and added: "I'll guess I'll just watch it on TV."


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BEIJING — Chinese paramilitary troops began round-the-clock patrols Sunday in the country's northwestern region of Xinjiang following a series of bloody clashes that have killed at least 56 people over the last several months.
Police also released new details about a clash Wednesday that authorities said left 35 people dead, including 11 attackers, blaming it on a violent gang of Muslim extremists.
The order for the patrols by the People's Armed Police was issued by the ruling Communist Party's top law enforcement official, Meng Jianzhu, at an emergency meeting late Saturday in Xinjiang's regional capital, Urumqi. The action came just days ahead of the July 5 anniversary of a 2009 riot between Xinjiang's native Uighur people and Han Chinese migrants in the city that left nearly 200 people dead.
Troops must patrol in all weather conditions, "raise their visibility, maintain a deterrent threat and strengthen the public's sense of security," Meng said, according to a notice posted to the Public Security Ministry's website.
Bordering Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Xinjiang (shihn-jeeahng) has long been home to a simmering rebellion against Chinese rule among parts of the Uighur (WEE'-gur) population opposed to large-scale Han Chinese migration and angered by strict communist restrictions on Islam and their Turkic language and cultural institutions.
However, recent incidents point to a growing level of violence and the apparently growing influence of radical Islam, in spite of a massive security presence spread across the vast region, which is more than twice the size of Texas.
In Wednesday's incident, assailants attacked police and government offices in the town of Lukqun in the region's usually quiet east in one of the bloodiest incidents since the 2009 Urumqi rampage. Authorities searching for suspects have sealed off the area. Other independent reports put the death toll as high as 46.
According to a police statement posted on the Xinjiang government's official website, the attackers belonged to a 17-member extremist Islamic cell formed in January by a man identified by the Chinese pronunciation of his Uighur name, Aihemaitiniyazi Sidike.
The statement said the cell regularly listened to recordings promoting violence and terrorism and since mid-June had been raising funds, buying knives and gasoline, and casing various sites in preparation for an attack.
On Tuesday, however, authorities captured one of the members, and fearing they would be discovered before they could act, Sidike ordered the gang to assemble before dawn Wednesday and attack, the statement said. It said their 24 victims included 16 Uighurs, eight Han and two women.
Police wounded and captured four gang members and seized the last suspect on Sunday following a search.
Following that incident, more than 100 knife-wielding people mounted motorbikes in an attempt to storm the police station Friday in Karakax county in southern Xinjiang's Hotan region, where the population is overwhelmingly Uighur. Elsewhere the same day, an armed mob staged an attack in the township of Hanairike, according to the Xinjiang regional government's news portal. Few details were given about the incidents and there was no official word on deaths, injuries or arrests.
However, U.S. government-backed Radio Free Asia said at least two Uighurs were killed in the Karakax violence, which it said began after Friday prayers at a local mosque that had been raided the week before by police because its resident Imam had defied strict rules on sermon topics. The violence later spread to the city of Hotan, where groups of young men set fires along a major downtown road.
The recent wave of violence began with a deadly clash on April 24 in western Xinjiang that left 21 people dead, including police officers and local government officials. The government said the violence broke out after neighborhood security inspectors uncovered a bomb-making ring that was planning a major attack in the city of Kashgar.
In that and other incidents, the attackers were reportedly inspired by jihadist teachings and literature smuggled into the country or downloaded from the Internet. China has accused Uighur activists based overseas of orchestrating the 2009 violence in Urumqi and plotting other incidents, charges the groups have denied, saying they are merely advocating for Uighur civil and religious rights.
One overseas group, the Washington, D.C.-based Uyghur American Association, which uses a different spelling of Uighur, has called for an independent investigation into Wednesday's incident in Lukqun and questioned the government's claim that it was an act of terrorism.
While the loss of life was "extremely upsetting," China is worsening tensions by ratcheting up security and treating all Uighurs with hostility, the group's president, Alim Seytoff, said in a statement.
State-run newspapers reported Sunday that Xinjiang was calm, and state broadcaster CCTV ran interviews with pro-government Muslim clerics and residents of Urumqi, both Chinese and Uighur, who denounced violence and expressed confidence in the government's ability to maintain security.
China has also sought to enlist other countries in the region in the fight against violence in Xinjiang, and on Saturday the national legislature ratified a pair of agreements on anti-terrorism cooperation and joint drills under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a Chinese- and Russian-dominated grouping of Central Asian states.


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Howden & Stone selected, Pickard snubbed for National Jr camp
CALGARY, Alta. – Hockey Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Hockey League, announced roster details on Friday for Canada's National Junior Team Sport Chek Summer Development Camp, scheduled for August 3-7 in Edmonton and Fort McMurray, Alta. Forty-six players have been invited to attend the camp.
Canada's National Junior Team Sport Chek Summer Development Camp is the first step in identifying players for Canada's National Junior Team for the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship, which will be held from December 26, 2011 to January 5, 2012 in Calgary and Edmonton. At the conclusion of camp, Kevin Prendergast, Hockey Canada's head scout for the men's Program of Excellence, will continue to monitor these players and other potential candidates before inviting a group of players to a final selection camp in December, after which a final National Junior Team roster of 22 players will be named.
The camp roster includes four goaltenders, 16 defencemen and 26 forwards.
The 46 players, born in 1992 or 1993, were selected by Prendergast, in consultation with Hockey Canada's vice-president of hockey operations and national teams, Brad Pascall, Hockey Canada's senior director of hockey operations and national teams Scott Salmond, head coach Don Hay (Vancouver, WHL) and assistant coaches George Burnett (Belleville, OHL), Ryan Huska (Kelowna, WHL) and Pascal Vincent (Montreal, QMJHL). Prendergast evaluated players over the course of the 2010-11 season, following these players along with numerous other candidates for the program during league play, as well as during international competitions for both the under-18 and under-20 programs.
"Canada has many very talented players across the country in this age group, and the players should be very proud to have an opportunity to showcase their abilities at this camp in Edmonton," said Prendergast. "We are looking forward to a competitive, high-energy camp."
The invitation list includes seven players from Canada's silver medal-winning team at the 2011 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y.: goaltender Mark Visentin (Waterdown, Ont./Niagara, OHL), defenceman Erik Gudbranson (Orleans, Ont./Kingston, OHL) and forwards Brett Connolly (Prince George, B.C./Prince George, WHL), Sean Couturier (Bathurst, N.B./Drummondville, QMJHL), Quinton Howden (Oakbank, Man./Moose Jaw, WHL), Ryan Johansen (Port Moody, B.C./Portland, WHL) and Jaden Schwartz (Wilcox, Sask./Colorado College, WCHA)
The camp roster also includes 30 skaters with international experience at the under-18 level (Bournival, Ceci, Connelly, Couturier, Danault, Domingue, Gormley, Gudbranson, D. Hamilton, F. Hamilton, Harrington, Howden, Huberdeau, Jenner, Lessio, McKegg, Murphy, Murray, Nugent-Hopkins, Percy, Puempel, Pysyk, Ritchie, Scheifele, Schwartz, Sgarbossa, Siemens, Spooner, Thomas, Toffoli) and 36 skaters who have represented their region or province at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and/or Canada Winter Games.
Five players invited to this camp have not played with Hockey Canada's Program of Excellence at either the under-17, under-18 or under-20 levels: Patrick Holland, Joe Morrow, Matt Petgrave, Dillon Simpson and Scott Wedgewood.
All invited players must attend the camp to be eligible for the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship, as per National Junior Team policy
Tickets for Canada's two Red-White games at the development are on sale.
Saturday, August 6 Red vs. White Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alta.
TICKETS: www.ticketmaster.ca / 1-855-985-5000
Sunday, August 7 Red vs. White Casman Centre, Fort McMurray, Alta.
TICKETS: www.oilbarons.com
Details of the camp, including dates, schedule and Red and White rosters, will be announced at a later date.
For more information on Canada's National Junior Team and the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship, please visit www.HockeyCanada.ca/2012Juniors, or follow along via social media at www.facebook.com/worldjuniors or www.twitter.com/hc_wjc.


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- How to Care for a New Body Piercing
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- RSV Vaccine Given in Pregnancy to Help Shield Newborns Receives Full U.S. Approval
- Many Americans Frustrated in Search for Low-Cost COVID Boosters
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- Kids' ER Visits for Mental Health Crises Rise When School Term Begins
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- Vaping Raises a Teen's Odds of Developing Asthma
Stem Cells Show Promise for Stroke Recovery
In an early test, researchers report they've safely injected stem cells into the brains of 18 patients who had suffered strokes. And two of the patients showed significant improvement.
All the patients saw some improvement in weakness or paralysis within six months of their procedures. Although three people developed complications related to the surgery, they all recovered. There were no adverse reactions to the transplanted stem cells themselves, the study authors said.
What's more, the researchers said, two patients experienced dramatic recoveries almost immediately after the treatments.
Those patients, who were both women, started to regain the ability to talk and walk the morning after their operations. In both cases, they were more than two years past their strokes, a point where doctors wouldn't have expected further recovery.
The results have encouraged researchers to plan larger and longer tests of the procedure, which uses stem cells cultured from donated bone marrow.
An expert who was not involved in the research called it a promising first step.
"It's a small, early human study. It takes multiple steps to get to something clinically useful, and this is a nice, early step," said Dr. Steven Cramer, clinical director of the Stem Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine.
The findings were to be presented Monday at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons annual meeting, in San Francisco. The results of studies presented at meetings are considered preliminary until they've been published in peer-reviewed medical journals.
Strokes occur when a blood clot or bleeding disrupts blood flow to the brain. Brain cells deprived of oxygen and nutrients quickly die. Strokes kill about 137,000 Americans each year, according to the American Stroke Association, making them a leading cause of death in the United States, but they disable many more.
Some 7 million American adults are estimated to be living with the aftereffects of stroke, which can include difficulty speaking, weakness, paralysis, and trouble with thinking and memory. Intensive physical therapy can help people regain abilities they've lost after a stroke, but there's currently no way to repair damaged brain tissue, experts say.
In animal studies, stem cells have shown great potential to help heal the brain damage caused by strokes.
The new research is one of the first tests of the treatment in humans, the researchers said.
Participants in the new study ranged in age from 33 to 75. Each had experienced a stroke caused by a blood clot at least six months before their procedures. And each had been left with some weakness or paralysis in a limb.
The stem cells used in the study came from bone marrow donated by two people who were unrelated to the study participants. Special cells called mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from the marrow and grown in a lab, where they were treated with a gene that's thought to enhance their healing abilities.
Study participants were tested to make sure their bodies wouldn't reject the stem cells, but they weren't given any immune-suppressing medications.
Surgeons used a computer to sync images from MRI and CT scans, to form a three-dimensional picture of the stroke-damaged areas within the brain.
Patients were awake, but sedated, when surgeons drilled a nickel-sized hole in their skulls. Doctors used three passes with long needles to place 15 deposits of stem cells around the border of the damaged tissue. Six patients got a dose of 2 million cells, another six got 5 million, and the last six got 10 million cells, according to the report.
In animal studies, research has suggested that stem cells injected into the brain don't regrow damaged tissue.
"What these cells seem to do instead is to modulate repair processes. They don't replace the damaged brain so much as massaging the bits that are left, to get maximum function out of them," Cramer explained.
The study was primarily designed to evaluate the safety of this kind of stem cell transplant. Researchers said they were pleased with the results on that score.
Three patients suffered adverse events that were related to the brain surgery. One developed bleeding between the brain and skull. Another patient suffered a seizure, while a third developed pneumonia. All recovered after treatment.
None of the patients showed any signs that their bodies were rejecting the foreign cells.
In addition to safety, researchers looked for signs that the cells had improved stroke symptoms. Most patients made gradual progress. By six months, all the patients demonstrated improvement in their weakness or paralysis on three different tests of post-stroke function, the researchers said.
But two patients in particular piqued researchers' interest.
"We had two patients who had remarkable recoveries," said study author Dr. Gary Steinberg, chairman of neurosurgery at Stanford University.
Both were women. One was 71, while the other was 33.
"They were very disabled. The 71-year-old could only move her left thumb. She couldn't move the arm or hand and could barely get her leg off the bed," he said.
"The day after surgery, she was lifting her arm over her head, and lifting her leg off the bed. She's walking now. She was wheelchair-bound before," Steinberg added.
Similarly, the 33-year-old had a severe speech deficit and had trouble holding her arm up. Steinberg said the day after surgery she was lifting her arm over her head. A year later, her gait and speech have improved.
Steinberg cautioned that these "miracle-type" recoveries are not typical. And because there was no control group in the study, it's impossible to say whether it was the stem cells or something else about the procedure that helped the women.
"We never would have expected two years or more out that patients could recover from a stroke," said Steinberg. "We thought the circuits were dead. Now we know they're still viable. We just have to know how to activate them."
More information
Visit the U.S. National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke for more on stem cell research.
Source: HealthDay
Copyright © 2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.


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The Brother Nathanael Foundation
The Brother Nathanael Foundation envisions an America that is Christian in its consciousness and wholesome in its culture.
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- Brother Nathanael's STREET EVANGELISM Moves Forward!


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Michael Bolton
Singer/songwriter Michael Bolton emerged in the mid-'80s as a major soft rock balladeer. Originally, he recorded under his real name, Michael Bolotin, turning up on RCA Records in the mid-'70s singing cover tunes and his own blue-eyed soul songs in a voice reminiscent of Joe Cocker. He then became the lead singer of Blackjack, a heavy metal band that made two albums for Polydor before splitting up in the early '80s. Looking to relaunch his career, he changed his name to Michael Bolton and signed to Columbia Records as a solo artist in 1983.
The self-titled Michael Bolton was released in April 1983 and made the Top 100 best-sellers, as did its lead single, "Fools Game." At the same time, "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You," a ballad Bolton had co-written with Doug James, became a Top 40 hit for Laura Branigan. Nevertheless, Bolton's second album for the Columbia label, 1985's Everybody's Crazy, was a commercial flop. He finally broke into the mainstream with his third release, The Hunger, which appeared in September 1987. On this album, Bolton abandoned the hard rock sound of his previous records and concentrated on blue-eyed soul singing, both on his own songs ("That's What Love Is All About") and on covers like Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay." Those two singles became his first Top 40 hits.
Soul Provider, released in July 1989, turned Bolton into a certified superstar. Featuring songs co-written with hitmakers like Dianne Warren and Desmond Child, it reached the Top Ten, sold four million copies, and spawned five Top 40 singles, including Bolton's number one version of "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You," as well as the Top Ten hits "How Can We Be Lovers" and "When I'm Back on My Feet Again." "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" also won Bolton a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Time, Love & Tenderness, released in April 1991, was even more successful, hitting number one, selling six million copies, and featuring four Top 40 hits, including a chart-topping cover of Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman" and the Top Ten hits "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" (later the subject of a successful plagiarism suit brought against Bolton by the Isley Brothers) and "Time, Love and Tenderness." The album sold over eight million copies in America alone. Worldwide, it sold twice as much.
Bolton won another Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, this time for "When a Man Loves a Woman," but he had to put up with abuse from two camps of detractors at the February 1992 ceremony. Just after Bolton had finished performing, pre-rock songwriter Irving Gordon won the Song of the Year award for "Unforgettable" and pointedly attacked songs that "scream, yell, and have a nervous breakdown" and singers who "have a hernia" when they sing. Then, backstage, Bolton faced a hostile press corps of critics unhappy with his tendency to mimic great soul singers like Redding, Ray Charles, and Sledge. Bolton suggested they apply their lips to a certain part of his anatomy. He further responded with Timeless: The Classics in September 1992, an album made up entirely of classic cover songs. It went to number one, sold three million copies, and featured a Top 40 hit in Bolton's version of the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody." Bolton's next album of original material, The One Thing, came in November 1993. It hit the Top Ten, sold three million copies, and featured the Top Ten hit "Said I Loved You...But I Lied." Bolton celebrated his decade-long string of hits with a best-of compilation, Greatest Hits 1985-1995, which debuted in the Top Ten. This Is the Time: Christmas Album appeared one year later.
After topping the adult contemporary charts with "Go the Distance," a song he produced and recorded for the Disney film Hercules, Bolton returned in late 1997 with All That Matters, his first album of new material since 1993's The One Thing. Instead of continuing his success, however, it was a surprise flop, failing to generate a hit single and barely cracking the Top 40. It fell out of the charts altogether after 15 weeks. Even so, its lack of success didn't stop Bolton from turning his attention to My Secret Passion, a collection of opera and arias that he released in January 1998. By classical standards, the album was a hit, and the record received a great deal of press and surprisingly good reviews. He supported the two albums with a summer tour co-headlined by Wynonna Judd. Bolton then voluntarily stepped back for almost four years, disappearing from the public eye until the spring of 2002 when he began promoting Only a Woman Like You, his first album for Jive Records.
After a brief sabbatical, he returned with Til the End of Forever, a hybrid album of seven new recordings and a live greatest-hits concert. In 2006, he released Bolton Swings Sinatra, a 12-song tribute to Ol' Blue Eyes that included a duet with fiancée/actress Nicollette Sheridan. One World One Love, an album featuring collaborations with Ne-Yo and Lady Gaga, arrived three years later in the U.K., followed by an American release in 2010. Bolton took part in the 11th season of Dancing with the Stars later that year, having already endeared himself to reality TV fans with 2007's Clash of the Choirs. He also collaborated with comedy troupe the Lonely Island by singing on the hip-hop parody "Jack Sparrow," which debuted as a digital short on Saturday Night Live before appearing on the Lonely Island's second album, Turtleneck & Chain. Keeping the collaborative spirit alive, he released 2011's Gems: The Duets Collection, an album featuring duets with vocalists (Seal, Delta Goodrem), country groups (Rascal Flatts), and instrumentalists (guitarist Orianthi).
Two years later, Bolton saluted the legendary Motown Records with the full-length album Ain't No Mountain High Enough: A Tribute to Hitsville USA. The album debuted at number 38 upon its February 2013 release and, a little over a year later, it appeared in a revised form featuring a duet with Leona Lewis on the title track. Also in 2013, Bolton published a memoir called The Soul of It All: My Music, My Life. Bolton's next big project arrived in 2017, when he released Songs of Cinema -- a collection of ten songs that appeared in popular films over the years -- in February. That same month, Michael Bolton's Big, Sexy Valentine's Day Special appeared on Netflix.
William Ruhlmann
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text:
Web resources related to the book,
You Are Not a Gadget
by Jaron Lanier
Please read these Frequently Asked Questions. (I am updating them as I get feedback about the book, so please check in on them from time to time.)
Yet more questions: the book's political and economic arguments.
Yet more questions: Jaron and Microsoft (including archival materials)
Jaron's on the TIME 100 list for 2010
Some links related to the book:
Written by Jaron:
NY Times oped on fanaticism in digital politics
Remembering Steve Jobs in Communications of the ACM
Video and transcript introducing the Local/Global Flip, on edge.org
In the New Statesman (UK), memories of Silicon Valley
Recollections of 9/11 in an anthology (note this was done shortly after the attack, and my views have not remained fixed since then)
In The Atlantic On the Wikileaks saga, but really about the role of hacker culture in the world at large
In WSJ on future of somatic computing
NY Times magazine essay on technology and education
NY Times piece on new religious ideas arising from technology culture (also available in Best Science and Nature Writing of 2011)
Future of human "specialness" in the Chronicle of Higher Education - with loads of troll comments that you might think I planted in order to make my point, but are for real so far as I know
Jaron's OpEd in Wall Street Journal: A summary of the economic futurism argument
Jaron's answer to the annual Edge question: File sharing is a form of death denial
These four things are connected via computer science: God, memory, money, and lying - Essay by Jaron in Playboy Forum (Not sure if this is "Safe For Work")
Read an excerpt from the book via the NY Times
Read a different excerpt in Harper's Magazine (if you're a subscriber)
Essay in Communications of the ACM - a journal for computer scientists (for members)
Reviews, interviews, profiles, etc. (there have been way to many to keep track of- this is just a sampling):
Music Gig Review in SF Weekly (scroll down)
Conversation on Bloggingheads/Slate
Interview on NPR's All Things Considered
In the Forward 50
Profile in The New Yorker
Clip of appearance on MSNBC
One of the year's 10 best nonfiction books in Time Magazine
One of the year's 10 best books, in NY Times
Review of Gadget and The Social Network movie in the New York Review of Books by Zadie Smith
Jaron one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2010
Profile of Jaron in The Economist
First on a list of the top non-fiction books of the year at Popular Mechanics
One of the top 5 "staying human in a high tech world" books according to Psychology Today
Story on Jaron and his new symphony in The Chronicle of Higher Education
Report on Jaron at SXSW
Michiko Kakutani's NY Times review
Story in LA Times
Review in Guardian UK
Story in San Francisco Chronicle
Review in The Independent
Bloomberg top five business books
Review in Newsweek
LA Times review
Short List in Time mag
Tierney in NY Times
Amazon best books of the month
Business Week: Conan and Jaron
New Yorker review
Radio and TV (once again, only a small sampling of recent examples):
Radio interview by Moira Gunn on Tech Nation
Radio interview by Steve Scher on KUOW
Appearance on PBS NEWSHOUR
My friends and I at my antediluvian Silicon Valley startup called VPL created the first avatars in Virtual Reality... that was quite a time.
Here's an interesting early press report and interview about the first avatars and improvised worlds in Virtual Reality
In the first printing (which only lasted three days) Ben Shneiderman's name was misspelled (as Schneiderman) - This is a bummer because I'd like more people to be aware of his work and contributions, even though he and I don't agree on everything.
For lecture engagements, please contact:
Steven Barclay Agency
12 Western Avenue
Petaluma, CA 94952
Tel 707-773-0654
Web www.barclayagency.com
Close up of the UK edition cover, to make the abridged version of the book's opening legible:
Blurbs on the back of the USA edition:
"Thrilling and thought-provoking . . .
A necessary corrective in the echo chamber of technology debates.
You Are Not a Gadget challenges many dominant ideologies and poses theoretical questions,
the answers to which might start with one bright bulb, but depend on the friction
of engaged parties. In other words, Lanier is acting like a computer scientist.
Let's hope he is not alone."
-John Freeman, San Francisco Chronicle
"Poetic and prophetic, this could be the most important book of the year.
The knee-jerk notion that the net as it is being developed sets us free is
turned on its head . . . Read this book and rise up against net regimentation!"
-Iain Finlayson, The Times (London)
"Inspired, infuriating and utterly necessary . . . Lanier tells of the
loss of a hi-tech Eden, of the fall from play into labour, obedience and faith.
Welcome to the century's first great plea for a 'new digital humanism' against
the networked conformity of cyber-space. This eloquent, eccentric riposte comes
from a sage of the virtual world who assures us that, in spite of its crimes and
follies, 'I love the internet.' That provenance will only deepen its impact,
and broaden its appeal."
-Boyd Tonkin, The Independent (London)
"Sparky, thought-provoking . . . This is good knockabout stuff, and Lanier
clearly enjoys rethinking received tech wisdom: his book is a refreshing
change from Silicon Valley's usual hype."
-Paul Marks, New Scientist
"Important . . . Highly relevant . . . An impassioned and original
critique of what the digital world has become . . . A much-needed
defence of the humanist values that are being trampled underfoot . . .
If ever there was an answer to the question, 'Who needs thinkers when
you have Wikipedia?', this book is surely it."
-John Stones, Design Week (UK)
"Provocative . . . [Lanier] confronts the big issues with bracing
directness . . . The reader sits up. One of the insider's insiders
of the computing world seems to have gone rogue."
-Sven Birkerts, The Boston Globe
"Lanier's detractors have accused him of Ludditism, but his argument
will make intuitive sense to anyone concerned with questions of
propriety, responsibility, and authenticity."
-The New Yorker
"From crowd-sourcing to social networking and mash-ups, Lanier dismantles
the tropes of the current online culture."
-Bloomberg.com, "Five Top Business Books" (so far this year)
"A call for a more humanistic-to say nothing of humane-alternative future
in which the individual is celebrated more than the crowd and the unique
more than the homogenized . . . You Are Not a Gadget may be its own best
argument for exalting the creativity of the individual over the collective
efforts of the 'hive mind.' It's the work of a singular visionary, and offers
a hopeful message: Resistance may not be futile after all."
-Rich Jaroslovsky, Bloomberg.com
"Lanier asks some important questions . . . He offers thoughtful
solutions . . . Gadget is an essential first step at harnessing
a post-Google world."
-Eli Sanders, The Stranger (Seattle)
"[You are Not a Gadget] delivers a powerful reminder of the
limits of the Web's capacity to meet our needs-and its power to
shape us to its will . . . Lanier speaks with urgency and inspiration . . .
He imagines a radically different Internet-one free of protocol and
control, in which liberation and originality are infinite and
self-sustaining . . . For its brevity and ambition, his book is a
marvelous antidote to our computerized complaisance. As You Are Not a Gadget
bounces from anecdote to thought experiment, picking up and plugging in a
dizzying array of ideas as if they were so many components in a big, beautiful
computer, Lanier furnishes us with a model for engaged and
thoughtful citizens of cyberspace."
-Matthew Battles, The Barnes & Noble Review
"A provocative and sure-to-be-controversial book . . . Lucid,
powerful and persuasive. It is necessary reading for anyone
interested in how the Web and the software we use every day are
reshaping culture and the marketplace."
-Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
"Important . . . At the bottom of Lanier's cyber-tinkering is
a fundamentally humanist faith in technology, a belief that
wisely designed machines can bring us closer together by expanding
the possibilities of creative self-expression . . . His mind is
a fascinating place to hang out."
-Ben Ehrenreich, Los Angeles Times
"Persuasive . . . [Lanier] is the first great apostate
of the Internet era."
-David Wallace-Wells, Newsweek
"Lanier turns a philosopher's eye to our everyday
online tools . . . The reader is compelled to engage
with his work, to assent, contradict, and contemplate.
In this, Lanier's manifesto is not just a success, but
a meta-success . . . Lovers of the Internet and all its
possibilities owe it to themselves to plunge into
Lanier's [You Are Not a Gadget] and look hard in the mirror.
He's not telling us what to think; he's challenging us
to take a hard look at our cyberculture, and emerge
with new creative inspiration."
-Carolyn Kellogg, Flavorwire
"A must read for 2010."
-Library Journal
"I am drawn to books written like Liza Minnelli sings: loud,
emotional, sentimental and unpredictable. Jaron Lanier's You
Are Not a Gadget falls into this category. Two people should
not read this book: Malcolm Gladwell and Chris Anderson. For
the rest of us, this monograph is the intellectual equivalent
of a trip to Blackpool. It is raw, raucous and unexpected. It
is also a hell of a lot of fun. ... For those who wish
to read to think, and read to transform, You Are Not a Gadget is
a book to begin the 2010s."
- Tara Brabazon, Times Higher Education
Want to purchase "You Are Not a Gadget" through an independent bookseller near you? You can find one by following this link.
Go back to Jaron's home page.