Coffee Fungus Outbreak Resumes

Researchers are marshaling technology in a bid to thwart the harvest-threatening outbreak in Central America

By Daniel Cressey and Nature magazine

Coffee growers are worried that a fungal outbreak will affect the next harvest of coffee berries. Image: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Where there is coffee, there is ?coffee rust?. But the long stalemate between growers and the fungus behind the devastating disease has broken ? with the fungus taking the advantage. As one of the most severe outbreaks ever rages through Central America, researchers are reaching for the latest tools in an effort to combat the pest, from sequencing its genome to cross-breeding coffee plants with resistant strains.

Caused by the fungus Hemileia vastatrix, coffee rust generally does not kill plants, but the Institute of Coffee of Costa Rica estimates that the latest outbreak may halve the 2013?14 harvest in the worst affected areas of the nation. This outbreak is ?the worst we?ve seen in Central America and Mexico since the rust arrived? in the region more than 40 years ago, says John Vandermeer, an ecologist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who has received ?reports of devastation in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Mexico?.

At his research plot in Mexico, Vandermeer says that the situation is so bad that the leaves are simply dropping off the plants. More than 60% of the trees have at least 80% defoliation, and 30% have no leaves at all.

On 22?January, Costa Rica enacted emergency legislation to speed up the flow of government money towards fighting the fungus. Other nations are also stepping up the fight. Last week, the Nicaraguan government reportedly declared that it would include coffee rust on a list of special research projects designed to safeguard the country?s agriculture.

The fungus first emerged as a significant problem by 1869 in Ceylon ? now Sri Lanka ? before spreading around the world. Stuart McCook, a historian at the University of Guelph in Canada who studies the rust, says that the wet weather in some areas of Ceylon was ideal for the spread of the fungus, and more than 90% of coffee crops were wiped out in those regions. Faced with an economic catastrophe, the country abandoned coffee for the tea it is associated with today. The disease is so universal that it ?is not going to be eradicated; or the only way to eradicate the disease in practice is to eradicate all of the coffee?, says McCook.

By 1970, the fungus had been detected in Brazil, and severe outbreaks were seen in Costa Rica in 1980 and Nicaragua in 1995, says Jacques Avelino, a plant pathologist at Costa Rica?s Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center, based in San Jos?.

But changes to management practices had brought the disease mostly under control. ?Coffee rust was considered a solved problem by most of the coffee growers and coffee institutes of the region?, says Avelino. ?People didn?t fear the disease.? The outbreak may have taken hold because of patchy use and effectiveness of fungicides.

And in Africa, Noah Phiri, a plant pathologist working in Nairobi for the not-for-profit development organization CABI, says that rust has been causing ever-greater problems, although in Kenya, varieties resistant to the rust have held it at bay.

Colombia could be the closest to a solution. Marco Aurelio Cristancho, a researcher at Cenicaf?, the National Center for the Investigation of Coffee in Chinchin?, says that the government has supported research into developing resistant strains of coffee through crossbreeding. The introduction of resistant strains, together with improved weather monitoring to help predict rust outbreaks, has meant that fewer than 10% of plants now need to be treated with fungicide, down from 60% four years ago, Cristancho says. The government has also supported work on the genetics of both the fungus and the plant.

Research programs have started in other countries, too. At the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Valdir Diola is working to isolate resistance genes in coffee and to find molecular markers that distinguish between different strains of the pathogen and that could be used to develop tailored strategies for its control. And in the United Kingdom, Harry Evans is working on the genome of H.?vastatrix at CABI in Egham. In Nairobi, Phiri is using money from the intergovernmental agency the Common Fund for Commodities, as well as from Kenya, India, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe, to screen for resistant coffee plants and to analyze varieties of the pathogen.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=880de4d91414aaa872c31570a1787b20

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Coach Tours of Ireland

The Day Tour of Wicklow departs from Dublin daily taking in breathtaking scenery at the Wicklow Mountains, Glencree, Sally Gap, Lough Tay, Glendalough, The Meeting of the Waters and Avoca (Ballykissangel).

Visit the 6th century monastic site at Glendalough with free time to walk through the valley of the two lakes. For your comfort and enjoyment we at Coach Tours of Ireland use only luxery air-conditioned midi touring coaches and Failte Ireland approved tour guides.

Price:
?24.00 Adults
?22.00 Students

Departures:
9.00 Suffolk St, Dublin 2 (Dublin Tourist office)
9.15 O'Connell Street, Dublin 1 (Dublin Tourist office)
9.30 Leeson St. Dublin 4 (Burlington Hotel)
9.40 Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 (D4 Hotel)

Returns:
17.00 Approx

Source: http://www.visitdublin.com/Asset/See_and_Do/Coach_Tours_of_Ireland

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After school massacre, Newtown residents urge stricter gun control

NEWTOWN, Connecticut (Reuters) - Parents and neighbors of the children killed in last month's Connecticut school shooting implored state lawmakers at a hearing on Wednesday to ban the powerful rifle and high-capacity magazines used in the massacre.

As parents, first responders and town officials spoke at the Newtown high school, many in the audience of about 600 people gave standing ovations and wept.

"We lost our son Benjamin" to an "unstable, suicidal individual who had access to a weapon that has no place in a home," said David Wheeler. "Military-style assault weapons belong in an armory under lock and key. They do not belong in a weapons safe in a home."

Legislators in Washington and around the United States are grappling with how to keep Americans safe from gun violence in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that killed 20 children and six adults.

Gun control advocates argue that the AR 15-type assault weapon and high-capacity magazines used by the gunman do not belong in the hands of civilians. Gun rights advocates say that any attempt to ban assault weapons or high-capacity magazines is a prelude to stripping Americans of their constitutional right to bear arms.

President Barack Obama has called on Congress to approve an overhaul of the nation's gun laws, including an expansion of background checks for gun sales. On Wednesday, former U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords - who was shot in the head in a mass shooting two years ago in Tucson - urged her former colleagues to act.

Many of the proposals made by Connecticut lawmakers, including an assault weapons ban and expanding background checks, are similar to bills under consideration also in Washington.

But while previous hearings held in the state capitol of Hartford have featured strong disagreement, especially on gun control, most of those testifying in the hearing in Newtown shared the view that assault weapons do not belong in the hands of civilians.

"I cannot agree that weapons such as the Bushmaster can play a legitimate role in a society that first and foremost seeks to keep its citizens safe," said Newtown first selectman Pat Llodra, the town's top elected official.

But there were dissenting voices as well.

Nicole Hockley, whose son Dylan died in the massacre, said she hoped the tragedy would help inspire changes in how society cares for the mentally ill.

She likened guns to high-speed cars: "In the hands of an expert, it is safe and possibly thrilling. In the hands of a person with mental imbalances, emotional immaturity or recklessness, it is a death machine."

Peter Paradis' stepdaughter, 29-year-old Rachel Davino, was one of six educators killed in the massacre. He said he supported logical solutions to gun violence, like more background checks, but he said he thought the shooting has been used to satisfy political agendas.

"If we had responsible gun ownership this wouldn't have happened," Paradis said. He said better education for gun owners, as well as stationing armed guards in schools, would make people safer.

"It's a right given to us, but it's also a privilege," he said.

(Reporting by Edith Honan; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/school-massacre-newtown-residents-urge-stricter-gun-control-062607865.html

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Microsoft Surface Pro has a BIG storage problem

Microsoft is no stranger to controversy, even attracting negative attention when it comes to the advertised storage of its own Surface tablet lineup. The interwebs buzzed after the company admitted the shortcomings of Surface RT, which only comes with 16GB of user-accessible storage in 32GB trim, and now the same issue is raising its head all over again with Surface Pro, just days before the big launch.

As most knowledgeable Windows users will concede, Microsoft's latest consumer operating system does take up quite a bit of storage space due to its fully-fledged nature. For example, on my personal computer running Windows 8 Pro 64-bit, the "Windows" folder by itself uses just over 16GB. So it's not overly difficult to imagine Windows 8 Pro will take up a lot of Surface Pro's free space. Of course this is something that educated pundits surely know (or at least they should).

After reaching out to Microsoft regarding the user-accessible storage on Surface Pro, a company spokesperson stated the following for BetaNews:

The 128 GB version of Surface Pro has 83 GB of free storage out of the box. The 64GB version of Surface Pro has 23GB of free storage out of the box. Surface Pro has a USB 3.0 port for connectivity with almost limitless storage options, including external hard drives and USB flash drives. Surface also comes pre-loaded with SkyDrive, allowing you to store up to 7GB of content in the cloud for free. The device also includes a microSDXC card slot that lets you store up to 64GB of additional content to your device. Customers can also free up additional storage space by creating a backup bootable USB and deleting the recovery partition.

First of all it has to be explained that the actual formatted capacity is different from the advertised figure due to the way software computes available storage. To give you an idea of the difference between the two, the 240GB Intel SSD 330 Series drive in my computer only has 223.57GB accessible.?Similarly, the 64GB and 128GB Surface Pro models have about 59.52GB and 119.05GB respectively available for the operating system and software.

Windows 8 Pro with all its bells and whistles (including the recovery partition) robs the user of roughly 36GB of space, which is fairly normal considering the high storage requirements that the operating system actually has. At the same time Microsoft's answer explains why there is no 32GB Surface Pro model -- the pre-installed software simply cannot fit.?By contrast, Windows RT only needs roughly 13GB. The question here is: Does this loss of space in the Pro version really matter?

Surface Pro is designed for business users, and they will have to choose the right version with even greater care compared to Surface RT. The 64GB model only has 23GB of free storage, whereas the 128GB variant comes with more user-accessible storage at 83GB. Depending on the user's requirements the entry-level model might be a tight fit seeing as the tablet is designed to run fairly large apps such as Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk AutoCAD and similar programs. Therein lies the problem -- the entry-level model is just not "roomy" enough for a demanding user's peace of mind over time.

Microsoft says that the microSDXC card slot on Surface Pro can house (up to) 64GB memory cards, which indeed can be used to store "additional content" but that is not an acceptable alternative to the internal SSD drive (which is faster) for installing apps. An external card is mostly designed to be swappable, not to house installed software, which can be an issue when dealing with and going through multiple memory cards throughout the day.

The 64GB Surface Pro model retails for $899, while the 128GB Surface Pro runs for $999. In spending $100 more, prospective users can take advantage of a further 60GB of internal storage, or 2.6 times as much as the entry-level model. The difference in pricing is not all that substantial when we're basically comparing two very expensive devices and can be easily justified by the benefits it provides both in the immediate future as well as in the long run.

Sure, users can regain some occupied storage by removing the recovery partition and using a bootable backup USB drive instead, but then again it's not exactly a sensible alternative to buying the 128GB Surface Pro variant. Microsoft didn't mention how much storage the recovery partition actually uses which leads me to believe that it's not really all that much. Which makes sense seeing as Windows 8 only needs the installation disc (which takes up less than 4GB) to perform a factory reset or restore.

So where does that leave the prospective Surface Pro buyer? Well, after all is said and done, to my mind the only model worth buying is the 128GB Surface Pro, which will allow users to install a higher number of applications and even store some multimedia content without worrying about memory cards or lugging around portable HDDs alongside an already large and fairly heavy tablet.

Source: http://feeds.betanews.com/~r/bn/~3/kGpTjfsX9os/

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Report: Louisiana's poor pay higher tax rate than the rich ... - The Lens

Jindal

The poor in Louisiana pay twice as much of their income in state and local taxes as do the rich, a new study shows.

The report, released Wednesday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a liberal, Washington, D.C.-based group, will likely raise more questions about Gov. Bobby Jindal?s plan to eliminate income and corporate taxes and replace them with additional sales taxes. That plan is already facing criticism that it would hit the poor hardest.

Though virtually all states tax the poor at higher rates than the wealthy, the disparity in Louisiana makes for one of the most regressive tax systems in the country, the report found. A regressive tax structure results in the poor paying a higher percentage of their income than do middle-class residents and the rich. The Jindal plan seems likely to make Louisiana even more regressive because of its mounting reliance on sales taxes, an impost that falls most heavily on the poor.

?It is a standard finding in the public finance literature that the sales tax is the most regressive, the income tax the most progressive and the property tax falls in between,? said Steven Sheffrin, a Tulane economics professor who is director of the university?s Murphy Institute.

The 20 percent poorest of non-elderly families in Louisiana paid 10.6 percent of their family?s income in state and local taxes while the richest 1 percent paid 4.6 percent, the ITEP study found.

?The study says we already have a regressive system in Louisiana,? said Jan Moller, director of the Louisiana Budget Project, a liberal Baton Rouge-based research and advocacy group. Under the Jindal plan, ?it would get worse. The only question is how much worse. You can make a bad plan somewhat better, but that doesn?t solve the problem.?

Tim Barfield, executive counsel to Jindal?s Revenue Department, has said the governor plans to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit for the poor to offset the higher sales taxes. The credit amounts to a negative tax rate for low-income residents.

About 70 days before the Legislature convenes on April 8, Jindal, ?has yet to reveal details of his plan to Louisiana taxpayers. He has been busy speaking to Republican groups around the country.

Eliminating income and corporate taxes would cost the state about $3 billion a year, state figures show. To offset the lost revenue?which Jindal says he intends to do?he is expected to favor raising ?the state sales tax and imposing taxes on some activities and purchases that are currently exempt. His aides have said, however, that Jindal won?t touch the exemptions on groceries, prescription drugs and home utility bills.

Jindal and Barfield have indicated that they want to focus not on whose taxes will be lowered or raised but on how the plan will spur investment and job creation in Louisiana.

Greg Albrecht, the chief economist for the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Office, published a commentary Wednesday that questions how much extra tax revenue the Jindal plan might produce.

The ?macroeconomic effects of such a tax swap are likely to be small, if they exist at all,? Albrecht wrote. ?States in general do not really have macroeconomic policy
capability. States cannot manipulate the money supply or interests rates, and have to balance their budgets annually. Elimination of income taxes will increase disposable income, but the spending of total disposable income will be subject to higher taxation.?

The Jindal administration did not respond to a request for a comment on the ITEP study.

The ITEP study overall found that virtually every state taxes the poor at higher rates than the wealthy. The states with the 10 most regressive tax systems include Texas and Florida, which don?t have income taxes and rely on sales taxes for their revenue. Jindal has said he wants to model Louisiana?s tax system on those two states.

Source: http://thelensnola.org/2013/01/30/report-louisianas-poor-pay-higher-tax-rate-than-the-rich/

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Cell Phone Towers Pluck Birds

Click here to listen to this podcast

As you chatter on your smartphone, the death toll rises?almost 7 million birds are killed each year when they fly into communication towers that make cellphone conversations possible. Worse, the towers often kill birds that are already rare. So says a study in the journal Biological Conservation. [Travis Longcore et al, Avian mortality at communication towers in the United States and Canada: which species, how many, and where?] For example, tower impacts kill more than 2,000 yellow rails per year. That's roughly 9 percent of the total population. Ninety-seven percent of all birds killed are songbirds, especially warblers. The red-eyed vireo suffers some of the biggest losses, some 581,000 deaths annually, though that represents less than 1 percent of its population. The Southeast and Midwest lead the country in tower-bird collisions. That's because these regions have the largest concentrations of the tallest towers, up to 900 feet high. While all of the more than 80,000 communication towers in North America cause problems, the roughly 1,000 tallest towers cause 70 percent of the bird deaths, luring birds to their doom with red warning lights that are always on. A partial solution is relatively simple: replacing the always-on red lights with blinking ones could cut the deaths by as much as 70 percent. Otherwise, Twitter could have a monopoly on tweets. ?David Biello [The above text is a transcript of this podcast]? Yellow rail and red-eyed vireo sounds courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Follow Scientific American on Twitter @SciAm and @SciamBlogs. Visit ScientificAmerican.com for the latest in science, health and technology news.
? 2013 ScientificAmerican.com. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cell-phone-towers-pluck-birds-195208518.html

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Disabled men in Bosnia want prostitution legalized

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) ? Members of a Bosnia wheelchair basketball club are launching a campaign to legalize prostitution in the country to help disabled people "achieve their right to love."

Marinko Umicevic, president of the club Vrbas, said Wednesday that Bosnia had to catch up with 21st century Europe, where he said some people with disabilities "even get state subsidies to pay for sex."

Umicevic said some of his players had never had sex and legalizing the sex trade would help people like them achieve their basic rights. Club members were organizing a petition on the proposal in Banja Luka.

Along the same theme, Helen Hunt received an Oscar nomination this year for best supporting actress for her portrayal of a sex worker helping a disabled man in the movie "The Sessions."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-30-Bosnia-Prostitution/id-e255d3e15fff410487c1a19acd6aade7

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Would James Franco Ever Have Sex Onscreen?

'Interior. Leather Bar.' co-director tells MTV News he'd consider it 'under the right circumstances.'
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

James Franco
Photo: MTV News

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1700989/james-franco-sex-onscreen-interior-leather-bar.jhtml

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95% The Central Park Five

All Critics (61) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (58) | Rotten (3)

Expect your blood pressure to rise during The Central Park Five.

The doc is rife with smart or wrenching or shameful moments. The fresh interviews with the accused, now men, are invaluable.

As grim a portrait of the criminal justice system as can be imagined.

How could this second crime have occurred? The film asks that question but only partly answers it, and in the process it raises an even more troubling one.

"The Central Park Five" is worth seeing, both for the ways it's timeless and for the ways it encapsulates an era.

What's amazing about listening to them speak now, often through tears, is the absence of bitterness.

Like the "Paradise Lost" films, it's a shocking but clear-eyed portrait of injustice.

The Central Park Five is such a moving piece of work, it is difficult to watch at times.

It shows what happens when police and prosecutors abuse their power.

Puts the crime and the times in sharp perspective.

Burns and company conduct a thorough, riveting investigation that does a far better job of assessing the tragedy than the justice system did two decades before. Of course, hindsight is an advantage we all take for granted.

It's a gripping story that comes in a well-crafted package.

A heartbreaking expose' about a rush to judgment which ruined five, innocent young lives.

Exclusive interviews with former heads of Israel's counter terrorism agency reveal insiders' analysis about the country's policies. Fascinating. Frightening.

"The Central Park Five" is a sobering indictment of racism and vigilante justice, yet it is constrained by a PBS-style deference to the very system it critiques.

You can't help but wonder why this film wasn't made 20 years ago, when it could have saved these men some time behind bars.

What keeps the film from being an impossible downer is the guts and spirit and smart words of the Central Park Five, four of whom, now freed, are interviewed at length.

A miscarriage of justice on this scale would have been tragic had it resulted from an honest mistake - but, as this meticulously researched movie makes clear, honesty had little to do with it.

The [documentary] team builds a solid story from the time of the crime through the release from prison those wrongly accused and railroaded into confessing to a crime they did not commit.

No quotes approved yet for The Central Park Five. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_central_park_five_2012/

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Economics and Investing: - SurvivalBlog.com

This page contains a single entry by Jim Rawles published on January 30, 2013 1:07 AM.

Odds 'n Sods: was the previous entry in this blog.

Letter Re: California as a Precursor: Thoughts on Feinstein's Ban Bill is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Source: http://www.survivalblog.com/2013/01/economics-and-investing-1424.html

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RIM: A brief history from Budgie to BlackBerry 10

Listen to much of the chatter about Research in Motion today and you'll hear the launch of BlackBerry 10 described in almost apocalyptic terms. All-or-nothing. Live-or-die. Make-or-break. There's some truth to the extreme language, but BlackBerry 10 is really just the latest in a series of transformational moments for a company that has frequently had to adapt to survive. In that sense, the appreciation for crises and opportunities is almost as natural as breathing for RIM. What's less certain is whether or not the company in 2013 is as capable of wholesale shifts in strategy as it was for much of its not quite 30-year history. Read on to see why reform is possible, but won't be quite so easy.

For its first two decades, RIM often showed the traits of a scrappy startup. It had nothing to lose and was willing to turn its business model on a dime to stay afloat. More importantly, it also had a simple, overriding determination to spread wireless data to the masses, no matter how that would come to pass. That gave it a leg up over contemporary technology stalwarts like Apple, Microsoft and Palm, all of whom were at least slightly behind RIM in seeing the value of truly instant mobile communication. CEO Mike Lazaridis (and eventual co-CEO Jim Balsillie) would see a void in the market, whether it was two-way paging or mobile email, and switch strategies to fill it.

The company spent more time trying to justify its existing smartphone philosophy and less time getting ahead of trends.

As the 2000s wore on, however, RIM slowed down. Much of the decade revolved around entrenching what we know as the core BlackBerry business model, where messaging-focused smartphones ship to large-scale customers. The company acknowledged the consumer world as early as 2003, but its approach was increasingly reactionary. We wouldn't have had the BlackBerry Storm without the iPhone popularizing touchscreens first, for example. The company spent more time trying to justify its existing smartphone philosophy and less time getting ahead of trends, even as it lost its market share advantage and started working on BlackBerry 10. Some saw the eventual departures of Lazaridis, Balsillie and a slew of executives as necessary to undo an institutionalized resistance to change.

The launch of BlackBerry 10 isn't just the test of a software redesign, then. It's gauging whether or not a leaner RIM is once again nimble enough to stay relevant. We haven't quite returned to the company's early days, but its current position is an uncannily familiar one where RIM has to bet the farm on a new project. The difference? RIM isn't entering an untapped wireless market this time. While it's on better footing than a defunct mobile veteran like Palm, there's not much room for a second chance. Follow along with our timeline to see just how RIM's opportunities opened up, closed shut and maybe (just maybe) opened up again with a new OS.

1984 - 1994

Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin officially founded Research in Motion on March 7th, 1984 with a desire to commercialize Budgie, a system that wirelessly displayed information on a TV screen. It generated enough business to let RIM take on side projects, including a film barcode reader, but the real kick start was the arrival of one of the earliest wireless data networks, Mobitex. Software deals to support it led to the 1993 launch of RIMGate, the precursor to BlackBerry Enterprise Server, and wireless point-of-sale terminals in 1994. This early period also saw the introduction of Jim Balsillie, who met Lazaridis while trying to negotiate a purchase of RIM in 1992 and quickly became the future BlackBerry maker's VP of Finance. Few other companies were as actively interested in mobile data at the time: apart from Mobitex creator Ericsson, the most conspicuous participant was IBM, whose smartphone-like Simon Personal Communicator went on sale briefly in 1994 and still depended on a 2,400-baud modem for data.

1995 - 2001

RIM's experience developing code for Mobitex led it to building hardware, starting with a PCMCIA modem in 1995. The company's first mobile messaging device, the RIM 900 Inter@ctive Pager, came a year later, followed by the smaller and more successful RIM 950 in 1998. The first hardware that resembled a BlackBerry as we know it today was the not-very-elegantly named RIM 957 from April 2000, but it only offered data and wasn't joined at the hip with the BlackBerry name. While the BlackBerry email service launched in January 1999 and went mobile with the 957, it would be three years before there was a proper BlackBerry phone. More smartphone-like technology was emerging in the form of devices like the Nokia 9000 series in 1996, Ericsson's Symbian-based R380 in 2000 and the Palm OS-running Kyocera 6035 in 2001, although few would say they cracked the market wide open when the PDA side was either crude or entirely separate. This was Palm's heyday, and many were still satisfied with a cellphone in one hand and a PDA in the other.

2002 - 2005

The BlackBerry era started in earnest in March 2002, when RIM unveiled the BlackBerry 5810. It was the first handheld from RIM to carry GSM and GPRS, although phone service was almost incidental when owners had to plug in a headset just to make calls. The situation got better when the 6710 and beyond had audio hardware built-in. Color came with the 7200 and 7700 series in 2003, but the real breakthroughs were the 6200 series from that year and the 7100 in 2004, which were explicitly targeted at "prosumers" who wanted a BlackBerry for personal use. In 2005, the 8700 series took the 7100's sleeker aesthetic to the high-end; for many, it was the first modern BlackBerry, where a polished design, phone features and a full keyboard were all in one device. Not that RIM could rest on its laurels. Nokia, Palm and others had thrown themselves wholeheartedly into smartphones, and Microsoft's launches of Pocket PC 2002 and Windows Mobile provided a start for smartphone makers that would eventually play important roles, like HTC.

2006 - 2007

It's at the middle of last decade that RIM simultaneously reached its creative zenith and sowed the seeds of its decline. The BlackBerry Pearl of 2006 was the company's first phone built expressly for the regular public, and had such radical concepts (for RIM) as a camera and dedicated media playback. Both the Pearl and the QWERTY-equipped Curve of 2007 would be key to an explosion in sales over the next few years. However, it's also in 2007 that Apple launched the iPhone and began the public's love affair with touchscreens in their mobile devices. RIM's response, even into 2010, was to downplay the threat; it argued that customers needed hardware keyboards. It was difficult to know then just how dangerous the attitude would be when others were similarly dismissive -- see Steve Ballmer's jab that the iPhone was too expensive to succeed, for example -- but it's clear in hindsight that RIM had put the blinders on at the very moment its eyes needed to be wide open.

2008 - 2009

Despite its love of physical keys, RIM's solution to newfound competition was to hedge its bets. Traditionalists got the upscale Bold 9000 line in May 2008; would-be Android and iPhone converts got the BlackBerry Storm in November of that year. BlackBerry App World also countered the Android Market and the App Store several months after the fact, in 2009. The platform reached a peak of 20.8 percent market share in the third quarter that same year, according to Gartner, but the bloom was already starting to come off the rose. The iPhone 3GS helped Apple outsell RIM for the first time, as Steve Jobs noted that fall. Hype for the Storm quickly fizzled out, and Verizon's edition of the Storm 2 launched the same day in October 2009 as the more heavily promoted (and ultimately more successful) Motorola Droid. RIM could mostly take comfort in knowing that the competing Nokia N97 and Palm Pre also did little to halt the declines of their respective creators.

2010

RIM was aware that the BlackBerry needed more than just a small tuneup, and spent much of 2010 laying the groundwork for an overhaul. It bought real-time OS developer QNX in April for code that would eventually power BlackBerry Tablet OS and BlackBerry 10. Help building the interface would come in December, through the acquisition of mobile software developer The Astonishing Tribe. We quickly saw early results from the QNX deal when RIM previewed its first-ever tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook, in September. Mobile customers weren't patient enough to wait for a finished product: Apple eventually eclipsed RIM's market share on a more permanent basis and more and more of the BlackBerry's loyal enterprise users were among those switching to Android and the iPhone. Most long-serving competitors weren't faring much better. Palm's overcommitment to Sprint and its missed opportunity with Verizon led HP to snatch it up. The year was ultimately defined by Android, which Gartner says catapulted from a token 3.9 percent of the smartphone market in 2009 to 22.7 percent for 2010, just behind a rapidly crumbling Symbian.

2011

RIM arguably faced its nadir of public perception in 2011. The PlayBook was rushed to market in April and tanked badly enough to require fire sale pricing for unsold stock -- in part because it initially lacked the very messaging features that were supposed to be RIM's strong suit. BlackBerry 7 devices like the Bold 9900 series gave RIM's legacy platform a last hurrah, but a sustained, worldwide service outage stained the line's reputation (and the company's) in October. Building the $2,000 Porsche Design P'9981 BlackBerry and losing the BBX trademark dispute didn't exactly endear RIM to the public, either. Management was increasingly seen as the problem, rather than the solution, as disappointing earnings and delays became the order of the day. The firm escaped the ignominy of Palm's fate, which saw HP reduce webOS to a side project, but was well behind Nokia in the reinvention process, which already had Windows Phone-based devices shipping in late 2011. Apple and Google both took advantage of customer frustration with old stalwarts like Nokia and RIM, to the point where their respective iOS and Android platforms were the only ones gaining significant share. Gartner and other firms crowned Android as the market leader in the spring, and Apple would eventually rise to second place in 2012.

2012

The year of renewal... mostly. Balsillie and Lazaridis were out almost as soon as the year began, replaced by company veteran Thorsten Heins. He spent most of the year getting RIM's house in order, including thousands of job cuts among the rank and file. Multiple long-serving executives left, and little energy was put into new hardware outside of the already expected 4G PlayBook and budget phones. Most of the company's fate was now tied up in BlackBerry 10 and its matching devices. Heins ran into flak quickly: BlackBerry 10 was delayed into 2013, and the company started racking up significant losses after years of profit.

2013

RIM is starting 2013 much as it spent most of 2012. It's in a race to establish BlackBerry 10 as a truly credible third competitor among smartphone platforms before the industry shifts to an Apple / Google duopoly -- and before the cash runs dry.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, RIM

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/28/rim-a-brief-history-from-budgie-to-blackberry-10/

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E-Commerce Ideas for Small Business - Jason Tweed, the million ...

E-Commerce Ideas for Small Business

Is your business an e-business?

It should be, regardless of what type of business you operate.

E-commerce for Retailers

Some businesses make a logical connection to e-commerce. Retail and specialty stores are an obvious example. One of my first clients was a camera shop that sold high-end cameras and photo developing. In the 80s her business thrived with a downtown location and same day film developing, however she ran on hard times in the 90s when Wal-Mart and other stores started offering one-hour developing at dirt cheap prices. Wal-Mart would develop your film at cost because you would kill an hour shopping in their store. The impending digital revolution looked like it was going to be the nail in the coffin of the local camera shop. However, it was a unique time on the Internet. Many suppliers were reluctant to sell inventory to Internet-only businesses, and this is particularly true with high-end camera equipment. Professional photographers still had to special order merchandise locally. Man my client realized he wasn't going to make a living developing film, he focused his efforts on professionals. He started selling camera equipment on eBay, and developed a loyal following which translated into one of the first online camera shops. My client is retired now, however, she survived the transition from bricks and mortar to e-commerce, and thrived during the period when professionals moved from film to digital. Her loyal following came to her when they were replacing 100% of their gear. She sold the business to an e-commerce company and her day job became her nest egg.

E-commerce for B2B

Today most transactions happen online. At one time wholesalers and manufacturers got the bright idea to sell direct to consumers, but many of them found their best customers walk away when faced with online competition. Today smart manufacturers and distributors don't compete with their own customers. That doesn't mean, however, they don't sell online. Small manufacturers can sell products in bulk and create a website with detailed product descriptions, marketing resources and much more to help retailers maximize their profits. Furthermore, using the right e-commerce system, they can keep proprietary information out of the public eye and away from competitors. Even information such as tiered pricing for different types of customers can remain private except to the end-user. E-commerce shouldn't be a new way of doing business. A good e-commerce system focuses on extending the reach of your current business and empowering your marketing engine and customer service capabilities.

E-commerce for service businesses

Service businesses have an advantage in the digital world. A local camera store that moves to the Web is suddenly competing against thousands of other websites, some of them with very deep pockets and amazing logistics. Service businesses, however, have the advantage of a limited amount of local competition. If you're searching for carpet cleaners, IT companies, a chiropractor or a landscaper you're probably going to search locally using the web. You'll find half a dozen websites, and make the decision based on what you see and read. It's kind of like the Yellow Pages used to be; whoever had the largest ad wins most of the business. But what if your Yellow Pages ad could accept payments, schedule appointments, and even deliver a certain level of service in real-time? But then it wouldn't matter the size of your ad, it would be about the quality of your service. Service companies have the opportunity today to develop unique solutions for their e-businesses. Massage therapists can schedule appointments without answering the telephone. Cleaning services can quote a job based on square footage and other factors, schedule the work and collect payment immediately. Health clubs can schedule personal trainers, track membership dues and even sell products.

E-commerce for hospitality

Restaurants can't sell dinners online (yet), but they can generate huge revenues with printable, e-mailable gift cards. Do you have a secret sauce? Package it and sell it online. Do you require reservations? Your customers can reserve a table online, with a text, or by telephone and have them all work together. Hotels and resorts can take reservations and cross promote events with their other facilities, even before the customer arrives. Small jazz clubs can create an intimate atmosphere in the club, while simulcasting to thousands over the web, and both groups are paying customers. Your performers can sell CDs or MP3s to your audience, even after they've left, and you can collect the commission.

E-commerce for consultants, experts, and people who's product is their time

Maximize your revenue from your expertise. Consultants can create project quotes. Experts can sell e-books. Market your seminars and deliver them over the web, live and worldwide. When there's only 24 hours in the day, make sure you're maximizing the value from each of those hours, and still have time to get some sleep.

Every business is an e-business, but not every website generates real sales.

Source: http://www.jasonsmillion.com/2013/01/e-commerce-ideas-for-small-business.html

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Obama's War on Small Business

President Obama's second term isn't even a week old, and already Washington is eagerly analyzing the fight to find his successor.

Politico's Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman recently handicapped the Democratic field, writing: "Almost as soon as the echo of Obama's inaugural address fades and he instantly becomes a lame duck, Democrats are going to have to face a central and unresolved question about their political identity: Will they become a center-left, DLC-by-a-different-name party or return to a populist, left-leaning approach? ... Democrats must decide whether they want to be principally known as the party of Rahm Emanuel or the party of Elizabeth Warren."

Can't they be both? The New Republic's William Galston thinks Democrats can. First, he accurately describes a very real "civil war" occurring in the business community between big corporations and small businesses: "Corporations have sizeable cash flows and access to credit markets, which gives them a cushion against adversity and added costs; small businesses often operate much closer to the margin and are acutely sensitive to policies that threaten to drive up costs. Corporate CEOs can hire experts to help them cope with added regulatory burdens and can spread the costs over a large workforce; small business owners must deal with these burdens by themselves and have few ways [to] dilute their impact."

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2013/01/27/obama039s_war_on_small_business_300661.html

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iOS 6.1 Is Out with a New Siri Feature, iTunes Match Improvements, and More

Fire up Software Update: iOS 6.1 is available, and it contains a couple neat new features to make your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple TV more useful. Here's what's new.

Straight from Apple's support pages, here's what you'll get in the new version:

This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:

• LTE support for more carriers (complete list of supported carriers here)
• Purchase movie tickets through Fandango with Siri (USA only)
• iTunes Match subscribers can now download individual songs from iCloud
• New button to reset the Advertising Identifier

9to5Mac is also reporting that the update includes Bluetooth keyboard compatibility for the Apple TV, which could be pretty handy. Open up iTunes or head to Settings > General > Software Update on your device to get the new version. Of course, if you plan on jailbreaking, you may want to hold off just in case the new version isn't supported in the next jailbreak.

SOC TOOL

iOS 6.1 Software Update | Apple Support via 9to5Mac

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/hON0p9b2zUk/ios-61-is-out-with-a-new-siri-feature-itunes-match-improvements-and-more

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Djokovic completes Australian Open hat trick

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? No shirt ripping or bare-chested flexing this time.

Novak Djokovic completed his work before midnight, defeating Andy Murray in four sets for his third consecutive Australian Open title and fourth overall.

It was also the second time in three years Djokovic had beaten his longtime friend in this final. So the celebration was muted: a small victory shuffle, raised arms, a kiss for the trophy. No grand histrionics, although that's not to say the moment was lost on him.

"Winning it three in a row, it's incredible," Djokovic said after his 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2 victory Sunday night. "It's very thrilling. I'm full of joy right now. It's going to give me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season, that's for sure."

Nine other men had won consecutive Australian titles in the Open era, but none three straight years. One of them was Andre Agassi, who presented Djokovic with the trophy.

A year ago, Djokovic began his season with an epic 5-hour, 53-minute five-set win over Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open, the longest Grand Slam final. He tore off his shirt to celebrate, the TV replays repeated constantly at this tournament.

He mimicked that celebration after coming back to beat Stanislas Wawrinka in five hours in a surprisingly tough fourth-round victory this time.

Since then, he's looked every bit the No. 1 player. He said he played "perfectly" in his 89-minute win over fourth-seeded David Ferrer in the semifinals Thursday night. Murray struggled to beat 17-time major winner Roger Federer in five sets in the semifinals Friday night, and still had the bad blisters on his feet to show for it in the final.

In a final that had the makings of a classic when two of the best returners in tennis were unable to get a break of serve in the first two sets that lasted 2:13, the difference may have hinged on something as light as a feather.

Preparing for a second serve at 2-2 in the second set tiebreaker, Murray was rocking back about to toss the ball when he stopped, paused and then walked onto the court and tried to grab a small white feather that was floating in his view. He went back to the baseline, bounced the ball another eight times and served too long.

After being called for a double-fault, Murray knocked the ball away in anger and flung his arm down. He didn't get close for the rest of the tiebreaker and was the first to drop serve in the match ? in the eighth game of the third set. Djokovic broke him twice in the fourth set, which by then had turned into an easy march to victory.

"It was strange," said Djokovic, adding that it swung the momentum his way. "It obviously did. ... He made a crucial double-fault."

Murray didn't blame his loss on the one distraction.

"I mean, I could have served. It just caught my eye before I served. I thought it was a good idea to move it," he said. "Maybe it wasn't because I obviously double-faulted.

"You know, at this level it can come down to just a few points here or there. My biggest chance was at the beginning of the second set ? didn't quite get it. When Novak had his chance at the end of the third, he got his."

Djokovic had five break-point chances in the opening set, including four after having Murray at 0-40 in the seventh game, but wasn't able to convert any of them.

Then he surrendered the tiebreaker with six unforced errors. Murray appeared to be the stronger of the two at the time. He'd beaten Djokovic in their last Grand Slam encounter, the U.S. Open final, and had the Serb so off balance at times in the first set that he slipped to the court and took skin off his knee.

Murray held serve to open the second set and had three break points at 0-40 in the second game, but Djokovic dug himself out of trouble and held.

"After that I felt just mentally a little bit lighter and more confident on the court than I've done in the first hour or so," Djokovic said. "I was serving better against him today in the first two sets than I've done in any of the match in the last two years."

Djokovic said he loves playing at Rod Laver Arena, where he won his first major title in 2008. He now has six Grand Slam titles altogether. Federer has won four of his 17 majors at Melbourne Park, and Agassi is the only other player to have won that many in Australia since 1968.

Djokovic was just finding his way at the top level when Agassi retired in 2006, but he had watched enough of the eight-time major winner to appreciate his impact.

"He's I think one of the players that changed the game ? not just the game itself, but also the way the people see it," Djokovic said. "So it was obviously a big pleasure and honor for me to receive the trophy from him."

Agassi was among the VIPs in the crowd, along with actor Kevin Spacey and Victoria Azarenka, who won the women's final in three sets against Li Na the previous night.

Murray broke the 76-year drought for British men at the majors when he won the U.S. Open last year and said he'll leave Melbourne slightly more upbeat than he has after defeats here in previous years.

"The last few months have been the best tennis of my life. I mean, I made Wimbledon final, won the Olympics, won the U.S. Open. You know, I was close here as well," he said. "No one's ever won a slam (immediately) after winning their first one. It's not the easiest thing to do. And I got extremely close.

"So, you know, I have to try and look at the positives of the last few months, and I think I'm going the right direction."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/djokovic-completes-australian-open-hat-trick-180009719--spt.html

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My Friends Were Becoming Grandparents And It 'Often Felt Like A Stab In The Chest'

This is the twenty-sixth post of "30 Adoption Portraits in 30 Days," a series designed to give a voice to people with widely varying experiences, including birthparents, adoptees, adoptive parents, foster parents, waiting adoptive parents and others touched by adoption.

One By One, My Friends' Children Were Having Babies
Written by Nanci Stein "Granci" for Portrait of an Adoption

I remember standing at the kitchen sink a little over two years ago when my daughter told me she had something to discuss with me. It was a serious statement. She had come in from Chicago for a stone setting for my mother-in-law. It had been a rough year.

My daughter had just lost her second pregnancy, and she was devastated. She and her husband desperately wanted to start a family. They had grand ideas to have many children. It was a hard time in motherhood for me, because I wasn?t able to fix what was broken. Even though my daughter was an adult and had been on her own for many years, I still felt that my role as a mother was to protect her. All I could do was listen and be there and be supportive.

I couldn?t wait to be a grandmother. I dreamed of a little girl with blond curls (have no idea why since no one had blond hair except for my mother). She would be smart and musical like my daughter. She would have my son-in-law?s curly hair and sense of humor. All of this was pure fantasy, but I enjoyed the daydreams.

One by one, many of my friends? children were having babies, and even though I was happy for them, it often felt like a stab in the chest. How selfish of me. But the pain my daughter was going through was more than I could bear.

Getting back to the kitchen sink, drying dishes, my daughter sprang it on me that she was thinking about adopting. In a nanosecond, a million thoughts went through my monkey brain. Was it too soon to be thinking of this? Had they pursued every option to conceive and carry a baby? What was their hurry? The list went on and on. Of course instead of saying any of these things, I listened intently to what she had to say. I am blessed with a wonderful and open relationship with her and was very interested in what she had to say.

She was tired of the drugs, shots, doctor appointments, rude questions from people, and the whole ball of yarn. She wanted to start a family and didn?t want to wait for more tests, more failed pregnancies and more heartbreak. She certainly put things in perspective. How could I blame her for having had enough? Having had two successful pregnancies, I certainly didn?t understand entirely what she was going through both physically and emotionally. She was pursuing another specialist, but she also wanted to pursue adoption options.

For the first time in a long time, I was speechless. How much do I ask? What do I ask? I needed to wrap my head around this whole thing. I guess in today?s age of medicine, you don?t think that pregnancy should be so difficult.

I didn?t know anyone else who was going through the adoption process. Everyone seemed to be getting pregnant at the drop of a hat. Little did I know at the time that there was a greater plan.

And so the process began. My daughter and son-in-law began to research adoption agencies and decided that a domestic adoption was the way they wanted to go. I began to do my own research and started reaching out to professionals that I knew regarding the process and what resources might be available here in Cleveland. I was cautious as to how much and what to tell my daughter. I didn?t want her to think I was trying to micro manage her life. I was only trying to be helpful.

During our next visit together, my daughter announced that they had decided on an agency that they liked and were going to pursue the process. She asked my opinion about starting the adoption process and still pursuing the fertility route. I said whatever happens, happens. If she should adopt and also get pregnant, than she would have two babies instead of one. She explained the whole process and what would take place with home visits, classes, and paperwork. Their life would be looked at under a microscope. She didn?t appear to be bothered by any of this, and for the first time in a long while, she seemed content and relaxed about their decision.

My husband, on the other hand, was another story! He didn?t get any of this and held lots of misconceptions about adoption. He had a personal connection growing up with two cousins who were adopted and had a very tainted picture of what our future grandchild would be like. It was a battle to try and reason with him and keep him from expressing his concerns with our daughter. I think his concern was whether he could love a child that wasn?t his blood. How narrow minded, but I guess many people feel this way.

We were asked to send out letters to anyone we knew that could be helpful in finding a potential baby. The more people who knew, the better the chances were of finding a baby.

My husband finally came on board and was very helpful in giving out these letters to anyone who could possibly be a connection. My daughter and son-in-law needed to indicate on their list of possible babies who they would or wouldn?t accept. They felt awkward about this but needed to be honest. There were many circumstances and conditions they realized they wouldn?t be comfortable with, and others that they were very open to considering.

One option was to adopt a minority baby. My daughter and her husband were very open to the idea, but this is when my husband totally freaked out. Not that he is a bigot, but he was very concerned about what could lie ahead for them as parents in a transracial home. He wasn?t quiet about stating his concerns. I tried to reason with him that this wasn?t his life, that this was 2010, and that he needed to be accepting.

He didn?t let up and it caused much tension with us. I was put in an awkward situation -- reasoning with him and explaining to our daughter that he was only concerned for them.

I was listed as a reference for my daughter with the agency. I remember being in New York visiting our son when I got the call from the social worker at their agency asking if I had time to discuss my daughter adopting a child. My heart stopped. My voice choked up, and I had a hard time catching my breath.

Next: "The possibility of a baby coming into our lives was becoming more and more a reality."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/27/friends-becoming-grandparents_n_2544289.html

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Hard Time On Your Home Improvement Project? Try These Ideas ...

TIP! You can spruce up the interior of your home by cleaning your carpets on a regular basis. High traffic areas of your carpet need special attention to remain clean.

Home improvement is essential to keeping up your home, but you need to understand it and what to buy for it. Regulations, needed tools and design aspects can be intimidating. The tips below will help you to properly and safely renovate your residence.

TIP! Warn your neighbors in advance if you will need to use part of the street for your home improvement. Often, major renovation jobs will require trucks, heavy equipment or a dumpster, so you need to prepare for them.

Make sure your budget includes everything that is necessary. Unexpected expenses quickly start adding up, and your mistakes can cost you by throwing your budget off track. You can stop this from happening by doing a lot of planning. This will help you stay flexible if something goes wrong, such as a key material not being in stock.

TIP! Ensure that there are no low-lying areas, and make sure doubly sure there are none near your home?s foundation. Fill any low areas with compacted soil, as this will prevent any water from collecting and causing erosion in the garden.

Even novices can repair leaky faucets. You will save money ? and your water reserves ? if you take the time to fix the problem quickly. This can keep you within even a tight budget.

TIP! If you are doing multiple projects in one room, consider the order of the projects. If you?re doing both flooring and cabinets, do the cabinets first.

Quotes and feedback from contractors should be viewed with a degree of skepticism. Sometimes, a contractor will use an intimidated or disinterested customer to their advantage. Issues and problems raise by contractors must be verified prior to the homeowner approving spending extra money or when extending the construction timeline.

TIP! When improving you home, don?t forget the outside and the yard. Having a mowed lawn, whose edges have been trimmed, improves the exterior appearance of your home.

Consider installing a shower in at least one bathroom if you don?t already have one. You can lower your water usage by putting in a shower. Also, showers are more accessible. Drawing a full bath can use more than four times as much water as taking a quick shower.

TIP! If you plan on doing home improvements in the areas of you house that house heavy plumbing, like bathrooms and kitchens, install water-resistant walls to replace the ordinary ones. Green board resists the growth of mold and mildew, and is better suited to withstand dampness.

Before planning a new project, consider its return. Projects that will show a great return are the wisest to do. It is known that all projects are not equal in cost and effort. Contact a realtor for some good advice on what is the most desirable home improvement project.

TIP! Insulation is something worth investing in. Use weather-stripping on all windows and doors.

Home improvement projects are essential to homeowners, and it is important to understand what each job consists of. This article makes understanding what you need easier. Follow the tips above to get started.

By Scott Davis

Lone Star Remodeling and Roofing are licensed roofing contractors that offer dependable and high quality services, while maintaining the best interests of your family and household in mind. We are a Christian business that is family owned and run and has serviced the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex region since 1992. At Lone Star Remodeling and Roofing, we have built a sound reputation with our consumers and community throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex vicinity for commercial and residential roofing projects. Throughout the years we have been in business, we have developed a strong bond with our consumers founded on trust, quality, honesty, and integrity.

Lone Star Remodeling and Roofing will give you the attention to detail that you deserve, and the quality craftsmanship you expect from highly knowledgeable professionals. Our company aim to please all of our customers with a total satisfaction rating. We are committed to continually training our experts about the latest technology in the market, and are continuously monitoring new ways to enhance work effectiveness.

Our main aim at Lone Star Remodeling and Roofing is to repair or replace your roof in a timely fashion, while reducing the inconvenience of having a work crew on your property. One of our highly skilled roofing adjusters can properly judge and recommend the best course of action for you. Our specialists have a level of understanding and industry experience which ensures that you get the best possible results in functionality, cost and appearance.

Lone Star Remodeling and Roofing commits to producing quality work, and making sure that you are completely satisfied when the job is finished. Our roofing specialists are committed to providing the highest quality of craftsmanship, and customer service, before and after a roofing installation is complete. Our company will carry out a professional roof evaluation, and will complete a research list of roofing materials, and select the quality that will supply you with the best return on your investment.

Call Lone Star Remodeling and Roofing today! We are Your Trusted Source for Roof Repair, Maintenance and Replacement.

About Scott Davis

Scott Davis offers reliable high quality services with affordable prices.

Source: http://www.roofteks.com/roofrepairdallas/hard-time-on-your-home-improvement-project-try-these-ideas/

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Source: http://deleon71.typepad.com/blog/2013/01/hard-time-on-your-home-improvement-project-try-these-ideas.html

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Twitter announces Vine video sharing service

Twitter has announced Vine, a new service and app it has aquired that allows you to record and share videos. The videos are very short, with a limit of six seconds for each post. Twitter announced the launch on their blog:

Today, we?re introducing Vine: a mobile service that lets you capture and share short looping videos. Like Tweets, the brevity of videos on Vine (6 seconds or less) inspires creativity. Now that you can easily capture motion and sound, we look forward to seeing what you create.

Vine also commented briefly on the acquisition:

We're also happy to share the news that Vine has been acquired by Twitter. Our companies share similar values and goals; like Twitter, we want to make it easier for people to come together to share and discover what's happening in the world. We also believe constraint inspires creativity, whether it's through a 140-character Tweet or a six-second video.

Videos are recorded by holding a finger on the screen until you have captured the video that you wanted. Playing videos in the app is a simple matter of scrolling to the video you want to see, then it plays on a loop until you scroll to another video. You can sign in to Vine with your Twitter account or email address.

Videos can be shared with Twitter and Facebook, and Vine says that more sharing options are coming down the road. You can download Vine for free right now.

• Free - Download Now

Update: We've posted a Vine review to better describe some of the issues we're all facing.

Source: Twitter, Vine

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/nVCUr7_BFIU/story01.htm

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Record streaming audio from any web site and - Giveaway of the Day

January 25, 2013This audio recording software can record any sound on the computer as MP3/ WAV/ OGG/ FLAC files. Also it provides Voice Activation System, File Length Limitation System and Schedule to help you to record online audio programs even while you?re not at your PC!

Audio Record Wizard 6 is available as a Giveaway of the day! You have 3 hours 30 minutes to download and install it.

Unzip the package you've downloaded, and carefully read the instructions which you can find in the readme.txt file. This readme.txt file is included with all our downloads. Follow the instructions carefully to install and activate the software.

Terms and conditions

Please note that the software you download and install during the Giveaway period comes with the following important limitations: 1) No free technical support; 2) No free upgrades to future versions; 3) Strictly personal usage.

THIS SOFTWARE PRODUCT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WITHOUT LIMITATION, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWABLE BY LAW, END USER ASSUMES THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE DOWNLOADED SOFTWARE PRODUCT.

Featured titles:

NowSmart Cut ? Ringtone maker software

NowSmart Cut is a Ringtone Maker software that lets you cut clips out of audio files, and extract audio clips from video files. Unlike complicated audio software that requires you to understand audio recording technology, this ring tone maker software features an intuitive interface and a simple workflow.

NowSmart Talkin ? Call recording software for Windows 7

NowSmart Talkin is an easy to use sound recorder software, which is designed for Windows 7 and later version. The major difference between this product and other on-market sound recorder software is that this product can record from speaker and microphone at the same time. In other words, NowSmart Talkin can record online conversation on the computer. See what it can do:

Source: http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/nowsmart-audio-record-wizard/

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