Monday, April 8, 2013
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Digital marketer worried Facebook Home will produce ?invasive, tedious? ads
April 7 (Infostrada Sports) - Results and standings from the Serie A matches on Sunday Sunday, April 7Catania 0 Cagliari 0 Fiorentina 2 AC Milan 2 Sampdoria 1 Palermo 3 Siena 0 Parma 0 Udinese 3 Chievo Verona 1 Saturday, April 6Bologna 2 Torino 2 Juventus 2 Pescara 1 Standings P W D L F A Pts 1 Juventus 31 22 5 4 61 20 71 2 Napoli 30 17 8 5 55 29 59 -------------------------3 AC Milan 31 17 7 7 55 34 58 -------------------------4 Fiorentina 31 15 7 9 56 39 52 5 Inter Milan 30 15 5 10 47 39 50 -------------------------6 Lazio 30 15 5 10 39 36 50 -------------------------7 AS Roma 30 14 5 11 60 ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/digital-marketer-worried-facebook-home-produce-invasive-tedious-035935096.html
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Kerry mourns 1st diplomat killed since Benghazi
ISTANBUL (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry mourned on Sunday the first death of an American diplomat on the job since last year's Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. diplomatic installation in Benghazi, Libya.
Speaking to U.S. consulate workers on a visit to Istanbul, Kerry called the death of Anne Smedinghoff a "grim reminder" of the danger facing American foreign service workers serving overseas. The Illinois native was one of six Americans killed in an attack Saturday in Afghanistan. She was on a mission to donate books to students in the south of the country.
"It's a grim reminder to all of us... of how important, but also how risky, carrying the future is," Kerry told employees in the Turkish commercial capital.
"Folks who want to kill people, and that's all they want to do, are scared of knowledge. They want to shut the doors and they don't want people to make their choices about the future. For them, it's you do things our way, or we throw acid in your face or we put a bullet in your face," he said.
Kerry described Smedinghoff as "vivacious, smart, capable, chosen often by the ambassador there to be the lead person because of her capacity."
She aided Kerry when he visited the country two weeks ago, serving as his control officer, an honor often bestowed on up-and-coming members of the U.S. foreign service.
"There are no words for anyone to describe the extraordinary harsh contradiction for a young 25-year-old woman, with all of her future ahead of her, believing in the possibilities of diplomacy to improve people's lives, making a difference, having an impact" to be killed, Kerry said.
Smedinghoff previously served in Venezuela.
"The world lost a truly beautiful soul today," her parents, Tom and Mary Beth Smedinghoff, said in a family statement emailed to The Washington Post.
"Working as a public diplomacy officer, she particularly enjoyed the opportunity to work directly with the Afghan people and was always looking for opportunities to reach out and help to make a difference in the lives of those living in a country ravaged by war," they said. "We are consoled knowing that she was doing what she loved, and that she was serving her country by helping to make a positive difference in the world."
Kerry declared the protection of American diplomats a top priority on his first day as secretary of state.
The issue has been extremely sensitive since Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three other Americans were killed in Benghazi almost seven months ago. No one has yet been brought to justice.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-mourns-1st-diplomat-killed-since-benghazi-074326741--politics.html
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ThL W5 Android 4.0 Smart Phone MTK6577 Dual core 4.7 Inch IPS Screen 1GB RAM 3G GPS White
After reading a few reviews, I decided to do a PRL update right out of the box. The call quality has been great, and I've not once encountered the 'radio interface resource shortage' error. The 3G is fast, the GPS is wonderful, and again, for those who say the battery life is bad, I've been able to go 2 days before recharging. Of course, I don't live on my phone, because I do have a life. (Posted on 3/26/13)
Very very good performances on games and web browsing and for less than ?200 !!
This is easily the best deal I've ever made. I love my phone :) (Posted on 3/23/13)
It's a great phone to have because you will keep up to date with the Android builds. You were able to take advantage of 4.0, 4.1 and probably 4.2 before most other phones are even considered to have it. Owning this phone means you get the Google Experience.
I'm also not a fan of the back case on the phone. It's built out of plastic and seems a bit slippery, so get a case or you'll be dropping the phone. Also, the case has little plastic tabs that snap into place. If you frequently remove your batter I can see how these plastic tabs can break.
Finally, the camera. It's fast, it can take amazing pictures. It's only 8MP. It's a bit low in the world of "super phones", but it'll focus and take a picture faster than most of the 13MP cameras out there. So, you have to weigh out the pros and cons of that one for yourself. (Posted on 3/19/13)
The battery exceeds my expectations, getting through a full day is no problem for me using web, email, text, google talk, streaming music via BT, checking weather, reading Kindle, you name it. Average 12 hours or so battery for me with 20% or so remaining at the time I plug it in at night.
The screen! The screen is gorgeous and very fluid. The only app I have found a problem using the screen is the built in web browser. There is some minor vertical tearing, where one half of the screen will update faster than the other when scrolling. No biggie as video and flash works great. Fun fact - this screen is about the size of an iPhone 4, the whole phone! (Posted on 3/18/13)
I love the dual antenna because I have the wireless hotspot on my plan, and it allows my to use the internet on my laptop AND talk on the phone at the same time.
As far as the size of the phone - I'm 6'2", so this thing fits perfectly in my hand and I carry it in my pocket like any other phone I've owned. I usually put it in the seat next to me when I drive because it's just too big to get out of my pocket if someone calls, though. I assume a blue tooth headset would help.
The battery life is great. It gets me all the way through the day without having to plug in and that's with very heavy usage - I've been an Android user for years and I've never had a phone that will do that.
(Posted on 3/12/13)
the touch screen is very sensitive like others have posted.
i think the size is fine i didnt want a large phone to carry around.
so far i havent had any problems with calling and the person said i sounded good
i have dont some texting and that was fine with the android keyboard i turned off swype.
the true test will be when i travel to see how the coverage will be but according the the map if i stay on the main routes i should be ok going from west to the mid west and south. (Posted on 3/11/13)
This phone is at reasonable price of $200. If you look up at any other THL Mobile phone, the 3G newer models run for 2x more. Social networking, email, android marketplace, easy touch screen keyboard, accessibility, good looking phone for being a more affordable end smart phone, responsive ect. Its worth the price. I enjoy it and it was prompt on getting here! love this product and would recommend to a friend. The THL W5 is such a great phone. (Posted on 3/7/13)
I started to use immediately and did not have any problem till today. The flashlight on the back is amazing. so far its great,looks good an works even better,good buy for anyone who wants a budget phone (Posted on 3/6/13)
The screen is bigger than most, the internal components make this phone by far one of the best currently on the market. And whats better is that the new 4.1 software is soon to be released
for this phone on THL, making it even greater than before. you can't deny that this phone is just incredible. (Posted on 3/5/13)
The screen is a nice big size, the UI is easy to use, plus it just got updated to Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) . Also the battery has a lot of juice and may last you up to a day , maybe more depending on your usage. The camera takes wonderful shots and the sound if your listening to music isn't bad either.
4.7inch hd display...yup
Expandable storage via sd card ...uh huh.
Motion commands....awesome
Screen shot option. Wicked.
Fully customizable....for sure.
Open android market with lots of free apps that are not garbage. Check check and check
Oh wait......on android you can get all the stuff they sell for less .......almost nothing. ;) (Posted on 3/4/13)
I got the phone on sale for $208 and it is just the best phone I have ever had, although I have not activated it yet (more on this later), at an awesome price. Why haven't I activated it yet? Well, it turns out, this android phone lets you install all kind of apps from the android market via wifi without activating the phone, you can pop in an 8Gb, 16Gb or 32Gb SDHC card and use this as a pretty awesome (and cheap) ipod/iphone substitute. I have installed apps for watching TV shows, read news (USA Today, NYTime, Bloomberg, etc), Pandora radio (sound through the speaker is very full for such a tiny device), GPS navigation/maps, calculators, MS Office documents viewer, a few games, GasBuddy to find cheap gas locally (pretty handy these days), etc. All FREE from the Android market. But, BY FAR, the best applications I installed are Google Voice, which together with SIPDroid (after signing up for a free GoogleVoice account and a free PBXes.org account) allows me to link them together and configure the phone to use VOIP to make my calls through the internet instead of using the limited 300 minutes I would get if I signed up with THL Mobile for $25/month, I can also use it to do unlimited free texting through my Google voice number.
I wanted to do this to make sure I did not go over the 300 minutes and start racking up a huge bill with VM once I activated the phone, but as it turns out, this has worked out so well that I am still undecided as to weather I will need to activate the phone and sign up for the monthly service. Granted, I can only make/receive calls when I am within WIFI range, but, WIFI is so prevalent these days. Many of the establishments a person does business with have free internet access for their customers: Starbucks, Dennys, Mcdonalds, Barnes&nobles, Homedepots, Panera bread, Hooters, highway rest stops, libraries, Krogers, Quiznos, Schlotzsky, FedEx offices, Hotels... the list goes on and on. I also installed a WIFI Analyzer App which shows if there is a free/open WIFI within range and its signal strength. You can get a nice directory of wifi spots in your area here-> [...] which of course does not list all the available ones.
What happens when I'm outside WIFI range? Well, of course I can not make calls, inbound calls go to my GoogleVoice voice mail and as soon as I get into WIFI range and connect, my inbound text messages get delivered and/or I get a notification of a missed call which I can check right away. Obviously not something I would want to use as a business phone, but for personal use when you do not need to be available 24X7 this works great! You also get a great excuse when you don't want to answer someone, later you can say... "Sorry, I was not in WIFI zone...", you can even put that in your answering message. This setup would be great for students who live on campus where they have free access to the campus WIFI network (many of them provide free open WIFI all over campus). All these for $0 a month plus the cost of the phone.
If you feel you need capability to make calls from anywhere in case of emergencies, or for 24X7 availability, then just activate the phone and pay the $25/month. You would get many other benefits which would make this device a very capable business phone. I've read that once activated, you can install an app to make the phone a WIFI hub for up to 4 or 5 devices (supposedly there is an app for that, :-) pun intended, in the android market). This would provide internet service to your WIFI based laptop anywhere. I will investigate this more if/when I activate the phone. I have to admit, it would be fun to be able to go on trips and have internet in the car for my kids ipod touches or laptops while we are on the road. The more they can entertain themselves, the less "are we there yet?, are we there yet?" questions we will get... :-)
Summarizing, if you activate the phone, you get unlimited texting, phone web browsing, tv watching, internet radio, etc. + unlimited internet based calls using the provided unlimited data service + internet for your computer/ipod touches anytime/anywhere. All these for $25/month? Sweeeet! I don't think any carrier can beat that, the closer unlimited everything plan is cricket for $55/month for an android or blackberry phone. ATT, Verizon, etc? $70 and up... THL Mobile uses the Sprint 3G network, so, it's coverage (at least here in Houston) is pretty good.
I hope you find this useful.
Enjoy! (Posted on 2/27/13)
Setup was easy and required a few simple steps to get up and running. I can't comment on customer support because I have had no problems with the phone or the cell service after 3 months of use.
The size is just perfect so it still looks like a phone when you have it up to your ear and not like a mini tablet that you have next to your face. It feels good in the hand, although I will probably get a case because I have big hands and would like a bit more grip.
The processor is more than fast enough to do PHONE related tasks - music, email, web, calls, multitasking. You are not going to be playing high end games on this thing. It opens and closes all apps really fast and allows me to bounce around between them with no lag.
I'm new to Android but had Iphones, Windows Mobile, and Palm phones previously. While I still prefer Apple's OS, Android is great and I'm happy with the amount of customization you can do.
I pull at least a 4-bar 3G signal everywhere I go (I live in the midwest). You should probably check 3G coverage in your area before purchasing. I had a Sprint phone previously so I basically get the same network but at a much lower cost. (Posted on 2/26/13)
Second-using WiFi (or VOIP). During my final 30 days, I decided to try using the phone without activating it. I am a long time user of Google Voice. I have one number that rings my cell (on Sprint), my wife's cell (iPhone on AT&T) and my computer (Google chat). That system works far better than you can imagine. As long as both I and my wife keep our contacts current, caller ID lets us know who should answer the phone over 95% of the time. Besides, the spam filter on Google Voice is worth it alone. I bought Groove IP ($4.99 on Android Market). I did not buy Sipdroid or use PBXes. I set Grove IP up for WiFi only. If you read the instructions, it says to disable the cell phone on Google Voice.A couple minor adjustments on echo cancellation and I am home free. Very impressive.
Now I have three choices. Activate my phone and pay the $35.00/ month-far less than the $69.00/mo. on Sprint. As most minutes will be over WiFi, get the cheapest option. (2)not activate the phone-but lose navigation and emergency use. Or (3) I could buy another phone, activate it, cancel the iPhone and leave it in the car for my wife and leave the unactivated one at home.
My summary: buy this phone, and Groove IP and start saving money!! (Posted on 2/23/13)
First, I read on a review here that I could use SipDroid & assorted complexities to get free cell phone via WiFi service. This path was a no-go. But - just try Groove IP instead! The app costs $4.99 from the Android Market, and you need a (free!) Google Voice account and phone number, which *must* be attached to a [email?protected] account. (My other one didn't work...) Other than that, works great! Set up in minutes, and *none* of it was as mystifying as the no-go Sipdroid route... I think the Sipdroid loophole has simply been closed. But with Groove IP, the cell phone receives and dials calls, direct from the cell phone icon.
Second, it's processor phones in general. It is not true. It was not easy... But I eventually did get this phone to run apps, directly from Adobe Flash Builder 4.6 (debug on device and everything!) To get Adobe AIR itself installed on the phone, just download the AIR SDK from Adobe.com, find the file C:\AdobeAIRSDK\runtimes\air\android\emulator\Runtime.apk, copy it to your cell phone SD card, and install that, with AppInstaller (also available in Android Market free if you don't have it.)
Sorry for the gory details. But I really did buy this phone intending to never buy a contract on it, and use it for Flex -> smartphone development. And for a while there I thought it was a lost cause, or I'd need to delve into rooting arcana. ;) So - yay! (Posted on 2/20/13)
The GPS runs off of google maps so the directions are pretty spot on. The only thing bad about it is that sometimes google maps will fail to load all together. Again, I find that resetting the phone helps.
Internet can also be hit or miss sometime. I think this may be due to the sprint network getting clogged up where I live. You have the option of setting up wi fi for when you are at home. This makes speeds faster and saves data so you won't reach your limit on you 'unlimited' data plan, although it does drain battery life.
Talk and text seems to be good for the most part, with good reception in most areas you would expect your phone to work.
Battery life is a little disappointing. Although its not horrible. Apps, music, gps, etc take a tole on the phone. For this reason I invested in a car charger as well as a back up charger for when I'm not around. Running an app killer or battery saver app will also help you keep your phone juiced.
All in all the price is great considering all the features and the compact size of this phone. (Posted on 2/19/13)
It has a 8 MP camera which is essentially the same as one of the two cameras . To be honest, I've hardly used the 3D picture feature on my THL so for all intents and purposes this is the same thing. The camera is also flush with the back, not jutting out.
Performance is good, and while it has only 1GB of RAM it's really good enough for anything except maybe some 3D games. If you care about such things, then yeah- get an iPhone, EVO, or Galaxy. If not, this is really quite good enough. The device has most standard features: bluetooth, micro-SD slot, GPS, etc.
The device runs Android 4.0 ICS and is generally very responsive. The screen is very bright and clear, and although it's not exactly a retina display it's fine for general tasks like browsing and email.
Oh, and on a sidenote, it is a 3G device- not 4G. However, I've found that 4G coverage is so bad in my area that it really makes no difference. If 4G is a selling point for you, you should definitely check the service map before you decide on anything.
In short, although it isn't the powerhouse , I actually wish I'd gotten this one instead. Aside from it being cheaper, it's simply a much handier smartphone due to its size, weight, and shape.
Pro:
Isn't super-expensive.
Decent performance
Nice light, thin, angled-lip form factor
Very nice screen
Good camera and easily accessible SD slot (Posted on 2/16/13)
Ty (Posted on 2/7/13)
The overall performance on this phone is okay - I wouldn't necessarily say it is any better or worse than any other phone out there as far as Wifi/3G connectivity are concerned. The Bluetooth works well. The Beats Audio is something I haven't found to make much difference other than boosting the volume.
One of the best things about this phone is the battery performance. I don't even have a battery-saving app on my phone, and I can get by sometimes only having to charge it every other day.
This phone is pretty good overall, and if you are looking for something with decent specs but don't care if it's the latest and greatest, this phone is your best option. (Posted on 2/5/13)
After much shopping i had actually given up on picking a smart phone because i had no idea what the heck to choose. Its like buying a PC now.
You see differing opinions on the battery life and ill tell you why from my experience. For standby mode and texting and calling the battery is pretty amazing, it will last a very long time but if you want to run any game apps it drains it super fast! Its not too bad or anything but i believe thats why you see the different opinions on the battery life.
I've had a couple issues but overall so far its pretty fantastic. It has reset itself a couple of times and the power button itself is kind of horrible with the protective cover on it. I have to hold the power button in for at least 10 seconds before it will actually power on but turning it off is far more simple. I dont know if thats normal for all of these types of phones or not. I find it to be a little bit frustrating.
I personally enjoy playing video games so i love them on this phone, it does drain the battery fast but its not so bad if youre just going to casually play something. I havent really timed it or anything but it seems you can get about 5 hours of use if you play game apps for that long before having to recharge it. When i left it on standby for an entire day and texted a few times the battery was at 91% i thought that was pretty cool.
Loving the phone so far especially at that price. So far its everything i was looking and hoping for. (Posted on 2/2/13)
The battery life has increased tremendously since rooting the phone, deleting the junk apps and also installing Juice Defender. I leave wifi on all the time, and 14 hours later, the battery still has 77% life left in it. Before this, the battery would be nearly empty by this point. I even bought extra charging cords to have in the office and in the car, but it looks like I won't be needing these too much now. I can now wait to charge the phone when I get home. (Posted on 2/1/13)
If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive yet quality smart phone without being taken advantage of in a contract this is it! over a year and the service has been impeccable thus far. Thank you VM for setting such a high standard in the cell phone business! (Posted on 1/26/13)
It's 8 megapixel camera takes clean and clear shots, and the flash is amazing. (On a side note, the "Brightest Flashlight Free" app utilizes the light and works amazingly) However, you may have to occasionally retake your pictures as the camera sometimes has difficulty focusing.
The battery lasts all day with no issues. Even when using video apps it holds up longer than I'd expected.
My only real qualm is the keyboard. It's nothing detrimental to a purchasing decision, but you will have moments where letter selection is off. The auto-correct is pretty handy, but the ES button (switched you to Spanish) is right near the space button, so I accidentally switch to Spanish a lot, and thusly it auto-corrects in Spanish. Annoying. I've never been a fan of touchscreen keyboards to begin with.
You get unlimited talk, text, and data for $25 a month ($35 if you're a new subscriber). And this phone will definitely help you utilize that unlimited data package. Just be aware of mild keypad annoyances and the camera's stubborn focus. (Posted on 1/25/13)
I wanted to do this to make sure I did not go over the 300 minutes and start racking up a huge bill with VM once I activated the phone, but as it turns out, this has worked out so well that I am still undecided as to weather I will need to activate the phone and sign up for the monthly service. Granted, I can only make/receive calls when I am within WIFI range, but, WIFI is so prevalent these days. Many of the establishments a person does business with have free internet access for their customers: Starbucks, Dennys, Mcdonalds, Barnes&nobles, Homedepots, Panera bread, Hooters, highway rest stops, libraries, Krogers, Quiznos, Schlotzsky, FedEx offices, Hotels... the list goes on and on. I also installed a WIFI Analyzer App which shows if there is a free/open WIFI within range and its signal strength. You can get a nice directory of wifi spots in your area here-> [...] which of course does not list all the available ones.
What happens when I'm outside WIFI range? Well, of course I can not make calls, inbound calls go to my GoogleVoice voice mail and as soon as I get into WIFI range and connect, my inbound text messages get delivered and/or I get a notification of a missed call which I can check right away. Obviously not something I would want to use as a business phone, but for personal use when you do not need to be available 24X7 this works great! You also get a great excuse when you don't want to answer someone, later you can say... "Sorry, I was not in WIFI zone...", you can even put that in your answering message. This setup would be great for students who live on campus where they have free access to the campus WIFI network (many of them provide free open WIFI all over campus). All these for $0 a month plus the cost of the phone.
If you feel you need capability to make calls from anywhere in case of emergencies, or for 24X7 availability, then just activate the phone and pay the $25/month. You would get many other benefits which would make this device a very capable business phone. I've read that once activated, you can install an app to make the phone a WIFI hub for up to 4 or 5 devices (supposedly there is an app for that, :-) pun intended, in the android market). This would provide internet service to your WIFI based laptop anywhere. I will investigate this more if/when I activate the phone. I have to admit, it would be fun to be able to go on trips and have internet in the car for my kids ipod touches or laptops while we are on the road. The more they can entertain themselves, the less "are we there yet?, are we there yet?" questions we will get... :-)
Summarizing, if you activate the phone, you get unlimited texting, phone web browsing, tv watching, internet radio, etc. + unlimited internet based calls using the provided unlimited data service + internet for your computer/ipod touches anytime/anywhere. All these for $25/month? Sweeeet! I don't think any carrier can beat that, the closer unlimited everything plan is cricket for $55/month for an android or blackberry phone. ATT, Verizon, etc?
I hope you find this useful.
Enjoy!
I spent away from the family working up North and they wanted 24X7 access... (great to be loved so much!). It is now even better. I have an app that shows how many minutes are left and when I'm getting close to using the 300 minutes, I can dial out using the internet and google voice through the data service from anywhere (where there is 3G signal). Came in handy to have Pandora on the phone when my car radio stopped working and it's great to be able to do everything I used to do only within WIFI range now everywhere. GPS worked great while I was traveling through the North East, except when cruising through the Adirondacks (no 3G service out in the sticks :-) ).
Virgin has raised the price of the plan to $35 a month for newcomers, (previous users are grandfathered in at the $25 rate) but even at $35, it still the best deal around as far as I know. Finally, Target has the phone on sale for $50 for the next two days... (Posted on 1/24/13)
if I get a phone that has those things, I'm locked into a 2 year contract for 3 or 4 times the monthly cost. If having a little better spec'd phone is important to you, go for the top of the liners! However, I'm techie, middle class guy that wants as much as I can get for as little as I can get it.
there are lesser "entry level" Android phones out there. You have to get into extremely remote places to lose reception, and those places will most likely be void of any cell coverage no matter the monthly cost barring satellite phones. Finally, maybe I'm lucky, but I just haven't experienced the shutting down and freezing problems others have. Sometimes this is a poorly designed app, NOT the phone or operating system. I've pulled the battery maybe 2 or 3 times total. I'll end this with a little math lesson. (Posted on 1/23/13)
I can see why people get hooked on smart phones. They are almost addictive. I can't seem to put mine down.
After I use the web, and other applications, and I think I have them closed, I see that my battery drains very fast. One of the many useful shortcuts I added to my home page is "Task Manager". I open this shortcut often and close all active applications. My battery lasts much longer.
I recommend this phone. (Posted on 1/22/13)
Well, I was looking for a gift for my wife's birthday and I really didn't like price of unlocked iPhone. I'm not US citizen so I can't get it through contract, so my only option was to buy it for full price and lets be honest - it's greatly exaggerated. So, I opted to instead switch to Android phone.
It took me awhile to choose which phone to buy and in the end, Inspire won with it's easily affordable price. Seriously, you can buy 2 of these for a price of 1 iPhone! And that is actually what I did - I bought one, used it for a week .
Lets be honest, though - phone is not perfect. Yeah, battery could be stronger, software could be slightly more polished but in all honesty, this is a 5 star phone.
PROs:
* HUGE screen! And with high resolution, wow!
* Easy to customize (software and hardware [i.e. stronger battery]). Take that, iPhone!
* PRICE! Did I mention that you can buy 2 of these for the price of 1 iPhone? Seriously? Steve, you've been awesome guy, may you rest in peace, but your products have been greatly overpriced.
* 8 MP camera! (not the best quality but surprisingly good)
CONs:
* Software could be slightly better. It does have some weird stuff going on, but nothing to tarnish this phone's great rep.
For me, this is easy decision - this phone trumps anything else in the market when it comes to price/specs ratio. Yeah I know, everybody wants iPhone 4s etc, but seriously, they can't really offer you much more considering huge price gap between them and this phone.
I know I bought 2 for reason. Trust me. (Posted on 1/21/13)
the Camera is perfect and it has quite a powerful flash.
If you are an android lover as I am you'll love this phone.
I have had it overheat a time or 2 while taking lots and lots of pictures for a long time. But even though it shuts itself down (to protect itself from heat damage) you can turn it on again and it boots up very very quickly (about 30 seconds).
It is lightening fast and can multi task, so you can switch between tasks quickly. (Posted on 1/19/13)
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Bitcoin: The Internet's secret currency makes its first public ...
Financial brinksmanship in the Eastern Mediterranean seems an unlikely way for an obscure yet infamous virtual currency to become a household word, but that's what happened with the bitcoin. Over the last few weeks, bank turmoil in Cyprus and a frenzy of attention from the media have propelled the "crypto-currency" from the darkest corners of the Internet to the front page. But is this phenomenon a blip or a revolutionary new financial instrument?
Existing only as numbers on the Internet, bitcoins are not tied to any retailer or company or bank. They have no real-world value other than what people agree to. And yet, at the time of this writing, each of the 11 million or so bitcoins in the world could be exchanged for just over $130 in real money ? for a total value for the "currency" topping a billion dollars.
One way to look at it is like vintage baseball cards or comic books. There's a finite number of them out there, so as interest in owning them rises, the amount someone would pay for them goes up. And because there's a perceived value (an exchange rate), if someone is in the right market, that card or comic ? or bitcoin ? can be used to "buy" goods.
Bitcoin is accepted online for IT services and Web hosting, and a fair amount of tangible goods can be had for it, too. But just as you don't try using Action Comics #1 to pay for groceries, you can't use it just anywhere. This stuff isn't quite legal tender for all debts, public and private.
For years, bitcoin existed as nothing more than a meme among hackers and cryptologists, but the recent spotlight has caused it to be reevaluated.
"People are starting to realize they can now put their money in the cloud and access it anywhere, from any computer," Tony Gallippi, CEO of Bitpay, a company that facilitates bitcoin transactions with retailers, told NBC News.
Just two short months ago, one bitcoin hovered in the $10 to 15 range, and a $30 peak was considered ludicrously high. The surging valuation is indicative that, at the very least, people see it as more than just a nerdy hobby. Bitpay logged over $5 million worth of transactions in March alone, as people traded bitcoins for tangible items, mostly high-end electronics and precious metals.
But will you ever use bitcoin to pay for your pizza, or a new book on Amazon? Right now bitcoin is too volatile to be used for much other than highly geeky purposes. A few sites, deliberately courting the bleeding edge of Internet tech, accept bitcoin for services or products. But that isn't easy to do when a bitcoin may be worth $15 one month and $100 the next.
"The volatility that we are all witnessing stems from a lack of liquidity and market depth," Bitcoin Foundation secretary Jon Matonis told NBC News.
How (and why) bitcoin works
Bitcoin was created in 2009 by "Satoshi Nakamoto" ? almost certainly a false name ? in order to be anonymous currency, easy to use, self-regulating and free from any central authority.
Instead of relying on a government or bank issuer, the bitcoin system is entirely powered by users, transferred via unique, anonymous IDs. Whenever someone transfers bitcoins (or fractional bitcoins ? they can be divided almost infinitely) from one "wallet" to another, that transaction is broadcast throughout the network, where it is confirmed by "nodes" that store the entire history of every bitcoin generated.
"Imagine if you've got a ledger somewhere that says who owns how much of some random commodity," explains Reuben Grinberg, finance lawyer who published a paper on legal issues surrounding bitcoin in 2011. "Instead of having the ledger held by some financial institution, it's maintained by this global network of computers. It's protected against the malfeasance of a single bad player."
But instead of the ledger containing names, it's just a list of accounts ? pure numbers.
It's this anonymity that has led bitcoins to be associated with the purchase of illegal goods. The notorious "Silk Road" online shop ? accessible only through the mysterious, encrypted worldwide "Tor" network ? sells everything from marijuana to handguns. This gave many the impression that the bitcoin system was nothing but a handy way to break the law. (Of course, cash and a dark alley offer many of the same benefits.)
Bitcoin comes into its own
Anonymous currency available to anyone with an Internet connection would be useful in all manner of situations, but it was the events of the last few weeks that really began pulling Bitcoin's reputation out of the gutter.
First, the U.S. government acknowledged "decentralized virtual currencies" like the bitcoin by way of a branch of the treasury concerned with financial crimes. It's neither a positive or negative assessment, but it clarifies that bitcoin and its users are subject to existing laws regarding currency transmission and manipulation.
Second, a number of news sources reported a rush to buy bitcoins, made by panicked Cypriots looking to relocate their money from a failing bank system.
Regardless of the cause (and neither event seems to have been critical), the attention is real and has sparked debate about how one should consider bitcoin: Is it a commodity like gold? Is it more like a volatile stock? Is it like cash?
It's something new, says Grinberg. "It's sort of a hybrid of a couple different concepts. I can't hold it in my hand, it's not backed by the government, I can't pay my taxes with it." He thinks that it has some sort of future. ? but the currency must settle down before the typical online shopper has anything to do with it. Grinberg says that could happen ... "far in the future, but not in the near term."
Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.
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Prostate cancer treatments cause penis shrinkage
Some men reporting this side effect complained to that it had negatively affected their intimate relationships, or that it made them regret their choice of treatment type.
Researchers surveyed 948 men who had undergone prostate cancer treatment and had later suffered a recurrence. Eighty-eight percent of participants were aged 60 or older. Fifty-four percent had undergone prostate removal surgery, 24 percent had received a combination of radiation therapy and hormone-blocking drugs, and 22 percent had been treated with radiation therapy alone.
Both treatment by an external radiation device and by means of implanting radioactive seeds into the prostate (brachytherapy) were classified as "radiation therapy."
Among the men surveyed, 2.63 percent spontaneously reported that the length of the their penises had decreased after treatment. The prevalence of these complaints varied significantly depending on treatment type, with the effect reported in 3.73 percent of those who underwent surgery, 2.67 percent of those who underwent radiation therapy plus drugs, and by no patients in the radiotherapy only group.
"Previous studies have concluded that there is shortened penis length following prostatectomy," co-author Jim Hu noted. "This is most common with non-nerve sparing surgery, as this may result in fibrosis and atrophy of erectile tissue due to damage to nerve and vascular structures."
The current study did not measure penis sizes, however, and relied only on self-reports. Because of this, and because the men were not asked about penis size specifically, the authors believe that this side effect is significantly more common than the numbers in the current study would suggest.
The study also did not directly ask men about their sexual function.
"Sexual activity needs to be thoroughly measured owing to the obvious relationship with the patients' perception of penile length," wrote Luc Cormier of Dijon University Hospital in France, in an accompanying editorial.
Side effect well-known, rarely discussed
According to lead researcher Paul Nguyen, physicians and surgeons are well aware of the risks of penis shrinkage, "but it's almost never discussed with patients, so it can be very upsetting to some men when it occurs. Patients can deal with almost any side effect if they have some inkling ahead of time that they may happen."The authors suggest that patients be told about this possible risk before they select a treatment option, so that they can make an informed choice.
"Prostate cancer is one of the few cancers where patients have a choice of therapies, and because of the range of possible side effects, it can be a tough choice," Nguyen said. "This study says that when penile shortening does occur, it really does affect patients and their quality of life. It's something we should be discussing up front so that it will help reduce treatment regrets."
Sources for this article include:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/dci-smv010213.php
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Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/039805_prostate_cancer_penis_shrinkage_side_effects.html
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Friday, April 5, 2013
Scottish author Iain Banks has terminal cancer
LONDON (Reuters) - Scottish novelist Iain Banks, whose books include "The Wasp Factory" has revealed he is suffering from cancer and is unlikely to live "beyond a year".
The author, who also wrote "The Crow Road" and "Complicity," announced his illness on his website on Wednesday and said he was cancelling all future public engagements.
Banks, 59, said his problems came to light after a visit to his doctor about a sore back. Tests revealed he was not only suffering from jaundice but also cancer in his gall bladder.
"I am officially very poorly ... I have cancer," he wrote, adding he is now on a short honeymoon, after asking his partner Adele Hartley to "become my widow."
Banks, who also writes science fiction under the name of Iain M Banks, said that as a late stage gall bladder cancer patient he is only expected to live for several months.
"It's extremely unlikely I'll live beyond a year. So it looks like my latest novel, 'The Quarry', will be my last," he added.
Born in Fife, Banks studied at Stirling University before publishing "The Wasp Factory", his first novel, in 1984.
In 2008, he was named one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945 in a list compiled by The Times.
(Reporting by Li-mei Hoang, editing by Paul Casciato)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/scottish-author-iain-banks-terminal-cancer-114851561.html
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Chimps: Ability to 'think about thinking' not limited to humans
Apr. 3, 2013 ? Humans' closest animal relatives, chimpanzees, have the ability to "think about thinking" -- what is called "metacognition," according to new research by scientists at Georgia State University and the University at Buffalo.
Michael J. Beran and Bonnie M. Perdue of the Georgia State Language Research Center (LRC) and J. David Smith of the University at Buffalo conducted the research, published in the journal Psychological Science of the Association for Psychological Science.
"The demonstration of metacognition in nonhuman primates has important implications regarding the emergence of self-reflective mind during humans' cognitive evolution," the research team noted.
Metacognition is the ability to recognize one's own cognitive states. For example, a game show contestant must make the decision to "phone a friend" or risk it all, dependent on how confident he or she is in knowing the answer.
"There has been an intense debate in the scientific literature in recent years over whether metacognition is unique to humans," Beran said.
Chimpanzees at Georgia State's LRC have been trained to use a language-like system of symbols to name things, giving researchers a unique way to query animals about their states of knowing or not knowing.
In the experiment, researchers tested the chimpanzees on a task that required them to use symbols to name what food was hidden in a location. If a piece of banana was hidden, the chimpanzees would report that fact and gain the food by touching the symbol for banana on their symbol keyboards.
But then, the researchers provided chimpanzees either with complete or incomplete information about the identity of the food rewards.
In some cases, the chimpanzees had already seen what item was available in the hidden location and could immediately name it by touching the correct symbol without going to look at the item in the hidden location to see what it was.
In other cases, the chimpanzees could not know what food item was in the hidden location, because either they had not seen any food yet on that trial, or because even if they had seen a food item, it may not have been the one moved to the hidden location.
In those cases, they should have first gone to look in the hidden location before trying to name any food.
In the end, chimpanzees named items immediately and directly when they knew what was there, but they sought out more information before naming when they did not already know.
The research team said, "This pattern of behavior reflects a controlled information-seeking capacity that serves to support intelligent responding, and it strongly suggests that our closest living relative has metacognitive abilities closely related to those of humans."
The research was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Georgia State University.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- M. J. Beran, J. D. Smith, B. M. Perdue. Language-Trained Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Name What They Have Seen but Look First at What They Have Not Seen. Psychological Science, 2013; DOI: 10.1177/0956797612458936
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/7SxbKioskGU/130403141442.htm
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Thursday, April 4, 2013
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Was D.L. Hughley 'verbally assaulted' on 'DWTS'?
By Michael Maloney, TODAY contributor
Craig Sjodin / Craig Sjodin / ABC
For the first time ever, "Dancing With the Stars" presented Prom Night, and the only person who had a worse time at a high school dance than D.L. Hughley was Sissy Spacek?s Carrie.
After the funnyman performed a routine on a 10-foot-by-10-foot box with pro partner Cheryl Burke Monday night, Hughley faced stern and negative comments from judges Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli. The latter critic said that Hughley?s salsa, which required hip action, was more like a ?hip replacement.? (Ouch.)
?I don?t have any disappointment,? Hughley told reporters in the press line after the show. ?I?d have to have some level of expectation, and I don?t. I don?t see things the way they do.?
The news wasn?t all bad. Burke noted that judge Carrie Ann Inaba was a bit kinder and more constructive in her comments, pointing out that the dance competition is about the individual?s improvement -- ?and that Hughley has been improving.
"She?s so right,? Burke said. ?It?s about baby steps. They really need to judge D.L. against himself.?
Still, the comments from the male judges were stinging.
?I know how to deal with hecklers,? Hughley said. ?But I think they obviously have a way of doing things, and I don?t fit into that. That?s just how it is.?
Host Tom Bergeron allowed Hughley to speak to the judges on-air immediately after they gave their critiques, which allowed the comic the opportunity to fire off a few crowd-pleasing zingers.
?I don?t like being verbally assaulted without having the opportunity to retaliate,? he explained.
Hughley, who has lost seven pounds since joining the show, can?t believe that he wasn?t the lowest scoring celebrity of the night. That distinction belongs to singer Wynonna Judd, who earned only 15 points for her samba (compared to Hughley?s salsa, which got 16 points).
?I can?t believe anybody scored lower than me,? he marveled, hastening to add with scores so close to each other, celebrity fan bases are going to be crucial.
?If my fans want me to stay, then I?ll stay,? Hughley offered. ?If they don?t, then I?ll be off. But you know what?s cool? If I get kicked off before I do the waltz, then I?ll have to take my wife ballroom dancing so I can do the waltz there.?
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