busy day

[sodo5-blog]

Dell windows 8 tablet for business

Dell revealed its Windows 8 game plan Wednesday announcing new gear ranging from a Latitude tablet, Ultrabook, and an all-in-one PC. Noticeably absent from the lineup is a gpad g13 tablet and laptop hybrid, something other leading PC makers such as Acer, Asus, and Lenovo have announced. Pricing and ship dates for the new gear will be revealed October 26 with the launch of Windows 8, Dell says.  Dell’s most interesting new product is the Latitude 10 tablet. The Latitude 10 is a 10.1-inch Windows 8 tablet with a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels. It runs on Intel’s Atom system-on-a-chip processor with 2GB of RAM, up to 128GB of flash storage, as well as front and back camera. Dell says it is targeting the tablet at education, healthcare and government markets, and includes a card reader and fingerprint reader. A separate dock will also be available, but it’s not an attachable keyboard dock as seen with other Windows 8 tablet hybrids. Dell’s announced Latitude 6430u “durable” 14-inch Ultrabook is 20mm thin (.9 inches) and weighs just 3.7 pounds. Dell says it is 33 percent slimmer and 16 percent lighter than Dell’s current 14-inch Latitude notebook. It runs on Intel Core i3 to Core 17 processors with up to 8GB or RAM and is designed to meet military testing, which means you can add useful extras such as a spill-resistant keyboard or a free-fall hard disk sensor for preventing data loss. Third in Dell’s Windows 8 business lineup is the OptiPlex 9010 23-inch all-in-one PC using Intel’s third-generation Core processors. The OptiPlex also offers options for touchscreen functionality and fixed or rotating webcams for various business use scenarios. To fight its Ultrabook from feeling flimsy, Dell is boasting its 6430u was “Designed to meet MIL-STD-810G testing, a United States Military test standard where systems are subjected to the harshest conditions compared with buy ipad accessories.” PC manufactures have already previewed some of their Windows 8 devices, including tablets and ultrabooks. Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Fujitsu and Samsung showed several Windows 8 tablets featuring clamshell docks that turn them into full-fledged laptops using the dual touch and traditional interface of Windows 8.

[sodo5-blog]

review of a smart package iphone 5

The iPhone 5 may be Apple’s most divisive gadget yet. Since it was unveiled last week, tech geeks have derided it as disappointing and lacking in innovation. Without any big new advances, it’s being seen as only an incremental improvement over the previous iphone gadgets and accessories, the 4S. Yet many analysts expect the new device to beat all kinds of sales records. Apple itself on Monday said pre-orders had topped two million in 24 hours, or double what the 4S did in the same amount of time last year. Evidently, consumers don’t care whether the iPhone is innovative or iterative. In all likelihood, they’re going to make it a huge seller – and thus one of the year’s biggest gadgets – when it’s officially released on Sept. 21. So, after spending nearly a week with the iPhone 5, how does it stack up? The most noticeable change is its size and weight. The iPhone 5 adds an extra half inch to its screen size, bringing it to four inches diagonally, so it’s a little taller and more suitable for watching videos in proper widescreen format. It has the same width, though, so it’s still comfortable to use with one hand – and thumb. The weight difference is very pronounced. At 112 grams, it’s 20 per cent lighter than the 4S, but when holding both at the same time, it’s easy to think the difference is even greater. The iPhone 5 is amazingly light and slightly thinner, too, mainly because its main shell is now aluminum, rather than a big chunk of glass. Apple says its new A6 dual-core processor has twice the power of the previous A5. In benchmark tests using the PassMark app, that certainly appears to be true. The iPhone 5 does everything — from computations to 3D rendering to opening apps — faster than the 4S, in some cases at double the speed. The new device also boasts eight hours of web browsing time on its cellular connection, versus six on the 4S. The battery did indeed perform better in my tests, but it’s impossible to tell at this point how well it will hold up over time. One of the big selling features is Long-Term Evolution (LTE) connectivity, currently being rolled out in Canada by Bell, Rogers and Telus. All three carriers, as well as their respective sub-brands (Virgin, Fido and Koodo), will be selling the iPhone 5 when it launches. It’s still relatively early for LTE, so speeds are inconsistent. While the networks offer theoretical maximum downloads in excess of 100 megabits per second, Canadian carriers are promising speeds closer to the teens and twenties. The results I saw in downtown Toronto varied greatly, ranging as low as two Mbps to as high as 22 Mbps. With each attempt, however, I also simultaneously tested the 4S and in almost every case, the iPhone 5 clocked considerably faster speeds. The 4S is renowned for having one of the best – if not the best – cameras on the market (for a phone, of course). Its successor, which has improved image stabilization and better low-light processing, is the new king. The iPhone 5 takes better photos in both bright and low light, with sharper detail and colours. Photos and videos also look crisper on the new device’s screen, which has stronger colour saturation. One of the best new photo capabilities in the updated iOS 6 operating system — also being made available for buy ipad accessories and older iPhones — is panorama mode, which creates one long horizontal photo. It’s a nifty feature that other phones already have, but it’s fun nonetheless.

[sodo5-blog]

a store just sell ego electronic cigarette

New research suggests electronic cigarettes could be doing more harm than good - and one Western Bay medical expert says they do not appear to be safely regulated. Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are devices that deliver nicotine through a vapour and have become popular among some smokers trying to give up. Researchers from the University of Athens in Greece investigated the short-term effects of using ego electronic cigarette on smokers and non-smokers and found they caused an immediate increase in airway resistance and harm to lungs. Despite lack of FDA approval of the electronic cigarettes, a new store has opened in Mobile that just sells Electronic Cigarettes. It's called Vapor Time. It's located at 750 Downtowner Loop West. Owners Eddie and Cami Hughes moved to Mobile from Dothan, to open the store. Eddie was a two-pack-a-day smoker and has since started smoking electronic cigarettes only. The cigarettes are battery-powered, and they contain a liquid nicotine, which produces a vapor that looks like smoke. They don't contain the tar that cigarettes contain. A person trying to quit, slowly tapers down the level of nicotine in the liquid they choose. Cami Hughes, Co-owner of Vapor Time, says, "You don't smell the smoke. You can do it in your house and everything in your house doesn't turn yellow and smell like the nasty smoke smell." Electronic cigarettes are not approved by the FDA, and some doctors are not sold on them. Dr. Adrian DiVittorio is a pulmonologist in Mobile. He says, "I personally do not recommend the electronic cigarette because there hasn't been enough research even from china gadgets free shipping. Most successful patients have seen their doctor and gone on an FDA approved method for quitting such as a patch gum or pill, and gone on an exercise training program." Rita Chappelle, a spokepserson for the FDA saying, “We are concerned about the potential for addiction and abuse of these products. We don't want the public to perceive them as a safer alternative to cigarettes."

[sodo5-blog]

gun control polls show what

If recent history is a guide, the mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., on Friday is unlikely to move poll results about guns rights and angled fore grip gun control in any lasting way. Thirteen years ago, another shooting rampage at Columbine High School, not far from Aurora, produced a brief bump in support for stricter gun laws, but that new support had eroded a year later and ultimately gave way to a longer-term decline. The Columbine shootings attracted by far the most public interest of any news story in 1999, according to the Pew Research Center. That April week, more than two-thirds of Americans (68 percent) said they had followed the story very closely. The tragedy helped provoke a national debate over gun control laws, which in turn produced a flurry of polls checking Americans' opinions on the wisdom of such laws. A few weeks after the shootings, Pew Research found 65 percent of Americans said it was more important to control gun ownership, while only 30 percent said it was more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns. That was a eight-point jump in those favoring gun control laws (up from 57 percent) since the pollster had last asked the question in December 1993. The post-Columbine bump had faded about a year later, and support for stricter gun laws remained roughly constant over the next eight years. Following the 2008 election, however, support for stricter gun laws dropped off considerably. By April 2010, Pew Research found more Americans placing greater importance on protecting the rights of gun owners (49 percent) than on restricting gun ownership (45 percent). Similar questions tracked by Gallup and the Washington Post and ABC News showed similar patterns. Just after the Columbine shootings, Gallup found 66 percent of Americans saying that laws covering the sale of firearms should be stricter, but by October 2010 the pollster found support for stricter laws had fallen to just 44 percent. Likewise, the Post/ABC poll showed a longterm decline in support for stricter guns laws, dropping from 67 percent in May 1999 to 52 percent in January 2012. The Pew Research surveys show that the increase in support for gun rights since 2007 has occurred mostly among independents and Republicans, creating very wide partisan differences. In Pew's most recent survey, 72 percent of Republicans say it is more important to protect the rights of gun owners, compared to just 27 percent of Democrats. Partisanship does not entirely explain the trend, however. The Pew surveys found that although white Americans are far more likely than non-whites to back gun rights, African Americans' support has increased by 18 points (from 17 to 35 percent) since 2007. As always, these general views on stricter gun laws versus stronger gun rights in outdoor sports stores can translate into very different attitudes when pollsters ask about specific proposals. The latest tragedy in Colorado may well produce another brief polling bump, but it is unlikely to shift in attitudes over the long term absent a more fundamental change in the gun policy debate.

[sodo5-blog]

A fancast for an animated series

Right around 2008 or so, James Robinson and Mark Bagley took over as the creative team for volume two of ultraman costume Justice League of America. They radically changed the lineup (for the most part) after 2009's much-maligned "Cry for Justice" miniseries, and after the JLA/JSA crossover "The Dark Things" (a tie-in for Brightest Day), the lineup was squared down to Supergirl, Batman (Dick Grayson), Donna Troy, Jesse Quick, Jade, Congorilla, and Starman (Mikaal Tomas), with Cyborg and veteran member Red Tornado as support. This was the team that carried the book until its final issue, #60, in 2011. Even though I'm not much of a fan of modern comics (despite me not getting into them until '08), I was curious when they announced the plotlines of issues 50-53 of the JLA book, as I happen to like the villains they picked. So, I followed (for the first time) a comic, for seven issues at least (beginning with #49, stopping after the Starman/Congorilla one-shot, then picking up #60). I actually liked the story (despite a gaffe in one of the issues), and what I really liked was the lineup of the team. It had a combination of some of the most unlikely elements in the DCU--you had two ex-Titans, a former Infinitor, a former JSA member, someone who hadn't been on any team before, and two obscure characters. It was a shame that a team that had so much potential was ended as DC launched the New 52. Some of you may find James Robinson hit-or-miss, but I thought he had great potential with this team--he just needed to get the story, and the characters, straightened out a bit more. Therefore, I decided what my next fancast would be: an animated series based on this team roster (with one addition to level out the number of people), though with less of a Robinson influence (some of it, but not a whole lot). Here's how the background of this show would work: The team is formed not by the events of Cry For Justice, but by a new threat that emerges during a time where the JLA has disbanded, and our heroes are the ones in the area at the time to deal with it. The history of this world would resemble that of the pre-New 52 DCU--but not so incomprehensible that it would constantly reference itself. (No JL Elite, no Task Force, no, Extreme Justice, etc.) The overall theme of this show is the idea of legacy (an approach that made Robinson's biggest magnum opus, Starman, a hit), and what it takes for one or many to uphold it, while making themselves distinct. (Also, I'm not planning to make age a lot of an issue here.) Most episodes will follow the pattern Justice League did, with mostly two-parters. As to how the show would look and be guided: The art/animation style would be the same as Green Lantern: The Animated series, but blended with Mark Bagley's signature style (I like how animated his stuff looks). Andrea Romano would be voice director. Greg Wiseman would be a writer/director, along with Lauren Montgomery, with some scripts done by Peter David, Marv Wolfman, Christy Marx, Simon Furman, and even one from Robinson himself. It would air both on Cartoon Network and G4, to give something kids could watch on that particular network. We'll start things off with our main cast, beginning with the League itself: Emma Roberts as the voice of Supergirl/Kara Zor-El/Linda Lang. Roberts I feel has the right voice for playing the girl of steel, and hey, she comes from a showbiz family. In my take, Kara, in her Linda Lang ID, at the invitation of Lana Lang (posing as her aunt), has been interning at GBCS, the television station owned by the Daily Planet that her cousin once anchored at for a time. Brandon Routh as the voice of Batman/Dick Grayson. Yeah, I went there--like a lot of people, I agree Routh could've made a decent Superman; he just had the wrong script given to him. I picked him to voice Dick Grayson for two reasons: A) He could play the guy in live-action, and B) He's had experience with the Bat-universe, voicing the one-shot villain Everywhere Man in an episode of "The Batman"--plus C) he could then say he's played Batman at one point in his life. In this take, Bruce Wayne passes the mantle onto Dick after deciding to retire as Batman himself (instead of being blasted into the past during Final Crisis, which does not occur in this universe), but not after founding and running Batman Inc. Batman also begins training Bruce's son Damian (who yes is in this cartoon) as the current Robin (the Grant Morrison-written origin applies here). Dick, before very reluctant to don the mantle, as his years being Nightwing have given him a sense of distinction, warms to the role as he starts his china wholesale supplier career under the cowl. He acts as the team's best tactician.

[sodo5-blog]

Witnessed history through the camera lens

City Hall is quickly becoming the hot-spot for art in Winkler.

After hosting the Manitoba Arts Network show last fall, and the Winkler Arts Council show in the winter, the venue is now home to “Images”, a photo and camera lense mug exhibition from the Association for Manitoba Archives.

The Winkler Heritage Society and Archives are the hosts of the show and were eager to use this opportunity to present historical images from Manitoba. The organization held a reception on July 19 to introduce the show to dignitaries and Heritage Society members.

“The show is made up of 28 photos from across rural Manitoba,” aid Winkler Heritage Society archivist Ed Falk.

He added, “They all follow the theme of recreation which includes photos of people at picnics, at the lake, at the curling rink and so on. There are even two photos from Winkler. One is of the Dominion Day parade in 1916 and the other features the Winkler Farmer’s Band from 1939.”

Canon has formally announced it will be entering the mirrorless interchangeable lens market, which will be no surprise to anyone who’s seen the leaked reports in the last few days.

The EOS M will be aimed at new users as well as people already using a Canon EOS camera. According to EOS Brand Manager Chris Macleod, the EOS M will bring “professional quality” photography to a wider range of users.

The EOS M can use any existing EF and EFS lens thanks to a special mount adaptor and also comes with a full size hotshoe. It uses the same 18MP APS-C image sensor as the existing 650D but in a frame only 108.6 x 66.5 x 32.3 mm and 262g (body only). This is around 59% thinner and 50% lighter than the 650D.

Canon lens coffee mug will sell three colours (red, black and white) and three different kits. The Body Only will ship with the EF-Mount Adaptor and be mainly aimed at people with an existing collection of lense. The Single IS Lens kit will come with the 18-55mm STM Lens, while the Twin Lens kit will also include a 22mm “pancake” Lens and the specially designed Speedlite 90EX. Only the Twin Lens kit will have the have the Red and White body options.

The prints date from the late 1880s to the early 1950s and were digitized and restored so they could be properly presented in a public setting.

“The prints adorned walls, occupied albums, resided in shoe-boxes and were viewed from time-to-time by families, friends and interested parties,” said Association for Manitoba Archives member Lorne Coulson who restored the collection and created the prints.

“Eventually each image found its way into the repository of the family or community archive,” he added.

[sodo5-blog]

Low-cost, value-based accommodations with a comfortable bed

Low-cost, value-based accommodations with a comfortable bed, great location and WiFi have taken precedence over the frills long associated with traditional hospitality, spawning a boom in hotels that value function over form, like china cheap wholesale. Seeking a greater slice of the budget-hotel pie, Red Planet Hotels, an investment company, has purchased a significant stake in Tune Hotels, a subsidiary of the low-cost carrier AirAsia. Tim Hansing, the CEO of Red Planet, attributes the Asean budget-hotel boom to the rise of cheap flights and the development of the Asian middle class. "The budget airline system allows us to capture that market and tag on to the demand it's generating," said Mr Hansing, who worked eight years alongside Saudi Prince Alwaleed, the owner of the Four Seasons, before starting Red Planet. The Tune buy is the biggest transaction in Red Planet's two-year history and propels the company onto Tune's board of directors. The deal moves a 16% stake of Tune into Red Planet hands, making it one of the biggest franchisees of the brand across Asean. "It wasn't in the original plan to buy Tune, but for Red Planet it is a total game-changer," Mr Hansing said. "This is the fastest-growing market for tourist arrivals in the world, and the budget-hotel market is served very badly in Asia." Tune's streamlined hotels market themselves on a pay-as-you-go platform: The customer books a room, then pays for amenities as needed. Red Planet will open a 130-room Tune Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 14 in September, and by year-end the company will have 10 operating projects across Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. Rooms will start at US$15 in Bangkok, and customers tend to add $5 worth of amenities. Air conditioning and WiFi are the most popular. "Funny enough, funny towels from hotel are not that popular. People tend to bring their own," said Mr Hansing, who began in the industry 25 years ago as a carrot peeler in a hotel kitchen. Budget hotels are often more profitable than their luxurious counterparts because they are less costly and quicker to build, offer faster return on investment, have a bigger demand base and offer more diversification.

[sodo5-blog]

Kim Kardashian and boyfriend Kanye West are matching again

For a couple who both have their own fashion lines, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West showed a distinct lack of inventiveness today as they stepped out Los Angeles. The couple left Kanye's Hollywood Hills mansion in near-identical outfits of black pu leather strap trousers and white tops. Kanye's bright blue and black trainers provided the only splash of colour to his outfit, while his girlfriend opted for black spiky heels. Perhaps her lack of inventiveness could be down to Kim's busy day - she earlier revealed she had risen early for a morning workout. She revealed via Twitter that she had already done her Barry's Bootcamp and Pilates workout by 9am this morning. 'Barrys Bootcamp & pilates done before 9am! I feel good! Beast mode day 2! Double workout week!' the 31-year-old tweeted to her 15.3 million followers. The star also posted a photograph of her in a flesh coloured bikini against the spectacular backdrop of the Pacific ocean on china online shop. She was later spotted heading out for lunch with a friend in what appeared to be workout gear of black leggings and a grey Los Angeles Clippers sweater. It's unclear whether the string bikini she was wearing earlier on for the sunrise snap was from the Kardashian Khaos bikini line, but Kim obviously works very hard to maintain her curvy, toned figure. 'He’s gonna be on [Keeping Up with the Kardashians] even more. It’s crazy. But that’s what I’m saying, he likes Kim so much. He would never let a female push one of his whips but I guess he’s like "That’s my lady so what’s mine is hers."' However, the source said that Kim is taking care of the controversial rapper on an emotional level. 'He’s giving her the world but make no mistake, [he isn't] stupid. [You better] believe she’s bringing it hard too and taking care of him on a more emotional level.'

[sodo5-blog]

Green car air freshener in a Crowded Market

Old running shoes, rancid food, mildewed towels – yuck!  We all know that stuff stinks.  Just a TV image of an overflowing trash can is enough to curl our noses.   And it’s this very instinct that lies at the heart of a highly effective advertising campaign for Febreze—one that dramatizes a particular solution to a particular problem, and does so in a “you-can’t-possibly-miss-or-forget-this-point” kind of way.  (For more on this idea, see my earlier post, “Don’t Advertise Until You Read This.”)

Many of cheap china wholesale have seen spots from Febreze’s “Breathe Happy” advertising campaign.  A blindfolded test subject is led into a room that the viewer immediately recognizes as a horrendous-smelling environment: say, a restaurant kitchen strewn with dirty dishes and chicken carcasses, or a gym where sweaty wrestlers are working out.  The test subjects report that wherever they are, it smells fresh.  And then, they remove their blindfolds.  Surprise – it may look gross, but it smells great!  Why?  It’s all been sprayed with Febreze.

When you see one of these ads, you don’t have to ask, “What’s the point?”  It couldn’t be more apparent – and if you spend a lot of time around teenager’ gym clothes, it couldn’t be more appealing.

Did J.C. Penney's Marketer Just Get Fired? Don't Make His Mistake. Jerry McLaughlin Jerry McLaughlin Contributor

The Hidden Flaw in the J.C. Penney's Campaign Jerry McLaughlin Jerry McLaughlin Contributor

Say "No" And Grow - The Customer Is Not Always Right For Your Brand Jerry McLaughlin Jerry McLaughlin Contributor

The problem and solution are eminently clear: Febreze makes stinky stuff stop stinking.

And though the ads don’t tell us this, Febreze does more than mask bad smells, it actually makes them stop smelling. Febreze’s active ingredient, a molecule called beta-cyclodextrin, grabs other smelly molecules and, in a way, switches them off.  This is what truly differentiates Febreze, and makes it better than a bouquet of flowers or a pine-tree-scented green apple car freshener.

Add to that the emotional impact of seeing the test subjects respond to the big reveal.  If we believe these aren’t paid actors, and we believe their surroundings are as ripe as they look, it’s a pretty dramatic scenario.

[sodo5-blog]

The Temptation Nami Sex Toy Cause

A Vinita Park man was charged recently with stealing a nami sex toy from a St. Charles adult video and novelty store. Thomas Charbonneau, 56, of Vinita Park, is charged with stealing and third-degree assault. St. Charles Police said paid $6 to watch a movie at New Release Video, 2330 Highway 94 South Outer Road. He complained about the movie’s quality and asked for his money back. When the store clerk refused, Charbonneau reached across the counter and took the sex toy, valued at $75, and said, “I’ll take this in lieu of my $6,” according to the report. Police said the clerk told him he couldn’t do that and stepped between Charbonneau and the exit, at which point Charbonneau pushed and tried to punch the clerk. The sales clerk sprayed Charbonneau twice in the face with mace. Charbonneau pushed him into a display case, picked up the sex toy and left the business. St. Charles Police said in a report that a man entered a detached garage on Jefferson Street and stole one piece nami sex toy valued at $16.95 and a bicycle pump valued at $50. However, police said the man left his wallet at the scene. When he was arrested later, the man identified himself by a different name.