Dell opens window on efforts to sell company

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Dell 's financial advisers tried to persuade 71 potential bidders to make an offer for the troubled personal computer maker before two of them emerged to challenge a proposed $24.4 billion deal with the company's founder, according to documents filed Friday.

The wide-ranging efforts to ignite a bidding contest for Dell Inc. are among the morsels of new information contained in a voluminous recitation of the events that have thrust the world's third largest PC maker on to the auction block.

The bidding has boiled down to a group led by company CEO Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners vying against separate alternative proposals submitted during the past week by buyout specialist Blackstone Group LP and billionaire investor Carl Icahn. The other potential suitors contacted by Dell's financial advisers weren't identified in Friday's disclosures.

For now Dell's board is standing behind its nearly two-month old agreement to sell the Round Rock, Texas, company to Michael Dell and Silver Lake for $24.4 billion, or $13.65 per share. But the board is still holding out the possibility that it might side with one of the offers from Blackstone or Icahn once they finalize their bids in the next few weeks. Blackstone has pledged to offer more than $14.65 per share for most of Dell Inc.'s outstanding stock while Icahn says he plans to pay $15 per share for up to 58 percent of the company's outstanding stock.

Dell hopes to complete a sale by Aug. 2, although it still hasn't even set a date for a shareholder meeting to approve whichever deal gets the board's final blessing.

Friday's regulatory filing provided Dell's board with its best chance yet to convince shareholders that it has gone to great lengths to ensure the company is sold for the highest possible price, given the challenges facing PC makers at a time sales of desktop and laptop machines have been declining as more people embrace smartphones and tablets.

Dell's disclosures underscored the bleak outlook in Friday's filing by including snapshots of internal financial projections that were lowered during the past eight months as the company's management and board came to grips with the depths of the PC downturn.

In July Dell's management presented a forecast calling for an operating profit of $5.6 billion on revenue of $66 billion in the current fiscal year ending in January 2014. After mulling a variety of information, Dell's board concluded the company is more likely to post an operating profit of $3 billion, a 46 percent decrease from the July prediction. The board is now planning for revenue of $56.5 billion for the current fiscal year, a 14 percent drop from the earlier forecast.

Michael Dell, the company's CEO and founder, believes he will be in a better position to engineer a turnaround if he doesn't have to cater to Wall Street's fixation on whether revenue and earnings are growing from one quarter to the next. That's why Dell would end its 25-year history as a publicly held company if its CEO's debt-laden proposal wins out. The deal would saddle Dell Inc. with more than $15 billion in debt, including a $2 billion loan from Microsoft Corp.

Blackstone and Michael Dell also have left open the possibility of working together, if Blackstone should end up in control of the company. Icahn hasn't indicated whether he would want to retain Michael Dell if his bid succeeds.

Michael Dell's deal is facing resistance from major shareholders who believe the sales price isn't high enough. Southeastern Asset Management, the company's second biggest shareholder after Michael Dell, contends Dell Inc. is worth nearly $24 per share. The Memphis, Tenn., firm had suggested that it work with Michael Dell on a buyout last June, according to Friday's filing.

A month after Southeastern floated the buyout idea, Michael Dell met with a Silver Lake representative at an industry conference and set up an August meeting to discuss how they might work together.

Silver Lake initially was competing against another unidentified buyout firm that dropped up of the bidding in early December. Silver Lake at first proposed paying $11.22 to $12.16 per share before finally settling on $13.65 per share after being prodded by Dell's board to raise its offer on several occasions, according to the company's filing.

After the deal with Michael Dell and Silver Lake was announced in early February, company adviser Evercore Partners contacted 67 different potential suitors and fielded unsolicited inquiries from four other parties, according to the filing. Only 11 of the potential bidders that spoke with Evercore were interested in exploring a deal. The documents didn't identify any of the other suitors besides Blackstone and Icahn.

To keep Blackstone at the negotiating table, Dell agreed to pay up to $25 million of the firm's expenses.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-03-29-Dell%20Acquisition/id-85aca3e6e21a400d87e00f7429c2b349

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babubai: HACKING ULTIMATE: mSpy | Software Review

mSpy | Software Review

mSpy is one of the most popular and top rated cell spy software meant for mobile phones as well as computers. This invaluable application features a portfolio of solutions for monitoring your family members, business partners as well as employees. The security feature of this software platform ensures the safety of your cell phone and the entire personal and confidential information stored in it. mSpy can compatibly work with most popular kinds of? smartphones, android, blackberry, iPhone, Symbian and Windows Mobile. Once installed in a cell phone, this program can track the mobile phone activities of the user of the phone and inform you all of that precisely. The most effective logging and reporting features of this software has made it highly popular among millions of people using mobile tracking software.

Who will require mSpy?
Those with a need of knowing the truth behind personal and business interactions can just install mSpy mobile sms spy on the target cell phone and monitor the entire range of activities happening through it. This is an invaluable tool for you to catch your cheating spouse, watch over your kids for their misbehaviors and nab your employees when they go wrong or engage in inappropriate activities.
The Wonderful Advantages of mSpy
Easy Installation: The whole process of installing this tracking software only takes about 15 minutes to complete. This can be done without giving room to any suspicions. The installation procedure is detailed in the user manual.
Protecting the Safety of the Phone: Every spying software must be able to work secretly. mSpy will not leave even a trace of information of indication for the user to discover or even doubt that it has been installed on their phone.
Remote access Capability:?After the physical installation, you need not touch the phone by hand. You can monitor it from a remote user account.
Number of Plans to Choose: Based on the monitoring needs of the buyer, there are a number of plans to choose from. Therefore, this program offers enough amount of flexibility with respect to budget and functionality. The user-friendly interface and 10 days money back guarantee are the other attractive features.

The Various Monitoring features of MSpy
1. GPS tracker: The GPS tracker feature can track the exact location of the cell phone and fix it on the maps.
2. Email reading:?The program can record all the emails sent and received by the device.
3. SMS tracking:?The complete details of all the SMS and text conversations can be recorded.
4. Call tracking: All inbound and outbound calls pertaining to the target phone can be logged with time and duration details. Subscribers can also record and listen to conversations in real time.
5. Internet history:?You can have the complete log of the websites visited through the cell phone?s browser even after the history is deleted from the target mobile.
6. Blocking Applications:?You can block some websites from being visited from the target mobile to protect the interests of your kids.
7. Accessing photos and videos and phone book:?You can enjoy an unrestricted access to the contacts, photos and videos stored on the target phone.
8. SMS commands:?From a remote location, you can issue commands to lock your phone that is stolen or lost. You can also use this feature to take a data back up or delete the informati0n stored in it.
9. SIM change Notification: if the SIm of the target mobile is changed, the program sends an SMS alert to notify you of the same.
10. Keystrokes recording:?The inbuilt key logger capability records the keystrokes of the mobile in real time.
11. Reverse phone lookup facility:?Most unique to mSpy, the reverse phone look up feature enables the subscriber track the person using the number irrespective of whether it belongs to a mobile or a fixed landline.

mSpy?s sophisticated surveillance tools can spy all the activities of a mobile phone or computer thereby offering the complete portfolio of monitoring solutions. For further information, please, visit http://www.mspy.com/.

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Source: http://hackingultimate.blogspot.com/2013/03/mspy-software-review.html

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Source: http://babubai29.blogspot.com/2013/03/hacking-ultimate-mspy-software-review.html

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The final OUYA retail console is ready, we go hands-on

It's been a long time coming, and now the Android-powered, Kickstarter-funded OUYA video game console is finally heading to backers. Sure, the final retail units for non-backers won't be available until June, but around 50,000 lucky folks who pledged over $99 to OUYA's massively successful campaign will be receiving their units in the coming days. We've already heard what developers have to say about it, but this week we got our first hands-on with the miniature, Tegra 3-powered game console we've been hearing so much about since last summer.

Is it the "best Tegra 3 device on the market," as OUYA's claimed? Let's find out!

Gallery: Ouya hands-on (GDC 2013)

Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/zDxGq1-6584/

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Send Us Photos of Your Beautifully Cracked Smartphone Screens

Dropping your phone and cracking the screen sucks. But it can lead to an amazing fusion of art and technology. Wired is putting out a call for your artsy photos of a smartphone or tablet with a busted screen. Cracks, ...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/H69oMZoCbtc/

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Book Marketing: 9 Activities to Boost Your Author Career | The ...

There are millions of books out there, increasing in volume faster as the technology makes it easier to publish, so how do you stand out from the crowd?

I don?t believe there is only one answer, but I do think you need to do something to get noticed, stand out from the crowd and get your book sales started. Here?s some different ideas from Dana Sitar, author of ?A Writer?s Bucket List?.

You know you?re supposed to write a blog and be active on social media. You?re following all the tips you?ve ever heard for marketing your books through these channels ? even trying the ones that contradict each other ? but you always wonder if you could do more. If you feel stuck in a rut and searching for new ways to build your platform and promote your books, here are nine ideas to add to your arsenal:

1. Enter a contest.

Placing in and winning contests add to your credits and, depending on the contest, can afford you great cash prizes and opportunities in your field, like attending a writers conference or having your work published in a major publication. Prestigious leaders in the industry often judge the right contests, so even if you don?t place, you have a chance to put your work in front of people you couldn?t otherwise touch.

Writing for contests can also be a great motivator for fiction writers. Where non-fiction writers often have assignments and deadlines to guide their writing habit, fiction writers often have to be more self-motivated. Contest themes can afford you inspiration when you?re feeling blocked, and the deadlines force you to adhere to a writing schedule.

2. Submit stories to literary journals.

Rather than pining away your whole life and betting your entire career on a novel, break into publishing with baby steps. Without worrying whether you?ll be accepted, start submitting short stories or poetry to literary journals. Working with editorial guidelines and learning to accept inevitable rejection will help steel you for other endeavors in publishing. Even if you never have a story published, the experience of submitting and the feedback you?ll occasionally receive from thoughtful editors will be invaluable for strengthening your creative and professional skills.

Some magazines will even pay for your stories, so this is a great way to build an additional income stream so you don?t have to rely on book sales.

3. Create digital products.

Use your writing skills to develop more than stories. Create a helpful ebook, manifesto, an e-guide, or an online course. These may come very late in your career as a way to impart your wisdom, or early on as a way to share your work and connect with new readers.

Get creative! Being an author doesn?t mean you have to create products to teach other authors. Create products that will help you reach your readers. Write a free manifesto from the point-of-view of your main character. Create an e-guide to the capital city in your fantasy world. Develop an online course to share tips and recipes in the style of cooking your characters are famous for. Diversifying the products you create will help you not only reach a broader audience but also broaden your own knowledge and your voice.

4. Produce a book trailer.

For at least one book you publish, write and produce a trailer video. I mean do it yourself ? or, at least, work very closely with the professional you hire to do it for you. Even if you don?t want to be responsible for this step for all of your books, going through the process at least once will help you develop new skills, and understanding it will prepare you to work with publishers on marketing future books.

Videos are a fantastic marketing tool, even when they?re marketing books. Developing a multi-media presence online will not only help you reach a wider audience but will also greatly enhance your appeal to the audience you already have.

5. Write a column for a newspaper or newsletter.

I know: You?re a fiction writer, not a journalist. But, why would people buy your book if they don?t know who you are? Maybe they?ll recognize your name from your book review column in the library?s newsletter, or your pontificating in the local weekly.

Even if the focus of your writing career is not on freelance news writing, you can make steady income and gain at least local recognition from a regular column (national or international if you work with an e-newsletter). Your column gives readers a chance to sample your writing and get to know you without investing additional time to read your blog or money to buy your books.

6. Meet other writers in person.

Some of the best education you?ll find in any art form comes from the people who are doing what you do ? or better, what you dream to do. Getting to know others who share and understand your interests and goals also comes with a unique comfort and camaraderie that even the most supportive group of non-writer friends or family can?t quite offer.

If you?re exclusively active in online forums, social media, or blogging, make an effort to connect in real life with some of the people you know online. You don?t have to shell out the time and money to attend a writers conference or retreat (though, those are also good options). Just pay attention to where your online friends are living or traveling, and send an occasional ?Let?s grab coffee? email when they?re in your area.

7. Find and keep a good critique partner.

You know the value of getting a second opinion on anything you write. That value increases greatly when the opinion comes from someone who understands your voice, style, and intentions well. Finding a skilled writer with whom to swap critiques throughout your career will do wonders for your writing and your brand. Start with finding a critique group in your area through (Meetup is a great place to start), or an online group like LadiesWhoCritique, and work with a few people to find your ideal partnership.

8. Generate an email list.

?Permission marketing? is the buzzword phrase of the day, and building an email list is its most basic manifestation. When a reader gives you an email address, they expect and welcome correspondence from you. It gives you an opportunity to make promises, which creates expectations, and keep them, which fosters goodwill, satisfaction, and loyalty.

Writing an email newsletter is one of the best ways to build an email list, because it allows you to offer something of value ? news, information, or just another way of connecting ? to your readers in exchange for permission to contact them. If your fan base is loyal enough, you may be able to get readers to sign up just to hear your news. If you?re still working to grow your audience, try offering an incentive to sign up ? many authors and bloggers offer a free item when readers join their list (your new digital product could come in handy here!)

9. Speak at live events.

Successfully capturing the attention of an audience ? or, even better, eliciting an emotional response like laughter or tears ? is one of the greatest highs you will experience in life. That massive payoff is probably why it?s so nerve-wracking for most people. Get through it a few times, and your self-confidence will soar through the roof.

Writers can too easily neglect live events, because we?re often quiet, behind-the-scenes people. We want our work to speak for itself. But stepping out in front of audience helps you connect with readers and potential readers in a more real, more memorable way. Live events also offer more pragmatic benefits: Readers will be more likely to purchase your paperback in person than online, where they can compare it to the cheaper ebook option, and meet-and-greets allow you to hand-sign copies of your book, turning them into personal mementos for your readers.

Do you have any advice or experience with these different ways of getting attention for your writing? Or any other suggestions? I?d love to hear from you in the comments below.

Want more ideas to boost your writing career and ignite your creativity? My latest book, AWriter?sBucketList is a launching point for all the possibilities of being a writer. Grab the PDF today, or signup to be notified shortly when the book is available for Kindle and paperback.

About the Author

Dana Sitar is a freelance blogger and author of ?AWriter?sBucketList?, 99 things to do for inspiration, education, and experience before your writing kicks the bucket. She shares resources, tips, and tools for writers in search of a path through the blog, books, and community at DIYWriting.

Top image: Flickr Creative Commons Alex Kess Raincoats

Tagged as: competitions, promotion, speaking

Source: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2013/03/28/boost-your-author-career/

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Growing plants on Mars

Mar. 28, 2013 ? Concrete plans for a one-way ticket to Mars have been forged. Food will have to be grown on location. Is this a distant future scenario? Not for Wieger Wamelink, ecologist at Alterra Wageningen UR, for whom the future will begin on 2 April. He will be researching whether or not it is possible to grow plants on the moon.

We have been to the moon several times. Next time, we may go back for a considerable period. And concrete plans for a one-way ticket to Mars have already been forged. Food will have to be grown on location. Is this a distant future scenario? Not for Wieger Wamelink, ecologist at Alterra Wageningen UR, for whom the future will begin on 2 April. He will be researching whether or not it is possible to grow plants on the moon.

Will plants survive in Martian soil or moon dust? This question was initially prompted by Dutch plans to establish a colony on Mars. As the plan does not include a return trip, the basic necessities would have to be satisfied on location. "Mars is still a long way off," says Wieger Wamelink, explaining his plans. "But the moon is closer, so it would be more realistic to establish a colony there. What's more, we already know the mineral composition of the soil on the moon, and of moon dust. So what I'm aiming to find out now is whether plants will grow in moon substrate, or whether certain essential elements are lacking. This has never been done before. We are gradually discovering more about Mars, which is why the planet has been included in this research."

Wamelink's research will compare the requirements of certain species of plants with the mineral composition of the soil on the moon and Mars. Alterra has a database that can analyse 25 abiotic preconditions per species and calculate whether a plant species will survive or not. The database also stores information about heavy metals and minerals, although as yet, there are no fixed preconditions for these elements. Using this data, he will be able to determine which plant species would theoretically be capable of growing in moon dust or Martian soil.

Wieger Wamelink: "We will then allow certain species of wild plants and agricultural crops to germinate in pots of artificial moon and Martian soil supplied by NASA. The growth of these plants will be compared with that of the same species in ordinary soil from the Earth. Preconditions relating to heavy metals and minerals will be derived from our findings. Our research is based on the premise that an atmosphere will be available to the colony, perhaps in domes or buildings. We are also assuming the presence of water, either from the moon or Mars or transported from Earth. The plants would produce oxygen and recycle carbon dioxide, ultimately creating a kind of ecosystem."

At a later stage, Wamelink also wants to look into the food safety of agricultural crops grown in human-made conditions on the moon in moon soil. The first trial crops will be planted in greenhouses on 2 April.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wageningen University and Research Centre.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/astronomy/~3/6ImhEcm_7W4/130328075708.htm

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Texas retail gas prices drop 4 cents this week

IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Retail gasoline prices across Texas have dropped 4 cents this week.

AAA Texas on Thursday reported the average price at the pump fell to $3.53. The national average also has fallen, down to $3.64.

The association survey found Beaumont has the cheapest gasoline statewide at $3.39 per gallon. Dallas and Fort Worth have the most expensive retail gasoline in Texas at $3.62 per gallon.

Texas drivers on average are paying 28 cents less than this time last year.

AAA says it's too soon to determine whether retail prices have peaked for the spring because there's still refinery maintenance to be completed and much of the country has yet to transition to summer-blend gasoline.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-retail-gas-prices-drop-163846501.html

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Signed contracts to buy US homes dips slightly

In this Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, photo, a sale pending announcement sits atop a for sale sign in a home's yard in Richardson, Texas. Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February, but the level stayed close to a nearly three-year high. The report suggests sales of previously occupied homes will keep rising in the coming months. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

In this Friday, Feb. 22, 2013, photo, a sale pending announcement sits atop a for sale sign in a home's yard in Richardson, Texas. Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February, but the level stayed close to a nearly three-year high. The report suggests sales of previously occupied homes will keep rising in the coming months. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February, but the level stayed close to a nearly three-year high. The report suggests sales of previously occupied homes will keep rising in the coming months.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that its seasonally adjusted index for pending home sales dipped to 104.8 in February. That's down from January's reading of 105.2 ? the highest since April 2010, when a homebuyer's tax credit was boosting sales.

Signed contracts are 8.4 percent higher than a year ago.

There is generally a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed sale.

In February, completed sales of previously occupied homes rose to a seasonally adjusted pace of 4.98 million, the fastest in more than three years. The gains in both signed contracts and completed sales point to a housing recovery that is strengthening, although re-sales remain below the 5.5 million that are consistent with healthy markets.

Steady hiring and near record-low mortgage rates have encouraged more Americans to buy homes more than six years after the housing market started to collapse. More people are also moving out on their own after living with friends and relatives in the recession. That's driving a big gain in apartment construction and also pushing up rents.

Pending home sales rose 0.4 percent in the Midwest and 0.1 percent in the West last month. They fell 2.5 percent in the Northeast and 0.3 percent in the South.

One concern is that a shortage of available homes is limiting sales in many markets. More people are also starting to put their homes on the market, which could help sales in the coming months.

The Realtors' group last week said that the number of available homes for sale rose 10 percent last month, the first monthly gain since April. Even with the gain, the inventory of homes for sale was still 19 percent below a year ago.

A limited supply of homes for sale has helped drive prices higher.

U.S. home prices rose 8.1 percent for the 12 months that ended in January, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index. That's the fastest annual pace since June 2006. Prices rose in all 20 cities surveyed and eight markets posted double digit gains.

Stable price gains should encourage more people to buy and put their homes on the market, keeping the housing recovery going. And higher home prices make people feel wealthier, which leads consumers to spend more and drives more economic growth.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-27-Pending%20Home%20Sales/id-a40b56d00855448e894e33d732fecacb

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Housing, manufacturing give US economy lift

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Gains in housing and manufacturing propelled the U.S. economy over the winter, according to reports released Tuesday, and analysts say they point to the resilience of consumers and businesses as government spending cuts kick in.

U.S. home prices rose 8.1 percent in January, the fastest annual rate since the peak of the housing boom in the summer of 2006. And demand for longer-lasting factory goods jumped 5.7 percent in February, the biggest increase in five months.

February new-home sales and March consumer confidence looked a little shakier. But the overall picture of an improving economy drove stocks higher on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 99 points in late-afternoon trading. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 10 points.

"There is nothing in this data that says the economy is falling back," said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors.

A recovery in housing has helped lift the economy this year and is finally restoring some of the wealth lost during the Great Recession.

The year-over-year rise in home prices reported by the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller 20-city index was the fastest since June 2006. Prices rose in all 20 cities and eight markets posted double-digit increases, including some of the hardest hit during the crisis. Prices rose 23.2 percent in Phoenix, 17.5 percent in San Francisco and 15.3 percent in Las Vegas.

The strength in home prices has far from erased all the damage from the crisis. Home prices nationwide are still 29 percent below their peak reached in August 2006.

Still, steady gains should encourage more people to buy and put their homes on the market, keeping the recovery going. And higher home prices make people feel wealthier, which leads consumers to spend more and drives more economic growth.

Sales of new homes cooled off in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 411,000. That's down from January's pace of 431,000, which was the fastest since September 2008. But February's pace was still better than every other month since April 2010, when a temporary home-buying tax credit was boosting sales. And sales are 12.3 percent higher than a year ago.

"We are still far from the healthy level of 700,000, but we're slowly making our way in that direction," said Jennifer Lee, senior economist with BMO Capital Markets. "We just have to accept the fact that the path will be interrupted once in a while and that's what happened in February."

Manufacturing is also boosting the economy this year, and factories were busier in February, according to the Commerce Department report on durable goods orders.

February's increase was driven by a surge in commercial aircraft orders, which tend to be volatile. Still, orders for motor vehicles and parts increased solidly, suggesting demand for cars and trucks remains strong.

Orders for machinery and other goods that signal business investment plans fell sharply in February. But the decline followed the biggest monthly gain in nearly three years. Economists had expected companies to ease up after January's spending spree. When looking at the two months together, business investment has accelerated from the end of last year and should contribute to economic growth.

"The picture of business spending to start the year is fairly healthy," said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG

One concern is that tax increases and government spending cuts could stunt the economy's momentum. Both weighed on consumers' minds in March.

The Conference Board, a New York-based private research group, said its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 59.7 this month, down from 68 in February. The decline was mainly due to a drop in expectations for the economy over the next six months, though consumers also were more pessimistic regarding current economic conditions.

Some economists think the timing of the survey may have exacerbated the decline.

The survey was conducted from March 1 through March 14, just as $85 billion in automatic spending cuts began. Consumers were already feeling pinched by higher Social Security taxes that have reduced take-home pay for most workers this year. And gas prices rose sharply in February, before easing slightly this month.

"It was sort of a perfect storm," said Chris G. Christopher Jr., director of consumer economics at IHS Global Insight. "I do expect confidence to rebound as long as there is no government shutdown and the political bickering in Washington doesn't reach a fever pitch."

A healthier job market is also likely to make people feel a little better about their finances.

Employers have added an average of 200,000 jobs per month since November. That's nearly double the average from last spring. The job gains helped lower the unemployment rate in February to a four-year low of 7.7 percent.

Christopher expects economic growth in the January-March quarter to rise at a 2.9 percent annual rate. That would follow a meager gain of 0.1 percent in the October-December quarter, which was largely due to temporary factors, including sharp cuts in defense spending.

Naroff says the government spending cuts taking effect, known as sequestration, could reduce growth by a full percentage point this year. Still, even with the drag, he expects economic growth for 2013 to be around 2.6 percent. That would be better than the 2.2 percent growth in 2012.

__

AP Business Writers Paul Wiseman and Marcy Gordon contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/housing-manufacturing-us-economy-lift-191143067--finance.html

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National Traffic System Developer George Hart, W1NJM (SK)

03/26/2013

George Hart, W1NJM -- the chief developer of the National Traffic System (NTS) -- passed away Sunday, March 24. He was 99. An ARRL Charter Life Member, Hart spent more than four decades as a member of the ARRL Headquarters staff and continued to be an active amateur and regular participant in Field Day. In 1984, the ARRL Board of Directors named Hart as an ARRL Honorary Vice President.

First licensed in 1929 as W3AMR in Pennsylvania, Hart began his ARRL career in August 1938 as a second operator at the W1AW Maxim Memorial Station, which was new at the time. He took over as Acting Communications Manager in 1942 when then-Acting Communications Manager John Huntoon, W1LVQ, left the ARRL for active duty in the US Coast Guard during World War II. Beginning with the December 1942 issue, Hart contributed almost 1000 articles to QST, with topics ranging from public service to simulated emergency tests to traffic handling pointers; he also penned the monthly columns ?Operating News? and ?Amateur Radio Public Service.? Hart served in the Army Air Force from 1944-1946, returning to his job as a Communications Assistant at ARRL Headquarters under Ed Handy, W1BDI, after the war. During his tenure at the League, Hart served as Communications Assistant, National Emergency Coordinator and ultimately as Communications Manager from 1967 until his retirement in 1978.

?George Hart exemplified the finest of the ?old school? radio amateurs for whom operating skill and public service were paramount,? said ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. ?For many years -- as a private endeavor from his own station -- he offered high-speed Morse code practice at up to 65 words per minute. George set and met high standards in everything he did, inspiring generations of radio amateurs to do the same.?

Hart first announced the National Traffic System in the September 1949 issue of QST. In his article ?New National Traffic Plan: ARRL Maps New Traffic Organization for All Amateurs,? he outlined the new national system [Editor?s note: You must be an ARRL member and logged in to the ARRL website to access this article.]:

?During 1948, practically every section in the ARRL field organization had a net of some kind going, and 47 sections had nets devoted exclusively to traffic handling. If, in each section net, a certain station (or stations) was designated to take all traffic going outside the section, this station then to report to a later net having greater coverage, and the same procedure repeated funneling into still greater coverage areas, we would have a traffic organization of national scope capable of handling traffic to (and from) any point in the entire field organization, which includes the entire United States, most of its Possessions and most of Canada.

?This in briefest outline, is the essence of the ARRL National Traffic Plan. It takes the already-existing section net as a unit and makes two larger unit categories which are called ?regional? and ?area? nets. Each regional net covers a certain number of section nets (normally those within a certain call area), and each area net covers a certain number of regional nets (normally those within a time zone). The area nets, of which there are four (one for each time zone), pass traffic around among themselves, and it then comes back down through regional and section nets again in the same evening. This requires organization and teamwork of no small dimensions, but it will work if we get together on it and push.?

In 2009, the ARRL Board of Directors created the George Hart Distinguished Service Award. This annual award is conferred upon an ARRL member whose service to the League?s Field Organization is of the most exemplary nature. Selection criteria include the nominee?s operating record with the National Traffic System, participation within the Amateur Radio Emergency Service? (ARES?) or station appointments and/or leadership positions held within the ARRL Field Organization.

Ellen White, W1YL, remembered Hart fondly: "George was my 'boss' for a number of years in the ARRL's Communication Department. His devotion to the National Traffic System and all forms of emergency communication were legendary, as well as was his even-handed management of all operating phases. I will miss Geo, and that's no joking matter."

Hart was a member of the ARRL A-1 Operator Club, the Quarter Century Wireless Association and the Newington Amateur Radio League, which he helped create in 1946 and for which he served as its first president. He was inducted into the CQ Hall of Fame in 2010 for his contributions to the NTS.

A memorial service is being planned for April.

Source: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/national-traffic-system-developer-george-hart-w1njm-sk

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Wells Fargo bank site attack disrupts service

Suzanne Choney , NBC News ? ? ? 6 hrs.

Wells Fargo's online banking site was experiencing problems Tuesday, with a denial-of-service attack likely the reason behind the slowdowns for some customers trying to access the site.

"Today we?ve seen an unusually high volume of website traffic which we believe is a denial of service attack," a bank spokesperson told NBC News. "The vast majority of customers are not impacted and customer information is safe."

Customers who are having problems logging on are encouraged to do keep trying, "as the disruption is usually intermittent," the spokesperson said. "We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience."

This isn't the first time the bank site has been under a denial-of-service attack, where hackers inundate a website with traffic to delay or disrupt it.

Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Ally Financial, and regional bank BB&T have also been hit with attacks in the past year. Sources have previously told NBC News and Reuters that the attacks may be part of an effort by Iranian hackers against major U.S. financial institutions and other corporate entities.

Last fall, a financial services industry group, the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, issued an alert about the attacks to members, raising the threat level from "elevated" to high," because of "credible intelligence" about the potential for such attacks.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653351/s/2a059650/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Ctechnolog0Cwells0Efargo0Ebank0Esite0Eattack0Edisrupts0Eservice0E1C90A87970A/story01.htm

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The Daily Roundup for 03.26.2013

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/26/the-daily-roundup-for-03-26-2013/

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Homeschool: Easter Word Search : Ideas for Women Home and ...

?

Creating an Easter Word Search is one of the easiest homeschool lessons. This is a lesson that can be done year after year for each grade level by simply making the words more advanced as you go in grade. We actually do this is two parts in our classroom. First I have the kids each write down all the words that come to mind when they think of Easter. I tell them it doesn?t matter how easy or difficult the word is just write it down.

Next I compare their lists and mark off any duplicate words on one list. That gives me all the words that I will use. Now I use this handy little tool that I found at Lots of Kids. It is very easy to use and allows you to print your word search once you have gotten it ready. I haven?t created a pdf version of this search because it changes from year to year. As the kids get older they choose different words. We have religious study so ours includes religious words but you don?t have to. You don?t have to have your children come up with words either you can do that all yourself.

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Source: http://blogs.ideasforwomen.com/blogs/family/2013/03/homeschool-easter-word-search/

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Impressions of Hearthstone, the upcoming Warcraft trading card game for iPad

Blizzard announced their first mobile game at PAX East 2013, Hearthstone, which will be a free to play card game for iPad based on their popular Warcraft franchise.? Though they were a little gun shy with us as far as recording live gameplay footage goes, I got to play a few rounds and the game's pretty great. There's fully customized deck-building, a lot of familiar game mechanics for those that have played Magic, and plenty of nostalgia for longtime Warcraft fans.

Either player picks a hero, each representing a major class and having their own special ability. There are 9 classes supported right now, which leaves Death Knight and Monk out (for now).?Both sides summon minions to attack each other on their turns by playing cards out of their hand and using limited (but ever increasing) resource points. Damage on minions is persistent between turns, so sont worry if you can't kill it in one go.

Games are live multiplayer, so unfortunately no asynchronous play here. My favorite aspect of Hearthstone so far are all of the little touches. For example, you can see which cards your opponent is fiddling with during gameplay. The decorative UI fringe has some light interactivity, such as a launchable catapult, to keep you entertained while your opponent takes their sweet time. There is a time limit on turns though, and you can always heckle them through preprogrammed phrases or live chat if you're playing with an buddy.

The Warcraft guys have dabbled in trading card games in the past, but so far this is looking to be the most promising effort. Keep an eye out for Hearthstone landing sometime this summer.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/l-eYCfZvTRg/story01.htm

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13.03.24 00:00 OUTER BANKS & AREA EVENTS - New Oxley Hill Baptist Church - Every Sunday & Wednesday - Sunday March 24, 2013 @ New Oxley Hill Missionary Baptist Church

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Easter brunch in Atlanta, anyone? | Atlanta Food & Drink Blog ...

Source: http://clatl.com/omnivore/archives/2013/03/25/easter-brunch-in-atlanta-anyone

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Lebanese president accepts prime minister's resignation

He has asked the premier to stay on as a caretaker until a new government can be formed.

By Zeina Karam,?The Associated Press / March 23, 2013

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced his resignation on Friday amidst government squabbles.

Hussein Malla/AP

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Lebanon's president on Saturday asked the outgoing prime minister to stay on in a caretaking role, opening the way for what is expected to be prolonged political jockeying as parliamentary blocs try to build a majority coalition to form a new government.

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Prime Minister Najib Mikati's abrupt departure has plunged the nation into uncertainty amid heightened sectarian tensions and clashes related to the civil war next door in Syria.

Sporadic clashes continued in the northern city of Tripoli between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad. At least one person was wounded Saturday, according to the state-run National News Agency.

Mikati stepped down on Friday amid a political deadlock between Lebanon's two main political camps and infighting within his own government.

"I hope that this resignation will provide an opening in the existing deadlock and pave the way for a (political) solution," Mikati said, following a meeting with Michel Suleiman.

Mikati has been prime minister since June 2011, heading a government dominated by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah and its allies, many of whom have a close relationship with Syria.

Their main rivals are a Western-backed coalition headed by former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, son of Rafik Hariri, who was also prime minister and was killed in a truck bombing in 2005.

A Harvard-educated billionaire, Mikati was chosen to lead the government after Hezbollah forced the collapse of Lebanon's previous, pro-Western government over fears that a U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the killing of the elder Hariri would indict Hezbollah members.

But Mikati's relations with Hezbollah have never been smooth. He has rejected the notion that he serves Hezbollah or that his government will act as an Iranian proxy. Hezbollah accuses him of being loyal to its rival camp.

He stepped down to protest the parliament's inability to agree on a law to govern elections set for later this year, as well as the refusal by Hezbollah and its allies in the cabinet to extend the tenure of the country's police chief. Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi is 58 and is about to hit the mandatory retirement age for his rank.

Rifi, like Mikati, is a Sunni Muslim who is considered a foe by Hezbollah.

In a speech on Friday, Mikati said that if Rifi was not allowed to stay on, his departure would create a "vacuum" in the police department.

Underpinning the political crisis are Lebanon's hugely sectarian politics and the fact that the country's two largest political blocs support opposite sides in Syria's civil war. Lebanon and Syria share a complex network of political and sectarian ties, and many fear that violence in Syria will spread to Lebanon.

Opposition activists celebrated Mikati's resignation by dismantling protest tents they had pitched outside the prime minister's office for months, calling for the government's resignation.

Among those was Karim Rifae, who said Hezbollah was preparing a second "coup" against the Lebanese state.

"They started with bringing such a government in, and when it fulfilled their targets, now they are removing it to create a deadly vacuum starting with the government then the parliament," he said.

There were signs of rising tensions before the resignation.

On Friday, gunmen who support and oppose Assad clashed in Tripoli, leaving six people dead and more than 20 wounded, according to the National News Agency. Clashes between the Sunni neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, which supports Syria's rebels, and the adjacent Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen, which supports Assad, have broken out repeatedly in recent months. Assad is Alawite, a Shiite offshoot sect.

Also in Tripoli, the Lebanese army said a soldier was killed and several others wounded during an army raid to capture several gunmen.

Mikati's resignation may be an attempt to boost his credentials among his fellow Sunni Muslims ahead of the upcoming election and amid the violence in Tripoli, his hometown.

Some Lebanese media have speculated that his decision to step down was based on "insinuations" from the U.S. and its allies to clear the way for an anti-Hezbollah majority, or at least a neutral government. Mikati in his speech denied that he had been pressured by foreign powers, insisting that it was a "personal choice without any intervention from anyone."

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Friday the Lebanese people deserve a government that reflects their aspirations.

"And we have grave concerns about the role that Hezbollah plays," she added.

British Foreign Minister William Hague expressed concern about the violence in Tripoli and urged all parties to work for "a more consensual government" as the challenges from Syria grow.

"It is critical that all parties in Lebanon prioritize national interests and ... reach a broad consensus to enable parliamentary elections to take place within the legal and constitutional framework," he said in a statement.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/EIUl1bf2S_E/Lebanese-president-accepts-prime-minister-s-resignation

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How to Kick-Start Innovation with Free Data

WASHINGTON, D.C.? Government-funded projects have yielded a wealth of information, but much of this data has historically remained locked up in difficult-to-use form. To get this data to people who might start businesses with them, the Obama administration created the position of chief technology officer. Todd Park, the nation?s current CTO, has plenty of innovation experience. In 1997, at the age of 24, he co-founded his first start-up, called Athenahealth, which provides online data management for physicians. After momentarily retiring to focus on his family he set up two other start-ups before joining the White House team four years ago. At a media briefing in February he talked about getting government data into the hands of entrepreneurs to spark innovation and economic growth. [An edited transcript follows.] You?re an entrepreneur who helped launch three successful health-tech start-ups. How did you end up working for the U.S. government? In the summer of 2009 I got an e-mail from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asking about my becoming its chief technology officer. My first question was: Why are you talking to me? Because I don?t know anything about government. I didn?t serve at any level. But they said, it?s actually your background as someone who?s not in government, who?s been a health-tech entrepreneur. In March 2012 you became the chief technology officer of the U.S. What do you as the nation?s CTO? It?s a position the president established for the first time in his first term in office. I?m the second CTO, after Aneesh Chopra. The gist of the job is that I run an incubator inside the government. It?s not birthing companies; it?s birthing projects that all have the common denominator of unleashing the power of tech to advance the president?s programs, whether that?s job creation, economic growth, improved outcomes in health care, education, public safety or energy. How does the incubation work? One category of projects is the Open Data Initiative program. This set of initiatives aims to liberate data from the vaults of the government to spur entrepreneurship, innovation and scientific discovery. A lot of data has been made public, but in unusable form, like books or pdfs or static Web sites. So the notion is to make them available as bulk downloadable files, as APIs [application protocol interfaces], so that you can actually use this stuff to create value. It was inspired by what the government did in prior eras, when it opened up weather data decades ago, making the data downloadable electronically by anyone, for free. What happened once U.S. weather data became freely available? Entrepreneurs picked it up and turned it into the Weather Channel, weather.com, weather apps, weather insurance--all which grew the economy, created jobs and improved our lives all at the same time. GPS is similar story. Beginning the 1980s Pres. Ronald Reagan began the process of opening the GPS system for civilian and commercial access, which was completed under Pres. Bill Clinton. The access has spawned an incredible array of innovations by American entrepreneurs ranging from navigation systems to precision crop farming to location-based apps. In fact, it?s estimated that last year alone civilian and commercial access to GPS added $90 billion in annual value to the U.S. economy. And the number keeps growing. So this is a play that gets the president and us very excited. Without legislation, without regulation, without incremental expenditure of taxpayer capital, you?re basically taking data?information resources that taxes have already paid for?and you?re jujitsuing it, if you will, into the public domain as fuel for entrepreneurs to pick up and turn into awesomeness. How much data is there in the government? The thing that?s really amazing to me is that weather and GPS are just the tip of the iceberg. The analogy we use is the last scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark, where they are in a giant warehouse wheeling in a box that has the latest treasure. That?s a really good metaphor for the data treasures that are held in the vaults of the government?data which taxpayers have paid for and which we should give back to them. We?re focusing on six sectors in particular: health, energy, education, public safety, global development and finance. How do you get innovators and entrepreneurs involved in the process? We do these ?Datapaloozas,? where folks get together to learn more about the data that?s available and to showcase what entrepreneurs have done with them. Just to show you how fast this can go, we actually started this effort when I was at HHS with something called Healthy Initiative in 2010. We kicked it off by inviting 45 very skeptical entrepreneurs into a room and saying, ?Here?s a bunch of data we have. What do you think?? Ninety days later 20-plus new innovations were showcased. It not only inspired entrepreneurs to do innovations of their own but also inspired people who own data inside the government to realize the value of putting it out there. Two years later in June 2012 we had a Health Datapalooza that drew 1,600 entrepreneurs?and several hundred entrepreneurs who were angry they couldn?t get in. What were some of the products that were showcased at the Health Datapalooza? Two hundred and thirty?plus companies had gone through an American Idol?style contest for the right to present. Most of these companies have been founded in the last 18 to 24 months, all leveraging open data to actually do something remarkable in health care. An example is Pete Hudson, who started a company called iTriage. The mobile app took a bunch of data around where all the doctors are, like GPS for health care providers. As a user, you can punch in your symptoms and it tells you based on the GPS and the data you punched in who the best local providers are that can help you. It?s been downloaded nine million times and has literally saved people?s lives. Do you keep track of how the data is used? No. The data is completely free, there are no conditions, there are no agreements to sign, no registration process?you just take it and do amazing things with it. One example is Google. I remember Bryan Sivak, my successor at as CTO at HHS, called me one day and said, ?Go to Google, and type in ?aspirin.? It?ll make you really happy.? I did, and then?boom!?it pops up on the right-hand side next to the search results, a whole bunch of government-sourced scientific data about aspirin. Google has done it for every single drug, leveraging our national medical API?s. Best of all, I had no idea they were doing it. All great innovation ecosystems are chaotic, self-propelled and out of control. And I think we?re getting to that point where open-data ecosystems are at that happy place. You started another program, called the Presidential Innovation Fellows. What is that about? It allows us to bring in amazing people from the outside to complement the people on the inside. They operate in start-up mode: small, agile teams to come up with a minimal viable product and then engage with the customer as soon as they can. What were some of the innovations that have come out of the fellowship program? One was called Blue Button for America, which is all about enabling Americans to securely download their own heath information wherever they might be. There is also a project called MyUSA, which deals with the fact we have 24,000 Web sites across the U.S. government?our Web presence is organized the way the government is organized, which is to say incomprehensible. So MyUSA has built a prototype platform that helps you access and use the services and information. Overall, how would you describe the release of data? It?s an instantiation of one of our favorite laws of the universe, called Joy?s Law. From Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, who famously said, ?No matter who you are, most of the smartest people in the world work for somebody else.? The whole idea behind open data is to say, look, we don?t know anything about the data. We don?t have the money or the expertise to do anything, so why don?t we just open it up to the people who paid for it already, and they will invent all kinds of things. 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/kick-start-innovation-free-data-120000810.html

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Refresh Roundup: week of March 18th, 2013

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/cmg94A-0a0E/

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