Set Up and Get to Know Your New Android Phone

Sweet robotic joy?you just unwrapped an Android phone and, man, is it shiny. Here are our suggestions for apps to grab, settings to tweak, and really nifty things you can do with your Google-powered mini-supercomputer.

With luck, your shiny new Android phone is running Jelly Bean or at least Ice Cream Sandwich, so not a ton of updating should be required. If you're coming from an old Android phone, we have a guide specifically for you that will show you how to move all of your apps, settings, and data from your old phone to your new one. Still, there's nothing wrong with a fresh start with a brand new phone, so let's start from the beginning. Your awesome new Android phone is capable of a lot. Here's just a taste of what it can do:

Get the Latest and Greatest Google Stuff

Before you start playing around and getting used to how things work, why don't you do two quick things: Set up a Wi-Fi connection, then update your phone's built-in applications. There are likely newer versions available than the ones you have on your just-opened phone, so they're worth picking up.

To connect to Wi-Fi, hit your phone's Menu button (the button with either parallel lines, or the two boxes), choose System Settings from the menu that pops up, then under Wireless & Networks tap Wi-Fi. On the next screen, enable Wi-Fi and wait for the list of nearby networks to update. Pick out your home router name (or your relatives'), enter a password if necessary, and now have some fun.

Open the Play Store app from your list of applications (press the grid-like, bottom-middle on-screen button to get there if it's not on one of your home screens), then tap the Menu button and select "My Apps." The list should be separated, with apps you have updates for at the top. Tap "Update" to update them all at once. If you don't see updates for some of your apps, you may have to search them out to download the newer version.

• Google Maps: Google Maps shines on Android. Seriously - in addition to offering you free turn-by-turn navigation, Google Maps can help you with walking directions, public transit to your destination, and it even offers maps and walking directions of indoor places like airports and museums so you can find your way around. You might also pick up some "splinter" apps, like Google Local.
• Gmail: The ubiquitous mail app just picked up pinch to zoom, swipe to delete, and some other handy features not too long ago. Make sure to update to the newest version.
• Voice Actions/Search or Google Now: Google Search for Android controls your phone with your voice, but can send SMS messages, navigate you to your destination, place calls, find nearby businesses, and more as you talk to it. If you're running Jelly Bean, you get the full benefit of Google Now, a full-on virtual assistant that responds to your voice, keeps an eye on when you should leave for your next appointment or go home to beat the traffic, helps you manage travel, and much more. If you have Ice Cream Sandwich, you can get it too with some work, but Search offers many of the voice features we love.
• Google Chrome: Even though it's only available on Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean devices, Google Chrome sings on Android. It left beta earlier this year and is one of the best Android browsers available. If you use Chrome on the desktop, Chrome Sync is built-in, so open tabs, bookmarks, passwords, and history are all available everywhere, and most importantly, it's blazing fast.
• Google+: We love Google+, and think it's great for a lot of things even if (and especially if) your friends may not be on it. The Android app just picked up a huge update for people who love sharing photos, checking into their favorite locations, and hanging out via Google Hangouts video chat. Once you're all signed up and set up, don't forget to add Lifehacker to your circles!
• Google Play Music: If you're really going to live the Android life, Google Music is both a music store and a music locker with millions of tracks and label support, and tons of cloud storage for your uploaded songs and your purchased music, all for free, and all accessible on your Android phone. Google Play Music just picked up scan-and-match so you don't have to spend days uploading songs, and considering the app can play music in the cloud or on your phone, we think it's a good choice for a secondary media player.
• Google Currents: Google's magazine-style newsreader looks great, hooks into Google Reader so you can read your favorite blogs, and offers featured and curated content in a variety of categories to help you stay up to date and share interesting reads with your friends. The app was just updated to make breaking news easier to find and more news categories easier to read.
• Set up Google Voice(mail): If you're intrigued by Google Voice, Google's one-number service with free SMS and other perks, Android is where you should be. You can even port your number to Google Voice so no one calling you knows the difference. Still, even if you don't want to, you can use Google Voice as your voicemail provider and send texts through the web. Activate the Voice app on your phone, and it will take care of your phone's configuration. From then on, your voicemail will go to Google, where it'll be transcribed, archived, and managed like email on your phone. You can even read or listen to your voicemail on the web, mark telemarketers as spam, and set up multiple greetings for different people. If you're an SMS fanatic, the app has been supports group texting and voicemail pre-fetching, so no more getting a voicemail in Google Voice and only being notified on your Android phone hours later.
• Get Google Drive: Drive, the new name for Google's combination of Google Docs and cloud storage space, is just as great on your Android device as it is on the desktop. Well, mostly anyway?the mobile app just picked up editing and presentation support, which makes it useful for quick file edits as well as just viewing documents you need to review on the go.

Install Some Killer Apps

Android apps? Oh, we've got plenty of those.

• Lifehacker Pack for Windows: Our List of the Best Free Windows Downloads: Check out our Lifehacker Pack, which includes our favorite apps for communicating, being productive, viewing media, and otherwise getting the most use out of Android. Also, stop by the Lifehacker App Directory series, where we highlight the best Android apps in select categories. You can roll back through our Android-only picks using the Android App Directory tag.
• How to Get iOS 6's Best New Features in Android: If you're keeping tabs on all of the things iOS has to offer, never fear?for every feature in iOS 6, there's a way to get similar functionality in Android and then some, thanks to some great third-party apps.
• Most Popular Android Downloads of 2012: Apart from our list of essential apps, there are also some really neat pieces of software we've featured over the past year. If you want to know the cool programs everyone's talking about, our 2012 list of the most popular Android downloads and posts is the place to look.
• The 50 Free Apps We're Most Thankful For: Every Thanksgiving, we ask you about your favorite free apps, and post the 50 free apps we're most thankful for. They're not all Android downloads (though many are cross-platform), but it's a good list to check out. Wo if you've still got a few holes after checking out the Pack and most popular, you're sure to find what you're looking for here.

Start Syncing Your Music, Videos, and Pictures

Your Android doesn't need a USB cable to play or sync music on your desktop computer?though it can work that way, if that's more your speed. But setting up Wi-Fi syncing and internet streaming for your Android is so simple, you might never need to cord-hunt again when you want to switch up your playlist.

• Music Player Showdown: Which Desktop Player Is Best for Syncing to Android?: If you want to use your Android phone as a music player (and survey says you do) then you'll need a media player that rocks when it comes to syncing your music. If you don't want to use Google Music (or can't, since it's US-only), Whitson has some options for you.
• How to Sync Android with Windows as Seamlessly as an iPhone: Speaking of easy, Whitson walked us through the process of syncing our Android phones with your Windows systems quickly and easily in a way that's repeatable without a ton of hassle.
• Upgrade Your Smartphone's Music and Podcast Abilities This Weekend: While it's not Android-only, this guide to beefing up your smartphone's media capabilities will get you rocking out and listening to your favorite podcasts on your device in no time.
• How Can I Get an iTunes-Like Experience For My Android Phone?: If you're coming to Android from an iPod, iPod Touch, or iPhone, you may be wishing there were a way to just plug-in your Android device and sync all of your media, music, and podcasts. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to do it, and we're happy to show you how.
• How to Set Up Your Android for Automated Wi-Fi Syncing with DoubleTwist: When this is set up-and, really, it only takes about 15 minutes, much less if you've already connected AirSync-you'll have a computer and phone that "check in" with each other regularly over Wi-Fi. No cables needed, and you don't have to click the Sync button.
• Winamp for Android Updates, Now Syncs with Macs Wirelessly: If DoubleTwist isn't right for you, try Winamp for Android?it syncs with Macs and Windows PCs over USB or wirelessly, syncs iTunes playlists, and is overall and excellent music player for Android. We've mentioned it before, and it still whips the llama's a**.

Troubleshoot the Tricky Stuff

Your Android phone is a great device, and Android as a mobile OS is much more mature and polished now than it used to be. Still, there are times where you need to troubleshoot problems and fix issues you'll run up against. Here are some tips. Photo by Sylvain Naudin.

• How to Upgrade to a New Android Phone and Take Everything With You: If your new Android device is a replacement for an old one, taking your data with you is easy. We show you how.
• How to Set Up a Fully Automated App and Settings Backup on Android: Once you get your Android device all set up and to your liking, don't let tragedy happen to you. Make sure you make sure your phone is regularly backed up so you don't have to worry about your data. Your Android phone is a mini-computer that has a lot of precious information on it, and keeping it safe is easy and takes only a few minutes to set up.
• How to Speed Up, Clean Up, and Revive Your Android Phone: After installing a bunch of apps and games, your phone might slow down a good bit. Never fear, cleaning it up and getting back the speed you need is easier than you think.
• How Can I Fix My Android's Crappy GPS: Turn-by-turn navigation and Google Maps are great...when they don't take forever to initialize and pinpoint your position. Here's how to fix that little annoyance, once and for all.
• Use Android's ?Safe Mode' to Disable Apps and Troubleshoot Problems: Apps giving you trouble? Installed or uninstalled something and now your phone is slow as molasses? Android's built-in "safe mode" may be able to help.
• How Do I Fix My Bricked Android Phone?: One of the first things many of you may do with a brand new Android phone is root it and possibly install a new ROM. If that process doesn't go very well and you wind up with a brand new hunk of plastic and metal on your desk that's completely unresponsive, all may not be lost! There are plenty of ways to approach a so-called "bricked" phone that may bring it back to life.
• The Best Data Usage Tracker for Android: Just as many smartphones added tethering support and enough great features that we wanted to use the hell out of our data plans, most carriers are killing unlimited plans and serving up overage fees for breaking your bandwidth caps. If you have Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean, you have tools built-in to keep an eye on your bandwidth usage, but if you want a per-app breakdown and some more tools, try this app.
• How Do I Convert Video for my Android Phone?: Converting videos for the iPod is so easy in iTunes, but I can't seem to get videos to play on my Android device. How can I convert videos so that they'll play in the native Android video player?
• Android Task Killers Explained: What They Do and Why You Shouldn't Use Them: Android task killers improve your phone's performance while also boosting battery life-or at least that's the much-debated promise. Here's a look at how task killers actually work, when you should (or shouldn't) use them, and what you can do instead.

Expand Your Phone's Capabilities

Beyond apps and tweaks, you can make your phone do some really neat things. Things like tell you where it is if it's lost or stolen. Things like play any song or video you happen to have on a nearby TV. Things like send a text back to your wife to let her know you're driving, not just callously ignoring her calls.

• The Always Up-To-Date Guide to Rooting Any Android Phone: We recently updated our Android rooting guide to include lots of ICS and Jelly Bean-friendly options and tools for newer devices on the market now. One of the best things you can do to extend the functionality of your Android device is root it, and we're happy to show you how.
• Five Best Android Launchers: One way to extend the features of your phone just by installing an app is to grab a new Android launcher. It'll completely change the way you interact with your phone, and in many cases it's free, can actually add features you didn't have in the first place, and offer you more customization options. Here are five great ones to choose from.
• How to Choose the Right Android ROM for You: Ready to take the next step after rooting? If you really want to completely customize and tweak your Android experience, or just relieve yourself of carrier crapware and try out a new version or flavor of Android, installing a new ROM is the way to go. Think of it like installing a new OS on your computer?meaning you should be careful to back up your data and do your homework beforehand. Need some suggestions? Check out these five great Android ROMS.
• How to Get Better Battery Life and Performance on Your Android Phone with a New Kernel: What's that? Rooting and installing a new ROM isn't enough for you? Well then, you might want to consider installing a whole new kernel for the ultimate performance boost. It's not for the weak of heart, but the benefits definitely outweigh the drawbacks. Just back up and make sure you know what you're doing before you start. Our guide will walk you through it.
• How to Turn Your Android into a Killer Portable Media and Gaming Center: Want to get your game on with your Android phone or tablet? Sure, there are plenty of games you can play on the device, but why not use it as a media center, or hook it up with your TV for some serious gaming?
• How to Turn Your Android or iPhone into a Portable Retro Game Arcade: Maybe you prefer retro, old school games, back when skill mattered more than graphics and pixels reigned supreme? Well, with a little work and a couple of apps, you can turn your Android device into a retro game arcade, capable of playing some of your favorite classic titles anywhere you go. Here's how to get started.
• Use Your Android Phone as a Wi-Fi Hotspot for Free: The beauty of Android is that you can tether your phone to any device in your home pretty easily, and largely for free, as long as you don't go over your data caps or anger your carrier. Here's how to do it, and never worry about your cable going out at home again.
• Turn Your Phone into a Universal Media Hub to Play Your Music, Photos, and Videos, Anytime, Anywhere: If you carry around media on your phone, sometimes it just won't cut it to play your songs through your headphones or your video on that tiny screen. Here's how you can turn your Android phone into a hub that can wirelessly play the movie you have downloaded on the big screen, or stream your favorite tunes to the stereo in another room.
• How to Stream Media from Your Home to Your Phone Anywhere with Plex: If you'd rather leave the music and movies at home and take your phone with you on the go, this guide will walk you through turning your Android phone into a device you can use to enjoy all of the media you have at home, wherever you roam.
• Turn Your Android Phone into a Personal Trainer: Work off those pounds you put on thanks to the Thanksgiving turkey and the Christmas ham with your shiny new Android phone. There are plenty of apps to help you get the most out of your workouts at home, at the gym, or outside, keep track of your progress, and meet your health and weight loss goals. Here's how to turn that new phone into a pocket gym you can take with you anywhere.
• How to Find the Right Android Keyboard For You: Before you go too far with your Android phone, you may want to do something about the stock Android keyboard. There's nothing wrong with it, specifically, but there are some much better options out there that can make using your device easier and more fun.
• Do Android Antivirus Apps Actually Do Anything?: If you've been hearing all about Android malware and you're worried you'll need an antivirus or anti-malware app on your Android phone, read this first before you install one.
• How to Turn Your Tablet Into an Awesome Productivity-Boosting Second Screen: If you have an Android tablet, it doesn't have to just be an entertainment, social, and media device. It can be a great productivity booster as well, and you can do real work on it. Here's how.
• How to Track and (Potentially) Recover Your Stolen Laptop or Android with Prey: There are obvious reasons to like Prey. Chief among them, it's free to use for up to three devices of any kind, from computers running Windows, Mac, or Linux to Android devices. But that wouldn't mean anything if the tracking Prey provided wasn't really solid. It's not fool-proof, especially if the thief wants to entirely wipe your computer or phone, but if that's not the case, it gives you a fighting chance.

Images by ecco (Shutterstock), kirillov alexey (Shutterstock), and sirtagada.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/clKboICAWGg/set-up-and-get-to-know-your-new-android-phone

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"Sandy Claus" delivers toys to storm-stricken kids

In this Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 photo, Michael Sciaraffo, as Santa Claus, arrives at the home of the Creamer family to deliver toys in the Belle Harbor neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. Using Facebook, Sciaraffo started a charitable enterprise to collect and personally deliver toys to children affected by superstorm Sandy, dressed as Santa Claus. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 photo, Michael Sciaraffo, as Santa Claus, arrives at the home of the Creamer family to deliver toys in the Belle Harbor neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. Using Facebook, Sciaraffo started a charitable enterprise to collect and personally deliver toys to children affected by superstorm Sandy, dressed as Santa Claus. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 photo, Elizabeth Sampol holds her daughter Ella, 14 months, who received a toy from Michael Sciaraffo, as Santa, in the Belle Harbor neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. Using Facebook, Sciaraffo started a charitable enterprise to collect and personally deliver toys to children affected by Superstorm Sandy, dressed as Santa Claus. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 photo, Alex Creamer, 9, receives a toy from Michael Sciaraffo, as Santa Claus, in the Belle Harbor neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. Using Facebook, Sciaraffo started a charitable enterprise to collect and personally deliver toys to children affected by Superstorm Sandy, dressed as Santa Claus. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 photo, Michael Sciaraffo, a political consultant who has worked for Hillary Clinton and City Hall, sits at his workstation as he takes a phone call request for a toy,in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Using Facebook, Sciaraffo started a charitable enterprise to collect and personally deliver toys to children affected by Superstorm Sandy, dressed as Santa Claus. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 photo, Elizabeth Sampol holds her daughter, Ella, 14 months, who received a toy from Michael Sciaraffo as "Santa", in the Belle Harbor section of the Queens borough of New York. Using Facebook, Sciaraffo started a charitable enterprise to collect and personally deliver toys to children affected by superstorm Sandy, dressed as Santa Claus. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

NEW YORK (AP) ? From his toy-cluttered Brooklyn apartment, the man in the red suit was making his list and checking it twice. But he made no distinction between naughty or nice: Every child on it would receive a gift from this Santa Claus.

For the children whose toys floated away during Superstorm Sandy, Michael Sciaraffo is playing the role of a real-life Saint Nick. Every afternoon and night, he stuffs his red sack to the brim with presents and heads out to storm-ravaged homes, personally delivering new toys to awestruck little kids whose play rooms were destroyed by floodwaters. And with less than a week before Christmas, his "Secret Sandy Claus Project" is keeping him very busy.

"Between the requests coming in for personal visits as well as the influx of donations, it's been a full-time job," said Sciaraffo, a 31-year-old political consultant. "And kudos to Santa, because I don't know how he pulls it off every year."

There's hardly any room to sit in his tiny apartment, where boxes of toys are piled on tables and all over the floor. He spends most of the day keeping track of toy requests and donations that are pouring in by the hundred from people who know children affected by the storm. At first, Sciaraffo began jotting down the requests on Post-it notes, but as demand steadily grew he created a spreadsheet and taped it to the wall.

The list reads like an inventory for a toy store. A Playskool swing for 2-year-old Jacob. A Disney Fairies makeup set for 5-year-old Charlotte. Then there are countless robots and footballs and baby dolls arranged by age and gender, awaiting assignment to a specific child.

"The goal was to match up each child with a toy that they liked or asked Santa for for Christmas," Sciaraffo explained. "We basically tried to pair them up with toys I had in stock."

The charitable enterprise grew out of a Sandy donation outreach effort that Sciaraffo had been spearheading for weeks in the wake of the storm, drumming up donations of clothing and food through Facebook. As the holidays approached, he realized that lots of children would be without their toys this year.

And with their parents preoccupied with the drudgery of storm repairs, many children probably might not even get to sit on Santa's lap. So he decided to fill that gap himself.

"When I was a kid, my toys were very important to me," Sciaraffo said. "That's their security blanket, so to speak. I couldn't sit home and do nothing."

Donations are coming by the truckload from all over the country, fueled by his Facebook page. And Sciaraffo has received elf-like help from fellow New Yorkers like Sean Turk, a father of three from Queens who has raised more than $2,000 from his community and has been filling toy requests at local stores.

"I started it with $500 of my own," Turk said, "and then people just started contributing."

On a recent rainy afternoon, Sciaraffo pulled on his white wig and beard and drove out to weather-beaten Belle Harbor, a town on the Rockaway peninsula. His first stop: the darkened oceanfront home of Elizabeth Sampol, who was waiting upstairs with her 11-month-old daughter, Ella.

"Ho, ho, ho," he shouted. "Merry Christmas!"

Ella gazed up at him and smiled as Sciaraffo handed her a toy duck. Sandy struck just after her first birthday party and destroyed all of her new gifts when the basement flooded.

"As you can see from the outside of the house and the inside of the house, it's been a disaster," said Elizabeth Sampol, who has been living in a FEMA-funded hotel room for several weeks with her family while their home is repaired. "And we haven't had time to take her to go see Santa Claus or to do anything that we would want to do for her first Christmas that actually matters."

Sampol said she was amazed when she learned about Sciaraffo's project.

"He contacted me and he told me how he's been going around giving out gifts," she said. "And I was so happy that someone would do this in his free time."

A few blocks away, 4-year-old Sophie Creamer waited excitedly by the front door as she caught sight of Sciaraffo coming down the street. And when he handed her a brand-new Barbie doll, she clutched it to her chest and wouldn't let go.

"It's all gutted. We don't have a basement," said her mother, Lori Creamer. "So she lost all of her toys."

If all goes according to plan, Sciaraffo is hoping to deliver presents to nearly 1,000 children in the coming days.

As he hoisted his sack of toys over his shoulder, heading off to another delivery, the rain stopped and a rainbow cut a path across the sky. He took it as a sign of good luck.

"You don't see that every day," he said, grinning as his beard slipped down his face a little. "Amazing."

___

On the Web:

https://www.facebook.com/events/171075463035332/

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-21-Superstorm-Santa/id-86e8d57cf5f044c4b07c53cfb23c2e75

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Opinion: How Demography Became the Narrative for Obama's 2012 Victory

Since 2008, commentary about presidential campaigns has been saturated in the rhetoric of narrative. However, President Obama?s 2012 presidential victory wasn?t, strictly speaking, based on narrative.

So what happened? The Obama campaign focused strategically on offering specific policies or programs that targeted the new demographics. This meant ensuring a government mandate to address immigration, the issues of single women, the concerns of Hispanic, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered Americans, the supporters of trade unions, and ordinary folks struggling to find jobs or keep the ones they had.

Exit polls suggested the importance of demographics. Obama captured 71 percent of the Latino vote, in contrast with only 23 percent for former Gov. Mitt Romney. The president garnered 93 percent of African-American men and 96 percent of African-American women. He won 73 percent of the Asian-American vote.

Indeed, electoral demographics have become the driving force of the past two presidential elections, a fulfillment of Peter Brimelow and Ed Rubenstein?s 1997 prophecy,??Demography is destiny in American politics.? They forecast 2008 as the year when a shift in ethnic demographics would ensure the Republican Party?s inexorable slide to ?minority status.?

What, then, do the demographics of the 2012 presidential election indicate? As Nancy Benac and Connie Cass illustrated, nonwhites represented 28 percent of the 2012 electorate in contrast to just 20 percent in 2000. Obama received 80 percent of the nonwhite vote in both 2008 and 2012. White, male voters represented only 34 percent of the votes cast in the 2012 election as compared with 46 percent in 1972.

According to John Cassidy, white men chose Romney over Obama by 27 percent (62 percent to 35 percent). Caucasian women voted for Romney over Obama by 56 percent to 42 percent, a higher percentage than those who voted for either McCain in 2008 or Bush in 2004.

Today, according to Benac and Cass, 54 percent of single women vote Democratic, in contrast to 36 percent of married women. The single women?s vote was strategically significant since it accounted for nearly a quarter of all voters (23 percent) in the election.

White voters favored less government (60 percent), Hispanics wanted more (58 percent), and, by comparison, blacks were the most interventionist of these ethnic groups (73 percent). Hispanics represented a significant and growing share of prospective voters in the Western battleground states.

In 2000, for instance, white voters constituted 80 percent of voters in Nevada. But by 2012 their percentage of the total vote had declined to 64 percent while the Hispanic vote had increased by 19 percent. Not surprisingly, 70 percent of Hispanics voted for Obama in Nevada.

The youth vote sided decisively with Obama, as Benac and Cass demonstrated. In the case of North Carolina, a battleground state that narrowly supported Romney, two-thirds of these voters supported Obama. Younger voters are also more ethnically diverse. Of all Americans under 30 who voted in the election, 58 percent are white as compared with 87 percent of seniors who voted.

Just how significant are these numbers? As Ryan Lizza noted, three-fifths of white voters selected Romney, equaling or exceeding the support that former Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush had received from white voters in 1980 and 1988, respectively. But if the white electorate was 87 percent of voters in 1992, by 2016 they will represent fewer than 70 percent of American voters.

As the demographic landscape of our country changes, even conservative strongholds such as Texas will be at risk. Ted Cruz, a newly elected senator from Texas, who campaigned from a ?secure-the-borders? perspective, expressed it this way to Lizza.

In not too many years, Texas could switch from being all Republican to all Democrat.... If that happens, no Republican will ever again win the White House.... If Texas turns bright blue, the Electoral College math is simple. We won?t be talking about Ohio, we won?t be talking about Florida or Virginia, because it won?t matter. If Texas is bright blue, you can?t get to 270electoral votes. The Republican Party would cease to exist.

Obama and his team of advisers ran a tactically brilliant campaign. Obama?s victory wasn?t based on a narrative, because that would have exposed the economic failings of his administration.

Instead, the campaign demonized Mitt Romney by appealing to the ?diversity values? of the Democratic rank and file while saturating the battleground states with attack ads. The party appealed to a multicultural mosaic: Hispanics, single women, African-Americans, ethnic minorities, young people, as well as many of the economically disenfranchised who voted, a significant number of affluent progressives, and, of course, the LGBT community.

The Democrats strategically targeted their demographic, and the demographic became the narrative. ?In sports parlance,? as I have noted on The Huffington Post, ?Obama?s ?ground game? was hard-hitting and decisive. The demonization against Romney began early and never stopped. Even before he was the designated Republican candidate, the Obama machine had Romney effectively in their sights. All is fair in political warfare. And this Democratic victory was supremely won.?

Dr. Diana E. Sheets, an iFoundry Fellow and Research Scholar at the University of Illinois, writes literary criticism, political commentary, and fiction. You can view her work at www.LiteraryGulag.com.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/opinion-demography-became-narrative-obamas-2012-victory-154737979--politics.html

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Ahh... TV commercials get quieter starting Thursday

Getty Images stock

Put down that remote! A new law that goes into effect Thursday says that commercials cannot be more than 2 decibels louder than the programming around them.

By Ben Popken, TODAY contributor

TV fans, you're about to get a break from your commercial break.

Shouting TV ads are soon to become a thing of the past as a?new law goes into effect Thursday at midnight mandating that the volume of commercials has to be within a range of 2 decibels (db) more or less than the programming around them.

Joe Addalia, director of technology projects for Hearst Television, was in charge of figuring out the right technology to make 31 transmitters compliant with the new regulations. He told TODAY that 2 db was "the difference between viewers reaching for the remote and not." TV stations want to encourage watchers to leave the remote alone, he said, "because right next to the volume button is the channel button."

Commercials are often so loud because the only real limit on programming volumes is the one set by stations so that the sound levels don't damage their equipment. That level, however, represents a peak sound meant to?accommodate?for when something like a gunshot or?explosion?goes off during a show. Advertising content creators routinely crank the sound of their ads to just shy of that peak level, so the entire commercial is playing at the equivalent of a 30-second bomb blast.?

Joel Kelsey, legislative?director for the media advocacy group Free Press, previously testified in Congress about the need for volume regulation on commercials.?Since nearly the beginning of television itself, loud commercials "have consistently been one of the issues consumers are most energized to write the FCC about. They don't like being screamed at every time the program breaks to buy deodorant," Kelsey told TODAY.

However, it took an act of Congress,?the "Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act," or CALM Act, to prod the FCC into the necessary action. The bill passed?unanimously in the Senate.

Source: http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2012/12/12/15866886-ahh-tv-commercials-get-quieter-starting-thursday?lite

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'Storage Wars' star claims show is rigged

Jeremy Cowart / A&E

Dave Hester in season 2 of "Storage Wars."

By Eriq Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter

"Storage Wars"?star?David Hester?has filed a big new lawsuit against A&E Television Networks, contending that he was wrongfully terminated and that the highly-rated series is rigged.

In a complaint filed on Tuesday in LA Superior Court against A&E and producer Original Productions, Hester alleges "A&E has committed a fraud on the public and its television audience in violation of the Communications Act of 1934, which makes it illegal for broadcasters to rig a contest of intellectual skill with the intent to deceive the viewing public."

More from THR: Netflix loses rights to stream 800 hours of content from A&E

Hester says that during the series featuring the auctioneering of contents based on a few minutes of inspection by buyers, A&E has planted items of memorabilia. Among the objects cited by Hester are a pile of old newspapers announcing the death of?Elvis Presley?in one episode and a BWM mini car in another.

After allegedly complaining to producers that A&E's "fraudulent conduct of salting and staging the storage lockers was possibly illegal," he says he was fired. Hester adds that A&E purported to rescind their written exercise of an option retaining his services for the coming season.

Read the complaint.

The plaintiff contends that the defendants have no right to terminate his services under these circumstances and that the defendants' conduct has resulted in at least $750,000 in damages.

His claims are premised on the theory that corporations aren't allowed to terminate for acts that are an alleged violation of public policy. After several quiz show scandals in the 1950s, Congress passed an amendment to the Communications Act of 1934 to prevent people from fixing game shows, although it's debatable whether a reality series like "Storage Wars"?applies.

Hester first was engaged by the series in 2010 in a written talent agreement where producers got five exclusive options to engage his services in future cycles of the series. His contract was picked up for two seasons after the original one.

In reaction to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for A&E says, "We don't comment (on) on-going legal matters."

More from THR: 'Storage Wars' star Brandi Passante sues over 'stalker porn' video

According to the lawsuit, viewers have long questioned the authenticity of "Storage Wars"?where participants discover valuable items in storage units. The complaint quotes an old A&E press release that says, "There is no staging involved. The items uncovered in the storage units are the actual items featured on the show."

But Hester, who has been waging war with the network over trademarks even before Tuesday's lawsuit, says this is a "lie" -- that many of the scenes are staged, that interviews with cast members are scripted in advance and that producers have shot footage when no real auctions are taking place. Hester even says that the defendants have asked him to provide valuable items to be planted.

He is being represented by?Martin Singer?at Lavely & Singer.

If the show was staged as Hester claims in his lawsuit, would you stop watching? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

More in The Clicker:

Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2012/12/11/15846565-storage-wars-star-claims-in-lawsuit-that-show-is-rigged?lite

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Video: Maria's Market Insight

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50109390/

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Video game review: 'Black Ops II' - The Salt Lake Tribune

Screenshot from the video game, "Call of Duty: Black Ops II." For the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Courtesy image

Video game review: ?Black Ops II? rises above muddled plot

By Vince Horiuchi

| The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published Dec 03 2012 10:36 am ? Last Updated Dec 03 2012 10:37 am

Grade ? B+

Gaming widows be warned: It?s that time of year again when you won?t see your spouse for two months as he or she falls into that video gaming abyss known as "Call of Duty." This time, the addiction is "Black Ops II," and it pits the player against a Central American terrorist in a jumbled storyline that hops back and forth between a special ops soldier and his father 40 years earlier.

The single-player campaign is a convoluted mess that hardly gives the player any emotional attachment, but there are action set pieces that move so fast you may hardly mind the confusing plot.

Most importantly, the crisp game play and multi-player components are all there to still make this a satisfying refresh of the "Call of Duty" franchise.

Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, click the red "Flag" link below it.
See more about comments here.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/55357557-223/player-ops-game-video.html.csp

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RIM shares rise 6 percent as Goldman jumps on BB10 bandwagon

TORONTO (Reuters) - A wave of optimism surrounding the launch of Research In Motion's re-engineered BlackBerry line picked up momentum on Thursday with Goldman Sachs raising its rating on the smartphone maker and setting off a surge in its share price.

The brokerage firm joined a growing chorus of analysts who have warmed to the prospects of a successful introduction of the new BlackBerry 10 devices, which RIM hopes will let it claw back market share lost to Apple Inc's iPhone and smartphones powered by Google's Android platform. The BB10 devices are expected to hit store shelves early next year.

The shift in sentiment has been swift. A few weeks ago, most analysts believed RIM had squandered any chance it had to become a serious competitor because of repeated delays in the launch of the new smartphone.

But with a launch date now set for January 30 and some positive feedback about the devices from telecom carriers and developers, some analysts now think RIM might be able turn around its fortunes.

In a note to clients, Goldman analyst Simona Jankowski said preliminary specifications that have emerged on the BB10 devices appear impressive.

"With these devices RIM appears to finally be aiming for the leading edge hardware performance that was missing from its prior generations," Jankowski Said.

GOLDMAN UPGRADE

Jankowski said she believes more applications will be available for BB10 than had been expected because BlackBerry users typically download a relatively high number of paid apps, which is an enticement to app developers.

Goldman, which raised its rating on RIM shares to "buy" from "neutral," also increased its price target to $16 from $9.

By midday, RIM's shares had jumped up more than 6 percent on the Nasdaq to $11.78, while its Toronto-listed shares rose by a similar margin to C$11.72.

RIM shares, which have plunged about 90 percent from a 2008 high of more than $148, have risen some 75 percent in the last two months as the company moves closer to the launch of the new devices.

RIM promises its new devices will be faster and smoother than previous smartphones, and will have a large catalog of apps that are crucial to the success of any new line of smartphones.

Earlier this month, Jefferies & Co analyst Peter Misek, who has been one of RIM's biggest critics, raised his rating and price target on the stock.

Last week, National Bank analyst Kris Thompson raised his price target on the shares, stating that there is more money to be made in the stock ahead of the launch of the BB10 devices.

RIM Chief Executive Thorsten Heins told Reuters earlier this month that he sees the new BB10 devices providing RIM with a framework for growth over the next decade.

To be sure, not everyone has jumped on the bandwagon. Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair warned on Wednesday that rising expectations for the BB10 in 2013 have provided false hope for investors.

"We believe the run-up in the stock miscalculates the reality of consumer demand for BB10 next year. ... The fact is, the smartphone market has changed in the last 24 months, and RIM is not only late to the party, the party has moved to a different location and RIM is showing up at the wrong house," Blair said.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Maureen Bavdek; and Peter Galloway)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/goldman-sachs-boosts-rating-rim-shares-surge-134153787--finance.html

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Choose The Right Franchise Business | Business Networking Blog

Yet just what franchise and how does this purpose, specifically?

A new franchise business occurs when an entrepreneur or franchiser sells the particular legal rights involving his / her business style and also logo to be able to third functions, also called the franchisee. The particular franchisee then pays in the beginning for the legal rights for the franchise, for example the correct coaching, as well as the equipment concerning the franchise. Aside from straight up purchase, the franchisee can pay the particular franchiser an everyday royalty demand, in line with the revenue percentage of the actual franchise.

The particular principle in regards to the franchise is basically that you follow the particular business framework of the franchiser ? through the products to select from, the sort of services presented, staff?s clothes, working techniques, trademarks, along with signage.

One in the main reasons for franchising would be to portion the fee with regard to constructing chain stores along with avoiding virtually any the liability at the same time. Examples of acknowledged franchise companies include McDonalds, KFC, Kenny Rogers, Starbucks, and even more.

Self-Evaluation

Evaluating your potential as well as capability to get a franchise is certainly a large shift. Are you able to manage the actual stress of owning a business? Do you want to take on the particular duty? Similarly, it?s essential how the business you select is right for you.

Being Aware Of What Your own Business Is going to be

While buying your liberties with an already-established as well as well-known franchise business, it?s far better with a comprehensive investigation and a well-thought prepare before you decide to proceed with all the alternative. Make sure to search around for pertaining to aid or perhaps one also can give the particular help of your experienced franchise lawyer.

Total Costs With the Franchise

Just how much will certainly the actual franchise set you back? From the initial financial transaction, towards the royalty costs, in order to numerous expenditure ? it?s a smart thought in order to determine the particular expected quantity that the venture could cost an individual. Plus there is your return on your investment; will be the total price destined to be worth the cost?

Creating The Target Market

The franchise business can be like any other business. You must carry out a niche analysis as well as group examination. Can be your franchise likely to draw in a considerable market? And then what is the sort of market you probably will focus on?

Advertising Plans and Implementation

Just what likely be the particular promotion methods you?re planning to use? How are you planning to put into action all of them? Since your franchise you bought was already a proven name in the marketplace does not suggest that you don?t have to do some thing any more. You?ll have to consider victorious marketing ways to get shoppers and also propagate the message concerning the new franchise in your neighborhood.

Source: http://www.indianabusinessnetwork.com/choose-the-right-franchise-business

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BBC expects report on news failure next month

LONDON (AP) ? The chairman of the BBC Trust says he expects to receive a report next month on an editorial error which led to falsely accusing a senior politician as a pedophile.

Chris Patten said on Tuesday that a second inquiry into the culture and practices of the broadcaster during the years when one of its stars, the late Jimmy Savile, is accused of having abusing hundreds of underage girls will take much longer.

Patten told a House of Commons committee that he couldn't estimate how much the two inquiries will cost. He said, "I am afraid we must bear the costs, however much they are."

The furor over the false accusation against the politician led to the resignation of the BBC's director-general, George Entwistle.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bbc-expects-report-news-failure-next-month-134858021.html

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Calgary by-election proving thorny for Canada's Harper

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A hotly contested by-election in Canada's oil capital is proving troublesome for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government as other parties chip away at support in a region his Conservatives have long taken for granted.

The result in the Calgary Centre voting district will not alter the balance of power in Ottawa, where the government has a comfortable majority. But it is highlighting how views in urban Alberta are diversifying as more people from across the country relocate to take advantage of a robust economy.

A loss in Monday's vote could force the Harper Conservatives to rethink strategy in the next federal election in 2015 after years of focusing efforts on other parts of Canada where results have been far less certain.

The campaign, where the Conservatives and Liberals are running first and second, is the highest-profile referendum yet of the Harper government's policies since it won its majority in 2011, thanks in part to taking every seat in Alberta but one.

A victory by Conservative candidate Joan Crockatt would show the Liberals and New Democrats, which are the official opposition, can not fight the Conservatives and each other, said David Taras, political scientist at Mount Royal University.

"But if the Liberal wins, it's going to break the psychological sonic barrier in Calgary. A Liberal hasn't won here in 45 years and it would give the Liberals a tremendous psychological boost," Taras said.

"It would also worry the Tories. This is home-field advantage for the Conservatives, the back yard. They take it for granted," he said.

Several national issues are playing out in the district of 125,000 people in a city of 1.1 million that serves as headquarters for the nation's energy sector.

The contentious $15.1 billion bid for Nexen Inc by Chinese state-owned oil company CNOOC Ltd, the Conservatives' strong promotion of increased oil exports and the environmental impact of oil sands output have all played out in debates.

Crockatt, a right-wing political pundit and former journalist, has proven to be a somewhat divisive figure, prompting some long-term party members who are more moderate to urge support for the Liberal candidate, lawyer and environmentalist Harvey Locke.

Crockatt has come under fire for being a no-show at many of the public debates, and Locke has been forced to deal with some anti-Alberta remarks by some of the party's national figures.

Chris Turner of the Green Party, an author, is running third but appears to be gaining support.

CONSERVATIVES ON DEFENSIVE

All parties have devoted large resources to the race, dispatching political big names to accompany the candidates as they knock on doors and attend events with polls showing the Conservative seat as vulnerable.

Voters in Calgary and throughout Alberta have surprised pollsters in recent years by electing candidates that do not exemplify the western Canadian province's image as being on the far right of the political spectrum.

Two years ago, Calgarians elected Naheed Nenshi, a politically moderate Muslim, as mayor over a candidate closely aligned with Conservatives, and Nenshi remains popular.

The mayor chastised Crockatt last week for avoiding public debates, especially one on municipal issues.

Last spring, Alberta re-elected Premier Alison Redford's Progressive Conservatives to the provincial legislature after many polls had predicted a win for the Wildrose party, which is politically and socially to the right.

A recent Forum poll showed Crockatt ahead with 35 percent, down from 48 percent in late October, and Locke holding steady at 30 percent. Turner has climbed to 25 percent support from 11 percent in October. The November 17 survey of 403 voters had a 5 percent margin of error.

The Liberals' support has been surprising as the federal party has been in the woods in Alberta since 1980, when the government of Pierre Trudeau instituted a National Energy Program that penalized the energy sector, which contributes most to the provincial coffers.

However, since the poll was conducted, David McGuinty, the Liberals' natural resources critic in Ottawa, accused Conservative politicians from Alberta of shilling for the oil industry and said they should "go back to Alberta."

McGuinty quickly resigned his post, and the Liberals distanced themselves from the remarks, but Crockatt seized on them as being indicative of the party's thinking.

Potentially damaging as well, two-year-old comments by Liberal leadership hopeful Justin Trudeau, saying Canada was "in bad shape right now because Albertans are controlling our community and social democratic agenda" were exhumed Thursday.

It is not yet known whether voters in Calgary Centre will look past the remarks, or fear that a long-standing East-West divide cannot be fixed.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Jones; editing by Todd Eastham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/calgary-election-proving-thorny-canadas-harper-231804407.html

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Roche's Avastin misses key data point in brain cancer study

ZURICH | Sat Nov 17, 2012 5:43pm EST

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche's cancer drug Avastin failed to make a statistically significant difference to survival rates of patients with a common form of brain cancer in a late-stage study, the company said on Saturday.

The Phase III AVAglio study presented at the Society for Neuro-Oncology congress in Washington on Saturday showed Avastin, combined with radiation and chemotherapy, reduced the risk of cancer worsening or death, the Basel-based drugmaker said in a news release.

But the drug did not reach statistical significance in overall survival, a key data point. Further data are expected next year, Roche said.

"The interim results for overall survival (OS), the other co-primary endpoint, did not reach statistical significance," the company said in the statement.

Earlier data from the study published in August showed Avastin significantly extended progression-free survival of people with an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Avastin is Roche's third-biggest seller and is approved to treat several types of cancer, including breast, kidney, colorectal and ovarian cancers.

(Reporting by Katharina Bart and Caroline Copley; editing by Jason Webb)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/healthNews/~3/_OSgNXdfsqw/us-roche-avastin-idUSBRE8AG0JL20121117

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Today's Tech: Google Nexus 4 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Ofcom talks 5G, and Samsung's 'bendy' smartphone

---

Ofcom today announced plans to expand the current mobile spectrum, that will be dubbed 5G, to deal with the looming "capacity crunch" caused by the enormous surge in mobile data usage over recent years. Even though, Britain saw its first 4G service launch last month promising superfast mobile internet, Ofcom CEO Ed Richards says it will not be enough future data demands that are estimated to be 80 times higher by 2013.

Meanwhile, mobile network Three is seriously considering ditching the launch of 4G altogether, after recording an impressive set of 2012 sales figures. The mobile operator has gained 1.04 million new subscribers this year alone, and attracted 300,000 of those during the last three months. The network currently has a portion of the 1800MHz 4G spectrum in reserve, but feels that the effects of 4G are being exaggerated. Three might choose to completely ignore 4G, in favour of DC-HSPA, a 3G upgrade, which could deliver data speeds of 20Mb. This enhanced version of 3G already covers 50 UK towns (compared to 4G's 10) and is expected to provide coverage to 80 per cent of the UK by April 2013.

One of the newest releases in the smartphone arena is the Google Nexus 4; manufactured by LG and designed to take on the big boys. So we put its spec sheet against, quite literally, one of the big boys in the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 to see how worthy a challenger Google's new device is. The Nexus 4 is almost half the price of the 5.5in Note 2, but does Samsung's beastly model justify such a higher price tag? We think not, and you could well be on to a real handset bargain with the Nexus 4. Follow the link to see what made us come to this conclusion as the phones go head-to-head.

A new Samsung rumour has begun to make the rounds. Word in the tech world is that the Korean goliath is getting ready to launch the world's first flexible smartphone. Undisclosed sources "familiar to the situation" have tipped the prospective launch date for the first half of 2013. The new bendy handset will hopefully set Samsung apart from its competition but with Sony, LG and even Apple making inroads into ductile display development, the UPS of this new mobile leap may prove short-lived.

Source: http://feeds.itproportal.com/~r/itproportal/rss/~3/KPSWhQliaNY/

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Halo 4 Spartan Ops Episode 2 Trailer now Live | Video Game Blog ...

By Derek StricklandPublished: 12 November 2012 1:35 AM UTC

Posted in: News, Online, Xbox 360, XBOX Live, Xbox360 Games

Tags: Episode Two, Halo 4, News, spartan ops, trailer, Xbox 360, xbox live, youtube

The newly released trailer for Halo 4?s Spartan Ops Episode Two gives gamers a brief glimpse at what they can expect in the second chapter of the on-going co-operative mode. Spartan Ops is this game?s version of Firefight, delivering a campaign-like experience that evolves over time and features a dynamic mix of both survival and objective type missions.

Episode One: Departure is now available on Halo 4?s Infinity multiplayer, featuring five chapters that allow a team of four players to play together co-operatively and compete for the best score while trying to stay alive and complete the mission.

Episode Two: Artifact will bring five more chapters?or maps?to Spartan Ops and build upon the strange artifact that was found in Episode One?s Chapter 5: Core mission.

Episode Two will be available on Monday Nov. 12, 2012 for free via Xbox LIVE. For more information on Halo 4 or Spartan Ops be sure to check Halo Waypoint?s official website.

Article from Gamersyndrome.com

Related posts:

1. Halo 4 Spartan Ops: Episode 2 coming Monday
2. New Halo 4 Spartan Ops: Season 1 trailer
3. Halo 4?s Spartan DLC Will Be Longer Than ?Halo ODST?
4. Play Halo 4 on Xbox LIVE and Earn Microsoft Points
5. New Halo 4 ?Scanned? Trailer Gets Into the Mind of Master Chief

Source: http://gamersyndrome.com/2012/xbox-360/halo-4-spartan-ops-episode-2-trailer-now-live/

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U.S. trade panel approves five-year duties on China solar products

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States gave final approval on Wednesday to duties on billions of dollars of solar-energy products from China for the next five years, protecting U.S. producers against lower-priced imports and raising fears of Chinese retaliation.

The U.S. International Trade Commission voted 6-0 in favor of double- and triple-digit duties in a case filed last year by SolarWorld Industries America.

Beijing has protested the case each step of the way, calling it a protectionist move that threatens the future of solar energy by driving up costs for consumers.

SolarWorld, the largest U.S. solar-panel manufacturer, accused Chinese competitors such as Suntech Power Holdings of selling solar cells and panels in the United States at unfairly low prices and receiving government subsidies.

SolarWorld's German parent, SolarWorld AG, is pressing the European Union for similar curbs on Chinese solar products.

Gordon Brinser, president of SolarWorld America, told reporters the unanimous vote showed "very clearly" that U.S. producers had been harmed the imports.

The duties should allow U.S. producers to start adding jobs, but stringent enforcement is needed to prevent Chinese companies from circumventing the orders, he said.

In the meantime, SolarWorld has invested $27 million over the past year in technology that is increasing the efficiency of its solar cells, Brinser said.

OVERSUPPLY COMPLAINT

U.S. and European producers complain that China's rapid expansion of solar panel manufacturing has created a massive oversupply, destroying profits and crippling share prices.

The United States imported about $3.1 billion worth of solar cells and panels from China in 2011, up from $640 million two years earlier, although both figures contain some products not covered by the investigation.

The ITC vote clears the way for the U.S. Commerce Department to issue five-year anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders on those imports, based on rates announced last month.

Suntech, the world's largest producer of solar panels, was hit with combined Commerce Department duties of about 36 percent, while another major Chinese manufacturer, Trina Solar, faces duties of about 23.75 percent.

More than a hundred other Chinese producers and exporters face combined duties of about 31 percent and other Chinese firms combined duties of more than 250 percent.

"SolarWorld's hypocritical campaign has forced the fast-growing American solar industry to foot the bill for SolarWorld's competitive failures," Suntech America managing director E.L. McDaniel said in a statement.

U.S. companies that market and install Chinese solar panels also were disappointed by the vote and urged the U.S. and Chinese governments to negotiate a solar-energy trade deal that both sides can accept.

"Unilateral tariffs and a trade war in today's interconnected global marketplace are unnecessary and detrimental to effective and efficient business competition," Jigar Shah, president of the Coalition for Affordable Solar Energy, said in statement.

'PREPARING FOR THE FALLOUT'

China has already struck back by launching an investigation into imports of solar-grade polysilicon from both the United States and South Korea.

Beijing has also warned it could slap duties on polysilicon from the European Union and on Monday it began action at the World Trade Organization against Greek and Italian solar policies that it said unfairly favor domestic firms.

Tom Gutierrez, president of GT Advanced Technologies, whose company exports high-technology equipment used in the solar manufacturing to China, said he feared getting caught in the cross-fire in the case.

"If you punch someone in the nose, (the U.S. government) ought to have a backup plan for when they retaliate," Gutierrez said. "I'm preparing for the fallout."

Chinese firms have been required to post bonds or cash deposits based on preliminary duty rates since March in the subsidy part of the case and since May in the dumping part.

In a separate 4-2 vote on Wednesday, the ITC rejected the Commerce Department's finding of "critical circumstances," which would have made the duties retroactive to 90 days before the preliminary rates were announced.

Chinese manufacturer Yingli Green Energy said that decision saved it $13.7 million in duties it had on its books.

But "we are saddened to see the global ramifications of this case," the company's chief executive Liangsheng Miao said in a statement. "We are in the midst of a global trade war now, and Europe will be defending itself vigorously in the footsteps of the U.S. decision."

(Reporting By Doug Palmer in Washington and Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; Editing by David Brunnstrom and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-trade-panel-approves-five-duties-china-solar-191407335--finance.html

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Football game brings some relief from storm damage

Superstorm Sandy first responders Geovanny Buitron, right, and Steve Shore, left, talk to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell before a football game between the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Superstorm Sandy first responders Geovanny Buitron, right, and Steve Shore, left, talk to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell before a football game between the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Fans tailgate before an NFL football game between the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

A donation bucket for people suffering from the affects Superstorm Sandy and cystic fibrosis sits on a table near the tailgating area before an NFL football game between the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Fans look at sports memorabilia available in a silent auction held to raise money for people suffering the affects of Superstorm Sandy and cystic fibrosis before an NFL football game between the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Fans look at items in a silent auction being held to raise money for people suffering from the affects of Superstorm Sandy and cystic fibrosis before an NFL football game between the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) ? Courtney Davis has no idea what her house looks like because her town of Sea Bright was washed away by Superstorm Sandy.

Yet she was at the Meadowlands on Sunday for Steelers-Giants.

"We need this," Davis said. "We could really use this game and having a good time."

Davis and many other fans tailgating outside MetLife Stadium said they were thankful NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did not postpone the game or order it moved to Pittsburgh. And Goodell stopped by to do some tailgating himself, then meet on the field and congratulate first responders, calling them "heroes."

Asked about concerns for playing the game, Goodell said:

"I sure didn't hear that here. I didn't hear it out in the parking lot. In fact, exactly the opposite of that ... 'we want to be able to get away from what we have been dealing with all week for a while' and a couple of guys said, 'This re-energized us. We're ready to go back.'

"That's a nice sense."

Davis described a beach town that looked more like the desert, with sand dunes piled 8 feet high and bulldozers trying to level them "just like you see in a blizzard."

"Debris everywhere," she added. "We have no idea when we can go back."

Earlier in the week, seeing Steelers-Giants didn't enter her thoughts. But as the weekend began, she decided the Meadowlands was the right place to be.

So while the parking lots filled up and smoke rose from barbecues, people who lost power but not resolve found their way to a football game. And to each other.

"I think there's a sense of release, to take your mind off it," said Tara Brewster of Staten Island, the New York City borough devastated by the hurricane and its aftermath. "If they changed this game to another day, I really wouldn't have been upset, but everyone is coming together. New York is the kind of city that handles everything."

"The water was coming in waves," Turbek recalled about a canal overflowing near his home. "We probably lost all our appliances, and my chimney fell in, too."

Turbek never considered missing the game. His brother was a big Steelers fan, so Turbek wore a Steelers cap and said he was "here because Steven would have come. It's good to get back into a routine."

He waited 75 minutes for gas to make sure he could get to the Meadowlands and then home, a distance of 45 miles each way.

Ryan Plaza was not impacted by the storm in his hometown of Sugarloaf, Pa., but he brought 15 gallons of gas to his cousin in New Jersey, then headed to the stadium. Standing nearby was Roger Daly of Norwood, N.J., who has had season tickets since the Giants played in Yankee Stadium; they moved to New Jersey in 1976. His search for gas led him to the U.S. Military Academy, and then even farther north.

"I'm retired from the National Guard and went to West Point for gas, but they ran out," he said. "So I kept going up the thruway and happened to find gas. I made a 60-mile trip each way to get gas."

He was glad to be at the stadium, believing it delivers some sort of a message.

"We're Americans and we can handle anything," Daly said. "I feel bad for everyone who got wiped out, but we have to live our lives like we always did. I still don't have telephone, Internet, but I'm here and this is a good release."

As Kathleen Marzolla described the scene in Hoboken, N.J., which is on the Hudson River and was among the hardest hit places in the state, she got a text message that made her jump for joy. Literally.

"We've got power back. We've got power," she said as her brother, Kevin, pumped his fist.

Hoboken was a ghost town for portions of the week, with water everywhere, she said. Her friend's car was submerged in the overflow, and all the businesses in town were closed for much of the week. But on Sunday afternoon, she finally could smile again.

"We needed this today," she said.

Steelers fans seem to pop up at every road game the team plays and this one was no exception, despite the challenges. Shawn Morrow and Wayne Alling drove in from Pittsburgh, although they believed the game might get pushed back to Monday night. They were stunned by what they saw, Morrow describing areas they drove past in New Jersey as "a war zone."

"Huge trees uprooted, 50 people or more standing in line at a gas station with gas cans; no cars, but the cans," Morrow said.

"We didn't know about the rationing," Alling added. "We have an odd number (license plate) and we weren't sure if we could gas."

They did, and they were enjoying some barbecue in the parking lot, surrounded by thousands of others who found their way to the Meadowlands.

One of those people plunked a pumpkin on a car hood. On it, in black magic marker, was written "We Will Survive."

___

AP Sports Writer Tom Canavan and freelancer Jim Hague contributed to this story.

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-11-04-Meadowlands-Storm%20Tailgaters/id-1cd8690b1de64fafa957fefa45c35ebd

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No Two-Part Bond, Says Daniel Craig

It seems as though the future of the James Bond series isn't as certain as we recently thought it was. While it has been reported that "Skyfall" star Daniel Craig will star in "Bond 24" and "25" and that both movies will be one story arc, Craig is now saying that those reports might not [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/10/31/two-part-bond-daniel-craig/

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Investors: Dig Through Stocks in 'Frankenstorm' Aftermath ...

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It might be unseemly to hope for tons of property destruction, but the fact is that whether they hope for it or not, it won?t change the outcome. And in those cases where there is a lot of property damage ? as it looks like will be the case with Hurricane Sandy ? it?s worth looking at trading opportunities, particularly in stocks that also make for good long-term investments.

Insurers are the first area to look at. A huge storm can put a dent in an insurer?s near-term earnings, but that should be viewed as a buying opportunity after the stock drops from weak holders. Insurance is a great business. If it weren?t, the free market would?ve killed it ages ago. Underwriting is now so nuanced and refined that insurers know more about risk than you ever could.

Berkshire Hathaway?(NYSE:BRK.B) is the obvious big play, and you get the diversification of Warren Buffett?s holding company to boot. As a conglomerate, trading at 16 times earnings is not a bad deal at all. Berkshire?s insurance underwriting business actually lost $830 million in the first half of last year, and it presently sits on a $675 million profit. It?s hard to say how exposed it?ll be here, but this is a long-term hold, so if you are considering it, you might as well buy in after Berkshire announces how hard it got hit.

Allstate?(NYSE:ALL) rests on the cheaper side of insurance companies, trading at 9 times earnings, and it also pays a 2.2% dividend. Allstate offset its own $1.17 billion first-half underwriting loss from last year with $657 million this year.

The other area where stocks might see a pop are home-improvement stores. In this sector, it?s tough to do better than?Home Depot?(NYSE:HD). After all these years, the company continues to grow impressively, with long-term growth rates at 15%, and trading at 20 times this year?s estimates. That?s not outrageously expensive when you consider that the company churned out $5.43 billion in free cash flow last year, and already has produced $3.7 billion in the first half of this year. It?s a solid buy for the portfolio, even with Hurricane Sandy bearing down.

You also can consider?Lowe?s Companies?(NYSE:LOW), which similarly is pegged at 15% long-term growth, although this year is expected to be flat. Free cash flow here also is impressive, tallying $2.5 billion in each of the past three years. LOW pays a 2% yield and carries $9 billion in debt (to Home Depot?s $10.7 billion), which is very manageable given the free cash flow. It also trades at 20 times estimates.

Finally, when a storm like this hits, I think booze. Somebody will be drowning their sorrows because they don?t have insurance and thus can?t afford to fix things up using a home improvement company. Here I like?Beam?(NYSE:BEAM), not just for its whiskey, but because it?s still growing at 12% long-term and has ample free cash flow.

As of this writing, Lawrence Meyers did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Source: http://investorplace.com/2012/10/frankenstorm-churns-out-investing-opportunities/

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Which CMS and designing tool used for it | DaniWeb

Authored by happygeek in the Web Development forum, this related news story currently has 3 replies, was last posted to 1 month ago by padrelax974 and has been tagged with the following keywords: web, browser, news, google, chrome, microsoft, internet, ie, client, stats, analysis, market. It begins, ?Over the last couple of days the online media seems to have gone crazy for ...?

Source: http://www.daniweb.com/web-development/web-design-html-and-css/threads/438429/which-cms-and-designing-tool-used-for-it

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