The glitzy sheen of that Retina Display MacBook Pro or MacBook Air probably tarnished a little when you realized you'd need to sacrifice a USB or Thunderbolt if you wanted Ethernet connectivity. Just in time for Macworld, Kanex is shuttling out DualRole, a three-port USB 3.0 hub and Ethernet adapter that'll swell your connectivity options while on the road. Bus-powered, you can also add a 5v power adapter to juice your gadgets at the same time. It'll set you back $69 and is available from right about now.
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Some factors that cause the cost of your insurance to fluctuate can be altered, but some costs are fixed and will not change. A higher deductible will make your monthly premiums more affordable. This article will guide you through the different variables and options that will lead to your getting the best price you can on automobile insurance.
It is a common misconception that the cost of auto insurance automatically drops as the driver reaches 25 years of age. The truth is that they start to decrease once they reach 18 as long the driver is responsible and drives safely.
If you want a lower premium then you should think about paying a higher deductible. Raising the price of the deductible on your policy has the largest influence on the cost of your insurance. Be aware that should you be involved in an accident, you will need to have the cash available to fulfill the deductible. Establishing an emergency fund using your premium savings is an easy way to make certain you have the money needed to cover higher deductibles.
TIP! Once someone in your home has auto insurance of their own, quickly take them off of your policy to avoid paying extra premiums. If your kids get their own policy, make sure you take them off of your own.
Avoid the purchase of pricey after-market items for your vehicle that are not really necessary. Luxuries in your vehicle, while nice, are not a necessity. The reason is because if your vehicle is stolen or totaled, you will not be reimbursed for its damage.
You want to do as much research as possible to find a company that will suit your needs long term, and also provide you with excellent customer service. The department of insurance will have a list of the companies, and any complaints lodged against them. This is a percentage of claims that the agency agrees to fulfill.
When looking for auto insurance, get quotes from various companies. You will most likely need to shop around and do some research to obtain the best rate you can.
TIP! Switching vehicles between members of the family can raise premiums. You will pay less if there is only one driver associated with each car.
Driver who put fewer than 7500 miles on their car per year often receive generous discounts. This makes cutting back on your driving a great option for anyone who wants to save money on car insurance.
To lower your auto insurance rates, work on increasing your FICO score. Auto insurance companies check the credit of new customers. Insurance companies often make rate decisions based in part on an individual?s credit score. This is due to the fact that studies show individuals with low credit scores are often prone to automobile accidents. Your insurance policy rates will remain lower if your credit is in decent shape.
TIP! To keep your auto insurance costs at a minimum, don?t include drivers on your policy that won?t actually be driving your cars. You can save a great deal by removing drivers who do not actually drive your vehicle.
Many factors are considered when figuring insurance premiums. For example marriage, your gender and even your age are factors. Keeping this personal information in mind can help improve the experience of auto insurance pricing.
Before you purchase a vehicle, look into how much it will cost to insure the car. Insurance agents will be able to advise you on what type of car has low insurance rates. This can help you a lot when thinking about buying a new or used car. You won?t pay as much on car insurance if you buy a car with a solid safety rating.
You should comb through your insurance options carefully. Each company uses a different formula, based on your answers to their questions and previous driving records, to figure out what your insurance premium is. Comparing a few different companies before making your final decision can end up saving you quite a bit of money.
TIP! Consider removing some of the coverage from your insurance policy that you no longer need. Collision insurance might be an unneeded extra if you drive an older vehicle, for instance.
You may have noticed that you can totally change the price of your car insurance. Some of the things that can affect your premiums are driving record and mileage. By understanding how these factors can increase or decrease your driving risk in the eyes of your insurance company, you may be able to reduce your rates.
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There are lots of things to consider when starting your own retail business, but what can you do if you have a less desirable location? As part of our series on ?How to start a business? our own?Sage Business Expert Rachel Parkin offers advice on how to be resourceful with your space and location, and so help you grow your business.
What can you do to promote your store if you have a location challenge? Put simply, the nearer the center of town your business is, the more expensive the rent will be. Cheaper rents apply to A2 locations, those up or down stairs, around corners or with obstacles in their way.
A rule of thumb for working out your costs is that the more you save on location, the more you?ll have to spend on advertising.
Be inventive
People generally feel uncomfortable entering a store where it is not obvious what they?re going to find. A good idea is to stock something cheap like cards just inside the doorway. That way, if people feel uncomfortable getting into your store, they?ll always be able to buy a card. A welcome mat or entrance carpet will also help draw people in to the interior of your store.
Exterior
Whether you hang helium balloons outside your store or have flowers in hanging baskets outside, maximizing the impression you give customers before they even enter your store will make a vast improvement. Consider props, or some of the larger items you have in-store, to give a sense of what kind of things you sell (this will also free up more space inside). If you have a canopy, try making the most of the feature and decorate it. It?s a naturally vivid display, so use it.
Signage
Chalkboards look great inside or outside and custom messages with coloured chalks can give a creative vibe to your store. Alternatively, take advantage of any strong influencing brands you stock ? these will have a lot of pull on consumers.
Senses
Encouraging a customer?s sight, sounds and other senses will make your shop more of an enjoyable experience. Decorate areas of the store with inexpensive fairy lights, or pipe soft music in the store that can be heard from outside. Depending on what kind of store you run, scents or fragrances might also work.
Rachel Parkin is the owner and Creative Director of the Balagan Group, a jewellery design and wholsesale business. Rachel is also the owner of two retail stores; a boutique and a contemporary jeweller. She is also the founder of Retailrehab, which assists & supports independent retailers by creating a resource for sales generating ideas and best practice.
It's Italian Food week, and some of the biggest debates over pasta, wine and celeb chefs are going to get settled right here. We surveyed 1,468 avid diners about their Italian eating habits and discovered that grandma's cooking may not always be the best. The results in the slideshow will answer all your questions: which Boot-cuisine celeb is the most popular? Which pasta is the most comforting? How much is too much to spend on a dish at a restaurant. Click through to see the winners and losers of our first ever Italian Food Survey, and sound off about the results in the comments. Also check out our list of the top Italian restaurants in 25 U.S. cities here.
[Also see: 9 Pricey Pastas From Around the U.S.]
People Are Addicted to Italian
Italian constantly ranks as a favorite cuisine in our restaurant surveys, so it's no surprise to see that people are getting their pasta fix at least weekly, with 44% reporting that they eat Italian one or two times a week. Even more sauced up are the 23% of respondents who say they eat Italian three to four times a week. As for the 8% who say they eat Italian five or more times each week, we salute you. In place of confetti at your parade, we will throw grated Parmesan. <strong>How often do you typically eat Italian food?</strong> 1-2 times a week: 44% 3-4 times a week: 23% A few times a month: 21% 5 or more times a week: 8% Once a month or less: 4% <strong>[Also see: <a href="http://blog.zagat.com/2013/01/chefs-guide-to-italy-insider-travel.html">Chef's Guide to Italy: Insider Travel Tips From the Pros</a>]</strong>
Home Cooking's Not All That
When people go out, they don't want to eat the same old pasta dishes they can make in their kitchen. A whopping 79% of respondents report that they avoid ordering dishes they can throw together at home when they're at a restaurant. And even though a lot of Italian grandmothers think their red sauce reigns supreme, the survey takers disagree - 59% of Italian food lovers say that they prefer restaurant cooking vs. 41% who say they prefer home cooking. But people expect more from restaurants. When going out to eat, 75% said it's either very important or extremely important to have authentic and imported Italian ingredients, while only 53% of home cooks said it's very or extremely important to have those imported and authentic ingredients in their kitchen. The takeaway? A lot of folks are reaching for premade sauces when making pasta at home. <strong>When ordering Italian food at a restaurant, do you:</strong> Avoid ordering dishes you can cook at home: 79% Order dishes you can make at home: 17% I don't cook Italian food at home: 4% <strong>How important is it that a restaurant use authentic and imported ingredients in its cuisine?</strong> Extremely: 37% Very: 38% Somewhat: 19% Not Very: 5% Not At All: 1% <strong>How important is it to use authentic and imported ingredients at home?</strong> Extremely: 22% Very: 31% Somewhat: 34% Not Very: 11% Not At All: 2% <strong>[Also see: <a href="http://blog.zagat.com/2013/01/the-top-italian-restaurants-in-25-us.html">The Top Italian Restaurants in 25 U.S. Cities</a>]</strong>
Diners Will Pay for Good Pasta
When you're out to eat and you see a pasta dish that contains the same ingredients you can get for less than $4 at your local grocery store, fuggadeboutit, right? Actually, no. Our survey found that diners are more than willing to pay for top-notch plates of pasta - so it's no wonder that restaurants aren't hesitant to push the prices into the $20-a-dish range. In fact, 32% said that they'd spend $20-25 on a restaurant-prepared pasta dish, while 22% said that they would go beyond that and plop down over $25 for an awesome ravioli. $15-25 seems to be the sweet spot, with 63% saying they'd pay that much for a good dish. <strong>What is the most you would spend on a restaurant prepared pasta dish?</strong> Less than $10: 1% $10-14.99: 14% $15-19.99: 31% $20-24.99: 32% $25 or more: 22% <strong>[Also see: <a href="http://blog.zagat.com/2013/01/the-hottest-italian-restaurants-in-us.html">The Hottest Italian Restaurants in the U.S.</a>]</strong>
Pasta Preference: Pappardelle Is the Best, Spaghetti Doesn't Make Top 5
The votes are in and it's official: people are so over spaghetti. The childhood staple didn't even rank in the top five favorite pastas, with broad and flat pappardelle taking the top slot. Also outranking spaghetti were linguine, ravioli and angel hair, which placed in spots two, three and four, respectively. All the way at the bottom of the list is tagliatelle, which ranked at No. 10 behind orecchiette. People are passionate about their pastas, so see the full rankings below and debate away! 1. Pappardelle 2. Linguine 3. Ravioli 4. Angel Hair 5. Penne 6. Spaghetti 7. Fettuccine 8. Rigatoni 9. Orecchiette 10. Tagliatelle <strong>[Also see: <a href="http://blog.zagat.com/2013/01/break-out-parmesan-its-italian-week.html">Break Out the Parmesan, It's Italian Food Week!</a>]</strong>
It's the Sauce That Counts
When it come time to smother your favorite pasta in sauce, people want a little meat in the mix. Bolognese was the No. 1 choice for sauce, scoring 17% of the vote, while classic marinara came in second with 13%. Spicy arrabbiata landing in third with 8% of the vote, while carbonara and vodka sauce landed in fourth and fifth place, respectively, with 7% each. There was a wide spread in the pasta sauce department, check out the full results: Bolognese: 17% Marinara: 13% Arrabbiata: 8% Carbonara: 7% Vodka Sauce: 7% Pesto: 7% Aglio Olio (garlic and oil): 7% Pomodoro: 6% Clam Sauce: 6% Puttanesca: 6% Ragu: 5% All'amatriciana: 4% Alfredo: 3% Squid Ink: 1% Other: 1% <strong>[Also see: <a href="http://blog.zagat.com/2013/01/italian-food-survey-favorite-pastas-is.html">Italian Food Survey: Favorite Pastas, Is Home Cooking Better?</a>]</strong>
Twirling Your Pasta in a Spoon is Uncommon, But Cutting It Is Just Weird
An impressive 40% of surveyors still use the old-school method of twirling pasta with a spoon to insure they don't end up slopping sauce all over those checkered tablecloths. However, taking a knife to the noodles is just going too far. Only 18% of surveyors say they cut long strands before scarfing them, while a super-majority of 82 percent are a firm "no" when it comes to cutting. <strong>Do you twirl your pasta with a spoon?</strong> Yes: 40% No: 56% I don't twirl my pasta at all: 4% <strong>Do you cut long strands before eating them?</strong> Yes: 18% No: 56% <strong>[Also see: <a href="http://blog.zagat.com/2013/01/best-meal-ever-2013-another-epic-look.html">Best Meal Ever 2013: Another Epic Look at Favorite Meals</a>]</strong>
Wine Wire: Overall, People Prefer Red to White, but Pinot Grigio Is Tops
It was a tight race for the favorite Italian vino - our poll included a dozen types of wines, and Pinot Grigio was the favorite varietal, eeking out a victory with 16% of the vote. Close behind the spritely white was Chianti (15%), Montepulciano (14%) and Sangiovese (12%), with Prosecco securing a sparkling fifth-place finish with 11% of the vote. Even though Pinot won the battle, red wine won the war. Though the vote for the top five vinos (one of which was chosen by 68% of respondents) was split between different grapes, 41% said their favorite pour was a red compared with 27% that said their favorite was a white. Take a look at the top 10 vinos below: <strong>What is your favorite Italian wine?</strong> 1. Pinot Grigio 2. Chianti 3. Montepulciano 4. Sangiovese 5. Prosecco 6. Moscato 7. Barbera 8. Nebbiolo 9. Nero d'Avola 10. Primitivo <strong>[Also see: <a href="http://blog.zagat.com/2013/01/9-must-visit-international-food-streets.html">9 Must-Visit International Food Streets</a>]</strong>
Trend Watch: Whole-Wheat Pasta and Aperitif Spirits Have Yet to Catch On
If you're friends with a cocktail geek, chances are you're heard them wax poetic about Italian herbal liqueurs, which are all the rage in upscale libation lounges. Well, these spirits may be popular with diehards, but the trend hasn't swayed the general public yet. When it comes to Italian booze, people still want their limoncello, with a plurality of 38% saying that it's the favorite. In second place is Sambuca with 14% of the vote, while Campari, the first aperitif on the list, only sneaks into third place with 13% of the vote. Another trend that hasn't caught on? Whole wheat pasta. When asked if they order whole wheat noodles when available, 68% of those surveyed said no. <strong>What is your favorite Italian spirit?</strong> Limoncello: 38% Sambuca: 14% Campari: 13% Frangelico: 13% Grappa: 11% Amaro: 6% Strega: 2% Other: 3% <strong>Do you prefer to eat whole-wheat pasta?</strong> Yes: 32% No: 68% <strong>[Also see: <a href="http://blog.zagat.com/2013/01/when-chefs-tweet-9-culinary-twitter.html">When Chefs Tweet: 9 Culinary Twitter Feuds</a>]</strong>
Cheese and Comfort Food (But Aren't They One and the Same)?
News flash: Italian food is comforting. Ok, no one is shocked by that. But when you're looking to dig into some pasta on an ice-cold day, what is your go-to? Pizza is the best food to provide solace on a day that has got you down, with 18% of voters saying it's their favorite comfort food. There was a pretty even split between the top five choices, with lasagna (17%), pasta Bolognese (13%), eggplant Parmigiana (13%) and spaghetti and meatballs (12%) rounding out the selection. Or if you're for comfort - say cheese! We also polled the top fromages from Italy, and are you really surprised that Parmigiano-Reggiano came out on top with 35% of the vote, followed by Mozzarella at 19% and Pecorino-Romano at 12%. <strong>What's Your Favorite Comfort Food Dish?</strong> Pizza: 18% Lasagna: 17% Pasta Bolognese: 13% Eggplant Parmigiana: 13% Spaghetti and Meatballs: 12% Veal Parmigiana: 8% Chicken Parmigiana: 7% Baked Ziti: 4% <strong>What Is Your Favorite Cheese? </strong> Parmigiano-Reggiano: 35% Mozzarella: 19% Pecorino-Romano: 12% Gorgonzola: 6% Provolone: 6% Ricotta: 5% Asiago: 4% Grana Padano: 3% Taleggio: 3% Fontina: 2% Burrata: 2% Mascarpone: 1% <strong>[Also see: <a href="http://blog.zagat.com/2013/01/7-super-bowl-fast-food-deals-that-can.html">7 Fast Food Super Bowl Deals That Can Break Your Belt</a>]</strong>
Batali is Boss, Giada Inspires a Love/Hate Response
With numerous restaurants, countless television appearances (including a guest-host gig on The Chew) and cookbooks galore, it's no surprise that Mario Batali is the most beloved personality in the Italian food world, with 30% of folks saying he's their favorite chef. Lidia Bastianich, one of his partners at NYC's Eataly, came in second place with 22% of the vote, while Giada di Laurentiis was in third with 19%. Not everyone loves her, though - a number of voters took the time to call her out in an open-ended question that asked about the "most annoying Italian trend," with folks complaining that they can't stand her "pronunciation of Italian words." <strong>Who's your favorite chef/personality specializing in Italian cuisine?</strong> Mario Batali: 30% Lidia Bastianich: 22% Giada di Laurentiis: 19% Michael Chiarello: 7% Fabio Viviani: 4% Michael White: 4% Anne Burrell: 3% Scott Conant 2% Joe Bastianich: 1% <strong>[Also see: <a href="http://blog.zagat.com/2013/01/10-best-restaurants-in-las-vegas.html">10 Best Restaurants in Vegas</a>]</strong>
SANTA MARIA, Brazil (Reuters) - Prosecutors in southern Brazil, where 235 people died when a fire ravaged the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria last weekend, are investigating whether city leaders and inspectors were negligent in allowing the club to operate.
The investigation, which is separate from a criminal probe into the causes of the tragedy, comes after police said the club's sole exit was partially blocked and that fire extinguishers and emergency exit lights weren't working.
Investigators say the lapses led to the stampede and consequent trampling and suffocation that killed most of the fire's victims.
"There is a political dimension to what happened," Cesar Augusto Carlan, a public prosecutor for the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where the fire occurred, said in an interview on Wednesday.
He said the investigation sought to determine what fault may lie with the city, fire inspectors, and any other enforcement officials who had allowed the nightclub to operate.
In a news conference late Tuesday, Santa Maria's mayor, Cesar Schirmer, said city inspectors visited the club last April after it had undergone remodeling and found no reason to revoke its operating permit.
He said his mind was "at ease" that city hall had "fulfilled its obligation."
Schirmer added: "The establishment, in our view, had no irregularities. If any measures or inspections should have been taken, that was the responsibility of the fire department."
The local fire department, for its part, reiterated in a statement late Tuesday that it was in the process of renewing the club's safety permit when the fire occurred, but that the establishment was authorized to operate in the meantime.
It added, however, that the club appears to have committed several safety violations, noting that it did not have a permit allowing the sort of pyrotechnics that sparked the fire and that regulations require that the exit remain unobstructed, which wasn't the case.
"If there had been a request to use pyrotechnics in the nightclub Kiss, the fire department would not have authorized it," the statement read.
Further details of the tragedy continue to emerge.
Police said one of the club's owners, who with his co-owner is in police custody for questioning, on Tuesday tried to choke himself with a shower hose at a local hospital in a suicide attempt. The owner, identified by police as Elissandro Spohr, told officials he could not bear the strain of the tragedy.
In addition to the two club owners, two members of Gurizada Fandangueira, the band that was performing at the club, also are in custody for questioning. One of the band members, police say, lit an outdoor flare during its show, igniting overhead soundproofing material from which the fire rapidly spread.
None of the four men has been charged with any crime.
Local authorities have revised the death toll from the tragedy to 235, following the death of an injured man in hospital and a recount of the confirmed dead. Late on Tuesday, 121 people remained in hospital, 83 of them on respirators.
Some of those being treated are suffering complications from the toxic chemicals they inhaled during the fire.
(Writing by Paulo Prada; Editing by Todd Benson, Kieran Murray and David Storey)
Jan. 30, 2013 ? Despite a substantial increase in the number of people suffering the debilitating and often deadly effects of heart failure, treatments for the condition have not advanced significantly for at least 10 years. An analysis by researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine shows new breakthroughs could be closer than we thought.
The analysis points to striking similarities between heart cells in patients with heart failure and brain cells in patients with Alzheimer's disease, raising the possibility that some treatment approaches being developed for Alzheimer's may also help reverse the damage from heart failure.
"We know that Alzheimer's is a process of wear and tear on the brain, and the same sort of wear and tear affects the heart," said Cam Patterson, MD, MBA, UNC's chief of cardiology. "The good news is now that we recognize that -- and can understand how the wear and tear actually affects proteins in the heart -- it offers us a new chance to identify strategies to reverse that wear and tear. It's like providing a key to preventing aging of the heart."
The analysis, co-authored by Patterson and Monte Willis, MD, PhD, associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at UNC, appears in the Jan. 31, 2013 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The researchers say a variety of recent studies point to one conclusion: misfolded proteins in heart cells are a key factor in the process of heart failure. "There's a convergence of data pointing to this being a real problem," said Patterson.
The analysis brings together three main lines of evidence. First, studies of heart tissue from patients with heart failure reveal large accumulations of misfolded proteins within damaged heart cells, similar to the accumulations found in the brain cells of patients with Alzheimer's. Second, recent studies using mice show heart problems can result from defects in the body's quality-control system for monitoring and maintaining proteins. Finally, studies of a rare genetic disorder link severe heart problems to misfolding of two proteins, known as desmin and CryAB.
The new conclusion opens enticing avenues for possible treatments. Scientists studying Alzheimer's and other neurological disorders have long focused on ways to correct or prevent protein misfolding, and have even developed drugs that accomplish this feat. "This raises the possibility that that same type of strategy, and maybe even some of those compounds, will be beneficial in heart failure," said Patterson. "It's an entirely new treatment paradigm."
Heart failure, in which the heart fails to pump as effectively as it should, is a chronic, debilitating and often deadly condition affecting millions of adults in the United States. It can result from heart attacks, coronary heart disease and many other causes. Increases in heart attack survival rates mean more people are living with the debilitating effects of heart failure, including fatigue, shortness of breath and increased mortality.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
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Journal Reference:
Monte S. Willis, Cam Patterson. Proteotoxicity and Cardiac Dysfunction ? Alzheimer's Disease of the Heart?New England Journal of Medicine, 2013; 368 (5): 455 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1106180
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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Environmentalists hope John Kerry, a self-proclaimed advocate for confronting climate change, will use his position as secretary of State to block the Keystone XL pipeline. Proponents of Keystone XL remain undeterred.
By David J. Unger,?Correspondent / January 30, 2013
John Kerry sits before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as he seeks confirmation as US secretary of State, on Capitol Hill in Washington last week. As secretary of State, Mr. Kerry will lead the State Department's review of the Keystone XL pipeline.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP/File
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When John Kerry begins his first day as secretary of State Friday, the former senator will quickly confront one of energy's most perplexing and divisive issues: the Keystone XL pipeline.
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"It will not be long before that comes across my desk," Mr. Kerry said during his Senate confirmation hearing last week. "And at that time, I'll make the appropriate judgments about it."?
What exactly those "appropriate judgments" will be is the million dollar question.?
Environmental groups hope Kerry's judgements will ultimately be in their favor.?The self-described "passionate advocate" for confronting climate change earned a reputation for backing environmentally friendly bills during his tenure in the Senate. Kerry consistently received high marks on the League of Conservation Voters' national environmental scorecard, earning a perfect 100 percent in 2011. During his Senate confirmation hearing, Kerry called global climate change a "life-threatening" issue and endorsed clean energy as an important job creator.?
Considering that we can have music, movies, TV shows, Photoshop???even underwear???via some sort of monthly or yearly subscription, it's about time we can finally rent Microsoft Office 365, too.
In exchange for $100 per?year (or $10 per?month), you'll be able to install Office 2013 on up to five PCs, Macs or Windows tablets. You'll have?access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access. Additionally, you'll get an extra?20GB of cloud storage through SkyDrive (on top of the 7GB you already get for free) along with 60 minutes of Skype world calling per month.?
You can still buy Office 2013 the old-school way, though don't expect to see any physical media in the software box; you'll just buy a product code and be sent online to download the actual software. The Home & Student version of that is $140 and is limited to one device (and just Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote); Home & Business is $220 (which includes Outlook as well), and Pro ? with all of the same?apps offered in the subscription ??is $400.
Besides being able to install on up to five devices, there are other benefits to the subscription plan:?Free upgrades to the latest versions of the Office software are included, so you can buy in at any time without worrying about missing the next version. Better still, since the subscription?license covers different types of devices, you don't have to buy a bunch of different versions.?(Besides Mac support, Microsoft has said in the past that this Office 365?license would even?provide you with not-yet-released editions, including a possible iPad version.)
If you have a family with lots going on, it is likely to be a money saver, even when you factor in the deals you get from home/student pricing.?
If you are simply?a power user with a lot of different devices, you'll be able to sync Office 365?documents between them with ease. (And you'll, of course, also be able to share documents quickly, thanks to SkyDrive.)?It doesn't stop with the documents though: Your settings and preferences sync as well. This means that no matter where you sign into Office 365, you'll have the same experience. This is, once again, a great benefit for those who split their time between one too many devices.
Pricing and cloud support aside, the latest Office itself isn't a radical redesign. Everything feels familiar, with some small tweaks. It appears that Microsoft is attempting to reduce the bloat we occasionally experience when it comes to its software suite. Does it succeed? Well, we'll have to use the software for a bit longer to make a solid judgment call in regards to that.
While?the?latest version of the software isn't?lacking anything?from?the?traditional?desktop?view???in fact, our initial impression is that it might be the best version of Office we've used so far???we're still waiting for a finger-friendly tablet version of the?legendary?suite.?Though?it?would?be?a?huge?success?given?the?popularity?of?iPads?and?other?tablets,?Microsoft?isn't?going?to?rush?that?out?in?haste,?because?the?company's?developers?say?they?want?to?get?it?right.
You can snag a free one-month trial of Office 365 through Office.com and we suggest taking advantage of this deal. Odds are that you'll find it feeling comfortable and familiar ? and a little lighter on the checkbook as well.
Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.
On Monday, Google officially updated North Korea on Google Maps. Thanks to crowd-sourced data, the area is no longer blank, but instead includes markings for just about everything???right down to the locations of its prison camps. This isn't the first time Google Maps (and its 3-D counterpart, Google Earth) helped reveal previously obscured ??or even unknown ??geography.
In late 2011, Google Maps images called attention to strange patterns etched into the surface of China's Gobi Desert. There were speculations that the patterns were related to weapons-testing sites or even messages from aliens,?but?the?consensus,?according?to?Natalie Wolchover?of?Life's?Little?Mysteries,?was?that?they?were?satellite?calibration?patterns.?
Another pattern found not far from there, a?"Stonehenge-like arrangement of objects radiating outward, with fighter jets parked at its center,"?is?likely?used to test radar from space.
A year later, yet another mysterious pattern was spotted in yet another Chinese desert.?LiveScience's?Tia Ghose?reported?that?these?were?the?result?of?geological surveys for nickel mines.
Google Earth, another aspect of Google's geo project,?has also?helped an?archaeologist discover ancient Egyptian ruins.Much of the excitement over that discovery evaporated though as ? after some initial confusion regarding whether they ruins were previously undiscovered pyramids or other formations ? it turned out that at least some other researchers were already aware of this point of interest.
Thanks to Google Maps' Street View, folks have been exploring areas they may never see in person. For example, thousands of images from Australia's Great Barrier Reef and other coral locales were stitched together into 360-degree panoramas, so that anyone can take a trip from the comfort of his or her own desk.
"This will allow the 99.9 percent of the population who have never been diving to go on a virtual dive for the first time," said Richard Vevers, project director for the Catlin Seaview Survey (which worked in partnership with Google to capture images for these panoramas), told NBC News?when the project was first publicized.
Ancient Mexican monuments such as Teotihuacan, Chichen Itza and Palenque are also included in virtual tours, along with?countless businesses which, as part of an extension to the Google Street View project, allow users to virtually explore building interiors.
Sometimes Google's mapping products can cause controversy. When?a data glitch related to Google Earth's underwater seafloor imagery led to the appearance of a grid-like pattern, some proclaimed it?must indicate the existence of Atlantis. The "evidence" of the mythical city's presence disappeared as soon as Google incorporated fresh data and smoothed over imaging artifacts.
At least one mapping controversy ended with new research, however.?When a Nicaraguan general?alleged that Google Maps displayed erroneous borders between his country and Costa Rica. The secretary general of the Organization of American States was sent in to examine the area and resolve the cartographic drama.
And then there was that time a?Google Street View car ran over a donkey ? or at least appeared to. ?"Over the last 24-hours concerned members of the public and the media have been speculating on the fate of a donkey pictured in Street View in the Kweneng region of Botswana,"?wrote?Google's?Kei?Kawai?in?a?blog?post.?Fortunately?for?Google,?the?car?took?many?photos,?and?a?review?of?them?clearly?showed?the?donkey?moving?aside?safely.?"I'm pleased to confirm the donkey is alive and well."
Google's not above showing us what's behind the curtain in its own data centers, either. Thanks to Street View tours of the interiors of the company's previously unseen buildings, we now know that Stormtroopers and R2 units guard our precious data.
Want more tech news?or interesting?links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts,?or circling her?on?Google+.
'Moral realism' may lead to better moral behaviorPublic release date: 29-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Patti Delaney patricia.delaney@bc.edu Boston College
New report by Boston College researchers
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. Getting people to think about morality as a matter of objective facts rather than subjective preferences may lead to improved moral behavior, Boston College researchers report in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
In two experiments, one conducted in-person and the other online, participants were primed to consider a belief in either moral realism (the notion that morals are like facts) or moral antirealism (the belief that morals reflect people's preferences) during a solicitation for a charitable donation. In both experiments, those primed with moral realism pledged to give more money to the charity than those primed with antirealism or those not primed at all.
"There is significant debate about whether morals are processed more like objective facts, like mathematical truths, or more like subjective preferences similar to whether vanilla or chocolate tastes better," said lead researcher Liane Young, assistant professor of psychology at Boston College. "We wanted to explore the impact of these different meta-ethical views on actual behavior."
Ideas have previously been advanced on the subject, but Young and her former research assistant A.J. Durwin, now a law student at Hofstra University, are the first to directly investigate the question.
In one experiment, a street canvasser attempted to solicit donations from passersby for a charity that aids impoverished children. Participants in one set were asked a leading question to prime a belief in moral realism: "Do you agree that some things are just morally right or wrong, good or bad, wherever you happen to be from in the world?" Those in a second set were asked a question to prime belief in moral antirealism: "Do you agree that our morals and values are shaped by our culture and upbringing, so there are no absolute right answers to any moral questions?" Participants in a control set were not asked any priming question.
In this experiment, participants primed with realism were twice as likely to be donors, compared to those primed with antirealism or not primed at all.
A second experiment, conducted online, yielded similar results. Participants asked to donate money to a charity of their choice who were primed with realism reported being willing to give more than those primed with antirealism or not primed at all.
"Priming participants to consider the notion that morals are like facts increased decisions to donate in both experiments, revealing the potential impact of meta-ethical views on everyday decision-making," said Young. "Simply asking participants to consider moral values, as we did with the antirealism prime, did not produce an effect," she said, "so priming morality in general may not necessarily lead to better behavior. Considering the existence of non-negotiable moral facts may have raised the stakes and motivated participants to behave better."
Since "real" moral stakes may be accompanied by "real" consequences whether good (e.g., helping others, enhanced self-esteem) or bad (e.g., retribution), priming a belief in moral realism may in fact prompt people to behave better, in line with their existing moral beliefs, the researchers say.
The researchers note that priming a belief in moral realism may enhance moral behavior under certain conditions such as when the right thing to do is relatively unambiguous (e.g., it is good to be generous). A different outcome could be possible when subjects are faced with more controversial moral issues, they say.
Liane Young's research frequently focuses on the psychology and neuroscience of moral judgment and behavior. In 2012, she was awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and was named a Dana Neuroscience Scholar by the Dana Foundation, which also awarded her a three-year grant to support her study of brain activity and moral decision-making in individuals with autism, a project that will provide a valuable research opportunity for BC undergraduates. In addition, she received the 2011 Early Career Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Social Neuroscience from the Society for Social Neuroscience, among other honors.
Her research on attributions of responsibility to groups (e.g., corporations) versus members of groups was published in the journal Psychological Science in 2012; she is also co-author of a study of moral judgments in adults with autism that was reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
###
The study, "Moral Realism as Moral Motivation: The Impact of Meta-Ethics on Everyday Decision-Making," was made possible through the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. It appears in the March 2013 print edition of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology and is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.11.013.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
'Moral realism' may lead to better moral behaviorPublic release date: 29-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Patti Delaney patricia.delaney@bc.edu Boston College
New report by Boston College researchers
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. Getting people to think about morality as a matter of objective facts rather than subjective preferences may lead to improved moral behavior, Boston College researchers report in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
In two experiments, one conducted in-person and the other online, participants were primed to consider a belief in either moral realism (the notion that morals are like facts) or moral antirealism (the belief that morals reflect people's preferences) during a solicitation for a charitable donation. In both experiments, those primed with moral realism pledged to give more money to the charity than those primed with antirealism or those not primed at all.
"There is significant debate about whether morals are processed more like objective facts, like mathematical truths, or more like subjective preferences similar to whether vanilla or chocolate tastes better," said lead researcher Liane Young, assistant professor of psychology at Boston College. "We wanted to explore the impact of these different meta-ethical views on actual behavior."
Ideas have previously been advanced on the subject, but Young and her former research assistant A.J. Durwin, now a law student at Hofstra University, are the first to directly investigate the question.
In one experiment, a street canvasser attempted to solicit donations from passersby for a charity that aids impoverished children. Participants in one set were asked a leading question to prime a belief in moral realism: "Do you agree that some things are just morally right or wrong, good or bad, wherever you happen to be from in the world?" Those in a second set were asked a question to prime belief in moral antirealism: "Do you agree that our morals and values are shaped by our culture and upbringing, so there are no absolute right answers to any moral questions?" Participants in a control set were not asked any priming question.
In this experiment, participants primed with realism were twice as likely to be donors, compared to those primed with antirealism or not primed at all.
A second experiment, conducted online, yielded similar results. Participants asked to donate money to a charity of their choice who were primed with realism reported being willing to give more than those primed with antirealism or not primed at all.
"Priming participants to consider the notion that morals are like facts increased decisions to donate in both experiments, revealing the potential impact of meta-ethical views on everyday decision-making," said Young. "Simply asking participants to consider moral values, as we did with the antirealism prime, did not produce an effect," she said, "so priming morality in general may not necessarily lead to better behavior. Considering the existence of non-negotiable moral facts may have raised the stakes and motivated participants to behave better."
Since "real" moral stakes may be accompanied by "real" consequences whether good (e.g., helping others, enhanced self-esteem) or bad (e.g., retribution), priming a belief in moral realism may in fact prompt people to behave better, in line with their existing moral beliefs, the researchers say.
The researchers note that priming a belief in moral realism may enhance moral behavior under certain conditions such as when the right thing to do is relatively unambiguous (e.g., it is good to be generous). A different outcome could be possible when subjects are faced with more controversial moral issues, they say.
Liane Young's research frequently focuses on the psychology and neuroscience of moral judgment and behavior. In 2012, she was awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and was named a Dana Neuroscience Scholar by the Dana Foundation, which also awarded her a three-year grant to support her study of brain activity and moral decision-making in individuals with autism, a project that will provide a valuable research opportunity for BC undergraduates. In addition, she received the 2011 Early Career Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Social Neuroscience from the Society for Social Neuroscience, among other honors.
Her research on attributions of responsibility to groups (e.g., corporations) versus members of groups was published in the journal Psychological Science in 2012; she is also co-author of a study of moral judgments in adults with autism that was reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
###
The study, "Moral Realism as Moral Motivation: The Impact of Meta-Ethics on Everyday Decision-Making," was made possible through the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. It appears in the March 2013 print edition of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology and is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.11.013.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Florida State U. graduate student Ryan Bennett will have $20,000 in student loan debt. Senior Torie Nugent will accumulate $24,000. Junior Melia Orrell will surpass $70,000. These three Seminoles, though from different states and engaged in different fields of study, all share in the common struggle to finance their education through student loans.
In 2012, Americans racked up over $1 trillion in student loans. It has become 35 percent of the federal government?s debt and now outpaces credit card debt as a leading source of household debt. As a college degree becomes more crucial to compete in today?s workforce, students are taking on more student loans to ensure a return on their educational investment.
Marc Samardzija, an FSU doctoral student in Economics and teaching assistant, was trading stocks on Wall Street in 2008 during the onset of the Great Recession. As he observed with the housing mortgage crisis, he foresees another bubble waiting to burst in student loan debt.
?I think it?s already kind of burst a little bit,? said Samardzija. ?This is kind of being swept under the rug. But if it?s not addressed, we could see in two or three years, if things haven?t improved and the economy hasn?t turned around enough where more jobs are created and these loan debt obligations aren?t able to be met, then you will see this become a forefront as an issue both in education and the finances of this country.?
Samardzija believes that college has become an institution of business rather than education, creating a dangerous relationship with financial and banking industries.
?You have all of these investment banks who depend on a very strong source of revenue of loans to basically be able to upkeep their business and schools the same thing they bring a strong supply of students,? said Sarmardzija. ?You mix two together and the cost of education is skyrocketing.?
Ryan Bennett has dreamed of studying meteorology since he was in kindergarten. Now a graduate student, Bennett is closer to realizing his dream but deeper in student loan debt as he pursues it.
?If I didn?t have these loans, I wouldn?t have made it through undergrad,? said Bennett. ?I wouldn?t have even been able to come to graduate school because my tuition?there?s no way I would have been able to pay it off.?
Bennett proposes that student loans be adjusted for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) majors to give them the financial means to succeed in these areas that are critical to our nation?s ability to compete in the international arena.
International Affairs and Spanish student Melia Orrell considers her impending $70,000 student loan debt ?outrageous? and challenges the nation to demand greater access to post-secondary education.
?I could make anywhere from $20,000 a year to $200,000 a year and I have no way of knowing what I?ll end up making and therefore it causes me a lot of anxiety,? said Orrell. ?I don?t know how I?m going to pay it back.?
With financial uncertainty, Orrell also believes that Florida State should address the practical uncertainty associated with loans by educating students about the implications of student loan debt.
?Honestly, I?m a junior and I still don?t know how its going to work after I graduate,? said Orrell. ?I don?t when I?m going to have to start paying loans back, I don?t know how much I?m going to be paying a month or a year, I don?t know if it?s going to be based on my salary. I know it sounds irresponsible, but honestly I don?t really know where to go for the right information.?
FSU acting major and Massachusetts native Torie Nugent is paying out-of-state tuition, but says that the prestige of Florida State?s program outweighs what will become ?just another bill.?
Nonetheless, she said she believes that the government should play a role in helping students repay their loans.
?I think that a deferment program would help a lot of people trying to make the transition from college to real life,? said Nugent. ?It would allow them more economic freedom so they might be able to work and save more so that it would be easier to pay off those loans.?
While companies like MassMutual Insurance are reaching out to students through social media to offer creative student loan debt solutions, it is clear that the future of college affordability will require input from the front lines of universities, the federal government and private industry alike.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) ? Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly says he didn't see any sign linebacker Manti Te'o was affected by the girlfriend hoax leading up to the BCS game, but says in hindsight it may have been a factor.
Kelly says Te'o didn't play his best, adding that Alabama played a role. He says Tuesday only Te'o knows how it affected him.
Also, Kelly says his interview with the Philadelphia Eagles was mainly to get more information about coaching in the NFL and his heart remains in college football. Kelly interviewed with the Eagles on Jan. 8, a day after the Irish were beaten 42-14 by Alabama in the title game.
He says he tells recruits he's committed to Notre Dame.
The Sun's corona—essentially its plasma "atmosphere"—is actually hotter than the surface of the star itself. Scientists have long suspected that the region's million-degree temperatures influence its massive magnetic fields, and have hypothesized that solar flares originate there. But researchers had never been able to observe these phenomena first-hand—until now. More »
The personal finance industry would rather pressure women into letting professionals handle their money than give them the tools to do it themselves, according to this great but frustrating excerpt from Helaine Olen's new book Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry.
More than five out of six married women are jointly or solely responsible for their household finances, according to a recent Prudential Individual Life Insurance survey. Awesome! Well, not quite: according to Prudential VP Joan Cleveland, all those ladies running the house are incapable of actually understanding what those $$ signs mean. "Given the complexity of the financial products that are available to women ? they really need to be encouraged to seek out that financial advice from a professional," she said, adding that their "very nurturing" natures lead them to accept bad advice from whomever will listen. Nice backhanded compliment there: women are pushovers, but it's totally not their fault!
The longstanding concept that women can't manage their own money is pervasive: they're scared! Bad at negotiating! Uncomfortable taking risks! Or, they just really love shoe shopping. Olen points out how wrong that "analysis" is:
Women have less money than men for two basic reasons: they earn less and live longer. In 2010, women earned 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. There is no amount of education or job selection that can completely eliminate the gap.
But the personal finance industry profits off patronizing women by telling them they can't do it themselves, via obnoxious services that often aren't helpful at all:
Take LearnVest, a woman's financial information website. They put together "Sh*t Girls Say about Money," which had everything to do with shopping, spending, and not knowing how much money is in your bank account when you go to the ATM to withdraw money. No one complained about how the guy at the next desk earns more money for performing the same work.
Meanwhile, studies show that men actually waste more money on dumb stuff while women look for discounts. No matter!
Here's a shocker: women are smart enough to realize they're being duped.
When the Boston Consulting Group surveyed women in 2009, they found an astonishing 70 percent complained about subpar treatment from financial professionals, citing everything from "being talked to like an infant" to credentialed experts repeatedly making the assumption that the male half of a couple was the financial decision maker. A paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research last year discovered would-be advisers were less likely to ask women about their work and financial situations than men, but were more likely to insist those same women transfer funds over to their care before discussing specific investments with them. "This behavior might be based on the perception that women or more docile or gullible," the paper's authors dryly concluded.
So what can you do? Olen suggests "the financial services industry could start by giving women what they say they want." Perchance to dream! I want to proclaim that you should resist sales pressure by remembering that the goal is often to make women feel insecure about their ability to manage their money. And, yes! But I definitely struggle with feeling capable when it comes to my finances, so I'm interested to hear your tips down below.
The brief appearance of a spec sheet on HP's online shopping website Monday seemed to indicate the company has joined the list of Microsoft partners offering Chromebooks. The sheet listed details of the HP Pavilion Chromebook 14-c010us PC and carried an advertisement embargo date of Feb. 17. It may have been placed on the Web by accident, but it's also possible it was a marketing ploy.
All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2012 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2012 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.
I'm flying to Macworld|iWorld 2013 tomorrow, or at least hoping to, so I'll be doing the iMore show extra early today in hopes to make my plane super-early tomorrow morning. Join me to talk about Apple's earnings, all the iOS device rumors, and more!
4pm PT / 7pm ET. Be here! And if you have any questions you want answered, leave them in the comments!
The financing is subject to, among other things,
completion of definitive financing documentation
and Bankruptcy Court approval.
?Robert S.
?Steve? Miller, CEO of Hawker Beechcraft, Inc.,
said, ?The tremendous show of support of our
creditors for the Plan, which will dramatically
reduce Hawker Beechcraft?s debt load, and the
financing commitment from JPMorgan and Credit
Suisse mark an important milestone for the
company as it moves closer to emerging from the
restructuring process.?
?
Bill Boisture, Chairman of Hawker Beechcraft
Corporation, said, ?The reorganized Beechcraft
Corporation will emerge from this process in a
strong operational and financial position, with
the working capital and flexibility to execute a
strategy built around our core products like the
world-renowned King Air twin engine turboprop
and the T-6 military training aircraft, which
will enable the company to compete well into the
future.?
?
Hawker Beechcraft will seek approval from the
Court to exit bankruptcy at the confirmation
hearing scheduled for Jan. 31 and expects to
emerge from Chapter 11 in the second half of
February. Upon emergence, pre-petition secured
bank debt, unsecured bond debt, and certain
general unsecured claims will be canceled and
holders of such claims will receive equity in
the reorganized company in the percentages
negotiated by the major creditor groups at the
time the company commenced its Chapter 11
proceedings. A new Board of Directors, to be
appointed by the new owners of the company, will
take over on the date of emergence.
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Public release date: 29-Jan-2013
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The personal finance industry would rather pressure women into letting professionals handle their money than give them the tools to do it themselves, according to this great but frustrating excerpt from Helaine Olen's new book Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry.
