Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Book One: Can't help you

Book One: Can't help you

Have you ever heard stories of vampires, werewolves? Have they ever struck a nerve with you that you?ve become fascinated with the idea of becoming such a creature should they actually exist? I wish I could share that same na?vet? as you.

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I would like to reserve a female vampire. Preferably in a potential relationship with a male vampire if another role player is interested in such a venture. I'm a little confused on the plot though, maybe reread and clarify a bit so that it is more clear. Not sure if there is a werewolf and vampire friend, if so, were they bitten by different people at the same or different time or did they start out supernatural. Just want to clear it up.

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DanielleChance
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Also, is there an amount of postings you want per week or length per week or per post?

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DanielleChance
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Game on: How Polygon wants to rethink video game journalism ...

At this point, Vox Media has established something of a formula: Use one property to serve as a launching pad for a new sibling. Before the launch of The Verge, Josh Topolsky?s team was operating on the stripped-down This Is My Next. Before Polygon debuted last week, the team was already publishing on The Verge.

Maybe Vox is just keeping it in the family, the way you let a brother or cousin sleep on your couch until they?re on their feet. But in the media business, there are risks and rewards that come with pulling back the curtain. Trying to gain an audience prior to launch can be very beneficial, but it requires a certain amount of exposure.

?On day one, we have not only a backlog of content, but we have a lot of the formulations already determined,? Chris Grant, editor-in-chief of Polygon, told me. ?The downside ? part of it is you?re tipping your hand. You?re saying, ?Hey guys, this is the kind of content we?re going to make.??

Polygon is a video game website very much in the same focused spirit of The Verge and SB Nation. It?s got news and reviews. There are video offerings, and a healthy dose of long-form features. To some degree their approach to video games ? the industry, the culture, the people on either side of the controller ? will likely follow that of their siblings.

But Polygon is entering a different kind of field than its siblings. Vox?s other properties jumped into very crowded pools ? sports or technology might be, along with politics, the beats most overrepresented among news companies on the Internet. Now, gaming isn?t by any means uncovered as a topic ? enthusiast sites have a long history online, many of today?s young-ish adults grew up reading gaming magazines, and some larger media companies have invested ? but it is a different competitive space. It?s potentially a very profitable market with an audience as passionate and ferocious (and vocal) as Patriots fans or Android devotees.

Polygon?s path to success, as they see it, is fairly straight-orward: combine technology, community, and storytelling for the win. ?We want to look at video games and video game creators through the lens of enthusiasm,? Grant said. That, maybe more than any technology or design elements, may be the thread that connects the Vox sites ? a ?Can you believe how much fun we?re having?? approach to journalism.

Going beyond new game reviews and product releases

?One of the things we said was, the games industry is getting older and the industry is getting more mature,? Grant told me. ?Shouldn?t the journalism also match that?? When they started planning Polygon several months ago, they didn?t really have an idea of how that would take shape.

?It?s a constant challenge and struggle to make a video game website that doesn?t only speak to people who play video games every day.?

Justin McElroy, Polygon?s managing editor, said they wanted to take an approach to video game coverage that wasn?t as product-centric ? which is difficult since games are items which are bought and sold. McElroy said their challenge is to think bigger, to find unexpected stories about people who make games and people who love games. ?With our features especially, we have an opportunity to change the story and make it about people,? he said. ?People are infinitely more interesting than products and brands.?

One reason to do that is to open up the audience beyond the kind of core gamers who would head to a gaming site religiously. The increasingly social spread of stories favors the creation of compelling narratives that can have universal interest, regardless of whether you?ve ever played a game, he said. ?It?s a constant challenge and struggle to make a video game website that doesn?t only speak to people who play video games every day,? he said.

Polygon wants to take what you could call a holistic approach to games. Sure, you pay money for them and they?re good entertainment. But who makes them? Where did the idea come from? Why are they worth buying? McElroy said the same thinking applies to their reviews. They want to tell a story, not just give a thumbs up or down. ?We want to move away from reviews that treat games like a vacuum cleaner,? McElroy said. What does that mean? McElroy continues: ?I think we can do reviews that are more about the experience of playing the game, how highly we can recommend the experience, and move beyond is it worth my dollars.?

They decided on a core of news, reviews, and features, three areas that could draw independent audiences but also have a crossover appeal. If you?re interested in news on fighting games like Tekken, there?s a possibility you?ll want to check out a feature about the world of competitive fighting games.

Grant says there are separate, fragmented audiences which they want to serve, as well as a more general audience. For some readers, Polygon will offer utility though news and game reviews. But more broadly, Grant and the other editors want the site to be part of the bigger conversation about gaming culture today. That?s one of the reasons they produced ?Press Reset,? a series of behind-the-scenes videos looking at people behind the launch of Polygon. It?s also why Polygon has an open forum on its site where readers can take discussions beyond a story or review.

?In general, in journalism I think there?s a growing desire to have that sort of connection to the people whose content you read,? Grant said.

A bet on two industries in flux

Gaming itself is undergoing some pretty seismic changes, Bankoff said. It?s no longer talking about consoles and shrink-wrapped games.

When I asked Vox CEO Jim Bankoff why gaming would be his company?s next vertical, he said it, like technology and sports, features a passionate and engaged online community. And, like tech and sports, video games appeal to a sought-after group of readers ? largely male, young, with money to spend. ?From a business and advertising perspective, this fits well in our portfolio in between sports and technology,? Bankoff told me.

It helps that Vox can take advantage of that scale through its advertising and technology assets. Polygon will share a common ad sales staff the rest of Vox uses and will use Chorus, the in-house content management system that The Verge and SB Nation run on. Having that framework allows you to focus on building a team and devising a mission, Bankoff said.

Bankoff told me he thinks Polygon is coming along at the right time, when both video games and journalism are experiencing disruption to their business. ?What?s most remarkable about gaming, perhaps, is it?s undergoing some pretty seismic changes,? Bankoff said. ?It?s no longer talking about consoles and shrink-wrapped games.? While gaming remains a profitable industry, sales of games and devices fell in 2011 and appears on a similar track in 2012. At the same time, the audience for video games has expanded beyond consoles like the Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii. People are just as likely to play games on the phones or social games like Farmville.

?It?s different from 10 years ago. It was a pre-teen-, teenage-dominated audience,? said Jesse Divnich, vice president of insights and analysis for video game research firm EEDAR. ?Now with the rise of accessibility, mobile games, and social games, it has broadened and opened up the demographic even more.?

Gaming used to be primarily the domain of larger companies whose titles became events, on par with a summer blockbuster movie opening. But that?s shifted now; Divnich said the same factors that have transformed the business model in other parts of media and entertainment have also affected video games. ?You don?t have to have millions of dollars to make and release a game to consumers. You can produce a video game in your garage,? Divnich said.

This means more developers are creating games and more people are playing them. For Polygon, that?s two audiences they could attract readers and advertisers. But it?s also an audience that sites like IGN, Gamespot, Joystiq, and Kotaku are going after as well. Those sites not only have been on the block longer, but some have backing from big parent companies like AOL, News Corp., and CBS Interactive.

Grant sees Polygon?s newcomer status as an advantage over competitors. ?Part of being a startup, it gives us an alacrity that others don?t have,? he said. ?We can identify places to invest and move on it quickly.?

McElroy said their short-term focus is appealing to readers through storytelling and building conversations around gaming. They?ll also continue to adapt the site based on feedback from users. Having worked together to get the site ready for launch over the last several months has given the small staff a sense of ownership, he said. Depending on how Polygon fares, that could be a mixed blessing. ?The terrifying part is, if it doesn?t work we literally have no one to blame but ourselves. It will be a grand sweeping proclamation we don?t know what we are doing,? he joked.

Source: http://www.niemanlab.org/2012/10/game-on-how-polygon-wants-to-rethink-video-game-journalism/

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Disarray, millions without power in Sandy's wake

Kim Johnson looks over the destruction near her seaside apartment in Atlantic City, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)4

Kim Johnson looks over the destruction near her seaside apartment in Atlantic City, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)4

Foundations and pilings are all that remain of brick buildings and a boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, after they were destroyed when a powerful storm that started out as Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the East Coast on Monday night. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Virgen Perez, left, and her husband Nelson Rodriguez, center, look around their home which was flooded by Storm Sandy in Atlantic City, N.J. on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. Their family stayed on the second floor of their home during the storm. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Brian Hajeski, 41, of Brick, N.J., reacts after looking at debris of a home that washed up on to the Mantoloking Bridge the morning after superstorm Sandy rolled through, Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in Mantoloking, N.J. Sandy, the storm that made landfall Monday, caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit and cut power to more than 6 million homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Rescuers bring people out by boat in Little Ferry, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, in the wake of superstorm Sandy. Sandy arrived along the East Coast and morphed into a huge and problematic system, putting more than 7.5 million homes and businesses in the dark and causing a number of deaths. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

(AP) ? The most devastating storm in decades to hit the country's most densely populated region upended man and nature as it rolled back the clock on 21st-century lives, cutting off modern communication and leaving millions without power Tuesday as thousands who fled their water-menaced homes wondered when ? if ? life would return to normal.

A weakening Sandy, the hurricane turned fearsome superstorm, killed at least 50 people, many hit by falling trees, and still wasn't finished. It inched inland across Pennsylvania, ready to bank toward western New York to dump more of its water and likely cause more havoc Tuesday night.? Behind it: a dazed, inundated New York City, a waterlogged Atlantic Coast and a moonscape of disarray and debris ? from unmoored shore-town boardwalks to submerged mass-transit systems to delicate presidential politics.

"Nature," said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, assessing the damage to his city, "is an awful lot more powerful than we are."

More than 8.2 million households were without power in 17 states as far west as Michigan. Nearly 2 million of those were in New York, where large swaths of lower Manhattan lost electricity and entire streets ended up underwater ? as did seven subway tunnels between Manhattan and Brooklyn at one point, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said.

The New York Stock Exchange was closed for a second day from weather, the first time that has happened since a blizzard in 1888. The shutdown of mass transit crippled a city where more than 8.3 million bus, subway and local rail trips are taken each day, and 800,000 vehicles cross bridges run by the transit agency.

Consolidated Edison said electricity in and around New York could take a week to restore.

"Everybody knew it was coming. Unfortunately, it was everything they said it was," said Sal Novello, a construction executive who rode out the storm with his wife, Lori, in the Long Island town of Lindenhurst, and ended up with 7 feet of water in the basement.

The scope of the storm's damage wasn't known yet. Though early predictions of river flooding in Sandy's inland path were petering out,?colder temperatures made snow the main product of Sandy's slow march from the sea. Parts of the West Virginia mountains were blanketed with 2 feet of snow by Tuesday afternoon, and drifts 4 feet deep were reported at Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the Tennessee-North Carolina border.

With Election Day a week away, the storm also threatened to affect the presidential campaign. Federal disaster response, always a dicey political issue, has become even thornier since government mismanagement of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. And poll access and voter turnout, both of which hinge upon how people are impacted by the storm, could help shift the outcome in an extremely close race.

As organized civilization came roaring back Tuesday in the form of emergency response, recharged cellphones and the reassurance of daylight, harrowing stories and pastiches emerged from Maryland north to Rhode Island in the hours after Sandy's howling winds and tidal surges shoved water over seaside barriers, into low-lying streets and up from coastal storm drains.

Images from around the storm-affected areas depicted scenes reminiscent of big-budget disaster movies. In Atlantic City, N.J., a gaping hole remained where once a stretch of boardwalk sat by the sea. In Queens, N.Y., rubble from a fire that destroyed as many as 100 houses in an evacuated beachfront neighborhood jutted into the air at ugly angles against a gray sky. In heavily flooded Hoboken, N.J., across the Hudson River from Manhattan, dozens of yellow cabs sat parked in rows, submerged in murky water to their windshields. At the ground zero construction site in lower Manhattan, seawater rushed into a gaping hole under harsh floodlights.

One of the most dramatic tales came from lower Manhattan, where a failed backup generator forced New York University's Langone Medical Center to relocate more than 200 patients, including 20 babies from neonatal intensive care. Dozens of ambulances lined up in the rainy night and the tiny patients were gingerly moved out, some attached to battery-powered respirators as gusts of wind blew their blankets.

In Moonachie, N.J., 10 miles north of Manhattan, water rose to 5 feet within 45 minutes and trapped residents who thought the worst of the storm had passed. Mobile-home park resident Juan Allen said water overflowed a 2-foot wall along a nearby creek, filling the area with 2 to 3 feet of water within 15 minutes. "I saw trees not just knocked down but ripped right out of the ground," he said. "I watched a tree crush a guy's house like a wet sponge."

In a measure of its massive size, waves on southern Lake Michigan rose to a record-tying 20.3 feet. High winds spinning off Sandy's edges clobbered the Cleveland area early Tuesday, uprooting trees, closing schools and flooding major roads along Lake Erie.

Most along the East Coast, though, grappled with an experience like Bertha Weismann of Bridgeport, Conn.? frightening, inconvenient and financially problematic but, overall, endurable. Her garage was flooded and she lost power, but she was grateful. "I feel like we are blessed," she said. "It could have been worse."

The presidential candidates' campaign maneuverings Tuesday revealed the delicacy of the need to look presidential in a crisis without appearing to capitalize on a disaster. President Barack Obama canceled a third straight day of campaigning, scratching events scheduled for Wednesday in swing-state Ohio, in Sandy's path. Republican Mitt Romney resumed his campaign with plans for an Ohio rally billed as a "storm relief event."

And the weather posed challenges a week out for how to get everyone out to vote. On the hard-hit New Jersey coastline, a county elections chief said some polling places on barrier islands will be unusable and have to be moved.

"This is the biggest challenge we've ever had," said George R. Gilmore, chairman of the Ocean County Board of Elections.

By Tuesday afternoon, there were still only hints of the economic impact of the storm. Airports remained closed across the East Coast and far beyond as tens of thousands of travelers found they couldn't get where they were going.

Forecasting firm IHS Global Insight predicted the storm will end up causing about $20 billion in damages and $10 billion to $30 billion in lost business. Another firm, AIR Worldwide, estimated losses up to $15 billion ? big numbers probably offset by reconstruction and repairs that will contribute to longer-term growth.

"The biggest problem is not the first few days but the coming months," said Alan Rubin, an expert in nature disaster recovery.

Sandy began in the Atlantic and knocked around the Caribbean ? killing nearly 70 people ? and strengthened into a hurricane as it chugged across the southeastern coast of the United States. By Tuesday night it had ebbed in strength but was joining up with another, more wintry storm ? an expected confluence of weather systems that earned it nicknames like "superstorm" and, on Halloween eve, "Frankenstorm."

It became, pretty much everyone agreed Tuesday, the weather event of a lifetime ? and one shared vigorously on social media by people in Sandy's path who took eye-popping photographs as the storm blew through, then shared them with the world by the blue light of their smartphones.

On Twitter , Facebook and the photo-sharing service Instagram, people tried to connect, reassure relatives and make sense of what was happening ? and, in many cases, work to authenticate reports of destruction and storm surges. They posted and passed around images and real-time updates at a dizzying rate, wishing each other well and gaping, virtually, at scenes of calamity moments after they unfolded. Among the top terms on Facebook through the night and well into Tuesday, according to the social network: "we are OK," ''made it" and "fine."

By Tuesday evening, the remnants of Sandy were about 50 northeast of Pittsburgh, pushing westward with winds of 45 mph. It was expected to turn toward New York State and Canada during the night.

Although weakening as it goes, the storm will continue to bring heavy rain and flooding, said Daniel Brown of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Atlantic City's fabled Boardwalk, the first in the nation, lost several blocks when Sandy came through, though the majority of it remained intact even as other Jersey Shore boardwalks were dismantled. What damage could be seen on the coastline Tuesday was, in some locations, staggering ? "unthinkable," New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said of what unfolded along the Jersey Shore, where houses were swept from their foundations and amusement park rides were washed into the ocean. "Beyond anything I thought I would ever see."

Resident Carol Mason returned to her bayfront home to carpets that squished as she stepped on them. She made her final mortgage payment just last week. Facing a mandatory evacuation order, she had tried to ride out the storm at first but then saw the waters rising outside her bathroom window and quickly reconsidered.

"I looked at the bay and saw the fury in it," she said. "I knew it was time to go."

___

Contributing to this report were Katie Zezima in Atlantic City, N.J.; Alicia Caldwell and Martin Crutsinger in Washington; Colleen Long, Jennifer Peltz, Tom Hays, Larry Neumeister, Ralph Russo and Scott Mayerowitz in New York; Meghan Barr in Mastic Beach, N.Y.; Christopher S. Rugaber in Arlington, Va.; Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pa.: John Christoffersen in Bridgeport, Conn.; Vicki Smith in Elkins, W.Va.; David Porter in Newark, N.J.; Joe Mandak in Pittsburgh; and Dave Collins in Hartford, Conn.

___

Follow Ted Anthony on Twitter at http://twitter.com/anthonyted

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-10-30-Superstorm%20Sandy/id-38db23f2e9d14bd99543ad35a39fed95

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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

'Curiosity' on Mars sits on rocks similar to those found in marshes in Mexico

ScienceDaily (Oct. 29, 2012) ? Millions of years ago fire and water forged the gypsum rocks locked in at Cuatro Ci?negas, a Mexican valley similar to the Martian crater where NASA's Rover Curiosity roams. A team of researchers have now analysed the bacterial communities that have survived in these inhospitable springs since the beginning of life on Earth.

"Cuatro Ci?negas is extraordinarily similar to Mars. As well as the Gale crater where Curiosity is currently located on its exploration of the red planet, this landscape is the home to gypsum formed by fire beneath the seabed," as explained by Valeria Souza, evolutionary ecologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

The researcher states that sulphur components from magma and minerals from the sea (carbonates and molecules with magnesium) are required to form gypsum. In the case of the Cuatro Ci?negas Basin, the magma under the seabed was very active. In fact, it allowed for the continent displacement during the Jurassic Period: "Here was where the supercontinent Pangea opened up some 200 million years ago, pushing the hemisphere north from the equator where it is now."

In the case of Mars, the scientists have not been able to confirm tectonic movement in its crust at any point, but they believe that a large meteorite crashed into its primitive sea. The fact that probing has detected gypsum in the Gale crater indicates that mineral-rich water was present and that sulphur was able to form due to the impact of the meteorite causing the crater.

It is no easy task to find a place on Earth similar to this Martian environment, except in Cuatro Ci?negas. For this reason astrobiologists toil in their work to understand how its bacterial communities work. "This oasis in the middle of the Chihuahua desert is a time machine for organisms that, together as a community, have transformed our blue planet yet have survived all extinctions. How they have managed to do this can be revealed by their genes," says Souza.

The team have analysed the 'metagenomes', the genome of the different bacterial communities that proliferate in these marshes by adapting parallel strategies to overcome survival challenges in a place with so little nutrients.

Green, red and blue springs

The results published in the journal Astrobiology reflect the existence of two communities in different pits for example. One is 'green' and is formed by cyanobacteria and proteobacteria that have adapted to the lack of nitrogen. Another is 'red' and is made of Pseudomonas and other micro-organisms that live without hardly any phosphorus. There are also blue springs which are generally deeper and lacking in nutrients.

"Understanding the usage and exploitation strategies of phosphorus is necessary in understanding what could happen in extreme scenarios like on other planets where there is a possibly serious limitation to this and other nutrients," explains Luis David Alcaraz, Mexican researcher participating in the study from the Higher Public Health Research centre of Valencia, Spain.

This project has enjoyed the support of Mexico's Carlos Slim Foundation and the Technological Innovation Research Project Support Programme of UNAM. It has also received the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the USA and NASA, which has been studying Cuatro Ci?negas for more than a decade.

The Cuatroci?negas Flora and Fauna Protection Area is a protected area but the scientists and conservation groups are worried that its water is being over exhausted. "The bacterial communities have survived all types of cataclysms here such as the extinction of the dinosaurs or the majority of marine creatures. But, the only thing they are not adapted for is the lack of water," warns Souza.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Plataforma SINC, via AlphaGalileo.

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


Journal References:

  1. Nguyen E. L?pez-Lozano, Luis E. Eguiarte, Germ?n Bonilla-Rosso, Felipe Garc?a-Oliva, Celeste Mart?nez-Piedragil, Christine Rooks, Valeria Souza. Bacterial Communities and the Nitrogen Cycle in the Gypsum Soils of Cuatro Ci?negas Basin, Coahuila: A Mars Analogue. Astrobiology, 2012; 12 (7): 699 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2012.0840
  2. Mariana Peimbert, Luis David Alcaraz, Germ?n Bonilla-Rosso, Gabriela Olmedo-Alvarez, Felipe Garc?a-Oliva, Lorenzo Segovia, Luis E. Eguiarte, Valeria Souza. Comparative Metagenomics of Two Microbial Mats at Cuatro Ci?negas Basin I: Ancient Lessons on How to Cope with an Environment Under Severe Nutrient Stress. Astrobiology, 2012; 12 (7): 648 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2011.0694
  3. Germ?n Bonilla-Rosso, Mariana Peimbert, Luis David Alcaraz, Ismael Hern?ndez, Luis E. Eguiarte, Gabriela Olmedo-Alvarez, Valeria Souza. Comparative Metagenomics of Two Microbial Mats at Cuatro Ci?negas Basin II: Community Structure and Composition in Oligotrophic Environments. Astrobiology, 2012; 12 (7): 659 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2011.0724

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/amtgc4WhEoY/121029081829.htm

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NYC mayor: Power out at NYU hospital, patients being evacuated

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Friday, October 26, 2012

16GB vs 32GB vs 64GB: Which new iPad mini or iPad 4 storage capacity should you get?

16GB, 32GB, or 64GB: Which iPad mini or iPad 4 storage size should you get?

So you've decided to take the plunge and the new iPad mini or the newly updated iPad 4, but you aren't sure which storage capacity size to go with? The difference between 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB isn't just how much stuff you can put on it, but $100-$200 in up front costs, so it's worth thinking about.

iPad mini and iPad 4 price for storage breakdown

The current US prices for the iPad mini are (not counting the $130 surcharge for 3G + 4G models):

  • 16GB: $329 or $20.56/GB
  • 32GB: $429 or $13.41/GB
  • 64GB: $529 or $8.26/GB

The current US prices for the iPad 4 are (not counting the $130 surcharge for 3G + 4G models):

  • 16GB: $499 or $31.19/GB
  • 32GB: $599 or $18.72/GB
  • 64GB: $699 or $10.92/GB

At first glance it may look like 64GB is twice the price for four times the storage, in other words a really sweet deal. But nothing is ever really that simple, is it? Basically, the 16GB for $329 (iPad mini) or $499 (iPad 4) is Apple's lowest margin device. After that, Apple is getting you to pay a premium for every additional doubling of storage. In other words, going from 16GB to 32GB costs you $100. Take a look at the cost of a 16GB SD card and you'll see how much more you're paying for that bump. The $200 premium for an additional 48GB of storage is more interesting, because it's for more expensive, double density NAND Flash. But it's still not $200 more expensive.

If your goal is to pay Apple absolutely the least amount of money as possible, the 16GB might tempt you. But hold on, there's a lot more to consider than just the cost of storage...

iPad mini and iPad 4 vs. iCloud and other online storage options

The ultimate guide to iCloud

iCloud gives you free, unlimited storage for all your iTunes stuff. That includes iBooks, music, movies, TV shows, and apps, as well as 30 days or 1000 Photo Stream photos. You also get 5GB of additional storage for backups, data, etc. In many countries, you can use iTunes in the Cloud to download your media only when, and as needed. You can even purchase more iCloud storage for the following yearly fees:

  • 10GB: $20/year
  • 20GB: $40/year
  • 50GB: $100/year

All of this might make that 16GB iPad mini or iPad 4 all the more tempting, since you could keep most of your media nearline in iCloud, and maybe even buy a little extra iCloud space if you need to.

It's not a crazy idea but it's important to remember that online storage isn't always as available, fast, or convenient as onboard storage. For starters, you can't really play a movie from iCloud, you have to download it at the same time you watch it, which means you have to have enough space available on your iPad mini or iPad 4 to handle the download. If you want to watch a lot of movies, you may have to watch, delete, watch, delete, over and over again. Annoying.

iCloud also isn't as open as things like Dropbox (which is also an option to consider), so you can only really store what Apple lets you. If your movies and videos don't come from iTunes, that's an important consideration. Also, in our tests, iCloud's free 5GB could get filled up pretty quickly by photos and especially videos.

Bottom line, iCloud means you can get away with managing more content on your device, but you still want to have enough local storage for what you need, when you need it.

iPad mini and iPad 4 and 5 megapixel photos and 1080p video

Both the iPad 4 and iPad mini actually have good iSight cameras on them, and that means they take good 5 megapixel photos and 1080p video. That also means you need room to store 5 megapixel photos and 1080p video.

For example, I take a ton of photos and videos on my iPhone 5 and with 16GB I'd quickly run out of space. Since it's a pain in the butt to have to go through and figure out what to delete if I'm not near my computer, I opted for more storage.

Unlike an iPhone, however, an iPad probably isn't your go-to camera, and isn't the camera you always have with you. In other words, I don't think most people will take and store as many photos or as much video with their iPads as they would their iPhones (or other smartphones).

That being said, I do store a ton of photos and video on my iPad that I've taken with my iPhone and with my DSLR. It's just a great way to show and share those special moments with friends and family. If you want to keep a lot of home movies and photos available, you'll need space for them.

iPad mini and iPad 4 content

The other thing that can fill up our iPad quickly is content.

The other thing that can fill up the iPad mini and iPad 4 quickly is apps, especially games. It's not uncommon for some console-quality games to be well over 1GB in size these days. Even basic apps might include interface assets for the Retina iPad 4, which are huge, and which all add up.

iTunes movies can be 1-3GB in size for SD depending on the length. If you prefer watching HD, they can be 3-5GB. iTunes TV shows can be a quarter to half the size of movies, but more than make up for it by the number of episodes typically available. If you get your movies and TV shows from somewhere other than iTunes, you're still looking at about 400MB an hour for SD and over 1GB (sometimes way over) an hour for HD. Music files are generally quite small but can add up as well, especially if you have lots and lots of albums you want to keep with you everywhere. Even with something like iTunes Match or a similar music locker service, or a streaming service like Slacker you need local storage for offline playback. Again, it all adds up.

Who should get 16GB iPad mini or iPad 4

If you don't use a lot of apps, if you don't want to have a lot of movies and TV shows, or a huge amount of music, if you don't intend to shoot and keep very much 8mp photos or 1080p video on your iPad, you'll probably be okay with 16GB.

Some people like to keep their iPads light and delete games and media when they're don with them, and some people just don't shoot a lot of pictures or video. If that's you, you can save yourself some cash and get a 16GB iPad mini or iPad 4.

Who should get 32GB iPad mini or iPad 4

If the iPad is your primary device, if you play games on it and watch movies and TV shows on it, if you have a decent-sized music collection you want to keep with you, and if you shoot an average amount of photos and videos, 32GB is your sweet spot.

Some people like to have one device that, while it doesn't do everything all the time, it's capable enough to do most things most of the time. If you do a fair but not overwhelming amount of stuff on your iPad, your probably better off going for 32GB.

Who should get 64GB iPad mini or iPad 4

If you're a power user who wants to keep as much as possible for as long as possible, if you have a large amount of apps and games, TV and movies, and a huge music collection you simply have to have with you all the time, or you shoot photos and video almost non stop and don't want to have to bother transferring it all the time... we'll, you've probably already decided on 64GB, haven't you?

Some people really do want their iPad mini or iPad 4 to do everything, all of the time, and never (or rarely) have to worry about running out of space. They probably want 128GB -- or even 256GB if they could get it! -- but they'll use the most they can, whenever they can. That's 64GB.

What if you choose the wrong iPad mini or iPad 4 size?

Remember, in most places you have time to try out your new iPad mini or iPad 4 and return it if you don't like it. Make sure, as soon as possible, you put your iPad mini or iPad 4 to realistic use. Load up all the apps and games you want with you, load up your movies and TV shows, go out and take some photos and shoot some video. Give it a complete and thorough workout and see.

If it feels like you got too much storage, say 64GB and you haven't even gone past 2GB, or if you got too little, say you're already at 15GB of 16GB, then take your iPad mini or iPad 4 back and exchange it for one that better suits your needs.

If you come to this realization too late, after the exchange period is over, remember you can buy additional iCloud storage, or look at other options like Dropbox which will let you keep your stuff available online and potentially free up some much needed space on your iPad mini or iPad 4.



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/pbqp5lx71EU/story01.htm

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Engineering Job Kenya Business Productivity Lead | Career Point ...

Business Productivity Lead
Our client, a leading ICT company in East Africa currently seeks to fill the above vacancy.

Position Description and Objectives

??? The role is required to have had strong experience in Business Productivity solutions design and delivery. The role is expected to carry out number of pre-sales activities as part of the duties in helping structure the engagement. The role will play a vital role from the beginning of the lifecycle, in understanding the risks in the migration and planning of the deployment.
??? The lead must apply analysis skills and experience to provide detailed reliable solutions and estimates for service implementations. To be credible, he or she must have current and deep experience with Microsoft Exchange Server, Lync Server, Microsoft SharePoint Server, Active Directory, Microsoft Office, Microsoft SQL Server and Forefront Identity Manager, Forefront Security for Exchange, SharePoint and Lync, Office365, Azure platform, as well as a Strong understanding of competitive technologies and any other products relevant to perform the role effectively.

Major Areas of Responsibility

??? Design and implement business productivity solutions
??? Deliver task assigned to the by project manager on time and efficiently
??? Provide technical HIGH level support for company?s customers in form of e-mail, phone call, on-site etc.
??? Assist team members to Install/configure Microsoft software products in line with your job description product line
??? Assist team members to Diagnose/Troubleshoot Microsoft Products in line with your job description
??? Provide information/consultation for the customer about solution and? products in line with your job description product line
??? Account Management to clients in line of your job description and product line
??? Prepare all the necessary documentation required in a project handled.
??? Evaluate new products and Solutions in line with JD
??? Provide on-job-training for new workers in your line.
??? Demonstrated excellence at presenting complex technical topics to both executive and technical personnel
??? Ensure all certifications required by self and by team members are kept up to date.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience (Essential):
??? Minimum of 4 years of solid technical experience in delivering solutions (not just planning or establishing enterprise architecture) for the following solutions:- Collaboration and Portal Solutions; Unified Communication Solutions; Messaging Solutions and General IT Infrastructure experience.
??? Candidates must have been in a lead technical role for helping to architect and implement solutions with >250 seats or similar complexity.
??? Degree in Computer Science or Engineering or equivalent work experience. Higher relevant education preferred.
??? Have one or more of the following certifications; MCTS- , MCAD.NET, MCSD.NET.

If you meet all the above requirements, kindly send us your cv (INCLUDE YOUR CURRENT & EXPECTED SALARY IN THE CV) to:

Frank Management Consult Limited
Nyaku House,1st Floor, Argwings Kodhek Road, Hurlingham
Emails; robinson@frank-mgt.com,frankmconsult@yahoo.com

Dont Miss Our Daily Job Updates Click Here To Subscribe to Career Point Kenya by Email

Source: http://www.careerpointkenya.com/2012/10/engineering-job-kenya-business.html

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Those in need welcome robot helpers in the house

1 hr.

Personal robotics companies are making a bet that real-world C-3P0-like machines will be of great help to the world?s aging population who need assistance with routine household tasks. The question is: will they embrace the technology?

Yes, as long as the robots do chores such as wash dishes, do laundry, and take out the trash, according to a new study from the Georgia Institute of Technology. But when it comes to more personal tasks such as bathing, getting dressed and eating, there?s a strong preference for human help.

Human assistance is also preferred for social activities such as calling family and friends and entertaining guests.?

The survey included 29 adults aged 65 to 93 who were showed a video of a robot?s capabilities and then interviewed about their willingness for assistance with 48 household chores. All participants were healthy and independent at the time and nearly 75 percent said they used gadgets such as cell phones.

?There are many misconceptions about older adults having negative attitudes toward robots,? Cory Ann-Marr, who will present the results at the Human Factors Ergonomics Society this week, said in a news release.?

That perception was exploited earlier this year in a political attack ad against Jeffrey Brandes, who is in a battle for state Senate seat in Florida and sponsored a bill while in the Florida House of Representatives that would allow the ?operation of autonomous motor vehicles on public roads? in Florida.

The ad featured an elderly woman?s voice questioning whether driverless car technology is ?really a priority for our state? and includes a sound clip from Brandes saying that he had to ?convince the senate it wasn?t witchcraft.?

Georgia Tech?s survey suggests there?s nuance to when a robot?s help is wanted. It appears to center of the level of physical or intellectual intimacy. For example, the study participants would accept a robot reminder to take their medicine, but want a human to help them decide which pill to take.

In other words, they are happy for the robot to be a sophisticated calendar, but there?s a lack of trust that the artificial intelligence is capable of choosing the correct medication.?

Likewise, these adults are wary of trusting a robot with physically intimate tasks such as taking a bath and getting dressed.?

?The people we interviewed were very enthusiastic and optimistic about robots in their daily lives,? Marr said. ?They were also very particular in their preferences, something that can assist researchers as they determine what to design and introduce in the home.?

Presumably, they won't be in the market for robots that offer?"mind-blowing sex."

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/those-need-welcome-robot-helpers-just-not-bathroom-1C6711972

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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

iPad Mini Pricing - Business Insider

Apple's smaller iPad, the so-called iPad Mini, is supposed to compete with other 7-inch tablets like Google's Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire HD. But the latest leaks and estimates show that it could cost considerably more than the competition.?

9to5Mac reports that the entry-level iPad Mini will cost $329. Compare that to the $199 starting point for the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD. Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu writes in a note that he expects the iPad Mini to cost between $299 and $349.?

This is a big jump from the earlier consensus that the iPad Mini would cost between $199 and $299.?

Why the premium price?

Assuming the leaks and analysis are correct, then it's clear Apple will market the iPad Mini as a top-shelf product, not a budget device like the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD.?

For what it's worth, we disagree that the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD are "budget" devices. Both are very solid tablets. And the Nexus 7 is exceptionally good.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/ipad-mini-pricing-2012-10

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Monday, October 22, 2012

Depleted Steelers beat Bengals 24-17

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger pumps his fist in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger pumps his fist in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) waves as he leaves the field after the Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 24-17 during an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Michael Keating)

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) meets with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) after the Steelers defeated the Bengals 24-17 during an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Michael Keating)

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, center, reacts after checking a call with the officials during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in Cincinnati. Pittsburgh won 24-17. (AP Photo/Michael Keating)

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, center, sits on the bench in sweats during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

(AP) ? Ben Roethlisberger took the snap and went to his knee for the final play, tucking the ball under his left arm before heading to the locker room.

Felt like old times for the Pittsburgh Steelers ? and like most times when they play in Cincinnati.

The Steelers got their first road win of the season and moved into second place in the AFC North with a 24-17 victory over the Bengals on Sunday night, overcoming potentially devastating injuries and mistakes.

Roethlisberger, a bunch of running-game fill-ins and a determined defense got the Steelers through a tough night, prompting the quarterback to hold onto the ball at the end.

"That is the first time that we have done the 'victory formation' this year to end it," he said.

After dropping their first three road games and putting their season on the brink so early, the Steelers (3-3) closed in on Baltimore (5-2), turning the division back into a familiar two-team race.

"It puts us right there in the hunt," safety Ryan Clark said.

They pulled it off even though so many of them were standing on the sideline in sweat suits. The Steelers were missing their top two running backs ? Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman ? as well as center Maurkice Pouncey and right tackle Marcus Gilbert because of injury.

It could have gotten very ugly after the Bengals pulled ahead 14-3 in the first half. Instead, Roethlisberger took advantage of Andy Dalton's interception, throwing for a tying touchdown and 2-point conversion. And third-year running back Jonathan Dwyer made his first career start and ran for a career-high 122 yards, including a 32-yard gain in the closing minute that finished it off.

"It shows how talented we are and that we try to live up to that high standard," Dwyer said.

A lot of players pulled them through.

Shaun Suisham kicked field goals of 42, 47 and 42 yards. And the defense shut down Cincinnati's Dalton-to-A.J. Green connection.

"It was a back-against-the-wall mentality and you've got to fight your way out," said cornerback Ike Taylor, who helped limit Green, a Pro Bowl receiver, to one catch.

Cincinnati (3-4) wasted yet another chance to show it can keep up with the division's best. The Bengals are 0-6 against the Steelers and Ravens over the last two seasons.

Now, they've lost three straight, falling into third place in the division.

"It's going to be tough to sleep," cornerback Leon Hall said. "At the end of the day, we've lost three in a row and we're in a tough spot."

They knew this was their best chance yet to break through, especially after the Steelers dropped passes, fumbled and threw an end zone interception in a self-destructive first half. They couldn't take advantage against the team that always seems to win on their home field.

The Steelers improved to 12-2 at Paul Brown Stadium, where thousands of towel-waving fans make them feel at home. They have won their last five overall against their Ohio River rival and 10 of the last 12.

And once again, the Bengals could blame themselves.

Andy Dalton's slip-out-of-the-hand interception set up Roethlisberger's 9-yard touchdown pass to Heath Miller and a tying 2-point conversion to the tight end with 24 seconds left in the half. Chris Rainey's 11-yard touchdown run put the Steelers ahead early in the fourth quarter, and the injury fill-ins finished them off.

"I'm proud of the way those young guys stepped up," said Roethlisberger, who was 27 of 37 for 278 yards. "There never was a doubt they would do that."

Dalton's only glaring mistake made the difference.

He saw a defender waiting to make an interception and tried to stop his throwing motion. The ball slipped out of his hand, hit the helmet of Bengals lineman Kevin Zeitler and deflected to linebacker LaMarr Woodley at the Cincinnati 29-yard line with 1:23 left in the half. That set up Roethlisberger's tying TD pass and conversion.

"You can't have a thing like that happen," Dalton said. "We had a chance to go down and score points or at least keep it where it was. What you can't let happen is not just let the ball slip out of your hands, but let them get an interception and get points."

Dalton was 14 of 28 for only 105 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He threw six passes toward Green but completed only one, an 8-yard touchdown after Roethlisberger's fumble.

"They did a great job taking me out of the game plan," Green said. "That's what it is."

NOTES: Steelers rookie NT Alameda Ta'amu served the first game of his two-game suspension for his arrest last weekend. ... Bengals rookie CB Dre Kirkpatrick was inactive for the seventh game. He hurt his left knee over the summer and hasn't played. He's expected to be ready after the Bengals' upcoming bye week. ... Bengals C Jeff Faine injured a hamstring, forcing rookie Trevor Robinson to take over in the second half.

___

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

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-10-22-Steelers-Bengals%20Folo/id-d1a0c37061244ed2877235d3e2ccd222

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Investment Banking Cover Letter Tips - Business Insider

Despite my?claims?that ?we never read cover letters,? some readers have pointed out that almost all banks require them. And some places might even pay attention to them.

I?ve seen lots of cover letters lately ? and nearly all of them suffer from the same problems.

Here?s how to avoid these common mistakes and how to structure your cover letters properly, so you can avoid looking like?The Joker.

Let?s Set the Record Straight: Who Actually Reads Them?

In 99% of cases, only small boutiques (or small private equity firms) actually care about cover letters.

Big banks don?t have the time to go through stacks of cover letters. Remember the?30-second rule: if only 30 seconds are spent reviewing your resume and making a yes/no decision, you can imagine how much time is spent on the cover letter.

Small places care more because:

  1. ?Fit? is extremely important when there are only 4 people in the office; and
  2. They actually have time to read cover letters (occasionally).

The True Purpose of Cover Letters

Cover letters are similar to GPA / test scores: a great one doesn?t help you much, but a poor one can kill your chances if someone happens to notice it.

And there are a few mistakes that come up repeatedly ? no matter who you are or what you?re applying to.

Mistake #1: Writing a Life Story, Not a Cover Letter

I?ve seen some?really?long cover letters before. Keep it to 1 page ? 500 words or less ? and ideally 300 words or less.

Yes, I?m sure you have a very interesting life story about how you were abandoned by your parents and raised by wolves on the outskirts of a tribal village, but?please?don?t tell me any of this.

Get to the point ? who you are, what you?ve done, and why we should pay attention to you.

Mistake #2: Telling Me Your Favorite Book is?Monkey Business

Microsoft Certified in Excel? Extra in?American Psycho? Know the bank?s market share in Mongolian M&A deals?

Great, but don?t waste my time with this trivia. All I care about is whether you can do the work.

If you have a?relevant?skill, such as fluency in another language, that?s ok to bring up. But almost every other Skill/Activity/Interest is pointless.

Mistake #3: Writing?The Sound and the Fury, Not a Cover Letter

Logic is key when you?re selling someone on yourself ? and that?s what a cover letter does.

So don?t write a letter using?stream of consciousness.

An amazing number of cover letters skip around and don?t present the applicant?s background coherently.

Just like any other type of writing, you need an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

The Ideal Cover Letter

So how do you actually write a?solid?cover letter?

Follow the tips below, and then copy the?investment banking cover letter template?once you?ve figured out what you?re going to say.

The Information at the Top

Nothing too fancy here. Your name and contact information could go on the right side, and the recruiter?s / firm?s name and contact information could go on the left.

If you don?t have a name, don?t panic ? just use the company name and address instead. Yes, it?s better to have a real name and send it to a real person, but it?s not a deal-breaker.

Similarly, ?Dear so-and-so? works better if the ?so-and-so? is someone?s name but if you don?t have it, ?Dear Sir or Madam? is acceptable.

Paragraph 1: Introduction

Here?s where you say who you are and how you learned of the opportunity ? from networking, from an event, from a friend or however else you found out. Then you say what attracts you to the company and the specific position.

Keep this short ? 2 to 3 sentences is best.

Paragraph 2: Your Background

This is usually your longest paragraph. Start out by writing what you?re currently doing, and then give the relevant internships/jobs you?ve had. Focus on useful skills (e.g.?financial analysis) and whatever you did that?s applicable to banking, trading, or whatever you?re applying for.

A reverse chronological structure works well because most of the time, your most relevant experience will also be the most recent.

I would use no more than 5 sentences for this one.?Paragraph 3: Why You?re a Good Fit

This is a shorter paragraph. You should explain why your skills / experiences match whatever you?re applying for and re-iterate what makes you interested?

If you have anything unique (for example, you?re applying to a middle-market private equity firm after having run your own middle-market company), you may also want to mention it here as another selling point.

Paragraph 4: Conclusion

Remind them that your resume is enclosed, give your contact information and say that you look forward to hearing from them soon. Keep this to a few short sentences.

Exceptions

Sometimes this exact structure doesn?t work ? if you?ve had more extensive experience (i.e. you?re not just out of undergraduate or business school) or have unusual circumstances, you may want to write something slightly different.

Let?s say you?re applying to investment management firms in China and you grew up there, having moved abroad when you were 10 ? in that case you probably want to use 1 paragraph for your ?finance experience? and another paragraph for your ?China experience? rather than just writing 1 ?background? paragraph.

No matter what your background, though, keep your cover letter brief, logical and relevant.

Otherwise you look like a fool.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/investment-banking-cover-letter-tips-2012-10

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Video: Dead heat: the state of the race

A Second Take on Meeting the Press: From an up-close look at Rachel Maddow's sneakers to an in-depth look at Jon Krakauer's latest book ? it's all fair game in our "Meet the Press: Take Two" web extra. Log on Sundays to see David Gregory's post-show conversations with leading newsmakers, authors and roundtable guests. Videos are available on-demand by 12 p.m. ET on Sundays.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/49494010#49494010

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Saturday, October 20, 2012

Islamic group: No-fly list strands US man in Europe

nbcnewyork.com

By NBC News staff

A New York City man who traveled to Europe to visit relatives this summer has been stranded there since Oct. 1, an advocacy group says, because his name allegedly appears on the no-fly list.

According to the New York Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Samir Suljovic, 26, flew to Montenegro this summer to visit family and friends, but when he tried to travel back to New York on Oct. 1, airline representatives in Vienna, Austria, told him the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection had asked them not to allow him to board his flight.

CAIR says Suljovic is now in Germany. The advocacy group said it had demanded answers from the authorities, but have not heard back from the local U.S. Embassy or from customs and homeland security officials. Suljovic, a U.S. citizen born and raised in Queens, has no criminal history, CAIR says.

?This is outrageous,? CAIR-NY Executive Director Muneer Awad told NBCNewYork.com. ?They basically ignored his calls for a reason why this is happening.?


According to the New York Daily News, the FBI maintains the no-fly list, and the TSA checks names against the list when allowing passengers on commercial flights.

Watch World News videos on NBCNews.com

?This is not a unique case for American Muslims who have been traveling abroad,? Awad told the Daily News. ?He has no criminal record, he has never been charged with anything criminal. A Muslim happened to be traveling abroad and it raised a red flag for no other reason than that he is Muslim.?

In a letter addressed to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, New York members of Congress and the U.S. Embassy in Munich, CAIR states: "The denial of Mr. Suljovic's right to return home without due process of law constitutes a grave violation of his civil rights and liberties. Instead of protecting this young U.S. citizen while he traveled abroad, the government has effectively stranded him in an unfamiliar country without shelter or protection."

California student takes the long way home to US after ?no-fly? designation

An FBI spokesman told the Daily News the no-fly list contains about 20,000 names, and about 500 of those are American citizens.

?99.7 percent of the people who file complaints about the no-fly list, it turns out it has nothing to do with the no-fly list at all,? the spokesman told the Daily News.

In 2010, a New York man with the same name as Suljovic sued the Gramercy Park Hotel because management wouldn't hire him unless he shaved his beard, the New York Post reported.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/19/14558912-new-york-man-stranded-in-europe-because-of-no-fly-list-advocacy-group-says?lite

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Military zeppelin could land cargo without a runway

16 hrs.

In the future, U.S. soldiers abroad may see their supplies come in carried under the bellies of zeppelins. Aeros Corp., a California-based startup, is working on a high-tech prototype airship on the behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense. When completed, Aeros' Pelican zeppelin will test a novel combination of airship and airplane technologies for carrying cargo long distances, the industry news site Aviation Week reported.

In the Pelican's first test flights, scheduled for early 2013, developers just want to see that they can fly and control the aircraft, Aeros CEO Igor Pasternak told Aviation Week. In the future, Aeros hopes to build a larger version of the Pelican to carry tens of tons of cargo, like current military cargo planes do. Unlike planes, however, the Pelican should be able to take off and land vertically, so it won't need long runways at its landing sites. It should also be able to sit on the ground while it's being loaded, so it won't require tethers like other airships, and it will be able to land in poor weather.?

"This will land in Africa, Afghanistan, a Walmart parking lot ? wherever," Pasternak told the Los Angeles Times.

Cargo isn't the only reason the military is interested in airships, and the military isn't the only market for a modern generation of airships, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Pentagon now uses drones to patrol enemy areas, but airships can be more effective and less expensive patrollers. An unmanned airship is able to hover over one spot for days, while drones can only go on hours-long flights. The U.S. already has more than 100 camera-equipped balloons over Afghanistan, the Los Angeles Times reported. The balloons, called aerostats, are too large to be shot down.

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin Corp. is developing airships to carry commercial cargo.

Not all of the military's bets on airships have worked out, the Los Angeles Times reported. ?The army has lost lighter-than-air craft during high winds, including an $8.2 million airship that drifted away and exploded during a tropical storm in Puerto Rico. The Air Force also scrapped a $211 million project called the Blue Devil because of development problems.

Sources:?Aviation Week,?Los Angeles Times

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/military-zeppelin-could-land-cargo-without-runway-1C6555491

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93% Looper

All Critics (227) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (212) | Rotten (15)

The reasoning behind all this may not reward prolonged inspection, but Johnson is smart enough to press onward with his plot, leaving us with neither the time nor the desire to linger over the logic ...

Writer-director Rian Johnson establishes himself as an original talent who clearly believes storytelling must prevail.

A mind-bending ride that is not afraid to slow down now and again, to explore themes of regret and redemption, solitude and sacrifice, love and loss. It's a movie worth seeing and, perhaps, going back to see again.

Looper has more heart than Brick and the 2008 con-man flick The Brothers Bloom. Both fine achievements, they could also be described as viscerally cerebral.

I'm a sucker for time-travel movies.

Looper felt to me like a maddening near-miss ...

Much as he did in Brick, Johnson creates a carefully drawn world in Looper that exists by its own particular set of rules.

... has an irresistible energy and a don't-give-a-damn unpredictability ...

Beautifully crafted, acted and written.

Anchors high-concept thrills and captivating ideas in a world of challenging morality and intricate personal consequences.

Truly imaginative but all the twists and turns make the overall film difficult to follow. Plus Gordon-Levitt has not reached leading man status yet.

Kind of a reverse-"Terminator" without any of James Cameron's wit (or wisdom),

An endlessly creative mind-blowing film that captures everything right about the movie going experience. Johnson conjures up the most imaginative action/science fiction film since 'Inception.'

Part science fiction, part mob movie, and with a nice infusion of dark comedy at just the right moments, Looper is Johnson's best movie yet, and manages to be hugely entertaining, affecting, and thought-provoking.

takes us far beyond the film's high-concept premise into the kind of emotional terrain that too often escapes even the best genre filmmakers

Doesn't quite reach the heights of the lofty ideals that it so ardently seeks to expound, but makes up for this with the sheer thrill of the journey Rian Johnson takes us on.

Ingenious with a fine performance by Emily Blunt, but far too much cold-blooded violence.

Engaging, exciting, and successfully cross-breeding elements of Terminator and even Pet Sematary, Looper is a solid work of palatable science-fiction.

Looper's super. An action-thriller that bothers to have a brain.

Looper may not take us back to the future as satisfyingly as Robert Zemeckis' Marty McFly trilogy or James Cameron's Terminator franchise, but writer-director Rian Johnson does enough right to all but guarantee that he has a future cult film on the books.

The best time travel films play on emotion rather than logic, and once Looper realises this and drops all the tail-chasing about how time travel works it settles into the engrossing action/drama about destiny it should have been from the get go.

Has more depth, smarts, and heart than the usual sci-fi bluster.

A just about brilliant sci-fi crime-drama-thriller mostly set in the years 2044 and 2074. Rian Johnson is a rare director who creates entertainment with depth.

The key to enjoying the gruesome violence mixed with a healthy potion of emotional depth rarely found in this genre is to not dwell on the fiction in the science.

Sometimes time travel is just used a cheap device in movies to make them seem different; this is not one of those films. It's genuinely unique and fresh.

Very entertaining on many, many levels.

More Critic Reviews

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/looper/

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