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Saturday, January 14, 2012
Watch the New Crazy Thin Gorilla Glass 2 Somehow Survive 121 Pounds of Pressure [Video]
Friday, January 13, 2012
Romney's controversial Anaheim business deal - Total Buzz : The ...
Romney?s controversial Anaheim business deal
January 10th, 2012, 3:53 pm ? ? posted by Martin Wisckol, Politics reporter
One of the most controversial businesses taken over by Bain Capital, the company Mitt Romney ran for 15 years, was Anaheim?s DDi, which makes printed circuit boards. The company would eventually flounder, but not before Bain got 200 percent of its investment back.
As with much of Bain?s track record, it?s hard to know exactly how much credit or blame to lay at Romney?s feet. But rival Newt Gingrich
was apparently referring to DDi today when talking about a company in an similar situation that Romney and Bain ?looted.?
Romney touts his stint at Bain as proof of his ability to create jobs, while Gingrich and other critics point to the numerous firings, mass layoffs and bankruptcies that resulted from takeovers by the equity firm. I?ll get into the weeds of Romney?s record at Bain in a subsequent blog post, but wanted to first detail what happened to the company Bain took over in our own backyard during Romney?s 1984-to-1999 stint.
Bain invested $41 million in DDi starting in 1996.? Bain took the DDi stock public in 2000 and eventually liquidated most of its stake in the company, selling shares to the public as well as distributing them to its investors and partners. It generated at least $93 million from selling the stock, according to a 2003 Register story.
Romney personally sold $4.3 million of his DDi stock in May 2001.
And just in time. The tech bubble burst and by the end of 2002, DDi defaulted on debt and cut its workforce by 1,300 workers, to about 1,900. In 2003, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Later that year, the SEC cited Lehman Brothers, one of four investment firms that took DDi public, alleging it pressured analysts to lie about DDi?s worth.
Shareholders sued DDi, saying it withheld information that the company?s fortunes would soon sour, and the company settled for $4.4 million.
In 2005, DDi was the worst performing public company in Orange County, losing 79 percent of its stock value. But the company remains in business and now has about 1,600 employees, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Gingrich specifically took Romney to task today for his dealings with an unnamed company whose details matched those of DDi.
?I think there?s a real difference between people who believed in the free market and people who go around, take financial advantage, loot companies, leave behind broken families, broken towns, people on unemployment,? Gingrich says in this Washington Post story.
More 2012 presidential race
Source: http://totalbuzz.ocregister.com/2012/01/10/romneys-anaheim-business-deal-rouses-controversy/81603/
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Digital Business Cards Might Give Facebook Cards Some ...
It?s been over a year since LinkedIn introduced the CardMunch iPhone application that allows users to convert business cards into digital contacts instantly. Although users were initially skeptical if the app could completely replace the traditional Rolodex or albums of card holders, CardMunch has released some stats that prove otherwise. After LinkedIn acquired CardMunch, the number of cards scanned daily has grown exponentially. Currently, more than 2 million business cards have been scanned, which si equal to about 4 tons of paper cards and 67,348 hours saved for consumers.
Among the 2 million cards scanned, people from the high-tech industry make up the bulk of the sectors, with 498 companies from the Fortune 500 taking part. And as a trivial fact, the top CardMunch user has already scanned over 1,000 contacts.
The updated version of the app released in November has enabled users to automatically view the person?s LinkedIn information such as mutual contacts, credentials and educations through his/her business card. The interface was also updated to include a Rolodex-feel where users can intuitively swipe through the digital business cards.
CardMunch
Source: http://www.psfk.com/2012/01/digital-business-cards.html
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Thursday, January 12, 2012
North Korea's Kim a 'military genius'
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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - North Korea's state-run television called new, untested leader Kim Jong Un a "military genius" on Sunday and showed him driving a tank, sitting in the cockpit of a warplane and interacting with soldiers in a youthful display of camaraderie that was unlike the style of his late father.
The broadcast, a documentary on North Korea's Central TV, also claimed that Kim, believed to be in his late 20s, oversaw the April 2009 test-launching of a long-range rocket.
"I had determined to enter a war if the enemies dared to intercept" the rocket, he said in the program.
The program appeared to be part of North Korea's frenzied campaign to burnish Kim's credentials as a leader who can command its 1.2 million soldiers, one of the world's largest armies and a crucial element to his consolidation of power.
Kim took over after his father, longtime dictator Kim Jong Il, died on Dec. 17. Late last month, he became supreme commander of the military, officially taking on the first of his father's several top military and Communist Party posts.
North Korea's propaganda campaign has since billed him as the "great successor" of his father's songun, or "military first," policy, which emphasizes armed might. But the North's development of nuclear weapons and tests of long-range missiles have brought economic sanctions that have deepened the country's isolation and poverty.
Sunday's documentary began with Kim Jong Un riding a white horse, as Kim Jong Il often did in propaganda murals in North Korea. It was unclear when and where much of the video had been shot.
Kim Jong Un was believed to have been groomed as successor at least from 2008, when his father suffered a stroke. He was officially unveiled as heir in 2010, when he was made a four-star general and vice chairman of the ruling Workers Party's Central Military Commission.
Although he is said to have graduated from the top military academy in Pyongyang, there is no indication that he had served in the army.
The North Korean media have been busy filling in the gaps in his military r?sum?, claiming that he wrote his first thesis on military strategy when he was 16. During his New Year's Day inspection of a tank division, he participated in a firing exercise, "making the New Year's first sound of gunfire," the documentary said.
Unlike his father, who usually stood solemnly during such inspections and was kept at a reverential distance from soldiers unless he took group pictures with them, Kim was seen laughing and clutching the hands of army officers and soldiers.
The documentary was broadcast on what is believed to be Kim Jong Un's birthday. He is believed to have turned 28, 29 or 30 on Sunday.
Source: http://www.startribune.com/world/136916593.html
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New airfare rules remove some fine print
DALLAS?? It comes as no surprise for experienced travelers, but novices are sometimes shocked to find that the final cost of airline trip can be much higher than the price touted on the airline's website or advertising.
Recently, Southwest's website quoted prices starting at $99 to fly from Dallas to Los Angeles. Come Jan. 26, Southwest could have to show a fare of $120.60.
New rules from the U.S. Transportation Department will require that advertised prices include taxes and mandatory fees. Currently, airlines just have to note that other charges apply, and provide a link or footnote to the details.
The new rules will make fares easier to understand. Government and airport charges can add 20 percent or more to the price of an airline ticket.
"It's truth in advertising, right?" said Angie Toriggino of Austin, Texas, who travels frequently in her job training salespeople for a pharmaceutical company. "Some people probably budget a certain amount for their trip and then spend more than they expected."
Airlines protest that other industries don't have to include taxes in advertised prices. And they worry about the effect on ticket sales.
"We're not raising our fares, but it will look to the consumer like we've had a big price increase," said Robert Kneisley, Southwest's associate general counsel.
David Berg, the general counsel of Airlines for America, a trade group of the biggest carriers, said the change will depress travel.
"It's basic economics," he said. "History tells us (that consumers) will see higher prices and buy less."
Southwest, Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air are fighting the government in court, hoping to roll back the rule, but a decision in that case isn't expected until after the rule takes effect.
Transportation Department officials have been cracking down on airlines that, in their view, failed to make it clear enough that extra taxes and fees would be added to the advertised price.
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Small resorts go after the big boys
In 2011, airlines and travel agencies admitted violating price-advertising rules in more than 20 cases and agreed to fines totaling more than $1 million. In the biggest case, Continental, which has since been acquired by United, agreed to a $120,000 fine after it was found to have touted some international flights at $240 less than the final cost by failing to include fuel surcharges in the advertised fare.
Penalties, however, are routinely cut in half if the airline avoids violating the rules for a year. And they pale in comparison to airline profits ? about $850 million in just the first nine months of 2011 ? and could be seen as a minor cost of doing business. That's one reason that some consumer advocates wanted the Transportation Department to go even further than it did in regulating how airlines describe prices.
The new rules will only require disclosure of government levies for things such as security and airport improvements. They won't include the proliferating airline fees for checking bags, getting an assigned seat and other items. Those must be listed somewhere on an airline's website, but the Transportation Department this week delayed whether to require more prominent disclosure.
Still, the inclusion of taxes in advertised fares "eliminates a lot of the skulduggery from airline pricing," said Charlie Leocha of the Consumer Travel Alliance. "We're moving forward."
The advertising change is the latest of many passenger-service regulations imposed by the Transportation Department since 2010. The most notable was a limit on how long airlines can hold planes on the ground before giving passengers a chance to return to the terminal.
Just two days before the advertising changes kick in, several other new rules delayed from last year will also take effect, including a ban on airlines raising fares for tickets already sold. Allegiant Air raised the possibility of selling discounted seats that could go higher ? even after the customers paid ? if oil prices rose.
Another new rule will give customers 24 hours to cancel a reservation without penalty if it's at least a week before their flight. Some airlines already allow that.
Leslie Araiza of San Antonio, Texas, who works for a nursing-home company, thinks free cancellations are a good idea.
"I travel every week for business," she said, "and there are times when something comes up and I'll have to change where I'm going."
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45947134/ns/travel-news/
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Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Little oil seen after ship splits in New Zealand (AP)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand ? A light sheen of oil extended about two miles (three kilometers) from a wrecked cargo ship that split in two over the weekend, but so far the damage appears small compared to the environmental disaster created when the vessel ran aground in October, New Zealand authorities said Monday.
About 150 cargo containers also spilled from the Rena, and officials were warning beachgoers to stay away from the debris that has washed ashore. Some people have been seen scavenging bags of powdered milk from the beach, but authorities warned the food may be unsafe.
Bruce Fraser, a spokesman for Maritime New Zealand, which oversees shipping, said it estimates that fewer than 100 tons of oil remain on the wreck.
The Rena spilled about 400 tons of fuel oil when it ran aground Oct. 5 on Astrolabe Reef, 14 miles (22 kilometers) from Tauranga Harbor on North Island. That spill, considered the worst maritime environmental disaster in New Zealand history, fouled pristine beaches. Authorities found 2,000 dead seabirds from the spill and estimate 10 times as many might have perished.
Since then, salvage crews have removed about 1,100 tons of oil from the ship, along with nearly 400 20-foot and 40-foot containers. It was a slow process to remove cargo from the wreck, however, and hundreds of containers remained by the time pounding seas broke it apart.
The two pieces of the ship are now too precarious for crews to attempt further salvage efforts, at least until the seas calm. Salvage crews are now focused on preventing more of the shipping containers from washing ashore.
Tugs have pulled some containers away from the coast. Some containers have had buoys or locator beacons attached to them so they can be more easily recovered when sea conditions allow.
The debris that has washed ashore includes milk powder, timber, plastics and paper.
Waihi Police Sgt. Dave Litton said police closed public access to popular Waihi Beach on Monday morning after four cargo containers and other debris from the vessel washed ashore. He said police received calls about people driving off with some of the bags of milk powder that are strewn along the beach.
Authorities say the milk and other items washed ashore could be health hazards.
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NBA Rumors: Jerry Sloan Should Return to Pursue Elusive Championship Ring
Jerry Sloan isn?t done retiring.
Sloan is such an elite head coach that he?s ringless and still regarded as a legend. Not many coaches at any level of any sport can say the same. Sloan may just feel the urge to eliminate himself from that rare category, though.
According to Sports Illustrated?s Sam Amick, Sloan isn?t 100 percent sold on retirement like he was last February, as the former Utah Jazz head coach said, ?I think if the right situation came along, whatever that is. I don't know what the right situation is. We'll have to wait and see, I guess.?
Allow me to translate the 69-year-old?s statement into modern terms: ?I think if Mike D?Antoni continues to stink up the Big Apple or if Kobe Bryant runs out of patience with Mike Brown, I?m all in.?
Sloan further explained the difference in his opinion of a possible return to coaching, saying:
?My energy level has changed a great deal since I quit coaching. It's changed a lot now. ?I've had time to work out. I feel better.
"I had a chance to relax, to do something that I haven't had the time to do in 30 years. That's rewarding. You have time to spend with the family and have Thanksgiving and things like that. I enjoyed all of that. But [returning to coaching] is a decision where, if somebody talked to me, I'd review the situation like anybody else and take it from there."
...
"I live my life day by day like I always have and haven't spent a lot of time worrying about a job. If somebody called me, I don't know what my answer would be.?
Will Sloan return to the NBA next season?
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Yes
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No
Will Sloan return to the NBA next season?
Now, a job offer from NY or LA obviously isn?t guaranteed; in fact, they?re highly unlikely.
But as long as Sloan draws interest from a team that has a legitimate shot at winning a title in the near future, and doesn?t have Deron Williams on the roster, he wouldn?t be able to turn them down, and he shouldn't. Sloan has come too close to winning a championship too many times to give up.
As a Hall of Fame competitor, he has to be itching to get back to the hardwood to pursue that elusive title.
David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
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Monday, January 2, 2012
PSLifeStyle: New blog post: PS Vita Import Review - Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational http://t.co/RxAyQI0v
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Sunday, January 1, 2012
Xbox 360 250GB Kinect Bundle w/ $100 Microsoft credit for $400 + free shipping
Microsoft Store still offers its Microsoft Xbox 360 250GB Kinect Holiday Bundle with a $100 Microsoft Store Credit for $399.99 with free shipping. Assuming you use the credit, that's tied with our mention from a week ago and the lowest total price we could find by $81, outside of the deal below. Sales tax is added where applicable. The Holiday Bundle includes the Microsoft Xbox 360 Slim console with a 250GB hard drive and wireless controller, headset, the Kinect accessory, Kinect Adventures, Carnival Games: Monkey See Monkey Do for Kinect, and three months of Xbox LIVE Gold membership.
Of note: newegg has it with a $75 newegg gift card for $399.99 with free shipping.
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