FAA may ease 'reading device' restriction during takeoff and landing later this year

By early 2014, passengers may be able to use certain electronic devices in airplane mode during takeoff and landing, according to a New York Times report. The publication's industry sources say that the Federal Aviation Administration may announce more lenient electronics policies later this year, allowing passengers to use "reading devices" during takeoff and landing -- while it's not clear which gadgets would qualify, cellphones would remain on the ban list. The FAA commissioned an industry group to study the issue of in-flight electronics use -- the team, which includes representatives from Amazon, Boeing, the CEA, FCC, and others, will announce the results of its study by July 31st.

The issue has support from key lawmakers as well. Senator Claire McCaskill is calling the FAA out on its authorization of pilots to use iPads in the cockpit and flight attendants to use devices of their own, while restricting passengers from reading books on e-readers -- "A flying copy of 'War and Peace' is more dangerous than a Kindle," she told the Times. And we'd have to agree. Until the FAA announces a policy revision, we all have no choice but to reluctantly comply with the ban, but with devices like Google Glass on the horizon, updated restrictions could not come too soon.

Filed under: Transportation, Wireless

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Source: The New York Times

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/dh1JOlY57Xk/

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The Reference Frame: Reagan's Star Wars: 30 years ago

Ronald Reagan gave the following 30-minute talk on March 23rd, 1983, i.e. 30 years ago:

Most of the talk is about the motivation and the situation. The very SDI comments begin at 25:00 or so.

The visionary SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) speech was arguably the most consequential presidential speech in the modern U.S. history. I am somewhat impressed by the depth of the technical arguments that Reagan offered.

In July 1979, Reagan would visit some defense folks in Colorado and they showed him that the Mutually Assured Destruction doctrine was the only possible conclusion. Ronald Reagan couldn't accept such an attitude and the speech above symbolized what he wanted to do to protect the civilians against the Soviet-led attacks from outer space and change the doctrine.

I was 10 years old, I spoke no English, and today was actually the first time I listened to the speech above. But I remember that during a gym class, when I was a 3rd grader or a 4th grader, at the 21st Elementary School in Pilsen with an extended education of languages (Russian, in my case then), we suddenly had to listen to a bizarre scary speech in the school radio sometimes in 1983 or 1984 or so.

We were told that the international situation got worsened a lot and a war could be imminent. Of course, we were told about the imperialist warmongers all the time but this was the only time when I heard an announcement fully dedicated to a possibly looming war.

I have never reconstructed the date of that bizarre announcement or the reason behind it. Now, it seems plausible that Reagan's speech was what sparked the school radio announcement. Some commies at our school could have gotten anxious that the American imperialists could get really strong now and it's necessary to upgrade the war preparations and war rhetoric (although we've never heard anything that would be so pro-war as the North Korean propaganda we observe these days: the official propaganda would always paint us as the "camp of peace" while the capitalist world were the "warmongers").

At any rate, this was the impact of Reagan's speech on the Soviet politicians. Arms races escalated and they effectively led to the surrender of the Soviet Union. It has overspent the money for arms races. This caused some problems in the economy and that helped Gorbachev to be elected and ultimately terminate the totalitarian Cold War era in the Soviet Union ? and, indirectly, in the whole Soviet bloc.

Many people ? especially left-wingers ? have been trying to humiliate the SDI. In 1987, the American Physical Society joined these critics and questioned whether the SDI is allowed by the laws of physics. But it's clear that "something like that" may be immensely useful and nowadays, similar technologies belong to the responsible defense strategists' standard toolkit. The critics usually employ excessively high standards when they evaluate the SDI. They say that because the technology can't be perfectly reliable under all circumstances, it's useless. But nothing in the real world is perfectly reliable but we are still using many things and they are useful.

Also, the critics who said that Reagan would effectively revive an "offensive mode" of the arms races have ultimately been proved wrong. SDI is clearly a defense technology and while it temporarily led the Soviets to be even more offensive in their strategic planning, this had to collapse and this did collapse, leading the world to the end of the Cold War. I would summarize the U.S. critics' motivation by saying that the real reason why most of them were annoyed was that they wanted the Soviet Union to prevail and Reagan's plan made that outcome less likely. They were commies. In fact, Obama's administration is the first Democratic administration after Reagan that accepted that SDI is a good idea. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel proposed to increase the GBIs on Friday.

Before the SDI plans managed to undermine the Soviet empire, the CIA has played an effective misinformation game. The Soviets have spent lots of money on similar anti-rockets, too. X-rays were planned to be the defensive bullets. Most of these devices remained on paper but the implications of these papers were damn tangible and damn far-reaching.

Source: http://motls.blogspot.com/2013/03/reagans-star-wars-30-years-ago.html

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The Most Innovative Tools For Web Development | Lakeshore ...

Website development is an indispensable part of any online business. Nowadays, all the companies want to take their business to an online platform to improve online presence and increase revenues. The only way to start an online business is through the creation of websites. But that is not enough for the development of the business. You have to increase the rank of the web page. It is only possible with the help of a proficient web developer who knows a good deal about coding. This particular content deals with the different ways by which you can develop your website.

Proper Web Development through HTML

HTML editors are used for developing the HTML documents. Some companies prefer to make their own HTML code while some prefer to use the HTML editor. There are lots of tools for web development, but while using this particular tool for the development of your website, you should know a little bit of HTML in order to create the special effects which are sometimes not supported by the HTML editor. There?s a variety of HTML editor available in the market and you can download one if you search the same from the internet.

Developing your Website through a Text Editor

The software text editor is mainly used for editing the texts. There?s a lot of software like this available on the net and you can download one of them. It is mainly used for editing content and articles which you are going to post on the website ?or post on any web page. Notepad is the main text editor in the market though some websites prefer to use a separate web editor for handling the larger files.

Usefulness of FTP and Graphics Editor in developing your Website

FTP is mainly known as file transfer protocol. This particular software can be downloaded from the internet and it can be used to enhance the upload of scripts and do it in a proper and prescribed format. A graphics editor is mainly used to design the graphics and it can be used for the purpose of giving a proper design to your web layout. These are actually made by some specific programs which are readily available on the internet. You can easily download one of them and use it in the best possible way for developing your website.

The use of Zip/Unzip Software and E-mail in developing your Website

These are compressed software and they are used for a proper distribution. You can also maintain proper contact with customers for the purpose of enhancing your business and you can definitely do that with the exchange of emails with your prospective clients. More information is available on the internet and you can get all sorts of ideas with the help of any popular search engine on the web.

Follow these tips and your business can reach the peak of success.

About the Author

Austin Richard is an IT professional from prepnerds.com. Have you been looking for?Prepnerds.com?Assistance? Go ahead and get the benefits of Apple Certifications?and pass your exam easily.

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Source: http://www.lakeshorebranding.com/company/blog/the-most-innovative-tools-for-web-development/

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Heyzap Introduces Ads To Its Mobile Gaming Network

Heyzap, a Y Combinator-incubated social platform for mobile games, is releasing a software development kit today allowing developers and publishers to introduce Heyzap ads to their games. Basically, it's turning Heyzap's social network into an ad network too. Developers can use it to make more money, or to promote their games in other Heyzap games. You can see a sample ad to the left, highlighting one of Heyzap's big advantages as an ad platform: The company knows what games users have played (since they're sharing that information with friends on Heyzap), and it can make a reasonable guess as to other games you might be interested in.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/K1gyoLIlXe0/

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Political picks: Obama taps top seeds, McConnell Is a homer

Politicians have unleashed their NCAA picks, and no Final Four has gone unturned for latent political meaning.

President Obama has carved out a niche as the nation's top political NCAA predictor, holding his annual tete-a-tete with ESPN's Andy Katz. But this year it's a Republican, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who's leading the bracketology charge with a set of picks that should probably turn some basketball-knowing heads.

Here are the NCAA brackets of three incredibly powerful people, and one person who influences the lawmakers who do the actual voting.

Marco Rubio

The Florida senator has upsets all over the place. Notre Dame (7) over Ohio State (2). Ole Miss (12) over Wisconsin (5). UNLV (5) in the Elite Eight. VCU (5) over Kansas (1)! In the Final Four, he picks his undergraduate alma mater, Florida (3), over his law school alma mater, Miami (2).

As brackets go, this one's for tournament dreamers. Unless, that is, Rubio planned to enter these picks in an NCAA pool that awards seed differential-in which case he's doing it for the money.

The bracket proves one of two things: Either Rubio is a champion of underdogs, or he's a hardcore gambler at heart.

President Obama

Nothing too exciting here. Obama's Final Four consists of two one-seeds, a two-seed, and a three-seed.

The president knows his basketball, but this bracket is distinctly lacking in verve. We could talk about why he picked Indiana-a red state that's kind of a swing state, etc.-or we could talk about how his biggest upsets are Minnesota (11) over UCLA (6), Belmont (11) over New Mexico (3), and Michigan (4) over Kansas (1). This is the bracket of a man who just wants to keep things going smoothly, not rock the boat, and keep everyone calm while he's in Israel.

In other words, Obama and Rubio have picked nearly opposite brackets. Which makes sense.

Via David Catanese, the blog Sports Grid has broken down the Obama vs. Rubio bracketological divide thusly:

Although their Final Four's look similar, with top seeds in all spots, their Sweet Sixteen's are diametrically opposed to one another (political jargon for opposite-when in Rome). Here's a simple way of looking at it. The combined seedings of Obama's Sweet Sixteen comes out to a paltry 41. That means that he's almost exclusively choosing higher seeded teams to advance. Rubio's Sweet Sixteen, on the other hand, has a total seeding number of 70, meaning he's got low seeds all over the damn place! Go figure, the liberal goes conservative and the conservative goes all whimsical.

Mitch McConnell

There's really only one thing you need to know about the Senate minority leader's bracket, which can be found at WHAS 11: He's got Western Kentucky (16) topping Kansas (1) and Villanova (9) before inexplicably losing to Virginia Commonwealth (5).

He also picked Louisville (1), where he went to college as an undergrad, to go all the way.

McConnell is the ultimate homer.

Grover Norquist

The president of Americans for Tax Reform included a preamble to his bracket, scrawled at the top: "Hey taxpayer, I chose my winners based on the lowest top marginal income tax rate in each team's home state. In case of a tie, I went with the Right to Work state. Good luck with your brackets! -Grover"

Norquist has done something few are willing to do. He's filled out a bracket based on pure ideology.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/political-bracketology-obama-picks-top-005204985.html

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Barnes and Noble giving away Nook Simple Touch with every Nook HD+ purchase in limited promo

Americans love a good bargain -- especially, when it's a twofer. Barnes and Noble, arguably the only real competitor to Amazon's Kindle juggernaut, has just announced a promotion to get as many of its Nook readers into consumers' hands as possible. Starting March 24th and running until the end of the month, consumers that purchase the Nook HD+ online, in-store or at select big box retailers will also be given a free Nook Simple Touch. The limited promotion comes hot on the heels of rumors that B&N would start to de-emphasize hardware production for the Nook line in favor of its content services; a rumor the company publicly shot down. Still, there's no denying e-reader market share's been an uphill battle for B&N, even if the segment is seeing marginal year-over-year increases. Numbers aside, if you've been holding out on joining the digital reading fray because of cost, now's the time to make the switch.

Filed under: Tablets

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Via: The Next Web

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/22/barnes-and-noble-giving-away-nook-simple-touch-with-every-nook-hd-plus/

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Dell buyout intrigue heightens as deadline looms

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Michael Dell is about to find out if other bidders think his company is worth more than he does.

The answer could come Friday, which marks the end of a 45-day period that Dell Inc.'s board of directors settled on to allow for offers that might top a Feb. 5 agreement to sell the personal computer maker to CEO Michael Dell and a group of investors for $24.4 billion.

With the deadline looming, buyout specialist Blackstone Group is emerging as the most likely candidate to trump the current bid of $13.65 per share.

Blackstone is so intrigued with the prospect of owning Dell that the firm has been courting former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd to run Dell if it decides to mount a hostile takeover attempt, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person asked not to be identified because the discussions between Blackstone and Hurd are considered confidential.

Several other buyout scenarios tying Blackstone to Dell have been leaked to the media this week, another indication that the New York firm is mulling a bid that could scuttle the debt-laden deal that the company reached with Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners.

Dell Inc. says Friday's deadline for competing offers could be extended if its board believes other suitors would benefit from more time to examine Dell's books and hash out other details. The company, which is based in Round Rock, Texas, has promised to provide extensive details about the sales process in regulatory documents that are supposed to be filed next week.

Although there is much rumor and speculation, many investors are convinced a higher bid is in the works. That's why Dell's stock price has remained above $14 for the past two weeks. The shares fell 19 cents Thursday to close at $14.14. Some analysts have even predicted Dell ultimately will be sold for $15 to $16 per share.

Southeastern Asset Management, Dell's second largest shareholder after Michael Dell, has asserted the company is worth closer to $24 per share.

For its part, the four-member board committee that negotiated the current deal maintains it's selling Dell at a fair price ?one that reflects the dimming prospects for the PC industry as more technology spending shifts to smartphones and tablet computers.

The upheaval is siphoning revenue away from both Dell, the world's third largest PC maker, and HP, the top PC maker. Both companies are trying to adapt by making more tablets and diversifying into more profitable areas of technology, such as business software, data analytics and storage.

The rivalry between Dell and HP makes Blackstone's flirtation with Hurd a tantalizing twist.

HP widened its lead over Dell during Hurd's five-year reign, but the company parted with its former CEO under acrimonious terms in August 2010. Hurd resigned after facing allegations of sexual harassment against an HP contractor. HP found no evidence of harassment, but concluded that Hurd had filed inaccurate expense reports. Since Hurd's departure, HP has struggled and its stock price has been cut in half in a slide that has erased about $45 billion in shareholder wealth.

Hurd, 56, began working as president of business software maker Oracle Corp. shortly after leaving HP. He is given every indication that he is happy with his current job, which could lead to a promotion to succeed his close friend, Larry Ellison, as Oracle's CEO. Ellison, 68, hasn't set a timetable for stepping down. Analysts nevertheless see Hurd and Safra Catz, Oracle's chief financial officer, as the leading candidates to replace Ellison.

Oracle declined to comment Thursday. Blackstone didn't return phone calls.

Blackstone is only interested in bringing Hurd to Dell if it can't negotiate a deal on friendly terms, should it decide to pursue a bid, said the person familiar with the situation. The easier path would require Blackstone to win the cooperation and financial participation of Michael Dell, who is contributing about $4.5 billion in cash and stock to the deal that he worked out with Silver Lake. Under that agreement, Michael Dell would remain CEO of a company that would become privately held for the first time in 25 years.

Blackstone also has discussed the possibility of Southeastern Asset contributing its 8.4 percent stake in Dell to a competing bid, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited anonymous people familiar with the matter.

Other Blackstone maneuvers under consideration would focus on buying just a part of Dell. Blackstone might try to buy Dells' financial services division in a partnership with TPG, another buyout firm, or General Electric Co.'s lending arm, according to the people who talked to the Journal. Dell's financial services division lends money to customers who buy its products.

Another Dell shareholder, billionaire investor Carl Icahn, is pressing the board to forget about selling the company and paying a one-time dividend instead. In a letter to Dell's board earlier this month, Icahn proposed a dividend of $9 per share that would require Dell to take on billions of dollars in additional debt. Shareholders would profit further if Dell is able to engineer a turnaround that drives up the stock price.

Michael Dell believes he will be in a better position to overhaul the company if he no longer has to worry about Wall Street's focus on profit fluctuations from one quarter to the next.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dell-buyout-intrigue-heightens-deadline-looms-224118301--finance.html

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