Wednesday, 6 April 2011

The magic of the monarchy: The royal moment has come | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian

The magic of the monarchy: The royal moment has come

Prince William has shown he can be a new kind of king. It is time to put away the cynicism and pledge our full-throated support

A few short weeks from now, with the world looking on, William Arthur Philip Louis Windsor will exchange rings with Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, and much of Britain will rejoice. Yet, at such moments, certain voices – this newspaper's included – have long expressed dissent. All this mawkish celebration, they maintain, merely bolsters an anti-democratic institution based on privilege and patronage, a costly anachronism that ought to be abolished. That view is understandable. But it is time for them – for us – to reconsider. A decade ago, the Guardian prominently announced its commitment to republicanism. But Prince William has shown that he can be a new kind of king. That is why, in a significant change of course, we today pledge our full-throated support for the British monarchy.

Let's face it: the current crop of world leaders is far from inspiring. Across the Arab world, dictators battle their own people; at home, attitudes towards Cameron and Clegg alternate between apathy and outrage. In America, the hope that greeted Barack Obama has long since faded. As The King's Speech so vividly reminded us, there are times when only the calming leadership of a hereditary monarch will do; and as the MPs' expenses scandal illustrates, it can be dangerous to trust power-hungry elected officials, who lack the security provided by land ownership and immense wealth. Amid all this, William in particular stands out as something unique: a bastion of tradition with a deeply modern sensibility – not to mention a helicopter pilot's licence. When the time comes, we urge Prince Charles to redouble his focus on his important work in the field of alternative medicine, and to pass the mantle of head of state to his son.

For too long, a hair-shirt tendency on the left has insisted that a commitment to progressive values is incompatible with an appreciation for the magic and wonder of royalty. But in this era of austerity, couldn't we all do with being a bit more "happy and glorious"? Few things, after all, are as likely to lift the spirits of Britain's embattled public sector workers or benefit claimants than the sight of Kate Middleton's sure-to-be-spectacular wedding dress.

The couple themselves, meanwhile, reflect values close to this paper's own. William encapsulates our spirit of internationalism, thanks to his Greek and German heritage on his father's side, and his gap year in Chile. Kate embodies our commitment to gender equality in the way in which she has faced work-life challenges common to many women today, juggling such roles as accessories buyer for Jigsaw and being one of Tatler magazine's top 10 fashion icons. Other royals, too, are surely deserving of recognition: belatedly, for example, we have come to appreciate the crucial work done by Prince Andrew, using his personal connections to plant the seeds of democracy in repressive regimes worldwide.

Beginning today, the Guardian announces a raft of changes designed to ensure that our royal coverage is unrivalled by any other media organisation. We begin an unprecedented month-long, 24-hour royal wedding live blog, offering minute-by-minute coverage of the preparations. We will be recalling correspondents from some less newsworthy parts of the globe, such as north Africa and south-east Asia, so they can focus on palace matters instead. And we will shortly be making available to readers a range of attractive commemorative crockery.

The marriage of a prince to a commoner – a true bridging of class divides, if ever there was one – represents the perfect moment for progressives to commit again to the promise of hereditary monarchy. Great philosophers, from Burke to Andrew Morton, have argued powerfully for the institution's value. In any case, it would be churlish to fight the tide of excitement and optimism currently flooding the nation. It is time to put away the cynicism, and get out the union jacks.

More from Comment is free on

UK news

Life and style

Series

's comment

Comments in chronological order (Total 346 comments)

  • This symbol indicates that that person is The Guardian's staffStaff
  • This symbol indicates that that person is a contributorContributor

  • TimMiddleton

    1 April 2011 12:08AM

    Wonderful.

    As if backing the quisling Lib Dems wasn't enough of a faux pas, the Graun has now decided to reinvent itself as Hello!

    How very sad.

  • 123florence

    1 April 2011 12:12AM

    haha! I almost fell for it right up until Wills' gap year in Chile was cited as a way in which he "encapsulates our spirit of internationalism". Brilliant

  • Contributor
    AllyF

    1 April 2011 12:15AM

    Quite so Guardian.

    I, for one, have been totaly won around. Indeed I have become so enamoured of the fragrant Kate, that I have already hand-made my own wedding advent calendar and placed a little rose petal behind each door. When I wake up each morning I shall open a door, sniff the sweet aroma, revel in the thrill of knowing the big event is one day closer, and then thank God our sweet saviour that I was born British.

    Definitely your best editorial since the one where you told us to vote Lib-Dem.

  • littlecampdavid

    1 April 2011 12:17AM

    A bit too obvious, but I did enjoy

    William encapsulates our spirit of internationalism, thanks to his Greek and German heritage on his father's side, and his gap year in Chile.

  • Welshgooner

    1 April 2011 12:19AM

    If I'd read this in the Daily Express, I would've believed it.

    However, if I was reading the Daily Express, I'd probably seek psychological help.

  • langlaise

    1 April 2011 12:19AM

    OK so...I'm confused...this IS an April Fool, isn't it?? Because otherwise it would be the most cringe-worthy editorial in the world ever...

  • Bobsyeruncle

    1 April 2011 12:19AM

    Nice one Guardian.

    It passes the test for the perfect April Fool - for the first few paragraphs my jaw was steadily dropping, and then the penny dropped.

    If you had put in the bit about Andrew Morton as a great philosopher in the first or second paragraph it just wouldn't have worked.

    Well done.

  • Cagster

    1 April 2011 12:20AM

    AllyF

    Definitely your best editorial since the one where you told us to vote Lib-Dem.

    I'll bet that was published on April 1st too.

  • swcoruscant

    1 April 2011 12:21AM

    I predict this debate will get very heated very quickly.
    I'm a monarchist yet I think trying to praise Prince Andrew was a step too far. Even though he does go good work on the whole and he simply goes were he is instructed, he's very much not a model Royal.

  • Basingstoke

    1 April 2011 12:25AM

    If only the Guardian had had this much welcomed change of heart earlier, we could have had a regular column by the Prince himself documenting his gap year in Chile.

  • Annonick

    1 April 2011 12:26AM

    "we have come to appreciate the crucial work done by Prince Andrew, using his personal connections to plant the seeds of democracy in repressive regimes worldwide..."

    I think this is my favourite bit. Probably because I can imagine David Cameron uttering these very words, but with a straight face and no twinkle in his eye. A bit like a shiny-faced robot, in fact.

  • matteo80

    1 April 2011 12:27AM

    I think it is despicable that during a time of immense cuts the monarchy are staging an elaborate and exceptionally costly royal wedding paid for by the taxpayer.

    That is reason enough to abolish them.

  • HarryTheHorse

    1 April 2011 12:29AM

    Well I did buy "Knit Your Own Royal Wedding" and I'm an ardent republican. But I need some occupational therapy and knitting may do the trick. And I can always behead them after I have knitted them.

  • SarfOfTheRiver

    1 April 2011 12:31AM

    "Prince William has shown he can be a new kind of king. It is time to put away the cynicism and pledge our full-throated support"

    Bloody hell, pass the sick bucket.

  • vahavta

    1 April 2011 12:31AM

    I totally choked on my alfalfa and tofu sandwich (I am a guardian reader after all), when reading the title, and it actually took me at least a paragraph to realise this was a wind up.

    Please don't do that again. Scary stuff.

  • BrunoDiderot

    1 April 2011 12:32AM

    That they are asking for donations to charities instead of stupid gifts ... (1) is a GREAT step (2) which will make pasty-faced Rule Britannia types go nutz

  • JonA1966

    1 April 2011 12:34AM

    So,
    is he planning to emulate Rufus, Sailor Bill or the dutchman? No need for another bastard, enough of those in power already.

  • phco

    1 April 2011 12:35AM

    Please !

    Please !

    I am on my fucking knees !

    Tell me this is an April Fools Joke !

    Why can I not trust the Guardian any more - why this doubt ?

  • Contributor
    freewoolly

    1 April 2011 12:36AM

    The Prince's recent visit to Christchurch was a wonderful gesture of support and he showed a genuine care for those he met. A great success.
    No joke.

Comments on this page are now closed.

Loading
Loading

Comments

Sorry, commenting is not available at this time. Please try again later.

via guardian.co.uk

Posted by at

What is Amazon's approach to product development and product management? - Quora

What is Amazon's approach to product development and product management?

Add Question Details

Add Comment

• Flag Question

7 Answers • Create Answer Summary

Ian McAllister, I grow Traffic for Amazon.com
597 votes by Deepak Singh, Kyle Mulka, Jason Crawford, Matt Wyndowe, Adam D'Angelo, Andrew Brown, Darren Geraghty, Cristin Owens, Marco Magnocavallo, Amund Tveit, Carmen Delessio, Damon Cortesi, Parvathy Menon, Peter Chane, Tracy Chou, Tao Tao, Craig Montuori, Michael Woods, Marcel Molina, Jorge Ortiz, David Ouyang, Christoph Janz, Julio Alonso, Ryan Cox, Joshua Porter, David Cancel, Andrew Badr, Blake Scholl, Justin Scott, Huey Kwik, Sachin Agarwal, Ramit Sethi, Eric Meltzer, Erin Pettigrew, Sumit Arora, Brendan Lee, Ron Diver, Arjun Rao, Kannan Natesan, Nissim Dokey, David Sun, Sam Stearns, Patrick Chanezon, Durga P Pandey, Michael Nguyen, Dave Anderson, Atul Arora, Justin Sheehy, Christopher ODonnell, Aaron White, Hutch Carpenter, Niraj Shah, Alex White, Joe Coleman, Steven Loi, Scott Kidder, Anand Rajaram, Amit Gupta, David Cole, Joel Lewenstein, Steve Vafier, Rishi Natarajan, Fahd Butt, Christopher Lin, David Haddad, Wilson Miner, Adam Kazwell, Kim-Mai Cutler, Max Ramsay, Kartik Ayyar, Jack Cheng, Tim Riley, Luke Dyer, Lee Semel, Kris Rasmussen, Jeffrey Morris Jr., Dominic Penaloza, Mark Surfas, Rian van der Merwe, Sunil Garg, Carnot Antonio Romero, Yi Qiang, John Marsland, Tejas Mistry, Mario Ricciardelli, Philippe Gauvin, Anon User, Ilya Grigorik, Chris Thomson, Anon User, MG Siegler, Clay Corbett, Steve Lee, Ken Norton, Adrian Aoun, Erik Kastner, Salar al Khafaji, Graham Siener, Tristan Harris, Tyler Hayes, Dru Wynings, Mike Dillon, Chris Combs, Rebekah Cox, Joshua Kaufman, Jake Bialer, Dudu Pontes, Anthony Castillo, Sudhir Kishan, Josh Babetski,

Norwich City | News | First News | First News | HOLT SIGNS NEW THREE-YEAR DEAL

CITY are delighted to confirm captain and leading marksman Grant Holt has signed a new three-year contract committing himself to the Canaries until 2014.

The 29-year-old striker has found the net 21 times in 41 league and cup appearances so far this season. On Saturday he bagged his second hat-trick of the current campaign in City's 6-0 win over Scunthorpe United, taking his overall tally of goals in Canary colours past the 50-mark since he moved from Shrewsbury in 2009.

Advertisement

His excellent treble on Saturday saw him register the second fastest half-century in Norwich City goal-scoring history with 51 strikes in 85 appearances - and he also became the first player since Iwan Roberts to score 50 times for the Canaries.

Speaking exclusively to Canaries Player Holt said: "It's been a good week. Everyone knows how much I enjoy being here and in this City and at this Football Club so it really has been a fantastic week and I'm just pleased to get it done and sorted for the summer.

"It's come at a great time and I'm here to score goals and get this Club back where it should be and we're on the brink of that now if we can keep doing what we have been doing in the last couple of games.

"If the next three years are anywhere near as good as the last two have been I'll be absolutely delighted. I've enjoyed it and I've been fortunate to work with a fantastic manager and a fantastic bunch of lads. My aim is to get this Club back into the Premier League and I've got three years to do that now.

On the news, Manager Paul Lambert said: "Grant deserves this new contract for the way he has played for us since he came here. We made him captain for the benefit of the team but also to spur him on and he has responded. His performance levels have been really high and his goalscoring record speaks for itself.

"He's been great for us and made a huge contribution to what we are trying to do. He has built a good relationship with the fans here and now he's got the security of knowing he's here for another three years to hopefully keep on doing it for them.

Picture - Our main photo shows Holt signing his new contract at Carrow watched by City Chief Executive David McNally and agent Lee Payne.

via canaries.co.uk

Posted by at

Tuesday, 5 April 2011

How FaceBook is stifling your conversation - and how to fix it - lissping

How FaceBook is stifling your conversation - and how to fix it

Facebook likes to make changes and not really tell everyone. This is an easy way to get the word out - and currently the only way to assure that everyone can see it.

Have you noticed that you are only seeing updates in your newsfeed from the same people lately? Have you also noticed that when you post things like status messages, photos and links, the same circle of people are commenting and everyone else seems to be ignoring you?

Don't worry, everyone still loves you and nobody has intentionally blocked you. The problem is that a large chunk of your friend/fan list can't see anything you post and here's why:

The "New Facebook" has a newsfeed setting that by default is automatically set to show ONLY posts from people who you've recently interacted with or interacted the most with (which would be limited to the couple of weeks just before people started switching to the new profile). So in other words, for both business and personal pages, unless your friends/fans commented on one of your posts within those few weeks or vice versa - you are now invisible to them and they are invisible to you!!

HERE'S THE FIX: On the homepage click the "Most Recent" title on the right of the Newsfeed, then click on the drop down arrow beside it and select "Edit Options", click on "Show Posts From" and change the setting to "All Of Your Friends and Pages" (you can also access the "Edit Options" link at the very bottom of the facebook homepage on the right) Note: Business pages do not have a newsfeed however page owners should adjust the settings on their personal accounts.

The good news is: now you can now view all of your friends and fans again. The bad news is: YOU ARE STILL INVISIBLE to a large portion of your list. You must get the word out to ALL of your friends and fans by inviting them to this event or creating one of your own so they can read the post and adjust their settings. To invite your friends: Click on "Attending" at the top and then you will see an option to invite your friends at the top left. It’s public so everyone who logs onto facebook can view it and even the friends who can’t see your posts WILL see the event invitation. You can also tweet about it, create a blog post or send out an email to your subscribers in hopes of reaching them all.

via Kim Wollenberg Burgess on facebook.com

Posted 1 hour ago by lissnup ! 

via lissnup.posterous.com

Very good

Posted by at

Ed Alleyne-Johnson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Ed Alleyne-Johnson


Ed Alleyne-Johnson busking in York, January 2009
Background information
Origin Liverpool
Genres Classical, folk, rock
Occupations Musician
Instruments Electric violin
Years active 1992–present (as recording artist)
Labels Equation, Wingspan
Associated acts New Model Army

Ed Alleyne-Johnson is a British electric violinist and prolific busker. He has been busking since he was a Fine Art student at Oxford University in the early 1980s. He uses an electric violin that he carved with a kitchen knife,[1] a custom pedal-board, and an amplifier which he modified to run off rechargeable batteries. This setup has enabled him to perform on the street in almost every major city in Europe, and across the United States and Canada.

He collaborated with New Model Army on their Top 40 single "Vagabonds", and toured with them for five years, with several concerts in Germany in over 200 concerts worldwide, supporting acts as diverse as Simple Minds, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Cure, Midnight Oil and Faith No More

During his time in Oxford in the late 1980s he played bass guitar in local band, Raindance.[citation needed]

He can often be seen performing in Chester city centre, near the Grosvenor shopping precinct and the Chester Cross, and more recently on the streets of York.

Purple Electric Violin Concerto in 1992 sold over 80,000 copies and has gained a cult following in Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and New Zealand as well as the UK.

His 2005 album Echoes features songs such as Mad World by Tears For Fears and Stir It Up by Bob Marley.

In July 2008, Ed performed the Beatles tracks 'Yesterday' and 'Eleanor Rigby' in front of 7,000 people at Liverpool's Echo Arena for a Beatles Day charity gig.

The 2011 Arpeggio album led off with a crashing, cover version of The Who's Baba O'Riley and also included another cover of Human by The Killers.

[edit] Discography

  • Purple Electric Violin Concerto (1992)
  1. Oxford Suite Part 1
  2. Oxford Suite Part 2
  3. Oxford Suite Part 3
  4. Oxford Suite Part 4
  5. Inner City Music Part 1
  6. Inner City Music Part 2
  7. Inner City Music Part 3
  8. Inner City Music Part 4
  9. Improvisation
  10. Concrete Eden
  • Ultraviolet (1994)
  1. White (Intro)
  2. Red
  3. Orange
  4. Yellow
  5. Green
  6. Blue
  7. Indigo
  8. Violet
  9. Ultraviolet
  10. White (Reprise)
  • Fly Before Dawn (1995) -- co-written by and performed with his wife, Denyze
  1. 3rd Eye
  2. Fly Before Dawn
  3. All a Dream
  4. Winter Son
  5. Men-an-Tel
  6. God's Viewpoint
  7. Summerland
  8. Forest Hill
  9. Wheel of Fortune
  10. Lion Mountain
  11. U.F.O.
  12. Somebody to Love
  • 2020 Vision (1998) -- co-written by and performed with his wife, Denyze
  • Purple Electric Violin Concerto II (2001)
  1. Liverpool Concerto Part 1
  2. Liverpool Concerto Part 2
  3. Liverpool Concerto Part 3
  4. Liverpool Concerto Part 4
  5. Liverpool Concerto Part 5
  6. Classical Suite Part 1
  7. Classical Suite Part 2
  8. Classical Suite Part 3
  9. Variations on Pachelbel's Canon
  10. Improvisation 2
  • Echoes (2005) -- two CD album of cover versions
  1. Disc 1
    1. Clocks
    2. We Are All Made of Stars
    3. By the Way
    4. With or Without You/Wherever You Will Go
    5. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
    6. Smells Like Teen Spirit
    7. Teenage Dirtbag
    8. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
    9. Bohemian Like You
    10. Bitter Sweet Symphony
    11. (Don't Fear) The Reaper
    12. Can't Get You Out of My Head
    13. How You Remind Me
    14. Stir It Up
    15. Thank You
    16. All Right Now
  1. Disc 2
    1. Every Breath You Take
    2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
    3. Because the Night/Layla
    4. Fields of Gold
    5. Mad World
    6. Better Off Alone
    7. Follow You Follow Me
    8. Another Chance
    9. Where Is the Love?
    10. Sweet Child o' Mine
    11. Stuck In a Moment
    12. Right Here Right Now
    13. The Zephyr Song
    14. Pretty Green Eyes
    15. Imitation of Life/You'll Never Walk Alone
    16. Loneliness
    17. Whatever
  • Reflections (2006) -- a second album of cover versions:
  1. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"
  2. "Life on Mars?"
  3. "Kashmir"
  4. "Without You"
  5. "Free Bird"
  6. "Parisienne Walkways"
  7. "Child in Time"
  8. "Sylvia"
  9. "Like a Hurricane"
  • Symphony (2008)
  • Arpeggio (2011)
  1. "Baba O'Riley"
  2. Passacaglia in D minor
  3. Arpeggio
  4. Nothing else matters
  5. Goodbye
  6. Hallelujah
  7. Little Green Viper
  8. Run
  9. Portmeadow
  10. "Starlight"
  11. "Human"
  12. The Earth dies screaming
  13. 100.000.000.000 years old
  14. Journey to the East

[edit] References

  1. ^ Alleyne-Johnson, Ed (2004). Echoes (CD sleeve notes). Wingspan Records. 

[edit] External links

[hide]v · d · eNew Model Army
Justin Sullivan • Nelson • Dean White • Michael Dean • Marshall Gill
Robert Heaton • Dave Blomberg • Stuart Morrow • Jason "Moose" Harris • Ed Alleyne-Johnson • Adrian Portas • Ricky Warwick • Mark Feltham • Tom Tom Tompkins • Chris McLaughlin • Ed Wolsenholme • Rob Waddington
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
EPs
The Acoustic EP • White Coats • Living in the Rose • BD3 EP
Singles
"Bittersweet" • "Great Expectations" • "The Price" • "No Rest"/"Heroin" • "Brave New World" • "51st State" • "Poison Street" • "Stupid Questions" • "Vagabonds" • "Green and Grey" • "Get Me Out" • "Purity" • "Space" • "Here Comes the War" • "Vengeance 1994" • "Wonderful Way to Go" • "Queen of My Heart" • "Island" • "BD3" • "Wired"
Related articles


Persondata
Name Alleyne-Johnson, Ed
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death

via en.wikipedia.org

Posted by at

Monday, 4 April 2011

Leaderboard: The 10 best Android smartphones of 2011 | ZDNet

Since there are so many Android smartphones on the market now — including both excellent devices and several duds — many people feel overwhelmed when trying to choose one. I get a lot of the “Would you recommend this one or that one” questions as well as plenty of requests to rank my favorites.

As a result, I’ve created a leaderboard of my top Android picks. This is a dangerous task because it is very subjective stuff. The smartphone that is the best fit for you is going to depend heavily on your needs and preferences. But, since I’ve had my paws on virtually all of the Android devices and I’ve written reviews of the best ones, I decided to rank them in terms of the overall quality of the devices. Since my audience is primarily IT and business professionals, I’ve developed this list with them in mind. A list aimed at consumers would certainly look a little different.

I also keep this leaderboard up to date (here’s my final 2010 leaderboard). So, as I review new Android devices in 2011 and decide that they deserve a place on the list, I will add them to the list and bump other phones down or off the list. The are some excellent devices coming soon that will likely join this list — Motorola Droid Bionic, T-Mobile G2x, and LG Revolution, for example — but while I’ve seen pre-release versions of these devices, I’m not going to add them to this list until they are officially available to the public.

Caveat: This ranking is primarily based on US smartphones. In each country/region, the telecom carriers tend to name these devices by different names. In many cases you’ll be able to find a close match between the devices on this list and devices in your area, but not in all cases.

1. HTC ThunderBolt

This is the successor to the HTC EVO, which I ranked first on last year’s Android leaderboard. The ThunderBolt is a major upgrade. It gets Verizon’s 4G LTE network over Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network — and that more than doubles its network speeds and capacity. It also sports an upgraded Snapdragon processor with a dedicated GPU, a bump up to 768MB of RAM, an aluminum unibody hardware design (reminiscent of the Google Nexus One and the HTC Desire), and a camera that has the same number of megapixels but takes much nicer photos. Internationally, the HTC Desire HD is very similar to the ThunderBolt.

2. Motorola Atrix

Arguably, the most exciting new Android smartphone of 2011 is the Motorola Atrix. The phone looks like Clark Kent but acts like Superman. The hardware design isn’t anything special and the MotoBlur UI doesn’t do Android any favors. But, under the hood, the Atrix is running Motorola’s “Webtop” software, which allows the phone to connect to a laptop dock or desktop dock and act like a real PC. Of all the smartphones on this list, the Atrix is the only one that we’re likely to remember its name in five years, because it’s such a watershed device. Five years from now, nearly all high-end smartphones will have this feature. They might even replace corporate desktops in many cases.

3. Samsung Galaxy S 4G

Samsung joined the Android ecosystem with a bang in 2010, putting its Galaxy S line of smartphones on lots of different carriers in lots of different form factors. Millions of buyers scooped them up. The first successor to its initial line of Android phones is the Samsung Galaxy S 4G. It’s very similar to last year’s Galaxy S line but it has HSPA+ capability (which T-Mobile dubiously calls “4G”) and a svelte form factor that doesn’t feel quite as placticy as most of last year’s models. Also keep an eye out for the Samsung Galaxy S II.

4. HTC Inspire

One of the best Android phones flying under the radar is the HTC Inspire. The form factor is nearly identical to the HTC ThunderBolt — it’s essentially an aluminum unibody version of the HTC EVO. While it doesn’t have quite the punch of the ThunderBolt in terms of speed, it gets pretty close. It runs on AT&T’s HSPA+ network in the US, so it can get up to 5Mbps downloads in the real world. However, while the ThunderBolt costs $249 up front, the Inspire retails for just $99. It’s a terrific bargain at that price. Again, if you’re looking for an international version of this device, check out the HTC Desire HD. And, AT&T customers should also watch for the Samsung Infuse later in 2011.

5. Google Nexus S

As I wrote in my review of the Nexus S, it doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor, the Nexus One — the original “Google Phone” — but the Nexus S is still worth a look, especially for Android purists and developers. While HTC built the Nexus One for Google, the Nexus S was built by Samsung and has a similar hardware design as the Galaxy S models (i.e. lots of plastic). However, the Nexus S runs the stock Android OS, was the first phone to get Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and will continue to be one of the first devices (along with the Nexus One) to get the latest Android updates directly from Google. The Nexus S 4G is also coming soon.

6. HTC Desire

This smartphone bears a very strong resemblance to the original Nexus One (a great device that’s no longer for sale) and in the first half of 2010 it was released in Europe and Australia, where it became a popular choice in both markets. It has since spread to other international markets and it became available in the US through regional carrier US Cellular. The Desire has nearly-identical hardware specs to the Nexus One and a very similar, high-quality aluminum unibody that gives it an excellent build quality. The biggest differences are that the Desire has hardware navigation buttons instead of touch-sensitive buttons, an optical touchpad instead of a trackball, includes HTC Sense UI and an FM tuner, but lacks the second microphone for noise cancellation and the pins for a dock connector. Also, keep an eye on the HTC Desire HD (with a larger 4.3-inch screen) and the HTC Desire Z (with a slide-down keyboard).

7. Motorola Droid X

With Sprint’s HTC EVO 4G drawing much of the attention of the Android world during 2010, after its unveiling at CTIA Wirelesss in March 2010, the response from Motorola and Verizon (the previous darlings of the Android world) was the Droid X. It matched the HTC EVO with a 4.3-inch screen, an 8 megapixel camera, a Micro HDMI port, and mobile hotspot functionality, but it lacked a front-facing camera, 4G connectivity, and the extra polish that HTC puts on Android with its Sense UI. Nevertheless, it remains one of the most capable Android devices available and remains a favorite among many professionals and power users. It will be largely succeeded when the Motorola Droid Bionic arrives in mid-2011.

8. Samsung Epic 4G

This version of the Samsung Galaxy S is the one that departed most significantly from the standard form factor. That’s mostly because it integrates a full 53-key slide-down hardware keyboard. But it’s not just any keyboard. With it’s large keys and dedicated row for number keys, it is arguably the best hardware qwerty on any Android device. It also features a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen, a zippy 1 GHz Samsung processor, and Sprint’s 4G WiMAX service. You could certainly make a case for ranking this phone higher on the list, especially for business users that are still in love with a hardware keyboard.

9. T-Mobile G2

The other great option for Android purists is the T-Mobile G2 from HTC. It runs the stock Android OS and is the successor to the T-Mobile G1 (a.k.a. HTC Dream), which you may remember as the Google’s very first Android phone released back in October 2008. The G1 was also one of the worst smartphones ever created, with its clunky, awkward hardware and abysmal Android 1.6 software. Its successor does much better. The G2 has HTC’s aluminum finish, a solid slidedown keyboard with customizable quick keys, and Android 2.2. It doesn’t have the latest hardware, but it does connect to T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network and it’s available at an excellent price (even free, with some promotions). The T-Mobile G2x is also coming mid-2011, but don’t let its name confuse you. It’s built by LG, doesn’t have a hardware keyboard, and is a completely different device.

10. Motorola Droid Pro

No Android device has taken aim at business users more directly than the Motorola Droid Pro. The most obvious symbol is the Droid Pro’s hardware keyboard, which effectively emulates the classic BlackBerry keyboard found on devices such as the BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry Curve. The Droid Pro also integrates enhanced security and management features (such as remote device wipe) that will appeal to larger organizations and their IT departments. These features don’t quite bring Android up to the same level of enterprise readiness as BlackBerry (which offers even stronger encryption, for example), but many companies will likely view it as good enough. While the 3.1-inch screen of the Droid Pro is among the smallest of Android devices, this device will definitely appeal to BlackBerry converts.

Also read

This article was originally published on TechRepublic.

via zdnet.com

Posted by at

Cracks in three more Southwest planes : News24: World: News

Cracks in three more Southwest planes

2011-04-04 21:47

Share Share line Print

Los Angeles - Engineers have found cracks in three more Southwest Airlines planes after a hole ripped open in an aircraft carrying 123 people, forcing it to make an emergency landing, the US airline said on Monday.

The airline cancelled a further 70 flights, after some 300 were taken off the schedule on Sunday following the mid-air scare on Friday on a flight from Phoenix, Arizona to Sacramento, California.

Fifty-seven aircraft have so far been tested and returned to service, Southwest said in an update on inspections on 79 Boeing 737-300 planes in the company's fleet, to address possible "skin fatigue" on ageing airliners.

"Additional inspections have identified three aircraft with the subsurface cracks. Those aircraft will remain out of service until appropriate repairs can be completed," it said.

"The airline continues to inspect aircraft and will put those with no findings back into service," it added, saying the tests were designed to detect "any subsurface fatigue in the skin that is not visible to the eye".

No-one on Flight 812 was seriously hurt when the hole tore open with a loud bang, causing a sudden loss of pressure and triggering passengers to grasp for oxygen masks and frantically text loved ones.

The plane, suffering from a 1.5m by 0.3m gash in its roof, landed without incident at an Arizona military base, where the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is examining the damaged jet.

Inspected on Tuesday

"We did find evidence of widespread cracking across this entire fracture surface," NTSB member Robert Sumwalt told a press briefing broadcast from Yuma via internet on Sunday.

A further NTSB briefing was scheduled for later on Monday.

Southwest said the plane had undergone all necessary Federal Aviation Administration inspections, including the extensive overhaul in March 2010, and was given a routine inspection on Tuesday, according to Fox News.

Southwest's entire fleet of 548 planes is comprised of 737s, including about 170 Boeing 737-300s, the oldest in the fleet.

The airline's planes average 11.2 years of age. Boeing 737-300s were produced from 1984 to 1999.

via news24.com

Posted by at

Are you a passion killer? | herBusiness Blog - Great Ideas for Business Networking, Education, Mentoring, Inspiration, Marketing, Growth, Leadership, Seminars and Workshops, Events from the Australian Businesswomen's Network

Are you a passion killer?

March 16, 2011 by aedgar 

By Alycia Edgar, Coastal Accounting Services

You should be. Yes, you read correctly. Passion has a lot to answer for in business.  Everyone says you need to love what you do, be passionate about it and success will happen.  Yes, it can, but, it can also kill a great business with too much kindness.

Don’t get me wrong, I love passion; I’m very passionate about what I do.  What’s been frustrating me lately is why some business owners don’t “see” what is happening right in front of them, they’re pretty much blind to it.  Why can’t they see that their results are not improving, that their business model is not working, that they’re wasting money on things that are not going to give them a return on investment (and no they’re not a “necessary” expense of the business). So just like I’ve seen many business owners bankrupt a business by living the high life personally when their business cannot afford it, I am also seeing a trend where passion is killing the business.

These business owners are so passionate about their community, their cause, helping others etc. that this passion is blinding them to the business reality.  Even though the reality can be there in black and white, the passion they have is so intense that it’s flawing their logical business judgment.  So, what can you do to make sure that your passion is not skewing your decision making capabilities?

Learn to be dispassionate about your business. Regardless of whom you surround yourself with to assist and guide you in your business, unless you are open to being dispassionate about your business you will not listen to anyone. Make sure your support group can show you where passion is getting in your way.  They still need to support your vision, but are removed enough that they can show you when something’s not working.

Develop your own passion barometer and use it for decision making. Give a decision a score out of 10 as to how it’s related to your core passion.  If it’s above a 5, you need to then look at the business barometer; is it a logical decision from a business standpoint? (i.e. will it make you a profit; remember that’s what business is about) If it doesn’t stack up on the business barometer I would refer to your support group for advice.  Let them help you decide.  This is not a scientific formula, just an idea to make you stop and think about where this decision is coming from and whether it really is a great business decision.

Passion can get in the way for all of us, but for those that can be dispassionate you will grow your business with kindness rather than potentially kill it.

Are you too passionate about your business?

 

MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY ALYCIA EDGAR

Alycia Edgar - Coastal Accounting Services

As an accountant and former surf shop owner Alycia understands the issues that small business face everyday. She believes you can work on your business effectively simply by understanding your business numbers. She creates innovative systems and processes that enable business owners to be highly focused and productive in their business, including Bookzkeeper – The Accounting Survival Kit for Small Business. To get tips on how your numbers relate to working on your business, simply visit here

Phone: 0403 983 529
Email: alycia@coastalaccounting.com.au
Twitter: www.twitter.com/alyciaedgar
Blog: www.numbersarelife.com
Member Profile: See Alycia’s Member Profile

 

ShareThis

-->
via blog.abn.org.au

Posted by at

Kurzweil Is Confident Machines Will Pass Turing Test by 2029 (video) | Singularity Hub

Kurzweil Is Confident Machines Will Pass Turing Test by 2029 (video)

by Aaron Saenz April 4th, 2011 | Comments (1)

Kurzweil at iLabs Singularity Summit

Kurzweil smiles as he discusses Watson, AI, and his famous predictions for 2029.

It continues to be a good Spring for Ray Kurzweil. Not only has the media been rather kind to him lately, some of his biggest predictions about computer intelligence seem more and more likely. Kurzweil has famously predicted that machines will match human intelligence and pass the Turing Test by 2029. Seem far fetched? Well, IBM’s Watson system just surpassed the Jeopardy! skills of Ken Jennings. That’s a pretty good sign of things to come, at least according to Kurzweil. In a new video interview taken at the iLabs Singularity Summit in Italy, the noted futurist seems pretty happy with the recent trends in artificial intelligence, especially Watson’s win and the human reaction to it. Check out David Orban‘s seven minute chat with Kurzweil in the video below. Could Watson’s successors really pass the Turing Test in 20 years? Seems pretty likely to me, too.

Orban actually gets to the Watson phenomenon towards the end of the interview. Skip to 4:13 to see that discussion. Kurzweil explores Watson’s chances with the Turing Test at 6:16. His famous Long Bet with Mitch Kapor, which we’ve discussed a bit before, comes up at 6:55. Don’t forget to go back to the opening eventually, as Kurzweil gives some interesting commentary on how our language of technology doesn’t accurately reflect its reality:

I share Kurzweil’s admiration for Watson and its programmers. As he points out, the system has amazing language processing skills even if they aren’t quite up to human levels. It also can assimilate vast stores of knowledge and retains that information in ways that meet or exceed the majority of humans. I differ form Kurzweil, however, in thinking that it was these skills that let Watson win Jeopardy! As Ken Jennings pointed out after the event, most Jeopardy! champions have the exact same skillset and the computer’s trouncing of humans may actually be due to superior timing on the buzzer rather than superior knowledge. In any case, I can’t argue that hearing Watson referred to as a ‘he’ time and again is pretty cool, and there’s little doubt that the IBM system is a great sign that AI is actually making some steady progress.

Will it continue to grow fast enough to reach human levels of (emotional) intelligence and pass the Turing Test by 2029? I find it hard to argue against the notion. With Watson the language processing skills are getting closer, and the ability to assimilate mass amounts of data and synthesize an acceptable answer is clearly a great step in the right direction. It may take much longer than 20 years to get a computer intelligence to think in the same way as a human, but getting one to talk and converse like a human could happen much sooner. 2011 is shaping up to be a great year for Kurzweil, 2029 could be a great year for everyone.

[screen capture and video credit: David Orban]

Related Stories

via singularityhub.com

Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)